The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-29 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

A general order of considerable importance in its
selation to the infantry drill of the army has been
issued from the Horse Guards. The order, signed
by Adjutant-General Lord William Paulet, C. 8.,
by order of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cam-
bridge, Field-Marshal and General Commanding-
in-Chief, directs that men belonging to infantry
regiments, except such as have served over 15 years,
or are excused by medical certificate, shall be ex-
ercised at " running drill" once a day. For the first
fortnight the distance run is not to exceed 300 yards.
For the second fortnight the distance may be in-
creased to 600 yards. For the third fortnight the.
distance may be increased to 900 yards. After the
third fortnight's practice the distance may be in-
creased to I,oooyards daily, with arms and accoutre-
ments carried on alternate days. The pace on all
occasions not to exceed six miles an hour, nor must
the 1,000 yards be attempted before the six weeks
preliminary practice has been made over the shorter
distances. Where the ground will admit the men
are to run in single rank of 15 or 20 abreast, and
otherwise by companies in fours. When a regiment
has been sufficiently trained in running drill certain
movements are then to be performed at "the
double," except when the regiment is paraded for
drill in marching order.

A notification has been received stating that a de-
tachment of the depot of the 13th Hussars (which
Regiment recently left England for Canada) will
proceed from York to Colchester, and will be at-
tached to the King's Dragoon Guards. The strength
of the detachment will be one officer and 14 men.
In accordance with instructions from the Horse
Guards a draught of two officers and 57 rank and

Liberia is a small republic on the west coast of
Africa, founded by the American Colonisation So-
ciety, as an asylum for the free people of colour in
the United States who could not live happily in their
native land. It is now also becoming the refuge of
the recaptured Africans taken out of the slave ships,
and is growing into an interesting and important
community. The inhabitants consist of negroes
from Virginia, Ohio, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and other States of the Union, and
number some 500,000 souls ; about 484,000 are
aboriginals, and about 16,000 Americo-Liberians.
The republic consists of an elected President and a
Legislature of two houses, Senate and House of Re-
presentatives. The President and Vice-President
are elected for two years and the Senate for four.
Eight members compose the Upper House, thirteen
the Lower ; each county sends two members to the
Senate. Hereafter, on increase of population, one
additional representative will be added for every
10,000 persons. The Vice-President must be 35
years of age, possess real property to the value of
$6OO, and in case of the death or absence of the
President he acts as President. He is also Presi-
dent of the Senate, which constitutes, among other
functions, a council for the President of the Re-
public; he being required to submit treaties for
ratification, and the appointments to public offices
for confirmation. The President must be 35 years
of age, and possess property to the amount of $6O.
The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, an
such subordinate courts as the Legislature may from
time to time establish.

Liberia is situated on the grain coast of Guinea.
Its south-eastern boundary is the San Pedro River,
78 miles east of Cape Palmas, and null along the
coast 125 miles north-west of Monrovia, to the
mouth of the Shebar river. It has about 600 miles
of coast, and extends back on an average 100
miles ; but the natives in the interior manifest the
greatest desire that treaties should be formed with
them. The chief object has been to purchase the
line of sea-coast, to exclude the slave trade, which
formerly was most active at Cape Mesurado, Trade
Town, and other places within the Republic, but
now most happily excluded, except at Gallinas,
under peculiar circumstances. The original settlers
landed and hoisted the American flag on the 25th
April, 1822, at Cape Mesurado, the capital of Mon-
rovia, where they continued till* the 24th August,
1847, a period of 25 years. They were then pro-
claimed a free and independent State, and zegularly
installed as the Republic of Liberia. England and
France recognised, and made treaties of amity,
commerce, and navigation with the small State,
and these friendly examples were followed by other
powers, including the United States, Italy, and
Holland. Treaties have since been made with
Sweden and Norway, with Hayti and Portugal,
and negotiations are on foot with other powers.
In the treaties with Hayti and Portugal there are
articles to assimilate the slave trade to piracy, and
to punish it accordingly. It is hoped that in all
future treaties this article will obtain. Many slaves
have been emancipated expressly for emigration to
this settlement, and have 'changed under the genial
influence of freedom from the careless, listless
beings they were in America into painstaking,
industrious, energetic citizens. The white Go-
vernor sent out by the American Colonisation
Society chose the most respectable of the coloured
people to aid in the affairs of the infant colony,
and the training of LOT CAREY, ELIJAH JOHNSON,
JOHN B. Russwunm, and J. J. ROBERTS was so
good that on the death of the last white Governor,
the late lamented BIICHASaN, in 1841, it was re-
solved that all in authority should be coloured per-
sons. Mr. ROBERTS was made Governor, and con-
tinued so six years, and on the proclamation of the
independence of the State he was elected PRESI-
DENT, thus serving eight years as Chief of the
Republic, and six years previously as Governor,
making a total of fourteen years a chief magistrate
of Liberia. His successor, STEPHEN ALLEN BEN-
SON, came from Maryland at the age of six years,
and having experienced varied vicissitudes became
a successful merchant, and passed through various
offices to the rank of PRESIDENT of the Republic.
He had served three terms of two years each, and
was inaugurated for a fourth, when he died January,
1865, aged 53 years. The actual President, Mr.
D. B. WARNER, is a negro from Maryland, but re-
sided in Liberia from early infancy. Mr. BENSON
was also a negro, but Mr. ROBERTS a mulatto. Mr.
WARNER was elected PRESIDENT Ist January, 1864,
and re-elected January, 1866, to serve a further
period of two years. The self-government of the
Liberias has proved cheap and successful, as the
blacks, living in a congenial climate, are long-
lived, healthy, and economical administrators of
their simple laws. All tropical produce thrives.
Rice is abundant. Indian corn and fruits of every
kind afford ample supply for the inhabitants and for
shipping. The exports are coffee, sugar, cotton,
ginger, pepper, indigo, ground nuts, arrow-
root, palm oil, ivory, cam-wood and other
-woods for dyeing purposes, as well as
for ship and house-building. The civilised
portion of the inhabitants is so small that important
, exports cannot be expected till greater capital and
a larger amount of skilled settlers shall have arrived
from the
native labijounrieteradaSt ttahtees,rawtehoof NsV 13llpfierndmopnletnht:yexo!
elusive of rations.
Liberia is prepared to receive
7,000 to 8,000 negroes
per annum, and every year
will give increased ability to receive a larger num-
ber, until 25,000 to 30,000 per annum will not be
inconvenient. The American Government has
lately made an arrangement to allow the Liberian
Government $lOO per head for all landed re-cap-
tives over eight_years of age, and $lO for all under
eight years. Already some of the Congoes landed
from slavers have become useful and successful
citizens ; some being even magistrates, members of
the Legislature, and missionaries. The climate is
warm, but equable. The negroes from the United
States do not find the heat oppressive at any sea-
son ; even white people can land at 6 or 8 o'clock
in the morning and remain till 6b
noarrBd i nt
hr ship a
theei evening
with safety, if they sleep
on
night. If detained on shorelieahtedattoneixgphetl,
thet damp.heroom
should be shut and a fire
The rivers, St. John Junk, St. Paul, and Cavallay
and cultivated
run through the most fertile
countries. On the banks of the St. Junk
and
St. Paul sugar is cultivated. On those of the St.
John coffee is grown as well as sugar.
is spontaneous in its growth overl
pioLthbaerhilay.
Its quality is good,-and the country will
become a large exporter of this staple, being well
situated for forwarding it at a low freight to the
exhaustless market of Liverpool. Monrovia, the
capital of Liberia, named after Mr. MoNRoE, the
fifth President of the United States, is beautifully
situated on Cape Mesurado in 6-19 north latitude,
westand 11
judoiiai, longitude. It is the seat of the Exe-
cutive, Judicial, and Legislative Government, is
fairly furnished with churches, schools, missionary
establishments—has a newspaper, called the Liberia
Herald--a
population of some 4,000 souls, and gives
evidences of advancing civilisation and refinement.
English is the mother tongue, and is rapidly ex-
et er
enedtiendg nyt o t thee
liinbteerr,itol
irt.y
oAf
tfihne epcollege
of h
Ba so
sbt eoenn.
To understand English is considered by h
an accomplishment, and an advantage
they are natives
eaetaigveers
to give their children. The Liberians are looked

Some say Liberia is a failure; that she has not
advanced as she ought to have done, but if we con-
sider the small expenditure, that 16,000 American
negroes have settled there from the United States,
and have been far more numerous, prosperous, and
progressive in the 40 years of their settlement than
were the English settlers in Virginia 60 years after
they landed, and have since become a mighty
nation of 32,000,000 souls, what may we not ex-
pect of Liberia if the 4,500,000 of American negroes
should migrate during the next 30 years to the
" Land of the Free." No doubt Liberia is far more
suitable than Hayti, which has the Catholic religion,
foreign language, manners, and customs, while the
Liberians have the same Protestant religion, same
language, manners, and customs, as the American
negro. The American Liberians in their declara-
tion of Independence use the following language to
describe their fortunate change of circumstances by
migrating from the United States to this new and
improving country. They say—" Liberia is already
" the happy home of thousands who were once
" doomed—victims of oppression—and thus far our
" highest hopes have been realised. Our courts of
" justice are open equally to the stranger and the
" citizen, for the redress of grievances and for the
" punishment of crime. Our numerous and well-
" attended schools attest our efforts and our desire
" for the improvement of our children. Our
" churches, for the worship of our CREATOR, every-
" where to be seen, bear testimony to our piety and
"to an acknowledgment of His providence. The
" native African, bowing down with us before the
" Altar of the living GOD, declares that from us,
" feeble as we are, the light of Christianity has gone
" forth, while upon that curse of curses, the slave-
" trade, a deadly blight has fallen, as far as our
" influence extends. Therefore, in the name of
" humanity, virtue, and religion—in the name of
" the great GOD, our common Creator and our
" common judge—we appeal to the nations of
" Christendom, and earnestly and respectfully ask
" of them that they will regard us with the sym-
" pathy and friendly consideration to which our
" condition entitles us, and will extend to us that
" comity which marks the friendly intercourse of
" civilised and independent communities."
Then follows the Constitution, one section of
which declares--" That there shall be no slavery
" within this republic ; nor shall any citizen, or any
" person resident therein, deal in slaves, either with
" or without its bounds, either directly or indi-
" rectly."—Anglo-American Times.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

- -

TIMES.—The dinner given by his constituents to
Sir Hugh Cairns has connected with it many cir-
cumstances which make it remarkable among simi-
lar demonstrations. It was a compliment paid by
an Irish constituency to its Parliamentary repre-
sentative, a compliment which in that distracted
country very few members of Parliament are con-
sidered worthy to receive. It was intended to
commemorate the assumption by Sir Hugh Cairns
of a high legal office under the Crown, and it turned
out to be the commemoration of his assumption of
an office nominally of much higher rank and dig-
nity, but incompatible with the further prosecu-
tion of a singularly brilliant and successful political
career. The language which Sir Hugh Cairns
might employ to his constituents would always
have been read with respect as proceeding from the
highest legal adviser of the Government, but it is
clothed with special weight and significance now
that it has become the language of the highest per-
manent Judge in our courts of equity. The speaker
is really making his political testament ; he has no
longer any purpose to serve by exaggerating party
differences, attributing pre-eminent merits to his
own side, or extraordinary deficiencies to his oppo-
nents ; and all that falls from him should, there-
fore, be received with respect, and be considered
with no common attention. Sir Hugh Cairns may
certainly claim to rank among the most distin-
guished men of the present day. He has achieved
at the Bar the most splendid success, and yet, so far
from being indebted to that success for his Parlia-
mentar3 position, his success as a debater has been
fully equal to his reputation as a lawyer. In the
debate on Lord Ellenborough's policy with regard
to Oude he made a speech which probably decided
the fate of the motion, and completely established
his Parliamentary reputation—a reputation which
he has since maintained and increased when-
ever an occasion offered for displaying his re-
markable powers of lucid arrangement, of stating
facts in a manner to which no one could
object, but which materially assisted his own
views, and of reasoning from those facts
clearly and conclusively. Perhaps, from the habit
of continually addressing one Judge, his reasonings
were somewhat too subtle and his investigations too
minute and detailed for a great popular assembly like
the House of Commons ; but had he left behind him
nothing beyond the two speeches which he contri-
buted to the two great Reform debates of this year,
be would have done enough to establish a Parliamen-
tary reputation such as few indeed of our greatest
lawyers have left behind them. The warnings which
Sir Hugh Cairns has bequeathed to the Irish people
and to the English Government are few, but em-
phatic. He protests, as he did four months ago,
against placing the property, the intelligence, and
the institutions of this country at the mercy of a
mere numerical majority, and he vindicates, not at
all sooner than was required, the right of members
of Parliament to express their opinion as to the
fitness of the great mass of the people to the exercise
beingofi ft
tti the whole
exposedwo bh joel pcts olitical
r slawlessys tpeom wa etpiroep ofun
ibtahures
vengeance.
countryledew.without
might have haeldfraotifon,evenfrom the comparatively little weight as com-
ing
on
consideration,
behalf
Derby's Attorney-General, holding a
Government, bit t
most i s et) titl ed t o
careful
reckless,
when proceeding from one who has no longer anything
to gain or to lose by the expression of any political
opinion. Sir Hugh Cairns is, as always, emphatic
in his denunciation of any plans for the destruction
of the Episcopal Church in Ireland. He speaks
with no more than merited severity of the means by
which the late Government obtained the power to
modify the constitution of the Queen's University
and to bring the Senate more into harmony with the
feelings of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. He gives
his testimony in favour of the maintenance of
mixed education in Ireland, and records his opinion
as a lawyer and a statesman against the measure in-
troduced by the Government last year for giving
for unexhausted improve-
neral policy to be observed
by England towards Ireland be lays down principles
oemn pt.:37 sAast iroeng
be easily applied to*
general indeed, but which can
atordstetnhaen,tse
the present wants and wishes of that country. He
thinks that the object of Government iu Ireland
should not be the maintenance of any party or sect,
but rather the maintaining an impartial attitude
between all sides ; not chastising Ireland one day
and coaxing her the next ; not sacrificing perma-
nent and just principles to temporary and shifting

expediency, nor seeking to propitiate extreme par-
ties by giving up what has been well considered and
firmly established. To the general truth of these
principles there are very few who will not heartily
subscribe, and Sir Hugh Cairns is fairly entitled to
take to himself the credit that, though a Conserva-
tive, he has never been wanting to the cause of prac-
tical improvement whenever it lay in his way. •A
signal instance of this is to be found in the Bill for
the Registration of Titles to Land introduced by
him into Parliament during the last Administration
of Lord Derby—a bill which was thought by many
superior to the measure ultimately passed by Lord
Westbury, and which certainly had the merit of
presenting a new and difficult subject for the first
time in a clear and well-digested form. Sir Hugh
Cairns has never been wanting to the cause of party
allegiance; but his personal courtesy, the admiration
felt for his talents, and the fairness with which he
generally conducted his arguments had secured him
the respect and consideration of both sides in the
House of Commons. As a political event his re-
tirement is of the utmost consequence. The able
lawyer who succeeds him has neither sat so long in
the house nor succeeded in making for himself any
considerable Parliamentary reputation ; and occa-
sions will speedily present themselves when the
clear good sense and the ready debating power
and the pointed argument of the late Attorney-
General will be looked and longed for in vain.
Taking him all in all he was probably the most
useful and important member of his party in the
House of Commons. There is no one who might
not have been better spared, no one whose place
might not have been more easily supplied. In the
deliberations on which the Government is about to
enter, first with regard to the introduction of a Re-
form Bill, and next, if that question be resolved in
the affirmative, with regard to its scope and tenour,
the opinion of Sir Hugh Cairns would have been of
the greatest value, and will be often missed. We
do not doubt that this eminent lawyer has judged
wisely for himself in giving up a position of infinite
barely labour
able to
andressuppopnosirt, fora
bility, which his health was
dignified position, easy
for re-
moved o
legal acquirements, and far re-
arena of politics. As a
mfromof his
tghree asttormy
Judge of Appeal, Sir Hugh Cairns will probably be
able to render great services to the settlement of the
law, and to fill the place so long and so ably held at
the head of the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council by Lord Kingsdown with equal honour to
himself and advantage to the suitors. But if he has
chosen well for himself, his retirement is a severe
and irreparable disaster to his party. The fact that
such a man has left them does not tend to strengthen
confidence in their durability, and they can ill afford
a loss which a stronger Administration might well
contemplate with dismay.
THE " ATHENA UM" ON THE PANTHEON.—It is
not easy to look up at what is left of Wyatt's Pan-
theon facade, and fancy that nearly a hundred years
ago people watched its progress with intense inte-
rest. It will, probably, soon disappear altogether.
It has been the frontispiece toa " Winter Ranelagh,"
a ridotto, a theatre, a bazaar, and the last is about
to •be converted into a wine depot. Though the
house was once burnt down and twice rebuilt,
Wyatt's front has kept its position. While the
original splendid house was building, 1770-72,
people talked in tones of wonder of the new bank
and houses that had been thrown down for it, and
of the cost of land and compensation, amounting to
£300,000. The outlay for building reached about
£40,000. Just before it opened, in 1772, Oxford-
road was paved for its sake, and during the laying
of the pavement cartloads of wretches, on their way
from Newgate to be strangled at Tyburn, were
carried round by the New-road. Then that open-
ing masquerade !—Goldsmith was there, in an old
English dress, and the tippling Duchess of Ancas-
ter, and the wild young queen of beauty and of
folly, Gertrude Conway, and crowds besides, all
streaming through the glittering suite of fourteen
rooms, the ceilings of which glowed with artistic art
and invention. Around the rooms were marble
statues of gods and goddesses, with three in por-
phyry, attracting all loyal hearts—great George, the
white- armed Charlotte, and Britannia smiling on
both. Such another night even the Pantheon never
saw. It was calculated that in dresses and " re-
freshments" the guests expended on that occasion
full £lO,OOO. One cannot look on the smoke-grimed
face of the,Pantheon now, and dream of the brilliant
madness which was once noisily, drunkenly, and
licentiously enthroned behind it. Those were days
when the " company," sober and drunken, modest
and immodest, used to breakfast at dawn, on the
remnants of supper, and then fling the bottles and
broken viands among the howling and hungry crowd
without. The Pantheon, however, was not suc-
cessful, though Walpole admired, and said that
Henry VIII., who had taste, would have patronised
it. Boswell, of course, agreed with Johnson, that
it was inferior to the Summer Ranelagh, near Chel-
sea. Even as a theatre it failed. Sydney Snairke
admirably converted its interior into a bazaar, and
now it is undergoing a transformation, to end as a
depot for foreign wines.
__

THE " SATUIIDAY REVIEW" ON THE SI3I LA COURT-
MARTIAL—The public are now in possession of Sir
William Mansfield's reasons for confirming in all
its severity the sentence of the court-martial upon
Captain Jervis, and for rejecting the recommenda-
tion to mercy by which this severity was very pro-
perly tempered. These reasons had been looked
for with considerable interest and curiosity, though
not because any one for a moment believed that Sir
William Mansfield would be able really to justify
what he had done. Justification was only conceiv-
able on the supposition that fresh facts were forth-
coming to throw new light upon the conduct of the
Commander-in-Chief, the court-martial, or the ac-
cused ; and, after a public trial in which every
possible point of inquiry, important or unimportant,
relevant or irrelevant, had been worn threadbare,
that any further
inMgansfield's reasons
fthacetrse
cwoausldnboegrdoisuenlodsefdor. ssuirppows,
could not be. expected to add anything to the evidence
upon which he had been already condemned, and
they were therefore looked for only in a spirit of
curiosity to see what sort of defence an advocate
of no slight talents and experience, and with so
much at stake, could contrive to make for so bad a
cause. It is no disparagement to Sir William
Mansfield to say that he has failed to perform a task
which would have severely taxed, controversial in-
genuity of the highest order; on the Other hand, it
is only fair to admit that he has performed a feat
which we would have thought hopelessly beyond the
reach of a man in his position. He has actually
succeeded in making his own conduct towards Cap-
tain Jervis appear in a more odious and contemptible
light than it appeared before, and in bringing one
of the paltriest and meanest of military scandals to
a conclusion which every one admits to be in
thoroughly artistic harmony with its whole character.
To appreciate the full difficulty of this extraordinary
performance, and do justice to the artist whose in-
genuity has triumphed over it, our readers must re-
member how the case stood before it received the
crowning glory of Sir William Mansfield's defence.
On the word of a menial servant he had assumed an
English gentleman, who had long discharged in his
service duties of a highly confidential nature, to
be guilty of about the last offence which such a
man could be considered likely to commit, and the
barest suspicion of which, however delicately hinted
at or charitably concealed, would necessarily inflict
upon the person suspected, if innocent, a very pain-
ful sense of injury and humiliation. But even the
want of charity with which the assumption was at
first made was completely thrown into the shade by
the want of common decency and common sense
with which it was carried out. In lieu of a quiet
preliminary examination, by which the matter might
have been satisfactorily settled without scandal or
injustice, steps were immediately taken which made
more or less publicity inevitable, and which eventu-
ally led to the trial which for a time turned our
army into thelaughing-stock of Europe, and during
which the Commander-in-Chief displayed so un-
worthy and undignified a temper as to draw down
upon him the severest censure from the public,
and something very like a rebuke from the Court.
The accused, found innocent of the charge upon
which he was in the first instance so wantonly and. ,
intemperately assailed, was condemned and sen-
tenced upon other charges which rose entirely out
of the first, and which would never have had any
existence but for the precipitate action of the ac-
cuser. The Court marked their sense of this by
tempering the inevitable severity of their sentence
by a recommendation to mercy ; and thereupon the
very man whose misconduct had occasioned the
sentence, and supplied the extenuating circum-
stances which justified the recommendation to
mercy; confirmed the sentence and rejected the re-
commendation. This is the barest possible outline,
omitting all detail and colouring, of what was known
of the Commander-in-Chief's conduct up to the
publication of his defence. And our readers will
admit that it required genius of a very peculiar, if
not of a very high, order to keep the last scene of
the drama even in decent harmony with the rest
—far more to make the climax culminate, in
proper stage fashion, as the curtain fell. There
was naturally serious risk that at the latest
moment there might occur some inartistic relapse
into an action or expressiOn not unworthy of the
dignified position of the Commander-in-Chief of her
Majesty's forces in India. But all lovers of high
art may now breathe freely, and safely congratulate
Sir William Mansfield upon having produced a
masterpiece. Bad and indefensible as his conduct
from first to last has been, it is not one whit worse
or more indefensible than his defence. This is cha-
racterised throughout by the same unaccountable
inability to comprehend the delicate position in
which he was placed as being both prosecutor and
judge ; or, perhaps we ought to say, by the same

" Let me especially urge the reading of the news-
paper as a distinct means of self-culture upon women.
It may sound strange at first, but I think it is almost
more important to women than to men ; and for
this reason, men are pretty sure to be kept up to the
level of what is passing in the world whether they
read the paper or not, but it is not so with women.
Men go out into the world from daylo day, They
can hardly help hearing what is going on. If they
do not read the paper itself', they get a glance at the
contents bill as they pass the news shops, or they
catch it up from the passing conversation of the day.
But women, in their quiet household life, may go on
for weeks hardly hearing a word of what is passing
in the great world outside, and the little that they
do hear conveying no living meaning to them. I
think this is a great evil. It not only narrows the
range of woman's life, but she loses a great deal of
happiness which would come of intellectual com-
panionship and community of interest with men,
with a brother, a father, or a husband. Is it no
too often the case that the wife and the husband
live in, to some extent,' different worlds of thought
and interest ? Why is it so ? Why have we that
so frequent complaint, that men sit at home
absorbed in thought, hardly saying a word of
what they are thinking about, or perhaps
poring over the newspaper, without a syllable
about what is in it ? It is often set down to a
man's mere incommunicativeness. And so it is
partly ; but don't put yourselves off with that.
Part of the cause lies deeper. It is because women
are so seldom educated to take an interest in what
is going on in the world around them, and so would
be unable, without tedious explanations, to enter
into the news which each week brings from every
quarter of the globe. I know men ought to struggle
more than they do against this tendency to isolate
themselves, and to be more communicative on such
matters ; and I know, too, that, with a littlepatient
sympathy, women would soon learn to take the.
same interest in them that men do. But remember
that men meeting in the world are accustomed to
exchange their thoughts about public events in brief
pithy comments one with another, and often hardly
could give long explanations, even if they would.
Therefore I would put it to women not to depend
on this, but to read the newspaper, as a distinct,
and to them especially important, part of self-cul-
ture ; and read it aright. You know at present,
when women do get hold of a newspaper, it is often
the case that the last thing they look at is that
which has most interest for men. Politics they
mostly vote a nuisance, and don't try even to under-
stand it ; and the foreign intelligence mitrht almost
as well be printed iu Greek. I want to see that
altered. I would have every woman read the news-
paper for herself, not merely for half an hour's
amusement, but with the definite object of escaping
the natural danger of her quiet home life, and keep-
ing an open eye and an understanding mind, for the
passing history of nations, and the great interests
which are stirring the heart of the world."

COMPARISON OF THE COST OF WAIL—An ex-
haustive comparison of the cost of war now and for-
merly would be a most instructive and somewhat appalling
document. If we compare the cost of the arms and artillery
now in use, and their suitable ammunition, with the ruder
and cheaper weapons which contented us in the last war,
some of the figures are very startling. The old calculation
for a man-of-war used to be roughly £l,OOO per gun ;
three-decker, therefore, cost £lOO,OOO or £120,000. A first-
rat° iron-plated vessel cannot, we believe, bo completed
under half a million, and some of our experimental ships
aro understood to have cost nearly twice that sum. A Minie
or an Enfield rifle, with its cartridge, is nearly five times
as expensive as the old Brown Bess. Even before conver-
sion into a breech loader an Enfield complete costs upwards
of £5. Wu doubt if the old musket, when manufactured
wholesale, cost much above £l. The rifle 12-poundernow
in favour for field batteries costs £OO, and each shell it
fires 4s. The brass 9-pounder, which it superseded, cost £BO,
and its shell 3s. But as this would be worth as old metal
£5O, while the iron gun would scarcely sell for anything,
the true comparative figures would be £9O against £3O.
Lastly, the 68-pounder, formerly in use for fortifications
for shore batteries, cost £lOO, and its shot 4s. The Arm-
strong 9-inch 12-ton gun, with which we now arm our
forts, cost £1,200, and its iron ccrriage and slide £3OO
more; while the steel shells it fires cost £9 each. The
Palliser shell, which will probably supersede these, can be
made for 455. If the more costly missile be used, every
shot we fire in the next war from our groat embrasures will
be worth a £lO note.

A WRITING TELEGRAPH.—A young employe of
the Central Telegraph Office in Paris has invented a new
instrument said to be capable of transcribing every species
of writing and drawing; but instead of, as in the systems of
Bonelli and Caselli, using chemically-prepared paper, he
simply employs a wide strip or ribbon of the most ordinary
paper, on which the despatch is printed in printing ink of
any colour--blue, red, or any other. The great drawback
to this invention is that it only pretends to transmit fac-
similes, 5 centimetres (1.96 inch) broad, the width of the
tape; but in compensation for this fault it is stated that the
length of the band is unlimited, and that apparatus can
transmit 40 messages per hour. The transmitting instru-
ment consists of a cylinder 4.78 in. long, and 1.6 in. in
circumference, round which is wrapped the despatch to be
sent, written in ordinary characters upon tinned paper.
The message, in turning round the cylinder, presses against
a point, which traverses it in the direction Of its length.
The receiving apparatus is composed of an endless screw,
lft. Gin. long, the thread of which, making rather less than
one revolution, rubs against an inked roller, and turns round
above a band of white paper, which unrolls with the same
velocity as the point travels at the despatching apparatus.
Both instruments work by means of weights, the move-
ment being, as in other apparatus of this nature, controlled
by electricity, isochonism being indispensable between the
movement of the point and the turning of the endless
screw. When the current passes, an electro-magnet holds
the paper at a distance from the screw ; but when the cur-
rent is intercepted, in consequence of the point having
touched the non-conducting ink of the despatch, the band
is pressed by a spring against the spiral screw, and a dot
is made corresponding to the part of writing traced by the
point at the other end of the line. The director-general
of the administration of the telegraph lines of France
kindly placed at the disposal of M. Meyer 360 to 380 kilo-
metres of a very circuitous route for the essay of his appa-
ratus, and the success has been greater thaw was antici-
pated.— Builder.

A GREAT ENTERPRISE.—The work of construct-
ing the new railroad between Camden and Mount Holly,
which will soon be commenced, is an enterprise of very
great importance. This road was originally designed for
a horsecar track, but the company made such slow progress
in building it that at last the Camden and AmboyCompany
obtained possession of it, and have already nearly com-
pleted the preliminary arrangements for commencing the
work. Instead of a horse car road steam is to be employed,
and its construction will open speedy communication with
Philadelphia for a large scope of rich and well cultivated
agricultural country. Besides, it will form a more direct
route to Mount Holly than the present via Burlington;

VOLUNTEERING SIXTY YEARS AGO.—Early in
this century a company of dragoons were quartered in
Dundee for a considerable time. A sham fight had been
arranged to take place on the ground east of Broughty
Castle, at which the dragoons and Athole Highlanders had
parts appointed to them. The Fife and Forfarshire Militia
were also on the ground. In course of the mauceuvres the
dragoons were ordered to charge tho Athol() Highlanders,
and the latter were ordered to fall back. This order pro-
duced muttering, "She'll uae gae back," and when their
officers urged them further the muttering became louder at
the insult, as they deemed it. " She'll nao gae back," as
with fierce looks they drew themselves into position to
"receive cavalry." As this was a sham and not a real
fight the dragoons hqd no mind to ride upon the bayonets
of the enraged Highlandmen. But this disobedience of or-
ders could not be overlooked. General Mackenzie then lived
in Dundee, and he was commander-in-chief in this affair. He
came up at the gallop with his staff, and seeing how matters
stood, and the black looks of the Highlanders, he ordered
them fortwith off the ground. About the tea hour the in-
habitants of the Seagate of Dundee were startled by very
loud military music. It was the Athole Highlanders
marching proudly, with drums beating, colours flying,
trumpets sounding, and bagpipes screaming—in fact, all
making as much noise as possible, letting off the steam
of their anger to the tune of " Whaur hae ye been a' the
day, bonny laddie, Highland laddie ?"—Dumfries Standard.
Why is the rinderpest like a mouse? Because th
cat'll catch it.

SATURDAY, Oct. 13.
Money continues very easy at New York, call loans
being available in abundance at 4 to 5 per cent., while
many parties are supplied at 3 per cent. The demand for
currency for the West is much smaller than last week, and
a return is expected, the tendency now being to flow back.
The strong upward movement caused by the bull opera-
tions last week has encouniered a slight reaction. The
abundance of money aids the bulls, but the caution of the
public checks in some measure a rise without reason in its
grounds. Indications, however, still point to another groat
rise, as the operators are many, and their command of money
almost without limit. When once the fever fairly sets
in, there is no knowing where it will stop. Erie has been
more than usual the rallying ground for speculators of late
on account of the election of a new board of directors.
The choice was made on Tuesday, and the party who
worked so bard to oust Daniel Drew from the manage-
ment found that they had undertaken a bigger job than
they could carry through, and made no great show at the
balloting. Mr. Drew was prepared to come down upon
them himself with 86,000 shares, to say nothing of what
his friends own. The old board of directors were sub-
stantially re-elected, though Frederick A. Lane, who
claimed to manage 50,000 or 60,000 proxy shares, was put
in place of Commodore Vanderbilt, who refused to run
again, and a Mr. Randolph was chosen to a vacancy
caused by death. The spasmodic efforts to relieve the
Erie railroad from its present management will probably
be abandoned for the present, as the clique are not likely
to lose control of a majority of the stock, and all efforts of
the kind will therefore prove futile. The general superin-
tendent of the New York Central railroad is out with a
circular to the heads of departments, forbidding the exer-
cise of political influence over employes, or any advantage■
to one party or the other. This reads very well, but the
fact remains that the road is a vast political machine. The
railroad earnings in September did not generally show the
increase which was expected. Michigan Southern and
Northern Indiana earned $429,191, a decrease of $54,982 ;
Rock Island and Pacific $396,050, decrease $11,761 ;
Atlantic and Great Western, $526,959 ; decrease
$13,578. The last named road earned $4,141,037
in the nine months ending with September, a
gain of $342,454. Comparisons of the earnings of the
first eight months of this year with the first eight of 1864,
instead of 1865, make favourable showings—thus, Pitts
burg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago, $4,808,157, an increase of
$666,456; Chicago and North Western, $5,184,128, in-
crease, $748,505 ; Michigan, Southern, and Northern In-
diana, $2,957,680, increase, $507,393 ; Michigan Central,
$2,314,057, increase $248,380. The Central railroad of
New Jersey has declared its quarterly dividend of 2i per
cent. ; Cleveland and Toledo has made a half-yearly one of
8 per cent. ; Reading will soon make a semi-annual 5 per
sent. ; and the other roads divide as usual.

As the current expenses of the Government are now quite
small, a large part of the receipts can be applied to decreas-
ing the public debt. In the fourteen months since Aug.
1, 1865, when the debt reached its maximum, the reduc-
tion has been $183,916,334, a rate of decrease which
will suffice to extinguish the debt in a dozen years. The
gold interest on the debt amounts to $80,000,000 a year,
but the Government's annual receipts from customs are at
present 200 millions. Besides, the Treasury has now 88
millions of gold in its vaults. Mr. M'Culloch is thus in
quite "comfortable circumstances." Gold sold within the
range of 149 to 151 during the week until Thursday, when
it jumped up to 1531 in consequence of the sensational re-
port that President Johnson proposed to discharge the
present Congress and engage a new one. It is a hard
comment upon the course of the President that such
rumours can obtain sufficient credence to influence even
so delicate a thing as the gold board. The exports
of gold continuo light and far below the im-
ports from Europe, of which $lOO,OOO arrived on
Wednesday.—So far this year we have received $6,788,841
from Europe and $30,623,114 from California, a total of
$37,611,955 ; and have reported $54,026,200, a loss of
$16,414,335. The exports from New York (exclusive of
specie) for the week and year were $2,930,151 against
$2,418,527, and $148,258,934 against $120,219,890 ; and
the imports were $4,407,005 against $5,845,786, and
$210,867,268 against $144,685,121. Government securities
have strengthened a little during the week, though they
suffered a slight decline on Thursday. The most active
one on the list at present is the new five-twenty bond, the
interest on which falls duo in January and July, and
holders of a largo amount of August seven-thirties are
exchanging them for it. Foreign exchange is quiet at 1071

Glenn and Co., in their weekly circular of October 26
remark as follows :—"*The market in London for Ame-
rican Securities has been rather inactive during the past
week. Several large purchases of 5-20's has been made,
but the large supply of those Bonds recently sent over from
New York and thrown on the market has weakened prices,
and the 5-20's, after touching 691 ex c, are now quoted
681 Eries have been firm at 50-1. The recent election
of directors rcsulted in the chosing of the old board, excepting
Messrs. F. A. Randulph and F. A. Low, in the place of
Messrs. Vanderbilt and Mead. It is said that the Erie
will resume its former position of a dividend paying stock
next Christmas. Illinois Central close to-day at 78f.
Atlantic and Great Western Consolidated Bonds are 1 per
cent. lower, viz., :191 401. Our advises trout New York
are to the 13th inst. Money was very abundant, call
loans being done as low as 3 per cent. The steady demand
for Government Securities continued, and railway shares
are all higher. The Cleveland and Toledo Road has paid
a dividend at the rate of 16 per cent. per annum, and the
Chicago and Rock Island a dividend at the into of 10 per
cont. There are but very few American railways now that
aro not paying good dividends."

Front E. E Satterthwaite and Co.'s Weekly Circular,
October '24.)

Per " Australasian " our advicas from Now York are
to the 9th inst. ; they report a continued steady demand
for Government securities at full rates.

In Railroad Stocks there was a very active business, the
glut of money seeking employment bringing forward large
buyers both for investment and speculation. Railroad
Mortgages and State Stocks were reported firm but quiet.
Currency continued very abundant, but the large amount
of gold absorbed by the Treasury for customs duties tended
to keep up the premium, the last quotation being 1481.
By a telegram dated New York, October 23rd, per the
Atlantic Telegraph, the following prices have been re-
ceived :
Gold 1471.
United States 5-20's 1141.
Illinois 1261.
Erie (Common) B2l.
Exchange l6l

The following is the return of the New York Banks:—

Discounts. Specie. Circulation. Deposits.
$ $ $ $
5ept...29, 269,807,383 7,643,960 29,213,950 223,336,785
0ct.... 6, 274,210,161 6,208,698 29,302,358 228,484,370

ATLANTIC AND GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
The following is an extract from a letter just received
from one of the officials of the Company with regard to
the present condition of the line :-
6, The Superintendent reports everything going on
well. The new transfer depot at Salamanca is now in
use, and is a great improvement on the old. The transfer
of passengers and baggage, where necessary, taking place
entirely under cover. The road-bed is in good order, and
trains are running on time. At Meadville the station has
been considerably enlarged, and they have now every
facility there for shunting and making up trains promptiy.
We are doing a very large oil business, last month's returns
showing an increase of 70,000 barrels over the same month
of last year ; in connection with the oil trade, it is grati-
fying to note that we are doing quite an immense business
with Cleveland, where within the last two years nume-
rous refineries have sprung up. The Erie railway is work-
ing in thorough harmony with us, and affording us all the
facilities we require. Our Cincinnati travel is very good.
We have now to run two sleeping cars in and out of Cin-
cinnati, whereas a few months back one sufficed.

" The floods round Dayton last month did us a good deal
of harm, not so much from actual damage on our road as
from loss of business, consequent upon other lines being
closed to us. Our receipts would have been near $700,000
had it not been for the freshets. It will take us some time
to get over the effects. It has been estimated that
10,000,000 bushels of corn were destroyed."
TRAFF,IC RETURNS FOR SEPTEMBER.
Miles open. 1866. 1865. Increase. Decrease
$ $
Atlantic and

Great Westernso7 526,959 540,537 13,578
Chicago and Nth.

Western 676 989,053 946,707 42,346
Chicago ilk. lud

and -Pacific — 396,050 384,239 11,761
Illinois Central 706 551,021 686,381 135,360
Michigan

Southeia 518 429,191 484,173 54,982

We have had a very inactive market in London for
American securities since our last, the fluctuations have
been unimportant, and closing prices vary but little from
this day week. United States 5-20's are last quoted 681
to i ; Illinois Central 774 to 78; and Erie 501 to f; which,
at present rate of exchange, closely approximates to prices
in New York.

There has been some demand for the Certificates of De-
benture of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, which
close firm at 65 to 66, an advance of two per cent. on the
week. The Consolidated Bonds leave off at last week's
quotation, 40i to 414.
OFFICIAL TRANSACTIONS FOR THE WEEK.—United States
6 per Cent. 5.20 Bonds, 1882 : Thursday, 6r4-1 a 8 1 x.c. ;
Friday, 68:1 4 4 x.c. ; Saturday, 691 84 94 x:c.; Monday,
69* 9 * 81 9* x.c.; Tuesday, 681 9 82 x.c. ; Wednesday,
68414 4 s.c. Virginia 5 per Cent. Sterling Bonds : Thurs-
day, —. Virginia 6 per Cent. Dollar Bonds: Thursday, ;
Friday, ; Tuesday, 44; Wednesday, 44. Atlan.
and Gt. Westn. (N. Y. Sect.) Ist Mrt. Bonds, 188(
Friday, —; Tuesday, —; Wednesday, —. Atlan. and
Gt. Westn. 2nd Mrt. Bonds, 1881: Friday, —;
Monday, = Atlan. and Gt. Westn. (Penns. Sect.)
2nd Mrt. Bonds, 1882: Thursday, ; Friday,
Atlan. and Great Western Consolidated Bonds, 1895 ;
Thursday, 41 ; Friday, 4214 ; Saturday, 4).121 xc.,
Monday, 411 21 xc. ; Tuesday, 414 21 4 xc.: Wednesday;
41 1404 xc. Erie Shares, $lOO, all paid : Thursday, 51 504;
Friday, 504 4 ; Saturday, 504 ; • Monday, 504 ;
Tuesday, 51 504 ; Wednesday, 504 4. Erie
Shares, 6 per cent. Convertible Bonds: Thursday, 68 ;
Saturday, 69 ; Monday, 68k. Illinois Central 6
per Cent. Bonds of 1875: Thursday, —; Monday, —;
Illinois Central 7 per Cent. Bonds of 1875: Tuesday, •
Illinois Central Shares, all paid : Thursday, 781
Friday, 784; Saturday, ; Monday, ; T iiesl
day, 784 8; Wednesday, —. Philadelphia and
Erie First Mortgage, 1881: Thursday, —; Saturday, ;
Tuesday, —. Philadelphia and Erie First Mortgage,