The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-29 00:00:00

Iv;
MAGAZINE AND REPEATING ARMS.

Magazine and Repeating Arms for Infantry will be re-
coived and examined in a manner similar to the 'Breech-
loading Rifles. They must not be less in length than 48
inches, including the stock.

The' limit of ireight for these arms is fixed at 911. b: ex-
clusive of the charges in the magazine.
It is indispensable that the arms be made to take a
bayonet.
/The Secretary of State offers a reward of SOO for the best
Magazine or Repeating Arm produced that fulfils the above
conditions; and in the absence of experience does not at
present define the standard of accuracy or other conditions
to be fulfilled before such an arm can be adopted.
Thoso Magazine orßopeatingArms, which are accepted
for further trial, will be paid for at the rate of £GO each.

This sum is to include 1,000 rounds of ammunition per
arm.

The Secretary of State will take care that no ingenious
novelty produced in answer to this advertisement shall be
adopted into the service without proper acknowledgment,
and that the name of the individual with whom it origi-
nates shall be recorded in connection with it.
_ __ _

if the rifle to which the first prize is awarded is adopted
into the service, it will bear the inventor's name.
J. ST. GEORGE, Major-General, Director
of Ordnance
osoo, Oct. 22 RN. -•
•

LT AIR-CURLING FLUID, 248, High Holborn,
I London.--ALEX. ROSS'S OURLISG FLUID curls
Ladies' or Gentlemen's hair immediately It is applied. Sold
et 3s 6d, 5s 6d, and 10s 6d ; sent free for 54, 84, and 144 stamps.
—llad of all Chemists.

aREY HAIR.-248, High Holborn, London.—
ALEX. ROSS'S 11AIll DYIt produces a perfect colour
Immediately it Is used. it is permanent, and perfectly na-
fnral In effo t. Price 3s Rd, Cs ad. and .Os ed ; sent by post
for 54, 84, and 141 stamps ; and all d'hemi-ts.

HAIR DESTROYER.-248, High Holborn,
London.—AL k.X. ROSS'S DEPILATORY removes
superfluous hair from the ism, neck. and arms, without effect
to the skin. Price 3s 6d, 5s 6d, and 105 6d ; sent for st, s 4,
and 144 stamps.—Had of all Chemists.

DIMPLE REMOVER.—AII diseases of the
skin aro improved by one dose of ALEX. ROSa'ls
VE ;ETABLE SKIN PILLS. They remove redness, sal-
!owners, &u. 2s 9d and 7s Rd • or poet for 4') and 100 stamps.
—ALEX. ROSS, 243, High Holborn, London, and all Che-
mists.

HAIR COLOUR WASH.—By washing the
heal with this beautifully-perfumed Wash, in seven
or ten days the hair assumes its original Colour, .nd remains
so by an me *atonal, usint. tus fd ; sent for stamps.—ALEX.
ROSS, 2IS, High Holborn, London, and all Chemists.

THE RESCUE SOCIETY wishes to add another
Loma to din 12 now in operation. Last year no fewer
ban 455 poor, friendless, young females were rejected 'rota
want of FUN DS and room, making a total of 3,057, who have
been sent away in five years.
The new home the Committee wish to form would be for
young girls, almost children, from the age of 6 to 15, who
have been !ed astray from the path of virtue.
Contributions will be received gratefully by the Secretary,
Mr. Daniel Cooper, 45, Queen. street, Cheapside; or by Messrs
Barclay and Co.. Lombard-street.

IttOYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road,
in the immediate vicinity of the Great Northern Rail-
Way Terminus. King's-cross.
Patron—Her Most Gracious Majesty the QUEEN.

Vice-Patron—His Royal Highness the Prince of WALE R, KG.
President—His lime the Dahl of BUCCLE UCH.

This Hospital, foundel in the year 1828, the first to estab-
lish the principle of free admission to the sick poor, without
the delay and difficulty of Governors' orders. is wholly de-
pendent for support on voluntary tiontributions and t .qactes.
It affUrda relief to a large number of in-patients, and, in
addition to this, the average number of attendance of the
lestitute sick has for a considerable period averaged between
3,000 and 4,000 weekly.
The Committee earnestly solicit the rISSISTA NCE of the
oenement, as the premises of this Hospital are capable of
containing several hundred more beds had the Committee
the requisite funds to maintain them.
Contributions are received by thbir bankers. Messrs. Brown,
Janson, and Co., Abchuroh-lane ; also by aleasrs. Coutte and
Co. ; urummonu and Co.;Giyn and. Co. ; Her: and Co. ,
Ransom and Co.; Prescott, Grote, and Co.; Smith, Payne.
and Co. ; Barclay and Co. ; Williams, Deacon, and Co.; Nisbet
and Co, Scree-street : and at the Hospital. from /0 till IS.
• STANFOEID 81441)3, d&aetvy,

OMELESS BOYS OF LONDON.-CON-
TRIBUTIONSthe COUNTRY Ire
21708rtelyqus?rlielted for establishing
WM. WILLIAMS, Secretary.
Boys' Refuge, 8. Great Queen-street, W.C.

HOMELESS BOYS OF LONDON.—The
Committee are moat anxious to provide for 400 boys.
One hundred and fifty are now in the Refuge. The annual
expenditure for supporting the 400 boys is estimated at
£5,000, being £l5 a year for each boy. Several kind friends
have promised to pay for one bay each year.
Subscriptions thankfully received by the London and West-
minster Bank, 41, Lothbury, and 214, High Holborn; Messrs.
Ransom and Co., 1, Pall-Mall East ; and by
wm. WILLIAMS, Secretary.
Refuge, 8, Great Queen-street, W.L.

PROVIDENCE ROW NIGHT REFUGE,
FOR
HOMELESS WOMEN AND CHILDREN,
14A, Providence-row, Finsbury, E.O.
Sixty Thousand Nights' Lodgings, with Suppers and
Breakfasts, have been given in this Institution to the
destitute, who otherwise -would have had to pass the
nights in tho bleak streets or under railway arches.
At present nearly 500 Nights' Lodgings, with Suppers and
Breakfasts, are given gratuitously every week. The poor
from all parts are admitted, the only condition being that
they are homeless and starving. The Manager &c.,
receives no remuneration whatever. Notwithstand-
ing the provision made by the Poor Houses, each
night numbers of young women, children, and orphans
are, for want accommodation, refusodadmittance, andhavo
to, spend night after night in the cold, wet, and sleet. To
meet this evil, and to provide more ample accommoda-
tion, £2,000 has been raised, but to accomplish the
work a sum of at least £l,OOO more will be required.
Besides providing shelter for the homeless, this year it
is proposed, as far as the donations obtained for the pur-
pose will allow, to give bread and coals to poor families
in want. Will you, in your charity, help to carry on and
accomplish what has been begun ? Will you help to give
shelter to the really homeless, and food to the really
starving ? The smallest donation will be most welcome,
and, night and morning, the prayers of the destitute will
be offered in your behalf.
SUBSCRIPTIONS are earnestly requested, and will be
gratefully received by the Tv. D. GTLBERT. AD., No 22
ruisbuig-ciroue,

Italian Diplomatic Correspond-nce.

FLORENCE, Dec. 25.

The Green-book recently laid before the Italian
Parliament contains the following interesting docu-
ments bearing upon the late war :

THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO TILE
ITALIAN MINISTER AT BERLIN.

" FLORENCE, March 9.

" Signor Conte—General Govone, the bearer of
this despatch, is charged to fulfil a mission of special
importance towards the Prussian Government. He
possesses the entire confidence of the King and of
his Government, and I beg you, Signor Ministro,
to present him in this quality to his Excellency
Count Bismarck, and, according to circumstances,
to his Majesty King William. General Govone
knows the views of the King's Government as to
the respective situation of Prussia and Austria.
You are aware, Signor Ministro, that our resolu-
tions depend upon those that may be taken by
Prussia upon the engagements she is disposed to
contract, and lastly upon the extent of the aim she
pursues. If Prussia is ready to enter with decision
and thoroughly upon a policy which would ensure
her greatness in Germany; if, in presence of Aus-
tria's persistence in following a hostile policy to-
wards Prussia and towards Italy, war is an even-
tuality really accepted by the Prussian Government;
if, lastly, they are disposed at Berlin to come to an
effective agreement with Italy in view of definite
ends, we believe the time has come for Prussia no
longer to delay in frankly opening her mind to us,
and we are ready to enter with her into an exchange
of communication which will enable her to appre-
ciate how far cur intentions are serious. The
of General Govone's mission is to assure himself of the
military combinations which, in consequence of the
existing political situation, the Government of his
Majesty the King of Prussia might wish to concert
with us for common defence. The members of the
Berlin Cabinet, or the Court personages who should
be appointed by the King or the President of the
Council to enter into relations with Gen. Govone,
will be able (and you will give the formal assurance
of this fact to whomsoever it should be necessary) to
come to an understanding with him with all the
clearness and precision the object of this mission
requires, and with the certainty of the especial im-
portance we shall attach to whatever may be trans-
mitted to us through his medium. Your good
offices and your enlightened suggestions, Siguur
Ministro, will be very useful to General Govone,
and I beg you to let him have them without reserve.
He, upon his part, is not unaware of the personal
authority you enjoy, and how highly your counsels
deserve consideration. The distinguished qualities
of General Govone, and the missions he has already
fulfilled, are an additional guarantee to me that this
mission will attain the end marked out for it, and
which consists, as I have just observed, in clearly
defining the respective situations of Italy and Prussia
in presence of the pending complications in Europe.
—Receive, &c.,

" DE LAMARMORA."

Upon the 3el of April General de Lamarinora
wrote to Count Barral, at Berlin, communicating
the bases upon which an agreement might be esta-

--known what—were the intentioaa of the %1i ;
Government up to*that time. Upon the 20th Gen.
de Lamarora wrote to Corknt Banal at Berlin that
the provocative movements of Austria had forced
Italy to put her army upon a war footing. After
having led to the expectation of an attack upon
Italy and Prussia, Austria wished to deny the
threatening situation she had created. She affected
a defensive attitude in face of armaments of which
she was the cause. The Italian army had taken up
a purely defensive attitude upon the Po. If Prussia
and Italy were at war with Austria, the Italian
army would second all the movements of the
Prussian troops. King William had deigned to
express the conviction that nothing would destroy
the tics of amity uniting Italy to France. General
de Lamarmora confirmed this view and hoped that
the friendship of France would be considered by
Prussia as a new pledge for the efficaciousness of the
Prusso-Italian alliance. Upon June 17 General
de Lamarmora telegraphed to Count Barral that,
taking note of the official announcement of the
opening of hostilities in Germany, Italy would de-
clare war against Austria without delay. The fol-
lowing documents refer to the armistice and the
peace :

THE ITALIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO

CAVALIERS DI NIGRA.
(Extract.) " F LORENCE, July 5.

'• His Majesty the King received the following
telegram to-night from the Emperor of the
French :

" Paris, July s.—Sire, the Emperor of Austria,
adhering to the ideas pointed out in my letter to M.
Drouyn de Lhuys, cedes me Venetia, declaring him-
self ready to accept a mediation to bring about peace
between the belligerents. The Italian army has had
the opportunity of proving its valour. Bloodshed
becomes useless, and Italy may attain in an honour-
able way the object of her fitting aspirations by
means of an agreement with me, upon which it will
be easy to come to an understanding. I have
written to the King of Prussia, to acquaint him
with this situation, and to propose to him for Ger-
many, as I do to your Majesty for Italy, the con-
clusion-of an armistice as preliminary to negotia-
tions for peaca.

" ' NAPOLEON."

llis Majesty replied by thanking the Emperor for
the interest he took in the cause of Italy, reserving
to himself to consult his Government, and to learn
the intention of his ally, the King of Prussia, upon
this very serious proposal :
" As to an armistice or a suspension of arms, the
Government of the King must remain faithful to
its twofold duty—first towards Prussia, which, not
having yet notified to us her acceptance, has the
right to expect upon our part the continuance of
military operations ; secondly, towards the Italian
populations subject to Austria who are not com-
prised in the administrative confines of Venetia,
and whose deliverance must be the object of all our
efforts."

SIGNOR VISCONTI VENOSTA TO COUNT BARRAL AT

BERLIN.

FLORENCE, July 5.

" Be good enough to ascertain with the greatest
solicitude the intentions of the Prussian Govern-
ment as to the proposal of mediation and armistice
made by the Emperor of the French. I have for-
warded you by telegraph the reply made to this
proposal by his Majesty the King. "Our loyalty
and the unanimous wish of the Italian nation assure
the Prussian Government' the continuance of our
Prussia,
co-operation as far as it may wish to ask it. We
desire in every way and without delay toeot
understanding with it upon the conditions to be
and
established in common between Italycome to
an
to be in in a position to reply to the proposal of the
Emperor of the French."
CHEVALIER DI NIG RA TO SIGNoR v-ISCONTI
VENOSTA.

" PARIS, July 5.
"M. Drouyn de Lhuys begged me to-day to call
at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs upon
business. He told me first of all that it was ilnP°s-
sible to let me know earlier what had taken place,
speak as the facts about which he wished to urgent
to me
happened late in the night. He informed me that
Prince Metternich had received a telegram from
Vienna last night, by which be was placed in a posi-
tion to state that Austria, acceding to the ideas ex-
pressed by the Emperor Napoleon in his letter of
June 11, ceded Venetia to France, and accepted
French mediation to bring about peace between the
The Emperor Napoleon had
belligerent Powers.
accepted this proposition, and had addressed
the Kings of Prussia and
himself directly to
Italy to obtain an armistice. For this pur-
pose the EMperor bad forwarded unabbreviated
telegrams to both sovereigns.
In that ad-
dressed to the King of Prussia, the Emperor ap-
pealed to sentiments of generosity and moderation.
In that sent to the King of Italy, the Emperor spoke
of the cession of Venetia made to him by Austria,
and added that agreement as to handing the pro-
vince over to Italy would not be difficult. M. Drouyn
de Lhuys asked me if I knew what the King had re-
plied. I told his excellency that the King had
hastened to reply, and had thanked the Emperor for
the interest he took in Italy. That, as to the pro-
posal, it was too serious to decide upon without con-
sulting his Government, and before coming to an
arrangement with his Majesty the King of Prussia,
with whom he was leagued by alliance and a com-
mon war. The Minister for Foreign Affairs then
proceeded to explain to me the considerations which
should incline the King and his Government to ac-
cept the Emperor's proposal. He said that the
valour of the Italian army had had the opportunity
of displaying itself, and that the enemy himself had
done justice to the arms of the King ; that from the
moment Italy received Venetia her aspirations would
find themselves satisfied, and that there was no
longer cause why fresh bloodshed should be pro-
voked upon our part ; lastly, that the cession made
to France would constitute a moral guarantee for
the preservation of Venetia by Italy—a considera-
tion which should have weight in the minds of the
King's Government. I replied that for the moment
I coulc only confirm what his Majesty had written
to the Emperor, and I specially pointed out to M.
Drouyn de Lhuys that Italy, being bound b n y:an
alliance, could not either conclude
armistice separately. Further, without prejudice
to the resolutions that might be arrived at
in this resTeet by the King and his Govern'

(Front the Solicitor's Journal.)

Thecase recently decided in the Court of Common
Pleas, and published in the last number of the Weekly
Reporter (15 W. R. 173), is one of interest and im-
portance as regards bills of lading ; and as it has we
believe given rise to some misapprehension in the
mercantile world, we think it right to draw our
readers' attention to what is really involved in the
decision. A bill of lading may be described as an
instrument signed by the master of the ship in
which the goods are loaded on behalf of the ship-
owner, and it contains an acknowledgment of the
receipt of the goods, and a contract to deliver them,
on payment of freight, at the port of destination, the
goods being made deliverable to the consignor or his
assigns. If the goods are resold whilst at sea, it is ob-
viously almost impossible for the purchaser to take
possession of what he has bought, either actually
or constructively ; and therefore it has been. the
custom of merchants from very early times to attach,
as a master of convenience in business, peculiar
power to the endorsement and delivery of the bill
of lading itself, so that the transfer of it came to be
recognised by law as equivalent to an actual deli-
very of possession of the goods to which it related.
A bill of lading, however, was not yet strictly nego-
tiable, for though the indorsement transferred the
property in the goods, it was held that it did not
pass the contract. This defect in its operation was
remodelled by 18 and 19 Vict., c. 111, which en-
acts that the consignee or indorsee to whom. the
property passes by such consignment or indorse-
ment sh have the same rights of suit, and be sub-
ject to the same liabilities in respect of the goods,
as if the contract contained in the bill of lading had
been made with himself. Such is a brief history
of bills of lading, and a summary of their pro-
perties ; but cessante ratinne cessat ipsa
and when the physical difficulty of transferring
posseasion of the goods is at at sn crud, the
' peculiar powers of the bill of lading are at
an end also, and it becomes no more than a
delivery order, or a piece of waste paper. The ques-
tion raised in Meyerstein v. Barber was, at what
precise point this change takes place. The transac-
tions between the parties had been of a complicated
nature, but as far as our present purpose is con-
cerned the facts may be stated very simply. The
shipper who had consigned goods from Madras to
London drew against them on the consignee, and
then discounted the bills with a banking company,
annexing as security the bill of lading, which he had
drawn in three parts, one being accomplished the
rest to be void, the goods being made deliverable to
himself or assigns, and each part being indorsed in
blank. After the arrival of the goods in London
they were warehoused by order of the consignee at
a sufferance wharf, and as he failed to pay freight
the master put a stop on them under the Merchant
Shipping Act of 1862. While the goods still re-
mained in this position the consignee paid off the
bills of exchange in the hands of the banking com-
pany, and obtained from them the bill of lading,
two parts of-which he gave to the plaintiff as se-
' curity for an advance to the full value of the goods.
A few days afterwards he got an advance to nearly
the same amount on the same goods from the de-
fendant, and gave him as security the third part of
the bill of lading. The defendant then, hearing
that the stop for freight had been taken off, took
his part of the bill of lading to the wharf, had the
goods transferred into his name, and got delivery
orders. The question was which of the two, the
plaintiff or the defendant, was to suffer by the con-
signee's fraud. For the defendant it was said that,
the goods having been landed, the bill of lading lost
its power before the plaintiff made his advance, and
that its transfer could no longer carry the possession
of the goods, but only a right to delivery ; that
quoad hoc neither the plaintiff nor the defendant
had a valid pledge to which possession by the
pledgee was essential ; but that the defendant, by
having the goods transferred into his name,. and by
getting delivery orders, had obtained actual posses-
sion of the goods themselves, and so had perfected
his invalid pledge, and completed his title. The
Court, however, held that awe had been a valid
pledge to the plaintiff, because, at the time when
the two parts of the bill of lading were transferred
to him, complete delivery had not been made to any
person claiming under it, and it was therefore an
operative instrument, with the specific qualities of
a bill of lading, as much as if the goods had been
at sea, so that its transfer passed the possession of
the goods. The fact of the bill of lading being in
throe parts had nothing to do with the decision,
though it is obvious that, if the plaintiff had ob-
tained all three of them, the question never would
have arisen ; it seems, however, that he imagined
the third part was retained by the master to cover
freight. In the particular case the reason why the
goods had not been delivered under the bill of
lading was because a stop had been put on for
freight ; but the Chief Justice intimated that the
law applicable to the case would have been the same
if there had been no such stop. The result of the
case therefore is this—a bill of lading does not be-
come extinct on the landing of the goods,but remains
in full force till they are completely delivered to
some one claiming under it ; and so long as this has
not been done, from whatever cause, the transfer
of the symbol of ihe goods will carry the possession
of them. As bills of lading are so frequently used
to obtain advances nibn, it is strange that the
point slieuld never have arisen for judicial decision
before; the operation of these instruments has no
signed to it by merchants ; and
doubt been extended beyond the lfionriittshousfuuatlillyreasist
will be possible for g°
orapolosintgiotaimese
after they have been
1 andd3etdo in remainthe same f
ifocu
theyd were still afloat. We do not propose here
the decision, but we ay
atdd that we do not expect, nor should. we wish, to
discuss the merits of m
-see a reversal of the last judgment delivered in the
Court of Common Pleas by its late illustrious chief,
fortified as it was by the elaborate opinion of so
sound a commercial lawyer as Mr. Justice 'Willed,

-,~~.,