The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-26 00:00:00

THEATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Lessee. Mr. J. B. Buckstone.
A new Comedy. MILLINER TO THE KING; or, The
Royal Salute. Mr. and Mrs. C. Mathews.
With NOTHING TO WEAR. Mr. and Mrs. C. Mathews.
Followed by the new grand Comic Pantomime, entitled
UNDINE ; or, Harlequin and the Spirit of the Waters.

Commence at 7.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Manager, Mr. Edmund Falconer,
THIS EVENING will be presented EXTREMES ; or,
Men of the Day.
With a Ballet and THE YOUNG WIDOW.
Reduced Prices—Dr^ss Boxes, 4s. ; Upper Boxes, 3s. ; Pit,
b.; Stalls, ss. ; Gallery, is.
Box-office open from 11 to 5 daily. Doors open at hall-paat
IS to commence at 7 every evening.

NEW THEATRE - ROYAL, ADELPHI.
Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Benj. Webster.
This Evening, DOMESTIC ECONOMY. John Grundy,
Mr. Wright.
After which, STILL
MrWATERS RUN DEEP. John
Mildmay, Mr. A. Wigan ; . Potter, Mr. Charles Selby ;
Hawksley, Mr. Billington; Mrs. Mildmay, Mrs. Bilungton
Mrs. Sternhold Mrs. A. Wigan.
To conclude with THE INVISIBLE PRINCE. Mr. J. L.
Toole, Miss Woolgar, Miss Arden, Miss Keeley, Miss Kate
Kelly.

Acting nfanager—Mr. Wm. Smith.

Doors open at a quarter-past six—Commence at seven. Box
Office open from 10 to 5 --no charge for booking. No fees to
servants permitted. A registry kept of all articles found.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE,
Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough
THIS EVENING, VANDYKE BROWN. Mr. J. Clark
and Miss M. Ternan.
After which, the new Extravaganza, KENILWORTH ; or
Ye Queene. ye Earle, and ye Maydenne
And THE BONNIE FISHWIFE.
Commence at 7 o'clock.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE,
Westminster-road.

Lessee and Manager Mr. William Cooke.

THIS EVENING the performances will be for the
BENEFIT of Mr. W. COOKE, jun., who will make his first
appearance since his late severe accident, assisted by the fol-
lowing distinguished artistes, who have kindly volunteered
their valuable aid :—Miss Rebecca Isaacs, Miss Laidlaw, Mr.
Paul Bedford, Mr. W. H. Eburne, Mr. Mackney, and Mr. G.
Forde.—For particulars see full programme.

Dress Circle, 4s. ; Boxes, as.; Pit. 2s, ; Gallery, is. ; Upper
Gallery, 6d.
Stage Manager, Mr. R. Phillips.

CAN TERB URY HALL, Westminster-road,--
Proprietor --C. MORTON.
The public is most respectfully informed that the FINE
ARTS GALLERY, in connection with the above Hall, IS NOW
OPEN DAY AND NIGHT, from 11 o'clock a.m. until 12
,'clock p.m. The New Gallery contains an extensive Collec-
Jon of Pictures, by Ancient and Modern Masters -and is also
devoted to Art productions generally. The Proprietor feels
he may confidently assert that, viewed altogether, the exist-
ing Music Hall, the New Fine Arts Gallery, and the recently
added Ante-Hall, will present an attraction which, whether
as regards the architectural beauty of the structures them-
selves, or the varied and hitherto unattempted combinations
within, will be found to be wholly without parallel in the
Kingdom.
The MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT commences as usual at
Seven o'clock.
In addition to the usual entertainment, the SAUVLET
FAMILY, of Amsterdam, Eight in number, whose varied
instrumental performances have created so marked a sensa-
tion in the principal cities and towns of the Continent, will
.3erform every Evening at Nine and Eleven o'clock.

THE WEATHER.---SUN OFFICE, MAncu 26.

THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.

59—highest since noon yesterday.
50—lowest this morning and during the night.
55—this day at noon.

BAROMETER-29.96.

Warn, North-Westerly; light, with fine weather.

THE SUN.

SATURDAY. MARCH 26, 1859.

Another battle has taken place, and yet nothing
has been decided. The " Ins and the Outs " are
still fighting, not for Reform, but for place. Lord
DERBY promised to bring in a Reform Bill. It
was, however, by no means willingly that he did so.
But having promised he faithfully and honourably
redeemed his pledge ; and, although the measure is
not all that could be desired, it is yet a step in
advance, and one that may be materially improved
in committee. How different was the conduct of
his rivals, Lord JOHN RUSSELL has kept a bill
dangling before the House and the country
since 18M, a bill by no means so good as
that of the present Government. But year
after year it was delayed. Nothing was done.
Every excuse for procrastination and delay
was resorted to, and eight years were wasted
while the noble lord reposed under the shadow of
laurels which were verdant in 1832, but had be-
come greatly tarnished during the interval by the
unhealthy glare of " finality." Lord JOHN RUSSELL
should certainly not set himself up as an anti-Re-
former, or, for the hope of place, become the leader
in so factions and unjustifiable a proceeding as that
whiCh he has so recently originated.

Lord PALMERSTON is even worse. Although
pledged to reform for several years, he not only con-
tinued to shirk the question, but even neglected to
give the slightest intimation of his views or opi-
nions. All that he accomplished was to cause the
rejection of what he was pleased to term " piecemeal
reform." He would not consent to the abolition
of the " property qualification," or to Mr. LocKt
KING'S motion respecting the county franchise.
Every concession should be retained as some amount
of political capital. He would neither give any-
thing himself nor permit it to be conceded by
others. He adopted the Fabian policy, and hoped
that it would prove successful during the remainder
of his political career.

The Attorney-General of Ireland returned a
crushing reply to the noble lord. The Right Hon.
Gentleman has been peculiarly felicitous on many
occasions, but never more so than last night. He
met the veteran viscount with his own
weapons, and proved himself a more skilful
" master of fence," able ' at any moment to
strike the sword from his hand. After eight years'
delay, the noble member for Tiverton has discovered
the inconvenience and danger of any further post-
ponement. Will he, as the leader of an influ-
ential party, the probable head of any future
Administration which may succeed that of Lord
DEltuv, pledge himself to introduce a Reform
Bill within the present year?
That is a point on which the nation should be
informed. There should no longer be any " thimble-
rigging" or chicanery. We know what has been
tendered for our acceptance. It is not ,a// that we
could have desired, but it is a step in the right
direction—an instalment of fair proportions—and
it is capable of being amended in committee,
and moulded into any form which the most ,

advanced Liberal could require or demand. Why,
then, should the second reading be rejected ? Why
should the subject of Reform be shelved for the
present year, merely to bring the Russel:ites, Pal-
merstonians, and Peelites into office ? Mr. WHITE-
SIDE, in alluding to the extraordinary coalition,
pertinently asked—

" When shall we three meet again ?"

They may meet for a short period, but it re-
quires no extraordinary power of vaticination to
predict that it would not be for a protracted period.
And what would be the opinions of " Brummagem
JOHN ?" Surely he could not long continue to
support one whom he has long designated as " a
firebrand," " a disturber of the peace of Europe,"
" a promoter of strife and disturbance." He has
himself promulgated a measure containing many
admirable points, but there is not a single one of
his suggestions which could not be carried in com-
mittee ; and with a large Liberal majority, and
holding a balancing power in his own hands, he
could probably achieve far greater results than
could be accomplished either by a change of Minis-
try or an appeal to the country. However, the
old and time-honoured proverb, " De gustibus non
est disputandum,"indicates that we must not quarrel
with the peculiar tastes displayed by honourable
nrentlemen. We know not what may be the nature
of the compact—whether thehonourable gentleman,
doffing broad brim and drab garments, may hope
to appear as " Secretary for War," or may be con-
tented with the more congenial atmosphere of the
Board of Trade, and satisfy his conscience by enter-
ing a mild protest against any belligerent pro-

ceedings.
The arguments are all on the side of the Govern-
ment. But passion and prejudice are all-power-
ful. Men who have ample means, and are in the
enjoyment of every comfort and luxury of life
will still vote on party principles, and violate
their own doctrines. How sternly would they
denounce the offence of the poor man who acted in
a similar manner when deciding at Quarter Ses-
sions. They can, however, forget the " beams" in
their own eyes when looking at the motes" which
obstruct the vision of their humble brethren.

In his eloquent speech on Tuesday evening Sir
E. B. LYTTON declared—" The brain and the heart
of England are still in the House of Commons ; the
wisest of our own people have still an interest in
our debates." Had the occasion required it, he
might surely have added, and the bigotry of Eng-
land in the House of Lords, and the most priest-
ridden of the people have still an interest in its
debates. It certainly is not the fault of the Peers
(in their collective capacity, for there are gratify-
ing exceptions) if the country do not, however,
grow weary of this leaden weight on their energies.
Bigotry is tolerable enough when it confines itself
to cathedrals and their precincts, and to a dozen or
two of decent old peers, whose names are never
heard of except when antiquated church canons
and annoying church-rates are in danger; but if we
are destined to be checkmated session after session
by these intolerants emerging from their lurking
places to veto the decisions of the " brains and
heart" of England, we must beg to inform their
lordships that Mr. BRIGHT'S diatribes against them
will be as feathers compared with the contempt and
hostility awakened by their own recorded votes.
There is the Marriage Bill rejected again by
these worthies on Tuesday night. Now we would
seriously ask their Lordships—how do they sup-
pose " the brains and heart" of England look upon
that act ? The number of persons directly inte-
rested, as in the case of the Jews, may be compara-
tively small, they may be snubbed without danger
of a mob being collected in Palace Yard, or the
Guards enjoying amongst their "privileges," that
of putting down the Marriage Bill rioter; that,
however, is just what, in the view of the people,
makes the conduct of their Lordships so much the
more contemptible. They have surrendered vastly
greater things when Englishmen, and when Irish-
men too, have become almost unmanageable; but
Jews, and a small class of widowers, could not
shake their nerves; towards them, therefore, they
could, with impunity, indulge their High Church
intolerance, and they have done it. Every thing
has been tried in order to propitiate the theological
and ecclesiastical prejudices of Peers Spiritual, and
thus to gain, through them, the Peers Temporal,
who pride themselves on being train-bearers to
" the Episcopate "—the marriages were, by this
bill, made civil marriages, no priest was compelled
to officiate,—but nothing could avail; their be-
loved canons would then not be compulsory ,on
those who disbelieve them, and Dissenters of all
classes still would not bear the yoke of the cano-
nical Church.

Arguments on the merits of the question is now
useless. They are well known. Leviticus (falsely
interpreted) and the Church canons, on one side;
Leviticus (rightly interpreted), or Leviticus re-
jected, as a law, by those who understand that con-
sistency would require them to be circumcised and
keep the whole of Leviticus, with the canons of
Christian and natural liberty, on the other side.
This is how the argument now really stands. All
the nonsense about the position of a wife's sister
in her sister's dwelling deserv3s no notice. It was
invented purely to bolster up the canon. It was
never dreamed of when asceticism framed that
very canon. It was all an after-thought, a very
modern one too. We heard nothing of it till
about the year 1835. The old canon is the root
of all the mischief. Not a soul in England—
not even a Bishop's soul—would have imagined
anything wrong in these marriages—from Scrip-
ture or from reason—had not the ages of ascetic
invention sent down this precious canon amongst
loads of other ecclesiastical lumber. But precious,
indeed, in the eyes of Bishops and BERESFORD
norE, is all such lumber; and when the irreve-
rent common sense of the country orders it
to be cast off—they strew over it the flowers of
modern sentimentalism, and beg us not to touch it
—that is all.

There is one point—with us the chief one—
which has yet received by no means adequate con-
sideration—we mean the religious persecution in-
volved in the present law. That law is b'ut four-
teen years old, be it remembered. Such marriages,
before that time, were voidable, but the religious
feeling of the country, common though they were,
never allowed them to be made void. In 1835 the
late pragmatical Bishop 4... es T
ONDON got the prohi-
bition inserted into an act by wmC., Lord
LYxD-
IIURST intended to remove even their liability to be
made void ! To Bishop BLOMFIELD and the other
Bishops belongs the honour of having--We may
the general
say fraudulently, and un-
observant public—obtained the enactment of this
in regard to
restriction on religious liberty. That it is such, the
Bishop of MANCHESTER showed admirably but the
other day ; and he ought to have come boldly for-
ward and stated the same in the House of Lords.
But the conclusive proof that it is so is this : The
majority of worshippers in England are Dissenters.
All the great bodies of Dissenters hold the mar-
riages to be lawful. Their deputies presented, only
last Monday, a petition, following many others
they have sent, expressing their feeling of the re-
ligious tyranny involved in the prohibition. Great
numbers of Churchmen, as well as Dissenters,

apprc sve these marriages—therefore a large majority
are bi -the minority subjected to severe civil penalties
for a( ting on their own religious convictions !
Let the Bishops, then, and the other Lords look
at this plain fact. they cannot impugn it. Are
they prepared to face it for ever ? Let them re-
member that the majority of the worshippers have
no representatives in- the Upper House. In the
Lower House, where they have representatives,
the measure has been carried again and again, and
it will be carried there, annually, till the Upper
House is compelled to give way. Now, what
right have the Bishops and their followers to lord
it over those who are unrepresented in their House ?
Will this be endured without leading to demands
for a reform of the House of Lords? That of cast-

ing out the Bishops .has often been proposed, and
is very likely to be mooted again ; certain to be,
we should say, if they are always found as a body
voting against the Representatives.of the People.
If this be not proposed we may yet hear of some
method for placing twenty-six representatives of
the majority of worshippers in the Upper House.
No good reason can surely be imagined why
Episcopalians should enjoy, not only all the na-
tional ecclesiastical wealth, bat also the power of
neutralising in a house in which they alone are
represented, the ecclesiastical votes of Episcopalian
members, and of all other sects', in the House of
Commons. Let Bishops, then, and other Lords,
understand betimes that they abuse their privi-
leges only at the peril of losing thean.

THE NEAPOLITAN EXILES.

BRISTOL, SATURDAY MORNING.

The remainder of the Neapolitan exiles (24 in
number) arrived here from Cork this morning, by
the Juverna steamer. Poerio has proceeded to
London via Dublin.

The Mayor and several of the Town Council
gave the exiles a hearty welcome • they will leave
for London in the course of the day.

THE INDIAN MUTINIES.

CAAVNPORE, FEB. 13.

On Thursday last a most interesting ceremony
took place here. The sepoys of Lucknow who re-
mained faithful during the siege of Lucknow were
assembled in the presence of the whole garrison,
and received the Order of Merit for their services.

Major-General Sir John Inglis, in presenting
each man with his well-earned decoration, which
entitles them all to increase of pay, made the fol-
lowing speech :

" To COLONEL PALMER, COMMANDING LUCKNOW
REGIMENT.

" Colonel Palmer,—l request you will convey to these
men, in their own language, the very high gratification it
affords me to see them all here assembled this day, in the
presence of the whole garrison-of Cawnpore, to receive the
honourable distinction of the Order of Merit, so justly
bestowed upon them by the Government of India for their
fidelity, bravery, and loyalty, at a time when these services
were so highly valuable. I can bear, and ever have borne,
testimony, to their admirable conduct during our hard
struggle in the defence of Lucknow, to the cheerfulness
with which.they submitted to privations, and to the con-
stancy with which they resisted temptations. In all parts
of the world where the past events have been recounted
their names and services have been mentioned with admi-
ration. Let them, then, take these orders, let them wear
them with pride, and show them to their countrymen and
families as a proof that the faithful discharge of duty will
ever meet with reward and ,honour from the country and
the Government they serve."

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

COWES, MARCH. 25.

DEPARTURE OF THE COURT FROM THE ISLE OF
WIGHT.—Her Royal Highness the Duchess of
Kent will leave Osborne on Monday next, and it is
expected that the Queen, the Prince Consort, and
the junior branches of the Royal family will leave
either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
THE ROYAL YACHT SCHOONER COQUETTE.—
This beautiful vessel, the property of J. H. W. P.
Smyth-Pigott, Esq., was sold by public auction, at
the Fountain Hotel, on Thursday last, for the small
sum of £470. That a. vessel of her size (47 tons),
fully equipped for sea, should not have had a larger
sum offered for her is a matter of surprise to every
one. We hear the lucky purchaser is Mr. Smart,
of the Royal Thames Yacht Club.

The Earl and Countess Delaw= have gone

to Buckhurst for a few days. The noble earl will be
in town to receive her Majesty on the return of the Court
from Osborne next week.

The Earl and Lady Constance Grosvenor have
arrived in Grosvenor-square, from Calverley Park,

Cheshire

The Earl and Countess Nelson and family have
arrived in town from Trafalgar House, Wilts, for the
season.

The Earl and Countess Howe have left Curzon
House for Gopsall Hall, Leicestershire.
The Earl of Chesterfield has taken a mansion in
Grosvenor-square for the season.
Viscountess Palmerston has issued cards for an
assembly on Wednesday next, at Cambridge House.
PICCOLOMINI KISSED EY MISTAKE.—The Cin-

cinnati Gazette tells a good story of the accidental kissing
of the fair Piccolomini, while staying recently at the
Sopence House in that city. The young man who inflicted
the kisses had come there to meet a young and blooming
sister, and meeting Piecolomini in one of the passages, in-
nocently clasped her in his arms, and imprinted three or
four cordial kisses, asking at the same time, " Don't you
know your brother, you little rogue ?" The " little
,rogue ' looking blank, slipped out of his arms, and re-
treated to her room. The proprietor was sent for, and
ample apologies made in a graceful note to the fair singer.
When this note was translated to the bewitching Marie,
and she was assured of its sincerity, she laughed immo-
derately, and said she had supposed perhaps kissing a
pretty girl (here she looked very archly) on meeting her
was an American custom. ,It had frightened her at first,
but now she did not care, for, said she, in her attractive
English -Tuscan, " Ze trees did me no 'arm—indeed it vas
not so dees—vat say you eet is ?—dees-a-gra-ble."
NEW WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.—The works of the
southern half of the bridge are not so far advanced as we
were led in 1856 and 1857 to believe they would be at this
period after the resumption of the undertaking ; but progress
has been made otherwise. None of the iron ribs of the arehes

were fixed two or three days Esp.; but the piers and abut-
ments of the first or southern half of the bridge are quite
ready for them ; and wherever the piers of the old bridge do
not interfere, the piling and work of the foundations for the
second portion of the bridge are in progress. The sixth pier,
ind6ed, is quite complete, throughout the full width of the
bridge, up to the syringing ; whilst No. 2 pier in the second
half is in course of, completion, below low-water line, or
thereabouts. The chief work of the foundation is inter-
rupted at each rise of the tide, but perhaps as much by
the rush of the water as other reasons, so far as regards
that part of the work in which the diving-bell and diving-
dress are employed. Cilreful observation now shows there
is not the apprehended settlement.. Ihe Builder.
LIVERPOOL, FRIDAY.—The Tornado, which left
Melbourne on the 16th of December, was telegraphed this
afternoon, and was expected to reach the port the same
night. She bringi 29,164 ounces of gold and a large num-
ber of passengers, but no late news. Yesterday a fire broke
out on board the Lesmasonge, bound for Quebec, while
lying in Prince's dock, but through the exertions of the
fire brigade- it was promptly extinguished, and compara-
tively little damage done.
GREENWICH AND SOUTH-EASTERN LOCKS BILL.—
The Lords of the Admiralty assent to this bill on the follow-
ing conditions :-1. That no alteration of the entrances
from the Thames to the docks be made without the previous
approval and sanction of the Admiralty. 2. That no works
in the river Thames be commenced until detailed plans of
the same have been submitted to, and approved of by, the Ad-
miralty, and then only 'on plans so approved. 3. That a
self-registering tide-page be erected by the company, near
one of the entrances from the river to the docks, at a site to
be approved of by the Admiralty. 4. That no alterations
be made in the proposed works, as shown on the Parlia-
mentary plans, within the limits of deviation set out, where
the same approach within 100 yards of high-water mark,
without the previous approval of the Lords of the Ad-
miralty.
REDUCTION OF POSTAGE UPON LETTERS TO THE
REPUBLIC or PARAGUAY.—The' reduction about to take
place in the British postage of letters conveyed by packet
between the United Kingdom and any portion of the Ar-
gentine Confederation, will be extended to letters to and
from the republic of Paraguay ; and on the Ist April next,
and thenceforward, such letters will be chargeable with the
uniform British rate of 6d. the half-ounce letter, and
so on, according to the usual scale.. This postage
must, as heretofore, be, in all cases, pre-paid.
Newspapers addressed to the republic of Paraguay will, in
future, be chargeable With a British postage of one penny
when not exceeding four ounces in weight, a like sum of
one penny being added for each additional four ounces, or
fraction of four ounces. This postage must also be paid in
advance. Book packets cannot be forwarded to Paraguay.
—By command of the Postmaster-General,—ROWLANJ
HILL, Secretary.
NEW CHURCH AT NEWINGTON.—The Bishop
of London intends, on Wednesday next, to lay the founda-
tion stone of a new church dedicated to St. John, in the
parish of St. Mary, Newington Butts. The district assigned
to the new church contains iv population of 10,000, the
largest portion of which consists of keepers of small grocery
and coat shops, artisans, day and job labourers, costermon-
gers, rag and bone pickers, and bird fanciers. There are
also four or five streets containing not less than a total of
SO houses, occupied by people of both sexes who have no
recognised way of getting a livelihood. The new church
will contain 1,000 ‘Plittings, all of which will be free, and the
PO. Of this £3,700 have been collected,
£1,300 to be raised. The Dean and Chapter of
t
Canterbury, who are owners of property in the neighbour-
hood,cos leaving will b e
have given a site and an endowment of £l3O a year
for the hicumbent

LATEST NEWS.

_ The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :--

PARIS, SATURDAY, MARCH 26.
The lifoniteur of to-day contains the following :
Count Chasseloup Laubat has been appointed
Minister for Algiers and the Colonies.
The 3d, 4th, 12th, and 24th Regiments of the
line, intended to form part of the African army,
have received orders for their departure, and will
be in Algiers in the commencement of April.

ST. PETERSBURG, FRIDAY.

A new Three per Cent. Loan of £12,000,000
sterling has been concluded with the house of
Thomson, Boner, and Co., at the price of 67.

FRANCE.

PARIS, FRIDAY.

Count Cavour has arrived here.

Tke Patrie of this evening states that the Cabi-
nets of London and St. Petersburg have agreed to
the proposal of France to admit Piedmont into the
Congress, and that there is hope that the Cabinet
of Berlin may also consent, in which event Austria
could not oppose the wishes of the other great
Powers.

BOURSE, March 25.—The effect of the official ad-
hesion of Austria to the congress has been counter-
acted by large sales for realisation, by a fall of fithe
on the English Consols, and by the intended arrival
of M. Cavour at Paris. Threes, after having been
done at 69f. 5c., declined to 68f. 85c. Mobilier
varied from 800 f. to 795 f. ; Austrian, 557 f. 50c. to
555 f. ; Orleans, 1,367 f. 50c. to 1,365 f.; Lyons, 847 f.
50c. to 845 f. ; Southern, 520 f. to 5171. 50c. The
following are the last quotations :

41 per Cents. 95 70
Do. end mOntk; —1
3 per Cents. 6B 901
Do. end month 68 80
Bank Shaies 2BBO
Credit Mobilier
Do. Account 796 2.5

Credit Foncier 645
Belgian 41 -
Piedmonteso (5)
Roman . —
Austrian -
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —

RAILWAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans
Northern 937 50 .. 940
New ditto BO7 50 .. 807 50
Lyons and Mediterranean 847 50 847 50
New ditto
Geneva
Midi —
Southern
Western 6OO
Eastern
Grand Central
Sardinian 4OO
Austrian -

537 50

.. 682 50

553 75 .. 555
Exchange on London, at sight, paper, 25f. 121 c. ; money
25f.10 c. ; three months, paper, 25f.; money, 241. 971 c.

AUSTRALIA.

By the arrival of the Oneida we have received
files of papers from Sydney to the 27th of January,
and from Melbourne to the 4th of February in-
clusive.

(From the Argus.)

The Royal Mail steamship Oneida is under en-
gagement to sail to-morrow with the Australian
mails, which should have been despatched on the
15th of January. The Oneida is the last of the
vessels
,of the Royal Mail Company to be employed
in the service of the Australian mail contract.
On the 15th inst. the Salsette, the first of the
Peninsular and Oriental Company's boats, will sail
on the new route, by way of the Mauritius.
In all probability the mail by the Salsette will be
delivered at the same hour as this.

The English mails of February will be due here
on the 6th of April, but as the Oneida cannot be at
Suez on the 27th of February to receive them, the
Australian colonies will have to put up with the
inconvenience of allowing a month to pass without
the receipt of a mail.

POLITICAL.
The Parliament of Victoria re-assembled on the 11th of
January.

THE GOLD FIELDS.

• Between the time devoted to holiday-making at Christ-
mas and the frequent interruptions from the late floods,
the regular work of the miner has been much broken in
upon during the last-six weeks. Still the escort returns,
although varying widely each week, have not shown any
falling off on the average ; and it is a noticeable fact, that
the amounts forwarded from the oldest gold-fields have been
the best maintained ; thus proving that these are yet a long
way from being worked out. In fact, it becomes each day
more evident that, under a system allowing of association
and the working of large parties in proportionately large
tracts of ground, the general yield must fast increase again.
Quartz mining is now the mainstay of the long-worked gold-
fields, and some of the most valuable reefs have to be aban-
doned, or the work has to be stopped until some equitable
mode of compelling each small party of claim-owners to
bear a fair share of the expense of keeping the reefs clear of
water can be carried out. The excess of water experienced
as the shafts attain to any great depth, and the impossi-
bility of this being drawn off frost one claim without at the
same time draining those adjoining, for which service, the
owners of the claims so benefitted cannot be compelled to
pay, has ruined or driven out in despair many a small
party, which if forming part of an association to work the
same reef from the most convenient point for the benefit of
all, would have been richly rewarded for their labours,
instead of being constantly baffled in their struggle with an
element that ought to be an aid, and not a hindrance, on
the gold-fields. As difficulties of this nature arise attempts
are made to provide against them by special bye-laws, and
even by legislation ; but so incongruous are the different
parts, and so inapplicable is the entire system of small
holdings to the older gold-fields, that no sooner is one
difficulty patched up than another breaks forth. In
only one district, that of Ballarat, have leasing regula-
tions been yet proclaimed, but in all they are anxiously
looked for. Government has been prepared for some
time past to issue regulations for all, the delay being
caused by the Mining Boards, which from a defect in the
Gold-fields Act have still the power practically to prevent
the issue of leases, although one of the special objects of
the act was to deprive local bodies of this power. Now,
however, the old Mining Boards are to be replaced by a
general election of new members, and so strong is the feel-
ing of a majority of the miners in favour of an introduction
cf the leasing system, that the new Boards are not likely to
be so obstructive as were the majority of thoie about to be
replaced.

Since the opening up of the Indigo Lead no discovery of
especial importance has been made. The hopes of those
who expected other leads equally rich to be found in that
part of the country have not been realised, but several
quartz reefs, with indications of great richness, have been
taken up and -partially worked, although there is as yet
little or no quartz-crushing machinery in that far-away
district. Indeed, on all the gold-fields the discovery of new
reefs is of constant occurrence. These are either found
cropping out on the surface, or are encountered accidentally
in deep sinking or underground driving. We have seldom
to record the- discovery of first-rate alluvial ground, but
of auriferous yo9fs, it may be truly said there is no end.
Nor are the paying portions of these of small extent,
or confined to a few feet near the surface, it having
been the case with many of the reefs worked hitherto
that the stone increases in richness with the depth.
Much importance is attached by many to the lately-
published analysis of an ore found in different parts
of the Bendigo district, but, until now, treated as
rubbish, and thrown aside with refuse matter from the
mouth of the shafts. The analysis of one ehymist shows
the existence of zinc, in the proportion of nearly one-half,
with iron and sulphur present in quantity, and as much as.
one per cent. of gold. If such were to be the average yield,
the gold alone would pay enormously ; but another chy-
mist says that he also has tried specimens from these veins
of ore, and that the average proportion of these metals is
so small that the ore is really as valueless as it was long
supposed to be, although possibiy small pieces might be
found which would yield such a result in the laboratory.
With the conflicting testimony now before the public, no
opinion can be formed of the value of these veins of ore, but
specimens have been sent to different chymists for analysis,
and it is to be hoped that their reports will set at rest a
now much-disputed point.

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