The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-26 00:00:00

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

PLYMOUTH, JUNE 25.
The royal mail steamer Cambrian with the above
mail arrived here this afternoon.

Trade generally had not been brisk in the eastern
districts. The averages were pretty well main-
tained in the west.

A temporary decline had taken place in exports,
and imports were very considerable. The exports
of wine had fallen from £35,000 to £15,000.

Horse sickness and lung disease were prevalen
among the stock.

The Cape Parliament was opened on the 26th
April. The Governor in his speech on the occasion
expressed confidence in the maintenance of peace
and progress on the frontier and in the general
prosperity of the country. The estimates of the
revenue submitted to Parliament were far below
the expenditure. A bill for separating the pro-
vinces had been introduced, but it was considered
likely to be thrown out.

The Home War-offiee had asked for £30,000
towards the expenditure on account of the military
force in the colony. It was not likely to be granted

this session.

The Narcissus arrived at the Cape on the 23d
April.

The Forte, with Admiral Keppel on board, left
on the 3d May for Ascension, where she had ar-
rived and gone on to Rio Janiero. The Emerald
arrived afterwards, and followed the Forte. The
Archer was at Ascension on the 4th inst.
No intelligence had been received from the Zam-
besi river.

The capture of an English vessel by the Portu-
guese authorities, reported by the last mail, had
been satisfactorily explained. The vessel was
liberated.

The steamer Norman arrived out on the 14th
May.

SAVOY AND SWITZERLAND.

The following note has been addressed by the
English Minister at Berne to the Federal Coun-

cil :

BERNE, JUNE 13.
Monsieur le President,—ln the officially pub-
lished report of the Political Department, to be
submitted to the Federal Councillors, who will
arrive in Berne on the Ist July next, I have read,
not without some surprise, the following passage in
reference to the question of Savoy :
" In conclusion, we believe that, in giving an un-
prejudiced representation of affairs, we cannot omit
to mention the fact that, on the part of France, it
has been repeatedly maintained that it was the ob-
stinate opposition of England to any annexation
which had principally compelled France to retract
the promises given by her in February, 1860, with
reference to the cession of Northern Savoy to
Switzerland."
I have carefully re-perused the voluminous cor-
respondence published on this question, but do not
find such a motive anywhere mentioned as having
determined France to secede from her promise. On
the contrary, I find it repeatedly stated that the
sole motive for this proceeding on the part of France
originated in the disinclination of the people of
Savoy for any dismemberment of the country.
This was plainly brought forward in M. Thou-
venel's despatch of March 13, 1860, to M. Tillos,
French Charge d'Affaires at Berne, wherein the
Minister communicates the details of an interview,
remarkable for the sincerity and unreservedness
prevailing in it, which he had with M. Kern at

Paris.
At the interviews between MM, Thouvenel and
Kern on the sth and 15th March, and in that be-
tween the Emperor of the French and General
Dufour, which are mentioned in the said corre-
spondence, the same statement was again adduced
as the only obstacle to the promised cession of
Chablais and Faucigny to Switzerland.
Not a word is there said of the opposition of
England.
It is indeed impossible to understand how the
conduct of her Majesty's Government could have
had the least influence on the French Government
as far as it concerns the fulfilment of its promises
towards Switzerland.

In this matter her Majesty's Government has
constantly maintained the same attitude, and I can
hardly make this appear more clearly than by
drawing attention to the contents of a despatch
addressed, on the 20th March, 1860, by Lord John
Russell to the English Ambassadors at Vienna,
Berlin, and St. Petersburg, printed in the blue
book (which is, I believe, in the possession of the
Federal Council) vol. 6, page 19.
The first paragraph of this despatch runs thus :
—" The question of Savoy must be considered from
two different points of view, one of which is that it
involves an augmentation of the territory of France;
the other, that it endangers that security which
Switzerland derives from the dispositions of the
treaties of 1815 in regard to certain districts of
Savoy."
His lordship afterwards says :

" And therefore a Prince of the House of Savoy
should be appointed regent of the neutral territory.
Should not this be possible, it should be insisted
upon that the said territory, so far as specified in
the treaties of 1815, should be incorporated with
the Swiss Confederation."

It evidently results, therefore, that her Majesty's
Government, far from having opposed such an
arrangement, has, on the contrary, warmly sup-
ported it.

4 also, the vote of the people of Savoy only
took place on the 22d April, and as M. Thouvenel
had notified that the cession of the above-mentioned
provinces to Switzerland should not take place
dt finitively until after the conclusion of the treaty
with the Court of Turin, and after the popular
vote had been taken, there evidently remained
sufficient time for France to perform the promise
which she made to Switzerland in the preceding
February.

The importance of what has been just men-
tioned cannot escape the observation of the Federal
Council ; and as, in my opinion, it is desirable that
neither the Federal Assembly nor the people of
Switzerland should be misled by that portion of the
official report quoted above, I considered myself
under the necessity of addressing the present note
to your Excellency.
The proof that her Majesty's Government has
not been influenced by mere jealousy of France, or
by a wish to disturb the friendly relations between
the said districts and Switzerland—the proof of this
(if proof be really necessary) is to be found in the
friendly sympathy with Switzerland which I was
ordered to express on the occasion of the late re-
clamations of France on account of the pretended
ill-treatment which French subjects had been sub-

jected to.
Her Majesty's Government has, before every-
thing, been inspired by the desire to maintain the
equilibrium which is so necessary for the peace and
welfare of Europe, and to guarantee in good faith
the neutrality and independence of a free country,
to which England has been bound for centuries by
the ties of friendship and kind feeling.—l have the
honour, &c., &c.,

(Signed) E. A. F. HARRIS.

It is stated that the liabilities of Messrs. John
Duncan and Co., flax spinners of Dundee, who stopped
payment on Wednesday last, are large, and that the liqui-
dation is not expected to be favourable. The firm was in-
timately connected with Smith, Sinclair, and Co., who
stopped some time ago, and the embarrassments from that
event have been aggravated by the state of business in
America. About £SO,OOO has been sunk in the purchase
and building of mills.

DUBLIN, Tuesday morning.—A vast quantity of
rain has fallen here since Friday last. The weather is at
the same time intensely warm, and if the rain does not Con-
ti p° too lons we shall haw aA allvaclaiat harvest,

THE NA F.

--+--

It is stated that the iron-plated ship Defence, of
3,700 tons, now in course of construction by Messrs.
Palmer Brothers and Co., of Ne wcastle, will leave
the Tyne for Sheerness on the 12th of July, when it
will be possible in the course of a month to fit her
for service.

The Anson, 91, screw steamship, was taken out
of Sheerness harbour on Monday for the purpose of
testing her speed and machinery at the measured
mile off Mapling Sands. The Anson is of 800
nominal horse-power, but on her trial the indicated
horse-power was about 3,500. She first made six
runs with all her boilers, when she attained a
mean speed of 12982 knots per hour ; average
revolutions, 59; draught of water forward,
17ft. Tin. ; aft., 20ft. 10in. She was then tried
at the measurd mile, with only half her boiler
power, when she made 11 059 knots per hour ; revo-
lutions 7* ; steam being kept at 201 b. pressure, by
means of the expansion valves. She was subse-
quently tried round the circle, which occupied five
minutes and 30 seconds, and afterwards at 16 points;
the time occupying three minutes and 24 seconds.
During the trial, which lasted seven hours, the
water was calm, and a gentle breeze was blowing
from the S.W. The engines worked well and evenly,
and with little vibration. The trial was altogether
highly satisfactory.
The line-of-battle sailing ship Superb, 80, attached
to the ordinary at Chatham, is ordered by the Ad-
miralty to be converted into a hospital ship, and will
be taken into dock to undergo the necessary altera-
tions to adapt her for that service.

The Argus, 6, paddle steaM—sloop, 300-horse-
power, from Gibraltar, Commander Herbert F. W.
Ingram, arrived at the Nore at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
She was inspected on Monday by Vice-Admiral W.
S. Hope Johnstone, commander-in-chief, and staff,
when the crew were exercised at the target. After
the vessel had discharged her powder she steamed
into Sheerness harbour, to the coal-ship, previous
to paying off and being entered in the third-class
steam reserve.

Yesterday the paddlewheel steamer Cuckoo was
brought up the harbour and moored alongside the
Daphne, 18, to be fitted for Gibraltar, where she is
to be employed in harbour service instead of the
paddlewheel steamer Redpole.
The Dart, 5, and the Plover, 5, screw steam gun
vessels, attached to the steam reserve at Chatham,
are both to be immediately fitted for sea at that
port, their destination 9 beim,o it is understood, the
coast of North America. The Plover has been
brought down the harbour, and is stationed off the
dockyard, where she is fitting.
The portable steam cranes recently introduced
into Chatham dockyard having been found to work
satisfactorily, the Admiralty have entered into an
arrangement with Messrs. Taylor, of the Britannia
Ironworks, for the supply of several orders to that
establishment, four if which will be employed ex-
clusively in moving the iron-plates and other por-
tions of the ironwork used in the construction of the
Achilles, 50. In order to facilitate the removal of
the steam cranes from one part of the dockyard to
another, a line of rails is ordered to be laid down
the whole length of the Anchor-wharf, on which
the new cranes will be employed in loading and
unloading the various transports as they arrive.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Frederick Howard, confirmed
to the rank of master; Jacob E. Dyas, surgeon, to
the Surprise ; L. H. J. Hayne, surgeon, to the
Wanderer; N. D. Fry, first-class assistant-engineer,
to the see; G. L. Thompson, first-class assistant-
engineer, to the Indus, for the Goldfinch; William
Smith, first-class assistant-engineer, to the Surprise ;
J. Critchley, acting first-class assistant-engineer, to
the Wanderer ; A. Smart, second-class assistant-
engineer, to the Pembroke; R. T. V. Forster, act-
ing.second-class assistant-engineer, to the Cumber-
land, for the Phaeton ; J. Craig, acting second-
class assistant-engineer, to the Orlando ; J.
M'Gough, second-class assistant-engineer, to the
Surprise ; H. Vatcher, acting second-class assistant-
engineer, to the Surprise ; A. J. Baxter and S. T.
Sugden, second-class assistant-engineers, to the
Wanderer ; R. J. Roberts, engineer, to the Cum-
berland, for the Cuckoo ; William Owen, engineer,
to the Surprise; Jonathan Gee, engineer, to the
Wanderer ; and Charles B, Willcock, assistant-
clerk, to the Impregnable, as supernumerary.

THE ARMY.

The usual half•yearly examination of the gentle.
men cadets and the distribution of prizes by his
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, in his
capacity of President of the Council of Military
Education,was held yesterday morning, at theßoyal
Military Academy at Woolwich. The report of the
council was read by General Knollys. It stated
that the gentlemen cadets of the first class who have
been under examination are all qualified for com-
missions ; and that the third, fourth, and fifth
classes had undergone very satisfactory examinee
lions. The following gentlemen had particularly
distinguished themselves in mathematics—Messrs.
English, Richardson, Heneago, Ramsay, Browne,
and Clark; in fortification—Messrs. English, Mac-
diarinid, Fraser, Bell, and Burt; in French—W.
Taylor, H. Stewart, and Hamilton ; and in German
Messrs. Wighton, Anstey, and Hamilton, In prac-
tical geometry and plain drawing there has been an
improvement, and in landscape drawing, chemistry,
artillery, and mechanics the results are exceedingly
satisfactory. The conduct of the pupils and their
application to study was reported by the memo-
randum of the council as deserving of laudable
comment. At the close of the reading the follow-
ing gentlemen cadets were recommended for com-
missions—viz. :—ln the Royal Engineers--Messrs.
Begbie, Sale, Williams, Abney, Livesay, and Sir
Arthur William Mackworth ; and for the Royal
Artillery Messrs. Clayton, Loraine, Hemans,
Townsend, Anderson, Irwin, Bradley, Kensington,
Molesworth, Stace, Rothwell, Gaskell, Campbell,
Carlisle, Sogan, and I)es Barres. His Royal High-
ness dispensed the prizes in the following order :
To Mr. Townsend, 1 year and 3 months at the aca-
demy, a regulation sword, for exemplary conduct
while at the institution, and for acquirements or
great proficiency in study ; to Mr. Sale, 2 years
and 3 months, a pocket sextant for artillery; to
Mr. Anderson, 1 year and 3 months, a prismatic
compass for surveying; to Mr. Winans, 1 year and
3 months, a pocket compass, with scale and pen in
case, for excelling in fieldworks ; Mr. W. Moles-
worth, 1 year and nine months, for chemistry, a
microscope ; and the same to Mr. Winans and Mr.
Livesay, 1 year and 3 months, for geology and phi.
losophy ; to Mr. Hemans, 1 year and 3 months, a
double telescope, for mathematics ; to Mr. F. Fire-
-1 year and 9 months, a double telescope for
and the same to Mr. Beauchamp, 3
mathematics
matics
months, for mathematics; a double telescope to Mr.
Bradley, 1 year and 3 months, for fortification • to
Mr. M'Cullah, 1 year and 9 months, an aneroid
barometer, for fortification; to Mr. Bradley, Iyear
and 3 months, for practical geometry, a prismatic
compass ; to Mr. Brooke, 1 year and 3 months, also
a prismatic compass, for practical geometry ; to Mr,
Begbie, 1 year and 3 months, Racine, for French '
to Mr. Clayton, Schiller's Sanontliche Werke, for
German ; to Mr. Loraine, 1 year and 3 months, for
plan drawing, an aneroid barometer ; to Mr. Wynne,
9 months, for landscape drawing, a double tele-
scope; to Mr. Burke, 9 months, a pocket compass
with scale and pen in case, for landscape drawing;
and to Mr. Lawrie, 1 year and 9 months, for car-
bine practice, a double telescope.
, The Royal and Indian Engineers have completed
the construction of three batteries on their field-
works attached to the Royal Engineer Establish-
ment at Chatham, each mounting four guns. The
batteries are formed on the plan recommended by
the late General Sir C. Pasley, R.E., and consist of
an elevated, sunken, and half-sunken battery,
parallel with each other. The sides and angles of
the elevated battery are reveted with sandbags, and
the other batteries with gabions and fascines. The
Engineers have also commenced the construction of
a two-gun earth battery at a sheet distance from
those already formed. Several hundreds of the
Royal and Indian Engineers are daily employed in
sapping and mining on the field works, and in the
construction of flying and other bridges of various
descriptions across St. Mary's-creek, and also in
pontooning. Under the new regulations recently
sanctioned by the Duke of Cambridge several of
the most experienced and intelligent of the non-
commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers have
been raised to the rank of assistant field work in-
structors, and also assistant instructors, under the
various officers at the head of the several depart-
ments at the Chatham Engineer establishment.
Capt. A. H. Hutchinson, of the Indian Artillery ;
Lieut. J. A. Kelso, Royal Artillery ; 10 non-com-
missioned officers and bombardiers, and 88 men of
the Depot Brigade stationed at Sheerness, will pro-
ceed this morning to Shoeburyness, there to undergo
a thorough course of instruction in working and
managing the various descriptions of Armstrong
guns.
The present strength of the division stationed in
the camp at Aldershot is 16,300.

'THE FRIGIITFUL ACCIDENT ON THE NORTH STAP•
FORD RAILWAY.—The inquiry into the cause of death of
John Smith (driver), John Pains (fireman), and Robert
Gardener (guard), who were killed on the Barton and Tut-
bury branch of the North Stafford Railway on Friday iven-
ing last (as detailed in Monday's Sun), was commenced on
Monday morning at the Castle Inn, Tutbury, before Mr.
Coroner Sale, It was ultimately adjourned until Saturday,
in order that the Secretary of State might be communicated
with in reference to. a Government inspector having
an
epportunity of investigating the amtter.