The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-19 00:00:00

RUSSIA AND POLAND.

The following letter, containing some informa-
tion on the movement in Poland, is dated St. Peters-
burg, the 4th inst. :—" No newspaper here has
dared to refer to the events which have occurred is
Warsaw. The visits of the foreign diplomatic agents
to Prince Gortschakoff have become more frequent.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Gendarmerie and
the head of the secret police have frequent inter-
views with the Emperor. The Ministers are
likewise frequently summoned to attend the Czar.
He has commanded that M. Karintzki, the secre-
tary of the Government at Warsaw, shall
come to St. Petersburg: Several Polish students
here asked permission to return to their
own country, but their request was refused.
Orders have been given to the commander of the let
corps d'armee to march into Poland. Our young
officers are dreaming of a campaign, for it is gene.
rally expected that an insurrection will break out,
like the one in 1830. The Government officials
repeat that the present difficulties arise from the
too great toleration granted to the Poles. They
assert that tranquillity in Poland can only be main-
tained by ruling with a rod of iron. Such is like-
wise the opinion of the Councillor of State, D olgo-
rouki. In fact, it is difficult to believe that the
Government will restore the self-government of
Poland. The object of Russia is to advance into
Germany, and with that view the Govern-
ment has constructed a quadrilateral of for-
tresses between the Vistula, the Narew, the
Bug, and the Wreprz. The fortresses are
Modlin, four leagues from Warsaw; Litewski,
Zaneuse, and Demblin, without counting the citadel
of Alexander, at 'Warsaw. It is one of the strongest
military positions in the world, after that of Venetia,
and the Emperor of Russia will not abandon it, for
he menaces thence the Austrian and Prussian pro-
vinces. This position, (moreover, :cost Russia too
much money, so that the Emperor has no serious
intention of replacing Poland in the position she
held previous to the insurrection of 1830. Count
Mauzanieu Dumouski, Governor of Eastern Siberia,
at present in Paris, is replaced by General Korsa-
kent. Prince Paskiewitsch, son of the late field-
marshal, is relieved from his post of Inspector of
Regiments of Light Infantry. He has been selected
to invest the King and Queen of Naples with the
insignia of the Order of St. George."

The letters from Paris mention a report that the
Government contemplate raising £12,000,000 in 5 per sent.
bonds, with five years to run. This is partly in conse-
quence of inability to float the ordinary Bons de Tresor at
their present rates.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA.—The ceremony of doing
homage to the new King will take place at Konigsberg in
the beginning of Rule, and in Berlin about the 10th of
that month. Their Majesties will remain at Konigsberg
for five days. About ate middle of June her Majesty in-
tends to go to Coblentz and thence to Baden-Baden.

" A letter from Venice," says the Nord," informs
us that the speech of Prince Napoleon has not produced
less effect in Venetia than in the other parts of the Italian
peninsula.

The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences,
Paris, on Saturday elected M. Drouyn de Lhuys as mem-
ber in the room of the late M. llorace Say.

THE LUJIINOUB COVERING OP THE SUN.—At an
ordinary meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philoso-
phical Society, on the sth inst., Dr. Joule, president, in the
chair, Mr. Joesph Sidebotham read a paper "On the
Structure of the Luminous Envelope of the Sun," being
a communication to him from James Nasmyth, Esq., of
Penshurst. Mr. Nasmyth has made the discovery, that
the entire surface of the sun is composed of objects of the
shape of a willow leaf ; the objects average about 1,000
miles in length, and 100 in breadth, and cross each other
in all directions, forming a network ; the thickness of this
does not appear to be very great, as through the interstices
the dark or penumbral stratum is seen, and it is this which
gives to the sun that peculiar mottled appearance so fami-
liar to observers. These willow-leaf shaped objects are
best seen at the edges of a solar " spot where they
appear luminous, on a dark ground, and also compose
the bridges which are formed across a spot" when it
is mending up; the only approach to symmetrical ar-
rangement is in the filaments bordering the spot, and
those composing the penumbra, which appears to be a true
secondary stratum of the sun's luminous atmosphere ; here
these bodies show a tendency to a radial arrangement. Al-
though carefully watched for, no trace of a spiral or vortical
arrangement has been observed in these filaments ; thus
setting aside the likelihood of any whirlwind-like action being
an agentin the formationof the spots as has bees conjectured
to be the case. The writer does not feel warranted at present
in hazarding any conjectures as to the nature and functions
of these remarkable willow-leaf shaped objects, but intends
pursuing the investigation of the subject this summer,
and hopes to lay the results before the British Association
during their meeting in this city. The paper was illus-
trated by three beautiful drawings. No. 1 represented one
of the willow-leaf shaped objects; No. 2 the luminous sur-
face of the sun as being entirely composed of these objects ;
and No. 3 a large drawing of a solar spot as seen on the
20th of July, 1860, exhibiting the surface of the sun com-
posed of these objects, ae also the penumbra and the bridge
across the dark portion of the spot in which the exact shapes
of these objects were to be seen most clearly. Mr. Side-
botham stated that the image of the sun was examined by
Mr. Nasmyth with a mirror,of plane eats, set at an angle of
45 degrees ; nearly the whole of the light anj heat of the
sun passed through the glass, and the rays used were ,th(The
only reflected from its surface.

COMMERCIAL BANK OF LONDON.

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING (THIS DAY.)
A special general meeting was held this day at the Com-
mercial Bank of London, Lothbury, for the purpose of re-
ceiving a report front the board of directors of an agreement
,entered into by the board with the London and Westminster
Bank for an advance by the London and Westminster to
this bank, and for the transfer of the business of the Com-
mercial to the, Westminster.
MARS HUNTER, Esq., occupied the chair.
After reading the advertisement,
The CHAIRMAN said they were aware of the disaster that
had called them together, and without detaining them with
any preliminary statement he would proceed to read the re-
port of the directors. The document stated that late one
Friday night information was given to the directors that
the bank had been robbed to the extent of £67,000 by a
ledger keeper named Durden, and a meeting of the directors
was summoned the following morning, and at the
meeting it was decided to obtain assistance at the
earliest moment. The London and Westminster being the
largest establishment, the directors were applied to, and
they agreed to advance a sum of money not exceeding
£1,000,000, provided the directors transferred the whole of
their business to that establishment. The directors, before
adopting this course, fully considered their position, and
' found there were three courses open to them, either to close
the doors of the bank, which would create a panic in the com-
mercial world, to stand a run which was inevitable, or to make
some such arrangement as the directors had adopted. If,
as he said before, the doors had been closed, the share-
holders would have been involved in great expense. The
bank was in a position to stand a run, but with money at
8 per cent. the cost would have been enormous, and the
result would have been after fighting that battle that
little worth possessing would be left at the
conclusion of the contest. The assistance of the
London and Westminster was preferred, and an arrange..
ment was made with that bank for a transfer of the
business, and the reason the arrangement was so speedily
concluded was, that the London and Westminster positively
refused to enter into any arrangement after a run on the
Commercial Bank had once commenced. The directors
thought that the course they had adopted was the wisest,
and they confidently anticipated that the whole of -the
shareholders' capital would be returned to them in full.
(Hear, hear.)

The agreement between the Westminster and Commer-
cial Banks was then read, it was to the effect that the
assistance asked should be rendered in the event of the
transfer of the business of the bank to the Westminster.
The report of Mr. Jay of the firm of Quilter and Ball, of
the accounts of the bank, in which it was stated that the
actual sum of which the bank had been defrauded by bur-
den was £66,992 7s. 2d., was read.

Mr. CuTBILL, the manager, then read a statement of the
affairs of the bank on the evening preceding the discovery
of the robbery. After noticing the paid-up capital of the
bank and other items, it went on to show that in four
weeks the bank had paid off £600,000 of its liability from
its own resources. They held securities to the extent of
£777,690 to meet outstanding liabilities of £470,000. (Hear,
hear.) He said he had felt certain that in two months from
the present time the Commercial Bank, as a bank, would
be entirely out of debt to the whole of the shareholders.

The CHAIRMAN then moved a resolution confirming the
agreement entered into by the directors with the directors
of the London and Westminster, which having been
seconded,

Mr. FISRER said he thought the directors had taken a
course which he thought the proprietors would think was
wise and judicious, because thereby they had all been saved
great anxiety and trouble, and he should not wonder the
least at the London and Westminster coming forward to pay
their usual half•yearly dividend (laughter.) He did not see
there was anything so out of the way in such a proceeding.
The Westminster had made a very profitable bargain, and
if they paid the £12,000 which the dividend amounted to,
they would make a profit then by their business of over
£40,000. (Hear, hear.) So the meeting would see that it
was not such an unwise act for the London and West-
minster after all. If the directors had had time to arrange
the transfer of their business, he felt sure the Westminster
would have been only too happy to give considerably more
than £12,000 for such a good and ready-made business.
But the directors had to decide in a few hours, and he could
not resume his seat without again saying, that the directors
had done the best thing they could for the shareholders
under the circumstances of the case.

The resolution was then put to the meeting and carried

inimously.

After a short discussion, another resolution, appointing
several of the skareholders to act with the directors in
finally arranging the affairs of the bank was agreed to,
and the meeting adjourned.