The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-24 00:00:00

THE ABYSSINIAN CAPTIVES.

Writing on the 6th January, the Rev. H. A. Stern
says :—" We are on the tiptoe of expectation. The great
Negoos, serpent-like, is crawling on. He, however, is not
yet here. There is still between him and us the Djiddah ;
and not until he has passed that gulf do I expect to see
him on this Amba. The Waagshum has retreated towards
the Tacazzie, but I believe this is a mere stratagem to
allure his blood enemy into the chasm, where, hemmed in
by lofty rocks and perpendicular precipices, a complete
victory may be easily purchased. If the Waagshum is not
even a more dastardly coward than all the other rebel chiefs+
he will *ail himself of the opportune moment and frus-
trate our oppressor's design. He has, unsolicited, pledged
his word to Mr. Rassam to effect this, and if he is
faithful to his voluntary engagement he will merit our
deepest gratitude. The King, lam led to think, suspects
some treachery, for in hislatest proclamation he renounced
all intention of coming here, after the most valuable bag-
gage, the prisoners and some of the most useless Europeans
such as the most luckless fugitives, Mrs. Rosenthal, and:
perhaps, Mr. and Mrs. Flad and the children, were safely
lodged in our fortres& Whether he is aware of the pro-
reedings (the preparations of the army) on the coast or not
no one can possibly conjecture. His messages to us, and
particularly to Mr. Rassam, during the past week
have been most flattering, though every one of our party
knows how to appreciate such unmeaning trash. lam
quite quiescent about the probable contingencies that may
yet arise. God in His mercy has hitherto, as I have
repeatedly stated, most wonderfully succoured and de-
fended us ; and now, when deliverance is almost at the
door of our prison, I will not suffer a few transient clouds
to overshadow my bright future. About the movement of
the troops we have not heard a word. I yearn to see them,
as I want (God willing) to be with you next Easter."
In a letter from Magdala, dated December 30, Captain
Cameron thus writes to a friend who had interested himself
in his behalf :—" I see by the papers that you were one of
the first to urge the liberation of myself and fellow-prisoners
by force of arms. It is impossible for me not to thank
you. No one could have deprecated war with this
country more than myself up to a certain point. But
after I heard, years ago, that the King had received two
letters from Rassam and not answered them, I saw no
hope, except from troops ; and, with the exception of the
few clays when, thanks to the King's extraordinary
duplicity, Rassam's mission seemed a success, my opinion
has been the same ever since. At any rate, we are in for
it now, and there is not much use in writing—facts
will prove themselves. My own belief is, that if our people
press on without delay to the high country, there will
be little or no loss from local diseases ; as to fighting,
there will be none. Once hemmed in—and we have troops
enough to effect this—the King must take his choice of
being shelled or slashed to death with his horde of raga-
muffins, or surrendering at discretion. I always suppose
that there will be no promises made or parleying on our
account. This would be the height of folly ;at least I
think so. The first thing is to know what attitude he
will assume. One way or other he ought to be thrashed
in a very short time. Even if he manages to slip
through our fingers the result will be the same.
His own people will kill him sooner or later. We don't
know what may happen to us in the meantime ; but it is
an inexpressible relief to know, whatever turn things may
take, this misery must soon come to an end. Anything
better than lingering on in this way—to die at last of heart-
break or starvation, or both. Theodore, the king, has
been threatening to kill one of the Europeans.
.If one
were killed, the rest would soon follow. Remember me
kindly to Sir Henry Rawlinson ; I see he has acted in the
right_spirit. See, I still hope to thank my friends some
day in person. The mail is closing, so I must finish."

LAW AND POLICE.

COSTS OF A BANKRUPTCY PROSECUTION.—On the Bth
inst., upon an appeal from Mr. Commissioner Hill, Lord
Justice Cairns directed a prosecution of Howard, a bank-
rupt, for certain alleged offences under sec. 221 of the
Bankruptcy Act, 1861. The costs of the appeal were
ordered to be paid out of the bankrupt's estate. The case
was mentioned on Saturday, when it appeared that there
was no estate, and it was therefore asked that the costs of
the appeal might be ordered to be paid out of the Chief
Registrar's account, as costs of the prosecution within the
meaning of sec. 223 of the Act. Their lordships were of
opinion that these costs could not be allowed. They were
not costs of the prosecution, nor costs incurred by the pro-
secutor, but costs of a proceeding to authorise him to
become prosecutor.

MISREPRESENTATION.—A motion was made to Vice-
Chancellor Wood on the part of a gentleman who had
subscribed for shares in Bowson, Bailey, and Company, to
have his name taken off the list of shareholders. It
appeared that the applicant had applied for shares on the
faith of representations in the prospectus as to the con-
stitution of the company. The applicant-contended that
this was subsequently varied. The shares were not
allotted until four months after the application. Four
days after that allottment the register was made up,
and contemporaneously the applicant repudiated the
shares, and refused to be regarded as a shareholder.
His Honour held that in consequence of the great delay
between the application for shares and the allotment the
applicant was entitled to refuse to accept the shares. The
name must be taken off the list of contributories, and the
company pay the costs.
INVESTMENT OF MONEY GIVEN AS COMPENSATION.
An important question has just been raised before Vice-
Chancellor Malins in the matter of the Holborn Valley
Improvement. The applicant to the court had been
plaintiff in a compensation suit against the City of
London, and had obtained £6,500 on account of certain
property taken in Skinner-street for the improve-
ment of Holborn. The money had been invested
in Consols in the first instance, but a safe in-
vestment had been found on mortgage of certain
real estate at Rochester, which would give 4,1, per
cent. interest. An objection was made to the City being
saddled with the costs of a second investment, having had
to pay already the costs of a previous petition. There was
no case, in which the court had sanctioned an investment
in land as a temporary investment, as this must be, as the
trustees had no power to give discharges. A case having
been nielf.ioned in which the order prayed for had been
made, the Vice-Chancellor said that the application was a
most reasonable one. A house, producing £3OO a year, had
been compulsorily taken, and the money in the first instance
—because no better investment could be had—was invested
in Consols producing only £2OO a year. Nov the
parties interested had found an investment authorised by
the rule of the court at 4i per cent. ; but it was said that
the court could not sanction this because the City
had paid the costs of a former investment, and also because
this was not a permanent investment, as the time of the
sale had not yet arrived ; but, in his opinion, by the act
of having authorised an immediate sale, he thought the
trustees could have given sufficient discharges. At all
events, as between the parties and the City, this must be
taken as a permanent investment, and the City must pay
the costs.

THE NEW LEGAL APPOINTMENTS.—In the Court O.
Queen's Bench, Mr. Baliol Brett, the new Solicitor-General,
was congratulated on Saturday by the Lord Chief Justice
on his appointment.
NEcEss.thrits.—The question " What are necessaries ?”
has again been raised—this time in the Court of Exche-
quer, in the case of Ortner and another v. Callander. It
was an action-to recover £132 125., the amount of a bill
for jewellery and other articles. The defendant paid
£6 13s. into court, and pleaded never indebted as to the
rest of the claim. He also pleaded infancy. The plaintiffs
were jewellers, and the defendant was the youngest son
of the late Mr. Callander, of Edinburgh. He was for a short
time in the 17th Lancers. In March 1834 he ordered
certain goods of the plaintiffs, but, after communicating
with his brother, who asked them not to serve him, as he
was so young, the plaintiffs did not execute the order. In
July following the defendant gave an order for a watch
and chain, a dressing-case, a ring, and other trifling articles
of jewellery. The plaintiffs referred a second time to the
brother, and he making no further objection, the defendant
received the various articles, for the price of which he was
how sued, he being at that time in his nineteenth year.
The defendf nt admitted his liability for the smaller items
in the plaintiff's account, such, for instance, as for soli-
taires or sleeve links, studs, breast pins, rings, and en-
graving his crest. The real contest was upon the follow-
ing articles : a plain gold hunting watch £4O, a strong gold.
vest guard £2O, a gold and blue enamelled cabinet locket
(for attaching to a gentleman's watch chain, and used for
a miniature or hair), £l4 145.; and an oak dressing-case
with silver fittings, £3O. The jury found for the plaintiff
for everything except the locket.

A CHANCE FOR THE THIEVES.—" The munici-
pality of the city of Paris," says the Presse, " has just
determined, for reasons of economy, to have every other
gas lamp in the streets of the capital exting-uished after
midnight. The measure is to come into operation next
month. The saving is incontestaVe, but the police, when
informed of the intention, have made some just observa-
tions as to the difficulties which the arrangements will
introduce into their surveillance."

A Madrid journal says :—" The golden rose sent
this year by the Pope to the Queen (of Spain), is not, as
might be supposed, an object of trifling value ; on the Con-
trary, it is a truly remarkable work of art, representing a
branch of a rose tree, with the thorns and buds in pure
gold, and having at the extremity a flower of larger size.
The bough rests on an elegant pedestal of silver gilt, which
bears the Papal arms among its ornaments. The intrinsic
value of the present, calculated by the wtig,ht of the gold
only, is about 40,000 reals (24C0)."

ROMAN AFFAIRS.

(From the Roman Correspondent of the Westminster Gazette.)
ROME, February 15.
Baron von Arnim had an audience of the
Pope on Saturday, to present his credentials as
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary in the name of the North German Con-
federation ; he is at the same time to continue
the functions he at present exercises as repre-
sentative of the King of Prussia.
Pere Regis had an audience the same day
to return thanks for a grant of land made to
his order in the marshy ground outside Porta
San Paolo, with permission to found a house
of his order at the Tre Fontane, the spot where
St. Paul was beheaded. These pioneers of cul-
tivation have undertaken here as brave a work
as the Zouaves themselves. It will be a great
matter, indeed, if they succeed in bringing
round this insalubrious district ; but there is
little doubt that many must perish in the
attempt. But Trappists have confronted death
in many such a field before. Pere Regis him-
self, who has lately been Procurator of the
Order in Rome, has already founded a house
at the desert ground round Staonelia, in
Algeria.

On Monday afternoon the cantata celebrating
the Mentana campaign by Rosati, which has
been so long talked of, was performed in the
Vatican Gardens in presence of the Pope.
Though very little notice had been given, there
was a very large audience, including some of
the most important names, English and foreign.
I will not say that the music was altogether
equal to the theme, but it was interesting to
see between 700 and 800 young Roman ama-
teurs (490 vocalists, and 250 instrumentalists)
engaged in celebrating so heartily the praises
of the defenders of their country. The Pope
bestowed a gold medal of the largest dimen-
sions on Rosati, and the same in silver on the
conductor.

There was a review on Thursday in the
large amphitheatre of the Borghese, known
as the Piazza di Siena. The day was brilliant
enough for many parasols to be in requisition
among the English visitors unaccustomed to
sunbeams in mid-February. It did not, how-
ever, prove a matter of attraction to foreign
visitors only, the whole population of Rome
seemed to have turned into the Borghese Gar-
dens as to a truly national festival. General
Kanzler was on the ground punctual to the
appointed hour with a brilliant staff, among
whom I noticed several foreign uniforms of
distinguished visitors from other courts resid-
ing or staying here, and I think the pro-
ministro must have been gratified at the im-
pression to be produced on them by the
appearance of his little army, as they dashed
in and out through their ranks, or, afterwards,
during the marching past. Of course there
was not the perfection of pipe-clayism, nor
even, in all cases, the utter precision of tramp
which displays itself in the more northern
capitols of Europe on such occasions, but to
any one acquainted with all the circumstances
of their history, there was plenty of soldierly
promise whence to augur that the prestige
won by last year's campaign will undoubtedly,
be well maintained. A meed of praise some-
what beyond this must, however, unquestion-
ably be given to the entire Italian corps of
the gendarmi, which may be envied by any
country in Europe, and is surpassed by none
of their crackest regiments, not even in pipe.
clayism, and certainly not in bravery or de-
termination in any mode in which they have
been tried. The line, which is also all Italian,
wants a few years more training to make its
men into soldiers, but there are many smart
fellows among them, too. The carbinieri and
cacciatori have improved in marshal character
under their late training in the field. The
Roman Legion does not look quite so well as
it did, because of many changes in its ranks ;
many old soldiers having been recalled and
replaced by less sinew ; but time will bring
this right again, and the chassepots, with which
the French committee promises shortly to equip
them, will make up for any loss here. The
dragoons are not a sufficiently large body to
have been called very prominently into action
as yet ; there are many dashing horsemen
among them, however, and they are getting
rather popular just now with horsy recruits,
both English and foreign ; they have lately
been joined by, among others, Prince Ros-
pigliosi, two Counts Antonelli, Count Datti,
Prince Iturbide, grandson of the former Em-
peror of Mexico of that name, Mr. de Selby, and
Mr. Keeling. The Zouaves mustered strongly
and looked well ; it is to be regretted that
the difficulty of providing them with some
gala headgear to replace the everyday kepi,
and more in keeping with their peculiar uni-
form, has not yet been surmounted. It is
curious that this regiment, which must con-
tain a larger proportion of men of position in
its rank and file than any army in the world,
is yet less abundantly provided with uniforms
than any other. I cannot say it is any loss to
the men in their appearance, as the very ab-
sence of primness and spotlessness makes them
look all the more business-like and ready for
work at any moment, but it mars their show
on parade days. The extreme and unusual
difference between the uniforms of the officers
and men is, perhaps, more striking, and calls
still more for correction. The smartest corps
is the artillery, which has likewise attracted
its share of Romans of good descent. I
counted seven among its rank and file on
Thursday, and there were doubtless more. It
has not been greatly tried as yet, but the de-
fence of the new fortifications may provide
them with hot work some day.
The specific business of the day was the
distribution by the pro-ministro of the various
decorations awarded to merit in the late cam-
paign. The general descended from his horse
on the ground where the artillery was drawn
up, and the candidates for decoration being
presented to him in order, they were invested
with their distinctive badges with the ancient
ceremonies of the sword-buffet and the acco-
lade. The order of San Silvestro, or Order of
the Golden Spur, the most ancient in Europe,
is highly prized and coveted. It is said to have
been instituted by Constantine after the
famous victory over Maxentius, signalized by
his vision of the Cross ; he obtained for it St.
Sylvester's benediction, and was invested with
it by him. It has received several revivals
by various Pontiffs ; the name of St. Sylvester
was attached to it at the last, under Gregory
XVI. It is borne by two classes—Commen-
datori and Cavalieri. Some few were also
given of the order of St. Gregory the Great,
the whole number of whom is limited to thirty
gran croce, seven commendatori, and 300 cava-
liers. Some, also, of the newer order of Pius
IX.

Following is the summary of the remainder
of General Kanzler's report to the Pope of the
campaign of 1867, of which I sent the com-
mencement last week. It is, perhaps, worth
while to call attention to the action of the
Italian element of the army observable in

the mention of the corps in which it predo-
minates, and in the approbation accorded to
bearers of unmistakably Peninsular patrony-
mics. The harmony reigning between the
different nationalities may be gathered from

their joint co-operation in an matters of impor-
tance and the special services of kindness ren-
dered to each other on various occasions :
GENERAL KANZLER'S REPORT OF THE CAMPAIGN