The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LOAt ON. MON DAY EV EN ING, JANUARY 6, 18€ 84

properly a stratum of the mountain formation, '
bears vast beds of very rich ore, the extent
of which is only conjecture, but which ap-
parently can furnish an inexhaustible supply of ore,
of value from 75 to 300 or 400 dollars per ton.
The workings at various mills of large quantities
prove this. This giant vein is encased in highly
crystalline limestone. Twenty locations have been
made on the vein, with the following names and
dimensions :—Commencing at its greatest point of
altitude is the Chieftain.—Genesee Company, 1,400
feet ; Murphy Company, 800 ; Gill Company, 800;
Taylor and Passmore, 800; De Witt Company, 450;
St. Louis Company, 2,000 ; Meacham and Brothers,
400 ; Niagara Company, 400: Savage Company,
400; Nebraska Company, 1200; Cortez Giant,Mount
Tenabo Company, 4,000 ; Ehnore Company, 200 ;
Russell Company, 600; Continental Comp my, 1000 ;
Argentine Company, 1,000 ; Empire Company, 800;
Coun and Brothers, 400 ; Travesse Company, 400 ;
and the Anna Burr Company, 2,000 ft. The latter
claim is somewhat broken, and at its termination the
vein penetrates the earth, and is lost altogether. The
vein disappears also at the upper boundary of the
Chieftain. It has been opened at several points
along its course, in every case disclosing good
mineral. The Gill, Taylor, and Passmore, and
St. Louis locations, near the upper end of the
vein, have been worked, the two latter consi-
derably. The Cortez Giant, which lies near the
centre of the vein, is the most fully developed
location, and has yielded a large amount of bullion
this season. Some work has also been done on the
Continental, situated towards the lower end of the
vein, with about the same results as in the other
cases specified. Of this wonderful vein there is
little exact knowledge, but that it stands out upon
the mountain's face, a huge, palpable fact. It will
be developed for its whole length ere a long time
passes, and when that day arrives, we believe the
Nevada Giant will be universally regarded as among
the wonderful mines of the world.—Anglo-American
Tines.

CONGRESS.

SENATE.

On the 11th December Mr. Sumner presented a
memorial from General James S. Brisbin and 30,000
coloured men of Kentucky, asking Congress to be-
stow upon them the right of suffrage, and stating
that if this is done they believe that the murder,
arson, and rape now so prevalent in Kentucky will
be put an end to. To this Mr. Davis' took excep-
tion, pronouncing it a foul and mendacious libel on
Kentucky. Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, called up the
Bill to raise the value of legal tender notes to par ;
and read an elaborate argument in favour of its
adoption, which occupied two hours. He said—
" Its passage would establish such confidence that
from the day of its passage the inequality between
coin and legal tenders would begin to diminish, and
by the time specified for the redemption of legal
tenders iu coin (July 4, 1869) the legal tenders would
be at par and equal to coin. The greatest danger
might be apprehended from foreign exchanges, but
we had a million and a half of solvent men just re-
leased by the war who are added to the producers.
These, with the immense accessions from foreign
emigration, will add immensely to the producers or
the country, and he saw no reason why, even in the
coming year our exports would not largely exceed
our imports." Its further consideration was post-
poned until the 13th.

On the 12th Mr. Patterson reported a bill
limiting contracts for stationery and other supplies
to the Executive Department to one year, which
passed. A discussion followed on Mr. Sherman's
Bill providing that all moneys accruing from
the sale of captured and abandoned property, now
in the hands of the Treasurer of the United States,
shall be covered by warrant into the Treasury, and
not be drawn thence unless by authority of Con-
gress. Mr. Drake's resolution, postponed to the 13th,
censuring the President for the language of his last
Message on the Reconstruction measures of Con-
gress, gave the floor to Mr. Johnson, of Maryland,who
defended the President. He considered Mr. Drake
would have better occupied his time in answering
the arguments of the Message than by indulg-
ing in censure, and it would require all the &motor's
ability to answer them. The Mess ige was before
the people, and the President had no reason to be
dissatisfied with their judgment. The true course
was to attack the arguments, not the President ; to
answer, not to vilify. In the course of his speech
a discussion occurred between him and Mr. Drake
as to whether the latter gentleman had ever been a
supporter of Andrew Jackson, to whom the Senator
referred as a President, against whom a resolu-
tion of censure had been passed. He commented
on the action which led to this, and how it
was met by President Jackson declaring it to
be much more objectionable than any act of the
present incumbent. No man can gainsay that
the provisions of the Reconstruction Act vio-
late the Constitution, infringing the first eight
amendments, striking down the personal liberties
of the citizen and sovereignties of the States.
If the President is satisfied of this,—instead of
censure for his course, he should receive praise.
The motion was postponed. The President sent
the Senate a Message, giving his reasons for the
suspension of the Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of
War, of a hich we have already given a summary.
Dec. 13.—Mr. Cragin,
New Hampshire, from. the
Committee on Territories, reported, without amend-
ment, the bill to regulate the selection of grand and
petty jurors of the Territory of Utah and for other
purposes. It affects the militia, marriages, expressly
forbidding polygamy, making presents at the cere-
mony of sealing, a crime punishable by a fine of
$ll.OOO and imprisonment with hard labour for two
years. Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, called up the bill
exempting cotton grown after 1867 from tax. Mr.
Johnson, Maryland, proposed to amend the bill by
exempting the present crop from tax. Mr. Pome-
roy, Kansas, said this would not benefit the pro-
ducer, the cotton having now left his hands. The
bill was postponed. Mr. Wilson, Massachusetts,
called up the Bounty Bill, which was passed. It
gives to the families of deceased soldiers the boun-
ties they would have received had they lived.
Dec. 16.—Mr. Howard, of Michigan, introduced
a resolution to furnish to the Senate a statement of
the amount of the United States Bonds issued to the
Union Pacific Railroad Company, and to the Cen-
tral Pacific Railroad Company of California, and
of the interest paid by the Government on such
bonds ; also of the amount repaid by those com-
panies, and in what manner.—Adopted.
Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, presented a joint re-
solution of the Vermont Legislature in regard to
the establishment of a line of steamships to Liberia,
which was referred ; also a joint resolution request-
ing their Senators to use their influence to procure
a modification of the national banking laws, so as to
permit and regulate the taxation of the stock of
national banks by the municipalities where they are
situated. It was referred to the Committee on
Finance.

Mr. 'Wilson, of Massachusetts, introduced a bill
to reorganise the Department of State, and to re-
duce the expenses thereof, which was ordered to be
printed. It provides that the Department of
State shall consist of a Secretary of State, with an
annual salary of
$B,OOO, an Assistant Secretary of
State, with an annual salary of $3,500, together
with other officers at specified salaries. • The bill
defines the duties of the officers and clerks respec-
tively, and provides that it shall not be lawful for
the Secretary of State to fill the office of chief clerk,
or to replace the heads of divisions. or branches
by new appointments, but only by promotion. It
shall not be lawful for the Finance and Disbursing
Clerk to pay the salary appropriated for one
office to any person discharging the duties of
another office, nor to pay any. person the
salary or money appropriated as compensa-
tion for the performance of any duty, which
duty such person has not actually performed, nor to
pay any clerk or messenger whose time, or any con-
siderable portion thereof, is devoted to the private
affairs of the Secretary of State ; nor shall he pay
the travelling expenses, in whole or in part, of any
person connected with said Department, or pay for
the telegraphing except in cases of .extreme urgency.
The bill further provides that the secret service
fund, so called, shall be abolished in time of peace,
and that hereafter the President's approval shall

not be a sufficient voucher for the expenditure of
any money in time of peace, but that all items of
expenditure from the funds of the Departnient shall
be for purposes authorised by law. The bill fixes
the fee for a certified copy of a pardon or amnesty,
both at $5, and provides that no additional fee
shall be charged for taking and certifying au oath
in proof of citizenship. It also limits the charges
for copies of papers not for use in the public service
to 15 cents per 100 words, and $2 for the certificate
and seal. Also a bill, which was referred, to fix
and limit the compensation of diplomatic officers,
and, in part, to define their duties. It provides for
a reorganisation of the foreign service, increasing
the compensation of some officers, and combining
into one several missions and consulates. lie stated
that the total appropriatio❑ for diplomatic and con-
sular expense would be lessened and their efficiency
increased.
The debate on the tax on cotton was commenced
by Mr. Morrill, who moved to amend that, " after
April 1, 1868, all cotton imported from foreign
countries shall be exempted from duty." He consi-
dered that there was as as much necessity for repeal
of taxes, North, East, West, as South. Woollens and
pork required as much relief as cotton. He saw no
reason why that relief should be solely in regard to
rebels. Cotton was really a " king," and nowhere
could it be so economically produced as in the
United States. Good would result, and evil be
averted, if that tax remained, and the drawback
given on manufactured goods. If relieved by its re-
peal for all time, the people of the South would re-
main imbecile in industrial pursuits as they had
always been. The crop of Brazil, Egypt, and India
was decreasing, and must decrease, while that of
China and Japan had almost ceased. The danger was
from themselves, in increasing the crop. Mr. Sher-
man, of Ohio, defended the bill. He showed
cotton was not king. If the tax were not removed,
American cotton would never regain its former
position. Mr. Pomeroy (Kansas) said that Mr.
Morrill's arguments proved too much, for if other
countries ceased to grow cotton, it was a reason for
America to increase the crop, not to reduce it. Mr.
Fessenden, of Maine, opposed the bill, considering
the action hasty. He wished to build up manufac-
tures, and not to abandon what had long been the
policy of the country. He denied the hypothesis of
Mr. Sherman, that the price of cotton would be
enhanced by free labour. The low price of the
staple was caused by its surplus production,
and not by the tax. Let them suspend it,
if necessary, for a time, and see what the
effect of the repeal would be on other articles.
Mr. Morton, of Indiana, gave notice that, at the
proper time, be would move an amendment to tax
all cotton grown after 1867 one cent per pound.
Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, advocated the bill
at length, as also did Mr. Williams, of Oregon ;
and Mr. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, who ob-
served " that a tax on cotton in America was a pre-
mium on cotton in India." Mr. Morrill, of Vermont,
replied, maintaining the ground he had before oc-
cupied. He even considered that it would be striking
a blow at the South to repeal the tax. Mr.
Johnson, of Maryland, again spoke, when he stated
" that he had believed at first the tax was unconsti-
tutional, "alluding to the prohibition in the Consti-
tution from taxing imports. The cotton tax was
ruinous, the universal testimony being that it could
not be grown under the double burden of the pre-
sent system of paid labour and such a tax. Instead
of discouraging its cultivation, bounties should rather
be given for its production. He warmly seconded
the desire of Mr. Frelinghuysen to see the South
reinstated in everything except slavery. Mr.
Conkling moved to so amend the bill as to make it
applicable only to the year 1868.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
11th Dec.—Mr. Pruyn, of New York, in refer-
ence to the debate relating to Russian America on
the 9th December, said " that the legal point made
by Mr. Butler was incorrect. Mr. Butler assumed
that the House was not bound to make appropria-
tion to carry out the treaty made by the Senate.
He contended that when a treaty was made in good
faith by the Senate it was the duty of the House to
make the necessary appropriation to carry out the
treaty, and any other course would be a violation of
faith. A treaty made by the Senate was a law
binding upon the House, and must be concurred in
by the latter."
Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, asked leave to
make a personal explanation, but Mr. Wood and
others objected.
Mr. Dodge, of lowa, from the Committee on
Military Affairs, reported a bill to amend the Act
of April 10, 1806, for establishing rules and articles
for the government of the armies of the United
States. [lt repeals Article 61 of that date, and pro-
vides that all brevets shall bear date from the time
of the action for which the officer was breveted.]
Passed.

Mr. Garfield reported back the bill relating to
officers of the army dismissed or cashiered by sen-
tence of court-martial, and which prohibits the re-
storation of such officers unless they shall he sub-
sequently confirmed by the Senate.
Mr. Nlack, of Indiana, asked if the bill was to
be retrospective or prospective.

Mr. Garfield replied that it was tobe prospective,
of course.

Mr. Niblick said he was led to ask the question
because it was supposed that the bill was to affect
General Fitz John Porter's case.
After some further discussion the bill was recom-
mitted.

Mr. Banks, of Massachusetts, from Committee
on Foreign Affairs, presented a letter from the
Secretary of State in answer to the trial of Ameri-
can citizens in England., The communication sim-
ply relates to the copying of certai❑ documents.
Re-committed.

The whole House then resolved itself into com-
mittee, when Mr. Washburne, of Wisconsin, spoke
at length, condemning the purchase of St. Thomas
arid of Russian America. He read from geography
and from books of travel. lie contended that the
purchases were utterly useless, and could be of no
benefit to the United States. Alaska was a bar-
ren waste, and he would vote no money for its
purchase, and the fact that the Senate had rati-
fied the treaty would not induce him to vote for
an appropriation. On which Mr. Pfuyn again
stated that good faith required the appropriation, as
the treaty was ratified. Mr. Maynard, of Tennes-
see, asked if Mr. Washburne was willing that Eng-
land should take the territory, who answered, Does
England want it? when Mr. Maynard said, he
supposed she would take it from her known grasp-
ing desires and her propensity to gather up all the
property under the sun. Mr. Washburne replied
that this country was not under the sun—(laughter)
—and he doubted whether England wanted the
territory.
The select committee on Southern railroads sub-
mitted to the House of Representatives the testi-
mony taken. They report that they have concluded
the taking of testimony upon all points except as
to the expediency of declaring forfeit, lands granted
in aid of railroads in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Arkansas, in which case the tes-
timony is now being procured by the War De-
partment from the military commanders in those
sections.

Upon the other points they will be prepared to
report when the testimony is printed, for which pur-
pose the testimony is now being reported with a
request to that effect.
A large number of witnesses have been examined
at various points.

A communication from Gen. Grant, Secretary of
War, encloses a statement of the indebtedness of
the respective heads on the Ist of November, 1867,
from which it appears that the total appraised value
of the property sold was $7,456,396 390. Total
payments to Nov. 1, 1867, $3,459,314 29c., as
follows :—By cash, $2,169,547 48c. ; transportation.
of Government troops and supplies, $708,569 420. ;
mail service, $581,228 39e.
The payments were made at various dates between
Nov. 30th, 1865, and Nov. 1, 1867.
The balance due the United States on the Ist
Nov., 1867, including interest, was $1,834,500 62c.
On the 12th Deeen:ber, the Committee on Com-
merce was directed to inquire into the causes of the
depressed condition of the shipping interest, and
whether.that interest does not require a remismon of

internal duties on material entering into building
material for vessels.

The Committee on Roads and Canals was directed
to inquire into the expediency and propriety of
making an appropriation for a canal around the
Falls of Ohio, on the Indiana side, and that I f
Ways and Means of levying a tax on family crests
and coats-of-arms worn upon household furniture
in actual use.

Mr. Cary, of Ohio, offered a resolution, which
was referred to the Committee of Ways and
Means, declaring—" That in the opinion of this House
the Secretary of the Treasury should not provide
for the immediate paymeut of the bonds of
Rbfuary, 1847, now due on the bonds of 18-18, due
after July, 1868, but that the payment of the same
should be postponed until the currency and legal
tender notes are of the same commercial value."

We have elsewhere noticed Mr. Maynard's resolu-
tion for selecting from among uegroes the diplomatic
and consular representatives to Hayti, Liberia, and.
other African ports, which was referred to Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution of Mr.
Baker, of Illinois, was universally adopted, " That the
military establishment should be as small as possible,
and that the Military Committee should inquire into
a reduction of the army." The Committee on Naval
Affairs was directed to inquire into the expediency
of locating a navy yard and naval depot at Erie,
Pennsylvania.

Mr. Farnsworth, of Illinois, offered a resolution
directing an inquiry into certain charges against
Mr. Hale, United States Consul to Egypt. Referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. [The charges
are preferred by Francis De Lacy, of New York,
who charges Mr. Hale with having attached in
Egypt several hundred thousand dollars' worth of
goods at the instance of parties in New York
City.]
The Committee on Ways and Means is to in-
quire into an exemption from taxation of all in-
comes not exceeding $2,500 per annum.

Dec. 13.—Mr. Eliot, of Massachusetts, presented
a Quaker's memorial in the welfare of Indians,
praying that the love of peace may prevail, and just
laws be passed for their protection. Mr. Eldridge's
resolution was adopted relative to the collection of
income tax from the Shakers of :New Lebanon. Mr.
Kerr, of Indiana, moved to inquire into the expe-
diency of amending the internal revenue law, ex-
empting from stamp duty official bonds executed for
religious, benevolent, or charitable societies.

Dec. 16.—Mr. Hubbard, of West Virginia,
brought up his bill to facilitate the resumption of
specie payment. It provides that after the Ist of
July, 1868, 20 per cent. of all duties on imported
goods may be paid in United States notes ; after
the Ist of July, 1869, 40 per cent. ; after the Ist
of July, 1870, 60 . per cent. ; after the ' Ist of
July, 1871, 80 per cent. ; and after the Ist of
July, 1872, the whole. Referred to committee
of Ways and Means. As was also that offered by
Mr. Brooks, of New York, relating to legal tender
notes, which provides that the Finance Committee
of the Senate and the Committee of Ways and
Means shall inquire into the expediency, first, of
making legal tender notes receivable in part pay-
ment of Customs duties, say five per cent. after the
first of January, 1868 ; ten per cent. after the first
of February, 1868 ; with like proportion after the
first of March, 1868 ; second, of repealing the legal
tender act on all contracts made after the first of
March, 1868, or, if not repealing it, enabling con-
tracts to be made payable in gold and silver. Mr.
Benjamin, of Missouri, offered a resolution reciting
that the President in his late Annual Message had
seen fit, in utter disregard of the popular will as
expressed in the election of the members in the
XLth Congress, to recommend the repeal of the Re-
construction laws, the effect of which would be to re-
mit the government of the late rebellious States to
rebel hands, and abandon the entire loyal element
there to the will of traitors, and that it is emi-
nently proper that the House should respond in
emphatic terms to so extraordinary a proposition,
and resolving that the House will never consent to
take a retrograde step from its advanced position
in promoting the cause of equal rights, nor to
deviate from its fixed purpose of protecting all men
as equal before the law, that there is no reason to
doubt that the restoration of the rebellious States
is being successfully accomplished on a firm and
enduring basis, and that no good reason exists why
the Reconstruction Acts should be repealed. Mr.
Kerr's movement to lay the resolution on the
table was defeated by 112 to 32, and the resolution
and preamble adopted by a strictly party vote of
111 yeas to 32 nays. Mr. Butler, of Massa-
chusetts, moved to suspend the rules to enable
him to offer a resolution, declaring that in the
judgment of the House all the indebtment
of the nation ought to be paid in exact ac-
cordance with the Acts of Congress creating
it, but not otherwise; that is to say, all loans
enacted to be paid in gold, to be so paid, and all
loans not so enacted to be payable, ought to bepaid
in lawful money of the United States. The rules
were not suspended. Yeas, 63 ; nays, 83 ; and the
resolution was not received. The Speaker pre-
seated a message from the President, transmitting
copies of the papers relating to the trial of Albert
Lusk, of Indiana, in New Orleans, and stating that
no action in the case had yet been taken by the Pre-
sident. The message was referred to the Judiciary
Committee. [lle indorsement on the papers by
the Secretary of War ad interim is that the crime
was a most fearful and brutal one; that this was
the first trial for murder by a military commission
under the Reconstruction Acts, and that the sen-
tence should be carried into effect.]
The House then, in committee of the whole, with
Broomall, Pennsylvania, in the chair, proceeded to
consider the Deficiency Appropriation Bill, which
appropriates $118,892, including the following
items : for stationery for the House, $15,000 ; fur-
niture, repairs, and packing-boxes, $20,000 ; fold-
ing documents, including material, $50,000 ; news-
papers, $12,500. To the latter claim is appended a
proviso that hereafter no member of either House
shall be allowed or be paid for newspapers and sta-
tionery for any one year more than $125 in money,
or its value. After the rejection of two amend-
ments the committee rose, and reported back the
Bill to the House, when the rules were suspended
by 84 to 39, and the Bill read a third time and
passed without amendment.

John Mitchell, editor of the New York Irish
Citizen, but better known for the part he took in the out-
break of 1848, has been offered the presidency of the re-
united Fenian Senate, which, after some negotiation, is to
be composed of seven nominated by Roberts, and seven by
Savage, who is supposed to be the legitimate successor to
James Stephens. If John Mitchell refuses, the senate thus
constituted will elect a president.
A PLEA FOR THE HOUSEHOLD FAlRlES.—Panto-
mimes are n'ot dull this year because we are blasé or de-
pressed with the badness of the times. They have taken
away our children. There we sit night after 446111 iu
gigantic Covent Garden or lordly Drury Lane, but no
sweet music of children's laughter goes echolug-through
the house. Where are. those .little golden-haired
boys and fairy girls who used, in the good old
days, to clap their little hands and jump about iu a wild
ecstasy of delight ? Gone ! all gone to morning perforn.-
ances, and we aro left to enjoy the banquet with no ex-
hilarating drink to wash it down. Not only on the
selfish grounds we have mentioned do we object to
morning performances of pantomimes. Are modern
children more virtuous than we were ? It was not
the pantomime alone tha.t delighted us in our childhood
We liked the drive to the theatre in the carriage ; the
gas-lit streets ; the dissipation of sitting up late, and a
supper to crown everytEng. IWe would have sneered at
a morning performance. • It is only once a year, kind
mothers. They aro a lit tle bit cross next day, perhaps;
but that soon wears off. , Leave morning performances
to the inhabitants of Surbiton and Streatham, Hen-
don and Edmonton,—forks who can't get back home at
night; but let us have our little folks back at the even-
ing pantomimes, so that their shrill voices niay waken up
the British audience, and -.their bright faces dissipate its
gloom.
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—HdIoway's Pills.- Winterly Draw-
backs.—Whence fogs spriu,g or whether they retire, it is
not our present purpose to .explain, we desire to point out
holi their ill effects on the li.uniau frame can be neutralised.
The blood must be freed .from superfluous carbon and
mephitic taints by seine pnr. ifying medicine like Hello-
Ava>'s Pills; which not only cleanse the circulation, but
adjust iu every organ the defer is imposed upon it by that
fluid when it has become foul .or sluggish. These Pills
prevent stagnation, congestion, and are the best regu-
lators and preservatives against internal inflammations,
irritations, and ulcerations, while expelling morbid matters.
from the system, they cool it, )y their gently aperitive
active, and stren4then it by their tonic Yk.tuefs.
1. .

WHAT IS IT THAT _IRELAND WANTS?

It is not unseldom asked, with an air of seem-
ing innocence, What in the world can Ireland
want? The question carries with it its own answer,
to a mind that will reflect upon it. For it displays
the profound ignorance of the enquirer, whilst
the state of Ireland calls for the clearest know-
ledge, and the most consummate wisdom and pru-
dence. It betrays the self-satisfied complacency
of prejudice, indignant at being called to account ;
whilst the condition of Ireland requires the most
impartial investigation, and the well-being of Eng-
land the most rigid self-examination. It savours
of the slothful pride of a master accustomed to take
his ease, and Ireland needs the solicitude of a tender
and unwearied mother. It argues disregard of Ire-
land's appeals for just consideration, and heedless-
ness of England's past iniquities. Those iniquities
still cry to Heaven, for no reparation has been yet
attempted. Nay, the injustice itself is not wholly
done away.

True loyalty does not consist in idle abuse of
Fenianism, but in endeavouring to remove its cause.
All the Fenians in America could do no harm to
England, through an Irish channel, if she would
but take the pains to consider Ireland's wants,
and set herself in earnest to win Ireland's heart.
It would be an easy and a grateful task, and the
sooner it is entered upon the better. For, until it
is taken up and followed out, Ireland will never be
at rest. Then would Ireland be England's buckler
as now she is her thorn. What was it gave the
Fenians birth ? What now gives them ground for
action ? What is the fulcrum on which their
lever rests to upset the hated English incubus ?
It is Ireland's discontent which arises out of Eng-
land's disregard. England endeavours to govern
Ireland from an English point of view. Would
England rest content under an Irish mode of go •
verning ? Let her do as she would be done by !
How many of our English legislators have been
at the pains to visit Ireland, and inform them-
selves of what Ireland wants ? Ho% many of them
who have crossed St. George's channel have done
more than enjoy a pleasant tour, with a laugh
at Irish humour, and, it may be, a chuckle at Eng-
lish superiority ? How many, out of the few who
have done more than this, have sought their infor-
mation in the quarter which represents the Irish
people ? They may have asked it of the wealthy
Protestant landlord, and the intruded Protestant
parson, but they ought to have gained it from the
parish priest, from the industrious Irish farmer,
from the enterprising and intelligent Irish mer-
chant. These are the true representatives of the
Irish people, and the mouthpieces of Irish feeling;
the others do but in general represent the do-
minant English power, and speak the voice of
English interest.

We are not Fenians, God forbid ! Nor are we
Irish, though we might well be proud of such a
nationality. We are English, but we are just.
We are loyal, but we are true. Nor shall our gra-
titude as Catholics to the noble-Irish nation beguile
Us beyond the limits of justice in estimating her
due claims. As Catholics we are Ireland's debtors,
but as Englishmen we are more. We belong to a
country which has done her injury, and we are
bound to call on our country to repair it. Loudly
as we condemn the means to which a revolutionary
faction has lately had resort, we cannot let it be
supposed that we see no cause for Ireland's dis-
affection. We are not puzzled to answer the quer-
tion :—What is it that Ireland wants? First of
all, she wants attention, and the attention of a
mother.

The Irish character is a loyal one, but loyalty
requires reciprocity. If England had acted loyally
to Ireland, she would have had no children so true
to her as the Irish. Why is it that Ireland hates
her ? It is becaus2 England disregards her cries.
Better Fenians, better anything than England as
it is, is the present feeling of the Irish race. And
so it will contiune till Englishmen are at the pains
to ascertain for themselves what it is that Ireland
wants ! Westminster Gazette.

SENSATIONAL ITEMS.—A crime of more than or-
dinary atrocity was committed by Mr. and Mrs. Brown, of
Chatham, New York, early last month. It appears ti at
they bad insured for $5,000 the life of their little daughtL
a girl twelve years of age. To obtain this money they
murdered the child, and, to conceal the crime, set fire 0
the house.—A fire, accompanied by circumstances
of unusual horror, occurred at New York on ti) 3
16th of December last. It broke out at two a.m. :a
a six-storey building in Second Avenue, where 150 pe;--
sons were asleep. The dense volume of smoke penetrating
into the rooms drove the occupants in a panic upwards till
they reached the garret, when they endeavoured to escape
by a ladder through the ventilator in the roof. The lad-
der broke, when, iu a frenzy of fear, the people threw
themselves from this enormous height into the street, where
all must have been killed but for the masses of snow
which broke their fall. Some escaped by the gutter
pipes ; others by ladders. Twenty-three were rescued by
the police, and seven dead bodies were found in the upper
room. The house was a " model" tenement, and against
the owner, who is accused of murder and assassination,
the people vow vengeance, as the building is supposed to
have been set on fire, and 11 persons perished in the
flames. As we have fairly embarked on horrors, we give
the story' of Mrs. Boone, the widow of the actor, and he:
four children, known as "infant prodigies." After act-
ing sham sensation scenes, these poor children being
reduced to the last stages of want, enacted a real
tragedy. Mrs. Boone having pawned everything, adm
nistered laudanum to the whole family. Perhaps she had
not money enough to effect the object she contemplated
or the drug was adulterated, for they were all discovered
by the police in a state of unconsciousness, and conveyed
to the hospital. The family remain in a critical state. To
these cases we add the railway accident on the Ver-
mont Central Railroad, which occurred on the 11th
Dec. A carriage, with 75 men, employed in rebuilding
a bridge recently burnt, was backed off the abutment.
The fall was 60 feet, and the car, as it was precipitated, broke
in three pieces; one part fell on a shelving rock, whore
25 men lay half-way down the bank; 19 were killed and
40 desperately injured. It is remarked as singular that
none were killed who fell the entire depth. Frank Abbott,
the driver, has been censured, though, it is said, the
engine was beyond his control. Mr. Locklin, assistant
superintet_dent of the road, and Major Tenney, the master
bridge. builder, escaped by jumping from the train. Of
the injured more than 30 belonged to Vermont, and many
wore French Canadians. The dead were taken to North-
field, where the accident occurred, and five surgeons from
that town, and six from Montpelier, were quickly on the
spot. We cannot close this grand record without. giving
a big thing in robberies. On the 13th Dec., while the
snow fell end the wind howled over Now Yolk, a mes-
senger proceeded to the' Bank of New York, front the
Clearing-house, by Wall-street, with his satchel filled
with cheques and drafts. A man driving a sleigh
stopped and seized the bag, with which he jumped into the
vehicle and drove off, the messenger hanging on to the
property till he was stunned by a blow on the head and
left lying in the snow. The cheques and drafts amounted
to $3,600,000, of which payment has of course been
stopped, but the thieves have not yet been discovered.
Admiral Porter gives a glowing report of St.
Thomas, setting forth the excellence and defensive capa-
bilities of its harbour. The inhabitants, he says, " are
hospitable to a fault, and they are mostly coloured and
extremely well educated." His Majesty of Denmark has
published a pathetic proclamation, in which he takes leave
of his islands, commending them to the protection of the
Almighty in-a way scarcely complimentary to the United
States.