The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-03-23
DISTRESS IN HoLLAND.-The following is an ex
tract from private letter from Holland

tract from private letter from Holland
"March -, 1861.
"Dear =: few days ago | wrote you about
the terrible distress of the fatherland At that
time twenty-one fourishing villages, with about
forty thousand acres of land, were inundated, and
twenty thousand industrious men in few davs
deprived OF all their possessions, and many of their
wives and children, who were drowned amidst the
ice. To-day received later news of a still more
alarming calamity. Not only the Bommelerward
but the land of Mas and WAL was totally inunda-
ted To the twenty-one villages totally lost in the
BOmmelerward were again TWENTY-FIVE others
added, with about seventy-seven thousand acres of
land inundated. The last loss exceeded far more
than that OF the former, and we can calculate that
about sixty thousand former happy and wealthy
industrious men are to-day reduced to beggary.
The Pdtrte in Paris, some papers in England and
Belgium, have opened their columns of themselves
without demand of the Hollanders, to assist in the
tremendous calamity, not paralleled in extent of
loss during centuries The King and the Princess
went with the Governors in person to the inundated
spot, where eight ships sunk in consequence of
the force of the ice. All people were providing bread
&C., Tor numbers of the sufferers-many of whom
during three days could not be approached when
at last many were found dead amidst the ice and
water, the roofs of their inundated dwellings,
Whole streets with houses were cut, in a moment,
through by the irresistible force of the ice; many
with the people in them. Several peasants had
lost more than one hundred cows each, at fftv
dollars piece; very little cattle could be saved;
nearly all were drowned cut to pieces by the ice
1ue Clties IeTtOgehOOScH lie Duc1, the capital
of N. Brabant, Nymegen and Zutphen, were more
than half inundated. In the palace OF the King the
cooks were day and night at work to prepare eata-
Bile and transportable provisions for the sixty thou
sand sufferers, who saved nothing except their
lives and the clothes they wore. The King himself
had subscribed thirty thousand dollars, and large
sums were provided by the Holanders; but what is
this when daily divided between sixty thousand
persons deprived OF all? X
"M hen it was urged upon William I'LL that his
treasury would not allow more expense he answer
ed !: Never mind, shall continue to bring my
offers, and live rather more simply, to save more
for the poor sufferers
every respectfully, yours,--."
GREAT IMPRovEMENr IN MAKING SUGAR.-E Opin-
ION Nattonale, of Paris, under the heading, ga
Revolution in the Manufacture of Sugar" an
nounces discovery by NJ. Rousseau, which, it
says; will more than double the yield from given
quantity OF cane. The process is exceedingly sim
pie, and the editor says that be has repeated it
with complete success in the laboratory, and sees
no reason why it should not succeed as well on
large scale. 1t is known that saccharine juice as
obtained from plants alters rapidly in the air. be-
cause it contains albuminous matters, which be-
come brown or black by the action of oxygen. NJ
Rousseau removes the abuminous matters by heat
ing the juice with about three one-thousandths of
its weight of crude pulverized plaster As soon as
the liquid arrives at boiling heat, a thick scum
forms on the surface, and by decantation, a per
tectly clear liquid is obtained This liquid left in
the air.would become as black as ink; but by mix
hydrated peroxyd of iron, all the aterabe organic
matters are removed in few seconds. 1t will
then remain for an indefinite time without color
ana II only necessary to boil it down to obtain
crystaized sugar.
The FIRST DIsUEIoNIsr.-0n the lst of February,
1850, Senator Hale, of New Hampshire, presented
two petitions from Isaac Jeffries and other citi-
zens OF Pennsylvania, and John E. Woodward and
others, praying that "some plan might be devised
for the dissolution Of the American Union." Mr.
n aak, L.
denunciation of the petitions and suggested that
there should have been preamble to them in these
words:
"Gentlemen members of Congress: Whereas, at the
of the session. you and each of took
your solemn oaths in the presence of God, and the
Holy Eyangests, that you would support the Constitu
tion Of the United Satesnow therefore, pray you
to take immediate steps to break the Union and
throw the Constitution you can"
Yet this petition received three votes on the
question OF its reception, viz: John P. Hale, of
New Hampshire; William H. Seward, of New
York; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio. The last two
| are Cabinet officers.