The Aberystwith Observer

But loi' jim CwmjMtttt. Kg deem it &ir>tate that wa de not at nil tinwe indentifv «1tm "*»» • x cfrr**p*ncl«nt's opisiens.] Some timr t ago It was officially announced that her Majesty s aealtii was not equal to holding levees and drawing- jr<Mms, but that the Prince and Princess of Wales'would preside at these aristocratic gatherings. Di course no one can Ceny the foundation of the official announcement, however much it may be gene- rally regret'jed. But the public generally, and the Upper Ten Thousand in particular, are now afflicted fey a further official notice—that, "in conse- quence of the inconvenience experienced at tht Queen's lev.æ and drawing-rooms, from the over-crowded sfts&e of the apartments, it will not be expected that lia-dies or gentlemen should attend at Court .pon more than one occasion during the season." This is not at all generally liked. Many tradesmen, both in London and the provinces, more eepscially those who deal in the fine feathers which make the fine tirds which flock to these assemblies, depend upon the levees and drawing-rooms for a Rood season," and this an- nouncement comis upon them like a cold shower bath. Common-sense people ask why, if the rooms at St. James's Palace are so inconvenient, Buckingham :Palace is not chosen? But against this there is precedent and rule, and nowhere does precedent reign with such an iron sceptre as in royal circles. On the whole, I am sorry for the ukase just issued, for I think it tends to make her Majesty somewhat unpopular with the aristocracy. Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales are becoming daily more popular --irom the unaffected intercourse which they hold with the public. Hastings has added to its visitors considerably during the last few days, and all speak highly of the beauty of the Princess and the manly 'bearing of the Prince. As to the young Duke of Cornwall, the ladies seem unanimously to opine that he is a duck, and who shall deny that the infant Prince has arrived at that exalted dignity ? Parliament is now thoroughly in harness, but the debates hitherto, though important, have not been of that interesting character that will hereafter be in- fused into more popular subjects. The relations of the European powers, the treaty of 1852, the views of American and cur own statesmen upon the rights of ijollicjerenta and 1he wrongs of neutral*—all these topics, the importance ef which no one can deny, do not lay hold of the public mind. Ere long we shall have some discussions at once important and interest- ing, and the public are now looking out for the first thoroughly Government and Opposition debate, which shall show the relative power of ministers and the;r opponents. People allover the country are by this time pretty well aware that London is proposed to be cut up into mincemeat to please the railway contractors. There Me no less than thirty-one metropolitan railway schemes actually before the House, possessing (on pjsper) a capital of thirty-three millions, with borrow- ing powers for ten millions more. Happily, the public generally, and the Legislature have at last waked up to the wholesale destruction that is contemplated, and there is every probability,that all these sehemea will be eonaidered in their entirety. What we want, and in fact what the travelling community generally want, are a few comnectiog-links which will accommodate travellers to and from all parts, without destroying an entire city, as the railway magnates now propose to do. Sir George Grey, who never seems able to coincide with popular opinion, has come to the decision that the seven pirates must 8e hanged at Newgate. Plain people, not bound by red tape, cannot see why he could not have ordered that the execution should take place 03n a sloop of war down the river, where crowding and the display of London ruffianism could not have been s. great M at the Old Bailey but the official decree has gone forth, and there is an-end of the matter so far as locality is concerned. The intention of the ehwiffs, it is aaid, is that the poor wretches shall be hanged separately—"each of the convicts pinioned separately, and taken to the place of execution alone." But ic all this is to be done in the sight of the public, it will But heighten the excitement and prolong the ruf- fianism. If I remember rightly, the authorities at Kirkdalerat a recent execution, erected a screen before the criminals, so as to hide them from the public. Surely this might be done in the present case ? Who has not read with interest that table of pre- cedence" which is to be found in some of the alma- aack-i When tke lamented Prince Consort was among us, this table ran thus: "The Queen, Prince of Walts, Prince Consort, the Queen's other sons, the Princess Royal," te., and, growing fine by degrees and beautifully less, it ended Barristersat-law officers of the ar my and nsvy, not esquires by oommission citizens, burgesses," &c.; and it could have gone no further unless there had been appended people t1\ rag, and bobtail." But there has never been a table of precedence ail applied to towns. London <>i*ie» first, of course, but which comes next ? When the addresses to the Prince of Wales were presented, there was no little fuse about the precedence of Edin- burgh and Dublin—beg pardon, Dublin and Edin- burgh—no, which is It ? At all events, the question was discussed, but I do not think it was decided. I understand that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will kave this delicate matter brought before them for decision. There will be, at least, two gentle- men who will, doubtless, take an interest in the trial —the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and the Lord Mayer of Dublin. But when once the knotty peint ia decided, why should the lawyers, who live, like squirrels, by cracking nuta, stop here ? Why not get up a little more fuss, and decide the preceding of city oompared with city, and town with town ? For instamce, which takes precedence — Canterbury or York? Why, of course, the former, say most people, because the Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of all JSngland but what subtle niceties as to ecclesiasti- cal and civic precedence could not lawyers introduce imto such a question ? The postmen are never paid one whit too much. There are plenty of good berths in the General Pest Office, but the working bees get precious little of the honey. the Postmaster-General ought, however, to have paid the men a trifle more this week, for their labours have been enormous. Lovers' sighs are not wafted on balmy spring zephyrs, but are carried at a penny each hy hard-working postmen. The poorfellows have had a busy time of it this week, and I am very sorry to think that the Post-office has been pressed into the service of carrying into our homes so much detestably immoral trash as is sold under the name of valentines. The prettied of the pretty billet doux are only pretty, and thare is an end of it; but the indecent trash that haa lately filled some shop-windows, is a thorough disgrace to those who make, sell, or buy them. I do not hear that our London Shakspeare Com- mittee, which boastfully calls itself the National Com- mittee, is doing much towards the carrying out of its programme. As to their procuring 30, OOOi. by the 23rd of April, I believe it is a chimera, an ignis fatuus. They have not yet decided on a site for the monument, or statue, or, indeed, whether they shall have a monu- ment of any kind. The Stratford Committee, in spite of the refusal of Mr. Phelps to aid them, are going on somewhat better, but the general public do not seem to care two pins about either committee, or, in fact, about any tercentenary celebration at all. Shakspeare, like Milton, is more often talked about than read, and how seldom he is acted all the world knows. I do not think the self-laudation, which is the leading charac- teristic of those tercentenary committees, is likely to raise, in the minds of foreigners, their estimation of our boasted attachment to the poet of all time." One ef our coroners has made a most startling state- ment, which I have no doubt is nevertheless quite true—that during the last fifteen years there have been 40,000 deaths from fire, or eight per day, besides numerous cases where persons have been burnt but have reeovered. And all these deaths were preventible. Fireguards an« the soaking of linen, &c., in a non- flammable solution are the two preventatives that alone are necessary. And yet the use of fireguards, even when they are among the household furniture, is the exception; while as 10 the solution, it may be almost said that it is never used. And yet what an outccy we have for years made about the horrid practice of the ''suttee." Strangely inconsistent are we, in this, as bvmany other things. I dare say your readers have before now noticed that strange advertisement headed, Unmanageable Boys." A clergyman, near town, advertises that un- manageable boys, or youths up to 20 years of age, are by him mad& "perfectly tractable and gentlemanly in one year." He tells us that his peculiarly per- suasive, high moral, and religious training at once checks children of peculiar tempers and disposition (llecause not understood) to the level of others." This reminds me of the mill for grinding old folks into young ones. The advertiser evidently has a high opinion of himself, but I confess I am rather doubtful d his patent process of rendering young scapegraces perfeotfy tractaWe and gentlemanly in one year." I am ready to admit, however, that many a lad who is now breaking his father's and his mother's heart would nevertheless submit himself to a stranger of kind and yet commanding manners and high moral tone. But what would be a lad's feelings if he were to disoover, M he probably would, that he was sent to this pattern clergyman's house aa to a lunatic asylum ? I fancy I see the last comer who has blighted his father's hopes and spurned even his mother's love, enlightened by a previous pupil as to the true character of the private tutor. a Don't you know,' might say the habitue, "who your new governor is? Why, he ia the clergyman who advertises to make -0. boys tractable in a year I fancy I see the look of the new comer, and hear his determined threats of con- tinued self-will; and when the next morning comes, I can imagine young Hopeful boldly saying to the "peculiarly persuasive clergyman," "Oh, you're the gentleman, are you, that advertises to make me tract- able in a year ? Well, we'll see," &c., &c. So that, on the whole, I doubt this patent process "of making bad boys good. Nevertheless, I wish the peculiarly per- suasive clergyman success, though he cannot persuade your humble servant. There are rumours of a new penny daily paper here, in the Liberal interest. The promoters, or rather the entertainers of the scheme arc dazed by the success of the Daily Telegraph. My own opinion is that there is n< room for another; but if those who have money and courage think otherwise, let them try it,—it will make good for trade.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. In the House of Lords, on Feb. 12, Lord Denman presented a petition from the Union of Bakewell, in the county of Derby, against the renewal of the Rate-iu-Aid Act. Lord Granville thought, considering the amounts con- tributed under the act, the grievance of the petitioners was not great, There was no other business, and their lordships ad- journed. In the House of Commons Sir G. Grey said, in reply to Mr. Ewart, that the Lord Coamberlain was of opinion that no legislation should take place in reference to the accidents by fire in theatres. Lord It. Cecil wished to know whether the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs still adhered to his statement, that no verbal communication of Mr. Seward's despatch of the 11th of July had been made to Earl Russell. Mr. Layard said he did. Lord R. Cecil was still not satisfied, whereupon Mr. Layard said he replied as a man of honour, and not as a special pleader. Mr. Peacocke asked Lord Palmerstcn if he adhered to his statement that England had proposed to Austria and Prussia a treaty guarantee instead of a territorial guarantee as to Schleswig. Lord Palmerston saill he did adhere to the statement he made. No guarantee was proposed, but it was thought that a protocol, by which Denmark would give a diplomatic engagement to Prussia and Austria would be more binding than It mere promise. In reply to Lord R. Cecil, Lord Palmerston said that the Government, in concert with France, Russia, and Sweden, and with theconcurrehce of Austria, had proposed an armis- tice to Prussia on the basis of the evacuation of Schleswig, barring the island of Alsen, by the Danes. On the motion for going into committee of supply, Mr. S. Fitzgerald called attention to the cases of certain vessels whifh had been attacked or seized by Federal cruiser3; to which the Attorney-General replied. But Lord R. Cecil thought the explanation would be unsatisfactory to the mercantile community. lie contended that the Government had been weak in its remonstrances with the United States Government. He wanted to see some of that energy which was shown at Kagosima applied to the murder on board the Saxon, The character of the country was falling through the ferocious conduct of the Government to the weak and their humiliating conduct to the strong. After some words from Sir J. Elphinstone and Mr. C. '•Bentinck in opposition to the Government, Mr. Crawford denied the right of Lord R. Cecil to speak for the mercantile community. That community had no confidence in the noble lord, Speaking, if not for the merchants of England, at leatt for those of London, Mr. Crawford believed they en dorsed the policy of the Government as to the United States- Lord J. Manners asked where now was the civis Romanus of whom Lord Palmerston used to talk so loudly ? He be- lieved the policy of the Government was weak, Mr. Bentinck thought it was useless to denounce the wrongful acts of foreign Powers while our military and naval forces were in a reduced state. Lord Palmerston spoke of the charge of bullying the weak andtruckling to the strong as a cuckoo cry, the truth of which he denied. He said the Government of the United States had always done justice in the cases which had been brought under their notice. After some further discussion, the motion for papers was withdrawn. In reply to Sir W. Frazer, Sir G. Grey said, undoubtedly the Lord Chamberlain would not grant licences to new theatres unless the plans had been previously approved by him. He was doing all that he could to lessen the danger of fire in those places of amusement. Mr. Hennessy said that a despatch sent to Lord Napier at St. Petersburg, in September, in reference to Poland, had had a passage struck out of it, The despatch, as first sent, con- tained a passage to the effect that, by her acts, Russia had set aside the treaty of Vienna, and could only be said to hold Poland by right of conquest. On the representation of Prince Gortschakoff and other diplomatists, the despatch with that passage was not presented. The passage was struck out, and he asked that the dispatch as at first written should be given to the House. Lord Palmerston declined to give anything but that which was the definite act of the Government. He thought that, to declare that Poland was merely held by right of conquest would be a very bad thing for the Poles, for it would entirely free Russia from her obligations under the Treaty of Vienna. Mr. W. E. Forster thought the House ought to be informed why the despatch was recalled. After some further discus- sion, the matter dropped. Leave was given to bring in a bill to abolish vestry cess in Ireland, a bill to amend the law as to election petitions, and a bill to provide for the abolition of cerrain tests at Oxford. The army estimates were also laid on the table, and the House adjourned. In the House of Lords, on Feb. 15, Earl Russell, in refer- ence to certain observations of Lord Derby on a former oc- casion, to the effect that in the seizure of the steam rams at Birkenhead the Government was influenced by remon- strances of Mr. Adams, made on the 4th and 6th Sep- tember, said that, in fact, the decision to detain the vessels wa3 to come on the 3rd September. "With regard to the threat of the American Government to have certain vessels pursued into British ports, Ü it wa3 ever made, it had been entirely withdrawn. The Earl of Derby asked why no steps were taken to de- tain the steam rams until the 8th of September, when the Government had decided to do so on the 3rd. Some further explanation was necessary with regard to a dispatch of the United States Government, said to have been addressed to her Majesty's Government, having been laid before CongreSB when it had never been delivered. Lord S ratheden and Campbell called attention to the treaties and conventions by which the possession of Schles- wig ww guaranteed to Denmark, enumerating them from those of 1715 and 1721 down to that of 1852, which he con- tended did not supersede any of the others, each of them guaranteeing the possession of Schleswig, while nothing had heen done by Denmark to justify the setting aside of that guarantee. Earl Russell stakd that Austria and Prussia had acknow- ledged the efficacy of the treaty of 1721, but under existing circumstances he declined to declare what was the policy of her Majesty's Government on this question. The subject then dropped, and the House .adjourned. In the House of Commons, Mr. Butler Johnstone gave notice of a motion on the subject of Poland. Mr. A. Smith gave notice of his intention, on the motion of Mr. Locke King to reduce the county franchise, to move the previous question. Mr. M'Evoy asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it was the intention of the Government to intro duce any bill this session to repeal the Act which at present prevented the growth of tobacco in Ireland. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was not aware that there was any statute imposing a peculiar disability with regard to the growth of tobacco upon Ireland. The general prohi- bition could not be removed, because no means existed of levying duty upon tobacco of home growth equal to that paid by the article when imported. In answer to Mr. Black, Mr. M. Gibson said that there was no intention of bringing in a bill to consolidate the acts relating to copyright in works of literature and art. In answer to Mr. W. Ewart, the Marquis of Hartington said that since the commencement of the war in the United States Lord Lyons had supplied reports of the improvements which had taken place in artillery, but subsequently three officers had been sent to America more especially to attend to this subject. No similar commission had been sent to Denmark during the present war. In answer to Lord Hotham. the Marquis of Hartington said that no supplementary estimate would be necessary for defraying the expenses of the late court-martiaht Aldershott, but they would be taken out of votes under different heads in the estfmares of last year. A return stating the amount of the expenses would be granted. In answer to Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Layard said that an answer had been received to the proposition of her Majesty's Govern- ment to Austria and Prussia, on the subject of an armistice; that answer was not favourable, and there was no reason to hope that an armistice would be agreed to. In answer to Mr. Gregory, Mr. Layard said that the treaty on the subject of the cession of the Ionian Islands was not signed, and could not be produced. With regard to the fitting out of a vessel at Liverpool to pursue the Alabama < on- federate ship of war, the Government knew nothing of it; but, in such a case, the law would be applied equally to both belligerent parties in America. On the motion for the second reading of the Insane Prisoners' Act Amendment Bill, Mr. G. Hardy stated that in his opinion the bill did not provide an adequate remedy for such a case as that of Townley, which had given rise to its introduction. He suggested that the bill should be left as it was, so far as persons sentenced to penal servitude were concerned; but in the case of persons sentenced to death alleged to be insane a commission should issue, or some public judicial inquiry should take place into the men- tal state of such persons, and this might be made quite con- sistent with the exercise of the prerogative of the Crown in reference to the commutation of sentences. Mr. Macdonogh was of opinion that the existing law did not take away the discretion of the Secretary of State to act in such cases as that of Town'ey, and therefore the present bill was not necessary to give such a discretion. All that was required was a declaratory act putting an end to any doubt as to the construction of the present law. Sir C. O'Loghlen, in a maiden speech, said that he' would have preferred an enactment by which a public judicial in- quiry should be held in the cases to which the bill applied, but he should not oppose the measure. Still, he could not but object that the bill was confined to England, as when it passed there would be a difference between the law in this respect in Ireland and Scotland. The bill was further critically discussed by Mr. Scour- field, Mr. Digby Seymour, Mr. Hunt, Viscount Enfield, Mr. Montague Smith, Mr. Evans, Sir G Bowyer, Sir F Gnldsmid, Sir W. Jollilfe, Mr. Alderman Rose, and Sir F. Kelly, Sir G. Grey eaid, with reference to the suggestions which had been made, they would be duly considered, and as to the main suggestion, that in cases like those under discus- sion, inquiry into the state of a criminal's mind should be judicial in its nature, it was better to retain with the Secre- tary of State the power of deciding on the tribunal which should take cognisance cf the matter, experience having shown that on inquiries before juries in commissions of lunacy great delay and tIDcertainty arose; at the same tiru e, he was prepared to discuss in committee the proposition that the inquiry should be before a judge and Jury. If he had attempted to make the law uniform in the United King- dom, it would have involved a consolidation of a number of statutes, and tRUS would have prevented the application of a prompt remedy t< I a defect in the law of England. The bill was then read a second time. On the second reading of the Malt for Cattle Bill, Sir H. Stracey denied that it was a boon tn the agricultural intercut, He should, however, support; tile bill, believing it to be quite harmless. A i lscussion followed, in the course of which Mr. Rriscoe, Mr. G. W. Bentinck, Mr. Packe, vir. fol ard-Orquhart, Sir E. Dering, Mr. Morritt, Mr. R. P. Long, Lord R. Montagu, Sir K. Crossley, Mr. Barrow, Mr. Marsh, Mr, Dutton, and Sir Y. Kelly took part. Mr. Henley urged that this bill would not settle the vexed question all to whether malt was advantageous i i the feeding of cattle. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said he did not present the bill as one which would be specially efficacious, but as one which should he tried as an experiment, so far as was consistent with the safety of the revenue. He repudiated the notion that it was intended as a means of getting rid of an agitation for the repeal of the malt tax, and denied that that duty stood first for reduction when that article stood in competition with beer, spirits, wine, tea, and sugar, on which large duties were levied. He laid down that, apart from the question of reven{le, it would never be depirahle nor wise to render spirits, and even beer, free from taxation. The bill Vus read a second time. The Chancellor of the Exchequer obtained leave to amend the law relating to the warehousing of British and foreign spirits duty free. The other business was disposed of, and the House ad- journed. In the House of Lords, on Feb. 10, the Lord Chancellor laid upon the table some papers relating to the proceedings taken under the Benefices Augmentation Act. in doing so the noble and learned lord stated that in respect of pur- chases finally settled 65,300l. had been received; and that wal the amount of benefit or augmentation which the act had been the means of conferring upon the Church. On the subject of the American war the Earl of Carnarvon ™°y.e« Ior a return of claims by British subjects upon the e States' Government since the secession of the Southern States, specifying various particulars, and asked for any further information as to claims made by the United States Government upon Her Majesty's Government for damages aHeged to be doue to American ships by the Alabama and other Confederate cmisers. The noble lord referred to the several cases in which damage had been done to British shipping, summing up the whole by giving it as his belief that the total loss to the shippers of this country was not far from two millions and a half, and whether the calcula- tioiisby which he had arrived at that total were fair or not, he thought it could not b" doubted th t a very great deal of misery had been inflicted upon LHg1.ish fJlereÏlants by the Americans. This was the more evident from the high rates of marine insurance. Earl Russell Teplied that he did not consider that any advantage to the public would follow the publication of the reports asked for. He justified the American prize courts, while, aa regarded the Saxon, ample apologies had been made by the captain of the American cruiser for what had occurred; and as to the murder'of the mate, all that could be asked was that the offender he put on his. trial. The Tuscaloosa had been seized under tne advice of the law officers of the crown. He repudiated now, as he had always done, any claims arising out of the depredations of the Alabama. The motion was then agreed to, and the House adjourned. In the House of ommons the Home was occupied for some time with the diccusjon of several railway bills. Mr. U. Gibson then rose to move a series of resolutions, wh'.ch are intended to) make considerable alterations in tha coDrlnct and he expenses of private bill legislation, founded on the reportof a sdect committee. lIe proposed, for con- venience, to take each resolution separately, and, in the first place, he mr, -ed 1. That the Committee of Selection and the General "nmn1Íttee on Rail>vay and Canal Hi Ii, at any time after the committal of such bills, he empowered, with the C01lSel.t of all parties promoting or opposing, to refer the same, wholly«or with reference to particular clauses, tJ the cnairnmn of the Committee of Nays and Mf ans, and that such chauman. together with members to be appointed in likem-nin.r :1 members of the Committee on Unopposed Bills, be empowered t,) hear the palties promoting or oppos- ing such bills or their agents, and to report upon the same to the House." Lord R. Cecil moved as an amendment that in the opinion of the House it is expedient that the duty of ascertaining the facts upon which legislation in respect to private bills is to proceed should be discharged by some tribunal external to the House, stating that he did so, not for the purpose of negativing the resolution, but in order to impeach the recom- mendations of the committee of last year, which had not met the grievance which was entailed on the House and its members, in having placed on them the heavy burden of private legislation which was thrown upon them, and which constitutionally was no part of their functions. He pointed out with much force that the system as at present existing was unsatisfactory, so far as proper and adequate decisions of committees were concerned, while the expense cast on railway companies and private individuals, instances of the extraordinary amount of whidh he stated, operated to the height of a denial of justice, and certainly exercised a baneful influence on enterprise; He urged that these matters should be dealt with by some tribunal other than the House, at least that such a tribunal should make a preliminary inquiry into the subject matter of private bills. Air. M. Gibson heped that the amendment would not be pressed, and observed that the noble lord should submit his plan to the House by substantive resolution. He argued that something of the <ind suggested by tlie noble lord had been tried in 1845, but it was found to be a source of addi- tional expense; while in principle it was undesirahle to cede any of the legislative powers of Parliament to any other body Lord H. Vaue expressed an opinion in favour of some such plan as that proposed by the noble lord, could it on a future occasion he bronght forward being convinced that some active authoritative supervision over railway Ie. gislation was absolutely required. Colonel W. Patten also stated his preference for the com- mitting of much of the conduct of railway legislation to some other tribunal than to committees of the House; hut he deprecated any sweeping alteraticn at the present moment, when the private business of the session had actually begun, Mr. Massey hoped that a fitting opportunity would be taken to ask the decision of the House on the question whether that which wa3 now its private legislation should be transferred to some other tribunal; but the plan of the noble lord was one which would be found impracticable, and no real remedy for the evil which it proposed to obviate. After some observations from Mr, Whalley, Mr. Scourfleld, Mr. Bonham-Carter, and Mr. Kinnaird, the amendment was withdrawn, aml the resolution agreed to, A resolution was then proposed, to the effect that the fee of 5l. per day now paid by opponents of any private bill be reduced to 21. Mr. Hadfield moved an amendment empowering com- mittees to exonerate petitioners, owners, 01' telJants of property affected by bills from the payment of fees in seeking exemption, if they see fit, and to charge promoters of bills with all fees to be paid in respect of the same. On a division the amendment was negatived by 65 to 42. Resolutions were then moved, reducing the fee3 paid .by promoters of private bills for proceedings in the House, which were discussed. Mr. R. Hodgson having moved an amendment, proposing a different alteration, it was, on a division, negatived by 135 to 4. The resolution was then agreed to. On a resolution that committees on private bill3 be ordered to meet at 11 o'clock, Lord R. Cecil opposed it, characterising it as an inhuman proposition and moved its rejection. After a somewhat animated discussion, the resolution was withdrawn. It being now 20 minutes past 11 o'clock, the "private business" was concluded, and notices of motion called on. Mr. Adair, on behalf of Mr. Fortescue, gave notice of a motion on the subject of the Crawley court-martial. Mr. Sheridan gave notioe of a motion to abolish the duty on fire Insurances. The other business was disposed of, and the House ad- journed. In the House of Commons, on Feb. 17, the Chain Cable3 and Anchors Bill received a second ¡-eailing; and the House then went in a committee of supply. Colonel Barttelot asked for returns of the total amount of the malt tax in each year since 1843; of the amount of quantity and drawback on exported malt and beer in each year siuce 1846; and of the quantity of foreign malt im- ported into this country, and the amount of duty paid upon it in each year since 1816; and the House adjourned.

CIVIL AND MILITARY LIFE IN NEW YORK. "Manhattan" has sent over a couple of his usual eccentric letters, from which we make the following ex- tracts :— GREAT MORTALITY AMONGST CHILDREN. The warm summer weather still continues, and if it holds much longer, the bills of mortality will far exceed anything known in this city. Nearly every family where there is young children has more or less sickness, and nearly half fatally. All the females of New York are now in a state of great anxiety, and wait the arrival of the next steamer. They want to know the name of the young Royal boy that hail arrived in England. are bein!š made that he will be named Albert, after his good grandfather. LINCOLN MUST JE THE NEXT PRESIDENT. I have made up my mind that Abraham Lincoln will be the next President in the North. Everything political points to that result. Again, there is a journal here that is like the london Timfs, What it opposes is sure to succeed, and its prophecies come true by contraries. The Herald opposes Lin- coln bitterly and upholds Grant. The result is certain. I will het on it all I am worth, Grant will he rained, for Lincoln and his surrounders will brook no rival near the throne. It is nearly three weeks ago that Mr. Secretary Chase was forced to reply before breakfast to a little note of the President. It is said to have read something after this style:— Dear Sal (his name is Salmon P. Chase),—I have heard that you are making a —— fool of yourself in regard to the Presidency. 1 don't believe it. I am, as you know, a candi- date for re-election. I want my Cabinet a unit upon the point. Of course, if you are allowing your name to be used West in order to keep other candidates out of the field, and with the sincere intentions of handing your strenjth over to me when the National Convention meets, it is all right, old hoss, and you may persevere in that manner as much as you please.— Yours, &c., "A. L." Chase,did reply to a note of this character, and it was satis- factory, or he would have been kicked out of the Cabinet that day. He is now palling with the President. THE FEMALE MAGNATES OF NEW YORK. I enclose to you the begging^ .circular of the New York Metropolitan Fair, that ia to come 011 in this city on the 28th of March. There are names upon that Hit that do not care a fiddler's curse should all the soldiers be buried alive; they would rather like the excitement of reading about it. Yet their vanity is so great they will do anything to get their names inprint. The President, Mrs. Bellows, is very pro- perly named, as her husband, the Rev. Henry, is the greatest religious blower in the city. There is Mrs. Fish; also Mrs. Astor, and Mrs. Strong, and Mrs. Stout, Mrs. Weeks, Mrs. Dix, Mrs. Buck, and a long list of our female magnates. The male managers are equally splendid. A CHANCE FOR CAPTAIN SEMME8. The ship or steamer race offered by government to one of our East India merchants will not come off. The merchant owner builds steamers to make money, and not for show. He asks 12,000 dollars a day for his steamer, and then he is willing to let her race for a year, or longer. Government has no money to spend in races, and the merchants will not make up the needful. Dispatches have been sent to our consuls abroad to communicate with the rebel Semmes, and t9 offer him the freedom of every American port and a free pardon, if he will bring the steamer Alabama into New York harbour, and sail a race'with the Federal steamer Eutar. If Semmes wins, he is to be paid 50,000 dols. for the trouble, and the Alabama allowed to depart. If he loses, he is to give a certificate to that effect, and also sign a latter en- dorsing old Welles, as the greatest naval secretary the world has ever seen. Such a certificate Mr. Lincoln thinks will go far to mitigate the intense hate and contempt felt by the masses of the people, and particularly the large shipping merchants, towards the Navy Department and its white- headed secretary. We have a great fleet of vessels of war, steamers, gun boats, monitors, &c, Of what possible use are they ? We can't catch Semmes, and we have no war with any nation that has vessels and cargoes to pick up and rob. THE wAY TO PRESERVE A HIGH STATE OF MORALITY. We have had a very tragic murder since my last. Bill Williams, the bill-po?ter, was shot by itobsrt C Haines, an Englishman he had cruelly wro.vged by robbing him of his wife, to whom ho had been married 14 years. B;ll was a friend of Haines'. He got away his wife some tim* ago. Ite became deranged in consequence of the loss and disgrace. He tried to get her back to her duty, Williams was a rough, and could whip Haine3. The pistol made them even. Yesterday morning he a-ked for his wife the last time. Go to said Billy. "Bang." Bill dropped dead on his own doorstep, Ko."2S2, Grand street. I went over to see the body yesterday, fie had formerly worked for me when I owned the New York Pick. He looked as though he. was asleep The jury was in session. A verdict was returned that Bill came to his death by a pistol-shot wound. Haines has not yes been discharged. His trial will merely be nomi- nal. If he has one, the jury will render a verdict of Justi- fiahle homicide." No jury would dare to convict a man for killing the seducer of his wife. It never yet has happened, and God grant it never may. The fact thst such a fate awaits the seducer, keeps the community in a high state of moral preservation. WOOD SUPERIOR TO SHAKSPEARE. The speech of Fernando Wood on the 26th has been ex- tensively published. There is nothing original in it except the poetry. Hi* Irish admirers say that he is superior to Shakspeare. Here is the poetry :— "Pnace Peace! God of our fathers, erantus peace I Peace in our hearts—at thineal' ars, peace. Peace on the red waters and tbeir blighted shores- Peace for the leaguered city and the hosts, That watoh and bleed around them and within- Peace for the homeless and the fatherless; Peace for the capttye on his weary way And the rude crowd who jeer his helplessness Fer them that suffer-them that do this wrong- Sinning and! inned against—O! Gnq, for all, For a distracted, torn and bleedina land, Speed the glad tidings—Give us, give us peace ONE OF BARNUM'S I met Barnum in the street yesterday. He looked well, and iietter ;han I expected after his late lecture upon money making IIe says that he crtated more sensation with that lecture when in England than any other lecturer; and that Lord Palmerston was so pleased with it, that he invited him to spend a month with him at his place at Broadlands. This may be true, but as Barnum can tell whoppers occasionally, I don't believe it. NOT A FLATTERING DESCRIPTION, Sam Iiailc tt, the extraordinary Yankee financier, and Mr. Fremont have quarrelled. Trifling as the quarrel between two such humbugs would appear to bo, yet it seems that it will upset the Pacific Railroad, of which Californian Jack was president. Hallett is the meanest-looking man in the United States, and his indictment by the grand jury has not made him hold his head any higher. TIJI ADTXNTCJES OF A PARISIAN BANKER. There are many persons in London and Paris who remem- ber the old banking-house of Wellea and Co., Paris. The I founder was Samuel W«!les. After his death his widow, who was a very clever lady and rich—for S. W. owned a million of property in this city—married the Marquis Lavalette, a prominent French nobleman. The company of "Welleo and Co." was also a Bostonian, named Hollis Hunnewell. Did ever an Englishman go to Paris in former years that did not know Hollis? Well, he came home from .Paris with piles of money, bought a grand place near Boston, had engravings made of his eastern place, and has an inoome of lQQJWt dollars per annum to support it. Hoiks married a daughter of the Honourable John Welles, of Boston, and hy that marriage got 250,000 dols. Can you believe that a man with such antecedents, and a Paris experience, should have slept in the Jefferson Market station-bouse last night? ft is a fact. Hollis is too well known in Bofton (a small place that had a great tea robbery just 90 years ago to day) to indulge in a luxurious spree, so he came to New York with a friend, an eminent banker, named Wadsworth. They hired rooms at the Bre- woort House, in Fifth Avenue, at 250 dols. a week. They wished to be extremely sly, but had heard of a house of ill-fame in Irving-place, and went arone, They missed the right place, but reached the residence of Mr. Jacobs, a wealthy Hebrew, who has a couple of beaatiful daughters. Curious as it may seem, the Paris banker and his friend got into the house, and made their way to the sleeping apart- ment of the Misses Jacobs, and woke them up. Their screams aroused the father, who is a Hercules. He gave the ex-banker a magnificent tanning. By this time the police arrived, and took the two Bostonians to the Jefferson prison. The captain locked them up in a cell. This morning Judge Led with held them to bail to appear and take their trial in the Court of Sessions. Probably Mr. Jacobs will not appear against them. A FE FOR THE NORTH If General Lee is a wise and sagacious general, he willsoon end this civil war. Now is his time to strike a blow for the old constitution and the old Union. He should proclaim both, and declare that he merely wishes to place Jefferson Davis in power at Washington to prevent the loss of all the property South and ever) where else. i he South cannot be subdued, and the North will not cease to fight for the Union. Consequently, a hloody war will continue for many years, un- lets the Southerners are wise and change their policy. If they do this, they can come to New York and make their own terms. Kifty victories in the South will not end this war. One victory in the North will change the whole face of things. MORE RIOTS IN NEW YORK EXPECTED The Republican papers declare that there is only an order for 200,000 me/a troops. It is a demand f sr 50',000, and they must be had in: mediately, or our cause is probably doomed to be unsuccessful. The rebelt do not make a fuss and call out troops, they quietly get them, and place them in thf field where they ar* to operate. At this moment they have more soldiers in the field than ever before. That is not all. A great portion of their armies are veterans, who have been in many battles. I think our crisis, not theirs, will come on with'n three months. I thint Lincoln will be driven out of Washington before May. Holding Washington will be as bal for the r« bels as it has proved disastrous to us. It has cost us millionslin treasure, an t (M.OOO lives to hold that cursed hole called the capital. Had it been ignored, and had the war been conducted from the real capital, New York, it would have been ended long ago. Even now it would be a godsend if the rebels would capture it. New York will have to end the war, if it is ever endexl. She possesses the elements of war. Without her the war could not go on a week. Unfortunately she has no great states- men or wise men. She has no guide. She is chained to the war-car of President Lincoln. The weakness of such a trifler as Governor Seymour has prostrated the Empire City at the feet of the Federal authorities. It is awful to con- template. Now people ask, Will New York submit to the draft ?" "Will there not be another riot t" No, certainly not. Lincoln will order 50,000 troops to the city of New York, and that will make us all as quiet as lambs. We will then submit to the draft. That is the only way New York city can be held during March if the draft is ordered here. Will General Lee permit Lincoln to send 50,000 United States troops to garrison New York city? Alas, we are helpless in this city, We have a wax governor, and very soft wax at that. I do not know any white man who is so generally cursed as is Seymour, although it is quite evident that he is not worth a curse. OH GOD GIVE US PEASE The following scene in the house of a Democrat will give an idea of present feeling here. A wife says :— When, in God's name, is all this to end! Robert was killed at Bull Run John at Chancellorsville Sam has re- turned, mutilated and bed ridden for life from bloody Chickamauga; Thomas alone remains to us. Peace peace! Oh God, give us peace This war is not worth what we are paying for it Shall we longer suffer, and inflict all this for the emancipation of the negro, who is much happier, slave as he is, than free as we should make him! When, oh when, shall this cruel war stop?" The father listens to this apostrophe of his wife, but sits by pale, thoughtfnl and silent. Thomas, too, finishes his meal without uttering a word. "Tom, my boy, you'll have to go this time, I fear," says the father seriously, rising from his chair. Will I ?"<s the curt reply; and there is something in the eye and about the lip of Tom, as he leaves the room, which suggests to his parents that Tom is not quite of the same opinion with his father. Tom knows that there will be another riot, and Tom is ready to help to hang a few thousand negroes, knowing that they are the cause of all our miseries. KINDLY WISHES! The news from Europe this morning has given us some thing to talk about besides our little war. How you can escape a general war in Europe passes my comprehension. If Austria and Prussia rush upon poor Denmark, I do not see how England can stand by and see the father of the wife of the Royal heir strangled without giving a helping hand to save him and his little kingdom. The administra- tion of Mr. Lincoln and his friends hope that a serious war may grow out of this trouble. Our reason b, that it will keep European Powers from interfering upon this Continent, and Mr. Lincoln will be able to demand that England and France withdraw their recognition of the belligerent rights of the Southern Confederacy. France, too, it is supposed, will be obliged to give up the Napoleon fooling ia Mexico. PILLS IN EIGHTY-FOUR LANGUAGES Formerly our most dashing and extravagant families were those of the great quack medicine doctors. It is not so now. The wives of the -shoddy contractors are the most lavish. Dr. Brandeth, originally from Loudon, has had a greater success With his pills than any other vendor. He Is very rich. He owns the Brandeth Hotel in the Broadway, has a country house at Sing Sing, and a silver mine. He has put up in '8ol languages, and the directions correspond. His Spanish labels go largely to Cuba, Danish to St. Thomas and Santo Cruz, Dutch to Curagoa, and Portuguese to Rio Janiero, and so on Hh son William left yesterday in the Danish ship Princess A lexandra to visit all the ports where hiR fl!.therhas depots. His advertisements for the past 30 years have made the fortunes, or been the main support of hfllf the journals of New York. The doctor has been a senator, but he is English yet, and keeps a portrait of the Queen in every room of his residence and hotel. His famiry has intermarried with some of our oldest families. Why not? LIFE AND DEATH IN NEW YORK. The" Clubbers" murdered a man in \\rater-st.reet last night. They go around to kill such persons as aid in detect- ing and restoring to the army deserters. You cannot take up a daily paper without reading an accoU11t of a murder of some kind. A man shoots the sedueer of his wife. A man fal's in love with his m-i^hbour's wife, kills her and himself. To-day I read the following items for yesterday :-ElJen Cline killed herself at 08, Sprmg-street. Michael Mahon was pushed down stairs, aud diedimmedia. ely. Rohert Marshall was killed-rull over by a belt railroad car. Bridget M'Kenna Killed, after cruel usage, by Ellen M'Donnel'. A hurglar nearly killed Policeman Osborne in Madison-street. A German named Phifer shot Officer Yager with a rifle at 40i E, Twenty-seventh-street. And so the catalogue goes on increasing every day.

All the portraits of the governors in the City Hall have been attached by the sheriff upon a judgment of 28,000 dols. obtained by John M'Lane. Our city is in a bad way. All will ba .old at public auction next week, unless the corpora- tion can raise the money, or get time allowed them.

Lincoln's face i. very mnch pitted since he had the sm all- pox. Tnis explains a new pamphlet issued South, called "A Voice from the Pit," a parody upon the President's Pro- clamation.

A new paper ha, been starred here called The Drum Beat. What is very curious is, it is to he a religious paper, and edited by Dr. Storn, an eminent divine.

A hard case has just c me to light. La.it summer Colonel O'Brien had his head quarters in Tammany Hall, and was raising an Irish regiment. He took part against the rioters. They caught him, beat him until he was dead, and then hung him up to a lamp. His boiy was shoved into Potters- flelf*. The widow is in a most destitute condition, and hai asked aid from the city! "Hail Columbia, happy land." While the wife of Colonel O'Brien has been left to starve, the fellow Andrews, who led the mob, has been sumptuously provided with lodgings at Fort Lafayette. He was brought to this city yestej day to be tried, but General Dix and the district attorney quarrelled, and so Andrews was sent back to his cell.

The legislature at Albany is in session yet. It has given us 13 new railroads for this city. The nuisance is past bearing, and if New York dies this year, the coroner's ver- dict will be Railroad on the brain."

The (beggars) committee for the Great Sanitary Fair, to come off in this city at the Palace Garden on the 28th of March next, advertise that they will receive contributions of the following articles." And then comes a miscellaneous heterogeneous list—a perfect olla podrida. If any liberal citizen of London wishes to contribute, he can find something lying loose about that will answer.

Mr. Seward, in a conversation with an eminent New York City merchant, stated that the claims against England on file for vessels destroyed by the A labama and other vessels fitted out In British ports amounted to over 18 millions of dollars, and that England would bel"nade to pay that sum before 1864 closed, or vessels and cargoes of English mer- chants to that amount would be seized and sold to pay Ame- rican losses. This is an item of news very agreeable to our merchants, who have had losses by rebel privateers.

It is not everyone that is clever enough to get into debt. f ook at this statement. See how little we owed up to 1851, when Chase began to loom up. Look at hh millions, [Here Manhattan" begins with the first loan of 242,621 dollars, and ends with a grand total of 2,774,912,818 dollars !]

FRENCH SHIPS AND FRENCH GUNS. The London Standard has sent over a special correspon- dent to Cherbourg, who has sent from thence an interesting report, from which we make the following extracts;- France is doing nothing and intending nothing. Tran- quillity mgns everywhere. The mission of France at the present time is peace. War is entirely absent from men's thoughts. All through Normandy, and, let me add, all through Brittany, if men's minds are in the least uneasy, it is lest England, for some time acting dubiously, should be bent on an initiative of dis- order. Shall I tell you what is the sentiment of the government ? The government for once has nothing to conceal. In my capacity as your special correspon- dent its arsenals have been thrown open to me. When Sir Morton Peto and Mr. Lindsay sent engineers to France to controvert the statements of Sir John Pakington and others, the engineers were allowed the mere holiday privileges of French visitors, and did not see with their own eyes that which they desired to see. Now France is in a different humour. On my presenta- tion of the authorisation of the Minister of Marine, the prefet maritime provided me at once with a written order. The sous-prefet as courteously countersigned the order in hit'! bureau. Messieurs the gendarmes then raised their cocked hats, and one followed me through the dockyard waiting at doors until I emerged from shors, forges, factories, &c., and until my inspection of ships built and building was completed. I was at liberty to go where I pleased, to the park of artillery, to the fortifications, to the breakwater, to the Magenta in the roads, to the school ship, the marine hospital, the u>arine barracks, and the saiiors' barracks. I shall not at present lay before your readers the many inteiesting facts that came under my observation.

The writer then goes on to say :— Of two things only will I speak —namely, the French iron-dads and tbeir recent cruise and the course which France is taking in respect to guns. As regards the former, I am authorised to state that in the published statement of the cruise of the iron-clads there is a great deal that is true and an almost equally great deal that is untrue. My own opinion of the ships, whatever that may be worth, is, that, they are more handy and therefore more useful than our own. Nay, more, that they pos'ess qualities which ours do not possess. Take, for example, the steering gear and the rudder of the Solferino. The rudder is not larger than that which is usually supplied to a merchant ship of 2,000 tons, and the Solferino steers as easily as a merchant ship of 2,000 tons not more than two men being required at the wheel in the worst weather. So it is with the Magenta. Nothing of the kind, it is well known, can be said of any one of our iron-clads, and it is the opinion of the French officers that the Minotaur and our other long fchips will not steer at all. Inowd they jeer at all our shipf, and express the hope that, as we have been so mad as to build useless ships, we will now be wise "0.. enough to lead the way in the abandonment of iron- elads altogether. The French officers are of opinion," that, however unpalatable it may be both to the French and British Governments, the time must come when they will have to give to engines and coal the weight now appropriated to armour plates, and in the interest of policy and humanity allow the shot and shell that may strike a ship's side to pass through and through with nodifficulty and few splinters but at the same time they are justly proud of their In the matter of guns the French officers believe us to be perfectly insane. The 600-pounder fired with half a charge of powder—viz., with 701b) instead of 1401b., the service equivalent, and only three times an hour—is a standing joke among them. For their part they desire nothing heavier than the old British 32- pounder, as when they exceed that weight the ships suffer in a sea-way, and in such a case would, be- less efficient against an enemy. The favourite French gun, therefore, is a gun throwing a 321b. round shot or a 641b. bolt, the guns possessing three plain groves for the bolts. On board the Solferino and the Magenta the guns are all breech-loading 100-pounners, and it is not perhaps too much to say that in service, in a time of war, they would prove a total failure. Cap- tain Tabuteau kindly ordered the unscrewing of a breech for my inspection, and fouling and derange- ment are inevitable. Such is the brief story of the French guns and of the French ships. France has been temperate and wise, we intemperate and unwise. Our mor»y has been squandered to no good purpose, while the French money yields a good if not a perfectly satis- factory return. I assure you that in the park of ar- tillery at Cherbourg the great reserve of guns is of the unpretending, pattern of 1810; and in the park at Toulon the great reserve is as ancient as 1790.

SKETCHES OF THREE CITIES. The 7. i11188' correspondent of the South, in his letter from America, has given Borne graphic sketches ofIlle there, from which we take the following relating to the three principal cities in the States":— BICHMOND. There is a strange shadowy sense of unreality at- tached to passing 16 months in and about Richmond, and then waking up to find oneself in Washington. To describe such a transition would demand not only un- rivalled description, but also some such quaintness of conceit as has exhibited Rip Van Winkle starting from his long slumber in Sleepy Hollow. In Richmond, the spectator has for months and months been familiar with war about his path and about his bed, and at all his meals and under every roof. War is breathed in at every breath, wafted upon every breeze, heard in every sound, visible at every step. For grace and elegance and lettered ease there is neither time nor superfluity of resource; nor, it must be addtd, are they compatible with the sublime earnestness of temper exhibited by man or womtD. Sentries at the head of every street substantiate the passer's identity and in- vestigate his right to be absent from the army. As earliest dawn breaks, you are awakened by the long monotonous chorus of thousands of negroes, engaged in completing the defensive works around Richmond, and going forth cheerfully to their labour, which has long ago assumed such proportions as to defy the assault of 300,000 men. This is no idle state- ment of my own, but taken from the lips of the (fldest, ablest, and least boastful of Confederate officers, whose name will suggest itself to every reader. Can- non are constantly seen in the streets—either new 12- pounder Napoleons going up to the army from the Tredegar works, or guns which have undergone repair, or field-pieces which are going North or South the well-known lean, lank, ragged, "grey-back" troops, with the name lordly defiant air of individuality and self-assertion as ever, constantly troop through the city, with their old wild, discordant yells, making day or night hideous. The familiar Southern tunes of Dixie or The Mocking Bird," execrably in- terpreted by a few fifea, a cornet, and a drum, con- trast marvellously with the rich swell of fine German band? in Washington, which render to perfection the "Last llose of Summer," or one of Mendelssohn's superb marches, clashing among the distant echoes of Pennsylvania Avenue. And yet there is a heart, a verve, and a sauciness about the Southern "Dixie" and the mien of its interpreters, which are looked for in vain: among the stolid German musicians of Wash- ington and the gaudy troops bedizened with gold lace who follow them. WASHINGTON. But other symptoms of war, with the exception of the uniforms in the streets, Washington has none to show. The redundancy of greenbacks" is very per- ceptible in the increased crowd of the streets and the hungry look of greed which every face wears. But, perhaps, there ia no sadder sign of the times which have brought sudden wealth to all, and moral thought- fulness to none, than the ubiquity and boldness of the frail sisterhood who throng every avenue and public resort, seeking the smiles of the contractors, peculators, and nouveaux riches. On every cide money flows as though the Potomac were the Pactolns. The dome of the Capitol, which once promised to share the fate without rivalling the beauty of Cologne Cathedral, is finished, and surmounted by a Goddess of such Liberty as even Madame Roland ne.-er conceived. The hotels are thronged to bursting; Willard's, in particular, is occupied by an excited; pike-eyed, seething crowd such as vibrates in the coulisses of the Parisian Bourse. At night, theatres, gambling-hou-es, "Varieties," and worse dens of infamy, veiled under no pretence at dis- guise, vie with the attractions of ^he _"inaDired of Philadelphia," Miss Anna Dickinson, the celebrated medium. No sound of war cave the occasional boom of cannon being tried at the Navy-yard (a sound sooth-, ing to Yankee vanity) ever flutters the senses Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Chase openly, and Mr. Seward secretly, are speculating much more as to their chances for the next Presidency, than as to the strength of General Lee or the designs of President Davis. NEW YORK. Proceed next to New York, and the recollections of Richmond, blurred by intercourse with Washington, fade into the hazy distance, and can be recalled only by a vigorous effort of the understanding. But as he journeys northwards from Washington the passenger cannot but dreamily contrast the memory of his recent sufferings upon the overtasked railroads of Dixie" with the speed, the comfort, and the roominess «f the Northern car. 1 shall not attempt to carry your readers into Broadway—a thousand times described, but as indescribable aa Niagara—nor to enter upon any attempt at detail. There is such matter for all feeling in this street that the mind sinks erushed. Luxury, ostentation, heedlessness, heartlessness—the richest furs, the gaudiest silks, the brightest bonnets, the most cgiittering diamonds, operas, theatres, concerts, cafes chdntants, raree shows of every hue -why should I seek to prolong the list ? At Delmonico's famous Re- staurant, or at the Maisen Doree, Spaniards, French- men, Italians, Englishmen discuss wines and viands to which nothing superior can be exhibited at Philippe's or at Yefour's. As for a thought of the war, of the 500,000 souls which it has hurled into eternity from North, or the 200,000 Confederates who have died grimly pro arM et focis—why speak or think of such a ghastly theme ? Good taste forbids its mention; nevertheless, if ever among the upper ten thousand its name is breathed, it struck me that four times out of five the speaker's sympathy was with the South and Jeff. Davis. Stately policemen, in blue or grey uniforms, patronise the ladies if hustled in crowded Broadway or take sly drinks with admiring friends. Why is it that demo- cracyconvertll the hotel clerk, the steamboat or rail- way conductor, the policemam, and such like into a kind of demi-god a man not only as good as his neigh- bour, but vastly greater and loftier? Occasionally, with the usual fanfares of magnificent bands, regi- ments, fresh from our country's glorious battlefields," parade along Broadway, with battle flags tattered and torn, and (as is insinuated) riddled into shreds by the tornado of shot through which they have passed. I have, as it happens, seen too many Confederate battle flags which have been through every encounter of the war, and which (as the Northern bullets are far more numerous than the Southern) have been exposed to a fiercer fire, to believe in this demonstration of Nor- thern bloodthirstiness. But the sight never fails "to bring the house down," and elicit the rapturous cheers of Broadway, which believes in the truthfulness of the exhibition, and make" many a secret resolve to keep far away from the spot where such scenes are enacted. As I looked down on Broadway, and mused upon its kaleidoscopic face, I could not but remember the re- flectinn« of one of the brightest intellects in Richmond, as he told me, when taking leave of him, in what garb I should find New York, and described the scene now before me with the intuition of genius, and in words which it would be well if I could reproduce for your readers. He s&id, "What delights me above all is to hear of the wealth, the splendour, the lavish prodi- gality of New York. Tiffany never had such a demand for diamonds, Stewart can hardiysellashawlifit is worth le-s than 1,500 dollars. Never were there such imports of women's gear from Paris, of articles de luxe from London. For all this payment in gold is indis- pensable the day of reckoning will come, though it may not be yet!"

A FATHER'S OPINION ON HIS SON'S VALENTINE! At the Southwark police-court in London, on Mon- day, a middle-aged man, dressed in the garb of an engineer, entered the court in rather a flurried manner, with a letter in his hand. On the top of the envelope the words On her Majesty's service were printed. He begged his worship to assist him in the matter. Clerk: What is it you want?—Applicant: This letter came to my h'\llse on Saturday, addressed to my s n, and perceiv- ing the words "On her Majesty's service," printed outside, I thought something was the mat' er. But when I opsned it, this summon* was enclosed in it, and I don't know what it means, or whut it alludes to. Clerk Let me look at the summons (laughing). This is rather a curious summons. It is headed, Court of Hymen, to wit, and o'ders the per*on to wh >m it is addressed to appear on the 14th at the Court of Hymen, to answer the charge of stealing the heart cf Amelia Smith. Signed J. Lonswell.—Applicant: Yes, sir, I have read it, and can't make out what it means. I d' n't know any such a place aa t' e Court of Hyrnea (laughter). I know this police-court, therefore, J thought it advisable to come here about it. •» Oaa'I y<m eaa it £ a-9 rt Ú Q vol«t>41no. Z Slip" pose it has been sent to your son by some young woman he knows.—Applicant: It does not look like a valentine, and 1 think something ought to be done to stop their circulation, as they were liable to frighten soma people. Clerk They must be very foolish people, then. The very appearance of the paper shows what it i8. I SllppOll8 your 8"11 is acquainted with the sender.—Applicant: Oh, yes, I think she comes after him, but he is too young for anything of that sort. Can I prosecute her for sending such a som- mons? Clerk No; it's only a valentine. You had better go home and take it in good part. Applicant left the court very dissatisfied.

EVERY ONE DISTINGUISHING THEM- SELVES! The fight at Oversee was most creditable to both parties engaged (writes the Times' correspondent). The Danes were three regiments, probably about 5,000 men, and were attacked by a smaller number of Austrians, but had the disadvantage ef fighting in retreat, which was some set-off against their superiority of numbers. The Austrians were the 9th battalion of Rifles, a corps of high repute in their service, and the regiment of the King of the Belgians, whose commander, the Prince of Wurtemberg, was severely wounded. I have just seen the 9th battalion marching through Flensburg, a very smart efficient corps they looked, with the pride of victory plainly to be read in their countenances. They lost very heavily. The action would probably have been worse for the Danes but for the impetuosity of the Austrian soldiers, who were not to be restrained. Had they protracted the fight, some Prussians, who were hurrying up, might have taken share in it, the position was not difficult to turn, and the Danish loss- Would have been greater. But the Austrians rushed at it, and, 'having driven the Danes before them, were themselves unable to continue the pursuit effectively up to Flensburg, owing to the fatigue of a long march on slippery roads, and of a fight which extended over about four English miles. I have heard some of the Prussian staff-officers speak with generous enthusiasm of the brilliant behaviour of the Austrians, and rejoice at their having had this opportunity of displaying their excellent military quali- ties. At the affair at Ob..r Selk, on the 3rd, their conduct was equally distinguished, and a regiment of Poles behaved in a way to excite the admiration of all who witnessed it. At that affair Marshal Wrangel and the Crown Princi of Prussia were present, and one of the staff had his horse shot under him.

LAND FOR ASKING FOR IN NEW ZEALAND! By the last advices from New Zealand we learn that ihe land belonging to the insurgent natives is to be confiscated, and that about eight million acres are already considered to have been forfeited. The Govern- ment proposes to turn this land to advantage at once by establishing upon it 20,000 military settlers. Every native, moreover, who comes in of his own accord, and loyally submits to the Queen's authority, is to have a Crown grant of 100 acres of good land. The military settlers will each receive fifty acres of good land and an allotment of one acre in the nearest Government town- ship. The rest of the land will be Bold to defray the cost of the war. By these means it is hoped that the country will be rapidly pacified and settled that the political power of the Maories will be entirely destroyed, and that the Maories themselves wiil become gradually absorbed into the political system of the colony. Agents of good position are to be appointed to promote the scheme in England. The New Zealand Parliament ha.s already passed the necessary measures for carrying out this im- portant project. One of those measures empowers the Government to borrow 3,000,000?. on the security of the general revenue of the country. Of this 1,000,000?. is to be expended in suppressing the rebellion; the re- mainder is to cover the half million loan of 1852, and to be spent also in the establishment of the military settlements, in surveyd, the construction of roads and bridges, and other permanent works and in the intro- duction of 15,000 military settlers with their wives and families. An electric telegraph is also to be laid down, at the ost of 150,000?., from Dunedin, Otago, through the Middle Island, and under Cook's Straits. These under- takings are to be charges against the forfeited land except the first and last named. The Act of Con- fiscation has been passed by the New Zealand Legisla- ture, and now awaits the sanction of the Imperial authorities.

A DISPUTED WILL. In the Court of Probate and Divorce the cause of Heard and Heard v, Harris" has been tried, and was a suit instituted to try the validity of a will alleged to have been duly executed by 1011'11. Grace Eker, who died at Hartland, Devonshire, in April, 1863, possessed of a house situated at Becken-ham, worth about 402. a year, left to her absolutely by her husband, who had heen in the service of Sir G. Stukely, and 250l. in money. The will was disputed, on the ground of not having heen duly executed, want of testamentary capacity, Ac. By the instrument in question, which was dated the 9 th February, 1803, the testatrix, who was very advanced in life, left the Whole of her property, subject to some bequests, to the plaintiffs, her nephews, by whom it was propounded, to the exclusion of a sister, in favour of whose son a previous will had been made, hut who, it was alleged, had displeased ber by taking some of her money without her consent. This woman and her son were the defendants :— John and Richard Heard, the plaintiffs, deposed to and swore positively to the sanity of the testatrix at the time of the execution of the wilL Richard IL ard, son of Richard Heard, the plaintiff, said that he drew up the will by the instructions of the testatrix, who put her mark to it. He propped herupwitha pillow, and put the pen m her hand. She said of her own accord, I acknowledge this to be my last will and testament. He and Michael Preestone attested the will>. and the testatrix, though j very feeble in body, was quite sound in mind. J Michael Preestone deposed to having witnessed the will. and to the sanity of the testatrix- at the time of I it*- ivxi. acys, a nurse who <*ttci»dca the also testified to her sanity, and Stid th&t ,be com- plained to her of having been robbed by her nephew,. Frederick Harris. Her sister, Mrs. Harris, used to- come to the hou=ie against the wish of the testatrix, who said that she, as well as her son, treated her very badly. On. one occasion she gave witness a slap in the face, for which she was very sorry afterwards, and which was the only act of violence she committed to- wards her. The testatrix had a paralytic stroke, but she was not labouring under a softening of the brain previously, and she was not the laughing-stock of th. neighbourhood. The testatrix did not require two- persons to move her in the bed, and she never saw her bite or scratch any one. She never heard that the testatrix accused her of stealing a quantity of calico from her. She could not stand, but she had not lost the use of her hands. Some other evidence was given to the same effect, which closed the plaintiff's case and for the defendant the following witnesses were called <— Sir Ueorge Stukely said that he resided at Hartland Abbev, and that the husband of the deceased had been for years in his service. He saw her frequently, and visited her about the time of the execution of the will. She was then lying in her bed moaning, and did not recognise him. She uttered a sound like that of an animal. Mr. Thomas, a surgeon, said he attended the testa- trix in 1860, when the was suffering from a softening of the brain, and had lost her memory. She became gradually worse up to the summer of 1862, when the had a. paralytic stroke, which further impaired her intellect. She was then irrational, aud wsed very inde- cent language. He saw hot on the 6th February, I860, and in his opinion she was nut then competent to transact business. She used to talk 14 a rambling way about her property and parish relief. Another surgeon also testified to the mem¿ unbe. cility of the testatrix. Some other witnesses were examined, who gav« corroborative testimony, and added that the testatrix was in the habit of biting and scratching her attend- ants and one of the witnesses stated that he had heard Stone say he had never altered the will. The jury found in favour of the will, and the learned judge decreed probate.

THE GRAVES WHERE OUBTBEROES WERE BURIED. The following account of a funeral, which took place at Murdao, near Naoshera, on the 23rd of November, is taken from a letter written by the chaplain with the Yuzufzi field force:— On my arrival here this morning with the 93rd Highlanders and Major Bunny's battery of artillery, I heard that twenty-nine bodies of our countrymen, slain in action on the 18th and 20th, had been sent in during the night from Sir Neville Chamberlains column for interment. Six of the bodies were those of Captain Smith,71st Highlanders, Lieut. Jones, 79th High- landers, Lieut. Mosley, 14th Punjab Infantry, and Lieut. Chapman, Ensign Sanderson, and Assistant- Surgeon Pile, all three of the 101st Royal Fusiliero. The bodies of the three first officers in the above liat were sent on to Naoshera for burial; the other three were buried by me this evening, just outside the watt of the fort here, together with the bodies of tht following private soldiers:—[Here follow the names, J The officers were buried in separate graves, In with those of Major Harding and Captain Davidiortj who were killed during the previous week. The ffita having to march to-morrow morning for the fro*t, and having to march to-morrow morning for the froat, and wishing very much to attend at the funeral, it was decided that the private soldiers should not have separate graves, but should be buried in two large graves, one for each regiment. The pioneers of the 93rd accordingly worked hard all day, and had the graves ready by four o'clock, at which hour the regi- ment paraded for the funeral. All the companies in camp, under the command of Colonel 5WIted, C.B., marched first to the fort, where the bodies were lying; those of the officers in coffins, which had been hastily put together, the others tied up in their bedding. The sun was just setting when those who were standing by the graves heard the first notes of the bagpipes as the High- landers started from the fort with their mournful charge. The long procession wound slowly round to the place of burial: first the pipers, playing some solemn coronach, in true accord with the feelings of every European present; then the coffins of the officers, borne on the shoulders of Highlanders, fol- lowed by the other bodies, wrapped in their bedding, each carried in a separate dhoolie. The 93rd closed the line. It took some time to lower the bodies into the graves, but everything was done with due solemnity, and without any confusion, scarcely a word being spoken loud enough to reach the bystanders. The bronzed veterans of the 93rd took their burdens in their arms aa gently as if they had been lifting sleeping children, and delivered them to their com- rades, who stood below in the graves prepared to re- ceive them, and lay them side by side. Wnen all was ready, the firing party having been disposed at either side of the row of graves, and the rest of the regiment being drawn up in front, together with officers and men of other corps, who were able to attend, I said the words of comfort appointed by our church for the consolation and benefit of Christians who are com- mitting to the ground the earthly remains of those whom they have loved. After the usual three volleys fired into the air, the large assemblage dispersed, and the graves were filled in.

MAKING A MESS OF IT! The political confusions that have grown out of the invasion of the Danish territory are extraordinary, and, if their complication increases, it is not improbable that several German feuds may be added to that bel" tween Germany and Denmark (remarks the Times). The invasion itself was an act of violence and injustice, and, as all the parties to it appear to have had double objects in view, there is some satisfaction in perceiving that they are all disappointed with the results and angry with each other. In Holstein the Federal army of occupation has been superseded by Prussian battalions, and the Federal Commissioner protests against their presence in Neumunster, Kiel, and Altona. In the Diet of Frankfort the minor States are aU protesting. Lubeck has been outraged by the passage of Prussian troops through its territory without permission. The grievance is to be debated at the next sitting of the Diet. The Commander of the Federal troops in Hol- stein notifies that he and his army are reduced to a nullity by the appearance of the Prussians. Saxony complains that all the measures of Austria and Prussia are in direct contradiction to the express promises of those Powers, and have been taken without the con- sent of the Federation." The Saxon representative has moved that "these promises be fulfilled," and the authority of the Con- federation secured. He does not specify how this is to be done, the Confederation, without Austria and Prussia, being powerless. But it seems the Diet still affects to believe that the treop* btfore which the Danes have retired from their main line of defence, the Dan- newerk, were only the "reserves" or supports of the Federal army, which have deserted their post in the rear a.nd pushed without orders to the front, thus super- seding the first and only legal army. Saxony proposes that these two powerful supports," which have left the army of execution" in this unauthorised manner, shall be replaced by a new levy of really Federal troops. What the fresh reserves could do to restrain or altltr the course taken by the two great military State?, when the main body of the army of the Diet is powerless, it is impossible to see. But Austria and Prussia have so often complied with the emoty form of obeying instruc- tions they had themselves dictated to the Diet, that the minor German States actually appear to believe they are the real Powers in the Confederation. They regard the contempt with which their votes have been treated as a revolt against their autbority, and are now en- deavouring to combine against the insurrection of the giants. A Conference of German Ministers is to be held in the course of the week at Wurzbnrg. It is summoned by Bavaria, and the heads of the Governments of Saxony, Hanover, Wurtemberg, Hesi»e, and Baden will be pre- sent. In this Conference the expediency of a com- 1 mon action" is to be discussed in the event of two con- tingencies occurring. In the Diet itself the' debate and the decision might both be disturbed by the in- fluence of the Austrian and Prussian delegates, and so they are beth excluded form the Wurzburg Confer- ence. The two contingencies are, first, a possible re- fusal to admit the Duke of Augustenburg's representa- tive to a se»t in the Diet, by some members of that body who are not named. The second event against which the Conference is to provide is the chance that, after all, "the occupation of Schleswig by the Great German Powers should not effect the separation of that province from Denmark." Thus in the Diet the military operations of Austria and Prussia are condemned and protested against, while in a special Conference the future policy of those States is to be debated with a manifest disposition to pronounce it treasonable to the cause of Germany. The obloquy Prussia acd Austria have incurred is but the just retribution for the crooked and violent bourse they have taken.

DEATH OF KING KAMEHAMEHA IV. Mr. Manley Hopkins, writing from the Hawaiian Consulate in London, says :— I received on Saturday letters from Honolulu confirm- ing the reports which had previously reached England from the United States of the death of this interesting and enlightened Prince. A remarkable career and a reign of nine years have closed suddenly before the King of Hawaii had quite reached the age of 30. The death of their only child, the Prince of Hawaii, a noble and forward boy of be- tween four and five, which happened 16 months ago, inflicted a blow from which his parents have never re- covered. On the powerful frame and the passionate and concentrative character of the King the affliction fell with proportionate force, and he never after the shock recovered his health completely. In the deep retirement which the King and Queen sought after the death of their child, Kamehameha oc- cupied his time and thoughts in making a translation of the English Prayer-book, some copies of which, to- gether with the King's original preface, have just been received in this country. The work was a strangely- selected anodyne for a chieftain of the Pacific in his grief, and its execution is more remarkable even than the undertaking, the Royal translator having worked out the tables for finding Easter, &c. The transcen- dental ideas of the Athanasian Creed were the only difficulties the King could not surmount, there being no corresponding expressions for them in the meagre languages of Polynesia. So little was the death of Kamehameha expected, that it had been announced that on the 28th of Novem- ber their Majesties would put aside their mourning, and hold a public reception at the palace. The Queen attended for a short time, but tho King was unable to make his appearance, and on the 30th he breathed his last. He is succeeded by his elder brother, who as- sumes the name of Kamehameha V. Out of the five successive rulers who have borne this patronymic, three have visited Europe—the new King being one of them. The little leaven which the last Kamehameha gathered in the Eastern World leavened his whole lump, and made him, in ideas, preferences, and ambition, thoroughly European,

The navy estimates for the years 1864-65 have been presented to Parliament. They show a net decrease of 1"}- />' ':1 »um re-piired to rye voted for the service "I ..w ) ear, lnc.uuiiig 314,-230i. lor the army department— conveywpw of troops—i» 10i49 £ ,91<tf.