The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

OUTLINES OF THE WEEK. JhmE trade is becoming a subject of discussion in I ans, and to whatever length the project of M Baroche, now before the Council of State, may go, it is certain that public curiosity has been excited' and a change in the tariff, if not a revision of it' may be anticipated. A Parisian correspondent of one of our London contemporaries attaches no importance to the report of a revision of the French tariif, at least in a sense favourable to free tff A-, correspondent of Le Nord, on the Ouaer Hand, gives great importance to it by trac- ing the orlSin of the movement to imperial design The Emperor and Mr. Cobden, according to this writer, discussed the subject of free trade at Com- piegne, and the imperial personage showed that it would not be his fault if free-trade principles were not adopted in France. Energetic resistances were to be overcome, and caution and prudence were therefore necessary. The measure submitted to the Corps Legislatif will, in consequence, only mark the progress which has been made, as the "resistances" to which the Emperor referred will be revived both in the Senate, in the Corps Legis- latif, and the localities which depend so much on protection and prohibition. Some experiments which were recently made with a heavy Armstrong gun, the exact results of which have not been allowed to transpire, have, we believe, shown that iron-plated ships will not be able to resist the fire of these guns, and the French Government may spare itself any further expenditure upon ships; of this description beyond the four which were building at the close of last year. The trials made last August from the Stork gunboat with 68-pounders discharged against iron and steel plates, at a distance of 200 yards, showed that iron or steel-clad ships could really be more easily destroyed at that distance than a ship entirely of timber, and since that period it has been found that a 68-pounder is capable of com- pletely perforating four-inch iron plates. Con- siderable advance has been made since 1854 in the powers of penetration of heavy shot, attributable no doubt to the discovery of the Armstrong gun. In the Insolvent Debtors' Court, the other day, John Britten, a clerk in the City and a share- holder in "The General Discount Company," applied under the Protection Act, and was opposed by a creditor. The insolvent had been mixed up in bill transactions, and some were accommodation bills, which now appeared on the schedule. Mr. Commissioner Murphy adjourned the case sine die, without protection, and stated that he had deter- mined with the chief commissioner to treat all such cases in a similar manner, as they were both of opinion that persons who had accommodation bills in their schedule were not entitled to protec- tion. Mr. Sargood, who appeared for the insolvent, complained of the summary process of the court. The learned commissioner said he meant to be "summary," and it was well that it should be publicly known how he meant to act in other cases like this. The intelligence received by the last mail from the United States gives fair reason to hope for an early settlement of the immediate difficulty raised by General Harney's arbitrary and violent occu- pation of the Island of St. Juan. General Scott, who arrived on the scene with authority from his Government to conclude an arrangement with the British authorities on the basis contained in the often-quoted letters of Secretary Marcy, had with that object made a proposition to Governor Douglas, which will in all probability lead to an agreement. The danger of a collision between the two countries may now be considered as at an end. The question of the sovereignty of the Island still remains to be dealt with by the two Governments, and may still present difficulties but it is very satisfactory to see it fairly recovered from the rude hands which lately seized it, and to know that its adjustment will not be disturbed by mllitary surprises. A terrible danger threatens all who live in London, or who visit it, by means of a custom- which ought not to be tolerated for an instant- of carrying sick persons in cabs to hospitals. No doubt the increase of smallpox in the metropolis may be referred to this source. Put a case of smallpox into a comfortable cab for an hour, then send the vehicle into the streets first a merchant sits in it for a quarter of an hour, then a traveller from the railway gets his chance of catching the disease, and so on for the next week or two. When it takes, the victims have had no warning of their impending danger, and wonder where they got it. They in their turn become new centres of disease, and for the next few weeks they infect the air they breathe, the houses they inhabit, the clothing sent to the laundress, and everybody and everything which comes within their influence, and it is impossible to say where the infection ceases. The following arrangements would easily, cheaply, and effectually do away with the evil:—1. Make it penal to let or to hire a public vehicle for the conveyance of any person affected with contagious disease. 2. Every insti- tution for the reception of contagious disease should undertake to fetch the patient on receipt of a medical certificate as to the nature of the case.

2 FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. t VICTOR Hueo AND JOHN BROWN. IVe have received from Guernsey, with a request that it should appear in our columns, the following- eloquent appeal from the 3 illustrious poet of France, who has the right to speak with all the a authority of his own noble sorrows in the name of outraged freedom:— 3 When one thinks of the United States of America's majestic figure rises to the mind—Washington. Now, 3 in that country of Washington see what is going on at 3 this hour. There are slaves in the Southern States, a fact which strikes with indignation as the most monstrous of 3 contradictions, the reasonable and freer conscience of the Northern States. These slaves, these negroes, a white man, a free man, one John Brown, wanted to deliver. Certainly, if insurrection be ever a » sacred duty, it is against slavery. Brown wished to begin the good work the deliverance of the slaves in Virginia. Being a puritan, a religious and austere man, and full of the gospel, he cried aloud to these men-his brothers—the cry of emancipation- "Christ has set us free!" The slaves, enervated by slavery, made no response to his appeal. Slavery makes deafness in the soul. Brown, finding himself abandoned, fought with a handful of heroic men; he struggled he fell riddled with bullets, his two young sons, martyrs of a holy cause, died at his side. This is what is called the Harper's Ferry affair. John Brown, taken prisoner, has just been tried with four of his fellows—Stephens, Copp, Green, and Cop- land. What sort of tfial it was a word will tell. Brown, stretched on a truckle bed, with six half- closed wounds-a gun-shot wound in his arm, one in his loins, two in the chest, two in the head—almost bereft of hearing, bleeding through his mattress, the spirits of his two dead sons attending him his four fellow-prisoners crawling around him; 6tephens with four sabre womids J ustice in a hurry to have done with the case; an attorney, Hunter, demanding that it be dispatched with sharp spaed; a judge, ParKer, assenting; the defence cut short; scarcely any delay allowed; forged or garbled documents put in evidence; the witnesses for the prisoner shut out; the defence clogged; two guns loaded with grape brought into the court, with an order to the gaolers to shoot the prisoners in case of any attempt at rescue; forty minutes' deliberation three sentences to death. 1 affirm, on my honour, that all this took place, not in Turkey, but in America. Such things are not done with impunity in the face of the civilised world. The universal conscience of man- kind is an ever-watchful eye. Let the judges of Charles- town, and Hunter, and Parker, and the slave-holding jurors, and the whole population of Virginia, ponder it well; they are seen. They are not alone in the world. At this moment the gaze of Europe is tixed on America. John H. Brown, condemned to die, was to have been hanged on the 2nd of December—this very day. But news has this instant reached us. A respite is granted I him. It is not until the 16th that he is to die. The interval is short. Has a cry of mercy time to make itself heard ? No matter it is a duty to lift up the voice. Perhaps a second respite may be granted. America is a noble land. The sentiment of humanity is soon quickened among a free people. We hope that Brown may be saved. If it were otherwise, if Brown should die on the scaffold on the 16th of December, what a terrible calamity. The executioner of Brown, let us avow it openly (for the day of the kings is past, and the day of the peoples dawns, and to the people we are bound frankly to speak the truth)-the executioner of Brown would be neither the attorney Hunter, nor the judge Parker, nor the Governor Wise, nor the state of Virginia; it would be, we say it, and we think it with a shudder, the whole American republic. The more one loves, the more one admires, the more one reveres the republic, the more heartsick one feels at such a. catastrophe. A single state ought not to have the power to dishonour all the rest, and in this case federal intervention is a clear right. Otherwise, by hesitating to interfere when it might prevent a crime, the union becomes an accomplice, No matter how intense may be the indignation of the generous Northern States, the Southern States associate them with the disgrace of this murder. All of us, whosoever we may be—for whom the democratic cause is a common country—-feel ourselves in a manner compromised and hurt. "If the scaffold should be erected on the 16th of December, the incor- ruptible voice of history would thenceforward testify that the august confederation of the New World had added to all its ties of holy brotherhood a brotherhood of blood, and the fasces of that splendid republic would be bound together with the running noose that hung from the gibbet of Brown. This is a bond "bat kills. When we reflect on what Brown, the liberator, the champion of Christ, has driven to effect, and when we remember that lie is about t<> die, slaughtered by the American republic, the crime assn-cries the proportions of the nation which commits it; and when we say to our- selves that this nation is a glory to the human race; that -like France, like England, like Germany-shp, is ongof the organs of civilisation that she sometimes even out- marches Europe by the sublime audacity of her progress; that she is the queen of an entire world; and that she bears on her brow an immense light of freedom; we affirm that Johu H. Brown will not die, for we recoil, horror-struck, from the idea of so great a crime commit- mitted by so great a people. In a political light the murder of Brown would be an irreparable fault. It would penetrate the Union with a secret fissure which would in the end tear it asunder. It is possible that the execution of Brown might consolidate slavery in Virginia but it is certain that it would con- vulse the entire American democracy. You preserve your shame, but you sacrifice your glory. oJ In a moral light, it seems to me that a portion of the light of humanity would be eclipsed, that even the idea of justice and injustice would be obscured on the day which should witness the assassination of Emancipation by Liberty. As for myself, though I am but an atom, yet being, as I am, in common with all other men, inspired with the conscience of humanity, I kneel in tears before the great starry banner of the new world, and with clasped hands, and with profound and filial respect, I implore the illustrious American Republic, sister of the French Republic, to look to the safety of the universal moral law, to save Brown, to throw down the threatening scaf- fold of the 16th December, and not to suffer that, beneath its eyes, and I add, with a shudder, almost by its fault, the first fratricide be outdone. For-yes, let America know it and ponder it well- there is something,more terrible than Cain slaying Abel -it is Washington slaying Spartacus. VICTOR HUGO. Hauteville House, Dec. 2,1859.

THE EMPRESS'S APARTMENTS AT THE TUILERIES. A correspondent of the Independance Belge writes I had the good fortune to visit the other day the private apartments of the Empress at the Tuileries. Workmen had been engaged on them for two years, during the absence of their Majesties. These suites of rooms, which run in a parallel line with the reception rooms on the drawing room floor, consist of an ante-chamber, a waiting room for the ladies of honour, a saloon of audience, a private room for her Majesty that is to say, the most retired and private rooms of the suite. The Emperor, whose preference for the style of Louis XVI. is well known, has desired her apartments in question to be entirely decorated after the fashion and taste of Marie Antoinette. M. Lefuel received orders to renew the elegant ornamentation of the Trianon in this Parisian palace. Art and industry have done marvels under his superintendence, so that we see again the graceful ara- besques, the rounded tapering volutes, the exquisite garlands, and the fine carvings of the latter part of the eighteenth century. All the models are unique, and exe- cuted with admirable nicety, from the door handles to the chimney-pieces, the panels and squares of glass and the whole furniture, from the timepieccs to the tongs in the fireplace, is in harmony with this style of decora- tion. The first saloon, of a pale green, is adorned with arabesques of a rather deeper tint. Medallions glisten in the panels, and within them are birds, painted by M. Appert. The prevailing colour of the second saloon is a rosy white; the arabesques are rose-coloured. The tops of the doors, the enrlosures or frames of the pannel- ling, the medallions, contain natural flowers, sometimes on a white ground, sometimes on a gilt one, executed with charming freedom and freshness, by a young artist, whose name has slipped my memory. Then comes the private saloon of the Empress, the ground of which is likewise of a very light green, and the pannellings of which contain the portraits of her ladies of honour, painted by M. Dubuffe; then her first withdrawing- room lined with green stuff, on which are hung valuable pictures; the doors of this cabinet and the next are of amaranth and palisander set off by bronzes, gilt and admi- rably chased. The new bronzes are of inimitable finish, and decidedly the locks, the arabesques of the chimney- scrolls, the marble-slabs, that issue from M. Christoffle's factory, are capable of competing with the works of the illustrious Got-tibres. The tesselated floors, ceilings, chimneys, reveal a taste so pure and refined that they reflect honour on M. Lefuel. The staircase leading to these apartments is entirely of stucco, and its accompany balustrade looks like a fringe of iron and gold. Be- tween the two spiral turns of the staircase a medallion contains a group of three children bearing the attributes of the Empire, and sculptured by Madame Noemi Con- stant. These ptivate apartments, which have been already occupied by her Majesty the Empress since her return from Compiegne, are a work of art, and decidedly one of the masterpieces of decorative art in our age, owing to the delicate care that has been bestowed on every part of their arrangements.

T" THE BALLOT. On Wednesday evening a meeting convened by the Ballot Society was held at the Whittington Club, with a view of promoting the adoption of the vote by ballot. In the absence of Mr. Berkeley, who was suffering from bronchitis, the chair was taken by Mr. J. F. Bontems, and there were also present General Thompson, Mr. Whitehurst, Mr. Sydenham Nodes, Mr. Eit, Mr. George Thompson, Colonel French, &c. A letter apologising for absence but sympathising with the objects of the meeting, was read from Mr. Roupell, also enclosing a subscription of ten guineas. The business of the meeting having been briefly opened by the chairman, that gentleman proceeded to state that he felt deeply the absence of Mr. Berkeley while he regretted the cause, the more so as he was most anxious to hear from Mr. Berkeley's own lips a disclaimer of that indifference on the subject of the ballot which was now so freely imputed to him, and which was not what they ought to expect from the President of the Ballot Society (hear, hear). The society was, he said, more than ever convinced of the necessity of the ballot, and they con- tinued to receive the most encouraging tenders of support from all quarters. The means entrusted to the committee had been most economically ex- pended, and he challenged any public society to show such extensive and important results produced with so small an expenditure of means. The meeting of Parliament was approaching, and the committee thought it desirable to have meetings held in all the metropolitan districts. This was the first, and it was proposed to hold meetings monthly until the question had been thoroughly ventilated. He could not resume his seat without expressing his regret for the loss the Ballot Society had sustained by the death of their revered and zealous member Mr. Thomas Prout. During a long life Mr. Prout had been one of the foremost Radicals in Westminster, and he (the chairman) was sure that if disembodied spirits took any interest in mundane matters, that of Mr. Prout wonld look down with complacency on the proceedings of that evening (cheeis). The Secretary (Mr. Wickham) then proceeded to read the following add ress "The Ballot Society to the Inhabitants of the Metro- polis. "After six years of agitation in the provinces, during which almost every parliamentary borough and many districts of the counties have been visited by the agents of this society, and public meetings held, addresses delivered, and tracts on the question of the ballot distributed, numbering little, if any, short of a million, the Ballot Society come to address the inhabitants of the metropolis. It has often been asked, with the head-quarters of your movement in London, why are you not more active in the metropolis? Following the example of the Anti-Corn Law League, and consi- dering that, with one exception only—Lord John Russell -all the metropolitan members vote for the ballot, we thought it best to direct our operations on constituencies which did not return ballot members and our course is justified by the fact that there are, in the present House of Commons, more members pledged to vote for the ballot than in any former Parliament. Public opinion is not only instructed, but made up in favour of the ballot, as is shown by the fact that at every one of the many and crowded public meetings held in every part of England -from Newcastle in the north to Helston at the extreme south-west, and in Wales from Carnarvon in the north to Haverfordwest in the south — we have never failed to carry resolutions approving of the ballot. In now coming among the inhabitants of the metropolis In now coming among the inhabitants of the metropolis we do not intend to lay aside our provincial labours. It is intended to visit the boroughs not already visited, and inform them on the question. The extended and important field specially needing the ballot requires to be visited and aroused, but the time is come to arouse the metropolis simultaneously with the provinces. If the metropolitan constituencies do not need the ballot so much as others, yet they are not strangers to the evils against which we seek the protection of the ballot; and they are equally interested in procuring the benefits we expect from ^Parliaments which shall be the free and gen- uine choice of the people. The ballot, we are convinced, lies attherootof the political, financial, andadministrative reforms sought by all classes of reformers and we now appeal to the enlightened understandings of the inhabit- ants of the metropolis, and to the power they alway exercise over public opinion, to aid us in our exertions to secure for every elector the same power of voting freely and indifferently as is possessed by our fellow-country- men in the Australian colonies. By order of the Executive Committee (on behalf of the Society), WM. WICKHAM, Hon. Secretary." Several speeches were then made, and the proceeding terminated in the usual manner.

SIERRA LEONE.—A slaver without name or colour, captured a short time back by Her Majesty's ship Spitfire, Captain Chapman, at Jacknel, in the neighbourhood of Lagos, had arrived in Sierra Leone in charge of a prize crew at the time of her seizure she had on board 469 slaves, the whole of whom had been shipped on board the evening previous in the short space of one hour and a half. Her entire length is 110 feet breadth, 26 feet 6 inches. Her hold was large and capacious; the slaves, consequently, had far more room than is usually the case in vessels of this description. The passage up to Sierra Leone occupied thirty-five days, during which time she lost seven of them, landing 462— viz., 284 men, 104 women, 34 boys, and 40 girls; they were chiefly Popoes, Akees, and Tappalis; she had been condemned by the Vice-Admiralty Court as a lawful prize.

THE ROYAL CHARTER. A painful incident in connection with the wreck of this slup occurred on Saturday at Brompton Cemetery. Among the passengers lost were a whole family named Pitcher, consisting of father and mother and two children, with their nurse. Mr. Pitcher was brother of the eminent shipbuilder bearing his name at Northfleet He_was formerly connected with Messrs. Dent's house in China, but had been for some years resident at Gee- long, where, though only forty-two years of age, be had acquired a fortune, and was returning to England for re- tirement. His wife was twenty-nine years of age, and his children respectively of the ages of three and one years. The eldest (a boy) was among the first to be washed on shore on the morning of the wreck, and had medical assistance been at hand his life, it is stated, might have been spared, for after being picked up the little fellow was observed to sigh and place his left hand convul- sively across his breast. In such a terrible moment of excitement, however, nothing could be done for him on that bleak spot. His remains were soon recognised by one of the saved passengers, and the body, having been placed in a coffin, was taken charge of by the Rev. S R Hughes, the humane and highly-respected incumbent of t the Welsh village of Llanallgo. The body of Mrs. Pitcher came ashore at Moelfra, not far from the scene of the wreck, and, although the remains had been in the water more than a month, her features were easily recognisable by comparison with a photograph portrait in the possession of her relatives. Mr. Pitcher's remains were brought ashore by a fisherman in Bull Bay a small creek about two miles west of Amlwich at a considerable distance from the wreck. When found the pockets of his trousers had been cut across, and their contents abstracted, and nothing being observed to lead to identification, the body was buried with two or three others, as those of persons unknown. Subsequently it was ascertained, from an article of clothing, that the re- mains must have been those of Mr. Pitcher, and the body having been exhumed, was, together with those of Mrs. ^nd^ their little boy, placed in charge of Mr. Griffith Davies, of Bangor, who completed the necessary arrangements for their interment in one grave in the Brompton Cemetery, and brought the remains to London by the mail train on Saturday morning. The mourners assembled at the Victoria. Hotel about 1 o'clock, at which hour the coffins were brought over from the Euston-station in two hearses. Those who followed consisting almost exclusively of the relatives and friends of the deceased lady and gentleman, occupied three mourning coaches. The only strangers were the Rev. til ,uSes and tlje Rev. H. R. Hughes, brothers, and fellow-labourers in the two parishes of Llanallgo and 1 enrhoslligwy, adjoining the scone of the wreck, of whose truly Christian virtues since the occurrence of the awful catastrophe it is impossible to speak too highly On the arrival of the funeral cortege at the cemetery the 11 y bodies were removed into the chapel, where the Rev. S. R. Hughes read the service appointed for the burial of the dead in an impressive manner, Each of the coffins bore a brass plate, upon which was engraven the name of the deceased person, and the date on which the body had been cast ashore from the wreck of the Royal Charter. The funeral was conducted as privately as possible, and none of the circumstances having been allowed to transpire in the neighbourhood, the mourners were permitted to pay the last tribute of affection to the sufferers without any molestation from the vulgar curiosity of a crowd,

THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY. Last week a deputation from the Early Closing Asso- ciation, consisting of Mr. Thomas Winkworth, vice-presi- dent, and Mr. Lilwall, secretary, waited upon the Lord Mayor, at the Mansion-house, to solicit the exercise of his influence, as the chief civic authority, to cause Mon- day, the 26th inst., be observed as a holiday in the various places of business throughout the City. Mr. Lilwall stated that he believed the various em- ployers, in accordance with their usual kindness to those under them, were really wishful that the latter should not be deprived of their usual holiday through the Christmas day falling on Sunday; but, as things stood, each firm was in ignorance as to what each other firm intended to do in the matter. He re- minded his lordship that, at the suggestion of the association he represented, Mr. Alderman Sidney, during his mayoralty had been pleased, under similar circum- stances, to issue a recommendation to the merchants and traders of the City, to the effect that Monday, the 26th of December, that year, should be kept as a holiday which example was followed by the mayors of the pro- vincial towns, and resulted in the complete attainment of the object. Mr. Lilwall also stated that, through the kindness of Sir R. Carden in the year 1857 in issuing a recommendation to that effect, the toiling; classes had extended to them three consecutive holidays, namely from Friday to Monday inclusive, and he felt assured that if his lordship, approving of the object, should be pleased to exercise his influence in a similar way a. recommendation on the subject emanating from the civic chair would be scarcely more welcome to the mer- chants and tradesmen themselves than to the various clerks and assistants in their employ. The present case was, he said, one of those where a great boon could be conferred upon the servant without injury to the master. There existing in London no chambers of commerce, nor any similar associated body of traders, he remarked'tbat there was no other quarter to which they conid apply for the help they solicited at the hands of his lordship. He said that on the previous occasion Mr. Alderman Sidney communicated with the Home Secretary on the subject, and as the result that the holiday then, as he hoped would be the cas., now, was enjoyed by the gentlemen in public offices as well as by the trading classes. Mr. Winkworth, after strongly urging tha various points in favour of the object, expressed himself, as a banker, as being fearful that in the present state of the law it would not be in the power of bankers entirely to close their doors on the 26th instant, upon which Mr. Lilwall stated that he trusted that during the next session a short act would be passed, authorising the government of the day, by an older in council, to declare any day a national holiday, which, he said would meet such cases as the present, and would other- wise be found a great public convenience. The Lord Mayor expressed himself as sympathising with the object of the deputation, and said he concurred with them in feeling that it would be a serious deprivation of the industrial classes if they were precluded from joining in their family meetings, which all persons look forward to with so much delight at the coming festive season. His lordship accordingly promised to give the proposal his early consideration, and as the result at that consideration, he said he felt most deeply the importance of the subject, and the extreme da<ira- Dility of making the Monday after Christmas-day a holi- day for the masses. He had, however, no jurisdiction in such a matter, nor perhaps much influeuce, bnthefelt bound to express his hope that the tradesmen and merchants of the City, and the bankers, as far as they possibly could, would close their establishments upon the 26th inst. and so give an opportunity for rational and recreative enjoy- ment to those in their employ. Such opportunities but seldom fell to the share of many; and he trusted that because Christmas-day would this year fall upon Sunday, one of the few holidays which were generally observed in this country would not be lost.

A STORY OF MISERY. At the Middlesex sessions, on Tuesday, before Mr Bodkin, assistant-judge, Sarah Dyer, 40, was indicted for stealing 15 yards of ribbon, value 7s. 6d.; 6 yards of ribbon, value 3s. 9d.; and 24 yards of silk braid, value 8s. and a reel, the property of Messrs. Shoolbred and Co., of Tottenham-court-road. She pleaded "guilty" and seemed overwhelmed with grief, Mr. Sleigh said he appeared for the prisoner, and he could in all sincerity say that a case more distressing in its circumstances had never come under his notice. That the prisoner had been guilty of the offence of shoplifting at Messrs. Shoolbred's there could be no doubt, but she had acted under pressure of a most painful state of things. The case, indeed, was a most painful illustration of the "Song of the Shirt," and the prisoner had for years been at the Stitch, stitch, stitch," morning, noon, and night and on again into the next day, to support herself and her son, whom she had apprenticed to a tailor. She was a widow, and had borne a good character all her lifetime for honesty, industry, and perseverance. Through dis- tress she had done this, and Messrs. Shoolbred had only done their duty in prosecuting, but they were desirous of strongly recommending the prisoner to the most merciful- consideration of the court. The prisoner was in a most deplorable state of health, and as she had already been in prison three weeks, it was hoped that the court might deem it a case in which the most lenient course might be adopted. Air. said he ap- peared for the prosecution, instructed through the Association for the prosecution of shoplifters, and on behalf of Messrs. Shoolbred he had only to say that they had not the least desire to press for punishment against the prisoner, who had been a cus- tomer of theirs for some years, and was no doubt a hard-working woman, and had struggled hard for a living. An assistant of Messrs. Shoolbred was called into the box, and he stated that the prisoner had been a customer for a long period, and on the occasion of her committing the offence she was being watched in conse- quence of something which had occurred previously. She was so well known there that they were utterly astonished at her being detected at such a thing, and they did not wish to press the charge.—Mr. Knight, 1, Pindar-place, Gray s-mn-road, said he had lived there thirty-three years, and the prisoner had lodged with him about eleven years. She was a widow, hard-working, and well-con- ducted, and had a son whom she had put to a business and worked until two, three, and four of amorning atdress- making, to earn her living, and to support her son. He could say that she was driven to do this in consequence of ladies for whom she worked not paying her for the work she did for them. They had her labour, and, poor as she was, they would not pay her, except upon long credit, which she could not afford to give; but money she could not get, and not having the means to purchase materials to finish work she had in harid, 8he had unfor- tunately resorted to stealing them. There were several ladies who owed.her money-£10, Xll, or £12, but she could not get a penny from tliprn one- in particular, in Montague Place; owed her about that SUIn for her the lay ill for five weeks at one tune, and sent to the lady time after time, and day after day, she could get nothing, and her urgent applications were unheeded. Another lady living in Highbury-terrace, Islingto;n, had owed her w /lr since last December, and though she had begged and prayed for some part payment, the ladv had sTenfher»„af5h™g' ".V/ sh« ""lory step., her connection would be destroyed. It was entirely through being thus kept out of money which: was due to her for the sweat of her brow and her work by night and day that she had been driven, as he believed, to do that Wilicii naa placed her in her present position for a more honest, striving woman he had never known SRVED: RWFMHIMHEBFEIIWEDSTEWS: starved, and she was in arrear of rent at the time which very much preyed upon her mind, and she wanted to finish the work she had in hand to payTt as S^f'cLld^Ht11? he.r—fhe Assistant-J udge r, c.0uld not but admit that this case had met with th COnsiderf> he could see Tt hJd met with the sympathy of every one present Tlie mTertSewithWfhA t0 adopt he had no doubt' would meet with the ready concurrence of the eminent firm who were the prosecutors in this case. It was a matter might bp16 TSi?Tdtlle ?reate8t amount of mercv might be extended, for already the prisoner had been severely punished for what she had done iudg ng from what had been said of her and of the JecS ha^beetSed find^ ShoffifwhX had t rr ltf i its way into publicity, those who her so W of H j pt00,r creatuici, by depriving her so long of the reward ol her labour, would under- shcmld T ass mUSt b<3 tll0llSht of their conduct. He charged at once aU' bUt °rder her to be dis" cnargea at once.—I he prisoner went down on her knees steps tolbrin^ Ti QrdslllP-~Mr- Sleigh said he would take steps to bring the case under the notice of the Roval £ rt h 0Ciet]:iWith w,hich- connected S had no doubt something would be done for the woman — gentlemen of the bar and several of the jurors made sePt atSHbertyUPWardS °f the prisoner> and she was ¡

FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. A writer who has had access to the books of the stib-Ti-easui-y in New York, where the interest .on about seven-eighths of the public debt of tue United States is paid, says;- ° "These books are a curious study. Manv of the names they contain are household words. Some aro the names of Europeans others of West Indians, and even Asiatics. -Barely a third of the public debt is held in this country, ihe bulk of it, we imagine, is held in Continental Europe. One is not surprised to find th<> names of John J. Astor, William B. As tor, Jacob Little ?fe°tvSe^e^ i Sl:ch men in thelist of the creditors the United States, but they and their countrymen are in a minority. The heaviest foreign creditor we noticed, is Lord Overstone (the famous Jones Lo'yd) who has lent this country no less than 350,000 dollars tar?ePo7200 ooo'd nrCed de,Laseca> is our creditor to the tune of 200,000 dollars, and a noble friend of hers, the 100 000 dollar SV°y SaStlll°' drawS Six Per ce"t- on i ,S?7eral persons connected with the ojal families of Europe are creditors of ours. The brother of the King of Naples took 50,000 dollars some yecut, ago, ana instructed his agent to invest the divi- dends as they accrued in the same security. He now owns over 7o,000 dollars. His niece, the daughter oT I Bomba, is registered as a creditor for over £50,000. 1 hese wise people have been looking out for a rainy day.' Another noble personage, the late Duchess of Orleans, ln t le1, V!;ed, ^,tates (i0 save the Count of Paris om being compelled to fouow his grandfather's example and keep school. Several of the Saxe-Coburgs Gothas have also invested in the same country. The Count Rossi saw enough of this country while he was here to invest a few thousands in the famous name of Sontag; and l^ul Jubon has a trifle — enough to keep him when his violm fails. One can readily account for the appearance of the name of the Rothschilds, both of nnhr«0fQ anp TS 'i but it; is curious ttlat the famous publishei, Panchonke, of Pans, is a creditor of the United States; and that the dramatic author, Scribe, has also invested enough to give him nearly 10,000 fr. a year. A careful study of democracy in America appears to have persuaded Monsieur Tocqueville to lodge some of his savings in the hands of our Go- vernment and Macauiay, who began with a baga- telle of some 5,000 dols., has since increased his venture to nearly 30,000 dols. But we shall never end tf wS attempt to enumerate all the people who have their money placed in the United States securities. Here are Lord Dundonald, the great sailor, who has a large sum for a son of Neptune; the Prince de Beauven, the Count de Narbonne, Sir John Bayley, the Marquis of Cham- pagne, Baring Brothers, Count de Beaumont, General Bermeloff, and a host of titled people, who, perhaps, depend upon the honesty and solvency of the United States government for a living. Lord Elgin saw enough of us to leave 17,000 dois. of his savings in our six per cents., and the famous Russian, Alexandre Herzen, has a bagatelle of 80,000 dols. in the same security. There is another creditor, whose name is a curiosity. It runs thus—Baron Louis NumaEpaminondas Justinian Aristides Decius Salis Haldenstein Liechensten Uoitenstem. l'ancy a man with such a name drawing State^"S1X an(i cents from the United

HORTICULTURE. 7 (From Bell's Weekly Messenger.) A change of wind to the south-west has again brought us deluges of rain, and suspended for a time useful labour out of doors, except ground-work of the rougher descriptions. Of course, much depends on the natural quality of the soil; in some cases, as in light sandy and gravelly soils, operations may be renewed almost as soon as the rain ceases; while in the more heavy and retentive soils, at this season, some days of dry weather are necessary in order to restore the surface to a comfortable working condition. A great deal also depends oil the extent to which artificial means have been adopted for the drainage of the land. During the last two years of comparative drought, the necessity coin "I for drainage has been less felt; but during such a season as the present, its value becomes apparent in restoring the land so much sooner to a dry and workable state. Those of our readers who have hitherto neglected such precautionary measures, will act wisely in resorting to them without delay, as good drainage is especially essential in garden ground. TlIE GKEENIIOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.—The long continuance of dull damp weather during these short c ark days is very trying to the greenhouse plants, which are chiefly the natives of a brighter, sunnier climate. All that can be done is to give as much ventilation as possible, and to promote the circulation of the atmo- sphere, and increase its dryness by the employment of a very moderate quantity of artificial heat. Care should also be taken to arrange the more delicate plants in the best positions for light and air. The camellia and the azalea, for instance, are more hardy, and will thrive in a dark position at this season; while, on the other hand the cape heath and the epacris, and other New Holland tribes, must have light and air in the greatest measure we can supply. THE FLOWER-GARDEN.—Take every opportanity of uncovering the pits and frames containing half-hardy plants, if only for an hour or two, drawing the lights off and exposing the plants to the drying influence of the wind. THE KITCHEN-GARDEN.—When the small fruits have been pruned, the ground should be carefully forked over, so as to avoid injuring the surface roots.

HEAT FROM THE STARS.—It is a startling fact, that if the earth were dependent alone upon the sun for heat it would not keep existence in animal and vegetable life upon its surface. It results from the researches of Pouillet that the stars furnish heat enough in the course of the year to melt a crust of ice seventy feet thick—almost as much as is supplied by the sun. This may appear strange when we consider how im- measurably small must be the amount of heat received from any of those distant bodies. But the surprise vanishes when we remember that the whole firmament is so thickly sown with stars that in some places thousands are crowded together within a space no greater that that occupied by the full moon. -Dr. Lardner ECONOMY OF TIME.—What Account Boolcs ar in the saving of Money, such are "Diaries in the saving of Time; and Time is even more precious than Money. But a Diary is calculated to save not Time alone, but Money also; and many persons make it their exclusive Account Book. They who have been accustomed to the use of a Diary can best appreciate its value and comfort on all occasions; but sometimes a solitary entry will render it mvaluable. How often has a "Letts's Diary" been produced to settle a question at law ? How often, to reveal the last efforts of some-celebrated traveller, whose life had been sacrificed to the benefit of his country ? It is in tlie ordinary incidents of Life, however, that their blessing's have proved most abundant, by affording a ready and incontestable evidence of any data of the past, that had else been forgotten or misconceived. No civilised being, therefore, should now exist without a Diary; and the only question is, where shall he find one best adapted to his wishes? None offer so great avariety as those called "Letts's, and none so easy of access; as pretty well every Bookseller in the kingdom keeps them, and will give a Descriptive Catalogue of their respective arrangements without charge. Their price ranges between Gd. and 14s. each, according to the quantity of space appropriated to the day, week, &c. That they are the ne plus ultra of this Class of Publication may be gathered from the simple fact, that they are the Diaries, par excellence, adopted not only by tlie Queen, Prince Albert, and Royal Family, but the bulk of the Nobility, Gentry, Officers of State, Merchants, Bankers, Traders, and Mechanics throughout this country and her colonies. The Catalogues referred to enumerate many other works devoted to the object of SA VlNG TIME; as Cellar Books, Game, Stable, Rent, Housekeeping, and Sermon Books, Library Catalogues, &c., and will well repay perusal,

THE CONGRESS. Tj ( TURIN, DEC. 10. ihe Austrian letter of invitation to the Congress signed by Count Rechberg, has arrived, atnl is couched in the same terms as that of France to Piedmont.

TUSCANY. rpi -p FLORENCE, DEC. 10. count Gov,ernme'« has, by allowing a dis- amountfnlf f f m ance the la'Kl"tax for I860, amounting to between six and seven millions of francs.

FRANCE. The Council of State is preparingi\1\Im'jJcf of1faw reducing the customs duties, m0re especially on articles of primary necessity. Marshal Randon, the Minister of War, has, it is said, tendered his resignation.

THE GERMAN COMFEDERATION. A DRESDEN, DEC. 10. J^OMnW^sTvs Frankfort, published by the Dresden Jtiln t(;;day'3 £ 8i«ing of the Federal Diet, the committee the affairs of Electoral Ilesse was increased by the appointment of representatives of Austria, Prussia, -bavaria, and Saxony." fie J?

SPAIN AND MOROCCO. m, f „ MADRID, DEC. 10. Ihe following dispatch has been published:— „ CAMP, ELOTTRO, DEC. 9, EVENING. This morning the enemy impetuously attacked our redoubts, but were energetically repulsed by the garrison, and retired to the valley commanded by these redoubts. J The enemy then came up again, but were attacked and repulsed by 10,000 men of the second corps, serving as our vanguard. The Moors lost 300 killed and 1,000 wounded; the approximate loss of the Spanish was 30 officers and 280 men wounded, and 40 killed.

DENMARK. m, ,r, 7 7 COPENHAGEN, DEC. 9. ihe raedrelandet states that Prince Christian of Denmark was yesterday appointed Governor of Holstein

SPAIN AND MOROCCO. The Madrid journals of the 4th mention reports being current that dysentery and even cholera had broken out amongst the Spanish troops in Morocco but the Espana expresses a hope that the rumours are greatly exag- gerated; it, however, admits that the fatigues which the army has already undergone must have occasioned sickness, and it strongly recommends the immediate adoption of every hygienic measure of which the experience of the allied armies in the Crimea had proved the utility. The same journal states that the Spanish generals will probably not assume the offensive against the Moors until all their forces shall be concentrated. The Gazette publishes a detailed account of the losses }jy,. the first corPs in the combats of the 19th, zuth, 22nd, 24th, and 25th ult. It shows that 9 officers were killed (one a major-general) and 45 wounded (one of them General Echague), and that 79 soldiers were killed and 717 wounded. The loss of the Moors cannot be ascertained, as they carry off as many of their wounded and dead as they can; but it is supposed that they must have had 500 killed and 1,500 wounded. The Moors in the neighbourhood of Ceuta are represented to be well armed and well supplied with stores; and their commander is said to be a celebrated marabout, of great intelligence and energy. A telegraphic dispatch from the Spanish camp at Otero, on the 3rd, says that General Zabla, at the head of four battalions, has made a movement towards the camp of Tetuac, and that the Moors who were occupying the heights which the Spaniards call Sierra Ballones, had a detached force of <3,000 men to hang on the right flank of the Spaniards tins force, however, on account of the nature of the ground, had not attacked the Spanish troops. The Lorrespondancia confirms the fact that the Moors, even when resistance is absolutely hopeless, refuse to yield themselves prisoners.

SICILY. News received from Palermo to the 27th November, states that the Commander Maniscaleo, Director General of the Sicilian Police, had been stabbed whilst walking with his wife and children in the Place of the Cathedral. The wound inflicted was very serious, but probably not mortal. The assassin, who was well dressed, escaped, hears were entertained that the attempted assassination would be followed by an insurrection, but tranqluliitv prevailed. 1 J

LORD CANNINC IN OUDE. On the 22nd of October the Governor-General made his triumphal entry into Lucknow, and received and deco-. rated all the princes and higher noblesse jjof Oude. Our readers, we dare say, will scarcely care for the ceremonial the formal genuflexions, the bestowal of necklaces, the small speeches and large compliments which make up an Indian reception. The real interest of the scene, besides, does not lie in them. Two days after a grand Durbar was held, attended by the majority of the Talookdars of Oude. After the usual formal greetings, the Governor- General rose and addressed the assembled landholders thus: "Talookdars of Oude.-I am glad to find myself in vottr countiy and among you, and to have this opportunity of speaking to you in the name ot the Queen your Sovereign. A year has not passed away since this province was the seat of anarchy and war. The conduct of its people had been such that the Government was compelled to lay a heavy hand upon it. -But peace and oraer are now restored to every corner of Oude and I am come to speak to you not of the past, but of the future' You have all of you who are here present received yesterday the grants of these estates which the Government lias restored to you. nnr.I0^'Tm,^ave seen by til° tcrms of those grants that the ancient Talookdarce system of Oude is revived and perpetuated, e -ii~e assJl}"ed that so long as each one of you is a loyal and iaithtul subject, and a just master, his rights and dignity as a 1 alookdar will be upheld by me and by every representative of your Queen, and that no man shall disturb them. You will also have seen by these grants that the same rights are secured on the same conditions to your heirs for ever. "Let this security be an encouragement to you to spend your care, and time, and money upon the improvement of your pos- sessions. 1 As the Government has been generous to you, so do you be generous to those who hold under you, down to the humblest tiller of the soil. Aid them by advances of money, and other indulgences, to increase the productiveness of the land, and set them an example of order and obedience to your rulers. Lcl the same security in your possessions encourage you i& mmg up your sons in a manner befitting the position which thev will hereafter occupy as the Chiefs of Oude. Learn yourselves and teach them, to look to the Government as a father. Talookdars, 1 trust that there are none among you who arEl so infatuated as to believe that the Government has had designs against your religion. Even if there be any such, I will not con- descend to repeat the assurances which they have already re- ceived on this head. I leave it to time, and experience, and their own senses to dispel their perverse suspicions. But for their own sakes I warn them not to be led into acts of opposition or distrust towards the Government vy the false tales of design- ing men. ° Lastly, Talookdars, whenever in any matter you have doubts to bercsoived, Or wishes to make known, address yourselves to yjf •, +!e f'.0"llnissU)ner. He wiil tell you the truth in all things, lie is the lngh and trusted representative of tlie Government iu Oude, and, depend upon it, he will be your best adviser and your truest friend. I wish that I could speak to you in your own language. That which I have said will now be interpreted to you, and I enjoin you to bear it in your memories." The Talookdars," says a local reporter, "looked satisfied," and well they might. If one could imagine the Duke of Sutherland, say, suddenly assuring his tenantry that their farms were their own for over in fee simple, one would expect some slight marks of com- placency to be manifested. That, and nothing less, is the effect of the Viceregal speech. The Oude procla- mation, the despatches to Lord Stanley, our entire policy since the annexation, are flung" to the winds together. The aristocracy are restored to their estates en. masse, and granted a perpetual settlement; in other words, the rate of taxation is fixed for ever, and all the increase of rental sure to follow our rule will go, as ia Bengal, to enrich them, instead of the State. The measure, wholly unexpected and at variance with every profession Lord Canning has made, is in itself most wise. The people will not revolt without their leaders. They did not even in Beliar, where the resumptions have created a general hate of our rule. The leaders now can- not move. They all accept a perpetual settlement as the greatest of benefits, and they all know that the first act: of a native king would be to upset it. They may not personally feel the benefit for a year or two, but they are not fools, and they know how rapidly the Bengalee Zemindars have thriven. They are released at once from all uncertainty as to the future, they recover at once their feudal supremacy, they are exempted at once from tliei visits and authority of the col- lector, and, above all, they are made too strong for the native officials. Those gentry, even in Bengal, dare not worry the Zemindars, and in Oude, with its martial population, they must keep strictly within the letter of the law. There will be some distrust at first, but in five years, we feel assured, if the perpetuity of the settlement is really and honestly maintained, the possibility of rebellion will cease to Oude. There may be any amount of discontent, but the rich never revolt in earnest. The terms of the grants are not yet published, and are very possibly severe. The perpetuity of the conditions is, however, the point, and that is distinctly promised by the Governor-General. The speech has been circulated in an official handbill all over India i f