Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 565, 3 April 1858, Page 3

Miscellaneous.

Some- extraordinary trials by cpfirt T martial have been held1 oh board'the St; Vincent, at Portsmouth. ■': It is. said' that' "'these trials, ; twb of which' have come, 'to''nothing, and trie, first only to a reprimahdj'on.'bfficer^ who have long been imprisoned' in their cabins as it were, and suspended from''all 'duty and neailyaU inter! course with their messhiatesy'afe ,a scandal to the Navy; bu£' it; is; questionable whether the Captain,' who is 'so. powerfully connected, will receive• any censure from; the 'Admiralty,' notwithstanding, the 'opinion of his conduct expressed at -the-end of the- last: finding?' \ The Captain referred to is CaptainS.'C. 'Fremaritley of: the Juno,', the prosecutor. The last of:" the three', officers tried:> was!, ;Heutenant' Burhabyi who was most honorably acquitted. A singular scene - occurred on. the. .opening, of the trial Lieutenant Burnaby had been under arrest1 for ' seventeen mOnthsi' Oh' Captain-Fremantle being ordered by the President to 'state to the Court what you know relative to the charges,' he replied^ * I know nothing.' I. am prepared, sir, with your permission, to 'abandon,this prosecution; lam prepared to indemnify the prisoner by corporeal :pains.' The Court at this point stopped'the pfoseeutor. and,cleiared the cabin!'' On1 itsL being fe-bperied, the .President said—' The Court has been'cleared to give you time to consider.'You have; been sworn,' &c. The prosecutor replied—'l feel myself totally unable at- the present time to collect my ideas to give the required evidence as to matters which transpired1 so long ago; I feel so impressed that my views of the service'have been mistaken and wrorigi' :' President—' Captain Fremantle, you are there Jas a witness,: and must answer a plain .question.' Captain Fremantle—■' There, is a; confusion in my head, and I cannot proceed.': President—r' Respecting what has been said about the views?' T Captain Fremantle—'I{feel 'so confused that I.cannot attempt to.fecouht'upon Path with any degree of' fidfelity,- and agreeably,to .the words of the oath,1' what transpired so long ago. I request the President will, allow me to sit down.'

Indignation has been excited; that Captain Fremantle, of the Juno, has escaped with only a 'reprimand' from the" Lords' of the Admiralty; for his frivolous or unfounded, prosecution of his pfficers; the said reprima,nd being, it is supposed, administered privately. . This ' reprimand' is for making serious accusations against three' officers, and .'keeping.'.them under arrest for many months, in,-two cases on charges that could not be.substantiated^

Robert Bellahy, a Justice of the Peace in the county of Durham, found guilty at,-the.,last. Durham Assizes of having "corruptly, and .bycolour of his : office, extorted two sums of,£l each from two perspnsV who, were ybefore him for an offence alleged to have been ■ committed on his property, was .brought up, for judgment in the Court of Queen's Bench, and sentenced to pay a fine of £200 and to suffer one year's imprisonment. :

The story of the robbery, of Lady Ellesmere's travelling, case, containing property valued at £15,000, has been madi known by one of the agents in the"'crime., '-' The travelling-case, contained, in addition to numerous other articles, of ornamental jewellery,, " a pearl necklace, a diamond'necklace, ari emerald and diamond necklace,' a- diamond-br.ooch ivitlv emerald drop, a diarriorid bow with emerald drop,",a. pair of diamopd earrings, a pair of emerald and diamond earrings, a large pair of diamond branches,.a small pair of diamond branches, ,three, diamond buttons, an eriierald and, diamond > order, an emerald and diamond bracelet,ja gold bracelet with! Pericleaux clasp,, a ; cats-eye., bracelet, a gold .bracelet with" garnet "and ; cUamond clasp, besides; other bracelets. ' The/wearing, apparel stolen', vrith the jewellery 'consisted of, white, and, black Brussels', laeej'.' China,,.crape, .and other shawls^ lace* dressed, blond,scarfs, .velvet cloaks, Indian scarfs', morning and eveni.ng,silk dresses of white and, various pother colours, together with other expensive articles of ladies' attire." The details of" the robbery were: voluntarily revealed by William Attwell, alias .Welsh,, a prisoner in Springfield - Gaol, who expressed his. desire.,to communicate. with > the police. „. Ser-. gearit Evans was sent dpwri; to Springfield, and at Attwell's, request lie .wrote down.his confession. From, .this., curious; chapter of felon, bip r graphy it appears that, oh the ,22nd January, 1857, Attwell and two ,others, Whitty and Saint, went to. the West End, " tio\ commit a felony." Near Grbsvenor Square, they saw two cabs, loaded withluggage. Whitty.said, "There go Port. St.' Peters "—meaning trunks; and they ran after them. "Whitty. pulled down a large trunk aridl carried, it ; away. ; , A cab. was then called, land the box : and Attwell placed in-: side. Whitty follbvved it; "running;" Saint took^n omnibus. Attwell drove to;;Finsbury, dis^-^ed the cab; and carried'the box to Jackson's" shop in Leonard' street;. .They observed the name of the .Countess of, Ellesmere : on the. box. " I said to Jackson, 'Why, this lady is almost next to.the Queen,;'., and he said, 'By that. I hope you've; got ' something :good.'" When the robbers had broken open; the, box and saw the value of it's, contents;, Attwell, and Saint were inclined to haye no. more to do with it. .Mrs.'J'acksPn.'observed that'the dresses: were^" nice things,'!; and that",V the lady must,, be a kind of fashionable woman."' : "Whitty sold a dark kind of lace shawl(wprtlv£so) to Mrs. Jackson for '25.., '.and a ! thing in the shape of a butterfly, for'2s,"''• .Whitty put np'a lot of dresses and a pair of stays, for „";his woman called;' Polly' Gentleman."- Jatdcspn. fixed the priceof the jewellery at ,£40." „'Whitty carried a bundle' of dresses! to, piie ".Sam Britton ;" he wanted £15 for- theiu, but Britton would only give £3. They went to a man in Spitalfields,

ajidi sold: him a handful of -diamonds arid a (blue drop'v for: five1 Shillings. "They next went to Jackson,'and obtained1 £10 in advance of £40. They saw "an 'old .man ; goihg in;" and while the old man bargained for the plunder., they, played at sjcittles, and drank port wine apd ; peppermint at a, public-house. On; going back.tp Jackson-, he,desired them to bring him .the.-lposeyidi.amond /and.blue drop.; ■ ari<Lthey ; bought them .back: for; 6s. Jackson then gave the three thieves £30;; which they divided; and "i we all went to ■ Petticoat Lane, arid bought ourselves some new clothes for all three." When £300 reward was offered, Attwell and Saint told Jackß6h that they would " round on him " if he didndt give thern,more money. He said he sold the thi n g S for £60,, arid would only give the robbers .£2 more. Jackson has confessed that he sold a portion of the jewellery to a, Jew for £300; >that "an emerald drop and diamond bow;" were thrown down a closet; and that a pair of diamond earrings were thrown into a field near Whitechapel. ■ | Jackson and his wife have both been committed for trial; on other charges of receiving ; stolen goods, as. well as the receiving of Lady rElles'meres's property. '*','." j An.'insolyent, known under many aliases, but whose, name appears to be Woolf Levy, applied to the Insolvent Court for his discharge. ! Under examination, he gave a romantic and amusing account of his career. Born in-Eng-land in.lß27;:hewentto Sydney in 1843; and Jtraded as a merchant until 1848, when he took some-horse's- to • Calcutta, sold them, and lived there nine months on the proceeds of the sale. His next venture was in the United States. There, from 1850 to 1852, he dealt in American "curiosities ,". selling wooden nutmegs for real spice,, and wooden hams for the genuine article.. 'When the game was up, he speculated in railway shares : at St. Louis; under the name of Montefiore. From St. Louis he went to Panama; where he turned his attention to the fitness of the bay for commercial purposes, intending tp get up a company in the United States. That scheme proved abortive; but he managed to raise money on bills drawn upon London houses'. _ Mr. Levy was the. hero of similar transactions at San Francisco, where he used the name of Sir Moses Montefiore ; at Manilla ;. at Hongkong; at Colombo, where he drew upon Baring Brothers.; at Florence, where he gave a Ranker a draught upon Rothschilds; at Cape Town, where his career came to a temporary stoppage, and he .was sent a prisoner to England. While in London, he got cigars, stationery, and other goods, by cleverly contriving to impress West-end tradesmen with the idea of his high position and wealth; one tradesman thought that he was "a German prince" at least!, The case was adjourned. ' An extraordinary story, has been made public before the Lambeth Magistrate. In 1850 Mr. John Blair Wills, a young man, fell in love, while riding in an omnibus, with Marion Maxwell, a child of thirteen. He discovered that she lived at Bath, and proposed at once to marry her. To that of course, her mother would,, not then consent. Early in 1855, however, Wills again met.the. girl in London, renewed his. offer, and obtained the consent of her mother, and married Miss Maxwell at Kennington Church, in March; 1855. After an "accouchement,,.jMrs.Ls:Wills suffered from milk fever, became deranged in mind, and was placed in Bethlehem .hospital by, her husband. He seems to have taken no further thought about her. At the end of the year she was compelled by the rules of the -hospital to depart... Her husband, still, kept aloof; and she was taken by James .Fenton Wills, her brother-in-law, to his mother's, house. .At. lengthy in August last, her husband agreed to meet her in the city; and to her horror, she heard him say that she was no wife of his, as he had married one Ann Good, in 1851. He said' that the, best thing for her tp do was to marry ; Fenton Wills, for he loved her. She agreed to this. -Fenton Wills representing that he had her mother's consent, and that she was a spinster, married her before the, Registrar. . Mrs. Maxwell,1 the mother,. heard what had happened. She came to London, and, causing a search to be made, found .that Blair : Wills had married Ann Good,-not in 1851,, but in April, 1857.- A warrant was issued; against him, but.he-kept out of the. way. -Fenton Wills: then,deserted his " wife," andshe.became.ichargeable to the: parish... This; led to legal proceedings. The officers of Lambeth parish summoned Fenton Wills before, "the. Magistrate. • His defence was that he had been deceived by. his brother: he admitted that,he had.made inquiries into the truth of his statements. Mr. Elliott remarked that the whole of the circumstances of thei case were the most extraordinary and inexplicable that . could , well, be imagined. Here was a young woman perfectly neglected in her affliction, and on the mere misrepresentation of one brother that she; had .no legal claim upon him. because of his previous marriage with another woman, another brother, without the slightest inquiry as to,the truth or falsehood of the representations,: marries her, and .that too in little more than a fortnight after her removal from .Bethlehem, and before being perfectly recovered from her unfortunate malady. Whatever might be said of the present summons, it was perfectly clear that the defendant in the notice he ; had given of his marriage had.grossly violated an act of, Parliament,. by representing 'that which was. untrue. It was quite clear that the. statement that he had received the consent pf the mother of the young woman to.the second marriage was a, gross misrepresentation, which the act of Parliament held tobe an offence equal to perjury, and punishable as. such ; and> for this offence Mr. Elliott would hold him accountable.. He then ordered the defendant to put in bail to answer the chavge of misrepresentation on a future day.

; Fenton Wills-had been held to bail in £80 j personally, arid the recognizances of his mother | for another £80 to reappear, before the Magis. j trate. But neither the accused nor any one in connexion with him . attended : Mr. Elliott ordered the recognizances, to be estreated, and issued a warrant for the apprehension of Fenton Wills. It .appearsUiaVthe declaration which Fenton when before the Registrar contains within it a distinct announcement that any false statement will subject persons to the penalties of perjury. There has been a partial run on the Irish banks; but wherever gold was demanded it was forthcoming. The National Bank was strongly assailed at the branches in the South an^ West. -The Northern of Belfast—believed to bervery sounds—endured great pressure. At Limerick there . was a. panic for a few hours, and^ crowds assembled, at the Provincial and National Banks, -The, pressure on the banks appears to have been exceedingly silly : Ireland liassuffered comparatively little from the commercial crisis, the first notable failure having been announced at a late date. The run seems now to have subsided; -it was principally among agricultural depositors. ' The ' Glasgow.Daily Mail' reports a singular incident said to. have occurred at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. It states that one of the members of the Chamber "complained in strong terras of the, want of bank accommodation in Glasgow; while that gentleman had been allowed to overdraw his account in the Western bank by £80,000. Some of the members, as a mar^ of disapprobation, rose , and walked.out of the room."

; Spite of the great efforts, to sustain, credit at Hamburg, commercial confidence has completely given way. ; The general crash is causing a considerable drain of silver from London. Great houses that have suspended are numbered by the score. 1 It is said that the Senate will.pass, iOr,has already passed a law to give a respite of ,one month upon all bills due, the debtor to pay interest. The reports from the manufacturing, districts do not denote much .improvement. " Dull and inactive," "no improvement," , " languid, " " appearance gloomy," are the terms applied to trade. In South Staffordshire, the colliers are to be called on to .submit to a decrease of wages. In,parts of, Lancashire employment has somewhat increased.

The Board of Trade returns for October show, an increase of £318,838 in the exports: there is a decrease in almost as many items as those which'exhibit an increase, but the'total of the. latter, predominates; " There was a falling off,in. the imports of nearly every article of food and raw materials.

In the year ending Nov. 20th, the great City savings-bank, the London Provident Institution, Moorfields, sustained a diminution of £38,156 in funds, by'the withdrawals exceeding the deposits; but there was an increase of 126 in the total number of accounts. Considering the state of money affairs, the position of the bank is thought to be very favourable.

An opportunity for the recruiting-sergeant. At the " statutes" now being held in Yorkshire, many men and .boys have declined to take service because the farmers wish to lower their wages from Is. 6d. to 3s. per week. When wheat was dearer, wages were about 15s. a week. '■;.-.'

Alderman Firtnis has published a rough account of the state of the Indian; Relief Fund up to the 24th Nov. The receipts .had been £280,749; and the money sent to India for distribution or expended here, rather over £60,000, and power given in India to draw for £19,000 more.

A heartrending calamity has befallen the fishermen of the Banffshire coast. On Monday, Nov. 23rd, while fishing-boats, were out from different villages, a violent storm came on, numbers of the boats, were overwhelmed, and no fewer than forty-two of. the fishermen were drowned. The}' have left twenty-seven widows and seventy-nine children; for whom a subscription ha 3 been opened. During the gale, two fishing-boats anchored in the Firth. ■ of, Forth, at : Cockenzie, were dragged from their;moorings and swamped : of the crews, ten in number, only three were rescued aiive.

The .first body of British troops, sent out to ■India; through Egypt, was embarked at Malta on the Ist of October, 200 in number ; reached Alexandria on the 4th; was conveyed from the steamer, at that place- to the steamer at Suez in twenty-six hours j and reached Aden .in perfecthealth and efficiency on the 13th: the transfer from-the one garrison to the other having thus occupied only twelve days. In the newly-pub-lished report of the Directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, by which this important transit service was performed, the following passage occurs. " The application to his Highness the Viceroy of Egypt, for the means of transport of an increased number of passengers and baggage, not only met with ready assent, but arrangements of the most efficient character were immediately made for the rapid and comfortable transit of the troops ; while his Highness conveyed to the Company's agent the following expression of his feeling in the matter—"The Viceroy is very desirous to convey through his country as many soldiers as possible '; and so great a disposition does he display to facilitate their movements, that he adds, ' I will consider them not as transit passengers, but as my own, and.will carry them by my private engines, carriages, and trucks.' "—Daily News, Dec. 2. A telegram was received in town yesterday from Constantinople announcing the departure of Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe from th ,( capital, en route for England.— Daily A''-r • Nov. 27.

The throng that filled the Egyptian Hall as soon as the doors were opened on Nov. 23, proved that Mr. Albert Smith is as much in the ascendant us ever. The portion of his entertainmrnt which is devoted to Naples is less comic in it* ton- than the r :st, but is enlivened by the introduction of a new character, the Rev. Septimus Blaudy, who.is supposed to have married one of the immortal ' Misses Simmons,' and is the beau ideal of a young ecclesiastical pedant. This gentleman is likely to become as famous as Mr. Brown and the Engineer; who still flourish, having been provided with new matter. The Neapolitan views, terminating with a ' practical' Mount Vesuvius, are worthy the pencil of Mr, Beverley. The " religious world" has evidently buckled on its armour for the approaching strife which must ensue as soon as the question of the future government of India is mooted. The various sources of missionary enterprise are preparing to pour their influence on that side which goes for the active promotion of Christianity in India. The same object is advocated alike by the Evangelical Alliance, the Liberation of Religion Society, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts—the extension of Christianity among the natives, not by compulsion, but by the fonml recognition of the Christian religion by the Government, an active mismissionary propaganda, and a war against the native rites, ceremonies, and practices, that involve personal injuries and moral impurity. Among the other signs of the movement, is a lecture delivered in Exeter Hall, by Mr. Baxter, Member for Montrose, to the Young Men's Christian Society; showing that all our material improvements of India will avail nothing unless our Indian Government shall recognise and spread Christianity. ; In the Bankruptcy Court, in the case of Leopold Redpath, it was sought to prove against his estate for the £236,000 of which he had defrauded the Great Northern Railway. It appears that the Railway Company, unwilling to have it said that persons had been defrauded by trus'ing Redpath on the strength of the appearance he kept up'by means of h's forgeries, have satisfied all claims on his estate, by paying from 15s. to 20s. in the pound. Redpath's estate has realised £30,000, now in the hands of the official assignee. The Com■pany seek to obtain this money as a partial set-off against Redpath's frauds. Commissioner Goulburn said he had doubts whether they could claim the £286,000 as a debt; he was not sure that the act of Parliament of August last had turned the loss into a debt, though such had been the intention: but he would narrowly examine the act. In the mean time, the proof was deferred.

Nov. 19 had been appointed for the appearance of Colonel Waugh, of Eastern Banking Corporation notoriety, at the Bankruptcy Court, but he came not. Merely letters were put in, intimating that he was still too unwell to leave Spain. It was arranged that there should be another adjournment to the 16th of January— the last.

: In the Bankruptcy Court, it was arranged that the final examination of the Directors of the British Bank should be postponed till the sth March, so that those Directors who are under criminal prosecution might not be prejudiced by any admissions obtained from them in the Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Linklater announced that another small dividend would be soon declared, and that the shareholders were making progress in subscribing to the sum required to close the accounts of the bank. ' The Court of Queen's Bench was engaged one day in hearing a case involving the right of publishing abridged reports of proceedings in the law courts. - The plaintiff in the case was Mr. Lewis, manager of a loan society; the defendant was Mr. Levy, proprietor of the ' Daily Telegraph,' one of the penny papers. Mr. Lewis sought damages for several libels published in that journal, imputing to him wilful and corrupt perjury; the said libels being reports of law proceedings, in one of which Mr. Lewis figured as defendant in answer to a charge for perjury. In charging the jury. Lord Campbell said—" You are the guardians of; private character, as well as the guardians of the liberty of the press. It is of the last importance that a privilege should exist of giving fair and correct reports of what passes in courts of; justice, without incurring any liability in respect to their contents ; it is also of the last importance that this privilege should not be abused; and you are to say whether in your opinion it has been abused in the present case. It is quite admitted that parties are not called upon always to give verbatim reports of proceedings in courts of justice; that would make the privilege I have mentioned entirely illusory, and is only done in very important cases. All that can be accomplished is to give a fair and accurate abridgement of what occurs, taking care that nj partiality is shown, and that reasonable care and skill are exercised so that it may be a true account." If the Jury thought that the reports were fair reports, they must find for the defendant. The Jury deliberated for half an hour, and gave in a verdict for the defendant.

In the Cv>urt of the Queen's Bench, Dr. Granville sued. Mr. Pugh M.P., to recover five weeks rent of a furnished house. Mr. Pugh's defence wa,s that the house was rended uninhabitable by Ive'rmin of a species for which great towns arei distinguished. The jury had to decide whether that was really the case ; and they found for the plaintiff hi the full amount claimed. Lombardy is in a condition of great impoverishment —"round down by excessive taxation, at i f' n ■ when bad crops of silk and wine have v 1 >-..v ( the means of the cultivators. Town .uul o . mtry are alike " dead."

It appears that Mr. John Ed war.l Stephens, the former manager of the Eastern Banking Corporation, has gone to Scotl n 1 to be made a bankrupt: By residing there forty days, if he escape an English bankruptcy in the meantime, a man can get his little affairs in bankruptcy quietly settled in Scotland. Stephens has to be examined at the Sheriff's Office, Edinburgh, where a London creditor must make a journey of four hundred miles to confront him.

The examination of the bankrupt, James, Edward Stephens, late manager of the Eastern Banking Corporation, commenced at Edinburgh before Sheriff Substitute Hallard. The lucid evidence of the bankrupt showed what a mine of wealth a bank may be to a manager who is allowed to do just as he pleases, with reference only to his" own and his friends' interests. Mr. Stephens went to reside in.Scotland in June last. He had been " relieved" from managing the London bank in April. He has been a Director of the Eastern Steam-Navigation Company. He was a partner in- Lett's Wharf Company, the only other partner was Mr. Black, secretary to the Eastern Bank. Stephens and Black constituted the firm of " Minter and C 0.," upholsterers. Stephens and Colonel Waugh were the " Branksea Clay Company." Stephens and a Mr. Lattey as " Lattey & Co." continued the business of " Barwise "& C 0.," the watchmakers, with an Indian agency added. This last firm became indebted to the bank for £6,700; but Mr. Lattey p;:;d this and rook the business. Whence came the funds to start all these firms P Six thousand pounds was obtained from the bank to .buy Lett's wharf; and finally the wharf owed £23,000 to the bank. Stephens and Black each contributed to start tie business—nothing. Stephens could not find a recorded authority for opening these accounts at the bank. The partners divided £2,000 profit made by the wharf. Mr. Minter's business was bought for £2,800 ; the bank's money paid this. The Directors authorized the advance. Mr. Morris, the chairman, signed the note of authority : Mr Morris became Stephens's father-in-law next day. Stephens and Black contributed nothing to the Minter firm —"All the money was drawn from the bank." Neither prefit nor loss accrued to the partners from the concern. Stephens was an AssistantSurgeon in the army when he first met Colonel Waugh in India, about the time of the Sikh campaign. Their acquaintance was renewed in March, 18-55: Stephens ■■ was. ithen manager of the bank ; Colonel Waugh proposed to introduce his " large and profitable account ". to the bank: that was done. Then . Stephens became partner with him in the Branksea Clay Company; of course the bank was drawn on for money. The other business speculations followed. Colonel Waugh became a Director of the bank in July. Stephens actually contributed £250 towards the capital of the Clay Company. As bank manager his salary was latterly £1,500. The examination has been continued from day to day. The evidence in detail respecting each particular transaction strengthening the impression of the shameful way in which several persons connected with the bank either obtained its money for them-

selves or allowed others to take it. The Paris correspondent of the ' Morning Post' states that positive intelligence has reached Paris to the effect that the Emperor of China has made known through his officials at the ports a decision not to treat with the agents of any European powers, either political oxreligious."

What is the truth of the alleged convention between the British and Austrian Governments for the construction of a telegraph from Ragusa to Alexandria ? The 'Times ' affirmed the existence of a convention, pledging the British to send all its telegraphic despatches by way of Ragnsa ; the ' Globe ' denied it; and the 'Times ' explained that the denial was an evasion, founded on the fact that some telegraphs should be sent by other routes. The Vienna correspondent of the 'Times' writing on the 18th November, says : —" such a convention was on the very point of being concluded, but authentic information has this, morning been given me that her Majesty's Government has at the last moment expressed its resolve neither to bind its own hands nor those of its successors."

' Le Nord ' and other foreign journals have repeatedly stated that the British Government was recruiting on the Continent. The ' Morning Post,' in conspicuous type, declares on the "best authority" that the statements are " false and groundless." " The English Government has not sanctioned the enlistment of any foreigners." We have, indeed, received from almost every state of Europe offers of assistance in the shape of men : but, however pleasing this proof of their sympathy, it has been determined from the first that the Indian mutiny should be suppressed by English arms only."

Iv Russia gold is very scarce, and the commercial troubles of the time are making themselves felt.

The money crisis has extended to Austria.' The commercial world has been in great distress and several respectable firms would have fallen had they not been assisted. France has escaped exceedingly well from commercial .difficulties: most of the manufacturers and merchants had been very cautious in thqir operations, before :the..s,torm came on, and thus it affected them 'but."Vlisli*rthough some have had to submit to temporary sacrifices. The ravages of the fever at Lisbon show but littl3 diminution yet. Among the bites b victims was the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbou Few British subjects have been attacked recently. Professor Ranch, the Prussian sculptor, died at Dresden on Dec. 3rd : he-had nearly attained his eighty-first year.

The Great Amfjbican Sxea.m-sh.jjp Adriatic. —The 'New York Times,' speaking of the departure of the Adriatic, say« —"The departure. •■ of the steamship Adriatic -on her first Toyage across the Atlantic is an event in our current history entitled"*to -a special notice. It does not, indeed, mark 'the commencement of a new era>in navigation, as the first trip of the Clermontoip >the Hudson, or the first passage of the Siiius across the Atlantic did, but it marks •an epoch in the history of steam navigation. The Adriatic is not .only the largest steamship afloat, but the largest vessel ofany kind that has been launched, as she is believed to be the best in all respects. She is, therefore, at the firesent time the champion of the seas, and is ikely to continue so until the Leviathan shall be launched aud afloat. Then we shall, of course,-resign the ocean belt to Great Britain, but until then we may be allowed to claim the distinction of having sent to sea the largest and finest -vessel that ever clove the waves of the boisterous Atlantic. The Adriatic's engines are the largest in the world. There are eight principal boilers, each with furnaces ranged side by side, so that the whole number of furnaces is 48. Besides these there are two extra-boilers, to be used when desired. The vessel will carry, for the supply of her boilers during a single passage across the Atlantic, from 1,200 to 1,500 tons of coals. She is supplied with patent condensers, the cold water running through 12,000 circulating copper pipes, condensing the steam in its course.-saving, as it is said, nearly 75,000 dollars per annum in fuel and wear and tear when the ship is running. The piston rods are 15 inches in diameter, and the shaft 20 inches in diameter, of solid wrought iron. The furnaces require from 50 to 60 firemen and coalpassers, and no less than six engineers will be required to attend the engines. The wheels are each forty feet in diameter and twelve feet face, and have a dip of from eight to nine feet. What the Adriatic may accomplish remains to be proved, and, as we shall soon know the result of her first voyage, it will be idle to boast of her speed and safety now; but we know her beauty of model, the unequalled elegance of her interior arrangements for passengers, the superiority of her dimensions over any other vessel afloat, and the grace and loveliness of her lines as she sits upon the water; we know, too, what her performances were on her trial trip, and we may confidently anticipate, setting aside the accidents which all ships must encounter, that she will fully justify all that her admirers have predicted of her. In all her cabin arrangements she is greatly superior to any other vessel that has been in our harbour, and not only has everything been done to add to the comfort and even luxurious enjoyment of the passengers at sea, but everything that will tend to secure their safety and prevent the "occurrence of accidents. She is abundantly provided with life-boats, and, among other new arrangements, the calcium light, which she carries at her fore-topmast head, will not only be a security against a collision with another vessel, but, by enabling the look-out to discover objects at a distance of three or four miles in the dark, will greatly lessen the chances of accidents at night. She has accomodations for about 400 passengers, 300 of them being first-class. Her working force, -numbering 188 men, is distributed as follows: —1 commander, 4 mates, 1 surgeon, 1 purser, 4 quarter-masters, 2 carpenters, 1 boatswain, 36 seamen, 1 engineer, 3 assistants, 6 superintendents of fires and boilers, 4 oilers, 2 engineers' storekeepers, 24 firemen, 36 coal passers, 1 steward, 3 assistants, 36 waiters, 3 stewardesses, 2 storekeepers, 1 barkeeper, 1 barber, 1 chief cook, 1 assistant cook, 1 baker, 2 pastrycooks, 2 engineers' messmen, 2 keepers of lamps and oil, j 1 horse-keeper."

Mr. Charles Sujnnei has returned to Boston after a visit to Europe. He was welcomed on his arrival by a body of his friends.

The bodily health of the King of Prussia is improving much, but his mental powers are not restored in an equal degree.