LONDON.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 7, 23 November 1863, Page 2

LONDON.

[FROM OUR, OWN CORRESPONDENT.] i . - 25th September. The return of the Queen from Germany, and her departure on the 15th inst. to Balmoral, has had little, effect in "disturbing the quiet of the Metropolis, deserted at the present moment ' by. all who consider an autumn tour or trip indispensable. - It 'is remarked that ller Majesty -s health seems improved by her continental visit, and the benefit she has derived must be enhanced by her migration to the , north, the bracing air of the hills will correct whatever may have been enervating in the warm i winds of central Germany. " The Queen still fosters her ineffaceable sorrow for the dead prince. Her first walk from Windsor was to visit his tomb, and she - has been eliciting by another trait the depth of her womanly grief. During the last visit o£ the prince to the north, along with the Queen, he made a raid, into jhe hills lying south of Balmoral, and in crossing Lord Dalhousie's.land stopped to drink at a well by the wayside. This honored spring has since heen named the Queen's .Well) and overitFox Maule has placed a monumental arch. The Q,ueen, on learning the design of ihe Earl, suggested that the Well should be rather named the Prince's Well, and her wish of course bf-comes'laW. . The Prince and Princess of Wales are still at Ahergeidie, but go south very soon to Sandringhan, the' Prince's Norfolk home. The Princess.7 it appears, highly enjoys picnicing in the Grampians, and the Prince has become one of the. best and most indefatigable deer stalkers in the north. The Princess Alice of Hesse and he husband, Prince Louis, have come over from Germany, and gone north to join the Queen at Balmoral. The cares of state and anxieties of no ordinary kind prevent the Princess Royal and her husband from enjoying similar opportunities ; but it is to he hoped that the crisis through which Government in Prussia is passing will dissipate the fears for the. birthright of his family, which the Crown Prince has confessed to, and which the mother of his children must likewise acutely feel. While our own Court enjoys undisturbed repose, the royal families of Europe are not equally at ease. The Czar and his household is sppcially harrassed hy the revolt of the Poles, the threats of France, and the menaces of the old reactionary Russian party— the Muscovite bears, who rightly or w/only a*et the blame of every atrocity committed in the name, of the Czar. It is reported that the family ofthe Czar has decided upon following a liberal course, granting Russia and Poland a modified constitution, and, generally speaking, conciliating enemies at' home and abro id. This course will be fiercely opposed by the Russian tories, under whose instigation the Czar has just been complimenting Mouravieff, — the hangman of Wilna — for committing unmentionable cruelties upon the Polish patriots. This is the same Mouravief who captured Kars when defended by the Turks under Williams, and it was through the Russian lines, and to escape the halter intended for him by the Russian General, that the gallant Hungarian, Kemetry had to ride for life, through the snowy defiles which surrounded the beleagured fortress. The fate which the gallant Hungarian escaped, has been too painfully shown by the outrages more recently committed in Wilna by Mouravieff, and whose crimes inspire universal horror unless among the writers on the staff of that pestilent old Tory organ — the London Standard— the patron of slavery in America and serfdom in Europe. Against what seems to be a hap- 1 less doom the Poles fight gallantly, employing every opportunity to assail their unwieldy but stubborn foe, and at times inflicting terrible injury upon isolated Russian columns. .It is of no use attempting to give any outline of the present position of the combatants. Odd sounding names and partial movements over a wide territory makeany clear view of the campaign out of the question. It is feared thatrthe winter's snows will work sad havoc among the houseless insurgents, with wolves arid Cossacks prowling about for their lives; but the brave heart shown betokens no craven fear for the future, and the promise of which is reckoned bright "enough if the patriot leaders can only keep a nucleus of the insurrection afloat till ."■••pring. . Another season of massacre and rapine will not be submitted to by the people of France, who" despite the petty personal intrigues of Napoleon, so courageously sympathise with every downtrodden race. From Italy no news of importance is recorded. The brigands in 'the South are in some instances surrendering themselves under an amnesty to the Italian government, and are making sad revelations o-f the complicity of th> Pope and the exNeapolitan King in reactionary atrocities. The French journals. have had a fierce debate over the character .of the .Confederate corvette Florida, now refitting in Brest. An attempt was made to arrest the privateer by a private mercantile French firm in order to recover damage done by her to a French merchantman. It has. been decided that the 'priyaleer is, no privateer, but a ship-of-war belonging to a recognised government, and which\resolu- - tion has of course .been" ''dictate^ ...by '"■ the French' Government ai 'p^s^at.enga^edanconcocting schemes for the recognition of -, t.he ; South, the agency of Mexico^ The Austrian Archduke Maximilian, it is alleged, has accepted the y? throne" of Mexico, and this French^Satrapvit{wsa,idj will not only immediately iec6gnise»th# Confederacy, or what of -it is'leiFti but'will likewise conclude an alliance withY Jeff. Davis to attack if need'bevU^le? Sariu By; this dodge Napoleon '•expWte ! yyirtiially v to wield the jdest in iespf Mexico sndftfce Con•federac? to the «ftsa^ it /may concern, and ourselves particularly included. Suspecting some siich intrigue, ] Earl Russell has been Ygiving the cold shoulder to Mr Mason;theiLond^n^representative of "Dixie," and which jjoolness has provoked ihe j6£ .vtfeffe^ Davis : vand his advisers -" so cdnsiderably 7" that Ambassador Mason is 7 a^qutYtol take a homeward trip iii the Trent, orTas is "more recently* rumoured passes 7acrdssto Paris to aid "the man of Destiny^vinhis; cogitations. ... Jt is alleged 7^hat ; -^ppl^ni; is in a desperate way. -to have tha Swthy immediately recognised, Yandy excellent good reasons' Ihe has for7;tosYKs«te. The pca pture of CharlestohYanji; Mobile, will 71ea ye riothin g' nt? the Confederal Rich" mond, and 7Lee/s v army A o defend it^andrthe devotion rof which against a combination of jthe -armSis 7 ofj GrantjKosencranz, Burnade^and ' Meade, should these' ■ Generals continue to follow up the •' Anaconda " movements which at

length takes visible shupe. The Emperor wisely feels that with another 'Beason r Lincoln may lie in want of work" for his; numerous legions, -and . Mexico^ presents a" rather opportune field, for rampaigoing. 1 To the host of military; adventurers set free from service by the reconciliation of' thf North and South, a Mexican war would be anything but a curse ; and Napoleon .is conversant with the fact that the men, who have fought so , fiercely against each other on American soil will when, re-united under, the same banner, make .short work of his. Zouaves 7 and guardsmen. To be, kicked out of Mexico is the inevitable fate of the French-Mexican army, if North and South shake hands, and with some suspicion that this cannot be long delayed, Napoleon, in the interests , of " humanity '- or riiggerdqm, begs that Jeff. Davis maybe placed among recognised j potentates. The Tuntts, which has now. a reputation for bitterness- against the Federals, says we cannot recognise the South, _ for the sufficient reason that their is nothing to recognise, and so far, no hope of support for Napoleon's schemes of aggrandisement can be looked 'for on this side the channel. By recent accounts from America, appearances still prognosticate the paralysis of' the Confederacy. Eastern Tennessee, held to he of vast importance to the South, has been almost abandoned to Burnside, the Federal force qnder whom had defeated the Confederates with heavy loss at Loudon. Chatanboga. has been captured by Rosencranz, and Grant and Banks are, it is alleged, organising an expedition for the capture of Mobile, in which they are to be assisted by Admiral Farragut and his .{Federal flotilla. A later report states that 30,000 Federals had left New Orleans j to occupy some position in Texas, immediately ad^ joining the Mexican and frontier post of Matamqras, which it is alleged the French Government intends to make " a free port," for the benefit of French speculators arid Imperial intriguers. The Federals, ,-. it is said are determined, in the mean time, to avoid any actual collision with ..the Gallic " prospectors ; " but placed in such immediate contiguity, it is difficult to see how the peace ,will be long maintained, The Confederates have abandoned • Fort Wagner and all their works upon Morris Island, at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, and are unable to mount guns upon the ruins which the^Parrott guns have made of Fort Sumter. General Gill more, who is one of the best artillery officers in the Federal service, has fully vindicated his reputation by the energy and skill with which he has so far completed the seige of Charleston. His guns are now within easy range of the devoted city, and after giving due warning to the inhabitants to clear out, it is Gillmore's intention to tire the town with the enormous shells invented for the purpose. Beauregard has sworn that he shall level every building in it before he gives up the birth-place of Secession ; but it is not probable that the inhabitants of Charleston will permit their property to be sacrificed to vindicate Beauregard's vow. Without risking much in the way of prophecy, I may venture to predict that news of the sur** ' render of Charleston will arrive within the next ten days. With its fall, the Confederacy receives a heavy blow, and unless Lee relieves the disaster by the dispersion of Meade's army and the capture of Washington, the Confederate bubble will collapse, to the confusion of the Times, Herald, Post, Saturday Review, and all the lesser sate, lites, that have been doing their best to vindicate slavery, and promote bad blood between our own Government and the Washington Cabinet; The' Telegraph and other minor seers have already been converted to the winning side. [We cannot say that our correspondent's views on the American question coincide with our own.r-Ed. /. 7:] From distant Columbia come marvellous accounts of the wealth oi' the Cariboo diggings, and which eclipse the modest stories of success in Australia and New Zealand. The wages made are marvellous, and' living is not so expensive as might have been expected — hus^e droves of sheep and cattle being driven up and slaughtered on the -spot. Mechanics, in some trades, earn 15 dollars per day, and the "pay dirt " affords average return* that would make an unemployed weaver's hair stand on end. The monetary world of London has been startled by a clever swindle, practised by7a Hungarian named Dietrichsen. This smart fellow had laid his plans with great caution and success, aud succeeded in carrying off about LIO.OOO in Bank of England notes, with which he has apparently escaped all safe to the continent. Among " celebrated cases " the Wolverhampton tragedy still excites attention. Furtherinquriesintothecase disclose fierce threats made by the suspected murderess, Steadman, against her murdered paramour, Williams or Cheenery. It is further credited that a low character, who associated with the woman, had something to do wiih the murder ofthe man, ahd it iseven believed, caused the death of the woman, whose-corpse was afterwards found in a garret at Dudley. Among public events, the visit of the Channel Fleet to Liverpool made a notable figure during the past week. The hospitalities offered to the officers and men under Admiral Dacres during their stay; in the Mersey 'have been quite unprecedented. Among other honors paid, was an invitation to a Fancy Ball, where all the fashion and beauty of the city wereYpresent disguised as fairies, fish wive?, princesses, and ' shepherdesses*, accompanied by their liege lords done up in every variety of toggery that could make themrsupreirielyludicrous. A banqUetf Was;, given to 1200" of the,' tars, in vthe* George's Hall, Liverpool,- at which the; Lord Mayor arid' a host bjf bigwjg^ -were: present. The seamen had, besides a capital dinner, had half a boittie of rum per man , but, riotwithstanding, were uncommonly quiet and docile.: They su ig songs when called upon, and riiade speeches,' con v nised the hearers S J»|tu laughter;' Some of the sea choruses given wsre loud enough to endanger the wiridbw gia^7but . besides- this manifestation -tte'.:^-'Bntisfiy Lions " behaved very likeVother^ As usually occurs, during the parliamentary recess, political orators have been •firing off wordy squibs in. various: districts. Apart from the common .herdvof .pyro'eeh;nists, Earl Russell has been making a speech iri the north at tlie opening J of The vßaixter Park, ,, at Dundee.;.^ The TEarl strongly ad vopated p lay as well as lessons, and stated, as; a startling fact,7that chi Idren who are fiaken froth work and get an hour's :Bcho6ling7i7day;7d6^ their work betterjthi^ children who arejiot^ and learn their lessons better than chi Idren 7dov 7 who Ys^*V:riot77bothered". v^thi^wbrfc.; •MinOTiumiiwrl^ ;jfo jtheir eOmLmpripta^ 7 Befbri ariothertoaUisd^ have 7 some more^7 impwt^t'eywfevtov _recbrdi but for the last few Yweeka the "me:ropolisJhas existed without a sensation.