ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIII, Issue 763, 29 February 1860, Page 2

ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL.

EUROPEAN NEWS TO DEC. 19. The Lord Worsley, with the London mail boxes, reached our port on Monday morning, at 8 o'clock, having left Sydney on the 17th instant, and Wellington on Sunday morning, at half past ten. The accident to the Prince Alfred, which caused the detention of the mail, will be found detailed elsewhere. We extract from bur .files full particulars •of the news,.which, as will be seen, is unimportant. We quote first from the 'Sydney Morning Herald:-— ; [From the London Correspondent of the 'Sydney Morning Herald.'] ■ .■: ;;/.;■;• ;' .London,. Nov. 26,1859. , Louis '. Napoleon has seen fit to put the French press; on its good behaviour towards England., The Government which suppressed the publication of the Ultra-monta'nist essays "of certain French bishopscould not evade the responsibility of permitting and sanctioning .the daily diatribes' against England which for some time had been the common food of the French press. The suppression of what it disapproved, supposed .the approval of all that it permitted. The present Imperial order for more friendly references to England is, however, open to the imputation of a public .ruse to- suit a temporary purpose, whilst the prolonged sanction given to articles conceived in a hostile spirit may be ; interpreted as the. normal condition of French wishes and intentions^ This step on the part of the Emperor has not in the least diminished our preparations for the defence of the country. The duty of national self-defence remains, though the Emperor of the French were' guiltless of any premeditated coup. The cost of insurance from insult, from injury, from invasion, is the legitimate penalty of our vast commerce and our free institutions. We cannot hope to maintain our position if we; appear before the world as a nation too •intent on money-making and cotton-spinning, to own a throb of patriotism in our bosoms. Thanks to the energy of a few of the wisest citizens, even Manchester is at. last roused to .a' proper sense of her duty. The cotton city will soon .have 2000 volunteer riflemen. Equal spirit is also manifested in almost every part of the country—a spirit that bids fair to" be the more enduring, since it has been so cautiously developed, and that must be maintained if England is to uphold her position as a first-class power. The Government has at length ordered that the militia regiments "be supplied |with the Enfield rifle; and is likewise, it. is said, beginning to contemplate the. formation of another arsenal, deep within the heart of the" country. Weedon is pointed outjas at once more accessible by railway, and more central for the supply of. coals and iron. For years we have been enlarging bur ; establishment at Woolwich, and centralising j there; the entire manufacturing plant of our military and.naval munitions, besides making;it the depository of enormous stores. Woolwich, is easily accessible by. water; and, in the" case of invasion, a! successful dash might place it in the power'of the enemy. Yet we have gone on, from year to"' year, storing all our eggs *in this one basket, and have, only. just discovered the peril, of -the proceeding. Butfor-the; " invasion panic/ the thing might have gone on; for..y years longer.-—Garibaldi has my steriously resigned the command of, the Central. Italian army. His withdrawal is supposed to be a tub to the Austro-Papal whale, f Whilst he temporarily . retires, however; he; takes "good care to leave behind him. all ,his .lieutenants, and the first gun , fired .will ? bring, him back again. By some it is supposed, that, he has withdrawn from active seryice : rather than appear to consent to what he lcnew was -inevitable, This; pf course, meansv the restoration of Duke ■Ferdinand of Tuscany, and the Te-establish-ment of the Papal Government in the Legations. ' Some, on the other hand, maintain that Garibaldi's retirement is the rasult of direct orders: from Paris. The King of Sardiniais regarded as a victim to circumstances, and as only, yielding reluctantly to the superior force of his ally, Louis Napoleon, who comes, in for a fair share of odium.— Favourable news has been received of Dr. Livingstone, who is reported -to have discovered a region, where people cultivate cotton largely, and where every one spins and wears it. Mr. H. Thompson (Liberal) has been returned for Whitby, in the place of the late Mr. Stephenson, by. a considerable majority over Ins Conservative opponent, Mr. Chapman. This is, therefore, a seat gained by Ministers. The.'Rev.: E; H. Beckles, for many '< years Rector of St. Peter's,. St. Kitt's, has. been iappoifite^,Bishop of Sierra Leone.. The death of twor-distinguished : artists—-James Ward, R. A., at the great age of ninety-one, and Frank Stone, A; R; A., at the age' of sixty— is announced.' .: i '■"■'"'C: ■','.. r.' . London, §rid December. . The rifle volunteer /movement is the allengrossing topic at the present moment, and many who. were formerly indifferent, if not adverse,;now swell the ranks of volunteers, or head.subscription lists as honorary members. Dr. .Croly^in a very long letter on .the threat- , ened invasion of; England, strongly calls on the nobility to do their duty, by contributing their, infliieriee, their power, and their patriotism to the volunteer movement. Mi;; Rowland Hill urges the post office: officials to enrol: themselves as rifleihen. Mr. E. Denison has pledged himself that one hundred of the .plant workmen of the Great Northern Railway .Company at Doncaster shall have ' ifniformsTprovided fop them and alLexpenses paid v ; ,J^ady;Mary Thompson, has joined the jPirst'West York as a honoraiy member, and several other ladies have followed her example. On the other! hand^, Mr. T. Duncombe, the member' for Finabupyy'has written a letter in he states that he thinks the movement uncalled for and inexpedient. He also says in reference to his friend, Louis Napoleon— "I am .convinced that,;next" to;;France, jfor whose,honor and.welfare I, believe; he would . cheerfully lay idown his life-r-rthere is nothing that he is not-anxious to do to advance tho interests,; the peace, and the prosperity of

England." It is much to be regretted that. Mr. Duncombe does not give some reason for his belief. The navy of France is a menace to .this country. The continual launching. of vessels, the ceaseless activity of the arsenals of our " ally," render it- absolutely necessary for us to be prepared for a contingency, which is daily assuming' the characteristics of a certainty. Quite a sensation was created here, on Friday, by the publication of a /telegram stating that one object of Lord Cowley's visit to London was to convey to the British Government a proposal from Napoleon 111. for a mutual disarmament. There is not. a word of truth in this statement; although, doubtless, .the French; Government,; finding that England. has taken alarm too soon, and is getting ready in earnest, would be glad to adopt any measures to reduce our means of defence. There are several reasons that might: lead to such a proposal. Owing to the different nature of the military and naval forces of the two countries, a reduction _of armaments in England would be a reality, whilst in Franceit would.be a mere fiction. Againj by proposing such a disarmament, Napoleon 111. would make a protestation in the face of Europe of his friendly intentions towards England, and thus strengthen "the hands of the BrightCobden party in their efforts to obstruct our defensive measures, and at the same time furnish his Imperial Majesty with a pretext for throwing all the blame upon us should he ever have recourse to'war. The fact is, France has never kept faith with her assertions that she is disarming; and, in the.second place, England has not armed in the strict sense of the word, not even to meet the bare requirements of self defence—so that to. reduce ,our : armaments would be to place ourselves at the mercy of France. Invitations have at length been issued by France and Austria to thbsepowers who it is proposed should take part in a Congress on Italian affairs, in Paris. If Great Britain should assist in the business, it is thought probable that Lord Palmerston will represent her. Garibaldi has issued,another of- his stirring addresses, in which. he proclaims the temporary nature of his retirement and his abiding faith in the principles which have inspired his exertions in the Italian cause. He entreats his soldiers to, remain at their post with undiminished ardour ibr the holy cause they are defending, for the ■" truce will not? last long." ;

After all the Great Eastern is not ready for sea—that is for a lengthened voyage across the Atlantic. The surveyors appointed to examine whether the contract to fit her for sea, had been honestly carried out, report that the hull of the ship to which their survey was specially directed, is not completed, either as respects the 'general scope' or the 'details of the contract,' as a first-class passenger ship; and that in her present state it would be imprudent to send her to sea on a lengthened voyage. ; V;The report further states that, with. the exception of a few cabins, the accommodations are by no means equal to the requirements of a first-class passenger steamer, that the decks are not tight, and .that, a great deal of inferior material has been used in them—in short that there.is a great deal of:work which is absolutely necessary to be performed before the ship can.-be trusted on a lengthened voyage across the Atlantic.—Dr:; Smethurst was on Wednesday placed at the bar of the Central Criminal Court, charged with marry- ! ingElizabethßanks, his wife Mary Smethurst being still alive. After evidence had been adduced to prove both marriages, Mr.: Sleigh contended that the prosecution had failed to shew that the first wife of Smethurst. was a woman capable of forming a valid marriage, .upon this groundhe wished to shew that there was no case to go: to "the. jury. ; <Mr. Clark contended that the question of the invalidity of-the first marriage was one which rested with the defence, and the judge decided that the jury must pronounce. Mr. Sleigh then addressed the jury, chiefly urging upon their attention that they ■ . must dismiss allprejudice against the prisoner. : The jury found Smethurst:guilty, and Mr. Baron Bramwell sentenced him to one year's imprisonment ( with hard labour. A large meeting was held at the London Tavern on Tuesday, to take into consideration the present ruinous state of the.British shipping. Mr. Crawford, M.P., took the chair. A resolution declaring the shipping interest in a ruinous state was proposed :by Mr. Somes, and opposed by Mr. Lindsay, M.P., who proposed a petition to. Parliament praying for a commission of enquiry; but only five hands were held up for it, and the resolution was carried;—-A proclamation in Tuesday's Gazette, .declares Parliament prorogued till Tuesday, the 24th January, then to meet for the despatch of divers urgent and important affairs.. This looks like meeting for business. ■ Another attempt is to be made next session to check corruption at elections. \ , Mr. E. James : (candidate. for the Solicitor-Generalship when next vacant) is the knight-errant, and the bill which he proposes to bring in is, as might be expected, more showy than solid. It simply provides that every member shall solemnly and sincerely declare he has not' sanctioned bribery^ directly or in- ! directly ; and any person, knowingly sub- ! scribing a false declaration is to be liable to two years' imprisonment. This is,a pretty specimen of impossible legislation of inexperienced politicians. No one could have hoped that -such a bill would pass,- and even; Mr. James himself would be puzzled to say what advantage could be expected from it if it did. We have already a stringent provision disqualifying members who have been guilty of bribery, but there is no case on record of a conviction under it. „, , "-. ; ,-.. :• \ ':■...-■. .' .-• •■ : 16th; December. ■The week's wonder has been' the correspondence of the Emperor of the French with the ' four Liverpool merchants.' "Remembering the pranks played by Bacchus with, those of his votaries who. bring to his worship shallow, brains, it isi perhaps not very surprising that four men should be found 'silly enqugh,;; after dinner, to write an impertinent letter, even; to; an Emperor.. The only wonder, is that the Emperor of the -French should suffer himself to be dragged into a reply. His correspondents do not, indeed, escape a hint of their consummate audacity, and the manner in which

, the correspondence has been received at Liverpool, and throughout the .country; will "probably be a still more effectual rebuke. Henceforth Messrs. Shaw, Gaskell, Irving,: and Mellor will take the place of the three notorious tailors of Tooley-street, arid this punishment of their assurance will save the necessity of any official notice being taken of them by the Attorney-General. Of the. Emperor's letter, it is enough to say that its professions of friendship to England are fully discounted by the suspicious eagerness with which it was published in France. No doubt, he would, just now, be but too happy to secure the confidence of England. But Englishmen have seen too ■ much of the duplicity and the danger of- the Imperial rule, to trust the defence, of their own shores to the good intentions of, a Bonaparte. It is stated that all the Powers'invited to attend the Congress have now accepted^ Rome and Naples among the others. Lord Oowley • and Lord Wodehpuse will represent Great Britain; and it is expected that the Congress will be ppehedin the first week, of January. It is declared that the object, of the /British Government is to make "our.adhesion to the Congress as /little conspicuous us possible." We are, in fact " merely, but of international courtesy," to put in an appearance, leaving the affairs of Italy to be settled ;by those 'f more immediately concerned." Lord Cowley will ■■."■ explain^ arid as far as possible enforce, the views of his Governirient j" : but, if the statement of the 'Times', be correct; it is scarcely necessary to suggest that the probabilities are .:■.-■ strongly in favour of of the supposition that France and Austria will have it all their own way. There was another battle on' Friday the Spaniards and the Moors, of which we have, as-yet, only a brief telegraphic account, resting on Spanish authority.- According to that version, the Spaniards twice "repulsed" the Moors, but the only facts that can be considered as established •■ are, that the fighting was very severe, and that at the end both parties resumed their former positions. ■A Reform Conference was held on Wednesdayweek; in 'London, and was attended by Mr.' Brightj and other representatives of the Radical party, who .appear to be agreed in accepting the .measure, of reform which Lord John Russell has foreshadowed. Mr. Bright has also been starring it in the provinces .;■ the-Liverpool Liberals having got up a Re-; form Soiree as a set-off to the late, banquet to Lord Derby and the Conservative party. Mr. Bright was so excessively statistical that, for the first time ;in. his life, he became slightly, wearisome, and some of his hearers' left the hall. He expatiated on the ; advantages of free trade and of direct taxation, and, without suggesting that the Chancellor of the Exchequer; shally next session, advertise; the Custom ; House to be let,'and that the last smuggler shall: be preserved in thie Bri-: tish Musenm, he yet . proposes,. in, lieu of man}'-, if, not all Customs duties, a direct property tax of; Bs. a year on -every ; £100 worth"of property. ;At this rate a man of £1000 real property pay£4 a year, and the man who"- possesses a million would pay £4000 a year.—Sir Henry Keating, the Solicitor-General, has. taken the • judgeship vacant by the, death of Sir B. Crowder; and Mr. Atheiton, the member for Dnrham, jh'as been appointed Solicitor-General: These appointments will come with surprise upon the public, who have been repeating' the names generally current on'these occasions.; But the simple truth is, the outside public know nothing of public 'men's capabilities. . The London press, authentic as it is, is no guide in this matter. A member; makes a slashing speech on some set occasion, or he jumps tip, like Edwin James, two or three times in a night, and on paper he is a most accomplished fellow I • but, tried by official test; in real harness, many a promising senator is found to be a mere talker.—--An Admiralty. circular, dated Dec. 10, abolishes flogg-ing in the navy in the same fashion that it has been virtually' abolished in. the army by the Commander-in-ChiefV Seamen are. to 'be, divided.into two classes, and no man in the first-class is to ,be subject to corporal, punishment, except, by sentence of court martial, whose ordinary punishment will be'the removal of an offender into class two, where he will be liable to be flogged, without court martial, for /certain offences.—^Great, activity prevails _in, our arsenals. /;'; The DWcan,/ 101, guns,; was launched on Friday; ,and on -Monday, the keel of the Royal Alfred,.? 91 guns, was laid.—-It -:may; be remembered that the late Pontefract election gave "rise to a difference of opinion between Mr. O vererid, the Conservative member,''land Mr. Childers, who had petitioned for the seat,,Mr. Overend's agent' making terms, on which tlie;_ petition was withdrawn, and Mr. Overend afterwards refusing to give up the seat. The matter was referred/ to. the ex-Judge Coleridge; who has just given an emphatic decision^directing Mr; Overend, as a man of honor, forthwith to give up the seat, and not to interfere with any attempt of Mr. Childers to' obtain it. Mr. Overend will 'at oneeL accept the Chiltern Hundreds, and Lord Derby will lose another supporter.—The Queen has granted a pension on the civil list, of £125 a year, to the sisters of the. late Dr. Lardner, 'whose contributions to science are so well known, and a pension of £150 a year to the daughters-of Frederick Cort, whose inventions in the manufacture of iron -have contributed so much to the prosperity of the trade.7~rThe< Gazette' fbrmally '■announces-';'that ; Lord Ebrington is/called to the House of Lords, as Baron Fortescue.— Dublin University' is, about;to. grant doctor's degrees to Sir ; H. Cairns,1 Sir; Emerson 'Tennent, Mr.!Whitside, Captain jM'Clintpcl^;aribV Sir: J. : Lawrence.^" It.; isi stated^" saysi "*'A Civilian," in a■ leader-letter 'in ■ the; ; f Tiriies,' : " that ten'battalions of irifantry are'about to be' added to the finny.: This will involve the ■■ distribution of about one hundred first commissions, which, at the regulation -price of £450 each, represent ,a;; sum of ?£45;000. There are at present sixty vacant cornetcies in ; the cavalry." The ' Globe ' says the QueenV commission is a drug.—The volunteer moVe;ment is still going a-head fast here. : Lord Palmerston has just added one nipre character to the- "many parts" he has played .

in his long and distinguished career— the noble Premier having joined the Irish Voluriteer.Rifle Corps'established in London ; and, on the authority^pfthe; Marquis of Donegal, Lord Palmerston, advanced in years would be completely at their:service whenever he might be wanted.'' For the purpose of encouraging rifle shooting, and thereby giving permanence to the* volunteer movement, a "National Me Association" has been formed. The Right Hon. Sydney Herbert, Minister of ::,\Var,^isjlle:p■re.sideht;^:;•yisco■unt•Palrnerston,■ the First Minister of the Grown, and the Earl of Derby, the late Prime Minister, are vicepresidents of the Association. .In its list of. office-bearers we find ths names of the foremost men in the kingdom—statesmen of every creed, and persons of the highest influence in the senate, in civic councils, and in the army. _ It may, therefore, be stated with, confidence' that there is a general concurrence of opinion among all classess in favour of the volunteer rifle movement, and that any plan which may be regarded- as conducing to its permanence will everywhere meet with cordial support.—Spain is at war in earnest with ,its old .adversaries the Moors,, and in the .engagement" which -took place - a short distance from Ceuta> the Spaniards have ibeen unmistakeably .worsted. . Still, as Spain Js backed up by France, the struggle between African barbarism and European civilisation cannot • terminate in favour" of the Moors^ Already the correspondent of, a London paper is .at Ceuta ,(a port just opposite. Gibraltar.) His .letter describes the arrangements of the Spaniards as similar to our bunglings at Balaklava.; Geuta Bay is a very poor harbour terminating in a dry .gulley. The horses were landed in the mud, arid the cattle floundered about in the; water. •, Geuta is a poor town of 8000 inhabitants, situate on a tongue of land which juts- out into the Mediterranean, and, the serallo, or seraglio, where the encounter took place, is a half-ruined building some little distance from the town; In France while political topics are in abeyance, attention has been fixed upon the scanda-. lous revelations furnished by the most remarkable .trial ■at Tours for 'infanticide.,■-;■. The circumstances of the ,'case are sufficiently horrible, and may serve to point more than one important moral. We fear in England, we cannot boast, that such a crime is impossible among us, but an English jury would hardly be found to see "extenuating circumstances" in it. We doubt whether an English jury, upon such evidence, would have found "a verdict of guilty on the grave charge of murder ) there would have been in the indictment a second ; count, charging " concealment of birth," on which the evidence was conclusive. But if tliey.. had found the r accused guilty, they- certainly would never have seen, their way to palliate the offence. ' This is one of the many illustrations we- are continually meeting \ of the difference between pur insular standard of morals arid that which.. prevails across the Channel.—Thomas de Quincey expired in Edinburgh, on Thursday morning ; the Bth instant—one of the most .remarkable men of the, age. His works have never been, and never will be, the - subject of a wide and sounding popularity ; but the unanimous testimony of .cultivated and capable judges ; has pronounced, him one of those who can give character to a literary epoch. As .a master of the English language, Mr. de Quincey?s reputation will long survive. His style was rich and copious, without ev,en verging on the florid, and his mind seems to have united the two qualities not often Jfbund together, of logical precision and poetic fancy.'• ; :

. Under the- heading of < Strike, but hear/ Lord St. Leonards contributes a letter to the ' Times ■' on the builders' dispute. His .lordship declares • against the '■ document,' and shows that the law of the land is quite sufficient to bind workmen to their duty without any special agreement with the' master. .He proposes, therefore, that the declaration,--or 1 document/ shall be withdrawn, arid that the existing1- statutes, in reference. to labour shall be adopted as a shop rule. He suggests that those statutes,- or certain passages from them, be framed and glazedj and hung up in evwy shop,' arid that every man on accepting an engagement 'be required to make! • himself acquainted with their provisions. .This then is: •• clearly .the common sense .. view of the question .;but; whether either the masters or -the workmen will adopt Lord St. Leonard's suggestion is very doubtful.—Mr; Denison, the designeiyha's publicly apologised to Messrs. Mears, the irori-fourid'ers, for having charged them with concealing the defects in the bell, Big; .Ben. Messrs. Mears,. however, refuse to .accept the apology,: and are now prosecuting Mr. Denison for libel. Meantime some country■■■genius offers to make the cracked bell as good as new for the mere cost of the materials required. It' -would be highly desirable if; some .one; could do as much for the big ship, and save the painful disclosures which are likely to be mfcde in the course of the inquiry .which is about to be instituted into the affairs of.the company, and the conduct of certain of the 'directors, The great body of the shareholders are veiy much alarmed at,the aspect of affairs. The credit of the ship is clean gone with the public. No one believes that she can be rendered fit to hold tbgether during a long voyage. 'It is possible .that these apprehensions may be exaggerated; but there is sufficient evidence to; show.that there is radically wrong about the vessel, and the affairs of the company which owns her.—A' number of gentlemen, interested in the lm^^ of Ulster met on Tuesday, at Belfast, and resolved to form ; a company with a capital of £50,000, in £10 shares, for the purpose of taking the necessary measures for procuring a. supply of flax from our. possessions in the east. At home,; whenwheat is very low, the area of flax culture is extended j as soon as the prices rise, wheat is again preferred, Hence the necessity of: looking to India^ where there are natural facilities and cheap labour.-—A number of merchants and shipowners met a fe\vdays ago. at Bremen, and agreed to, a resolution affirming the necessity,of extending, the inviolability of person and property on the seas in time of war to the natives r of the belligerent states. The proposition has; been

adopted by the directors of the Mpm ' Society of Stettin' ;also,-~Christinas ]i te lant promises/to :,bei more than usually abu i c this year.;: Five or six of the weekly pc ntl cal^i announce; Christmas numbers and I?' illustrated papers, as usual, give extra si of Christmas illustrations. Christmas b ? too, we have without number. Mr TV °i > calls his extra number of "All tli* v^ Round," the " Haunted House." Mi-, fi; [ ear has always been very fond of'u 3 things; ■: Many -of his readers ]H guessed that he really believes in ' aye natural appearances, and they have cupJTll' more than the truth. Mr. Dickens is a? n° believer in ghosts arid haunted houses » portion of the" Haunted House" has \ contributed by Mr. George Sala, who I again joined Mr. Dickens' staff. The lc ty i come Guest" exhibits a number of welc guests, and an unwelcome one, "HfUr,^' Grange." The editor, Mr. Robert & also provides a charming Christmas o-;f> k°7 entitled « Ulf, the Minstrel," the style , humour of which will remind the reader f Tom Hood in his best days. Di1. Iluss 11 also, offers a contribution to the' fire-s) reading, in the shape of a Diary o f hi s "JJ c dence in India. Lord Brougham is about t issue his Mathematical Works, in one voW dedicated to the tlniversity of Edinburgh' Mr. Lewis, it is said, is writing the SprL article on Darwin's " Origin of Species "f B the ■' Cornhill Magazine.' The poet laureate is to receive 250 guineas for " Sea Dream a Idyll," which is to appear in the next nunlu. of ' Maciriillan's Magazine.' Many of Mr Dickens' old. staff of ' Household \Vords' ar connected with Mr. Thackeray's new venture /Monday, December 19tb. : The Foreign/Ministers of France, Austria Russia,, Prussia, and Sardinia, will be the chief of the two representatives of each of those powers at, the approaching- Confess an arrangement which will, of course, °yen' much facilitate the business to be arranged As regards England, Lord Cowley will be the first, Lord Howden the second," Lord John Russell's presence being wanted in Parliament It is,^credibly'; affirmed, and I have the strongest persuasion of the fact, that the Emperor Napoleonwill, on the Ist January 1860, give to the world some direct evidence of the peaceful policy by an announcement of some some kind or.other.

Austria is about to make a general disarmament, and, France will reduce its military expenses one million sterling for next year. , The '.' Times' of to-day is in favour of more ships of war and seamen, than of any increased expenditure on our coast defences. The.trade of the country is progressing very favourably'without anything'in the shape of speculation. Credit is sound; money abundant and easy at from 2| psr cent. . iGonsols, 951 to §./ VVictorian, 6 per cent Bonds, 110|-to 111. South Australia, 113 tolls j and New South Wales 5 per cent. 10Htol02£. / . : A very valuable discovery has lately been made in France for the manufacture of gas and water-pipes from a bituminous paper prepared in a, particular manner, which has been proved to,be stronger than iron, and more durable, tried by the hydraulic press they resist the. pressure of fifteen atmospheres which is equal to a fall of' 480 feet of water (nearly double the pressure to which iron pipes are subjected to prove their strength of resistance). -These pipes are neuter, non-con-ductors of electricity, and entirely inoxydable, .They are a great improvement on lead pipes, as they, do away with the deposits of oxydes and carbonates ot lead, so dangerous in every use; but the price is the grand consideration, inasmuch as the pipes can be produced at half the price of; iron, or one-fourth the price of lead. The patent for Great Britain and the colonies has been purchased by a company in London, and Mr.. Joske, of Melbourne, has been appointed agent for Australia. This gentleman will go out by next mail, to establish works at Melbourne, for supplying all the Australian colonies with this cheap and admirable invention. Price Jerome is very ill, but is expected to recover:—it is something doubtful. Friendly relations between Sardinia and Austria and resumed.