EUROPE AND AMERICA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume XIX, Issue 1997, 21 September 1864, Page 3

EUROPE AND AMERICA.

(From The Press's own correspondent.)

Since the armistice expired, the Germans have taken possession of the whole of Jutland, but have taken no steps to attack the Islands, fliey have treated the inhabitants with severity and rigor, but have not used actual cruelty. I'he change of ministry in Denmark is the first step towards peace. The new administration of the moderate conservative party-is very much p resell to the war patty who have just vacated offi -e. Negotiations have already commenced. i’r iucc J Mtn, the b: other of the King of Denmark,

has paid visit to Carlsbad, where the King of Prussia now is, taking Berlin on his wav. An armistice to the end of this month has been agreed to, and by that time it is to be hoped that the conditions of peace will have been settled by direct negotiations between the belligerents. The plenipotentiaries will meet at Vienna. From America we have the usual fluctuating'accounts,— one day a great victory, the next a repulse. During the earlier part of the month the Federals appear to have had the advantage. Hunter won a decided victory at Staunton on the sth of June, taking 1500 prisoners, 3000 stand of arms, and three pieces of artillery. This is only one hundred miles from R’chmond, to the south of which town .Grant led his forces after the repulse of his attempted passage of the Chikahominy, on June 3rd. The Confederates were also defeated by General Forrest at Guntown, Tennessee, with considerable loss. Since this, the tide of war has again turned. Grant failed in his attack on Petersburg. By a rapid mareh he came before the town and carried the formidable field works which were then the chief line of defence. General Hancock, however, did not arrive to support him till a day later than -expected, and this gave Beauregard time to get up to defend the place. He constructed a temporary line of works, which Grant carried in two days by storm, only to discover a most formidable inner line which had meanwhile been thrown up. From this the Federals were repuised with frightful loss. Since this failure Grant has not taken any active steps. He still holds his position before Petersburg, almost within sight of Richmond, with Lee watching his every movement, but at present acting only on the defensive. In the West the South has held its own. Sherman has been defeated with considerable lose, though not sufficient to drive him back. The latest intelligence brings us news still more favorable to the Confederate arms. They had made a formidable, and so far successful, invasion of Maryland. Their force is eaid to consist of 30,000 men, under the command of General Ewell. They defeated the Federals under General Sigel, at Martinsburg, and drove him back to Harper’s Ferry. Sigel then crossed the Potomac, and was. closely followed by the Confedeiates. Here the two armies have taken up positions. Sigel has been removed from hts command, and Hunter will succeed to his place. The greatest panic, it is said, is felt in New York, and serious apprehensions are entertained for the safety of Washington and Baltimore. But in spite of the interest felt in the war, nothing has startled Americaand thisconntryso much as Mr. Chase’s resignation on June 30, of his office as Secretary of the Treasury. This step is probably due to the absence of friendly feeling between Mr. Lincoln and himself, and not to a wish to avoid charges brought against him by General Blair. His friends indeed assert that he would have sent in his resignation long ago, bad it not been for these charges, which he felt it his duty to meet, lest his withdrawal from office should be miscontrued. His place was offered to Governor Tod, an intimate friend of the President. New York was dumbfounded, but almost immediately relieved by hearing that he had refused the offer. Gold had risen from 250 to 280. As soon, however, as the nomination of Mr. Tessenden to the vacant office, and its confirmation by the Senate became known, gold again began to decline. This gentleman, we are told, enjoys the confidence of Congress and is much respected by the leading financiers of New York. ' Whether he will be able to make any head against the difficulties of his position is another question, which we must leave to time to answer.

After the great debate on the Vote of Cen. sure, nothing has excited the mind of the public so much as a most frightful murder committed on Saturday evening, July 10th, on the North London Railway. On a train arriving at Hackney Station, about a quarter-past ten, a gentleman opened a first-class carriage, and put his hand in a pool of blood. An alarm was instantly given, and a search made. Near Victoria Park Station was found the body of the unfortunate man frightfully mutilated, but not dead. It proved to be a gentleman of the name of Briggs, the chief cashier in a bank in the city, who was returning after dinner to his home at Hackney. Though the unfortunate man lived for twenty-four hours, he never spoke again with sufficient distinctness to give anv clue to his murderer or murderers. His watch and chain were gone, but his money, eye-glass, and bank-book were found in the carriage. It is supposed that the murderer attempted to rob his victim while asleep, that a struggle ensued, which ended in the unfortunate man being thrown out on the rails. The most astounding feature of the case was the fact that the deed must have been committed in the incredibly short time of five minutes, the time that elapses between the departure of the train from Bow and its arrival at Victoria Park. How the murderer escaped, too, is another extraordinary thing. How he managed, blood-stained as he must have been after the frightful struggle that evidently took place, to pass unnoticed is a puzzle to everybody. But in his hurry he left an important clue behind him. He by accident changed hats with the murdered man, leaving his own in the railway carriage. In spite of this clue, and the fact that Mr. Brigg’s chain was changed at a jeweller’s shop, the police were completely at fault, and the merest chance has, ten days after the murder, put them on the track of the murderer. A little girl showed her father, a cabman, a pasteboard box given her by a man named Mueller. On this box the cabman saw the name of the jeweller where the chain had been changed. It was a foreigner who had changed the chain ; it was a foreigner who had given the child the box. A photograph is produced; the jeweller recognises the man. The police produce the bat ; the cabman remembers buying it for this same Mueller. Minor evidence is at hand to complete the chain. It is discovered that the man left in a sailing ship four days before for America. A steamship follows, which will probably arrive four days before the sailing ship at New Yoik. By the next mail I hope to tell you that the murderer lias been apprehended and brought back to England in custody. During the past fortnight the great annual carnival of the Volunteers has been held at Wimbledon, and has been a great success, partly owing to the glorious weather. The average shooting has been hardly equal to that of last year, but this may be in some measure a. o -unt.d for by the extreme heat and the glare of the sun, which caused distance to prove very deceptive, even to the moat experienced marksmen. The Queen's piize was won by a man called Wyatt, a member of the City of London R'fles. Amongst the most interesting contests I may mention that between the Lords and Commons, which was won by the former ; the defeat of England for the first time by Scotland ; and for the benefit of Public School men in New Zealand, I may add that Harrow won the school competition ; 2nd, Cheltenham ; 3rd, Rugby ; 4th, Eton; sth, Winchester; Gth, Marlborough.