The New York Herald Newspaper, May 22, 1854, Page 4

ETE SFTiCE N. W. CORNER OF NASSAU AND FULTON 8T8. eee ‘Berme. cash in FEE WARY anal Se SP ade ; the European Edition, $4 prr am jad Per of nnat Britain, and $9 to any pare af the | Fach a to include postage. 2 me DRENTARY, CORREGE ONDE ited | from any nor be Fons Heottniy wcuusereD FO Subscriptions or with adver- Ai postage will be dedueted from and GN CORRESPONDENTS | SEAL ALL Lerrens Tee e Ee TING exetuted with neatnest, cheapnert Heh. TINEMENTS renewed every day. ‘MENTS THIS EVENING. CASTLE GARDEN—®M. Jun 's Concent. ROADWAY THEATRE Broadway—Gusirrus—'Twasl WERY THEATRE, Bowery—Sarvaron Rosa~Foa- vy Tueves. NIBLO'S, Brosdway—Genevieye—Mevina. BURTON’S THEATRE, Chambers street—Tix Bowny moon—Two Buzzasns. WATIONAL THEATRE, Chatham street—Tux Masiac Bovan—Fosxsr or Bown: - Tur Ouran Ouranc. AMERICAN WUSEU! WER AND CRASH: oe 4 Post, WALLACE’S THEATRE, Broadway—As You LiurIr— Bove axpMuRpen. GHRISTY’S AMERICAN OPERA HOUSE, 472 Broad- wayerasorias Maionus ay Cumisry's Manernaus WOOD'S MINSTREL HALL, 444 Brosdway, Ernsorran Mrwerarior—Burietta of Unxcis Tom's Cavin, BUCKLEY'S OPE HOUSE, 699 Breosdway-Boce Bws's Bruco7iax Ovana TROuTS. WF. NICHOLAS EXHIBITION ROOM-—Coxrrsonsri0s @9 Moscow—VENTRiLoguiem. -Afternoon--A Capitan Maton Jane Suone—Dear " Broadway—Afterncon and WHOLE WORLD, 377 sn Broning. JONES'S PANTISCOPE—Aro1ie Roous, New York, Monday, May 22, 1854. — Malls for Europe. HE YEW YORE HERALD—EDITION FOR BOROP™. ‘The royal mai) steamship Canada, Captain Stone, will Jeave Boston on Wednesday at 12 o'clock, for Liverpoc}. The European mails will close iu this city at e varter Refore three o’elock to-morrow afternoon. The Wexxiy Hxnaty, (printed in French and Bagiieh,) wii be puunsnec at Dall past nine o'clock to-morrow morning. Single copies, in wrappers, sixpouve. Babscriptions aud advertisements for any edition of the Naw Your Heaiy will be received at the following placer 2» Burope :— ‘WZrrexrvor. John Honter, No. 2 Paradise etreet. Lospox... . Edwards, Sandford & Co., No. 17 Combi. Wm. Thoinas & Co., N Livin, vi 19 Catherine street. Place de la Bourse The News POLITICAL MATTERS. From Washington we learn that the opponent: and the friends of the Nebraska bill were busily engaged yesterday in caucussing. Every expedient will be resorted to on both sides, and the contest vigorously and determinedly carried on. To-day in all probability the excitement will reach fever heat, and we should not be at all surprised if, between the bad blood and the bad brandy, one or more per- sono! collisions should take place. ‘Under the telegraphic head may be found the letter of Mr. Everett to the Governor of Massachu- setts, resigning the position of Senator in Congress, to take effect on the Ist of June next. This course is induced by aggravated physical infirmity, and in accordance with the advice of a distinguished physi- vian. The question as to who shall be his successor already occupies the attention of the Boston press, and the chances seem eqnally divided between R. C. Winthrop and Rufus Choate. On the score of health, Mr. Winthrop certainly has the advantage of his competitor. Mr. Choate served a short time in the Senate during the administration of Captain ‘Tyler. INTELLIGENCE FROM MEXICO. Advices from Mexico ty unre ows tm Move Yoru received, which state that Santa Anna was on bie return to the capital, and that his wife had set out to meet him. It was inferred that Acapulco had ‘been taken and occupied by the army, and also that Senta Anna had re-established communication with ‘the city. In the present unsettled state of affairs it is hardly porsible to obtain accurate information of ‘the movements af either party, and we therefore do not place much reliance upon this mews. Never- | theless, there existed at last accounts ‘to induce the Dict ery reason last Friday vening adopted an ordinance for creating a paid fire department. The ordinance is published in full in another part of today’s paper. Its principal features are the constitution of a board of engineers, and the payment of firemen at the rate of thirty dollars a year, together with various stringent pro- visions against the evils which have formerly been experienced. The law is modelled upon those of the same character in Boston and Providence, where the voluntary system hes been superseded with the most beneficial results, both pecuniary and otherwire. A disturbance took place in this city on Saturday night between.two fire companies, at the corner of avenue C and Houston street. Several arrests were made by the police. Stones, brickbats, and the usual missiles employed in such collisions, were alarmingly numerous. RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS. ‘The new Catholic church in Twenty-eighth street ‘was yesterday dedicated to St. Stephen, the tirst amartyr of the Christian faith. Archbishop Hughes ‘preached the dedication sermon, which was devoted ‘to the consideration of the question whether mo- rality could exist without religion. We publish elsewhere the pastoral letter of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec, prescribing ‘public prayers for the purpose of drawing down the dlessings of Heaven on the allied armies of France and England in the pending war. His Grace sums ‘up the objects of the Czar in an able manner, and alludes in terms of merited severity to the indigni- ties to which Catholics have been subjected in Rus- sia, and particularly to the scourging of the nuns in Poland same years since, an atrocious act, for which athe Emperor was roundly lectured by the prede essor of Pius IX. Every effort is being made on “both sides to make the war a religious crusade; but ‘we apprehend that “ villanous saltpetre” will prove ® mare potent agent in conquering a peace than ‘paters and aves on either side. ‘Un Sanday the Committee on Missions of the New York East Methodist Conference presented a Zeport, which was adopted, containing some very sensible suggestions. While acknowledging the ne- Semity of Christianizing the natives of China and x d twe3 = we importance, and recommend the establishmem or 1Wocieties in every city, town and village, to carry out a thes object. This is what may be called a sensible prvooseding and if every colporteur should be ena- Reled to bestow bread and Bibles in proportionate Nquantities the ranks of the regenerated would Goulgtless increase amazingly. MISCELLANBODS, The official proceedings of a meeting of repre- > sentatives of the railroad companies between this \veity and Montgomery, Alabama, beld lately at Phi- ladelphia, is published today. The Proposal made to Congress by the Post Office De- periment, to reduce the rate of compen- sati@m for carrying the mails, was the ques. thon yonder consideration, and the meeting re- re . solved dbat, under any circumstances, the railroads | “hts they had claimed and fought for for cen- cannot submit to the terms proposed. But they of- fer to abide by the decision of a board of umpires in «'linatters between the -lepartment and the yanies, provided the referen’ adjudge withi i wis Of exieting laws, So Ae railroads aye “a i} | “struck,” and ft remains to ‘be seen which shall re- cede—the department or the companies. For years there has been more or less rquabbling upon this subject, and, in the meantime, the public are annoy- ec by all sorts of vexatious delays of the mails. The authority delegated to Congress by the constitution toestablish po-t rout s covers the whole ground, and should be carried into practical effect at once. ‘The poreine war at"the Falkland Islands has created mucb attention, considering the nature of the outrage. We have already laid before our readers the facts of the capture of two American whalers by an English vessel of war, and the inflic- tion of an onerous fine upon the captains, for kill- ing a few pigs, Our correspondent states that through the energetic conduct of Capt. Lynch, of the shoop-of-war Germantown, the vessels were re- leased on the payment of a fine of twenty pounds interest attaches to the private movements of calinets and diplomatists, The yaost important fact to be gathered from them, however, is the complete revolution that has Yaken place in the opinions of Europeans within the last thirty years with regard to American influence and American commerce. Thirty or forty years ago, uo one would evér have thought of inquiring what we felt or what we in tended to do in relation to a European war. Now, the first question discussed be- tween France and England is what side will the United States take? This change bas been brought about by the developement of our ma- ritime power. We might have had half a million soldiers.on foot—we might have grown sterling. The ships will return home, and claim damages of the British government. An active temperance movement has recently sprang up in South Carolina, and an address has beet publish. They propose the entire suppression of the waffic in and manufacture of intoxicating drinks by law, having no doubt whatever as to the power of the Legislature over the matter. stereotyped pathetic story of the evils of intemper- ance forms the substance of the address. A break oceurred in the Oswego Canal on Satur- day morn: but it was expected it would be re- paired to-day Accounts from the vessels ashore at Squan beach tate that the passengers and their baggage were pot on board of steamtugs in safety. ‘A welancholy case of suicide occurred in this city on Saturday. A\German woman, named Catharine Lancaster, whose second husband died about six weeks since, becoming inconsolable at the loss, pro- cured a quantity of arsenic, which she swallowed, and from the effects she died. ON THF INSIDE PAGES May be found, in addition to the subjects already al- Inded to, a letter from our Boston correspondent, and an article giving the statistics of the religious denominations in Boston; address of the Cuban Junta to their compatriots; affairs in Mexico; the Angel Gabaiel again; remarkable phenomena; scar- city of breadstuffs in Ohio; commercial and financial intelligence, &e., &e. History of the Negotiation on the Neutrality Laws. We must do Mr. Mason the justice to admit that he has not spent all his time in Paris in convivial pleasures. He has had several inter- views on business with members of the French cabinet, who, it scems, were the first to sug- gest the notion of modifying the old rules of war in order to satisfy the claims of the United States with regard to neutral vessels. Whe- ther Louis Napoleon was more anxious than his ally to secure the friendship of this country, or whether the sagacity of which he has given so many proofs led him to see the necessity of taking the step before any similar idea oc- curred to the British Minister, it seems that the first overture towards the adopiion of the rule that free ships make free goods came from Paris. At that time the position of Austria and Prussia was very doubtful. The chances were that they would side with Russia, and not with the Western Powers, On the brink of a confiict with Russia and Germany; France and England naturally looked with some anxiety to this country to secure if not an alliance at least our strict neutrality. Wehad in our power to supply the only great deficiency of their antagonists ; with American ships to back them, the foe might have defied all iN and strength of the Western allies, , hotwithstanding a strong current of public opinion here setting in favor of the lat- ter, there were many reasons more substantial than mere prejudices why the United States Should lend their sympathies to the other side, Wo Vreh Mic ae ou Auth Ae rane ene mene tere tw war as would place Great Britain in a position of commanding superiority. We could see very plainly that the defender of Turkey might easily become the protector of Spain, and ren- dcr the same service to Cuba that she bad ren- dered to Constantinople. The conqueror of Russia would not improbably next seek to the-only athar s+ cles yrower im the These grounds of partiality were not mole: wut. a study of their bearings was that some strong inducement must be held out to us to counter- act their tendency and incline us to the side of the allies. It was not in the power of France and England to hold out to us any other in- ducement but a waiver of their old pretensions in relation to belligerent rights. This was ac- cordingly seized upon by the government of France, and Mr. Mason was given to under- stand that if he would make some reasonable application in favor of the rights of American ships, it would be granted. It is not improba- ble that this hint was accompanied by another to the effect that the minds of the rulers of France and England would be quieted by some formal declaration on our part. announcing an intention to prevent privateers sailing from our ports. However this was, we know that enough was said to Mr. Mason to enable him to entertain a reasonable hope that he might, by the exercise of a little judgment and prudence, settle the vexed quos- tion of neutral rights at once and forever. So apprehensive were France and England of our joining Russia, and so desirous were y that our trade with them should be preserved on its present footing, that we have not the smallest doubt that a definite fina) settlement substarvally correct, and Presaming that some of the matter might have been had, if Mr. Mason had been able and willing to endeavor to obtain it. He was not. He had not the mind, in the first place, and he had not the will, in the second, His habits were opposed to anything of the sort. He knew little or nothing about belligerent rights, or the duties of foreign mi isters. He knew that he represented the Uni- ted States at Paris, for the beggarly sum of $9,000 a year; and he thought—if ever he thought at all—that twice that sum would not be too much. He may have said to him- self that the United States couldn't expect to have their diplomatic business done so cheaply If he did, he was quite right. At all events, Mr. Mason dined with the Emperor and other Sreat men, but would not have anything to say to the puzzling question proposed for his so lution. So the scheme went to London, where Mr. Buchanan was nervously endeavoring to do something without doing too much. He had seen something of political treaties in his life, and Was not so easily frightened as Mr. Mason. He was perhaps ready to make the most of the anxiety of the allies. Unfortunately, the British government were less anxious than Louis Na- poleon about the matter; or at all events, were less inclined to make @ formal renunciation of ‘uries, The scheme of a convention fell through, and each government explained its views, for the time being, in an independent proclamation. We give these details, believing them to be put forth by the Central Committee, which we | The | overlooked in Europe : and the inference from | | ten times the quantity of corn—we might have } exported twenty times the quantity of manu- | factures we do—no such compliment would have been paid us had we not bad our present seaboard and our present materials for a navy. | These are the true elements of our national | greatness, If we would progress in the course | we have begun, we must lose no opportunity |.ef developing them. Our trade must be ex- tended in every direction; and if in any quar- ter obstacles impede it, or hostile menaces threaten its security in time of trouble, it is our duty as prudent men toremove the one and silence the other while peace lasts, so as to be prepared for the worst. A few vigorons and honest administrations would render us the commanding maritime nation of the world: a few such governments as the one under which we are now living would save France and Eng- land the trouble of further anxiety on our ac- count. The Karopean War—Russian Possessions on the Northwest Coast of America—Policy of the United States, The naval operations of England: against Russia, in the progress of the existing war, we may safely assume will not be limited to the Black Sea and the Baltic. Wherever a Russian coast, or naval or commercial station, or squad- ron, or detached ship, may be seized, John Bull will be very apt to seize it. Thus, the Russian equadron which has lately been cruis- ing among the islands of Japan is in danger from the British fleet in the Chinese waters, and the Russian seaboard north of China, as far asit will pay expenses, may copt upon the hazards of bombardment and spoliation. So of the Russian possessions on the northwest coast of America. Lying contiguous to Bri- tish Oregon, the chain of Russian islands which run along the coast for several hundred miles, down to Mr. Polk's fighting line of 54 40, are particularly exposed to seizure and confisca- tion by her Britannic Majesty's cruisers. This chain of Russian islands on the nortly. west coast bears a striking analogy, in 4 naval and commercial point, to the northeastern fish- ing grounds, concerning whic, on account of their great value, we have been repeatedly more than half inclined to go to war with | England. Jn connection with the Bri. | tich coast of Oregon, those Russian islands | will ultimately be, in the possession of England or the United States, of even greater importance, both for naval and commercial purposes, than the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Between Puget’s Sound and Bebring’s Straits there are valuable fisheries, as yet undeveloped, but capable, no doubt, of being made the source of a great and profitable traffie. Coal mines, too, have been discovered in those high latitudes. These on Vancouver's Island, we believe, now supply the steamers which ran from the Sound ARR The, AROMEL OLAS OT ines Canvey: ship building purposes line the coast, from the Sound northward into the Russian possessions, The Russian seaports of Sitka and New Arch- angel, before our acquisition of California, car- ried on a considerable trade with that country, extending their operations as far seuth as San | Diego. But the highest immediate value of thischain of Russian islands is in connection with the great whaling grounds which lie to the west and north of them. In those waters, in the course of asingle year, several hundred whaling ships, chiefly American, enter for theircargoes whale oil and bone, or to make up their car- goes, after failing among the spermaceti whal a of the warmer latitudes of the Pacific. With the opening of steam communication between California and Oregon on the one side, and importance of the Pacific whaling grounds will be largely enhanced, and in a corres- ponding degree the value of those Russian islands which are the immediate subject under discussion. and of the contiguous sea coast, as a nursery for our fishermen and seamen, and as depots for shipbuilding materials and shipyards, will be also increased. Hence the importance to the United States of any movement calcu- lated to weaken the foothold of England on the Northwest coast of America, and to strengthen our own. Tt must be manifest to every intelligent reader that the possessions of Russia on the Northwest coast of this continent, are held at this time subject at any day to seizure and an- nexation by Great Britain. The addition of those islands and seacoast lying north of 54 deg. 40 min. to British Oregon, would make that colony so valuable to its owner as torender its ultimate acquisition by the United States impossible, except from the chances of external Lord Clarendon, in s public speech io the British Parliament, that the present “happy accord” “between England and France compre- hends the regulation of the balance of power not only in the Old World, but also in the New: im other words, it comprehends such a policy as will best be adapted to check the expanding internal strength and the naval supremacy of this republic upon this continent. The balance of power of which his lordship speaks, means a, European balance of power, to be wielded by England and France, the wide world over, in- cluding the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Such being the comprehensive object of their present war with Russia, it is imposeible to conjecture the limits of the occupations and an- nexations of the Western Powers, should they come out of this conflict triumphantly. They may divide between them, the Turkish provinces in Europe, Asia and Africa—they may appro- priate the Chinese Empire—they may establish a Buonaparte or Saxon protectorate over Spain and her colonies—they may extend their good offices of regulation to Mexico and Central America—they may boldly seize upon the fee- ble States of South America; for what will there be to hinder them, should this present “happy accord” continue, after they shall have vanquished the Ozar, as they propose todo? Our direct interest, therefore, in the extensive programme laid down by the allies, should admonish our government toseize upon every available opportunity calculated to maintain and strengthen the American branch of this balance of power in our own hands, To this end, not only does the acquisition of Cuba become exceedingly desirable; not only does the annexation of Honduras recommend itself as a proceeding of self-defence, but the pur- chase, when they can be had for a song, of the Russian territories on our northwest coast be- comes also a measure of sound public poticy. We have, however, so little confidence in the capacity of the administration to cor § prehend this policy, and so little relian @ on its moral courage or energy to act upon it, that it is very likely we shall hear of the seizure of the Russian territories {} America by Englands before Marcy will have had the opportunity to think upon the sul j.ct. A resolution of inquiry on the part of Congress, the House, or the Senate, might possibly have a good effect. Otherwis § without the intervention of Congress in taking the initiative, we can count upon nothing in China, Japan and Australia on the ather, the | our foreign affairs but the tempotizing expe- dients of timidity, negligence, anddelay. We call the attention, therefore, of the practical statesmen in Congress, whoever they may be, to the subjeot of this article, and to all other subjects touching “the balance of power” in this hemisphere. We look for nothing—we can expect nothing—from the administration. ~ Our Foreign Ministers—War with Spain. The Captain-General of Cuba, like many per- sons in this country, is growing alarmed at the prospect of a war between the United Siates and Spain. We are happy to have it in our power to calm his fears. There can be no war with Spain or any other coantry so long as the Union is governed by 80 imbecile a body as the present administration. True, there are cause and ground ample for a war. On less substan- tial pretexts, France, England, Russia, Avs- tria and Spain bersetf have declaredand waged war over and over again; the present occupa- tion of the Danubian Principalities with its con- sequences in the shape of a general European war, grew ont of a dispute worse grounded than for the character of the nation and our future maritime prospects, it is clear as noonday that we should vindicate the inviolability of our ships and the rights ef our commerce by en im- mediate declaration of hostilities against Spain. No less would be due to the American name and the mercantile community. For all practical purposes, the island of Cuba is as usual closed tous, as the islands of Japan are; the difference between the two is only one of degree—the one admitting several and excluding several of our vessels, the other dealing in like manner with afew. There is this further difference between the two cases: Japan lies several thousand miles from our coast and can never become a dangerous enemy; Cuba is the key to our great Southern outlet, and in the handsof a power- ful enemy, may be used to destroy our for- eign commerce altogether. Now if we send Commodore Perry to Jeddo, with instructions to demand admittance to the Ja- panese ports for our vessels, and with the fur- ther private understanding that if he is not suc- cessful by fair means he may use foul, why should we not send some other ‘commodore to Havana with orders precisely similar to be ap- plied to the Cubans? But, as we said, Mr. Pierce is not the man to do anything of the kind. The Cubans may commit another score of outrages, and render them doubly offensive by trifling with our demands for reparation, and yet CaptaingGencral Pezuela will not be afforded an opportunity of displaying the valo: for which our correspondent gives him credit. The Cabinet has in fact far too much yet to do with dividing the spoils for any leisure to be spared for the prosecution of our demand, against Spain. His Excellency Governor Pezu- ela doubtless knows how these things are done; he must have seen something not very dis- war or internal revolution. But the Russian possessions in question may undoubtedly be purchased by our government, at this crisis, for less than cost price, and their acquisition would so far hem in the possessions of the Hudson Bay Company as to make their purchase at areason- able sum a natural consequence, It may, there- fore, be worth while to admonish our government that the position of, this republic as the first commercial nation of the world—that our terri- tories on the Pacific, and our Prospective trade across that ocean with the nations and islands of Asia—suggest the policy of strengthening and extending our commercial facilities where- ever the opportunity is offered, without dis- turbing our peaceful relations with other powers, and especially wherever an advan- tageous bargain of annexation may be made. In this broad and general view, when Hon- duars, through her Minister to Washington, shall lay before our government an offer com- prehending the incorporation of that State into our Union, quietly and peacefully, and with- out the extortions of a Gadsden treaty, we should close in with the offer, for our constitu- tion and our institutions, our enterprise, and our “manifest destiny,” are sufficiently co- hesive and elastic to cover the continent and its contiguous islands, of ali sizes, and in all latitudes, Hence, also, if the Russian territories in question can be Purchased for a mere trifle at this time, it ie our policy and our duty to pwrchase them. We Layo been very iniingly admonlabed by similar in his native country. In case, however, he, like some foreigners, should be ignorant of the exact process in which these matters are ordered in the United States, we may inform him that every four years our chief magistrate is elected, and has the appointing of a Cabinet, which with him, fills all the federal offices in the Union. An honest President is likely to choose an honest Cabinet; and the two are likely to have as much regard to personal effi- ciency as to services rendered by the candi date to the political party to which the Presi- dent belongs. A dishonest President pursues a course directly the reverse of this. A man, for instance, who, having been a freesoiler, procured himself to be nominated by frand and trick- ery; denied his antecedents, and foreswore him- self at every corner ; bought support wherever it could be had by corrupt promives of patron. age and office ; fought out the canvas with con- sistent duplicity, and never once told the truik either of his past or his future; such a man, ar- riving at the summit of his desires, and finding himself installed in the Presidential chair,would naturally choose for his advisers men like him- self, and all together would obviously spend their official career in endeavoring to make the most of the plunder laid before them. States- men like these could not be expected to fight the country’s battles or’be jealous of the coun- try’e honor. Spain or any other nation might after obstacle in the way of our trade; rulers ‘be blind to tion would of a stroke of policy whose issue might be doubtful and whose adoption would obviously interfere with more congenial pursuite. This is the spirit of our present administration. This spirit they have infused into every one of their subordinates. We one and the other, and retriba- { depends so much upon minute detail. shou however hampered he might be by legislatiy restraints in imparting to them as full and a: perfect an organization as he might desire, tha; such powers as he possessed were fully carrie¢ out. Under the present system it is notoriour thet thjs is far from being the case; and althoagh Take the foreign missions for instance. Our | various attempts have been made to saddle thé ministers have now been abroad upwards of @ | fesponsibility of the results on the right ehoul| year. What have they done? Mr. Soulé has filled a portion of the world with his name. Sloth cannot be laid tohis charge. He has cer- tainly acquired notoriety if not fame. He has fought a duel, and had another fought in his family. Both were with personages of the high- est rank, and afforded topics for conversation in titled circles. He has moreover made a demand upon Spain for reparation for the Black War- rior outrage, and has made nothing by his mo- tion. His diplomatic negotiation seems to have been as unfruitful as his warlike movements. On the whole, summing up the whole of his career to the present time, we are by no means certain that our relations with Spain would not have been in a much better position had we had no minister at all at Madrid since Mr. Barrin- ger left. Mr. Mason, our minister to France has not even, satisfied public expectation with a duel. He has not been wholly idle, as, we un- derstand he is taking lessons in French from a governess; but so far as the good of his coun- try is concerned, he might still have been eating oysters and playing whist in Virginia. Yet we have many questions of importance— among which the tonnage dues question is only one—to settle with France. Mr. Belmont, our minister to the Hague, is said to have spent most of his time in Paris, immersed in social enjoyments. When he left we understood that he would cover himself with glory, and the country with fame, by settling the case of Cap- tain Gibson, and acting as sponsor for Commo- dore Perry. If he has done either, or even made the attempt, he has kept his glory very quiet, for no one has heard of it. Mr. Spence, our minister to Constantinople, has done some- thing. He has pledged the United States to the side of Turkey in the impending war; for which liberty he may possibly be recalled, Mr. Seymour, at St. Petersburg, seems to have presented a. striking contrast to the activity and zeal displayed by his British namesake; if he bas done anything, the world knows nothing of it. Mr. Daniels has involved himself in all sorts of ridiculous disputes at Turin, and is now spending his time in trying to get out of the scrapes into which his early follies at that court have rlunced him. If any one knows of anything that Mr. Vroom has done at Berlin, beyond appearing at court in the costume prescribed by the master of Pr... sian ceremonies, we should be happy t” ‘gear of the fact. Finally, Mr. Buchanan, oar minister to London, has, we have fue best reasons for knowing, exhauste?, every argument on the fisheries and Central American questions with- out advancing oa single step towards their settlement, Such is the record of the doings of our minis- ters to Europe during the first year of their official career. How faithfully they have fol- lowed the example set them by the administra- tion at home, we leave the reader to judge. And, in view of so uniform a spectacle of inac- tivity and imbecile weakness, we put it to the common sense of Captaiu-General Pezuela whether a vindication of our right and a de- fence of our commercial interests assailed by Spain can possibly te expected under Pierce’s Presidency. Naval Reforms—Necessity of a Faxther Ad- dition to our Naval Force. The Report of the Committee on Naval Af- fairs, which will be found in another column, presents a frank exposé of the causes to which the inefficiency of our navy, as compared with the armaments of other maritime powers and the extent and importance of our commerce, are atiributable. It discloses a lamentable picture of the manner in which this important branch of the public service is administered; but while it suggests remedies for most of the abuses that have contributed to the results whi¢h it has so graphically sketched, it omits an important re- commendation, without which, the executive details of the service will never be effectually carried out, and that is, that the Secretary of the Navy shall be himself a member of the pro- fession over which he is called topreside. If, as. is shown by this report, the head of.,the-naval department is responsible: for- ns eta *neg- ligenee and carelessness which 4 sig- nalized as peculiarly distinguish! ing «the ad- ministration of our nayal affairs,” we would ack, in the name of commontsemiey how is that responsibility to be “ma tive and complete whilst we place ‘a’ ian at. the head of a department, the complicated and technical details of which it requires a long practical acquaintance with the service thoroughly to understand? A man may be a shrewd politician, a good orator and a devoted partisan, but none of these qualities will enable him to detect the faults of construction ina ship of the line, or to maintain: that strict or- ganization throughout the various branches of the service which it is essential to its. efficiency should be rigorously kept up. By way of illustration, we need only point io two or three of the facts stated in the docu- ders, they have unfortunately in almost every instance failed. The inquiries to which the bill recently p in Congress for the angmentation of the na\ necessarily gave rise, will, however, we trust, have the effect of directing the attention of country to this and other reforms needed complete the valuable recommendations tained in the report of the committee. latter have already been so fully discussed| that it is unnecessary for us todo more to express our entire approval of them. They were urgently called for hy the necessity of the} case; and until they are fully carried out, w: can never expect to see our navy brought to} that high state of organization and efficiency which is essential to the maintenance of our position as a great maritime power. That the recent additions to the effective force of our navy will be insufficient to meet the exigencies of the events that are now im- pending, must be apparent to all who are en- dowed with ordinary foresight. The present’ administration, although not remarkable for the possession of this quality, seems to be im~ pressed with the necessity of preparing for the’ contingencies to which our complications with Spain may give rise. The Japan and Meditey; ranean squadrons have been ordered home with a view to concentrating as large a naval force as possible upon our Atlantic coast line, and in a short time our commerce in the former latitude will be left wholly unpro- tected. As we do not know the moment at which some unforseen aggression may drag us into the vortex of the present European diff- culties, measures will soon have to be taken to. provide against any sudden emergency that. may arise in those quarters. Tar Nepraska But—A Day or Fastixe, Hummiation axp Praver.—The following pro- clamation, during the last few days has beem extensively published; but on acyount of the mighty importance of the Subject, and the ex- traordinary interest which ‘yor Northern clergy’ have exhibited in cor-section with it, we are induced still more, prominently than at first, to reproduce t"’ s important call in our columns. Here i "gg PROPOSED DAY OF GENERAL FASTING: A it is in contemplation, in accordance ‘movement with which the churches of all denominations of 8 throughout the United States and ‘Territories, are re- specttully invited to join in the, chservange ner Friday, May as a solemn fast , ab- ig feet all secular Dastnens wat fiet meet in their respective places of ‘worship, to su} ite Al- mighty God to avert the evils whic! this nation; that He would remember the President of the- United States and Congress, now assembled, and all that are in authority, and particularly all the Representatives . from the free States, who still, by their timely ac- tion, prevent the evils we deplore. The 26th is the day of the annular eclipse of. the sun. It will be a dark day towards the close of the afternoon, and very dark if cloudy at the time of the eclipse. It is proposed that all denominations of Christians shall-meet om that day in their usual places of worship, and ,oin in prayer to Almighty God to avert tie evils which are threatened our beloved coun- try by the Nebraska bill. What harm can there he in this? It is proposed to pray espe- cially that God Almighty will not. forget and utterly abandon the President—that he’ will. alse romember Congress, and ‘particularly the free soil Representatives, if it is not too: late. But there’s the rub. It may. be tco late. The day of the eclipse is a good day for ihe object proposed — of general fasting, humiliation and Prayer; for- God knows we have been eating abundantly as @ nation ; we have been very proud, and have shamefully neglected our prayers, in specula- tion, stock-jobbing, and all sorts of follies and humbugs. But we are afraid that in waiting for the eclipse we shall be too late for the Ne- braska bill, though a general offering of prayer: may, perhaps, have a good effect with the ad- ministration. It has been said that it is past praying for; but we are not quite disposed to- believe it till the thing is tried. It is the last chance, and the day of the eclipse is a good. time for it, as far as the President and Cabinet. are concerned, for they have been and are yet very much in the dark, having been under a sort of annular eclipse ever since our last fall election and the defeat of the soft shells. At is expected that the Nebraska bill will be passed to-day, to-night, or to-morrow merning.. There is a bare chance it may hang on till Fri- day ; but if it does, the whole programme of the call may be carried out. In any event, we con- cur in the movement for a day of fasting, hu- miliation and prayer, in behalf of the adminis- tration. And we repeat, that we can have no bet- ter day for it than the day of eclipse. And we call upon the Jews as well as the Christians, to unite in the observances of the day, for the ad- ministration stands in need of all its friends,_ with or without Nebraska. Let the bill be passed, and let us have a universal prayer for the administration on the day of the eclipse. Things will look brighter when it is over. Pain Firewen.—We publish elsewhere, for ment before us, to demonstrate at once the ab- | the especial benefit of our city. government, an surdity of delegating to a civilian powers that his previous habits and training render him ut- ordinance regulating the fire department, lately enacted by the Common Council of Newark. terly incapable to fill. It is not long since one | The wisdom of New York is not so profound of our sloops of war sailed for the West Indies, and it was not until she approached within a short distance of Jamaica that it was discovered that it cannot learn something from Newark in this respect. The ordinance, it will be noticed, carries out in many particulars suggestions ad- that none of the shot on board would fit the | vanced some time ago in this paper. It organ- guns. The latter were thirty-two's, whilst the izes, aad, in all its branches, places the depart- shot were fifty-two's, and the vessel was conse- | -ment under the strictest discipline. In the quently obliged to put into Jamaica to obtain | first place there is a Board of Engineers, under proper ammunition. As the fact no doubt got wind, it must have given the British officers at the immediate control of the Common Council. This board, consisting of achief and four assist- that station rather a curious idea of the manner | ants, makes rules and regulations for its own. in which our naval affairs aré conducted. But even where errors of this sort have not jbeen committed, we hear of others almost equally as bad. The committee state in their report that instances not unfrequently oc- government, and its members superintend and control the operations at fires, It is upon the recommendation of the Board of Engineers that the members of the fire department are appoint- ed by the Common Couneil, and receive their- cur in which vessels of wor leave this country | certificates to that effect. It is moreover the- on a two years’ cruise, and return at the expira- | duty of the Board to recommend suitable per- tion of that period without having handled a | sons forfire wardens—four for each ward—who,. shot or fired a gun. This in the face of the fact that in the naval service of all the other in their turn, are to look after the supplies of water, and prevent those who do not belong. maritime powers not only have schools of gun- | to the department from working atdires. They nery been established, but the men are kept are also required to inspect public and private continually exercised in the practical as well | dwellings, and see that they are neither de- as the theoretical knowledge of its details. fective or dangerous. The ordinance enjoins It is certain that if » competent naval offl- | the observance of a sttict military discipline cer were placed at the head of the naval depart- | throughout the whole corps, and the men are ment, these relaxations of discipline would | to be paid for their services. The sum which heap outrage on outrage, and throw obstacle | rarely if ever occur. It would not only be a | each fireman will receive may appear small; hut duty but a labor of love with him to see that it wil) be recollected that where fifty fires take. who bad atiained powey by iheee menus would } all branches of @ seryiog the efiigiency of which } place in New York, one, perhaps, will not ogeur- \