The New York Herald Newspaper, January 24, 1858, Page 3

AFFAIRS IN EUROPE. Our Lendon Correspondence. Lonpon, Dec, 15, 1857. Financial Phenomena—Austria a Lender and France no Borrower—British Hostilities Against China—Disraeli’s Tilt against Lord Palmerston —Chrisinas Festivities in London—The Opera, $e, Fe. K After a temporary lull we have had within the last few days several pretty loud explosions. Some large houses have gone down, or rather gone up, to carry out my simile. They were all connected with the North of Europe, where the commercial plague has broken out with considerable virulence. At Hamburg the crash has been alarming, but the authoritieshave been making strenuous efforts to save the mercantile existence of the town. A Discount Bank has been organized, with a capital of néar twelve millions of dollars; but afar greater feat than this has been performed, which ought to im- mortalise Hamburg—‘“for this amongst the rest has she been ordained,” in the wordsof Richard. What do you think—a loan of ten millions of marks has been obtained from Austria! This is a theme worthy the London ee I ge: from. si flight my. pen must take in so stupendous a topic as a Joan from Austria 4 Hamburg. In Sweden the Legislature has also come promptly forward to the ff of commerce, @md, by various salutary mea- wures, has sought to check further disasters. It docs seem extraondinary that after such energetic efforts here and clsewhere to stay the spread of ealamity, we hear day after day of some of the “oldest und most respectable firms” in all parts of Burope yielding to the pressure from without. What is the logic of it? The simplest and truest so- lution is, that they have overt! , and must sub- mit to the same penalty awarded to less respectable establishments. Next to the Austrian loan, just ken of, the most marvellous event of the day is utter com- mercial serenity of France. Even the Times is dumbfounded, and I dare say the Heraxp is per- Ya ‘We have all heard so much of wild specu- and Credit Mobiliers, to say nothing of the occasional spasms of the Bank of e, that every- anticipated a financial convulsion in France, on the opening, worthy of the days when the Mis- sissippi bubble evaporated. Had tickets been offer- ed for a sight of the tableaux vivants that were con- fidently counted on at the 5) ing of the financial mine, who would have re! the chance? Yet ‘amid ajl the uproar and confusion pervading the commercial world in all parts of the globe, with Hamburg in agonies, Stockholm waking up from stagnation, and Austria making loans, what do we see and hear in Paris? The Bank of France lowering her rate of discount, and bullion rushing, by the natural force of the tide, into her evertiowing coffers. Talk to Frenchmen of panics, erises and bankruptcies, and they will stare at you as if you were uttering an unknown tongue. hat woul Napoleon I. have not gre for the luxury of such a triumph as this over the “ nation of shop- keepers,” as he neererendiy wiriae old England ? and Napoleon II. must consider himself a more fortu- mate man than his immortal ancestor, to have lived to enjoy it. The meaning of it is simply that neither the gros or petit commerce of France has been car- Tied away ty the example of the Stock Exchange, and that they have observed a proper proportion between their trade and their capital, ni plus ni moins que cela, How odd that a people, reputed so giddy ‘and frivolous as the French, should make so tan a) ce when we, cute Yankees, are obliged to clothe ourselves in sackcloth called bank per, whilst our commercial progenitors are doing tur best to hide their nakedness! These are the natural, but temporary results of as peel ious enterprise that make England and the United States the first commercial gations of the world, whose civilizing mission it is rouse the “ Celestials” of the East from the stupor of ages, as well as to drive the mongrels of the pe race in the West from the possession of well nigh a continent they dese- erate. It was the other day only that Mr. Disraeli, in Parliament, was pitying poor Lord Palmerston that he had no foreign onions Soy naan _ aa in diplomacy or war. ler of op) ion ——e Tave waited for the news we have to-day, wi is nothing less than that the English fleet is ing to take Canton on the approved principle of ting first and negotiating a’ ards. Nothing could be wiser, certainly, than this display of vigor, and the sooner that England phlebotomises the con- eeit of Commissioner Yeh, the better for British inte- rests and for the world of trade geuerally. If France and the United States are not disposed to lend a hand, John Bull, impersonated by Lord Palmerston, is not afraid to undertake the job single-handed. Parliament has urned to the 4th of February, after indemnifying the bank for exceeding its char ter. Mr. Disraeli tried hard to get up a grand tourna- ment on the currency question, we to ran his lance into the Prime Minister; bat the House of Commons showed they were in no humor for such pastimes—by a majority of 178—wherenpou Lord Pal- merston smiled, and his aspiring opponent bore it as wall as he could. a In spite of the trouble in the city, the juvenile world and its estimable parents are brightening up at the approach of Christmas. The shops of the West End had never looked more gorgeous, ami the crowd of equi that surround them show that there is ‘a class in this country who put their faith in acres ‘and not in joint stock banks; and verily they have their reward when Christmas comes arownd, for whilst they, eat spend and make merry, how many unfortunate shareholders know not where to lay their heads. In the theatrical world all is preparation for the carnival pautomimes, and Harlequin is sword of battle, whilst Pantaloon is coining gi atthe expense of the fi follies: bubble companies will hot be spared. vik malti- tudes here who await impatiently the return of the season are electrified at the thrilling news of advent of Piccolomini, announced to appear on the 28th of December, three months before the usual h. Piccolomini has been running a sti op- position in Hamburg and Berlin to the commere! citement in both these places; and her audiences have not only outnumbered the half frantic thousands who met daily on ‘Change, but her silvery notes were at an immense premium, and sought after with such avidity as to prove their value. She comes back to ber Majesty's theatre here the lyric n of Europe, and she is in danger, like Alexan- of old, of crying herself to death for ancther world to conquer. Oar Paris Correspandence. Panis, December 31, 1857. Departure of the Old Year—Brilliant New Year's Aspect of Paris—Reception of Mr. Buchanan's Message—Comaents of Le Pays—Return of Gen. Lamoriciere—Another Murder in the Jeufosse Style—A Young Men Shooting the Betrayer of his Sister—The Opera in Paris—Death of Blaze, the Musical Critic, &¢., §¢. Never did tho last day of the old year take its eave of the fairest of cities with a more graceful smile; and never, surely, has the festival of Clrist- mas found a more genial season. Man, like the vege- tation of the field, revives or droops by an atmos- pheric law, and the present bright, crisp, cheery weather is not without its beneficial effect in dispers- ing many of the moral clouds which at this time of year, and this year more especially, are apt to gather over the commercial and industrial classes. There transactions are wound up, and the dawn of the new year too frequently perceives, instead of the window front, radiant with well knife grinder a the machine he has been ply- roughout the weary year. But to such shops & specialité for the trade which the opening rates, the combined influence of the sea on pot the weather is perfectly magical. I say weather, for who in the midst of such a bright frosty sunshine is to dare to make a last year's rem- papi—s Irosty old sho) duty ig a nouve- NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 1858. auté? Indeed, the windows of the papétiers or sta- tioners, with their beautiful encriers or inkstands of the most multiplied variety of form, their Writing cases, writing paper of every imaginable hue, thei classic letter presses, their luxurious pyramids, crowded with every conceivable form of envelope and vellum, were never witnessed in greater perfec- tion. It wonld require, as old Homer said when he patie catalogue of the Grecian ships, lungs of rass to do ice to a tithe part of what Paris is now Oo! her streets to the visiter’s gaze, and the tem) to a well filled purse—for well filled it must be to gain possession of even a modicum of the treasures before it. But if sank so many I may venture to point out the class o Sat most attract, I must instance, first of all, such as the Messrs. Geroux, in the Boulevart des Italiens, who have made it inseparable from their name. There, at this moment, may be seen a perfect golconda of child’s wealth sufficient to make reel the brains of the infantile world that crowd around it. One is induced to exclaim with By- ron, “O, happy years once more! Who would not be a boy?” ‘For never in behalf of king or kai- sar surely was so mnch inventive genius called forth as is here for the Parisian little ones. The great Pope, which for thousands of years has puzzled he learned naturalists concerning the capability of Balaam’s ass to utter human sounds, is here sum- marily solyed. For if Geroux’s asses—things of wood and dried skin and crystal vision—can bray with such strange reality that the very she asses which walk the streets to deliver their over laden udders from door to door, stay to listen and_ prick up their lengthy ears @ fortior?, what could not a real ass—a thing of flesh and blood—enunciate under the impulsion of a prophet’s kicks? One cannot help thinking , however, that there are many other toys of great pecuniary value, which are mach bet- ter fitted for children of larger growth than the in- fantile crowds for whom they are foae ene There is @ growing tendency in the desire for improve- ment to presume that the head of the child is the head of Minerva, only: minimized; the animal out of which the future intellectual being is subsequently shaped seems scarcely sufficiently taken into the account, and the consequence is that it is no uncom- mon circumstance to observe, a few hours after the purchase of un elaborate article, developing all the mysteries of the tel ph or steam engine, that a very inefficient football has only been presented to the young gentleman, whose Newtonian faculties refuse to answer to the charmer, charm he never 80 wisely. The bon bon shops, perhaps, are after all the shops par excellence at this immediate season. The treasures of M. Tahen, at the corner of the Rue de la Paix; of the warehouses devoted to bronzes and ormolv, and the jewellers with their all absorbing varieties of gem and setting, can wait a more convenient season; everybody is bound to eat sugar plums as the old year departs and the new one comes in; and a more perfect y of taste, a more brilliant @eil of French ingenuity and marvellous combination of high art stooping to humble things is not to be witnessed in the wide world in such perfection as here. Every conceivable occupation in our artificial life is rendered subser- vient to the various forms and shapes of sugared edibles, and all with such attention to minutie and the most infinitessimal details that it might reason- Eo Aad supposed the work was one intended for yg utility rather than to melt at the breath of the first gouret who may chance to place it to his lips. And then those beautiful panniers—those bas- kets that Hebe herself, could she sce them, would fall down and worship! Nature herself, especially if the gas be lit, seems outbidden by Galli terprise and ingenuity. The flowers look more brilliant, the rose is lovelier still than its own self, and the pen- a of the tulip more rich and rare than in the palmiest days of Holland’s prime. And how they are gathered together! What a wonderful interlacing of art and nature! How each color, each hue is made to develope that which stauds beside it! How each shape and form are rendered still more graceful by that which supports it! No wonder with sucha floral ante-chamber dazzling our sense the gustatory ergan is excited almost to pain, and should stimulate the hand to plunge into the penetralia for the bon bons, which cannot but be superlatively delicious when thus rded and adorned. The bright wea- ther is fe e more welcome ergs we have _ for some days past a very curtain of vapor envelopin; the whole Pt ms to pi a degree of Namosity was Fd that carriages found it dangerous to traverse the Place de la Concorde. But fogs seem only to come to Paris in order to express their regret that they cannot prolong their stay in a climate so naturally exuberant, and to be bowed out with the usual French politeness. Mr. Buchanan’s message is not found to belie the favorable prestige 1 ventured to predict for it in my last, judging from the spirit in which I found it to be received in general society. The press was ra- ther slow to speak; but it has done so at last in @ manner which cannot but be acceptable to America generally. The marked return to those ideas of government and authority practised by the founders of the republic, assumed by the President, is every- where commended. Educated, it is said, under the Monroes and Adamses, Mr. Buchanan is fully im- pressed with ESS with which he is in- vested, and dfter the weakness displayed by Mr. Pierce, such @ character is doubly acceptable. The Pays uses rather strong language, and says:— “Mr. Buchanan also frankly stated that he thought some of the attributes of the federal power were imsuf- ficient. In regard to the banks, more particularly, he pointed out the inconsistency of matntaining the privilege of the federal governinent to coin money, and yet cmanci . banks of issue from its juris diction, as if the right to imme notes payable to bearer was not in substance the same thing as the right to coin money. The very manifest leanings of r. Buchanay towards the establishment of a more ~p en aml conceatrated executive power would not deserve so much attention if they could be consi dered as Merely an evidence of his private opi- nion or of a personal ambition inconsistent with the habits and views of the citizens of North America. But‘it must be remembered that Mr. Buchanan, whose election was hot! contested, represents a very large and respectable panty, who ee the opinions he has expressed, ie may t} fore conclude that the United States, without in any way abating their affection for those principles which constituted and now assure their national existence, are feeling the influence of those changes which time has made in their organization. A vast, rich and populous country cannot be govern- ed in precisely the same manner as a amail, poor and thinly populated one, such as the United States was in 1784. ben and ne ae ass eee same proportion as territory and t] jon, it must become relatively weaker.” ung Genera! Lamoriciere, with his family, it is said, is about to take up his residence at Amicus. The consequences of the Jeuffowe verdict are working, after a fashion, unpalatable to lovers whose mistresses are too confiding. A youth of the name of Basset. — the neighborhood of Ha- bouville, in the Moselle, was beloved by the daugh- ter of the Mayor of Saint Ali, who resides at Habou- ville. Night after night he visited her, The father became Cg} of ‘umstance, and on some trifling plea, just as she was retiring to her usual chagber, caused her to change her room. As soon as she had departed he placed a loaded masket in the hands of his son, telling Lim that his sixter had been dishonored and that ih a few orinutes the maa would ere In a few minutes Basset came to the place of his usual rendezvous, and the son, obeying jis father, shot him dead. The father at once sent for the gendarmerie and calmly related what had been done. He seemed surprised when the gen- darmes immediately arrested both himself aud his son. La Gazza Ladra” is rehearsing at the Italian Opera for Mmes. Alboni, Nantier and M. Belart. M. Flotow's new “Martha,” is also in active rehearsal, and will be pon out in the course of January. By the death of M. Castel Blaze, which took place recently here, musical science has lost a devotee of whom it had reason to be proud. For several years he was musical critic of the Journal des Débats, and he made criticism more serious than it had ever been before; he was the first to introduce and render popular in France the works of Rossini «| Weber—an iramense service to art. He wrote a “History of the Opera,” a history of the music of the chapels of the Kings of France, and other works which possess con: ble merit; and he composed several operas, ps more remarkable for origi- nality than cenius. At two o'clock today all the bands and all the drummers of the different regiments quartered in Paris assemble in the court before the Tuileries to give the aubade to the Emperor and Empress oa the eve of the new year. The Financtal Part of the President's Message in a French Point of View. (Transiated from Le Spectateur, of December 30, for the New Yous Herat.) We desire to say a few words of the financial part of the Message of the President of the United States. The violent crisis which, after having been severely felt in America, has had its counterpart in Burope, has been the Sy event of recent occurrence, and it was difficult for the President not to speak of it to some extent, to inquire into ite causes and to point out the asd Tee tes ce ite fomene “hinge, and not be deluded * words, would have tan extravagant of paper and of tutions of and he appears bn ante ‘all the evils to the excessive of money without cant to the en reeneve cle, 5 that in 1848 ‘te proportion of bullion . the of the banks was as 1 to 6, while in 1857 if was but 1 to 6.83. We do not well understand the importance of the proportion which may exist between the spe- cie (encaisse) of a bank and its capital; the a; has nothing to do with the ital; it has not to reimburse it, and is not used as its guarantee; on the coptrary, it ig added to that very capital, to be | be putin practice with used as a guarantee for the bills in circulation and the deposits in account. Rey is easier to understand wg Sar mabe in message of the too t disproportion between the oe and the bills Pry. deposits, for on one side may be perceived what could be required from the bank, and on the other what the bank has disposable at the time of a crisis. While this is not, however, a very exact estima- tion, for the bank has not only its specie to meet its liabilities, it has its stock {capital social) and the collaterals which it has received. if it is a circulating bank it can represent both with bank bills and off the deposits with those bills. The only thing Re examine the propertion existing between the specie and the bills in circulation. It that circulation is too extensive—that is to say, if the specie is too small in proportion with the bills in circulation—it is evident that the bank has only specie to face its liabilities. On the other hand, it can always issue bills and Dey off the deposits in that way. It is consequently inaccurate to say that it has only its spo face both its circulation and its deposits, It has been often said—and the repeats it—that the crisis was created in the United States by the excess of paper currency. This is a mistake. We are not acquainted wich the situation of all the banks of the Union, but have the statement of the banks of the State of New York, where the crisis first exploded, and which has suf- fered the most from it. The following was the pro- portion of specie, with the circulation, in the banks of New York at three different periods—in 1852, in 1856, and in the month of September of the present year, at the beginning of the crisis June, 1852. June, 18 Circulation... ...927,950,000 80,705,000 Specie... “18,804,000 18,510,000 Thus, it is not at the moment of the crisis that we fin@ the atest difference (écart) between the circulation and the specie, and at that very moment the amount of specie represented more than half the amount of the bills, which is far beyond the proportion which is considered nec: . ‘Therefore, it is not the ex- cess of ere mu 'y which has caused the crisis in the United States, as the message says. ‘The cir- culation of the bills was not increased either in pro- poston to its absolute amount, for there were only wenty-seven millions for so important a State as that of New York; nor in proportion to its specie, for it was not even twice as much. ‘We would here state, en passant, in relation to the false ideas in circulation about the paper money, that there is never an undue increase in the circula- tion of paper money as long as it is converti- ble into specie. It impossible for the banks to ES into circulation more than the public is ng to receive, and the public does not receive more than it wants—that is to say, than what is ne- cessary to the circulation. Therefore it may have been noticed that whenever a crisis occurs the circa- lation of bank bills, under the influence of the con- vertibility into specie, tends rather to diminish than to extend, which provokes chimerical minds and indnces them to demand the forced circulation; that is to say, the overthrow of that salutary ob- stacle which prevents the abuse of paper money and incurs the perilous chances which that abuse in- vites, If the banks of the United States have been the cause of a frightful crisis, if they deserved the legitimate discredit which has fallen upon them, it is not becatse of their issuing too much paper cur- yency, but they have comrmtted another capital fault; they have misused th resources which they had at their disposal, and principally the deposits entrusted to them. The capital in the hands of the banks is chiefly a floating capital, that is to say a capital which can only receive a temporary invest- ment that ought always to be easily convertible into cash. It represents the amount of articles of con- sumption to be used by the workingman who has to reproduce them in return, when a surplus must re- main, that is to say a profit constituting the saving; it is that protit or saving above the ordinary ex- pine which forms the disposable capital that can employed in baw Sed that portion of the capi- tal which consists of real estate. But if, on the contrary, going beyond the savings one withdraws, more or less, from the floating capi- tal to form a fixed capital of it, that is to say to put in the form of real estate, the power of reproducin, articles of general consumption is reduced, the arti- cles become dearer, and in proportion as they be- come dearer the capital to produce them is more looked for and acquires consequently a greater value, thus “pamene | arise in the rates of interest. This is the first result. But here is a second. The conversion of a floating capital into a fixed capital creates a new source of labor more or leas fruitful, and the workingmen engaged in it become themselves consumers of articles which their labor does not reproduce, so that the er of reproducing the articles of consumption 8 been lessened, while the demand for them has been increased. What then occurs? It becomes necessary to have recourse to importation to furnish the surplus, and this importation isso much the more important as the prices are higher. It would all be perfectly well if one had other prodnce to export in exchange. Then the leading truth of political econo- my—that produce is exchanged for produce—woul! general satisfaction; this is not the case. There is no pro- duce t&eXport in exchange; the internal production has lessened in consequence of the bad use of the capital; exchange becomes unfavorable; all the specie leaves the country, and one is obliged to pay with his capital what h¢ cannot pay with his income. It is thus that the United States have be- come indebted for more than two thousand five hundred millions of francs to Europe, and that a great part of their public stocks have gone into foreign hands. What is particularly to be deplored in a similar situation ® that it creates 2 fais prosperity; in fact, how many more pablic w here are, how much more labor there is; salariesincrease, and in proportion as ey, my the articles of con- sumption grow dearer. mn people desire to pro- duce and import more; they believe in infinite re- sources—they simply take fallacy for reality. This bat sup] itself as long as the artificial basis upon which everything rests, does not fall dowa—as long as credit is found at home and abroad. But some day it eae that a grain of sand slips under the wheel of the badly managed machine, when everything is stopped; there is no more work for the laborers, cause there is no capital to pay them; the stores have a considerable stock of goods which they are unable to sell; and the value of many of those enterprises for which the floating capital of the country been sacrificed, and for which the country is in debt abroad, undergoes a considerable depreciation. Then the catastrophe occurs, and the failures are counted by handreds. Is it becanse of the abuse of the paper currency? Not at all; the paper currency has not increased in the sighest de gree, as we have illustrated; but credit has been greatly abused, which is quite different. Let us suppose the annual savings of the United States to be from 200 to 300 millions, which, ina good financial organization, would simply be the amount yearly to be usefully employed for enter prises which would convert the capital into real estate. Let us suppose that instead of that, 800 or 1,000 millions have been used for such work; the difference hag necessarily been taken from the float ing capital which is employed in the reprodac- tion of articles of consemption. What will be the result? If the country requires the same amount of those articles, it will have to demand a larg: shave abread by means of credit and will be- come uebtor to foreign countries. It would then be a serious inconvenience to have invested a part of its capital in enterprises having Jong to ran, even if they were productive in future. What must happen if all those enterprises are not productive—it the mania of ulation joins in and gives rise toa multitude of chimerical schemes which absorb, use- leasly, more or less capital? Then there is one on both sides; at first, becanse the capital thus with- drawn is wasted for the present and the fature, and bpcause its only use been to favor foolish speculations, to sup} the illusion of a factitious prosperity which the least blow annihilates. That ‘is what has been done in the United States for several years. They have not been satisfied by constricting more than 2,400 miles of railroads in two years, more than twice the amount of what we have constructed in six. Speca- lations of all kinds, and principally in lands, have been added to it. They themselves rich in ion to the amount that speculation added in nominal value to the organizing enterprises, to cirenlating stocks. The articles of consumption of all kinds consequently increased in price, and some day when the grain of sand haa got under the wheel, and when it has become to think of liqui- dating, it will be found that they were pages which did not exist. re is more than one State in Europe which couid recognise in that Pen something of its own portrait. But we ave only to do for the present with the United States; and we believe that it is not difficult, from what bas occurred, to explain the sion of the , the failares by hun- yments al Seymours Went the New counter in Burope. The title of monetary has been given to the American crisis, because ft has per- ceived that that which was needed by all, and was larly looked for, was specie. people have been deceived py.conjectaress 1 is not, proper- |, , the which was wanting—it was the capital. i, beyond what had been in a few years, and very severely felt. This want was ter of specie, because in times it is the only mediam by which for all de- saved—the) a noes. ,» We repeat it, the absence of spec wis only one of the forms of the crisis; that which was at the bottom of it was the absence of capital and the necessity of liquidating a condition ig Which it liabilities were far above itp resources. The President’s Message does not say a word in relation to those causes of the crisis, which are, how- ever, the real ones. He attributing it to what he calls the vicious of the banks and the issue of paper currency, which is simply an argu- ment of words. We do not pretend that everything is for the best in the of the credit estab- lishments in the United States; far (rom that. We believe that there is much toimprove. We only desire to say that it is not by an excessive emission of paper currenc’ establishments have become repeal for the crisis; and the proof that those crises occur without any issne of paper our- rency is presented by what.is taking place in Ham- burg, where there is no bank bills; and the crisis of Hamburg is, however, not least violent of those which have occurred in Europe. The banks of the United States are responsible in another way, because they have badly employed the resources entrusted to them—because they have in- vested in real estate a capital which was to remaina floating one; and also because they have discounted values which were not worthy of it. For these reasons are the banks of the United States responsible for the crisis. And it is not by raising the minimum of the amount of one dollar bills to twentys, and in stipu- lating for one-third the proportion of the specie with the fixed circulation, nor even in making a K- rupt law—means indicated by the message—that a remedy is to be obtained for this condition of things. The best remedy would be the control of the use of the funds which the banks have in hand. It is ina judicious employment of those funds that a good financial administration depends; it is to this that we are to look for the principal guarantees, if they can be found; the rest is only accessory. Besides the remedies which he proposes, the President appeal’ also to the patriotism ot his fellow citizens. Patriotism, in tinancial matters, is a small guarantee for protection against the excitement of oe interest and against the seductions of specu- ation. If the legislators of the United States have no other means to propose we fear greatly that the crisis to which that country has just beea subjected will not be the last. The American Institutions Viewed by a Sem1.Oficial Organ of the French Govern- ment, "T [From the Paris FO age Dec. 13, translated u idness of action New York fimus) There is no kind of surprise nor bol which Europe may not sapect from the American democracy. Sometimes it is a well known chief of bandits who iperinpes broad daylight, an expedi- tion; censured by the administration, arrested at the last moment, he is immediately put at liberty, under ail; the Judges themselves seem to conspire to help him in his guilty enterprise. But, scarcely has he Jeft—thanks to that complaisant inaction ‘of those very officers who could and had to stop him—than ships which will not overtake him are Coad despatched after him; so that one may inquire if the executive power of the republic has been an accomplice of the brigand and has played a base comedy, or if it has only been powerless, and has thus deserved the contempt of the world. Sometimes it is a great journal of the Union, which, with a surliness that its eccentricities of style render still more revolting, makes programmes and calculations out of all the laws of political and commercial probity. The unemployed it advises to take up arms and invade neutral countries. To the new dictator of Mexico it submits the following propositign:—‘‘For a long time we have lusted after Cuba, for which we have offered and still would offer a hundred millions of dollars; Mexico has a thousand pretexts of war against Spain; take Caba, everything taken into account, this expedition will cost you twenty mil- lions of dollars. But we will buy your conquest for / a hundred millions; net profit for you, eighty mil- lions of dollars.” Finally the same journal sees but one thing in the financial crisis in the United States, it is that they will benefit to the same extent that England will lose. “We are the debtors and not the creditors of England,” says that journal; “they will suffer from our insolvency and we will not suffer from theirs. Whether we pay them or not, they have to buy our cotton, as they cannot stop their manufactories.” In other words, the United States have thrown disorder and ruin into the English trade, but they will benefit by it; then everything is for the best, and one must rejoice at the Crisis. in another sphere, the free American democracy offers us no less a strange spectacle. We have at several times already entertained our readers with the complicated affairs of Kansas. There is quite a particular interest attached to it on account of the between the two parties in favor of or against slavery. ae in the “elections for the members of the Territorial Legislature and for a representative in the federal Congress, the overwhelming majority of the free soilers indaced the belief that the question was definitely decided against the establishment of slavery in the proposed State. Ali the American press viewed those elec: tions in that light. It is true that the constituti which was to rule Kansas had not yet been drawn out by the Conveution entrusted with that special business; but as this constitution was to receive the nema of the people, and the people's will had ready been so clearly manife , this important pe was considered as settled. But there are pro- pably in the republic of the New World means of accommodation with the fundamental law of the majority. In fact, this is what has happened. Inthe month of October of last year, that is to say, when the slavery party, although in minority, was master of Kansas by violence and terror, a Le islature had been elected without a shadow of =. The partizans of free labor, sure as they were that force and fraud would render their efforts useless, had not even taken any part jn the elections. Out of this Legivature, having ich a doubtful origin, sprang, in June last, a conve: of sixty delegates, which met in August and then adjourned until the end of October, for the purpose of writing out a constitution. It is during that interval, under the supervision of the new Governor—Walk: whose impartiality was assured, that the general ebctions took place, in which. for this time, the ad. versaries of slavery were not afraid to tale part, and in which they triamphed by an immense majority, Mr. Thackeray on Men of the Road and Me of the Line, Mr. Thackeray presided, on Saturday, 26th of Decem ber, at an annual festival of the Commercial Travellers’ School, in Liverpool. In the course of the evening, in re forring to this inatitation, be said —I sincerely wish, on beball of my own class (the liverary profession), that we could boast of anything as good. I wish that we had ao institution to which we could confide our children, of having to send them about to schools as we do, awful cost. When the respected Mr. Squee! “Do the Boys Hall,”’ announces that he propose: limited number of pupile—I should rather say umber of very limited pupils—(a langh)—it is not because be ts in love with the little darlings that he does 't, bat be canse be designs to extract a profit out of them. It | always pains me to think of the profits to be sere ¥- ed out of the bellies of the poor little innowente. Why have we pot, a men of letters. some suc association as that whick you have got up’ | appeal to my literary brethren, if any of them are prevent, whether we, the men of the line, cannot emalate the men of the road? (Hear, hear.) A week ago. a friend | engaged in my own protession, making his £1,990 y showed me the half yearly account of his two !t'th at school. These littie heroes of six and seven, w ata very excellent echool, where they are well ant « fortably provided for, came home with a little bill in thew | et which amounted tothe sum of £75 for the half year Now, think of this poor Paterfamilias earning his m9 terate £1,000 a-year, out of which be has life assurance, income tax and house rent to pay, with three or four poor rela. tions to support—for, doubtless, we are all blessed with these a} (a laugh)—and with the heavy bilis ‘tehon of his wife and daughters for millinery and mantus making to meet, rates and sizes. over burdened man inily at their present enormous wed laughter.) Think of this ving to pay £76 for one-half year's (Hear, hear.) Let the gentle: to devise some sebeme which ¢ undoubtedly benefitted by hat you eee ireelves. ft will um ailude to the educatory process Tt whieh you put your children, and which was «poken of last year by the ai man who filled this chair in termes of most appear to teach the a except to ray that you pupil modern yay y , Music, and the various other of instraction needed to ft them for the encounter of life which all are obliged ty enter, ‘We are all travellers and voyagers who must embark op life's ocean; and before you send ir boys to sea, teach toswim, to navigate the ehip and guide The last time { visited Amerion, two conid name—I mean Mr. celebrated i F{ ist] aisha on way to Maree} Tn another India (cheers), and he will see the shattered whieh brave young engineers died at their duty, through Which Wilson and his gallant comrades passed over bea the Imoeriat Palace of Defhi, in which, amid shouts of victory, the health of Victoria was drunk He will see battered walls tht which Havelock and Gutram, and, iastly, Str Colin Campbell and hie relieving army, marcbed to resene ouf women and children, crushing hosts of foes before som, abd Apaliy planting the glorious oid Ling of Kogiand ow i ul Lacknow’s walle. That, gentlemen, was a melancholy din- ner of his yesterday—his Christmas dinner, the last meal he was totake hereathome. The littie children sat round the table on that sad evening, and the poor wife must have gazed atthem witha wistfuleye. But now the parting is over, and thie day he has taken his first on his long journey. —— many atime, ip the solitude of travel, in the done! of the degert; on shij at the morning: watcn, when sea and sky are with the golden sunrise; or at midnight, amid the rushing waters, and un der the stars of God, he will think with inexpressible ten- derness of the dear beings he has left athome. (Cheers. ) But for his children he might have been among us now, en ashe wast last year, He separates from them order to de his duty—in order to toil that they may be comfortable—in order to earn the means of one day com- is back to them, and seeing them growing up around him: lucated and happy. (Hear, Lear.) Aud you, gentlemen. in your several degrees, alo support toil, privation and separation, in order to make your little ones happy; and Ou commisserate, too, the cause of your brethren in dis- es8—YOU compassionate the port and the wutortunate, remembering His divine ordinance who mude the little children come unto him. (Cheers.) Mr. Thackeray con cluded by giving—*Prosperity to the Commercial Travel- Jers’ Schoois, ’ (Drank amid loud applause.) New York and Erte Ratirond, TO THE NEW YORE HEKALD. The subseriber held for some three years the position of General Superintendent of the New York and urie Rail road, In that position it became his duty to use vigorous methods to establish system, orcer, surbordination and economy in the operations and business of the corpora- tion. It was @ necessary consequence of the performance of his duty in this respect that he should interfere with the habits, views and pecuniary interests of a multitude of perscns whe had for a long period enjoyed the benefit of a less thorough system. Out of this state of things arose a vast amount of criticism upon and denunciation of his acts, sometimes dictated by error and frequently by malies. Perbaps no person not occupying a pndlic politi cal office has been more soundly abused. Hitherto, and while in office, he has always suffered in silence, making no public defence against injurious calumny, pecause, in the first place, it was incident to the vigorous reforming policy he persued, and further, because while an employé of the company, his own defence would in- Yolve criticism upon the attitude and acta of the Board of Directors. He was too good a subordinate to allow him- self to be drawn into personal vindication at ths expense of his employers, knowing that such vindication would be destructive to all subordination and discipline. His rela. tions with the officers of the company are changed, and he now feels at liberty to defend himself again-t all attacks if he shall think proper, and especially against assaults of the directors and officers of the eempany. “The bed the President of the New York and Erie Railroad Company, to the stockbolders, for the year end- ing September, 1857,’’ has lately been laid before the pub- Kic, in the form of a phiet. Itis signed “Charles Mo ran, President.” m the usual method of making up these reports, it is safe to infer that this one was laid be fore the Board of Directors, and approved by them before publication. The Directors are, therefore, responsible for the all of the report, as well as the President. In- deed, it purports to have been pablished by theirauthority. This rey contains an allegation or charge against the subscriber to which he is not willing to suomit in silence. “ following extracts from the report contain the gist of e eo “The fiscal year terminating on the 390th of September last, hag been the most unfortunate through which this company has ever passed. The strike of the engineers on the 8d of October, was a inoet inauspicious commencement. Tp my opinion this could have been avoided bad proper nang been resorted to, and that without detriment to dis cipline. Tam convinced that, hai the representations of the engineers been properly’ treated jby the General Su perintendont, they would have submitted to any rule really pecessary to protect life and property and secure the performauce of duty “But if the representations of tho engineers were not pro. perly treated, they, on their part, resorted to a most un justifiable means of correcting their wrongs, real or ima- ginary. They revenged themselves on the unfortu stockholders, who were 1» no way parties tw the existing difficulties, and the strike once made could only be met as it was by this company. Submission then, to any of the demands of the engineere, would torever after have placed a power in their hands most fatal to the interests of this company.” Here is a charge based upon the opinion of Mr. Moran, (who was in Europe at the time) that the General Super intendent treated the representations of the engineers im properly, and that}if he had treated them other wise, there would have been no strike. The refutation of ts injuri ous allegation is found in whe fact that tn neers never made avy representations to the General Saperintendent, and he had no occasion or opportunity to treat them either roperly or improperly. This Mr, Moran would have earned if he had inquired into the subject with that degree of care and candor which ought w characterize the formation and publication of an opinion or charge un- favorable to another person. ‘The facts relating to the strike and its incidents, so far as the General Superintendent was connected therewith, are as follows: On the 17th September, 1856, the General Superin- tendent left the city of New York for the West, on busi ness. His journey extended to Jeflerson City, Missouri. On his return from there W St. Louis, be received tele- graphic despatches, informing bim that a strike was imminent; whereupon be returned to New York, arriving here on the night of the 29th of September, we 30th, he met a committee of the Board of Directors, appointed while he was absent, with fall power to coufer and treat with the engineers. It appeared that this commit tee, and # committee on the part of the engineers, daring the’ eix or eight days previous, had had several interviews, during which the committee bf engineers had made their “representations” to the committee of the directors, ad had made a demand in writing, peremptory and unconds tional in terms, for the abrogation of the 6tb rale (a rule of safety), also for the modilisation of rules in regard to pasces. , when the Genaral Superintendent was first congulted by the committee of the board, they and the en g neers were ot a“ dead lock,’ and an answer was to be made to this demand, and a policy adopted suitable to such a state of things. As before stated, no representa tions had ever been made to Uw General Superintendent by the engineers, nor any interview had between them. The claim of the engineers waa, in effect, to dictate rules for running the road. The committee of directors and the General Snyerintendent were of opinion that this demand of the engineers could not be complied with. Accordingly, the written response was mate to the demands af the en gineers, i, the committee of the direotors—tomperate sad arm, at mild in its tone, as published in the papers a The General Superintendent, in bis action during that struggle, carried out with vigor and fidelity the programme of tbe directors. course of the cor was highly approved by the pW®lic in general, and by raiiroad men in particular, To have taken any other course, aa mat- tere stood when the General Superintendent arrived home, would bave surrendered the running of into the hands of the engineers. Whethor in ti nary interviews between the engineers and the tee of Directors, which occurred before the foal written answer to their demand, the ‘ri itations’’ of the ebgin were well or ill treated, the eubseriber hay no knowledge; but the Board of [irectors, which, with two or three exceptions, is now composed of the same persons as then, do know, and that knowledge should have saved them from the indecency of charging upon the General Superintendent misconduct of which they knew he was ongeity. report of Mr. Moran says that “the strike once made, could only be met ax i; was by the company. Sab. mission then to an any demands of the engineers would forever after have placed @ power in their hands mow fatal to the intereste of this company.’ This is & precious confessoo, fally J ing the ac tion of the General lent, which Saperin Z, ro at the time the committee of directors the (General Saperintendeat, and they ae ordingly concerted proper measures for re” fisting the strike, How Mr. Moran or the directors, after roaking this admission,can fad grounds of consure against the General Superintendent, passes comprehension, for certainly the “strike” was made before it was mot, and beiwg mide could not with propriety be aubmitted to. Will any one contend what the strike could have been prevented by “proper treatment” on the part of the General Saperintendent of the “reproseutations of the ©, When be wae not bere, and beard none of their ese titations 7° subscriber does not with to De understood as cen suring the --tion of the ¢«mmittee of the board upon the “representations” of the engineers, He will be mare just towards the directors than they have been to him, ‘and bear witness that, according to bis best judgment, that action could not have been different on the part of the directors without an entire abdication of their er and a surrender of the trust reposed in them. is true that when the engineers came to make their strike, they took ground upon the all vance of the “ sixth rule;’ but every one at al) familiar with the state of feeling among the employ: s, will bear witness that the sixth role was not the nor chief cause of the ill feeling which led to the “strike.” In fact, the vexa thous enforcement of the rule in relation to « ¢ he commences by cens more potent cause 0} They were daily and night- ly exposing their lives in perilous duty for the company, and they felt that to deny them so small a boon wy ‘ nate, enforced the pass’ rule, as ordered by the direc rel bee See eee ane was denounced for it, but at (a defend bimeeif LR gh ay For him to #0 would ‘and destroyed all subordination All this i 3 nets of the road cannot be made to carry the burthen of ite debt and stock—which a4r.\sslon would be fatal to his financial scheme, bie presidential office and $25,000 ealary —he bas sought to satisfy capitalists that the fatal devote in revenue are due alone to past bad management, a!l of which 1 to be remedied by the unequalled capac; ofound experience of Mr. Moran. In looking wever, for some one 0 charge with delingue was compelled to pass over the directors, Lecaise iney are substantially the same now as then. He seems to have selected the Geueral Superintendent for bie vic. tim, but in making his attack omitted w found on a necessary basis of truth. Tt is not to be denied that the system of railroad ma- nagement perfected by the General Superintendent, and that porsued by Mr. Moran of the Jatier can be called a system), are widely difforent. Which is the better sys- tem will be decided by the past and fuwmre of the New York and Erie Ra'lroad, The polioy of the General Super. intendent found the stock at 29 per cent and carrie 1 it to 66, With the abandonment of that policy it wen: dowu to 10 per cent. Persistence in this course will certainly end it at nothing right speedily: Mr. Moran and some others seem to think that a rail- road enterprise is to be made successful by skill in Anan- cial schemes, which, as used bere, is but another expres- sion for ekill in getting futo debt. This claes consider that a company is sucessful avd rich when its debts, however large, are funded and postponed. Wiser men know the success of all railroads must depend on the soundness of their business policy, and esteem them valuabi by rea. son of their earnings rather than on account of their cre- dit D.C, McCALLUM. City Politics. THE GRNERAL COMMITTEES FOR THE YEAR 1858— MEMBERS OF THE DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN, AND OLD LINE WIIG GENERAL COMMITTEES. Below we give the names of the members of the seve- ral organizations that control the action of the politica pied in this city. OLD MEN'S DEMOCRATIC GENERAL COMMITTER. ‘This committee was culled into existence by the action of the committee of last year. Primary elections were net resorted to in the choice of delegates. First Ward.-—Vhotas Byrnes, Patrick Cugry, Edward Hogan, Jobn " Second Ward.—William Miner, Jamée Leonard, Joba ancellor, James Wateon. Carty, Joseph Harrison, James Hackett Fourth Ward.—George H. Pursor, William Baird, John Shea, Thomas Fitzgerald, Bartholemew Heale Fifth Ward.—Robert C, Melutyre, John Creighton, Robert Donnell, James Lawrence. Si ‘ard.—Walter Roche, Joseph Dowling, William Cantwell, John Jourdan, Morgan Jones. ‘Seventh Ward.—William M. Tweed, Wilzon Small, Isaiah Ryngers, John A. Tipper, James Mc! \. th’ Ward.—Danel Linn, Daniel E. Delavan, Charles H. Ring, John D. Betts, Benjamin Wood. ‘Ninth Ward.—Jobn Richardson, Henry H. Morange, Hiram Williamnson, Willinm Gilchrist, William D. Kennedy. Tenth Ward.—Flijah F. Purdy, Samuel T. Webster, Jo- seph M. Marsh, Asabel Reed, John Harrison. Eleventh Ward.—Bernard’ Kelly, Andrew R. Jackman, Jobn H. Houghkirk George White, Aaron B. Rollins. Twelfth Ward.--fenty Richardson, Charles Boice, John Vance, William 0. Webb, Hugh Crombie. Thirteenth Ward —Thomas H. Ferris, Charles Doty, Ed- ward Witherell, Peter Mitchell, Eaward ©. McConnell Tourteenth Ward.—David Kissam, Thomas Dunlap, Mi- chaed Tuomey, Henry P. West, Jolin W. Chambers. Fifteenth Ward.—Benjomin 8. Hart, Peter Duffy, Isaac V. Fowler, Walter R. Jones, Danie! W: Norris. ‘Sizteenth Ward.—Samuel Osgood, Emanuel B. Hart, Michael Halpin, Samuel D. Vanderheycen, Charles A May ‘cventeenth Ward.—Thomas C, Fields, Barnard Reilly, Anthony Fichkodf, Johw W. Chanler, Manus Kelly. Fighiventh Ward.—Faward Cooper, Harris Wines, Jr., Oliver 8. Hebberd, Abraham 1). Russell, Henry Matthews. Nineteenth Ward.—Joseph Corneil, John Eagan, George Weir, John L. Bre Thomas O'Rielty. Twentieth Ward.—Peter B. aneaty William Joyce, Nel- son J. Waterbury, Daniel Kennedy, Dennis Ryer Andre Froment, Wm. H. Leonard, chard B, Connolly, Richard Busteed. y Ward.—Nicholas Seagrist, Alexander Jemis F. Root, John M. Heleh, Fernando Wood YOUNG MEN'S DEMOCRATIC GENERAL COMMIITEB. Meet at Tammany Hall on the Sth instant. First Ward.—Joba Fox, Patrick Calahan, Jobn Culle- Kioore, Jotn hav, Michael J. Couy, Wm. Handley. Second Ward.—James F. Heflin, William H. Baker, John M. Harringtot Third Ward —Wilhiam J. A. MeGrath, Thomas Munroe, Vincent N. Lecomte, Michael Maroney, ; Fourth Ward.—William Cook, Oliver O'Donnell, John Healey, John Casey, Jamey Hayes. Fifik Ward.—George Kavannah, William L. Herbert, James Bail, Thowas Watson, Jr,, Neil Newson. ‘Sizth Ward.—Martin Gilmartin, John Lord, Charlee Neary, James Seventh Wai ley, Jncob F. Valentine, Honry Close, Michael Molguin. ‘Highth Ward —Bernard Cavanagh; William E. Blauvelt, Miehae! Norton, Fdward R. Jennings, William Cleary. ‘Ninth Ward.—Thomas Culpin, Francia McCabe, € Kentish, Thomas Bell, Bernard Fox. Tenth 'Ward.—Wiliam Canterman, Laurence A. Mulry, Pamund, A. Stuart, James J. MeGowan, Jeremat Welch, Jr Eleventh Ward. —Jobn McArthur, Louis Schlamf, Joba B. Dounolly, Thomas Korke, James McBride. Twelfth Ward.-—James Crowe, Garret H. Dyekman, Tho- mas Veitch, Henry W. Genet, Richard F. Carman, Jr. ivteenth Ward —Alexauder Proudfoot, Thomas Young , weeph Hutton, James Kehoe, Alona | James Gibbons ¥. Harrison, Patrick Murphy, John ohn Wheeler pert Grant, Jonas B. Phillips, Fran- cls Early, Robert Livingston, Charles 8. Inness. Seventeenth Ward.— Michael Dalton, Josaph Koch, Wm. Hi Pierrepont, €. L. Van Zandt, Samuel Gitlan. Bighteenth Ward.—William J, O'Brien, Theodore J. Witiam Beard, Henry H. Conden, Joba MeGonigie. , mes Sandford, Alexander B. Elder, Thomas Colling, Wil \. Rich, Samuel Kastman Twemiah Ward. —Jobn Shaw, Peter Dooley, Bernard Sweeny, Richard Vianagan, Francis Darling. ‘Twenty first Ward —Wai nce Kelsey, William Cotton, J rage, FAward A. Moore, Dennis C. Minton. mad Ward.— kdwamt Timpson, Charles Albert ce Riley, Henry Schnorr, Garrett H. Strilser. THE OPPOSITION DEMOCRATIC COMMITTER. This committee kas been called into existence by parties opposed to the method in which the regular coumittee ‘was chores. The committees given below were chosen at ~ Primary elections, held on the evening of lec. 30, 857 — Wards. 1.—Wm. Wilson, Fiward Noonan, M. Halpin, Patrick Dotty, &. Burke 2.—J. J. Tait, W. Thompson, W. H. Bulteol, B. Meyer, C. A. Brown. a Ray, M. 1. Tarria, P. Larkey, J. M. Mihine, &. W Burl 4.—J. Kearney, J. Langdon, J. White, D. Donovan, W Cleary. . Hartuedy, J F. Underwood, E. ©. Greene, G. Pat- ait. . Miller, T. Lawrence, M. Fallam,|. Flynn, D. Young Hi. Clark, J. Reed, W. H. McCorkle, is. Engle, P. McKnight, 0. Keenan, D. Hogg, C. T H. Brown, J. Rosenbourgh, J. Orr, J. Carroll, O’Brien, F. 8. Mallory, J. Carty, J. Cavanagh J. Keboe. “$e ee” 15. —James M. Baldwin, T. W. MeMahon, Joba Smith, Stephen D. Deleye, Archibald Wilson. 16.—W, Brennan, H. McDermott, P. Cosgriff, J. H. Me- Cusp, J. Murray 17 —W. Coulter, T. Reilly, J. G. Browning, B. Christian, W. HL Mansfield Nineteenth Ward.— mJ T Hetiman, W. D. Parsons, T. J. Fonda, R. Wynne, Hi. Ket! 0.W. A. MeBpedon, H. Arewlarius, D. Keillaher, T. Farley, Wm. Rene <0.-—Jee. Connolly, Wm. J. Peck, Jas. Moore, J. Ken nedy, J. Clark ai J. Huston, J. Lynch, KR. Delacey, C. Conolly, M. Gerate 22—Miehael Connolly, Hogh Murray, Wm. J. Stewart, Nicholas Seagriet ™ REPUBLICAN GENERAL COMMITTER Wards. 1.—R.S Collins, M.A. Vanhier, J. P. Boyce, James Me- : 3.—Mervin W. Jones, Sheriden Shook, Isaac De Garmo, O.H. Kopp, Erasmus Clark 4—James Kelly, H. H. Huelet, Dr. Naumann, Herman Oclye, Robert Myers 6 —Jobn A. Kennedy, C.C. Nott, James Brett, J. R. Olmstead , Stephen Paret 6.—0. W. Brennan, ? ©. Van Wyck, GW. Williame, @. Haggerty, Robert Irv in. T.—LDaniel L. Pettio, Joseph B. Close, Themas Murphy, John Gallagher . iam Allen, Henry S. Smith, M.S. Dunham, B. F. Shaffer, Sigiemuod Waterman. 11. Daniel Willie, John DP. Conclin, B. A. Goetze, Wm. Gray, Thomas Dope J “joueph 8 Dewey. J.B. Richarde, Isaac B. Batche Jor, J. H. Payne, James Giffin 18.——James M. Boyd, Ben. Hutchinson, Edward Collins, D. H. Glidersleeve, Augastus Follin, 15 --Charlee A. Pano, Charles Cheesney, John 1. Taylor, I T. Cleaveiand, Alanson &. Jones. 16 —Waabington Smith, Wm. C. Russel, Isaac Dayton, AL. W. Bi. Bull, George A fnaneiy. 17.—Abram T. Drpeaneeter, © A. Marshall, Thos. Lit- ap nee nay, 2. 2 " Baterbrook, Ira 0, Williams, i>. 2 ae ©. Pe 22,—Jamea &, Coulter, John Ives, Samuel Scott, Fred, Kapp, James D. Warner. WHIG GENERAL COMMITTED. Pheenis, D. Thos. Coady. o—Imvid J, 1 4 1 Walter 15.— andrew 19 —M. Melotyre, ‘20. — Jae T. Conenhoven,