The New York Herald Newspaper, December 27, 1858, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD. |: JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. OFFICE N. W. CORNER OF FULTON axp NASSAU STS mail ill be at the es subscription TERMS, cash in acdoance. Money went pik e/ conten, Postage tomge sat a DAILY HERALD. nam. WEEKLY HERALI ison SS ent per ph pratt op Es 7 ant 1 g ‘part of Great Britain, or $5 to any part of portal the Comino THE FAMILY HERALD, every Wednesiny, of fowr ote per OL UNEART Cok EY CORRESPONDENCE, containing, import! quarter of the world: weed, will be *FSeraly peed UR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS ARE pie yg aa TO BEAL ALL LeTTeEKS AND Pack “ro Syorick taken of anonymous correspondence, We do not connnunirations VERTISEMENTS wound every 5 advertisements in- ee ty the Waexty wfc, Pas Finity Hxmato, and in the SWENTING coveted with neatness, cheapness and de- AMUSEMENTS THs ‘BVI “ENING. ommess. qumasan, Broadway.—EqurstRisaNisa— YMNASTUCS—St. GEONGE AND THE DRAGON. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery. —Auanio—Po CAMON TAS Love i Livery. i BURTON'S NEW TURATRE, Sechaig aaice Stax Haant Nuvan Wow Fark Lavy. enous THRATRE, Broadway.—Mxrcaayt or Ve- LAURA KFENE'S THRATRE,, No. 621 Brosdway.—Ovn Amanwax Covsis—Loan or 4 Loven. BARNUM'R AMERICAN MUSEUM, Broadway.—After- ‘oon and evening, May Day Srokts—StaGe Stock YaNkee— Corw axp His Frowics, WOOD'S MINSTREL BUILDING, 561 and 568 Broadway— Pragortan BonGs, Dances, &6.—SovTHRey LIFE LuLvsteaTED, MECTIANICS' HALL, 427 Bi lway—HBRv ants’ MINSTRELS Non donGs anv Buniesqurs—I Aur Gor Tive TOTARRY, CAMPBELL’S MINSTRELS, 444 Broadway —Ermioriay Cuan acrgnistics, Sones, &¢.—Tur Tike Riv ars. ‘New York, peneiy, December 27, 1858. WAILS FOR EUROPE, Whe New York Herald—Edition for Europe. The Cunard mail steamship Arabia, Capt. Stone, will eave Boston, on Wednesday, for Liverpool. ‘The European mails will close in this city to-morrow af- ternoon at a quarter to one o'clock to go by railroad, and at three o'clock to go by steamboat, ‘The Feropean edition of the Aigxatp, printed in French ‘and English, will be published at ten o’clock im the morviog. Single copies, in wrappers, six cents. Subscriptions and advertisements for any edition of the Naw Yor Hexatp will be received at the following places in Burope:— Lospon.. ..Sampeon Low, Son & Co., 47 1 Lansing, Starr’& Co., 74 Heng Wil Pann... .Lansing, Baldwin & Go. eo de tell Lavemroot,.Lansing, Starr & Co. Tey mde R Stuart, 10 Excl Maven... Lansing, Baldwin a i Rue Cornelia, Sac coisian at tha Gercpese iain of the Iteize @ombine the news reoeived by mail and telegraph at the e@ice during the previous woek and up to the hour of pabloaiiog. ‘The News. There were no signs of the steamship Asia at Sandy Hook at 10 o'clock last night. Ae that hour the weather was clear, and wind light from south- east. The screw steamship Kangaroo, which left Liver- pool at noon on the Sth inst., arrived at this port last evening. One day's later news, telegraphed from St. Johns, N. F., after the arrival of the Pa- cific from Galway, was published in the Herap last Friday morning. Our files by the Kangaroo contain some interesting extracts. We give the main points of the speech made by the Queen of Spain at the opening of the Cortes, in which she refers to her relations towards Mexico. Some of the leading London journals think that the United States government has shown mach forbearance towards Mexico, seeing the disorganization of that country. The commercial and financial advices by the Kangaroo have been anticipated. The London Shipping Gazette of Dec. 6, receiv- ed by the Kangaroo, publishes its usual monthly Tota! dur ng cleven months. According to this November was a stormy month, and very destructive to ihieeing. The Vanderbilt steamship Ariel, which sailed from Havre by way of Southampton on the Ist ‘inst., arrived at this port last evening from Halifax, She left Halifax onthe 23d inst., in command of Captain Brown, who succeeded the lite lamented Captain Ladlow. News from the West Coast of Africa, dated at Sierra Leone on the 20th ult., states that the war with the Crobboes had terminated, the English government to receive an indemnity of £10,000. The majority of the settlers at Fernando Po had determined to leave on account of its being made a penal settlement. We have news from thee ‘ape of Good Hope dated at Table Bay on the 22d of October. Governor Sir George Grey returned to Cape Town from the frontier. Mutual concessions had been made be- tween Moshesh and the free State. Afuirs con- tinued rather unsettled. The smallpox continued very virulent, expecially among the colored popu- lation. The general clections were still in progress. News from South America, dated at Pernambuco on the 28th ult., has come to band. Our corres- pondent writes: The arrivals of sugar from the interior are on ihe increase, and average 5,000 bags per day, and ¢ principally for ports in the empire, be t 21/900 a 2540 pers r American and 200 a channels. The hove been eq arimiler j The an ~ England per next steamer will be £200,000, and to France 400,000 francs, the former at 2644. at % days, and the lat ter 366 ra. for France. Bank discounts continue at 10 per cent. We have an amount to emplo: the banks, and we expect to see the rate of discount put down, so as tu enable commercial houses to act more freely, The Sandy Hook telegraph operator reported a large fire raging on Staten Island, r the elm tree, last evening. Several houses were enveloped in flames. The annexed table shows the temperature of the atmosphere in this city during the past week, the range of the barometer, the variation of wind cur- rents, and the state of the weather at three periods during each day, viz.: at 9 A. M., and 3 aad 9 o'clock P. Ma RPMARKA “atorday—Clear and cold all day sunday—Cloar and ovid all day) light snow during the corning Mouday—Overenst all day. night, rain ‘Tweedey—Overcaat, with rain all day. night, heavy rain Wednesday —Morping, Cloudy; afternoon, clear, night, Cear whd moonlight, agate Morning, Clear; afternoon, overcast; night ran Priday—Morning, elear. There was five skating og the Cout ee NE th ae COIR ra i ti it oe pt nthe Rivet cli (3 NEW terday. A larger number of persons on the grounds andcnthe ice than before. One young man had a sarrow escape from freezing after a sudden plunge, and another had an uncomfortable bath. Save these, there was no accident through- out the day. The police were vigilant, and pro- served good order. The skating was very fine, and the amusement generally enjoyed. Skating pro- mises to becorve an institution, The stewmship Washington sailed yesterday for San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. She left her pier about 1! o'clock, but anchored in the stream till the afternoon, before she proceeded to sea, A large concourse of people were assembled to see her depart, and she was londly cheered as she steamed from her dock. A cheer was also given for Walker and Nicaragua. A young man named Campbell, 23 years of age, accidentally shot himself at South Amboy on Friday. He survived about four hours. The Purchase ot Caba—Mr. Branch’s Bill— ‘The Peace Policy of the President. Our readers will have perceived, from our Congressional reports of last week, that Mr Branch, of North Carolina, in pursuance of the recommendation of the President’s annual Mes- sage, has introduced in the House a bill au- thorizing a special loan of a million of dollars, to be placed at the discretion of the Executive, in view of the re-opening of negotiations for the purchase of the island of Cuba. This fs a prac- tical movement in the right direction, and should not be confounded, in its spirit or purpose, with the filibustering proposition of Mr. Reuben Davis, of Mississippi, “authorizing and requiring the President to take and retain possession of the island of Cuba, unless within the nextsix months the sum of $128 54, acknowledged in the year 1854 by the Spanish government to be due to citizens of the United States for duties un- justly exacted from American vessels at different custom houses in Cuba, ve paid, and satisfaction be given to the President for insults heretofore ofiered to our fag aud injuries inflicted on the persons and property of our citizens.” This proposition is simply preposterous, and was doubtiess put in as an offer ing to that belligerent Buncombe of Mis- aissippi of which Mr. Reuben Davis finds it his duty and his policy to be the active advocate in Congress. On the other hand, Mr. Branch, representing the conservative democracy of North Carolina, the prevailing public senti- ment of the whole Union, and, we hope, the ma- jority of both branches of Congress, is content to limit his proposition to the preliminary mil- lion of dollars asked for by the President in be- half of the purchase of Cuba in the way of a fiir, peaceable and liberal business transaction. We hope, too, that, notwithstanding the brief limits of the present seseion, the heavy calendar of re- gular business measures awaiting the action of the two houses, and the demoralization of our political leaders, cliques and parties, in refer- ence to the next Presidency, sufficient time and a competent vote will be found to pass the in- dicated bill before the 4th of March. We are aware of the fact that many men, within and without the democratic camp, enter- tain the belief that this appropriation, and the negotiations with it, will be so much money and labor thrown away—that Spain will not sell this most precious jewel of her colonies at any price, and, last of all, to the United States. There are other inquisitive politicians who suspect |. that these proposed negotiations are not in- tended as a measure of good faith, but as a pretext for the contemplated seizure of the island, according to the ultimatum of the Ostend manifesto. Upon this point the Richmond Whiy, the leading opposition jour- nal of Virginia, declares the purpose of the Pre- sident to be “to have Cuba—by purchase if we can, by force if we must;” and that, “in spite of all that Mr. Buchanan may think he knows to the contrary, we believe the first mode of acqui- tition to be a political impossibility, he must, of course, resort to the last.” Our Richmond philospher next proceeds to show that a war with Spain would inevitably in- volve us in a warwith France, inasmuch as Spain bas become, under the Empire, nothing more nor less than a French protectorate—that in such a war our commerce would be swept from the ocean by the war steamers of France, and that England during this long and disastrous contest to the belligerents would monopolize the carry- ing trade of the world. But why should war be required as the inevitable consequence of a fail- ure t© purchase Cuba? And why should the purchase be considered as a “political impossibility!" We hold that a million ex- pended in a well directed effort to buy the island might open the way to a successful and satisfactory transfer of the island. The necessi- ties of Spain, and the manifest policy of Enghand and Frauee, may thus be brought into a “happy accord” with the views of our own government. Within the last twelve months some of the lead- ing political journals of England, including the London 7ime—if we are not mistaken—in their remonstrances against the connivance of the Spanish government in the matter of the Cuban African slave trade, have earnestly suggested the policy of the transfer of Cuba to the United States, as the only efficicnt remedy for anintoler- able public nuisance. We presume, too, that in his pointe® allusions to the extinguishment of this African traffic as a leading inducement to all parties concerned for the cession of the island, Mr. Buchanan did not speak at random in regard to the underlying sentiment of the Cabinet of St. James. We incline to the opinion, accord- ingly, that his faith in the probable success of the nagotiations proposed rests upon a more inti- mate acquaintance with the present sentiments and inclinations of England and France than is possessed by any other person in the country, and that the tone of his Message upon the sub- ject is that of an advocate who thoroughly un- derstands his case, the strength of his witnesses and the pulse of the jury. It is only the negotiations suggested which can settle the question whether the pur- chase of Cuba is or is not a “political im possibility.” But in the event of a failure war by no means will be the inevitable alterna tive. Spain will at least be brought to some terms of accommodation which will cover our outetanding accounts against her in connection with the government and local authorities of Cuba. And we shall also ascertain the exact character of the impediments which make the purchase of the island an “impossibility.” We be- lieve that the honor. digaity and good faith of the government will be carefully regarded by the administration in the negotiations recommended, so that no fears need be apprehended of that fili- bustering recklessness which would push these negotiations into a quarrel, after the manner of the wolf with the lamb. Moreover, © the far making power, and there is fa pdsefbilfiy, from the ole the new Congress, which is to meet in vill be a filibustering or gan ress is ly the already hadow ¢ held, dt December wext powder Congress, ready upon a trifling punetillio, or even upon a grave provocation, to plunge the world into war before cxhausting the peaceable agencies of satisfaction. We hold, therefore, that while on the one hand the negotiations proposed by Mr. Buchanan may possibly result in the peaceable acquisition of Cuba, and will almost certainly result in a better understanding with Spain, and more satisfactory commercial relations with the island, there can be, on the other hand, no possible contingency of war from the failure to make the purchase desired. If the time haa not yet come we can wait a little longer. The ruling policy of all Christendom, in this nineteenth century, is not to provoke, but to prevent war; and peace with the United States is the overruling necessity with both Eogland and France. We may depend upon it, therefore, that any overtures which we may advance for the purchase of Cuba will be respectfully treat- ed, and that if the results do not involve the ac- quisition of the island, they will comprehend a better understan. og with all parties concerned than that which uow cxista, With these views we bope that the bill of Mr. Branch for the dis- eretionary million to the President will, without unnecessary delay, be advanced into a law of the land. Congress Before and After the Recess. Three weeks of the present seasion of Congress have passed, and honorable Senators and mem- bers are seaitered over the country enjoying the festivities of Christmas. When they re-assemble in the balls of legislation, on the 4th of January next, there will remain just fifty working days in whick to transact the pressing business of the session, Judging of the future by the past, we do not flatter ourselves with the hope that much will be done beyond the mere passage of the appropriation bills; because, with the exception of the passage of three or four private bills by both bouses, and of a bill grauting pensions to the soldicrs of the war ct 1812 by the House, no progress whatever bas been made with the business of the country during the three weeks that have passed since Congress met. And yet there bas been s comparatively bigh degree of industry manifested by both houses, during the present Congress, as contrasted with former sessions. The Senate has bestowed a good deal of time and attention on the consideration of the Pacific Railroad bill, and it is thought that that body will pass some measure of the kind soon after its re-sssembling. In the House a full week was consumed in discussing the question of the pro- posed impeachment of Judge Watrous, of Texas, and another week in the consideration ot the bill granting pensions to the officers and soldiers of the war of 1812, which bill was finally passed by that body on Wednesday last. Perhaps neither of these subjects could have been pro- perly discussed in a less space of time. But if the other important measures that are to come before Congress this session—our foreign rela- tions, the abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, the acquisition of Cuba, the proposed protectorate over Mexico, the increase of our navy, the revision of the tariff, the ad- mission of new States and organization of new Territories, the raising money by a government lean, the changes of our postal system, the subveationing of ocean steamship lines, and the numerous subjects to which the President bas called the aitention of Congress— are to give rise, as they severally come up, to the same degree of discussion, and te consume a cor- respondiag length of time, there is not the re- moteat chance of our having even a moderate quota of these subjects disposed of by the pre- sent Congress. We bope that, in view of the urgent necessity of having at least some of the most important of these questions settled before the 4th of March next, our Senators and Representatives in Congress will go to work, after the recess, in a proper spirit, avoid political and personal wrang- lings, conduct themselves like gentlemen, discard improper influences, and act upon all the subjects that will come before them with an eye to the advantage of the country and to their own repu- tation as netional statesmen. Tar Avmicax Stave Trane Question IN THE Sovrn Canora Leorstatene.—On the day of the adjournment of the late session of the South Carolina Legislature, on motion of Mr. Hamp- ton the following resolutions were continued to the next session:— By Mr. Hampton — Rewolved, That as the reopening of the African trade ts impracticable, ali agitation upon this subj: unwise, ine! and impoutic. hee) if it was practicable to re-establish this trade, {t should not be done; because it would be trous to the slavebolding States of tho confederacy, would institete a trait which ‘would necessarily involee ‘cruel and inhuman , Aud Would, by the introduction of barbarians {rom demoraliae the slaves now owned in this country, and infect with ev:! influences the whole 8) stem of ccmestic slavery a8 now established and exist ay ay United Butes. ir a Payne the importation of African slaves was the origin of the institution of slavery in the {n ted States ‘and that their importation now aannot be regarded by this Geaeral Assembiy 4&3 \)urious to the interests of the elavebold ng States or of Uns State. Before these conflicting resolutions were laid over, there was some conversation apon them, in the course of which— Mr Marshall regretted that these resolutions had heen Prevented at so lates day. He deprecated the agitation on this subject. He wae to re-opening the Afri- con save eae, Miseolve Union, and he would go for em Mr Hampton thonght be was right in introducing his re- eovtions. The reason why he introduced them at this late day was, that they should not be discussed md - sion, but thet they should be placed im the journal, and forth atnoug the people, 80 that when they meet the ne Lf session they would know tbe sentiments of the people, and would be prepared to mect the question. Mr. Rhett thought that it was proper that these reeolu- tions ehou't be brought up now. question will have to be met, and why shirk from itt [He was to Mr. Haanton’s resolutions, and declared them to be untevable Mr. Hampton, like Senator Hammond, we have no dowht is on the controlling side of this ques- tion in the South. The revival of the African slave trade fs but a new hobby of a few despe- rate and reckless fire-cating politicians, It is the legitimate offspring of those windy fire- eating assemblages known as Southern commercial conventions; and the case of the mysterious yacht Wanderer, or its still more mysterious slave trading consort, is but an ex- periment of unscrupulous speculators in the Cuban business, who have thas been encouraged hy our fire-eating Southern politicians to make a dash into Georgia. The foregoing resolutions af Mr. Hampton express the general sentiments of the South, and the venture of the Wanderer or her compagnon du voyage can only be regarded as the case of @ smuggler who has eseaped the clutches of the law. We dare say, however, that for the futare, with the warning of this example, the adminic- tration will maintain a vigilant lookout along the Southern coast; and to the oficers and crew of any vessel of the public service the prospect of the prize money will be apt to secure a sharp lookout after all suepiciows leoking yachts and “long, low, black, rakish” schooners, To make good the President's argument against the sinv | 4 Z YORK HERALD, MONDAY, trade in Cuba its impracticability within our own Jimits must be catablished; and we doubt not that in the fulfiiment of bis official duty Mr. Buchanan will see that the laws are faithfully executed, The Growth of the United States—The Census for 1960, Congress: has taken the initiatory steps to- wards procuring the census for 1860, and it is to be hoped that the experience of the past twenty years will not be lost in enabling it to give us a more perfect and satisfactory one, with regard especially to the statistics of agriculture, manu- factures, and the wealth of the country, than any we bave bad heretofore. In fact, the census of 1850 and of 1840, the only two in which any at- tempt to furnish tubles of statistics was made, are far from being reliable—that of 1840 being so imperfect a3 to be almost valueless in this re- spect. Some approximation to the English method of taking the cenaus of the population ali over the country in one day would give the re- turns more accurately and promptly. It is true that some difficulty is experienced in this country from the fact that our people are migratory, a large portion of the population being a floating one; but that is an argument in favor of simul taneous action all over the States and Territo- ries, as ther could be no error asto the domicile of each lividual, which often occurs when the work is spread over many months, as at present. We should not be surprised if the census of next year proved this country to be the second in population among the civilized nations of the globe, and we have little doubt that at the preseat moment we are the first in as far a3 mind predominates over matter. We think the figures, if accurately rendered, will show that this country, although behind Russia in population, is at least equal to if not ahead of France, and certainly greater than Great Britain. According to the census of 1850 the relative population of the United States, France and Great Britain stood thi United States, 1850. 75,000 The estimated population of this eountry in 1854 was 26,500,000—giving an increase in four years of 3,308,124. But admitting that the im- migration has fallen off during the last six years, yet the increase in the existing population has been in an equal ratio; therefore it is not unsafe to put down the total increase for the ten years at from eight to ten millions. This would bring this country nearly up to the population of France, and place her largely above Great Bri- tain. Taking the increase from 1840 to 1850 as acriterion—which was 6,122,423—this calcula- tion is not unreasonable. In the growth of our manufactures, agricultu- ral products, and the value of property, our ad- vance over European nations has been immeasur- ably greater. The returns of 1850 showed, as might be expected, a large increase in these ta- bles over 1840, but the census of that year was so defective that we are unable to make an accu- rate comparison. In 1850 the tables were— Real ) personal estate Since then the area of our territory has been greatly extended, and the proportionate increase in agricultural products, manufactures and the value of real estate, has been almost incalculable. Whole territories have been populated by a thrifly, productive people, and the soil has been made to yield rich fruits to their labor. Cities and towns have grown up where a desert stood before, while in the older cities property has in- creased almost fabulously in value. It is not too much, then, to claim that in another decade we shall be, if we are not even now, in all save population, the first country on the earth. While Russia can boast of a large population, it must be remembered that it is in a great de- gree composed of serfs, and in a smaller propor- tion of idle non-producing classes; but in the United States we have no drones in the hive, no idle consumers and non-producers in the shape of an hereditary nobility, or lazy gentlemen of ease. Here all are active workers, scarcely one of whem does not contribute during his lifetime his quota to the wealth and prosperity of the nation. France herself, with all her intel- Jectual activity, quickness of invention, and proverbial refinement, does not make the same impression upon the civilization of the world at the present time as the United States, either materially or metaphysi- cally, The same is measurably true of England. As one example let us take the list of inventions patented in the two countries within the same periods. The patents issued by the Patent Office at Washington occupy from half 2 column to a column of the advertising portions of the Henato every week, while the same number taken out in amonth in England would not fill the same space. And there is hardly an invention patent- ed in the latter country that is not improved on here as soon as it appears. England, France and Prussia, indeed, make some show of a claim to the invention of the electric telegraph; neverthe- less, France and several of the other Continental nations have bestowed a handsome gratuity on Professor Morse, nominally as a remuneration for the use of his system, but really, as we take it,as an acknowledgment of his claim to the merits of the invention. It is with no small measure of pride that we refer to the relative posttion of this country to that of the older nations of Furope—a pride which is enhanced by the reflection that our country, since her birth as an independent nation, has only seen the number of years allotted to man’s existence, while her rivals in progress have lived for ceuturies. We repeat our desire that Con- gress shall make adequate provision for having the census of 1860 properly taken. Tus New Comprnonure axp ais Aprporyt- ments. Although we look upon it as a settled fact that Mr. Haws will be entirely under the control of the Seward and Weed faction, yet we hope that in selecting the subordinate officials of the Comptroller's department he will at least appoint competent clerks who understand how to keep accounts, There are three bureaus in that department requiring in the chiefs thereof good accountants and business men, possessing qualifications just as high as the Comptroller himself, namely: those of the Receiver of Taxes, the Auditor, and the Bureau of Arrears. The gencral bookkeeper, aleo, should be such a one as any prudent banker or merchant would employ. The business capacity and integrity ot M1 there officers should be the tests applied to their fit. ness for the positions to which they are to be appointed. If Mr. Haws is only guided by this consideration, rather than by political motives, he may bring abort some reform in the Gnance department; but if, on the contrary, he bows to the dictation of a hungry faction in the selection of his subordinates, we shall hayg a wopye state of affairs there than ever, DECEMBER 27, 1858. The Dead of 1856—What They Were and What They Teach. We publish to-day, in another column, our usual annual chronology of prominent men who have passed away during the year which is now expiring. Although the list is not 40 prolific in mighty names as it has been sometimes our duty to record, yet it contains many names of mark whosé Voices shall be heard no more. As the eye runs over the list what varied Scenes and struggles are called up by the memo- ry! It seems as though,it were of itself an epi- tome of life, with all its sudden changes and strong contrasts. Havelock and Rachel, Ra- detzky and Bonpland, Lablache and Osollos, Benton and Alexis Soyer, pass succeasively be- fore us, each with his troop of thoughts and deeds swelling the sum of human action. Men who have succeeded in filling a space in the world’s eye have done so because they have been repre- sentative men, either in an active or a passive sense, If in the active sense, they have had some leading share in the ideas and acts that have formed a part of the developement of the age in which they lived; if in the passive, then they have formed the representative mark at which the weapons of the age have been aimed. In this latter sense two names at least which are familiar to our readers are found in the present list. Eleazer Williams, whether Bourbon or not, became the passive exponent of that contempt with which the present age receives claims to mere hereditary honors; and Dred Scott, though oue of the most ignorant of his race, has become & synonym of one of the world’s most bitter con- flicts. But turning from the passive to the active list, how completely do the names we find there re- present the strifes that are still going on between the present and the past--between civilization and barbarism! With Havelock India rises be- fore us with all her ensanguined horrors, and the gallant defence and relief of Lucknow tell how great the physical difference between the civil- ized man and the barbarian. Our own Perry comes next in the same struggle of the enlight- ened West against the dark East. By him the gates of Japan—closed for centuries—are opened, and anew era is inaugurated for both. Radetzky, Osollos and Monagas, each ina different quarter of the earth, represent the stubborn defenders of the old theories of despotism against the assault of the millions led by such men as Reschid Pasha in Turkey, Baron Ward in Parma, and Gomez Farias in Mexico. As these pass away the contest lapses to other hands, and receives new forms, in which a steady triumph of the enlightened spirit of the age is observable. Thoee who cling to the past no more found their breastworks upon the divine right of kings, while the aims of the men of ac- tion of the present are extended over a continu- ally widening range. In science and art, too, how great are the tri- umphs represented by the names of last year’s dead! With Bonpland comes up the still living name of Humboldt, and a cosmopolitan philoso- phy opens to the view. How many secrets of nature have they unravelled! How great an impulse have they given to the spirit of inquiry among men! How many a fond superstition have they overthrown! In their own way, too, Lablache, Rachel, Ary Schaffer, Alexis Soyer, Ida Pfeiffer and Robert Owen represent the world’s advance in social developoment. The intellectual and the material schools are repre- sented side by side, and each name calls up a long list of achievements, each accompanied by its own partial failure, to teach and to stimulate men. Nor is the list barren in its lessons of our own national growth. With Benton we are reminded of that second race of giant intellects which may be called the expounders of our po- litical system, and few of which now re- main among us. Quitman and Persifer Smith represent the union of the civil and military spirit that characterizes us as a nation, and which makes our citizen soldiers as ready upon the field of battle when our enemy calls as they are in the forum or amid the ecenes of every varying life. Larkin. the first chronicler of gold discoveries in California, is the representative of our pioneer spirit, ever curious and ready to compre- hend. Newton claims kindred with our mechani- cal developement, and leads in the construction of our river palaces. A hundred other names will be found in the list, each having as le- gitimate a claim to some representative charac- ter as those we have mentioned; but the limits of an editorial review renders it impossible for us to name them. They have all done their work in life, and will receive their award from their fellow men. Each has made his impress in some quarter, that will go on developing the work they have begun, while they, called to a higher «phere, will meet an All-wise judgment at a bar to which we must all come. Tue Crry Prorerry Brovenr ro rue Haw ™eR.—There is food for serious reflection in the fact that a large and valuable portion of the pro- perty owned hy the city was sold under execu- tion by the Sheriff, the other day, to satisfy a claim against the Corporation—and sold, too: under circumstances of an extraordinary and unprecedented nature. The Lowber claim has become a historical event in the annals of this city; and whether it was a proper transaction in ite inception or not, there is no doubt that it has heen pronounced legal by the courts, and that Mr. Lowber has had the satisfaction of putchas- ing for his own use and benefit property belong- ing to the public, in lots, wharves and piers, worth a million or two of dollars, at the low price of $178,520, in liew of a claim for $198,000, or, with interest, about $228,000. There were but two bidders at the sale--Mr. Lowber himself and Moses Taylor—and the whole value of city property sacrificed was not far short of two millions, It is presumable that the court decided cor- rectly In tavor of Mr. Lowher; but it may be asked whether it is lawful for him to retain a million’s worth of public property to satisfy a claim of a little over two hundred thousand, and whether he will do so if it should be lawful. It has become 0 common of late forthe Sheriff to go through the ceremony of selling under exe- ention the pictures in the City Hall and the statuary in the Park that people have come to look on the thing asa farce; but we suppose the grave dénouement of the Lowber case will open their eyes to the fact that their property can be sacrificed under some circumstances, a¢ things are now managed, though we doubt whether even this shameful affair will rouse the voters to « sense of their duty. When a startling swindle of about twenty millions has beon perpetrated perhaps they may wake up and see the necessity of adopting some measures to prevent a recurrence of the same thing in fu- ture. ieee anes aciaeceniiiteramnbiasidtiaitatlsmenctintnttitinintiatitnsteigsinttitemmenmantee The Aurtferous Products of the United States. There is certain fascination in storics of untold treasures, even when they are ficti- tious. Old and young readers as well devour with avidity the fanciful descriptions of the won- derfui cave of Ali Babs, or hang entranced over the mysteries of the Isle of Monte Christo. But when we come to sober matters of fact which far outshine the wildest dreams of the romaucera— the actual realization of the visions of the seek- ers of the philosopher’s stone—as in the record of the products of American gold mines pub- lished elsewhere in our impression ot today, we may be justified in alluding to it as the most re- markable feature of the age. Rich deposits which had been concealed for ages have boom unearthed by the stout hands of our miners, and an av: of money has been launched upoa the world. In lesa than ten years the United States Mint has coined gold to the value of over , five hundred millions—the product of our mines — averaging one million of dollars per week. Of course, the great reliance is in the California mines, which have been industriously worked, both by hands and maehinery, since 1849, and the product of which does not yet show any sigus of diminution. The Carolinia, Georgia and Virginia mines have not been of late so productive as in former days. This is owing to the fact that the newly discovered mines pay a better return for. the Labor of working them. The new mines ab, Pike’s Peak, in Kansas, promise well, but are not so rich as the parties interested in the settle- ment of the Territory would have us believe Great stories are told, also, of the gold and silver mines in the region of the Gila river and the new Territory of Arizona. The auriferous de- posits found in Washington and Oregon are ia sufficient quantities to yield a fair return for the labor of working them, and there is little doubs that gold in vast quantities can be found through the whole extent of the Rocky Mountain range, from the Columbia river to the Isthmus o Panama. So rapidly are these discoveries being made, and 60 earnestly and energetically are our fronticrsmen at work, that the yield of gold from the mines within our territory during the coming year will not be less than a million and s half per week—a sum sufficient to pay the entire ox- peases of the government, and build some new ships of war besides. Of course, a question arises as to what has been done with all this money; and many people will say, from a superficial view of the financial condition of the country, that we are reaily no richer now than we were ten yearsego. Tho truth is, that with the influx of gold all values have steadily advanced. People who formerly hesitated to spend a dollar for an article of luxery, now throw away tens and hundreds Immense quantities of gold are kept in private hands for ornaments, souvenirs and curiosities. Great sums in coin and dust are hoarded aad secreted, through a natural suspicion of the ras- cally finangiers of the day, with their swindling railway, banking, mining and building com-, panies. The imports of articles of luxury, wines, segars, plate, jewelry, pictures, silka, &c., have quadrupled in ten years, Broad- cloth ta’ es the place of homes,un, and “ moire antique” silks, at four dollars a yard, are hardly good enough for the demoiselles whose mothers wore shilling calicoes and gave God thanks for so much of finery as two cheap bon- nets a year. The yeung mau of the present day spurns the silver watch which his father prized so highly, and buys a gold chronometer. Every one struggles “to outshine his neighbor—the al- mighty dollar is the only god. The parsona themselves display the golden calf from the pul- pit, and are the humblest of its worshippers. But the great diffusion of wealth has not been without its refining and elevating influences. The arts, music especially, have had a fair share of benefit from it. Pianos are universal, and prime donne bumerous. The painters and sculptors get more orders and find quicker appreciation. Bet- ter than all, the new countries open a graud field for the hopeful, healthful, vigorous youth of the nation, who, were it not for the excitement of gold hunting, would waste the best years of their lives waiting on Providence and starving in the great cities. We opine that the California pioneers have re- alized the dreams of the alchemical philosophers, and have found in earnest, welldirected, perse- vering labor, the magical elixir which will tura everything into gold. Tus News—Waere Dors rr Come Fuom?—A daily newspaper has been correctly described as a daguerreotype of the world, and its columas as exhibiting the history of its daily progress. But does the reader ever reflec! upon the constantly changing scenes whence comes the news that every one wishes to know, and upon the fact that these rapid changes only mark the victories gained in the world’s developement ? A short time since the Crimea was the great scene of interest. Potent empires were in con- flict. Hundreds of thousands of men died in and around Sebastopol, and peace was proclaimed. Ambition was foiled in its object; but the world gained the great fact that Christian and Moham- medan Powers could throw off the chains of bigot- ry and unite for common purposes; and thus the Mohammedan nations have been opened to the influence of that material and intellectual civili- zation which tolerates all creeds and improves all men. Then the Crimea was forgot, and the scene changed to the mighty rebellion of India. The point of world interest was thero, All nea wished to know how the world-batile progressed. Civilization again triumphed, and toleration again prevailed. No sooner was the Indian triumph secure than the four great Powers sat themselves down Mefore the closed gates of China, The de- tails of Tudian developement possessed no inte- rest except for those immediately concerned in ite results, but the problem of the opening of in- tercourse with four hundred millions of men was a vast stake. Tere, too, the toleration of civiliza- tion triumphed, and this great point once gainod that region ceases to be a source of nows except to those whose individual interests are involved. The point of news, then, is the active scone where the epirit of the present age attacks ‘the musty formulas of the past, or strives to plant the germs of new developement. The effect of each victory is not confined to the conquered, but reciprocates with the conquerer. The Crimean wat showed to us the spectacle of a friendly intercourse between the Sultan and the Pope and Mohammedan mosques defended by Christian bayonets; that of India has resulted in the guarantee of Brahminism by Protestant arme; and in China the Baddist promises to tolerate the Roman Catholic and the Protestant alike. In these conflicts, tn which all the world takes an interest, we see that toleration consti tutes the spirit of the age, and extends it figence alike over conqueror nad conqucred Ta our ova favored land the polat of agwe