The New York Herald Newspaper, January 31, 1859, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD. EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. eee OFFICE H. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND MaSSAU C78 TERMS, cash tm advance. Money cent by mall will be at th sekZEMS, SAS Gheinet same rated an wehcription FERALD, Comte | Rael TEE WEEKLY MOKALD, coory via conte, , OF $3. per aanuwn; (he European onary Wednas ‘conta per copy, $4 pew nee wo we pari Britain, % to ‘Of OF Anntinent indlude postage; the GaNiermia Raton on Ve Sth and BOK of Sach mow a ‘conde onnwm. PH raMLY GRiCALD, ory Wednesday, ot four conte par or $9 per ane. bas 2) NDENCI terports LONFaRY OORRESPO! DENOR, confening teers for FoRtion TORRBSPONDENTS AR ‘Rugvasrep to Seat aus Lerrans 4xD a anonymous correapondence. Wodonot Paox: Velume XXIV. sreeee eres MO SO AMUSEWKNTS THIS EVENING. BROADWAY THEATRE, Brosdway.—Guirrvs—Oats- Bact or tax Gances. AIBLO’S GARDEN. Broadway.—Cincos PeRrORMANCES— ‘Trainsp Houses, Mu.ss, 40. BOWERY THEATRE, Gowery.—Tum Tanax Fast Mex, OR, tux Famais Roninson Crvusoxs, BURTOWS NEW THEATRE. Brosdway—OvRr FSMALE Aupuicam Covsin—Poru.aR Farce. WALLAGE’® THEATRE, Sroadway.—Tax Veteran; OF, Feance anp ALGEBis. Nk’S THEATRE, No. 624 Broadway.—Oum absuuis Gover acu? Ouanuorma's MAID. jaeU Broadway—Atter- a Geenerean, ko. WOOD'S MINSTREL BUTLDING, 661 and 563 Broadway Brarories Qoncs, Danes, 40.—New Year Oats, BRYANTS' MINSTRELS, @sUHANICS’ Bal, 427 Broad way--Nacuo Sonos ann Buniasques—Tar VETEnan. aMEKICAN BARNUM'S oon and Neco OaAMPBELL MINSTRELS, 444 Broadway.— "8 mnvopas, bouunsuoes, &0.—Dounun Bebo Row. NIBLO'S SALOON, Brongw Mn, H. R. Baut’s Dna watio Reaping—Tak Hoxcun. New York, Monday, January 31, 1859. = The News, Our European files by the Arago contain some highly interesting extracts relative to the crisis in * ftaly and affairs in Spain, and the prospects ofa deneral war. Accounts from Hayti, dated at Port au Prince on the 10th, and Jeremie on the 12th inst., state that the revolution was about over. One account says that the Emperor was defeated in battle by Gen, Geffrard, and retreated, with the imperial army at his heels, to the capital, while another mildly states that his Majesty was compelled to return, and it was thought he would soon abdicate. Indeed, the Empress had advised Soulonque to that course, and he threatened to shoot her for her pains, All ac- counts, however, agree that the country was thoroughly aroused against the Emperor, and the proclamation of the republic at Port au Prince was daily looked for. It is the intention of the republi- cang, should they succeed, to throw open to trade the ports that have for years been closed to com- merce, and also to revoke the monopoly law. We have advices from British Honduras to the 28th ultimo. The failure of the house of Hyde, Hodge & Co., of London and Belize, had caused great distress among the mechanics, laborers and mahogany cutters of the colony, as many as two thousand of whom had been thrown out of employ- ment. A number of judgments had been obtained inthe courts by the creditors of the firm; but owing toan informality in the proceedings the cases had been re-opened. This, it is alleged, was what Hyde & Co, desired, as before other judgments could be obtained and executions issued the affairs of the house would be wound up under the bankrupt act, and the creditors in Belize thus left to share with creditors in England and elsewhere whatever assets the firm may have. Business was very dull, and logwood had fallen from $18 to $7 per ton. The wreck of the schooner Busan and the landing of the filibusters at Belize created the utmost consternation among the people of the town, but the prompt action of the Gover- nor in sending the invaders Wack wy DBfuwite sv0u quieted their alarm. The filibusters conducted themselves with the greatest propriety while on shore. Severe gales had prevailed along the coast, and several shipwrecks are reported—among them the bark Ellen Simpson, the ship Fortitude, and the Mary, bound from Belize to New Orleans, with $10,000 in specie on board. ‘ Our correspondents at Havana, writing on the 23d instant, state that the steamship Baltimore, the pioneer of a new line between Havana and Balti- more, was to leave the first mentioned port in afew days. The shipping master’s fee of two dollars per head upon each seaman shipped on board Ame- rican els at Havana has been abolished, through the exertions of our Consul General. No tax is, therefore, now imposed upon shipmasters in procuring crews. It is questionable, however, whether the shipmasters have been really benefit- ted by this move, as they will in all probability be obliged to pay a larger sum than two dollars each for men henceforth, under the system of employing crimps, which will doubtless be revived. The slave trade was quite active. Several cargoes of Africans had been recently landed, one of which, it is posi- tively asserted, was marched by the estate of the Captain General. We have news from the African coast dated as follows :—Old Calabar and Fernando Po the 2d, Logos the 8th, Cape Coast the 12th, Liberia the 14th, Sierra Leone the Mth, and Bathurst the 23d of December. At Bonny, Accra and New Calabar trade had not commenced, but it was expected to be renewed at the last port inafew days. At the other ports of call, and espeemlly at Fernando Po. trade was dull. The Rainbow, of the British Niger expedition, with Dr. Bakie on board, was in that harbor, but would leave in a few days for the river, Mr. Fairweather, one of the expedition, died there of dysentery on the lst of December. Our advices from St. Thomas are to the 15th inst. Flour rated at from $6 50 to $7 50 and $5 per bar- rel, according to quality. The weather was fine and the island healthy. Exchange on the United States, at sixty days’ sight:—Bank drafts par to half per cent premium; three days’ sight, 1 a 1} per cent premium. We have files from the West Indies dated at Kingston, Jamaica, on the 10th inst., but the papers do not contain any news of interest. We have papers from Australia dated at Sydney the llth and Melbourne the 15th of November, | but the main features of the news have been anti- says:—The escorts delivered into the gold office of the treasury this week 48,961 ounces, a total above the weekly averages of the year. That for the first quarter was 41,925 ounces, for the second qnarter 45,290 ounces, and for the third quarter 48,235 ounces. It is also above that of the year 1857 which amounted to 47,970 ounces. The price o gold remains unchanged at £3 15s. to £3 18s. for dust and £3 14s, per ounce for ingots. During the past week the demand for the precious metal has been exceedingly well sustained. The United States steamer Harriet Lane, Cap tain Faunce, sailed from Rio Janeiro for the Rive Plate, on the 14th ult. The first American religious mission to Japan ‘was inaugurated publicly yesterday at the South Dutch church, corner of Twenty-first street and Fifth avenue. Rev. 8. R. Brown, who has bean se- lected as the leader of this new and importantreli- gious movement, delivered an interesting address on the occasion, a report of which is given in an- other column, ‘The examination in the case of Robinson and Aetiney, charged with obtaining $2,500 worth of | 2» :chandise from Charles (. Keeler, under alleged fale representations respecting certain land in Cinderville, N. J., came up on Saturday afternoon NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY JANUARY 31, 1859. before Justice Welsh. No new testimony was pre- sented other than that which has already been published, the case being finally adjourned til Saturday next. ‘The death of William Cranch Bond, the eminent astronomer, and director of the observatory at Harvard College, took place at Cambridge, Mass., on Saturday night. We reverred, a few days back, to the overpay- ment to a street contractor in Hoboken of a sum of $5,000, a transaction which has oreated no little gossip in that town. It appears that a contractor from New York had a contract for paving and flag- ging certain streets in Hoboken, and as the work progressed he was allowed by his contract improve: ment certificates for 75 per cent, payable in ninety days, the balance of 25 per cent to be paid when the work was completed. He received in this way some $5,390; but when the work was finished he sent in his bill in full, and the committee of the Common Council passed it without having deducted the 75 per cent already paid, making a totalamount of $14,299, an excess of the amount of the contract of $5,390. The error not being discovered by the officers of the Corporation until some two months afterwards, the contractor has been enabled to realize on the certificates the full amount, with the exception of about $3,000. The Common Council have directed their attorney to take the matter in hand. The cotton market was easier Saturday,on account of the foreign news, while tho sales embraced about 800 a 1,000 bales. The market closed at qne-eighti. sent decline, or on the basis of 12 cents per Ib. for middling uplands. As the Arabia’s letters would be at hand on Monday, some ope- rators were disposed to await their receipt before doing much, The flour market was less active, while the lower and medium grades were 6c. a 10c. lower, Holders manifested more willingness to sell. Wheat continued to be firmly held, with fair sales, at full prices. Corn was dull, with light transactions, at quotations given in an- other place. Pork was heavy and lower; now mess sold at $18 1224 a $18 25, closing at the inside Agure; prime was nominal at $13 50 a $18 6244. The nows by the Empire City imparted more firmness to the sugar market, and after its receipt 1,200 hhds. were gold on speculation at private rates. The circular of Messrs. Fesser & Co., dated Ha- vana, January 22, gives a ist of fourteen vessols which bad cleared from that port and Matanzas for the United States since the 4th instart, four of which were for New York. They remark as follows:—‘ Since our advices of the 4th inst. the market for new crop sugar has opened with a fair demand, principally for Spain, at prices in pro- portion to 94 a 10 rials for No. 12, 11 91134 for No. 16, and 1344 a 14 for good to fine whites; and owing to the large number of vessels in port planters show much firm- ness, The crops of four estates have been contracted for onthe following terms: 3,000 boxes at 1334 rials for whites, 1134 for Nos. 17 and 18, 10 for Nos. 12 and 13, and 9 for No. 10; 7,000 boxes at $25 per box of 16 arrobes, The receipts at Havana this month are 19,000 boxes: against 20,000 a 22,000 in 1858, and 20,000 in 1857. In old crop we only hear of the sale of a few small lots at 93 rials for No, 12, and 600 boxes very dampish whites at 11 rials.’ They state also that the weather had been comewhat unfavorable, but grinding had been stopped only on four estates. The stock in Havana and Matanzas embraced 20,000 boxes new and 6,000 oldcrop. They quote muscovados at 73¢ a 7% rials, with ready sales for middling to good refining, and state that 84 rials for fair grocery grades had been refused. The exports for the two ports for this month to the United States embraced 3,268 boxes, against 10,266 for the same period last year— of which 2,456 were exported to New York, against 7,896 last year. The total to all foreign ports amounted to 15,587, against 87,413 for the same month in 1858. The freights to the United States were at 6 to 8 rials per box, $3 60 to $4 per hhd. for sugar, and $2.0 $2 50 for mo- lasses, and at 87s. 6d. a 45s. for Europe. Exchange was firm at 3 a 31¢ per cent premium on New York, and 1234 418% on London. Coffee was firm: the sales embraced about 800 bags of Rio at $11 40 a $11 50, and about 2,900 bags St. Domingo, for export, at 97%. The public sale of new teas, held on Saturday, drew a good and spirited com- pany. The prices obtained showed an advance on gun- powder and imperial of 1c. a 2c. per lb. Freights were dull and engaements limited. The State of Europe—What it Portends and What it Teaches. The present condition of continental Europe 8 one of universal uneasiness and alarm, and gives rise among reflective men to forebodings of the most serious conflicts at no distant day. That these forebodings are not without founda- tion, a general glance at the state of affairs there will conclusively demonstrate. The state of the Continent may be character- ized, with few exceptions, as a state of the most degrading despotism. In nearly every one of the countries that compose its political division power is in the hands of a set of imbecile family dynasties, supported by a brutal soldiery. The free inquiry and intellectual activity which characterize the age are borne down and con- fined by a network of bayonets that is woven over the whole extent of Europe. In politics the theories of the Middle Ages, and in religion the “teachings of a still darker age of human en- lightenment, are sedulously inculeated. Every | possible effort is made to confine the workings of | the human mind to that passive obedience which recognises the divine right of kings; and the freedom of speech and of the press is confined to | the praise of the existing state of things, or the | utterance of the direct details of physicial science. But beneath this rule of sensnalism and bru- tality the spirit of the age is working with mar- vellous activity. For two generations the fasci- nating theorics of political freedom have becn taking hold of the minds of men. Political economy has steadily brought its unanswerable teachings to bear upon the fallacies of govern- ments that claim to exercise a paternal and pro- tective rule. Men everywhere have come to be diseatisfied with the present without attaining a clear notion of what it is they aspire to. This | feeling has been, and is continually increased, by the example of the few exceptions in this field of despotism to which we have alluded, and by the wondrous state of prosperity and freedom of action which they witness in England and America. In 1848 it broke out witha fury that for a while seemed destined to overthrow sncceeded in cheating the age out of its aspira- | bayonets, which are in the hands of men whose only aim of life is to eat, drink and enjoy. The war footing involves the arming af fully five millions of men, and every device of taxation and oppression is necessarily resorted to to draw | from the people the means of supporting this | unproductive mass of sensuality and brutality. second time a dynasty after the old order o things, The first Napoleon came into power on the waves of revolution; and he gunk from it because, cheating the hopes of the age in which he lived, he enabled the rulers he wished to de- stroy to call the masses of the people to their | aid in overthrowing him. These in their turn cheated the aspirations of {ntellect, and thus brought about the second great popular npheay- ing, ypon which Louis Napoleon came into power. He began by flattering the hopes of the people; but having cheated them in France, he is com- pelled to keep up the delusion by stimulating the aspirations of liberalism in gountries every remnant of the past; but the despots tions, and in calling to their aid the bigoted and sensual, with whose assistance the uprising of intellect was controlled and the present state of things maintained. At this moment the military | establishments of continental Earope, on what is ted. The Melb A f the latest date | poles tseren ot werk tend Meee erated es) peace footing, number three millions of Yet, with all, the existence of this state of affairs confessedly hangs upon the necessities of one man, who is endeavoring to found for a | beyond the beundaries of his own empire. Thus we find him, immediately after his stimulating the hopes of republicans in Rome—noxt the champion of free- dom in Turkey—then the upholder of constitu- tionml rule in Spain—and now atimulating again the hopes of Itwian liberalism and the ambition of Victor Emanuel. During all this period he has kept up a simulacro of liberal tendencies in France, appealing at one time to universal suf frage to sanction bis usurpation, then to the po- pular hope of material developement through Al- gerian extension, and again to the national vanity through Sebastopol and Cherbourg. In all this he has flattered alternately the people and the army, in the hope of obtaining a permanency for the Napoleonic dynasty. But the very means to which he is compelled to resort for this purpose are working out his final overthrow. His oceupation of Rome de- stroyed the men of ’48; his war against Russia brought no material good to the people of Frauce or Europe; his support to Queen Isabella has enabled her to become more absolute than ever; and his present countenance of the Italian liberals against Austrian despotism is a hollow cheat, intended to cover -his own despotic aspirations. But all this seeming liberaliem on his part has stimulated the mind and the hopes of Europe everywhere; and it is now working beneath the interlaced bayonetsof the soldiery with untiring activity. The spirit of his dynasty and that of his fellow despots who hang upon and tremble at his nod, is in opposition to the spirit of the age, and the latter must prevail. The world has become too enlightened to be long ruled by an ignorant and sensual soldiery, led by men who riot in Wealth acquired by desperate cheating on the Bourse. Where the volcano will first break out no man can tell. We do not be lieve it will be in Italy; it may be in Hungary or Germany; it may be in’ Spain, or in France itself; but it will burst forth, and at no very dis- tant period. And when it does come, wo to the men who in power have sought to bind and op- press the intellect, and to gratify only their own sensual and brutal lusts. For this coming time it behoves us to be pre- pared —not for war and its consequences, for the conflict has no sign of extending to our shores. But we should be ready to move in that path of peaceful developement which is before us, and to assert that high moral influence which we are called to exercise in behalf of true liberty every- where. When the present artificial system of European governments falls before the ven- geance of their own oppressed and despoiled peo- ples, our government will stand strong at home and doubly respected abroad. The President, with the prescience of a sagacious statesman, has taken the initiative steps of that preparation, and it becomes the representative body of the nation to follow in the path he has pointed out. Tox Decay or tue Frenon ann Enarisn Dra- MA.—The old play goers and critics of London and Paris have been lamenting for several years past the decline of thedrama. It does not ap- pear that there are any authors capable of writ- ing grand works or any artists qualified to illus- trate them, provided they were written. Since the retirement of Mr. Macready, the London stage has been without a great tragedian; since the death of Rachel, the Theatre Francais has been almost deserted. Comedy, burlesque or extravaganza now monopolises the little theatrical patronage that the Opera has not carried off. Except upon rare occasions, the drama has cease to be a fashionable amuse- ment, and de~opers nas vaxen its place. It is quite the same thing in the United States. There is no great artist before the American public at present ; neither is there any immediate prospec! that the rising young men and women will verify the predictions made for their future careers by too partial friends and country critica. Europe is not, however, without great artists, although they do not speak the tongue ia which Shakspere, Schiller or Corneille wrote their grand works. Italy, the land of sunshine and of song, of inspiration and of passion—the country of Dante and of Alfieri—has given to the world two grand artists, whose acting recalls the brightest days of Siddons and the elder Kean. These are Ristori and Salvini. With the par- ticulars of the brilliant career of the former the American public is perfectly acquainted. The Parisians pronounced her to be equal to Rachel in Maria Stuarda, and the London stage was indebted to her for the best Lady Macbeth since Siddons. It must be noted, also, that in both in- stances the artist was speaking in a language which but few of the audience understood. In Spain and Germany the triumphs of Ristori were still greater than in France and England. Her influence isso great with her own countrymen that she has been excluded from at least one portion of Italy. Asa proper and equal pendant to this picture of the fair Ristori we have the appearance of the Italian actor Salvini, whose début in the Salle Ventadour was no less brilliant than that of his gifted countrywoman. He is said to have all those grand natural gifts with which the elder Kean electrified his audiences, producing effects that drew tears from the softer part of the audience, and incited cheers from the critical pit, which rose to greet him. European critics place Sal- vini on the same level with Ristori. Both are the great artists of the day, the acknowledged suc- ceseors to the mantles of Kean and Siddons, Tal- maand Rachel. They are still in the morning of a brilliant carcer, and having conquered Eu- rope, will undoubtedly seck for new victories in America. The empressario who is lucky enough to complete arrangements for the American tours of Ristori and Salvini will have a grand opportunity to win flume and fortune, Heavy Damaces AGainst 4 Rarnoap Com- pany.—A verdict was obtained from a Boston jury on Friday, which may have a wholesome effect on railroad corporations, About seven years ago, Mr. Shaw, of Needham, was killed by an accident on the Boston and Worcester Rail- road, and his wife, who was travelling with him, was, at the same time, seriously injured. Mrs. Shaw brought an action against the company, few years after, and got a verdict of $15,000; however, a new trial was granted, which resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff of $13,000, This verdict was set aside also; and another trial was had last year, when eleven of the jury were in favor of mulcting the company in $20,000; but the twelfth man was stubborn, and the jury was discharged. At the recent trinl it appeared that the rate of dumages to which the plaintiff was entitled was on the ascending scale, for the jury gave Mra, Shaw $22,000. A few more verdicts of this character might make railroad companies a little careful, and aflect them with a nicer appreciation of the yalue of life and limb on their roads, Congress—The Tarif Question—The Adminis- tration e. the Democrate Party. We have carefully read the proceedings of last week, the eighth of this the closing session of our memorable aud demoralized Thirty-fifth Congress, It is to be remarked that, as iv Falstaft’s tavern bill, there is an ocean of sack to a pennyworth of bread in the net results of this one week’s bard Jabor. ‘The reports upon the thirty million Cuba scheme; the inexplicable proceedings of the House upon the Diplomatic and Consular Appropriation bill, including the incidental debate on the African slave trade; the Pacific Railroad preliminary bill passed by the Senate; and the anti-Protective Tariff resolution adopted on Saturday Jast in a caucus of the democratic majority of that bedy, will compre- bend about everything that can be found in hese transactions worthy of especial notice. We have already spoken of the Pacific Rail- road scheme adopted by the Senate, as a judicious and sensible measure; for surely, before plunging into this prodigious, expen- sive and financially unprofitable enterprise, it is well to ascertain, by some practical test, the approximate costs of the contemplated road by each of the several routesindicated. To this end the advertisement for practical bids for the job along the Northern, the Central and the Southe#o route is the readiest and simplest pre- iminary movement. Indeed, as no sensible man or body of men would ever think of pro- ceeding to cut a tunnel, to fill up a valley, or to build a bridge, without first having ascertained by advertisement the low- est approximate cost of the work, it would be the height of extravagance and folly on the partof Congress to disregard this universal prac- tice, on a job in which the difference in cash, to be lost or saved, may be twenty, thirty, forty or fifty millions of dollars, We are informed from Washington, however, that the Senate bill is not likely to pass the House, while in the meantime the question of its reconsideration in the Senate into be decided to-day. Very likely, from the discordant elements of the two houses, even this initiatory bill will fall to the gronnd. So little reliance can be placed in the factious, corrupt, scheming and wrangling politicians of this Con- gress, that we cannot depend upon the succeas of even the simplest propositions of policy, econo- my and common sense. The democratic Senatorial caucus referred to on the tariff question, aud its decision, afford us a striking corroboration of this opinion. The resolution of Mr. Bigler, “that the revenue be- ing insufficient to meet the expenses of the gov- ernment, it is wise and expedient to increase the import duties to meet the deficiency,” is perfectly ununswerable. It is as clear as the “fixed fucv” that if the regular expenses of the treasury are seventy-five millions, while its receipts and available means are but fifty millions, there will be a deficiency of twenty-five millions. The tariff of 1846, under the plethora of a redundant income, was cut down to diminish its revenues, ‘Macy have been so diminished very consider- ably. The sweeping financial revulsion of 1857, and the expensive legacies left to Mr. Buchanan by poor Pierce and Fillmore, meantime have operated, on the one hand, still farther to di- minieh the treasury .receipts, and on the other to augment, beyond all preceding estimates of the peace establishment, the treasury expenditures, Thus the treasury is empty ; and thus, under the reduced tariff’ schedules of 1857, under the most flattering estimates for the ensuing year, there cannot be raised an income sufficient to make both ends meet. It follows necessarily that as our only existing source of revenue, of any account, is the tariff, its schedules of tax- ation must be raised, if we would relieve the treasury ; or that, in abandoning this expedient of relief, we must resort to a direct federal tax- ation of the people, sooner or later. The re. sources of treasury notes and loans are only borrowed money, and the more our public debt is thus augmented the heavier will be the ulti- mate burden of the taxes to be levied upon the people. The President, desirous of lightening this burden, instead of increasing it, has recom- mended certain modifications of the tariff as the duty of this present Congress. And why not? Time is money, and the loss of @ year upon this subject may be equal to a dead loss of ten, fifteen or twenty millions in the end. There is evidently a reaction at work from the general prostration of the late revulsion—there is a prospect of large importations during the gneuing fiscal year; and while they may be ruinously large under the low duties of the act of 1857, these importations may now be wisely turned both to the advantage of the treasury, and to the protection of our manufacturing and commercial interests from excessive imports. In the absence of any tariff modifications at the present session, and in anticipation of an increase of duties at the next, our importing merchants will doubtless bring over in the interval exces- sive quantities of foreign goods. Thus the ad- vantages expected to the treasury from an in- crease of the tariff assessments may be very largely cut off, and thus our manufacturers may be still more seriously crippled than at present, and our mercantile affairs, through all their ramifications, still more seriously embarrassed. This view of the subject, as it appears to us, is as clear as the noonday sun—whatever may be our views upon the broad abstract issue between free trade and a protective system. We are discussing the exigencies and necessities of the day. The treasury is empty—amillions of money will be wanted to meet the deficiencies which will occur under the present tariff. The most favorable opportunity is now offered for such modifications of the law as will relieve the treasury, and the country too; but if this oppor- tunity shall be thrown away the treasury may lose its chance, and the country may again be overburéened with foreign goods. And yet Mr. Hunter and the democratic majority of the Senate have coolly resolved in caucus that “it is inexpe- dient to change the tariff law at the present ses- sion.”” How “inexpedient,” Mr. Hunter? Why?--where? The only inexpediency in the matter, we appre- hend, is between the protective democrats of Penosylvania and the free trade democracy of the South. The inexpediency is among the wrangling politicians aid President makers of . the democratic camp, and not in the measure proposed; but if the party can come to no un- derstanding upon this subject, except the agree- ment to disagree, they may as well abandon the field. If they can do nothing but spend money, and borrow money, and quarrel and fight over the spoils and plunder, and the next Presidency, they must expect to be ignominiously kicked away from the public crib. A Washington correspondent says, that “from present appearances, this Congress will end in @ discreditable snarl, compelling the Presi- dent to gall on gxtra pension of the vew Congress immediately after the final adjournment of this.” For some time past we have entertuined this opinion; and, con- sidering now that the,bulk of the annual appro- priations have still to be acted upon—that there are but four weeks and three days of the session remainivg—that in both houses, upon every measure, great and small, there is nothing but doubt and uncertainty—and that upon the paramount iseue of the treasury necessities the democratic majority of the Senate have resolved to do nothing—we may safely conclude that an extra session of the new Congress is inevita- ble. In view of this contingency, then, what are the prospects of the democracy? In shuffling off their present responsibilities upon the indefensible plea of expediency, what will they gain? They will still have to face the music, and under the pressure of an opposition force in the House of Representatives, which will compel the democracy of the Senate to act. The administration bas done and will’ do its duty. It has made known the wants of the government to the party now controlling both houses of Congress. They have the power, and to them belongs the respousibility of providing the ways and means demanded. If they fail to meet this responsibility the failure will attach to the party; and from the adjournment of this Congress the prosecution against the party of the political law of bankruptcy will be in the hands of the opposition. Imperative duty may require the President to call an extra session; but an extra session will afford the best occasion for a practical union of the opposition, and the practical dissolution of the democracy in refe- rence to 1860. Let us wait and see. The Burns Festivals—Posthumous Honors. Now that we have got over the aroma of the usquebaugh which, with a great deal of bad poetry and numberless orations of all sorts, was used to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the birthday of Robert Burns, it may be well enough to look alittle into the causes which incited such an overwhelming outburst of admiration for a man whose personal character was not certainly such as should produce the feeling of adoration. While we recognise, to a certain extent, the pro- priety of tae maxim “of the dead let nothing but good be spoken,” we cannot permit living hum- bugs to shelter themselves and their shams be- hind it. Let the bones of Burns rest with his frailties, say we ; but if they are to be disinter- red at this late date, washed in whiskey and canonized in couplets, let us ascertain distinctly the why and the wherefore. ‘The career of Burns is too well known to need more than a mere outline. He came into the world at a period when his country had not emerged from the barbarism inseparable from lengthened and bloody intestine commotions. Drinking, carousing and debauchery were com- mon among high and low. Men who were called respectable reeled to a drunken bed, night after night, and lost no caste by so doing. Burns was a victim to the circumstances by which he was surrounded. Indeed, he rather sought than avoided temptation. Weak, irresolute and im- pulsive, he vacillated between the fumes of the whiskey shop and the fires of poetic inspiration. His life and death, if properly read, teach a great moral lesson. With grand natural gifts, a sensuous organization, out of which song flowed as freely as perfume from the flowers or carols from the nightingale ; with powerful friends, and physical health such as the athlete of our day can have but a faint conception of, this man led an unhappy life, and died an early and miserable death. The sad fate of some of the children of genius, such as Chatterton and Keats, justly entitles them to our respectful sympathy and sin- cere regrets; but in the case of Burns, his mis- fortunes were of his own making. His low birth militated not against him in that republic of let- ters, Edinburg; in fact, it was rather in his favor. But he would be a ploughman and an exciseman; to live that life and to die that death. The world’s riches, And that which should accompany old age, ‘As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, were within his grasp; but he would not stretch forth his hand for them. Now this man has been dead sixty years, and we find his memory brought ostentatiously be- fore a public which is presumed to have at least ordinary commonsense. Grand celebrations are arranged in the principal cities. Fashionable clergymen, Fifth avenue poets, and high official personages unite to sing the praises of the dead lion, whom they would have all shunned in his lifetime. Do these persons really admire Burns? No: the fact is patent that they admire noone but themselves. The real, sincere, ho- nest admirers of the poet are to be found in the Scottish drinking clubs, who love their poet, perhaps a little more because his songs give them a license to become drunken, deifying whiskey, and enwreathing the foul fiend of debauchery with the loveliest flowers. Thesensation parson, who showers eternal damnation upon the poor player, finds an excuse for the drunken rhymer, who, according to the parson’s doctrine, could have no opportunity even to plead at the bar of God. The abolition poet, whose mission it is to elevate the black man over his cruel task- master, and whose strong point is the awful immorality of the Southern slaveholder, can find an apology for Burns, who held all the com- mandments very lightly. This is done, not be- cause the poet and the parson revere the memory of the Scottish bard, but because they desire to bring their personality before the pub- lic and gain credit for an eloquent speech or a pleasant versical jingle. Some of them ignore Burns altogether—speak only of themselves, One distinguished literary light addressed the Burns Club of Boston in a speech of twelve lines, wherein the personal pronoun “I” was repeated no less than nineteen times, That bard's thoughts were evidently not with Burns, The letters from distinguished men, who were too clever or too honest to come, were a little less absurd, because people are more careful in writing than in speaking, after much dinner and distempered draughts. Well, it is allover; and may we ask, cui bono? Has the Scottish name been honored? Mas one blot on the fame of the Caledonian bard been obliterated? One fresh laurel added to the wreath that decks bis grave? In the name of Burns any more or less now than it was a fortnight ago? No; but Smith, and Brown, and Jones, and Robinson have aired their oratory, or piped their puny lays; Sandy has a vather worse headache than that which follows the regular annual drinking bout of his Burns Clab—and that is ail. O, Brown, Smith, Jones and Robinson, the glory is yours—not Burns’, and why not claim it bold- ly? O, Sandy, you have uplifted the clay images of today’s pretenders, instead of your golden statue of the Bard of Ayr, who was not a preten- der, nor a sham, nor a Pharisee, nor a fop, nor a fanatic, nor a humbug, whatever other sins may he laid at bis door, Vaniiag vaniiaam, Sandy! Tux News rrom Mrxico.—The tolegraphio report from New Orleans of the news re- received there from Mexico by the Tennessee tells us that Genera} Miramon will not accept the Presidency of that country, and that the pres of the city of Mexico states that the French and English Ministers had notified the govern- ment that unless a million of dollars was paid within six dayr, to satisfy the claims of French and English subjects, the fleets of those countries would take possession of Vera Cruz and Tam- pico. _ This is important news if it is trae. But ‘ex- perience has taught us to receive with great caution the compilations of news from Mexico sent us by telegraph from New Orleans We place no confidence in the items of in- telligence above given. As regards General Miramon’s declination of the Presidenoy, the readers of the Heraxp will remember the facts given by our city of Mexico correspondent, not long since, on the occasion of the marriage of that officer, and subsequent events, His bride was an ambitious young lady, whe did not hesitate to say that she had married the man who was to be Preal dent, and her almost immediate exertions to bring thatevent about caused a violent pub- lic quarrel between herself and the lady of Pre- sident Zuloaga, Gen. Miramon shortly after took his young bride with him to the campaign he has not yet, returned from; and in one of his despatches to the government, announcing his intended attack on the federaliets, he stated that he would make the 8th of December, his wife’s birthday, celebrated in the annals of the repub- lic. We may add another reason for not believ- ing in his declining the Presidency. As the head of the army that was sustaining the govern- ment, he has been forced to make frequent visita to the capital to obtain the means of keeping the field. In these visits he has always been forced to accept only o small part of the scanty re- sources of the government, the rest being appro- priated to the private endsof the speculators nearer to the throne. This evil he can remedy only by becoming supreme himself. The other point of the news we consider to be equally doubtful. Such a step on the part of England and France would not only be a pal- pable interference in Mexican affairs, but it would be one of the most odious aspect. If the threat be intended to coerce’ the central government, it not only fails of its object, but by attacking the two strongest points held by their enemies, it would be to that government a very different thing from an act ofcompulsion. If the object were to enforce asettlement ofthe claims of British and French subjects, these would amount to a much larger sum than one million of dollars, which is said to have been demanded. If the desire were to stop the imposition of forced loans upon fo- reign subjects, this could not be obtained by at- tacking the federal authorities, who have sedu- lously refrained from such acts. And if the fede- ral government were to be called to account for anything, the official’announcement would have been made in Vera Cruz and not in the City of Mexico. We believe, therefore, that this impor- tant intelligence from Mexico, by way of New Orleans, has no foundation in fact. Tae CuartereD Paracvay Vessris,—It will be recollected that when the comple- ment of steamers required for the Para- guay expedition was made up by chartered vessels, the Boston and Philadelphia papers were severely critical on the qualities of the additional steamers employed by the Navy Department. It was said that they were slow sailers, that they were unseaworthy, and that they would prove the coffins of the officers and troops sent out there. These predictions have, as might have been expected, been falsified by the facts. The chartered steamers, so far from showing any inferiority in their sailing or other qualities, have, thus far, proved themselves equal to any of the other vessels in the squadron. With the exception of the Metacomet, which put in for four days at Key West, they have all made ex- cellent time, and seem to have given general satisfaction. The slight delay which occurred to the vessel referred to detracts nothing from her character as a fast sailer. The finest steamers afloat are subject to the same causes of detention, and we are much mistaken if the Metacomet does not make up for it by her subsequent perform- ances. From the accounts published by us a few days since, it will have been seen that all these chartered vessels had been heard of, and were making rapid way towards their destination They will, no doubt, all give a good account of themselves when the fighting, if fighting there is to be, comes on. ba Moprrication 1N THE Post Orrice LAWS RESPROT- ING THE MamLing oF Newsparers.—A numerously signed petition from the publishers, booksellers and news agents of this city has been recently for- warded to the Postmaster General, asking him to urge upon Congress the expediency of making such alterations in the Post Office laws as will per- mit news dealers or news agents and book and peri- odical sellers to receive newspapers and magazines and other publications by mail in such quantities as they may require, and to pay the postage thereon as received, at the same rates as yearly or semi-annual subscribers, who pay postage duarterly in advance. The petioners represent that they are engaged in the vending of newspapers, magazines and other serial publications, a large number of copies of which are sent by mail to parties who receive them for the purpose of selling them to the consumers; that that branch of the business is rapidly increas- ing in every part of the Union, and has grown from comparatively nothing to the amount of two mil- lions of dollars per annum; and that they seck the facilities of the Post Office Department as the chan- nel of distribution to the seller aud consumer, in preference to expresses, railroad, freight agencies. &e. They ask that the news dealers should be per- mitted to receive their papers, magazines, &c., per mail at the same rate of postage as paid by the yearly subscriber who pays his postage quarterly in advance, aud to allow such dealers to vary the number of copies of papers and magazines they receive as their business may require—whether more or less—requiring the postage to be paid by the receiver as such periodicals are received; be- lieving as they do that the revenues of the depart- ment and the convenience of the public would be greatly promoted thereby. ANNEXATION OF Sourn Piatra, NEBRASKA, TO KANSAS. =< The citizens of South Platte, Nebraska, held a convention ot Brownville, on the tl to consider the propriety of annexing ‘heahiven Otten, and tho delegates wera ‘unagimous in favor of annexation. A delogation was ac- cordingly clected to go to Washington at once with a me- moral, instructed to represent the wishes and the will of the Ne south of Platte, in urging on Congress the oxer- cise of the reserved power in the organic act, to the boundary between the two territories, so that Sout Platte can become an integral part of tho State of Kansas. GraMane AND AvSTRIANA.—A correspondent says that the statoment of tho Italians having inscribed the words “Death to the Gormans’’ on the walla in Milan is inoor- rect, and may create a wrong improssion ai tho Ger- He pays tho word uned most mans I. Usta country. probably ‘ Thderohs,”’ and undoubtedly applied to ihett Austrian oppressors ouly. r