The New York Herald Newspaper, December 18, 1865, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR OFFICE N. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. ‘TERMS cash in advance, Money sent by mail will be ‘atthe risk ofthe sender. None but bank bills current in New York taken. THE DAILY HERALD, published every day in the year, Foor cents per copy. Annual subscription price, $14. NO NOTICE taken of anonymous correspondence, We do not return rejected communications. Volume XXX. AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway. —Sau. TONY PASTOR'S OPERe ¥ bs mG, Danoinc, BoRLesques, &c. opposes bag pl shoe ge ay —Tas Ovp Scnoou ov Minstazisy, Baut aL Gus, ac., at the Fifth Aveuue Opera House, Nos. “Pund ¢ Wei Twenty-fourth ab MEW NATIONAL CUROUS. 87 and 59 Bowery. Boras. ‘Acrosaric &0,—SLACK AND |. 201 Bowery. —Sisa- “Duaon’s Reve. > MINSTRELS 68 Brontway, cpnorito 2 eratorian sixarxa,, DANctxay es me ney La, Me La, Mechanics? Hall, 472 Broad: Din warie New Sromr Seen Faany Coteau. ims, Ac. -OLD TIMES “wore CHAPEL, 72) Broadway.—Paoresson Wiseuan's Bevamincs oy Mysteny ax Visions. HOOLEY'S OrmR HOUSE, Brooklyn.—Ermiortan Mix- eraetar—Batians, BuRiesques ano PAanromimes, NRW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway. — Open from 10 A. M. ull 10 P. New bales Monday, Vetamabaw 18, 1865. NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION. Receipts of Sales of the New York Daily Newspapers. OFFICIAL. Year Ending Name of Paper May 1, 1865. Hieravp.. . $1,095,000 368,150 252,000 Frening Post. 169,427 World. 100,000 Sun... ~ 151,079 Express « 90,548 ‘New Yor Herat... 11,095,000 871,229 ‘Vimes, Tribune, World and Sun combined. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC. dur city subscribers will confer a favor by reporting any of our city carriers who overcharge for the HeRaup. Country subscribers to the New Yor« Herap are re- quested to remit their subscriptions, whenever practi- cable, by Post Office Orders, It is the safest mode of transmitting money by mail. Advortisements should be sent to the office before nine o’clook in the evening. ADVERTISEMENTS FOR THE COUNTRY. Advertisoments for the Wxrxiy Heratp must be handed tm before ton o'clock every Wednesday evening. Its cir- culation among the enterprising mechanics, farmers, merchants, manufacturers and gentlemen throughout the eountry is increasing very rapidly. Advertisements in- @erted in tho Wrexty Haraz will thus be seen by a large Portion of the active and energetic people of the United States. Later Mexican n ne interest is contained in our des- patches brought to this port by the steamship Manhattan, ated in the clty of Mexico to the 3d and in Vera Cruz to ‘the 6th instant. Some additional small victories of im- Perialists over detached bands of republicans and gue- villas are recorded, as usual in tho stories received from the capital, and Maximilian’s supporters profess the be- Lif that tho people are pretty well subjugated, and that ‘odor will soon be established by the imperial govern. mont throughout the country. Troops from France con- Cinue to arrive at Vera Cruz, six hundred more disem- ‘barking on the 2d inst. and being immediately sent into the fletd. ‘Tho anxiety to ascertan what will be the ultimate action of the United States in regard to Mexico daily increases among the imperialists, and they wore greatly excited by the last news from this country, informing them that General Grant had pub- licly expressed sympathy with the republican cause, that General Logan was appointed Minister to the gov- ernment of President Jaurez, and that General Sheridan’s army on the Rio Grande was being reinforced. The French officers and soldiers in the imperial army openly ec press strong hatred for the United States, and a desire to dght the Americans. : ‘Two important decrees have recently been issued by Maximilian, one of them extending for fifteen days, from the 29th of November, the time in which the soldiers of Prosident Juarez laying down their arms were to bo grantod amnesty, and the other ordering a general draft for the army throughout Mexico, The work of dratting the laws for the future government of the ompire baving been completed, the fact was announced in an imperial order, and the official journal was giving the statutes to the public in daily instalments. Immigrants are said to be arriving in the country in large numbers, and these arrivals Maximilian’s friends adduce, among many other things, as evidence of increasing confidence io the durability of tho empire, The United States Consul at Vera Cruz is recognized by the imperial autho- rities, hia status happening by some oversight not to have been affected by the provisions of a law which is supposed to have been enacted purposely to exclude our Tepresontatives: From New Orleans we have the statement that the French officers of the imperial army on the Rio Grande confidently anticipate war with the United States, and have already marked out the opening campaign, which includes the occupation of Matamoros by our troops and the failing back of the imperialists to Monterey Our correspondence from Merida, Yucatan, announces the arrival those and enthusiastic reception of the ‘FKmpress Cartotto. A protest has just been made in behalf of the Mexican republican General Ortega, now in this country, against tho recent decrees in reference to himself and the Mexi- ean Presidency of Prosident Juarez. It will be remem- ‘bered that in these decrees Juarez announced his inten- tion, in default of the holding of the regular election, to continue to exercise supreme executive functions, and declared General Ortega subject to trial for desertion of the republic by remaining in the United States without official autnorization. Ortega is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico, and is therefore, by the pro- visions of the constitution, his friends claim, the legal successor of Juarez in the Presidency, in the absence of ‘an lection. Consequently it is maintained that the pro. ceedings of President Juaroz are entirely unauthorized and irregular. Ex-Governor Isham G. Harris, formerly of Tennessee, one of the several prominent rebels from this country ‘who, since the collapse of their Southern confederacy, have domiciled in the dominions of Maximilian, bas ‘written a letter from Cordova, Mexico, to a friend in the United States, descriptive of the experiences of himeelf aud his self-expatriated comrades under imperial rule. On their arrival in Mexico they had a special and most watiafactory private reception by the Emperor and Em- prom, and Governor Harris, General Price and Judge Perkins were appointed commissioners of emigration, and are now performing the duties of their offices, They intend to romain in Mexico, and Harris gives a glowing oondition of the country, inks it is Just ithe place for dissatisfied Southern revels to emigrate to, The letters of our Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam corres: pondents in our present issue contain very interesting sketches of political, financial and social affairs in France ‘aud Germany, including somo hew facts in regard to the immense investments in our government securities im FBurope, the substance of an order of the government of Prusgia reheving from liability to arrest former subjects ‘who return to that country after ten years’ absence, an account of the agitation on the continent over the aif. euity between Spain and Chile, and « gossipping and Pe yybawes doapvtign of Iie at tbe iujverial anos of 1 NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1865: + Compoigne during the residence there of Louls Napoleon The Naval Powers of the World—Eng- and Eugenie. The presence im Paris of those cosmopoli- tan diplomats John Mitchel and Colorado Jewott w also noticed. The latter is engaged in arranging for # con- gress of European soveroigns. Details of South Carolina affairs are given in our cor- respondence by the steamship Alhambra, Captain Ben- son, which arrived here yesterday from Charleston. The people of the Palmetto State feel confident that, in con- sideration of the adoption by their Legislature of the anti-slavery constitutional amendment, their representa- tives will have an early admission to seats in Congress, Our correspondent doss got think the Legislature, unless forced to, will comply with President Johnson's sugges- tion in regard to disavowing any Mtention of ever recog- nizing the rebel war debt, as the people are strongly in favor of regarding it as valid. The trouble between the old planters and the negroes settled on the abandoned plantations along the coast has not yet been ad- justed. In accordance with an order issued by General Beecher, conferences relative to the matter had taken place betwoen the former pro- prietors and the freedmen; but the latter refused to vacate or to enter into labor contracts, insisting thatthe lands had been given to them to keep by government. Asudden brilliant flash of light, accompanied by a tre- mendous explosion, was witnessed at Charleston and vicinity on the night of the 9th inst, and is supposed to have been of meteoric origin. Private advices received from Kingston, Jamaica, state that the English government is about to send out a commission to investigate all ‘the recent ooourrences in that taland, and that astounding facts will then be, dic. closed. The consorihip exercised over the colonial Press is so strict that tio newspaper dares to speak pales ‘the, events ‘occurring at its own ‘door, and h journals as suit. the official taste have pia allowed to leave the island. The members of the local Legislature are said to be acting as if the panic had deprived thom of all reason, and whether the alleged negro plot had any existence except in their excited brains cannot be ascertained. This much is certain—that the horrors attending the suppression of the Sepoy mutiny in India havo been, to a great oxtent, re-enacted in Jamaica. All business continues to bo virtually suspended. The Florida Legislature meets to-day. Lieutenant General Scott arrived in Now Orloans on Tuesday last. Our correspondence from that city gives the interesting points of the late debate in the Louisiana Legislature on the proposition to call another State con- stitutional convention, and thg report thereon of a special committee appointed by the Sonate to consider the matter. Some of the legislators are severe in their denunciations of the constitution of 1864 and the admin- istration of General Banks. The Canadian government officials keep up, our Ot- tawa correspondent reports, the activity in the organiza- tion of the militia, which was inaugurated in consequence of the late excitement regarding the Fenians, and oxpect to be able by next spring to show, on paper, at least, a force of eighty thousand men. The Canadian bank agencies west of Toronto have removed all their specie to safe points eastward. There is quite an influx of country Fenians at presen into this city, and the headquarters of both divisions are the chief points of attraction to them. These rural brethren are looked upon as non-partisans, or “mode- rates.” We give to-day a glance at the complication of the Fenians from their own standpoint. Senator Daily, of Indiana, has arrived in the city, examined into mat- ters, and joins his colleagues. Various additional mani- festoes have been issued by circles, and a document of explicitness and general intorest is expected to be soon given to the public by the Senate. The body meets to- morrow at nine o'clock, with augmented numbers. ‘The cold weather eontinued yesterday, though the temperature was a little more moderate than on the pre- vious threo days, and there was good skating in many places around the city, which the slight fall of snow in the morning was not sufficient to mar. In the Park, however, the ice was not yet in order for skaters, and numbers of them who flocked thither were consequently disappointed, The expectation is that to-day, or to- morrow at tho furthest, if there is no great falling off from the present temperature, the Park ponds will be in complete readiness for use. fteports from up the North river ropresont that naviga- tion between this city and Albany is noarly closed for the season, the stream being filled with huge masses of floating ice, rendering tho passage of the steamers very difficult. The ice gorge in the Mississippi river, belowSt. Louis, gave way on Saturday afternoon, sinking or seriously damaging a dozen steamers and soveral smaller vessels, and causing great loss of property. The Rev. Dr. Cheever preached a sermon in his church, in Union square, last evening, on negro rights ‘and negro suffrage, in which he complained that the country is cruelly neglecting the rightful claims of the freedmen; charged that President Johnson’s plan of re- construction tends to the re-establishment of slavery, ahd alluded to the recent occurrences in Jamaica as a warn- ing to our people of the consequences of injustice to the blacks, He said that the Jamaica outbreak was not a preconcerted affair, but merely a riot, and that the means taken for its suppression by the British authori- ties wero deliberate massacres. Bishop Vail, of Kansas, preached yesterday afternoon in St. Ligge’s Hospital, in Fifty-fourth street, taking for his subject the life and sufferings of Christ and the wonderful power to Christians of his crucifixion. The annual sermon in behalf of the City Mission and Tract Society was delivered last evoning in the Fourth avenue Presbyterian church by the Rev. Howard Crosby. ‘The annual reports were also read on tho occasion, show- ing, among other interesting facts, that the receipts of the society for the past year were over twenty-seven thousand dollars. A mecting of confectioners took place yesterday at 16 Prince street, for the purpose of perfecting the orga- nization of their newly formed protection society. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and a president and other officers were elected. There were only about a dozen members of the association present. The obsequies of Signor Augustino Rovere, the buffo singer, whose demise was recorded in last Thursday's Henao, wok place yesterday, the burial service being read at St. Stephen's church, in Twenty-cighth street. ‘The Rev. Dr. Cummings delivered a brief address, sub- sequent to which the romains of the deceased were borne from the church and conveyed for interment to Calvary Cemetery. The new and splendid organ lately constructed for St. Ann’s church, in Eighth street, was tested last even- ing at a sacred concert held in the edifice, which was crowded on the occasion in every part. Archbishop Mc- Closkey was among those present. Conaress.—The two houses of Congress re- assemble to-day, and some interesting proceed- ings, in the shape of resolutions, &c., may be expected in both. The House has passed a joint resolution to adjourn over from Wednes- day till the 9th of January, so as to give the members the privilege of enjoying without stint Christmas, New Year’s and the 8th of January among their holidays. This resolu- tion will probably be concurred in by the Senate to-day, and, as the salaries of Congress- men are the same—three thousand a year— recess or no recess, long or short session, there can be no objection to the proposed recess. Indeed, if it were to be lengthened, say to the Ist of May next, it would be a good thing, in giving to the ident « fair opportunity to work up his programme of reconstruction with- out interruption. We call upon the Hon. Mr. Raymond, who professes to support the admin- istration, to suggest ¢o Senator Sumner the expediency of some such amendment of the House resolution, a) Geverat Grant’s Movements.—We learn from Washington that General Grant has no intention at present of a visit to the Rio Grande, and that he is not likely to leave Washington until Congressional action has been had on military affairs, unless sooner taken away by unforeseen contingencies. In other words, General Grant awaits authority from Congress, or some utgent events on the Mexi- can border, to take him on a journey in that direction. That he expects to be called is very likely; that he is ready to leave on a short no- tice we have satisfaction to know from his e recept poor eg land, France and the United States. American commerce is reviving, and the Amer- joan flag, covering our so long unemployed mer- chant marine, is again seen floating in all the commercial harbors of the world. American citizens are again travelling all over creation; American enterprise is again beginning to show itself in cemote regions; in short, the everlasting Yankee nation has again, after a brief interval, undertaken the work of spread- ing the lights of civilization, progress and re- publican liberty among all the benighted peo- ples of the earth. To protect American com- merce and sustain the progress of American ideas it is necessary, among the first things, to establish our reputation as a fighting nation, especially upon the seas; and to show that we are prepared to do 0 it is barely required to refer to what we have already done in building up a splendid navy within a period without parallel in the naval history of the world. Contrasted with the naval improvements within the same space of time in England and France, the United States seem like an ancient Power, only to be likened: to those Herodotus speaks: of when the operations of fleets numbering fifteen hundred line-of-battle ships in a single expedi- ‘tion were recorded. In the yéar 1859, or about five yoars ago—a period we shall make the basis for our com- parisons—we find the total British navy to con- sist of seven hundred and fifty-one vessels of all classes, with fourteen thousand two hun- dred and forty guns, Of these ninety- five were ships-of-the-line, ninety-six frigates, “two hundred and fourteen corvettes and sloops, one hundred and sixty-two gunboats, &. There were no iron-clads at this time in the British navy—in fact, it was not until some year or two after that they were introduced. In 1864 the total navy of Great Britain consisted of five hundred and six vessels of all classes, with nine thousand seven hundred and thirty- two guns—nine thousand of which were car- ried by steamers with an aggregate of about one hundred and twenty-three thousand horse power, This shows an aggregate loss in the number of ships in the British navy in five years of two hundreg and forty-five vessels, and of over five thousand five hundred in the number of guns. Inthe meantime guns of heavier calibre and longer range were em- ployed. Armor-plated vessels also began to find a place in the British squadrons; and not- withstanding the comparative failure of the iron-clad Warrior and Black Prince, the first experiments of the kind, we find, to quote an English print, that “in order not to lag behind in the terrible race of competition which was forced upon them by other States’”’-- it might have said the United States--the Brit- ish navy, in 1864, included eleven iron steam screw ships-of-the-line afloat and in process of construction, four iron-clad corvettes and sloops (screws), two turreted iron-clads, three iron and four iron-clad batteries. The total number of screw steamers afloat was four hundred, and thirty-seven constructing, several of the latter having since been launched. It will thus be seen that while Great Britain has been reduc- ing the number of her naval vessels and guns, she has adopted the American policy of intro- ducing iron-clad vessels with better cannon. At this time the London Times, while grieving under the advancing strides the American navy was making in improvement, consoled itself with the reflection that if the British iron-clads were not yet the best that could be designed, “they were certainly as good as any others afloat.” The French navy in 1859 consisted of four hundred and forty-nine vessels, carrying eight thousand four hundred and twenty-two guns, ineluding fifty-one shipe-of-the-line, of which thirty-seven were steamers; ninety-seven frig- ates, including four iron-clads, which carried one hundred and forty-four guns; thirty-eight corvettes, twenty of which were propelled by steam. The aggregate horse power was seventy-seven thousand eight hundred and twenty. About this period the British began to exhibit considerable jealousy towards the French on account of their naval improvements, particularly in the introduction of steamers and iron-clads. The fact that, according to the French regulations, no captain in the merchant service was allowed to command a ship until he had served two years on board a man-of- war was descanted upon in English prints, to show the advantage the French would have over the British in the personnel of their navy. In 1864 France had a more formidable navy afloat than her ancient rival. It consisted of five hundred and thirty vessels, carrying eight thousand five hundred and fifty guns, or eighty- one ships and one hundred and twenty-eight guns more than in 1859. The horse power of the steam vessels had increased to one hundred and six thousand and seventy-three, or twenty- nine thousand two hundred and fifty-three in five years. But this was not all. Following fast upon every improvement in the American navy—and it would seem as if the French Em- peror had secured models in advance of our naval inventions—we find that within two or three years, during our rebellion, the iron-clads in the French navy had increased to forty-six, carrying one thousand and sixty-eight guns. In the French papers our Monitors were referred to as “those strange-looking machines invented by the Americans.” Our readers will observe from the above the impetus that American naval improvements, which the rebellion incited, has ‘given to the naval armaments of England and France. We will now examinejby comparison what those improvements consist of. In 1859 the American navy did not look im- posing even on paper. Quoting British authority of that year our line-of-battle ships and frigates could “make tolerable progress before the wind; 80 can a Chinese junk or # Dutch galliot; but that is no evidence of valuable sailing qualities.” The same writer, one of considera- ble experience, apparently, in European naval matters, also aseerted that “the science of naval architecture does not seem as yetto be in a very advanced state in the dockyards of the United States.” Our naval roster in 1859 showed a list of ten ships-of-the-line, eleven sailing frigates, twenty-one sloops-of-war, three brigs and a schooner, besides seven first clase steam frigates, six second class, and two third class, all propellers; also eleven paddle steamers, two steam tenders and five storeships—in all, seventy-eight vessels, Of the line-of-battle ships four were upon the stocks, and most of the others were hardly re- garded as seaworthy, Mark the contrast. In 1864 the United States navy consisted of six hundred and seventy-one vessels, carrying four thousand six hyndred apd ten guns, with g ton- nage of five hundred and ten thousand three hundred and ninety-three tons. Of these we had of screw and paddle-wheel steam- ers, especially constructed for naval pur- poses, one hundred and sixty-five, car- rying two thousand and fifty guns; screw and paddle-wheel steamers captured, purchased and fitted for naval purposes, three hundred and twenty-three, carrying one thou- sand five hundred and thirty-five guns; sailing vessels of all classes, one hundred and twelve, with eight hundred and fifty guns; iron-clad vessels, seventy-one, carrying two hundred and seventy-five guns. Thus it will be seen that while the American navy in 1859 consisted of soventy-elght vessels of all classes—moat of them sailing ships and unseaworthy—in 1864 it bad risen to the magnitude of a navy of a firat class Power, with an increase in the number of fighting vessels of nearly six hundred, and an in- crease in the number of guns of three thousand three hundred and sixty. As regards the por sonnel of our navy, it may be stated that at the beginning of the rebellion it consisted of seven thousand six hundred men, and at its close— all within the five years we have named—it had risen to fifty-one ‘thousand fiye hundred, very nearly reaching the personnel of the Eng:; lish. navy, which, according to our latest re- ports, was about sixty thousattd. men, including | the East Indian navy. Her naval ‘reserve is one hundred and twenty thousand men. We could raise one hundred and fifty thousand if circumstances should require it, But it was not in the number of vessels or guns that marked this almost miraculous increase in the navy of the United States. It was principally in the formidable character of the vessels built and the extraordinary calibre and weight of metal in the batteries of recent invention employed. In the building of iron-clad vee- sels the record shows that we are in advance of both England and France combined, as the following comparative statement will show:— COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF IBON-CLADS IN ant Tron-clads in French navy Tron-ciads in British navy Total in England and France Tron-clads in American navyt.... ‘gales Difference in favor of America over both. .........+ * These include floating iron and iron-clad batteries for harbor defence. t Exctusive of iron-clads on the Mississippi and other Weatorn rivers, TOTAL NUMBER OF NAVAL VESSELS IN COMMISSION IN 1864. No. Vessels. Guns. United State: +671 4,610 Great Britain 9,732 France. 8,550 In the last table it will be seen that the weight of metal appears to be against the United States. But this is not in reality the case. A little incident will show why. A short time ago an American man-of-war (the Wyom- ing) was at St. Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and a controversy grose between one of her officers and an English naval officer. “How many guns do you carry?” asked the English- man. “Six,” replied the American. “Ob, we carry eleven,” rejoined the Englishman. “What weight of metal do you throw at a broadside?” “About eighty pounds.” “Well,” replied the officer of the Wyoming, “one of our guns alone throws one hundred and sixty-eight pounds— that’s double your whole broadside.” And that is enough to settle the question of the weight of metal in the respective navies. The iron-clads are the vessels with which the great naval battles of the future will be fought; and as it will be seen that the American navy in 1864 had the preponderance of two to one over both her transatlantic rivals, there need be no doubt as to what may happen in case the dire conflict for naval supremacy arises. But this depends upon what the United States government determines to do in regard to our naval establishment. We do not approve of large expenditures at this time; on the con- trary, retrenchment in every branch of govern- ment expenditures is demanded. But in the meantime, by establishing government foun- dries for the construction, repair and al- teration of iron-clad vessels and batte- ries, and for the purpose of experimenting upon whatever may be practically suggested as improvements in this invaluable arm of the naval service, by enlarging our navy yards and increasing their number, and by always having in view the importance of supplying the places of old and worn out wooden hulks by new and invulnerable iron-clads-- it costs as much to man the one as it does the other—the United States will be steadily aug- menting the power of their navy, and gradu- ally approaching that period when, although Great Britain may be declared the mistress and France the master, yet, in reality, the American navy will be the monarch of the seas, and American commerce prosper and the erican name honored wherever the Ameri- flag may be unfarled. Tux Dyinc StrucGies or Siavery ms Kex- vecky.--Slavery in Kentucky dies hard. In the Senate of that State, on the 11th instant, there were some very curious proceedings, dis- closing the predominant influence of the pro- slavery spirit,a specimen of which will suffice for the present. Mr. Benton offered a resolu- tion looking to the repeal of all laws in rela- tion to slavery, Mr. Helm denied the validity of the adoption of the constitutional amend- ment by Southern States under compulsion. Even if their votes should be counted, the thing would not be binding on Kentucky. Her right to slavery was a reserved right, which could not be infringed upon. Mr. Cochran, of Shelby, however, took the rag off the bush. “He de- nied the power of amending the constitution 80 as to destroy slavery. Slavery was an in- herent State right above the constitution. If every State in the Union were to ratify the amendment, it still would not be binding upon Kentucky. And the man who favored this measure was as much a rebel as Jeff. Davie. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson were a8 much, if not more, traitors to the gov- ernment as Jeff. Davis (as is the word in the speech). The country was nothing more nor leas than an empire, with President Johnson as ite dictator. When the President used the army to destroy slavery he was in open rebellion against the government. He hoped the reso- lution would be voted down,” and it was voted down—yeas 15, nays 19—on the question of its adoption. From this evidence, we guess that the Ken- tucky Legislature is not yet prepared fora ratification of the constitutional amendment ; but that ber foolish pro-slavery managing poli- ticians will persist in their course of folly until they make the State too hot to hold them. Kentucky, during the war, was a heavy drag upon the North, and now since the return of peace she is making herself a dead weight | upon the shgpidera of the South. With this after, studied or protected. be a subject worthy of the immediate attention of the Secretary of the Treasury. celebrated predecessors in former days made the commerce of the country their especial care, and gained by their devotion to it their widest and most exalted reputations. think it quite’ time that some of the smaller rampant secesh Legislature behind them, her representatives in Congress will have very little influence at Washington in favor of any- thing for the benefit of Kentucky. The Interests of Commerce. While we perceive that at the seat of govern- ment there is a constant activity in the discus- sion of certain political questions, and indeed @ creditable examination of many particular subjects, there is also a very reprehensible neglect of others. It seems to be quite forgot- ten that this is a commercial country, that we have a large body of merchants, numberless ships, harbors and seaports, and a vast traffic on a natural basis with distant countries. It seems to be too little considered that our cus- toms revenues are a material support to the credit of the funded debt of the country, and that the receipts in this direction have been hitherto, and might be again, sufficiently large to permit a reduction of our present heavy in- ternal taxation. We are, therefore, not satis- fled with the apparent neglect with which the interests of commerce are postponed to other leas important considerations. It is well known that our foreign trade, or a great.part of it, ie carried. on under commer- cial conventions, treaties and arrangements which were the work of former years, many of them quite obsolete, and that reciprocity of ad- vantages has long been lost sight of on our part; that all over the commercial world important ‘local, if not general, changes are taking place, by which we do not profit, of which indeed most of us are ignorant, and which are not officially made known to our merchants and shippers. It is doubtful, at this moment, whether a complete copy of foreign tariffs or port charges can be found together at any one place in the United States ; certainly they are not to be seen anywhere in this great com- mercial emporium of commercial access, and are not within the reach of the most enterpris- ing merchants at the chambers of commerce and boards of trade. There are local port regulations constantly occurring abroad, of which we are not informed, working directly against the convenience of our shipowners and shipmasters, and of which we should not be ignorant. It is also a fact that the British government is at the present moment, and has for years past been, engaged in procuring more favorable modifications for her foreign commerce in the various eountries of Europe, and recently with much success. But even where such caanges have a general bearing, and, in fact, might inure to our benefit also, there is no method by which we in this country may be early ap- prised of the changes. Here are two striking examples :—Within a few months past the East India government has materially reduced its import and export duties, making, in many re- spects, a change highly favorable to American production and commerce, and yet the fact itself is scarcely known in this country. The government of Brazil has also very recently liberalized its commercial regulations so far as almost to free its ports; duties have been lowered, the salines opened to trade, and steamers under every flag allowed to navigate its rivers, whose shores are lined with the most valuable natural products. ~ The British merchants are in both cases already in advance of ys in reaping these new advantages. Indeed, their government, ever on the look out for trade and commerce, exercises a sleepless vigilance in seeking new outlets; nor only this, but by constant pub- lication of their well written Consular reports, in a popular form as well as in the newspa- pers, keeps the British public constantly ad- vised of every promising opening. Thus, for example, take a single instance :—A Consular agent recently wrote home from China that the people of that country were beginning to use common window glass in their dwellings in place of oiled paper. This was immediately communicated at home, and thus, while our own China ships cannot find at our wharves a cargo which will bear transportation to the flowery land in return for teas, the British mer chants are fitting up China with window glass ata profit, The truth is, the Consular docu- ments continually made public in England (not in great and cumbrous quartos of inconvenient size and rarely seen) are most valuable and able productions, and materially assist in the pro- gress and extension of its commerce. Her Consuls are generally first class men, and are obliged to possess certain qualifications of education, language and experience, which give them a great advantage over mere illiter- ate office seekers and politicians who swarm from this country all over the world to mis- represent us. ff American commerce is to take the rank it should, if ite official agents abroad are to bear any resemblance to the splendid ships we build, and the superior masters who command them, our system must be changed essentially, And, first of all, our existing commercial con- ventions must be revised and modernized. There are some countries where we are trading at an immense disadvantage for mere want of pro- per attention to the subject. Our relaiions with Spain might be placed on a much better footing than they now are, and at one time the change was within our reach, but suffered to escape from sheer neglect. Our commerce with South America is all at loose ends, that with Colombia is fast leaving ‘us, under the want of mail communication, and the effect of a tariff and customs regulations which in form are almost a prohibitiort. compared with that of Great Britain is two per cent as to forty. Indeed we know little and care leas about these southern republics. seems no department or burean at Washington Tn Chile our trade as And there where these interests of commerce are looked It would seem to His most We topics of the politicians shall give place to these larger questions. It is well enough, per- haps, to take them up occasionally and give them an airing; but it is a deep injustice to the merchants and shippers of this country to ignore any longer these great and suffering interests of commerce. Mr. Sewarp’s DinneR TO THE n Howse Com- mittee on Foreion Arrars—On Saturday evening last Mr. Seward, at his private resi- dence in Washington, dined the House Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, of which General Banks is chairman. The object of this special digner was, no doubt, to bring (he House com- mi to an understanding with the Sate De- partment in reference to Mexican affaim. The House is ready for action; but Mr. Seward may desire a little extension of time, and thisobject will probably be gained through this confiden- tial dinner to the House committee. Pieces of Plate for Oily Gammon sad Joyce Heth in Breeches. That Oily Gammon’s unsuccessful season as the Academy catacombs should close with a final exhibition of foolish and pretentious bum- bug was most appropriate. A good manager, like a good captain, needs no complimentary resolutions and votes of thanks to recommend | hum to the public, nor does he require to have the old, exploded, transparent dodge of a pre- sentation of silver plate revived for his beneat. The passengers in a first class steamer take their arrival at their destined port as a matter of course; but when the steamer is old’ and leaky, the cabins uncomfortable, the staterooms dirty and the officers ignorant and uncivil, them look out for a vote of thanks towards the end of the voyage. Some friend or agent of the captain starts the idea; the passenger anxious to curry favor draws up the paper, the nice, civil people, who. would not refuse anybody anything, lead off with their nantes; the people who are only too happy to be in the \ fashion then follow;.the grumblers are won over by @ little persuasion, or dash off their signatures by way of a grim joke, and at last the complimentary resolutions are complete, and are duly published in the leading journals, whose shrewd readers rightly interpret them as an expression of thankfulness that the dreary voyage is over, and that things have been no worse, The paper presented to Oily Gammon at the close of his operatic voyage, the other evening, is precisely of this character. One of Oily Gammon’s newspaper organs contributed no less than four of the names with which it is signed; the Academy stockholders mustered in full force to endorse their tenant, so a3 to help him pay the rent; the clever fellows, who are ready to’ sign anything, from a note of | hand to a call fora political meeting, were well represented, and a few Wall atreet brokers, anxious to obtain their “ leotle per- shentage ” on moneys loaned, filled out the laughable list. We don’t suppose, in this case, that the silver plate displayed belonged to the gentleman of this city who owns an immense watch, generally used upon such occasions, which, as he says, has been presented to over one hundred people, only two of whom ever had the impudence to attempt to keep it, We hope that Oily Gammon will be able to hold on to this plate, now that the ceremonies are over, and fot have it go the rounds of this famous watch, The card which contains the vote of thanks to Oily Gammon is a very curious document. It begins by asserting that the various virtues of this estimable person have been apparent to the public for twenty years; but it does not explain why the gentlemen whose nfines are appended never thought of acknowledging his merits before. ' It is certainly gs, eingular cir- cumstance that these persons should observe this extraordinarily virtuous man with calm and quiet indifference for twenty years, and then, at the end of that long period, rush at him with a letter and a piece of plate, without the slightest reasonable excuse for offering him either. The machinery which caused this startling eruption of gratitude is even more evident than that which moves the ship in The Africam. If our appeals for operatic and theatrical reforms have already reduced Olly Gammon to such ex- tremities that he is forced to resort to what Is technically called “the presentation gag,” in order to keep up appearances, then we have been more speedily successful than we could have hoped. But it is utterly useless for the Academy humbug to try to answer operatie criticiems by publishing a card signed by peo- ple who only know enough about art to dis- tinguish the difference between a banknote and a note of music. Ridiculously enough, the card, which is intended to be complimentary, aptly expresses the cast of mind of the persons who signed it, and unintentionally touches upon Oily Gammon’s sorest points. It has very little to say about art; but it speaks bluntly of Oily Gammon’s “ difficulties,” of his “ responsi- bilities” and of his “embarrassments.” Con- cerning some of these difficulties, responsibili- ties and embarrassments, several of the persons who figured in this presentation business doubt- less have most tender recollections; but we cannot admit the propriety of this public refer- ence to them upon an occasion when the donors are expected to be as polished as the plate, and to play their parts as nicely. To take such an opportunity to remind Oily Gammon of his pecuniary affairs, and of the suits for libel which he has been obliged to bring to vindi- cate the reputation of an establishment which ought not to need vindication, and of other little matters of this sort, seems to us the very refinement of cruelty. There is a certain eav- age humor about the joke; but it does little credit to the heads and hearts of those who concocted it and made Oily Gammon and his friends their victime. Now that the opera season is over, and Oily Gammon’s troupe have gone away, we call the attention of the presentation committee to another showman, even more worthy of their favors. The only reason they gave for com- plimenting Oily Gammon was that he had been combatting his difficulties for twenty years ; but the Joyce Heth in breeches of the Museum has been engaged in the same pug- nacious exercises for a much longer period— the time being kept by Jerome’s clocks. Thirty years ago, in the Herato of December 21, 1835, appeared an advertisement headed “Joyce Heth,” and informing the public that “this lively and interesting relic of antiquity, who has attained the wonderful age of one hundred and sixty-one years, and is in full possession of all her senses, has returned to her old quarters, No. 714 Bowery, where she will remain during the holidays. No money will be received from any person who is not entirely satisfied with the exhibition, and con- vinced beyond a doubt that she was the nurse of General Washington and is as old as repre- sented.” From that day to this our Joyce Heth in breeches has deluded the public with similar exhibitions; inviting them to witness the Feejee mermaid, the woolly horse, the what is it? and the Circassian girls, with an “energy” and a “persevering devotion” fully equal to Oily Gases and with much more “gnocessful results.” Why, then, should he not be honored with a vote of thanks and a silver plate? * He is quite as ready as Oily Gammon to offer free tickets for the one and to pay for the aap of the qher. What “dey i \