more than three years on its journey to the earth. The whole starry firmament, seemingly so bright, may, for aught we know, have been quenched in everlasting darkness three years ago. Were such a catastrophe conceivable, the lamps of heaven would go out, one by one, to mortal eyes, year after year, and century after century, until, some two thousand years hence, the faint light of stars of the sixth and seventh magnitude would alone hold on its journey. ered that observations of this kind are beset with such numerous sources of error, in refraction, aberration, and the like. The method adopted by Bessel, on the other hand, obviates those sources of error. It has some analogy to the method of obtaining the distance of the sun by means of a transit of Venus, inasmuch as the observations are not those of the absolute position of one body, but of the relative positions of two. The basis on which the operations are conducted is this: Certain stars are so nearly in the same direction in the heavens as not to be easily separated. Some of these are in reality double-twin stars revolving about each other—at any rate, physically connected. Others have no such connection; and it is argued that, in certain cases, the smaller of the two is likely to be at an enormous distance behind the other. When such is actually the case, there will be a change of the relative positions of the two as viewed from different parts of the earth's orbit, and the amount of that change will depend on the proximity of the nearer star to our system, in precisely the same way as a tree will shift its place more or less rapidly, with respect to a distant hill, as the spectator is carried along in his journey. It is on stars so circumstanced that observations with the view of detecting a parallax were instituted by Bessel. No absolute measures of position of either star are required; simply the relative distances and directions of the one with respect to the other. Thus all sources of error due to refraction, aberration, and many other causes, which equally affect both stars, are got rid of. All that was known about the distances of the stars thirty or forty years ago was this negative fact. No star nearer than the parallactic unit, as it is called, of twenty millions of millions of miles! Whether any were so near, or any thing approaching the distance, nobody could say. At length the question of distance was resolved. And here occurs one of those singular duplications-twins in the births of thought-with which the history of science abounds. The first determination of the distance of a star from the earth was worked out simultaneously by two men, under circumstances which precluded the possibility of mutual assistance; and the results were presented to the world within a few days of each other. The memoir of Bessel, which announced a sensible parallax for 61 Cygni, appeared on the 13th of December, 1838. That of Professor Henderson, in which the parallax of a Centauri was established, was read to the Astronomical Society on the 6th of January, 1839, and had of course been in the hands of the Society some days previously. There was no desire on the part of either astronomer to contest the claims of the other. Many years subsequently it was my good fortune to unite with Professor Henderson in entertaining his illustrious friend, Bessel; and it was a gratifying sight to witness the warmth of affection with which these two good men welcomed each other as fellow-workers in the same field. They have both gone to their rest-Henderson too early for science; Bessel at an advanced age, and full of honors. The stars which Henderson and Bessel select-line to one or two stars ten times as far away as ed were in one respect very unlike. That of Henderson is a bright star in the southern hemisphere; that of Bessel is a faint, inconspicuous star in the northern. But the stars have one thing in common-both have large proper motions. They are not fixed stars, in the strict sense of the word; they move on by a few seconds annually. And this circumstance of a proper motion was an argument in the minds of the astronomers that those stars are in close prox-conscious of the close proximity of our gaze. imity to our system. This fact, and not their size, was the ground on which they were selected. Professor Henderson commenced his calculations with a different object, and only diverted them into the channel of distance when he ascertained the amount of proper motion which the star has. His observations were not undertaken with a view to this question; they were ordinary meridian observations. And it is not to be wondered at that astronomers were very cautious in admitting results so obtained, when it is consid The conclusion may be stated in a single sentence. The star selected by Henderson is only a little beyond the parallactic unit (twenty millions of millions of miles); that selected by Bessel is about three times as far away. Other stars have been reached, but these two are the nearest known. With a trembling and uncertain hand astronomers have stretched out their the farthest of these. But the great host of heaven lie incalculably farther back. Shall we ever reach them? Judging from present appearances, we are compelled to answer in the negative. The stars, as we gaze into the sky, seem to defy us. For what do we see there? Close around us we see bright lamps pretty equally distributed over the vault of heaven. They twinkle and dance before us as though But let us look again. Clasping the whole vault of heaven, we see a belt of faint light, some twelve degrees in breadth. This is the milky way, the galactic circle. To the ancients, it was part of the milk which washed the purple stains from the lily; to the moderns, it is the universe itself-the stupendous whole, of which the brighter stars are but the portions which lie nearest to this little spot of earth. You may understand this if you bear in mind that the spherical appearance of the heavens is a neces sary consequence of vast and unknown distance. There is no reality in this appearance. The arrangement of the stars is somewhat like an extended sheet of cardboard, of small thickness. Or, rather, you should imagine a vast plain planted with orange-trees, all loaded with yellow fruit. These oranges in countless myriads are the stars. We are situated near the centre of this grove. Our sun is a small orange; the earth and the planets are tiny buds grouped around it. The neighboring branches are thinly supplied with fruit, and few fruit-stalks bear more than a single orange. But the grove is of boundless extent. Looking on every side, the eye takes in myriads of golden balls, extending away right and left, until individual oranges are no longer distinguishable, except by the glow of light which they send to the eye. This glow is the milky way. Looking upward or downward from the milky way, there is no such profusion of scattering. Much bright fruit does, indeed, cluster on the upper and lower branches; and an unpracticed eye is deceived into the belief that the number is infinite. But the eye of an astronomer, armed with proper instruments, finds it far otherwise. He can count the stars; he can gauge the heavens; and the conclusion to which he will arrive is, that the number which the eye takes in diminishes gradually from the galactic circle upward or downward. And this diminution is not only regular, but is very great indeed. From such considerations as these, conjecture has ripened into conviction, that the solar system is a part of the milky way; that the scattered bright stars are those parts of the same which lie in our immediate neighborhood; and that the whole group forms a vast, extended, rolling prairie of stars. The milky way is, therefore, to human apprehension, nothing less than the universe itself. True, there may be other galactic systems, other prairies, other orange groves, as far separated from ours as the prairies of America are from the groves of Europe. Some of the remarkable nebulæ seem to hint at the possibility of the thing. On such a subject it is premature to speculate. Now, it is only those oranges that cluster round us, those which grow on the same branch with our sun, that we have succeeded in stretching out our hand to. What arithmetic shall suffice to count the distance of those which lie on the remoter trees of our grove, the faintest groups of the milky way? What imagination shall wing its flight to those still more shadowy groups which constitute the unresolved nebulæ ? The yard-measure is too puny; the hand of man is too feeble. An angel's hand must grasp the rod that shall mete out the length and breadth of this golden grove. Man has gone up through the immensity of space and strained his line till it will bear no more. Other generations may mount higher, but only to find the vast circles ever widening beyond. The position which we have reached is a lofty one; but, lofty as it is, future ages shall use it as their point of departure. It is an ennobling thought to console us amidst our many failures. Man rises by the aid of that Divine faculty which pertains to him alone of all created beings-the faculty of accumulating stores of knowledge, of working in succession, of acting on intelligence transmitted from age to age. The great English philosopher, Bacon, describes man as the "interpreter of nature.” But this is not his highest, not his characteristic designation; for, are not the beasts, are not the birds, are not the very insects interpreters of nature? It is as the interpreter of man, the interpreter of man's records, that man stands distinguished. Herein reason transcends instinct, that its gifts are transmissive and cumulative. Mind does not stand supported by the mind which exists around it, not simply, not mainly. There is a higher and a broader support. The minds of the great of by-gone ages live and work in the breasts of their successors. The old Greeks, I suppose. knew this, and embodied it in the fable of Athene, the goddess of knowledge, who sprang into existence not as a naked, helpless child, but as a grown-up being, clad in complete armor, from the head of Zeus. Monthly Record of Current Events. UNITED STATES. is now awake to the importance of averting possible HE news of the seizure of Messrs. Mason and conflict, and is disposed to confer and act with earn more fully a so, are meet great excitement in Great Britain. Meanwhile Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, under date of November 30, had forwarded to Mr. Adams, our Minister to England, a dispatch, in which he commends the general action of Mr. Adams; affirms that the insurrection is only kept alive by the hope of a recognition by England and France, and that it **would perish in ninety days if these hopes should cease;" and says that he has never believed "that such a recognition could take place without producing immediately a war between the United States and the recognizing Powers." He adverts to a conversation between our Minister and Lord Palmerston, from which he infers that "the British Government them in the same spirit." Mr. Seward continues: "Since that conversation was held, Captain Wilkes, in the steamer San Jacinto, has boarded a British colonial steamer and taken from her deck two insurgents, who were proceeding to Europe on an errand of treason against their own country. This is a new incident, unknown to, and unforeseen, at least in its circumstances, by Lord Palmerston. It is to be met and disposed of by the two Governments, if possible, in the spirit to which I have ading the subject to me, as he is, I presume, waiting instruc verted. Lord Lyons has prudently refrained from opentions from home. We have done nothing on the subject to anticipate the discussion; and we have not furnished you with any explanations. We adhere to that course now, because we think it more prudent that the ground taken by the British Government should be first made known to us here; and that the discussion, if there must be one, shall be had here. It is proper, however, that you should know one fact in the case, without indicating that we attach importance to it, namely, that in the capture of Messrs. Mason and Slidell on board a British vessel, Captain Wilkes, having acted without any instructions from the Government, the subject is therefore free from the embarrassment which might have resulted if the act had been specially directed by us. "I trust that the British Government will consider the subject in a friendly temper, and it may expect the best disposition on the part of this Government." On the same day (November 30) Earl Russell forwarded a dispatch to Lord Lyons, the English Minister at Washington, in which he details the circumstances of the seizure of the Confederate Envoys, who, he says, "were taken from on board a British vessel, the ship of a neutral Power, while such vessel was pursuing a lawful and innocent voyage-an act of violence which was an affront to the British flag, and a violation of international law." Earl Russell then presents the British demands as follows: "Her Majesty's Government, bearing in mind the friendly relations which have long subsisted between Great Britain and the United States, are willing to believe that the United States naval officer who committed the aggression was not acting in compliance with any authority from his Government, or that, if he conceived himself to be so authorized, he greatly misunderstood the instructions which he had received. For the Government of the United States must be fully aware that the British Government could not allow such an affront to the national honor to pass without full reparation; and her Majesty's Government are unwilling to believe that it could be the deliberate intention of the Government of the United States unnecessarily to force into discussion between the two Governments a question of so grave a character, and with regard to which the whole British nation would be sure to entertain such unanimity of feeling. Her Majesty's Government, therefore, trust that, when this matter shall have been brought under the consideration of the Government of the United States, that Government will, of its own accord, offer to the British Government such redress as alone could satisfy the British nation, namely: The liberation of the four gentlemen and their delivery to your lordship, in order that they may again be placed under British protection, and a suitable apology for the aggression which has been committed. Should these terms not be offered by Mr. S ward, you will propose them to him." Mr. Seward, "the choice is between that judicial remedy, or no judicial remedy whatever. If there be no judicial remedy, the result is that the question must be determined by the captor himself on the deck of the prize vessel." The objections to such a course are pointed out by the Secretary, who continues: "In the present case, Captain Wilkes, after capturing the contraband persons, and making prize of the Trent in what seems to us a perfectly lawful manner, instead of sending her into port, released her from the capture, and permitted her to proceed with her whole cargo upon her voyage. He thus effectually prevented the judicial examination which might otherwise have occurred. "I trust that I have shown to the satisfaction of the British Government, by a very simple and natural statement of the facts and analysis of the law applicable to them, that this Government has neither meditated nor action to which they have called its attention, and, on the practiced, nor approved, any deliberate wrong in the transcontrary, that what has happened has been simply an inadvertency, consisting in a departure by the naval officer -free from any wrongful motive-from a rule uncertainly established, and, probably, by the several parties concerned, either imperfectly understood or entirely unknown. For this error the British Government has a right to expect the same reparation that we, as an independent State, should expect from Great Britain, or from any other friendly nation, in a similar case." The principles upon which the Administration has decided this case are embodied in the instructions given in 1804, by James Madison, Secretary of State in the Administration of Thomas Jefferson, to James Monroe, Minister to England: "Whenever," he says, "property found in a neutral vessel is supposed to be liable on any ground to capture and condemnation, the rule in all cases is that the question shall not be decided by the captor, but be carried be fore a legal tribunal, where a regular trial may be had, and where the captor himself is liable to damages for an abuse of his power. Can it be reasonable, then, or just, that a belligerent commander who is thus restricted, and thus responsible in a case of mere property, of trivial amount, shall be permitted, without recurring to any tribunal whatever, to examine the crew of a neutral vessel, to decide the important question of their respective allegi ances, and to carry that decision into execution by forcing every individual he may choose into a service abhorrent to his feelings, cutting him off from his most tender connections, exposing his mind and his person to the most humiliating discipline, and his life itself to the greatest danger? Reason, justice, and humanity unite in protesting against so extravagant a proceeding." Mr. Seward thus concludes his dispatch: Mr. Seward, on the 26th of December, replied to this dispatch. He maintains that embassadors and their dispatches are contraband of war, and that consequently Captain Wilkes might lawfully stop and search the Trent; and having found the supposed contrabands on board, he had a right to capture "I express my satisfaction that, by the adjustment of them. But they also had a right to trial before a the present case, upon principles confessedly American, tribunal competent to decide the questions of neu- and yet, as I trust, mutually satisfactory to both of the natrality and contraband; and Great Britain, who had tions concerned, a question is finally and rightly settled taken these men under her flag, was bound to pro- forms of peaceful discussion, but also the arbitrament of between them which, heretofore exhausting not only all tect them if they were not contraband, and is enti-war itself, for more than half a century alienated the two tled to be satisfied upon that important question. countries from each other, and perplexed with fears and But the laws of contraband deal directly with prop-apprehensions all other nations, erty, not persons. Our Government, indeed, early suggested that captured persons should be taken into port, and directly subjected to judicial proceedings. To this it was replied that the end might be reached indirectly. It was said: "Convey the suspected men, together with the suspected vessel, into port, and try there the question whether the vessel is contraband. You can prove it to be so by proving the suspected men to be contraband, and the Court must then determine the vessel to be contraband. If the men are not contraband, the vessel will escape condemnation. Still there is no judgment for or against the captured persons. But it was assumed that there would result from the determination of the Court concerning the vei a legal certainty concerning the character of the No other form of judicial process exists than this circuitous and illogical one, and none other has yet been suggested. Practically, therefore," says The four persons in question are now held in military custody at Fort Warren, in the State of Massachusetts. They will be cheerfully liberated. Your lordship will please indicate a time and place for receiving them."" Messrs. Mason and Slidell, with their Secretaries, M'Farland and Eustis, were accordingly, on the 1st of January, put on board the English sloop of war Rinaldo, which had touched at Provincetown, Massachusetts, for that purpose. In the mean while, on the 3d of December, M. Thouvenel, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, addressed to the French Minister at Washington a note setting forth the views of the French Government upon this question. It assumes that the prisoners can not be regarded as "contraband of war;" that they do not come within the category of persons who, under the special stipulations concerning military people, inserted in treaties, could be seized upon by belligerents; and that if they were arrested as rebels, "whom it is always lawful to seize," it was still done in "misapprehension of the principle which makes a vessel a portion of the nation whose flag it bears, and in violation of that immunity which prohibits a foreign sovereign, by consequence, from the exercise of his jurisdiction." In every view of the case, therefore, the French Govcrnment considers the seizure to have been unwarrantable. The note concludes: "Lord Lyons is already instructed to present the demand for satisfaction which the English Cabinet is under the necessity of reducing to form, and which consists in the immediate release of the persons taken from on board the Trent, and in sending explanations which may take from this act its offensive character toward the British flag. The Federal Government will be inspired by a just and exalted feeling in deferring to these requests. One would search in vain to what end, for what interest, it would hazard to provoke by a different attitude a rupture with Great Britain. For ourselves, we should see in that fact a deplorable complication, in every respect, of the difficulties with which the Cabinet of Washington has already to struggle, and a precedent of a nature seriously to disquiet all the Powers which continue outside of the existing contest. We believe that we give evidence of loyal friendship for the Cabinet of Washington by not permitting it to remain in ignorance, in this condition of things, of our manner of regarding it. I request you, therefore, Sir, to seize the first occasion of opening yourself frankly to Mr. Seward, and, if he asks it, send him a copy of this dispatch." "Be it enacted, etc., That, for temporary purposes, the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to issue, on the faith of the United States, $100,000,000 of Treasury Notes, not bearing interest, payable on demand, without specifying any place of payment, and of such denominations as he may deem expedient, not less than $5 each, and such Notes and all other Treasury Notes not bearing interest that have been heretofore authorized to be issued, shall be receivable for all debts and demands due to the United States, and for all salaries, dues, debts, corporations, and associations, within the United States, and demands, owing by the United States to individuals, and shall also be a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, within the United States, and shall be exchangeable at any time at their par value, the same as coin, at the Treasury of the United States, and the offices of the Assistant Treasurers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the depository in Cincinnati, for any of the coupon or registered bonds which the Secretary issue, and such Treasury Notes may be reissued from time of the Treasury is now, or may hereafter be authorized to to time as the exigencies of the public service may require." The essential points in which these notes differ from those formerly issued are, that they are made legal tender for all private and public debts, and that each note is receivable at any of the branch Treasuries in exchange for all Government securities. The Committee have also prepared a Bill for a General Banking Law, embodying the main features suggested by the Secretary of the Navy, as noted in our last Record. The military operations of the month have been Mr. Seward, in reply, refers to the decision of the of some importance, though nothing decisive has President in this case, adding: taken place. On the 13th of December, a sharp "When the French Government shall come to see at action occurred at Alleghany Camp, in Western Virlarge the views of this Government, and those of the Gov-ginia, between the Union forces under General Milernment of Great Britain, on the subject now in question, and to compare them with the views expressed by M. roy, and the enemy under General Johnson. It Thouvenel, on the part of France, it will probably perceive lasted from daylight till dark, when General Milroy that, while it must be admitted that these three Powers withdrew his troops, intending to renew the enare equally impressed with the same desire for the estab-gagement in the morning, but during the night the lishment of principles favorable to neutral rights, there is, at the same time, not such an entire agreement concerning the application of those principles as is desirable to secure that important object. The Government of the United States will be happy, if the occasion which has elicited this correspondence can be improved so as to secure a more definite agreement upon the whole subject by all maritime Powers." enemy abandoned their position. Our loss was 20 killed and 30 wounded; that of the enemy, by their own accounts, 31 killed and 97 wounded.-On the 17th, the Thirty-second Indiana Volunteers were attacked near Munfordsville, Kentucky, by three regiments of the enemy, who were beaten off, after a short fight, with the loss of 62 killed, and many wounded. We lost 13 killed, and 30 wounded.-On the 18th, General Pope cut off a hostile camp near Shawnee Mound, in Missouri, scattering the troops, and taking 300 prisoners. Almost simultaneously, another portion of General Pope's forces, under Colonel Davis and Major Marshall, surprised another camp near Milford, taking 1300 prisoners and capturing a large amount of supplies and ammunition. Our Record closes on the 9th of January. In Congress much time has been spent in considering various propositions looking to the enfranchisement of the slaves of those who have taken part in the insurrection. In the House, all propositions of this nature were, on the 17th of December, referred to the Judiciary Committee.The most important bills actually passed in either House, are the following: Appointing a Joint Committee to inquire into the conduct of the War.-Providing for the cou--On the 20th, General Ord's brigade, consisting struction of twenty iron-clad gun-boats, to be built by contract or otherwise, as the Secretary of the Navy may deem expedient.-Appropriating $1,500,000 for the construction of gun-boats on the Mississippi.Increasing the duties, imposed by the tariff of August, on tea, sugar, and coffee. It imposes upon tea 20 cents instead of 15; upon coffee 5 instead of 3; upon clayed sugar 3 instead of 2; upon brown sugar 24 instead of 2. By a joint resolution, subsequently passed, those articles now in the bonded warehouses may be withdrawn upon the payment of the duties imposed by the tariff of August. mainly of Pennsylvania regiments, had a sharp engagement with the enemy near Dranesville, Virginia, totally routing them, with considerable loss. On the 1st of January a fight took place at Port Royal Ferry, near Beaufort, South Carolina, to which place a detachment was sent to dislodge the enemy from a strong position. The attempt was entirely successful, the enemy falling back to another position on the railroad.—On the 5th, a successful attack was made by General Milroy upon Huntersville, in Western Virginia. The enemy was driven out, with considerable loss, abandoning stores and provisions to a considerable amount. A disastrous fire broke out in Charleston, South Carolina, on the night of the 11th of December, destroying a large part of the business portion of the city. The entire loss is estimated at seven or eight millions of dollars.-On the 21st, the main entrance to the harbor of Charleston was closed by sinking 17 vessels of the "stone fleet" in such a manner as to obstruct the channel.-The negroes near Beaufort have been employed in gathering cotton, and considerable quantities have been sent to New York. Informal measures have been taken for an exchange of prisoners; 240 of those taken at Bull Run have been exchanged for an equivalent number in our hands. Mr. Ely, member of Congress from New York, was exchanged for Mr. Faulkner, lately our Minister to France. The banks in New York suspended specie payments on the 30th of December. This movement was in consequence of the withdrawal by depositors of large amounts of coin, mainly for the purpose of selling it at a premium. The suspension in New York was accompanied by a similar measure in Boston and Philadelphia. SOUTHERN AMERICA. ditions to the forces in Canada were ordered. The iron-clad steamer Warrior was directed to be in readiness to proceed to America, if required; all seamen on leave of absence were ordered to rejoin their ships at once. The prevalent feeling seemed at first to be that a war with the United States was probable if not inevitable. Public feeling was, however, considerably calmed by the publication of the substance of Mr. Seward's dispatch to Mr. Adams, which reached England about the 20th of December, and apparently foreshadowed a disposition on the part of the American Government to accede to what were presumed to be the demands of Great Britain. We have yet to learn the view which will be taken of the definite action of our Government, as embodied in the reply of Mr. Seward to the formal demand of the British Government. Awaiting this, Me cico.-The several divisions of the Spanish ex-military and naval operations were hurried on. At pedition, under General Gasset, rendezvoused before Vera Cruz on the 10th of December. An immediate surrender of the city and the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa was demanded. General Uraga, the Governor, yielded to the demand, asking only a delay of 24 hours in which to effect the evacuation. This was granted, and on the 15th Vera Cruz and its defenses were surrendered. The Spanish General issued a proclamation stating that he had no mission of conquest; his object 'being merely to obtain satisfaction for past injuries, and guarantees for the future; and when these ends were attained, the army would be withdrawn. Argentine Republic.-The army of President Urquiza has been routed, and almost annihilated at Pabon by forces of Buenos Ayres, under General Mitre. This battle, it is supposed, will end the war, all the demands of Buenos Ayres being conceded. Bolivia.-A bloody affair took place at La Paz on the 23d of November. General Fernandez, one of the ministers of President Achia, entered into a plot to overthrow the Government. He pronounced against the President in the south, while Colonel Balza, who had commanded at La Paz, and been superseded with others, in consequence of the massacre of October 23, but who still retained the command of a battalion, attacked the loyal troops in the street. After a sharp fight Balza was defeated, and took refuge in the house of the American Minister. Meanwhile General Yanez, who had ordered the October massacre, took refuge in the palace, where he barricaded himself. The barricades being forced, he fled to the roof, from which he was brought down wounded by shots. He was exposed to every indignity, and then put to death. In this émeute fifty or more were killed and some hundreds wounded. EUROPE. The intelligence of the seizure of Messrs. Mason and Slidell reached England on the 27th of November. The accounts of the particulars of the arrest, given by the officers of the Trent, represented it to have been made in a very offensive manner. The feeling of indignation was strong; the press and public men seemed unanimous in the opinion that the most ample reparation should be demanded. The Government, however, proceeded with great calmness. We have in a former paragraph given its official demand, made on the 30th, three days after the receipt of intelligence of the affair. On the 4th of December a royal proclamation was issued, prohibiting the exportation of arms, ammunition, lead, and naval and military stores. The object of this proclamation was to prevent the dispatch of these articles to the United States. Naval and military preparations were urged forward. Large ad the latest dates, which come down to the end of December, the Warrior had her sails bent, and was ready to be dispatched at immediate notice. The first division of steam gun-boats are ordered to be got ready for immediate service, and the other divisions can be prepared in a very short time. Their number is, in all, about 24, besides which there is a large fleet of mortar-boats. Every regiment in the camp at Aldershott had been medically inspected, so that they might be in readiness to depart immediately for Canada. The whole number of troops already ordered for Canada is stated at 8256, to transport which requires eleven of the largest vessels in the navy. Until hostilities are actually declared, it is said, semi-officially, that no further body of troops is likely to be placed under orders.-There is a prospect of trouble with the Sikhs in India, and batteries of artillery, which were on the point of embarkation for England, were stopped by pressing dispatches from Bengal. The Board of Trade returns show a decline in exports during the year of about 8 per cent.; this decline occurring almost entirely in cotton manufactures.-The Prussian Government is said to have addressed a letter to its Minister at Washington, strongly condemning the seizure of Messrs. Slidell and Mason. Prince Albert Francis Augustus Charles Emanuel, of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, died at Windsor on the 14th of December. He was born at the Castle of Rosenau, near Coburg, August 26, 1819. He was married to the Queen on the 10th of February, 1840. Although he had no official relation to the Government, it was understood that his indirect influence was not inconsiderable. Generally, he was extremely popular in England, but in 1851, Lord Palmerston having been dismissed from office, the idea was entertained that it was owing to the influence of the Prince Consort, whose sympathies were said to be opposed to the interests of his adopted country. Three years later this feeling was renewed to such an extent that the Prince was hissed as he passed into the House, while accompanying the Queen to open Parliament. This suspicion soon disappeared, and since that time the popularity of the Prince has been unabated. His untimely death has caused general grief. neral was celebrated on the 23d. The fu The Austrian Budget has been presented. The debt, which in 1846 was $500,000,000, is now $1,200,000,000, equal to the entire revenue for eight years. The deficit for 1861 is $32,000,000, and that of 1862 $29,000,000. This is to be met, if possible, by borrowing, and by the sale of Crown property. The unsettled state of affairs in Hungary alone has caused a loss to the revenue of $6,000,000. |