iftisttllantous.

Here is another of the rumours about Sir Robert Peel's plans-

" Just as we were going to press, we received a communication from a quarter most likely to be well informed, stating that it is Sir Robert Peel's intention to raise the Income-tax to seven per cent, to repeal the Corn-laws, the Malt-tax, and considerably reduce other burdens upon land. —Cambridge Independent Press.

Lord John Russell dines at Glasgow on Monday, with the Lord Provost and a party of Free-trade friends, at the Town-ball.

The news of Lord John Russell's accession to office created some satis- faction in Lisbon and Madrid: in Lisbon, to the Opposition, who hail any change, in the perpetually disappointed hope that it may help to shake Costa Cabral in his hold of power; and in Madrid, also to the Opposi- tion, hoping for various new turns of policy—resistance to the Queen's marriage with the Count Trappani or the Count of Montemolin, admis- sion of Spanish (Cuban) sugars into English ports, and abolition of the Corn-laws, giving new value to Spanish lands.

The Morning Chronicle yesterday published a curious letter, signed " M. P., a Member of the League." The editor, with a caveat against being supposed to concur in the views of the writer, says that " from his position and character his opinions are entitled to every respect and con- sideration." We subjoin a considerable portion of the letter thus accre- dited—

" I am one who shall regret if Lord John Russell's late move be considered to preclude him and the body of the Whigs from still supporting a moderate fixed duty, or such a modification of the sliding scale as would be tantamount to it; say a duty of 5e. per quarter when the averages (which must be kept up for the sake of file tithe-rent charge) are below 50s.; of 2s. tid. when between bOs. and 60s.; to become nominal when prices are above 60s. " Such a duty would immediately bring in some one or two millions into the Exchequer, and eventually much more; without, in any appreciable degree, checking mercantile speculation and traffic in corn, or its regular growth abroad to meet our demand. Nor do I think it would enhance prices in this country at all: it would only keep them somewhat lower in the producing country.

"Such a scheme would go far to reconcile the growers in this country to the change. And I would further conciliate them by taking half of the county and police rates, as well as of the poor-rate, on the Consolidated Fund. I think it certain that land pays at present more than its just share, as compared with other property, towards the maintenance of the poor, which ought to be a common bur- den. This inequality acts as a check on agriculture, since land pays on its im- proved value. A cotton-mill, employing 1,000 hands, probably pays poor-rates on a value of 1,0001. a year at most; whereas an aggregate of farms, employing 1,000 hands, will pay On from 30,0001. to 40,0004 reckoning about three hands to

m.y hundred acres.

"If the State paid one-half the poor-rate, a larger controlling power than they now possess might he given to the Commission and its officers; by which all abuse of the poor fund, by the local distributors, could easily be prevented.

" I believe such a combination of measures would go far to reconcile the landed interest to the proposed reduction of duty on corn. And another strong reason, as it appears to me,Ior retaining a moderate duty on this article, is that we shall thus evade the not a little embarrassing questions that will otherwise arise, as to the removal of all protecting duties from other articles, manufactured or raw. " It is very well to say, levy duties only for revenue purposes, not for pro- tection.' But on this ground even, why not a moderate duty on corn, as well as on tea, coffee, sugar, and a hundred other articles of equally general use and almost as much necessaries as grain? And, moreover, as long as any customs-duties are kept, they must act, however intended, as protection duties." [So, here is a Leaguer pleading special burdens," vindicating the forced- up averages, advocating " moderate fixed duty," and also even the " sliding scale," with transfer of county-rates and poor-rates to the Consolidated Fund! By anticipation, and tipon sheer presumption, divers Free-traders have been fiercely assailing Sir Robert Peel for contemplating some such plan as that indicated: the censors ought, before they cry out, to see whether they are of accord among themselves. We are here made certain that a Leaguer recommends these things: about Sir Robert Peel's intention nothing is known. Do the initials indicate a name, or " Member of Parliament"; and ought the real initials to be G."?] The Earl of Granville died on Wednesday, at his residence in Bruton Street. Granville Leveson Gower, second son of Granville first Marquis of Stafford, was born in 1773. After attaining his majority, he entered the House of Commons as Member for Staffordshire; but the greater part of his public life was spent in the diplomatic service. He was Ambassador at St. Petersburg; next, accredited Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Hague; and subsequently, Ambassador at Paris; which office he held till the breaking-up of the Melbourne Ministry. The Earl of Granville entered public life under the auspices of Mr. Pitt, but in politics he was a Whig. He was created Baron Leveson, of Stone, in 1815; and in 1333 was further raised to the rank of Earl and Viscount Granville, of Stone Park. In 1809 the deceased Earl married Lady Harriett Elizabeth Caven- dish, second daughter of the late Duke of Devonshire. His eldest son, Lord Leveson, one of the Members for Lichfield, succeeds to the titles and estates. A Grand Cross of the Bath reverts to the Crown.

A set of regulations was issued by the Secretary-at-War, on Tuesday, intended to elevate the tone of feeling among an important class in the Army, that of noncommissioned officers and privates who may merit dis- tinction for good conduct. The warrant is dated from Windsor, on the 19th December, and is comprised in forty-four articles.

By the first it is provided, that whenever her Majesty shall sanction the grant of a commission without purchase to a noncommissioned officer, selected and recommended for this distinction by the Commander-in-chief, there shall be granted to such officer, in aid of an outfit as a commissioned officer, a ram of 1501. if appointed to a cavalry regiment, and of 1001. if appointed to an infantry regiment. Subsequent articles provide that a sum not exceeding 2,0001. per annum be dis- tributed in annuities, of not above 201. each, to sergeants who may be distin- guished for meritorious conduct, on the recommendation of the Commander-in- chief; and that, with the view of rewarding meritorious soldiers when discharged and encouraging good conduct in others, gratuity in addition to ordinary pension may be granted upon discharge to men who shall have completed twenty-one years of actual service in the infantry, or twenty-four in the cavalry. Gratuity to sergeants who shall have served ten years as such, 151.; corporal, seven years as such, 101.; privates, 51. The commanding officer of every regiment to recom- mend such individuals while serving as he shall consider best entitled to the gra- tuity: provided the amount recommended in any one year does not exceed 301. for regiments of establishment of 700 rank and file and upwards, and 201. for regiments of lower establishment than 700 rank and file. Under the denomination of " good conduct pay" a progressive increase of one penny per day, up to sixpence, and certain honourable distinctions, are also ap- pointed to be given, under specified regulations, to soldiers who shall have com- pleted ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years of actual service. The remaining articles are occupied in detailing the regulations under which these gratuities, good conduct pay, &c., shall be forfeited or restored; or the period of service necessary to confer a title to them in certain degrees abridged: and the warrant concludes by declaring, that " soldiers who were present at the battle of Waterloo shall be allowed to reckon two years in addition to actual service; and those enlisted before December 1829 shall be allowed to reckon three years for two of actual service, after the age of eighteen, in East and West Indies (in other than West India regiments.)" An amusing account of the new Postmaster-General's " inauguration" in St. Martin's-le-Grand is going the round of the papers-

" On Saturday last, the Earl of St. Germans, the newly-appointed Postmaster- General, was inaugurated into the office, and commenced his charge of the es- tablishment by visiting the several departments in the course of the day. Flis i Lordship was attended in his progress through the office by the Secretary, Colonel Maberly, and received by the gentlemen appointed to preside over the various sections of the establishment; who minutely pointed out to him the nature of the several duties performed in each of the upper offices. In the afternoon he visited the Inland-office; where the intricacies of the daily business were explained to his Lordship by Mr. W. Bokenham, the superintending President. To the several ramifications of the duty, from the posting to the despatch of the letters, his Lord- ship appeared to pay great attention; discoursing freely with the executive officers with reference to the nature of the duty in their charge. In the News- paper-office the magnitude of the business appeared to surprise the new Post- master-General; who entered these offices a short time before thegreat supply of newspapers were posted. As the hour of six o'clock drew nigh, (the time when the window in the office in St. Martin's-le-Grand is closed for the reception of newspapers passing without charge,) the sorting-tables in the centre and at the end of the office rapidly filling, and upwards of 200 men being engaged in the several duties of facing,' `assorting,' throwing-off,' resorting the papers a second time into the boxes representing the post-towns—his Lordship paused to witnesa the scene before him. He then closely watched the window near the hail, where immense bags were being put in by the vendors and others. Upwards of 30,000 newspapers being posted at this window in less than a quarter of an hour, forming a pile as they were emptied from the sacks several feet square and some yards high, his Lordship was quite surrounded with daily and weekly journals; and as the hall-clock tolled the hour for closing, the papers fell thickly around him, as they were hurled through the opening of the already descending sash which closed the scene. At this moment one of the papers, flung by some boy out of breath, who had just managed to save post,' struck his Lordship on the breast; but he goodhumouredly .smiled at the incident to his attendants. Having carefully examined the various stages of the duty from the commencement to the close, his Lordship took his departure shortly after the mails were despatched to their several destinations."

It appears from a published list of the railway plans deposited at the Private Bill Office and House of Lords, up to the 31st December, that not, fewer than 549 of the lines provisionally registered have been abandoned by their projectors.

The iron-masters, at their quarterly meeting in Birmingham on Thursday,. adhered to last quarter's prices,-101. a ton for bar-iron, and other kinds in pro- portion. Shropshire pig-iron was advanced from Si. to 51. 10s. The demand for railway consumption continues to exceed the means of supply.

At Glasgow, a rise in the price of iron has recently taken place. Large quan- tities have been sold at 80s. or 83s. 6d.

Sir Robert Peel acknowledges the receipt of a five-pound note, No. J-B 42,706, from some person unknown, as arrears of armorial bearings due to the public.— Times.

A letter from Rome states that the Emperor Nicholas, during his stay there, bestowed enormous sums in gratuities. On quitting the Vatican, he left a sum of 12 000 Roman crowns for the domestics. he completion of the Nelson monument has at length been determined on by the Woods and Forests; and to this effect a communication has been made by the

Earl of Lincoln to the artists to whom the commissions have been confided. The subjects proposed for the four bassi relievi are the victories of Cape St. Tmcent, Copenhagen, the Nile, and Trafalgar; and the sculptors appointed to execute these works are Mr. Watson, Mr. Woodington, Mr. Carew, and Mr. Ternouth. The four lions will be executed by Mr. Lough. The relieved works will be in bronze; the lions in stone or granite.—Art Union. At an Anti-Corn-law meeting in Lancaster, Dr. James Johnson told an anec- dote to illustrate the use that should be made of the thunder of public opinion in coercing the Protectionists. It was that of an old woman who kept a small shop in the country, and sold bread and other articles, and was always guilty of cheat- ing her customers, by letting them have light weight, except when it thundered: then she became alarmed, and gave them fall weight. It is reported that, in allusion to his Grace of Norfolk's curry powder speech, the Duke of Richmond observed to a friend, " I felt as if I wished the earth would open, and bide me."—Sussex Advertiser. In a letter to Galignani's Messenger, signed "C. Okey," the writer, (who calls himself a half-brother of Colonel Gurwood,) mentions a serious wound which the Colonel "received in the head at the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, in which he led the forlorn hope. How much this has from time to time affected him, is known to some of his friends, and particularly to Sir Robert Chermside, late surgeon of the Tenth Hussars, in which my brother served for many years. On account of his wound, he was obliged to abstain from wine for many years. To the last he had a habit of throwing back his head, and the expression of his features showed that he was sometimes in great pain."