Vigullantuts.

As considerable misapprehension appears to exist regarding Lord John Russell's position in the present Government, and as it has even been stated, in quarters usually better informed, that failing health would probably before long oblige him to give up the duties of the office which he now holds, both his private friends and political supporters will be glad to learn the true facts of the case, which we can give from authority. The permanent arrangement made on the formation of the present Govern- ment, and one made on public not private grounds, was that Lord John Russell should lead the House of Commons and have a seat in the Cabinet without office, and that Lord Clarendon should be the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: but, subject to this arrangement, Lord John, at the urgent solicitation of some of his colleagues, agreed to take the seals of the Foreign Office till the meeting of Parliament, at which time he would hand them over to Lord Clarendon. No change has since been made ; and Lord John will, accordingly, in the course of a month give up his temporary post to his successor.- Globe. As considerable misapprehension appears to exist regarding Lord John Russell's position in the present Government, and as it has even been stated, in quarters usually better informed, that failing health would probably before long oblige him to give up the duties of the office which he now holds, both his private friends and political supporters will be glad to learn the true facts of the case, which we can give from authority. The permanent arrangement made on the formation of the present Govern- ment, and one made on public not private grounds, was that Lord John Russell should lead the House of Commons and have a seat in the Cabinet without office, and that Lord Clarendon should be the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: but, subject to this arrangement, Lord John, at the urgent solicitation of some of his colleagues, agreed to take the seals of the Foreign Office till the meeting of Parliament, at which time he would hand them over to Lord Clarendon. No change has since been made ; and Lord John will, accordingly, in the course of a month give up his temporary post to his successor.- Globe.

It was confidently reported at Plymouth on Wednesday, that Sir John Rolt had resigned the office of Commander-in-chief of the Western Dis- trict, and that Sir Harry Smith would succeed him.

Mr. Disraeli has authorized the Times to contradict "the current rumour that Mr. Disraeli is about to go abroad for two years.' He was never in better health, and had never less intention of absenting himself from his Parliamentary duties."

It would appear from the following statement made by Lord Panmure, in a speech at the meeting of the Edinburgh Bible Society last week, that he contemplates retiring, for some time at least, from public life-

" I will not further detain you," said his Lordship, "on the present oc- casion. A change has come over me ; and I shall not, for the rest of my life, probably, be so much in the habit of meeting in public with my fellow countrymen as I have been : but I can say this, that whenever my voice is required to maintain the liberties of my countrymen-either their secular li- berties, when threatened by those who would invade them' or their Pro- testant liberties, when threatened by those who would touch one inch or one iota of our Protestant bulwarks-m.y voice shall be at the command of those who wish to hear it ; it shall be raised in defence of Protestantism and the Protestant Bible ; and if I add no other, this at least will be the most glorious one to which I can address myself."

The Reverend Robert Whiston, in a letter to the Times, sets forth the inconsistency and injustice of the course pursued by the Bishop and Chapter of Rochester towards him. The facts which he has to report, and with which the letter commences, tell their own tale.

"To the many memorabilia of 1852 may be added the fact that the Chap- ter of Rochester have signalized its close by augmenting stipends which, barring the diminution of one to three-eighths of its amount, and the dis- continuance of another for three-fifths for a century, had remained un- altered since 1543.- The details are these. The four students are to have 30/. las. each, instead of Si.; the twenty scholars, 16/. 138. 44, instead of 21. 13s. 4d. ; the six bedesmen, 14/. 13s. 4d., instead of 61. 13s. 4d. ; and the precentor and sacrist, 10/. and 61. respectively, instead of 21. each ; making a total increase of 442/. a year. Excepting the four students-and perhaps, indeed, to two of them - the augmentations were actually paid last Christmas, the bedesmen further receiving the repayment of 15s. each previously deducted on account of their cloaks. To appreciate all this, it must be remembered that for sixty years 401. a year was paid to the Cathedral Domus instead of to the bedesmen ; although in- deed, Dr. Lushington suggested that the Chapter would not have benefited thereby if it had been not 401. but 4000/. a year. Moreover, the average income of each Canon for the seven years previous to 1849 has been proved to have been, not 6801., but 1000/. a year." Mr. Whiston further observes, that it has been represented in Rochester, "that the augmentations are gra- tuities and acts of bounty, for which the recipients have to thank the Chap- ter, not the founder. Were Rochester alone concerned, this might pass as of no practical bearing : but there is Canterbury with fifty boys; reduced from 41. to 1/. 168. 8d. each ; Worcester with forty, lately raised from 5s. 10d. to 2/. 13s. 4d. ; Peterborough with twenty at the same sum; Chester with twenty-four, only just restored to their long lost 3/. 6s. 8d. ; and Ely tee with a lay clerk (now or lately) for a second master, and twenty-four boys at 31. 6s. fid. also., and a canon (of course to advocate their rights) on the Chapter Commission."

The Governor of the Falkland Islands tas just sent home despatches announcing that guano has been discovered in large quantities in those islands. The climate there being less dry than at Lobos, the guano is not of equal value to the Peruvian product ; but there seems to be no doubt that this discovery in the Falkland Islands will prove to be one of great value, both in a trading and an agricultural sense.-Daily News.

The Parana arrived at Southampton, from the West Indies, on Tues- day. On her outward voyage, the yellow fever attacked the crew soon after she left St. Thomas for Jamaica ; the first case occurring on the 225 December' and terminating fatally on Christmas-day. From the former date until her arrival about 60 cases of illness have occurred, 30 of which were yellow fever. It is remarkable that only five lives have been lost. Several persons belonging to the Parana were left at Jamaica. As the latest death occurred on the 13th instant and the latest ease of fever on the 12th, it was decided that the Parana should be placed in strict quarantine until the 22d instant. All things needful for the com- fort and health of the persons on board had been provided by Mr. Wiblin In the last advie,es from Australia the satisfactory fact is mentioned that the sum remitted to England from the 1st January 1852 to the pre- sent time, by newly-arrived emigrants at Adelaide and Melbourne' to

i enable the relatives to join them, through the agency of the Family Co- lonization Loan Society, has amounted to 78261. At the same time, the experience of this society with regard to the reliance to be placed on the good faith of those whom they have assisted with loans has justified thus far, in the fullest degree, the confidence originally expressed. Out of 865/. advanced for two years to 156 adults by the Slains Castle, which arrived in Australia in February 1861, 264/. has already been repaid. The emigrants by the Blundell, 180 of whom received a total of 7801., have likewise returned 93/., although they did not arrive till September 1851; and those by the Athenian and Mariner, which arrived respect- ively in February and June last, have also begun to make remittances.- Times.

Result of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last.

Ten Weeks Week

of 1843-62.

of 1855.

Zytnotic Diseases 2,314

216 Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat 604 .... 49 Tubercular Diseases 1,863

1 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses 1,306 .... 119 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 428 .... 37 Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration 2,440 .... 153 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 634

65 Diseases of the Kidneys, He 114

Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, Se 107

10 Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, 71

6...

9 Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, are 16 ....

4

Malformations

Premature Birth 260

39 Atrophy 168

25 Age 722

41 Sudden

ea

4

Tiolence,PrivatIon, Cold, and Intemperance 241

IS Total (Including unspecified causes) 11,379

1,001

The long continuance of rainy weather, and the floods which have occurred in various parts of the country, have excited a pretty general feeling of un- easiness in the public mind in relation to the effect which may be produced upon our next harvest, and the disturbing influences which speculation in. foreign corn, arising out of apprehended scarcity of grain, might have on the circulating medium and consequently on all the industrial interests of the country. We have been endeavounng to ascertain to what extent the apprehensions of the public are justified by what has already occurred, and the prospect for the future, so far as it can be discerned at this very early period of the year; and we have arrived at the following result.

On all the high and dry land we believe the sowing of wheat has been, for the most part, completed ; but on the low and clay lands that has not been the ease-they still remain to be sown, and that cannot now be done till the spring. It has not unfrequently happened that spring-sown wheats have turned out as well, and sometimes even better than the autumn-sown corn ; and it is to be hoped that it will be so this year. If the weather should now take up, there is nothing in what is past to cause any serious apprehension for the future. We strongly incline to the opinion that much more wheat has been got into the ground than is generally supposed. Soon after the last harvest, we expressed an opinion that, notwithstanding the defective crops in the Southern counties of England, the wheat-crop of the entire kingdom would be very little if at all short of an average crop. We are now strengthened in that opinion. The inferior wheats of the South, according to the millers, are producing a stronger flour than was antici- pated. In some parts of the country the yield per acre has been extraordinary, and the quality excellent. A large quantity, fully as much as usual, of old- wheat remained on hand at the time of the last harvest, and the supplies of that wheat are still considerable. In consequence of the partial failure of the potato crop, and the prosperous condition of the labouring population of the country, the consumption of- flour has been very large, and the price of it has risen considerably. It is- not now at an extravagant rate, or likely to be so. Thus, while it is not placed beyond the reach of the operative in any degree by unnaturally high prices, the grower is amply remunerated by what he obtains for his produce. Had the Corn-law been still in existence a far different state of things would now have been in operation, weighing down the energies of the people. According to the best information we can obtain, we believe we may confi- dently say that no speculation in foreign wheat is going on at present in Yorkshire, and that in London it does not exist to an extent worth notice. What speculation there is in foreign pain is almost confined to the general merchants of London, many of whom are importing grain for the purpose of supplying return freights for ships which might otherwise have to come back in 'ballast, or, what is more probable, go to other ports to seek a loading. From one cause or other, there can be no doubt that the surplus wheat and flour of foreign countries will, under any circumstances, find their way in greater or less quantity to this country, where they are always sure of 1ud- ing a market, at a higher or lower price ; but, unless our prospects in rela- tion to the next harvest become decidedly bad, the imports of foreign wheat and flour will not be to such an extent as to create a drain of gold that would produce a general disturbance of the trade of the country.-.Leeds Mercury, Jan. 15.

Another improvement in fire-arms has been made by an American. It is a rifle which can be simply and safely loaded at the breech, dispen- sing with the ramrod ; and which cleanses the barrel at each discharge. The process is thus described.-"A lever, working in the line of the stock, and forming when down the guard to the trigger, moves forward or backward a slide with a strong iron plate, in front of which, when back, the cartridge is dropped through a slit in the side of the lock. The iron plate becomes, when pushed into its place, the bottom of the breech, the chamber of which thus becomes occupied by the cartridge. In the centre

ef this plate a small hole is drilled, communicating with the nipple; and the fire of an exploded cap passing down to that hole, immediately finds its way i

through a perforation n the wad at the end of the cartridge, and ignites the powder within. The perforation in the cartridge-wad corresponds exactly with that in the iron plate; and the wad itself, which is of sole leather with the pasteboard case of the cartridge attached to it, remains behind in the breech when the discharge takes place while the conical ball, entering the

grooved part of the barrel and taking the required spiral i motion travels upon its way. When the gun is again loaded, the wad left behind at the previous discharge precedes the ball n its flight, cleansing out the passage." A trial of this rifle took place at Woolwich on Monday, in the presence of Lord Hardinge. A hundred shots were fired in fifteen minutes. Messrs. Moulton and Eustis are the exhibiters.

The Commander-in-chief subsequently examined a bullet-making machine invented by Mr. Anderson. It is completely self-acting, and without a single attendant is capable of producing 10,000 Minis balls per hour ; and as they are all made by compressure, they could not be made more perfect or uniform in the metal than they are by the new machine.

Another rearrangement of the comprehensive catalogues of the British Museum Library has taken place in the reading-room. There are at present, in addition to the old catalogue, 133 volumes folio, entirely new, and 300 volumes folio, forming a new supplemental catalogue. Of the first stated number, 78 volumes go to the cataloguing of maps, and 55 to the cataloguing of the musical works belonging to the library. In all, the number of cata- logue folios is 533 volumes two-thirds of which are entirely in manuscript. One of the new duplicated manuscript catalogues, introduced in 1852, has been withdrawn from the reading-room this year. The whole of these reference folios are ranged ready to hand, and occupy an entire range of shelves level with each other along three sides of the reading-room.

Our obituary last week chronicled the death of the only son of Mr. Lock- hart. Mrs. Hope, the last surviving child of Mr. Lockhart, is now the only grandchild of the great novelist.

Though political discussion is dead in Paris, the sevens are allowed free scope for violent squabbles. At the Academy of Sciences, a propos to changes made by hi. Le Verrier in the mathematical studies of the pupils of the Polytechnic School, M. Arago, M. Faye, M. Liouville, and M. Le Verrier, have engaged in bitter castigation and angry retort. The Literary Gazette states that at M. Liouville's remarks, "N. Le Verrier became pale from wrath ; and a scene of recrimination ensued, the like of which was probably never before witnessed in the Academy. We will take the liberty of saying that we cordially rejoice at seeing M. Le Verrier receive a lesson which he has long deserved. His presumptuous dogmatism has for a considerable period been annoying and offensive to his colleagues ; and he really appears, from the testimony of learned mathematicians, to have botched most pitiably the new mathematical course of the Boole Polyteohnique."

The Calcutta Englishman publishes the following amusing episode in the Burmese war. "The setting sun was gilding the broad waters of the Irra- waddy as the steamer Mozuffer, with the Calcutta mail, cast her anchor be- low the Hastings shoal, dreading, at that late hour, to attempt its dangerous passage. But a little time had she lain there when the hlahanuddy, feeling her way, cautiously yet closely approached her; and a staff-officer from the last-named vessel, hailing the Mozuffer, eagerly asked for the latest news. 'The news !—the news exclaimed he; and about fifty persona, officers and privates, clustered round, anxiously awaiting the desired information. 'News!' responded a gruff voice from the Mozuffer,—' ay, there is news, and good news too for you military. That old woman Godwin has been super- seded, and General Cheape has been appointed to the command in his room.' General Godwin was himself the officer who was asking the news; those around him were his staff, or the troops proceeding to the capture of Pegu! We will not attempt to describe the scene ; it sufficeth to say that the prin- cipal actor in it was furious • he immediately stopped the Mahanuddy, and ordered the officer commanding the Mozuffer to send him his despatches. Those present tell us that it was difficult to say which was most amusing, the rage of the General, or the consternation on board the Mozuffer' when they learnt the name and rank of the officer to whom they had imparted the interesting intelligence."

The daughter of the late Mr. H. Hall, of Bridge Bottle-works, Sunder- land, has recently waited upon her father's creditors and paid them twenty shillings in the pound, twenty-five years having elapsed since the bank- ruptcy.-8heffle1d Independent.

According to statements made by Cousins a seaman and two passengers of the St. George emigrant-ship, who have arrived in London from Havre, the master and officers of the ship behaved ill when the calamity occurred. Nearly the whole crew, including the master, left the burning vessel in the boats, and went to the Orlando, leaving only five seamen and the helpless passengers on board: the men surmise that the master and some of the crew knew there were explosive articles on board, and fled to avoid destruction. Many trips, however, were made from the Orlando to the St. George by vo- lunteers. Ultimately, it was evident that any further attempts to save the emigrants would only peril the lives of the seamen. Some fifty people were drowned in attempting to jump into the boats, or were left to perish on the burning ship—they were all women and children. The Orlando kept many miles from the St. George : it is surmised that she did so to avoid the effects of the apprehended explosion. It is supposed that after all the St. George was not burnt up, but that she foundered from the water poured on the cargo and the effect of leaks. One of the passengers, a framework-knitter, complains bitterly of the conduct of Mr. Bairnson the master and his men : "had they remained to direct the terrified passengers in making their es- cape, the whole of them might have been saved." He did not see any of- ficers go in the boats that saved the people. Captain Bairnson offered to go in a boat to attempt to save those last left on the wreck, but his crew woule not join him. These statements will doubtless lead to some authoritativd inquiry into this lamentable affair.

Messrs. Taylor and Co., of Liverpool, the agents of the ship, have written to the Times denying that there were any dangerous combustible articles on board. They recount the substances forming the cargo ; among them were coals, seed-oil, and soda-ash. The ship was well found in fire-engines, boats, &c. They do not touch upon the other matters, except to say that the mas- ter was an Englishman, and had been promoted for good conduct.

The "old woman of Elton" in Durham has recently died at an extraordi- nary age. Mary Benton, a native of Cockfield, in the same county, had re- sided with her daughter for some time at Elton. She was visited by the curious, who liberally contributed to her wants. On the coffin-plate she was stated to be a hundred and seventeen years old, but some persons believe that she was nearly a hundred and twenty-two. She was much bent, but free and lively in her conversation, and did not use spectacles.

The exports from England to France were of the ."deelared value," in 1818, of 1,025,121/. ; in 1849, 1,951,2691.; in 1850, 2,401,9561.; in 1851, ;028,4631. During the same years the "official value' of the imports from France was 7,130,3941., 8,177,0751., 8,454,1931., and 8,083,1121., in the re- spective years. The duties levied on French imports in 1851 amounted to 2,110,968/.