gorttgn an eColontal.

FitANCE.—M. de Falloux has been compelled by illness to resign again his Ministerial portfolio ad interim to M. Lanjuinais. The illness of M. de Falloux is the subject of very diverse reports: the fact itself was much doubted in the accounts at the beginning of the week, which explained the illness as a diplomatic ailment adopted to veil M. de Falloux's absence from the Cabinet Councils, and his refusal to countenance the President's Roman letter: later accounts seem to agree, however, that the Minister is seriously indisposed with an intermittent fever; but they ascribe the fever to anxiety, and some of them maintain that it has been induced by vexation at the defeat on Italian policy which his party sustains in the Cabinet. The Evenement says, in reference to the temporary surrender of his portfolio- " It is certain that M. de Falloux will not retire from office before the dis- cussion in the Assembly, in which he will defend the line of policy that he has pursued."

The session of the Councils-General is now closed, and it is possible to form a judgment on the general tenonr of their deliberations. Three prin- cipal questions were brought forward before most of the Councils-General. 1. The position of the finances as affected by the suppression of the duty on potable liquors, voted by the Constituent Assembly, and by the income- tax, proposed by M. Passy. 2. The question of administrative decentrali- zation. 3. The revision of the Constitution. On the first point the great bulk of the Councils-General pronounced in favour of maintaining the duty on potable liquors, and Very decidedly against M. Pansy's income-tax. They, however, declared, that as the present mode of getting in the former tax is vexations and very generally disliked, good reason exists for devising ameliorations in the manner of collection. On the second point, that of de- centralization, the Councils-General have acted with great caution, avoid- ing in toto the political side of the question, and confining their examina- tion to the administrative point of view: they merely call for the reform of certain formalities long condemned by practical men. The third point, that of the revision of the Constitution, was scarcely discussed at all; the greater number of the eighty-six Councils-General did not even mention it, and only six came to a vote on the subject.

The Paris correspondent of the Times reports a considerable improve- ment of industrial prospects—

"Scarcely a day passes without witnessing the arrival of commercial agents from the provinces, who eagerly snatch up, at almost any price, the articles they findeand who leave orders for the fabrication of an large a quantity of goods as to place the manufacturers in some difficulty owing to the scarcity of hands. It is a fact, and one of a very gratifying kind, that several manufacturers have been obliged to refuse orders on that account; and I have been informed of more than one establishment where mere articles of luxury are manufactured, and that had only retained two or three workmen since the revolution of February, but have been obliged within the last fortnight to engage from fifteen to twenty additional hands, at almost any amount of wages. It is at this moment that the scarcity of work- men is most felt. It has been remarked, that in the Faubourg St. Antoine alone there are 11,000 operatives less than in the month of June 1e48. A great num- ber of these have emigrated to Algei ia; many have retired to the departments, where they have exchanged their instruments of their nrt for the plough and the spade; and many have paid the forfeit of their crimes against the law, and been deported. It is observed, however, that the retail trade does not participate in equal proportion with the manufacturing activity. The cholera has driven pre- maturely from Paris many of those whose emigrations to the provinces did not begin till a later period; and, once in the country, they prefer remaining there until the approach of winter drives them back to the shelter and pleasures of the capital."

ITALY.—It is stated in the Paris papers, and by the Paris correspondents of the London daily press, that the Liberal policy which the French Go- vernment is following at Rome meets with the approbation of all the Powers. "Spain supports it openly," says the Constitutionnel; "England gives it her applause; and Austria seconds it with her good offices." "The Cabinet of Vienna hastened," says another account, on trustworthy au- thority, "to inform the French Cabinet how well pleased it was to render to this latter tilt most sincere cooperation, in return for the services which France had rendered to Austria during the negotiations for the conclusion of peace with Sardinia."

The nomination of a successor to General Rostolan was either too hastily announced, or it has been recalled. It is said that General Randon started an objection to his own suitableness—his being of the Protestant faith— and that his appointment has been revoked; further, that a note has been Written by the French President personally requesting General Rostolan to retain the command Ile had resigned.

The Turin Concordia relates, that "several Spanish soldiers lately en- tered a house at Zagarolo, in order to carry off a young woman. Her hus-

baud defended her some time but at last, seeing that resistance was vain,

he killed her with his own hand." The peasants assembled to the help of the husband, and more Spanish soldiers came to the aid of their comrades; in the fray which ensued, three of the peasants were killed on the spot, " Since the event, Zagarolo has become a desert "; the peasantry retiring into the country in dismay at such scenes. The National of Florence publishes the following letter from Rome— "I have politico-theatrical news to give you. The singer Madame Rebnsini had been loudly applauded for some time past by the French who crowd the Argentina Theatre. The rondeau of Marino Foliar° one evening excited the most entha- siastie applause; in the midst of which a French captain threw a bouquet on the stage from his box. The singer did not pick it up, but as soon as she had retired behind the scenes she sent a servant to pick it up; she reappeared afterwards, but without the bouquet. The French officers were offended at this, and resolved upon revenge for the affront. The next evening the theatre was nearly full of French; there were only about one hundred Romans in the pit, and very few in the boxes, which had almost all been taken by the French. After the rontleau, the bouquet, as before, fell before the feet of the singer, who made her exit with- out picking it up. Immediately the French drew whistles from their pockets, and commenced a most terrific concert, mingled with cries of Take the bouquet!' All the Romans who were in the theatre, on the contrary, applauded, and cried ' Brava! brava! no, no! show them our sympathy.' At last the Romans, seeing that the French officers persisted, left the theatre; the French desisted; and the act of Columella began. About fifty Romans then reentered, when the French recommenced their clamours; a Roman then exclaimed, 'Let all Italians leave the place!' But instructions had been given to the gendarmes who were at the door, and who prevented the Romans from leaving. Meanwhile, some French officers having taken the stage by assault, forced the singer to appear with the bouquet, the cause of so much tamale Madame Rebusini appeared, pale and dishevelled, with tears in her eyes; she held the bouquet in her left hand. The French then loudly applauded, in the midst of the whistles of the Romans, and of the violent apostrophes they addressed to the singer who had been weak enough to give way:,

It is stated by the Morning Post, on the authority of a private letter from Modena, dated the Ilth instant, that the Duke of Parma is taking the most summary measures against the regular ecclesiastical orders in his state. The letter, after an opening exclamation of the writer's horror, proceeds as follows.

"On the 8th instant, the Jesuits, who were living most inoffensively and unob- trusively in their houses at Placentia, received intimation to. quit the states of Parma, the foreign members in twenty-four hours, the native In the shortest pos- sible term, under penalty of being expelled by force. Yesterday, at four o'clock in the morning, the most beautiful monastery of St. John the Evangelist, belong- ing to the Benedictines, was suddenly surrounded by the Dragoons of Parma and the Police Gendarmes; when an official with some policemen presented themselves to the Abbot, the Reverend Edward Bianchi, a most exemplary and worthy eccle- siastic, and, ordering all the monks to be there assembled in the same room, read to them the sovereign decree of the Duke, dated the 7th instant, to the following effect- " ' 1. The order of the Benedictines to be abolished in the states of Parma. 2. All the monks to quit the same states in twenty-four hours, except the Governing Abbot, the Economic Administrator, and the master of the Alumni; these three are allowed to remain until they shall have rendered and delivered the accounts of their respective departments. 3. An manual pension of 700 francs to be allowed to the abbots, and of 500 francs to the simple monks.'

"Some of the monks have already arrived here; and they state themselves to have been treated as if they had been as many assassins. They were only al- lowed to take one trunk or box each with their clothes; and then their cells were closed, and seals placed on the locks. It is not thought, however, that Austria will tamely allow this mad young Prince thus to play the part of the very Revela- tionists from whom Radetzky's victories have just rescued poor Italy."

AUSTRIA.—The Emperor had an attack of colic; he has recovered, but the indisposition is assigned as the reason why he would not be present at the Laybach Conference, on the 17th instant. Marshal Radetzky entered Vienna on the 13th, amidst demonstrations befitting the return of the ve- teran whose military successes gave the first hopes of stability to the imperilled Austrian throne. The Marshal was received at the railway. station by all the Generals present in Vienna, especially commanded to at- tend and conduct him to the doors of apartments provided for him in the Imperial Palace. Vienna was illuminated, and numerous bands of musical amateurs serenaded the veteran in the evening with hymns of triumph.

SWITZERLAND.—Upon the subject of the rumoured intervention of the great German Powers with France and Russia in Switzerland, the Ticino Gazette publishes the following note, addressed by the Federal Council to the Council of Ticino, in reply to an application from the latter body on the subject- " In thanking you for the report which you made to us in your letter of the 8th instant, we can satisfy you as to the movement of the Austrian troops on your frontiers, and enable you to contradict the reports which are in circulation in your Canton as to the object of the concentration of troops, which were said to be in- tended and ready to invade it- We have learnt from several communications, that these movements are not to be attributed to any hostile intention; and that the establishment of Austrian military posts on the extreme frontier of Switzerland has no other object than to prevent the desertion of individuals who wish to es- cape the conscription which is now taking place in Lombardy, and at the same time to repress the smuggling which is now being carried on very extensively on that frontier. The marches and countermarches of the troops have, besides, been made on sanatory considerations, the opportuneness of which cannot be contested. This information will be sufficient to tranqnillize the minds of your people, to whom it will be desirable to make it known."

THE NETHERLAND/I—The States-General of Holland were reopened on the 17th instant, at the Hague, by the King in person. The King stated in his speech, that he had reassembled the States-General, in order that, in cooperation with him, they might give effect to the dearest wishes of the country, a further development of that fundamental law which he and they, at a former meeting, had reciprocally sworn to observe. It was satisfactory to find that, since the moment of his accession the internal and external relations of the kingdom, so far from becoming deteriorated, had been greatly improved and consolidated. The harvest was an abundant one, commerce was reviving, and manufactures were giving encouraging proofs of their felicitous development. The Dutch colonial market had produced advantages which, to !het with the not unfavourable produce of taxation, had greatly contributed to tOS improvement of the money affairs of the country. The partial failure of one kind of agricultural produce, and the many victims of a dangerous disease, were the only grounds for trouble and sorrow. Both evils, however, appeared to be on the decrease.

IONIAN ISLANDS.—A Vienna paper of the 14th instant has the follow- ing among intelligence from Corfu.

"The Government of the Ionian Isles has allowed the debarkation of the Vene- tian emigrants Mania, Tomaseo, and others, who arrived by the French steamer Pluto; but, on account of the prevalence of cholera in Venice, all passengers from thence were subjected to a quarantine of twelve days. The Lord Commissioner,

in 2, note to the French Consul, expressed the willingness of the Government on this occasion to make an exception in favour of the refugees; brit that, as a gene-

rule fugitives would not be allowed to land, on account of the small force

ra p t in the Islands to remedy any mischief that might arise from the agitation of such dangerous guests. Tomaseo and Mania were going to London, Pepe to paris; many of the others to Constantinople and Alexandria. But the majority amain in Greece."

CAPE OP GOOD HOPE.—Most interesting news is brought from the south African settlements by the Inflexible steam-sloop, which left Cape Town cm the 2d of August—twenty-three days later than the news which arrived at the end of last week, and was briefly epitomized in our columns. Our files of papers give detailed reports of the meetings held in the colony on the 4th of July, for the purpose of petitioning the Queen. An abstract of the resolutions passed by the meeting in Cape Town was given last week; but a further view of the importance of the whole proceedings now induces us to insert the resolutions entire. "I. That the introduction of criminals under sentence of transportation, exile, or banishment from the United Kingdom, or any other quarter, is injurious and degrading touts colony, and ought to be resisted. "2. That the British Government has no right to degrade into a penal settlement the Cape of Good Hope, which became a portion of the British empire by capitulation and cession from a friendly power, and not by planting or conquest—with its rights and privileges as a free and not a penal settlement solemnly guaranteed ; and that all at- tempts o to injure and degrade it are unjust and tyrannical, and may be constitution- ally resisted by the inhabitants as British subjects.

"a. That the insertion of the Cape of Good Hope in the orders in Council of Septem- ber 4, 1848, as a place to which convicts may be conveyed, simply by an order from one of the Principal Secretaries of State, in opposition to the petitions, remonstrances, and protests of the inhabitants, presented to her Majesty and both Houses of Parliament, is subversive of the rights and privileges of this community.

"4, That the conduct of Earl Grey, in first directing the Governor to ascertain the opinions and wishes of the people on this vital question' and then acting in defiance of their unanimous decision, is an exaggeration of ineult added to injury towards an un- offending community, which proves him to be unworthy to retain any place in the go- vernment of a free people.

"5. That the conduct of the Governor Sir Harry Smith, In refusing to take upon himself the responsibility of suspending this injurious and degrading measure, when he found the universal dissatisfaction which the proposal excited at the Cape, supported by arguments of a weighty nature,'—as all Governors of distant possessions are ex- pected to act in emergencies, and as Sir Charles Fitzroy and Sir William Denison did last year in the two penal settlements of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, for which they immediately received the entire approbation of her Majesty's Govern- meat,—and his determination to carry out the measure in violation of a pledge to the contrary given to the people in the name of her Majesty's Government, and in con- tempt of an opposition on the part of an injured and insulted people such as never was before equalled in any part of the British empire, being absolutely universal,—prove that the government of this colony, as at present administered, is despotic, wholly at variance with the just and inalienable rights of British subjects, disgraceful to her Ma- jesty's crown as a constitutional sovereign, and perilous to the honour, safety, and hap- piness of the country.

"6. That it Is the right and duty of the inhabitants of this colony, individually and collectively, in their private and public capacities, to oppose the execution of this inju- rious, degrading, unconstitutional, despotic, and dangerous measure, by all constitu- tional means ; and that one of the most effectual means will be to sign and rigidly ad- here to the following pledge—' We, the undersigned, colonists and inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope, hereby solemnly declare and pledge our faith to each other, that we will not employ, or knowingly admit into our establishments or houses, work with or for, or associate with, any convicted felon or felons sent to this colony nndersentence of transportation ; and that we will discountenance and drop connexion with any per- son who may assist in landing, supporting, or employing such convicted felons.' " 7. That a petition be presented to the Queen, praying that the orders in Council of the 4th of September 1848, in which this colony in named as a place to which convicts may be transported, be revoked, and that her Majesty may refuse her consent to any proposal that may be made by her Ministers to insert the Cape at any future time among the places to which convicts or persons under sentence of exile or banishment may be conveyed ; and that her Majesty may be pleased to order the removal of such convicts as may have been conveyed to the Cape under the authority of the said orders in Council.

"8. That as the Colonial Department of her Majesty's Government has justly for- feited the confidence of the people, application shall be made, with the least possible do• lay, to the Queen and both Houses of Parliament, praying that the Cape of Good Hope may be expressly excepted, by an act passed for that purpose, from among those places Is which offenders may be conveyed by virtue of orders in Council.

" 9. That the most cordial thanks of this meeting and of the whole colony are justly due to B. Adderley, Esq., M.P., for hisgenerons and able defence of our rights and pri- vileges as a free people ; and that he be respectfully requested to present our petition to the House of Commons, and to support its prayer with the weight of his character and talents, "10, That it shall be left to the Committee of the Anti-Convict Association to select the Peer to whom the petition to the House of Lords may be confided ; and it is recom- mended that, should it be found convenient, his Grace the Archbishop of Dublin, the wise and prophetic enemy of transportation, may be requested to demand an audience of the Queen and personally to present our petition to her Majesty."

The Honourable Mr. J. B. Ebden presided; and in his opening speech tlms gave vent to his distressed feelings on the subject.

"As an old man, with a large family, surrounded by my children and my grand- children, I had hoped to live and die in this my adopted country; but if ever it becomes a penal settlement, all my hopes of peace and comfort and happiness are destroyed. This feeling I believe is one common to us all. I, for myself, feel strongly; and I think it right that the world should know we are alive to the hor- rors and dangers of our present situation. It has, I may say, paralyzed trade; it has to a great extent destroyed confidence; and it threatens to Involve the colony in universal ruin. Many families of respectability are at this moment preparing to leave this colony and seek a home elsewhere, rather than live in the loathsome atmosphere of a penal settlement. Never having entertained any other feelings than those of respect and esteem for his Excellency the Governor, in the fearless discharge of my duty, it would be hypocrisy on my part were I not thus publicly to express the regret and disappointment I experienced at his having refused to accede to the prayers and petitions of the people, when called upon to take upon himself that responsibility which clearly belongs to the high and elevated situation he fills as the guardian of the people's rights."

In support of the second resolution, the Reverend Dr. Adamson desired Is send home information of some important facts with reference to his country, which it behoved England not to forget,—though, as a man of Peace, he believed there was but one place, and that not in this world, for which war was fit; and he prayed that soon it would not be heard of more Upon earth. These were the important facts- 1. That the organization of the country is an entirely military organization. 2. That a notable proportion of the inhabitants of the country are rather encamped span its face than dwelling upon it. 3. That the possessions of its horses and cattle are the possessions of its military strength. 4. That all the points of strategetic value in it are in the hands of its people. 5. That it possesses har- bours secure from observation and assault, in such position that their possessors might easily padlock the commerce of the Southern Ocean.

Me. Advocate De Wet enforced by historical deductions the propositions a the second resolution. He alluded to one of the chief additions made to the early population of the country in the excellent men who fled from France at the revocation of the Edict of Nrunes--men of whose descendants they could say with pride that they had sustained for a century and a half the virtuous names of their forefathers. Ano- ther means of peopling the country had been the soldiers who had conducted themselves well, who received first merely passes, and were only after severe 1Laf

pLndrtasciyi subjects entitled to receive eteirlet of rgherrlp. Now tefirsttimeis an inferior system of colonization offered.

Thus free and unpolluted was the country surrendered at thecapitulation of 1806 by the ever-revered Governor Janssens; and that capitulation should ever be re- garded as the bulwark of the rights of the colony. It has been argued that the subsequent cession in Europe of the colony did away with the provisions of the capitulation: but no sovereign can cede away the innate rights of the people. A people have a right to protection, and when the government affords it not neither IS respect or confidence due. Thus it was in England in the time of James the Second; thus in Holland when Dutch patriotism resisted Spanish tyranny; thus —on the day of which this 4th of July was the anniversary—did the free States of America throw off the English yoke, because the respect for their Government had ceased with that Government's failure in its duties. The present unfortunate matter had revived the division of Dutch and English in the country, which men had long thought abolished; a great cause for sadness and sorrow.

All the other resolutions were supported with ability and earnestness. The absorbed attention of the audience was remarkable; many of them being Malay workmen, who rarely take interest in such proceedings; and the devotion both of the audience and the speakers was sufficient to pre- serve the continuous interest of the proceedings throughout storm and rain which drenched every person to the skin. Thirty speakers delivered their sentiments, many of them ill, and fitter to be under the shelter of home; but no one flinched; and all the resolutions were carried with an unani- mous shout.

On the 9th of July, an address, written by Mr. Fairbairn, Secretary or the Anti-Convict Association, was presented to the Governor; recapitulating the steps by which the colony had been lulled into a false security and pre- vented from adopting energetic measures of self-defence, and then covered with astonishment by the issue of the orders in Council of the 4th Septem- ber 1848.

Their wishes and opinions had been asked, and not waited for, and when known utterly despised. They had been injured, insulted, and disgraced before the world. They once more implored the Governor to save this Christian British people, anti not drive them to despair. " They cannot submit. The blood from which they spring forbids it. Their reverence for the Queen forbids it. Their respect for the Divine law forbids it—that law which the British constitution and the whole course of British legislation pronounces the measure and limit of all British authority. The instructions of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, being a violation of his pledge, being contrary to morality and revealed religion, are legally void, and are neither binding on your Excellency nor on her Majesty's subjects, against whose divine rights they are audaciously levelled."

This address was presented on the 10th July, with 292 signatures. The Governor replied on the 11th.

The addressers, he answered, had made a "most determined misrepresentation of his remark in Council," when they described him as pledged to the colony that no convicts should enter it: what he really said was to this effect—that the pro- posed extension of the arrangement to the colony was not to be forced on the in- habitants if they did not require the labour, and that it was to be a matter of a pro- found free agency whether they received the men or not. But at that time he was as ignorant as they were' of the existence of any order in Council,—a law (requiring no local publication to make it so) "which at once rendered this colony with others penal settlements."

However, the Governor conceded in substantials. Adhering to the bar- gain of "profound free agency," he declared— "I have now fatly ascertained the weight of opinion of the people throughout the colony, which centres in the petition, that I would not land these convicts; and I am accordingly preparing to keep them afloat in Simon's Bay, till I receive from Earl Grey further instructions as to their final disposal, for which I have fiOnle time ago applied."

Mention was made in last week's Cape news, of a combination among the commercial men supplying the Government with commissariat stores; the bankers being of the number, and withholding credit for such purposes. This had reached such a pitch on the 9th July, that the Governor issued a proclamation, notifying that the persons against whom this combination was aimed would be assisted with loans on good security; which loans would be made in promissory notes payable on demand, and which notes the Go- vernment officers of every description were "required to receive as cash" in payment of all Government dues. This lifting of the gage thrown down by the people in the combination created great excitement, and im- mediately gave intensity and concentration to the general determination on the subject. The first open symptoms of the popular feeling were dis- played in the hall of the Legislative Council. Seats in that Council had become vacant, by death and by resignation; two of the latter by the re- signation of Mr. Henry Ross and Mr. J. Bardwell Ebden. Mr. Ebden re- tired avowedly in consequence of his opposition to the Convict orders in Council; and Mr. Ross, though ostensibly retiring from great age, was known to be retiring from similar opinions. It was the general belief that no persons would be found willing to encounter the odium of accepting the Governor's nomination to the vacant seats; but, almost as soon as the council-chamber was entered by the Governor, the citizens assembled as spectators were surprised to learn that the vacancies had been filled up by Mr. Jacob Letterstedt, Mr. Peter Laurens Cloete, and Mr. Abraham de Smidt. The effect of the announcement is thus described in the Zuiel Africaan of the 12th July- " The very large concourse of people present on the above occasion were not a little staggered and indignant at their appearance to take the usual oath and as- sume their seats; the consequence of which was, that prior to and at the conclu- sion of the sitting they were thoroughly and continually hissed. " On the announcement of an adjournment, the audience withdrew, and gathered in the yard in front of the Council-room; where, after a short while, his Excel- lency the Governor made his appearance, leaning on the arm of his aide-de-camp, followed by some other gentlemen, amongst whom were the now unofficial crea- tures. His Excellency sainted the crowd by ' How are you all, gentlemen ? I am glad to see you; nay heart is with you. Depend upon it, that in all my mea- sures I aim at your welfare.' This called forth a universal shout of approbation, but was at the same time the signal for renewed hisses, cries, and shouts, at- tended by a general shoving, thumping, and kicking of the three new officials. Laurens Cloete made his escape, alter being rather roughly handled about the posteriors. Abraham de Smidt took shelter in the office of the Central Road Board, and Jacob Letterstedt in the Council-room. After the latter had remained here for a considerable time, he was attended to the street-door by the Attorney- General, and accompanied to his office in Plein Street by Messrs. Lynar and Fitz- patrick. A very large crowd followed him; and he was incessantly hissed at, Looted, and thrown at with mud and other missiles. Hence a few persons pro- ceeded to the Heerengracht, and, accidentally meeting Mr. Ebden, they imme- diately stopped, and three loud and long cheers at once collected a crowd of about 2000, persons. They now proceeded down the fleerengraaht; and when arrived- at Mr. Robertson's, a chair was procured, upon which Mr. Ebden was put and carried to the Commercial Hall, where he was placed on the table. The cheers low were most deafening. Silence was at length procured; and, after the spoofs,-

tors had been addressed by Mr. Ebden senior, Mr. Sutherland, and Mr. Advocate Ebden, the crowd separated."

In the evening, the populace again assembled, went in a crowd of many thousands to the house of Mr. Jacob Letterstedt, and broke his windows. They would perhaps have gone to further extremities, but they learned tleat the owner of the house had escaped, and that there was an innocent invalid in it. They adjourned to his steam-mill in Caledon Square, and broke the windows, doors, and gates, but did not destroy the machinery.

These events seem to have been the index of the feeling even among the more respectable and moderate classes. The Cape Town Observer, in a supplement of the 11th, deprecates the violence, rather as a matter of taste, dignity, and policy, than on account of its illegality. "It is firmly believed that, now that the excitement of yesterday afternoon has a little subsided, there will be no further act of any sort of violence.' "The peo- ple will remember that their silert resistance will be more effective, and is more worthy of their past conduct, than any violent measures to which they can resort. We have much confidence in our fellow countrymen, and we should strenuously entreat them to desist from further personal violence. But we believe it to be un- necessary." As its last items of news, the Observer announces that " M. de Smidt and Mr. Letterstedt will immediately resign their seats in the Council." It may be mentioned, that the more importance was attached to these acceptances and resignations of Council-seats, inasmuch as without the new members there were not enough members of Council to carry on legislative business; and it had become a matter of political struggle to obstruct the formation of the Council so far that it should the sooner perish absolutely, and be replaced by the representative institutions lately promised to the colony by Lord Grey. The tone of public opinion on this last question had been vastly strengthened by the Convict question excitement. The Observer of the 17th July publishes a series of articles under the titles "A Quiet Revolution," "'lie Pledge," " The Legislative Council," and " The Mili- tary Patrols," which deal with the question in a tone only shown hereto- fore by the outspoken journals of Canada.

" The convict question has roused the people. They do not choose longer to have others rule them. They will not that the heel of power shall longer be upon their necks. They have been made to understand, that the security in which they thought that they rested from injustice is naught; and they have learned to be thankful to God that what they have sometimes deemed to be a paternal go- vernment has done no more mischief to their best interests than during a long course of years it has thought fit to effect. The people of this country have learned from late events to be ashamed of their listless confidence in their Govern- ment, and of their apathetic neglect of their duty to their country ; and they now demand that there shall be established in their country forthwith a free and liberal constitution.

"And then, laying the axe at the root of the mischief, they insist that the Representative Legislature which has been so long promised them shall be withheld no longer: but not again with prayers or petitions do they approach the Govern- ment. They are, as we have said, by reason of the convict question, in open an- tagonism with the Government. Why, then, waste time in prayer, or entreaty, or protest? Their object is not to pray for a dissolution of the Legislative Council; but as a people, possessing a people's power, and desirous of enforcing a people's authority, they resolve upon its instant destruction. "And what are their weapons ?—The Pledge! the Pledge, under the opera- tion of which three members of Council out of live, who would legislate in spite of the country—who would lend themselves to enable the Government yet once again to transact legislative business, and to vote away public revenues by means of a machine which the whole voice of the country had condemned—were com- pelled to yield in as many days; to which, if the people choose, the two members who yet resist their unanimous feeling must also bow. And what is this extra- ordinary weapon of which we speak ? What species of engine is this which has been so successful?"

The Zuid Africaan of the 16th July announces that the three new Councillors had resigned their seats. This victory did but induce the colo- nists to strive more for the realization of their whole aims. The excite- ment maintained its height; the streets were patrolled by military; the pro- perty of the unpopular Councillors had to be protected by guards; and even Lady Smith herself was accompanied to a state-ball by a body of mili- tary with drawn swords. The Observer remarks on these circumstances- . "We hope that Sir Harry Smith's object is not to excite us by the exhibition of his soldiery." "IVe know him to be a good soldier, and therefore we fight him not with his own weapons. If we did so, we should be acting as absurdly as he when he tried to oppose us with a money-shop. We fight no other than a Quaker's battle ; and in such a warfare his soldiers are worth nothing."

On the 17th, the Governor was memorialized with an address in re- joinder to his reply to the former address. This address trusted that the courtesies of official intercourse had been inadvertently overlooked in re- spect of the charge of determined misrepresentation; and it explained that the charge of deliberately deceiving the colonists had been made against "her Majesty's present Ministers." They renew that charge—. "Sir! Earl Grey has deceived us. He has made you, a gentleman, a soldier of spotless honour, and the representative of the Queen, the unconscious instrument of deceiving a whole people. He has led you to make pledges before the world, which he deliberately puts it out of your power to redeem. We therefore say that we will not trust him. To keep these convicts, holding tickets-of-leave, afloat in a bay within the colony, as close prisoners in a hulk, is impracticable, as your Excellency's legal advisers ought to know; and were it practicable it would be pernicious both to local and imperial interests—to the peace, good order, and welfare of this community, which with our gracious Sovereign, when properly ad- vised, will ever be esteemed paramount considerations. And what, at the end of many months, may be Earl Grey's instructions as to the future disposal of these men holding tickets-of-leave or conditional pardons? Should his Lordship order you to land and disperse them according to his original instructions—or should he issue to them free pardons, and direct you at once to set them at large, as he has done in the cases of Port Phillip and New Zealand—has not your Excellency taught us to expect that you would obey him? Sir, the colonists cannot endure this in silence. They protest against it. They certainly will not tamely submit to it." They urge Sir Harry to send the Neptune back to England, "with such reasons for your course as the peaceful but invincible repugnance of the colonists" has already supplied, "and will continue to supply till the dan- ger is past." "Such a course will certainly obtain her Majesty's approval, when duly informed of its necessity; as a contrary course will give her un- mingled pain and regret." Replying to the Governor's hints about intimi- dation, they say—" We do not conceal from your Excellency our appre- hension, founded on our knowledge of the quick perception and high spirit of the people, that if any person accepts or retains an unofficial seat in the Council as at present constituted, without doubt he will be starved." This address was signed by 676 of the most influential inhabitants of Cape Town. Its force was strengthened by the arrival of accounts from Graham's Town, Port Elizabeth, and Stellenbosch, and indeed every ion- portent section of the colony, adopting the resolutions passed by the Cap; Town meeting of the 4th July, and offering to cooperate in " the pledge." Sir Harry Smith, on the same day he received the address, replied cute_ gorically to its startling demand- " First, That it is may intention, for the reasons already stated, to withhold tickets-of-leave from the convicts expected by the Neptune.

" Secondly, That unless I should, by the Neptune or otherwise, receive instruc- tions or authority from the Secretary of State to despatch the convicts in question to some other settlement, I shall cause arrangements to be made for keeping shun on board some ship or ships in Simon's Bay, until I shall have learned her Ikea_ ty's gracious pleasure relative to their ultimate destination. " Thirdly, That, pending the announcement of her Majesty's pleasure, no com- munication between the convicts and the land will be allowed, save for the per_ pose of supplying food and religious and moral teaching, except in case of sick- ness, when it may be necessary to remove the sufferer to the hospital on shore. "Fourthly, That this detention, which, however distressing to the convicts is absolutely indispensable to their personal safety, will as much as possible be ai! leviated, and be arranged so as to preserve or promote habits of industry awl order, and disappoint as little as circumstances will permit the favourable inten- tions of her Majesty in their behalf. " Fifthly, That whilst I am thus prepared to exert to the utmost every power- belonging to my office for the purpose of allaying the alarm and distress which the idea of landing the convicts in question has so powerfully excited, it is at the same time to be clearly understood, that all my powers in reference to these nice are bounded by the limits of the colony; that 1 have no right, or pretence of right, to send them to England, or any other place; that to take such a course would render the confinement of the convicts on the high seas wholly wrongful and ille- gal, and would, in law, justify them to take life in the assertion of their liberty.

"Sixthly, That I am the more withheld from the act of unlawful force which I have been called upon to do, because I am-convinced that the revocation of the late orders in Council, making this colony a penal settlement, an object to which the hearts and hopes of all her Majesty's subjects in this colony (and of no one more than myself) are now directed,—might be retarded rather than promoted by a proceeding contrary to law, and not needed in order to keep the convicts frees landing, pending her Majesty's gracious pleasure, and a proceeding, moreover, which, though recommended for my adoption in a legal and obedient spirit, might appear to be wanting in reverence for the authority of the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain."

During the subsequent week, the excessive excitement of previous times somewhat abated; but the determination of the colonists rose rather than fell. Official resignations were made en masse, both in the towns and in the rural districts. Nearly every one of the persons named in the follow- ing list, which has been completed to the 2d August, had sent in their re- signations by the 24th July.

Members of the Legislative Council—Mr. H. Ross, Mr. J. B. Ebden, Mr. A. de Smidt, Mr. J. Letterstedt, Mr. H. Cloete, and Mr. P. L. Cloete. Harbour Improvement Commissioners—Mr. J. B. Ebden and Mr. J. Stein, Table Bay; Mr. C. Andrews and Mr. W. Fleming, Algoa Bay.

Central Road Board—Mr. E. J. Jerrarn.

Divisional Road Board—Mr. P. J. Marais, Stellenbosch; and Mr. R. Hart senior, Somerset East.

Prison Board—Mr. J. J. Meintjes, Gra.sff Reynet; Mr. W. Fleming and Mr. C. Andrews, Port Elizabeth ; and Mr. R. Hart senior, Somerset East. Botanic Gardens Commissioners—Mr. J. Fairbairn and Mr. H. E. Ratherfoord, Cape Town. School Commissioners—Mr. F. W. Beitz, Swellendam; Mr. W. Fleming, Mr. Paterson, and Mr. A. Robson, V.D.M., Port Elizabeth; Mr. R. Hart senior, So- merset.

Justices of the Peace—Mr. J. G. Fisher and Mr. M. J. van N. Onkrnydt, Stel- lenbosch; Mr. F. W. Reitz, Swellendam; Mr. Fleming, Uitenbage; Mr. Robert Hart, Somerset East ; Mr. J. J. Meintjes, Mr. J. F. Ziervogel, Mr. C. H. Grim- brooks, Mr. 0. Fehrszen, M.D., Mr. J. L. Leeb, Mr. J. Heugh, and Mr. J. van Ryneveld, Graaff Reynet.

Field Comets—Mr. J. Malan and Mr. J. Lonw, Cape District; Mr. H. D. J. du Toit, Mr. G. H. Steyn, and Mr. W. A. Truter, Maltnesbury; Mr. J. D. Malan, Mr. M. N. Louw, Mr. N. G. Vos, and Mr. J. J. Bosman, Stellenbosch; Mr. C. T. Vil- joen, Uitenhage; Mr. P. J. Loots, Graaff Reynet.

The women declared themselves with characteristic earnestness, yet with becoming female hesitation: witness the following extract from a let- ter signed "Cornelia Cilliers, born Biljon "—

" Let us lay our grievances before our Queen, by way of humble petition. If she lends us a willing ear, we shall not refrain from expressing our gratitude to- wards her; but if she refuses to help us, we shall be innocent, for then we would have done what was in our power for ourselves, our country, and our offspring. Should our colony be doomed to become a penal settlement for every description of miscreants, then it behoves us to make ourselves accustomed to the use of arms—muskets, pistols, and swords—so that, if assaulted, we may be in a posi- tion to defend our lives. Fellow women ! be not ashamed of this matter; it is of great moment, and will press upon us until we sink into our graves. I expect soon to find from the papers that meetings of ladies will be holden in the city and. all villages. We, the wives of the Farmers, will immediately follow; and may God grant us his blessing." The movement extended even beyond the frontier, and produced re- monstrances from independent chiefs. "Adam Kok, Kapitein," thus ad- dressed Sir Harry Smith- " As international compacts forbid one country, whether great or small, inter- fering with the internal affairs of the other, I feel that in giving expression on a measure which is now agitated in the colony, I must throw myself on the indul- gence and forbearance of your Excellency and of the British Government; and yet the nearness of my petty state to the colony is such, that what affects the one affects the other. Besides, though politically independent, Great Britain, from her power and influence, is the great conservator of the peace and happiness of the Native States of South Africa; though politically free, we say we have long been conquered by the Christian faith which was sent us from England. We have abandoned many of the customs of our ancestors, and adopted those of the English,—to wit, polygamy, witchcraft, &c.; our karosses we have abandoned for the clothes of the Europeans; our laws and institutions are gradually assimilating to those of the English ; and if an Englishman entered one of our native cha- pels, he would hear the tunes he used to hear in his fatherland. Morally, then, we are assimilating to the English, and we feel that the good of the one is the good of the other. This brings us to say, that the introduction of English felons into the colony will be very injurious to all concerned. And they will soon cross the boundary, and do all manner of political and moral evils among the Natives and Whites across the river; and none can say where the evil may end. See the evil that the English deserters have done among the Boers. As an humble ally, I would pray that the British Government may not allow this scheme to take effect, as, from the close connexion between the colony and our little state, these men cannot be confined within the limits of the colony." On the 24th July a third address was presented. After acknowledging with warm feeling the Governor's personal inclinations in their behalf, they argue the legal question- " But we observe that your Excellency's determination rests on the aspiralr ties, 'that, in law, the issue of an; ticket-of-leave by you is not imperalne but

discretionary,' and that no ticket-of-leave, or other instrument of a like nature, having the force of law within this colony, could be issued by the authority of the Governor or any other functionary of Bermuda '; and we take leave respectfully to call your Excellency's attention to the fact, that the Governor of Bermuda could not, of his own authority, send any of these convicts to the Cape, or out of his own jurisdiction: he is, therefore, acting under instructions from superior au- thority, when he delivers the convicts to the officer on board the Neptune; and that officer accepts the charge in the name of her Majesty, by warrant from the secretary of State; and Earl Grey has signified to your Excellency. that ' the condition in which these men are to be introduced' is ' that they should all have what are technically styled tickets-of-leave.' Our apprehension consequently re- maim, that what his Lordship styles the strictly penal restraint' of these crimi- nals terminated at Bermuda; and that unless they forfeit this indulgence by misconduct on board the Neptune, they will be delivered by competent authority to your Excellency in what he designates 'a state of comparative freedom,' that is as 'holding tickets of-leave.' They will be known to your Excellency and to the courts of this colony only as persons in this condition' ' in the last stage of their punishment, with tickets-of-leave,' which only admit of restricting them to particular districts, and of enforcing the punctual payment of moderate sums in return for the coat of their conveyance, but do not in other respects interfere with the freedom of the men to whom they are granted.' " They now for the first time refer to a further injury inflicted by the Co- lonial Minister, of which they had only just become aware through the in- formation of a blue book laid before the Legislative Council the 10th July— "It further appears, from the printed correspondence, that Lord Grey has or- dered the Governor of Mauritius to send all soldiers sentenced to transportation from that island to the Cape of Good Hope; and from a proclamation issued by the Governor of Hongkong we learn that he has received similar orders from Lord Grey, and that he is already acting upon them. On that point also Earl Grey would seem to have concealed the truth from your Excellency, when' in his de- spatch dated September 10, 1848, he states that such arrangements will for the present be postponed, except as regards Mauritius.' The order to the Governor of Hongkong is dated the 18th September 1848. Such a course of proceeding induces the fear that similar orders may have been issued to the authorities in other places, and that the military convicts, described by Sir Peregrine Maitland as being usually of determined character, which rendered it necessary for their safety and management to have always a military guard,' are already on their way from many quarters to this devoted colony.

"In fine, it appears that. a party of criminals who had been placed in the Phi- lanthropic Society's institution in England under conditional pardons from the Secretary for the Home Department,' have been already landed in Algoa Bay, without any notice or warning being given to the inhabitants; and the strongest suspicions have been excited, that the ships, employed ostensibly for the convey- ance of emigrants of good character to this colony at the charge of the Colonial treasury, have been and will hereafter be 'taken advantage of' for the clandestine importation of criminals."

This address was signed by more than 1,300 persons. The Governor replied to it next day. He stated that his views had already been fully developed: he found nothing in the address (which, as he was advised, in- volved assumptions unwarranted by the law) to alter those views; and he entertained no doubt of his power to delay the landing of the Bermuda convicts till her Majesty's pleasure should be known. As to the military convicts, he stated that the arrival that .day of a set of papers printed by -cede of the Imperial Parlitiment left him- at liberty to publish a despatch of Earl Grey's, dated 2d March 1849, which being marked " separate " he had not considered it altogether regular to make public before: he there- fore published that despatch, and his own answer to it. He announced his intention to delay the landing of the military convicts "pending the announcement of her Majesty's pleasure on the whole question, respecting which her subjects of this colony are at present filled with so much anxiety and alarm." On the 31st July, the inhabitants of Cape Town held a great meeting, and came to three resolutions,—the first, to the effect that his Ex- cellency's last notice was no sufficient assurance that convicts might not find their way into the colony uuder the protection of " tickets-of- leave " or "conditional pardons "; the second, to the effect that the Go- vernor's own expressions indicated that he was prepared to land the con- victs "should he receive instructions from Earl Grey to that effect"; the third, declaring that "the Pledge must be carried into effect to the ut- most extent," and the names of all persons violating it be published in the Colonial newspapers. The Zuid Africaan says—" No person present at the meeting could mistake these resolutions for an expression of transient feeling: they would have a force resembling that of a law of nature." "At home or abroad, in the house or in the field, in private and in public life, the deserter of his country will find that the heat and light of society have deserted him. Nor will his desertion be temporary. When the new members of the Legis- lative Council resigned their appointments, they were forgiven as men who had acted unadvisedly; and the wickedness of the scheme and the danger of the country were not then so fully revealed as they are now; though they did not re- sign a moment too soon for th3ir future happiness. But the traitor of today, or the persevering traitor, may take this for certain, that the sun of Colonial brother- hood has set never to rise again upon him. He will find the colony too cold for him. lie may go warm himself in Greenland. He may find a passage in the Neptune."

A letter from Cape Town, of the 2d August, has these passages respect- ing the Councillors who accepted the vacant seats- " The private property of one of their number, Mr. Jacob Letterstedt, the Swe- dish Consul, and a person of opulence, was attacked, and injured to the extent of nearly 2,0001. His vessels lying in Table Bay were deserted by the boatmen en- gaged to clear them; and he and his colleagues were unable to purchase the most ordinary necessaries of life, until they had announced their resignation, and apolo- gized to the Anti-Convict Association for their conduct in having accepted the office. One of the members (Kook) who holds public opinion cheap longer than the rest, was reduced, by actual want of food, to take refuge in Government House; and when this was known, the colonists went so far as to threaten to cut off his Excellency's supplies also." He adds generally—" One of the worst fea- tures in the whole affair, I consider to be the resignation of the Dutch officials, men of substance, and respected throughout the interior of the colony: a circum- stance which leads nie to think that the deep-rooted disaffection which still rankles in the breasts of the Boers, from the loss of their slaves, may be kindled into a flame by the general excitement."

Sir Harry Smith's Reply to Lord Grey's "separate" Military Despatch.

"Government House, 12th June 1849. "My Lord—I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's mili- tary despatch of the 2d March last, marked 'separate': and while I am fully aware of the difficulties which surround her Majesty's Government in regard to its subject. I can- not bet deeply regret the decision at which your Lordship has arrived, at the very Period when this colony is in a state of Indescribable excitement upon the point in ques- tion. In your Lordship's military despatch of the 10th December 1847, in which was intimated the decision of her Majesty's Government that soldiers sentenced in the Colo- nies to transportation should be sent to undergo their punishment to such other Colonies as might be described, and In which you desired that all military convicts from the Idantitlus should be received at the Cape of Good Hope, your Lordship expresses your- self as follows-4I have only to add, that the number of military convicts likely to be sent under this arrangement to the Cape of Good Hope will be much too inconsiderable to lead to any inconvenience; and will not therefore, I trust, be viewed with dissatisfac- tion even by those inhabitants of the colony who would entertain the strongest objec- tion to its being made a place for the reception and punishment of offenders generally.' This shows the delicacy entertained, even at that period, by your Lordship, in approach- ing a measure which you were fully aware was so obnoxious to the colony. In the despatch now under reply, I fun informed by your Lordship, (at a period unfortunately of unprecedented excitement,) that, in addition to those from the Mauritius, military convicts from India, Hongkong, and Ceylon, are to be transported to this colony. The Justice. If I may venture to say so, of the remark contained In my despatch to your Lordship of the 24th of May last, with which the thirty-one memorials, &c. from the Inhabitants were forwarded, is thus shown, viz, that the ' colony, once made a penal settlement, loses all protection.'

" 2. Upon a moderate computation, one soldier on the average is annually sentenced to transportation from each regiment ; and as, so far as my memory serves me, the number of corps in India, China, Ceylon, and the Mauritius, is about thirty-five, there would be an influx annually into the Cape of Good Dope of that number of convicts. sentenced generally to serve ten and fifteen years' transportation, or for life. At the expiration able term of sentence, the felon becomes a free agent, to do whatever and go wheresoever he pleases.

" 3. I am most fully aware, as I have previously stated to your Lordship, of the diffi- culties which assail the Government in making provision for this class of military Of- fenders. As regards them. I would here record my opinion, derived from experience among old and formed regiments in almost every part of the world ; an opinion which is in strong opposition to the present system of awarding transportation to soldiers for crimes such as desertion, violence to officers and noncommissioned officers, theft, &c. My view Is, that offences of tWs description should be punished within the regiment, under the tribunals of general and district courts-martial ; for I assure your Lordship. that I have known many instances of soldiers committing such crimes as would entail upon them, as they believed, sentences of transportation as felons, for the sole purpose of getting away from their regiments at the moment, and becoming free agents at the expiration of their sentences. By the present system, no example whatsoever is af- forded to the men generally ; and many a good soldier, although he may have commit- ted one of these crimes, is lost to a regiment, when due punishment at the period would probably have reformed him, and rendered him hereafter an honour to the corps.

" 4. It may naturally be asked, • What punishment would you substitute ?' My reply is, that of solitary confinement with hard labour, and being formed into condemned corps, to garrison Sierra Leone, &c. The soldiers of a regiment are aware of their comrades undergoing such punishments : an example is thus afforded to them ; and if the system were more generally adopted, the difficulties wild, surround the Govern- ment in the disposal of military felons would be removed. 5. I therefore venture, my Lord, to hope with some confidence, under the circum- stances, that it may not be too late for your Lordship to rescind an order so obnoxious to the people of this colony. More loyal men do not exist among her Majesty's sub- jects; but on this point they are united in the bond of free-born Englishmen. Your Lordship's despatch and this reply being marked 'separate,' I am enabled to withhold their publicity until I bear from your Lordship on the subject. It Is ever painful to throw obstacles in the way of Government, embarrassed as it is on this point ; but I have no alternative.

"I have, &c. II. G. SMITH."

Scattered among the indications of sterner feelings, are several evidences of grateful admiration in reference to the generous advocacy of the Colo- nial cause in the Imperial Parliament by such independent Members as Mr. Adderley. The Cape Town papers record the naming of ships after Mr. Adderley, and the preparation of a costly piece of furniture carved from colonial wood for his acceptance: the Graham's Town Journal has the following reference to a more general tribute- " It has been suggested, and the idea we cordially commend to the considera- tion of the public, that subscription-lists be opened in every town, village, and hamlet, and at every public institution throughout the colony, for the purpose of raising a sum by shilling subscriptions—the rich man not to pay more nor the poor-man less—to be appropriated in the purchase of a suitable testimonial to Mr. Adderley, the man who has stood forth and so nobly defended the cause of the people of this colony in the House of Commons."

UMTED STATES.—The Canada steam-ship arrived at Liverpool on Monday morning, with intelligence from New York to the .5th, and Hali- fax to the 8th instant.

The failure of the Hibernia is now accounted for: an accident compelled her to put back to Halifax, after going four days' voyage to seaward; and her passengers and mails are brought by the Canada. While proceeding towards Halifax slowly in a fog, under the care of two pilots, on the 31st of August, the Hibernia struck on the Chebucto Head rocks, and sprung a leak. Her anchor was dropped astern, she was hauled off in about half an hour, and proceeded up the harbour to her station. She was repaired, and resumed her voyage on the lot instant. On the 4th, she experienced very rough weather; and the leak let in water at the rate of three feet an hour in depth. An attempt to pass a thrummed foresail over the leak was un- successful: a consultation was held by the commander, the chief engineer, and the Admiralty agent; and all agreed that there would be imminent risk in proceeding. The vessel therefore put back to Halifax, and that port was reached at five in the morning of the 7th. Captain Stone is ac- quitted of all blame for the accident on Chebucto rocks when the vessel was under pilotage.

The United States news is of miscellaneous and secondary interest. President Taylor was proceeding through the States. He had been at- tacked a second time by " cholerine "; but had recovered, and was recruit- ing his health at Niagara Falls.

Recent meetings of the iron-masters at Trenton had attracted attention to the question of protective duties. It was alleged that the Trenton Iron Company was still idle, by which the loss of distribution weekly was 4,000 dollars; that the New York and Erie Railway had contracted for 10,000 tons of iron from England; that at Pittsburg, out of twelve rolling-mills only five were in operation; and that the Stockbridge (Virginia) Iron Company stopped their operations on the 1st of July;—all owing to the present tariff. The Albany Evening Journal states that the directors of the Hudson River Railroad Company have actually paid to Peter Cooper, Esq., of Trenton, the large bonus of 54,000 dollars for permission to retire from a contract entered into with him for rails. The contract was made at 67 dollars 50 cents per ton; but now English rails are offered in the market in any quantity at 40 dollars per ton. The ship 1'. B. Wales has just arrived at Boston from Newport, with 850 tons of railroad iron to order. A consider- able clamour was raised in these districts for a higher tariff: but there does not seem any evidence that the movement would be effective.

The mystery of. the expedition generally supposed to be aimed at Cuba continued unsolved, though the project had evidently come much nearer to its period of realization. Colonel White had gone from New Orleans to Round Island, and encamped there with 400 men, in readiness for imme- diate embarkation; but the American naval commander had ordered him to decamp, and had enforced his order by a threat to blockade the island and cut off supplies. A boat filled with stores and arms had also been de- tained at New York, just as she was clearing out, nominally for Curacoa. The plan is said to have been that 1,500 men should land at an unde- fended point,—an easy thing, as the whole military force in Cuba is about 10,000 men,—and proclaim a provisional government. The partisans of

the expedition, and the general populace, were expected then to join and complete the work of making Cuba an independent republic. There is news from Venezuela, that President Menages has utterly de- feated General Paez, and taken him prisoner.

The cholera has decreased throughout the Union.

CANADA.—The news from Canada is not of striking interest. The ver- dict of the Coroner's Jury on the body of Mason, who was killed in the attack on M. Lafontaine's house, was given in these terms- " We are unanimously of opinion that the deceased, William B. Mason, came to his death by a gunshot wound, fired on the night of the 15th of August instant, from the house of the Honourable L. H. Lafontaine, after the said house had been first assailed by a mob; the shot having been fired by some one of the persons, to us unknown, assembled for the purpose of protecting Mr. Lafontaine 's life and property. And we are further of opinion, that the existing city authorities are highly culpable in not having taken due precautionary measures, by which this heavy calamity might have been averted." Lord Elgin has ventured out of his dignified retirement at Monklands; and on the 2d instant he paid a visit to Montreal. The question of Cana- dian independence has advanced so far, that Dlr. H. B. Willson, a gentle- man who has for some years taken a prominent part in local politics, has issued the prospectus of a new semi-weekly paper, to be called the Cana- dian Independent, which he proposes to issue at Hamilton and Toronto, chiefly designed "to promote, by peaceable means, separation from the Mother-country." Messrs. Lafontaine and Merritt were at Halifax on a mission touching a reform of the customs. The Montreal Gazette reports circumstances encouraging the belief that a better market has permanently been opened for the lumber of the pro- wince—

"The Americans have entered the market this season, and have, up to the present period, purchased upwards of a million feet of square timber. The price obtained has been 15 to 20 per cent above the Quebec quotations; and, in addi- tion to this higher rate, the seller has only to deliver the lumber at Sorel, thereby saving the expense of rafting to Quebec, and also the dangerous navigation of Lake St. Peter. Large quantities of sawn lumber have also been disposed of at an equally good figure."