NEWS OF THE WEEK.

GOLD has risen in New York to five per cent. premium, and still nothing whatever is done to increase the revenue. All kinds of schemes are discussed, the most probable being duties on railway passengers, on receipts, on spirits, and on income ; but nothing whatever has been done. Congress doubts its own power to levy direct taxes, apparently with some reason, for its opponents reply that the only impost iniplied by the words" a direct tax' is a poll-tax. If the people. were willing to pay,—a heavy house-tax, say of twenty per cent. on the rental, would be the simplest means of getting at property ; but they are not willing, and the problem before Mr. Chase is to get the money without the people comprehending that he is getting it. Congress adopts this view, and though doubtful of its right to tax, is not doubtful, that it can make Government paper a legal tender. A curions comment on all this is furnished by the Senate, which has requested the President to attend personally to the contracts for iron-plated steamers, passing over the Secretary of the Navy. This strange proceeding is avowedly intended to• signify that Mr. Lincoln is the only honest man left.

We note, with sincere regret, a statement that Lord Pal- merston intends once more to meet Parliament without a programme—if true, a most dangerous error. Popular Mem- bers resemble wild beasts in this : if not fed, they turn on their keeper, and eat him.

M. Fould has issued a kind of financial 'foreshadowing, miscalled a budget, for 1863, which we have discussed in another column. Its principal feature is that it proposes to vote no expenditure in future without finding ways and means for that expenditure, whether called ordinary or ex- traordinary. The" ordinary" expenditure for 1863 is cal- culated by M. Fould at an advance of nearly three millions on the nominal ordinary expenditure of last year, but at a real reduction ; be proposes to provide for it by additional taxation on the wealthy classes and some remission of direct taxes to the poor. As far ai we can gather from the very incomplete figures given, the strictly imperial "ordinary" expenditure is surmised at about 57,000,000/., to which the expenditure voted by the local councils, and by them also pro- vided for, of about 25,000,000/. is usually added. Besides this, M. Fould proposes to provide about 5,000,000/. for the extraordinary budget of 1863, from extraordinary resources, more than 2,000,000/. of which would be raised by an ex- traordinary and temporary tax on salt and sugar. Thus, the total expenditure provided by imperial revenues is fore- shadowed at 62,000,0001. for 1863, besides the 25,000,0001. (in round numbers) of the local councils. The most curious financial revelation of M. Fould's statement is the way in which the "extraordinary", budgets have been saddled with ordinary expenses, known to be distinctly permanent. It was pleasanter to call the heavy expenses "extraordinary," and easier to get credit without inquiry into them. In 1861, M. Fould, says that 6,000,0001. was shifted to the extraordinary budget which properly belonged to permanent expenses. After this we do not think that the deficiencies, however ex- travagant, can be called "extraordinary" deficiencies.

Mr. Seward has telegraphed orders to permit British troops to pass through Maine,—a conciliatory and not an imprudent step. They will all be conveyed by the railway in a single night, and need not, except at Portland, be even seen by the people.

The speeches of the week have been numerous, but not very important, the near approach of the Session cut- ting off the supply of oratory. Mr. Massey, at Salford, has asked how long the American blockade is to continue, and openly pleaded for intervention on behalf of our northern ope- ratives. His audience applauded, forgetting apparently that a war would cost more in direct cash than we could gain by the cotton trade. Mr. Adderley also has made a sensible speech on his usual subject, Colonial Government, pleading strongly for the utility of colonies, and for compelling them to consider their self-defence one of the duties of self- government. He pointed out that to give up the power of taxation, yet retain the obligation to garrison, was to make the terms of the union between the parent state and the colony wholly unfair. Formerly, it was unjust to the colonies, now to Great Britain. Mr. Ellice, at St. Andrews, on Thursday, explained the doctrine of political progress, eulogized the press, advocated neutrality with an anti- slavery bias in American politics, congratulated everybody on belonging to a solvent community, and sat down very nearly as thorough a Whig as his father, the Nestor of his party. Mr. Roebuck, too, at Salisbury, has delivered a plea- sant address on a very tiresome subject. He tried to show the workmen the pleasure they would derive from thorough instruction, and though he will not convince the educated that knowledge increases happiness—a really cul- tivated man not being usually half so happy as a pig—still he may induce those who have not tried the experiment to make renewed efforts, which, as the object of life is not hap- piness, will tend directly to good.

A curious illustration of the timidity of "vital Christians" has occurred in the west or London. It is the custom with the Paddington Hospital to elect every clergyman who preaches on their behalf a "governor." Archdeacon Man- ning, the Romanist convert, recently did them this ser- vice, and, as usual, it was proposed to confer upon him this honorary distinction. The "vital Christians" took alarm. It is true that a governor has barely a shadow of practical influence. He may nominate a patient, whom the physicians accept or reject as it seems to them good. In some few cases he even has a vote in the election of the Hospital physicians, but this is the utmost limit of his power. Still a contingent possibility of voting for a possible Jesuit, who, if elected, might possibly even administer extreme unction under the form of a liniment, appears to have been too great a peril for these sensitive persons. They issued circulars, assembled a strong force of "vital Christians," and rejected the venerable Archdeacon. Kind mediciners of the soul ! They fear the contagion of the Roman Scarlet fever even more deeply than that which destroys the body alone.

We mentioned last week the terrible fear concerning the fate of the Guards in the Parana—a fear which has since. proved to be quite unfounded. But the attitude of sus- pense was soon renewed by the fear of a more terrible tragedy,- though the victims were less numerous. In- stead of losing a thousand soldiers, we have lost two bun- dred and fifteen workmen by a death more gloomy than drowning, much more protracted, and marked by more fre- quent gleams of hope. On Thursday week the great 40-ton cast-iron beam of.the pumping-engine at the Hartley Colliery snapped, and the part overhanging the shaft plunged dawn it, breaking away the sides of the shaft in its fall,and burying one hundred and sixty-five men and fifty-boys. It was not till last Wednesday that it was possible to clear a passage down into the. pit—so that for six days hope flickered faintly in the families of the buried workmen ; then it was found, as there was every reason to fear, that the stifling gas, not famine, had terminated the lives of the whole multitude. Food was found in the men's pockets, and a pony on which they might have fed had died of the same fate. The members of the same families were found in groups, sons lying in the arms of their fathers, brothers beside brothers. The place was a vast catacomb, and it is believed that few had survived the Sunday. It is difficult to imagine a bitterer death ; for, after the first step of moving into the upper gallery had been taken, the men were helpless, and could only calculate the comparative nearness of help and death, as the fumes of the deadly gas gradually made themselves felt. The whole character of the situation must have done much to prevent that resignation or despair which is the natural anodyne for such a fate. With numbers to swell the vital force of hope, within a few hundred feet of their wives and sisters, and with the sound of approaching help constantly in their ears, it must have been difficult, indeed, to bow to the awful will which had cut them off. The Queen has given one more token of her common feeling with her subjects, by the anxious telegraphic in- quiries she has made, and the deep sympathy she has ex- pressed. In her own sorrow, she has felt even more deeply for the sorrows of her poorest subjects.

We have- said that the catastrophe was caused by the sudden, breaking of a forty-ton iron beam, and the causes of this fracture must be made the occasion of a strict investiga- tion. The fall of the beam caused the immediate death of five out of eight men in the ascending "cage," and a coroner's jury have pronounced a verdict of accidental death. It is by no means yet clear that the accident was wholly un- accompanied by negligence, though the Coroner on that occasion said that no person was at all blamable in the matter. The engineman, Robert Taylor, was examined by Mr. Dunn, the Government Inspector, and said that the engine had lately been supplied with new brasses, and that it did not work well after getting the new brasses, but "went down on the old brasses again." Asked if the beam ap- peared to be sound, he answered, "No, there appeared to be a hole at each side under the gudgeon." Now, was this hole a hole drilled, or a fissure or crack, such as often ap- pears in castings of iron ? And was the beam made of cast or wrought iron, and by whom and when wrought ? All these are questions on which the country has a right to the most searching investigation. The effect of frost on cast- iron is well known, and the frost of last week may have been one of the proximate causes of this calamity if the iron of the beam was weak. It is not the only great accident of the kind which has happened under the superintendence of Mr. C. Carr. The terrible explosion in the Bunadon Col- liery, two years ago, which killed seventy-six men, happened, we believe, when he was viewer; and though the jury were satisfied that the explosion was not the result of negligence, it is due to the public anxiety that this kind of accident should not happen often under the same superintendence without the fullest investigation. We hope that some scientific man of eminence will be entrusted with the duty of inquiry into the circumstances on which so many hundred. lives daily depend.

The nation will hear with satisfaction that the Reverend A. P. Stanley, Canon of Canterbury, is to accompany the Prince of Wales on his visit to the East. Not only is there ground for satisfaction because this gentleman has shown in his works that a thoroughly vivid conception of Syrian life, and history, and scenery, is present to his imagination, which will enable him to secure to the Prince the maximum of enjoyment and profit from his visit,—but the same fresh, masculine, and inquisitive type of mind which makes Mr. Stanley so graphic and thoughtful a traveller is, of all others, the most likely to mature and fascinate, without overbearing, a young man's intellect. Sinai and Palestine will be freshly impressed on the Prince's mind, without being—as they would be by most clergymen—" improved."

That extremely silly person, Mr. Smith O'Brien, has re- ceived three very severe rebukes from three of his own com- patriots. Mr. M`Ghee, a rebel of 1848, tells the Irish in the United States that the Irish in Canada prefer the Govern- ment of Great Britain, and intend to fight for it. Colonel O'Reilly, also a "rebel," writes to say that Mr. O'Brien's con- duct-is ungrateful, that his letter to Mr. Seward is a crime, "that conspiracy in Ireland will never produce a movement even worthy of being called rebellion," and that the doubt thrown on the fidelity of Irish soldiers casts a groundless stain on their military honour. Finally, "David Buchanan," also a "rebel," who has grown rich in Australia, but is now in Dublin, declares that the change for the better in Ireland is marvellous, laughs at the idea of oppression, and asserts that his country has no wrongs which cannot be righted in, a constitutional way. There is one thing more marvellous than even the change in Ireland, and that is the change in Irishmen; they are beginning to see facts as they , the given solitary faculty of which they had never hitherto evi- dence. When their eyes are once cleared of all mists, the three-stranded rope will be complete, and the empire poli- tically homogeneous.

The Italian. and Austrian Governments are facing one another like a couple of scolds. The Austrian Cabinet com- plains to the Powers that the attitude of "Piedmont" is a permanent menace, and requests that Victor Emanuel be re- quired to- disarm. In reply, Baron Ricasoli complains that the speech of General Benedek is a provocation to Italy, and indicates a design of invasion. The Emperor of France backs the Italians, and an immense quantity of good writing is wasted to prove what everybody knew before, that Austria and Italy are enemies. It is said that Austria is tired of expenditure, and eager for action ; that the Pope has been promised assistance- in return for his aid in Gallicia ; that "stores are being accumulated in the Quadrilateral ;" that Garibaldi is summoning his followers around him ; that, in short, a new outbreak of war may be expected in the spring,. These are all rumours, half of them merely expressions of excited feeling, and the remainder exaggerations of exceed- ingly simple facts. One thing seems certain : unless attacked, Italy will not declare war without previously raising a loan.

The French Government has ordered 6000 men to Mexico. The Emperor, it would seem, thinks Spain a little too rapid in her movements, and intends to maintain that "just. preponderance of French influence" which, next to the existence of the Bonaparte dynasty, is his most perma- nent object. The very best thing that could happen to Mexicans would be to be governed by Frenchmen for some two years and then left to their own devices. Within that time all brigands not shot would have become policemen, the State governors turned into prefects, Mexico made supreme throughout the Republic, and the population accustomed to a healthy severity in the collection of taxes. The difficulty is not to make the occupation beneficial, but to terminate it when necessary, and it is the duty of the British Govern- ment to see that intervention does not mean conquest. If an honestly free Cortes elects French rule, so much the better, but it must be the will of the Mexicans, not of a French general. With England in Canada, and France in Mexico, the balance of power on the Continent would be a reality, whatever the result of the civil war.

The "famine" in Sligo and Mayo has, of course, become a religious question, the Catholics publishing one story and the officials another. The balance of evidence seems, how- ever, to prove that the destitution has been greatly exagge- rated. Dr. Plunkett, Protestant Bishop of Tuam, for ex- ample, states, on the authority of seventy-five clergymen within his diocese, that the average increase of pauperism has been only seven persons per parish. Should the next season prove unfavourable, there will be very severe distress, not amounting, however, to famine. The Bishop evidently considers that the poor rates will meet the demand on them without the assistance of the State. It is not to be expected that the rate-payers, on whom the burden will fall, should wholly approve that decision, or, while everybody is begging of them, be too proud to beg in return.

A correspondent of the Times has been trying to revive the old cry of Russian designs on India. Russia, he says, is advancing through Tartary towards our frontier, and may one day take advantage of native discontent and pour in an army, to be assisted by a second uprising of the martial population, and so deprive us of India. The facts stated are -true enough, but the deductions are "Indian," i. e. they contain only a side of the truth. Suppose Russia reaches the Suleiman range, which will take her at least another generation :—Is she one whit less exposed to attack in the Baltic, or more able to defeat the 30,000 Europeans whom, with the railways complete, we could range in ten days in front of Peshawar, and support with a reserve of as many more, not to speak of a native army ? But the Sikhs would rebel ? Very possibly ; though if they do, it will be for themselves, and not Russia ; but they are welcome to do it in a quarrel in which we should have every Mussulman in India on our side. Mussulman opinion in India is really governed from Teheran, and is consequently bitterly hostile to Russian aggrandizement. It was. 'France, not Russia, to whom the malcontents in the mutiny used to say they looked for aid. As for Russia sending a Tartar army through the passes, she is welcome to try- the experiment. We have heard much of the strength of the "hordes," but there never was a horde yet so numerous as the British Government of India could summon to its standard with ease for a single -campaign.

The American journals report that the long-talked of expe- dition on the Mississipi has begun to descend the river, while another fleet, carrying a large number ofvolunteers, has sailed for some-unknown point on the sea-coast. The river expedi- tion will hardly effect much, unless indeed the Northern ,generals carry out an old threat, cut the levels, and change Mississippi and Louisiana once more into swamps. The country is too full of creeks for an invading army, unless thoroughly disciplined, with an independent commissariat, and a huge pontoon train. The force sent to the coast may accomplish something, but the Washington journals already warn their readers that they will be disappointed when they hear of its destination. On the other hand, newspapers pub- lished at Richmond denounce the inefficiency of the Southern army, describe the demoralization of the troops, doubt the .success of the.next great battle, and. generally write as if they desired to tempt McClellan into another attempt to force the Manassas Heights.

The Sheffield outrages have naturally excited the indigna- tion of all friends of the working classes, and of all the more honourable members of their own Trades' Unions. Mr. Kingsley and Mr. Hughes have exhorted the more power- ful leaders to take measures for casting out the spirit of violence, and persecution, and not without some success. Mr. Holyoake has written an able and earnest letter to the Daily News, calling upon the Trades' Unions to put down the -evil ; and the Amalgamated Engineers and Bookbinders have vehemently, and we are stare honestly, protested against it. The Engineers say that the evil arises from secrecy, and that in a society where every meeting is open, and no private meetings are allowed or recognized, the evil could not exist, -and they have "Resolved—That the Executive Council of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, &c., have seen with much surprise -that trade societies generally have been reproached on account of the alleged trade outrages at Sheffield. " That the Amalgamated Society have neither connexion nor sympathy with those who have been guilty of these great crimes ; lin the contrary, they abhor them, and denounce their perpetrators in the most emphatic manner, and most positively refuse to be asso- .ciated with them, or to be considered responsible in any degree for their conduct.

"That in the eyes of this society the outrages, as reported, are heinous and diabolical, and so entirely foreign to anything which this or any other respectable trade society could encourage, that the Ex- ecutive Council hesitate in believing that any society in existence could be guilty of suggesting or approving such deeds of malignant violence.'

Something, however, more than protest is needed ; and this, We fear, the less respectable leaders of the working men are not willing to admit. Mr. George Potter, in a letter to the Daily News—which, in contrast to Mr. Ilolyoake's, is• marked by a sinister and thoroughly discreditable spirit— expresses his belief that "these outrages originate in the wrongs done by wilful masters and by treacherous men," and retorts upon Mr. Holyoake' in very bad grammar, the violent deeds of the Chartists of former days, "the wholesale mur- ders, robberies, and rapine the legion committed, of which, it is said, he was the organizer." The working men should learn from this letter to distrust leaders who thus strive to- turn the edge of wholesome counsel by recriminations per- haps libellous, and certainly disgraceful. We hope that the Trades' Unions generally will take the admirable advice of their Bookbinders' Trade Circular just issued., and bring moral pressure to bear on the Sheffield Trades' Unions, which will induce them not merely to disavow, but to put down Unionist persecution with a strong hand. We may say, in the language of that circular, "We do believe that the outrages are not disapproved of by the men who belong to these so- called Trades' Unions [in Sheffield] ; for it is certain if the general feeling of the body was against them, they could never take place." Unless the Trades' Unions render the spirit of the men nobler instead of more cowardly, they are mere trade-distmions, and have no vitality except the vitality of the devil.

cfrsarr.—M. Fould's long-expected budget was published in the Mositeur of Wednesday, and an analysis will be found in another column. The budget contains no tables, and is generally deficient in the statements which usually make up an English budget. The Imperial Speech will be delivered to the Senate and the Legislative Corps on Monday, the 27th instant. M. Fould's budget has not yet been discussed in Paris, but its publication caused a fail in the funds, the French seeing no provision against the deficit, and considering that the sale of Italian bonds casually mentioned therein proved the extreme emptiness of the Treasury.

The French Government has resolved to increase its expeditionary force in Mexico to 6000 men, including 1200 Zouaves, a company of engineers, and a company of the waggon-train. The fleet will not, however, be increased. It is said that the motive for this addi- tional force is jealousy of the Spaniards, and it would appear that the consent of Great Britain had been asked and received. General de Lorencez will command the new division, which will consist entirely of Algerines, but the Command-in-Chief, will remain with Admiral .Turieu de is Grairare. The reinforcements are urged forward with all speed. The Emperor has rebeived the new Papal Nuncio, Mgr. Chigi,with the following words :

"His Holiness has already, on the occasion of the New Year, addressed words to me, through General Goyon, which have deeply touched me. "Be assured that I shall always seek to ally the duties of a Sovereign' with' my devotion to the Holy Father.

"I do not doubt but that your nomination will contribute to render mere in- timate the relations which are so essential to the welfare of religion, peace, and Christianity."

And it would seem to be decided that for the present the occupation of Rome must continue.

It is understood that the Session will be marked by some import- ant legislative measures, particularly the abolition of all usury laws, the introduction of a new statute of Bankruptcy, and the passing of a law for commercial associations founded on the English system of limited liability. Large changes also are to be introduced into the Commercial Code, particularly with regard to the differential duties on shipping.

The Government has acknowledged the distress existing at Lyons and St. Etienne, and has forwarded sums of 14,0001. and 10,0001. for the relief of the poor of those places. A bill will also be presented to the Senate, to open a special credit for the relief of the industrial classes, and the old French device of public bakeries, with bread sold at a maximum, is already in operation. The Republicans seem to be intent on exaggerating the distress, which the Orleanists attri- bute to the English treaty.

'Mids.—There is no intelligence from Italy of any importance, be- yond a report that the French will retire from all parts of the Roman States outside the actual walls of Rome, Civita Vecchia, and the territory which connects them. This measure is adopted in order to prevent brigandage, and the great brigand leader Cliiavone is about, it is said, to make his submission. A sharp debate has occurred in Parliament on the readiness with which the Royal Government appeals to its power of issuing decrees, but it ended as usual in a vote of confidence in Baron Ricasoli. .Naples is quiet, and nothing further has been received from Torre del Greco. From Rome and Venice we hear of nothing except a few arrests, of placards praising the Pope and put up by his own officers in St. Peter's, and of a fair Italian repartee. An Austrian lady who was seeing Venice professed herself wearied of the tiresome place. "Yes," was the retort, "would that all your countrymen were of the same opinion!"

lastris.—It is said that the Italian Government has complained of the warlike tone of General Benedek's recent speech to the Emperor, declaring that all the nationalities under his sway recognized the Austrian empire as their common country. The Government has replied by a protest against the attitude of Piedmont, which it styles a permanent menace. Nothing appears to be doing in Hungary, but a plan is said to have been suggested to the Emperor of calling a Parliament in each province, with full powers, whose first measure shall be to vote a "normal budget," or fixed amount of taxes. This scheme would involve the abolition of the Reichsrath, and of all existing constitutions. The county Committees of Transylvania have all been broken up.

Vnusia.—The Chambers have not yet met, and Prussian jour- nals are discussing the characters of persons around the King. It is said that the ancient difficulty, the constitution of the House of Peers, is by no means overcome. It will be remembered that the King recently promised to reduce the number of representa- tives sent to the Upper House by the class of landholders one-half. 3V.uira.—The Spanish Commander before occupying Vera Cruz agreed that the French rights should be reserved, just as if France had assisted in taking the city.

Interfra,—The American news of the week is comparatively devoid of interest, no military operations of any importance having taken place, though troops are being concentrated both in Western Vir- ginia and Missouri. In the latter State, it is said, a column from 60,000 to 70,000 strong will move upon Nashville, where they will be joined by General Bud's column, and the united force will ad- vance in the direction of New Orleans. The destination of General Burnside's expedition is said to have been changed in consequence, as it is stated in the New York Herald, pf treachery on the part of the daughter of a high official in the Federal service. In the House of Representatives, a long debate took place on January 6, upon a resolution, proposed by Mr. Conkling (New York), expressive of dis- satisfaction at the evasive character of the answer given by the Se- cretary at War to a former resolution of that House, requesting him to inform the House who were responsible for the disastrous affair at Ball's Bluff. In the course of the debate, a warm altercation on the subject of abolition occurred in which Messrs. Lovejoy, Dun, Vallandigham, and Wikliffe took part. Mr. Crittenden and others contended that the House had no power under the constitution to inquire into matters purely military, but, on a division, Mr. Conk- ling's motion was carried by 74 to 69. On the 7th, a discussion on thellason and Slidell affair took place, and was chiefly remarkable for the speeches of Mr. Vallandigham (Ohio), who predicted war with England or a submission to the recognition of the , South, within three months, and of Mr. Kelly (Pennsylvania), who said :

"They are carrying on a war upon peace principles, the main duty performed during the last seven months being to prevent desertions from the enemy. Let them show something of the vigour of war. England does not regard inter- national law, but does regard power. Let the boom of cannon and the rattle of musketry be heard. Let England hear the shouts of the victors blending with the groans of the dying, and then there would be no trouble about a foreign war. So long as their armies were acting as policemen to prevent the escape of those who would dig their trenches, so long would foreign nations depreciate their power, and to the same extent elevate their pretensions and demands."

Colonel Colt, of revolver celebrity, died on January 96, at Hart- ford, Connecticut. His factory at that place is said to be worth 5,000,000 dols.

Insig.—The Cabinet has been organized, and the fobo new list :

Prince Gortschakoff Prince Golowzwich M. Walajeff M. Melenten Count Adlerberg, Jun. . . . Imperial Household. Count Panin . . ..... Justice.

The Polish Council of State has been convoked, and a bill will be laid before it, settling the relations between landlord and peasant. The principle adopted is that the peasant is to receive his full free- dom, buy his land at a price fixed on the average of profits for the last ten years, and pay for it gradually in the form of a rent a little in excess of the interest of the purchase-money, the surplus gradually extinguishing the debt. A. softer plan for ruining an aristocracy could hardly be devised. The money paid in this fashion is sure to be treated as income, and spent. wing is the . Foreign Affairs. . Instruction.

Interior.

War

He performed his promise, but the existing number can only die out gradually, and the Prussians want their reforms now. Consequently, the King is urged to create forty more peers, which he is reluctant to do. If he refuses, or fails to suggest a third course, the military budget will be cut down. It is said thatPrussia and Austria have come to an understanding upon the reconstitution of the Germanic Federation, but no details are given, and the statement itself is not very probable, as the Austrian policy has always been to refuse con- cessions unless her non-Germanic provinces are guaranteed by the Federation.