fillistellantotts.

We hear that the Austrian Cabinet has proposed to the English and French Governments to convoke a Congress of the Powers which signed the treaties of 1815, for the discussion of the entire European question.— Globe.

Baron Ward, an Equerry of his Royal Highness the Duke of Parma, arrived in town on Tuesday evening, the bearer of official despatches, in which the Duke abdicates in favour of the Hereditary Prince of Parma, at present residing in England.—iforning Chronicle.

His Excellency Count de Revel, for a long time resident Minister of Sar- dinia at the court of St. James's, has been compelled, on his return to Turin after his recall, to enter the ranks of the Garde Mobile as a private. Such is the account made of the energies of a man who for twenty years has proved himself an able diplomatist. Such a fact speaks volumes for the present unhappy state of Italy.—Morning Chronicle.

Several papers have pretended that M. Guizot has arrived in Paris. The Journal des Dibats announces that M. Guizot will not leave Brompton Crescent before the elections. It is understood that he will then stand for Lisieux.

It has been stated on several occasions that Sir Emerson Tennent was about returning from Ceylon, although the assertion heretofore merely de- pended upon rumour. We have now the strongest grounds for believing that Sir Emerson will, if be has not already taken his departure from Cey- lon, leave the island early in May, ostensibly on leave of absence; but our information is, that he will not return to the East as Colonial Secretary, at least so long as Lord Torrington remains Governor. There are several matters connected with this movement which it would be premature to ad- vert to further just now.—Banner of Ulster.

The Irish Members who have been urging the Government to assist the Irish Railway Companies with a grant of money had an interview with Lord John Russell on Tuesday; when the following communication is re- ported to have taken place.

Lord John Russell began by stating that deputations had waited on him from English and Scottish railways, as well as Irish; to which be had replied, that it was contrary to principles of sound policy for a Government to interfere in enter- prises of private advantage, and that it was far better such should be conducted by the persons having an interest in the success of the undertaking. Though he might hoof opinion that the same principles would apply to the objects which had been pressed on him by the Irish Members, he conceived that there was a distinction in the present anomalous condition of that country ; and, under the circumstances of the urgent distress which prevailed there, especially in the West- ern parts of Ireland, it was the intention of Government to lay before Parliament a plan, which was not as yet fully developed, to promote the completion of the main trunk of railway extending to the Western district; and that the railway known as the Midland Great Western would occupy the first attention of the Govern- ment, with a view to carry it out; and that they had come to the determination that public assistance should be rendered to that railway, which would open some of the districts most in need of improvement, and into which it was most desirable to encourage the influx of capital. A plan similar to this had been pursued last year with respect to the Southern Railway, with the happiest effect; and it was shortly to be expected that the important city of Cork would in consequence be opened to all the advantages of railway communication. Applications h el been made from some of the Northern lines; but he considered that they came under the principles he had first stated, and that they were in a condition to go into the market and obtain funds on their own credit. It was to be considered that the public revenue was not in a condition to afford a more enlarged extension of as- sistance at the present moment. Lord John Russell proceeded further to say that there were two other objects which had engaged the attention of Government, as equal in importance to railways, and which, with a view to the relief of present distress, they were disposed to prosecute. He alluded to the deepening of rivers and watercourses, commonly known as arterial drainage ; and to the extension of the loans for land improvement. For this latter object it was known that a million and a half had already been voted by Parliament, about 500,000/. of which had been applied; but to meet the numerous applications which the Board of Works had been unable to satisfy, he would propose to Parliament that a further Beni should be voted.

"Sir Lucius O'Brien asked if it would be within any reasonable time that the matter would be brought before Parliament ? " Lord John Russell replied, that as soon as the views of the Cabinet had been sufficiently matured, the plan should be stated in the House of Commons."

Captain Maconochie has been for some days at Winston, near Birming- ham' studying and directing the final arrangements in his future charge. We learn that the Magistrates generally look with favour on his plans. The gaol is two miles from Birmingham, and he hopes to get from four to five acres of ground attached to it, and sufficiently enclosed to enable him to test Mr. Charles Pearson's plan of agricultui al self-support: the rate per acre got from a little will be a measure of what may be obtained from much.

The Earl of Carlisle has consented to preside at the anniversary festivae of King's College Hospital, Lincoln's Inn Fields. Lord John Russell, th Duke of Buecleuch, the Earl of Harrowby, and several Bishops, have con- sented to be stewards. The funds of the Hospital were last year deficient by 4001.; unusual efforts are in progress to secure a distinguished festival, in hopes of subscriptions adequate to pay off the debt and enlarge the ac- commodation of the Hospital.

Some extracts from the journal of a subaltern in the Second Europeans have been published this week, graphically descriptive of passages in the fight of Chillianwallah, and the after scenes. We select a few specimens.

"The word came for the infantry to advance. 'Fix bayonets—load—deploy into line—quick march!' And just then came a roll of musketry that drove us almost mad. 'Quick march!' And into the jungle we plunged in line with a deafening cheer—the roll of musketry increasing every moment. Oa we went at a rapid double, dashing through the bushes and bounding over every impediment: faster rolled the musketry, crash upon crash the cannon poured forth its deadly contents, and down upon them comes our brigade; and, gaining an open space 111 the jungle, the whole of the enemy's line burst on our view. 'Charge!' rang the word through our ranks; an° ta men bounded forward like angry bull-dogs,

pouring in a murderous fire. The enemy s whizzed above our heads—the !cry air seemed teeming with them. Man after man was in the dust; but a passing glance was all we could give them. And one/id-V*6 went, bearing on their line with a steadiness which nothing could resist They fired a last volley, wavered, and then turned and lied, leaving the ground covered with dead and wounded. Pursuit in a jungle like that was useless, where we could not see twenty yards before us; so we halted, and began to collect our wounded; when all of a sudden a fire was opened upon us in our rear! A large body of the enemy had turned our flank in the jungle, and got between us and the rest of the troops ; another party was on our left, and we found ourselves with our light field battery completely surrounded and alone in the field. The word was given, 'Right about face!' and we advanced steadily, loading and firing as we went, and the artillery pouring in grape as steadily as if on parade. If it Lad not been for that battery, we ehouldi have been cut up to a man. The fire was fearful ; the atmosphere seemed alive with balls; I can only compare it to a storm of hail; they rang above my head and ears so thick that I felt that if I put

out my hand it would be taken off. . . . Our firing was beautiful, every man was as steady 88 a rock, and fired low and well; while the Sepoys on our right were blazing away into the air, and taking no aim whatever. "All this time the enemy were dodging about the bashes, banging away at us, and then disappearing. At last General Gilbert rode up, and said to Steel, Well, Major; how are you? Do you think you are near enough to charge? "By all means,' said Steel. Well, then, let's see how you can do it.' 'Men of the Second Europeans, prepare to charge—Charge ! ' And on we went with a stunning cheer. Poor Nightingale was shot in the head, and fell at my feet. I had just time to order two men to pick him up. The Sikhs fought like devils. They charged down on us, singly, sword in hand, and strove to break through our line: but it was no go; and after a short struggle we swept them before us, and remained

masters of the field "The enemy lay in heaps around—some dead, some dying, but fierce and un- tamed even in their dying struggle; numbers of them were bayoneted by our men in the act of rearing themselves up and taking aim at the officers. The battle lasted for three hours, and so maddening was the excitement that it seemed scarcely half an hour. The chief rode down our line afterwards ; we gave him three cheers, and proud we were of the praise he gave us." "At sunset we collected as many of our wounded as we could find, blew up all the ammunition that we bad taken, and moved out of the jungle into the open ground, where we piled arms and bivouacked on the ground; and a more wretched night I never passed: it came on a thick drizzling rain, and we were wet to the skin; to sleep was impossible, and we were almost perishing with thirst, but not a drop of water was to be got. In my wanderings about in search of it I came upon the field hospital; and the sight I saw there I shall remember to my dying day—poor wounded wretches lying on the ground without a thing to cover them: Water—water--water !' was their ceaseless cry, and not a drop was there to slake their thirst. All the hospital apparatus was behind, and there was not a single comfort for the poor fellows: even medical assistance was very scarce; many were lying bleeding on the cold earth for hours without having a soul near them. The ghastly sight of suffering, the fearful wounds and hideous gashes that met my eyes, would poison an angel's dreams. . . .

"January 17.—A beautiful day, thank God! the bright sunshine has come out again, and no one who has not experienced the misery of wading through a wet camp with mud up to the ankles can appreciate the blessing dry weather is to a campaigner. Rode out to see the battle-field—a sickening sight it was. The enemy had come down in the night after we left the ground, and murdered every wounded man. Many of them had evidently only been hit in the legs, and they were gashed about in a fearful manner ; every man had his throat cut, and many their heads clean cut off. One poor man of ours was obliged to be left behind in the charge, and a lot of the enemy came down and literally hewed him in pieces. Another, who is now lying, doing well, in the hospital, was awfully cut about too. He says that they took him and tossed him up in the air to see if he was alive; but, as he himself quaintly expressed it, he had presence of mind to be dead. The toast fearful sight of all was in front of the battery where the Twenty-fourth had been repulsed: 150 of them lay dead on the ground ; they were literally in heaps. The hideous way they had been mangled by these inhuman fiends no tongue can describe; and no mercy will be shown by our infuriated soldiers to any who fall in their way. There were immense heaps of Sikhs lying there too, but they had taken away the greater number."

We understand the amount of gold recently received by various mercantile houses in London from California is, in the aggregate, rather more than 40,0001-- Times.

The Reverend William Shore Chalk, Rector of Wilden in Bedfordshire, was found dead in his bed at Easton Square Hotel, on the 21st instant. A paper labelled "purified Epsom salts," but without a druggist's name, was on the dress- ing-table ; some crystals remained in it—they were oxalic acid. Witnesses at the inquest stated that Mr. Chalk's circumstances and disposition were such as to negative the supposition of suicide: he often took Epsom salts. This was the verdict of the Jury— 'Deceased was killed by oxalic acid ; but whether he took it designedly to destroy life, or through ignorance of its effects, there was no evi- dence to prove."

The family of Mr. Jerdan, the editor of the Literary Gazette, have been thrown into much distress by the death, on Tuesday last, of Mr. John Egger, of Bentley, the father of Mrs. Jerdan, at the advanced age of ninety-four, of mortification resulting from the bite of a dog. Mrs. Jerdan was with her venerable parent at the time of the accident, and remained in attendance upon him until his death.— Globe.

A Plymouth paper mentions a severe "aggravation of agricultural distress.' "We have heard of a young lady living not a hundred miles from Truro, and ex- ceedingly well disposed to the agricultural interest, who nevertheless declines to accept an cffer from a farmer until there shall be a better price for wheat than at present. She positively will not marry while wheat is below 50s. a quarter."

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the

week ending on Saturday last- Namber of Winter

Deaths. Average.

Zymotic Diseases Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat 236 ....

50 .... 221 54 Tubercular Diseases 174 .... 203 Diseases at the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses. 130 .... 141 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 41 .... 40 Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration... . 179 .... 243 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 69 67 Diseases of the Kidneys, etc 18 .... 13 Childbirth, diseases ot tbe 'Uterus, &e. it .... 9 Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, ific

Diseases of the Skin, Cellular TiMue, tke

Malformations

Premature Birth 26 .... 23 Atrophy Age 29 ....

Si .... 15 73 Sudden

8 ....

14 Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance

Total (Including unspecified causes) The temperature of the thermometer ranged from 75.10 in the sun to 24.0° in the shade; the mean temperature by day being colder than the average mean temperature by 3.6°. The mean direction of the wind for the week was North aad-Eeat.

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