NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE long political lull has ended. Parliament was opened on the 5th instant with somewhat unusual ceremony, for although Her Majesty was absent, the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, took the oaths and his seat. The Queen's Speech was read by the Lord Chancellor, and was singularly uninteresting, even for that class of manifesto. It revealed nothing, promised nothing, and proposed nothing, thanked the Greeks, regretted the war in America, sympathized with Lancashire, complimented the relief committees, congratulated commerce on surviving the cotton famine, hinted that the revenue had -not suffered, announced the coming reductions, and wound up with the usual prayer for the welfare of Her Majesty's subjects. All this expressed in the slipshod English which a Cabinet is sure collectively to employ—the draughts- man, for example, talking about "proper efficiency," and making distinct blunders in grammar,—was not very interest- ing, but the importance of every word lent to the Speech an air not wholly deficient in dignity, and singularly consistent with the reserve which a personal Government may occasionally disregard.

The debate which followed was full of points, but, on the whole, disappointing. Opposition and Government were alike languid, as if they knew they were on the stage, but only at a rehearsal. The Address was moved in the Lords by Earls Dudley and Granard ; in the Commons, by Mr. Calthorpe and Mr. Bazley, in all cases in speeches of little weight or moment. In. the Lords, Earl Derby, beginning with a few words of courtesy on the approaching Royal Marriage, indulged in a running criticism on the policy of the recess, approved of neutrality in America, quizzed Mr. Odo Russell's offer made to the Pope, and condemned in the clearest language the surrender of the Ionian Islands. Earl Russell, in reply, stated that Government adhered to its neutral position, explained the offer made to the Pope, and recounted the history of recent diplomacy in Greece, but with- out adding much to the facts already made known. In the Commons Mr. Disraeli, in a speech which, as a literary effort, is unusually brilliant, approved of neutrality, but laughed at the dissonance between Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Gibson on American affairs, believed that the "great Republic" would be split into many States, asked what was doing in China, condemned a policy of " intrigue, sensation, and surprise," remarked sharply on the news from Brazil, and utterly dis- approved the cession of the Ionian Islands. Lord Palmerston replied somewhat carelessly, but with effect, asserting that the new policy in China was essential to the protection of trade, and declaring the cession to Greece to be " generous " us well as expedient. The Address was agreed to.

Lord Derby's speech on the Address was the only cheerful element in the Upper-House debate, as Mr. Disraeli's was the relieving element of the Commons' debate. Gentlemen in Opposition are always less dreary, and usually less trustworthy, than members of the Administration when not put on their mettle by a real conflict. Lord Derby, whan he had got over his congratulations to the Prince, and his condolence ,with Lancashire, became amusing. On Lancashire he was far from hopeful. The loss of half-work, he says, and much more than half-wages, a loss of 9,000,0001. this year, and of 6,000,0001. next, are the little sacrifices which the working classes must make for the American war. He wished faintly that the Government could have accepted the offer of France to mediate, though he has no idea that anything could have been done. When attacking Lord Russell on the Denmark question he reminded him of the lesson which their common master, Lord Melbourne, inculcated so fre- quently on his colleagues, " Can't you let it alone ; it will do very well, if you will only let it alone,"—but when Lord Russell does let it alone in America, it is evident Lord Derby thinks it would be wrong to let him alone. On the Denmark question, and the four great despatches upon it, all of which Lord Derby thinks " reflected ridicule on British diplomacy," but on Lord Russell's the most,—on the interview of Mr. Ode Russell with the Pope, and the Pope's eccentric suggestion of a possible refuge under the English protection, --and most of all on the Ionian Islands, and the iniquity of giving up from so trivial a motive as political justice or sympathy with the principles of self-government any military post useful to Great Britain, Lord Derby dilated with an elo- quence often caustic, and sometimes effective. He did not sting Lord Russell into vigour. The Foreign Minister's reply was generally adequate, bit heavy, and the warm support which he received on the Ionian cession from Lord. Grey was the only other noticeable incident of the debate.

The Prince of Wales took his seat on the 5th inst., and his marriage is fixed for the 10th March. The Queen adheres to Windsor as the scene of the ceremony, as it will enable Her Majesty to be present in private, but the Princess will make a State entry in London on the 7th March, traversing the greater part of the metropolis from the Bricklayers' Arms Station through the City to Paddington. London, accordingly, though still annoyed that her right as metropolis has been disregarded, is about to make preparations to give the Prin- cess a great and becoming reception. The arrangements made will probably be announced next week, and the papers are full of suggestions as to some mode of making the popular welcome apparent as well as real.

Lord Lansdowne died at six o'clock on Saturday, the 31st January, and will be greatly missed. He was one of the Peers, " the sustained splendour of whose stately lives "—as Mr. Disraeli puts it—adds dignity to their party. Of a calm, equable temper, with much judgment and some knowledge, Lord Lansdowne, but for his birth, would never have become a great man. As it was, he held office repeatedly, was for - the greater part of his life the confidant and adviser of governing Whigs, and after the death of the Duke of Welling- ton enjoyed in an unusual degree the confidence of the Queen. His notion of good government is, perhaps, best expressed by sayinv° that he owned a nomination borough all his life with- out athought of compunction, but always put in it the ablest Whig he could find, nominating, among others, Lord Macaulay and Mr. Lowe. There is, however, in some men of high social position, a quality which makes up for the absence of every other, and the refined, highly cultivated Peer will be greatly missed both from politics and society.

An untoward event is reported this week from Brazil. The ship Prince of Wales, it appears, was wrecked on the coast of the Empire in June, 1861, ant plundered by the inhabitants. Mr. Christie, the British Minister, applied on 5th December, 1862, for compensation to the amount of 6,5251. 19s., adding at the same time that, if the principle were admitted, the amount might be settled by arbif^`' __., Imperial Government of Brazil .abton. The .nankly refused. On the same day M i. Cllr. Chr • that c informed the Government of Brazil ^-` • —.Linn officers, who had landed at Tejuca, had been attacked by the guard, wounded, and, without being told their offence, thrown into prison among the lowest criminals. As this attack was military, and entirely unpro- voked—the sentinel charging the chaplain without warning —Mr. Christie, under orders from home, demanded that the officers of the guard should be dismissed, the sentinel punished, the police reprimanded, and an apology made to the British Government. The Brazilian Government refused, and Mr. Christie called on the squadron, and seized five Brazilian vessels. The populace, a Portuguese one, rose and threatened the English, but the Emperor took the most sensible view, and, of course under protest, agreed to pay the money demanded, and submit the whole question to the arbitration of King Leopold. We have taken the whole story from Mr. Christie's own despatches, and on the face of it the point seems this. If these outrages were isolated, the British Government has been guilty of bullying a very weak power, which had given it only accidental offence. If they were part of a system, and dictated by Brazilian dis- like to the English, Earl Russell enforced a possible right in a highly arbitrary manner. The Brazilian Government affirm that the officers began the quarrel, and that they are not responsible for a private crime on their coast.

The French do not seem to hold Anam very securely. On the 17th December the people round Saigon rose and at- tacked the garrison with incredible boldness, penetrating into the interior of the fort. They were repulsed at last, but not a Frenchman remained unwounded. Ten days afterwards they attacked Mytho, but were driven off with a loss of 225 men. This is an official account, and therefore not too unfavourable, and it suggests odd thoughts. The Emperor should inquire somewhat carefully what his people are doing out there. These Anamites are not often brave, and for Asiatics to at- tack Europeans in that style they must have suffered one of three things—attacks on their religion, outrages on their women, or new and very heavy fiscal oppression.

That Greek throne is going begging again. Negotia- tions with the Duke of Coburg had last week advanced so far that Mr. Elliot was ordered to present his name to the Greeks. They received it enthusiastically, as almost as good an omen for them as the arrival of Prince Alfred. Some new hitch, however, occurred, and now the Coburg Gazette affirms that the Duke has finally declined to accept, has been thanked by his States for declining, and intends as a consolation to himself and mankind to publish another pamphlet. Very amusing all that to bystanders, stock-jobbers, and M. Reuter, but it must be something else to the Greeks, who see their crown bandied about from one German princeling to another, and rejected by all alike. Lord Palmerston said on Thursday that negotiations were not yet over, and the Times affirms that the "hitch" has reference to a demand made by the Duke for aid from the protecting powers to put Greek finances in order. It seems probable that the refusal is final, and that Europe must hunt up another Prince.

Sir George Grey has, it is said, issued an order modifying the system of tickets-of-leave. Nobody is to have one when sentenced for a crime committed when out on leave. That order acknowledges the great principle that a distinction ought to be drawn between the occasional and the habitual criminal, but the idea is not very wisely applied. The order only takes away hope, and with it the possibility of improve- ment. What is required is not that, but a heavy addition to the length of sentences passed on the second conviction,— sentences to be carried out to the full, unless the prisoner proves his reform. We sincerely trust that there is some little public spirit left among the garotters, and that they will, in the public interest, rob a Peer or a member or two. May we suggest to them that a Bishop usually carries a watch, and is not very likely to carry a weapon more formid- able than a pastoral staff. If they neglect a duty so clear and so patriotic, London may, we are almost afraid, be left to Sir George Grey.

Mr. Bright, in a speech at Rochdale on Tuesday, on some portions of which, marked by all the nervous grandeur of his IIbest style, we have eo----" " _ in another column, quoted —smi sue American statesman Jeffetson the proposal to divide newspapers into four departments, the first of which should contain the True, the second the Probable, the third the Possible, and the fourth the Lies, the last of which, Mr. Bright thought, would, on vehemently debated ques- tions like the American war, absorb too enormous a proportion of the whole paper. We fear the sneer applies more widely than to the " public instructors " rebuked by Mr. Bright. It is not the known lies we want distinguished for us, so much as the unknown lies which we believe to be truths ; and hence the greater number of facts would descend through this sliding scale of truth from top to bottom between the morning and evening edition. The creed of most politicians on the news of the day presents a series of oscillations between the department of " provisional lies " and of "provisional truths," the former, as Mr. Bright bitterly remarks, largely predominating.

The brothers Peel have both made demonstrations for the South. Sir Robert, whom Mr. Bright describes as " not a statesman,—the son of a great statesman,"—of whom Mr. Disraeli speaks with mock reverence as one "not yet admitted to the Cabinet, but whose lips are steeped in the gravity of the Privy Council," has taken occasion in a lecture on the different kinds of wood exhibited in the Great Exhibition to " almost fancy" that he sees "the Lord of Hosts fighting for the South." It is at least good of him to leave the predilec- tions of the Lord of Hosts an open question. His more steady brother, the Secretary for the Treasury, does not, of course, indulge in these transcendental speculations. He declared himself on Tuesday, at Bury, provisionally in favour of that mediation which his superior officers have declined to sanc- tion. " Next to the duty of preserving peace for ourselves, came the duty of endeavouring to preserve and restore peace to other countries." After laying down that the "burden of proof" would lie upon the Ministry for the course they had taken in declining the French offer, Mr. Peel generously sug- gested a possible defence or apology for them, to which, how- ever, he would not commit himself. And then he proceeded to inveigh against Mr. Lincoln's proclamation. Par nobile- fratrum ! The fraternal tie between Sir Robert and Mr. F. Peel is not often visible on the surface ; but, far apart as they are in duties and character, Bury and Tamworth have a secret tie ; the wild Irish secretary and the steady Treasury official have a common sympathy ;—which the one attributes, at a hazard, to the favour of. the Lord of Hosts, and which throws the other into an ecstasy of admiration for the policy of the Emperor of the French.

The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce is evidently unable to take a distinction. The greater part of the gentlemen con- nected with it have, doubtless, thought exceedingly little about maritime law, and are content to fall in with the cry that whatever abridges the destructive range of the English navy in tim e of war willnecessarily cripple E ngland' s naval supe- riority. At all events, two questions have been submitted in writing, with voting papers, to all the gentlemerreonneeted with it, one on Mr. John Campbell's motion for the aboli- tion of the right of commercial blockades, and Mr. Spence's. amendment thereon in favour of the present law, when the latter was carried by 243 to 17. That is good sense. But the proxies on the second question submitted are less intelli- gent. Mr. Campbell's motion for exempting private property- at sea, in enemies' as well as in neutral vessels, from capture, —a mere logical corollary of the present rule agreed to at the Congress of Paris,—was lost by a majority of 223 to 37 votes. Let now Mr. Campbell submit to them the proposition whether the maritime law of the treaty of Paris be rescinded, and we trust, for the sake of their understandings, that these intelli- gent gentlemen will give an equal majority in favour of the proposition.

The Northern Government has intercepted a correspon- dence between the Government of the South and its English agent. The despatches are curious, the most important describing an attempt of the French Government to revolutionize Texas. M. Theron, French Consul at Galveston, it seems, in August, 1862, asked the Confederate Governor whether Texas would not be much better off as a separate republic under the protection of France, an idea strongly repudiated. In October the Vice-Consul at Richmond renewed these in- quiries, and President Davis, informed of the facts, ex- pelled both officers from his territory. Mr. Benjamin, Secre- tary of State, believes that the cause of these intrigues is the desire of the French Government to obtain a cotton-growing empire in America as an offset to India, and sends the facts to Great Britain to prove that France is seeking, under cover of neutrality, great separate advantages. It seems exceedingly probable that, had Texas accepted the offer, she would have served as a valuable ally of the Emperor in this heavy Mexican war. The intrigue will not increase the affection between France and America, for even the New York Herald can scarcely make it an English plot.

The latest intelligence from America is full of movement. General Rosencrantz has been reinforced, and is to recommence the attack, while the army at Memphis moves South for another attempt on Vicksburg. At the same time General Burnside issued a grand order of the day to his troops, about his intention to strike a great blow across the Rappahannock. This was followed by an advance, or apparent advance, but the rain had fallen so heavily that the pontoons could not be brought to the river, and the army of the Potomac remained where it was. The failure looks very ridiculous, but it seems to have answered its purpose, which was, we doubt not, to keep General Lee from sending troops to the Mississippi. General Burnside is not a fool, and knows perfectly well that he is surrounded by traitors, and that his general order would at once be betrayed to the chief of the Southern army. The object of the Republicans is to capture Vicksburg, and so secure the control of the line of the Mississippi.

Mr. Maclure's monthly report on Manchester distress gives us now 146,927 operatives working full time, 159,537 operatives working short time, and 228,129 wholly unemployed ;—a return including therefore 534,593 men. There are now 25,796 more hands in full work than a month ago, and of these 19,000 were entirely idle, and 6,000 on short time. But the return looks much better than it is. The operatives now at work are working on most wretched wages. The total weekly loss of wages is scarcely less this month than it was a month ago,—indeed, it appears to be greater, as it is now returned at 172,0181., and was then returned at 169,7441. Of course, this is only apparent, and arises from the larger number of operatives included in this return than in the last,—namely, a thousand more.

Two letters from the President to General M'Clellan con- cerning the campaign have been published, which do not seem to us to justify the complaint of undue interference with the General's military plan which had been so widely circulated and generally believed. Mr. Lincoln's wish, expressed a year ago, was to advance straight on Richmond from Manassas, which would have permitted M'Clellan to unite all his forces without leaving Washington exposed to the Southern army. The President waived this wish in deference to M'Clellan, on condition that he would, in departing for the peninsula, leave a sufficient force for the protection of Washington. M'Clellan would have left only 20,000 un- drilled men, without a field-battery, to defend Manassas Junc- tion and Washington, had M'Dowell joined him, as the General wished, and this the President thought totally inadequate to the defence of the capital. He therefore declined to let M'Dowell go, supposing that the loss of the capital would be a misfortune more than compensating any success M'Clellan could have achieved in the peninsula. There may have been a deficiency in wise audacity here, but there is clearly no unjustifiable civilian meddli' in the plan of the campaign; and had Washington fallen, Mr. Lincoln would have been bitterly reproached for his weakness in yielding the point to his general.

Mr. Lincoln has signed the bill authorizing the immediate issue of 20,000,0001. sterling in greenbacks, with a sort of protest to the Congress against the principle of depreciating the currency by these unlimited issues. He urges the adop- tion of Mr. Chase's plan for substituting a United States cur- rency for the notes of the private banks, which would leave verge for some more paper without further depreciation, and only withdraw from the banks a privilege which the nation has a right to resume. The modus operandi would be to tax the private-bank circulation. Mr. Lincoln's " lecture" was not favourably received. The feeling in Congress was, that if he did not approve the measure he should veto it ; and if he did, should not indulge in weak exhortation. The House refused to refer the message to any committee as is usual in such eases; and the Senate -would not even print it.

The party in power at Washington appear to be making up their minds. The nine months men, some 250,000, quit them in June, and they must, before that time, be, if possible, in a position to dictate their own terms of peace. To this end they must hold the Mississippi, regain Texas, revolutionize Tennessee, and, we fear, conquer Kentucky ; and it is to this end, the securing of an expedient boundary, that their aims arc plainly directed. Why they do not avow this policy, which would again inspirit the people, and set them right with Europe, we can hardly conceive; but they may dread the Democrat cry that the Republicans sanction secession.

Italy, it appears, now possesses a navy consisting of two iron-clad corvettes of 40 guns, one man-of-war of 61 guns, 8 frigates of 46 guns, average, and 3 corvettes of 18 guns, all screw steamers. This navy costs a great deal too much, 3,000,0001. a year, while France, with three times the ships, spends only double that sum. It is proposed to appoint a Parliamentary commission of inquiry, and then appoint a Board of Admiralty, with the Minister of Marine at its head.

The Polish telegrams are still not easy to understand, but • three facts are becoming clear. The insurrection is ruled by men who have a definite plan; it is nearly, or quite universal; and it causes considerable alarm in the councils of St. Peters- burg. The notion of the insurgents appears to be first to rise everywhere at once, and destroy all accessible Russian sources of power, and then, with the few men thoroughly armed, to open communication with Lithuania, and, if possible, rouse that province. The Government seems inclined to make some concessions, for General Ramsay, in military command, has ordered all conscripts taken on the 26th and 27th January to be released; the Government has stopped the con- scription, and the Czar has ordered the preparation of bills for reforms in Poland. The announcement of M. Billault in the French Corps L6gislatif that the Emperor Napoleon will not assist the insurrection will, probably, kill the movement ; but not before the Poles have learned one great lesson. The forests put them and the Russians upon a military equality.

On Tuesday a deputation from the Anti-Slavery Society waited upon the American Minister in London, to congratulate him upon the issue of the Proclamation of the 1st instant, and express their disgust at the Southern rebellion. Mr. Adams, in acknowledging a minute expressing these views, made a statement of some importance. The original object of the South, he said, was not so much independence as to seize the Government of the Union. They attempted to isolate the Government by firing the railway bridges and massacring the volunteers; and it was not till the President was convinced that Washington was not safe that he com- menced hostilities. If Mr. Adams can prove that, why on earth does he not bring forward the evidence ? Does he not see that it alters the whole character of the war, and deprives the South at once of their argument that they are sovereign States, acting as seems to them best for their interests and honour?

Among the intercepted papers seized by the North are a number of letters addressed by the, Financial Secretary to Mr. Mason, informing him that Mr. Spence, of Liverpool, is financial agent to the Confederate States, and authorizing that person to sell three millions' worth of cotton. Mr. Spence is a cotton broker, who writes energetic letters to the Times in praise of the South. Accused of being an advocate, he repu- diated the charge, and now says that he is merely a broker, and his brokerage does not affect his opinions. Agency never does, but it is very apt to influence a man's expression of them, at least to the extent of concealing unwelcome ideas.

Consols are 921 to 921 for Money, and 9.21 93 for the Account. The New Threes and Reduced are 921 93. Exchequer Bills, 2s. to 3s. prem. India 5 per Cents., 108 1081 ; and ditto 5 per Cent. Enfaced Paper, 105. Greek Bonds have further declined to 20 201 ; and ditto Coupons, to 81 9. Old Turkish 6 per Cents. arc 89 90+ ; ditto, 1858, 72 721; ditto, 1862, 67* 68*; ditto, Con- solides, 40* 41*. Egyptian, 99. Mexican, 331 331. Moorish, 93+. Grenada " ex all," 131. Peruvian New Loan, 88+. Por- tuguese ditto, 47. Russian ditto, 941 94+. Spanish Passive, 27 27+ ; ditto, Certificates, 10 101; and the Venezuela Loan, 60* 61.

We note a Parcels Delivery Company, between England and France, called the Factage