Jfillisttllantous.

The Manchester Guardian contains the following paragraph, under the head of " Printed Velveteen "—

" A beautiful specimen of printed velveteen has been produced at the Ancoats-vale Works, by Mr. W. Barlow. The cloth is entirely cotton, but so beautifully dressed as to appear like silk : the design represents a stalk and ear of wheat, grouped or rather thrown together very tastefully, with a small scroll peeping from beneath, bearing the word ' Free.' Mr. Barlow presented two pieces of it to Sir R. Peel; who, in accepting the New-Year's gift, returned Mr. Barlow the following handsome letter : • " Drayton Manor, Purely. 31.l December.

"Sir-1 am much obliged by your kind attention in sending a specimen of the beautiful manufacture which accompanied your letter. Lady Peel admires it so much that she will convert one of the pieces into a cloak for her own wearing : the other I will apply to my own use. " I am, Sir, your obedient servant, ROBERT PEEL.. "

The Morning Post is scandalized because the Times copies this para- graph, and because the Standard does so with the " honest " omission of the part in italics. The Post treats the story as an incredible "lie of the League," or else Sir Robert cannot have noticed the "impudent trick " put upon him.

The Archduke Frederick of Austria sailed from Portsmouth in his frigate the Bellona, on Sunday ; for Trieste, we believe. He dined with General Sir Hercules and Lady Pakenham the day before.

Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm, C.B., left London on Wednesday night, for China, by way of Paris and Marseilles, with the treaty concluded between the Emperor and Queen Victoria.

The United Service Gazette gives the following account of Sir Ro- bert Sale's birth and parentage, in correction of "several absurd para- graphs" which have gone the round of the papers-

" Sir Robert Sale is the second son of Colonel Sale, of the Company's ser- vice; who after seeing much active service in the wars of Clive, &c., died as Governor of Vellore, at a period when that place was considered an important frontier fortress. He was well known to the Duke of Wellington, then Colonel Wellesley. Colonel Sale (of Vellore) had four sons and one daughter; viz. George Sale, the eldest, who was wounded as a Lieutenant in the Nineteenth Dragoons, at the battle of Assaye, and who latterly commanded the canton- ment of Poonab, and who, when Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fourth Light Dra- goons, and after thirty-six years of cavalry service in the East Indies, retired, and died in London three years ago; Robert, the second son, whose services— upwards of forty years' full pay, also in a Tropical climate—are now before the public ; Henry, the third son, who died some years ago at Wallagabad, as Lieutenant-Colonel, and in command of a regiment of Madras Native Infantry, after about thirty-six years' service; Charles, the youngest and fourth son, who, after twenty-five years' service in India on full pay as a subaltern, (principally of cavalry,) purchased his troop, and died as a Captain of the Fourth Light Dragoons, at Kaira, in Bombay, about sixteen years ago ; and Harriet Sale, Sir Robert's only sister, who married Major Bladen, of the Twenty-second Dragoons, who also died in India many years ago. Our readers will, we think, agree with us that this is a very fair contribution to the public service from a single family."

We have reason to believe that the Earl of Aberdeen has distinctly caused it to be made known in the proper quarter, that no concession csn be given by the British to the French Government with regard to the obligations imposed by the right-of-search treaties of 1831 and 1833. The noble Earl has, we are told, peremptorily declined even to nego- tiate on the subject. We have also reason to suppose that Russia, Aus- tria, and Prussia, have approved of the course taken by the British Government on this occasion. Further, we understand that the French Minister, who substantially holds by the international engagements im- posed by those treaties, proposes to calm the opposition likely to be offered in both Chambers to the right-of-search, by gradually diminishing the number of cruiser-licences hitherto granted by his Government.— Morning Herald.

On New-Year's Day, the King of the French received addresses of felicitation from the various public bodies. The addresses and his replies were almost exclusively occupied by allusions to the death of the Duke of Orleans. The Count d'Appony, Ambassador from the Emperor of Austria, presented the address of the Corps Diplo- matique, and assured the King of the pacific disposition of Europe towards his Government. He added—" Peace, which so fortunately subsists, and the maintenance of which is the object of the endea- vours of all the Cabinets, is consolidating itself by its very dura- tion, for every day its blessings are better appreciated. May it con- tinue to be the lot of Europe and France to enjoy it many years under the reign of your Majesty." The King replied—" i.feel every con- fidence that Providence will continue to bless our common efforts to prevent the repose of the world from being disturbed, and to insure the maintenance of general peace, by the continuation of the good harmony which so fortunately prevails among all the Powers."

The quarterly account of the Bank of France is, as usual, the exhi- bition of a very sound state of things ; and the completeness with which it is drawn might furnish an example to the B. n't of England. The bank-notes in circulation are so nearly represented by the cash in hand, that the former amount to 224,000,000f., while the latter is 197,000,000f. The business, it will be observed, is all of a legitimate banking character ; no money being locked up in mortgages or other inconvertible securities. The largest item on the credit side is " com- mercial bills discoantA," which is set down at 158,000,000f.; the ad- vance next in amount being 16,000,000f. on public securities, and the third being 4,700,000f. on bullion. In addition to the reserve of 10,000,000E required by law, there is cash vested in public securities to the amount of 50,000,000f. The " hotel " and furniture of the Bank is set down at 4,000,000f. on the credit side, and there is a correspond- ing item of 4,000,000f. on the debtor side as "-reserve in landed pro- perty." This probably represents the Bank premises also ; and if so, it is a great contrast to those institutions here which set down the value of their premises as an enormous item in their assets.— Times, Jan. 4.

At the Rhone Assizes, Besson has been found guilty of the murder of M. de Marcellauge, and sentenced to death. It is said that he has again appealed to the Court of Cassation, on a point of law.

The news from Barcelona, which comes down to the 27th, is not im- portant. S. Guttierez, the Political Chief, had actually been removed. Seoane, the new Captain-General, had ordered the war-contribution of 12,000,000 reals to be paid in three days.

General Chacon replaces General Seoane in the command of Madrid. General Zabila is appointed Captain-General of Valencia.

M. Carsy, Ex-President of the Junta of Barcelona, has addressed a letter to the Marseilles journals, for the purpose of refuting the accusa- tions made against him by several papers, particularly the organ of the English Radicals. He denies that he has taken away a sou of the public money, and defies his calumniators to prove its accusation. He speaks of the conduct of M. de Lesseps in the following terms—" Inde- fatigable during the whole of the insurrection, he was the Providence of the fugitives; and all, without distinction of party, received from him the same hospitality, not excepting even the families of Van Halen, Gutierrez, and Zabala. It belongs only to bad faith to deny oa this point the testimony of Van Halen himself, and to invent the fable of a refusal to give up the wife and daughters of the Captain-General. Let it be therefore known, since the English press obliges me to avow it, that those persons were taken from us only by means of a charitable subterfuge of the Consul. The representative of France presented him- self before the Juana, and asked me if I should oppose the departure of a French family to whom he had just delivered a passport. This was the first visit I received from him, and I did not hesitate to satisfy him respecting his demand. The parties in question were al)! ut to embark, when I received intimation that they were the ladies of General Van

Helen's family, with General Chacon, I could not, however, retract the word which I had given ; and the Consul, in only thinking of hu- manity, which certainly is as dear to me as to anybody, did not the less take from us most important political hostages, whose presence would probably have prevented the bombardment.' —Golignanis Messenger.

Letters have been received from Constantinople to the 18th Decem- ber. The Porte had sent a special messenger to recal Reschid Pasha, the Ambassador in France, who was to be appointed Reis Effendi.

The Syrian question had been settled according to the wishes of the Five Powers, on the terms set forth in a note to their representatives by the Reis Effendi-

" The Sublime Porte hereby informs the representatives of the Five Powers, that it is willing to make a trial in Syria of the following administrative sys- tem : the faculty of electing a Christian Kaimakann, to be charged with the administrative government of the Christian populations, shall be accorded to the Maronites ; and the faculty of electing a Moslem Kaimakann, to govern the remaining populations, (of the Lebanon,) shall be accorded to the Druses; but to the exclusion of the Emir Bescbir, and of all members of the Shehab family. So soon as proper dispositions can be made, the Ottoman garrisons under the orders of his Excellency Omer Pasha shall be withdrawn from Bete- din, and other places of the Mountain ; and the safe keeping and tranquillity of those districts confided to the respective chiefs, subordinate, in case of need, to his Excellency the Pasha of Saida."

Respecting Servia, the impression at Constantinople was, that Russia would abandon its demand for the deposition of Czerny George and the reinstatement of Prince Michael ; finding that it had the support of none of the European Powers except France.

It had been definitively settled, that Russia and Great Britain should mediate between Turkey and Persia ; a conference to be held at Er- zeroum.

Reports had been brought to Constantinople by the Circassian traders, that a division of Russian troops under General Riidiger had sustained a severe defeat.

The following extract from the Liverpool Times explains some con- tradictory reports which have been in circulation respecting an accident to the English mail from Canada- " A letter appeared in one of the London papers last week, in which it was etated that the Canadian letterbags belonging to the last mail had been dropped out of a canoe into the river St. Lawrence, and lost without hope of recovery. The fact is, that one bag was lost for a short time, in the manner mentioned; but it was recovered, forwarded to Halifax in time for the last mail, and its contents have long since been distributed among their rightful owners. There are several other reports in the same letter respecting the commercial and political state of the province which are quite as grossly exaggerated as the story of the lettering."