The Times understands that "it is the intention of the

Government to

raise the number of seamen and marines for the current year to 53,500 -year, ands fintherMtdition to-'the 6000 men raised-Imam the orders of raised for * service of the fleet 38,900 will 'be seamerrand boys mid men ; which is an increase of about 8000on the number voted for last Lord Derby's Administration. The total increase in the Navy since 1852 may therefore be. stated at about 13,000 men. Of tha ferce now to be

15,500 marines?? " - The same journal ftunishea a list of our steam 1ine-of-o ships and frigates now afloat . Gums.. Morse-power-

Duke of'Wellihgten 180 '71W Western Squadton. •

Royal George 120 400 Davenport. , -, St. Jean d'Acre 101 600 Western squadron. Agamemnon 90 CA Bosphorus. . C 90 400.' -Not:To ehoSmielicin:

C rieer

sy ao 408-- Sheernesc..

James Wan,- 6e0- Not in commisstm.

Majestic 80 400 Not in Conimission. 99 200 -Not in cbmtnission.

Princess jaya..1: 90 400- Portsmouth.

Sanspareil 70 350 Bosphorus.

Ajax- 58-, ..;.:. . 450,' Cork., . 60 ..... 450 Guardship (Rortstor..40)-

60 . 450 Ditto (Dercuroeil).. Edinburgh 58, 450-!. Ditto IRe.mmtnIthY. Arrogant Impeneuse 47 350 Western Squadron. 360 Wentemilquadrom

50, ..

Amphion ratio 34 ...... 300 Western Squadron. 250 Guardsbip (Sheerness).

Horatio 24 smeouStrsarnn.

li Wpoersttrn Tribune 30

'Dauntless 24 35°°80

Higflyer 1 n

2 250 Mediterranean.

Euryalus

"The above are all screw steam-ships; but to these may be added- the following, among the more powerful paddle-wheel steamers-now afloat. Sidon .. Guns. Stone-power.

22 800- Bospborus. Terrible 21 560 Bosphortun Retribution 28 560 Western Squadron. Odin' 16 Valorous .., .. 400 Bosphorus. Furious 16 ..... 400 Western Squadron. 16 400- Bosphorus. Leopard 18 560 Portsmouth Magicienne ; 400 Devonport. 16 Penelope 16 650 West Cosa of Africa.

Notwithstanding the severity of the weather' a considerable number of persons assembled on Tuesday to witness the formal prorogation of Par- liament, by Commission. The Commissioners were the Lord Chancellor, Earl Granville, and the Duke of Argyll. They attended at one o'clock, inatead of two the 1191.1.4 hour. The officials who represent the House of Commons liciving errived, the Queen 'a Commission was read proroguing Parliament unta the 31st January, then to meet for the despatch oebusi- neas.

A 'Cabinet Council was held on Tuesday, at the Foreign Office. All the Ministers were pi:esent. The Council sat three hours and a half.

A second Cabinet Council was held at the Foreign Office on Thursday ; it sat four hours, and was attended by all the Ministers except Lord Lansdowne.

The Convocation of the Prelates and Clergy of the Province of Can- terbury was Earmany prorogued on Wednesday, by the Archbishop of Canterbury; until the 1st February ; then, adds the -Vorning Chronicle, "to meetfor the despatch of business." [We have heard it stated, how- ever, that the High Church party will make no attempt to despatch business this year.1 We are assured, on what we believe to be good authority, that Lord Harding* yesterday gave in his resignation as Commander-in-chief of the Army ; that has Lordship is to be succeeded by Lord Raglan ; and that General Brown-will resume his former appbintment as Adjutant-General. —Morning Bost, danuary 5. [The Globe of the same day contradicts the report.g.

An authoritative contradiction of the statement respecting the costs

in the case of Madan Karr having been published, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bri.stol has since written to the Times, declaring that he believes more than ever that he was ill-used in the enormous expense to which he was put. His impression is, that the bills originally sent to him amounted to 45001. or 4600i. The Judge, Sir Ilerbertie..aner Furst, said. "there were far greater expenses incurred thee the nun warranted." The Bishop paid the 3500/ to get rid of a

m,ost-aturniing mnifor, after the proctors for two years had shrunk from taking legal _proceedings to enforce payment, which the Bishop was waiting for.

According to the official. report ,of the Registrar-General, there was a large excess of deaths in the Metropolis last week above the calculated average. The.number of deaths was. 1656; the average 127;6; the ex- cess 380: This eiceeta arose in some Pleasure from the large accumula- tion of Coroner's eases, heretofore unregistered. The number of deaths from cholentiactem•,..two in the Centralp seven in the Estat,.and-one in. the

South district • Viscount ,PfilirteratOri came to London to attend the Cabinet. Council on Tuesday, and returned afterwards to Broadlands.

The Duke orNeweastle returned to town, from Clumber, on. Monday. The Marquis of Lansdowne arrived from Bowood on Monday night. The Duke of Argyll arrived, in town on Saturday, from Trentham. Sir Charles Wood has arrived from Hickleton Hall, near Doncaster. Earl StAHHO had been appointed Lord High Steward of her Majesty's

Householdv implace, of the Duke of Norfolk.

The mother of Mn. Thomas Carlyle died on Christmas Day, at Seotsbrig„ near F,celefeohan. Both her sons,. :Dr. John Carlyle and Thomas Carlyle, Were present ather deathbi M. Visconti, the.iminent French architect, died on Friday. last week, of apoplexy: His. funeral, on Tuesday, was piblie deputations from all the academies in. Paris were present, several pill lie men, and a carriage of the Emperor.

Captain lisglefie/d; under whom Lieutenant Benet served as &volunteer, has had an audience of the French Emperor. So has Dr. Bowring.

The Grand Duke or Tuscany has founded a new order, under the title of Order of Military Merit, of which he is the Grand Master. The members are distinguished into knights of the first, second, and third class. The de- coration of the first class entitles a Tuscan, if not a nobleman by birth, to claim the rights of hereditary nobility in his native town without any ex- pense. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers decorated with the third class have a pension of 100 francs. Prince Frederick William of Prussia arrived at Rome on the 20th Decem- ber. He travels as "Count de Berg."

Baron Fags!, for eighteen years Minister Plenipotentiary of Holland at Paris, has just withdrawn from public life, on a pension.

Alexander von Humboldt has lately given to the world, through his pub.. Fisher, Cotta, the first volume of his minor writings, containing the geognos- tie and physical phenomena. It is dedicated to Leopold von Buch, whom he calls the talented investigator of nature, and the greatest geognost of the age," as a little monument of a friendship never disturbed for sixty years.

The Civilisateur, a monthly publication of M. de Lamartine, has been sold by him for 100,000 franca and an annuity of 6000 francs. He will continue to contribute, but his health would not permit him to conduct it alone.

The Archbishop of Besancon, the Archbishop of Paris and the Bishop of Vivien, have forbidden their clergy to have anything to do with table-turn- ing and table-talking.

Captain de Laporte, the French officer who was recently tried by a court- martial for the murder of General de Neuilly, and acquitted, has been placed on the retired list.

Among the passengers by the last West India mail-steamer, was Mr. Rick- ards, who has been in Mexico engaged in railway matters. He has brought a contract for a railway from Vera Cruz to Mexico : the terms granted by Santa Anna are very advantageous.

The French Minister of War is said to have reported to the Emperor that France could place without delay on a war footing 1,250,000 soldiers.

The King of Prussia has ordered that in the prayers of the Evangelical Church mention shall be made of Christians dwelling among the In- fidels, and a special form of prayer has been ordered to be inserted.

A Napoleon club—"Cerele Napoleon"—is to be established in Pari; in the Hotel d'Osmond ; the Emperor himself to be the honorary President.

The lectures in the Copenhagen University are to be delivered in Danish instead of Latin,

There has been much "excitement" at New York from street-preaching against Romanism. The Mayor has issued a proclamation to stop the prac- tice, as it tends to disturb the public peace.

The Prussian Minister of Commerce has authorized the opening in die spring of a regular line of steam communication between Dantzic, Hull, and London.

Thecanal from the Marne to the Rhine, which was opened tbrengliont-its whole length in October last, unites five large vallies,—those of the Marne, the Meuse, the Moselle, the /malie, the Sarre, and the Rhine. It HI 250 miles long, and has many great works in its course—tunnels, cuttings, aqua-. ducts—with 180 locks.

About half of the Great Western Railway of Canada is now open-118'nades. The Royal Danish Railway, connecting the North Sea and the Baltic, is expected to be opened in the summer.

There have been great rejoicings at Portland, in Maine State, on the ar- rival of the Sarah Sands steamer, the pioneer of a line of vessels between that place and Liverpool.

The cotton-spinners of Rouen propose to combat free trade by Protection- ist pamphlets ; and it is said that they intend to tax each operative H1. small sum to pay the expense.

During 18,53 no fewer than sixty-aix emigrant ships left Antwerp, carrying 15,262 passengers.

Orange River copper-mines, at the Cape, have been productive. At the last advices there were 200 tons of ore ready for shipment.

The Paris bakers have resolved to give 200,000 kilogrammes of bread to the poor at this hard season, in place of the presents of cakes which they have hitherto sent to their customers.

The Northern Railway of France will, at the instance of Baron Rothschild, give 400,000 pounds of bread to the poor of the different towns on their line, during January, February, and March.

In consequence of a report by the Committee of Public Health, the Aus- trian Government has allowed butchers to sell horse-meat.

Undisturbed by the sounds of approaching war, the Federal Diet at Frankfort has been discussing an invention for the fabrication of artificial coffee.

The usual fire at New York announced by the mail consumed property valued at three-quarters of a million of dollars.

Fires seem to be more numerous in Paris than even in London. In out day lately, the pompiers, besides having to extinguish fires in twenty-sigh chinanies, had nine serious conflagrations to combat between mid-day and six o'clock next morning. In the week ending the 15th December, 111 persons died at New Orleans from cholera.

Wolves have been seen in the forest of Soignies, within two leagues of Brussels. Battues for their destruction have been ordered.

"Uncle Tom" has been introduced to the Athenians in old Groner under the gentlemanly title of " Omparpas Thomas."

having to extinguish fires in twenty-sigh chinanies, had nine serious conflagrations to combat between mid-day and six o'clock next morning.

In the week ending the 15th December, 111 persons died at New Orleans from cholera.

Wolves have been seen in the forest of Soignies, within two leagues of Brussels. Battues for their destruction have been ordered.

"Uncle Tom" has been introduced to the Athenians in old Groner under the gentlemanly title of " Omparpas Thomas."

The total absence of Labour-representation in the House of Corti- mons, as shown in our Supplement this week, once distinctly recognized, suggests the probability that Labour may not very much longer be ex- cluded. Should the franchise be extended, one restriction would be re- moved ; Lord John Russell's bill of 1852 would have abolished the pro- perty qualification ; but how would a working man, devoting his time to legislation, find a subsistence in London ? Perhaps the working classes would be less unwilling to pay their Members than the wealthier clearer to pay theirs ; but certainly they have not calculated- the cost. In pn- vate, a Member of Parliament may be as saving and self-denying as he likes, but in public there must neither be meanness nor unbecoming stint. One who has been a Member for many years, and who has brought his ex- penditure within the narrowest limits consistent with personal comfort and his public position, in answer to a question about cost, says—"Tou cannot say less than 701. a month; one half for eating, drinking, anfl sleeping ; the other half for dub-subscription and other little items, charity, postage; Parliamentary Papers, and a thousand other claims daily made orran.M.P. If any one can do it for less, and do it decently, I will try and get. his book, or at least a leaf out of it." Such is one estimate. A gentle- man is occasionally spoken of as having hired a bedroom from his shoemaker at fifteen shillings a week, which served him for parlour, kitchen, and hall; perhaps that gentleman may show that a reduction ia practicable, and yet that the status may be maintained to the point of efficiency. Even he, however, must have required more than fifteen shil- lings a week. The total absence of Labour-representation in the House of Corti- mons, as shown in our Supplement this week, once distinctly recognized, suggests the probability that Labour may not very much longer be ex- cluded. Should the franchise be extended, one restriction would be re- moved ; Lord John Russell's bill of 1852 would have abolished the pro- perty qualification ; but how would a working man, devoting his time to legislation, find a subsistence in London ? Perhaps the working classes would be less unwilling to pay their Members than the wealthier clearer to pay theirs ; but certainly they have not calculated- the cost. In pn- vate, a Member of Parliament may be as saving and self-denying as he likes, but in public there must neither be meanness nor unbecoming stint. One who has been a Member for many years, and who has brought his ex- penditure within the narrowest limits consistent with personal comfort and his public position, in answer to a question about cost, says—"Tou cannot say less than 701. a month; one half for eating, drinking, anfl sleeping ; the other half for dub-subscription and other little items, charity, postage; Parliamentary Papers, and a thousand other claims daily made orran.M.P. If any one can do it for less, and do it decently, I will try and get. his book, or at least a leaf out of it." Such is one estimate. A gentle- man is occasionally spoken of as having hired a bedroom from his shoemaker at fifteen shillings a week, which served him for parlour, kitchen, and hall; perhaps that gentleman may show that a reduction ia practicable, and yet that the status may be maintained to the point of efficiency. Even he, however, must have required more than fifteen shil- lings a week.