gisultautuns.

Some further progress has been made in the filling up of the minor Ministerial posts. Viscount Monck has accepted a Lordship of the Trea- sury. Sir Robert Peel has accepted the office of a Lord of the Admi- ralty, vacant by the appointment of the Honourable W. Cowper, to the Under-Secretaryship for the Home Department.

A convention was signed at London on the-24th January between her Majesty and the Emperor of the French relative to the supplies to be furnished to the Turkish army. The Allies are to furnish the supplies in equal proportions, as nearly as possible. In the case of one of the two Allied armies furnishing a larger proportion of the supplies, there shall, with a view to effect a just compensation, be prepared every three months an account of the supplies furnished by each party, and the half of the .excess of the expense which these quarterly accounts may show to have fallen to the charge of one of the Allied armies shall be repaid to it by the other. The valuation of the supplies will be fixed according to a tariff to be previously arranged between the Commissaries-in-chief of the two armies. This convention was ratified on the 28th February.

The Commissioners of the Patriotic Fund have issued,:newIregulations as to the amount of relief to be granted to widows and orphans of soldiers and seamen. Widows are to receive weekly sums varying from 3s. 6d. to 68. The relief to widows having children will vary from 4s. 6d. to .9s. 6d., according to the rank of the deceased and the number of orphans.

A letter which has excited a good deal of wonderment this week has been published in the Times, at the instance of Dr. A. B. Granville. In an introductory note, framed with some animus against the Government, Dr. Granville explains, that he sent the letter to Lord Palmerston in 1853, in order that the Government might have "timely professional warning" as to the then state of the Emperor of Russia's health. He reproaches Ministers with having squandered thousands of lives by neg- lecting his warning; and he intimates that peremptory language and action should have been employed against Nicholas, such as Pitt em- ployed against Paul. We should remark that in accounting for three passages omitted, he tells us that one was "an allusion to his ill-requited services in the Navy."

"Confidential Letterjo Viscount Palmerston, dated frissingen, Bavaria, July 6, 1853.

"My Lord—Failing in my endeavours to meet with your Lordship at the appointed interview at the House of Commons on the 22d ultimo, at which I proposed to make a viva voce communication of some importance to the Go- vernment, as I thought, concerning the present political discussions with Russia, I stated in a second note written at the moment of my departure from England for this place, that I regretted the disappointment, inasmuch 's the subject of ,the intended communication, from its delicate nature, did not admit of being committed to paper. "I think so still. But,. on the other hand, the necessity of the Govern- ment being put in possession of the communication appears to me to become every day so much more urgent, that if it is to be of any use it must be made at once, or it will fail to direct Ministers in time, as I think the communi- cation is capable of doing, in their negotiations with Russia, and in their 'estimation of the one particular element which, I apprehend, has first pro- voked, and is since pushing on the Emperor in his present reckless course. "Mine is not a political, but a professional communication, therefore strictly confidential. It is not conjectural, but positive, largely based on personal knowledge, and partly on imparted information accidentally obtained —it is not essential that I should say from whom, for I take the responsi- bility of the whole on myself, inasmuch as the whole but confirms what I have myself observed, studied, or heard on the spot.

" The Western Cabinets find the conduct of the Emperor Nicholas strange, preposterous, inconsistent, unexpected. They wonder at his demands ; they are startled at his state papers ; they cannot comprehend their context • they recognize not in them the clear and close reasoning of the Nestor of iussian diplomacy, but rather the dictates of an iron will to which he has been made to affix his name ; they view the Emperor's new international principles as extravagant ; they doubt if he be under the guidance of wise counsels. Yet they proceed to treat, negotiate, and speak as if none of these perplexing

novelties in diplomacy existed on the part of a power hitherto considered as the model of political loyalty. The Western Cabinets are in error. i "The health of the Czar is shaken. It has become so gradually for the last five years. He has been irritable, passionate, fanciful, more than usually superstitious, capricious, hasty, precipitate, and obstinate withal,—all from all health, unskilfully treated; and of late deteriorating into a degree of

cerebral excitement, which, while it takes from .him the power of stead reasoning, impels him to every extravagance, in Limitable; nide* ps brit his father in 1800; as with Alexander, in Pole020.; '

stantme, at Warsaw, in 1830; as with Mic , rPe

1848-'9.. Like them, his nature feels the fatal stniseion4f hell* sanity, the natural consequence of an overlook d,end progressibe of the brain. Like them, he is hurrying to his fate,' midden. congestive disease. The same period of life, be 'wash .fertyz.five n years of age, sees the career of this fated famil tint:Id:tort-% 4 "Paul, at first violent and fanatical, a perfec hinatic at fo j-ffre of age, is despatched at forty-seven, in 1801. "Alexander dies at Taganrog in December 1f12k.lisled•-krttstlig)44; For

five years previously his temper and his mind had at times e the parental malady by his capricious and wayward manner of treating the Polish provinces. He died of congestive fever of the brain, during which he knocked down his favourite physician, Sir James Wylie, who assured me of the fact at St. Petersburg in 1828, because he wished to apply leeches to his temples.

"Constantine, eccentric always, tyrannical, cruel, dies at Warsaw suddenly in July 1831, aged fifty-two years, after having caused rebellion in the country by his harsh treatment of the cadet officers. I saw and conversed with him on the parade and in his palace at Warsaw in December 1828. His looks and demeanour sufficiently denoted to a medical man what he was, and what his fate would be. It has been said that he died of cholera • again, that he had been despatched like his father. The physician-in-chief of the Polish Military Hospitals assured me some years after that he had died apo- plectic and in a rage.

"Michael, after many years of suffering from the same complaints which afflict his only surviving brother—enlarged liver, deranged digestion, and fulness of blood in the head—became in 1848-'9 intolerably irritable, vio- lent, and tyrannical to his own officers of the artillery and engineers service, of which he was the supreme chief. In July 1849, he consulted me at St. Petersburg. It was after he had passed in review the whole train of artillery which was leaving the capital for Hungary ; at which review I was present and near him, and witnessed scenes of violent temper towards generals and aides-de-camp hardly equalled in a lunatic asylum. I found him as described above. I advised cupping, diet, non-exposure to the sun and to fatigue, the administration of suitable medicines, and the cessation from drinking steel mineral waters, of which he was fond ever since he had been at Kissingcn. His physician, the younger Sir James Wylie, (himself since suddenly dead,) assented reluctantly, but did not carry my advice into execution. The Grand Duke, in the state he was, unrelieved by any medi- cal measure or proper treatment, joined the army, rode out in the sun, and fell from his horse apoplectic, in September 1849, aged forty-eight.

"To complete this disastrous picture of the grandchildren of Catherine, their mother, Maria of Wurtemburg, a most exemplary princess, died apoplectic in November 1829, scarcely more than sixty-five years of age. The attack, mistaken for weakness, was treated with stimulants and bark by her physician, Ruhl; and bleeding was only had recourse to when the mistake was discovered—but too late to save. The meek and mild Elizabeth had but a short time before followed her imperil partner, Alexander, to the grave, in the still fresh years of womanhood, fifty years of age. "During my second sojourn in St. Petersburg, in 1849, for a period of ten weeks What the opinion was of the Emperor's health—what acts of his came to my knowledge, which bespoke eccentricity—what were the sen- timents of his physician, Dr. Mandt, who, horuceopathist as he is, and ex- ercising a most peremptory influence over his master, leaves him, neverthe- less, unrelieved, except by mystical drops and globules—what transpired of political doctrines and opinions—or in fine, what I gathered afterwards at Moscow on all coequal points, must be left to your Lordship's conjecture— not difficult after all I have divulged. To go further would be like a breach of trust, and of that I shall never be guilty.

" In all I have related there is nothing that had been committed to me as a privileged communication ; while the imperative requirements of the mo- ment calling for its immediate divulgement I hesitate not to make it, under the firmest conviction that my fears and anticipations will be surely realized.

"If so, then the method of dealing with an all-powerful Sovereign so visited must differ from the more regular mode of transacting business be- tween Government and Government. For this purpose it is—namely, to put her Majesty's Ministers on their guard accordingly—that I have determined to place in your Lordship's hands the present professional information ; which must be considered as so strictly confidential that I shall not sign it with my name.

"That I have selected your Lordship as the channel of my communica- tion, rather than the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to whom more properly it should have been addressed, will at once appear natural to your Lordship. In my capacity of once, and for some years, your Lordship's physician, (though not now honoured with that title,) your Lordship has known me personally, and is convinced that what my pen commits to paper may be taken as coming from an honourable man and your obedient servant."

"N.B. An acknowledgment of the receipt of this letter came by return of post in Lord Palmerston's handwriting."

" Memorandum.—At an interview with Lord Palmerston, February 23, 1854, on matters of a private nature, his Lordship was pleased to ask me before we separated, whether I still adhered to my opinion and prediction. I replied, that before July 1855, (the Emperor would then be fifty-nine years old,) what I had anticipated would happen. Let but a few reverses over- take the Emperor,' I added, and his death, like that of all his brothers, will be sudden.' It has proved so. Alma, Iukerman, Balaklava, shook the mighty brain. Eupatoria completed the stroke, which has anticipated my

prognosis only by a few weeks. A. B. G."

A considerable sensation has been created in Paris by the production, and suppression, of a pamphlet entitled " Memoir addressed to the Go- vernment of H. M. the Emperor Napoleon the Third, by a General Offi- cer " ' - of which Mr. Jeffs has published an English translation. A peru- sal of quite destroys any preconception of its importance. It professes to relate the whole course of the war, from the contest between France and Russia for influence at Jerusalem, to the latest date ; but it gives more than one twist to the facts. The Emperor Napoleon is represented as having in the first instance courted the reputation of a "parvenu," —as if he relied upon " the popular principle," took his stand against "hereditary royalties," and might be expected to be the champion of the "nationalities." An opposite course subsequently adopted—thecultiva: cultiva- tion of royal alliances in order to get admitted amongst the number of recognized sovereigns—is made the subject of implied reproach. The Emperor Napoleon is particularly blamed for the Austrian a is represented as consenting to delays in the campaign, and as diverting its course from the Danube to the Crimea, in order to accommodate the Government at Vienna. Another twist that pervades the whole pam- phlet is the narration of all the military exploits, and the conduct of the war,—as if the French took the lead and kept it throughout, hindered by the delays of the English, in the coming up of the fleet, in the attack at

Alma, &c. ; though with affected candour, the English are praised for their "gallantry." The pamphleteer carefully follows the course of Prince NaPnleon,—his listening at Constantinople to complaints of the tem- poriking policy of St. Arnaud and the Emperor ; his contending in the council of war at Varna for a Danubian campaign in lieu of a Crimean

edition, &c. ; and thus incurring the sarcasms of the Marshal, to W om the Prince replies " that he derived his ideas from his sym- p y with the interests of France, and from the national traditions of the first empire." The Crimean expedition, it is related, was opposed by all the officers except St. Arnaud and Cammbert ; Lord Raglan, first opposing it with strong military arguments, but after- wards voting for it. The capacity of the author for narrating events with accuracy may be meted by his account of the battle of the Alma ; at which he represents the English as laggard, defeated, and all but cut to pieces, till the Zouaves charged with the bayonet ; and the Russian cavalry fell back under a brilliant charge by Lord Lncan ;—all pure inventions.

Lord Palmerston had a dinner-party on Saturday, at which the French Ambassador and the Countess Walewski were guests. Lady Palmerston held an assembly.

The Commander-in-chief received the Duke of Cambridge at dinner on Saturday ; along with Lady Raglan and the Hcfnourable Miss Somerset.

The Speaker's guests on Saturday were selected from various political parties in the House of Commons.

The Earl of Clarendon gave a grand dinner on Monday to the Duke of Cambridge. General La Marmora, Count and Countess Walewski, the Sar- dinian Minister, and the Earl of Aberdeen, were among the guests.

The Cabinet_ Ministers dined with the Marquis of Lansdowne on Wed- nesday.

Dr. Barber, the new Bishop of Sydney, Metropolitan of Australia, sailed from Liverpool for his diocese last week.

Prince Ladislas Czartoryski was married last week, at Malmaison, to the Countess de Vista Alegre, eldest daughter of Queen Christina and the Duke of Rianzares.

General La Marmora is to be at Genoa on the 15th, ready to embark for the Crimea.

M. Dupont de l'Eure, the veteran Republican, died on Saturday last, athis estate of Rougeperrier.

The failure of Messrs. Browning and Co., timber-merchants, was announced on Saturday. The liabilities are 90,0001., and the assets lls. 6d. in the pound. An unfortunate speculation in mahogany is assigned as the cause of the stoppage.

The news of the death of Nicholas caused a great fall in the price of Rus- sian produce : on Saturday, tallow was marked 49s. to 50s. the hundred- weight ; on Monday it fell still more : in January it was 65s. It is believed that the Russia houses can bear the shock.

A good deal of gold came in last week-700,0001. ; and 350,0001. was ex- erted. On Monday, 620,0001. more arrived, from New York and by the West India steamer.

By the last mail Messrs. Westgarth and Co., of Melbourne, wrote home to contradict stories affecting the stability of their firm.

The Builder notes some facts showing the immense value of land in par- ticular parts of the City. In Finch Lane, a plot seventy feet deep has been let at 151. a foot frontage.

A number of money-changers at Paris have notified that if the recent de- cision in the case of " Spielmann v. the Bank of England " is to be generally acted on, they must decline to exchange any Bank-of-England notes in uture.

A correspondent of the .Daily News calls attention to the discipline of the Calcutta, now at Spithead, under the command of Captain J. J. Stopford. He asserts that there is an excessive amount of corporal punishment on board, that eighty seamen have deserted, and that hardly an officer remains. The discipline of another ship when commanded by Captain Stopford at- tracted unfavourable notice.

A corps of firemen, selected from the London Brigade, with engines, will shortly leave London for Scutari, to protect the hospitals there.

The electric telegraph from Bucharest to Varna will be constructed by the French, the British Government paying half the expense. When completed, it will also be worked by a French staff, our Government sharing the cost, and the receipts from messages. Official despatches will have precedence.

On the 31st January there were 2369 ticket-of-leave convicts at large in England.

Our obituary this week records the deaths of no fewer than seven persons at and above ninety years of age ; one at ninety, four at ninety-one, one at ninety-four, and one at ninety-eight.

Some time back, a cargo of Belgian immigrants arrived in New York : the authorities pronounced them to be paupers and criminals shovelled out of Belgium; they put them into prison, otherwise treating them well, however. he Belgian Consul denied that the people were paupers or cri-

minals, and refused to send them back to his Government : the Mayor of New York has resolved to do so himself. A very natural feeling of irrita- tion is arising in the.States at these unwelcome gifts from European coun- tries.

• General Houston, founder of Texas and supposed proximate President of the Union, has been lecturing at New York on the wrongs of the Indians. CRYSTAL PALACE.—Return of admissions for six days ending 9th March, including season-ticket-holders, 7086. Result of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending-on Saturday last.

Ten Weeks Week of 1845-'54. of 1866.

208.1 263 .... 43 .... 334 .... 161 .... 63 .... 433 .... 83 .... 18 .... 10 7 1 .... 34 90 92 .... 11 40 1,660 Zymodc Diseases Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat , 49.3 Tubercular Diseases 181.9 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses 129.5

Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 41.5 Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration 230.3 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 63.6 Diseases of the Kidneys, &c..... . 13.1

Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, fic. 9-6 Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Bi

Jointa, &c. 7.7

Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, As. 1.7 Malformations 3.2 Premature Birth 25.4 Atrophy 25.0

Age 58.3

Sudden 9.6 Vlolenee,Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 29.2

Total (including unspecified causes) 1,093.7