liaiSfi1l1neous.

The following circular has been addressed by Lord John Russell to the supporters of Government in the House of Commons- - Downing Street. 23 January MIL instant, I Sir—The meeting of Parliament being fixed for Tuesday the 26th I take the liberty of very particularly requesting your attendance on that day. " I have the honour to be your obedient servant, J. Russsi.i.."

We understand that Lord Brabazon, one of the Members for the county of Dublin, and the Honourable Grantley Berkeley, one of the Members for the Western Division of Gloucestershire, will move and second the address of the House of Commons to her Majesty, on the Speech from the Throne at the opening of the ensuing session of Par- liament —Globe.

We are given to understand that the Marquis Conyngham has entirely seceded from the Whigs ; and that his Lordship will join the Conservative phalanx at the Duke of Wellington's banquet immediately preceding the opening of Parliament.—Kentish Gazette.

Numbers of workmen are busily engaged in making preparations for the meeting of both Houses of Parliament. In the House of Lords, all the seats and carpets have been removed to be cleaned. The canvass on the walls is to be repainted, and the seats at the back of the Strangers' Gallery are to be raised to afford visiten a better view of the body of the House. The space behind the bar is now gradually raised up to the wall, so that visiters standing furthermost from the House will be able to see and hear the proceedings as well as those close to the bar. Some improvements, though trifling, are also to be made with respect to the ventilation. The House of Commons is being repainted, and the cushions on the seats, together with matting on the floor, will be tho- roughly cleaned and repaired. The fittings for the Bude light have been tastefully painted, and are otherwise much improved in appear- ance since last session. The galleries, seats, &c. will remain unaltered— Courier.

The Duke of Devonshire, who has been on a visit to Lord and Lady Wharncliffe, at Wortley Hall, returned to Chatsworth on Saturday last.

The Duke of Rutland left Drayton Manor, the seat of Sir Robert Peel, for Belvoir Castle, on Saturday last. His Grace went to the Manor to inform Sir Robert Peel that the Duke of Cambridge was unable to honour him with his company, being confined at Belvoir Castle with a severe attack of gout. Prince Estherhazy, Earl Bathurst, Lord Brooke, Lord and Lady Lyndhurst and the Honourable Miss Copley, Sir J. Beckett., and a distinguished circle, have been partaking of the hos- pitalities of Sir Robert and Lady Peel, at Drayton Manor.

Viscount Melbourne has issued cards for a full-dress dinner to a large party of Peers on the 25th instant, at his official residence in Downing Street.

Earl Spencer has returned to Althorp Hall, from a visit to the Earl and Countess of Leicester, at Holkham.

Lord Bateman and Sir Robert Price, Bart., M.P., have been men- tioned as the probable suceessor of the late Earl Somers, as Lord-Lieu- tenant of Somersetehire.

The House of Correction at Lewes was visited last week by the Marquis of Normanby, the Honourable W. Cowper, and the Earl of Chichester. Their Lordships inspected the whole of the prison and the infirmary.—Brighton Gazette.

The late Lord Holland has left the Wiltshire estate to his son, Colonel Fox ; who married Lady Mary, one of the daughters of the late King. The claim of Captain Sir F. D. Home, Bart., to the Marchmont Peerage, which has occupied much of the time of the Committee of Privileges during the last three sessions of Parliament, and which has already received nine lengthened hearings of their Lordships' House, will, we understand, come ander the final review of the Lord Chancellor for decision immediately after the meeting of Parliament. Sir Francis, now in his fifty-fourth year, is one of the campaigners under the gallant Moore; was close by the person of the hero when he received his death-wound in the hard-fought field of Corunna ; and was afterwards in many of the principal actions of the war. He unites in his person the representation in the male line of the ancient and distinguished Border families of Home of Wedderburn and Home of Polwarth or Marchmont.—Caledonian Mercury.

The Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes have directed the Surveyors throughout the country to obtain from the several Assessors an account of the number of houses and cottages in their districts not already assessed, from there being less than eight windows ; and also of the number of farm-houses at present exempt. It seems from this that there is an intention to extend the operation of the Assessed Taxes to houses hitherto exempted.

The French journals of Monday publish the terms of the agreement between the Ministry and the Committee of the Chamber of Deputies relative to the fortification of Paris. The Committee had been obliged to yield in the struggle, and to adopt the Ministerial rather than M. Thiers's plans. The condition the most important to the public liber- ties is that which places the detached forts at a distance from the wall of circumvallation. The Courrier Francais says that the Government has engaged to construct no detached fort at a distance nearer to Paris than Vincennes. If so, there can be no detached fort on the heights of Romainville. But there happens to be one, very much advanced, at Noisy, one-tenth of the distance of Vincennes ; so that this stipulation is not only to be eluded, but has already been so.

In the Chamber of Deputies, on Tuesday, M. Thiers read the report of the Committee on the fortificationi of Paris. Though it was known that the report was to be read on that day, the public galleries and the body of the Chamber were not well attended. M. Thiers was scarcely audible at the commencement of his reading. With respect to the modifications of the plan which the Government had proposed upon the amendments of the Committee, he declared that the latter had made every concession consistent with its duty— The project of fortifying Paris, and the necessity for that measure, were not the result of late circumstances, but dated far back in the history of France,

and had been deemed essential by some of her greatest generals. Napoleon, after the battle of Austerlitz, saw the necessity of fortifying the capital, in order to render Continental coalitions abortive. He, (M. Thiers,) and the Ca- binet of which he formed part, viewed this great question in the same light, -and thought it the imperative duty of the Government to protect Paris from a repetition of former misfortunes. Paris once fortified and rendered proof against a coup de main, or sudden march of an invading army, the effect of coalitions would be considerably lessened, and the system of Continental war modified. Napoleon himself had declared, that had Berlin, Vienna, and Madrid been sufficiently fortified, the result of the campaign which led to their capture would have been accomplished with far more difficulty. The situation of the political world in former and recent times absolutely required that the capital of this great nation should be placed in a permanent state of defence. This was the principle which actuated the Committee ; and it was considered that the stronger Paris was rendered, the greater would be the respect of surrounding stations, and that if well fortified Paris would never be attacked. One of the chief difficulties alleged, was the supplying of Paris with fresh meat: but, with the protection of the numerous bastions round the capital, there could always be obtained a sufficient namber of cattle to last for sixty days, which was pro- bably the longest period to which a siege could be protracted.

The Paris correspondent of the Globe writes on the 13th instant-

" It is asserted in the highest quarters, that within the last few days consi- derable progress has been made in the negotiations between the great Powers of Europe for the consolidation of peace, and that M. Guizot has found them even more conciliating than he had a right to expect. It is believed, there- fore, that France will virtually disarm ; but in order not to create too strong • feeling, the nominal amount of men ordered by M. Thiers will be kept up, the real number being kept under by conges, &c. I do not know what truth there 'may be in this statement ; but I do know, that so recently as yesterday, M. Guizot declared that there was no probability of the peace of Europe being disturbed ; and at one of the late receptions at the Palace, the King, who was particularly gracious to his English visiters, said to them, Well, I think we may now hope again to be good friends.' "

The Moniteur of Wednesday states, that a telegraphic despatch had been received from Brest, w ich announces that peace has been con-

cluded between France an uenos Ayres. No particulars are given, nor is the date of the treaty mentioned.

The Paris public have been a good (lea] excited by the suppression, authority, of a drama, entitled "I/ y await une foil un Rai et une Beim"; in which Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were ridiculed. The suppression was supposed to be owing to the interference of Lord Granville. This was viewed as another insult to France ; and the concession of the French Ministers to the supposed request of the English Ambassador, another national degradation. The Paris cor- respondent of the Morning Post gives the following account of the mighty matter- " One of our fashionable theatres, La Renaissance, which bad been closed for some time, was to have commenced its campaign of the season on Saturday last. A new drama was, announced for the occasion from the pen of Leon Gozlan, one of the bearded writers of the 'Jeune France' school. It bore the title of y avail use foie un Roi et une Reins' ; and had reference, it was understood, to a state of things somewhat similar to that which now exists at the British Court. A Queen of England, named Dorothee, whom our author supposed to have flourished at the beginning of the fifteenth century, resolved to renounce, in compliance with the wishes of her Councillors, the enjoyments that resulted from a state of single blessedness. Germany had, it seems, at that period as it has to-day, the privilege of supplying the sons and daughters of European royalty with partners. The German Confederation, upon learning the wishes of the potent, grave, and venerable Senators of England, hastened to place a marriageable prince at their disposal. The se/ of M. Gozlan's piece consists in rendering as palpable as possible the pecu- liarities of a position in which a husband is not only obliged to bow down before the fiat of his wife, but even prevented from communicating with her except when authorized. A Prime Minister is introduced, too, in order to give an additional zest to the humour of the intrigue and denouement. The whole affair is, it is needless to say, levelled at Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, sand Lord Melbourne. It is one of those clumsy dramas that borrow an ephemeral interest from the peculiar circumstances of the moment. " The censors, of whom there is a permanent comite at the Home Office, decided at once against Gozlan's drama. In consequence, however, of the in- terference of one or two Deputies, and of a little tampering, no doubt with the inferior employee of the section of the beaux arts, a kind of conditional au- thorization was given to the author to have his piece brought forward. This new decision was retracted upon M. Duchatel examining into the affair, and consulting M. Guizot, with whom he is in the habit of agreeing on most sub- jects. M. Guizot is said to have expressed himself as follows—' Were we at war with England, which we are not, I should not approve of any exhibition calculated to hurt the feelings of the Queen of England or her spouse. By respecting others in this instance, we shall best show that we have a due respect for ourselves.' M. Duchatel expressed himself in accordance with this feeling ; and the Council, to whom the matter was submitted the day after, approved of their decision.

" Notwithstanding the Ministerial veto, the author proceeded to announce his drama as forthcoming. Measures were taken to have it brought out on Saturday last; when the Government interfered again at the eleventh hour, and stopped the proceedings abruptly.

"This is the true history of the affair. There was no diplomatic interfer- ence whatever. Lord Granville, who is no doubt pretty familiar with the ec- centricities of Parisian litterateurs, never once thought of troubling his head about this insignificant business."

Lady Granville gave her first ball this winter in Paris on Friday. The company began to assemble at an early hour ; and by eleven o'clock the file of carriages extended from the Embassy to the Rue Royale. The whole of the splendid suite of rooms, including the con- servatories and ball-room, were completely filled with the elite of the French, English, and foreign society in Paris. The attendance of the former was extremely numerous, without distinction of party. M. 'Guizot, Count Mole, and many of the Ministers and Deputies, were present. Aro,ongst the most distinguished of the English and foreign personages, were the Princess Schwartzenburg, the Marquis and Mar- chioness of Ailesbury, the Marquis of Handy, Count and Countess Flahault, Lady Harriet d'Orsay, Lord and Lady Seaford, Lord and Lady Diuorben, Lady Canterbury, &e. All the Foreign Ambassadors were present with their ladies, the Countess d'Appony, the Dutchess de Serra Capriole, the Marchioness de Brignole, &c. The supper was served at twelve o'clock, in the great dining-room. A separate table, tastefully surrounded with orange-trees, was prepared for the Infante and Infanta of Spain, who were present with their daughters : they danced in a separate quadrille with the gentlemen attached to the Embassy. There

must have been more than five hundred or six hundred persons pre- sent—GalignaniS Messenger.

M. Victor Hugo, the father of the Romantic school, has at last been elected a member of the French Academy. On Thursday week, he was chosen, evidently with reluctance, to fill the chair left vacant by the death of M. Leniercier ; having obtained only one vote more than the majority required. On the same day, Count de St. Aulaire, the Ambassador of France in Vienna, was chosen to replace the Marquis de Pastore.

Advices from Madrid of the 6th instant state that the capital was quite tranquil.

The most prominent of the recent events was Espartero's expulsion of & Perez de Arellano, who filled ad interim, the post of Papal Nuncio.

S. Arellano had never been formally accredited in that capacity, but was nevertheless recognized by the Queen's Government. The order for his expulsion was signed on the 29th ultimo by the Duke of Victory, and addressed on the same day to M. Ferrer, the Minister of Foreign, Affairs, for the purpose of being carried into effect. The Duke thereby revoked the powers granted to M. Arellano by a royal act, ordered the closing of the Neinciature, the suppression of the Tribunal de la Rots, and the sequestration of its papers, archives, and effects, and of the ecclesiastical revenues and allowances granted to S. Arellano by the state : his private property, however, was to be respected. It was, moreover, the Duke's desire that the Supreme Tribunal of Justice should hereafter take cognizance of the affairs hitherto brought before the Tri- bunal de la Rota. No time was lost in carrying these various measures into execution.

A correspondent of the Times, writing from Madrid on the 2d, says respecting the settlement of the dispute between Spain and Portugal about the navigation of the Douro- " It is whispered among the high functionaries at the Foreign Office, that the British Government has conveyed its assurance, through Mr. Aston, to the. effect that ' in the pending dispute with Portugal, on the subject of the navi- gation of the riser Douro, Lord Palmerston will not consider that the casus fiuderis can be acted upon; at any rate, he will not sanction the sending of any British troops to Portugal to uphold the obstinacy of those Ministers or Cortes, or brth, in withholding their assent to the fulfilment of the stipulations of a treaty that was duly signed and ratified five years and a half since.' If this be true—and the information comes through a good quarter—my anticipation of an amicable adjustment will be converted into a certainty."

By a circular letter of the Minister of Grace and Justice, the Regency extended to all persons prosecuted, imprisoned, or condemned for political offences, since the 10th of July 1837, in the Transatlantic provinces, the benefit of the amnesty of the 30th November last. The individuals who had entered into a conspiracy having for its object the separation of the colonies from the mother-country were alone excluded from the amnesty. All the others are at liberty to return thither ; on condition of presenting themselves befbre the Captain-General, who may, if he think proper, assign to them a certain place for their residence.

It appears from a returu inserted in the Madrid Gazette of the 5th, that the Minister of Finance received during the month of November last, 56,000,000 reals in specie, and 35,549,000 reals in paper. The receipts of the Post-office in the course of 1840 exceeded 35,000,000 reels.

The Liberal Guipuzcoano of St. Sebastian announces that the pro- vincial deputation had appointed Commissioners, who were to proceed to Madrid to negotiate an arrangement with the Regency for the modi- fication of the fueros of Guipuzcoa.

Letters from the South of France state that great numbers of the Carlist refugees were hourly availing themselves of the amnesty, and returning into Spain.

The Queen of Portugal opened the Cortes in person, on the 2d in- stant. The chief portion of the Royal speech relates to the Douro question. The Queen regrets the unjust demand of Spain, "to which it was not possible for me to accede " ; announces that she had taken active steps to secure the kingdom against aggression ; and states that the subject had been referred to the mediation which had been offered by Great Britain.

Letters from Lisbon, of the 6th instant, state that preparations for war by sea and land were then continuing. The Governor of Elves, Viscount de Sa da Bandeira, has been very active in collecting a large quantity of provisions. The drawbridges of the fortress are raised every evening, and lowered late on the following morning. The Minister at War has asked the Senate to dispense with the Senators Counts dos Antas, Mello, and Avilez, and M. Policarpo Jose Machado, to be em- ployed in various commissions. The Spanish troops assembling on the frontier, under the plea of a sanatory cordon, have, it is understood, in view the prevention of British manufactured goods being passed from. Portugal to that country. The total shipments of port wines from Oporto, in 1840, as appears by the Customhouse return, just received, amounted to 33,190 pipes ; of which 25,678 pipes were shipped to Great Britain, 2,793 to Brazil, 1,400 to the United States, 645 to Hamburg, 11 to France, and 2,663 to other parts. The principal shippers were, Sandeman and Co., 2,558 pipes ;

T. J. Smith, 1,456 ; Fonseca and Co., 1,306 ; and Allen, Morgan, and Co., 1,264.

The German and Belgian papers contain extracts from letters, dated Vienna, 30th and 31st December, which, if true, promise a settlement of the Eastern question. They represent the Porte as having agreed to give Mehemet All the hereditary Pashalic of Egypt. One extract, quoted by the Brussels Independent, runs as follows- " I hasten to transmit to you the important news which we have received here.

" All is finished at Constantinople. The misunderstanding which arose after the conclusion of the convention between Commodore Napier and Mehe- met Ali has ceased.

" Mehemet Ali has obtained the hereditary possession of the Pasbalie of Egypt. This is a positive fact. The decision of the Divan seems to have been made on the 17th December. I have not been able to obtain the precise date, but the decision is irrevocably taken.

"The concession of the hereditary possession has been made, on the earnest

representation of the Four Powers. Their conduct on this occasion proves the good faith of the Cabinets, and their desire not to humble France."

This is strengthened by the correspondence of the German papers.

According to a private letter from Constantinople, quoted by the Constitutionnel, Redschid Pasha had declared that if Mehemet All were left in the possession of Egypt, he should be compelled to carry into effect the hatti-scheriffof Gulhane.

Accounts from Damascus to the 8th of December state, that Ibrahim Pasha was still there, and that he had again collected a considerable force. The Paris Messager cf Monday has the following paragraph-

" Ibrahim Pasha was still at Damascus on the 8th. A few days previously he appeared to be making preparations to evacuate that place, but the intensity of the cold bad induced -him to suspend his movement. lie was joined on the 1st ultimo, by the troops which had been recalled from Adana, Marash, Orfa, and Aleppo ; which, contrary to the reports which had been spread, had effected their retreat without impediment, and arrived at Damascus without loss. By this concentration Ibrahim was at the head of a force which accounts from Damascus state to amount to 40,000 regular and 30,000 irregular troops. Letters from Beyrout, however, make the whole force amount to only 35,000 or 40,000 men. In the night of the 26th November, 3,000 or 4,000 moun- taineers, lcd by a chief of the Druses and by the Emir of the liutualis, having entered the Haouran to attempt to create a rising, Ibrahim Pasha, at the bead of 5,000 irregular cavalry and a squadron of regular troops, pursued them, and, coming up with them at the village of Sassa, cut them to pieces. The prisoners were massacred in spite of every effort to save them. This affair," adds the Messager, " caused great sensation amongst the Turks, who began to be doubtful of the intentions of Ibrahim. An aggressive movement on his side was dreaded, and forces had been sent to the neighbourhood of Damascus to watch him and keep him in order. Although desertion had diminished in the Egyptian army, a Druse chief of great influence, and who had previously ren- dered great services to Ibrahim, bad quitted the Egyptian camp, and arrived on the 26th of November at Beyrout."

The Morning Chronicle explains Ihrahim's warlike proceedings, by referring to the accounts of its correspondent at Beyrout, where intelli- gence of the disallowance of Napier's convention had been received ; and Ibrahim therefore " puts the best face on the matter for the moment."

A Court-martial was assembled on board her Majesty's ship Power- ful, on the 14th December, in Marmorice Bay, to try Lieutenant G. W. Winlo, of the Implacable, upon a charge preferred against him by Cap- tain Harvey, of that ship, for having appeared on the quarter-deck in a state of drunkenness. Commodore Charles Napier was President of the Court. The result was an acquittal from the charge.

The Siècle publishes a letter from Genoa of the 3.1st ultimo, which states that the differences which had arisen between Austria and Sar- dinia, on account of the intention of the latter to remain neutral in the event of a war between France and the former Power, were in train of adjustment, " thanks to the officious advice of Great Britain."

issuers from Rome, of the 30th December, announce that Queen Christina was received on that day by the Pope. Her Majesty re- mained half an hour with his Holiness ; and, immediately after the audience, was waited upon by a number of members of the Diplomatic body.

There is a new marriage-act concocting in Prussia, as well as an edict regulating the relations between Church and State.

Hesse Homburg is to have a constitution.

A correspondent of the Constitutionnel writes from St. Petersburg—" We have just heard from Tefflis that English agents were exciting the Cir- cassians to revolt. Three slight vessels, laden with ammunition, which was forwarded from Bir at the expense of the British Consul at Erze- roum, were lately captured by the Russian flotilla."

The North America packet-ship, which left New York on the 19th instant, arrived at Liverpool on Monday evening.

The only important intelligence which she brings is the President's Message ; which was delivered to Congress on the 9th. The President congratulates his countrymen upon another year having brought them the invaluable blessings of health, peace, and plenty. He announces that " with all the poweruof the world" their relations are " those of honourable peace "; but he asserts the necessity of being prepared to maintain a defended neutrality in "the shock of empires." The follow- ing extract is the whole that relates to the North-eastern Boundary question- " The excitement which grew out of the territorial controversy between the United States and Great Britain having in a great measure subsided, it is hoped that a favourable period is approaching for its final settlement. Both Govern- ments must now be convinced of the dangers with which the question is fraught ; and it must be their desire, as it is their interest, that this perpetual cause of irritation should be removed as speedily as practicable. lit my last annual message you were informed, that the proposition for a commission of exploration and survey promised by Great Britain had been received, and that a counter-project, including also a provision for the certain and final adjustment of the limits in dispute, was then before the British Government for its consi- deration. The answer of that Government, accompanied by additional propo- sitions of its own, was received, through its Minister here, since your separa- tion. These were promptly considered : such as were deemed correct in prin- ciple, and consistent with a due regard to the just rights of the United States and of the State of Maine, concurred in ; and the reasons for dissenting from the residue, with an additional suggestion on our part, communicated by the Secretary of State to Mr. Fox. That Minister not feeling himself sufficiently instructed upon some of the points raised in the discussion, felt it to be his duty to refer the matter to his own Government for its further decision. Hav- ing now been for some time under its advisement, a speedy answer may bc con- fidently expected. From the character of the points still in difference, and the undoubted disposition of both parties to bring thd matter to so early con- clusion, I look with entire confidence to a prompt and satisfactory termination of the negotiation. " Three Commissioners were appointed shortly after the adjournment of Congress, under the act of the last session providing for the exploration and survey of the line which separates the States of Maine and New Hampshire from the British Provinces : they have been actively employed until their pro- gress was interrupted by the inclemency of the season, and will resume their labours as soon as practicable in the ensuing year. It is understood that their respective examinations will throw new light upon the subject in controversy, and serve to remove many erroneous impressions which may have been made elsewhere prejudicial to the rights of the United States. It was, among other reasons, with a view of preventing the embarrassments which, in our peculiar' system of government, impede and complicate negotiations involving the terri- torial rights of a state, that I thought it my duty, as yon have been informed on a previous occasion, to propose to the British Government, through its Minister at Washington, that early steps should be taken to adjust the points of difference on the line of boundary from the entrance of Lake Superior to the most North-western point of the Lake of the Woods, by the arbitration of s friendly power, in conformity with the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent. No answer has yet been returned by the British Government to this propo- sition."

On the subject of' the Texan boundary he says-

" The Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the convention between'. the United States and Texas, for marking the boundary between them, have;. according to the last report received from our Comnussioner, surveyed an established the whole extent of the boundary North along the Western bank- of the Sabine river, from its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico to the 32d. degree of North latitude. The commission adjourned on the 16th of June last, to reassemble on the 1st of November, for the purpose of establishing- accurately the intersection of the 32d degree of latitude with the Western. bank of the Sabine, and the meridian line thence to Red River. It is pre- sumed that the work will be concluded in the present season."

The President refers at considerable length to the financial condition of the country, giving a brief recapitulation of its fiscal history during his term of service. Every demand upon the Government, he observes, has been promptly met. Notwithstanding reductions in taxation and deficiencies arising from private commercial embarrassments, the amount of Treasury notes outstanding is only 4,500,000 dollars—less by 23,000,000 dollars than the United States have in deposit with the States. He had somewhat reduced the expenditure in 1833 ; in 1839. it was reduced by six millions ; and the expenditure of 1840, exclusive- of disbursements for public debt and trust claims, would probably not- exceed twenty-two and a half millions. Two of the heaviest charges- upon the treasury were the removal of the Indians and the pension-list: the former was nearly completed, more than 40,000 Indians having been removed to the West of the Mississippi since the spring of 1837 ;. and the pension-list was rapidly diminishing by death. The President. enters into a long disquisition upon his own financial policy, which he stoutly vindicates. In the course of some remarks condemnatory of a national debt, he makes one interesting observation- " Among the many objections to a national debt, the certain tendency of public securities to concentrate ultimately in the coffers of foreign stockholders is one which is every day gathering strength. Already have the resources of many of the States, and the future industry of their citizens, been indefinitely mortgaged to the subjects of European governments, to the amount of twelve- millions annually to pay the constantly-accruing, interest on borrowed money--- a sum exceeding half the ordinary revenue of the whole United States. The pretence which this relation affords to foreigners to scrutinize the management of our domestic affairs, if not actually to intermeddle with them, presents as subject for earnest attention, not to say of serious alarm. Fortunately, the. Federal Government, with the exception of an obligation entered into in he- half of the district of Columbia, which must soon be discharged, is wholly exempt from any such embarrassment. It is also, as is believed, the only go- vernment which, having fully and Isitlifully paid all its creditors, has also re- lieved itseif. entirely from dent. To maintain a distinction so jesiraLle amt so honourable to our national character, should be an object of earnest solicitude."

The Message closes with recommending new measures against the African Slave-trade. The President says that the commanders of the brig Dolphin and schooner Grampus, who had been employed during last season in cruising on the coast of Africa, and had been again de- spatched on a similar service, stated that the trade was now principally carried on under Portuguese colours ; the presence of armed American vessels on the coast having, " in a great degree, arrested the prostitu- tion of the American flag to this inhuman purpose "—

" The efforts of the several Governments who are anxiously seeking to sup- press this traffic, must, however, be directed against the facilities afforded by what are now recognized as legitimate commercial pursuits, before that object can be fully accomplished. Supplies of provisions, water-casks, merchandise,. and articles connected with the prosecution of the Slave-trade, are, it is under- stood, freely carried by vessels of different nations to the slave-factories ; au& the effects of the factors are transported openly from one slave station to another, without intermission of punishment by either of the nations to which they belong, engaged in the commerce of that region. I submit to your judg- ments whether this Government, having been the first to prohibit, by adequate penalties, the Slave-trade—the first to declare it piracy—should not be the first also to forbid to its citizens all trade with the slave-factories on the coast of Africa; giving an example to all nations in this respect, which, if fairly followed, cannot fail to produce the most effective results in breaking up these dens of iniquity."

The annual report of the American Post-office, one of the official' documents accompanying the President's message, discloses the fact, that instead of yielding any revenue, a loss of more than 200,000 dollars is incurred in this department of the American Govern- ment. Nevertheless, it suggests that the postage of letters should be reduced 25 per cent. ; to counteract which, it is proposed that the pri- vilege of franking, which is declared to be attended with gross abuse, should be abolished, except as to the Executive and the heads of de- partments. The report recommends that the restriction on carrying- newspapers, otherwise than by the mails, should be abandoned, on the ground that such a restriction could not be enforced without inconve- nience to the public, and that it would not probably cause a greater number of newspapers to be conveyed in the mails than at present.

No further intelligence had transpired relative to the Cabinet, except that it was confidently stated that Mr. Webster would be offered the Secretaryship of State, or the mission to England ; and that Mr. Clay- would decline accepting office.

The contest of parties had begun briskly in the Senate ; where, on- the 15th, Mr. Clay moved a resolution for the repeal of the Sub- Treasury Bill. A substitute for Mr. Clay's resolution, moved by Mr. Allen, was ordered to be printed. On the 16th, Mr. Webster spoke in support of Mr. Clay's motion ; and he declared in the course of his speech that the Government had been spending seven millions annually- above the receipts. The debate stood adjourned.

There had been no change in the commercial world since the de- parture of the last vessel. Exchange on England stood at the former- rates. United States Bank Shares were selling at 66. News of thee blockade of Canton had caused a rise in tea.