The two Houses of Parliament met pro forma, in order

to be pro- rogued. The Lords Commissioners—the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Haddington, and Lord Fitzgerald and Vesci—were the only Peers present ; the Commons were represented by their officers. The Lord Chancellor, in the usual form and words, declared the present Parlia- ment to be further prorogued until Thursday, the 2d February next ; adding, " then and here to meet for the despatch of divers urgent and important business."

The Gazette announces that the Poor-law Commissioners have ap- pointed Mr. Alfred Austin and Mr. Henry Raiford Vaughan. barristers, Assistant Commissioner, for the purpose of inquiring into the employ- ment of women and children in agriculture.

Prince Albert has just presented twenty guineas to the City of West- minster Literary, Scientific, and Mechanics Institution ; of which he is Patron.

The Archduke Frederick of Austria kept up his active movements to the last. On Saturday, he went to the Surrey Zoological Gardens and the English Operahouse; on Sunday, he visited Sir Robert Stopford at Greenwich, and dined with the Cambridge family at Hew ; on Monday, he paid and received a round of farewell visits ; on Tuesday, he left London for Portsmouth, and embarked in his frigate the Bellona ; dining next day with Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, and on Thurs- day with Major-General Sir Hercules Pakenham. The Bellona was expected to sail in a few days for Trieste.

A story is going the round of the papers how the Duke of Wellington was in great danger early last month, at Walmer Castle. At dinner, the small bone of a partridge's wing stuck in his throat ; medical assist- ance was summoned ; an attempt to extract the bone with the forceps failed,but it was thrust down with the probang.

Lord Hill, whose health had been gradually declining for some time, died on Saturday morning, at his seat, Hardwicke Grange, near Shrews- bury. He was the second son of Sir John Hill of Hawkstone, and was born on the 11th August 1772. He entered the Army when in hie sixteenth year ; his first commission being an Ensigney in the Thirty- eighth Regiment. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1792 ;

and was employed as Aide-de-camp by the Generals commanding a Toulon. His next appointment was to a company in the Fifty-th' / Regiment. Promotions to a Majority and a Lieutenant-Colonelcy the Ninetieth quickly succeeded each other. In this regiment, durin the Egyptian campaign in 1811, Colonel Hill received a severe wool] After the return of the troops from Egypt, he was appointed Brigadier- General on the Irish Staff; and in 1808 embarked with his brigade to join the English Army in the Peninsula. General Hill's return to England in 1809 was followed by an appointment to the Colonelcy of the third Garrison Battalion ; and about the same time he succeeded to the estate of Hardwicke Grange, left to him by his uncle, Sir Richard Rill. In 1811, illness brought on by exertion and fatigue during the active service required in the second Peninsular expedition, compelled the General to visit England ; but he soon returned to take an active part in the war. He was engaged in the battle of Talavera; and soon after surprised a considerable corps of the enemy at Arroyo de Molino; in which enterprise he captured the Prince d'Aremberg. In honour of these services, General Hill was made Knight of the Bath, ap- pointed Governor of Blackness Castle ; and in 1814 he was created Baron Hill of Almarez and of Hawkstone, and an annuity of 2,00L was voted to the new Peer and his heirs male ; his second title being derived from his gallant destruction of the bridge of Almarez, under Wellington, on the 16th March 1812. An appointment to the command of an expedition against the Americans succeeded these honours ; but in consequence of the peace, Lord Hill's services were not required. He signalized himself at the battle of Waterloo. During the occupa- tion of France by the Army, after the restoration of the Bourbons, be was placed second in command. In 1828, he was appointed the General Commanding-in-Chief of the Army of England ; a post from which he retired so lately. Lord Hill was in his seventy-first year. His nephew, Sir Rowland Hill, M.P., succeeds to the title ; which will create a vacancy in the representation of North Shropshire.

The will of Mr. John Reeve the comedian has recently been proved in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The per- sonal property was sworn under 4,0001. It is equally divided between his son and two daughters.

Mr. Peter Borthwick has been engaged in a newspaper correspondence with some gentlemen less known than himself, on a point of honour. A Mr. Carter, while under examination in the Insolvent Debtors' Court last week, stated that he had accommodated Mr. Borthwick by accepting bills, to discharge his Parliamentary accounts ; Mr. Borth- wick having represented to him that 3,0001. had been set aside for his use out of a fund for Parliamentary candidates. It was also stated that Mr. Borthwick had not been subpoenaed because he could not be found. He denies both that and the other assertion respecting the fund; and says that Mr. Carter was the first to apply to him for accommodation in bills ; and when the amount had become very considerable, the favour was returned. Mr. Carter is astonished at Mr. Borthwick's letter, and reasserts his former allegations ; appealing to a solicitor, Mr. J. Hebb, for testimony as to the reserved fund ; and another solicitor, Mr. T. B. Howard, declares that every possible endeavour had been used to subpmnea Mr. Borthwick. Mr. Borthwick reiterates his con- tradiction, and intimates that Mr. Carter shall meet him at Philippi— namely, at the Insolvent Debtors Court. At this point the papers de- cline to publish any more of the controversy.

Major Malcolm arrived in town on Saturday morning; having landed at Plymouth on the previous day with the Nankin treaty, signed by the three Chinese High Commissioners, and accompanied by a letter from the Emperor, solemnly pledging him to sign the treaty as soon as it shall be returned to him with the signature of Queen Victoria. Major Malcolm also bore despatches for the Earl of Aberdeen; and with him was Commander Richards, R.N., with despatches for the Ad- miralty. After transacting business at the Foreign Office, the Major- went down to Warfield Park, in Berkshire, to visit his mother, the widow of Sir John Malcolm. He returned to town on Monday, accompanied by Lady Malcolm. It is understood that he will not remain here more than a fortnight ; when he will reanbark for China, with despatches from the Foreign Office.

Captain Whittingham, with despatches from Sir Hugh Gough for Lord Stanley, Principal Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, arrived in town on Tuesday, and attended at the Colonial Office in the afternoon. Captain Whittingham is the hearer of a number of Chinese standards, captured by the British army during the recent operations in China.

A letter has been published from Mr. Gutzlaff to Mr. William Mathieson of Glasgow, dated Nankin, 10th September, which gives some interesting information- " The tariff is not yet settled, and the whole arrangement about it is to be made at Canton ; which is, indeed, the most difficult place for bringing so im- portant an affair to a conclusion. Part of the six millions money has been paid, and there is scarcely any thing that can retain the forces, who are very sickly, much longer in the river. The French offered their mediation rather in an uncalled-fur manner, after the peace had actually been concluded; and Captain Cecile, of the Erigone, was witness of the signing. Thus, the Chinese, who are not over-anxious for foreign interference, settled the matter of their own accord, and are rather desirous that other nations should not share in the privileges which the English have obtained with so much blood and treasure.

• In settling the commercial affairs, the acting man who arranges every thing, Treasurer Hwang, asked most particularly for the volume on Trade ; which he duly and attentively perused ; so that he is at least theoreti- cally acquainted with the leading principles of M'Culloch's Dictiouary."

Private mercantile letters received from Calcutta state, on good au- thority, that it is in contemplation of the Indian Government to main- tain the number of steamers lately employed in the Chinese war, although that war has terminated, so as to form an additional means of communication between this country and Bombay or Calcutta. The effect of this arrangement would probably be the arrival of letters from the East once a fortnight, instead of once a month. The general im- pression among persons resident in India, who are well acquainted with the vicissitudes of the seasons, is, that it would be more advisable to select Bombay as a starting-point than Calcutta.—Times.

The Glasgow East India Association have transmitted a memorial to the-Lords of' the Treasury, praying for a material reduction in the duty an tea, and' the establishment of fair reciprocity with China. They argue, that the import into this country is restricted by the exorbitant duty and consequent high price : but tea is the only considerable article which the Chinese can furnish in return for increased exports from Great Britain ; and to reduce the duty on tea, therefore, together with the facilities afforded by the opening of the new port, would promote the export of our manufactures. It would also tend to increase the con- sumption of sugar ; which, with the increased consumption of tea, would compensate the revenue for the reduction of duty. The memorialists recommend that the duty on black teas should be reduced by one half. It may not be generally known out of Carmarthen, that the father of the gallant General Nott, the fame of whose glorious achievements in India will occupy so bright and distinguished a page in our military annals, was a very respectable innkeeper in the town of Carmarthen. The hostelrie of Nott, mine host of the Ivy Bush here, was a well- accustomed one; and Mr. Nott brought up well his three sons ; the youngest of whom, William Nott, is the soldier of fortune on whom her Majesty a few days since bestowed the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. A surviving elder brother of General Nott is now residing at Carmarthen. General Nott, when a lad, assisted in husbandry operations, ploughing and harrowing with his own hands ; so it may be said, in this case literally, that the ploughshare was exchanged for the hero's sword. Carmarthen is justly proud of having given birth to so great a general, who is also believed to be a very amiable man.— Welshman.

A correspondent of the Standard states that two Frenchmen were in Tavistock market on the 2d instant, to buy fat sheep, of which they purchased fifty. The fact is mentioned to allay the panic by which the farmers have suffered so much.

The intelligence of the week from Barcelona, which comes down, by the help of the French telegraph, to the 12th instant, announces the reduc- tion of the place. The bombardment from the fort of Monjuich, which had been more than once postponed, began at eleven o'clock on the morn- ing of the 3d, and continued without interruption until two o'clock next morning. Upwards of nine hundred shots were fired into the city. Van Helen then suspended the bombardment, and called upon the authorities to surrender; allowing them six hours to disarm the revolu- tionary corps. During the night, the mob threw off all restraint, and broke open the Town-house, seizing the treasure of the 3Iuni- cipality, besides robbing the houses of the wealthier inhabitants. It is estimated that as much as 200,000 dollars was thus carried off. In the morning, the inhabitants elected a new Representative Junta ; who, after presiding at the disarmament of "the force that still opposed the general welfare," sent out a deputation to inform the Captain-General that order was restored, and that he might ester the city with his troops. The Junta then addressed a short proclamation to the people, exhorting them to be tranquil, and to "expect everything from his Highness, the Regent of the Kingdom"; took measures to secure the public safety ; and an- nounced their own resignation. The gates were opened, and Van Helen entered the city with his troops, at five o'clock in the afternoon. He issued a decree as follows- " Art. 1. All military men, of whatever class and of whatever rank, who have yielded obedience to the revolutionary Junta, or who have taken part in the insurrection, are to present themselves to the Governor of the city, or the chief who performs the functions of that office. Those who belong to the marine are to present themselves to their respective chifes. The public officers of all the different civil administrations are also to present themselves to their respective chiefs.

" Art. 2. The persons to whom the previous article refers will be tried by a military commission, which will be immediately formed. " Art. 3. The persons alluded to in Art. 1, who shall fail to present them- selves as there directed within twenty-four hours, will be put to death. " Art. 4. The same punishment shall be inflicted on the proprietors of houses in which any persons may be found concealed who are amenable to the provi- sions of the former article.

" Art. 5. All military, of whatever class, who did not recognize the revolu- tionary Junta or take any part in the insurrection, but remained in the city since the 24th November, and who were allowed to leave the city by the revo- lutionary Junta to join the army, are also to present themselves to the military Governor. Those persons under Government, in civil offices, who are similarly situated, are also to present themselves before their respective chiefs, as set forth in Art. I.

" Art. 6. Individuals comprised in Art_ 5 are, from the fact of their re- maining at Barcelona during the insurrection, suspended from their situations, without prejudice to their justifying themselves, by proving that it was im possible for them to leave the city, in consequence of the orders of the Junta, published on the 24th November."

Juan Guttierez, the Political Chief, also issued a proclamation on re- suming his fanetious, denouncing the revolt in somewhat violent lan- guage. It has been strongly condemned for ferocity ; but it is retro- spective and admonitory, and conveys no threat : its faults appear to be those of style rather than malignant intention.

The city suffered materially, but the amount of damage and the number of victims were not accurately ascertained. The houses of a square on which the Municipality stands were particularly damaged, and fires had broken out in different quarters, which were not extin- guished on the 5th. The crews of the French ships of war had, by the direction of their Consul, landed their engines, and were rendering every assistance. The house of the French Consul had also sustained some injury. Before the commencement of the bombardment, the soldiers of the militia proceeded in a body towards the French ship, on board of which their officers had sought refuge, and fiercely demanded their surrender : but the commander ordered them immediately to de- Part, threatening to repel them by force if they did not obey his in- junction. The correspondent of the Times describes the desolate ap- pearance of the place- " The aspect that Barcelona presents is, it would appear from the accounts which reach the refugees here, formerly inhabitants of that place, of the most melancholy kind : the pavement torn up in the streets, for the purpose of

forming - ng barricades—the woollen and cotton goods taken from the warehouses

of the merchants, and heaped up in piles to deaden the effect of the shells and round-shots—beds, mattresses, and every description of household furniture which could be put to a similar use—are employed for the purpose of forming some shelter against those terrible missiles."

Accounts of a rising en masse throughout Catalonia, transmitted by the French telegraph, prove to be unfounded. The conduct of the French and British Consuls is brought into ques- tion. The Morning Chronicle, whose statement we somewhat abridge, accuses the French Consul of virtual participation in the revolt-

" In what capacity does be appear? As the friend, the ally of the insurrec- tion, the fellow-councillor of the Junta, the fellow-commissary of the Junta's Commissaries, accompanying them to the camp of Van Hahn and elsewhere. When the military, who bad capitulated in the Atarazanas and other parts, escaped to Van Haien, the Captain-General demanded uf them, how they came to give up their posts so shamefully. He particularly blamed those in the Atarazanas, a fort at the foot of Monjuich, and easy of commuuication with it. What was the excuse of the Spanish officers and soldiers ? It was this ; that the French Consul came to them along with the Commissaries of the Junta, and told them that resistance was useless ; that all the towns of Cata- lonia were in insurrection ; that Arragon and Valencia had risen too ; and that there was for the soldiers no hope of defence, no chance of escape, but in sur- render. The soldiers of course would not have believed this from the Junta or Commissaries, but believed it from the mouth of the Consul of France. Now, we have reason to know, that had the Atarazanas and the positions in the town not been surrendered, but remained in the possession of the military, that then the Regent would not have been under the necessity of bombarding. We have another example to give of his neutrality. Every one knows, that at the com- mencement of the insurrection, some ladies, the wife and daughters of General Van Helen, the wife of General Zabola, and some others, escaped from the mob on board the French vessel in the harbour. Well, General Van Listen soon after claimed his wife and daughters, and begged the French Commandant to send them on board the Spanish Government•vessel, the Isabella Secunda. The French Commandant consulted the French Consul, and the answer dic- tated by the latter was, That he was responsible to the insurgent Junta for those captives, and he would not restore them.' "

On the other hand, the British Consul is accused by the French with a hostile abstiuence from intervention. He had stated in a letter to the Captain-General, that though he had joined the other Consuls in urging a delay of the bombardment, he bad issued strict orders that no insur- gents should be permitted to take refuge in Britt& vessels. " I shall rigorously maintain," said he, " this neutrality, if any English vessel should enter this port ; believing, as I do, that if I were to grant the pro- tection of the British flag to any of the insurgents, I should be guilty of an act of hostility against the Government to which my Sovereign has accredited me."

The Pram charges England with having "sent three vessels laden with ammunition to aid in the destruction of Barcelona." Some even go so far as to suppose t hat the Formidable was run aground on purpose to afford u pretext for landing her stores. The Toulouse Emancipation adds, that the " officersluf the English vessels went to point the guns of Monjuich against the citadel." It attributes the surrender of Barcelona to the inhabitants " of the suburb of Barcelonetta, who were paid by the English to surprise the citadel."

A letter from a British officer, dated 4th December, partly explains this last charge : " In the afternoon [of the 3d] a message came off to beg the English to mediate with the Regent ; in consequence of which, Captain Grey, of the Belvidere, went ashore to Monjuich and suc- ceeded in saving the part of the town called Barcelonetta from being fired upon, as well as the shipping."

The Paris Univers, a religious journal, relates a miracle which lately occurred at Plombieres. A young girl had been bedridden for seven years, and appeared to be dying. The cure of the parish, in imitation of a similar miracle lately performed at Nice, begun a neuvaine : nine congregationists communicated on the 10th, and on the 18th mass was performed at the altar of the Virgin ; young girls communicating in the name of the sick person, and a woman repeating the mass at her bedside. In the evening mass was performed in her presence-

" Between the two elevations of the Host the long-suffering woman got up and seated herself on the hed, exclaiming, Oh! 1 feel no longer ill; and if I continue thus 1 am cured 1' She bad not spoken fur a long time before, and she could bear no light in her eyes without enduring great pain. After the mass she remained for some time perfectly tranquil, and then getting up, sud- denly spoke with all the force of a person in full health, saying, I am cured' Oh, a miracle, a miracle! Leave me alone, and I shall get up and walk Astonishment tilled the minds of all present. As no shoes were at hand, they put a pair of wooden sabots on her feet, and she walked in them with all the steadiuess of any other person."

The room was soon filled with people ; public thanksgivings were made ; and all the unbelieving of the place were converted.

The packet-ship Roscius brings advices from New York to the 25th, but little news.

The winter had set in with severity, accompanied with strong gales and squalls. Lake Erie had been visited by one almost like a hurri- cane, which had disabled a steamer, wrecked and driven on shore another, the crew and passengers of which, sixty souls, were with diffi- culty saved by the exertions of those on shore. Many trading- schooners, laden with grain and merchandise, were driven on shore, and more damage and joss were sustained than had been experienced for many years past. Business at New York continued without alteration, and very dull.

Sir Charles Begot, the Governor-General of Canada, had so far recovered as to ride out ; but his medical attendants reported his health to be in a very precarious state. An early change of climate was recome mended, and it is said that he will return to England.

Mr. Turnbull, who had been seized at Givara, in Cuba, and taken to Havanna, had been released and allowed to embark in the English steamer Thames, on the 6th November ; with the hint, that his return to the island would be punished with the extreme penalty.