Jirtiscellancous.

The Times contradicts all previous reports respecting the leadership of the House of Lords-

" A paragraph, which we believe originated in the imagination of the Lon- don correspondent of a Scotch paper, has been so generally circulated and so confidently reproduced in various forms, that it may be as well to give it the flat contradiction it deserves. The report stated, that the increasing infirmi- ties of the Duke of Wellington, in addition to the cares of his new office as Commander-in-Chief, had induced that venerable statesman to declare his in- tention of not resuming the leadership of the House of Lords; and that it was proposed to supply the place of the noble Duke by immediately calling Lord Stanley to the Upper House. It was insinuated that this course was objected to by some members of the Cabinet; and that Lord Aberdeen, especially, would dispute with Lord Stanley the honour of being the mouthpiece of the Go- vernment among the Peers. We are enabled to state that the Duke of Wel- lington will, in the approaching Parliament, as in the last, act as the leader of the Upper House ; and that no intention exists, or has ever existed, of an- ticipating Lord Stanley's elevation to the Peerage by the ordinary process of succession."

The Morning Chronicle says that the Standard, the Morning Post, and the Augsburg Gazette have been misinformed respecting certain di- plomatic occurrences-

" The Standard told us some weeks back, that Lord Aberdeen had menaced to withdraw the English Envoy from Paris if the treaties of 1831 and 1833 were mooted. And now the Augsburg Gazette tells us gravely, that Lord Aberdeen threatened war if the commercial union with Belgium was effected. We do not know what Lord Aberdeen might do, or may do ; but the Standard and Augsburg Gazette are quite wrong in attributing any such menaces to the Tory Government. We state this as a matter of neither praise nor blame, but of fact."

We are enabled to state that the King of Prussia has consented to become the arbitrator between France and England upon the difficult and long-contested subject of the Portendic claims.—Standard.

A correspondent of the Times, whose letter is signed " R.," and dated " Broadway House, Topsham, Devon," says, that while he was serving on board the King's ship Tagus, Captain Pipon, on the 27th August 1814, (the Briton, Captain Sir T. Staines, being in company,) Captain Pipon took possession of Nukahiva, one of the Marquesas Islands, in the name of the King of England. The writer adds—" The soil of the island is excellent, and the anchorage in Anna Maria Bay very good in ten fathoms and a half. If in the event of a war it should be found in the occupation of an enemy, it would be a great annoyance to our South Sea trade."

We have been requested to contradict a paragraph which appeared some days since with our intelligence from Woolwich, to the effect that Capt. W. Allen was about to recommission the Wilberforce, and was anxious to return with her to the coast of Africa. The gallant officer to whom this unenviable task was thus ascribed has heard nothing of his being appointed to any such service ; and has had, as might have been expected, quite enough of the Niger expedition.— Times.

Tuesday's Gazette announced new honours for the troops serving in China and India. Major-General Lord Saltoun, Colonel Robert Bartley, (Major-General in India,) Colonel James Holmes Schoedde, (Major-General in India,) and Captain Thomas Bouchier, R.N., are appointed Knights Commanders of the Bath ; and several other officers, among them Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm and Captain Richards, R. N., Companions of the Bath.

Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm will leave England with despatches for China by the first steamer that takes out the Indian mail in January.— Standard.

Last night's Gazette announces that the Poor-law Commissioners have appointed Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, Bart., of the Inner Temple, barrister-at-law, a Commissioner to inquire into the employment of women and children in agriculture.

The death of the eminent Scotch Judge, Lord Gillies, creates a vacancy in the judicial establiihment of Scotland. Of course the claims of Mr. Patrick Robertson will not be overlooked this time.

The Earl of Hardwicke fell from his horse while bunting with the Trumpington hounds on Monday, and sprained his shoulder ; but he is rapidly recovering. Lord William Fitzgerald, the second son of the Duke of Leinster, was incautiously handling a fowling-piece, at Carton, on Christmas-eve : it suddenly went off, and shattered one of his fingers, so that it became necessary to amputate the finger. " Prince Puckler Muskau," says a letter from Gorlitr, " has just met with a fresh accident : an Arab horse lashed out suddenly and struck him on the head. The Prince is obliged to keep his bed." The Glasgow Town-Council have resolved to present the freedom of the city to Mr. Richard Cobden.

A handsome monument was erected last week in the old burying- ground at Galasbiels, to the memory of Mango Palk. A white marble statue of Malibran has been placed in the mausoleum erected to her memory by De Beriot in the cemetry of Lacken. The mausoleum is a circular edifice, surmounted by a cupola : the statue of Malibran appears to be rising from the tomb towards heaven, and angels are painted on the cupola as if receiving her.

The celebrated chemist Berzelius was nearly killed a .few weeks ago, by the explosion of a retort in his laboratory at Stockholm. For- tunately, he escaped with some contusions; from the effects of which he had sufficiently recovered on the 16th instant to be able to leave his house and resume his customary avocations.

The Moniteur publishes a report by Marshal Soult to the King of the French, recommending the institution of a Privy Council, in order that the King may always have suitable advisers at his service-

" This object," says the Marshal, "is endeavoured to be obtained in all well- ordered states by the formation of a Privy Council, which, without taking any part in the administration of public affairs, or in the action or responsibility of

the King's Government, may be rallied round the Crown, whenever it requires the advice of men of honoured names ; and nothing is more suited to promote

the interests, as it is to the dignity of the state, than to insure to men who have served it well in its most important affairs a position responding to the rank they have filled, and to which the King may recall them. To be un- mindful of past services is ill becoming a great nation and a wise government. They do honour to themselves by honouring with impartiality merit and de- votedness in their servants. The cruel experience in times past imposed upon

the King and upon France has excited, under these grave considerations, the solicitude of your Majesty's Ministers. The measure I have the honour to propose appears to them a natural and useful consequence of the law on the ncy." fhe report is followed by a Royal ordinance, ordaining as follows-

" Art. 1. Those who have rendered to the state, in high public functions, eminent services, may receive from us the title and rank of Ministers of State. " Art 2. No one can be appointed a Minister of State who has not been a Minister Secretary of State, Chancellor of France, President of the Chamber of Peers, President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marshal of France, Admiral, Ambassador, Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour, Fi-nt President of the Court of Caasation, Procureur-General at the Court of Cessation, First President of the Court of Accounts, Procureur-General of the Court of Ac- counts, Vice-President of the Council of State, Governor of the Invalids, Go- vernor-General or Commander-in-Chief of an army, Superior Commandant of the National Guards of the Seine, First President of the Cour Royale of Paris, or Procurcur-General of the Cour Royale of Paris. " Art. 3. When we shall think fit to assemble a Privy Council round our person, it shall be formed of—first, princes of our family having attained their majority in age ; secondly Ministers Secretaries of State in office; thirdly, such Ministers of State as we shall call upon by special summons. " Art. 4. Our President of the Council of Ministers and our Keeper of the Seals are charged with the execution of this ordonnance."

The plan is by many regarded as a mere scheme for increasing the patronage of the Crown.

The Journal du Havre states, on the authority of a well-informed Parisian correspondent, that the Cabinet had at last come to an under-

standing relative to the Sugar-bill which is to be presented to the Chain. hers at the opening of the session. They have, it appears, agreed to the plan of allowing a compensation to the manufacturers of domestic sugar, and suppressing altogether that branch of industry.

The Moniteur publishes a return of imports into France during the month of November last ; from which it appears, that notwithstanding

the recent elevation in the tariff-duties, the introduction of foreign threads into France was still very considerable. The quantity imported in that month amounted to 659,432 kilogrammes ; that of linens, to 236,555. The French papers have been filled with the trial of Besson, at the Rhone Assizes, held at Lyons, which began on the 19th. The prisoner was a discharged servant of M. de Marcellange, who lived apart from his wife ; Besson had been taken into the service of Madame de Marcellange ; and there appears every reason to believe that he shot M. de Marcellange dead while sitting at his own fire-side. Besson was

tried at the Assizes of the Puy de Dome in March ; when he pleaded alibi ; which was supported by the widow and her mother, the Countess

de is Rochenegly de Chamblas, who said that he was ill at their house at the time of the murder. Arzac, a shepherd, who had stated several things against Besson, " forgot " them all at the trial, and was after- wards convicted of perjury. Marie Bowdon, lady's maid to Madame de Marcellange, was sent out of the way. Besson was again tried in August, and condemned to death. An appeal was made to the Court of Cessation, on the ground of an informality and a new trial was ordered, to take place at the present Rhone Assizes. It is said that the two ladies and their maid have fled.

Intelligence has been received from Barcelona to the 22d. The Re- gent entered it on the 18th ; and set out for Valencia on the 22d. The Journal des Debate says that he had engaged " two stage-coaches " for himself and his suite. While he was in Barcelona, on the 19th, he sent two Aides-de- Camp to visit the wounded lying io the military hospital of Barcelona. They presented, in the name of the Regent, two dol- lars to et oh soldier, three to the sergeants, and a month's pay to each Officer, including Captain Lague, w ho being dang-rt wily ill in the

hospital on the day of the bombardment had his leg broken by the bursting of a shell.

General Seoane, the new Captain-General, arrived at Barcelona on the 20th.

The municipal elections had taken place, but the result was unknown; Van Haien had caused some scandal by arresting S. Gibert, a respect- able person, who had been proposed to the electors as Alcalde or Mayor ; the pretext being, that Ile had figured in a factious club.

The contradictions of the charges against M. Lesseps, the French Consul, of having taken part in the insurrect ion, are confirmed. The Times says that a searching investigation has been bad at Bar- celona; " and the result is, that instead of eliciting fresh facts to establish the presence of a French intrigue in these affairs, every one of the stories so confidently published here has failed for want of evi- dence there." On its own authority the Times thus categorically dis- poses of the three principal of the specific charges against M. Lesseps-

" 1. That by false representations to the officers in the fort of Atarazanas he induced them to evacuate that position, and the troops to lay down their arms. To this it is answered, that hf. Lesseps did not go to fort Atarazanas at the time alleged ; and that since the reoccupation of the city, the military commission has discovered no one who either saw him there or heard him give this advice to the officers in command.

" 2. That he caused the Junta of the rebels to land again after they had been allowed to take refuge on the French vessels, and by that means reorga- nized the insurrection, and thereby exposed the city to the bombardment which it actually underwent. To this it is answered, that no such persons did reland, and that the whole story of their being received on the beach by a mul- titude of the insurgents is a pure fabrication.

"3. M. Lesseps is accused of having treated the wife and daughters of the Captain-General as little better than prisoners of war, for whom he, the repre- sentative of France, was resvonsible to the Junta. In answer to this, we bare before us letters from Van 1 len to the French Consul, containing the warm- est expressions of gratitude for his interference on behalf of these ladies, when their lives were threatened by the rabble of the place." The Times adds-

" We are perfectly aware that this erroneous information was believed in the highest quarters. It n as believed in Madrid, where it gave rise to a direct ac- cusation against the French Government. It was believed in Paris, where proofs were abundantly promised, but never produced. It was believed to a certain extent in London, but on the faith of statements which were either very imperfect, as our own were, or which were swelled with a mass of fabricated details, as those of the Opposition papers were."

The Morning Chronicle adduces a variety of statements to prove that the new defence of M. Lesseps, which it assumes to be dictated by the Foreign Office, is not true. Most of the proofs are taken from previous accounts is the Times; but the most cogent is an extract from a letter by General Pastor, justifying his surrender of Atarazanas on the 17th of' November, and published in the Spanish papers:

"-When about eight o'clock"—we translate the letter of General Pastor- " the Consul of France presented himself, accompanied by two members of the Junta, who proposed to us the same terms of surrender that the troops in the other forts had accepted, telling us that the military had abandoned the other posts, that there remained but the Atarazanas and Montjuich, and that our persisting in holding out could only produce disasters. They at the same time told me how well the people had behaved, and bow little pillage there was. They said, that notwithstanding what had happened, the people were not incensed against the troops—quite the contrary. All this was said in the pre- sen e of the Consul of France."

" The consequence of all this," adds the Chronicle, was the surrender of the fort.

The Paris papers state that the King of Sardinia had conferred on M. Lesseps, the French Consul, and M. Gatier, commanding the French naval station of Barcelona, the Cross of St. Maurice, for their exertions on behalf of Sardinian subjects during the bombardment.

Letters from Athens, of the 7th instant, announce that the new Minister of Finance, M. Lillevergo, having become insane, the King had not yet been able to supply his place. All those to whom the King had offered that department refused to accept it ; and it was thought that it wouli ultimately devolve on a Frenchman, named Guerin, who was formerly a Commissariat clerk at Navarino. " The Treasury," says a correspondent of the Times, " is in a state of bankruptcy ; the public functionaries have not been paid for the last three months. A crisis is fast approaching in Greece."

Despatches have reached the French Government by extraordinary express from Vienna, dated the 21st, announcing that a special courier had arrived in that capital with the important advices from Constanti- nople that the Porte had consented to the appointment of a Christian Governor for the Maronite or Christian population of Syria, and a Druse Governor for the Druses.

The mail-steamer Columbia, which left Halifax on the 18th instant, arrived at Liverpocl on Thursday morning, with New York intelligence to the 15th.

The papers contain scarcely any news but the President's message. which was sent to Congress on the 6th. It is, as usual, voluminous; begiouing with a report upon the general state of the country- " Blessed with genial seasons, the husbandman has his garners filled with abundance; and the necessaries of life, not to speak of its luxuries, abound in every direction. While in other nations steady and industrious labour can hardly find the means of subsistence, the greatest evil which we have to encounter is a surplus of production Geyond the home demand, which seeks, and with d- culty finds, a partial market in other regions. The health of the country, with partial exceptions, has for the past year two well preserved; and, under their free and wise institutions, the United States are rapidly advancing towards the consummation of the high destiny which an overruling Providence seems to have marked out for them. Exempt from domestic convulsion, and at peace with the world, we are left free to consult as to the hest means of securing and advancing the happiness of the people." The President felicitates his fellow-citizens on the happy change in the aspect of foreign affairs since his last annual message ; and this introduces a congratulatory retrospect of the questions between Great Britain and the United States which were concluded by the Ashburton treaty-

" The immediate effect of the treaty upon ourselves will be felt in the secu- rity afforded to mercantile enterprise, whit b, no longer apprehensive of inter- ruption, adventures its speculations in the most distant sea, and, freighted with the diversified productions of every land, returns to bless our own. There

is nothing in the treaty which in the slightest degree compromits the honour and dignity of either nation."

The President enlarges on the part of the treaty relating to the Slave-trade ; which, next to the essentially difficult subject of the Boundary, was the one that threatened the greatest embarrassment. The President premises that the treaty of Ghent pledged the contracting parties to " use their best endeavours to accomplish so desirable an object" as the abolition of the slave-trade ; and that in the pursuit of that object the British cruisers had asserted the right of search into suspected foreign ships, or recently to the right of " visit," to ascer- tain the nationality of ships ; a right equally obstructive of trade- " It was regarded as the right of search, presented only in a new form and expressed in different words ; and I therefore felt it to be my duty distinctly to declare, in my annual message to Congress, that no such concession could be made, and that the United States had both the will and the ability to enforce their own laws, and to protect their flag from being used for purposes wholly forbidden by those laws and obnoxious to the moral censure of the world.

" Taking the message as his letter of instructions, our then Minister at Paris felt himself required to assume the same ground in a remonstrance which he felt it his duty to present to M. Guizot, and through him to the King of the French, against what has been called the Quintuple Treaty ; and his conduct in this respect met with the approval of this Government. In close conformity with these views, the 8th article of the treaty was framed, which provides that each nation shall keep afloat in the African seas a force not less than eighty guns, to act separately and apart, under instructions from their respective Governments, and for the enforcement of their respective laws and obligations.' From this it 1611 be seen that the ground assumed in the message has been fully maintained, at the same time that the stipulations of the treaty of Ghent are to be carried out in good faith by the two countries, and that all pretence is removed for interference with our commerce for any purpose whatever by a Foreign Government.

" While, therefore, the United States hare been standing up for the freedom of the seas, they have not thought proper to make that a pretext for avoiding a fulfilment of their treaty-stipulations, or a ground for giving countenance to a trade reprobated by our laws. A similar arrangement by the other great Powers could not fail to sweep from the ocean the slave-trade, without the in- terpolation of any new principle into the maritime code. We may be permit- ted to hope that the example thus set will be followed by one if not all of them."

It would have been desirable, the President remarks, to settle all the questions with Great Britain, and especially that relating to the Oregon territory ; but it was considered that it would lead to protracted discus- sion, which " might embrace in its failure other more pressing matters " ; yet he should not delay to urge on Great Britain the importance of its early settlement-

" Nor will other matters of commercial importance to the two countries be overlooked ; and I have good reason to believe that it will comport with the policy of England, as it does with that of the United States, to seize upon this moment, when most of the causes of irritation have passed away, to cement the peace and unity of the two countries by wisely removing all grounds of probable future collision."

With other European Powers the relations of the United States con- tinue to be on the most amicable footing. The message enters into a variety of particulars respecting affairs with Mexico and the South American States ; anticipating a favourable issue to the questions with Mexico. It is announced that the war with the Indian tribes inhabiting the peninsula of Florida has terminated, but posts will still be garrisoned by troops to guard against casual outbreaks. The President expresses an opinion that the United States " may fondly hope," by the exercise of rigid justice towards the Indian tribes residing within their territorial limits, and the exercise of a paternal vigilance over their interests, "not only to wean them from their love of war, but to inspire them with a love of peace and all its avocations." The state of the finances is reported-

" The balance in the Treasury on the 1st of January 1842, (exclusive of the amount deposited with the State trust-funds and indemnities,) was 230,483.68 dollars. The receipts into the Treasury during the three first quarters of the present year, from all sources, amount to 26,616,594.18 dollars; of which 14,000,000 were received from customs, and about 1,000,000 from the public lands. The receipts for the fourth quarter are estimated at nearly 8,000,000 dollars; of which 4,000,000 arc expected from customs, and 3,500,000 from loans and Treasury-notes. The expenditures of the first three quarters of the present year exceed 26,000,000 dollars, and those estimated for the fourth quarter amount to about 8,000,000 dollars ; and it is anticipated there will be a deficiency of 500,000 dollars on the 1st of January next ; but that the amount of outstanding warrants (estimated at 800,000 dollars) will leave an actual balance of about 224,000 dollars in the Treasury. Among the expendi- tures of the year, are more than 8,000,000 dollars for the public debt, and 600,000 dollars on account of the distribution to the States of the proceeds of sales of the public lands."

The President suggests some modification of the Tariff, and an auxiliary measure-

" The present tariff of duties was some what hastily and hurriedly passed near the close of the late session of Congress. That it should have defects, can, therefore, be surprising to no one. To remedy such defects as may be found to exist its many of its numerous provisions, will not fail to claim your serious attention. It may well merit inquiry, whether the exaction of all duties in cash does not call for the introduction of a system which has proved highly beneficial in countries where it has been adopted. I refer to the ware- housing system. The first and most prominent effect which it would produce would be to protect the market alike against redundant or deficient supplies of foreign fabrics, both of which, in the long run, are injurious as well to the manufacturer as the importer. The quantity of goods in store being at all times readily known, it would enable the importer, with an approach to accu- racy, to ascertain the actual wants of the market, and to regulate himself accordingly. lf, however, he should fall into error by importing an excess above the public wants, he could readily correct its evils by availing himself of the benefit and advantages of the system thus established. In the storehouse the goods imported would await the demands of the market, and their issues would be governed by the fixed principles of demand and supply. Thus an approximation would be made to a steadiness and uniformity of price, which. if attainable, would conduce to the decided advantage of mercantile and mechani- cal operations."

Without such a measure, it is apprehended,

- - - " an almost exclusive monopoly of the import-trade, and laws designed for the benefit of all would operate for the benefit of a few ; a result wholly uncongenial with the spirit of our institutions, and Anti-Republican in all its tendencies." " A further effect of the measure would be to supersede the system of drawbacks; thereby effectually protecting the Government against fraud, as the right of debenture would not attach to goods after their sviti.drawal from the public stores."

Some very generalized counsel to moderation in import-duties suc- ceeds.

With respect to the War Department, it is stated that the expendi- tures for the military service are greatly reduced in amount ; and that the fortifications on the maritime frontier are prosecuted with much vigour, and at many points the defences are in a considerable state of forwardness. The sale of certain mineral lands, which are let by the Government in several of the States, is recommended ; and also the improvement of the navigation of the Western waters and certain pro- minent harbours on the Lakes ; the loss of life and property from ob- structions in the Mississippi especially demanding the adoption of mea- sures for their removal.

The report on the Navy and some other Government departments possesses little interest for the foreign reader.

The Currency Question is discussed at considerable length. The chief embarrassments which now exhibit themselves are attributed to " over-action " ; and the difficult task remains, to correct and overcome its effects-

" Between the years 1833 and 1838, additions were made to bank-capital and bank-issues, in the form of notes designed for circulation, to an extent enor- mously great. The question seemed to be, not how the beat currency could be provided, but in what manner the greatest amount of bank-paper could be put in circulation. Thus a vast amount of what was called money—since, for the time being, it answered the purpose of money—was thrown upon the country; an over-issue, which was attended, as a necessary consequence, by an extrava- gant increase of the prices of all the articles of property, the spread of a specu- lative mania all over the country, and has finally ended in a general indebted- ness on the part of the States and individuals, the prostration of public and private credit, a depreciation in the market-value of real and personal estate, and has left large districts of country almost entirely without any circulating medium."

The bank-note circulation of the United States increased from 61,323,893 dollars in 1830 to 149,185,890 dollars in 1837—an increase of 88,000,000 dollars in seven years ; and it is believed that since 1837 a greater amount than that increase has been withdrawn from circula- tion : facts which make it " cease to be matter of astonishment that such extensive shipwreck should have been made of private fortunes, or that difficulties should exist in meeting their engagements on the part of the debtor States." The President describes the plan of a National Bank or Central " Exchequer," which he had submitted to Congress last session and his account is useful, not only as a summary of the pro- ject, but as marking the actual position of the question-

" It was proposed to place it under the control and direction of a Treasury Board, to consist of three Commissioners, whose duty it should be to see that the law of its creation was faithfully executed, and that thereat end of sup- plying a paper medium of exchange, at all times convertible into gold and silver, should be attained.

" The Board thus constituted was given as much permanency as could be imparted to it, without endangering the proper share of responsibility which should attach to all public agents. In order to secure all the advantages of a well-matured experience, the Commissioners were to hold their offices for the respective periods of two, four, and six years, thereby securing at all times, in the management of the Exchequer, the services of two men of experience ; and to place them in a condition to exercise perfect independence of mind and action, it was provided that their removal should only take place for actual incapacity or infidelity to the trust, and to be followed by the President with an exposition of the cause of such removal, should it occur.

"It was proposed to establish subordinate Boards in each of the States, under the same restrictions and limitations of the power of removal ; which, with the Central Board, should receive, safely keep, and disburse the public monies : and in order to furnish a sound viper medium of exchange, the Exchequer should retain of the revenue of the Government a sum not to exceed 5,000,000 dol- lars in specie, to be set apart as required by its operations, and to pay the pub- lic creditor at his own option, either in specie or Treasury notes, of denomina- tions not lees than five dollars nor exceeding 100 dollars, which notes should be redeemed at the several places of issue, and to be receivable at all times and everywhere in payment of Government dues, with a restraint upon such issue of bills that the same should not exceed the maximum of 15,000,000 dollars.

" In order to guard against all the hazards incident to fluctuations in trade the Secretary of the Treasury was invested with authority to issue 5,000,000 dollars of Government stock, should the same at any time be regarded as neces- sary, in order to place beyond hazard the prompt redemption of the bills which might be thrown into circulation ; thus, in fact, making the issue of 15,000,000 dollars of Exchequer Bills rest substantially on 10,000,000 dollars, and keep- ing in circulation never more than one dollar and a half for every dollar in specie. When to this it is added that the bills are not only everywhere receiv- able in Government dues, but that the Government itself would he bound for their ultimate redemption, no rational doubt can exist that the paper which the Exchequer would furnish would readily enter into general circulation, and be maintained at all times at or above par with gold or silver ; thereby realizing the great want of the age, and fulfilling the wishes of the people. " In order to reimburse the Government the expenses of the plan, it was pro- posed to invest the Exchequer with the limited authority to deal in bills of exchange, unless prohibited by the State in which an agency might be situated, having only thirty days to run, and resting on a fair and bon( 1 fide basis. The legislative will on this point might be so plainly announced as to avoid all pre- text for partiality or favouritism. It was furthermore proposed to invest this Treasury-agent with authority to receive on deposit, to a limited amount, the specie-funds of individuals, and to grant certificates therefor, to be redeemed on presentation; under the idea, which he believed to be well-founded, that such certificates would come in aid of the Exchequer bills in supplying a safe and ample paper circulation. " Or if, in place of the contemplated dealings in exchange, the Exchequer should be authorized not only to exchange its bills for actual deposits of specie, but for specie or its equivalent to sell draughts, charging therefor a small but reasonable premium, I cannot doubt but that the benefits of the law would be speedily manifest in the revival of the credit, the trade, and the business of the whole country. Entertaining this opinion, it becomes my duty to urge its adoption upon Congress, by reference to the strongest considerations of the public interests, with such alterations in its details as Congress may in its wis- dom see fit to make."

The President proceeds to notice objections to his plan, and contends that it would materially support the credit of Government. The utter and disastrous prostration ' of the Bank of the United States contributed largely to increase the sentiment of distress ; and last session the Presi- dent recommended to Congress that the land-fund should be pledged as the basis of the loans authorized to be contracted ; but "Congress differed from the Executive in this view of the subject"— "It became, nevertheless, the duty of the Executive to resort to every expe- dient in its power to negotiate the authorized loan. After a failure to do so in the American market, a citizen of high character and talent was sent to Europe with no better success • and then the mortifying spectacle has been presented of the inability of this Government to obtain a loan so small as not in the whole to amount to more than one-fourth of its ordinary annual income, at a time when the Governments of Europe, although involved in debt and with their subjects heavily burdened with taxation, readily obtain loans of any amount at a greatly reduced rate of interest."

The plan of the Exchequer, however, would greatly aid in restoring confidence: its bills would be sought by the public creditor ; 10,000,000 dollars would be added to the available means of the Treasury without cost or charge ; its effects upon the solvent banks would be highly bene- ficial, while "it would force into liquidation those of an opposite cha- racter through its weekly payments " ; and " with the advantages of a sound currency the restoration of confidence and credit would follow, with a numerous train of blessings." As a closing recommmendation, it is observed, that should the results be adverse the law could be re- pealed. The President recommends Congress to reimburse General Jackson for a fine imposed on hint at New Orleans for an illegality committed by him at the time of the attack and defence of that place-

" There are cases in which public functionaries may be called on to weigh the public interest against their own personal hazards ; and, if the civil law be violated from praiseworthy motives, or an overruling sense of public danger and public necessity, punishment may well be restrained within that limit which asserts and maintains the authority of the law and the subjection of the mili- tary to the civil power."

The President closes with the assurance that " the Executive will most zealously unite its efforts with those of the Legislative depart- ment in the accomplishment of all that is required to relieve the wants of a common constituency or elevate the destinies of a beloved country.'

The Locofocos had now six candidates for the Presidency in the held—Mr. Van Buren, Mr. Calhoun, General Cass, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Buchannan, and Mr. Benton. A convention would be held to settle who should he the candidate of the whole party ; the struggle being expected to lie between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Van Buren. If Mr. Clay would not consent to stand, there would probably be no opposition.

The United States steam-frigate Missouri bad arrived at Pensacolas, from Vera Cruz, bringing a messenger with despatches from the United States Minister at Mexico. The contents of the despatches had not transpired ; but it was stated that there was every reason to believe that all the difficulties between the two Governments had been amicably and fully settled.

We have received papers from Montreal in Canada, to the 10th in- stant. The health of Sir Charles Begot seemed better : the Kingston Chronicle of the 7th says- " We have much pleasure in stating that his Excellency the Governor-Gene- ral has been improving in health for the last week. On Sunday and Monday he was able to take an airing in his carriage. He looked very poorly, but has gained strength considerably, or he could not have ventured out." The Toronto Examiner, however, states that Sir Charles's physicians have declared his immediate departure from Canada indispensable ; and adds, " We have heard that Lord Eliot, the Secretary for Ireland, will be his successor."

Our own private accounts, down to the latest date, represent Sir Charles as slowly dying, and utterly incapable of carrying on the Government.

Mr. A. N. Morin, Commissioner of Crown Lands and member of the Executive Council, was elected member of the Legislative Assembly for the county of Saguenay, on the 28th November, without opposition, in the place of Mr. Etienne Parent, lately appointed Clerk of the Exe- cutive Council.