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A number of Liverpool men of all parties, including both Members, the Mayor, and a great number of prominent commercial men, had presented an address to Sir John 3.1'Neill and Colonel Tulloch, the Crimean Commissioners, expressing gratitude for their serviees. in preparing their 4‘ searching, honest, and able report" on the Crimean expedition ; and condemning the Chelsea Board for having from the first arrived at a foregone conclusion. Both the Commissioners have replied to this address. Sir John hi‘Neill, in returning thanks for the unexpected record of approbation, says—" I may be permitted to add, that its value is enhanced by its being the only public document I possess which contains an acknowledgment that any service whatever was rendered by the Commission." "When I consented to proceed to the Crimea at the head of a Commission, I conceived that my duty to the country was in perfect accordance with the intentions and wishes of the Government. Lord Palmerston had urged the substitution of a Commission in the Crimea for the Committee of the House of Commons demanded by Mr. Roebuck, and had thus, as it appeared to me, pledged the Government to an unflinching inquiry. My duty, as I understood it, was to conduct that inquiry without fear or favour, and to report the result faithfully, without considering whom it might inculpate or whom exculpate. The welfare of the British Army, the honour of her Majesty's arms, the interests of the nation in more than one quarter of the globe, and the success of the war waged to defend the freedom of Europe, were all at stake in the Crimea; and I did not consider it possible that at such a moment any one could give way to mere personal considerations." The conduct of the Government in reference to the report "produced a very general impression, that the acknowledged fidelity of our report was not in accordance with their wishes ; and the feeling thus produced must affect the disposition of the country to intrust to the Executive any inquiries connected with the Army that may hereafter be called for." Only Lord Palmerston an a challenge from Mr. Gladstone, and more recently Lord Panmure, twelve months after he received the report, had publicly expressed their approbation of the Commissioners. "he most anxious wish of the country, from the Queen to the humblest of her subjects, was to provide the army of the East with all that was necessary to its welfare, and even to its comfort. There was no time, from the commencement to the termination of the war, at which the people of this country were not ready to furnish any amount of funds that might be considered necessary for that purpose. The resources of the country, were greater than at any former time; its power to produce every manufactured article that the army could require was such as the world had never before seen ; its mercantile marine provided fleets of transports, including its magnificent ocean steam-ships, such as no other army ever commanded ; the resources of the Turkish provinces were found sufficient to supply nearly three times the number of men with abundance of wholesome food for another year without being exhausted. The army occupied the same ground throughout the whole time, and was as stationary as the population of a town. No part of it was ever more than seven miles distant from a secure harbour, and a considerable -part was encamped within a mile or two of the port. The Allied navies had undisputed command of the sea, so that vessels of all classes navigated it with the same security as in a time of profound peace. Yet the country is expected to believe that, with all these almost boundless resources and these means and facilities, it was impossible, by any exercise of talents, energy, and foresight, to provide either sufficient food or sufficient clothing for 20,000 or 30,000 men during their first winter in the Crimea!"
Further light is thrown upon the " lorcha affair" at Canton by "A Merchant," who forwards to the Tunes an abstract of the Hongkong ordinance regulating the registration of vessels. "It appears from clause 4 of the ordinance, that the English name of the vessel must have been conspicuously painted on her stern, in letters at least four inches long, in both Roman and Chinese characters. Hence there is no ground for the statement that the Chinese authorities did not know she was a foreign vessel. Clause 7 provides that the master shall be British, or, at .any rate, conversant with our language. This condition was strictly complied with; the master of the Arrow being Mr. Kennedy, of Belfast. By Clause 10, the annual licence is renewable on its expiration by simple indorsement, accompanied: by the payment of a fee.of 10 dollars. I. obtain this indorsement, the register must be deposited in the office at Hongkong for one week before the expiration of the year; or, if the vessel be at sea at the time' then on her return Lastly, by clause 11, any infringement of the provisions of the ordinance renders the register ipso facto void, and renders the ship sailing under such register forfeit to the Crown.' ' ' Mr. C. I. Bayley, who was lately Colonial Secretary at the Mauritius, has been appointed to the Government of the Bahamas, in succession to Sir Alexander Bannerman. Mr. Price, late Treasurer of Antigua, has been appointed President of the Virgin Islands.
When the American frigate Merrimac was in Southampton Water, she was visited by the Earl of Hardwieke and his family ; and in return for the hospitality of the officers he invited them to his house. One of those officers sent to his friends an account of the doings at Lord Hardwicke's honse' and the letter has found its way into the Jaffna; a paper published at Washington in North Carolina. Some passages will give the reader a lively idea of its character.
"We sat down to table at half-past seven o'clock. These are always epaulette and sword occasions. Lord Hardwicke's family consists of his Countess, his eldest son, (about eighteen or twenty, and Lord Royston by courtesy,) three of the finest-looking daughters you ever saw, and several younger sons. The daughters—Lady Elizabeth, Lady Mary, and Lady Agnitaare surpassingly beautiful; such development, such rosy cheeks, laughing eyes, and unaffected manners, you rarely see combined. They take a great deal of out-door exercise ; and came aboard the Merrimac in a heavy rain, with Irish thicker-soled shoo; than you or I ever wore, and cloaks and dresses almost impervious to wet. They steer their father's yacht, walk the Lord knows how many miles, and don't care a cent about rain, besides doing a host of other things that would shock our ladies to death; and yet in the parlour they are the moat elegant women in their satin shoes and diamonds I ever saw. The Countess, in her coronet of jewels, is an elegant lady, and looks like a fit mother for three such women. His Lordship has given us three or four dinners. He lives here merely during the yachting season ; and leaves here on Friday. for his country-seat at Cambridge, where he spends his winter, as do all English gentlemen of means, in hunting, &c. ; and when Parliament is in session he lives in London in his town-house. Here he has sliest of servants ; and they wear the gaudiest livery—white coats with big silver buttons, white cravats, plush knee-breeches and vest, with white silk-stockings, and low shoes. Lord Hardwicke's brother is Dean of York, a High Church dignitary; has two pretty daughters, and is himself a jolly gentleman. After dinner the ladies play and sing for us ; and the other night they got up a game of blindman'a buff, in which the ladies said we had the advantage, inasmuch as their 'petticoats rustled, so that they were easily caught.' They call things by their right names here. In the course of the game, Lord Hardwicke himself was blindfolded, and, trying to catch some one, fell over his daughter's lap on the floor, when two or three of the girls caught him by the legs and dragged his Lordship, roaring with laughter, as we all were, on his back into the middle of the floor. 'Yet they are perfectly iespectful, but appear on a perfect equality with each other. In fact, the English are a great people."
The deaths registered in London which in the two previous weeks had been 1135 and 1171, rose in the week-that ended last Saturday to 1216. In the ten years 1817-'56, the average number of deaths in the weeks corresponding with last week was 1177. But if the deaths of last week are to be compared with the average, the latter should be raised proportionally to the increase of population, in which case it will become 1295. Hence it will be seen, that although the rate of mortality has been rising lately, it is still below the average. In comparing the results of the last two weeks, an increase is observed in the deaths of old persons; for whereas 41 men and women, who had attained the age of eighty years or upwards died in the former week, the number last week was 74. In these 74 old persons an unusual number of nonagenarians is found, namely 14; a man and a woman were each ninety-five years of age, and the two oldest were women who had reached the age of ninety-six years. --Registrar-General's Return.
The Judicial Bench lost an ornament on Tuesday, by the death of Baron Alderson, the report of whose serious illness will have led our readers to expect this result. Sir Edward Hall Alderson was born at Great Yarmouth, in 1787; he was educated first at the Charterhouse, and then at Cambrid e where he was Senior Wrangler and Senior Medallist in 1809; he was called to the bar in 1811; and maintained a high place in the Northern Circuit, among competitors like Searlett, Brougham, Parke and Patteson. While wearing the stuff gown, in 1831, he was selected by Lord Lyndhurst as Baron of the Court of Exchequer. From that time hecontinued to acquire esteem and command admiration as a judge. His mind was active, strong, and acute ; his judgments were clear and concise ; and indeed, as the Daily News has remarked, there was "no judge on the bench superior to Mr. Baron Alderson in quickness, logical power, and knowledge of the law." "It would be fulsome flattery to assert that the demeanour of the judge whose loss we now deplore came up to the ideal standard. His passion for the jocose, his vigorous lightheartedness, and his simplicity of character, at times, no doubt, made this eminent person forget what was due to the dignity of his place. Every man has his faults ; and it is only those who have occupied high. position, and are possessed of eminent qualities, who can afford to have their dements as well as their merits candidly discussed. Nevertheless, if on some occasions the unseasonable wit of the learned Baron impaired his dignity, or an imperfection of temper exhibited itself, there were occasions—such as that on which he passed sentence on the bankers of Temple Bar—when he evinced as much feeling and dignity as it was possible for any magistrate to display. This is not the place to dwell on the private virtues of the individual ; into the sacred precincts of domestic life the public have no right to enter; but still it is well for them to know that this illustrious lawyer was an upright citizen, an affectionate father, and a steadfast friend."
Lord Downe, formerly, when known as the Honourable W. H. Downey, one of the Members for Rutland, died at Torquay on the 26th. He was elected in 1841, in conjunction with Mr. Gilbert Ileathcote, now Lord Aveland ; and he supported the Free-trade measures of Sir Robert Peel; but, feeling that his constituents disapproved of that course, he resigned his seat in 1846; and Mr. Finch, of Burley-on-the-Hill, was elected unopposed to supply his place.
Lieutenant-General Sir Nathaniel Thorn died suddenly, at his residence near Taunton, on Thursday, a few hours after his return home from London. A Coroner's Ivry returned a verdict of "Died by the visitation of God." General Thorn had been fifty-five years in the Army, there was no such profitable place to be had. I say distinctly, there is not a. want of truth in the allegation contained in the New York Times article. A distinct proposition {VHS made to me by a member of this House, in regard to the Minnesota Land Bill, and that 1500 dollars would be given in consideration of a vote for that bill. If the proposed Committee shall be raised, and I am called as a witness, I shall give my evidence."
After this, Mr. Kelsey's motion was carried by acclamation.
The citizens of Clarksville, Tennessee, appointed a Committee of Safety to inquire into "the truth of the threatened insurrection of Negroes." The Committee has reported a series of measures which it deems needful for public security. It is recommended that "all assemblages of Negroes, under any pretext whatever, at frolics, balls, benevolent societies, or at public worship where Negro preachers officiate," ahall be suppressed ; that ministers of the gospel shall be requested to suspend their habit of preaching to the Negroes except in the churches at the usual times ; that owners should not permit their Negroes "to get buggies and carriages for pleasure on the Sabbath" ; and that owners of livery-stables "ought not to hire horses and buggies to Negroes, oven when their mestere permit it, for the reason that such indulgence to Negroes promotes insubordination among the slaves, and stimulates feelings wholly inconsistent with their duty to their masters and the subordinate position they should occupy in reference to White people " ; and that traders ought not to deal with Negroes, and on no account to sell them arms or ammunition, with or without their masters' consent. The late projected rising is attributed to the Presidential canvass, when Negroes were alloWed to be present at public meetings where questions touching Negro slavery were discussed. At these meetings, the Negroes "imbibe crude and disjointed notions of freedom, which only imperil the safety of the White and the certain destruction of the Black race." Negroes are not to have Christmas holidays ; "it would be a blessing to them to be kept constantly employed" ; a Negro must not visit his wife without a passport ; nor may /s egroes hire their own time, as it is called, on any pretext whatever." Meanwhile, the Committee was to sit from day to day, and a body of twenty men were to patrol the country.
The Supreme Court of California has declared the entire State debt unconstitutional, excepting 300,000 dollars ; and recommends the adoption of the debt by the Legislature, and that the question of repudiation be submitted to the people. No transfer of stock has been made since the decision. The people are opposed to repudiation, and meetings have been called in various parts of the State to give expression to the public .opinion. At a meeting held in San Francisco, resolutions were passed pledging the redemption of the debt by the people. The amount is over 3,000,000 dollars.
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