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The Gazette of last night contained a despatch from Lord Raglan to the Duke of Newcastle, enclosing a despatch written by Lieutenant-Co- lonel Simmons at the desire of Omar Pasha, drawing attention to the services of certain British officers who assisted the Turkish army at Giurgevo and Silistria in the summer. The officers are Major Bent, of the Sappers and Miners, Lieutenant Glyn, and Prince Ernest of Saxe Leiningen, officers of the Britannia, and Private Andrew Anderson. Omar Pasha expressed regret for the loss of Lieutenant Burke, Lord Raglan adds, that Major Gage, of the Royal Horse Artillery, conducted the detachments under his command from Varna to Rustchuk; and calls attention to the fact that Omar Pasha has stated that it will be gratifying to him if her Majesty should be pleased to reward these officers for their able services to the Ottoman army and the common cause.

The Gazette contains a proclamation commencing—" Whereas inform- ation has been received that certain acts of a highly treasonable nature have been or are about to be done or attempted by certain British subjects adhering to the Queen's enemies, either 'within her Majesty's dominions or in parts beyond the seas," such as building and equipping ships, pro- viding stores, tackling, ammunition, and the like, or otherwise aiding and abetting the Queen's enemies : it warns such persons that "they will be liable to be apprehended and dealt with as traitors, and proceeded against with the utmost rigour of the law."

The French and English commanders in the Black Sea have publicly notified, that after the 1st February 1856, the Russian ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azoff, including especially Berdiansk, Taganrog, and Arabs; and the mouths of the great rivers Don, Dnieper, Bog, and Dniester, would be under a strict blockade. The porta held by the Allies in the Crimea are of course expressly excluded.

A general order from Lord, Raglan's head-quarters, issued on the 18th January, announces that "the Commander of the Forces has the satisfac- tion of appointing provisionally, and pending her Majesty's pleasure," certain sergeants of the cavalry and the line, forty in number, as cornets or ensigns each in his own regiment. The names of the men are appended to the order.

[A remarkable omission in this list of sergeants has been pointed out in letters from the Crimea. It. is that of the name of Sergeant Sullivan, who bore the colours of the Thirtieth at Alma, and who was specially mentioned by Sir De Lacy Evans for his gallantry on the 26th October. He has never missed a day's duty in the trenches, and he was in the heat of Inkerman.]

Sir De Lacy Evans is said to have been offered, and to have declined, the post of Lieutenant-Governor of Chelsea Hospital, vacant by the death of Sir Andrew Barnard.

The Queen has been pleased to appoint Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Shell, C.B., some time her Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Shah of Persia, to be an Ordinary Member of the Civil Division of the Second Class, or Knights Commanders, of the most Honourable Order of the Bath.-London Gazette, Feb. 6.

The Suisse contains an announcement that the British Government has offered the Swiss Federal Colonel Bontems the rank of Lieutenant-Gene- ral and the command of a Foreign Legion ; which he has accepted. [Wants confirmation.]

A letter from Lord Cowley has been published in the lfoniieur convey- ing the address and announcing the contribution of the Legislature of Canada to the French army.

The managers of Price's Patent Candle Company hive announced that the Government has given an order for 250 "candle stoves" and 2900 boxes of fuel, for hospital use in the Crimea, and at Scutari and Smyrna. A good number, which have been purchased by the Crimea Committee, will be sent out for the use of the army.

The King of Piussia has sent another special political missionary to Paris-M. de Niebuhr, his private secretary, and a hot partisan of Ruesia.

A correspondent sends a solution of the difficulty of the Sydney people with regard to the encroachment of the sand there, as stated in our last week's publication. But one means, he says, has been found to stay the encroachments of the deserts of Syria and the steppes of Russia ; and that is by "planting wide belts of trees." If this were carried out at Sydney, he thinks it would improve the climate, arrest the sand, and become a source of profit. The suggestion is worth the attention of our Sydney friends.

The mortality of London is still excessive, and the number of deaths as now returned exhibits but a small decrease on that of the previous week. In the last five weeks the deaths were-1404, 1466, 1549, 1630, and 1604. The mean temperature in each of the same weeks was 45.5 degrees, 39.3 degrees, 28.9 degrees, 29.3 degrees, and 29.3 degrees. Throughout December the temperature was about 41 degrees ; and the deaths in a week were about 1300. The weather became colder by 12 degrees, and produced an increase of 300 in the deaths. In the ten cor- responding weeks of the years 1845-'54 the average number of deaths was /103 ; which may be compared with the last week's return, after raising the former by a tenth part for increase of population. It appears that 391 persons died last week above the calculated amount. Taking the fifth week of each of the ten years, the average temperature was 40.9 degrees ; and there is no instance within this range of comparison in which the mean temperature was so low as that of last week.-Regis- frar-General 'a Return.

The Speaker's first Parliamentary dinner of the season was held on Satur- day. The guests were chiefly members of the late Government ; including Lord Palmerston, Sir George Grey, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Sidney Herbert., Sir Charles Wood, and Sir William Molesworth.

The French Ambassador gave a banquet on Saturday evening. The guests included the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl and Countess of Clarendon, the Earl Granville, the Earl and Countess of Shelburne, the Lady Palmerston, the Lord and Lady Canning, and the Count Wimpffen. Lord Palmerston joined the circle after dinner.

The Bishop of Sierra Leone died on the 24th December, from fever con- tracted during his visitation to the Yoruba country.

According to the Sheffield Times, the indisposition exhibited by Mr. Roe- buck in the House of Commons lately was merely of a temporary kind, not likely to incapacitate him from serving on the Committee he proposed should the inquiry be carried out.

Vice-Admiral Dundas arrived in London, from Paris, on Tuesday.

Horace Vernet is engaged in completing a splendid painting of the cele- bration of mass at the French camp in the Crimea.

The total number of merchant-vessels taken up by the Government for war purposes is 206; the tonnage, 205,388. The sailing-ships are105, of a burden of 91,026 tons; the steamers are 101, of 114,362 tons.

The Foreign Legion, it is said, will assemble at Heligoland for drill. Wooden huts are to be forthwith erected for their reception.

The greatest activity prevails at Portsmouth in refitting the Baltic fleet for service. There is so much work that some ships have been sent to Ply- mouth to he refitted.

There are now sixty-four regiments of Militia embodied for permanent service.

The Thirteenth, Fifty-fourth, Sixty-sixth, and Ninety-second Regiments, are under orders to quit Gibraltar for the Crimea ; they will be replaced by Militia.

Some Militia regiments are expected to leave England about the 19th for Gibraltar and the Piraeus.

The Emperor of the French having invented a stable-tent for the use of the French cavalry in the Crimea, which was much approved by the military authorities, a pattern was sent to England ; it met with equal favour here, and a number of these canvass stables have been made at Woolwich for ex- port to the East.

A specimen of local military mismanagement on a small scale has been exhibited at Sligo : such delay has occurred in putting the Militia upon active duty, with pay and rations, that some of the volunteers have been i driven to seek shelter in the workhouse. _ . Oliver Cromwell, a mason of Readingsaid to be a descendant of the Pro- tector, has enlisted in the Grenadier Guards. [There are no descendants of Cromwell.] One of the rumours of the week is that 70,000 men are to be raised in Moldavia and Wallachia, the expense of their uniforms, maintenance, &c., to be paid out of the revenues of the Greek convents, which have been con- fiscated.

Another report is that the Emperor of Russia has sent an autograph letter to the King of Prussia, expressing the utmost satisfaction at the conduct of that Sovereign in the Eastern question.

Mr. Arthur Bigge, of the Northern Circuit, has been appointed Stipendiary Magistrate for Brighton.

A letter from Baden state' that it was calculated that 14,000 persons had emigrated from the duchy in 1854, and that upwards of 6d,000 have left it within the last eight years. The population of the duchy is now less than it was in 1846, and only amounts to 1,357,000.

The next crop in Grenada is expected to be miserably deficient: by the cholera the population of 30,000 was diminished by no fewer than 6000, and during the prevalence of the epidemic such terror and disorder existed that labour was almost abandoned.

A good contribution to the Patriotic Fund may be expected from Guiana. The Governor himself led the people of Victoria Village to contribute li- berally, by addressing a stirring speech to them.

"Strikes " are becoming common in the United States, though wages rule an much higher there than here : doubtless, the increase in the cost of pro- visions is the exciting cause. The canal labourers at Rochester have turned out, demanding eight shillings a day.

Fresh failures are announced in the United States : the most notable are those of Messrs. Reamer and Baum, bankers at Pittsburg, and a great pro- duce house at New Orleans.

CRYSTAL PALAC13.-Return of admissions for six days ending 2d Febru- ary, including season-ticket-holders, 2412.