iortigu out Culuutat.

FaAimn.-13y a decree published in the Ifoniteur on Sunday last, Croton, Thiers, Duvergier de Hauranne, Chambolle, Remusat, Lasteyrie, Laidet, and Thouret, Representatives banished under the Usurpation, are authorized to return immediately to France. Tho last two are Moderate Republicans ; some of the others are decided Orleanists. Another decree permits seven of the sixty-six Republicans of the Left, banished on the 10th of January, to reside in France. These are Renaud, Signard, Joly, Bac, Belin, Besse, and Milloste. The writers in the French journals—which, it will be remembered, are under the strictest censorship—have amused themselves by publishing insulting comments upon some of the gentlemen now permitted to return to France by M. Bonaparte's decree. It is said of M. Thiers, that he e finds in the interest which proscription excites somewhat of his in- fluence and prestige : he is listened to, admired, and believed. But at Paris, in the elegant hotel of the Place St. Georges, M. Thiers will be reduced to writing history. Everybody will gain thereby, and he will lose nothing." M. de Remusat is told " that he is a bel esprit of the seventeenth century, who has lost his way in the Parliamentary conflicts of the nineteenth. He was born to think, to write, and to speak. He will find at Paris the academic chair, which be occupies with so much grace and distinction : he will not find the tribune—that will be a petty misfortune for him." M. Duvergier de Hauranne is admitted to be an able pamphleteer, " who, when he bites, leaves a deep wound"hence- forward, he is to live " peaceable, calm, charitable, and honoured," upon his estate. The partisans of the house of Orleans will derive scant com- fort from the epitaph inscribed over M. Jules de Lasteyrie. He believed that liberty in France could be founded on what we in England are ac- customed to call " Parliamentary majorities"—Napoleonich, " Parlia- mentary oligarchies." " Perhaps he still believes this : but it is a faith which has no altar, and of which the followers become every day fewer. M. Jules de Lasteyrie may still weep over ruins, but there will be no echo for his sighs or his regrets." The Republican Anthony Thouret does not escape what is meant for a smart hit. " As to M. Anthony Thouret, he, as an honest Republican, will, no doubt, understand he was mistaken, the day on which he proposed as an amendment to the Constitution, to ex- clude the Bonapartes for ever from the Presidency of the Republic."

M. Vieyra, who was appointed Chief of the Staff of the National Guard on the eve of the 2d December, has resigned. He had become unpopular with his civic comrades, on account of some taint upon his commer- cial reputation. He is succeeded by M. Isnard.

The apathy which has prevailed during the elections to the Conseils- Geneniux becomes more and more obvious as reports fall in. The list of places where the election is nullified for want of the requisite number of voters is considerable ; and a few have elected the Opposition candidate. It is not a little remarkable that some Cantons at Bar-le-Duo and Toul, places where President Bonaparte was lately so enthusiastically received according to the reports of the Prefects, are on the list of abortive elec- tions.

M. Bonaparte made a sudden and secret visit to his property at Lamotte- Beuvron, in the Sologne, on the 7th instant. His movement was Very rapid, he had few attendants, and he wore plain'clothes. The journals of Paris knew nothing of the journey until it was over. Petitions for the establishment of the Empire are circulating through several departments.

Berorum.—The actual Rogier Ministry retains office, with the ex- ception of M. Frere-Orban, Minister of Finance, whose place will have to be supplied. French influence has undoubtedly played a part in producing the late Ministerial crisis ; and it is reasonably alleged, that the commer- cial treaty of 1845, which expired on the 9th of this month, would not have come to an end without some arrangement to supply its place, but for the same cause. At present, according to the Moniteur both of Paris and of Brussels, pending negotiations for a new treaty now carried on at Paris, the general tariff-duties will be applied to the merchandise com- prised in the treaty of 1845. Wines, silks, linen, thread, salt, and cloths, constitute the bulk of the commerce between the "two countries.

SWITZERLAND.—Some time ago, a petition was agreed to at a meeting of Conservatives at Posieux in the Canton of Friburg, praying for an alteration in the Cantonal Constitution. This was presented to the Na- tional Council on the 3d instant, and a resolution arising out of it was debated for three days; eventually, on the 5th, a majority of 79 to 18 de- cided on rejecting the petition. It was held by the speakers of the ma- Sority, that the petition was an attempt to renew the troubles of the onderbund under the guise of reforming the constitution. At the same sitting, the Council of States decided upon remitting to the Cantons of the Sonderbund the remainder of the debt created by the troubles of 1847. The izioney is to be applied to the completion of certain scholastic insti- tutions, or to the extinction of pauperism, or the construction of railways, common roads, and canals, subject to the approbation of the Federal Exe- cutive.

The text of the law relative to the punishment of high treason passed by the Grand Council of Neufchatel on the 31st ultimo has been pub- lished. The offence is thus defined—

"Art. 1. Whoever practises machinations, or keeps up a communication with a foreign power, or with its agents, in order to provoke it to commit hostilities against Switzerland, or against the Canton—or whoever by the same means or machinations, whether within or without the Canton, shall endeavour to subject it to foreign domination, or to illegally change its con- stitution—is guilty of high treason." High treason is punishable by imprisonment for terms ranging from ten to twenty years, with hard labour, and by banishment. Incitement to high treason, by writing or otherwise, may be punished by imprison- ment for two to six months. There are various other punishments for the various degrees in the commission of the offence, and also for resist- ance to the lawful authorities in the execution of the law.

-The Prussian Minister at the Helvetic Confederation has formally de- manded that the ancient political relation)) with Prussia in the Canton of Neufchatel should be reestablished : the motive for this measure being, that the authorities of Neufchatel "unreservedly attack all the institu- tions which have any relation between the Canton and Prussia." The alternative is coercion. Our authority for this statement is the Ministe- rial Morning Herald, which quotes the Hamburg Borsenhalle.

Iva...tr.—Piedmont still furnishes the most interesting Italian news. Pernati, the Minister of the Interior, issued a circular on the 4th instant, intimating that the Government will resist and punish the abuse of the right of petition against the Marriage Bill, particularly when exercised by vicars and pastors. The bill, says Pernati, has been made the pretext for agitating the country ; and petitions have been employed to mislead public opinion by spreading the belief that the Government have Anti- Catholic tendencies. Meanwhile, the Marquis d'Azeglio has been staying at the baths of Sestri di Ponente, where the Sardinian Ambassadors to England, Austria, and France, have had interviews with him, which it is thought are not accidental. Arrests continue in the States of the Church and in Lombardy. The Austrian Consul at Genoa caused seals to be placed on the property of a Lombard who died there, and who had long been suspected. It is said by the French journals that the clue to a conspiracy was found among his papers, and that numbers of arrests have followed. The same authority states that the conspirators were in the pay of the Revolutionary Com- mittee of London. The Italia e Popolo was seized at Genoa on the 5th of August.

General Fflangieri resigned the Lord Lieutenancy of Sicily last week, but he was immediately reappointed by the King. The reason for the resignation was some disagreement between Filangieri. and the Neapo- litan Ministry; the King sacrificed the Ministers to the GeneraL

GERMANY.—There is little news of interest from Germany. The Em- peror of Austria was still prosecuting his Hungarian journey, it is said, with great success; but a shot had been fired at him in the Bakony forest, and at Grosswardein.

The King of Prussia was at the opening of the "Great Eastern Rail- way" which connects Berlin with Dantzic, on the 6th instant; and he left Dantzic on the same day, for Putbua in the island of Rugen. The Queen of Prussia is at Ischl.

But more important than the movements of Monarchs is the movement of the cholera. A letter from Dantzie, of the 29th July, says—".The cholera has made its reappearance here, and as usual has come from Poland. Up to this time it has been very fatal. Of every five persons attacked four have died."

Dinozane.—The new Diet was elected on the 4th instant. The list of candidates is rather curious : there were 61 peasants and farmers, 27 ci- vilians, 18 professors and teachers, 18 landholders and others, 17 mer- chants, traders, and mechanics, 16 public school teachers, 11 military and naval men, 13 priests, 7 advocates, 6 journalists, and 10 who came under none of these divisions. It was expeetedthat the election would result in a Diet similar in character and national spirit to its predecessor. •

CONSTANTINOPLE.—The French war-ship Charlemagne anchored in the Dardanelles on the 25th July. A Russian war-steamer, and an American war-steamer waiting to carry the American Ambassador to Athens, were also in the Dardanelles.

Thriven Smeres.—By the Asia, which arrived at Liverpool on Saturday, we have papers from New York to the 28th July.

The public excitement on the fishery question had been increased by a speech delivered by Mr. Webster at Marshfield in Massachusetts, and by the tone of the journals. Mr. Webster resides at Marshfield, and on his return from Boston, on the 25th July, he was met by a deputation of his fellow townsmen, headed by the Honourable Mr. Sprague. In the course of his complimentary speech, this gentleman mentioned the fishery ques- tion; and Mr. Webster readily seized the occasion to express, as far he could, unofficially, his views upon the subject.

He believed that, "by the blessing of Providence, be had done something to uphold the constitution and liberty and maintain the rights of his coun- try." He was growing old ; relaxation was necessary for his health : when he returned to Washington he should speak officially ; "and then I shall speak." "In the mean time, be assured that that interest will not be ne- glected by this Administration under any circumstances. The fishermen shall be protected in all their rights of property and in all their rights of occupa- tion. To use a Marblehead phrase, they shall be_protected ' hook and line, bob and sinker.' And why should they not? They employ a vast num- ber. Many of our own people are engaged in that vocation. There are, perhaps, among you some who have been on the Grand Banks for forty successive years, and there hung on to the ropes in storm and wreck. The most potent consequences are involved in this matter. Our fisheries have been the very nurseries of our navy,"

He would venture to say one or two things more on this highly important subject. " In the first place, this sudden interruption of the pursuits of our citi- zens, which had been carried more than thirty years without interruption or molestation, can hardly be justified by any principle or consideration what- ever. It is now more than thirty years that they have pursued the fishing in the same water and on the same coast in which and along which notice has now come that they shall be no longer allowed these privileges. Now, this cannot be justified without notice. A mere indulgence of too long con- tinuance,-even if the privilege were not an indulgence, cannot be withdrawn at this season of the year, when our people, according to their Gaston; have engaged in the business, without just and seasonable notice. I cannot but think the late despatches from the Colonial Office had not attracted, to a sufficient degree, the attention of the principal Minister of the Crown; for I see matter in them quite inconsistent with the arrangement made in 1845 by the Earl of Aberdeen and Edward Everett. Then the Earl of Derby, the present First Minister, was Colonial Secretary. It could not well have taken place without his knowledge, and, in fact, without his concurrence or sanction. I cannot but think, therefore, that its being overlooked is an inadvertence. The treaty of 1818 was made with the Crown of England. If a fishing-vessel is captured by one of her vessels of war, and brought in for adjudication, the Crown of England is answerable, and than we know whom we have to deal with. But it is not to be expected that the United States will submit their rights to be adjudicated upon in the petty tribunals of the provinces, or that they will allow oar vessels to be seized by constables and other petty officers, and condemned by municipal courts of Canada and Newfoundland, New Bruns- wick, or Nova Scotia! No, no, no." (Great cheering.) There are some curious symptoms in the American press; but to a great extent these must be taken with many grains of allowance. The New York Courier and Enquirer testifies to the unanimous determination of the American people to resist British aggression; contrasting the temper of people at the present time with their feelings in 1814, when there was a strong party afraid of engaging in a war with England. Besides it says—

"The British Cabinet has taken a position which it cannot maintain with- out incurring direct collision with this country, and yet from which there is no side-path in any direction. It must either come to blows or retreat straight backwards."

The writer treats the policy of Sir John Pakington and Lord Maims- bury as a reversal of that of Lord Aberdeen and Lord Palmerston. The New York Herald is extremely bellicose, and already counts British America, Cuba, and Mexico, as among the spoils; threatening England at the same time with the loss of Ireland, which is to be conquered by a hundred thousand fighting Irishmen. This is in King Cambyses' vein ; the more sensible of the journals abstain from such highflying comments. The Washington correspondent of the Journal of Commerce regards the matter as malapropos for the Free-trade party in the States; and interprets the late debate in the Senate to mean that the Protectionists or High-tariff men are prepared to risk anything, even a war, rather than " relax, in any way, their policy of restriction." The writer imputes the course adopted by England to the " grasping, selfish, and exclusive policy of the Pro- tectionist Ministry of England." The Washington Republic, regarded as a Ministerial journal, considers that the common-sense interpretation of the treaty of 1818 gives the American fishermen the right of entering and fishing in all bays where the waters exceed the width of six miles. The writer believes that the English people will not support a Minister in- any other view ; and that, at all events, America will -accept no other reading of the treaty. But the Republic, notwithstanding the threatening appearances, does not apprehend any fatal issue of the difficulty. The New York Tribune treats it as a " fishy hubbub" of annual occurrence, and anticipates no serious result. The National Intelligencer, a Washington paper, looks upon the question in a similar light ; declares that England has always adhered to the construction of the treaty now about to be en- forced, and that nothing had hitherto been done by the Government of the United States because " our Government had not confidence in its °ern interpretation of the treaty.".

The weightiest news comes from the intelligent correspondent of the Times in New York. Writing on the 26th July, he says- " The fishery excitement is extending ; and the new Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Kennedy of Baltimore, has started all our navy-yards and ar- senals into activity. A powerful force is preparing for the North-eastern coast, and in a short time several of our largest and most efficient steamers will be on their way. There is no subject on which the Americans are so sensitive as their fisheries. I confess that, with a knowledge of the ex- asperated state of feeling along the Canada frontier and throughout the British Provinces, and a knowledge also of the policy which the President and his Cabinet are determined to carry out, I confess that I entertain the most serious apprehensions of the final result. Our Government expects a collision. Of this fact there is no doubt. Some colour is.given to the views of the Journal of Commerce by the fact that the Committee on Commerce in the House of Representatives were about to report a bill for establishing reciprocity of trade between the United States and the British Colonies.

"The bill will provide for interchange, free of duty, between the United States and the British American Provinces, of all articles, being the product of the sea, the field, and the forest ; the same to take effect whenever the British Government shall assent to the following measures,—namely, 1. to grant to the United States the free navigation of the St. Lawrence ; 2. to grant also to the United States the free navigation of the St. John ; 3. to exempt from.duty the American lumber Shipped by the St. John; 4. to open to the inhabitants of the United States, is common with those of the Pro- vinces and of the British people the right of taking and curing fish of every kind, to the same extent to which the inhabitants of the United States en- joyed such right under the articles of the treaty of 1783."

In addition to the above intelligence, we have New York papers of the 31st July, by the Humboldt, which touched at Southampton on Thurs- day, on its way to Havre. Commodore Perry bad received orders to re- pair forthwith to the fishing-grounds in the war-steamer Mississippi, and protect the rights of the American fishermen. He was to be accompanied by as many vessels as could be got ready in time, and to assume the com- mand of the entire squadron destined for the station. News had arrived at New York, that a British war-steamer had been met with two Ameri- can fishing-schooners in tow, which had been seized off Gaspe Head. It is also stated that fishing-vessels have been obliged to pay an anehorage- duty of sixpence per ton in all the provinces. There were three hundred American vessels in the Bay pf St. Lawrence at the end of June ; four-

teen British men of war-were in the fishing-grounds, and four more were reported as fitting out at St. John's, New Brunswick. The cases of the

Coral and the Hyades, already seized by the cutter Nettler, were heard in the Admiralty Court at St. John's on the 24th July no defence was made, and the schooners were to be condemned at the next sitting of the court, on the 28th.

The New York Herald has a long article enumerating the war-ships at once available and those which might be available by the 20th of August. The writer reckons up a list comprising five steamers, five sloops of war, and two brigs, mounting 161 guns, which might be concentrated at Halifax by the 15th August; and he adds to this five frigates, carrying 332 guns, which might be ready by the 20th. This is unofficial bluster- ing and no more ; but it shows the temper of the people.

It was rumoured that Mr. Webster would be obliged to resign, an the ground that he had acted in the fishery matter in opposition to the views of. President Fillmore. But this has been denied by authorities more respectable than those who affirm it. One surmise is, that Mr. Webster will accept an extraordinary mission to England, and that this has given rise to the rumour cited above. When the mail left New York, Mr. Crampton, the British Minister, was at Mr. Webster's house at Marsh- field, enjeying country pleasures and pursuits.

Another subject of interest is the conduct of the Irish respecting the extradition of Kaine. An Anti-Extradition meeting had been held at Tammany Hall, headed by Mr. Horace Greeley of the New York Tri- bune; at which that gentleman declared, that the crime alleged against Keine was "not purely a moral offence, but partook of the nature of a political one." The mob of Irish took the same view ; for when Keine was removed from the District Court on the 26th they attacked the police who had him in custody. A conflict followed, carried on chiefly by stone-throwing, the whole distance from the court to the prison : but.when

the mob came to close quarters, they were signally routed by the police, who used their clubs, and several of the most active among the Irish were

seized. The question as to whether Keine may be legally delivered up under the .Ashburton treaty, will be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington, to which appeal has been made.

" Accidents " in the United States far surpass in their fatal results any- thing of the kind which we can produce, either on land or water. One of the dreadful calamities was brought about on the Hudson, on the 28th July. Two rival steamers, named the Henry Clay and the Armenia, started from Albany on the morning of that day, and steamed at a racing pace down towards New York. Both the boats were put to the utmost of their speed, and were constantly in dangerous situations. Even after they had made a considerable distance, and were heavily laden with pas- sengers, the racing continued. Suddenly a passenger observed smoke and smelt fire on board the Henry Clay. He spoke to the pilot ; but that

officer, instead of running the boat instantly, on shore, told the passenger to "mind his own business," and continued his fatal course. In this way half a mile was gone over ; the flames then burst out very fiercely ; and the boat was now run ashore. " The steamer struck head on," save the New York Herald; " and as the fire broke out in the centre, and the breeze blew off shore, those on the stern of the boat had either to leap into the water or perish in the flames. One of the passengers who had reached the shore said, that as he turned, he saw the flames envelope a fine lad, standing on the verge of the upper deck, seemingly uncertain whether to perish by fire or water. The flames and thick smoke seemed to wrap around him like a winding-sheet, till he disap- peared, and is now no more. Another gentleman informed us, that he saw a mother take her infant in her teeth by its clothes, to have the babe come on top when she arose to the surface, and approach the edge of the boat to leap into the water. By a sudden jerk of the boat the child fell from the grasp of the mother, and also disappeared. There were several other heart- rending incidents connected with this sad affair. We shall never know all the sad scenes of this terrible disaster. Most of those who were saved came to the city in the Armenia and by the Hudson River Railroad. The down- train stopped to render assistance, and a special train was sent out to bring the survivors to town. Several reached the Irving House in a sad plight— some without shoes, others without hats, and some without coats, shoes, or stockings."

As far as could be ascertained, at least fifty-six lives were lost. The columns of the New York papers are crowded with details of personal in- cidents. " Indignation" meetings had been held, and great excitement prevailed.

Demme AYEZ8.-17rquiza, exasperated, as he asserts, by the dema- goguism of the Chamber of Representatives and the public press, dissolved the former, gagged the latter, and placed the town in a state of siege, on the 23d June. He professes that he is the firmest friend of liberty ; that he has only had recourse to this step in order to preserve the Argentine Republic from civil war ; and that when the constitution shall have been established on a firmer basis, he will resign his dictatorial powers. He calls himself Provisional Director ; and in this capacity he has summoned the delegates of the States to meet him during the present month, at Santa Fe, to settle the constitution and elect a President. The news was brought by the Seiern' which arrived at Southampton on Thursday, with the -South American mails to the 6th of July.

CAPE or Goon Hore.—The news from the frontier of the Cape co- lony, brought by the Propontis, which reached Plymouth on Monday evening, discloses no novelty in Caffre warfare. We have before us files of the Cape Town Mail, the Cape Monitor, the South African Advertiser, the Friend of the Sovereignty, and the Zuid Afrikaan, of dates including the 26th of May and the 8d of July. The details of the war, with three exceptions, consist of narratives of marauding inroads by the Caffres ; captures of cattle, followed by pursuit and recapture ; hand to hand skir- mishes, military forays, murders ; seizures of the mail; and other petty matters which go to make up what is called the Caffre war. The depre- dations have been committed within the colony, which is represented as swarming with small parties of Hottentots. In one instance a soldier of the Second Queen's was shot while cutting wood within three hundred yards of Fort Cox ; in another, a Hottentot boldly entered a camp, and mounting a horse, rode off. The Caffres annoyed General Yorke's camp at Line Drift by firing the surrounding grass. Spans of oxen continued to be taken in or near the camps. Caffre fires were constantly visible from Fort Beresford. At Eiland'a Kloof, a place about four miles from Graham's Town, four spans of oxen, some cows, and a mare, were swept off, on the 3d of June. The mail from Graham's Town was captured on the 6th. These are some characteristic but minor incidents of the war. In every instance, the Hottentots, as usual, fly before any considerable forces.

The exceptional incidents to which we referred are, an attack by the Hottentots upon a missionary station at Mount Coke ; a combined move- ment against Uithaalder, the leader of the rebel Hottentots occupying the Amatolas ; and a disastrous conflict between a body of Hottentots at Konap Hill and an escort of Sappers and Miners who were in charge of ammunition-waggons.

The attack at Mount Coke took place on the night of the 2d June, when the people there were in bed. The Hottentots succeeded in carry- ing off some oxen; but they were hotly pressed, and retreated towards the Buffalo ; a body. of Hottentot horsemen driving the cattle while the foot acted as a covering-party. The firing of the skirmish was heard at Fort Murray ; whence an express was sent to General Yorke at King William's Town. General Yorke sent 200 Lancers and Cape Corps men; but by the time they arrived the enemy had got out of reach.

On the 13th June, thirty-five flappers and Miners under Colonel Moody, escorting five waggons containing stores, Minis rifles, and ammunition, were on their way from Graham's Town to head-quarters at Fort Beau- fort. They had rested at Fort Brown, and were a little beyond the Konap Post, when they were fired on by Hottentots in ambush. The first volley killed and wounded several men. The fight continued for half an hour ; the Sappers fired away nearly all their ammunition, and were gradually beaten back to Fort Brown. The waggons were then plundered, chiefly of the Minis rifles and the ammunition. The Hotten- tots fled on the approach of a party from Fort Brown. Nine Sappers were killed, and ten wounded. It was thought that the Hottentots were per- fectly informed of the movements of the escort, and that the ambush was regularly planned. The attack upon the camp of Uithaalder was made by a large force un- der General Yorke and Colonel Eyre, on the 15th June ; and was very successful. The Hottentots were routed, their huts destroyed, and three of the Minis rifles recaptured. The troops remained in the Amatolas. A Cape Corps sergeant was taken among the rebels, and hung up at once. General Cathcart had intimated his intention of establishing a mounted Rural Police, which would probably perform services similar to those so effectively rendered by the police which hunted out the last of the Aus- tralian Bushrangers. In addition to this, he had gone over a great deal of ground, in order that he might become personally acquainted with the country ; and he intended to establish a line of defensive posts within the colony. But his most important and latest act was to issue a proclama- tion, on the 1st of July, stating that, in consequence of the non-payment of the fine imposed on Krell by Sir Harry Smith, General Cathcart would collect a sufficient force " on the Uinvam River, near Brain Neck, mid- way between Shiloh and the White Kei; and that it was further his in- tention with this force to cross the Kei, and establish his head-quarters at Kreli's Great Place."

General Cathcart also commands " all Burghers of the divisions of Graaf Reinet, Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth, Somerset, Cradack, Albany, Albert, Victoria, Fort Beaufort, and Colesberg, capable of bearing arms, to take

as field upon the old Commando system of the colony," and join him at the appointed place on the 6th of August. Moreover, he promises "the colonists of all classes, who shall voluntarily join in this great Commando, that all cattle that may be captured by them shall be divided amongst the captors, for their own use and benefit, according to such equitable division as may be determined on by their own commandants."

A carious episode arises out of the conduct of General Cathcart towards the Caffre women. The Governor had learnt that the women supply the Caffres with powder, which they obtain in the towns and within the colony ; and he offered a reward of 501. "for the apprehension of any person " engaged in supplying the enemy with ammunition, " male or female, with sufficient proof to hang him or her by martial law." It so happened, that Toise, a friendly chief, was arrested by the Hottentots and taken to Sandili, but afterwards liberated ; and he mysteriously brought hack with him a letter from Uithaalder which is a curiosity in its way : the Cape papers give a translation.

" May 25, 1852.

" My Esteemed Sir, General—I embrace this opportunity. to write you this letter. We inform you that we are exceedingly grieved in consequence of what we see with our eyes, that your Excellency fights with women and children, that is to say, wars with them ; for where all were fighting it was against men. Women we always excepted, that is according to the pro- clamation. We hope not that your Excellency will do the same as Sir H. Smith and Colonel Somerset. We were in the neighbourhood of Bathurst : there we fought men that had guns, those we shot down, and those who had De guns we excepted. This is according to proclamation.

" And furthermore, if your Excellency wishes to speak to us, it is prac- ticable for you to speak with us, because our hostilities are distinct from those of the Caffres.

" I your servant, Was. Hrrneamaza."

General Cathcart has commuted the sentence of death passed upon the rebel Hottentot, Field-Cornet Andries Botha, into transportation for life, with hard labour. Although Botha had been convicted, a smart contro- veray raged among the journals as to his guilt or innocence. He was a Kat River man.

It is insinuated that there is great difficulty in bringing the Fingoes into fire ; and that at the same time some of our men and officers are killed and wounded by the " accidental " discharge of Fingo muskets.

"The amount of risk we run," says the Cape Town Mail, "by employ- ing natives, whether Hottentots or Fingoes, several suspicious instances seem to prove. It will be remembered that Captain Bevil, of the Levies, was shot accidentally by a Hottentot of his party, and that doubt still hangs over Major Wilmot's lamented death, whether or not it was by Fingoes of his own party. Two or three (several during the month) of the Rifles also have been wounded, either by the awkward precipitance of the Fingoes, or by their being mistaken for Caffres. Such friends are little less dangerous than enemies. '

But this is not quite borne out by the general intelligence ; and in- stances are not wanting to show that the Fingoes have fought with great bravery.

The Zuid Atfrikaan contains the minutes of a meeting held on the 16th January, at a farm-house on Sand River, between Mr. Owen and Major Rogge on the one side, and on the other certain depiities, headed by Prtetorius, from the Trans-Vaal Boers, to settle the boundary question. A convention was agreed to and signed, whereby it is stipulated that the Emigrant Farmers occupying the territory North of the Vaal River shall in future "manage their own affairs, and govern themselves without in- terference from the British Government" ; that her Majesty's Commie- sioners " repudiate all alliance whatsoever with the Coloured tribes North of the Vaal River " ; that slavery shall not be permitted; that the Farm- ers shall not traffic in ammunition with the natives ; that perfect free trade shall exist between them and other stipulations on minor matters. General Cathcart has ratified this convention.

Major Hogge died, at Bloem Fontein, on the 9th June, of a fever sup- posed to have been caught in the country of Moshesh. He was one of the Commissioners sent out from England last autumn to settle the affairs of the Orange Sovereignty. Since that date, he had been at Winburg, Moshesh's, King William's Town, Cape Town, back to King William's Town, and thence to Bloem Fontein. Ho was a Major of the Seventh Dragoons ; and for the distinguished part he took in the previous Caffre war, of 1846, he was honourably mentioned by Sir Peregrine Maitland, General Somerset, Sir Henry Pottinger, and Sir George Berkeley. His loss is regarded as a calamity by the whole Cape colony, and he is spoken of in the same warm terms by the journals of all parties.

VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.—The latest accounts from Hobart Town, brought by the Tasmania, are to the lat of April. Gold, it is stated, has been discovered in the country lying between Fingal and Avoca. It is little more than speculation at present, as no gold in any quantity has been brought in ; but the Hobart Town Guardian says that "all doubt" of its existence is at an end, and that two hundred men are at work in "the diggings."