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The House of Lords and the House of Commons assembled in skeleton form on Thursday—represented wholly by their clerks and other officers —and were finally prorogued by commission to Tuesday the 3d of Fe- bruary. The Victoria Tower was used for the first time as the entrance of the House of Lords.

It is announced that the Queen will open the session of Parliament in person. Sir R. B. W. Bulkeley and Mr. John Bonham Carter have been named as the mover and seconder of the address in the House of Commons • Major-General the Honourable George Cathcart has been appointed governor and Commander-in-chief at the Cape of Good Hope, in the room of Sir Harry Smith.

Lord Normanby arrived at Dover on Saturday last, and proceeded im- mediately to London.

M. niers arrived in London on Monday, by the steam-packet Soho. The same journals which announced positively the arrival of M. Thiers on Monday, stated with less positiveness that Generals Changarnier and Leflo had also arrived ; but the latter fact has not since been reaffirmed.

The papers announce that the mother of M. Tlaiers has just expired at the Batignolles, where she has been long residing on a pension from her son.

The Scotsman has been made the medium of publishing a correspond- ence between M. de Morny, the French Minister of the Interior, and General Cavaignac. The correspondence began with a letter from Ma- dame Odier to M. de Monty, requesting an order of admission to the pri- son of Ham, in order to have the marriage of her daughter and General Cavaignac performed there. M. de Morny answered with honied words- " The President of the Republic found it necessary to take very severe measures in the first moments, and could not yield to personal considera- tions; but he has expressed to me the desire, immediately after the re- establishment of tranquillity, to restore General Cavaignac to liberty, whose services to the cause of order and society he has not forgotten, and whom he does not confound with the conspirators who meditated the ruin of his power. Knowing the opinion of all your family, and desiring to give it a proof of his i friendly nterest, he charges me to say, that he would see with pain the ceremony of the marriage of your daughter with the honourable General saddened by the walls of a prison, and to send you an order to set him at liberty. I need not say with what pleasure I execute this commission ; and I request you to accept the assurance of my profound respect." General Cavaignac replied to this note, placed in his hands by Madame Ocher, that the commentary which it expressed and the motives which it ascribed were of a nature not to be accepted by him-- " Certainly, no one has suffered, and does suffer, more than I from the sad delays to my union with Mademoiselle Other; but I have no apprehension that even she would consider this a reason for accepting my liberation. I ought to leave this place Monsieur le Ministre, for one sole reason— namely, that I have done nothing to bring me here. I have no desire to be a prisoner here in spite of those who have illegally arrested me; but it rests with me, and it concerns my honour, to accept of no compromise inconsistent with the duty I owe to myself. In consequence, Monsieur is Ministre, I have the honour to declare to you that I shall remain here till Friday the 19th of the month. At that date I shall deliver to the Governor of the fort the order which I retain. If he has received none to the contrary, I shall be entitled to say, and to consider as admitted by the Government itself, that, as I said above I go out of prison on this sole ground that there is no lawful reason for retaining me here."

M. de Morny returned these diplomatic last words on the 18th-

" General—In transmitting to Madame Odier the order for your liberation, I had no other object than to do an agreeable thing to a family which I love and respect. I never thought of anything else. 1.f allowed myself to speak of the sentiments of the President of the Republic, it is (and you know it, General, better than anybody) that, if the great political acts whose object is the safety of a country sometimes impose stern necessities, they do not efface the sentiments of esteem which may be entertained for an adversary, and do not forbid the expression of them. You will understand that I do not reply to what you have done me the honour to say regarding the illegality of your arrest, and that I limit myself to congratulations that the date seWted by you, of 19th December, is so near at hand."

The investigation commenced last week at Southampton by the Direct- ors of the West Indian Mail Steam-packet Company into the cause of the loss of the Amazon, was resumed on Thursday, at the central offices of the Company in London. Captain Beechey, of the Royal Navy, attended on behalf of the Board of Trade; and Captain Warburton, the brother of Mr. Eliot Warburton, took part in the examinations. The principal wit- nesses examined were Mr. Neilson and Mr. Glennie, the two passengers, and Mr. Allen, the engineer-foreman from Messrs. Seward and Capers es- tablishment, all of them saved from the Amazon.

Mr. NeiLson's evidence throws more light on the probable cause of the fire than any evidence yet published. He said, there were several circumstances on the night of that Saturday that caused him uneasiness ; so that after all the lights were put out and most of the passengers had retired to rest, he went upon deck, and met the captain, and had some conversation with him. The captain advised him to go to bed; but instead of that he went down to the engine-room; and as he _passed the after-funnel, he noticed that it was excessively hot. He put his hand upon the beam above, which was near the funnel, and which supported the spar deck, and it was so hot he could not bear it. He then put his hand upon the main deck, and it was still hotter. On the steam-chest to the left of the gangway, looking forward, there were some new coal-sacks, but he could not decidedly say that they were on the top of it. When he left the engine-room, which he did at half-past twelve, he said to himself—not addressing any one, but touching the beam again— `If a fire occurs, it will come aft at a tremendous pace.' No fire had taken place then; but below, through the grated foot-path of the engine-room gangway, he saw a great deal of red-hot cinders lying in front of the stoke- hole on the left ; and it s luck him that the tar dropping from the new coal- sacks had fallen upon the red-hot cinders, which immediately ignited. There was a great deal of coal lying scattered a'ylut in the place • and he was con- vinced, from what he knew of the state of' the after-funnel, that the funnel forward must have been much hotter. At the time he put his hand upon the after-timbers, they were sufficiently hot to have ignited the instant they came into contact with the smallest flame. Witness was most anxious to state how free from blame the engineers were. He knew what duty was, and he never saw men snore attentive to their duty, regardless of their own rest, than were Mr. Allen and Mr. Angus. They were constantly passing from one bearing to another ; and in conversation both of them told witness that they did not expect the machinery to settle for a week or ten days. He am convinced that the engines had nothing on earth to do with the fire.

Ile had been accustomed to see some of the best engines in Liverpool, but he never saw better-made engines in his life than those that were on board. He never saw greater liberality of metal, better worked joints, or better- arranged machinery ; and but for the heating of the bearings, he was con- vinced they were capable of doing their work in a first-rate style. He thought it was a combination of circumstances that aggravated the fire, but that the fire itself was caused by an accident—that he believed to be the dropping of melted tar from the coal-sacks upon the hot cinders in front of the stoke-hole.

Captain Mangles—" You say the coals were lying about the stoke-hole : are you aware that the floor of the engine-room was lined throughout with iron plates ? "—" Yes ; there was no danger in that circumstance, considered by itself. My opinion is, that the fire was caused by an accident but that the rapidity of the fire was occasioned by the circumstances I have men- tioned, none of which alone would have given ground for apprehension." Colonel Short—" Looking to the short time the vessel had left Southamp- ton, was the crew in good order and subordination ? "—" Quite so." Colonel Short—"And under all the circumstances, you think the crew be- haved well ? "—" I never saw a crew behave better. Captain Symonds never lost his control over the men till the ship was obviously lost. I saw him rushing aft and back again ; I could not distinguish his orders, but he seemed full of energy to the last." Mr. Allen's evidence made it certain that the fire did not begin from the over-heat of any metal-work in contact or too close proximity to timber. Captain Mangles, who has heard all the evidence yet given, is of Mr. Glen- flies opinion : he thinks we shall yet hear of some of the other boats. Captain Warburton pressed some inquiries to ascertain whether Admiral Ommartney, at Plymouth, had not refused to send out a steamer to cruise in search of any boats possibly still at sea. But the witnesses could not give certain information.

The inquiry was again adjourned.

It is stated by some of the morning journals, that application was made more than once to Sir John Omraanney to send a steamer out but that he constantly refused to accede to the request. The French authori- ties at Brest, with prompt generosity, sent out one of its war-steamers, which traversed the scene of the Amazon's destruction for twenty-four hours, but without success : a thick fog, however, prevented that search from being conclusive. Stirred up by this example, our own Admiralty re- proved the apathy of the Port-Admiral at Plymouth, by despatching the Hecate on search for any survivors still afloat. The Amazon was lost on the 4th instant, and our Hecate departed on her errand of humanity res the 14th!

The inhabitants of Brest were generously hospitable to the sufferers who were rescued by the Dutch ship. Scarcely one of the unfortunates was fully clothed, and the ladies were so barely covered that it is wonder- ful they had not died of cold. The English residents at Brest received them into their houses, and assiduously attended to their wants. At Southampton, immediately on their landing in England, many of the inhabitants pressed forward with offers of their houses, and with other kndnesses.

A public meeting at Southampton has set on foot a public subscription to raise a fund for the necessities of the survivors and for the families of those who perished. The Queen and Prince Albert have headed the sub- scription-list with a donation of 150/., Mr. Thomas Baring has given 1001., and the West India and Oriental Steam Navigation Companies have given 100/. each.

A very interesting narrative has been published of the experiences of Miss Anna Maria Smith, one of the passengers by the Amazon who was rescued by the Dutch vessel, and taken to Brest. Miss Smith, a young lady of Dublin, was proceeding to Demerara to join a family there in which she had been engaged as governess.

"As near as I can recollect, it was about half-past twelve o'clock on Sun- day morning when I first heard the alarm of fire. I was in my berth. hastily jumped out of bed, and ran to the seats at the foot of the companion- stairs, and went forward to a gentleman and asked him if he knew the cause of the alarm. He told me the ship was on fire, but that there was not the least occasion for alarm ; and advised me to return to my berth to dress. On refusing, he carried me to my berth, and called the stewardess to attend me. She came out of her room quite dressed ; but, being much frightened, she went forward without assisting me. Being alarmed at seeing so much fear in others, I immediately took up a blanket and two petticoats, and rashed up the companion-stairs aft." • I went to the side of the ship, and seized a rope ; and on looking round I saw an officer running towards me in flames. He threw himself down, and rolled over towards me, with the en- deavour, no doubt, to extinguish the fire. I then asked Mrs. Scott, the stew- ardess, who was close behind me, if there was any place I could put my foot outside ? Mrs. Scott said, 'Oh, yea; there!' and ran to the other side' cry- ing • Save in6; save me !' Observing a boat alongside, I swung out, hold- ing by the rape for sometime, the boat under me having capsized twice. At last, seeing a favonrrible opportunity, as the boat righted, and was again under me, I ier gcr 24 hold and dropped into the boat, a sailor at the same time endeavouring to catch me. I should think the fall was at least fifteen feet. I was not much hurt. I fell into the bottom of the boat." "Soon after the boat drifted astern, we observed a person in the water sup- porting himself upon two oars. The sailors rowed towards him, and fortu- nately succeeded in getting him in : it proved to be Mr. Evans. This was no sooner done than we saw another, and every human effort was made to save him • but just as we got within a boat's length, the poor creature sank. One of the men, Attwood, a very humane man, seemed most anxious to ap- proach the ship, to do all he could to save more lives. Some objected, fear- ing the steamer's magazine would explode, and then all might be lost. We remained, however, within a short distance of the burning ship, in the hope of saving others, for I should think, two hours; and although we could dis- tinctly observe the poor creatures huddled together aft, and many on the bows and bowsprit, we did not perceive any in the water. By this time the engines had ceased. When all hope was gone, the men prepared to pull towards land, if possible. There were, I think five oars on board. We finally lost

I sight of the ship about four o'clock. lay in the bottom of the boat in my

night-dress, covered with the blanket which I flung into the boat previous to lowering myself; but hearing the men say a sail would be serviceable, I im- mediately volunteered to give it up; which was gladly accepted, at once formed into a sail, and hoisted. The Belgian, [M. Strybus,] who was sitting forward, then offered me a part of his cloak, and two of the sailors carried me aft for that purpose. During the whole of this night, one of the sailors steered, as the sea was running very high. In the morning, as we had but five hands, M. Strybua was requested to row, but he could not from weakness. I then .proposed his taking the helm ; and as I can speak French, the orders were given by the men to me in English, and transferred in French to M. Strybus, to enable him to steer as they wished. About nine o'clock we dis- covered, to our great joy, a sail; and immediately the men pulled with re- doubled vigour towards her. She, however, appeared not to see us, and kept her course. The sea was tolerably calm on the Sunday ; and the men continued to pull towards the East, thereby hoping to reach the French coast. About eleven or twelve the same night, the men observed a brilliant revolving light, and pulled vigorously towards it for six hours ; but as the sea was in- creasing in violence, they feared to approach nearer, on account of the cross swells. By this time the poor fellows were completely exhausted, and nature could hold out no longer. Seeing the condition we were in, M. Strybus said to me, You have roused their energies on two occasions, try again.' I then cheered them on; but as their hands were almost scarified from their la- borious exertions, it was almost impossible to do so. They, however, used another effort ; and soon afterwards we observed another light, in another di- rection: we did not know what it was, but the men at once resolved to make a last push ; and shortly afterwards their exertions were rewarded by reach- ing a Dutch galliot ; the captain of which, who had previously fallen in with the other boat, kindly took us on board, and at once made for Brest; where we arrived at four o'clock on Monday afternoon. Altogether, we were thirty hours in the small boat; during the whole of which anxious time there was nothing either to eat or drink ; but, notwithstanding, the gallant fellows who had so laboriously exerted themselves to save our lives, uttered not a murmur. They were all most kind and attentive to me throughout this trying and distressing scene ; but the fireman, Attwood, parti- cularly so : he kindly bound up my feet in handkerchiefs, and placed something round my head, to protect me us far as was able from the in- clemency of the weather." Mr. Glennie has published a letter, stating that he was personally acquainted with Mr. Eliot Warburton; that he saw him twice, and that at the last moment he saw him he was standing by Captain Symonds at the wheel, perfectly dressed. Mr. Glennie has the impression that the last acts he saw going on aft were preparations for making some sort of raft, to serve in the stead of the boats destroyed by the Ere. Ile himself was at first active in taking aft as many of the settees as he could.

The Russian Government has communicated to Sir Roderick Murchi- son, the President of the Geographical Society, that the Russian navi- gators and men of Arctic science and experience with whom Lieutenant Mm has been placed in communication, are regretfully of opinion that the plan of exploring the coast of Russian Siberia in Asia, in search of Sir John Franklin's expedition has insurmountable difficulties—both of a political nature arising from the very slight protective authority which the Czar could extend to Lieutenant Pim among the savage tribes, and from physical obstacles. Nevertheless, as the Imperial Government has it much at heart to aid in the generous enterprise which the English Go- vernment has so perseveringly conducted, Lieutenant Pim has been re- quested to have further communications with the Russian explorers and men of science, in hopes that ulterior measures may yet be devised to obtain tidings of the missing expedition.

The "Supremacy and Gorham Case Declaration Committee" lately concluded their labour of collecting signatures to the document which they have submitted to the clergy of the Church of England in support of the Gorham decision ; and forwarded their declaration to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. The declaration was signed by 3262 of the clergy ; "among whom were seven Deans, twelve Archdeacons, and a large number of the dignitaries of the Church throughout the kingdom." These signatures were obtained, say the Committee, "not by means of application sent to all the clergy, but by private correspondence with per- sons known to the Committee, and a few advertisements in the news- papers." The signers amount to nearly a fourth part of the officiating clergy ; and when it is considered "that a recent declaration of a con- trary kind, which was sent to every individual throughout the whole body of the clergy, and also to the lay members of the Universities, ob- tained, as is well known, less than 1800 signatures, lay and clerical toge- ther, the names appended to the present declaration appear to the Com- mittee "amply sufficient" to disabuse the public mind of the false im- pression which it has been taught to entertain of the feeling of the clergy on the matter. The declaration contained these passages-

" We, the undersigned clergy of the Church of England, viewing with surprise and concern the attempts made by parties holding office in the Church to invalidate and nullify the judgment recently delivered by the Sovereign, as 'supreme governor of this realm, as well in all spiritual or ec- clesiastical things or causes as temporal,' by the advice of the Privy Council and the Primates of the Church, in the case of Gorham versus the Bishop of Exeter,' hereby testify our thankfulness for the judgment so delivered ; and feel ourselves called upon, under present circumstances (whether hold- ing or not the view which called forth the judgment,) humbly to state our conviction that it was a wise and just sentence, in accordance with the prin- ciples of the Church of England Such attempts we hold to be equivalent to the enforcement of a standard of doctrine in our Church, by unauthorized individuals, opposed to that established by its supreme authority ; and con- sequently, to be irreconcileable with the first principles of all church polity, and necessarily to lead to a state of disorder, strife, and confusion 111 the Church."

The Archbishop of Canterbury replied, that he had great satisfaction in receiving the declaration. He observed—

"There are many questions in theology upon which Christians may differ without reproach to themselves or injury to others. From the Reformation until the present time, numbers of our clergy have subscribed the same ar- ticles, have used the same formularies, have ministered in the same churches, whose sentiments, if they had been obliged to state them with logical preci- sion, would have been found to vary, more or less, from each other, both with regard to regeneration and to the effect of infant baptism. But this difference has not prevented their harmonious cooperation, or impaired their usefulness ; and I should have been seriously grieved if the period of my ar- chiepiscopacy had been chosen as the period when freedom of opinion, within the reasonable limits hitherto deemed allowable, was for the first time denied to our clergy, in a case where it is not denied them by the Word of God or the declared doctrine of the Church of England."

The Archbishop of York was also glad that so large a number of the, -clergy "agree in regarding the judgment as 'a wise and just sentence,' in accordance with the principles of the Church of England" ; and he added "the expression of his sincere hope, that it may be considered by all par- ties as a final settlement of the point in dispute, and thus tend to promote that peace and harmony among ourselves which the times and the circum- stances of the Church require."

The clergy and laity who unsuccessfully petitioned the Marchioness of Bath to reconsider her appointment of the Reverend W. J. E. Bennett to the vicarage of Frome, formally memorialized the Bishop of Bath and Wells not to grant institution to Mr. Bennett. They enforced their me- morial by reference to Mr. Bennett's own understanding of the Bishop of London's correspondence, as an assertion that Mr. Bennett had been "guilty of unfaithfulness to the English Church," and by the same Bishop's refusal to accept Mr. Bennett's nomination as a title to orders. The Bishop of Bath replied, on the 11th instant, that, "if he had not been satisfied that Mr. Bennett is not attached to or likely to be in- fluenced by, the doctrines of the Church of Rome, or likely to influence in that direction others of any congregation committed to his care," he should decline instituting him, from whatever quarter his nomination might have come : but he is satisfied that Mr. Bennett has a firm and deep-rooted attachment to our Church, and to all the doctrines of the Church of England, repudiating all Romish doctrines. As therefore it would be acting unjustly to Mr. Bennett, and "uncourteously to the Marchioness of Bath, whose firm attachment to our Church is so well known," to refuse institution, the Bishop adheres firmly to his intention of instituting Mr. Bennett. He trusts this candid declaration of his own feeling on the subject will tend to allay the fears of the clergy and laity of Frome ; and he hopes earnestly that there will be no unseemly opposi- tion on the part of the clergy or any of those who have signed the protest, and that Mr. Bennett will be received with kindly feeling.

The dispute between the engineer workmen and their masters has made' no advance towards settlement. The whole of the workshops of the firms at Manchester who issued the notice of their intention to close their esta- blishments last Saturday, if the demands of the men were not withdrawn, were accordingly closed on Saturday. By that measure, 10,350 workmen were thrown out of employment. In a similar manner, the large establish- ments of London were also closed, and a smaller proportionate number of workmen in the Metropolis have been thrown on their club resources. But this movement will by no means induce a corresponding pressure on the funds of the Amalgamated Engineers Society of Workmen ; for the number of the members of that society employed in the shops closed is stated by the men at their meetings to be not more than two thousand out of the twelve thousand enrolled members. The leaders of the workmen therefore encourage them to hold out stoutly, and have induced the general body of workmen still at work to devote the wages of one day in the week to the maintenance of the discharged men ; so that the fund in hand may be protected.

The contract for the monthly mail line of screw steamers to and front England and the West Coast of Africa, which was advertised by the Ad- miralty in September last, has been taken by Mr. Macgregor Laird. It is for nine years, at an average payment of 21,0001. per annum. The places touched at will be Madeira, Tenexiffe, Goree, River Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cape Coast Castle, Accra, Whydah, Badagry, Lagos, Bonny, Calebar, Cameroons, and Fernando Po ; making the total distance- out and home 9000 miles, which, including stoppages, will be performed in from fifty-eight to sixty days. The speed of the vessels is to average eight knots and their size will be about 700 tons. It is satisfactory te add also that they are to be constructed of iron. The new line is ex- pected to go into operation about October next. Three boats will be re- quired for the service ; and it is understood that the port of departure will be either Southampton or Liverpool. The latter would be more desirable in many respects, but Southampton would afford the best facilities for the French traffic to Gores and Senegal. With regard to the commercial prospects of the undertaking, there seems every probability of a satis- factory result. In 1827 the export of British goods to the West coast of Africa was 155,7591, and the quantity of palm-oil imported was only 4,700 tons. Between that period and 1837 the trade had more than doubled, and subsequently the increase has been no less remarkable ; the exports of British goods in 1849 having reached 620,371/., while the quantity of palm-oil received was 23,768 tons, of the value of 712,5001. In the same year, 166 vessels, measuring 45,079 tons, connected with the trade

were entered and the clearances outwards were 185 vessels, mea- suring 51,577 tons - making a total of 96,596 tons of exclusively British shipping. The steady growth of Liberia promises to be greatly promoted by the establishment of regular intercourse, and in return it will supply new articles of production. At present the value of the import trade North of Cape St. Paul's, consisting of palm-oil, ground nuts, dyewoods, bees-wax, ivory, gold-dust, ginger, rice, &c., is estimated at 600,0001. That between Cape St. Paul's and the Equator is supposed to be 1,000,000/. It will necessarily be a long time before any important passenger traffic can grow up, but the high rates of freight are likely to prove sufficiently remunerative. Politically the formation of the line will confer the great advantage of hastening the suppression of the slave-trade, and the diminu- tion or withdrawal of the squadron engaged in that service.—Times.

By the Mount Stuart Elphinstone, just arrived at Gravesend from Syd- ney, in addition to 10,000 ounces of Australian gold, there is an import of 500 bags of copper ore, the produce of that colony.

The East India and China Association have issued their yearly state- ment of the number of British ships and their tonnage which have been entered inwards and cleared outwards between places within the limits of the Company's charter and the ports of Great Britain. It appears that the ships entered inwards have been 943, burden 467,071 tons, in 1851, against 926, burden 442,793 tons, in 1850; an increase of 17 vessels, carrying 24,278 tons. But the vessels cleared outwards were 951, burden 484,149 tons, in 1851, while they were 1173, burden 562,495 tons, in 1850; a decrease in 1861 of no fewer than 222 vessels, of 78,346 tons burden.

In an article on "the impossible 7,439,216," the _Examiner calculates, from the French population returns, and from the tables of votes in the Honiteur itself, that nearly two millions more than is possible have been claimed by the Bonapartist faction as the "national sanction" given to the "plebiscite" of the 2d December 1851.

Within the last few years France has paid, and is still paying, uncommon attention to her infantry ; improving everything as much as possible, and endeavouring by every means to relieve the soldier of a burden which de- prives him of a good part of his bodily force and activity. There is an at- tempt to get the weight of knapsack from the arms ; all the formerly white buff straps are now black, the former colour giving useless trouble to the man, soiling his clothes, and, when campaigning, often serving as a mark to the enemy. The Chasaeurs d'Orleans are a body of light infantry composed of chosen, active, little men, not standing higher than their muskets, which carry and kill at the incredible distance of 1000 to 1200 metres (French yards). These men are remarkably good marksmen, drilled in a peculiar manner, and can load and fire when lying flat on the ground, either behind a hillock or a tiny bush ; the colour of their uniform being admirably chosen for bush-fighting. This light-armed infantry merits the closest attention of all military men, as it differs completely from any other in its fire-arm, bayonet, and drilling. This corps did most dreadful execution among the Arabian cavalry.—Letter in the l'imes, from "W. L," Paris, Jan. 9.

Marshal Saxe computed that, in a battle, only one ball of eighty-five takes effect. Others, that only one in forty strikes, and no more than one in 00 is fatal. Atthe battle of Tourney, in Flanders, fought on the 22d of May 1704, it is calculated that 236 musket shots were expended in disabling each soldier who suffered.—From Notes and Queries.

The engineers of the submarine telegraph state that no perceptible damage was done to the cable by a schooner's anchor having got foul of it : the schooner remained attached for eleven hours; the crew, and sonic men who came to their assistance, were unable to heave the anchor, and at last they were obliged to cut the cable and abandon their anchor—good proof of the strength of the electric rope.

The Submarine Telegraph Company have completed the laying down of wires from their office at East Cliff to their future premises in Clarence Place, close to the Telegraph office of the South-eastern Railway, at Dover ; so that in future not more than half a minute will be lost in conveying messages from one office to the other. Eight wires, ccvered with gutta percha and enclosed in a wooden tube, lying ten inches bele w the surface of the ground, have been employed.

The Public Baths and Washhouses Committee have published a statement of the number of bathers and washers in several establishments in London during 1851. There were at the Model, Whits:chapel, 156 310 bathers 43,462 washers; at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 213,485 batiiers, 50,200 washers ; at St. Marylebone, 173,157 bathers, 24,718 washers; at St. Mar- garet and St. John, Westminster, (opened 12th May,) 83,405 bathers, 13,189 washers ; and at Greenwich, (opened 2d September,) there were 20,885 bathers, 682 washers ; making a total of 647,242 bathers, who paid 91411. 88. 6d.; and 132,251 washers, who paid 14981. 198. 2d.

The management of the Great Northern Railway has introduced the use of foot-warmers in all their through first-class trains during the winter.

The Gazelle de France says—"Some time back there was an idea of esta- blishing an immense electric lighthouse on some lofty part of the capital, in place of the gas-lights. We understand that this plan is about to be carried into execution, and that already preparations have been commenced for the purpose on the top of the tower of St. Jacques In Boucherie."

An importation has taken place from abroad of some cases of eggs in a broken state, and also a quantity. of the yolk of egg in liquid state ; both the broken eggs and the yolk being stated to be intended for manufacturing purposes—the manufacture of leather for gloves.

The screw steam-ship Great Britain, which stood the assaults of the At- lantic for a whole winter on the strand of Dundrum Bay, is to be placed on the New York and Liverpool station early in the ensuing spring. She has been thoroughly repaired and strengthened, and fitted with machinery manufactured by Messrs. Penn and Sons.

The gales of last week did much damage on the coasts, and caused loss of life in some cases. The Columbus, from New Orleans to Liverpool, was wrecked off Waterford: four passengers and eight of the crew were drowned. The Sarah and Anne, from Wicklow to Chester, got on shore near Hoylake, and two of the crew perished. The Rapid steamer,lelonging to North Shields, has been lost on the rocks off the island of Arran : only one man of the crew escaped. There were no passengers.

A species of batrachean, a "tree frog," new to this country, was discover- ed a short while ago in the woods of the Duke of Sutherland, in the North of Scotland. The specimen, which came into the possession of two ladies, was obtained from the interior of a fir-tree, and from its character appears to approach to the genus Padochius ; and the species being new, it 1B pro- posed, in honour of one of the ladies to whom we are indebted for its preser- vation, to term this form the P. Brownii. The specimen, when first dis- covered, was in a state of hybernation, and still continues so.—Glasgow Daily Mail.

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