NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE Federal Government has taken the first step. on the road to emancipation. It is but a timid one in itself, the President only advising Congress to pass a joint resolu- tion, offering compensation to any Border State which may enfranchise its slaves, but it enthrones the principle. En- franchisement, for so many years abused as the crotchet of mere idealogues, has become the Federal policy. We had rather it had become the Federal principle ; but for men trained under the American constitution to acknowledge officially that they must have done with slavery is the be- gaining of triumphs. The message has been received with surpte, and has puzzled the politicians, who are perfectly willing to own slaves, or to declare the black man an injured brother, but who are most reluctant to be found on the losing side. Fortunately the point is not one for them to decide. The message is exactly one of those proposals which are left to the silent millions, the men who in the teeth of the politicians declared war on the South, and who are likely also m the teeth of that class to seize a sagacious plan for making that war successful.

The Pope is seriously ill.

Lord Westbury, Lord Derby, and Lord Chelmsford are contending together for the Senior Wranglership of the House of Lords. Lord Derby has certainly distanced his own former Chancellor in power of statement, if not in bitterness of spirit, but his new rival is hard to match. For the Lord Chancellor has that rare combination of qualities— a perfectly equal mind, with a keen sense of injury, and a keen eye to injure ; and Lord Derby cannot with equanimity see himself distanced even in these unamiable conditions of effective fencing. The jealousy and discord which the new Chancellor seems to have introduced into the House of Lords resemble the transformation in a hum-drum family when the bad boy comes home from school. Some one is always receiving unexpected pin-laceration when he sits drowsily down on his accustomed and usually comfortable cushion. And when there is a sharp boy like Lord Derby, and a willing second like Lord Chelmsford to resent the usurpation, the laceration is followed by efforts at sum- mary vengeance.

The returns of the Divorco Court improve, the petitions having declined. The alleged acts of adultery amounted to 72 in 1856, and to 106 in 1858, but declined to 89 in 1859 ; and on 30th July, 1861, only 74 cases were " down." The proportion to population is exceedingly small, and the fears of those who believed that crime would be committed for the sake of divorce—a theory more deadly to English do- mestic happiness than any amount of divorces—seems to have been dispelled. If their theories had been true, if justice could ever injure mankind, the first security for society would be at an end. Any abuse might be tolerated, because to do right would do mischief.

The King of Prussia has formed a new ministry under M. von Heydt, a former colleague of General Manteuffel. They are all of the reactionary party, and have signed a manifesto in which the King declares the power of the Crown indis- pensable to Prussia, adding with charming naivete, " this conviction lives also in the hearts of my subjects. It is only necessary for me to explain clearly and openly to them my real thoughts for their welfare." Those words are the key df the position. The King really believes that his subjects wish him to govern, and that all hints to the contrary are the " work of agitators and Jews." Once undeceived—and the electors have welcomed the Liberal members with warm acclaim—he will probably try to learn the primer of the new language. He is honest enough, and fortunately for Prussia the Liberals are moderate, and they have found a leader. Von Vincke, liberty being endangered, returns at once to the Chamber.

A most extraordinary illustration of the illogical hutnanity or inhumanity, whichever it may be thought, of English juries, was given at York on Monday and Tuesday last. Two cases of Trades -Union outrages -by infernal machines— one at Sheffield, one at Thorpe Healey, near Rotherham (the details of which are given, in another column)—were tried on successive days. The Sheffield outrage has ended in death, the other in no personal injury ; so that the former was a trial for murder, the latter for "putting gunpowder in a house with intent to injure the premises." In the murder case the partial complicity of the prisoner (Joseph Thompson) was proved by his own confession ; his presence on the spot, though not clearly proved, was sworn to by one witness, whose evidence was not worthless, and the only point where the prosecution clearly broke down was in the evidence brought to prove his purchase of the gunpowder and fusees, which was met by an alibi. This prisoner, being tried for his life, was acquitted—perhaps properly acquitted. In the Thorpe Healey case three men were inculpated : the evidence for the prosecution was exceedingly uncertain, and a clear alibi for all three was proved, in the case of one of them by fifteen independent witnesses. The judge thought the evidence for the defence quite conclusive, and asked the jury if the trial j need go on. The jury not only insisted, but found all three men guilty. The feeling that something must be done to stop these trade outrages appears to be the explanation ; but that this something must not be done when the penalty is death. It is better to punish vicariously three certainly innocent men with fourteen years' penal servitude, than to punish one probably guilty man with death. Such is a jury- man's conscience !

The Sheffield trials mentioned above had one very formid- able feature. The surgeon who attended the wounded and deceased woman was so fearful of the results to himself, that it was with the greatest difficulty he could be induced to give his evidence at all—a sign of cowardice bred of the infected atmosphere of still more ignoble cowardice around him ;—thus does the cowardice of crime inevitably breed the cowardice of physical fear.

Mr. Thackeray is no longer editor of the airnkin Magazine. The semi-official account in the Publisher's Circular is, that he is disgusted with the thanklessness of editorial duties ; that rejecting " copy" and finding presentable reasons whieli bad ehiefly " actuated him in rejecting so interesting a con- tribution," with the certain and just retribution of having, a month or two later, to reject other contributions from the same writer to which those reasons no longer apply, have sickened him and induced his retirement from office. He is still to write, it is said : and a somewhat,doubtful aspiration is expressed that when " Philip" is concluded, another story from the same pea, and ether " Roundabout Papers" will follow. Rumour assigns other reasons for this separation— difficulties as to " patronage" with the publishers. The assigned reason would be amply sufficient were it not so laboriously set forth.

On Thursday, the 20th instant, the Timer published at one o'clock a telegram, dated " Jubal, the 19th March, noon." This means, that direct communication exists between London and the middle of the Red Sea.

M. Le Sceuf has sent up to Bombay a nugget of gold weighing nearly an ounce, and of the finest quality, washed by himself in Dharwar. Either M. Le Scent' is trying to make out a case with a view to profit, which we have no ground to suppose, or a great change is impending over South- Western India.

The Americans, it is said, are preparing for war with Canada. They are pushing the Illinois canal, which will enable them to float gunboats into the lakes, are buildi the gunboats, and are fortifying Rouse's Point, only th hours from Montreal. We dare say it is all true, just as true as that we are preparing for war with France, because we are fortifying Portsmouth. The Americans have plenty of work on hand. They have first to conquer the Border States, the greatest of which is still defended by a great army. They have then to conquer the Southern States with their ten millions of people, and 400 regiments of soldiers. They have then to organize a Government to hold them down, to arrange for emancipation, to quadruple their existing taxation, to prepare a regular army, and to re- vise their Constitution. When they have done all that, they may attack Canada, but even then they are much more likely to turn their arms towards Mexico, where no fleet could stop reinforcements.

The insurrection in Greece is either at an end, or is on the point of succeeding, nobody seems to know which. The telegrams announce day by day that the redoubts of Nauplia have been taken, that the leaders are in Royalist hands, and that the soldiers are craving an amnesty. Our own informa- tion, which comes from sources unfavourable to the rebels is, that the revolt is succeeding, that the insurgents are marching on Athens, and that the drama of Bavarian rule has nearly played itself out. The truth has yet to be ascertained ; but meanwhile, we print an accurate history of the rise, motives, and leaders of a revolt which, whatever its issue, certainly has for its friends the whole population of Greece.

How much English rhodomontade would resemble the American if the literary class here belonged to the same social stratum is amusingly shown by the prospectus of an apparently bankrupt " Friendly Society," (with 125,0001. capital, of which 705/. was paid up), which has been read at Guildhall this week, on the occasion of a small dis- pute between the secretary and the editor of the Bee-hive. By way of persuading working men—not successfully, we apprehend—to take shares in this Friendly Society, its gifted secretary drew up a statement which, as he stated with much pride, he considered " the looking-glass of life." It runs thus : " In the United Kingdom there are about 30,000,000 of us, pushing and jostling each other, each striving to get the best standing upon this little slice of the great ball of earth ; twirling and slashing through space at a terrific pace—shooting like lightning around its course—at one season plunging us into the tropical heats of summer, at the other leaving us in the chilling frosts of winter ; . . . . at one time being all things to all men, at another time being nothing to nobody or yourself either—playing every part in turn, and assuming all shapes and forms—bantering and bargaining—cheating and being cheated—undermining and being overreached—trapping and being trapped—snig- gled, snaggled, harpooned, bamboozled, and humbugged." The final picture in the "looking-glass" appears to reflect the society itself.

There is some influence at work in Mexican matters which seems to prevent a settlement. The latest accounts inform us that General Prim and Michael Doblado have discovered a basis on which to arrange for an amicable settlement. Accordingly the allied forces are to be quartered in cities, which, if negotiations break down, they are again to yield up. That is exceedingly pleasant, but then La _Patrie says the story is wrong, that General Lorencez took out all in- structions, and that until his arrival nothing can be arranged. It is not the best sign in the affair that information should be so scanty, and so carefully doctored. The American ac- counts are as bad as the French, and of English accounts we have none.

It appears that the European Governments have resolved to protect all the treaty ports of China. By the latest advices (Jan. 23), the rebels were closing round Shanghai in enormous numbers, and the Chinese were crowding in from the country to be protected by the guns of the fleet. The Europeans were armed, a trench had been dug, and the gun- boats placed so as to command the line of advance. The difficulty is, that the Taipings have allies within the walls, but Englishmen under such circumstances are not very scrupulous, and Shanghai will probably be defended as well as Lucknow.

The attempt to estimate the assets in the Pope's treasury is about the most perplexing problem in arithmetic. All that we know quite positively is, that every reckoning, how- ever careful, that has been hitherto made to fix their amount, has always turned out erroneous. We know that the dividends upon the Pope's public loans alone amount to be- tween five and six million Roman dollars (from 1,000,0001. to 1,200,000/. sterling), and we know that they have all been regularly paid. With the restless and costly activity that pervades the war-office, the large force still kept up, and the whole establishment of the State maintained as of old, it is impossible to set the administrative expense at lees than the same amount, so that eleven million Roman dollars (2,200,0000 would represent the absolute minimum of the Pope's outlay during the current year. Let it be, more- over, observed that this calculation holds good only for this very year. On the other hand, from the autumn, 1860, when General Cialdini conquered the Marches and Umbria, the Pope has had no other territorial revenue than he could get from the small and poor strip of land he still holds, and the amount whereof, at the outside, cannot exceed three million and a half dollars. Supposing, therefore, that the Papal Government, out of its treasury, had actually con- trived to balance its accounts up to the end of the past year, this, the most favourable view of its situation, would still leave it to encounter an expenditure of at least eleven million dollars in 1862, with but three million and a half to flow into the exchequer. Any indiscreet man who inquired how the deficit had been made up, has been hitherto curtly referred to the abundance of means found in a mysterious stream of untold Peter's pence, but the Pope's Government has just admitted that the contributions from the faithful through- out the world during two years' confirmed begging have amounted to a mere fraction over four million Roman dollars (800,0000. So thoroughly unfavourable, indeed, is this account, and so totally inadequate to the expendi- ture that is being punctually defrayed, that we are driven to an alternative between a conviction that the Pope's Go- vernment has here issued a false statement—perhaps with the view of stimulating charity abroad—or else possesses some other and unknown source of wealth. The latter is the more probable, and its nature may be guessed from the fact that numerous and trustworthy Romans confidently affirm that the vast sums required by the Pope have been simply procured by a clandestine issue of unauthorized stock. This stock it is easy to sell—for the purchasers know if Victor Emanuel loses the Popo will find funds, and if Victor Emanuel wins, he must accept the debt. That idea of fighting an enemy with money which he must pay is worthy of the beat days of the Camarilla.