The Morning Post has,- through its correspondent in the-Ciimea, been

enabled to gratify the English public with a letter, or portion-of a letter, addressed by the Queen to Mr. Sidney Herbert, conveying a message of warm sympathy to the wounded soldiers in the East. "Windsor Castle, Dec. 6, l854t "Would you tell Mrs. Herbert that I begged she would let me see fre- quently the accounts she receives from Miss Nightingale or Mrs. Bracebridge, as I hear no details of the wounded, tho' I see so many from officers, &o., about the battle-field, and naturally the former must interest me more than. any one. 'Let Mrs. Herbert also know that I wish Miss Nightingale and the ladies would tell these poor noble wounded and sick men that no ONE takes a warmer interest, or feels more for their sufferings, or admires their courage and heroism MORE than their Queen. Day and night she thinks of her be- loved troops. So does the Prince. "Beg Mrs. Herbert to communicate these my words to those ladies, as I know that our sympathy is ratiotrralued by these noble fellows. "-Vicroms.."

Admiral Dundee has taken leave of the Black Sea fleet, in a farewell address, dated the 22d of December. On Christmas Day he arrived' at Constantinople on his way home. Rear-Admiral Lyons now commands the British squadron.

Admiral Hamelin has also retired from the command of the Franck fleet in the Black Sea; and he is succeeded by Admiral Brut.

General Harry Jones is about to proceed to the East with full powers to overlook the hospital arrangements, the transport and supply service, the the army.

A correspondence between Sir De Lacy Evans and Lord Raglan, stating the many and well-known reasons of Sir De Lacy for returning home— the severe shock from the fall of- his horse, his illness from exposure to the cold weather and from his anxiety of mind, the aggravation of his sufferings by his exertion and exposure on the 5th -November on leaving his sick bed to be present at the battle of Inkerman—haa been for some time in private circulation, and was published on Sunday last by the Ob- server. One passage in Sir De Lacy Evans's letter was omitted by the Observer ; and that he has supplied as follows to the Times.

"The post I was charged with during. that long period [ending on the 30th October] was, I believe, deemed of the utmost importance to the safety

the French and English armies. Frequently but few troops remained to me for its defence, against sometimes tenfold our numbers of the enemy, within a short distance from our front. I had the honour of frequently submitting my opinion of the weakness and precariousness of the position of the Second Division to your Lordship, and, indeed, also to General Canrobert, and of the small means at my disposal to place it in more security. Its liability, to be suddenly attacked at all times it was also my duty to repre- sent. But the various exigencies to be provided for on other points at that time scarcely left it possible, I believe, to afford us any material reinforce- ment, or means for the construction of defences. I have ventured into these details to account for the harassing nature of the duty alluded to, and of the anxious and almost sleepless nights and days it occasioned me."

General Evans acknowledges and repeats expressions of his "warm gratitude for the uniform kindness and indulgence" with which Lord Raglan had treated him. On the other side, Lord Raglan speaks with the frankness and feeling of a soldier in according leave- " I view the loss of your assistance with the deepest regret ; but I cannot ask you to stay, after the statement you have brought before me, of your sufferings from illness, anxiety of mind, exposure to the weather, and over- fatigue. You will be at liberty to go when you please ; and be assured that you will carry with you my beat wishes, and those of all with whom you have been associated. I trust that English air and the comforts of home life will gradually restore you to health, and enable you long to enjoy the repu- tation your services have acquired for you."

One of the most promising of the officers wounded at Inkerman, Major- General H. W. Adams, died at Scutari on the 19th December. He entered the service in 1823; commanded the Eighteenth Royal Irish through the Chinese war, and attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1840. He subsequently exchanged into the Forty-ninth Regiment. In the Crimea he commanded one of the brigades in. the Second Division ; and was raised to the rank of Major-General on the 12th December, for his distinguished conduct on that bloody field where so many fell.

The foreign journals and the correspondence of our own newspapers contain-various rumours set afloat by the intended formation of a Foreign Legion. We are told of Holsteiners, Spaniards, Swiss and Belgians, who are ready to enlist. But there are difficulties. Neither in Spain, Holstein, Belgium, nor Switzerland, can reoruitingdepfits be established. In Spain the Government itself-needs some 40,000 soldiers ; in Belgium and other states, officers and men anxious for the service feel doubts about regaining their forfeited nationality, and greater doubts respecting a provision for the wounded and those who survive the war. In Switz- erland, recruiting for foreign service is a penal offence ; but that it is be- lieved may be easily evaded. Prussia has led the way in notifying that enlistment in foreign service is a criminal offence; the first official an- nouncement having been made by the Governor of Posen. Meanwhile, Russia is enlisting medical officers in Germany, and attempting to obtain rifle-makers from Belgium and Switzerland: The Government has given orders for- the construction of iron stabling for 2000 horses to be ready in three weeks.

Sir Francis Head, in a published letter to-the Duke of Newcastle, sug- gests from his North American experience, the mode of constructing a "plank-road" which may be sometimes useful in sieges. The plan adopted in the wilds. of Canada is this—one end of an earth-road is levelled, and beanie are laid four or five feet apart ; as soon as this has been done planks are placed transversely over them ; sand or grit is then thrown on the planks, and a section of the road is formed. "The work advances literally about as fast as an old gouty gentleman can walk " ; and the road lasts from-eight to twelve years.

We have before us a report by Sir William Burnett on the cholera which attacked the fleet in the Black Sea in August last. Though of great length, the report rather defines the nature of the malady, and marks distinctions,' than adds anything to the information already con- veyed. Some of the caprices of the disorder resemble those observed elsewhere. The Agamemnon which remained nearly a month between Baltchik and Varna, lost only 15 men by cholera, of whom 6 were ma- rines employed out of the ship. The Caradoe and Megera, small steam- ers, remained at Varna during a critical period, and had only one ease of cholera in each ; only one of the two cases being fatal. The Sans- pared put to sea on the breaking out of the first case, and the health of the crew was restored. The Britannia put to sea, and within five days had 201 cases, with 93 deaths. The general conclusions to which Sir William seems to come are—that the disease did not originate in the locality ; that it requires certain malignant influences for its development; that it becomes reproductive, and is propagated like vegetable organisms ; that bad ventilation, consequent on closing the port-holes in stormy weather, may account for the mortality in the Britannia ; that putting to sea proved generally a successful plan ; but that there are some causes in the propagation or checking of the disorder which have as yet eluded ob- servation.

The Society of Friends, meeting in London, have put forth "A Chris- tian Appeal to their Fellow Countrymen on the present War." It is earnest and temperate ; but it necessarily goes over old arguments. Some passages will illustrate this.

"To the Gospel standanl, whether exhibited by prophecy, or more fully developed by Christ himself and his Apostles, must his disciples resort for their practical guidance. In the face, then, of all the glorious anticipations of prophecy in regard to the peaceable reign of the Messiah, and of the deep significance of that name by which He is called The Prince of Peace,'—in the face of the annunciation of the heavenly host which characterized the new dispensation, as that which was to bring Glory. to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men,'—in the face of the express oommands of our Redeemer himself, Love your enemies, bless them that Curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despite- fully use you and persecute you,'—who-will venture to say that Christianity affords any authority or- justification fbr war?" "Let us never forget that the Gospel is not a transitory, but an abiding dispensation ; that it is the dispensation under which we are now actually living ; and that these blessed principles are among its most glorious and essential characteristics. To af- firm that they are impracticable, or not to be practised, is to set at naught their supreme authority, and to iret dishonour upon their Divine Author. To postpone their application until all shall act upon them, is in scarcely a less degree to dens His present authority ; and involves the practical contra- diction of suppoWng that He has prescribed a series of duties for a state of things in which the occasion for their exercise shall have ceased to exist. It is now, in this still tossed and conflicted world, that the Christian is called upon to act out these lessons. It is now that he is bound to prove his alle- giance to his Divine Master ; and, so far as his influence may extend, to pro- mote the spreading of His kingdom upon the earth. That kingdom is one of righteousness and peace ; and all who adopt the petition, Thy kingdom come,' at once confess the duty of their own present subjection to it, and pray for its universal establishment."

We are told to read the affecting details of the war; to contemplate the vast amount of physical and moral suffering endured ; to look upon Christians engaged in deadly conflict with Christians, "in the presence of the Infidel," and to ask ourselves whether this war does not bring dishonour on the religion of Jesus? Ministers are told that trust in God, national humiliation for sin, and a temperate estimate of our position, are the best preparations for obtaining peace. Parliament is told that what is religiously wrong cannot be politically right ; and that the country can be better served by temperate counsel and conciliatory negotiation, than by urging forward a war already so destructive of British life and treasure. All persons in authority, "especially those who are looked up to as ministers of the Gospel," are implored to use their influence to pro- mote peace on earth and good-will even towards enemies.

"We pray the Almighty Father of the Universe to breathe the spirit of reconciliation into the hearts of his contending children, British, French, Turkish, and Russian, and guide them to the promotion of their mutual well- being, in conforming themselves to His universal law of love."

A practical disciple of Cobbett turns up in the person of a Derbyite Peer : Lord Desert, say the journals, has lately served his tenantry with notice that he would not henceforth permit them to grow potatoes, as they were a failing crop.

The returns of the Registrar-General show on the face of them a great excess of mortality. The number of deaths registered is 1508; the num- ber according to the calculated average should be 1280—an excess of 228. But it is explained, that this increase "is not the effect of an increased rate of mortality ; it arises for the most part, if not entirely, from Coro- ners' cases which occurred in former weeks, and have been accumulating till the end of the quarter. This irregularity is almost wholly confined to those deaths which in the list of fatal causes are classified as caused by 'violence, privation, and intemperance.'"

Result of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last.

Ten Weeks of 1644-53.

Week of 1864.

Lymotic Diseases 2,342 ....

282

Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or-variable seat •

957 fif Tubercular Diseases ., 1,679 .... 171 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow,Heryea, and Senses 1,255 152 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 421 53

Diseases of the Lungs, and of-the other Organs of Respiration

2,482 268 Diseases of the Stomach, liver, and other Organs of Digestion 648 .... 75 Diseases of the Rodney", ikci. 130 .... 14 Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, tYc 136 , 8 Rheumatism, diseasesof the Bones, Joints, Sc. 84 ....

9

Dlpeaaes of the Skin, Cellular Tisane, &c. 20

Idalformations. 31

Premature Birth 256 31 Atrophy 216

Age

562

Sudden. 223 61 Violence,Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 585 175 Total(including.unspecified causes) 11,636 1,508

The Bishop of Peterborough met with an accident in his cathedral on Christmas Day : on his way from the throne to the altar, his foot struck the earner of a hassock; he fell on the pavement, and splintered a bone in his wrist.

The last accounts from Alexandria announce but slight improvement in the health of Lord Haddo. He will not return to England before April.

Prince Augustus of Saxe Coburg Gotha and his wife and youthful family have arrived in England on a visit to the Orleans Family.

It is reported from Vienna that the health of Lord Westmoreland is much improved.

A new siege-cannon, capable of being taken to pieces, and carried on men's shoulders into position and there put together, has been invented by Mr. Williams of Everton, Liverpool.

A new and powerful battery of 32-pounders for field service, each gun drawn by twelve horses, has been organized at Woolwich, for service in the Crimea. This is the heaviest field-battery ever formed in the British service.

The actual strength of the United States Army is under 11,000 men.

The Paris .Afoniteur contains a notification, that, as the Emperor and Empress wish to exercise a free choice in purchasing articles at the Exhi- bition, they cannot accept any which may be offered to them.

Captain Chas, the real establisher of gymnastics not only in France and Switzerland but in England, having been professor at most of the large public establishments of this country, died lately at Berne, where he lived in comfortable retirement. He has left to that city several considerable sums for public purposes, under the rendition that his skeleton should be exhibited in the Cabinet of Natural History of Berne, as a palpable confir- mation of the beneficial effects of gymnastics on the human body.

Old Montague House at Whitehall, the mansion of the Duke of Buecleueb, is about to be pulled down, and a handsome building erected on its site.

The suit respecting the custody of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Hope, in the Tribunal of the First Instance in the Department of the Seine, was concluded last week. The Lord Chancellor decided in the case before him, that the father should have custody of the children. The French Court had previously decided that the mother should have custody of the children until a competent tribunal should have pronounced an opinion. It was argued that the Court of Chancery was such competent tribunal, and the President of the French Court decreed to the following effect-

" The order of the Lord Chancellor of the Sth of August last year is declared exe- cutory in France. The boys are to be placed in some neutral domicile until the de- finitive decision (in case ot appeal to the Court Imperiale) to prevent their being withdrawn from France or Pans. Articles belonging to Mrs. Hope in the house at the Quai d'Orsay are to be returned to her. The school in which the boys are to be temporarily placed not defined."

On the faith of private letters, the journals report that the Czar has inti- mated to his nobles the expediency of sending home the English governesses in their service ; assigning this reason, that the war will reduce many wealthy families to comparative poverty, whose daughters ought to find employment open to them. The hint has been taken ; and an accession of Englishwomen from Russia may be expected. [Perhaps the Czar suspects them of- supply- ing information while in Russia, and literature when they quit it.] Not only is cash subscribed in France for the soldiers in the Crimea, for the purchase of tobacco and other articles, but producers or dealers contri- bute quantities of their peculiar commodities—such as Bordeaux wine.

Mr. G. A. Grey, Assistant Drainage -Commissioner, writes from Ifillfield Hill, Northumberland, to inform the labourers near Colchester, who are almost starving on wageS of 12s. a week, that if they can get to the North he can employ them at from 18.e, to 24s. in cutting drains.

France has no such reliable statistics as England in regard to pauperism, and, at various periods, the most discordant estimates have been made of the percentage of paupers to the whole population. M. de Watteville, Inspec- tor-General of Charitable Institutions, in a recent report to the Minister of the Interior, calotilates, from the returns of the Bureaux de Bienfaisance, that 8 per cent of the population-1 in 12—are in such a state of indigence as to seek relief free' the bureaux. The percentage varies greatly in dif- ferent towns and districts; ia some few places half the population are paupers.

A French Imperial decree orders that no more gold coins of 40 franca shall be coined ; but that in addition to the pieces of 20 francs, 10 francs, and 5 francs in gold, there shall be struck off others of the value of 100 francs and 60 francs, A splendid hotel recently erected in the Rue de Rivoli at Paris will cost, it is said, ten million francs in the furnishing. Numbers of persons will be provided with employment this winter in producing the furniture. Both in Paris and the French manufacturing towns business has improved of late.

There has at length been -a fall in the price of wine and .brandy in the French markets.

Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, owner of the yacht North Star, is building some large ocean steam-ships, to ply between New York, Southampton, and Havre.

A company has been projected at Melbourne for the formation of a vine- yard and fruit-garden in the vicinity of the city. .

There are more demands for space in the Exhibition building at Paris than can be complied with, though the structure has been greatly extended beyond the original plan. Nearly every foreign manufacturer of note wishes to exhibit.

A newspaper in English recently appeared at Mexico, called the Mexican EcononiWt ; but it only survived for three months—doubtless it died of in- anition, for its columns exhibited a most plentiful lack of news.

The cholera still lingers in the island of St. Kitt's : out of its small com- munity there have been no fewer than 1500 victims to the epidemic.

The ravages of the cholera at Athens produced such consternation that all trade came to a stand, and even provisions were not to be obtained. The Police were obliged to order some shops to be opened, and had themselves to officiate as butthers that the population might not be utterly destitute of meat.

Another considerable failure was announced in the City this week—that of Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, a firm largely engaged in the iron trade. Their liabilities are stated to be 180,0001., but they expect a surplus of 100,0001. The stoppage was caused by a disappointment of remittances from Australia.

CRYSTAL PALACE.—Iteturn of admissions for six days ending 5th Janu- ary, including season-ticket-holders, 12,243.