THE DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1860. i . .: AJTIKICAN ARTIST 05 III8 TKATELS. The following are extracts from a letter from " the punter Gilford to a Cr.cnd in New York: "Lvxon Egypt, Feb. 10, 1869.My dear U : When 1 was In Rome, and thought of tnj noglcctcd correspondence. I would say to myself, 'When I am on the Nile I will hare two jnonths of glorious, abundant lelHuro, such as I have never bad before) then I will have time for all things that a lazy man leaves for a more con venient season.' Now that I am floating on tho lotus-crowing, lotus-eating river, I find myself . as bad as beforo. It Is so docle to far niente, It lt 4 s so easy to He on tho deck ciihhloni and read 5 feasant books, under this broad, pure, and ton er sky, and look off now and then at the fringes i ,,. of waving palms, and at the golden light nhd ..' delicate purple shndows of the Arabian and , Xyblan mountains, breaking the quiet only with ' an occasional shot at a cormorant or vulture, or . i Into a flock of pelicans, which stalk along tho ' sand bars. , , . "It Is so easy to walk along tho shore with ft tood fowling-piece and bring down pigeons ad 1 ' . libitum, with an Arab or Nubian at your heels to , act as pointer, retriever, and game-bag. It is so easy to lounge along the mud villages of the ' ,;Arabs, daguerreotypes of their manners, and i customs, and costumes (sometimes the latter are ' , quite wanting), or by the shore of the river. , !! Jioting how briskly and skilfully the half-naked taen swing up the water from the Nile, singing a ' ' Jew sweet monotonous notes at the same time; ; . . and how carefully others lead the fertilizing rills J ,' Into the little square plots of the wheat-covered. ' ; . laln. , ' ' 'Noting the various figure of the landscape- ". ' the long-robed turbaned men, tatoocd women carrying water Jars on their heads from the . '. river, their necks and brows strung with gold and silver coins, their faces half covered by their , , v robes, the donkeys, the camels of burden, the little caravans of camels, donkeys, women, and ' ' children, and men on foot with belts full of ,' ' pistols, and carrying long silver-mounted guns, . the river crafts with their beautiful sails, which . look like the wings of birds it is so easy to go ',' j ashore of an evening and take coffee and smoke i chibouk with a governor, or to see some dancing i , , plrls, covered with gold and gauze, go through .. ii i movements about the modesty of which I confess i i 2 have my doubts; or sit about the table of our y : rosy little cabin, and lalk over the incidents of (j,ihe day, discuss our books, or play cribbage, , v euchre, or checkers, or sometimes (a wicked J.fj'Jtf. D. and myself) a game of poker for half ( -j piastres. Sometimes we course the desert on o gaiiant donkeys, to explore the wonderful and y I incomprehensible temples of the ancient kings v v. jind Pharaohs. Sometimes we race with a rival J " daaableh' (Nile boat); sometimes we pay and , , , sometimes we receive visits. So you perceive' U there is no time for writing letters or letting our , , arienas Know wnere we are or wnat we are ,, , jibout. i "It was from Genoa I wrote you last. From ; there I went south to Rome, Naples, Calabria, , V, Ultra, and Sicily. Although, on account of the i , lrigandf which at that time infested the lower J I ; ', part of Italy, I could not penetrate as far as I i ' wished into Calabria, I saw enough of it 1 ' ' chiefly along the mountainous coast to satisfy !' '"'.my curiosity. I went down from Naples in a , ' ' 'Bteamer, which touched at various points on the ' roast.' From Messina I crossed to Rcggia, and . . .. vent north bv land as far as Bagnara. Returning 1 ; to Messina, I went to Catania, and spent a ' couple of weeks about the flanks of Etna at j ';' Catnnia and Taormina. Etna, although it is a might v mountain, eleven or twelve thousand ... Jeethlgh, did not impress me much, either by 3ts grandeur or picturesqueness. I attempted to ', climb to its snow-rimmed crater, but was pre 1 , vented by the clouds, which came down before I !.,. was half-way up. There was no eruption at the time, but immense volumes of smoke were ponr ' ' 3ng continually from the great crater in the , i Bummit. ' The eruption of two months later ' came out of the side of the mountain, like that of Vesuvius. I also visited Palermo, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world for Its situation. . . "I cot back to Rome about the 1st of October, o.i ' .and engaged lodgings in the Via del Babiniro for myself and sister and the McEntees, who arrived iaiewdavs after. My sinter Mary, who came v '., over in September to Paris, joined lis a month later, having bravely come from Paris to Rome, '''."' ty way of Marseilles, alone. I need not tell you , i. that we bad a delighttui iiousenoia, ana we en ' .' Anvpti nnr Roman life to the full, in snite of Mrs. Mac s dyspepsia, wuicn wouiq spoil uer dinner i bow ana then, and an occasional touch of tho ... . blues, to which Mac was a little subject, but ,''' which the dinner and marsala and orviets would ' dually cure. It was so pleasant and comfortable ' there that I left it the first of January with great reluctance, I assure you, to come away alone to Wander in these regions of the East. "I spent three weeks in Cairo, which, after Damascus, is the most oriental city of the East. The people, the splendid costumes, the gorgeous ' ', etuffs in the bazaars, the customs, the crowded, narrow, picturesque streets, the houses with ' their sculptured doorways and latticed balconies, the camels everything looks as if it came out of the Arabian Nights. At a ball given by the Viceroy at the palace of the Ghezeereh, which is . one of the most exquisite pieces of Saracenic architecture and decoration extant, I saw some thing of the magnificence and splendor of the East in the way of entertainment. What I have seen in Europe of princely entertainments was ' '. poor, m,eagre, and colorless compared with this, which was not only regal in costliness and ' eplendor, but was more than regal inelegance and grace. 'T alan hd tViB ruthf-r rare ODDortunitv of see- ' lng the inside of a pasha's harem, under tho escort of its master. llusnien Pasha; of course, i the ladies of the harem were not there. It was Interesting to see something of the domestic life ! '.of a Turkwh dignitary, to drink his good mocha and smoke latikia trom tne leweiiea amoer 1 month-nloces of his chibouk. ' ; "But I can tell you no long stories now of . what I have seen. We will leave that till we v ' smoke a clear together some time next winter. God willing. I met Alfred Craven and his two ' daughters in Cairo, just returned from the first cataract. Mr. Craven was not well, and was ' ',' ' ordered to bed by hltt physician. He was going to Rome till Holy Week, after which he pro mises to join me in Syria. ! ' "I am on my way to the first catHratt. On 3 my return to Cairo I propose to go on a desert " "Journey to tne peninsula oi ainui, n i can torm a Dartvt then back to Suez, and by sea to Jeru- aalem, Damascus, Beyrout, Constantinople, and ' ' Athens to Venice, where I expect to arrive some ' time in May; and where I expect to find my i nifiter waiting me. ' "The summer will be devoted to goina where 1 ehe wills, as she has not yet had an opportunity " to see much of Europe. We hope to get back J ', ;to New York in the latter part of the summer or ! earlv in September. '"The McEntees, when I left them, thought 0 .the v would have to eo home in April or May v 1 Launt Thompson joined us in Rome just before ' ." 1 left, and took my plae in the household. The V H'eira had not vet arrived, much to my regret. TJipt were then in Paris. My party on the Nile v consists of Leonard Scott, wife and daughters, of . . Ipw York, and Mr. Curtis and Dr. Ingham, of Philadelphia. We are sailing along with a geu- 1 tie wind near Edfou. 1 he day U delicious like t ..." our most exquisite summer; the Bky cloudless, v-iiirA Ann rfiOicate: the 6un is mlirhty and mag- 1 ' iificent. Tho low distant tints of the Syblan I and Arabian desert lie like strings of pearls and opals on the horizon, "Your friend, S. R. Giffokd." Immense deposits of bat guano have been discovered iu the caves of Lookout Mountain, 'Ti.nnikaapA- A Tennessee paper assorts that two hundred T,nn. tamiiina nr on their way to settle in that State. Congressman Sheldon, of Louisiana, had hi pocket picked of 600 just after drawing his puy lor the session. Blind Tom is legally known now as Thomas lirne-n Hnthunn. Ilia Parents UUVlUg vunuu iuo name of their former owner.' ( . General Eads has returned from Europe, . aud the work on the Mississippi SridgO at St. 4"Oul will commence fltralgUlwuy. iditori&l ormioNi or ran lbadinu Jonas-Axa VrOB CUKRKKY TOPICS 0OMPIL8D BVBBT " SAT POm TBI IVaNING THLfcOBAPH. ; ; ,' GROWTH OF OUR COUNTRY. From the N. . Tribun. Tho ninth census is to bo taken a little more than a year hence, and already speculation is active as to Its results. W ill our past ratio of increase in population be maintained in view of our icanui losses by the lato civil war t We think it cannot be.- In our judgment, this coun try una now one minion lewer inhabitants thAn U would bave had but for that war; and our losses are not yet complete, since the untimely ueutu oi ro uiuny mniniy young ana vigorous men is certain to reduoe the number of births in the next and even the subsequent decade. It is said that far fewer children are born than formerly, because of tho reluctance of wives to assume tne perils and cares of maternity: but we hopo to learn that the prevalence of tlus' fcoling has been much exaggerated. i The talk of New England having few children born than those of foreign parentage has Just this basis: Half of tho young men and a full third of the young women of New England parentage migrate wander off "go West" and their offspring figure in the census returns of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, etc., while Europeans in youthful vigor replace the "sons of the pil grims" in their ancestral seats, and bear children to be enumerated at Boston, Providence. Lowell, and our Manchester. Wo cannot believe that tho vigor or tho virtue of the old New England stock has departed. The late.Elkonah Watson,, writing in 1815 on the progress of population in tho United States, said: In 1810 It was T.839,903. The Increase from 1790, the first census under the Constitution, has been aiHiut one-third of each census. Admitting that it will continue to increase In the same ratio, the result will be as follows: In 1820 9,62,7S4 In 1880 12,833,645 (It was ,38,1M) (It was 18.860.020) jn 1H4U 17,11B,B2 In lHf.0 S8,18fi,868 In 18X 81,753,824 In 1870 42,828,488 In 1880.... 56,450,241 In 1890. 77.266.989 (It Watt 1T,0A2,(W6) (It was 83,191,876) (It was 81,440,089) i In 1900 100,855,985 It will be seen that the calculation, thouirh surprisingly near the actual result, runs a little ahead at last, though Texas had been annexed and New Mexico and California conquered, meantime, as Louisiana had been a few years before Mr. Watson wroto. . Deduct all that we gained by these extensions of territory, and our population in 1800 would have fallen very con siderably short of the estimate, thoun-h we be lieve it was then overstated. That census or, at least, a good part of it was taken by persons whose compensation was based on tho numbers returned; hence a strong temptation to exagger ate. We believe the population of this eltv (for instance) was made 100,000 more than it actually was. We hope to see extraordinary pains taken next year, the lists returned carefully scrutinized and revised, and all persons who shall suppose they have failed to be enumerated or have been enumerated twice publicly invited to make them selves manliest. We judge that our population in 1870. fairly enumerated, will fall considerably below Mr. Watson's estimate, though it will somewhat exceed forty millions. That, unless reinforced by future annexations, it will in 1900 fall con- siueraniy ueiow one nuuureu minions, cannot reasonably be doubted. WHAT IS NEEDED. from the Xational Intelligencer. We hope to see in the struggle betorc the people this fall in the great States, and in Con gress next winter, a bolder and more resolute stand made against the iniquity ot tho party In power. The opposition in Congress has been so lar entirely too tame. The conservatives there have not acted as if they felt tho truths they were uttering, or had any just sense of the de testable acts that It was their business to oppose. They went through their work ns if these dif ferences were merely political, like those of old times, when a man might be Democrat or Whig without . impeachment of his patriotism : or charac ter. . We deny utterly that tho struggle to reform this Government, to purify It, a"nd crush out the tyranny that afflicts the land, is of such a nature. Ihere can be no compro mise with this evil, the times demand the spirit of a Hampden, and of the men who foucrht the struggle of 1776 against the crown. What we want now is courage and bold championship. If men are to come hero as mild Protestants against this tyranny, and then hob-nob pleasantly and fraternally with the authors of all this calamity and foul tvrannv. then they have mistaken their vocation The people want a bolder utterance. In the House oi iteprescntaiives we specially recall, as answering best to the temper we desire to see, Mr. Eldridge, of Wisconsin, and Mr. Burr, of Illinois, in the Senate Mr. Sprague has spoken most boldly in denunciation of this vile tyranny; he has spoken and acted as if he was really in earnest. It is this that has done so much to make his speeches popular. Wo thank him for his example, lie addressed nimseir directly to the men who eat opposite in the chamber, who had brought this shame and ruin on tho country He went right up to his adversary and struck his shield in the centre. This pluck is just what the people want. Let this example be taken up, and this battle with usurpation will not last long. In this connection we must do justice to bcnerai Blair, our late candidate tor Vice-rresidout, He from the first has realized that we have to deal with a revolutionary party, and that they must be met with a determination to put them down. He has never quailed; he has never nei tated to call these men and their tvrannv bv their right names, and to-day he is perhaps more feared and hated by these radicals than any other person in America. These leaders know well whom to dread. They know that tho class of gentlemen who in their daily lives and stylo of ttpeech confound the distinctions of vice and virtue are not inu sort ui uieu uy wiiwiu iuc rivui- cal leaders will be brought to their doom . U 11 J 11 rt. tbU RUl II JWl DUlUlt., ftlill HIV., A .... I .... . .. 1 1 ...nk . V. m r . . .. 1 Bnn HA nnH K therefore, call them publicly "their friends." We repeat, that the conservatives, if they want . . it, . i . .1... ' to return Jiueny uuu rcsiurt? iuv vuunutuuuu, must hunt about lor the bravest and most reso lute champions of the cause they can find, Courage and win should be the first and tho last qualifications they should insist on. THE REVOLUTION IN CUBA from the S. 1 Herald. The recent authoritative announcements from Havana that the insurrection isulmost at un end. render an examination of the positions occupied oy vue combatants at tne last advices irom the respective localities a matter of some interest. We shall therefore give a cursory review of the lucvB as uiey present themselves, premising only that, from the nature of the territory oud the absence of communication with tho Insuriront forces, our deductions are based entirely on Spanish accounts. Practically, tho war now ex isting In Cuba is Carrieil nn in Ava inniintA nnH uiBuui-k uwwiuis, wun iittie communication or co-operation between them on tho part of tho insurgents, aud independent command on the sPuniarl- These are tho district of Villa Clara, generally known In Cuba as the dls- trlct, of the five towns, the district of Santl Espl- . T .k. ,..,.i ,i 1 namea lUlilj'.ioinB mo niot;iu UUUI OI 1110 lUBUrrCCtiOIl and the last that of the operations of General Cespedes in the eastern portion of thn u.j after his retreat from Buyumo, the original seut of tho movement. The Villa Clara district was the last tn i,om involved in the revolutionary movement, aud from Its proximity to the capital has received more prompt and energetic attention from the Government than the more distant sections. Tho elements for tho insurrectionary movement were gathered principally from the Jurisdictions of Cienfuogos and Trinidad, and the prompt arrival of troops from Havana caused the retreat of the newly formed bauds to the mouutaius lying north of Trinidad, and which place at last ac counts they are said to be threatening. AUlioujU SPIRIT OF THE PRESS. the movement In this district has. no doubt lost much of its Impulse from the early encounters with the troops and the necessary evacuation of Hlgnanea, which had been selected as its central point, U is plain from the Spanish reports of operations and successes that it has not been suppressed. Bands of Insurgents also hold the field In the portion of this district contiguous to the northern shore of the lnlnrt order of the Spanish commander for the with drawal of all the country stores to the garrisoned towns indicates that peace Is not restored. In the district of Santi Esplrltu, lying cast of Trinidad, from which It is separated by a very limy section ot country, operations are on a limited scale on both sides. Remnt nnrratlons are reported in tho vicinity of Mayajlgua, and iicfiiuut caituiiulmib w iuc troops we announced. The district of Puerto Principe has presented for some time the most formidable movements against the Spaniards, but no reports of serious operations have come recently from cither side. General Lcsca some time since succeeded in conveying relief to General Mena. who was and still is besieged in the city of Puerto Principe, and recent accounts state that an attempt to obtain further supplies for the Spanish troops from anta Cruz resulted In their capture by the insurgents. General Quesada is In command In this district, and is variously reported to have in his army from ten thousand to twentr thou sand. Though we doubt the truth of many of these numerical reports, we have reason to be lieve that his command embraces many more men than he can arm and equip. This state of things, which is found also In the other revolu tionary districts, constitutes the chief embarass- ment oi the revolution. The weakness of the Spaniards here is shown in . the fact that they have not been able to open permanent commu nication from the coast to Puerto Principe. uayamo was ior some months the head quarters of General Cespedes. tho first who pronounced and who is looked upon as the prin cipal leader of the revolution. It was subse quently occupied by General Valmaseda, who is second in command in Cuba on the Spanish side, and he still remains there. But the coun try all around him is reported to be infested with insurgent bands, and frequent accounts of Spanish successes there are found In the Havana papers. Ills communication with San tiago is kept up . by strong convoys only. Tho principal military operations in this district and that oi Holguiu, lying north of Bavamo, have been those lor tho occupation of Mayan, , to which place General Cespedes withdrew on leaving Bayamo. That tho insurgent chief still carries on the war vigorously there is evident from the fact that the Spanish Colonel Beucgasi fell back from Holguiu to Auras, and reports that at the latter place a population of seventeen thousand persons is gathered under his protec tion. The recent reports of Colonel Lopez Camara, who drove the Insurgents from JUayai. indicate their presence through all the surround ing country. From this review of tho insurrection in Cuba it will be seen that the Cubans are operating with little or no unanimity of action or plan, and it is, perhaps, their greatest weakness, apart from the immediate want of arms aud ammuni tion. Both Spanish and Cuban accounts agree that every Cuban is a revolutionist, and this gives them the force of numbers. But numbers can be effectual only through unity of counsel and action. This will be etfected when the in surgents shall have formed a government which all will recognize and obey in behalf of one common cause. Thus far the world has not seen an organized government rise in Cuba, and this fact deprives the cause of Cuban independence of moral strength outside of the circle of its friends and promoters.. Cespedes is thus far merely the incarnation of the Cuban idea and hope, and should receive a more lormai recogni tion of his authority from the other leaders and the people. While he remains in the field Spa nish accounts of tho suppression of tho revo lution will be wanting in the chief requisite belief. i THE NEW NEGOTIATIONS ON THE ALA BAMA CLAIMS. Jt'rom the A. I. Times. The Nation, in an able and recondite article upon "Air. sumncr and tne rrociamation ot Neutrality, discusses some or tne legal points connected with the Alabama claims points which we are apt to overlook in the hullabaloo of popular rhetoric and invective, but which are those upon wuicn 1110 question, as a iegai oue, will doubtless turn. In the main, this article agrees with Mr. Sum ner's conclusions that we are entitlod to such a convention as will "give reparation on the ground that a principle of international law has been violated on the part of Englnnd;" and it furthermore maintains that the acknowledgment of such a violation "is perfectly consistent with national honor and dignity. But it arrives at this conclusion by a different process of reason ing from Mr. Sumner's a process which, If somewhat abstruse, is new and striking. Mr. Sumner, as his speech shows, argues as if, to start with, the Queen's proclamation of neutrality was tn imeij a violation oi interna tional law. and hence a sufficient ground of In ternational complaint, even had no Alabama come from English ports to prey upon our com merce. Whether Mr. Sumner would stand by that doctrine thus independently stated we do not know very likely lio would not: but his train oi reasoning scums w (iiuocuuiimunjiui: such mental proposition, and in so lar ogrees, it must be owned, with the popular theory. Thus, for example, Mr. Bumner says: "Ocean belliirorencv belnar a 'fact,' and not a 'iiriiwiiiif. .' can lie rucocrnized only on evidence show ing its actual existence, aecordlnir to the rule first stated by Mr. Canning, and afterwards recognized by Karl Kussell. Mill no suen evidence waa auuuuiu ; for it did not exist and never has existed." But. if we understand Mr. Sumner's applica tion of this clear distinction between recogni tion of helliirerencv as a fact aud recognition of belligerency as a principle, ho charges that by her proclamation Great Britain proposed tho latter, and that, accordingly, tho effect was to mol-a fl.n lli.lmmi n ( f I'll ln tfl PriVatOLT. .llillVV. ,uv ...-..... h - I According to tho Nation, however, this procla mation mav be interpreted as proposing to rs- cognlze the belligerency only according to tho fact; but, as the Alabama was not orougui oiu upon the ocean by Confederate means, but by neutral (i. ., English) means, this vessel could not be recognized as belligerent according to the fact. Indeed, she could only have been recog nized, if at all, on "principle" that is, we sup pose, on the theory ot her having an ino cupun tu'xnf a rp.pntrni7.pn nationality. The distinction is. as we have lntimaieu, a uuc one. and somewhat abstruse; but it wui ue ucuci appreciated, perhaps, in a practical appneauou of it to the case as It stands. Now that the pro clamation of neutrality was und still is a source of ill-feeling, cannot be questioned; but, as the Nation says, we must "couflno our claims to the limits of fact and international law: aud tho ex istence of a certain English natloual foeliug or sympathy, whilo it may have beeu an ulterior cause of greater losses, cannot be made a babls of demands and reparations." At all events, the proclamation was not necessarily au attribution of natinnalihi. The rmi'stiou Is whether it was not simply a recognition of belligerency accord ing to the fact. Buch is ccrtuiuiy me imonuc tation which tho English Government has nlwava nut imon it. und such It will bear. Wo nnrslves lnsiht. and are compelled by our own cose to insist, that the Confederacy never could have acquired such a rtatut of nationality (cither by this proclamation or In any other way), as would create a privateer out I ot a cruiser equipped in a nemrui ijh uu ninlniicd issuing therefrom. Buch a ai the United States unquestionably hud: but Mr. Sumner, iiftnr so i huir n ntutttinent of the difference Ue- t)i twn unrtji of rufntrultioil possible. seems to argue as if an English proclamutlou of neiitrnlltv between "tho two conteudinir par ties" could have given the Confederacy ft status of nationality, aud hence in Itself become the Hiihioct of coniDlalnt. not onlv morally as an expression of misdirected sympathy," but legally under international law. ' ; The source of confusion is this. It is quite true that tho British public may have imagined, and probably did imagine, that the Queeu s pro clamation oowa comer a nationality wnere uuuo existed, and hence retarded the Alabama, when it escaped to the ocean, as a regular Confederate shio. Mr. Laird, too, undoubtedly thought that,' I since the proclamation put me (jonicnerato States and the United :8tates on aa equality In Liverpool (as It old), it therefore made them equal In the eye of international law which it most certainly aid not. au this aoes not pre vent us from hating the British public in gene ral, and Mr. Laird In particular, to ottr hearts' content; but it will not help us to sustain a com plaint under international law.- Why, we our selves are torcea to maintain, in a logical argu ment, that the proclamation neither gave, nor conld possibly have given, nationality to a ship pretending to be ft Confederate privateer, issuing from an i,ngiisn port, mat is to say. me true view is that the Alabama was never a Confede rate privateer at all. So far as wt are concerned. she was a British ship, and nothing else; and that is precisely why our claim of Indemnity holds good. The ground, thereiore, on whienwe can main tain our claim that England has violated inter national law is obvious. The Alabama was a vessel which never acquired any nationality. Certainly the Queen's proclamation, as has been shown, never gave her any; and Mr. Sumner has conclusively established that our own Govern ment did nt accord a statu$ of nationality to the Confederacy by merely proclaiming a block ade of Southorn ports, since the last was, like the English proclamation Itself, a recognition of belligerency only according to the fact.. And yet a vessel, which never was a Confederate privateer, sailed from England as a naval base. in a hostile expedition against the United States. This point Mr. Sumner has forcibly made in the .senate, and John Stuart Mill bad mada it pre viously In Parliament. The Hrltlsh Uovernment became responsible, under International law, lor a piratical cruiser thus hailing from its ports; it has been responsible for her every movement irom that day to this: and yet, instead oi in stantly pursuing and capturing her as a hostile craft of no nation, she was afterwards actually receive and refitted, as history tolls us, in Eng lish colonial ports, and sho thence continued Iter devastating career. - SHIPS AND GUNS. From the X. T. World. Since it is probable that, if the Hon. Zitchariah Chandler aud the equally Hon. rsathanici t . Banks have their way, we shall soon find our selves embroiled in war w ith England and Spain, and perhaps half a dozen other nations, aud as it is certain that sucn a war wiu no cuicny a naval one, it is rather interesting to compare the latest development of tho skill or ship-biuiders in this country aud in Europe in tno construc tion of men-of-war. It Is by no moans certain, however, that, if our navy were suddenly called Into active service and compelled to fight one or two severe engagements, we should not suddonly Undourscivc without any guns. 11 the recent report of the Congressional Committee upon army and navy ordnance be correct in its asser tions, there is scarcely a large gun in our ser vice, on sea or laud, which is not more dan gerous to those who stand behind it than to thoso in lront. and which can be relied upon not to burst the first time it is fired. And it is no longer a matter of doubt that the heaviest Eng lish gun the 600-pounder Is far more formid able and in every way better than any gun which we have m America, even it ours do not explode as they did at the bombardment of Fort Fisher. The first thing, therefore, which Admiral Porter and his assistant, Mr. Borie, would have to attend to, is to take steps for procuring guns euuallv powerful and sate with those of the English fleet, and replacing with them the rotten pieces now mounted in our own ships. some ot the n.ngusn journals, winie describ ing the latest and most formidable of their men- of-war, have compared it with what they term the best and most formidable ships in the Ame rican navy the unarmored sloops-of-war of the Wampanoag class. The latest English ship Is called the Captain, she Is a turret ship, built from the best designs, aud under the superin tendence of Captain Coles. She Is S36 feet long over all, her turrets are nine Inches thick of solid Iron aud ten Inches round tho port-holes, and her hull is pluted with elght-mch armor. Towards tho Btcm and the stern, the armor Is slightly thinner, but tne vessel is coated all over her hull to tho depth ot live feet below the watur-liuc. Her skin consists of two platings of iron, each three-quarters ot an inch thick. Hack of this is a foot f solid teak, strengthened by a irame-worK ten inches uuck, supported ten-inch girders, so that the hull is in thirty-one aud a half inches thick. She draws twenty-three feet of water; her engines work up to 54(X) horse-power; her deck Is eight feet above the water, and the port-sills of the turrets are two feet above tho deck. Her arma ment is four twenty-five ton guns, 600 pounders, two in each turret; and a 100- poundcr bow and stern chaser. She Is a full-rigged ship, with masts and sails; and it is easy to see that it the Laptain, with her eight feet of free board, and her masts and sails as targets for an enemy's shot, were en gaged in a fight with our Miantonomah or Monuduock, the latter provided their guns were equally powerlul and reliable would have tho best of It. Our monitors, with their decks level with the sea, and have nothing to be shot away but their turrets, would very probably dis able the Captain In a little while, and hammer away at the hull until something broke. But tho Captain, It is believed, could run away from any Iron-clad vessel which we have, although she is not fast enough to come in contact with our fust unarmored sloops like tho Wampanoag. This ship can curry guns of tho heaviest calibre, and can make twenty miles an hour in rough woatuer. In case of a war with England she could attack and destroy any British ship of Inferior force, and at the same time, by reason of her une qualled speed, run away from an enemy's ship ol greater power, one would oe aoio to ruu away from the Captain, for instance, with case, since the Captain's greatest speed is only twelve knots; and it would only be in case ot au acci dent that the two ships would have au opportu nity of testing each other's metal. The wooden ship, in such an engagement, would almost In evitably go to the bottom after the exchange of one or two shots. The 600-pound shell of the Captain would crush through the wooden walls of the Wampanoag as If they were paper, whilo nothing short ot a miracle would enable the lat ter to inflict the slightest damage on tho iron- cased hull of lujr. loe. CURTAINS AND SHADES. N E W STYLES IN NOTTINGHAM AND Swiss Lace Curtains. JUST OPENED, EMBROIDERED PIANO AND TABLE COVERS. WINDOW CORNICES, IN GILT, WALNUT, AND ROSEWOOD AND GILT. WINDOW DRAPERIES FROM LATEST FRENCn DESIGNS. FINE WINDOW SHADES, ETC. Agents for BRAY'S PATENT SPRING BALANCE SHADE FIXTURE, which requires no Cord. CARRINGTON, DE ZOUCHE & CO., i S. E. Cor. THIRTEENTH & CHESNUT, 18 thstu3m PHILADELPHIA. 1 r ARZELERE & BUCHEY, Custom IIoiw Brokers and Notaries Public No. 405 LIBRARY STREET. ALL CUSTOM HOUSE BUSINESS TRANSAC rAssrouTs procured. , FINANCIAL. 4, 5 00, 000. SEVEN PER CENT! GOLD BONDS, THIRTY YEARS TO RUN, ISSUED IT TBI Lake Superior and Mis&issiDDi River Railroad Company. ; t , Til BY ARB A FIRST MORTGAGE SINKING FUND BOND, FRKK OF UNITED 8TATK8 TAX, SB- CURED BY ONE MILLION SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO THOUSAND ACRES j OF CHOICE LANDS, , And by the Railroad, Its Rolling Stock, and the Fran chises of the Company. - A DOUBLE SECURITY AND FIRST-CLASS IN VESTMENT IN EVERY RESPECT, Yielding In Currency nearly Ten Per Cent. Per Annum. Gold, Government Bonds and other Stocks received in payment at their highest market price. Pamphlets and full Information given on applica tions , . JAY COOKE & CO., NO. 114 S. THIRD STREET, E. W. CLARK & CO., NO. 35 S. THIRD STREET, Fiscal Agents of the Lake Superior and Mississippi River Railroad Company. iiotoup Union Pacific Railroad FIRST MORTGAGE BONDS Hought and Sold, at Heat Market Frlce. . These Bonds pay SIX PER CENT. INTEREST IN GOLD. PRINCIPAL also payable In GOLD. Full Information cheerfully furnished. The road will be completed In TEN 10) DAYS, and trains run through In TWENTY-FIVE (25) DAYS. DE HAVEN & BRO.i Dealers In Government Securities, Gold, Etc., NO. 40 SOUTH THIRD STREET, 4tlm PHILADELPHIA. GLENMNNING, DAVIS & CO NO. 48 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA. GLENMMG. DAVIS & AMORY NO. 2 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK, BANKERS AND BROKERS. Direct telegraphic communication with the New York Stock Boards from the Philadelphia Office. IS CITY W A BBANTS BOUGHT AND SOLD. C. T. YERKESf Jr., & CO., No. 20 South THIRD Street, 4t PHILADELPHIA. H O U SB B A N K I N G or JAY COOKE & CO., Nos. 112 and 114 South THIRD Street, PHILADELPHIA. Dealers In all Government Securities. Old B-20S Wanted In Exchange for New. A Liberal Difference allowed. Compound Interest Notes Wanted. Interest Allowed on Deposits. COLLECTIONS MADE. STOCKS bought and sold on Commission. Special business accommodations reserved for ladles. We will receive applications for Policies of Life Insurance In the National Life Insurance Company of the United States. Full Information given at our office. 418m LEDYARD & BARLOW HAVE REMOVED THEIR UW AND COLLECTION OFFICE TO No. 19 South THIRD Street, PHILADELPHIA, And will continue to give careful attention to collect ing and securing CLAIMS throughout the United States, British Provinces, and Europe. Slirht Drafts and Maturing Paper collected at Baukers'jRates. 188 6m SMITH. RANDOLPH & CO BANKERS, Philadelphia and New VorlfJ DEALERS IN UNITED STATES BONDS, and MEM BERS OF STOCK AND GOLD EXCHANGE, Receive Account of Banks and Bankers on Liberal . Terms. ' i ISSUE BILLS OF EXCHANGE ON C. J. HAMBRO ft SON, London, B. METZLER. 8. SOIIN CO., Frankfort. JAMES W. TUCKER CO., Paris. , , And Other Principal Cities, and Letters of Credl AvaUaWe Throughout Europe. FINANCIAL.. B. K. JAMISON & CO., SUCCESSORS TO X. IT. IfELLY , Ac CO., BANKERS AND DEALERS W Goll, Silver, ani Gflvenisiit Bonis, AT CLOSEST MARKET RATES. N.W. Corner THIRD andCHESNUT SU Bpeclal attention given to COMMISSION ORDERS In New York ftnd aud Philadelphia Stock Boards, eto. etc Htm HENBY G. G0WEN, (iAte mt t orhraa, Gwn He Co.), BANKER AND BROKER, No Ills. TIIIItD Street, PHILADELPHIA. ' 8toeks ftnd Bonds Bought and Sold on Commission In Philadelphia and New York. Gold and Government Securities dealt In.' New York quotations by Telegraph constantly re ceived. COLLECTIONS made on all accessible points. INTEREST allowed on deposits. , . I Mint . s pa 8. PETERSON & CO., Stock and Exchange Brokers, No. 39 South THIRD Street, Members of the New York and Philadelphia Stock and Gold Boards. STOCKS, BONDS, Etc, bought and sold on com mission only at either city. l Ki WINES. HER MAJESTY CHAMPAGNE. DTJNTON & LTJSSON, 215 SOUTH FBOIfT ST. THE ATTENTION OF THE TRA&E IS olicitad to tha following- v7 Choics Winea, 4c, for DUNTON LU8SON, 313 SOUTH FRONT STREET. j ..... ....... . j .. . u . ... i.imf,i.Hvug .ii tobello.Crte Bleuo, Crte Blmnobe, mnd Chw.Fura'. Grand v in nagem. ana vin imperial, m. KiMnnn m uo., of jnayenco. npariuinc Homue ana KxlLNS w ui Ka. MADKIHA8.--01d Inland, South Side RoMtre. 6IIKKRIK8. F. Rudolph., Amontillado, Topas, Val letta, Pale and Golden Bar, Crown, Ae. PORTH.-Vinho Velho Real. Valletta and Grown. ' CLARETS. Prom ia Aine A Oi.., Montf errand an if Bor deanx. Claret, and Santerne Wines. CiIN.-"Meder 8wan.M BRANDIES. Henneeaer. Otard. Dunn arlona vintages. 4 6 w I N S Just arrived, per "Favour," a cargo of LOUIS KOE3- TER'S Celebrated Burgundy Forts and other wines and Sherries, , From the Spanish houne of MTJIXER, BONSAM a BA . DOB, for sale from wharf by the Importera, WALDEN, KOEHN fc CO., No. 90(1 South FRONT Street. 4M6t GROCERIES AND PROVISIONS. pRKSH FRUIT IN CANS. PEACHES, PINEAPPLES, ETC., GREEN CORN, TOMATOES, FRENCH PEAS, MUSHROOMS, ASPARAGUS, ETC. ETC. ALBERT O. ROBERTS, Dealer In Fine Groceries, 11 T8rp Cor. ELEVENTH and VINE Streets. jJICHABL MEAGHER & CO., No. 823 South SIXTEENTH Street, Wholesale and Retail Dealers in PROVISIONS, OYSTERS, AND SAND CLAMS, FOR FAMILY USE. TERRAPINS 1S PER DOZEN. 85 LOOKING SAL. ASSES, ETO. JOHN SMITH, LOOKING-GLASS AND PICTURE FRAME MANUFACTURER, BIBLE AND PRINT PUBLISHER, And Wholesale Dealer In AMERICAN AND FRENCn CLOCKS AND REGU LATORS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. Also, General Apont for the sale of the "Eureka" Patent Condensing Coffee and Tea Pots something that every family should have, and bj which they can save fifty per cent. , Trade supplied at a liberal discount 4 U Sm No. 916 ARCH STREET. CHROMO LITHOGRAPHS. pic TUBES FOR PRESENT A. S. 21 O 23 X XT 8 O XT, No. 10 CHESNUT Street, Has Just received exquisite specimens of :art, SUITABLE FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS. FINE DRESDEN "ENAMELS" 6"n PORCELAIN, IN GREAT VARIETY. SPLENDID PAINTED PHOTOGRAPHS, Including a Number of Choice Gems. A SUPERB LINE OF CHROMOS. A large assortment of NEW ENGRAVINGS, ETC. Also, RICH STYLES FRAMES, of elegant new patterns. 1 1 medioaL. x piLES OR HEMORRHOIDAL TUMORS All kinds perfectly and permanently enred, without pain, danger, caustics, or Instruments, by W. A. MCCANDLESS, M. D., No. 1926 SPRING GARDEN Street . We can refer you to over a thousand of the best citizens of Philadelphia cured. ' Reference given at our office. 8 Mem DR. KINKELIN, AFTER A RESIDENCE and practice of thirty rear at tho Northwest oomnr of Third and Union street, ha lately removed to boutii KI VKK TH Street, between Market and Chesnut. Hi (uperiority in the prompt and perfect cure of all reoent, eurooio, local, and oonatilational afleotiooS of .peoial nature, la proverbial. . Diaeaae. of U akin, appearing in a hundred different form, totally eradicated; mental and phyioal waakneaa and all nervoua debihtie uientinoally and tnoiuMfV'r treated. Office hourm trom 8 A. M. vo 8 P. M. HOTELS A N DRE S T A UFtAl T Mt. Vernon Hotel, 8 1 Monument street, Baltimore., Elegantly furnished, with anfnrpMaed Oulslas. On t7te liuropean rian.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers