rqt Vress. MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1861 tSTEAtT rROM TUE LAST *mutat 01- 4 STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.—" The conspiracy to break up the Union is a fact now• known to Ar . m" I,4=g to accomplish it. There can be but two sides to the control - rimy. ETCTI - man must be on the ‘ido , of the - United States or amainst it. There can be no neutrals in this war. There can be none but patriots and traitors'• VOI: SALE—The dettble-cylinder «Ti Lott" PliNg3 on which this taper has been printed for the last nine mouths. It is in excellent condition, having bean made t order a yrnr ago, Lind will he via at n bargain, For terms apply at this office, or address JOHN W. Pommy, 417 Chestnut greet, Philadelphia. THE LATEST WAR NEWS The detailed accounts of the battle at Drums- eillth on Friday) fully confirm the first reporto in regard to the gallantry of our noble Pennsylvania Reserves, and the completeness of their victory corer the rebel brigade that had the temerity to attack them. Two of the Union regiments, which participated in the battle, were eommandod by Philadelphians—the Buchteils, who yore under charge of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L. Kane, and the Twelfth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Taggart, Lieutenant G* olouel Rorie le a son ot non, John K. Kane, and a brother of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the famous Arctic explorer. Colonel Tag gart is erm of the Proprietors of the Plalacielphls. Sunday Mercury. no full list of tko Union soldiers killod and wounded shows that our low was at first undur estimated , but it evidently fell far short of the loss of the enemy, who t,uffered severely. Letters found on some of the rebel offwers state that the rebuts expect that Gen. McClellan will soon be compelled to make an advance movement against Centreville, in i~Lieh !key haieve he will bens uneneeegeful 99 Gen. McDowell. The late foreign news shows that the war feel ing in England continues unabated. The letter of Smith O'Brien will attract general attention. While expressing warm sympathy with the cause of America, he clearly taints out the fearful ember , rassments we would be subjected to if we were obliged to contend simultaneously against Great and the Southern !allele_ The muggy, at this critical juncture, of doing all that we honora bly can to avoid a war with England, is becoming every day toote Af,a. Mete generally admix ledged. We can easily imagine how that Power would have raged if we had shown ibe serae l ender regard for Reba 2.411 b and the Sepoys in the Indian rebellion that it has mani fested ifor Mason and Slidell and the infamous Se cession eonapirators! but the Brat Brent duty of our Government is to crush the rebellion which aims at the permanent disruption of our great confederacy, and if we can honorably avoid giving these internal enemies the advantage of the active aid of a great naval Power, we should do so. The future will afford oh ittLlpl4 eppeki112.414.4 to obtain redress far the present ungenerous conduct of the hereditary foe of America. While there 15 now a strong probAllity that our diffiCIIIIICS with England will be amicably adjusted, yet that nation has, for a trifling cause, shown gush a belligerent disposition that it is necessary to adopt precautions to guard against surprise. The defences of our Northern frontier and of our sea boaia as 5a1.114 being otretselltened. A telegraphic despatch from Fortress Monroe says that a great light has been observed in the direction of Norfolk, which, it was supposed, was caused by a conflagration in that city. These ex tensive fires in the Southern towns and cities are so fre a uent that ibex- can scarcely be attributed to accidental causes. It is reported that a number of vessels belonging to the atone fleet were reeentl 7 seen of? 06arlealort harbor, and they have probably effectually closed that " rat hole for the present. Brigadier General Edward Otho Opener Ord, who commended the brigade that defeated the rebels near Dranesvine, on the 20th inst., was born in the State of Iliarsland, and entered the Academy at tit cat Point in September, 1530. He graduated in July, ISW, when he was appointed from the Dis trict of Columbia a second lieutenant of the Third Artillery. In July, 1811, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and on the ith of September, 1850, received his commission as a captain in the Third Regiment of United States Artillery. In 1856 he was distinguished in several severe con flicts with the Indians near Rogge river, C./gegen, and in September, 1858, was engaged in the con flict with the savages on the north of Snake river, Washington Territory. On his recent return from California he was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers, and in this, his first engagement with the rebels, he has distinguished both himself and nis command. A special despatch to the New York Herald says that g , the arrest of Gr. W. Jones, ex-Senator, Minister, 6;e., was based upon the politico infor mation that he is not only a traitor at heart, but his own written record turned up against him the day before he had his long interview with Secretary Seward. Some of his official papers containing his accounts wore opened, when a sealed letterfell out. It was addressed to Jefferson Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy.. It recommends and endorses a gentleman for a high milita ry position in the Courederato army ; closing with the remark, 4 I have two sons now in the Southern army, the only place where a patriot alsould be found, fighting egitieet a tyeatod4al afid. despotic Government. As soon as I settle my ac counts with the Federal Government, I shall also join the Confederate army myself: Mr_ Seward immediately, upon making the discovery, notified the Treasury Department not to pay Mr. Tones the balance appearing to be due Mtn by the Govern. went. By some mistake, however, the amount was paid. Mr. Seward afterwards received Jones, and conversed with him, but did not allude to his trea son, not wishing to alarm him, but, learning that Jones was going to New York, put a detective on his tail, and caused his arrest, as already stated." The steamer Edinburgh has brought one day's later news from Europe. It is reported that Gen. Scutt it4he hearer of a propesition from Louis Na poleon to act as mediator between our country and England. The war feeling in that country con tinues unabated ; bat, If the rumor that France is anxious to prevent the commencement of hostilities is true, we shall probably have no great difficulty in effecting a peaceful adjustment of our existing difficulties. The last steamer which arrived from Port Royal brings the important intelligence that heavy firing had been heard on Tybee Island. The guns of Fort Pulaski have probably opened on the Union forces encamped there Christmas Time at the Bookstores. Lindsay Blakiston bare published, by request of the members of the anatomy class to whom he delivered it, a Lecture on Baron Larrey, by Dr. D. Hayes Agnew, of this city. It is a highly inte resting rinenre of the life and labors of Napoleon's celebrated army surgeon. We notice, critically, that Dr. Agnew speaks in the present and atm ill the past tense throughout these pages, thus giving his style a carelessness which a vcry little revision would have corrected. Peterson t't Brothers have received, just in time to be bestowed as Christmas presents, several new juvenile books published by Crosby & Nichols, Boston. These are "Florence Erwin's Three Homes," a tale of North and South ; " The Bear- Bunters of the Rocky Mountains," by Anne Bow man, and " Bound the World," a Tale for Boys, by W. G. H. Bloirton. They also have Miss Yongo's new children's book, "The Stokelesley Secret; or, Bow the Pig Paid the Rent," published by the Appletuns, New 'York. All their books aro neatly illustrated. The booksellers, this Christmas, are selling more books than on Ally previous occasion for Tears. Pro bably fewer expensive works are sold this time—very few new ones haring been published—but there is a vast increase in the number. The greatest busi ness in Ibis line is done by Peterson and Brother, Willis P. Hazard, Lindsay and Elakiston, William S. and Alfred Martien, Perkenpine and Higgins, the Protestant Episcopal Book Society, and John Maarten. The price of choice English and French books, for Christmas and New yog i hag been reduced by McElroy Is Co., South. Sixth street, in order to clear off their large imported stock. G. G. Evans, originator of the great Gift Book Enterprise, and the only one in that line who has weathered the storm, is now doing more busi ness than ever, having taken 25 per cent. off the price of all his books, and still continuing to give a gift to each purchaser, as before. His store is as crowded, from morning to night, as u fancy fair. 17 The mail from Washington, due at 12 o'clock last night, had not arrived at the hour of our paper going to press this morning. British International Law Three gentlemen, each a Knight of the long robe, have been advising PALMERSTON, RussFAA. and Company, in the matter of the seizure of IlLvw., Sr.lonr.r. on board a the T rci d, These are Sir Jon!.: llarunc, Queen's Advo cate-General, Sir WILLIAM ATIIERTON, Attor ney-General, and Sir HOUNDELL PALMER, So licitor-General. ATHERTON is such a mere common-law man that, last July, (when Sir Ricnann BETHEL was made Lord Chancellor,) it was a matter of grave doubt, among the Cabinet and the profession, whether it would not be politic to get rid of him, by shelving him into a judgeship. HARDING, created Queen's Advocate-General in 1852, is a civi lian of good standing, and ROUNDELL PALMER, none The worn lawyer Ivr being rank Puses_ ite, has a high reputation in the Chancery and Admiralty Courts. This legal trio have advised the _British Ministry (the Times informs us) that the pro ceedings of Captain WILKES " are not justified by the law of nations," and the Thuntloror adds : It is, we understand, the opinion of these jurists that the right of the Federal Government, acting by Us Afters ) WM cell fined to flue visiting and the searching of the mail packet ; that if any men or things be lieved to be contraband of war had been found on board of her, the proper course was to take her into port and submit the question to the prize court, which would hear evidence and argument on both sides, and would hare de cided the case according to precedent and au thorities." If is .120r13 - +4,00,114 . +0 10100+10 th ci t the San Jacinto had a right to visit and search the mail packet Trent, and no right to do less than seize the vessel and take her into an American port, there to have a legal decision whether or not she were a lawful prize. - Out of the kindest feeling of courtesy and humani. ty, Captain WILKES declined to go to the limits of his legal authority. He contented himself with capturing the Southern Ambassa dors and their Secretaries. His offer to allow the ladies of this party to accompany the male principals was declined, as it now appears, to ena bl e to said ladies - EQ carry the despatches over to Europe. It is a novel accusation that an officer exercising a humane discretion did not inflict more annoyance than was actually necessary to effect his purpose. Yet, in the opinion of the British law officers, this consti tutes the grgrqpim of Gaptaiu WILKEs' of fence against the British flag. Let us im agine, for the sake of argument, that Cap tain WILKES having ascertained that tho Trent, a neutral vessel, had the two Southern Ambassadors on board that, as the law enabled him to do, he had taken the Trent, with passengers, crew, and mail-bags, and brought her as a prize into Philadelphia—what an awful excitement would that have caused in England Yet the British law-officers gravely declare that this was what he should have done. In such case, net merely lane!: and Stinntt, with their Secretaries of Legation, must have been placed in confinement until the case was decided " according to precedent and authorities," but the other passengers, as well as the offieers and crew of the Trent, must have been treated precisely in the same manner, Then, indeed, John Bull would have some cause for com plaint, even though the seizure of the vessel would have been strictly legal, IN CASE of a war with England, the land en gagements would probably be in the extreme Northeast, on the soil of Maine. In view of this fact, we are gratified to learn that the hardy men on our Eastern frontier are fully alive to the teeponeihiliq. es Well Ss the aotsge of theli• position. They are preparing to fortify their coast, and to organize such a land force as would render invasion from Canada powerless and abortive. The great mistake in the war of 1812 was in making the attack on Western Canada, and trusting the invasion of the Montreal and Quebec region to a general, never in hearty sympathy with the Northern Mall§iitil of the Union, and whose animus in this regard is fittingly reproduced by the service of his son in the rebel army. The mistake in making the prin cipal attack in one quarter, or selecting a gene ral for the other, will not probably be re peated. New Publications The January number of Harper's illaga :ant, (received from T. B. Peterson,) is of over average merit, bat scarcely se geed es the last. It coatalas illustrated articles by Bayard Taylor and B. J. Lossing, the latter supplying, with thirty-two en gravings, a well-timed History of the United States Navy. The serials, by Thackeray and Trollope, arc continued, And among this month's contribu tions are Alice B. Haven, Richard Grant White, F, L. Barmiento, (Philadelphia.) D. R. Castleton, J. B. Hagerty, Prank H. Norton, Dr. Wynne, J. D. Whelpley, and Maunsell B. Field. Next month the publication of a new novel by Miss Mulock, to be continued through the year, will be commenced in this magazine. Dickens's " Extra Christmas Number" of All the Year Round has been received, and will ap pear in the DM number of ila;rper's treaty, which commences Vol. v. There are over 500 illus trations of the war in the volume for 1861. The circulation exceeds 120,000 a week. From John McParton, sole agent for the book in this city, we have a handsome quarto, entitled " The Fallen Brave," edited by John G. Shea, containing memoirs. by himself and others of twen ty-four officers killed, in defence of the Union, with fine portraits, engraved on steel, by J. A O'Neil, of General Lyon, Major Theodore Winthrop, Cap. Min Ward, Lieut. J. T. treble, Colonel Lowe, Major Sullivan Ballou, Colonel E. D. Baker, Col. E. E. Ellsworth, and Lieut. John W. Grout. Toe memoirs are written with judgment as well as feel ing and accuracy, and the book is every way sea sonable'and attractive. A thin 12m0., by Rev. F. E. Pitts, of Nashville, Tenn., entitled A Defence of Arsauliedaors, 1;r our Great Country foretold in the Holy Scriptures," is an ingenious attempt to apply the prophecies of Daniel to this country and time, Sold by ‘ f, B, Lippincott. A new series of the London Art Union (Zieber) is to commence in January, in which will APINAT line. engravings from selected pictures from the Galleries and private collections of Groat Britain. The December number, completing the twenty second annual volume, contains the lest of the Royal pictures,—a specimen from Dusseldorf,—and the closing part of Mr. Lostiing'a illustrated account of the Hudson River. Charles Desilver, 1229 Chestnut street, has just published an interlinear translation of Ovid, execu ted, on the Hamiltonian system, and literally crowded with 287 engravings. An octave called " Glimpses of Animated Nature," by J. W. O'Neill. This book, destined to supersede Gold smith's Animated Nature, cannot fail to interest young people, who generally are more or leas natu ralists. Peterson and Brothers have become publishers of Eli Bowsn's ti P 11.41661 Illstoey of the Creation of the Earth and its Inhabitants," which we had the pleasure of noticing, with high commendation, on its first appearance, a few months ago. It is a fine 2pecimen of science made easy. CARTES DE VlSlTE.—MeAllister & Brother havo now on sale, besides all things belonging to their calling as opticians, an immense number of card photographs. Almost every person of note in this country and Europe is in this interesting collection. HOLIDAY PRESENTS.—Pianos and Melodeons can be bought from me, up to Christmas, at extraordi nary reductions on all former prices. Call, and you will be satisfied. J. E. GouLD, Seventh and Chestnut streets. CLOSING DRY Goons SALE OF THE SEASON—ONE TBODSAND LOTS OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC Dar GOODS, FANCY ARTICLES, &C.—The particular at tention of purchasers is requested to the large assortment of ,British, French, Gorman, and do mestic dry goods, Paris dross goods, 300 chain table and broths long shawls, in colors only, and for the best retail trade ; ladies' furs wolf and buffalo robes; ttc. ; fancy goods for holiday presents; also, on account of whom it may concern, army blue kerseys, cassimeres, &c., embracing about 1,000 lota of choice and desirable articles i to be peremptorily sold by catalogue, for cash, commencing this morn ing at ten o'clock, the sale to be continued, without intermission, all day and part of the evening, ending with the furs and fancy goods, by Myers, Claghorn, co., auctioneers, Nos 232 and 234 Market street. SALE OF FANCY GOODS, Tors, &c.—N. F. Pell. coast, auctioneer No. 431 Chestnut street, has now arranged tor eXandelitelo[l, to be EOM MIS (Monday) morning, at 10 o'clock, a most desirable assortment of fancy goods, china tea-sets, vases, figures, toys, &a., &a. PEREMPTORY SALE—Fixn WINES, dtc.—This .DA V, Monday, at 12 o'clock, at the auction store. LAW AND MISCELLANEOUS Elopes, this evening, including a number of ELEGANT ILLUSTRATED 'WORKS, suitable for Christmas presents, added since the catalogue was issued. STOCK AND REAL ESTATE, OR TIIOIIORy, including the handsome residence (Arch. street) of the late Doctor Taney, several other dwellings, business properties,