lEI VlcAbOttialt PITTSBURGH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 4862. W Havingpwrehasedlor our office the " Right" to use Dick's Accountant and Dispatch Patent, all, or nearly all, of our subsoribirs now have their papers addressed eo them regularly by 4 singularly unique machine, which fastens On the white margin a small colored "address stamp," or Cuba, whereon apse era their name plaintyprintedjollowed by the date up to which they have paid for e'een?. papers—this being authorized by an Act of Congress. - The clhte will always be advanced on the receipt of subscription money, in enact accordance with the amount so received, and thus be an ever-ready and valid receipt; securing to every one, and at all times, a perfect knowledge of his newspaper ac count, so that if any error is made he can immediately de tect it and have it corrected—a boon alike valuable to the publisher and subscriber, as it must terminate ail painful misunderstandings between them respecting accounts, and hus tend to perpetuate their important relationship. sio Those is arrears will please rev. 7:t, The True Presbyterian.—Thie organ or our church, at Louisville, Ky., we are gl-d to learn, is about to resume operations. Its appearance may be expected about Jan uary I.st. The. Theological Seminary at Danville, Ky., wasopened November 17th, according to the notice given. Six students were present. The Professors are all in attend ance.. We hope that the number of stu dents will soon be greatly increased. A. Faculty so well adapted to the allotted work,, a& are Drs. BRECKMUDGE, HUM- P/11MS, YEEKES, and STANTON,' should have large classes to educate. War has greatly _devastated Kentucky, but it the more needs the Gospel, that it may have a happy, restoration. I 'Good Tlme.—Tt is always a good time to subscribe for a good religious newspaper, if yon have none. Some persons, however, have-quite a predilection for the beginning of the year ; they can remember so well when, they are' to renew. Now, then, is THE TIME. Christmas and New-Year are also the season for presents. Now subscribe for your married son, or daughter, or your loved po friend, or the disabled minister, or . . your or neighbor. They will think of you, and bless you, every week the year round. But especially do not forget to provide for yourself, and your own household. Re new ; and induce friends and neighbors to • sub scribe. PRESBYTERIANISM IN ENGLAND, Presbyterianism, as a form of Church government, never nourished much on English soil. Dissenters, in flying from Episcopacy, more commonly went to the opposite extreme, Independency. There has, however, foi some years, been a grad ual reviving of Presbyterian sentiment The Presbyterian Synod has been greatly awaked, and recovered as to the purity of its faith, which had sadly declined. And not only among Presbyterians is there an increasing love to their own sys tem, Ibut with Nonconformists there is a tendency to a complacent regard for the Pauline order. Presbyters were the or dained of , the apostles, and the ordainers of fellow-laborers, feeders of the Church, and successors in the ministry. Among other indications of this grow ing favor, we notice some remarks of Mr. SPuliozoN, made at a social meeting in London, in connexion with the opening of a Presbyterian church. Mr. SPURGEON said : "He rejoiced that this was a Presbyte rian Church; he was a Presbyterian him self. (Hear, and laughter.) Seriously and solemnly, he believed Presbyterianism to be the government Scripture had or dained. He was not an Independent, arid he objected altog ether to be clashed with Independents. te was Episcopalian, Pres byterian, Independent, but rather more Presbyterian than Judependent. It might be well that Churohes should be separate and distinct; but he believed that it' was loss of power to the denomination to which be belonged, which might have done great er things if it had not been foolish enough to bind itself to isolation, instead of work ing by that , hearty cooperation which the Presbyterian form of government would have afforded." URGE NEWSPAPERS. Our contemporary, of Cincinnati, says : " The Presbyter is the largest religious pa per in the Presbyterian Church. * * * It is more than a fourth larger than the Presbyterian Banner." And on this a claim is founded for " sympathy and coop eration." People's tastes differ; and it is well for them that a choice is tendered. A very large newspaper is a thing to which some Feeders greatly object. It is like a very long sermon, which would be mightily imprOtred if it were judiciously condensed. Som4l/, writers will pat as much thought, and as much fact too, on one page, as others will on, three. And they will give it with more vivacity and distinctness. We like such writers; and We take pleasure in preachers of that style; and we prefer newspapers of such a character. We greatly prefer a medium sized news paper, to a large one. We did so in our early days, and we do so still. We read it far more. It is, usually, far more instruc tive. The editorials are more carefully prepared. The selections are more valua ble; that is, under the operation of the same amount of mind. And it saves much precious time. And if we have leisure to read much, we prefer to have two papers, or three, or four, from different quarters. If a large piper was the object, we could produce "it with one-half the editorial labor we bestow upon the Banner; and we would need to pay no more for rents, clerks, press work, foreman, &e. The only additional cost would be the bills of the paper-maker and the compositors. With the size of the Banner we believe our iMiders are well._pleased. Not one has ever aaked an increase in size, while many 4 4- .2 - have „saw, " D o 12 = i t enlarge t..== If ad vertsing- shall again flourish •we will en large oar sheet; but for reading matter we think we'have room in abundance to grat ify Most tastes and desires. \MT IS TO BE BONE? Tlic secon , l }e„r of rebellion is now far advanced, and the contest still rages. The time is long gone by when the war was to have been ended, and might have been ended, if the nation had wisely put forth its power ; but, instead of 'a sub dued foe, we are confronted by an enemy full of vigor, and abounding in confidence. What is to- be done ? We are evidently unsuccessful. And it is manifest that the Govermaierit must do better, or it will ut terly fail. We ask again, What is to be done 1. One thing is evident : The people must become united. A platform broad enough for all loyal people to stand upon, must be adopted. The Radicals cannot carry their principles through. It is utter folly for them to think so. They have not the numbers. The people will not go •with them. And the Republicans cannot, as a party, so wage the, -battles as to triumph. They have the reins of Government, but they have only half the people=lt power quite too weak. Neither could the Demo crats, on party: principlee, succeed. The rebels cannot be coaxed, .and the party could not conquer - them in battle, and the people would not submit to them as ,lords. There must be union ;- and to liaVe union we must adopt broad, noble, national prin 7 ciples. The Border States -are. an indispensable element to success. If these States go with the South, then the South cannot pos sibly, that .is humanly. , speaking, be con-. quered ; or if there is a possibility, it must be through the aid of the slaves. The Border States people, the. Democrats, and the Republicans must become Nationa.l. We arc told that such a union is not: to be expected. Then .2. restored,nationality may be regarded az a, chimera; unless it, be ob tained through the horrors of a servile war But we do not yet despair of the desired union ; the platform.- Fanatics of any school we do not expect to conciliate. These mustbe ignored in counsel ; but we trust they are not numerous. We think that there are only a few in the loyal States whose patriotism cannot, under the stern ness of necessity, triumph over partyism and idiosyncracies. • To effect such a union, it is evident that many must give up something, and some must give up things dearly cherished. And all should be willing to give up a great deal. Our own principle, as we have more than once intiniated, is this : Where united effort is needful, we will go with others, if they will not come with us; conscience, however, being duly respected. Hence, strongly as we believe that universal eman cipation, duly compensated, is the way to a lasting, prosperous, and happy peace, we would yet postpone that, and cooperate on a different platform. Cannot our readers all yield something—yield much ? Cannot the Government, Congress, other patriots and statesmen, agree upon something which shall be honorable, righteous, and attain able ? We trust that God will make them wise, and not give the nation over to obsti nacy, folly, and ruin. These remarks we make, still mindful of the inquiry we instituted, last week, rela tive to the Divine will. That God designs universal emancipation, we have not a doubt. But this may not be his time. If it is, be will make it known. He will bring all other counsels to naught, and chas ten us till he makes us a willing people. 2. We must obtain and sustain adequate commanders. A good General is as needful as a good army. And good Generals are scarce. One generation of mankind brought forth two. But it is not every generation which supplies a BONAPARTE and a WELLINGTON. And one of these, with all his prowess, was beaten, humiliated, captured, deprived of his kingdom, and died in exile. It was the one who, to bravery, courage, science, strategy, added yet extreme caution, who was the hero of a hundred battles, and was never conquered. Science, strategy, and caution are indis pensable to us, where such qualities are possessed by our foe. Men must "hasten slowly," who would make real, speed. We, had a General who combined in himself many of the first qualities, but we did not sustain him. We refused reinforcements and then took from him his army, transfer ring it to another. We hence suffered sad reverses. En our straits we placed him again in power and he gave us victories. But he was too slow for our hasty notables, too humane, too scientific, too strategic. We superseded him, and again rushed upon defeat. If we shall restore him, or get one still better; one whom we will suitain, and have patience with; he will, under the or dinary favors of Providence, put mint° the vital places of the enemy's power.. It may take him till April or May next to ' 4 dig" into Richmond; but he will do it. We will have lost a whole year; but better succeed then than not at all. It took the English and French, not only three months, but eigh teen months, with repeated reinforcements, to plan works and "dig" into Sebastopol. But science and strategy prevailed. We employ, not a plowman, but a tailor, to make'our garments; so let us employ the adequate skill and science, to lead our armies. God has connected cause and effect. He has appointed means to the accomplishing of ends. And the General who will heed the Saviour's advice and consider whether his army is able to meet that which opposes him, is the man whom the nation should employ and sustain. Let it not be supposed that we have any personal partiality for the General alluded to. We never spoke to him; never saw him; have no interest in him, more than in BURNSIDE, BANKS, BUTIER, HOOKER, and others. Our interest in him is on nation al principles. He is, so far as our Gener als have yet developed their powers, preem inent. If there is a better, point to him. We want the very best. We care not for PRESBYTERIAN BANNER.---SATURDA Y, DECEMBER 27, 1862, political partyism, except to abhor it, when it interferes with the saving of the coun try. We must obtain and sustain good commanders. 3. We must keep up our courage. Re verses are to be expected, as part of our lot. We are not to become unfeeling. We may well be sad, but there must be no thought of yielding. We have a good cause, and God will bless our arms. If he thwarts our purposes, he intends to accom plish some change in our feelings or our aims. He would humble our pride, make us more prayerful, punish our wickedness, make us to abandon some cherished sin. We may well ask why the affliction comes, but we must not let treason triumph, nor the nation perish. TUB BANKRUPT BILL. The laws of the. Most of the States are exceedingly favorable to - debtors.' Impris onment for' debt is no longer known in the land. In Pennsylvania, debtors may, re tain three hundred dollars worth of prop erty, exempt from levy. This makes men in ordinary life alniost entirely free from pecuniary responsibility. State. laws, how ; ever; generally, hold ; men responsible, for a certain time and under certain forms, for their debts, in case of acquiring new prop ertY. ThiS responsibility is jinst,',but still, it tends to depress enterprise and deprive the country of the benefit of much business talent and experience. Congress has, ,by the Constitution, the ,power to grant relief. Some years ago a Bankrupt Bill was passed, which relieVed 'many thousands. But it was very defect ive. It opened the door to fraud, and be cameso odious, that it was soon repealed. Another bill is now before Congress. Possibly it may prove to be better. - Rol titudes demand its passage. There are now, it is estimated; in the loyal States fifty thousand American business firms, making, if we reckon three partners to each firm, a total of one hundred and fifty thousand merchants of experience and in fluence enough at one time, as their liabil ities show, to obtain credit for one thou sand millions of dollars, or more than our present national debt: To free these, would be a great benefit— that is, to free those who are honest. But to release rogues, puts them in a position to enjoy the fruits of their iniquity, and en courages them and others to again prey upon the public. Some evils must be borne, even in the exercise of mercy. But the old Bankrupt law was too great an evil. Its retrospective feature, however, was its mainly objectionable characteristic. By this it released its tens of thousands—some of them to be useful citizens, others again to practice deceit. Having done its evil, it was repealed. Our remembrance of the operation of thatjaw makes us timid about recommend ing another. If a law shall be passed, we wish it may be but very slightly and very guardedly retroactive. We heartily ap prove of a law which may release honest and disabled debtors from obligations in curred after its passage; and hence incurred with the creditors' knowledge of what may be the results. A CONTRAST. The treatment received by persons hold ing to Union sentiments in secessiondom, contrasts disgracefully to the South, but honorably to us, with that of men at the North holding pro-Southern sentiments. At the North there are thousands who at least apologize for the -South daily, and suffer no injury. While at the South no man whois even suspected of Northern in clinations, can be tolerated, or permitted to escape unharmed. , The Presbyterian of December 13th, adds the record of another particular case of suffering, and vouches for 'its truthful ness. It says: " Some years since, a . young man, born in Pennsylvania, and a graduate of one of our Colleges, took up his, abode in the South, at first in Alabama and then in Georgia. He became a minister of the Gospel and a teacher of youth. He, was industrious, prudent, and genial, and com manded general confidence for his integ rity, purity, and religious consistency. His labors were abundant, and his influence extended. He married an estimable and intelligent lady. He accumulated some property, a dwelling, .a garden, a library, with other means of comfortable subsist ence. 14'ive sweet children blessed his hap py home. Then came the storm. While the difficulties with the government were brewing, true to the' princiPles of his birth, training, and conscience, he Was openly and strongly a Union man. When secession was accomplished he became pru dently silent, but steadfastly refused to offer public prayer for the Confederate President and Congrefis. This. was his only shadow of offence ; but for this he was set upon in the streets by a mob—. stoned, kicked, dragged by the .hair, and beaten. Bowie ,knives and pistols were flourished around him and at him, and it was even proposed to bang him to a tree in the public square before the court-house door. Some of his parishioners interposed, and succeeded in bearing him, bleeding and unconscious, to his house. Here he kept his bed for two months before he was recovered from his injuries, and here he was confined, a virtual prisoner, ,for two months more. Only by night, and by stealth, could he leave his own door, even to secure provisions for his family. Mean while, one of his children sickened and died. One had died previously. Another, a son, was seized with typhoid fever, and for weeks seemed doomed to follow, but was spared. At length, by the advice of his best friends, he made arrangements to escape. His property was hastily disposed of at a sacrifice, his 'library and his arrears of salary (the latter amounting to $1000,) were abandoned, and he contrived to get away, bearing in his arms his sick boy, and accompanied by his wife and two, babes, his sister-in-law, and a faithful nurse. He "went to Knoxville, to Richmond, and even tually, after much difficulty, reached Phil adelphia." • What is slavery, when it can make even professedly Christian men so fiendish I Not so were Southern ministers treated, who, were in the North when.socession was enacted. Even though it was known that they intended to ,join.a rebellion, they were not hindered, nor injured in person or property. Drs. J. LEIGITTON WILSON and HOGE, of New-York, and LEYBUAN, of Philadelphia, are samples of our general treatment of men who chose to go over to enemies. They departed without molesta tion. REV. DR. iRcPBETERS. We are sorry to see, by a telegram from St. Louis, Mo., dated Deceniber 19th, that this distinguished clergyman, pastor of the Pine Street church, ' has been ordered by the Provost Marshal Gen eral to leave the State within ten days, for encouraging, rebellion and sustaining dis loyalty in his church. Three,.members of the congregation have been appointed trus tees, and directed to fill the pulpit with a loyal man. Dr. MCPRETERS, in his general eharae , ter, is an. amiable gentleman. In, the last General Aisembly he took a decided stand against the paper presented by Dr. BRECK INRIDCiE on the State of 'the Country, but still he so spoke as to, draw toward himself, personally;a great amount of kind,feeling. It is 6, matter , of deep regret that any of our people, and eSpecially of. our ministers, should sympathise with the rebellieU. it is sympathy with lawlessness; robbery, murder—with wickedness of the deepest dye. We have no excuse to make, for such; .no plea td offer on their behalf 'And in times lilke t ihese a Man Should purge' self from the Main of suspicion. Men,msy differ in opinion as to the wisdom of Gov ernmental measures, and may - seek, legiti mately, for a change of adminisfration; but to sympathize, with the rebellion is a sin, and to show, that sympathy .by words or deeds, is a misdemeanor to be punished by those whom God and their country ham clothed with power. Let not treason be tolerated in our midst, while a powerful and murderous foe threatens our navional existence. EASTERN SUMMARY. NEW-ENGLAND. WE LEARN from Zion's Herald the some what singular fact that the different de nominations of ,Boston, or at least members represeiatin'g them, have united in the es tablishment of a General Theological Li brary. Of the two hundred and thirty-eight shares purchased, sixty-six are owned by the Trinitarian Congregationalists, and the same number also by the Episcopalians. the Unitarians own forty-nine; the Bap tists twenty-two; the Swedenborgiaes, Uni versalists, and Catholics, five each; the Presbyterians and Methodists, three each; the Christians two; and twelve are owned by persons whose religious connexion is not known. Our Boston friends are better able than we to judge of the eXpediericy of this corn: mingling of heterogeneous elements, but we must admit we' have our. misgivings on the subject. THE following statistics from the twen ty-seventh Annual Report of the Boston Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, speak well in behalf of the operations of this excellent charitable institution " Two thousand four hundred and sev enty-eight persons have had their names recorded for employment. Of these, four hundred and seventy-six were males, and one thousand nine hundred and eighty-two were fernales. Of the males, two hundred and thirty-two were adults, and two hun dred and forty-four were minors. Of the' females, one hundred and nine were fifteen years of age or under, and. three hundred and thirty-six were between fifteen and eighteen. " Employment was permanently supplied for one thousand one hundred and 'eighty six of these applicants; namely, for one hundred and thirty-six males,und one thou sand and fifty females. Of the males, fifty six were adults, and eighty were minors. Of the fethales, thirty-six were fifteen years of, age or under, and one hundred and fifty nine were between' fifteen and eighteen. Five hundred and forty-eight of the whole number had work procured for them: in the city, and six hundred and thirty-eight were sent to places in the country?' REV. SAMUEL OSGOOD, D.D., one of the most , highly esteemed ministers of New England, died on the Bth instant at Spring field, in the 79th year of his age and the 63d of his ministry. He lived and died among the people over whom he was first placed, having, thus but one pastorate dur ing his lengthy ministerial career. From the funeral sermon preached by Dr. Sprague, of Albany, an exchange furnishes the following statements : ' Dr. Osgood was born Mareh 3, 1784, in. Fryeburg, Me. 'When a boy he went .to school to Daniel Webster, and remembered that that distin guished statesman prayed' regularly in, school. He graduated at Dartmouth, N.' H., H., in . 1805; studied lair -.'in Roxbury, Mass.; taught school in Dorchester, read theology at Princeton, N. J.; was ordained at Springfield, June 25, 1809, where he was the 37th candidate after the death of Dr. Howard, his predecessor. He received the title of D.D. in 1827 ; witnessed five revivals in his parish; and admitted to the Church 974 persons?' IN SOUTH NEWMARKET, N. H., over ,two hundred and fifty bushels of apples have been pared, cut, strung, and dried, and a good portion sent off tuour soldiers in hos pital,nncler the auspices of the Soldiers' Aid Society. All classes and, professions in the place, from the gray-haired of eighty to children just old enough to use the nee dle and hold the string, came together at appointed times for the good work. IT IS A CURIOUS FACT that the ship T. B. Wales, burnt by the orders of the-pi rate steamer Alabama, was offered by her owners to a committee of the Boston Board of Trade, to gratuitously convey a cargo of provisions from this port to the Lancashire sufferers. Instead of going on this errand of charity to the starving operatives of England, she has been wantonly destroyed by a piratical craft, built in England with means furnished by English merchants. In this case, as in scores of others, English sympathy with the Southern rebels has been disalitrous to the unfortunate subjects of British rule. A PAPER MANUFACTURER on the Ken nebec informs the Portland Press that there is no lack of rags in Maine; that among those upon whom he has heretofore depen ded for supply, he found one with ten tons, another with fifteen, another with five, and so on, but .all bold back, refusing to sell, thinking to get, by-and-by fifteen or twenty cents a pound. NEW-YORK. THE OBSERVER furnishes a report of the ministers in this city in 1790. It is taken from Gaines' New-York Pocket Al manac for the year mentioned, and is as follows: Episcopal Church—Rev. Dr. Samuel Provost, Bishop; Rev. Dr. Beaehe, Rev. Dr. Moore. United Lutheran Church —Rev. Dr. John Christopher Kunzie. Methodist Church—Rev. Mr. Morrell and Rev. Mr. Cloud.. St. Peter's Church— Rev. John O'Brien. Presbyterian Church —Rev. Dr. John Rodgers. Reformed Dutch Church—Dr. 3. 11. Livingston, Rev. Dr. William. Lynn. German Church. —Rev. Dr. Gross., Scotch Presbyterian Church—Rev. Dr. John Mason. Baptist Church:---ReV. Mr. Foster. Jewish Syna gogue—Rev. Gersham Seixas. MOST of our readers are aware that- the subject of lay representation has been con siderably agitated in the Methodist Church, and thata very large minority vote was lately given in its favor., The. New-York Arethodist•Beems confidentthat the proposed change in the economy of the Church will sooner or later be effected. It says : • " The laymen• who voted for a represen tation 'in the General Conference may as slime that they represent a growing con victioti"of the necessity of this measure. The progresa'of the Church is in the direc tion •of Lay Representation. Whatever may be the`fact in relation to ;the present, Lay Represeritationists can count confident ly upon, the future- Every intelligent Methodist concedes that the adoption of the policy of admitting lay delegates to our General Conference is merely a question of time. rven its opponents confess that something must be done. If proper effort is made to keep the subject before the peo ple, the hesitation of the timid will be overcome, the inexpediency of perpetuating a hierarchical system of government will become plain to the understanding of every Methodist, and then the consummation can not be long delayed." WE REGRET to learn that our Methodist friends have been under- the necessity of parting with their University in the city of Troy. It has passed into the hands of the Roman Catholics, the deeds having already been signed, and the first instal ment paid. Archbishop Hughes, in his official statement on the subject, as pub lished in the Metropolitan Record, uses the following significant and characteristic language " Our intention is, that the new place shall be the central, if not the only Theo logical Seminary in the Ecclesiastical Province of New-York. The only draw back is, that the property is not in our Dio cese of New-York. But, after all, this is a trifling'consideration for one who, through life, has ignored - civil or ecclesiastical boundaries in the sense of impediments to any good work that could promote the glory of God, and the diffusion of his grace and mercy, through the medium of the One; Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and. Roman Church." The Archbishop states also that he in tends to invite the Priests of St. Sulpice in Paris, to take charge of the new Semi nary ; and expresses the hope that under the training of the venerable Snlpitians, American youth will attain to a high de gree of ecclesiastical dignity of deport ment, as well as great distinction in the Church. - A PASTORAL ASSOCIATION of the Re forthed Dutch Church has recently been organized in New-York. The objects of the Association are to cultivate fraternal feeling 'among the members, - to contribute to their - intellectual and spiritual welfare, and to- unite them in plans and efforts to promote the interests of truth through proper denominational and other agencies." The meetings are to be held every Monday morning; except during the months of July and August." The Episcopal clergy of New-York have a somewhat similar organization, which is spoken of as being a.ttended with beneficial results. THE NUMBER of Baptist churches in New-York City, with its 'immediate envi rons, is said to be fifty-six, comprising membership of 15,202 communicants. IN . CALLING attention to a meeting of the City Tract Missionary Society, the Observer speaks as follows of its effective labors " This Society closes its thirty-six years of operations under most favorable circum stances. in the midst of the war and finan cial embarrassments, its friends, by their steady liberality, have sustained, the past year, thirty missionaries, in their labors for the temporal and spiritual good of our large population, and the oversight of about nine hundred volunteer visitors, in the distribution of religious tracts. Great interest 'has been given to their work by constant visits to the encampments in, and about our city, and to the sick and wound ed in the hospitals." REV. SAMUEL H. Cox, D.D., has re moved from Le Roy to the City of New . York. REV. GEORGE julkrrri,"D.D., father-in law of the famous Stonewall Jackson, is at present supplying the pulpit of Canal Street church, in New-York. THERE is a redundancy of money in the market, notwithstanding an active demand; and rates are easy at from 5-to 6 per cent., mostly at 6, and to outsiders the rate is 7, invariably. •Business paper of high-grade is scarce and much in demand The rates are 5 to 6 per cent. for indorsed notes not over. 90 days, and 6 to 7 from 90 days to not over 4 months. Single names are taken at 6 to 7 per cent., if first-class. The ten.. dency of the market is to higher rates, but still not excessive. Although money is in good demand, the supply is very ample. The movement of gold is active. The amount shipped last week was $874,290, making a total of $60,989,810 since Jan. 1. The premium on gold is up again to 133, and the Custom-House demand notes to 126 i. ' The-rates of foreign exchange- are therefore higher. We quote current rates on London at 147@146i for 60 day bills, and 147 for sight bills- In the correspond ing period of 1861 the rate for sterling was 109 f, less than at present by 36i per cent. The export demand for our Northern productions continues active. Produce of all kinds goes freely forward, stimulated greatly by the .high rates of exchange. The amount exported last week was $3,- 349,704, while our imports only amounted to $1,530,429. For the year, since Jan. 1, they are respectively : 1862. 1861. Imports, $166,297,788 $121,340,553 Produce exports-- 145,633,469 127,929,227. The imports for the year thus show a greater increase than the exports. PHILADELPIIIA. THE GENEE,A,I, CONVENTION of the Ger man Reformed Church will shortly be held in this city, having in view the commemo ration of the ter=centenary anniversary of the formation of the Heidelberg Catechism. The .19th of January is, we believe, the day of the celebration, though the Conven tion will be organized on the Saturday pre ceding. UPWARDS of $24,000 have already been contributed to the Philadelphia relief fund in behalf of the suffering poor in England. THE EIGHT Sollp, Societies of this city commence this week their work of distrib uting soup to the needy. • THERE are at present twenty-six soldiers' hospitals in Philadelphia, providing accom modations for eleven thousand four bun dred and fifty-five sick and wounded sol diers. These are usually filled to their full capacity. Besides the - provisions made by Government for their management, many ladies voluntarily devote their time to minister to the suffering. For the Presbyterian Banner lustallatioß 'Cerenlliiiy.; On Friday, sth inst., Rev. S. G. Dun lap, late of the. Central church, Baltimore, was formally installed pastor of the Pres byterian church, Monongahela City. Rev. W. M. Paxton., D.D., and Rev. J. W. Hazlett were appointed by Presbytery a committee to install Mr. Dunlap. Mr. Hazlett failing to appear,the installation services were conducted y Dr. Paxton. These services were unusually solemn and impressive, and will not, soon be for gotten by those who witnessed them. Dr. Paxton remained with Mr. Dunlap and assisted him at his communion on the following Sabbath. The communion Was one of deep solemnity, and gave unmistak able evidence of the presence of the Spirit. Twenty-five were added to the membership of the church, fifteen of whom were "re ceived upon profession of their faith. Others are inquiring the way of life. The Presbyterians of Monongahela City have recently manifested a noble spirit of effort and enterprise. They have liquida ted a heavy debt, repaired their church to the amount of six hundred dollars, and contributed to various objects of benevo lence. Mr. Dunlap has much to encourage him, both in the love of his people, and more especially in the blessing with which it has pleased the great Head of the Church to crown his labors. OBSERVER. For the Presbyterian Banner Donation. MESSRS. EDITORS :—Please allow me through.your columns to express my sin cere gratitude to the members of Blanchard church, of Blanchard, for a very liberal do nation made to us on last Tuesday. After assembling and loading the table with a bountiful dinner, which all enjoyed with pleasure, and engaging for a time in social conversation and the interchange of friend ship, they retired, leaving many valuable presents; not notions and fancyzoods, but wheat, flour, corn, dried fruit, and other matters of real value. May they be blessed with spiritual bless ings—blessed in their relations to their pastor and to each other. And may others imitate their example. Dec. 15; 1862. WM. YouNG. Church of Farmington, Illinois, The Rev. John S. Beekman has received a Unanimous call from the Presbyterian church of Farmington, Fulton County, Il linois, of Peoria Presbytery. Mr. Beek man is of Tuscaloosa Presbytery, Alabama, but having remained loyal to the Govern ment of the United States, escaped not long since from the South. He has ex pressed a willingness to accept the call. We trust his labors will be blessed in unit, ing us, and in collecting together the scat tered sheep of Christ's fold. We trust also that a more, commodious and comfort able house of worship wilt be soon erected, of which we stand much in`need; when we hope to see Presbyterianism, as former-, ly, preeminent in this rich and most beau tiful portion of the " Great West!! By order of Session. JOHN MARSHALL.. ECCLESIASTICAL. Rev. W. MORRIS GRIMES, of NeConnels vine, Ohio, has been appointed Chaplain of the 92d Regiment Ohio Volunteers, and having obtained leave of absence from his church, will leave in a few days for his new field of labor. , • PRESBYTERIAL NOTICE& The PRESBYTERY OF. ST. CLAIRSVILLE will meetin Morristown, on the Seoond Tuesday of January, 1.868, at 11 o'olook A. M. JOHN MOFFAT, Stated Clerk. The PRESBYTERY OF 'ALLEGHENY 'CITY will hold their next stated meeting in the First church, Allegheny City,: on the Second Tuesday of .Tanuary, 1863, commencing at 1g o'clock A. M. WILLIAM ANNAN, Stated Clerk. The PRESBYTERY OF SALTSBURG' stands adjourned to meet at Jacksonville, on the First Tuesday of January, at 2 o'clock P. M. Sub je,ct for conference The preparation neces sary for profitably waiting .upon the ordinances of religion, especially the preaching of the Word.' - W. W. WOODEND, Stated Clerk: . The I REBYTRY OF OO will meet in the Central P church S , Pit E tshurgh, o Hn the last Tuesday of December, at 2 o'clock P. M. W. B. MoILVAINE, Stated Clerk. The PRESBYTERY OF BEAVER will meet in New Castle on the Second Tuesday of Januaz7, at 6 o'clock P. M. D. C. REED, Stated Clerk. The PPESBYTERY OP BLAIRSVILLLIriII meet, according to adjournment, at Bair' stifle, on the Second Tuesday of January, at 2 o'clock P. M. JAMES DAVIS, Stated Clerk. Sword Presented by Ladies. The ladies of St. Louis have presented General Frank P. Blair with an elegant sword, enriched with rub* and diamonds, as a testimony to tbe man Who first in Missouri drew the sword for the .•- • . For the Preebyterlae Banner Letter from Gen. Burnside. HEADQUARTERS, ARMY Or TRU. POTOMAC, 1 . December 19th, 1862. j To Major-General IL W. Halted:, General-in-atm..' U. S. Army, Washington: GENERAL : I have the honor to offer the follow ing reasons for moving the army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock sooner than was anti cipated, by the President, Secretary or-yourself, and for crossing at a point different from the one indicated to you at our last meeting at the Presi dent's : During my preparations for crossing at the place I had first selected, I discovered that the enemy had thrown a large portion of his force down the river and elsewhere, thus weakening his defences in front. I also thought I discover ed that he did not anticipate the crossing of our whole force at Fredericksburg, and I hoped by rapidly throwing the whole command over at that place to separate, by a vigorous attack, the forces of the enemy on the river below from the forces behind and on the crest and in the rear of the town, in which case we could fight him with great advantage in our favor. Row near we came to, accomplishing our object future reports will show. Rut for the fog, and unexpected and unavoidable delay in building the bridges, which gave the enemy twenty-four hours more to con centrate his forces in his strong positions, 'we would almost certainly hare succeeded, in which case the battle would have been, in my opinion,, far more decisive than if we had crossed at the places first selected., As it was, we came very near success. To do this we had to gain ` s height on the ex treme right of the creek, which height command ed a newroad lately made by the enemy for the purpose of a more rapid communication along his lines, which. point gained, his.position along the creek would have been scarcely tenable, and he could have been driven from them easily by an attack on his front in connection with a move ment in the rear of the crest. • The fact that I decided to move from Warren ton on to this line, rather against the , opinion of the President, the Secretary and yourself, and that you have left the whole movement in my 'hands without giving me orders, makes me the more responsible. I will visit you very soon, and give you more definite information, and, finally, will send you my detailed report, in which a special acknowl edgment will be made of the services of the dif ferent grand division , corps, and my general and personal staff departments of the' army of the Potomac, to whom I am, so much indebted Or their support and hearty cooperation. Failing in accomplishing the main object, we remained in order of battle two days, long enough to decide that the enemy would not come out of his strongholds to fight us with his infantry, af ter which we re-crossed to this side of the river unmolested, without the loss of men or property.. As, the day broke our ; long line of troops were seen marching to their different positions as if going on parade. Not 'the least demoralization or disorganixation existed. To the brave officers and soldiers who accom plished the feat of thus re-crossing in the face of the enemy I owe everything. For the failure in the attack I am responsible, as the extreme gal lantry, courage and endurance shown by them was never excelled and would have carried the point had, it. been possible. To the families and friends of the dead I can only offer my heartfelt sympathy, but for the wounded. I can offer my earnest prayers for their eomfort and final recov ery. I will add here that the movement was made earlier than you expected, and after the Presi dent, Secretary and yourself requested me not to be in haste, for the reason that we were sup plied much sooner by the different staff depart ments than was anticipated when I last saw you. Our killed amounts to 1,152; our wounded to about 9,000, and our prisoners , about 900, which have been paroled and exchanged for about the same number taken by us. . . - The wounded were all removed to this side of the river before the evacuation, and are being well cared for. The dead were all buried under a flag of truce. The surgeons report a much larger proportion than usual of slight wounds, 1,630 only being treated in the hospitals. I am glad to represent the army at. the present time in good condition. Thanking the Government for that entire sup port and confidence which -I have always received from them, I remain, General, very respectfully your obedient servant, A. E. BURNSIDE, Maj. Gen. Comd'g the Army of the Potomac. Important Decision We learn that Judge Grier has rendered a de cision uraza the rule for attachments against the City Controller and City Treasurer, for contempt in not'obeying the special fi. fru. issued out of the United ' States Circuit Court, upon judgments obtained by railroad bondholders. Judge Grier refuses the attachments, and sets aside the writs, because they were improvidently issued against the Controller and. Treasurer. This turns the revenue of the city into its ap propriate channel; the remedy will now be against the City Councils, to compel them, in the language of the law, to "cause to be paid" the judgments in question: [Since we copied the above, from a• city paper, we have seen Judge Grier's decision. We un deratand it differently. It merely defers the matter, at least in the case of the County, until Spring.-. By that_ time the money Must he collec ted, and the judgments paid.—Enel Victory in Borth- Carolina. The following has just` been received at the Headiinarteri of the Army of the United States: HEADQUARTERS, Dater NORTH CAROLINA, Kingston, Dec. 14, 186/ . Majoi-deneral H. W. Halleek, General-in-Vhief: • I haie the honor to inform you that I kft New barn for this place, on the 11th inst., but that, owing to the bad roads and consequent delays to the teams, etc., I did not reach Southwest Creek, five Miles from this town, until the afternoon of the 13th. The enemy were posted there,.butby a heavy artillery fire in front, and by a vigorous artillery fire in the rear I succeeded in - forcing a passage without much foss: This morning I ad vanced on this town and found the enemy strong ly posted at a defile through a march bordering on a creek. The position Was so well chosen that very little of our artillery could be brought into play, 'the main attack was therefore made by infantry, assisted by a few guns posted formidN bly on the rocks. We succeeded after five hours' hard fighting in driving the enemy from his posi tion. We followed rapidly to the river. The bridge over the Neuse at this point was prepared for firing, and was fired in six places, but we fol lowed so closely behind them that we saved the bridge. The enemy retreated Torecipitately by the Goldsboro andllingston roads. Their force was about 6,000 strong and 20 pieces of artillery.. The result is, we have taken Kingston and cap tired 20 pieces of artillery ; we also captured from 400 to 500 prisoners, together with a large quantity of quartermaster and commissary stores. Our loss will not exCeed 200 killed and wounded! . I am, General, with great respect, . J: id: FOSTER, Major-General 'Commanding. Colony for Florida. On .Dgcember 17th, a highly. influential dele gation of znembers of both Houses of Congress, with Vice President Hainlin at their head, wait ed on the President with a request numerously signed by lOyal , men of Florida, asking: for the appointment of , Elon. Eli ThaYer as,Military Gov ernor of,the.t State,with authority to raise 20,000 loyal emigrants. They also presented to the Pres ident a paper signed by 134- members of the Sen ate and: House, ear nestly - concurring in that re quest of the loyal men of Florida, and a paper from Major General ilunter„.erimmander of the Department of the .South, to thesame effect. The Gunboat. Cairo . Destroyed by a Torpedo. Okrao, Dec. 18 .---Special to the New-York Herald says: On Friday last the.gunboats Cairo, &termer& and Signal were ascending the Yazoo river, and. had reached a point one- mile below Haynes' Bluff, when a torpedo 'eipleided under the Cairo, shattering her bow. She sunk in fif teen minute's. There is fort*, feet of water, and she cannot be raised. No lives were lost. The Cairo, was one of the first- seven ironclad boats built for service on the Western waters, and par ticipated in the captures of Fort Henry and Don elson. ' Kansas Election. The official canvas in Kansas has just been concluded. Carney the Republican candidate for Governor, has 9 ,BBB_votes—a majority of 4, 607 over his antagonist, Wagataff. Wilder, the straight:Republican candidate for Congress} received - 9,589-votes beating l'airott by ~.4,995.