Newspaper Page Text
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER. ? NEW AND INTERESTING WORK. "Six Months in Italy" is the title of a work which has lately appeared in Boston from the pen of Gkokqe b. Hillard. The author is an emi nent lawyer of that city, who, amidst pressing pro fessional avocations, has found time for the pursuit of letters ; proofs of which he has given in various contributions to periodical literature, distinguished hy the richness and refinement of their style, their wide range of observation, and their elevated tone of criticism. Some few years since he paid a visit to Europe; and the fruits of it, or of a part of this tour, he now gives to the public under the rather unpromising title of " Six Months in Italy." In the present state of the world, when the power of steam has enabled the tourist to put a girdle round the earth in almost as short a time as Puck, of fairy memory, was able to do, the press teems With six months' and six weeks' speculations of travel mongers, destined, most of them, ,to live as short a time as that consumed in their composition. The book before us is not of that class. However short | may have been the period of the author's personal obser- j ration, the work is clearly the result of a much longer : preparation. On every page of it it bears the marks of! a rich and various scholarship, a philosophies! spirit ca- ' pable of penetrating and fairly estimating the character of foreign .acos anJ institutions, with no common power Of ?ritual analysis on the great topics of literature and j art. *cw men are so well accomplished for the difficult 1 task wLioh Mr. Ilillard has undertaken. Alter a few preliminary pages occupied with Lombardy the tourist arrives at Venice, that sea-born capital so dear to the imagination of the Italian for the grand his toric recollections of the-Middle Ages, and still so inte resting to English readers for the sway it holds over the imagination in the realms of poetry and romance. All t at is most worthy of a stranger's notice, the stately architecture of the city, its marble churches and palaces, With their long galleries of pictures ; its noLle public Works, its arsenal, its bridges, its canals, its sad-colored gondolas, its picturesque and motley population, blend ing together the civilization of the East and the civiliza tion o1 the West, allfk-e depicted with those brilliant and animated touches that show the hand of a master. On the paintings of the-splendid Venetian school Mr. Hillard is dill use. Indeed the paintings of Italy receive a large share of his attention throughout the work; quite as large, some readers may think, as is desirable. Yet how could a book be written on Italy without an ample notice ol that art which, in a manner, constitutes the in tellectual expression of the nation ; the form in which the genius ol the nation has most fully and most successfully been exerted ? One might as well pass over the schools in a notice of New England, or the theatres in a notice of Paris. It is true the tourist of the picture-gallery too often wearies us with a mere catalogue of names, or at best by such a barren display of the technicalities of art aud such cheap criticism on the styles of the different schools as may be easily picked up in less than a six months' tour m the country. Such is u? the case with Mr. Hillard Who brings to his work a mind endowed with a keen sen sibility to the beautiful, and a judgment ripened by a ' careful comparison of the best models of art. Instead ' of wasting his strength on the mechanical execution the 1 materiel of the picture( he seizes the intellectual etrres sion, and, taking it as the interpretation of the artist's J c aractcr, he passes to the consideration of the peculiar ' attributes of his genius. Thus, in the course of the van- I 0cZ ?v?bvUght UDder reTiew' b0 has reared an elo- j quent but discriminating homage to the merits of the great Italian masters, such as is not easily to be found in : works even professedly devoted to the arts. If his iade- I ments may be thought sometimes delivered wifii too un- ' hesitating an air, he at least is always ready with a good I reason for his faith, showing throughout an acquaintance I with the true principles of art. Even those who may iffer from him m some of his conclusions will admit that he has been guided by a generous spirit of criticism, Which, far from fastening on blemishes or on paltry de ficiencies in his subject, directs his attention fo what is most worthy of admiration, by this very proceeding show ing a true relish for art, and his capacity to enter fully i??o tU? spirit of the artist. Leaving Venice, Mr. Hilled took the n?al ro?t. of . avelle?- Pau?mg in such places as had most in them to invite the attention of an intelligent visiter. At Florence he foupd of course abundant occupation in the study of i lfiCnDt C?n^ti0nS 8adin ^er beautiful environs ! of ttlTe r,C? P0SS lightly b-v birthplace : of those kindred spirits in the sister arts of poetry and 1 8CU pture Dante and Michael Angelo. It was Rome 1 however, the city of recollections, that furnished a theme most grateful to the pensive, contemplative spirit of the traveller. With feelings equally removed from the ex travagance of Eustace and the cold and caustic temper of frr SUrrCndc" bimself with a generous enthusi asm to the genius of the place. A, he wanders amidst h. .?ram"'^ 8hedS thC Hght 0f learnin8 around' them, untinctured with pedantry; while his plastic imagi nation, calling up the visions of the past, clothes the dry skeleton of .t. remains in all their primitive majesty and beauty. Here, too, he finds abundant scope for criticism the collections of the numerous churches and palaces, above all of the Vatican, so rich in the master-pieces of Raphael. But he finds ample time for speculation on other subjects than those connected with art. Nowhere do we recall so animated a picture as he has given of the occupations and amusements of the pleasure-loving Italians, ol the Carnival in particular, entering into the saturnalia with joyous spirit worthy of a modern Roman. hen comes a glowing picture of the Campagrm, that tract of desolate beauty spread out around the fallen city like a winding-Sheet, on which nature has scattered her sweet est w, d tlowers. Finally, we have a disquisition on Roman W. vl ' alt0ge,h#r tw> elaborate a composition to " Lis ?.W.we u. tie r'y a1"?"" landscape, where nature has done so much and man so little was a theme well suited to ,he powers of a writer poised of aD<1 80 liTely a Mn?biHty to na tural beauty. Her beautiful bay, her mountain* i Pr seTrT.T Wih?1C liDe ?f b6r ???n''fi?ntcoMt, as Tr a Ign J? " ^ ^ " the Sou* are all painted, as far as wort, can paint, with a color Claude " trUetoIu!ia? ?ure as that of In Mr. Hillard'. descriptions of natural scenery there breathes a punty of sentiment, observable even in his descriptions of this soft, voluptuous climate, so intoxi eating to the senses and so fatally propitious to the Sybarite indulgence of the inhabitants. The same health ful moral tone is visible in his numerous criticisms on art; on those works, especially, thrown off by a wild and wanton imagination, in which the critic is sure to fin J some redeeming,' point on which to fix the attention ? , ,? rea<ler't0 tbe exclusion of those grosser attributes Which serve only to stimulate the senses. This elevated mora tone, sweet and natural as It Is, and alilft devoid to hin w"rV ^ ' affecUtion> 8lTes an inexpressible charm iLn Jit mUSt Pr?Ve' iD the ]"n* "<> l nuhlie f ? "ar"Vthe raeans of commending it to public fav?r, and a conservative element to secure it from Wo have not time to follow our author further in the UkTa range aV^idl' 0r,mberof hia "Peculations, which sent themselves to'^ , . }C- ,,e particularly besto*. ?rf much p.... r-sploring lh, fMU] tion of the peasantry and poorer cla^. , r . and in discussing the operation of their political ' tions. In doing this he ha, more thin V9**'* *'***' to throw liKht on the subject by a Italians and ourselves. Vet no two nations would seem to be more dissimilar: the one, after twice running its career of glory, seeming now to be drawing its mantle around it, as for a long repose ; the other, in the morn ing of promise, gathering up its youthful energies and preparing like a giant to ruu its course. The very dis similarity of their position, in the contrast it suggests, furnishes the best means for a comparison. The Euglish character has uffordcd another parallel by which to illustrate the Italian?a subject elaborutely dis cussed in his second toIuuic. The skill with which it is treated shows the author's power of seiiing the physiog nomy of a nation and transferring it with great force and felicity to his canvass. It is rare that the English travel ; ler has sat for his portrait to so faithful a hand. The work concludes with a notice of some of the most important writers who, ftom the time of Petrarch, have I portrayed, with more or less miuutencss, the condition of Italy. The author's commentaries on his predecessors suggest some original and quite striking views of tueir characters as writers; and, as most of them were pcr soos of high position in the republic of letters, the obser vations have additional interest, and form a wclcomc con tribution to our stores of literary criticism. The plan of Mr. Hillerd's book is u novel one. It is neither a manutl du voyagtur nor a literary or philoso phical disquisition on tho country. It is something com pounded of til these, and for that reason perhaps better suited to obtain a large and lasting popularity than if devoted to one or other of the subjocts exclusively. On many of the pages we meet with foot-notes, which, to our thinking, arc out of place, at least to any great amount, in a work like this. In a professed historical work notes may be of service to the writer as affording him the means of making critical remarks which in the text would break the thread of the narrative, and also for introducing matter occasionally, which, from its familiar character, might fall too much below the dignity of the true historic cothurnus. But Mr. Hillard's book is on too familiar a plan itself to admit of this objection ; and it is, moreover, 1 too rambling and discursive in its own plan to suffer from the intrusion of any episodical matter in the text. Where there is no story, there is no thread of interest to be broken. Iu niae cases out of ten it would be better, in stead of thus awkwardly resorting to notes at the bottom of the page, to have iuoorporated their substance in the | body of the text. The style of the work with many a reader of epicurean refinement, who attaches more value to the form than to the fond, will constitute its greatest charm. It is in writ ing what the Corinthian capital is in architecture, tho me?t luxuriant and finished form of expression. Full, flexible, and harmonious, it is rich to exuberauco, but with nothing in it tawdry or meretricious. The poetic fancy of tho author overflows in similes which sparkle along his pages?serving, however, the perfection of a simile, to illustrate quite as much as to adorn. Mr. Hil lard is a master of language, and employs his many-col ored epithets with the skill of a great artist. The trans parent flow of his diction reflects, as from a mirror, every hue of the scenery through which he passes. This easy fluency cf expression may suggest the idea of facility of composition, leading the reader to suppose that it must have welled out, as it were, spontaneously from the foun tain of the author's mind. But the elaborate finish of the performance refutes the supposition. Boileau boasts somewhere, in allusion to the soft and flexible composi tion of llacine, that he had " taught him to write with difficulty." " Facil verai, che co.ilan tanta pena." Easy verses that cost so much labor, says a modern Italian bard, condensing the idea happily into a line. This ela borate artifice might be charged by a querulous critic as a blemish on Mr. Ilillard's style of writing. It may re mind one of the cultivated English landscape, the parks and the lawns, smoothed with the roller, shaven with the scythe, with almo3t every dried leaf combed away from their surface, giving the turf the gloss and smoothness of velvet, until the traveller sighs for something, were it only a bit of ragged rock or broken fence, to vary the ! monotonous beauty of the scenery. But instead of dwelling on such trivial faults?the | greatest of which would stem to be the want of faults? j it is better to adopt a more generous criticism, and turn I to what is worthy of admiration in these volumes. It j has not been our purpose to write u panegyric. But the i perusal of the work, which has revived the faded recol- j lections of other years, has given us such siucere delight , that we have been desirous to commend the perusal of it ' to others. Of one thing we cannot doubt: while the book, ' in obedience to its title, supplies the reader with such a lively picture of modern Italy as may Berve the purpose of temporary amusement, it is destined, by its stores of *olid instruction, its curious criticisms, and the beautiful lorms in which they are conveyed, to take a permanent place nmnng tU? oUuion of American literature. THE NEW AMERICAN MINISTER IN ENGLAND. IRON THE LIVERPOOL COI'BII.R. The Liverpool American Chamber of Commerce for warded an iuvitation to the Hon. James Buchanan, the new Ambassador for the United States to this country, immediately after his arrival in England. The following reply has been received from him, from which it will be seen that he is not able to accept the invitation at pre sent. It will be seen that Mr. Buchanan's letter enters somewhat fully into several questions of interest. It is as follows: United States Legation, London, September f?, 1853. Sir: I have had the honor to receive the resolution adopted on the COth ultimo by the American Chamber of Commerce at Liverpool, inviting me to a banquet to be given by them, as a mark of respect and welcome upon my appointment as Minister of the United States of Ame rica to England, and requesting me to name a day when it will best suit my convenience to attend. While highly and gratefully appreciating this honor, I j regret that it is impossible for me, with a due regard to my public duties in London, to say when, if at all, their . kind invitation could be accepted. I feel, therefore, con strained respectfully to decline it. In doing this, how ever, I beg to assure them tliurt no man in either country estimates more highly than myself the commerce conduct ed between Liverpool and the United States; and no man more ardently desires that it may long continue to extend itself in peace and prosperity, and to confer mutual bene fits upon both nations. The period in the world's history seems at length to have arrived when mankind have discovered that narrow and unjust restrictions upon foreign trade most surely defeat their own object, and when selfishness itself is en listed in favor of a liberal policy. The philanthropist at the same time rejoices in the knowledge that the mutual dependance which commcrce creates between nations is the surest prevention of war, by rendering peace the in terest of all. For my own part I firmly believe that the unsettled questions known to exist between Great Britain and the United States, judged alone according to the value of the material interests involved, are not worth six months' suspension of tho trade between the two coun tries. It is therefore greatly to be desired that these questions should be speedily, honorably, and finally ad justed, and that hereafter both nations should enjoy a smooth sea and a cloudless sky for friendly competition in all the pursuit.* calculated to enlighten and benefit the human race. The greatest revolution, so far as the in terest of commerce and manufactures is concerned, which has ever been commenced among men is that now appa rently in successful progress in China. Should this ter minate in opening a free access to that vast empire of three hun Jrcd millions of human beings, the United States and Great Britain will have a harvest presented before them which, even with all their energy, enterprise, nnd resources, they will scarcely be able to reap. Then will a noble and generous rivalry also spring up between them which shall contribute most effectually to promote the cause of Christianity, civiliiation, and freedom among this ancient and -trange people. With sentiments of great respect, I remain yonr obedi ent servant, JAMES BUCHANAN. William Hrowx, E?q., M. P., Chairman, j?. A Distressing Ca?e.?A case more melancholy than those usually recorded occurred in Baltimore on Friday morning. Mrs. Bourne, a married lady, residing in Gran by street, ha.i been for some time laboring under a de pression of spirits, amounting to destruction of intellect. I esterday morning slip administered to her five children, and took some herself, a quantity of chloroform, not by inhalation, but by drinking the liquid. The consequence was the death of the oldest child, a boy aged about seven years, and the very serious illness of all those who par took. Dr. Tharp was roon in attendance, and did what i he could for th?'?r relief, and up to a late hour yesterday evening no further deaths had occurred, and there were prospect* of recoycry.?Sun. Cobvictios for Carklkss Driving.?William Walker, a free person of color, has been convicted of manslaugh ter in Charleston, South Carolina, for causing the death of the child of Cornelius O'Sullivan by carclessly driving his dray. THE MILITARY ACADEMY". ?0K TUB NATIOMAl URttUOUCII. Retnihitc^uxi of a Septuagenarian Retired Officer. . 0?*1VA, Sjspt. 26, 1S53. I he propriety of giving any education to any of the youth at the public expense had been long questioned on the floor of Congress, and under that assumption, and the danger of " btuuding armies in time of peace," the United States military school was deemed by a large party to be an unconstitu tional establishment, and the Academy at West J 1 oint had well-nigh died by neglect in mukiii" | timely appropriations for its support. This acgleot ' had produced a species of apathy in Congress, uuiit the canipaigus of Gen. Scott and President Taylor in Mexico had demonstrated the utility, nay indispensable neces sity, of that institution. From that day the efforts to destroy the school have ceased in Congress. The Military Academy at West Point owes in origin to the sagacity of Washixgton. The last letter written by him was addressed to Alexander Hamilton on the 12th of December, 1790, two days before the death of Washing ton ; that letter commends earnestly the subject of a national military echool. To prepare in peace for the exigencies o! war had occupied the thoughts of Washing ton, especially at the cantonment of Newburg in 1763.1 At that time he consulted those military minds about him, in whose judgment he had relied, as to the best means of preserving a memory of the experience in the war just then closing, and also to preserve a nucleus of the then existing army, aud also to provide for a school to teach a portion of the youth of the country the ele ments of war in time of peace. Among others Gen. Jared i Huntington, of Connecticut, wrote in reply hia cpinion? the letter is now in transcript in the bauds of the writer j of this that " West Point, on the Hudson, was a suitable s.te for a military school,' aud also "for an arsenal and storehouses to rcccive the arms and other trophies of th? war then closing." After the peace of 1783 and during the Confederacy provision was made by Congress to re tain a small number of troops to keep in order the forti fications on the frontier. Early after the organization of the Federal Government President Washington advised Congress, in 1794, to provide for profsseord in tho arts and sciences to instruct the young officers and cadets of the I corps of artillery. Books and apparatus were according- >' ly provided and sent to West Point, and then one regi ment of artillery was marched to " the Poiut" in order j that its subalterns might be instructed ty the eliler offi | cers of that corps, two of whom, Col. Rochefontaine and I Major Rivondi, had been educated in the schools of i trance. Like other young aspirants, the subaltern offi j ccrs imagined themselves to be too far advanced in know 1 ledge to submit to the drudgery of a school; about which time, to wit, 179-3, the "old provost"?the incipient aca demic edifice at West Point?took fire and was consumed, I with all its contents of books and apparatus. Congress I did not repair this loss, nor did it respond to the recom mendations of Washington to that effect, as found in the plans of Knox and Mcllcnry, his ministers. In the suc ceeding administration of Mr. Adams a small provision was made by law, of 1798, to increase the number of ca i dcts and to form a corps of engineers. Rut. the princi ; pal military objects of Mr. Adams were directed to the J resistance of the aggressions of France and to the orga nization of the "right arm of our national defence"?a navy ; and it was uot until the advent of Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency that a revival of the school at West Point was essayed, in 1801. The cause of not promoting Col. Williams was some what political, but fur r.tore aplenetical. lie was i Fede ralist of the Washington school, but his good sense had excluded politics at West Point, by infusing into the minds of the cadets the just ideas of their national charac ter a blessing that has descended with time at West Point. Rut of the spleen above alluded to, Col. W. had been one of ..he thirteen who tried Gen. Wilkinson; that body of men had been slandered by , as being partial to Wilkinson. This slander had been nourished by a nar row prejudice, and had influence in the promotioc of gen tlemen at the opening of the war of 1812; but of that we need say no more just now, but proceed. in the year of 18ul Gen. Dearborn, the Secretary of War, had concentrated at West Point the few oadets of the army to receive instruction from Professor Raron I who introduced the black board at the school. He was a ' learned mathematician, and had been the class-mate of t harles Hutton, the celebrated teacher at the Woolwich Academy, in England. The result of Mr. Raron's essay had confiucod ^lr. Jefftrauu thut tho acadoniy required a military superintendent, and a happy selection was made in the person of Major Jonathan William?, the then inspector of artillery and fortifications, and who, as Mr. Jefferson said, combined many of the personal and scien tific qualifications of Dr. Franklin, and be was a kins man of the Doctor, and had been the agent of the United Mates in i ranee during the embassy of Franklin. His association with the Doctor gave him facilities to inspect the military schools of France. This advantage, in after ! days, enabled Major Williams to prepare elementary works on artillery and fortification for the use of the\ school at W est Point. At the close of tho year 1801 the Major took charge of the school. The general knowledge oi this accomplished gentleman, his polished manners, and a liberal hospitality had combined to aid his devotion to and the success of the school. In the following year of 1802 the institution was improved and extended in its organization by law of Congress, and in the fall of that year the school had commenced to send forth its gra duates. Rut unhappily a party arose in Congress that I spoke of doubts of the constitutionality of providing f?r the academy. The War Department became apathetic in reference to West Point, and Col. Williams became dissatisfied and retired from the academy and the army However, at the instance of Mr. Jefferson, the Colonel re sumed his commission, and endeavored to infuse confi dence and favor towards the academy among members of Congress. The institution advanced slowly until the ap proach of the war of 1812, when the Government declined I to give Col. W Jhams that rank in the army to which his ! menu entitled him. The cause of this neglect need not I be recounted here ; suffice it to say, they were never jus tified, and the neglect caused Col. Williams to resign his commission. The benefit of this gentleman's exertions at West 1 oint was evinced in the number of "its sons sent forth to aid in the " second War of Independence " j every one of whom received brevet honors for their ser vices; many of them fell in battle. These evidence, of! the usefulness of elementary instruction in the art of war ' had moderated the opposition of Congress, and appro-1 priations had given permanency to a few plain academic ! buildings at West Point. Vet the fostering aid to the institution which had been contemplated by Washington I was tardy in its application. At the close of the war of 1812 the pecuniary credit of the Government had become so questionable that Treasury notes could not bo used to sustain the academy. The institution come to the verge of disbandment. During this emergency the chief engineer received from the Executive an anthority to n Jotiate a loan to sustain the academy, but that officer could not, find among the moneyed institutions of New York a wil ! lingness to advance the requisite sum of money l? this ' exigency that officer met a patriotic citizen, Mr. Jacob Barker, nnd informed him of the inability to negotiate the ' requisite loan. Mr. Rarker requested to know how ,nurh would be required to sustain the academy and ?n. in formed that $<),},000 would meet the objecU desired and ! to liquidate some debts that had been incurred Where upon Mr. R. authorized the engineer to draw on hi,,, for the amount in subdivided sums weeklv hv -i,- u ,i ...... . , ?' "j w<uch means the Military Academy was saved from disbandment Had it been then disbanded the tone and temp.r of the times I may have long delayed it. reorganization. This act of patriotism on the part of Mr. Rarker deserves a niche in our history; it was also a disinterested act for \tr Rarker was not repaid his loan for several years and when repaid by the Government he received only the dinary legal interest on the loan. Enough for the present' EA*THQt AKIt AT Sea.?The /,,/</? franTiZ' II i which arrived at Queenstown on the 13th ?,f 4. , n!c,? from Akyah, reports having felt a heavy shock of an eaHh' quake, which mode the ship tremble >11 over on the 11k August, in lat. 17 N., Ion. 27 W. ' 00 the 11 th ARMY ORDERS. UnADgUA&TEKS Of TttK ARMY, Nkw Youk, Sli-tkmuku 2ti, 1853. I. The followiug movements of troops arc order ed by the Secretary of War, and will be carried iu to eifcct iu the mauuer hereinafter directed : 1. The compauies of the 1st Artillery, (B, 0, E, au JII,) at Forts Myer and Meade, to exchange stations with the companies of 2d Artillery, (C, G, E, and K,) now at Forts Mouroe, Virginia, and Moultrie, South Carolina. 2. Companies C and F, 1st Artillery, from Baton Rouge and Camp Twiggs to tile lUo Grande, to report to the commander of tho 8th Department. 3. Company D, 1st Artillery, from Barrancas barracks to Fort Capron, East Floridu. 4. Two of the four coinpuuies of the 2d Artillery, now in East Florida, to be posted, one at Barrancas and oao at Baton Rouge barracks. 5. The six compunies of the 3d Artillery, (A, D, G, H, I, and R,) now at Forts Sullivan, Preble, Constitution, In dependence, Adams, and Trumbull, to concentrate in the harbor of New York, aud proceed to the Pacific division, via Cape lioru. 0. Light Company C, 3d Artillery, from Jefferson bar racks, to Fort Gibson C. N., to leave before the arrival at the former place of the recruits, &c., from Carlisle bar racks. 7. The three companies of the 4th Artillery, (C, E, and I,) now at Forts Wood, Mifllin, and Washington, to take post, one at Fort Hamilton, New York, uud two at Fort Independence, Massachusetts. 8. The privates of tho 2d Infantry to be transferred to companies of other regiments serving in California, und the officers and non-commissioued officers to come to the Atlantic coast to recruit their companies. 9. The headquarters of the 1st Artillery to be at Fort Monroe, Virginia ; of the 2d at Pensacola, Florida ; and of the 4th in the harbor of New York. 10. Brevet Lieut. Col. John Monroe, Major 2d Artil lery, to be assigned to the commuud of the troops in the Peninsula of Florida. One of the Majors of the 3d Artillery to be assigned to duty with the companies of that regiment serving iu the Eighth Department. The other field officers to uocotu pany the regiment to the Pacific division. 11. It is further ordered that the following named posts shall be abandoned and turned over to the proper Depart ments, viz : Forts Sullivan, Preble, Constitution, Adams, Trumbull, Wood, Mifflin, and Washington ; New Smyrna, East Florida, and New Orleans barracks; and that the commands of the First, Third, and Fourth Military Dc partmouts be suspended. 12. The particular companies of the 1st Artillery to go respectively to Forts Moultrie and Monroe ; those of the 2d, to go to Forts Myers and Meade, Barrancas and Ba ton Rouge barracks; of the 4th, to Forts Hamilton and Independence; and the Field Officer of the 3d, to serve in Texas, will be forthwith designated by the several re gimental commanders; the details to be immediately re ported to Division and General Headquarters. The movement of the companies, and the headquarters of the 2d Artillery to Florida, will be made under the di rection of the commanding officer of tho regiment, so as to arrive at their respective stations by the 15th of No vember next. On being relieved by the companies of the 2d, the companies and headquarters of the 1st Artillery will pro ceed to their stations at Forts Monroe and Moultrie. The other movements of the troops in Florida, und the transfer of the companies of the 1st Artillery to Texas, will bo made after the close of the sickly season at the Sjuth, and under the direction of the general command ing the Western Division, who will also give the necessary instructions for sending the companies of tho 1st Artillery to the Fourth Department. Brevet Lieutenant Colonel John Monroe will relieve Brevet Brigadier-General Thomas Childs in the command of the troops in the Peninsula of Florida on the 13th of November. The commanding officers of Forts Washington, Mifflin, and Wood will, without delay, evacuate those posts, and proceed with their companies to the stations which shall be designated by their regimental commander. The commanding officer of the first Department, and those of Forts Sullivan, Preble, Constitution, Indepen dence, Adams, and Trumbull, will without delay evacuate those posts and with their commands repair to Fort Co lumbus ; whence, except the Field officer to serve in Texas, they will proceed as soon as practicable, via Cape Horn, to the Pacific Divisions. The Colonel of the Regiment will receive further instructions for his government from these headquarters. Officers on leave of absence, or under orders to join, belonging to the companies of the 3d artillery ordered to the Pacific, will forthwith repair to Fort Columbus. The General commanding the sixth department will give ; the necessary orders for the movement of light company j C, third artillery, to Fort Gibson, by such route as he may , consider best. j On being evacuated by their present garrisons, Forts | Sullivan, Preble, Constitution, Adams, Trumbull, Mifflin, j and Washington, New Smyrna, East Florida, and New i Orleans barracks will be taken charge of by the Quarter- j master's department. Fort Wood will remain ia charge of th? engineer department. On the receipt of this order, the command of the first, third, and fourth departments will he ouspeuded. The Colonel of the 4 th artillery will repair to the haaciqunr ters of the regiment of this city. The General commanding the Pacific division will, on tht receipt hereof, make such arrangements (by transfers, breaking up companies, or otherwise, as tho service will ; allow) to send immediately to the East such of the officers and non-commissioned officers of the 2d Infantry as can be conveniently apared to report to the superintendent of the general recruiting service in this city. The remain- t ing officers und non-commissioned officers will be sent with similar orders as soon as they shall be relieved by the 3d artillery. The musicians and privates of the regiment will be j transferred at such timejand to such companies in Cali fornia as the division commander may designate. The necessary supplies and transportation will be fur nished by the proper departments. By command of Major-General Scott. L. THOMAS, Asst. Adj t General. CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF RAILROAD AGENTS. At a recent term of the Oyer and Terminer for Duchess county, New York, the presiding Justice, Ba*ci:lo, call el the attention of the Grand Jury to the principles of law relating to railroad disasters, and insisted on the strict enforcement of the law in every case of disaster. He laid down the following; propositions: 1. That the engineers, conductors, and other persons, j through whose negligence or want of care a human life is destroyed, are individually and ptrtoiially liable to indict- , went and punishment for murder or manslaughter. i That the engineer, being the person who actually , sets the train in motion, is primarily liable ; but that the conductor may also become liable with the engineer, if . he orders the train sturted improperly ; though such or ders will not justify or excuse the engineer for starting 1 or running in a way to expose his train to collision, kc. j 3. That in matters where human life is involved there arc no such things as principals or agents; but every individual must watch over his own conduct, and sec \hat it is prudent and careful; and he cannot fall back upon ' any authority as a justification or excuse for causing the death of a human being. 4. That the " Time Table" of the superintendent of a | railroad is the rule by which all inferior officers and j agents are to be governed in running their trains, and that whenever, by deviating therefrom, an accident oc curs, it is occasioncd by the "wrongful act, neglect, or default" of all who participate in causing such deviation, and they are to be held to on individual, personal ac countability for such act. 6. That engineers and conductors are bound to be fa miliar with the " Time Table," and to regulate their con duct accordingly : and whenever an engineer is required to run an engine only from one part of the road to ano ther, it is his duty so:to do it as to avoid all the regular trains; and, in case he finds it impossible to reach the next station before a train is due there, he should switch hia engine off from the track and wait until the expcctod train has passed. ? 6. That, considering the great responsibility of their positions, and the awful consequences of a departure from a safe course, the law must exact from those who have the control and management of passenger trains the utmost skill, care, and diligence. edceiiill gkammar school, Princeton, N. 4. THIS Inititution, under tho supervision of the Trustees of the College of New Jersey, will commence iu next sos sion on Wednesday, November 2d, 1853. The location is retired and healthy, the grounds extensive, and the building* largo. A carefully selected library is at taehed to the institution, which will he Increased from time to time, as the Interest of the j>opili> may require. In the teaching department the Principal will he aided by thoroughly competent a*?istants. No pains will be spared to afford every facility for a thorough preparation for college or for busines* life. The moral character and religious Instruction of the pupils is an object of especial solicitude and labor, and all the ar rangements of the school are made with refcrenco to the for mation of good habits und tho inculcation of correct principles. The School Year begins on the first Wednesday of Novem ber, and is divided into two senslons of twenty-one weeks each. Vacations in the months of April and Octobor Terms $225 per annum, payable half yearly in advance. For further |>artlculars apply to sep 10?w8ww Hcv. T. W. CATTKLL, Principal. | FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. London, Sjsptembkr 15, 1853. London life, in the scenes which it daily exhibits and the events which its journals every day record, ; presents so many things of a directly contradictory nature that wo can scarcely imagine what weuld be the decision of a traveller who was taking notes upon this great metropolis, with a view of construct ing a representation of its condition, the social and moral character of its people, and the nature of its legal and municipal enactments, as deducible from their administration. Let us take a glance at the proceedings of the Police Courts, as exhibited by yesterday's proceedings. Our traveller would scarcely believe the record which testified that a thief, who stole two cod fish and three haddocks, was punished by a year's im prisonment and hard labor, whilst a wretch who 1 made a murderous attack upon a police officer, i which placed his life in danger, was mulcted 10s. ] lie would read, however, in the same column, that I the enlightened magistrates of London, in the middle j of the nineteenth century, punish the pilferer of ! eighteen pence with penal servitude for four years, whilst ' a brate, who half murders a woman, is "staggered" at : the severity of a sentence which dooms him to si* weeks' hard lubor. He would.next find that the man who ap propriates about two pecks of dour pays for such appro priation by four years' penal servitude, whilst a fero cious brute who bites and kicks policcmen, and tears the clothes olf their backs, has the choioe of either pay'mg ?3 10s. for his amusement, or undergoing imprison ment for six weeks. Can we doubt what would be the conclusions our traveller would arrive at t Could ho he sitate to determine that Englishmen were a people who valued property ubove all other things, and were careless to a strange degree about human life, or at least human pain ? Ife would look upon the English as a blood-thirsty nation, caring little ubout suffering or death, but a great deal about money; and would conclude, not without a shudder, that so long as an Englishman preserved his property he eared little about protection to his person. He would be reminded of the old anecdote in Joe Miller of the sailor, who, when threatened by the highway-man that " if he did not deliver up his purse he would blow his brains out," replied, " fire away j I would rather be without brains than money." All that can be urged against such conclusions would necessarily be unavailing whilst the daily police reports narrate such an award of punishments as we have re corded. Might not a file of any of the daily papers be brought in support of the traveller's conclusions still more strongly ? AYe think the people of London ought to do something, not only for the sake of common humanity, but for the vindication of the national character, to wipe off this.stain, and prove to the world and posterity, by an alteration of the laws, that the Englishman of the nine teenth century had a better knowledge of the relative value of life and property than might be inferred from the present administration of the penal code. We have great hopes that the opening of the new " Great Exhibition," which will certainly take place next year, will be a memorable epoch in the history of popu lar culture; that it will be a more efficient corrector of public morals and manners than any penal code, however formed and however administered, could possibly be ; that it will prove a most successful experiment; and that, being so, it will have its representative in every metro polis, and probably in every great city in the civilized world. It is no mean lioner to England to have set this great example of catering for a nation's amusement in an enlarged, a national, and a truly worthy way. It was, indeed, high time that such an experiment should be set on foot. The theatre, very frequently a ques , tionablo and always an expensive combination Of ! amusement and instruction, is practically no more. One ! by one nearly all the feasts and festivals, the merry ' makings and fairs have died out. There is an almost I more than puritanic dearth of amusement, for the dearth 1 is not one of principle merely, but it arises from the inca pacity to derive pleasure from th? old sources. The gin shop and the tavern reap from a certain class the harvest of this indifference and joylessness. This apathy is too apt to result in profligacy, and both are too deeply rooted in the mental habits of thousands to b? removed by any j but somewhat startling means. Romf., when the had [ reached her height and almost excess of civilization, mot I the popular cry fcr exciting amusoment by gladiatorial | fights and shows of men and beasts destroying and de ' vounng each other. Spain, at the present day, provides I bull-fights for her people. Emtutu and revolutions have been?may we hope their day is past??the safety-valves of France; whilst the novelties and abstractions of pseudo-philosophy serve a like purpose for the morbidly thoughtful and inactive Germans. Your often-recurring elections and frequent State and town meetings prevent too great an accumulation of ennui. Esglanu alone has no broadly-recognised solace for the wearisomentss of perpetual work. The gin shop afforJs to too many of the laboring classes a most mischievous remedy. Dickens, Thackeray, and one or two other popular writers have a wide, but not wide enough, sphere of beneficial action. Political agitation, owing to the want of education and adaptation, through unpreparedness, has neither so safe nor so general an application as it haa with vou: nor do I Englishmen, as a general rule, possess the copia vtrborum, the "gift of the gab," nearly so plenteously as their transatlantic cousins do. The Literary Societies and Mechanics' Institutes too often sink into ineffectual dille tantisms. There is nothing in England to compare frith the gladiatorial bhows of Rome, the bull-fights of Spain, Frcnch revolutions, or Oerman philosophy, in the way of palliatiTes of national ennui. It is to be hoped that the noble work which is going on at Sydenham will furnish this effectual, wholesome, and permanent desideratum. The money market and the harvest, the cholera, and the Russia and Turkey dispute are yet the great agi tating questions here; and well they may be, for prospe rity, plenty, health, and peace are the four principal sup ports of all that is dear to man, cither individually or na tionally. To say that any of theso great elements of hap piness are at present perfectly out of danger would be asserting too much. And first, of that great criterion of commercial prosperity, the money market, the returns of the Bank of England show : Circulation ?22,465,945 Decrease... ?310,300 Public depositee.. 4,701,598 Increase.... 99,013 Private deposites.. 11,017,313 Decrease... 116,013 Diso'ts k advances 14,54^,194 Increase.... 715,859 Coin and bullion.. 1G,500,008 Decrease... 4'il!,850 The chief feature in this account is the decrease of nearly half a million sterling in the bullion, and we ex pect that during the next two or three weeks at least a still further and considerable reduction may be looked for. Shipments of gold for Russia are anticipated to be heavy for some time to come. A feature of almost equal importance is the great increase of the discounts, which fully accounts for the rise in the Bank rate of interest. It is said that anothar rise is about to take placc; and bccause the purpose aimed at in the previous one, influ encing the rate of exchange, hns not been attained, the next rise, we are told, is to be one per cent. What there may be in the present condition of the Bank to authoriie such an advance the next returns will reveal: but as yet the market rate, uninflucnccd by the passing agitations of the moment, does not seem to warrant an immediate rise to five per cent. The sllort harvest, and the necessi ty to buy more corn abroad, arc alleged as the grounds of the Bank's threatened farther rise in the rate of discount. But this, we think, would be very wrong and very foolish ; it would be an attempt to regulate the imports of food by the sliding-scale of the gold in the Bank coffers. The* Daily Newt, speaking upon this subject, says : "To check the corn trade, in order to prevent the ex port of gold, mean* that the riches which the beneficial discoveries in California and Australia have poured into our lap and stimulated our exertions shnl) not be diffused amongst the Russian peasantry, the Egyptian fellahs, and the American agriculturists, rewarding their exertions and stimulating them to produce more food, the very thing now required by society. Capital is scarce ; it can be only augmented by industry. No kind of capital is of so much importunes as food. The production of that where circumstances make its production easy is now especially to be encourogcd, and to stop the export of gold where with to buy corn Is to stop Its production. To raise the rate of discount to check the oora trade rneaui that the march of civilization, bringing peace, harmony, and wealth in its train, is to be arrested for the solace of a few fright ened directors, and tor the imagined advantage of the Dank of Eugland. Whatever other reasons the partisans of the Dank may allege for its conduct, let them preserve a guarded silence on the corn trade." This state of the money market, and increased strin gency being threatened, and the Eastern question being now opened again, the stock market has again become very gloomy. Consols are down to 90, being a full of four per cent, since the first broaching of these Eastern difficulties; and all other securities and shures aro in a similar de pressed condition. The returns of the Dank of France on the 8th instant exhibit a decrease in the cash and bul lion during the month, of f.27,000,000 An increase of discounts 4,500,000 A decrease of circulation 0,500,000 A decrease of Treasury depositcs 1,500,000 Private ones have decreased 19,000,000 The whole of the specie and bullion..... 452,500,000 To a circulation of 601,000,000 The excise returns for the half year which ended 8th of July last are as satisfactory as those of the Board of j Trade. Paper shows a large increase. As respects soap, no 1 comparison can be arrived at, the duty having ceased last spring, and the manufacture having been checked for i some time pending the discussion upon the duty. Malt ; and spirits present an increase, and sugar, which now appears in the list, from the establishment of the Irish manufacture from beet root, also figures fcr an increased but still an unimportant total. The following table shows the value of our domestic produce and manufactures exported during each of the first seven months of the present and past two years: Month. 1831. 1852. January ?4,817,870 February 1,740,278 March 6,965,19* April 5,380,094 May 5,901,393 June 0,228,122 July ' 0,418,203 Total. 40,512,050 ?4,821,781 5,353,552 0,400,415 5,208,915 5,935,033 5,709,090 0,589,108 40,138,500 Avcr'ge p. m'h ?5,787,437 | ?5,743,080 1853. ?6,231,841 0,272,049 7,887,233 7,578,910 7,123,191 6,772,733 7,995,080 49,861,043 7,123,092 The whole of the exports of 1852 were ?78,076,854, which were distributed as follows : LrltL-h poiaiijious, India - - AuMrulia North America ? Weft Indie* - - South Africa - ? Alt others ? - - ?7,352,007 ? 4.222,205 1,004,2*3 2,WO,005 Germany, United State* - - - Ifan.?e Towns ? - - Prussia Other Ourinan States 6,S72,753 681,8S4 ?20,032,314 16,0t7,737 Other Kingdom.", Ac. Holland - ? . liraxil Franco ? ? - - Turkey .... Chins >'oreiifU West Indiu Spain Chill I'ortugal- - - - ltu.'nia .... Belgium .... Peru 4,101',970 3,41*4,394 2,701,280 2,349,440 1,91$,214 1,629,762 1.293,608 1.167,494 1,104,213 1,090,917 1,076.499 1,024.009 7,890,S49 Ail otlicr places, each b?low 1,000.000 22,908i,7M 10,607,519 ?78,070,S54 The best news we have respecting the harvest is from Ireland, whence tho reports are cheering. The Dublin Evening Post of Saturday says: " Our own harvest reports continue very favorable as regards the cereal crops, and we hear little or nothing about blight in the potato, for, although the stalks are all'ected in many places, the roots, we arc assured, are still sound ; and the markets all through the country are plentifully supplied with potatoes, far finer in quality than at any time since 1844. The weather fortunately contines fine, and in most places the bulk of the harvest has already been secured." As respects the cholera, we have toweport three cases at Liverpool among some German emigrants ; the disor der, however, has not extended. There have been from twenty to thirty cases at Newcastle. The case3 in London last week were seven: five children and two adults. It has, however, broken out in two fresh localities, viz. near Newgate Market, in the neighborhood of St' Paul's, and on the Surrey side of the river, in St. George's parish, Southwark, both very thickly inhabited and un wholesome situations, through wnnt of cleanliness and ventilation. The number of deaths during the week were 1,013, the average of ten years being 1,150. The Eastern question, whatever may be the result, and certainly at present the issue threatens to be any thing rather than pacific, has called forth some excellent State papers. The two replies of the French Minister at War, M. Dnoirvii de L'ucvs, were excellent compositions, both in style and argument. Then we have a very good paper from the Earl of Clarendon, and now we have one from the Turkish Minister, Rescuio Pacha, which is regarded as a master-picce of diplomatic argument and skill. We fear, however, that this document bears strong marks of the influence of a party in Turkey determined upon war. This party has long existed in the Divan, and it has lately had its enthusiasm increased and its hopes excited by the display of barbaric forcc which the Seruskier has been able to make. It is known also that the state of the Russian armies in the Danubian Provinces is such as to have given pause to the Russian Government, and would make it desirous to withdraw them for the present, if it could be done without too glaring a wound to its pride. Still, however, " the Cxar rejects the Turkish modifica tions, but abides by the Vienna note, and promises to evacuate the Principalities if the Porte accepts it pure and eimple." So says a telegraphic note from Vienna. Tlio most danger is now to be apprehended from the war spirit at Constantinople, which may be fanued into a Same by the rejection of the Sultan's modifications. As respects political news, the continent of Europe is a blank. The following statements respecting the harvest are important: " The Prussian and Austrian Governments have just published the official reports which have reached them on the results of the harvest. In Prussia, although the fre quent rains prevented the harvest from being an abundant one, there is, it ia stated, far from a scarcity. The crop of rye in the Province of Prussia and in the Provinces of Posen and Hrandeburg is good, and even abundant; in Pomerania, Saxony, and Silesia it is moderate ; and it is only in Lithuania, in Western Pomerania, and in West phalia that it is bAd. The same may be said of the crop of wheat, with this difference, that in Westphalia it is better, and in the Rhenish Province rather worse, than that of the rye. Iu Lithuania, Saxony, and Silesia the crop of barley has been a fnir one. The crops of forage have been every where abundant, but a part of them was afterwards destroyed by the bad weath?. Tho price of corn appears to be kept up from a fear of failure in the potatoes, but the disease ia that vegetable is only partial, and there is nothing to indicate that the produce will be less than in former years. The crops are satisfactory in theTyrol and in Upper Austria, middling In Carniola and in Austrian Silesia, good in Moravia ond the Hukowine, and very fair in the Duchy of Cracow. The reports from Hungary, Oalicia, Transylvania, Lombardy, and other parts of the Empire have not yet been received, but there ii nevertheless reason to believe that, without being as abundant as might have been hoped, the returns will he satisfactory. The price of land in certain parts of Hun gary has doubled, a fact which shows the progress mak ing by agriculture in that country. There is not any news from Itait, except a continual increase in the price of bread, and a consequent increased dissatisfaction on the part of the people, and increased oppression and suspicion on that of the Governments. Frascb does not yield any news beyond a continued stagnation in business, in fact almost a panic, at the Hoarse, in consequence of the unfavorable turn which the arrangements of the Eastern question has taken. He ports are so various and so diametrically opposite with respect to the harvest in France, that we know not what to say about it; in fact, the Way in which the price of bread is now regulated by Government, so prevents the natural operations of supply and consnmptiun that there are no very obvious means of arriving at a correct conclusion. Ship Fiver.?Ship fever appears to be raging again fearfully on many of the emigrant ships plying between New Y*rk and Liverpool. The latest instance is that of the ship Winchester, which arrived at New York a few days ago. 8he shipped at Liverpool 46<? passengers, of whpm seventy-nine died on the passage across the At lanuo.