NEWS BY THE micusn nu.

THE FRINCH FLOATING B.‘.'I‘I‘IRllS.

A Belgian contemporary quotes the fol- lowing from the letter of a French oﬁicer attached to the Kinburn expedition:—“ We have just put the floating batteries to a most satisfactory proof. hey opened their fire at a quarter-past nine, at a distance somewhere between 400 and 600 metres, and by noon there was a splendid breach. The 50 pound balls quickly sealed off the facing ofthe rampart, and the shells knoclt- ed over everything. I was in the fort after its surrender, when the fire kindled by the mortar-vessels was still burning. I never saw such a confusion of smashed gun- carriages, of broken or dismounted guns; the chaos was superb. ow, we must set to work and try to do better still. The first trial has been good, but there is yet room for improvement; the engines are not power- ful enough, and the bulls do not readily answer the helm. But one thing is deci- edly proved—the main and essential thing —and that is, the invulnerability of the ﬂoating batteries. They all of them bear the dints of from forty to ﬁfty shots, just like the marks of bullets (in a target. We have only lost a few men from sotne projec- tiles tliat entered by the port-holes. VVe are well rewarded by the signs of astonish- ment and adtniration on the part of the English and the Russians.”

RUSSIAN WARE-‘Al'tE.

The Russians themselves certainly have no reason to be desirous of prolonging a contest in which they have experienced nothing but defeat since it was begun. Prince Gortschakoff comforts his army by telling them, that they are no worse off in evacuating Scbastopol than the Russians were in deserting Moscow after the battle of Borodino, and that in both cases, they had the pleasure of destroying their own cities, and presenting a smouldering heap of ashes and stones to their conquerors. The Russian mode of warfare is something like duelling among the Japanese, when each party rips open his own bowels, in- stead of performing that act of destruction upon his antagonist. Thus far. Russia has destroyed her ﬂeet in the Black Sea, burnt Sebastopol, and sacriﬁced a hundred thou- sand, or more, of her men; and as Prince Gortschakoff appears to think that it is a

' feather in his cap, to destroy his towns and

ships, if the war should continue much longer, he may yet have the pleasure of seeing St. Petcrsburg under watcr—for it would be easier to drown than to burn it-— and Moscow again in ﬂames, after Odessa and all the smaller cities have been laid in ashes. “Two years,” says the Times, “ have elapsed since the first struggle of Russians and Turks at the earthworks of Oltciiitza. \’\'hat was then the position of Russia in Europe? During forty years, she has been in the estimation of the world the first military power. She lind broken the spell which bound mankind to the throne of the great Napoleon; she had taken the lead in the deliverance of Germany, and if the Prussians had been more frequently and more successfully engaged during the cam- paign of I813, Russia at least had been the great support, the reserve, which was to sustain in the conflict the more forward ofthe allies. She had not shared in Water- loo, but she had borne the chief part in the discussions which preceded and followed the crowning victory. The world had peace, and Russia shared in its beneﬁts;

HASZARIYS GAZETTE, DECEMBER 12. _

(From Vl"ilmer‘s European Times). RISE IN THE VALUE OF PRODUCE.

The enormous increase in the value of sugar has directed attention to the statistics of the subject, from which it appears, that the stocks on hand are small, and that a. fear of exhaustion has mainly led to the panic now raging. In the present state of the market, it will be to the manifest advantage of‘ the West Indians to send forward their su plies with all imaginable speed, if they desire to avail themselves of the rates which are now revailing. During the last twelve inonths,t a price of sugar has nearly doubled, and spoon ation in the article recently has on immense. We hear of some houses which have cleared as much as £200,- 000 by their stocks, of others which have net- ted lialf that amount, of others ii. in, which have realized £50,000, and so on—a l, of course. turning over the and and the nny at a moment so favours lo to fortune-ma ing. One, version of the cause of the rise is, that the boot root this year in France has been a failure, another that America, to an ply her wants, has been compelled to import nrgcly; but cer- tain it is, that the speculation in sugar has been iiniazing, and that immense sums have been made by the general feeling of scarcity which exists. The speculation, nevertheless, is not confined to sugar. All articles of con- sumption, such as cotlcc,tca, rice, tallow, bread- stutis. and linseed, have been in great demand, the prices of which have almost equally ad- vanced. Indeed, during the last fortnight or three weeks, the ti-nnsactions in these nrticlos have tripled and even quadrupled the ordinary amounts. l‘hc fever for speculation is now at its height and never, pt.-rliaps, within the iiic- niory of man, was there so high at range of prices conteinporancous with the same dear- ncss ofinoncy. In fact, the theory of the po- litical economists has been reversed during, this unprecedented crisis,—iiaiiicl_v, that when, money is dear, prices fall. a Not only is Ill0llt'y‘

scarce and dear, t'roin causes to which in t'orm- -er numbers we h:ive referred. but the value of fall the necessaries of life is more than corres-. lpondingly elevated, and scenic likely, from pre-,‘ lsciit appearances, to continue so during the‘ telegraphic despatch , received from Gcne- ;l?s';;:$i‘;'hL;‘?‘_:‘;§“:;i’:3l":'i‘:‘E" 3'': “if ‘ex’ w- r v _- 4 _ u _ i ' 7 ‘ g , ' ‘ ‘ ' L‘ ‘ - ; rallbir Vt. (podiington, dottd I_V'ov. lb.-/_!sc-lvcs, considering the late excellent Ixurvest,‘ A Very '”:“".V 9-‘l_’l"5""‘ 9‘ “ “W79 "l land the ample supplies which exist in America. = powder at ii l~ rench siege train took plnce‘,"1‘rn.de. like other things, is susceptible of II._ about 3 p. l:.'. yesterday. It conimuiiica-.,good deal of trickery, and mauikind rarely tux.

ted fire to our siege train, close to it, Where itheir inventive powers higher, than in the effort there was no powder, but some naval live’

to turn passing events to pecuniary profit. '1‘ shells, most of which were removed; hut

infirmity has even reached, it is said. at least, - _ . . lone ltoyal head; for it is now pretty plainly milk)” gglllre n"dtda“_mlg”‘.d”'"‘l'5 °°"5'ld°lHuiidcrstood, that the cry of u dclieicnt harvest, 7“ °- 9 3'9“ 3-‘P_“-"‘"' ‘_"'°“' ' 5 "3 iwhich was raised in France at short time ago on ‘"0" ‘he ‘-""“P °f_°"" =""L"’_ U'“|"._ and lllemllicialautliority, has answered the purpose of huts of the 1st Brigade, ha-ing entirely da-fthc (i0\'cl‘lllllt.'nt,—-llttlllcly. that ot' securing magcd, but not by fire. All nﬂicers nudaiiiple iiiiportzitioris to assist a cereal yicid men we,-elm, the spot at ,,,,,.,., and wort‘-,.,-i :which was little, if at all, below an average with good will and energy, and I saw nuponc. But the rims ans-\‘vcrcd other ends than safe when I qumed at 7 pi m__Ki"ed: De_!that which toe l~i-cnch l~.i.upcror depigncd. Ilc, A . C . Y H [far-seeing man, was mainly solicilous for his Pull” sslstam °_""I“5sa"y 0 0"’ R’ Awown wcll'arc,—kncw that ili sical dcstitutiou y I Y and ‘..l non-commissioned oflieers and men —Woiinded: Lieutenant Dawson, R. A ,l

naya and the capture of the Illiilakoff, fioin the cannonade of Odessa to the occupation of Kinburn, from the capture of Chef katil to the defence of Kars, the allies may count a series of almost unbroken successes. All that balances the Russian reverses are a few successful sorties at Sebastopol, and the successful repulse of attacks in June and September. The flood of victory had set strongly against the Muscovite empire, and there is not the least sign of a change in its direction. We may, therefore, count it among the greatest triumphs of the pre- sent war, that this great and wide-spreading reputation has been so suddenly and com- pletely overthrown.

o——j Accinxnrsi. sxrnosios IN srnurorot.

On the 1st instant, an explosion occurred in the part of the town occupied by the French. The report was compressed and loud, and the reverberation was so strong as to lead to the impression that some con- siderable magazine had been exploded; but some Frenchmen, bringin up a wounded man to one of the ambulances, declared that it was loose powder in an ammunition wagon which had been accideiitnlly ﬁred, and that two or three injuries to bystanders, and those compariitiveI_v slight, were the only ill-effects resulting. Our allies are not very communicative on such matters. The Russians evidently concluded, that they had blown up one ofthe inagiizincs of the inor- tar battery behind Fort Nicholas, not far from which the column of smoke which fol- lowed the explosion appeared to rise, for during the remainder ot' the day they con- centrated a heavy shelling fire in that di- rection. ‘

Despalc/t from General Cedringtaii. Lord Panmure forwards the following

7 G

-iwns the parent of olitical convulsions, and

‘ndroitly announced in the Uovernincnt organ lost his leg below his knee; Liciitciiaiit Rn-~'tlie t'Xl.~iL'nCl,' of all but :1 famine in I~‘r.uicc. be", dangerously in “H. ,,,.m; ]li,.,,mm,m ln lI.i-_;lniid, \vc lcavetlicsc things to private Eccles and Assistant _S|ll‘,'_1l'0ll Re-title, 2d Battalion Riﬂe Brigade, .-'li_«_glitly; llti bri- gade noncommissioned I-flicvrs and men, of whom 47 slightly. i\lissin;_v, file. ”

enter}-rise—to the naituril laws of demand and supply; but the bait was too tempting not to be HL'l7.t‘ll by the corii-dealers of this country. who have long learnt intuitively how to lllllhc ‘l "lmk “ml the most ol' that useful cry—" wolf.“ Mr. Cairtl, an aiithority' on the statistics ofgi-ain, at luiigtli i-aisrd his voice, lllltl showed that ii. According to the Berlin Ciil‘l‘(.'S|)0ll(lCllCc,liery shgiiitmlpunmluin 0i.c0r.n.i“.mM sum?”

“he Times the “em” Cm_‘_c‘w ”_"‘rim_ _ or our \\.tn at Hull _t I‘ nest li_.ii\c.~t: but his ° , _ I ‘ ‘ _ ‘ s statistics were ociiicd, and his reasoning as- Wl"Ch ‘1“"V0d 0“ lV“"l_“l”' (l"""C-"~“ IN-0!‘; sailed by at host of persons, all having an in- Stockholm) on the Stli iiistniit, lelt lll(‘l'(‘,;'it)l’cSt in the continuance of extreme rzitcs. a,L'!lIn on the l0th for bzindliuinn to watt-.li U10 Y!‘-‘Hit “'1” ')0,tliat in the t‘0ul'S0 of :i [luv an American vessel lying tlii.-re, which wns1|H0ntlm, we _shall have enormous importzitions understood to be laden with rm,nh,m_s fnrloflirt-tidstiiﬂs from the \Vesterii world. to be Russian account, and in he only waiting for

followed. ‘OOH lifter. b as rapid n tlt‘(‘llllt,‘ in n favoumme opponmmy to cross over w prices; and the unfortunate suflerer will be- Finland.

the iinportcr, taxed with freight, insurance, commission, and the other rt cetcras of coni- mercc, t0.lll(2cl unremiinerativc quotations. Recurring to the subject ofsugnr, with which we commenced these remarks, the official sta-

There are now under Government con-

but it was only, that she might extend her dominion over the iiioro or less helpless nations which dwelt on her frontier. Po- land fell for ever; Turkey lost the mouths ofthe Danube and two Paehalics in Asia. Austria, threatened with destruction in the convulsion of 1848, was saved by Russian arms, and fell apparently under Russian vaualage. Not only in the despotic courts of Europe, but in ourown parliament, the

raises of the autocrat rcsounded. His

reatnesl, his magnanimity, his modern-t tion, were the themes of a large party in the froest country of Europe. It cannot be wondered at that his heart grew ' h, and that to him the resistance of Tor ey was ridiculous-—tlie intervention of Europe athi not to be dreamt of’. From Oltenitza. and, ' 0 lo uul iutgov

"300 sailing ships.

tract as war ships about ‘.110 steamers and The mnximuin price paid by the Government for the hire of these vessels is £2 15s per ten per month, and the minimum price is His per ton per month.

tistics show that instead of the home eonsuni - lion increasing, it hiis positively fallen oil‘. lb the first nine iimiiths of last yrar :'i.‘.\.'il..".l~l cwts., were l.i.l\'t‘ZI for consumption ; in the ill'\[ nine months of thcprescntycar, 5,885,514 cwts., exhibiting a decrease of 08,800 cwt. Imports have, however, fallen off to the extent, it is asserted, offifty per cent., caused. mainl , by the absence of cultivation last yeiirin Louisiana, and not to any deﬁciency in the crop. In 1853 the production of an r in that State was so much in excess that the article became unpro- ductive, followed, the next year, by non-culti- vstion, to a large extent, and this year, neces- sarily, by considerable exports into the Union. If this be a correct solution of the increased .value of sugar, the cause is temporary, and our sugar colonies must be re rod to take advantage of it. But it woud diﬂonltto ﬁnd half so good a reason for the advance which has taken place in many other articles for

The British government have taken up four more steamers to be em loyed us regu- lar transports, namely, the &ueen Victoria the Eglinton, the Sardinian, and the Nicho- las Wood.

Every available mechanic is now employ- ed upon the construction of the despatch unboats at the dockyard at Pembroke ock. They will very shortly be ready for launching, and, being built upon the di onsl piineiplo, like the Agsinenmoa,

Goftlioeﬁz:

the Alias to the bloody battle

which we are dependent on foreign countries. In so at an

9|, will prove to be of very great strength. The intelligence will roach Jo 1..

tsresting time, for we perceive by the last mail that the position of the island is improving,_ that the government expenditure as well as the rochis expenditure has been largely re- need, and that the island debt has been con. siderably liqpldsted, by means of alarge issue of inconvorti ls pspor,on the principle su gt. ed by the Legislative Committee. The iogi wants of the West Indies are money and la. hour. The first might be remedied by on issue, on the part of the Imperial Parliament, of ii. colonial paper currency, to be ads is legal tender in Engl.in.l ; and the secon by sending our convict population to these beautiful is- lands, under such restrictions for the preserva. of their health, as might comport with proper discipline and the reformatory process. These su estions are so important, that we shall pro ably return to them again.

Reunions D_lttCON'l‘EN‘l‘.—-Tlle rumour of considerable religious discontent existing in

ussia, is confirmed by it Government cir- cular just issued to the Russian clergy: “ He who doubts the Czar to be the sole protector of the Orthodox Church is decla- red Io be an apostate. ”

The appeal of the English consul at Cologne against his sentence (for illegally enlisting for the Foreign Legion) has been unfortunate. The court has condemned him to six inontlis' iinprisoiiinent instead of three; and his secretary, who was acquit- ted, has been now sentenced to three months’ iiiiprisoninent.

Tun Porn AND iiii; Queen or Sr.u.v’s l’iii:si‘..~r.—-'I‘lie following passage is ex- trncied froin a letter which has just h it received in Paris from Madrid:—“ e h.-.ii-nt yesterday, at Madrid, with consider- able ustonisliiiirnt, that the Pope had just sold, at the Church of St. Peter, iit Rome, for the sum ol'$80,000, the magnificent tiara, which Qiiccn lsabclla presented to him last spring. ’’—London Daily .N'm-s

UNITED STATES.

Riionr. ISl.A.\'D LIQUOR LAw.—A new Act has been introduced into the Rhode Island Assembly to supersede the existing liquor law. It provides, in substance, that cities and towns may grant licence for the sale of liquors in quantities not less than one quart -—tlic party licensed giving bond, that he will not allow any such liquors to be drunk on the prcniises WlI('I‘C the same are sold— that he will not sell to niiy person under thc influence ofiiitoxicating driiik-—iior up- on Sunday, or any week day after ten o'clock in the evening—nor sell any liquors not pronounced pure by a coimiiissioner appointed for that purposc—nor give credit for any liquor sold. Another act for the suppression of tippliiig-sliops was introdu. cod at the same time, l\‘lllCll possesses pro- visions siniilzir to lllUS(‘ of the Maine law with regard to complaint of parties and seizure.

JAl'.\.\‘lI§l-'. l’o'rs'i'o l’i.A.\"r.—Tlie “Jo, pain-st-. potato plniit, " Dioscorca Japoiiica, has been .~'iicccssfully cultivated this sea- son by n. florist in New’ York city. He planted over twenty roots in May last, in pots, in his liot-liouse, and when he dug thi-in tip in October, they had, in some ca- 39*: {.'.|'0\\'n to the It-ngtli of two fer-t_ A|| grew ﬁnely. This root having been recom- llitatltlctl its «'1 .~‘lllI.~‘llllllt) liir the common Po- tutu, is now in great dciiiaiiil It grows lost, can be cultivated in any climate, and will do well in any soil, though sandy loam is preferable.

SwAi.i.owi.\'c Nr.i:ni.i-:s.—l)r. I-‘caring, of Nantucket. .'\liis.~i:xcliiis4etts, has taken from the .~ioin:icli, nbdonicii, and left side of a patient, named .Iaiio Janies, sixty-two needles, and more remain. The patient, some years ago, was deranged in mind, and fancied herself a pincushion, swallowing all the needles and pins she could lay hands on.

SICKNESS IN Oiiio.—Several parts 0 Ohio are said to be afilicted with sickness iinpsralelled in the history of the State. It is not confined to particular localities, but appears to be general, on the bills as well as in the valleys, in towns, as well as in the country. ,In Central Ohio, where the chalk were_nsver before known, they have been shaking the people most cordially.