whole, stood well. The railway is there, though the
destruction of trucks has made it nearly useless. But,
as there is no longer any shot or shell to be sent up to
the front, there seems to have been no difficulty in
supplying the camp with all necessary provisions. In fact,
recent complaints have rather indicated too sufficient a
supply of some commodities. Drunkenness is on the
decline, or, indeed, almost extinguished, since a razzia
of the authorities has carried away a great number of
the canteens whence the dangerous liquor was procured.
The men are at rest, or only occupied in providing for
their own subsistence. The work of the army is not
too severe; in fact, the culprits 'who enjoy moderate
exercise in stone-breaking' are observed to be
more healthy than their fellows. In short, it cannot
be denied that the British army is now, on
the whole, as well cared for, as healthy, and in as
good order as can be expected of any body of troops.
Our own soldiers are not alone in their increased
comforts and cheerfulness. The armies of France and
Sardinia are supplied with necessaries on a scale far
beyond what the French commissariat could reach
during the past winter. Then our allies, though generally
successful in their preparations, could not wholly
avoid the effects of cold and damp acting on the weary
watchers in the trenches. Although there are no
trenches this winter, yet the men are more warmly clad,
and will, no doubt, pass the period of cold weather in
health and comfort. The main camp before Sebastopol
is the centre of a number of isolated stations. From
these generally the accounts are favourable. Kinburn
is occupied exclusively by the French. The narrow
entrance of the Bay of Cherson may be frozen for some
weeks, but the place is well provisioned, the old works
have been improved and new ones erected. The
possession of this place is a pledge that operations against
the great Russian building-yards will not be forgotten
when the retreat or rout of the Crimean army shall
have left the allies at liberty. The healthiness and
accessibility of this spot make it one of the most valuable
conquests that the allied arms have effected. Far
on the east again, at the narrow entrance of the Sea of
Azoff, the Turkish Contingent has been landed with its
British officers. We have before mentioned the
complaints of this body; whether its present destination
has been wisely chosen we will not decide, but it is not
doubtful that, led and disciplined as it is, it will be
powerful enough to repel any assault of the Russians
during the winter. Provisions will be dear and access
difficult. It is probable that the expense of supporting
the force will be very great; but it is likely to retain its
health, and to be increased in efficiency by the time its
active services are required in the ensuing spring.
Eupatoria calls for no particular remark; it is well
garrisoned and intrenched, and may be regarded as
unassailable. Here, then, at the close of the second year of
war, are the allies established on four important points
of the Russian territory. Not only by their ships, but
by land garrisons, they hold the mouths of the Dneiper
and the Don, while their grand army, numerous, well
fed, well equipped, and sanguine of success, waits only
for the fitting season to march to new victories. It has
been doubted whether the present war has developed
any distinguished genius; that is a question which time
must answer; but this we can assert, that, though
mediocrity and inexperience may have commanded, yet
the vigour of two free nations has won larger successes
than have ever attended the first campaign of any
European war."

A despatch from Lieutenant Geneste to the Admiralty,
giving an account of the Hango Massacre, has
been published. It shows that the murderers of the
boat's crews were not irregular militia, but grenadiers
of the regiment of which the King of Prussia is Colonel;
that Lieutenant Geneste and Mr. Sullivan were bound
tightly with cords after their capture, and laid on their
backs in a cart; that the seamen, wounded and
unwounded, were compelled to walk by the Cossacks, who
struck them with their lances; and that the officers of
a Russian regiment at Eckness, disgusted with the
treatment of the prisoners, cut the cords that bound
them. One Russian officer present at the capture shook
his fist in the face of Geneste, who was at the time held
by eight or ten men. It is clear from this despatch that
the ambush was prepared.

Commercial advices from France state, that the
retail trade of Paris has recovered some activity, in
consequence of the approaching new year. The magazins
de nouveautés in particular are visited by numerous
purchasers. The manufacturers have also received
important orders from abroad, which will enable them
to give occupation to their workmen for the winter.
The accounts from the provincial industrial districts,
however, are not so satisfactory. At Rouen, Mulhouse,
Roubaix, and Amiens, manufacturers complain of the
high price of raw materials, and of being under the
necessity of disposing of their goods on unprofitable
terms. The sale of grain is becoming daily more difficult,
since it is evident that the purchases made in the
United States, Spain, and other countries, amply supply
the supposed deficiency in the last crop. Speculators
who had laid in a considerable stock are now anxious to
sell off, but find with difficulty buyers at the present
rates. Wheat has experienced a slight decline, and in
the departments the fall is general. The accounts from
the principal cattle markets and fairs of the interior
mention a diminution in prices. In Limousin, for
instance, fat oxen and pigs sell at 10c. lower per
kilogramme than last December. The wine trade at Bercy
is pretty active, Paris and its environs having of late
purchased largely. Prices, however, remain firm.
There is no foundation whatever in the report, published
by some foreign journals, that the French government
intend to increase the duties on tobacco, salt, and
other articles.

A letter from Moldavia, of the 10th of December,
states that the Hospodar Gregory Ghika has proclaimed
the entire abolition of serfdom in his Principality. This
important act was carried into execution on November 28.

An Act of Excommunication has been performed at
Coblentz, of which a German journal gives the following
curious account:—Coblentz, Dec. 12. On Sunday
we were witnesses of a ceremony which has not been
performed for centuries, viz., an excommunication, the
subject being M. Sonntag, a merchant at Coblentz, who
was divorced from his first wife, and eight years ago
was married by the civil authorities only to his present
one. Last summer, M. Sonntag was commanded by the
clergy to separate from his wife, and, not obeying their
decree, he was on Sunday excommunicated. Dean
Kramentz, after preaching a sermon against the civil
marriage, put on some other sacerdotal garments, and,
accompanied by two clergymen bearing wax tapers,
read, standing in the middle of the church, the sentence
of excommunication against M. Sonntag and his lady.
He then extinguished the tapers, saying that the
individuals named were not worthy to see the day of the
Lord, and throwing the candlesticks to the ground,
breaking them to pieces, exclaimed, "Let the bells
sound the funeral knell!" We immediately heard the
sound of bells and the chants for the dead. The dean,
in conclusion, proclaimed that no one whosoever was to
hold relations with the excommunicated, to salute them,
&c. This prohibition has not had much effect, for their
house has been filled ever since with visitors, and at
night they have been serenaded.

Accounts from St. Petersburg state that a Russian
loan of fifty million of roubles (nearly £8,000,000) is
issued at 82, bearing five per cent. interest. A money
panic has commenced in Russia. At Moscow, Nishni-
Novgorod, Astrakan, and other places, bank notes are
refused. People are hiding money. The Russian government
has ordained that to facilitate payments from the
state treasury the normal proportion of bullion to be
held by the bank against notes in circulation shall be
diminished. It was feared that the payment of the
interest of the public debt will be suspended.

At the Grand Council at St. Petersburg it has been
resolved to fortify that city and Moscow, and commissions
of engineers have been appointed to make plans
of defence. General Dehn is the president of the