be employed, a most important consideration while the emancipation of the slaves is in progress.o

"

It is to be hoped that a government which has hitherto shewn itself so disposed to promote liberal measures will not, in this instance, swerve from its usual course, and allow all the extended benefits above described to be sacrificed to the interests of the refiners at home. Although for a time this latter has formed a tolerable feature of domestic industry, yet it must be accorded that, during the continental wars, when Great Britain was in possession of the whole of the sugar colonies, and, of course, monopolized the supply of sugar to the whole world, its prosperity was forced by a combination of circumstances which can never again take place. Whilst every attempt to uphold it will inevitably prove futile, and the admission of this sugar, at an enhanced rate of duty, will conduce to support the revenue, we look upon its introduction as necessarily not far distant.

National Vaccine Board.-Among the curious investigations confided to Committees of the House of Commons during the last session, the report and evidence on the subject of the Vaccine Board, with the view of examining into the expediency of continuing this public establishment, furnish particulars in no trifling degree curious and interesting. Inoculation for the small-pox was introduced in the year 1720, and, turning to the bills of mortality of that and successive periods, we find the average mortality to have been as follows:

And the average of three years from 1830 to 1832 has diminished the proportion to 26 deaths in a thousand. The reduction in the mortality appears to be one-fourth what it was prior to the introduction of vaccination. The Vaccine Board distributed gratuitously, in 1832, no less than 100,000 charges of lymph, and vaccinated 14,190 souls. The number of births registered in the Metropolitan parishes, during the year, was 35,000, and the total number vaccinated, including the other establishments, was 23,532. Making allowance for the number of infants who die within a few months after birth, this shows a very favourable result, and evidences that vaccination is most extensively practised in the capital.

The official value of goods warehoused in the port of London, for the years 1831 and 1832 are thus stated:-1831, 19,974,5317.; 1832, 18,588,2117. Preserved Flowers and Plants.-Mr. Lindsey, the intelligent manager of the gardens at Chiswick House, has just presented to the Medico-Botanical Society some very beautiful and highly preserved specimens of dried plants and herbs, retaining, in a peculiar degree, the whole of the volatile oil and aroma, and the colour of the recent plant. The plan adopted by Mr. Lindsey is to dry the substances in a close and dark room, and not, as is usually the case, by exposure to a current of air and the action of the light. When the separation of the aqueous particles is effected by their evaporation, and they are tolerably dry, he submits them to pressure in small quantities enveloped in paper, until the oil appears on the surface, and which is known by its discoloration: by this, all change of colour by the action of the light, or further loss of volatile matters by evaporation is prevented. In pot-herbs, as well as medicinal plants, the improvement and superiority is very decided.

Health of the Inhabitants of London.-Sir A. Carlisle, in his evidence given before the Factory Commission, thus accounts for the comparative good health of the adult population of London :- "The great mass of the population of London have been brought up in the country. I would yenture to say that half the shopkeepers and artisans in London have been born and bred in the country, and come to London at or after maturity, to seek their fortunes, and to obtain their livelihood, or to assist some of their relations or connexions. Such persons will go on for a considerable time without suffering much from the injurious effects of a confined city, or from an unhealthy occupation; but take an infant born and bred in London, and subject it to all the same vicissitudes, and that child will invariably become unhealthy."

Parliamentary Returns.-Sir Henry Parnell, with the view of showing the bearing of taxation in this country on the various conditions of society, moved for and obtained certain returns in the House of Commons, which have just been printed, and from which we make the following extracts:The net amount of the Customs and Excise duties on materials of manufactures, building, ship-building, &c. in the United Kingdom, during the year 1832, was 5,841,6287. 78. )d.; on articles of luxury, 27,878,6037. 88. 114d.; on articles of food, 541,158/. 118. 2d.; direct taxes on capital, viz.— legacies, probates, and administrations, 2,023,4607. 4s. 4d.; assessed taxes, 3,735,1627. 2s.; land-tax, 1,184,3407. 4s. 1d.

FOREIGN VARIETIES.

A singular circumstance happened at la Hogue on Saturday, the 7th of March, 1833. The weather being very calm, and the surface of the sea smooth, the tide was observed to ebb to so great a distance as to leave the roadstead entirely dry. Parts of the vessels of the celebrated Tourville, that were burnt and sunk by the English fleet, under Admiral Russel, May 29th, 1692, were exposed to view. The hulls of those ships appeared in a high state of preservation, and during the interval of the two tides, it was found practicable to recover six pieces of cannon and several cart-loads of cannon shot. These, although they had remained under water for upwards of 141 years, were found in good condition. Since this brilliant but unfortunate battle, there is no tradition of the sea having receded so far as in the abovementioned instance.

Increasing Productiveness of the Gold and Platina Mines in the Ural Mountains.-According to the official account published at St. Petersburg last month, the quantity of gold and platina obtained during the first three months of the present year, was, Gold-from the mines belonging to the crown, 75 poods, 15 lbs., 344 zololnicks; from the mines belonging to private persons, 105 poods, 3lbs., 32 zol.; total 180 poods, 18 lbs., 661 zol. Platina-from the mines of the crown, 2 lbs., 5454 zol.; from the mines belonging to private persons, 80 poods, 13 lbs., 915g zol.; total, 80 poods, 16 lbs. 46 zol. Of the latter, 79 poods, 2 lbs. were procured in the mines of Nyre Tahel, belonging to the heirs of the privy-councillor Demidoff, in whose possession are the three largest masses of native platina yet found; one of them was obtained on the 18th March, 1831, and the two others in March, 1832. Their respective weights are 19 lbs. 53 zol.; 19 lbs. 18 zol.; 13 lbs. 53 zol. A pood is 40 lbs. Russian, or 36 lbs., English weight. The quantity of gold found in the first quarter of 1833 was therefore 6500 lbs. ; and a pound of gold being 507. sterling, the value was 325,0007.

A New Island in lat. 14° 46' N., long. 169° 18' E. has been discovered by the American brig Bolivar, and named Farnham's Island. This new speck in the Pacific is about six miles in length, with a reef running about ten miles from its western extremity.

National Education in France.-The Bill for regulating Primary Instruction in France, termed the Projet de Loi, introduced to the Chamber of Deputies by M. Guizot on the 2d of January last, and passed into a law on the 28th of June, provides for the establishment of schools of three descriptions. Every commune or parish is bound to provide, either by itself or conjointly with one or more neighbouring parishes, one primary school of the lowest order. In this school moral and religious instruction is to be given to the children, reading, writing, the principles of the French language, ciphering, and an acquaintance with the authorized system of weights and measures are to be taught. The master of this establishment is to be furnished by the parish with a suitable house and fixed salary, the minimum of which is to be 200 francs, 8l. 6s. 6d., and in addition he is to receive from such of the parents of the children as can afford it fees or quarter pence. The fees are to be exacted, not by the master himself, but by a public officer on his account. County towns and parishes having a population exceeding 6,000 souls are bound, individually or conjointly, to maintain a school of the second class, in which, in addition to the instruction given in the first or lower order of schools, the children are taught the elements of geometry, with its ordinary applications, particularly to linear drawing and land measuring; the elements of the physical sciences and of natural history, as they are applicable to the common uses of life; singing; the elements of history and geography, and especially the history and geography of France. The wishes of the fathers must, however, be consulted and complied with as to their children's participation in the religious instruction given. As this second class of schools are designed for the children of parents above want, there is no gratuitous admission except in the case of extraordinary talents in the poor scholar of the lower species, who receives the advantage of a higher education as a reward; but, in order that the rate of payment may be very moderate, the master is to receive a fixed salary, of which the minimum is 400 francs, (167. 138.) along with the fees. In this class of schools, as well as the former, the fixed salary of the master is to be paid wholly by the parish, if possible, or, if not, partly by the department or county, and the state itself is to come in aid as a dernier resort. The third class of schools, styled Normal, are for the training of masters, and of these there is to be one in every department.

New Gigantic Telescope.-A great work has just been completed in all its essential parts, in Urzscheider's manufactory of optical instruments at Munich. It is a gigantic telescope, on Frauenhofer's principle, of 15 Paris feet focal distance, and an aperture of 10 inches. It surpasses in size and power the largest telescopes made in the lifetime of the illustrious Frauenhofer. It has been tried with the greatest strictness by the professors of astronomy in the University of Munich, and declared to be a perfect masterpiece. The clearness and distinctness of a heavenly body seen through it, is, to that of the Dorpat telescope made by Frauenhofer, of thirteen feet focal distance and nine inches aperture, as 21 to 18, and the intensity of the light as 136 to 100. It magnifies far above 1000 times, and the ordinary expression of bringing an object nearer may be literally applied: thus, when Saturn at its smallest distance from the earth, is 165,000,000 of geographical miles distant, it seems, when magnified 816 times by this telescope, to have approached to the distance of 192,000 geographical miles; and the moon, at her smallest distance from the earth, seems, when magnified in the same manner, to have approached within 68 geographical miles, which is but little more than the distance, in a direct line, from Athens to Constantinople.

M. de St. Sauveur, the French Consul at Salonica, has lately presented to the King some antique Greek marbles, found in Macedonia. They consist of heads of divines and kings, funeral monuments, ornamented with bas-reliefs and inscriptions; a colossal bust, supposed to be that of Persius,

the last King of Macedon; and a colossal statue of Diana. His Majesty has sent them to the Museum of the Louvre, and has presented to M. de St. Sauveur, in return, a magnificent dessert-service of Sevres porcelain.

The following is a statement of the number of French merchant-vessels, on the first of January, of the years—

Vidocq has just obtained a patent for the manufacture of paper from which no writing or print, once impressed, can be effaced or altered. The Directors of the Stamp Office long ago offered a premium for the discovery of this paper.

The rail-road from Paris to the coast is agreed upon; but it is not deeided whether it is to run to Dieppe or Havre.

Munchen-Gratz.-Munchen-Gratz, at which the Emperors of Austria and Russia have met, is a small town on the Iser, about forty miles to the north-east of Prague, on the high road from the latter city into the south of Prussia. Like Friedland, it has descended to the Clam Gallas family; and like that town, too, recalls the memory of the illustrious Wallenstein, who was buried in the chapel of the castle near Munchen-Gratz, after his assassination at Eger, in February, 1634. The bridge across the Iser at this place is above seventy feet long. The inhabitants, about 2700 in number, are employed in cotton manufactures.

The number of State Pensioners in France, on January 1, 1833, was 162,175, who are thus divided:-Pensioned peers, 128, receiving 1,564,000 francs; civil pensioners, 2493, receiving 1,733,400 fr.; pensioners of July, 1408, receiving 613,700 fr.; military pensioners, 127,011, receiving 46,603,221 fr.; ecclesiastical pensioners, 28,186, receiving 4,662,469 fr. ; donataires, 2952, receiving 1,480,084 fr. Total, 162,175 pensioners, receiving 56,735,874 fr.

M. de Chateaubriand has published statistics of the victims of the first French revolution; from which it appears that the number of persons guillotined was 18,613; of which number, 2217 were females, and 13,635 were men of the middling and lower classes. In addition to those guillotined, M. Chateaubriand states that there were killed in La Vendée 940,748, including 22,000 children and 3400 women, whose deaths were occasioned by premature labour; and that the victims at Nantes, by orders of Carrier, were 10,224, and at Lyons 31,000; making a gross total of 1,000,585, without reckoning those massacred at Versailles, and in prisons at Paris, nor those who were shot at Marseilles, Toulon, and other parts of France.

RURAL ECONOMY.

It is a great point with persons having only small gardens, to know how to lay them out to the most advantage, so as to have a succession of flowers during the year, or, at least, during those months when the family are at home. In the vicinity of London it is an object to cultivate plants which look best in winter and spring, and to have such as will bear the smoke of cities. By proper management, flower-gardens, whether small or large, may be so contrived as to present a beautiful appearance at any season that it may be thought most desirable; all that is requisite is to know what month each plant flowers in, and how to arrange a garden so as to have some handsome plants in it suitable to each season. In arranging a small garden near London, so as to look well in the spring and autumn, the first thing to be considered is to plant it with a due proportion of handsome and bushy evergreens. The Balearic box, the different kinds of Holly, Laurel, Laurustinus, Acuba, &c., will afford ample variety. Where there is more space, yews, firs, and pines may be added, with red and white cedars, arbor vitæ, &c. In mild situations, some of the finer species of the pine and fir tribe will add much to the effect; the Auracaria imbricata and Cunninghamia lanceolata are particularly beautiful, and, though tender, will stand in the open air with a slight protection. Some very handsome pines and firs have lately been introduced, which are perfectly hardy. Pinus Douglasii is one of the handsomest and fastest-growing of these; but P. loxicis and P. Webbiana very nearly equal it in every respect. The last species is particularly handsome. Pinus cembra grows in a compact conelike shape, swelling out below, and tapering gracefully to a point, and Pinus halepensis, and P. longifolia are remarkable for the beauty and gracefulness of their fronds (leaves) and the general elegance of their appearance. Perhaps one of the finest collections of pine and fir trees in England is at Lord Grenville's at Dropmore. The trees are there all planted on fine turf, at sufficient distances from each other to allow each to display its peculiar mode of growth; each is properly named, and the appearance of the whole is extremely beautiful. But to return to the suburban garden-having planted it with a sufficient quantity of inconspicuous flowering evergreens, to prevent its having a bare and desolate appearance in winter, the next thing is to mix with them as many other shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous, but bearing brilliant-coloured flowers, as may be necessary to relieve the sombre hue of the darker and larger evergreens. The red or yellow berries of the holly and the mispelus, the coral-like seeds of the yew, the long white flower-sprigs of the laurel, and the elegant flowers of the laurustinus will lend their aid, but some bright flowers will be requisite. Rhododendrons, kalmias, and azaleas, will look well in winter, and blossom beautifully in spikes; and the Exmouth variety of the magnolia grandiflora, with its laurel-like leaf, and its large, white, magnificent, and sweet-scented flowers, will prove a powerful auxiliary. Some of the Magnolias flower in the autumn, but the Magnolia conspicua is one of the flowers of early spring. This beautiful tree is not an evergreen, and its flowers expand before its leaves, but when planted in a clump of evergreens, or backed by an evergreen hedge, and slightly sheltered from the frost during the night, it is one of the most splendid of flowering shrubs. The Rhododendron dauricum antrovirescens also flowers very early in the season, and is very pretty, though dwarf-growing; the autumn and spring mezereons, the spurge laurel, and all the other species of daphnes, are also very useful and beautiful winter and spring shrubs, with many others, that may be found in any nursery. The red and yellow-blossomed currants; the doubleblossomed furze; the Persian, common, and Siberian lilacs; the English and Scotch laburnums, the latter being incomparably the finest; the Wistarias, frutescens, and Consequana; the cytisus, purple and yellow; and many other beautiful plants, flower in spring, and by a due mixture of