Secondly, there are the allied powers of Austria and Prussia, who have invaded Schleswig, and hold it as a "material guarantee" for the revoking of the constitution of November last, and on account of other alleged breaches of treaty on the part of Denmark. Thirdly, there is the Duke of Augustenburg, who, against the stipulations of the Treaty of London, 1852, claims the crown of the Duchies, and whose pretensions are apparently abetted by the entire people of Germany. What, then, is to be the issue? Shall Schleswig-Holstein be wrenched from Denmark, and that venerable monarchy, in the face of European treaties, be violently dismembered? or will Austria and Prussia, who as great powers feel their international responsibilities more fully than the shadowy Frankfort Diet, give back the Duchies to Christian IX., when their demands upon Denmark are complied with? If not, will England, and the other "high contracting parties" concerned in the treaty of 1852, enforce its observance by the sword? These are questions which time alone can

answer.

In connexion with this unhappy strife, English diplomacy would seem to have lost some of its prestige. It has not been successful in preserving peace; and therefore it is derided by the opponents of the Government at home, and by the public press of the Continent. But whether the failure is attributable to the mismanagement of statesmen, or to the anti-Danish mania which seems to possess the German mind, is a matter on which different judgments will be pronounced. Certainly, an omnipotence securing invariable success, and an infallibility precluding all mistake, were never claimed for British diplomacy, and therefore should not be expected of it. Honesty of intention, and purity of means, may be claimed for our

negotiations; and the good character which England possesses, in this respect, it is hoped she will never forfeit. As she has not rushed into war with Germany for the invasion of Schleswig, she is tauntingly advised by the public press of France to keep to her island-home, and cease to intermeddle in the affairs of the Continent. Our lively neighbours across the channel are evidently disappointed that England and Germany, so frequently in firm league against French aggression, have not been involved in actual strife. This country, after all, wields an influence among the nations, which she dares not abdicate, and which, it may be hoped, will continue to be exerted on the side of righteousness and peace.

The case of the "Alexandra " threatens to last as long as the American war, out of which it has arisen. The appeal made to the Court of Exchequer has been dismissed by a majority of the judges, on the ground that that Court had no power to hear the appeal. Against this decision there lies an appeal to the House of Lords. There the case will be heard, not on its merits, but in its connexion with the jurisdiction of the Exchequer Chamber. Whatever the decision of the LawLords may be, it is plain that some time must elapse before the final settlement of the case. But, should the delays last as long as the war, the end of the prosecution will be answered; and British ship-builders will be effectually warned from embroiling the country, for their own private gain, with a friendly power. Whatever may be the verdict of the law courts, it is plain to common sense that the building of the "Alexandra" for the Confederates involved a breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act; and that, if she should eventually escape condemnation, it will be on a mere techni

cality. While the crown, in this, and in the case of the Birkenhead rams, is honestly endeavouring to enforce municipal law on its own subjects, it is greatly to be regretted that the Washington Cabinet are trying to affix the responsibility of the damages done by the "Alabama" on the British Government. It is difficult to believe that enlightened statesmen can be serious in pressing so extravagant a claim. Its inopportune appearance gives pleasure to the friends of the Confederacy, and is deprecated by those who wish well to the United States.

Final judgment in the case of "Essays and Reviews" has been pronounced; and astonishing is the decision of the Judicial Committee of Privy Council. It is, virtually, that writers holding the views set forth in that notorious publication are not thereby unfitted for occupying the pulpits of the Church of England! The result will be, that clergymen who deny the inspiration of Holy Scripture, the eternity of future punishment, the sacrificial character of Christ's death, justification by faith, and other fundamental doctrines of the Established Church and of our common Christianity, may brandish this legal instrument in the face of all opponents, and may plead it as a justification for teaching heterodox doctrines in an orthodox church. The Dean of Westminster may hold it up to the Canon who protested against his installation. It may be questioned, indeed, if it does not cover the case of the Bishop of Natal, and save him from the consequences of a condemnation of his book by both Houses of Convocation. Hitherto men holding the

views of the Essayists have been found in the ranks of the clergy; but their presence there has been always considered a scandal, and they have been frequently reminded that, while receiving the emoluments of the Church, they have been teaching doctrines contrary to her standards of faith. The result of this judgment will be to give the sanction of the highest court in the realm to the position of the Rationalist in the Church of England. What the issue will be, time will tell. Will the bishops, clergy, and laity acquiese? or will they seek by some means to redress, if possible, a legal wrong? The Church has appealed unto Cæsar,—not in a matter of temporalities merely, but in matters of doctrinal truth,—and Cæsar has pronounced against her. Will she consent to the exposition of her Articles and formularies, given by three lawyers and one bishop? or will she say that she is more truly represented by the Court of Arches, although its judgment has been reversed, and by the two archbishops, although they were outvoted in the Judicial Committee? Alas! the three lawyers and the one bishop, being the majority, were the court; and consequently their decision, adverse to the interests of Christianity though it is, is the decision of English law, and is a decision from which there is no appeal. While sympathizing with the Church of England on account of the blow which she has sustained, "the people called Methodists" will thank God for a power in possession for keeping at a distance from their pulpits all erroneous and strange doctrines. February 15th, 1864.

ARRIVAL AT THE SOURCES OF THE NILE. Here at last I stood on the brink of the Nile; most beautiful was the scene; nothing could surpass it. It was the very perfection of the kind of effect aimed at in a highly kept park; with a magnificent stream, from six to seven hundred yards wide, dotted with islets and rocks, the former occupied by fishermen's huts, the latter by sterns and crocodiles basking in the sun,-flowing between fine high grassy banks with rich trees and plantains in the background, where herds of the nsunnŭ and hartbeest could be seen grazing, while the hippopotami were snorting in the water, and florikan and guinea-fowl rising at our feet.

Unfortunately, the chief district officer, Mlondo, was from home; but we took possession of his huts-clean, extensive, and tidily kept-facing the river, and felt as if a residence here would do one good. Delays and subterfuges, however, soon came to damp our spirits. The acting officer was sent for, and asked for the boats; they were all scattered, and could not be collected for a day or two; but, even if they were at hand, no boat ever went up or down the river. The chief was away and would be sent for, as the king often changed his orders, and, after all, might not mean what had been said. The district belonged to the Sakibobo, and no representative of his had come here. These excuses, of course, would not satisfy us. The boats must be collected,-seven, if there are not ten, for we must try them, and come to some understanding about them, before we march up stream, when, if the officer values his life, he will let us have them, and acknowledge Karsoro as the king's representative, otherwise a complaint will be sent to the palace; for we won't stand trifling.

Reports came to-day of new cruelties at the palace. Karsoro improved on their off-band manslaughter by saying that two Kamravionas and two Sakibobos, as well as all the old Wakungu of Sunna's time, had been executed by the orders of King Mtesa. He told us, moreover, that if Mtesa ever has a dream that his father directs him to kill anybody as being dangerous to his person, the order is religiously kept.

The expedition had now performed its functions. I saw that old father Nile, without any doubt, rises in the Victoria Nyanza; and, as I had foretold, that lake is the great source of the holy river which cradled the first expounder of our

religious belief I mourned, however, when I thought how much I had lost by the delays in the journey having deprived me of the pleasure of going to look at the north-east corner of the N'yanza, to see what connexion there was, by the strait so often spoken ot, with it and the other lake where the Waganda went to get their salt, and from which another river flowed to the north, making "Usoga an island." But I felt I ought to be content with what I had been spared to accomplish; for I had seen full half of the lake, and had information given me of the other half, by means of which I knew all about the lake, as far, at least, as the chief objects of geographical importance were concerned.

Let us now sum up the whole, and see what it is worth. Comparative information assured me there was as much water on the eastern side of the lake as there is on the western,-if anything, rather more. The most remote waters, or top head of the Nile, is the southern end of the lake, situated close on the third degree of south latitude, which gives to the Nile the surprising length, in direct measurement, rolling over thirty-four degrees of latitude, of above 2300 miles, or more than one-eleventh of the circumference of our globe. Now, from this southern point, round by the west, to where the great Nile stream issues, there is only one feeder of any importance, and that is the Kitangule river; whilst from the southernmost point, round by the east, to the strait, there are no rivers at all of any importance; for the travelled Arabs one and all aver, that from the west of the snow-clad Kilimandjaro to the lake where it is cut by the second degree, and also the first degree of south latitude, there are salt lakes and salt plains, and the country is hilly, not unlike Unyamuezi; but they said there were no great rivers, and the country was so scantily watered, having only occasional runnels and rivulets, that they always had to make long marches in order to find water when they went on their trading journeys; and, further, those Arabs who crossed the strait when they reached Usoga, as mentioned before, during the late interregnum, crossed no river either.

There remains to be disposed of the "salt lake," which I believe is not a salt, but a fresh-water lake; and my reasons are, as before stated, that the natives call all lakes salt, if they find salt beds or salt islands in such places. Dr. Krapf,