This rise in the price of gold is owing UTtbe great drain upon us to pay for Indian cotton and other commodities from the East I dont think it will continue very long at least at the present rate. 3 o'clock, afternoon. Since the above was written, I find from the papers of this day, that a despatch was last night forwarded from the Foreign Office to tbe French Cabinet, declining the invitation to the Paris Congress— although it. had been sedulously re ported by the French press, that England^ had given her cordial adhesion to the project. This refusal en the part of the British Cabinet will be a surprise for some of our Continental friends —aud will doubtless have the effect of upsetting the scheme altogether. It is, perhaps, not to be wondered at, that the English Government has declined to enter upon a path where they cannot see their way clearly before hand, where they could only deal in arguments already used up in the recent fruitless negotiations upon the Polish question— on which our diplomatists made such sad shipwreck, and which they are riot likely to meddle with again in a hurry if they can help it. There is no news of importance from America. The war still goes on with the same bitter and relentless animosity which has, characterised it from the cutset. Peace appears to be as dis tant as ever— nay more so. For altho ? there is no doubt that the South has been weakened to a fearful extent, that her resources in men, provisions, aud material of war, are greatly ex hausted. Still there is no symptoms that she will ever yield until the last "drop of blood in the veins of her children has been drained. Such is tbe spirit— sucb the deteiinination evinced at tbe present moment. On the other ' hand the North makes no sign of giving up the hopeless, task of putting down the rebellion. Why there should be so much unkind hatred, and so much vindictive animosity between the two sections of the heretofore, Great Republic, is to us* iv Eogland— a marvel and a winder. 