The Press. — London, England, 1854-02-18 00:00:00

154 Minister Plenipotentiary from the King of Denmark. Sir John Bowring, Governor of Hong• Kong and Chief Commissioner of British Trade in China, at the same time, had an audience to take leave on his departure to the East. He received the honour of knighthood from the hand of her Majesty before quitting her presence. ON Thursday evening till Queen and Prince Con•• sort visited the Lyceum Theatre. HER MAJESTY has subscribed 251. for the relief of the sufferers by the loss of the TayLeur. THE GREAT BRAZILIAN DIAMOND recently brought to this country has been presented for royal inspec tion at Buckingham Palace. This gem is said to be of the pure't water, and is expected, when cut, to surpass even the renowned Koh i floor in size and brilliance. It weighs in the rough state 25-4 carats. THE DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER, who continues in rather indifferent health at Gloucestet•house, was visited on Tuesday afternoon by her Majesty, accom panied by the Princess Royal and the young Prin- cesses. THE MARQUIS OF ANOLESEY has so far recovered as to be able to receive his family circle at dinner. LORD PonTmAN, of Bryanstone-house, Blandford, is selling to the labourers on his estate the four pound loaf at sixpence, as a mitigation of the present pressure on the poor. THE DUKE OF HAMILTON is about tO build a spa cious hotel in the opening of Glen Croy, one of the most romantic spots in the Isle of Arran. The duchess, likewise, will build and endow a school at Brodick, which will be in connection with the chapel of ease for the parish of Lamlash.—A paragraph which went the round of the Scotch press, and was copied into some of the London papers, relative to the presentation of plate by the Duchess of Hamilton to the chapel at Hamilton, and to its subsequent re sumption by the duke, is contradicted on authority. TIIE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA and Lady Barkly gave their first state ball on the 20th ult., which passed off with unusual brilliancy and Eclat. Among the dis tinguished guests present were his Highness the Prince of Hohenlohe, nephew of her Majesty the Queen ; Vice-Admiral Sir George Seymour ; and a large number of the members of the Board of Council and. House of Assembly in the island. THE COUNTESS OF ELLESMERE had a soiree at her mansion in Belgrave-square on Wednesday evening last. The noble earl and countess previously enter tained a select party at dinner. Invitations are out for another soiree on Wednesday next. THE SPEAKER gave his first parliamentary dinner for the season on Saturday last, the guests being almost solely members of the Government. On the same day the Earl of Derby gave another political banquet. Viscountess Palmerston also had a dinner, the viscount dining with the Speaker. Dinners were given besides by the Viscount Canning and Sir W. Molesworth. HAHEEB RISK ALLAH EFFENDI left London for Paris on Saturday evening, en route for Vienna and Constantinople, with despatches for his Government. Loan DUDLEY STUART has returned from Constan tinople. His lordship on Saturday and Sunday had interviews with the leading members of the Govern ment. IT is stated that the Coventry Club will be closed on the 25th of March next. Francatelli, the cele United chef de cuisine, who was one of the great at tractions of the club, it is rumoured, has been secured by Lord Ward. Valium( aula &mai. MINT RETURNS just published show that, from 1837 to December last, the sum of 4,518,029/.los. 4d. was advanced from the ccnsolitlated fund for the purchase of bullion for coinage, and the repayments into the Bank were 4,270,0001. THE whole subject of national education in Ire land will probably be referred to a committee of the House of Lords in the present session of Parlia ment. Mn. JOHN MASTEHMAN, JUN., ha 3 retired from the well-known banking firm of Messrs. Masterman, Peters, Mildred, and Co., of Lombard-street. GARIBAI,DI has arrived in London, in command of a merchant-ship, from the United States. A MR. CRAUFORD was travelling to Naples, but on arriving at Civita Vecchia the Neapolitan consul turned him back, saying, "No ; Cranford is a name on the black book, and therefore all Craufords are prohibited to travel in Naples." THE " STRIKE" FUND last week amounted to 2,992/. Ils. 6d., and was distributed among 15,675 unemployed hands. This shows a decrease of 56/. in money and 200 in the number of recipients. The migration of hands still continues, the gross diminu tion on the past fortnight being nearly 500. The Preston mills are now open, and some hundreds of operatives have resumed work, but the great hulk still stand aloof, persisting in their demand of a '• full ten per cent." THE PRESS. NEARLY ONE HUNDRED HEAD OF FALLOW DEER have arrived at Windsor by the South-Western Rail way from Cricklewood Forest, comprising a number of does and bucks of choice breed and beauty. They will be turned into Windsor Great Park, for the pur pose of crossing the present breed there. THE CONSERVATIVE LAND SOCIETY held their fifteenth public drawing on Saturday afternoon, when 104 rights of choice on the unallotted estates of the society were apportioned among the successful members. The continued progress of the society was proved by the share 8,830 being the final num ber placed in the wheel prior to the extraction of the numbers. A subscribed capital of 441,8001. has thus been attained in seventeen months, and nearly 2,500 shares have been placed on the register of rights, either by completion, drawing, or seniority, no less than 705 of the first thousand shares being now on the list by date of membership. The six teenth public drawing was announced for Wednesday, the 15th of March, in Freemasons'-hall. Mn. GERRARD GOULD is appointed an unpaid attaché to her Mtkjesty's mission at Hanover. Mr. Francis Ottiwell Adams is appointed an unpaid attaché at Stockholm. MR. THOMAS LIDDELL is appointed colonial sur veyor at Sierra Leone. The Rev. Charles Stephen Hassells is appointed colonial chaplain for the Gold Coast. Ma. ARTHUR FORBES ' writer to the Signet, is ap pointed collector of the Fee Fund at Edinburgh, vice Mr. Patrick Irvine, deceased. SIR JOHN THOMAS BRIGGS ' Knt., accountant general of the navy, has retired from active business after fifty-seven years' service. A RETURN of the amount of bullion purchased and sold by the Bank of England was issued on Saturday. Last year the bullion purchased amounted to 5,338,5451. in gold, and the amount sold 1;233,727/. THE LORDS OF THE TREASURY have consented to appropriate the fund arising from unclaimed money orders, and from unclaimed property in dead letters, to the payment of part of the premium on the poli cies of such of the officers of the Post-office, in any part of the United Kingdom, as may insure their lives. This fund now amounts to about 1,000/. a year, and there is an accumulation from past years of about 15,0001., which is also to be applied to this purpose. ABERDEEN has lost one of its leading citizens by • the death of the Very Reverend Principal Jack, of King's College and University. A HIGH TIDE occurred in the Thames on Wed nesday, the water reaching to fully eighteen inches above its ordinary flood level, and to within five inches of the highest point ever known. The bank side premises and wharves were overflowed, and great inconvenience occasioned, but w thout result ing in any serious damage. THE NUMBER OF DEPOSITORS IN SAVINGS BANKS in England and Wales, at the date of a late return, amounted to 135,933 men, and 135,620 women, de positors of 301. and upwards; and 77,021 men, and 75,372 women, of 501. and upwards. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS registered in London in the week ending on Saturday was 1,178. It exhibits a decrease on that of the preceding week, and is less than the estimated average by only 24. THE BICENTENARY FESTIVAL OF THE SONS OF THE CLERGY will be celebrated on a very extensive scale, and will be honoured with the presence of Prince Albert, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, and a large number of the nobility and dignitaries of the Church. The festival will take place on Wednesday, May 10, with a full choral service, under the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. The sermon will be preached by the Bishop of London. The choirs of her Majesty's Chapel Royal, St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, and St. George's Chapel, Windsor, will assist, and will be adequately strengthened by members of various other cathedral choirs. A dinner will take place on the same day, Prince Albert having intimated his in tention of attending as a steward. THE YOUNG KING OF PonTrom. intends, it is said, to make a tour through Europe the coming spring, visiting several Courts. He will come to London in the first instance, and thence travel to Brussels, Berlin, Dresden, and Vienna, returning to his own dominions through Munich and Paris. THE GREAT VARIETY OF CORN MEASURES in lice in England is shown by a parliamentary return pre pared on the motion of Mr. Booker. It appears that while the imperial bushel, meant to be the :standard, contains eight gallons, the bushel by which grain is sold in the Middlesex markets contains 84 gallons ; in Salop, 94 ; in Cheshire, nearly 10; in some parts of Cornwall 10, and in others 24 ; in Westmorland,lo for wheat, and 24 for barley and rye. In Suffolk and Norfolk the " coomb" of 4 bushels is used; in some parts of England the "load," containing in Bed• fordshire 5 bushels of wheat, in Derbyshire and Yorkshire 3 ; in some districts in the north the "boll " of 2 imperial bushels is used ; in others the old " boll " of 6 bushels. LETTERS FOR THE PACIFIC can now be sent by way of Brazil. The postage is ss. 2d. an ounce. SATURDAY, A LARGE PARTY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMON s met Mr. Disraeli on Saturday, to consult upon the course which should be pursued by them in the present condition of affairs. It is understood that the result of the conference was most satisfac tory. The Conservative party will not offer any fac tious opposition to the Government, but will anxiously watch the conduct of the Administration, following the course demonstrated by Lord Derby in the House of Peers on Friday night.—Standard. FAT HER GAVAZZI lectured at Exeter on Thurs day night, before a thronged audience, on " Popery in America and England." THE magnificent steamer Himalaya reached Southampton on Thursday, on her return from her first voyage to the Peninsula and Mediterranean. From Alexandria, which she left on the sth inst.,the Himalaya brings the heavy Oriental mails, including the largest Australian mails ever despatched to this country. SADI OMBARH RENBEY, who came to England many years ago in company with the celebrated African traveller, Mungo Park, whom he instructed in Arabic, died on the 11th inst., at an age of more than 80 years. A PRIVATE JOINT-STOCK COMPANY has been formed in Liverpool for the purpose of establishing a line of powerful screw-steamers between that port and Aus tralia. The Great Britain will be one of the ships of this line, and all the others will be built on the same principle. A charter has been obtained from the Board of Trade. THE RECEIPTS OF THE QUI•IEN ANNE'S BOUNTY FUND for the year 1852 were 209,1601. 10s., and the disbursements 208,006/. 10s. Ild. THE MADRID STOCK EXCHANGE lS regulated by a bill which has just passed the Cortes, and received royal authentication. Among other changes, this act permits of "time bargains," hitherto strictly pro hibited. INTELLIGENCE received from Gibraltar states the sudden death of Captain C. 1). Oliver, of the :10th Regiment. The gallant officer died of disease of the heart at Tangier, where he had gone for a few days on leave of absence. Captain Oliver was held in the highest esteem by his brother officers,and his decease is sincerely deplored by the whole regiment. A TENDER has been accepted for the performance of the mail service between Dover and Calais, and Dover and Ostend, by a private company. The con tract is concluded for a space of four years, com mencing from the Ist of October next, at the rate of 15,0001. per annum. 'thi aii olzcc. WIFE -ASSAULT, that common crime, was charged against John Bollard, an ivory -turner, at Worship street I'olice Court. He had been drinking profusely, and, when the unhappy woman endeavoured to lead him home, threatened to give her "another good prop," or blow, showing that the act was habitual ; and following up his threat by actions which resulted in covering her face and clothes with blood. The wife, nevertheless, refused to prefer any charge against the brute, but a policeman who witnessed the cowardly act took him into custody, and gave evi dence which induced the magistrate to commit him for three months' hard labour in the House of Cor rection The wife, with a battered face, was waiting outside the court in much tribulation for her brutal husbatid's appearance, and, on his being brought out by the guoler to be placed in the van, she rushed forward, and, eagerly grasping him by the hand, kissed him with unabated affection. A MAN WHO CALLED HIMSELF MARTIN DIAZ, with the aliases of Echevarria and Peat, was charged at the Guildhall with obtaining money by means of a forged letter of recommendation purporting to be signed by the Spanish Ambassador in London. The letter was couched in the following terms : Spanish Embassy in London. I recommend Martin Diaz (Spaniard) to all honourable per sons that may see this paper, so that they may assist him in anything. JAVIER iSTERIE. Given in London, Feb. G. That the letter was a forgery was clearly shown to the presiding alderman ; and the principals of two Spanish mercantile firms in the City stated that the prisoner had paraded the surreptitious document in their offices, seeking to obtain money on the strength of it. The paper on which the letter was written had a lithographed headline and address ; and Sir 11. W. Carden in committing the prisoner for three months naturally observed that the attempted fraud " looked very much like a system." This hypothesis the solicitors for the prosecution confirmed, stating that the prisoner was one of a gang who were always simulating a desire to get back to Spain, but never really returned thither. The Spanish Ambassador caused it to be intimated to the court that he would test the prisoner's sincerity in the present instance, and procure his transmission to his own country if ho really wished to go there. A SINGULAR CASE, entitled Bishop v. the Countess of Jersey,WßS decided on Tuesday last, after two days'