The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-30 00:00:00

104 may possibly put down all opposition by main force, but esi bono ? What we want is, not that we should merely be able to beat the enemy in the field, but thit there should be no enemy to beat either in the field or out. What can we expect from prolonged war ? Solitudinem fariunt parent vacant. What use to us will be plundered cities, and devastated villages, and depopulated districts? Whet we really want is submission without destruction, pacification without that heart-sickening effusion of blood that is now deluging the plains of India. I can picture to myself that the natives of India, in trans ferring their allegiance from the Company to the Crown, would consider the oil account settled, and would thus believe in the reality of an amnesty, which to be effective should be simultaneous with the transfer; while at the same time if a scion of Royalty, a Prince of the blood . Royal, could be sent out to inaugurate the change, I should anticipate the mast happy effects. The presence, indeed, in India of a son of the Queen of England, at the same moment that the imperial phantom of Islam, the last descendant of the House of Timour, was vanishing from the throne of Delhi, would revive and concentrate in favour of the former all those feelings of loyalty and love, that childlike reverence for kings, for the Lord's anointed, which has been the characteristic of Oriental nations from the patriarchal ages, and would thus bring about a moral revolution in the country of more value to England than any successes she could achieve at the expense of millions of treasure, or the blood of hundreds of thousands of her soldiers. lam aware that in throwing out this suggestion I expose myself to ridicule. Matter of fact, practical, hardheaded Englishmen will be inclined to deride a scheme which savours so much of theatrical claptrap; but we are not dealing with practical Englishmen,—we are dealing with the natives of India, who are the creatures of impulse and feeling, and who of all people in the world would be most likely to be influenced by a royal pageant. Successful statesmanship depends as much on consulting the folliei and weaknesses of mankind as in providing for their real wants or studying their material Interests ; and I trust, therefore, that the tinsel character of the, scheme may not be any bar to its adoption. Such a step be hoped and believed would be identical . with peace in the first instance and security for the future ; with the pacification of Oude and the resto• ration of the landholders to their respective talooks ; with the entire suppression of the system of annexa tion; with the abolition of the contingents in the native States, and the grant of a much greater liberty of action to the rulers; with the restoration, perhaps, of his provinces to the Nizam ; with justice to the holders of the old Five-per-Cent. Loan ; with a con cession of the right of purchasing the fee simple of lend throughout the empire ; with the extinction of the Insm Commissions wherever they exist ; with measures, in fact, not of stringency, harshness, or severity, but rather of greater liberalty and greater consideration than the natives have hitherto ex- perienced. Captain Shepheard, Sir F. Currie, and Mr. Mac naghten followed in support of the petition of the East India Company, and the meeting was ulti mately adjourned until the following day, when the debate was resumed, and at length concluded, an amendment to the original motion being rejected, and the motion adopting the petition agreed to, there being only two dissentients. THE COURT OF EAST INDIA DIRECTORS have again bad under their consideration the question of tele- tic communication with India, and have again Bair willingness to grant to the Red Sea Company such support and assistance as amble them to raise the necessary capital for IYs uniertaking. We believe that the amount esti mated for a line of telegraph from Suez to Kurrachee ta 700,001. ; and the Court, we understand, are pre pared to join with her Majesty's Government in gua tantoeing a revenue equivalent to five per cent. upun that sum, so soon as the work is finished, and as long St it is kept in good order. The proposition now *sly awaits the ratification of her Majesty's Treasury, to whom, by the-bye, a similar plan was submitted four months ago without eliciting any expression of approval or support. THE REFORM MEETINGS held during the week have been but feebly supported. The City of London Ladies' Shoemaker Society have met and passed a resolution in favour of the ballot and annual parlia ments, and have resolved " not to remain silent till justice is done to the toiling millions of the country," and a circular has emanated from some quarters, in which we are invited to lend our aid to what " may be the happiest, as it is the most impor tant movement, our country has witnessed in modern times—a union between the middle and the working classes for political reform " : To effect this object the advanced political reformers among the working classes have agreed to waive, for a time, a portion of that politifti programme to which they hove been so low , and are still so ardently attached. and to offer manhood suffrage and the repeal of the property qualification for members of Parliament, as a basic of union with the reformers of all classes, leaving it to the middle classes to add as much or as little as they may think proper to the above two points. A conference has been called to meet in London on the 11th of February, at nine a.m., in St. Martin's ball, Long-acre, for the purpose of realising, if possible, the projected union, which wo are assured Rill preaorye Silo limo of Ltizlaud, THE PRESS, JANUARY 30, 1858. THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL. THE marriage of the Princess Royal of England to Prince Frederick William of Piussia was celebrated on Monday last in the Chapel of St. James's Palace, with all the splendour of modern state ceremonial. The day was generally observed as a holiday in London, and crowds of people of all classes in the metropolis swarmed into the Mall from an early hour in the morning. By noon the ground between Buckingham Palace and the Duke of York's Column was covered by a dense mass of people, of whom only a few hundred in the immediate neighbourhood of the two palaces could see anything but the crests of the Life Guards' helmets or an occasional cocked•hat of a coachman. The route to be followed by the Royal party was kept by a detachment of Life Guards, aided by a numerous body of police, and although their temper was occasionally sorely tried they contrived to main tain effective order. At St. James's Palace it was arranged the doors should be opened at ten a.m. for the admission of the fortunate few. A crowd, chiefly of ladies, had gathered round the doors some time before the hour. At ten o'clock precisely the corridor ticket•holders were admitted, and though there was something of a rush, yet, as access to the top tier of seats that ruse from the pillar side of the colonnade upwards was given by three separate stairways, there was no con fusion. In half an hour the whole space was filled. There were few gentlemen present ; consequently the scene was all colour, tier on tier, like a brilliant slope of flowers. The spaces between the pillars of the colonnade were hung with wreaths of ivy, holly, and other evergreens, fastened with rosettes and streamers of white satin; the opposite wall was similarly decorated, with the addition of bouquets of palm leaves and flowers. Those who possessed tickets for the Chapel Royal arrived but slowly. Among the first corners were Lord Campbell and Lady Stratheden. The Chief Justice first en tered the aisle, evidently in expectation that there a front seat had been allotted to him. The Master of the Ceremonies, however, speedily undeceived his lordship, and the distinguished couple were soon afterwards seen taking their places in the gallery. Shortly afterwards the Marchioness of Clanricarcle, as wife of a Cabinet Minister, took her place in one of the reserved seats near the: altar, and was imme diately followed by Lady Combermere, for whom also a distinguished place had been reserved. Her lady ship wore a costly robe of Honiton lace over a slip of white satin, a shawl of rare Indian fabric sprigged with ornaments in Prussian blue, and a magnificent headdress of pearls and feathers. Lady Ernest Bruce, wife of the Vice Chamberlain, came next, dressed in white moire antive, with trimmings and scarf of cherry colour, and took her seat next to Lady Combermere. Lady E. Mulgrave fol lowed, and so on until this favoured bench was completely filled with the fair and titled of the land. About this time Lord and Lady Stanley of Alderley, the Duchess of Inverness, Lord Ebury and Lady Lyndhurst, Lord de Ros, Lady Torrington, Duke of Rutland, Viscount Monck, Lady Bessborougb, Mr. and Mrs. Talbot Baines, and Lord Panmure entered. Shortly after eleven o'clock the interior of the chapel began to wear a highly animated appearance. The galleries, the fronts of which were reserved exclu sively for ladies, were now thickly studded with beauty and fashion, but at the upp-r end a long row of military officers in brilliant uniform made a strong background for the various gay colours of the ladies' toilettes. A few moments later a general buzz an nounced the arrival of a novelty in the way of cos tume. It was his Grace of Atholl, in the full costume of his clan, tartan and philabeg, claymore and heron's plume. It is almost needless to say that his grace attracted considerable notice, especially among the foreign visitors, to whom the sight of the High land costume is always an event. A conspicuous figure in the same gallery was her Graze the Duchess of Buccleuch, wearing a magnificent robe of mauve, the new Court colour. Lord Derby, looking remarkably well, now appeared in the vestibule in a brilliant uniform. Sir George Grey and Mr. Labou chere took their seats on Lady Combermere's bench, the former in Cabinet uniform, and the latter in the homely garb of an elder brother of the Trinity house. We regret to be obliged to add that the Secretary for the Colonies had forgotten his bridal favours, as had Mr. Vernon Smith. The Cabinet Ministers now rapidly collected. At twenty minutes to twelve Lady Palmerston entered, and took her seat under the right-hand gallery, next to the Mar chioness of Clanricarde. Her ladyship wore the prevalent blue and white, and looked remarkably well. The Marquis of Lansdowne arrived at half past eleven, just as the booming of the guns an nounced the departure of the first royal carriage from Buckingham Palace, and at this moment the clergy advanced to the altar, At this period every preparation was complet e within the Palace for th 3 advance of the Royal ps e ., cession, but her Majesty desiring a full-length pho tographic portrait of the Princess Royal in her bridal dress before she started for the chapel, Mr. Williams, the photographer, at once proceeded to execute the Queen's command. The portrait, though taken under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, was perfectly successful, and her Majesty expressed her- self so pleased that, at her request, Mr. Williams took in one group the likenesses of her Majesty, the Prince Consort, and the bride on a large.sized plate, and then again an exquisite stereoscopic likeness of the young bride. All these processes were not com pleted until after the time fixed for the departure of her Majesty from Buckingham Palace, and this occasioned the royal procession being a few minutes behind time at the chapel, a rare event in any cere monial in which her Majesty is concerned. The first carriages of the bridal procession Caine through the Palace gates at about 11.40 a.m. The procession consisted of twenty royal carriages. First came the Princess of Prussia, the Duke of Saxe Coburg, the Princes Frederick Charles, Frederick Albert, and Adalbert of Prussia, the Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the Duke of Brabant, the Count of Flanders, and their respective suites in coaches drawn each by two horses. After a short interval followed the bridegroom in a state carriage drawn by black horses. His Royal Highness was escorted by a detachment of Life Guards, and at tended by the gentlemen of his suite. His recep tion by the multitude was most enthusiastic. The remaining coaches were occupied by her Majesty, the Prince Consort, the Bride, the Prince of Wales, and the other members of the Royal Family. Her Majesty and the Princess Royal rode together in a carriage drawn by cream coloured horses, and the cheers which greeted their appearance ware vehe ment and prolonged. A strong detachment of the Life Guards closed the procession. Upon arriving at St. dames's the Royal party alighted under a covered way erected at the private entrance from the garden. Here the floral and other decorations were marked by exquisite taste. Her Majesty was received by the great officers of State and conducted to the Royal Closet. The bannister of the narrow staircase by which the Queen ascended was tastefully decorated with creeping pltnts, inter woven with roses and carnelian and much had been done by varnishing and gilding to deprive this most inconvenient flight of stairs of its ordinary mean appearance. A change, almost magical iu iris effect, had been made in the Royal Closet. The walls were covered with rich embossments in white and gold, the ceiling was chastely painted and gilded in the same colours, while nothing could exceed the rich ness and elegance of the furniture. From the Royal Closet the Princess Royal, accompanied by Prince Albert and the King of the Belgians, was conducted to the Retiring Room, a remarkably handsome apartment, exquisitely decorated for the occasion. Her Majesty, however, passed at once into the Robing Room, one of the noblest saloons in the Palace, fitted with the rich and quaint but somewhat sombre furniture of the time of Queen Anne. Within the corridor and chapel there was now a hushed interval of expectation, followed, after a few moments, by a gentle prelude of a few notes upon the organ, during which, and without the expected formality of the heralding of trumpets, the Princess of Prussia entered the Chapel : Her Royal Highness's arrival was not at the moment an- ticipated, and therefore had partially the effect of a surprise. Her Royal Highness entered with a noble presence, forming the centre of an artistic group, which—from her height and the magnillcenceof her costume, and the brilliant and dis tinguished suite of princes and their followers who formed the cortege—constituted a coup-dceil rarely met w ith even on royal occasions. The Princess wore a splen ilia dress of white moire antique, with a train of blue velv et, borne by two ladies of high rank—one of wLom, the Ccuntess Oriolla, was conspicuous for her own magnificent et stume of orange colour. The Countess Bernstorff, w ife of the Prussian Minister, attended upon the Princess, costumed in white and gold, with a cerise train, and wearin a the blue ribbon of the Order of Theresa. The Princess t' ok her place upon the right, looking towards the altar, and beyond her, in a glittering line of military uniforms, appeared the Royal sons of Prussia and Belgium, and the Grand Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha. There were two young ladies among this group to whom general attention was drawn, when it became known that they stood in the interesting relation to the Princess Royal of being the first ladies ap pointed by the Prussian Court to be in waiting on the future Princess of Prussia—in fact, the first Prussian countrywomen of our English Princess Royal. These were the Countess Hohenthal and the Countess Lynar, each of them young ladies of exceedingly interesting appearance, and about equal in years to the Princess her self. Both these were uniformly costumed in pink dresses of elegance and simplicity. The whole brilliant audience of the chapel rises en mane and bows as the Princess Royal's mother in-law elect passes on to the altar. Hardly are they seated there, on the left-hand side, when faintly in the distance the long.blown, clear, defiant notes of the trumpeters are heard. They come nearer and nearer, and the last arrivals among the visitors hasten i 1