The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-02 00:00:00

determined to fight, and were preparing to lay waste the country. They have already commenced to hara,s the United States' troops, and by the latest accounts had succeeded in cutting off several teams of supplies. It is quite possible that the Govern ment troops will be driven, if not to retreat, at least to act purely on the defensive till the spring, when powerful forces will be pushed up to their assistance. From the West Indies we have advices up to the 11th of December from Jamaica. At Demerara the project of transporting the rebel sepoys to the islands bad been approved of by the Court of Policy. THE PRESS, JANUARY 2, 1858. The candidate will be examined by a medical officer to ascertain that he is in every point of view, as regards his physical constitution, fit for military service. The following will be the subjects in which examination papers will he set, and the number of marks assigned to each, viz.: Marks. Classics (Latin 2,000, Greek 1,600) .. .. 3,600 Mathematics .. 3,1300 English language 1,200 French 1,200 Any other modern language 1,200 History, with Geography 1;200 Natural Sciences—i.e., mineralogy and geology 600 Experimental Sciences—i.e., chemistry, heat, electricity, including magnetism .. .. 600 Drawing.. 500 In mathematics the following elementary branches will be required to be taken up, viz. Arithmetic, including vulgar and decimal fractions; proportion, extraction of the square root, interest. Algebra, including fractions, simple equations, and questions producing them. Euclid, the first two books. To these two branches 1,200 marks (out of the above 3,690 marks for mathematics) will he allotted, and it will be necessary for qualification that at least 600 marks in all he obtained. In the English language 400 marks will be assigned to correct and legible writing from dictation and to composi tion, and of these it will be required that at least 200 shall be obtained for qualification. In the French language 400 marks will be allotted to correct reading and translation from an easy French author, and of these at least 200 will be required for qualification. In history (with geography) 400 marks will be allotted to that of England with its dependencies, of which 200 will be required for qualification. And, in addition to the number of marks just stated as indispensable for qualification in the required portions of mathematics, English, French, anti history, it will be necessary that the candidate shall obtain such a number in these and the remaining subjects above enumerated as shall raise his total number to 2.400 marks. No marks will be allowed to count in any subject left optional to the candidate, unless at least one•fifth of the marks allotted to that subject be gained. The candidate will be required to forward to the Council of Military Education one month before the examination a statenieut of the subjects he desires to take np, in which he will specify the names of the classical authors he has studied, and the course of history he has been reading. The competitors will be reported to the Commander-in- Chief in their order of merit, and those first on the list will succeed to the vacancies at the college. By command, G. A. WETHERALL, Adjutant-General. THE STAFF COLLEGE. Horse Guards, Dec. 29. Notice is hereby given that the competitive examina tions fir admission to the Staff College will be held at Barlington•house, Piccadilly, on the Ist of February, 1858. THE PENSION for distinguished service, rendered vacant by the appointment of Sir Henry Havelock to the colonelcy of the 3rd Buffs, has been conferred by his Royal Highness the General Commanding in Chief on Colonel Englis, of the 32nd Regiment, who so gallantly and succeqsfally prolonged the defence of the Residency of Lucknow. SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. A ME3foRIAL having been recently addressed by a few lay members of the Church to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, relative to the proposed opening of the Abbey for Sunday evening services, the subjoined reply, which has been received from the Dean, has been forwarded to a contemporary for publication : Deanery, Westminster, Dec. 4. My dear —, I received the memorial with which you favoured me yesterday, and, as a meeting of Chapter was just about to be held, mainly with a view of considering the very subject on which the memorial turned, I lost no time in laying it before that body. It is very pleasant to us to pat the step which we are about to take in connection with a communication from members of our Church whom we honour so highly ; and, knowing the deep interest which yourselves and others of her most attached lay members have taken in the subject, I am sure yon will learn with pleasure that we have re solved to make the experiment of opening the Abbey for a Sunday evening service for six months, beginning with the first Sunday of the new year; and should this step proluce all or nearly all the good results which its more ardent promoters anticipate, there is no need, and little likelihood, that it will remain an experiment. We have desired, however, to put it upon this footing, because we cannot but feel that there are some difficul ties needing to be overcome, and inconveniences to be averted, which have not always been taken into account by those who, in the nature of things, must be less fami liarly acquainted with these than we are. Thus, when this very question of making the Abbey " more available for the great Christian ordinance of preach ing God's Word to the people " was formally considered by the Chapter in the summer of this year, it was then deter mined that the Abbey should be opened for a Sunday even ing service during the summer months of next year, and the resolution would have been carded into effect quite irrespective of any of the events which have since hap pened, and which have now led Its to begin this work in mid winter. But we then felt, and we still feel, that. it 11 numbers come together as large as some anticipate, incon veniences may arise from the gathering of these maws at night in the Abbey, while, at the same time, we are ex posed to possible danger from quite another quarter, for we cannot be sure that the great cold of the winter may not interfere seriously with the work and give an air of failure to it, which it would not have worn had we begun our services at a later and more genial season of the year. But, having said this much, let me add that, now this course is determined on, no exertions shall be wanting on our part, by all prudent arrangements, to avert these pos— sible dangers. But lei me say further, as explaining the hesitation which we have felt in complying with the known wishes of many among our best friends, that there are already seven churches in Westminster proper open for evening service every Sunday in the year; in fact, every church in the parishes of St. Margaret's and St. John's. The Chapter have always felt that they were best meeting the spiritual needs of this neighbourhood by assisting and setting for- ward the multiplication of these, and during the last twenty-seven years ( I may speak the more freely of this as having myself had no share in it) they have con tributed the sum of 23,3511., toward churches, schools, and parsonages in these parishes. They would now cer• tainly see with regret any large portion of the Sunday evening congregation in the Abbey drawn by the attrac tions of novelty, by a great variety of preachers, or by any other cause, from the ordinary ministrations of their parish churches to assemble there; and would count it but little gain if, instead of gathering in many who were hitherto strangers to the services of the church, they should be merely inducing churchgoers to exchange one church for another. While I am thus recounting the reasons for hesitation which have influenced us hitherto, I must not leave out of sight that the fact of an additional service will prove a severe strain on the whole body of functionaries (I speak not of ourselves) engaged in the Abbey. There aro already three services on Sunday, as on every day. On Sunday, the early Communion, a morning service, and an afternoon, to which when a fourth is added many of them will be engaged, with the very briefest intermission, for thirteen hours in the day ; while the work is so special that it is nearly impossibie to put others in part in their room. Let me lastly men' a that. r full deliberation, we have determined to .hi the , o enices in the nave—yet not because, as <-.• ..iany t, .J for granted, more room is there to be tonna than in the choir and the transepts. On the contrary, these will contain—and continually do contain, both on the Sunday morning and afternoon— more than 4,000 worshippers, which is considerably more than the nave will accommodate. Still, the nave possesses advantages in bringing the whole congregation more to gether—more under the eye of the preacher—above all, in offering no preference seats, but all equal for all, and equally open to all, which has seemed to us too great to forego. It is our earnest desire and prayer that God may pro sper this work to the fulfilling of the largest expectations of those who hope from it the most. We are already ad dressing ourselves heartily to the carrying out of the neces sary arrangements. Believe me, my dear —, very faithfully yours, R. C. TRENCH. We have reason to believe that the following will be found to he a correct list of the preachers at these services during the month of January :—The first sermon, on the 3rd of January, will be preached by the Dean of Westminster; the second, on the 10th, by the sub Dean; the third, on the 17th, by the Bishop of Oxford; the fourth, on the 24th, by the Dean of Canterbury; and the fifth, on the 31st, by the Rev. C. J. P. Eyre. Workmen are still employed in adapting the nave of the Abbey to the purposes of popular worship. The only entrance to the seven o'clock service will be by the western door, between the two towers from Broad Sanctuary. Within the gates a kind of lobby is cAnstructing, with double doors, in order to ex clude draughts, and preserve as much as possibie an equal temperature in the building. The gaspipes are now laid on both sides of the nave. The burners will be supported on standards of iron and brass, each one rising from the ground midway be tween two piers. The stone floor will be covered with cocoa-nut matting, and the seats will be chairs. THE PURCHASE OE THE SOTLAGES COLLECTION for public instruction is uow under consideration. The Mayor of Birmingham, with the Mayor of Man chester, has invited the assistance of other corporate authorities at the seats of manufacture in the mid land counties to induce the Chancellor of the Exche quer to purchase this collection, in order that it may be made useful in improving decorative manufac tures in metals, pottery, glass, &c. A union of art trades has also been formed in the metropolis, con sisting of most of the largest producers of decorative manufactures, in order to bring the purchase before Parliament as soon as it reassembles, and the Society of Arts has allowed the meetings of this union to take place in the Adelphi. Lord Granville, as President of the Education Committee, ex pressed himself quite favourable to the purchase, when a depntation of the Institute of British Archi tects waited upon him, so that the qne , dion now remains wholly to he decided Uy the Chareellcr of the Exchequer and LiTri l'Alitterston, doubtless accordance with /subtle opinion, CHINA. The following paragraph was received by the Calcutta mail this week : General Aghbornham was to lesve China in the Ave, and an attack ou Canton was coniemplated to take place in a iew days after the steamer should have arrived from Aden, by the Acljaha, the Alma having broken her main shaft. Letters from Hong Kong of the 15th November state that the attack on Canton was imminent. Every preparation had been made. The force would muster in all some 5,000 men. The Chinese, it wes said, were fully prepared for the attack, and had busied themselves in fortifying and strengthening Cantcn at every weak point. The French, RiNtian, and American envoys had all arrived at Hong Kong. The French were to contribute 1,0 ) ) ma rines to the expeditionary forces. Cabal nblftilitarg flttiligentt. THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE. THE following notice and memorandum have been issued by the military authorities :1— Horse Guards, S.W., Dec. 29. Notice is herby given that the competitive exami nations of candidates for the admission into the junior department of the Royal Military College, referred to in Article 6 of the subjoined memo randum, will be held at Burlington-licuse, Picca dilly, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of January : Horse Guards, Dec. 3. Her Majesty having been pleased to approve that the education of gentlemen of all arms of the service who do not obtain commissions by direct appointment shall be given at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, the fol lowing will be the regulations for the future admission of candidates into that college:- 1. The age of admission to be from sixteen to eighteen years. 2. The candidate must apply through his parent or guar dian to the General Commanding-in-Chief for permission to have his name entered on the list of competitors fur the college. On receiving that permission it will be open to the candidate to compete at any one of the half-yearly En trance Examinations which may occur while he is within the prescribed limits of age. If unsuccessful, be will be allowed a second trial ; but if again unsuccessful, he will be debarred from further competition for entrance into the )llege. 3. The unsuccessful candidate, however, will still be eligible to enter the army by passing the examination for direct commissions. _ . -..„. ...... 4. The period of study will be two years. It will be terminated by a competitive examination, the most suc cessful candidates in which will be permitted to select the Corps of Royal Engineers or Royal Artillery, according to the number of vacancies in those corps, or will receive commissions without purchase in the Cavalry, Guards, or Line. Those who select the Ordnance Corps will be re moved to the Sci.ool of Application at Woolwich. A. The payments by cadets at the Royal Military Colege will be on the following scale, viz. : Per annum. F sons of private gentlemen £lOO For sons of admirals and general officers having regiments .. For sons of general officers not having regiments .. 70 For sons of captains and commanders of the Royal Navy and field officers of the Army having sub- stantive rank .. .. .. .. - .. f.to For sons of all officers of the Royal Navy and Army under the above ranks .. .. .. .. 40 For the sons of officers of the Navy and Army who have died in the service, and whose families are proved to be left in pecuniary distress .. .. 20 Twenty " Queen's Cadets," being sons of officers iu the Navy and Army who have tallen in action, or have died from the effects of active service, and have left their families in reduced circumstances Free. In ad lition to the above payments, there will be re quired to be deposited on entrance such sums as shall be fund necessary for supplying clothing, books, and instru ments. 6. The first competitive examination for the Royal Military College will take place in the month of January, I MS, at which twenty-four of the most successful candi dates, if duly qualified, will be admitted. 7. Each candidate will be reluired to produce a certifi cite of baptism, or other satislactory proof of his age, a certificate from a minister of the church or denomination to which he belongs that be has been duly instructe I in the principles of religion, and a certificate from the master or tutor under whom he has been educated of his general moral conduct for at least tae two preceding years.