The Press. — London, England, 1854-07-01 00:00:00

JULY 1, 1854. "COMMEMORATION WEEIC" has just passed at Ox ford University; but, though signalised by the usual aeries of academic ceremonies and festivities, the proceedings have presented little matter of general interest. Wednesday was the great or founder's day. The gathering within the walls of the Sheldonian Theatre was as crowded and brilliant as usual, and the undergraduates amused them during an hour's waiting by alternate volleys of cheers and groans, be stowed upon the names of certain individuals, par ties, or principles, which proved at once the strength of their lungs and of their political opinions. It is recorded that intense cheers greeted the names of " The Late Government," " Lord Derby," and " Mr. Disraeli." Fainter applause honoured " The Present Government," among whose individual members only the name of Lord Palmerston elicited much appro bation, while groans drowned the cheers on the men tion of " Mr. Gladstone." At eleven o'clock the heads entered in procession, and took their chairs of state. The honorary degrees were then conferred on the following personages :—.. Hie Highness the Prince Louie Lucien Bonaparte. The Right Rev. John Wm. Coleneo, D.D., Bishop of Natal. The Right Hon. Joseph Warner Henley, M.P., M.A., of Mag dalen College. John Wm. Fans, Esq., of Wormsley, High Sheriff of the county of Oxford and Lieut.-Colonel of the Oxford Militia. Sir - George Grey, C.k)., Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand. Sir Chas. Geo. Young, Garter, Principal King-at-Anus, F.A.S. Rear-Admiral Fairfax Moresby, C. 8., K.M.T. Sir George Back. John Din'sey, Esq. The Rev. James Grant, Da, of Edinburgh. The Rev. Ftancia T. MPougall, of Sarawak, M.A., of Mag. dalen-hall. The prize poem and essays were afterwards recited by their successful composers. The " Newdegate," which is this year in blank verse, was won by Mr. G. T. Lee, of St. Edmund Hall. Subject," The Martyrs of Vienne and Lyons." AN influential public meeting, to promote the plan for holding a national festival in celebration of the union between England and France, was held on Wednesday afternoon in the Egyptian-hall, Mansion house—the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor in the chair. Among the company were Visct. Ebrington, Messrs. Gore Langton, M.P., J. Masterman, M.P., W. Brown, M.P., B. Oliveira, M.P., C. Geach, M.P., Colonel Freestun, M.P., Lieutenant-Colonel Starr, Aldermen Sir 11. W. Carden, Rose, and Moon, Sheriff Wire, and other eminent citizens. THE EARL OF ERROLL, according to a paragraph in the Standard, is under arrest at Varna for disrespect to his superior officer. A general court-martial has been ordered, which is thought will result at least in his receiving a severe reprimand. The earl, who is a captain in the Rifle Brigade, is a young man, havilig been born in 1823 He is Hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland. THE loss of the employers during the thirty-six weeks of the Preston strike is estimated at 105,0001. ; of the operatives on strike, 250,0001.; of the con tributors to the working peoples' strike fund, 97,000/. ; to shopkeepers, &c., 21,250/. ; making a total loss to the community of 533,250/. THE presence of a large squadron of piratical junks is reported on the east coast of the Malay peninsula. The nakoda of a junk which arrived at Singapore on the 30th of April from Anarn was attacked two days before near Pedra Branca by a Malay junk, manned by about SO or 100 men, and plundered of all her cargo except the salt. THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND, who is DOW in England, at a general meeting of the Church Missionary Society, held yesterday week, after re commending a plan for the subdivision of his diocese, announced his intention of appropriating the whole of his annual income from the colony, namely, 000/. a year, towards the endowment of the new see. On Monday Sir George Grey, the new Colonial Secre tary, announced the determination of Government to discontinue the annual allowance of 800/. hitherto made by vote of Parliament to the bishop. The right rev. prelate's income was 1,2001. a year, derived from these two sources, so that he is now left without a shilling of regular stipend. Two OF THE CURATES AT ST. PAUL'S, KNIGHTS BRIDGE, have resigned their licences in consequence of the ecclesiastical disputes in the parish. The senior, the Rev. George Nugee, explains, in a letter to Mr. Liddell, the cause of his resignation to be the unwarrantable interference of the Bishop of London. Under the episcopal injunction, Mr. Liddell had ordered his curates to read the church services in• stead of intoning them. "If this principle be once admitted," says Mr. Nugee, " you have no choice but to grant yet another and another concession, if required by any body of your parishioners, until our ritual is stripped of all its ceremonial beauty, our chancels and altars of all their distinctive furniture, and our sermons and other teaching of all their catholic truth." The Rev. C. E. Parry, the other curate, has addressed the incumbent to a somewhat similar effect. There is much curiosity afloat re specting the course which the bishop will take under these circumstances. THE QUEEN has contributed 500/. towards the funds of the London Diocesan Church Building THE PRESS. Society, recently instituted to provide for the fearful daflciency in the means of religious worship in the metropolis, brought to light by the census returns. The provision of all kinds throughout England and Wales is fifty. seven per cent., but in the metropoli tan parts of Middlesex and Surrey it is under thirty per cent., and the provision in churches throughout England and Wales is twenty-nine per cent., but in the metropolitan districts only seventeen or seventeen and a half per cent. gab 3 an Velitt. AN IMPORTANT DECISION under the new Emigrant Passengers Act was given by Alderman Carter at the Mansion-house Police Court on Monday. An intend ing emigrant, named Thorpe, had summoned Messrs. Griffiths and Newcome, the shipowners, for breach of contract. He had paid his passage-money to Australia and got ready for a vessel which they had announced to sail on the 24th of May. So unpunc tual, however, were the owners that his berth on board was not fitted up until the 15th instant, and the ship was not prepared to sail even at the date of his application to the court. Sixteen shillings had been offered him for subsistence while waiting, but lie demanded the return of his passage-money (221. 55.). His case was only one out of many, as a great number of emigrant passengers, male and female, had got their property on board the vessel, and were suffering much distress and agitation from the cruel delay. Defendants' counsel raised some objections, founded on the wording of the act, which, he said, did not contemplate the return of passage-money. Afterwards he applied to have the case referred to a higher tribunal, and talked about letting the com plainant obtain a mandamus from the Queen's Bench, where the question of law might be discussed and decided, it being of great commercial importance. Alderman Carter remarked that this course towards a poor man in the complainant's position would amount to a practical denial of redress. The act gave him a power of summary jurisdiction, which he should exercise in this and all similar cases. He wished emigrants who had to complain against ship owners for breach of contract to know that a ready mode of obtaining justice was open to them. De fendants were then ordered to pay 21. compensation to the complainant and return him his passage money. JAMES SMITH , a shellfish-seller, was charged at Worship -street on Tuesday with having committed a cowardly outrage on a young woman. While passing down Shoreditch, half-intoxicated, he dropped his basket, and, fancying it had been knocked out of his hand, attacked the nearest bystander, who happened to be a woman, in the most ferocious manner. The complainant was suffering much from his violence while relating the particulars to the magistrate : She had neither touched nor spoken to him, but the instant his basket had fallen he rushed at her and struck her about the head and face most violent blows in rapid succession; he seized her bonnet, which he tore from her head, and then, grasping her with both hands round the waist, dashed her down heavily upon the pavement, against which her head came into such violent contact that her hairpins were forced into the skull, causing her the greatest agony. He was about to deal her another heavy blow in the face with his fist, when her screams alarmed one of the neighbours, who ran forward and knocked up his arm just in time to save her. Mr. D'Eyncourt, with some just remarks upon the cowardly brutality of the assault., sentenced the prisoner to six months' hard labour. AN ACTION FOR DAMAGES was brought against the Great Western Railway Company by Mrs. Barefield, a lady of considerable fortune, residing at Thatcham. In June last year the plaintiff was travelling to Lon don for the purpose, as was stated, of attending the Queen's drawing-room. At the Reading station she left the carriage for the refreshment-room, and while standing on the platform a porter in the company's service let a box fall from carelessness and hurt one of her toes. Besides suffering a good deal of pain the plaintiff was obliged to attend the drawing room wearing a large slipper. The fact of negli gence on the part of the porter was proved, and the defendant's counsel addressed themselves to the question of damages, which the jury ultimately esti mated at 27/. 108. A verdict for that amount was consequently returned. A " rough-looking fellow," John Murray by name, was charged at Bow street with assaulting a Vice- Chancellor. It seemed that Sir W. P. Wood was passing through Princes-street., Lincoln's-inn-fields, when he saw the prisoner attempting to strike a woman. His honour interfered, and the man turned upon him and struck a blow which fortunately took effect principally upon his hat. Prisoner was drunk at the time, and Sir W. P. Wood not pressing for a severe penalty, a mitigated fine of 30s. was imposed, with three weeks' imprisonment in default. PATRICK CALLAGHAN, a well-known begging im postor, who was found pleading " starvation" in the public streets, and looked as destitute as usual, was brought up at Bow• street, by a Mendicity officer, charged with the old offence:— 611 The constable stated that the prisoner had 21. 78. 6d. in his possession when apprehended. Mr. J ARDINE committed him to prison for a month, and di• rected the money to be handed over to the governor of the gaol, to defray the expense of the prisoner's maintenance. 3rtibmis nub effnuts. THE Isis AT OXFORD has been the scene of two melancholy and fatal accidents within the last week. On Sunday a boat containing two young men employed by a shopkeeper in the town, and three young women daughters of Mr. Chamberlain, bedmaker at Trinity College, was upset through the inexpertness and terror of its occupants, all of whom were drowned before assistance could arrive. Another boat was upset on Monday, and Mr. W. Earl, commoner of St. John's College, lost his life. He was having a race with a friend, and in the excitement lost the manage. ment of his skiff, which turned over, and he went to the bottom instantly. But few minutes elapsed before the body was rescued, and all availible means used for his recovery, but life was already quite extinct. NEARLY SIXTY HOUSES HAVE BEEN BURNT by a great conflagration which broke out at Olney, in Bucks, on Monday. The fire originated in the wash house of Mr. Morgan, a grocer, residing in High street, in the centre of the town. The wind blowing briskly fanned the flames, so that the fire spread rapidly from one side of the street to the other, con suming everything that came in its way. Many of the houses being of thatch, it was impossible to stop the flames, although there were six fire-engines on the spot. An immense amount of property way destroyed, and many of the inhabitants lost the whole of their furniture. During the night between 300 and 400 women and childen were sheltered in the National School-room and other places. The fire i,s supposed to have been the result of accident. SEvEtur. FIRES have occurred in London, doing much damage, though in no case, fortunately, resulting in the loss of life. On Sunday morning a fire brokp out at the rope-manufactory of Messrs. Morgan and Sons, Blue Anchor-road, Jamaica-level, Bermondsey, and was only extinguished after the destruction of considerable amount of property. On Monday the Kangaroo, a splendid steamer belonging to the Waterford Steam packet Company, and lately arrive 4 from Mani ll a, was visited by a c o n fl agra ti on wlaicla commenced, probably, through spontaneous combus tion among some hemp in its cargo. The flames destroyed goods to a considerable value and did much damage to the steamer, but were subdued by strenuous exertions and through the happy circum stance that the steamer was fitted with iron bulkheads. The vessel was lying at the time off liorselydown stairs. On a subsequent day the premises of Mr. Franklin, a tobacconist, in Church-lane, Shoreditch, were burnt down, the inmates making a hasty and perilous escape, and the adjacent house suffering severely from fire and water. A fire broke out on Monday in the "kitchen department" of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. A large body of policemen were happily near at the time, by whose exertions the flames were quickly subdued. An escape of gas was said to have had something to do with this accident, which but for timely detection and efficient efforts would have threatened the destruction of a wing of the building. SuicinE was committed on Monday night by Mr. Joseph Mitchell, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle. Deceased had, it appeared, been low in spirits for some time, but nothing serious was apprehended. On the night in question the report of a pistol was heard from his room, and his wife on entering found that the unfortunate man had fired the pistol and the slugs had entered his side. He died in less than three hours. The only cause that could be assigned for the rash act was thatthe deceased fancied himself in embarrassed circumstances. The jury at the sub sequent inquest returned a verdict of "Temporary insanity." THE adjourned inquest into the circumstances attending the murder of Adcock, near Leicester, was resumed on Tuesday, and again adjourned. A man named Ashton has since been apprehended on suspicion, and remanded after examination before the local magistrates. The prisoner describes himself as coming from New York. He has been lecturing on phrenology at Leicester for about six months, and professes to cure all sorts of diseases by means of flannel bands charged with electricity. THE STEAM-SHIP " HIMIJAYA, after making a splen did passage of eight days from Malta, went ashore on Thursday on Sconce Point. on the Isle of Wight side of the Solent.. Fortunately she struck upon a soft bed of mud, and on Friday was got off at high water without damage. MARY ANN Baouost, the woman who murdered six of her children at Esher some days since, was brought up before the district magistrates on Thurs day. The bench, however, adopted the unusual course of declining to investigate the case, observing that the verdict of the coroner was sufficient to ensure the prisoner being brought to trial. The woman be haved with much indifference while her crime was under discussion at the court.