The Press. — London, England, 1854-02-04 00:00:00

104 Sffaorsictaz.—Robert Aglionby Slaney, of Witlford. manor, ESil. SOMERSETSUIRE.--James Curtis Somerville, of Dinder, 'Esq. STAFFORDbUIRE.--JOhR Davenport, of Westwood, Esq. COUNTY Of SOUTHLUPTON.---aTererniah Robert Ives, of Bentworth-hall, near Alton, Esq. SUFFOLK.—Windsor Parker, of Clopton-hall, Rattlesden, Esq. SURREY.—Robert Gosling, of Btleys-park, Esq. SussEx.—John Day, of Newiek,o Esq. WARwicusiititz.—William Charles Alston, of Elmdon, Esq. WESTMORLAND.—John Wilson, of the Howe, Esq. WlLTSHlRE.—litimund Lewis Clutterbuek, of Harden. huish-parlc, Esq. WORCESTERSRIRE.—Edward Beareroft, of Mere-hall, Bromsgrove, Esq. YORKSHIRE. —Henry Willoughby, of Birdsall, near Mel ton, Esq. WALES. ANot.Esse.—Robert Brisco Owen, of Haulfre, near Beau- marls, BaacoNsmax.—John Powell, of Watton-mount, Esq. CAIINARVONBHIRE.—Thomas Love Buncombe Jones Parry, of Mactryn, Esq. CARNMITHENSHIRE.—John Jones, of Blaenos, Esq. CaIDIGANSHIRE.—Morgan Jones, of Penlan, Esq. DEN Bic Eistiam.—Richard Jones, of Bellan-place, Ruabon, kuNislitax.—Henry Raikes, of Llwynegrin, Esq. GtAstoaoktisuittE.—William Llewellyn, of Courtcolman, Esq E MoN•roomEayslitaE.--John Michael Severn, of Wallop, E M ERIONSTASHIRE .—George Augustus Huddart, of Pla synpenrhyn, Esq. PEMBROKESHIRE.—The Hon. Robert Fulke Greville, of Castle hall. RADNORSHIRE.—John Jones, of Cefnmars, Esq. THE FORTIFICATIONS ON THE WESTERN ANGLF. OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT an progressing rapidly. A large fort on Cary's Sconce, which is to mount fifty heavy guns and provide accommodation for a large number of men, will very so.ar be ready for its lower tier of grins ; and two batteries are also about to be erected at Freshwater-gate. Piles are being driven for a fort on Colwell Bay. It will be exactly opposite Hurst Castle, and, besides its utility in case of war, will impart a very picturesque appearance to the en trance of the Solent. A POWERFUL RUSSIAN FRIGATE, the Dwina, of sixty guns, had arrived out in Australia when the latest advices were despatched. The Calliope, 26, is the largest British man-of-war on the Australian station, which, with the Fantome, 12, and a small trader or two, are the only British ships-of-war left in those waters. THE ADMIRALTY, in consideration of the present high price of provisions, have increased the wages of the labourers employed in the arsenal from 12s. to 14s. per week. The artisans are to be employed on taskwork at unlimited wages. LIEUTENANT POOLE, R.N., has been appointed Ad• miralty agent. on the Southampton station. THERE are now building in Pembroke Dockyard four ships of the line, four frigates of the heaviest classes, and five smaller-class vessels, constituting a powerful squadron in themselves. Several of them are ready for launching, and others more than half completed. The following is a list of the vessels: — Victoria, 110, sailing, nearly ready for launching ; Repulse, 00, screw, put in frame, 000-horse power, Maudslay and Field ; ninety-gun two• decker, screw, put in frame ; Brusstokk, 80, sailing, ready for launching ; Melpomene, 60, sailing-frigate, completed to about one-half; Immortalit4, 60, sailing frigate, completed to about one-half ; Sutlej, 50, sailing-fri gate, nearly finished ; Aurora, 50, screw-frigate, just commenced ; eura-oa, 30, screw frigate, finished to about one-half, 350 horse power, Maudslay and Field ; Harrier, 16, screw-sloop, completed, 100- horse power, Humphrey and Dyke ; Falcon, 10, screw-sloop, finished to more than a third, 100-horse power, Miller, Ravenhill, and Co.; Ariel, 8, screw sloop, put in frame, 60-horse power, Miller, Raven hill, and Co.; Swallow, 8, screw-sloop, put in frame, 60 horse power, Miller, Ravenhill, and Co. SIR JAMES STIRLING, appointed to supersede Vice- Admiral Sir F. Pellow, will leave England on the 4th prox., overland. He has selected as his staff Captain Wilson (1853) to be flag captain, Captain M. J. Currie (1841) as secretary, and Lieutenant J. M. Bruce as flag lieutenant. THE PROSPECTUS of an undertaking to be called " the Copper Mining Company of Tuscany," with a septet of 120,0001., has just appeared. The proposal is to work two properties, examined and reported upon, and for which 28,0001. is to be given, partly in eash and partly in shares, while the promoters are to receive 8,000 shares with it. paid up, if a dividend should he realised of 10 per cent. THE Loan CHANCELLOR has appointed Sir John Eardley Wilmot, Bart., and Mr. Edward Cooke, Judges of the Bristol and York County Courts respectively, in the place of Mr. Arthur Palmer and Mr. E. H. Elsley, who have resigned, on the ground of ill-health. THE PRESS. WHEN THE ALLIED FLEL TS left their anchorage in the Bosphorus, on the 4th of January, the admirals sailed, in pursuance of orders they had receiv . ed, t o prevent any fresh aggression by the . Russian fleet on the Turkish coasts. But at . that time the or d ers s ubsequently despatched, which direct . the a llied forces to require all Russian cruisers found in the Black Sea to return to Seba.stopol, had not reac h e d Constantinople. They did not arrive there until the 1 2 th of January, and they , were i m mediately despatched to th e fleets by the 1 rench s t eam er Caton, which would probably find the The a d m irals on the 15th in the r oads of Sinope. result of these ulterior instructions would be, that the fleets are authorised to act with greater vigour aga inst such Russian cruisers as they may fall in with, and in all cases to send them back to Sebas topol. If it be true that a considerable squadron of Russian vessels is still at sea, it is not improbable that a collision of some importance may have taken place.—Times. THE QUEEN has granted 501. as a gift to Miss Mackay, the great-granddaugher d only descen dant in that relationship nowtalivean of the famous Flora Macdonald. CONVOCATION met on Wednesday, the day after the opening of the parliamentary session. Both the Upper and Lower Houses sat for some hours, the principal topic of discussion being the prospects and means of restoring the activity and reinvigorating the authority of Convocation itself. Ultimately reso lutions were passed in the Upper House for the appointment of two commi ttees. One for " consider ing and reporting to this house, with a view to address her Majesty thereon, whether any, and if so what, reforms in the constitution of Convocation are expedient to enable it to treat, with the full confi dence of the Church, on such matters as her Majesty may be pleased to submit to its deliberation ;" the second " for considering and reporting to this house whether the great increase and present condition of the population do not make some, and what, adapta tions of the Church's rules needful, to enable her to meet their spiritual necessities." These resolutions were sent down to the Lower House, where, with some difficulty, motions were carried nominating corresponding committees of the clergy to act with their lore ships' committees for the accomplishment of the purpuses indicated. The Synod was then prorogued to the 30th of June next. THE PROCLAMATION OF THE RUSSIAN NAVAL Au- THORITIES that every merchant -ship laden with war stores in the Black Sea will be considered good prizes does not seem to be much heeded by the English merchantmen. The majority of these yes. sell, according to reports from Ualatz of the 18th, have gone to Constantinople with the design of serving as transports between that capital and Varna. THE following gentlemen were nominated on Monday in the Court of Chancery to the rank of Queen's Counsel :—Mr. Loftus Henry Bland, M.P., Home Circuit, called to the bar Michaelmas Term, 1829; Mr. Richard Armstrong, Leinster Circuit, called Easter Term, 1839 ; Mr. John Thomas Ball, Home Circuit., called Michaelmas Term, 1840. A MEETING ON CATHEDRAL REFORM was held in Carlisle on Monday. The inhabitants were convened in consequence of a requisition to the Mayor, "for the purpose of considering the propriety of petition ing Parliament to suspend the first vacant canonry in the chapter of the cathedral church of Carlisle, and to appropriate the income thereof to the aug mentation of the incumbencies of the city clergy, who are very badly paid for their arduous labours." THE CRYSTAL PALACE WORKS AT SYDENHAM are now in so advanced a condition as to leave little or no doubt that the edifice will be opened to the public in May next, according to promise, notwithstanding all the rumours to the contrary. It has even been decided that the Queen's birthday, May 24, shall be selected as the day of the inauguration, at which also it is said that her Majesty has intimated some inten tion of being present, although taking no official part in the ceremony. THE PROMISED CONFERENCE ON STRIKES took place at the rooms of the Society of Arts in the Adelphi on Monday. There was a tolerably numerous attend ance, and much pains had been taken to ensure order in the proceedings, to prevent longwinded speeches, and obtain, if possible, some practical re sult from the deliberations of the day. Ultimately, however, all these well-intentioned efforts proved of little avail. Before the discussion had gone far Mr. Ernest Jones attempted to propose a resolution , and being declared out of order quitted the meeting, where, he said, the working men had no representa tives, and could expect no fair play. Afterwards many speeches were made, but, though all the o rators were strictly limited to ten minutes apiece, the assembly grew wearied before the programme of the conference was more than half got through, and the only thing approaching to a result at which they arrived consisted of a resolution suggested by Mr. Slaney in favour of some amendment in the law of limited partnership. SATURDAY, THE MORTALITY IN THE METROPOLIS last week was 1,178 according to the Registrar-General's report. This number differs little from the return of the pre vious se'nnight, and is about 17 below the corrected average of the preceding years. A BLUE BOOK, showing the capabilities of the mer cantile marine navy for the purposes of war, was issued on the first day of the session. LARGE ARRIVALS OF COAL-LADEN VESSELS have taken place in the Thames. Upwards of 200 car goes were offered at the Coal Exchange on Monday at a further decline of 45., making in all a reduction of Bs. during the space of a week. There are several hundred vessels still to arrive. A BILL FOR RECONSTRUCTING THE COMAUSSION OF SEWERS, and for basing it on the principle of repre sentation, was promised on Wednesday by Lord Palmerston in the House of Commons. ANOTHER MEETING TO DISCUSS JUVENILE DELIN QUENCY was held at Reigate, on Saturday last. The attendance was very numerous, and the proceedings excited much interest in a locality where the im portant subject in question had already acquired a special attraction through the woi king of the " Philanthropic School " at Redhill, where a reforma tory system had been in action for five years past with most satisfactory results. At the meeting Sir W. G. H. Jolliffe, M.P., presided, surrounded by many of the county members and gentry, who advo cated in their speeches, and recommended in the resolutions they adopted, an immediate extension of the Redhill or some equivalent system throughout the whole country and under Government super. vision. RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN PRISONS is the subject of a return just issued, from which it appears that on the 13th of September, 1853, 3,002 trisoneis were confined in the Government prisons in Ireland. Of these 3,630 were Roman Catholics, 222 were mem bers of the Church of England, and 44 were Dissenters. With the exception of Fort Carlisle, there is a Roman Catholic chaplain attached to each of the prisons. In the county and borough gaols there were 6,006 prisoners -5,268 Roman Catholics, 601 members of the Church of England, and 137 Dissenters. MAJOR.GENERAL SIR JAMES MAXWELL WALLACE, K.H., is to be colonel of the 17th Lancers ; and Major-General Thomas Erskine Napier, C. 8., colonel of the 16th Foot. The post of colonel-in-chief of the 60th Royal Rifles remains vacant. THE CHOLERA has not disappeared from Scotland in Glasgow, from Tuesday to Tl.ursday (last week), there were 100 cases and 30 deaths. Two fatal cases are reported in Aberdeen, and one in Forfar. THE LIBERATION OF Mn. BELL, the English engineer, taken prisoner by the Russians in the Black Sea, is again announced—this time it appears with truth. THE AVAILABILITY OF MERCANTILE STEAMERS FOR WAR PURPOSES was submitted by the Admiralty for consideration to a committee of engineer officers. A voluminous report has accordingly been prepared on the subject. The committee, however,-seem to have examined with most care and hope the vessels belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental and the Royal West India Mail Companies. Of these they say : " Our opinion is, that the ships of these companies can never be regarded as efficient substitutes for regu lar men-of-wm ; and that opinion is based on the following considerations :—First. Their sharp form of bow to pro mote speed, continued upwards as it is to the height of the port-sills, renders it impossible to point anti elevate guns iu the line of keel. Secondly. Their rake of stern would render it dangerous to tire a gun when elevated, more particularly when trained from a for e and aft line. Thirdly. These vessels liming been designed entirely for steam propulsion and passenger accommodation, all other purposes have been made subservient to those ends. We find, too, that no attention has been paid to the importance that should be attached to the exposure of the engines, boilers, and steam-chest to shot, which, though in some degree unavoidable in all paddlewheel steamers, appears to exist in these vessels to a most dangerous extent. After taking a deliberate view of the whole question submitted to us, we have arrived at olie e conclusion that the ships referred to, provid they be spared, would serve the purpose of armed troop -ships, and might occasionally be used, in the event of war, in our colonies abroad." THE lONIAN GOVERNMENT has renewed the con tract with the Austrian Lloyd's for five years' naviga- on tion of theit steamers, and postal communicati with Corfu, Cephalonia, and the East. THE arrival of the three members of the Society of Friends on thoir way to St. Petersburg is announced in letters from Konigsberg of the 27th ult. THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE TURKISH WAR, ac cording to letters from some Parisian capitalists, are concluded between the English and French Goverr ments. England is to furnish a comparatively small contingent of troops for despatch to Constantinople, but to pay half the entire expenses of the joint ex pedition. THE " Turkish Blue-book," which made its long ' expected appearance yesterday, consists of two parts —one extending to 400 the other to 378 pages. The t RN .~._--- ~~ IMMIWiIi TIMIPPOIN "WI p