The Press. — London, England, 1857-10-17 00:00:00

1001 flames of rhetoric in the same journal have " a most ancient and fishlike smell." We miss the elegant exotics of a costly and cultured satire ; posies. of dandelion are all that these dealers in noisome nosegays can interweave ; but they may possibly hope to do better, for judging them by their recent practices, they seem bent upon dwelling in a " hot-house," in more senses than one. If so, they will find their atmosphere to be unwholesome and con fined, with the additional disadvantage of some fine morning having their roof brought suddenly about their ears ! THE PRESS, OCTOBER 17, 1857. Line, from which it proceeds, a just object of emulation, ani will contribute with it to preserve intact that old repu tation of our immortal phalanxes, which only succumbed to the excess of their glory and their triumphs. NAPOLEON. Although it is rather late in the day to speak of the revue d'honneur, it still may be interesting. It was most brilliant. At eleven o'clock in the morning the troops were formed in the three lines of a vast rectangle. The Emperor, accompanied by a nume• rous staff, and all the Marshals except the Minister of War and Baraguay d'llilliers, who are both ill reached the ground at half•past eleven. Ho was followed by the Empress, accompanied by Prince Napoleon. The Empress Eugenie looked most lovely as, dressed in an elegant riding habit, and mounted on a spirited blood mare, she cantered down the lines. The Empress is an excellent and courageous rider, and showed off to great advantage. When she came on the ground she was received with the deafening shout of " Vive l'lmperatrice." The Emperor and Empress rode down the lines, and took up a position in the middy of a circle, where recompenses for good conduct were distributed to the men. After this, the troops passed in review before their Majesties. The weather the whole of the day was unfortunately un favourable—a high wind and light rains. There can be no longer any doubts of the intention of the Emperor of Russia to increase his naval force in the Chinese seas. The 30th (18) September 3 steam corvettes, and 3 steam clippers, having 48 guns and 800 men, under the orders of Captain Kournelzoff, sailed from Cronstadt. In a few days this force will be followed by the steam•frigate Askolde, of 300 horse power, 46 guns, and a crew of 450 men. The Emperor and Empress of Russia reached Warsaw on the morning of the Bth October. The terminus of the railway was most tastefully decorated with flags and flowers. Their Majesties were re• ceived by Prince Gortschakoff, the governor, and a brilliant staff, who accompanied them to the Palace Lazinski. The Emperor was on horseback ; the Empress in an open carriage. At night the city was illuminated ; the reception of their Majesties by the populace was most enthusiastic. The Queen of Portugal has not taken up her resi dence at Marra, as was generally reported, owing to the prevailing disease. The King, although not very fond of theatrical representations, now goes fre quently to the theatre in the hope of inspiring the • people with confidence. The inundations in the centre of France have been most disastrous, particularly in the Ardiche, where several villages have been swept away, and the loss in grain and cattle been very great. At Besseges the houses were filled with water to the first story. Four hundred and fifty feet of the quay of the railroad was knocked away ; wails twelve feet thick were carried away. The bridge of Lalle no longer exists ; the coal-mines are filled with water ; and several manu factories have ceased to stand. The vintage is now over in Chambery, and has been most abundant; the wine is excellent. CONSERVATIVE FESTIVAL AT NORWICH. THE twenty-sixth anniversary of the Eldcn Loyal and Constitutional Club, established in Norwich, was celebrated at the Bell Hotel last week. The usual dinner took place in the large room of the hotel, and was well attended. Mr. J. H. Hulme presided, and was supported by Sir Samuel Bignold, late M.P. for Norwich, the deputy mayor (Mr. J. G. Johnson), the Governor of the Court of Guardians (Mr. A. A. H. Beckwith), &c. After the usual loyal toasts, The CHAIRMAN, in complimentary terms, pro posed " The Health of the Deputy-Mayor, Mr. Johnson," who was called away by a professional engagement. Mr. J. G. JOHNSON, in returning thanks, after alluding to the principles of the club, diverged into politics in reference to Lord Eldon, " one of a Cabi net which conducted the country gloriously through a protracted war" : He wished he could say as much for the Government of the present day, but he feared that even the disasters of the Crimea had not fully awakened them. Ile was= told that in the course of the last week they had discovered that it was best some troops should go overland to India Good heavens! would it not have been better that Sir Colin Campbell and General Windham should have been backed up by five hundred men accompanying them? The feeling of the people was, however, ao strong with regard to India that the Government would, he believed, be compelled to do their duty. If the Government neg• lected to do anything in their power to rescue the thousand English men, women, and children imprisoned in Luck• now at the date of the latest advice.; if only one life was sacrificed through the neglect of Ministers, the guilt would lie ct their door. It was difficult to say what political opinions were in the ascendant now, fur the present Prime Minister had been in nearly every Government daring the last forty-four or forty-five years. He bad never himself considered Lord Palmerston a Reformer or a Rath* but rather a follower jortign 6 arresgonbtutt. PARIS, October 15. THE capacity of some foreign journals for canards is most astonishing. Fur instance, a Belgian paper, not satisfied with giving an account of the manoeuvres at the camp of Chalons, gravely makes known to the world, upon " good information," the secret thoughts of the Emperor Napoleon. The editor represents his Majesty as sitting at his desk, meditating on the best possible means to bring about an equilibrium in the budget of 1859, and arriving at the determina tion to effect a reduction of twenty-five millions of francs in the expenses of the army. Now, unfortu nately for the reputation of the Belgian paper, the Emperor has no occasion to divert his attention from political matters of more importance and turn his thoughts and studies to the budget, fur the equilibrium is secured, as you will see by referring to the pro ceedings in the last Legislative sittings. You will find there that the report of the Budget Committee for 1858 shows an exchdent of 25,000 millions of francs over that of 1857. To be "well informed," it would appear, is not always to be accurate. There is no truth in the pretended visit of the Emperor to Berlin. The interview between Napoleon and Francis Joseph, for reasons which you may know, is also adjourned sine die. Neither is the reported visit of the Emperor to Marseilles correct. He will nut go to the south of France before the beginning of r eat spring. The approaching meeting of the Paris Congress occupies the attention of our political circles. The reports so industriously circulated as to the wish of the Emperor to place one of his family on the new Danubian Throne, is without the least foundation. Napoleon the 111. intends to continue the same wise line of policy which after mature reflection he adopted—and that is, to consult and carry out the wishes freely expressed of the Muldo-Wallachian population. In a few days the Court will go to Compeigne, where preparations have been made to receive a great number of visitors. As yet it has not been decided whether the Emperor will pass a short time at Fontainebleau or not; this will depend on the weather. The balance-sheet of the Bank of France for October is, I think, more satisfactory than was anti cipated, particularly after the difficulties the Bank had to encounter during the month of September. The commerce of Paris is prosperous, and this, coupled with a bountiful harvest, will greatly tend to restore that confidence which for some time has been, from many unavoidable circumstances, rather severely tested. The report that Queen Victoria intended to take the title of Empress of English India created some sensation in France, but the general opinion seems to be that it would be a wise political measure, as putting an end to the vacillating and procrastinating Government of the East India Company and the Board of Control. The Chalons camp, as you have seen by the papers, is broken up for the season. The order of the day of the Emperor to the soldiers produced a great effect, not only on the men but throughout France. It is a document of much more importance than would appear at first sight ; at the same time that it is a military address, it bears the stamp of a political manifesto. I append it:— Camp of Chalons, Oct. 8. Soldiers,—The time we have spent together will not have been lost. Your military instruction has been advanced, and the ties that unite us have been drawn yet tighter. When General Bonaparte had concluded the glorious peace of Campo•hormio, be hastened to send back the conquerors of Italy to the school of platoon and battalion, thus showing how uaeful he thought it, even for old • soldiers, to return incessantly to the fundamental rules of theory. This lesson has not been forgotten : scarcely have yon returned from a glorious campaign before you have zealously resumed the practical study of evolutions, and you have inaugurated the camp of Chalons, which is to serve as a school of manoeuvres for the whole army. The 1 mperial Guard will therefore always set a gond example in this way, in peace as in war. Trained, disci. plined, ready to undertake everything and support every- thing for the good of the country, the Guard will be for the of the late Mr. Canning. It was impossible to say bow long the present Government might remain in power, or how long the Conservative party might have to perfurin the duty of an Opposition, but it ought not to be forgotten that the functions of an Opposition were extremely important, and Conservatives ought not to be depressed because they were not in office. If they wanted power for the mere sake of place and patronage, they did not deserve to have it, as their great duty was to watch over the interests of the country. The CHAIRMAN having given " Church and State," and " The Army and Navy," The VICE-CHAIRMAN (Mr. Youngman) gave " The immortal memory of the great Duke of Wellington, and may our officers return from the East with the same laurels as he gained in his Campaigns." Sir S. BIGNOLD in reply, made a most inter es ti ng announcement. He said : A work is now in the press, and will in a very few weeks be published, containing all the original papers o f th e Greet Duke during his Indian campaigns. The work will, I am sure, be absorbingly interesting to every British subject when it meets the public eye. It is edited by the present duke, and will be inscribed to her Majesty the Queen. The present duke was in Norwich lately, and some sheets came down during the week for correction. One of these I had the pleasure of reading, and it was a treatise upon the resources, trade, and state of the popu lation of Bengal, now in a state of mutiny. The obser vations and deductions of the duke's great and master mind will, I think, be greatly prized when the public have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with them. The health of " Sir Samuel Bignold and the Con servative Members of the Town Council " having been proposed amidst loud cheers, Sir SAMUEL Bin- NOLD returned thanks, and in the course of his speech made the following remarks upon India : I cannot help thinking that, with the warnings we have had for many years past, and especially within the last three or four months of the outbreak, the Government, if they had fulfilled their duty, would, instead of thinking about their own places, and occupying themselves in getting a Parliament to suit their purposes, have turned their attention to sending out the 20,000 troops in March which they sent out in June, and which might no doubt have got out in time to have prevented the occurrences which have taken place. But the Government did not do so ; they were otherwise engaged, although in March there were reports upon reports of the insubordination which had appeared. What did that indicate but a state of feel ing in India which ought to have induced the Govern ment immediately to send out troops ? They had them in this country, because the moment the pressure comes out they ko, a thousand in a ship. Lord Palmerston, the head of the Government, was a leading member of the Cabinet which " drifted " us into a war with Russia. He was a Secretary of State in that Administration. You all know that every Cabinet Minister is as responsible as the Prime Minister for the acts of the Government of which he is a member. Lord Palmerston, I say, was a member of the Cabinet during the whole period of the Aberdeen Government, during that period when this country " drifted," as they termed it, into a war with Russia. He is at the head of affairs when we get into a war with Persia; he is at the head of affairs when we get into an embarrassment with China; and he is at the head of affairs when we get into a mutiny in India. Yet everybody says on all sides, "Oh, we must support Lord Palmerston." The time is coming I think when some change must take place, and the sooner it does take place, so that we have a little more energy and foresight in the administration of the affairs of the country than has been displayed during the last four or five years, the better for the interests of all of us. gaVal an iWag 3attiligtatt. THE FOLLOWING REGIMENTS are to be immediately increased by the addition of a second battalion : MM. 4th Regiment, now at Newport ; WM. sth Regiment at Newcastle ; H.M. oth Regiment at Bury; and H.M. 7th at Preston. THE REGIMENTS held in readiness to proceed to India, should their services be required, are the 11th Hussars, the 68th Light Infantry, and the 69th Regiment. THE details for the competitive examination for the Artillery, fixed to take place in January next, are not yet definitely arranged. The ages of the candi dates will be limited between eighteen and twenty one. The examination in mathematics will be espe cially severe. An intimate knowledge of French will not be considered indispensable. Two COMPANIES OF TFIE ROYAL ARTILLERY, num bering two hundred and twenty one rank and file, were embarked on board the Australasian this week for passage to India overland. LORD ST. LEONARDS writes to the Duke of Norfolk' in reply to the duke's letter, complaining of the partial . of the Patriotic Fund : I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your grace's letter. I believe that the manner in which the stuns intrusted to the Commissioners of the Patriotic Fund have been dealt with, as far as they have been finally appropriated, is already before the public, but the Royal Commissioners will, no doubt, reassemble before the meeting of Parliament, when your grace's letter to me can be brought under their consideration.