The Press. — London, England, 1856-02-23 00:00:00

178 THE GRAND CHAPLAIN OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON being desirous to inspect the ball-room at the Tuileries, previous to the arrival of the company to the masked ball on Shrove Monday, privately visited the rooms at a very early hour in the evening. It is related that while his reverence the Bishop of Nancy was admiring the taste and elegance of the prepara tions, a solitary masquer art ived in the costume which tradition ascribes to the Tempter of Men. Approaching the Bishop, with a respectful salutation, the devil observed, " Monseigneur, permit me to seize this opportunity to effect a reconciliation." THE ARCHBISHOP OF VIENNA was lately appealed to by the Common Council of the city, to permit a monument to the memory of Mozart to be erected in one of the churches. His grace is reported to have refused permission on the plea that he cannot countenance the worship of genius, as it is nothing more than a species of idolatry. _ . THE first effect of the late Swedish treaty upon Russia was, according to the Donau this week, in favour of an immediate declaration of war again-4 King Oscar. The question was submitted to the decision of the council of war then sitting at St. Petersburg, but General de Berg, the Governor of Finland, at once put a stop to allidiscussion on the matter by declaring that if war were pronounced he must have 60,000 more men to keep the Finlanders in order. THE KING OF NAP .E 3 lately performed an act of singular condescension towards the British Minister. An English seaman, in a street row, had killed a Sicilian with a single blow. The seaman was tried and condemned to thirteen years' imprisonment in irons. Sir William Temple applied to M. Cassini, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, for his intervention. M. Cassini referred the matter to the King, who at once granted a free pardon. THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON loses no opportunity of marking his appreciation of the services of his sol diers. At a review of the Chasseurs of the Garde, last Friday, observing two men in the last platoon who had been wounded and were not decorated, he called them to him to interrogate them on the sub ject, and sending an aide-de-camp into the palace for two military medals, the Emperor himself attached them to the breasts of the soldiers, amid loud cries of " \lye l'Empereur." THE REV. DR. OLDHAM, of Oxford, on the first day of Lent, in the church of Jesu, Rome, publicly ab jured Protestautism in favour of Roman Catholicism. The conversion of this rev. gentleman has created a great sensation among the English residents at HERR HEINE, one of the cleverest of German writers, the author of the well-known " Letters on Paris," died, aged 47, this week at Paris, after an illness of eight years. THE Stmies has decreed that in remembrance of the coursge and perseverance displayed by the inha bitants of Silistria in 1834, they shall not be liable for three years to any taxes, nor to furnish recruits to the army. The surviving wounded are to receive a money indemnity, and all who took part in the defence a military medal. tort aitb lastion. Her Majesty held the first levee of the season on Wednesday afternoon, at St. James's Palace. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert arrived from Bnckinghan Palace at two o'clock, attended by the Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting, and escorted by a detachment of the Royal Horse Guardi. Count Bjdrnstjerna and the Marquis of Ailesbury had audiences of her Majesty in the royal closet, previous to the levee. Her Majesty and the Prince afterwards entered the Throne-room, attended by the Court and great officers of State. His Royal Highneks the Duke of Cambridge and his Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe-Vveimar were present at the levee. The Foreign Ambassadors and Ministers were introduced, and the usual presentations in the diplo matic circle took place. The levee was very fully attended, and the presen tations of naval and military officers very numerous. Her Majesty returned to Buckingham Palace at the conclusion of the levee. Her Majesty and the Prince visited Woolwich Arsenal on Tuesday morning, to inspect the Russian trophies. The Queen also paid a visit to the invalids and wounded of the Royal Artillery corps. Her Majesty during the week visited Mr. Burford's panorama of the Capture of Sebastopol. His Grace the Duke of Richmond has left Brighton, and purposes to stay flr a short period with nis militia regiment at Aldershott. The Earl of Derby had a parliamentary dinner, on Wtdnesday evening, at his residence in St. James's square. The following members of the House of Commons were present—Lord Charles P. Clinton, Lord laas, the Right Hon. Sir John Pakington, the THE PRESS. Right Hon. J. Napier, Sir John Duckworth, Major- General Hall, Captain Gladstone, Messrs. G. A. Hamilton, G. Bentinck, Mowbray, Cumming Bruce, Whiteside, Fitzgerald, Peacocke, B. Coles, Floyer, Hale, Macartney, Cairns, Lloyd Davies, Cobbold, Burroughes, Sc. The Right Hon. B. Disraeli and Mrs. Disraeli entertained at dinner, on Wednesday evening, at their residence, Grosvenor-gate, the Ambassador of France and the Countess de Persigny. There were present to meet their Excellencies the Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury, the Earl of Eglinton and Miss CockerA, the Earl and Countess of Hardwicke and Lady Elizabeth Yorke, the Earl of Lonsdale, Lord John Manners, Baron Rothschild, M.P., and Miss de Rothschild, Lord Dufferin, Sir James Fer gusson, M.P., and Mr. Charles Greville. Lady Mary Wood had her first reception on Wed• nesday evening. The 'attendance was very full. The principal members of the corps diplomatique were present. His Excellency the Belgian Minister and Madame Van De Weyer bad a dinner and reception on Thurs day evening. The Countess of Craven had a tltZ dansant on Thursday evening. Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess and the Princess Mary of Cambridge honoured her ladyship with their presence. The Countess de Persigny has issued cards for a grand ball at the French Embassy on Tuesday next. Valittral. MR. LOWE'S SHIPPING BILL. AT A SPECIAL COURT OF THE COMMON COUNCIL of the London Corporation, held on Tuesday, the re port of the consolidated committee upon the Local Dues on Shipping Bill was read. The report, which set forth the various clauses of the bill, stated that the abolition of such dues as proposed should be protested against in the strongest manner by the court, as a principle fraught with danger to all pro perty, and a petition to that effect be presented to Parliament. Mr. Wood, chairman of the com mittee, moved that the report be adopted. Deputy Lott seconded the measure. If the bill were not vigorously opposed confiscation of private property, without compensation by the Government, would be legalised, and the doom of the Corporation of London would be certain. Mr. Valiance trusted the corporation would unite in a determined opposition to Mr. Lowe's bill. If the bill were allowed to pass, it would lead to a commonism inconsistent with any rights of property. It was absurd to assume that because the value of a property had increased, the title by which it was held was weakened. Deputy Dakin and Sir Henry Muggeridge gave a modified support to the motion. Mr. Howe spoke strongly in favour of the bill, and, after some further remarks, the original motion was carried, and a petition to Parliament agreed upon. At NEWCASTLE a public meeting to petition Par liament against the bill was held on Monday. The Mayor, Mr. It. P. Philipson, stated the case for the corporation in a speech which was warmly applauded. his chief argument against the bill was that it pro posed to take from the town, without compensation, dues which it held under old prescription, confirmed by different charters granted by the sovereign, and which it held by as good a title as that of any property in the kingdom. He concluded by moving that a petition be presented to the House of Com mons against the bill. With one exception the resolution was carried unanimously, and a petition, moved by Alderman Blackwell, and seconded by Mr. William Dunn, solicitor, was also adopted. The petition is to he forwarded to the members for the borough for presentation, with a request that they oppose the bill by every means in their power. The members for Northumberland and Durham, and for the boroughs within the same, are to be invited to join in the opposition. At LIVERPOOL a meeting of the shipowners was held on Thursday, and resolutions against the bill unanimously agreed upon. The great public meeting will take place next week. A PUBLIC meeting in favour of this bill was held in the Town-hall at Manchester on Thursday, the Mayor presiding. The meeting was addressed at great length by Mr. Heeling, Mayor of Salford ; Mr. Bayley, President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and several gentlemen connected with the town. The point contended was, that it was un• constitutional for the Liverpool Corporation to tax the country to any extent—that such an arbitrary taxa tion was vexatious and unjust, and should be abo lished. A petition, calling attention to these points, and praying the House to sanction Mr. Lowe's bill, by which the first recommendati'.ns of the Shipping Dues Commission will be carried into effect, was then drawn up, and the proceedings terminated. Influential meetings have also been held at North and South Shields, Sunderland, Durham, Gateshead, and Tynemouth,•in support of the bill, and deputa tions with those views will be sent to London. SATURDAY, SIR G. GREY'S POLICE BILL. A GREAT PUBLIC MEETING of mayors and municipal authorities took place on Wednesday, at Herbert's Hotel, Westminster, to oppose the late bill introduced by Sir G. Grey for the better regulation of the police in counties and boroughs. Mure than one hundred gentlemen were present, including, as well 114 the mayors, aldermen, town councillors, and magistrates of boroughs, several members of Parliament, amongst whom were Lord Henry Lennox, Mr. Roebuck, Sir Joshua Walmsley, Mr. Raikes Currie, Mr. P. Crossley, Mr. Ingham, Mr. C. Forster, Mr. Bass, Mr. J. A. Smith, M. J. B. Smith, Colonel Smyth, Mt. Wells, Sir George Goodman, Mr. H. Wickham, and others. The Lord Mayor of York, who presided, explained the objects of the meeting : They were not met to consider the arguments for and against the bill, of which a large proportion of the rnuni• cipalities had already expressed their disapprobation, but rather to devise the best means of effectually opposing it. When he first saw the bill, he confessed the bonus of one fourth the expenditure on police to be granted from the public puree did appear to him to be acceptable ; but, on subsequently perusing the bill, and reflecting upon it, he found it betrayed the old mischievous tendency to centrali sation, which had been already denounced, in former in stances, as most dangerous and unconstitutional. He then reviewed the objectionable clauses of the bill, and expressed his apprehension that, if it were carried into execution, the police would become the mere creature and tool of the Government of the day, with all the evils of a standing army, added to the facilities of police access and police espionage : He apprehended it was in reality the old battle which the people in the provinces had now to fight over agair. The issue now was, whether the people of the cities anti boroughs throughout the kingdom were to have all power and control within their several localities taken from them and centralised in the Ministry of the day, or whether they were to retain their characteristic and time hallowed municipal government? The Secretary of State was only asking for a handle to his axe, and if they conceded this measure the downfall of their local and municipal in fluence and independence would speedily follow. He trusted they would one and all unite in opposing this ob noxious bill, and that in doing so the counties would stand by the boroughs and the boroughs by the counties. Mr. Alderman Leeman reminded the meeting of what occurred in 1853.4, upon Lord Palmerston attempting to introduce a Police Bill. The present measure was based upon the same objectionable principles of centralisation as was the bill of that year. It was the virtual repeal of the Municipal Corporation Act, under which, during twenty years, our provincial middle classes had risen in influence and intelligence. The Mayor of Birmingham proposed the first resolution : That this meeting objects strongly to the apparent ten dency of legislation towards centralisation, as subversive of that principle of local self•government which is so con genial to the spirit of this free nation, and which expe• iience has shown to have materially contributed to advance the prosperity and promote the liberties of the country. The Mayor of Southampton seconded the reso lution. Colonel Smyth, M.P., expressed his corjial agree ment with the objects of the meeting. Mr. Forster, M.P., thought if the case were strongly represented to Sir George Grey, the Home Secretary might be induced to withdraw the ob noxious clauses. Mr. Bass, M.P., objected to the bill, but would not prejudge the question of a general improvement of the police force. Mr. Roebuck, M.P., was not opposed to any im provement, but was this bill an improvement?— The hon. member for Walsall, too, had suggested their speaking to the Secretary of State, and listening to what he might have to say. Now, he (Mr. Roebuck) would go to the Secretary of State with the determination to listen to nothing which he might have to say. He was quite slue that nothing which Sir George Grey could say would alter the character of this bill He would have the bill turned out of the house with every possible ignominy. Some gentleman had spoken of the candour and good intentions of Sir George Grey. Now, he ( Mr. Roebuck ) had no faith in either. Looking at it generally, he believed it was for the benefit of the whole people that they should be accustomed to the government of their own affairs, it was a part of their political education, and any diminution of it was pro Panto a diminution of their character for intent. gence and morality. As he had great faith in his country men, as he had faith in the municipalities of this kingdom, as lie had great faith in freedom, he should oppose the bill. The Mayors of Sheffield, Worcester, Brighton, and Stratford-upon-Avon, having spoken, Lord H. Len nox, M.P., as representative of a small and ancient borough, begged, on its behalf; to express his enti re . concurrence in all that had been said in opposition to the measure, which he hoped that powerful meet ing would succeed in defeating entirely. He be lieved the small boroughs would feel the tneasure, if it passed, even more acutely than the large boroughs. The resolution was then carried unanimously, other resolutions protesting against the character of the bill were also carried, and the proceedings shortly terminated.