The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-29 00:00:00

DECEMBER 29, 1855. THE Poum SOCIETY Di PARIS have set on foot a subscription for the benefit of the six orphans of the Polish poet Mickiewitz, whose death at Constanti nople has so lately occurred. In three days 108,000 f. were collected. A Polish lady, who a short time since lost her only son, has adopted one of the children. GENERAL DE LA MARMORA is expected shortly at Turin, from whence, it is believed, he will pro ceed to Paris, to attend th . :' grand military council about to be held under the presidency of the French Emperor. THE INTERCHANGE OF DESPATCHES between Vienna and Paris is stated to be extremely animating. Daily messengers and special officers are constantly arriving and departing from both capitals. COLONEL TURR, the Hungarian officer arrested by Count Coronini, has been transferred to Vienna, and is now in the military prison. It is not thought that he will be detained long in custody. Tax HOSPODAR GREGORY GHIKA of Moldavia has proclaimed the entire abolition of serfdom in his principality. M. DE PERSIONT, the French ambassador, arrived at Paris on Saturday from London, and, atter a long conference with the Emperor, left immediately for England. THE RUMOURED FRESH TAXES IN FRANCE upon salt and tobacco are indignantly denied this week by the Patrie, which reports upon positive information that the Government has no such intention. TIIE MEMOIRS OF COUNT MOLE are Still a leading topic of conversation in Paris. It is certain that a friend of the family proceeded immediately after the count's death to Nervi in Italy, to confer on the sub ject of their publication with the Duke de Nemours and the Prince de Joinville. The result of this con ference has not yet transpired. A VISIT OF THE SULTAN TO PARIS in the spring is rumoured in that capital, and very generally cre dited. His Imperial Highness's recent accep tation of the Cross of the Legion of Honour, an sot without precedent in the history of the Sultans, is regarded as an indication of the willingness of the head of the Government of the Porte to advance still further in the steps of Mahmoud. Caul mtb tiastion. Her Majesty, the Royal Family, and Court have passed the Christmas week, as usual, at Windsor. Her Majesty during the week has received visits from Prince Ernest of Leiniugen, Admiral Dundas, Lord Panmure, and Sir Harry Jones. On Christmas-day Divine Service was performed in the private chapel of the Castle. The royal dinner party in the evening included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, his Serene Highness Prince Ernest of Leiningen, Lady Fanny Howard, Lady Caroline Barrington, Baroness de Speth, the Hon. Mary Seymour, Lord Nomura, Mikjor-General the Hon. chains and Mrs. Grey, Colonel the Hon. C. B. and Mrs. Phipps, Colonel the lion. N. and Lady Mary Hood, Colonel and Lady Emily Seymour, Sir George ouper, Major-General Sir Harry Jones, and Mr. Glover. The Duke of Cambridge, attended by Major Clifton, returned last week to St. James's Palace from visiting the Right Hon. Sidney and Mrs. Herbert, at Wilton-house. The Duke and Duchess of Richmond are sur rounded by a family circle at Goodwood, Sussex. Their Serene Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Saxe Weimar, and the Earl and Countess of March, are among the circle. The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland have a large family party at Trentham, Staffordshire. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll, the Marquis and Mar chioness of Stafford, the Earl and Lady Constance Grosvenor, besides other members of the ducal house, are staying there. The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland are at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland. The Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury have a select party asse►nbled at Hatfield-house, Herts. The Marquis of Lansdowne is entertaining a dis tinguished party at Bowood, Wilts. The noble marquis will receive company until the middle of next month. The Earl and Countess of Clarendon have a select party at the Grove, near Watford, Herts. The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lady Theresa Lewis, Miss Lewis and the lion. Mrs. Villiers are staying with the noble earl and countess. The Earl and Countess Howe have a family party congregated at Gopsall-hall, Leicestershire. The Earl of Cardigan is surrounded by a large and distinguished party at Dean-park, near Kettering. The Right Hon. W. G. Hayter left town on Thurs day, on a visit to the Earl of Yarborough, at Brock• THE PRESS. ralittrai. OPINIONS ON THE WAR. THE LORD ADVOCATE, at Leith, last week, in an address to the principal inhabitants upon the subject of parliamentary responsibility, thus ►ketched the character of the House of Commons:— There is that one singular placid kind of atmosphere which pervades the whole place, before which meanness and hypocrisy cannot stand. There is a sense, there is an instinct of honour in that place which withers at once any thing like an attempt at double-dealing or falsehood. If there is a touchstone, one cannot say where it is, but as sure as the false metal rings, as surely is the response heard at once in that house. It is a place where preten sion, hollowness, and the attempt to seem what you are not, or the pretension not to seem what you are, is more rapidly detected than in any other place. It isla place where comparatively ability is second to honesty ; and where a man who is honest and earnest in his purpose, and who has taken the trouble to make himself master of the subject with which he deals, and who has a right to deal with the subject, is always certain of a hearing when your more flashy, more able, possibly more clever man who intrudes himself into matters with which he is either superficially acquainted, or has nothing to do, let him speak with a tongue of untold eloquence, will not own mend an audience for a quarter of an hour. The principal failing iu the house he considered to he too strong a dread of the opinion of the con stituency, which in his opinion restricted that free exercise of judgment in a member which the country demanded. With respect to the war, the Lord Advocate considered that Lords Palmerston and Panmure deserved " the gratitude of the country" for the efficient state to which they have brought our army ; that the war was one for the liberty of Europe, and that any Government which carried it on with vigour would obtain the hearty co operation and support of the people. At the conclu sion of his address the Lord Advocate, speaking of the "innate and radical personal injustice" done by the press with regard to the war, very pointedly alluded to the attacks upon Lord Raglan, Sir Colin Campbell, and others. He did not wish to curtail the liberty of the press, but he wished to see it, rated at its proper level by men charged with conducting public affairs. THE HON. COLONEL VEREKER, at a meeting of the Conservative electors of Great Yarmouth last week, spoke freely on the question of peace or war : It is for a firm and vigorous carrying on of the war; nor should I ever be a party to the conclusion of any peace which has not for its primary object the removal from Russia of the power of continuing the system of aggression which she has endeavoured to carry out. I think we shall not be justified in consenting to a peace until that object is attained. T consider before we make any peace that Russia must give us a substantial guarantee, or, if I may use the term • good and substantial bail for her future good behaviour. When she does that, we may think of peace, but at present I do not think Russia is sufficiently humbled to sue for peace in earnest. We must not be led to a repe• tition of the unproductive negotiations entered into last year, which proved so fntile and barren of any good result we must have no more mock conferences at Vienna, nor versatile envoys, making ourselves the laughing•stock of the world. What we do now must be with a definite object in view. When Russia comes to us direct—not through any seoond•rate German power—and shows us that she is willing to treat with us on honourable terms, and giies us proof that her intentions are honest, we may think of peace; but that moment has not yet arrived. From what I have said I hope you do not imagine that I am for war at all hazards—for fighting merely for the sake of fighting, and for no definite reason. It is not so. On the contrary, I think we have no right to keep on fighting to gratify our vanity for glory or any such visionary object, but for one object only—that for which we commenced the war, and which we ought not to rest until we obtain—the securing the independence of Turkey, and the preventing Russia's unlawful aggressions. SIR JAMES FERGUSON, BART., delivered a lecture upon the war at Girvein last week. The hon. baronet devoted himself more particularly to a descriptive history of the present war, entering at considerable length upon the Crimean campaigns, and relating several incidents which had come under his own observation. In the earlier portion of his lecture Sir James briefly traced the growth of Russia to the present time, exposing the means by which she had arrived at such power and was in the possession of so much territory. THE EARL OF DARTMOUTH, at his rent audit at Pattingbam last week, spoke with some asperity againstthe general inconsistency of " Correspondents"' letters from the camp. He regarded them as pos sessing a tendency to bring us into contempt with our allies. Captain Legge, brother to his lordship, and now home on sick leave, also made a few remarks upon the same subject. Ile did not wish to interfere with the liberty of the press, but he objected to the way in which the fair fame of many men was treated. With respect to peace, the gallant captain expressed his belief that every man in the army would rather go through the same trials and hardships of the siege again than allow their triumphs to be thrown away by an ineffectual peace. 1287 COLONEL CORYTON, at the Callington Agricultural Association, Raid he believed the ballot must be adopted if recruiting did not go oa faster than it had : The Cornwall Rangers, of which regiment lie was the colonel, ought to have been 1,017 men strong ; it, however, only numbered on the 12th 209 men, and an order came down that they were to get as many men as possible to enlist in the regulars. Sixtyone volunteered for the marines, twelve for the navy, and thirteen others who volunteered were found too small. At that moment there fore there were only 139 men in the Rangers. He believed that there were large numbers who would enlist in the army if they could tell what to do with their wives and families. That formed • matter fur serious consideration, for they might depend upon it, if the war lasted, that the ballot would be resorted to, and then they would all be liable to serve. Mn. H. KER SEYMER, M.P., at the Blandford Agricultural Meeting on Saturday last, expressed his doubts of the success of any negotiations with Russia at present. Our campaigns, he considered, had neither been so brilliant, nor oar success so marked, as to bring a powerful empire like Russia ►o terms. With respect to the resumption of negotiations, although he viewed it with uneasiness, he thought it best left to the Executive, but that the people should take every opportunity of laying down, not the details, but the principles upon which they would desire to see peace made : I think the principles upon which we should make pesos (continued the honourable member) have always been the same, namely, that we should secure the iut* grity of the Turkish empire, and obtain such " material guarantees" from Russia as shall prevent her from easily disturbing the peace of the world, by hindering her efforts at aggrandisement in the north and south of Europe. These are the principles on which 1 think peace should he made, and, and the sooner these terms are offered to her, and the sooner peace is made, the better ; but till then, I am afraid we must continue the war. ttropolitan. THE METROPOLITAN Bosse OF WORKS elected their chairman on Saturday last. The meeting at Burlington house was fully attended, and that por tion of the apartment given to the public crowded with numerous visitors. The principal candidates for the chairmanship were, Mr. Roebuck, Mr. liar risen, Mr. Zebb, Mr. Thwaites, and Mr. Turner, Previously to the business of the day being proceeded with a letter was read from Sir John Shelley, with. drawing his name from the list of candidates. Th♦ different candidates, ten in all, haviug been duly pro, posed, explained their views seriatim—Mr. Roebuck, m doing so, making allusion to his long previous services at the bar and in the House of Commons. The election was imenediate'y proceededwith, the show of hands being taken seven times, and the contest lying between Mr. Thwaites, Mr. Harrison, and Mr. Roebuck. Mr. Thwaites throughout carried the majority, and was finally elected chairman. Mr. Thwaites is well known as the most active and ener getic member of the Commission of Sewers. At the conclusion of the proceedings Sir John Shelley in• umated that he should withdraw entirely from the board. On Tuesday next the new law on the local management of the metropolis comes into active operation. The new Board of Sewers will con mence their duties on the Ist., and, with the exten sive powers vested in them and in the Board of Works, great improvements will be looked for. CARDINAL WISEMAN concluded his series of lectures on the Concordat on Sunday last at Moortields Chapel. The point of this final lecture was to prove that the Emperor of Austria had acted) from pure religious feeling, and from no desire of consolidating his power in Italy, or from oppressing the people of Germany; that the Concordat gave an entirety new constitution to the Church of Rome, removing all obstacles which impeded its efficiency, and permitted it, that freedom arid power so necessary, and corre sponding to the state of things most to be desired. Ma. WADDINOTON, chairman of the Eastern Coun ties Railway, has issued his reply to the charges brought against him by the Investigation Committee. The document is of an extremely lengthy character, and replies seriatim to every charge propounded, entering upon all points and into the must minute details, and apparently giving a full and satisfactory explanation of some charges, a refutation of others, and a denial of the rest. With respect to the divi dend of 37,0001., of which the committee declare t3e,000/. has been improperly charged to the credit of the company, Mr. Waddington explains that this 36,000/. was charged to the credit of the company as the amount of claims not made when the half-yearly accounts were rendered. Against the main oharge, the s tate of the permanent way, Mr. Waddington explains that Mr. Ashcroft, the superintendent of ways and work, in whom the board v,'st.•d every responsibility, reported from time to time that the entire line of railway was in excellent repair; and that on Mr. Ashcroft the responsibility must rests ■