The Press. — London, England, 1856-04-26 00:00:00

394 The Senate has been occupied with the resumed debate on the motion to print the memorial of the members of the Free State Legislature of Kansas. The proceedings in the House of Representatives are of an entirely local character. The New York Herald in a " common-sense solution of the Central American question," proposes that with respect to the British pretensions on the Mos quito shore, Nicaragua should pay ten dollars a month tribute, and make San Juan a free port ; that as regards Belize there is no American objection to its permanent possession by the British ; and that on the point of the occupation and colonisation of the Bay Islands both America and England must renounce all claims, when the whole question will be perma nently and satisfactorily disposed of. Dates from Vera Cruz to the 26th March announce the entire submission of the revolutionists to Comonfort. 6zoxt intb lastrion. Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by Prince Albert, and the elder members of the Royal Family and suite, left town on Wednesday morning at half past eight, to inspect the fleet at Spithead. Her Majesty returned to town by eight o'clock the !mine evening. Mer Majesty on Thursday visited the Society of Painters in Water Colours. His Royal Highness Prince Albert on Monday in spected the Camp at Colchester. The Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary visited the Queen on Thursday at Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty, his Royal Highness Prince Albert, and the Royal Family, will leave Buckingham Palace on the 10th of May, to spend between two and three weeks in the Isle of 'Wight, after which the Court will return to Buckingham Palace, to keep her Ma jesty's birthday there on the 20th, and also to be in town at the celebration of peace. The Court will afterwards remain at Buckingham Palace until the first week in June, when her Ma• jesty will go to Windsor, to dispense her hospitality to the numerous and distinguished company who will receive invitations to the Castle during the Ascot race week. His Excellency the Prussian Minister and the Countess Bernstorff have returned to Carlton House terrace from Torquay. His Excellency M. Tricoupi, the Greek Minister, has returned from Paris to his residence in Portland place. Lady Adelaide de Trafford and Mr. John Ran dolphus de Trafford have arrived at the Clarendon from Hastings. Sir Francis and Lady Scott have arrived in town for the season. His Grace the Archbishop cf York is at the present time seriously indisposed at his residence in town. The double marriage of the Lady Elizabeth Hay to Sir Frederick Arthur, Bart., and of her sister, the Lady Augusta Hay, to the Hon. John Twisleton Fiennes, eldest son of the Lord Saye and 3ele, took place on Thursday, at St. Georges, Hanover-square. THE NAVAL REVIEW. A GRAND NATAL REVIEW opened the war in '54, and a similar ceremony, with a little more steam power and a little less enthusiasm, has concluded it in '5B. The fleet reviewed on Wednesday was incontestably the most magnificent ever inspected by a sovereign since the Armada. The line-of battle ships, screw frigates, and paddle-wheel steamers, with four floating batte ries, lay in two columns abreast, four cables lengths wide, off Southsea Castle, while away to the west ward four squadrons of gun-boats and mortar vessels were anchored in line. The force and horse power of this fleet may be summed up as consisting of : Ships. Guns. Tons. Horse•pow. Crews. Starboard division.. 2$ .. 1,332 .. 38,079 .. 10,300 .. 14,350 Port `• 97 .. 1,062 .. 51,731 .. 11,000 .. 12,210 Gun•boats:— • Whits squadron 46 .. 188 .. 3,900 .. 1,960 Red " 46 .. 188 3,900 .. 1,960 Blue " 44 .. 180 3,780 .. 1,880 Light " .. 82 840 .. 810 Mortar-boats - • • Total 240 3,172 33.720 32,870 Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by Prince Albert, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and the elder children of her royal family, arrived at Gosport shortly before twelve, and embarking on board the royal yacht, attended by Admiral Lyons, Admiral Parker, Admiral de la Gra viere of the French navy, and her suite, and followed by the Fairy and Elfin tenders with the members of the Court, amid the thunders of the battery guns, steamed out of the harbour at twelve o'clock, and, on reaching the Spit Buoy, was saluted by the 1,000 EMS of the entire fleet. THE PRESS. The royal yacht first steamed out close to the floating batteries, and then entering the double line of gun-boats at a tremendous pace, followed by the Vivid and Imperatrice—but without her faithful Lords and Commons, or any of the official dignities who were to add solemnity to the scene—swept down between the ranks of the tiny fleet amid the hearty cheers of the crews, and on entering the easternmost point wore round, and at a steady pace majestically moved up between the column of line of-battle ships, the gun-boat squadron weighing in succession, and following in the wake of the royal yacht. As the Queen passed up, the ships manned yards and rigging, and gave out their heartiest cheers. As soon as the yacht had arrived at the end of the line, Admiral Dundas and Sir George Seymciir were signalled to come on board and arrange the re mainder of the day's proceedings. During the time the gun-boats occupied in steaming past, the yacht hove to, and at length, about three p.m., when the whole flotilla had passed the flag• ships, the royal yacht steamed out to the pivot ships off the Nab Light, the entire fleet weighing in succession, and following under steam at the rate of eight knots an hour. The scene was now a most exciting one. All the passenger vessels, with their freights of passengers and eager sightseers, joined in the general race, and every captain did his best and every stoker stoked his hardest. But the yacht distanced the swarming host that followed after. One of the South -Eastern and one of the South Western boats made a splendid race, but the victory was justly with the South- Eastern. Then came the Atrato, striding along like a huge giant, and evidently not putting out all his strength, lest he should be guilty of the disloyalty of beating the royal yacht ; the Admiralty tender, one of the fastest little craft afloat, also went along easy, evidently from the same reason. The royal yacht at last took up a position about four cables eastward of the pivot ships, and in a few minutes the huge forms of the Duke of Wellington and of the Royal George rounded the London and Rodney, the Wellington to port, and the Royal George to star board, each followed by the vessels of its own squadron. The ease with which these huge line-of battle ships and frigates were handled, the smart ness with which they rounded the pivot ship, was of course the theme of general admiration As each ship made the turn, the side towards the royal yacht was manned and the crews, with their usual heartiness and sailorlike devotion, cheered her Majesty, who stood upon the bridge of the royal yacht. As soon as the larger ships had passed the pivots they returned towards their former anchorage at Spithead. Her Majesty did not wait until the whole of the screw-corvettes and paddle-steamers had performed this evolution, but proceeded towards Fort Monkton, and a move in the ofEnp showed that something was about to come off. When she got within about a mile of the fort the yacht steered for Southsea Castle, where the gun boats, now formed opposite the castle in squadrons, suddenly opened fire on that Kinburn of the occasion. Limited to six rounds a gun, the attack was soon over, and the royal yacht steaming slowly through the fleet as the ships returned to thair anchorage received a parting salute, and, standing in direct for the harbour, con cluded the review. The day was magnificent, and the crowds of per sons enormous, but on the whole the review fell flat. There was not half the enthusiasm exhibited as in '54, but the scene was of course more grand and im posing. The arrangements made by the private com panies were unexceptionable—everybody got away in their steamers in good time and saw everything ; while the arrangements made by Government for the officials and Legislature were of course as bad and unsatisfactory as might have been expected. Her Majesty's faithful Lords and Commons saw little of the review, and arrived on the scene just in time to make a promenade to the Nab Light and back again . _ At nine at night, without any previous intimation, the whole fleet, upon the firing of a signal rocket, burnt blue lights at each yardarm, and hung a lanthern at every port, thus for twenty minutes showing one of the most brilliant illuminations—six miles in length—it was possible to conceive. From the usual mismanagement of the authorities a few chance sightseers were alone lucky enough to wit ness this beautiful display. As for the getting home or getting to bed that night, it was a pleasant delusion which the practical experience of the station and train speedily eradi cated. Lords and Commons, peers and peeresses, were shovelled out wholesale at the Waterloo-station at ail hours during the night and next morning, and thus ended the Great Steam Review of 1856. THE DUKE or BR RANT, heir-apparent to the Bel gian throne, and a bigotted Roman Catholic, last week refused to permit The Jewess to be performed in his presence at the Brussels theatre, as cardinals were introduced upon the stage. SATURDAY, Volitttal. THE COMMITTEE OF THE COURT OF ALDERMEN have published a lengthened report upon the Corporation Reform Bill. The first paragraph of the report " regrets that her Majesty's Ministers, under the guise of a bill for its better regulation, should have thought it necessary to bring in a bill of pains and penalties against this ancient institution." The report then objects to the abolition of the judicial powers of the aldermen, on the ground that these powers have been hitherto respectably exer cised, considers the confiscation of the tourpeuny coal dues, without compensation or compromise, as uncon stitutional, unprecedented, and unjust, and concludes with the following paragraph We have quoted from the commissioners' report an ob servation to the effect that the corporation will be left with " abundant means not only for purposes of public useful. ness, but for the exercise of decent hospitality and splen dour." This expression, which is somewhat equivocal, re• quires an additional comment to that which we have already bestowed upon it. Estates and property have been left to the corporation by aldermen and others in ancient times for the express purpose of providing for our public banquets. A difference of taste may apply different mean ings to the expressions used by the commissioners. One thing is certain, if this bill should pass (without making a heavy county rate upon the citizens, from which they are now exempt), there will be no surplus over indispensable expenditure for either purposes of public utefttlness "or decent hospitality and splendour." Common Halls are to be annihilated by the bill ; the Common Council of this great metropolitan city is to be drafted down to the dimen sions of a country corporation ; and the Mansion•house and Guildhall banquets must have an end. A crowded meeting was held under the presidency of Sir James Duke on Tuesday evening, at the Sessions. house, Old Bailey, and resolutions condemning the Government bill as unconstitutional and objection able, supported by Mr. Gresham, Mr. Mesterman, and others, were unanimously carried. . _ A DEPUTATION OF METROPOLITAN MEMBERS waited on Sir Benjamin Hall, M.P., on Tuesday for the purpose of considering certain objections to the Local Management Act, and its proposed amend ments. From the statement of the deputation it appeared that the parishes had no objection to the system of representative vestries being continued under Sir Benjamin Hall's act, if powers were given to the ratepayers upon the suffrage provided by that act to elect annually their churchwardens and over seers, and make poor rates and Church rates. To which Sir Benjamin Hall replied, he would consent that the present system of election of vestries should continue, and that compound householders should vote, but that ha would not deprive the elective body of the sole tight of making a poor rate. He did not pledge himself to these alterations. The conference lasted for nearly three hours. rttrounlitan. THE 'PRESERVATION OF HANFSTEAD-TIZATH VMS considered at a crowded public meeting held on Monday evening, in the Vestry-hall, Camden town. Sir Benjamin Hall, M.P., Mr. Jacob Bell, Mr. Garvey, Mr. Stretten, &c., were present. Sir Benja min Hall, in supporting the first resolution, pointed out the advantage to the public of the heath as a place of resort, and said that he would continue to do all he could to secure the right of the heath to the people. One of the great objects he had in view in creating a Metropolitan Board of Works was to vest in that board the power of securing such places as Hampstead-heath to the inhabitants of the metro polis. It [was with regret that he found that the board had rejected the proposition made to it; but he trusted that when they learnt the feel ings of the inhabitants of the metropolis they would reconsider the matter. A resolution disapproving of the conduct of the Metropolitan Board of Works was then unanimously passed. Mr. Louden assured the meeting that Sir T. M. Wilson bad been much mis represented. The only power he had was to build on the heath itself ; but he had never done so, because he was himself an artist, and was most anxious to preserve the heath to the people, and had at his own expense put down 200 poles for the use of the laun dresses. So far from wishing to deprive the people of their privileges, Sir T. Wilson was most anxious to secure the heath to the public. Other resolutions in accordance with the object of the meeting were then passed, a provisional committee appointed, and the meeting broke up. The purchase of the heath bj the metropolitans is at present under serious considera tion. It is proposed to levy a property rate of two pence in the pound upon the inhabitants of London, who it is believed bill cheerfully submit to the tax to buy up their heath. A sum of 100,000/. is proposed to be raised. CARDINAL WisemAN delivered a lecture on Wednes day evening, at the Marylebone Institution, upon " The Effect of Words on Thought and on Civilisation." His Eminence endeavoured, and with every success, to 1