The Press. — London, England, 1855-08-18 00:00:00

782 of France, on occasion of the fête of his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French. The company consisted of Viscount Palmerston, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of Clarendon, Viscount Har dinge, the Count de Flahault, Sir Charles Wood, Sir George Cornewall Lewis, and a large muster of mem bers of the corps diplomatique. A letter from Rome says that the Duke of Nor thumberland has spent an enormous sum of money in the purchase of a small number of pictures. In one of them the figures are painted by Gian Bellini, and the landscape by Titian. The Government, for granting the requisite permission to leave the coun try, have made, it is said, nearly as good a thing of it as the Camuccini family, who sold it. By the death of the Duke of Somerset, Lord Pal merston will, for the first time, have to advise her Majesty as to the bestowal of a blue ribbon. PEACE OR WAR. A PUBLIC meeting was held on Wednesday at St. Martin's-ball, convened by a Mr. Hamilton, for the avowed purpose of freely " taking the opinion of the public upon the momentous question of peace or war." The attendance, which was comparatively scanty at the opening of the proceedings, became more numerous towards the close, while the discre • pancies of opinion on the subject in hand among the parties present were strongly marked and somewhat vociferously expressed. The CHAIRMAN, in a long, rhapsodic speech, con tinually interrupted by tempests of mingled cheers and hisses, proceeded to state his opinions upon the war, and its consequences, assuring the meeting that he did not know the amount of treasure expended, nor did he know how much sacrifice of liberty bad been made ; but he would say without hesitation that nearly five hundred thousand human lives had been lost, and hundreds of millions of treasure wasted already. He could not tell them what they fought for, unless he were to utter dark suspicions; but if the Christian religion had never been known, and if there had been no recognition of eternal justice on earth, there could not have been a war more recklessly carried on ; and history, he believed, would brand the war as an atheistical one. (Hisses and cheering.) In conclusion, the chairman, as the best advice he could give them, recommended the people of England to refuse to supply to their Government those materials of war which were only used for their own destruction. (Uproar.) MT. BRONTERRE O'BRIEN, after reading a furious peace oration characterising the war as an aggres sion upon the part of England, and making a fierce attack upon the Governments of England and France, concluded by proposing a long resolution condemnatory of the war and strongly protesting against its further continuance. (Uproar.) Mr. J. G. HARRIS, in seconding the resolution, ex pressed the assurance that it would be unanimously adopted, and that it would have an electrifying effect throughout the country, that the Government would be turned out, and universal peace prevail. (Loud laughter.) Mr. PASSMORE EDWARDS rose to propose an amend ment, denouncing the war "as a mockery, a delusion, and a snare ;" but the meeting decided that this was no amendment, and refused to hear him. About fifteen other gentlemen, anxious to address the meeting, then jumped to the front of the rostrum, contending for a long time for precedence, amid a scene of indescribable confusion. Ultimately, Mr. HORACE ST. JOHN, whose age seemed some where about eighteen, obtained a hearing, and moved as an amendment, "That this meeting re cognising both the justice and necessity of the war in which we are engaged, and seeing that the great ob jects for which it was undertaken are still unaccom plished, pledges itself to support any honest Go vernment that will vigorously prosecute it to an honourable and victorious termination." Mr. St. John, in speaking to his resolution, aroused the ire of the peace party, one of whom advanced and shook his hand in the speaker's face, and another scene of uproar took place which it is impossible to describe. Afterwards, Mr. H. COOKE seconded the amendment, asserting his opinion that the people of England had not abated one jot of their determination to carry on the glorious war. (Confusion.) Mr. W. WILKEs vehemently opposed the amend ment, characterising the bombardment of Sweaborg as the crowning proof of Ministerial treachery, be cause it was calculated to do more harm to the Fins, our friends, than to the Russians, our enemies—an announcement which was met by a storm of ridicule and disapprobation. He advised them to stop the war until they had put down Palmerston and got universal suffrage. Mr. SAMUEL KvnD observed that the wishes and ascendency of Russia could not possibly be better promoted than by stopping the war unconditionally. He loved peace ; but peace, iu the present state of Europe, meant fighting and conquering Russia. (Loud abeam) War was a great games and they THE PRESS. must not be idle at it; either let them make peace in earnest or make war in earnest. Mr. G. THOMPSON supported the resolution. The amendment and the original resolution were then put by the chairman, and the latter was carried by a majority of two to one. 3ffiantr. A fog of extraordinary density visited the river of Cork on yesterday week, to the great risk of the ship ping, which, however, suffered no injury. Saunders's News Letter says : Numbers of the Irish labourers who have been in the habit of migrating to reap the harvest in England, and a golden harvest for themselves in repayment for their labours, have suddenly reappeared upon our quays in bun• dreds. Upon being asked why they returned so soon?— was there no work?—were the wages bad?—or, was there any reason for their return? —the answer was, " The Press,"—" The Press." On further inquiry, it was ascer tained that they were informed by their Saxon fellow labourers that if they remained longer in England they would be impressed one and all, and obliged to go to fight the battle of the country in the Crimea. Believing this idle story, they resolved to fly for shelter to their home, leaving plenty of work and its results—hard sovereigns— behind them. It is to be hoped that the bountiful harvest at home will make some amends for their disappointment. The Very Rev. Dr. O'Brien has been appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford by his Holiness Pope Pius IX. Mr. James Perry, one of the directors of the Midland Great Western Railway, will, it is Said, offer himself as a candidate for the Queen's County at the next election. In the event of a vacancy in the representation of Clare, Mr. Pierce Creagh has declared himself a candidate for the honour of election. Although a member of the Roman Catholic Church, it is said that Mr. Creagh stands well in the estimation of the Protestant gentry of the county, inasmuch as he was a supporter of the late Derby Government. A numerously-attended meeting of the electors of New Ross has declared for Mr. Charles Tottenham. The honourable candidate was recommended to the assembly by his parish priest, Father Grant, who expressed a hope, in his letter to the chairman, that " the people of Ross would return him to Parlia ment unpledged, on the principle that pledges do not bind scoundrels, and should not be asked of honest men." A Drogheda paper says :—" Murtagh O'Bryen, Esq., S.I. who has been a considerable time sta• tioned in A rdee, has succeeded to the titles of Marquis of Thomond, Earl of Inchiquin, and Baron Tad caster of the United Kingdom. The Thomond estates, we understand, also fall to him. The mar quisate was created in 1800, and in 1808 William O'Bryen succeeded to the title." The efforts made to obtain the unconditional pardon of Mr. Smith O'Brien have, it appears, been for the present unsuccessful, an unfavorable answer having been obtained during the past week from Lord Pal merston. The Cork Examiner says, however, that the answer by no means shuts out hope, and adds:— " Lord Palmerston spoke kindly of William Smith O'Brien, and allowed it to be distinctly understood that there was no personal or political resentment entertained towards him by the Government. In- deed, he almost stated in words that a similar appli cation might, at some distant period, meet with a more favorable reply; and upon a question being put to him he recommended that Smith O'Brien should not act hastily in any manner which would separate him from his country." The series of Italian operas at the Dublin Theatre Royal concluded on Tuesday night, with an over flowing house, for the benefit of Grisi. The enter prise of Mr. Harris, the manager, and of Messrs. Beale, Cramer, and Co., with whom he co•operated, has been so successful on this occasion, as to lead to the announcement that another operatic company will appear in the Irish capital in the first week of September, with an array of distinguished artistes from Her Majesty's Theatre. Astoria the medical graduates of the Edinburgh University who obtained their diplomas at the last examirstion were a Chinese and four Egyptians. The Chinese graduate, Wong Fun, is believed to be the first of the Celestials who has ever graduated at a British university. A TREMENDOUS STORM, accompanied by a shock of earthquake, taok place at Homburg, near Frank fort, on the night of Thursday, August 2. The win dows of hotels were shaken open, and the bells set ringing ; the houses in Homburg all trembled vio• lently, and much glass was broken. Those who oc cupied rooms in the upper part of the hotel dressed and came down ; trees were bent to the earth, but not broken, in the hurrricane, and the thunder and lightning were awful. The following day the cholera appeared at Liege —twenty-two cases—as well as the potato blight, and is attributed by the inhabitants entirely to the storms, which have been very severe all up the Rhine, but not so much se es at Homburg. SATURDAY, Volitual anb Omani. THE GOVERNMENT, in accordance with the recom mendation of the committee moved for by Mr. Mack innon on the Arctic expedition, have paid 5,0001. to Captain M'Clure, and the same sum to the Admiralty, for his officers and crew. Mn. RUSSELL, it is reported, has resigned the chair manship of the Great Western Railway, and is to be succeeded by Mr. S. Walpole, M.P. for Midhurst, and late Secretary of State for the Home Depart ment in the Cabinet of the Earl of Derby. Mn. MASSEY, M.P. for Newport, has been appointed Under Secretary of State for the Home Department. Mr. Massey has represented Newport, in the Isle of Wight, since 1852. He is in favour of an extended suffrage and vote by ballot. Sin W. MOLEBWORTH bas appointed Mr. Victor Holton to be his private secretary at the Colonial office. _ _ _ _ . . . Loan Jost? RUSSELL has left town for Perthshire. Lady John Russell and family are still residing at Richmond-park. LADIES of different classes of society in St. Peters burg have formed themselves into a society for the succour of widows and orphans of officers and soldiers destined for defence of the capital and the shores of the Baltic. A GRAND DINNER was given at Constantinople on the Ist by Fuad Pacha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the Ministers and high functionaries of the Porte, the principal members of the diplomatic corps, Omer Pacha, Lord Paget, and several other persons of dis tinction. AT THE WALKER IRONWORKS, Newcastle-on-Tyne a large order has just been completed for shells for the Turkish Government, and the same firm are now engaged in the manufacture of 35,0(X) shells, from eight•inch to thirteen-inch, besides a number of mortars, for the British Government. The foundry is exclusively employed in the construction of imple ments of war. _ _ THE dress regulations of the navy are now undergoing extensive revision, and epaulettes will henceforth be abolished. The new uniform will, it is said, be greatly simplified, and rendered more suitable and eomfonable for all who have to wear it. NEARLY ONE THOUSAND GENTLEMEN were appointed to commissions in the army between the Ist of Jan uary and the Ist of July. In July upwards of two hundred commissions were conferred on candidates. ANOTHER REGIMENT, the 64th, is placed at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief by the death of Sir Richard Bourke, K.C.B. The gallant general expired suddenly at his seat in the county of Lime rick on Sunday last, immediately after returning from Divine service at Castleconnell Church. GENERAL M'MAHON, who has been nominated to the command of General Canrobert's division in the Crimes, has arrived at Marseilles to embark for the East. A LETTER in the Pays from Lille mentions the arrival there, on Wednesday, of Lady Raglan, on her way, with her family, to Paris. The widow of the late lamented field-marshal is, it is said, one of the visitors to the Imperial court. AN ASSOCIATION, to be called the London, Man chester, and Foreign Warehouse Company, has been formed under the Limited Liability Act to carry on the business of the old firm of Rogers, Lowry, Holy land, and Co., who were obliged in consequence of heavy losses in Australia and the Cape of Good Hope to suspend payment in January last. THE LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE INSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION, consisting of seventy literary and me chanics' institutions, and 15,000 members, is to visit the seat of the Right Hon. the Earl of Derby, at Knowsley, near Liverpool, to-day (Saturday). The company will visit the paintings of old masters, the gardens awl pleasure-grounds and Lord Stanley, M.P., who is to be present, will probably deliver an address in the course of the afternoon. POSTAGE LABELS of the value of tenpence will no longer be issued. The following are the labels at present in use :—Penny lables, twopenny ditto, fourpenny ditto, sixpenny ditto, shilling ditto. THE number of public acts passed in the late ses- sion was 134, and of local acts 198. A FEW OF MR. ROEBUCK'S SUPPORTERS met at the Sheffield Council-ball on Wednesday week, under the presidency of the mayor, when a preliminary committee was formed, and a subscription com menced, to provide a testimonial in acknowledgment of Mr. Roebuck's national services, and in commem oration of his connection with that borough. THE BIRMINGHAM INCOME-TAX REFORM LEAGUE has issued an address explanatory of its principles and objects. They are thus defined That there should be an equitable adjustment of the income and property tax, and especially that income tax paid from business and professions ought not to exceed an equitable proportion of that paid from realised property. That, on appeal, a statement of income, supported by the oath or declaration of the taxpayer as to his belief of his InOomei shall be final