The Press. — London, England, 1856-05-24 00:00:00

M. de Hubner, in great state, presented his cre dentials on Thursday as Ambassador from the Court of Vienna to the Emperor of the French. Count de Morny will, it is expected, leave Paris for St. Petersburg from the sth to the 10th of June. He will be accompanied by only a part of his suite, many of the extraordinary attaches to his mission not having made arrangements to leave Paris till the 15th. PRUSSIA. The visit of the Empress Mother of Russia to the Court of her brother is the great event just now at Berlin. Her Imperial Majesty, accompanied by the Grand Duke Michael, and attended by Count Schou weloff, Count Apraxine, and suite, crossed the fron tier on the '2lst, and slept that night at Guinbinnen. The King of Prussia had reached Konigsberg, and expected to meet his Imperial sister on the '22nd. The health of the Empress Mother is stated to be extremely delicate. A letter from Berlin in the Nuremberg Correspon dent, speaking of the treaty of the 15th April, says:— The Governments of France and England, in officially notifying the treaty of the 15th of April to the powers who did not take part in it, accompanied it with the observation that they felt no want of confidence in the treaty of peace, and that the supplementary treaty only demonstrated the continuation of the alliance between France, England, and Austria. There is a report current that the Prussian Government is about to publish an amnesty. The Zeit of Berlin, in noticing the self-satisfaction of the Austrian journals at the conclusion of the im• portant treaty of the 15th of April, remarks: — By this treaty Austria has resolved for a second time to separate herself from Prussia and Germany. If the Vienna journals see only in this a triumph of Austrian policy we do not envy them this illusion. RUSSIA. The Emperor left St. Petersburg for Warsaw on the 19th, and was expected to arrive on the 22nd. His Majesty, it is believed, was accompanied by General Edgar Ney, who had arrived and been re ceived by the Emperor previous to his departure from St. Petersburg. General Williams arrived at St. Petersburg on the 14th. His appearance created a great sensation in the capital. The works on the fortifications of Revel still continue. TURKEY. Intelligence from Constantinople of the 16th states that a convention has been concluded between the Ottoman Porte and the Western powers, by virtue of which the troops of the latter are not to evacuate entirely the Turkish territory for six months. THE PRINCIPALITIES. A letter from Bucharest, in the Breslau Gazette, says that Count Coronini, who commands the Aus trian army, will be replaced towards the month of June, by Field-Marshal Lieutenant Marziani, and that the evacuation of the principalities will take place about the middle of September. It is thought at Galatz that the European com mission appointed to settle the new Bessarabian frontier will assemble in that town. It appears that Colonel Staunton will represent England, but the names of the other commissioners are not known. The Corriere Italiano of the 13th states that it is seriously in contemplation to undertake extensive dredging operations on the Danube, and to deepen the bed of that river. The works will commence on the part between Presburg and Gonzo, the section which presents the greatest obstacles, and where several serious accidents have taken place. ITALY. General Count Stackelberg left Turin ou the 15th, on his return to Russia. He is said to have been much gratified at his reception, and to have been very unreserved in his strictures on the Austrian Go vernment. _ _ The office of Envoy Extraordinary to St. Peters burg, to attend the coronation of the Czar, will, it is reported, be offered to the Marquis Alfieri, tilt. Pre sident of the Sardinian Senate. The Danube of the 14th says : It is positively stated that a congress of Italian Princes is to assemble at Rome to concert on the measures most suitable to he adopted in order to permit in the States of the peninsula a freer political development, while at the same time repressing all revolutionary elements. BELGIUM. _ _ _ The Belgian Ministry received a check on the 10th in bringing forward a Customs Tariff Bill. Au amendment, exempting iron from import duty, was carried against the most energetic efforts of the Ministry by a majority of 37 to 93. SPAIN. Marshal Espartero and M. Lujan arrived at Madrid on the 17th. An hour atter their arrival they were received by the Queen at a private audience. A vote of censure on the Government for the con duct of General Zahala, in the riots at Valencia, was defeated on the 20th in the Cortes by a majority of 175 to 18. THE PRESS. Caut anb lastian. Her Majesty and the Royal Family have continued at Osborne during the week. Her Majesty, on Monday, accompanied by Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, and the Princess Royal, laid the foundation-stone of the new military hospital, near Netly Abbey, and the follow ing day reviewed the militia in garrison at Ports. mouth. His Royal Highness Prince Frederic William of Prussia arrived at Osborne on Wednesday, on a visit to her Majesty. His Royal Highness was received by Prince Albert at the railway station at Ports mouth. His Serene Highness Prince Loewenstein has also visited her Majesty this week. The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland enter tained a distinguished circle at dinner, on Wednes day, at Northumberland-house. The Duchess at a later period of the evening had a "reception." Their Serene Highnesses the Prince and Princess Edward of Sase•Weimar were among the early visitors. The Earl and Countess of Derby gave a grand dinner on Saturday evening, at their mansion in St. James's-square, to his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and a distinguished circle. The Countess had het usual Saturday assembly after the banquet. The Marquis of Dalhousie and family have left Claridge's Hotel for Brighton. Viscount and Viscountess Campden have arrived at the Clarendon, from Paris. 1... flittropolitan. THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY was presented to Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, G.C.8., on Monday, at a special court cf Common Council. The court was fully attended, and presented a remarkably brilliant and gay appearance from the number of ladies present. After some preliminary business had been disposed of, Sir Edmund Lyons was introduced by Mr. Deputy Dakin and Mr. Sheriff Kennedy, the mover and seconder of the resolution. Sir John Key, the chairman, then addressed Sir Edmund Lyons in a complimentary speech upon the numerous gallant services of his life, from the brilliant capture of the fortress of ?Barrack in 1811 to the attack on Fort Constantine in 1854. Neither were the eallant admiral's diplomatic services overlooked. The selec tion by the Government for the command of the fleet of a man whose long political residence at Stockholm and Athens gave him profound knowledge of the peculiar political circumstances of the war, was characterised by Sir John Key as a most wise and discriminating choice. Sir John then presented to Sir Edmund Lyons the box containing the free dom of that city" within whose walls constitutional liberty has ever been cherished in the worst times under the most adverse circumstances." SIR EDMUND LYONS, who was received with much en thusiasm by the audience, expressed his thanks for the honour conferred upon him " by the most enlightened and important commercial body that ever existed," briefly alluded to the complimentary terms in which the Chamberlain had spoken of his public life, and paid a handsome compliment to those who had served under him : In zeal for the good of the public service I yield to no man, and during the two and forty years I have served abroad in diplomacy and in the navy I certainly have con scientiously performed my duty to the best of my humble abilities, and I must say that on all occasions I have been so ably supported by those serving under me as to render my task comparatively easy, and particularly during the last three winters, in the Black Sea, and on no occasion more than when the Agamemnon—as alluded to by the Chamberlain—seconded by the Sanspariel and London, attacked Fort Constantine. And here I must observe that in every general action, both by ses and land, though all are animated by the same ardent desire to be foremost in the fight, some ships and some regiments have the good fortune to be in a more prominent position than others. On this occasion every ship in the fleet took up her ap- pointed station with the greatest precision, and performed her part nobly whoa in it. (Cheers.) The whole court rose and cheered the gallant admiral at the close of his address. When order was restored the Lord Mayor intimated that the proceed ings were at an end, atiul invited tho whole company to lunch with him at the Mansion house. r-THE SUNDAY BAND QUESTION has given rise to different meetings during the week. On Monday a public meeting (If the inhabitants of St. Pancras was addressed by Sir Benjamin Hall, who defended the right of the people to have bands performing in the parks on Sundays, and declared that an offer of compromise had been made : What would they say when he informed them that a compromise had been offered —t Hear, hear)—that he might be permitted to keep the music in Kensington gardens, if be would not extend it to the Regent's or Victoria Park? SATURDAY, go forth. Th a t n i g h t, in (Groans.) He wished this to the lobby of the house, he had been told that if he had confined the band to liensingtomgardens he would h ave been left quiet, but that his aggressive policy would not be submitted to. (Shame ) What would they have aaid to him (Sir B. Hall) if he had adopted thi s hyp ocr i tical course, and fallen into dm snare? (Hear, bear.) If the band was good for the West-end, it was equally goo d for the East. (Hear, hear.) Where, then, was the sanctity of their opponents? (Applause.) The right hon. baronet concluded by declaring that he had always been, and always would be, the friend of the people. Previous to Sir Benjamin Hall's ad dress, a letter from Mr. Charles Dickens was read. Mr. Dickens declined to attend the meeting, but offered to subscribe 101. to a fund for the payment of expenses that might be incurred in arranging with other metropolitan parishes a combined representa tion to the Government of the "harmless nature of the recreation they have taken away." Resolutions for an open-air demonstration were adopted, and a central committee appointed.—On Tuesday another meeting was held at the Great Hall, Broadway, West minster, when Sir John Shelley, M.P., addressed the meeting, and recommended an orderly and or ganised resistance to the influence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.—A meeting was also held on Wed nesday evening in Hall's Riding-school, Marylebone, at which Lord Raynham and Sir Benjamin' Hall were present and addressed the persons assembled, and insisted upon the harmlessness of the recreation, and the folly of the extreme puritanical views of the religious party. Resolutions, expressing regret at the discontinuance of the hands, appointing a depu tation to wait upon Lord Palmerston with the view of urging him to revoke his late suppressive order, and a memorial to the Queen, were unanimously agreed upon. THE REGISTRAR GENERAL'S RETURNS show 1,094 deaths and 1,654 births as being registered for Lon don during the past week. THE HALF-HOLIDAY MOVEMENT for the labouring classes is assuming a definite shape. On Tuesday an influential deputation from the Early-Closing Association, headed by the Earl of Shaftesbury, waited on Sir George Grey at the Home-office, to ask, not for legislative action, but for the influence of the Government by an introduction of the half holiday into the Government offices. Sir George Grey replied that be agreed with Lord Shaftesbury that legislation on this point was out of the question, but with respect to the public offices he thought it would not be practicable, especially during the sit ting of Parliament, to close such offices at two o'clock on Saturday. He felt that the clerks em ployed in the offices under his immediate control were not much in need of a weekly half-holiday; and with regard to the other establishments con nected with the State, such as the dockyards, it frequently happened that it was unavoidable that the men therein employed had to work at all hours. In the course of the conversation that ensued it appeared that the society were also desirous to obtain the performance of the bands in the parks on Saturday afternoons. THE CORPORATION OF THE SONS OF THE CLERGY held their 202nd festival on Wednesday. The after noon service in St. Paul's Cathedral was attended in due state by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cam bridge, the Archbishop of Canterbury and several other prelates, the Lord Mayor, and the civic digni taries. In the evening the usual dinner at Me rchant Tailors'-hall was attended by a numerous company ; the Lord Mayor presiding. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Lincoln, the Bishop of St. David's, the Bishop of St. Asaph, the Bishop of Chichester, the Bishop of Bangor, and the Bishop of Ripon were also at the table ; Vice Chancellor Sir John Stuart, Lord Berner% the Dean of Windsor, the Dean of Connor, Arch deacon Hale, with other distinguished clergy and gentlemen, were present. From the report it appeared that a total amount of 10,1751. had been received by the corporation during the year from different sources. Vrobinrial. IN THE GREAT ARTIFICIAL MANURE WORKS, lay erected at Wolverhampton by Messrs. Griffin and Morris were inspected last week by a large body ti practical agriculturists and neighbouring farmers. The vast storehouses, powerful bone cleansing and crushing mills, boilers, and warehouses, cover seven acres of ground. After inspecting the works the visitors were entertained at a sumptuous dinner by Messrs. Griffin when Professor Nesbit, after th e usual toasts, addressed the company at some length, pointing out the benefits conferred by chemistry en agriculture, the immense advantages of a proper q plication of manure, the use of phosphate of linte, and the importance of the manufacture of artificial manures. THE PROPOSERS OF THE MANCHESTER ART EX HIBITION FOR 1857 held a meeting on Tuesday at &he Manchester Town-ball, when Mr. Fairbairn read