The Press. — London, England, 1856-06-14 00:00:00

1 111 • • • 562 THE PRESS. SATURDAY, - whole arena of the building, it is evident that the animals gaffer for want of air. In walking through the Exhibition this morning I observed a very large proportion of them foaming at the mouth, looking ill about the eyes, and lying down in a state of manifest distress. Some of the owners feel very uneasy about their property. The regulations make it almost impossible for them to take an animal away before the end of the exhibition. Several of the prize cattle are wrapped up in blankets, and their keepers may be seen administering medicines to them. of our nation; that in one case as in the other we may prove ourselves stedfast, energetic, prudent, sagacious, and wisely daring." THE MERCANTILE LAW AMENDMENT BILL was discussed at an influential meeting of merchants and bankers held on Wednesday, at the London Tavern, when a decided opposition to the bill was mani- fested. Mr. Weguelin, Governor of the Bank, was called to the chair, in the absence of Baron Roths child, and briefly stated that the object of the bill was to effect an entire change in the existing law of contracts by abolishing the 17th section of the Statute of Frauds, which required contracts for the sale of goods above a certain amount to be in writing. Mr. Weguelin said that the bill by abolish ing this section did away with the protection the commercial community had hitherto enjoyed of not being bound by any contracts unless iu writing be tween and signed by the parties contracting. Mr. T. Baring, M.P., said that the bill was an innovation the commercial community had never asked for it, and did not want it; and he believed the opinions of mercantile men would greatly preponderate against the bill. Mr. J. P. Gassiot opposed the bill, on the ground that it would lead to endless litigation. Mr. Hubbard thought the conduct of the Government most unjustifiable. The entire mercantile evidence given before the committee was opposed to the bill, and yet the Government insisted on pushing it through. The bill might fit Manchester or Glasgow, where the merchants were few and known to each other; but in London or Liverpool its effect would be to cause the utmost insecurity. Several resolu tions were passed, and a committee appointed to oppose the bill. THE Loan MAYOR gave a grand banquet on Wed nesday evening to the members of the various lite rary and learned societies. Among the numerous toasts given by the Lord Mayor were, "The Pro fessors of Medicine and Surgery," to which Dr. Paris and Sir B. Brodie responded ; " The Royal Society of Engineers and Mr. Gregory," one of its members; "The Literature of the Country," acknow ledged by Mr. Helps ; " The Arts, Architecture, and Sculpture," coupled with the names of Professor Cockerill, Sir Charles Barry, and Mr. Tite, M.P.; and "The Daily and Periodical Press," to which Mr. John Forster responded. THE MERCHANT TAILORS' &nom. annual election of Fellows to St. John's, Oxford, took place on Wednesday. Speeches were delivered in Latin, Greek, and French, and after the scholars were dis missed the usual banquet was held at Merchant Tailors' Hall. Sir John Burgoyne, Sir Edmund Lyons, and Lord John Russell were present, and returned thanks for the Army, Navy, and Common../ The noble lord in his speech alluded to the Constitu tion as the machine best adapted to secure the " freeedom and happiness of man." THE CITY MILITIA were disembodied on Thursday. The men were much dissatisfied at not receiving a gratuity of fourteen days' pay, to enable them to purchase clothing. Court ant lasts. Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family, accompanied by her royal visitors, have passed the Ascot week as usual at Windsor. Her Majesty and the Court attended the races on Thursday, The Court returns to town today. Prince Oscar of Sweden will arrive in London early next week. The Prince Regent of Baden has visited Glasgow and the north this week, and returned in time for Ascot races on Thursday. The ex-Queen of the French, with the Duke and Duchess of Nemours, arrived at Dover from Ostend on Tuesday. A Drawing-room will be held on Friday next. His Grace the Duke of Rutland continues in a pre. carious state of health at Belvoir. Volitttal. CoraEr Comiens were held at the Foreign office last Saturday and Monday. The Councils were fully attended, and sat three hours and a quar ter and two hours respectively. Some CORRESPONDENCE between Lord Clarendon, Sir James Hudson, and the Sardinian Government ; upon the state of affairs in Italy, has been published this week. Lord Clarendon incloses to Sir James Hudson the note upon the subject addressed by Counts Cavonr and Villamarina at the Paris Confe rences to the British Cabinet. Lord Clarendon remarks that, it having come to the knowledge of her Majesty's Government that it would be agreeable V) the Sardinian Government to receive a written reply to that note, proceeds to state on behalf of her Majesty's Government th at— • They cannot hesitate to declare their opinion that the ocsupation of the Papal territory by foreign troops con• atitutes an irregular state of things, which disturbs the equilibrium. and may endanger the peace of Europe ; and that, by indirectly affording sanction to misgovernment, it promotes discontent and a tendency to revolution among the people. Lord Clarendon further states that as this state of things has now, unfortunately, for some yr.ars peen established, it may be possible that it could not sud denly be brought to a close without some danger to public order, and the risk of producing events that all would deplore ; but— Her Majesty's Government are convinced that the evacuation of the Papal territory may be rendered safe at an early period by a policy of wisdom and justice, and they entertain a hope that the measures agreed upon by the Governments of France and Austria will lead to a gradual withdrawal of their respective forces, and to bettering the condition of the subjects of the Pope. The note replied to by Lord Clarendon is verbally similar to that addressed to the French Government, the substance of which has already been made public. MR. SECRETARY LABOUCHERE'S despatch of May 2, b) Sir Edmund Head, upon the return of three re giments to Canada, has appeared this week. Mr. Labouchere explains that the force, having been ori ginally withdrawn from the colony for the support of the ,Crimean war, simply resumes its functions on the conclusion of peace. THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE RE roam ASSOCIATION has been assumed by Mr. Roebuck. In an address to the members Mr. Roebuck alludes to the failure of the Association so far, and proposes that it should seek to influence the House of Com- mons by corresponding with the constituencies, or ganising elections, and combining in one party as many members of the Legislature as are favorable to the views of the Association. Mr. Travers, Mr. Morley, Mr. Gassiot, and a Mr. Revans, are pr.)- posed as unpaid finance, corresponding, statistical, and general secretaries, whose several duties will be to regulate the accounts, &T.; to organise a plan for obtaining information with respect to every con stituency in the country; to record that information ; and, by organisation, seek to influence the electors; and to collect every information connected with the subjects or departments the Association desired to reform. The objects of the Association Mr. Roebuck defines as, " That the administration of our national affairs may become a national work, and no longer be, as it is now, the appanage of a small and favored class ; and that the energy and skill which are evinced by our countrymen, when conducting their private affairs, may also characterise the government Vrobintial. COLONEL LAKE AND CAPTAIN THOMPSON OF KAU were handsomely entertained last Saturday by the Mayor and Town Council of Hull upon their arrival from St. Petersburg. A public entertainment was provided, the streets were decorated, and two of the heroic men of Kars were received with the most enthusiastic cheers by the people. They were im mediately escorted to the hotel where the entertain ment took place. After the usual loyal toasts the mayor, in a warmhearted and earnest speech, pro posed the healths of the two gallant officers. The toast was of course received with the warmest appro- bation and cheers. Colonel Lake, in returning thanks, spoke with remarkable diffidence of his spirited services. "We were but subordinates," he said ; " we did no more than our duty ; and General Sir William Williams was the head and prime mover of everything." To the bravery of the Turks he bore ample testimony. Speaking of the repulse of the 29th September, he said ! That we were able to repulse the Russian in the way we did was owing to the indomitable courage of the Turks. On that occasion they evinced a bravery second to none in the world. There are no troops that could have evinced more bravery than they did. And not only they showed bravery and courage, but endurance under hardships that would almost have knocked over the stoutest hearts. Captain Thompson was suffering severely from ill health, and could only briefly express his thanks. At the conclusion of the entertainment the gallant officers came to town. A BOILER ExmostoN occurred on Monday at the Whittington Colliery Works, Chesterfield, Derby. The boiler, weighing nearly ten cwt., was blown high into the air and scattered on all sides four hundred yards off. Two men were close to the boiler at the time ; one was killed and the other severely injured. The explosion is believed to have arisen from the water getting too low, a piece of gross neglect on the part of the enginemen. THE YANKEE YACHT Sylvie, now coming over on her second visit to English waters, VMS beaten at Cowes, in 1853, by the Julia, one of our own cutters. THE MORMONS AT PRESTON are busy in making _ . . converts of the wives and daughters of labouring men. This emigration of the weaker, but not better, halves is said to be unprecedented. A ship load sailed from Liverpool a short time since. THE Hos. Ma. FILLMORE, ex-President of the States, has been on a visit to Manchester during the week, inspecting the various manufactories and mills in that town. - A WARDER, JOHN HOWARTH, on board the convict ship Stirling Castle, lying off Portsmouth, on open ing the prisoners' cells last Wednesday week, was stabbed in the neck by a convict named Macdonald. Dr. Hope, it will be remembered, was murdered on board this same ship a short time since, and there is reason to believe that a conspiracy to destroy every officer on board has been agreed upon among the convicts. THE SCOTCH MINERS' STRIKE is at an end. For six weeks 40,000 men under incredible suffering have abstained from work on the masters reducing wages from ss. to 4s. a day. Nearly a million sterling has been sacrificed by the strike. and the men have returned to work in a very gloomy mood, and under a keen sense of injustice. Irrespective of the question of wages, they complain of harsh treatment on the part of their employers, some of whom, though enormously wealthy, are not much above themselves in the amenities of life; and they also complain that they are plundered at the pit-mouth by being compelled to give over-weight. Rittrapolitan. THE ABOLITION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT W&S considered at a public meeting held on Monday even ing at the London Tavern,and, although no men of note were present, the meeting was respectably and fully attended. The grounds upon which the abolition of death as a punishment was sought were set forth by Mr. Webster, a Chancery barrister—viz., that capital punishment was contrary to the law of God; that by no possibility could it have the effect of preventing or diminishing murder; that it had a direct tendency to increase it; and that it was a punishment a highly civilised nation ought at once to abolish. Mr. Webster entered upon all these points at some length, but the most satisfactory statement he made was relative to the effect of the abolition of capital punishment in Bombay, where between the years 1804 and 1811 the convictions for capital offences underwent a marked diminution as compared with the seven years between 1756 and 1763, when capital punishment was in force. The late Sir James Mac intosh, when in India, in a charge to a grand jury, mentioned that experiment as one which had been made without any diminution of the security to life or property, adding that 200,000 men had been governed for seven years without recourse being had to capital punishment, and without any increase of crime among them. The Rev. Henry Christmas, the Rev. H. Richards, and several other gentlemen, addressed the meeting in able speeches, insisting that capital punishments failed to restrain crime, that the custom was opposed to Christ's dispensa tion, and that the public strangulation of a human being was not desirable and could be avoided. Several resolutions were passed, and, before the meeting separated, a petition to Parliament agreed upon, signed, and directed to be sent to Mr. Me-s -terman, M.P., for presentation. THE SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY MOVEMENT is certainly progressing. Several leading houses in London now close at twelve or two p.m. on Satur days, and a petition to the Crystal Palace directors has been sent in, signed by 980 workmen, praying that the Saturday afternoon admission charges may be reduced to the lowest scale. There is some merit in the application ; the question probably will be seriously considered by the directors. THE WEEKLY RETURNS OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS . show 1,068 of the latter against 1,747 births. THE POSTPONEMENT OF PALMER'S EXECUTION, C the ground of doubtful and conflicting testimony, and to give time for further medical investigation, was discussed and agreed to at a crowded public meeting held in St. Martin's-hall on Tuesday evening. The meeting was addressed by Mr. Langley, the Rev. Dr. Thomas, Mr. Harris, and several other gentle men, who argued against the probability of Cook having been poisoned at all, and maintained that at least Palmer should not be executed until it was satisfactorily proved that strychnine could or could not be discovered. Two or three persons then made an attempt to move amendments to the various reso lutions proposed, to the effect that Palmer had been fairly convicted and ought to be executed forthwith, when the most tremendous uproar ensued, and the meeting at length terminated by an immense show of hands in favour of the original resolutions against the execution of Palmer. A deputation was ap pointed to wait upon Sir George Grey. I