The Press. — London, England, 1855-06-30 00:00:00

JUNE 30, 1855. Volituat an titutral. THE annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, will be held at Shrews bury from August 0 to 14. ANOTHER FAILURE connected with the west end of London was announced on Tuesday, a fiat in bank ruptcy having been granted against Mr. R. Kirkman Laws, who hai for many years been engaged in dis count transactions in the neighbourhood of Regent street. Members of the aristocracy will, it is said, be the principal sufferers by this event. AN EXTRAORDINARY SCENE took place in Hyde park on Sunday afternoon. A few days before placards had been displayed throughout the metro rlis inviting the working classes and others to attend in Hyde park on Sunday to see "how the aristocracy observed the Sabbath." In obedience to this call, several thousand persons assembled in the l'ark be tween two and three o'clock in the afternoon. A great number of policemen were distributed through out the park, but did not interfere with the free movement of the persons assembled, the vast majority of whom appeared to be artisans, accompanied in many instances by their wives and families. The equestrian ride in Rotten-row was deserted, but soon after three o'clock a variety of carriages began to make their appearance in the drive running along the north bank of the Serpentine. The crowd took up a position on each side of the road, extending from the Achilles statue to Serpentine-bridge, and as each carriage passed along indulged in loud hissing and groaning, accompanied by deafening cries of " Go to church ;" "Why do you allow your servants to work on Sunday ?" " Shame on you !" "Down with the Sabbatarians !" "Away with the Sunday Bill." In the majority of instances the occupants of the carriages did not venture to return down the ride, but went home evidently astonished and disgusted with what they had seen and heard. The crowd re mained until nearly eight o'clock. A great number of the members of the Legislature were present looking on. THE BILL OF THE SCINDE RAILWAY COMPANY WaS read a second time in the House of Lords on Mon. day, and passed the committee on the merits next day. A PRIVATE REFORMATORY FOR JUVENILE CRIMINALS, whose term of punishment has expired, has been established in the New Forest, by Mr. Compton, M.P. for South Hants; Mr. Castleman, a director of the South-Western Railway, and others. The present reformatory is held at a farm-house; but a suitable building is to be erected, which will hold forty boys. The boys are now engaged in agricultural pur suits, but it is in contemplation to teach them other trades. IN THE WEEK that ended last Saturday 1,075 deaths were registered in the metropolitan districts. In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1845-54 the average number, if raised for the increase of po pulation, would have amounted to 1,015 deaths; the actual number was therefore in excess of the esti mate by 60. ARRANGEMENTS for the erection of four out of the twelve new bishoprics proposed by the Commis sioners on Cathedral and Collegiate Churches have been submitted to the Government, and, it is said, agreed to. The seat of the first will be at New ca,tle-on-Tyne, and will comprise the whole of the archdeaconry of Northumberland, including, amongst others, the towns of Tynemouth, North and South Shields, Wark, Hexham, Knaresdale, and Bedling ton, at present forming part of the see of Durham. The second new bishopric will be formed out of the diocese of Rochester, and will comprise the archdea conries of St. Alban's and Essex. The seat of the bishopric will be at St. Alban's. The third see will be formed out of the present diocese of Lincoln, the seat being at Southwell. The fourth new see will be formed out of the present diocese of Exeter, and will comprise the whole of the county of Cornwall. The seat of the see will be at St. Coluinb, near Truro, the proceeds of which valuable benefice will be made over in perpetuity by the present rector and patron towards the endowment of the bishopric. THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF NORTHUMBERLAND gave an interesting tete on Monday at Sion•house, after the laying of the foundation of a new district church at lsleworth. His grace, in addition to giving the land for the site, has presented the munificent sum of 2,0001. for the building and endowment of the intended edifice, the Duchess Dowager presenting the liberal donation of 5001. SIR JOHN RENNIE, C.E., returned from Portugal in the Madrid mail-packet on Sunday last. He has been out to examine for the Portuguese Government the seaports of Portugal, and see what improvements can be made in them. It is understood that his opinion is that amelioration of the bars of Oporto and Figuero would be attended with very great ex pensa, and that the only bar withwhich anything can be done is that at Vianna. lie advises the Portuguese Government to make Lisbon the commercial centre, and to run a railway to Oporto. THE PRESS. ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM. THE Administrative Reform Association held another meeting at Drury-lane Theatre on Wednesday, Mr. Morley, as before, presiding. The chief speech of the evening was made by Mr. Charles Dickens, who kept his audience in a perpetual state of amusement by a succession of piquante remarks and anecdotes. Mr. T. M'Cullagh and Mr. Bennoch afterwards spoke, and then Mr. Layard took the opportunity of explaining some of the statements which had been made the subject for comment and contradiction in the House of Commons. The hon. member said : With regard to the statement he had made at the last meeting as to the levity of Lord Palmerston, the noble lord had expressed astonishment that he should have made such a charge, and immediately afterwards proceeded to give a most jocose account of the meeting which had taken place, and which he called an exhibition of private theatricals—a description which was received by loud shouts of laughter. Aher such a repudiation as that of the noble lord, he k Mr. Layard) certainly did feel as tonished at the exhibition which he then witnessed, and he would now ask whether that was not a strong confirma tion of what he had uttered with reference to the noble lord's conduct? (Hear.) The noble lord's illustration was, he thought, a most injudicious one; for, while in theatricals the parts assumed were for the amusement of the audience and foreign to the actors, in this instance they were not playing a part, but giving vent to the earnest feelings and deep convictions of the mass of the people. The motion which he had brought forward on the subject of Administrative Reform had been lost by a large majority, and why it had been so lost might be easily explained. in the first place, to his great astonishment, he bad found all parties vieing with each other, as to who should take the initiative. Mr. Disraeli claimed the credit of inventing the term "Administrative Reform"—(laughter)—and he (Mr. Layard), instead of being among the leaders, discovered that he was at the tail of the movement. (Laughter.) He entreated the country to reflect that they were but at the beginning of the war, and that if they wished to get out of it with honour to themselves, and with due regard to the interests of the nation, they must follow up the move ment that had been commenced, and must insist upon a change in their administrative system. (Cheers.) Already success had to some degree attended this movement. A short time ago General Sir De Lacy Evans—(cheers)--a true friend of the soldier—in a report of the conduct of his division in repelling a sortie of the enemy mentioned among several officers who had distinguished themselves by their gallantry, the name of a non-commissioned officer —Sergeant Sullivan. (Cheers.) When the despatch of Sir De Lacy Evans was reproduced by Lord Raglan in his despatch to the Government, the name of the sergeant was omitted. (Cries of " Shame !") He acknowledged that it was a shame, but the blame did not rest upon Lord Raglan so much as the system which excluded all mention of the names of men below a certain rank in the army. The system seemed, however, to have been changed ; for, in a recent despatch of Lord Raglan, referring to the attack upon the enemy's works on the 7th of June, the name of a corporal—Corporal Quin—was mentioned. (Loud cheers.) To have effected so great an alteration in the military system ought to be some reward to Administrative Re formers, because the change thus made would be an en couragement to the whole of the army, and would show them that at any rate the people at home were not un- mindful of what they were doing for their coontry. The association were engaged in a just cause, they had the voice of ever well-thinking Englishmen with them, anti success must ultimately attend their efforts. He was glad to hear from the chairman that the association were about to direct their attention to three important branches of the public service—namely the army and navy, diplomacy, and the civil service, in each of which the most thorough reform was required. He called upon the people not to believe one word uttered by those whose business it was to deceive them as to the efficiency of the public service. 3ffiala The Lord Lieutenant left Dublin on Monday to visit the works at the military camp in preparation on the Curragh of Kildare. His Excellency was ac companied by Lord Seaton, commander of the forces; General Lord Gough, Major-General Cochrane, the Earl of Meath, the Honourable Leopold Agar Ellis, A.D.C., and several engineer and artillery officers. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Galway, the Right Rev. L. O'Donnell, on Saturday last sat down to breakfast in apparently sound good health. Suddenly he was seized with illness, and within a very brief time ceased to exist. Sus JOHN POWER, the wealthy and popular Irish distiller, died on Tuesday morning, at his residence near Dublin, at an advanced age. JOHN LAMB, the wolllnown agricultural corre spondent of the Northern Whig, in communicating observations made in his spring tour, states that about thirty-two years ago we had quite as late a spring as the recent one, and that the harvest was one of the most abundant he ever witnessed. VISCOUNT CANNING iS appointed Governor-General of India, in the room of the Earl of Dalhousie, who will return to England before the end of the year. Lord Canning WWI Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1811 to 1846, and has been Postmaster- General since the formation of the Aberdeen Minis try, in January, 1853. gate ao THE first meeting for proof of debts against Messrs. Strahan, Paul, and Bates, the bankers, took place in the Bankruptcy Court on Monday last. The schedule then produced, which was to a great extent merely approximative, showed an amount of liabilities exceeding 680,0001., exclusive of creditors holding securities, while the assets are guessed at 180,0001. Debts amounting to 225,0001. were proved on this occasion,—the list of creditors including the names of Lord Palmerston, the Earl of Burlington, Lord Cavendish, the Countess of Verulam, Lady Craven, Lord Muncaster, the Earl of Carnarvon, Earl Dysart, the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Rutland, Earl Manvers, Viscount Melville, the Marquis of Clanricarde, &c. &c. The bankrupts attended, in custody of the police•ofcers, and put in a voluntary statement of the amount and return of the securities belonging to their customers which they had sold or pledged; the gross value was 113,0001. This confession was designed, it is said, to enable the parties to shelter themselves from a criminal conviction under the clause of an act which relieves bankers and others from the charge of felony if at a certain stage of the proceedings they acknow ledge and specify,their delinquencies. The three prisoners were brought up at Bow-street for re examination on Wednesday, and again remanded. AMONG the names of insolvent debtors published in the Dublin Gazette is that of the late claimant of the Mountgarrett peerage. He is described as " Pierse Somerset Butler, late of Belvidere-house, Sandymount, county Dublin, captain in her Majesty's Kilkenny militia, claiming the title of Viscount Mountgarrett." The petition will be heard on the 11th of July. Oh itu a rg. DEATH OF GENERAL ESTCOURT AND CAPTAIN LYONS. THE telegraphic despatches last received from the seat of war have communicated the painful tidings of the death of two distinguished officers, Adjutant- General Estcourt, and Captain Lyons of H.M.S. Miranda. The first-mentioned officer died on the 25th inst. of cholera, after a short illness. The deceased went out last year with the staff of Lord Raglan, and throughout the severe winter campaign enjoyed tolerably good health. His last letter from the Crimea, which was received in London on Monday morning, was written in the most confident and cheerful tone possible, giving the fullest assurance that according to his judgment Sebastopol would soon be in the bands of the allies. Mrs. Bucknali Estcourt has been visiting her husband, and for the last few months has been at Constantinople and Balaklava. General Estcourt was in the fifty-fourth year of his age. Captain Lyons is stated to have died from the effects of a rifle wound received while on board his ship, which in his anxiety to effect a thorough recog nisance he had carried too near the shore at Kaffa. The injury is said to have appeared slight, but under the influence of anxiety, and an unhealthy climate, the symptoms became aggravated, until mortifi cation ensued. MAJOR-GENERAL SIR JOHN CAMPBELL, BART., who fell in the attack on the Itedan upon the 18th inst., was son of the late Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart., by his marriage with Miss Helen Macdonald. He was born in 1806, entered the army in 1821, and, as aide-de-camp of his father, he served throughout the first Burmese war. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 38th Foot in 1840, and was one of the original staff of the army sent last year iu aid of Turkey, being appointed to command a bri gade. He IMF made a major-general in December, 1854, for services at the storming of the heights of the Alma, the battle of Inkermann, and the siege of Sebastopol. He has left a widow, the only child of Colonel John Crow, and is succeeded by his son, Sir Archibald Ava Campbell. LIEUTENANT COLONEL SHADFORTII, Of the 57th Regiment, who was killed on the same day, obtained his ensigncy April, 1825 ; lieutenant, October, 1826 ; captain, April, 1831 ; major, March, 1844; brevet lieutenant-colonel, June, 1854 ; lieutenant colonel, November, 1854. The deceased officer was highly esteemed by Lord Raglan, who more than once com plimented him as well on the efficiency of his regiment as upon the great anxiety he constantly manifested in providing for the comfort of his men, of whom he was the pride. COLONEL. YEA, of the 7th Regiment, entered the army in 1825. As lieutenant-colonel he commanded the Royal Fusiliers throughout the Eastern cam paign of 1854. It will not be forgotten how terribly his corps suffered at the Alma. lie was made colonel in December last. Colonel Yea had la►ely been coin= minding the first brigade of the light division. 615