The Press. — London, England, 1857-12-05 00:00:00

- - LORD CANNING AND THE INDIA RELIEF FUND. A CORRESPONDENCE between Lord Canning, the Governor General of India, and the India Relief Fund Committee has been published. Lord Can ning replies to a request from the Lord Mayor as to the manner in which the fund can be best applied for the relief of the sufferers. Lord Canning's re commendation agrees in the main with the system now adopted—loans, free grants, monthly allowances, pensions for orphan children, &c., &c., forming the principal objects for expenditure. In the course of this reply some of the passages in Lord Canning's letter are striking ; thus, for instance, he writes Your lordship is aware that soon after the first outbreak of mutiny in May last, and when the disastrous consequences which it could not fail to bring upon individuals became manifest, a committee, &c. &c. And again, when alluding to the'extent to which relief may yet be required, the Governor-General observes : The spirit of resistance, violence, and bloodshed, though gradually yielding to the means which have been taken for its suppression, and especially to the bravery and endurance of our British troops, is not yet subdued; nor is the ex tent of the privation and suffering, which it has already inflicted in distant parts of the country cut off from com munication with Calcutta, fully known to the Government. It is therefore impossible to say how large may be the field over which, eventually, it will be necessary to distribute the funds which your lordship may transmit. Then again he speaks of the movement as " a re bellion," and remarks that when the full conse quences of this rebellion shall have shown them selves," then the Calcutta Government will be in a better position to decide upon the most advantageous application of the fund. These expressions are curious as indicating the light in which Lord Can ning not only regards the position of affairs at present, but as showing us what were his real opinions with respect to it in May last. Loss OF LIFE BY INDIAN MtrrimEs.—The Calcutta correspondent of the Nonconformist, in a letter received by the last mail, has arrived, after much careful inquiry, at an estimate of the loss of life among the English and East Indian population, during the dreadful massacres of this rebellion. In several stations the number has been ascertained with great exactness, a few having been killed out of a great many, and the survivors calculating by name each one who is missing. But in cases like Delhi, Futtebghur, and Cawnpore, where a whole population was cut off, it is possible only to arrive at an approxi mation to the truth. His list is of course at present imperfect, intelligence . being still required from Lucknow, Agra, Indore, and other places, before it is possible to make it both correct and complete. It does not include a single native, nor any persons killed in the different battles ; it is the list only of those massacred or of those who have died from fever and sunstroke in striving to escape ; neverthe less its items make a total of 1,524 officers, civilians, clerks, missionaries, women, children, and others. Of this large number, the loss of military officers amounts to 256 ; and that of women and children to 1574. If the entire story of their sufferings and those of survivors be carefully weighed, it will surely he found that we have passed this year through one of the most frightful calamities ever recorded amongst a civilised people. Ira* mt Colonial 3nttlligtnte. FRAN CE. The terrible accident at Vincennes last Sunday— the a►chway of the entrance tower giving way, and dragging down a huge heap of masonry upon the guard-house, killing some twenty men on the spot— has caused vouch sensation in Paris. The Emperor has visited the spot, and has ordered a most search ing inquiry to be instituted. M. Chaix d'Est Ange has been installed as Pro cureur-General to the Imperial Court of Paris. Three Republican candidates—MM. Carnot, Gond chaux (elected for Paris), and Herron (elected for Lyons)—have declined to take the oath. With a view to prevent such refusal in future it is said to be contemplated by the Government to propose that the present electoral law shall be so amended as that no individual shall present himself as a candidate to the electors without previously binding himself to take the oaths in case of election. SPAIN. _ _ The Queen of Spain was happily delivered of a Prince at ten o'clock on Saturday night last. The Spanish Government have refused to receive M. Lafragua, the Mexican Minister. HAMBURG. . . A great commercial crisis is now being experi enced at Hamburg. Thirty or . forty.failures of the first houses have occurred. A gentral meeting of tho burghers of Hamburg has been] convoked, to devise measures to stay the panic. THE PRESS, DECEMBER 5, 1857. Cart ant lasilion. Her Majesty the Queen and Court arrived in town on Wednesday, from Windsor Castle. Her Majesty held a Court of Privy Council the same afternoon. Her Majesty on Thursday opened Parliament in state, and returned to Windsor the same day. The Duke of Richmond has arrived at his resi dence, in Portland-place, from Goodwood. The Earl of March, M.P., has also come to town to attend to his Parliamentary duties. The Earl of Aberdeen arrived at Argyll-house last evening from Haddo-house, N.B. The Countess of Jersey and Lady Clemetina Villiers leave town this day, for Middleton-park, near Bicester. Volitttal. CABINET CouNcrr.s, at which all the Ministers, with the exception of Lord Panmure, attended, were held at the official residence of the Prime Minister, in Downing street, on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, a Court of Privy Council was held at Buckingham Palace. His Royal Highness the Pnnce Consort and a full attendance of Ministers were present. At the Privy Council, two orders in council were issued, directing the Divorce and Matri monial Act, and also the Probate Act, should come into operation on the 11th of January next. The Queen's speech on opening the session of Parliament on Thursday was approved. THE PRIME MINISTER AND EARL GRANVILLE gave the usual official banquets, previous to the opening of Parliament, on Wednesday evening. CONVOCATION continues prorogued, pursuant to the Queen's writ, to Friday, Deo. 18, no writ having been issued by the Crown to call it together on an earlier day. EARL GIFFORD AND MR. MELIA ' the members for the borough of Totness, addressed their constituents at the Guildhall of that town on Tuesday. The two members both expressed a hope that the subject of reform would not be overlooked during the session. M. BRIGHT, M.P., has written to his constituents, to say that he shall not attend Parliament before Christmas. AT a meeting at Dudley last week, resolutions for the reform of the Indian Government were carried unanimously. It was stated that, in fourteen years, 300,000,0001. had been extracted from the people of India, of which only 1,400,000/. had been spent on public improvements in the country. Itttragalitan. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF PRUSSIA attended a grand meeting of Masons on Tuesday evening, at the Masonic-hall. The Grand Master, the Earl of Zetland, and a full attendance of Masons were present. THE Adelphi of Terence will be represented by the Queen's scholars of St. Peter's College, Westminster, on Tuesday, the 15th, Thursday, 17th, and Monday 21st December—on the two latter evenings with the addition of a prologue and epilogue. THE SMITHFIELD CLUB CATTLE SHOW opens On Tuesday next. As an evidence of the extraordinary increase in the number of entries, it may be men tioned that there will be nearly 550 exhibitors at the ensuing cattle show—a circumstance unprecedented in the annals of the club. FIVE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS have just been fixed in the clerestory of the southern side of West minster Abbey. These windows are only an instal ment of the great idea of Mr. Scott, the architect, to work out aperlect illustration of the Te Deurn of the church. SICKNESS continues to develop itself in the metro polis. The deaths, 1,373 last week, exceeded by 72 the highest average of the month. An epidemic species of influenza is the prevailing disease. The births last week amounted to 1,600 children. Vsollintial. THE RECORDER OF HEREFORD, Mr. Horn, a bar rister of some standing, blew out his brains in a fit of insanity last Sunday. He had been suffering from depression of spirits for some time. THE STATE OF EMPLOYMENT ill the mills and work shops of Manchester for the week ending on Tues day evening shows a decrease from 10,304 to 9,513 of the operatives entirely out of employment; an increase of those on short time from 18,136 the previous week to 20,815 this week ; while those in tull work have decreased from 16,861 to 15 244. THE BIRMINGHAM CATTLE-SHOW this year has en joyed extraordinary success. Ono of the finest 1179 • exhibitions of stock ever witnessed was collected on this occasion. The Herefords were considered re markably fine. Mr Shaw won the great prize in this class. The Hereford cows also formed a "mag nificent class"; Lord Bateman, Mr. Naylor, Mr. Wright, &e., exhibiting well. The shorthorns, and other breeds of cattle were also excellent. The sheep are reported as altogether of better quality to those exhibited last year. Lord Walsingham and Sir Robert Throckmorton share the Down prizes. The show of pigs, poultry, and pigeons was also good. As a cattle and poultry show, the Bingley hall Exhibition fairly rivals the Smithfield Show, for though no first-class animals are exhibited, the attendance of visitors was unprecedentedly larger. SIR MAURICE BERKELEY is clearing out Btrkeley Castle of a good deal of the antiquarian lumber. The bed on which Edward 11. is said to have been murdered was sold recently for 17s. 6d., and the stuffed birds which were ranged in the chapel, and which the late Earl spent hundreds in collecting, were almost given away. Mn. Huosos, one of the discoverers of the guano at the Kooria Mooria Islands, is bringing over 100,000 tons at the present time ; and large quanti ties will soon reach our shores through the enter prise of Liverpool merchants. ply and Volta. THE DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER'S CASE, " Brook Y. Brook," was adjudged yesterday by Mr. Justice Cresswell and the Vice Chancellor. The learned judges decided that the parties being British subjects the second marriage of Mr.i Brook with his wife's sister was illegal, and by consequence the child ille gitimate. A NEST OF YOUNG THIEVES was discovered by the police a day or two since in the main sewer of the new street leading out of Farringdon-street. A boy was sent in, and he found a number of boys assem bled at the upper part of the sewer of Benjamin street. They had cooking utensils and a quantity of straw and hay to lie on. They were ordered up to the number of tw aty, from twelve to fifteen years of age, all know.. to the I,olice. It appears that a. toll of a halfpeus.y was demanded of each boy on his entrance. THE NUISANCE OF A PRINITNO MACHINE NEXT Doou was brought before the notice of Lord Camp bell last Saturday, in an action " Whitmore v. Ingram and another." The plaintiff was the lessee of a public house called the Three Horse Shoes, in Milford-lane, Strand, and the defendants were the proprietors of the Illustrated London News. A narrow lane divided the premises of the two parties, and when the printing machines of the defendants were in operation the plaintiff said he was annoyed by a continual beating and thumping, and by the volumes of smoke and steam which filled the street. On a suggestion of Lord Campbell an umpire was nominated to decide whether the printing business could be carried on so as to create no nuisance, and if he found that it could not, it was arranged that he should fix the sum which the defendants ought to pay for purchasing the property. A verdict on this understanding was entered for the plaintiff, with 40s. damages. anll Dating ,Intelligentt. LIEUT.-COLONEL PALLET SOMERSET, who is now engaged in raising a second battalion for the 7th Royal Fusiliers, has up to this time succeeded in enlisting 533 men, out of the full complement of 1,000. The head-quarters of the battalion are at Preston, and for the present Major Orilly is in command. A ROYAL WARRANT (dated Nov. 23rd) has been issued, directing that in future the minimum pay of Assistant Surgeons in the army shall be WI. per diem. The pay hitherto has been 7s. 6d. THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF has issued the follow ing general order :—ln consideration of the distin guished services performed by Colonel Sir Archdale Bart., and K.C.8., of the Bengal Artillery, at the Siege of Delhi, the Queen has been pleased to command that he be promoted to the rank of Major- General in the army, in conformity with the 10th clause of the Royal Warrant of the 6th October 1854, and that his commission shall bear date the 14th September, 1857, the day on which the troops under his command stormed and carried the ramparts of the city of Delhi. CAPTAIN THE HON. C. G. Eu.tor has been ap pointed a naval aide-de camp to her Majesty, vice Captain Hope, who has obtained flag rank by the demise of Admiral T. Le M. Gosselin. MR. CILARLES HINDLEY, M.P. for Ashton-under- Lyne, died on Tuesday last at his residence, Dart mouth House, Westminster. Mr. Hindley had eat for the above borough since 1835. He was in favour of the Ballot, a strong advocate of the Ten-hour's Bill, and a free-trader, •