The Sun. — London, England, 1857-04-21 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. SEASON 1857. First appearance of Madlle. PICCOLOMINL—BOTTARDI, BELLETTI, POCCHINL THIS EVENING (Tuesday), April 21. LA FIGLIA DEL REGGIMENTO. Marie, Mdlle. Piccolomini. Ballet—LA ESMERALDA. La Esmeralda, Mdlle. Pocchini. _ _ A limited number of boxes in the Half Circle Tier have been specially reserved for the public, and may be had on ap plication at the Box-office at the Theatre Colonnade, Hay market. • Price One Guinea and One Guinea and a Half each. L► Favorita will be repeated forthwith. Mdlle. Ortolani ban arrived. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. EXTRA NIGHT, THURSDAY, April 23. LA TRAVIATA. PICCOLOMINI, GIUGLINI, BENEVENTANO, FOCCHINI. Opera—LA TRAVIATA. Ballet—LA ESMERALDA. For particulars, see bills. RA limited number of Boxes in the Half•circle Tier have been specially reserved for the public, and may be had on applica tion at the Box-office. at the Theatre Colonnade, Haymarket. Price One Guinea and One Guinea and a Half each. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. THIS EVENING, will be performed Shakespere's M gedy of KING RICHARD THE SECOND. King Richard 11., Mr. C. Kean ; Queen, Mrs. C. Kean. Preceded by A GAME OF ROMPS. T HEATRE ROYAL, HAYIVIARKET. Lessee—Mr. J. B. Buckstone. NEW ARA kNOEMENT OF PRICES OF Dmlssmx. THIS EVENING, and during the week, the new Drama of A LIFE'S TRIAL. Messrs. Buckstone, Comp ten Howe, W. Farren, Rogers ; Mesdames Reynolds, Poyn ter. Fitzwilliam, &c. After which, for the sixth time, a Classical Love Story. un der the Apple-lation of ATAL.iNTA ; or, The Three Golden Apples : in which Miss M. Oliver will appear; also Miss M. Wilton, and Miss Ellen Ternan. Concluding with LEND ME FIVE SHILLINGS. In future the prices will be : • Orchestra Stalls (which may be retained the whole of the evening), 6s. each. (No charge for booking.) First Pilce. s. d. Second price. s. d. Dress Birxes 5 0 Dress Boxes 3 0 Tipper Boxes ....... ... 3 0 Upper Boxes 2 0 Pit , . Lower Gallery 1 0 Lower Gallery 0 6 Upper Gallery 0 6. o half-price to Upper Gallery. THEATRE ROYAL, A DELPHI, Lessee—Mr. Ben. Webster. THIS EVENING, will be performed the new and original domestic sketch, entitled WELCOME, LITTLE STRANGER. Mr. Wright, Mr. Paul Bedford, 3,:c. Followed by THE ELVES, in which Madame Celeste will perform After which, A NIGHT AT NOTTING-HILL, in which Mr. Wright and Paul Bedford will appear. TRAND TFIEATRE.—Manazer, Mr. T. Payne.—THlS EVENING will be performed RUTH OAKLEY. After which, WILLIAM TELL (Burlesque.) Mesdames Leigh Murray, Cuthbert, Somers, drc. To conclude with a Farce. Commence at Seven. Stalls, 3s. ; Boxes, 2s. ; Pit, Is. ; Gallery, Ed. ROYAL SURREY THEATRE, ' Lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick. TFITS EVENING, the new drama of FLORENCE; or, The Fatal Err , r.. Characters by Messrs. Creswick, Norman, Charles, Miss Mortimer, &c. After which, MIDAS. Apollo, with songs, Miss Poole. To conclude with THE DUMB SAVOYARD AND HIS MONKEY. The Monkey, Mr. Flexmore. R OYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee, Mr. Alfred Wigan. THIS EVENING, will be performed a new drama, called DADDY HARDACRE. Mr. Robson, szc. The new drama, by Tom Taylor, Esq., A SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING. To conclude with THIEVES ! THIEVES ! ! Messrs. F. Robson, 0. Vining, lac. Commence at half-past Seven. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke. THIS EVENING (2d weeks, the hio,hly successful Grand Military Spectacle, called THE FRENCH IN ALGIERS ; or, The Battle of Constantine, introducing Mr. W. Cooke's admired Stud of trained Horses, &c. After which, Miss Kate Cooke will appear in the EQUES TRIAN ACTS in the CIRCLE. The performance of Signor Corelli and Family. To conclude with A RISIBLE FARCE. Commerce at seven o'clock. Dress Boxes, 4s. ; Upper ilexes, 35.; Private Boxes, from I 1., no charge for booking ; Pit, 2e. ; Gallery, is. ; Upper Gallery, M. Box office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Equestrian Director, Mr. W. Cooke, jun. CANTERBURY HALL. Westminster-road.— OPEN EVERY EVENING.—The follow- Inv, company •f Vocalists are engaged for the performance of Selections from all the popular Operas, Madrigals, Choruses, Glees, Duets, &c., viz.: Miss E. Pearce, Mrs. J. Caulfield, Miss Brunell, Miss Summers, and Madame Marietta; Mr. J. Caulfield, Herr P. Jonghmans, P. Grover, T. Farrant, S. Jones, J. Barker, W. Melling, P. Conn, Senor Antonio M. de Solla, and E. L. Hime ; Masters Austin, Bennett, and Corti; Messrs. Sam Collins, E. Mackney, and C. J. Wilkins. PiAnoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks; harmonium, J. Caulfield, jun,; director, Mr. J. Caulfield. Commence at Seven o'clock pre. eisely. Suppers, &c., until twelve o'clock. NIOTI WATME? AT LONDON BRIDGR. TRIS DAT—Morn. 40 min. aft. 1.1. —Evening 0 min. aft. 0 Tel-MOtnOw—Morn. 5 min. aft. 12—Evening 23 min.aft 12 THE 'WEATHER—SUN Omar, APRIL 21. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 63 —highest sinse noon yesterday. 47 —lowest this morning and during the night. 60 —this day at noon. BAROMETER, 30'28. WIND. —W. , to N.W. ; light, with fine weather, ;-"-*M*.aA-§3134t LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1857. The principal merit, as well as the conspicuous characteristic of the Commander-in-Chief of our forces in the Crimean War—so far as wo have ever been able to understand it was his Amia bility ! It is very ridiculous', of course—but it was so I Fancy an amiable Commandei-in-Chief ! Amiability his principal merit—his conspicuous characteristic. Really the notion of choosing a man to conduct a great army to battle because he happened to be particularly suave and agreeable, has from first to last in this matter appeared to us to be in its way about the utmost ponible stretch of absurdity ! One might almost as well go in quest of a Great Captain to that curious place somewhere upon the Rhine, described so facetiously by the Mont Blanc Lecturer, where everybody is remarkable for bowing to everybody else ! And where, if you only chance to lounge by. any fine afternoon in the whole season—your self a total stranger, oberve, to every one in the crowd—the people are flourishing their hats in the air, in your especial honour, for perhaps twenty minutes at a stretch. In fac', long after you yourself are far away, and out of sight ! Why, really this does appear to us to be the very place, of all others in the wide world, where the Genius o f the Horse Guards should go a-hunting in search of the old approved kind of a model amiable Commander-in-Chief ! Quite a hot-bed, we should conjecture, for the cultivation of Great Captains of the stamp of the RAGLANS, the SIMPSONS, and the CODRINGTONS ! Well—Amiability had its day under the NEW CASTLE regime. And now it seems that another hardly loss astounding quality is to have its day, in turn, under the PANMURE Dispensation. That quality being—Discretion. A discreetly-amiable Commander-in-Chief—an amiably-di s creet Com mander-in-Chief—put it which way you will, thi s then is simply ridiculous. Yet Discretion and Amiability are actually to rule th© choice under the asOuuding War system now in vogue among our administrators. And so—under the guidance of this extraordinary principle, the Commander in-Chief of our grand warlike expedition against the Chinese is General ASHBURNHAM ! General Who ? almost everybody will ask on hear ing the name mentioned. And no wonder— seeing that about the only thing over brought under the notice of the public at large • regard to General Asinumsznam, was the fact that once he commanded a hr igale—aed that on the occasion of the Battie of ChilliiinwallAh. A con test renowned among all our great contests in Hindostan as a Soldiers' Battle As much a soldiers' battle as the Battle of Inkerman ! Why, at Chillianwallah there was What is called no generalship—meaning literally very bad generalship. It was a sanguinary struggle, won in the end by sheer brute force—at the edge of the sword—at the point of the bay . onet ! A horrible hand-tc-hand encounter, in which be it said, so far to his glory, our dauntless Com mander-in-Chief, the Lord Gouall, then Sir HUGH GOUGH, bodily participated ! But in the midst of that battle—terrible and bloody though it was —General AsmnunNuem maintained the command of his brigade with serene composure. And for this discretion be is now entrusted with the responsibility of conducting our troops against the Chinese ! He quits England invested with this magnificent appointment. The very first place he lands at, on his way to the seat of war—he is incapacitated. Of course, in this he is obviously the victim of unforeseen circumstances. A war like genius of the very first kind can protect obviously no one out of all the infirm race of man from the accident of being seized with fever immediately on reaching Malta. We are not arguing, of course, in favour of an absurdity. All we are maintaining is—that Amiability and Discretion are really an truly, after all, not by any means the qualities we ought to look for first of all as among the principal merits and conspicuous characteristics of a Com mander-in-Chief. The Russian Railway scheme has been duly in troduced to the English market. Messrs. BAR INGs, Brothers, and Co., are its Stock Exchange sponsors. Like the redoubted MONTAGUE TIGG, they have reduced their demands to the ridicu lously small sum of only Two Millions Sterling ! "Two Millions !" Why, the BARINGS can do it themselves without letting any of the cc roXXot into so good a thing ; and it would seem as if, so far as the management were concerned, that was the case, for no other English name beside that of the Messrs. BARING is to be found in the direc tion. It must, however, be borne in mind that Two Millions is but an instalment. It forms part, of the original twelve millions intended to be raised in the first instance, and is to be fodlwed by other demands until the full amount of 43,000,0001., or such other sum as may be required during the progress of the works, shall be duly paid up and satisfied. Messrs. BARING have a right to do as they will with their own. We should, however, have been better pleased had they ap plied their well-established credit and vast re sources to some more patriotic project, which would.at the same time have proved beneficial to the interests of their own country, and more likely to render a remunerative return for the capital that may be invested therein. At present our duty is merely to persuade the community at large, and more especially the spe culators of the Stock ExChange, to inves tigate closely the position and prospects of the concern before they permit them selves to undertake any responsibilities in relation thereto. We believe that under any circumstances it never will become a favourite in vestment with the public generally. The reasons we have repeatedly and fully put forward will pre vent a result that must be regarded as a national calamity of no ordinary magnitude. The money subscribed will all be taken out of the country in hard cash. It is one of the means by which other nations may be enabled to pay a handsome premium, far exceeding 6f. per mille, for English gold, and realise considerable profits by the irre gular operation. An adequate remedy must, as we explained in our impression of yesterday, be applied to the flagrant grievance, and that of a nature that might press very severely on parties who had contracted to supply large sums to be sent abroad. But were it even otherwise, should Parliament still continue insensible to the legitimate demands of our own industrial population, no return to cheap money can be anticipated for several years. The Russian scheme must, then, necessarily par ticipate in the depression of securities, better cal culated to find favour in the sight of true-hearted Englishmen, and even of capitalists who look solely in the -e. s. d. point of view. When a minimum rate of 6i or 7 per cent. can be ob tained in England, it is not likely that men will seek anxiously after investments in Russia at 4i per cent., subject to all the contingencies of forfeit ure for the non-completion of the contract, or reduc tion from more being required than the Russian Government have guaranteed. If the increase were but 30 per cent., and those who have had any experience in the difference between estimates and actual expenditure well kno►v how very mo derate and usual would be such a change, the rate would not be more than can be obtained in Go vernment 3 per Cents. at present prices ! We need scarcely ask the most enthusiastic Phile- Muscovite in which of these securities he would prefer obtaining the same nominal rate of interest for his own capital. Flattering promises may be held out, and shares may at present be quoted at nominal premiums 1 But all these matters must be taken cum grano seis. All men who have attained middle life recollect something of the inflated calcula. tions attached to every prospectus brought under their notice. In many instances the promoters might not have intended to deceive the public, or to hare obtained money by fraudulent representations. Naturally of san guine temperaments they might have believed that the results would have fulfilled the expecta tions they excite& But still they were always willing to L.-Amin a point so as to place their favourite schemes in the best light ; and, as " Hudibras" long since deposed— " You must know the difference is immense Between a simple lie and false pretence." "Embellishment," as it has been popularly termed, is not a legal crime ; but still very serious consequences may follow to those who improvi dently part with their money and render them selves liable for future payments on highly coloured statements. " Rigg►ng the market" has been resorted to on previous occasions, and, to say the least of it, is possib'e in the case under notice. It was usual to devote a certain sum to buying up letters of allotment, and keeping scrip at a premium in order to induce the general public to pay. The "stags" were necessarily propitiated ; and men subscribed, not with any intention of fulfilling the contracts they entered into, but merely of selling on the first favourable opportunity, when a few shillings, or even a few pence, per share ceuld be realised. Bat the bona fide purchasers suffered severely for the temporary benefits in which they did not participate ; and solvent sub scribers found that they could not, even at a heavy loss, dispose of the stock which they originally tock for the purpose of immediate sale, not of investment. From the statement in the money article of he Times, which will b e f oun d i n ano th er par t of our impression, it appears that something very suspicious Las already leaked out. That clergy men have been asking for shares to be paid for, not with their own money, but with that of wealthy capitalists, who are pleased, for reasons best known to themselves, to keep in the back ground. It is impossible to adduce a stronger proof of the estimation in which the concern is held by these " sleeping partners." It may have suited Mr. REDPATH to keep his stock in other names, and it was stated in evidence on his trial that other persons adopted a similar course. But, when it appears it seems to indicate in our judgment, at least, that the parties are desirous of having the opportunity of disposing of their stock before the bursting of the bubble. It may glitter for the moment, but it will as suredly fall to the ground sooner or later, and leave the unfortunate speculators ample grounds to deplore the undue credulity which induced them to part with their money in such a scheme, where they can have nothing to console them for the serious Messrs. BARING are very influential gen tlemen, but we hope that their influence will, in the present instance, be insufficient to lead Jourr BULL into the trap so skilfully laid for his reception. The enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law con verted the Free States into hunting grounds for slaveholders ; but the late decision in the case of DEED SCOTT has converted them into slave States. There is nothing now to hinder the Slaveholder from setting up a slave factory, or commencing a slave auction-room in the centre of New York, or of Philadelphia I No legal hindrance, we mean, for probably though is person bristled with bowie knives and revolvers he would find the cities of the north too hot for him ; and betake himself, after a very short trial, to his beloved " Kintuck" or " Old Virginny." The decision is one which almost takes away our breath in a land of thorough personal freedom. This " DEED" is, indeed, a tale of a Dismal Court, or we might as well retain the epithet Dismal Swamp perhaps, with only the difference of its meaning a moral or judicial swamp, instead of a natural one. Never certainly, in Christendom, has justice been so completely swamped as in the Supreme Court of the United States. There in' the broad daylight of the nine teenth century, and in the face of the whole world, five Judges, if they deserve that name, have de cided that a man of African descent, although his American ancestors may date almost froni the commencement of colonisation in the States, can never become a citizen of the Union, and can never sue in its Courts I Not content with this, they have declared in their judgment that an ori ginal compact between Virginia and the other States, one entered into before the Union was completed, as well as the lately repealed Missouri compromise, were both of them null and void ab initio ! That, in fact, every restriction on the exten sion of slave territory is unconstitutional, and therefore illegal; and that Congress has no rightful power to hinder the infernal pest of slavery from blighting all the territory which the consti tution places under its zontrol ! The smooth-tongued President well knew what he was saying when in his inaugural speech he told his hearers that he expected in a few days the decision of the Supreme Court, before which he should meekly bow himself ; and hoped all good subjects would do the same. Of course he was quite aware what that decision would be, and had he spoken out he would have told his au dience that in a few days the names of FREE STATES AND SLAVE STATES must be dropped. That the law would render all the States, Slave States; that the Union was to become, in law, one vast SLAVE RErumre, and that henceforth the stars must disappear from their banner, and the sig nificant stripes alone remain. Our readers may have noticed, also, his declarations about fair dealing with Kansas, and his determination to secure the free expression of their sentiments for the residents in that territory. This he has done by appointing as Governor there a man thoroughly after his own heart, a Mr. J. R. WALKER, whose antecedents are but too well known. He belongs to the class who, like Mr. Buortalraw, know how to combine inflexibility on all questions respect ing slavery with a certain respectability of charac ter and propriety of manner. We had learned during the discussions on the SuatNErt outrage, that the Supreme Court of the United States had become a packed pro slave: e y court. Some persons had thought—infle.enced doubtless by the fact that the warmest politicians in England prove upright judges when elevated front the bar to the bench—that a packed bench, in the present stage of civilisation, was almost an impossibility. They are undeceived now. Five judges against two have concurred in the decision which has disgraced themselves and their country, and which has consigned, so far as in them lies, the unhappy negro to slavery through all genera tions Five judges, professing to be Christian judges, have pronounced that their dark-coloured brethren, the creation of their common MAKES, and for whom their common SAVIOUR died, must remain mere goods and chattels, both they and their descendants, to the end of time ! Can this moral enormity, this blasphemy against Christianity, this perversion of the highest powers of the ltav to political domination, this insult on the common sense of civilisation—can it be allowed to 'stand ? True there appear to be no recognised means of setting aside the judgment. The Supreme Court is the revisor not only of all decisions involving constitu tional question's, but of all laws affecting them. Congress is powerless in its hands. Its judges are appointed for life, and they can declare any Act of Congress null and void. And assuredly these men of Belial, who could declare that a dark-skinned human being in the United States could never have civil rights, but must be a chattel for ever,,are not the anon who would shrink from anything necessary to sus tain their revolting and brutal judgment. The more intelligent journals in America totally deny the conformity of the judgment to law, but they are perplexed as to the means of getting rid of it. There seems no power but that of Revolution which could redress this wrong. Public meetings, and even the decisirans of the Legislatures of indi vidual States, are of no legal force. The judg- meat of the Supreme Court overrides all. Were HEAVEN itself to smite two of the un just judges •pith death this year, unless it smite thr) heart of Mr. BUCHANAN also with dread, of the Free States, or with dread of the murdered rights of man, two more prc slavery judges would fill the seats of those who had gone V) their own place. In the ordinary course of things, twenty or thirty years at least might elaj )se before j ust j u d ges cou ld possibly occupy the plateti of those who now disgrace the judg ment-seat. But in this time slavery might be carried by - the bowie knife and revolver into all the to rriVories of the far West ! We cmfess, then, that the prospect is most die- CQU raging from the legal and constitutional point of v tow. The only hope for America seems to b 3 that of all despot-ridden countries, Itevolu- tior la It is in tho position of Hungary, Lombardy, Or Israples. An oligarchy of slaveholders control e, verythiu,s , .. They occupy the Senate, the Preiii- THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EYENING, APRIL 21, 18h7: dential chair, and the Supreme Court itself ! The pulpit is- their tool, and the Federal army their Pretorian guard. Who can subvert the power which has successfully bribed or intimidated the soldiers, the clergy, the judges, and the Chief Magistrate of the country to do its bidding ? Will, then, the North revolt f We doubt it. Americans are sordid to the backbone. Of noble sentiments they know but little ; Slavery and the Almighty Dollar have extinguished that genuine love of freedom, which in the mother country shrinks from the sight of a slave. The North kicks, indeed, at Southern supremacy, but will not upset it at the cost of a few million of dollars. It has ample power, but is too mean to use it. The UNION, which makes Slave States of them all, makes cowards of them all. The old country could rise twice, could cut off one tyrant's head, and expel another, rather than live under a STUART and his Judge JEFFRIES. When will " The Union" have courage to cast off its domes tic tyrants, and its Judges of the Supreme Court in like manner ? We must leave the subject for the present, however. There are pecuniary causes at work which may effect wonderful changes for the better, but there are contingencies which seem quite as strong. One thing we shall never believe till we see it,—that anything like the sentiments which animated WASHINGTON, FRANKLIN, and their co adj'itors in regard to slavery ; anything like the noble self-sacrificing spirit which inspired WILBER FORCE, CLARKSON, and, eventually, the English na tion to abolish slavery ; that, in a word, any of the better feelings of men and of Christians will move America to get rid of her greatest crime. As the American mind is constituted, motives of convenience, or of gain, or of public policy, may slowly extinguish slavery, but motives of Christi anity and philanthropy will not. We are sorry thus to write ; but it is merely a description of the kind of arguments employed by the American press generally. THE DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester passed a quieter night on Sunday night, but continues in a state of very great weakness and debility. _ _ The ' following bulletin was issued yesterday morn. ng " Gloucester House, April 20, 9.30 a.m. " Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester has passed a quieter night. Her Royal Highness remains much in the same state as yesterday. (Signed) " FRANCIS HAWKINS, M.D. ROBERT FERGUSON, M.D." The Duchess of Kent, accompanied by the Princess of Hohenlohe•Langenburg and the Princess Feodore, paid a visit to the Royal Duchess yesterday. His Excellency the Count Chreptowitob, Russian Minister at this Court, left tow❑ last night rice; Dover for Paris. His Excellency the Prussian Minister and the Coun tess Bernstorff have left town for Brighton for two or three weeks. The Duke of Rutland, Mr. Andrew and Lady Eliza. beth Drummond, and a select circle, have been staying during the past week with the Earl and Countess of Scarborough at Tickhill Castle, Yorkshire. The noble duke returns to Belvoir Castle to-day, and will stay there until the meeting of Parliament. Lord J. Manners, M.P., is at Belvoir, and will continue there until the 10th inst. The Duchess of Buccleuch and the Ladies Scott, who passed through town early in the past week for Brighton from Bowhill, Selkirkabire, arrived at Montague House, Whitehall-gardens, on Saturday, for the season. The duke continues in Scotland. The Marquis and Marchioness Vasconcellos have arrived at the Crareudon, from Paris. The Countess of Jersey and Lady Clementine Villiers closed their visit to the Earl Bathurst, at Oakley Park, Cirencester, yesterday, and have gone on a visit to Lord I and Lady William Powlett, at Bath. The Earl and Countess Howe and family have arrived in town from Gopsall Hall for the season. The Earl and Countess Cawdor have returned to town from visiting the Earl and Countess of Ellesmere, at Hatchford, Surrey. The Countess of Kinnoni arrired in town yesterday, from the Continent. The Earl and Countess of Westmoreland and Lady .Rosa Face come to town today, from Apthorpe, North amptonshire. • The Earl de Grey is sojourning at Dover for the benefit of his health. Lord Stanley of Alderley arrived in town yesterday, from Alderley Park, Cheshire. Lord and Lady Willoughby de Broke have arrived in town from Compton Verney, Warwickshire. Lord and Lady de Tabley,,,who have taken a mansion in Broo'ice-street, come to town at the end of this month. C.;ronel and Lady Laura Meyrick and family are ex 7..ected to arrive at their mansion in Curzon-street to morrow for the season. Mr. and Lady Catherine Weyland and family arrived in town on Saturday last from Gorharnbury, and have taken possession of their new residence in Eaton•place. Her ladyship's accouchement is expected shortly. The Right Hon. R. Lowe has arrived in town from Catulair. Mr. T. L. Blane has left the Clarendon for Winkfield Park, near Windsor. The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., and Mrs. Gladstone entertained at dinner last evening, at their residence on Carlton House-terrace, the Duchess of Sutherland, the Duchess of Argyll, the Earl of Aber deen, the Earl and Countess of gl g in, Lady Harry Vane, Sir Charles and Lady Mary Wood, Colonel the Hon. Alexander and Mrs. Gordon, Hon. Mrs. Nort.on, and Sir Charles Barry. Despatches were received at the Colonial-office yester day, from the Governors of Ceylon and Malta. NEW ELECTION UNDER THE METROPOLIS LOCAL MANAGEMENT ACT. —ln May the next election of vestry men will take place, and subsequently every year in the month of May. The first election was in November, 1855. DIOCESE OF OXFORD.--Yesterday, at a synod of the clergy of the diocese of Oxford, held in the University Convocation-house, for the purpose of electing proctors to serve in Convocation, the Rev. F. K. Leighton, Rural Dean, and Rector of Harpsden, Oxon, and the Rev. C. Lloyd, one of the bishop's chaplains, were de clared duly elected.: A. deputation from the Patent Wood and Fibrous Slab Company bad an interview, yesterday, with the Right Hon. Sir Benjamin Hall, at the Office of Public Works, Whitehall-place. The deputation consisted of the Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley, M.P. (chairman), Mr. Harrison, (vice-chairman) ; Captain C. Claxton, tt.N., Mr. A. Talbot, Mr. Bielfield, patentee (directors) ; and Mr. Chapman (secretary), PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO CHINA. —The lade pendance says that the Portuguese Government is fitting out an expedition to Chins, consisting of one brig, one corvette, a steam despatch boat, and a transport vessel with reinforcements for the garrison of Macao, which is to be raised to 400 men. The object of this demonstra tion is to establish and confirm the authority of the Por tuguese Government in that settlement, which has for many years past been only nominally governed by Por tugal, a resident mandarin having exercised powers which it is now intended to dispute. THE NEW RECTOR Or MARYLEBONE.—The Rev. Charles James Phipps Eyre, M.A., who has been ar• pointed to the rectory of St. Marylebone, was educated at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, where he grad uated in 1835, being 36th senior optime in mathematics. His name does not appear in the list of classical hon ours. In 1843 he was appointed to the incumbency of St. Mary's, Bury St. E Imund's, which he has held up to the present time. On the resignation of the rectory of A'l Souls, Langham.place, by Dr. Thompson, Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, it was offered to Mr Eyre, who declined it. The new rector is a stanch adherent of the Evangelical party in the Church. THE BOILER EXPLOSION AT LEEBROOK.—On Friday evt wog the inquest on the two women, Bridget Fox and Julia Flynn, who were killed by the explosion of a boiler at the works of Messrs. Baguall and Sons, at Lee. brook, near W e d oes b ury, as not i ce d i n last Tuesday's Sun, was cancluded before Mr. Hincbliffe, one of the 0). roners for the county of Stafford. The evidence went to show that the deneased were employed in washing " gleed," a species of cinder, at the wake, when the boiler burst and they were killed by the flying debris. It appeared that the boiler which burst was one of three of very large size used on the premises, and that it had been placed in its position about three years ago. It was repaired a month ago, but one of the enginemen bad reported to the manager of that works, David Hill, that this particular boiler looked. The engines were supposed to he at work at 1916. r 201 b. to the square inch, and Mr. Cartwright, one VIE) engineers, gave his opinion that it would be s afe to work the boiler at a pressure of • 501 b. to the inch. A strict examination of the boiler has been made since the explosion by a practical engi neer, who reported that it had been made of inferior ma. terial. The jury, after hearing a number of witnestete returned a verdict to the effect, "That the deceased met their deaths by the explosion of a boiler, which was solely caused by the inferiority of the material, and that when the leakage was reported to the manager be should have taken steps to ascertain the cause." • LATEST NE WS. CAPTURE OF A RUSSIAN FORT, MARSEILLES, APRTL 20. Accounts have been received here from Cot stantiuople up to the 12th. At the close of the investigation into the affair of the Kangaroo, the Sultan pronounced Mehemet Bey, Chief of the Expedition, with Ferhad and Ismail, guilty, and has sentenced all three t' banishment. The Journal de Constantinople says that Mehe met Bey is organising regiments, and adds that the Russian fort of Salish has been taken, and the garrison put to the sword. The villages of Daghestan had sent in their sub mission to the Nail 3. On the 13th of May will begin the operations relative to the Turco-Russian frontiers in Asia. FRANCE. PARIS, MONDAY EVENING. The Neuchatel Conference met to-day, and went through the important operation of reading tl,e proje(t of arrangement between Switzerland and Prussia. It is for M. Hatzfeld and Dr. Kern to accept, or leave ; and it is said the Plenipotentiaries will not be sorry to gat rid of the affair. The numerous official relations which Feruk- Khan, the Persian Ambassador, has formed since his arrival in Europe will detain him i❑ Paris until September next, when he hopes to return to Persia. It is stated tbat the Commissioners appointed by the Emperor to report' on the expediency of removing the convicts from Guiana to New Cale donia have recommended the sm , dl Island of Pines for the seat of the new penal settlement. It is one of the same group, and is said to be remarkable for the salubrity of its climate. His Majesty yesterday received General Khere dine, who bad been charged with a special mission from the Bey of Tunis, and who is now about to leave Paris. By order of the Emperor, Mr. Thomas Allan attended this morning at the Tuileries, for the pur pose of exhibiting to his Majesty his electro mag netic machine at work. The Emperor, who is tho roughly roaster of the subject, both in its chemical and mechanical bearings, examined the novel ma chine most minutely, and deigned to express him self in very complimentary terms towards the in ventor. Mr. Allan had also the honour of explaining fully his new system of submarine telegraphing, which excited the lively interest of his Majesty. Colonel Fave, Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique, and Dr. Conneau were !present during the experi ments, and were warm in their expre , sions of ad miration at the masterly manner in which Mr. Allan has, after years of ind e f a ti ga bl e researc h, a t length solved the vexata questio of the practical ap plication of electricity as a motive power. The Nord publishes a letter from its Paris cor respondent, in which it is stated that, notwith standing the assertions to the contrary, made by several journals, the affair of Neuchatel is in a fair way of being arranged. Count Walewski has, it states, proposed a middle course, which, the above journal declares, is lik e ly t o . be accepted by all parties. BOURSE, April 20.—The following were the las quotations : Cash. fr. c. End of Month. 4i per Cents 3 per Cents 69 25 69 35 Bank Shares 4,450 Credit Mobilier 1,357 50 Roman — Do. Account 1,357 50 Austrian Belgian 4 Piedmontese (5) 9li— Home Debt RAILWAYS-FOR CASH. fr. C. !ft C. (Means 1,490 Western A — Northern Lyons 1,570 New Ditto A — Mediterranean 2,1471 Grand Central 1 — Lyons Geneva Midi THE PRINCIPALITIES. A private letter front Bucharest, of the 7tb, gives some particulars about what is passing there : "The absorbing topic of the day (says my correspon dent) was the replies given by the European Com missioners to the addresses presented to them by the deputations of the Boyards. Without the slightest partiality I may say that the speech of Sir Henry Bulwer is the most remarkable of all, and has pro duced the greatest sensation. Formerly in Paris a speech was called Ministerial when the speaker was M. Thiers or M. Guizot, and when it was spoken out of office. We may call the speech of Sir Henry Am bassadorial, or even Presidential. Decidedly it is the speech of a statesman, and in it we can perceive the master spirit that will direct the course of the atfairi of these provinces. The passage relating to Prince Alexander Ghika has been particularly rema ked. The allusion to the historic fame which be ongs to that distinguished family which counts in eltven reigning Princes in Wallachia and Moldavia for the last two centuries, has given much satisfaction to these who are justly ofended at the arrogant attitude of the Bibesoos and the Stirbeys, whose low extraction, coupled with their inordinate pride, is a continual subject of raillery in Wallachia. What most satisfies us is the jthtice rendered to the integrity and high character of Prince Alexander Ghika. We have felt groat regret at an act which we were far from expecting. Colonel Crez za'esco has sent in his resignation as Minister of Public Worship, and has at the eame time communicated to the Commissioners a memoirs containing charges of a serious character, though completely unfounded, against the Kaimaikan and his Ministers. This step has been severely censured by the Commissioners, by whom the Memoir has been kept secret. The discourse of S r Henry i 4 a reparation for the conduct of the Minister of Wors hip. "M. Talleyrand has left for Jasay. He goes, it is said, to watch the Kaimaikan Vogorides. I hope to be able to give you very soon accurate details of our situ ation, and of the tendencies of the public mind. At the present moment Bucharest is a continual round of dinners and fetes, and the Commissioners seem sur prised at the luxury and wealth of the capital of Wal lachia. They have been overwhelmed with attention by the Kaimaikans. They are lodged sumptuously, have rich carriages at their command ; the most elegant boxes at the theatre are placed at their disposal ; and last, but not least, the expenses of their sumptuous table are all paid. That of the Turkish Commission costs nearly 600 f. per day." AUSTRIA. A letter from Vienna says—" The visit of the Emperor and Empress to Hungary, which was to have taken place on the sth of May, la postponed to the second fortnight in that month. The guards, who had received orders to go to Peith on the 28th of this month are not to leave until the 15th of May. Public works in Gallicia have been resumed with vigour, as have thoe on the fortifications of Cracow. A project for establishing steam navigation on the Tistu'a and a passage from Gallicia into Russia has been sub mitted to the Government. A paved road from Tarnow to Useia Zesnicky, the principal passage of the Vistula, is alQo about to be commenced." " The Austrian Council of Ministers (says a letter from Vienna, in the Silesian Gazette) is now entirely completed by the entry of Count Grunne, first adjutant-general of the Emperor, and Baron de Kempen, head of the police. The council is now composed as follows :—Count de Buol, pre sident ; Baron de Bach, Count Leon de Thun, Baron de Kranz, the Chevalier de Taggenburg, Baron de Bruck, Count Grunne, and Baron de Kempen." ITALY. A letter from Piacenza of the 11th, in the Pen, siero of Oneglia (Piedmont), says At last I have some news of importance to give you. Sixty pieces of cannon have arrived from Crema and Pavia. do not know whether they are to remain here or proceed to Bologna, as some say. What is posi tive, however, is that Marshal Count Gyulay has sent orders to put the fortifications which have just been completed outside the 'St. Antonio gate (to wards the Piedroontese frontier) in a state of de fence. Two regiments of cavalry, the Regiment Furstenwerther and the hulans of Count Grum, are expected here." MONTENEGRO. A letter from °attar° of the 3d, in the Agram Gazette, gives some fresh details of the progress of events in Montenegro :—" Two days ago a letter from Prince Danifo, written in Paris, was read publicly from a window of the Senate-house amidst the firing of cannon and other ceremonies. The letter announced the safe arrival of the prince in Paris, and described the favourable reception whichhe had met with. The prince deplored the state of matters in Montenegro, and pronounced a curse on his uncle, George 'Petrovitch, and his family; he moreover ordered their banishment and the confiscation of their property. The letter con cluded by saying that the prince would re t urn in the first fortnight of May. After the reading of this letter, some officials of the Senate proceeded to take possession of the property belonging to the family of George Petroviteh. The Woivode I'evic, wbo, during the last three years, bad filled the funotiOns of Montenegrin email at, Constantinople, who was orderfd hom e , has arrived he: e ; he is ac cused of having defrauded several persons who cln tided m , ney to his care, also of having persuaded everal hundreds of Ws,couuttymen (an evident ex aggeration) to 'enter the British foreign legion. In all probability he would have been shot, but owing to the existing - crisis, the return of Prince Dando will be awaited before any sentence is passed on him." SPAIN. The Madrid journals of the 16th have arrived. A bando of the civil governor had been stuck up in the exchange, foi bidding any unauthorised persons to meddle in the functions of stockbrokers, or.lering that the exchange shall be cle-ir. d immediately on the closing of the day's operations, prohibiting transactions in funds in any place except the ex cl ante ; and, lastly, declaring the transactions in mines shall mit take place in the part of the Bourse devoted to the negotiation of pub lic funds. The Sicilian amb issadoe at Madrid, whose death has been announced by tele graph, was the Marquis Riario Sforza. The ceremonies of Holy Week have b 'en celebrated with extraordinary pomp at .Seville, Ba•celona, Saragossa, Valencia, and all the other great towns in Spain. At Malaga, a French vessel of war,, in accordance with the custom of the country and with the permission of the local authorities, fired a gun every quarter of au hour from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. The progressists and the mem bers of the liberal union were labouring to effect a coalition. The Gover9ment apprehendin g dis turbances at Logrono , Burgo;, Vi t t or i a , and in all Catalonia, had taken m easures o f precaution. The troops destined for Cuba are to be despatched from Cadiz at the end of tit's month. A letter from Mentz, of the 17th, says :—" The Prince of Prussia reviewed the troops of the gar risem yesterday, on which occasion all the Austri in officers were presented to his Royal Highness. The day before yesterday a grand military fete took place here, to ratify the reconciliation between the troops. The order for the confinement of the men to barracks has been revoked, and no incident has since occurred to disturb the harmony now existing between the Prussian and Austrian soldiers. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha opened on the 16th the united Diet of the Duchies of CAurg and Gotha, at the latter place, and in his speech pointed out the great inconvenience and ill effects attendant on the separation of the two territories for the moral and material prosperity of the coun try. His Highness in consequence reque-ted the deputies to unite in the efforts of the Government o accomplish the complete union of the two duchies. A it tter from Baden, in the Mannheim Journal, says :—" It is positively stated that the Govern ment of Baden, following the example of Wurtem berg, has opened a negotiation with the Court of Rome, and that a convention will shortly be con cluded to regulate the situation of theßoman Catho lic Church in the Grand Duchy." THE INCOME TAX. TO THE EDITOE, OF THE TIMES. Sir,—As it does not appear to be generally un derstcod at what rate income tax should be de ducted from various descriptions of annual interest falling due on and after the 6th inst., I enclose you a copy of a later L received in reply to questions addres.ed by me to the Board of Inland Revenue upon the subject, in consequence of finding that only 7d. in the pound was to be deducted from the 'dividend upon Turkish Bonds due and payable on the 10th inst. If you deem the matter of sufficient importance, you will probably give publicity to the same in your columns. —I arr, Sir, your obedient servant, THOMAS A. RUSH. _ _ _ 49, Charing-cross, April 20. " Inland Revenue, Somerset-house, April 8. "Sir,—ln reply to your letter of the Ist, I am directed by the Board of Inland Revenue to state that the divi dends of the Turkish Loan fall within the rules of charge in schedule C of the Income Tax Act, and that according to such rules the whole of the dividends which will be- Coma due on the 10th inst. will be liable to assessment for the year commencing the 6th April, 1857, at the rate made payable for that year by the 20th Victoria, chap. 6—viz., 7d. in the pound, in the same manner as the whole of the half-year's dividends which will be due on the sth July next in respect of the Three per Cent. Console. • " It is a mistake, however, to suppose that all annual interest which will become due subsequently to the sth inst. will be chargeable with the tax at 7d. in the pound only. In cases where such interest is payable out of profits and gains charged in part by assessment for the ' year 1856 at the rate of is. 4d. in the pound, it follows that, in order that the person paying the interest may be reimbursed, he must make a deduction at the rate of ls. 41. in the pound on that portion of the interest which accrued up to the sth of the present month, and at the rate of 7d. in the pound on the remainder. "Accordingly, the interest which will become due after this date on railway debentures will be sutject to a deduction in conformity with that principle. " With regard to the interest of the Exchequer.bonds and Exchequer-bills payable in May and June, the in terest of the bonds comes under the rules of charge in schedule C, and will be liable by asse-sments to be made for the year 1857 to the tax .at 7d. in the pound on the whole of the interest to May. A different rule, how ever, applies to the interest of the Exchequer-bills, whicl is chargeable pursuant to a special provision in the act of Victoria 17, chap. 24, and ls. 4d. in the pound on the portion to the sth inst., and at 7d. in the pound on the,remainder.—l am, sir, your obedient, servant, " T. SARGENT. " Mr. Thomas A. Rush, 49, Charing-cross." MR. GLADSTONE ANSWERED. During his canvass on behalf of his brother-in-law, Sir Stephen Glyone, Mr. Gladstone appeared at Holy well, and delivered an oration, which was replied to by Mr. James Hall, manufacturer, form-rly of Newtown, Montgomeryshire. He said—l have long been an ad mirer of Mr. Gladstone's talents. I have read his speeches and studied him carefully. It has long been one of the greatest wishes of my heart to see and hear him. That wish has to-Jay been gratified, and lam free to acknowledge that all my expectations have been folly realised. (Cheers.) As an orator, I believe he has no equal in the House of Commons ; as a debater, he is perhaps equal to any two or three of them. (Cheers.) Had I never known anything of Mr Glad stone before to-day, I should have been content, and far more comfortable to have remained silent. Gentlemen, I must ask you to accompany me for a few minutes, while I examine a little of his past career. (Cheers ) Tha speaker then adverted to Mr. Gladstone's cannec tion with the Aberdeen Government, and to his seces sion from that of Lord Palmerston. He continued—l tell you, sir, the nation trusted you, and you have de ceived her—(eheers)—and I hope and believe the time is far distant when you will have another oppor tunity. (Great cheering.) One grain of true patriotic courage will outweigh, in the estimation of the people of England, all your cammandiug talents, platibility, and powers of persuasion. (Loud cheers.) I tell you, sir, and in doing'so I disclaim all feelings of personal dis respect, that you are a great political coward. (Great cheering ) I should think when you meet a man in a red coat, who has maintained the honour of his country, you will blush in his prese nce. (Cheers.) The h umblest soldier who wears a Crimean medal on his manly breast is a patriot far above y our mark. (Loud chee rs .) Gentle men, let me ask your attention for a few minutes whilst I exhibit to you the awful picture of these proceeding s , The great vessel of the Sate is . overtaken in a storm ; the thunders roll, the lightnings flash, and the sea runs mountains high. No matter—all is confidence on board. The gallant ship is seaworthy in all her parts, she is manned by an accomplished crew, and commanded by an experienced captain. (Loud cheers.) She nobly con tends with the angry element ; but hark ! What is the cry of alarm which proceeds from the passengers ? Sh e has received injury. She has sprung a leak, and the boil ing waters are filling her hold. (Cheer s .) Where areth'iecrew ? Of course no b ly vieing with each other in h h c e h e i r v i n a g l chivalrous u s Withca pta t i h n e , e the e i le fforts to save the gallant ship, some maaaging thetvees r ves sel, others working at the pumps. View the undaunted n g e a s l s and lan co urage which Palmercou ra e which he only can inanifedt on su c h a - s h t e o r t o t. i (Great inof he c r trying occasion, he gives his orders for the m anagement of the ship— (cheers) —but what means that cong reg atin g together, and suspension of exertions o n the part of the principal officers of the crew ? Why, you say they are deliberating over some new plan for her rescue. No ; it is not so ! What is the matter then ? There is a mutiny on board ; part of the crew are offended that the captain allows landsmen to work at the purnpQ, (Laughter and cheers.) It is contrary to the articles of their contract. (Cheers.) The captain remonstrates, urges the danger of the ship and her car go; b ut a ll is unavailing. (Cheers.) Watch them—they are coolly putting on their cork jackets, and adjusting their life-belts; and now lowering their family life boat, they drop away, and leave the noble vessel and her undaunted crew to their fate. (Cheers.) Now mark the unshaken courage of the deserted Palmerston. (Great cheering.) With an eye . calm and confident, a bearing dignified and noble, ho expresses to his crew his determination to stick to the ship—(cheers)—to guide her into port, or perish in the attempt. (Great chet r lug.) The crew,, with one unanimous anti approving cheer, seconded his determination. (Cheer. , .) Too vacant places of the recreant crew are filled up by some of the moss e;i g ible of the passetigsrs, and the gallant ship is ultimately F ailed into harbour with her unstained flag floating at her masthead. (Loud cheering.) Well, the is chartered for a fresh voyage, and the question is — Who is to command her ? (Cheers.) Metniuks I hear you cry with one earnest, indignant voice—Who saved her ? (Great cheering.) And then comes the answer— loud, sharp, and thriliing—Palmerston ! Palmerston ! (Loud cheering) Well, who do you think are the can didates for the management of her ? (Looking at Mr. Gladstone ) Tile Right lion. W. E. Gladstone and the rest of the cowardly crew who ilfrerted her in the storm. (Loud and pi otr acted cheering ) vpl and Wit 11 t y o mei! 41. elate. The Queen, the Prince Albert, the Royal children and nowt, will ariive at Portsmouth, en route to Os Vrne Palace, Isle of Wight, on the 7th proximo. The Fire QUEeD, tender, Master Commander F. W. Paul, proceerlel to Spithead yesterday morn ing with Captain. Sir T. Maitland, C. 8., command ing the Excellent, gunnery ship, to muster and in spect the Furious, 16, paddle, Captain S. Osborne. The inspection was highly satisfactory, and the ship's company were paid two months' advance ages. She sails to-day for Plymouth, en route for China. The Glatton, 14, floating ba'tery, is being re sheathed with iron plate?, and coated with Pea cook's composition, after which she will be placed opposite Hardway among the steam reserve. The Camperdown, old 104 sailing 'hre3-decker, has been converted to a coal depot on hydraulic principles. She is now nearly complete, has all but completed coppering, and will haul out next week. Tne steam-vach , , about to be presented to the' Emperor of Japan was this morning uudocked at Woolwich and taken into basin, preliminary to hr r removal to Devonport to t e paid down and de-. spatclied to her destination. The yacht is most compactly fitted throughout in the style of comfo , t which usually pervades yacht arrangements in the present day. Her Mi;:je3ty's newly constructed steam screw corvette Scout, in the basin at Woolwi:th, having received her masts, is ordered to he fOrwarded to Sheerness on Wednesday next to be fitted and laid. up in the second class of st am reserve. The cadets of (he Royal Military College at Wool wich have been ordered to commence `the usual summer course of carbine drills. A party of 160 of these young officers was marched to Plumste td common this morning, and put through the nece , - sary instruction by non-commies oiled office's of the Artillery. Captain W. F. Macbean, St. Helena Regiment, having completed a cour , e of rifle instruction at the School of Musketry, Hythe, under Colonel C. C. Hay, has been appointed to the command of the depot of his corps at .tbe Provisional Batt , ilion„ Chatham, until the officers and mbn embark to join their head-quarters, when o,ptain Macbean will be appointed instructor of musketry to the troops belonging to the St. He'ena Regiment, who are to be armed with the Enfield rifle. One hundred and thirty non-commissioned officers and men of various regiments stationed at Chatham, together with Lieut,nant Travers, 24th, and Lieutenant Leprimaudy, 53d Regiment, were selected for the purpose of undergoing a course of instruction in the Enfield rifle at that garri son previously to joining the head-quarters of their respective corps in India. The troops be= longing to the 60th Rifles, 61st Regiment, 78th Highlanders, and 86th Regiment have completed their course of instruction at Chatham in the use of that weapon. • Commander W. P. Crozier has been promoted to Captain on the reserved list. The following appointments were made yester day at the Admiralty : Captaine—Cbas. Wise, to the Vesuvitis ;' G. G. Ran• dulpb, to the Col nwalbs. a Crmananders—W. P. Crozier, to be Captain on the Reserved Half-pay List ; E. Lacy, to the Adventure ; W. A. J. Heath, to the Assistance, commissioned as * troop ship. Assistant-Surgeons—John Hudson, to the Belleisle ; W. A. Turner, to the Rhadamarthus. Assistant-Paymaster W. D. Broom, to the Tortoise. EXTRAORDINARY AUTO DA FE. A body of itinerant Capuchin monks lately ine vaded the town of Grasse, iu the department of the Var, and there enacted a scene which will scarcely be credited as having occurred in France in the nineteenth century, although if the venue were laid in the States of the Church or iu Spain there would be nothing surprising in the story. Atter a preachment of more sermons than were ever heard at a Scotch "Holy Fair," a sturdy orator, one Father Archange, mounted the pulpit and pro nounced a furious discourse against philosophers and romance writers. Not only Alexander Dumas, Eugene Sue, George Sand, and Balzac, but even MM. Thiera and Lamartine were denounced by name. Among newspapers the Debats and &tele were stig matised as unfit for Christian reading. At the conclusion of a fierce invective, the monk called uponlis hearers, as they valued their eternal sal vation, to deliver up to the parish priest, within 24 hours, all books, pamphlets, journals, and printed papers whatsoever, not approved of by the bishop, which might be in their possession. Pursuant to this mandate a large proportion of the population of the town came by night to the church doer, and there, through an aperture provided by the cure, they furtively threw down their sinful literature as an unfortunate mother deposits her offspring i n the bux of a foundling hospital. The next day, w hich happened to be Holy Thursday, a grand auta dw fe was celebrated in one of the public places of the town. The devoted books and newsp a p ers were packed upon a large funereal pile. Two copies of Lamartine's "Jocelyn," one of "La Chute d'un. Ange," a complete set of M. Thiers' " History of the. French Revolution," a very many volumes of Balzac, Dumas, and Euge ne S ue ; a copy of M. Senator Merimees' " Columba," M. Michelet's and Jules Simon's works, " Religion Naturelle," were remarked among the collection, which corn prised an immense number of plays, vaudevilles, and illustrated publications. At nine in the even ing, all being prepared, the clergy, precede,' by two infant choristers, each bearing a silver cross covered with a black veil, advanced in procession to the place of execution. Some "bad books" w hi c h had been brought in at the last moment were carriiai by beadles in baskets hung with black. The cortege, marched slowly and silently, lighted by torches and wax candles. The beadles having emptied their baskets into the condemned mass of books and papers, the holy fathers immediately set fire to the faggots, and as the flames burnt up high, the cure chanted Parce Domine. The majority 0 . 1 the spectators were utterly ignorant of the nature of the entertainment, and would probably have thought it a better show had the Capuchins been burnt instead of the books. Some few made fun of the proceedings, and put humorous questions to the piens as thy passed by. There cannot be the least doubt tnat priests of this kidney onli want the power to burn Lamartine, Thiers, Dumas, Michelet, dre., instead of their books.—Paris Cor respondent of the Daily News. 'IIE ELECTION OF SPEAKER. In bygone times it used to be the regular custom for the Speaker elect, while setting forth the ar duous nature of the office, and his own disqualifi cations, formally to pray to be excused ; and there is one case on record in which the Sovereign took the gentleman at his word, and sent the Commons back to elect another Speaker. Sir John Poplinm was the Speaker ix question, and Henry VI. the King. In 1678 there was also a collision between the Crown and the Commons on the subject of the choice of a Speaker. King Charles IL wanted some tool of his own to be chosen ; but the Coln' mons asserted their independence, and elected Si t ' Edward Seymour. And as it was known that, on his presentation at the bar of the Lords, "excuse" would be received, he was instructed by the House not to make one, but merely to an' nounce that he had been elected nem. con. And • this he did, and instead of "I pray you have we excused," he concluded his speech with these wordel "And now I am come hither for your Maj e sty's approbation, which if your Majesty will be pleased to grant, I shall do them (the Commons) and yon the best service that I can." This unexpected, harangue confounded the Lord Chancellor, who had got a nice . little speech prepared for the occasion , which was rendered useless. However, after som a thought and consultation with his brother ' commissioners, he told Mr. Speaker elect that the King reserved hurl for " other services," and cern manded the house to choose another. But the house persisted iu its choice, and the matter virn s not settled without a prorogation, which led to a t compromise. This Sir Edward Seymour was 01 the ducal house of Somerset, and is said by histo rians to have b , en the proudest, if not the most sr' rogaut, man that ever lived ; and the followieri anecdotes seem to prove the allegation. On 0 1 occasion, when Speaker, he ordered a Sergean t Pemberton to be taken into custody by the Set geaut-at-Arms for not paying him sufficient resPe et on passing through Westminster dl. On ano ther: , when his carriage broke down : t ,aring-cross, 11 seized the carriage of a private gentleman 01 0 passing, and turning the occupant out, took 4 place ; and when the gentleman expressed his 8 1 . 114 ; prise at such conduct, Sir Edward re pli e d, " it is more proper for you to walk in the streets tbe for the Speaker of the Hous e o f C ommo ns to ,_ so." The Speaker elect no longer prays to bee„' e , cused ; he now merely ex p resses his souse 01 tp it arduous duties of his o ffi ce , and adds—" That 1f should be her Majesty's pleasure to disapprov e this choice, her M a j esty ' s f a i t hf u l C ommo ns vii o . at once select some ot h er mem b er o f their hour better qualified to fill the station than himself."' ETON COLLEGF.—Gibson and Whitting, and Stevens, oppidan, have been selected by the Ile E. C. Hawtrey, D.D , provost, and the Rev. C. G' ° „ a ford, D.D., head master, for the distinction of the thr "Z cadet•ihips in the East India Company's service, whieh . have been placed at the recommendation of Eton lege by the Right Hon. V. Smith, President of t"to Board of Control. These yourg gentlemen, prev ious final approYal, will have to pass an examination Cie Board ot Coetrol, a st( art is fair horn is ti voc o k this pro m contr for Al very i: ente r t bility , Minh ullsi _ ne.9 Por J . ab d. The 1\ ab out p a ztrri, Sto per o e •ie :3 evr2, l l , - °,dc: dm Ditto :] ` ll dla Sto 11 1 , 11% B 3 „ Co 4 401 s ttehec EEO( i PR ZCEa ki razlti dri Ditto Ig l iador tr ovizto bit ~ nnnt to p„ bitt o `arki ht , Ditto Ditto Pe soiai at 5 ' l ' l t fall a " e t y„, E f ' ' , 31 .r a d, d O ; °W .. 3/ ..r 4de 8