The Press.
London, England, 1855-05-26 00:00:00

Court anb t astion.

The Birthday Drawing-room was held on Satur-
day last in St. James's Palace, and attended by about
sixteen hundred ladies and gentlemen.
The Queen held a Privy Council on Monday after-
noon, and on Tuesday her Majesty and the Court
left Buckingham Palace and travelled by the South-
Western Railway to Gosport, whence the Royal party
were conveyed in the Fairy to the Isle of Wight.
The Queen will remain at Osborne-house for the
next week or ten days.
Nearly all the Cabinet Ministers gave grand ban •
quets on Saturday evening in honotirof her Modesty's
birthday. At Lord Palmerston's dinner the Earl of
Aberdeen, the Duke of Newcastle, Mr. Gladstone,
Mr. Sidney Herbert, and Mr. Cardwell were among
the guests.

Cabinet Councils were held on Saturday, Monday,
and Tuesday last.
The Belgian Moniteur publishes the following
despatch :—" The Duke and Duchess of Brabant made
the journey to Damascus from Jerusalem in four
days. The reception given to them by the popula-
tion and by the Caimacan of the Maronites was most
flattering. On the 26th ult. their Royal Highnesses
left, and arrived on the following day at Balbeck,
where they remained until the 30th. On the Ist.
inst. their Royal Highnesses stopped at Broumana,
at the house of the Caimacan."

Yalu and Volia.

Tat SHIPWRIGHT HOPPER, who has been for a
fortnight detained on suspicion of having fired the
floating battery in Mr. Scott Russell's yara, was dis-
eharged on Wednesday after re-examination before
Mr. Yardley, at the Thames Police-court. The only
evidence against him was that of a single witness,
the man Coolie, who adhered to his former assertions,
but the case of alibi set up for the defence was un-
impeachable, and the prisoner was acquitted with
•
a sort of triumph.
THE LARGE PROPERTY left by the late Mr. Wil-
liam Hope, of Paris, appears likely to afford some
occupation to the French tribunals. Mr. Hope is.
stituted Mr. Crosby, of Dover, his universal legatee,
and M. de Morel, of Paris, his executor. As no
ready money was found in the house of Mr. Hope
after his death, the executor was obliged to advance
a considerable sum to defray the outlay for the fu-
neral, servants' mourning, house expenses, Etc. On
Saturday an application was made to M. Debelleyme,
sitting in chambers, to order a sum of 40,500 f. to be
paid over to the executor out of the proceeds of the
sale of Mr. Hope's furniture and wines, which brought
a sum of about 150,0001. Several of the Ft ench cre-
ditors of the deceased opposed that course, on the
ground that Mr. Hope shortly before his death sold
landed property in England of the value of three
millions of francs, which sum was at present in the
Bank of England ; and that, consequently, the legatee
and executor were sufficiently provided with means
to meet all current expenses. M. Debelleyme de-
cided that, as the matter related to a payment par
privilige which was contested, and which could not
be appreciated properly at a sitting in chambers, the
parties interested must apply in the usual way to a
court of law, and have the point decided by civil
action.
A FURTHER EXAMINATION in the case of Messrs.
Davidson and Gordon, accused of raising large sums
of money on forged dock warrants, took place on
Thursday at Guildhall, in the presence of a
numerous attendance of persons connected with mer-
cantile interests. After a prolonged investigation
the case was once more adjourned to complete the
evidence.

ALEXANDER STEWART, who was convicted of mur-
der at the spring Circuit recently held at Glasgow,
was executed on Wednesday in front of the South
Prison on Glasgow-green. The culprit was found
guilty of murdering with a pickaxe an old man awned
John Welsh, a watcher at a coal-pit at the village of
Maryhill, partly incited by a feeling of revenge, and
partly to possess himself of the trifling amount of
property which the old man had in his possession.

Tae Meteor floating battery wars commissioned on
Wednesday by Captain Seymour. She is at present
in dock at Woolwich, where workmen are putting on
three screws, which are bo be used on her next expe-
rimental trial .
The new royal steam•yacht the Victoria and Albert,
in which the Queen and Court will embark this
season, for the first time, on the usual series of royal
acquatics, is rapidly progressing in her equipments
for sea. Her internal embellishments ate oleo in a
state of great progremif and she is expected to be ready
for sea about the 3rd of July. The Hon. Captain
Joseph Denman will command her, and the crew and
storet of the old yaeht will be tufted over to the mew
Vittoria and Albert.

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