The Press.
London, England, 1855-03-17 00:00:00

SPAIN.

The Madrid Cortes sanctioned on Tuesday, by •
majority of 200 against 12, the measures introduced
by M. Madoz, intended to effect a great reduction of
public expenditure.

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

Cape Town papers of the 29th of January have
arrived by the mail steamer.
The frontier journals concur in stating that, the
dread of a Kaffir war had much diminished.

Accounts from the Trans-Vaal republic announce
the return of General Pretorius, after inflicting signal
punishment on the Kaffir chief Makapan, for the
murder of Field-Cornet Potgeiter and seven or eight
men, and the massacre of several women, accom-
panied by circumstances of the most horrid cruelty.
General Pretorius was about to proceed on another
command towards the end of January, the destina-
tion of which was kept secret.
The Frontier Times mentions a report that the
British Government intended to propose to the Cape
Parliament to sanction the transmission of a number
of convicts to East London, for the purpose of im-
proving that harbour; and it is added that, should
the proposition be entertained, it was intended to
offer a shipment of convicts Lobe employed on public
works in Table Bay.

ONE HUNDRED AND FIVIY-TWO INVALIDS arrived
at Chatham on Saturday from the Crimea. Many of
the cavalry soldiers show the effect of severe sabre
wounds, received at the grand charge at Balaklava.
They all speak in the very highest and grateful terms
of Miss Nightingale, and relate an anecdote of that
lady which saved he lives of many of them. A
considerable quantity of invalids arrived at Scutari
from the Crimea in a very bad state, and bedding
and other articles were demanded from the person
known as the storekeeper, who, when applied to for
the articles, refused to deliver them without a written
order from the bead of his department. Miss
Nightingale, seeing the emergency of the ease,
offered to make good the articles required if they
were disallowed. The storekeeper would not yield,
when Miss Nightingale, finding anything she could
say of no avail, addressed herself to a few of the
stoutest of the men to break open the door of the
store, which they soon effected, and with her own
hands served out what was required, telling the
storekeeper, who was looking on with the key in his
hand, that she alone was responsible for what had
been done.
IT is believed that the "flying squadron" for the
Baltic, under the orders of Captain Watson, C. 8., of
the Imperieuse, 61, screw, will leave Spithead in a
day or two for the edge of the ice, and advance up
the Baltic as the weather breaks up the frozen im-
pediments. The "flying squadron" will probably be
composed of the Imperieuse, 51, screw, Captain
Watson ; Euryaltss, M, screw, Captain Ramsay ;
Arrogant, 47, screw, Captain Yelverton; Amphioti,
34, screw, Captain A. C. Key ; Pyladrs, 21, screw,
Captain D'Eyncourt; and other screw and paddle-
wheel frigates and sloops. On Sunday, March 10,
last year, the fleet left Spithead for the Baltic, and
arrived at Wingoe on the 20th. The Admiralty in-
tend to employ a number of North Sea captains,
well acquainted with the navigation of the Baltic, to
act as pilots to the fleet, They are to have one
guinea per day.
GOVERNMENT have entered into another extensive
contract for the supply of ordinary straight-cut
rifles, Minis rifles, titled carbines for cavalry, re-
volvers, sabres, naval cutlasses and pistols. The
manufacturers of Birmingham, Sheffield, and London
will supply the greater portion, and the gunmakers
and sword cutlers of Liege ,he remainder. h
is
expected that the supply will approach 1,000 stand
weekly.
THE BISHOP or Lonnox has sanctioned a proposal
which has been made to him by his clergy, that the
collections on the day of humiliation (Wednesday
next) may be devoted to the purpose of erecting and
permanently endowing a church in some part of
the Turkish dominions for the benefit of oar
countrymen.

254

Corrtsponinuct.

GENERAL VIVIAN'S APPOINTMENT.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."

Sir,—A good deal of vituperation was showered on
Lord Ellenborough by certain Ministerial journals
because he ventured to question the superior fitness
of General Vivian for the appointment of Commander-
in-Chief of the Turkish contingent to which he had
been named.

Perhaps, however, the public will think Lord
Ellenborough right when they learn that General
Vivian has nominated to high commands under him
two persons who were cashiered the Bengal army
some years ago for scandalous and infamous be-
haviour. Thus, officers who serve with them or
under them in the Turkish contingent will be com-
pelled to obey, or consort with, men declared by a
general court-martial to be too infamous to remain in
the Bengal army.
One person in that category was invited by the
directors to meet the Prime Minister at dinner the

other day at the London Tavern, and was at the last
levee presented by General Vivian to the Queen.
Of course it is understood that they have the advan-
tage of directorial patronage; but I have yet to
learn that relationship to a director affords any justi-
fication for such an outrage on society, on the army,
and on the Sovereign of these realms.
The names of the individuals referred to I inclose
on a separate piece of paper, and perhaps one of the
Conservative members in the house will not think it
beneath his duty to ask for copies of their courts-
martial and of their nominations to commands in
the Turkish contingent under General Vivian.
Perhaps he will also put the question as to the cir-
cumstances under which one of them, the one who
bore the lower rank of the two when in the service,
was invited to meet the Premier at a public banquet
and was presented to the Queen.--I have the honour
to remain your most obedient servant,
HON OS.
March 15th, 1855.

CONSERVATIVE UNION.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."

Sir,—At the close of my late letter to you on the I
subject of " Conservative Union " I begged you to
use my ideas either publicly cr privately, as you
might deem most expedient. My object in making
this request was to submit to your judgment the
propriety of bringing the question of Convocation
before your readers as an important element in
Conservative union. In my humble opinion, you
have acted wisely, inasmuch as the surest made of
overcoming a difficulty is to meet it boldly. I had
th night that the parties I referred to would be recog-
nised by everybody; but Ismael calls upon me to
avoid obscure allusions, and I therefore oeg to offer
the subjoined remarks by way of explanation.
That the Conservative Government did pronounce
definitely against the revival of Convocation may be
easily proved by a reference to the parliamentary
reports. Living as I am in the country, Ido not
possess the means to refer to the precise date, nor
can I quote the ipsissima verba; but, unless my
memory is unusually treacherous, it was the Home
Secretary of Lord Derby's Ministry, who, in reply to
a question whether the report that Government in-
tended to allow Convoe Won to proceed to the
despa,ch of business, did not content.himself with a
simple negative, but added that so long as he held
office such a concession would never be made. Now
mark what followed. Mr. Gladstone joined the
Coalition Ministry, and in him the University of
Oxford, the very stronghold of Conservatism, gave
its sanction to that quasi radical compact, and that,
too, be it remembered, in the face of an opposition
which under any other circumstances must have
insured his rejection. Can we fail to perceive in this
tact effect following cause? The simple truth is,
hat Mr. Gladstone retained his seat because the
majority of the members of the university Convoca-
tion felt that the best interests of the Church are
safe in his hands.
From this one instance (and it is but a type of the
election of so-called Liberal Conservatives generally)
we gather these two important data. First, the
Church is not powerless; and, secondly, that though
her m tubers generally are Conservatives, they deem
the reinvigoration of our ecclesiastical polity a
ma ter of the highest consequence, and are prepared,
if need be, to sacrifice their political predilections
for the attainment of this one great object. It is
flu to think that the abundant application of
abusive epithets will intake to check the onward

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