The Press.
London, England, 1857-08-29 00:00:00

SUFFERERS BY TEE INDIAN MUTINY.

Sir DE LACY EVANS asked the noble lord if some
assistance would not be given to the wives and chil-
dren of those parties who were killed in the mutiny
in India, whether their protectors were civil or
military ?
Lord PALMERSTON said that until more detailed
accounts could be received of the position of the
parties, the Government could hardly know how to
deal with the matter.

Mr. MANGLES said that ample assistance would be
given to all the sufferers, without reference to whether
the parties were civil or military.

PROROGATION.

Sir A. CLIFFORD, the Usher of the Black Rod, ap-
peared at the table, and summoned the house to the
House of Lords to hear the Parliament prorogued by
Royal Commission.
The SPEAKER forthwith proceeded to the House of
Lords, accompanied by a large number of members;
and on his return, _ _

The right hon. gentleman read the Speech at the
table, and then retired ; after which the members
present dispersed.

THE ROUTE TO INDlA.—Captain Forde, of the
City Club, has made some suggestions respecting
the best route to India for troops, and the best class
of ships to embark them in. He says .—" Our only
independent and natural high road to India is by the
ocean ; we command that route, but have not yet
made the best use of it. I suggest the immediate
establishment of a line of first class iron screw
steamships, of 5,000 tons measurement each, and
fitted with engines of 1,000-horse power. These
ships can be so constructed as to average 300 miles
per day, a rate of speed that would enable them to
perform the voyage to or from India with certainty
in forty-one days. The stowage capacity of each
ship would comprise ample space for 2,000 troops,
with their officers, officers' horses, artillery, baggage,
and a large amount of munitions of war, together
with twenty-four days' fuel, and the requisite quantity
of provisions and stores. The political advantages
ot Great Britain, possessing a distinct available fleet
of this description, are so obvious as to require no
comment, except to mention that in the event of a
European war, and an urgent demand for troops,
each of these capacious and powerful vessels, upon
an emergency of that nature, could convey 3,000 men
from India and land them in Gibraltar in thirty-six
days, or at Malta in thirty-nine days. Should neither
the Admiralty nor the East India Company feel
disposed to build and manage the ships referred to,
such an addition to our national resources can only
be created and properly worked by a public com-
pany, established under the auspices of her Majesty's
Government, and which company, if adequately
supported, I am prepared to organise without delay."
THE SEINE appears as if it were about to give in
its resignation as a river, and sink to the rank of a
mere stream. On Monday it was below the level of
1719. The swimming schools at Paris have been
obliged to shift their quarters, and follow the river,
which had left them almost dry. Julius Caesar
relates in his Commentaries that the Romans, when
encamped on the heights now called the Butte Ste.
Genevieve, crossed the Seine almost dry footed a
little above the Ile de la Cite, behind Notre Dame,
and thus marched to Pontoise. At this moment the
Parisians may cross the fiver at the same place with-
out any danger.

lortign anti Colonial (Lfattlligcnu.