The Press.
London, England, 1854-09-23 00:00:00

606

jesty's Plenipotentiary, shows the imports during the
year 1853 to have been valued at 1,045,1411., and the
exports 3,250,203/.
Sir John Bowring was expected to leave for Hong
Kong vii the other ports, a week after the Barracouta,
and the United States steamer Susquehannah on the
15th.
Numerous pirate fleets are cruising all over the
east coast; one numbering fifty junks, crowded with
men, had lately congregated within forty miles of
Fu-chan.
It is stated from Ningpo that the Portuguese cor-
vette Dons Joao, with fifteen lorchas, had been firing
the town and plundering some war junks. A private
letter iescribes the country inland as perfectly qui-
escent politically, whilst commercially the utmost
activity prevailed in the tea market betwixt the
grolvers and dealers from Shanghae. Rumours of
the war betwixt Great Britain and Russia were cur•
tent among the Chinese, who seemed assured that
England would have the worst of it.

&Jut an Sa*on.

HER MAJESTY'S JOURNEY TO BALMORAL was com-
pleted on Friday week under the most satisfactory
auspices. From Edinburgh to Aberdeen the most
complimentary demonstrations on the pat; of the
population marked her progress ; and as the royal
train passed the castle of Stirling a salute was fired
from the batteries. At Forfar Lord . Panmure paid
his respects to her Majesty, and at Perth the Earl
of Mansfield awaited her arrival for, a similar pur-
pose. The local authorities were of course on the
qui wive, and attended the Queen through the dis-
tricts subject to their jurisdiction. The youthful
princes were attired in the highland costume, and the
national colours were also prominently displayed by
the Queen and the princesses. A detachment of the
depot of the 09th Regiment, stationed at Aberdeen,
had been expected at. a village on Thursday evening,
to form a guard of honour to her Majesty. They,
however, did not arrive, having been countermanded
for some reason or other. Fortunately a guard of
honour was not allowed to be wanting. About four
o'clock fifty of the clan Farquharson (of Invercauldl,
commanded by their chief, Mr. George Farquharson,
Of the Scots Fusilier Guards, preceded by the sound
of the bagpipe, marched into the village and took up
their.position near where the royal cortege were tO
halt in order to change horses. These men, arrayed
in their highland costume, had a fine picturesque ap.
pearance, and the manner in which they executed their
movements was highly creditable. About half-past
five the royal cortege drove to the inn. Her Majesty,
with much condegcension, acknowledged the homage
which the assembly were proud to render her. The
royal party having changed horses started for Bal-
moral, which they reached within an hour. The new
royal residence at Balmoral has advanced rapidly
during the summer. On the ground floor of the
west and north sides are the public rooms, and over
them are the principal bedrooms and other accom-
modations for the royal family. The other two sides
are three, stories in height, and will be reserved
chiefly for the accommodation of the suite. This
part of the building is intended, we believe, to be
ready for being occupied by the time of her Majesty's
visit to the Highlands next autumn. On the east
side a wing is being built seventy feet in length, and
in connection with a, very prominent part of the
edifice, viz., a tower of forty feet square, which will
be about eighty feet high, with a circular staircase
n one angle, making the height 100 feet The
house is in the baronial or old English style of archi-
tecture. The south and west fronts especially are
very handsome, there being some very fine carving
and moulding in the details. There are very fine
oriel windows for the principal rooms Queen's
sitting-room bedroom, dressing-room, &c.— with
turrets on dicangles. The whole is to be fireproof,
according to Barrett's patent. It will be understood
that there are two buildings, the servants' accommo
dation being distinct, the space occupied by which
being more than equal t' that of the principal
building. There is besides in the plan a ball room,
to supersede the .present iron one, and the dimen-
sions of this will be 09 feet by 25.
Her Majesty the Queen and his Royal highness
the l'riuce walked out on Saturday morning. The
royal children took their usual riding and walking
exercise. In the afternoon the Prince, attended by
Major. General the Hon. C. Grey and Colonel the
lion. C. Phipps, had the wood driven for deer.
As at present arranged her Majesty the Queen and
his Royal Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by
the younger branches of the royal family, and at-
tended by the ladies, and gentlemen of the house
hold, will arrive at Windsor Castle on the oth of
next month for their usual autumnal sojourn.

THY. CALORIC ENOINE invented by Captain Ericsson has
been finally abandoned, and is to be taken out of the ship
baring his name, steam boilers being substituted. From
the beginning this result has been foreseen by practical
and scientific men, notwithstanding the alleged complete
success of the experiment.

14rft

Irtianli.

'limit PRIVY Couricm—At a Privy Council held on
Saturday at Dublin Castle, the Lord Chancellor, the
Archbishop of Dublin, and the Right Hon. Sir Edward
I3lakeney, G.C.8., were sworn Lords Justices during
the absence of the Lord Lieutenant.

ONE OF THE MOST ATROCIOUS ACTS of mingled
bigotry and villany on record was perpetrated in
Derry on Friday week. It aimed at nothing less than
the destruction of nine hundred Orangemen at a
single blow. The means chosen was the upsetting
of a railway excursion-train, on its return from
Londonderry to Enniskillen, where it had conveyed
the Pumber above mentioned of Enniskilleners to
fraternise with the 'prentice boys, a return for a
similar visit paid some weeks since by the Derry
boys to Enniskillen. The 900 Enniskilleners, headed
by Lord Enniskillen, reached Derry at ten o'clock,
welcomed by a large array of Derryites and others,
with Sit Robert Bateson at their head. When these
Enniskillen and Derry columns had effected their
junction, they moved in combination round the walls
to the place where Walker's Pillar stands. Here
there was plenty of shouting, and spouting, and
enthusiasm, of Kentish fire, and waving of banneri,
on which were inscribed the words " Derry;'
" Enniskillen," " Aughrim," and " Boyne." Then
Sir Robert Bateson made a speech. Then there was
a lunch and toasts and more speeches, and more
Kentish fire ; and the whole assembly roared out,
" No surrender ! " In the evening (says a conteni
porary) the visitors left Derry. Two engines being
placed to the train, the journey was accomplished
without anything occurring until the train, after
passing Dromore, in the county of Tyrone, reached
a townland named Stranagomer, near the crossroads
leading from Trillick to Lowtherstown, when a
sudden shock, preceded by a slight jumbling of the
engines, took place, and immediately down went the
engines, !lying off, as it were, at right angles. The
second engine, on which, along with the engine-man,
were Lord Enniskillen and one of the railway
officials, Mr. George Younger, ran into the first,
jamming his lordship between the engine and first
carriage, from which perilous position he was rescued
by the joint exertions of seven or eight of the
Enniskilliners, who had left their carriages when the
concussion took place. His lordship was but very
slightly bruised, although one of the engine-drivers
was killed, and another had a leg broken.. This
man, we understand, is not expected to live. A
third man, belonging to the company, is suffering
also very much from a dreadfully mangled thigh, off
which the flesh was completely torn. At the hour
the accident occurred it was, of course, quite dark,
and there were, we have learnt, but two lamps avail-
able. The cause of the accident was found to be
several stones—one of them weighing close upon
three cwt.—which had been placed by some fiendiSh
miscreants upon the line, and these were preceded
by a few smaller ones, evidently designed to throw
the engines off the rail before coming to the larger
block, in the hope that the latter would then the
better turn them down a precipitous steep of about
thirty or forty feet in depth, caused by the earth
which had been thrown in at this spot to raise the
line to a proper level, and at which there is no
parapet or protecting wall. As a train had passed
along the line about twenty minutes previously, it is
manifest the fiendish concoctors of this diabolical
scheme, which exceeds anything we ever read of in
murderous intention, were lying in wait some time
to accomplish their purpose, and that the object of
their deadly intention was the more numerously
freighted train containing the Derry visitors ; and,
so solicitous were they that failure should not attend
them, that about a mile further on the line was
similarly obstructed. Happily at the time of the
collision the engines were proceeding rather slowly,
to which may be attributed, in a great measure, the
slight nature of the casualties ; for had they been
going at a rapid rate, and turned off down the em-
bankment, taking the carriages along with them, few
could have escaped with their lives. As it was, the
scene of confusion is indescribable, and to add to the
terror inspired at the moment a rumour was raised
that, another train would be likely to come up with
them. Shortly after the occurrence took place a
crowd of country people assembled, and, although we
blush for our common humanity when we pen such a
sentence, yet the truth should be told, which, as we
have been informed by an eye witness, is most dis-
creditable to the peasantry of that district. Our in-
formant states that hardly one of those who came up
would condescend to put a hand iu order to render
the slightest assistance ; and although one fellow
was paid liberally for bringing a little water, and
another was paid to bring a door to carry off the
poor sufferers, neither of these fellows returned.
That such an occurrence should take place in a
Chrislian country, and be characterised with such
hardheartedness in the hour of need, will scarcely be
believed, and God knows we write it more with feel-
ings of regret than indignation. Our readers can all

Milfeibu*

better conceive than we could relate the peculiar
feelings of between,Boo and 900 persons thus thrown
out into a strange district, in the dark, and at a dis-
tance of twelve miles from their homes. The small
village of Ballinamallard lay before them on their
route, distant about four miles, and thither most of
the passengers straggled in groups, as best they
could. Are understand Lord Enniskillen took up his
abode in a peasant's house fiir the night, And about
half-past nine o'clock the next morning Lady Ennis-
killen passed through the town from Florence-court,
to quiet her anxieties by a sight of her husband.
When the news reached Ballinamallard, where a
large concourse had assembled in expectation of the
train at the natal hour, a numerous party set out to
render what aid they could; and some jaunting cats
were got ready for the conveyance of the ladie§.
Many of our fellow townstheti did not get home till
six o'clock on Saturday inorning, and all seem im-
pressed with a due sense of that providential inter-
position which alone rescued them from one of the
most fiendish attempts dt wholesale massacre that
ever took place in this or any other country pro-
fessing to be Christian. We trust that before long
the guilty persons will have been Made amenable for
their heartless and cruel-conduct. We learn that a
number of navvies, who were seen lounging in that
direction, have been arrested on suspicion.
AT a meeting of the committee of :he Downpatrick
Protestant Association, held a few days past, the
following reso:ution was unanimously agreed to :
" Resolved,—That the members of the Down Protestant
Association have seen, with great satisfaction, a public
recognition of the value of our Protestant Constitution
by the Light Hop..lienjwin Disraeli, M.l'., in the House
of Commons, on the 3rd of August, l8;11 ; and earnestly
hope that one of such transcendent qualities as Mr.
Disraeli, rightly seeing that all other political questions
arc of secondary importance compared with the great
Protestant question, will come bbldl forward early next
session of Parliatnent, should God spare him, and
fulfil those hopes *Melt 1111 ,late speech has excited
in the Protestant mind of the country, by himself
bringing forward some measure which will vindicate
the Protestant Constitution of this country, and prose
that the enduring existence of our Protestant Constituticn
is consistent, not only with civil and religious liberty, but
is the only guarantee and security we have for its in-
estimable blessings.
" Resolved,—That the Down Protestant Association
desire to express their warm admiration of Mr. Spooner's
untiring exertions in the cause of Protestantism, in en-
deavouring to put an, end to the parliamentary grant to the
College of Maynooth ; and also of the steady and con-
sistent support which he has always given in the House
of Commons to Protestant opinions and I'rotestant
institutions; and the Down Protestant Association trust
that Ahilighty God will long spare Mr. Spooner to
continue his exertions in behalf of the Protestant rouse,
and that they will ultimately be crowned with triumphant
success."

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