The Express.
London, England, 1862-06-09 00:00:00

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION YOB THE PROMO-
TION OP SOCIAL SCIENCE.

The soiree given on Saturday evening by the
emaciation at the houses of parliament wee attended by •
brilliant assembly of ladies and gentlemen numbering mole
than three thousand. Beyond the usual routine of legisla•
ties labours this magnificent palace, with its countless
chambers and endless corridors, has never been used for soy
other pogroms and this is the first occasion on which it hes
mounded with the voices of a festive throng and the strains
of instrumental music. The company alighted in New
Palace-yard, where a rapacious awning had been erected,
13...ard sad entering by the court. , formerly the site
of the Star Chamber, through the cloisters.
sad on reaching the vestibule at the members' entrance to
the Home of Commons, were received by Lord Brougham
and the Earl of Shaftesbury on behalf of the council, and
then dispersed themselves over the building. The arrivals
continued from half-past eight until past eleven. The in-
terior of the lower house vas first explored with much
cariosity. The whole of the doors along the corridors being
thrownopen, there wean uninterrupted vista bet woos the two
houses, and from the Speaker's chair a good eye could
readily see the woolsack is the far distance. The votaries
of social science next took • glance at Ward's histoncal
pictures, yet, unfortunately, incomplete; and not a few
visited the long gallery up-stairs, running the entire
length of the committee-rooms. The House of Lords
came in for • fair altars of attention and admiration.
Returning, the stream of visitors primed into St. Stephen's-
hall. Additicomil gaseliers on each aide threw outs splendid
light, and flags in Motefal groups decorated the roof. The
floor was laid with crimson cloth, which divested the ball of
that cold look which we associate with a atone floor, and
the buffete being well loaded with a good and varied collec-
tion of refreshments, tended alto to dissipate all ideas of
a cheerless nature. At the entrance of each of the law
marts there was& choice display of exotics end other plants
of varied hues. The band of the Coldstream Guards wee
Motioned in the hall, and during the evening played en
excellent selection of music.
..... .

—Notwithstanding the immense apace at the disposal of
the council, the passages and doors were frequently blocked
up, and in the crush which ensued sad havoc was done to
the dresses of the ladies ; but if this can be overlooked and
forgiven, nothing occurred of a serious character to mar the
enjoyment of the evening. It was nearly 12 o'clock
before the whole eouipaay had departed.

COLLEGE OP Pgzezreoss.—At a meeting of the
council of this corperailoo. bald on Saturday, the 7th lust.,
the following gentlemen were elected members of the col-
lege :—The Rev. J. A. Enunertoo, D.D., ; me. C.
0. K. Gillespie, Weston.grove School, Bath ; the Rev. W.
F. Greenfield, M.A., Dulwich Gollege ; Mr. D. Nesmith,
Worland-square ; the Rev. W. J. Pickard, The College,
Culham • Mr. T. B. Smith, People's Coll Nottingham ;
Mr. J. Thomas, ; Mr. J. G. Thompeoo, Nun-
bead, Peckham.
TERMINATION OF TER SIMILE OF TIM LONDON
MASONB.-With the clone of the current week will termi-
nate this long-protracted struggle, which bee now :leen
carried on sines Muck, 1161, a period of 13 months. The
precise terms upon whisk the struggle his been brought to
en end will not he mode public amid after a special general
meeting of the masse' Society, to be bald in the early part
of this week, when the toms will be submitted for the
approval of the members. The terms of settlemeot, how-
ever, are stated to be each as, while not compromising the
itteerd. principles of the society, inasmuch sa they recognise •
meg. (gods n r,tre In ...yews of sin j maximum number of hews as • day's tradt and extra Psi:
as resent sr chronic diseases —4s. ed. per bottle, by I Meat for overtime, will be mitleitbed by than employeelea sta. Jesuits, Wench Chemist. M Haymarket, 'Lw.W. have adopted the hour system.

Saturday is the day devoted to the season ticket
holders and others of the wealthier classes who go
Ito the Exhibition more to be seen than to see. For
this high and useful object of human ambition the I
nave offers comparatively insufficient facilities in
consequence of the obstinacy of the proprietors of
some of the most obstructive of the trophies, who
still refuse to give up possession of their ob-
noxiously prominent positions. Now, as the pri-
vilege of erecting these nuisances—obtained nobody
knows how—was obviously sought for trading and
speculative purposes, we would put it to the pro-
prietors whether their object is best served by per-
sisting in a course which continually subjects them
to grumblings and complaints from the prome-
naders whose progress they so grievously obstruct.
From the experience of a daily visit to the Exhibi-
tion we can state that very few persons stop to look
at any of these " trophies," that everybody who
passes wishes them out of his way, and that the gene-
ral feeling of the public is that an egregious blunder
in' taste and power of arrangement was committed in
permitting their erection. The Oommissioners have
din* everything in their petrelteak/4e evil, ifid
Mr. Cole, who was called In at the eleventh hour,
achieved wonders in retrieving the blenders of pre-
vious months, but faille cons;deiable number of ob-
structions disfigure and block up the nave, and the
consequence is, that on Saturdays the dome platforms
are inconveniently crowded, they being the only
places where gay toilettes can be seen to advantage,
either iu motion or in repose. Another reason
which makes the platforms favourite trysail placed
is that they are, in the majority of cases, chosen
for the musical performances, and this so crowds
them that, in the eastern one, the effect of the beauti-
ful Majolica fountain is only perceptible in the per-
fumed spray that falls upon the company.
Every day still adds some new attraction to the
collection in the arrangement of an additional
contribution in some particular department.
In the tranaept opposite the 'Victoria Court,
we observed on Saturday a numerous cordon of
spectators attentively watching an operation,
which must have an interest for every one
so long as " The accursed thirst of gold "
maintains its place in the catalogue of human
weaknesses. Au octagonal case of mahogany, with
glass counters round the base, had been erected,
and in this some colonial Crcesus was busy de-
positing the contents of a number of little bags with
great care and precaution. They were so many speci-
mens in dust of the gold of Australia, and, insigni-
ficant as they looked in bulk, were each worth
about 121. sterling—seeing that each contained over
three ounces of the purest Australian gold. The
precious dust was carefully poured into glass vessels
prepared for the purpose, being closed in at the
top, so that the goods might be inspected without
any dangerto their security. It was curious to ob-
serve in this case the variety of oolour and quality
that is to be found in different specimeus of
gold, every " digging" having, it appears,
its peculiarities, which can be at once de-
tected by the experienced in such matters.
Every specimen in this case exhibits some slight
difference to its neighbour ; and if the visitor, hav-
ing carefully inspected them all, strolls to the other
end of the building, to the American department,
Mr. Seavy will show him a specimen of the finest
Californian quartz, the contribution of a lady,
through which the richest and finest coloured ore
may be seen bursting out in profusion. Although
small, this specimen is perfect of its kind, and con-
tains more of the pure metal than a ton of the ordi-
nary quartz. In the nave the breed of Swiss piping
bulihuches seems to increase in a ratio commensu-
rate with their popularity. One of the exhibitors
produced a striking novelty in this ingenious branch
of the horologer's art. It was a little cage of
golden wire, and upon the perch within hopped two
beautiful birds, which fluttered and sang in a man-
ner so natural and obliging as to throw the ladies
into ecstasies. In front of the drawer of the cage
was a clock face, so that this beautiful toy, the
price of which is only 1604, is contrived to combine
the useful with the ornamental. People are very
much puzzled to learn how the intricate machinery
necessary to make these birds sing is got into bodies
not larger than a moderate.sized bean ; but the
truth is that the machinery is not there at all, but
in the box underneath, the music being conveyed
through slender pipes to the bird's bill, and the
wires which Cause the wings to flutter are also
worked by springs underneath. There is therefore
no unfathomable mystery iu these pretty toys after
all, so that even if that obstinate family to which
e have before alluded should persist in their
determination of having their secret buried with
them, the world may still hope to find one or two
artists able to keep it supplied with a sufficient
number of mechanical bullfinches.

The Princess Alice, accompanied by the Prince
of Herne and the junior ladies of the royal family,
paid au early visit to the Machinery Court, where
Mr. Clarke, the superintendent, had the ho-
nour of explaining the peculiarities of its
varied contents to the illustrious party. The
beautiful marine engines, the exquisitely con-
structed models, and the cotton machinery,
were all in their taro examined and admired,
and—what the public will also be glad to learn—the
royal visitors escaped comparatively free from
annoyance during their progress. Another royal
visit, and a very interesting one, was that of the
venerable Queen Ani4lie' who, at a later hour,
was wheeled through the building in a bath chair,
pushed by her two sons, and wee attended by two
or three young ladies—one of them of great per-
sonal attractions. The aged Queen was re-
ceived everywhere with great respect, the com-
pany making way for the passage of her chair,
the men uncovering, and the ladies saluting as the
cortege passed along. Her Majesty gave the Eng-
lish hardware courts a lengthened inspection, pro-
bably in consequence of the number of ecclesiastical
ornaments and furniture exhibited.

Prominent amongst the topics of conversation in
the promenade was the extraordinary success of
the soiree of the previous evening, which was pro-
nounced to have been a model fit to serve for all
the future soirees of this soiree giving season. The
profuse and elegant hospitality of Earl
Granville and the Royal Commissioners was
universally praised ; and, as the admirable
table arrangements, by which nearly 4,000 indi-
viduals were abundantly supplied with the most
costly delicacies, were also the theme of general
oomnieudation, it is only justice to a deserving in-
dividual to state that their entire responsibility
rested on Mr. Holden, the earl's steward, who on
this occasion proved himself to be a most admirable
commissary-general. The great result of the fete
is that the idea of • soiree being the dullest of all
possible entertainments is now entirely exploded,
and people have learnt that in an appropriate
place, such as the Kensington Museum, with urbane
and courteous boats such as Earl Granville and Sir
Wentworth Dilke, who did the honours, and with
a liberal hospitality, the soiree may give pleasure to
many thousand guests at a time when London is so
filled with strangers from &Mends, and when we are
bound to redeem the national character from the
charges of exclusiveness and seclusiveness which
have so long been alleged against it.
A very considerable number of Saturday's
visitors adjourned to the Horticultural Gardens
to have • look at M. Durenne's fine fountains,
which have quite a Versailles look about them,
and which were set playing for the first
time. They were much praised, and there was a
general wish expressed that M. Durenne could
be induced to take the melancholy case of
Trafalgar-square in hand and relieve the
" finest site in Europe," from its present