The Press.
London, England, 1858-01-02 00:00:00

THE PRESS, JANUARY 2, 1858.

The candidate will be examined by a medical officer to
ascertain that he is in every point of view, as regards his
physical constitution, fit for military service.
The following will be the subjects in which examination
papers will he set, and the number of marks assigned to
each, viz.:

Marks.

Classics (Latin 2,000, Greek 1,600) .. .. 3,600
Mathematics .. 3,1300
English language 1,200
French 1,200
Any other modern language 1,200
History, with Geography 1;200
Natural Sciences—i.e., mineralogy and geology 600
Experimental Sciences—i.e., chemistry, heat,
electricity, including magnetism .. .. 600
Drawing.. 500
In mathematics the following elementary branches will
be required to be taken up, viz.
Arithmetic, including vulgar and decimal fractions;
proportion, extraction of the square root, interest.
Algebra, including fractions, simple equations, and
questions producing them.
Euclid, the first two books.
To these two branches 1,200 marks (out of the above
3,690 marks for mathematics) will he allotted, and it will
be necessary for qualification that at least 600 marks in all
he obtained.
In the English language 400 marks will be assigned to
correct and legible writing from dictation and to composi-
tion, and of these it will be required that at least 200 shall
be obtained for qualification.
In the French language 400 marks will be allotted to
correct reading and translation from an easy French author,
and of these at least 200 will be required for qualification.
In history (with geography) 400 marks will be allotted
to that of England with its dependencies, of which 200
will be required for qualification.
And, in addition to the number of marks just stated
as indispensable for qualification in the required portions
of mathematics, English, French, anti history, it will be
necessary that the candidate shall obtain such a number
in these and the remaining subjects above enumerated as
shall raise his total number to 2.400 marks.

No marks will be allowed to count in any subject left
optional to the candidate, unless at least one•fifth of the
marks allotted to that subject be gained.
The candidate will be required to forward to the Council
of Military Education one month before the examination
a statenieut of the subjects he desires to take np, in which
he will specify the names of the classical authors he has
studied, and the course of history he has been reading.

The competitors will be reported to the Commander-in-
Chief in their order of merit, and those first on the list
will succeed to the vacancies at the college.
By command,
G. A. WETHERALL, Adjutant-General.

THE STAFF COLLEGE.
Horse Guards, Dec. 29.
Notice is hereby given that the competitive examina-
tions fir admission to the Staff College will be held at
Barlington•house, Piccadilly, on the Ist of February, 1858.

THE PENSION for distinguished service, rendered
vacant by the appointment of Sir Henry Havelock to
the colonelcy of the 3rd Buffs, has been conferred
by his Royal Highness the General Commanding in
Chief on Colonel Englis, of the 32nd Regiment, who
so gallantly and succeqsfally prolonged the defence
of the Residency of Lucknow.

SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES IN
WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
A ME3foRIAL having been recently addressed by a
few lay members of the Church to the Dean and
Chapter of Westminster, relative to the proposed
opening of the Abbey for Sunday evening services,
the subjoined reply, which has been received from
the Dean, has been forwarded to a contemporary
for publication :
Deanery, Westminster, Dec. 4.
My dear —, I received the memorial with which you
favoured me yesterday, and, as a meeting of Chapter was
just about to be held, mainly with a view of considering
the very subject on which the memorial turned, I lost no
time in laying it before that body.
It is very pleasant to us to pat the step which we are
about to take in connection with a communication from
members of our Church whom we honour so highly ; and,
knowing the deep interest which yourselves and others of
her most attached lay members have taken in the subject,
I am sure yon will learn with pleasure that we have re-
solved to make the experiment of opening the Abbey for
a Sunday evening service for six months, beginning with
the first Sunday of the new year; and should this step
proluce all or nearly all the good results which its more
ardent promoters anticipate, there is no need, and little
likelihood, that it will remain an experiment.
We have desired, however, to put it upon this footing,
because we cannot but feel that there are some difficul-
ties needing to be overcome, and inconveniences to be
averted, which have not always been taken into account
by those who, in the nature of things, must be less fami-
liarly acquainted with these than we are.
Thus, when this very question of making the Abbey
" more available for the great Christian ordinance of preach-
ing God's Word to the people " was formally considered by
the Chapter in the summer of this year, it was then deter-
mined that the Abbey should be opened for a Sunday even-
ing service during the summer months of next year, and
the resolution would have been carded into effect quite
irrespective of any of the events which have since hap-
pened, and which have now led Its to begin this work in
mid winter. But we then felt, and we still feel, that. it

11

numbers come together as large as some anticipate, incon-
veniences may arise from the gathering of these maws at
night in the Abbey, while, at the same time, we are ex-
posed to possible danger from quite another quarter, for we
cannot be sure that the great cold of the winter may not
interfere seriously with the work and give an air of failure
to it, which it would not have worn had we begun our
services at a later and more genial season of the year.
But, having said this much, let me add that, now this
course is determined on, no exertions shall be wanting on
our part, by all prudent arrangements, to avert these pos—
sible dangers.

But lei me say further, as explaining the hesitation
which we have felt in complying with the known wishes of
many among our best friends, that there are already seven
churches in Westminster proper open for evening service
every Sunday in the year; in fact, every church in the
parishes of St. Margaret's and St. John's. The Chapter
have always felt that they were best meeting the spiritual
needs of this neighbourhood by assisting and setting for-
ward the multiplication of these, and during the last
twenty-seven years ( I may speak the more freely of
this as having myself had no share in it) they have con-
tributed the sum of 23,3511., toward churches, schools,
and parsonages in these parishes. They would now cer•
tainly see with regret any large portion of the Sunday
evening congregation in the Abbey drawn by the attrac-
tions of novelty, by a great variety of preachers, or by any
other cause, from the ordinary ministrations of their
parish churches to assemble there; and would count it
but little gain if, instead of gathering in many who were
hitherto strangers to the services of the church, they
should be merely inducing churchgoers to exchange one
church for another.

While I am thus recounting the reasons for hesitation
which have influenced us hitherto, I must not leave out of
sight that the fact of an additional service will prove a
severe strain on the whole body of functionaries (I speak
not of ourselves) engaged in the Abbey. There aro
already three services on Sunday, as on every day. On
Sunday, the early Communion, a morning service, and an
afternoon, to which when a fourth is added many of them
will be engaged, with the very briefest intermission, for
thirteen hours in the day ; while the work is so special
that it is nearly impossibie to put others in part in their
room.

Let me lastly men' a that. r full deliberation, we
have determined to .hi the ,o enices in the nave—yet
not because, as <-.• ..iany t, .J for granted, more room is
there to be tonna than in the choir and the transepts.
On the contrary, these will contain—and continually do
contain, both on the Sunday morning and afternoon—
more than 4,000 worshippers, which is considerably more
than the nave will accommodate. Still, the nave possesses

advantages in bringing the whole congregation more to-
gether—more under the eye of the preacher—above all,
in offering no preference seats, but all equal for all, and
equally open to all, which has seemed to us too great to
forego.
It is our earnest desire and prayer that God may pro-
sper this work to the fulfilling of the largest expectations
of those who hope from it the most. We are already ad-
dressing ourselves heartily to the carrying out of the neces-
sary arrangements.
Believe me, my dear —, very faithfully yours,
R. C. TRENCH.

We have reason to believe that the following will
be found to he a correct list of the preachers at
these services during the month of January :—The
first sermon, on the 3rd of January, will be preached
by the Dean of Westminster; the second, on the
10th, by the sub Dean; the third, on the 17th, by
the Bishop of Oxford; the fourth, on the 24th, by
the Dean of Canterbury; and the fifth, on the 31st,
by the Rev. C. J. P. Eyre.
Workmen are still employed in adapting the nave
of the Abbey to the purposes of popular worship.
The only entrance to the seven o'clock service will be
by the western door, between the two towers from
Broad Sanctuary. Within the gates a kind of lobby
is cAnstructing, with double doors, in order to ex-
clude draughts, and preserve as much as possibie an
equal temperature in the building. The gaspipes
are now laid on both sides of the nave. The
burners will be supported on standards of iron and
brass, each one rising from the ground midway be-
tween two piers. The stone floor will be covered with
cocoa-nut matting, and the seats will be chairs.

THE PURCHASE OE THE SOTLAGES COLLECTION
for public instruction is uow under consideration.
The Mayor of Birmingham, with the Mayor of Man-
chester, has invited the assistance of other corporate
authorities at the seats of manufacture in the mid-
land counties to induce the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer to purchase this collection, in order that it may
be made useful in improving decorative manufac-
tures in metals, pottery, glass, &c. A union of art
trades has also been formed in the metropolis, con-
sisting of most of the largest producers of decorative
manufactures, in order to bring the purchase before
Parliament as soon as it reassembles, and the Society
of Arts has allowed the meetings of this union to
take place in the Adelphi. Lord Granville, as
President of the Education Committee, ex-
pressed himself quite favourable to the purchase,
when a depntation of the Institute of British Archi-
tects waited upon him, so that the qne,dion now
remains wholly to he decided Uy the Chareellcr of
the Exchequer and LiTri l'Alitterston, doubtless
accordance with /subtle opinion,

12

THE WEEK.

IT is difficult, if not impossible, to take an accurate view of great
events when we are but barely before them. For an historical, as
well as an architectural perspective, a certain distance is required.
Hence compiled narratives, professing to be annual reviews, aro gene-
rally of no authority ; but their writers should avoid p ositiv.3 errors.
The retrospect for the year 1857, in the Times of Friday, teems with
misstatements and exaggerations. "It was known that an attack on
" the Ministry had been prepared before the disturbances at Canton
" were heard of." This assertion is entirely without proof. Not only
was the fact so stated positively denied by Lord Jolts RUSSELL, Mr.
GLADSTONE, Mr. COBDEN, and others, but there is circumstantial
evidence to prove the assertion so haz trded as being worse than an
idle invention. For if there was, directly or indirectly, any evidence
to prove the alleged combination, would it not long since have been
given to the world? Nor does this attempt at an historical summary
take proper cognisance of the " second thoughts " of the country in
returning Mr. BRIGHT, Mr. CARDWELL. Mr. litssos, Mr. Fox, and many
other independent members who had been excluded by the temporary
Palmerston delusion. Neither is any notice taken of the fact that an
appeal to the country had been carefully planned out beforehand, and
that Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY had been admitted to the Cabinet—an
appointment of great significance to the initiated. Neither
is there any notice taken of the fact that the Conservative
party did not upon the whole lose ground at the election. It gained
seats in twelve large towns, and its numerical loss at the borough elec-
tions was only four seats ; while any loss in counties (which reverted
to Whigs with vast territorial interests) was more than counter-
balanced by the large gain in Ireland. When these omissions and mis-
takes have been made in a review of our domestic politics, we could
not expect accuracy in a summary of the events of the fearful Indian
crisis. No notice is taken of the long warning given to the Govern-
ment about the state of India. Nothing is said of the efforts of Mr.
DISRAELI in 1853 to attract. the attention of Government to India, nor
of the solemn warnings of Sir CHARLES NAPIER, nor of Sir ERSKINE
PERRY'S motion in the House of Commons, and the way in which the
Cabinet cashiered all Indian discussions. It may be said that these
and many other solemn warnings occurred in other years, and should
not be tabulated in a review of 1857 ; but granting that, it should
never have been said " that since the Sicilian Vespers no calamity has
fallen on a nation with so little warning" (!)—a most extravagant asser-
tion—and in the instances of " supineness. Ste ," proper notice is not
taken of the neglect of the Government at home, and of the worse than
ridiculous way in which Mr. VERNON SMITH and other officials toyed
with an immense crisis. Such reviews, in which facts are mangled
and events are overlooked, can serve no real utility.
The Indian drama is far from being closed, and we have still to con-
sider the consequences of what is now being transacted at Calcutta
and elsewhere in India. Briefly, we may say that 1857 will long be
memorable in English annals as the year of the most tremendous
military mutiny we ever encountered. There was much to blame in
the conduct of many of our officials at home and in India, but emer-
gencies brought forth the resources of our race, and the calamities of
the empire were almost compensated for by the sublime endurance of
men and women of English blood, and by some admirable military
exploits which rivalled the brightest deeds of CLIVE and WELLESLEY.
British courage upheld an empire jeopardised by the culpable apathy
of ajobbing electioneering Cabinet at home. But the retrospect of
the year should teach the country a serious lesson on the danger of
trusting to a Cabinet which is neither Conservative nor Liberal—which
wants a policy, while it has only the precarious support of a party in
constant fluctuation.

The Calcutta mail has rather rudely shaken the pleasant illusions
in which we were told to indulge last week. True it is that one part
of Lucknow is at last relieved, but Lucknow itself is not yet captured,
nor even occupied ; and the chances at present would appear to he
rather against than in favour of Sir COLIN CAMPBELL, for there are two
facts broadly stated in the intelligence received from Calcutta which
are eminently unsatisfactory. We are told that Sir COLIN has urgently
demanded reinforcements, and requested orders as to whether he
shall retain or evacuate his position. The request for reinforcements
was to be expected. Sir Col.'s, as we anticipated, at the head of a
very inconsiderable force, something under 5,000 men, entered that
hornet's nest of rebels at Lucknow. He reaches the Residency, and
finding that he can do nothing more without incuning greater risk than
it was advisable to encounter, asks for immediate reinforcements to
enable him to complete the capture or demolition of Lucknow. But
why, if his position be secure, should he ask for orders to retain or
evacuate that position? Upon the face of it, it looks as if Sir COLIN,
unwilling to be caught in the trap which so successfully shut up
0 UTRAM and HAVE LOCK, had intimated to the Government of Calcutta
the necessity of a retreat unless reinforcements speedily reached him.
If such a step be taken, though it be only reculer pone
mieux muter, the effect will be disastrous to us througuout
not only Oude, but the whole of India. The fall of Delhi, doubted
yet by the natives, will be incredible to them then. Tho fidelity of
the Sikhs will be shaken, for native allies are ever of little value in a
retreat.; and before a fortnight has passed we may expect to hear that

once more the flame of rebellion has enveloped thewholeof Southern
l3engal. T
here are present symptoms of mischief in every town from
Calcutta to Cawnpore, as if in anticipation of some disaster to us in
Oude. It is painful to reflect, when so much blood has been shed to
reach the nest of these rebels, that after all these battles and
butcheries we may have to evacuate the position and. once more have
the work to do over again. It is worse—it is dispiriting to our troops
and destructive of our prestige. There is only one way by which such
a step can be averted—by the arrival of immediate reinforcements to
the aid of Sir COLIN CAMPBELL. The telegram states that 1,300
troops left Cawnporo within the week after Sir COLIN had taken
the field. That may or may not be true ; but one thing
is certain, that whatever troops were en route to Lucknow,
they had not by the latest dates joined Sir COLIN at Lucknow,
or, if they had joined, were utterly insufficient for Sir
Cowes purposes. Ili one word, Sir COLIN CAMPBELL, there is
no concealing it, is in a very awkward position. He is not at the head
of 12,000 men ; he has not battered down Lucknow ; he is not able to
commence, much less undertake the conquest of Oude ; and he is
unable to keep open his communications with Cawnpore. We do no
say that he is hemmed in by the rebels. The rebels have had a sharp
taste of his artillery, and will keep out of the range of his guns ; but
then the rebels are numerous, they fight desperately behind cover,
they are active as panthers, and are beaten one day only to require
more beating the next. This sort of work wears out European troops.
Let them catch their foe in the open field, and they will give a good
account of him ; but guerilla warfare in the jungle, with mud
forts and villages, defended by some of the finest and coollest
shots in the world, to capture as well, is exhaustive work for a
small force. When Sir Com received OUTRAM'S request for 5,000
men and 12 guns, he is reported to have exclaimed that 50,000
men and 50 guns could only do the work effectually. His present
position appears to realise the sagacity of the observation. But is
it possible that reinforcements can speedily reach Sir Com:0
We have never had much continence in the means of transport at Cal-
cutta, and at last the great truth is acknowledged. There is no more
efficient carriage fur the army in November than there was in July.
What it was at that period we may judge from the fact related by one
of the Indian journals, that the sth Fusiliers, arriving at. Calcutta the
first week in July, were pushed up country with the greatest haste,
and reached Allababad the first week in September. It was the boast
of the Ministerial journals a few weeks since that the troops from
England had been arriving at Calcutta in large numbers. How is it
that we find none of them with Sir COLIN CAMPBELL? Even the whole of
the China force is not yet with Sir COLIN, and that force was despatched
from England in the spring of last year ! There is no river and but
very indifferent land transport for the army at Calcutta; and if
Sir Court depends upon receiving immediate and powerful rein•
foreements to carry out his plan of the campaign in all its
integrity, ucless they reach him from some other quarter than Cal-
cutta, we fear that we must not yet anticipate even the complete
occupation of Lucknow, let alone the subjugation of Oude, and the
suppression of the revolt in that province.

Filibusterism has as yet pursued its revival uninterruptedly.
WALKER has landed at Greytown with 200 desperadoes " armed to the
teeth," while Sir W. G. OOSELEY is settling the preliminaries of negotia-
tion at Washington. This question is in truth rapidly assuming very
serious proportions. If the authority of the President of the United
States is insufficient to check these lawless proceedings, who can
suppose that the interference of a breign plenipotentiary will be of
any avail? If British rights and British property are to be protected
in Central America, they must owe their security to something more
efficacious than the diplomacy of the present Cabinet. Anything like
a rupture with the United States would be deeply deplorable. But
our relations with that great empire stand on a peculiar footing.
Generations, perhaps centuries, must elapse before we can he to each
other what each aro to France, Austria, or Russia. As the quar-
rels of relations are proverbially the bitterest, so in our little dis-
' putes with the Americans there is always something rather felt than
expressed—a jealousy born of our propinquity which exacerbates the
difference. In the next place, we must remember.that America feels
towards us all that indefinable suspicion which a newly risen man i
too apt to feel towards his social superior. He perhaps himself would
be the first, if taxed with it, to acknowledge its groundlessness ; but
he cannot shake it off. Whatever you do he thinks you are giving
yourself airs, and this induces an excess of punctiliousness and irritad
bility which can only be prevented from b 'rating into an open conflagre.•
tion by the utmost delicacy and firmness combined. Lastly, it should be
remembered that America avowedly is not careful to abide by all the
niceties of international law which regulate the monarchies of Europe.
She is, within her own hemisphere, an aggressive power. She almost
openly nets on the principle so humorously described by Mr.
TH4.CKERAY. If you stamp your foot upon your neighbour's toes he
will remove them, and you put yours in his place. He will remon-
strate, but you will have gained your end. Again, in the vast extent of
her territory, and consequent feebleness of the Executive, she has
always an excuse for the ill-success of her efforts to prevent injuries
like the present. The situation is a very awkward one for this coun-
try, and demands all the diplomatic talent and all the moral courage
which England can muster to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. All we
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