The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-27 00:00:00

,curt ano

Her Majesty the Queen held a drawing•room on
Tuesday, and on Wednesday gave a state ball at
Buckingham Palace.
The Archduke Maximilian of Austria, after attend-
ing the state ball, took leave of her Majesty, 'and
quitted Buckingham Palace about three o'clock on
Thursday morning, attend'd by Count %Achy, Count
Hadik, Baron de Pent, Baron Bruck, Captain A.
Wissiack, and Dr. Trogner. His Imperial Highness
and suite were conveyed in three of the Queen's
carriages and four to Woolwich, and embarked on
the Black Eagle, which conveyed the Archduke to
his own steamer off Sheerness. His Imperial High-
ness proceeded to Antwerp.
The Duke and Duchess de Montpensier have
arrived at Claremont.

The Right Hon. B. Disraeli and Mrs. Disraeli were
prevented by domestic affliction from attending her
Majesty's state ball on Wednesday.

Volitual.

CABINET COUNCII 8 were held upon Saturday and
Wednesday last, and attended by all the Cabinet
Ministers. _ _ .

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN held a Court of Privy
Council at Buckingham Palace on Thursday to pass
an order for publishing a Letter Patent, by which
the Queen grants to Prince Albert the Royal title and
precedence of " Prince Consort " during their joint
lives.

THE ELECTION COMITTEES for Mayo, Cambridge
(borough), and Rochdale, met on Thursday and
Friday, and proceeded to business. Mr. Sholefield,
chairman, Sir J. Hanmer, Colonel North, Mr. Puller,
and Mr. G. Tomline, for the committee on the Mayo
petition. Mr. E. James, in opening the case for
Colonel Higgins, said he had to make a charge of
organised conspiracy on the part of certain priests in
the county of Mayo, of which conspiracy Dr. M‘Hale,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tram, was the head,
to prevent by violence and intimidation a number of
persona from voting for Colonel Higgins, and compel
them to vote for Mr. Moore. He should show that
voters had been taken to the houses of the priests
and sworn on the Bible to vote for Mr. Moore. Mr.
James then entered at great length into details, and
stated that the priests, Peter Conway, chaplain to
Dr. M'Hale, and Mr. Joyce, headed mobs, attacked
Colonel Higgins's voters, locked them up, or drove
them off, thus preventing them from coming to the
poll. Seditious placards were published, threatening
all who voted for Colonel Higgins with the " curse of
God;" while Conway himself, on one occasion, went
, on his knees before a body of Colonel Higgins's
voters and said, "My curse, as a priest, and that of
i the Church of the people, be upon you seven times,
lif you vote for Colonel Higgins." Mr. David Rutley,
va city magistrate, corroborated these statements, and
'the committee adjourned until Friday, when several
twitnesses were examined in support of the charge.
iMr. Joseph Burke corroborated Mr. Rutley's evidence
in the main, but said in reply to Sir J. Hanmer,
"He was not aware of his own knowledge that any
supporter of Colonel Higgins had been prevented
from voting by reason of violence or intimidation."
The Cambridge Committee appointed to try the
matter of the petition complaining of the return of
Mr. Steuart consists of Mr. Deasy (chairman), the
Marquis of Blandford, Mr. E. Lockhart, Lord Mel-
gund, and Mr. Wyvill. Mr. Power opened the case,
and observed that the election was won by a majority
of six only, and it would be shown that nine voters
who polled for Mr. Steuart had their travelling ex-
penses paid. Now, even a promise to pay a voter
his travelling expenses, on condition that he gave
his vote in a particular way, constituted bribery
within the mearing of the Act of Parliament. Mr.
Foster, the election auditor, produced the bills of the
election agents. Mr. Barlow was then called, and
stated that he was agent to Mr. Steuart, and that in
paying travelling expenses be had acted under the
dvice of counsel, and taken every precaution not to
pay a farthing more than the actual money expended.
-The messengers employed were hardly sufficient, in