The Express.
London, England, 1863-05-20 00:00:00

NATIONAL TEMPERANCE LEAGUE.

The annual meeting of this society was held
last night in Exeter Hall, which wee well filled. The
chair was taken by the president, Mr. Samuel Bowly.
Tweedie, one of the honorary secretaries, reed an abstract
of the annual report, which commenced toy referring to the
special efforts that had been made to promote temperance
during the International Exhibition. These included three
meetings in Exeter Hall, one at the Crystal Palace, at-
tended by about 20,000 persons : one at 8 Chapel,
one at the Lecture-hall of she Young Men's nChr tian As-
iodation, • ministerial conference at the London Coffee-
house, attended by 80 clergymen and ministers; a medical
confereoos at the residence of the treasurer, S. Gur-
ney, Eq., M.P. ; a breakfast to foreign members of
the Social Science Association, a Band of Hope
conversaxone at the Freemasons' Hall, a temperance con-
gress, extending over three days, at which 45 papers were
read and discussed, and 50 sermoos by milliners in town
and country. The report stated that the metal operations
of the League during the year included 820 addresses by
honorary deputations, 680 lectures by agents ; and a mis-
sion to sailors, in connection with which 4,826 visite had
been paid to vessels in the port of Loudon ; 88 meetings bad
been held on board ship, sad 128 elsewhere • and 2,457
temperance and religious puhheetiWts had been sold to
sailors ; of which 301 were copies of the awed Scriptures.

THE RILPRESENTATION or 7115 CITY OF LONDON.
—A preliminary meeting of several of the influential and
active members of the liberal party in the City was held
yesterday eiteruoon, to take into consideration the vacancy
in the representation canoed by the sudden and lamentable
death of Mr. Western Wood. It was stated that up to
that time the conservatives had not been able to induce any
member of their party likely to dead a chance of election
to come forward, and under those circumstances it was
deemed only a fitting mark of respect to the late member
for the liberals to abstain from any public action natal the
end of the present week, when a general meeting of the
liberal committees will be convened. The names of several
gentlemen, however, were canvassed to propose to that
meeting, but those of Mr. Kirkman liodgeoe, the Governor
of the Bank of England, Mr. Samuel Mmley, and Mr.
Ingram Travers were mad in favour. In the course of
the diecurwion it appeared that the state of Mr. Travera's
health would preclude him from coming forward, and the
elides seemed to be limited to the two first named gentle-
men, but any decision was left to the general meeting. Mr.
Hodgson stated he was entirely in the hands of the liberal
party. If the choice fell upon him as • candidate, he must
consider the propriety of resigning his seat for Bridport, to
give the electors of London the opportunity of electing him
if they thought fit to do so. Both Mr. Hodgson and Mr.
Morley are thorough-going liberate, and both have claims
on the electors of the City. In the event of Mr. Hodgson
vacating his seat for Bridport, it was stated to be the inten-
tics of Mr. en-Sheriff Lusk to solicit the suffrage of the
elsetors of that borough.
PURE LITERATTRE SOCIRTY.—A soiree of the
members sad Merida of this society was held last night at
Willies Rooms. The attesdanoe was numerous, and among
those presort were the Earl of Shaftesbury, Countess of
Castle-Stuart, Lord Charles and lady Rural, Lord and
Lad y Raleigh, Lady K Stuart, Lady Bryant, the Bishop of
St. Asaph, the Bishop of Mauritius, Sir F. Crossley, Hon. 1
A. Kinnaird. Y.P., Hon. Yrs. Lefroy, Admiral and Mrs.
Harcourt, Colonel Smithy, Major Montague, Major and
Mn. Wilmot Brooke, and others. The object for which the
Pure Literature Society) has been formed, under the pro-
of the Earl of is to facilitate the diffu-
don bout the country of literature of a moral and
unexceptionable character. Upward. of 2,000 volumes
of various works already selected by the society were dis-
played in the room, as well as • large number of engravings.
The work to which the greatest interest attached was a
copy of the Illustrated Family Bible jpst
.published by
Misers Cowell, Patter, and Gelpspnu,, which is to be pre-
sented by the society to the Feiner of Wales. The
volume is superbly bound in Levant blue morocco, orna-
mented with gold in the Hazlet= style, inlaid in various
coloured moroocce, after the style of a volume belonging to
Charles 11. pow in the library at Crewe-hall. In the centre
of each side of the cover the arms of the Prince, of Wales
are emblazoired. A copy of the lame work, also elegantly
boned, iirzisitzsbet.ioted by
o, the society to its president, the
Earl of who, in an appropriate address, es-
crowed his gratef 'thanks to the society for this mark of
their respect sad esteem. The meeting was addroeled in
the course of the evening by the Bishop of St. Aeaph,
Lord Chaska Barrel, the linkup of Mauritius, arid the
Hoe. Mr. Kinsaird, M.P.

Thu SUNDAY CLOSING MOVENIDIT.-012 Monday
evening a public meeting was held in St. Georgerhall,
Liverpool, to bear the mulls of a general mums of the
householders of the town as to the advisability of closing
publie-bousee arid beer-bones on the Sunday. Mr. T. B.
Horde% M.P., presided. From some elaborate statistics
read at the meeting it appeared that there were about
74330 bones in the borough, of which 67,000 are inhabited.
From the returned forms sent to each householder it
appeared that 44,149 were in favour of a total closing on
Sundays, 3,380 against Sunday closing. 6,417 for closing
except foe two hoary, and 6,380 nentral.—Last evening a
public meetiog was held in the lower room, Exeter-hall, to
petition parliament in favour of Mr. Soma's bill for closing
publis-lionsea Os Sundays.