The Press.
London, England, 1856-06-14 00:00:00

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562 THE PRESS. SATURDAY,
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whole arena of the building, it is evident that the animals
gaffer for want of air. In walking through the Exhibition
this morning I observed a very large proportion of them
foaming at the mouth, looking ill about the eyes, and lying
down in a state of manifest distress. Some of the owners
feel very uneasy about their property. The regulations
make it almost impossible for them to take an animal away
before the end of the exhibition. Several of the prize
cattle are wrapped up in blankets, and their keepers may
be seen administering medicines to them.

of our nation; that in one case as in the other we
may prove ourselves stedfast, energetic, prudent,
sagacious, and wisely daring."
THE MERCANTILE LAW AMENDMENT BILL was
discussed at an influential meeting of merchants and
bankers held on Wednesday, at the London Tavern,
when a decided opposition to the bill was mani-
fested. Mr. Weguelin, Governor of the Bank, was
called to the chair, in the absence of Baron Roths-
child, and briefly stated that the object of the bill
was to effect an entire change in the existing law of
contracts by abolishing the 17th section of the
Statute of Frauds, which required contracts for the
sale of goods above a certain amount to be in
writing. Mr. Weguelin said that the bill by abolish-
ing this section did away with the protection the
commercial community had hitherto enjoyed of not
being bound by any contracts unless iu writing be-
tween and signed by the parties contracting. Mr.
T. Baring, M.P., said that the bill was an innovation
the commercial community had never asked for it,
and did not want it; and he believed the opinions of
mercantile men would greatly preponderate against
the bill. Mr. J. P. Gassiot opposed the bill, on the
ground that it would lead to endless litigation. Mr.
Hubbard thought the conduct of the Government
most unjustifiable. The entire mercantile evidence
given before the committee was opposed to the bill,
and yet the Government insisted on pushing it
through. The bill might fit Manchester or Glasgow,
where the merchants were few and known to each
other; but in London or Liverpool its effect would
be to cause the utmost insecurity. Several resolu
tions were passed, and a committee appointed to
oppose the bill.

THE Loan MAYOR gave a grand banquet on Wed-
nesday evening to the members of the various lite-
rary and learned societies. Among the numerous
toasts given by the Lord Mayor were, "The Pro-
fessors of Medicine and Surgery," to which Dr.
Paris and Sir B. Brodie responded ; " The Royal
Society of Engineers and Mr. Gregory," one of its
members; "The Literature of the Country," acknow-
ledged by Mr. Helps ; " The Arts, Architecture, and
Sculpture," coupled with the names of Professor
Cockerill, Sir Charles Barry, and Mr. Tite, M.P.;
and "The Daily and Periodical Press," to which Mr.
John Forster responded.
THE MERCHANT TAILORS' &nom. annual election
of Fellows to St. John's, Oxford, took place on
Wednesday. Speeches were delivered in Latin,
Greek, and French, and after the scholars were dis-
missed the usual banquet was held at Merchant
Tailors' Hall. Sir John Burgoyne, Sir Edmund
Lyons, and Lord John Russell were present, and
returned thanks for the Army, Navy, and Common../
The noble lord in his speech alluded to the Constitu-
tion as the machine best adapted to secure the
" freeedom and happiness of man."
THE CITY MILITIA were disembodied on Thursday.
The men were much dissatisfied at not receiving a
gratuity of fourteen days' pay, to enable them to
purchase clothing.