The Press.
London, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

4 rtlant.

THE TRIAL OF STOLLEN for the murder of Mr.
Little commenced yesterday in Dublin. A strong
belief is said to exist in Dublin that the prisoner
will be acquitted.
FATHER CONWAY, about to be prosecuted for his
conduct a► the Mayo election, has addressed a
vigorous letter to Lord Palmerston upon the noble
lord's remarks in supporting Mr. Scholefield's motion.
The rev. father prophesies the failure. of this effort
" to crush the spirit which has defied persecution and
withstood the assaults of political and religious hate,"
and concludes :

If you deem it politic, my lord, to increase my influence
with the people, you are certainly adopting the proper
course; but if by this means you design to stifle opinion,
and remove all obstructions to your policy of fettering.the
Irish Church, and giving a clear stage to your corrupt poli-
tical agents, you had better be undeceived. My lord, the
day is passed in Mayo when unprincipled place.beggirs and
pliant politicians,•the mercenary tools of an unscrupulous
Minister, could find popular support.
DR. CCLLEN has issued a pastoral principally
devoted to attacks upon the system of " mixed educa-
tion," and upon the Divorce Bill now under dis-
cussion.

A DkRLNG HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND AN ATTEMPT AT
MURDER was effected near Clonmel the other even-
ing upon the person of Captain Inman, paymaster of
the pensioners. The gallant oU.cer, though severely
wounded with slug-shot, escaped with his life.

THE SELECT COMMITTEE of the House of Commons,
appointed to consider the case of M. Bertolacci and
the Duchy of Lancaster, has reported that the case
of M. Bertolacci, as developed by the evidence
adduced before them, does not appear to require the?
interference of the house. They opine, at the same
time, that the presentation of the recent petition
should not prejudice the present position or future-
prospects of M. Bertolacci, still less derogate from
former claims, for the committee think that through..
out, even when most clearly in error, M. Bertolacci
acted bona fide according to his deeply seated and
sincere conviction that in his person the privileges
of the office of auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster
had been infringed. M. Bertolacci is not satisfied
with the report, and writes to the papers to say that
the affair shall " not end here." •

MR. ROUPEI.T.. M.P., was entertained by his sup-
porters at a pubic dinner at the Surrey-gardens, an
Wednesday, in order to commemorate his triumph
over the recent " election petitioners."

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A Portion of the Journal kept by Thomas
Raikes, Esq. Vols. 111. and IV. London :
Longmans.
THESE concluding volumes of Mr. Raikes's
diary are much better than their predecessors.
Their matter is more valuable and solid, and,
being nearer to our own times (1831 to 1847),
their anecdotes have not been anticipated.
We get in them some near glimpses of the
Duke of Wellington. and authentic details of
his daily life at Walmer, and elsewhere. Some
peeps at Court life are also given us, and Mr.
Charles Greville's letters are repeatedly drawn
upon for illustrative gossip. There are many
portions of this diary which well deserve the
historian's notice, and the two volumes are
readable, various, and entertaining.
Wo feel ourselves scarcely called upon to
estimate their critical value. Mr. Raikes was
not a man of depth or originality ; he was a
sensible, conventional sort of person, and
was much of a proser. He lived in the best
society, and he was in the great world, if not
of it. Much of his tattle was ponderous ; none
of his reflections are profound : his style is
essentially commonplace. The fact of an Eng-
lish gentleman of his connections and position
choosing to keep a diary, with a view to publica-
tion, gives his ana a Boswellian kind of in-
terest. For ourselves we do not think it fair
in any man to keep a diary of what he hears
and sees, in order that his executors may pub-
lish it before he is cold in the tomb. Would
any of our readers like that a literary reporter
should be admitted to their tables, and, after
enjoying their hospitality, would they be
pleased at being told that before he went to
bed he jotted down what he heard and saw?
We think that the practice is not an honour-
able ono. It was introduced on a great scale
by the Americana, and we all cried out against
its impertinence and vulgarity. The literary
profession, we believe, hold a strong opinion
on the gross impropriety of Thomas Moore
putting down in black and white the conversa-
tions that he heard. We do not think that the
memory of Mr. Raikes should in this respect
be allowed to pass free from censure. Dirties
of the kind before us ought not to be published
for many years, if at all ; and their writers
would do better if their matter had been used
in a narrative form, and given to the world
during their lives.
" I trust," says Mr. Raikes, " that if this
" journal should ever meet the public eye, it
" may be allowed to have more claim to veracity
" than Wraxall's Memoirs " We concede that
claim ; but Mr. Raikes had not even as much
literary talent as Wraxall. He cannot pro.
duce pictures, or mass details together effec-
tively. His style is curt, and his omissions,
on points where we might expect full informa-
tion, are numerous. His circle was limited,
though a high one, and his coil espondents
were not facile at the pen. He has not the
least pretensions to Walpolian laurels. He
was a gossip about our own times, and we
must take him as he was.
We shall proceed to select a few charac-
teristic passages from these volumes, which
are certainly most readable We shall com-
mence with the Court. Under date of Feb-
ruary, 1838, Mr. Raikes records (he was then
living at Paris),—" All accounts from England
" corroborate each other as to the extraordi-
" nary firmness and decision of character
" shown by the youne. Queen, and testify to
the singular command she must have exer-
" eised until she came of age " (vol. iii. p. 241)
Af.er describing how firmly her Majesty
adhered to the Whigs, the diarist then pro-
ceeds to narrate how Sir R. Peel began to have
influence over her
am glad to learn from the beat authority that Sir R.
Peel begins to feel that he is gradually gaining influence
with the Queen; and her manner is certainly become far
more gracious towards him than could have been expected
from the untoward circumstances under which he has been
presented to her notice. lie describes her as endowed
with considerable abilities, and not only in a wonderful
manner become conversant with Stare affairs, but also as
taking an all-absorbing interest in them. When a mes-
senger's box is brought down to Wind :or, her countenance,
which is naturally serious, brightens up immediately
She reads all the despatches, makes her ex:n=las, and t,