The Press.
London, England, 1854-10-21 00:00:00

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land—the broad FREE PRESS of the EMPIRE—
should be appealed to for the help of an
army abandoned to eleemosynary aid by the
neglect of the Queen's Cabinet.
As to the actual necessity for this aid of
the wounded soldiers, the public have the
opinion of the eminent surgeon Mr. GUTHRIE.
He has had long military experience, and he
has said that the interference of the public
will be likely to produce mischief, though
under most benevolent intentions. There
might be squabbles as to the particular distri-
bution of the fund subscribed, and there would
very possibly be dissensions between the
Queen's officials and the newspaper almoner,
along with other unpleasant considerations
that we shall not describe. Her Majesty has
lately received a pert lecture in her brief and
dearly-earned respite of labour from the toils
Of the State; after that, it cannot certainly
be very wonderful that a Cabinet like the
present should consent to being ignomi-
niously superseded in the discharge of press-
ing duties by the censor of the Queen of
ENGLAND, now the self-elected almoner to her
Majesty's troops. Only think how such a
fact will be interpreted through Europe !
The richest country in the world to leave
its wounded soldiers to the care of a news-
paper staff!"

THE NEW IRISH MILITIA.
THE enrolment of the Irish militia is an im-
portant incident in the internal organisation
of our national defences. Only few of our
readers can recollect the circumstance of Irish
militia regiments doing duty in England, when
the English militia was sent to Ireland. From
the social intercourse thereby generated, good
effects resulted to the privates of both forces.
They saw more of the world, and, by changes
of scene and habits, learned to feel more
liberally to all their fellow-subjects. In the
formation of the Irish militia we do not an-
ticipate any difficulty. The new Militia Bill
offers considerable advantages to the recruits,
and there are great facilities for exchanging
into the line. We may remark, however, that
there must be changes in the present staff of
the Irish militia, as the commissions were
issued to the officers several years ago, and
more youthful men will be required. We are
happy to see that these necessary provisions
are being carried out ; and we trust that the
local magistrates will take due care that none
but carefully-approved characters be admitted
into the organisation of this valuable force.
With reasonable caution in the enrolment of
the rank and file, we are convinced that the
Irish militia will in no respects degenerate
from the gallant example left by several of the
Irish volunteer regiments in the last war.

THE EMPEROR or THE FRENCH received an auto-
graph letter from the I'rince Consort respecting the
death of Marshal St. Arnaud.
THE OLD NAVAL Cull, which was established in
1765,celebrate on the 21st inst. the victory of Trafalgar.
Those of the officers who survived that memorable
fight perpetuate its memory year by year by dining
together at the Thatched-house, St. James's, and on
this anniversary Earl Nelson has been invited by
the president to meet the companions of his heroic
ancestor.
Two of the most eminent foreign houses in the
City have been negotiating for English capitalists to
join in the lease of the Hungarian railways obtained
by the French company from the Emperor of Austria.
The management of those lines already finished, and
the construction of whatever lines the State approves
of, are included in the terms, which extend over a
period of ninety years, and for which a sum ap-
proaching twelve millions sterling is affirmed to
have been agreed upon.
WE noticed with commendation the immediate
response to the appeal of the Worship street magis-
trates for those left destitute in that district by the
inroads of the epidemic. It appears now that up-
wards of 5001. was received within a month of its
being asked for. Succour was directly afforded to no
less than 450 persons, chiefly beads of families in
phoreditcb, Bethnal-green, Spitalfields, and other
nitighbotiilloods.