The Press.
London, England, 1856-06-28 00:00:00

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Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal met with
an accident on Tuesday evening, from her gauze
sleeve accidentally catching fire from a lighted taper.
Her Royal Highness, with great presence of mind,
extinguished the flames, but was more or less
severely burnt, and has since been confined to her
room.

The Grand Puke and Duchess of Oldenburgh
arrived at Dover from the Continent on Wednesday,
and proceeded to Bonchurch, Isle of Wight.

The Duke of _Argyll had a Cabinet dinner on
Wednesday evening, at his villa, at Campden-hill ;
Viscount Palmerston, the Marquis of Lansdowne,
Lord Panmure, Sir Charles Wood, Sir George Grey,
Sir George C. Lowis, the Right Hon. A. Vernon
Smith, Lord Stanley of Alderley, the Earl of Claren-
don, the Right Hon. M. T. Baines, &c.
Lord Ward intends to visit St. Petersburg on the
occasion of the Emperor Alexander's coronation.

Volittral.

DINNER AT THE DIANSION HOUSE.

THE EARL. OF DERBY AND A P.

PARTY

were entertained at dinner at the Mansion-house, on
Wednesday evening, by the Lord Mayor. The Earl
and Countess of Derby, t!ie Earl of Malmesbury, the
Duke and Duchess of Manchester, Mr. and Mrs.
Disraeli, Sir John and Lady Pakington, the Marquis
and Marchioness of Salisbury, and about .200 distin-
guished guests were present.
The usual loyal and constitutional toasts having
been duly honoured,
The LORD MAYOR proposed " The House of
Lords," coupling the toast with the name of the Earl
of Derby, of whom he observed that he would not
suffer by comparison with any member of his
family who in farrier times had borne his title and
sustained the honours of a house renowned in the
history of his country. Winning and persuasive in
his manner, and gifted with singular powers of elo-
quence, the Earl of Derby was a brilliant specimen
of an English nobleman, and as worthy a representa-
tive of the House of Lords as could be found.

The Earl of DERBY, who was loudly cheered, ex-
pressei his sense of the pleasure afforded and honour
conferred on him that evening :

I am the more bound, my Lord Mayor (continued the
noble earl), to express my acknowledgments to you, be-
cause I am well aware that there are assembled in this hall
many whose political opinions on several subjects differ
very widely from your own. (Cheers.) But I doubt not
that you have learned a lesson, of which a parliamentary
life of thirty-five years has not left me ignorant—that the
widest differences of political opinion are not incompatible
with the most cordial sentiments of personal respect and
regard. Many of my best and most devoted personal
friends are my keenest political opponents ; and sure I am
that that man has failed to benefit by his experience of
public life who has not learned to esteem and respect
those who, from conscientious motives, may dissent from
him upon political questions. (Cheers.) It would be
idle for me to say that in the course of my long career,
which covers no unimportant period in the history of
modern politics, I have not, from first to last, fallen into
many errors and committed many mistakes; and still
more idle would it be to pretend that I have not in that
time modified to a certain extent many of the opinions
with which I set out in early life ; but this I venture to
claim for myself, and it is my only title to the compliments
you have paid me—that in the course of that period I
cannot tax my memory or my conscience with having
taken a single step, or given a single vote, which at the
moment I did not believe to be justified by my sense of
public duty. (Cheers.) For that house which you have
done me the honour to associate with my name, I have to
return you my best thanks—thanks which, I am confi-
dent, are gratefully felt by all members of that assembly
here present. (Cheers.) It is no duty of mine to stand
up for every decision at which the House of Lords may
have arrived, for frequently it has been my lot to be in a
minority there ; but I do believe that in the main that
house, although not directly, yet as fully represents the
matured public opinion of this country as does that other
branch of the Legislature which is immediately re-
turned by the popular voice—(cheers)--and, although
the se lond estate of the realm may be looked upon as a
cmstitutional drag on too rapid progress iu legislation, I
b?lieve that in the end it will identify itself with what it
fe-ls to be the well-established wishes of the country.
(Cheers.)

THE PRESS.

had, by the force of his talent and energy, achieved
far himself the high positiou of a Minister of the
Crown and Leader of the House of Commons, and
who was at present the foremost member of the
most powerful territorial party in that assembly.
(Cheers.) . . .

Mr. DISRAELI, on rising, was received with loud
cheers. Acknowledging the compliment, he alluded
to the ancient relations existing between the Cor-
poration and the Lower House, and said :
We shall very shortly be called upon to consider the
position and the attributes of the corporation of the city of
London. Far be it from me for a moment to maintain or
to wish that this ancient corporation should, unlike other
communities, be exempted from the influence of time,
and be prevented from reaping the fruits which progressive
experience can alone afford; but 1 hope. I may take this
opportunity of expressing my anxiety that those changes
Which the wisdom of the present age may think it neces-
sary to introduce into this great municipality will be con-
ceived and devised in the spirit of its first constitution. I
know, my Lord Mayor, that we are living in an age when
we bear much of the omnipotence of Parliament. but there
are moral limits even to that despotism which it isnot pos•
sible to pass. Parliament is indeed omnipotent to de-
stroy, but it is not omnipotent to create. There are no
ancient institutions, however deeply rooted, which Parlia-
ment cannot subvert, but it is not in the power of Parlia-
ment to creat the magic prestige of prescription; it is not
in the power of Parliament to call into existence hereditary
influence; it is not in the power of Parliament to invest
new establishments with the sympathy, the respect, the
reverence which those institutions command which have
for a long series of years contributed to the welfare, and
above all, to the history of a nation. I trust, my Lord
Mayor, that when the Legislature shall have to consider
the position and attributes of that immemorial community
of which you have the honour to be the chief, our deliber-
ations will be influenced by this feeling. lam sure that it
is the true principle which should inspire all Conservative
statesmen. I trust that it will animate the councils of this
country, and I doubt not that it will have due effect with
all those members of the House of Commons in whose
names, as well as my own, I now offer you our heartfelt
thanks for the distinction you have conferred upon us.
(Cheers).

The Marquis of SALISBURY then proposed the health
of the Lord Mayor, and the Earl of DERBY that of
the Lady Mayoress, and after some other toasts the
party broke up.

SATURDAY,

Mr. Morley then, in a slightly., unconnected
speech, proceeded to assert that every depart.
ment of the State was abominably mismanaged,
and money and family interests worked ruinous
effects. They wanted men in the house who
were not only proof against actual corruption, but
steeled against those social influences which were
even more dangerous. As illustrative of the kind of
influence he referred to, he mentioned a case, but
without stating the name, of a member who gave a
vote on a recent occasion against the Government
upon a question in which the public interest was in-
volved, and who, when he went home, was met by
domestic upbraidings, a fit of hysterics, and all those
other symptoms of family discontent, because the
lady felt that the vote in question would put an
end to the invitations she had been recently in the
habit of receiving to certain aristocratic reunions.
The system of nepotism, he avowed, was ruining the
country ; and alluding to the Chelsea Inquiry and
conduct of Lords Lucan and Cardigan in contrast to
that of General Williams, Mr. Morley asked " Was
it because men were of high family that they should
be allowed to riot in sensuality on board their yachts
in Balaklava ?" The Administrative Reformers
desired that justice should be done to all parties.
General Williams was a self-made man, but he much
feared that the gallant general's life would be closed
by the well-merited honour conferred upon him. Mr.
Morley then explained that the association intended
to give the people information on the parliamentary
conduct of their representatives. They had means
of getting into correspondence with respectable men
in every borough and market-town, though in the
agricultural counties they could not expect much
success ; but they would give information to all, and
not confine it to the doings of the Opposition benches.
This resolution was carried unanimously, and the
meeting separated.

AT the ceremony of the Investiture of the Bath,
last Saturday, General Sir George Brown and Ad-
miral Sir James Gordon were invested with the
military order of a G.C.8., Sir Charles Wood with
the civil order. Major-General Sir William Williams,
Bart., Lieutenant-General Moore, and Rear-Admiral
Byam Martin were invested as K.C.B.'s, and several
other officers as Companions of the Bath, when the
ceremony concluded.
A CABINET COrNCIL was held on Saturday as
usual. All the Ministers attended. The Council
sat two hours.

Sin EnkuND LYONS, G.C.8., has been raised to the
peerage, under the title of Baron Lyons, of Christ
church ; and Sir Baldwin Walker has been granted
the dignity of a baronet, for services during the late
war.

THE BISHOPS OF LONDON AND DURHAM BE3 re-
ported to have sent in their resignations.
THE REV. CHARLES BARING, Rector of All Souls,
Langham-place, is reported as the true successor of
Dr. Monck in the see of Gloucester and Bristol.

THE HON. JULIAN FANE has been appointed Secre-
tary of Legation at St. Petersburg.
THE ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMERS held a great
meeting on Saturday last at the London Tavern.
Mr. Roebuck presided, and addressed the meeting at
considerable length upon the corruption of the
Administration and the apathy of the people,—
instancing the war with Russia and our present
critical position with America as examples of
Ministerial imbecility and popular indifference :

flattroDolitan.

DINNER OF THE SOCIETY OF

The noble earl then remarked upon the constant in-
fusion of fresh blood into the Upper House, by which
it was invigorated, and a common interest was pre-
served between the various branches of the commu-
nity, and, alluding to the recent accession to the
peerage of Sir Edmund Lyons, observed that few
years passed in which the house was not strengthened
and made more illustrious by the admission of some
person who bad done his country good service, whe-
ther in the law, in the army or navy, or in political
life.
The noble earl resumed his seat amid hearty
cheers.
The Lonn MAYOR th'n proposed " The House of
Commons and the health of Mr. Disraeli,- who, with-
Olt the adventitious assistance of family or fortune,

ARTS took place nn Tuesday at the Crystal Palace,
under the presidency of Lord Ashburton, who was
supported by the Rev. Dr. Booth, Colonel Sabine,
General Sir C. Pasley, anti a large number of other
gentlemen interested in the educational and commer•
cial progress of the country. The toast of the even-
ing, " Prosperity to the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce," was
proposed in an eloquent address by the noble chair-
man, who descanted at length on the advantages of
affording a sound practical education to the artisan,
manufacturer, and tradesman, with the view of fitting
them suitably, not only for their ordinary stations in
life, but also for promoting their social happiness
and advancing our general mercantile prosperity.
Dr. Booth, in responding, intimated that the society
was never in a better position, either as regards
members or pecuniary resources, while its progress
was amply demonstrated by the success which had
attended the examinations recently instituted, persons
in humble walks of life—the draper's shopman, the
merchant's clerk, and the schoolmaster's assistant—
having competed, and exhibited the satisfactory re-
sults of a diffusion of knowledge. The other speeches
comprised those of Mr. Ewart, Mr. Gassiot, Colonel
Sykes, Sir C. Fox, &c., all of whom bore testimony to
the benefits conferred by the society, and the useful
influence it has exercised.

MRS. THOMPSON, the mother of the late Ma;,or
Thompson, is stated to have received within four-and-
twenty hours of the death of her son so kind, so sym-
pathising, so nobly and generously expressed a letter
on the part of her Majesty the Sovereign, that, if
anything could alleviate the bitterness o the loss
she has sustained, the kind condolence of the
Queen would go far to render the blow less
afflicting.

Why do I bring forward these illustrations (said the
hon. gentleman )? To impress upon the minds of my
countrymen that they are chiefly concerned in all that con-
cerns the interests of England nationally, and that in the
pursuit of wealth, which is the besetting sin of the present
day, they forget everything else. The people of this coun-
try are in this like the people of America ; they worship
the almighty dollar, and so long as you do that, so long
you will be made, like beasts of burden, to bear the )oke—
and you deserve to bear it- You are unworthy of the name
of freemen if you do not act up to the obligations of free-
men. What, then, do I deduce from the homily which I
have read to you? That you should take part in the busi-
ness of the Government.

THE ANNUAL TRINITY-HOUSE BANQUET took place
last Saturday. Prince Albert, the Duke of Cambridge,
Sir John Burgoyne, Lord Lyons, the Earl of Dun-
donald, Major-General Williams, and a distinguished
company were assembled on this occasion.

ASECTION OF THE RATEPAYERS OF MARYLEBONE
held a meeting on Monday at their Court-house, and
greed upon several resolutions supporting Sunday
music, as being " an innocent and humanising
recreation, and having a tendency to refine the
people ; " and condemning a recent attempt "to
injure Sir Benjamin Hall in the eyes of his con-
stituents," and pledging themselves to secure his
return at the next election.

The attainment of this end was only through an
organisation in the constituencies, to reform the
House of Commons by creating representative re
sponsibility. In conclusion, Mr. Roebuck urged the
meeting to support the association, and called upon
Mr. Morley to move the first resolution. Mr. Morley
then moved :

THE SHERIFFS OF THE CITY OF LONDON were
elected on Tuesday at a Common Hall, held at the
Guildhall, the Lord Mayor presiding. Mr. J. J.
Mechi and Mr. Frederick Keats were unanimously
elected for the year ensuing. Aldermen Lawrence
and Eagleton notified a wish that their nomination
should be postponed until next year.
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY lately received
a resolution from the Wesleyan Ministers and lay-
men of the Manchester and Bolton district, warmly
thanking him for the course he pursued in relation
to the Sunday bands. His grace replied:—

The exigencies of the present time and the singular in.
capacity lately shown by the various departments of the
Government, render it the imperative duty of the people to
take an active part in the management of the national
affairs, in the hope of introducing therein the energy,
honesty, and intelligence that ought to distinguish the ad-
ministration of a great and civilised people.