The Press.
London, England, 1856-03-22 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

PRINCE SITRBEY is said to have no intention, as
has been stated, of retiring from public life ; on the
contrary, he hopes that the great powers will render
the Hospodariate of Wallachia hereditary in his
family. His agents are said to be displaying great
activity in Constantinople, Vienna, and Paris.
BARON DE BRUNOW, exhausted with fatigue, fainted
last Wednesday in the cabinet of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, just as the plenipotentiaries were
about to enter on their deliberations.
THE FUTURE FRENCH AMBASSADOR AT ST. PETERS-
BURG is said will be the Baron de Bourqueney, but
General de la Hitte, the Marquis de la Roche-
jaquelin, Marshal Canrobert, and many others, are
spoken of.
IT IS A CURIOUS COINCIDENCE that the number of
the Moniteur announcing the birth of an imperial
prince and heir to Napoleon's throne contains a
decree ordaining the withdrawal from circulation of
all coins bearing the effigy of Liberty.
PRINCE FREDERICK WILLIAM, SOH of the heir to
the Crown of Prussia (now at Coblentz), according
to the Brussels Indipendance, has " solemnly de-
manded of the King, his uncle, the consent indis-
pensable to the projected alliance with the Princess
Royal of England." This consent is said to have
been granted in the presence of the whole Court, no
doubt appearing to exist as to the analogous disposi-
tion of the Queen of England or the feelings of the
Princess Royal.
THE TURKS, from late accounts, are far from en-
couraging proselytism, and combat it with every
means in their power. They neglect nothing to pre-
vent it, and even compel the person to first confer
with an ecclesiastic of his own persuasion. If he be
a minor they will not have him at all, and very re-
cently Faud Puha three times sent back to the
Patriarch a young Greek who wished to embrace
Islamism.

THE NAVIGATION OF THE DANUBE promises at
length to be fairly secured. Baron Bruck and the
efficials of the Ministry of Commerce at Vienna have
already issued orders to purchase a steam dredging-
machine, to be employed in deepening the channel
at Sulina. In addition to this, a number of buoys
will be laid down to mark out the channel, and at
the same time serve for mooring ships that may be
detained by unfavorable winds, while a light-ship
will be stationed off the entrance, with a sufficient
guard to preserve order.
THE NIAGARA FALLS, during the recent hard frost
in America, presented a most remarkable feature.
Vast blocks or ice were formed on the river above
the rapids, and came doxii in such masses as to
wedge themselves in between Bath and Chapin
Island, and from thence to the very brink of the
Fall. The ice soon became sufficiently firm to be
trusted, and a few adventurous persons crossed
from the mainland to the islands, and even advanced
to the edge of the ice, and looked upon the vast body
of water rushing over the precipice into the abyss
below. Such an opportunity of standing literally
upon the edge of the Fall was never before presented
to living men, and many, far and near, visited the
Falls under these singular circumstances.
MLLE. RACHEL was lately reported in the Paris
papers to be on the eve of marriage, and about to
renounce the stage. The Indipendance Belge this
week publishes her reply to the author of this canard.
The letter was not, our Belgian contemporary statei,
" intended for publication" :

I have heard many clever people say that it is better to
be maltreated by the press than to submit to its silence
and its neglect. I have, then, to thank you once more for
the notice which you have given me in the . But
why, my dear friend, have you occupied yourself for such a
length of time with nothing but fancies of marriage which
you have invented in order to blame me, and why suspect
me again today of this inutility? I have two suns whom
I adore ; I have thirty-two years upon my certificate of
birth ; I have fifty upon my figure—l will not say how
many au reek. Eighteen years of passionate tirades upon
the theatres, hasty journeys to the extent of every land,
Moscow winters, Waterloo treacheries, the perfidious sea,
the ingrate land—behold things which soon age a little bit
of a woman like me ! But God protects the brave, and Ile
seems to have created expressly fcr we a little corner un-
known to all the geographers where I can forget my
fatigues, toy pains, my premature old age . . . . , and
this though you fling your villatious canard in the midst of
the birds which perch upon my branches, sod which sing
me songs of return—mine probably, and that of the spring.
Is it thus you should act with a poor creature who returns
very truly from the other world? By Jupiter, it is very
genteel of me to act thus towards you. This letter is cer-
tainly not written by a "great tragedienne," but by a good
child, who calls herself
March 11, NH. Ramat,.

THE VICEROY OF EGYPT is desirous, at the same
time that he op, ns the Isthmus of Suez, to solve the
great problem of African geography—that of the
sources of the Nile. A new expedition, under the
command of Count d'Escayrac de Lauture, member
of the Central Commission of the Geographical
Society, a man well known for his travels iu the in-
terior of Africa, and for his works on that part of the
world, is now being organised at Alexandria, and will
shortly start upon its mission.

S ATURDAY,

that tat lastion.

Her Majesty, with Prince Albert and the Court, left
town on Monday afternom for Windsor Castle.
The King of the Belgians, godfather to the
Princess Royal, invited by her Majesty to attend the
confirmation of the Princess on Thursday, reached
Dover from Ostend on Monday night, and left on
Tuesday morning for Windsor, arriving at the Castle
the same afternoon.

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal was con.
firmed in the private chapel at the Castle, in the
presence of her Majesty and Prince Albert, King
Leopold, the different members of the Royal Family,
and a distinguished company of the Ministers and
nubility. His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury,
assisted by the Bishop of Oxford, the Bishop of
Chester, the Dean of Windsor, and the Rev. Lord
Wriothesley Russell, officiated on this occasion.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, and
Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, lift town on
Thursday morning, for Windsor Castle, to attend the
confirmation of the Princess Royal. Their Royal
Highnesses returned to town in the afternoon.
The King of the Belgians will take his departure
on Monday, proceeding by the Great Western line,
en route to Dover, whence he will embark fur
Brussels.

Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince
Albert, and• the Royal Family, will on the same day
leave the Castle for the isle of Wight.
Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cam-
bridge and the Princess Mary left St. James's Palace,
on Saturday, for Cambridge-cottage, Kew, for the
holidays. On Wednesday the Royal Duchess and
Princess left Kew on a visit to her Majesty at Wind-
sor Castle.

Prince Frederick William of Prussia will arrive
in England from Berlin in the first week of May.

The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland have
arrived at A lnwick Castle, from Sion-house, Isleworth.
The noble duke and duchess will rfmain at the
castle about three weeks, and then come to town for
the season.

The Earl and Countess of Derby and Lady Emma
Stanley have left town for Knowsley, near Prescutt,
for the parliamentary recess. Lord Stanley for the
present is sta3ing in town.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury have
left town for Hatfield-house Herts, for the recess.

The Earl and Countess Talbot and the Ladies
Talbot, who are at Funchal, Madeira, are not ex-
pected to return to this country before the month of
May.
Viscount and Viscountess Ingestre have arrived at
Wynnstay, Wales, on a visit to Sir Watkin Williams
Wynn, M.P., and Lady Wynn.
Lady Lavinia Bingham and Lady Rachel Russell,
are to be shortly married respectively to the Hon.
Charles Hardinge, M.P., and Lord James Butler.
The Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl Granville,
and Viscount Palmerston returned to town from
Windsor Castle on Thursday.
The Eight Hon. W. E.Oladstone has left town for
Harvarden, Flintshire.
Sir Alexander and Lady Malet have arrived in
Grafton-street, from Frankfort, on a visit to Lord
and Lady Brougham.
The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress give the
usual dinner at the Mansion-house on Easter Mon-
day, and a distinguished party has been invited to
meet his Loyal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
who has intimated his intention of honouring the
Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress with his presence
on that occasion.

littrapolitan.

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

THE adjourned inquiry into the cause of the fire at
Govent-garden Theatre was resumed on Saturday
and Wednesday last. No fact has yet been arrived
at to satisfactorily account for the origin of the fire.
Mr. Sidne) Sniiike, the architect, attributed the rapid
progress of the fire to the removal, in the architec-
tural changes of 1846-7,.0f a thick wall originally
built over the proscenium, and dividing the carpel':
ter's shop and flies from the other part of the root.
He could not form any idea as to the cause of the
flue; but thought there was great laxity in respect to
the access permitted to the carpenter's shop.
Dalliston, a carpenter employed at the theatre, wait
up to the carpenter's shop at twenty minutes to ten
on the Tuesday night. It was dreadfully hot. He
thought it possible that the fire might have origin-
ated by the fly-ropes sustaining the iron barrels of
the batten-lights across the top of the stage catching
fire, and the flames running up the ropes to the flies.
The batten lights were turned on to the lull by order
of Mr. Anderson. It was quite possible that the
carpenter's shop would be thus set on fire. %Maim
Jones had left the upper flies twenty minutes before
the tire broke out, and yet he bad not perceived

two
able
the

MARCH 22, 1856.
any symptom of fire or unusual smell of gas.
Mr. Anderson could in no way account for the fire.
It was impossible that the gas could have caused it.
The fact that a lighted candle was used by Dal-
liston, the carpenter's son, to light his father from
the property-room to the foot of the ladder leading
to the carpenter's shop, was admitted in evidence.
Mr. Anderson, who, it appears, upon his own res-
ponsibility permitted the Electric Light Company to
exhibit the electric light upon the roof of the theatre,
admitted that carboys of sulphuric acid were used,
but that he never gave himself the slightest trouble
about the matter; did not even know how many car-
boys were used, or whether they were taken up on
the roof through the theatre or hoisted up outside.
He considered the company responsible.
Mr. Sloman, the machinist, stated :
On the morning of the fire he was aroused by his
daughter, who called out to him that the theatre was on
fire. His bedroom looked directly upon the theatre from
Prince's-place, and as soon as he got to the window he saw
aflame of from fifteen to twenty feet high rising out of the
ventilator on the roof, and also a smaller flame out of two
windows on either side the ventilator. Witness was able
to dress himself and get round to the theatre before the
people inside knew anything about the fire.
Mr. Grieve, the ecene-painter, in reply to the
question, whether he could account for the fire,
said :
The little property-shop I have always considered a very
dangerous place. I have frequently drawn the attention of
the firemen to the fact of rubbish being allowed to anti-
niulaut there. I once came back to the theatre after au
absence of three years, and found much carelessness ex-
hibited. There was a heap of rubbish by the painting.
room door, to which I drew the then firemeu's attention.
When they moved this rubbish it began to smoulder, and
you could not bear your hand to touch it. This was the
sweepings of the painting-room. I am of opinion that if
there was a heap of rubbish in the property room of this
nature, that might have caused the fire. They use very
dangerous materials, such as varnish and other things of
that kind in this shop, and any accumulation of rubbish
must be dangerous in such a place.
Mr. Braidwood, the superintendent of the fire
brigade, could come to no definite conclusion as to
the origin of the fire. He thought the excessive
labour imposed upon the firemen on the Monday and
Tuesday had so tired them that they had neglected
their duties on the night of the bal masqu. He did
not believe any escape of gas had caused the fire,
though the great heat generated for so many hours,
by drying up everything, materially assisted the fire.
On the whole, he observed—
I should be very much inclined to refer it to spontaneous
ignition of some kind or other. Masses of stuff get about
these places. My impression above all is, that the people
about were all so thoroughly worn out that they did not
know what they were doing. We find, when men are very
bard pressed, that buildings are much more liable to fires
than they are when those employed are engaged during the
ordinary periods of labour.
Tin. coroner then briefly summed up, remarking
that the object of the inquiry had failed, and that no
definite conclusion could be arrived at as to the
origin of the fire. The jury after a brief consultation
returned a verdict accordingly, and the proceedings
terminated.
A meeting of the renters was held on Saturday, at
Robins' Auction-rooms, to receive from the pro-
prietors a statement of affairs. From the address of
Mr. Surman, the solicitor, it appears that thirty-eight
years yet remain of the lease, at a rent of 2,0851. per
annum. The general debt of the theatre is about
9,0001., with 5,0001. a year incumbrance, while the
average profit has not since 1832 been above 6001. a
year. This sum of 9,0001. is the remainder of a debt
of 70,0001. incurred previous to 1832, when the
renters agreed to receive only half dividends until
the debt was cleared. On the point of rebuilding the
house Mr. Surman said:-
1111 beg to state again that the proprietors are not in a
co idition to rebuild the theatre. After this day we shall
see what is to be done—see if the duke may take his pro-
perty back before the expiry of the present lease. Loss of
the theatre by fire is not mentioned in any of the previous
leases. If you think a new lease necessary, you have a
good right to g) to the duke for it. If 110 of you, repre-
senting 150 shares, are unanimous to rebuild the theatre,
and go to the public to raise in the usual way 100,0001., we,
as proprietors, will allow you your full fling.
The 125 annuitant shares are held by 110 persons,
Including the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of
D Nonshire, the Earl of Dartmouth, the executors of
the DuThess of St. Albans, and the Marquis of Salk-
bury. The agreement with Mr. Gye was for a period
of ten years, from the Ist October, 1853, at a rent of
8,5001. for the first three years, and 7,000/. for the
remainder of the term. The theatre was not in-
sured, because the payment of the large sum that
would be required for premium was deemed im-
possible.
A committee of twelve renters was ultimately ap-
pointed to investigate the affairs of the theatre.
Sr. PATRICK'S DAY was celebrated for the seventy-
third time by the St. Patrick's Benevolent Society
giving a dinner at the Freemasons' Tavern to up-