The Press.
London, England, 1857-12-12 00:00:00

Valittral.

CABINET COUNCILS were held on Saturday and
Wednesday at the otficial residence of the Prime
Minister. All the Ministers present.

SIR GASPARD LE MARCHANT, at present Governor
of Nova Scotia, will succeed Sir R. W. Reid as
Governor of Malta. Sir Gaspard will be replaced at
Halifax by Lord Mulgrave, who by this appointment
vacates his seat for Scarborough. Mr. Spencer
Ponsonby, who has long filled the office of Private
Secretary to Lord Clarendon, is appointed to the
office of Controller of the Lord Chamberlain's de-
partment, vacant by the death of Mr. Norman Mac-
donald. He is succeeded in his secretaryship by Mr.
Villiers Lister, of the Foreign-office. Mr. Brand, one
of the Lords of the Treasury, takes the place left
vacant by Lord Mulgrave.
A GREAT PARLIAMENTARY REFORM MEETING Wa3
held at Sheffield on Monday. Resolutions in favour
of a rate-paying suffrage, the vote by ballot, equal
electoral districts, the abolition of the property
qualification for members of Parliament, and trien-
nial Parliaments, were adopted. The speakers were
persons of purely local reputation. A letter was
read from Mr. Roebuck, in which he said :

•
I am glad to hear that the constituencies are moving in
the matter of parliamentary reform. Upon them depends
our whole chance of success. The coming session will
have most important matters V> decide--matters greatly
affecting England's interests—and I most sincerely wish
that they could be decided by a House of Commons
accurately representing the people of England. This,
however, cannot I c, as they must he at once settled; and I
fear that every pretext that can be laid hold of will be
adopted to delay reform. But we must do our best with
the tools we have. _ .

THE following is the text of the Religious
Worship Act Amendment Bill introduced by the
Earl of Shaftesbury, read a first time on Thurs-
day last, and postponed till the Bth of February
next:—

From and after the passing of this act, notwithstanding
any powers of inhibition claimed by the incumbent of any
parish or ecclesiastical district the population of which
shall exceed two thousand by the last preceding census, no
inhibition of such incumbent shall avail so as to prevent
any ordained minister of the united Church of England
and Ireland from conducting or taking part in any congre-
gation or assembly occasionally meeting for religious
worship in any building or buildings not usually appro.
priated to purposes of religious worship, unless such in-
hibition shall be contained in some writing under the hand
of such incumbent, countersitmed and sealed by the
bishop of the diocese within which such occasional ser-
vices shall be held.

LORD PALMERSTON AND THE REF3RM Bum.—On
Wednesday evening a crowded audience attended the
debating society which meets in Wylde's News-
rooms, Leicester-square. The subject for debate was
" Does the past career of Lord Palmenton inspire
confidence in his future Representative Reforms ?'
After an animated and prolonged discussion, it was
carried by a large majority that Lord Palmerston, as
the introducer and preparer of a now Reform Bill,
WAs " not the right wail in the right place