The Press.
London, England, 1856-09-20 00:00:00

AMERICA.

Intelligence from New York to the 3rd announces
the closing of the Pxtra session of Congress. The
Senate had passed the Army Appropriation Bill
without the house proviso, imposing certain limita-
tions on the Executive respecting the disposition that
shonld be made of the United States' troops in the
ter►itory of Kansas. The proviso was lost in the
house by 97 to 101.
Alluding to the matter, the New York Daily Times
says:

The pro-slavery party has again triumphed, The Presi-
dent and Senate have carried their point, and the federal
army miy still be employed—at the expense of the federal
Government—in dragooning the inhabitants of Kansas
into obedience to the infamous laws of the sham Legisla-
ture. This result, it should be understood, was reached
by the coalition of the Fillmore and Buchanan members
of the House of Representatives.
The New York Herald observes:—

We are not surprised at this result at all. The tom•
bination of Buchanan and Fillmore men in the house
was getting too' string f•or the Fremont party, and the
defeat of the proviso was from the beginning but a matter
of time; another day or two would have brougnt in suffi-
cient Democratic and Know Nothing absentees to crush
out the whole strength of the republicans. They have
yielded to necessity, being in a minority as against Fill-
more and Buchanan men, and the President is left to use
the army in Kansas at his discretion.
The state of Kansas is deplorable. Both parties
were arming and concentrating, and a pitched battle
between the two forces was anticipated. Meantime
the pro-slavery men ravage the free-soilera' country,
and commit the most frightful atrocities.

The President has declared his intention to pre-
vent an expedition into Kansas from the Northern
States.

894

CORONATION OF THE EMPEROR
ALEXANDER.

EVERY detail of this magnificent ceremony has
reached us this week, and rarely has the coronation
of a monarch been so fully or so felicitously de-
scribed. The first requisite to ceremonial success
was apparent at break of dawn. A clear sky and a
bright sun ushered in a "beautiful day," upon which
so much depended. Everyone was up at daylight,
and, perhaps, if the truth were told, very few ladies
went to bed at all the night previous. By six o'clock
the Kremlin gates were surrounded by a crowd of
officers and ladies in full dress, blocked in by car-
riages, horses, and soldiers. The tickets of admission
fcr the inner court were limited. The gates were
soon after thrown open, and the crush to get in to
the outer court was something unexampled. Sixty
thousand persons, it was estimated, were crowded
into the outer court. Once within the inner court
a task by no means easy to accomplish, St. Andrew's-
hall in the palace was the great attraction. Here
were placed the crown, globe, and sceptre :

At the upper end of the hall, on the left-hand side, there
is a great crowd of persons at one aide of a small table
They are feasting their eyes on the crown, the sceptre, and
the globe, which will be used presently in the great cere-
mony of the day. The only praise that can be given to
diamonds belongs to those in the crown—they are very big
and very bright. The crown is a cluster of Koh-i•noors,
and there is a wreath of diamonds in the form of oak
leaves around it which is dazzling as the sun himself.
Many of these brilliants are the size of pistol balls of the
good old duelling diameter. As to the sceptre, there is a
tip to it formed of a famous diamond, which one is almost
afraid to talk about. I really would not venture to state
how large it seems to be, and shall content myself by
saying that this is the precious stone for which Catherine
IL gave nearly 80,0001. and a large pension for life to a
runaway alave.—Time, cor., Sept. 8.
But there was something more worthy of notice in
the hall. The veterans of Napolecn's wars, the
picked Grenadiers of the Palace, lined the hall from
door to door :

To me those fine old soldiers were more interesting and
attractive than all the display of riches and the blaze of
gold and silver around and above us. Their dress recalled
the days of those Titanic struggles which shook all Europe.
The huge bearskin cap, with white tassels and gilt cords,
the ample broad-chested coatee and cr.ias•belt, and the
white pantaloons with many buttons at the outer side from
the knee to the foot, reminded one of the time when
Katnsoff and Blucher and Murat and Wellington were the
heroes of fast•recurring battles. As you walk along that
wall of soldiers it is difficult to believe that they have lived
under three emperors, and have fought against the great
Napoleon. They are all in perfect preservation. The
only thing to betray old age is a certain stiffness about the
knee, and those implacable and invincible and inevitable
wrinkles which will come upon as as records of so many
lustre.. The hair is jet black, the moustache is lustrous
and dark as the boot which was wont to affright the feline
of our boyhood, and the whiskers—for old Russia wore
whiskers—are of the same fine polish. The surprise into
which you may be thrown at such evidences of juvenility
on the part of men who have seen the horrors of the
Beresina, and who beheld Murat turn his back at Yaros-
lavitz, is removed, however, when you see that the veteran
who touches his moustache blackens the fingers of his
glove; he has had his hair dyed, just as his boots have
been polished—for effect. Some of these veterans are
historical monuments—some have served under Suwaroff
at Ismail and in Italy—others have marched triumphantly
into Paris—others have crossed the Balkan with Diebitsch.
Of all their numerous decorations these veterans seem to
prize Ito Paris medal and riband the most, and they point
to it with great pride, though it hangs amid memorials of
tremendous battle-fields. How these rugged old warriors,
the relics of Austerlitz, Friedland, Eylau, Pultowa, and
Borodino must smile in their hearts at the medal which
has this day been given away to nearly all Russia on
account of the late war !—lb.

Amidst the throng of generals and soldiers
crowded in the hall were some whose names
within the last two years have become well known
to Europe :

In a quiet group, beside a golden pillar, there stands
Gortschakoff, whose name will he ever associated with
that masterly retreat which deprived France and England
of half their triumph. When last the writer saw that
great gaunt figure it wits stalking up the aisle of St. Paul's
at the funeral of our great duke. Since then years—and
a few months which brought with them such cares as
years seldom know—have bowed down his figure, and
have wrinkled that broad high brow. The prince is
covered with orders, crosses, and ribands ; stars of dia-
monds glitter on his breast; but there is an air of gravity
and care about him which shows that these honours have
not been lightly bought. His eyes are dim, and the use
of a pair of black-mounted spectacles adds to the severity
of the expression of his face. In another group near the
prince may be seen the intrepid little naval officer Biruleff,
who has received high marks of favour from his country-
men for his conduct at Sebastopol. He led no less than
thirteen sorties against the allied trenches, and escaped
unhurt till the last, when he was badly wounded, and re-
tired to Moscow to reap the fruits of his intrepidity.
In another spot Prince Menschikoff, who is
still a favorite with the Russians, is speaking with his
usual dryness of manner to an attentive little audience.
The prince is very sore respecting the criticism to which

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