The Express.
London, England, 1863-02-23 00:00:00

TO Tllll MOTTOS or THIIIITATIO.

Sts,—With the winter of 1862-63 apparently
over, all the spring handicap under weigh, and many
horses en route. for Lincoln, the racing season may be con-
sidered as commenced. The opening is under the most
favourable auspices, as regards the sport tol be enjoyed, for
I cannot call to mind a January and February of any pre-
vious year that gave trainers a better chance of having
their horses in racing condition. The open winter must
also prove a valuable ally of the great handicaps coming
off in March and April, LI more life will be put into them
by the fact of the three-year olds, being more formidable
than usual, the facilities for " putting them along" nega-
tiving the apparently severe treatment they have received
from the pers. One of them, Voluptas, promises
soon to become first favourite for the Northamptonahire
Stakes, and her pretentious are, in my belief of the highest
. .

LONDON BETTING.—SATURDAY.
LINCOLN HANDICAP.
8 to 1 apt Loratelsw (t)
100 to 9 Propos (0100 to 8)
LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE.
7 to 1 apt Satellite (t)
16 to 1 Jealousy (t)
100 to 6 Meter Bagot (t)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STARES.
10 to 1 apt Grimatoa (off)
14 to 1 Crash Patrick (off)
100 to 7 -- Voluptas (t)
CITY AND SUBURBAN.
SO to 1 apt Gardener off)
100 to 30 Queen of (Spain (off )
100 to 30 Misfortune (off )
200 to 3 BearAy Head (off)
TWO THOUSAND.
4 to 1 au The Field (off)
9to 1 apt Michael Scott (t)
CHEWER CUP.
20 W 1 ina The Field

NAVAL AND MILITARY.

PORTSMOUTH, Frs. 22.

The Channel squadron, consisting of the Revenge,
73, Captain Charles Fellows., bearing_the flag of Rear-
Admiral Robert Smart, %.H. • the Warrior. 40, iron
screw frigate, Captain the 800. A. A. Cochrane ; the Black
Prises, 40, iron screw frigate, Captain J. F. B. Wain-
wright ; the Defeo* 16, iron screw ism, Captain A. Philli-
more ; and the Resistance, iron screw ram, Oaptsin W. C.
Chamberlain, arrived at Spithead this morning from Lisbon.
It is expected that the squadron will proceed to the Nor.,
to do honour to her Royal Highness the Princess Alex-
andra of Denmark on her arrival from Antwerp.
Rear-Admiral the Bon. George Grey, superintendent of
Portsmouth dockyard, will filially haul down his Bag on
Tuesday evening, aed on the following morning he will be
relieved by Rear-Admiral George Elliot.

Tai Itinarts.—The following additional fixtures
have been made for the amenably for the training of the
undrosationed i regiment, of militia, viz. :—Oesobride,
Ite2 ; Ist Cheshire, 9th ; 2nd Cheshire, 24th ; Corowall
Artillery, 24th ; Cumberland, 22nd ; let Derby,
23rd ; 2nd Derby, 10th ; Dorset, 24th ; East Ease: and
Wert Fames, 24th ; UM of Wight Artillery, 24th ; Lei-
cester, May 28 ; North Limdo, 14th ; South Lincoln,
April 24 ; Monmouth, 30th ; Montgomery, 24th ; let Nor-
folk, May 12 ; 2nd Norfollc, April 14 ; Norfolk Artillery,
May 12 ; Northamptoo, &a, April 27 ; Suffolk Artillery,
13th ; West Suffolk, 24th ; let and 2nd Tower Hamlet.,
24th ; Haddiogton Artillery, June 4 ; Edinburgh County
Militia, 220 d ; Inverness, sth ; Stirling, Bth.—Arity and
Navy Gazette.

EXPERIMENTS AT SHOEBERTNRA. —There have
been some recent experiments at Shoebnrynese by the plate
committee with steel shot, made by Machin, of Sheffield.
These shot, which were fired from the Armstrong 110.
pounder, did not go quite through the target, but remained
sticking in the plate ; their velocity being low on account
of their weight being that of the service solid projectiles—
viz. 110Ib. Mr. Machin is now engaged in preparing
aborter shot of about 801 b. weight ; he has been very suc-
cessful in producing tough projectiles, which are said to be
moderate in cost. The addition of a small per eentege of
wrought iron him also been found to greatly add to the
toughness of cast iron shot, and to increase the dump done
by them to armour plates, which is now generally allowed to
be in proportion to the hard surface and toughness of mess
of the shot employed. Unfortunately this fact, as well as
the disadvantages attendant upon the use of very heavy
rids shot, have only been discovered after our arsenals are
filled with projectiles which are too heavy to be driven with
sufficient velocity to penetrate armour plats,—dressy and
Navy Gazette.

THE QUEOTION OF MEDICAL FEES.—On Saturday
wain& at an li.quiry bald at the London Horpital, before
Mr. Wslthew, Mr. J. Jackson, one of the house surgeons,
after having been sworn, refused to give evidence until he
had been paid his fee for the post =mien examination.
Mr. Jackson produced • communication from the magis-
trates of the Middlesex Sessions, to whom an application
had been made upon the subject, to the effect that the
coroner, in ordering a post mortent examination, did so at
his own risk, and could not compel such examination with-
out prepayment of the fee. The coroner said that Mr.
Humphreys had been obliged to refuse psyment, on the
ground that the medical officers were paid a general salary,
and in their duty was included these examinations; besides
which it was necessary to check the very large unmet of
examinations, which were utterly useless. Mr. Jackson
being told that as he had been sworn he must give his evi-
dence, stated that he would take the first opportunity to
raise the same objection.
WEVIIIINESTILB. ABBEY SPECIAL SERVlCES.—Yeo-
terday evening the series of special services for
the year was commeoced in the nave; every portion of it
was well filled. The service was, of coarse, choral, the
prayers being read by the Rev. Precentor Radio, and the
sermon preached by the Rev. Lord Jobs Thynne, the sub-
deaa, who selected for his text the 3rd chapter of St.
Matthew's °cepa, verse 2—" Repent ye, for the kingdom
of Heaven is at hand "—on which he founded an excellent
practical discourse. The sermon next Sunday evening will
be preached by the Right Rev. Bishop Twells recently non.
secreted for the diocese of the Orange River territory.

PoLirracniric.—Mr. Lionel Brough, is about to
appear se a lecturer at the Royal Polytechnic lurtitutice,
where he will deliver an entirely original, ootnic, and
clinical version of "Cinderella and the Fairy Slipper."
The lecture will be illustrated by Messrs. Child and Hines
magic-lantern scenes and optical effects. Mr. Lionel
Brawls is not wholly new to the public stage or platform,
be having appeared from time to time in a &dove enter-
tainment which met with favour. He has also upon every
mimeos taken a prominent part in several performaines
of the "Savage Clu ."

Tea BRIDESMAID'S WISH.—BIESSZ AND LtrZLII'S
WIDDIIIO PIatOMIS fee as IDEt. Zbiblematie Orange
mow% Myr.* sad U 1 of NM Easy three Intike IA a essA,
7A, ce 1•04.4, Rea4MEmt, W.-lAdvialiamaaj