The Express.
London, England, 1865-09-26 00:00:00

OHS BROOD/IN% 0 OLD ALBZRT OHM.Na

JOSH BROODEN'S GOLD BROOCH CHAINS.

LONDON must have a GENTLEMAN'S
SUPPK& and MUSIC 11.0031.—"IVANS." atter Alfred
Matkit's Concerts.

!rim erprtoo.

TO 00111111TONDIOT1S.
deseelsonade toe " The lepreee • Leaden Weide'
r=envie be in the Mee. le. Benadeafteen Two
k ea she day of 90hr:etas.

PRINCIANS.
Tun Inman, NTAILT-SIAIN6III AND iromariuwes.
—ARZAH NA POGUL News. a DowWAG J. Breitikan.
IL Virdenboll, D. Mbar, D. MUM,. DMA" MASS:
Isselssatt 11114 My 011r•r.—Amd AMPLI APOLOGY.

BRITANNIA.
TNin Moue, .TRANNIE AND EFFIE DEANS. Mtn &
Wee Aug Mae E. Maearthy —The Youthful Athletic—Don
Patter.—lad THE RESCUE OF TILL ORPHANS.

RION WATI AT wig Dolusirosi.
TOP DAT Yoruba& AA 220.....1114e5m05. 4Lei.
Tosoasow Kamm La. MM. —..Arangro" GL Vs.

LONDON. TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 26.

Fos some seasons back Society has been en-
riched by the introduction of an additional meal.
The long interval between luncheon and dinner
Las been bridged over, and a new occasion for hos-
pitality suggested, by the institution of "Five
" o'clock tea." In houses where the mistress has
a weakness for gossip, she has been enabled by
this means to give her female friends a fresh ral-
lying point for the interchange of information upon
the affairs of their common acquaintance. In
families where the feminine element is youngerand
more athletic, the same simple meal has proved just
sufficient to give the neoesaarystimulus to intending
croquet players. With the addition of an ice it
has been found possible even to anticipate the'
amusements of the evening ; and, in the hands of
an economical hostess, a batch of "kettle-drums"
Las formed a cheap substitute for a bell. Under
all thew conditions, however, the new invention

bee hitherto been supposed to possess one common
element. It has been essentially a woman's insti-
tution. Whatever attractions it has bad for the
other sex have grown out of this one characteristic.,
Tee man who has ventured to a five o'clock tea has
done so with his eyes open, and with full know-
ledge of hia danger. It is the nearest approach
the world has yet seen to an admission of the male
sex to the mysteries of the Bona Dca, and if it
bad been known to the ladies of Rome an invitation
to it might have contented the ambition of Ctooius,
and the wife of C.ESAR might have remained tin-
_

suspected. Such at least is the reputation which
the meal in question has up to this time sustained
among us, but it now seems that our whole con-
ception of its character must be reconstructed from
the foundation. Instead of being • recent dis-
covery, it has existed for many years ; instead of
being the invention of a sociable young lady or a
frugal matron, it traces its origin to • male source.
In this instance, as in so many others, woman has
been only the unconscious copyist of man. She
bas taken the idea of five o'clock tea from the
Guardians of the Portsmouth Union.
It has been, we are told, for many years put,
the practice of these gentlemen at their fortnightly
meetings " to adjourn for tea about five o'clock ;"
and the economical features, characteristics which
the entertainment has everywhere preserved, are
clearly discernible in the proceedings of its first
promoters. "The cost per bead has never ex-
" ceeded 21d. ;" and it is highly creditable to the
moderation of the Guardians that even at this low
figure there has been an average attendance at tea
of 14 out of 21. But innocent as this amount of
refreshment may appear, it has been the occasion
of a conflict of authority which has extended over
two-thirds of the time during which the new Poor-
law has been in operation, though it has only come
to a definite issue within the present month. The
modest cup has been sweetened by a consciousness
that it was paid for by a grateful community ; the
Guardians have snatched a fearful joy in drinking
tea at the public expense. The fortnightly 2id.
has all along been "paid out of the funds of the
" Union," although for the last twenty years the
practice has been constantly objected to by the
Poor-law Board. After smouldering in this way for
the best part of • generation, the flame at length
burst forth on Wednesday, the 6th of September.
At the meeting held on that day, " a letter was
" read from the central authority, in which the
" item was again disallowed." Either the letter
was expressed in language of unusual strength, or
the patience of the Guardians was worn out, for,
instead of treating the official remonstrance with
their customary contempt, they broke into avowed
rebellion. A resolution signed by all the Guar-
dians present was despatched to Whitehall-place,
in which they positively refused to attend any
future meetings to administer the Poor-law except
they were allowed their tea. The answer of the
central authorities gavo them the option of
appealing to the Queen's Bench, but the
Guardians, thinking probably that even their
darling beverage would be dear at the cost
of • certiorari, declined to avail themselves of the
suggested remedy, and sent in their resignations
instead. Accordingly, on Wednesday list, not a
single Guardian was present, and the whole
machinery for the relief of the poor in the parishes
of Portsmouth sod Perinea is for the present at a
standstill. The Poor-law Board has contented
itself with pointing out to the seceders that • Poor-
law Guardian has no power to resign his office, and
is liable to very severe penalties if any serious
consequences result from his neglect of duty.
Hitherto, however, this information has not pro-
duced any effect. No Guardian appeared last
Thursday to receive the usual contracts for supply-
ing the inmates of the workhouse with food and
clothing, and as the old contracts come to an end
next Wednesday, the inmates are likely to find
themselves in the unpleasant predicament of having
nothing to eat and nothing to wear.
It is really difficult to determine whether the
conduct of these Portsmouth Guardians is most
distinguished by its childishness, its insolence, or
its ignorance of the first principles of common ho-
nesty. Here is a body of grave men declining to
discharge the important public functions to which
the; have been appointed, unless they are bribed
to perform them by the promise of a gratuitous meal.
Here are magistratesand persons bottling responsible
positions in the district where they live, setting an
example of insubordination as gross in every respect
as that of a pauper who tears up his clothes or
breaks the workhouse windows. Here are a
number of officials, all of them well to do in the
world, some of them probably possessed of con-
siderable wealth, deliberately taxing the rate-
payers for more than twenty years to pay for their

01
afternoon cup of tea. Ser fir es ewe
the came is concerned they might just as ban
voted themselves 1,5001. a year eaeh out of
the poorrate, and a measure of this kind
would at all events have been lees un-
dignified than to strike work because they are
not to be partially boarded at other people's ex-
pense. We are not usually advocates of Lynch
law, but if these thirsty and impoverished gentle-
men were to be somewhat roughly handled by the
paupers to whom they refuse to dispense relief
we should have but little sympathy to spare them.
Perhaps, now that they are denied their tea out
of the ratepayers' pockets, they might not be the
worse for making acquaintanoe with the action of
the workhouse pump.

BALL BY HER ROYAL
OP HIGHNESS THE
PRINCESS W

On Friday evening a grand private ball took
plies at Abergeidle Castle, on invitations issued by their
Royal Highnesses the Prince end Prisons of Wales.
Dewing oommeneed at about 10 o'clock, and was con-
doned till 1 o'clock— their royal highnesses being present
the most of the thus. Amongst those present were :—ThG
dietlegulahed party from Balmoral Castle, the Prince and
Primus Louis of Howe, the Prince= Helena, the Princess
Beatrice, the eriseso Hilda of Anita% Sir Charles Phipps.
G 1 Grey and Min. Grey, Lady Churchill, Colonel
Bruce, Baron Schenck and Baron Balboa, &c., the party
from Mar Lodge, the Earl of Fife, the Coaster of File,
Lea MaoDulf, Lady Anne Duff ; Garden Campbell, Req.,
of Troup ; Baru Callender, Ste., of Preston Hall, due. ; the
peel from Inveroauld House, Colonel Farquhar*" Mn.
Farquharson, Mr. John Athol' Farqubnmon, Lord Holmes.
dale, Lady Holmoadale, Sir Edmund Filmer, Lady Feltner,
Wide Cochrane, M.P., sod Miss Cochrane, Colonel Mar.
shall and Mts. Marshall, London, Hon. Mr. Edgerton and
Mrs. Edgerton, he. ; the pasty from Aboyne Castle, the
Marquis of Handy, the Marchioness of fluidly, Lady
Mary Gordon, do. ; Captain Stockwell sad party of the
officers commanding the garrieon battalion at Mater,
Dundee Advertiser.