The Express.
London, England, 1853-03-21 00:00:00

VW Court.

The Queen held a court on Saturday afternoon, at
Buckingham Palace.
The Count Col Laredo, Austrian minister, bad ea audi-
ence of the Queen, and delivered to her Majesty an auto-
graph letter from the Emperor of Austria. His Excellency
was introduced by the Earl of Clarendon, K.G., the
Queen's piincipal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
and conducted by her Majesty's Muter of the Ceremonies.
The Queen war attended by Lord Cantor, Lord-in-
Waiting, and Major-General Berkeley Drummond, Groom-
in-Waiting.
The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by their royal
highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, Prince
Alfred, the Princesses Alice, Helena, and Louisa, and
Prince Arthur, left Buckingham Palace, at twenty minutes
before tour o'clock, on Saturday afternoon for Windsor
Castle. The royal suite coeianted of the Duchess of Wel-
lington, Lady Caroline Barrington, the lion. Eleanor
Stanley, the Hon, Beatrice Byng, Lord Cantom_Colonel the
Hon. Charlie Grey, Major-General Berkeley Drummond,
Colonel Bouverie, the Hoc. Capt. de Roos, and Mr. Gibbs.
The Queen and the Prince were conducted to their car-
riage by the Duke of Norfolk, Lewd Steward ; the Mersin'
of Breadelbane, Lord Chamberlain ; the Duke of Welling-
ton, Muter of the Horse ; and Lord Earnest Bruce, Vice.
1 Chamberlain. A detachment of Light Dragoons escorted
the Queen from Buckingham Palace to the terminus of
the Great Western Railway, at Paddington, where a special
train was in readiness, which conveyed the sagest party
to Windsor.
Her Majesty's private band attended in Buckingham
Palace on Friday evening, and performed the following
compositions 2 . - _

04eVars, "fa ldddeStM else liddeda"
ArtA Le Mood Is tothasi” —. Astor.
Mardis de is Cireveim, La Ileatdale Arabs, Dams
s Ala" "'Le Decant" DevkL
Winnsoa CASTLE, Matto( 20.
The royal party arrived at the Castle at half-past four
o'clock yesterday. There wan no addition to the royal
dinner party.
' A fire broke out at Windsor Castle about half-past nine
o'clock last night, in the Prince of Wales's Tower, at the
north-eastern angle of the Castle, which threatened very
serious consequences, and wca not extinguished until past
four o'clock this morning. Owing to the exertions of the
servants of the household and others. directed by Mr.
Turnbull, the Clerk of the Works, and the military, eon'
misting of the Ist Battalion Scots Fusilier Guards, and a
dement of the 2nd Life Guards, who were quickly on
the snot with the barrack engines, the damage was ulti-
mately confined to the tower where the fire began; but in
consequence of the complicated arrangements of the a -
mints, and the nature of the building, it ap for
some time doubtful whether the eastern and northern
sides of the Castle could be saved. The ceiling of the
Queen's dining-room and the rooms in the story above
were completely destroyed. A telegraphic mesuge was
despatched to summon Mr. Superintendent Broudwood
and a party of the London Fire Brigade, who arrived
about two o'clock this morning with two engines by ape-
' trial train, and have since remained in charge of the build-
in. The engines from Windsor and Eton likewise ren-
dered assistance shortly aßer the fire broke out. Her Ma-
jetty remained during thf whole time in the adjoining
' rooms, and we are happy to say has sustained no incon-
TIMMY' from the alarm which such an was likely to
true. The origin of the Are has not been as yet satisfac-
torily explained.
The Queen and Prince, the Prince of Wales, the Princess
Royal, and Princess Alice, the Du-liess of Kent, and the
Princess Adelaide of Hoheolohe, with the ladies and gen-
tMeath of the court, and the domestic household, attended
divine service this morning in the private chapel of the
Castle. The Hon. and Rev. G. Wellesley officiated.
The Duchess of Wellington has succeeded the Countess
of Charlemont as Lady in Waiting to her Majesty.
The Duehess of Kent, accompanied by the Princess Ade-
: 'side of Hobenlohe, and attended by Lady Fanny Howard,
left her residence Clarence-house, St. James's, at eleven
o'clock on Saturday morning fur Frogmore.

A deputation on behalf of the parties interested in the
cultivation of flax, and fur the granting of a royal charter
of incorporation to " The Farmers' Flax Company," had
an interview on Saturday with the Right lion. E. Card-
well and Lord Stanley of Alderley, at the Board of Trade.

The deputatrwisonlistod el the Earl of Beets, Lord de
Meanie-pa& Ralph Honiara*. /Kr. Perm Mr. Cs ipps, Lieut..
Colonel Munk. Mr. BorronOes, Mt. John Towoeley, and
Sir Montagu Cholisondelernaart.
The Liverpool Filo% deputation,consisting of Mr. J.
Nelson Wood (charm's), Mr. R. W. Houghton (Deputy-
Chairman), Messrs. Henry Jenkins, Richard Kershaw,
William Mann, John Higher's-, David Rowland (Secretary),
Joseph Cooke (superintendent), and M. D. Lowndes (soli-
citor), bad also an interview with the Right Hon. B. Card
well and Lord Staaley
.of Alderney on Saturday. The
deputation was accompanied by Mr. Charles Turner, M.P.
for Liverpool.
The Turkish minister tnnsseted basin's. on Saturday at
the Foreign-office, Downing-street.
A deputation on the cam of the ballast heavers of the
Port of London, consisting of the Hon. W. Cowper, M.P.,
Viscount Godetich, Mr. Hugh Taylor, M.P., Mr. F. J.
Furnwell, Mr. Samuel Soames, and Messrs. Flynn, Brown,
Ryan, and Driscoll (ballut heavers), bad an interview on
Saturday .with the Right lion. E. Cardwell and Lord
Stanley of Alderney, at the Board of Trade.
A deputation from the Liverpool master pilots, on the
subject of the Pilotage Bill, had alas an interview with the
Right Hon. E. Cardwell and Lord Stanley of Alderney on
Saturday, at the Board of Trade. The deputation consisted
of Messrs. Wm. Hodson, John Shepherd, W. Hughes,
and Wm. Rowlands (master pilots). The deputation were
accompanied by Mr. Turner, M.P. for Liverpool, sod Mr.
Brown, M.P. for Lancashire.
Despatches were sent on Saturday from the Colonial-
ogles to the Governor of Hong Kong, the Governor of
Malta, and the Lord High Commissioner of the lonian
Islands.

Despatches were on Saturday evening received from
Admiral Dundas.

A cabinet council was held at the Foreign-office,
Downing-street, oa Saturday afternoon. It was
attended by the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord John Rus-
sell, the Lord Chancellor, Earl Granville, the Duke
of Argyll, Viscount Palmerston, the Earl of Claren-
don, the Duke of Newcastle, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Sir Charles Wood, Sir James Graham,
the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, and Sir William
filolesworth. The council sat three hours and a
half.

OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The following arrange-
ments have been made 5y the Board of Customs, upon the
retirement of Mr. Powell from the office of Collector of the
Customs for the port of Southampton, viz.—Mr. Sparrow,
now comptroller at Leith, to be collector at Southampton ;
Mr. Dew, comptroller at Plymouth, to be comptroller at
Leith ; Mr. Shelley, collector at Falmouth, to be comp-
troller at Plymouth ; Mr. Ross, collector at Lancaster, to
be collector at Falmouth; Mr. Burridge, collector at Pads-
tow, to be collector at Falmouth; Mr. Patterson, comp-
troller at Padstow, to be collector at the same port ; Mr.
Henry, clerk at Newry, to be comptroller at Padstow. Mr.
Armand Pictet, who has for many years been British Con-
sular Agent at Geneva, has been appointed her Britannic
Majesty's Consul to the Swiss Confederation, resident at
that puce.—Observer.

THE SPEAKEIt'B fifth and last parliamentary din-
ner took place on Saturday, March 19. The following
gentlemen attended :—Lord Alexander Lenooz,Lord Harry
Vane, Viscount Barrington, Lord Norreys, Lord Ovsulston,
Lord Lovaine, Viscount Chelsea, Viscount Emlyn, Lord
Henry Cholmondeley, Hon. Francis Scott, Sir Philip
Egerton, Sir Watkin Wm. Wynn, Sir Wen. Fraser, Sir
Thos. Maddock, General Wyndham, Mr. Beaumont Coles,
Mr. Compton, Col. Hall, C•pt. Lowther, Mr. Portal, Mr.
Arthur Mills, Mr. Liddell, Mr. Milnes Gukell, Mr. Valen-
tine Brown (Kerry), Mr. Geo. Dundu, Mr. Robert Philli-
more, Mr. H. Drummond, Mr. Pugh. Viscount Galway
and Lord Brooke, were unavoidably absent. lion. Eliot
Yorke was prevented being present through indisposition.