The Express.
London, England, 1862-02-17 00:00:00

THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

The following report has been addressed to her
Majesty's Commissioners by the professional 17101111 INS of
the building monmittee of the International Exhibition :

"SO TII-1 COMMISSIONER. OP TIM INTIIREATIONAL

EXHIBITION.

" My Lords and Gentlemen,—Feeling that it would be •
source of satisfaction to the commissioners, as well as to
ourselves, as members of the building committee, and also •
due precaution for the public gaiety, that the gallery and
other floors of the International Exhibition building, at
South Kensington, should be thoroughly proved, we under-
took • series of experiments on Monday last.
" We have to report that, in carrying out these experiments
the various floors and stairs were put to • more severe test
than they would bo subjected to with the largest number
of people that could possibly be assembled upon them at
any other time during the exhibition. The malts of these
experimeeta fully bear out our calculations on the strength
of the different parts of the structure, and we feel perfectly
satisfied as ifs the stability of the building for the purpose
for which it was intended.

" The two large domes, in the strength of which we have
taken great interest, were eased from their temporary sup-
port last week, and no observable settlement took plane.
' The following are the particulars of the testa :—The first
caused a large body of men, about 400 in number, to be closely
packed upon a space M. by Mt. on one lay of flooring ;
we then moved them in step, and afterwards made them
run over the different galleries, and down each staircase ; at
the same time we caused the deflections of the girders car-
rying these floors to be carefully noted at several places,
and had the satisfaction of finding that in each ease the
deflections were very nearly the same, thus exhibiting •
remarkable uniformity in the construction. The cast iron
girders, with 25ft. bearings, deflected only one-eighth of an
inch at the centre, and the timber-trussed beams of the
same bearing placed between these girders deflected hal an
inch at the centre. In every instance the girders and
trusses recovered their original position immediately on the
removal of the load.

" We are, my Leeds mad °salesmen, yours faithfully,
" Wu. FAIBBAIRN,
BAKeB,I
" Wc E.
ILLIAII C.
" London, Feb. 13."

Tea ALBERT MEMORIAL FUND.--It was incor-
rectly stated ou Saturday that the amount received up to
Friday evening in aid ol the Albert Memorial Fund vas
32,6001., whereaa the amount received up to Saturday alter-
woo yr only little more than that amount.

THE HARTLEY COLLIERY. RELIEF Ft/NO.—The
total amount received up to Saturday afternoon at the
Mansion-house, by the Lard Mayor, in aid of the sufferers
by the Hartley Colliery accident, was about 17,3001.,
of which about 3501. was received in the course of
the day.

The Public Schools Commissioners held a meeting
at their offices in Victocisestaest, Westminster, on &tardy

present :—The Earl of Clarendon, the

Fad of Devon, the Lord Lyttalton, Sir Stafford H. North.
cote, Bart., M.P., the Hon. H T. B. Twiseton, the Rev.
Professor W. H. Thompson, K. Helloed Vaughan, Seq.,
and the Secretary, Protestor Hansard.
_ _ _

The Dublin Freemen is perfectly confident that
Colonel White, the new Lord of the Tressu7, will enjoy
the luxury of a "walk o►er." The writ for the county of
Longford wan despatched to the high sheriff on Saturday.

The board of the Roman Catholic University,
which consists of the archbishops and bishops in Ireland,
have made arrangements for placing at the disposal of the
rector the sum of 3401. per annum, or 301. from each diocese,
for exhibitions to " assist" deserving studente in the prose-
cution of their studies. Theme exhibitions will be divided
between the four provinces, and will be open for public
competition to youths from every put of Ireland.

The case for the prosecution of Captain Robert-
son, of the 4th Dragoon Guards, closed on Friday lad.
Some of the witnesses rather favoured the prisoner's state-
meat, which is charged against him as • falsehood is the
indictment, that he had been bullied into sending in his
resignation ; and some curious evidence was given, to
which some mystery appeared to be attached, that on the
very day on which the prisoner made up hie mind to retire,
• junior officer, who had never bdore signified his intention
to purchase a step, determined to purchase the vacant com-
mission. The prisoner intimated his intention to give in •
written defence, and obtained an adjournment of the court
tall Thursday next, in order to prepare it. _ _

At a meeting of Greek merchants and residents
in London, on the occasion of the return to Grimm of the
Greek ambassador, If. Triompl, Mr. IL L Bodocanaohi in
the chair, resolutions, proposed by Yams. Sparta and
Belli, were adopted for the presentatice of an address and
• parting testimonial of their edam. Is reply, N. Tricoepi
expressed the hope that, after having pawed through many
trying times and difficulties, the just expectations of the
Greeks would be realised by the cordial co-operation of sll
ander the King's rule, and through the proper working of
the constitution.

A private letter from Rome of tho Bth iost. says :
—"A turret-shaped diadem, emblematical a/ Gaeta, et au

appropriate design and skilful execution, the work of Storr
and Mortimer, has been presented to the Queen of Naples
from England ; this graceful lot of homage shows kind feel-
ing towards one who deserves sympathy, and has reaped
nodeserved censure as the tuned of her heroic deeds. The
Queen rises early, takes a morning drive with her sister,
returns to hear mass in hex private chapel, breakfasts with
all the family, then withdraws to her apartments, where
she amuses herself reading, drawing, and writing letters.
At dinner she again joins her mother-in.law and her hus-
band's relations, and spends the evening at home playing
the piano with her sister. Such is her daily life, aestivate-
aided but by a casual visitor, or a reception day, each as a
birthday of one of the royal household, when all the Nea-
politan emigrants in Rome throng to the Quirinal."
A letter front Alexandria ear :—" The reports
current here respecting the operations of the Sues Canal
Company bottoms daily more sad more unfavourable. The
small channel, or rigole de serriee, dug through Lake
Mentaleb, is already, I als informed, almmt eolinly
obliterated. Whatever embankments had been raised on
either side have Sees washed away, and the small boats
that occasionally attempt the passage find themselves every
now and then stuck fast in the open but shallow lake. The
approaches to Port Said are in as unpromising a state as
ever, and the cutting through the sand heights of El Oise it
is found must be attempted in spite of its acknowledged
difficulties and disadvantages."

A Berlin letter of the 12th Rays :—" The Duke
of Coburg-Gotha has been here for about twenty-four hours,
jest to take leave for his African expedition, and to give or
to get information from one of the best authorities on
Africa, Dr. Barth, residing at Berlin, with regard to the
principal object of this expedition, the search for the
lost African explorer, E. VogeL Vogel is our lamented
Franklin, for whom recovery (or at least ascertaining
his fate) our naturalists, the people, and the Duke
of Coburg-Gotha, have made great moral and ma-
terial exertions. By such means an expedition was
prepared and entrusted to Herr Von lienglin with
a clearly pointed out object, the search for Vogel.
Bat from information and letters received it was loon user-
baked that Herr Von Henglin bad become false to hie
trust, and deviated by thousands of miles from the traces of
ow miming African explorer. Dr. Barth, and most of
the naturalists and supporters of this Henglin expedition,
gave vent to their indignatioe in the press, in published
Wien, in meetings, and by resolutions against Herr Von
Hamlin, and for another expedition. The Duke of Coburg-
Gotha seems to bare volunteered his services for such a
supplementary and corrective search, ►nd is prep ring to
start in a few weeks."

King, the only survivor of the ill-fated explora-
tion party in Australia, is described as a simple, quiet
young man, not ovcrburdsned with intelligence, who owes
his safety solely to the fact that his constitution was more
hardy than those of his unfortunate companions. The
account given by Meg In no way differs from that which
previously appeared in Willes }oared. A party under the
leadership of Mr. Hewitt has been despatched to Cooper's
Creek, for the purpose of brioging down the bodies of
Burke and Wills, preparatory to rendering them the sad
but just honor= of a public funeral. The South Australian
party, which was despatched to attempt the relief of
Burke, has, since the discovery of his melancholy fate,
made several valuable disooveries—but not without

running eerioos dangers from the hostility of the satires
—oft sew oeuntry eminently adapted for pastoral per-
poses ; sod. treat a deepatalt rewired from Yr. W. a
Hodgideeoe, it appears that they hare bees aka
ow* compelled to resort to &ear= to mom the safety of
the party.