The Express.
London, England, 1862-11-26 00:00:00

GAZDEN.

THIN EVIOI7IIO. SATAialli. Mi Sara Doh on, M 1 Susan
Fyne. and Hrs. Ayosley Cook Masan. W. H. Weiss, J. Rouse,
A. St. Albyn, H. Cord, C. Lys!), W. H. Payee, and G. Ferran.
e-Conductor, Mr. Alfred 31eBos.—Commence at 8.

HATILAZZIT.

Mil !VINING, A DAITIeTRIL TrIiARRY. Way E. Ramer.
KRICAN 00081 W. Mom &Aim Baakoloo• ; Mn.
E. Fitzwillloan. —DUCK HUNTING. Mn. Wlildna.—Aad JACK'S
=USN FROM CANTON. Tim Ledereqs.

PEINCESM

TNT avErnia, THE TBIPLS ALLIANCE. Hews. G. Vining
and Shore : Mimes Aylmer and M. 011rer.—ONE GOOD TURN
DESERVES ANOTHER. Maim G. Vlalair and Stephens; Min
Amy dedgwkk.—And STAGE STRUCK. Mr. Helmer,.

BILITMMA.

THIS SYWok CAST ON *Hi MERCY OF THE WORLD.
Mrs. S. lens.—Sinedng by Was H. Coveney, Mr. W. Randall.
Protector Daley and MUM Soh—Dawns by If dlle. C. Stephan.
...And MART OF MB LIGHT-HOUSIL

NIGH WATIM AT LONDON DIMON.
TEN DAY Yawning, Sh. Os.....Attornam Ad 25na.
To-Nozacm—Norolai. 541. Nom.....Aftwoom Olt. 20ra.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26.

THE news of the last few days has presented the
election of Prince ALFRED to the throne of Greece as
an event so probable as to demand serious considera-
tion. When first the English public were informed
that the thoughts of the Greek people were turned
towards the Prince, many persons regarded the
propoeal as one born of the transient sentiments
which so easily prevail in revolutionary periods;
and as likely to be soon forgotten. It appears,
however, by all the intelligence which arrive.
from Greece, that the project of electing Prince
ALFRED is hailed with enthusiasm by the people,
and is deliberately promoted by some of the
most eminent public men of the country. Lest
we might suspect that we were deceived by our
own amoir propre, the Continental journals fur-
nish their unanimous testimony to the popu-
larity of the Prince. They protest, they
accuse, they explain, they predict ; but amidst
all this with one consent they bear witness to
the fact, that Prince ALFRED'S name commands a
support so universal and overpowering that no one
else is spoken of, and that if the Greeks are left to
themselves they will certainly elect the Prince to
the vacant throne.

The English people cannot but be touched by
the spectacle of a national movement so sponta-
neous and unexpected as this. It is a token of
the goodwill of the Greek people, and of
the confidence which they feel in the
rectitude of our principles and intentions
in reference to their race. As regards the
person of the Prince, it is more than anything
else an expression of belief in the soundness of his
political education, and of admiration of the Royal
House of which he is a son. The Greeks, like the
French and Prussians, have learned by hard ex-
perience how much the prosperous working of
the government, in a constitutional monarchy,
depends on the personal character of the King.
They feel sure that no son of Queen Vieroiii•
would either pervert their constitution by false
interpretations, or undermine it by corruption.
With these considerations a belief that the lonian
Islands would soon be united to a kingdom of
which an English Prince was the head has doubt-
less mingled and been influential. The extension
of the present kingdom of Greece is a natural
object of desire to every Greek. Thessaly and
Epirus are subject to a foreign government, but
Corfu, Zante, and Cephalonia are united to the
English Crown only by a protectorate which recog-
nises their independence. It is thought that the
election of Prince ALFRED, besides securing a good
King for Greece, would prove a happy expedient
for acquiring that aggrandizement of territory
which the kingdom needs.
The friendly feeling which blends with these
considerations imposes on England obligations
as clear as they are delicate. The Greeks are
now in a situation of great difficulty, and, be-
yond helping to secure their freedom of action, it
is very little we can do for them. There is one
thing, however, which is in our power, and it is im-
portant that we should not omit to perform it. We
can save them from illusions which may otherwise
lead to the loss of precious time and of oppor-
tunities that will not return. We ought not, for
the sake of gathering a few more compliments
either to our Royal Family or our institutions,
to maintain a silence which may coat them dear. It
is evident that if the Greeks are encouraged by our
attitude to expend their energies upon a plan which
cannot be carried out, an immense advantage will
be given to those factions and parties which, though
just now but little heard of, are busy preparing
an organization with which to take advantage of
the moment of national disappointment when it
arrives. It seems strange that in all the intelli-
gence which conies from Greece the acquiescence
of England in the election of Prince ALFRED
to the throne of that country is implicitly taken
for granted. It might have been thought
that among a people so acute and shrewd
the difficulties which must prove fatal to such an
arrangement would have been promptly appre-
hended. It is for the Greeks themselves to con-
sider whether they want a King at all, and why ;
whether, if they resolve to choose one, he shall be
selected from the existing families of Europe, and

which ; and we hope that in determining them
they will be guided solely by reveller the seek
fare of their country. But it is for British states-
men, looking in the first place to British interests,
and in the next to the welfare of Greece itself, to
advise upon the propriety of such an alliance as
would be implied in the acceptance of the crown of
Greece by a member of the Royal Family of this
country. In both of these respects the choice is
to be deprecated. It would make nations at
present disposed to be friendly or neutral,
the permanent enemies of Greece, and by
throwing the country upon the support
of England, would impair its indepen-
dence. This, it may be said, is a consideration
for the Greeks themselves. It is so primarily,
but it is one for us also, unless policy is to be ex-
clusively self-regarding. But whatever variety of
opinion may exist on these points, there will be
little respecting the serious inconvenience which
would result to England from such an arrange-
ment. The Royal Family of England finds its
highest ambition satisfied within the bounds of its
vast empire. There have been and are reigning
houses whose chief desire seems to be to plant
slips and cuttings from their genealogical free in
every land, and even to make States for their
propagation ; hut ours is not one of them. It is
in vain to say that if Prince AIIMMD accepted the
crown of Greece he would be severed from all
the ties which bind him to this country.
Common sense may tell us what would infallibly
happen. We should become parties to a great deal
of the foreign policy of Greece, and as often as her
neighbours were aggrieved, we should be considered
responsible for the whole. Against our will, and
in the face of much protestation at Athens, the
relations between England and Greece would be-
come those of patron and client—of a patron whose
advice was oftener rejected than taken, and of a
client permanently dissatisfied. We cannot be thus
entangled. The true policy of England towards the
smaller States of Europe is not to attempt to ac-
quire an ascendency over them, but by every
means to favour their independence. This is the
only policy we can follow towards Greece.

int Court.

—.--
WINDSOR CASTLE, Nov. 25.

The Queen, accompanied by the Princess Louie
of Hems, Princess Alexandre, Princess Louise, and Prince
Leopold, drove out this morning.
Her Majesty was attended by the Countess of Caledon
and Lord Charles Flirttoy.
Prince Louis of Hesse, attended by Lieutenant-Colonel
the Hoc. D. de Roe, also accompanied her Majesty on
horseback.

Prince Arthur, attended by Major Elphinstonc, returned
to Greenwich-park yesterday.
Viscount Torrington and Colonel Seymour have succeeded
Lora dc Tabley and Colonel the Hon. A. Liddell as Lord
and Groom in Waiting.

Despatches were sent yesterday, from the Colonial-office,
to the Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Wands.

(11011 LAST MAT'S GAZETTE.)

Sy. JAMES'S PALACE, Nov. 25.—The Queen has
been pleased to appoint Richard Quail', Eeq., F.R.S., to be
alarm extraordinary to her Majosti m
tbEILION-OFFICE, Nov. 21.—The Queen bas been
to approve of Mr. W. D. Mathews as oonanl at
VenTadesce for his Majesty the King of the Belgians.

ST. JAMEN'S PALACE, Nov. 25.—The Queen has
been pleased to appoint Caesar Henry Hawkins, Esq., F.R.S.,
to be one of her Majesty's serjeant-anrgeons in ordinary, in
the room of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Bart., deceased.
ST. JAMES'S PALACE, Nov. 25.—The Queen has
bees pleased to appoint James Monerieff Arnott, Esq.,
F.R.S., to be surgeon extraordinary to her Majesty.

DEATH OP THE COUNTEAS GRAS VILLE.—We regret
to have to record the demise of the Countess Granville,
mother of the Lord President of the Council. Her ladyship
expired at her house in Hereford-street, Park-lane, yester-
day morning, shortly after five o'clock. The late countess
was a benevolent and charitable lady, and a large circle of
her dependents will have occasion to deplore her loath.
She was the second daughter of William, fifth Duke of
Devonshire, and was consequently sister of the late Countess
of Carlisle and the late Duke of Devonshire,

The Archbishop of Cauterbury elect and the
bases Loogley have arrived at Claridge's Hotel from Raby
Castle.

The Duke and Duchess of Argyll, who have been
staying with the Duke of Devonshire and family at Chats-
worth. Derbyshire, leave to-day for itoseneath, Dumbar-
tonshire.

The Duke of Somerset left his official residence
at the Admiralty yesterday for Norfolk. The duchess has
arrived at Mande, Books, from Stover Park, Devon.

The Earl and Lady Constance Grosvenor arrived
on Saturday at Chatsworth, on a visit to the Duke of
Devonshire, from Calverley Park, Cheshire.
The Earl and Countess of Chesterfield returned
to Bretby Park, Derbyshire, on Monday, from Willey Park,
Lord Forester's seat in Salop.
Lord Richard Grosvenor and the Hon. James
Stuart Wortley have arrived in London from a tour in the
East.

The Right Hon. Colonel C. W. Forester, M.P.,
and the Hon. Mrs. Forester, who have been visiting Lord
sad Lady Forester at Willey Park, Salop, left Willey on
Monday last on a tonr of visits.

Lord Brougham has passed through Paris on his
way to Cannel, where he intends passing the winter. His
lordship, who appears in excellent health, was present at
the sitting of the Academy of Sciences on Monday.
" Au Insulted Churchwarden " states that the
footman, William Taylor, who eloped with Mrs. Gurney,
has been elected, and is at present fulfilling the office of
charchwarden of St. Lawrence, in the parish of Bast Harp-
tree, near Bristol, Somersetshire.
It continues to be asserted that the recent Cabinet
Councils were partly occupied with the question of a reduc-
tion of expenditure. One account fixes the amount of
reduction proposed for the next financial year at two
millions.

The French court will quit Compiegne on the
7th of December, the Emperor arriving in Park on that
day for the inauguration of the Boulevard do Prince
Eugene.

M. de Sartiges, the new minister of France at the
court of King Victor Emm►nuel, has left P►ris for Turin.

M. Koestner, archivist of the city of Hanover,
who is now in his 90th year, last week celebrated the six-
tieth anniversary of his wedding with his venerable partner,
now 84 years of age, by giving a dinner to his children,
gromlchildren, and friends. M. Koestner is the son of that
Charlotte whom Goethe immortalised in his " Worthen"

The theatres of Paris, and especially the lyric
theatres, are very busy. The Italian Opera is preparing
Verdi's I Lombardi and the Baebicre di Singlia.
Patti will continue her cblbuta as Rosins. This caotatrice,
whose snows has surpasaed all anticipations, was to have
sung in the Lucia, but at the request of Mdlle. Frezzolini,
this intention has been abandoned. At the Theatre Lyrique
they are studying a new opera of M. Duprato, called A riane.
The same establishment has recommenced the represen-
tation of Der Freirdiutz.

The Prefect of Police at Paris has issued an order
to all locksmiths, coppersmiths, tinplate workers, and all
operatives using beery hemmers, sod to all persons follow-
ing trades or occupations which require the employment of
machines capable of disturbing the repose of the neighbour.
Mg inhabitants. He orders that such persons shall stop
their work from 9 o'clock in the afternoon to 4 in the morn-
ing from April 1 to Sept. 30, and trim 9 io the afternoon to
sin the morning from October Ito March 3L The decree
further forbids any pets, to play a noisy instrument during
the same hours.

The gaming establishment at Spa gained during
the season, extending from May 1 to Nov.l, the sum of
1,200,000 fr.
MODERATORBBIP OF FRE GENERAL. ABEEMBLT.—.
We understood that the R.. Dr. Junes Craik, minister of
St. George's, Glasgow, will be proposed as moderator of the
ensuing removal meembly of the Church of Seatlenik—ldin-
burgh Courant.

THE - -EXPRESS,