The Express.
London, England, 1866-05-26 00:00:00

Eft Court. i•

the nursery of courage, moderating, anteaduranes,
and that its decadence must be altrded again& l
the national character pale. Theme things have*
paid. That love of " sensation "which is innate
in the shallow and thoughtless has been success-
fully appealed to, and thousands who would yawn
at hllinitri.av,.and declare SHAIZSPEARE " slow,"
have read, and, what is more to the purpose, have
bought, the narratives casting a false halo round
scenesthe most vicious and repulsive, and "graphic"
journalists have reaped reflected honour from
pugilistic canonization. But happily a reaction
baa set in, and in the disgraceful proeeedings of
Thursday may be read the death warrant of prize-

• 'sxl NONISTINT SITUATION.•
The prindirl 'MOM Mac woes Of the present
Wee.'
Amato =affairs in the City. and He to which ens
Bch can ybe , is stated
by the Tina to be the introducitau by banks
of the unfortunate practice of male interest on
deposits which can be withdrawn at pleasure.
This pernicious system in the first place has a tend-
ency to draw into the business of banking more money
than would naturally find its way into it, and thus at once
te stimulate the competition between bankers, and to ren-
der the depositors from whom they derive their funds
more sensitive. A collapse was more likely to come in a
business whose capital was attained by these unnatural
means than in one where it was left to find its own level.
A banker who had borrowed his money at so high a rate
was bound not to let it lie idle ; if safe investments could
not be found, it was better to win risks than to be eaten
up by.interest paid for money that was doing nothing.
The Post says that we are at present not in a condition
of paralysis but in a state of catalepsy, from which the
trading public will recover naturally. It will awake as
the enchanted city did in the Eastern story, and every-
body will set about their business of buying and selling as
they did when this movement was suddenly arrested.
The Telegraph does not see that any great advantage'
could result from the Bank of England putting forth
interest-bearing notes at three or six months, since no
Continental drain need be dreaded under the present
balance of trade. It will be enough to think of resorting
to such a course in the event of war being actually
begun in Europe. What we must look to is a firm reso-
lution on the part of the Bank of England, that no house
really solvent and possessing ample securities shall be
suffered to fall for want of proper assistance.
The Advertiser asks why the directors of banking and
finance companies which are sound do not have recourse in
such crises as the present to the expedient of purchasing
their own shares at the extremely low price to which,
through " bearing " operations, they have been driven
down. If Overend and Gurney's and the Bank of London
had resorted in time to this mode of counteracting the
operations of the " bears," there cannot be a question, it
thinks, that these two establishments would still have
been standing, and ere long have regained their former
position.

WINDSOR OABTLR. MI 26.
To-clay is the anniversary of the birth of tbe
Princess Helena.
The Queen drove out yesterday afternoon in a oarriage-
and-four, accompanied by the Princess Helena, and at-
tended by the Dowager-Duchess of Athele.
Her Majesty went out in the grounds this morning, with
Princess Helena. Princess Louise, Princess Beatrice, and
Prinoe Arthur walked and drove.
Prince Edward of Bose Weimar dined with the Queen
and the royal family yesterday.

fighting.
It has been asserted that policemen were in
attendance at the Ludgate-hill station to faci-
litate the departure of the train bound on
ita unholy errand ; that the vast resources
of the railway company were placed at the
disposal of the travellers ; and that porters,
officials, and station-master vied with each other
in assiduity and civil forethought. It is also
said that other policemen were murderously
attacked an hour or two later, by the very
people their brethren had been employed to pro-
tect. We commend this grave anomaly to the atten-
tion of the proper authorities. There is high autho-
rity as to the fate of a house dividedagainst itself,
and if one set of constabulary are encouraged in
aidlniexpeditions which include attempts on the
lives of another set, far-seeing people will look for
the gradual extermination of the force. The cir-
cumstances under which officers of the law were
made accomplices in outraging it, will doubtless be
made matter for inquiry in the proper quarter; but
it is on the non-infliction rather than the infliction
of injuries that the lovers of order are chiefly to
be congratulated. The last rag of superstition is
surely destroyed when two candidates for the
championship are openly convicted of either
dishonesty or cowardice ; and when a costly
prize-fight resolves itself into some innocent
grimacing and attitudinising between two half-
naked men. Thursday's exhibition seems to
have been something between male tableaux
vivant* and a circus sparring - match ; and
in neither phase was either amusing or
exciting enough to be remunerative to those
who had sat up half the night, to
bravo the chances of maltreatment and robbery,
besides disbursing largely for the privilege of being
present. No punishment was inflicted, no blood
shed, and neither skill nor courage was displayed.
But it must be remembered that although
stakes were withdrawn and bets declared to be
void, this ludicrous fiasco has still an emi-
nently practical side. It is more than probable
that several hundreds of pounds were netted by
its promoters and their decoy-ducks, who have
consequently every reason to be satisfied with the
ingenuousness of their dupes. If, as is stated, the
railway company shares the sum received for the
sale of tickets with the pugilists or their represen-
tatives, and if two pounds were paid by each of
the five hundred spectators, the result would be,
apart from incidental extortions which were
both numerous and profitable, that some five
hundred pounds were divided among the pugilists
and their accomplices. The whole moral of the
Prize-ring is comprised in this simple fact. It is
maintained for gain, and gain only. The people
who profit by its displays are dishonest,
cowardly, cruel, brutal, and mean, and without
one of the redeeming qualities they have been
weakly credited with. The dastardly onslaught
made last Thursday on the handful of unarmed
men who presumed to do their duty, coupled with
the pitiful behaviour of those expected to fight,
has brought this truth home even to the hood-
winked dupes whose credulity has been hitherto
traded on successfully, and in this ignoble fashion
has the finishing stroke been given to an already
expiring sham.

THE CELEBRATION OF HER MAJESTY'S
BIRTHDAY.-(THIS DAY.)

THE WEEKLY PRESS.

The Examiner hopes little from a congress, and
will not be surprised to find the Court of Vienna preferring
the chances of war. Austria refuses to cede Venetia save
in return for territorial indemnity ; and where is that to
come from without a spoliation of the Ottoman, or a re-
modelling of Germany ? Both or either of these might be
the result of a war, but how they can be contemplated in
full peace passes our comprehension. Some persons are,
however, sanguine. Napoleon the Third pretends that the
treaties of 1815 could be set aside still further in full peace,
and the aspirations of the nations satisfied without a re-
course to arms. We cannot see how this is to be.
The Economist did not expect the week to prove
financially a cheerful one. There was, and to some extent
still is, much unwholesome stuff on the market which
must be cleared off before there is anything like tran-
quillity or ease. But though we not only acknowledge but I
strongly maintain this rigid truth, we also hold that, in
fact, the state of the money market is improving, and is
likely to improve. The Economist does not believe in the
Power of " bears" where a firm has managed well, and
where its shares are well held. The moral of what has
taken place is that banks ought not to do bad business,and
that a mass of poor people should not get together and
call themselves a bank. Credit ought to be and can only
be founded on an opulent and stable proprietary, on people
who know they can pay calls, who are not driven into the
market by every change in the value of their shares.
How the British government can have been deluded
into joining such a scheme as the conference the Spectator
is at a loss to conceive, unless indeed they are afraid of
being taunted in parliament with a refusal to exhaust all
possibilities of peace. In the very best case, that of a
territorial arrangement, they will be required to give
guarantees which the people will cordially dislike, secure
Venetia to Italy and something else to Austria, and a
third slice of the world perhaps to France, and thus repeat
in a new form the grand arrangement of 1815 which is now
finally breaking down. It would have been far wiser and
more dignified to stand absolutely aloof, maintaining
intact the right of ultimate action, but refusing to join
amidst the rumbling of artillery, in dull clatter over a
table, about the expediency of sending the cannon back.
The Satarda y I. rikis complains that English writers
underrate the great questions involved in the present con.
flict. Austria has not strained her resources, called nearly
a million of men to be ready for battle, obliged herself to
court her outlying nationalities, appealed to the fitful
enthusiasm of Bohemians and Poles, in order merely
that she may retain the supremely uncomfortable posi-
tion which the Convention of Gastein gave her in
Holstein. She is doing all this that she may take an
advantageous opportunity of deciding whether her
whole existence shall be an existence of sufferance, and
whether, among the German populations whom she rules
or influences, the manners, the feelings, and the religion
that are dear to her shall be stifled and overshadowed by
the advancing supremacy of her rival in the North. Austria
may be right or wrong, wise or foolish, iu thinking of war
now to determine this issue ; but at any rate it is a great
issue, an issue worthy of a supreme effort of heroism, and
nut a paltry issue like that of the dominion of the Duchies.
How can the continentals care for exhortations to peace
that come from peacemakers utterly unable to understand
the causes of the war? As to the conference the
scheme is proposed by a monarch who has for
months carefully abstained from using his influence
to prevent the impending war, and whose recent proclama-
tion to his countrymen was universally understood as a
menace to the general peace. There is too much reason to
fear that the parties to the conference may become en-
tangled with engagements which can neither be performed
in accordance with prudence and justice, nor repudiated
with honour. If Prussia, Austria, and Italy really desire
peace, they can lay down their arms without the aid of
any congress.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

(THIS DAY.)

TIM CONING CONFERENCE.
The Times believes that little more than a week
will elapse before the envoys or plenipotentiaries will
meet, and that in order that the conference may have due
weight, and that time may not be lost in referring to the
governments at home, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of
the respective nations will be present in person. The
British government, although resolute against any en-
tangling interference, is prepared to urge strongly its dis-
interested counsels, but if each power comes to the dis-
cussion determined to yield nothing, it is obvious that
the conference may as well not be held at all.
Diplomatists must be cautious in their utter-
ances, but a journal can sometimes render service
by declaring what ministers hesito to utter.
We may say, then, that it is essential for the cause
of peace that Austria and Prussia should authorise their
representatives to yield, the one on the question of
Venetia, the other on the question of the Duchies. The
former is the more important matter, and on its settle-
ment the result of the conference for good or evil will
depend. To yield Venetia for an adequate compensation
would be no dishonour to Austria, and the Emperor
would thereby not only free himself from a disaffected
territory, but obtain a credit in Europe which would
largely increase his influence at home and in the Confede-
ration. If this question be settled, the whole influence
of the neutral powers would be used to maintain the just
rights of Austria and the Confederation, and to induce a
satisfactory settlement in the Duchies. We have much
to hope from the strong disposition of the greater part of
Europe for peace—the people from the losses which would
follow from the interruption of commerce and communi-
cation, and the sovereigns of the continent from the
feeling that the war, if once begun, will assume a revo-
lutionary character, and that if these millions of men meet
in conflict thrones will not remain where they are.
Referring to the representation by the nalatitutionnel of
the Emperor Napoleon as the friend of peace, the Daily
Hers observes that his imperial majesty may rest assured
that no party or section in this country will grudge him
any degree of glory to which he may aspire in the character
of a peacemaker, if he will but earnestly co-operate with
the other neutral powers to adjust the quarrel which now
threatens to deluge Europe with blood. He was never
called to act under circumstances more favourable to suc-
cess. When the conference opens it will be seen whether
the Emperor has merely sought the empty honour of pre-
siding indifferently over the squabbles of one more party
of diplomatists in his capital, or is sincerely intent on
bringing about a peace based on better foundations than
the settlement which he has so often denounced. The
difficulties are not insuperable. Prussia could not obsti-
nately resist proposals to refer all the claims made to the
sovereignty of the Elbe Duchies to the decision of
their inhabitants ; and in • conference where
three out of six of the powers represented are
neutral there would be no appearance of menace
such as would naturally deter the court of Vienna from
ceding • portion of its territory. The Venetian difficulty
settled, peace would virtually be secured. This is the
chief work which the conference has to perform, but what
it does must be done quickly.
The Herald continues to assert that war is inevitable
though it may be preceded by a congress. Of all the
powers which will accept the proposal of a conference
there is not one which will not do so with the intention
of accepting its decision—if favourable, and disregarding
it if adverse.
Confiding in the preservation of quiet during the in-
terval, the Telefiftsph anticipates the position of • posi-
tive truce during the sittings of the conference ; eo that,
as it cannot well assemble until the second week in June,
we shall gain a substantial respite from the outbreak of
war, and, during that interval, reason, humanity, and
'statesmanship will have time to be heard.

LORD ELCHO AND THE REFORM BILLIL—We
believe it is the intention of Lord Elcho to bring forward
a resolution in the House of Commons to the effect that,
at this late period of the session, it is not expedient to
proceed with the reform bills.—Dutlin Evening Mail.
Intelligence has been received that Governor
Eyre has left Jamaica in an English man-of-war.
THE CHINESE Missioic —Hie excellency Pin-Ta-
Fin and sui:c, accompanied by Major Brine, ME., Mr.
Bowin, secretary, and M. de Champs, interpreter, yester-
day visited the London Docks, the Custom House, and the
Royal Mint. To-day the mission will proceed to Alder-
shott to witness the review in honour of the Queen's birth

day„
THE EAItL OF SHATTESBURY.—The Earl of
Shaftesbury has been in more than usual request this May
as a chairman of anniver.aries ; and it is impossible not to
admire his readiness to help, and his earnestness in every
good cause. We are not disposed to underrate the value
of the support and patronage of the noble earl, whose life-
long devotion to philanthropic and Christian effort is
beyond praise. But really, if his lordship goes on to talk
as wildly as he has done this May, the conductors of
the societies who seek his countenance will have to
stipulate for his presence only without a speech. This
will be an immense relief to his lordship and to the man-
agers also. Earl Sha,teshury's ideas run in ve^y narrow
grooves, and acquire so much intensity by compression
that they explode in most alarming figures of speech. He
means to speak strongly, but does not see the effect and
bearing of his speech at the moment of utterance. His
description of " F..oce Homo" has attracted much notice,
end a correspondent calls attention to an equally extrava-
gant speech at the London Missionary Society's meeting.
A little wholesome criticism may save his lordship from
much mischief.—Patriot.
LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS FOE THE
ENSUING WEEK.—Monday—Geographiatl, at 1, Anniver-
sary. Tuesday—Engineers, at 9, President's converea•
zione ; Royal Institution, at 3, "Physical Geography
and the Fine Arts," Professor Ansttd. Wednesday—
Society of Arts, at 8. "Popular Errors concerning Aus-
tralia," Hon. C. G. Duffy. Thursday—Royal Institution,
at 3, " Ethnology," Professor Huxley ; Royal, at 84 ;
Antiquaries, at Bi. Friday—Archmological Institute, at
4 ; Royal Institution, at 8, " Opalescence of the Atmos-
phere," Professor Rosooe ; Philological, at 8. Saturday—
Actuaries, at 3, Annual general meeting ; Royal Institu-
tion, at 3, " Ethnology," Professor Huxley.—Athentrum.
DEATH OF A WELL-KNOWN LAKE GUIDE.-011
Saturday Charles Hewer Wright, so well-known in Kes-
wick for more than 40 years as a guide and geologist, died
after a protracted and painful illness. Few were so
thoroughly acquainted with every point in the Lake Dis-
trict, to which he was so devotedly attached, and through
which he deemed it a labour of love to guide inquiring
tourists. He was a man of great intelligence, and was
selected by the most eminent royal personages (atnong
them the Prince of Wales just nine years ago) who visited
Keswick to act es their cicerow.—Weststoretand Usistte.

•Z,„l-4THe._ -EXPRESSI, SATURDAYVitNiNG, MAY 26, 1866.-

The Prince of Wales rode out on horseback yesterday
afternoon.
His Royal Highness in the afternoon presided at a lee.
tore given at the Royal United Service Institution,
Whitebait
The Princess of Wales took a carriage drive.

A Cabinet Council was held yesterday at the
official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury,
in Downing-street. The ministers present were
Earl Russell, the Lord Chancellor Earl Gran-
ville, Sir George Grey, the Earl of Cla-
rendon, the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, Earl
de Grey, the Marquis of Hartington, the Chancel-
' for of the Exchequer, the Duke of Somerset, the
Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, Lord Stanley of
Alderley, the Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, and the
Right Hon. C. P. Villiers.

A deputation consisting of Lord Barton, the Hon
H. W. Fitzmaurice, the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, the Hon.
Colonel Pennant, and Mr. Owen F. Meyriok, had an in-
terview with the Lord President of the Council, the Right
Hon. Sir George Grey and the Right Hon. HA.
. Bruce,
at the Privy Council-office, yesterday, on the subject of
the cattle plague. Colonel Harness, R.E., attended the
interview.

This morning being appointed for the celebration
of her Majesty's birthday, a general inspection of the
Guards took place on the Parade, St. James's-park. The
household infantry were extended in line, and the royal
escort was on the right flank. After the troops had
marched past, line was formed, and the Guards for the
duties of the day were marched to their respective posts.
A grand illumination of the clubs in St. James's and the
establishments of the royal tradesmen will take place this
evening.

LA.7

ITALY.

HER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO CLIEFDEN. Her
Majesty the Queen, with their Royal Highnesses Prin•
ceases Helena, Louise, and Beatrice, attended by the
suite, is expected to arrive at Cliefden, the seat of the
Dowager-Duchess of Sutherland, after luncheon to-day,
The duchess having left her palatial residence at the
entire disposal of the Queen during her Majesty's visit.
workmen and decorators have been busily engaged in pre-
paring the various suites of apartments for the reception
of her Majesty and such members of the royal family and
household as will accompany her from Windsor Castle.
The Prince of Wales, K.G., presided yesterday
afternoon at a lecture delivered at the Royal United
Service Institution by Mr. F. A. Abel, F.H.8., chemist
to the War Department, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on
"Gun Cotton, and other New Explosive Agents." The
subject is one of great interest to military men, and ac-
cordingly drew together a numerous audience. Amongst
the distinguished visitors present we noticed were the
Count de Park the Duke of Sutherland, Sir F. Nichol-
son, Sir Robert Keane, Admirals Stopford, Codrington,
Ommanney, and Buckle, Generals Abbott, Pester, Law-
rence, and Bloomfield, Sir William Codrington, Dr.

Mount, Colonel Clinton, &c.
The Marquis of Salisbury has arrived in town
from Hatfield House, Herta. The marchioness and family

are still in Gennany.
Lord Stanley, M.P., has arrived at the Earl of
Derby's residence in St. James's-square, from passing the
holidays at Knowsley.
Last night the Countess Cowper had a dancing
party at her mansion in St. James's-square. The invitations
were limited in number. Many of the company came after
the concert at Buckingham Palace.
A general meeting of the National Rifle Associa-
tion assembled yesterday, under the presidency of the
Duke of Cambridge, to discuss the arrangements for the
Wimbledon meeting on the 9th of June. The amount of
prizes is to be increased from 3,505/. last year to 4,020 f.,
and the difference is to be given to the Enfields. A prize
of 501. to be shot for by Belgians is a graceful acknow-
ledgment of the hospitable and liberal manner in which
the English riflemen were received last year at Brussels.
The rules adopted do not differ materially from those of
last year, two or three proposed alterations being nega-
tived. It was stated incidentally by his royal highness
the chairman that the proposed review in Hyde Park
would not be held, as the space available there would he
too confined for the purpose, but that Wormwood Scrubba
would be available for the per pose.
A meeting of metropolitan parochial guardians
was held yesterday, at St. James's Hall, for the purpose
of protesting against a scheme for one general hospital,
suggested by the Association for the Amelioration of the
Infirmaries of the Metropolitan Workhouses. A resolution,
to the effect" that the removal of paupers from the con-
trol of parochial management, and placing them under a
central or imperial authority, would be subversive of the
principles of local self-government, and that the collecting
together of such paupers in large hospitals would not be
conducive either to the cure or the well-being of the
inmates," was discussed at considerable length. Many of
the guardians of the east-end workhouses admitted that
there was great room for improvement ; and it was con-
tended that the association did not contemplate the sub-
version of local controL The motion, however, was adopted
by a large majority.
Mr. Esmond, having accepted the office of Lord
of the Treasury, has addressed the electors of the
county of Waterford, and offers himself for re-
-1 election. He says the appointment was unsought on his
part, but he willingly joins an administrasion that has
given proof of a conciliatory, generous, and just policy
towards this Ireland.
The Gardeners' Chronicle regrets to learn that
Mr. Holland, M.P., with Colonel Kingscote and Mr.
Randall, the minority who supported him, has retired
from the chairmanship of the Education Committee of the
English Agricultural Society.
Among the many beautiful objects in the In-
ternational Horticultural Show is a box of Italian rye-
grass, which when brought on Monday was in luxuriant
and forward growth, having been sown last February on
some of the Maplin sand, and since watered with the
sewage as it runs into the Thames at Barking. In perfect
health and growth, equal already to • cut of several
tons per acre, and sown only three months ago,
it is a sufficient testimony to the capability of sewage as a
grass-grower upon sand. The Gardeners' Chronicle states
that the experiment on a l►rger scale at the outfall, where
an acre of the Maplin sand has been brought up and spread,
is in promising progress. The grass sown only a few weeks
ago is coming satisfactorily, and, fed at intervals with
dressings of the liquid manure, it will no doubt soon ex-
hibit luxuriance equal to that in the specimen box at the
International Show.
The Baroness de Pausadea, of Bachen, has just
died at Aire (Ardennes) aged 105 years.
Advices from Burgundy and the Beaujolais state
that in several localities the vines have suffered from the
cold northerly winds which lately prevailed, but the vege-
tation was too far advanced for the consequences to be
very serious.
A letter from Rome says :—" A considerable
number of young men have left Rome and the Pontifical
provinces for the war. Italian subjects recalled to serve
in the regular army have, of course, no difficulty in getting
their passports, so that numbers of families here are losing
their couriers, cooks, and coachmen, and numbers of
industrial concerns losing their best hands at verysehort
notice, for very few shirk the warlike summons ; but Pon-
tifical subjects, having a martial impulse, prefer the idea
of Garibaldi's volunteer battalions ; and as they could
hardly hope for passports to enable them to carry out such
an intention, they quietly cross the frontier without, •
very easy matter at many points, and are received with
open arms on the Italian aide. Some desertions have also
occurred of Papal soldiers stationed in frontier districts."

lENCE.

The Diritto of May 23, has the following:
We have been assured that Baron Ricasoli has resigned
into the hands of his Majesty the trust which was waded
to him of forming an administration in the event of war
breaking out. This resolution of the Baron seems to have
been prompted by the fact that several of his political
friends sturdily refused to subordinate all the requirements
of party to the actual circumstances of the country.
The following is an extract from one of ten let-
ters which were written by Signor Cesare Ceuta,
member of the Chamber of Deputies, to Salvatore
Cognetti, editor of the Coneiliatore, and seized by
the public authorities :—" Austria is at last pre-
paring to make an end of it once and for ever.
She will succeed if she attacks within a week. She
will find no serious resistance from the Po to
Bologna"
The Italian journals continue to report nume-
rous enrolments of the Italian youth in the corps
of volunteers of which Garibaldi is to have the com-
mand.

(EurrEß's TILZORMES.)
THE PARIS CONFERENCE.
PARIS, MAT 26:

The Monitettr of this morning confirms the de-
spatch by the English, French, and Russian cabi-
nets of the notes for the assembling of a conference
which will meet in Paris at the earliest possible
date.

AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA.
VIENNA, MAT 26

The Prussian minister at this court has requested
to be informed, on behalf of his government,
whether the Austrian despatch of the 26th April,
containing proposals for the settlement of the
Schleswig-Holstein question, is to be regarded as
Austria's ultimatum.
The Austrian government replied that it would
conscientiously consider any modification proposed
by Prussia.