The Express.
London, England, 1867-12-18 00:00:00

Site Court.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Dan. 17.
The Queen drove out yesterday afternoon,
attended by Lady Augusta Stanley.
Her Majesty, Princess Louise, Prince Leopold, Princess
Beatrice, and Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Hol-
stein, left the Castle this morning at half-past 10 o'clock
for Osborne.

The suite in attendance consisted of Lady Waterpark,
Lady Caroline Barrington, the Hon. Flora Macdonald,
Lord Charles Fitzroy, Colonel Do Plat, Mr. Bahl, and the
Master of the Household.

The Dean of Wagtail=ler and Lady Augusta Stanley,
Sir T. M. and the Hon. Lady Biddulph, had the honour of
dining with the Queen and the royal family yesterday.

Prince and Princess Christian and Primer Henrietta of
Schleswig-Holstein are at New Lodge, on a visit to M. and
Madame Van de Weyer.
A meeting of the Judicature Commission was held yes-
terday. Present : Lord Cairns (chairman), Sir William
Erle, Sir James P. Wilde, Sir W. P. Wood, Mr. Baron
Bramwell, Mr. Justice Blackburn, Sir Roundell Palmer,
Q.C., Mr. W. M. James, Q.C., Mr. Rothery, Mr.
Ayrton, M.P., Mr. Hunt, M.P., Mr. F. D. Lowndes, Mr.
liollams, and Mr. Bradshaw, the secretary.

The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland
arrived at Northumberland Rouse yesterday evening from
Alowick Castle.

The Duke and Duchess of Cleveland and Hon.
Mies Primrose passed through town yesterday on their way
to Battle Abbey, near Beatings, Sussex, from Baby Cutle,
Durham.

The Marchioness of Lansdowne and family and
the Marquis of Lansdowne arrived at Bowood yesterday
for the Christmas.

The Right Hon. the Speaker and Lady Charlotte
Denison are entertaining company at O.aington
Newark, Notts.

A letter from Waahington of the 6th says :
"To-day Lord and Lady Amberley, the Hon. C. Ford,
acting British minister, and Hon. Mr. Barrington, Seen-
tary of Legation for Great Britain, accompanied by Secre-
tary Seward, were received at the executive mansion by
President Johnson and his daughter, Mrs. Patterson. The
formal presentation of Lord and Lady Amberley was made
by Secretary Seward. After half an hour spent in pleasant
social conversation, Lord and Lady Amberley, with Mr.
Ford, took their leave. It is naderetood they oriU dine
with the President at an early day. The Hon. Mr. Bar-
rington, before retiring, took his official leave of the Presi-
dent. He has retired, and resigned the position of Seen.
tary of Legation, and will sail for France in a few days."

The Bishop of London, in the course of a letter
to the Timm, observes :—" My own opinion remains the
same—that it is not the duty of the diocese of Natal to
proceed to elect, nor of the metropolitan and his co-pro-
vincials to consecrate, a new bishop till Bishop Colenso
has been lawfully deposed, which I believe be has not yet
been."

The Rev. R. Burgess, rector of Upper Chelsea,
contends that the Committee of Council on Education
never intended to impose the conscience clause upon pro-
moters of schools in the metropolis or in any large cities
and populous places where there is room for schools of all
denominations, but only to apply it to small towns or
parishes where the population is too small to require and
maintain more than one school. " There are, I believe,"
he says, " but two schools in all London that have ac-
cepted—that is, voluntarily adopted—it into their trust
deeds, for special reasons which seemed to the founders
sufficient. lam not aware that there is one school in
Manchester, or Liverpool, or Leeds, or in any of the great
provincial cities which has the conscience donee."

Mr. Mapleton says there is no truth whatever in
the rumour now in course of circulation that the site of
Her Majesty's Theatre is to be appropriated for the pur-
pose of a " West End Post-office."

Forty-five horses belonging to her Majesty were
shipped on board three Isle of Wight steamers at South-
ampton on Monday to be conveyed to Cowes. Yesterday
several Great Western carriage,' arrived at the South.
aropton station filled with the Queen'. servants and bag-
pie, en mute to Osborne.
We read in the New York Times of the 6th :
" It seems there was some disappointment in the galleries
of congress the other day upon the appearance of the wife
of an &WWI nobleman who is now travelling in this
country, because she did not wear • hundred thousand
dollar dress, according to current report, but was dressed
in a quiet drab with a black velvet hat. What a fearful
thing it would be if this example should result in some of
our American aristocratio ladies appearing in public in
dresses worth a trite less than a hundred thousand
dollars."

We read in the New York Tribune:—" An intel-
ligent and appreciative audience greeted Mts. Yelverton
at her first reading in Brooklyn, which was given last
evening (the sth) at the Institute. Mrs. Yelverton was in
very good voioe, and was frequentlyand warmly applauded.
The selections read were The Lady Clare," The Wreck
of the Hesperus,' A Man's Requirements," The High
Tide, or Milking Song,' The Bridge of Sighs," Sheridan's
Ride," The Bachelor's Dream,' and Hams cam our gold
man ►t e'en.' Every verse of ' Sheridan'. Ride' was
applauded, and an enoore of The Bachelor's Dream' was
demanded, which was complied with."

The steamers Weser and City of Paris, on their
last voyages out to New York from England, made
extraordinarily short voyages. The Weser left Southamp-
ton on November 19, and reached New York in nine clays
three hours, and is said to have made the shortest voyage
between those ports. The City of Paris left Queenstown
on the 21st, and reached New York in eight days, making
the peonage in four hours less than any previous one.
The United States Land-office report shows that,
during the last fiscal year, seven million acres of the
public lands were disposed of. There are, including the
Russian acquisition, 1,400,000,000 acres remaining in pos.
session of the government. In the United States 37,000
miles of completed railways are in operation, and 17,M10
miles more are in course of construction.

Several of the Southern States of America have
for some time had agents in Europe, chiefly in Germany,
to induce immigration, so that their stock of white lahour-
era may be increased. A shipload of German immigrants
is announced as having arrived at Charleston. As a gene-
ral rule, European agriculturists who arrive in America
prefer the west to the smith. The government homestead
law in the former section, which gives settlers land merely
for cultivating it, is a great encouragement. The South
is in too gad a condition to be attractive to foreigners.
Even its own people who are dissatisfied want to leave it.
They have been going to Brazil ; more lately to Jamaica ;
and now a despatch from Demerara announces the arrival
of 180 of them in British Guiana.

Amongst the subscriptions for the Pope pub-
lished by the Unirers some are peculiar. An uncle and ■
nephew (so runs the paragraph) united at the feet of the
Pope-500fr. Then a laxly, " Mdme. Monier Benedect, to
attract the protection of the immaculate Virgin and the
benediction .of the glorious Pontiff on her youthful
family." Mr. Several souls at Altkirch, who suffer with
Pins IX., 14fr. " The mother of • child who wishes to be
• Zouave Pontifical, 10fr." "Some poor seamstresses,
each of whom regret deeply being unable to supply the
Holly Father with a Zouave, sOfr." It is remarked that
these cannot be Parisian seamstresses, ail they take care to
keep their Zouaves to themselves.

At Bridport, in Dorsetahire, the price of beef and
mutton has fallen 2d. per lb. and pork lid. per lb. At
Dorchester, also, the price of meat has been considerably
reduced. At Ramsey, in Hants, prime beef is now sold
at Td. per lb. and mutton at 6id. per lb.

Barometer corrected sad reduced to n deg. is sea km( The
letters r (dilute, f (felting), a (.ready), indicate direction of
motion of themercury within lest 12 hours. Thermometer exposed
In shade. Extreme force, with its direction daring las 4 24 hours.
Z.—calm. Weather: b. - blue sky e. - clouas detached; I.
fog: h.—hall; I—lightning m.—misty ,hary, o.—oreresat
;dub): r —rale : —snow S. —thunder. ILliu fall, scow or
hail melted), during last 24 hours. nee dhtui hence