The Express.
London, England, 1867-04-01 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL SHARE mAiurars.

LITERPOOI:, MARCH 70. ales
to-day: Great Eastern, 18 aj
S 1 871 I—Great Western, 43 11 1 1 1-lAneashire and York-
shire. 154 t;—Lowlon awl North Western, 1161 1 1 1 1 /
Manchester. Sheffield. and Lincolnshire, 461 I—Midland, 113
13,.. 13—North British, 74) (-105th Eastern, 64 I j 11-114dIalo
awl Lake Huron. 4 4 116 —Grand Trunk of Canada, 191—Grent
Western of Canada, 131 -Fire Twenties, 70 Great Luxembourg.
In 1.10 I 1.16 Financial Association, X/ d
and London and GI be. tip. —Atlantic Tslegnipb 8 per
Natinal Steam Company, 1111 d.
MANCIHNTRIR MARCH 30 —Mime was a decidedly better
market 114 to Prime, and a fair amount of business was done.
Atlantic Telegraph Preference 8 per cent., 70—Kries. 391 c
(treat Eastern, r'! 1 8 7114- LOreat Lniembours.lo 1-16-41reat
Northern A, It! 11--Great Western of inada„ 14—Oreat West-
ern, 42 —llllnols,, 79—London and Caledonian Marine In-
surance Limited', 4/ d. —London and North WIMACTO 11716}!}
—Mancbeder, Sheffield, and UHCOthatttre, 4 714 /
Metropolitan. 113) i Pr—Midland, 113/ j 1 7 13—Ditto, New, 6
per Lent. enivertlble, t p —North *With, 311—South Ea tern.
6,7/ 1 I—Metropditaii District. 77.
BIRHISOHAM, MARCH 30.—Th• sales to•day were to Lloyd's
Itink shares. M 71 prem. ; Staffordshire Joint Stock Rank, at 8)
prem.: Midland Financial shares, at 111 10 dM. ; Metropolitan
Hallway Carriage and WaTon shank at 9 ; Iflrmlta9bamWat•r-
-works shares, at 30.
OURLoI, MARCH 29,—Three per Cent CMISMP.9OI—New Three
per Cent Stock. 814-1114tto, for &want, 10th AWL Kb j
India Flee per Cent, 1061 Hank of Ireland (RPM la
215 2351—National Bank ~Z3O 1 I—r Anal
.XlO paid , 34—Union Bank (LIS paid), IS..

THE FUNERAL. OP ME. ALFRED MELLON.—The
funeral of Mr. Alfred Mellon will take place tomorrow at
the Brompton Cemetery, precisely at 12 o'clock.
The Royal Mail steamship Cuba, from New
York on the 20th of March, arrived at Queenrtown at
a.m. yesterday, with 69 passengers and 945 dole. in
specie. She landed all the mails, consisting of 123 sacks,
and two passengers, and proceed at 11.45 a.m. All well.
The Cuba experienced strung easterly plea throughout
herjramatte.
THE UPPER GRADES IN THE ARMY.—If once thin
roads to the upper grades were really thrown open, them
u'eel be no limit to the supply of recruit.' admirably quali-
fied to ascend them. At present the prizes are so rare mud
uncertain that no man can count on rising from the ranks,
even though he display ability and merit of a very supe-
rior description. The present system of promoting men
from the ranks to be quartermasters is good as far as it
goes, though it should be extended without exception to
the appointments of ridingmasters and paymasters ; but
we would go much further, and give definitely every
fourth or fifth commission among the combatant officer,
to • non-commissioned officer. Promotion would then ho
rapid enough, and the reward sufficiently in view, to in-
duce very superior men desirous of improving their posi-
tion in life, to join the army. To all candidates for such
promotion the same educational test might be applied as
to young men obtaining direct commissions, and the army
schools might be utilised for imparting the necessary qua-
lifications. It is absurd to argue that none but gentle.
men by birth should be admitted to the circle of coin-
Want officer*. Many of those who obt.iin commissions
through Sandhurst have no pretensions to what we mill
good family ; and both Woolwich and Sandhurst are open
to any British subject within certain limits of age. In
the case of admitting men from the ranks, promotion
would from one cause or another—either promotion out
of the ranks, or retirement to situations of trust in civil
life—be rapid enough to rive these commissions to men
still young, and there need be no bar to their advancement
to the highest positions.— Froser's Mermine for April.
THE EMPEROR OP JAPAN.—There is only ono
emperor in Japan, and he is no more spiritual than is the
Queen of Great Britain. The name of the head of the
church s Sirakawa, and to him the Mikado tlrenperod
himself owes spiritual allegiance. On certain occasions
his Majesty even reprint° the chapel to meet Sirakawa, in
which are all the shrines of the departed Mikados, who are
all canonised, and are patron saints. Upon these occasions
the Mikado invokes their rotection for the nation, and
makes certain offerings. ,He passes to and from the sacred
edifice between prostrate rows of courtiers and privileged
persons, who keep their foreheads on the ground. but who
take this opportunity of snatching • glance at the august
presence by • sidelong look as be passes. By the exertion
of a little court influence, any Japanese of family can
witness the prxerress of the Mikado upon these occasions,
just as one may get • ticket to see her Majesty open parlia-
ment. The insigne of royalty are a sword, • crystal ball,
and a mirror. The present dynasty of Mikados has
existed, according to Japanese history, for many thousand.,
of years. The origin of the superstition of the spiritual
character of the 3likadoe arises from the belief, which is
generally entertained, that the first Mikado was born of
divine parents; hence the spiritual origin has been con-
founded by foreigners with • spiritual authority which he
does not possess. —Blackwood's Mogreenc for April.
Fawn THE STACIE TO THE CLOMTER. —Many
French actresses have passed from the stage to the cloister,
when their beauty and renown were in their most bril-
liant periods. others have withdrawn into • seclusion
almost as complete, observing in the world the strictest
piety and giving the most virtuous example. Mademoi-
selle Colomhe distributed the " blessed bread " to the eon.
gregation of her parish church. The notorious La Maupi a
and the vivacious Luzy assumed the veil, and put the con-
ventual gate between them and the world where they had
figured in • very different line of character. In the last
eentury,Mmletuoiselle Gaultier retired from the stage, pub-
licly announced her conversion, and became a sister of the
Carmelite order at Lyons. Half-a-dozen of her fair col-
leagues, but less richly endowed as extremes, took coerces
nearly similar. Some among us may remember Madame
Gonthier, the bouncing, buxom, hearty, hilarious, settees
of the Veneta in its brightest times. With all the jollity
of character above indicated, Madame Costlier was sin-
cerely rigorous in the performance of all her religions
duties. She was profoundly in earnest when, being about
to play • new part for the first time, she crossed herself,
as she stood at the wing, and murmured, with an emotion
that was not at all feigned, nor ever ridiculed by the com-
rades who respected her—" Mon Dieu, fates moi la grecs
de bien savor mon rale !"—" give me grace that I may well
know nay part !" Since Madame Gonthier's time, the
distinguished tragic actress Sionah Levy, of the Odeon,
took the veil, and many other ladies of leis note, but of
equally serious thoughtfulness, have quitted the brilliant
bustling stage and passed away into the calm, quiet life
of the convent, and have been content therewith.—Corn-
kill Magazine for April.
CRYIITAL PALACE. HALF-A-CROWN DAT.
SATURDAY, MA RCH 30.—Admissions on payment, 1,179;
ditto by season tickets, 5,188 ; Total visitors, 6.167.