The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-24 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OP THE EXPRESS.

SIR,-1 find I was mistaken in attributing Lieut.
Brand's promotion to the present Board of Admi-
ralty. He was promoted by the Duko of Somerset.
—I am, &c., CHARLES BUXTON.
Foxwarren, Cobham, Nov. 23.

" Lieutenant Brand, in all probability," says the
Spectator, " looked on the whole affair in Jamaica as a sort
of rat hunt. He and his comrades were standing by with
sticks while the police acted the terriers, and routed out
the wretched negroes whom the court-martial were to
knock on the head. It was hanging like fun,' as one
of the officers justly remarked, where the ' fun' no doubt
was impersonated in the president of the court-martial."
We (Army aid Nor!, (;azette), have good reason
for believing that the stories circulated in the early part
of the week to the effect that the recall of Sir William
Mansfield and the reinstatement of Captain Jervis had
been settled by the authorities are altogether without
foundation. No step has yet been taken in the matter.
A l'octavyrre HEDGING.— Dr. Cumming's repii-
tativn for twenty years has depended on the coming of a
great cataclysm in lffriG. The great year has nearly gone,
so now he says that when he said 'Col be meant Tat and
there is no reason whatever why, when 'Lis collies and
goes, he should not say that he meant 78. " Why, sir,"
as Mr.i Osbaldiston said to his poetic son, " you do not
understand the beggarly trade you have chosen." A
shrewd prophet never thinks of prophesying anything too
soon or too precisely. He always leaves an elastic margin of
time, or else he takes care to clotho his oracle in conve-
niently ambiguous phrase. There is an Oxford story, that
some candidate for the degree of bachelor of divinity,
when be had to compose his Latin disputation, went the
right before to the College Library and fished out an old
treatise on the Millennium. This he very accurately and
dili•jently copied out. The writer proved that the great
eveut must occur almost immediately. The next morning
the cdulidate, running his eye over the book, suddenly
perceived that it had been printed about lt;GO. Nothing
daunted, he appended a concluding sentence, " Si his cal-
culationibus ducentos SUEIO4 tultismus"—then it will ap-
pear indisputably that the Millennium is close at hand.
Dr. Cumming is evidently going to imitate the style of this
admirable disputant, only he begins modestly by adding
, Itwo, instead two hundred, to his original calculations.
—Saturday it ricer.
ACCIDENT TO LORD BROT:OIIA3I.—The persons

from Pentith and the neighbourhood in the habit of
atteui,ing the sera :ces at the private chapel attached to
Brougham Hall, were disappointed on Sunday last at not
seeing the venerable statesman in his usual place. It
appears that an hoer or two previously his lordship bad
accidentally fallen and injured his back; but the injury is
nut of a serious character.— Hist sauftlund Ga_ ties
LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS POR THE
ENsUING WEEK.—Monday—Actuaries, at 7, "Value of
Half-yearly and Quarterly Annuities," Mr. Sprague ;
Ruyal Academy, at 8, "Anatomy,' Mr. Partridge ; Geo-
graphical, at " Letter from Dr. Livingston, Rovurna
River, E. Africa.;' "Physical Geogreph. of Natal," Dr.
'nem. Tuesday—Engineers, at 8, "Smelting of Copper
Ores, Australia," Mr. Morgan; "Cofferdams for No. 2
Contract of the Thames Embankment," Mr. Ridley. Wed.
nesilay—Society of Arts, at 8, " Effect of Unlimited Lia-
bility Partnership on Progress of Arts, Sc.," Mr. Hawes.
Thursday—Antiquaries, at 8.. Friday—Royal, at 4,
Anniversary.— A liven um.
THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL AT PARIS.—The
Temps says :—" A serious agitation exists at the present
moment in the Polytechnic School, where the pupils refuse
to obey orders. To compel them to enter the rooms of
study and sit down, recourse has to be had to calling them
by name and giving to each individual pupil a special
order. In other respects they are quiet and make no noisy
demonstrations. This agitation arises, it is said, from a
general punishment inflicted on the school. One of the
under officers whose duty is to maintain order entered
the ball and remained there while the lessons
hated. The pupils, who were not accustomed to so
strict a supervision, hooted the officer. General Faye,
the director, ordered them to be kept within doors for two
days, and sent one of them to the military prison. From
that time the pupils have in a certain sense gone on strike;
they demand the release of the prisoner and the removal
of the general penalty, and also thatitshould be recognised
that the majors alone have the right of representing the
school."—The Arenir National on its side says :—" If our
information is correct the pupils of the Polytechnic School,
persisting in their refusal to submit to the new disciplinary
regulation against which they haveproteated,GeneralFave
has just addressed a circular to the families of the young
men, requesting their recall home."
• FOREIGN-OFFICE, Nov. 21. The Queen has
bcen pleased to approve of Mr. William W. Averell as
coved-general for the British North American Provinces
for the United States of America.—Casette.