The Express.
London, England, 1868-01-07 00:00:00

THE ROYAL VISIT TO KNOWSLEY.

STRANGE RECEPTION OF PRINCE CHRISTIAN.
Yesterday evening the Princess and Prince
Christian, Prince Arthur, and the Primes, Henrietta of
Schleewig•Hoistein, arrived at Knowsley Hell, the sett of
the Fail of Derby. The illustrious party left Eoaslea+qu►re
at 11 o'clock yesterday morning, and reached Hnyton
station at 65 minutes to 6 o'clock, from which they ware
conveyed to Knowsley in three of the Earl of Derby's
carriages. On arriving ►t Huyton, the Princess Chris.
Sian and her mite were received by the Honourable
Captain F. Stanley. The Heyton station was rather
meagrely decorated, and • few fog signals were employed
to announce the arrival of the Earl of Derby's guests. The
train which conveyed the royal party from London was an
ordinary express. The reception at Huyton was satemied
by an unpleasant incident, several persons present
making themselves prominent by blade; the Prime,
while they were on the other hand equally loyal in their
respects to the Princess and her brother. The Earl end
Countess of Bedford and Loyd Coventry will arrive at
Knowsley to-day. It is expected that the guests will
leave Knowsley on Saturday.--M•athnier Examiner.

Covarr GAnDEN Tuwarns.—His Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales, attended by Major Teesdale, honoured
the performance at this theatre with his presence last
evening.
Prayers are offered up on Sundays in all Prussian
protestant churches for the safe confinement of the Crown
Princess.
The Earl and Countess of Yarborough are ex-
pected to pass through town early in the week, from Brook.
hob'', on their way to visit Sir Edward and Hon. L►dy
Fulmer at their seat in Kent.
Viscountess Holmeadale has issued invitations
for a ball at Linton on Thursday next, to which a host of
the neighbouring nobility and gentry are invited.
Lord and Lady Rokeby do not return to town
from Italy till after Easter.
Lord Charles Kerr is recovering from his severe
accident.
Lord Justice Sir J. Bolt is still seriously ill,
having had a slight paralytic seizure on Saturday affecting
his left side. There is, however, good reason to hope that
he may be restored to health, though he will be forma to
abstain from work for the present.

SIR JOHN GRAY, M.P., ON THE IRISH LAND
QUESTION.

The Dublin Evening Mail of yesterday publishes
the following letter from Sir John Gray, :
"TO THE EDITOR Or THE DUBLIN EVENING NAIL.'
"January 6, 1868.
" Dear Sir,—In • leading article headed ' Kilkenny
Polities,' punished in your influential journal, you were
good enough to say, with reference to my suggestions for
the equitable and final adjustment of the land question,
that no man could put the thing plainer.' It
wee my desire to be plain, and I regret that you seem
to have so entirely forgotten, before you spate your
leader, the suggestions which elicited such courteous recog-
nition of their plainness. You did not publish one entire
sentence of the speech, and as your readers were thus de-
prived of the means of correcting your no doubt uninten-
tional errors, I rely on your usual courtesy to give me en
opportunity of removing the misconception that might be
otherwise produced. I base my repond on the fact that
the landlords as • body repudiated the doctrine of • con-
palmation ' when proposed by the present government as
confiscation' of their rightful property, and that they
in like manner repudiated the thirty-one years' leasing
clause of the late government as equally confis-
catory. It was in reference to these two proposals,
and the opinions expressed of them by. landlords, that I
used the word confiscation,' and not in anticipation, as
you allege, of its being objectively applied to the substitute
proposition I made at Kilkenny. It never occurred to use
to impute to the landlords of Ireland or to their advocates
in parliament such ignorance of the meaning of words or
of the ordinary transactions of life as would be impli•d
by seeming that they could apply the term ' confisca-
tion' to a purchase at the outside value.' If • railway
company maps' a field, an orchard, a garden, • castle,
stakes'• and purchases' the property so staked or
marked, no man cells it confiscation.' The owner gets
the full value, ' the outside price,' and though be affects
annoyance, he inwardly chuckles at his luck and his
friends congratulate him on his good fortune. I propose
to deal with all lands tented for?griealtural purposes as
the law now dens with lands mapped' in a deposited
plan plan for a railway, and to enable the tenant, by a' notice'
to bring the holding under the operation of the act, as
' staking' now does under the irailwey (Ireland! Act. If
the landlords were unwilling to sell they might serve
• counter notice offering to give the plough and
spade of the occupying tenant • right of way' foe
which notice
ever for all agricultural purpose.,
would relieve the land from the cotepubcof sale,
and leave the owner absolute dominion over the
royalties and all manorial tights, with powers of summary
eviction for non-payment of rent. If the landlord were,
however, so minded that he could not brook the idea of
being a landlord, deprived of the dominion over the agri-
cultural capacity of the lend, end over the conscience, the
vote, and the person of the occupying tenant, the machinery
of the law as it now exists, slightly modified to suit the
object in view, would give him against the tenant, as it now
gives him against • railway company, the means of securing
the price of his land, royalties, and all to the last farthing.
Landlords made the law which now enables a London spe-
culative company in a two-pair back closet in the city' to
' stake' and parttime by compulsion the demeans or the
castle of an Irish earl, or the pleasure-grown of his
counter, because the smile, if not removed, would impede
the public interest by impeding locomotive progress. Is it
less Important to the community to preserve the peace of
the country, to promote trade, commerce, and manatee-
tures by establishing security, to maintain the constitution,
and convert the three millions of Irish In divifduals who
live by the land into devoted supporters o law and
loyal defenders of the throbs? I did sot pro'piz you say, that the government should
pose as you say, that the government should
puzclsse th land and ' bestow it ' on the tenant.
Inch an operation would defeat the main idea of glebe
each of the 600,000 sompants of holdings as amund
stake in the maintenance of the posse. Had you rawer
bared what I did say when I put the thing plainly " roe
would have informed your readers that I contemplated •
purchase by the feast, that the deposit of • certain number
of yeses' teat by the tenant was to be the equivalent of
• leakiest' the land by • railway compaay ; that till this de-
posit was made the land, though under the operation of the
act, would not change omens, and that, when made, the
government was to meld* facilities (too tedious to enu-
merate item) for the completion of the purchase. Ala
containing • dozen classes, with one incorporating the
Railway (Ireland) Are sad en interpretation clams,
with a few snob yybrates as ' the word company shall in-
clude the oesepyrni tenant of all lands let bona fids ter
egrieulturat purposes in Ireland'—would oomphste the
land settlement--give the landlords, who prefer Meadow
ing eviction to selling out, permanent peace—to those who
prefer to sell, • price in excess of the value, and satin by
the strong ties of jostles and personal interest • standing
army of one Wawa stout defenders of the laws and the
throne, against whom all hostile combinations would
break as hamlets as the Atlantic waves on our rock-hound
coast-1 am, dear air, your obedient servant,
" Joss Gear."

AIXTDINT TO THU Holr. GODISIT Mosi
M.P.—On &tondo afternoon an accident occur ed to the
Hon. GodS Morgan, for Breovnehire, eldest eon
of Lord dissr whilst skating on a pond at the back of
his lordahip's seat, Tredegar Rooms, near Weaner! New
inouthakire. A skating perly had been formed sod cra.
}eyed themselves thoroughly oa the ice, which wee in
fair coodities foe similes, when Mr. Marian fell,
hie has and forehead eaverely bane alum AIPTIM
natil Dr. /shade. Brewer. Newport, the medical at-
tendant alike badly, arrived, whim it was fated that lee
injuries were not et so severe a eldwaster as bad at bet
been anticipated.
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