The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-24 00:00:00

LITERA TUBE.

The Queen had a dinner party on Wednesday at
Buckingham Palace. The company included the Duchess
of Sutherland, the Netherlands Minister (Baron Ben-
tinck), the Saxon Minister (Count Vitzthum), the Mar-
quis of Abercorn, the Marquis and Marchioness of
Londonderry, the Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford,
the Lord Chief Justice Campbell and Lady Stratheden,
the Right Hon. Henry Goulburn, the Right Hon. Sir
John and Lady Pakington, and the Hon. Henry and
Mrs. Fitzroy.
The band of the Scots Fusilier Guards was in at-
tendance in the Palace, and performed during dinner.
Her Majesty's private band attended in the evening,
and played the following selection :
Overture, "Faniska"
Duo, " Marco Spada" Auber.
Terzetto, "La Villanella rapita" Mozart.
The Earl of Clarendon had an audience of her Majesty
yesterday.
Prince Albert, attended by Colonel Wvlde, left Buck-
ingham Palace at eleven o'clock yesterday morning for
the New Crystal Palace at Sydenham. His Royal
Highness returned at two o'clock.
The Duchess of Kent visited the Queen yesterday
after her arrival in London from Frogmore.
The Princess Royal and the Princess Alice took a
drive in an open carriage and four yesterday forenoon.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert honoured the Lyceum
Theatre with their presence last evening. The Royal
suite consisted of the Marchioness of Ely, the Hon.
Beatrice Byng, the Marquis of Ormonde, Major-General
Buckley, and Colonel Wylde.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended
by Lady Fanny Howard, Baroness de Speth, and Sir'
George Couper, arrived at her residence, Clarence-house,
St. James's, yesterday morning, from Frogmore. Her
Royal Highness visited the Duchess of Gloucester in the
aftevnoon at Gloucester-house.

A deputation from the promoters of the Wellington
Dock Company, and of merchants connected with the
trade of the port of London, had an interview with the'
Right Hon. E. Cardwell and Lord Stanley of Alderley,
yesterday, .at the Board of Trade. The deputation con-
Q1,,,t-od of Air. V. w. P,,Q..11, M.P., Mr J J. g,ind.r.:,
Mr. Nehemiah Griffiths, Mr. Benjamin Cooke,•Mr. Ed.
ward Hales, Mr. Thomas Nesbitt, Mr., M. H. Chayter,
Mr. George Legg, and Mr. Thomas Dakin (promoters),
. and Mr. Thomas Simson, Mr. Robert Hunter, Mr.
Willis Coventry; Mr. Samuel Morris, and Mr. Henry
Cristall (secretary pro tem.).
A Aleputation from Barnsley, consisting of Messrs.
Riehardson, Inns, Parker, and Mr. Peacock, .Clerk to
the Local Board of Health, had an interview with the
General Board of Health yesterday, at their office in
Whitehall. The deputation was introduced by Mr. R.
Cobden, M.P.
The Committee of Privy Council for education had a
meeting on Wednesday at the Council-office. Present—
the Lord President, the Duke of Argyll, the Earl of
Aberdeen, Lord John Russell, and the Chancellor of tht
Exchequer.
The Rev. Dr. Barr, Moderator of General Assembly,
the Rev. Dr. Cook, and Sir J. D. H. Elphinstone,- had
an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yes-
terday at his official residence in Downing-street.
A. deputation, consisting of the Earl of Erne, Sir R.
G. Booth, M.P., Mr. G. A. Hamilton, M.P., Colonel
Taylor, M.P., Mr. John Vance,, M.P., Mr. Edward
Grogan, M.P., Mr. Tristram Kennedy, M.P., Colonel
Duane, M.P., Mr. George Bowyer, M.P., Mr. John
Greene, M.P., Mr. Samuel Bateson, Mr. Richard M.
Fox, M.P., Sir John M`Neil, Mr. Macrory, and Lord
Jocelyn had an interview on Wednesday with the Right
Hon. E. Cardwell, and Lord Stanley of Alderley at the
Board of Trade.

Despatches were sent yesterday from the Colonial-
office to the Governor of the Cape of Good Elope and
the Governors of the West Coast of Africa.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy. Council sat yes-
terday in the Council Chamber. Dr. Lushington gave
judgment in " Brettington v. Brettington " (Court of
Arches), and Sir J. Patteson gave judgments in
"the Queen v. PFice" (Ceylon), and "Hill v. the
Queen" (Jamaica). The Lords present were the Chan-
cellor of the Duchy of Cornwall, Sir J. Patteson, the
Judge of the Admiralty Court, and Sir E. Ryan.

THE PARIS BOURSE.—The accounts from the Bourse
yesterday showed an improvement of more than a half
per cent. in the morning, from which there was a sub-
sequent reaction of more than a quarter per cent. From
Vienna the quotations give no signs of recovery from
the prevailing panic.
THE DEFENCE OF TURKEY, &c. —A " British Officer "
says :—" It is within my knowledge, from very detailed
and scientific reports drawn up on the spot by British
military officers' and now in possession of Government,
that, the. French officers now in Turkey are enabled to
proceed at once to the localities in that country which
ought to be strengthened and occupied, and in especial
such as facilitate the defence of Constantinople and
its immediate neighbourhood, the best mode of,. doing
which may,be . said to• have been discovered by one of
those officers. The passes of the Balkan, the country
in advance and in rear of that chain, the fortifications,
topography-,nay, every landing place in -the Crimea,
and many"other very important localities on the shores
of the Black Sea, have all been minutely examined and
carefully described by British officers."
NOTTINGHAM TRADE.—A.B we signified last 'week, a
feeling of improvement has begun at length to be expe-
rienced in the lace trade. Something has been done by
German purchasers, and we notice upon 'change :the
representatives of some leading London houses who
have also, we -understand, been purchasing. The
tendency has also turned towards a demand for the
lighter and finer description of goods, of itself an iuq
on the low tone of feeling in our market. And
as the spring advances, we have therefore no doubt
that 'the prospects of the trade will expand with the
season. In this hope, the manufacturers are beginning
to turn their_ attention towards the production of
superior classes of fancy goods appropriate to the turn
which the demand seems to be taking. Hosiery
exhibits' the same peculiar animation ; though
limited chiefly to a hand-to-mouth supply ; still, enough
to keep the trade in a reasonable state of activity. The
absence- of all speculative transactions and restriction
of husiness to the satisfying ofirnmediate wants, possibly
receives some explanation from the following amongst
other trade announcements in the New York papers,
which havelately excited great surprise and remark on
our exchange, and appear to have an explanatory bearing
on the present and recent state of trade and the unusually
cautious and limited extent of transactions :—ln the
Morning Courier and New York- Inquirer of the 31st' ult.,
we read—" The dry goods auction sales have now com-
menced for the season. Messrs. Wilmerding, Hoguet, and
Humbert opened with a large sale of hosiery, silk mite,
and white goods of the importation of Messrs. Monis and
Ayres. The catalogue comprised the largest quantity of
these goods ever before offered at any one sale, and the
gathering of city and country merchants was unusually
large. The biddings were kept up with great spirit
during the entire sale, which lasted four days, and the
prices obtained, though in moot cases lower than those
of private sales, "were on the whole well sustained ; and,.
judging from the amount of duplicates disposed of, the,
sellers must have been satisfied with the results as the
best:the market-crildafford." This unprecedented mode
,
of doing business cannot but visibly affect the ordinary
course of the market, and we are not surprised at the
observations which it has already called forth. Nor is
this, we find, however extensive, a solitary instance of
the kind, as in another New York journal we find a
similar sale advertised for the 3d of February, of an
enormous consignment of 120,000 dozen of hosiery.—
, Nutting4arAilare Guardicfo: