The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 13, 1854.

COURT CIRCULAR.

PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL STEAM

COMPANY.

The Queen held an investiture of the Most Honourable
Order of tile Bath, at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, at
Buckingham Palace.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Peninsular and Ori-
ental Steam Company, held yesterday, the report was
unanimously adopted. A recommendation of the directors
to suspend the declaration of a dividend until the comple-
tion of the annual accounts produced apparently some dis-
appointment, but created little discussion, full confidence
being expressed in the managemen t. It was stated that
the increased cost of fuel, with the general advance in
wages and materials, has interfered with the revenue of
the company, but that the receipts continue to exceed the
expenditure. A fresh appeal is to be made to Government
for relief in connexion with the contract for postal service,
and if this shall prove unsuccessful, the opinion of the
shareholders is to be taken as to future proceedings. With
regard to the emoluments of managing directors, Mr. B.
M. Willcox has voluntarily resigned his share, retiring
from active duties, but continuing his seat at the board.
Mr. Arthur Anderson relinquishes about half of his allow-
ance, appropriating a portion to the institution of a provi-
dent and good service fund for the officers and servants of
the company, but for the present retains his appointment.
Special votes of thanks were passed for these concessions,
and it is proposed that some substantial acknowledgment
shall hereafter be offered. Annexed is an abstract of the
report ;

The Knights Grand Cross having been robed in their
mantles of crimson satin, were called over by Bath King of
Arms, when the following knights answered :

General Viscouut Combermere,
Viscount Palmerston.

The Earl of Clarendon.
Lieutenant-General Lord Seaton.
Lieutenant-General Sir Willoughby Cotton.
Lieutenant-General Sir George Pollock.
General Viscount Hardinge.
Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Bart.
Sir George Hamilton Seymour.
Lieutenant-General Sir John Hunter Littler.
Lieutenant-General Sir James Llllyman Caldwell.
Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart.
Major-General Sir Joseph Thackwell, and
Lieutenant-General Sir John Fox Burgoyne
The officers of the order attended in their mantles, chains,
and badges. The following were present :
The Genealogist—W. Aston Blount, Esq.
Bath King of Arms—Algernon Grevillo, Esq.
Gentleman Usher - Albert W. Woods, Esq. (Lancaster
Herald).
The knights and officers assembled in the Green Drawing-
room. The Queen and Prince Albert were conducted by the
Lord Chamberlain to the Throne-room, where her Majesty,
the sovereign of the order, sat in a chair of state. Her Ma-
jesty wore the mantle and collar of the Bath. His Royal
Highness Prince Albert stood by the side of the Queen, and
wore his mantle as great master of the Bath and the collar of
the order. The officers of State and the Ministers of the
Crown occupied their usual station near her Majesty.
Her Majesty's guard of the honourable corps of Gentlemen-
at-Arms was on duty in the room, under the command of the
Lieutenant. The sub-officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Neville and
Major Cooke, were on duty with the corps.
The Knights Grand Cross, accompanied by the officers of
the Bath, entered the Throne-room, the former ranging
themselves on each side of the apartment.
The Right Hon. Sir James Robert George Graham, Bart.,
was introduced between Sir Joseph Thackwell and Sir John
Burgoyne, the two junior Knights Grand Cross present, pre-
ceded by Bath King of Arms (carrying the ensigns of the
order on a crimson velvet cushion) and by the gentleman
usher of the order. Sir James Graham advanced to the
Queen and knelt before her, when her Majesty, with the
sword of state, was graciously pleased to confer the honour of
knighthood upon him. Sir James kissed her Majesty's hand.
The Queen, assisted by Prince Albert, then invested the right
honourable baronet with the ribbon and badge of a Knight
Grand Cross (civil division) of the Order of the Bath, and
also delivered to him the star of the order. Sir James again
kissed his Sovereign's hand and retired.
Mr. James Cosmo Melvill was introduced between Bath
King of Arms and the Gentleman Usher, the former bearing
the ensigns of the order on a crimson velvet cushion, and re-
ceived from the Queen the honour of knighthood, and was
afterwards invested by her Majesty with the ribbon and badge
of a Knight Commander (civil division) of the Bath.
Rear-Admiral George Robert Lambert was introduced be-
tween Bath King of Arms and the Gentleman Usher, and,
kneeling near the Queen, had the hour of knighthood con-
ferred upon him by her Majesty, and was also invested by the
Queen with the ribbon and badge of a Knight Commander
(military division) of the Order of the Bath.
The Knights Grand Cross were again called over by the
Quoen's command, and with the officers of the order retired
from the presence of the Sovereign with the usual reverences.
The Queen afterwards held aPrivy Council. Present, his
Royal Highness Prince Albert, Lord J. Russell, the Earl of
Aberdeen, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Viscount Palmerston,
the Earl of Clarendon, the Duke of Newcastle, Sir George
Grey, Sir James Graham, Sir Charles Wood, the Right Hon,
Sidney Herbert, Earl Granville, the Marquis of Breadalbane,
Earl Spencer, the J)uke of Wellington, and the Marquis of
Abereorn.

" In order to meet, in some degree, the increased expenses
caused by the high cost of fuel, tire, the directors deemed it
necessary to recur, on and after the 4th of February last, to
rates of passage fares similar to those which existed previ-
ous to the Ist of January, 1853, when they were reduced on
the opening of the communication twice a-month with
India and China. Looking to the growing requirements of
trade and intercourse in the East, the expediency of econo-
nizing the navigation of the company's lines of communica-
tion, by providing vessels with screw propulsion, and to the
propriety of making timely arrangements for liquidating the
sums borrowed on debentures, the directors in the early part
of this year, applied to the Crown for a supplemental charter
of incorporation, to enable the company to increase its capital
by one million sterling. This charter has been granted, and
the new shares will be issued at par, in the proportions of
two new shares to three old shares. The directors do not
contemplate any immediate issue of these new shares, nor do
they expect that they will be under the necessity of calling
for more than a small proportion of the additional capital to
be issued thereby for some time to come. At the last annual
general meeting the directors reported fully their proceed-
ings in respect to the application made to the Government
for relief under the difficulties in which the company was
placed in executing the contract postal service, which had
arisen from the scarcity of shipping and the enhanced cost
of fuel at the various depots. Although that application
was unsuccessful, the declaration of war against the Em-
peror of Russia was considered to afford a proper ground
for again making a similar application, inasmuch as the de-
claration of war was an act of the Government, which has
not only greatly aggravated, but will, in all probability,
render continuous the increase in the cost of fuel, seamen's
wages, naval stores, marine insurance, and other expenses
of navigation. The directors have therefore applied again to
her Majesty's Government for such an augmentation of the
payment for the postal service as the company may be found
fairly entitled to, in consideration of the altered state of cir-
cumstances caused by the war ; and the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty have so far responded to the application as
to intimate their willingness to institute an inquiry into the
matter, which will soon take place. The grounds upon which
the present claim has been based are so reasonable, that the
board can scarcely anticipate a second failure in obtaining relief
at the hands of Government. Should they be disappointed in
this expectation, they will, if necessary, call a special meeting
of the shareholders, to take into consideration the future
policy of the company. On the transit through Egypt the
directors are enabled to report satisfactorily. The Pasha
has, in addition to other facilities, agreed to a reduction of
one-half of the transit duty from the Ist of July next, as a
preliminary step to its entire removal. This arrangement
is applicable to the travellers and commerce of all
countries ; and, as the transit duty forms at present a
heavy addition to the cost of transit of valuable articles, such
as raw silk, &c., its reduction aud abolition will remove a
serious obstruction to the adoption of the route of Egypt for
such articles ; and, in conjunction with new regulations
about to be adopted for meeting the growing requirements of
this trade, can scarcely fail to prove highly beneficial to the
company's interests. The construction of the railway between
Alexandria and Cairo is progressing with vigour. About 30
miles of the railway from the Cairo terminus towards Alex-
andria is also constructed, leaving only 36 miles now to com-
plete the whole line between Alexandria and Cairo. This, it
is expected, will be finished in the course of next year, and will
entirely supersede the water conveyance by the Nile, and re-
duce the journey between Alexandria and Cairo to about six
hours. Considering that the whole of the fuel consumed
dining the six months embraced in the period of this report
was purchased at enormously enhanced prices—that most of
the new ships have been kept back from completion and em-
ployment by the strikes of workmen and other uncontrol-
able circumstances—that the execution of the contract
postal service has caused au expenditun exceding the pay-
ment received for it, and that the claim for indemnification on
that account remains yet undetermined—the directors feel
compelled to recommend that any declaration of dividend
should be postponed to the next annual general meeting,
when statements of the company's accounts will, as usual, be
laid before you, aud when they trust the receipts and expen-
diture of the company may exhibit a more favourable result
than 'they can reasonably be expected to do at present. In-
stead of drawing upon probable future profits to supply a
present deficiency, or ceasing to set aside those reserves which
are necessary to maintain the property at its original value,
and provide for its security against accident, the directors
deem it the wisest and most honest course to recommend no
dividend, unless arising from clear profits realised during the
period on which they report ; and, while advising that which
they trust will prove to bo a temporary inconvenience rather
than depart from the system hitherto adopted, they feel much
satisfaction in being able to state that the property and
financial position of the company are in a sound state, the
fleet in efficient order, and the future prospects of the enter-
prise by no means discouraging."

Before the Council, the Duke of Newcastle had an audience
of the Queen, and resigned the seals as Secretary of State.
At the Council her Majesty was pleased to declare the
Right Hon. Lord John Russell, Lord President of her most
honourable Privy Council, and his lordship took his place at
the board accordingly.
The Right Hon. :sir George Grey, Bart., Knight Grand
Cross of the Bath, having accepted the seals as one of her
Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, was sworn in.
The most noble Henry Duke of Newcastle, having accepted
the seals as fourth Secretary of State, was a'so sworn in.
Mr. C. Greville was the eerie of the council in waiting.

The Court was attended by the Duchess of Sutherland,
mistress of the robes ; the Countess of Mount-Edgcumbe,
lady in waiting; Lord Foley, the captain of the hon. corps of
Gentlembn-at-Anns ; Yiseount Sydney, captain of the Yeo-
men of the Guard ; Viscount Combennere, gold stick iu
waiting; the Earl of Mulgrave, treasurer of the household ;
Lord Ernest Bruce, vice-chamberlain; Viscount Drumlanrig,
comptroller of the household ; Lord Camoys, lord in waiting ;
Lord George Lennox, lord in waiting to Prince Albert; Lieu-
tenant• Colonel Topham, lieutenant of the hon. corps of Gen-
tlemen-at-Arms ; Sir George Lee, lieutenant of the Yeomen
of the Guard; the Hon. Mortimer Sackville West, groom in
waiting; Colonel Wylde, groom in waiting to Prince Albert;
Sir Wm. Martins, gentleman usher to the sword of State ;
Major Harmar, standard-bearer to the hon. corps of Gentle-
men-at-Arms ; Colonel M'Douall, silver stick in waiting ;
Colonel Fludyer (Grenadier Guards), field officer in waiting,
brigade of Foot Guards ; Lieutenant Koppel (Grenadier
Guards), adjutant in waiting, brigade of • Foot Guards ; Mr.
Joseph Skip Lloyd, clerk of the cheque, and adjutant of the
hon. corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms ; and Messrs. G. G. Mac-
pherson and C. E. Phipps, pages of honour in waiting.
Her Majesty's guard of the Yeomen of the Guard was on
duty under the command of Major Phibbs, exon in waiting.
A guard of honour of the Scots Fusilier Guards was on
duty with the baud of the regiment.
Captain the Hon. Dudley de Rose has relieved Captain Du
Plat in his duties as equerry in waiting to Prince Albert.
Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, and
attended by his equerry in waiting, visited the gardens of the
Royal Botanic Society in the Regent's-park yesterday
morning.
The King of Portugal and the Duke of Oporto, attended
by the Viscount Carreira, Baron de Sarmento, Colonel
Folque, Lord de Tabley, and Colonel Wylde, also visited the
Botanic Gardens, and afterwards wont to inspect the
Coliseum.

The following are the particulars of the fleet of the
company :

For the Southampton and Alexandria Service :
Horse-
Tons. power.
2,530 630

Simla

Mr. F. H. Burton Crosse attended her Majesty's levee at
St. James's Palace on Friday last.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by
Lady Anna Maria Dawson, visited the Countess of Neuilly at
Claremont yesterday. Her Royal Highness, attended by
Lady Anna Maria Dawson and Lord James Murray, honoured
the performance of the French Plays with her presence in
the evening.

Candia

.. . . ..... 2,200 450

Ripon
Indus 1,700 450
For the Malta and Marseilles Service :-
Vectis 9OO 400
Valetta 9OO 400
For the Constantinople and Peninsular Sery
Tagus 9OO 280
Iberia
Madrid 5OO 160
Sultan 1,090 420
Euzine 1,165 400
Government Transport Service :
Himalaya 3,500 700
For the Suez and Calcutta Service :
Bentinck
Hindostan
Precursor 1,600 500
Oriental
Bengal
Colombo
For the Calcutta and China Service :-
Pekin
Lady Mary Wood 650 260
Formosa . 800 220
Chusan 750 10J
Shanghai 7OO 100
For the Bombay and China service :-
Singapore , 1,300 500
Ganges
Malta 1,250 450
Erin
Pottinger
Achilles
Bombay 1,200 280
Douro
Cadiz B5O 220
For the Singapore and Sydney service :•
1,035 230
1,200 280

Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. R. Boyle, M.P., had an
interview with Lord Palmerston at the Home-office, yester-
day, to present a petition from the ministers, magistrates,
and others resident in the borough of Frome and its
vicinity.

Ditto.

A deputation of vinegar distillers, consisting of Mr. W
Pott, Mr. J. R. T. Burnett, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Sloe, and
vfr. Pounsett, attended by Mr. T. Browning, had an inter-
view with Mr. Wilson, M.P., yesterday, at the Treasury.
Mr. Craufurd had an interview with the Chancellor of the
Exchequer yesterday. Mr. Harrison had also an interview
with the right hon. gentleman, at his official residence in
Downing-street.

. Screw.

I Paddle-
] wheel.

Despatches were received at the Colonia 1-office yesterday
from the Governor of New Zealand.

} Screw.

l_ Paddle-
f wheel.

ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.

Screw.

The new French operatic company were much more success-
ful last night when they performed Clapisson's La Promise
than they were in their first essay before the London public,
on Wednesday last, in Adams's Bijou Perdu. La Promise
is better both in book and music, and it included some good
artistes who did not appear on the opening night. The cast
was precisely the same as at the Parisian Theatre Lyrique,
where the opera ran for upwards of 100 nights. There, as
here, Madame Marie Cable was the chief attraction, and in-
deed her singing and acting as the heroine aro so charming,
and thoroughly French withal, that we can scarcely wonder
at the furore they created amongst our excitable neighbours,
or the ready acceptance they have met with here, where every-
thing good of its kind is sure to be encouraged. She person-
ated a young girl, betrothed to one man, but in love with
another ; and, to make matters worse, her destined hus-
band is the dear friend and benefactor of her beloved.
The latter returns from sea just as the wedding is about to
take place ; but, preferring his friend's happiness to his
own, he heroically conceals his passion, although, like the
Spartan boy's stolen fox, it is tearing its possessor to pieces.
But still greater trials await him, for the bridegroom,
who is abruptly called away before the completion of the mar-
riage ceremony, leaves him to protect the lady during his
absence. This leads to many ludicrous situations, for the un-
willing bride, piqued by the apparent indifference of him
whom she really loves, exercises all the potent spells of co-
quetry to make him betray his trust. So long as be is awake
and in his senses, there appears to be no chance of her suc-
ceeding, so she contrives to make him tipsy, and send him to
sleep. Believing in the "in vino veritas" doctrine, she is de-
lighted to hear her name tenderly murmured, and passionate
declarations of love stammered forth by the object of her af-
fection when in what may be considered au irresponsible state,
and, having learned that the absent gentleman has sworn
never to marry a woman who has even suffered the tips of
her fingers to be kissed by another, she manages at last to
compromise her lover so far as to render the hated union im-
probable, if not impossible. Eventually, everything comes
right ; the magnanimity of the disappointed bridegroom is
properly applied, and the piece ends to the satisfaction of all.
Madame Marie Cabel, is la Promise, acted with perfect tact
and unflagging spirit. Rarely have we seen so genuine a speci-
men of the Opera Comique school as her personation of this
arduous character. Messrs. JUlleA, Laurent, Colson, and
Madlle. Girard are also entitled to honourable mention.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by
Lady Anna Maria Dawson, Lady Caroline Harcourt, Lord
James Murray, and Col. Harcourt, honoured the performance
with her presence.

Paddle-
wheel.

Screw.

Norm&

Ditto.

Madras

For the China local service :
Canton
Tartar
} wheel.
Sir Chas. Forbes (chartered yes.) 450 150
Rajah ...... .. 600 60 t screw.
Manilla
• 635 60 f

VESSELS BUILDING AND FITTING OUT.
(Will be ready for service in from three to six months.)
Nubia (Liverpool)
Pera (Liverpool)
(Black— 11)
* *

(Blackwa.
** * (Blackwall)
Haddington (transport ship)

STORE AND COAL SHIPS.

Zenobia (Suez) 9OO
Fort William (Hong Kong) l,BOO
Santa Anna (Gibraltar) 1,500
Ariadne (Alexandria)
Larkins (King George's Sound) 1,000

Orestes (Port Philip)—

63,985 15,240

SUMMER CIRCUITS OF THE JUDGES, 1854.

Yesterday the Judges appointed to proceed and hold the
ensuing summer assizes for the ::everal counties comprised
within the Midland, Western, and North Wales and Chester
circuits, finally fixed the days for holding such assize on their
respective circuits. The days on the Home, Northern, Ox-
ford, and Norfolk circuits have already been given, but the
days on the South Wales and Chester circuit are not finally
fixed. The following are the days appointed on the circuits
first above mentioned :

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—Judges : The Right Hon. Mr. Baron
Parke and the Hon. Mr. Justice Maule. Rutlandshire, Tues-
day, July 11, at Oakham ; Northamptonshire, Wednesday,
July 12, at Northampton ; Town of Northampton, the same
day at the same place ; Leicestershire, Monday, July 17, at
Leicester; Borough of Leicester, the same day at the same
Place ; Nottinghamshire, Wednesday, Ju'y 19, at Nottingham;
Town of Nottingham, the same day at the same place; Lin-
colnshire, Saturday, July 22, at the Castle at Lincoln ; City
of Lincoln, the same day, at the Guildhall of the City of Lin-
coin ; Derbyshire, Wednesday, July 26, at Derby ; Warwick-
shire, Coventry Division, Monday, July 31, at Coventry;
Warwick Division ; Tuesday, August 1, at Warwick Castle.
WESTERN CIRCUIT.—Judges : The Hon. Mr. Justice Cole-
ridge, and the Hou. Mr. Justice Wightman. County of South-
ampton (Hants), Tuesday, July 11, at the Castle at Winches-
ter ; Djrsetshire, Saturday, July 15, at Dorchester ; Devon-
shire, Wednesday, July 19, at the Castle at Exeter; City of
Exeter, the same day, at the Guildhall of the city ; Cornwall,
Wednesday, July 26, at Bodmin ; Somersetshire, Monday,
July 31, at Wells; Wiltshire, Saturday, Aug. 5, at Devizas ;
City of Bristol, Wednesday, August 9, at the court-house,
Bristol.
NORTH WALES AND CHESTER. CIRCUIT.--JHdge The lion.
Mr. Baron Martin, who, after proceeding through the several
counties comprised within North Wales, will meet the Hon.
Mr. Justice Williams at the conclusion of his tour on the South
Wales Circuit at Chester, and hold jointly the assize for that
county and ancient city. The days fixed aro, for Montgo•
meryshire, Wednesday, July 19, at Newton; Merionethshire,
Saturday, July 22, at Dolgolly ; Caernarvonshire, Tuesday,
July 25, at Caernarvon ; Angleseyshire, Friday, July 28, at
Beaumaris; Denbighshire, Monday, July 31, at Ruthin; Flint-
shire, Thursday, Aug. 3, at Mold ; Cheshire, Saturday, Aug.
5, at the castle of the city of Chester ; City of Chester, same
day, at the guildhall of the city.
Vacation Judge Lord Campbell will remain in town as the
vacation judge, and sit iu chambers, in Sergeant's-inn, Chan-
cery-lane, to dispose of all interlocutory matters during the
. absence of the other learnedjudges on their respective circuits.