The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-16 00:00:00

MI LITIA.

The annexed circular has been directed to the Lord-
Lieutenants of the several counties in the United King-
dom, by Lord Panniure :
" War Department, Feb., 1856.
" I have the honour to request that in all future sub-
missions to this department of the appointments and pro-
mot ians of officers of the Militia of the county under your
charge, for the purpose of being laid before her Majesty,
you will be pleased to state the names of the officers in
whose succession such appointments or promotions are pro-
posed to be made, and whttther the vacancies have been
occasioned by resignation, death, or otherwise, or whether
the appointment is to a commission not previously filled
up. I have to add that the omission of these particulars
in some instances has rendered this circular communication
necessary. " I have, &c.,
'` PANMURE."

VISIT OF THE SULTAN TO THE FRENCH
EMBASSY.

We take the following letter from the Moniteur

" PERA, Feb. s.—On the same day upon which his
Majesty the Sultan paid a visit to the English embassy,
he notified his intention to M. de Thouvenat to attend a
hall which was to be given three days afterwards at the
French embassy. Every preparation was immediately
made by the representative of the Emperor to receive
his Majesty with the honours due to his sovereign rank.
At 7 o'clock in the evening the whole front of the em-
bassy was splendidly illuminated. Above the principal
gateway a brilliant transparencyshowed in lines of fire the
Imperial toughra.' Detachments of picked companies
from the French regiments encamped at Maslak, sap-
pers of the engineers, a division of the fire brigade (sa-
pours pompiers) of Paris, and foot artillery occupied the
avenues of the embassy and formed the line. Opposite
the French troops, whose martial bearing created ad-
miration, was drawn up a battalion of the Imperial Otto-
man Guard in full uniforrn. At half-past 7 o'clock one
of his Majesty's aides-de-camp came and informed the
ambassador that the Sultan had left Tophane, and was
proceeding on horseback through Pera-street. M.
Thouvenal, accompanied by all the members of the
embassy, and by the generals and superior officers
of the French division, went as far as the gates of the
palace to receive his Majesty. As soon as the
Sultan made his appearance the drums beat to arms, the
troops presented arms, and the military band struck up
the Turkish national hymn. Bengal lights were lit as
if by enchantment, and their brilliant light enabled
the Sultan to have a good view of the coop d'rcil
offered by the court of honour of the palace. His
Majesty, accompanied by the ambassador, proceeded
by one of the grand staircases specially reserved for him
to the apartments prepared Lr ht.s reception. A cow
pany of Zouaves, a detachment of Cuirassiers, Dragoons,
and Chasseurs d'Afrique formed the line inside the
palace conjointly with the Naval Brigade and Ottoman
Artillerymen. After a few moments' repose, which the
Sultan took advantage of to'have some private conversa-
tion with the ambassador, his Majesty wearing the grand
cordon of the Legioa of. Honour, and a uniform richly
studded with jewels, 'preceded by the officers of his
Household, entered the Tbrone4oom. He found drawn
up in two lines—to the right his Ministers and the great
dignitaries of State, to the left the foreign wishes-a:ion-
and the French and English generals residing at Constan-
tinople. To the right of theb throne reserved seats were
occupied by the ladies of the diplomatic corps. His
Majesty was led towards the throne by the ambassador.
His attention was immediately attracted by a por-
trait of the Emperor. Having looked at it for a few
moments--' I am happy,' he said to M. Thouvenel, 'to
behold the features of my auguA and faithful ally. I
experience the most lively satisfaction at being his guest
to-day.'

"His Majesty immediately received the homage of the
diplomatic corps. He canvereed with all the foreign re-
presentatives, especially with those of England, Austria,
and Prussia. He had a gracious word for every lady
presented to him. After the official introductions the
ambassador took his Al 9jesty's orders, who expressed the
wish to visit the ball-room where the elite of Pera was
assembled—all the members of the different embassies
and a great number of naval and military officers in full
uniform.

"The Sultan was announced by the introducer of
ambass'adors. A line was formed up to the seat pre-
pared for his 'Majesty, who entered preceded by the
officers of the Crown,• and followed by the diplomatic
corps. He was received with expressions of marked
respect and the most lively sympathy. His Majesty
would not sit down till the ladies and the ambassadors
accredited t) his Government bad taken their places.
"Having taken his Majesty's orders, the Ambassa•
dor gave the signal for opening the ball ; a quadrille was
immediately formed in front of him, and the dancing
commenced.

"In about an hour his Majesty returned to the
Throne-room, where he requested the presence of the
ladies who had been presented to him. They sat down,
forming a circle round the Sultan. Lady George Paget,
the Princess Stourdza, and Maclaine la Barronne Darri-
can were introduced to him. His Majesty rose to bow
to ( salucr ) each of these ladies. After half an hour's
conversation the Sultan returned to the ballroom, which
he left at half-past ten o'clock, to retire to his private
apartments, where he took leave of the ambassador, and
thanked him graciously for the reception he had
met with. His Majesty was conducted back with the
same ceremony to the gates of the palace, where he
mounted his horse and rode in front of the troops, who
presented arms as ha:passed.
" After the Sultan's departure dancing was resumed,
and kept up with great spirit till far in the night."

LETTERS, 'C., FOR CALIFORNIA, ORE-
GON, AND THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

Information having been received that letters and
newspapers from this cot ntry addressed to California,
Oregon,
and the Sandwich Islands, reach their destina-
tion more expeditiously via New York and Panama,
than when forwarded front Southampton by the West
India Mail Packets, the regulation which has heretofore
existed of transmitting this correspondence by the latter
packets, unless specially addressed to be otherwise sent,
is rescinded, and in future, all letters and newspapers
for California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands, will
be forwarded, as a rule, via the -United States, and only
those letters, &c., will be sent by the West India packets
which bear a special direction that they are to be so for-
warded.

When transmitted through the United States, the
combined British and United States' postage to the
above places will be : —for letters not exceeding half an
ounce, ls. 2d. ; exceeding half an ounce and not ex-
ceeding. one ounce, 2s. sd. ; exceeding one ounce and not
exceeding two ounces, 4s. 10d. Newspapers, 2d. each.
When transmitted by the West India mail packets,
via Panama, the combined British, New Granadian, and
United States' postage wili be :—for letters not exceed.
ing half an ounce, 2s. 4d. ; exceeding half an ounce and
not exceeding one ounce, 4s. Bd. ; exceeding one ounce
and not exceeding two ounces, 9s. 41 Newspapers 4d.
each.

The postage both upon letters and newspapers must
in all cases be paid in advance.
By command of the Postmaster-General.
General Post Office, ROWLAND HILL,
Feb., 1856. Secretary.

SMITHFIELD APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE.—On Wednes-
day a meeting of members of this committee was held at
the 1.10,,e Inn, Smithfield, in order to facilitate the estab-
lishment of a grand central market upon the site of
Smithfield. Mr J. Lardner presided. Several of the mem-
bers were in attendance. The minutes of the last meet-
ing having been read by the secretary, some routine
business was transacted as. to future proceedings, and
the meeting separated._

HUME TESTIMONIAL.
Meeting This Day.

A meeting of the friends and admirers of the late
lamented and distinguished statesman Joseph Hume,
Egg., was held at Willis's Rooms, King-street, St.
James's, to devise some measures for the erection of a
lasting memorial to his memory. Earl Fortescue in the
chair. On the platform were the Duke of Somerset,
Lord Panmure, Earl Granville, Lord R. Grosvenor,
M.P., Viscount Ebrington, M.P., Right Hon. E. Ellice,
M.P., Mr. Brotherton, M.P., Mr. Ewalt M.P., Lord
flatherton, the Marquis of Breadalbane, M. C. P. Vil-
liers, M.P., Mr. W. Brown, M.P., Sir De Lacy Evans,
M.P.

The CIA.IRMAN said the noblemen and others use-
elated in this undertaking were induced to commence
this memorial in consequence of a conversation in Sept.
last between him and Lord Hatherton, and they were
of opinion such a monument might be commenced with
those noblemen who had eat and voted with the late
Mr. Hume, and the result was that in & short space of
time the rames of 30 such noblemen were attached to
the requisition. Afterwards they found that a similar
movement had been carried with the Working-Men's
Association in Sunderland—another body who approved
of what be and his friends bad done, and thought it
would be a valuable end to the common cause. In
justification of that part which more particularly attached
to himself, he might state that at the former meet-
ing 500 circulars were distributed to those likely
to support the undertaking, and he had come 200
miles to preside that day, which he hoped showed
that be was in earnest in what he had done. He
should not enter into any .eulogium on the character
of the lamented statdsman otherwise than to state
that from 1812, from the period when be first entered
Parliament up to 1839, when he (the noble Earl) t emoved
to the upper house, he could speak of the unceasing, disin-
terested, and zealous manner in which he discharged bis
Parliamentary duties under difficulttes which entitled
him to the admiration of the Liberal party.
Lord PANMURE, in moving the first resolution, said he
had the honour of having been born in the same county as
the late Mr. Home, and he had had an opportunity of
watching the soundness of the minciples of his late lamented
friend, and the honesty with which he advocated them.
He did not support the object of the meeting from party
purposes, but on the ground that he was a national be-
nefactor, and in contending for the good of his country,
he was not actuated by private principles, but the bene-
fit of mankind ; and had never sought for rewards from
his Sovereign in return for such conduct. He had never
made a personal enemy in the whole course of his
Parliamentary career, and had no political opponent who
had ever said a word to him in reply that could injure
his feelings or reflect on his conduct. (Cheers.) This
was a movement in which he hoped all classes who ad-
mired the conduct of the late Mr. Hume would join in.
The noble lord moved the following resolution :
" That the disinterested services of Mr. Hume for above
40 years in the House of Commons, his successful efforts
to check the waste of public money, his constant support
of all measures conducive to the spread of moral and in-
tellectual improvement, and his unswerving advocacy of
constitutional liberty, claim a lasting record of the grati-
tude of his countrymen."
Sir B. HALL, M.P., seconded the motion. He bad
been the public and private friend of the late Mr. Hume,
and one of the last public acts of Mr. Hume was to pro-
pose him (Sir B. Hall) at an election for Marylebone,
on his appointment to office. He presided a short time
since over a meeting of the working classes of Maryle-
bone for the object they bad in view, when subscriptions
were entered into, and he had no doubt they would raise
a large sum towards it. Mr. Hume's career bad been
one of honour, disinterestedness, and zeal for the good
of his country. He:(Sir B. Hal!) had sat with him for 35
years in the House of Commons, and bad voted with
him. Mr. Hume was one of 12 members who, many
years since, voted for the repeal of the corn laws—li
measure which many of those present had since helped
to carry out, and it was gratifying to find that most of
Mr. Hume's principles had been, to a great extent,
carried into effect.

Mr. WALL, Secretary to the Working Men's Asso-
ciation, supported the, motion, and stated it was the de-
sire of the committee of the association that there should
be a perfect understanding between them and the noble-
men connected with this movement, and that they were
prepared to issue an address in support of it to the work-
ing :classes in general. The association was about to
hold a meeting in support of it, which would be pre-
sided over by Mr. Roebuck. He produced several letters
from Manchester, and other places in the country, to
spew the feeling of the country on the subject. The
working men wished a more substantial, lasting, and
beneficial memorial to Mr. Hume's memory
than a statue, and were of opinion that A
sufficient fund could be raised (embracing
India and the Colonies) to found a school to the
memory of the late respected gentlemen who, it should
be remembered, was one of the greatest advocates of the
spread of education amongst the working-classes.
Sir J. WALMSLBY urged that a vote of the House of
Commons ought to be-obtained for a national memorial
to Mr. Hume.

The resolution was unanimously-adopted.
The Duke of SOMERSET moved the following resolu-
tion :

" That a subscription be therefore opened for the erec-
tion of some public memorial in honour of Mr. Hume."
In doing so he bore testimony to the high talents of this
'amented gentleman, and the indefatigable and honest
manner in which he discharged his publics duties. It
might be said of hint as of a great statesman " he gained
no pension and he lost no friend," to which might be
Added that he had more than one friend. Mr. lins3B
.vas a man who to obtain popularity had never been
found to set class against class. His entire object was
to gain the approbation of the whole of his countrymen.
Mr. T. THORNLEt, M.P., seconded the resolution,
and also bore testimony to the exemplary conduct of the
late Mr. Hume.

Mr. EwAnT, M.P., said he was one of 240 members
of the House of Commons who signed a memorial in re'
ference to this subject in the belief that a senatorial
monument would be erected to the memory of Mr•
Hume within the House of Commons.

The resolution was unanimously agreed to.
Mr. ELLICE, M.P., as the oldest friend of Mr. Hume
had something to do with him on his return from
India and his election for Weymouth, moved the next
resolution. With regard to his advocacy of education,
the lamented gentleman lost his first seat in Parliament
from an effort he made to enlighten and instruct the
few constituents he had at Weymouth. (Hear, bor.)
There could be but one object for both high and low in
conjunction with the object they had iu view, and he
hoped the pence of the poorer classes would not be with-
held. He moved " that such subscription be limited to
sums not exceeding 101. from each subscriber."
Lord HATHERTON, who had sat 23 years with Mr•
Hume in the Honse of Commons, said he always ad-
mired his capacity for kusiness, his untiring industTYP
his indomitable energy and disinterestedness; which
eminently characterised his political career.
The resolution was carried unanimously.
Earl GRANVILLE moved the following resolution :

"That the promotion of such subsription throughout the
kingdom, and the application of the same to the object
proposed, be entrusted to a committee to be named at
this meeting."
The motion having been seconded was unanimously
adopted.
Lord B. GROSVENOR and other gentlemen addressed
the meeting, when the following resolution was agreed
to : _ _

—"
That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the
chairman of the Working Men's Committee upon the same
subject, with the expression of a hope of their union and
co-operation."
The following subscriptions were announced :—Duke
of Bedford, 10/. ; Marquis of Breadalbane, 10/. ; Lord
Moyston, 10/. ; Lord Islay, 10/. ; Lord J. Russell,
10/. ; Earl of Radnor, 10/. ; Marquis of Westmin-
ster, 10/. ; Lord Hatherton, 101.; Mr. R. A. Slaney,
51. ; Lord Panumre, 10/. ; Earl. Fortescue, 101. ;
Right Hon. E. Ellice, M.P.,-10/.; Mr. H. G. Langton,
M.P., 10/. ; Lord R. Grosvenor, M.P., 101. ; Sir J.
Walmsley, M.P., 10/. ; Mr. Ewart, M.P., 10/. ; Duke
of Somerset, 10/. ; Mr. Brotherton, M.P., 51.; Right'
Hon. Sir D. Dundas, 51. ; Mr. T. Thornley, M.P., 10/.
A vote of thanks to the noble• chairman terminated
the proceedings.

THE PRESS AND THE PARIS CON-
FERENCES.