Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Week.
THE WEEK .
THE COURT . —The Queen and other members of the Royal Familycontinue at Osborne . H . R . H . the Prince of "Wales is at his seat in Norfolk , enjoying himself as au English gentleman . On AA ' cdnesday he was at a meet of the Norfolk hounds and had a splendid run , being in at the death . GENERAL HOME NEWS . —The deaths in the metropolis last week were very nearly on a level with the numbers of the week before ,
being 1535 in all . This is 43 more than the average of the last ten years , which , corrected to allow for the increase of population , would o-ive 1492 . The most fatal disease during the week was bronchitis ; lifter which followed ph thisis ; small-pox , measles , and diphtheria were also conspicuous . Tiie births amounted to 1954 , which was rather above the ten years' average . The formal ceremony of prolonging Parliament has been gone through for the last time
previous to the coming session , which is to commence on the 5 th proximo , and is to be convened for the dispatch of divers urgent and important affairs . A new writ has been issued to the Archof Canterbury commanding him to summon convocation of his province for Tuesday , the lOtli of February . This appears to have become necessary through the death of the late Archbishop during the prorogation of Parliament . The Archbishop of Canterbury
lias advised the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to refrain from talcing any step towards the settlement of the question of its relations with the heterodox Bishop of Natal , until after the Bishops can meet for a full discussion of the subject , early in February . The proposal made to the guarantors of the International Exhibition and others , to purchase Captain Fowke ' s structure , with the view of rendering it one of the permanent institutions of London , is said to
have received ' but little support , and to have been finally abandoned . The future destiny of tho building , therefore , remains uncertain , and various schemes are being mooted for tho settlement of the point . One of these—a project , we should think , which stands but little chance of being realised—is that the Government should come to some arrangement with the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1 S 51 ,
and at once relieve them and those interested in the fate of the South Kensington building of all further trouble and anxiety . The Metropolitan Railway was fairly opened to the public on Saturday , aud it was calculated that between 30 , 000 and 40 , 000 were carried over the line in the course of the day , Iudeecd , the desire to travel by this on the opening day was more than the directors had provided for ; and from nine o ' clock in the morning till past mid-day
it was impossible to obtain a place in the down or Cityward line at any of the mid-stations . Iu the evening the tide turned , and the crush at the Farringdon-street station was as great as at-the doors of a theatre on the first night of some popular performer . Some lightening of the pressure was obtained | by the Great AVestern lending some of their engines and carriages , supplemental to the rolling stock of the company . Notwithstanding the throng , it is gratifying to add
that no accident occurred , and the report of the passengers was unanimous in favour of the smoothness aud comfort of the lino . A county meeting in aid of the Lancashire distress , was held at AA'orcester , on Saturday . Lord Lyttleton , who presided , read a letter from Sir J . K . Sliuttleworth , who said there was reason to expect that " the mills in the present year would bo put on half work . " Sir Jolm Packington passed a high encouium on the liberality of England
during this sad calamity . It was not a caso in which the sufferers ought to bo left to the pittance to be drawn from tho Poor Law , and the spectacle which England held out by the brotherly spirit iu which this distress had been met , presented a remarkable contrast with the state of things on tbe other , side of the Atlantic . At the meeting of ; the [ Central Relief Committee on Monday , Mr . Farnall reported a still further decrease in the number of persons in
receipt of parochial relief , but he repeated the warning he gave last week against a hasty inference that the figures of his return indicated a sure and progressive revival of trade . This painful qualification was strengthened by remarks which fell from several members of the Committee . Lord Derby said it was unreasonable to hope , that under the most favourable circumstances there could be more than " three days '" employment for the operatives
—during the present year , and the demand on charitable aid was , therefore " likely to be of very long continuance . " Mr . Stuart AVortlej r , who has held the offices of Recorder of London and Solicitor General , referred , iu the course of his address to the Grand Jury , at the Sheffield quarter sessions , to the great uncertainty which has been imparted to criminal punishments . Referring to the Commission of Inquiry recently issued , he expressed his regret that
the Home Secretary had not taken upon himself the responsibility of deciding as to what was necessary to be done . In his opinion , there was no information to be had on the subject which must not have been within the reach of the Right Hon . Baronet , and he greatly regretted the delay the Commission would involve in applying a remedy to the present stale of things . At the same time , the course . taken by the Government afforded the certaintv of "a full and
searching inquiry . " The Haigh murder continues enveloped in mystery . The Government has added £ 100 to the £ 200 previously offered by Lord Crawford for the apprehension of the murderer or murderers , and it is further announced that Sir George Grey will advise Her Majesty to grant a free pardon to any person concerned in the crime , other than the actual murderer , who may reveal what the police are now seeking in vain to discover . The trial of the six persons charged with having been connected with the great robbery
of Bank of England paper from the Lavcrstoke Mills , and with forging Bank of England notes , was brought to a close oil Saturday , having lasted four days . Two of the prisoners , Brewer and Cummings , were acquitted , although in the case of the latter , Mr . Justice Byles stated that there could be no doubt that he had been concerned in this great conspiracy , and that lie had only escaped by a flaw iu the evidence . Griffiths , who seems lo have carried on a regular trade in engraving spurious noteswas sentenced to penal servitude for life ; Buncher
, , who was the main agent in putting the forged paper into circulation , to 25 years' penal servitude ; Burnett , the man who prompted the robbery of tlvo Bav . k paper , to 20 yeavs ' penal servitude ; and Williams , a minor member of the gang , to four years of the same description of punishment . A man named Bucknell , charged with being a fraudulent bankrupt , was brought up at Guildhall , on Saturday . He had undertaken to construct an Italian railway , and ho had debts both there and in this
country . Ho took refuge in Italy , with which country we have no extradition treaty , and it was a matter of difficulty to capture him . The Italians , however , who had first put him in goal , next expelled him from their territories , and once across the French frontier , he was at the mercy of our detectives . He was examined on Saturday , ou various charges , and was then remanded , bail being refused . -Rev . J . AA'ood , Incumbent of Clayton-le-Moors , was yesterday committed for trial for forgery . A fatal collision occurred in the Solent on the morning of the Sth . The Peninsular and Oriental Company ' s ship Ceylon was steaming past Colshot Castle , when she ran into a brig which was being towed out by a steamtug . The brig went clown , but the whole of her crew escaped . ' The tug ' s funnel was carried away ,
and falling on a pilot , killed him ; while one of the tug ' s firemen was either knocked overboard or jumped into the water under the impression that all was lost . The poor fellow was drowned . The Ceylon suffered considerably from the collision . FOEEIGJT INTEJLLIQJJENCE . —The session of the French Cabinet was opened ou Monday by the Emperor , and his Majesty delivered his address . As the present is the last session of the Corps Legislatif the Emperor took occasion to review what had been done during the last five yearsabroad and at home . He said that though le often
, peop , attributed to the acts of Sovereigns concealed motives and mysterious combinations , his policy had been simply to augment the prosperity and moral ascendancy of France . He first alluded to the action of France in the various complications iii the East , aud then passed to the Italian question , stating that the arms of France had defended the independence of that country without abandoning the Pope , whom both honour and engagements obliged him to sustain . Having briefly stated that all difficulties with Spain and Switzerland had been
smoothed over , he passed ou to the expeditions in China and Cochin-China , and that in Mexico , and in reference to the latter remarked that such events cannot take place without bringing with them some complications . Treaties of commerce , he said , had been completed with England , Prussia , Italy , and Switzerland , and during the five years just elapsed , he had met most of the Sovereigns , and from those interviews friendly relations had arisen which were so many pledges for the peace of Europe . With reference to internal affairs he pointed
out that he had endeavoured by a complete amnesty to efface the recollection of past civil discord ; that he had enlarged the powers of the great bodies of the state , with guarantees for the liberty of free discussion , and renounced a valuable prerogative in order to enable the Legislative body to control the public expenditure . The armies on land and sea had been reduced , which , with some financial operations had greatly relieved the finances . The Emperor then alluded to the distress caused in France by the war in America , to relieve which a vote of money will be asked for . He had , as was known , made an offer of mediation , but , the great maritime powers not being prepared for such a course he had been forced to postpone his offer . His Ma-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Week.
THE WEEK .
THE COURT . —The Queen and other members of the Royal Familycontinue at Osborne . H . R . H . the Prince of "Wales is at his seat in Norfolk , enjoying himself as au English gentleman . On AA ' cdnesday he was at a meet of the Norfolk hounds and had a splendid run , being in at the death . GENERAL HOME NEWS . —The deaths in the metropolis last week were very nearly on a level with the numbers of the week before ,
being 1535 in all . This is 43 more than the average of the last ten years , which , corrected to allow for the increase of population , would o-ive 1492 . The most fatal disease during the week was bronchitis ; lifter which followed ph thisis ; small-pox , measles , and diphtheria were also conspicuous . Tiie births amounted to 1954 , which was rather above the ten years' average . The formal ceremony of prolonging Parliament has been gone through for the last time
previous to the coming session , which is to commence on the 5 th proximo , and is to be convened for the dispatch of divers urgent and important affairs . A new writ has been issued to the Archof Canterbury commanding him to summon convocation of his province for Tuesday , the lOtli of February . This appears to have become necessary through the death of the late Archbishop during the prorogation of Parliament . The Archbishop of Canterbury
lias advised the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to refrain from talcing any step towards the settlement of the question of its relations with the heterodox Bishop of Natal , until after the Bishops can meet for a full discussion of the subject , early in February . The proposal made to the guarantors of the International Exhibition and others , to purchase Captain Fowke ' s structure , with the view of rendering it one of the permanent institutions of London , is said to
have received ' but little support , and to have been finally abandoned . The future destiny of tho building , therefore , remains uncertain , and various schemes are being mooted for tho settlement of the point . One of these—a project , we should think , which stands but little chance of being realised—is that the Government should come to some arrangement with the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1 S 51 ,
and at once relieve them and those interested in the fate of the South Kensington building of all further trouble and anxiety . The Metropolitan Railway was fairly opened to the public on Saturday , aud it was calculated that between 30 , 000 and 40 , 000 were carried over the line in the course of the day , Iudeecd , the desire to travel by this on the opening day was more than the directors had provided for ; and from nine o ' clock in the morning till past mid-day
it was impossible to obtain a place in the down or Cityward line at any of the mid-stations . Iu the evening the tide turned , and the crush at the Farringdon-street station was as great as at-the doors of a theatre on the first night of some popular performer . Some lightening of the pressure was obtained | by the Great AVestern lending some of their engines and carriages , supplemental to the rolling stock of the company . Notwithstanding the throng , it is gratifying to add
that no accident occurred , and the report of the passengers was unanimous in favour of the smoothness aud comfort of the lino . A county meeting in aid of the Lancashire distress , was held at AA'orcester , on Saturday . Lord Lyttleton , who presided , read a letter from Sir J . K . Sliuttleworth , who said there was reason to expect that " the mills in the present year would bo put on half work . " Sir Jolm Packington passed a high encouium on the liberality of England
during this sad calamity . It was not a caso in which the sufferers ought to bo left to the pittance to be drawn from tho Poor Law , and the spectacle which England held out by the brotherly spirit iu which this distress had been met , presented a remarkable contrast with the state of things on tbe other , side of the Atlantic . At the meeting of ; the [ Central Relief Committee on Monday , Mr . Farnall reported a still further decrease in the number of persons in
receipt of parochial relief , but he repeated the warning he gave last week against a hasty inference that the figures of his return indicated a sure and progressive revival of trade . This painful qualification was strengthened by remarks which fell from several members of the Committee . Lord Derby said it was unreasonable to hope , that under the most favourable circumstances there could be more than " three days '" employment for the operatives
—during the present year , and the demand on charitable aid was , therefore " likely to be of very long continuance . " Mr . Stuart AVortlej r , who has held the offices of Recorder of London and Solicitor General , referred , iu the course of his address to the Grand Jury , at the Sheffield quarter sessions , to the great uncertainty which has been imparted to criminal punishments . Referring to the Commission of Inquiry recently issued , he expressed his regret that
the Home Secretary had not taken upon himself the responsibility of deciding as to what was necessary to be done . In his opinion , there was no information to be had on the subject which must not have been within the reach of the Right Hon . Baronet , and he greatly regretted the delay the Commission would involve in applying a remedy to the present stale of things . At the same time , the course . taken by the Government afforded the certaintv of "a full and
searching inquiry . " The Haigh murder continues enveloped in mystery . The Government has added £ 100 to the £ 200 previously offered by Lord Crawford for the apprehension of the murderer or murderers , and it is further announced that Sir George Grey will advise Her Majesty to grant a free pardon to any person concerned in the crime , other than the actual murderer , who may reveal what the police are now seeking in vain to discover . The trial of the six persons charged with having been connected with the great robbery
of Bank of England paper from the Lavcrstoke Mills , and with forging Bank of England notes , was brought to a close oil Saturday , having lasted four days . Two of the prisoners , Brewer and Cummings , were acquitted , although in the case of the latter , Mr . Justice Byles stated that there could be no doubt that he had been concerned in this great conspiracy , and that lie had only escaped by a flaw iu the evidence . Griffiths , who seems lo have carried on a regular trade in engraving spurious noteswas sentenced to penal servitude for life ; Buncher
, , who was the main agent in putting the forged paper into circulation , to 25 years' penal servitude ; Burnett , the man who prompted the robbery of tlvo Bav . k paper , to 20 yeavs ' penal servitude ; and Williams , a minor member of the gang , to four years of the same description of punishment . A man named Bucknell , charged with being a fraudulent bankrupt , was brought up at Guildhall , on Saturday . He had undertaken to construct an Italian railway , and ho had debts both there and in this
country . Ho took refuge in Italy , with which country we have no extradition treaty , and it was a matter of difficulty to capture him . The Italians , however , who had first put him in goal , next expelled him from their territories , and once across the French frontier , he was at the mercy of our detectives . He was examined on Saturday , ou various charges , and was then remanded , bail being refused . -Rev . J . AA'ood , Incumbent of Clayton-le-Moors , was yesterday committed for trial for forgery . A fatal collision occurred in the Solent on the morning of the Sth . The Peninsular and Oriental Company ' s ship Ceylon was steaming past Colshot Castle , when she ran into a brig which was being towed out by a steamtug . The brig went clown , but the whole of her crew escaped . ' The tug ' s funnel was carried away ,
and falling on a pilot , killed him ; while one of the tug ' s firemen was either knocked overboard or jumped into the water under the impression that all was lost . The poor fellow was drowned . The Ceylon suffered considerably from the collision . FOEEIGJT INTEJLLIQJJENCE . —The session of the French Cabinet was opened ou Monday by the Emperor , and his Majesty delivered his address . As the present is the last session of the Corps Legislatif the Emperor took occasion to review what had been done during the last five yearsabroad and at home . He said that though le often
, peop , attributed to the acts of Sovereigns concealed motives and mysterious combinations , his policy had been simply to augment the prosperity and moral ascendancy of France . He first alluded to the action of France in the various complications iii the East , aud then passed to the Italian question , stating that the arms of France had defended the independence of that country without abandoning the Pope , whom both honour and engagements obliged him to sustain . Having briefly stated that all difficulties with Spain and Switzerland had been
smoothed over , he passed ou to the expeditions in China and Cochin-China , and that in Mexico , and in reference to the latter remarked that such events cannot take place without bringing with them some complications . Treaties of commerce , he said , had been completed with England , Prussia , Italy , and Switzerland , and during the five years just elapsed , he had met most of the Sovereigns , and from those interviews friendly relations had arisen which were so many pledges for the peace of Europe . With reference to internal affairs he pointed
out that he had endeavoured by a complete amnesty to efface the recollection of past civil discord ; that he had enlarged the powers of the great bodies of the state , with guarantees for the liberty of free discussion , and renounced a valuable prerogative in order to enable the Legislative body to control the public expenditure . The armies on land and sea had been reduced , which , with some financial operations had greatly relieved the finances . The Emperor then alluded to the distress caused in France by the war in America , to relieve which a vote of money will be asked for . He had , as was known , made an offer of mediation , but , the great maritime powers not being prepared for such a course he had been forced to postpone his offer . His Ma-