Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Festivities.
B . Stehelm , Commanding Boval Engineers ; Major A . R . Dunn , v . C . ( WOth P . W . B . C . ); Major Hibbert ( 7 th Royal Fusiliers ); Major Middleton , A . D . C ; Captains Greville , O'Hara , Still ( Royal Artillery ); Staines and Tewarfc ( 6 fch Regiment ); Herbert , Dunbeny , Coope , Dowson , and AVhigham ( 7 th Royal Fusiliers ); Dyer ( 8 th ) ; Pears ( 25 th K . O . B . ); Clery , Macartney , and Slade ( 100 th P . W . E . C . )} Julius AVilliams , AVortmanu ( Her Britannic Majesty's Consul ) A . C . G . SwainD . A . C . G . AVilkinsonD . A . C . G .
IngramPat-; , , , terson , Onefcti , Jackman , Irwin , Martin , Sec . An excellent supper was laid out in the " salon , " provided by Bro . Sales . The whole of fche arrangements appear to have given general satisfaction , and both the brethren ancl their guests seemed to enjoy the fete greatly .
The Week.
THE WEEK .
THE Coriir . —Her Majesty held her first levee of the season on the loth . On Friday , His Royal Highness tho Prince Consort presided at a meeting of the Royal Commission for promoting and encouraging the fine arts in the rebuilding the Palace of Westminister . On Saturday , Baroness Brunnow , wife of the Russian Ambassador , was presented to Her Majesty the Queen , at an audience afc Buckingham Palace , by Lady John Russell . On Monday , Her Majesty gave a dinner party . On Tuesday , the
Queen and Prince Consort , accompanied by the Prince of Wales anil the Princess Alice , honoured the performance at the Adelphi Theatre with their presence . Her Majesty held a second levee on AA eclnesday last , ancl in the evening gave a dinner party . IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . —In the HOUSE or LOR » 3 , on Thursday , the 1-1-tli , Lord Herbert of Lea moved that the thanks of the House be awarded to the army and navy engaged in the recent operations in China . The noble lord eulogised in appropriate
terms the heroism and devotion of officers and men under circumstances of unusual difficulty , and stated that upon no previous occasion had the honour of the British flag been more worthily upheld . The Earl of Derby seconded the motion , which was carried unanimously . On Friday , the Marquis of Normanby gave notice thafc he intended , on the 1 st of March , to call attention to the correspondence which had been laid upon their lordships' table with reference to the affairs of Italy . On Monday , the Earl of
Ellenborougli asked what means had been taken for the purpose of carrying into effect the proviso in the Act of last session in favour of the sons of persons who have served in India . Earl De Grey and Ripon said that general arrangements for the admission of officers to the army were under the consideration of the Government , anil certain changes were contemplated . He was not at present in a condition to do more than to assure the noble earl that when the new arrangements were made known , he would find that the Government had adopted ample means for securing to the persons to whom the noble earl referred those advantages
which they had previously possessed . ——On Tuesday , the Indictable Offences ( Metropolitan Districts ) Bill and the Conrstructive Notice Amendment Bill passed through committee . In the HOUSE OI- COMMONS , on Thursday , the 15 th , Lord Palmerston moved that the thanks of Parliament be given to the army and navy engaged in the recent operations in China , and said that he rose to perform one of the most pleasing duties which could fall to the lot of a member of the House—namely , that they should
publicly acknowledge their gratitude fco the brave and gallant officers and men of the army and navy for services which had been performed under many difficulties , ancl which had been attended with the most brilliant results , Mr . Disraeli seconded fcho motion , which was carried unanimously . The Bankruptcy Bill was read a second time . Sir G . C . Lewis obtained leave to bring in a bill to assign the seats forfeited by the disfranchisement of the boroughs of St . Alban ' s and Sudburyand said that the Government were
, most anxious to assign tbe seats in such a manner as to give the largest measure of satisfaction to the public . AVith this view they ivould give one seat to the AVesfc Riding of Yorkshire , ancl another to South Lancashire , these being the two largest and most populous counties in England . The two remaining seats would be given to the united parishes of Chelsea and Kensington , and to the town of Birkenhead , which contained a population of 30 , 000 persons , and
ivas the largest unrepresented community in the kingdom . Ou Friday , Lord John Russell stated , in reply to a question from MY . D . Griffith on the subject of Italian independence , that he could nofc give a precise or specific answer to it , as he was really unable to gather its meaning . He might say , however , that " the only encouragement which Her Majest y ' s Government hail given the Italians was tho expression of an opinion that they ought to be left ; to settle their own affairs . On Monday , the House went- into committee on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill ; and the clause relating to the salaries of the ' ehief judge and ins ] secretary , and some others wifch came within the
category of " money clauses , were postponed for future consideration . Considerable progress was made with other portions . Sir G C . Lewis moved the second reading of the Parochial Assessments Bill , and the motion was agreed to , upon the understanding that time should be given for full consideration of the bill in the evenV of the House deciding on a future day nofc to refer it in the first instance to a select committee . On Tuesday , Mr . Locke King obtained leave to bring in a bill to extend the franchise in counties
in England ancl AVales to £ 10 householders ; and Mr . Baines for extending the franchise in boroughs to £ 6 householders . Mr . Hubbard moved for a select committee to inquire into the present mode of assessing and collecting the income ancl property tax , and whether any mode of levying the same , so as to render the tax more equitable , could be adopted . The Chancellor of the Exchequer answered several of the objections taken by Mr . Hubbard , and , while
admitting that the tax presented many inequalities , contended that the proposal of Mr . Hubbard would aggravate the evil , because any abatement of taxation towards one class ivould have the effect of imposing additional burdens on another . On a division , the motion was carried by 131 to 127 . On AVednesday , Mr . Alcock obtained leave to bring in a bill for voluntary commutation of church rates . Leave was also given to Sir John Trelawny to bring in a bill to allow affirmations or declarations to be made instead of oathsin
, certain cases in Great Britain and Ireland . CiENisBAt , HOME NEWS . —The Navy Estimates have just been issued . The grand total required for the service of 1 S 6 T-2 amounts to £ 12 , 029 , 475 , against £ 12 , 836 , 100 for the previous year . This exhibits a reduction in the expenditure of £ 806 , 625 . This reduction has been effected by a diminution in the number of seamen , and also of workmen . in the various naval establishments . The timates have been also The reduction of
army es published . expenditure which has been effected in this department is of the most diminutive kind , amounting to only £ 185 , 795 . The military estimates alone amount to more than £ 14 , 000 , 000 sterling . Adding the navy estimates , the total war expenditure of the present year amounts to £ 26 , 000 , 000 . A very influential ! / attended meeting of the National Rifle Association was held at Willis's Rooms on Saturday . Lord Herbert presided . One of the principal points
of his speech was fche means adopted by the Association to connect the volunteer movement in the colonies with the great organisation afc home . His lordship puts down the nnmber of volunteers at bhe . present time at 1-10 , 000 . Ifc was resolved that the great shooting
match of 1861 should take place afc AVimbledon , it being difficult to find elsewhere so suitable a locality . The Liverpool Financial Reform Association have drawn up a petition to Parliament- on the important question of our expenditure . The petition calls attention to the sums spent upon warlike armaments ; to the system of indirect taxation , by which this vast expenditure is rendered possible ; to the manner in which the landowners are said to have evaded their share of the national burthens .
A meeting has been held at AVillis ' s Rooms , to receive the report of fcwo gentlemen connected with the Baptist Missionary Society , who hail heen sent out to the AA esfc Indies for the purpose of inquiring into the actual state of affairs in those colonies . The statement of one of these gentlemen ( Mr . Underbill ) cannot fail to gratif y the friends of emancipation , showing , as ifc does , that emancipation has immensely benefited the great mass of the population , ancl thafc the material interests of the colonies have not suffered to nearlthe
y extent that is sometimes alleged . The ruin of Jamaica Mr . Underbill attributed , in a large measure , to the evils of absenteeism and had management . Since the passing of the Act of Emancipation the negroes of that island have become possessed of property ofthe value of fcwo and a-Inilf millions . A small farmer , named Henry Lacy , in the neighbourhood of Ryde , Isle of AVight , is in custody under suspicion of having murdered his wife . The crime is believed to have been committed on Saturday niht or
g Sunday morning , while fche man ivas in a state of intoxication , his unfortunate victim being an invalid , ancl bed-ridden . A verdict of wilful murder has been returned against him , ancl he lias been committed for trial . -Judgment has been given in the Court of Probate and Divorce on Saturday , in the singular case of a petition for nullity of marriage , by a lady , tlie daughter of a Liverpool physician , and which had been previously argued . Margaret
Lea Bevan was the name by which the petitioner described herself , and sho had been married by licence to an omnibus conductor named M'Mahon , bufc with whom she bad never resided . Afc her own request , some misrepresentation had been made on taking out the licence , for tho purpose of concealment ; and a stipulation was agreed to that the bridegroom ivas not to claim her as his wife for two years . The judge now explained that there was a great difference between marriage by b-. inns and by licence , and that
although an incorrect description of the parties would vitiate the ceremony under the former circumstances , it did not so aiVeefc when performed b y licence . On that ground the petition was missed ; and so the lady continucs ; Mrs . M'Mahon . At the close
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Festivities.
B . Stehelm , Commanding Boval Engineers ; Major A . R . Dunn , v . C . ( WOth P . W . B . C . ); Major Hibbert ( 7 th Royal Fusiliers ); Major Middleton , A . D . C ; Captains Greville , O'Hara , Still ( Royal Artillery ); Staines and Tewarfc ( 6 fch Regiment ); Herbert , Dunbeny , Coope , Dowson , and AVhigham ( 7 th Royal Fusiliers ); Dyer ( 8 th ) ; Pears ( 25 th K . O . B . ); Clery , Macartney , and Slade ( 100 th P . W . E . C . )} Julius AVilliams , AVortmanu ( Her Britannic Majesty's Consul ) A . C . G . SwainD . A . C . G . AVilkinsonD . A . C . G .
IngramPat-; , , , terson , Onefcti , Jackman , Irwin , Martin , Sec . An excellent supper was laid out in the " salon , " provided by Bro . Sales . The whole of fche arrangements appear to have given general satisfaction , and both the brethren ancl their guests seemed to enjoy the fete greatly .
The Week.
THE WEEK .
THE Coriir . —Her Majesty held her first levee of the season on the loth . On Friday , His Royal Highness tho Prince Consort presided at a meeting of the Royal Commission for promoting and encouraging the fine arts in the rebuilding the Palace of Westminister . On Saturday , Baroness Brunnow , wife of the Russian Ambassador , was presented to Her Majesty the Queen , at an audience afc Buckingham Palace , by Lady John Russell . On Monday , Her Majesty gave a dinner party . On Tuesday , the
Queen and Prince Consort , accompanied by the Prince of Wales anil the Princess Alice , honoured the performance at the Adelphi Theatre with their presence . Her Majesty held a second levee on AA eclnesday last , ancl in the evening gave a dinner party . IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . —In the HOUSE or LOR » 3 , on Thursday , the 1-1-tli , Lord Herbert of Lea moved that the thanks of the House be awarded to the army and navy engaged in the recent operations in China . The noble lord eulogised in appropriate
terms the heroism and devotion of officers and men under circumstances of unusual difficulty , and stated that upon no previous occasion had the honour of the British flag been more worthily upheld . The Earl of Derby seconded the motion , which was carried unanimously . On Friday , the Marquis of Normanby gave notice thafc he intended , on the 1 st of March , to call attention to the correspondence which had been laid upon their lordships' table with reference to the affairs of Italy . On Monday , the Earl of
Ellenborougli asked what means had been taken for the purpose of carrying into effect the proviso in the Act of last session in favour of the sons of persons who have served in India . Earl De Grey and Ripon said that general arrangements for the admission of officers to the army were under the consideration of the Government , anil certain changes were contemplated . He was not at present in a condition to do more than to assure the noble earl that when the new arrangements were made known , he would find that the Government had adopted ample means for securing to the persons to whom the noble earl referred those advantages
which they had previously possessed . ——On Tuesday , the Indictable Offences ( Metropolitan Districts ) Bill and the Conrstructive Notice Amendment Bill passed through committee . In the HOUSE OI- COMMONS , on Thursday , the 15 th , Lord Palmerston moved that the thanks of Parliament be given to the army and navy engaged in the recent operations in China , and said that he rose to perform one of the most pleasing duties which could fall to the lot of a member of the House—namely , that they should
publicly acknowledge their gratitude fco the brave and gallant officers and men of the army and navy for services which had been performed under many difficulties , ancl which had been attended with the most brilliant results , Mr . Disraeli seconded fcho motion , which was carried unanimously . The Bankruptcy Bill was read a second time . Sir G . C . Lewis obtained leave to bring in a bill to assign the seats forfeited by the disfranchisement of the boroughs of St . Alban ' s and Sudburyand said that the Government were
, most anxious to assign tbe seats in such a manner as to give the largest measure of satisfaction to the public . AVith this view they ivould give one seat to the AVesfc Riding of Yorkshire , ancl another to South Lancashire , these being the two largest and most populous counties in England . The two remaining seats would be given to the united parishes of Chelsea and Kensington , and to the town of Birkenhead , which contained a population of 30 , 000 persons , and
ivas the largest unrepresented community in the kingdom . Ou Friday , Lord John Russell stated , in reply to a question from MY . D . Griffith on the subject of Italian independence , that he could nofc give a precise or specific answer to it , as he was really unable to gather its meaning . He might say , however , that " the only encouragement which Her Majest y ' s Government hail given the Italians was tho expression of an opinion that they ought to be left ; to settle their own affairs . On Monday , the House went- into committee on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill ; and the clause relating to the salaries of the ' ehief judge and ins ] secretary , and some others wifch came within the
category of " money clauses , were postponed for future consideration . Considerable progress was made with other portions . Sir G C . Lewis moved the second reading of the Parochial Assessments Bill , and the motion was agreed to , upon the understanding that time should be given for full consideration of the bill in the evenV of the House deciding on a future day nofc to refer it in the first instance to a select committee . On Tuesday , Mr . Locke King obtained leave to bring in a bill to extend the franchise in counties
in England ancl AVales to £ 10 householders ; and Mr . Baines for extending the franchise in boroughs to £ 6 householders . Mr . Hubbard moved for a select committee to inquire into the present mode of assessing and collecting the income ancl property tax , and whether any mode of levying the same , so as to render the tax more equitable , could be adopted . The Chancellor of the Exchequer answered several of the objections taken by Mr . Hubbard , and , while
admitting that the tax presented many inequalities , contended that the proposal of Mr . Hubbard would aggravate the evil , because any abatement of taxation towards one class ivould have the effect of imposing additional burdens on another . On a division , the motion was carried by 131 to 127 . On AVednesday , Mr . Alcock obtained leave to bring in a bill for voluntary commutation of church rates . Leave was also given to Sir John Trelawny to bring in a bill to allow affirmations or declarations to be made instead of oathsin
, certain cases in Great Britain and Ireland . CiENisBAt , HOME NEWS . —The Navy Estimates have just been issued . The grand total required for the service of 1 S 6 T-2 amounts to £ 12 , 029 , 475 , against £ 12 , 836 , 100 for the previous year . This exhibits a reduction in the expenditure of £ 806 , 625 . This reduction has been effected by a diminution in the number of seamen , and also of workmen . in the various naval establishments . The timates have been also The reduction of
army es published . expenditure which has been effected in this department is of the most diminutive kind , amounting to only £ 185 , 795 . The military estimates alone amount to more than £ 14 , 000 , 000 sterling . Adding the navy estimates , the total war expenditure of the present year amounts to £ 26 , 000 , 000 . A very influential ! / attended meeting of the National Rifle Association was held at Willis's Rooms on Saturday . Lord Herbert presided . One of the principal points
of his speech was fche means adopted by the Association to connect the volunteer movement in the colonies with the great organisation afc home . His lordship puts down the nnmber of volunteers at bhe . present time at 1-10 , 000 . Ifc was resolved that the great shooting
match of 1861 should take place afc AVimbledon , it being difficult to find elsewhere so suitable a locality . The Liverpool Financial Reform Association have drawn up a petition to Parliament- on the important question of our expenditure . The petition calls attention to the sums spent upon warlike armaments ; to the system of indirect taxation , by which this vast expenditure is rendered possible ; to the manner in which the landowners are said to have evaded their share of the national burthens .
A meeting has been held at AVillis ' s Rooms , to receive the report of fcwo gentlemen connected with the Baptist Missionary Society , who hail heen sent out to the AA esfc Indies for the purpose of inquiring into the actual state of affairs in those colonies . The statement of one of these gentlemen ( Mr . Underbill ) cannot fail to gratif y the friends of emancipation , showing , as ifc does , that emancipation has immensely benefited the great mass of the population , ancl thafc the material interests of the colonies have not suffered to nearlthe
y extent that is sometimes alleged . The ruin of Jamaica Mr . Underbill attributed , in a large measure , to the evils of absenteeism and had management . Since the passing of the Act of Emancipation the negroes of that island have become possessed of property ofthe value of fcwo and a-Inilf millions . A small farmer , named Henry Lacy , in the neighbourhood of Ryde , Isle of AVight , is in custody under suspicion of having murdered his wife . The crime is believed to have been committed on Saturday niht or
g Sunday morning , while fche man ivas in a state of intoxication , his unfortunate victim being an invalid , ancl bed-ridden . A verdict of wilful murder has been returned against him , ancl he lias been committed for trial . -Judgment has been given in the Court of Probate and Divorce on Saturday , in the singular case of a petition for nullity of marriage , by a lady , tlie daughter of a Liverpool physician , and which had been previously argued . Margaret
Lea Bevan was the name by which the petitioner described herself , and sho had been married by licence to an omnibus conductor named M'Mahon , bufc with whom she bad never resided . Afc her own request , some misrepresentation had been made on taking out the licence , for tho purpose of concealment ; and a stipulation was agreed to that the bridegroom ivas not to claim her as his wife for two years . The judge now explained that there was a great difference between marriage by b-. inns and by licence , and that
although an incorrect description of the parties would vitiate the ceremony under the former circumstances , it did not so aiVeefc when performed b y licence . On that ground the petition was missed ; and so the lady continucs ; Mrs . M'Mahon . At the close