Symons, as to the Moon's motion round the earth, and the contrast between lunar revolution and axial rotation.

May 2.-Peace Celebration Fête at the Crystal Palace.

3. Amnesty granted to the Monmouthshire Chartists convicted in 1840, and to such of the Irish political offenders as had not broken their parole.

Baron Brunow, Russian Ambassador, obtains audience of her Majesty for the purpose of formally announcing the accession of his Majesty the Emperor Alexander.

4.-The Queen, Prince Albert, and the Royal Family attend afternoon service in Westminster Abbey, on the occasion of the national thanksgiving for the restoration of peace. The Commons, headed by the Speaker, attended the services at St. Margaret's.

5.- Address agreed upon by the Lords, and on the 6th, after two nights' debate, by the Commons, regarding the Treaty of Peace.

6.-Died, aged 68, Sir William Hamilton, Bart., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in Edinburgh University.

Bursting of the City Canal, West India Dock. At the Limehouse end of the canal the outer gates of the lock were under repair, so that the whole pressure of the water was sustained by the inner pair. About half-past nine o'clock the tide in the river was nearly at its lowest ebb, the entrance lock as far as the inner gate being almost dry. On the other side of the gate there was a depth of about twenty feet of water. Suddenly the whole neighbourhood was aroused by a tremendous crash caused by the bursting of the lock. The whole of the ponderous gates, weighing about twenty tons, were crushed outwards and swept in fragments into the river, and the waters of the canal burst down the lock with overwhelming fury. With the torrent, craft of every description were swept from their moorings and carried as masses of wreck into the Thames. Large vessels, stranding in the mud, were less damaged. The canal was dry in about ten minutes.

7. After a debate extending over two days, the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies carry a motion expressing approval of Count Cavour's policy for redressing the grievances prevailing throughout the Legations.

8. Thanks of both Houses of Parliament voted to the soldiers and sailors engaged in the late war.

The members of both Houses proceed in procession from Westininster to Buckingham Palace, to present the Addresses agreed upon regarding the Treaty of Peace.

William Fenwick Williams, K. C.B., "for his eminent and distinguished services, particularly in the defence of Kars."

10. In answer to remonstrances from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Palmerston states that steps will be taken for discontinuing the bands playing in Kensington Gardens and in the parks on Sundays.

Resolutions submitted to the Carlton Club for the expulsion of Peelite members, whose presence was said to be "injurious to the interest of the Conservative party, and at variance with the principles upon which the Club was established."

14. Commenced at the Central Criminal Court, before Lord Chief Justice Campbell, Baron Alderson, and Mr. Justice Cresswell, the trial of Willlam Palmer for the Rugeley poisonings. The Attorney-General appeared for the Crown, and Mr. Serjeant Shee for the prisoner. The trial excited the most intense interest throughout the kingdom, and during the twelve days over which it extended, the Old Bailey was crowded by an assembly such as rarely gathers within its walls. The first case proceeded with was the poisoning of Cook. The Crown alleged murder by strychnia, but admitted that none was found in the body. The proof was therefore of an entirely circumstantial character, illustrating minutely the pecuniary transactions of the prisoner, the probable motives which might actuate him to commit the crime, the opportunities he had for administering the poison, and the evidence of medical men and professional chemists as to the nature and action of that poison. Soon after two P.M. on the 27th, the Lord Chief Justice concluded his summing-up in these words :-"Gentlemen, the case is now in your hands; and unless upon the part of the prosecution a clear conviction has been brought to your minds of the guilt of the prisoner, it is your duty to acquit him. You are not to proceed even upon a strong suspicion. There must be the strongest conviction in your minds that he was guilty of this offence; and if there be any reasonable doubt remaining in your minds, you will give him the benefit of that doubt; but if you come to a clear conviction that he was guilty, you will not be deterred from doing your duty by any considerations such as have been suggested to you. You will remember the oath you have taken, and you will act accordingly. Gentlemen, I have performed my task; you have now to discharge yours, and may God direct you to a right finding.' The jury retired at eighteen minutes past two P. M., and returned into court at twenty-four minutes to four P.M., with a verdict of Guilty.. As the jury entered and were about to deliver their verdict, it was observed that the prisoner looked pale, and his countenance exhibited some show of anxiety; but he almost instantly recovered his self-possession, and heard the verdict delivered with perfect calmness. The Lord Chief Justice solemnly adjudged the

prisoner to be executed at Stafford on the 14th of June.

14.-A Court of Proprietors of the East India Company sanction a proposal of the Court of Directors to allow Lord Dalhousie a pension of 5,000l. per annum, in consideration of his eminent services.

Lord John Russell addresses the members of the Stroud Mechanics' Institute on "The Study of History."

15. Mr. Charles Russell, late chairman of the Great Western Railway Company, commits suicide by shooting himself.

19. The Chancellor of the Exchequer introduces his Budget. The total expenditure for 1855-6 was 88,428,355., exclusive of the 1,000,000/. loan to Sardinia; and the income, 65,704,491/. The total expenditure in two years of war was 155, 121, 3071.; and in the preceding two years of peace, 102,032,5967. The present he considered still a year of war expenditure, in consequence of the preparations that had been incurred. The probable expenditure he estimated at 82,113,000/., and the income from all sources at 71,740,000l. He would not propose any new taxes at this time, but would make up the deficiency by a loan.

The new 5,000,000l. loan contracted for by Messrs. Rothschild at 93-the sum fixed by Government.

21.-Died, aged 51, Augustin Thierry, French historian.

22.-Charles Bird Sumner assaulted and severely wounded by Colonel Preston Brooks, in the Senate House, Washington, for having, as was imputed, used language, in a slavery debate, offensive to the State of South Carolina and to Judge Butler.

26. The Earl of Clarendon instructs Sir James Hudson to represent to the King of Sardinia, that the occupation of Papal territory by foreign troops constitutes a state of things tending to disturb the equilibrium and endanger the peace of Europe.

27. Mr. Miall's motion in favour of the secularization of the revenues of the Irish Church, rejected by 165 to 95 votes.

A political amnesty granted to the Poles by Alexander II. of Russia.

28. The misunderstanding between Great Britain and the United States on the enlistment question becomes so serious that Mr. Crampton, the British Minister, is ordered to leave Washington. He arrived at Liverpool on the 15th June.

30. Great inundations in France. In consequence of excessive rains, large tracts of country from Paris to Lyons and onwards to the sea were laid under water. Roads and railways were rendered impassable. Human bodies, cattle, furniture, and agricultural produce were borne along the flood, and the streets of many towns were only passable in boats. When the Emperor visited Lyons to sympathize with and encourage the inhabitants, he had to give up his horse and was rowed from place to place. At the Orleans railway station the water reached the fourth story, and at Tours it was ten feet deep. At Angers the immense slate quarries were inundated, and ten thousand men thrown out of employment. In some places whole villages were swept away. At a sitting of the Legislative Body, 2,000,000 francs were voted for the relief of the sufferers, and the Council of Ministers applied a new credit of ro,000,000 francs to the same purpose. Public subscriptions were set on foot in all directions; one raised in England reached 40,000!.

The Lord Chancellor's Appellate Jurisdiction Bill, providing for the elevation of two lawyers to the Upper House, as peers for life, with the view of assisting in the judicial business, read a second time.

June 1.-Corporal Niven, of the 56th Foot, shoots Sergeant Robinson, on board the convict ship Runnymede, lying in Plymouth Sound. He was tried at Bodmin for the offence, found guilty, and executed on the 11th of August.

2. Her Majesty lays the foundation-stone of Wellington College, at Sandhurst, an institution designed to provide shelter and education to 250 sons of officers who had served in the army of the Queen or the East India Company. A review of troops brought from Aldershot was a prominent feature in the day's proceedings.

4.-Commemoration day at Oxford, celebrated with unusual gaiety in connexion with the Peace rejoicings.

Died at Sevenoaks, aged 93, Sir Alexander Crichton, physician for many years to

the Emperor Alexander I. of Russia, and one of the oldest members of the Royal Academy.

5.-Died, at Paris, on his return from the south of France, Samuel Gurney, head of the great discounting firm of Overend, Gurney, and Co. 6.-Resignation of the Saldanha Ministry in Portugal, and accession to power of the Marquis of Loule.

Died, aged 72, Dr. Monk, Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, the successor of Porson in the Greek chair at Cambridge.

12. Sir George Grey brings forward the Education Estimates, and moves that a sum of 151,000!. be voted for that purpose, in addition to the 300,000l. usually given. In defence of the extended vote he reviewed the course of public education, showing the increase of expenditure since 1839, when it was 30,000l., and 1850, when it was 200,000l. Since the latter year, pupil teachers had increased from 4,660 to 8,524; Queen's scholars, from 39 to 972; inspectors, from 19 to 36; and children, from 214,873 to 569,076.

14.-William Palmer executed at Stafford. The criminal slept his last sleep quietly, and in the morning, when the chaplain entered his cell, declared himself to be comfortable and quite prepared. When asked by the High Sheriff whether he was prepared to acknowledge the justice of his sentence, he replied with energy, "No, sir, I do not; I go to the scaffold a murdered man." He moved forward to the drop with a slight step, and nothing but the pallor of his face showed any undercurrent of feeling. He died, to all appearances, instantaneously.

16. In answer to Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston explains that the dismissal of Mr. Crampton from Washington did not break up diplomatic relations with the United States: the American Government still wished to engage in diplomatic intercourse on questions removed from the cause of quarrel.

Sir William F. Williams, the hero of Kars, arrives at Dover, and is presented with a congratulatory address, in answer to which he urged the necessity of the country being always prepared for war.

17.- Admiral Lyons gazetted Baron Lyons, of Christchurch, in the county of Southampton. Official intimation given that Dr. Rae and his companions were entitled to the 10,000l. reward offered for the discovery of the fate of the Franklin expedition.

Mr. Walpole carries a resolution against the Government for an Address to the Queen praying for a modification in certain rules drawn up to carry on the National System of Education in Ireland. The motion was reversed on the 23d, by 232 to 95 votes.

18. First display of the great fountains at the Crystal Palace in presence of her Majesty and a gathering of about 20,000 people.

19. The Hawaiian monarch, Kamehameha IV., marries Emma, daughter of Naea, a lineal descendant of the ancient island kings, and granddaughter of John Young, an English

man.

William Lewis tried at the Central Criminal Court for feloniously attempting to induce a seaman to revolt and piratically take possession of the ship Stebonheath, on the voyage from Melbourne. The felonious proposal of the prisoner, with all its details of blood and massacre, were minutely related by one of the seamen whom he had taken into his confidence. The jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and Lewis was sentenced to transportation for life.

20. The Moniteur publishes the project of a Senatus Consultum regulating the succession to the Regency of the Empire.

24. Demonstration in the King's Park, Stirling, for the purpose of adopting resolutions in support of the erection of a monument to Sir William Wallace, on the Abbey Craig. The gathering was presided over by the Earl of Elgin.

The President of the United States recognizes the filibuster Walker as President of Nicaragua.

26.-" Speech day" at Harrow. General Williams was present, and laid the foundationstone of a memorial to the Harrovians who had fallen in the late war.

27.-Lord Elcho carries a resolution against the Government for an Address to the Queen, praying that a Royal Commission might be appointed to determine on a site for the new National Gallery.

28.-Banquet given by the Army and Navy Club to General Williams and the officers of Kars. They spoke in the highest terms of the gallantry and humanity of General Mouravieff and the Emperor Alexander.

30.-Jenny Lind gives a farewell concert in Exeter Hall-an entertainment creating an excitement even exceeding that of her first ap pearance at Her Majesty's Theatre nine years

ago.

July 1. Sir Colin Campbell presented with a sword and the freedom of the city of Glasgow.

Conclusion of the debate on Mr. G. H. Moore's motion, "That the conduct of her Majesty's Government in the differences that have arisen with America on the question of enlistment has not entitled them to the approbation of the House." Majority of 194 for Ministers in a House of 354.

2.-The French Legislative Body pass a bill granting 600,000 francs Rentes to the Orleans Princesses. Acting under the advice of members and adherents of the family, this grant was declined as a feeble attempt at reparation for an act of spoliation.

2.-Sir Roderick Murchison announces that the Bellot Testimonial Fund amounted to 2,2811. 175. 8d. The amount was paid over to his family, with the exception of the sum required to erect a monument overlooking the Thames at Greenwich, in memory of "the intrepid young Bellot, of the French navy, who, in the endeavour to rescue Franklin, shared the fate and the glory of that illustrious navigator."

3.-Prince Albert, writing to the Earl of Ellesmere regarding a proposed Exhibition of Art Treasures at Manchester, states, that "No country invests a larger amount of capital in works of art of all kind than England, and in none almost is so little done for art education! If the collection you propose to form were made to illustrate the history of art in a chronological and systematic arrangement, it would speak powerfully to the public mind, and enable in a practical way the most uneducated eye to gather the lesson which ages of thought and scientific research have attempted to ab. stract, and would present to the world, for the first time, a gallery such as no other country could produce, but for which I feel convinced the materials exist abundantly in private hands among us.

4. Mr. George Peabody, a wealthy American merchant residing in London, celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by a dinner to a number of his distinguished countrymen and friends at the Star and Garter, Richmond. A hearty reception was given to General Cadwallader's toast, "Great Britain and the United States frank intercourse, cordial friendship, and perpetual peace between them."

6.-Collision at the mouth of the Mersey, between the Excelsior and Mail Irish steamboat.

The bow of the Excelsior knocked off the figure-head of the Mail, entered the portbow near the bowsprit, and tore its way through the spar-deck as far as the foremost. In the fore part of the Mail lay a number of deck passengers, chiefly Irish, coming to the harvest in England. They were nearly all asleep, with their heads close up to the bow of the ship. Five were killed instantly, three died in a short time, and six were injured. The Mail kept afloat till assistance arrived to tow her up the river.

7. The Tipperary Militia mutiny at Nenagh, and refuse to give up their clothes or arms till additional bounty-money is paid. In the course of the disturbance three of the mutineers were shot, and one soldier of the 41st. Being completely overpowered by the regular troops, the ringleaders were seized and brought to trial. The mutineer who shot the soldier was sentenced to death, subsequently commuted to transportation for life; five men to twenty-one years, five to fifteen, and two to twelve years' transportation.

The Queen reviews the troops at Aldershot, and expresses her admiration at the conduct of those returned from the Crimea.

7.-Ministers carry the second reading of the Appellate Jurisdiction Bill by a majority of 191 to 142; but on the 10th are defeated by Mr. Raikes Currie, who carries a resolution for referring the measure to a Select Committee.

8.-Sir John Burgoyne, G.C. B., gazetted to the rank of General. Major-Generals Sir R. England and Sir Colin Campbell to be Lieutenant-Generals.

9. The Guards make a public entry into London on their return from the Crimea, the Queen welcoming them from the balcony as they passed Buckingham Palace, and afterwards attending the review in Hyde Park.

Sir William Williams of Kars returned as member for Calne (in room of Lord Shelburne, created Baron Wycombe), with the view, as commonly understood at the time, of assisting Ministers in the details of their military organization.

10. Ainsworth's cotton-mills, at Bolton, destroyed by fire.

12.-Final evacuation of the Crimea by the British forces. All the remaining stores and establishments having been embarked, a company of the 50th Regiment was posted outside the town of Balaklava to receive the Russion troops, and on their approach marched in with the Russian Guard, composed of about fifty mounted Cossacks, and a similar number of Infantry Cossacks. The usual form of salutes took place; the Russians placed sentries where they wished, and the English troops marched on board H. M.S. Algiers. General Codrington embarked with his personal staff at the same time. During the war the English lost-killed in action and died of wounds, 3,500; died of cholera, 4,244; of other diseases nearly 16,000; -total, 24,000 (including 270 officers); 2,873 were disabled. The French loss was estimated at 63,500 men, and the Russian as high as 500,000. The war added to the National Debt 41,041,000/.

Another Kars banquet given to General Williams by the Reform Club.

14.-Debate in both Houses on the affairs of Italy, Lord John Russell moving for the production of the correspondence with Austria and the King of the Two Sicilies; and Lord Lyndhurst attacking the Government of the King of Naples as tyrannical to its own people and insulting to this country.

Renewed disturbance in Spain, leading to the resignation of the Espartero Ministry, and the accession to power of General O'Donnell. In the riot at Madrid, six officers were reported to have been killed, and 32 privates.

15.-The Barrett family tried at Bedford for starving Helen Barrett, aged 18, now dead, and two younger girls presently in the workThe mother and eldest daughter compelled the younger members of the family to work at lace, and if they failed in their allotted

house.

task, they were altogether deprived of their miserable allowance of bad food. They were also beaten and otherwise shamefully abused. The father, who pleaded ignorance, was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, and the two women to two years' penal servitude each.

15.-Explosion in the Cymmer Colliery, near Pontypridd, and loss of 114 lives. In the course of the investigation which followed, it was clearly established that this calamity was occasioned by a total absence of all the precautions provided by Acts of Parliament. Though many parts of the pit were known to be dangerous, safety-lamps were not used, and the ordinary way of testing a "heading" was to place a lighted candle in it.

The Lord Chancellor explains the nature of the Government Bill framed to permit the retirement of the Bishops of London and Durham upon an allowance. The measure was objected to on the ground that it legalized simony, but ultimately passed as introduced. In the House of Commons the retiring allowance of the Bishop of London was fixed at 6,000/., and of the Bishop of Durham at 4,500/., being the sums proposed by these prelates respectively.

Field Marshal Viscount Hardinge, resigning the post of General Commanding-in-Chief, states in a "General Order" that at no former period of the military history of this country has the devoted conduct of the troops been surpassed. "These soldier-like qualities stood the test of a siege carried on through a vigorous winter, and for eleven months of open trenches. The valour and perseverance of that gallant army and of its brave allies were at length rewarded with the capture of the enemy's fortress, and the attainment of an honourable peace." He congratulated the army on the selection of the Duke of Cambridge as a successor, his name being associated with some of the most splendid triumphs of the war, and his devotion to the interest of the service well known. Another "General Order" issued next day formally announced the Duke's accession to the office, and expressed his anxiety to maintain the army in the high state of efficiency in which it had been left by his distinguished predecessor.

16. Came on at York Assizes the trial of William Dove, of Leeds, for poisoning his wife by administering strychnia in medicine. The case lasted three days, and ended in a verdict of Guilty being returned against the prisoner, with a recommendation to mercy on the ground of defective intellect. He appeared to have been excited to the crime partly from an innate love of cruelty, and partly from the effects of the disclosures in Palmer's case on an ignorant, superstitious mind. After his conviction, he made a declaration, describing the manner in which the crime was committed, and imputing the chief guilt to a Leeds

"wizard" named Harrison, whom he was in the habit of consulting, and who told him that he would never have any happiness till his wife was out of the way. One letter, written with his own blood, was in these words:"Dear Devil,-If you will get me clear at the assizes, and let me have the enjoyment of life, health, wealth, tobacco here, more food and better, and my wishes granted till I am sixty, come to me to-night. I remain your faithful subject, WILLIAM DOVE." On reconsidering the case, the Home Secretary did not think there was anything which took it out of the category of wilful and deliberate murder, and the sentence was therefore carried into execution.

17. Collision near the Camphill station of the North Pennsylvanian line, U.S., causing the death of 100 children starting on a pic-nic excursion. The locomotives rose on end, and were locked together, while the foremost cars of the excursion train were first ground to splinters, and then set on fire from the engine.

21. The Report of the Chelsea Board of General Officers laid on the table of the House of Commons. The Earl of Lucan was acquitted of blame, and the censure passed on most of the other officers in the Crimean Report either modified or cancelled.

Mr. Roebuck makes an attempt to get Mr. James Sadleir formally expelled from the House, but is unsuccessful in the absence of any confession from or recorded conviction of the criminal.

The Earl of Malmesbury, in moving for papers, enters into an examination of the present unsatisfactory state of our relations with Brazil --a power, he said, most desirous of being on friendly terms with Great Britain.

22.-Earl Granville appointed Ambassador Extraordinary, to attend the coronation of the Emperor of Russia.

Bill read a third time in the Commons authorizing the appointment of a paid Minister of Education to act as Vice-President of the Council.

Mr. Hywood introduces, but withdraws, after a short debate, a motion for an Address, praying that her Majesty would appoint a Commission for revising the present translation of the Bible; Sir George Grey insisting that the object of the Address was not in accordance with public feeling, which alone would justify the House in moving in such an important

matter.

25. Mr. Disraeli reviews the work of the session, and contrasts Ministerial measures with the Conservative policy of recognising the just influence of landed property, the alliance between Church and State, respect for corporate rights, and the existence of a free magistracy. Lord Palmerston replied, defending the attention and ability displayed by his government in the conduct of public affairs, and charging Mr. Disraeli with seeking to excite disunion in