Airtruyetio.

" The regiments of the Foot Guards have been keeping their two hun- dredth anniversary. The Grenadier Guards dined together on Saturday, in the banquet-hall of St. James's Palace, mustering nearly 200 strong. This largo number included many officers formerly connected with the Guards, and several civilians. Among the most conspicuous persons present were :—the Prince Consort, who presided, the Duke of Cambridge, Lord de Grey and Ripon Sir Charles Yorke, the Chaplain General, Lord Combermere, Sir James ilearlett, and Lord Rokeby. After dinne; there was much speaking. The Prince Consort, its Colonel, dilated on the services of the regiment, from the siege and capture of Namur up to the battle of Inkerman, not forgetting the capture of Cherbourg nor the battle of Waterloo. He eulogized the loyalty of the Grenadiers, who clung to Charles II., fought against Monmouth, and "in the cause of

shine forth for centuries to come, and that the Almighty will continue to favour and protect this little band of devoted soldiers. Gentlemen, let us on our part manfully do our duty, mindful of the deeds of our predecessors, loyal to our Sovereign, and jealous of our country's honour." (Cheers.)

In proposing the health of the Prince of Wales, the Prince Consort said his studies up to this time have not enabled him to take any mili- tary duties upon himself._ While at Edinburgh last year, he, however, availed himself of the presence of the 16th Lancers to make him: self acquainted with the evolutions of cavalry, and to learn his drill. Cheers.)

In another speech he spoke of the Navy, expressing the greatest con- fidence in the skill and prowess of its officers and men, and declaring that at no time has it been in a higher state of efficiency. Then he pro- posed the health of the Duke of Cambridge, and the Duke answered with more praise of the Guards. The Prince Consort, referring to the death of Lord Strafford, proposed the health of Lord Combermere who made a characteristic answer :— " It may be great presumption in me to add anything to what has been so well said by your Itoyal Highness in praise of the Grenadier Guards, but I maybe allowed, as a very old officer, to mention that, having known this regiment during the campaigns of 1793 and 1794, and having then had the honour of serving, not in but with, the 1st Regiment of Guards, I can speak to the gallantry it displayed. My recollection extends as far back as the battle of LMeelles, when the 1st Regiment of Guards distinguished it- self under that eminent commander General Lake. It was my intention to do myself the honour of proposing the health of the Grenadier Guards, but your Royal Highnesses have completely taken the wind out of ray oak (Laughter.)

Here the Prince Consort and the Duke of Cambridge retired, but the flow of speeches did not subside until sonic time after.

The Scots Fusilier Guards kept their two hundredth anniversary on Tuesday ; the Duke of Cambridge, their Colonel, in the chair. The officers of the regiment, actual and retired, mustered strongly, and after dinner the Commander-ft.-chief, doing his duty in his place made many speeches. They were sinilar in character to those quoted above and comprised a spirited reference to theseervices of the Guards from 1660 to 1860.

• The Swiss residents in London gave a dinner on Thursday to the Swing Minister, M. de la Rive. M. Rapp, the Swiss Consul-General presided. In the course of a speech in answer to a toast in his honour, M. de la Rive referred to the neutrality of Switzerland and the annexation of • Savoy :—

That this neutrality might be efficiently defended, the European Pesters had admitted that it ought to ;nclude a country Swiss by nature, andThvisii by its history,—he spoke of the pountains and valleys of the north of therstr —a territory which, whatever might be its destiny, would always be con- nected in idea with Switzerland. %The rocks of Meillerie recalled the name of Rousseau, and Mont Blanc thit of Saussure. An unforeseen political change had deprived Switzerland orithe guarantee the Powers of Europe had given it, by neutralizing the north of Savoy. The Confederation im- mediately perceived the danger that miight result from it, and bad been unanimous in .• -ndeavour to lessen it. ,.To the Powers who gave the gua- rantee the Conte, +ion had first appea1,4d, while preparing itself against every contingency. The appeal had been heardospecial',- tien that sympathized with every just and generous cisme. been raised in the Parliament of England, and tbelr-e!". oPI/Aents ',the most favourable disposition towards the Confederation. Never& the" the fact had been accomplished, and it was useless to disguise that it defeat for Switzerland. Still, not an inch of its actual territory had been touched. But the peril might arise, and Switzerland must be vigilant, while holding itself ready to act on the defensive.

Sir Robert Peel made a speech to the meeting, in which he said that not only free institutions but the frontiers of Switzerland were threat- ened.

Various meetings have been held during the week on the question of the privileges of the House of Lords and Commons. The small agitation is hostile to the House of Lords, which has flagrantly violated the laws of the realm—in the estimation of the speakers. The leaders of the movement are Mr. Sheen, Dr. Epps, Mr. Washington Wilks, Mr. IL Moore, Mr. Thomas Duncombe.

Mr. Henry Berkeley has taken the chair at a meeting in the Whit- tington Club held for the same purpose. Abe speakers here were the chairman, Mr. Beale, Mr. Whitehurst, Mr. Coningham, M.P., Mr. Whalley, M.P., and Mr. Passmore Edwards.

The enlightened borough of Marylebone has rejected, at a public' meeting, a resolution proposing to adopt the Public Libraries Act in the parish.

An action has been brought by George Tolman and his wife, formerly ser- vants against the Reverend Edward Johnstone, vicar of Hampton, to re- cover damages for an indecent assault upon Mrs. Tolman. The story is one of the class described as unfit for pubhcation. Mrs. Tolman alleges that, just after her confinement, Mr. Johnstone paid her a visit, and not only used improper language but proceeded to improper acts. Mr. Johnstone declare* that he called upon Mrs. Tolman to give her spiritual instruction, and that he reproved her for levity in answering a question respecting the paternity of her child—really an impertinent question. The Jury could not agree upon a verdict and were discharged.

A Mrs. Cattaway has obtained a verdict against the Reverend Mr. Smith, pro-proctor in the University of Cambridge' for false imprisonment. She was arrested by the Pro-Proctor's men and taken to "the spinning house" in company with two girls found in the streets. The Pro-Proctor said he did not arrest her. The Jury gave her al. damages.

Three volunteers summoned a toll-keeper for illegally demanding and receiving a toll from them, they believing themselves exempt from toll when in uniform, returning from duty. They were in a cab. The ease came before the Lambeth Magistrate. Mr. Elliott said :—The claim from exemption from toll made in this case by three volunteers returning from their duty in their regimentals in a cab is founded on a provision in the General Turnpike Act which exempts from toll "any carriage conveying volunteer infantry." These words are no doubt general, but I think they must be construed with reference to another provision in the same Act for exemption from tolls in the case of the regular forces by which such car- riages only as are used in the performance of some public duty, as for the

Conveyance of baggage or stores, or are employed in carrying or conveying sick, wounded, or disabled officers or soldiers, are exempt from such toll.

The intention appears to me to have been to provide that when the corps

was on the march carriages conveying them or their baggage might pass toll-free, but not that any individual officer or soldier belonging to the corps

should have that exemption, either for his own or any hired carriage at any

time used for his private conveyance and ease, which I think must be taken to have been the ease on the present occasion. The summons must be dis- missed. Mr. Stockbridge, one of the complainants, said that it was the wish of several noblemen and gentlemen to have case carried to one of the higher courts if his worship should be against the right to exemption, and

asked Mr. Elliott whether he had any objection to give them a case, to enable them to go to the Queen's Bench. Mr. Elliott replied that he had no objection whatever; and thus the matter at present rests.

Henry Fayerman, the grocer of Great Yarmouth, has been committed for trial by the Westminster Magistrate on a charge of wilful and corrupt per- jury before a Select Committee of the House of Commons. This is the man who swore that he received a five-pound note from Sir Edmund Lacon to vote for him. The baronet is the prosecutor.

The Reverend Canon Trevor, irritated by a milk boy pursuing his voca- tion, that is ringing at the bell and crying milk, until the servant came, rushed out and struck the boy a violent blow. Summoned before the West- snimster Magistrate, Mr. Ingham, that functionary took a very lenient view of the case, suggested its withdrawal, and when the father of the child re- fused, fixed the fine for the assault at one shilling. Whence we may infer that in Westminster irritable canons may beat milk boys at a shilling a head.

Mr. Selfe, the Thames Police Magistrate, has been engaged in looking into the operations of the United Kingdom Mutual Annuity Society. Ile acted on the application of poor creatures whose arrears are of long stand-

ing. Wealthy patrons had bought annuities for them, and the society failed to pay them. The names of several clergymen are implicated in this transaction, and Mr. Selfe has not failed to characte-rize the conduct of the responsible parties in strong terms. The annuities were purchased from the United Kingdom Benevolent Annuity Fund. .The English shipwright who went to Cherbourg, in the hope of getting high wages and plenty of work in building French men-of-war, has come back disappointed. He called on Mr. Selfe, who gave him a passport, and told him he had been deceived like many others. Mr. Selfe—" I thought so. Lord C. Paget and others, members of her Majesty's Government, were right. There is no work for English shipwrights in the French dockyards." The applicant—" I saw the British Vice-Consul at Cherbourg. He said the repott about there being plenty of work for English artisans there was a false on, and that he had relieved two destitute shipwrights from Eng- land, win' had come over there on a similar errand, and sent them back agam at the expense of the Consulate. There are no ships building at Cherbou I came here to give -ou this information, to prevent others being d eived. Mr. Selfe—" You have done quite right. I am very much ob .ged to you. I shall not grant any more passports for English shipwrig Us to France."

A very touching scene occurred at the Mansionhouse on Saturday. AS the Court was about to rise, a gentlemanly; well-dressed man, still in con- siderable physical vigour, but almost wholly blind, whose name, if he gave it, did not transpire, was led into the witness-box. He had come, he said, to ask advice as to the place of his parochial settlement. He had been a commercial traveller for a London house, and had always been in good cir- cumstances until, losing entirsly the sight of one eye, and that of the other failing him, he was wholly incapacitated for following his vocation. To add

to wife had recently died, leaving him with four children, a An his mounivered with emotion, but who, though

Ittrics themselves in London. In reply to questions

mar., e said he had rented a house and paid rates at two uckingharoshire, the last of which was Slough, where he paid for ouse he occupied 251. a-year. Mr. Goodman informed him that Slough was his place of settlement, upon which he expressed his thanks and was about to depart, when he was asked if he had the means of going there. He answered, with some feeling, that he was in distress. Alderman Abbiss directed 5s. to be given to him from the poor-box to take him to Slough, for which he ex- pressed his gratitude, but modestly added that half of that sum would have been sufficient for the purpose. He then left the court, a touching object, nearly blind as he was, and unattended by any one, to thread his way through the crowded streets on his cheerless errand to seek shelter in a work- house at Slough.