The Liverpool Standard says—" We have been shown a letter

received on Saturday from a Peer of Parliament, in which his Lordship says that the Go- vernment commercial measure will be thrown out of the Lords by a majority of four at least, unless the Lower House can be brought to a small fixed duty, on tonfere,nce."

Forty Members of the House of Commons are excused from serving on Election Committees, as being upwards of sixty years of age.

A present to the Queen, from a wealthy Native merchantof Bombay, wasnetirly lost in the wreck of the Great Liverpool After the people had been safely landed from the vessel, "Captain M'Leod, accompanied by the chief officer, Mr.milton _gad two of the crew, got on board the steamer; cut through the deck to the place where the box was deposited, and with great danger and difficulty. got it on shore; thence it was conveyed with the mail-boxes to Corunna, and consigned to the care of the Consul; who, fearing it might have been damaged by being so long under water unpacked the box in presence of'the captain and officers. Although it was enclosed in many cases, the water had penetrated through them to the morocco case,. which was richly:ornamented with the royal arms of England. The present consisted of a large-sized and richly wrought gold box, an exquisite specimen of Eastern workmanship, worthy of Benvenuto Cellini: the box was supported by four stands in the form of snakes; and it contained several dresses of the most elegant and costly fabric, worked by the needle, and of cobweb texture: as the salt- water had penetrated them, the Consul's wife had them carefully washed and repacked, and transmitted with the mails to Southampton."

The Royal gardens at Cumberland Lodge are to be broken aip; the materials of the orangeries, the hot-houses, and the pinery, are directed to be sold. The celebrated vine at Cumberland fodge, nearly one hundred feet in length, which produced last year upwards of two thousand bunches of grapes, has been com- manded to be preserved. Mr. Green and Mr. Liston ton have been appointed Examiners for the College of Surgeons, in the room of Sir B. Brodie and Mr. Anthony White, resigned-- norm.

A correspondent has sent ns the copy of a letter officially written from the General Post-office, in which it is stated that money-order regulations do not re- quire the Christian names of parties in a "firm" fo be given, especially where the firm contains more than one name. This information will be no doubt valu- able, as we understand the demand for the Christian name, in all cases, is still persisted in by some of the postmasters.—Times.

We are happy to learn that a pension for life of 1001. per annum has been granted by her Majesty to Mrs. London. Sir Robert Peel has just communicated to Mrs. London this act of beneficence. To her it will be doubly grateful, as it is conferred in consideration of her deceased husband's labours and writings on sub jects of natural science.—Times.

A son of Thomas Moore the poet, who was serving in the French Foreign Legion in. Africa, died lately in that country, to the universal regret of his regi- ment—Globe.

Rear-Admiral Collard committed suicide, at Teddington, last week. His age was seventy-six. He had suffered much in mind from the death of his wife, and had been attacked with apoplexy.

The difference between Railway Scrip property at the present prices and at those of September last is a reduction in value of from fifty to sixty millions.

A fatal accident occurred on the Paris and Rouen Railway, on Saturday. At the Bounieres station a truck, upon which the Falaise diligence was placed, was struck by a special train from Paris; and the diligence falling, one of the pas- sengers which it contained was killed, and about fourteen were more or less braised. Several of the French Deputies, going to Havre on official business, were passengers by the Paris train at the time of the accident.

1)r. Buckland has published some hints respecting seed-potatoes. " The sets should be planted early; and if the plants continue healthy until the tubers ripen, there will be no danger, because all analogy of fungous vegetable parts shows that their growth follows and does not precede or cause disease. Small tubers should be selected and set entire; as cutting the unripe and dropsical potatoes of last year may endanger their decay as soon as they are put into the damp ground. I would plant even larger tubers entire • but if cut, the sliced parts should be shaken in a sieve of quick-lime, until a hard skin is formed over the raw surface, as is often done in Scotland."

At the Marquis of Northampton's conversazione, last Saturday, Dr. Jacques Silvestri exhibited seine examples of a process by which all organic substances can be brought to a consistency approaching petrifaction, so as to be preserved to an indefinite period. The head of a female was shown, petrified to a degree of inten-

sity approaching stone, the features retaining all the expression of life. Fishes, reptiles, insects, birds, and other specimens of natural history, were on the table; the plumage, fur, and all the other adjuncts of nature, retaining the same brilliancy of colour, firmness, and flexibility, that they had at the time of death. A bouquet of flowers was seen preserved with an exactitadeandspnfection beyond conception. At a recent meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, a communication was read from Professor Boyle, the botanist of the East India Company, detailing some further results of the experimental trials for the culture of cotton in India. Since the last report of Dr. White, 80,000 acres had been put into enkleation: from one acre alone the produce was 700 pounds, and more was to be expected. All now required to make East India cotton a most valuable export commodity, he said, is the employment of European agents in the India markets, to select the best qualities. At the same meeting, a paper was communicated by the Earl of Auckland, on the geographical conditions of the Punjaub territory; which was described in its territorial limits. The most interesting information was, that the climate is very healthy to Europeans—much more so than that of Hindostan. From November to January, snow generally falls to a depth of five feet; but the rainy season is not uniform. No region in the earth is better watered; and most of the plants and fruits common to Europe are developed in high perfection, wanting only the superior cultivation of this country.

A letter read at a recent meeting of the Geographical Society, from Mr. Dun- can, the African traveller, states that the King of Asbantee entertained him with a review of 6,000 female troops; whose arms, accoutrements, and performance, were truly astonishing.

A handsome carriage and two sets of harness, presented by Queen Victoria to Queen Pomare, were advertized for sale in November last, in a newspaper pub • lished in the capital of the Sandwich Islands. Pomare is said to be in very straitened circumstances being entirely without revenues or other means.

A Nottingham paper regrets, " that by a typographical error last week, in noticing a burglary at Mr. Clarke's, Dutch's Yard, Newcastle Street, he was described as ' brother to Mr. Clarke, the well-known house-breaker,' instead of horse-breaker."

John Langan, a noted boxer, and latterly a publican at Liverpool, died last week, at Nestor in Cheshire. The Repeal newspapers are lamenting his loss. He was so thorough an Irishman, says the Liverpool Mercury, that he induced his wife prior to her last confinement to go across to Dublin, " in order," as he said, " that the son or daughter, whichever God sent, might be a native of the sod." The week after the child was born, it was proposed a member of the Repeal Asso- ciation by Mr. O'Connell. On the passage home to Liverpool, Mrs. Langan caught cold, and died. Jack, who was passionately fond of his wife, never recovered the blow.

Miss Botry, whose death was announced a fortnight since, was buried at Marston, St. Lawrence, the latter end of last week. In pursuance of her in- structions, a cart laden with bread was drawn after the hearse; and the loaves were distributed to the poor in attendance, by two gentlemen appointed to the duty.—Northampton Herald.

The steamer Virago, which left. Alexandria on the 9th instant with the over- land mail, has arrived in safety at Malta. Her detention was owing to a defici- ciency of fuel. The vessel beat about for a number of days, making signals of distress; which were at length noticed, and a steamer was despatched from Malta take the Virago in tow.