5 APRIL 1856, Page 10

31liort Itountuo.

Miss Nioiernson.s AND THE Somnsat's Winow.—The wife of a private in the Eighty-ninth Regiment, serving in the East, not having for many months heard from her hasband, wrote to Miss Nightingale, begging for information. Miss Nightingale's admirable letter in reply should be preserved as one of the most interesting documents of th Russian war.

"Scutari, Barrack Hospital, March 5. "Dear Mrs. Lawreance—I was exceedingly grieved to receive your letter, because I have only sad news to give you in return. Alas ! in the terrible time which we had here last year, when we lost from 70 to 80 men per day in these hospitals alone, many widows have had to suffer like you and your husband was, I regret to say, among the number. He died in this hospital, February 20, 1855, just at the time when our mortality reached its height, of fever and dysentery ; and on that day we buried 80 men. "In order that I might be sure that there was no mistake of name, and that there were not two men of the same name, I wrote up to the Colonel of his regiment; who confirms the sad news in- the note I enclose ; and, though he is mistaken in the precise date of your husband's death, there is no mis- take, alas ! in the fact. I wished to get this reply before I wrote to you. "Your husband's balance due to him was 1/. 2s. ; which was re- mitted home to the Secretary of War September 25, 1855; from whom you oan have it on application.

"As you were not aware of being a widow, you are of course, not in Ter- ceipt of any allowance as a widow; vou should therefore make application to Lieutenant-Colonel Lefty, R.A. Ron. Secretary, Patriotic Fund; 16 A, Great George Street Westminster, London. "I enclose the necessary papers for you to fill up. Your Colonel's letter will be sufficient proof of your husband's death. I enclose it for that pur- pose. "You will state all particulars about your children. " Your minister will help you to ffil it up.

"I am very sorry-for you and your trouble. Should you have any diffi- culty about the Patriotic Fund, you may make use of this letter, which will be sufficient evidence for you to produce of your being a widow.

"With sincere sympathy for your great loss, I remain, yours truly, " FLORENCE igTOHTINHALE. "To Mrs. Mary Ann' Lawreance, Widow of Private William Lawreance, 89th Regiment.

Major Powys informs the Times that Mrs. Lawreance had fortunately been relieved as a soldier's wife by the Central Association. He says that " widows are never actually without an allowance, either from the Central Association RS wives, or from the Patriotic Fund as widows."

THE CHURCH IN COHSTANTINOPLE.—A large and influential committee composed partly of naval and Military officers, partly of clergymen an, civilians' has been formed with the view of raising funds for the erection of a church in Constantinople' as the most appropriate monument to the memory of those who fell in the late war and of gratitude to God for the restoration of peace. A public meeting will shortly be held for the promotion of this object, under the presidency of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel has' already received upwards of 1000/. in aid of this object. —Times.

Colonel Sir H. llawlinson, has been appointed to succeed General Sir George Pollock as one of the nominated Directors of the East India Company.

A testimonial of plate, subscribed by Sir Joseph Paxton and season- ticket holders of the Crystal Palace, has been given to Mr. Henry Schallehn, in acknowledgment of his original formation and management of the Crystal Palace Band.

Drxrii OF Btu CHARLES HOTHAH.—Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria, died at Melbourne on the 31st December. There was a Ministerial crisis IR the Government of the colony. Sir Charles, a man of excitable temperament, was deeply aniious for the -result ; and the excitement is sup- posed to have led-to his death. On the 22d December. he was attacked by choleraic diarrhcea" ; but in two days he recovered sufficiently to attend to public affairs. On the 17th December he was present at the lighting of the first fire . at the gas-works, and caught a severe cold. Afterwards, during the Ministerial crisis, he complained of headache and nervous irritas tion. When he learned that Mr. Nicholson had abandoned the attempt to form a Government, he suddenly became worse. "Serous irritation of the brain developed itself " ; two clays later, he was seized with an epileptic fit ; the fits continued at intervals for several hours, until he "became comatose, with heavy sterterous breathing, in which state he continued Mt- til he expired." His medical attendants attribated his death "to the very severe strain upon the mental powers that Sir Charles had undergone during the period of his government of the colony, superadded to a violent cold which he had caught on the occasion of his attending the lighting of the first fire at the gas-works."

Sir Charles was born in 1806: he served with distinction in the Navy, especially in the La Plata and Parana, and as Commodore of the African squadron ; and afterwards in the diplomatic service. In 1853 he was ap- pointed Governor of Victoria. ;

DEATH OF Mn. IOSTICE Tonamrs.—Judge Torrens, one of the IAA Judges lately attacked for old age in the House of Commons, died at Derry- noid Lodge, Londonderry, on Saturday evening, in his eighty-first year. He had despatched, in conjunction with Bum Pennefather, the business of .the North-west Circuit, and had only been absent one day from indisposi- tion. "Judge Torrens," the Freeman's Journal states, " was called to the bar in Michaelmas term 1798, and raised to the bench in 1823. Thus he had been for fifty-eight years a member of the bar, and thirty-three a Judge. He never filled any of the higher offices of the law, having attained only the rank of sergeant ; but the influence of his brother, Sir Henry Torrens, who occupied a distinguished position in the Army, and was deep bt this

confidence of George the Fourth when Prince Reacul, secured the elevation of his brother to the bench."

DRATH OP Stu W. W. Wvwx-Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, an old public servant, died on the 28th March, at Lanvoida in filtropshire, aged_ seventy-three. Sir Watkin was the third son of the fourth- baronet of the same name; and_was born. in 1783. In 1799 he entered the Foreign Office as a clerk; and in.1801 he was sent by the late Lord Grenville as British Envoy to the Elector of Saxony, at whose court he remained until 1803. For a short time, Mr. Wynn sat in Parliament for Midhunst ; . but he did not appear again in public life till 1822, when he went as Minister to Switzerland. From this post he was transferred in 1823 to Stuttgani, and in 1824 to Copenhagen,. where he remained till 1853. Sir Witkin was created a Knight Bachelor in 1831, and became G.C.B. in 185L Dram OP Sin Wimem Srmornos.—Admiral Symonds,. well .known as Surveyor of the Navy from 1832 to 1847, died-on his passage from Malta to Marseilles; at which place his remains were landed on the Tat instant. Sir William's-father was a Captain in the Navy. From an early age the name, of the deceased was borne on the books of his father's ships ;, but he did not go to sea as a midshipman until 1794‘. During the French war he was en- gaged in several smart actions. He-gained, however, momdistinction as a naval architect than as a naval officer. In 1825 he was allowed to build a corvette called the Columbine ; which answered so well that from Commander he was raised to the rank of Post-Captain. In 1831, "through the munifi- oence of the Duke of Portland," he built the Pantaloon, a ten-gun brig, as an improvement on the Columbine: and the result of this experiment was the appointment of Captain Symonds as Surveyor of the Navy. In 1836 King William conferred upon him the honour of knighthood. He was suc- ceeded in 1847 as Surveyor of the Navy by Sir Baldwin Walker.

Result of the Registrar-General! s return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last.

Zymotic Diseases

233.8

228 Dropsy, Cancer, and other Diseases of uncertain or variable seat

55.1

67 Tubercular Diseases

207.0

198 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and.Senses 144.1 .... 161 Disc..= of the Heart and Blood-vessels

50.7

75

Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration 240.8

249 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion

67.6

71 Diseases of the Kidneys, doe.

11.9

11 Childbirth. Diseases of the Uterus, Sc 11.1. .... 11

Rheumatism, Diseases of the Bones,Joints, Sc.Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, Sc

3.3

4 Malformations

4 Premature Birth 30.7.• 34 Atrophy • Age

36 36

Sudden

45.0

40 Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 190.7 131 Totar(including =specified causes 12859 1396

Mr. Vernon Smith gave a dinner to the Cabinet Ministers on Wednesday : Earl Granville was too unwell to attend The "Golden Lectureship" in Lothbury will soon be. vacant by the re- signation of Mr. Melvill, Who has been appointed Canon. of St. Paul's. There are already many candidates for the clerical prize.

Colonel Turr reached Corfu, under an Austrian guard, on the 16th of last month : he was delivered up to the British authorities, and he soon after left the island for Constantinople.

Mr. Chisholm Anstey has arrived at Hongkong, and has been sworn in as the Queen's Attorney-General for the colony.

Lord Portarlington has been making a protracted stay at Ipsamboul in Nubia, excavating antiquities.

Two remarkable circumstances attended the celebration of-the Te Deum at Madrid and Malta in honour of the birth of the "Imperial Prince." Lord Howden absented himself from the Spanish celebration,, and the ifoniteur has copied a paragraph from a journal noticing the fact. At Malts, a "sort of throne" was erected for the Governor in the Church' Del Carmine. The French Consul, French officers, and British officers of both services—every- body was there—except the Governor. His absencet "was rendered more remarkable by the prominent position of his unoccupied seat, which, being raised above the rest, was distinctly seen by all: the congregation." It is not explained.

The Bishop of Oxford has sent round to the Churchwardens in his diocese. a circular of inquiries, among which. was—" Does your officiating clergy- man preach the gospel; and are his conversation and caniage consistent therewith?" A Churchwarden near Wallingford replied, "He preaches the gospel, but only keeps a gig."

The boatmen of Deal and Ramsgate have petitioned the Board of Trade for increased salvage-dues to remunerate them properly for their long watches and exertions. They ask for an allowance of one-third of the duties payable on articles that they save, and that the general salvage be increased from two-fifths to six-twelfths of the value of the property rescued.

A recent report of the Inspectors of Prisons in Great Britain, containing statistics for ten years, shows that crime does not increase so fast in propor- tion as population : while, at the present rate, population would double it- self in 58-5 years,- crime would only double itself in 646 years.

• The Patriotic Fund subscriptions now amount to upwards of 1,41)0,0001. The Central Association in aid of the widows and families -of soldiers have received 121,7041. and disbursed upwards of 90,0001.; 6562 wives of aol- diers, 8984 children, and 232 widows whose sons have served in the East, have been aided.

The subscriptions to the Nightingale Fund are now about 25,0001.

A "Sailors' Home" is to be established at Constantinople : 16481. has al- ready 'been subscribed ; the Queen, as patroness, heads the list with 100/.

During the last fifteen years about 16,000/. has been spent in the renova- tion of,11 lingo* Cathedral - and it is said that.the money has been very ad- vantageously laid out. Recently, considerable alterations were made in the interior, and the cathedral was reopened for public worship-last Sunday.

Mehemet All in his time had the intelligence to see that his existence and power depsteed in a great measure upon the good opinion of Europe ; and the generablfrinciples laid down in the recent Imperial- decree of the Sultan have long been tacitly recognized in Egypt. The Christiana have not been subjected to more rigorous laws than the Mahomeclans, and many of them are. in the army. No difficulties have been made with regard to the possession of landed property by Europeans, though. the latter hitherto- have felt some uncertainty as to their titles. Christian churches have been rained in- Egypt Wherever they are required, without molestation; and Mehemet Ali generally made a gift of the ground for their erection: The English Pro- testant Church occupies a most prominent position in the great square of Alexandria : the Roman Catholics have two churches; and the Greeks have kik completed a very fine large church. All toll. their own bells.— Times Correspondent. Ten Weeks Week of 1846-'53. of 1856.

Two important sources 'of revenue to the city of Hamburg arise the one from a disgraceful souroe and the other from- a nuisance,—a tax upon the " unfortunate " class of women, and a toll upon all persons passing between Hamburg and Altona after a certain, hour in the-evening.

The Portuguese complain thatthey have this year- gat "the English cli- mate "—for a third time heavy rains have set in, destroying the.grain sown- by flooding low lands.

The cultivation of the mulberry-tree and the breeding of silk-worms are reported to be making great progress in Poland—under the auspices of a company apparently.

The Greeks are largely cultivating land in and about Jerusalem, planting olives and mulberry-trees, and building silk-mills.

The emigrants who sailed from Liverpool last month were. fewer than in the corresponding period of any of the preceding four years—only, 6618.

The long ,continuance of Northerly and Easterly winds has blown the Zuyderzee quite dry in places ; a phenomenon not witnessed for half a cen- tury.

Later advices from Melbourne confirm the report of the loss of the mail- ship Schomberg. On the night of the 27th December, she ran on a sand- • spit thirty-five miles West of Cape Otway ; passengers, crew, and mails, were saved. Mr. Forbes, the master, ascnbes the disaster to the action' of a current hitherto unknown, the spit itself not being laid down on the charts. But his passengers accuse him of losing the ship by negligence, arising from his debauched habits. They held an indignation" meeting at Melbourne,

in which improperly the conduct of most of the officers : the master and re surgeon wemproperly intimate with female passengers; the duties of the ship were not properly attended to ; the provisions liquors, and water, were not according to the dietary-tables—in short, hardly anything was as it should be. The Government authorities were about to inquire into the, matter.

Walker has introduced a new kind of freedom of the press—or freedom with the press—into Nicaragua. His followers were discontented at the newspaper of the place not having punctually appeared ; Walker intimated that if the parties engaged on it did not produce it by a certain time he would arrest them : editors and printers set to work, and got the paper ready for printing as a file of soldiers approached the office.

The Dublin Nation has an article to show the probability that John. Radleir is still alive ! The story is' that he placed the corpse of another man on Hampstead Heath, arranged everything to deceive people into a. belief of his suicide, and fled with large sums of money that he got together, just before his suicide, and that still remain unaccounted for.