fftiscellantous.

It is rumoured, and we believe upon sufficient authority, that the title of King. Consort is about to be conferred upon his Royal Highness Prince Albert. This,. we presume, would bepreliminary to a demand for an increased grant.--Iforning_ Chronicle, Feb. 11. CAbsurd. If "an increased grant" is necessary, let it he ven: but there is neither necessity, precedent, nor constitutional warrant in our

hereditaly monarchy, for a titular " King " with a reigning Queen. Kingship is not elective in this country. The Royal prerogative, we believe, has no power to deprive the Prince of Wales of the precMence to which he was born; and act-of- Parliament-made Kings are exotics only tolerated in times of revolution.]

Tuesday's Gazette announced the issue of a new Commission for the Lords of the Admiralty, including the new member of the Board, the Honourable Henry Fitzroy; who succeeds the Honourable Mr. Corry. " Circumstances," says the. Standard, " have prevented Lord Jocelyn from accepting the office."

We can now state with certainty, that the Honourable W. B. Baring succeeds Sir Edward Knatchbull in the office of Paymaster-General to the Forces; and that Lord Jocelyn succeeds Mr. Baring at the Board of ControL These changes cause vacancies in the representation of Marlborough and King's Lynn. We believe we may state with equal certainty, that Sir Edward Knatchbull will shortly be raised to the Peerage.—Correspondent of the Standard. (The Horning Post points out that the Member for Marlborough is not Mr. William Bingham Baring, but Mr. Henry Bingham Baring, a Lord of the Treasury.]

A deputation of the Agricultural Protection Society waited upon Sir Robert Peel, in Downing Street, on Saturday last. The deputation was headed by the- Duke of Richmond; comprised the Marquis of Salisbury, the Earl of Essex, Lord Beaumont, the Earl of March, and thirteen other Members of Parliament; and is described as consisting half of landowners and half of tenant-farmers. The first speaker was Mr. Baker, of Writtle. He stated, that since 1842 prices of sign

cultural produce had fallen to an alarming extent. The operation of the New Poor-law has thrown labourers out of employment; but farmers, rather than suffer them to be relieved in the ordinary way, find it their policy to employ them; and thus, in his parish, the employment of six men to every hun- dred acres entails an additional cost of 1801. a year. While the burdens of the farmer are increasing, the followed, value of the produce has fallen 25 or 30 per cent. Other farmers followed, with similar statements. Mr. Hud- son complained that the farmers labour under great disadvantage by the alteration of the Tariff, and told a story in proof: he bad a number of very good cattle in Smithfield Market last Monday, and when he inquired of his salesmen the reason they could not be sold at a fair price, he was requested to look across the market and he would there see a hundred head of Dutch cattle.

Mr. i Turner of Uppington in Essex, said that half the small occupiers of that re

county an a state of insolvency; and that for the last three years his returns have been 100/. a year less for every 100 acres than they were in the preceding three years. The deputation asserted the primary claim of the agricultural in- terest to any remission of taxation. Sir Robert Peel listened patiently to a great number of speeches, "drew out" the speakers, and asked of what particular tax the remission was sought ? Several gentlemen said that malt for fattening.pur- poses should be relieved from taxation. Sir Robert Peel, referring to a printed paper, which was believed to be the Banker's Circular, asked whether English wool had not risen in price on the repeal of the import-duty on wool? This was not denied; but Mr. Baker observed, that the farmers did not object to the intro- duction of raw materials, embracing the labour of this country; but they objected to the introduction of any foreign article in which a large amount of labour was involved in the production or manufacture, inasmuch as it had the effect of dis- placing the labour of the English producers. At the close of the eonferenee, the Duke of Richmond conveyed to the Minister thanks for the condescension with which he had received the deputation.

A deputation from various places engaged in cotton-manufactures waited tipotr Sir Robert Peel on Tuesday. The deputation was headed by the Mayor of 2- chester; was introduced by Mr. Mark. Philips, one of the Members for that town; and vas accompanied by Mr. Milner Gibson and many other Members. . Mr,

r , Greg, of Manchester, and Mr: Aleiander Graham, of- Glasgow, addressed Sir Ro- bert at considerable length; and other gentlemen also entered into conversation, urging reasons for repeal of the tax on cotton-wooL Another deputation, from the Vestries of Marylebone, St. James, and St. Anne, Soho, waited upon the Piemier on Tuesday, urging repeal of the Window-tax.

In a notice from the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, dated on the 11th instant and published in Tuesday's Gazette, it is announced that the Board, having had under consideration the Bolton, Wigan, and. Liverpool Railway scheme, have decided on reporting to Parliament in favour of the said scheme. And the Board, haying further had under consideration the following scheines, proposed by the Liverpool-. and Manchester Railway Company, have decided on reporting to Parliament in favour of the Patricroft and Clifton Branches, the Parkside Branch, the Extensions into Liverpool; and against the St. Helens and Rufford Branch. And the Board, having further had under consideration the Trent Valley scheme, have decided on reporting to Parliament in favour of the said scheme, with the exception of the Potteries and Alrewas Branches, the postponement of which until a future period will be recommended.

Mr. William O'Brien has written a letter " to the Proprietors of the South- eastern Railway Company," explaining his interests in that project, and solemnly denying that he has operated through the medium of any other person." His letter adds little to the explanations given in Parliament. .

Mr. Joseph Mazzini has addressed a letter to the Morning Chronicle, impugn- ing the accuracy of 'the Parliamentary reports on the opening of letters at the Post-office f and one assertion is startling. The contents of his letters were corn- runnitisbgl: to Foreign Powers, because, say the official documents, " plots, of which • M. Mattitini was the centre, were carrying on, upon British territory, to excite an insurrectio8 in Italy; and that such insurrection, should it assume a formidable aspect, would, from peculiar political circumstances, disturb the peace of Europe": but "the information was not of a nature to compromise, and did not compromise the 'Safety of any individual." On this Mr. Mazzini says—" The plots which were carrying on upon British territory'� were the inventions of the two brothers Bandiera, sons of the Auitrian Rear-Admiral, to quit Corfu for Italy upon any fa- vourable occasion for the national cause. The informations .given by the British Cabinet specially concerned those intentions." Their enterprise was specially di- rected to Rome; but, according to Mr. Mazzini, the Neapolitan Government em- ployed persons to entrap them, by pretending that there was a disposition to revolt

Naples: they were entrapped, and shot, with seven , other conspirators, at Co- senza, on the 25th July. One of them, Attilio Bandiera, had written to me, on the 21st May, immediately after setting foot on British soil at Corfu- ' Trusting in the LmOwn honesty of the English post, you can now write to me in my own name.'" The following notice has been issued by order of the Postmaster-General—" A new line of mail communication having been established between Suez and Cal- cutta, via Ceylon and Madras, mails' for India, &c., Egypt, and the Mediterra- nean, will in future be made up at this office, and despatched on the evening -of the 24th of every month, via Marseilles, in addition to mails for India forwarded through France on the 7th of the month. When the 24th falls on Sunday, .the mails will be made up and despatched from this office on the following evening."

By an order of the Court of Chancery, made on Wednesday last, a further re- duction has taken place in the fees payable by suitors in that court. When the office of the Taxing-masters was established by the; act of the session of 1842, a fee of 4 per cent on the amount of every bill of cosfs,as taxed was imposed- That fee has now been reduced to 8 per cent, and we nnderstand that this reduction

• amounts to nearly 5,6001. a year.—Times. • The Privy Council has recently given a decision in two important appeals from the Channel Islands.

In 1843, Sir William Napier expelled from Guernsey one Isidore le Conte, a - Frenchman, who was charged with having misled the Police, to conceal another - Frenchman. The Royal Court contended that he had exceeded his authority in doing so without the advice of the Court, and demanded a conference. He re- ceived them in solemn state, and said that only the Bailiff should be allowed to address him. The Bailiff and Jurats declined an interview under those restric- tions, and brought the whole affair before the Privy Council. The _Lords of the Committee for the Affairs of Guernsey and Jersey decided that the advice of the Bailiffs and Jurats is not necessary for the purpose of authorizing the Captain (the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor) to exercise the power of deporting resi- dents having acquired domiciles in Guernsey; but that the Bailiff and Jurats are individually entitled to take part and speak in all conferences with the Lieutenant- Governor.

The circumstances of the other dispute were these. In the spring of last year, a warrant of pardon, under the sign-manual, was addressed to the Lieutenant- Governor in favour of Thomas Fossey, a prisoner in the public gaol of the island. The warrant was exhibited at once to the gaoler; and upon some demur being made, General Napier threatened to employ force, actually called out soldiers for that purpose, and directed the Law-officers of the Crown to prosecute Mr. S. Barbet the Porter and Turnkey of the prison, for disrespect and disobe- dience to the warrant. The Royal Court dismissed the complaint, and again appealed against the unconstitutional conduct of the Lieutenant-Governor. The Committee of Privy Council decided that the Keeper of the Prison should have dis- charged Thomas Fossey on the production of the pardon under the sign-manual: - but it was at the same time also ruled, that as the Keeper of the Prison was not the servant of the Lieutenant-Governor, the latter was not warranted in enforcing obedience to the writ of pardon by the threat of military or other force.

The Dutchess of Kent has given 251. to the Society for the Protection and EmployMent of Distressed Needlewomen.

The King of Hanover has become a member of the New Conservative Club- house, St. James's Street—Globe.

A petition of Mr. W. Maule' praying that the Sovereign will adjudge and de- clare "that he has right to the titles, -honours, and dignities of the Earldom of Panmure, and Lord Bre-chin and Never," was presented by command of her Majesty, on Tuesday, to the House of Lords; and it was referred to the Committee of Privileges.

At a meeting of the Academicians, at the Royal Academy of Arts, on Monday, Mr. Charles Landseer was elected a Royal Academician, in the room of Mr. Henry Perronet Briggs, deceased.

There have been reports of amendment in the Earl of Mornington's health; but the Standard says—" We ggrreet to state this venerable nobleman is daily growing weaker, and little or no hope is now entertained of his recovery."

The Bishop of Ely, who was recently struck with paralysis, and also suffers much from violent cough, lies without hope of recovery.

Some mischievous person had the death of Major-General Caulfield announced in the papers last week; when in fact that gentleman was alive and well.

Slavery exists in Surinam in as complete a form as in Cuba or Brazil. It may be milder in its operation, and attended with circumstances more likely to mita- gate the rigour of the bond, since Surinam, from its'dependency on a Continental rower, is more exposed to the influence of public opinion. Stall the results are the same as far as command of labour goes; and as all deal in the same market, it is a fair conclusion that what affects one will influence the ether. The recent alteration of the Sugar-duties by the British Government immediately raised the price of Surinam sugar 5s. per hundredweight. At the same time, a stability was given to pro in that colony which it had not for years enjoyed, and an im-

petus to action to meet the anticipated increase in the di-swami —Berbice

Paper.

A frost set in at the latter part of last week with considerable severity. Skating commenced in the Parks on Saturday, and several adventurous persons got a

du by the ice breaking. On Sunday, a good many skaters were immersed in the Regent's Park, and in. St. James's Park some forty people fell into the water during the day: thanks to the Humane Society no one was drowned. A boy perished in the Surrey Canal. On Monday, snow fell daring the day, and Wiese plentifully at night, the Metropolis being thickly coated with it the next morning. It caused considerable delay in the passage of the trains on the South- western Railway, and in the arrival of divers coaches. On Wednesday morning the cold was intense; the thermometer from four o'clock to eight being only 10 degrees above zero, 22 degrees -below the freezing-point. The ice in the Parks became much safer, and few accidents occurred. In Kensington Gardens, how- ever the ice broke while two ladies and a gentleman were walking on it: they were rescued by an iceman. There has been a-good deal of ice floating on the Thames. There were signs of thaw on Thursday ; at night it rained; and yester- day the work of melting, under a brilliant sun,' was rapid and universal.

Eight lads have been drowned in a reservoir of the Monkland Canal, in the palish- of Shotts, by the breaking of the ice on which they were sliding. The disaster was not known till they were missed at night; no one but the boys

being present when it occurred. • Royal Visiti.L-A Card.—Mr. Nathan begs to inform the nobility and gentry, who may he honoured with a visit from her Majesty, that lie has a most exten- sive theatrical wardrobe, which will enable him to dress any amount of happy peasantry, contented agriculturists, or enthusiastic tenantry, at the very shortest notice. He can also get up a statute-fair, exactly in the same style as that repre- sented in Love in a Village at the Theatres Royal; and he has also a very large stock of uniforms, for extemporaneous militia, in cases where guards of honour may be suddenly required.—Punch.

Misprints often strike what are termed unlucky blows. The omission of a t makes the mortal the moral, and the immortal poet stands praised as the immoral poet. We read a short time ago a lamentation on " the fnglitful increase of mo- rality in the Metropolis," and once saw the advertisement of a treatise on " the blessed immorality of the soul"; we have met with the glory of a conqueror turned into gory by the dropping of the liquid consonant; our loyalty has been shocked by the announcement of a " most reasonable attempt on the life of a sovereign"; but, worst of all, we lately saw the Duke 'of Buckingham described, through the dropping of the dog's letter, as "the Farmer's Fiend. '—Examiner: