Zioullnumo.

The Earl Granville, the Lord President of the Council, as Minis- terial leader of the Government in the House of Lords, will give the customary Parliamentary dinner on the 4th of the ensuing month to a numerous circle of Peers, supporters of the Ministry.

The Earl of Derby, as leader of the Conservative party in the House of Lords, will give a banquet on Monday, the 4th proximo, at his mansion, in St. James's Square, to a large circle of his political friends.

Mr. Baring, Under-Secretary for India, and Earl de Grey and Ripon, have exchanged offices. The arrangement is consequent upon the elevation of Mr. Sidney Herbert to the House of Lords. Earl de Grey and Ripon will represent the India Office in the Lords ; Mr. Baring, the War-office in the Commons, their chiefs being in the opposite Houses.

The Shipping Gazette makes an important statement—Mr. W. S. Lind- say, M.P., has had an interview with the Emperor of the French as to the French differential duties on British shipping ; and it is stated that the way is fairly opened for negotiations to give effect to the resolution of the House of Commons of last March, for the conclusion of a treaty "for the reciprocal abrogation of all discriminating duties levied upon the vessels and their cargoes of either of the two nations in the ports of the other."

"Mr. Lindsay has had little difficulty in convincing a man of the saga- city and information of the Emperor, that the present exclusive system of differential duties in favour of French shipping is not only inconsistent with the commercial policy which the French Government has definitively adopted, but that it cannot be maintained if the recent commercial treaty with this country is to produce its natural results. It was, perhaps, need- less to point out to his Majesty that, during the past twenty years, the French tonnage, sailing and steam, taken together, has only increased 420,000 tons, while during the same period British tonnage has increased 3,200,000 tons ; and that the differential duties, while they afford little or no revenue, have not answered the end for which they have been designed, namely, that of fostering the French mercantile marine in order to uphold the maritime power of France. This unsatisfactory result of a policy to which France has clung with characteristic tenacity, has been associated with an increase in the over-sea trade of France. Her producing power has been effectively stimulated, and her special commerce has largely expanded; but, for the carriage of that trade, she has been indebted mainly to the foreigner."

The Tribunal of First Instance of Paris will shortly be called upon to decide the validity of the marriage of the late Prince Jerome Bonaparte with Miss Paterson, of Baltimore, U.S., which took place on the 24th of December, 1803. The ceremony was performed with great solemnity in the presence of the Vice-Consul of France, and a French citizen ; and the certificate of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Baltimore is yet extant. But the ambitious designs of the First Consul would not permit Miss Paterson to become a Bonaparte. In 1805, Prince Jerome abandoned his wife by order of the Emperor. Attempts were made to induce the Pope to dissolve the marriage by bull, but they were unsuccessful. In July, 1805, Madame Jerome Bonaparte gave birth to a son, who is a suitor to establish his legitimacy. In 1807, Prince Jerome married a Princess of Wurtemburg. In 1808, he sent to Baltimore for his son, but Madame Bonaparte refused to part with her child. In 1813, she pro- cured a divorce from the House of Representatives and Senate of Mary- land. The correspondence of the son with the members of the Bona- parte family is published, and proves that they recognized his relation- ship, until the present Emperor ascended the throne. Even the Emperor addressed him in terms of affection, .S0 late as 1853 and 1855— " My Cousin—Notwithstanding the distance, and a very long separation, I have never doubted the heartfelt interest with which you followed all the chances of my destiny. I have felt great pleasure in the letter which brings me your congratulations. I thank von for them. The news you give me of the vocation of your son for the military career, and of his entering a regi- ment of Carabineers, has not been less agreeable to me. When circum- stances permit, I shall be, believe me, most happy to see you. Whereupon, my cousin, I pray God to have you in his Holy keeping.

" Written at the Palace of the Tuileries, 9th February, 1853.

NAPOLEON."

M. Bonaparte came to France in June 1854. On his arrival in Paris, he received, through the Minister of State, an invitation to dine at St. Cloud, where the Court then was. The invitation was addressed to- Prince Jerome. The moment he entered the Palace, the Emperor handed him a declaration, drawn up by M. Abbatueci, Minister of Jus- tice' M. Troplong, President of the Senate, and M. Baroche, President of the Council of State, setting forth that "M. Jerome Bonaparte is to be considered in France as legitimate ;" that "he is French by birth ; and, if he has lost the character, a decree can restore it to him in virtue of the 18th clause of the Civil Code."

In a short time. M. Bonaparte perceived that his presence in Paris and the kindness of the Emperor towards him excited certain discontent else- where. Ile informed the Emperor of the fact, and received from his Majesty- the following letter—

"My dear Cousin—I have received your two letters. I had already re- ceived one from my uncle Jerome, who told me that he would never con- sent to your remaining in France. I replied, that as the French laws re- cognize you as legitimate, I could not do otherwise than acknowledge you as a relation, and that if your position in Paris was embarrassing, it was for you alone to judge of that—that Napoleon, if he conducted himself well, had nothing to apprehend from family revelations, &c. You must, without irritating your father, continue to follow the course which you have pro- posed to yourself. I will write tomorrow to Fould about the arrangements we agreed on. " Compliments to Jerome, and believe in my sincere friendship,

"NAPOLEON."

Proposals were made to M. Bonaparte to create for him the Duchy of Sarterne, but the proposition was rejected. The case is expected to come on for hearing on the 25th; upon its results, the legitimacy and ilk- gitimacy of M. Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon, and Princess Mathilde, depend.

It is stated, on authority, that if an International Exhibition of Works of Art and Industry had not been announced to take place in London in 1862, it was the intention of the Emperor of the French that one should be held in Paris, but that now the French will give way to the British exhibition.

The five weeks' Christmas vacation at Eton College terminated on Wednesday last, the 16th instant, on which day the lower boys returned. -The fifth form went back on the Thursday following, and the sixth form on Friday, when the whole school assembled. During the recess, the extensive building operations rendered necessary by the large in- crease in the number of the scholars have been proceeded with, as far as the severe frost would allow.

At the last meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, extracts were read from the journal of Mr. Stuart, who conducted an exploring expe- dition nearly across the island continent of Australia. Ile started from Chamber's Creek, South Australia, in the beginning of March last, in a North-westerly direction, and returned to the same point on the 9th of September, after having travelled upwards of 2300 miles, and penetrated to within 500 miles of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Only one portion of the route, about sixty miles in length, was sterile and sandy ; elsewhere, instead of meeting with an Arab desert, as many geographers had pre- dicted, he found a well-watered country, with numerous creeks, several rivers, abundance of grass, and frequently thick scrub.

Mr. Gibbs, the Chief Inspector at Slough Station, was presented with a purse containing 171/. 158. 6d., on Monday, by passengers travelling on the Great Western line.

We regret to learn, from undoubted authority, that the report recently circulated in several journals of the gradual improvement in Miss Night- ingale's health is entirely without foundation. Her malady, far from being alleviated, increases upon her, and her state, which confines her entirely to her apartment, is one of great exhaustion and severe suffering.

A private despatch announces that Count and Countess Montemolin died at Trieste, on the 14th instant, 'within a few hours of each other. Count Montemolin was son of the Infant Don Carlos, who for many years asserted, arms in hand, his claims to the throne of Spain. He was born on the 31st of January, 1818. The Countess was a Princess of Naples, sister of the late King Ferdinand II., and born on the 29th of February, 1820.

Prince Alfred joined his new ship, the St. George, at Plymouth, on Wed- nesday. The Prince has been vaccinated, the small-pox having made its appearance in the ship.

The Marquis of Chandos has resigned the chairmanship of the London and North-Western Railway Company.

Sir William Erie, Chief Justice of' the Common Pleas, was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society at the last meeting.

The Duke of Sutherland is reported, in accounts received in town this morning, to be somewhat better.

The Ambassador of the Shah of Persia to the French Court was received on the 14th by King Victor Emmanuel, and presented to his Majesty the decorations of the Orders of Persia.

The Porte is said to have recalled Omar Pasha from exile' and has ap- pointed him Commander-in-chief of the army which is to be concentrated on the Danube.

The Grand Duke of Tuscany has left Berlin for Dresden.

The leave of absence granted to the Marquis de Turgot, French ambas- sador at Berne, has been prolonged for three months.

A telegraphic despatch announces that the King of Prussia has conferred on Prince Joachim Murat the Grand Cordon of the Eagle of Prussia.

A letter from Rome, in the Indilpendance Belge, states that Signor Gal- lenge, the Times correspondent, has been again compelled to leave the city General de Gerlach, aide-de-camp of the late King of Prussia, and one of his Majesty's most intimate friends, has quickly followed his Sovereign to the grave. He caught a violent cold at the royal funeral, which brought on erysipelas in the head, and he died at Potsdam in the evening of the 10th. He was seventy-one years of age.

Mr. Ralph Farnham, the last survivor of the men who took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, in 1775, died on the 26th of December, at his son's residence, in Acton (Maine), at the age of upwards of 104 years.

The following curious anecdote is related of M. Carvalho de Moraes, the Brazilian Minister at Brussels, who died suddenly on New Year's Eve. In the morning of the 31st of December, M. de MoraEa went to his bankers, and drew out a sum of 30,000 francs. The banker, who was no other than the representative of the house of Rothschild, as the accounts for the year were made up, or on the point of being so, requested his client to date his cheque for the 1st of January. This was done, so that the 30,000 francs were paid to M. de Mora& on a cheque dated the day after his death.

The Pungo/o states, that General Turr left Genoa for Caprera in a Go- vernment steamer, and that he was charged by the King, with whom he had a long and confidential interview in Turin, with a conciliatory message for Garibaldi.

A Turin letter in the IndOpendance affirms that the French fleet, on leav- ing Gaeta, will go to cruise in the Adriatic, "in order to relieve the Italian fleet of the painful duty of acting against Garibaldi, in case he should persist in making an expedition against Venetia."

At Cattaro, there has been a report that, on the 9th instant, 2000 Monte- negrins made a sudden attack upon the town of Spatz on the Albanian frentiers, and arrived as far as the gates of the fortress, where they were repulsed with great loss. A letter from Rome in the Nazione of Florence asserts that the Pope has sold the Carnpana Gallery to the British Museum ; and that this fact ac- counts for the abundance of money of which the Pontifical treasury has lately been boasting.

The Dresden Journal amuses its readers with a story of the concession by Italy to England of a Sicilian port, Syracuse. The arrangements, it says, have been made at Turin by Sir James Hudson !

The Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal has lately decided that Government instructors may teach the Bible out of school hours, provided they do not teach it within the walls of the school.

From the accounts received at the Admiralty by the last China mail, there seems to be little doubt that her Majesty's ship Camilla must have foundered at sea. It appears that she left Hakodadi on the lit of Septem- ber, for Kanagawa, the port of Yeddo, and that between that day and the 9th of September, the day on which the heavy gale passed over Yeddo, light southerly winds prevailed, so that she had not probably made much pro- gress to the South when lost. Her Majesty's steam vessel Berenice, of the Indian navy, proceeded along the coast from Kanagawa to Hakodadi and back, between the 24th of September and 11th of October, but failed in procuring any intelligence of the Camilla from the numerous fishing-boats, or in discovering any portion of the wreck. A report had reached Vice-Ad- miral Hope, that the unfortunate vessel was seen from a Prussian vessel of war to strike on a rock in a fresh breeze, and go down. This report would be traced to its source; but the admiral is firmly convinced that she foun- dered at sea in the typhoon which prevailed on the Japanese coast on the 9th of September.

"A Railroad Traveller" makes a valuable suggestion ; he urges passen- gers to insist upon the test being applied to the wheels and tires at every station. Ile pursued this plan on a long journey, every wheel for 100 miles answered with a ring, but a last a second-class carriage wheel announced a crack. The next station was thirty miles oft', and the distance was to be travelled at express speed.

A very successful effort has been made on the East Lancashire section of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, to light the carriages of a passenger train with gas. The invention is Mr. Newall's (the inventor of continuous railway breaks), and the gas is kept in a flexible receiver, in the guard's van. From the van, iron tubes carry the gas over the tops of the carriages, the connexion between the pipes on each carriage being made of flexible tubing. From the pipes over the tops of carriages, short suspenders drop into each compartment of the carriages, to which are attached neat brackets and glass globes. Thus a flood of light by which passengers may read com- fortably is obtained, and considerable warmth is imparted by the lamps, while all foul air escapes through the roof.

A gentleman, named Kelly, was found under a first-class carriage which broke away from the rest of the train near Primrose Hill tunnel last week. He was dead, and fearfully mutilated, and a wife and six children were at once plunged from comparative affluence into misery, as his income was at an end with his life. Before commencing the journey he had, however, providently taken an insurance ticket of the Railway Passengers Assurance Company, for which he paid sixpence, and enclosed it in an envelope to his wife. By this trifling outlay, he secured the large sum of 1000/. for his Some of the Paris journals state that a deputation from South Carolina has arrived in Paris, and obtained an audience of 31. Thouvenel, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Within the last few days, two or three rifled cannon have been shipped from Liverpool for Charleston.

In consequence of heavy falls of snow in the mountains of Grasse, de- partment of the Yar, a number of wolves have descended to the neighbour- ing villages, and committed ravages among the flocks. At Caussols, seven lambs were devoured, and the sheep with them, having been attacked, were more or less injured. At Grasse, one wolf was killed.

A military man met a discharged soldier of his regiment, and asked him how he was getting on. "Oh," said the man, "I am a relieving officer." " Well, is that a good place ? " inquired the military gentleman. s" Yes, Sir," was the answer ; "A liberal salary, and very little to do."

Austria and Bavaria have notified to the Federal Council of Switzerland, that they decline henceforth to cooperate for the construction of the pro- jected railway round the Bodensee. Austria gave as a reason for her reso- lution that the loss of Lombardy rendered it necessary that the German traffic should now pass through the Tyrol.

A Berlin letter, in the Augsburg Gazette, speaks of the probability of a commercial crisis in that city, which has beguu to manifest itself by numerous failures.

Captain Johnson has been ordered by Government to survey all the con- fiscated states in the Delhi districts, and Captain Robinson to survey the Gwalior, Central India, and Rajpootana States.

According to the Espero, Count Cavour has addressed an energetic note to the cabinet of Vienna, respecting the conduct of the Austrian authorities at Pola, who refused admission into that port of the Sardinian frigate San Michele, during a violent storm.

The following letters were addressed by Garibaldi to the commander and crew of the Washington, that brought him from Naples to Caprera—" Ca- prera, 3d of December. Sir—Be kind enough to communicate to your brave crew the subjoined lines of thanks. At the same time, please to thank the admiral for his graciousness, and tell him that I have no more need of the Washington. GARIBALDI." "Caprera, 3d of December. Among the re- collections dear to my heart, will rank my kind and cordial reception on board the Washington, during the time that the vessel was placed under my orders. G. GARIBALDI."

It appears from returns furnished by the various Royal Yacht Clubs, that yachting has made a decided advance of late years. This is shown in the subjoined table for the decade ending 1860— Yachts Gross Average Year. Afloat. Tonnage. Tonnage. Year.

1851 516 22,518 .... 43.6 I 1856

1852 587 .... 25,007 .... 42•6 1857 1853 710 . 29,452 .... 41-4 1858 1854 762 31,984 ..., 413 1859 1855 .... 752 .... 30,781 .... 409 1860 There has thus been, on the whole, a tendency to the employment of a larger class of yachts. The amount of prizes offered last year in 113 con- tests was 4279/., and the number of men employed was estimated at about 3400.

It is proposed to construct a new bridge over the Thames from Kew to Brentford, and to make a road in connexion with it in the parishes of Isle- worth and Ealing. The Great Western Railway and Brentford Railway are to subscribe to the undertaking. It is to be a toll bridge.

Yachts Gross Average

Afloat. Tonnage. Tonnage.

742 31,321 422 .... 776 .... 32,620 .... 42'0 728 .... 32,654 44,8 .... 756 .... 34,472 .... 456 756 .... 33,873 44'8 The Thames was frozen for fourteen weeks, in 1063, and below bridge to Gravesend from November 24 to February 10, in 1434. In 1515, carriages passed over from Lambeth to Westminster ; and fires and diversions were witnessed in 1607. In 1684, the ri,ver was covered with ice eleven inches thick, and nearly all the birds perished. In 1716, a fair was held and oxen were roasted ; this frost continued from November 24 to February 9. A frost, in 1740, lasted nine weeks, when coaches plied upon the Thames, and festivities of all kinds were celebrated upon the ice. From November to January, in 1789, the river was passable opposite the Custom-house, and, in 1814, booths were erected. The present frost has lasted about ten days, and if it continues for the same period longer, the scenes of the Serpentine may be transferred to our great metropolitan river.—Expreas.