_Miscellaneous.

Cabinet Councils were held at the Foreign Office on Saturday and on Monday.

Referring to the appointment of Lord Clarendon as Viceroy of Ireland, the Morning Chronicle says—" We believe that for the present no appoint- ment will be made to the Presidency of the Board of Trade. The rumour of Mr. Labouchere's eventual succession to the office appears to be highly probable. The vacancy thus created in the Irish Secretaryship will be filled, it is said, by Sir William Somerville."

Tuesday's Gazette announced that the Queen had appointed Lied Chancellor Brady, Archbishop Whately, the Duke of Leinster, and Lieu- tenant-General Sir Edward Blakeney, the Irish Commander-inchie4 to be her Majesty's Justices and General Governors in Ireland.

The Gazette also announced the appointment of Richard Robertyad- den, Esq., to be Colonial Secretary for Western Australia.

Sir Charles Napier hoisted his flag at Portsmouth on Thursday, on board the St. Vincent: he expects to go to sea on Sunday.

Mr. Wordsworth, who fills the post of Poet-Laureate, has been directed to write an ode for the installation of Prince Albert as Chancellor of Cam- bridge. The ceremonial is to take place in July next, and the Laureate's ode will be set to music by Professor Walmsley.—Globe.

In another column we have recorded the death of the Earl of Besbo- rough. The following brief particulars of his career are compiled from the morning journals— John William Ponsonby, best known to the English public as Lord Duncannon, was the son of Frederick the third Earl of Besborough. He was born at the family-seat in Kilkenny, on the 31st August 1781; and was consequently sixty- six at the time of his decease. His education was completed at Christ Church, Oxford; where he took the degree of Master of Arts, in 1802. In 1805, Lord Dancannon married Lady Maria Fane, third daughter of the Earl of Westmore- land; who bore him five sons and six daughters. In the same year he entered the House of Commons, as Member for Knaresborough. He afterwards sat for various constituencies, until called to the Upper House, in 1834, as Baron Dan- cannon. For a few months before the unceremonious dismissal of the Melbourne Cabinet by King William the Fourth, Lord Duneannon held the seals of the Home Office; and on the return of the Whigs after a short exclusion, he resumed his old post at the Woods and Forests, with a seat in the Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal. lie held both these offices until 1840. Lord Clarendon was then appointed Lord Privy Seal; and Lord Dancannon remained at the head of the Woods and Forests until 1842. In 1844, on the death of his father, be succeeded to the title and family estates; and on the restoration of the Whigs last year, he was chosen for the post of Viceroy of Ireland.

i The deceased stood in high estimation among the old Whigs, to whom he did good service. For many years he discharged the arduous and important though undignified functions of muster-master-general or " whipper-in" to the party. Although never a shining orator, (indeed he hardly ever spoke in the House of Commons, and but seldom in the House of Lords,) his qualifications for office were considerable. In conjunction with Lord John Russell and Sir James Graham, he assisted Lord Durham in the preparation of the Reform Bill.

The late Lord Besborough had many titles and honours. He was Viscount Duncannon and Baron Besborough in Ireland, Baron Ponsonby of Sysonby and Duncannon in Great Britain; was a Privy Councillor, Vice-Admiral of the Pro- vince of Munster, and Custos Rotulorum of the county of Kilkenny. The title and estates descend to his son, Viscount Duncannon, Member for Derby.

Queen Christina has left Paris, and is travelling incognita to Naples. She is accompanied by the Duke of Rianzares and a numerous suite.

Prince Louis Napoleon Achille Murat, eon of the chivalrous King of Naples, and nephew of Bonaparte, died in Jefferson County, United States, on the 15th of April, aged forty-six. He had resided in that country since 1821, the period when his family left their asylum in Austria for the New World. It it recounted of him, that he lived in a simple style, was esteemed by all, and had written many excellent works on the institutions of his adopted country. • Jerome Bonaparte, ex-King of Westphalia, has petitioned the Chamber Of Deputies for the abrogation of the law which prevents the Bonaparte family from enjoying the benefits of the common law of France.

Food riots are reported in various parts of the Continent. In the Bohe- mian provinces such riots occur daily, especially on the frontiers of Saxony and Bavaria. The accounts from Breslau are deplorable,—seed torn from the ground; houses set on fire, that the incendiaries may devour the beasts which perish in the flames; robbery universal. In Belgium, although the accounts of the growing crop are favourable, present distress has provoked turbulence, which has extended into France: the disorders have been seri- ous at Brussels, Tourney, Lille, and Cambrai; and even in Paris there have been symptoms of disaffection on the score of high prices. Lyons has not omitted its usual contribution to any prevalent tumult. Some traits of these bread-riots were curious. At Cambrai, the mob demanded " Bread at twenty sous, or death." At Lille, the people called "Vive la Republique!"—" Vive Henry Cinq!" [the Duke of Bordeaux]—" Vive noire Roi qui est en Angleterre!" [Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte]— "Down with the King, and Liberty for ever! " Some of the disturbances in Spain have also assumed the character of bread-riots.

The King of Naples has authorized the free importation of grain and vegetables till the 31st of May.

The Austrian Government has forbidden the export of wheat for the five months ensuing.

The King of Prussia has issued a decree, interdicting the bakers from selling new bread until after the 15th August next; it being proved that the consumption of new bread is much greater than that of stale bread. The police is to fix the time that is to elapse between the baking and the sale of bread.

Mr. Charles Tottie, Consul-General for Norway and Sweden, has an- nounced, in a letter to the Times, that the Norwegian Government has an- nulled the duty upon barley, rye, oats, buck-wheat, and maize, and their meals, from the 30th April to the 31st, August.

Under the date of Bucharest, 26th April, the FratalcArt Journal states, that the quantity of corn coming into that town was so great that there was not room in the granaries and store-houses to contain it. At Braila and Galatz the quantity received was also very large.

The Neva began to break up on the 4th instant, and on the 5th the river at St. Petersburg could be crossed in boats. The Neva first became frozen on November 30th, and, consequently, remained unnavigable for 150 days; being ten days more than the average duration of its congelation.

The King of Sweden has just appointed a commission charged to draw up a new tariff of customs, in which considerable reductions will be made and many prohibitions removed.

At the Windsor market, on Saturday last, some singularly fine samples of wheat realized the enormous sum of 311. per load. A similar price was also obtained for wheat at Uxbridge market on the preceding Thursday. At Chertsey May fair, which was held on Friday last, the price of wheat ranged from 271. 10s. to 301. 10s. per load.

In a communication to the Commissioner of Customs, the Lords of the Treasury have ordered the admission of rice-meal free of duty until the 1st of September next.

. With a view to economizing the stock of cereal food, Mr. James Wilson, engineer, of Cannon Row' proposes to substitute a flour made from the horse-chestnut in lieu of the wheaten flour at present used for stiffening calicoes.

The members of the Carlton Club, adopting the noble example set by our most gracious Sovereign, have directed that, during the existing scarcity, none but the seconds flour be used in that club. So laudable a resolution, it is to be hoped, will be soon followed by all other clubs and large establishments.—Times.

M. Martin de Noirlieu, Rector of the parish of St. Jacques, one of the poorest quarters in Paris, made a collection in his church on Ascension- day for the distressed Irish, which produced a suns of 1,445 francs (581. sterling). He says, in a letter to the Univers, that he saw several poorly- clad operatives with tears in their eyes place pieces of five francs in the poor-box.

By the West India steamer Clyde, there are advie,es from Jamaica to the 23d April. The accounts from all the islands describe the crops as un- usually forward, abundant, and healthy.

The fumigation of letters received from on board ships arriving in the United Kingdom with clean bills of health is to be discontinued.

It is said that proceedings have been commenced in the Ecclesiastical Court against Archdeacon Woodhouse as the author, and Messrs. Longman and Com- pany as the publishers, of a pamphlet entitled " Subscription the Disgrace of the F;nglish Church." When Mr. Woodhouse was recently made Archdeacon of Nor- -folk, a number of the clergy in the archdeaconry were dissatisfied with the appoint- ment, in consequence of the doctrines the reverend gentleman had expressed in his work. They obtained legal opinions that the writer and publishers of the pam- phlet were amenable to the Church Discipline Act; applied to the Archdeacon to retract the offensive doctrines; and on his refusal, commenced an action.

The Paris papers report a very painful occurrence at Chantilly, on Friday last- A member of the Jockey Club of Paris, the son of a celebrated general officer in the French service, was detected in cheating at cards. He has been expelled from the Jockey Club, dismissed from his post as Officier d'Ordonnance to the King, ordered off the Royal grounds by the Duke of Nemours, and advised to leave France.

The following case of imposture is vouched for by the Ipswich Express. A short time back, a labouring man and his wife having been admitted inmates of the Wangford Workhouse, the Matron observed that the pockets of the woman were heavy, and asked what they contained: the pauper replied, "Only a few rags." On a search being made, however, 1321. 4s. in gold and silver was found in the pockets sewed up in different parcels; also three savings-bank deposit-books containing a sum of 1601.; and nine silver tea-spoons, a table-spoon, and sugar- tongs . A strange attempt has been made to assassinate Dr. Turley, a resident in the neighbourhood of Worcester. While this gentleman was sitting in his library, apparently after midnight, a pistol was discharged through the window from the garden; the ball perforated the glass, passed within a few inches of Dr. Turley's head, and struck in the wainscot behind him. The perpetrator and his motive are unknown.

The little town of Rohran, in Austria, near the Hungarian frontier, has been entirely destroyed by fire. It was the birth-place of Joseph Haydn and his bro- ther Michael.

The Prima Donna, bound from China to England, rid Hobart Town, has dis- appeared, near Lombok; at which place she called for water and provisions. In the latter part of December, the ship's long-boat arrived at Bali, with fourteen of the Prima Donna's crew, all Manilla men. They stated that the vessel had foundered, and that the captain and officers had perished. When questioned apart, however, the men's statements varied so mach as to excite suspicion. It is be- lieved that the ship has been plundered and sunk, and the master and officers murdered: the men have been arrested.

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last—

Number of Spring deaths. average. Zymotic (or Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious) Diseases 157 .. . lee Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat 9u 99 Diseases of the Brain, spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses 152 158 Diseases of the Lungs, sod of the other Organs of Respiration 332 273 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 3l 29 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 88 70

Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. 12 8

Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, &e. 14 10

Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, &o. 9 s

Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, itc. 3 2 Old Age 57 37

Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 29 28

— —

Total (including unspecified causes) 914

The temperature of the thermometer ranged from 97.3° in 9t711 sun to 32.0° in the shade; the mean temperature by day being warmer than the average mean temperature by 46'. The mean direction of the wind for the week was South- south-west.

The return for this week also contains the following comparison of the mortal- ity of town and country—

APS. Deaths register- ed last week in London. Deaths which would have Excess of mor- been registered if the rate tality in Lou- of mortality had been the dun during the some as-in Do rsetshire. week.

0 — 15 ... 399 279 110 15 — 35 ... 142 138 4 35 — 55 177 103 74 85 and upwards ... 270 164 108

— — All ages 978 684 298