The Duke of Argyll will for the next three weeks

discharge the duties of Postmaster-General, in addition to those which already devolve upon

him as Lord Privy Seal. The arrangement is an interim one, andis inftmded termed the contiuge4cy. #1 thf4 Effj,,ef „Elgin; may receive in Egypt, the.intelligence that 'thk,A:MIND:KAT, cbiatt has: determined to, acquisseein the demands of the:Allied, PikWetrisi: as prOposed to him by. Mr. Bruce and M. de Bourboultm, .In that teae,the Earl of Elgin's presence in China would be unnecessary,,ancl,.hei.wouldinstantly -return to Dnglat)d"a` d resume hisdaties at the Pesti-Mae ThatDitheefArgylI

was form reatmastet;geireial for a eons `period, a nil is quite' converse* 10:tlie" 'of the office " Wlii1f thiee 'weeks' have

clapsda;;i4 4, . mission to China,' the post An. be edm litdes 'May 2.

—.91116

The National Rifle Association-has published the regulations to be ob- served in contending the8inises it will ainuabte:snettessfurcompeti; tors'on the great shooting 'mitt& to take:place en' the 'lief !illy, on Witabledon Common. The Queen' hag '&en a prize of 2501., and" the Prince Consort a priZe of 1001. Thera Wirth° five-nioneyprizes.besides, tole cempeted.fer,tby- YeilitaMerg,,.and five inque,y,ROF,m, ineluAeg.that:

offered by,the ,Psentee'0011AOAtt it9 ,be comp ryb ;a11,00raers of all,

nations. The Queen's prize and the geld o t miesiomatioe, will

be,.accasaible,te"voluateers alone. slag* Trian,800 to 1000

yards ; the pnzes from 2a/. to 2o0/...;)*,ir we mist refer our readers to the interesting, code of regulationaaselL -filier6nnpetittir's for the improvement eff-iifled ardnanee are increasing. On Wednesday, Captain 131A-clefs 'gnu -Was tried on 4.he sands at Heighten, and the range obtained, with a--small quantity of powder, " was astonishing." Tlielutelp'expierinignia, ffere, it is reported, a

`decided success. J The Prince Consorthaa WIIenAleiguarantee

fund:of the Exhibition:4-184W reaelig4,12*9/.0.94, to contribute the 'further sum, 10,0001., that may be necessary to complete the full amount of the proposed gnitrantee;240,004/.- The sum ziaranteed at present is 2Q0,0001. It will he a great advantage to haye,the;iist filled up at an early day, and these who are.willing._to guarantee.pubseriptions should Rend their. names .te: Mr. LeNeve k'ester,,,secretety,ef the Society of; Arta.

The Council of the' Statistical Seeffity..has issued a paper of recom-.

mendatione in , regard to the !minuet taking. the: census of 1861.- Among otherthings, they "'recommend that a.diStinet inquiry should be7 insettedin each Ceimi,Se.hedule, asking the religious persuasion of the persone included in, each schedule, .but leaving it eptionellvith parties to answer the inquiry" ;• that an attempt Should be Made to,obtaie the in-- cornea of charitable and beneficentsoeietiesp to get..a- return of certain kinds of agricultural statistics, and seme particulars of -the character as well as the zuunber of dwellings.. ; , The annual repoit of.the Camden Societi, after enumerating thensmes. of able members who have- died.withimtheyear,...fmds Dome "compensa- tion in the addition Made to the number of public institutions now en- rolled on' the list of subScrihers...I.Thelibeary,of :Kings Coilege,, Cam- bridge, ancIthe Chethem. Library; liancheater,harorrocently joined the ;society ; while the interestjakercimita objects, ispeur Transatlantic- brethren is shown by thedaetthat no less than five 'American libraries have just been added to the list of members. The council venture to :suggest that.he friends of the society-cannot-more surely promote 'its - miefulness.and secure its permanence than by doing- whatever is in their- power to bring its claims under the notice not only of all lovers of his- tory, but also of all- corporate or - associated: bodies Which possess libraries."

A' telegrath from Alexandria, without date, states that Said Pacha has nominated several officers chosen from among the Native Christians. This example Of tolerance has-produced a sensation:

Prince Alfred visited the East India Docks on Monday, in order to in- spect the diagonal principle of ship-building as exhibited in Mi. Robert Taylertion's iron clipper ship, Fanny Maud.

-A. letter fromNice'states that the-Grand Delre'Nicholas, who'had 'arrived thereon a visit to the :Empress' Dawager,wilivialt France in May. Her Majesty will remain'at Niee Until the arrival' ofthe Emperor of the French, after which she will take up her-residence at Pisa. • .• • Baron-Builberg; the 'Russian Ambassador at the Prussian Court, left Ber- lin at the end of last week for Paris. He was to return in about a week to

Berlin. . . . . , - .•

- It is said that the Dowager-Empressof Russia is to.00nie to Paris with the Emperor and Empress of the French on their return from Nice, and that she into pass-the.suinaler atMonlainebleat; where the palace is being pre- pared for her reception. 'Another report mentions Pisa as her future

abode. .

The Duke of Brabant left Constantinople on Monday for Venice, in an English Steamer, which was offered tehim-hySir Henry Bulwer.

Before be departed, the Duke of 11ralient was decorated with the order of the Medjidie,and received the' diamonds of the decoration.

The Count of Paris and the Duke of Chartres were present at the religious. ceremonies in Jerusalem, during the Holy Week and Easter. . The Duke of Hamilton, walking in Piccadilly, yesterdayweek„ slipped, and, falling on the pavemebt fractured his leg. .14 obtained'iminechate assistance, and has since been doing well.- . There is a talk of a journalW., the French langnag,,e being brought out in ROnie 'with If. 'Louis Windt ter editor: " - ' vain for his flithqi's life, has ,let :Wpa114.for , The son of the unfortunate pgegrelOrtega*. aliened is

ce under.

General Lentil-lei-ere. - • ' .- '' ' • ' 1'''''" - -at: '''''''" ..,:e•,•.

' .

'M. Thicrs has taken advantage of a recet-part Atithihiio visit the field of Wateylki:!.'j ' ;I., . • .bleow Ida,. , There liViii"ii'liliteenza a deaf mute of exrrao eliti;E: G. IL Moser, a pAtive of Resensburs, who, until l850,_pur.s ued as a shoe-, mdkee2'ffitieetheii,."litiluth *Widened the awl' in ''. oiler tedeYete himself to study;', and in la'1€4;years'Iiiiii learned landeandect, fifteen: Ian , living and dead, besides -mitly. dialects; he .oati-write-theril correcty, and make himself understood in each one. He ace:very ready accountant, and solveI the most difficult problems-with :vronderftilranidity by means of lo- garithms, of which be is • a perfect _master: He writes a good hand, and can with great speed write backwards, words, entire periods, or even a dis- course. In 1848, he fought amongst the insurgents at the barricades of

Vienna, and his left cheek still bears the sear of a salirewound.--Pieeetaa Gazette.

Major Gaudini has conceived the idea of a new instrument of war. The principle upon which this invention is based, is not entirely new, since it has some resemblance to Fieschi's celebrated infernal machine ; but a happy application of this principle has been made to the uses of war. The machine consists of about twenty barrels of great calibre, placed horizontally on a frame which is again placed upon a light carriage with two wheels, in such a way that it can be drawn by one horse. A cylinder fitted behind the bar- rels is put in motion by means of a lever, and strikes the trigger of each barrel simultaneously, thus firing twenty shots at once. The frame on which the barrela are placed is capable of elevation either to adjust the range or to load the 'barrels which are then brought into a vertical position. Three men are sufficient to serve the machine.—Gaz.:etta

Last week, the returns of mortality furnished by the Registrar-General still showed an excess of 85 deaths above the average mortality of the sea- sons. The absolute number of deaths is 1268. Now the fine weather has set in, we may expect a decrease in this excessive demand of death.

It is reported that the government have signified their willingness to ne- gotiate for the Great Eastern to take out the telegraph cable about to be laid between Singapore and Rangoon. Some English travellers in Egypt have been shamefully misconducting themselves in the Great Mosque of Cairo, during a solemn religious cere- mony at which the Viceroy was present. An Englishwoman was one of the party. Their names are not mentioned ; but they should be placarded all over the empire, as persons who have disgraced their country.