ilniscellantous.
A Court of Directors was held at the East India House on Monday ; when Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable Sir Henry Hardinge, K C.B., was unanimously appointed Governor-General of India.
The Directors are to entertain Sir Henry at dinner, at the London Tavern, on the '22d instant. He is to priced l to India by the over-land route ; and the steamer Hindostan will be de ained at Suez until the 1st July to convey him.
Sir Henry Hardinge is in his fifty-ninth year ; and is married to Lady Emily Stewart, whose first husband was Mr. John James ; her .I...dyship is mother of the present Sir Walter James, M.P. Sir Henry en.ered the Army in 1791, and served with great distinction in Spain and Por- tugal; receiving crosses for his services at Busaeo, Albuera, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, and Orthes ; he was Deputy Quartermaster-General of the Portuguese Army from 1809 tilt 1813; and served at Waterloo, where he lost an arm, for which he re- ceives a pension of 3001. per annum.
The Standard names Sir George Clerk as a probable successor to Sir Henry Hardinge at the head of the War Office; the Morning Post, Mr. Sidney Herbert. The Morning Herald gives this account of changes as probably correct, thought not from authority-
" The Honourable Mr. Sidney Herbert, Secretary at War, but without a seat in the Cabinet. The Honourable Mr. Henry Corry, Secretary to the Admiralty, in the room of Mr. Herbert. Mr. Cardwell, who, it may be re- membered, made an able speech on the Factory Bill, though on the wrong side, probably to have Mr. Corry'e seat at the Admiralty Board."
Wednesday's Gazette announced that the Queen had appointed Philip Henry Stanhope, Esq., (commonly called Viscount Mahon,) and the Right Honourable Thomas Babington Macaulay, "to be additional Commissioners for the purpose of inquiring whether advantage might not be taken of the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament for promot- ing and encouraging the Fine Arts."
A deputation of artists, accompanied by Mr. Thomas Wyse, M.P., waited upon Sir Robert Peel on Tuesday, to lay before him the case of the suppressed Art-Unions. Sir Robert Peel suggested"the appointment of a Select Committee of the Commons to inquire into the subject ; pro. liaising that if any Member moved for a Committee, Government would not oppose it; and he named Mr. Wyse as the best person to undertake the business. It was arranged that the artists' petition, which had *eady received 500 Signatures, eumild be handed to Mr. Wyse on Monday next.
It is now said that Norris Castle, " Windsor Castle in miniature," the seat of Mr. Robert Bell, will be the Royal residence in the Isle of 'Wight ; Osborne House being far too small to accommodate half the Royal suite. The Inspector of Palaces has been in treaty for the pur- chase of the castle; to which it is proposed to add Osborne House, which stands next to it.
Under the date of " Dresden, 29th April," the Globe says-" Queen Victoria will not come to Germany this summer ; but the King of Saxony will go to England on the 29th May, to pay a visit to the Eng- lish Court. His Majesty will also visit Scotland. The whole journey Is to be accomplished in six weeks."
The long-spoken-of marriage of the Archduke Albrecht of Austria Eldest son of the Archduke Charles, and cousin of the Emperor of Aus- tria, with Princess Hildegarde, daughter of the King of Bavaria, was solemnized with becoming pomp on the 1st instant, at Munich ; amid a large concourse of royal and illustrious persons.
Among the passengers who have recently left Bombay, are Sir Robert and Lady Sale and Mrs. Sturt : they sailed in the ship True Briton, re- turning home by way of the Cape.
Mr. Richard Oastler has written a lecturing letter to Sir Robert Peel ; "the strong Conservative Government having staked its existence on perpetuating an acknowledged act of oppression and injustice to the weakest portion of her Majesty's subjects "; and Mr. Oastler warning the Minister that perseverance will shake his Government. All this leads to the correction of a mistake, into which the writer had been "led by a highly-respectable gentleman enjoying the confidence of a Very influential Member of the House of Commons "-
, That gentleman informed me, that which I, in his presence, informed the public-viz, that you bad said to a friend, on leaving the House of Commons after your defeat on the Ten-hours Bill, • We have been defeated by the Christian feeling of the House of Commons.' In your place in that House you denied having said so: that denial caused an unsolicited communication to me from an individual, who, being cognizant of all the facts, wrote to me as follows-' I was sorry to see a mistake which you have fallen into: the fact is, on leaving the House on the night of the two divisions on the Ten-hours, Sir Robert Peel was leaning on a gentleman's arm, and listening to him most in- tently; that gentleman said to Sir Robert Peel, in my bearing, " It is the Christian feeling of the House that has defeated us."' Justice demands this explanation. Oh, that the Members of your Honourable House would do me the stone justice when they misrepresent my sayings and doings. I am in- debted to the unsought kindness of a friend for the power to make this correc- tion, my original informant not having furnished me with any communication On the subject."
Negotiations respecting the reduction of the tariffs of the two coun- tries have been opened by the English and French Governments, and will be prosecuted with greater activity during the interval of the ses- sion. Persons engaged in the wine and brandy trade must not, accord- ingly, lose all hope.-Paris Globe.
Among the music performed at the Ancient Concert, on Wednesday, 'was a curiosity-an aria, sung by Mario, out of an Oratorio composed by Mozart when he was ten years of age ! It was brought forth by Prince Albert, the Director of the evening, who possesses the score. Ten years old-and the work done in masterly style !
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