AltartIlautun

If some Member of Parliament would ask the old War Minister in what state he left the question of Military Education, and the new War Minister how he means to deal with it, and extract answers, he would perform an act of good public service. At present we are all in the dark. Lord Panmure has rescinded the memorandum of 1856 abolishing patron- age, and with it put an end to open competition for admission to the Scientific Corps. It is not clear whether the competition •for.entrance into the Staff Corps will be so open as is desirable. It is not clear whether we are to have one Military College for the whole Army or only for part of the Army. It is not clear how far the admission to Sandhurst is to be strictly open. In short, the whole subject is in a confused state, and should be explained.

On one point some information has been semi-officially made public. In order. that gentlemen preparing for admission into the Woolwich Academy by open competition may not be disappointed, General Peel and the Duke of Cambridge have decided to hold two more examinations, one in July, one in January- " These examinations will be the last, in order to allow of the amalga- mation of the Royal Military College and the Royal Military Academy be- fore the year 1860. Consequently, after January 1859, gentlemen desirous of obtaining commissions in the Royal Artillery or Royal Engineers will have to pass through the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, to which they will be admissible at the age of sixteen."

It seems to be taken for granted that Lord Canning will resign his office as Governor-General, rather than serve under his quondam critic the Earl of Ellenborough. Who will succeed Lord Canning ? Lord Stan- ley's name has been mentioned. But Lord Stanley, as the Times re- marks, is wholly untried as an administrator ; and to give him India as a subject for his coup d'essai would be a hazardous proceeding. At the same time, there is actually a man in India up to the work. The Times is of opinion that " it would be absolute madness if, in the event of a vacancy in the Government of India, any consideration were allowed to outweigh the claims of Sir John Lawrence." One great Indian name has not been mentioned for the post : Lord Ellenborough has got him under his hand—it is that of Sir George Russell Clerk.

The Birmingham Daily Post states that the Queen has promised 'to visit Birmingham in May or June and open Aston Park.

A new attempt will be made, probably in May, to submerge the elec-

tric cable between Ireland and America. The length of cable iire4 to supply the place of what was lost last year has been manufactured, and is to be landed at Plymouth on Monday, and joined on to the old cable, making it 2650 miles long. To guard against accidents this will be further lengthened by 300 miles. New machinery for "paying out" the line has also been manufactured.

The Queen has given orders for the appointment of Colonel Robert Rich- ardson Robertson, unattached, formerly of the 7th Dragoon Guards, Colonel John Francis Glencairn Campbell, of the 91st Regiment, Colonel Charles Henry Somerset, of the 72d Regiment, and Colonel Frederick George Au- gustus Pinckney, of the 73d Regiment, to be Ordinary Members of the Mili- tary Division of the Third Class, or Companions of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

The Queen has directed that letters patent should be issued granting and declaring that the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor pf Laws, Doctor of Laws, Bachelor of Medicine, and Doctor of Medicine, al- ready granted or conferred, or hereafter to be granted or conferred, by the Senate of the University of Sydney, in the colony of New South Wales, shall be recognized as academic distinctions and rewards of merit, and be entitled to rank, precedence, and consideration in the United Kingdom, and in the'Colonies and possessions of the Crown throughout the world, as fully as if the said degrees had been granted by any University of the United Kingdom.

It is stated that as soon as the news reached the Queen at Osborne of the arrival at Southampton, in the Pera steamer, of the wounded officers from India, her Majesty telegraphed to the Admiralty-office at that port, request- ing to be furnished with their names and any other particulars respecting them. The strong personal interest taken by her Majesty in all that relates to the Army is well known to the public, and we trust that this prompt act of condescension may be looked upon as the forerunner of some appropriate reward to officers who have deserved so well of their country.—Times, March 10.

The Princess Frederick William of Prussia has attended a performance in her honour at the Berlin Sing-Akademie ; Elijah was performed, and a cantata composed for the occasion. The Princess is very popular in her new residence : the stiffness of the Court is unbending under her genial in- fluence.

Thomas Tooke, the eminent political economist, and well-known author of the "History of Prices," died on the 26th February, at his house in Spring Gardens. He had attained the great age of eighty-five. His death was preceded by that of his second son, Mr. Thomas Tooke junior, one of the Directors of the Bank of England, who died after a short illness at the end of December. "The suddenness and weight of the shock occa- sioned by so severe a bereavement as the loss of his sou, exhausted a strength-already impaired and failing, and for the last two months Mr. Tooke has been gradually sinking." His mind retained its clearness to the last.

A seaman of the old war, Admiral Lord Aylmer, died on the 5th instant, at the age of eighty. He entered the Navy in 1790 ; was present in the Swiftsure at the battle of the Nile, and in the same ship served off Sicily. For the Egyptian campaign of 1801 he obtained the Turkish gold medal. He afterwards figured in the naval operations of the great war on various minor occasions. At the bombardment of Algiers he commanded the Severn. That was his last service afloat.

The Prince of Oude who recently died at Paris was interred in Pare is Chaise, by the side of the Queen. The Prince Mirza Mehemet', heir-pre- sumptive to the crown of Oude if Oude were still a kingdom, General D'Orgoni, and an Attaché of the Persian Embassy, were present at the funeral.

" Economist," writing to the Times, wishes to know if Lord Ellen- borough will continue to receive his 77001. a year of compensation for the suppressed Chief Clerkship in the Queen's Bench while he is President of the Board of Control ; or whether the 50001. of his salary as President will be deducted from the compensation pension ?

The Royal Marine Light Infantry is now above its required number, and the standard for recruits has been raised.

A scheme for founding a "Soldiers' Institute" at Woolwich, proposed by Sir Fenwick Williams, failed from want of support among the aims : civi- lians at Woolwich have taken it up, and it now promises to be successful.

A popular actress at Vienna has obtained a handsome sum for a distressed woman by selling eggs and flour in a little shop in the suburbs to her nume- rous admirers, charging a fancy price for the provisions. It is expected that the Lord Chamberlain, " a tremendous stickler about etiquette, will censure the actress for her undignified conduct.

The .Sidle is no longer to be permitted to be sold in the streets of Paris. It is estimated that it will thus lose the sale of a hundred copies a day,—its total circulation being 40,000: a notable Government scheme to check the influence of the press !

Sydney has received a box of cotton-thread spun from cotton produced in New South Wales. Two bales were raised ; shown at the Paris Exhibi- tion ; taken to England and spun ; and returned to Australia. The matter is considered important as establishing the fact that good cotton can be grown in the colony : the next thing to ascertain is whether it can be pro- duced cheap enough to compete with that of other countries in the English market.

The emigration from Ireland is now rather under 100,000 a year : Ulster and Munster supply 65,000.

The receipts on the railways of France during 1857 were 12,441,9251., against 11,262,4131. in 1856; last year there was an increase of 789 miles in the lines opened, and consequently the accounts show a reduction in the receipts per mile of 2391. in 1857.

The gold coined in the Sydney Mint last year amounted to 767,5001. ; falling-off from the total of 1856.

At the end of 1857, the population of Victoria approached half a million— it was computed at 457,000.

All the banks of Sydney and Melbourne now allow interest on deposits : they have taken up that system at the very time that in England people have begun to condemn it as productive of evil results.

The visitors to Hampton Court last year numbered 173,710-47,794 on Sundays ; to Kew Gardens, 361,798-185,599 on Sundays. August was the favourite mouth at Kew, and May at Hampton Court—the horse-chest- nuts in Bushy Park bloom in May.

The works of the railway from Algiers to BMA are carried on with great activity ; four thousand soldiers are employed on the task.

The works of the first railway in Turkey, from Smyrna to Aidin, art making satisfactory progress.

Two American vessels have landed 1236 Coolies in Cuba : no fewer than 313 of the poor creatures had died on the voyage. • The cold weather has raised the rate of mortality in the Metropolis. In the latter half of February, the number of deaths was about 1280 weekly ;

in the week in March the number rose to 1353—no less than 60 in ex- cess of the corrected average.. The excess is produced by the fatal - effects of those diseases which affect the organs of respiration.

The recent ravages of yellow fever in Lisbon have roused the Legislature sufficiently to pass a law for the sanitary improvement of the capital : a loan of 225,000/. is authorized to be raised for sanitary works, and the Bank of Portugal has undertaken to provide the money.

An earthquake at Corinth has caused the death of thirty persons, and done much damage to the town. At the last advices, the shocks were still going on, and were exceedingly violent.

Five steam-boats have been burnt at New Orleans: at one time the safety of all the shipping in the port was endangered.