colours stood in front of the benches, which rose in treble rows at each side, but, owing to the manner in which the company had grouped themselves, and in which the corporate officials were arranged, the attendance seemed larger than it really was. The King having bowed to the deputation, and signified his readiness to receive the address, the Lord Mayor said that the address about to be presented to him was a truly national one. It was signed by upwards of 300 Mayors, Lords Lieutenant, and High Sheriffs of counties, and other representative men. There was, he believed, but one omission of a mayor's signature from the petition, and that had been caused by the absence from England of the Mayor of Manchester, who was attending the opening of the Suez Canal. He called on Captain Mercier to read the address. The Lord Mayor added a few words, remarking that their object was not, in any sense, a political one; but simply to express the good feeling which they trusted would always exist between the two nations. The King then descended from the dais, and advanced to within a few steps of the Lord Mayor, to read his reply. His Majesty gave thanks, warmly and heartily, to all who had joined in the address. He regarded it as a token of ties of mutual goodwill binding England and Belgium together. He was deeply sensible of the constant kindness of our gracious Queen, for whom he had ever entertained a filial affection; and he rejoiced in the sympathies of many eminent men in England, who had allowed him to succeed to a part, at least, of the friendship they had borne to his father. He was glad that his own people honoured this nation for its great example of political wisdom and moral energy in the firm establishment of a happy constitutional government, combining liberty with order; and as a nation which, having achieved an immense material prosperity for itself, only wished to see other nations in possession of equal advantages, and to assist in preserving the peace of the world.

Having concluded his reply, amidst hearty cheers, the King of the Belgians advanced and shook hands cordially with the Lord Mayor, who introduced to his Majesty the members of the committee. After conversing with them for some time, his Majesty retired.

At half-past one o'clock the gentlemen who were to present the address from the Volunteers began to arrive, and by a quarter before two there were from 700 to 800 volunteer officers assembled in the ball-room. Every variety of costume known in the volunteer service was to be seen on this occasion, and all branches of the volunteer service were represented when the King, attended by his suite, again entered the apartment. The Colonels formed a line across the room at some distance from the dais. Midway in this line were Lord Elcho, chairman of the Executive Committee; Colonel Loyd Lindsay, commanding the Hon. Artillery Company; Colonel Thomson; and Colonel Wilkinson, hon. secretary of the committee. Behind the colonels, for half the length of the room and in front of the benches on each side, stood the other field officers, the captains,

and the lieutenants. When the King entered from the diningroom, he was received by Lord Elcho, with whom he shook hands. His Majesty then bowed to the assembled officers, who replied by cheering and striking the floor with their swords.

Lord Elcho, having advanced a pace or two, said he had the honour of informing his Majesty that, though the time for communicating with commanding officers in the provinces had been so short, the address had already received 370 signatures, and before it was placed permanently in the hands of his Majesty a very great many more would be attached to it. Many of the commanding officers whom his Majesty then saw before him had come from distant parts of the country to be present at the presentation of the address. He and the other members of the committee were proud to say that as honorary colonels of volunteer corps the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Christian, and Prince Teck had expressed their desire to attach their signatures to the address, and his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had requested the committee to add the name of his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. The address was then read, and the King read a suitable reply, expressing his regret, by the way, that his consort the Queen of the Belgians had been prevented by the state of her health from accompanying him on this visit to London. The King then descended from the dais and again shook hands with Lord Elcho. He then shook hands with Colonel Loyd-Lindsay, Colonel Thomson, Colonel Wilkinson, and Colonel Walmsley, and expressed his acknowledgments to the executive committee. His Majesty passed along the line of colonels, and each of the gallant gentlemen was presented to him by Lord Elcho. After conversing very graciously with the officers, his Majesty retired.

In the evening of the same day the King was entertained by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mansion House, with a distinguished company, amongst whom were the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Christian, Prince Teck, the Duke of Argyll, the Right Hon. Mr. Lowe, the Right Hon. Mr. Goschen, the Belgian Minister, and Lord Napier of Magdala. The health of his Majesty being toasted as the guest of the evening, the King returned thanks and proposed the health of the Lord Mayor, with prosperity to the City of London, and the health of all the other mayors and other city, borough, or county officials who had done him the honour to present the address to him that day. The Duke of Argyll, in acknowledging the toast of "Her Majesty's Ministers," remarked that King Leopold was the only European Sovereign who had visited India, and that his Majesty knew more about that portion of the British empire than most of the English people. In proposing the health of the Lady Mayoress, the King once more alluded with regret to the absence of his own Queen, who would have been happy to have shared with him the kind reception he had found in London.

On the next day, after receiving addresses at the Belgian Legation from the Belgian residents in London, his Majesty went to

lunch with the Queen at Windsor; but returned in the evening. On the 27th he went to the South Kensington Museum and the Horticultural Society's Gardens, and inspected the building of the Albert Hall of Science and Art, and the National Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. In the evening he dined with the Duke of Cambridge. On the 28th the King went to visit Prince and Princess Christian at Frogmore; and on the following day quitted London with his daughter, Princess Stephanie, going to Dover by the South-Eastern Railway, on his return to Belgium. The Prince of Wales accompanied his Majesty to the Charing-Cross Station. 26. ACCOUCHEMENT OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES.-(From the London Gazette.)

Marlborough House, Nov. 26, 1869. "This morning, at twenty minutes past twelve o'clock, her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales was safely delivered of a Princess. "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was present. The Secretary of State for India, in the absence of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, arrived at Marlborough House soon after. "Her Royal Highness and the infant Princess are doing perfectly well.

"This happy event was made known by the firing of the Park and Tower guns."

According to custom, an official announcement of the birth of a Princess was conveyed to the Lord Mayor from the Duke of Argyll, in the absence of the Home Secretary from London, and it was at once affixed to the outside of the Mansion House, where it was read by hundreds of people during the day.

Her Royal Highness's recovery progressed most favourably.

27. INQUIRY INTO THE WRECK OF THE CARNATIC."-The official inquiry instituted by direction of the Board of Trade into the circumstances attending the loss of the royal mail steamer "Carnatic," while on her voyage from Suez to Bombay (narrated in the "Chronicle" for September), was concluded at the Greenwich Police-court, before Mr. Maude, the magistrate, and Captains Baker and Hight, nautical

assessors.

Mr. O'Dowd attended on the part of the Board of Trade; Mr. Watney (of the firm of M'Leod and Watney), in the absence of Mr. Williams, barrister, for the captain and officers of the ill-fated vessel; and Mr. Browning for the Peninsular and Oriental Company. Mr. Maude proceeded to read the judgment arrived at, as follows:

"The inquiry as to the loss of the Carnatic and the conduct of the master divides itself into two questions-firstly, the conduct of the master up to the settlement of the ship upon the reef; and, secondly, his conduct after the last event. The first question calls very little remark. The circumstances from which a conclusion is to be arrived at are very few, and are all agreed upon :-The weather was throughout fine; a slight breeze in the direction of the ship's way; a clear sky overhead, with shining stars; and though

for

there was the usual Red Sea haze on the surface, the headlands and islands along which lay the course were visible, and above all the Ushraffi revolving light, within two miles of which the ship passed, clearly visible throughout up to the reef, and on the reef; an experienced master, well acquainted with his course, and with the reef on which he struck, and on the bridge during the whole of the voyage. These are the circumstances. What, then, occasioned the calamity? The master gives no explanation but this,—that he steered the same course which he had done on his previous voyage, and suggesting that some unknown current must have drifted him to the westward. This would have been indicated had a single bearing of the revolving light been taken. But this was not done. Without suggesting any other more probable cause, the Court cannot but consider the explanation most unsatisfactory, and have no alternative put to pronounce the master guilty of a grave default. Upon the second question-the prudence of all the measures which the master took to secure the safety of the passengers and crew-the Court do not feel competent to give a precise, unanimous judgment. He was placed under circumstances of great difficulty, each of which offered certain risks and disadvantages, as well as advantages, under circumstances in which two equally experienced and sagacious officers might have arrived at different conclusions. It may, perhaps, be fairly contended by the master that on the 13th, the ship not appearing to have suffered any material injury, and apparently being undisturbed, the prudent and best course was for all to stay by her for the present. But before 2 a.m. of the 14th this state of things was greatly altered. The evidence was very conflicting between the officers of the ship on the one hand, and the passengers examined at Bombay on the other, as to the bumping, &c., which the ship underwent; but it was quite clear at two o'clock that forces had been at work and were probably going on, but to what extent no one could say, which made the condition of the ship perilous; and so sensible was the master of this, that he called all his passengers to the forecastle of the ship-the stern-cabin and the saloon were filling with water, and the fore-hold was full. And here came the critical moment for the master's determination, whether the boats should at this moment have had the provisions, water, and other supplies furnished to them, and crew and passengers started off from the ship at daybreak, or whether it was more advisable to wait until nine or ten o'clock before such a step should be taken, as was done. There was some risk from the surf and breakers in the former course, but was this likely to be lessened by waiting, and was not the risk from a sudden break-up of the ship more to be apprehended? The Court greatly inclines to the former course, excluding entirely from consideration what really happened subsequently, and taking into account only the state of the facts known at the time. In conclusion the Court beg to express their concurrence with some of the passengers examined at Bombay-that the master and his officers, in their exertions to secure their passengers,

did all that experienced and brave men could do. The Court, with great regret, feel called upon, for the default above mentioned under the first head, to suspend the master's certificate for nine calendar months from this date."

Captain Baker, who had before risen, again rose, and said he dissented from the judgment as read.

Mr. Maude said it was to be understood that the report read was concurred in by himself and Captain Hight. A more detailed report would be sent to the Board of Trade.

Captain Baker, after an interval of three or four minutes, again rose, and addressing the representatives of the press, said he hoped he had not been misunderstood. He quite agreed with the judgment, but he did not agree with the sentence.

The inquiry then concluded.

DECEMBER.

1. THE PRINCE OF WALES AS A FREEMASON.-This evening the United Grand Lodge of England assembled at the Freemason's-hall, Great Queen-street, when proceedings of more than general interest occupied the attention of a large and brilliant assemblage-one, indeed, of the largest in modern times, in consequence of the presence of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who entered for the first time on his position of Past Grand Master, to which he was elected at the previous Grand Lodge. The Earl of Zetland occupied "the throne, having on his right the Earl De Grey and Ripon, with Mr. Algernon Perkins in the Senior Warden's chair, and Mr. J. G. Dodson, M.P., in that of the Junior Warden. Among the brethren who occupied seats on the dais, as Past Grand officers, were the Duke of St. Alban's, Sir D. Gooch, M.P., Rev. Sir J. Warren Hayes, Sir Albert W. Woods, the Rev. R. J. Simpson, Major Creaton, Mr. J. R. Stebbing (Mayor of Southampton), Mr. Savage, Mr. M'Intyre, Mr. F. Roxburgh, Q.C., Mr. James Mason, and Colonel Cole.

After the Lodge had been formally opened, the Grand Master (Lord Zetland) rose, and said he had to inform the Grand Lodge that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was waiting to be admitted into the Lodge. By the confirmation of the minutes his Royal Highness was now a member of the Grand Lodge, and enjoyed the title of Past Grand Master. There could be but one feeling-which was one of rejoicing-among the brethren at the accession of the illustrious brother to a seat in Grand Lodge. his Royal Highness was now waiting, the noble earl said he did not think it necessary to say another word; he felt quite sure that all the brethren rejoiced as he did, and had the highest gratification

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