The Week.

The state of affairs on tho continent , caused by the death of the prise is expressed at the - removal of Captain Weir , who is described as a veteran who rose from the ranks , and who has seen close upon forty years' service . It is asserted that the military authorities at Portsmouth received instructions on Saturday " to make the necessary preparations for an influx of troops . " It appears that the

authorities at Frankfort have declined to grant a concession to draw the Great Fastern lottery in that city ; and the ship will be offered for sale at Liverpool on the 17 th of February , " without any reserve . " The notorious Yelverton matrimonial case , which has caused so much excitement in Ireland and in Scotland has at last found its way into the English courts

of law . An application was made in the Court of Common Pleas on Saturday to allow Mr . Thelwall , of Hull , who obtained a judgment against Major Yelverton in the Irish courts for money advanced in support of his wife , to serve notice upon the major otherwise than personally , as it was alleged that he kept out of the way to avoid the service . The

Court , however , held that sufficient proof had not been laid before them of all necessary diligence having been used to discover the defendant , and for the present they refused the application . The divorce case of O'Kane against O'Kane and Lord Palmerston , has been before the court on a question of compelling the petitioner to proceed with his suit , or have it struck off the

file . The petitioner has withdrawn from the suit "solely , " as he says , " for the sake of his young children , " and " not from any inability to establish the allegations contained in his petition . " The petitioner , according to an affidavit put in by his solicitor , says the case has been compromised . He does not say with whom the case was compromised , and the solicitor for the lady makes another affidavit on her part , denying that she was

any party to the compromise , and the solicitor added that he was informed hy the solicitors to Lord Palmerston that they too knew nothing about a compromise . When the case came before the Court , Mr . Browne , for the petitioner , was at great pains to state that neither respondent nor co-respondent had anything to do with the compromise . The Queen's Advocate , who appeared for Lord Palmerston , said he had not even seen these

affidavits , in consequence of which the Judge refused to proceed further , but adjourned the case till Thursday , when the petition was dismissed , the Judge remarking that " the chastity of the respondent , who has challenged the fullest inquiry and proof , should receive no tarnish from the ordeal , " and it was a matter of satisfaction as regarded the co-respondent , "that a

name which is never mentioned in England without a just pride , should have passed from its annals without a stain . " ¦ The strong representations made to Sir George Grey on the Townley case by the Magistrates of Derbyshire have led to an unexpected result , The convict lias been condemned to penal servitude for life . It will be remembered that when the County

Justices of Derby recently urged that a full inquiry should be made into Townley's state of mind , the reply was that Sir George Grey had no power to order such an investigation . The Home Secretary appears , however , to have been imperfectly informed as to the full extent of his powers in such a case , for we find that " with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor" he a

few days ago requested Dr . Hood and Dr . Bucknill , visitors of Chancery Lunatics , together with the medical superintendents ° f Bethlem Hospital and the Criminal Lunatic Asylum at Broadmoor , to examine and report upon the mental condition ° f the convict . These four gentlemen , who are described by ^ 'i ' G . Grey as men " of great experience in mental diseases , " have unanimousl y arrived at the conclusion that Townley " is of sound mind . " The Government " are of opinion that it

would not be right that the capital sentence should now be carried into effect , " and it has , therefore , been commuted to penal servitude for life . It is the intention of the Government to propose an amendment of the act under which the certificates of insanity in this case were given . Mr . Paget , one of the members for Nottingham , has given a matter-of-fact reply to Mr . Blight's statements as to the

condition and prospects of the agricultural labourer in this country . The hon . gentleman stated , at a meeting of his constituents en Tuesday night , that ou reading the member for Birmingham ' s speech , he looked over his rent-roll , and there found that five out of the seven of his tenants who pay rents of upwards of a £ 100 a-year had formerly worked as day labourers , and that

seven out of seventeen tenants occupying farms of from £ 30 to £ 100 a-year , had begun life in the same position . Mr . Paget contended that the condition of the labourer had been greatly improved of late years ; and his idea was that Mr . Bright had based his remarks upon what he had either seen or read of the state of the labourers of Dorsetshire and other southern counties

during the agitation for the repeal of the corn laws . The eight foreign sailors who stand charged with the murder of the captain , the mate , and other officers of the ship Flowery Land , on the high seas , were on Wednesday pnb on their trial before Mr . Baron Bramwell , at the Central Criminal Court . They all pleaded not guilty , and elected to be tried by an English

jury . The Solicitor-General , in person , conducted the case for the prosecution . His speech , and the evidence given against the prisoners , occupied the whole of the day , and the defence is still proceeding . FOBEHK- * IifiBMtCrEM-CB . —Field Marshal Wrangel , who holds the supreme command of the Austro-Prussian army , summoned the Danish Commander in Chief to evacuate

Schleswig ; and the Nord Deutsche Zeilung declares that "Austria and Prussia will not abandon their just demands , " and that " the personal union with the Duchies required of Denmark as a guarantee may perhaps no longer be sufficient after a rupture has taken place . " The Danes refused to agree to the terms of the summons , and the Prussians endeavoured to force the positions of the Danes at Missunde . The official

report of the Danish General Meza says the Austro-Prussian army advanced against Eekenforde on Monday forenoon , and their outposts in the course of the afternoon were pushed towards the Sorge and Bistonso . The Danes fell back and took up a position on the Suhlei , and occupied the works near Missunde . The Prussian Army numbered 9 , 000 men , and the Danish

1 , 200 . After four attacks the Prussians gave way and tha Danes regained their original position . The people of Eekenforde have proclaimed Duke Frederick of Augustenbnrg . Such a proceeding , under the protection of the Austro-Prussian army , in direct violation of the London Treaty , is not likely to incline the Danes to pacific counsels or to further submission to the German

Powers . King Christian left Copenhagen during Sunday night , in order to join the Danish army , ancl was enthusiastically cheered by the crowds who had assembled to witness his departure . Before leaving his capital he fulfilled his promises , by issuing a provisional law convoking a session of the Rigsrad or joint Parliament of Denmark and Schleswig , whose assent alone can

revoke the November constitution , which is the cause , or pretext , of the entrance of the Austro-Prussian troops into Schleswig . The Prussian House of Deputies passed a resolution declaring that the Upper House's rejection of the budget on Saturday is null and void . In consequence of this vote the session was summarily and immediately closed , after a speech iu which Count Bismarck , as King William ' s mouthpiece , set forth the obstinate persistence of the deputies in the course which