The Week.

THE WEEK .

THE COURT . —The Queen and younger memhers of the Royal Family are still resident at Windsor . On Monday , her Majesty , accompanied hy the Princess Helena , came by the Great Western Railway from Windsor . Her Majesty , who appeared to be in excellent health , visited the Royal Horticultural Gardens at South Kensington , and expressed herself

much pleased with the progress made since her last visit . Her Majesty also inspected the progress made in the Albert Memorial , now in course of erection in Hyde Park . In the course of the afternoon the Queen returned to Windsor . GENERAL H OME NEWS . —The mortality of London is still high , though it is still considerably lowered from the high

rates of the previous weeks . Altogether , 1 , 264 persons died , of whom 831 were below twenty , and 323 above sixty years of age . The excess over the average mortality of the last ten years is 86 . The births during the week were 1 , 863 ; the average 1 , 929 . The pauperism of the distressed unions has again declined . In the last week of November there was a

net decrease jof 1 , 580 ; this , with the amount recorded in the previous report of the Poor-law Board , makes a total of 2 , 800 persons fewer on the rates than a fortnight ago . The only union which shows ' any marked increase in the statement before us is Charlton , and that is 230 . Five unions only have increased ; eight are stationary , ancl fifteen have decreased .

Asbton-under-Lyno has a ' . decrease of 230 ; Blackburn , 210 ; Bury , 250 ; Haslingdon , 310 ; Saddleworth , 120 ; Stockport , 410 ; and Todmorden , 170 . The adult able-bodied have decreased during the week by 1 , 040 ; and the sum which was expended by the Boards of Guardians as relief to out-door paupers is less hy £ 176 than in the third week of November . The whole sum disbursed ivas £ G , 5 G 3 .

At the weekly meeting of the Metropolitan Board of Works a sum of £ 45 , 652 was ordered to be paid for the purchase , of the land for the new park at Finsbury . The engineer presented his report on the main drainage and the Thames embankment , and some other business was transacted . Lord Carlisle—one of tbe kindliest and most accomplished of English nobles—died at

Howard Castle , after several months' illness . He was in his 63 rd year . He began public life as Chief Secretary for Ireland some thirty years ago , and he has since filled various posts under the Crown—the last being the . Irish Viceroyalty , from which he retired a few months ago in consequence of ill health . It is affirmed that Mr . Gladstone and Sir Roundell Palmer

have promised to support the project which has found so . much favour iu Mr . Disraeli ' s eyes , for creating a new Court of Appeal in spiritual matters . "The project , " says the Spectator , "is distinctly intended to vest in the bishops the power of deciding on the law of the Church , that is , to give them the authority which the General Assembly exercises in Scotland , and so

at once abolish the royal supremacy and evade the authority of Parliament . " The Controllership of the Stationary Office bus been conferred upon Mr . W . R . Greg , who is succeeded at the Customs Board by Colonel Romilly . Captain Burton , the African explorer , has been appointed consul at Santos , Brazil ; and Mr . Charles Livingstone consul at Fermando Po . The

show of fat stock at the Agricultural Hall , at Islington—popularly known as the Smithfield Club Cattle Show—was opened on Monday . Tbe show was the best in point of numbers that has ever been held . The prize animal was a shorthorn steer , which was , however , run hard by the Hereford that carried off the prize at the Birmingham Show . For the first time the inspection of the judges was carried on in public , and thenproceedings excited great interest . The sale of the cattle

commenced on Wednesday , and the prize animals were speedily disposed of , while the other specimens shown also went off at a brisk demand . The club also held its annual meeting on the same day , and from the report presented to the members of the club it appears to be in a very prosperous condition . The Duke of Richmond was elected president for the year .

The prosecution of Mr . Rumble , inspector of naval machinery at Sheerness , for inciting persons to join the Confederate steamer Rappahannoclc , in breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act , was commenced in the Court of Queen's Bench on Tuesday . Several witnesses were examined , ancl on ono of them , named Newman , giving evidence of which the defendant had not been

apprised , the Lord Chief Justice adjourned the trial on the ground that the defendant had been taken by surprise , and ought to have time to procure rebutting evidence . The ease will therefore not come on again during the present sittings . There was a very curious case in the Queen's Bench on Saturday . A solicitor who had been suspended for two years

brought an action against tbe compiler of a law book for stating incidentally that he bad been struck oif the rolls . The passage complained of was—it was pointed out by the Chief Justiceto be found word for word in a law book issued by the counsel for tbe plaintiff ; but in that instance no reference to names had been given and consequently no damage inflicted . The

Chief Justice , in summing up , said it was unfortunate that tbe action bad been brought , and , being brought , that it should have been resisted . It would have been better if tbe defendants had apologised instead of setting the plaintiff at defiance because he had done wrong once . The jury gave £ 100 damages , and the defendants otained leave to move . —•—Mr . Justice Byles , in charging the Grand Jury at Stafford , called attention to the cases of intimidation arising out of the great colliers '

strike , which terminated a week or two ago . The learned Judge , having explained the law with reference to combination , referred to the Conseils de Prud'hommes of France , ancl expressed bis opinion that the establishment of such tribunals for the settlement of disputes between masters and workmen in this country might be productive of great good . At the Manchester assizes , two Stockport brickmakers , named Slayter

and Cheetham , were each sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude for a murderous attack upon another brickmaker , named Thomas Wild , who had refused to join in a " turn out " which tbe local union had decreed . A robbery of a most extraordinary nature took place at Messrs . Baum and Sons , Lombard-street , between last Saturday night and Monday . Tbe

loss was estimated at £ 25 , 000 , but Messrs . Baum state that as the gteater part of the securities are only negotiable by transfer , the ultimate loss will not exceed £ 3 , 000 . Tbe charges against Mr . Arthur Bootle Wilbraham for obtaining jewellery under false pretences have been withdrawn . It seems that , as far as Mr . Hancock ' s claim is concerned , he has been

satisfied , while the jewellery got from Mr . Emmanuel has been offered to him again . Application was made on Wednesday to the magistrate at Marlborough-street that the parties might be allowed to withdraw from the prosecution . The magistrate declined to interfere , ancl as nobody intends to proceed further , the charges are virtually withdrawn . A labourer was charged

at the Thames Police-court with stealing £ 125 from a blacksmith , who was an old acquaintance . The prisoner , it appeared , had taken the money out ofthe prosecutor's pocket , and started to Dublin with it . Being there apprehended , he was remitted to London , ancl the magistrate here remanded him . The Rev . C . J . Smith , vicar of Erith , and formerly Archdeacon of Jamaica , has been fined £ 5 ( with the alternative of fourteen days'imprisonment ) by the Bon-street magistrate for assaulting