The Week.

THE WEEK .

THE COURT . —The Queen held a Council on the Gth , at one o'clock , at which were present the Earl de Grey and Ripon , Lord Stanley of Alderley , the Right Hon . Sir George Grey , and the Right Hon . AV . E . Gladstone . The Hon . Emma Lascelles and the Hon . Florence Seymour , have succeeded the Hon . Caroline Cavendisirand the Hon . Flora Macdonald , as Maids of Honour in AVaiting . Her Majesty held a Council on the 7 tli ,

which was attended by the Prince of AVales , Earl Granville , Viscount Palmerston , and the Right Hon . Sir George Grey . Previous to the Council , the- Lord Chancellor had an audience of the Queen , and resigned the Great Seal . Lord Cranworth was introduced at the Council , and received the Great Seal from her Majesty . Messrs . Hills ancl Sanders , of Eton , had the

honour of attending at AVindsor Castle on Saturday last , for the purpose of taking photographic likenesses of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of AVales and the infant Prince . The Queen and suite left Windsor for Osborne , on Monday , and arrived safe at a little before eight o'clock . XitTERlAl PAEErAMEKT . —Parliament was prorogued on

Thursday , the Gth inst , by Royal Commission . Her Majesty in her message thanks Parliament for its devotion to the public interest during the last six years . After touching upon her relations with foreign powers she rejoices in the termination of the civil war in America , regrets that the Confederation scheme in British North America has not been carried to a successful

issue , and is thankful for the prosperous condition of India . Addressing herself more particularly to the House of Commons , the Queen thanks them for their liberal supplies , and speaks hopefully of the effect of the commercial treaty recently concluded with Prussia and the German Commercial Union in extending the trade of the country . The remainder of the speech

is devoted to a resume of the measures which had been passed during the session which has now closed . The Queen ' s speech was read by Lord Granville . Parliament was dissolved ou Thursday night , the 6 th inst ., the proclamation to that effect being issued in a supplement of the Gazette . The writs were at once sent out , and in the metropolitan boroughs the

nomination was fixed for Monday , the 10 th . GENERAL HOME NEAVS . —The mortality in the country continues on the increase . The deaths in the eleven principal towns of tbe kingdom amounted to 3 , 022 , being at the rate of 28 in the thousand . Salford , which is usually among the lowest in the rate of mortality , was last week the largest , being

registered at the rate of 40 ; Dublin is still more surprisingly low , being only 16 ; Birmingham is not much worse , only 19 . London occupies its usual place of one below the average , or 27 in the thousand . Of 3 , 022 deaths 1 , 536 occurred in London , whieh was 81 over the mortality of the previous week , and no less than 334 above the average . The principal cause of death

is diarrhoea , arising from the heat of the weather . The births were 3 , 618 , of which 1 , 993 belong to London , or more than 160 above the ten years' average . The trial of Dr . Pritchard Avas brought to a close at Edinburgh on Friday , the 7 th inst . After the Lord Justice-Clerk had summed up , the jury without much hesitation , found the prisoner guilty on both charges . The

verdict was unanimous , and sentence of death was immediately passed . He has since confessed to the murder of his wife , but denies that he had any hand in the death of Mrs . Taylor . The City authorities have made a raid on tho betting houses within their jurisdiction . Several offenders against the Betting Houses Act were brought up at the Guildhall Police-court , and ¦ fined sums varying from £ 20 downwards . The Cape of Good Hope has been visited with a disastrous storm . The mail

steamer Athens has , we regret to say , been totally wrecked , and many other vessels have been lost . It is greatly to be feared that there has been a serious loss of life . The Hon . Mr . Bethell ' s case was before the Bankruptcy Court on Saturday last .. The bankrupt was released from custody a short time ago , but no statement of his debts has yet been filed , though they are

roughly estimated at £ 25 , 000 . Several debts were tendered for proof—among others one by Mr . Welch , the registrar ofthe Leeds Court , when Mr . Lawrence , for the creditors , objected to it on the ground that the money was advanced for an improper consideration . The proof stood over . Another debt connected with stock-jobbing transactions

was also objected to , but the proof was admitted , subject to further examination . The Earl of AVinchilsea appeared on Saturday last before the police magistrate at AVandsworth , to answer to the charge brought against him of smoking on the railway platform . His defence was that the practice was common , which was too obvious to be denied , but the

stationmaster said that he checked it as much as possible . The magistrate admitted there was some truth in the plea , but did not hold that this justified any individual offender . -The earl was fined 10 s . and costs . About midnight on Sunday a girl of tho town named Maria Martin , was crossing Westminster-bridge , when she was met by a gang of ruffians , who commenced to

maltreat her . They assaulted her indecently , assailed her with filthy epithets , and endeavoured to throw her over the bridge . A compositor came up at the moment , when they threw her down on the footpath and ran off . Four of them were subsequently captured . They were brought up at Southwark police-court , and sentenced each of them to four mouths' imprisonment . The old and prosperous firm of Messrs . Overend , Gurney , is about to be converted into a limited liability

—company , with a capital of £ 5 , 000 , 000 . Lord Cranworth took his seat in the Chancery Court on Tuesday for the first time since bis re-appointment to the Lord Chancellorship . Henry Barker , a marine store dealer , was brought up at Southwark Police-court charged with the murder of James Regan . Regan , it seems , was drunk in the Blackfriars-road

on Monday evening , and was knocked down by the prisoner . He was taken up and carried to the hospital , and there died . Barker was remanded . A strike has taken place in the building trade . On Monday afternoon the carpenters and ) joiners in the employment of the Messrs . Cubitt , builders , of Gray ' s Inn-lane struck work in consequence

of their -demand of an advance of wages to the extent of three farthings an hour being refused . The Master Builders' Association are about to take up the matter .- ——In every borough in tbe metropolitan district in which the polling took place on Tuesday , the Conservative candidates were conspicuous—at the bottom of tbe poll . In the City

Mr . Gcischen was put at the head , and his three Liberal colleagues were joined with him . Poor Mr . Lyall , grasping at the City , has lost Whitehaven . He and Mr . Fowler were ignominiously beaten ; they had not a chance . Iu Westminstor , Mr . Mill and Captain Grosvenor head the poll , and the Conservative , Mr . Smith , is defeated by a good majority .

Poor Mr . Haig ' s candidature in Lambeth was a farce . Nobody in that borough , at any rate , values him as highly as he values himself . Mr . Thomas Hughes is elected at the head of the poll , with Mr . Doulton for a colleague , while Mr . Lawrence is far behind . In Marylebone , Lord Ferraoy is defeated , Mr . Harvey Lewis and Mr . T . Chambers having been

elected . At Greenwich Sir John Heron Maxwell , the Conservative candidate , who thought to profit by the seeming divisions among the Liberals , has received a lesson