nd Princess of Prussia were on a
visit to the Queen and Prince.]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria._

PICCADILLY, _24th July 1856_.

Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and will
give directions for the Council at Osborne at one o'clock on Monday,
according to your Majesty's desire; and he would beg to submit
for your Majesty's gracious consideration that the General
Commanding-in-Chief has usually been a Privy Councillor, and that His
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge might, if your Majesty thought
fit, be sworn in on Monday.

Viscount Palmerston will communicate with Dr. Goodford, but he finds
that he was misled by the Headmaster and one of the Governors of
Harrow at the Speech Day; he understood from them that an additional
week's holiday would at his request be given to the boys at this
vacation in commemoration of the Peace. He has now received a letter
from the Governors to say that the school had an additional week on
the occasion of the Peace at Easter, and that an additional week will
be given, not now, but at Christmas, in commemoration of the laying
the first stone of the new Chapel. If, therefore, the Eton boys had an
additional week at Easter in honour of the Peace, as the Harrow boys
had, there will be no reason for any addition to the Eton holidays
now....

[Pageheading: SOUTH AFRICA]

_Mr Labouchere to Queen Victoria._

_26th July 1856._

With Mr Labouchere's humble duty to Her Majesty. Mr Labouchere begs to
submit the following observations in reply to Her Majesty's enquiries
respecting the Free States in the vicinity of the British Colonies in
South Africa.

There are two independent States there:--

(1.) The Transvaal Republic, founded by Boers who left the Colony for
the most part from ten to fifteen years ago. The territory on which
they are established never was British. The Government of the day,
thinking it useless and impolitic to pursue them there, entered into
a capitulation with them and recognised their independent existence.
They inhabit the plains north of the Vaal or Yellow River.

(2.) The Orange River Free State. This occupies the territory between
the Vaal River to the north and the Orange River to the south. This
territory, like the former, was occupied originally by emigrant Boers,
and was beyond the boundaries of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.
But Sir Harry Smith, in 1849, after a severe military struggle with