DECEMBER 1857

Published in the metropolis of Nottingham, by permission of Queen Victoria

The

NUMBER 84

GLOBAL EDITION

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LondonLloyd’s of London has suffered unusually high loss-es this month due to the number of claims comingin from insured commercial and shipping enterpris-es.

The end of year report for the HEIC has been pub-lished for shareholders, and final dividends of£33,000,000 plus £7,000,000 in staff bonus pay-ments issued. However, it would seem the marketsare never satisfied and as usual shareholders thinkthe dividend should have been higher, despite theimmense fortunes they are accumulating on ac-count of the success of this company!

The bells of London and indeed, of all of Her Majes-ty’s Empire rang out the celebration of the birth ofour Saviour. Queen Victoria invited all ambassadorsand the Court to an event to celebrate Christmasand encouraged charity to all Britons regardless ofstation. Her Majesty was heard to say, “From thegreat to the small we should seek to be a blessingupon those in need in the Empire during thisseason. The example and the bar that is set for us ishigh as we celebrate the birth of the One who wouldgive all for us.”

Disraeli at the Hanoverian club observed that thisstatement is not at all out of character for HerMajesty and certainly is not out of character for theBritish people.

Disraeli - Lord Beaconsfield - also commented onGladstone’s statement of the previous month. “Itwould seem that Gladstone has fallen and bumpedhis noggin. Certainly the good gentleman under-stands the elections process in Britannia and if suchis required it will occur in due time. I assume that hebelieves that the status of the number of seats in hiscorner and his radical supporters hands will beenough to give him any hope at the Commons. MadI tell you… was he hit on the head head or justdreaming?”

Christmas was also celebrated by the staff of AlbionHouse which is found on Leadenhall Market next tothe Bank of England and serves as the head office ofboth the Albion Private Bank and the Albion Corpo-ration.

Christmas parties were also held in other locations,such as at Whites Gentleman’s Club, and far andwide in outposts of Empire such as Hong Kong, etc.,where regional games were also hosted.

The new International Hall at King’s College is wellunderway. The construction is being managed byMr. Thomas Wells on the authority of Her Majesty’sgovernment. The new hall will provide a palatialspace for economic, scientific, and cultural ex-changes to take place and is scheduled to open inAugust of 1858 with a tremendous celebration.

MunichKaiser Wilhelm has personally led two German in-fantry battalions from Berlin and marched into Mu-nich. On reaching the perimeter of the city he let itbe publicly known that this time there will be ‘Don-ner und Blitzen’ when he enters!

Enter he did, his soldiers feeling confident under hisleadership. They felt less confident when armedmen - lots of armed men - started to shoot at themfrom windows overlooking the road which they hadtramped down. Their morale, previously good,snapped in a few seconds and they fled the city. TheKaiser showed the way be spurring his horse andbeing the first to get away. He rallied his troopsoutside the city.

Smarting from this reversal the Kaiser announcedfrom his tent what he insists is a formal offer toFranconia (which nation some loyalists in Bavariabelieve is behind the Munich uprising). “Germaniais willing to discuss peace on terms that all territo-ries currently held by Germania remain in the Ger-manian Empire, and that Mission La Chaste isplaced in formal control of Tripoli. Mission LaChaste and Tripoli can be within the Franconian orthe Germanian empires. Obviously all Mission LaChaste members should be released. As to the dilet-tante Bismarck and his motley crew, I am happy toleave them in a French prison!”

ViennaCivil and military staff of Osterreich, who have beenagitating for a pay rise, have held a month-longstrike as a result of which no taxes were collectedthis month!

CrimeaThe Russian Army of the Don, commanded by theindomitable General Brusilov, has crossed theCrimean border from Inkerman and entered theeastern part of the province. He has with him nineinfantry battalions, ten cavalry squadrons, and threeartillery batteries. They were observed by Tartars totheir north, who concentrated and numbered 18squadrons under their belligerent khans.

Brusilov, on seeing the horde, advanced his fieldarmy northward against them but the Tartars fellback before him. Seeing this, and not wishing to letthem get away, he sent ahead his cavalry of theGuard Cossacks and the 2nd Cavalry Squadron.Although outnumbered, he reasoned this has hap-pened before and placed his confidence in the Rus-sian lancers!

Captain Putin and the other Russians formed in lineand charged. The Tartars, observing the cavalrydetaching itself from the rest of the Army of theDon, had stopped retiring and charged back across

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