The Press. — London, England, 1854-02-25 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 25, 1854. arguments in its favour appear to us to be un answerable. The people of England are neither atheists nor infidels ; nor do " philo sophical Radicals " constitute a numerous sec tion of the community, yet these are the only persons who can desire to exclude religion altogether from education. The various de nominations of Christian sects object, not to religious instruction, but to instruction differ ing from their own tenets, and this objection would he entirely removed by the Manchester and Salford Education Bill. For, wherever schools at present exist, they owe their crea tion to voluntary efforts; and all that Mr. ADDERLEY proposes is to widen and extend their means of usefulness whenever the rate- payers of a. particular district choose to tax themselves for that purpose. Yet this is the bill which, bandied about from one category to another, opposed, first because it is public, then because it is private, is now, by the oppo sition of Messrs. MILNER GrIBSON and llama, aided by the connivance of Lord Jolts Rua aux, rejected and impaled on the horns of a dilemma. Lord Jour; RUSSELL "was of opinion " himself that we should not realise anything " like a system of national education in which " there should be any approach to uniformity " for a long time to come ;" and then he ac quiesced in the rejection of the only practical measure which there was a possibility of passing. The Noble Lord further exhibited the deep interest he felt in this all-important subject by leaving the House in the middle of the de bate, whilst at the moment Sir JOHN PAKINOTON commenced his masterly address not a single member of the Government was present. The petition in favour of the measure the Right Honourable Baronet stated to be signed by 40,000 ratepayers of Manchester, which num ber he justly assumed to be a majority of those on whom the tax proposed to be estab lished would fall; and yet, with this large tes timony in its favour, the Leader of the House of Commons prates as if unanimity in a country where thought and speech are free could exist without apathy, as if its semblance were possible on any subject in a land where the rulers are not despots and the people are not slaves. The nature of man is not simple, but complex: he is a being, moral, intellectual, and spiritual, swayed, by passion and affected by sentiment; and is it on a question in which his every faculty and attribute are deeply interested that Lord JOHN RUSSELL would wait for " unanimity" before he acts? " Eng " land does not love Coalitions," and her peo ple are not likely to coalesce so as to procure uniformity, at a sacrifice of principle on this vital question of education. But if our masses are to remain without the means of instruc tion, if ignorance is to issue in crime, and crime to crowd our gaols, whilst Ministers are waiting for an impossibility, the fault will not be that of Mr. ADDERLEY and Sir JOHN PARINOTON, who have earned the gratitude of the community and advanced the cause of edu cation. Of their ultimate success we do not despair, for in the list of the division we noticed on their side names rarely found amongst the supporters of a measure proposed and advocated by Conservatives. When truth and reason can thus sever the ties of party, the cause they support must prevail at last. LUMLEY v. GYE. " THE man who hath no music in his soul," &c., but the recent trial of Lumley and Gye reveals to us that the capacity for" stratagems and spoils" may also belong to the most musical of the human race. Stimulated by his London victories, Mr. LUMLEY became the lessee of the Italian Opera at Paris. But the time was not favourable, and the revolutions which sent one King into exile, and raised another exile to an imperial throne, left the manager of her Majesty's Theatre in financial embarrassment. The French Government, we believe, behaved liberally to Mr. LUMLEY, and awarded him considers• bly more than the manager of the Italian Opera at Paris usually receives. And now JENNY LIND had passed away, and, if a successor worthy of her could be procured, the losses caused by the French revolu tion might be compensated to Mr. Luiu.EY in London. At this time Miss JOHANNA WAGNER, whose powers bad long been known amongst the initiated, began THE PRESS. to be noised abroad amongst the profane, and imme diately a struggle commenced between the rival managers to secure the prize. Mr. GYE seems to have been her earliest friend, and, reposing in the fancied security of that sacred tie, he allowed Mr. LUMLEY to secure "a material guarantee " in the contest. Assisted by a certain Dr. BACIIER, the lessee of' her Majesty's Theatre obtained the execu tion of an agreement by which Miss WAGNER under took to sing at his theatre on certain liberal terms. The affection of that young lady for her old friend Mr. Gvt appears to have been subordinate only to one feeling—love of money. Without scruple she broke her implied engagement to him, and accepted Mr. LUMLEY'S offer; but then she announced the circumstance to Mr. the in a most amiable, feeling, and pathetic note, which that accomplished diplo• matist thus answered ! " London, oth Jan., 1852. " Dear Miss Wagner,—! was not in London when your most amiable letter arrived, but in I'aris, where I remained some days. Your letter has caused me both regret and pleasure—regret, because it informs me that you are to sing at a theatre so opposed to my interest ; pleasure, be cause it tells me I am to have the happiness of seeing you in London. The twofold pleasure of seeing you here, and deriving benefit from your success, was, it seems, too much for me to enjoy—at least this season. " I must, therefore, content myself with the hope that all this pleasure is only reserved for next year. A thousand compliments, if you please, to your amiable family. " Yours, entirely devoted, " F. Gyr:." Who that reads this letter does not foresee that Mr. GYE is about to win the battle? He can fight and keep his temper after receiving a blow, can be for a moment bathed, and yet smile like a courtier. Mr. GYE deserved to win. Delays on both sides intervened to prevent the practical commencement of the engagement between Mr. LUMLEY and Miss WkosEn, and of this Mr. GTE did not fail to take advantage ; not by coarse offers of money—Mr. GYE knows human nature too well for that—but by deli cate flatteries and insinuations, of which his master stroke, the crowning move that decided the contest, must serve as a specimen : " London, March 9,1852. "My dear Mademoiselle Wagser,—l send you one of the first of my programmes. It is a secret for two or three days, not being yet puldishe.l. There is only one thing wanting to render the programme perfect—it is the name of Mademoiselle Wagner. Is there still any possi bihty of that? If you think so, write me two lines, be cause there is still time With regard to the Prophete, uo one can perform it in England except myself. I have bought the exclusive right. In any case, dear mademoi selle, I shall be delighted to hear from you. Have you de cided to give a few performances at Covent Garden after your engagement at the other theatre ? If you wish to do this the agreement must be made before yon commence at Mr. Lumley s, because during your engagement with him you are prohibited signing any contract—is it not so? I have no occasion to tell you that all shall be kept faith fully secret. If I can be useful to you in anything, do not hesitate to render me so. " Believe me, fie., " F. Gm" The young lady could not resist this—she yielded, though not at discretion. Oa the contrary, she exacted an ample indemnity against Mr. claims, an enormous salary, and a thousand pounds down, before she would come to England. The rest is fresh in the memory—the injunction which pre vented the grasping and avaricious prima donna from reaping the full benefit of her bargain, and the subsequent proceedings at law. Mr. LUMLEY'S case is hard ; but we are of opinion that, on the whole, justice was on the side of Mr. G YE. It is clear that the enormous sums paid to singers is an evil which must work out its own cure. Many worthy and esti m able persons have been ruined by it, for it makes the management of a theatre a species of gambling. Com plaints against it are as old as the days of AnntsoN and of HoOARTH. In the present case wrong was done to both Mr. Lrair.tv and Mr. G YE; but it may not be without its use, if it induces a spirit of asso • elation amongst our theatrical managers to resist the extortionate demands d these nightingales, the ex cellence of whose singing is equalled only by their avarice ; for in no country in Europe do they receive a third of what is paid to them in England. ) PLACEI-11:NTERS. those who were surprised at liven by the pries:s to Lord at the recent election for the PRIESTS AK WE were not amongst the zealous support ABERDEEN'S candidate county of Louth. Priests and placehunters get on very well together in some Irish counties, for clerical canvassers have a wonierful facility :n getting their brothers or nephews into the public service. Be tween Louth and the' English Treasury a remark able connection also has been established in late years. Two Irish peerages—Clermont and Bellew — have been bestowed wthin a very shoat time upon two Irish families tbathave zealously supported the Peelite-Whig principle; and it is also not a little 171 I singular that the same families should have ob tained two Lordships of the Treasury, with the official patronage of those posts. Why Louth should be so peculiarly enriched with titular honours would be a curious subject for inquiry; but in the cam of Mr. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE it is obviolls that the Ministry calculated on the support given by the Bellew family in return for past favours. We shall, probably, hoar more about this last election, upon which the united powers of the triple coalition of the Pope, the Treasury, and the Bellew- Fortescuo junction were all brought to bear. Mn. J. 0. PHtuamonz's Brim In our remarks last week on the Public Prosecutors' Bill, we were misled by the repsots of the debate into the belief that Mr. Phillintore had resigned his measure into the hands of the Government. We are informed that the hon. and learned member, having no confi dence in the zeal of Ministers for law reform, will press forward his measure, unless they either take it up or introduce a better themselves. OXFORD UNIVERSITY CoNsTtTriloN.—The petition to the Queen, embodying the constitution proposed by the Hebdomadal Board for the University of Oz , ford, was submitted to Convocation yesterday( Friday ). The petition was divided into eight clauses, which were severally offered for adoption. Upon a resolu tion for affixing the university seal to the petition a vote was ta!,en, and carried in the affirmative by 212 to 161. The other resolutions, adopting the details of the proposed scheme, were also assented to. The latest accounts respecting the progress of the war are generally satisfactory. The insurrection ex tends all along the Greek frontier, and has even reached Cephalonia, but it does not appear to gather strength in proportion to the extent of its progress. King Otho isharudently anxious to acquit himself of all share in the movement. A communication from Vienna say :-" No change had taken place at Krajova up to the 10th. Both armies were occupied in bringing up reinforcements, and carefully observing one another." A letter from Odessa of the 12th states that the maritime authorities at Sebastopol had caused all the buoys marking the shoals and sandbanks to be removed. This measure, it is believed, will render the entrance to the harbour impossible for any vessel not guided by a Russian pilot. Two divisions of the French army intended to aid the Turks will leave Toulon and Algiers on the lith of March. They will be commanded by Generals Canrobert and Bosquet. Each division will have two Generals of brigade. Those officers will be— Generals Viney, Autemarre, d'Herville Bonet, and Espinasse. General d'Allonville is to have the com mand of a brigade of cavalry, and Prince Napoleon a reserve brigade of the seine force. The Moniteur publishes a decree calling out the remainder of the contingents of 1840 and 1850. It is said that the Emperor of the French has received from the Emperor of Austria an autograph letter, in which he states that he has witnessed with deep regret the failure of the efforts of the four powers in the interest of peace ; that he appreciates the efforts of the Emperor of the French in the same direction, and the good faith with which he has respected existing treaties ; that he continuts to agree with the Governments of France and England in the view that they take of the necessity of pre serving the integrity of the Turkish empire, and so preventing the destruction of the balance of power in Europe; and finally, that be has written to the Emperor of Russia respecting what he had before urged against the continuance of the war with Turkey, and calling upon him to order the evacua tion of the principalities within a short delay, as he is sending an army to the frontiers for the purpose of preventing the consequences which a prolonged oc cupation of the Danubian provinces would cause. It is confidently asserted that Austria entirely adheres to the policy of France and England; it is even said that she will take part in the treaty of alliance which is being negotiated between_the two Western powers and Turkey. In its new financial measures the Austrian Go vernment formally renounces all right to issue bank notes. The Bank takes on itself unconsolidated debt represented by 149,000,000 florins in Imperial Trea sury bills. The Government gives the Bank as security the customs revenue, and repays 10,000,000 florins a-year. It is stated that Lord Raglan, the Duke of Cam bridge, and the officers of the staff about to proceed to the East, will go via Paris and Marseilles to their destination. Admiral Sir Charles Napier has been definitively appointed to the command of the Baltic fleet. --....imadl I I I c