The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-09 00:00:00

MA* 9, 1857. thought it would be highly inexpedient for the house to enter upon so large a subject during the present short session : But, sir (continued the noble lord), her Majesty's Government quite admit that it will be their duty during the period that will intervene between the conclusion of the present session and the beginning of the next, to take the subject into their fullest and most deliberate considera tion. It would be unsuitable in sue, at a moment when the Government have not had an opportunity of giving to the question the consideration which is due, to say any• thing with respect to the details of measures to be pro. posed in a future session which would imply anticipatory conclusions, which, by fixing the Government on one point or another, might lead afterwards to embarrassment if the result should not coincide with the expectations excited, and which at all events would interfere with the freedom of our deliberations in the meantime. It will be, however, I believe the duty of the Government in the ensuing recess to give that matter their most serious and anxious consideration ; and I hope—indeed I am confident —that at the beginning of the next session we shall be able to propose to Parliament some measure which will be calculat d to satisfy the just expectations of any parties, And to correct any defects which may exist in the present Reform Act, as well as to admit to the franchise those el isses of persons who at present are excluded from it. More than that I trust the house will not expecn. me to sal at present. With respect to church rates, the noble lord said : That also is a subject., as the house is aware, which abounds with practical difficulties. Ilowever, the subject is now under the consideration of her Majesty's Govern ment, and I hope we may able to propose some measure whic'i will get rid of the difficulties at present existing. I hope. however, the house will not expect us to introduce any measure until we have made up our minds upon the matter; but I can assure them the subject is nnder con sider ition, with an anxious desire to frame a measure which may be satisfactory to all parties. Mr. ROF:BUCK, accepting the statement of Lord Palmerston as a &mulct pledge upon the subject of a Reform Bill, sai I he should not interfere with his efforts to rrtnedy the admitted defects and anomalies of the existing act. The motion was then agreed to nem. con. GOVERNMENT BUSINESS. Mr. HATTER, sooa after the meeting of the house, rose and said : It may be for the convenience of the house that I should now state some of the measures which it is proposed on the part of the Government at an early period to submit to the consideration of the house. I have to give notice that to morrow the Secretary of State for the Home De partment will move for leave to bring in a bill to amend the Acts of the 16th and 17th of the present reign, with a view to substitute in certain cases other punishments in lien of transportation. On the same night the Secretary of State for the Colonies will move for a select committee to consider the state of those British possessions in North America which are under the administration of the Hud son's Bay Company, and those over which they claim the license t i trade. Ott Monday, the 1 1th of May, the Chan cellor of the Exehever will move for a select committee to inqnire into the operation of the Banking Act of 1844 for England. and also into the operation of the Banking Acts for Ireland and Scotland passed in 11445. On the s me day the Chancellor of the Excheqner will move cer tain resolutions on savings banks, with a view to the intro du-lion ofa bill on that subject. On the same day the Secretary for the Home Department will ask leave to bring in a to make further provision for the exercise of the powers of the General Board of Health. On Thurs day, May 14, the First Minister will move for leave to intreduee a bill to amend the oaths taken by members of the two Houses of Parliament. On Friday, the 15th, the Attorney General will move for leave to bring in a bill to make fraudulent breaches of trust criminal. I have also to give liolice that on Thursday, May 14, the Secretary fir the Treasury will move for leave to bring in a 1).11 for the incorporation of insurance companies and mutual societies. NOTICEi OF MOTION. Mr. Dtmervr, for Tuesday, the 1•1 th of May, for a Bill to repeal the Aot 10 h sn I 17th of Victoria, to make provision for the protection of wo•nen and children, and to prevent delay and expense in the admlnlatration of certain parts of the criminal law. Mr. POEBUCk, of the following resolution far that day fort rihh :—That in the opinion of this house the representation of the people is not in a satisfactory condition, and therefore 'hat the at.ention or Parliament ought, on the lirst practicable opportunity. to he applie I to the subject, for the purpose of rendering this tionso a correct representative of the feelings an hiteresta of the people." - - Mr. LOCKE KlNG—that on Tuesday week he should move for leave to bring in a bill to extend the borough franchibe to r. ttities. Mr. H. BERRZLEV—that he should, on an early day, call the attention cf the house to the question of the ballot. Lord Ti. Cacti—that on an early day he should move to in troduce a bill, emroweiing the taking of votes iu counties and universities by voting-papers. The funeral of the Duchess of Gloucester took place yester,lay, when the remains of her Royal Highness were removed and placed in the royal vaults of S. George's Chapel, Windsor. Their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, and. the Duke of Cambridge attended. THE PRESS. THE MANCHESTER EXHIBITION. TIIE Exhibition of Art Treasures was formally opened on Tuesday by his Poyal Highness the Prince Consort. The whole of the previous night workmen had been employed concluding and perfecting the arrangements, and by six o'clock in the morning Manchester was astir for the day's proceedings. The Prince Consort, attended by Visconnt Torrington, Major-General the Hon. C. Grey, Colonel Francis Seymour, C. 8., and Lieut. Colonel Ponsonby, had left Buckingham Palace at half-past six a.m., and a little after seven had started by train from the Enston station for Manchester. The royal train arrived at Cheadle at twenty-fivo minutes past eleven, and Prince Albert descended amid the enthusiastic cheering of an immense crowd. His Royal Highness was immediately conducted by Mr. Watts, the Mayor of Manchester, to the carriage in waiting for him, the suite following. The carriages were at once formed in procession, and started off at a rapid pace. A number of vehicles followed to the Mayor's residence, Abney hall, a little beyond Cheadle, where Prince Albert was to remain about an hour for rest and refreshment. The preparations made for the ceremony within the Exhibition building were of the simplest kind. A dais, six steps from the floor, and covered with red cloth, was erected in the transept immediately in front of the orchestra. On the top was a square piece of rich tapestry, and there stood the chair of state in crimson velvet and gold used by Prince Albert during the ceremony. A tall Venetian mast rose or. either side, from the point of which depended a banner, on the one of yellow and on the other of blue silk, and bearing the arms respectively of England and Gotha, with the mo;teea, " Dieu et mon droit," and " Treu and Fest." The tin;on Jack was displayed at various points in and near the transept, while at the back of the dais were seen the banners of different countries, with tie names of great painters emblazoned on them. Behind the chair of State, and nearly on the same level with it, a number of benches, covered with green cloth and decorated with fringes, were arranged in a semi circle and reserved for the use of the more distinguished among the spectators. For the accommadation of the mass the whole of the central hall, with the exception of a passage in the centre, the galleries round the transept, and the two limbs of the transept itself, was furnished with rows of benches and chairs. A broad strip of scarlet cloth ran up the centre of the great hall and heightened the effect of the white marble statues on either hand, throwing them out in beautiful relief. Eleven o'clock was the time fixed for opening the doors to the public, but long before that hour all the entrances were besieged by a large number of the rank, fashion, and beauty of Manchester and its vicinity. The doors were opened gently to avoid a rush, and with oft-reiterated cautions from the inside for every one to take plenty of time. To such advice, of course, no one paid the slightest regard. There was a good deal of pushing, and ladies scarcely got that room to which they seemed to think their capacious skirts entitled them. Same insisted on trying to move the turnstiles the wrong way, while others in their anxiety to get good places would not go right, no matter what amount of pains were taken to guide them in their curse. But after the first rush all went as smoothly as could be wished, and showed the arrangements to have been well planned and executed. From the moment the doors were opened, the steady influx of visitors never ceased or slackened. Among the occupants of the green benches behind the dais were many members of both Houses of Parliament. Lord Broughton, Lord Wrottesley, the Marquis of Clanricarde, Earl Powio, the Marquis of Stafford, the Earl of Burlington, Lord Eleho, and Mr. Beresford Hope were all pre sent. The American, Belgian, and Haytian Ministers were the only members of the corps diplomatique present. The corporate authorities of London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and the immediate all in their crimson robes, and attended by their servants in gorgeous liveries, formed indeed not the least brilliant part of the spectacle. At one o'clock the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, accompanied by his staff, entered the building, and after that hour but few visitors of note arrived. The Palace was crowded in every nook, and it may well be supposed that the scene was most animated and magnificent. Many of the gentlemen were in uniform or Court dress, while Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed with more taste and splendour than some of the ladies. Their dresses, of the richest stuffs, vied with the colours of the rainbow in variety and brilliancy, making the ornaments of the walls look mean and dull by com parison. The elegant proportions of the building itself, its chaste and beautiful decorations, the mas terpieces of art scattered in rich profusion on every hand, the presence of 10,000 persons gaily attired, and the display of silken banners and standards, 449 combined to form a picture such as has rarely been witnessed even in the metropolis. Immediately after lunch his 13,Pyal Highness the Prince left Abney-hall for the Exhibition, accom panied by a brilliant suite, and attended by a guard of honour from the 7th Dragoons, under Colonel Bentinck. Flags and banners, and triumphal arches of evergreens, decorated the reed from Abney-hall to Manchester boundar;es. From Grosvenor-square to Old Trafford—a straight line of road of consider ably more than a mile in extent—the immense crowds of people who lined each side of the way, leaving only a narrow passage in the centre, rendered locomotion exceedingly difficult and dangerous, and the cortege thence proceeded at little more than a walking pa„e. At various points along the Stretford road were stationed large bodies from the societies of 0 ld Fellows, Druids, and Foresters, who contributed materially towards'preserving the lines unbroken, and keeping the passage clear. The cheerin2, the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, the banners and other decorations, the crowds on roofs and balconies, and immense wooden platforms erected on patches of ground otherwise unoccupied, formed an offering of hearty welcome such as has been seldom surpassed. All the avenues leading to the Exhioition building were closely blocked; various open spaees in the neighbourhood were completely covered with masses of human beings, and the enthusiastic cheering of the populace when Prince Albert at length arrived at the Palace certified the public approbation of the important duty which had brought bim to Man. c h ester. Precisely at two o'clock a royal salute, and the cheers of 20,000 persons within the inelosnre, announced the arrival of the Prince at the Exhibi t on gates. Lord Overstane, the Peesi lent of the General Council of the Exhibition ; accompanied by Mr. Thomas Fairhairn, the Chairman of the Committee ; Mr. J. C. Deane, the General Commissioner; the Mayor of Manchester and the members of the cor poration in their robes of office, met his R )yal Highness at the principal entrance, and conducted him to the state reception-roam. His Royal High ness shortly- afterwards made his appearance in the grand nave, and was escorted to the dais, near the entrance, where a group having been formed, The Mayor approached and read the Corporation Address, which, attributing the main success of the Exhibition to the zealous patronage graciously ex tended by the Queen, anticipated a visit from her Majesty with the greatest joy and satisfaction : We specially rejoice in the hope of this ever.t as afford inst another opportunity of evincing the deep and universal feeling of loyalty and attac!iment to her Majesty's person which prevails within and arlund this city, an 1 the pro found sense of gratitude which exists for the care and soli citude very graciously manifested by our beloved Queen in favour of whatever is calculated to secure and promote the improvement and happiness of her Majesty's subjects. His Royal Highness in the course of a gracious reply observed : The Queen will, I am confident, le glad ag tin to visit Manchester, nutonly to mark, by her presence, her approval of the object and sitccsaftil execution of this great under taking which we have this day to celehrate, hut from a recollection of the enthusiastic loyalty exhibited when she had formerly an opportunity of visiting this great centre of industry. A procession was then formed, and his Royal Highness proceeded up the central hall to the dais prepared for his reception in the transept. As the corte..re moved up the middle avenue of the central ball, the orchestra performed the National Anthem, and the whole company rose en mrsse, and greeted the Prince with cordial acclamations. His Royal Highness having taken his place on the dais, the scene presented to the view was eminently p ic turesque and striking. What a sight (writes one correspondent) met the gaze of the Prince as he walked slowly up the central hall ! Not to speak of the living crowd by which he was so heartily welcomed, he was surrotmded on every side by the portraits of all the most celebrated characters in British history. On the right the heavy-browed, swarthy portrait of Charles aspect the very reverse of a merry monarch—seemed as if about to step from its frame and join in the ceremonial. Around him were grouped the frail beauties of his Court, to whom Lely and D.! Grain mont have given a questionable renown. Thera was the Duchess of Cleveland, the founder of Marlbo• rough's fortunes. By her side was Madame "Carwell," as the Londoners of that day called the lovely niece of Mazarin, arrayed in a dress which even improved her beauty. Near her hung the por traits of Nell Gwynne and a host of other less famous, or rather infamous, enamorata, with Gram mont himself, poor Catherine, and the execrable Countess of Shrewsbury. Glaring from the opposite walls—grim, stern, and dangerous•looking men— were the leaders of the Commonwealth, scowling upon the seductive beauties of Whitehall. The pro cession passed the Meseu►n of Art, with all its rare treasures of gold and silver work, antique carvings, gems, and porcelains. Next in order same the