The Sun. — London, England, 1862-05-07 00:00:00

OURTON- ON- THE -WATER RAILWAY, B Branch of Midland& Great Western.—Title doubts. "WESTMINSTER COUNTT COURT. Lieut. CHARLES ACK PALEY, R.N., v. COLE, Solicitor, 36, Essex-street. (Before Judge F. Bayley).—On the reheating-clause and sec. 81, touching the 15s. costs against plaintiff on the 23d April last. (No. 1). This tortuous suit for payment of loss of time, and con spiracy -hoax (by defendants' own letters to sign railroad conveyance deed), on Plaintiff's mercantile position in trade right of patenteeship (1840), with unlawful use of his name in a petition to the Master of the Rolls Court on 27th February, having the word ' disbarr'd—to obtain a railway judgment, six days' before the expiration of 21st March—vide Gloucester journals of Ist, Bth, and 15th. The Judge held that the Plaintiff's time lost uas not tenable, there being no contract. Plaintiff (with respect), maintained that as re-hearing Was admitted, so follow § 81,—viz., reduction of costs and aubpcena fees, under judgment by default, on Defendant's non-appearance. This legal argument being granted, which appeared to place the Defe,:clants in a cleft -stick, the Court were some what surprised by the hasty uprising of an Attorney who represented Mr. Cole, as of Railway—Talbot v. Radnor and others ; the Chamberlayne trustees, by 1-2, Willay.,* No, 54, under which the Captain (Ackerley) is heir 'in pivot remainder' for G. Western Branch deed of conveyance (as given in The Sun of 28,h April). The Plaintiff reminded his Worship that as this case, although small, embraced contempt of the Rolls Court' and infringement of the Stamp Act, whereon he officially as the Meter Act Magistrate qualified at Worcester 1837, demanded the silencing of the intrusive Attorney of Cole, unless he could produce his Sixpenny stamped memo randum of agency, since the Benchers' word diiibare applied to him, as also to this ' loss of Anglo .Indian ,revenue' in question, under 14 Geo. 111., c. 83. This the Judge admitted, on Defendant's contempt of His H onour ordered the reduction of fees, and subpoena money ®f Plaintiff's witnesses to be returned, with permis sion of case-removal to Stow County Court. Note.—This Act of 1832 is the only one in which two brothers, one in the Royal Artillery. and the other (plain tiff) in Royal Navy, pledged as the state :guile 0' of 1825 over the ' Catholic' Emancipation Act of 1829—for Sect burden to the 15th clause " a lay body corporate" (or as the French express it, ' faisant partee d'une corporation seen liere') on Primeval-tenet of Christianity—so Civil-service opposition of the W ar-office and Admiralt y , &c., by refus ing to strike out of the Army and Navy lists the double and treble Christian names of fashionable and heraldic import. If Dv the Ist and 3d clauses of the Bourton Act Railroad C om pel:) , (on its unregistered ' Inclosure' award), they are m ade to fi:.restall the four-miles circumference of the Stow Market tolls, by judic i a l extra-name qu ibble of its King's Post Magistrate, by committee of foreigne rs in violation of the " Adam and Eve consorted" of 1822, for Criminal basis of 16 Car. n.'s rent firs-hearth Common law year tax 2s for 6& 6 native crts., the one biter by clause 29 of its rider, 8 Vic., c. 18—he being the Prince Cotsort' with the Indian lady for title to the American soil 'a la Gironde,' as cause for 1842's Man election of Peter Basquet (nephew of Joseph Ch efant 1775 Stamp Act) as the colonial Stamp Income tax ief, unpaid '2O years-11 years supported by plaintiff on State account —for all the native coloured races. Une b as e (qui fit Charmer la Race-noire si grande 42 ) Fous l o i civique ), pese avec Fierte I l'on volt qua jai:nal& I'ENGLAND' ne marchande Oa Quand it Taut par la mar leur donner Liberte • * N .] CHARLES 4 ~"r ACKERLEY, A • • 1-2 Will. iv. , N ., 54, Chamberlayne' sworn. $ . 4 • PETER BASQUET, Income Tax Chief, 1842, unpaidl . • China Ru'f wall circuit horizon of'—London, May , - r4 1862, its Montezuma.—The dun of 19 and 28th. lIHEATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Lessee Mr. J B. Buckstone. THIS EVENING, JOHN JONES. After which, at half-past 7, will be performed (116th 'time) OUR AMERICAN COUSI. here ren chard, Mr. Buck stone ; Lord Dundreary, M N r. So Followed by the Spanish Ballet entitled THE STAR OF .AbTDA.f.US lA. Seno ra Perea Nena, Senor Ricardo, and the Corps de Ballet To conclude with MY HUSBAND'S GHOST. Commence at 7. ()YAL LYCEUM THEATRE. ,LV Sole Lessee and 3lanaaer. —Mr. Edmund Falconer. 140th Night of the 7ontinuous run of "Peep o'Day." THIS EVENING; PEEP O'DAY ; or, Savourneen Decl ish. Messrs. Waiter Lacy, Addison, Charles Selby, Geo. Melville, and Edmund Falcone! Mrs. D. P. Bowers. Miss- Clara Weston, and Miss M. Hudson. After which, a new musical, pictorial, poetical, and ballet interlude, entitled KILLARNEY. Miss Anna Whitty and Miss Ly;lia Thomson. To conci,:ide with the new farce entitled I COULDN'T HELP IT. Characters by Mr. Addison, Mr. Warlow, and lams Lydia Tho;npson. Acting ganager—Mr. F. B. Chatterton. Prices as usual. DGors open at half-past 6, to commence at e . Box-office open daily from 11 tlll5. OYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Lessee, Mr A. Harris. THIS EVENING, THE LIT rLE TREASURE Messrs. J. G. Shore, B. Potter, R. Cathcart, Miss Bisworthy, Mrs. Weston, and Miss Maria Harris. After which, at half-past 8, THE ANGEL OF art MID- id- NIGH t . Messrs. S hore, B. Potter, Ryder, athc, W dicombe, Jordan, Meadowr, Raymond ; Miss Elsworthy, Miss Fielding, and Miss Henderson. To concde with THRICE MARRIED. Messrs. Garden, Shore, &c l . u , and Miss C. Leclercq. NEW THFATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHI.— Sole Proprietor and ManaCer. Mr. B. Webster. THIS EVENING the new domestic drams, entitled DOT : Messrs. J. L. Toole, Emery, Billington. Stephenson ; Miss L. Keeley, 3llas Woolgar, Mies H. Simms, Mies K. Kelly, and Mrs. 11. Marston. After which, THE PHANTOM. Ruthvcn, Mr. Dion Boucicault ; Messrs. Emery, To&e, Billing - ,ton, P. Bedford, Tiliss Simms, Miss K. Kelly, &c. Commence at 7. sTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.- Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty. THIS EVENING, the new farce of THE LADY OF THE MILL. Followed by the grand spectacle of ALICE WINGOLD the Pearl of London City. Characters , by Miss Julia Sea man, Mr. F. Huntley,Mortimer, tc. Uoncludinfr with brilliant and novel scenes in the Circle by British and Foreign Artists. Commence at 7 o'clock. Stage Manager, Mr. W. Searle. C A NTERBURY HALL AND FINE ARTS GALLERY. The miraculous STECKEL at a quarter to 11. The renowned RUAISEY and NEWCOMB MINSTRELS at Nine o'clock. Grand Selections from " La Sonnambula," by Miss Rus sell, with Band and full Chorus, conducted by Mr. Jongh mans. UNSWOR 111, in his celebrated Stump Speech " Or any other man," and EUGENE, the great Burlesque Singer and Dancer, at Ten o'clock. The best Comic talent in London. Messrs, Morton and Stanley beg. to inform visitors to Lon don during the Exhibition that tie GALLERY of PAINT INGS well be Open, free. between the hours of Twelve and Two o'clock on and after Monday. THE OXFORD, 6 . OXFORD - STRERT. — 4 , MAY DAY," a cantata written by John Oxenford, music by G. A. Macfarren • Burns' "Jolly Beggars," also a cantata, with George Linley's music, and brand Operatic Selections by the entire company. Full Band and Chorus. —Conductor, Mr. F. Jong t, !Twits. Rumseyddition and Newc a comb's Minstrels, and Unsworth and Eugene, in ato host of comic talent ; and HEN RI and PFAU on the Flying Trapeze, every evening. ii all, ed.; Balcony and Stalls, ls. ; Private Boxes, 10s. 6d. HIGH `CATER AT LONDON BRIDGE• THIS DAT.—Morning, 7b. 10m.—Afternoon, 711. 40m. TO -MORROW.- Morning, Mt. 15 m.—Aft ernoon, Bh. b2m. NOTICE. Ail remittances are, henceforth, to be m a de to Mr. JOHN CHAPLJN, at The Sun offic e , 112, Strand, who has been appoiJited, by the Lord Chancellor, Receiver and Manager of The Sun newspaper, and the outstanding debts due in respect thereof. ef j4 1 .4 \ W!..1 2 7 - • _ • : 2 ' . •,• ',00f,!.... , 2= - 1111_,-.7 1 e,Z"...--,17. • t• THE SUN. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1862. Our readers will see that the Ballot Society has addressed a spirited and busines s -lik e letter to the Liberal me mbers of Parliament, one which the Premier himself, if he intends to continue in office, had better not treat as a joke. We can state, from personal knowledge/ t ha t members of th e fi rst posi ideal, and of well merited influence in the Liberal tanks, are not only prepared to respond to the views expressed in his letter, but are perfectly satisfied that, unless the Government can rouse it self to do justice to the more truly liberal of its supporters, its duration will be but brief, The apathy complained of is due to the unreal character of Government Liberalism. The kernel of the Liberal cause in each borough is not the men w h o w ill "vote yellow, be the candidate who he / nay," but the men who regard yellow as but do emblem of real Liberalism in Church and State. Dishearten these men, and the life of Liberalism in a borough is gone. There may still be a fight of party, that is of wills egainst wills; but principl e , not wilfulness, is the living soul of a conflict. Men are ashamed in cooler moments of earnestness and passion for purely arbitrary differences, but no man, not even when defeated, is ashamed of being defeated for a noble principle. Oar Government has too much forgotten this. More than half its Liberal supporters who have incurred defeat at late elections have been men of whom the defeated Liberals have said after the election, that they should have been little better off had they succeeded. The Ballot Society recognises clearly this state of things. They found upon it an appeal to the liberalism of the House of Commons. On one matter of fact neither the Government nor the House of Commons, nor the public, can have any difference of opinion. " Corrupt practices at elec tions" have become the rule rather than the excep tion. The slow and generally secret, yet efficient poison of landlord influence has completely extin guished all political life among county electors, and left what still remains with the landlords only, who generally know each other's relative strength too well to trouble themselves about a battle; or, if there be one, it is for show merely. Of the boroughs the letter gives a perfectly fair sample. Priestly terrors, mob law, and bribery, are notoriously the common agencies employed in the borough consti tuencies. We reed not describe or particularise, because we hardly know that anyone would jeo pardise his character for honesty and sincerity by denying what stares us all in the face. Facts, then, being thus, the Ballot Society sug gests, we think, a very fair issue to the Government ; indeed, as old and steady supporters of the Ballot, we had broadly hinted something very similar a week ago. The society says—give us now a trial of the ballot. The Government is talking of re newing the old Corrupt Practices Prevention Act. We wonder it is not ashamed to do it. Sir Wm. HATTER himself declared that he regarded it as a dead letter from the day of its enactment ; the Times, though hostile enough to the ballet, yet described the act as " a pompons profession, meant to be inoperative." We need not say how every commission, every Parliamentary election commit tee, might we not say every election since the act passed, has but corroborated the truth of these prophecies which accompanied the birth of this now defunct Bill. Yet, with all this before their eyes, the Government proposes to recal it to life ! It is proposed to lower the penalties, to lop off the auditors, and make a few other trivial alterations, and a feebler Act is then to give a death-blow to corruption and undue influence ! The Ballot Committee, therefore, calls on the majority of the Liberal members who have hitherto supported the Ballot, to demand of the Government that it should make the Ballot a Government measure. It is not insisted on that the measure should be permanent, but that it should at least have a trial. The Go vernment has done all it could—and it has con fessedly and publicly failed. One plan alone has not been tried, and it is a plan for which a majority of the supporters of Government have for a long time voted. The minority of Liberals have had their way all this time, they have voted with the Tories against the majority of their fellow Liberals. Surely that majority is now entitled to say—" You and the Tories have failed—you have almost broken down the Liberal party by your failure — try our plan for a while at least." We should say the demand should be that if the House will not make the Ballot law permanently without a trial, let it enact that it shall be the mode of taking the poll for at least two or three years after the next general election. Such a trial could not surely hurt the most timid. When the time ex pired the whole subject would of itself come again under discussion, just as the old Sham Act now does. If, therefore, _such a moderate demand be rejected, one which cannot be pompously rejected as a "Great Change "—for it will be but a temporary one, a mere trial— we shall only have fresh confirmation of the dogged hatred of the Government, or the majority which resists the proposal, to electoral indepen dence. We know, indeed, they hate it—but their votes against a five years' trial of the Ballot would proclaim their hatred. We hope that every really independent mem ber of Parliament—by which we mean everyone who does not fear the Ballot for himself—will accept the proposal now made. The time for action is come. Argument is now superfluous. Let fifty sincere members band themselves together and in form the Government that their support is no further to be relied on if their reasonable request be any longer denied. They must insist on the Ballot being made a Government measure ; insist, at least, on the five years' trial, or henceforth leave a Government, which refuses to deal with electoral corruption, to be dealt with by Tories according to their will and pleasure. Captain WILLIAM WILSON'S recapture of the ship Emilie St. Pierre, of Liverpool, on the 21st of March, 1862, will henceforth—we may be quite certain of this—for ever occupy its place con spiculusly upon our national records of hairbreadth 'scapes and heroic acts of daring done upon the high seas. Viewing the achievement simply as a deed of valour, it is not in any way extravagant to assert distinctly that it is one which has seldom, if ever, been surpassed. The whole achievement, from first to last, for its consummate effrontery of pluck was just, in three words, Worthy of DUN DONALD. Higher praise than that we could not it, we do not for an inst a nt give it. But, in gi vin g exaggerate the merits of Captain WiLsorr, of the Emilie St. Pierre. On the contrary, we do him simply justice. For he is—beyond a doubt of it— exactly one of those gallant sea captains aftre the heart of ocean-demigods, like Lord NELSON and Lord COCHRANE. A salt-water hero, whose soul could never quail, whose cheek could never blench— come what come might. The narrative recently penned by Captain WIL SON, and read by him with simple and manly emphasis on Saturday afternoon in the rooms of the Liverpool Mercantile Marine Association, we published in extenso in the columns of 1 he un of Monday evening. It has doubtless been read by this time by all who have turned over that impres sion, with scarcely one solitary exception. For, although several weeks have already elapsed since the first particulars of this astounding ex ploit came to the knowledge of the public at large, getting immediately noised abroad, as indeed it well deserved to be—it was something surely worthy of the attention of all when the Hero of the Exploit himself came forward as the narrator ! Not spontaneously, it should be remem bered, but reluctantly and simply in answer to the summons of his admiring compatriots. Trifles though the tokens of admiration already presented to Captain WILSON, or about to be presented to him, by his applauding fellow-citizens, may be, it is still interesting to bear them one and all in mind, as evidences of the instant cordiality of that admira tion, and as substantial proofs that the brave tar's almost matchless audacity upon this occasion is to the full appreciated. The gold pocket chronometer — the massive salver with the inacriptionupon it—even the homely but costly Silver tea and coffee services— have their significance in thi s Way, hardly less than the gold medal about to be struck in Captain WlL scoN's honour, or than the two thousand guineas about to be presented to him by the owners of the Emilie St. Pierre as tokens of their gratitude. As the English reading public has recently had the opportunity of seeing done upon a larger scale, in the instance of the Autobiography of the late daunt less THOMAS CGCHRANE, 10th Earl of Dandonald, it may be seen very readily indeed, through Cap tain WILSON'S own pithy narrative of the recap ture of the ship Emilie St. Pierre, with what perfect good taste, and with what manly and unaffected eloquence, a hero may relate the particu lars of his own exploits, without one momentary idea of boastfulness on his part recurring the while to the mind of his hearer or his reader. In this way C2ESAR led the way long since in his "Com mentaries," and XENOPHON in his incomparable record of the " Retreat of the Ten Thousand." The like has been done within this very nineteenth century of ours by a Conqueror, to say the least of him, upon a level with the Great Captains of Antiquity. " Soldiers," said NAPOLEON, when bidding adieu to his Old Guard at Fontain bleau, before his departure for Elba, " Soldiers, I go to write the history of the deeds we have done together." And delayed though the fulfilment of that promise was by the episode of the Hundred Days, it was, nevertheless, fulfilled at last in the voluminous narrative dictated at St. Helena to Las CASES and GOITRGAUD. Now, to breathe thus the supreme names of C/ESAR and NAPOLEON, of NELSON and DUNDONALD, when referring to the recent achievement of the brave merchant captain who recaptured the Emilie St. Pierre, almost, one might say, singlehanded, will not appear in any respect whatever an extravagance to those who ere acquainted with the actual facts of the case. And—by this time—who is not ?Itis an incident that the " bravest of the brave" might have been proud to have passed through thus triumphantly. Does any one—yet ignorant of the facts of the case —remain disdainfully incredulous ? Let him turn to Captain WILSON'S own simple and plain-spoken statement of those facts, and, as certainly as we are now writing these words, the observer's lip will curl no longer with disdain. He will there learn how it was that Captain WILSON, the skipper of the Emilie St. Pierre, then a prisoner of war upon his own vessel, and aided only in carrying out his daring adventure by his two fellow-prisoners, one his cook, the other his steward, contrived, upon the 21st of March, while out at sea, to recapture his ship from the prize crew of the United States navy, a crew consisting at the time of two officers and thirteen seamen. The consummate coolness with which this astonishing recapture was effected beggars all description—except Captain WlLsoN's own. The manner in which, one after another, this daring skipper seized, and gagged, and hand cuffed—first of all the master's mate, and immediately afterwards an engineer, who was passenger on board the vessel. The adroit manner in which, after quietly making this good bold commencement of the work down below, Cap tain WILSON went on deck, a few seconds later, as if he had bat just turned out—the way in which he thereupon walked the deck for ten minutes side by side with Lieutenant STONE, while he pleasantly chatted with that doomed commanding officer about the weather, &c.—the delightfully careless fashion in which he decoyed him down into the cabin to examine the chart, and there brought him up in the door-way with a brandished belaying-pin—to be quietly seized, gagged, and ironed immediately afterwards. All is admirably done, and admirably told, too, by the doer of it. The rest of the narra tive shall be given in Captain WILSON'S own words. " Three men were walking the deck ; one was at the helm and one on the look-out. I called the three men aft, and, pointing to the hatchway of the storeroom near the helm, said that a coil of rope was wanted up. I shoved off the hatch, and pointing to a corner where it was, they all three jumped down. I immediately closed the batch, and warned the man at the helm of his danger if he moved or spoke. The look-out was then called aft, and when asked whether he would help to work the ship to a British port he said No.' I therefore put him with the others, guarding the hatchway. I then called the watch, and as sailors do not come on deck all to gether we got two aft and secured before any sus picion was aroused ; the third man of the watch below drew his knife at the steward, upon which he fired, and the shot went through his shoulder; the others were soon secured, and in the space of a morning's watch I was again in charge of my ship." No wonder the brave sailor who has accomplished a feat of prowess so consummate in its audacity, should be cheered to the echo, as he has been very recently by the assembled merchants of Liverpool. No wonder that, by this single deed of valour, he has won for himself a brilliant and lasting reputation. " WHALLEY! WHALLEY !" shouted some rude members last night ; and ♦ery rude it was. Lord STANLEY wanted to speak—Ceylon was the subject; yet the son of the ex-Premier, and a lord who is much more than his father's son—the best that can be said of most lords—is greeted when he rises with cries of " WHALLEY ! WHALLEY !" What, it may well be asked, is the charm which Mr. WHALLEY exercises over the House P We all know, by what we read, why it calls for the great Tory leader, or the Radical JOHN BRIGHT—we all understand why an assembly, weary with routine work, must be glad to refresh itself with the eloquence of genius, whether the eloquence be on one's own side or on an opponent's. But why does it shout out " WHALLEY ! WHALLEY !" when a man of Lord STANLEY'S mark rises to speak P We are sorry to be obliged to confess that after all, as Mrs. BEECHER STOWE has it in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "a senator is but a man ;" and our elected senators being but men, even in the midst of their grave deliberations, they enjoy a joke and a bit of solemn fun. We would not answer for it, if Mr. SPEAKER were not in the way, whether Punch and Judy might not almost prove a season able relief sometimes. The House must pardon us, but it was Mr. WHALLEY'S speech which re minded us of the popular amusement; the " whacks" on the poor Roman Catholics sounded so much like those which we see or hear dealt on the heads of the wooden combatants in the streets—" lying,perjuring, thieving, and homicide," an d again, " theft, homicide, murder, and sedition" chronic spirit of disloyalty" came quite feebly afterwards—Can our literal Punch beat all that with his literal thumps on the head of Judy ? Members, however, must beware how they invoke such en tertainments as Mr. WHALLEY'S. They soon began to have enough ; but " Divide ! divide ! divide !" was of no use when once the performance had begun. It only furnished the performer with an oppor tunity to suck an orange and refresh his parched mouth with the juice, and hiq eyes with the favou rite colour, and on he went with the theological burletta, when his audience had had enough of it, and more than enough. But, after all, 111 votes have some importance, whatever may bo that of Mr. 'WHALLEY. There is a party, at least, which is ready to put a WHALLEY forward, to say what they like to have said, but are ashamed to say themselves. There is evidently an abundant leaven of selfish sectarianism yet in the House which is not m ashaed of it se lf, b u t ra ther deems its sectarianism " doing GOD service." We except from this censure /hose members who vote against all religious grants from the National Ex- 1171E1 'SUN 1 'LONDON, I- C WEDNESD 4 ,4V7 EVENING, MAY 7, 1862. chequer, To vote agtinst the State intermeddling with any religion,—with Protestantism, Presby tetianism, or Catholic sm, equally—is perfectly con sistent and honouralle. No Roman Catholic can regard such a vote as a persecuting vote; the man who gives it has an equal regard for the rights of every creed; and telieving that endowing all equally is impracticable, he would throw all equally upon the support of those who adopt each creed. For ourselves we accord entirely with the vote of the majority, and probably for the reason which influenced the greater part of them. While Pres byterians are largely endowed, while the Episcopal Church in Ireland is endowed, in the style immor talised by Tom MO)RE'S humour, it would be, surely, the last meanness to grudge to Roman Catholics the paltry endowment of Maynooth. The harm or the good it can do is perfectly insignifi cant; but the harm vhich it could but do, to single out one sect, to strip it of its small Government endowments, and to leave the others rejoicing in theirs, is not easy tobe measured. Like the exac tion of Church-rates from Dissenters—it is not the amount, but the injtstice, which stings. THE GOVERNMENT AND BRIBERY AT ELEC2IONS. The following letter is being extensively circu lated among the Lberal members of the House of Commons : " Dear Sir,—Tl: Committee of the Ballot Society feel it to be their imperative duty to call the most serious attention the friends of the Ballot in Par liament to the. frigitful increase in the use of all kinds of corrupt ani undue influence which charac terises our Parliamentary elections, and which if not soon checked will complete the demoralisation of our constituencies, and destroy every remaining vestige of public principle and electoral independence. " The Committee would remind the Parliamen tary advocates of Freedom of Election, that those peraicious influences and results are not now con fined to small places, but are rampant everywhere, and are admitted to be triumphant by all parties ; hence we find that in North Yorkshire and Oxford shire the landed proprietors are alleged to Le the operators and landlord power the instrument em ployed. In Longford and at Birkenhead the Roman Catholic priests are said to be the aggressors, and religious authority the weapon that is wielded. In Nottingham it is the mob that is the tyrant and mob law that defies all opposition ; and in Preston, Grimsby, Wakefiell, and other places both parties charge each other with being perpetrators of the most barefaced coriupticn. "Under these circumstances, and seeing that the only remedy which the Government proposes to apply to this monstrous evil is the re-enactment of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, which the Times at its first enactment designated a pom pous profession meant tobe inoperative,' and which everybody admits to have been utterly useless, the Committee would respectfully ask whether the time has not come when a stand should be made for at least a trial of Vote by Ballot, a measure that is resorted to by every other enlightened community and by our own, in almost every case except that of Parliamentary elections. " The Ballot has been discussed in the House of Commons until both argument and sophistry are exhausted, and only jokes and bantering remain, and yet its adoption is prevented by a motley ma jority, led on by a professedly Liberal Premier; if this is to continue, that which is called the Li beral party' will son be a hopeless minority— their honest and hardworking adherents will cease to take interest in their cause, and their less reli-_ able supporters will succumb to the better tactics and superior wealth of the so-called Conservative party. This state of things may be of little con sequence to Lord Palmerston and his Anti-Ballot Whig supporters, bu: the Committee cannot sup pose that it would be welcome to the great body of the Liberal members of the House of Commons. " The preservation of public independence and of a free public opinion are, in the estimation of the committee, of far greater importance than the pre servation of any administration, however satisfac tory its foreign policy may be ; indeed what can be a greater anomaly or a greater injustice to this country than to have a Goverment which upholds liberty in foreign states, while it refuses freedom of election at home. "It is then with the utmost confidence in the propriety of this appeal, that the committee call upon the friends of the ballot in Parliament to de mand of a Government of whose party they form so large majority, that it should adopt the ballot as a Government measure, either as the permanent method of taking votes, or at least for a trial, during such a period as would be sufficient to test its adoption to the purpose proposed. " The committee would be glad to know whether you approve of the course suggested, because in that case they will invite you to a conference with other approving members, to decide upon the best plan of action.—An early reply will much oblige, " I am, dear sir, yours faithfully, " J. F. BONTEMS, " Hon. Sec. to the Ballot Society." DESPATCH OF MATLS.—The Inman steamer City of Baltimore will be despatched from Liverpool for New York to-day, with mails for the United States, &c. On Saturday the Cunard steamer St3otia will be despatched from Liverpool for New IC ork, with mails for the United States and North America. As the Great Eastern will be crossing the Atlantic at the same time as these steamers, much interest is attached to their passages, and bets on the respective boats have been extensively offered and taken. EXCAVATIONS IN ROME.—A letter from Rome states that the excavations on Mount Palatine continue to attract much attention. The immense quantity of rubbish which covered the pavement of the building erroneously styled the Temple of Apollo, has been removed and access obtained to the vaulted rooms below, two of which are now quite cleared. Tho first, immediately below the Casino Farnese, appears to have been stripped of all its ornaments at a comparatively recent date, and then filled with earth. Adjoining this is another room, which had not been de• spoiled. The walls are Albano stone, and the corners tra vertine. The researches of the depredators seem to have ended before coming there, for on removing the soil many works of art were found. Among them may be noticed a torso column, ornamented with acanthus leaves, and hav ing, instead of a capital, two pine apples connected by leaves ; a thyrsis, in the shape of a candelabrum, also sur mounted by a pine apple and foliage, and numerous frag ments of a red marble cornice. The old pavement of rich marbles has been carefully preserved, and all the objects found are retained on the spot and arranged for inspection, instead of being removed. A great number of persons visit this new museum, and are:well repaid for their trouble as all the articles belong to a good period of art. HARBOURS OF REFUGE.—The annual return showing the progress of works and harbours of refuge has, been issued. At Dover, where £500,000 has been laid out, and a vote of £50,000 is to be taken this year, to be fol lowed by £lOO,OOO more in future years, the length of the pier founded is now 1,573 feet, and 1,390 feet have been completed to the quay level. The South-Eastern Railway is now carried on to the pier. At Alderney, 1,220 yards of sea wall and 1,226 of harbour wall of the western break water are complete except the coring, and the promenade wall is ready for the coping for a length of 1,217 yards from the shore ; the base of the breakwater extends 1,636 yards from the shore. From 500 to 700 men are kept employed at this work, for which there has been voted £937,000, the total estimate being £1,300,000. Of the breakwater at Portland which is to shelter 2,130 acres of the bay, the centre of Cite north head is 8,512 feet from the shore, and the depth of watea 91 fathoms at low water of spring tides, During the heavy gales of February and March many ves sels took refuge within this harbour, some from 600 to 1,200 tons burden, and from 110 to 120 vessels remained lu harbour for some days. The votes already passed for the works at Portland amount to D 73,000; the total estimate exceeds £1,000,000. Upwards of 5,000,000 tons of rough stone have been deposited since the commencement of the work. M. MEYEREEER AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHl nmoN.—The distinguished composer, although an im portant unit in the opt fling ceremony, gxcited less curiosity than would have been the case had the aggregate of visitotil contained people of less not€, M Meyerbeor, at the com mencement of the proet.edings, was trying in vain to find a seat, when one of our musical directors, Mr.F. Jonghmans, of the Oxford Musi , r Hall, who for the day combined with that office the improvised duty of a " steward," espied the composer, and, as a real labonr of love, placed him in a good position, whence to view the ceremony. A lengthened chat ensued, in the course of which Meyerbeer spoke of the splendid performance of his music at rehearsal. As a grace fill, though un expecte d return for t h e little attentions h e had received, and as a souvenir of his visit, M. Meyerbeer enclosed to his new acquaintance the opening bars of his march, appending his signature to the dedication, IJER 211,11E871 , S THEATRE. lUCREZIA BORGIA. The old frequenters of this house can at length return to it with pleasure. It has got a manage ment once more that can feel a theatre is'a place of art, and not simply an elegant market which trades on special popularities. In lieu of the Stock Exchange System of placing some strong names in a bill as a guaran tee for operations which are never carried out, we have at last that—which regards an opera as a well considered scheme, composed of various particulars, each of which has its significance, and which knows that thisis the only method by which it is possible to evolve either the purpose of a writer or the true power of an artist. The performance of " Lucrezia Borgia" at this theatre, last evening, was the very best that had been witnessed under its roof for many years. We had not merely Madame Titiens and Signor Giuglini in their strength, and the other characters sustained at a point of adequate merit, but band and chorus so improved that they completed the sum of requisition, and rightly combined with I other features to produce a sense of unity. The scenery was also very appropriate and striking, and the movement of the opera was very carefully arranged. Of the Lucrezia of Madlle. Titien's we can have no occasion now to dwell at length. On the whole it must be regarded as her very best performance. It unites in a greater degree the passionate force and vocal accomplishment which equally distin guish her, and which always enabled her in this character to dispute the ground with Grisi. Not that we admit their complete equality. Two charac teristics enter into the conception of the terrible Duchess. She is a Princess, and she is a mother. As the first she appeals to our imagination—as the second to our sympathies. It was the union of the two appeals which rendered Grisi's view so perfect. It was the grand historic dignity which she threw as a massive robe over a bosom whose violent beatings she rendered so conspicuous. Mme. Titiens, with less art, but with equal dramatic fervour, appeals almost entirely to our sympathies in her great effort. It is as the mother she addresses us so sbsorbed by ber affection that her personal wrongs and thirst for vengeance are almost °Mite.' rated by its yearnings. With Madame Grisi the maternal feeling was merely expanded to redeem, not to elevate, the Duchess. It was the one hal lowing influence which preserved her entire soul from ruin, in faithful accordance with the profound and original thought of Victor Hugo. With Mademoiselle Titiens the maternal passion so entirely dominates her nature—it almost leads one to doubt the existence of what it coheres with and atones for, This view, if less imaginative, is undoubtedly more affecting. It may be less faith ful to history, but it is more conducive to illusion. This distinction supplied the key to her singing and acting throughout the night. It was the mother's heart, which, stamping the opening, impressed the entire course of the piece, and was not more affect ing when she gazed on the treasured features of her sleeping son, and poured out her transport at his beauty in her exquisite delivery of the " Com'e belle," than in her terror when threatened with discovery, by the sudden appearance of her enemies, she saw it would fill with horror and disgust the soul of the only one she loved. It is in the second act, however, and in the great scene of the drama—when Lucrezia demands the death of an enemy, who proves to be tier son, and demands it from a husband who believes that son to be her lover—that Madame Titien's view of the Duchess makes itself felt with so much force. Here the conflict of the emotions arising entirely from the maternal passion—the terror at her son,s danger—struggling with the shame of his avowal —and only deadened by her hatred of the man who both slanders, and would bereave her—is painted in its varying aspects, with a mingled breadth and delicacy, that is not more remarkable for its vigour than its pathos. Equally impressive is its climax, in which she urges on her son the antidote, and still more so the close of the piece, when he refuses to escape the doom of his companions, and she finds that her terrible vengeance has involved as fearful a retribution. Nothing certainly can be finer than her acting and singing throughout these scenes. Her delivery of the two arias, the " Ah, to bada," in which ske turns ou her ruth less husband with such a superb burst of fury, and the " Infelice," in which she so passion ately entreats her son to take the anti dote, were of a piece with the general inspiration of the effort. Of the Gennaro of Signor Giuglini we have even less occasion to speak. It is the character, of all others, with which ho is most identified, and in which, with the sole exception of Mario, he admits of no comparison. His pure and exquisite chest-voice, and the dreamy volup tuous tenderness which designates his style, were never heard to more advantage than in the exertions of last evening. His - ' Di Pescatore" was just as faultless and delightful as it was ever, and so also was his share in the highly dramatic trio of the 2d act, the" Guai se to Sfugge," which was deservedly encored. Hia acting also in this sure and the last one was energetic to a de gree. Another feature of the evening was the great success of a debutante. Signora Tre brelle—made her first appearance in the young soldier, Mzifeo Orsini, and produced an immediate and most favourable impression. To a mezzo soprano voice, of excellent tone and clear ness, she adds spirit and ease as an actress, and the not trifling advantages of a handsome face and per son. She has also the advantage of youth, being, we should suppose, about five and twenty. Her singing throughout was admirable, whether in the opening recitation of her adventure with Gennaro, or in her delivery of the Brindisi, which united in the highest degree spirit, fluency, and elegance. This young lady must be regarded as a dtcided acqui sition. Signor Gassier was the Duke, which he sustained very effectively, giving his one aria, the " Qualunque SiaL'Evento," with more than ordi nary force. The house was well attended, and the enthusiasm of the audience very great, the principal singers being demanded at the close of every act. ROYAL, ITALIAN OPERA. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA. This last and not least favourite of the much underrated 'Verdi was produced at this theatre last evening, in order to provide for three 'events—the first appearance of Signor Mario for the season, as Ricardo; the first appearance of Signor Della Sedie at this theatvn in itenran and the first appearance of Mddle. Csillag, in the character of Amelia. This combination attached to the evening an inte rest not ordinarily excited. Signor Mario, who WaB most warmly welcomed, proved to be in full possession of his powers, and sang and acted throughout the opera with the utmost charm of voice and manner. Signor Delle Sedie, who was also welcomed, ably sustained the reputation he gained at the Lyceum as Renato; whilst the Amelia of Mademoiselle Csillag placed the character before the au dience in so entirely a new light, owing to its singular depth of emotion that it almost rose into a new creation. Into the great merits of this per formance we hope to enter on another occasion. the house was very full, and the applause through out was enthusiastic. THE CROPS IN KENT,— The weather during the last fortnight has been very favourable for the growing crops, and great progress has been made in field work. The sowing of corn is now finished, and with the fine rain we had on Thursday evening last the late sown may not be much behind the early in yield, the wireworm having been very busy in some of the early pieces. The appearance of the young wheats is generally good, though some few dis tricts have suffered much from the late wet, and the plant on the leys on some light soil is bare through the worm. The Lent corn is upon the whole looking favourable and grows very fast. A. larger breadth of pdtatoes has been planted than usual, and although they were not got in the ground as soon as usual, the seasons have been very good. Cherries have suffered much fmra the late frosts, especially the bigarreaus and reds, the crop of which in the neighbour hood of Maidstone will be small, The rest of the fruit at present promises well, yet it is full early to say much about the apple crop. Swodos and wurzel have held out well. Keep is plentiful, and the season is certainly a very forward one.---,South Eastern Gazette, LATEST NEWS. PARIS, MAY 7, MORNING. The Moniteur of this morning publishes a decree authorising the rail way companies to fix whatever tariffs they may think proper for the transport of merchandise in transit, in order to combat foreign competition. The Moniteur also announces that the King of Holland arrived here last night. The Emperor sent Prince Murat to Compiegne to compliment the King. BRUSSELS, MAY 7. The Moniteur Belge of this morning says:— " The condition of the King remained the same throughout yesterday. At night, however, more favourable symptoms supervened." MADRID, MAY 6. In the Chamber of Deputies to-day the payment of the debt due to France was voted by 121 to 12. Two cardinals and 20 bishops have left for Rome. BERLIN, MAY 6 (Evening). The elections for the Chamber of Deputies took place here to-day. All the members for Berlin in the former Cham ber have been re-elected, except Herr Kuhne, in whose stead Herr von Hennig Plonchott, belonging to the party of progress, has been chosen. A s far as can be judged from the telegrams re ceived up to the present time from the various provinces, most of the former representatives have been re-elected ; among others, Dr. Waldeck, Herr von Sybel, Chamberlain von der Hagen, and Herr von Uarlowitz. BRUSSELS, MAY 6. It is asserted that a telegram was sent yesterday to the Duke of Brabant at Seville respecting the illness of the King. Letters from Seville announce that the climate of Andalusia has sensibly improved the health of the Prince Royal of Belgium. ITALY. A communication from Rome, of the Ist, has the following:— "An encounter took place three days back be tween the Italian and Bourbon troops, near Talva terra, on the territory of Ceprano. A French officer, at the head of a detachment of soldiers and of four Roman gendarmes, proceeded as far as the frontier, but was received with musket-shots. None of his men were, however, struck, and he took 15 Bourbon prisoners. Some minutes later a conflict almost took place between the French and the Italian troops, but they recognised ea3h other by the cries of ' France for ever !' Victor Emmanuel for ever !' raised on the two sides. Some reaction aries have been taken to Rome, and shut up in the castle of St. Angelo. General de Goyon seems to have resolved to no longer consign his prisoners to the Pontifical Government, but to keep them him self in the above named castle. The French exer cise a rigorous surveillance at Veroli ; provisions can now no longer be carried beyond the frontier." MEXICO AND IHE UNITED STATES. The following despatch from Mr. Seward on Mexican affairs has appeared in the Archives Liplo matiques. It is addressed to Mr. Dayton, the United States Minister at the Court of the Tuileries, and is dated from Washington, March 3 : " Sir,—We observe indications of a growing opi nion in Europe that the demonstrations which are being made by Spanish, French, and British forces against Mexico are likely to be attended with a revolution in that country, which will bring in a monarchical Government there, in which the Crown will be assumed by some foreign prince. This coun try is deeply concerned in the peace of nations, and aims to be loyal at the same time in all its relations as well to the allies as to Mexico. The President has, therefore, instructed me to submit his views on the new aspect of affairs to the parties concerned. " He has relied upon the assurances given to this Government by the allies, that they were seeking no political objects, and only a redress of grievances. He does not doubt the sincerity of the allies, and his confidence in their good faith, if it could be shaken, would be reinspired by explanations appa rently made in their behalf, that the Governments of Spain, France, and Great Britain are not intend ing to intervene, and will not intervene to effect a change of the constitutional form of government now existing in Mexico, or to produce any political change there in opposition to the will of the Mexi can people. Indeed, he understands the allies to be unanimous in declaring the proposed revolu tion in Mexico is moved only by Mexican citizens now in Europe. " The President, however, deems it his duty to express to the allies, in all candour and frankness, the opinion that no monarchical Government wh;ch could be founded in Mexico, in the presence of fo reign navies and armies in the waters and upon the soil of Mexico, would have any prospect of security, or permanence. Secondly, that the instability of such a monarchy there would be enhanced if the throne should be resigned to any person not of Mexican nativity. That, under such circumstances, the new Government must speedily fall, unless it could draw into its support European allies which, relating back to the first invasion, would in fact make it the beginning of a permanent policy of armed European monarchical intervention,injurious and practically hostile to the best general system of government on the Continent of America ; and this would be the beginning rather than the ending of revolution in Mexico. " These views are grounded upon some knowledge of the political sentiments and habits of society in America. "In such a case it is not to be doubted that the permanent interests and sympathies of this country would be with the other American Republics. " It is not intended on this occasion to pre dict the course of events which might happen as a consequence of the proceedings contemplated either on this continent or in Europe. It is suffieient to say that in the President's opinion the emancipa tion of this continent from European control has been the principal feature in its history during the last century. It is not probahlc that in a contrary direction is likely to be successful in an immediately Eucceeding century while population in America is so rapidly increasing, resources so rapidly developing, and society so steadily forming itself upon principles of democratic American Go vernment. Nor is it necessary to suggest to the allies the improbability that European nations could steadily agree upon a policy favourable to such a counter-revolution as one conducive to their own interests, or to suggest that, however studi ously the allies might act to avoid lending the aid of their land and naval forces to domestic revolu tions in Mexico, the result would nevertheless be traceable to the presence of these forces there, al though for a different purpose, since it ma y be deemed certain that, but for their presence there, no such revolution could probably have been at tempted or even conceived. "The Senate of the United States has not indeed given its official sanction to the precise measures which the President has proposed for lendin g our aid to the existing Government in Mexico, with the approval of the a aies, to relieve it from its present embarrassments. This, however, is only a question of domestic administration. It would be very erroneous to regard such a disagreement as indicating any serious difference of opinion is this Government or among the American people in their cor di a l g ood wishes for the safety, welfare, and sta bility of the republican system of Government in that country.—l am, etc., " WILLIAM H. SEWARD." COLONIAL PROGRESS.—The Montreal Gazette records tho birth of a quintette of girls" on the 29th of March, and states that the mother, a French Canadian, is herself one of four, all still living. the five children are "doing well," and the same may be said of the mother, FRE.% CH EXPEDITION 70 MEXICO. When General Prim, Count de Rem 9, and Mar quis de °AstiHag° went over to Mexico, the printing press, with all its accessories, formed an important portion of his baggage, not merely with a view to publish his general orders to the army, but a news paper under the title of Eco de Europa. The first number appeared at Vera Cruz on the 4th of Feb. According as General Prim moves into the country, the Eco de Europa shifts its quarters, and the last number which I have now before me is dated " Orizaba, March 19." The .Pco de Europa, as a matter of course, supports the views of the Spanish Government, though what these particular views are is not very clearly stated. On one topic, how ever, the Eco de Europa is both explicit and elo quent, and that is General Prim himself. O ne can fancy the feeling with which he must contemplate the following sketch of himself in that paper " One word more, and we have done. There, are persons whose very names are a programme ; there are individuals who are the symbol of a great en terprise ; and the person and the name of General Prim are the symbol and the programme of this expedition. Mexico and the whole world know him and admire him, and more than one Mezican heart beats this day with enthusiastic violence at the bare recollection of his marvel lous deeds. Well, then, here we have this noble chief tain, whom Greece and Rome would have enrolled among their gods, who in the middle ages would. have been the founder of a dynasty of kings, and who has in one day revived the terrible poetry nt the Homeric combats—we have this glorious Pala. din, who as a soldier is the thunderbolt of war an d the thunderbolt of glory, and as a ste.tesman the most upright friend of all the political reforms which make up the happiness of nations. On whatever side his sword flashes victory is certain. Wherever his voice is raised the t•fiumph of the liberty and the progress of the age •;.s assured. Were it possible to add anthing to the r zonfidence inspired by the greatness of the allied Pt - Avers, Mexico would find a fresh guarantee in the Count de Reus. The hero of Castillagos landed on the morning of the following day (the Bth of February). He mounted his horse on the quay; and, escorted by the lofty military chiefs and a brilliant staff, he proceeded to his quarters, admired by the multitude that thronged in groups to gaze upon_ him with rapture. With the arrival of General Prim the aspect of the town was changed, and it assumed an air of festivity and joy such as was never seen before. His. 'very pre sence began to produce this effect, it continued after his energetic address, and it was completed by his prompt and skilful measures. To condense our remarks so as to be well understood, we personify the thought of the expedition in one only of its re presentatives, the Count de Reus. And welt may we do so without the appearance of national vanity, for the Spanish Plenipotentiary, though always acting in accord with the Plenipotentiaries of the other two nations, has been the originator and the adviser of all the measures which h'eve been adopted. In a word, he has been the se,ul of the enterprise. It was natural he should be ; so, as he springs from the same race as the 'people by whom the action of Europe was to be felt, as well as for other reasons which are exclusively personal. Those who know the history of Spain know the Count de Reus, and those who know the Count de Reus will understand the magnitude of the sacri fices which the fulfilment of his glorious mission. must have cost him. Let us picture to ourselves the conqueror of Africa amid his shining pleiad of warriors eager for danger and for glory, and at the head of a phalanx of veterans who look upon him almost as a god. Let us contemplate him before a people who invite him to war and provoke him to measure swords, and we can form a notion of what it must cost him to remain quiet and pacific with fields of battle before him, and to sacrifice his in stincts and his habits on the altars of peace, j•as. tice, humanity, and the generous anxiety to save Mexico from bloodshed. This conduct is not only worthy of admiration, but it will cause 'astonish ment throughout Europe, where the Count of Reus is better known than here for his romantic prowess and his chivalrous valour. Europe will with diffi culty recognise the hero of Reus and of Tetuan in the calm and prudent plenipotentiary of Vera Cruz. &c. If General Prim bad allowed himself to be carried away by his warlike instincts, the world would have seen nothing strange in it,for he would have done no more than furnish a fresh subject for the gallery of heroic pictures, and to this the world is accustomed. What does see m a novelty in his life is the heroism of his patience ; and this is fortunate. The condurt of the Count of Reus has not only dissipated the doubts of the Mexican Government, but it exercises everywhere a magic influence over the minds of the people, &c. In Mexico his friends s?,y he is the ' exterminating angel—the angel of consolation—the lion of battle —the demi-god of War—and in describing him Homer would have compared him to mars.' " General Prial, perhaps, aims at playing the pare, of Hernan Cortes, and conquering the whole of On the other hand the Paris journals, without, of course, displaying such extravagance as in the foregoing, contend that the admiration of the Mexicans is entirely concentrated on the French army. The French are regarded as their only de liverers from the calamities accumulated upon them, while the Spaniards are utterly disregarded. The truth, perhaps, is that did they dare to speak the unfortunate Mexicans would declare for any one likely to rescue them from the miserable tyranny of their own rulers. They dare not speak, however, for their country is under a rule of terror. PRINCE NAPO.LEOII"S VlBl7 50 ITALY. A Paris letter, in the Journal de Rouen, gives the following as what is likely to take place on Prince Napoleon's visit to Italy. The writer de clares that the account which he sends was current in generally well-informed circles in Paris, but we cannot confirm the statement, and consider part of the information as not by any means probable:— "According to certain report's, the mission of the Prince will not be limited to al simple visit to King Victor Emmanuel, and to the delivery of a letter from the Emperor ; he will, it is said, perform the first act of the policy adopted towards Rome. The letter of the Emperor, it is affirmed, will first of all contain an invitation to the King to visit Paris, and the Prince is to verbally add the proposal to pro ceed with him to Rome under the protection of the French flag, and with the character of the greatest neutrality, to present to the Pnpa the propositions of the French Government. An audience would. be solicited of the Pope, and the Holy Father would learn at if the Prince was the bearer of an order for the commander of the French army of occupation to cause a division to fall back upon Civita Vecchia. King Victor Emmanuel would then issue an order to replace that division by an Italian one. According to the reply of the Pope, Prince Napoleon and King Victor Emmanuel would act in the sense of the first instructions given to the Pope, and the Emperor would be advised of the determination of the Pontifical Government. King Victor Emmanuel would then repair imme diately to Paris, and in the interview between the two Sovereigns the final resolutions would be adopted. According to that plan, the Pope can but be touched by the personal visit of King Victor Emmanuel and Prince Napoleon, and would recog nise in this visit a proof of the deference of the Governments of France and Italy. If a refusal be opposed by the Holy Father to the propositions made to him, and if a departure from Rome of the Chief of Christianity appeared imminent, the reso lutions to be taken would be both concerted at Paris, after a sort of manifestation addressed to the French Church." ANOTHER DEATH IN THE REGENT'S CANAL.— Yesterday morning, at an early hour, as a bargeman was navigating a vessel through the Regent's-canal, at Cam biidgc-heath-gate, Hackney, he saw a bonnet lying on the towing path near the bridge. He raised an alarm, when one of the lock-keepers procured the drdgs, and after a few minutes the body of a female about GO years of age was brought to the surface. She had only been in the water a few hours, and was very poorly clad. Her pocket was empty. The deceased was afterwards identi fied as Ann Turner, the wife of a cordwainer residing at Bethnal-green. The cause of the act is supposed to b destitution.