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. GYE. 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. GYE; 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