The Express.
London, England, 1855-05-30 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 30, 1855.

principle of doing what was best for the poWle service,
without regard to the self lore, or eves the acquired posi-
tion, of iadmiduals. Undosb!edly this was the ease; cad
I fully agree in thinking that the Nuke of Newcastle would
M the last um to wish for ter ezeeption to this rale in his
I favour._

But I mast observe that, at the formation of the govern.
meet, ao such office as the War Department was ounteni•
plated; and when, subsequently, the Colonial-office was
divided, no objection whatever wee made to the choice of
the War Department by the duke; nor, se far es I am
aware, up to this moment, to his management of the office.
Now, I think you will admit that although another per-
son
might, perhaps, have been preferred on the first consti.l
testicle of an office, it is a very different thing to displace a
tam who has discharged its duties ably and honourably,
merely in the belief that another might possibly be found
still more efficient. Undoubted. y the public service most
be the first object; but, in the absent* of any proved defect,
or alleged incapacity, 1 can see no sufficient reason for such
a chugs, which, indeed, I think is forbidden by a sense of
justice and good faith.
Yon say that I made an objection to Pahnerston's age ;
but this is not quite correct. As my acquaintance with
Palmenton commenced very many years ago I rejoice se
much as any one to see the vigour of his mind and body;
but when I mentioned his age it had ululate* to the notion
of intruding him with the duties now discharged by the
Duke of Newcastle and by Herbert. It would be a delu-
sion to suppose that any mace, odor young, could attempt
each a task with advantage to the public. At the forma-
dna of the government I proposed to Palmerston to take
the Admiralty, but he preferred the Home-office; and as
he told me himself that the Foreistroffice had become too
mush for him, I am sure that he would
aadartekieg the business of the two offices in question.
Oa the whole, then, believing that any change like that
Mlitwould be of doubtful advantage to the public;
rstrongly that it would be an act of unfairness
Sad injustice towards a collesgu. ; and thinking also that
al such changes, mattes absolutely necessary, only tend
to weaken a government, I must repeat that I could not
benettly recommend it to the Queen,
I am, my dear Lord Joan, very truly youn.
BERDZiN.
(Letter from Lord J. Russell to Lord Aberdeen.)
Pembroke-lodge, Dec. 3, 1864.
My dear Lord Aberdeen,-1 have not seen Lord Palmer-
doe, nor heard from him; but, after your lut letter, I have
no hesitation in saying that I to my original opinion,
aad must propose to the Cabinet that the office of Mutilator
of War should absorb that of Secretary at War ; and that
the °thee should, for the present at least, be held by a mem.
ber of the Home of Commons.

I remain, yours truly, J. RussuLL.

ART • CONTRIBUTIONS IN AID OF THE
PATRIOTIC FUND-BURLINGTON HOUSE,
PICCADILLY.

It is gratifying to find that the well-directed efforts
of this animism% are thoroughly appreciated by the public.
Within the last few days the committee have paid 1,0001.,
as a further instalment to the Patriotic Fund, to be immedi-
ately distributed amongst necessitous widows and orphans of
sears perishing in the war; making in 41 3,2301. which
Ibis association has transmitted to the Patriotic Fund for tra
acme beneficent purpose. On Saturday last the committee
were favoured with the gratuitous Geralds of the band of
the Scots Fusiliers, and upwards of 1,200 persons p.id for
admission. The " New Centributioa Room," owing to
some very interesting drawings which it contain'', and which
we remarked upon in our last notice, prove* very attractive.
We have been struck with the amber of military men who
appear as art•contributon on this accedes—the drawings of

most of these warrior-amatean of the peactsfal arts peasessing
great merit. We observed today some admirable pencil
sketches, forming a panoramic view of Macao, by the philan-
thropic Captain Elliott, founder and a generous supporter of
the Sailors' Home. We noticed also some masterly and very
artist-like pea and ink sketches of figures by Miss Tapia?.
Tbe humane and patriotic scheme so gracefully set on foot
by the "Art Contribution Association" of London is about
le be adopted in the provinces. Dublin, we hear, being the
lint in the field in imitating so good an szomple—an ea-
ample, by the way, which may be most usefully, and there-
Sere legitimately, copied. In consequence of the good which
Y being effected by the &emaciation, government have con-
seat-d to place another suite of rooms in Burlington-house

at the service ol the committee. The association have been
kindly promised the gratuitous ',reams of the bands of the
lit Life Guards on the let of June, of the Blues oo the 9th,
and of the 2nd Life Goads on the 12th.

THE PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION

(TROY TIM DAILY NIWII

PARIS, NAT 27.

THE FLOWERS OF ALL NATIONS.
By stepping across the broadway of the Champs
Elysies, from the great northern entrance of the
Palate de l'lndustne, we arrive before the heavy iron
gates, where the presence of policemen and the flut-
tering of tri-colour flags indicate attractions within
the enclosure. The richly laden air.gliwpses between
the choicest of evergreens enable us to decide at once
that we are at the entrance to the great flower show.
The spring showers have done their wondrous work.
Exquisitely rich are the green shades above us, as
we pass from the dust and crowd of the great avenue,
to the region of splendid flowers—of flowers which
owe these great developments of their petals, and
;these gorgeous dyes, to the cares of science. The
change has the effect of magic, as we pass into the
beautiful gardens laid out by the Imperial and
Central Society of Horticulture. Well kept paths
wind about richly covered lawns; tine elms cast
their wealth of welcome shade upon the florist's
wealth of colour. Nor are the elegant women who,
here and there, are stooping tenderly over beds of
dappled pansies, or touching lilies with hands slight
and snowy as their fragrant bells, the minor attrac-
tions of the place. We hardly care to spell the Latin
names of all the flowers about us. The gorgeous
show of Kees, including no less than 150 varieties,
nursed by Francois Fontaine, of Chatillon, naturally
attracts the very sentimental. They are but prosy
product.,
00ei however, to many a loiterer hereabouts.
are so loved in France that a large class has
naturally grown up to hate them. They are, we may
say, manufactures, by which thousands gain their
living. Paris alone spends 10,0001. annually in rose-
buds. France even exports roses to the United States.
This industry, which is the pride of Fontenay-
aux Roses, is, perhaps, mainly due to the
Empress Josephine, who made Malmaison a
gigantic rose•bed, exhibiting all the varieties that
the great cultivator Dupont could obtain from Ger-
many, Belgium, and Holland. M. Fontaine's collec-
tion exhibits tickets sugges:ire of the debt due by the
horticulturists of France to the Empire, including the
Heine Hortense, which obtained a prize in 1849; the
Duchene de Cambaceres, &c. Queen Victoria also

a pale pink flower amid thin gorgeous court

The roses are only equalled by the azaleas, dis-
played near them. From the most exquisitely white
petal to the richest red and the liveliest scarlet, we
may pick out from this magnificent collection of a
magnificent plan:, the colours we like best. For this
display the flower-loving people of Paris are in-
debted to M. Bucchi, gardener to M. Delesaert. Not
far off, under the shadow of an Indian construction,
supported by imitation bamboo columns, M. J. Wood,
of Rouen, has distributed another rich collection of
these showy flowers. Assuredly to the azalea growers,
the promoters of this Exhibition owe a heavy debt of
gratitude—for the azalea not only covers its propor-
tions with brilliant blossom, but is a beauty that, in
the shade, preserves all the wondrous tints of its
youth to the green old age of one month at least.
Then there are the camellias, loved by ladies for
their hair. These are exhibited in great strength.
Close to the entrance is a building filled with these
popular flowers, by M. Paillet. Beautiful are the
tints spread out before the visitor. The colourist
stands hopeless before the marvels of nature's magic
palette. Here, too, is a specimen of the aracauria
excelsa, from Norfolk Island, with its pyramidal form
and horizontal boughs. The same exhibitor has sent
several roots of the Dioscorea batatas, together with
some samples of flour obtained therefrom. But let
us turn from the utilitarian tubercles of China to the
thickly covered beds of pansies, with their round,
velvet petals; here epangled with chrome upon the
finest purple there gloomy with the dark
richness of a purple deepening to the centre. M.
FriCs has said that in the varieties of the pansy the
attentive observer may catch characteristics of the
human face, but I confess that no such revelations
have some to my mind in the study of these poetic
flowers. Let me point the visitor's attention espe-
cially to M. Pro's bed of pansies, encompassed by a
cordon of blue gentian. Then, as we stroll about,
we drop—here upon some finely freckled tulips, with
bell-like wine goblets—there upon beds of geraniums,
beautifully various—and again, upon cinerarias,
phlox, and other garden flowers. Nor shall we pass
unnoticed the sweet-smelling wallflowers sent by M.
Lenormand.

We do not pretend to linger long in the hot houses;
the atmosphere is too heavy, too much laden with
vapour. But the orchids exhibited by Pescatore,
Thibaut, and Keteleer, are remarkable, with their
feathery, fantastic shapes. Then the cacti, recalling
to many a traveller the hedges of Sardinia,
bloom magnificently. Bat the palms are our espe-
cial favourites, with their broad leaves gracefully
drooping—apparently relaxed with the heat. There
fine trees, from the collection of M. Verdier, are only
equalled by the ferns sent by M. Leroy. We are
told that the palms include the chewers" hithert
an unknown kind, and the chamcsrops excels° Vera,
recently imported from China by Fortune. Turning
from this poi'', we cannot but pause to admire the
rbododendron of the Himalaya regions, now exhi-
bited in France for the first time ; and to remark the
Illiilavid grant:Vora, a novelty contributed by
MM. Vilmorin and Andrieux.

From all these sentimental attractions the gourmet
turns, not unwillingly, to the building where mar-
vellously developed fruit lies in tempting clusters.
It ts a painful duty to the man of taste to keep his
hands behind him as he surveys the melting pears,
the sun-burnt apples, the grapes with the atmosphere
of the south about them. Rather should he linger in
another part of these beautiful grounds, where the
aquarium is in course of preparation for the contri-
butions of M. Van Houtte, a Belgian, and where he
may cool his fevered imagination.

England should have been more mindful of ber
name in connexion with this exhibition of the flowers
of all nations. The French would be really asto-
nished to see the specimens of flower cultivation
which might have been sent from the suburbs or Lon-
don to Paris. The Parisian idea probably is that we
could contribute to the aquarium only—that marvel-
lous fungi are our only remarkable productions. It
is a pity that our horticulturists have not taught their
near rivals a different opinion. But I imagine that
there is yet time to send some English horticulture to
this most beautiful exhibition.