The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-17 00:00:00

MIL BRIGGS HIDES HIS MATCH.'
bee 1.1:!ICIL No. 310. fer April 19.
tge, 13,Irlee4dreet ; sad old by boob-am sad asannalf n.

gite erprtOgs.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
• Tieawid Utiles if be Lwow.' coat tine ee sue* 'rewires
bunts," is pub:Wied away Tuesday sad Friday eight, ia Use
lee pot.
Adwauseseate Mewled foe "Teo Zipeas," Wake Venlig paper,
mow la L. :ttr. 'Atte, ferirerie,itrhet, by Two o'clock as the
day .f pub.watlvo.
HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tan —Worming. to. 51. a. Aftrrsoua, 3e. 1281.
la.aosaow —Morel& 3e. 13.. •fteracwa. 30. Slat.

LONDO.V, THURSDAY, APRIL 17.

WE understand, that at a solemn meeting of the
Commissioners of the Great Exhibition, it has been
determined that the Crystal Palace is to benpened
in state by the Iteizs on the Ist of flay; and that
the only persons to he admitted to this cere-
mony are the Royal Commissioners, the diplo-
matic body, the members of the government,
and of the household. A more impolitic, n
more absurd, or a more ludicrous resolution
the Commissioners could not have come to. That
a mere knot of individuals, about whom, with
the exeeption of the QUeEN, the PatseE, and
one or two ministers, the people of England cure
not Old' farthing, should thus, like maggots in a-huge
Cheshire cheese, enjoy the opening of a vast na-
tional exhibition, which in itself, and in its in-
auguration, is not only a national but a Eu-
ropean
_Pr, is monstrous. That these gentlemen
should enjoy the honours and privileges of a private
and premature view is all very well. They may en-
joy it in secret and in quiet on the last day of April,
and the public will not inquire. But that upon the
day which has been already announced for the first
day of opening, not only the public, but even that
nib of society, which could attiml, :mei which has
payed, its three guineas for season tickets—that they
should he' exelusted, is really impertinence, to use the
least all inlet. word.
The building would contain 40,000 persons. Those
who lave already provident season tickets, together
with official persons, would not amount to above
8,0110. And Bo se. eight thousand arc quite sus-
ceptible of discipline., and of undergoing such
restrictions and niculations as would ensure
royalty en listurbed survey of the vast Ex-
hibition. Really and in good truth, we think
that these tom holders of season tickets, who have
been led a little indwell to thin outlay of their
money by a feeling of affection for the ge LEN and
Petsi us well as of adhesion to the Great Exhibi-
tion, should make, in the eyes even of royalty,
taut this. heist striking r...dure of that Ex-
It is 111111 111104101 to keep out the,
peole. Rad we our will, %V should let in on such
a sob mo on-asion a large proportion of the mac
lIILVCIN of shillings, as well us of live shillings, in
order to popularim; the te. We are certain that
this Maid be dime in uuy other country in the world
upon a similar issusion. hut in Englund the poreclain
clay is so tunas reverted, even in many of its unjust
privileivse by the people, that such arrangements as
would snit u foreign country are not to be expected.
But if her \I %.11,1 such an oecasion is not to be
(sweated and cheered by her people, let not at leant the
wealthy of that people he excludes] from what can
be considered as nee other than a national
the ale g 4 which, in a hugger-mugger way, we
cannot hie look upon us a national disgrace.
We have no doubt the mntnuissiuners did not look
npou ii in this light. Their sole object and oleos
pying thought was to give her M ui.,ry an unen-
cumbered and ennivenient view. In this they make a
great mistake; fur there am much higher objects than
user.' eonreniene•. 'Phis is a fest ivul in which the world
is skeet to join, and upon which the world will make
its ionmu uM. 1.0. us begin the first 1,41111: of this
;mut spectacle by displaying the QUEEN in the
midst of her people. The more that people you
can bring and thrust into that great inauguration the
hater.
%Ve have heard it rumoured that this Exhibition
was to Is- mate the opportunity of disturbances, and
these slisturlsmene to le rained by foreigners. We
tesver believed one word of such a calumny on the
exiles who are anuingst us. But we arc cer-
tain that if any ill-inleised fool durst raise the
look of le...laity to our Sovereign or our
institutions, the sae peril would be for the
foolish indi% anal who ventured it in his igno-
rance. In any uswinblnge of the broad public of
England the (IrEEN is more sati• from insult, and
inure vertain of the most alietionate respect, than
in any knot of oniehils or diplomatists which it may
pl.-;lse this or other courts to aecredit or bedizen.
We are quit.' certain that Sir Itoin.aer Nit., who
was one of the Exhibition commissioners, would
never have sanctioned tin anaehronisin so gross as
this. of a mere. narrow, court opening of the Great
Exhibition. Ile would have protested aguinst it
from a sense of its impoliey. and of the utter igno-
ranee of piddle opinion that must have presided over
such a suggestion. We protest against it, not naively
fr.an the s conviction, but ulso from a reuse that
every member of the public must resent a slur drat
realty savours MOM of the times of Babylon and
Nincech, than of the nineteenth centui j.

TOilltr is little to Is' hoped front either Portugal
or Spain until they get tin altogether new class of '
politicians to govern them. The statesmen who have
sines• the fall of absolutism held power in the Penin-
sula, have neeessarily been either soldiers or finan-
ciers the gnat and difficult state duties being, find
to keep cititens and Iraq& down by means of the
army, and secondly, to extract from citizens and
people sufficient ?units to pay the army. When
either of these great state pillars failed down none
booth. The double task of keeping the people quies
cent, and the soldiers satisfied, might not have been
is, difficult could economy and honesty have been intro-
dthvol into the ad • ',fronton ; but. unfortunately, t Ito
oothrial vustonts of the countries are those of rank dis-
honesty. The Queens and their courts were anxious
but for money. It could only be had. by anticipa-
tion of the revenues, fr the few capitalists of the
country. These. of course. were paid exorbitantly.
subtracting the third or the fourth of the country's
re% time from its treasury. And us a constitutional
governnwitt is incompatible with such conduct, the
Cortes in both countries were either paeked by intfu-
-I.IIW or silenced by intimbhition. IVe will do Por-
tugal. however, the justice to say, that its Cones
hate never wanted courageous members to denounce
• minister, nor has the Portuguese minister pussooed
so much power or will to silence enemies as was the
case with the Spanish.
But Simi,' has been saved from that tertian ague,
tint intermittent fever of veer-recurring military in-
aunectiou, by its development of wealth. and by two
able men honing impressed their several talents on
the two administration,. those of the army amd of
!Wants,. Mom established an efficient *dictate for
filling the treasury and doing away with anticipa-
tions. soul Nuts 0".. thus certain of hiving his military
ea..arfull, organised the army in permanent obedienee.
He at the saw time put some checks on the prodi-
gality of the court. In short, NARVAE2 and Max
performed so Well their task, and perfected their
aim, which was that of governing despotically under
the memblauwe of a constitution. that the QUEEN
has been able to get rid ..f both, so regularly and'
securely does their system work without them.
Portugal is by no means so happily situated as
Spain. Not Mori` than une-fifth of its neighbour
in extent, and little more than one-fourth of its
population. with a revenue of about one-fourth
that of Spain Portugal has still a court and an
army to sustain. The exigencies of grandees are
even greater in Portugal than in Spain; and in order
to mike up a fitting magnitude of emolument, both
Ssi.u.sxud and THOMAR held at once the offices of
minister at home. ambassador at Madrid, besides a
host of smaller employs. Other modes of raising
money and accumulating profits were equally in
official hands, and were so common as to scarcely
raise a blush. Nor was any veil thrown over
On the contrary, whilst the CABRAL'S.
skilled in all these dishonest doings, fully
sod such proceedings on the part of Sams:slit
a in office, one of the C %NUL brothers now does
same service by the other. What Po
is a broom, to sweep such an Augeanrstrcia
a. But unfortunately the QtEEN clings to one
other of these ministers, who supply her wants,
' who keep the state quiet, at least for long inter-
' time. She has been taught to look upon

them.
well .1
liten it
the our
wants i
clt .In.
or (Alto
and wh
vale of