The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-15 00:00:00

MERCANTILE MARINE ACT.—THE LONDON I FINE ARTS.
SEAMEN'S STRIKE.
EXHIBITION OF ORNAMENTAL ART FROM
Last evening a public meeting of London seamen : THE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS OF DESIGN AT
y
took place at the Temperance Hall, Princes-square, Rat- MARLBOROI:OH-HOUSE.
elitf-hichway, for the purpose of passing resolutions and
This annual displa of works executed by the sta.
petiti nn ing parliament against the Mercantile Marine Mt dents of Somerset House, has been this year trans-
furred to Marlborough House, immediately above
of IMO; Mr. Dons KAVANAGH in the chair. The meeting
was very fully attended, and the walls of the room were
covered with the snow inscriptions respecting the rights of the Vernon Gallery, for the purpose: of including tho
seamen, ,Yee., which were mentioned in our report of similar works of the branch schools throughout the pro-
procecilione on a former occasion. i winces. The exhibition was yesteMay opened to
private, view previous to being thrown open to the
The CHAIRNIAN said the chief object of the present
meeting was to pass a resolution calling upon the seamen of
public in the ensuing week. On the whole, they
the port of London to cooperate with those of every other ge
port of the United Kingdom in resisting the impositions nr tcstiinony of considerable activity and improved
cast upon them by the Mercantile Marine Bill. 'skill on the part of professors and students, and
Mr. GEORGE RIDDLE proposed a resolution to the seem calculated to produce an extra amount of ofli-
effect :—" That the seamen of every port of the United
Kingdom be solicited to co-operate with those of London , cial gratulation.
While 1% Ady to admit the evident symptoms of
in petitioning parliament to mlress the grievances!
they now labour under bv the operations of the Mermaids amelioration in the elementary and technical modes
Marine Act of IMO." T 1,2 governmeut, he observed, by of working design, we do not feel as perfectly contl-
persevering in this measure, were robbing the owners and dent that any nearer approach has been made to
masters of ships, as well as the mates and the men, in
-- every encounter the too natural prejudices of the mataufac-
passible shape. They were not only doing all that was an
purer, who is apt to balance public taste with beauty
their power to ruin their interests, but a great deal. j e
that was not in their power, and it was quite evident :of design. The reconciliation of whatever is
that they should never get what the wanted from i antagonistic between the principles which influ-
the government until universal suffrage was esta- I once the ornamentists and those widely dif-
blished. With regard to the present movement he trusted I fering, which away fashion, nhuires all the
that all who gained their living by the same calling as be
did, would rally round the cause, and not give up this agi-
tact and ingenuity of the practised hand. It
tation until they were treated otherwise than as slaves, would be in vain to look for such. in the pre-
(Hear, hear.) sent exhibition, where u sanguine juvenile gene-
Mr. .1 . ANDERSON, of South Shields' seconded the._ ration is seen plunging into styles the most
resolution, and addressed the meeting in language' similar opposite, and combinations the most antiquated. In
to that whieb was used at former meetings with the same fact, the
object. The seamen of this country, he said, were well- tact, tnough having to a certain extent, and with
disposed men, and they did not require "shipping °SM.," laborious efforts, succeeded in mastering sufficient
and " register tickets." and .• muster rolls," to teach them dexterity of execution, we are still at the Alpha of
they should petition parliament against the grievances signs he gradually
the duty they owed to their employers. It was right that ornamental education. Still, the list of applied &-
increasing in proportion to the
under Willett they laboured, and he was very glad to find I
so many friends ready and willing to follow up the move- lure pattern designs. The great staple commodity
meet they had begun. still consists, however, of more or less ingenious and
.. . . . .

The re:olution was then put, and carried unanimously,
Mr. GEORGE RIDDLE moved that a petit* h pre-
sented to parliament, praying for a repeal of the Merean-
tile Mariae Law, on the ground that it was an act of
servile degradation, oppressive taxation, and rigorous coer-
cion, being the means of engendering strife and hatred be-
tween parties who heretofore had he, on the most

pretty arrangements of flowers, evincing generally
a deeper knowledge of harmonious contrasts of co-
lour, than any deep research after form. This it is
almost needless to add, is a fault: form should ho
supreme in all matters of ornament, and it should be
looked to in time, or there is no knowing what

able terms, and enjoining upon seamen the neissoity of
making their agreements on a principle which was not re-
cognised or ullowed by any other class of her Majesty's free
subjects.
Mr. SAMUEL ItOWLANDS seconded the motion,
which w 3. carried, and was followed by a resolution to the
effect that the women of London agreed to assist in the
establishment of the Seamen's Friendly Association.
Several women addressed the meeting in furtherance of
the objects in view, and the chairman called upon all those
who intended to abide by the "strike" to appear on the lid-
lowing morning with a piece of blue ribbon in their jackets,
that they might be distinguished from the blacklegs. He
himself would wt the esample by wearing a fine rosette,
and he trusted it would be followed by every hornet-hearted
seaman who valued his rights and liberties. (Cheers.)
A Mr. NEALE then came forward and read a long letter
which he bad addressed to Lord John Russell in opposition
to the Marine Bill. Shortly afterwards the meeting sepa-
rated, and a collection was made at the doors to pay the ez-
pews. of the evening.

extravagancics may be committed in the minv of in-
vention; indeed throughout the whole stages of the
young designer, the present exhibition reveals an
unpardonable laxity with regard to the cultivation
of form. If we look to the samples of drawings
sent front the provinces, they are mostly copies from
the very worst antiques of the worst Roman period;
and every defect is reprodoced with provoking
fidelity. • When we reflect that 10.000/. was the
liberal grant in 1540 for the outfit of the schools, it
seems inexplicable that the students should be limi-
ted to the accurate reproduction of such rubbish.
The same remark applies to the " Colour
Department." The copyist is tasked to tho
utmost to rival the execrable performances
attributed to Schiavone, Van Alst De Roos, Gerard
Lairesse, Segher., &c., all names connected with the
degradation and decay of art. If the great aim was to
learn the best means of molesting the eye and
vitiating the taste of the pupil, no surer method
could be adopted titan this. If slovenly styles and
slip-shod colours are to be avoided, so should the
contrary defect of over-elaboration in design bo
banished. It is evidently a delusion to think that
the day in which an ill-fated eight was condemned
to perpetual hatching work is gone by. An 01)
pressive and exploded method of drawing is still
rampant at Somerset House. This is what Reynolds
aptly christened, "delusive industry." Whether in
the designs from the " Hat." the " round," or front
nature, the same remark holds good.
hitherto opinions have been divided as to the best
, methods of instruct• ; while some contended that
the example of continental institutions should be fol-
lowed, and the artistic element mile to form part of
the decorator's education, others contended,
with some show of reason, that as the human
frame, at least in many branches of ornamen-
tal art, entered hut little, it was mere waste
of time to enforce a severe: course of study
on the student, altogether setting aside either Ins
Iwill or ability to draw academical studies. One of
the interesting features of the present exhibition is
to find the results of both systems, us exemplified in
their opposite results and tendencies, as it were for
the first thne brought to the test of comparison. To
us the result seems conclusive. Of the numerous sec-
tions and branches, which have with a good deal of
tact been arrayed in constoutive order—the head
school having of course the priority of numbers as
well us position—it is by no means satisfactory to
observe, that in despite of these advantage s+ Somerset
House is far from carrying off singly the palm of
superiority. Three dint:rent branches of these
national schools stand prominently in foremost posi-
tions : the first is the female school, headed by MN.
Mlan ; the next is the Glasgow branch, which is
under the active superintendance of Mr. Wilson;
and, lastly, the Spitaltields branch, under the head
mastership of Mr. Walsh. The designs of these last
arc peculiar, from their pleasing and unambitious
nature, and as bearing outward evidence to the most
untutored eye that they arc within the powers of tho
loom. In the three above-mentioned eases the study
of the nude and plaster figure is made comparatively
subservient to the practical requirement of ornamental
art. Indeed, a glance round the walls of this Exhibition
seems fully to warrant the idea that if hitherto there
has been a lack of energetic support front those more
immediately interested in the foundation of a school
of British designers, and without which no national
institution can prosper, it has been owing in no
slight measure to the misappropriation of grants from
their original purpuse. Asthe schools are at present
coustituted they tend to feed the provinces with me-
diocre daughtsman, with a slight smattering of orna-
mental art. The examples from Glasgow, only
d 3 in number, arc there to prove that it is
not the anatomy of the human body. which is
essential to the decorator, but the dissection of curvi-
linear compositions. It is quite a relief to turn front
the heresies of the " head school," such us anatomis-
ing the " Discololus," and revealing the muscular
developments of the Antinous,- -and to look on the
conscientious designs of its northern rival, whether
for surface or metal work.
In the modelling department, Stoke school takes
the lead, and the delicate chiselling in the groups
which surround the" Witte Cooler," by Mr. H.
Bourne, deserves special mention. Paisley and Man-
chester are well represented; the latter especially
displays a very active spirit ou the part of the master,
IMr. Hammersley.
On the whole this exhibition is rather indicative
of what may yet be done, than positive proof of tan-
gible benefits; but whatever will be the general ver-
dict, the feeling will be that the female branch,
whose tribulations are so pathetically described in
tuts week's number of Houschofd Words, arc not
amongst the least satisfactory and conclusive evi-
dences of what well directed endeavours can accom-
plish in the most delicate mutters of taste.