The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-26 00:00:00

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LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 203.

A o tutors habit the English have of crowding
the swot important business and moat exciting
plea-
sures of the year into one brief space of time.
few weeks, emphatically to need the seamen, during!
which all England congregates, and in which no one
has an hours breathing time, offers certainly the
mist wonderful specimen of the concentrated activity
of oar nature. Let us take the week on which we me,
about to enter. Some of the nerd important
qttee.l
bons to the fortunes of the nation, its life, and hal
parties, are to be decided in Westminster. Propetty
tax and free-trade, or more customs duties, including
one upon corn, is the bill of furc in the House sr
COMMAAS.
plow the people are to be fed. how the revenue is
tube robed, shut church is to be predominant, and
what opinion or tendence in each church is to prc-
yad—toen, who is to rule us, what school of poli-
ticians, what class of own—there is not one of these,
the vital and fundamental questions of government
and sods ty. that is not asked and discussed, and
pressed for decision at this moment. It is a time
of material tranquillity no doubt, but also of
great mental agitation— agitation, however, with-
out rancour or evil passions, or the remotest allusion
to viuleme. In the midst of all this we have in pure
guile de raw given a large Vie wed invited the
whole world to it.
When this great frete was first talked of, 1851 was
considered as necessarily a dull political year. Free
trade had been enacted; it eoukl nut surely be
soon called in question. Parliament would soon
expire, what need of prematurely strangling it?
Foreign nations could not trouble us with rivalry ;
they had enough to do at home. And the Pore
surely could nut trouble us, poor mao, without a
Lajocco to pay fir a meal, or fee a soldier to guard
him. In all this we have lawn disappointed. Princes,
can no more give au order for a quiet session than
they ran for rain or sunshine. And as it' from pure
contrariety, our world's Vie has been ushered in by
a religious, a financial, and a ministerial crisis.
As far um the
.file goes, this is perhaps all the
better. The spectacle at Westminster will be as
interesting and instructive to the foreigner as that in
llyck-park. Ile will behold not merely the products
of the English system, but ran inspect the very
workings of its olitical machinery. All that Eng-
land can bast of' -of business. of society, of pleasure,
of celebrities, of population, the fOreigner according to
his rank and capabilities will behold. And
London will be as much to him as the Exhibition.
We must confess our greatest fear is that hospi-
tality will be wanting, as well as courtesy, and that
the natural reception will not be such as to send
foreigners away with augmented love fur us. Iu our
metropolis, sisrety is merely a congregation of mem-
bers of the highest class, Neither letters, nor science,
nor political economy have any station unconnected
with rank. We have plenty of dull magnificence and
frigid ceremony for the titled foreigner.
For any thing beneath that we have little save
e11111161111114A and mockery. And the broad caricature
with which roods has thought fit to welcome the
cordial visit of foreigners to our shores, is a very
good sample of the politeness and good feeling of
the English nation. Amidst this threatened want of
courtesy and hospitality, it is truly gratifying to find
that the Louts hospitality,
hail stepped forward and
made arrangements for throwing open the Mansion
House to foreign exhibitors and visitors. It is im-
possible to appreciate too highly the zeal and con-
sideration of our first city magistrate iu setting such
an example. And we may here mention, that us yet
no notice ur invitation has-been received appointing
the place the civic authorities are to take in the pro-
cess of the First of May.
It would be impeesible to enumerate the immense
number of letters containing suggestions and com-
plaint's on the subject of the Great Exhibition which
we have received., yet scarcely any of the complaints
come front foreigners. English exhibitors complain
sadly of want of free admission, and of being nut
equally treated with the holders of season tickets.
We lave, however, wherever there appeared any great'
or serious cause of objection to the decision of the'
commissioners. spoken out so loudly and vehemently,
and the commission have in all things shown such a
desire to meet the wishes of the public, that it would
be meat unjust and unfair to cavil and to worry.
Theirs has been a must arduous undertaking, which
they have carried through, on the whole, in despite
of nova formidable ebstruetions, with praiseworthy
success. And what defects exist, are now almost
irremediable. The ceremony of opening, laid down
in the programme, combines all that is decorous and
solemn for such an oreusion, without making it what
it is not, either a court fete ur a religious mummy.
On no subject have we received a greater number
of commumeat• than on the necessity of Deo-
claiming a holiday on the Ist of May. All dune
who arc employed on that day in London desire to
have leisure' to go to Hyde Park. The First of Mily is
already a holiday at the Bunk and other offices. But
glad as we Yhauld be to witness a holiday on such an
ureasion. we doubt the expediency of gathering the
cot in' population of I ondon around the Crystal Palace
on the oue day. When l.les arc given in hurl,
the greatest care is taken to multiply attractions,
and distrast crowds to different quarters. Bat to
declare a holiday, in order to concentrate the two
millions of Londem population with the present In.
Sus of foreigners in the vicinity of a spectacle
which. after all, they could nut witness, this ts not a
thing that we could be prepared to press. At the
Name tune, us no business will he done on the let of
May. the pent-up spirits of London t midttyts Cought
to be allowed at least to take half of the day to find
bleathing room itt the parks.