The Express.
London, England, 1868-07-06 00:00:00

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AT THE

CRYSTAL PALACE.

On Saturday afternoon the Duke of Edinburgh
made his promised public appearance at the
Crystal Palace. He met with as enthusiastic a
reception as oould reasonably be expected
from the class of persons who are in the
habit of promenading at Sydenham on five-
shilling days. Compared with the great expecta-
tions previously formed, the event, as an expres-
sion of public feeling, was a complete justification
of the proprietor who, at the shareholders'
meeting last week, ventured to hope that if there
was to be a " reception" at the Palace, it should
be on a shilling day. Of course the thirty thou-
sand odd of fashionably-dressed ladies and gentle-
men present were beyond the suspicion of indiffe-
rent loyalty, as their presence and numbers testi-
fied. No doubt they intended to be very warm in
their welcome, and were so in their way ; but it
is to be regretted that the popilar miler Prince
did not make his first ap in public
on an occasion when he co d have heard the
outbursts of cheering that would have greeted him
if the greeters had not been those who were afraid
or ashamed of testifying their sentiments with full
power of hand and lung. The Duke, with his elder
brother and attendants, drove up to the carriage
entrance a few minutes after 4 o'clock, and were
formally received by some of the directors, whose
deferential bows were the first and almost only
tokens of welcome. Along the road the royal
party had been cheered heartily, but vocal demon-
strations outside the Palace were faw. in conse-
quence of regulations which kept the ticketless
eublic at a distance. On their way to the royal
boxes there was one honest burst of hurrahs,
but it was a fragment only, and died rather sud-
denly when its objects disappeared behind the
strong barricading with which the directors have
thought it prudent to enclose the temporary pm-
!ages to be traversed by distinguished visitors. The
people within the Palace had been waiting with
every semblance of anxiety for tote advent of the
visitors of the day, had been jumping up in several
false alarms, and were turning from all directions
towards the royal boxes across the transept.
The monster audience stretched from the Han-
del orchestra to the royal boxes themselves in
one direction, and as far as the eye could reach
either way in the other. The cheers to Iwhieh we
have referred as coming from the outskirts of tho
immense gathering, heralded the expected arrivals,
to whom the audience stood up when they entered
the centre box from the back. A cheer, faint
and uncertain, arose ; the Duke came to the front,
but seemed undecided what to do, as the cheer had
soonspentitself. Another. however, was attempted,
with better meow, and than the Duke went
through the operation generally described by the
phrase "bowed hii acknowledgments." A third
. round wee managed, but the plaudits of a couple
of hundred politicians ratifying the views of their
political eldef would have been thunder contrasted
with it. Hendterehiefe were waved is 'sleety,
but ehiefiy by gentle:ma. . the ladies
peering to have enough to do to level theirair
opera glasses with becoming gram at the royal
box. The National Anthem was played by Mr.

Mann's band, and sung by the choir, but the
audience, as if mthimeW by their previous efforts,
did not join in the thorns.
The concert proceeded with Mane. Patti, Signor
Grazieni, Mdlle. Greed, Mdlle. Vanzini, Signor
Pencelli, Signor Begaglio, Mdlle. Carols, and
Signor Ciampi as vocalists. In the interval the
Duke and the Prince of Wales came to the balcony
overlooking the outer terrace, and the crowd there,
thawing somewhat, became a little warmer is
their demonstrations. A grand banquet simile, •
to that of last week, and provided, as before, by
the Palace refreshment contractors, was given
in the Queen's corridor, the open front of
which /limo the previous Saturday had
been, for the sake of space and decoration,
partially glazed in, leaving a small semi-eireular
balcony projecting. The throngs who collected
underneath last week were able to watch the royal
party almost at the dinner-table, and to hear occa-
sionally the clatter of knife and fork that perhaps
even a prince of the blood was using. The new
arrangement on Saturday, however, denied the
curious that boon, but it conferred a boon of
another kind upon the Primes and their friends—
it saved them from being stared at by the hour
together. While the seoond half of the oonoert
was going on all the fountains played, and the
pretty sight was watched throughout by the
balcony occupants, amongst whom were Prince
Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Duke of Sutherland,
the Duke and Duchess of Manchester, Earl
Dudley,
Lord Henry Lennox, Lady Westmoreland, Mr.
Chaplin, &c. The later part of the concert included
a new song by Glover, " God bless the Sailor
Prince," sung by Mr. Cummings and the choir.
The verses of this composition are more jingling
than those of " God bless the Prince of Wales,"
and the author seems to have been able to hit
only upon the word " evince " as a rhyme to
" Prince." Thus we are told,
Now Royal Alfred treads the desk,
His courage to evince ;
and again,
Young, brave, and true, be wears the blue,
His courage to evince.
Of course the exigencies of such versification must
soar above such trifles as facts, and " Royal
Alfred," in the centre box, had to listen to this,
When o'er the land a Bash of pain
Bhot through the electric wire,
That England'. darling son was slain,
High roes the people's ire.
and so on. The " national song," however, had
the effect of rousing the audience into respectable
fervour, and the Duke, with beaming bronzed
countenance, kept on bowing and smiling. The
Princess of Wales appeared towards the close of
the concert, and wan similarly welcomed, but
thousands went home ignorant of her late visit.
Just before dark the Prince of Wales and the
Duke went to see the late King Theodore's horse.
It is called a charger, but the chief reason far
honouring the poor wiry little beast with such a
distinction seems to be that visitors are
charged sixpence each to look at him.
Of course ho has never been shod. The mane and
tail have been unmistakably " dooked"—rose trey
to furnish mementoes of his old master and the
campaign. His name is "Hammel," and Hammel is •
beyond doubt " aged." He proved a good spew*.
lation on Saturday, if, as alleged, 1,000 persons
went to see him. The royal visitors had the op-
portunity of inspecting some of the aeronautical
objects: amongst them was Mr. Stringfellow's
aerial steam machine, weighing 121bs. Just before
the concert commenced it whizzed along the nave,
over the heads of the audience, whom it frightened
considerably. It sped to its limit rapidly; but so
it ran on a string by means of pulleys, the trial
is not very valuable as a test of aeronautical
science. As far as we could judge, if the neat little
machine had not been kept in check by the cord,
it would have escaped through the roof in a
twinkling ; or if it had flown in another direction,
would have taken its own course regardless of
breakages. The fish-shaped baloon was also set
in motion before the royal visitors. The fire-
works concluded the fete, and of them nothing but
praise can be said ; better were probably never
witnessed. In addition to the programo pre-
viously mentioned there were two special pieces--
a representation of the Galatea 80 feet long, and
" Welcome Alfred," in the centre of a smaller
device. A royal salute of crimson lights was given
by the 19th Middlesex Volunteers, of whom Mr.
Hughes, M.P., chairman of the company, is
colonel. Sir Robert Napier was not present as
announced, but there is a talk of an Abyseinian
day before long. What better place than the
Crystal Palace for filing, not only Sir Robert
Napier, but some of the rank and file who carried
out his commands; and how better could the filing
be accomplished than by allowing all classes who
have joined in raising the sinews of war to
join also in the festival

CONVOCATION.

In the Upper House their lordships decided that
it was too late to accede to the request of the Lower to
appoint committees on the subjects of retiring pennons to
disabled incumbents and ecclesiastical dilapidation', bat
directed that the resolution of the Lower House deflating
the neossaity of reforms in the Irish church should be
appended to the address to the Queen, se requested.
In the Lower House, Archdeacon Hale presented a grava-
men stating that the Queen is supreme governor in them
and all other her dominions and countries, over all person!,
in all causes as well ecclesiastical as temporal ; that it is
not lawful for any bishops to withdraw themselves from
that supremacy, and establish a jurisdiction by citing
persons to appear before them according to forms
of law not recognised by the law of this country
that the sentences of courts held under any such assumed
jurisdiction are not the lees unlawful because
their effect is said to be spiritual, nor is the power of such
court lees formidable because it is said to deprive the
accused of spiritual privileges and not of temporal
rights; that it is no wtt of the duty or authority of con-
vocation to take cognisance of, or give validity to sentences
of excommunication weed in any ecclesiastical court
within the Queen's dominions, much less to the proceed-
ings of a court set recognised by law ; that since the
bishops appointed by the crown in South Africa appear
to be, in respect to their subjection to any superior autho-
rity in the same condition as all or tome of the arch-
bishops of the united church of England and Ireland,
amenable to the authority of the crown alone, and it
being evident that the peace of the church is disturbed
in that country not only by erroneous opinion but by
improper assumption of authority in the government of
the church, the case appears to be one that demands
the interference of the crown and calls for the exercise
of that power of visitation which the statute has con-
ferred uppoon the sovereign of this kingdom for the re-
dress of disorder and the correctiou of errors in the etioreh.
This was received as the -of the archdeacon,
and as such taken up to the bishops. The Deaa of West-
minster intimated by a question to the prolocutor an in-
tention of opposing any attempt to give validity to the
resolution pawed on the previous day' on the same subject
by direct synodical action. The report at the ea '
on eateremamumon with the FAME= wth
was then Miceli into consideration, and moo urtnecher
requesting the president, in conjuliction with the
bishope, to take steps fer:qi, negotiations( t.
Eastern patriarchs and Ulm with is ,veset.. ,
establish relations between two commuitione," '
eligible the clergymen Imityof seek to jets lathe rr.
and (Aces of the other, and to communicato the 4.oasion.o, r,)•
the house to the American convention at its meebnC in
_the- -
autumn. A motionfor a committee sMame athird Ramo.: •,7
service was brought on and diteusmd, bet owing to thee -
thinnem of the house= decision was taken upon it.
Selwyn, in reference to the resolution on the Irish
On its being aneounesd that the bishops bad mssely apa-
peuded it to the &dire*, moved that the Upper Howe Itar
asked whether they bad concurred in such resolution de. , •
chitin reforms to be necessary. Mimeo! carried ; but the
rator ported that it could not be taken no eh the
el 3.
re
House had alreadrympertord. Canon Sehrylpoesot ,••
otbies Complained that the object with
the resolution bad been moved been defeated if the
bishops had not stated whether they concurred in it or not.
The convocation was then prorogued fell Wedneeday the
Ibth instant.

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