The Express.
London, England, 1857-04-25 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 25, 1857.

petty. This peedueee bee deo been effected, the !tabling
mond, and the,cand iseelkid. The rottgre behind the
birthpreo, nod Os the Guild Pite, has been taken down,
likewise the prim walls of the ground thrown into open
apwe. ♦ Calridergie out 1,111/11131. 'till in the hand.. of the
imams lbe the porn of carrying out mutt repairs and
reaturotkaa se may he eassidered necesaury sad edriosbie.
But ail yet the allele of Use birthplace has not been touched,
nor will it he, undsr the advise and direction of high
nod compoient gust y.
_This the trustee' are anxiourdy
ondaseaewleg to racy sad they hops very shortly to be in
pososeeke of sweets via tho slate of the building, including
the lost mob of ds. with it, with a view to it. ?merge-
d," ea An gra the wog suitable and appropnate nos-
noir of isyksc wet the ground. In conarquersce of taking
dews the and the removal 4,1 the tenant from the
Swan sad blushed, s cousiderable lute of inmate hr
bees sestained, and your committoe wish it to be clearly
understual that the voluntary contributions from the visitors
to She birthplace are more than ewer ntmintl for the purpor
sr defraying the current expanses attendant upon showing it
M the public free of charge.
Thelboaqurt of the Shakomearean Club took plat.° st the
Hell st No o'clock. 'Written eighty sad ninety gentlemen
set down to table, under the preaideney of Mr. l'., nu
Cottritu.

- The CNAIUMAN called upon the conipftny to till a bumper
to " The immortal bleniory of Shakeprare." Ile, in the
flea passe, regretted his inability to do anything like justice
to the then. which the twat aniegmbel, and obewad that
in approaching it he felt his utter ineigniticance compered
with him who was the "putt of nature, the poet ,;f all tuns,
natioce, and countries ;" but he trusted the humble atone be
had made to illustrate the text of Shakepri would induce
them to bear with him. (Loud cheering.) They ulna not
expect anything novel from him with respect to ilhalrepeare.
For nearly three centuries Shakepeare had been the thee.
of admiration, etiti, am of his work had become thread-
bare, and panegyric had beeoine exhausted, and there-
fore, be repeated, they must not expect anything
from him in the way of novelty. Ito did nut
suppose, indeed, that say one could ray anything fresh on
that subject, even were a prison of equally giant intellect to
the great bard himself to nor up before them in that mom,
for the works of Shakespeare were the univereal theme of
delight to no; we habitually clothed and expressed our
thoughts in his language. Every pegs was engraven on
our hearts, and interwoven with our albetione. ((Beene)
This waa the second fink, he had had the Osmium of [suing
ram. on an nevivion of that kind, and the third he hod
eteited the town. Ile felt that every stow in die plea, was
hallowed, and when he tend the boards of that lowly abode
which had vetoed many • Moo and oft to the footsteps of
Sliakepeare, it was with • feeling of reverence almost amount-
ing to awe. Then again there was the school, of which he
Lad written when a boy, he learnt '• little Latin end h.
Greek," and he (the chairman) thought they ought to con-
gratulate themselves on the fact that Sturkeepestre ma so un-
acquainted with thew languages, as had his education ben
more perfect in these respecta, instead of poiaciaing the
genuine fruits of hie prat original unfettered genius they
might bars received bawd a reputation in another form of
the idean of the classic authors. (flee, bar.) But it had
bees arid of Shalrepeare, and truly too, by a scholar who
lived 'saw the Shakepsarean on, that he could point in Shah-
apt was works to language infinitely finer, and eentinient
sad passion more eloquently expreued, than in the writers
of Oresce sad Item.. (Cheers.) This was indeed a tribute
to the Feeble.wa power of the poet's mind, but that it was a
just one the bet that no age, ancient ur modern, Lad pro-
duced semi a man would amply *how. What an infinite
weep did net that mind posse. f Although but a poor
glover's sea, sad of bat hub education, he nevertheless
pourtrayed the characters of kings, queens, nobles, phifiao-
phers, and pearants, fa short, in every sphere of life, with a
wonderftel fidelity, and put language into their mouths
peacieely ouch sa would have been used had the individuids
been living realities. (Hear, bear.) There non nothing which
he hod not sad, and mid too in the best manner. Ile stood
forward as a great delineator of all times. and all manners ,•
and tiers never, as be (the chairnien) had beard
critics my, wee a more adniimble ;of England ever
' written than that Shnkspeare left behind lona. The chairman
then want en to observe that they could not wonder, there-
fore, that the works of our great bard wen mad and admired
in other countries; and after introducing his friend Croft..
Mommern, who, he said, was an editor of Shalapeare's works
in the Berman language, he paled On to consider the
pleasing mike-boa that the art of printing would preserve for
ever the works of Shakspeare from lea or °till, ioa. Ile next
dwelt upon the circumstance that although in modern times
science and art had made sorb rapid strides, and invention
and discovery had greatly progreesed, the age had given birth
; to no production of the mind which could in the least rumpus
with the
.spontaneum and unrestrained elk. of Shareware's
gigantic 'tastiest Having emit abed the aeseriew that our
language was • fluctuating one by pointing to Shalapeare
se an example of its invarlablenees, he euntemplated for a
moment the great chasm which would have been eimeaioned
in our national imaginative literature had nut Shalapearo
and Spenser come in to fill the void, and added that sere he
condemned to spend the remainder of hie life in prism, or
recladed from Marco.. with his follow-men. the three
I Wilkie which he &mid rhease would be the Bible, Shah-
Taro, aad Pporsam's "Beery Queen." (Applama.) After
nibs; to Birk pemov's great industry, and to his leaving
his native piano a poor man and returning a rich one, and
noticing Ohs swim bet that whilst Shrikepeare's great
ecelsmnameg, Bea Jensen, was careful to collect his writings
together his a wawa, Shakspears never seemed ambitious
or swims as is the preservation of his immortal wake, Mr.
Collier expand bb thanks for the land reception given him
on that mews It would have been a mousy of pride and
gratification be him, he raid, if, standing in that place, ho
could sap he was horn la Stratford ; but a be ...id not, and
as he seaward the plasm, he could only desire that when it
se pleased Yam, ins might there draw hie expinug breath
Mr. Calor wit arra "EWA
i prolonged applause, sad the
toad was .swards hawed n solemn silence.
.

11r. Boacnoathea then proposed "The Dross, ehkh
ens eolholiasdrelly deak, aod took °erasion to refer to
same algigovalea reemebee be had mode with s view to
prove lad Illebreere did set sisal a doer level Challenges.
park ; MO be la het esmeltted ao cameo against the law.
Mr. Wise allereeeds gave Teanyona," end the posts of
Enema," olerobr the, same of our moat celebrate, poets
and porleseee bed ben reveres* admirers, warn/ lovers, sad
beet critics of Shakspeare.

FRANCE.

(mow ova owx col

PARIS, THURRIIAT EVFXIIIO.
The Moniteur contains a letter from Jassy, com-
plaining, in terms of virtuous indignation, of the
manner in which Prince Vogoridcs of Moldavia pro-
poses to " regulate" the approaching elections in
that country. Itsppears that that Prince, who is
as strongly opposed to the union of the Principalities
as the French Emperor is strongly in favour of it,
has adopted a few modern French devices for mak-
ing the poll safe. lie professes as strongly as Louis
Napoletm ever did, that he desires nothing so ardently
as the free expression of the sweet voices of the
people. Bat thenjust like Louis Napoleon, he is
such a worshipper of genuine public opinion that he
will not allow the article to headultintated by advice.
" Let the voter," he magnanimously says, " be free
as air, hat T will suffer no committees, no canvassers
to bias his excellent judgment, under the pretence
of explaining to him the preimble ormsegurnees
lof his vote." Accordingly, all the committees have
been dissolved, and several of the larding 'members
are under arrest. The reason given for the Amin-
tion of the committees shows that the Moldavian
Prince is worthy to take very high rank as a professor
of the art of guiding popular suffrage. write mho-
tence of commit ties," mays the proclamation, " labour-
ing to influence the minds of the people towards me
opinion rather than another is prejudicial to the
interests of the country, and therefore cannot be
tolerated." The letter in the ilonitrur, which reads
like an article on the forthcoming French elections
cut out of some English newspaper seized by M.
Collet Meygret's censors, is in the following terms:
JANAT MARCH 31.
I have sad amounts to give you of the s4proaching elec-
tions. The anti-unionist party make every exertion to
alierkle the free .presaion of the wishes of the Moldavian
people. and their proceedings have found support in the
partiality of the government. The manner in which they
seek to attain their object is this : All publications calculated
to enlighten the country en the important questions which
must be shortly submitted to its del%mations are rigorously
interdicted ; the journals which are considered favourable to
the union cannot, even by submitting to the peen ripboin of
the newly established cennoratip, obtain authorisation to ap-
pear, while the mat complete liberty is given to their
adversaries. The latter take advantage of this
forced silence, and indulge in the nest barefaced
asseetlone. Ina pretended programme, without signatures,
and faintly attributed to the Wallachisa usioniets, it is end
that the eenult of the union well be the partition of land, and
the introduction of Catholicism in piece of the Greek rite.
These ere two poise which are must likely to excite miler
Anon to the union, partiter2arlytemongst the clergy. This
publication his been
thmallthehefronv:lts for
ries that tt purhis pose.
who are ehed with the revision of the electoral
here been ordered to uas ell their Influence to oppose the
election of the usiontsts in their respective districts. It is
even end that one of theme presidents, having replied that,
being en advocate for the union, he could not bind hiumelf to
remain neutral, was immediately ordered to resign, and on
hie refund it was resolved to dismiss him. This extremity
WY not, however, retorted to, for fear of exciting tuo much
notice.

—• •
The Courrier de Paris says of the above letter,
that its appearance in the Mendeur is a " political
act of capital importance, which will make a great
sensation in Europe, and especially in Itoumania."
A l'aris letter in the Nord of ll;ussels says:—
It to stated at the Legislative Chamber that the erosion
which waa to have clotted on the 113114 May will be extended
to the Hot It is aloe tanned that the bell for the inert-use
of the capital of the Dank of France will be presented very
shortly, which will probably be the eau* of the prolongation
of the session. Bluing the last few weeks of the session
there will be serious questions to deride, independently of
that of the Bank of France. The budget of ISM, which
is now before the committee of the Legislative Body,
contains, it may be remembered, an article rela-
tive to a tax on tronsfesblo securities. The govern-
ment proposition has not been adopted by the com-
mittee, which, however, does not reject the ides of
the new tax, but materially modifies the mode of applying it.
The tuncedment proposed by the committee reeommends a
fixed duty. based on the amount of capital. This amend-
ment has been sent to the Council of State, but I do nut know
whether it has been yet discussed. If that body does not ad-
mit the amendment, there will be swarm discussion between
it and the members of the committee, but the latter will be
obliged to yield, es ne amendoeenta can be proposed to the
Leiridativ• Body melees accepted by the Council of State.
Under any cheumatences, the question will give rise to an
interesting discussion in the Chamber, as a certain number of
deputies who are upposta. to the pelaciAe of the tax on in-
dustrial securities well nut renounce ',Mr opposition in face
of the amendment.

The 4th of May is definitively fixed for the Me
to be given to the Grand Duke Constantine at the
Hotel de Ville.

The Daily News and Express were seized to-day,
on account of a leading article on the Neufchatel
question.
The new longehamps
rated on Sunday next.
I horn from a good source that the Ring of
Prussia is likely to visit Rome during the stay of
the Empress Dowager of Russia.
The Bourse has been very quiet all day. The
Bente opened with a little more firmness, in conse-
quence of advice," from London that the Bank of
England was not likely to raise its discount. The
market was, however, very dull at the close. The
last prices were $,9.30 both for cosh and account,
there being a fall of dc. for money. Mobilier rose
6f. Railways were MINI, with very little change.

will be inaugu-

THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES.

(PION 0011 SPSCIAL CORAISPONIZXT.)
BLCHAUEST, Aram VI.
The Commissioners have held several conferences,
but have as yet decided on no uniform line of action.
They meet at each other's residences alternately ;
although one would imagine that a
.general rendez-
vous would be preferable, and there is no lack of ac-
commodation at their disposal. Deputations of the
inhabitants have waited on each of the Commissioners,

and it is curious, as indicative of coming events,
to observe how they were received. The French,
Ituasian, l'rtussian, and Sardinian Commissioners

responded to the addresses of the deputations in
courteous and flattering terms ; the Turk was stiff
but civil; while our own worthy Commissioner
read them a sermon. The deputation congratu-
lated him on his arrival in this country as the
representative of a land where liberty was so deeply
rooted and so widely spread, and where the elective
principle was so well understood. They expressed a
hope that he would watch over the coining elections
here, sad the more so, that they (the inhabitants)
had not been allowed to interfere in the framing of
die firraan which prescribed their mode and the
estent of representation. Sir L. llulwcr, after
• .

tlmeeking thriii for their eulogies npon her Ifijeste,
glegtand, and himself. informed them "that the

to had been prepared under the eyes and with
seneurrener of the ambabsadors at Conatanti-

nopk; that the Sultan way acting with the greatest
sincerity and good faith towards them; that he had
given v proof of it in the election of the present
Cainiacaa, who was an I ionoor to t hei r annals" (a man,
be it remarked, notoriously incapable, and consum-
mately despised as a ruler]; " that he saw intelli-
gence Naming on their faces, but was not quite
sure that they were sufficiently advanced in
political economy to be able to distinguish the
theoretical from the practical—the possible from the
impossible." In short, he gave them such a lecture
that he is not likely to he troubled with many con-
gratulatory addresses in future. In writing it out
for publication it was found advisable to soften sonic

expressions in the reply ; but even the published docu-
ment has not tended to dissipate the idea that the
Wallachians have little to hope for from England.'
The Austrian Commissary was still more curt. lie
simply refused to receive the deputations' observing
that lie had only to do with the ',even ad hoc.
It is the opinion of many here that the reply
of Sir If. Bulwer was the suggestion of her Ma-
jesty's Consul-General, and that the Commissioner
trusted to him as being a long time resident in
the country, and consequently well versed in
all its affairs. It certainly looks very much
like the ideas of your correspondent, in
your edition of the Ist of April, headed
"communicated," and which the good folks here
consider a " paissan d'Arril," although I have
endeavoured to persuade them that you are not
given to joking where the wishes and welfare of
millions are at stake. The unhappy firman con-
voking the Divan hos broken down at starting; the
vague wording and disjointed skeleton, published
as a basis fur working upon, is found useless,
although concocted and approved of by the joint
wisdom of so many European powers. Despatches
have been forwarded to Constantinople, and to their
various instructors, by the Commissioners, for mate-
rials to remedy defects, and the 20 days within
which the registration of voters was to have been
effected has been prolonged without fixing a term.
That the wish of the country is for union under
a foreign prince there can be no doubt; and that
the wishes of the Divan ad hue, notwithstanding

all the attempts of Austria, Turkey, and England t..;
the contrary, will be so expressed, is also nearly
certain. It is, however, a sad pity that the Walla-
chian proprietors should be persuaded that our
government is opposed to the Union. They quote
Lord Clarendon at the Paris conferences; then
the outspoken assertion of the diplomatic agent
here, Mr. Colquhoun, who did not hesitate to
assert that his government would never allow
the union of the Principalities under a foreign
prince ; and again, the damping address of the Com-
missioner. I assure sou that we arc doing our best
to throw the Principalities into the arms of Russia,

If their union is not granted, Ton will have a fearful
revolution here, and then it willbe the oldcuckoo cry
—lturstia has gained by diplomacy what she lost by
war; whereas, it will be our own line of policy
that has played the game of Russia. In Mol-
davia matters are progressing so badly that the
Commissioners are going up there immediately. A
deputation arrived yesterday to wait upon them
to state that the Caimacan Vogorides and his
government were using such tyrannous and un-
heard of means of impeding the elections, that it
would drive the country into open revolt. It is
worthy the Greek Prince, whom the inhabitants re-
fused to receive an their Caimacan on account of his
being no native ; but it is curious that a Greek
should have proved himself an over-zealous inter-
preter of the Sultan's wishes, and tried arrests
and threatened the bastonade as preferable to
either open voting or ballot.
'there is a talk of our

,or rather of

our Diplomatic Agent, going to the baths
of Germany on sick leave. Ido not think that the
political world here will regret it ; and the British
inhabitants will certainly not go into mourning,as his
diplomatic duties have been lately so severe that he
has neither time nor inclination to fulfil his consular
ones ; and he does not scruple to say that he wishes
that every Englishman was out of the place, as they
give him so much trouble. How he fulfils his diplo-
matic as well as his consular duties I may tell you
hereafter.

There is one point on which your readers and the
British public must be very careful when consider-
ing the question of this magnificent and mis-
governed country; and that is, to start on the con-
sideration of the subject from correct premises. They
must disabuse their minds of the false idea that the
Principalities of Wallachia and 'Moldavia are, or
ever were, Turkish provinces. No doubt the Sultan
endeavours to make the world forget this important
starting point, by heading his proclamations to the
world as if the Principalities were en integral part
of the Turkish empire, and it seems to me that the
author of the communication in your columns of the
Ist of the month has been labouring under some sash
misconception. I low and when did these Principali-
ties become provinces of Turkey? If they are not
such—ma it is easy to prove that they are not—then
their straggles, their aims, and the expression of
their sentiments will assume a very different appear-
ance, even in the sight of those who care little for sim-
ply oppressed nationalities, but who are not callous
enough to admire and assent to usurpation. Without
gaunt back to AIMS, when the Prince of Moldo-Wal-
Ischia signed his commercial treaty with " Domino
Gailelmo Ilan:hone omtori serenissizaw ac potentis-
aims, detain:v. dominm Elizabethte:' granting Va-
rious privileges to the English merchants ; the facts
of the connexion between the Principalities and
Turkey, being a matter of treaty and bargain, are
well known to all who have looked at them; and,
it is to he hoped, will soon be patent to the British
public generally, including even the clerks in the
Foreign-office. It was only the other day that the
Porte was compelled to decline an offer for the con-
struction of certain lines of railway in the Principa-
lities, not haying the power to concede any such un-
dertaking in these countries. You will not find a
\Vallachian who can speak Turkish, nor a Turk who
understands Wallachian here ; indeed, you will not
find a Turkish resident or house from one end of the
Principalities to the other. The British public must
not, then, confound the Principalities with the other
provinces of Turkey, as the Austrian, Turkish,
and, it is said, but I hope untruly, the English go-
vernments, would fain have them believe. They must
start from correct premises ; the loldo-Wallachians
only desire a correct fulfilment of the treaties with
the Porte. They do not repudiate the amount of
piastres which they are to pay for the protection of
his Imperial Highness, futile as his protection has
hitherto been ; but they do not wish to see the
boundaries of Turkey enlarged by. the addition of
their fair lands in the shape of provinces The Allies
say that they do not wish to diminish the possessions
of Turkey. Did they undertake the late war for
the purpose of increasing them? If the Moldo-
Wallachians do not obtain a fair representation and
expression of their sentiments, and if thesesienti.
menu' are not agreed to by the European powers, I
have no doubt that the same state of misgovernment,
official plunder, and semi-anarchy that exists at
present, may continue for a year or two, aid may

even become more oppressive; but after that you
will have a responsibility of bloodshed to hem- which
I shudder to contemplate, and the country will be-
come a portion of either Russia or Austria ; neither
of which events a satisfactory alternative for Britain.

~~

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WAR. ri Os.. W.

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