The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-09-11 00:00:00

EASTLAKE AND MUNDLER IN ROME

The following extract from the letter of a Roman cor-
respondent is ominous, both as respects the National
Gallery and the national purse. Eastlake and Mundler
let loose amongst paintings of "the Byzantine period,"
will probably "enrich " anything but the National
Gallery :—" Sir Charles Eastlake is at present in Rome
with Mr. Mundler, observing what works of ancient art
are disposable for the enrichment of the National Gallery.
The British government, being in treaty for the purchase
of the Marquis Campana's valuable museum, is desirous
to have the best opinions upon the contents of its several
branches, and Sir Charles Eastlake has consequently
paid some visits to the Marquis's collection of paint-
ings by the early Italian masters from the Byzan-
tine periol to that of Raphael—a collection which,
besides forming a most interesting history of the
progress of art during that period, contains many
admirable specimens of the rarest schools. The report
of Messrs. Newton and Price, who were sent to Rome
this summer for the purpose of examining the Etruscan
department of the Marquis's museum, is already in the
hands of the government, and cannot fail to give a
satisfactory idea of that collection, unrivalled even by
the Etruscan gallery in the Vatican; and Mr. Gibson,
R.A., who is now in England, will probably be requested
to give his opinion with respect to the merits of the
Marquis's sculpture gallery, in order that some deter-
mination may be come to with respect to the acquisition
of the whole museum for the British nation.

THE SOUND Duas.—A. letter from Berlin, of the sth,
says :—lu the question of the Sound Dues, France,
adhering to the opinion of England, has pronounced
herself in favour of the principle of purchase.
VAUXHALL GARDENS.—The copyhold of the royal pro-
perty has passed into the hands of a gentleman who con-
templates devoting it to building purposes, and in a short
time, therefore, Vauxhall Gardens, which have now ex-
isted as a place of public amusement for more than two hun-
dred years, will have become a matter of history.

A TRANSPORT DESTROYED BY FIRE.—A letter from
Malta, dated the 2nd inst., says :—" The Prussian barque
Albion, Captain Broker, on her voyage from Constanti-
nople for England, with government stores, took fire on
the 31st August, in lat. 17, lon. 14 E., about 70 miles from
Gozo, and was destroyed. The crew landed here."
The Westminster clock bell weighs 15 tons 18 cwt. 1 qr.
221 b., or 16 tons within a small fraction • which is nearly
half as much again as the great bell York Minster,
more than twice that of Oxford; nearly three times as
heavy as the large bells of Exeter, Lincoln, and St. Paul's,
and exactly six times the weight of " the great bell of
B 3W."

REPRESENTATION OF Co LC II ESTER .—Mr. J. Gurd on
Rebow, of Wyvenho-park, has issued an address to the
electors of Colchester, stating that as Mr. Taverner Miller
and Mr. Alfred Hamilton have announced themselves as
candidates, on the conservative side, for the vacancy which
is expected shortly to occur, it is his intention to solicit their
suffrages on the opposite side. He says:—" My political
opinions, generally, are known to yon. They are constitu-
tionally liberal on all the great questions which occupy
public attention at present. There is, however, one que.-
tion, comparatively a new one, which is growing into
national importance, I mean the endowment of Maynooth
College, on which my opinions may not be so generally
known. lat once state, therefore, that lam prepared to
support the total withdrawal of that endowment by the
State." He promises to give his watchful attention to the
local affairs of the town.

MYSTERIOUS Bonn nny.—On the morning of the 7th
inst., Mr. William Liddiard, an extensive builder, re-
siding at 105, Back-church-lane, St. George's-in-the-East,
left home in company with his family for Gravesend. The
premises were carefully secured, not an inmate remain-
ing ; and when Mr. Liddiard returned the same evening
everything denoted safety. On the following morning,
however, when he entered the counting-house, and
unlocked a small door let into the floor, he discovered
that an iron deed-box and a cash-box had been, by some
extraordinary means, abstracted. The contents of these
repositories were 120 sovereigns, half-sovereigns, and
silver, three bills of exchange, agreements for rent,, and
vouchers for rents and taxes and ground-rents amounting
to many hundred pounds. The circumstances under which
the robbery was effected are exceedingly mysterious, not
a lock presenting the slightest violence, nor is there any
trace of a stranger having been in the place, while a great
quantity of plate and jewellery, perfectly accessible,
remained untouched. Up to this date not the slightest
clue has been obtained to the property.
CULTIVATION or COTTON.—A correspondent of the
Norwich and Bury Poet, writing from the neighbourhood
of Manchester, observes that the state of the cotton crops
in America is every year a subject of intense interest to
the population of these districts. The past season has
been a fortunate one, but I am assured by some of the
largest manufacturers here, that the demand for goods is
now so enormous, that if next year's crop is not very
much larger, the price will go up alarmingly. Even now
they are working upon stock. Russia is increasing the
number of her mills, and several of the best hands have
gone out from these parts to teach the native workmen.
The manufacturers appear to be still convinced that the
growth of cotton in India might he greatly increased, if
the East India Company would but show a little more
enterprise, At present, the greater part of the crops
grown there goes to China; it is shorter, weaker, and
altogether of an inferior quality to the American cotton.
Seeds of the latter have, however, been planted, and it is
thought will thrive. I may also mention the fact that the
experiment which is being made by the Emperor of the
French, of growing cotton in Algeria, is being watched
here with more than ordinary curiosity.