The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-30 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 1855.

The judicious and sensible proposition of Lord
STANLEY is one that should receive the earnest
support of every true Reformer. The legislation
of the country can never be materially improved
until the machinery by which it is produced Th
ameliorated. The important modifications of the
existing laws, the eradication of the abuses which
have sprung up cluing a succession of ages, can
never be completely effected until suitable oppor-
tunities are supplied for the work. Men who will

not, perhaps we /night say cannot, devote them-

comparative idleness at one period, and then ex-
pected to hurry through their work with reckless
haste at another. The business of legislation
would be conducted with more becoming gravity,
and there would be no excuse for the slovenly
bungling that too frequently escapes observation
until too late to be corrected. There can be no
real reason why a measure introduced in May or
June should not be finished in November or
January, as well as one introduced in January
being concluded in August. It is an absurd
custom which has gradually sprung up, and which
would be far more honoured in the breach than
in the observance. We trust, then, that Lord
1 STILNLEVS laudable efforts to remedy this great
social grievance may receive the success it merits.
We cannot concur with his modest estimate that
regards it as a matter " not of national import-
ance." It is, we believe, of far greater conse-
quence to the health and convenience of a vast
number of persons, and to the efficient discharge
of the public business, than many others of far
greater pretensions, which have been energetically
discussed, and for whose progress the most active
exertions have been made. Let the people only
form a true estimate of its value, and there can
be no doubt of the speedy triumph of reason and
sound common sense.

• When is the report of the Commissioners in
relation to the Hyde-park disturbances to make
its appearance I' The case was surely clear enough
to render the task easy to able and, conscientious
men ; and though the Recorder of London, as a
member of the Legislature, has repudiated any in-
tention to accept remuneration for his labours,
lest he should be compelled to vacate his seat, the
public are under no obligation to possess their
scat in patience on that account, but have as
much right to expect an early result as if no im-
pediment to his acceptance of remuneration
existed. Upwards of t month has elapsed since
the inquiry terminated, and, for any intimation to
• . • ..
the
_contrary, the whole affair is buried in obli-
vion, and we may look for the report on the
arrival of the Greek Kalends.

This is not as it should be. The police, or
rather a portion of them engaged on the occasion
of the disturbances, are guilty of having overstepped
the boundaries of duty, and made a savage on-
slaught on the people, or else they are labouring
under the opprobrium of an unfounded charge.
In either case, the majesty of justice and the
well-being of society require to be promptly vin-
dicated. If a portion of the police simply did
their duty, the remainder did not, they ought
to be pointed out as early as possible for repri-
mand, as their more zealous comrades should be
for praise, while the public may fairly press to
be informed in what respect they erred, in order
to avoid occasion of offence in future, or to take
su,2l 1 steps as their advisers may deem necessary.
On other hand, if' the police, or a portion of
them, really are guilty of an illegal onslaught on
unoffending men, women, and children, the rights of
the people ought to be vindicated and their wrongs
redressed by the assertion of those rights and the
pointing out of the perpetrators of these wrongs
for punishment as speedily as possible. By the
pursuit of a contrary course no good end can be
secured, for it must be obvious to every reflect-
ing man that the effect of delay in an.affair of
this sort can hardly fail to insure a miscarriage of
justice. It is, too, when the facts are fresh in every
one's memory that the
„justice of a decision affect-
ing the public and public officers can be best vin-
dicated.

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EV.ENING, AUGUST 30 1855

. •
soldiers of tried 'fidelity, and commanded by offi-
cers to be relied on.

THE BOMBARDMENT OF SWEABORG.

AUSTRIA.
(From the Times' Correspondent.)
VIENNA, Aug. 26.—The Austrian public is ex-
tremely impatient to learn the conditions of the
Conzordat which has just been concluded with
home, but its curiosity is not likely to be soon
satisfied, as the Cardinals will meet in conclave
and thoroughly examine the important document
before it receives the ratification of the head of
the Roman Catholic Church. According to a
semi-official on dit, some of the demands made by
the Church were peremptorily rejected by
the Imperial Commission, and it is not
difficult to suppose that such was the case if
it be true that the Papal Chair proposed that the
right of sanctuary, should be restored. After the
Concordat had been signed the Cardinal Viale
Prela, who is a very " smooth spoken" man, re-
turned thanks to the Emperor in the name of the
successor of St. Peter, to which the Monarch re-
plied that he, "as Apostolic Majesty," had only
done his duty. The subject it of tlxtreme interest
and importance, but it is one of such greafdelicacy
thlit it would be imprudent to indulge in many
reflections on it. On the one hand the Imperial
Government has, by the abolition of villenage and
socoage, put an end to the petty tyranny of the
nobles ; on the other it has, by the emancipation
of the Church from the State, immensely increased
the power and influence of the Roman Catholic
hierarchy, and the people are inclined to fear that
the clergy will " gall their withers" more than the
nobles ever did. The Berlin correspondent of
the Oest. Zeitung is of opinion that the speedy
return of Count Arnim to Vienna must be
considered a proof that attempts are again
about to be made by the Prussian and Austrian
Governments "to come to an understanding."
The two Cabinets are not likely to come to an un-,
derstanding on the Eaatern Question, but it is pro-
bable that their attention has been forcibly at-
tracted by what has recently occurred in several of
the smaller German States in respect to the Bund,
and that they consider it necessary to assume the
initiative in a matter of such importance as is
the reform of the German Confederation. The,
Bund, as it is now constituted, is viewed with in-
tense dislike by the different German nations, and
the example of the Wurtemberg Chambers will
speedily be imitated elsewhere. The Bavarian Diet
will be opened at the beginning of next month,
and the newly-elected House, if it is as " good
German" as its predecessor, will hardly fail to
make common cause with its Swabian neighbour.
Austria, for reasons of her own, upholds the Bund,
but it enjoys neither consideration nor authority
aniong the ether German States. Prussia laughs
the so-called " Central Power" to scorn ; and, not
long since, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, when
his Bitterschaft (nobles) appealed to the Bund,
strongly protested against its in any way inter-
fering in the internal affairs of his duchy. The
events of the last two years have proved that the
" Central Power" is little more than a political
fiction ; and the sooner it is replaced by a reality,
the better it will be for Germany.
Marshal Count Radetsky, who will be fourscore
years and ten next November, has been somewhat
unwell., The report that no trains were to cross
the Semmering, because a rock had slipped down
on a part of the railway, has been contradicted,
but repairs are continually required.
The summer has on the whole been unusually,
cold, but during the last two or three days the in-
habitants of Vienna have suffered greatly from the
heat. The thermometer has been as high as 117.50
Fahrenheit in the sun, and 97.25 Fahrenheit in the
shade. The weather is the more oppressive, as the
nights are nearly as hot as the days.

The Giornale di Boma of the 21st, contains the
following paragraph in allusion to Lord Palmer-
ston's speech (August 10), in reply to Mr. Bow-
yer's vindication of the Roman Government :
" We believe we are not mistaken in saying that
we have never read, in the Parliamentary history
of a great nation, a series of more insulting and
gratuitous declamations than those lately pro-
nounced by a Prime Minister against a Govern-
ment which is convinced it has never given any
motive for so unjust an attack on his part. Never-
theless, we will 'not depart from our invariable sys-
tem, which consists iu not having recourse to re-
prisals. We merely_ limit ourselves to repelling
these vain and unfounded accusations, leaving the
shame to fall upon him who has uttered them."

The Cai-riere ltalichio of Vienna announces that
the Abbe' Valenziani; chief secretary to the Papal
nuncio at Vienna, has set out for Rome with the
Concordate just concluded with the Imperial Go-
'vernment. He ,expected to return with the
ratification of itabout the Middle of September.

The Minister of Marine and Colonies has re-
ceived the following report from Rear-Admiral
Penaud, Commander of the French division in the
Baltic :

BIRMINGHAII, Aug. 29.—Mr. Costa's oratorio of Eli
was performed to-day for the first time in presence of
an assembly that completely filled the Town-hall. Its
reception was triumphant. Greater honours were pro-
bably never lavished upon a composer. No less than six
pieces were redemanded by the President, with the evi-
dent concurrence of the audience, who on several occa-
sions took the initiative themselves, and, in contempt of
established etiquette, began applauding before Lord
Willoughby de Broke had time to ri-e from his seat.
Before the performance began Mr. Costa was vocife-
rously applauded, and at the end of the first part the de-
monstrations were renewed. But the scene that took
place when all was over beggars description. The
audience, who had risen to the final chorus—" Blessed
he the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to ever-
lasting "—.remained standing, to Cheer -Mr. Costa 'at
the conclusion. Such cheering has rarely greeted
the ears of a zealous aspirant to fame, whose
sweetest music is the applause of the multitude—
such waving of hats and handkerchiefs in which
the orchestra and chorus joined with wild enthu-
siasm—has seldom been witnessed in a concert-room.—
such an ovation, as the term goes, in short, is almost
without parallel. The biographies of the greatest mu-
sicians record nothing to compare with it.
If Mr. Costa possesed the genius of Handel, he could
hardly have succeeded in constructing a really eff(cive
oratorio upon the materials furnished by the history of
Eli, and thrown into the shape of a sacred drama by
Mr. Bartholomew. The chief personage himself—
Eii, the priest—offers no opportunity to the musician
for variety of treatment. He is constantly praying,
preaching, or admonishing ; and this has forced the
composer to present him in a succession of slow recita-
tives and airs, which, long before the end, induce a feel-
ing of monotony not easy to dispel, since Eli has a very
great deal to declaim and sing, and is almost constantly
prominent. Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, is a cha-
racter more favourable to music ; and Mr. Costa
has availed himself with great felicity of the contrast
suggested by her first condition, as a woman child-
less and barren, and her afterwards joyful state,
.vben God has blessed her with a son. The air in
which her affliction is portrayed—" Turn Thee unto
and have mercy upon me "—is devout and
heautiful ; while that which reveals the abundance of her
joy when, in the Temple of Shiloh, she pours out her
Jatitude to the Lord for having given her Samuel—"l
vill extol Thee, 0 Lord"—is extremely happy, and has,
moreover, a touch of the Handel bravura about it both
:n form and sentiment, by no means'unwelcome. The

14
THE WEATHER AND Tito 4110 all .- 'or
•
Ti e weather during the past week having bee, er,e fct °O,
could be wished, the grain has come fast "b-itl'atte'
and a large quantity of all descriptions has fine 09
carried in first-rate condition. Should the loge!„16ple
we now enjoy continue for a week or tvr?
,6,0"01
bulk of the harvest will have been secured. tips sigh
of new wheat, in excellent condition, aill°,(lfn the tios
La
quarters, the produce of ten acres of lan° "-fortes 0
bouth,md Sittingbourne, and weighing raer,,;Bo
641 b. per bushel, was shown in Maidstone be ":1
Toureday last. The potato disease is now , OA"
aboost every field Wanted with that erc,P,.lo*-/reeil,,
therefore, expected that the yield of 01010,44 r
si-rts.avill be very small. Turnips, and 11, 700/
crops, .inhterreaiinta,sthbeeelnanadbbuenidnagnaclemoofstiepeapoer
South,-Eastern Gazette.
„A Pr to
Tile eather has been cold and unsettle-hoefiobich
greater part of the past week. HeavY B:itid6Beo„tt"
fallen ar,d there have been occasional bigbo" orf".goe",
blew steadily fn. some day-, from the ont,
but latterly from the more genial south-cce"bot fa
few field-, have already been cut down, 04,1
broken weather a fair commencement Wrnilsirerr, b°';
made with harvest in thr,, neighbourhood fine cr(4:814)1
to learn that the potatoes are not only o ",7e Sfett
generally speaking, they are "all right,,,yht, gikerer,
wa with a trifling exception, dry and b,;olo,,ht"tji,
get,,er wore a more promising aspect. the 0014 cle'ler
The weather for the last few days in pe 115 10
hood of Leeds has been by no means so Ape
rable at this season of the year, and th,e lot o;;,cti"
ter,
which prevailed up to the early part °lied ei/thee°_eB
been succeeded by that of an uosett
uentoe be
and during the week we have had *OO4 bocolfij
showers. Fortunately, however, the ,rBtbe efic
accompanied by fine drying winds, an i 90b0
crops h ,s c,nsequently not bate, :of
11,37yeondbepernottrhaecticzethweitrhipeanirc,glose donWreon,e cr°,4(
eur°o:ol:l9tmci:fr;;;;
ing harvest operations, we do not bear oufbreefr_osalettitl
have suffered much, and a brief
would release agriculturists and the Pots 00 ferilli
anxiety, hut with a continuance of the Pr arteeit riff)
state of the weather the harvest must oetahls
late and to a period waen it le Pr° crops field
be all but impossible to house the sc° er firth
som- of the cold localities which th; war:oo, v:B4
reaches the crops are yet green, but in
cti will °veil' jia
they are changing colour rapidly, on ~,hle, blot
favourable weather, be ready for the °- ate le d°
there a field has been cut, but operationo, ifeptialteci
means general. 13,ans are looking wehave ge ropt7e
hear any complaints of potatoes, thel toy bat le
healthy appearance. The hay harveet,do not,' tid
as over, though there are a few odd fie roc' 8e
a. PP 04 3
Leeds Intelligeneer. boy, .Bele
GREENOCK.— A very high westerly,;- sAtur ,014,0 0"
at times to a gale, prevailed during a" beep sl4'. 60 00
till yesterday forenoon. This wind ho plaeeiots, otO
by heavy showers of rain, and in s` i° e„otrig 43080;
corn have been seriously prostrated lr°oping!opsr crq
Saturday there was a good deal of ren the "tbebree
d:fferent quarters of the county, and, 18-laortt,'"-
potato lifting was proceeding Witil t' or'
being, of course, for an immediate
British Daily Mail. ri°ljj 610
been be, fe .
During the week the reapers have t boor oer •
generally throughout the county, th,Tt'heir ifeolonceatis
storms may have temporarily stollred over der et-bof
Sunday night a heavy storm passe,. tatonoverti,
and on Thursday night there wog 13°4,0014
considerable violence. We have,
~"egter 13J
ea
any damage has resulted.—
r / COlirtj 110°
cote
HOP INTEL.-- ...•
or..
reP • eti co'
owly orf
The South-Eastern Gazette tb°ll. g puntstri hey°oo
every of the Kentish hop-Sr 10 se° tive h,
tinue ogreceive the most favourah
tatiot,s, oos, vit.,"
dition and prospects of the Pigli,„ the -° {air,
never known to look better. Eve'od b-8 at ]t, s';
told, are fast coming into hop, t° ry ;
standing the immense quantity 0". boa "rr, disp°
as the other kinds. Of mould We eetne° cote 1/,ace'
who re eOP. Or
cept from a few speculators, der to de Pt titi
possible, to create an alarm, insnurr;rbeogenreitclbg:l)?::l:'
by suggesting inferior qualitY. agied 6a over!
indicate a crop hitherto ongurP. y, and
repot
quality. From Sussex and
Alton, and neighbouring district:l;oo ao
cop the
pond entirely with those given sonlidolorCe,°o crg
state that a prospect of a Fro- bly• cod 0,
largeta" us
factory beyond all prece4en.,• foour%ol in 1,000
Worcester Herald reports equally°vett
this year will be somewhat ;De the 13rgte3s5,°°° ests
to maturity, but it is likely t
fs :stirr
B,ted 01/5.-
The duty for that at, es f the;
,d 8 pror° eels
_A number of enthusiastic ar.ce oe cot
4th '3" A esTO-`';Bpleiieo
in
GScr,arntldanxilataiinnaalrcAhrecrhyormy Tsehpetot,revol•
1,001
is to be held at Glasgow on ,oiLio,S. roas horieh,
been tb_e :Idlernteo ththe:upotb::roo: THE NEW STREET PORT .L
of the General Post Office,__c:ifiDgt.l2° been 13130 tee;
that LETTERS.have fromn co
timeDse tou et
ni
me ee
rerstive t°oo of de
very of letters put into the reirie have tern ceikri
pillars, the most active
enclu that ecrOl leaver7e
this subject ; and it would;paorsao the genoertr cclhey
adopted of robbing these,
.ueting C°f, E01:°11311iCli
houses, by a set of person.,_
_ea,' bt,
,118
one of,
their party, whilst b
Y, 11 thin greegdePd
matter beir, placed on a sma
letters or otocheocs,
scends to the box wh,r the
the wort 0 obi Ito
then drawn
adhesive matter is easily ith
svneya lettere. the fobto
doubt, is to secure the
money to 48 saleolo/0
understood, has been su
~.otr. too
effectua he'
.131. ou
authorities, which will bather 15 •ea.°
tempts for the future ; but W ws 8
quickly to the topt
irawn ;
pirofoop
is not yet known, although it ]tire
consideration. -ot•

lersonage of Samuel is, perhaps, the most successfully
developed of all. The tranquil piety of the heaven-de-
voted child is well expressed from the first, and there is
aot a more chaste and expressive melody in the oratorio
than Samuel's morning prayer in the temp'e, " Lord,
Tom my bed I rise." The evening prayer, though grace-
ul, is in a tone less purely devotional ; but the whole
(tharacter of Samuel is marked by a serious purport,
and a power of sustaining which is a gift of itself.
\lr. Costa has given Eli to a bass (Herr Formes),
dannah to a soprano (Madame Castellan), and Samuel
to a contralto (Madame Viardot Garcia). For a tenor
ie has been compelled to go over from the Israelites to
the Philistines, from the nrouth of whose chief, a mighty
',nail of Gath (Mr. Sims Reeves), we have one of the
most vigorous battle songs, with chorus, ever written—
viz., "Philistines, hark ! the trumpet sounding !" in
which the infidel warrior urges on his compatriots to
march against the Hebrews. There are two other
enor parts—Elkanah, the hu,band of Hannah and
father of Samuel, and a very small one in the person of
messenger of the Israelites (Herr Reichardt), who
timings. the news to Shiloh of their defeat by the Philis-
tines. There is also a second bass in the Man of God

(Mr. Weiss), who reproaches the Levites for their iniqui-
ties, and discloses the awful denunciation of the Lord
against the holm of Eli. Into the merits of the various
.ecitatives, airs, and concerted pieces distril uted among
.iliese personages we cannot enter now ; suffice it, they
exhibit many decided beauties, are all essentially vt,cal,
and for the most part more or less expressive of the
-ituation in which they occur. On the other hand,
they present a mixture of styles, which is still more
vident in the choruses, and constitutes, indeed, one -4
lie principal defects of the oratorio In the choruses,
vhile examples of spirit, brilliancy, and even dra-
matic power are frequent, there is a singular inequality.
Some are evident 'y wr t-en with extreme care ; others
-eein to have been finished too hastily. Several spe•
•imens of fugue are to be found among them, the
;test of which occurs in the second part of the invoca-
tion of the Israelites, when they march against their
snemies—on the words, "So persecute them with Thy
-empest." This is the most interesting of all, Ned the
{test conducted, the florid accompaniments of stringed
nstruments reminding the hearer of Mendelssohn, while
he theme is in the manner of Handel. None of the
agues of Mr. Costa are what is called elaborate. They
.lo not display any great exercise of contrapuntal inge-
uity, nor are they remarkable for those cunning de
vices of augmentation, inversion, and so forth, of which
the fugues of Bach, Handel, and Mendelssohn are so
truitful, and by means of which these gifted musicians
delighted to exhibit their learning. But Mr. Costa's
aigues have one great distinguishing quality—they are
fear, and therefore effective. Besides this they are
11l based on simple and well-defined themes. As
-xamples of this clearness, and the strength that
is derived from it, we may point to the "Hosanna"
,n the last chorus of Part 1, and to the " Halle-
lujah, Amen," which brings the oratorio to a
close. What may be termed—to employ a common
epithet "the descriptive" music in Eli is clever
and spirited, but certainly too theatrical for a sacred
,ratorio. We would instance the scene of the " Un-
aodly Revel"—where Hophni and Phineas (the sons of
Eli) are rioting with the women in the precincts of the
'temple—the style of which exceeds all bounds of license,
ioth in the character of the themes and the colouring
;mparted to them by the orchestral accompaniments.
Even the war-song of the Philistine chief is in a great
measure open to the same objection ; but the natural
desire of following Handers example, in making a forced
contrast between the music allotted to pagans and' that
appertaining to the chosen people, is a plausible excuse,
and calculated to arrest criticism. For the present, how.
aver, we must forbear from further remark. Mr. Costa
has made a bold effort—the boldest, indeed, that could be
ventured on by a musician,
since the sacred oratorio im-
peratively demands an elevation of style, a variety of
resources, and a profundity of science, to say nothing of
invention and imagination, which only the very greatest
masters have possessed. If, then, his first oratorio
cannot be pronounced a model in that high branch of
musical composition to which it belongs, he must be
satisfied (like others before him) to accept the prmises
which; are his just due. His ambition was laudable;
and he has exhibited a degree of talent in Eli which en-
titles him to the high respect of musicians and lovers of
music, if it is not likely to bring him immortality.
The execution may be descrßed in a word—perfect.
tion. The orchestra and chorus laboured with a zeal
and unanimity that could only be traced to one source
—viz., the regard and esteem they entertain for the con•
doctor. The principal singers—LMadame Viardot Gar-
•ia (Samuel), Madame Castellan (Hannah), Mr. Sims
Reeves (the Philistine Chief and Elkanah), Mr. Weiss
(the Man of God), Herr Reichart (the Israelitish Mes-
senger), and Herr Formes (Eli)—were admirable with-
nit exception. Of their performances, however, we
hall have more lo say to-morrow. The numbers pre-
ent in the hall to-day were 1,608, and the receipts
ttilounted to 1,197/. 184 8,1 (including donations.)

CRICKET.-61178SEX V. YORKSHIRE.—This match was
resumed on Tuesday, and at the close of the day the
score stood thus—Sussex, let innings' 292 ; Yorkshire,
I,st .rAd kb; wickets davni,

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