The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-05 00:00:00

MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 5, 1852.

TURKEY.

According to accounts of the 17th inst. from Constan-
tinople, it appears that the differences which have existed
for some months past between the Porte and the Vice-
roy of EGYPT have latterly assumed a degree of gravity
which makes a speedy rupture almost inevitable. The
last replies of ABBAS PACHA., which were couched in
very unconciliating terms, have raised the discontent of
the Imperial Government to the highest pitch. By an
express order of the SULTAN, the Council of Ministers
held extraordinary sittings three days consecutively to de-
liberate on the affair, and it was unanimously decided
that no fresh concession could be made by the
Turkish Government, and that ABBAS PACHA
must 132 immediately compelled to conform himself in all
points to the orders of the SULTAN. The Council was,
however, of opinion that a last attempt at conciliation
should be made, before having recourse to any ex-
treme measures. Sir STRATFORD CANNING continued,
it is said, to espouse warmly the cause of ABBAS PACHA,
but his efforts were unavailing. M. DE TITOFF, the
Russian Ambassador, was about to quit Constantinople
for Naples, on leave of absence.
A letter from Constantinople, in the Cologne Gazette,
states that Mr. ALIBON, the Secretary of the British
Embassy, had returned from Belgrade without having
obtained from the Servian Government the satisfaction
which he went there to demand, and which consisted in
having the English flag saluted by several salvos of
artillery.

MOVING MONOLITHS, 4.c.
To transport and elevate the enormous stones (obe-
lisks and other monoliths) raised in Egypt, required no
ordinary skill. A proof of this is found in the éclat
, the French engineer, in
Lobes, the
from Luxor to Paris,
and elevated it on the Plsce de la Concorde. This was
whichlB3 6,
deemed au achievement, and, indeed, was so: it demanded
w ha
et tne nhdeed removedM . L
great care, skill, and forethought. The operations were
commenced in 1831, by the destruction of a village to
make way for it. Eight i
hundred men were occupied for
three months in bringing t down to the Nile. It was
conveyed across the Mediterranean, and deposited in
Paris December 1833. A pedestal was formed for it;
an inclined plane built ; 300 artillerymen with five
capstans pulled it up the incline by a clever arrange-
ment of ten masts, 70 feet high. It was pulled upright
in two hours and a half, in October 1836, and the king
and all the people went to see it done. M. Lebas was
" decorated," and received various appointments. He
had the honour also of being caricatured as a rope-
dancer, with the obelisk under his arm I Now Egypt
was actually covered, frn
---n1 one end to the other, with
similarly gigantic monuments, so that efforts such as
those alluded to mast have been of constant occurrence.
Pliny speaks of raising one, when Rhamses caused his
own son to be bound on the top of it to make the work-
men careful. The colossal figure of Rhamses at the
liemnonium weighed 836 tons!!' And this was con-
veyed, 120 miles overland.—Builder.

SEABORNE MAILS.
[N signifies that the malls aro sent front the Go""1
b 7 the night—and Mby the morning—dispatch.]

Post-office

April 0.. 1171 the e.
n
PLACZe.
America (by Brit. pkt.)Nl
ILondon: I patched.
atirhoernami
paodste.uopecioso I Fromport
dw,.3h.st
I
America (by U.S. pltt.) X April 1 i
..
.. Liverpool • • April 6
America (by MS. Pkt.) N April 6 .. .. ,Liverpool .. April 14
.. ,Southampt. April 9
Africa (West coast)•• 1414th of Silo month 'Plymouth April X
Belgium •• • • • • N, Daily ..
.. .. Dover .. Daily
Brazil .. .. .. ',.
- 91,11 of the, month Sonthempt. April 16
Btlenes AYraa • • ••
• 11 9til of the month 'Southampt. April 16
California(viaChaffr.‘l,
Cape of Good Hoke N-114th of month
-- ,-4 2d &17th of month I Southam pt. Arrived
Constantincplo* ,Plymouth.• April 3
Central America •• It ed.& 17th of mon. !Southampt. Arrived
Channel Isles ..• '• ' N7till7th I7t hof mo ;Dover .. April 10
'• 1'i2.10n., Wed., &Fri.,Southampt. To. TD.tiat
Haraburgh • . .. N
Chill .. .. .. .
FrGranoccco% •. 11 17th of the month ie,onthEunpt. Arrived
London .. Tues. Sat.
•. IT 7thl7th27thof trio Dover .. April 10
.•.' ••M tc Is.TlTwiee daily .. .. Dover .. Twlcedeily
Honduras .. .. .
Rolland .. .. .. M Wedne4. & Satnr.'London .. Mo.. Thur
Tuesday & ',tidal
Nl7O of the mouth Southanspt. March 23
Ireland .. .. lit /I- N
."••••• Twice daily • • • •Illolyhead .• Twicedally
Indifi(via Southamp.) X 2.oth of the month,)louthampt. April 21
India (visMazsailler.)
Liediterranzaa (via
NBth& 24th efmonthiDovar .. April 16
Sslutharr"tm) •• 11 20th of the month Sonthampt. ;April 21
Ifediten ahem (via
m24„a"..,,,„ei11ea) '• •• 11 BthBr 24th ofmonth 'Dover • • April 16
—— • •• • • .......t of the month.. Southatnpt. April 5
Madera .. •
• • •• 11 nth of the month Southampt. Apr;l 16
Malta* .. .. El I & 30th of month th.l7th,l9th,27th
Papal State* .. .. 1 Dover •April 10
Naples's• • • • • • NiBth 15th 25th of mo DOTCr .. IA prll 2
N sth 15th 25th of mo Dover .. 'April 2
t eninSUlar•• •• .. X ,7th 17th 27th ef me Southampt. April 6
Peru .. .
~,,, • •• •• Mil7th of the month Southampt. ,Arrived
Tuscan-, -•• • • •• N sth 15th 25th of mo Dover • • !April 2
West Indies .. .. X 17th of the month Soutbampt. lArrived
West Indies (except
Havanna & Nassau) X 23 of the month ..;Southarapt.;Aprgi 8
* The mail, to those countries thus marked (0) are conveyed by
French packet via Marseilles.

Sontharapt.;Aprfi S
cod (*) aro convoyed by

LAND DRAINAGE.
A lecture on drainage was delivered last week at
Kirtling, near Newmarket, by Mr. Hewitt Davis. The
lecturer, in introducing the subject, said he could not
offer any information more deserving the attention of
landowners and farmers than that which was to be gained
in considering the advantages to be derived from the
i thorough drainage of wet had: at first t might be sup-
posed these two classes were the only gainers, but this
was not so ; for in drawing the water off the surface of
land, by means of underground drains, much of the
6
source of damp and fog removed, and in this way the
climate of the country may be greatly ameliorated, and
the health and enjoyment of all classes be greatly im-
proved. The lecturer entered into various plans that
have been pursued to drain land. He showed by quo-
tations from Colarnella and Cato, that the system of
draining 2,000 years. ago had been by drains of three
and four feet deep, laid with stones and wood; and that
up to the introduction of tiles, in the last fifty years,
little or no improvement in draining had been made.
He then referred to the insecurity of any other material
than tiles, and the danger in using any form but the
circle. He stated that the expansion and contraction of
a clay soil by wet and drought was 'such, at four feet
deep, as to crush any form but the circle, or to press up
the bottom so as to fill up the vacuum;
a tile choked with clay he had brought from the Regeat's
found
Park, where they wereand ho exhibited
, in all directions,- and
where ho was now draining four feet deep with pipes,
after many attempts had been made without success at
shallower depths and with other materials. The Board
of Health have recently published a body of evidence
and statistics referring to this subject, to which atten-
tion should be forthwith drawn. The matter is one of
great importance to the country,—Builder.

PRESERVATION OF FRUITS BY STEAM,—The heat of
steam destroys the ferment in fruits, so that they may be
preserved for a long time. To learn when this point, has
been reached, it is necessary to know how high the tempera-
ture rises in the fluid enclosed in the bottles, when they
stand shut up in a room, the atmosphere of which has been
heated to 184 deg. Fahr., and to learn the time requisite as
well as the degree of heat which 'es necessary for the destruc-
tion of the ferment. In no instances the fluid contents of
the bottles which were placed in the steam-room reached
the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere, until they
had stood, at the very least, an hour in it. In glass bottles,
the influence of the heat was quicker than in stone ware.
From the commencement of the operation, that is, when the
fire is first applied to the stearn-apparatus, nearly
half an hour is required before the tempera-
ture of the steam-room is reached by the contents of the
when they hold about two pints, and are made of
When made of stone, double that time is necessary.
giass. bottles,
These results arise from each kind of vessel requiring a
different quantity of heat traise it to the temperature of the
steam-room, consequently, am-r does nut arrive
at a temperature of 184 deg. with the same quantity of fire
with each kind of vessel. When this temperature has been
reached in the'steam-room, the contents of the glass bottles
will be at 164 deg., and those of the stone-ware ones at 86
deg. Mayet's researches show that fruits and their juices
do not require a temperature of 212 deg. Fehr. to preserve
them, and that 184 deg. is sufficient to destroy their ferment,
but that care must be taken to ascertain that contents of the
vessels have really reached this temperature.—Annals of
Pharmacy and Practical Chemistry.
RAPE AND SuicinEe—On Wednesday evening
last, at a special sitting of the West Riding
magistrates for
the district of Doncaster, an old man named George Briggs,
61 years of age, was charged with having committed a rape
upon the body of a little girl named Clara Thompson, aged
nine years, daughter of a labouring man living at Branton,
about four miles from Doncaster. The prisoner for some
time past has obtained a living by driving sheep and cattle,
and by acting as shepherd occasionally for various parishes
in the neighbourhood. The prisoner denied the charge in
toto, but the magistrates at once committed him to York
Castle for trial for the capital offence.
On his way to the
borough gaol he declared they should not take him to York,
and this he repeated when he was put into his cell. The
policeman in charge took the precaution of moving the pri-
soner's neckerchief and garters before locking him up for
the night. Yesterday rootnin_,
a rug and his body belt, ghad
which however, he was discovered
suspended from the bars of the
pr
been left in his posses •
ison window by means of
sion. ~His feet rested upon the ground, and his body was
thrown back. Life wee quite extinct. Twenty years ago
Briggs was imprisoned for twelve months for an assault with
intent, and has borne an
indifferent reputation since.
HEROIC SERVICE RECOGNISED.—The First Lord
of the Admiralty has addressed the following characteristic
letter to Captain George Davies, R.N. who, it will be re-
collected, displayed such bold daring and cool judgment at
the wreck of the New Commercial, about fifteen months age,
on the Briesons'
" Admiralty, March 20, 1852.
"Dear Sir,— It gives tne much pleasure that I am able
Land's End
to offer you, for your San, the first naval cadetship which
has fallen to me, as it enables me to express to you that I
vices you have rendered
.offer it as a high mark of my approbation of the great ser-
the respect which I feelthe cause of humanity, and of
for gallant conduct at the
" Yours, &c.,
NonTnustnentAten.
Land's End. your

" Captain George Davies, R.N."
This is as it should be. The whole naval service, nay, all
friends to the cause of humanity, will rejoice at this public
and prompt acknowledgment of such gallant conduct, par-
ticularly as it refers to a gentleman who has been personally
engaged in saving 200 lives from shipwreck.—The Life Boat
Journal.

SUITORS IN CRANCRRY RELIEF BlLL.—This Bill
(as amended in Committee) has been printed. It contains
51 clauses. The principal provisions are directed to the re-
duction or abolition of fees, the payment of salaries from
the consolidated or suitors' fee fund, and the collection of
fees. All fees Will be paid into the suitors' fee fund. The
offices of Clerk of Hanaper, Secretary of Decrees, one of the
gentlemen of the Chamber,,
and the compensations to be
the Chaff-wax, the Sealer, and
their deputies, are abolished
allowed them prescribed. The duties of the subpoena and
affidavit offices
will be performed in future by the clerks of
records.

MIDDLEt+IF.x IlocriTAL.—Yesterdsy morning the
Rev. Sir H. R. Dukintield , Bart., M.A., preached a sermon
on behalf of this charity,
at St. James's Chapel, Westmore-
land-street, St. Marylebone. The reverend gentleman in the
course of a very eloquent appeal stated that during the past
year the hospital had received 2,328 in-patient, and 11,002
out-door recipients ; and the committee needed the assistance
of the benevolent to meet the urgent claims upon the insti-
tution. At the conclusion of Divine service a liberal collec-
tion was made is aid of the (uncle.

ARTISTS' BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.
The anniversary festival of the Artists' Benevolent
Institution took place on Saturday evening, at the I
Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen-street, and was at-
tended by a very large number of the friends and pe-
trona of this deserving charity. It may be neeeesary
to remind our readers that two charitable funds aro now
established for the purpose of rendering assistance to
these who, depending on the practice of the fine arts,
have been unfortunate in their circumstances—one enti-
tled the Artists' Benevolent Fund, the other the Artists'
General Benevolent Institution. The first, in point of
date, is the Artists' Benevolent Fund, which was estab-
lished in 1810. It was formed by artists associated for
the laudable purpose of assieting each other during the
pressure of sickness or the infirmities of age, and for
affording relief to the widows and orphans of members.
The society, however, does not and cannot afford relief
to any artist, however great his merit or unfortunate
his circumstances, who is not a member. The Artists'
Benevolent Institution was, therefore, founded, its object
being to extend relief to distressed meritorious artists,
whether subscribers to its funds or not, " whose works
have been generally known and esteemed by the public,
as well as to their widows and orphans," merit and dis-
tress constituting the sole claim to its benevolence.
From the establishment of the society in 1814 to De-
cember, 1651, 1,293 donations have been granted, in
sums amounting in the aggregate to 14,483/ ; thus
showing that the average of such donations has, from
the limited means at the disposal of the society, been of
necessity small. Tho amount of distress and suffering,
however, which it has been the means of relieving has
been very great; and, from the liberality with which it
affords assistance to all, whether members or not, it is
fairly entitled to the support of all patrons of the arts.
The chair was taken by the Earl of Carlisle, who was
supported by Sir Charles Locke Eastlake, President of
the Royal Academy; IL Weekes, Esq., A.R.A.; Jacob
Bell, Esq., M.P.; Thomas Creswick, Esq., R.A. ; George
Godwin, Esq.; J. Scott Russell, Esq.; R. Chambers,
Etq., of Edinburgh; Charles Wigram, Esq ; E. W.
Crake, Esq., A.R.A.; Sir W. Ross, W. C. Dandy,
Esq., &c.
The entertainment was upon a scale of unusual de-
grace, and there was evidently a marked and decided
improvement in the whole of the arrangements, indica-
tive of the energy and enterprise of the now proprietors
of the Freemasons' Tavern.
After the cloth had been removed, and the grace—
" For these and all thy mercies," sung by the vocalists,
who were under tho direction of Mr. Hobbs,
The CHAIRMAN, in giving the first toast, said, in ad-
dition to the loyalty they all felt, they were bound to
add their special gratitude, because in their Sovereign
they recognised ono under whose immediate protection
this institution was placed by her own gracious com-
mend. He gave them---" Her Majesty the Queen,"
three times three.
Air—" God tare the Queen."
The CHAIRMAN said he was now about to give them
" The Health of his Royal Highness Prince Albert, the
Patron of this Instinetion." He need not remind them
that since his arrival in this country Prince Albert had
been recognised ueive.really as the judicious and en-
lightened patron of the fine arts.—(Cheers.) Indeed be
was not quite sure that if his position had not confined
him to the office of being a patron, he might not have
proved himself a formidable competitor.—(Cheers and
laughter.) The general feeling of respect and gratitude
to his Royal Highness would. ho was sure, not he dimi-
nished when he had the privilege of announcing to them,
on the part of his Royal Highness, a contribution of 50/.
for the purposes of the institution.—(Loud cheers.)
The toast was drunk with mach enthusiasm.
Glea—" Robin Hood."
Tao CHAIRMAN then gave " The Health of his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales and the rest of the Royal
Family."—(Drunk with all the honours.)
The CHAlllMAN—Gentlemen, I now give you the
brave defenders of our peaceful homes, " The Army and
Navy." May they long be peaceful and tranquil; and
should the occasion arise, we know that in the :army and
navy wo shall find hearts able and willing to defend
them.—(Cheers.)
Glee—" I wish to tune."
The CHAIRMAN, having called for a bumper, rose
and said—Gentlemen, we are now come to the toast
which more especially concerns the purpose of our being
assembled here this evening. In addressing an audience
like this, and on an occasion like the present, one must
always feel groat difficulty, because some of those whom
I address must be perfectly well acquainted with the
subject-matter which it is my duty to place before them,
and besides their aequaintarce with the subject, I pre-
sume that many feel and understand the purposes of the
present meeting. Therefore, anything that I can sub-
mit to you in the way of information would seem to be
superfluous, and anything in the way of an appeal a
work of supererogation. You must all of you know,
Gentlemen, that the two essential conditions for admis-
sion to the benefits of this institution aro distress and
merit. I think these have been most appropriately and
wisely made indispensable conditions; beyond this I un-
derstand there is no exclusion or limitation whatever.
That distress should be one of the conditions of course
follows as a necessary result from its bring a benevolent
institution, but I think it has also been most salutary to
make merit another necessary ingredient; for this
shelters it from the only objection which I conceive
might. otherwise attach to an undertaktng of this kind.
If it could bo said that you are opening the door to me-
diocrity, and that it was assumed, as we all know it is
by some, that decided talent and natural genius in art
will always ensure their own way and command their
own success—it, in addition to this, you should be con-
ferring a provision upon any one who, without those
claims of superior merit, might pretend to them, it might
then be contended that you were alluring to a precarious
service, which was almost sure to terminate in failure
and disappointment, the hopes, the energies, and the ex-
pectations of a life which might elsewhere thad a more
appropriate development and a more legitimate exercise.
—((Tear, hear.) You have done wisely, then, I think, to
make merit as well as distress an iudispenable condition
for the reception of your bounty. But will it be said
that merit can, in all cases, ensure its own re-
ward, and that it is necessary to make no provision for
it? Alas! this might be the case, Gentlemen, in some
world perhaps not too bright for the glowing imagina-
tion of the painter to portray, but brighter at all events
than the one in which our own lot is cast, for it takes no
account of the numberless shocks and vicissitudes which
in an age and a country like this must affect private as
well as public fortunes, the patron as well as the painter.
—(Hear, hear.) Not to mention 'the changes of taste
and the caprices of fashion, you must know well that it
comes within the range of probability, nay, often within
the range of your own experience, that the cold grasp
of disease will palsy the fingers that have shed their
witcheries over the glowing landscape, and handed down
to distant ages the lineaments and features of those who
are most renowned and most endeared to us—the fingers
that have fixed the fl acting traits of character, worked
out the mysterious treasury of passion and feeling,
breathed life into the glowing marble, and in the service
of our solemn temples, our glittering palaces, and stately
halls, have rendered architecture the fitting frame-
work and sister of tho other arts.—(Cheers.) You
know well that time when age dims the eye, and dulls
the fancy at the sudden touch of disease—when the
failure of the nerves, end all the other incidents to
which flesh is heir, have prevented the cunning of the
hand from giving any longer effect to the glowing con-
ceptions of the brain.—(Hear, hear.) I take up the
paper which has been placed in my hands to-day, and I
find among the dry details of this institution many items
calculated to impart to it a deep and affecting interest.
I find that during the year just past, the society has
relieved 63 cases, involving an exaenditure of upwards
of 8001. Among the recipients of your bounty I find
" a distinguished artist," " a highly talented artist,"
" the widow of a miniature painter, " the widow of a
landscape painter," "an architect and draughtsman,"
" the widow of a portrait painter," "the daughter of
an historical engraver," and many others of the same
class, who have been relieved as far as the means of
the institution would permit. In the toast which I last
proposed, " The Army and Navy," you are aware that
for the shattered limbs and declining years of our naval
and military veterans this country has provided noble
and costly receptacles to shield their declining years;
but you are also aware, and I say it not as a mat-
ter of complaint but of fact, that for the votaries
of art, for the peaceful votaries of the fine arts, no such
provision is made. Painting has not her Chelsea, sculp-
ture and architecture have not their Greenwich.—(Hear.)
They may be employed during their years of health and
vigour in commemorating deeds of valour, and in trans-
mitting the lineaments and forms of successful conque-
rors to distant ages. Alexandors may still draw after
them their Apelles in their train; but with respect to
the fine arts, for sheltering their broken fortunes they
must rely, not on nations, but individuals—not on the
public, but ou their patrons—not ou England, but on
you.—(Cheers.) It is in their decay of fortune, it is In
their night of distress, it is in the cold shadow of penury
and neglect that they appeal to you for your kindly
and compassionate aid, and I trust they will not make
that appeal in vain, and that you will not dispute
their moral claims, or grudge the benefits which you
confer upon the recipients of your bounty. Think
much of them, but also think of the matter as it
bears upon yourselves. Of yourselves it must be ad-
mitted that, whether considered in your individual
capacity, or as citizens of a free community, the
nation to which you belong has derived great, essential,
real, and practical benefit from the pursuit and encou-
ragement of the fine arts.—(Hear, hear.)—They have
had much of civilising, much of humanising, and much
of enobling influence. Well, then, for the gratitude
which I make sure you will all fool, you cannot find a
more appropriate relief—but I would rather not use
that term—you cannot find a happier opportunity for the
indulgence of that gratitude than in aiding the benefits
which aro furnished by the operations of this society , and thus you will, one and all of you, shed over your
.
memory hues which you may find, if you will, more
tender than those which glowed upon the canvas of Cor-
reggio—seore divine than those which bathed the dreams
of Raphael, because they have the tenderness and dignity of charity itself.—(Cheers.) the
Sir CHARLES EASTLAKE said he had be n p„f
with the next toast, " The health of tbsir
deisti-n-gwariusshtel
(Cheers.) He was
Chairman, the Earl of Carlisle."_
sensible of his own inability to do—justice to the claims
of his Lordship to the respect
fleeted with the arts, and ot all who wore ,ts, aria a? 0 ,
eon-
drink the toast with thwehsi ue was sure would
inheerest good will. There
were many reasons
ciety to solicit his Lorde,hipc's had induced the se-
e so ouviousprtehsaettire
—indeed, they everonneedthat occasion
not refer to
them.
his Lords hip h
need not remind them of the great interest
he had always broughtad alma
taken,
and the exertions which
terests these aese to bear in forwaraing the in-
of wero cennected with the arts. -
confessed, however, that th;chief reason why they had
solicited him to preside and to aid them on the present
° 'was their knowledge of his hearty benevolence
—of a benevolence which, from the remotest times Was

exerted by his family whenever the cause of humanity I
could be advanced, whether in advocating the claims of
the suffering sons of genius, or in support of those other
institutions which excite their commisseration, or eolieit
their aid so behalf of those who were dificient in the
commonest gifts and endowments of this life. When he
(S:r C. Eastlake) had ventured to ask his Lord.hip to
preside on the last anniversary, his reply, although not
intended as a refusal or impediment, was, that " he had
served." It appeared that he had presided at the festival
of the sister institution, the Artists' Benevolent Fund;
thus affording another proof his readiness at all times to
promote charitable objects. He had only alluded to the
circumstance in order to notice the expression he had
quoted—" I have served," an expression that might
hare been used accidentally, but was really
characteristic,
because it implied that the promotion of the cause of
benevolence and humanity was one of the duties that
devolved upon the nobility of that country. (Cheers,)
They might, he thought, humbly hope for a blessing on
that country in which the noble and the affluent reck-
oned it among their obligations to serve their distressed
brethren and their inferiors, but in the truest spirit of
brotherhood.—(Loud cheers.) Birth and lineage woula
ever command that genercus loyalty for which this
country was distinguished; but they might rejoice that
their nobility aimed at higher titles to their esteem and
respect—titles which " not all the blond of all the
Howards " could command—(Applause)—and which
were founded on the lasting esteem and gratitude of the
nation.—(Loud cheers.)
The toast was drunk with ranch enthusiasm.
The Earl of CARLISLE, who was received with great
cheering, said—Genticusen, I feel the extreme kind-
ness of my friend Sir Charles Eastlake in introducing
my name, and I assure you I feel a real gratification in
presiding on this occasion, and feel that I am doing an
act of homage which is al ways duo to the delight-
ful service of art, and although, unhappily for my-
self, I am not one who ministers in her temples,
I shall ever be proud to be allowed to assist in
distributing alms at her gate. (Much cheering.)
I am sure you all feel that the time is come when we
should express our feeliegs of respect for the Royal
Academy and for Sir Charles Eastlake, who has been
appropriately selected as its president.—(Hear.) It is
not for me, in an audience like this, to dwell upon the
substantial services which the Royal Academy has ren-
dered to the public taste, and the services it has rendered
to art in general. I believe they have been great and
various, and that every day they are more and more
appreciated; and I am sure the Royal Academy will
stand still higher in public estimation from having a
man like my friend Sir Charles Eastlake in the honour
able position of its president.—(Cheers,) The works
of Sir Charles have done honour to his heart as well as
to his genius; and among his other merits may be
reckoned his love for the sister art of poetry. He hes
quoted for me a line of Pope, and I am aleasys willing
to follow such a lead and retaliate. I may say, then,
that I congratulate the country and the Royal Academy
that it has placed in the most distinguished position in
connexion with the service of the fine arts a gentleman
who has both illustrated by bin example, and discrimi-
nated by his precepts, the various kinds of excellence in
all the branches of his own delightful art—who has
evinced

" Carracci's strength, Correggio's softer line,
Carlo's free touch, and Titian's warmth divine."
(Great applause.) It is fitting that such a man should
preside over the important and honourable institution at
the head of which he is placed, and I therefore give
you, Gentlemen, " Sir Charles Eastlake and the Royal
Academy."

Sir CHARLES EASTLAKE briefly responded to the toast.
The followitig toasts were afterwards given: —" The
British Institution and all the other Societies establish( d
for the Promotion of the Fine Arts," " The Artists' An-
nuity and Benevolent Funds," " The Officers of the Insti-
tution," and " The Ladies."

The company separated shortly after eleven o'clock.
In the course of the evening. the secretary announced a
lung list of subscriptions and donations to the institution,
amounting to above 6001. Mr. Toole officiated es toast-
master.

RESERVE STEAM NAVY.
The debate which took place in the House of Com-
mons on Tuesday evening, in reference to the proposi-
tion of Mr. Andereon, the Member for the Orkneys—
" To inquire into the practicability of providing, by
means of the commercial steam marine of the country,
a reserve steam navy, available for the national defence
when required"—was on© of the most interesting aLd
important, in a truly national view, which has occurred
for years.

Mr. Stafford, the new Secretary to the Admiralty,
having been prevented from entering into any explana-
tion in connexion with naval affairs upon the passing of
the navy estimates, with much tact, judgment, arid good
sense, availed himself of this opportunity to make seve-
ral valuable statements, not only in regard to our own
navy, bat as to the navies both of France and Russia, to
which we invite the serious attention of our professional
readers and of the public at large.
He commenced a speech characterised no less by
modesty than ability, by showing the number of her
Majesty's ships in commission on the home station, and
the vessels forming what bas been termed a " screw
reserve," viz.:—" Nine sail of the line, 5 frigates, 1
sloop, 2 screw-steamers, sod 8 paddle-steamers. There
were 14 other vessels nearly completed for the steam
reserve. The whole of our naval defence on the home
station stood thus:—

Vessel!.
IM, :5e6431 384°.
Woolwich
Sheerness
Portsmouth
Devonport
Cork

Total
160 men; Pluto, 55;
........... 11,906
To these add Hecate (cruising),
Antelope, 55; Vulcan, 152; making in all 52 vessels
and 12,328 men, exclusive of 4,500 marines on shore,
and coast guard and dockyard battalions; being alto-
gether 29,648 men."
In addition to this, we believe that the undermen-
tioned steamers (forming the first.class advance) are
short period, be ready
at present, or will within a very
to proceed to sea upon the shortest possible
SCREW LINE-OF•BATTLE SHIPS.--Sau3p
and Edinburgh, 60 guns. sreil, 81 guns,
STEAM-FRIGATES.—Amphion
ia
(screw), 33 guns; Cy-
clops, 6
6 guns; Odin, 16 guns; Sidon, 22 guns; and V-
lure, gu.
STEA3I-SLoors.—Barracouta, Tiger, Basilisk, Vesu-
vius, Buzzard, Desperate, and Argus.
This at first sight presents a very imposing aspect;
but, let it be remembered, all power is but comparative,
and our navy in this instance must be viewed with re-
ference to the duties required of it, both at home and
abroad, and the great and daily increasing navies of
France and Russia—an abstract of which is here sub-
joined:—
FORCES OF GREAT BRITAIN, PRANCE