The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-27 00:00:00

ARMSTRONG GUNS,

Mr H. TRACY asked the Secretary to the Admiralty
whether the attention of the Admiralty had been drawn to
the failure of the old p tttern vent pieces of the forty
punder Armstrong guns in the action of liagosima :
and, whether the Admiralty intend to withdraw from the
service all the old pattern vent pieces of the 40-pounder
gun, substituting the present pattern authorised as long ago
as May, 1832, and adapting the earlier guns for the present
vent pieces.

Lord C. PAGET answered the first of the questions in
the affirmative, and said that steps would be taken to secure
a more satisfactory state of things.
THE BLOCKADE IN THE BALTIC,

Mr. S. BEAUMONT asked the Under Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs whether the blockade proclaimed
by the Danish Government against certain ports in the
Baltic would be raised in the event of an armistice being
agreed to by the Powers met in Conference

Mr. LAYARD said he 'F.T.9 unable to give any reply to
the question further than that the matter must depend on
the arrangement made in Conference.
NEW ZEALAND.

Mr. ARTHUR MILLS called the attention of the house
to the war now going on in New Zealand ; and moved
an address for copy of all correspondence that had
taken place between Governor Sir George Grey and the
Colonial Office relating to the policy of confiscation which
had been adopted by the New Zealand Legislature. The
hon. member entered at some length into the subject, and
denounced our policy in regard to New Zealand as one of
extermination and spoliation.

Mr. B.IC.:B OXTON seconded the resolution.
Mr. CARDWELL said he had no objection to the motion
for papers. The question, he remarked, teas one of great
difficulty as to the mode in which it should be dealt with.
The natives were a most remarkable people. We had estab-
lished a colony among them, with a local Government, in
which the natives had no voice, and hence the problem to
be solved. The war had not been caused by the King
movement, nor was it commenced in order to put down that
movement. The cause of the war, as distinctly stated by
Sir G. Grey, was the existence of a combination among the
natives in the northern island to commence general war
for the total expulsion of the white rate. It was necessary,
then, to consider what were the measures proper to be
adopted, upon the conclusion of the war, in order to secure
permanent peace; and Sir G. Grey had proposed to locate
bodies of European settlers upon lands taken from those
tribes that had been guilty of the outrages which had occa-
sioned the war. This was the original proposal of Sir G.
Grey. He was not going, he said, to defend the laws re-
ferred to by Mr. Mills, or to justify their language, What,
then, was the course which it was incumbent upon the Im-
perial Government to take on receiving these Acts ? To
disallow them would, he observed, lead to serious evils; but
it was within the power of the Crown,by its instructions, to
limit and restrain the operation of the Acts; and that coarse
had been taken. Ho stated the nature of other instructions
for the guidance of the Colonial Government in the arrange-
malts for the pacification and orderly settlement of the
colony.

Lord R. CECIL considered the speech of Mr. Cardwell
satisfactory, and hoped the New Zealand A.sseuabl,y would
accept the rebuke he had adminiaterer&

Sir J. TRELAWNY was of copiniat that the Colonial-
office had been culpable its reeard to New Zealand affairs.
Lord A. CHURL ILL suggested what was probably
the real origin of the King movement, and vindicated the
colonists from the charge of having brought on the war by
rapacious dealiuge 'with the natives in the purchase of
lands.

Z.lr. C, FORTESCUE observed that the question in the
present war was totally different from that in the old quarrel
about Wirimu Kingi and the Treaty of Waitang. The
present war had been wantonly provoked by the natives.
He defended the New Zealand Government; there was
nothing in the acts referred to, he said, to show that the
Government meant to make an unjust and tyrannical use
of the powers they conferred.
Sir J. PAK.INGTON remarked that the reedit elate of
affairs in New Zealand, which hod t atised great anxiety,
were the first fruits of that policy by which the Legislature
of the colony was enabled to deal with natiVe affair its
considered the statement of Mr. Cardwell, to be most satis-
factory.
Mr. SELWYN observed that his satisfaction at that
statement had been much lessened by the speech of Mr.
Fortescue. He reviewed and censured the policy of her
Majesty's Government in reference to the colony, to which
he traced the origin of the present war.
Mr. MILLS having replied, the motion was agreed to,
HARBOURS OF REFUGE.
Mr. LINDSAY moved a resolution that her Majesty's
Government showii now adopt measures for the Construe-

Lion of harbours of refuge on the coasts of Great Britain
and Ireland, recommended by a committee of this house in
1858, by a Royal Commission in 1859, and by a resolution
of this house in 1860. He did not desire, he said, to bind
the Government to adopt any particular measure, but to
leave them to devise means for effecting an object recom-
mended by a committee, a commission, and a resolution of
the house, for the saving of life and property. There
were, he observed, three points for consideration—first, the
necessity of these works; secondly, their cost; and thirdly,
the amount of life and property that would be saved thereby.
He discussed these points. The necessity of the works had
been demonstrated by the facts proved in the inquiries of
1858 and 1862. With regard to the cost, he was of opin-
ion that these harbours might be constructed by convict
labour at less than the estimate of the Royal Commissioners,
and they would be available not only as harbours of refuge,
but as rendezvous for ships of war. On the last point he
showed the prodigious annual loss of lives and of property
on the coasts of this country, observing that if one half or
even one sixth of these losses could have been prevented by
having harbours of refuge, the object was one of great na-
tional importance.
Mr. CAVE seconded the motion.

Sir S. NORTHCOTE moved the addition of the follow-
ing words at the end of the resolution :—" And make pro-
vision for wholly or in part defraying the expense of such
harbours as it may be thought right to construct by means
of tolls upon shipping, as recommended by the committee
of this house." He proposed this amendment, he said, on
behalf of the taxpayer; but he also suggested whether a
constitutional principle was not involved in the matter.
The committee of 185 S, upon the main question, as to the
policy of a further grant of public money for this purpose,
came to the conclusion that any such advance should be re-
paid by a charge upon shipping, and they left the adjust-
ment of the charge to her Majesty's Government. If the
house, he observed, wished to exercise a control over the
public revenue, it should throw upon the Government the
responsibility of originating expenditure. All he desired
by the amendment was to protect the consolidated fund.
Mr. BLAKE supported the motion.

Mr. PEASE likewise advocated the motion, remarking
that the question should not be oonsidered purely as one of
money.

Mr. K. HODGSON recommended Sir S. Northcote not
to press his amendment.

Mr. BAXTER opposed the motion. The house could
not know, he said, what these works would cost—most
probably double the estimate of the Royal Commissioners.
If ships were better found, better manned, and better
commanded, this would do more to save life and property
than harbours of refuge.

Sir J. PARINGTON said when the house had before
it the report of a committee moved for by the Government,
the report of a Commission, and a vote of the house, all
in favour of the construction of harbours of refuge, this
was a combination of opinions that no Government was at
liberty to disregard. He exposed the fallacy of some of the
arguments against harbours of refuge, His vote, he said,
should be in support of the substantial object of the motion.
Mr. M. GIBSON said the resolution proposed by Mr.
Lindsay did not appear to him to be clear, and the house
should look narrowly at the wording of such a resolution.
The motion referred to the reports of a committee and a
commision and a resolution of the house in 1860. But in
May, 1862, the house had negatived a similar resolution,
so that they were quite free from the obligation of the
former resolution. Then the recommendations of the
committee and the commission were essentially and fun-
damentally different from each other, and the commissioners
had recommended a plan which was wholly impracticable ;
yet this recommendation the resolution proposed should be
carried into effect. Passing tolls were wrong in principle,
and would be strenuously resisted by shipowers ; there
was no chance of obtaining local contributions ;
so that the house must be prepared to vote at least
£4,000,000 for the construction of harbours of re:
fuge along the coast. He showed, from returns and
other evidence that the loss of vessels would be but slightly
diminished by harbours of refuge, and that where there
were fine natural harbours there was a very considerable
loss of life every year. There was one recommendation, he
observed, in which the committee and the commission con•
curred—namely, to assist the improvement of existing tidal
harbours by the loan of public money at a low rate of inte-
rest, and a bill was introduced by the Government for this
object, the provisions Gf which had been extensively used.
The State had not disregarded the object of saving life at
sea ; but the principle of the Government was to encourage
self-reliance, and the more they legislated for the benefit of
shipowners beyond certain limits the more they weakened
that principle.
Mr. HENLEY thought the great weight of authority
was in favour of constructing harbours of refuge, though he
was not sanguine as to their success. He should vote for
the amendment, which made clear the object of the resolu-
tion, as to the source from whence the expense was to be
defrayed.
The debate was continued by Sir F. Smith, Sir J. Elphin-
stone, Mr. Maguire, sold Mr. Souses.
Mr. LasiDsssat having replied, after a few words of expla-
natios by the CHANCELLOR of the ExcutquEn, the amend-
ment, upon a division, was negatived by 101 to 30.

Upon a farther division, the original motion was also
negatived by 142 to 84.

Lord R. 111()NTAGU moved for a select committee to
inquire into any plans for dealing with the sewage of the
metropolis and other :arge towns, with a view to its utilisa-
tion for agricultural purposes.

Sir J, PAXTON was of of opinion that tho inquiry would
be of no use,

After a few remarks by Mr. J. MILLER and Mr. CAIRD,
the motion was agreed to.
The remaining business and orders of the day having
been dispose) of, the house adjourned at half-past one
o'clock.

Stratford-on-Avon Tercentenary Festival.

STRATFORD-ON-AVON, Tuesday Evening.

The miscellaneous concert which was given yes-
terday evening in the Pavillion proved a most bril-
liant success. The audience far outnumbered that
which had attended the performance of the
"Messiah" in the daytime, and though morning
attire was not prohibited most of the ladies wore
evening dress.

The programme—which had been so combined
that every pieee bore a reference to the works of
Shakspere was as coliovis

PART I.
Overture—" Romeo and Juliet"
Trio—" The Lodestars" (" Midsummer
Night's Dream") Shield.
Sung by Mesdames Parepa, Sainton- Dolby, and Mr Patey.
Romance—" Pieta, Rispetto" ("Mac-
beth")
Sung by Mr. Stanley.
Grand Scena—Portia Weber.
Sung by Madame Parepa
Fantasia,
44
Pianoforte—" Where the Bee
/T a Pi
Sucks;' ("'em emPesL ) •• • . • Benedict,
Played by Madame Arabella Goddrittli
Song—" Blow, blow, thou wintry wind"
("As You Like It")
Sung by Mr Sims Reeves.
Aria—" Who is Silvia f" ("Two Gentle.
Men of Verona")
Sung by Madame Sainton-Dolby.
Overture and incidental music to "a Mid-

summer Night's Dream"
PAM'III
verture----(" CotiolanUs") Beethoven.
Duet— (" Midsummer Night's Dream" C. Horn.
Sung by Madame Parepa and Madame Sainton• Dolby.
Song—" Sigh no more Ladies" (" Much
Ado about Nothing').. ..
Sung by Mr Sims Reeves.
Glee—"Ye Spotted Snakes" (" Midsummer
Night's Dream")
Sung by Madame Parepa, Madame Sainton Dolby, Mr
Perren, and Mr Patey
New Song—" Take, oh take" (Measure for
Measure") •t 4 46 i
Sting by Mr Santley
Cantonet—" She never told her love"
(" Twelfth Night") Haydn.
Sung by Madame Sainton-Dolby.
Song—" Come live with me" (" The Pas- .
sionate Pilgrim")l. e•• I 6
sung by Mr George Perren.
Song—" Bid me discourse" (" Venus and
Adonis")..
Sung by Maclaine Pate pa.
Shakspetisti overture • • • H. Allridge.
Re-arranged by Mr Alfred Mellon:

The above is the progratitthe tts published. In
notisequence of the indisposition of Madame gaihton
Dolby, her musics as in the Case of the Messiah,"
was trAnsteired to Madtti&, tatira Baxter? and the
duet, 4' I know a bank," was omitted. In other re-
spects the printed promise was exactly fulfilled.
Of course the circumstance that Shakspere's
words were sung and musinally illustrated in a tem,'
porary building raised to his honour, on a plot of
ground where no doubt he had often played in his
boyhood, produced an association of ideas that
greatly enhanced the enjoyment of the concert. Pat
apart from these considerations the music was admi-
rably played, and among the loudest applauders of
Mendelssohn's " Midsummer Night's Dream" might
be heard the eminent London vocalists, who daring
its performance seated themselves in the front
row. When it is recollected that there aft two
Italian Operas now open in London, Stratford
is to be congratulated on the possession of a band
that could do such ample justice as was done yester-
day to the works of Handel and Mendelssohn.
1 The audience were delighted throughout? sod a
I
concert so peculiar in character, and the intention
of which was so perfectly carried out, has rarely
been heard in t9y.7n or country. By her exquisite
-
performance of Bonedict's beautiful fantatinti
Dr. A.rne's well known melody Madame Arabella
Goddard, whose delicate upper notes seemed to
convert the piano into a =dual snuffbox, so com-
pletely electrified the audience that, breaking
through a reserve which had previously restrained
them, they shouted a demand for an encore, which