The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-02 00:00:00

Charing-cross Redivivus.

The Old Cross at Charing (Mere .Seine) being in course
of re-erection, under the superintendence of E. M. Barry,
Esq., A.R.A., the following short notice of the original
structure may not be out of place :
Charing Cross was one of twelve crosses erected by Ed-
ward I. at each station at which the remains of his beloved
Queen kEleano: rested in the course of the transit from
Hardley, near Lincoln, where she died on the 28th Nevem-
ylYl
aboutastthere Richard
ber, 1290, to the Abbey of Westminster, where she Wag
buried. The body reached London on the lith December,
and was entombed on the 17th.
The cross subsequently erected on the last spot on which
the body rested before burial was by far the most sumptu-
ous
wefionfdthpearctriocussleasrseorfeethteedcoionts
It was begun almost immediately after her interment ; for
his brother. It appears from the se-
mi::::::yeiofinthverogsoeocdutiQuuget:
butas bheeg
died
db
work contained in the Exchequer accounts for 1291 anti
1294, temp. Edward I.
that Richard received about £560 for
Michael-
mas term, 1293, while the work was still in progress, and it
was carried to completion under the direction of Roger do
work, exclusive of the materials supplied by him, and Roger
£9O 17s. sd. It is not known who supplied the design of
de'Crilrune bduialled,ii‘"gC:Mtehn
the cross, the Crundales being merely its builders. It is,
however, on record that Ralph de Chichester supplied the
ti virg. capit. et maul.," and " Alexander le Intaginator"
received five marks in part payment of statues which were
intended to ba placed in the niches round the close
(Archoeologia xxix.. 184-5).
The stone of the structure was brought from Caen, and
the
ic r ousss, , 7
the marble from Cod. The steps round the base were of
eCeruunntdealree.feprroredbabtoly
the latter material, and the upper part of the structure of
steno. The cross was wantonly destroyed by the Puritan
rioters in the time of the ()treat Rebellion. The restored
cross is being erected by Mr Barry after a drawing- formerly
in the possession of Dr. Combe, but now in the Cruwle
collection, British Al useurn.

AMERICAN MAIL STEAMERS DUE THIS WEZIC.
—The following steamers are dne at Liverpool
this week with the the mails from the United States and
Canada :—The Peruvian, with dates from Quebec to July
23, is expected to reach Londonderry in the course of to-
morrow (Tuesday), and the Etna, from Now York, also on
the 23d, will no doubt arrive either off Cape Clear or
Queenstown on Wednesday. On Friday neat or early ort
Saturday the Australasian will probably reach Queens-
town, with dates from New York to the 27th July.

LONDON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1864.

---,1,--

Although the season is over, the duties of the
Prince of WALES are not suspended, and his Royal
Highness again comes forward to assist in paying
a 'tribute to the brave, whose memory deserves
much at the hands of their country. In front of
Netley Hospital it has been determined to place a
cross, and the Prince laid the foundation-stone. It
has certainly taken a long time for the authorities
to determine what form their offering of respect for
the memory of the brave should assume, and in
what spot it should be placed. However, better
late than never is a true adage, and so it
may prove on the present occasion. It must be a
source of satisfaction to the surviving members of
the families of those who perished nobly in that
unhappy struggle to witness that after this lapse of
years so distinguished a tribute should be paid to
them, Most disgraceful as the entire management
of the Crimean warfare was disastrous to the well-
being of the army, and prejudicial to the reputation
of all authorities at home and abroad, still there
rests no shadow on the spotless fame of those who
maintained the honour of England on those battle-
fields. Indeed in some respects the army had more
to encounter than if the conduct of affairs had been
more wisely arranged. Hardships and privations
not often encountered in the wars of modern times
were borne by our troops, and for their constancy
and devotion, not less than their courage and zeal
in combat, they deserve the recognition of their
countrymen. Under a clever general, and with
wise precautions, the men who went up the heights
of Alma and made the charge at Balaklava would
have achieved deeds as famous as any that have
crowned with honour and renown the armies of
England. The Prince di WALES lies shown his
usual good taste and discernment in coming for-
ward to assist at this undertaking, and though
some time has been allowed to elapse since the
occasion of the services here celebrated took place,
the value and credit are the sams if the acknow-
lc-Ago:lent has been deferred. The PRINCE made a
suitable reply to the address presented to him, in
the course of which he specially signalled with his
approval the site chosen for the erection of the
cross. Connected with the hospital there is a medi-
cal school for the instruction of those who are to go
out to distant lands to take charge of our troops,
and therefore it is well that they should have before
their eyes the testimony of how those who preceded
them in the duties of medical officers to the army
have fulfilled their tasks. There will be a series of
arches forming a lower arcade in the memorial, and
a number of tablets formed therein will contain the
names of the army medical officers who fell during.
the whole time of the Crimean War. This is a
very fitting tribute to be paid to those of the pro-

fession who so honourably distinguished themselves,
and it is also a peculiarly appropriate place to fix
upon for the offering of respect. It may invite and
encourage others to go and do likewise. On the
whole it must be considered as a successful attempt
to honour the brave that has just been made at
Nstlby, and:other places might with good effect
follow the example here set them. The air is rife
with tumults, and we know not how soon we may
be engaged in war ; bat however much our adminis•
trators at home may have to learn in the way of
providing for the comfort of the troops, and what-
ever deficiencies our generals and commanders may
have to rectify the general conduct of the army
need not be charged, for no soldiers could have ex-
hibited more honourable zeal and praiseworthy en-
durance than those who fought and fell on the
Crimean plains.

The British Arch x)logical Institute had a grand
day on Saturday, when the excursion to Stratford-
on-4von took place. It was an appropriate tour
for them to take, and the expedition must have been
most gratifying as well as deeply interesting. The
visit to the church was particularly attractive, and
some of the details of the affair will be welcome to
those who may not be well informed on such subs
jects. The church is a collegiate as well as a
Parochial one, and some parts are of great antiquity.
The Vicar was asked concerning the re.colouring
of the bunt of SHAKSPERE, and stated that it had
been done because they thought that, as much as
possible, it should bear the " stamp and character
of the day in which it was placed there." This
seems a-very good idea, and it would be well if in
other parts the same feeling was more prevalent
as to maintaining intact and inviolate the remains
of past grandeurs and the trophies of a renowned
antiquity. It is especially gratifying to reflect upon
that aught appertaining to the memory of SHAK-
SPERE should be preserved as perfect as possible, so
that visitors to the spot should carry away in their
minds a proper notion of the time in which he
lived and the peculiarities of the place he has
henceforth made immortal. The Society could
hardly have chosen a more interesting spot to con-
sider and examine, and this year it is very suitable
that the visit should have taken place. Doubtless
there was more real respect paid to the memory of
the great departed in the quiet solemnity of the
old church, and more real and right understanding
of the motives which should influence his admirers,
than amid all the confusion of the attempts at the
memorials and meetings that took place this spring.
The more tranquil the management of all ceremo-
nies connected with the memory of the departed
the better, and it was in the excitement and dis-
cussion that took place in London and elsewhere
relating to the fitting manner of conducting the
memorials that the failure arose as much as in any
other way. Doubtless most of those who entered
upon the affair really intended to do honour to
the great bard, but they aimed at too much, and
it may be questioned if the best way after all is not
to meet together in calm and tranquillity amid the
solemn shades and quiet retreats of his native piece
if we wish to do honour to our great poet. We
should thus better appreciate the might and majesty
of his works, and more fully understand the high
purposes and pure intentions that characterised
his life.

The tea plantations of Assam were for same
time among the best and most profitable specula-
tions which Englishmen were engaged in in India,
and certainly from the general aspect of affairs in
that country, and the rapid development of its re-
sources, there was little reason to apprehend any
interference with their prosperity. The very
anxiety of the Government, however, to still further
assist their trade has tended to place them in a
very awkward and uncertain position. On the
principle of the old epitaph—" I was well, I wished
to be better, and here I am," the efforts of the
authorities to improve the trade with the neigh-
bouring province have rendered the Assam mer-
chants and traders liable to the disturbance and
excitement of war. The desire to improve our
trading relations with Bhootan was natural and
reasonable, though it would certainly have been
wise to have sounded the way a little first. The
whole people, from the rulers to the very lowest
classes, manifested such vehement dislike to the
idea of a treaty with the British, that it would
surely not have been very difficult to mere
tain their sentiments on the matter before
undertaking the expedition. When it was
fully determined on it would still have been
wiser to have proceeded more cautiously, to have
sent an emissary first to discuss the subject, and
afterwards a plenipotentiary fully empowered to
come to actual terms and represent the Imperial
Government. Farther, when an expedition was
to be despatched to storm a Court and a nation
which really we knew little of, great care and
jadgment should have been exercised in the selec-
tion of the Envoy. Probably the Government
thought it was only a mere affair of form, which
needed no special characteristics, and ;with which
any gentleman of ordinary courage, ability, and
experience could deal. It is certain that had it
been known what treatment our English represen-
tative was to suffer at the hands of the Bhooteas,
the Executive would have been as unwilling to de-
spatch Mr. EDEN on his errand as he would have
been reluctant to undertake it. The Bhooteas had
frequently made themselves disagreeable in minor
ways, and our Assam planters have frequently com-
plained of the difficulties pat in the way of their
commerce with Bhootan, but no one dreamed of
each presumption and want of civilisation as was
manifested in the treatment experienced by the
British Envoy. The failure of the expedition we
all know; indeed it proved to be worse than a failure
owing to Mr EDEN'S unfortunate signature of the
treaty put before him by the Bhooteas. This treaty,
which his persecutors substituted for the one he
brought with him, ceded to the Bhooteas the whole
province of Assam. After having done this the
Bhooteas suffered him to depart, as indeed they
would most probably have done in any case, being
too well aware of what the consequences would be
to them had they actually injured our Envoy. But
they probably thought that this treaty which they
extorted from Mr EDEN would give them a plea for
troublesome interference, or perhaps ground for an
invasion of
Assam, when they felt inclined for war.
In consequence of this awkward affair the Govern-
ment finds itself placed in a very awkward position,
and is apparently uncertain;what attitude to assume,
waiting to see what the Bhooteas will do, and whe-
ther they will endeavour to enforce this preposterous
agreement. The simplest
way to deal with the
matter would
be to cut the gordian knot by dis-
solving the Treaty altogether. We can protest
against it either as being obtained by force, or on
the ground of our Envoy having exceeded his in-
structions. It should be publicly declared null and
void, and notice of this should be sent to Bhootan,
taking care, at the same time, to express our indig-
nation at the treatment received by our Envoy who
had gone on a pacific errand. It was easy for the
Bhootans to refuse to enter into any such arrange-
ment as the one proposed to them, and Mr. EDEN
had no troops to enforce their consent. It is absurd
to hold such a treaty as serious; they might as well
have forced him to sign a document ceding all

Hindostan to the Bhootans or making over Calcutta
to them. Because they have been kind enough to
limit their claims to a State, whose proximity to
them makes the possibility of their proceeding to
extremities really annoying, and with whose
trade they can seriously interfere, there is
no reason that we should allow those claims
for a moment. Of course the Government never
dreamt of suffering them to enter Assam, but it
would be well distinctly to deny the grounds on
which they claim that right to do so. Instead of
mar ecuvring to obtain possession of the fictitious
Treaty, it would be much better boldly to disclaim
it at once. Supposing the Bhootans to be ignorant
or infatuated enough to provoke hostilities, the
matter will be nothing serious, since a brief passage
at arms will probably subdue them, and already
the Government has ordered up troops for the pro-
tection of Assam. But it is very much to be de-
sired that so ridiculous and unsatisfactory a war
may be avoided, and that our countrymen in Assam,
whose trade is flourishing, should be subjected to
all this apprehension and annoyance. It is to be
hoped that the matter may shortly be arranged,
and that its unpleasant experience will for the
future teach more caution to our authorities and
more courage to their representatives.

A Small Beginning.

TO M. LESANCQUER, FIRST CLERK IN 7HE IVIR-07FICE.

" Sir,—Quite a stranger its' Paris, and having no ac
quaintances, it is only in you I can hope. The friendship
you entertained for my father induces me to trust you will
do something for me, In the remodelling of the corps, it
seems to me that I am about to change regiment ; this
grieves me in every point of view—whereas officers who
follow me immediately would permute most willingly. I
have a brother preparing for the corps ; I have undertaken
his education myself, and this I could not accomplish in
another regiment. If the remodelled work had already ap-
peared, I would not importune you, for then I should have
only to obey; but in the present state of affairs I flatter
myself that you will deign to interest yourself on my be-
half. I will preserve a grateful remembrance of your kind-
ness.—With respect, sir, your very humble and very obe-
dient servant, " BONAPARTE,
Lieutenant in the Regiment of Lrare.
" Auxonne, June 3, 1791,"

Another letter, which is addressed " to the Administra-
tors of Versailles," on the Ist September, 1792, is on
behalf of his sister Marianne, whose guardian he had be-
come—who was then houseless, because of the sudden
suppression of the educational establishment of St. Louis,
and in whose favour he claimed the twenty sous per
league to which she was entitled, to carry her on her
way to Ajaccio, her residential domicile.—Cltamberes
Journal.

NAPOLEON THE GREAT, IN 1811, TO THE THEN
PREFECT OF THE SEINE, COUNT FROCHOT.—
" The ground on which the Basilica of Notre Dame, the
Hotel Dieu, and the Palais de Justice stands is sacred
ground. Down with all the hovels that dishonour it. Let
this wretched population who for ages past have suffered
and died without ever issuing from this putrid atmosphere
breathe at ease fresh air in another quarter on the confines
of the city. Bring me a grander plan. Throw open an
avenue without houses between the Church of Notre Dame
and the Palais de Justice. Arrange it so that I shall be
able to see from the Institute the old cathedral display its
noble and beautiful architecture. I believe in God, Mr
Prefect; Ido not discuss Him—l feel him. lam Catholic
in eyes as in heart. Protestantism produces thinkers, philo-
sophers, and savans ; Catholicism generates heroes, poets,
and artists. The people of Paris, whose intelligence is so
quick, would soon tire of the cold, monotonous, and de-
nuded Protestant temples. They require the majesty of
grand churches adorned with, pictures and statues. It is
there they feel what I feet, a vibration of the Divinity."
NAPOLEON M. UN " THE LIBERTY OF THE
PRESS !" As very aptly quoted by the Paris
Correspondent oi the Times, who writes :—I cannot avoid
quoting a short passage from a work I have often read with
pleasure—" Considerations Politiques et Militaires sur la
Suisse :"—Every citizen of a republic should desire to be
free, but freedom is indeed a vain word if he cannot freely ex-
press his thoughts and opinions. If publicity meet with ob-
structions in one canton it removes its rights and benefits to
another, and the canton which happened to exclude it would
not be thereby secure from its criticism. The liberty of
the press should be general. To the "Considerations"
are prefixed the following :—I recommend to the indulgence
of my readers these refiexions which I submit to their
judgment. If, when speaking of Switzerland, I could not
help thinking of France, I hope that my digression will be
pardoned, for the interest I feel for a free people only
quickens my love for my own country. The date affixed
to the work is July 6, 1833, and the author of it is Prince
Louis Napoleon, now Emperor of the French. (Euvres
du Napoleon 111,, tome xi, page 352.)

CASTEL GANDOLFO.—This place, where the Popo
is at the present moment staying, is situate at 11
miles from Rome, and since the reign of Urbain VIII. has
been the favourite country residence of the Pontiffs. From
tho elevation of the site the air is excellent, and the view
of the Mediterranean extends from the Circe promontory to
Civita Vecchia. The lake is celebrated in Roman history;
Plutarch gives details of the piercing of Mount Albano for
oLtaining a supply of its waters, and the Roman aqueduct
may still be seen intact after a lapse of 2,000 years. Domi-
tian had naval battles represented on the lake, and added
the sumptuous villa which now belongs to the Barberini
family. Constantine is believed to have given the lake to the
Church of St. John the Baptist which he had erected at
Albano. A. pleasant villa appears to have existed
there in the middle ages for the emperors when they
came to Rome. Later, the chronicles mention a fortress
Arx Gandulphi on the shores of the lake. A family of that
name existed at Rome in the 12th and 13th centuries. An
Otho Gandolphe was senator of Rome in 1123. The fortress
afterwards became the property of Savelli ; the lake then
belonged to the Abbey of Grottaferrata. The celebrated
Cardinal Mezzarota built the town of Castel Gandolfo with
tho remains of ancient Alba. Pine I 1., in his commentaries,
speaks with admiration of the panorama of Castel Gandolfo,
of which the hills, in the form of an amphitheatre, formed
an enchanting spectacle. Sixtus V. raised Castel Gandolfo
into a duchy for Bernardin Savelli, the Apostolic Chamber
having paid 150,000 crowns to the creditors of that family.
Clement VIII., by the consistorial decree of 1604, incorpo-
rated Castel Gandolfo with the temporal demesne of the
Holy See, and included it expressly in the bull of Pius V.
de non 011eudando bonis Eeclesice. Nothing shows that
Clement VIII. ever thought of Castel Gandolfo as a
country seat. Paul V., who rendered the country more
salubrious by draining the Lake of Tome, had the cele-
brated Villa Mondragone erected at Frascati. It was re-
served for Urban VIII. to definitively choose Castel Gan-
dolfo. He had the palace bui:t and the garden laid out,
and opened the shady roads which lead to Albano and the
convent of the Capucines, He went 'there every year, and
a large number of his bulls are dated from that place—.
among others the bull for ttte erection of the Vatican Col-
lege. Alexander V, er_,larged and completed the Pontifical
Palace,
Constructed. the exterior wall as a defence, and built
the parish oho:, ch dedicated to St. Thomas of Villeneuve.
Clement XL, Benedict tIV., and Clement XIV., each
showed a special predilection for Castel Gandolfo, which
residence was also recommended to them by their physi-
cians. In 1802 the Apostolic Chamber sold the lake to
Prince Poniatowski. The water, as is well known, contains
excellent eels.— G altgnani. s Messenger.

DEFENCE OF CANADA.—Mr Adderley told the
House of Commons that the Volunteer force of
Canada consists of 35,000 men, having been raised under
recent Acts from 5,000; and further, that this force is dis-
tributed as follows :-15,000 in the western, 5,000 in the
central, and 15,000 in the eastern districts ; but that, sad to
say, this force has only six days' drill per year. Now, may
we ask Mr Adderley whence he got his information ? Gladly,
if we could, would we persuade ourselves that this estimate
of our only real force was correct; sorrowfully do we feel
compelled fo lay bare the facts of the case. In 1861, when,
with one accord, at a time of danger, the manhood of the
country came forward clamouring far arms and organization,
the active or volunteer force was raised to a real strength of
about 18,000 to 20,000 men, who were divided into com-
panies and battalions throughout the province. As the im-
mediate danger died away, so died away the remembrance
of the promises made by the Legislature for its support;
and gradually also, as they found themselves unremunerated
for their weekly drills, in many cases unpaid for the uni-
forms they had provided, or only partially so, the men of the
Volunteer Militia force gradually left the ranks, until at the
present time, so far from having an increased force, we feel
sure that, if the real truth were known, the skeleton of our
embodied force would not in both the western and eastern
districts, which form our military divisions (the central one
we never heard of except from Mr Adderley), amount to
10,000 available men all told. And with the exception
of a few battalions, which through the personal efforts
of their officers still maintain a high state of efficiency, we
may, unless justice is done to it by Government, consider
the volunteer militia of our country as nothing more than
the nucleus of an organisation, to be fallen back on should
danger again threaten. But it really drills on an average
about 50 days in the year, instead of six, as asserted by
Mr Adderley. We are not at the present time going to
enter into the merits of the question, or to show how our
Houses of Legislature, equally balanced, and torn to pieces
by party faction, have neglected the defences of our country,
but we do think it right to enter a protest against such a
wild statement concerning our volunteer militia as that of
Mr Adderley's, destitute as it was of even a basis of truth,
irom being accepted as a correct return of its strength,—
llontn* aftqUet