The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-27 00:00:00

AMERICAN NEWS.

LIVERPOOL, MAT 26.
By the. United States' mail steam ship Bald()
Captain Comsbck, which arrived in the Mersey
shortly Wore 8 o'clock this morning, we have ad-
vizes from Ne P 7 York to the 15th inst. She brings
75,000 (lolls. on freight.

The screw principle of propulsion has achieved a
triumph in the case of the Great Britain. This
vessel left the Mersey on the Ist instant, and not-
withstandiug very unfavourable weather, which ren-
dered her sails nearly useless, she accomplished the
passage in 13 days 4 hours. On the 12th she ran a
distance of 301 miles in 24 hours—e, speed hitherto
unattained by screw steamers.
An eppereotly well informed correspondent of the
New Yorlz. _Herald, waiting from Washington on the
13th, iatimaies th it be hart seen a letter from a dis-
ticguishsd gentleman in Mexico to a friend in that
city, .'h eh contained important and interesting infor-
mation Re to the relations existing between the United
States and Mexico. It wee understood in the city of
Mexico that President Arista had, on the 10th of.
April, after the rejection of the 'Tehuantepec treaty,
addreeeed a letter to President Fillmore, stetting all
the facts of the difficulty as regards the position as'
steeled by Mr. Letcher, the American Minister, who
was informed long before the treaty was rejected
by the American Congress that it had no chance
of being ratified—there being but one man in
either house of Congress in favour of it.
But it was intimated to him that the Government
was willing to grant the right of way across the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the New Orleans Com-
pany, if they would cease to press the Garay grant
claim—a claim which the Mexican people were unani-
mously opposed to, on the ground not only of its ex-
piration,
but that it was obtained by bribery, and
conveyed a vast quantity of land-10 leagues on both
sides of the road—for the purpose of colonisation.
Mr. Letcher wrote to Mr. Benjamin, the President
of the Tehuantepec Company, requesting him to visit
Mexico and try to arrange the matter, by abandoning
the Garay grant, and accepting a new
grant for the
right of way alone. But Mr. Benjamin did not go.
The Tehuantepec treaty was rejected by the Mexican
Congress with but two dissentient votes. Imme-
diately thereupon Mr. Letcher addressed to
the Mexican Government the ultimatum of the
Government of the United States, which declared
that -the Tehuantepec treaty, recognising the va-
lidity of the Garay grant, must be confirmed by
the Mexican Government. No other arrangement
would for a moment be listened to. It was under
such circumstances that President Arista addressed
himself directly to President Fillimore. He ac-
knowledged the weakness of Mexico, and the great-
ness of the United States, and made a touching
appeal to the magnanimity of a great nation not
to force a wrong upon a weak people. He de-
clared there must be some mysterious influence
which induced the United States to endeavour to
force Mexico to ratify a treaty reviving a defunct
grant. The Government and people of Mexico had
every desire to throw open the Tehuantepec com-
munication, and he instanced the fact that the day
previous to his writing a Bill had been introduced
into the Mexican Congress authorising the Govern-
ment to offer the right of way across the Isthmus to
any company which would build a road ; but, as for
the Garay grant, it would not be recognised, even
if the United States forced upon Mexico the full
extent of the threat contained in the ultimatum—
war. The Herald's correspondent did not know
whether Arista's letter had reached the President,
but he supposed not, as the new Mexican Minister
had not been presented.
Further details had transpired relative to the con-
tents of Chevalier Hulseniann's note to the President,
from which it appears that the letter is dated April
28, and states that in November and December Mr.
Hulsemann had remonstrated with the Secretary on
account of his communications and interviews, and
their subjects, being treated with ridicule and derision
in curtain public journals of New York and Phila-
delphia. The Secretary's treatment of the Kossuth
affair, and particularly his speech at the Kossuth
Congressional Banquet, had made it the duty of Mr.
Hulsemann to ascertain whether such sentiments as
the Secretary had made expression of were those of
the Goveretneet of the United States. The verbal
explauations and est:unlaces made to him on these
occasions had been followed by no change
in the manner in which his transactions
with this Government were treated by the pub-
lic press. Meat, particularly, some articles pub-
lished in New Orleans had recently' been the oc-
casion of the Austrian Ministry suffering considerable
unpleasantness and annoyance. Under these cir-
cumstances he considered it his duty to withdraw
from any further relations with the Government,
which could only be continued through the medium
of one who was a promoter of Kossuth and un-
friendly to the Austrian Government ; and there-
fore that Mr. Belmont, Austrian Consul-General ate
New York, would hereafter, if occasion required,
be the means of such communications as the Austrian
Government might have to make. The Chevalier
then thanks the President for his kindness, urbanity,
&c., and asks the secretary to accept assurance of bis
high consideratiOn, &e. The letter is said to cover
several pages of foolscap, and to be written in very
is ill-humour. The reply I,y the acting Secretary of
State, and is dated. May gd. It acknowledges the
receipt of the Chevalier's letter very briefly, and
merely says that such communications as the Austrian
Government may have occasion to make through Mr.
A Belmontmongwill
rb emi
s c respectfullyell.neoa
received.
s
Rochester the democrats had called a mass meeting,
relative to the enlargement
of the Erie canal, to
a
carry out which projectitems we find that at
loan was proposed to be
effected on the credit of the State. The -Meant
Morris dam on the Genessee
Valley Canal bad
way and put a stop to the navigation. It would take
some weeks, and a large amount of money, to repair
the break. A bridge, built at Darien, Georgia, for
about to be shi
the Panama Railway
ed to ,
its to span the Chagres river, Was
interest had been created destination. Considerable y
a decision in the New
a
York State Court of Appeals, e
by which the Canal-,
law was declared to be unconstitutional.
given
Delegates in favour of Fillmore for the Presidency
had been elected in Tioga count,.
The Anti-Slavery Society at
Rochester had passed
some very strung resolutions
condemnatory of slavery.
The Louisiana Legislature had
1
passed a law pro-
hibiting the emancipation of sieves in that State, ex-
cept on condition of their !poin—
ts sent out of the United
States. A Bill recently reported in the Maryland
Legislature has a similar provision.
A very stringent
Bill against free negroes had been reported in the
Virginia Legislature, the enforcemenaea which would
drive them out of the State.
In the New York stock market
there .
was an active
demand for the various deecriptions of securities, at-
firm pricis. There was n
(:' inquiry for specie for ship-
ment, the present rates of exchange, with the low
pribe of bullion in England, not
admitting of expor-
tation, unless at illOsafit to the shipper.
, i ,--.Pper. Exchange on
London was quoted - to 110
401 to 1 ; Paris, 5.161 to
5,171 ; Amsterdam,o 781 -41 ; re
eeamburgh, 35i- to
ad: Bremen,
781
tTh 2.
•1 °,,n,eY wai more abun-
dant thaii ever. e avaidteie means of the banks
were on the increase, and tr,
---nnh ditfieulty was expe-
rienced in employing their heavy balances. Among
the private bankers the same state of things existed,
and lower retea of interest Were the inevitable result.
For strictly prime business paper there was no diffi-
culty in obtaining money at 4 to 5
er cent., while
loans had been effected as law as tie
. 'or cotton there
had been a good demand, and the n
-.l3vvard tendency in
prices still continued. Flour was still deressed. For
corn there was. a steady demand, For tobacco the
'
demand was ,quiet, without chana., ,
in Price. Iron
little
offering filen. Frfor shipment. aeights.were rather heav„, o _
wirig 'to the
The following h
is from tae New teYork Isler aid :
"The screw steam-ship Oreat Britain, Captain mat-
thews, has arrived from LiverpsnOth She left that port
at half-past nine o'clock onmadae urtild
eitY Morning, the
Ist inst., and has, therefore,
this..
teen days and four hours—the honest
- or record of
a screw steamer.
one
" The Great Britain brings hundred and sixty
passengers.
She was originally called the ‘‘ Mon-
stet.," but she is no larger than the Collins t
8 eamers.
v •
She is built of iron, and from a allay of circum-
stances, may be considered t a famous vessel.,
The following is an extracof
THE LOG OF THE GREAT
ock BRITAIN.
May I—At 9.10 A.M. left Wellington d.
, at 10.40
stopped to put,owners,
alutes with H. friends,vf and;pilot on board steam-
tug; 8, P.N. exchanged a
Argyle and ship a steam-ship
Africa, passed barque o
service. Huntress. Fine
pleasant weather; sails of n
lat. 51 25, long, g May 2.—Wind northerly,
T. tit baffling g- 20, dis-
tance run 2SO miles—esig , winds throughout;
sails of little service.
May 3—Wind N.W. to N-E , lat. 51 17, long 15 3
• 9
232 miles—Light winds an,
May 4—Wind N.E. to
d calms throughout
s.s._.,
w let 50 4; long 22
light wind 3 and tine: W
17; 252 miles—Most
prt
to Nt S•VI•, let. 50 irher)at.
May 5
—Wind S.S.W.
news, increasing long
27 53, 216 miles—Strongu• „ to h eavy
gales, and bieh crossea.to W., let 50 55
1 indong 32 25,
May 6-11 W.S.W.Vir— .
gales, lattsr p .
170 miles—First part strong art strong
bre( z.7s and high scar.
r.
vi. by ess., /at. 49 48, ,long. 3.
May 7—Wind W. to latter part
19, 191 miles—Moderato gales l
and squally ; atter part
strong
M gale
B—Wins.
Wind V 7, to
74 ' W.' Ist. 48 53, long. 40 55,
aysq ; • l5O miles—Fresh gales and heavy teall 5 very high
seas.
av, lat. 46 long. 45
May 9--Wind N.W. to N.N. decreasing.
09,
38, 254 miles—Strong winds and
,31aY 10—wand S.W. to a. •
Q W by W., fat 45 21, long.
Rinds and hazy ; drizzling
51 29, 248 miles—Strong
rein.

May 11—Wind S.W. by W. to N.Pir., lat. 44 06, long,
57 04, 268
miles--Strong winds and luny,

May 12—Wind N.W by" W., lat. 42 33, long. 62 55,
301 miles—Calm and eloar. ; eLds moderate, with rain.
May 13—Wind S. to E., lat 41 01, long. 68 27,.264
miles—Fresh breezes and gloomy, with fogs ; at 3.45
took pilot on board.

Mgy 14—Wind W. to N., lat. 40 28, long 74 02, 256
miles—Strong winds from the northward ; passed Sandy
Hook at 10 50 A K.-=making the paseage in 13 days 5i
hears.

Tiais speaks well for the G. B.- I will be seen that
in one day she accomplished the distance of three hundred
and one miles. The Canada, oue of the Canard line,
which has made the shortest run oa record to
fax, sailed from Liverpool on the same day with tho
Great Britain, and therefore must have had pretty much
the same weather; yet she only anticipated the G. B.
seventeen hours and thirty minutes.

ANNEXED ARE TWO SHORT STATEMENTS OF TFIE VOYAGE
"OR board the steam-ship Great Britaio,
" &w York, May 14, 1852.
_ _ _

" dear Sir,—=lt affords me great pleaaure to inform
you that I have been deputed by my fellow pa3sengers
to offer you their sincere congratulations on the very
satisfactory result of the application of your patent screw
propeller to the Gnat Britain seam-ship, on her re-ap-
pearance on the broad waters of the Atlantic.
Our voyage of thirteen days has not only been accom-
plished in less time than might have been anticipated,
when the small proportion of power (500 horses) to the ton-
nage of the ship 3,500 tons) is considered, but it has been
perform :Al both in rough and smooth sea with u compa-
rative degree of freedom from that disagreeable vibra-
tion which isiso generally.complained of iu paddle-wheel
steamers.

Individually, I have been a close but quiet Qbserver
of your untiring exertions in the cause of steam-screw
propulsion, and most of the subscribers to this testimo-
nisi have heard from your own lips something of
the difficulties and prejudice that you have had to en-
counter in the introduction of your invaluable invention
into the naval and mercantile services of your country,
which I am sure cannot fail to render your present suc-
cess the mord gratifying.
" In conclusion, I am to thank you for your ready and
straightforward explanations as to the arrangement and
working of the beautiful machinery with which the Great
Britain has been fitted by the• eminent firm which you
represent on this occasion, and before we part, to wish
you a continuance of the well merited gratification
which you have experienced on this, your firs; trip to
the -United States.
" EDWARD FRANKLIN, Commander, R.N.
" Mr. F. P. Smith, &c., &e., 860-
" On board steam-ship Great Britain,
New York Harbour, May 14, 1852.
" We, the undersigned passengers on board the Groat
Britain screw steam-ship, beg to offer our sincere con-
gratulations to you on the very successful termination of
this your first trip, as commander of the largest steam-
ship afloat, and through yon to the spirited proprietors,
who have so efficiently restored to Atlantic navigation
one of its finest ornaments.
" Of the performances of the vessel, we feel we cannot
speak too highly. They have been such as we believe
must call for official inquiry from the highest naval
authorities both of England and America, and that the
great merits of its improved machinery will thereby be
brought under the notice of the public in the most em-
phatic manner..
" We have much pleasure in bearing testimony to
your unceasing vigilance and ability in the command of
your noble ship, and to the .very satisfactory conduct of
your officeraand crew throughout out passage."
Signed by the whole of the passengers.
" To Captain B. R. Mathews:"
HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT BRITAIN.
(From the Liverpool Courier.)
With regard to the Great Britain, it may be truly
said that she made and lost a reputation; and that now,
under more favourable auspices, she is recovering her
character again. The early history of the Great Britain
was not unmarked by features of interest. When she
was building at Bristol, she was the observed of all ob-
servers; and even then, in what might be called t.be in-
cipient state of the vessel, she was the theme of conver-
sation in this and every other civilized country.
On Saturday, the 26th of July, 1845, the Great Bri-
tain took her departure from this port on her first
voyage for New York, with forty-five passengers, and
320 tons of goods. The vessel took the north passage,
and arrived at New York, on the 10th of August at
noon. On her return voyage she left New York on the
30th of August, and arrived at Liverpool on the 15th of
September, at 8 A.M. The Great Britain was gradually
working up her way, and her reputation was established
as a matchless vessel. The race, however, was short. On
Tuesday, the 22d of September, 1846, the Great Britain,
under the command of Lieut. Hosken, R.N., left Liver-
pool at half-past eleven iu the morning, with 185 pas-
sengers, and a crew of 90 hands. The vessel had been
adopted to give her superior speed, and the circum-
stances under which she left this port were of the melt
auspicious character. The wind was fair and free, and,
immediately after she discharged the pilot at the North-
west light-ship, the whole of her sails were set, and she
ran at a speed of eleven knots per hour. In due time
the Calf of Man was sighted, and the vessel continued
her course without deviation, and with a strange infatu-
ation, until half-past nine o'clock at night, when she ran
aground in Dumdruar Bay. The disaster was never suf-
ficiently explained. In Dundrnm Bay she remained
during a severe winter, and endured the buffetings of the
ocean in a manner which bespoke her qualities. She
was finally released from her awkward position, and was
towed to Liverpool by steamboats, arriving here on the
25th of August, 1847.
" The ill success which had attended the vessel dis-
pirited her owners from further proceedings, and the
Great Britain lay in the north docks literally ' a sheer
hulk.' Her dilapidated appearance was not calculated to
lead to the hope that she was capable of anything more
than being kept in port as a moment° moil of herself'. To
the eye of the sailor, however, and the lover of a fine
ship, there was much to admire under her unsightly
exterior. Her beautiful lines and evident capabilities
were so apparent to the practised eye, that it was felt to
be a pity that she should lie a wreck in port; and with
these views we. have oft times urged that some capitalists
should purchase her, and again place her in that position
she ought to occupy.. A peculiar purchaser was evidently
required to do what was necessary. Those who bought
the vessel would require in the first place to effect their
purchase for much less than she cost originally, and they
would also require to bo men of capital and enterprise,
to plan and execute new arrangements in the ship. For-
tunately Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., of this town,
who had formerly acted as agents for the company,
coincided in the opinions just expressed, and became the
owners of the vessel. As soon as the contract was com-
pleted, the new owners set to work with energy to carry
out their views. Three large contracts were immediately
entered into for the principal part of the work requires,
and the contractors wrought at the same time with each
other in their different Contracts.
" The contract for the iron work and shipwright's
alterations was signed on the 23d of February, 1851,
and the vessel was placed in their hands on the following
day, since which time the work has been proceeding
with as great rapidity as it could safely progress. One
of the first opozations of the contractors was to get the
vessel into the Sandell Graving Dock, where she was
placed upon an even keel. As soon as the vessel was
dry in the Graving Dock, the civil engineer struck a
straight line through the entire length of the ship, which
was duly marked, and from this line all the subsequent
workings were oarried ou. This is mentioned not so
much as to the fact, but as to the results arising from it,
and the consequent accuracy of the work. This accuracy
will be more apparent, when we state that the bed plates
upon which the engines rest were found not to vary the
sixteenth of an inch from a true line. The contract em-
braced the whole of the repairs of the iron work, and
also the shipwright's work. Its magnitude may be
judged of from the fact that they erected a steam engine
to aid the work, and employed 350 men during the time
she lay in the Graving Dock,
" It is not, however, to be supposed that the Great
Britain has undergone any alteration in her form; that
is precisely as it was before. The only alteration as re-
gards the hull is the removal of the rolling plates for-
merly attached to her sides, which were found inauffi-
eient for their object. And whereas she has had for-
merly nothing more than an item plate about two inches
deep for a keel, she has bad an oak keel 17 inches deep
added, and bolted through with iron bolts, this is
covered with zinc, to, neutralize the effects of the water,
and to mako its surface smooth. The object of this
keel is to prevent rolling, which it is believed it will ac-
complish.
" We have already stated that the vessel will bo un-
usually strong, and we are correct in saying that, at the
present moment she is twice as strong as ever she was,
an amount cf skill having been bestowed upon her fasten-
ings such as we believe has never been known in a ship
befere. To give some idea of what has ,been done we
may eay that her bottom, amidships, for about 150
. ,
feet in length, is entirely new, and wherever there has
been any chafing,have
been plates of the best iron
been substituted. To increase the strength of the
ship the floorings have been made of &ablad d
iron, as formerly. Th • en
The ows
e inste
of single angle
stern of the vase' have been strengthened by
the addition of double angle iron framing, and this
en further secured by three tiers ofiron
lies again be flue-eights
stringers, two feet three inches wide and of.
en inch thick, riveted to the frame-work at sghtll-ane
sghlpfa,
have been ton new iron kelsons place4:ll
There
running fore and aft for the entire length
and there
deep Again as those formerly in d
half as her;
o,fathe ship,
e deep.nnd
are box kelsons to support the engines,ee
a quarter inch plate iron, and threeefthe
vessal stronger
only have the owners mad tmotixere: inchesfhoens
And not d all matters of de-
than she was, but they have arrantgsehe
will now be able
tail in such a superior manner that
than before—probably to I
to carry a roach larger cargo
d Cone'. This capacity will
the extent of 1,000 tonshahei:
pace saved by new boilers,
be gained partly through
b tconstruction of a deek-bouee,
sind pertly throungdh7t
feet 6 inches high. The dea-
n° feet long,af r asseneere, and will thus make
hoaso ant be used
available° for cargo." New bulwark:: have
the lower cabin
around the ship, at an elevation of four
also been erected
she • • I had, there
Kill those plasma y
feet six inches above
will be of further se
protecting the deck-house in
severe weather, whilst u
la
thens roof of the house will form a
promo d
nade 300 feet long, perfectly protected from
any seas the vase' may ship.
The dineensicas of the Great Britain now are as
follow ;--
langth over all , .330 feet.
51 feet G iaehes.
Boax
Depth from promenade deck, 40 feet 101 allelic,.
Capacity for cargo, about 3,000 tons.

mit° fir coals 1,200 tons.
44 An alteration has been made in the masts of the
ship, the number being reduced to four instead of five, as
she formerly had; but this in no wise affects her sailing
power, as she will be able to spread 6,000 square yards
of
canvass. Two of her lower masts, we should say, are
iron cylinders, especially constructed with a view to giv•
tog them tightness and strength. The two centre masts

are rigged as in a ship, carrying sails as high es royals,'
and the first and last masts are rigged with fore and aft
sails, as in a schooner.
" The cabins of the vessel are commodious and ele-
' gent. The cabins of the captain and chief officer are
upon deck, and have been so arranged that they entirely
overlook the operations of the ship.
" The next, and ono of the most important cons7dera-
lions in the vessel, is her motive power. The old engines
Were nominally of 1,000-horse power, but it is a ques-
tion if they ever worked over 500. horse power; the new
engines, on the other hand, are nominally of 500-horse
power. but there is every reason to hope that they will
work up to 6004aorse power. The Great Britain has
ben fitted rich a pair of oscillating engines, by John
Penn and San, eng:ineers, Greenwich, end are of the
Collective power of 500 horses. The cylinders aro 82i
inches in diameter, and six Let length of stroke, mid,
by the intervention of cog wheels, the screw shaft
roalzes three revolutions to oze of the engine. The
screw or fan has three arms or blades, and is flf!esn
feet six inches diameter and nineteen fret pitch.
There
are six boilers, either of which can be used independ-
ently of the other if necessary. About seven hundred
tons of coal can be stovved.in the bunkers in the engine
room, and provieien has been made to take about
500 tons in other parts of the vessel—in all more thins
enough to take the ship to Now York and back. The
engines are of the most beautiful workmanship, and do
credit to their constructors. To lessen the vibration
formerly experienced from the motion of the screw and
machinery, eight new wrought iron beams have been
placed transversely through the vessel, rAnich lock her
sides firmly together. The bases on which the machi-
nery rests are much stronger than forinerly, and she has
further been strengthened by the addition of massive
iron entablature beams to the engines, which again aro
buttressed by a framing of teakwood each piece being
20 inches deep and 3 feet wide, running on each side of
the engines, transversely and diagonally, 'to the sides of
the ship (the distance in which this solid timber extends
being 17 feet 6 inches on each side of the engines), and
the whole of this framing being bolted together, and
through the sides of the ship, by wrought iron bolts, so
as to form a solid mass of timber." •

EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS FOR
THE PEOPLE.
(From Eliza Cook's Journal.)
An exceedingly praiseworthy scheme of public lectures
for working men has recently been set on foot in con-
nexion with the Museum of Practical Geology, where
the directors and professors of the Government School
of Mines have undertaken to deliver a series of Penny
Lectures on special subjects in science and art.
We remember very well when Mr. Simpson, the
Edinburgh advocate, got up a Working Min's Institu-
tion in that city, for the delivery of a course of lectures,
the admission to which was a Penny, that a very loud
guffaw of laughter was raised thereat. Such phrases as
"penny wisdom," "a little learning is a dangerous
thing," " penny philDsophers," and such like, were very
much in vogue then, as applied to Mr. Simpson and his
lectures.

It was certainly a startling innovation! The idea of
bringing the lore of colleges, the wisdom of philosophers,
the speculations of savans, the scientific knowledge of
groat practical thinkers, within the reach of working
men, for the email price of a penny a lecture!
But the laugh is now on the other side. We have
now learned to smile tit much that formerly went by the
designation of " wisdom of our ancestors." There may
have been "great giants in those days;" but we have
advantages which they did not enjoy. The giants may
have seen far; but we, who sit upon the giant's
shoulders, see still further than they do. We have the
advantage both of their knowledge and of our own too.
The power of the Penny has only been discovered of
late years. The Penny Magazine, and the Penny Cy-
closmdia, fairly inaugurated the discovery. Penny lec-
tures are the necessary corollary from it; and before
long the Penny Newspaper may fairly complete it.
It is true, the special lectures on practical science, now
being delivered at this Museum of Practical Geology,:
are not designated as Penny Lectures, though in reality
they are so. Six lectures in all are to be delivered--
the first on Glass, by Dr. Lyon Piayfair; the second, on
" The reason why Fossils arc collected ana exhibited,"
by Professor Forbes; the third, on " Photography and
its applications," by Robert Hunt; the fourth, " An
Explanation of Geological Maps," by Professa. Ram-
say; the fifth, en "The occurrence of Metals in Na-
ture," by Professor Smythe; and the sixth and last, on
" Iron,' by Dr. Percy. In announcing the lectures, a
register was opened, in which the occupation of each
artizan who applied for admission to the course of lec-
tures was enrolled; and he then paid sixpence for regis-
tration, which entitled him to admission to the six lec-
tures. It is gratifying to bo able to state that the de-
mands of working men for admission to the course were
far greater than it was possible to grant; and the disap-
pointment of those who were too late in their applica-
tion induced the professors to announce a repetition of
tho course for their accommodation.

It will be observed that these lectures are of a lery
special character, being- calculated to impart accurate
scientific instruction on several branches of trade in
which a considerable number of artisans are more im-
mediately interested. In fact, the object is educational,
practical, and definite. The lectures are such as might
have been delivered fiz.om a professor's chair in any of
the universities. The lecturcra are all first-rate men of
their class; and they have no other end in view but to
improve the scientific culture of the artisan class. This
object is very admirable, and the lectures, as a whole,
are calculated to prove of great value to working men,
not merely to the actual extent that they may impart
knowledge, but by putting them into the way of work-
ing out knowledge for themselves, and informing them
as to the methods by wriich a true scientific culture is to
be attained.

There are, however, many large classes of artizsns
and operatives who have no such interest in special
scientific subjects, but for whom the cheap lecture sys-
tem might be adopted! with equally great advantage.
the
n2eporsetspena,
trtlectures sit Mechanics' 'lnstitutes arc, for
of too cursory a character. Their object
is rather to provide art agreeable stimulus for an nven-
ing than to direct a nein's mind towards higher culture.
lectures, of
Now, as high an
we do not see why evening
order as those delivered, at our college; should not be
offered to the working people at a low rate. We can
imagine how instructive' a course of lectures—for exam-
ple, on English Ilistor:r—rciiht be made • to such as
audience. teed to hold the attention of a thousand
auditors or more, and send them away full of their sub-
ject, with their patriotism roused, their political views
enlarged, and their knOwledge extended, is really a
worthy object of ambition for any public man. In the
same manner, courses 'of lectures on English Literature
might be delivered on a syeternaticylan, and in a man-
lier that would be ca!iculated to rivet the attention of
even the most unlettered audience.

It might be objected that unlettered men have no de-
sire to cultivate letters, and would turn asido from such
lectures. But this is a great mistake. Working men
are every day becoming more and more disposed to re-
cognise and look up to the guidance of cultivated minds.
Those who read newspapers and periodicals—and the
number of such is daily increasing—unconsciously ad-
mire thinkers and writers, who are now almost their
only recognised aristocracy. Yon also find that work-
ing men especially look up to those of their own class
who havo acctuired some degree of literary culture, and,
in fact, the adulation of their fellows is, not unfrequently,
the bane of self-educated men, and precociously inflates
them with a sense of their sel!-impor:ance, which proves
injurious to their further intellectual growth and deve-
lopment.

men
of working
As a sufficient proof that the taste of
only refer to
for literary culture is growing, we
literaryne and historical
y 'hotnes Cooper and
h
the courses of lectures, on purely
subjects, which such men
been
delivering., throng
If
Henry Vincent have recentlyyees
iDen.that
doubt not
the
theao have proved attractive,
ild,
delivered by
men
dependo
out the country, to auchen
For,
lectures of a
similar
rove still morn so.
nerior
highest culture, would p
mind is quick to perceive superior
.
it,the popular • literature,in history, or in
ofwe working
upon f m —ln and ar-
°enema in any form;-in ,
demonstrative argument,
P°
I".' train of close
with sustained and
deans follow a
as Roebuck, a
operatives
such
men
when ho had reached the demon-
stration,deexll'ir:,red
byW e have seen audiences of
riveted attention;
ndum, break out into
as showed that they had fol-
lowedsuch a tumult of applauseandindividually shared in the tri•
the argument,
the quodaeuradtdemonstra
series of public evening enter-
There is still another
• ta which might be offered to working men at a
umph of its demonstrative conclusion.
enter-
tainments
d thewhich, we firmly believe, would prove
ow price an
most attractive, though, probably, not the most
instructive, of all. We allude to public readings from the
We have often wished that public
best
instead of laying before us their own feeble
lecturers, , .
should introduce to us the undying works
arogeny,
rf the great departed. The chief gift wanted
authors.
of the
is that of selection, and a good utterance. Let a
man who can read well, give us the best of Campbell's
Poems, or the best of Byron's, or the best of Tennyson's,
and we venture to say that he will excite a greater plea-
sure in the minds of his audience than if he were to give
us an entirely original " lecture" of his own on any of
those poets. What can be more interesting, for instance,
than Fanny Kemble's Readings? And they are intelli-
gent readings merely. Apply the same powe no the
exhibition of our best prose writings, or our best poetry,
and equally delightful effects would certainly be
produced.
A series of lectures, or readings, of this ehaacter,
was tried in Paris in 1850, tho audience being
entirely composed of the labouring classes; and
though they have, we believe, been since sup-
pressed by the iron rule of Louis Napoleon (who smelt
" socialise' or something else in them),
was, on the whole, of an exceedingly gratifying
character; and doubtless they will be revived again when
their success
Paris is at liberty to take its once active part in literary
cud social culture. These readings %I'm delivered by
and the followingcity; are specimens of the entertainmentA
which they offered t 3 their respective audiences:—', one
the Charlenrlgae Lyceum, M. Just, Olivier 00%1 J. J
followed by two act
evening in reading teveral eloquent rra fa4t.ect awl for
sm. cn the
Rousseau,
11 stands. Be offered the least possible critici
them
ta
passager., but by reciting them with gusto, left
same time, suffi-
make their own impression. A: the audience in a
cient explanation Vris given to et
th;erstanding the
s of Ntoliere's. .
proper position for appreciating and, aallain, at the Pa-
true beauties of the extracts. Then, if), Dr. Lemsout
lais Royal (in the Nemours appaiuse.
Vestibule),
great _ v
read, with fine emphasis, and
m all Souvestre, one of
the
Two
8"s-in-law.
Bli-- • Tnce was by far the
the most distinguished poets ef One of these was 7he
most succeseful in his readings'
Chateaubriand's " Martyrs;"
Battle of the Franks, from i auditors in the' proper
'r I previous to which he
putf and graphic explanations.
I point of view by a few brief and
Chateanbriand spoke
The reading of the pang
for itself.

The readings of Emile Sonvestre were chiefly given
at the Conservatoire de Musique, situated in the
Faubourg Poiasoniere.• The place is not far treiti the
Clos Saint Lazare, where some of the hardest fighting
occurred during the late revolution; and, doutnless,
13:illy of the shaggy, wild-looking fellows, who formed
the bulk of his audiences, had been combatants
during the struggle. Yet, by the softening influence
of literature, the poet was enabled, for the time, to
tame, and mollify, and humanize these men. Ono of
his readings was from the Memoirs of Madame de la
' I?ocliejaquelin, descriptive of the'horrors of civil war in
La Vends', which ho selected for the purpose of dis-
gusting his auditors with such monstrous scenes. The
effect produced by this lecture was very great. But in
the extracts which he afterwards read trom Michelet,
descriptive of the battles of t,gincourt, Poietiers, and
Cressy, the patriotic feelings of the audience seemed to
be frightfuny shocked, and murmurs arose among them.
At the reading which followed, he explained that ho did
not seek to probe the old wounds of his country; that
the misfortunes of their common mother were not her
shame; but he had not come there to flatter patriotism,
only to enlighten it. His explanation was received with
great applause.

The readings which excited the greatest interest were
the historical and dramatic. The reading of Niloticlet's
chapters, descriptive of the history of Joan of Arc,
produced an immense effect, and also the reading of
liere and Corneille's pieces. Several tales were also
read, of which those er.tracted from Chateaubriand and
Bsrnardin de faint Pierre were most snecessfnl. Strange
to say, the songs of Beranger fell comparatively flat upon
the audience—for those need to be sung. The refrain,
or chorus, so happy when chanted, becomes almost
freezing when recited.
Another wide field of entertainment for such evening
audiences, is to be found in the biographies of cele-
brated men, sprung from the people themselves, and
who, by their industry and energy, have carved for
themselves a name deep in the world's core. The life
of Benjamin Franklin is a capital instance of this sort
of subject. And we speak from experience when we
say, that no lectures, or readings, are listened so with
deeper interest than these which deal with the strug-
gles and achievements, the fortunes and histories of dis-
tinguished men. There, of course, needs considerable
compression in handling such subjects ; but by giving
the salient points in a great man's life, the lecturer or
reader will rarely fail to produce a powerful effect. At
the same time, biographies, if well managed, enable the
ilnecgtuinreforrtino
aintroducethe
evening aengt
er
de
vt
idt ens lt
hoef
huiseetfeurlyaenfd t
hi net etimes
vc
ao
gmamn et n
ind
tfhe
er tphlea
np.e oft] ee.aeenAetent rdt
onceat ihnemrbeee nit
rte si
en
dwe t
niwnagonuyel dxt
tort
or district.

idnßin use
atnhde
theatrecrowd crowded
Mitchell's benefit last evening was
patronised by
ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. P
duge.
to ttehemost
thewalls of
fashionable
astre:retr.
onecollectedf t
c within
This brilliant attendance was a tribute justly
extraordinary and successful exertions of Mr. Mitchell,
in producing the elite of the modern French school, in a
style never previously approached in this country. The
performances, which were under the spechl patronage of
her Majesty the Queen, consisted of Scribe's Yelva, and
two now vaudevilles, Le Piano de Bertha, and Un Ser-
vice a Blanchard. A new artist, M. Tony Blonde!,
made his first appearance here last night, and must be
pronounced a meritorious acquisition.
The Queen's box was occupied by her Royal Highness
the Duchess of Kent, her Royal Highness the Duchess of
Cambridge, the Princess Mary, attended by Lady Suf-
field, Lady Fanny Howard, Colonel Seymour, and Sir G.
Couper. There were also present the Belgian Minister
and Madame Van de Weyer, the Duke and Duchess of
Beaufort, tbo Duchess of Sutherland, the Earl and
Countess of Gtovesnor, the Marchioness of Westmins-
ter, tho Sardinian Minister, the Marquis and Mar-
chioness of Worcester the Marquis of Aylesbury, the
MErehioness of Downshire, the Marquis of Normanby,
the Countess of Lichfield, the Countess of Waldegrave,
the Earl and Countess of Stamford and Warrington,
the Earl and Countess of Shelburne, the Comtesse de
Flahault, Earl Brune, Countess of Buckinghamshire,
Lord Bplingbrok,, Lady W. Russell, Viscount Canning,
Lord Harry Vane, Lady Frederick Beartelere, Lady
Jodrell, Sir William Abdy, Mr. and Mrs. Montefiore,
the Hon. Edward Ellice, Colonel Tierney, Mr. Agar
Ellis, Mr. Augustus Oom, Mr. Milner Gibson, Mr. and
Mrs. John SUnford, Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Craven,
Mr. H. Villebois, Mrs. Garwood, Mr. Henry Baring,
Mr. and Mrs. Tunno, Mrs. Amer, Mr. W. Rose, Captain
Sartoris, Mr. Kenneth Macaulay, Colonel Haygarth.

LONDON SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY,

EXETER-HALL.
This society gave an extra performance last night of
Haydn's Creation, and notwithstanding the inclemency
of the weather, the Derby, Vauxhall-gardens, &c., the
Hall was exceedingly well filled. The oratorio was
given in the society's usual admirable manner, and al-
though we could particularise many passages of the music
which were really finely executed, it is almost unnoes-
sary to do so, where all was so excellent. The solo
artists were the same as on former occasions, viz.. Ma-
dames Birch and Fridel, and Messrs. Lawler and
Lackey, ail of whom were in good voice. Mr. Surman
conducted, and was very warmly received on making his
appearance in the orchestra.