The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-03 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1863.

There are some men who are apparently always
eager for the opportunity of making themselves
ridiculous. Mr. WHALLEY is one of these, and, as
fate would have it, several years back he found his

opportuniiy. It i 3 an opportunity, moreover, that,
once seiz comes back to him periodically. Every
successive session it returns within his reach, and he

grasps at it. And every successive session the hon.
gentleman makes himself thereby, if that be really in
any way possible,more and more ridiculous. What Mr.
WHALLEY'S opportunity was--who is there, having
the slightest knowledge of the House of Commons
as it is, that does not know by this time ? To say
that it arose—this priceless opportunity for the
member for Peterborough—to say that it arose from
the fact of Mr. SPOONER'S cloak (metaphorically
speaking) having flattered down upon his shoulders
during the actual lifetime, during the actual con-
tinuance in the House of Commons, of that venerable
and respected gentleman the member for North
Warwickshire—is to say, in this matter,
scarcely anything. And for this simple and
very matter of fact reason that—there is a difference
in the manner of wearing a cloak ! For example
we may naturally presume that JULIUS CESAR,
that man of men, who was endowedwith about the
grandest intellect among ail the great Conquerors
of the classic pagan age—we may naturally pre-
sume that C.ZESAR, when stabbed to death at the
base of POMPEY'S Pillar, must, in falling, have
gathered his raiment about him with an awful
and affecting dignity. SHAKSPERE in fact
is the one to suggest this, as in the
highest degree probable, where, referring to the
anguish with which the Dictator saw the hand of
BRUTUS raised against him among the group of
assassins, the Poet writes—" Then burst his mighty
garment muffling up his face,
heart, and, in his
Yet, robe a THERSITES with
great C. fell."
that same identical garment—upon any occa-
sion, under
any imaginable circumstances—
and it becomes upon the instant some-
thing absolutely, ludicrous. We don't suppose
that Mr. ROBERT KEELEY, if he were
to return to the stage of the Hay market some even-
ing, for this express purpose, could possibly walk
across that stage, swathed about in a toga, without
provoking roars of laughter. Mr. TooLE, of the
Adel hi
might move the most saturnine to merri-
ment, we believe, by the same
And all this easy means.
not because the raiment it-
self is in any respect intrinsically ridiculous,
but simply because in either of these in-
stances, the wearer of it has essentially the
gifts and endowments requisite to constitute the
genuine low comedian.
Those gifts and endowments the honourable
member for Peterborough evidently poseesses in
a very high degree. Placed across his shoulders,
a grave and respectable raiment—old Mr.
SPOONER'S metaphorical cloak aforesaid—imme-
diately becomes ridiculous. The laughter provoked
every session by his manner of wearing it, Mr.
WHALLEY has never yet been able
for the
life of him to comprehend. Under the
irritation of that laughter, he becomes
every session more and more goaded into a display
of petulance that tends, by exciting him into
greater activity, to induce him, as one may say, to
wrap it tighter about him, in his indignation at
being laughed at, until the comic folds of the mantle
so worn become almost unendurable to look et it.
JOHN BULL, in regard to Mr. WHALLEY,
the member for Peterborough, is fast ap-
proaching that stage of exhaustion from
"ghter, reached—one evening (as the story runs)
in the pit of a theatre when LISTON
by ano was acting—
ther stout old gentleman evho, while wiping
111"7ts, was overheard gasping out in a scarcely
F
he'll be
the
4,mh of For sake take him away, or
WETHORP haa me." Now that Color el
he late whimsical member AV, now that the
for West Surrey can no

• more convulse the House with his dry humour,
even Mr. WHALLEY'S absurdities come almost as a
relief to the dull decorum of the House of Com-
mons' debates, when they happen to be unenlivened
by the constitutional facetiousness of the aged
farceur at the head of the Government.
It is only to be regretted, however, that
Religion, so called, should be the theme selected by
Mr. WHALLEY for the display—not of his powers
of being witty himself, but of causing wit in oz hers,
or at any rate we may say not of laughing himself
bat of iliiciting repeated, or as we may actually
call them from their periodicity, sessional
bursts of laughter from others, The sequel to
the annual debate and division caused every
successive session by Mr. WHALLEY'S inevitable
motion in regard to Maynoeth College, only varies
in respect to the numerals set down as the re-
sult of that division. Otherwise that sequel
may be said to be stereotyped. This year the re-
sult runs simply thus : Ayes 100, Noes 198--
majority against Mr. WHALLEY'S motion, 98—the
announcement being received with cheers and
laughter.

A lengthened discussion on the various questions
brought before the Committee of Supply on Mon-
day evening gives evidence that members are

anxious to redeem the invariable pledge given on
the hustings by advocating some retrenchment in
the expenditure of public money. The votes for
the public buildings, for the palaces, for the parks,
for the Kensington Museum, were all severely cri-
ticised in turn. The amount asked on each head
certainly appears to be large, and the most unsatis-
factory part of it is that the sums are annually in-
creasing. On some points, such as the parks, the
expenditure certainly results in public benefit, for
the advantages of these open spaces in the neigh-
bourhood of the metropolis are certainly very great.
It must be remembered by the objectors that very
great improvements have recently been carried out
in many of the parks, which have, of course, added
temporarily to the expense. Colonel SYKES gave
his testimony as to the changes for the better made
in Hyde Park, and as his experience as a resident
extends over a period of thirty years, he must be
well qualified to form an opinion. Battersea
Park has been transformed from a mere
grass common into a really beautiful park,
whose pleasant walks and varied trees and
shrubs delight thousands of visitors during the
summer months. It is of course desirable to keep
a prudent check on the expenditure of the public
money, but honourable gentlemen on Monday night
were disposed to be a little hypercritical. With
regard to the public buildings, there waa more
ground for complaint. Large sums are annually
given for this purpose, and yet no satisfactory re-
sult is ever attained. The few works which enable
us to claim any sort of architectural excellence for
our modern Babylon are scattered far and wide.
There is no chance of obtaining a really fice view
in London, such as can be seen from the Place de la
Madeleine. Even the fine block of public offices at
Whitehall lose half their effect from taking a wrong
slant. Standing at Charing-cross and looking down
towards Parliament-street, only part of the first
house can be seen. Had they been placed in the
right position, and had the work been carried
on as it might have been, the gazer would
have looked down a fine architectural avenue to the
magnificent old abbey. There is certainly a great
want of unity in our present method, but it is
doubtful whether the defects complained of would
be altogether remedied by the adoption of Mr.
CHILDERS'S suggestion of placing the whole of the
'Public Buildings under the control of one Govern-
ment official. It would be necessary to stipulate in
the interests of public taste that the Minister in
question should be selected with more care and cir-
cumspection than is usually shown in the filling up
of vacant posts. Unless some new genius rose up
among the GREYS, RUSSELLS, or ELLIOTS things
would probably not be much mended. Fancy Sir
CHARLES WOOD at the head of such an office.
According to his principles of Indian legislation he
would probably favour the scheme that left most
money in the hands of the Government, and we
should see our public offices and museums appearing
with square brick fronts and slated roofs ! There is
no doubt,however, some truth in the complaint made
by Mr. CHILDERS that the unnecessary subdivision
of authority created a kind of anarchy. The Chief
Commissioner of Works bad not, he said, the gene-
ral control. " The superintendence of the public
works and buildings connected with the Govern-
ment was so scattered about that it was difficult to
know whom to apply to. Some were under the
control of the Treasuiy, such as harbours and piers;
railways, which required so much care in their
supervision, were placed under the control of the
President of the Board cf Trade, who had functions
to discharge of a totally different character, and
other works were under the control of the Home
Secretary. There was such anarchy in the dis-
charge of their functions that it was impossible to
have an efficient and economical control over them.
He hoped before long some hon. member would take
the subject up, and ask Parliament to consider
whether some change in the present plan of super-
vision of our public works and buildings ought not
to be made. He considered they ought to be con-
centrated under the supetintendenca of one depart-
ment, which would be more economical than now,
and tend to an improved style of architecture."
If such a suggestion were adopted it would be
very necessary that a man of architectural taste and
knowledge should be put at the head of it. There
is room for such a department among us, for public
taste has been too long neglected. The Go-
vernment, so readily lavish on some points,
are unduly cautious in others, as some extrava.
gant persons endeavour to atone for their general
thriftlessness by pettyantedlkined yconvseirsteinntdiffsaerveinntglsy.
The same gentleman who
etnhdee du
hofina
itehhee
dm
se
tt
ar ot e
po fo
lit thaen apnanrukasl, tahcocouusanntedds efoxrp
in undertaking
Baying that the
of the conservatory at Kew by
Government did not feel justified
not have
a further expenditure of £14,000i;
shlefutihde estimate
were unnecessarily extravagant
been entered into, but if it be no morete thanunder it
-
suitable for the proper completion of h
taking the public will scarcely begrudge it. Some
of the honourable members who objected to the
estimates based their opposition on a wrong foot-
ing. It is not because the country has not suffi-
cient means to pay, that extravagant expenditure
is objected to. It is not because " Irehod is starv-
ing, and Lancashire being kept up at the public
expense" (which has not hitherto much affected the
Exchequer), that exaggerated estimates are to be
criticised and unreasonable demands reduced in ex-
tent. If our northern friends were demanding help
and the Government refused it in order to lay out the
money on the parks and museums, there would,
indeed, be cause for outcry. But while the best
friends of Lancashire have been hitherto deprecat-
ing grants of the public money, and the late
humane and sensible proposal of the President of
the Poor-law Board has originated with the Govern-
ment, not with the distressed districts, there is
scarcely room for such a remark, evt.n supposing
the national exchequer were shallow enough to give
it foundation. We fully agree w;:h the noble