The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-11 00:00:00

sen se to see that as they are bound to support
a g reat proportion of these persons in one form
or another, it is better by the expenditure
of :a larger sum to secure a permanent good, to carry
out works which will be highly conducive to the
he alth, comfort, and convenience of the inhabi
to nits of their towns, and which will remain when
filo troubles of the present time have long been
numbered with the past. The deplorahle effects of
long-continued idleness are too well 'known not to
enter into their consideration. On the one hand,
the men employed will have the honfist satisfaction
that they are doing fair work for than money they
get, and feel themselves once more on their old in-
dependent footing ; on the other,, they and their
families are left at the pauper leN'el, to srear all its
depressing effects on the mind and body, and its
demoralising influence morally. It was observed
by several of the members of the committee yester-
day that it was most'impcirtant that the distinction
should be preserved between the men employed on
public works and the recipients of parish relief.
There is likely to be some confusion on the subject
unless this is plainly understood and impressed upon
the men at the outset. Mr. FARNALL admitted
the necessity of preserving the distinctioit wn,aonodldsabido
that ho had everywhere stated that
necessary that the men employed on public works
should be struck off the list of the guardians' and
relief committees, and
are
r treatede
glad
that solely l yi sas u e isnt
question
pendent labourers. We
has been brought to the surfaceeets would be
before thelowstorikf
begins, as half its good effects
the employment were taken as a mere charitable
pretence. One very satisfactory fact was elicited in
course of the discussion. It will be remembered
that, when the matter was debated in Parliament,
the proposed employment of factory hands on out-
door works was objected to on the ground that the
change in their mode of working would be most
prejudicial to their health. It was argued, with
some show of reason, that men accustomed to the
hot, dry air of factories would suffer greatly from
the sudden transmission to c)ld, damp out-door
work and exposure to the weather, and that rheu-
matism and a host of kindred evils would
ensue. It seems, however, from Lord EGERTON'S
testimony, that such is not the case. He had re-
cently, he told the meeting, visited a number of the
1 Stockport operatives whom he had employed in
out-door work during the whole winter, and he
was quite astonished at the improvement in their
looks. They appeared to be better and stronger in
every way, and they assured him that they were up
to any kind of work. It is surely better to supply
the healthy and able-bodied men with out-door work
here, to fill up the vacuum, than to deport them

across the seas to lands where they will probably
have to undertake still rougher and more laborious
tasks, and will grieve for the old home scenes while

England is missing their labour. The struggle

cannot be of much longer duration. Fortunately
we are not dependent on the fluctuations of the

American war. Th© numerous sources which are

open to us in our own dominions, and which we

have so long neglected, will very shortly come to

our aid. By refusing to avail ourselves of the
means which Providence has placed in our hands,
we have, in a measure, brought this burden upon

our people, but they have borne it nobly and well ;
and, with the hopes gathering round the opening

of another year, who would despair, even though
we learn that the time of trial is not yet past ?

reformed, shall be difficult to find." Of course
this must be done abroad, and Mr. GILBERT
mentions the Australian colonies as a suitable place
for a reformatory settlement for married convicts.
'l'l3o northern portion of Western Australia is a very
suitable place, it is mentioned ;
and, as up to tt e
present time there is not an acre of ground inhabited
Abyusatrawli hanitesellattalner'sitbycamnnaoktinbge liakepleynatol osffetetnledmtehnet
among them. From the inhabitants of Sydney,
would be at the for instance, the settlement w
dis-
tance from London to Constantinople. There are
sure to be plenty of obstacles interposed in the
carrying oat of this or any similar plan, but the
facts here adduced speak for themselves, and call
aloud for redress. The present system is
unfair and cruel to the women and children, while
it really imposes a heavy burden on the State.
It is not in accordance with the principles of poli-
tical economy, and neither does it seem right or
fitting that so many children should perish miser-
ably from want, and disease occasioned by want, or
grow up to become thieves or dissolute characters.
Those who do not agree with Mr. GILBERT'S sug-
gestion will nevertheless accord their recognition of
the necessity of some means being devised to remedy
this evil, and to ameliorate the condition of those
who seem set apart by the rules of society to become
thieves nolens volens. To take these outcasts at
home to a country where employment is certain,
old associations removed, and a new life put before
them, is surely a safe means of remedy, and one
that, though not certain to succeed, may in all
human probability do so. Mr. GILBERT has a right
to speak, for he has seen the miserable results and
pernicious consequences of the present system, and
therefore he has essayed to find a remedy for the
glaring evils that are so constantly brought under
his notice. It is highly requisite that the Legisla

ture should do something about this anomalous
condition of so many women and children. At

present the seeds of vice are sown broadcast among
the community, and nothing but evil consequences
ensue therefrom. It cannot be impossible to pre-

vent all this misery, crime, and death, end no diffi-
culties that are in the way should be allowed to be

nsuperable.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA,

MR. ALFRED MELLON'S CONCERTS.

Two evils Mr. Mellon has bad to contend with in
renewing his excellent annual entertainment—the
hot weather and the month of August—the one of
which drives people from theatres, and the other
drives them from town. The various merit, how-
ever, ho has assembled, and the force and skill
with which he directs it, enabled him last evening
to encounter these objections in a manner that
gave the best assurance of the entire success of his
experiment.
Not a slight element in this result is his being
able to secure again the superb arena of the Italian
Opera as the scene of his exertions, where the
requisite space is not more pre-eminent, and its
attendant coolness and convenience, than the
adaptation of the building to sound, and the
agreeable influence of its noble proportions. The
stall and pit . portions as before having been
raised to a level with the stage—the orchestra,
capable of containing one hundred performers, rises
on the letter with its old aspect of a huge citadel of
harmony, thronged with executants, who proclaim
its influence over the crowds that swarm about it.
All the other arrangments for the comfort of the
public have been as carefiuly attended to—such as
the ease of access to the promenade by a variety of
entrances, the rows of seats placed before the
orchestra for the accommodation of the weary, and
the superior refreshments supplied by Mr.
Brunetti on the stage, at the bides of the
orchestra. The musical attractions of the night,
however, were of course the chief consideration--
and these it will be seen were not to be regarded
as either inferior or few.
Mr. Mellon presented us, in the first place, with
such a vocalist as Carlotta Patti. The great sense•
tion which this lady created on her debut at this
theatre in April last, as one of the most gifted
and surprising singers of her time has
been extended to every concert room in
which she has since appeared, and to none more
than the arena which so warmly confirmed her
claims last night. Madlle. Carlotta Patti sung four
times, and in evidence of her variety, in four
different schools, Swiss, Italian, French, and
English, in each of which she raised the audience
to the highest point of enthusiasm. Her delivery
of the Swiss Echo Song by Eckert, with its extra-
ordinary vocal resources—of the Rondo Finale
of the Sonnambnla, "Ah non Giunge," with
its profusion of embellishment—of the Laughing
song from the " Mauon Lacaut," with its wonder.
ful high note ; and last not least, of the simple
British ballad, " ;.;owing through the Bye," which
she gave in lieu of a repeat of the " Laughing
Song"—and which had nothing striking about it
but its perfectly simple and pure expression—
had each its characteristic that found a warm
response in the audience. The instrumental
star of the evening was not less extraor-
dinary than the vocal, though scarcely to be
classed with it, whether in respect to dignity or
agreeableness. This was a Signor Gianni Vailati,
who gave a performance on the mandolin, an old
rustic Italian instrument, the precursor of the guitar,
to which, however, it is as interior as an ancient
tabor to a modern drum. In handling this very
limited and imperfect instrument, Signor Vailati
certainly exhibited a very striking amount of
facility, and in the execution of comic and fan-
tastic music we can conceive his capability of
producing some good effects ; but in the attempt he
made last night of giving expression to the
" Miserere,' from the " Trovatore," one of the
most pathetic compositions to be found in modern
opera—and which only the prolonged notes of a
cornet or a violin can give any adequate idea of--
the rapid thrumming of Signor Vailati was not
merely au incompetence, but what appeared to our-
selves and others as a something approaching to
burlesque.

For the remainder of the entertainment we have
nothing but the highest praise. We had, among
the other solo features, the " Fandango" of Herr
Molique, admirably performed by Mr. Carrodus,
who is rapidly taking his place as one of the first
violinists of the day. We had a solo on the flageo-
let by M. Bonnisseau, which was equally striking
and agreeable, and a selection from the “ Puritani,"
which gave scope to the several powersof Mr. Levy
on the cornet, Mr. Hauser on the bassoon, Mr. Bar-
ret on the oboe, Mr. Liztrus on the clarionet, Mr.
oSpidhneceyieiPdreafte
lane on
greatestt h efi ate'
mastersan d
l‘olfr' theiri u grheessp oe
cat theiv respective
instruments that are probably to be found in Europe.
Of the band , containing such solo talent, selected
from that of the Italian Opera and the Musical So-
ciety, and amounting to more than 80 performers,
all praiso would be superfluous. Theis execution
of each of the substantial attractions of the night—
the adagio and scherzo of Beethoven's Choral Sym-
phony, the International March of Auber, the Ex-
hibition Overture of Meyerbeer, the overture to
" Frs. Diavolo," and Mr. Mellon's spirited Dramatic
College Quadrille—was distinguisited by a lire and
prsion, a mingled farce and colour, that could
' •-c; -
not possibly bn exceeded. Lageaottlys-,
dlueet
us
to Mr. forgetAlfred
Mellon tbe
whose
vigour, taste, and judgment so much of the Band's
success was owing, as well as the general arrange-
ments and impressions of the night. He has rarely
sustained with more distinctness his claim to the
position he has gained—as the very first of English
conductors, and sole successor to Mr. Costa. We
must add that the programme of the week is suffi-
ciently attractive. On Thursday we are to have a
Mozart night—on Friday, the " Creation"—andon
N.uateY,s.a
Tnight f:)r every one's heroes--1 1-(-'
`?a&
eto.wcuci.4..ore the night WAS over the h.Y.Li,?,
to the reef.

The Late Marshal Otidinot.

Marshal Oaeicot, Dac de Reggio,
Almost immediately after the death of the late
in the journals of Europe,
n a r oury
se
theiteef:
ncaeosnnt at
einnr mp:eo
gnr rc: ;Id
mto a
rt
hh
able
ht
ei l I
sutsattrei omeesn
te oul df
itehr.e 2imes, it b to this re
was asserted
Accordine
quite confidently that the Due de Reggio deplored
he had in point fact for some years
last
opinionswork o f
o f restorationlar s h nl accomplished
Oudinot,
in 184.9. The announcement of these4a
up to the moment of his death, as (it was said also)
wbsys him,zonlatpaßnoiemde,
deer
se
sveedr ,
hadby breatheda poita blankhis s the previously,
dying
declarationfterhavingthraeftustehde
all the consolations of religion.
In distinct and positive contradiction to each and
all of these most singular, and (as will be immedi-
ately apparent) these wholly unjustifiable state-
ments, we are authorised by the Family of Marshal
Oudinot to pronounce the assertions thus set forth
by the 'limes in respect to that distinguished sol-
dier, to be utterly without one particle of foundation.
This emphatic contradiction we hasten, therefore,
to publish in the plainest terms possible, and, in the
interests of truth, we are desirous that it should be
at once frankly accepted as a contradiction com-
plete and unreserved.
As we write this, there is now lying open before
us an affecting communication, penned as recently
as the 9th of this present month of August, by the
nearest surviving relative of the deceased Marshal,
namely, his own eldest son, the present Duo de
Reggio. And it is upon no less an authority than this,
that we herewith declare to be utterly groundless
the declaration that Marshal Oudinot either re-
gretted his feat of arms in 1849, or that he expired
but a little more than a month since, after having
refused• to receive the consolations of religion.
While enabling us to give this explicit denial to
each of those statements, the present Duke de
Reggio, in the course of the letter already referred
to, as lying before us while we are writing, remarks in
regard to the deceased, that there is not one of those
who have approached him since 1849, who will not
revolt from assertions so entirely contrary to truth.
"My excellent father," says the now Due de Reggio,
" was happy and proud of the services he had
rendered to the church. This he avowed every
clay. Every successive year ho wrote to the
Sovereign Pontiff. He associated himself in heart,
in spirit, in words, with the vivacity one might
almost say of youth, with the efforts adventured
upon in France and elsewhere for the defence of the
rights and of the authority of the apostolic see"—
and so forth.
[non excellent 1••• re start heurcux et fier des services
qu'il avait rendus a l'Elise ; et il lc disait cheque jour;
it
l'ecrivait cheque annes au Souverain Pontife s'asseciait
de cceur, d'esprit, de paroles,avec une vivacite toute juvenile,
aux efforts tentes en France et ailleurs pour la defensa des
droits et de l'autorite du Siege Apostolique, tyre.]
In signal corroboration, however, of these all-
sufficient assertions of Marshal Oudinot's son, the
present Due de Reggio, there come to us simultane-
ously with the letter from which the above
passage is transcribed, documentary evidences, of
themselves quite unanswerable. An interesting
report in the weekly journal, the Correspondence
de _Rome, under date, Saturday, the 29th of July,
gives, in all its details, a description of the funeral
ceremonies performed, by order of the Sovereign
Pontiff, on the previous day—that is, the 18th ult.
—in the Church of Santa Audre della Valle, for the
repose of the soul of the deceased Marshal Victor
Oudinot, Due de Reggio. According to the
narrative in the Correspondance de Rome, this
solemn funeral service was performed with all
imaginable Pomp and ceretr ony. It commenced at
10 o'clock in the morning. His Holiness was
represented by his Excellency Monsignor Pacca,
seated upon the right hand of the choir, together
with Mgr. de Me ode, Mgr. Talbot, and Mgr. No.
grotto, Cammeneri Segretti, and officials of the
Pontiff's anti-chamber. Near these prelates was
placed the Prince de Viano, Commandant of the
Noble Guard, as well as the superior officers of the
said guard, and those also of the picturesque Swiss
Guard. To the left was his Excellency the Senator
of Rome, surrounded by a crowd of officials,
there assembled together to pay the last tribute of
respect to the departed noble—who, it should be
remarked, by the way, was not only a French peer
and a marshal of the empire, but a Roman
Patrician as well. Oudinot's name having been
formally incribed, as a mark of peculiar honour,
upon the Golden Book, sacred to the names of the
patricians of the Eternal City. Near the fore-
going also were his Excellency the Commander-
in-Chief of the Army of Occupation, together with
a brilliant staff—besides the General of Brigade
Micheler, the Pontifical Generals Kalbermatteu,
many other officers of both
Brasehi, Zsppi, and
armies.
Monsignor Marinelli, Bishop of Porphyre and
Sacristan of his Holiness, officiated pontifically at
the high mass, and at the close of it gave the solemn
asperging at the catafalque. Other particulars,
indicative of the unusual character of the solemni-
ties, solemnities, he it remembered, ordered
by the Pope), lengthen out the description
beyond the limits here afforded by our columns,
this afternoon, for quotation. We pass by the
rest of these particulars, therefore, reluctantly, con-
tenting ourselves with giving here but one additional
piece of documentary evidence, one, however, that
must be accepted as, of itself, perfectly conclusive in
reference to the opinions and sentiments cherished
up to the last moment of his existence by Victor
Marshal Oudinot, Dec de Reggio. The document
herewith published being no other than the sub-
joined affecting letter, addressed by his Holiness,
as recently as the 29th ult., to the deceased Mar-
shal's son and successor, the present Due de
Reggio :

,6 Pius P.P. ix.

" Dilecte fili nobilis vir salutern etipostolicum Denedic-
tionem. Maximo Nobis dolori fuit allatum Tuis literis
oi cniuorrba
eins
et constantiaru persiTctam. habuimus multis proeclarisue
nuucium mortis egregii genitoris tui, cujus fidem, pietatem
argumentis. Qum vit.. I.ortiseimus strenue gessit, ut urbem
num erineret, et Apostolica3 Seth restitueret talibus sunt
c manibus perditorum homi-
hhiasntocrPiwrinceoinPsei tis, ut nulls posAnt obliviono
deleri. Curavimus plane, ut testimonio publico memoria
Duds religiosiesimi honestaretur, simulque Mills anima
piis juvaretur suilragiis ; veruna tantum Nos illi debere
existimamus, quantum persolvere difficile sit. Sic enim in
arduis rebus gerendis mandatum sibi creditum est exe-
mgneaatatiam°l
quntus, ut vim vi repellere coactus sanctitati recuperandte
urbis, et innocentium incolumitati consuleret. Confidimus
itaquo fore ut amplissirea laborum merces ilium in mils
maneat ; quay dum cogitae, ut re wrorem temperes hortamur,
nee dolcas (ut Hieronymi vocibus utamur) quod talent
antiseris ; sed guadeas quocl talent habueris. Eadem porro
charitate, qus virum del,ctissimum prosequnti sumus, et
familiam ejiss amplectirour; cujus rei signum indubium
Apostolicaut Benedictionem Tibi, parenti optimm, Tursque
omnibus peramanter impertimur.
Datum Romu spud S. Petrum die 29 Julii, 1863.
Pontificatus Nostri Anne. xviii.

Pius P.P. IX.

" WEBER'S LAST WALTZ," AND " PESTAB."—The
real autborshipl—How long was a tune by Reis-
siger issued, edition after edition, as " \Veber's last waltz?"
There was a melody called "Festal" published some years
ago as the music of a condemned amateur, written on the
eve of his execution, but afterwards claimed by a living
composer.

CHARLES DICKENS' LETTERS TO WASHINGTON
IRVING.—Among the many interesting notices given by
the editor of Irving and his contemporaries, says the
London Reviewer, those relating to Dickens ought not to be
passed over. He has preserved some very characteristic
letters from our own familiar "Boz" which gives us some
idea of the rich treat that must be enjoyed by those who
may read his correspondence. In them, as iu all his writ-
ings, humour and patties go hand in band, and prove that
if no cne ever laughed at men more than he, few also felt
towards them so kindly,

TIIE YANEEES' " COMIC HISTORY OF ROME"—.
NOT A'BEOKETT.S.--.-if any one wants to enjoy a
really good honest laugh, let him read the lceto
Jicrald's "classical" articles on the similarity between the
history of Rome and that of the United States. The pre-
sent war it appears is like that in which the " Spolians"
and " Samnites" were engaged with the Romans under
Sulla, in whom there is a distinct resemblance traced to
poor harmless General Scott I And the resemblance will be
made complete when the United ones turn on France and
England as the :Romans did on "Mithridates," and punish-
ing the,:,_,e two miserable powers very much as the Pontine
potentate was served, stands tdrth as the mistress of the
world. 2.,20ta.:8 amit And yet there are, thou-
sands of New York, ra who read such trash over inflareau-
tory cocktails, and fancy thy ars Roman ci,iz-ns of a supe-
rior ;iaa t. atAa thia ihmeor,bojont to t'n'e capital ot
amias QI fir=e earth,-4tiry aig‘ .4'avy fiaz,q;`,l,