The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-13 00:00:00

SECRETARY (pro tern.)
J. D. O'Brien, Esq.
TEMPORARY OFFICES.
17 and 18, Cornhill.

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',GO'

IMPERIAL MERCANTILE CREDIT
ASSOCIATION (Limited).
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the FIRST ORDI-
NARY. GENERAL MEETING of the Shareholders in this
Association will be held at the London Tavern, Bishops gate-
-I.3itreet, in the City of London, nn tN DA. Y, the 23d day of
anuarY, 1865, at Twelve o'clock at noon precisely, for the
Purpose tf receiving the Report of the Directors and tate-
tient of Accounts, of declaring a Dividend, and for general
Purposes.
°
_ At thii Meeting the Election of Two Auditors for the en-
lung Year will take place.
By order of the Board,
Crosb W. C. WIN TERBOTTOM, Secretary.
y House, 95, Bishopsgate-street, Jan. 10, 1865.

TUE CREDIT FONCIER and MOBILIER of
NGLAN (Limited) are prepared to RECEIVE
rt,ItoCRIPTIONS for the Capital of the CITY of MILAN
uirRoVEM &NTS COMPANY (Limited).
Incorporated under "The Companies Act 18'2. •
Cone salon, dated 28th Juiy, 1854, granted by the sfuni-
rtY of Milan, confers the grant of the fee simple of
It, out seven- acres of land in the heart of the city, hamedi-
?,el3' surrounding the Cathedral, for the purpose of rebuild-
dll tahe Piazza d 1 Durno, and connecting it with the Piazza
e Gila.
,„ Share Capital £600,0'0, in 20,'01 shares of £3O each.
share. The
it is not proposed to call u more the £2O per
;""e• The calls to be at intervals of not less than three
—TM's, and no call to exceed Li per share. Further re-
-1 lrements are intended to be met by the issue of Debon-
...uresi or by the sale or leasing of he buildings as recon-
,,ruet, d.
I'r"islon is made in the estimates for the payment of in-
terest
at the rate of £7 per cen'. per annum, on the 15th Ja-
.llarY and 15th July, pending the sale or lease of the recon-
tq ru cted buildings; the first halt-year's interest will be paid
Deposit no)
ti per Share on application, and £4 further on
11,0traent.•

TUSTEES.
The Earl of Virarwiek, 'R 1
he Earl Somers, and Edward
Warner, Esq.. M.P.

The la. DIRECTORS
Credit -.might Hon. James Stuart Wortley, Governor of the
Poncier and Mobtlier of Eng and.
.., sir James P. Lacaita, K.C.M.G., Member of the Italian
rarliament, Director of the Anglo-Italian Bank.
~., J. antes Fletcher, Esq. (Messrs. Alexander Fletcher and
Co• A London, Director of the Alliance Marine Insurance
mPany a d Provinci,slßank of Ireland.
I, London.
C 0.),„... Prederick J. B Izl lbert Esq (Messrs. Lane, Hankey, and
Geol. , • 1
Esq. (Messrs. Seymour and Co. l, 33,
thanr°,llo,ton-street London, Director of the Anglo-Ans-
Ban,. ,
4' bigby Wyatt, Esq , late vice-President of the Institute
Of BrittBll Architects.

ARCHITECT a.
elAmn Si
.Giuseppe Mengoni, Consulting Architect to the City
an

SOLICITORS.
st
Ream Bircham, Dalrymple, Drake, and Co., Parliament-

BANKERS.
essrs. Rebarts, Lubbock, and Co.,dan l5, Lombard-street,
The Angio-Itallan Bank, Milan,

Biorani
Messrs. Laurence, Son, and Pearce, 8, Angel-court. Throg-
Inorton-street
tlessrs. Hieinns and Harrison, 21, Threadneedle,treet,

The right acquired by the City of Milan Improvements
Company r LimiterL to the possession of the actual fee-simple
of about seven acres of land in the commercial centre of one
of the principal cities of Europe, pre-eminently distinguishes
this from all other undertakings hitherto carried out upon
the Continent by means of British capital.
Under the Italian Law of Expropriation affecting pro-
perty required for works of public utility, these seven acres,
With the buildings upon them, of which the omp .ny will
become absolutely possessed, were purchased by the Muni-
cipality at an average pries of 751 lire or trailers (.£3o) per
aquare metre, or a total sum of LE48,335. The prire to be paid
by the Concession Tres is fixed
by the Concession at
£311,214, or 300 lire (£l2) per square metre for 24,140 square
Metres, ana 150 lire (£6l per square metre for 3,591 square
Metres, leav'ng a difference of .t,53-,COO in their favour This
!too of .ess7,oi 0 will result as a positive profit to the Company
less th
va,,,,--e purchase-money for the Concession, viz., £55,000 in
14--to, and £75,(00 in paid-up Shares. The actual difference
I, -avour of the Company will consequently be £407,C0n pins
the
Present value of the property beyond the price paid by
sep municipality
M,...a1r. Charles Sta.rry, the eminent architect, of London, who
epecially deputed to examine the plans, estimates, &c.,
i„le sPOt values this area ,n the accompanying r p
per squarelire) metre, or a total of above Zet,toirs,ooo
titer%
1,,, g'.
tn-,,ee Concession 'res have already provided £90,000 for
h-J ',lent of cautiona money to the ; unicipality, and for the
mint
hasthe
riarsnta section of the land (which has been registered
em
m 71 of the Company's Trustees)' &c. An
the Peen entered into between them andtheaCompany that
41,4...reu5e-money for the Concession shall include prell-
t il
be of every kind.
.. will be seen from the accompanting'
ier,t, ..
1 been made by
the to so large a contribution would not laveeeeort by Mr Barry
to establish a lottery
sanctart but for the fact years.nipy ob ained the
ler the of the State, four since.
express
profits th
-1) n the raising,
mhout purpose of buying up this property from the
ereof. the result of which has ee _
hars„ anY cost to the city, of the whole of the necessary rote theonsequently the Municipality are enabled to d -
rawentire purthase.mo,ey paid to the Comoany to
fille; the new streets and widening the old, and
ntitle. th
ned is,
~e facades of the Company's building; as men-
th.
,ti rue conceesion.
may h:741,8 of the Concession which the Company purchases
irL•' 11elly +Ailed as follows :
irrahii tr_a_nsfer of the Company in perpetuity, and free
land eatzAernibrance, of 27,734 square metres ot freehold
ItTiefoal
ldalaigs tar?'
d constituting
rout seven English acres, with the houses and
ng thereon, now I. t and occupte..,._
_, Merit (tense, centre of commerce in the city ot swan and its
Tlie right oPlllated area. apeciftedee
‘.,,. 4,flp) V eaCeeBBlVe lots viz. 8,000 square metres (
im.
erediateb,l'i,l'e nietres already purchasing this land at the priciensa,aabdoinvge
and the J , i 6 120 ' ieee.. - tereair,' ;„ beuare metres by t e
teuaber,
paid for and transferred)
~
--"g 3,311 square metres by the 29th Sep
ptem , 8
15,
3. The
Veal et .
si ...an are,- are to erect, in accordance withdtdhweemluunngi: ouse,
a;ldouse, counting-houses, shops, an _
CeterMine such other buildings as the Company maY pow‘,•
seith he'''. to the Company of selling, letting. or dealing
SonU it. freehold land and the buildings reconstructed
to belon
Te rents of the existhrs buildings upon the ceded land
several . absolu. ely to the Company from the date of the keugoneiglitnents. These rentals are reported by Signor
almoint
at £;
7,2,300eera tpeerth%m
san architect of great reputation in Italy, specially
Municipality of Milan, and by Mr. C. Barry,
hung materiais arising from the demolition of the old
net ngs (valued at 1,000,000 lire, or £40,000) to belong, with-
be,allY payment, to the cempany
! Ail costs of extra ornament of the proposed buildings to
, ac by the Municipality. but all such ornament to be the
eertaa
8. nen, pro; erty of the company.
all The Municipality to pay the . ompany. at a fixed tariff,
7,, :'.,llelises of paving, drainage, and construction of sewers.
his tar ff will be a source of erofit to the Company.
9. 'the Municipality binds 'tsell togive absolute possession
of the property concedrd, with .ut any other charge to the
Company than the usual Governt,tent dues u, oa transfer.
10. The Company t , have the prefer. net in executing any
future municipal improvements in Milan
The wealth and importance of Milan as the commercial
centre of Northern Italy, and which will be increased by the
removal of the capital from Turin, render the prospects of
this Company exceptionally favourable. The quarter of the
city to be rebuilt is, as stated by Mr. Barry, as much tie
centre of commerca in Milan as Cheapside and Cornhill are
that of Teondon. The improvement of this business portion
of the town has long been imperatively called for. Frcm
these facts, coupled with the progressive increase of rentals,
the demand from occupants about to be displaced and others,
for business premises, offices, houses, clubs, odes, and other
buildings on the sites which the Company, will possess, the
Directtrs are satisfied that highly lucrative returns will
attend the proiected operations.
The Company will forthwith proceed to the erection of the
buildings. subsequently selling the same or granting leave
at premiums, reserving the ground rents in perp tuity, or
capita icing them as hereafter may be determined. The de-
molition of the old buildings on the first section of the land
ceded to the , o epany is already in progress.
A.pplications have been received tor leasing and purchasing
some of the buildings as s' on as reconstructed, on terms in
excess of the estimates submitted to the Directors. These
estteratee, calculated by Signor Mengoni and Mr. Barry only
upon the basis of the present rents, show a return of £ C 6,000
per annum from the reconstructed but dings.
Owing to the probability that a large proportion of the
Capital for this undertaking will be derived from the sale of
the new buildings, it is difficult to arrive at any precise cal-
culation of the large profits likely to accrue to the Company ;
but taking £lOO,O 0 a year merely from rental as a basis, and
assuming the capital to be raised, as proposed, in shares and
debentures, the ultimate dividend le fairly estimated at 15 per cent, andothe share capital may
thi ' from freehold
rents. A considerable increase on this return may be looked
for from the gradual sale of the Company's property and
other sources.
The concession, plane, reports, and articles of association
can be inspected et the Offices of Messrs Bircham, Dalrymple,
brake, and Co., 46, Psrliament-street, westminster.
Applications for Shares are to be made in the annexed
form, and left w th the Bankers of the Company, uon-
?tient of' the deposit of £ I per Share. If no allotment ismade
to the applicant the deposit will be immediately returned
without deduction and if a less number of shares be a lotted
than is applied for, the deposit paid w.ll so far as necessary
be credited towards the payment due on allotment.
Arrangements have been mad with the Company for a re-
servation et Five Thousand Shea
cants who are Shareholders of' 'AI
3 for allotment to sppli-
biller ot England (Limited' Credit Ponder and Mo-
th consequence of inquiries which have already been made,
7, p pnt tin the for
the Directors have decided also to receive
Allotments of Shares fully paid up not execs ding in the ag-
gregate one-fourth part of the CapitaL Such Urea to bear
ante' eat from the date of eayment.
Prospectuses and Forms of Application ran be obtalnei at
the Office of the Credit Fonder and Mobilier of England
(Limited), 17 and 18, Cornhill; also of the Bankers, et the
Brokers. and of the Secretary of the Company.
January, 1865.

FORM OF APPLICATION FOR SHARES.
(To be retained by the Bankers.)

o.
To N
the Directors of the City of Milan Improvements Company
Gentlemen, (Limited).
navine paid to youi Bankers, Messrs. 'Hoboes, Lubbock,
and Co., the sum ot , being a deposit of LI
Per Share on Shares in the above Company. I hereby
request that you will allot me that number; and I agree to
ac(ept such Shares, or any 'ess number you may allot to me
on the terms ot the Pr nipectus ; and I agree to pay the
&Milt on allotments, and to sign the Artiles of Association
Pt
Inserthe Company, when r quired ; and I authorise you to
of shtrmea allotted to m y name on t Reoister ot Members for the number
I hee.

Usual Slrnaturc
Name in fu 1
Itegidenee
Profession
Date
Or
11" FULLY PAID-UP SHARES are required, on the
r MentionPd Form :
Pop,.
OP APPLICATION FOR FULLY PAID-Up
SHARES.
(To be retained by the Bankers.)

No.
To the Directors of the City of Milan Improvements Company
Limited).

Gentlemen,—
Baying paid to your Bankers, Messrs. Robarfs, Lubbocir,
and co , the sum of £
, being a deposit of £1
Per Share o
than
you ill
Shares in the above Company, I h. reby
request
W me that number of Fully Paid-up
Shares ; and I agree to accept such 811 irs, or aess umber
You may allot to me on the terms of the Prospectus; ard
Ito gree to pay the amount of such Shares on allotment, and
sign the Articles of Association of the Company When
required ; and I authorise you to in,ert my name on the
register of members for the number of shares allotted to me.
Usual signature Name in full . ........ ......
... • ... ..........
Residence ............
Profession .................... ........
Dato ..........................

PR IZ E ME D A L.-INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITION, 1862.
FRANCIS TUCKER & CO., Wax Chandlers, &o, dm,
To the Queen and the Prince of Wales.
(Established 1720.)
The Jurors' Report on Wax and Church Candles, in 1862,
testifies to the excellence of the quality of Messrs. Tuckers'
manufacture.

A distinguished Dignitary, in a letter addressed to Francis
Tucker and Co., on the subject of
WAX CANDLES with PLATTED WICKS,

says:—
"I have found them fully equal to the recommendation
which you gave them, and can sincerely, in my turn, I com-
mend them to the clergy for the use of the altar."
Orry quality
.• •• • • • • • • od. per lb.
Best
Finestdina quality, with Tatted Wicks, patented.. 2s. 2d. per lb.
VEGETABLE W
TABLE CANDLES, with a Mixture of ax.
quality
Second quality • • • ••
• .• .. Is. sd. per lb
Third quality •,
.. is. id. per lb.
••
is. 3d. per lb.
• .
Carriage paid in Lon •.don on Orders of Five Pounds in value.
tt in mg
FRANCIS TUCKER AND CO,
South Molton-street, Grosvenor-square. Manufactory—
The lar Kensingtonablishm (Establishedntaod
for 17
h3to).
gest Eite
Manufacture
of Wax Candles for the use of the Altar.

DINNEFORD'S FLUID MAGNESIA.
The medical prof e aion for Thirty years have approved
of this pure solution of Ma?nesia as the best remedy for Gout
and stomach disorders
it is es r ecially adapted for ladies and children. Prepared
of every kir d ; and as a mild aperient
sole y by
DINNEFORD and CO., Chemists, kc,
172, New Bond-street, London ;
And sold througlicut the world by all respectable chemists,
CAUTION —See hat " Dinneford and Co." is on each bottle
and red label over the cork.

ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road in the immediate vicinity of the Great Northern Hail•
way Terminus, King,-'s
-cross.

Patron—Her Most Gracious Majesty the QUEEN.'
Vice-Patron—Ells Royal Highness the Prince of WALES,
President—His Grace the Duke of BUCCLEUCH,
This Hospital, founded in the year 1828, the first to estab-
lish the princip'e of free admission to the sick poor, without
the delay and difficulty of Governors' orders, is whoi y de-
pendent for support on voluntary contributions and 1 gacies.
It affords relief to a large number of in-patients, and, in
addition to this, the average number of attendance of the
destitute tick has for a con iderable period averaged between
3,000 and 4,000 weekly.

Contributions are received by the Treasurer. Edward Ants-
terman, Esq., Nicholas-lane; also by Messrs. Coutts and Co. ;
Drummond and Co. ; Glyn and Co. ; Herries and Co. ; Ransom
and Co. ; Prescott, Grote, and Co.; Smith, Payne, and Co. ;
Barclay and Co. ; w lliams, Deacon, and Co. ; Overend, Gur-
ney, and Co. ; Nisbet and Co. , Berners-street ; I. Barned and
Co., Liverpool ; and at the Hospital, from 10 till 5.
bTANFORD SMITH, Secretary,

DR. SCOTT'S LIVER AND BILLIOUS
PILLS.—A NEVER FAILING RESIEDY.---Pre-
4red without any mercurial ingredient, from the recipe of Dr.
eott, of Bromley, Kent, will be found invaluable to all who
&ler from bilious and :lye* vtomplaints, tndfgesticn, wind.
'pasms, giddiness, dizziness of the eyes, &c. For habitual
;ostiveness, as a family aperient medicine, and as a purifier
of the blood, they are truly excellent ; mild in their opera-
'ion and grateful to the stomach, they create appetite, pro-
mote digestion, and strengthen the whole nervous system.
Sold by W. Lambert, 8 King William-street, Charing-cross.
London, and by most druggists, in boxes, Is. lid., and three
times the quantity in one, 2s. 9d. Be sure to ask for Dr.
Scott's Bilious and Liver Pills. The genuine are a square
green
.package, with " William Lambert," engraved on the

GURNrTURE, CARPETS, BEDDING, .and
FLOORCLOTH, CARRIAG E-FREE to any house in
the kingdom, regardless of amount or distance. First-class
goods at second-class prices. Terms peculiarly liberal to
Clergymen and Gentlemen. An immense stock to select
frorn, displayed in Showrcoms occupying an acre of ground.
Every article warranted.
014 EitGYMEN and GENTLEMEN ABOUT TO FUR-
NISH aro respectfully informed that Messrs. Cobbett ane
Co are publishing an entirely New Edition of their un-
equalled HOUSE FURNISHING GUIDE, illustrated by4lt
/aim -able engravings of every description of Furniture and
L;easteads, with prices attached. A copy sent gi atis and
post-tree on application. This costly work also contains
complete estimates for furnishing on the following revised
scale:

A Six-roonle i Parsonage £74 3 0
An Eight-rocrned ditto
A Ten-roomel ditto
A Twelve-roamed ditto 301 It 0

Together with a Price List of purified Bedding, and a mace
of valuable informationto all requiring housch 31d furniture.
^arpet m, or bedding. References kindly permitted to Clergy-
men and gentlemen in or near Great Malvern, Southampton.
Chichester, Bury, Ely, Preston, Grimsby, ityde, Plymouth,
Wells. Oxford, Brighton, Gainsborough, Margate. Kidder-
minster, Wellington,l3roydon. Cambridge, Staines, Dorking,
St. Alban's. Worcester, Ipswich, Peterborough, St. David's,
Wrexham, and above 500 other places in all parts of Great
Brita

COBBETT and CO.. General House Furnishers, Deptford-
bridge, London.

Mr. Layard, M.?., on the History of Art.

At a meeting of the Lambeth Society Qf Arts yes-
terday evening, Mr. Layard, M.P.,
delivered a most
interesting and comprehensive address on this sub-
ject. After a few preliminary observations as to the
true meaning of the phrase " Fine Arts," which in
the case of nations of any refinement of civilisation
he denied to be the property of any particular class
of the people, instanced the Greeks, who were so
thoroughly permeated with a feeling of art that
everything they constructed, even to the most ordi-
nary implements, were beautiful. True art he defined
to consist in a perfect appreciation and combination
of form and colour. Some nations had one, some
the other ; but without a combination of the two no
nation had ever been great in art. The Mexicans,
the Peruvians, and other South American nations,
the Chinese, and the Japanese had a fine appreciation
of colour, but none of form. The Assyrians and the
Egyptians had the earliest appreciation of both forms
of art ; whatever they did contained the elements of
beauty, and everything we possessed now might be
said to be a development of one or other form of
art. Almost at the commencement of his address
Mr. Layard laid down the canon that the arts of a
nation depended on the character of a people, and
represented its characteristics and peculiar circum-
stances, and his first illustration was drawn from
the dissimilarity of Assyrian and Egyptian art.
Egyptian art, in its massive invariable character,
corresponded to the character of an exclusive, un-
changing caste people, possessing unlimited com-
mand of stone materials ; while, on the other hand,
Assyrian art represented a conquering, ambitious
people, given to assimilating the characteristics of
the different peoples with whom they came in con-
tact. From these two peoples the Greeks collected
the chief features of their arts, and developed out
those beautiful forms which were still the admira-
tion of the world. To illustrate this idea Mr.
Layard referred to numerous drawings on the wall
from the remains of Thebes, Nineveh, Selinus,
/Egina, Pxstum, and Athens, tracing the form and
development of each great architectural idea in its
structural and ornamental details. The great spe-
cimens of Doric ait were all clearly drawn from
Egyptian models, and recent discoveries in Assyria
had furnished a remarkable fulfilment of Niebuhr's
prophecy, that lonia art would be found, some day
or other, to have an Asiatic origin. Persia adopted
almost entirely the art of the country which it con-
quered, and the specimens at Persepolis and in the
cities of Asia Minor showed the most manifest traces
of Assyrian origin. With regard to other nations of
antiquity, neither the Jews nor the Phoenicians ap-
peared to have any ideas of art of their own. The
Jewish ideas of art appepritd to be entirely Assyrian ;
so that the description of the building of the Temple
in the Book of Kings and in " Josephus" appeared
to correspond almost entirely with the description
of an Assyrian building. The decay of art in Greece
was contemporaneous with the decay of Greek free-
dom, as was the case in every other country in which
art had flourished. Passing to Italy, Mr. Layard
pointed out that Etruscan and Roman art was
merely a reproduction of
_Greek art, and that archi-
tecture was the Chief art by which the Romans were
distinguished. Nothing gave a greater idea of their
power than the magnificent public buildings which
they had erected in their colonial cities, and which
far exceeded anything this country had ever pro-
duced. Passing from the fall of the Roman Empire
over the dark ages, Mr. Layard took a rapid survey
of the state of the arts among the Arab and Teuton
nations up to the time of the Renaissance, when the
Italians took Gothic art in hand and moulded
it to their requirements, still insisting on his
two main theses—that this development of
art was contemporaneous with the rise of political
freedom among the people, and that the art itself
was traceable in its main features to Greek, and
beyond that to Assyrian and Egyptian models. The
first great classic architect of modern Italy was Ni-
cholas Pisano, the first great Christian artist was
Giotto, and the basis of Italian art might almost be
said to be the Church of Assisi,' the walls of which
Giotto was called upon to ornament with passages
from the life of St. Francis. (Cheers.) The per-
fection of Christian art was attained almost by
Ghirlandajo, though it could hardly be said ever to
have been brought to perfection, owing to the decay
of freedom which followed the German and French
inroads, and the rise of a false classical taste. This
falling off was shown in the works of Raffaelle,
whose later manner was inferior to his earlier.
Even the great Michael Angelo Could not resist the
change. Venice, which preserved her freedom
longest, also preserved the traditions of true art the
longest, but the last stroke given to art in Italy was
tained specimens of everything that was false in
by the Jesuits. The churches built by them con-
art. The eclectic school of which Domenichino and
three Caraccis were the chief glories had lost much
of the repute which they had once enjoyed, since it
had been perceived that they were based upon no
national feeling, and .that they were merely speci-
mens of false art. Of modern schools, Mr. Layard
touched chiefly on the English ; and, after criticis-

ing severely our shortcomings in architecture as
evinced in the National Gallery, the British Mu-
seum, and the House of Commons, and in sculp-
ture as shown by our 'public statues, he proceeded
to point out, in illustration of his idea, that the art of a
people corresponds to its characteristics, that the
English pictures most valued abroad were our
Wilkies, Hogarths, Faeds, and Friths, who re-
presented domestic scenes ; and our landscape paint-
ers, Turners, Stanfields, and Calcotts. Mr. Layard
expressed his dissent from the extreme praise which
has been lavished on Mr. Herbert's fresco, and,
while allowing it to be a great work, lamented the
pervading lack of idealism in it. Moses and Aaron
were simply common Bedouin Arabs, who might be
met about in the East every day. In conclusion,
Mr. Layard drew a hopeful picture of the future
which English art and art schools had before them
in applying the principles of form and colour to the
new materials of iron and glass which had been
brought into use, and to the structures, such as the
railway stations, the great warehouses, and the
Crystal Palace, which the wants of modern civilisa-
tion and commerce were calling up on every side.

BLOUNT TEMPEST. By the Rev. J. C. M. Bellew.
Second Edition Revised. 3 vols.—" Popular
preachers," says the Globe, "have in them many of the
qualifications required for the making of a popular novelist;
and no one can be surprised that Mr. Bellew should be the
author of a novel which will win him increase of reputa-
tion with his present admirers, and multiply them greatly.
' Blount Tempest' is decidedly a clever novel. Tho book
is not a thin flimsy narrative. The three volumes are full
of adventures, conversations, historical and topographical
information—all helping to carry on a double plotted story
which is lively and sentimental. The story is varied and
never tedious. It will be a great success."
MISSING VESSEL.—The steamer Cronstadt, from
Cronstadt for Copenhagen and Leith, sailed from Revel on
the 24th of November, and hae not eince been heard of.

The Lord-Advocate, M.P., delivered an address
to. the Scottish Trade Protection Society, on the
Bankrupt Law, at Edinburgh, on Wednesday even-
ing. There was a large attendance in Queen-street
Hall, and the chairman of the society (Bailie Moss-
man) introduced the business of the evening.
The LORD-ADVOCATE stated that the subject of
his lecture would be the English Law of Bankruptcy,
as to which he intended to offer information rather
than criticism. He premised his observations by
some remarks on the state of national feeling be-
tween England and Scotland. He said—ln the dis-
cussion of international merits or demerits, of course,
there are predilections and prejudices on either side.
We see through the coloured glasses of our national
tendencies, and judge our neighbour, even although
it be unconsciously, by the standards which our
habits And associations have raised among us. We
are jealous of English innovations-7-they are not
less jealous of those that come from our side of the
Tweed. Which is the more unreasonable or the more
provincial in this respect it is not necessary to de-
cide. That the Scotsman is tenacious of that which
pertains to his nationality I have no occasion to
deny; that he is proud of his country's history, proud
of her public spirit, and of the place which her sons
have taken in the world, probably none of us are
ashamed to confess ; but now and then an exagge-
ration of his spirit breaks out in unreasoning fear
and loud outcry at the apprehension of the invasion
of English institutions. It is the will and not the
arm of the. Southron that is now the subject of
alarm—not the blue bonnets, but the white wigs
Against whom the Border is to be defended—an
incursion of hostile and hungry lawyers on the sacred
domain of the jurisprudence of Scotland. (A laugh.)
It was but last year that I tabled a proposal for re-
form in our forms of procedure in our Scottish
courts ; and it struck me that as Westminster Hall
and the Court of Chancery had reformed themselves
10 years ago, and very mainly by building on and
improving our forms, and as experiment had
resulted in a most striking and remarkable success
in facilitating and shortening procedure, I could
not go far wrong in following the example.
But the spirit of Scottish nationality was
awake, and the fiery cross was displayed in-
stantly
to spread the alarm. English terminology
—apart altogether from what the terms meant--
was an offence in Caledonian ears ; and for the

time, believing discretion to be the better part of
valour, I retreated with my English allies, and, I
suppose, if I renew the attempt, must accoutre my-
self with weapons drawn from our. national armoury.
But our neighbours south of the Tweed are quite as
bad—nay, they are worse. One could understand
that the poorer country should be jealous of the
richer—tenacious of encroachment, standing on its
dignity, suspicious of affront. That the sister who
is the shorter in stature should make the most of her
height, and sometimes stand on tiptoe, is natural
and pardonable. (A laugh.) To what extent we
indulge in it we can hardly judge, for it is difficult
to judge ourselves impartially ; but whence comes,
or what causes, the strange provincial sensitiveness
on this subject in England—or rather, I should say,
London, for it is chiefly confined to that quarter—l
never could understand. Is it the memory of the
raids of the Border, or the recollection of the day
when the least gainly of the Stuarts, with a broad
Scotch accent and a scanty Scottish retinue, arrived
on horseback from the north and took up his quar-
ters in the palace of the Tudors, or is it the memory
of Bute and Mansfield burning in the breasts of the
descendants of Wilkes and Junius, which tinges the
opinions of London critics with so strong a national
colour? It is not antipathy, for they are kindly,
and warm-hearted, and hospitable ; it is not
jealousy, for they are the stronger. Neither is it
contempt, for generally our countrymen command
respect, and I believe deserve it ; but it is a kind
of irresistible instinct which impels those who suffer
under it, if they refer to the law of Scotland, or
-
the religion of Scotland, or the whisky of Scot-
land—nay, if they review a book written or nar-
rate an act done by a Scotsman—to couple with
their criticism some dissertation on national
characteristics. I wonder it does not occur to
them how thoroughly provincial the habit is. A
French, or German, or Italian, or American critic
would not pause for a moment to consider whether
the author of a work in the English language was
an Englishman or a Scotchman. Distinctions and
peculiarities, which seem large on the narrow field
disappear entirely on the wider ; and it would be
well for us in all such matters to look at ourselves
in the looking-glass of Europe, and consider whe-
ther, after all this perpetual harping on national dis,
tinctions between two such countries be not precisely
on a level with the petty rivalries of a country town
or the contending fashions of a cathedral close. In
this view the sin is mainly other side of the Tweed.
When we advert to the writings, or speeches, or ca-
reer of Englishmen, we sink their nationality. We
deal with them as they deal with the rest of the
world, in the individualising spirit which men of en-
larged view and liberal cultivation ought to exhibit.
Sometimes, however, our liberality takes a different
direction. Sometimes the Scottish lion lays all his
terror by, and is seized by an unreasoning fondness
for the English leopard. These fits come on at inter-
vals, and when they come require to be watched. It
suddenly becomes fashionable to decry Scottish in-
stitutions, and trumpet those of England. Incense
is offered at our sister's shrine, and our native mo-
desty descends into self-depreciation of the most ex-
travagant description. We then beg for favours
which, if offered, we should have resented, and break
forth in ecstacy about institutions we have never
taken the trouble to understand. I saw the other
day a letter in a London newspaper, recommending
that we should adopt the English system of criminal
prosecution—that is to say, to adopt the system
which England alone of any civilised nation follows,
to leave the prosecution of public crimes in the hands
of private prosecutors, and saddle ourselves with the
dead weight of grand juries and coroners' inquests,
!rom which the more enlightened English jurists have
ong wished to be relieved. Loud were the rejoicings

when jury trials in civil cases were imported from

the south. The advent of this " bulwark of British
freedom" was hailed with ringing plaudits, and the
day was considered a fortunate one in the legal
calendar. Far be it from me to disparage the boon.
Still, in some respects it cannot be denied that dis-

tance lent a little enchantment to the view, as both
clients and jurymen sometimes discover ; and per-
haps, had we known then all which we know now,
one adaptation of the system would have been more
careful and more skilful. One form of this national
modesty exhibited itself some 10 years ago in a very
acute state of development. We wanted—of all
morbid cravings imaginable—the English Bankrupt
Law. We loudly demanded, in the paroxyism of
the disease, why the blessings of official assignees
were not bestowed on us ; we went into fits abou t
a court of bankruptcy, and filled the air of Parlia-
ment with the wailings of Glasgow commerce bereft
of its place among the nations, and left an outcast
in our cold northern air, uncherished by commis-
sioners and unprotected by registrars. Kindly
English friends were good enough to fan the flame,
enlighten our ignorance, and point out the way in
which our grievances might be redressed. .Little
pamphlets were written, little speeches were spoken,
and a bill was prepared which was to heal the
afflicted spirit of Scotland and cure its bankrupt
woes. And indeed, so fierce had been the access of
the fever that the patient had almost been forced to
accept on his recovery what he had raved for in
his delirium. It was the big bill which cured him.
The reality looked so little like the bright moon he
had cried for that it startled and sobered him, and a
year or two afterwards, when his senses had entirely
returned, we passed an act on bankrptcy, which,
has been well and
though by no means perfect,

successfully administered, and under it, I believe,
we have at last arrived at a system which approaches,
if it does not reach, the most economical, rapid,
and satisfactory way of distributing the estates of a
bankrupt. The main distinction in principal
which now exists between the system in force in
England and our own consists in one working
mainly of courts and officials, and the other work-
ing by the creditors themselves--a distinction,
however, which is of recent growth,
.for I believe
that prior to 1830, the creditors had much more to
do with the. administration than they have now.
The tendency of all the English legislation from
1830 to 1861 has been in the direction of giving
more power to the Court and less to the creditors,
while in Scotland the tendency has lain entirely in
the opposite direction. The bill of Lord Westbury
did not cause, but, on the other hand, did not cure,
many of the evils complained of in the English
system.wasa
member, But a
Parliamentaryliasp
pulled
dto pieces the toy which
committee, of which
I
decoyed the commercial mind of Scotland in 1853.

His Lordship proceeded to analyse minutely the evi-
dence taken by the Select Committee, pointing out
that of the 646,0001. of assets paid to official as-
signees in 1863, only 489,0001. had been paid out as
dividends, leaving a balance of expenses of 157,0001.,
in addition to the proper expenses of the court—

namely, 126,0001., making the total cost of the
system 283,0001. He also quoted evidence to show
that in two-thirds of the bankrupt estates there was
no dividend, and that in 56 cases reported in the
Birmingham district the liabilities were 90,000/., the
assets were 30,000/., the amount after paying pre-
ferable claims was 14,0001., and the sum divided
6,000/. The evidence was cited of one merchant
who called the Bankruptcy Court a sink of iniquity,
and of another who said that the threat of a small
dividend often induced creditors to accept a much
less favourable settlement than they would get if the
estates were more easily realised. The absence of
any real audit of the assignees' accounts, the influ-
ences exerted by the lower office-bearers upon the
higher, the powers usurped and fees exacted by the
messenger, ushers, and broker were severally ad-
verted to, his lordship remarking that it was im-
possible to see that there was the slightest check upon
these officials. He proceeded to say :—I think the
bankruptcy law ought to proceed upon ordinarytrade
principles. If a man cannot pay his debts the object is
to get payment of what he can pay as quickly and as
cheaply as possible. My opinion is there should be
no other object whatever in bankruptcy law but to
do that. The question is, how can you make him
pay his debts with as little expense to his creditors
as possible and with as great a return to them as
can be had. I rather expect a great deal of mis-
chief has arisen from supposing that there should be
combined with bankruptcy law a kind of penal code
to be worked at the expense of the creditors. I
perfectly agree that nothing is more dangerous to a
community, nor should be more closely watched,
than a fraudulent bankruptcy. It is a thing to which
there is great temptation, and in which there is
great danger, but what I demur to is that the public
morality is to be protected at the expense of the cre-
ditors, who have 'already lost enough. • There is no
good reason why creditors should be at the expense
of punishing debtors in bankruptcy any more than
under other circumstances. In England there is no
Public prosecutor, and fraud in bankruptcy as well
as fraud in anything else must be punished by pri-
vate individuals prosecuting. But in Scotland it is
different. In the second place, I say that the essence
of bankruptcy administered is despatch. A dividend
of ss. to-morrow, in nine cases out of ten, is worth
more than a dividend of 10s. two years hence to the
' creditors ; and it is very likely that at the end of
of the two years, instead of being 108., it will only
be 2s. 6d. (Laughter.) Despatch means economy.
Lawyers' bills have a wonderful aptitude to grow j
with time. (Laughter and applause.) And while
legal authorities are dreaming over the law of the
case, and trying to do exact justice, the unfortunate
creditor is fairly starved out of his claims. Time is
too short for that, especially commercial time, and
to do the business of bankruptcy well it is essential
to do it quickly, and I should say that in the great
majority of cases to do it quickly is to do it well.
(Applause.) All that you have to provide for is, to
see that the creditors are to have the management
of the estate in their own hands. I would only
say now, in conclusion, that, while free trade flourishes
in other respects, we may have, in this matter, free
trade in law reform—and import and export what
we please. We have long since found it more
profitable to buy English cattle than to steal
them— (laughter)—and so, perhaps, we may come
to be of one mind on both sidesof the Tweed, that
a fair interchange of good institutions and wise laws
is better than wrangling about their merits. If we
think we can with advantage communicate to Eng-
land our system of registers and of bankruptcy, there
will be no difficulty in squaring the account, and
even if ultimately a balance should be due on either
side, that which is due from benefit received is easily
paid with goodwill. (Loud applause.)
Mr. J. Marshall, seconded by Lord Deas, moved
a cordial vote of thanks to the Itord Advocate for
his address.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

AP.----

Earl de Grey and Ripon, the Secretary of State
for War, who was accompanied by Gen. Sir John
F. Burgoyne, G.C.8., Principal Director of Works;
and Inspector-General of Royal Engineers ; Lieut.-
Col. W. F. D. Jervois, C. 8., Deputy-Director of
Works ; Capt. J. C. Caffin, C. 8., Director of Stores
and Naval Director-General of Artillery, with other
officials, was occupied until late on Wednesday
evening in making an inspection of the new works
completed and in progress at Chatham connected
with the War Department, including the fortifica-
tions, barrack buildings, hospitals, Magazines, and
other buildings at the military station, preparatory
to the framing of the new Estimates for the ap-
proaching Session of Parliament. His lordship, who
was met at the railway station and accompanied on
his tour of inspection by the principal officials of
the garrison, directed his attention chiefly to the
subject of the barrack accommodation at Chatham.
The several barracks now in the occupation of the
Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and the troops of
the Line were all inspected, in order to enable a
correct estimate to be formed of their present con-
dition and requirements. In the course of his tour
of inspection the principal portion of the fortifica-
tions and magazines were visited, but in neither of
those departments will a large outlay be required
during the ensuing year. It was expected that a
visit would be paid to the extensive powder maga-
zines and War Department stores at Upnor Casty ;
but as the whole question of the removal. or non-
removal of the gunpowder stores fromthtehee
mity to Chatham is just now under
Sir Jelin Bur-
goyne of a committee, of which Gen.
sgaoryynteoisinsthpeeeptrehsiedent,
the recommenda-
oirnsPid7r7.--
establishment
recommenda-
tion of the committee. The large_
was inspected,
Castleit waspdun otconsidered neces-
sary
the latter
faosrmwaserlayisucsetdheasFoartga
P hospital for the whole of the
being now the military
rriisttoneshtaobsplishmitai
being required for q
troops quartered at CuaxlaattehresaommieprthleteethdfeonrmteraoerropiostphTiathamel
block of buildings recently
thtleielnraorroinelds
aiisiteenvdiseditefdo,rtqhielawrticiroslefoorf
barracks,waenred
i occupation. Owing to the
lateness of the hour at which the inspection termi-
nated, the extensive stores and establishments at the
Ordnance and Gun-wharfs could not be visited.
Mr. E. J. Reed, chief constructor of the Royal
Navy, who is still suffering from the effects of his
late severe indisposition, yesterday visited -the de-
partment of Woolwich Dockyard. The chief con-
structor, accompanied by Mr. George Turner and
Mr. Henwood, master and assistant-master ship-
Wrighti of the :yard, spent a great portion of the