The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-24 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTBE.

THE EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES.
The committee re-assembled yesterday morning, and
evidence in opposition to the bill was resumed. The Right
Hon. W. Cowper in the chair.
Mr. Pennethorne was recalled, and he stated, in answer
to Mr. Hope Scott, Q.C., that the line of street he pro-
posed at Whitehall was fully before the Royal Commis-
sioners of 1861. His road would take down Fife House,
the Exchequer Office, and Gwydyer House, but in a few '
years a largo
amount of CirsmLa 1: or,)
they "MetropolitanA
Beard of Works from the Crown, that must be a matter of
negotiation ; but whether the Crown was prepared to
waive its rights, and give up the ground t. nip Mpirimoli-
tan Board of Works for this street, ho was not prepared to*
say. If the roadway were carried in front of the Duke of
Buccleuch's property, it would seriously interfere with
many of the present enjoyments, and ho would be entitled
to very heavy damages, not by a civil action, but as com-
pensation under the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act. Ile
believed if the deviation of road he had pointed out Were
agreed to, that there was not the slightest doubt the Com-
missioners of Land Revenues would sanction it.
Mr. Pollard-Urquhart—You say, if this embankment ig
formed, that the gardens of the Duke of Bucclouch would
be less enjoyable than they are at present, and that he
would be entitled to heavy damages. No doubt you know
the gardens of the Tuileries in Paris ?
Mr. Pennethorne—Yes; I have seen them. They are
public gardens.
Mr. P. Urquhart—Well, that being so, do you think
that if there was a mud-bank down the middle of them it
would be an improvement to them ? (A laugh.)
Mr. Pennethorne—l hardly understand the question ;
but if you mean that if a mud-bank were passed down the
middle of them it would be an improvement to them, I pre"
sumo not.
Examination continued—lf the Crown lessees on the'
banks of the river were to be allowed to derive thewdovuanli
tages from the enclosed land, he had no do but thathebl.9
would,o
were
make the embankment at their own expense,
of course, be with the understanding that th pu
that opinion,
to be excluded from the use of it. In giving
he did not see that it would interfere with the whole scheme.
e
In front of the India Board a large addition would be made
to the garden ground, and therefore it would be worth tho-
while of the Crown to make the embankment ; but if the
public were allowed to pass along the embankment, the
privacy would be destroyed, as persons would be prying
and looking through the railings. He assumed that an
embankment must be made, and that being so, thought it
would be better that the lessees of the property on the banks
of the river should make it, rather than that their river
frontage should be cut off by a roadway on the embankment.
The Hon. Charles Gore was examined,—He said he was
a commissioner of her Majesty's
had superintendence of the Crown Woods
propertyanda
hout Forests,\v
hall. That
property is le
was a Roy al Commission,
to different parties,
amongst them the Duke o
presided
of Bue c
leu c h .
over Inby
thelB42,E
htrhil andtaener there
Lincoln, to consider the question of an embankment, and
they reported in f avour-of an embankment from Hunger-
ford-market
to Blackfriars-bridge. He had seen the
ofpresent plan, and believed that an embankment in front
the Crown property at Whitehall would be a serious
injury to the Crown lessees. The Duke of Buccleueli had
just built his new house on Crown property. In Juno
last a meeting of the Crown lessees was held, and a plan
like that produced by Mr. Pennethorne was submitted to
them, which would prevent the embankment passing in
front of the property of the Crown lessees. It was the
duty of the Crown to protect the interests of its lessees.
The public convenience would be better served by making
the road proposed by Mr. Pennethorne, and widening
Parliament-street and King-street,! ;than by a roadway
from Westminster-bridge on an embankment. He should
be prepared to recommend the Crown to pay the cost of
the embankment in front of this property, on condition of
the lessees paying an increased rent for the additional
ground that would be obtained by it. The Crown la
the
owner of the foreshore of the Thames. He would
recommend the Government to defray the cost of ale eumlci
bankment in front of the Board of Control, " "the
greatly increase the value of the house. By r---.feareo the
whole of the embankment from Westminete
a r-br-thgout any
east end of Whitehall-gardens could
cost to the public. In his opinion thebed.a:roagede wdlone to -the
nt of it would
Crown property by carrying a roadwaYbeavy money com-
bo such as to resolve itself into a
,voeryadeise the Crown to
pensation. Ho should be prePary-
A by Mr. Pennethorne, and
the e wcarseprepared
it.
toy . state
sanction the roadway proPese- -
70tifdthey would defray the cost
thus the compensation to the C.rawnb wOuld be avoided.
In cross •exaniincatir?own;n
on the part of the
of the embankment m
subject to the Chancellor of the
had mentioned the
dissented
Ex-
chequer, and he had notfrom it, nor had he
;be net that
assented to it. There had been no communication between
the OfOce of Woods, &c., and the Crown lessees
since the
introduction of the bill. He
was prepared to recommend
the Crown to make the public
should and that the
colch had
should be excluded from it. The
nuke
of
Bu
a lease granted until 1051, and until then the eu
Public
be excluded, as they had hitherto been. When hb lic must
he spoke of
the Crown protecting the interests of its lessees, he alluded
to the duty of the Crown in its character of landlord, and
not from any other consideration.
After some further evidence
to the same effect the com-
mittee adjourned.

We understand that at the meeting of the pro-
prietors of the London Chartered Bank of Australia, to bo
held on the 6th of June, it is the intention of the directors
to recommend a dividend of 4 per cent., free of income
thertax
for the half-year ending Dec, 311ast, and to carry a fur
sum of £lO,OOO to the reserve fund, which willthen amount
to £60,000.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
Lessee, Mr A. Harris.
THIS EVENING, THE LOST LETTER : Messrs. Wid-
dicombe, 'Jiggle ; Miss Howard and Miss Rose Leclercq.
After which, at a quarter to Eleht, LOUIS XI. Mr. and
Mrs. C. Kean (their first appearance, after an absence of
three years), supported by Messrs. J. F. Cathcart, B. Potter,
Everett, Shore, R. Cathcart, Raymond, Sze. ; Miss Chapman,
and Miss N. Chapman.
To conclude with THE TWO POLTS. Mr. Widdicomb,
M.. R. Leclercq.
Commence at 7. No half-price.

NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHL-...
Sole proprietor and Manager, Mr. 13. Webster.
THIS EVENING, A PRIVATE INQUIRY : Messrs.
J. L. Toole, Billing,ton ; Miss K. Kelly and Miss K. Bland.
To be followed by a new domestic drama, entitled DOT :
Messrs. J. L. Toole, Emery, Billington, Stephenson ; Miss
L. Keeley, Miss Woolgar, Miss H. Simms, Miss K. Kelly,
and Mrs. H. Marston.
To conclude with ICI ON PARLE FRANCAISE : Messrs.
J. T. Toole, Billington, Emery ; Misses K. Kelly, Laidlaw,
K. Bland, and Mrs. H. Marston.

AND FINE

CANTERBURY HALL
bk HI'S GALLERY.
The miraculous STECKEL at a quarter to 11
The renowned RUMSEY and NEWCOMB MINSTRELS
at Nine o'clock.
Grand Selections from "La Sonnambula," by Miss Rus-
sel, with Band and lull Chorus, conducted by Mr. Jongh-
mans.
UNSWOR ill, in his celebrated Stump Speech " Or any
other man," and ECIGENE, the great Burlesque Singer and
Dancer, at Ten o'clock.

The best Comic talent in London.
Messrs, Morton and Stanley be to inform visitors to Lon-
don during the Exhibition that the GALLERY of PAINT-
INGS well be Open, tree between the hours of Twelve and
Two o'clock on and after Monday.

THE OXFORD, 6, OXFORD-STREKT.—
EverY Evelling.—HENßl and PFAU on the Flying*
Trapeze (last two weeks). The unrivalled Ethiopian Come-
dians,
in and NeWoomb's Minstrels, and Unsworth and
in addition to a host es comic talent.—Operatic Selec-
tions Eugene. and the cantata of :`, MAY DAY" (by G. A. Macfarren)
and the "Jolly Beggars rG. Linley), supported by the
including Ise Busse
entire company , Mdme. Enderssohn,
Messrs. Morley, Greene, and Albert.—Pall Band and Chorus.
Musical Director, Mr. F. JonghmanB.
Ball, gd.; Balcony and Stalls, ls. ; Private Boxes, 10s. 6d.

HIGH WATEI AT LONDON BRIDGE,
TR is DAY.---Morning, 1011. 57m.—Afternoon. 11.11 25m.
To-Ifouttow.-Morning, 1 lb. sam.—Afternoon, h.

NOTICE.

All remittances are,
hencsforth, to be made to
Mr. JOHN CHAPLIN, at Vie Sun office, 112,
Strand, who has been appointed, by the Lord
Chancellor, Receiver and Manager of The Sun
newspaper, and the outstanding debts due in
respect thereof.

-------
f-P-i)
N ~ !<•,,,,ir fe''
~,,s.e, --,_,„'. ;..-r.: •i:.. '''.
~4
A •'
~i.;,'
\...... 8.--7 1 ;;,,•••t,-; ), r•%( • . -....
.7
r•-• • be, 1 ~,,,,cv,•-•-.":,--1.t.:14
' t-

kf.tl

'~, C~ii~c

~ti.-~

THE SUN.
LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1862.

The short but explicit telegram received by
a firm which a conteml;orary justly indeed terms
an " eminent" one, will, we have little
doubt, turn
out to be true. The New York correspondents of
such a house are not likely either to be deceived, or
to deceive. Canards are not forwarded between
such correspondents, and we shall therefore expect
to learn that MICLELLAN and the other two
Generals—perhaps FREMONT also Co-operated—
have closed in upon the retreating Confederates.
BANKS and M'DOWELL were advancing, as we all
know, from the North upon Richmond ; but
whether the Confederate army had reached
that city is, of course, as yet uncertain; we
should rather expect they have been overtaken by
M'CLELLAN, and by FRANKLIN, whom he had
sent up the York River to West Point, It is to
be remembered that the Confederates, at last, really

fled. At Williamsburg and at West Point they
were beaten after fighting well. But the last
authentic accounts left them crossing the St.
James River, on which Richmond stands, to its
southern side. The Confederate gun-boats were
ascending this river, and the whole peninsula being
abandoned, the road to the capital was quite open
to the Federals. If, however, as the telegram re-
ports, the "Confederate army is defeated and sur-
rounded," M'CLELLAN must also have crossed to
the southern side of the St. James River in pur-
suit, or both armies must have met near Richmond.

Assuming the full truth of the news, the war
would be really over. No second army could be
gathered in Virginia. Norfolk navy-yard, and all
the little naval hopes of the South, must fall with
the capital, indeed they are threatened already by
BURNSIDE. BEATJAE GARD'S army
isolated at Mem-
phis, and faced by one quite its equal, could have no
chance of any ultimate advantage, even should the
bravery of despair drive back RALLECK for a time.
With the fall of Virginia and an utter defeat of its
army, Confederation itself will have fallen. It will
become but a business of winding up. A complex
business, indeed as the Federals now begin to see.
The forms of the constitution, and the hostile tem-
per of the conquered, will make it a task of more
than one generation to bring all into harmonious
working action; it is even possible that a kind of
brigand, or guerilla local defiance of the Union may
last for many a year, even if
,the North completely
triumphs. It is, however, early to speculate on
news which awaits confirmation, although we are
inclined to regard it, looking at the quarter whence
it comes, as substantially true:

The only possible—at any rate the only probable
Tug of War this session, is likely to follow just
upon the close of the Whitsuntide liolidays. Mean-
ing, of course, in reference to Mr. STANSPELD'S
motion relating to the national expenditure. When-
ever that motion comes on both the Ministers and
Opposition will have their opportunity. Already
the apparent simplicity of the queition thereby
brought under the consideration of the House has
received, however, the promise of a very agreeable
complication, by the announcement betimes of more
than one important amendment. There is the
amendment of which the Hon. Member for Stroud
gave notice last evening, viz. :—" That the House
while deeply impressed with the necessity of
economy in every department of the State, and
especially mindful of that necessity in the present
condition of the country and its finances, is of
opinion that the sums voted under the present and
late Administrations for the military and naval
services of the country have not been greater than
are required for its security at home, and the pro-
tection of interests abroad." And there is the
amendment again, in which, not Mr. HOUSMAN
this time but Lord ROBERT MONTAGU, proposes
that the Commons should formally declare, " That
her MAJESTY'S Government alone are responsible to
the House for the supplies which her MAJESTY
asks the House to grant, and that this House
alone is responsible for the sums which have
been voted." Explicit though each of these
amendments affects to be, it is impossible not to
recognise the tendency it has at the same time
to involve in a maze of confusion theoretically—a
practical matter in it of the simplest possible descrip-
tion. The gist of the whole problem that in this
matter is thus to be brought under the considera-
tion of the House of Commons, signifies, as we all
of us very well know at heart, the reconciliation, so
far as may in any way be at all practicable, of two
Lutugts wawa are I.llZrittsuUsity us tsu Etat cuss" rruuicy
antagonistic and utterly irreconcileable character.
To secure the efficiency of the public service and
the security of the national defences : and yet—
at the .same time—to appreciably moderate our
expenditure ! The exceptional character of the
last two or three years, Mr. GLADSTONE has very
fully and very recently explained. That the last
three years especially have been exceptional, is a
truth absolutely notorious and undeniable. Added to
which fact—a fact in itself almost sufficient, one
might say, to explain the otherwise bewildering
magnitude of our late yearly disbursements—there
is the equally notorious fact, that our warlike arma-
ments, both by sea and by land, are in a transition
state, the like of which has never before been wit-
nessed in the history of the world. The science
hitherto regulating our Artillery and Engineering
Departments, in connection with the great central
War Department at the Horse Guards—the science,
the totally distinct science, hitherto regulating all
the notions in respect to naval architecture hereto.
fore in. vogue at the Dockyards and countenanced
by the Admiralty—we all know have both within a
very recent period,been altogether set aside. The old
smooth-bore pieces of ordnance are, in point of fact,
as obsolete in their way by this time as the cross-bow
or the catapult. The old heart-of-oak three-decker
men-of-war are in their way too as much things of
the past, are as completely given the go-by in all our
calculations as to any future maritime war as the
lumbering old battle-ships of HENRY VJII.'s time,
or as the triremes of the ancients with their banks
of rowers. At an epoch so extraordinary in regard
to the warlike armaments of the world—not ours
alone, but those more or less of all the civilised
races—it cannot surely be in any way matter of sur-
prise that the sum required for our sea and land
forces should have a scope of such unusual magnitude.
Until the ordnance department is thoroughly trans-
formed and entirely reorganised, until the navy of
England is completely reconstructed, it were
idle to dream of anything like economy in regard
to either the one or the other_ The ambition to
secure the efficiency of our maritime defences and
the hope of moderating our annual expenditure, in
truth, have during the last vear or two clashed so
diametrically that up to the present moment
even a Master of Finance as consummate
as Mr
• GLADSTONE has failed to discover any means
of reconciling
harmoniously t
in hem, of
no
gr
eo f
Budget.
knitting them
At
s te
he
st
oo
ng
ge t
hh
ae
sr
it, the good time is of course coming—not, perhaps,
h " Piping times of peace" the songwriters gene-
rallytose are so fond of dreaming about; but, on the
contrary, those seemisglv—(only, however, seem- I
ingly)—more bellicose times when we shall have
our Iron Fleet fully equipped,
and when England
shall have both ashore and afloat, her full and
efficient supply of Armstrongs. Then—(it may
not, after all, take so long or somuch to accomplish
all these gigantic and costly labours in the way of
transformation and reconstruction)—then, but not
till then, can England seriously and securely, with
an eye to her Army, with an eye to her Navy,
begin in those departments her deliberate and
philosophic efforts at economising.
Lord PALMERSTON'S Government is especially
strong in this position, however—because, out of
the very fullness and depth of its patriotic determi-
nation, it subordinates its hope of economising—to
its ambition to ensure, as rapidly and as reso-
lutelymay be, the strength and efficiency of
the
as
sional Defences. " A strong man armed
k eeetp his
s e'"-saith Eternal Wisdom Himself.
N
man," observe! But " a strong man
strongo
armed." It is in accordance with that simple truth,
in obedience to it, in recognition of it, that the
Government a England is now acting. Coute qui
Cou:k•-•-fTell though it be 70.,000,000 a year—Eng.

land, if she is to maintain her supremacy,
if, like
the strong man guarding his house, she is resolutely
to hold her own against all comers, she must be
armed in proportion to her strength. And this is
precisely what she is doing—she is arming not ag-
gressively, but: defensively. She is manufacturing her
formidable stare of Armstrong guns. She is watch-
ing and encouraging and developing every improve-
ment in the shape of iron war vessels, steel clad
men-of-war, and cupola ships cased in plated mail
like metallic armadillos. And, in so doing, who
shall have the temerity to aver that she is not in
very truth and deed wise in her generation ?
Lord PALMERSTON, as Chief of the present Govern-
ment, is, no doubt of it, in principle, avowedly an
Economist—and yet his Chancellor of the Exchequer
spends within this year of peace upwards of
£70,000,000! Yes—but besides being in principle
an Economist (wherever and whenever Economy is
'in any way practicable), Lord PALMERSTON is
far beyond that—heart and soul an Englishman !I
Secure the honour of England, ensure the safety
of England—so far, at least, as by human agency
honour can be secured, so far as safety can be en-
sured—and THEN, when you have really done that,
economise—THEN, if you will, moderate the ampli-
tude of your annual expenditure!
Such is the obvious meaning of Mr. HORSMAN'S
bold and outspoken amendment. That every syllable
of that amendment ought not be carried by acclama-
tion in the House of Commons, is inconceivable. It
appeals to the patriotism of all alike—both on the
Ministerial side of the House and on the side of
the Opposition: The little abstract amend-
ment of Lord ROBERT MONTAGU may, as it
doubtless will, bewilder a great many—even if it
seriously be brought on, as a pendant to the pro-
mised motion of Mr. STANSFELD. But the amend-
ment by the right hon. member for Stroud is so
tranquilising, we cannot but think in its influence,
that it cannot but surely take the wind altogether
out of the sails of the Opposition Fleet now moving
down so very majestically against the Treasury—
every man at his post, the Great Guns double-
shotted, the bran new banner of Economy fluttering
from each mainmast !

France is now distinctly committed to Mexican
intervention in an undisguised form. We have
the EMPEROR'S own account of it in the Moniteur,
and at pretty full length. There is first, a recital
of the convention, then the EMPEROR'S interpre-
tation of it ; and, finally, his General's proclama-
tion to the Mexicans. What diplomacy, coupled
with action, may teach us we therefore know.
The convention furnishes, indeed, but slender
ground for the new action taken by the French.
It is very express in renouncing all intention to
intermeddle with the internal affairs of the coun-
try ; and the EMPEROR explicitly acknowledges
this. But, he is a very old hand at giving
liberty to countries—hls own included—to do
what he wishes. Her MAJESTY does not, with
greater certainty of the result, give any cathedral
Chapter in England " leave to elect" the Bishop
she nominates, than Louis NAPOLEON gives liberty
through universal suffrage and the ballot them-
selves, to chose an Emperor, or to assent to a
transfer of allegiance from a King to an Em-

peror.
The EMPEROR wills, therefore, that the Mexi-
cans be free; but it is much in the same way as
the Romans enjoy freedom, that is in the pre-
sence of the French troops. His instructions to
his Admirals were, therefore, explicit on the point
that the Mexicans were freely to act for then-
solve.. But he nroeeeds to show +how, 4"` "
presence of the allied armies might encourage the
" right-minded men "—the party of " order," as
it was called in December, 1852—t0 arouse them-
selves to put an end to anarchy. This would, of
course, be a blessing to Mexicans, the allies, and
to the world. It would save trouble of fitting
out future costly expeditions to compel justice
towards foreigners. " Ephemeral and senseless
Governments" would be succeeded by a stable one
with whom other Governments could safely treat.
Should such an opening present itself, of course,
France is too generous not to become so great a
benefactress to Mexico.
The Generals appear quite to understand their
instructions. They declare war not against the
Mexican people, but against the Mexican Govern-
ment, which has insulted them by its unworthy
propositions. The Mexican people are not con-
founded with a violent and factious minority. The
free Government created by free France is, they tell
the Mexicans, the guarantee of the sincerity of their
intentions—that is, the Government originated by
the coup d'etat, and its consequences, cannot be sup-
posed for a moment to cherish designs hostile to
popular liberty. "We want," say the French com-
manders in Mexico, in the name of their master,
"equal justice for all, and we wish that it should
not be imposed by our arms. The Mexican people
must be the instruments of their own deliverance.
Our sole object is to inspire the honest and pacific
portion of the country, that is to say nine•tentbs of
the population, with the courage of manifesting
their own will." The conclusion to such magnani-
mous manifestoes of this kind is appropriately " the
flag of France has been planted on Mexican soil,—
that flag will never flinch—let all honourable men
receive it as a friendly flag—let madmen dare to
fight it."
So here beginneth French intervention in
Mexico. Where it will end, Heaven only knows.
Englishmen and Spaniards are quitting it as fast as
they can. In whose behalf ? the inquiry is still.
The old story is repeated, that a platonic admira-
tion of the Archduke MAXIMILIAN of Austria still
influences the mind of the EMPEROR. He declared
himself to a distinguished Mexican as willing to
accept any candidate Mexico might choose; a prince
from neither Spain, France, nor England could be
thought of, but an Austrian one, and of such merit
too, was unexceptionable. A bargain about Venetia,
of course, never crossed his mind, which we fear is
too likely. Some Mexicans wished for MAXIMI-
LIAN, they were doubtless the " party of order"—the
" honourable men"—so the watch-word, we suppose,
is really to be, " France for MAXIMILIAN and
Mexico !" The watch-word; what the thing
watched for is to be, it is not for us to conjecture.
We have already said that we have not the slightest
jealousy of France recolonising Mexico, if she likes.
Better that she should have it than the Federals or
Confederates or both should seize the soil and cover it
with the curse of slavery ; and, better, if the
MONROE doctrine is to be practically scouted, that
it should be done by France than by England.

It will be seen that Mr. ESTCOURT has laid be•
fore the House his resolution, which he felt himself
pledged to bring forward by his majority of one.
His resolution proposes to follow Mr. BRIGHT so
far as to abolish the present means of enforcing
Church-rates, also to give facilities for pay-
ment of expenses through pew-rents, where that
practice exists or may exist in churches.
So far no party will object. But the
remaining part of the proposal will oause, we ap-
prehend, a fierce battle. If voluntary contributions
do not prove sufficient to maintain the parish
church in a fit condition for divine service, accord- ;
ing to certain specified particulars—then a parish
to be
vestry of owners, as well as occupiers, are