The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-20 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY METEOR.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE SEN.
Siit,—A most astounding meteor, the size and brilliancy
of which far exceeded that of the full moon, appeared this
evening at 10h. 13m. Greenwich mean time. Its position
at the commencement, as taken by my large refractor, was
2h. 30m. right ascension, and the placr, where it gradually
vanished was about 7h. 50m. right ascension, the declina-
tion 48 deg. 20 min. north.

The train at the spot where it disappeared was distinctly
visible for 11 minutes, and when examined through the
telescope very much resembled the cluster of eters in Lyra.
This remarkable meteor burst about midway in the path
stated, leaving a long cemetery train of scintillating points.
The northern head, if I may use the expression, waft a
brilliant red, and gave out numberless coloured sparks
the other extremity was decidedly blue. I had several
scientific/ gentlemen here who witnessed this wonderful ob-
ject, including Messrs. J. Townsend and T. ertimpl?n,
who fully corroborate these observations, which I think
will prove of great value both to meteorologists and the
the public.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
SLATEIT, F.R.A..S.
Observatory, Euston-road, Sept. 19.

of A letter fronitt musician and composer
the success of
Euro-
pean fame, written from Prague,
describesreili, this season. The
the Italian Opera, directed
by Rood,l4e but " the chief praises
company generally was very"justly bestowed upon
of the public were," says the letter,
one of the best contraltos
CO American lady, Mdlle.FilipP t
Her forte seems to be in
that has ever visited this city.
passages is wonderfully fine.
expression, which in patheticethe
beautiful air ' In Si Barbara
Renee in Arsace she gl,i,ev,
never
produced here by any
111,v: heard them all. You will hear
Sciagura,' with an
other singer, and - have
ss.e,. I sin not mistaken."
of this young lady
Tit'
BEasURE IN THE WRECK OF THE
ER —The underwriters yesterday
THE SUNKEN
GATE STEAM •
GOLDEN
were
a advices from San Francisco, dated Aug.
9, regarding t
the q
sunken treasure, upwards of a
quarter of a
in receipt
the wreck of the Golden
Gate steam
sterling,
in
million 'ter
ship, which was destroyed by fire, and attended
with a great
sacrifice of life, while
on a voyage from San Francisco to
New York, a large amount of the specie being insured in
London. The Golden Gate had on board 1,400,747 dollars
—273,100 dols. were consigned to England, 13,000 dole to
panama, and the remainder, 1,114,647 dols., to New York.
On the news of the catastrophe reaching San Francisco,
Lloyd's agents communicated with the representatives of
the Pacific mail steam packet as to the measures to be
adopted with the view of recovering the specie, and it was
arranged that the steam ship Active, which was lately in
the service of the government as a surveying vessel, should
be chartered and sent down to the wreck in charge of Capt.
Waterman, and supplied with diving apparatus, surf boats,
Sce. Capt. Pearson, the commander of the Goitlen Gate,
returns to the wreck in the Active, and he states that the
treasure was stowed in the after f art of the ship in an iron
safe under the orlop deck. The safe was not a strong one,
and it is thought that it has been destroyed by the surf. It
is however conjectured that the best plates of the steamer
may still hold together, and that the treasure may be re-
covered, provided the weather keeps moderate. Her Ma-
jesty's steamer Mutino, Commander Graham, which was
under repair at San Francisco, having been on a reef, but
would be ready for sea in a few days, was to call off the
wreck of the Golden Gate, and to render what assistance
wag c9u4 toyardi r9C9WriI3C tia treasure.

-se
ASTON PARK, BIRMINGHAM, Sept. 18.
The annual meeting of this society has this year
been held in the neighbourhood of this town; the
dinner took place this evening in a tent erected in
this fine old park, the hall of which was the abiding
place of the Holtes a century ago, and which be-
came the " People's Park" of Birmingham four or
five years since, the opening pageant and dedication
in connexion with which were graced by the pre-
sence of her Majesty.
p The dinner to-day was presided over by Lord
Warwick, who was supported by the youthful Lord
Willoughby de Broke, Mr. Newdegate, M.P., Sir
Charles Mordaunt, M.P., the Mayor of Birminga
ham, Mr. C. M. Caldecott, &c.
The usual loyal toasts having been disposed of,
Lord WILLOUGHBY DE BROKE, who was received
with much enthusiasm, gave " The Health of Lord
Leigh," as Lord Lieutenant of the county. In doing
so his Lordship said that Lord Leigh's many good
deeds had been over and over again exemplified
years ago in the interest he took in the relief of
those who suffered from the distress at Coventry,
and more recently by an affliction which had be-
fallen the operatives of Lancashire.
Sir JOHN MORDAUNT gave " The Health of Lord
Warwick," with thanks to him for the, good services
he had done to this society and to the cause of
agriculture, the meetings oftb.esestioncgiest,iehsutbheoinvg.
no longer, in any respect, party meetings,
ing at heart the general interest and prosperity of
agriculture.
The Earl of Wmtwieß having responded,
Sir JOHN RATCLIFF gave " The Members of the
House of Commons."
Mr. NEWDEGATE, who was cordially received, re-
sponded. He rejoiced (he said) to see the cordiality
of sentiment between the county and the hardware
metropolis, which by their kindness he had so long
represented. He could assure them, he said, of the
sympathy of the Fouse of Commons, and of a feel-
ing of acuteness in which all must share—the ques-
tion of fine weather at this particular moment.
That it was imprudent to make heavy draughts on
the exchequer when the barometer was falling in
the months of August and September every mem-
ber of the House of Commons whose duty it was to
vote for the taxation of tho country felt as deeply
as any one present ; they would therefore all be
grateful for that fine day—grateful for the promise
of a harvest which might to some extent repair the
damage that had fallen on a part of the industrial
operations of the country. (Hear.) The Chancellor
of the Exchequer, equally with them, watched the
barometer; no doubt the state of the right hon.
gentleman's health varied with it; and he rejoiced
in the hope that if inquiries as to the state of
health of the agriculturists around him were made
the same answer would be given which he had often
been gratified to hear as to the condition of ladies
of his acquaintance—" that they were as well as
could be expected." Before proceeding to reply to
the toast which had called him before them he
would congratulate them on the improvement
which had taken place in the appearance of the
meetings of the association ; in fact, they com-
pletely verified a saying of George 111., who
when he saw a member for Warwickshire approach-
ing said, " Here comes Old Warwickshire, slow bat
sure"—(cheers)—for they had bided the time when
agricultural meetings were subject to much misre-
presentation, and when the honesty of purpose of
rewarding 30 or 40 years' labour was spoken of as
simply resulting in a coat and breeches. They had
outlived those times, and now their honesty of pur-
pose was recognised and acknowledged. Through-
out that county, and the towns of England in par-
ticular, that fact was now admitted that agricul-
tural associations had been highly useful, and this
utterly irrespective of those who had been more
especially the recipients of their usefulness. So much
for that part of the subject of the meeting of the
day. In returning thanks for the House of Com-
mons, he was anxious not to be suspected of Dun-
drearism, by appropriating that toast to himself.
The English House of Commons was the great
type of representative constitution in the world ;
and he mi ht be forgiven for saying that while there
were imitations of its framework abroad they were
lame compared with it. (Hear.) Why were they
so ? Because the House of Commons was not
thing of yesterday, but a creation of the good sense
of generations. It was like the ancient mansion
erected on the lawn on which they met; it was
devised according to none of the rigid rules of either
ancient or modern architecture ; the House of Com-
mons was the dwellingplace, was one of the greatest
of our institutions, and was a monument of the
good England. Solid in itself, it had
beensense of
renewed periodically, and was, indeed,
combination of convenient anomalies ; it was
calculated to afford a chamber for every phase of
public life and for every expression of public
opinion. (Hear.) It was erected upon old foun-
dations, had been raised by the genius of the
people, and adapted to modern times; while by the
solidity of the masonry it proved that the public
spirit of those who went before built not for them-
selves alone, but for us and for succeeding genera-
tions. (Hear.) Let them look at the men whom
in recent years the House of Commons had com-
prised among its members—that there had been a
Cobbett, a Muntz, a Schoiefield, and a Bright ; that
there had sat in it his noble friend the chairman ;
that it had included a Lord Russell—(cheers)—Lord
Derby, and Lord Palmerston. (Hear, Lnd cheers.)
Could there bs a better proof than in mentioning
such names of the universality of the representa-
tion of the people in the House of Commons ? That
ancient structure, which afforded full freedom for
the expression of national sentiment within the
bounds of the constitution ! They had been told
that the system of Government of which the House
of Commons was the active type was expensive and
complicated; but let them look at the United States I
Was the freedom of those peoples secure by their
mi
ght
cite seeking after simplicity ? He
cite against them the opinions of the founders of the
Union, of such men as Daniel Webster and others—.
of men who had for years warded off the adage
trophe into which the States had now been drawn.
To• accomplish all objects, and to adapt itself to
every circumstance, a Government must be expen-
sive if it was to meet every urgency. (Hear.)
The Mayor had referred to the meeting which had
taken place in the town on the previous evening
—one of sympathy for Garibaldi—but his wor-
ship know, nevertheless, that as much sympathy
was felt throughout the whole county of War-
wich. (Cheers.) It had been argued that during
the past Session the House of Commons had done
1 little, but he reminded them of the state of
biliction under which her Majesty was bowed
down ; and when the state of Europe was fraught
with so many elements of disturbance, he doubted
r
whether it was in the interest of England,
vo
whether her people would have approv.edcoauT.
attempt at great changes in her instlittuerien;
The hen. gentleman next alluded to recent
been
in Italy, remarking that Garibaldi
hoped that no
" trapped " into a mistake ; but
he hoped
out in
revengeful feeling would be carried,rereign
of France
to him. He hoped that the
Sovereign
The death of Ney
relation
would not be unmindful of H.
y,
for that act our
was not forgotten, though, P
no vindication. The
own Wellington neededwi-k,ht turn against those who
" dragon's teeth
were
the Giribaldi's great services, and
understood that the sympathies
everywhere
unmindful
f this country were in favour of
'freedom. (Cheers.)
be °
f