The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-26 00:00:00

id; SUN, LoNnoric SATURDAY, EVENING, JULY 26, 1862.

who will object to these decorations, here
and there, when examining them in de-

tail. But there can hardly be found anyone,
we should suppose, having the smallest pretensions
to taste or discrimination in matters of art, who will
seriously be inclined to quarrel with the effect any-
where produced within the structure as a whole.
The secret of which is that in the conduct of all
this elaborate work of decoration so much of the
artistic genius of the age has been combined! Sir
CHARLES BARRY, though occasionally throwing off
designs of more or less excellence in their way as
architectural improvements of the metropolis, as
visible, for example, in the instance of the sombre
1 and solid pile of the Reform Club (eclipsed since
then, however, that has been by the increase of the
marble glories of the Carlton), or, as the happier
instance of the completed fasgade of the Treasury
—Sir CHARLES BARRY otherwise dedicated the
whole of his large energies and of his many
great gifts to that " labour of love" (to
him) the perfecting, so far as it might
be practicable in one lifetime of his noble master-
piece, the NewthePalaecxeercaitseWeosftmihnisster.
eminentPre-
J
abilities, that
great revivalist of Gothic
architecture
in England, the late AUGUSTUS
had assiduously endeavoured to
forwardWELEY uclN
the internal adornment of the National
Palace, and had done this with a devotion and an
enthusiasm worthy of so magnanimous and distin-
guished a contemporary genius! Labouring on in
this way, heart and soul, until suddenly stricken
down by a terrible disease, rapidly, but in some
respects it may be followed by an otherwise deplo-
rably premature death at the early age of forty ! An
age wonderful, considering all that PUGIN had ac-
complished within so brief an interval, and bearing
in mind the completeness and solidity of the repu-
tation he has left behind him. A sculptor of great
gifts, moreover, followed the same way taken
by BARRY and by PUGlN—the chisel and
mallet, fortunately for the nation, not
failing from his grasp until nearly the whole
task alloted to uim had been done—namely, the
" carvelling out" of the numerous figures of kings,
and warriors, and statesmen, and English Worthies
generally, now gazing stonily down from the
niches, visible at every nook and corner and " coign
of vantage" of that huge and sumptuous edifice.
Within it, however, all this while, every visitor to
the building will remember there have been other
brains and other heads at work energetically and
devotedly. Among those how many of the most
illustrious of our always few, but almost always
into the bargain rarely gifted Royal Academicians.
Passing up that magnificent old Hall of RUFUS,
where so many of our Sovereigns, between the CoN-
QEROR and VICTORIA have sat enthroned upon
their coronation, the visitors to the Legislative
Palace at Westminster, advancing up the lofty
flight of steps at the head of Westminster Hall !
turning to the left into a gallery containing
on either side of it the white marble life-size effigies
of the Dii Majores of our Lords and Commons,
Masters of Oratory like BURKE, and PITT, and Fox,
and SOMERS, and that greater PITT, known vari-
ously in the two grand phases of his splendid career
as the Great Earl of CHATHAM and the Great Com-
moner ! Passing through this sculpture gallery,
the visitor to the House will remember that cen-
tral core and heart of the whole labyrinth of this
Legislative Palace—whence a lobby to the right
leads to the Lords, and a lobby to the left
(confronting it) to the Commons. Advancing
along which latter passage, those who have been
there but once will perfectly well recollect the
frescoes decorating compartments upon the walls on
either hand, the brilliant produce of the artistic
powers of E. M. WARD, R.A. Immediately on
the right, upon crossing the threshold, there
is a representation, for example, of CHARLES
11., when a young Prince, flying for his life,
disguised as a sorrily clad page, one WILL
JONES (for the which tide " BosconEL") and so
on through all these hietorical pictures, accord-
ing to the whim or fancy of the artist in selecting
his incidents. Besides the painter of these frescoes
in particular, there are others among his contem-
poraries who have for some years past been simi-
larly occupied in other parts of that superb Palace
of the English People, yonder down at Westminster.
Academicians all of them, and eminent each, even
among the Royal Academicians. COPE, another—
HERBERT, another—DANlEL MACLISE, illustrious
among the most illustrious artists of his age, having
to the same end but very recently, in the high
interests of his noble profession, produced one of the
grandest works of art England possesses—the colos-
sal fresco of WELLINGTON and BLUCHER meeting
towards the close of the famous 18th of June, 1815,
on the " foughten field of Waterloo. It was in regard
to the frescoes especially that the remarks of Mr.
CAYENDISII BENTINCK and of Mr. W3I. COWPER
wer• yesterday uttered. The former referring to
the rumoured deterioration that some among
the beautiful works of art have suffered
already, since the recent date of their
production. Happily, the last among them.
MACLISE'S " Waterloo," marks an epoch in fresco
painting here in England. No paling, no vanish-
ing of the colours now—thanks to the marvellous
invention of fresco painting in " water glass," there
successfully applied upon a gigantic scale by the
daring brush of MACLISE.
Apart from our recollection of the water-
glass system, however, as a perpetuator of the
fresh and hitherto evanescent beauties of this
wonderful art of fresco painting, it is satis-
factory to bear in mind what was said yes-
terday by Mr. COWPER in reference to the
capabilities of the building, in one of the
great halls of which he was then speaking, in
reference to its capabilities as a receptacle for
works of art of this character. " Although he
was not disposed," he said, "to agree with
those gentlemen as to some causes of the decay of
the frescoes, he was yet not of opinion there was
anything in the walls or atmosphere of the
Houses of Parliament wt ich would prove inju
rious to the fresco paintings. But it seemed to
him that there was some defect in the colouring,
in relation to which the thin pellicle of the carburet

of lime on the surface of the walls might be sup-
posed to exercise some chemical agency in combina-

tion with other colours, of which yellow ochre
formed a part. He, however, hoped it would be

found that the decay of the frescoes would be pre-
vented." Then came the Minister's reference to
the new water-glass process. Upon the virtues

of that marvellous process we certainly, we must

admit, place very much of our reliance—but it is a

reliance that VV9 are sanguine time will prove not

to have been ill-founded.

Yesterday we alluded to the opportunities that
are before us still—for the removal here of our
" Middle Row" of the Strand, there of that other
"Middle Row" down at Westminster. The
Palace of Justice, we said, will yield one of
these opportunities. While, for the other, we shall
etand indebted to the completion of the Thames
Embankment. The Palace of Justice, in truth,
when we are actually constructing it, will, in a
manner, necessitate the obliteration of Holywell-
street and the circulation respectively of St. Mary-
le-Strand and St. element
tioU a Danes, Th® comple-
the Thaniel3 rilbaukhlent at its West-
r`
minst
~ coming, as it will, we
er

hope, " patly" upon the completion, not so
very long beforehand, of New Westminster Bridge
and of the New Palace at Westminster, will equally,
we must hope, as a matter of certainty, necessitate
the obliteration from the map of the metro-
polis of King-street, Westminster! The block
of houses standing between the line of
King-street and the western extremity of the
line of Parliament-street, requiring quite obvi-
ously to be pulled down and carted away as a
glaring obstruction. All that official part of the
West-end, from Downing-street down to the river,
one of the ablest of our Ministers of Public Works
during the last quarter of a century, meaning the
present Lord LLANOVER, then—it is scarcely
half-a-dozen years since—Sir BENJAMIN HALL,
cast a covetous eye upon, in his administrative
character of Chief Commissioner. Sir BENJA-
MIN HALL, at the time we are here alluding
to, actually proposing to buy considerable plots of
ground in that direction—with a view to the reali-
sation of certain truly imperial improvements. All
the land wanted by Sir BENJAMIN—We will call
him by his present title, Lord LLANOVER
—all the land wanted by his Lord-
ship in that direction, and with the
object in view already specified, we could have
had then (but a single lustre since !) for, at the
outside, £2,000,000. Property always in a thriving
and improving capital goes on increasing in value.
It has within the last five years gone on increas-
ing and increasing in value beyond all ordi-
nary calculation. Land that we could have
bought for the nation then for £1,000,000
or £2,000,000, we should now have to
purchase by something not very far short of from
£10,000,000 to £20,000,000. That—five years ago
—was one of our opportunities ! It can now only
be looked back to as a misused, an utterly lost
opportunity. We remember the old classic myth
of the sibylline leaves. Lord LLANOVER brought
them to us then—and they were in abundance—
and they could have been had for comparatively
a song. Mr. COWPER may bring them to us in his
turn—when their number will be found to have
shrunk by an inverse proportion to the extent to
which their cost has become magnified. As far back
indeed as 1852, a committee of the House of Com-
mons decided in favour of the very purchase
we are here alluding to a purchase that
has nevertheless not yet been adventured upon !
Alluding to the appointment of that committee, of
which, by the way, he himself had been a member,
Lord LLANOVER, in Tuesday evening's debate in
the Lords, took occasion to remark that "it (the
committee) came to a resolution that it would be
extremely desirable that the whole of the ground
between Downing-street and Great George-street
should be purchased by the Government. They
had arrived at that conclusion, after hearing
the evidence of several competent witnesses,
and amongst them Mr. HUNT, now a sur-
veyor of works. It was shown clearly that if the
site in question was purchased, a great saving would
ultimately be effected when the ground was required
for the erection of public offices. A report to that
effect was made to the House of Commons, and in
consequence of that report he was directed to issue
notices for plans, and several plans were deposited.
One of those was considered most excellent; but
the whole scheme was afterwards given up." It
was, we repeat, a missed opportunity. Remember-
ing it as such, let us now take particularly good
care that when any similar opportunity arises, as
Arise it will sooner or later, let us take particu-
larly good care that then, in that new form, we
seize it.

LATESr NEWS.

CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(PER SCOTIA..

" NEW YORK, JULY 16, 3 45.
The Senate passed the Confiscation Bill on
Saturday by a majority of 27 against 13. It gives
the Confederates 60 days to lay down their arms,
and declares guilty of treason all who after that
time shall not return to their allegiance. The
penalty of treason is death, and confiscation of all
property—that is, slaves, included. The slaves of
rebels are to be set free. The Presiden! is to have
the power of pardon, or to pass the minor sentence
of five years' isaprisonment ani a fine of 10,000
dols. It is believed that the President will Yet()
the Bill.

The Confederates have taken Murfreesborough
by a daring movement.

The Government is alarmed for the safety of
Nashville, and is concentrating troops in that city.
Th© Confederates have also recaptured Baton
Rouge, on the Mississippi, the State capital of
Louisiana, and threaten New Orleans.

Vicksburg still holds out, and the Confederates
boast that it is impregnable.
A mass meeting summoned to aid the Govern-
ment on the question of enlistment was held last
night in Union-square, but was not numerously
attended.

Volunteering for the new army of 300,000 men
makes slow progress, and the qnestion of a con-
scription continues to be discussed.

It is asserted, on high authority, that General
M 'Ciellan is to be superseded by General Halleck in
command of the Army of the Potomac.
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 15.
Gold, 17 per cent. premium; silver, 10 per
Exchange on London, 1291.
Stocks depressed, and the market dull, United
States Six per Cents., 1881, 10 ; Treasury 7-30
Bonds, 1031; Certificates of Indebtedness, 99 ;
Green Backs, 107 ; New York Central, 891 ; Erie,
331 ; Illinois Central, 564.
Flour in fair demand. Breadstuffs generally
firm. Cotton in good demand—middling uplands,
45c. Provisions active.

QUEENSTOWN, JULY 25.
The Royal Mail steamer Scotia arrived here at
MO p.m. She brings 249 passengers and 752,216
dols. in specie. She landed 84 sacks of mails, 36
passengers, and proceeded at 3 p.m.; all well.

(PER SCOTIA, via ROCHE'S POINT.)

NEW YORK, JuLy, 16
The confederates have disappeared from General
M'Clellan's front.

General Jackson is reported to be moving in the
direction of Fredericksburg.
Fort Darling has been strengthened with iron-
clad batteries.

The Confederates are everywhere making pre-
parations for a prolonged struggle.
The Confederates are within 15 miles of Nash-
ville. An attack is hourly expected, and aetive
preparations are making for resistence.

Lexington, in Kentucky, has been placed under
martial law. The Confederates, under General
Morgan, are reported to be advancing upon the
town.

Th© Confederates are stated to be making mys-
terious movements in the neighbourhood of Corinth.
The bombardment of Vicksburg continues with-

out result.

Some doubts are entertained of the truth of the
Southern report of the capture of Baton Rouge.
The citizens of Memphis have been ordered to
take the oath of allegiance, or to leave the city
within five days.

The Confederate Governor Moore, of Louisiana,
has issued a violent proclamation forbidding all
intercourse of the inhabitants with New Orleans
for any purpose, and declaring that the faith of
the people in final success is nowise shaken.
The Confederate General Van Dorn has issued a
proclamation declaring his intention to protect
the banks along the river Mississippi to the last
extremity.

The Federal General Pope has issued a stirring
address to th© army in Virginia, declaring his in-
tention to lead them speedily against the enemy.

President Lincoln has transmitted a Bill to Con-
gress compensating any State abolishing slavery.
The Senate has passed a Bill admitting Western
Virginia as a State, with a clause providing for
gradual emancipation.

It is reported that, to facilitate enlistment, Vo-
unteers will be received for one year's service.
An additional tax of lc. per lb. has been im-

posed on sugar.

A lady in New Orleans named Phillips has been
sent to Ship Island for laughing derisively upon
her balcony during the passage of the funeral of a
Federal officer,

The British gunboats Lan drail and Rinaldo are
at New Orleans.

The Congress has postponed adjournment for one

day.
President Lincoln is expected to send a Message
to Congress referring to the Confiscation Bill.
It is reported be will either veto the bill, or re-
turn it with suggestions for modifications.
The majority of the members for the Border
States repudiate President Lincoln's emancipation
scheme entirely, but the minority favour the plan.
Their reply to the President will shortly be pub-
lished.
A mass meeting was held in Union-square yes-
terday. The meeting was not so numerously at-
tended as that in April last year.
Resolutions have been passed favouring persistent
efforts to crush the rebellion, and declaring empha-
tically that foreign armed intervention would be
resisted with all the strength of the country.
The majority of speakers favoured the employ-
ment of negroes in the war.
The Senate has passed the Militia Bill, with
an amendment limiting the emancipation to the
slaves of rebels.
The Confederate guerillas are becoming very
active in the Border States, destroying property
and burning the bridges.
They had captured two small towns in Missouri.
The Persia has arrived out.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, JULY 15, Evening.
Money easy. Gold, 17 prem.; silver, 11 prem.
The scarcity of coin causes great distress among
the population, and no remedy is as yet proposed.
Exchange, 128 i.
Stocks heavy. New York Central, 891.;
MI; Erie, 331.

Cotton buoyant—middling upland, 44c.
Flour improving„ and sc. higher. Wheat and
corn advancing, and 11c. dearer. Provisions, good
inquiry. Sugar, coffee, and molasses, market very
firm.

PARIS, JULY 26.
The Paris papers of to-day publish the following

BELGRADE, JULY 25.
"The convention concluded between Vefik Effendi

and M. Garaschanin stipulated that the Turkish
army should remove to a distance of three hours'
journey from the frontiers of Servia.
" Notwithstanding this convention, however,
Omar Pasha has just ordered the whole Turkish
army to approach the Servian frontier."
CETTIGNE, JULY 24.
" The Turks have fallen back from Sajaratz to
Spuz, after having been beaten with great loss by
Kirko on Saturday last."

BERLIN, JULY 25.
In the Chamber of Deputies to-day the three
treaties of commerce with France were adopted by
264 against 13. The minority was entirely com-
posed of Roman Catholic members. The votes were
taken by calling out the names of the respective
deputies.
The Minister of Finance thanked the Chamber
in the name of the Government for their great un-
animity and the respect paid to the wishes of the
Goveinment. He hoped that great benefit would
come from this important measure of peace. The
Government of the King would continue to pursue
the course upon which it had entered. Fresh proofs
of the unity prevailing among the people were never
wanting when the honour of Prussia was in ques-
tion.