The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-31 00:00:00

FRANCE.

BOURSE, July 29.—Two o'clock.—Speculators
are principally occupied in looking forward to the
approaching settlement. Monday being option day
great efforts are made to " bear" the market that
the premiums may be abandoned ; but these efforts
are less successful than yesterday, and prices are
much better maintained, and in many cases with a
significant advance. Threes are in advance of 15c.,
at 67f. 47ic. Credit Mobilier Shares had at one
time an advance of llf. 25c.—at 730 f. They are
now worth 725 f. The New City Bonds maintain
a premium of 3f. Three o'clock.--The market
closed as follows :

4-1 per Cents 97 30
Do. end mouth —
3 per Cents.
Do. end month 67 52
Credit Mobilier
Do. end month 726 25
Bank Shares 3800
Credit Foneier —
Italian Loan 65
Do. end month 64 92
RAILWAYS.
Cash.
Orleans

Ditto Threes
Mexican Loan 46
25
Do. Bonds —
Russian —
Austrian —
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —
Deferred
Roman

Acct.
833 75
... 1045 -
- ... 843 75
557 50

Northern .
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern
Western
Eastern — ... 520
Sardinian
Austrian — ... 412 50
Lombard —— ... 478 75
North of Spain — ... 181 25
Saragossa — ... 317 50
Ditto to Barcelona — •••
Roman _, ... 213 75

Important Declaration of Bavaria, Saxony,
and Hesse•

FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAINE, July 28.

In yesterday's sitting of the Federal Diet the
representatives of Bavaria, Saxony, and Hesse pre-
sented the following declaration : _ _ _

" When the Federal Assembly on the 7th of De-
cember, 1864, resolved to regard the execution in the
Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg as terminated,
and to cede the possession and administration of
those Duchies to the Governments of Austria and
Prussia, it was decidedly in the hope and expecta-
tion, frequently expressed, that the time had arrived
when the Duchies should be restored to a regular
status, recognised upon all sides as their right, and
to independence under their own hereditary prince,
and that the attainment of this object would be
facilitated by that resolution. The Federal Assem-
bly gave expression to this expectation by the reso-
lution of the 6th April. It has nevertheless not been
realised, on account of frequent differences of opinion
having arisen respecting the right of inheritance and
the future relations of these countries to Prussia. It
cannot, however, be concealed that a longer dura-
tion of the provisional state of things has the most
prejudicial effects upon the Duchies themselves, as
well as upon their relations with the German Con-
federation. In this respect it must particularly be
pointed out that the constitutional activity of the
legislature of the Duchies is at a standstill—that their
voice in the Federal Diet is suspended, and that the
Federal Contingents to be furnished by them have
not been fixed. In this state of things it appears to
be as judicious as it is right and politic to claim the
co-operation of freely elected representatives of the
countries whose weal or woe is at stake in order to
settle the questions still in suspense. In this manner
might be introduced and developed in so far as a
general representation of both Duchies would be
convoked, the most natural means to give security
to the historical and inseparable connexion between
the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein and protec-
tion to both—viz., the admission of Schleswig into
the German Confederation.

e dm s
ffoorr
otohme
pFeendseartai
ol s Assembly
for
oboys t
sr eonfo uthee ne
execu-
tion c itsu -
tion in Holstein and Lauenburg, and
ing in the war expenses incurred in Schleswig
to re-
lieve the financial position of the Duchies from the
burdens which weigh heavily upon them if they had
to bear them alone. It has certainly, therefore, given
real satisfaction to all German Governments to have
seen it stated that negotiations have been carried on
.between the Governments of-Austria and.Prnssia re-
apecting the convocation of representatives of the
Duchies. On the one hand the Federal Assembly
have all the more reason to give this intention their
approval and fullest consideration, since it promises
itself a welcome and valuable basis for future dis-
cussions and resolutions from the manifestations to
be expected from these representatives, and on the
other hand the hope is justifiable that the Govern-
ments of Austria and Prussia will not reject the
above-mentioned views."
Confident of this fact the Governments of Bavaria,
Saxony, and Hesse, move,—
" That the Federal Assembly resolve—
"l. To ask the Government of Austria and Prussia
what steps they have taken or intend to take to bring
about a solution of the still pending questions rela-
tive to the Duchies, especially whether they intend
to convoke a general representation, elected by free
votes, of the Duchy of Holstein in common with a
similar representation of the Duchy of Schleswig to
co-operate in the solution of these questions and at
what period this Convocation, to hasten which has
been shown in the declarations to be most desirable,
may be expected to take place.
" 2. To request the same Governments to take
steps for the admission of the Duchy of Schleswig
into the German Confederation.
" 3. In this event, and as soon as the confident
expectations expressed in the resolution of the Diet
of the sth April last has been realised, to declare its
readiness to renounce its claims to the compensation
for the costs of execution in Holstein and Lauen-
burg, and participate in bearing the expenses of the
war in Schleswig, either by the Diet in its entirety
bearing the expenses of the war, or by a propor-
tionate amount being assumed by those States of
the Confederation who took no part in the war."
The resolution was referred to the Committee on
Holstein affairs to report thereon.

The Guild of Literature and Art.
INAUGURATION OF ITS INSTITUTION.
Fourteen years ago there was set on foot the pro-
ject of a Guild or Brotherhood of Literature and
Art, the two principal promoters of the enter-
prise being Sir Bulwer Lytton and Mr. Charles
Dickens. With the particu:_ars of its original foun-
dation, almost every one who is in any way interested
in the history and the fortunes of the cultivators of
Literature and Art in this country, is already tole-
rably well acquainted. A few particulars in regard
to the records of the Guild will here suffice at any rate
to recall the salient facts of those same records to the
recollection of the generality. For the establishment
of this Guild, the means taken to raise the necessary
funds were of the very simplest character. [Sir
Edward Lytton gave some acres of land on his
estate near Stevenage, in Hertfordshire, as a site for
a proposed Guild Institution. Besides which, the
Right Hon. Baronet wrote, expressly in furtherance
of the pecuniary interests of the Guild, a five-act
drama, entitled, " Not so Bad as We Seem, or
Many Sides to a Character." A drama that, not-
withstanding the good-humoured pleasantry—one
that the dramatist himself must surely have been
fain not only to have forgiven but oven to have
laughed at (if it ever came to his knowledge)— with
which it was spoken of by a famous wit long
since dead and gone, namely, to the effect that—
" Not So Bad As We Seem is not so good
as we expected !"—ran a radiant career first of
all in the metropolis and afterwards through-
out the provinces, acted as it was by a dra-
matic company comprising among its members
many literary men and artists of distinguished e-
putation. The profits derived from the representa-
tion of this play, were intended from the outset to be
devoted, with such subscriptions as might be re-
ceived from professional and honorary members,
to the erection and endowment of " the Guild
Institution," which was designed to consist of several
residences to be occupied by members elected on
the foundation. The objects of the proposed Guild;
as stated in one of the original prospectuses,
were, briefly, these—To encourage life and annuity
assurance among its members on more favour-
able terms than such insurers could obtain without
its aid ; to assist its members in temporary distress,
to pay their premiums when they become due ; to
establish a provident sickness fund ; to endow an
institution which shall have at its disposal certain re-
sidences and annuities, to which only members and
(as to annuities only) the widows of members shall
be eligible to be elected, which shall not be an in-
stitution of an eleemosynary character, but with
which some popular service shall be associated, and
from which the public shall derive some educational
advantages. Towards the furtherance of this gene-
rous design, and by the means already related, a
fund of some Four Thousand Pounds was collected
together, chiefly through the performance of Sir
Bulwer Lytton's brilliant Gift Comedy, exquisitely'
performed, as that Comedy was, to crowded
houses throughout the country by Mr. Charles
Dickens and his Amateur Company of Comedians.
The acting and publishing copyright of the play
was, we are informed, afterwards sold to Mr. B.
Webster and others, thereby producing a supple-
mentary
£550 sterling. In addition to these sums,
the Queen and the late Prince Consort sent a dona-
tion of £l5O. Mr. Charles Dickens gave fifty guineas,
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton promised two acres of
land on his estate at Stevenage, in Hertfordshire,
and the then Mayor of Manchester (the town in which
some of the most profitable performances were
given), Sir Charles Eastlake, Mr. J. W. Gilbert,
Mr. Henry Hallam, Lady Chantrey, Sir William
Hamilton, the Mayor of Liverpool, " Barry Corn-
wall," Miss Martineau, Sir Fitzroy and Lady Kelly,
Samuel Rogers, together with about 50 other ladies
and gentlemen sent other large and small subscrip-
tionii and donations. Before anything could be
done, however, with the four thousand pounds
thus collected to carry out the design of Mr. Charles
Dickens and his friends, it was found necessary to
get the legal sanction of a charter. When the char-
ter was obtained another difficulty arose. It was
found that the bye-laws, prepared under what ap-
peared to be the best legal and professional advice,
compelled the council to leave the Guild Institution
Fund—the four thousand pounds—untouched for a
period of not less than seven years, so that they could,
after all, only invest this money in Consols, and
quietly bide their time! The investment was made
at an unfavourable period, when the Three
per Cents. stood at a considerable premium,
the interest on the original capital being
in consequence partially lost when the day came for
selling out and Consols stood at a considerable dis-
count. During this seven years' trance the apathy of
the literary and artistic class was not the only thing
which the promoters of the Guild had to contend
against. The usual amiability and thoughtless jocu-
larity of the literary profession were exercised to in-
vent stories to account for the presumed disappear-
ance of the £4,000 sterling, and the severest critics
were those who had taken no share in the labour of
getting this sum together. The seven years expired
at last in 1861, and the critics and opposition cliques
found that the money had neither been fraudulently
nor unwisely squandered, but had been merely para-
lysed by the perverse operation of the law. At length,
after the lapse of all these years, during which inter-
val the generous scheme of the original projectors of
the Guild has been lying thus compulsorily in
abeyance, the task—never once abandoned by
them as hopeless, but simply laid aside—
has been brought to a happy comple-
tion ! The Guild Institution has been actually
built, and built too at once substantially and pic-
turesquely. Three handsome residences in the
Gothic style have been erected on the allotted
ground, the structure fronting the high road, at the
distance of about a quarter of a mile from the plea-
sant town of Stevenage. The situation is an ad-
mirable one. The site is elevated, and commaLds
an extensive view of a fine country. Near to the
residences are a number of curious tumuli close to
each other, popularly known as the Seven Hills of
Stevenage. Nearly three miles distant from
this point, in a southerly direction, is situated Kneb-
worth, the seat of Sir Edward Lytton, the
green woods of the • Park bounding the undu-
lating corn-fields which intervene. The residences,
designed by Mr. H. A. Darbyshire, honorary
architect to the Guild, are exceedingly picturesque
in appearance, and are constructed with a due
regard to the convenience and comfort of the occu-
pants. The building is approached by an ample
carriage-sweep. The two end houses, which are larger
than the centre one, are winged, with pointed gables,
the windows of the apartments in the upper story
being bayed. An open corridor, carried on arches
resting on pillars, stretches from wing to wing, and
the entrance to each dwelling is beneath this. Over
the central door, the stone arch of which bears the
inscription, " Institution of the Guild of Literature
and Art, Anno Domini, 1865," there is a fine oval
window. The building is of red brick, with stone
drapings. Each residence contains three sitting
rooms, together with bed-rooms, dressing-rooms,
and well-arranged offices. There are also
spacious gardens, pleasantly bounded by fertile
fields and green plantations. A roadside
public-house and tea-garden, laid out with
much care and taste, and furnished with something
between a village skittleground and an American
bowling-alley, has sprung up, it may here be remarked,
nearly opposite the future home of distressed nien
of learning and genius. To give this little tavern
a yet stronger claim upon the custom of these said
authors, artists, and their friends, it has been called
(by permission of Mr. Charles Dickens) " Our
Mutual Friend"—a capital title by the way for any
good ale-house.
On Saturday afternoon, the building being com-
pleted, the Vice-President of the Guild, Mr. Charles
Dickens, accompanied by nearly thirty of that same
literary and artistic Brotherhood, went down to
inspect (and so far to invigorate) the Guild Institu-
tion—afterwards driving over to linebworth,there to
partake of the hospitality of the President of the
Guild, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton.
The Dane«r in the Morning Star, speaking of
himself and his brothers who were thus assembled
together on Saturday, writes as follows We
were men who were earning our living by the
pursuit of literature, journalism, and art ; novel-