The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-10 00:00:00

THE IN7E.RNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

The weather again frowned on the Exhibition
yesterday, and raised many apprehensions for the
success of the ceremonial of to-morrow. The gene-
ral opinion is, that if the weather be fine, the spec-
tacle will be very imposing, but that if it rain in
the usual Exhibition style, it will require all the
enthusiasm not only of the successful exhibitors,
but of the public, to enable them to enjoy it. The
arcades of the Horticultural Gardens provide, it is
true, a shelter, but the effect will be entirely lost if
the principal dramatis personee be excluded from
the open. Two of the French bands which are to
"assist" have already arrived, and will give the
Exhibition visitors a specimen of their musical
abilities to-day. The " Gendarmerie do la Garde"
will play under the Eastern dome, and the " Zouaves
de la Garde" under the Western, thereby dividing
the crowd and preventing too great a congestion of
visitors in one spot. There is no doubt that the
effect will be fine, provided that the commissioners
so arrange the respective orchestras as that the
musicians shall have room to ply their instruments,
as at present any unhappy performer who essays
to amuse the company is generally half smothered
by the crowd pressing round him up to the very
keys of his instrument. The King of Wurtemberg
has appointed Prince Herman of Saxe Weimar
Eisenach as representative of the kingdom on Fri-
day, and has empowered him to receive the awards
for the Wurtemberg exhibitors.
Among the distinguished visitors yesterday were
Prince Alfred, Princess Mary of Cambridge, the
Earl of Macclesfield, the Marquis de Fontanelle,
and Lord Walsingham.

The 10s. tickets are, we learn, going off with
great rapidity_
The highest temperature of the day by Negretti
and Zambra's patent thermometer were as follows :
—ln the nave 64.6 ; in the galleries, 65.5 The
observation was taken at three o'clock p.m.
The following is the official return of the number
of visitors yesterday :—By season tickets, 6,239;
by payment, 47,179 ; total, 53,418.

The following are the total numbers admitted
during the first three days of this week, compared
with the corresponding days in 1851.

1862.

Shilling day.
Monday, July 7
Shilling day.
Tuesday, July 8

Season tickets 5,333
Payment 49,920
Season tickets .. 6,554
Payment 52,329
Season tickets 6,239
Payment 47,179

Wednesday, July 9... .

Total...
18

167,554
Season tickets 4,628
Payment
Season tickets
Payment 63,385
Season tickets .. 3,849
Payment

Shilling day.
Monday, July 7
Shilling day.
Tuesday, July 8
Shilling day.
Wednesday, July 9

Total. ~

185,667

A meeting of the holders of season tickets of
the International Exhibition was convened for
yesterday, at the London Tavern, to protest against
the reduction of the price of those tickets, but at
the hour fixed for the commencement of the pro-
ceedings there were not ten persons present. After
a delay of about half an hour there was a score of
gentlemen assembled, and Mr. Harris was called to
the chair. He stated that he was unwilling the
meeting should be considered an indignation meet-
ing, for all they wanted was to be replaced in their
original position. He had received several letters
denouncing the course taken by the Royal Commis-
sioners from Mr. Nicholas, of Oxford-street, and
Mr. Ede, of Brompton-square. A letter from the
secretary to the latter gentleman justified the con-
duct of the commissioners on the 13th rule, which
stated that after the 31st of May the cost of admis-
sion on four days in the week would be ls., which
was no answer to the complaint. He suggested
that the meeting should be adjourned for a few
days that the movement might have greater pub-
licity. The proceedings then terminated.

THE ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S
FLOWER SHOW.

The Royal Botanic Society held yesterday the
third and last of their great flower and fruit shows
for the present season in their grounds in the Re-
gent's-park. The exhibition was, on the whole, a
very successful one, although the elements still ob-
stinately refused to shed over it any of their cheer-
ing influence. A light south-west breeze blew fit-
fully throughout the day. A succession of dull
clouds veiled the sky, and drops of cold rain pat-
tered at frequent intervals from their dark borders.
It was impossible to feel certain for a moment that
the frowning aspect of the atmosphere might not
end in a drenching shower, or, perhaps, in a hail or
snow storm, and no one, there, felt disposed to wan•
der much farther than was absolutely necessary
from some friendly shelter. After all, however, the
danger passed off quietly enough, and the weather,
under the circumstances, held up wonderfully. But
it would be hardly possible for anything to make
itself more disagreeable without doing any positive
mischief. It would evidently have rained if it could,
but fortunately it could not ; and the large company
which braved the angry atmosphere were duly re-
warded for their intrepidity. It was with some
surprise we found the attendance of visitors upon
the occasion was apparently even above the average
amount. But fashion is one of the great powers of
the world, and will, in spite of any accidental oppo-
sition, impose its law upon its votaries. A vast
crowd again poured into the grounds from every
avenue; they gathered in dense masses wherever
anything was to be seen or heard ; and, round the
spots which contained any objects of special interest
or curiosity they pressed in such numbers as to
make voluntary movement of any kind a very
slow and troublesome process. The ladies were
still in every way the leading
figures in the
busy scene. They were here, there, and every-
where, in all the imposing amplitude of
tmo-
dern costume ; they came arrayed
delicate
i the
nature most costly tissues and the
emoal
joourristy;
oafntdhetmhesieremo
wn
csatsatt stately
tu
y
ed
fornires s —a
fullest larg e
as
well as finest mould—bore r.nturally and becomingly
the graceful and luxurious drapery in which they
were enfolded. The flowers and fruits exhibited by
might almost be regarded as a subordi-
They were, however, for the
tnhaetesoshcioewty.
most part,
as perfect in shape and hue as ever, and under the
fostering skill and care of human hands, they offered
hardly a trace of the unfavourable influence of the
fickle skies and stinted sunshine under which they
grew into airy loveliness. The orchids and many of
the ferns and greenhouse plants had apparently
even found new and more congenial elements of life
in our recent humid atmosphere, and many of their
leaves presented a softness and a variety of colour- ,

• .4 d.
SPAUPED ....sd.

ing which we have scarcely ever seen equalled.
There were at the same time many admirable speci-
mens of a brighter and more glowing vegetation.
There were rose=, red and white and yellow, finely
tinted and of the fullest forms : there was a profu-
sion of azaleas and pelargoniums, delicate and nn-
flaunting in their varied and brilliant beauty ; and
there were many as fine fuchsias as we have ever
seen dropping in graceful showers their pendulous
hells. The fruit naturally afforded a less striking
exhibition. Many fine pine-apples and peaches bore
testimony to the success of purely artificial cultiva-
tion ; the grapes also made a fine show ; and the
strawberries, as far as we could judge, had not ma-
terially suffered from the cold and moist season
through which we have just passed. But upon this
point we can pronounce no positive opinion. It is,
after all, only by the taste that the value of fruit
can be certainly determined, and hero we had, of
course, no opportunity of subjecting it to that test.
The bands of the Ist and 2d Life Guards and of
the Royal Horse Guards (Blue) played a variety of
operatic selections throughout the afternoon.
The company present upon the occasion included
Prince Mustapha Pacha, the French, Portuguese,
Swedish, Brazilian, Italian, and American ambas-
sadors, Lord and Lady Fermoy, Lady Lopez, Lady
Hume Campbell, &c.

CONEETSAZIONE OF THE SOCIETY OF

ARTS

Yesterday evening the Society of Arts held a
grand conversazione at the South Kensington
Museum. Between, four and five thousand persons
responded to the invitations of the coqueil, the as-
sembly including a considerable number of the
aristocracy and many persons of distinction in the
arts and sciences. Among those observed were the
Duke and Duchess of Somerset, the Earl and
Countess of Shaftesbury, the Earl of Lismore, Sir
H. Rawlinson, Sir A. G. Cumming, Mr. E. Baines,
M.P., Mr. Alcock, M.P., Mr. J. Dillon, &c. The
arrivals commenced at eight o'clock, and by 10
the principal rooms, studded with objects of artistic
merit and world-wide interest, were thronged with
promenaders, who, in some of the more attractive
parts of the museum, pressed rather inconveniently
upon each other. The inspection of the vast and
varied collection was full of zest, and it was evident
that for many the wonders of this western empo-
rium were invested with the charm of novelty.
Even in close proximity to the International Exhi-
bition they did not appear in any degree to pale.
The interest of the occasion was enhanced by a
double musical performance ; one by the National
Choral Society, represented in this instance by 300
voices, under the able direction of Mr. G. W.
Martin; the other by Distin's Ventil Horn Union.
Both were very effective, and the glees and part
songs were heard with marked advantage in the
spacious hall selected for their execution. Re-
freshments in abundance were served in the picture
galleries, where the pliability of crinoline was sub-
jected to a severe ordeal.

THE FRENCH OCCUPATION OP ROME.

Yesterday morning official papers respecting
the French occupation of Rome" were issued, com-
prising four despatches from Lord Cowley, with
replies from Earl Russell, together with a despatch
from Sir J. Hudson, addressed to Earl Russell. Earl
Cowley, in his first communication, brought under
the notice of Earl Russell an article of the Journal
des Debats, in which the suggestion of a mixed gar-
rison at Rome, of French and Italian troops, was
advocated. In his reply to Earl Cowley, Earl Rus-
sell says :—" With reference to your Excellency's
despatch of the 14th March, I have to state to you
that a mix ‘d French an.l jtnlian garritmom. at -Rome
would not be convenient. It would be much better
that the Italian troops should be allowed to occupy
the whole of the Roman state on the left bank of
the Tiber, and that the French should occupy the
Vatican region of the city, Vecchia, and St. Peter's
Patrimony, on the right bank of the Tiber. Were
this plan adopted, as a temporary arrangement, the
Pope would be protected; his dignity as a sovereign
prince would be recognised; and after a time the
King of Italy and the Pope would by force of circum-
stances be reconciled. M. Thouvenel ought not to shut
his eyes to the evils of the present state of affairs.
They are-1. The French government makes itself
unpopular with the Italian, and especially the Ro-
man people. 2. No Italian government whether
of Ricasoli or Ratazzi, or anyone else, can control
efficiently the Mazzinians, who thereby obtain un-
due influence. 3. A war may spring up at any
time, the vicissitudes of which may force the Em-
peror either to abandon his own work in Italy or
to defend Italian independence at the cost of a great
and sanguinary war. Great Britain, sa far from
interposing any obstacle in the way of France, is
desirous to co-operate with her in finding a solution
for the Italian question."

In a subsequent despatch, Earl Cowley reports :
—" M. Thouvenel said that he feared your lord-
ship's plan would not be accepted by either party ;
the Pope declaring that he will listen to no arrange-
ment which did not restore to him the possessions
which he had lost, and the Italian Government re-
fusing to sanction any settlement which did not
recognise Rome as the capital of Italy. Between
the profession of two such extreme opinions no solu-
tion seemed possible, for France could not permit
Italian troops to enter upon the territory occupied
by her without the Pope's acquiescence. Besides,
said M. Thouvenel, why are we to be asked to give
up Rome and the patrimony of St. Peter to the
King of Italy ? The utmost that can be expected
of us would be the restoration of Rome to the
Romans. I said that as far as her Majesty's Go-
vernment were concerned, I would answer for their
being satisfied with such an arrangement, meaning,
of course, that the Romans should be masters of
their own destinies."
Earl Russell replies that he never
imagined the
Pope would accept the plan.
says) that even the liberal arrangement Vleknoovv well (he
of 1815 met
with a protest from Cardinal Gonsai vi. on the sub-
ject of Ferrara and Comaechi°' The Pope, there-
fore, would not consent to anything less than
the restoration of Bologna and Ancona. But
this consent need not be asked more for Rome
than it was for Bologna.
Your Excellency will re-
collect that as soon as the Austrian troops left Bo-
logna, the city
threw off its allegiance to the Pope.
So it
would be if the French troops were to leave
Rome. With respect to the consent of the Italian
Government your Excellency will perceive that
her majesty's Government propose or suggest this
plan as a temporary arrangement. If it were pro-
posed as a final settlement, an Italian minister
would, no doubt, hesitate or refuse to agree to it.
But, as a temporary arrangement, no one can be-
lieve that the evacuation of Rome, Velletri, and
Frosinone, and the left bank of the Tiber, by the
French troops would not eagerly be accepted by
the Italian people. Naples would be satisfied with
a government sitting at Rome ; and the charge that
a Ministry at Turin were attempting to Piemon-
tizzarel Italy would fall to the ground."
Earl Cowley, on March 28, informs the noble
earl of another conversation with the French
minister :—" M. Thouvenel then went into various
arguments to prove, as he said, the rights which
the Pope still possessed ae a temporal Sovereign,
and to show that the claims put forward by the
Italian Government to Rome as the capital of Italy,
as also to Venetia as an Italian province, were
totally unjustifiable according to the common un-
derstanding of international law. I do not enter
into these arguments, because it was easy to con-
vince him that they had no Weight with the Impe-
rial Government when the Legations, when Um-
bria and the Marches, When Tuscany,
and when
Naples and Sicily annexed themselves to Sardinia.
I merely mention them thus cursorily to your lord-
ship a 3 further evidence—l say it with unfeigned