The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-07 00:00:00

THE GOVERNMENT AND BRIBERY

AT ELEC2IONS.

The following letter is being extensively circu-
lated among the Lberal members of the House of
Commons :

" Dear Sir,—Tl: Committee of the Ballot Society
feel it to be their imperative duty to call the most
serious attention the friends of the Ballot in Par-
liament to the. frigitful increase in the use of all
kinds of corrupt ani undue influence which charac-
terises our Parliamentary elections, and which if not
soon checked will complete the demoralisation of our
constituencies, and destroy every remaining vestige
of public principle and electoral independence.

" The Committee would remind the Parliamen-
tary advocates of Freedom of Election, that those
peraicious influences and results are not now con-
fined to small places, but are rampant everywhere,
and are admitted to be triumphant by all parties ;
hence we find that in North Yorkshire and Oxford-
shire the landed proprietors are alleged to Le the
operators and landlord power the instrument em-
ployed. In Longford and at Birkenhead the Roman
Catholic priests are said to be the aggressors, and
religious authority the weapon that is wielded.
In Nottingham it is the mob that is the tyrant and
mob law that defies all opposition ; and in Preston,
Grimsby, Wakefiell, and other places both parties
charge each other with being perpetrators of the
most barefaced coriupticn.
"Under these circumstances, and seeing that the
only remedy which the Government proposes to
apply to this monstrous evil is the re-enactment of
the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, which the
Times at its first enactment designated a pom-
pous profession meant tobe inoperative,' and which
everybody admits to have been utterly useless, the
Committee would respectfully ask whether the time
has not come when a stand should be made for at
least a trial of Vote by Ballot, a measure that is
resorted to by every other enlightened community
and by our own, in almost every case except that
of Parliamentary elections.
" The Ballot has been discussed in the House of
Commons until both argument and sophistry are
exhausted, and only jokes and bantering remain,
and yet its adoption is prevented by a motley ma-
jority, led on by a professedly Liberal Premier;
if this is to continue, that which is called the Li-
beral party' will son be a hopeless minority—
their honest and hardworking adherents will cease
to take interest in their cause, and their less reli-_
able supporters will succumb to the better tactics
and superior wealth of the so-called Conservative
party. This state of things may be of little con-
sequence to Lord Palmerston and his Anti-Ballot
Whig supporters, bu: the Committee cannot sup-
pose that it would be welcome to the great body
of the Liberal members of the House of Commons.

" The preservation of public independence and of
a free public opinion are, in the estimation of the
committee, of far greater importance than the pre-
servation of any administration, however satisfac-
tory its foreign policy may be ; indeed what can be
a greater anomaly or a greater injustice to this
country than to have a Goverment which upholds
liberty in foreign states, while it refuses freedom of
election at home.
"It is then with the utmost confidence in the
propriety of this appeal, that the committee call
upon the friends of the ballot in Parliament to de-
mand of a Government of whose party they form
so large majority, that it should adopt the ballot as
a Government measure, either as the permanent
method of taking votes, or at least for a trial, during
such a period as would be sufficient to test its
adoption to the purpose proposed.
" The committee would be glad to know whether
you approve of the course suggested, because in that
case they will invite you to a conference with other
approving members, to decide upon the best plan of
action.—An early reply will much oblige,
" I am, dear sir, yours faithfully,
" J. F. BONTEMS,
" Hon. Sec. to the Ballot Society."

DESPATCH OF MATLS.—The Inman steamer City
of Baltimore will be despatched from Liverpool for New
York to-day, with mails for the United States, &c. On
Saturday the Cunard steamer St3otia will be despatched
from Liverpool for New IC ork, with mails for the United
States and North America. As the Great Eastern will
be crossing the Atlantic at the same time as these
steamers, much interest is attached to their passages, and
bets on the respective boats have been extensively offered
and taken.

EXCAVATIONS IN ROME.—A letter from Rome
states that the excavations on Mount Palatine continue to
attract much attention. The immense quantity of rubbish
which covered the pavement of the building erroneously
styled the Temple of Apollo, has been removed and access
obtained to the vaulted rooms below, two of which are now
quite cleared. Tho first, immediately below the Casino
Farnese, appears to have been stripped of all its ornaments
at a comparatively recent date, and then filled with earth.
Adjoining this is another room, which had not been de•
spoiled. The walls are Albano stone, and the corners tra-
vertine. The researches of the depredators seem to have
ended before coming there, for on removing the soil many
works of art were found. Among them may be noticed a
torso column, ornamented with acanthus leaves, and hav-
ing, instead of a capital, two pine apples connected by
leaves ; a thyrsis, in the shape of a candelabrum, also sur-
mounted by a pine apple and foliage, and numerous frag-
ments of a red marble cornice. The old pavement of rich
marbles has been carefully preserved, and all the objects
found are retained on the spot and arranged for inspection,
instead of being removed. A great number of persons
visit this new museum, and are:well repaid for their trouble
as all the articles belong to a good period of art.

HARBOURS OF REFUGE.—The annual return
showing the progress of works and harbours of refuge has,
been issued. At Dover, where £500,000 has been laid out,
and a vote of £50,000 is to be taken this year, to be fol-
lowed by £lOO,OOO more in future years, the length of the
pier founded is now 1,573 feet, and 1,390 feet have been
completed to the quay level. The South-Eastern Railway
is now carried on to the pier. At Alderney, 1,220 yards of
sea wall and 1,226 of harbour wall of the western break-
water are complete except the coring, and the promenade
wall is ready for the coping for a length of 1,217 yards from
the shore ; the base of the breakwater extends 1,636 yards
from the shore. From 500 to 700 men are kept employed
at this work, for which there has been voted £937,000, the
total estimate being £1,300,000. Of the breakwater at
Portland which is to shelter 2,130 acres of the bay, the
centre of Cite north head is 8,512 feet from the shore, and
the depth of watea 91 fathoms at low water of spring tides,
During the heavy gales of February and March many ves-
sels took refuge within this harbour, some from 600 to
1,200 tons burden, and from 110 to 120 vessels remained lu
harbour for some days. The votes already passed for the
works at Portland amount to D 73,000; the total estimate
exceeds £1,000,000. Upwards of 5,000,000 tons of rough
stone have been deposited since the commencement of the
work.

M. MEYEREEER AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHl-
nmoN.—The distinguished composer, although an im-
portant unit in the opt fling ceremony, gxcited less curiosity
than would have been the case had the aggregate of visitotil
contained people of less not€, M Meyerbeor, at the com-
mencement of the proet.edings, was trying in vain to find a
seat, when one of our musical directors, Mr.F. Jonghmans,
of the Oxford Musi,r Hall, who for the day combined with
that office the improvised duty of a " steward," espied the
composer, and, as a real labonr of love, placed him in a
good position, whence to view the ceremony. A lengthened
chat ensued, in the course of which Meyerbeer spoke of the
splendid performance of his music at rehearsal. As a grace-
fill, though unexpected return for the little attentions he
had received, and as a souvenir of his visit, M. Meyerbeer
enclosed to his new acquaintance the opening bars of his
march, appending his signature to the dedication,

IJER 211,11E871,S THEATRE.

lUCREZIA BORGIA.

The old frequenters of this house can at length
return to it with pleasure. It has got a manage-
ment once more that can feel a theatre is'a place of
art, and not simply an elegant market
which trades on special popularities. In
lieu of the Stock Exchange System of
placing some strong names in a bill as a guaran-
tee for operations which are never carried out, we
have at last that—which regards an opera as a well
considered scheme, composed of various particulars,
each of which has its significance, and which knows
that thisis the only method by which it is possible to
evolve either the purpose of a writer or the
true power of an artist. The performance of
" Lucrezia Borgia" at this theatre, last evening,
was the very best that had been witnessed under
its roof for many years. We had not merely
Madame Titiens and Signor Giuglini in their
strength, and the other characters sustained at
a point of adequate merit, but band and
chorus so improved that they completed
the sum of requisition, and rightly combined with I
other features to produce a sense of unity. The
scenery was also very appropriate and striking,
and the movement of the opera was very carefully
arranged. Of the Lucrezia of Madlle. Titien's
we can have no occasion now to dwell at
length. On the whole it must be regarded
as her very best performance. It unites
in a greater degree the passionate force
and vocal accomplishment which equally distin-
guish her, and which always enabled her in this
character to dispute the ground with Grisi. Not
that we admit their complete equality. Two charac-
teristics enter into the conception of the terrible
Duchess. She is a Princess, and she is a mother.
As the first she appeals to our imagination—as
the second to our sympathies. It was the
union of the two appeals which rendered Grisi's
view so perfect. It was the grand historic dignity
which she threw as a massive robe over a bosom
whose violent beatings she rendered so conspicuous.
Mme. Titiens, with less art, but with equal dramatic
fervour, appeals almost entirely to our sympathies in
her great effort. It is as the mother she addresses us
so sbsorbed by ber affection that her personal
wrongs and thirst for vengeance are almost °Mite.'
rated by its yearnings. With Madame Grisi the
maternal feeling was merely expanded to redeem,
not to elevate, the Duchess. It was the one hal-
lowing influence which preserved her entire soul
from ruin, in faithful accordance with the profound
and original thought of Victor Hugo. With
Mademoiselle Titiens the maternal passion
so entirely dominates her nature—it almost leads
one to doubt the existence of what it coheres
with and atones for, This view, if less imaginative,
is undoubtedly more affecting. It may be less faith-
ful to history, but it is more conducive to illusion.
This distinction supplied the key to her singing and
acting throughout the night. It was the mother's
heart, which, stamping the opening, impressed the
entire course of the piece, and was not more affect-
ing when she gazed on the treasured features of her
sleeping son, and poured out her transport at his
beauty in her exquisite delivery of the " Com'e
belle," than in her terror when threatened with
discovery, by the sudden appearance of her enemies,
she saw it would fill with horror and disgust the
soul of the only one she loved. It is in
the second act, however, and in the great
scene of the drama—when Lucrezia demands the
death of an enemy, who proves to be tier son,
and demands it from a husband who believes that
son to be her lover—that Madame Titien's view of
the Duchess makes itself felt with so much force.
Here the conflict of the emotions arising entirely
from the maternal passion—the terror at her son,s
danger—struggling with the shame of his avowal
—and only deadened by her hatred of the man
who both slanders, and would bereave her—is
painted in its varying aspects, with a mingled
breadth and delicacy, that is not more remarkable
for its vigour than its pathos. Equally impressive
is its climax, in which she urges on her son the
antidote, and still more so the close of the piece, when
he refuses to escape the doom of his companions, and
she finds that her terrible vengeance has involved as
fearful a retribution. Nothing certainly can be

finer than her acting and singing throughout
these scenes. Her delivery of the two arias, the
" Ah, to bada," in which ske turns ou her ruth-
less husband with such a superb burst of fury,
and the " Infelice," in which she so passion-
ately entreats her son to take the anti-
dote, were of a piece with the general
inspiration of the effort. Of the Gennaro of Signor
Giuglini we have even less occasion to speak. It is
the character, of all others, with which ho is most
identified, and in which, with the sole exception of
Mario, he admits of no comparison. His pure and
exquisite chest-voice, and the dreamy volup-
tuous tenderness which designates his style,
were never heard to more advantage
than in the exertions of last evening. His-' Di
Pescatore" was just as faultless and delightful as it
was ever, and so also was his share in the highly

dramatic trio of the 2d act, the" Guai se to Sfugge,"
which was deservedly encored. Hia acting also in
this sure and the last one was energetic to a de-
gree. Another feature of the evening was the
great success of a debutante. Signora Tre-
brelle—made her first appearance in the
young soldier, Mzifeo Orsini, and produced
an immediate and most favourable impression. To
a mezzo soprano voice, of excellent tone and clear-
ness, she adds spirit and ease as an actress, and the
not trifling advantages of a handsome face and per-
son. She has also the advantage of youth, being, we
should suppose, about five and twenty. Her singing
throughout was admirable, whether in the opening
recitation of her adventure with Gennaro, or in her
delivery of the Brindisi, which united in the
highest degree spirit, fluency, and elegance. This
young lady must be regarded as a dtcided acqui-
sition. Signor Gassier was the Duke, which he
sustained very effectively, giving his one aria,
the " Qualunque SiaL'Evento," with more than ordi-
nary force. The house was well attended, and the
enthusiasm of the audience very great, the principal
singers being demanded at the close of every act.

ROYAL, ITALIAN OPERA.

UN BALLO IN MASCHERA.

This last and not least favourite of the much
underrated 'Verdi was produced at this theatre
last evening, in order to provide for
three 'events—the first appearance of Signor
Mario for the season, as Ricardo; the first
appearance of Signor Della Sedie at this
theatvn in itenran and the first appearance of
Mddle. Csillag, in the character of Amelia. This
combination attached to the evening an inte-
rest not ordinarily excited. Signor Mario,
who WaB most warmly welcomed, proved
to be in full possession of his powers, and
sang and acted throughout the opera with the
utmost charm of voice and manner. Signor Delle
Sedie, who was also welcomed, ably sustained the
reputation he gained at the Lyceum as
Renato; whilst the Amelia of Mademoiselle
Csillag placed the character before the au-
dience in so entirely a new light, owing to its
singular depth of emotion that it almost rose into
a new creation. Into the great merits of this per-
formance we hope to enter on another occasion.
the house was very full, and the applause through-
out was enthusiastic.

THE CROPS IN KENT,— The weather during the
last fortnight has been very favourable for the growing
crops, and great progress has been made in field work. The
sowing of corn is now finished, and with the fine rain we
had on Thursday evening last the late sown may not be
much behind the early in yield, the wireworm having been
very busy in some of the early pieces. The appearance of
the young wheats is generally good, though some few dis-
tricts have suffered much from the late wet, and the plant
on the leys on some light soil is bare through the worm.
The Lent corn is upon the whole looking favourable and
grows very fast. A. larger breadth of pdtatoes has been
planted than usual, and although they were not got in the
ground as soon as usual, the seasons have been very good.
Cherries have suffered much fmra the late frosts, especially
the bigarreaus and reds, the crop of which in the neighbour-
hood of Maidstone will be small, The rest of the fruit at
present promises well, yet it is full early to say much about
the apple crop. Swodos and wurzel have held out well.
Keep is plentiful, and the season is certainly a very forward
one.---,South Eastern Gazette,

LATEST NEWS.

PARIS, MAY 7, MORNING.

The Moniteur of this morning publishes a decree
authorising the rail way companies to fix whatever
tariffs they may think proper for the transport of
merchandise in transit, in order to combat foreign

competition.
The Moniteur also announces that the King of
Holland arrived here last night.
The Emperor sent Prince Murat to Compiegne
to compliment the King.

BRUSSELS, MAY 7.

The Moniteur Belge of this morning says:—

" The condition of the King remained the same
throughout yesterday. At night, however, more
favourable symptoms supervened."

MADRID, MAY 6.

In the Chamber of Deputies to-day the payment
of the debt due to France was voted by 121 to 12.
Two cardinals and 20 bishops have left for Rome.

BERLIN, MAY 6 (Evening).
The elections for the Chamber of Deputies took
place here to-day.

All the members for Berlin in the former Cham-
ber have been re-elected, except Herr Kuhne, in
whose stead Herr von Hennig Plonchott, belonging
to the party of progress, has been chosen.
A s far as can be judged from the telegrams re-
ceived up to the present time from the various
provinces, most of the former representatives have
been re-elected ; among others, Dr. Waldeck, Herr
von Sybel, Chamberlain von der Hagen, and Herr
von Uarlowitz.

BRUSSELS, MAY 6.

It is asserted that a telegram was sent yesterday
to the Duke of Brabant at Seville respecting the
illness of the King.

Letters from Seville announce that the climate
of Andalusia has sensibly improved the health of
the Prince Royal of Belgium.

ITALY.

A communication from Rome, of the Ist, has the
following:—

"An encounter took place three days back be-
tween the Italian and Bourbon troops, near Talva-
terra, on the territory of Ceprano. A French
officer, at the head of a detachment of soldiers and
of four Roman gendarmes, proceeded as far as the
frontier, but was received with musket-shots. None
of his men were, however, struck, and he took 15
Bourbon prisoners. Some minutes later a conflict
almost took place between the French and the
Italian troops, but they recognised ea3h other by
the cries of ' France for ever !' Victor Emmanuel
for ever !' raised on the two sides. Some reaction-
aries have been taken to Rome, and shut up in the
castle of St. Angelo. General de Goyon seems to
have resolved to no longer consign his prisoners to
the Pontifical Government, but to keep them him-
self in the above named castle. The French exer-
cise a rigorous surveillance at Veroli ; provisions
can now no longer be carried beyond the frontier."