The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-31 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE.
Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.
TEIS EVENING, Mai 31,
Wlll be performed DER FREISC HIT CZ. Characters by Madame
'earadori, and Mdlle. Sedlaaek ; Herr Reichardt, and Herr Formes.
Followed by (10th time) the new BALLET DIVERTISSEMENT,
entitled TINE FETE EN OLYMPE.
Prices--Stalls, 7s; Dress Circle, 5s ; Ftoxes, 3s. ; Pit, 2s. ; GallerY,
Is.; and Private Boxes, One, Two, Three and sour Guineas. The
Boa-otlice open daily from Ten till Six, where places ma
and
Y be
esoured. Private Boxes and Stalls to be had of Messrs. Leader
Cock, 63, New Bond-street.

THEATRE ROYAL HALM ARKET.
Under the management of Mr. Suckstone.
THIS EVENING, MAT 31,
Will be performed the Drama of THE KNIGHTS OF THE
ROUND TABLE. Characters by Messrs. Chippendale, Howe, G.
Vandenhoff, W. Farren, Compton, •and Buckstone ; Miss Reynolds,
Miss E. Grey, and Mrs. Fitswilliam.
After which, the entirely new and original E
extravaganza entitled
1111. BUCKSTONE'S VOYAG ROND TH GLOBE (IS LEI-
cfIESTER-SQUARE), written by J. R. Planche E , Esq.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Management of Mr. Cas.mts Essa.
- THIS EVENING, Mar 31,
Wilt be performed THE MARRIED UNMARRIED. Characters
by Messrs. W. Lacy, Ryder, and Cathcart; and Misses Heath and
Murray.
Followed by FAUST AND MARGUERITE. Characters by
Messrs. C. Re= and David Fisher ; Mrs. Winstahley and Miss C.
Loci °req.
After which, AWAY WITH MELANCHOLY. Characters by
)t sere. Meadriws, D. Fisher, and Saker ; and Misses Murray and
Day.

THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI.
Proirietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste
THIS EVENING, MAT 31,

Will be performed TILE MARBLE HEARP; or, The Sculptor's
Dream. Characters by Mews. P. Bedford, L. Murray, Ben. Web-
ster, and C. Selby; Madame Celest,,, 5115 s Woolgar, and 31138 E.
Harding.
Followed by THE NIOUSTACIIE MOVEMENT. Principal cha-
racters by Messrs. 0. Smith,. Keeley, and Farselle; Mrs. Keeley,
and Miss Mary Keeley.
After which, THE OVERL \ NT) ALTRIZY TO coNstxNrt-
YOPLE, Ai UNDERTAKEN BY LORI) BATEMAN, WITH
Iv I'REEsTING PARTICULARS OF TILE FAIR •Aoenn.. Prin.
elpalcharacters by Mr. Paul Bedford and Mrs. Keeley.

OLYMPIC THEATIIE.
• Leases and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.
THIS EVENING, MAY 31,
Will be performed THE HAPPIZAT DAY OF MY LIFP. Ch
r %eters by Messrs. F. Rohm, J. ;1 Wnite, anl Vincent;
Mrs. Chatterley, miss P. Horton, and Niisi Nlarston.
To be followed by THE Fr ItS Character. by Messrs.
Alfred Wigan, Leslie, Frank., Harwood Cooper, an.l Vincent ; Miss
P. Horton, and Misa Wyndham.
After which, TILE MU 111IY. Characters by Messrs. 11. Wigan,
Robson, I. Cooper; Misses Marston and E. Turner.

STU-B.ND VIE-I.TUE.

Ftt4e Lessee Mr. F. W. Alter:AL—Directress. NilS.4 Rebecca Isaacs.

TILLS EVENING, MAi 31,

Will be performed BLEA.K 110173 E; or, The Ghost.'s Walk.

Alter which, THE MARBLE LOVER.
To be followed by the New Be let Divertissement, entitled THE
SEA NYMPH'S CAVE, in which the Misses Guineas will appear.
To" conclude with THE BONNET-BUILDERS' TEA PARTY.
Stalls, 55.; Boxes, 35.; Pit, Is. 6d; Gallery, 6d.; Private ti.ixes,
£1 I Is. 6d., to be had of Mr. Allcroft. 15, New Boni-street

ASTLEY'S EUROPE'S NATIONAL A %IPIIITiIEA
Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.
Last Five Nights of the Nautical Drama and the Ballet.
THIS EVENING, Mar 31,
Will be presented the now grand Nautical mil Equestrian spec-
tacle, embodying n wet and extraordinary exacts (written b 7 Mr.
Nelson Lee), entitled A TALE OF THE SPAILifI WAR; or,
The Horse of tha Wreck. The horses expressly trained by .llc. W.
Cooke.
Followed by a Novel Routine of VOLS AU VENT; or, Scenes
in the CIRCLE.
To conclude with a Grand Ballet, entitled THE STAR OF THE
RHINE.
Ron-Ofnee open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W.
West.

ROYAL SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.
Open for the Season.
BRILLIANT ROUTINE OF ENTERTXINNIENTS.
Engagement of those Eminent Vocalist 4,
Miss POOLE, Miss RA.NSFORD, and Mr. MANVERS.
THIS EVENING, Mat 31,

The gigantic Panorama of Chusan, extensive and interesting
Menagerie, 9 Lions, 3 Elephants, 2 of which are the smallest ever
exhibited, 2 Tigers, 2 Giraffes, &c. &.?,. Grand Vocal and Instru-
mental Concert, in which Miss Poole, 31i.,s Ransford, and Mr.
Manvers will appear. Unrivalled Military Band, conducted by the
Messrs. C. and D Godfrey. Remington's Aerial Bridge, Cantclo's
Egg-hatching Machine, Marriott's Industrious Bees, and various
Novel Attractions. Concluding with the Bombardment of Chusan
by the British Fleet, Explosi )n of Chinese Ships, and grand display
of Fireworks by Soathby,—Admission, Is. ; Concert, half-past 6 ;
Fireworks, quarter to 10.

• HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS Div —Morning 26 min.aftor 4 Evening 43 min.aft. 4
To•Mosaow—Morning 2 min.after 5 Evening 21 min.aft. 5

THE WEATHER.—Sus Orrice, NAT 31.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
66—highest since noon yesterday.
49—lowest this morning and during the night.
66—this day, at noon.

- BAROMETER, 30'02.
WIND, W.S.W.—Light breeze, and cloudy.

Tb ifrt. ri,- ,Ork, 40_,.mid..: ~0‘,..
'
t gy
.‘t"Silyjc: "lb'

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1854.

Byegones, in all sudden changes of Ministerial
opinion, had better be byegones—otherwise we
should feel marvellously tempted to take as a text
one sentence from Mr. BRIGHT'S last slashing
peroration. Allusion being here made, of course,
to the suggestive comment of the Hon. Member
for Manchester, upon the scurrilities indulged in
by one or two of her MAJESTY'S present Minis-
ters, in regard to a potentate now acknowledged
by them to be the faithful ally of England—one
who was vituperated by those most prescient and
sagacious statesmen little more than eighteen
nonths ago, as among the most atrocious of poli-
tical criminals, and who, nevertheless, at this
moment, as the friend of England, has in his
possession no less than four of the great
capitals of Europe—Paris, Rome, Athens,
and Constantinople. Enough, however, has
been said through that contrast of a deplorable
Past and a remarkable Present. The reflective
and conscientious readers of The Sun will bear-in
mind that from first to last this journal has been
consistent in the matter referred to in its sustained
and outspoken arguments. They will remember
that precisely m we think now upon this subject,
when our voice is Only heard in the midst of the
prevailing and accordant roar of the majority—
so we thought and ec ws spoke when we were
almost alone in the minority, and when to speak
plainly and to the purpose as we (lid was only to
be howled at as a 'ebase exception:,
and to be
pelted with " the pitiless storm" of
enuo
In this matter we need onl pvep::tiraotbhourtialathumoryslyee.
y r •
who have watched our cc'
during
.the lapse of the usturlstr
have the merit at least of a bold, and
resolute, and unbending consistency. We, at any
rate, have not blown
hot and cold merely accord-
ing to the changes of fortune towards the object
first of abuse and then of adulation. As we
thought and spoke in 1851 and 1852, we have
thought and spoken in 1853 and 1854. Our
arguments then and now will bear a careful and
minute comparison. We cannot conceive to our-
selves the reasonableness of crime being justified
by success. Neither can we recognise anything
but tokens of glaring moral obliquity in covering
the same man with panegyrics to-day who was
Yesterday the subject only of your most ferocious,
and vociferous, and implacable, and malignant
execrations. There appears to us in all this
a glaring and astounding contradiction. A
contradiction none the less reprehensible, and
none, the less noteworthy, whether it be uttered in
a Ministerial speech from the hustings or from the
$o or of .Parliament, or whether it be printed in
the leading columns of a morning or a weekly

newspaper. Particular reference need not be
made to the harangues delivered not so very long
ago at Halifax by the President of the Board of
Control, and at Carlisle by the First Lord of the
Admiralty. Quotations, verbatim et /iteratim,
need not be gathered from the files, not so very
recently completed, of our numerous contempo-
raries. The sentiments expressed by both are,
without all these aids, vividly enough in the popu-
lar remembrance. It may be just as well that
they should not be altogether overlooked. Enough,
however, upon this head—Byegonea are to be

By egon es.
Another sentence uttered by another speaker in
the course of the same evening's discussion, from the
report of which we have taken the foregoing taunt
directed against the Cabinet by the Member for
Manchester—deserves a word of comment and a
passing recollection. Reference is here made to
a remark which that night fell from the lips, not
of Mr. BRIGHT, but of Lord JOHN RUSSELL. It was
when the Noble Leader of the House of Commons
reiterated the eulogium pronounced by himself
four or five sessions back upon the chivalrous and
patriotic foreign policy of Viscount PALMERSTON.
It was distinctly and voluntarily asserted on Mon-
day
evening in the House of Commons by Lord
JOHN RUSSELL, that he thinks now, as he thought
then, in regard to the foreign policy of Vis-
count PALMERSTON. If so—if so—then why,
my Lord Jonzt RUSSELL, why in the name
of common sense, why in the name of
consistency was Viscount PALMERSTON (during the
interval between " now" and " then") abruptly
and even ignominiously (because so abruptly)
expelled from his position at the head of the Fo-
reign-office in 1851 ? Why was this ? Ah !
" thereby hangs a tale." A State secret, my
Lord, to be spoken of not even in a whisper. A
matter to be snugly hushed up as a thing irre-
levant, or, at least, singularly inconvenient. The
tabooed chamber of diplomacy with the little tell-
tale key—like that of BLUEBEARD in the nursery
tale. Mr. THA CKERAY speaks in one of the
earlier chapters of his new story about our
all having at home a grim old skeleton, hid
away somewhere in a dark cupboard. Well—
here is the State skeleton of the Government.
Shut it up. Don't talk of it. There are other
matters surely to discuss and examine into.
Granted. And yet the public at large cannot
for the life of it help thinking about that grimly
skeleton hid away somewhere, cannot help casting
further glances in its supposed direction—particu-
larly when there are still delays and delays, and war
and yet no war, and German influences and Russian
partialities everywhere apparent in the hesitations
and procrastinations of Government.
People can't help thinking about that State
secret connected somehow with the foreign policy
of England, as embodied in the person of Lord
PALMERSTON.
People can't help thinking of this any more
than they can help meditating now and then in
reference to the Ministerial inconsistency displayed
within a very brief interval from the present time,
iu reference to the Imperial ally of her Britannic
MAJESTY'S Government.

The national fete day has arrived. The clerk
of the weather has proved more than usually be-
nignant, kindly complying with the wishes of his
(on this occasion) numerous patrons. The showers
of Monday and Tuesday have left nothing to
be desired with respect to soil or road. Every-
thing looks auspicious, and the long pent-up and
daily increasing excitement has at length reached
the utmost pitch of intensity. It is no longer at
Merely fever-heat—the " pot is boiling over"—
the crisis of the disease has arrived.

Every one, from the peer to the peasant, from
" the roses, pinks, and tulips" of Belgravia or
Tybunaia, to the " tag-rag and bob-tail" of St.
Giles or Whitechapel, are indulging in the Sattvr-
nalia. Every one rushes to the spot—no chain
could bind one who has speculated to his ordinary
pursuits on this eventful day. Business is sus-
pended for the time being—no customer Would make
an investment save on one of the " probable
starters." No commissions--save betting com-
missions—will be executed. And it is just as
well that no effort should be made, for, were it
otherwise, they could not sufficiently divest their
minds of the prevailing mania to deal with any
degree of coolness. The streets are deserted—
London has really " gone out of town." It looks
for the time being like a plague-stricken city, and
the few saturnine and melancholy individuals who
are to be seen wandering through the silent
thoroughfares, clearly indicate by their woe-begone
aspects that their hearts are elsewhere—that no-
thing but direful necessity has compelled them to
abstain from running with the current, and swel-
ling the ranks of those assembled on the Surrey
Downs, to behold the satisfactory performance of
the " trick for the thousands," and the inaugura-
tion of the fortunate recipient of the " Blue
Ribbon of the Turf."

We shall not trespass on the province of the
sporting writers by venturing .on a sketch by an-
ticipation of the scenes along the various routes
by which the appointed locality may be -reached;
nor shall we assume the " mantle of prophecy,"
or speak of the probable winner either positively
or by vague intimation. We :leave these depart-
ments exclusively to our able coadjutor, who,
though styling himself " A Fresh Man," ex-
hibits unmistakeable evidence Hof great experience
and acuteness combined, which enable him to
collect the necessary data, aad to draw correct
conclusions. No, we look rather to the effect of
this strange and overwhelming excitement on the
national character—this wild enthusiasm that
relieves the " hardness of the. times," and makes
us fcr a moment doubt whether it is indeed " the
age of iron" in which we are living.
The " GRADGRINDS" and " BOUNDERBYS" may
deprecate the temporary insanity that diverts
parties from the pursuit of " the main
chance," and induces them to risk their
hardly-acquired savings on such doubtful events.
They question the utility of such exhibitions ;
and, if their power was coequal with their will,
would suppress the sports of the field just as they
keep the Crystal Palace closed on the only day
in the week when the masses could visit it,
or seek to prevent the operatives of Glasgow
from enjoying pure air on Sundays, thereby
driving them into public-houses, and confirm-
ing them in habits of intoxication. But
a time-honoured adage declares that "itis a poor
heart that never rejoices," and we know that the
avoidance of play is calculated to make " Jack a
dull boy." A certain degree of amusement is in-
dispensable. It induces parties to work more
energetically and efficiently while they are at it.
And, now that the temptation to speculate beyond
the means is removed by the suppression of the
betting-offices, we know not that the parties
could apply a holiday to a better purpose than in
visiting the Epsom Downs, and inspecting the
best horses of the year, prior to the contest for
the Leviathan Stake. Suchexhibitions excite and
maintain the spirit of fair play, by which Eng-
lish hearts are so strongly animated.
As it is, the Irishman does not look forward
with greater devotion to the festival of ST.
or the Welshman to that of ST. DAVID,
than the Englishman to his " Derby Day." He
of it for
thinks monthsth before its advent, and dull
rainy weather on
a regular holiday inietthersaminnedetr°lii occasion nanis d looked on
vicinity.
t yas.
a real misfortune. beginning to be regarded as
all legislative laboue
rs
Parliament has lone,
recognised it, by sus-
pendinga
sufficient
number
matter how
bter,o,f urgent the business,
the sittings of
mem-
bersHou sceo.ul” d
Thenot pboeinctololfecstuedspetnodo.ienthguerar make a
the Superior Courts has also been ventilated, a d
may very probably be speedily adopted. The
difficulty of inducing jurors and witnesses to at-
tend is a strong argument in favour of the change,
and even the gentlemen of the long robe them-
selves would have no objection to doff their wigs
and gowns, and discuss their luncheons under the
shadow of the Grand Stand, and, in place of dis-
playing feats of intellectual gladiatorship, to hob or
nob in flowing bumpers of genial champagne—nay,