The Sun.
London, England, 1836-04-21 00:00:00

PIGEON SHOOTING.

The Red House inclosure was yesterday well attended, it being
the day appointed for shooting off the Silver Vase match, open to
all England. On the last occasion four of the gentlemen tied, viz.
Mr. Taylor, Mr. Horlock, Mr. Swayne, and Mr..Bromley. The
latter gentleman was but an indifferent hand at pigeons, although
unquestionably a good field shot, until the Chalk Farm match,
when he killed ten out of twelve. The match was at twenty-five
yards rise, twelve birds each, five traps. 3.1 r. Bromley killed nine,
Mr. Taylor nine, Mr. Swayne six, and Mr. Horlock five. In
shooting off the tie Mr. Bromley resigned in the ninth round, kill-
ing three. He had certainly very difficult birds, and Mr. Taylor,
on the contrary, very easy ones. The betting was 7t04 on the
gun. Mr. Taylor was the favourite at sto 4 against the field.

•
ACCIDENT ON THE MANCHESTER RAILWAY.—
We are happy to find that, to avoid the possibility of similar
accidents on the London and Greenwich Railway, Mr. Walter,
the Managing Director, has been engaged for some time past
in so altering the frames of the carriages that, should an axis
break, the fall of the carriage would not be more than three
inches, and their being upset rendered impossible. The newly
invented break for stopping the engine, which was yesterday
exhibited to Dr. Lardner, Mr. Milne, the celebrated engineer,
and several Members of Parliament, must ensure perfect safety
to the passengers on that road.
NEWMARKET PALACE.—There are many curious
historical documents connected with the town of Newmarket
which, notwithstanding its name, show it to be a place of great
antiquity. It is first mentioned in 1227 (12 Henry III.), and
probably took its name from a market then established,though
no enrolment of its charter has hithero been discovered.
Newmarket palace was originally built by James 1., for the
purpose of enjoying the amusement of hunting, and to this
house was his unfortunate successor, Charles 1., conveyed a
prisoner by the Parliamentarians, in 1647, where he remained
about ten days. During the civil wars the house as well as
racing had fallen into decay ; but on the restoration both re-
vived under the patronage of " the Merry Monarch," who
rebuilt the " house" for his better accommodation, and hence
it has the appellation of a Royal "palace," the King making
g
it his abode, and not only personally attendin the races, but,
according with John Evelyn, keeping and entering horses
in his own name ; and then the glory of Newmarket, so long
obscured, again shone in meridian splendour.—Sporting Ma-
gazine.

says--,,was
THE COCKLE TRADE.—An Oversands correspon-
dentwas informed by the guide that for the last twenty weeks not
On crossing Lancaster Sands the other day I
less than 100 carts load of cockles have gone over every
week for the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire and Lan-
cashire, the weight of which would be little short of fifty tons.
It has been usual to notice twenty tons a-week during the
carrying months these some years back, but to the present
quantity no former period affords a parallel. I suppose the
trade will cause an annual circulation of 3,000/. in the neigh-
bourhood."--Kendal Mercury.

LITERATURE.

EDINBURGII REVIEW, No. CXXVIL
Longman, London, 1836.

Miss Baillie's recently published three volumes of
tragedies, forms the subject of one of the cleverest arti-
cles in this Number. The Reviewer takes exact mea-
sure of her dramatic capabilities ; and the frequent
passages which lie quotes from her works, fully bear
out his assertions, that she is one of the most nervous
and consummate tragic writers we have had since the
days of Shakspeare. There is indeed much of this
great writer's spirit in Miss Baillie's plays. Like
him, her plots are always progressing ; she keeps too
the main end constantly in view ; and seldom or never
intrudes a superfluous incident or character. Her
dramas are not highly finished detached scenes, strung
together without order or 'propriety ; but planned deli-
berately, and worked out with the most scrupulous
regard to keeping and consistency. Occasionally they
lag ; but this not from redundancy of description
or poetic garniture, but simply because they are over-
laid with matter. In this respect they present a
striking contrast to the tragedy of " Ion," which is
also noticed in this Number, and which halts in every
scene, from the writer's excessive anxiety to be de-
scriptive and imaginative, when he should be stern,
sententious, and impassioned. "Ion" is a fine dramatic
poem, but a very sorry tragedy. It is full to overflow-
ing of all that a poet should, and a dramatist should
not, have. The characters all talk when they should
.be acting, and appear never satisfied, or in their ele-
ment, but when they are making similies, or luxuriat-
ing in vague descriptions. Yet, if we except these
defects, modern times have not produced a nobler
work than "lon,"—one more graceful in its style, more
refined in its sentiments, or more elevated in the gene-
ral cast of its thought. " Capefigue's History of the
Reformation and of the League" adds little to one's
stock of knowledge on the subject—for who is not
well acquainted with this singular and interesting por-
tion of French history ?—but institutes a shrewed com-
parison between the Leaguers and the Orangemen :
" There are no occurrences in the religious wars of France
more interesting to us, and more pregnant with instruction,
than the formation of the League, and the calamities that
flowed from it. At
,this very moment we are threatened with
a visitation of the same kind. After slumbering for a cen-
tury in apathy and indifference, the Protestants of Ireland have
suddenly emerged into zeal and activity. Many of them,
heated by controversial discourses, and inflamed by itinerant
(maws, have become zealots and fanatics in good earnest.
Others are influenced solely by their fears of losing the political
ascendency they have so long abused. All profess a furious
and bigoted aversion to those who differ from theM in reli-
gious faith. Following the example of the Catholics of France
in the time of Henry 111., they have formed themselves into
unions or associations exclusively Protestant; and so deeply
are they embued with the intolerant and uncharitable spirit of
the 16th century, that, like Paul IV., they have no confidence
in the sincerity of any man's conversion from religious error,
and refuse to admit any. one into their lodges who has ever
been a Catholic. From small and contemptible beginnings, in
a remote and obscure province, they are now extensively
diffused over the empire ; and threaten to become as formid-
able to the state, and as destructive to the peace and order of
society, as ever the League was in France. The constitution
and spirit of the two associations arc alike. Hatred of a rival
sect, and implicit submission to their leaders, are the funda-
mental principles of both." • _ _ _

Towards the close of the article, in pourtraying the
character of Henry the Fourth, the most thorough
Frenchman that ever sate on the throne of that king-
dom, the Reviewer very properly strips that " ambi-
guous monarch" of much of the false splendor that has
been thrown around him ; and shows that he wanted
self-respect, frankness, and gratitude. But these are
qualities that France will always forgive him, in consi-
deration of his characteristic flirtation with " la belle
Gabrielle." In the notice of the " Memoirs of Sir

Humphry Davy," the Reviewer does justice to a philo-
sopher, who, towards the close of his life, was the
subject of not a little unmerited calumny. The article
is an interesting one, and will well repay a careful
perusal. " The Irish Tithe Question" is discussed
just at the fitting season, and with a moderation and
sagacity that do credit to the writer's head and heart.
" Sir John Walsh's Chapters of Contemporary History"
exposes the pretensions of this would-be historian in
a slashing, tranchant style, but not more so than the
Conservative Baronet demands. We have seldom

seen bombast, sophistry, and self-conceit more success-
fully exposed. Sir John, we suspect, will smart long
under the lash of this expert critical drummer, who
lays it on with praise-worthy vigor and alacrity. The
notice of " Von Raumer's Letters on England," con-
tains nothing that calls for particular comment ; and the
Oxford Malignants and Dr. Hampden," though
ably treated, is a subject that has lost much of its in-
terest and importance. Altogether the Number is a
clever one, though, with the exception of the review of
Miss Baillie's Plays, it contains no one article of su-
perior desert.

A DAY IN THE WOODS.
Smith. London, 1836.
This is a collection of tales and poems, the produc-
tion of Thomas Miller, a basket maker. They show
considerable powers of fancy and feeling, and we hope
will become popular. The best article in the volume
is one which appeared a short time since in a weekly
periodical, and is entitled the " Clouds."

COWPER'S WORKS. VoL.
Baldwin. London, 1836.
Southey's Memoir of the author of the " Task " is
here brought to a conclusion. The most interesting—
or at any rate the most novel portion of it, so far as
this volume is concerned—is the sketch of Hayley and
his visitors at Eartham, among whom were Cowper
and Gibbon, two names which will live as long as the
English language shall endure. The embellishments
are two in number, one of which, a view of the Ches-
nut Avenue from the Rustic Bridge, which, it may be
remembered figures in the first book of the " Task,"
bas been executed by Allen in a very superior manner.

NATIONAL EDUCATION. 2 Vols.
C. Knight. London, 1836.
Mr. Hill, the author of these volumes, has furnished us
with a most useful practical treatise, on the present state
and prospects of national education in England, which
those will do well to read, who are constantly throwing out
sneers against what they ironically call cc the march of
mind," as being productive of no earthly benefit to the
community. The author here shows, by a body of
documentary evidence, which there is no gainsaying,
the immense advantages that have already accrued to
the country from the diffusion of education and proves
that the institution of Mechanics' Institutes in the
larger towns and cities, has been the means of improv-
ing the health and morals, by drawing them away from
the public-house, or the beer-shops, of hundreds of
operatives. The
materials of the work are well di-
gested, and
the subject itself is one of absorbing in-
terest.

at Ib

Mr. d ---
------------
.
an Mrs. Temple West have arrived
H
--otel, Vere-street, from a continental tour.
THE EXILE AND CONVERSATIONS OF NAPO
LE he new, cheap, and embellished edition of this most
itl teresting work of the Count Las Cases, which forms a ne-
cessary
been
"rapaniork to all other histories of the French Emperor,
ha
just brought to a close by the publication of the
tbvccelitieth shilling part. This concluding part, which is em-
bellished with three plates,
_,
o
tainingcorrespondence with the English and Continental
G 'ernrnents on the subject of the treatment of the illustrious
captive. In the same number of the work are given a variety
of curious dehils respecting the death, funeral, and last will
of the fallen Emperor.
POST-OFFICE, SCOTLAND.—Ii appears by a
Parliamentary Return, that since the 9th of November, 1833,
a mail has been dis atched six days weekly from Edinburgh
by steam_
packets frpom Newhaven to Kirkcaldy; and from that
period
no instance has ever occurred when the passage has
not been effected either to Kirkcaldy, or Pettycur, or to
purntisland.

TO THE ELECTORS OF WEST-

MINSTER

Vittoria, April 8, 1836.
Gentlemen,—Several weeks have now elapsed since the
re-assembling of Parliament, during which, venturing to count
on your indulgence, I have absented myself from my post as
one of your Representatives.
In the interim I have received several letters from esteemed
friends, personal and political, of your body.
From the kind tenor of these letters, I feel permitted to
infer, that though unable at once to repair to my place in the
House, I am yet considered by you as practically contending
here for the same great principles of amelioration and reform,
in the most generous and comprehensive sense, of which you,
the electors of Westminster, the pre-eminent constituency of
the empire, have ever been the foremost, warmest, and most
powerful advocates ; and that from the prevalence of this
favourable view of the cause of my absence, it was even
probable that a further indulgence would be granted me, on
the condition of being able to promise my attendance during a
remaining portion of the session.
It is my earnest wish to fulfil, if possible, this condition, nor
do I despair of being able to do so. •
I would, however, submit, in extenuation, that my time of
absence has, after all, been only from the commencement of
this session, a period of leave often granted on far lighter, and
even personal grounds, or even in cases of indisposition ; while
on the other hand, I may place in the opposite scale a balance
in my favour of the whole interval of the recess, during which
I have been labouring under no ordinary anxieties and respon-
sibilities in the general cause—while my brother Members
were, perhaps, for the most part during the same period en-
joying a needful recreation or repose, after their previous fa-
tigues. May I not even add, in support of this plea, that if
the conduct of our opponents be any criterion, instead of being
a truant to the public service, I have in reality been promoting
it with more than ordinary effect.
When supporting in the Legislature your opinions and my
own, I have usually had my full share of those attacks to
which public men are exposed ; but from the first moment of
undertaking my present task, there have been no bounds to the
rage and virulence incessantly directed against us, by the well-
known partisans of ancient abuses !
Can I offer you, my friends, a more unimpeachable test of
the probable utility of our efforts—a better apology for the
temporary abeyance of my functions as your servant—or a
stronger reason for even hoping that I have merited your ap-
proval?
You will naturally expect from me an opinion respecting
the progress of this contest.
The laws, manners, and customs of the small mountain pro-
vinces in this corner of the Peninsula, in which alone the in-
surrection continues with any degree of consistency, have no
affinity or resemblance whatever to those of any other part of
Spain. They comprehend a fiftieth part of the population,
and not a hundreth part of the territory of the kingdom. Ac-
knowledging ostensibly the authority of the Sovereign, the
civil and financial administration has in reality been for ages
in the hands of a few dozen cf the more wealthy families, who
hold their offices by election. This total peculiarity of system,
together with an almost recognised monopoly of smuggling. at
the expense of the national treasury, has produced local in-
terest and feeling, correspondingly distinct from, and at
variance with those of the rest of the country ; these provinces,
therefore, afford no index of the disposition of the people south
of the Ebro.
Despotism and the inquisition—represented as they too
truly are by the unfortunate and bigotted Prince whose pre-
tended rights are made the rallying point of this rebellion, after
having been driven from the plains, after having been formally
and legally denounced by the constituted organs of the nation,
-after being all but expelled from Western Europe—thus find
their last refuge amongst the least oppressed, it is true by
former tyranny, but also the least enlightened part of the
kingdom. This, however, there is every reason to believe,
will not much longer continue—as there is no doubt it is
mainly attributable to the delusions practised on the people
on the one hand, and to some original want of address on
the other.
In short, it is evident that these factious mountaineers have
no direct interest in placing a Despot on the Throne of Spain,
or in restoring the frightful institution of Loyola—the more
crafty and influential of whom among the villagers being sup-
posed to be solely intent on preserving, within their own limits,
the profitable advantages of the local administration and con-
traband commerce hitherto enjoyed by them—the poorer class
contributing to the* same end under a persuasion sedulously
impressed on them, that all Liberals are sacriligious destroyers
of religion.
They arc now, however, it is well known, beginning to feel
bitterly the oppressive consequences imposed by the attempt of
resisting the united and constantly increasing forces of the
Queen's Government.
Gradually as this adventitious, almost accidental, support, is
withdrawn from the ranks of the Pretender, it will be seen
how few arc his real advocates, how truly are his cause and
principles repudiated by the great mass of Spaniards of the
present day.
To the lasting honour of the grandees and higher nobi-
lity-, with at most, I believe, one unimportant exception, they
have espoused, on this great occasion, the cause of Reform,
of their Queen, and country. In a case of passing to po-
pular institutions, such an instance of enlightened and
almost unanimous public spirit, is worthy of the highest
commendation.