The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-04 00:00:00

TRE 817,6 Z, ; LONDON.

THE BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL.
What are all the steps by which man advances
himself by degrees towards perfection but refinements
—refinements in his wants, modes of living, his
clothing, dwelling, furniture; refinements of his
mind and his heart, of his sentiments and his passions,
of his language, morals, customs, pleasures I
What an advance from the first hut to a palace of
Palladio's; from the canoe of a Carribean to a ship of
the line; from the three rude idols, as the Boatians,
in the olden times, represented their protecting god-
desses and the Graces of Praxiteles ; from a village
of the Hottentots or mild Indians to a city like
London ; from the ornaments of a female of New
Zealand to a splendid dress of the Sultana; from the
language of a native of Tahiti to that of a Homer, a
Virgil, a Tasso, a Mdton, and a Voltaire!
Through what innumerable degrees of refinement
must man and his works have proceeded before
they had placed this almost immeasurable distance
behind them ! _ _

The love of embellishment and refinement, and the
dissatisfaction with a lower degree es soon as a higher
has been recognised, are the only true and most
simple motives by which man has advanced to what
we see him. Every people who have become civilized
are a proof of this principle; and if any such are to
be found who, with peculiar physical or moral hin-
drances, continue in the same state of unimprovability,
or betray a complete want of impulse to improvement,
we must needs consider them rather as a sort of hu-
man animals, than as actually men of our own race
and species.—Eliza Cook's Journal.

FIRST ANNUAL DINNER OF THE
LONDON BRANCH OF TliE ROYAL PA-
TRIOTIC SOCIETY OF SC,TO ELAND.

The dinner of this rising institution was held on
Thursday evening, in the Freemasons' Tavern,
Charles Forbes, Esq., of Aslown, the treasurer, ably
filled the chair, and was supported by the Rev. Mr.
Fisher, G. Bain, Esq., Secretary of the Highland
Society, Daniel :Davidson, E'q., and a number
of gentlemen, some of whom were in Highland
costume.

After grace by the Rev. Mr. FISHER,
The CHAIRMAN observed, that as a vice-president
of the society he had been called upon to occupy a
post, in the unavoidable absence of his Grace the
Duke of Cambridge, the Right Hon. the Lord
Mayor, and of The Chisholm, who had severally ex-
pressed their regret at being unable to occupy it.
Under these circumstances he was delighted to pre-
side over a meeting of gentlemen, met together at
their own expense, to form the nucleus, he trusted, of
many a happy and influential reunion of what he
considered the noblest and most glorious of all their
Scottish societies, inasmuch as the Royal Patriotic
Society is one, not for depressing the spirits of the
Gael by eleemosynary doles, but by intelligence,
example, and stimuli to "help the Highland pea-
santry to help themselves."—(Cheers.) With very
inadequate means, it had already done much good,
and it would be a disgrace to Scotland if such an
enlightened and practical organization failed for want
of means to carry oat its benevolent designs. It was
not at all creditable to Scotchmen that every now and
then appeals should be made to the generous
Saxon to avert famine from the doors
of the suffering, but peaceful and loyal Gael, when his
own glens were adequate for his self-support, if pro
perly developed. It was the great aim of this society
to render the Highland peasantry self-supporting,
and he thought the wisdom and even economy of this '
would recommend itself to those who had so liberally
contributed to the relief of immediate destitution.

After thus prefacing the business of the evening the
usual lcy al toasts, Sce., were proposed and responded
to, in many instances with Highland honours, in-
cluding the society's royal patrons, the Queen and
Prince Albert ; the Lord of the Isles ; the Duke of
Cambridge, and the rest of the Royal Family; the
Army and Navy; the late president, the Duke o
Sutherland; the president of the year, James Mathe-
son, Esq., M.P., ; the president of the London branch,
the Right lion. the Lord Mayor, with th,..nks
for presiding over the annual meeting; Sir C.
Forbes, Bart., of Newe ; the honorary secreta-
ries, J. Mackenzie, Esq., M. D. Eileanach ; the
London secretary, G. Bain, Esq., D. Davidson, Esq.,
the secretary of the parent society ; the Highland
peasantry, &c. The harmony of the meeting was in-
creased by some amateur singing and some excellent
pibrochs by Mr. Charles Macdonnell, piper from Glen-
garry. Though the last of the Scottish reunions, this
gathering was not behind its predecessors in good
fellowship and enthusiasm, and augurs well for future
anniversary celebrations, to be held earlier in the
season.

, QUESTION ! All, QUESTION !
TO THE. EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlB,—Little, indeed, did the individual who uttered
the word " Question," at the meeting held at the
London Tavern, suppose that that simple expression
would hate been taken up by the conflicting parties
of the press as one of the proofs of the want of
unanimity at that glorious meeting of the friends of
Hungary.
Let it, therefore, be known that Question is an
Englishman, one of the earliest, most devoted friends
of the noble Magyar nation ! I, therefore, consider
it my duty to explain what actually occurred on that
occasion. The Hon. Member Mr. Cobden, who
declares himself to have adopted the principles of a
very small section of individuals, known as the Peace
party, or rather the Peace party at any price,
strongly censured my Lord Palmerston for not having,
in that noble manifesto of the British Government,
rebuked, or in plain words insulted the Russian Go-
vernment, which would, in my opinion, have been
tantamount to a declaration of war ; the Hon.
Gentleman, at the same time, admitting that he was
absent from his seat in the House of Com-
mons, en a pleasure excursion, on that truly
momentous occasion. I again repeat the censuring
of that memorable speech, every word of which will
create dismay and confusion, not only amongst the
despots of the north and their minions throughout
Europe, but will be one of the only effectual methods
of discouraging capitalists from making advances for
the purposes of erasing from the map of Europe the
immortal Hungarian nation—such censure, in my
opinion, was contrary to the spirit and intention of
the meeting.
In a moment of excitement, I regret to say, I was
so indiscreet as to call out " Question"—but I deny
that there was the slightest confusion on the
occasion, many gentlemen present coinciding with
my views. Shortly after another individual made
a jocular remark as to the use of a treasury not con-
taining a farthing, when some ill-natured person
raised the cry of "Turn him out," and, as usual,on such
occasions, was instantly taken up by others; a little
explanation, however, immediately restored order ;
indeed, until near the close of that truly great de-
monstration, nothing could exceed the unanimity,
good feeling, and soul-stirring expressions which
re-echoed through the building whenever allusion
was made to the chivalrous daring—termed Magyar
fanaticism—of the Hungarian warriors, or the ins-
perishable name of Louis ICossuth.
Not withstanding the heat of the day and the pushing
and crowding, circumstances which not unfrequently
occasion an ebulition of temper, the utmost good-
humour prevailed. The fate of Hungary appeared
to have absorbed men's minds, to the utter exclusion
of all other topics. The only cause of the little con-
fusion that followed arose, in my opinion, from the
partial, or rather timid conduct of the Chairman, who
stopped and sharply lectured a Mr. Reynolds, who
did no more than denounce and expose, in bolder and
more intelligible language, the dangers and enemies of
Hungary, whilst the star of the day was allowed to
indulge in exaggerations ad libitum.
Having, I trust, explained satisfactorily, the cause
which gave rise to the cry of" Question," I beg leave
to forward my mite, 11. Is., and ss. from a friend, in
aid of the cause of Hungarian independence and the
peace and liberties of Europe.
Permit me at the same time to remark, that I am
one of those who tremble for the fate of Hungary.
The overwhelming armies and resources of the two
Emperors are fast crowding forward to crush to the
dust the last bulwarks of right and liberty in Di orthern
Europe. The dangers, difficulties, and privations
that a nation of heroes have to overcome arc unparal-
lelled ; it is folly to underrate them. It is a struggle of
iile and death with all parties. The Emperor
Nicholas has passed the Rubicon ; the expulsion of
the Rus,ian armies would inevitably lead to the dis-
memberment of the Russian empire. Bohemia,
Croatia, Servia, Gallicia, and last though not least,
Lombardy, smarting under her yet bleeding wounds,
with the example of Rome fresh in her memory,
would make one last and terrific struggle to snap
asunder the accursed yoke of Austrian domination
for ever.

Austria, as an empire, would cease to exist ; on
the other hand, Hungary subdued ; a pretext to in-
vade 'Turkey and the Danubian Provinces would most
assuredly follow

It ha been long hinted, that Turkish—Magyar
—money was one of the mysterious difficulties; the
Russian Autocrat would then become the Dictator of
Europe, whilst the more civilized nations of the west
would be forced to contend in a bloody defensive war
against the savage Mahometans of Circassia and the
barbarous Cossacks and Kalnaucks of Siberia, in spite
of themselves. But there is yet hope for Hungary.
The indomitable spirit of Kossuth and his death-
courting crusaders have already struck terror and
contusion in the ranks of the vaunted invincible
legions of the descendant of the great Czars of
Muscovy.
A bold energetic protest by the combined Govern-
ments of France and England, demanding a suspension
of arms with a view to the amicable settlement of
ti,,, rights of Hungary and the pacification of
.rope, would without doubt be favourably enter-
cAined by all parties.
The Austrian Cabinet are well aware that their
empire is on the verge of dissolution, and would
gladly hail the opportunity to dispense with the
doubtful friendship of their unscrupulous neighbour.
The armies of the Emperor Nicholas have met with
a very different reception to what they anticipated ;
and although powerful as he is, he would not dare to
face Western Europe with the iron Maygars and
their partisans at his heels.
Britons of all classes and shades of opinion.! raise
your voice against the iniquitous designs of those
inthmous invaders. This is not a party question, it is
a national, an European one. Our beloved Queen
has dectired through her Minister that the will of the
people is her will.
Now is the time to establish not only a barrier of
steel against the grinding domination of Russia, but
those noble rivers and fertile lands, the granaries
of Europe will be thrown open to the enterprise, the
civilization, and the commerce of the world.
-Britons ! the eyes, the hopes, thoughts, and fears
of the civilized and semi-civilized world await with
iuitgudhreets
superhuman imagination the unravelling of the mys-
terious.tprroossepdecttos oafpptesegotlhdeenvilaegeammbuitsitonnootf
be Tuhtteerbr
utterly
one individual, whose sole object is to reduce man-
kind to the rule of the iron &Lys of the Peters and
Catharines of the seventeenth century.
There are those who argue that the tight little
island has no need to look beyond her own shores,
but the millions who look up to that flag on which
they proudly boast the sun never sets—and where are
they who are not prepared to maintain it with more
thin Alaygar fanaticism?—well know that we must
not, calin,l, be passive spectators of passing events.
Hungary, great, glorious, and free, her alliance
and friendship would be courted by the nations of
the earth ; and it is not beyond the sphere of human
possibility that even Britain may some day need even
Maygar sympathies. Where are our allies—Britons,
where ? Look around you. Scan the old and the
new world ; place your hands on your heart, and say,
w here is the ally we can depend upon in the hour of
danger on the day of trial.

QUESTION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—Although our magistrates move slowly, I
believe they are annoyed at the felony I named to
you being compounded. They seem to be fully sen-
sible that they were not placed on the bench for the.
mere purpose of putting money into the pockets of
lawyers, and most probably will issue a warrant for
the apprehension of the criminal who, by the bye, is
most likely out of the kingdom before this time.
They can also take away the license from the princi-
pal witness who assisted to defeat the ends of justice,
he being an innkeeper, but the other guilty parties
are out of their reach. This is by no means the first
case in this town where a good purse and the grand
jury system have caused the escape of a prisoner. I
hope the press will use its powerful influence to bring
about a complete reform in our laws, which are not
only denauraliAing the people, but creating a dissatis.
faction highly dangerous to the peace of the country.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Hull, Aug. 3, 1849. A REFORMER.

IMPORTANT TO CORONERS.—In consequence of the
clergy
who diedhaves; of cholera in the Keynsham Union,
refused to bury the remains of five
p
until an inquest had been held on the bodies, contrary to
an
the opinions of the guardians and the medical officers,
the General Board of Health have issued a circular on
the subj,ct to the coroners throughout England. The
board are of opinion that the clergyman was justified in
his refusal to inter the bodies until a public inquiry by
coroner'a inquest had been hell. The Board consider
that the tact of the deaths being caused by epidemic
di,ease, instead of being conclusive against the need of
inquiry, forms itself u prima facie case for investigation;
and that the results of the greater number of coroners'
inquests held in such cases have, as it appears to the
Board, been such as fully to justify the holding of inqui-
ries as a general rule.—Bath Chronicle.
INCENDIARY FIRE IN ESSEX —On Thursday r,fter-
n.ni:n la (testi active fire, supposed to have Ken occa-
sioned by an incendiary, broke out at the holm( stead ot
the 'nelongiug to Mr. Pattisson, at Marn,q, about
five miles trox Colchester, by which the wlkole of the
p.re:aises, excepting the dwelling-house, were destroyed.
[ poultry and pigs, and some valuable horses, owing
to the rapidity with which the flames spread on all side:,
were also (304: eyed, and it was with difficulty the dwell-
ing-house vcai saved. The owner of the property is b eld
in great esteem in the neighbour'nood, so that the fire bas
occasioned more than usual excitement and regret. I is
understood that the pr. tnises w, re insured.
PARIS AND STASDURG RAILWAY.—The opening; of
the railroad from Paris to Ep. rimy, being the first sec-
tion of the railway to Strasburg, will take place on the
16th of August. The President of the Republic willA be
present.