The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-15 00:00:00

_LONDON WEDNESDAY EVENING AUGUST 15, 1849.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.
Last night Le Nozze di Figaro, that chef diceuvre
of .Mozart, the. w ittxut exception, most pe►fect comic
opera in the world, was produced at Her Majesty's
Theatre in a style of perfection, al►ke
worthy of the opera and of the establish-
ment. The cast was the strongest, perhaps, ever
known—Sontag was Susannah; Alboni, Cherubino ;
Parodi, the Countess; Beletti, Figaro; Coletti, the
Count; and Lablache, Bartolo. That the Susannah
of Sontag should be, as a piece of vocalisation,
perfection, was to have been predicated ;
she is an accomplished musician, one of
the few who can thoroughly understand and
appreciate Mozart, and the music is so exactly suited
to her voice, that had Mozart composed it purposely
for her he could not have fitted her better; but there
was some anxiety felt as to her histrionic impersonation
of the character ; and, notwithstanding her admirable
acting, the lady-hke Rosina, the simple Linda, and
the impassioned Drsdemona proved that she had made
vast progress in the histrionic branch of her art, yet
the character of Susannah was so different from any
in which she had hitherto appeared that there was
some, not perhaps quite anxiety, but intense curiosity,
experienced to ascertain how she would acquit her-
self. The very first scene with Figaro, however,
satisfied all who assisted at the representation (and
seldom have we seen such an assemblage—long before
the commencement of the overture access to the pit
was impossible) that they had before them
not only the Susannah of Mozart, but the Susan-
nah of Beaumarchais also. Never has the
spirituelle camereriste of the poet been re-
presented more spirituellement. As a piece
of acting, the Susannah of Madame Sontag, is
a nearer approach to the Susannah of Made-
moiselle Mars than any that we have ever seen.
Her opening duet with Figaro was admirably acted
and sung. The following scenes with Bartolo and
Marcelline, with Cherubini, with the Count, and with
Figaro, were admirably given. Her scene with
Cnertsbini and the Countess was admirable, and
never have we beard the "Venite inginocchiveti"
so exquisitely given ; it created quite a
furore, and called forth a rapturous encore. In
the terzetto which follows, " Susanna via sortite,"
in which, hid behind the curtain, she overhears the
scene between the Count and Countess, her clear
beautiful torus produced a most delicious effect ;
and, in the opening duet of' the third act, the
far-famed Crudel perche, which she sings with
Coletti, she was again rapturously encored, although
in the last instance Coletti is en titled to
his full share of the honour. The guar •
tette " Voliamo ad informar," between Susannah,
the Doctor, Marcellina and Figaro, was, however, the
great triumph of the night. It was three times re-
demanded, and, on each repetition, the enthusiasm
was increased; notwithstanding the power of the voices
of Lablache and Beletti, the beautifully sustained
shake of Sontag could be heard above all. The
" Deh Viene" in the last act was most exquisitely
and most expressively given, and was of course
rapturously encored. Taken as whole, Susannah
is perhaps the best character in which Madame
Sontag has yet appeared. Certainly she is
the best Susannah on the stage. The Countess
of Parodi was a beautiful piece of acting, gull of
feeling and pathos. We have never heard the •' Dove
servo" more exquisitely given. She had here an op-
portunity for the display of her histrionic powers, of
which she knew %Nell how to avail herself. The Che-
rubino of Alboni stands alone. She is the only
person on the stage who can sing the music of the
part as Mozart wrote it. Her " Non se piu," and
" Voi the sapvte," are things to be remembered ; it
is an epoch in a musical existence to
have heard Alboni sing either of these
exquisite arias, and never did she sing them more
deliciously than last evening. The Count of Coletti
was a fine manly performance ; he gave the
" Vedro mentir io" most effectively, and his
fine voice told admirably in the concerted pieces.
Belletti was the very brouillon of a barber that
Beaumarchais intended to draw the comet of the social
system—his acting and singing were admirable. It
is seldom that the tar-famed "Non pin Andrei" has been
given with such truth and spirit as he exhibited last
night. The Bartolo of Lablache was magnificent.
" La Vendetta" was superbly given, and his acting in
the quartette in the second act was full of humour.
Tile choruses were excellently drilled, and Balfe de-
serves infinite credit for the admirable manner in
which the orchestra performed their duties. The
principal artistes were all called for at the conclusion,
and had been several times individually called on
during the course of the performance.

BOW-STREET.-(THIS DAY.)
Thomas Gibson, a tall, powerful man, about 40 years
of age, was charged before Mr. Henry with feigning
attacks of cholera in the streets, for the purpose of ex•
tortir g alms.

It was proved that last night, between one and two
o'clock, the prisoner was seen to lay himself down on
the footway in Bow-street, near Broad-court, and
writhing with terrible contortions of his limbs, and
moaning dismally; he was soon surrounded by a consi-
derable crowd, amongst whom were some gentlemen,
who sent immediately to the station-house for the
stretcher, to convey him to the hospital, at the same
time pronouncing his ca'e t,) be a decided one of cholera.
But the prisoner found power to express himself to the
contrary, and to make it known that he was subject to
such attacks, and that brandy was the only remedy, and
was invariably of immediate efficacy. The gen-
tlemen kindly procured instantly a large glass-
ful, which he drank oft before the police
arrived with the stretcher. He then made great re-
sistance to being carried to the hospital, and when
brought there the surgeons pronounced that there was
nothing the matter with him but what was the effect of
drinking. As he seemed much excited a copious appli-
cation of cold water to his head was prescribed, and he
soon became calm enough to be permitted to depart. At
half-past two o'clock this morning(about an hour after his
leaving the hospital) he was seen by a policeman to lay
himself down on the footway in Long-acre, in the way
of some gentlemen who were approaching in the same
direction, when he began to kick and writhe about,
moaning fearfully, and foaming profusely at the mouth.
The policeman coming up to him, observed him put same.
thing into his mouth, and, suspecting what it was, con-
trived to get his fingers in, and take out a piece of soap.
The prisoner, who made a violent resistance, WAS ultt-
mati ly taken to the station-house.
his defence was, that he was subject to epileptic fits,
and he said he •'could not believe any one that he bad
a piece of soap in his mouth."
The policeman, however, produced it, and his evidence
being corroborated, Mr. HENRY committed the prisoner
to the House of Correction tor one month with hard
labour.

MA RLBRO'-ST REET-(THIS DAY.)

A " GINT."—A 11;tle short man, of rather seedy
appearance, who gave the name of Lewis Saville, of
No. 15, Cut zon street, May-fair, and who eas deevribed
on the charge-sht et Ili a gentleman, was brought before
Mr. Hardwick, charged with having been drunk and
disorderly in Oxford-street.
Police-constable 208 D, stated that about four o'clock
this morning he was on duty in Oxford-street, w hen he
saw the detendant, who was very drunk, creating a dis-
turbance with two prostitutes. On desiring him to go
away he became very abusive, and said he was a gentle-
man, and paid rates and taxes in order to support such
a one as him. As he persisted in his disorderly conduct,
witness took him to the station.
The defendant denied the truth of the constable's
statement, which he alleged was totally false. He was
perfectly sober at the time, and knew very well what he
was about. Defendant added that the constable had not
done his duty, inasmuch as he was eating a piece of
cake, which he (defendant) had treated one of the
women with. Now he should like to know if that was
part of a constable's duty.
Mr. HAnnwica said, defendant bad done wrong in
not obeying the constable, and the latter had acted per-
fectly right in taking bim to the station. As he had
been locked up some hours, which was a sufficient pu•
nishment, he (Mr. Hardwick) should discharge him.
A LIISHY SOLICITOR.—A gentlemanly-looking man,
who gave the name of Frank Williams, but whose real
name is Gill, a solicitor, residing at No. 16, Jermyn-
street, was charged with having been drunk and dis-
orderly.
Cht ckley, 142 C, said he was on duty in Charles-
street, St. James's, this morning, about half-past two
o'clock, when he observed the detendant, who was
much the worse for liquor, knocking at a door in that
street. He told him to go away, and on his refusing so
to do he took him to the station. •

The defendant who seem( d rather embarrassed at his
present position, expressed his regret for his conduct,
and assured the magistrate it was his first appearance.
Mr. 11AnnwicK fined him ss. for being drunk.

MR. HARRIS'S CONCERT AT DRURY•LANE.—MY.
Harris, to whom the frequenters of the, Royal Italian
Opera, Covent Garden, are under great obligations for
the perfect manner in which the pieces represented at
the theatre have been placed on tho stage, under his
superintendence, takes a benefit concert at Drury•lane
Theatre this evening, in which Madame Grisi, Madlle.
Angri, Madame Dorus Gras, Miss Catherine Hayes,
Madlle. Corbari, Madlle. de Meric, Miss Poole, Mrs. Weiss,
and Madame Viardot. Signor Mario, Signor Marini,
Signor Ciabatta, Signor Tagliafico, Signor Polonini,
Signor Paglieri, Mr. Weiss, and Signor Tamburini, will
appear. The orchestra will consist of the artists of the
Royal Italian Opera, and Mr. Lavenu will act as
conductor.
DEATH OF MR. JOHN J. GALwEY, T.C.—lt is
with the sincerest regret we announce the death of Mr.
John J. Galway, a member of the Town Council, and a
ritizPp trunirkiible for his zeal in the cause of the poor.
He died this morning of cholera, a disease which is now
making fstalravag.s in the northern district ot this city,
the district in which Mr. Galway resic:ed.—Conk Ex-
aminer of liend...y.

CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.--Traffic for
the weck ending August, 12. 1849:—Cottaing traffic,
pare.-!s, &c., 44/. 19s. 11(1.; gt,OthSt
14.5. 2W; 31,taili.ilehu, 138 i, 26. 60.
'rota!, 2,59/. J. Is. 2(1.

- " • „,
The t,i,ti) .E.:-sc-x, from Gravesend to C'aleutta, with
head-quarters 87th regiment, Web spoken nth ui Juue, in
lat. 26 58 south, long. 22 26, All well,

THE QUEEN'S PROGRESS

ARRIVAL IN THE CLYDE.
MONDAY .NiGur.—But for the warm hearted re-
ception which the inhabitants gave her Majesty, it
m'ght have been said that the Black North afforded
the royal squadron test a cheerless welcome. The
gale which brew all Saturday night continued with
unabated vehemence on Sunday, blowing up sheets of
spray in the secure anchorage wherein the vessels
rode, and whistling through the rigging till the shrill
not-e drowned even its own fury. The shore on
both sides, all shrouded in mist, looked (through such
gleams of light as afforded one an opportunity of
discerning it) gloomy and menacing; overhead was
one dark canopy of driving clouds, beneath and
around a cheerless land and an angry roadstead,
tossed into a thousand foaming waves. A few daring
yachts and small boats which ran down towards the
fleet at times careened over to the water's edge, and
soon sought shelter under the lee of the land, and
thus for many a long hour the steamers rode in soli-
tary association, head to wind, tugging avo!), at their
cables as if wearied of their stay and anxious for a
speedy departure. At noon the Queen and Royal
Family had prayers on board the royal yacht, which
all hands were piped to attend. Soon afterwards the
signal for dinner, or some other meridian meal, which '
was answered by every vessel with praiseworthy
alacrity and promptness, gave a pleasing interruption
to the rather tedious occupation of time on board the
squadron, limited as it had been for the most part to
plashing along a damp deck, looking through a glass
at nothing in particular, making ingenious comments
on the state of the weather, or superintending the
healthful exercise of the men in restowing jibs and
foresails.
At a quarter past one o'clock the Vivid was ors
tiered up to Belfast to land a royal messenger, and
rushed up to the quay with her usual velocity amid
the applauding shouts of numerous persons there as-
sembled, who imagined the little boat had carried up
the Queen and Royal Family on a sudden excursion
to church. At half-past two o'clock she returned,
and on approaching the roadstead where the royal
squadron had lain so securely on her departure for
the town, they were nowhere to be seen. They had,
in fact, stood down the Lough to sea, though the
weather had not at all moderated. The Vivid pro-
ceeded in search of theta with eager speed, and pass-
ing the Copelands soon ran out into the open sea from
under the shelter of the land. And now the force
of the wind was felt in its fury. It was not for
nothing it had been blowing forty-eight hours from
the south. As the Vivid ran out to meet the long
roll it pitched up on her quarter in a seething mass
of foam, or slipping away from beneath, let down
her hull into the yawning trough of waters, gulping
as though it would swalkow her at once. In ad-
vance, and nearly hull down, were the several ves-
sels of the squadron, far separated, according to
their rates of speed and power of endurance, tilting
up their sterns, rolling to leeward, and thumping
their bows through the waves. The further from
land the higher rose the sea, and the louder roared
the wind. The Mull of Galloway was in all its
glory. The south wind coming up the Channel, tore
up the downward tide into rugged hills of water,
topped with crisping froth, and dashed them against
the quivering vessel!, which quashed through and
into them with a hissing noise, making a thousand
rainbows of the spray. Thus up and down those
green hill sides the squadron sped on its way, the
Lucifer,lazy vessels going fast astern—poor with all
such sail as he could carry set, lagging hopelessly in
the rear; Trident next, bowling along more stea-
dily; and then, in various order, the Sphinx, Back
Eagle, Stromboli, Vivid, Fairy, and Victoria and
Albert. The little tender made excellent progress,
though at times even the trucks of her masts were
invisible in the hollow of the sea. Towards four
o'clock it was evident the squadron did not intend to
make for the mouth of the Clyde, for their course was
too much to the southward ; and about five o'clock
they were visible passing the Corsil light, at the en-
trance of Lough Ryan, into which they ran, and
where they anchored, off Cairn, at twenty minutes after
five o'clock. They lay in silence and gloom all might
—not a soul vi-ible on shore or along the high hills
which surround it. A little boat put off from the
Royal yacht soon after her arrival to a small landing
place on the south side of the Lough, and it was said
the Prince was one of her passengers, but of this fact
we lay all the onus upon rumour solely, merely ven-
turing to affirm that the boat put off and after a short
stay, during which several gentlemen landed and
walked along the beach, returned to the vessel. At
midnight all the vessels settled down into gloom and
profound darkness; the lights were extinguished in
the yacht, and no sound was beard over the dreary
waste but the roaring of the wind, still rude and
strong as ever, the scream of the gannet as he flew to
his rocky nest, or the bells which marked the slow
course of time on board the vesse's.

With the dawn up rose the wavering blasts of steam
from every vessel of the fleet, and at four o'clock the
Vivid, active, but not quite so joyous as the earliest
of larks, weighed anchor and stood away through a
thick morning and chopping sea for the Frith of
Clyde, the Black Eagle having preceded her by
about half an hour. Soon after ;our, all the fleet was
under weigh on the same course.- The weather was
wretched to a degree,—haze and fog, and rain and
wind, and sea—all "dirty," as seamen would say,
and all very disagreeable, as any land-going individual
could not hesitate to affirm. Ailsa Craig, rising from
the middle of the angry waters, looked too dreary to

• OF
be picturesque even to the most inveterate admirer of
the solitary and grand. The glorious scenery of the
Clyde further on, obscured with all sorts of atmos-
pheric devices indicative of rain and storm, lost all
its charms—for, indeed, they were invisible, the top
of every hill being capped with cloud in one dank
foghank.
The Isles of Arran and Bute, looming like Alps
through the mist, were passed with a heavy run of
sea. A little revenue cutter here stood off from under
the lee of the land, and put Captain Robinson on board
the yacht to act as pilot. At 8 o'clock the Vivid stood
up to Greenock, and having made a short stay opposite
the Custom•house, returned just in time to catch the
Victoria and Albert and the Fairy steaming up the
magnificent estuary of Loch Long. But, alas ! its
magnificence was for the most part wrapped in a driz-
zling mantle of rain, /Ind could only b.• taken forgrauted.
Occasionally a whilfot wind forced up the curling vapour
and disclosed a sheet of water compressed at times into
narrow straits between towering mountains, whose tops
were lost in the clouds, or expanding into bold bays
locked in on every side by the steep sides of cliffs, down
af.hmo asenrypariaeicisbi.upirtn swelled
descent rolled the foaming torrent
o
Again
th
the dense
into e foamingnse curtain f
cascadesel
land by
en-
veloped heavy
the whole scene into a Scotch mist beyond
the power even of Macintosh to resist. At some sud-
den turn a giant mountain—with a thousand white
rivulets furrowing its sides—a few scattered sheep
holding on, as it were, to the scant herbage—a
shepherd's lone sheeling, barely distinguishable from
the surrounding heather, and an old stray sportsman
toiling after some wild pack of grouse up the cliff:.
—stood revealed fur one moment in all its grandeur,
to be lost in an instant. Soon after eleven, the
Royal yacht, the tender, and the Vivid, turned
back, the two former proceeding up Loch Goyl,
whence it was understood that her Majesty and
suite would, if the weather proved less untavourable,
start across the isthmus to Loch Lomond; the latter
returning to Greenock, and passirg in her course se-
veral steamers, in one of which the storm-tossed

. _
Provost of Glasgow was said to be, intent on paying
his respects to his Sovereign. The rest of the Royal
squadron anchored for the night below Greenock,
and to-morrow her Majesty will leave her retreat
among the mountains, and make her public entry
into the good city of Glasgow.
__. . .

Colonel Gordon went up to town to arrange
preliminaries for the procession early in the morning.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
TUESDAY NIGHT.

her Majesty left Loch Gair, a few miles below
Greenock, in the Fairy, with the Vivid in her train,
at 8 15 this morning, and arrived at Glasgow shortly
before twelve o'clock, having been received in her
passage up the Clyde with the warmest demonstrations
of hearty and delighted loyalty.

The Lord Provost, having presented an address
from the Corporation, received on board the honour
of knighthood.
The deputations from the Lord-Lieutenant, De-
puty-Li,county;the e
rayn d
of mag i st
Glasgow,r ate sofof
the Established
of Scotland, were
sCebvuerarclh, alyinnd omtroldrueedt,haenFdreeKirk
presented
addresses to her
Majesty, who immediately afterwards, in company
with Prince Albert and the Royal children, proceeded
to visit the Cathedral and the College, receiving on
her progress through the vast and orderly assemblage
the most enthusiastic plaudits.
Shortly after two o'clock the Royal party arrived
at the terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Rail-
way, where they partook of refreshment, and then
started for Balmoral by special train via Perth,
where it is expected her Majesty will stay for the
night.

(From the Court Circular.)
OFF BELFAST, Atm. 12.
Yesterday afternoon her Majesty proceeded up the
Lough, in the Fairy yacht, to Belfast.
Her Majesty and the Prince received addresses on
board the Fairy, from the Corporation of Belfast, the
Bishop and clergy of the diocese, the Roman Catholic
Bishop and clergy, the Harbour Commis,ionere, the
Presbytery, the county of Antrim, Queen's College,
the Chamber of Commerce, the town of Carrick-
fergus, and the Royal Botanical and Horticultural
Society.
I ler Akjesty zs< pi, sou to COliivr the bonour of
litiglithood on Mi.. Johnson, the Mayor of Belfast.
Her Majesty and the Prince proceeded in the car-
riage of the Marquis of Londonderry through the

city of Belfast, paying a visit to the Royal Society
for the Promotion and Improvement of the Growth of
Flax in Ireland, and to Queen's College.
Her Majsty was attended by the Bight Hon. Sir
George Grey, Bart., the Earl of Fortescae, the Vis-
countess Jocelsn, the Hon. Miss Dawson, Colonel
the Hon. A. Gordon, Sir James Clark, and Mr.
Anson.

Her Majesty is detained in the Lough of Belfas
by the severity of the weather.

COURT CIRCULAR.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge
left her residence at Kew yesterday afternoon for
Portsmouth.

His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Leuch-
tenberg, attended by Mr. De Berg, honoured the
establishment of Messrs. Hunt and Roskell with a
visit yesterday.
Lord John Russell arrived in town yesterday from
Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park, and in the even-
ing dined with Baron de Brunnow, the usian Mi•
nister, at his Excellency's residence, Ashburnham
House, to have the honour of meeting his Imperial
Highness the Grand Duke of Leuchtenberg.
The Marquis of Lansdowne (Lord President) re-
turned to town yesterday from Dublin.
Lord Campbell, Lady Stratheden, and family, left
Stratheden House yesterday, for Hartrigge, Rox-
burghshire, N. B.
Dispatches were received yesterday, at the Colonial-
office, from the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope,
and also from the Governor of Gibraltar.

COUNTY COURT JUDGES.
TO HER MAJESTY'S ATTORNEY-GENERAL.
Sir,—l have read in the Observer and other papers
of yesterday strictures upon your conduct, and that
of her Majesty's Home Secretary, with respect to the
regulation of the salaries of the county court judges;
and as an old memher of the profession to which you
belong, allow me to say that you have done this newly
created body more than ample justice.
If all men had possessed the same energy, the same
independence, and the same talent and integrity as
yourself, there would have been fewer applications for
the appointment of county court judges, for, be it re-
membered, that if you examine the list of those ap-
pointed you will scarcely find one of them who ever
rose in his profession so high as even to become a
leader at a court of quarter sessions; they are com-
posed principally of men of at least twenty years
standing at the bar, who, either from want of talent
or industry have never succeeded ; and if the salary
offered had been 6001. a year instead of 1,0001. a year,
you would have found not a single individual already
appointed would have retired from his situation. The
different clerks who act under the direction of these
judges woul d have been handsomely paid by a salary
of 250/. a year.
It is said these county court judges devote their
best energies and attention to their duties, but upon
inquiry you will not find that any one of them in the
most populous districts is occupied more than one-
fourth of his time. Is it so with the police magis-
trates, and other public officers, men of equal talent
and standing, and who perform at least three times
the labour ? It is too much, for drones (even in the
hire of lawyer.) to expect to be pain largely for
duties which the commonest capacities could perform.
It is admitted on all hands that these new judges
may perform all their duties one week in four; and
although it might be unbecoming and undignified for
these learned personages to appear upon the circuit or
in a court of quarter sessions, there can be no good
reason why they should not take their places at ten
o'clock in Westminster Hall, when the courts are
sitting, and continue there until the courts rise, even
if they should get no practice, but for the purpose of
acquiring useful information.

uppusing, for example, one of these county court
judges should sit ninety days a year; the salary
amounts to more than ten guineas per diem, and it
is pretty certain that very le w of these learned gen-
tlemen ever got two guineas per day during 300 days
in any one year. On this account they are more
than amply paid, and in these times of reform,
economy, and retrenchment, you cannot act more
consistently with your profession than by putting a
veto to this rising generation of abuse.
It is preposterous in the extreme to compare county
courtjudges to judges of the superior courts—men
who have been selected from their high character,
great intelligence, and knowledge of the principles of
law, because they were well able to render the county
important services, whilst the county court judges
were selected principally out of pity and compassion
to themselves and their families, owing to their starv-
ing condition.—l have the honour to be, Sir, your
very obedient servant,_

_
-A
MEMBER OF THE TEMPLE.
Temple, August 13, 1849.

BUENOS AYRES BONDS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIB,—It may be satisfactory to the bond fide
holders of Buenos Ayres stock to know, that the
Committee of Spanish American Bondholders have
addressed the following letter to a gentleman, in
answer to an application made to them to adopt the
same energetic course as in the Chilian, Mexican,
and other similar cases, with a greater or less degree
of success; in the financial settlements of those Govern-
ments.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant,
August 14. A. D.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS
FROM TILE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
TIMES.—The speeches oelivered at the aggreeato
meeting of the Metropolitan Parliamentary and Ewan-
mal iteform Association are specimens of the extent to
which a good cruse may buffer in bad hands. There was
a groundwork of truth and reason in most of the pro-
posals advocated, but the arguments were sc, weakened
by exaggeration, and the sincerity of the whole trans-
action was so damaged by reservations on one side and
compromises on the other, that the common aject of the
assembly, if indeed it had one, could be in no degree for-
warded by the matrifestions. The meeting was an-
nounced as demonstrating the alliance of the middle and
" working " classes of society, hitherto disunited, in the
pursuit of certain legislative m'easures upon the terms of
which they were at length speed; but the most cursory
attention to the doctrines advanced and to the sentiments
with which they were successively received will convince
any one that no unity of' purpose or principle really
existed, and that it would be difficult to compose a party
of more incongruous or explosive elements than those
which were drawn into momentary affinity for the expe-
riment of Monday evening. The five pints of the new
league, as modified, in a conference of Reformers, from
the original catechism of the Chartists, were duly enunci-
ated by Mr. G. Thompson. Theycomprise neither univer-
sal suffrage, nor annual Parliaments, nor payment of
members; but so far were these or kindred points from
being really surrendered by their peculiar advocates,
that the latter party openly avowed their resolution, in
the face of the meeting, of enforcing their adoption, and
of employing the present agitation for the furtherance
of those very objects against which a large section of the
agitators had deliberately pronounced. The modified
propositions contain nothing which, in principle, is very
remarkable. Two of them—the duration of Parliaments
and the manner of voting—turn upon questions which
have received perhaps as disinterested a discussion as
ever kll to the lot of a political problem. A third—
that for the extension of the franchise, is already ad
witted as more than debatable by a majority of thinking
Politicians. But doctrines reasonable in themselves are
liable to be rendered objectionable by the folly or vio-
lence of their advocates, and are infallibly exposed to
suspicion when exaggeration and untruth are employed
in recommending them. With respect to the franchise,
it must be clear to every reasoning person that the com-
promise now suggested by the directors of the associa-
tion could not endure for a single twelvemonth, and it
will be further evident to all who are versed in the history
of such experiments that the ultimate results would
probably differ widely from those anticipated. But let
the reader just observe the contradictions which have
been induced by the tendency to exaggerate on the pre-
sent occasion. Six sevenths, or sixteen-seventeenths, of
the British people, according to the different calculations
adopted by the speakers, were represented as tyranni-
cally excluded from all political rights, as condemned to
hopeless degradation, and as " lett to writhe in compul
sory submission to aggravated abuses." These were the
statements from the l hit form. In the more deliberate
report, however, of " the Council" upon the same sub-
ject, we find if announced that by means of a little
contrivance " the 403. franchise is brought within the
reach of every industrious man placed above the
struggle fur the merest necessaries of life;" so
that by the operation of the very Constitution so
loudly decried, the highest electoral privilege is
already accessible to the lowest class who can, with
any semblance of reason, be held to deserve it. We
say nothing now respecting the organization de-
vised for effecting this promiscuous enfranchisement, but
the truth has been unwittingly told in the confession.
Ihe propriety of Lail further facilitating the access to
polincel power is a question toe interesting to be dis-
cusi,d at the conclusion of a paragraph; but what we
now state without fear of contradiction is, that as things
stand at this present moment, the acquisition of a vote is
a task as easy and as sure—misfortune apart—to any in.
dustrioui and prudent working man as his daily main-
tenance, and is, moreover, a privilege which be may as.
sure himself will be a great deal more speedily and saris-
raeterily realiz-d by his own indiv.dual thrift than by
any impulse he can lend to a circuitous and uncertain
agitation. The question of financial reform was yet
more incoesidereLdy argued by the speakers who ap-
peared to represent the preduminent opinions of the
assembly. That there is teeth ample room and abund-
ant necessity for retrenchment, that measures for such
purpose are thwarted by some parties and reluctantly
received by others; and that the dry formality of a
Ministerial veto is rather too cooly opposed to the
arguments of one class and the true interests of all, are
facts out of which less enthusiastic orators might have
built up an impregnable case. We spend a vast deal too
much money, both knowingly and needlessly—know-
ingly, because we are repeatedly told of the fact in
statements which cannot be confuted, and needlessly,
because all that the country requires can still be done
without stint or detriment after the reform has been ef-
fected. The system of taxation, too, is unjust, though it
is not the " working" class (if handicraftsmen alone are
to monopolize that honourable title) upon whom the in-
justice mainly presses. The operation of the income-
tax—that enormous and ill-distributed impost—is almost
exclusively prejudicial to the middle classes of society ;
nor do we mean to say that our burdens are generally
adjusted with all the convenience of which the load is
susceptible. But when such points as these, instead of
being plainly and soundly urged, are either wholly
overlooked or altogether misstated, and when the en-
tire delinquencies of the Exchequer are thrown on
"the Bishops, Lord Brougham, and the illegitimate chil-
dren of Charles II.," the argument becomes ridiculous,
and all the strength of the case is lost. If people are
enlisted in a cause upon the persuasion that it takes
54,000,0001. a year " to govern this country;" that the
Queen "can be served as cheaply as the President of the
United States;" that the House of Commons is com-
posed of " military officers, pensioners, and sons of the
nobility." and that. "by developing the rceouropa of the
country a working man ought to receive 30s. or 40s. a
day for his work instead of 6s, or 6s ," they must,
sooner or later, discover themselves egregiously befooled,
and, according to the period when their enlightenment
comes, will either desert or destroy the guides they have
been induced to follow. How long does Mr. Cobden
really think he could keep company, on "the great ques-
tion of labour," with Mr. Feargus O'Connor? How long
does either of them think a sober-minded audience can
be led by such ttssrtions as were made on Monde) ?
If it has been conceived that it was only through
such pandering to the credulity of a multitude that
a sufficiently imposing force could be mustered on the
side of retrenchment, there never was a more egregious
error. A moment's reflection must convince every man
in his senses that no effectual opposition could ever be
maintained, in the present freedom of opinion, to any
sound or practicable scheme of financial reform. Even
if placemen were as numerous and voracious as it
pleased some of the speakers to describe them, they and
their partisans must necessarily form an almost inver-
se ptiblo minority. There is no member of any political
party who is not interested in saving his money from the
tax-gatherer. Nor are we by any means so powerless
in this respect as we are sernetimes said to be. Let any
reader recall the attempt to increase the income-tax by
two per cent., and remind himself of the peremptory ex
pression then given to the popular will. There is ample
work to be done in the field proposed, and no great lack
of arms to do it; but, it the taek is to be so caricatured
and burlesqued as it was on Monday evening, the timid
will become alarmed and the prudent disheartened, and a
good cause will be thrown overboard for the want of in-
formation and foresight.
POST.—The first aggregate" meeting of the " Me-
tropolitan, Parliamentart, and Financial Reform Asso-
ciation," which was held in Drury-lane Theatre on
Monday night, was not graced by the presence of Mr.
Cobden. With the simplicity of his own " unadorned
eloquence" that gentleman had informed the committee
that " absence from town would prevent his being pre-
sent" on this great eceasion. His letter of apology—
which, with corresponding "simplicity," was read to the
assembly—is dated from Eastbourne, Sussex, and on the
7th of August. In these days of rapid and easy transit
it would have been as reasonable tor a gentleman re-
siding in Eaton-square to excuse himself on the ground
of probable absence from the neighbourhood of Drury-
lane. The sentence, indeed, could be intended to record
no more than the " absence" of
Mr.
intelligible, 7fonuoldt
" prevent his being present." A more
in a
more satisfactory, reason is, however, given the
suc-
ceeding lines of the note—" You have many years of
god work before you, and it will not, therefore, be
amiss to keep an army of reserve for another campaign.
In the mean time, you are doing battle heroically, and I
remain, your obedient servant. That is, when, as in
the case of the corn-laws, some good-natured and deter-
mined enthusiast, like Mr. Charles Villiers, shall have
borne the burden and the heat of the day—when some
Minister of easy virtue shall, like Sir Robert Peel,
be ready to surrender the fortress with the defence
of which he is charged—when nothing shall remain
but to enter and take possession of the citadel and
the spoil—l shall be ready to head the army of re-
serve, and witness the inscription of my name on the
banner of triumph. Until then I "remain" your obe-
dient servant. Mr. Cobden thus avoids the awkwardness
of some reminiscences of silence during the last session
of Parliament, and at the same time reserves to himself
the full honours of a zealous " parliamentary and
financial reformer." His colleagues—good easy men!—
not only admit his explanation, but applaud his course.
Yet, whatever admiration the gentlewep who were pre-
sent might profess by their cheers for Mr. Cobden and
his conduct, they showed little disposition to follow his
example. If of his valour discretion formed the better
part, in theirs it had no share at all. He maintains a
numerical army of reserve—they advanced the whole of
their argumentative feebleness at once. Their proposi-
tions, it is true, asserted no more than the necessi!;r4;e!
an extended franchise as the means of securing lluimstirnaatiboncsi
expenditure, but their reasoning and their
stopped nothing short of revolution.
unfor-
tunate, for the references to Francst This was
wi
were met bhH
y "cries
of Rome, and followed by groans and hisses." T e un-
gurian patriot,"
whose speech was promised by Lord
Dudley Stuart, thought better of the business, and re-
solved to keep his zeal for English reform, as his
presence there showed he had kept his patriotism for
Hungary, in the proudest reserve of silence and inaction.
He "remained, like Mr. Cobden, their " obedient ser-
vant," until a fitter occasion should present itself. We
have referred to the " little fact" of this " first aggre-
gate meeting," not on account of any intrinsic impor-
tance which can give it a claim to public notice, but
because it shows how little sympathy any section of
the people of England possess for such radical changes
in our Constitution as would assimilate our state to
the ultra democratic institutions which have annihilated
liberty elsewhere. The speakers at Drury-lake, who
had prevailed upon themselves to believe, or at least to
asset t, that they were the friends of " popular right,"
of " liberty," and of " advancement," appealed to the
mov. meta, e n the Cowin, nt tt, exert ples of %hat reColit
be ache-veil by the people. appcill was tedueley.
'hat Englieh wan would exchange his liberties for those
enjoyed by a citizen of France, of Spain, or of Greece,
or for any that could be achieved by the most

1
triumphant success of the sword now drawl'
in Hungary ? Democracy has struggled in France
with v,rious firtune since the famous revoluavn of
1793. It established a Rqublic.to be succeeded by a Coe-
sulate and conquered by an Empire. This, in its turn,
gave place to a restoration, which was tollowed by a
" thror.e surrounded by Republican institutions.' It
has at last returned to a pure Republic, under which,
justly or not is not the question, the press is restricted,
and taxation enormously increased. Trade, manufac-
ture, and commerce, in the meanwhile, are limited or
destroyed, and the Exchequer empty. Ilas liberty or
popular right any habitation in Spain ? It is but a
few years ago, that meetings were held all over Eng-
land to tffect constitutional independence for Gret or.
The movement was successful. Greece has a King
and a Parliament. What is the state of popular liberty
and human advancement there ? The horrors said to
have been practised in the darkness of the Inquisition
are outdone in open day on the innocent citizens of
that unhappy country. We will not shock our readers
with details which it is sickening even to contemplate.
Questions of domestic policy may be undoubtedly dis-
cussed with advantage, and we are so far from ques-
tioning the right of Sir Joshua Walmesley and his
sapient brethren to meet and talk in Drury-lane, that
we wish to preserve it. If the examples which they cite
were followed in England, there would be an end alike
to their freedom of speech and to our right of corn •
menting.

Death.