The Sun.
London, England, 1825-04-15 00:00:00

THE KING.

WINDSOR, APRIL 14.—His MAJESTY yesterday and this
day has taken his usual airings in his pony phaeton about the
Great Park, with his attendants. Ile seldom varies his route
when from the Royal Lodge, and most days visits his favourite
retreat, Virginia Water. It is as yet uncertain whether his
Majesty will leave the Lodge on Saturday, Monday,- or Tues-
day next, for Carlton Palace.—On Tuesday afternoon his
Majesty paid a visit to the Castle, but made only a short stay.
He is expected there again to-morrow to meet Mr. J. Wyatt-
ville, when final orders will be given relitive to the new entrance
from the town, opposite the Long Walk to his Majesty's
Palace.- The greatest exertion still continues in the various
improvements, the order of which we have at various times
noticed. Upwards of 500 men'are constantly employed.

THE THEATRE.

COVENT-GARDEN.—The delightful Comedy of
As You Like It was repeated' lat night, with all
the dresses according to the supposed costume of '•
the probable period of action, and with' all re- - •
quisite decoration of appropriate sceneyy,,
ctioot:lfeosfs
stohantlawneydosortilogtslap:sr,oivt,e:notifye:trli;:iatn:treotitcii..
from the story and essentially.affects, ita-tuterAct,
Nor do we admire the music of 'thcise".sotibi...,.
i.
which appears to us to be:aufl
Public were contented with the Cuckoo Song;
Blow, blow, &c., and the last song, which restores
Rosalind to her father. The first two Were,,
given last night, but the beautiful music-Of
ARNE which accompanied the last was disPiac-Pd,!
and the same words given in a very uninteresting
air, sung by a Boy, a very indifferent follower of %.
Mrs. BLAND, and Mrs. LISTON. The play
well acted, but the musical interpolations, as we
have said, lamentably weakened the interest of
the fable. SIXAKSPEAItE should not be thus
treated, and we hope that this charming Comedy
will be resored to its original simplicity. Mr. c.
KEMBLE, as usual, gave an interesting portrait,of
Orlando. Mr. YOUNG, on his return, in Jaques,
was well received. lie gave full effect to the
pensive and sarcastic recluse. Miss ,M. TREE,
though a very interesting actress in her proper
line, is hardly sprightly and prominent enough
in Rosalind. Touchstone and Anclrey had ample
support from FAWCETT and Mrs. G t FIBS. It was
gratifying to observe the entrance of the half-
price Visitors after the third act, who quietly
took their places and gave no interruption to the
phty. The satn4 good old custom we hope will
be revived at the other house, and the passing
scene escape from the turbulent visitation
occasioned by the storm) signal of nine o'clock,
perhaps in the very middle of the third act, in-
stead of during the convenient interval affolded
by its conclusion.

FINE ARTS.

FOR THE SUN.

MR. EDITOR—A strong sensation has been ex•
cited in all the high amateur circles, by the respectful and un- .
reserved offer which Messrs. RAPHAEL and BENJAMIN WEST
have recently made, in an Bvo. pamphlet, of the late Presi-
dent's magnificent Gallery of Historical Paintings to Govern..
ment, as objects of purchase for the NATIONAL GALLERY..
They have made this offer on public grounds, as well as on
grounds which are necessarily personal to themselves, although
they are essentially connected with the advancement of -the
British School. Their offer has been accompanied by a liberal
declaration, that, if they were possessed of an independent
fortune, they would have been proud to emulate the noble ex-
ample which Sir GEORGE BEA tr MONT has set to the British
nobility and gentry, by making a present of his collection of
paintings to the National Gallery.
The gratuitous pamphlet in which Messrs.WEsT have made
this respectful offer contains 150 pages, which the writer has
entitled. "Observations on the probable Decline or Extinction
" of British Historical Painting, from the Effects of the Church
" Exclusion of Paintings." A title so very alarming has had
an electrical effect upon all those who know (as the Select Com-
mittee on 'the Elgin Marbles have justly stated), " how highly
the cultivation of the Fine Arts has contributed to the reputa-
tion, character, and dignity of every Government by whom
they have been encouraged, and how intimately they are con-
nected with every thing valuable in science, literature, and phi-
losophy." The writer of the pamphlet grounds his main ar-
gument on the fact, that by the exclusion of paintings and
statues from the Churches in the reign of Elizabeth and that of
Edward VI., the Fine Arts were proscribed, rooted out and
banished from this realm ; that painting and sculpture, in the
exasperated spirit of those times, were brought into public ab-
horrence, as instruments of itle'atry, sup,Tstition, and trea-
son ; and that a threefold evil consequence to the country has
followed : First, the exclusion of works of art from Churches
produced their tikclition from all public bnilclingS ; Second;
by these exclusions,, the proper and only field for the Punt.te
STYLE of History Painting and Sculpture was completely
walled in from the access and exertions of British genius ; and ,
Third, the DOMESTIC STYLE, being deprived -of practical::
example, instruction, and support, from the public stylri,.,winl
left to itself, and speedily perished in this country.. In this.,
viiaprorryt d
eyy
ittlot eid
s evidenceshee,
.po
(t;
tors., and oeaf,n danb,yt events,
quotations otmit'aet,i ow, nrsi tetrroims
Cursorys "Bi
Thoughts
on
Inc
founding
of
the Liverpool Academy" in 11110. . .
The Writer has most satisfactorily showed, that unless the
Government provides for its liberal and constant patronage, the
public style of History Painting cannot exist in a flourishing,
state in any country, in which paintings are exchnied from
churches and public buildings.
I shall here give the Author's origin of THE PUBLIC ST YLE
in his own words—" In Greece, in ancient Rome, and modern,'
Italy, Painting and Sculpture, in their very outset, were employ...,
ed in the decoration of temples and other public edifices. The
subjects were suited to the buildings, of the highest claits,
lie'lous, heroic, sublime and beautiful. The paintings, statues. .
and friezes, being to be seen from below, generally at a consi-
derable height, or from a distance, required broad effectivemanses, maases, and grand ideal forms, to make a due impression upon .
the spectators. Every thing like a littleness of manner must
have defeated the end of the Artists. Hence the PUBLIC or
HISTORICAL-STYLE, upon a great scale, and on principles
of granduer, preceded and moulded the domestic style, .and
the latter, imbibing the great principles of the formervpai- , took of its nobleness and elevation, although its productiOns,
were upon a less expanded scale. Thus in Greece and in an-
cient Rome the ideal giandeur of the. Pupr.tc syxLo was
communicated to the small works of art, in painting, marble
and gems, which are the productions of the domestic style.—
After the revival of the arts in Italy, eimilar causes produced
similar,effects. Painting and Sculpture being employed, front -
their cradle, to embellish the churches, municipal buildings and ,_
palaces, the public or historical style, as in Greece and ancient
Rome, preceded the domestic style, anti the latter aequired
grandeur from the former. The highest class of subjects, the
highest powers of the mind, the noblest flights of the imigma-,
tion, and the most sublime objects, connected with the love of
country and public and private virtue, were embodied and.
called into action by the ancient Artists, in every progressive ..•
stage of the Arts. But the course cannot be reversed : wherever ,
the domestic style takes the lead, the PUBLIC ST YLE, unlcei stis- •
tained by very powerful and.constant patronage from the State,-
must be of a mixed inferiorcharacter, under thedirection of indi.
vidual patronage, subject to an indiscriniinate choice of nature, and .
deficient in ideal grandeur. This has been the case in all thoiw
countries, where, in the sixteenth century, the religious changqe
were accompanied by an exclusion of painting and sculpture,
from the Churches and other public edifices. Hence, in•a part
of Germany, in Holland, Sweden, and Denmark, there beLng
no public style to purify and elevate the domestic style, the
latter was formed on the gross taste of the multitude, and never
rose above the imitation of ordinary nature. The works of the
few Artists who painted history in those countries are, charac..
terized by a Dutch taste, a Flemisiktaste, or a German taste, in
contradistinction from the nobleness and chastity of the Italian
Schools."

The above extract will afford your Readers au insight into the
Author's broad view of his subject. I shall, in your next pub-
lication,
with your liberal permission, offer some remarks on his
humble suggestion to the Government, for the appropriation of
a portion of our immense revenue to the purchase of the magni-
ficent collections of historical paintings by the late President
WEST, now exhibiting in the spacious gallery erected by his
Sons in Newman-street. I shall also venture some observations
on their recent public offer to Government, of that fine colec,
tion as an object of purchase for the National Gallery. lam
of the Writer's opinion, that as the public style of history paint.'
ing was overthrown by the power of .the STAWE in the dyne
of Elizabeth, Edward. VI. and their immediate successors,
and that nothing but the power of the State can restor
preserve the public style of history painting in this emu". .1
April 14, 1823. EVELYN; J EP!.

-

The great additional number Qf Letters re,
ceived this morning at the General Post.Offutei,
consisting of Mails from the West Indies and'
Colombia, and many thousand ship-lettei, froui,
all parts of the world, occasioned the, dispatai
of the letter-carriers to be •prdtraCted to a ta*
hour.

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THE LONDON JOURNALS.

,:

DAILY
Erb rats /ram the Morning Papers, Apra 15,18'25.

[Nrw -rtmrs.-1
Very important intelligence was yesterday re-
reivedfrom the Burman Funpire. It depends,
indeed, on the personal accnracy and fidelity of
an individual ; but this person is said to be one
who has, on many former occasions, communi-
cated information which has uniformly been found
correct. The accounts are contained in the Cal-
' 'culla Gazette, and were brought by the George
• Home, a private trader, which left Calcutta about
the latter end of December. It is stated, that
the Burrnese Monarch had been assassinated, and
that his Queen, who was supposed to be itnpli-
cated in the guilt of this murder, had fallen a
9Rcrifice, together with many of her adherents, to
the indignation of the loyal party.—ln our Paper
of the 21st ult. we gave a short sketch of the Bur-
mese war, from v% hirh our readers would perceive
that the Burmans in general are a barbarous,
ignorant, and superstitions people, though brave
in sr r, and confident from their victories over the
neighbouring tribes. The present advices per-
fectly cnincide with this view of the Burmese
character. The capture of the fort of Rangoon
fell on the Burmese Government as a thunder
stroke. The King's Ministers, of whom there
are eight, four private and four public, concealed
the fact for some time from their Sovereign. One
of them at last disclosed it, and- threw the whole
Court into consternation. The result was to
overthrow' at once the influence of the Queen
and her relations, who were previously the pre-
dominant party. The King was filled with su-
perstitious terrors by the predictions of the
'astrologer, ; in pursuance of these fears he pro-
claimed his son King. This only drove the
Queen's party to extremities, and led them to
murder their Sovereign, an atrocity which was
promptly-revenged by the partizan; of the young
Prince. Much confusion appears to have ensued
among the Commanders of the different troops,
but finally the legitimate authority of the young
King was acknowledged. Under all these cir-
cumstances it seems highly probable that some
negociations for peace will he opened with the
English Government, more especially as the
ontrages and insults which provolied us to
war, originated with the Queen's party, which
has now been entirely put down. The indi-
vidual who communicated the information of
these occurrences, was an inhabitant of Rangoon,
named Manor' Mnoon, and his deposition is said
to have been taken down in had English ; never-
theless, it is so clear, distinct and particular, that
we can have very little_doubt of its substantial
accuracy. We have been always persuaded that
the Burmese, however superior to the neighbour-
ing nations in personal bravery, were far too des-
titute of military science, to stand the least
chance in a contest with a power like that of our
Indian Government. The war, on our part, how-
ever, was purely defensive, and as we have struck
into the minds of the barbarians a salutary terror
of our arms, it will probably he easy- to bring
them to such terms as sound policy on our part
may dictate.

[BRITISH PRESS.]
Dispatches were received yesterday at the
ladia House by the private ship George Home,
which has arrived at Cowes from Calcutta. The
letters by this vessel are to the ISth of Decem.
tler. The intelligence respecting the Burmese
war is far from being satisfactory. The British
troops at Rangoon are very sickly. One batta-
lion of 800 men had only 90 fit for duty, and the
other corps were nearly in the same deplorable
state. A spirit of discontent was still, it was
feared, prevalent among the Sepovs. It had
been resolved, however, that the British army
should advance upon the Burmese capital. As
the intention of ascending the River from Rao-
goon was abandoned, it was understood that the
expedition would return to Cheduba, and from
thence marsh across the country to Procne, and
from that point proceed up the I rrawaddy to
Amerapoora. The King of Avi had been assas-
sinated in his Palace by the Queen and her bro- I
ther, who, a few days afterwards, with all their
accomplices, were massacred by the King's party.
The oath of allegiance had been taken to the
late King's son, lc ho had succeeded to the crown
by general consent ; hut the affairs of the kingdom •
were in the greatest confusion. Prince Sarawaddy,
the Commander of the Southern army employed
against the English, had been superseded, but
for some reasons had refused to obey the orders
sent -to him. The Burmese Court, in its alarm,
had dispatched an embassy to Pekin to supplicate
the aid of the Emperor of China. The Im-
perial reply was at once pompous and discreet :
could not believe it possible that the
English would be so rash as to engage in hostili-
ties with a tributary of the Celestial Empire !"
The Singapqre Chronicle of the 25th of Novem• •
ber remarks, that—" Way be considered as a
certain proof of the difficulties anticipated by the
Burman Government, that it should have all so•
licited-:assistance in such it quarter, where there
must•haye existed No little chance of obtaining it ;
fork must be recollected, that of all.the pretended
tributaries of the Chinese empire, there is none
which has treated it with so little deference as
the Burmese ; who, at one time, hot only pro-
yoked an invasion, but destroyed the Chinese
army that attempted to punish them."

Lrsi: PUBLIC Lrnocr..)
A long and very circumstantial -account of an
event, which is likely -to exercise a great influence
on our Indian concerns, will be found in a
subsequent column. The event we allude to
h the assassination of the King of Ara hy his
Consoit and her brother.; and, if the account,
as• The 'Calcutta Government Gazette infers, be
but true, it will be either the forerunner of a
prompt end satisfactory. 4djustment of ow- dif-
fetatites with the Burcuate, or, in the event
ofithis'impectation failing, of a succession of
cleasikorr'of brilliant .triumplis aver that people.
Aliesdra•fertile sourcei.of disord has arisen
iirsiftvese army,' the Comma n der,. a ppoinCed by the
sew Sovereign, having been disowned by. the

troops ; or, what is much to the same import, the
person holding the command, who, as well as the
present King, is a son of the deceased Monarch,
refusing to give it up. It will be seen that The
Calcutta Gazette pins its faith to the statement,
whilst it assigns, as a reason for its belief,
the general accuracy of tl►e source from which
it has been derived. Though prolix, and
rather romantic, it has many of • the cha-
racteristics of a faithful narrative ; and, if
it be a fabrication, we can only say that it
has been well executed. This intelligence,
together with other interesting matter, has been
brought by tie George Home, private trader,
which ha, arrived at Cowes from Calcutta, after
an unusually quick passage of about three months
and a half. The information she has brought is,
cn the whole, favourable to our interests in that
part of the world ; and, if it only refuted, as it
does most triumphantly, the alarming reports, pre-
viously curre►►t, as it would afford much gratifica-
tion. The native troops evinced the best disposi,
tion when the George Home sailed, which was in
the latter end of December; and, if a dislike to
the war prevailed amongst them for a time, on
account of the necromantic properties which they
ascribed to the enemy, it appears to have entirely
subsided. The preparations for carrying hostili-
ties into the heart of the enemy's territories were
completed ; and we are happy to see that the
tone of the present advises is as sanguine as that
of former letters was gloomy.

[MORN'ISG POST.]
By an arrival from India yesterday, we are in-
formed of the assassination of the King of Ava,
by means of a conspiracy formed for that purpose
by his Queen and her brother, in consequence of
his Majesty having expressed his displeasure at
the conduct of the late Governor of Rangoon (a
relative of the Queen) on the occasion of its cap-
ture by the British force. The discovery of this
horrid murder excited the utmost rage among
the friends of the King and the Heir A oparent
and the contest which ensued ended in the
massacre of the Queen, her brother, and all
her other relatives. What effect this event
may have upon the war with the Burmese, we
have at present no means of ascertaining with
any degree of certainty ; we merely find it stated
that " the armies on the frontier,, hearing of the
sad catastrophe, and afraid for their own safety,
retreated with hasty march." Private accounts
state that " the British armies had previously
broken up their cantonments, and were marching
on the Burman capital with great force." If
these statements be correct, the probability is
that the war has long ere this reached its termi-
nation.

In the House of Peers last night, Earl Darnley
gave notice that. on Tuesday next he should call
their Lordships' attention to a very important
subject. the modifications or alterations proposed
in the Quarantine Laws; in anticipation of which
he understood that his Majesty's Government
had granted permission to vessels corning from
countries infected with the Plague, to land
their cargoes without submitting to the usual
processes and visitations. A question in which
the lives of thousands and millions of indi-
viduals may be invoked, is one which ought
only to be decided with great caution, and
after the most diligent inquiries. A Bill to re-
gulate the trials of Scotch Peers was introduced
last night by Lord Colchester, at the recom-
mendation of the Select Committee, which had
been appointed to investigate the subject.—
The Commons did not resume their labours
till yesterday evening, when the only matter
of interest was the introduction of a Bill, by
Sir John Newport, '' To limit the power of
holding a_ plurality of Benefices, and to repeal
the Statutes granting power to the Archbishops
to make Episcopalian Unions in Ireland." Mr.
Secretary Goulburn agreed to the first reading of
the Bill, without pledging himself to support it
in its details. A Committee was then appointed,
on ,he motion of Sir George 11111, to inquire into
the laws for regulating the Linen Trade in Ire-
land.—(lbid.)

[MORNING CHRONICLE.
We received last night Brussels l'apers to the
13th instant, and Frankfort Papers to the 9th
April. In our extracts from the former, is a
Circular from the Director-General of Affairs,
relative to the Catholic worship in the Nether-
lands, addressed to the Archbishops, Bishops, and
other heads of Dioceses, stating, that in several
provinces, Missiuna ries, even foreigners, have come
to pariShes with a view to instruct the people in mat-
ters of religion ; that the presence of these i%lissiun-
aries is not only useless, but offensive to the parish
clergy, and commanding the Cures to refuse ad-
mission to such Missionaries, should they appear
in their parishes. This we consider an extremely
judicious measure; for a greater nuisance cannot
well be conceived than the appearance among the
country people of begging friars in the character
of Missionaries, to.work on their imagivatious, It
is greatly to he lamented that tlre-Fi ench Govern-
ment should have given so much encouragement to
this sort of foolery, and that vagabonds of all de-
scriptions should have been allowed to roam up
and down the country,placing crosses and exhibit-
ing mummeries, to the scandal of all sensible
people. Before the French Revolution, most
of the Governments of the Continent exerted
themselves very much to put a stop to this mis-
sionary business,
as interferiug with their plans
for the instruction and improvement of the people.
" An impudent Monk (says a work on Ca-
tholic abuses, published in 17840 by his preach-
ing on hell and admiration, often quite tarns
the heads of his wretched hearers, and fills
their minds with all sorts of fanatical ex-
travagance, thus often overturning at once
the edifice of solid instruction, reared. nth pains
by their clergymen."- They drew tire people to-
gether by the droll stories, with which they
seasoned, their diScourses. This writer observes,
4',4 we may say confidently, that our posterity. will
-only know from description, or from copper-
plates, the sort of animal called a Country Mis-
!sionarY..." We would fain hope that the example
(31.-the -Netherlands' Government will not be lost
on that Of the great ceuntry its neighbour. It is
surely high time to abandon the system of trust-

ing to the debasement of the people for the secu-
rity of thrones.

[THE TIMES.]

One of those inexplicable panics to which the
Money Market seems periodically subject, oc-
curred yesterday, and caused a decline in the
value of almost every description of Government
Security. Consols fell to 92i for the May ac-
count, and as that price includes in part the di-
vidend which becomes 'lite in July next, the re-
duction in value appeared too great to be ac-
counted for, except by the approach of some po-
litical disaster. As is usual on those occasions,
the inventive faculty was tasked to account
for the fall, and every individual explained
it in a different way. The Congress at
Milan, which the best accounts from Paris now
declare to be an unfounded rumour, was the fa-
vourite topic. The true cause we conceive to be a
vague apprehension, which has been gaining ground
in the commercial world, with regard to the
effect likely to be produced on the funds by
the removal of the restrictions on trade, and
the opening of the ports to foreign corn at a
graduated scale of duties. They have observed
for some time with alarm, that the exchanges
are falling, and that the exportation ofgold is going
on at a rapidly increasing rate. In this state of
mind, they have not, perhaps, sufficiently adverted
to the principle, that all such matters adjust them-
selves easily, and find their level when left alone,
and in their uncertainty respecting the event,
they have withdrawn large sums from investment
in Government securities, until its effect can ')e
aseertained. We have every reason to believe
that capital has, from such motives, been ab-
stracted to an enormous extent. When it is
considered further, into how many channels
capital is diverted by foreign loans at a high
rate of interest, and new undertakings with
indefinite expectations of profit, it is not sur-
prising that the English market should be pecu-
liarly susceptible of any alarm artfully excited
by interested persons. In the latter part of yes-
terday, some expresses having arrived from Paris
with favourable accounts of the state of the
monied operations there, and generally of the
situation of politics, some large purchases of
stock were made, and Consols recovered to 921,
at which price the transactions closed. The
other variations of the money-market will be
found on referring to our usual list.