The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-22 00:00:00

FINE ARTS,

SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS.
We attended a private view of the Exhibition
of this Society on Saturday, which will be
opened to the public this day. It contains
several clever pictures, chiefly landscapes, but
few of first-rate merit. On the whole, it may
be pronounced a very fair average Exhibition,
not equal, certainly, to some of its predecessors,
but quite as good as the last. As the object of
the Society of British Artists is a most admirable
one—namely, to further the interests of Art and
Artists by the opportunity which their Gallery
affords the rising talent of the day, of placing
works of merit fliirly before the public eye, we
are glad to learn that the Society is an improving
one. Among the pictures exhibited this year,
some of the best are on Italian subjects,
and from the pencil of Hurlstone, who is
making great progress in his profession. His
painting entitled " The Convent of St. Isidoro,
a groupe near the Convent-door, the Monks
giving away provisions," No. 21, is chastely
coloured, and produces an agreeable effect. No.
36, " A Day's Pleasure," is in Prentis's most
successful manner. A party of friends. are ca-
rousing at a well-filled dinner-table ; the cloth is
removed; the dessert is spread; and all is appa-
rent ease and sociality, though the chairman has
evidently a serious eye to the reckoning. From
an open window the eye catches a delightful bit
of landscape scenery, the perspective of which
is happily managed. From the statue of the
tall, gaunt, and haughty Pitt, which stands
m
close beside the Chairan, we presume that the
party are Tories, whose sole resource left to com-
fort them in this, their present season of tribula-
tion anddespondency, is a good dinner. There
are few more spirited paintings in tile exhibition
than this. No. 73, " Portrait of his Royal High-
ness the Prince of Capua," is by Stewart. It is
fairly enough painted, and is the likeness of a
mild, gentlemanlike young man, with very little
royal dignity about him. We have seen pictures
of Prince Albert not much unlike this in point of
feature. No. 127, " udibras," is a clever, lively
production. The painter is Holmes, who has hit
off Butler's doughty Knight with considerable
skill. The termagant Trulla, too, fully realizes
our conception of her character, as sketched by
the poet. No. 139, " The Interior of Gloucester
Cathedral in the Olden Time," exhibits some
striking effects of perspective, and reminds us of
some ()idle architectural drawings of Roberts.
No. 241, " Gotsburg on the Rhine, with a distant
view of the Drachenfels,"—which Lord Byron,
it may be remembered, has immortalized in his
third canto of Childe Harold—represents an old
ruined castle perched on the summit of a hill in
the fore-ground, while the dim blue heights of
the Drachenfels are faintly seen rising steeply
up in the distance. There is a great command
of space shown in this picture, which is
by Tomkins. is o. 292, " The Guardians of
the Flock," is one of the most striking pic-
tures in the collection. It is from the pen-
cil of Hurlstone, and represents two shep-
herd boys in the midst of a mountain scene,
accompanied by their wolf-dogs. One of the lads
seems half asleep, the other is actively on the
watch, and his countenance teems with that lively
expression which Wilkie knows so well how to
throw into his homely country sketches. The
dogs are pourtrayed with infinite spirit, and the
colouring of the one fronting the spectator is
vigorous, without being in the slightest degree
overcharged. No. 397, "Scene from the Memoirs
of the Count de Grammont—James, Duke of
York, Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, and the
Earl of Arran," by Ward, has something of the
courtly air of Watteau about it. The only defect
we find in this clever picture is, that the Coma-

toss's eyes are rather ioo dull and heavy for a
confirmed, playful coquette. No. 447, "The
barque, Elizabeth, on her beam-ends in a gale,"
is a carefully finished production, but the swollen
waves have a little too much the appearance of
solid masses. Less stiffness in this part of the
picture, would have improved it. No. 490, "The
Frozen Ferry" is a capital winter scene by Mul-
ler. The figure of the girl with her milk-pail in
the intermediate distance, relieves the otherwise
monotonous still-life of the landscape. There are
many other pictures of merit in the Exhibition,
but we have neither space nor time to notice them
as we could wish.

PORTRAIT OF PRINCE ALBERT.
By Mr. PENLEI%
We were on Saturday favoured with a view of
Le Portrait of Prince Albert, which Mr. Penley

has recently painted in water colours by conk
mand of her Majesty. It is as fine a specimen
of the perfection to which this style of Art has
been raised of late years, as any we ever saw,
and confirms us in the opinion, which we have
long formed, that it is absurd and unjust to
designate by the disparaging name of drawings,
the finished and effective works, which so many
artists of the highest education and talents are
now daily producing in every department of the
Art, with this medium. This picture, which is
painted on paper, has quite as much force, and
nearly as much strength of colour as could be
produced in oil by any painter c,f* the day; and
we say, without hesitation and without flattery,
that her Majesty's expressed approbation of it " as
a picture and as a likeness," proves that the
opinion generally entertained of her possessing
a natural taste and cultivated judgment in the
Fine Arts is well founded. As a picture, the
work under our consideration has high merit in
composition, colour, drawing, and management
of the lights. As a likeness we are inclined to
pronounce it the most successful that has yet ap-
peared before the public. Mr. Penley caught
with rare felicity the peculiarly sweet expression
of the Prince's countenance. The term sweet is
the only one we can find to convey our mean-
ing. It is a correct term in the criticism of
physiognomy and art, and the appearance of it
in this case, is true, and apt. In observing a close
delineation of strongly marked and classical fea-
tures, it is easy for a faithful ;;ortraiteur to
miss the softness and delicacy, which, as in the
present instance, is the effect of their harmonious
blending, or of that external manifestation of the
soul, which, under the name of expression, is the
most difficult accident of " the human face di-
vine," for art to imitate. In this respect this portrait
deserves the highest praise. The soft and liquid
character of the eyes is here expressed with per-
fect truth, and the outline of the lips is not hard
and marble-like (as seen in many a living face),
but, as in the gentle-mannered and kind original,
remarkably soft and flowing. In other details of
the face (as in the moustachios) a fair criticism
points out many excellencies, although, in the
present notice, the mention of them might ap-
pear too minute. On the whole, the portrait is
life-like and forcible, and the details are marked
with the utmost fidelity and care.
The back-ground is properly adapted to give
effect to the flesh, and (with the furniture), is,
we are told, accurately copied from the chamber
in which the Prince is represented standing, and
which was fitted up under the immediate direc-
tion of his Royal II ighness for a picture gallery;
nor could anything be better chosen for the
walls of such -an apartment than the colour of
the panels. They are painted in the Arabesque
pattern of crimson (very much subdued), upon a
ground of neutral tints, with which the hangings
and carpets, though varied and rich in colour,
harmonise well.

DARLESTON. ANTI-CORN-LAW TEA-
PARTY.—Between 350 and 400 persons took tea in the
British School Room on Monday evening. The room
was decorated with numerous batmen:, bearing appropriate
inscriptions, among which were the following, " Long
live the Queen ;" " Free trade, no monopoly ;" " Givo
us this day our daily bread ;" " The produce of the whole
earth is given by God for the food of man, and it is
wicked to prevent its free distribution." The names of
J. B. Smith and R. Cobden also appeared among those
of Villiers, Thornely, Hume, &c. The Rev. D. Bowen
asked the following blessing, the company standing,—
" 0 God, who doth bountifully supply food for the beings
whom thou bast created, if man interferes not with thy di--
pensations, and uhi bast permitted us to assemble toge-
ther to partake of thy goodness, to thee we offer up the
adoration and thanks which are justly thy due. 0 God,
look down with mercy at this crisis upon the destitute poor
in this kingdom ; be as a shield agaiost the blighting iv-
fluence of poverty, which has assailed millions of our coun-
trymen, and is insinuating itself daily into the huusescow
thousands of others; open the hearts of our ros!dleircsoto
the
responsibility they incur iii withholding !15
plentifully distributed over the earthdmtay
poor, so that the fruits which thou bast mufboreifieenc
jnotylyedanbdv
Queen ; may she reign in truth, and j,u . us, and the poor of the land have bre? osticeeat;
and
lmesesrcthy-e,
over a loyal people."—Staffordshire hsanttner.
HOW TO SETTLE TFIE AMERICAN BOUN-
rDiAcRanY
CDoismrumTisEsTonlttoshrtladbinisoht btehethcelsoimbjsectofofthtehet
jAnmi
eed-
States, nor of the British Commission to establish the
claims of England, perfas el nefas. The common object
of both ought to be the discovery of the line defined by
treaty, without regard to its effect; upon either country ;
and that this might to the more satis:fa,_tt.rily dote, v,e
decision any -should like to see a joust Commission appointed by Gr, at
Britain and the United States, with which might he advana
fsawt;sefnaccluyncan
ntsegeeteoduslwyithasesietchi:rtecdoonnnetry7
ttow o
wscheonsee
on to ' a conclusion.-rs
mode
dis-
puted details of the exploration might be referred. This
appears CATS
bringing
b e
thisti e
complicatedmos t expeditious
lue s andti
of
While American Commissioners engage to
and Briti,h Commissioners engage to prove prove one case
o prove another, their
labours roust have a tendency to aggravate rather than ex-
tenuate existing embarrassment s% The question of right is
that first to be ascertained ; this
being once accomplished,
e of the two countries would
speedily should hope the good Eeos
speedily make it hsr '. mo
rase with present relations.--Mor"'
ing Advertiser,

EVENING EDITION.

SPAIN AND ROME.

RoME, MARCH 2.—The following is the allocution
which the Pop addressed yesterday to the Cardinals
in the Consistery which he held :
Venerable Brethren,—We have already deplored,
for five years., in your Assembly, tl a sad situation of
re:igio❑ in Spain, as welt as a great number of encroach-
ments on the Church. We have caused our speech to
be published, in order to urge the Government of
Madrid to adopt wiser re3olctions, or at least to give
to the world an authentic and solemn proof of our
apostolical disapprobation of those events. Since then
we had abzta'ned from other more serious and public
complaints, not because in Spain the Church is no
longer outraged, but because we had remarked that the

claims of the prclites of that kingdom had had, at in-
tervals, at !e tst a partial success. That is why we, eon-
tinue Ito protect the cause of the Church by milder
measures. We had hopes that, with time our iodul7

gcnee vvoull open an easier channel ; that it would
cure the wrongs of Israel, and restore to holy things,
if not their primitive splendour, at least a worthy
and suitable state ; but matters have passed on
quite otherwise. In fact, the Government of Madrid
seems to have sought the cessation of civil war by the
reestablishment of peace, but for fresh audacity in
order to trample under foot thesacred rights of the Church
of Spain and of the Holy See. It is in consequence
that the secular magistrates received orders by decree
of the 10th of December, 1840, to put in force the de-
cree of 1835, which prohibits Bishops, with some slight
exceptions, t ►appoint to ecclesiastic !l preferments.
By the decrees of the Gth and 13th of December, it is

declared that the ordonnances for the suppression of
the convet t: will be enforced on those in ti.e provinces
which have given their subm;ssion, and which until
then had re mained intact. Even the churches were not
spared, for a decree of the 9th of DecemLer, 1840,
orders that ad the churches of the convents shall bo
sold by public auction, with the exception of those in
which divine worship is performed, which, however,
inasmuch
as be so performed but in those churches,
as they have Leen pillaged of all they possessed. To
this must Le added the decree of the 31st of January,
relative to a law to be laid Lefore the next Cortes,
enacting thA the secular clergy, is wing been deprived
for a length of time of a gre it portion of its reve-
nue, will be etripped of al possession of church
property, and thus reduced, the regular
clergy, to a mercenary state, in &der to live upon a
precarious salary, which is promised them by the State.
We complain of the dignity of our holy apostleship
halving been outraged in the person of our Vice-
Nuncio, as well as by the Tribunal de la Rota, insti-
tuted by awhority of the Holy See, in order to decide
ecclesiastical prosecutions, which had been carried by
appeal before the Holy S: e. The Roman Pope has
exercised this right in Spain from the first ages, and in
certain cases even he confided the exercise thereof to
his legates. We complain that several venerable men
have been deprived of the sees, where the Holy Ghost
had placed them as Bishops for the government of the
Church of God, and th,.t their vica-s had been often
shackled in the exercise of their functions. Canons of

vacant churches have been urged or compelled to confer
the functions of a capitular vicar on a man who has
been appointed Bishop by the Government, contrary to
the measures of the second Council of Lyons, and
other canonical constitutions confirmed by letters of
Pius VII., our predecessor.
" We complain of the expulsion of the friars from their
convents, to whence they had retired in order to prac-
tice perfection according to Evangelical Councils, as
well as of the bad treatment experienced by the secular
clergy, and the vexations which they undemeat, even
in matters appertaining to their functions. We com-
plain of the usurpation of the Church property, an usur-
pation which has already been consummated in a great
portion solely as if that property belonged to the nation,
and as if the immaculate wife of Jesus Christ had not
the natural right t 3 acquire and possess temporal es-
tates ; so that our predecessors might be blamed as
usurpers of the property of others who possessed the
like, even under Pagan princes, and when the Church
was deprived thereof by the edicts of those princes.
Our successors, by exacting hereafter the restoration,
according to the laws of justice and under the follow-
ing Emperors, ere complain of the decrees and other
measures which have been adopted by the Govern-
ment, by which the immunities of the Church and of
the priesthood, established by order of God, and
by the canonical laws, have been despised ; and
by which an infringement has been made with
unheard of audacity on the necessary powers for
the exercise of our holy religion—powers which the
Church has received from its Holy Founder to exer-
cise them also with perfect liberty even in the midst of
the opposition of the Princes of the Earth. We com-
plain that the temples of the God of Sabbath, the
images of saints, the ornaments of the churches, and
even the holy vessels devoted to the sacrifice which
ought only to be looked at with respectful fear, have
been used for profane purposes. We complain, in
short, that no obstacle has been put to the propaga-
tion in the very Catholic kingdom, and not always
without the knowledge of the authorities of impious
books, and even to the admission of Heretic doctors
in order to slake the faith of the simple-minded, and
that at the same time that the audacity of impiety
increased, religious ceremonies have been often enough
contaminated, by the scoffing, tumult, blasphemy, and
even assassination of the priests. In consequence, and
acting under the cares with which we arc inspired, ac-
cording to divine inspiration, for all churches, we de-
clare, by virtue of our apostol cal authority, that we dis-
approve of all that hits been done or attempted in the
matters, or in others concerning the rights of the Churcb,
by the Government of Madrid, or the authorities which
are subordinate to it ; and we annul and set aside all
tile said decrees and measures by virtue of our said
apostolic authority, with all the consequences ; we de-
dare them both for the past and for the future null and
void. We conjure the authors of those decrees, who
boast of the name of the son of the Catholic Church,
we supplicate them in the name of the Lard to open
their eyes on the wounds which have been perpetrate I
thereon, as well as on its most merciful mother, and to
recollect the ecclesiastical censures and penalties which
apostolic constitutions and the decrees of the Ecumenic
councils pronounce against those who encroach upon
the rights of the Church, that in consequence all 'and each
of them may have pity on their souls, chained down by
invisible chains, and that they forget not that the judg-
ment will be more severe for those who reign and go-
vern, and that the most scrupulous prejudice of this
judgment attains the one who has merited by this
misdeed to share in preaching to assemblies and eccle-
siastical communities. We congratulate the bishops
and archbishops of Spain on the pastoral zeal with
which they remained in their dioceses, or prctected the
cause of the Church, if they have been forced to retire,
exhorting the faithful to their duty, by pointing out to
them the dangers of irreligion. The remainder of our
faithful clergy also deserves our praise fur their co-opera.
tion. Finally., the great majority of the Catholic peo-
ple has remained faithful to the Bishop, who has ob-
tained canonical institution. We have, therefore, the
firm hope that our merciful Lord will bestow n favour-
able glance on his flock. Continue, venerable brethren,
to address earnest prayers to God, through Jesus
Christ, and to invoke the intercession of the mother of
God, the Patron Saint of Spain, and of all the Saints
who have lived in that country whilst they were on the
earth, when they sanctified, ennobled their country by
their motive?, their doctrines, and their sufferings, and
even shed their blood for the faith. May they i n these
times be the protectors of their countrymen, and,
through their intercession, may the evils with which
they are menaced be averted."

THE FRENCH STAGE.--The
theatrical per-
of Deputies has lately exhibited some veryave
,ed
cousi_
per-
formance, which even in this country have are" so pecu-
&rabic attention. The French, h thew life of a French
,th c•Pm 11
.
liarly theatrical, it is allowed, that french Chamber
tactorics 0
ff uhrins dth;e
bcuhtarawhceteni iatn-
much in the best society of
individual who has
r"vedosf the moat distinguished come-
one
i'bes
countryment
France as M. Fleury—
contemporary of Lekain, Preville,
he conterrip
clians of bis age, t ~_ ,i stars" that have shone in Paris
Talmo, Mars, and 11 to.
the friend of every one of that brit-
heni o stthfaati t
for the las-. fifty ) choainu 1
bpei c:ruorceu or
ef
liant btcrary circle t
deservedly enjoys, and the associate of
it soea'rt raised the Comedic Francaise to
the reputation
characters who flourished at the Court
most. . prt I..nstve as well as
Revolution, and
whilst Napoleon wai
°f Louis during
full splendour (f his imperial power, aff.rds
enjoY...b - of his experience, we may anticipate apicture
of results
caletiblactteidvektad It is, therefore, not surprising
gNei.atilCliettihrerls?r7necnih°•Pcople " with
int;tetbhemeumois,,o,tesct:in:cotrhiec
that the trs, under the
the advantzge of so able an editor as Mr. Theodore 'Hook,
, ,a
Tn announcement oeem Frenche n r
Stage
should have created the very t;ene: al interest it ha, or that.
it should be regarded as promising to be the must amusing
title of
book of the season.

PRoGitEsS OF TEETOTALISM AND CHAR-
T ISNI. —M B. 11EN P.Y VIN CENT. —( From a Correspondent.)
—This Chartist leader is at present engaged delivering
lectures on the five points of the Charter throughout Eng-
-I.nd. His exeriiens are attended with very great shuoccehaes,
in consequence of the mild tone of politics which
Mras
at the Weavers'
adopted ;he is daily gaining proselytes. He and .
Vincent were entertained at dinner by the pp
Mr. Hugbessts-wreere pigven:
eople of Ban-
bury,sidin On
the cloth heirs g removed, the'follo g
winret" _.oar rights and no
Arms •
Mr. Henry
" The Queen, her rights and no
Air. Henry Vincent,
Vincent"—( Loud cheer. )--& and others, addressed the
Iles ,• J. J. Faulkner' "--"-i" lii Northampton he was
less ;" " The l'eople and the Charter;"m° "
and subsequently delivered
Lvited to a pale t P
17i-eared lectures at Kettering on Fri.
two lectures. fle.det.
ai strubly during the everntiyu,g.
On this day (Monday) a public
day and Saturdayalkaes
P
lace in the e Leicester
tea meetiiig twill Vincent will deliver a lecture " On the
Mr.ef Public Affairs." 110 is to %kit Lough-
everywhere he insists on teetotalism as a
borough ; an
wards gaining the Charter.
ua non to . .
That part of the Carlisle arid Maryport railway
aPfruc'srewnthiAchspecdt
between Oughterside Colliery and 4spatris„ is progressing
rapidly,
"dly and is expected to be opened on Easter Monday.
The traffic in coals in that part already opened is at pre.
sent immense, the " Ellen" making six trips every day,—.
Carlisle Journal.

E VENI NG EDITION.

SUDBURY ELECTION COM-

MITTEF,.

(Continued from l'Ae San of Saturday.)
Colonel F. ADDISON, a 3lal,istrate of Suffolk, was present
he election for Sudbury. 1L went to the Hall before any
i.co .eedings had taken place. After the usual preliminaries.
l'omline was proposed and seconded. There was then a
I•;*.tse of about a quarter of a minute. The Mayor asked if
ti,,v ono had any candidate to propose. There was another
slight pause, when tine Mayor said he would give a
minute, and then declare Mr. Tomline duly elected, if no
.ne ease was nominated. Mr. Tomline immediately took out
his watch. There was instantly a cry thro:'ghout the hall of
.• Bagshrr.r, we will have him." Mr. Alderman
Parr then got up and said, " Seeing the feeling that exists, I
propose John Bagshaw, Esq., as a fit and proper person to re-
p: esent the borough." Mr. Saxby seconded the nomination.
AP.er much hesitation on the part of the Mayor, he said he
wJakl act impartially,-and as the minute had expired, he de-
clared Mr. Tomline duly elected.
Cross-examined—He was a voter of the borough, and had
proposed the Wig candidate on several occasions. lie had
pro.iesed Mr. Bagshaw before, but did not. go to the Hall to do
to then. He had not, issued any ad'tress to the electors. He
hal told Mr. Pagbhaw's friends that he was not coming down,
tu.;, he would be very glad to see him elected. He expected
th,it 11r. Arland would be the candidate. The leaders of the
party had determined not to offer any opposition to Mr.
r.loarline's election. They left it to the lower orders to make
a demonstration if they pleased. He meant the freemen
ie:in were very fond of a contest. They were very
an ious for a contest in order to put money in their pockets.
71-2 Mayor's name was Mr. Spooner. He was a large linen-
, and was a leading man on the Liberal side, and had
i for Mr. Bagshaw. He was a staunch Liberal, and there
no reason to suppo,e that he was any fiend of Mr. Tom.
There were many of the freemen in the ball when the

.pal r demonstration was made in favour of IlTr. 13i,gshaw.
lle-examined.—He was certain that had Mr. Ilagshaw been
e?fic:tetl, he would have served.
By the COMMITTEE—There was no show of hands taken.
- Arland was protesting' against the :declaration, but wa3
:yeti. He wa not aware that any elector of Sudbury en-
.( cl a protest. There was certainly ample time to propose
;Ind second any candidate in the panic's spoken of after Mr.
.mline was proposed.
Mr. W. Warner, an auditur of the borough of Sudbury, had
, _1 in the Hall on the sth of June, and he gave the same ac-
''it of the proceedings as the last witness. He attended
s•o as the Chief Constablo, and the proceedings altogether
o:•t;ttpied ha'f an hour.
Cross-examined.—He was a retired tradesman, and of libe-

sal polities. He know of no consultation respecting candidates
.11 the occasion of the late vacancy. The freemen were very
tend of a contested election. The last contest was cer-
tainly a very dry affair. Mr. Acland was a candidate.
Mr. Bagshaw was not a candidate. Witness did not know
th..t he was to be proposed. There was a pause after Mr.
Tomline's nomination, in which there was plenty of time for
_Alderman Parr to have nominated Mr. Bagshaw. There
another pousc after the Mayor had asked whether any
1.. :ler candi'late was to be proposed ; in that pause there was
fo.• any one to have been proposed.
By the COMMITTEE—He fully expected that after the first
pause, the Mayor was about to declare Mr. Tomline duly
elected. He left the Hall under the impression that Mr. Tom-
iine was duly elected.
air. Joseph Barker was in the Hall-yard looking through
the window. The witness spoke generally to the proceedings
in the same mariner as the other witnesses ; only he said the
rilayor declined to take a show of hands, on the ground that
had not had a proper nomination cf Mr. Bagshaw.
Cross-examined by 11Ir. --11.INGIIAM.—Does the consti-
ttioncy of Sudbury consist of a number of free burgesses?
---Yes.

That costs them something?—l raid 351. 16s. for mine.
Now, do not many of them expect to be remunerated for
that nutlar at elections ?—Why, Mr. Wrangham, you have
there—(he was a eandidate)—and know more of these
things than I do.—(Laughter.)
Tne question was repeated, but being objected to, was not
pressed.

Mr. Join Wodderspoan, a shorthand-writer, who was
pro,,cnt at the election, produced and read the notes taken by
hiin upon the occasion, which showed the former witnesses to
have been generally correct.
It being now past four o'clock, the proceedings wers adjourned
till Monday.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OP SATURDAY.
(From the Globe.)
In the House of Commons the order of the day
to the further consideration of the Poor-law Amend-
ment Act gave occasion for the delivery of speeches
of a complexion and character so various, that it is
sahject of surprise how some of those who delivered
th sal could contrive to dovetail the observations in
i.ich they indulpd into the motions before the
thase. Of these vardcring stars Mr. Wakley was

ths; most eccentric in his movements. The speech with
which he introduced a motion, " that the Bill be
d:i:ded into two Bills," relating to anything but the
suLject-matter of his motion. The House of Commons,
a'though " reformed" was not benefited by the change—
li:s own regret for having aided in passing the Reform
13 11—his own sayings and doings, as one of the Middle.
szx Coroners, in " his own Court"—a collection of all
t:-!Ac, extreme and in most cases grossly exaggerated in-
st,inces of oppression and cruelty gathered from the
fines (which, if attributable to the law rather than
to occasional mal-administration, would prove that it
ought to be wholly abrogated, rather than continued by
two separate Acts)—these irrelevant and inflammatory
to lies, the emanation► of egotism and absurdity, sea-
soned with a spice of Spenecism and stirred up with a
significant allusion to physical force, to please Chartist
pliates—went to make up one of the most extraordi-
nary speeches ever delivered in the House of Commons.
Whether the Hon, Member for Finsbury felt the sting
of Lord John Russell's sarcasm, which would have
entered the hide of a rhinoceros, driven home as it was
by she cheers of both sides of the House, or whether the
clVect of the motion had been answered by the occa-
don it afforded for the delivery of the speech, we will
not undertake to pronounce. The motion was with-
; and Mr. Wakley also withdrew, with caustic
words tinging in his ears, if not rankling in his memory.
shall be glad to discover that the castigation, so
ri,Thly deserved, has been productive of reformation, by
3-,..:dericg the Hon. Member for Finsbury more discreet
Li his " own Court," and in the Commons' House.
(From the Courier.)
We confess ourselves to be grestly grat:fied by the
tone, if not by the results of the discussions on the new

•
Poor-law Continuance Bill last evening. And. yet with
one result progressively working its way we have cause
to be satisfied also, for the line of demarcation begins to
be strongly drawn, and will, we trust, become more
b!Tally defined still with each succeeding discussion,
on each of the innumerable occasions hereafter of
bf:nging, before the House the never-failing cases of
r,roeious New Poor-law practice, between the true
frir•nds of the poor and their foes and abettors of the
profligate New Poor-law system. We would specially
refer and commend our-readers to the manly, eloquent,
and intrepid speeches of Mr. Wakley, Mr. Townley
Pa:ker, Mr. Grimsditch, Gen. Johnson, Mr. H. Fitzroy,
and, let us add, in strict justice, of Sir Robert Peel also,
N=.llo 3e Speech, though y'elding a modified support to
tl liii, was full of excellent old English feeling. It

:Ipossible to rise from the perusal of those portionso-, Cie debate without convictions strengthened of the
IL:constitutional, merciless, and unchristian character
of the abominable measure in almost all its parts. Mr.
Wakley put the argumentum ad hominenz with great
flrce :—" He could not understand how the great landed
ITriaprieters in the House, with whom it was of course
~,n_ object to I:ve well with their neighbours, came to
1, . t tberw.elves—he had almost said meanly lead them-
`EN-:.7x:ct this course. Ho told those gentlemen that
1-3:. 1 wits subverting the feelings of human nature in
, ,Il country. Ho could not conceive how those gentle-
r,:,,n came to support this law, and yet promoted the
t.juzation at the people.
v ,t 3 impossible thpaecotplbesslww Ho told the House that it
and education could go on
t::_;ether. The
g saw, or he ought to sly
,',c people were heginnin
were a t.he real nature of this
0 :ious enactment ; they
wealth to see that it
lEhngoifisthis country at
v 3 an attempt to prfoeteeleintgtbvvemal
t' • expense of every
, supported ae the'
; ::.,:ustomed to revere ; they Were beennibiaTeton had been
t!:,e aristocracy, for their own advantage
! at the expense of human feeling and human haptlapi•ls
11,:5F. But be could tell the aristocracy, that there -via;
r,ot a man of them who was not placing his property, end
Perhaps his life, in jeopardy by adhering to this li.w.”
ne people, ignorant as they are bel,eved, and base
ccd brutal as they aro made in the reports of new
Poor-law Commissioners from first to last, a-e rarely
deceived in the long run in ther conclusion, however,
under the influence of temporary excitement, their.
better judgment may be occasionally warped. S.x years
ceel acquaintance with New Poor-law blessings serve
oily to confirm the truth of their early impressions, that
• : law in spirit as in expression is neither more nor less
ti.so a sordid conspiracy of wealth against proverty, of
ta•rich against the rights of the poor and destitute.
(From the Standard.)
-

,The Earl of Aberdeen, as will have been observed,
aught the present wretched condition of New-
fl:undland under the notice of the House of Lords
-• night. Lord Normanby craved a respite for
Idinisters upon the pretext that they are preparing
F-ome remedy for the frightful evils they have
(raven upon what was, until they took it into tho:r
hands, one of the most happy and thriving, and for its
size, one of the most important colonies of the British
rnpire. It is to be regretted that the Earl of Aberdeen
Idol to Lord Normanby's representation. There was
no just reason for the concession, for the distractions
and miseries of Newfoundland have been accumulat-
ing for years, indeed, from the first day thvt the
wlony was cursed with a " Reform" Constitution,
.aid yet Ministers have done nothing to stay the
pl.:gue ; on the contrary, they have encouraged and
promoted it by the countenance which they Lave
given to its author& The readers of the Standard
know how long the state of society now /Omitted
to be intolerable has afflicted the colony. Lird
Aberdeen's concession is, however, chiefly to be
regretted because it deprives the country of the
lesson which it must read in the history of New-
foundland for the last eight or nine years—that les-
son presents
necessary in a compact and clear diagram the
operation of conjoined democracy and Po-
. siery. The franchise qualification in Newfoundland
is precisely that which her Majesty's Ministers would
-Ova to Ireland—% fivb. o
on—
rind it is free to work I *flea t'on—
Pwituheuuoccupaany (la
t any pretence ni." sewn
cent uri es of oppression" to
; aanovr " tithes" to irritate, or
• Orangemen" to alarm what result ? Why,
c•Jmost to the letter what Mr.
iad€ed that cow toys arc sent to ParliParrenitsegb.e c Not
piewfoundland is not a pastoral country, but
t'hat Ls:

hired at less than half the wages of most British
abourers are nominated by the priests to legislate fer
the colony, to dispose of the revenues, and to beard the
Government ; in short, that the Constitution is so preg-
nant with folly and danger, that it must be broken up.
Now, we cannot help thinking that a review of this
pol:tical diagram would be a useful preparation !, r the
duly estimating of Lord Morpeth's and Lord Stanley's
Bills.

MAGNIFICENT PUBLIC WORK IN

THE ISLAND OF MADEIRA.

[TLe following irreresting paper ha 3 been communi-
cated to the Atheneum by Dr. James Macaulay, Foreign
Secret iry of the Botanical Society, Edinburgh.]
In the Island of Madeira the Portuguese Govern-
ment is at present carrying on a great work, such as
would do honour to any age and to any nation. During
great part of the year that island is entirety fre3 from
rain. Ea co then, however, among the mountains, the
clouds and mists furnish a pepetual supply of moisture,
so that the river-courses are never wholly dry. This
water, as it descends from the mountains, is collected
and conveyed by means of Levadas, or artificial chan-
nels, through the cultivated grounds. The country
is everywhere intersected by these rivulets, and the
most perfect system of irrigation is thereby ma;ntained.
Same of these Lcvadas were formed by the first sett-
lers in the island, in the beginning of the fifteenth
century. The sl tvos of the early colonists were Moors
and E .stern captives, and it may be that from them
was derived a greater attention t 3 irrigation, and a
greater skill in its application than is generally observed
in European agriculture. Many of the works con-
nected with the irrigation of the island display remark-
abla enterprise and skill on the part of the natives, and
of these the most conspicuous is that of the Rock of
Rabs.g.l. At the Leld of a deep and narrow ravine
which forms the commencement of the valley of the
Ribeiro (river) de Jalell3, there rises a perpendicular
rock not less than 1,000 feet in height. An abundant
supply of water flows from this cliff ; partly in one
large ca3cade sweeping over from the summit, and
pa 6y in the form of innumerable streams issuing
from fissures in the face of the rock, and dripping
down through the mountain shrubs by which the cliff
is clothed. This water used to fall into an abyss at
the bottom, whence it flowed along unemployed and
useless through the ravine and valley of the Janella to
the Atlantic. It was obserteJ, that if the water could
be intercepted in its descent, and conducted by art from
the course in which nature directed it, it might be I

:urned to infinite utility for the purposes of irrigation.

Who had the boldness first to conceive the actual exe-
cution of the project is not recorded. It appears to
have been attempted at an early period of the history of
the island, as there are at one place remains of some
work of which no tradition has come down to us. In

1823, the Governor brought under consideration the
importance of making use of these waters ; but it was
only in 1836 that the work was commenced. Of the
extraordinary ability of the engineer under whose direc-
fon the work was planned, Captain Vicente de Paula
Texcira, a native of the island, even those who have not
seen the place must form the highest opinion from a sim-
ple description of the work. The height of the cliff I
have stated is 1,000 feet.* About 300 feet from the base,
a horizontal channel has be-n cut in the face of the
rock, sloping downwards and inwards, so that part of
the water from above is intercepted in its descent, and
falls into this hollow. The excavation extends round
the face of the cliff for about 600 feet, presenting the
appearance of a vaulted gallery, the roof of which is sup-
ported at intervals by pillars of the rock. The water
flows along this channel, and is then to be conducted
by an open aqueduct or Levada for the distance of six
miles. Here another great part of the undertaking is
in progress. A tunnel, which will be 150 fathoms long,
is to be cut through the crest of a mountain ridge, by
which means the waters of the rock of Rahapil will be
conveyed from the north to the south side of the island,
and will spread cultivation and fertility over extensive
districts hitherto either entirely waste, or yielding a poor
and precarious produce from the absence of irrigation.
The channel on the face of the rock is now nearly corn-
pl3ted, and the tunnel has been commenced at both ex-
tremities. In commencing the work, the operations
were of an extremely difficult and dangerous character.
It was impossible to reach the part of the cliff where
the channel was projected by any means except by
ropes suspended from above. Down this dreadful depth,
with 300 feet of the Precipice below them, the workmen
were lowered ; fastened to a little frame of wood at the
end of the rope, and bearing instruments for boring and
blasting the rock. When a mass of rock had been
loosened by the handspike, or a train had been
laid for blasting, it was necessary for the operator
to get out of the reach of danger by pushing himself off
from the cliff with his feet, and making for some tree
or projecting point, where he secured himself till the
explosion was over, and then returned to his labour.
The workmen were moreover continually drenched
by the streams of icy cold water falling upon them,
so that they had to be frequently relieved, on
account of their becoming benumbed with cold.

It is gratifying to add, that notwithstanding the ex-
treme danger of these operations (compared with the
samphire-gathering of Shakspea-e's Cliff, or the bird-
hunting of St. Kilda, might be described as occupations
of little danger), only one fatal accident has occurred
in the whole undertaking. And when wo consider the
extraordinary boldness of conception displayed in the
design, the genius and ability with which it has been
hitherto carried into execution, the difficulties and perils
that have attended the operations, and the noble pur-
pose of the undertaking, being not for mere ornament
or fame, but for the permanent well-being and improve-
ment of the country, we cannot but regard it as one of
the grandest efforts of modern art.
" An excellent representation of the place will be found in
a work preparing for publication by Mr. Picken, an artis!-,
who visited the island.

THE PUNISHMENT OF DEATH.

(From the Morning Herald.)
A great moral lesson was on Tuesday last taught by the
hangman of Salisbury. We yesterday gave the revolting
particulars of the execution—of the awful example—as
the advocates for killing by the law denominate a violent
death upon the public scaffold. No one, it is our belief, can
peruse the horrible details of the tragedy—without a deep
conviction of the insanity of the sufferer. The wretched
creature came showing and dancing upon the drop,
and with the very cap over his e)es, essayed miserable
jests, laughing and hallooing in the face of the hang-
man. His last advice to his auditors ran thus :—" If
ever any cf you go a-robbing, be sure and teke a
double-barrelled gun with you, to murder a'l you
can !" This from a fellow-creature, with the rope about
his neck—with the hand of ee.th outstretched to grasp
him 1 Oee minute Taylor was acting the ghastly
mountebank, and the next ho was a corpse I " I likes
this sort of fun !" exclaims the wretch ; and the re-
porter adds, "at this moment the bait was drawn, and
he ras launched into eternity." Can guilt so harden the
human heart ? Is it possibly that such fiend-like recklessness
can possess the soul of man' within an instant to pass into
the realms of dead)? Is it inhuman nature to play such hor:id
aetics on the very verge of the grave, unless stricken
madness? We think not. In charity, we hope in its
iiiipossihi ity. A t such a tim3 hypocrisy foreakes the
subtlest villain, the most hardened rutE an. Guilt, how-
ever dissimulating, cannot at such a time mask its hag-
gardness with such hideous merrimeat. In our epi..ion
James Taylor was a fitter subject for Bedlam than the
sc
We wilt, however, grant that Taylor was vane ; that he
uttei ei the blasphemies—tor allowing his sanity, they
were no les3—as an accountable being, What then be-
comes of the argument in favour of capital punishment?
What the terrifying influence of the hangman, when the
felon jests with him whilst under his very hands? What
remedy is made to society by strangling the wretch— by
abridging his life, when its remaining portion might have
been employed in useful slavery? If Taylor were really
in
h's senses—if he were not perfirming an awful mum-
ma er7—tleath could be no punishment to him ; no, it was
as :zaceo—nsaclrceulteiaosuesiwelhceorieevel,wittthieribfeallndnmewrreirmeenmt.a IF,
d—
should justice Stain herself with the blood of a maniac
selves altogether sa'i.th
"The populace,'
be thought that they Says the report, "conducted them-
ample ? Those endoweed
were
propriety." Can is, however,
wwairtihiedriveinlisetrrucsyteml7a.b,hyietBl:eweixth-
mure reflecting Powers,
whose
have felt a sense of resent-
mentewdeictum the man was flange
against the law by
yi?iewavretch, but feel that ho
as
They could not, whilst they
shocked and sickened
by the horrid mirth of the d
was unjustly dealt with—that
forgot. the murde7er. What
h-rl and not merely guilt.
pun's. madness about to be
They only saw the
madmen—they
m—what moral
it strengthen—what •
then, was his violent death to the example,
obligation did social principle
wiser and
returning to timer homes eV
sadder men ?" and, . id they
fortify ? Did they quit the scaffold's. foot .•
ponder on the punishment of the blood-spiller, feeling that
his image would, at intervals throughout their life, rise to
their memory, an awful monitor against the crime of Cain)h
vain was
the law that
. the work of the
that such
If such were not their thong
h employeda hangman.—vein, an—
him.v n , and And
imosts i
t possible, wickedlyviv ien
, ask,
s
moral influence could be effected by the spect tele on Se_
lishury scaffold ? No : Taylor may he remembered as a
hors ible vision—a ghastly day-dream--a" retch, blas-
pheming, in his madness, with his dying breath
i ; but, for
a moral influence, we might as well hope it from the visita-
tion of the nightmare.
There was, however, another cla's of fig seer;, epr-
gregeted to witness the exit of the acsassin. There were
those, with less acute perceptions, who mistook tl e raving
bravado of the murderer for courage, —far spirit ; for the
triumphant proof of his " dying like a man," What a
solemn example di I the exhibition present to such be-
holders ! How deeply must they have bcou impressed
with the awful majesty of the law—hors profitably sad-
dened, how efficaciously instructed ! What views of re•
form, what self-promises of repentance, were shortly after
breathed in the tep-room and the beer-shop! The advice
of the dying
man to " be sure and take a double-barrelled
gun" in adventures of rolkery, was doubtless commented
up
rpeosn, b
iiynsmoafnyo penitencehis auditors wnirtshe the
omostw
many, affecting
journey-
ing the road of vice, were a turne— into the path of virtue by
the dying exhortation of
a James Taylor !

STEEL ORE.—_A NEW DISCOVERY.—The
.Na 31 that, in the town of Due, in
Franklintional Inteil
county, ig nacevrs
in
n
of
magnetic
oxide,
has been dis-
covered, which, on smelting yields a substance possessing
all the chemical properties of manufactured steel.