The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-16 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER 16, 1851.

remain in the United States, and are eager for a fray,
we shall understand the nature of the cry raised,
and its probable influence upon the sober-minded
Government of the United States. That Government
cannot fail to lament the inadvertence--to give it no
other name—which permitted the expedition against
Cuba to sail, and they ought henceforth to exercise
with proper energy the power which the law gives
them to put down every attempt to renew such an
outrage upon the comity of nations. Themselves en-
lightened, and °be) ing the dictates of a severe mo-
rality, they should be among the first to acknowledge
that hesitation or weakness on their part would now
be a glaring violation of the sacred duties imposed on
them, alike by their position, by a regard for the true
interests of the United S%ates, and by a worthy con-
sideration of the general welfare of mankind.
ADVERTISER.—The time has at last arrived
when those who wi►h to see an e ffective measure of
Reform must bestir themselves. Lord John Russell,
it is now known, has at length applied himself to the
task of framing another Reform Bill. He has been
obliged, whether he would or not, to abjure, at least in
practice, his finality notions, and to acknowledge him-
self a convert to the necessity of popular progress. No
thanks to the Noble Lord for this. It is not of a wil-
ling mind, but of necessity, that he appears on the
political stage as a Reformer. Had he been left to
follow out his own inclinations, he would have clung
to his finality principles till the end of the chapter.
He is again in the field as a Reformer, because events
had placed before him the alternative of either resign-
ing office, or bringing forward a new measure of Re-
form to meet the necessities of the times. He has
preferred the latter alternative, and is, accordingly,
about to come before the country in the same charac-
ter as that in which he appeared before it precisely 20
years ago. It depends entirely on the people them-
selves whether the Noble Lord is or is not to benefit

the country by his authorship of a new measure of
Reform. If left to himself', we can easily be-
lieve what sort of affair Lord John Russell
will make of the new measure. It will be worse
than an abortion. It will be a deception. It
will not be what it professes. It will be a delusion, a
mockery, and a snare. The Whig Premier will not
spontaneously do the thing that's right. If be is to
be honest he must be made so. If the new measure
is to be worthy of acceptation, the Noble Lord must
be made to frame it under compulsion. "Your
money or your life," says the footpad. A somewhat
similar alternative must be placed before the Premier.
The people must say to him, in the plainest possible
terms, " A sound sweeping measure of electoral re-
form, or your ejection from office." We know which
alternative the Premier will accept. He will agree to
give us all we ask, and more than is necessary, should
we demand it. As a free agent, Lord John Russell
is one of the most unsatisfactory persons that ever
occupied apartments in Downing-street. As a ser-
vant acting under the authority of the public, there
is nothing which he will not do. As, therefore, the
Premier is now known to be occupied in the prepara-
tion of his new Reform Bill, the people must bestir
themselves, if they wish to see him bring before the
country such a measure as will be worth their
acceptance. If he has begun in earnest to
frame his Bill, the nation ought also to be
at work in furnishing him with an exposition of their
views on the subject. They are bound to let him
know, in a way which will leave no room for miscon-
ception, the precise thing they want. If they do not
speak out he will turn round on them, and taunt them
to their faces in Parliament with having themselves
to blame for not having a better measure offered for
their acceptance. And there will be at least a show
of reason in the Noble Lord's reproaches. If the
country does not speak out—if it does not declare
what sort of a reform measure it wants, the Whigs
will certainly be in a position to make out a seeming
case for themselves, in not proposing a more liberal
scheme. If the measure is to be made one which will
meet the exigencies of the case—if it is to be one
which will, in some sense, come up to the require-
ments of the country, there must forthwith be a de-
cided and universal expression of the public voice.
We observe, with pleasure, that in some of the pro-
vincial parts of the country, and more especially in
the Potteries, great public meetings in favour of a
sweeping measure of reform, have already been held.
So far well. But snore is required. A movement in
Staffordshire, standing alone, will have little or no
weight with the Premier. Where are the great towns of
Lancashire and Yorkshire ? How happens it that
Manchester has made no sign ? Why is Leeds si-
lent ? What can be the reason that Sheffield is mute ?
Has Birmingham no voice to utter at such a time,
and on such a question ? It was not the wont of that
enterprising place to remain passive at a crisis like
the present. \Vhy does Birmingham give no token
of the interest it takes in the cause of popular pro-
gress now ? We are sure we will not in vain ap-
peal to it to bestir itself without delay. Nor will
Manchester, Leeds, or Sheffield fail to respond to the
call which we make on them, to arise and assert the
right of Englishmen to an ample measure of repre-
sentative reform. But if we are surprised at the past
apathy of the places we have mentioned, we are still
more astonished that the metropolis has not only not
yet taken any active part in the great question, but
that it is giving no indications of its intention to do
so. We do not heir anywhere, either in the City
or in the metropolitan boroughs, the note of
preparation for a demonstration in favour of
an extensive measure pf Parliamentary reform ?
Is, then, the reform feeling in the metropolis dead ?
Have the citizens of London ceased to be reformers ?
Are the metropolitan boroughs no longer the great
strongholds of the popular cause ? It almost seems
as if it were so ; and yet we know it is not. The
reform feeling is asleep, but it is not dead. It has
only to be aroused--only to be awoke, to become as
vigorous and determined as ever. But if it is to
awake from its slumbers, it must do so now,—other-
wise it will lose the only opportunity which may not be
afforded to it for a long time to come, of acting with
effect. A few weeks hence, and it may be too late.
The Premier may by that time have completed his
task. His work may be done. His measure may be
framed, and ready to be brought before the public.
He will not then feel under the same obligations as he
would do now, to regulate the prosisions of the Bill
by the generally expressed wishes of the country.
If, therefore, the Noble Lord is expected to bring
forward such a museum as will meet the necessities
of the case, and come up to the expectations of the
people, it is of indispensable importance that they
should bestir themselves without further delay. We
have no doubt they fully mean to do it; but the
danger is of their not moving in the matter until it be
too late. If any movement is to be made, it must be
done at once. Shall we appeal in vain to the City to
take the lead in a great national demonstration in
favour of a sweeping measure of reform ? If so, it
will be the first time for several generations, in which
the City has failed in its duty to the popular cause.
It was al ways the first and foremost in the field on all
previous occasions, when the case of civil and reli-
gious liberty was to be promoted. We cannot believe
it will hesitate any longer in the present emergency.
Let the City only do its duty, and all the metropoli-
tan boroughs will forthwith follow its example. And
the provinces, in that case, will tread in the steps of
the metropolis. To insure a great national demon-
stration in favour of a large and liberal measure of
representative reform, all that is required is, that
London shall take the initiative. Let the metropolis
only do this, and the work will be done. The object
on which all hearts are set will be achieved. Lord

John Russell will make a virtue of necessity—he will
concede that to the omnipotent voice of the public
which he would never have accorded to the abstract
_ _

claims of a nation's right.

THE SA RDIN lAN WORKMEN.
The following address has been presented by the
Sardinian workmen now visiting the Exhibition :
"TO THE ENGLISH SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDS OF ITALY

IN LONDON.

" The Italian workmen who have come from the
Sardinian States to admire the cosmopolitan industry
exhibited in the magnificent Crystal Palace, erected
by British genius for so noble a purpose, believe that
they would neglect a sacred duty of gratitude if they
quitted the shores of the Thames without addressing
their warmest thanks to you, the friends of their un-
happy country, oppressed by the stranger.
" We who, thanks to our statute, enjoy the advan-
tage of free institutions, are yet but divided by the
Ticino from those brethren the cry of whose long
martyrdom is first addressed to us. May the great
British nation be impressed by you in favour of the
unhappy Peninsula, so that in the approachingstruggle
of the people she may meet with the powerful support
of British influence. May the blessing of thtit God
rest upon you who has marked out with his Almighty
finger the boundaries of our nationality. Tl4s na-
tionality, opposed to foreign invasion, and by. him
who impiously and tyrannically arrogates to himself
the right of representing the God who is the Futher
of the peoples on earth, will arise more rapid)y' if it
meet the sympathy of free nations, and more espe-
cially of yours.
`6 THE ITALIAN WORKMEN OF THE SARDINIAN
STATIS IN LONDON.
" Sept. 8."

FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE STRAND.—Yesterday
afternoon, about four o'clock, two omnibuses, nearly full, and
proceeding to the West-end, having passed through Temple-
bar, commenced racing; one of them, a Chelsea omnibus, in
order to get before the other, drove at a furious rate on its
wrong side to round the cab-stand. In its progress, when
opposite the corner of Pickett-place, it came in contact with a
poor man, a vender of lead pencils, and knocked him down,
both wheels of the vehicle passing obliquely over his head and
nock. The unfortunate man was placed in a cab and re-
moved to King's College Hospital, when it was ascertained
that death must have been instantaneous, the head being
dreadfully fractured on
.the right side, and the vertebras of
the neck broken. The jugular vein was also burst. The
driver of the omnibus was at once taken into custody And
removed to )307-greet.

LECTURE ON BLOOMERISM BY A
BLOOMER.
Yesterday evening, Mrs. C. H. Dexter delivered a
lecture on Bloornerisrn, in the Literary Institution,
John-street, Fitzroy-square, immortalized as the
locality where the Chartist Convention held its sede-
runt. The lady having publicly announced that she
" would gratify her friends and admirers by appearing
on this occasion in the modern female costume," an
immense crowd was attracted to the place, which
speedily became filled almost to suffocation. A con-
siderable number of females of the middle class were
present, many of them evincing their sympathy with
" the dress movement" by occupying conspicuous
seats on the platform, but the male element prepon-
derated in the audience. The price of admission was
twopence to " the hall," and threepence to the gal-
lery ; but so great was the rush when the doors
opened that the crowd completely carried away the
men stationed to collect the halfpence, and hundreds
gained access without payment.
At half-past eight Mr•. Dexter, a lady about 35
years of 6ge, made her appearance on the platform
habited in the Bloomer costume. She was received
with slight manifestations of applause. Her attire,
which was wholly composed of black satin, consisted
of a jacket ordinarily worn by ladies in walking dress,
a skirt below that, scarcely reaching down to the knee,
and a pair of exceedingly wide trousers, tied at the
ankle. She proceeded at once with her lecture, which
she commenced by adverting to a slight degree of
difficulty and embarrassment she felt in appearing
publicly to advocate a change of female costume. She
felt there was something wrong in the state of things
which rendered it necessary for a woman to appear
in public to vindicate such a change. Yet that the
female dress came within the especial province of
females no reasonable being would dispute. Not-
withstanding, it was certain that the mass of the
people, and especially the female sex, were i❑ most
cases so completely under the trammels of fashion that
any deviation from the prevailing mode was regarded
with suspicion. No improvement, however undeniable,
was sure of adoption, and no absurdity, however glar-
ing, was sure to be rejected. Fashion, in the article of
dress, had most power among those nations whinh
arrogated to themselves a high degree of civilisation.
In our own country, at one period, no lady was (ma-
sidered in full dress who had not a castle piled some
twenty inches high upon her head. At another: pe-
riod, ladies consented to have their natural circum-
ference expanded by hoops, so contrived that it re-
quired much manoeuvering on their parts to pass an
ordinary doorway.—(Laughter.) It had been re-
served to the English nation' to carry to the extreme
pf absurdity a custom by which thousands of the
loveliest of nature's lovely works were annually nue.
4cred. She referred, of course, to the infernal con-
trivance of tight stays.—(Hear, hear.) She (Mrs.
Dexter) lifted up her voice against that, as the pre-
iminent and deadly evil incident to the present sys-
tem of female costume. She acknowledged no au-
thority which sought to prevent her from deviating
from the usual style of dress to such an extent as she
thought desirable on the grounds of 'health, conveni-
ence, and comfort.—(Cheers.) On that matter she
insisted on the right to judge for herself; and for
those who demanded from her an implicit submission
to the vagaries of fashion she had no respect. Many of
the most remarkable revolutions in fashion had been
introduced to conceal defects in the human form ; and
there had been those whose pride it was to ape their
superiors even to the extent of imitating their de-
formities. She contendect that she was at liberty to
adopt what dress she pleased, provided it offered no
violence to health or modesty. If her costume satis-
fied those conditions, she demanded to be left at perfect
liberty to consult her own taste in the matter of de-
coration, and hear own feelings with regard to conve-
nience and comfort.—(Applause.) She bad long felt
the inconvenience arising from long petticoats ; yet
she never thought of adopting the Oriental costume
until she learnt that one lady across the Atlantic had
actually walked abroad in trousers, to the amusement
of fastidious fault-finders. Let her remind her
audience of a common exhibition—a lady's dress on
a rainy day ; it was a moving panorama, and really
gave her more trouble than a baby.—(Laughter.) If
that was not a pitiable and ludicrous spectacle, she
(Mrs. Dexter) was much mistaken. The long petti-
coats, too, ware equally inconvenient in fine as in
dirty weather. When a lady, on a beautiful summer's
day, attired herself in a dress of rich material, she
forgot that the pavement would be wiped with it as
it trailed magnificently along, enveloped in clouds of
dust. What, she: would ask, prevented women enjoy-
tng the vigorous exercise of their limbs ? Let
ladies ask their wardrobes and they would find an
answer. Women, from time immemorial, bad been
cheated out of many a sweet summer's ramble in the
open country. Was not a woman able to get
over a stile, without the care and assistance of
her husbanet or her lover ?—(Laughter.) There was
elasticity 'enough in her constitution—(Renewed
laughter)—but she was the slave to the foolish and
too general impression that there was something of
vulgarity in the gentler sex depending on their own
resources. She (Mrs. Dexter) would not forgive
herself if she did not advert again to the practice of
tight-lacing. Human beings must have been under
some kind of infatuation when they adopted that
fashion. Woman was not sent into this working
world merely to be admired as an image, but to per-
form an honourable and a holy part. The early edu-
cation of both sexes principally devolved on her. The
happiness of the human family was greatly dependen
on the right fulfilment of a woman's arduous duties

—(llear,- hear.) She (Mrs. Dexter) believed that
nature would eventually assert her supremacy in this
matter. " Beauty, when unadorned, is adorned the
most;" and she did not despair of seeing a form of
dress adopted in this country which would not injure
health and enfeeble intellect. Only conceive a Yenta
held up to the admiration of man supported by slips
of whalebone.—(Laughter.) Men of taste and genius
could never have formed their conceptions of beauty
from such a mockery of well-developed form. Half
the women of fashion were more or less deformed.
Deformity, indeed, was almost the peculiarity of
the civilised portion of mankind. The Greek
women of the present day wore trousers, and the
Italian women attired themselves in short petticoats.
She (Mrs. Dexter) believed much mischief had arisen
from the habit of blindly following the practices of
even the most polished nations of antiquity. We had
almost always limited our inquiries in matters of taste
to the ancient Greeks, and their inferior imitators, the
Romans. With respect to the charge of novelty
brought against the new dress, was novelty an objec-
tion in this age ? Novelty ! Why, novelty, espe-
cially in matters of fashion, was the great object of
one-half of society. In the name of conscience, let
not a thing be degraded for its novelty. Wouid it not
be wiser to inquire whether a thing was meritorious
or useful, leaving the question of novelty to idlers and
simple folk ? She would remind them that there were
at the present time millions of women who had never
seen any other female dress than trousers and short
petticoats ; so that their lords and masters in this
country must not look on the new dress as an illegal
encroachment. The women of Georgia, Circassia,
the Burman empire —in a word, one-half of the
human race—had from time immemorial worn trou-
sers ; so that there would be no danger of her (Mrs.
Dexter) standing a solitary monument of trousers.—
(Laughter.) She was quite sure there would be more
difficulty in convincing the ladies that their errors in
dress demanded reform than in convincing the gen-
tlemen that it was their duty to persuade them to as-
sent to the change.—(Laughter.) She was also quite
sure that such views as she desired to convey would
be embraced only by those who had good hearts and
happy dispositions.—(Hear, hear.) The question in
America was, what right had men to wear trousers
at all ?--(Great laughter.) In China the men now
wore petticoats and the women trousers.—(Renewed
laughter.) In the dress in which she was now endea-
vouring to enlist their interest there was nothing in-
convenient, unbecoming, or unsightly.—(Cheers.) Of
its comfort she could speak from experience, and with
regard to its appearance she would leave the audience
to contrast it with its competitors.—(Hear, hear.)
Some ladies thought she had taken a bold stand in en-
deavouring to introduce so indelicate a fashion. She
allowed she had taken a bold stand. She was the first,
she believed, who ventured to appear in London in
the reformed costume, and whether it was adopted or
not by the ladies in general, she intended to continue
it.—(Applause.) But she had yet to learn that bold-
ness was necessarily criminal. She felt, on the con-
trary, that she had done nothing unfeminine in adopt-
ing or in advocating the change of dress. She had felt
the advantages of it, and she should have considered her-
self as deserting her duty if she had refused, when re-
quested, toappear publicly in its favour. That the fashion
was an indelicate one, she altogether denied—on the

contrary, the great recommemdation of the costume
in question was its peculiar modesty. Persons who
strained at a gnat would often swallow a camel. She

appealed to any gentleman who had had occasion to
walk behind a lady caught in a summer shower in the
streets of this metropolis, whether the present style
of dress had any claim to regard on the score of de-
cency ?—(llear.) Up to the age of fourteen, the fe-
male dress which was called immodest was worn with
impunity ; but, arrived at that age, the dress which
was worn on one day was characterised as unbecom-
ing on the next. She (Mrs. Dexter) thought it was
high time that the investigating spirit of philosophy
which marked the present day should be applied to
the principles of dress, both male and female. It
would be easy to show that the male costume in•
volved many absurdities.—(A laugh.) Th© dress she
(Mrs. Dexter) wore would soon cease to be singular,
She was the first who bad dared
Shepublicly to call at-.
tention to it in this metropolis. had
A young
been subject to many jeers.'therefore,
stance, unaware of her man, for in-
presence, had asked whether
she would complete the outra e o n
whismasculine
attire by appearing at the lecture in kers.—
(A laugh.) Another had
offered to present her
with a box of cigar*. She tlanked bim, but obel

had no desire to commit an outrage on nature; she
wished rather to strengthe❑ than to debilitate her
nerves. Through a foolish servility to the dictates
of fashion, women had been deprived of choice in
matters of dress, and i❑ order to maintain their
rights it had consequently become necessary to set
on foot an agitation as active as any political one.
If ladies chose to wear long dresses indoors or in car-
riages, where they were protected from mud and
mire, it was not her business to interfere. What she
asked was, that she might not be subjected to annoy-
ance or insulting remarks because she differed from
those about her in matters of costume. From the
male sex she had never been treated with insult when
she had appeared in the reformed costume. On the
contrary, they had ever received her with respect and
dignified politeness.—(A laugh.) She could not say
as much of her own sex. She called on men, in con-
clusion, as the natural protectors of women in time of
need, to shield those of her sex who might follow her
example in adopting the costume she then wore from
gratuitcus and vulgar insult.
Mrs. Dexter then withdrew, amid expressions of
general applause, mingled with some faint laughter.