The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-23 00:00:00

tees for the nation. H.R.H. is a practical
farmer, but the cabbages that might be obtained
from the land would scarcely be considered as
either sufficiently profitable or ornamental to
justify so heavy an expenditure, by which the
trust fund was completely exhausted. Something
more should be done. The first outlay should be
more than quadrupled to justify the previous
expenditure.

The National Gallery offered the means of
providing work for the demon thus raised. "The
finest site in Europe" was unhesitatingly con-
demned. The obvious expedients of restoring the
whole building to the use for which it was origi-
nally destined, and letting the Royal Academy
find a place of exhibition for itself, or of consti-
tuting a temple of art more worthy of the British
nation were disregarded. Trafalgar-square was
eschewed, and a new site sought for.
Kensington Palace was equally objectionable.
The park and gardens might attract visitors who
would compound for the fatigue and expense by
the beauty of the walks, and purity of the air.
The aristocratic paupers who had obtained cheap
lodgings at the expense of the nation could not
be disturbed ; and, therefore, while all the war
burdens were still fixed on the over-weighted
tax-payers, many hundreds of thousands were
to be applied in the construction of a new
and unnecessary building. The Crown property
at the south side of Pall-mall was equally ignored,
and eventually the precious bargain obtained by
the Commissioners, the cabbage gardens at
Kensingtone-gore were selected by a majority of
one, that is to say, by the direct vote of his Royal

Highness.

This evening will, as we have already stated,
witness the consummation or rejection of the
scheme. There is a great opportunity for the
House of Commons of vindicating its character

for independence, of showing whether the nation
is so wholly German ridden, that every suggestion
of the predominant influence must be eagerly
adopted. We believe that "the cabbage-garden site"
is about the worst that could be adopted ; that
the saddling the nation with a heavy expenditure,
for the sole purpose of excluding the people from
any opportunity of inspecting their own property,
is one of the most obnoxious propositions that
could be brought forward, and that its sanction
by Parliament will be one of the most unfortu-
nate events that can be conceived for those from
whom it emanated.
We trust, therefore, that the House of Com-
mons may be true to itself, and establish a
claim to the national gratitude by preventing
the erection of a monument, more durable than
brass, of national subserviency and toadyism, that
will incur the contempt and reprobation of future
generations.

A discreet silence is observed this year in the
reports given to the public of the annual dinner
at the Trinity House on Saturday ! A discreet
-silence as to the political sentiments expressed
upon the occasion by H.R.H. the Master when
proposing the customary toasts to the assembled
Brethren in his convivial capacity as Chairman of
the Symposium. Not a syllable finds its way
into print now as to the Prince Con-
sort's avowal of his opinion that the
representative institutions of England are upon
their trial—actually no further than " upon their
trial "—in the middle of the nineteenth century !
Well, perhaps, all things considered, it is about
the best thing that could be done in regard to
the speeches of H. R. H. at all bearing upon
matters of a political character. Elsewhere than
at the Trinity House, we have a remembrance of
H. R. H. giving utterance to views of a Icn? pecu-
liar description in regard to questions of a politico-
historical kind bearing upon the popular notions
as to our national system of government. We
have a recollection of H. R. H. avowing (at
some Exeter Hall meeting, if we are not
very much mistaken) that according to his judg-
ment, WILLIAM the Dutchman was incomparably
the greatest of the Kings of England ! A
very Whig sentiment truly— one welcome, of
course, to every intellect biassed, as for example
Mr. MACAULAY'S great intellect is biassed, by the
warping influences of infatuation. Quite a
"party" estimate of our annals—quite a view of
our history acceptable to Orangemen—quite an
opinion, moreover, that might be anticipated from
a foreigner ! The Dutchman the greatest of
our English Kings, quotha—the cold-blooded
Prince of Orange the ne plus ultra of royalty
in Great Britain ? A sagacious ruler in
truth ho was beyond all doubt—one whose
"policy" it was, fortunately for our common
country, to advocate liberal principles as opposed
to those of arbitrary Government. But—the
greatest of the Kings of England ?—Absolutely a
most absurd notion (although uttered by a R.H.),
remembering not so much, we will say, our
HENRYS and our EDWARDS, the glories of tl,e
TUDORS and of the PLANTAGENETS, the anointed
heroes of YORK and LANCASTER, as, bearing in
mind (lot us hint), a glorious Monarch like the
one, the thousandth anniversary of whose
birth was not many years ago comme-
morated by a grateful posterity in this
commonwealth of ours, a commonwealth ruled
by him, ten centuries since, with so much
wisdom and magnanimity. ALFRED the GREAT—
so called by historian after historian, from BEDE
to LINGARD—ALFRED the - GREAT, at Once an
heroic warrior, a munificent patron of the arts,
and a renowned law-giver (not a poetic myth like
ALTRUR, nor yet a dramatic creation like CY3IBE-
LINE)—ALFRED the GREAT to be ignored by his
Royal Highness for the purpose of giving the
preference and priority to WILLIAM the Dutch-
man I Eh Lien—chacun a son gout i Ellen—
de gustibus non disputandum ! But then H.R.H.
thougiit and spoke, of course, as one born, and
bred, and educated in Germany, in the land conti-
guous to the land of the Dutch Paragon—while we
think, and speak, and believe, and aspire as simple-
hearted, simple-minded Englishmen. All things
considered therefore we don't fancy there is much
lost by what we consider in truth as the very
judicious suppression of the after-dinner eloquence
of H.R.H. and his distinguished convives at the
Yearly banquet holden at the Trinity House on
Saturday
evening.

Mr. Itoesueres truly patriotic homily at the
great meeting of Administrative Reformers, held
in the London Tavern on Saturday last, may be
considered as divided into four heads—first, the
dangerner ; 01
this,tile country ;zecond, the causes of that
dg
obligations
all gcod citizens
are under to strive to remove those causes ; and,
danger
fourth, the mode of procedure to be adopted to
ensure the largest amount of success.

Everything, he says, under the first head chal-
lenges our hearty concurrence or most profound
sympathy. For the last few years the country
has been "in a state of great danger," and at
this moment is " at the very brink of a precipice,
down which it may be precipitated to-morrow."
The interests of the empire have been, and con-
tinue to be, " sacrificed" to " party interests."
Ministerial imbecility did bring about the War
with Russia—imbecility and corruption did mark
tha conduct of that War. Our army, " after