The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-08 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1856.

After a very brilliant debate, in which every
one of the Law Lords took part, Lord LYND-
HURST'S motion was last night carried by a ma-
jority of 33—that is to say, of 26 Peers who
were in attendance and heard the arguments, and
7 proxies. It is, therefore, decided that "the
letters patent purporting to create Sir JAMES
PARSE a Baron of the United Kingdom for life
be referred to the Committee for Privileges, with
directions to examine and consider the same, and
report thereon to the House." This may be
eonsiaered almost tantamount to a refusal of the
House to concur in the coup d'etat which has
been attempted. The majority of the House,
who would be entitled to vote on any purely
legal question, have already given expression to
their views in opposition to tl.e attempt so hastily
and recklessly made, and on which it appears that
the Law Officers of the Crown have not even been
consulted.

In opposition to the grant were arrayed the
names of LYNDHURST, ST. LEONARDS, CAMPBELL,
and BROUGHAM. Of these the three first clearly
considered the grant illegal, while Lord BROUGHAM
expressed considerable doubt on the law point de-
claring that, "as to the legality of euch creations,
he himself, if at that moment called upon to de-
cide the question, would be inclined to say that
they were legal." He, however, strongly advo-
cated a stringent and searching investigation, in
which the House would have the assistance of
able and learned counsel, and the whole of the
judges of the land.

On the other side the Lord Chancellor seemed
perfectly satisfied on the legal question, and
cautioned the House against infringing on the
prerogative of the Crown. His Lordship wished
to postpone the evil day, by waiting until the
heir of the new Peer should put forward his claim
to a seat in that House, when the entire matter
would properly be taken into consideration. This
is to a certain extent in accordance with the view
expressed in our leading columns of yesterday, to
the effect that it was by no means improbable that
the Patent to Lord WENSLEYDALE might, notwith-
standing the limitation for the term of his natural
life,
convey hereditary rank to the heirs general
of his body." It is, however, the more constitu-
tional and dignified course to meet the danger at
its very inception, so that the SOVEREIGN may be
made fully aware of the possible consequences of
the act.

That there is a difaaulty is manifest. We have
already pointed out its nature and extent. But
the remedy should proceed from Parliament
itself— from the united action of the three
estates of the realm, rather than from what
may possibly turn out to be the unconsti-
tutional exercise of a supposed prerogative
on the part of one branch only of the body. There
can be no reasons why a reform bill for the House
of Peers should not be introduced as well as for
the House of Commons. -The Crown may con-
sent to the limitation of its unquestionable pre-

rogative of creating any number of Peers at any
time whatio ever ; and a privilege of their Lord-
ships and if their successors might also bo sur-
rendered in obedience to the will of the entire
Legislature. The Treaties of the Union of Scot-
land and In Ala nd constitute unexceptionable pre-
cedents on both points. The matter should,
therefore, Dar •m the foundation for a Peer-
age Reform Bill, which might be adopted
with no It ,ss benefit than the similar
measure relating to the representative branch
of the Legieb ture, nearly a quarter of a century
ago.

There is lm it one other remedy for the acknow-
ledged evil of the want of Law Lords, which must
become far .more • glaring when those who now
confer hono)ay and distinction on the House shall
be removed in the course of nature to an-
other world.. The House must consent either to a
large and comprehensive measure of reform, or to
abandon its :appellate jurisdiction as the Supreme
Tribunal of the Empire by which it has hitherto
so pertinaciously abided. This, as we have stated,
is the sole alternative ! It is ono that legislative
wisdom muk t decide on. With the most affec-
tionate and loyal devotion to our present most
gracious artd well-beloved SOVEREIGN, we feel
it an act of imperative duty towards the existing
and all future generations to resist until after
due inquiry any extension of the Royal Preroga-
tive, which may possibly prove unconstitutional,
and would unquestionably form a very dangerous
precedent for the future.

The House of Commons last night refused, by
a majority of 91, to accede to the motion of the
Honourable and Gallant Member for Bath for
granting a Select Committee to inquire into the
Naval Administration, Patronage, Promotions,
and Retirements, and the efficiency of the Service
in all its grades. We deeply regret this decision,
which is certainly opposed to the public
opinion strongly in favour of a stringent invasti-
gation into a matter wherein the abuses have be-
come painfully notorious. The only 'tangible
ground on which the system of promotion by
purchase in the Army can be defended is, that it
is even less objectionable than the gross instances
of partiality and favouritism displayed in the
Navy. There the object is not to get " the right
man in the right place," or to give honour and
rank to the most meritorious candidates, but to
those who have the highest amount of Parliamentary
influence. We have witnessed the melancholy con-
sequences. While our sailors and junior officers
have displayed the utmost gallantry, and proved
themselves the worthy successors of those who
fought under NELSON and COLLINGWOOD, there is
certainly a lack of enterprise on the part of the
leaders. GOD forbid that we should for a mo-
ment disparage aristocratic sailors, who have so
frequently proved themselves true-hearted Eng-
lishmen ; but they do not in these respects differ
from others, and it is indeed a cruel anomaly
that while the average time of promotion from
the rank of Lieutenant to Post-Cilptain in the
fast or aristocratic list should be but 3 years,
that of their no less worthy competitors should be
ar more than quadruple the time.

The country are now deeply interested on the
all-important subject of naval and military pro-
motions. It is not satisfied with the existing
system, and it will enforce decid?td reforms despite
the red-tapist objections of the political Jack-of-
all-trades—Sir CH ARLES Noon—who now fills
the post of First Lord, without any qualifications
to fit him for the arduous and important duties
incidental to ,that truly national position.

Every one who enjoys the privileged memory
of an old playgoer—every one who can call to
mind the palmy days of the acted drama, "under
the consulship of PLamius," as Mr. THACKER-4 Y
hath it—whoa LISTON could wink a whole pitfull
into convulsions—when RICHARD JONES glittered
behind the footlights as the very paragon of
coxcombical elegance—when ROBERT WILLIAM
ELLISTON was at once the glory and the despair
of Light Comedians ! Every one who remembers,
as a thing of yesterday, the flushed and sparkling
features of CHARLES KEMBLE as Young Mirable
—the tragic rusticity of EMERY as Bob
the red wig of Little KNIGHT, and the girlish
laughter of Mrs. JORDAN, and MATHEWS the
Elder, with his Asmodean limp, and his grotesque
splutter, and his laughter-moving shrug of the
shoulders ! Every one who recollects the stage as
it was in the glorious old days—when, for Panto-
mime, GRIMA LDI was Clown, and BARNES was Pan-
taloon, and ELLAR was Harlequin—and for Farce,
there was JACK REEVES just stepped freshly upon
the boards literally to astonish the natives—and
for comedy, there was ABBOTT oven for the minor
part of the walking gentleman—and for the loftiest
phases of the histrionic art, for the historical, the
tragical, the SHAKSPERIAN, there was the won-
drous genius of EDMUND KEAN, with his single
name lighting up the dramatic hemisphere as
with a flaming meteor, or a galaxy, or a constel-
lation ! Every one who can individually call
to mind that memorable epoch, when the fortunes
of the English stage were at their highest—.--
remembers, vividly and, as a matter of course,
remembers, MUNDEN; the inimitable MUNDEN, as
Old Dozey ! Remembers his drab overcoat
of .innumerable capes and his lanthorn of
opaquest horn, remembers his purple nose
and his hiccup, his reeling boots and his drooping
eyelids, his snuzzling voice and his acquiescent
tautology ! How the sleeping, boozing Old CHAR-
LEY had nothing else to do all through the piece
but agree to everything ! Accuse him of being
this—" So he was ! So he was !" Charge him
with doing that—" So he did ! So he did !" It
was all one to him! Tax him with such and such rascals
having made off after bribing him—"So they
had ! So they had !" The fellow was incorri-
gible—snoozing and snuffling—consistently
ridi-
culous from first to last in his drovisylioad, his
good humour, his dullness, and his monotony.
Altogether a knave as Dogberry describes one—
" Very tolerable and not to be endured." Well—
precisely what JosErtr MuNDEN was as Old
Dozey iu " Past Twelve o'Clock, " JOSEPH
BROTRERTON is as M.P. for Salford during the
happy reign of Vicroßia, upon the great political
stage on which the national drama is, at certain
seasons, nightly enacted at Westminster. We are
all familiar with the part as performed by
Mr. BROTUERTON, session after session, to
empty benches—the Old Dozey of the House of
Commons ! It is the same thing all over again.
We know every syllable by heart. So that,
through repetition upon repetition, the thing has
at length become tedious to the very last degree
of tediousness. The latest representation of the
old farce of "Past Twelve O'Clock" being as re-
cently as Tuesday, the sth inst., when Old Dozey
was enacted once more in the old, old style by
Mrs. BROTHERTON—WO beg pardon, by Mr. BRo-
TllERTON—before the usual " beggarly display of
empty benches," and amidstthe customary peaLsof
laughter. Mr. EWART good-naturedly undertaking
the subordinate part of supporter to the veteran
comedian. In which capacity, by the way, the lat-
ter gentleman not inaptly parodied (in allusion to
the
Speaker the Members and the Clerks of the

House of Commons) those lines from the introduc-
tory book of COWPER'S " Task :"--
"Sweet sleep enjoys the curate in his desk,
The tedious rector drawling o'er his head ;
And sweet the clerk below."
But the Member for Dumfries might have con-
tinued his quotation yet a little further ; changing
not one syllable of the poet's reference to the sleep—
" Of lazy nurse who snores the sick man dead !"
in its application, for the nonce, to the House as
the "sick man," and to the " lazy nurse" as re-
presented by Mrs.—again we beg pardon—Mr.
BROTHERTON. Whereat, doubtless (supposing
him to have any sense whatever of the felicitous
in quotation), we can imagine the member for
Salford to have lisped in the words of the Sir
Fwedewick Blount of BULWER LYTTON'S "Money"
—" That fellow COWPER says vewy odd things !"
(adding in an under tone, and with an aside-scowl at
his seconder) " Humph !—it is beneath me to
quawwell." Finally, however, be it here observed
in reference to the old farce of Tuesday evening—
the old, old farce of " Past Twelve o'Clock," that
our comic Premier revived, in reference to the
Old Dozy of the House of Commons, the favou-
rite pastime of the Nobs in the grand old
fogified times under the Consulship of PLANCUS
—namely, that of—boxing a Charley ! The
member for Salford, in short, was again fairly
"shut up" by the agile jocularity of that very
nimble joke-master (uncle, through the mother's
side we suspect, that is to say, through the sail-
guinous endowment, of the ancient family of the
Stiltstalkings to the " light-in-hand young Bar-
nacle," the "bright young Barnacle," the " touch-
and-go young Barnacle " of " Little Darrit ") the
gay and perennial PALMERSTON !

LATEST NEWS.

BERLIN, FEB. 8.

The Austrian communication on the subject of

the Five Points accepted by Russia was yesterday
presented to the Diet of Frankfort, and was re-

ferred to the respective committees without dis-

CIISSIOII.

PARIS, FRIDAY, Feb. 8, 8.30 A,M.

A telegraphic despatch from Atdrid, dated th©

7th inst., announces the commencement of a
change in the Cabinet.

M. Broil has left the Ministry of Finances,
a•ad yesterday M. Francisof. Santa Cruz took the
oaths as Minister of Finances.

BERLIN, FEB. 6.

It is stated that Russia has declared that the
participation of Prussia in the conferences is a
special question, entirely independent of the sig-
nature of the preliminaries of peace, and the
solution of which may take place at a later period
in the course of the conferences.

Letters from St. Petersburg state that the re-
establishment of the episcopal sees, which had
been promised to the Pope by the C. 7. tr Nicholas,
lrts not yet received the sanction of the Emperor
Alexar.der IL

From Holstein it is stated that the Emperor' of\
Russia is purchasing horses for his approaching
coronation, which is to take place after the con-
clusion of peace.

COPENHAGEN-, Feb. 6.—A conference has taken
place between the delegates on the Sound dues.
Denmark has made a fresh proposition, asking
for 36 millions of thalers, to be divided among
those interested.

•
HAMBURG, Feb. 7.—By royal decree the
nil prosecution decreed against the Minister
Scheele by the Holstein Diet is to be brought
before the Superior Court of Appeal of that
D nob y.

MADRID, Fel). 6:—Tranquillity has been
established. The Government has decided on
raising the state of siege of the provinces of
Burgos and Aragon. It is thought that this mea-
sure will also be applied to Catalonia.

FRANCE.

PARIS, THURSDAY EVENING.

The Patric of this evening says it is. the inten-
tion of the Emperor of Russia to visit Paris next
May, that is, immediately after his coronation.
The Illoniteur publishes a decreo promulgating
a convention of extradition just concluded between
France and Austria.

The 31 oniteur contains decrees appointing one
officer, one non-commissioned officer, and three
privates to the rank of knight in ie Legion of
Honour, and conferring the military medal on 12
privates. Other decrees confirm one promotion to
the rank of officer in the Legion of Honour, one
nomination to the rank of knight, and the grant
of military medals, made by Marshal Mission
General Ferrey, who commanded a brigade of
cavalry in the army of the East, has just arrived
at Marseilles by the Euphrate from Constantinople.
This officer, son-in-law of Marshal Bugeaud, re-
turns to France in consequence of his promotion to
the rank of general of division.
BOURSE, Feb. 7.---The following were the last
quotations

Cast. ft. e. End, of Month.
4i por Cents. 95 75 —f. —a.
3 per Cents 72 30 72 85
New Loan 73 25

Bank Shares 3,493 Roman
Credit 1,555 Austrian

Belgian Five.; 97 Spanish Threes
Piedmontest (5) B9 • Home Debt .“

RAILWAYS-11VA CASE.

871.
86)
414
33

fr. c, fr. o.
Or2oans ~. 1,242 53 Western... 847 50
Yortharn .. 033 Strasburg ... 960
Lyons —.1,240 Now Ditto B2O
atediterranoan 1,351 Grand Central 635
Lyons Genova 747 50 Taste
Cetto 742 50 Austrian Corn...-. 857 50

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 8, 1856,

'MONEY MARKET

AND
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, Two o'CLocK.

The Liverpool Cotton Market yesterday closed
firmly, although the supply was large. The sales
were 8,000 to 9,000 bales, of which 2,000 were for
export. The Railway Share Market was quiet and
the quotations were a shade lower.

There was rather a dull market for Colonial pro-
duce this week, and for some staples recent prices
have scarcely been supported. Business in WeSt
India sugar is almost suspended, and the quota-
tions are almost nominal. Havannah has been
cheaper, and for refined there has been verrlittle
inquiry. There has been a steady demand for
Ceylon coffee at fully previous prices. Tea has not
attracted much attention, and rice has ruled dull.
Black pepper has declined, and cloves as-well as
Cassia Lignea are alsolower. Saltpetre has tended
upwards,•and tallow has been heavy.
Accouri is from the hamburg grain market state
that the fall in all kinds of grain continues from
day to day, and the same has-occurred in all the
ports of the Baltic. Many unlucky-- VeCnlators
will be completely ruined by the tall in prices.
Notwithstanding tlae fall in wheat and rye, which
is estimated at about 25 per cent., contracts are not
now being-entered into by parties. at the reduced
prices, for -grain deliverable in the month. of May,
at the opening of navigation. The consequence is
that purchasers only buy for their immediate
wants, expecting a further deCline.in prices before
that period.
The fall in grain likewise continues in the. prin-
ciple French grain markets. At Paris the decline
in wheat- this week is lf. to if. 50c. for first,quali-
ties, and from if. 50c. to 21. for other sorts. Rye,
also, is difficult of sale, at reduced rates ;,. some
lots have been sold. at 33f. and 341... par hectolitre
and a half, with a tendency to a further fail. In
oath, good sorts are 5-oc. less, and second quali-
ties lf. At the flour market, yesterday, the fall
averaged 2f. per hectolitre. Choice kinds'aro-now
941., and inferior from 87f. per sack. The- factors
declared a sale of 769 sacks, at the average price of
891. 65c. per 157 kilogrammes. At Brussels the
grain market is more steady, and prices have an
upward tendency on account of the supply being
smaller than the demand. Wheat was sold yester-
dayat 33f. per hectolitre.

The arrangement of the speculative account hav-
ing now been completed there is rather more ac-
tivity in English Securities, and the market presents
a Currier appearance. Another operator has been
unable to meet his cbfferences, but after the
recent , important fluctuation a few casualties,
such as have occurred during the last few
days, were generally anticipated. The Money
Market is rather easier, but not snfficiently sine
occasion any reduction in the rates charged for
discount,. Consols for transfer` have been dull at
91 to r, and for account the prices are 914 -TT, the
advance since yesterday being about 1. par cent.
The New Threes are 92 to and. the Reduced
911 Bank Stock is 2121- to 214. Exchequer
Bills are is. higher, being 7s. to 3s. discount.
The Foreign Market is again exceedingly quiet,
but prices have advanced. Turkish 6 per Cents.
are fully 1 per cent. higher, being 921 to 932, and
the I:per Cents. are as high as 1022,4 .-Spanish 3
per Cents. have ruled heavV, viz., 42r1 •Russian
5 per Cents. are 104 to 105, and Sardinianper
CentS. 891.. Dutch and Southi). 5
American Securities
are inactive.

At the meeting of the bolders, of the Foreign
Debt-at Buenos Ayres, held y4sterday, the report.
of the committee was adopted. A resolution was
also passed to the effect OA- an urgent appeal
should be made to the authorities in the Republic
for a more liberal allowance.to the Bondholders,
in liquidation of the arrears, of interest before
memorialising our Government upon the subject.
The following are the nominal prices of Foreign
Stocks:—Grenada Deferred Bonds, 6 74 ;Ttlexican,
201 2 ; Peruvian, 79 81 ; ditto 3 pey Cents., 55 50 ;,
Portuguese 4 per Cents., 47 49 RusSian 5 per
Cents., 104 6 ; ditto 41 per Cents., 92 91 ; Spanish
3 per Cents., 42,2 3j ; ditto Deferred, 23;4 ; ditto
Certificates, 4 5 ; ditto Passive, 61
In Railway Shares there is generally a slight
improvement, but there is rather less animation.
Eastern Counties, North Eastern, and Brighton
are higher. The Foreign and Colonial are dull, but
steady.-
Mines and Banking Shares are rather flatter,
bat Peninsular and Oriental Steam are 21. dearer.

BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY.—CLOSING PRICES
( Prom. the Ovicial Litt: )

Thi.inasi. done.
Bank Stock ... ...... .. . ....,214:12A
:3 ecr Cent. Red.:teed Annuities..
3 per Cent. Consols A.unuithr WA A i
New 3 per Cont. Annuities .
Long Annuities, expire sth Jan.. 1850, ,„ - -
Ditto 30 Years, expire sth April, L'S5... .U; 11.10
eGneols for Account
Exchequer Bills, 'lip.
.i:1000 . ..--,
Small 6 2

PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS TEM DAY.
ilraz!lian Bonds, 5 per Cent.
Al,7zican 3 per Cent.
• Ditto Account
RuLiF.--ian-Bouds, 5 per Cent., 1822, St lO5 4
Ditto 4 per Ccut
8 .rd inian Ben-Zs, 5 per Cent.
Ditto Account
,Ip.rosn Bowie, 3 per Cent —
Ditto. Account
Ditto New Deferred, 3 por Cent.
..
Ditto Account •..
Ditto Passive
Tnrkio I;onds, (i per cent —
Ditto Account
Ditto Guaranteed, 4 per Cent lOO/ § 1 1001

Dividends on the above payable in London.
TIMEE O'CLOCK.
Consols, money
Ditto Account, March ....

So confident are the Russians of peace that many
who hal been hitherto residing at Brussels have already
coma to Paris.
TOCKTON AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY.—The directors
of this company intend to declare on the 15th inst. a
dividend on the ordinary :shares of the company at the
race of 9 per cent, per annum for the half year ending
the 31st of December last.
PRIVATE THEATRICALS.—Last evening a party of very
clever amateurs assembled their friends together in the
little Soho Theatre, to witness the performance of a fi ve-
act comely and a farce—to wit, "The Rivals," and
"Popping the Question." As one among their audience,
we had reason to thank them for several bourn passed
very pleasantly indeed, hours—let us wilt most unaf-
fectedly—of genuine enjoyment. It is always (every.
body feels it to be so, on the instant) invidious to dis-
tinguish among the ladies and gentlemen who share
upon such occasions in the difficulties inseparable from
all such strictly unprofessional histrionic representations.
Difficulties no one can possibly in any way even surmise
who has not already himself taken part in the fun and
frolic of private theatricals. Where all • endeavoured so
earnestly to do their best, and in so endeavouring really
did their beat so admirably, as unet4stionably did the
amateur company who last evening treated their friends
to so excellent a representation of "The Rivals," and
"Popping the Question," it were superfluous, and hardly
less unfair, than superfluous, to particularise. Never-
theless, it may, perhaps, for once, be allowable to
specify the more ingenious portraitures of character
noticeable among the performers, there and then partici-
pating in the labours of this same most agreeable enter-
tainment. It can scarcely, moreover, be deemed invi-
dious our so doing, we imagine, when it is borne in mind
that the allusions here made to the amateur perform.
ance referred to, are so couched as in no way to violate
the distinguishing privacy of its general character.
Briefly, then, we would venture, in the first place, to
particularise the Mrs. Malaprop of the night- as an im-
personation really remarkable of its kind—something
very far indeed above the average of amateur theatricals.
The Sir Lucius O'Trigger, too, was excellent, both in
regard to brogue and bearing—the brogue net being
overdone, and the bearing'ibeing that cf a dilapidated
gentleman, as wellasof an arrant fire-eater. The Captain
AbsolUte of the occasion, likewise, appeared to us for
the most part well considered throughout, and, here
and there, sparkling as ever befits that genuine light
comedy hero. Acres, particularly in the toilette-scene,
but more particularly still in the great duel-scene,
was eminently laughter - moving humorous
impersonator of "Fighting Bob," last night being drolly
ruetamorphceed, a little later in the evening, into the
ridiculously precise and preposterously prim Mr. Prim-
rose of the after-piece. As to the lady-heroines of the
night, not yet enumerated—what shall he said of the
Lydia Languish, but that she was, from first to last,
charmingly pretty and graceful in her portreithre of the
romantic Betrothed of Ensign Beverley? What of the
Julia, but that she was as amiably pe,nsive and placidly
gentle in that character, as in the role of Miss Winter-
blossom, (in the farce) she wag- shreivistely shrill and
spitefully vixinesh ? What of the vivacious actress, who
was the soubrette of both pieces, but that she was a
lively, bright-eyed Lucy, and a livelier and brighter-
eyed Bobbin? The really admirable Mrs;
prop being transformed as by a .startling feat of leger-
demain into an amazingly
„comical Miss Eden
in " Popping the Question a Miss Di&n
whose mere "make up," by the way, was a source of
convulsive laughter, whether as to the combing up or
the- looping down of the love-locks, or as to the
"moulting "every now and then (so to express it) of one
or other o those stupendous feathers ! Considerable
pains appeared to have been bestowed proportionately
upon the rest of the dramatis personce not already
speci-
fied, ,whether in regard to the very arduous charac'er of
Sir Anthony Absolute, or to the subordinate parts iu
the comedy, such as the finnical gentleman's gentleman
Mr. Fag, and the rustic clod-hopping chaw•bacon David,
not forgetting the sentimental Faulkland, and the pert
little Boy who comes in to be kicked I Again let us
speak collectively of the Private Theatricals of yesterday
at the Soho Theatre, as of an evening of genuine
enjoyment very agreeably remembered,