The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-07 00:00:00

Tal3 EVENING

Douglas Jerro'd's Drama of
BLACK-EYED SUSAN.
Principal character by Professor Anderson.
To conclude with the gorgeous Pantomime of
YE BELLE ALLIANCE.
Clown, Mr. Fleamore ; Pantaloon, Mr. Barnes: Harlequin, Mr. C.
Brown; and Columbine, Miss E. Horne.

THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE.
Lessee. Mr. E. T. Smith.

THIS EVENING,
THE GREAT GUN TRICK.
After which.
HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE; or. Harlequin King Nonsense and the
Seven Ages of Man.

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Tinder the Management of Mr. Backatone.
THIS EVENING,
THE LITTLE TREASURE.
After which the New Comic Christmas Pantomime, entitled
THE BUTTERFLY'S BALT, AND THE GRASSHOPPER'S
YEAST; or, Harlequin and the Genius of the Spring.
ONLY A HALFPENNY.

ROYAL PRINCZ33'3 TFIZATar, OZFORD-STRZET.
Under the Management of Mr. Cruet= Klux.

THIS EVENING.
The Tragedy of HAMLET.
HamTet by Mr. C. Kean.

After which,

QAT:LEWIN AND VIE MUD, AND THE MAGPIE ; or, the
Fairy Paraffin and Hanky Panky, the Enchanter.
Ilarleryntn, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. llntine ; Pantaloon, Mr.
Paulo; and ColtimMne, Miss Caroline Adams.

TIIICATRPI ROYAL ADFILPRT.
P:oprtetor, Mr. B. Webster.—T)lrectregs, Madame Celeste.

THIS F:VENING.
TIIE BOOTS OF THE HOLLY TREE INN.

/ After which,
DOMES I'IC ECONOMY.

To re f pVowed by
lIRGE:qr PRIVATE AFFAIRS.

To conclude with

.11. MC AND THE' 131,0,N sTA.LIC.; or, Harlequin and Mother

Goo,m at Home

In which Meisrs. J. 1314n1; P. Bedford. Madame Celeste, Miss
Wyndham, and Miss RI Arlen will amar.

ROYAL OLYKPIC THEATRE.

TII;

THE JEALOUS WIFE.

Atter which will he produced a New and denbly-moral, though
excerdvely old, Melodramatic miry Extravaganza, entitled

Tat; Dfsony,ET pEttNrc,.z,43; o-, the Three Glass Distaffs.
la which Messrs. Emery, V. Robson, 11. Cooper, Miss MarstoT
ss,),l Miss Haskell will appeAr.

ROYAL SURREY THEATRE.

Lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick.

TIIIS EVENING

THE SHADOWS OF CRISIE.

To conclude with
A PRINCE OF P ZARL3 ; or, Elarlelutn awl Tana Shore.

ROYAL STRAND THEATER.
Under the direction of Mr: Payne.
Ttlli EVF.ITING.
MARLEQUIN LITACR-T:YED SCrg ; or, Art in the Downs and
Davy Jones's Locker.

After which,
TUE ROMANTIC WIDOW.

Followel by
TUE PRISONER OF ROCHELLE; or, Inns and Outs.

To conclude with

A PLAGUE 0' BOTh YOUR [MUSES; or, The Double-barrelled

(Mu Trick.

AfiTLErS ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Win. Cooks.

THT% EVENING,

The popular equestrian Spectacle called ROOKWOOD; or, TUR
PIN'S KIDE .o YORK.

After which the SCENES in the CIRCLE. The wonderful per-
formanee of the Stupendous Slgaelous Elephants, whose instinct and
docility have astonished every one.

To coocluile with a grand Equestrian Comic Pantomime called
HARLEQUIN AND gT. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON; or, the
Seven Champions of Christendom.

liox-ofllce open from Eleven till roar. Stage Manager, Mr. W.
West. Equestrian Director. Mr. W. Cooke. Jun.

MDR STINLEY'S SEVEN AGES OF NV3lf.t.)7,

Every Evening at 3, and on Saturdays at 3.

ronounced by the unanimlug v&re of the press, and by nightly
!hmming audiences, to be the Greatest Artistical Triumph of the
day.

SAINT MARTINS II ALL, Long-acre.
Area, Is. Reserved Chairs, 2s. 6d.

HIGH WATER• AT LONDON BRIDGE.

T;IIR DAY—Morn. 30 min. aft. 2—Evening 53 min. aft. 2
Tq-Nfonnow—Morn. 15 min. aft. 3 —Evening 37 min. aft. 3

THE WEATHER-SUN OFFICE, FEB. 7.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHAM

51—htehest since noon yesterday.
52—bwest this morning and during the night.
56—this day at noon.

BAROMETER. 2917.
WIND. S.W. by W. to W.S.W.—Rather fresh, with
mild, dull weather, and some rain.

L 5 A
Or.
11111,
-

any price.

The question, then, is one which, as it seems
to us, should properly be dealt with by Parlia-
ment itself. As there was a Reform Bill for
the House of Commons, there may also be
a Reform Bill for the House of Lords. Pre-
viously existing rights were abrogated by
what has justly been termed the modern Magna
Charta, while others have been conferred
by the same statute. Besides, by the Treaty of
Union with Scotland, the ancient Peerage of that
kingdom were deprived of their seats in Parlia-
ment, and only allowed to elect sixteen of their
number to represent the whole body, and at a
dissolution a new election should take place. In
like manner in that with Ireland—it was stipu-
lated and agreed that twenty-eight representative
Peers were to be chosen, who should hold their
seats for life. In neither of these cases did the
seat in the House confer any hereditary privilege,
and in the case of Scotland, not even a life one.
There are, therefore, indisputable precedents in
favour of a certain portion of the Peers abating
their privileges, and consenting to become
the electors, from whom a chosen body
should be selected, who would constitute
the members of.the Upper House.
The Royal Prerogative was also limited in eack
case. No Scotch Peerage could possibly be created
subsequent to the Union, while only one Irish could
be made for three that became extinct in that
kingdom. Thus the danger of "swamping the
Lords" by an extensive creation of new Peers
would be averted, and the house, from being
composed of the more intelligent and respectable
members of the body, would acquire a weight
and influence far beyond that which it now pos-
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Alfred Wigan. sesses.

It would, of course, be essential to make some
provision for the immediate elevation of men who
had rendered important services in the State, the
military, legal, diplomatic, or political depart-
ments. This, however, would be only one of the
details of the contemplated PEERAGE REPORMBILL,
which for many reasons is very urgently required.
The pressing and imperative cause for the ex-
periment that has been adventured on is the
notorious want of Law Lords. The Upper House
abides as firmly by its privileges, as the ultimate
appellate jurisdiction, as the Commons of being
the purseholders of the nation. But there is no
Royal road to judicial eminence. The QUEEN
may make a Peer, but she cannot confer the dis-
criminating judgment that would qualify the party
to decide between the conflicting opinions of
men who had devoted their lives to legal pur-
suits. Unless means be adopted to procure the
services of experienced and duly-qualified parties
the jurisdiction would become a farce, which
would disgrace rather than confer an honour on
those by whom the privilege was resolutely de-
fended.

A governmental system under which the claims
of merit were superciliously ignored in appoint-
ments to office could hardly, with fairness, be
expected to hold out any encouragement to
honesty and fair dealing to the mercantile com-
munity in any transactions with its members for
the supply of the wants of the public serviee.
That such expectation was pretty generally enter-
tained, however, is past dispute, as it is that the
folly of so unwarranted an expectation is signally
exploded in the Report of Sir JOHN IVIWEILL and
Colonel TuLLooll on the state of the Crimean
Army. There it will be seen that R routine, am-
bitious to set an apparent economy against a
wasteful expenditure, instead of contracting with

respectable traders for serviceable articles

of veering apparel at a reasonable price, reck-
lessly accepted the lowest tenders, and was

served accordingly. Not only was the cloth-
ing inferior to that suppliod to the French
soldier, but so abominably bad that the
credit of our manufacturers, the honour of the

country, and the lives of our men were to a large
extent sacrificed by it. What fcreigner that
looked on the rotten garments an..l soleless shoes

but newly supplied to our suffering army, dying
by hundreds of exposure, but must have
deemed our merchants adventurers, our
governors heartless imbeciles, and ourselves short-
sighted, ungenerous, and cruel ? And yet all the
while we regarded ourselves as the greatest nation
in the world in manufactures and self-government,
and were desirous, of all things, that our brave de-
fenders should be liberally dealt with. Are we to
go on, after this fashion, disregarding the plainest
lessons of experience—or shall the humiliations wo
have experienced in the Crimea stimulate us to
enter on a more creditable course ? Surely if the
lessons taught us before Sebastopol prove ineffica-
cious, we would not be persuaded though one rose
from the dead ! Let us, in HEAVEN'S name,
leave "cheap and nasty"- to the slop-sellers, and
extravagance to the despot, and offerin a fair
bargain for the article we want, good govern-.
went as well as clothing, accept nothing lent at

The other day we drew attention to the Report
of the Royal Free Hospital, presented at the
twenty-eighth annual meeting of the Govern,Jrs,
and subscribers of that admirable institution, In
object was to hole., ilk the
of the worthy founder for Imitation to
doing so our main
cAIIY lo the young.
tehxeambepnleevolent, and more espe ;
rzalen to the lot of
" Rarely" we remarked had it
a public journalist to present, an illustration more
striking of what may be achieved by th e enter-
prising spirit and energetic efforts of a single
philanthropist Mika the institution and career of
that hospital aford." Labouring under the con-
viction that, however, much might have been
done to meet the wants of suffering humanity in
the metropolis, a pressing need existed for the
establishmont of a hospital to which disease alone
should be the title to admission, Dr. MABSDEN,
as we took occasion to
show, manfully resolved to
set about it,
confiding in the goodness of his aim,
hill own exertions, and the benevolence 0 the