The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-20 00:00:00

THE SUM LONDON, THURSDAY EITENI744GI MARCH 20. lB5 6.

LINES a. 3141) T FIXED KE TA LAI.

DIAUNDAY THURSDAY.

PLISONERS FOR DEBT.

RAIL W A XM,

Lzas.a.
Comp an

C osln. • • Ises
yesterday

itusin.ssi
this ,tv

To-day the ceremony of distributing the ancient an,
royal charities took pace at the Chapel Royal, White-
hall.

A. remarkable return to an order order of the House of Com-
mons was deli.ered yesterday, being a statement of the
number of persons confined for debt or contempt of court
iu the United Kingdom; giving the length of time of lin-
orisonment, distinguishing those detained fur an indefinite
from those remanded by adjudication for a fixed period
specifying the amount of debt in each case, and, where
practicable, the amount of costs ; also, the age of each pri-
soner, and whether transferred fr•oM other prisons ; and,
where practicable, the terinS of conf:mement in them, and
what are the chief impediments to an early release.
The returns, which are in the form of tables, cover 39
;sages. Some of the replies to the question, " What is the
rlhief impediment to an early release deserve notice.
One man, coniiued in Berks county gaol, owed 131. debt
and costs ; he had been in prison 12 weeks, but was waitine
to receive the proceeds of sale of some property; the sale
had taken place, but the cash was not to be handed over
till the expiry of a month. Anbther man, owing 301..
had an annuity of its. per week, but refused to assign
oortion over weekly for the benefit of Isis creditors. A
person imprisoned in Chester gaol,- owing 57/. debt and
costa, and.having been in prison five years, filed his peti-
tion several years since, but will tint filo his schedule. He
states that be will have the suns of 2001, at the death of an
aged lady, which interest he will not assign. From the
House of Correction, Kuutsforl, a very naive and general
answer to the question is forwarded : "The chief impedi-
ment to a release is the inability of prisoners to pay their
debts." At Bothnia a person owing' 1311. has been in pri-
son two years ; he states that his affairs are in the hands of
his attorney, from whom he can get no inforntation. In
Devon county prison, a person, whose initials are given
as V. 8., and who owes 75/., hiss been in prison 33 years.
In a return from Durham cpunty•gaol, the chief impedi-
ment to the releas6 of E. T. is said to be " Commissioner
of the Bankruptcy Court, New4astle upon-Tyne." The
governor of- the Somerset county :gaol reports the follow-
ing case:—" J. H. is 91 years of age, and has been in the
gaol 12 months, at the suit of hissown son ; sent by hina
apparently to avoid his maintenanee, and that he may be
buried at the cost of the county. Application was made to
the son, and his friends, to obtain:his release, without ef-
fect, and the excellent SoCibty in London for Relief of
Poor Debtors caused £he necessary documents to be pre-
pare.l to procure hied isCharge' through the Insolvent Court:
but the wretched old man, knoWing that this ticatment
under the gaol regulations is better than he would receive
if discharged, reflises to sign his petition, which, nuclei
the existing law, is the only other. weans to bring him be-
fore the court."

94 - 96
94 - yE

This year the recipients amounted to 37, the number
c,)rre;priding with her 11.1,,j,sity's age.
_ _ _

11 - 13

A procession, c:msistivg of a Yeoman Usher and 1?
Yeomen of the Guard One carrying the alms), her Ma-
jesty's sub-almoner, the secretary and yeoman, th,
assistant, and he choristers having been formed, and
the clergy and officers having taken their respective
seats, the service commenced.

4i ... 4i

• 4;••

Exhortation, Confession, Absolution.
41st Psalm (the grand chaunt).
First Lesson—St. Matthew xxv., v. 14.
First Anthem, 41st Psalm.
" Blessad is he that considereth the poor and need•,
the Lord shall deliver him in time of trouble."
1/. 15Y. distributed to each woman.
To each man shoes and stockings.
The second anthem was thou sung, and at its termi-
nation woollen and linen clothes were distributed.
After this ceremony had concluded the third anthem
was given, and then the purses containing the Maunday
money were distributed to each recipient.
Two prayers, composed for the occasion, having been
road, the ceremony conclude'''.

16-5

12?. - 13
2
23; -24 i
107 i -112 i

2i -2/

91 es
P in
55 57

The Bishop of Oxford, High Almoner, having to
attend for the Bishop of London at the Confirmation of
the Princess Royal, the Sub-Almoner, Dr. Jelf, officiated
for his Grace.

132 - 131

71 - 7
31
.7 201

There was a very full attendance of the clergy, and
also of the nobility and gentry en the occasion.

32 -
84 --- 86

Merchant's and Tradesman's Mutual

Life Assurance Society.

116-
86'

The annual meeting of this society was held this after-
noon at the society's (pees, Cannon•street ; Mr. S.
Haw in the chair. _

Tli MIIITAGER:., (Mr. Thompson) read the report,
which was..cCisid..:,'llighly -satisfactory. It stated
th:A the curr amounted to 642,1471., the
number of '::.i;;atid,thkirresent income of the
society 20,048/. las; ld. elftiins respect of deaths,,
Kith bonus add tons, amounting t04,2q5/.`46.,
been discharged. The bonua.u.c.tot recommended averaged
upwards of 1 per cent. per annum on the account
assured being equal to a cask bonus of nearly 25 per
cent, on the amount of premiums paid. The balance.
sheet showed the value of claims on the society on 9th
March, 1855, 234,9181. 2s. ; balance in favour of the
society, 40,978/. .3d.'; value of annuities to the
same period, 256,7464.-28. ; and value of securities,
19,150/. Os, 31.

THE LATE DUEL AT BERLIN.

The Zeit of a...rho publiNhes the following letter:

" The unhappy dna in which the Director-General of
Police, •M. do Flinck-eldeyAost his life, has given rise
to tucreeid:of—nieleiVoleat falsehoods. Reproaches espe-
cially have been directed against those persons from whom
the deceased had to receive commands, accusing them of
having approved of the Oriel, in place of preventing it.
The undersigned therefore believes it his duty to Lring to
the knowledge of the pUblic the facts of which he is cog-
nisant in this deplorable affair.
" On the 28th of February a person not unknown to M.
do Rechow, presented himself at the house of the under-
signed, as if desiring an interview upon a private matter.
This person began to speak in most offensive terms of M.
do llinckeldey, and pined before the undersigned copies
of various papers which ho said emanated .from M. de
Rochow, aad which contained ,the grossest insults towards
M. do Ilinckebley. The uudersignel isuruediately declared
that he could not allow the propagation of such attacks
directed against a high functionary with whom he was in
personal and amicable relations,and that he believed it his
duty to denounce them. It was replied that far from mak-
ing the least objection, the concealment of the documents
in question was the last thing they wished. On the Ist
of March the undersigned. infornie4 M. de Hiuckeldey of
the facts, and learned from him that • he had already been
informed of them from another source, and the manner
in which he expressed himself led tp the belief that ho had
resolved to dernauct Satisfaction fief these injuries froku the
persons concerned.; . . -
" Although the -ifirddr4igie4,could scarcely believe that
vr this resolution as.seriseglii'he deemed it his duty, never-
theless, to inform the Kinulit. • His Majesty at once pro-
nounced himself strongly 14111114 the duel, and ordered the
undersigned to collect haste the materials that could
throw light upon t.lgf-about an under-
standing satisfaeW(Yritips. f The undersigned
obeyed the orders of .the King .witiOnit a moment's, loss of
'time and with the greatest zeal, and at the wish of 'lris
Maj ■ Trnado a journey into Siles*on the night'ofthetth
of March, in order to take the clepritions of a person in
plicated. Although the undersigked had infornsed.M.•de
Hinckeldey of his departure, and pf thewobjeceef his jour-
ney, the latter showed a fatal-eagerness to proceed with
the arraugemerit's for the duel, and surrounded his pro-
ceedings with a secrecy so absolute that all the efforts
made to prevent the denouement were fruitlese. 31. de
flinekeldey hid his design from his family and from all
around him. An employe of the police is the only person
who appears to have been fully acquainted with the pro-
jected duel, and of the hour at which it would take place.
(Signed) " NOERNER,
" The Precureur of the King at the
Royal City Tribunal.
" Berlin, 15th March, 1856."

The Cii;iituA,N, after some remarks, proposed the
reception and adoption-of the report.

Mr. NEVIqI4 secooded the motion, which was car-
ried urrtainaouslj, •

Dr. Bentham, Mn C. Sneevin, and Mr. J. Turnley,
the retiring directorl, were re-elected. Two vacancies
had occurred by he death of Mr. J. Smith, and the re-
tirement of Dir,'C.,37,,Toe, which were pulled up by
the election of Mr. L. Myer,l, of Leadenhall street, and
Mr. J. 13!ack, of the London and Eastern Banking Cor-
poration, Canon-street.

The retiring auuit as, Mr. J. Hall, Mr. B. Hooper,
and Mr. H. G. Cooper, were re-elected.
After the disposal of other bu,iness the meeting
separated.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE:—(This Day.)

TRE NATIONAL GALLERY-MR. UT WAY
AND MR. WILSON,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN

"My lords propose tl appoint a director of the Na-
tional Gallery, with a salary of 1,0001 per annum, such
appointment ta be for a term of five years, but the
director to ba eligible for re appointment, which appoint-
ment, however, may be at any time revoked by the Trea-
stir y."—Treasury minute, March 27; 1855.
Slll,—Yesterday' evening,Mr, ,Wilson, the Secretary
of the Treasury, stated,-"in.,rOly to Mr. Otway, that
1,977/. was the whoja sum which the Adoration of
the Magi' would cost, with the exception of 121. 2e. 2d.
paid for its carriale from Paris. All other expenses
.v ere paid by the seller."
Last autumn, immediately after their appointment to
r,he National Gallery, Sir C. Eastlake and the "travel-
ling agent," Herr Otto Mundler, made a tour of several
4-eeks on the continent. One result of this tour iv the

"`• -
production under onsideration. Does Mr. Wilson
:iman us to-believe that Os "seller" paid also for the
" carriage" of Sir-Of Eastlake and Herr Alundler, or of
either of them, during their excursion ? If the "goi-
ter" did not pay for such "carriage," Mr. Wilson's
121. 21. 21, to say nothing of at least eight months'
salary to three notoriously incip2ble officers, is not "the
whole sum" which the "Adoration of the Magi" has
cost, beyond the 1,977/.
To another clause of Mr. Otway's question, Mr. Wil-

_
con, with swaggering. emphasis, replied, that " what-
ever difference of opinioit there might be as to the value
of the picture, there maid be none, he thought, as to
its authenticity, for it 'stood in the position of being,
perhaps, the best authenticated picture of the kind in
the world." The obvious absurdity and falsity of such
an assertion exempt - it from comment, but they remind
we of another judgment delivered by Mr. Wilson.
On the Ist of last August, on the vote of 17,6961.
being put for the National Gallery, Mr. Olway "moved
the reduction of that vote by the amount of 300/ , pro-
posed as the salary of a travelling agent, and 1,1551. 4s.
as incidental and travelling expenses for such agent."
Who can forget thositesult *Filch Mr. Wilson truculently
flung in our faces on hat occasion ? "It is, of course,
perfectly useless," said he, " to vote money for the pur-
chase of pictures for :the National Gallery unless means
are taken to secure valuable pictures whenever they
tray be offered for sale. Herr Mundler is the most corn-
, potent person to discharge the duties of the office. Un-
doubtedly if any Englishman hal been equally eligible
he would have had -a prior claim ; but there is no Esig-
' Fishman a match for our German intelligence and know-
ledge of art. Lord Aberdeen said so, too, before he
went out of office." This is substantially, and almost
verbatim, what Mr. Wilson said. Yet that very Ger-
man's connection with the English nation had already
been inauguratacl by an attempt to sell us a bedaubed.
ins! supposititious Corregio of his own, now, or recently,
At Grove's, the fishmonger, in Bond-street. The gods
bad decreed that this Aberdeen-Wilson German, "most
competent and eligible," Should be lured to Venice.
There, in the shape of Toffoli, the "seller," was Nemesis
waiting to avenge ue.
With regard to Mr. Wilson's stupendous argument,
that "in the British Museum there is a print of the
Adoration of the Magi,' which was engraved in the
year 1640," I might ba:suspected of trifling with your
readers were I to do more theu glance at it. Mr. Wilson
will fled it but a sorrythelp .towards establishing his
grandiloquent dictum, pat "the 'Adoration of the
Magi' stands in the position of being the best authenti-
cated picture of the kitiet in the world." Innumerable
are the instances of false attribution by prints. Ono will
suffice. The little " Knight in Armour," bequeathed
by Mr. Rogers, has been engraved as a Raphael. Are
we, therefore, and in the teeth of evidence directly con-
tradictory is the picture itself, are we to admit that as
any reason for attributing it to Raphael ?
The information vouchsafed by Mr. Wilson, that Sir
C. Eastlake is responsible for the purchase of the
" Adoration of the Magi,!! we already possessed ; also
that the Fame Sir C,„Xlastitake is strictly responsible for
the purchase of thoseXther bad and spurious or doubtful
pictures, the mocki'fflolh,tein, the two ".Guides," the
"Infant Christ embrac)tg S. John," and the " Su.
sauna and the Eldest, ' the "-Pacchierotto," the "A.
Durer" portrait, the "Titian Trilente Money," and that
three thopeaall,pouteeetb, the sixty items, entitled
14 • 4-MiltiZen C o etion." Of a hese\ hot, the seventeen
abortions which hang in the,Chnaletti room are an-
nornmed as the cream, -•-The remaining forty-three
have been condemned as unfit to be seen.

It is unaccountable hOw Mr.,Otway, with his expe-
rience of Mr. Wilson, should laity° beets satisfied with
asking so feeble and pointles a question. Had be
taken the precaution to consult some one competent to
advise him, he might have made his question the means
of conveying valuable information„( He might here
told the Government, and the public, what I now ad-
visedly state, namely, that oat—leading connoisseurs,
both amateurs and professional, ti is man, condemn the
,Eastlake, Wornum-Mtin der Paolo Veronese, as an
extremely damaged, ;va. originally, bad
picture"a9d, consequently !"....*46by of a place in
the national : collection ; as not worth for that collec.
lion even the last item of "the sum paid for its car-
iage from Paris"—i.e., twopence; and he might further
have told them that our most experienced picture valuers
have appraised that picture at barely 2001.—that is to
say, if to the 1,9771. paid _to Toffoli, the seller," we
add, the " travelling expenses" of Sir C. Eastlake and of
•he German "travelling agent," or either, through
Italy, to "secure" it—at less than a tenth of the money
it has cost the nation.—l remain, sir, yours obediently,
NJ. WALTER.
27, Goswell-road, Islington, Alarehls.

THE PORTLA44I 6-AiLERY.

TO THE EDITOR. OF THE SIM

Stn,—Raving the line at the Pa Watt Institution, the
Poi tland Gallery, and Suffolk-street open to all comers
,leserving of sucks a distinction, it is to be regretted that
so many artists persist is reserving their best efforts for
toe Royal Academy, when, too often, their contributions
are hung in the dark, or ont of these, to the damage of
their reputations, and with no possible chance of being
marked sold. It is only to this misinterpretation of their
own interests, I hope, that I am to attribute a mediocre
collection in Pall-Mall, and although a more numerous,
yet an inferior class of paintings at this, the second an-
nual exhibition of 1856.
In the British institution we did find three works of
importance, and a few admirable characteristic figures,
and several cabinet specimens of beauty and merit ;
hut in Regent-street Sidney Percy's " Storm gathering
on Cadir Idris," No. 38, is the only eminently strikiro-
,voik in the gallery. "James Watt," No. 325, by J.
E. Lauder, is on far too large a canvas to be saleable,
except to some public company. I ceulsl write papers
on the first of these, intimate as we are with mountain-
' ous scenery and effects, but refrain from saying more
than this, that truth of perception, a solemnity of mood,
directed by skill of the highest order, could alone
have produced so fine a scenic picture. With
the exception of E. C. Williams, we discover ne
material progress made by other members of this artistic
family.
Mr. Naish contributes extensively, but the three
smallest of his subject., over the fire-place in the middle
room, arrest the eye by their extreme delicacy and rosy
flesh-like hues, which in his larger works become hot.
There is, too, a want of vigour is the pencilling of the
latter. This gentleman draws correctly, and always
treats his nude subjects modestly.
Mr. Pasmore is among the most industrious and sura
cessful exhibitors. Mr. Helmer is rather beyond 11 e
depth in his large landscapes. His manipulation and
inede of treatment require training to the task, for an
important picture must be effectively handled, or, if ela-
borately finished, it must be powerful in contrasts.
One of the most extraordinary instances of versatility
e.n,l talent combined is to be found in this Gallery. Mr.
H. B. Gray contributes the best groups from animal
life—No. 435, a finished imitation of flowers ; 82, and
three views of scenery—all possessing of their kind
merits sufficient to make the representation of three
artists ; but I would advisedly whisper to this gentle-
man, "adopt one style, and prosecute it to excellence."
It is remarkable that the new features of promise are
supplied to this Exhibition by two Lancashire artists,
Mr. Oakes and Mr. Harry Williams, the former known
to many for his admirable fidelity in landscape, and the
second a much younger man, whose works possess con-
siderable feeling for picturesque effects, and only re-
quire more decision of hand to render these acceptable
even to the fastidious in art.
In conclusion, the collection this year is pleasing, and
nothing snore—and in so saying, I pay no compliment
to the members of the society. R. W.