The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-23 00:00:00

T 1[1: P., SUN, I.A (..t IN tN, Tti 144' n A

were 3,0641. 193. 20., and the expenditure 8981. 2s.
Thee receipts showed that the local boards were valu-
.l,le, ant that with the right man in the right plane this
would be the best institu'ion in Er gland. The gentle-
men named on the committee could not and ought not
to sit on their own accounts.
Mr. MEcai—ln adlition to the expenditure you have
named, is the usual 121 per cent. coremissioe paid ?
Mr. LANCASTER—Yea. He object- d to the powers
to be vested in the committee, and if it had been com-
netent for him to do so he should have moved an amend
,rent. One of the clauses of the resolution empowered
the committee to draw on the institution for any amount
they pleased for the expenses of this investigation, and
he called on the meeting to reject the resolution.
Mr. H AWIKES (of Birmingham) defended the business
done at Birmingham. He said that an invidious coin-
oarison had been made with regard to the expenditure
and business done there, and that the expenditure now
li,toot amount to more than 6001. on 1,8001. receipts. The
buildings erected at Birmingham returned 71 per cent.
Lifter what had been said of the committee investigating
their own accounts he should vote against the resolution,
not wishing to be placed in such a painful position.
Mr. GODDARD addressed the meeting at great length,
in the course of which he entered into the details of the
management. He urged on the meeting to support the
resolution, a committee of inquiry being essentially
necessary. He asked Mr. Baylis if he had not foreseen
what has now happened, and if a finance committee was
not appointed in December last, and that he had acted
in contravention of the principles laid down in their re-
port to the directors for the future management of the
:association ? He wished also to be informed what. special
-errices Mr. Baylis performed for the 1,0001 paid him I
Mr. MECHI defended the conduct of the directors,
which, he said, had been straightforward and honest.
Mr. SALMON said that the number of pamphlets that
had been published in reference to this association had
been a great injury to it, as also had been the irrita.
bility of Mr. Baylis, their managing director. The
appointment of a committee of inquiry was necessary
before they changed their directors, and if the com-
mittee be appointed, he as one of that committee
should insist on an accountant being called in, to tho-
roughly investigate the affairs of the association.
Mr. BAYLIS said he had hoped the meeting would
have agreed to the resolution without opposition. It
was a popular mode of damaging a man to rake up all
his little defects of management and produce them before
a meeting of that kind ; but he assured the meeting
ne courted inveetigation into his conduct, and he was
determined to have it. In the mean time, they ought
to suspend their judgment. The directors had always
courted inquiry. His income from this institu-
tion was 5001. per annum, and was reduced
to that amount at his own request. He denied having
received a check for 1,0001. as referred to. After advert-
ing to many of the statements put forth against the in-
stitution, he said there were just reasons for much that bad
been said, but that was not a place to enter into them.
Let them apppoint a committee, and if he did not satis-
fabtorily explain his conduct he would withdraw in-
stantly from the management. (Hear, hear.) Any in-
firmity of temper was no fault of his, and whatever it
was he strived to do his best for the institution, and if he
had failed, he should be happy to see his place filled
with a better and'abler person. As it appeared impos-
sible to carry the resolution proposed, he suggested that
the meeting should separate with the reliance that the
London Biard, having in their board room the power
to appoint a committee, would do so, and that the corn
mittee should comprise the following gentlemen :--Mr.
J. Bradshaw' of Nottingham ; Mr. R. Ciitherow, of
Horncastle ; Mr. H. Hawkes, of Birmingham ; Mr. S.
Stnitherman, of Hertford ; Mr. Salmon, Bury St.
Edmunds ; Mr. J. Mechi, of London ; Dr. Lancaster, of
Southampton ; and Mr. Parker, of Northampton.
Dr. LANCASTER objected to his being one of the com-
mittee.
After some further discussion relative to the non-
publishing of the balance-sheet at the last meeting,
Mr. J. RICHARDSON said there must be a change of
the directors and the management, because it was from
a want of commercial confidence in them that so little
business was done in London.

The CHAIRMAN, before putting the resolution, said
that the Board of Directors had no objection to Mr.
Bradshaw's committee, and that if the resolution was
negatived the shareholders were alone to blame.
Toe resolution was then put and negatived by a large
majority.
A vote of thanks was accorded to the Chairman, after
which the shareholder 3 nominated several gentlemen as
a committee for the Directors to appoint to investigate
the affairs of the Institution.

The meeting did not terminate till half-past 4 o'clock.

LONDON GAZETTE—ahis Evening.)

FOREIGN-OFFICE, SEPT. 10.

The Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint Briga-
dier-General William Rose Mansfield to be her Majesty's
Consul-General at Warsaw.

FOREIGN-OFFICE, SEPT. 23.

The Queen has been pleased to approve of Don Jose
Maria Martinez p Rosado as Consul at Belize for the Re-
public of Mexico.
The Queen has been pleased 1.0 approve of Senor C. F.
Halle as Consul at Manchester for the Republic of Vene-
zuela.

RUSSIAN CORONATION FETES.

We have already described the coronation and
consecration of the Czar from the graphic descrip-
tion supplied by the correspondent of the Times.
We now borrow from the same some account of the
preparations, from the magnitude of which an
idea may be formed of the imposing nature of the
ceremony :

THE KREMLIN.—EarIy as it is (6 a.m.) our party,
all in uniform though they be, have a hard strug-
gle to reach one of the gates.
Ascending the broad staircase, which in two
flights reaches from the court to the upper storey of
the palace and to the esplanade outside the Hall of
St. Andrew, we find at the first landing a wide
door, which open 3 into the ante-chamber—in itself
a hall—to the Hall of St. George. This staircase is
covered with scarlet cloth, from which it derives
its name (Krasnci Kriltzo), and it is lined on both
sides and at both landings by the chevalier garde,
in gilt calques, with silver eagles as crest, gilt cui-
rass, white coats, and dark blue trousers with red
stripes. The hall into which we enter is a magni-
ficent apartment, white and gold, sustained by a
colonnade of ten pillars and two ranges of " pil-
ions" sustaining the architraves, richly ornamented.
Tile pillars are made of zinc, and are in demi-re-
lief. At the end of the hall is a fine statue of St.
George, the patron saint of Moscow, killing the
dragon, and the cross and star of the order, richly
gilt, are emblazoned all over the walls. The floor
is of the finest parquetry of many wcods, and is
highly polished. On the wall opposite the win-
dows are noticesemblazoned in Slavonic, reminding
the readers of the glories of Russian history ; sofas
are placed at this side, but there is no other fur-
niture in it ; above the three arched doorways
which lead one to the Hall of St. Vladimir is a
choir for an orchestra ; at the.further extremity is
Vie Hall of St. Alexander Nevski ; this is built of
rose-coloured marble, covered with gilding and
emblazonments of the ensigns of, the order, and,
like the Hall of St. George, it is filled with a mul-
titude of officers, ministers, and members of the
Imperial court and of all the courts ofEurope. The
Russian generals wear scarlet trousers with a gold
stripe, green frock coats with gold lace cuffs, up-
right collars, and shoulder straps, and gold cord
aiguillettes and tassels ; their rank is denoted by
stars on the shoulder strap ; their head-dress is a
casque of silver, or a black patent leather helmet
with gold or silver mounting, and a spike on the
top, from which there depends a large plume of
black, yellow, and white feathers. The etat-ma-
jor wear silver instead of gold lace ; all officers on
duty have a silver lace sash round their waists, and
those who have distinguished themselves may be
known by their sword knots of honour, which at
once show in what service they have been en-
gaged by their colour and material. Those gene-
rals who belong to the army of the Caucasus wear
a prodigious Tartar or Cossack bonnet of long fine
white sheep's wool, with a scarlet conical crown
piece, striped with gold thread. From the Salle
d'Alexandre we pass on to the Hall of St. Andrew,
at the end of which is the Imperial throne, in pur-
ple and gold, with seven steps ascending to it.
Above is emblazoned " L'OBil de .';Dieu," :sur-
rounded by a golden glory. The walls are covered
with blue, the colour of the St. Andrew riband,
with the armorial bearings of all the kingdoms,
principalities, duchies, and provinces of the. Russian
empire, and between the windows are represented
in gilt relief the chain and cross of the Apostle. At
the upper end of the hall, on the left hand side,
there is a great crowd of persons at one side of a
small table. They are feas'uing their eyes on the
crown, the sceptre, and t:ie globe, which will be
used presently in the great ceremony of the day.
The only praise that can be given to diamonds be-
longs to those in the crown—they are very big and
very bright. The crown is a cluster of Koh-i-noors,
and there is a wreath of large diamonds in the form
of oak-leaves around it which is dazzling as the
sun himself. Many of these brilliants are the size
of pistol halls of the good old duelling diameter.
As to the sceptre, there is a tip to it formed of a
fatuous diamond, which one is almost afraid to talk
about. I really would not venture to state how
large it seems to be, and shall content myself by
saying that this is the precious stone for which
Catherine 11. gave nearly 80,0001. and a large pen-
sion for life to a runaway slave. Vide every story-
book. Turning away from these important ingre-
dients in the ceremonial of to-day, let us look at
what is curious or worthy of notice in the hall
itself. The diamonds will remain for ever, and will
be justly regarded with the same feeling of tradi-
tionary stupid admiration as they are now till some
chemist fashions them, like Prince Rupert's drops,
by the dozen. There are objects here which will
not last so long. In two long lines, from door to
door of the Hall of St. Andrew and of the Hall of
St. George, are drawn up the Grenadiers of the pa-
lace, the veterans of the great war. To me those
fine old soldiers were more interesting and
attractive than all the display of riches and
the blaze of gold and silver around and
above us. Their dress recalled the days of
those Titanic struggles which shook all Europe.
The huge bearskin cap, with white tassels and gilt
cords, the ample broad-chested coatee and cross-
belt, and the white pantaloons with many buttons
at the outer side from the knee to the foot, re-
minded one of the time when Kutusoff and Blucher
and Murat and Wellington were the heroes of fast-
recurring battles. These men aro picked from va-
rious regiments, with some regard perhaps to size,
but certainly with undoubted claims on the score of
service, for there is not one of them who does not
bear five or six ribands and crosses or medals on
his breast. As you walk along that wall of soldiers
it is difficult to believe that they have lived under
three Emperors, and have fought against the great
Napoleon. They are all in perfect preservation.
The only thing to betray old age is a certain stiff-
ness about the knee, and those implacable and
invincible and inevitable wrinkles which will come
upon us as records of so many lustres. The hair
is jet black, the moustache is lustrous and dark as
the boot which was wont to affright the feline of
our boyhood, and the whiskers—for old Russia

wore whiskers—are of the same
,fine polish. The
surprise into which you may be thrown at such
evidences of juvenility on the part of men who
have seen the horrors of the Beresina and who
beheld Murat turn his back at Yaroslavitz, is
removed, however, when you see that the vete-
ran who touches his moustache blackens the fingers
of his glove; he has had his hair dyed, just as his
boots have been polished—for effect. Some of these
veterans are historical monuments—some have
served under Suvaroff at Ismail and in Italy—
others have marched triumoantly into Paris—
others have crossed the Balkan with Diebitsch. Of
all their numerous decorations these veterans seem
to prize the Paris medal and riband. the 'most, and
they point to it with great pride, though it hangs
amid memorials of tremendous battle-fields. How
these rugged old warriors, the relies of Austerlitz,
Friedland, Eylau, Pultowa, and Borodino must
smile in their hearts at the medal which has this
day been given away to nearly all Russia on account
of the late war The line in which the soldiers
were dressed was perfect ; the men were six paces
apart, and from time to time the general on
duty for the day moved up and down the ranks,
took beatings with his eye from breast to breast,
and " dressed" them with his own hands. They
were of different height, being selected for merit
and service, but on an average they were six feet
high. In the alleys formed between them, and in

the intervals betw&n the rear of the line and the
sides of the hall, moved the most gorgeous crowd
that it is possible to fancy—an ever-shifting play
of colour, changing like some rich web shot with
various hues, in which green, gold, and silver pre-
dominate. The casques of the officers, surmounted
with. long tricoloured plumes, yellow, black, and
white, of cocks' feathers, are well suited for effect
whatever way they are worn, and inside the balls
as they were borne on the owners' arms those
plumes fluttered or drooped gracefully over the
polished steel or silver of the headpiece ; the
Heralds-at-arms strutted about in lemon-coloured
long boots with gilt spurs, slashed doublets of cloth
of gold, and tabards emblazoned with the arms of
the empire, and Spanish hose, so delightfully chi-
valresque and crusader-like that I was quite angry
with one of them, who suddenly came forth to
destroy my delusions by moans of a pair of mild
looking spectacles, through which he surveyed the
gay crowd with a thorough Pickwickian expression
of countenance. It is very striking indeed to see
the number of Russian officers who are obliged to
resort to such aids to imperfect vision. There
must be something peculiar iu their habits or
in the climate which renders it necessary- for
so large a proportion of the military men to
wear glasses. In another group may be
seen the intrepid little naval officer Biruleff, who
has received high marks of favour from his coun-
trymen for his conduct at Sebastopol. He led no
less than 13 sorties against the allied trenches, and
escaped unhurt till the last, 'when he ' was badly
wounded, and retired to Moscow to reap the fruits
of bis intrepidity. In another spot Prince Men-
schikoff, who is still a favourite with the Russians,
is speaking with his usual dryness of manner to
an attentive .little audience. The prince is very
sore respecting the criticism to which he has been
exposed for his plan of defence at the Alma, and
the letters which have appeared in the public pa-
pers from him and his accusers are a new feature
in Ruskian journals. The prince's friends say that
his plan was frustrated by the neglect of the gene-
ral who commanded the left wing to carry out his
instructions ; these were, to allow five or six
battalions of the French to get up to, the edge of
the plateau, and then to attack them and hurl them