The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-29 00:00:00

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The German Legion is to be disbanded. Ma w's'sr-:
they connect this force with the general system tta a
foreign enlistment, will receive the announcement
with a satisfaction which more mature reflection will
perhaps much modify. We, in common with the whole
of our contemporaries throughout the kintedom, were
forward to denounce the foreign enlistment scheme atits'
very outset. The lamentable blunders and ramffs of
which it has been such a fertile source, have not much
tended to mitigate the aversion which we then exp..% ssed
against the plan. The fines and imprlsonniente or .our
consuls in Prussia and America ; the undignified tuTn-
out of Mr. Cratnpton ; the budgets of elaborated in-
solence which Mr. Marcy crammed Late) our reluctan t
stomachs ; even the mutiny of the Cana -lieu and Ame-
rican vagrants at Plymouth, must all be regarded as the
natural though bitter fruits of the unea ts-iot.e step
adopted by the Ministry. Rut there ia a wide kid Atreece
between a British-German Legion such as the Present
or such as that which fought for us so gallantly Orough
the Peninsular war, and a wholesale ician fur comicljng
the honour of England into the hands of reckless .g ad
c+ aracterless foreigners of all countries. The Germ eel •
Legion of this day has been rather a pet with the Go-
vernment. To perfect its formation at the commenced
ment neither pains nor expense was spared. - Germany
for a time was overrun with our well-paid crimps, who,
in spite of penalties, carried on a brisk contraband trade
in soldiers, who could tell to a tbaler the value of a
deserter from the Prussian Infantry or Hanoverian
Dragoons—who laid themselves out to catch a Nassau
rifleman or a Dutch cuirassier, but who turned a deaf
ear to the clamorous advances of the riff raff "line" of
Belgium. A bounty snore than four times greater
than that given to English recruits was eagerly paid,
and eagerly taken too. In vain were the conti-
nental detectives on the alert to check the plan.
In vain did' petty states, whose standing armies
consisted of 30 troopers, and to whom, there.,
fore, the defection of five or six was a matter
fraught with danger to their " principalities " fulminate
dire threats against the agents and their abettors. All
their efforts were fruitless. The high bounty and the
warm chivilious feeling in favour of the war which the
Western powers were waging for the freedom of the
East, proved inducements too strung for the Germans,
and the ranks of the legion were rapidlysfilledswith
best men of the confederate contingents. In the choice
of superior officers, for once, the " authorities" did not
err. They perchance felt that their plan 'was too un-
popular in itse f, and too easily injured, to be rashly
abandoned to the care of men whose only merit lay
in the merits .of their relatives. General Stutterheim,
an officer of rank and experience, was chosen to the
command. Colonel Woldridge, one of the best pupils of
Sir De Lacy Evans, was nominated his second, and both
;were assisted by a staff of Englishmen whose long ser-
vices in India and the Cape marked them out as officers
fit for trust and promotion.. Under such men the Ger-
man Legion progressed fast' and well ; in a few months
after its commencement 4,069 picked and highly-trained
soldiers were started to the East, Nevertheless the scheme
continued far from popular, and Gen. Stutterheim, who
remitted behind with the main body at Shorncliffe,
had to meet a formidable foe viz , the prejudice
and aversion of a high-spirited people, who at many
periods has scarcely tolerate I their own regiments, ard
to whom the vary name of a foreign legion has always
been peculiarly odious. Unfortunatetly the catchpenny
"headings" of the provincial journals added fuel to the
flame. Le, a drunken German soldier ! and the country
papers instantly dilated on "the licentiousness of hire-
ling mercenaries," their fights and squabbles were "mw-
der, us assaul s, ' and a chance theft became a " daring
felony." The very conduct of the Italian troops and
Poli,h Jews—the insubordination of the Am erican scum
at Plymouth—even the recent mnrder by tine wretched
Laden at Dover—were all totted up as against foreign
troops, and therefore considered to tell with equal
strength against the unfortunate German Legion. If
this feeling was strong with civilians it was naturally
ten times more so among our own troops. Unfortunately
at Aldershot the national and professional jealousy
showed itself in an un-English manner, and a large
number of Irish and Scotch men were not ashamed to
overpower and cruelly maltreat a mere handful of the
Germans. The conduct of the latter on the military in-
quiry which ensued did more to propitiate the public
than mentbs of good conduct might have done. They
unanimously declined to give evidence against those
who had injured them, even though .there was
much reason to believe the attack was the
result of a well-organised plan. Since that time the
men have been at Colchester, and have there, be-
yond all doubt, gained the affection and respect of
the inhabitant. Their drill has been incessant, and, as
the review on Tuesday showed, they are now equal to
the best regiments in our service. Those who visit this
camp and behold a splendid body of men contented, and
already half naturalised, will return with the impression
that perhaps the money on the German Legion has not
been entirely thrown away. They must therefore be
surprised, and may even be sorry, to learn that the
troops which have cost so large a sum, to perfect whom
the exertions of our best officers have been inces-
sant for neafy two' years, and who now form a corps
d'armie equal to any in Europe, are to be disbanded
and scattered to the winds. If the regiments were not
worth raising why are they here at as ? If, as we be-
lieve, they are fine and serviceable troops, why disband
them when their maintenance as regiments in our dis-
tant colonies might in time repay what we have spent to
levy them Is it wise in otr Governmert to parade
their reckless expenditure before the eyes of an ovi r-
taxed people ? Let them not, however, by an untimely
parsimony, now add injustice to their folly. If they
must abandon and break up the legion, let them give
the men fair terms ; and recollect; that the poor privates,
by the very act of espousing our cause, condemned them-
selves to perpetual exile from the-jr eative land, Our
reputation for economy in time of war has lon„e since
gone. Let not our name fur good faith and fair dealing
go atter it.—Morning Herald.

BRADFORD MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

The miscellaneous concert of Tuesday evening was not
nearly so well attended as the sacred performance of that
marring, and there was a similar shortcoming on Wed-
nesday m3rning, notwithstanding the curiosity excited
by the announcement of Costa's •‘ Eli," performed for
the first time in Yorkshire. This unfavourable effect
was partly caused by the bad weather, but partly also
by the scale of prices of admission, which is complained
of as being injudiciously high, and beyond the means of
tradespeople and inhabitants of the town, who otherwise
would have c mtributed to the support of the festival.
The performance of Tuesday evening, though contain-
ing little to excite the biases concert-goers of the metro,!
polis was excellent, and well calculated for the gratifica-
tion of a tasteful and intelligent provincial audience.
The first part of the concert began with Moiart's
Symphony in G Minor, admirably played and heartily
applauded. Miss Sherrington sang, as usual, a French
song, Halevy's "Bocages dpais," which she executed
brilliantly. We have repeatedly had occasion to notice
this clever young lady's love of display and predilection
for the French school. Alboni's "Una voce poco
hackneyed to it is, isoaived fresh charms from her in-
imitable vocalisation ; and Clara Novelle) put forth all
her powers in \Veber's famous song from " Oberan,"
"Ocean, thou mighty monster." A. most brilliant per.
formance of the overture to the " Gazza Ladra" closed
the first part. The second was occupied by a new can-
tata, entitled "Robin Hood," composed by Mr. J. L.
Hatton. It consists of some passages in the life of the
outlaw of Sherwood thrown bat° a dramatic form, the
personages being Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Little
John, and the Bishop. The music, exceedingly well
sung by Sims Reeves, Miss Milner, Mr. Winn, and Mr.
Weiss, is very animated, with that agreeable old English
flavour which is found in some of Mr. Hatton's admir-
able ballads. It was completely successful. The third
part—for there were three, and the concert was conse-
quently too long--includedCimarosa's famous trio in the
" Matrimonio Segreto," sung in perfection by Madame
Clara Novelle), Madame Weiss, and Madame Viardot ;
the finale to the "Scnnambula," sung with remarkable
brilliancy by Madame Viardot ; the Tyrolieone from
"Betty," "In questo semplice," which Alboni has made
her own by her incomparable execution ; the fine old
madrigal, " Down in a flowery vale ;" and Cherubinea
splendid overture to " Anacreon," which terminated the
concert.

Costa's " Eli" was performed almost as magnificently
as on the occasion of its first production at Birmingham
this. time 12 months. The principal solo parts were sins-
tamed by Madame Clara Novello, Madame Viardot, Mr.
SiLIS Reeves, Herr Formes, Mr. Weiss, and Mr. WI,-
tern Smith. Reeves, as usual, roused the enthusiasm of
the audience by the wonderful energy of the- Philistine
war-song, which was vehemently encored. The.beautt-
ful uhaccompanied quartet, sung by Madame Novello,
Madame Viardot, Mr. Reeves, and Hcrr Formes, was
also re-demanded and repeated. The whole perfomanoe
was most Effective, and at its conclusion the composer
was greeted with reiterated bursts of applause.
There was no concert on Wednesday evening. as
terday morning the oratorio was "The . Messiah,
and
the expected appearance of Piccolomini the evening
was exciting great curiosity.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TY COAMERCIAL
BANS.

---...--
This bank discontinued its cash payments on Wednes-
day, an event not at all unlooked for after the recent
disclonure of its unfortunate transactions with the Sad.
leirs. Since the closing of the bank, Mr. Walker, the
managing director, has issued the following circular :
" NOTICE TO DEPOSITORS.
"Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Aug. 27.
Sir,—It appears by the books of the Newcastle Com;
merc'al Bank that the company are indebted to you as a
customer. I regret to be obliged to claim your in-
dulgence on behalf of the shareholders and myself, and
to ask you to stay the pressure of your demand for
a short time, to enable the directors to collect
the money duo to the company. You ate doubtless
aware that upwards of 50,0001., belonging to ,the
company, have been fradulently misapplied by a For'
tion of the late London board of directors. The asset 0
of the company are, however, sufficient to meet an de-
mands against us, and in a short time the amount due
to you will be paid, with 5 per cent. interest
the
from this
date to the day of payment. The amount owing by
company to the public is under 24,0001. Our sLarc•
holders are upwards of a hundred in number, and many
of these are individuals possessed of considerable means.
The fortune of each shareholder is available for the cre-
ditors of the bank until every debt is discharged.— I
am, &c. gi wisi. WALICIII, Managing Director."