The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-28 00:00:00

Let me do homage to the national festival and pass on.
It rained all Tuesday night; it was fine all Wednesday
s.Cternonn. The concourse of people was scarcely as large
as usual. The Prince of Wales was there, so was the
Princess; so was not the Duke of Newcastle ; so was not,
though for a different reason, your London correspondent.
I will neither draw upon my imagination for my facts,
nor upsn my memory for my jokes, but pass on to other
topics.
The political betting just now is extremely wild. There
is a dark horse about whom people are exceedingly
curious, and even more uncertain. They cannot make
up their minds as to how he will run, or, indeed, whether
he will run at all. If he do run it is firmly believed that
he will be able to give a very good account of himself- To
change the metaphor, the young lulns of the Conservative
party is no other than that eminently sound theologian
and orthodox Churchman, Lord Westbury. It is the
right hand of this peer of spotless life and unimpeachable
creed who is to save the Irish Ilium if that Ilium is to be
saved. Those of us who remember the Sir Richard
Bethel' of Aylesbury ani Wolverhampton days, are, of
course, acquainted with the fact that he was always a
staunch Conservative passionately attached to the
Constitution in Church and State, bitterly opposed
to all Radical innovations upon the rights of the
Crown, or of private property. Those of us who remember
him giving judgment in the "Essays and Reviews"
case are equally conscious of the fact that he is ardently
attached to all the creeds and formularies of our Church.
Malicious persons have said that he was a Radical, and
that he is turning Tory now for- the same reason that
Brougham did ; but then greatness, especially when it is
allied with virtue and retiring modesty, must always
expect to be slandered and maligned. It is to this eminent
person, to this model statesman and stainless gentleman,
that the Opposition are now looking for powerful aid in
defeating the Ministerial measure.
Meanwhile, I do not believe that the Conservative peers
have made up their minds as to the course they will
pursue. I know that only a few days ago a nobleman,
who held office in the late Administration, was unable to
say what Isis-friends would do. The agitation against the
bill into be fomented vigorously during the next fortnight,
in order that, should it be eventually deeided-tostitrow-
it out, the leaders may be able to point to these
meetings, and the resolutions passed at them, petitioning
the Lords to reject the Ministerial measure. It is generally
understood on both sides that the second reading will
come on June 14, and previously to that there will be a
muster of the Conservative Peers, probably at Lord
Derby's house. The chief debaters will be, on the Minis-
terial side, Earl Granville, the Duke of Argyll, the Earl
of Kimberley, the Earl of Clarendon, Earl de Grey, Lord
Hatherley, and Lord Romilly, the two last dealing with
the legal technicalities that will be raised. On the Oppo- •
sition side will be the Earl of Derby, Lord Cairns, the Duke
of Marlborough, the Duke of Abercorn, andprobably some
other members of Mr. Disraeli's ducal body-guard. The
Marquis of Salisbury and the Earl of Carnarvon will, it
is expected, go together, andwhile acting independently-of
their party in the main, will support amendments, but not
oppose the bill in Coto. Earl Grey will be sure to take the
course which everyone is sure that he will not take. The
greatest curiosity is felt about Earl Russell and Lord
Westbury. The first is expet-ted to support the bill on the
second reading, and to be troublesome in committee. Of the
second all kinds of manoeuvres possible and impossible
are anticipated.
I hear nothing definite respecting the rumoured eleva-
tion of Mr. Chichester Fortescue to the peerage. No
doubt his post is one. involving much work and more
anxiety ; but these would hardly be deemed reasons for
abandoning it just now, unless the occupant o! the post
felt absolutely incapacitated. Mr. Forteseue's svife,
Frances Countess of Waldegrave, has long been one of the
queens of fashion, and her entertainments at Strawberry
Hill, illustrious by its connection with Horace Walpole,
are events in the aristocratic world.
The Cabinet hate just now other sources of anxiety
besides Ireland. The Si.anish Government has, after lon:s
delay, absolutely refused to do jitstice in the Tornado
case. The great difficulty of acting in this matter arises
from the unsettled state of Spain. It would seem the
height of ungenerosity to threaten that inorganic body
which now bears rule at Madrid. Thus it is possible that
Spain may escape by reason of her very helplessness.
A good deal of interert is naturally felt in the fate of
the Telegraphs Bill. The protracted character of the
arbitration in the case of Reuter's Telegram Company
led to the supposition that it would be impossible to pass
the measure this year ; and certainly the bill would not
have been carried into effect if other companies had given
an equal amount of trouble. The evidenoc in the eftee of
neuter's Company has now been closed, and the award -
will probably he given in a few days. Arrangements have
been concluded with the other telegraph companies which
will avoid the necessity of further arbitration. Suitable
allowances having been made for depreciation and con-
tingencies, and the Post-office authorities being satisfied
as to the correctness of the accounts, the sum to he paid
iu each case has been settled in accordance with the
terms of the Act passed last session. The terms agreed
upon will be equitable to the Telegraph Company,
although they involve a considerable reduction on the
amount originally asked. From the thorough
manner in which the whole case has been gone
into, the Government will get a full equivalent
for the purchase money. It is understood that
Mr. Lowe and Mr. Goschen still insist upon the
Post-office having a monopoly of the telegraphs, and that
Parliament will be asked to sanction it. We shall be
better prepared to deal with this question when we hear
Mr. Lowe's reasons. It appears to me the case might be
met by granting a monopoly for a limited period, to be
renewed or discontinued as experience may justify.
The body of poor Sir Wentworth Dilke is expected to
arrive in England to-night or to-morrow. There has
been a good deal of difficulty in getting it conveyed here,
in consequence of the superstition which in Russia
attaches to everything connected with the dead. There
was something peculiarly sad in the circumstances of Sir
Wentworth's death. His youngest son had succeeded
in gaining a scholarship, and was thereupon told
that he (Sir Wentworth) would take him for a holiday to
any part of the Continent he might choose. Young
Dilke chose Russia. On their way to St. Petersburg by
rail they met a bitter northern wind. Sir Wentworth
was at once laid up with quinsey, the symptons became
quickly aggravated, and in a few hours he was dead, with
none of his friends near him but his son, a lad of 18.
The Duke of Genoa is now settled at Harrow, as a
boarder, at Mr. Matthew Arnold's. The royal pupil is
treated precisely in the same way as other boys, and
has to act as fag, although I needscarcely say that the fag
of to-day has a much easier time of it thanhisfatherhad. The
Duke's friends have shew n the greatest liberality with regard
to his religious teaching, and save that he goes to London
every Sunday in order to hear Mass, instead of attending
service in Harrow Chapel, there is no sort of restriction
upon his communication with "heretics." The Duke is a
good linguist, and speaks four languagesfluently. He has
taken a good place in his form. He is the first prince of
the blood who has ever been to any public school here or
on the Continent, and it is not a little complimentary to
Harrow that it should have been selected for the first ex-
periment of this kind.
It is now, I believe, more than twenty years ago that
English lovers of music were fascinated by a new and
magnificent bass, in the person of Herr Formes. He was
not only a good singer, but a good actor, and several times
appeared in opera. Latterly he has disappeared from our
view. We heard of him in Russia and other countries,
but, save a brief tour about eight years ago, he has not
appeared before an English assembly for a long period.
Quite recently he has been living at Liverpool, where he
has been preparing for the stage. He is now, next Wed-
nesday that is, about to make his appearance in London,
at the Princess's Theatre, and in the character of Shylock.
Miss Faithfull, ever seeking some new field for women's
enterprise, has discovered one for such women as are not,
as she is, up to literary work. She has started a society
which will procure work for ladies, and supply them with
materials at moderate prices. At present all the mate-
rials for fancy work are charged at fancy prices. This
alone is almost an insuperable obstacle to women who
would escape from their poverty by the ethe crochet-needle or the knitting-pin. I need a
maxi
hardly add that the shops which charge -
mum for the raw material pay a minimum for thet
material when it is made up. Fancy workers
wmoousl,
be content to pay not only exorbitant prices for their
iv_ss
but to get starving prices for their embroidery.d
entle.
:nal:dull will confer a real blessing upon needy
wotnen if she can protect them doubly, by
withn: was fir,
The Civil En,gineers' annual con% ersax Gregory,
with materials, and by supplying them
r received the guests, who
the president for the
yfecaefebrities in science and rank.
included a large number o
were qmon,-, the guests, though'
ocularly brilliant this year. Mr. Charles Hutton
Count Bismarck's two sons i;
al known who they were.
I fancy that it was not
tog them as alumni. The
were b no means confined
attractions of the conyer.saztoneen by
ts. e walls were hung
to models anon cientinc ipstrum Blu PPP rYclyllilasgg etrsile.m
Oxford is expecting to ee
with a large mber of pictures
by
our most famous artists
—from Turner to the latest A.R.A.
a
melm'rabdeer:saresaiddrtiovebne
nearly
y by the de
but
in
wild
ands there is one trade whose
u t
Ticloensdeovnervyelowceipeked,
aen,mdaykeetriis
nadreittiumnii)ousag.
ible to keep pace with their orders.
made
o
oe nf
their frvheeb
uponootb

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