The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-06 00:00:00

Sun
gise .

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.3 A

LONDON, MONDAY, MAY 6, 1867.

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It appears that the Government are less sensitive
than the Reform League about making conciliatory
advances, and they have determined not to inter-
fere with the political demonstration in the Park
this evening further than may be necessary to pre-
serve order. The prudence of this decision will be
generally admitted. All English Governments are
very averse to coming into collision with large
bodies of the people, even though the collision may
be provoked by the folly or recklessness of the
people themselves. The Ministers are naturally
very reluctant to inflict unnecessary injury to life or
limb, even on the noisy and turbulent Democrats,
who aim at setting London by the ears. Every
opening has been (-riven for the Council of the
Lea."'" t° "lake h'nour.ible retreat, and we
have no doubt but that Mr. 13EALES and a few
others woull be very glad to do so if their more
violent associates would permit them. Mr. GLAD-
s-roza:bas op2nly advised and entreated the renun-
ciation of the scheme;
it
a i has taken the
trouble to attend
them to give it op ; a •r G the Council to beg
GEORGE GREY and other
gentlemen on the Liberal side Lave boldly declared
tlljr conviction that the whole affair is illegal
and improper. Bat the meeting is to be bekl
en masse, and the news is no doubt very welcome to
the roughs and pickpockets of the metropol The
prolonged dispute and agitation about the matter
has had the effect of increasing its importance, so
that there is, in one sense, more reason for appre-

hending riot and disturbance than there was last
year. On the other hand, much greater precau-
tions have been taken, a different line of conduct
wi►l be pursued by the authorities ; and, above all,
the general feeling of the public has been roused
for the preservation of law and order and
the protection of property. The Government,
while not offering any direct opposition to the
entry of the crowd into the Park, or to the delivery
of addresses by the speakers so long as they keep to
terra firma, by no means intend to surrender their
position as guardians of the public peace. They
have made, as we have said, ample arrangements,
and the numbers of special constables sworn in at
the different Vestry Bulls, during Saturday and this
day, are sufficient guarantees that the roughs will
not be allowed to have it all their own way. Mr.
BEALES has issued an emphatic appeal to the de-
monstrators, and the members of the
League declare themselves most anxious to
preserve order ; but these gentlemen forget that the
danger apprehended is not from their own recog-
nised followers, but from the crowds of doubtful
hangers-on whom they will find it impossible to get
rid off. &nybody who knows what a London
crowd is like would think it most chimerical to
make a pledge on its behalf. Who can guarantee
that no pockets will be picked during a Lord
Mayor's show ? When gentlemen choose to call
together a mixed mob in open defiance of the law,
they must be sanguine indeed if they hope to be able
to control their proceedings, especially when even-
ing comes on after a hot, exciting, and exhausting
day. We should imagine this afternoon to be
anything but pleasurable to Mr. BEALES and his
friends. When they have got through their pro-
gramme and uttered twenty sentences apiece to a
crowd which cannot catch half of them, what then?
Are we nearer a Reform Bill than we were before?
Are we more likely to obtain manhood suffrage ?
Are we more secure of our civil rights and indivi-
dual liberties ? Le jeu ne vaut pas la chaudelle, even
supposing the day to pass over without any discre-
ditable riot. It is a strange way of demonstrat-
ing the fitness of the working classes for the fran-
chise, and we do not wonder that the working
men of London are protesting against it by the
thousand. The deputation which waited upon
Mr. WALPOLE on Saturday presented petitions
against the proposed demonstration, signed by
upwards of 16,000 persons, and no doubt all who
signed it will be ready, so far as they are able,
to assist in preserving order. The Council of the
League intend the proceedings to be as short as
possible, and are no doubt quite as anxious as the
Government themselves that matters shall pass
off quietly. It is said that the Home Office has
suggested furnishing the League with 10,000 pass
tickets for members of that body, so as to
keep out the roughs, who are always eager
to get up a tumult. It will be diffi-
cult, we fear, to keep these gentry
quiet, even if they are excluded from the Park. At
any rate we hope the Reform League will learn a
lesson from the annoyance and confusion they have
brought upon their fellow citizens, and that this
may be the last of these foolish and useless demon-
strations, which are planned and insisted upon
without the slightest regard to time, place, or cir-
cumstance. One thing is certain. The most inve-
terate despot that ever lived could not devise more
certain means of bringing shame and discredit on
the popular cause.

Mr. DISRAELI is always fortunate in his designa-
tions of things, and he has called the Royal Aca-
demy the Mecca of society, which is a happy ex-
pres7ion, and one that aptly represents the state of
the case, for it is a delightful interlude for those
who are distracted with the turmoils and strife of
politics to meet thus together to discuss the progress
of the fine arts, and consider the results of the great
and gifted. The anniversary banquet, held last
Saturday, was unusually brilliant and well attended.
The President, in proposing the toast of the Royal
Family, alluded in terms of regret to the " severe
and protracted illness" of the Princess of WALES,
declaring that the warmest sympathies of all classes
were awakened in her behalf, and expressed the
general wish of the public in trusting that her Royal
highness would soon be enabled to "resume the
duties of the exalted station of which she is so
bright an ornament." The Prince of WALES, in
returning thanks, gave the gratifying assurance
that the Princess was progressing towards recovery.
His Royal Highness made some observations which
showed his appreciation of art, and his judgment in
respect to the merits of artists. Further on in the
proceedings the Prince displayed that promptitude
which distinguishes him, and upon a difficulty arising
as to who should return thanks for the Volunteers,
Lord ELCIIO not being present, said " I am a Vo-
lunteer, Sir FRANCIS. I will return thanks for the
Volunteers." In proposing her Majesty's Ministers
the President declared that it was a satisfaction to
them to receive the distinguished statesmen who
govern this country. Both the present Administra-
tion and the last testified their appreciation of art,
by the friendly consideration they showed; and as
Sir FRANCIS justly observed, it was a happy cir-
cumstance when the members of the Royal Aca-
demy of Arts had to acknowledge the sympathy of
all classes of public men, proving that the " inte-
rests of art, and the prosperity of that institution,
were held to be the common propertyof all parties."
Lord DERBY'S speech was a very entertaining one,
and additional interest was imparted to it from the
circumstance that the noble lord has only just re-
appeared in society after his recent severe illness.
He observed that his health would have furnished
him with a sufficient excuse for absence, but he felt
it was a "peculiar" occasion, and one in which it
was both a pleasure and a duty for all in pro-
minent situations to testify by their attendance
their appreciation of the arts which are cultivated
there, and their respect for the office held by the
President, and for those whose labours reflect so
much honour on themselves and their country."
This is a very correct observation on the part of the
noble Premier, and it exactly typifies the character
of the entertainment which is given at the Exhi-
bition.

Alluding to the more immediate topics of the day
the noble lord said that they had all heard a good
deal lately about working men, but he was
sure that in one sense through the whole length
and breadth of the land there were no more truly
working men than her MAJESTY'S Ministers were,
" and more eqvcially, I may say this of those
Ministers who are members of the llouse of Coin-
mon9, and, pre-eminently, G.. f my right hon. friend
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who I have no
doubt would feel it an inunense relief from the
labours of his position if he could claim the advan-
tage of the Ten flours' Bill." Without intro-
clueing a subject of political discussion, the noble
earl considered himself justified iu saying that it
would be a source of universal gratification " if it
were possible by th, united labours of all parties in
the course of the present session to see a
satisfactory settlement of the great question which
has Belong absorbed and almost in !uopolised the
time of Parliament to the hindrance of various
pressing and important subjecLs which urgently de-
mand Public consideration." The liP.lf-hour which

he had devoted to the works around him did not
permit Lord DERBY to do more than say the col-
lection comprised specimens of more than average
merit ; and he awakened the mirth of his auditory
by calling attention to the number of works by
female:artists on the walls of the Academy ; men-
tioning this, he added, because "it might furnish
an argument in political discussions for the admix
sion of ladies to the electoral franchise."

The President proposed the House of Commons,
connecting with it the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr. DISRAELI observed that it was a new thing for
the House of Commons to he thus honoured at this
" classic festival," but he saw some similarity in the
position of the House and of the Royal Academy.
" They are both ancient institutions, they have both
in their time been very much criticised, and they have
both been occasionally reformed." Notwithstanding
all this, however, both still remain,and in ay be ranked
as among the most flourishing and popular institu-
tions of the country. In the course of his remarks the
right hon. gentleman made an interesting allusion
to the late Mr. PHILIP, who left us compa-
ratively young, when " England and all
Europe was only maturing to the recognition of
his genius. He was a real artist, and had dipped
his pencil in the splendour of Andalusian skies."
The President referred to the changes now impend-
ing over the Academy, and hinted that the Govern-
ment might render additional assistance. To this Mr.
DISRAELI said that, as a member of Parliament, he
should be ready and willing at any time to do anything
required for the comfort and convenience •of the
Royal Academy ; but in another capacity, speaking
as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he must must say
that he preferred to transact business before dinner.
The right hon. gentleman vindicated the House of
Commons from having neglected the fine arts.
They had never been backward in the purchase of
valuable collections and rare works of art for the
nation, which was the more satisfactory, as good
taste was one of the elements of national greatness.

Among the many interesting speeches delivered,
that of the Lord Chancellor may be mentioned as
most impressive, and one particularly well adapted
to the occasion before him. lie said that they were
assembled to commemorate one of the most interest-
ing of the public anniversaries of the year, for on
that day the " secrets of all studios" were at once
disclosed as if with a flash of light. Disappointment
never follows in the expectation awakened by the
mystery pursued for so long a period.
As perfection can never be attained, those who
frequent those anniversaries can, as the Lord Chan-
cellor declares, " find genius advancing upon its
own steps, and through itself pushing back the zeal
as it advances, making its progress towards it."
As the President observed in one of his speeches,
the Royal Academy is honoured by the company
of men distinguished for all that can tend to the
greatness of a nation in their different spheres. They
had " the revered heads of the Liberal states-
men whose names would live in the pages of
history, the learned heads of the law, and
men in every branch of science and literature."
We trust that this may long continue, and that for
many years to come the anniversary entertainment
of the Royal Academy may assemble to commemo-
rate the progress of art among all the leadinc, mem-
bers of society, and that differing parties may unite
on the common ground of art to dwell upon the pro-
gress that has been made, and to render due homage
to those whose genius is a source of national pride,
and must tend to the elevation and refinement of
society, while it counteracts the degrading influence
of mere material pursuits.

The arrival of the Asia from Boston and Halifax
brings us news from New York to the 23d ult.
The intelligence is not specially important, though
there are some points of interest. A resolution to
offer the mediation of the United States between
the belligerents in Mexico has been laid upon the
table in the Senate, and it recommends a simi-
lar amicable intervention between France and
Prussia. America is apparently in a pacific and
peace-making mood, so that we may hope she is in-
clined to hush up some of her threatened domestic

quarrels.
The position of Mr. DAVIS continues to excite a
good deal of interest. The Attorney-General
has received numerous petitions from both North
and South for his pardon and release. The Herald
states that the illustrious prisoner recently refused
to apply for pardon, on the ground that the applica-
tion would be a confession of guilt. 'Whether this
be true or no there would be no disgrace in accept-
ing a pardon tendered by the Government, ard we
hope before long that the tedious captivity will be
ended. Blacks and whites are still disputing, and
it is somewhat amusing to find that several Southern
newspapers owned by negroes are busy cautioning
the freedmen against Northern political adventurers.
Certainly this is sound and sensible advice, and we
hope that the freedmen will be wise enough to
take it. Possibly their own experience may
endorse the judgment. The usual denunciations
of the President are going on at Radical meetings ;
but altogether the aspect of affairs is quiet and
less threatening. The Atlantic cable brings a sig-
nificant piece of information from Trades Unions,
who are in the habit of holding up the States as the
paradise of labour. A formidable strike, we are
told, has taken place among the working men of
Chicago in favour of eight hours' labour. So that
we may reasonably believe that, whatever conces-
sions may be made by employers, the demands will
keep pace with them. Perhaps the next demand
will be six hours, then two days in the week, and so
on until the positions of capital and labour are
reversed, when their opinions and demands will
naturally change also.
After the prolonged agitation of the winter mat-
ters seem to be growing more tranquil iu America,
and we hope that the general tone of the public mind
will make itself felt by the Radical leaders, who
assumption have so long
bet
carriedw e e nall intriguebefore them.and

NEW FRENCH ACADEMICIANS.--M. Jules Favre
and M. Gratry were on Thursday elected members of the
French Academy.
The little village of Prapic (ilautes-Alpes) has
been almost wholly destroyed by firo, only two out of 39
thatched houses of which it was composed now remaining.
An old man of 72 met with his death in the flames.
FIGHT WITH INDIANS—NARROW ESCAPE OF A
YOUNG LADY, &C.—SAN ANTONIO, March 23.—0 n the
6th inst. a company of soldiers left Fort Clark, under the
command of Captain Wilcox. After being on the march
four days, and arriving in the vicinity of Fort Lancaster,
they discovered a fresh Indian trail, and following it up
for nearly two hundred miles they surprised a party of
ti itt two hundred strong. A charge was or-
dered, when fled in greet disorder. Thesoldiers
pursued them neat ly fifteen miles, killing and wounding4lo
ut the lied Min, when the former were under the necessity
of beating a hasty retreat, as the main body of the Indians,
strong, was before them, composed of Comanches,
Kickapoos, Lipans, nnd Muscaleres. The soldiers lotd, but
one killed, five wounded, and four missing. A few days
ago a young lady named Lizzie Robinson had a narrow
escape from being captured by a party of marauding In-
dians. She was standing on the bank of a creek ou her
father's plantation (about 40 miles from here), when she
saw a band of Indians approaching. Secreting herself be-
neath the shelter of the bank, the whole party passed to
within a few feet of her, driving before them a quantity of
horses ansi cattle belonging to her neighbours. This ex-
pedition was undertaken and accomplished more than 100
miles within the line of the United States forts. Their
number maws them audacious, all the Indians from the
northern froatier haying emigrated to th,3 plains of
Teiae.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Sunday Evening.

There was a Cabinet Council yesterday at the
Tuileries under the presidency of the Emperor.
The Empress was present.
The Moniteur states that the Deputies of the
kingdom of Saxony have adopted in totality, and
without any change, the Constitution of North
Germany by 67 votes against 6 only.
It is officially announced by the Prussian
Moniteur that M. Foehr, Charge d'Aff..ires of the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg at the Court of Prus-
sia, remitted his letters of credence to M. Bis-
marck on the 30th of April.
The First Chamber of the States-General of the
Netherlands has terminated the examination of the
Budget of 1867, and agreed to it after a short dis-
cussion. Among the modifications introduced into
the system of territorial defence in the Netherlands
is the suppression of three Major-Generals, thus re-
ducing from seven to four the Military division,
which in future will be distributed as follows :
First command having its chief station at the Hague,
2d do. at Basle Due, 3d do. at Arnheim, 4th do. at
Groningen.
There was a grand religious ceremony and Te
Deum at the Russian church in the Faubourg St.
Honore, it being the fete of St. George, the anni-
versary fete of King George of Greece.
The Luxembourg question being now in such a
hopeful train of settlement there is for the moment
a cessation of alarming reports. The Gazette de
l'Allemagne du Nord, the official organ of M. Bis-
marck, declares that Prussia has no interest in in-
ducing the Powers to sanction the result of the last
war, and that, in the opinion of its Government, the
Conference of London ought only to occupy itself
with the special question of Luxembourg.
The Etandard, which pretends to know every-
thing which passes in the English Cabinet, says that
it has, at the desire of Italy and Belgium, and with
the concurrence of Russia, manifested-a desire that
the two former countries shall be represented at the
Congress. It adds that the reply of Prussia and
Austria to this proposition has not transpired. M.
Bentinck, the Dutch Minister, it says, will repre-
sent Holland at the Conference.

We have again had a fine, beautiful day, and the
attendance at the Exhibition, I think, was greater,
than it has yet been. The reserved garden is be-
coming magnificent. The cascade has begun to
flow over imitation works into the small lake. Some
China fish gambol in the aquarium. There are
many green-houses in this garden of different
temperatures and form. In addition to these, the
kosques, pavilions, flowers, and plants give a very
picturesque and attractive aspect. The park is now
kept open till midnight. The lights from the
restaurants are not sufficient, but the light from the
lighthouse occasionally illuminates it beautifully,
and seen from a distance when the luminous mass
turns round the circular rays from it have a magni-
ficent effect. From time to time red flowers dart
forth, and excite wonder and pleasure. The light-
house is near the Pont de Zena, and is so situated
that the light it throws is occasionally seen from
any part of the Exhibition. At ten o'clock, the
Chinese gardens is brilliantly illuminated, and the
effect is charming. The performances at the
Chinese theatre have commenced. The opening of
the International Theatre is announced by bills for
the 15th, but I think it can hardly be quite finished
by the time. In the gallery at the Exhibition,
where the wonderful English machinery is to be
seen, is a pyramid of gold from Australia—that is
to say, it is a gilt pyramid of the dimensions of the
substance of gold which would have been formed by
the gold found in that colony from 1851 to 1861.
hoEa eng basis T
ahs i
Exhibitionh
sis square, andyra
pyramid, which was at the
the pyramid shows four
fregold
p
in 1862, measured on each side
of its base two yards and three-quarters. The
pyramid now in the Champ de Mars measures
about three yards and a half on each side of its
foundation. It is more than 19 yards high. This
mass of gold would represent a weight of nearly
11,000 tong, and would be worth 35,750,000,000 f.,
or about a seventh part of the value of all the gold
in the world. The pyramid of gold exhibited in
London weighed about 800 tons, which would be
equivalent iu value to two milliards (600,000,0001.)
In spite of the strict watch kept at the Exhibition
aby the3
police, 0 a flask, a beautiful piece of art, valued
t nearly 00f
has been stolen from the Austrian
Museum.

l in afew y
oi ofa hydraulic machine
without
trouble,
r o platformoble, wao
dc rtohenr
es
military
bands have added
muclhritthothe pleabduares of the visitors. Those who
are tired may be drawn about in 'a small vehicle for
two francs
a
theap enr
se cos.
idn
si
source
o mcoe
ra, o and i 0 f
pleasure awaits them. The pano-
rama which then presents itself is magnificent, the
view including the Trovadero with its remarkable
yan hour.
i ascend by
A t circular
means
t
staircase, the Invalides, the Ecole Alilitaire, and the
splendid churches and monuments of Paris. The
various curious buildings connected with the Exhi-
bition may also bo seen from this elevation with
great advantage and effect. The buildings are in
every style, in every form, in every colour, and of
course from this height may all be seen at once.
The spectacle is equally novel and magnificent, and
seen in this way it is by no means the least attrac-
tive of the exhibition.

The chairs which were vacant at the French Aca-
demy in consequence of the deaths of M. Barante
and M. Couin, have been filled up by the election
of Father Gratry, of the Oratoire, and M. Jules
Favre.

i- at the door
A devout lady, who attends the Church of St.
everyn oc h , hasatu r
dabeeny
toin au the habit
ma n who fghioving half a franc
sits
with a box to receive alms. Yesterday, when she
proffered the usual sum to him, he said, " I beg
your pardon, Madam ; during the Exhibition it ie a
franc."

On the the night of the 17th April several rather
severe shocks of earthquake were felt at Gessenay,
not far from Lausanne (Switzerland).
A further manifestation of the cattletague in
Rolland has led to serious disturbances in the com-
mune of Schoonenoerd. The authorities having
ordered that some cattle infected with the disease
should be slaughtered, a crowd assembled to prevent
the execution of the order. The soldiers were sent
for, and the riot became so Alartniag that they were
ordered to fire. Two of the rioters were killed and
two severely wounded, but the crowd dispersed.
The disease has also manifested itself in a cow-house
at Katerstraal, near the Hague. The authorities
have adopted rigorous measures 'to prevent it from
spreading. An agricultural journal of Brabant says
that the cases of the disease which have arisen at
Antwerp from the 20th, no instance of the disease
has taken place in Belgium since the month
of January of last year, and it has never yet been
possible to discover exactly the source of the disease.
It is, however,
supposed to arise in consequence of
the extensive trade between Belgium and Holland,
and particularly with Rotterdam, which is, as it
were, the vast centre of infection of the Nether-
lands.

The Senate has agreed unanimously to the law
gra►►ting 500,000 f. to M. Latnartine as a national
reward.

A tradesman of Vienna has just left his little for-
tune-3,ooof.—by will to the Emperor Napoleon.
Itr a codicil to the will the testator says that his
universal legatee., the Emperor, may give the moneyto whomsoever be
to accept it himself.
Pleadeb; should he not be dispose_!

THE HoUSE OF CONEMONT LIBRARY.—It is said
that the Speaker has promoted Arr. Iloward, the assistaut-
librarian, to the office of librarian, and has appuir.tcd Mr.
Hearn, secretary and librarian of the late Marquis of Lans-
downe, to the office of assistaut-librarian. Some delay has
occurred iu completing these appointments, in consequence
of the necessity of a revision of the establishment.
FLOWERS PROBABLY TO BE NIPPED IN THE BUD
TO-DAY IN EIYDE-PARK. It would be difficult to find a
more magnificent display of these beautiful flowers than
may now be s'301:1 by any Londoner who chooses to take a
stroll into Hyde-park.
The bads extend nearly the whole
way from the Stanhope-gate entrance to the Marble-arch.
There are at present seven varieties in bloom, viz.:—
Tournesol (scarlet and yellow), Rex .Rubrurum (scarlet),
La Candour (white), Yellow Prince
(yellow), Po ttebaker
(white), Waterloo (scarlet), .

LATEST INTEL LIG ENCE

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

FRANCE AND, PRUSSIA.
LUXEMBURG, May 6.

Fears being entertained of the disastrous effect
which the dismantling of the fortress and the re -
moval of the garrison would have upon the
prosperity of this town, a petition, adderessed to
the President of the Conference of the Powers,
is now being signed, soliciting that the neutrali-
sation of the fortress should be effected by the an-
nexation of the Grand Duchy to Belgium.