The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-30 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

IRIS DAY —Morn., 6 min. aft. 3—Even., 23 min. aft. 3
To-MOußOW—Morn., 38 min. aft. 3—Even., 53 min aft. 3

4:4l,rit

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1858.

MINISTERIAL MEETING—(This Day).

The Earl of DERBY having summoned a meet-
ing of his supporters, 189 Members of the
House of Commons responded to the invitation
of the Noble Etrl, and met their Chief, at his
official residence, at 12 o'clock this day.
Lord DERBY addressed the meeting, in a speech
which was loudly cheerei. Great unanimity and
enthusiasm prevailed.
Numerous as was the attendance, we have rea-
son to believe that many members were pre-
vented from being present at the meeting by
their engagements on Committees of the Rouse.

The more fully the subject is investigated, the
more clearly is the course pursued by the present
Government in reference to the capture of the
Cagliari, and the unwarrantable detention and
cruel imprisonment of the English engineers,
Warr and PAR; proved to be wise and judici-
ous, vindicating at the same time the honour and
interests of Great Britain, and adopting that firm
but temperate course that will ensure complete
justice without being- compelled to resort to the
painful alternative of war, the ultima ratio reguns.
The explanation afforded last night by Lord
MALMESBNRY exhibits this in the strongest point of
view; and even the Earl of °La RENDON admitted that
" her Majesty's Government had displayed great
discretion in the course which they pursued." It
was not the "discretion" which permitted two
British citizens to pine nine months in a Neapc-
litan dungeon, enduring sufferings which it is
difficult to conceive that any civilised nation could
inflict on unconvicted persons, although justly
charged with the most serious offences, until the
intellect of one was shaken, and the health of
another seriously if not permanently damaged.
It was not the "discretion" that tried to shirk
disagreeable questions, and shrink from telling
wholesome but disagreeable truths to wrong-
doers. Far from it : not a moment was lost
in insisting on the liberation of our in-
jured countrymen, which was speedily con-
ceded so soon as it was ascertained that the
British Government were thoroughly in earnest,
and would tolerate neither evasion, procrastina-
tion, nor refusal. And their liberation was
promptly followed by an equally decided demand
for aiequate compensation for all the miseries
they were so unwarrantably made to endure. No
answer has as yet been received to this applic,_-
tion ; but judging of the future by the past, there
is no reason to doubt that Lord MALITESEURY
act on the premises in a manner becoming a
British Minister, or that PARK and WATT wilt
obtain redress, so far as money
can give redre:s
for the fearful ordeal through which they have
triumphantly passed.

the ca,,i: •
The question respecting
..axl is of a
different character, but it is also one demanding
equal firmness and decision. There has been
considerable difference of opinion as to the
legality of the capture of the Cagliari. The law
officers of the late Government suggested sundry
points, which would justify the capture and
detention of the Cagliari by the Neapolitan

The treatment of merchant vessels on the high
seas must of course be an object of deep interest
to every maritime nation, and more especially to
Groat Britain, whose flig floats over every sea
and ocean. It is therefore incumbent on England
to sustain Sardinia in her just demands. But
before hostilities are resorted to, other steps
should be taken. The good offices of a
friendly Power should be claimed and acted
on. This was a principle clearly re-
cognised at the Conferences of Paris in
1856. A principle to which Count °AYOUB, the
representative, and, fortunately still, the Minister,
of Sardinia, was an assenting party. This was,
therefore, the obvious course ; and this was the
recommendation given by Lord MALMESBURY to
the Sardinian Government. But there is not the
slightest intention either to abandon Sardi❑ia, or,
when the proper time arrives, to withdraw the
support to which she is justly entitled in her claims
for restitution of the Cagliari, and for full corn-
! pensation for the illegal conduct of the Neapolitan
Government.

Mr. HEADLAM was, on Wednesday, compelled
to postpone the second reading of his important
bill on the subject of Joint Stock Banking Com-
panies. The protracted discussion on the Agri-
cultural Statistics Bills rendered it impossible tl
hope that any progress could be made on a ques-
tion so interesting to the Banking and Commercial
cimmunity. The Honourable and Learned Gen-
tleman acted wisely in adopting the suggestions of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Home
Secretary by fixing the mxt reading for the 20h.
of May, before which time it is intended to give
orders of the day—not Government orders only—
priority over notices of motion. We trust that I.s
will be rewarded by the ultimate success of the
very valuable measure he has introduced for bis
forbearance.

There is nothing so conducive to the welfare
and prosperity of the industrious classes as well
regulated banking facilities. It was the legiti-
mate use of credit that placed Great Britain in the
proud position which she long siuco attained, and
enabled the tax-paying community to endure the
enormous burdens by which they have been
oppressed. Without that credit we should long
since have sunk in the scale of nations. The pub-
lie establishments would have been reduced far
below what was essential, even for defence-, and
the dividends on Consols might have been placed
in jeopardy. By its means we have been
enabled to weather the storm, on many trying
occasions, and by its means we shall still do so,
if it be not practically annihilated by the panics
produced through the workings of the monetary
code.

The acts of 1844 and '45 conferred a virtual
monopoly on existing establishments, by restrict•
ing all that might subsequently be formed from
issuing their own notes. Free trade in banking
was virtually prohibited, and no adequate meats
were provided for replacing those who might have
succumbed through the deaths of partners, the
withdrawal of capital, or the casualties of trade.
It therefore became essential that additional
inducements should be given to joint-stock under-
takings, constructed on sound pritciples, and
judiciously and properly managed. But the! e
was, and still is, a formidable obstacle in
the way of their success. Every person who
held even a single share was there 4 rendered
responsible, in purse and person, to his last acre
and his last shilling, for the success of the under:
taking. Although men of wealth and respec-
t ability would gladly risk a few hun-
dreds, or a few thousands, according to their
means, in a concern calculated to promote
tlic welfare and prosperity of the district-,
they would not endanger all they posse,sed, or
sulject themselves to oven a remote chancA (•i"
reducA frozeealth to poverty, and ren-
&red beggars, through the failure of an und3r-
t.iking, over the management whereof they had no
adequate or real control. With "limited liabi-
lity," anything that would show them at once the
full extent to which they could be called on as
c)ntributors, they would not have hesitated ; but,
however desirous of serving the locality, they
could not be expected to try so perillous an ex
periment.

This feeling has not in any degree been lessened
by recent experience. The Tipperary, t'ae Royal
British, the Borough of Liverpool, and the West-
ern of Scotland Banks, have taught intending

This morning, according to annual custo‘r, the
Private view inaugurated—we were going to say fur
the select few, but, remembering the crush from
which we have just escaped we ought to say
rather for the select many the Ninetieth
Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts. The
collection of paintings for 1858 is very far beyond
an average collection. It is in many respects re-
markable, in some extraordinary. As usual, the
catalogue itself is a study—almost as a piece
of literature. Its motto i 3 sufficimily sug-
gestive and appropriate. It is from Schiller.
Conspicuous among the defaulters this season
is J. E. Millais, whose absence from aniong the
contributors is doubly regretable ; his name, how-
ever, shining, because of that unwonted omission,
like the fame of Brutus, when his bust appeared
not, for once, in the Roman Procession. Besides
Millais, however, others will be missed by
the more discerning and observant, as no
lorger taking part in the annual display
consequent upon this grand artistic emulation—
the names, for example, both of W. Dye-, R.A.,
and Sit C. Ea.st,lak_, .[.11.-&., .611
this caegory. Sauntering round the principal
apartments of the gallery this forenoon, we have
found, however, shining down upon us from trio
walls abundant consolation. For with us, at least,
our conscience in arc criticism is not guided by the
Pranallt.

" Nil admirari prop res est una, Numici,
• SolAque, qua, possit facers et servare bas9.tnm."
Rather than servilely obey this injunction to depre-
ciate, we would prefer, particularly in this national
month of Pleasure May, the month dedi
cated at once to the Derby and the Aca-
demy —we would candidly prefer to carp
as little as pesAble, to weigh merit not by the
weights and measures of avoirdupois, to turn a
glance hither and thither indiscriminately ever
ready to to be anywhere and everywhere gratified.
To "follow suit" indeed with the jovial Republic
in a kindred mood :
Nunn atheletarum studiig, none arcit equorunt,
Marmoris ant eb3ris fabros ant cefis areavit ;
Suspend it pieta vultunt ntententque tabella."
Dazzled, however, with a first day's rapid survey
of 602 Pictures, exclusive of those in the Octagon
Room, &c , to say nothing of a glance at 280
Drawings and Miniatures, and at 170 specimens
of Sculpture, it is almost impossible to attempt any-
thing in the way of detailed criticism. Enough if we
now simply enumerate a few of the chic f noticeable
peculiarlities of the collection. The Portraits are,
if anythinet, more numerous than hitherto. F.
Grant, R.A., still bearing off the palm as usual
from all English, as Sir J. Watson Gordon, A.,
&c., assuredly dues from all Scotch competitors,
the former more particularly in No. 73, Lady Col-
broeke, and the latter in No. 73, Dr. Munro.
Clarkson Stanfield, R.A., sustains his reputation
peculiarly through the medium of No. 359, The
Castle of Ischia. Alfred Elmore, R. A., through No.
8. An Incident in the Life of Dante. Augustus
Egg, R. A., wins especial notice by No. 19. Scene from
the " Esmond" of Thackeray ; andyet morethrough
another picture to be afterwards particularised.
W. P. Frith's No. 218. The Derby Day, is
a subject of universal notice, and of unstinted
admiration. As likewise is Sir E. Landseer's (No.
180), " The Maid and the Magpie." Edward
Ward, R.A , contributes two grand historical pic-
tures, which are, for the generality, in all this exhi-
bition, are the prominent themes of eulogium. They
are (No. 38), "The Emperor of the French receiving
the Order of the Garter from her Majesty the Queen,"
and No. 234, Visit of Queen Victoria to the Court
of Napoleon I. Richard Redgrave, R.A., delights
us, as usual, with his refreshing verdure, as in No.
232, The Growth of Love. W. E. Frost, A.R, A.,
with his nude classic figures, tos in No. 121,
Zephyr and Aurora. P. F. Poole, A.R.A.,
with his favourite gleams of green and yel-
low, as in No. 310, "The Last Scene in
King Lear." Distinguishing peculiarities these
to which we have become as much accustomed as
we have long ben to the feathery foirego of W. P.
Witherington, R.A., in No. 392. On the Grits
towards R ,keby, or as we were formerly, to the
Cuyp-like cattle in the Beaumontand-Fletcher
pastoral landscapes of L2ean i Cooper, here no longer
discernable—or to the luscious fruit squandered
from those.inexhaustible cernuc-,peas, the pigment-
bags of G. Lance, a delicious specimen of whose
cunning of hand in the worship of Pomona will be
found in No. 379, "Fruit." As ever the throng
this morning and afternoon to the private view of
the Academy, included in it almost all the celebrities
and notabilities in London in the height of the sea-
son, dignitaries of the church and of the senate, men
famous in politics, science, art, and literature.
Among those present we noticed. his Grace the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke and Duchess
of Argyll, the Duchess of Sutherland, the Marquis
of Lansdowne, &e., &c.
To-morrow evening there will be as usual the groat
banquet or symposiuni given within the gorgeous
iseills of the G d'e y by the Royal Acadainicians to
the rueu,b-2rs of the imperial Governmen't.

TriE ROYAL ACADEMY. —Yesterday nioroirg, ter
Mo.j,,sty, ancompaWed by the Prino,J C.iwurt, ani thu
Pr;neesses A.IC3 and litleoa, and nide, Leopol,), paid a
visit to the exhibitio:i cf Acalea:y,

ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC.--ii mot gracLus
r:.Bty, who t:O.r, the Brea ea interest ir this valuable
vistitution, • Las tno,t kindly intimated to the E-til of
WEstmoreland her command that a grand evening con-
cert be given in S.. James's-hall on Wednesday, the
1.13•1 of Jcae, at which the Queen and Prince Albert will
be present. A committee will be formed to Fitie vouchers
f,,r the centre of the hail, which will be occupied by the
It yal vicitore. Tbe organi,ation of the pr,,grattitne, to
rfnes ofs otri.:o,
leadvocal
and
render it wcri by of such an occasion, wilt be card° ly
attended to. INA of ly will the past and present student,.
,mprising the
most
t o
the c epa ne
tr
professors,
io
ing tistee, native and foreign, will lot; called into play.
the
former
instrumental,co
Mr. Costa v,ill be the conductor.
sl.eminent

MR. CHARLES DICKENS,

AND His " CRICKET ON THE HEARTH."

Last evening the vast area of St. Martin's Hall,
Long-acre, was crammed with a delighted audience
who had assembled there to give a greeting worthy
of him, to the greatest of English Humourists. It
was not by any means, of course, the first of Mr.
Dickens's public readings, but it was the first of all
his public readings—for Himself ! Hitherto his
kindly voice having bean raised exclusively in this
way for the advantage of others—for the benefit of
mechanics' institutions, in behalf of hospitals
and other eleemosynary establishments, and as
upon the last occasion, even at the behest of little
ailing children. At last, after having won " golden
opinions"—poured than awe riably in affluent abun-
dance and with a lavish and emptied hand into
coffers thus generously, and one might al-
most say magically, replenished for the
means for eff cling all this, remember, was
simply the Reading of a book years ago
printed off by thousands and tans of thousands,
and known almost by heart long since by nearly
every one, who yet went to hear it read once more
by its delightful writer—after reading thus solely
for the advantage of others, Mr. Dickens has at
length begun to read for his own in like manner.
Yesterday witnessed the inauguration of what we
are half-disposed to designate a new epoch in his
pubic career. The reading this time was in another
respect also a novelty in every way conspicuous.
It was the reading nrit of the Christmas Book, the
Immortal " Carol," but of one of its most charm-
ing successors—" TLe Cricket on the Hearth."
Before beginning the perusal of his Fairy Tale of
Home; Mr. Dickers addressed to the audience
these few and manly words of explanation :
Ladies and Gentlemen,—lt may perhaps be known
to you that, fora few years past, I have been accustomed
occasionally to read some of my shorter books to various
audience, in aid of a yule.), of good objects, and at
some charge to myself both in time and money. It'.
having at length become impossible in any reason to
comply with these always accumulatirg demand, I have
had definitively to class Se between now and then reading
on my own accoues; as one of my recognised occupations
or not reading at all. I hart had little or no difficulty in
deciding on the former course.
Tao reasons that have led me to it—besides the con-
sideration that, it necessitates no departure whatever
from the chosen pursuits of my life—are threefold.
Firstly, have iattsfied myself that it can involve no
possible compromiSe of the credit and independence
of Literature. Secondly, I have long held the opinion,
and have long acted on the opinion, that in thee
times whatever brings a public man and his public,
face to face, on terms of mutual corfidence and respect,
is a good thing. Thirdly, I Lave had a pretty large expe-
rience of the interett my hearers are so generous as to
take in thee occasions, and of the delight they give to
me, as a tried means of strengthening those relations, I
may almost say of personal frien,lehip, which it my
great privilege and pride, as it is my great responsibility,
to hold with a multitude of persons who will never hear
my voice, or see my face.
Thus it is that I come, quite naturally, to be here
among you at this time. And thus it is that I proceed
to read this little book, quite as composedly as I might
proceed to write it, or to publish it in any other way.