The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, LOIN t7ON, TUESDAY EVENING, OC TOBEit I, 1867.

THE REFORM- FE7 E AT THE CRYSTAL

PALACE.

The Reform Fete, so called, was celebrated yes-
terday, but the intelligent foreigner with whom
novelists have so often trifled could not have disco-
vered a single feature in the proceedings which could
have suggested the faintest political consideration.
As usual on such an occasion, large numbers of holy-
day makers made their way at an early hour to the
respective termini from which they intended co pro-
ceed to the Crystal Palace. There were men in
broadcloth and ladies in book muslin, but there were
far more who, in the words of Dr. Marigold, wore
their " handkerchiefs loose and easy, and mother-o'-
pearl buttons," and angels of the weaker sex, who
would, if consigned to a gipsy tenement, be " wiolent
and aggrawating in a 'arm." There were minstrels
who celebrated the glories of the Reform League
with alarming vigour in voice, but with little sweet-
ness in their intonation. There were also grave his-
toriographers, who recited the misdeeds of the
Tories in lists as extensive as Leporello's catalogue
of Don Giovanni's intrigues ; and the equality of all
men was melodiously advocated by " thu sable
denizens of our native land." At the Palace itself
an occasional visitor might have passed through the
building without observing a single exceptional
feature ; in the grounds, indeed, " kiss in the ring"
was pursued on the principle of universal suffrage,
and in this, more than anything else, indicated the
immediate object of the gathering. Perhaps, how-
ever, we might say that here and there an enthusi-
astic Reformer, not satisfied with one companion
when doing honour to Terpsichore, made a triangular
arrangement, which may to the imaginative have
suggested the idea of a three-corned constituency
never contemplated by the Chancellor of the Ex-

chequer.
On the grounds in the earlier part of the day long
streams of people, in which " persons," in Mr. John
Stuart Mill's acceptation of the term, were especially
prominent, meandered hither and thither among
the flower beds, which are now of themselves worth
a visit to the Crystal Palace to see, rich as they are
in the brightness of autumnal bloom. At 1 o'clock
the orchestra of the company played a selection of
music, which comprised pieces from the works of
Bellini, Meyerbeer, Weber, Gounod, and Auber,
and shortly after the visitors began to make their
way to the ground by the cedars, where it was ar-
ranged that military sports should take place. This
part of the day's entertainments, though not worthy
of any special notice, was attended with considerable
success, the race of 300 yards (ten hurdles) and the
flat race, open to all comers, 200 yards, forming
occasions of more than usually spirited contests. At
3 o'clock a public meeting was held in the grounds,
in which no person of any consideration took part ;
but the gathering seemed to form a prominent at-
traction for the fairer portion of the visitors. At
half-past 3 the Beni-zoug-zoug Arabs gave their
entertainment, " in the act of native prayer invoking
Allah to give them success during their dangerous
performances." " The challenge in the desert"
may certainly suggest reminiscences of the battle
of Hyde Park, and " Whirlwinds" may convey
some idea of the meetings of the executive of the
League ; but the " act of native prayer" is to us
altogether incongruous with what we have known
of the proceedings of that corporation. The " lluman
Pyramids," however, which formed a prominent
part of the performances, may certainly be valuable
to Mr. Beales as indicating the idea of how men
can rise on the shoulders of men. After the exhibi-
bition of the Arabs a grand display of fireworks
took place, and this, we may say, formed the great
feature of the fete. We have so often described the
details of these exhibitions at the Crystal Palace that
there is very little for us to say except to indicate
its success. A special set piece for the Reform
Fete was, as may be conjectured, the portion of the
fete to which the attention of the visitors was prin-
cipally directed, and this formed an illumination
which might have been effectively employed in the
celebration of any national cause. A grand flight
of what are c filled " saueissons " was the novelty of
the occasion, but these, though new, did not possess
any special attribute of artistic design or mechanical
arrangement. The cascade of golden fire rushed
down with its usual brilliant stream, and the salvoes
of coloured shells gave occasion for new and beau-
tiful combinations. The fountains and the large
centre basin were illuminated as on the occasion of
the late pyrotechnic fete, and the grand finale of
2,000 coloured robkets presented the now familiar
spectacle of colour and design artistically and grace-
fully combined.
At a quarter past 7 a grand banquet was held in
the enclosed hall in which Saturday concerts are
given during the winter. The hall was tastefully
decorated for the occasion, and the aspect of the
enclosure when all those who were to participate in
the banquet sat down was as interesting as it was
picturesque. The tariff was unusually moderate ;
but it must be said in justice that Messrs. Bertram
and Roberts, the contractors, hid out a dinner for
their guests as elegant as it was substantial.
Covers were hid for 1,000, but there were not more
than 500 or GOO present at the dinner.
The following letters were received from Mr.
Gladstone and Mr. Bright, expressing their regret
at not being able to attend.

" Hawarden.
" Sir,—Your letter has only just reached me,
owing to my movements yesterday.
" I regret that it will not be in my power to at•
tend any political celebration in London in con-
nexion with the Reform Bill. It appears to me
that such a celebration as your committee propose
is amply justified by the great extension of the fran-
chise which has been given by the Act, and that it
will tend to create an enhanced sense of the duty
which it impo?.es, as well as the powers and privi-
leges it confers.

" Of course your satisfaction would have been
more complete had some other parts of the subject,
and especially the redistribution of seats, been
treated in the same comprehensive manner as the
borough suffrage, and had the enfranchisement in
boroughs not been connected with provisions so in-
convenient and irrational with respect to the pay-
ment of rates through the owner.—l have the honour
to be, Sir, yours faithfully, " W. E. GLADSTONE.
" Mr. George Potter."

"Dear Sir,—•l shall be very sorry to disappoint
any of those who rejoice with us in the wide ex-
tension of the suffrage, mut I cannot undertake
to be present at the proposed great meeting and
dinner at the. Crystal Palace, to which you have
kindly invited me. I have given what should have
been the leisure of many autumns to the movement
of Reform, and now when one part of the work is
done, I do not feel disposed to give another autumn
to platform labours to celebrate the victory we have
won. I have already several invitations to dinners
and meetings, and I shall have to send to each the
answer lam compelled to send to you. I have fixed
for myself a different kind of work for this Parlia-
mentary recess, and I hope to escape 'from the
labours of public meetings for the present.
" It is quite natural and most just that the work-
ing men should rejoice at what has been gained, but
I hope they will not forget that without a readjust-
ment of members to population and without the
security of the ballot the House of Commons will
still be, for the most part, but a delegation from the
rich, and not a real and free representation of the
people. This should be borne in mind when prepar-
ing for the general election which must come at the
end of next year. The destruction of the p )pular
power of the great boroughs by the vote at the end
of the Session will show you how little Parliament is
now to be trusted on an question of Reform on
which it may think it safe to go wrong.

" The Legislature has been driven in one direc-
tion by forces too strong for it, but its temper is not
changed.—l am, with great respect, yours truly,

" Mr. George Potter."

"JOHN BRIGHT.

The chair was occupied by Mr. G. Potter, who
was supported by Mr. Ayrton, M.P., Sir J. Bow-
ring, and several other gentlemen who take an inte-
rest in the Reform movement. Behind the chairman
was a flag with the device, " Excelsior." There
were also several, other flags placed round the room
bearing the inscriptions, " We live by industry,"
" United we conquer, de-vided we fall," " Vote by
ballot," &c.
After t!..e " Health of the Qteen" had been given
and drutik with every mark of respect,
•The' CHAIRMAN rose and said that the originators

of the banquet had two objects in view, one to give
working men at large a day of recreation, the other
to enable them to listen to those who could tell them
of what had taken place in reference to the question
of Reform, and what still remained to be accom-
plished. He expected that Mr. Gladstone would
have been present on that occasion, and he thought
it was well that statesmen who were the leaders of
a party should sometimes mix with those whom
they led. But whether Mr. Gladstone was absent
or present, he felt assured that those whom he ad-
dressed fully apprecia`ed all that right hon. gen-
tleman had done on their behalf. (Cheers.) They
looked to him, e..nd depended on him not only for
that which he had already achieved, but because of
that which he meant to accomplish. The letter of
Mr. Bright told them why it was that he could not
be among them, and his honesty of purpose, his
integrity and unsullied character entitled him to
have the crown of victory placed npon his head.
The working men of England knew that Mr. Bright
had given a large portion of his lifetime to attain
the object which they had met that night to cele-
brate. His powerful eloquence, his untiring zeal,
his indomitable courage, had broken the barriers
which had been set up by the Tory party, and had
brought about the victory which the Liberal
party had at length gained. (Cheers.) If Italy
had but one Garibaldi, England had but one
John Bright. (Cheers.) Long, then, might
that hon. gentleman live to see the work accom-
plished which he had already but half effected. His
absence, and that of other friends of Reform, on that
occasion might, he feared, be misrepresented by their
enemies—the Tories. There were Tory banquets
held throughout the country—at Halifax and Liver-
pool and Hull—but then they were got up at the
expense of the Tory party. They could fill a room
with 500 or 600 persons. They paid those who
came, as well as for what they eat and drank—
, (cheers and laughter)—and instilled into their minds
pernicious doctrines. (Cheers.) As to the Reform
Bill it must be productive of good to the country,
but much still remained to be achieved. The scheme
of redistribution was mis2rable and must be amended.
He would conclude by proposing that " the Reform
Act of 1867 be accepted as an instalment."
Mr. AYRTON, in replying to the toast, bore testi-
mony to the great services which had been rendered
to the cause of Reform by Mr. Gladstone and Mr.
Bright, and expressed his regret that they were not
present at the dinner. There must, however, he
added, be some limit to the duties imposed on public
men, and when the services of both gentlemen to
advance the cause were borne in mind, their absence
onthe present occasion might, he thought, well be
excused. He should himself have pleaded some such
excuse had he the same grounds for urging it. He
had been accustomed t o look upon himself, he might
add, as entertaining views with respect to Reform
beyond the range of practical politicians ; but those
views had at length come to be realised. Their rea-
lisation was, however, not the work of any one man
or any one year, but of many years of agitation and
public labour, as well as of the cordial, honest co-
operation of many public men uniting together for
I the achievement of a great public good. The im-
I posing moral attitude of the working men of the
metropolis and other parts of the country, and the
self-denying course which was adopted by the late
Administration, and which was mainly inspired by
the honesty and exertions of one of its members—
need he name Mr. Gladstone ?—were the chief causes
which had led to the accomplishment of what had
already been attained in reference to the Reform
question. When the Government of the day em-
phatinally declared, not by lip service, but by
the sacrifice of office, that it was no longer possible
to carry on the Government of the Queen with-
out Reform, the settlement of the question
became absolutely necessary, no matter who might
be the Ministers of the Crown. It must not, too,
be forgotten that in retiring from office the late
Government brought into operation a new force and
a new impulse. They thus took, he believed, a
course as useful and beneficial to the country as it
was honourable to themselves. lie was one of those
who maintained that, however great and wise our
ancestors might be, they could not have had the
same experience as the present generation possessed,
and he hoped that the future House of Commons
would still more efficiently represent than the pre-
sent the aspirations and feelings of the nation. If
he were asked, he might add, in what consisted the
strength of the Conservative party, he would say
not in its principles but in its strength, and he
would, therefore, advise every man who was en-
franchised by the new Reform Bill to ask himself
whom he would like to follow, for he who had spent
some years in the House of Commons knew that
there must on all great occasions be a leader, and
he felt assured that if they wished to triumph in the
future they must be prepared to give a hearty and
liberal support to Mr. Gladstone as the leader of
the Liberal party. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN, at the close of Mr. Ayrton's
speech, took occasion to express his regret that Mr.
Onslow, M.P., was prevented from being present
owing to indisposition.
The next toast, "The Nation's Laws by the
People's Voice," was responded to by Sir JOHN
BOWRING, who spoke of the Tories as having built
a Reform ship in their own arsenal, which it was
thought by the Liberal party contained many rotten
timbers, and was looked upon by them as an ugly
invention, but they found a great deal of lumber
being thrown overboard, and, the vessel being
manned by their own men: might undertake a useful
'I voyage in their own interests.

Several other toasts followed, and the meeting did
not break lip till a late hour.

On the whole, the fete was an egregious failure,
and we apprehend that the holding of it did not
conduce even to the interests of the Crystal Palace
Company. On a former occasion when a pyro-
technic display was given without any additional
attraction, and at the usual tariff, there were nearly
30,000 people present, while yesterday,'.with all the
inducements which a Reform demonstration could
afford, there were not 20,000, and of these more
than half were ordinary visitors, having no con-
nection whatever with the incongruous business of
the day.

GARIBALDI, THE REVOLUTION, AND

THE PAPACY.

The lawless attempt of Garibaldi to enter at the
head of a band of armed men, gathered from
almost all the countries of Europe, the State of a
Sovereign Prince at peace with all the world is one
of those acts of open violence which we are accus-
tomed to ascribe to barbarous periods of history,
or, at all events, to confine in our day to the Ame-
rican Continent and to the "filibustering" spirit of
American Fenianism. There are two things, if we
much mistake not, that the English people, in spite
of many eccentricities, hold in honour, and they
are law and religion. For a private citizen to take
up arms and enroll volunteers in secret, to march
troops in open disobedience to the King's orders
through the country, to set all public authority at
defiance, to own no law but his own will, to oppose
armed force to the King's troops, to shed blood
in rebellion, to be wounded and imprisoned, and
finally to be pardoned,and again to commit the same
lawless crime, and again to be arrested—for a pri-
vate citizen, we say, to do and suffer all this shows
that he is utterly wanting in those primary virtues
without which no civilized State can exist. Gari-
baldi has been twice a traitor—a traitor in arms
against his King at Aspromonte, and now again a
prisoner at Sinalunga for one of the gravest
offences against his own Sovereign and against
international law—the inciting of the King's sub-
jects to rebel against the King's authority and to
wage a private and lawless war, involving his
country in the most disastrous consequences,
against a neighbouring and peaceful State. Gari-
baldi has simply put himself above the law, and
has assumed, at least on two occasions, the prero-
gatives of royalty. This contempt for law is just
what we in England regard more, perhaps, than
most nations with profound aversion.

The other principle which has hitherto formed
part of our national character was public respect
for religion. But except, perhaps, in England, and
then only because he was in leading strings and
had not free speech, Garibaldi, wherever he goes,
attacks and ridicules and parodies Christianity iu

the most outrageous manner. His hatred of the
Papacy, not of the Temporal Power only, is but a
disguise for his hatred and contempt for Chris-
tianity. The fundamental doctrines of the Chris-
tian religion are to him something more than
objects of scorn. He waxes furious when con-
fronted with any of the great truths of revealed
religion. His only religion is the worship of
humanity, a gross pantheism which makes his
mouth so often utter the horrible blasphemies with
which he has filled revolutionary Italy. In Garibaldi
and in Mazzini the coarser and the more subtle
elements of the impious European Revolution are
personified. It is time that Englishmen at last laid
aside the rough and ready sympathy which they
so naturally feel in every movement which is sup-
posed to have liberty for its object, order to examine
closely and thoroughly into the character of the
impious Revolution which they have cherished so
long, and which is certain, sooner or later, to turn
upon them its deadly sting. Let every man trace
for himself its effects upon civil order and religion.
Let him track the steps of the Revolution ; in every
country where it has gained the upper hand he will
find—First: Insecurity of property; from the fact
that the property of the Church, or the estates of
the nobility, or of corporations, or the public funds,
have been attacked and confiscated. Secondly:
Instability of civil authority ; because dynasties
have been overthrown as easily as in countries
where the Revolution has not as yet made itself
master. Ministries are changed; because force has
weakened respect for law, and barricades are the
ready tongues which lawlessness has substituted for
the voice of constitutional remonstrance. Thirdly :
Discontent of the masses ; because poverty, arising
from over taxation and from interruption and
uncertainty of trade, disappointment of the hopes
of wealth and enjoyment, have produced commu-
nism or chronic anarchy. Fourthly : A degraded
literature, impious and immoral in tone and
character. Fifthly : Irreligion; because the Church,
instead of being obeyed as the guide, is treated as
the outcast of society ; because the marriage laws
have been degraded ; because education has been
perverted, and public morals have been studiously
and systematically outraged.
Let these characteristics of the Revolution be
thoroughly comprehended in detail, divested of the
false halo which a morbid Liberalism has thrown
over the revolting features of the great anti-social
and irreligious propagandism which is being
carried on under the name of liberty, and no
respectable and decent Englishman, we feel cer-
tain, would wish to have any longer a hand in
this ungodly movement. If he hesitate let him
read the full reports of the impious speeches deli-
vered at the Congress of Geneva.
The arrest of Garibaldi, the blasphemer of
religion, the traitor to his King, is a good moment
for England to break off sympathy and connection
with the irreligious movement which is going on
in Italy. By the latest news we are told that
English money has been sent to Garibaldi; it is,
therefore, not enough that Englishmen should cease
from any further complicity with the Revolution
they should lose no opportunity of denouncing the
evil spirit which dictates the movement, and which
can now no longer be kept out of sight. Such a
disavowal of the Italian Revolution and its agents
is now more than ever necessary, as an attempt
will, no doubt, be made on the part of the friends
of the movement to divert public attention from
the folly and the crime of Garibaldi, and from the
inglorious termination of the attempt to excite a
revolt in Rome by renewed attacks on the Papacy.
The purport of these attacks is too obvious to need
comment. In spite of every appeal, of underhand
plotting, and of revolutionary agents, Rome, without
the support of a single French soldier, has main-
tained perfect peace and tranquillity. The bishops
of the Catholic world can bear testimony to what
they have witnessed in Rome—the loyalty and
devotion of the great mass of the people to the
Pope-King. The enemy is not inside, but outside
her walls. Inside no rebellious agitation makes
itself heard. Things go on in their ordinary,
peaceful course, after the departure of those
soldiers who were alleged by the Liberal Press
of Europe to have held the Pope's subjects in
thraldom. Outside is the Revolution and Garibaldi.
Their only hope of creating a disturbance in Rome
is by bringing thither his redshirted followers.
But France and the Convention of September stand
in the way of professional revolutionists going to
the city of the Pope, and therefore Garibaldi is in
prison, and tranquillity and order prevail, as here-
tofore, unbroken in Rome.
Europe as well as France is concerned in the
preservation of Rome from the violence of such
impious filibusters as Garibaldi. Catholic France
knows what the Times conveniently forgets, that
the Revolution, by stripping the Pope of two-thirds
of his territories, has deprived his exchequer of the
necessary supplies, and his army of all means of
obtaining recruits, and that consequently the
tribute of Catholic Europe in men and money is
sent to Rome to make good that act of spoliation,
and to prevent the Revolution of profiting by its
own crime. It is the climax of absurdity to rob
the Papal Power of its means of support and
protection, and then to rail at it for seeking
foreign support against a foreign Revolution.
Let the Revolution and Garibaldi and European
Liberalism leave Rome alone, and the Ecumenical
Council will close its sittings in the same peace
and tranquillity, and amid as much devotion and
fealty to the Pope-King on the part of the people
of Rome, as were witnessed by the five hundred
bishops and thirty thousand priests at the Cen-
tenary of St. Peter.— Westminster Gazette.

WESTMINSTER PALACE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE " BUILDING NEWS."

Srn,—With the remark in the Building News of
September 6, that Mr. Pugin had not made out his
case, most people will agree. He certainly fur-
nished a string of probabilities, but no absolute
proof. There were weak points in his statement
which it was impossible to overlook ; and his style
of writing was more energetic than is usually em-
ployed in advocating a thoroughly sound cause.
Having always entertained the highest admiration
for the classical works of Sir Charles Barry, and
never having heard of his performances in the
Gothic style in the Pentonville and Islington
districts, I was inclined to think that Mr. Pugin's
claims on his father's behalf were excessive. When
I saw his letter in the Times of September 7, where
he says, " Giants are not to be met with every day,
and their youth and growth, as well as their
middle age, are generally known to those around
them. The great results achieved by my father
were foretold in his early childhood ; and his draw-
ings and his works all lead up and point to the
greatest of them all—the Palace of Westminster.
What, on the other hand, has Sir Charles Barry
got to show ? Where it.there one executed work
of his which would induce the belief that he was,
in very truth, the art architect of that noble pile ?"
Now, I must confess that my belief in Sir C.
Barry was not shaken by learning that Pugin's
nurses predicted that he would achieve greatness,
because soothsaying of that nature is neither rare
nor reliable,• but I was certainly struck by the
plain question, " What, on the other hand, has
Sir Charles Barry got to show ?" When Mr.
Pugin instances St. Peter's church, Hatton-garden,
and asks if it be possible that the same man could
have designed the Palace of 'Westminster, he puts
a question very much to the point, and one which
can be answered by any one who takes the trouble
to inspect the said church. I had previously noticed
from the Farringdon-road a very ugly church of
the date when most churches were ugly, but, until
the appearance of Mr. Pugin's letter, was unaware
that it was the work of Sir C. Barry. I, therefore,
determined to pay it a visit, and to inspect other
of his earlier buildings, believing that the youth
and growth of giants will be traced in their works.
St. Peter's church, Hatton-garden, was consecrated
in October, 1832. The style is Perpendicular,
of the worst kind, exhibiting all the faults
that an utter absence of Gothic feeling could
crowd into one *building. That the reveals or
splays are insufficient may be attributed to the
thinness of the walls, but no considerations of
economy pan.aceount for the form of the window

labels, which, as Ruskin says, " are like wind-
lasses." In utter disgust I entered the church, in
hopes that the interior might present some re-
deeming feature. In this I was disappointed.
The very form of the arches of the nave, and the
pillars supporting them, is of the most debased
character ; and, as to the woodwork, the roof, gal-
leries, pulpit, reredos, pinnacles, crockets, and
panelling, are of the rudest and most ignorant de-
scription. I left the building satisfied that the
man, who, in 1830 or thereabouts, designed this
church, could by no possibility have had anything
advantageous to do with the Palace of Westmin-
ster. I thence proceeded to inspect Holy Trinity
Church, Cloudesley-square, finished early in 1829,
at a cost of £11,535, where the same hand was
manifest. Criticism upon these buildings is thrown
away. They are as good as the average of Gothic
works of that date, but they do not show a
particle of Gothic feeling. A tablet bearing the
name of the architect existed for many years
in this church ; but, owing to some alterations
being made in opposition to Sir Charles's advice,
he caused it to be removed. For his fame's sake
it were well if everything Gothic he ever did could
be hidden from sight ; certainly the other churches
that I visited—St. John's Church, Holloway, con-
secrated July, 1828, cost £11,890 7s. Bd., and St.
Paul's, Ball's Pond, consecrated October, 1828,
cost £10,947 11s. 6d.—can add to no architect's
reputation. The result of my inspections, which
were not all effected in one day, was a confirmation
of the opinion arrived at the moment I entered
the first church and the latest in date, namely,
that the same hand could not have designed build-
ings of such opposite character as Barry's churches
and the Westminster Palace. Knowledge of an art
is picked up frequently enough—•feeling, rarely.
I was now thoroughly convinced of the justice of
Mr. E. W. Pugin's claims, but I could not acknow-
ledge that he had proved his case. The uglyletter
of September 6, 1845, was not satisfactorily ex-
plained away, but the evidence of the churches
was so conclusive that my faith was not for a
moment shaken. When, however, Mr. Mares's
letter appeared in the Times of the 16th, the miss-
ing link in the chain of testimony was supplied,
and few will now be found to doubt who was the
art architect of the Palace of Westminster.

That the elder Pugin kept Sir Charles Barry's
secret well is shown by the difficulty now expe-
rienced in absolutely proving his title to the fame
which is his due ; but the secrecy which was
binding on him could not justly be transmitted to
his son. Mr. E. W. Pugin has an inalienable right,
and he conceives it a duty, to obtain for his father
that fame of which during his life he was deprived.
The plea that an assistant is in honour bound, for
the sake of a most inadequate compensation, to
conceal, if not deny, his own share in his em-
ployer's reputed work is scarcely decent. The
position of an assistant would be anomalous. He
must be able to do the work as well as his em-
ployer—in too many cases he does it much better
—and he must at the same time conceal from
clients the part he really plays. How, under these
circumstances, is he ever to rise ? And without
the hope of rising an assistant will not be of much
use. The architectural profession will be elevated
in proportion as the actual authors of works are
known. There are at present many buildings
which are known not to be the work of their
reputed authors, but which, nevertheless, . have
brought them fame. Pugin's case is not a solitary
instance ; let us hope it may be the last.—l am,
&c., J. A. IL

The Pugin v. Barry controversy still goes on,
and at present Mr. Pugin appears to be getting
the best of it. Several letters have appeared in
the Times and elsewhere, which no doubt will be
reproduced in the intended pamphlet. The mat-
ter, at all events, is not to be snuffed out so easily
as the Pall Mall Gazette imagined. The controversy,
so far as it has gone, shows that Mr. E. W.
Pugin did not take up the gauntlet thoughtlessly,
or without a vast amount of data ; and no one can
deny that he exhibits remarkable ability in con-
ducting his case. He is determined that his father's
fame shall not, if possible, suffer in his hands, and
if he is unsuccessful in establishing, his position, it
will not be for the want of ardour, industry, and
eloquence. In to-day's impression of the Building
News will be found a letter from a correspondent,
who, in the first place, thought that Mr. Pugin
failed to prove his case, and that Sir Charles
Barry was the architect of the Houses of Parlia-
ment, but after a careful examination of the
churches erected in London by Sir Charles—when
he had apparently every opportunity for the dis-
play of his ability—our correspondent has altered
his opinion. He says there is an impassable gulf
between these churches and the Houses of Par-
liament, and that it is next to impossible for them
to have proceeded from the same architectural
brain. We can only testify that our correspon-
dent, who is one of our regular contributors,
speaks disinterestedly and impartially in the mat-
ter.—Building News.

THE 44 PALL fiLI.LL GAZETTE" ON

&1 VAGES.

_~ -

The Pall Mall Gazette has, in one of its recent
issues, indulged in some strictures on the specula-
tions of De Maistre, on the savage state. The
Gazette fastens on one of the observations of the
great Piedmontese writer in regard to the origin of
this frightful degradation of certain members of
the human family ; and this observation is cer-
tainly the weakest.
De Maistre observes, among other things, that
these wretched outcasts of mankind seem to be
labouring under a mysterious malediction, incurred
by reason of some, ancestral crime. This may or
may not be the case. There is some probability
for the affirmative, though, in certain cases, it is
scarcely susceptible of proof. Such an hereditary
curse, we know, weighs on the sable descendants
of Cham, who yet have not descended to the lowest
state of moral and intellectual culture. There are
certainnegro tribes, who declare that they feel
themselves to be accursed. _ _

But that the-savage is an outcast child—disin-
herited of the noble patrimony he once possessed
—is a fact resting on very solid grounds, and which
is supported by the authority, not only of Count
de Maistre, but, among others, of two of his
most illustrious contemporaries, De Bonald and
Frederick Schlegel. Alexander von Humboldt
observed in the languages of the American savages,
numerous as they are, and differing among them-
selves, a most elaborate and refined grammatical
structure, that pointed to a high anterior civilization.
Again, in the savage races of Polynesia, as well
as of America, we find intermingled with strange
and cruel superstitions, all the great dogmas of
primitive Revelation—the unity of a supreme
almighty God—the existence of intermediate spirits
—the immortality of the soul—a state of future
rewards and punishments—the moral duties—the
necessity for prayer and sacrifice—the fall of man,
and the expectation of a future Redeemer of
mankind. We find, too, not only these primeval
doctrines in a state of greater purity than can be
often discerned in the polished nations of heathen-
ism, but we discover the great facts of sacred his-
tory, as recorded in the Old Testament, often
rendered by these untutored children of Nature
with a surprising fidelity. Thus the Creation—
the Deluge, with some of its minutest circumstances
—the building of the Tower of Babel—the disper-
sion of the different families of men—are facts to
be found in the traditions, not of comparatively
polite peoples, like the Mexicans and Peruvians,
but of the wild tribes that roam along the banks
of the Orenoco, and haunt the forests of Brazil
and Chili.

Whence did these rude races, as well as the
half-civilized nations, derive the knowledge of the
great truths of primeval religion, and of the mar-
vellous facts connected with thaQ religion, and the
early destinies of mankind ? Whence but from
tradition, supported, indeed, by the yearnings of
the human heart, and partially reflected by the
light of reason, which, even in the least cultivated
mind, is not wholly extinct ? The origin of savages
does not seem to us difficult of explanation. Indi-
viduals belonging to conquered tribes, escaping
from their yictors, took refuge in forests, or in

marshy plains, or in mountain fastnesses difficult
of access. There, separated from their fellows,
separated from the more civilized community to
which they once belonged, they forget by degrees
their former habits of life, are compelled to give
up tillage for the chase, and in the pursuit of a
precarious subsistence, needing extensive tracts,
they become more and more isolated, one from
the other. For, as society is the mother of civil-
ization, isolation is the parent of barbarism. For,
as society was instituted by God for the develop-
ment of man's physical, moral, and intellectual
qualities, it follows that where society has been
weakened and disjointed,and the individual, thrown
more and more on his own resources, has been
bereaved of all its manifold aids and supports, his
various powers should be proportionately enfeebled.
It is singular that we sometimes find the savage
on the very skirts of civilization. Thus about a
hundred miles south-east of Calcutta there is a
fierce tribe, whose name we cannot at this moment
recall, and which, inhabiting a gloomy forest, is
addicted to human sacrifices, and even practises
cannibalism.

In conclusion, we thank the Pall Mall Gazette
for its generous tribute to the great intellectual
powers of De Maistre. It is remarkable that in
England the recognition of Catholic genius comes
more frequently from the free-thinking, than from
the Anglican schools.—Westminster Gazette.