The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-22 00:00:00

-'ARE __ SUN,_.. LONDON, SATURDAY

many Hon. Gentlemen felt that they would have
a heavy account to render to their constituentp,
A dissolution was the inevitable res,ilt of a fac-
tious vote, and that carried with it consequences
which they were not prepared to encounter. Like
808 ACRES, their courage rapidly ebbed forth.
They could not screw it to the sticking place, could
not make up their minds to march through Coventry
with their self-elected leaders. The splendid ad-
dresses of Mr. BRIGHT and Sir JIVES GRAHAM
gave the coup de grace to the matter, and it was
known yesterday that Ministers would have
had a fair working majority in the event of a

division.
But the decisive matter was the 'despatch
of Sir JANIEs OUTRAM, earnestly and ener-
getically protesting against the spoliation
system, inaugurated by the proclamation, and
the answer of Lord CANNING controverting
his enlightened views and well-considered opinionF.
After that nothing could be done. The whip had
been strenuously applied, but even those who had
already promised could not in common decency
vote. They were prepared to take up their hats
and leave the House, and such a proceeding
would have been far worse than any defeat.
Under such circumstances it was that an almost
universal demand was made for the withdrawal of
the motion. Mr. CARDWELL at first rejected the
proposition. The promised seat in the Cabinet
was too strong a temptation, and Lord PALMER-
STON was equally anxious to regain the position
from which he had slipped through his own
truckling to despotism. The reports of the flagel-
lators—the certainty that he would be left in an
ignominious minority, however, prevailed, and he
ultimately blandly advised his Right Hon. friend to
withdraw the motion, which was acceded to amidst
the derisive cheers of the House.

The course adopted by the Government was
eminently judicious and highly dignified. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer did not fear the re-
sult, but he was satisfied to permit the loophole
through which his opponents might wriggle out of
the scrape—to remain unsupported. A divisiou
might have damaged the best interests both of
Great Britain and of India, and he would nor, for
any party purpose, force on such an encounter.
It would have been well if the opposition hail
exhibited similar patriotism. Unfortunately fur
themselves they did not do so ; and they have
consequently given additional stability to the
Ministry, and rendered them firm in their seat,
for a considerable period. We can scarcely
suppose that another factions movement will bt•
adventured on during the present Session. The
lesson, although painful, has been salutary, anh
the conspirators will perceive the imperative ne-
cessity of ascertaining their exact strength, and
measuring the force which they can depend on
before they again enter on a similar conflict.

With these " private letters" of Mr. SMITH,
the ex-President of the Board of Control, it is
for all the world like the phantoms in the wizard
glass in MACBETH— " Another and another yet
succeeds !" For a long while there was only
ONE—the One. Even after Mr. WHITESIDE' S
facetious conjecture that—for all ministers know
'to the contrary—there might be a bagful!. Now
it turns out after all that the suspicion absurdly
entertained by some upon the matter was really
not altogether unfounded. "We have all heard
to-night," said the hon. member for Birmingham
on Thursday evening, "of TWO letters havio2
been received by the right hon. gentleman ;"
adding—" Before to-night there was no distinct
statement of there being more than one :" and
inquiring point blank whether or no these " two"
constituted the whole Dumber actually received.
This occurred, we repeat, on Thursday evening,
after Lord PALMERSTON'S tardy otplanatiou.
Thereupon taunted into the necessity of being
yet more explicit, the noble lord the member for
Tiverton astounded everybody by this remarkable
acknowledgment—" The hon. gentleman was,
perhaps, not in the house when I gave an answer
to the question on a former evening ; but my
answer was so far incorrect when I stated that
my right hon. friend had received THREE letters,
for in point of fact FOUR were received." No
wonder this astonishing announcement was greeted
with "ironical cheers" by the Ministerialists.
It is an incident only comparable to that of FAL-
STAFF with the men-in-buckram, as we find it
recorded in the 4th scene of the 2d act of the Ist
part of HENRY IV. :
"Fal.—l have pepper'd two of them : two, I
am sure, I have pay'd, two rogues in buckram
suits. I tell thee whet, Hal—if I tell thee a lie,
spit iu my face, call me horse. Thou know'st my
old ward ; hera I lay, and thus I b era my poin'.
Four rogues in buckram let drive at me—
. "P. Henry.—What, four ? thou saidst but two

just now.
" Fad.—Four, Hal : I told thee four.
" Poins.—Aye, aye, he said four."
A little while longer, doubtless, and the scene
may be continued—
" Fal.—These four came all afront, and mainly
thrust at me. I made no more ado, but took all
their seven points in my target, thus.
" P. Henry—Seven; why there ware but four
even now. _

" Fal. —ln buckram.
" Poins. —Ay, four, in buckram suits.
" Fal.—Seven, by these hilt; or I am a villain
else.
"P. _Henry —PE,Y9THEE LET HIM ALONE ; WE
SHALL HAVE MORE A NON. "

So—with the " private letters" from Calcutta to
the ex-President of the Board of Control. Coe--
Two—Three—Four—we shall have Mr. WHITE-
SIDE'S bagful at last before we have done with
it. Until at length we are constrained to cry out
with Prince Her..—" 0 monstrous l'' through
sheer force of indignation.
The turn that things have actually taken in
the matter of Lord OANNING'S Proclamation, and
Lord ELLENBOROUGH'S Despatch, and Mr. SMITH'S
Private Letter, reminds one of the whimsical
chain, of circumstantial evidence brought to bear
upon a memorable pistol shot mentioned by Sir
Banjamin Backbite, in SHERMAN'S comedy. The
pistol-shot which, it will be remembered by all
familiar with the Schee/ for Scandal—st ruck against
the little bronze bust of SMAKSPERE over the fire-
place,
grazed out of the window at a right angle,
and wounded the postman who was coming t 3 the
door with a double letter from Northamptonshire.
The analogy is strict, if not actually literal. The
thunderbolt hurled through his famous Despatch
by Lord ELLENEOROUGH at the braz.m act of Cala-
fiscation resolved upon by the Governor-General,
strikes the Proclamation aimed at rather ruinously,
and suddenly glancing at a tangent out of the
secresy by which it was first enveloped, wounds,
it is to be feared dangerously if not mortally, the
public reputation of the recipient of a
pri-
vate letter, a double letter, atreble,
certain
quadruple
letter—the Right Hon. Gentleman the Member
for Northampton. It may be what billiard players
call a " fluke"—but it is a hit, nevertheless.
And a hit, too, apparently—judging from tl.e
quiet way in which it has been taken—that, how-
ever sharp, however much like an affront, appeals
to have been quietly "pocketed." The way in
which the whole affair has been brought to light,
abruptly and quite unexpectedly, is literally as
though a card-sharper, in arranging his hand, had
maladroitly
dropped a secreted ace or knave of
trumps ont of his wristband. The table is there.

upon immediately in an uproar. Even the most
practised among the honest players are discom-
posed for the time being. There is a new deal—
and the gentleman given to sharp practice has to
be shown to the door ! At the next election down
there, we shall have an opportunity of judging as
to the nice sense of honour prevailing among the
electors of Northampton.

Seldom has greater excitement been occasioned
in any case than that produced by the late duel
in Paris, in which a highly esteemed journalist
!las fallen a victim to the malevolent feelings
excited amongst certain officers by his jocular,
►nd, we may add, innocent remarks. M. PEN;
the editor of Figaro, the French Punch, had ridi-
culed some of the sons-officiers of the Grand Army.
For this he was condemned to death, and a large
body of persons joined in the conspiracy to
murder. These gallant (!) individuals thought it
unbecoming that forty cartels should be delivered
on a single day to a single man, one who bad
chivalrously avowed his name, and braved the
consequences of his innocent jest. There was a
total absence of that fair play so dear to English,
and, we should hope, to French hearts. The
unfortunate victim had offended the class, and
his assassination was decided. One man might
hare been taken as the representative of the
party, and bad as it would have been,
some excuse might have been made, but the
cowardly ruffians brought forty into the field
against one. He was to be insulted by assassin
after assassin until, exhausted by fatigue, he would
fall an easy victim. The first who came forward
was foiled. M. PENE obtained the advantage, and
there the matter ought to have terminated. But
another rushed forward to fill the vacant place. M.
ITIENNE, an appropriate. name, grossly and wantonly
insulted the gentleman, fatigued and worn out by
his first encounter. He had been the " maitre
d'armes," or fencing-master of the regiment. A
man thoroughly practised in the use of the deadly
weapon, and prepared to turn his skill to the worst
use. There was but little chance for the tired
civilian. He might as well have been subjected

to the stiletto of an Italian bravo. His chance
would have been as good in one case as the other.
There is to b 3 an inquiry into the circum-
stances. We trust that for the honour of the
army it will be of a very stringent character. If
justice be done M. Hienne and his forty coadju-
tors will be severely punished. The galleys—or a
protracted imprisonment, would be the fitting re-
tribution for the atrocious act in which they have
participated.

GAME AND GAME.

"DOUBLE OR QUITS."

With their Cambridge Plot and their Oxford Motion—
All their honours gone with their sense of shame—
The Senior Ops. bad a mighty notion,
By playing One CARD WELL, they'd win the game.
But Sharpers though all of them, cunning and quick,
Lo ! their stake is lost—by a single trick.

VOCAL A SSOCI ATIO N.- Sr. JA3IES'S

HALL.

The fourth concert of this Association was given
last evening with the eminent success which has
invariably attended the series. The gifted violinist,
Herr Joachim, played Sebastian Bach's celebratei
"Chaconne" with the wonderful execution and
delicacy of rendering which essentially distinguish
this artiste. Perhaps the composition was rather
too classical in character to be thoroughly appre-
ciated by a mixed audience ; but Herr Joachina's
power of expression and inimitable finish cannot fail
to elicit intense admiration, even from those whose
ears may not have been trained in the school of the
highest class music. M. Benedict gave Mendels-
sohn's accompaniment on the pianoforte, the whole
being a most exquisite performance. Herr Pischek
made his first appearance in London after an ab-
sence of two years, and sang as effectively as ever,
giving the old favourite, "The Standard Bearer,"
an aria from .Mozart, and a German ballad from
Spohr's " Faust." His reception was enthusiastic,
and his voice in a state of unexceptionable excel-
lence. The part songs were sang by the Vocal
Association and the Orpheus Glee Union, in a
manner which places the singers in a position of
unqualified eminence. Mendelssohn's serenade,
" Slumber, dearest," was sweetly and evenly per-
firmed, as was also the glee, "Love and Wine," by
the same composer. Madame Amadi sang several
airs in pleasing style ; and a violoncello obligate, by
M. Paque, accompanying a " Scena" by Madame
Borchart, had but the single fault of being rather
too long to constitute a feature in such a full pro-
gramme. M. Benedict played and conducted with
his accustomed perfection ; and the concerts of the
Vocal Association may be considered among the
most attractive and sterling of the season.

VTEST NEWS.

INDIA,

The following telegram, from Acting Consul-
General Green, Wag received at the Foreign-office
on May 22, 1858, at noon :
ALEXANDRIA, MAY 18, 1858.

The steamer "Nubia" reached Suez, from Cal-
cutta, last night, with Calcutta dates to the 24th
of April.

Sir E. Lugard forced the enemy's bridge at
Azimghur on the 15th of April, and on the 17th
the pursuing force, under Brigadier Douglas, drove
the rebels out of the city.
A standard and much ammunition taken. Our
loss-10 killed, and 37 wounded,

MALTA.—This telegram arrived. from Alexan-
dria by French steamer at 7.30 a.m., May 22.
LYONS, Rear-Admiral.

Letters from Naples of the IGth announce the
armament of every point of the coast susceptible
of defensive works.

All regiments are to be filled up to their full
complement, and two new regiments of cavalry are
to be raised. It is further asserted that sixteen
additional frigates are to be built.
There has been a grand entertainment on board
the English man-of-war Centaur, but the Nea-
politan officers were not invited, though the French
and Austrian, &0., wero.

A despatch from Frankfort, dated May 21st,
says :—The Diet has adopted, without opposition,
the proposition for a commission to inquire into the
affair of Holstein, which has been partially modi-
fied by the third article of the separate proposition
submitted to the Diet by Hanover.

FRANCE.
PARIS, FRIDAY.

A telegraphic despatch announces the arrival of
the Queen of Portugal at Lisbon on the evening
of the 17th.

BOURSE, May 21.—The following were the
closing quotations
per Cents 93 Credit Foncier
Do. end month — Belgian 4,1
3 per Cent. ..... 69 70 Piedmontese (5)
Do. end month 69 65 Roman 92,
Bank Shares
Credit Mobilior ... 675 Spanish Threes
Do. Account 672 501 dome Debt
RAILWAYS.
Orleans
Northern
New Ditto .. 745
Lyon and Illediterar. 732
New Ditto
Geneva

-FOR CASH.
Midi
Western 555
Strasburg
Grand Central
Sardinian
Austrian

MONTENEGRO.

A letter from Vienna in the Augsburg Gazette
gives some slight details of the late atlair at Gra-
howo :
" The real attack was masked, that is to say,
Rakow Radonich made a diversion against tLe
right flank and rear of the Turks, in order to cut
off their provisions. Mocko followed closely and
attacked them in front. Feruck Pacha, being bard
pressed, was unable to retire on his head-quarters,
and was compelled to seek safely in flight. Resat
Effendi and Keand Pacha have invoked the media-
tion of Austria to put an end to this con.est.
Prince Danilo, on the contrary, has placed himself
under the protection of the Western Powers, and
he will not have recourse to the good offices of
Austria, for he knows the conditions on which
they would be granted. Austria demands the
restitution of tl:e property confiscated from the
11 Montenegrin chiefs who live in exile in Dalmatia,
land requires that Prince Dar.ilo shall faithfully
execute the engagements which he entered into in
1852 and 1853, when, being threatened by Omer
Pacha, he was saved by Austria."