The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-10 00:00:00

1111/2 SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY E V ENING, YITNE ro, 1858.

vernment it would not, under the circumstances,
be possible to allow England to sink into a second,
or third rate power, or to be dependent on the
good will of any potentate, however friendly to
our country and its institutions. We must still,
whether for good or evil, maintain our proper
position in the scale of nations.
It is impossible to close our eyes to the pal-
pable fact, that France has been consolidating
and strengthening her naval and military force,
at an enormous expense, which in the present
state of her finances, is a matter which cannot
well be disregarded. There must be some object
of paramount importance, some cherished design
to justify so vast an outlay. It is not to be sup-
posed that any coup
de main is intended against
this kingdom, or that any wanton aggression
should be aimed against a faithful ally. But
complications may arise, and war may cease to be
a question of days or weeks, or even hours. It
may break out at a most unexpected time, and
truly deplorable would be our fate if it found us
unprepared for the emergency.
There is, then, but one alternative. We must
either add to our own strength in a similar ratio

to that which the French Government is doing,
or we must endeavour to prevail on it to abandon

the course it has for some time been pursuing.
There could be no offence in making proper re-
presentations on this subject to the Emrmon,
there would not be the slightest suspicion cast on
his good faith by such remonstrances, nothing at
which he could fairly take offence. He is, of
course, at liberty to adopt such policy as
he thinks proper in his own dominions,
and if he chooses to multiply his soldiers and
sailors, and incur a vast expenditure, we cannot
make it a casus belli, although we may be com-
pelled, likewise, to make heavy pecuniary sacri-
fices, and to apply to the strengthening of our
armament's by land and by water, money urgently
required for other and more meritorious purposes.
Nor is England the only country concerned.
Russia, Austria, and Prussia will have similar
necessities imp9sed on them. They must also
view with uneasiness the demonstrations of their
neighbours, which they must naturally suppose to
be directed against some ono or more of them-
selves, inasmuch as no collision with a minor State
could render such extensive preparations essen-

tial. A large fleet could not be required to
bring Boxne. to a sense of his situation, when the
appearance of a couple of men-of-war, with a few
frigates and gun-boats in the Neapolitan waters,
would occasion a conflagration that could not
asily or speedily be extinguished. The magni-
tude of the preparations betoken the vastness
of the object, and the power of the possible
adversary, and they are unquestionably cal-
culated to excite grave apprehensions on
all sides, more especially amongst those
against whom the first movement may be
directed. Indeed, such is the existing state of
affairs, that it would be difficult, if not impossible,
for any of the great Powers to avoid becoming in-
volved on one side or the other in the hostilities
that might break out between any two or more of
them.

Under such circumstances, it is then incumbent
on the British Government, if possible, to per-
suade the Emperor to relax his extraordinary

exertions and reduce his armaments, and if not
succeeding therein, to place our establishments
en the most efficient foundations, so that, in any
event, we may not be caught napping.

The unopposed return of her MAJESTY'S newly
appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, as
Knight of the Shire for the county of Herts, was
only what we ourselves from the first intimated
would be the case, and what might, indeed, have
been reasonably anticipated by every watchful
observer of passing events, under existing circum
stances. Every one down in Hertfordshire seemed
to recognise, when it came to the point, that it

would have been at once ungracious and invi-
dious to subject Sir EDWARD LYTTON, of all
men, at this particular juncture, to the fruitless
vexation, anxiety, and annoyance of a party com-
bat—fruitless of any ulterior advantage, we
mean, to the opposing candidate. Twice before,
amidst all the party strife inevitable at two suc-
cessive general elections, has the Right Hon.
Baronet been returned by decisive majorities,
upon each occasion, numbering among his sup-
porters (as was the case also upon each ocoasion
with his two colleagues) from 2,000 to 8,000 of
the independent electors of Hertfordshire. The
latest of these triumphant returns of Sir EDWARD
as one of the members for his own county, being
of course long anterior to his enrolment in Lord
DERBY'S Administration, before, indeed, there
was any immediate prospect of the present Go-
vernment being called into existence. It was
scarcely probable, therefore, in any contingency
that year the occasion of so eminent a man
presenting himself now to his constituency as one
whom Her MAJLSTY had recently elevated to the
high and responsible office of Cabinet Minister,
who had but just kissed hands on accepting the
seals of that office as one of the three Secretaries
of State, who had but just, moreover, been sworn
in as one of the Privy Councillors of their SOVE-
REIGN—wouId then, at that particular moment
in his career be subjected to the disagreeable and
irritating ordeal of passing through a hotly con-
tested election for the county of which he had,
under far less interesting circumstances, been more
than once frankly and confidingly ohosen the repre-
sentative. The Liberals, even the less advanced
among the Liberals of Hertfordshire, perceived
the necessity of altogether waiving their prefe-
rence for any other candidate—be be Whig pear
sang or thorough-going Partisan of Lord PAL-
SUIRSTON. Whatever may have aided them in
arriving
osatt
genial
eiaml
and
most rational, and at the same
graceful of conclusions—
doubtless to the retention of even the ghost of
the popularity formerly appertaining to the Obso-
lete Oligarchy pique at the parsimony displayed
by the wealthy patrician, one of the scions of
whose house had been selected for a brief interval
as the probable Whig or Palmerstonian candidate
—there cannot be very much doubt but
that the actuating motive of all with the
Liberal electors of Herts was the sense
of a brief interest (an aanl k interest,
nth
e
moreover,
personal in
ca-
rper a
t
great
and measure,
all
character to
the distinguished statesman
whose advent amongst them in his new capacity,
of
as one of the administrators of the British Em-
pire, imparted a new lustre to their own country,
while it added another phase to his own Protean

reputation.
Beyond this, too, many felt that there was, if
not a reparation owing, at the least a tribute, due
to Sir E. LYTTON, for an act universally rtcog-
nised as one of striking self abnegation and
of very remarkable political magnanimity. It was
notorious that, three months ago, not only might
the Right Hon. Baronet have accepted, but that
in literal truth he actually had accepted, the very
office in which he has now, a quarter of a year
afterwards, been formally installed. During seve-
ral days his name had been published in the
growing list of the Ministry as Lord DERUY'S
chosen colleague, as Secretary of State for the

Colonies. But suddenly that name, and that
name alone, was erased from the being catalogue
of the Cabinet Ministers—and that, as every
one knew at the time, by the generous
hand of the intended Colonial Secretary himself
rather than subject his colleagues to the chance
of losing a seat (in his instance) in the event of
his being violently opposed, as some anticipated
he then would have been by the supporters of and
sympathisers in a factious and infuriated Opposi-
tion. Alluding to this comparatively recent inci-
dent in his politiaal career Sir EDWARD could say,
as he did say, on Tuesday from the hustings at
Hertford—doubtless, too, with a very enviable
sense of satisfaction, while uttering the words—

" I think that under these circumstances
you will say that I acted not only
as a true friend to any party, but also as a loyal
gentleman, when I consented to forego the high
appointment that had been offered me rather
than risk being separated at a contested elec-
tion, and thus endangering the Government with
whom I was to act." And with a perfectly ob-
vious fearfulness would we add, as he did add
immediately afterwards, that surely no one would
accuse him of being a greedy hunter-after-place.
It carries us back, at a single bound, to a dis-
tance of more than three centuries from the pre-
sent time to remember now at this moment when
Sir EDWARD LYTTON, Baronet, Colonial Secre-
tary and Privy Councillor in the reign of Qaeen
VICTORIA, has but a few hours since been unani-
mously chosen M.P. for Hertfordshire—that an
ancestor of his was chosen by the ancestors of his
electors in like manner one of the knights elect of
the same county as far back as the reign of King
HENRY VII. wit, Si ROBERT . ; to___OBERT DE LYTTON (the
first possessor of the old ancestral hall of Kneb-
worth, hitherto a royal fort and appenage), who
was Knight of the Bath, Privy Councillor, Keeper
of the Wardrobe, and Mader Treasurer of Eng-
land under that great Tudor Sovereign. It is a
'circumstance sternly to be recorded as among not
the least interesting incidents in his career by Sir
I EIJIMER LYTTON'S future biographer.

VOCAL ASSOCIATION.-ST. JAMES'S
HALL.

The fifth concert of the season took place at this
hall last night, and though the state of tie weather
was such as to justify our national tendency to
exchange original remarks on that original subject,
and the exclamation of " How hot it is," appeared
the paramount climax of our mother-tongue,
despite the height of the thermometer, a very nu-
merous audience attended, and heartily enjoyed the
excellent performances which these concerts inva-
riably comprise. May we here venture to suggest
that a little more attention to the venti-
lation of the hall during this Indian sea-
son would confer an inestimable blessing on
the visitors. In every other department
the arrangements are admirable and perfect,
but even the pleasure offered in such an entertain-
ment as that of last evening, will scarcely compen-
sate for being put on to simmer for three hours,
with the risk of incurring the exchange of Apollo
for Eitsculapius, through the sudden transition from
positive Jamaica to comparative Siberia. The in-
surance of the essential comfort of a somewhat more
wholesome atmosphere, should promptly engage
the attention of those connected with the manage-
ment of this beautiful building.
Among the leading features of the Concert were
Herr Joachim and Mr. Lazarus. Both of these
artistes are far beyond the need of hackneyed
eulogy, though every time we hear them we are
compelled to renew our enthusiastic expressions of
delight. The former, in a duet for the violin and
pianoforte, by Beethoven, exerted his won-
derful talent with its usual wonderful
influence, eliciting rapturous applause, and
Herr Rubinstein claimed his fair share of the
honours awarded to the exquisite performance. In
Herr Joachim's solo, "Le Songs du Diable," a
fracture in the catgut caused a temporary inter-
ruption to the progress of the entertainment,
but we think a little more cnirtesy mi gh
have been exhibited by the few parties
who began to hiss before the accident
had entailed any severe tax on their pa-
tience. Those inconsiderate persons should re-
member that casualties wit/ attend not only the
" best regulated families" but the best regulated
concerts, that the pursuits of the fine arts aro not
exempt from mortal fallibility, and that dogs and
tiddle-strings are apt to occasionally " snap," how-
ever carefully they may be trained. "The Bird and
the Maiden," by Spohr, sung by Miss Messent and
accompanied on the clarionet by Mr. Lazarus, was
beautifully rendertd ; and a solo, by the latter
gentleman, from "Le Clemenza di Tito," was re-
ceived with immense applause. The, part song of
" The Three Little Roses," was given with that
perfect and sweet harmony which reflects the
highest possible credit on the talent and study of the
Association. Amore exquisite bit of melody we have
never listened to. Mdme. Sherrington Lemmens gave
Hummel's " Variations for tho Voice " with ad-
mirable freedom and finish, and Miss Dolby con-
tributed her ample share to the attractions of the
programme.
The next and last concert will take place on
Wednesday, the 30th June, when Mendelssohn's
" Lobgesang," and an overture by Herr Joachim,
will form prominent allurements, and doubtless
secure such an audience as these concerts, under
the most able conductorship of M. Benedict, richly
merit.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. --The Queen's box at her
Majesty's Theatre was on Tuesday evening occupied by
the Countess Grey, the Hon. Mrs. Grey, the Earl Grey,
Major-Gen. the Hon. C. Grey and party. Amongst the
numerous illustrious, noble, and distinguished visitors
also with their presence honouring her Majesty's Theatre
on this occasion we remarked—His Grace the Duke
of Hamilton and the Duchats of Hamilton (nie Ptin-
cessa Mary Amelia of Baden), his Grace the Duke
of Wellington, K.G., his Grace the Duke of Cleve-
land, K.G., and Lady Augusta Poulett, her Grace
the Duchess of Wellington, his Excellency the Rus-
sian Ambassador, the Baron de Brunnow, and the
Baroness de Brunnow, Frances Countess of Waldo-
grave, accompanied by the Hon. Harriet Stonor, the
Hon. Catherine Stonor, the Hon. Charlotte Stonor,
the Hon. Francis Stonor, and party ; the Lord '
Ward and party, the Marquis of Sligo and the Ladies
Brown, the Marchioness of Downshire, the Marquis of
Batb, the Countess Dowager of Harrington, and the
Countess of Mouutcharles and party, the Countess of
Stamford and Warrington and party, the Countess of
Wilton, and the Ladies Katherine Grey Egerton and
Alice Magdalen Grey Egerton, her Excellency the
Lady Cowley, the Right Hon. the Earl of Clarendon,
K.G., K C.R' the Earl of Mountcharles the Earl of
2
Stamford and Warrington, the Earl of Wilton, the Earl
of Shelburne, the Earl of Cardigan, the Earl of West-
moreland, the Earl Gifford, the Earl of Carlisle ; the
Viscount Exmouth, the Viscount Canterbury, the Vis-
count Powerecoart, the Viscount Curzon ; Lord E.
Thynne, Lord Ashley, Lord William Lennox, Lady
Macfarlane, Lady Howard, Lady Constance Grosvenor,
Lady De Rose, Lady Agnes Grosvenor, Lady Jane
Repton, Lady Howard and Miss Howard, the Hon.
Otway Toler, the Hon. Harry Grey, the Hon. Percy
Doyle, the Minister Resident of the Hanse Towns and
Madame de Bucher, Major-General Sir George Bowles,
K.C.8., Colonel Sir Proby Cautley, K.H., Sir Ralph
Howard, Bart., Col. the Hon. J. Macdonald, C. 8.,
Adm. R. Burton, K. H., Col. and Mrs. Plunkett Burton,
Mr. Hubert de Burgh, the Right Hon. T. Baring,
; M.P. Mr. George W. Repton, M.P. ; Colonel Cavan,
Mr. Georg 3 Pzabody and party, Mr. Algernon Borth-
wick' Captain Woodgate, Madame de Murieta, Mrs.
Colonel Berkeley, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, Mr. C. Deane,
Mr. J. Martins, Mr. Cornwallis West and Miss West,
Mr. Vincent, Mr. Harvey Lewis, Captain and Mrs.
Leyland and Miss Leyland, Mr. Bonamy Dobree, Mr.
Sands, Mr. Glover, Mr. I. B. West, &c.

A NARROW ESCAPE.-- COWEfil, JUNE B.—Last night
the Isle of Wight mail packet Pearl while proceeding
from Southampton to this port, broke the sliding rod
of her engines, and was obliged to anchor at the
Brambles, off the harbour here. This evening a new
sliding rod for the Pearl, with some workmen to fit it
in, were bent from Southampton in the mail packet
Emerald. When the latter came near the Pearl, a boat
pushed off from the latter to receive the rod and work-
men. Just as the men got into the boat the Emerald went
a-head, and the boat, withseven men in her, was swamped,
ani all tl eme i fell into the sea. Some of them could
not swim, and hey caught hold of the beat and were
assisted to keep above water by those who could. The
boat of the Emerald was immediately lowered, and for-
tunately the whole of the seven men were picked up, wi h

no other damage Clan a good ducking, which, consider-
ing the heat of the weatller, was not of much conse-
quence. It was a wonder, however, that some of them
were not drowned. Capt. Summers, the commander of
the Peal, was one of those who went overboard.
SALE OF TUE DUKE OF BOOKINGEIAIift3 KEYNSIIAK

ESTATES.—The estates at Keynsham, Somerset, known

as the Chandos propeny, and which, for several cen-
turies, have been in the possession of the family of the
Duke of Buckingham, were sold by auction yesterday
by Mr. Alexander, of Bristol, at the Lamb and Lark
Inn, Keynsham. The property, which was divided into
58 lots, included 467 a. 3r. 14p. of pasture, meadow, and
arable land, some portion or which, known as the
" Keyneham hams," is unsurpassed for richness of
fertility • One lot clmprised a small compact estate of
rather more than 42 acres, together with the house used
by former Dukes of Chandos as a hunting-lodge, the
gardens of which overhang the river Avon and command
very pictureLqua views. This lot was bought in. Lot
14, containing 41a. Or. Op., part of the celebrated
" Keynsharn hams," bounded on one side by the river
Avon, realized 4,6031. ; lot 24, another does, containing
hr. 31p. of the same land, 1,0610/. ; lot 25, 15a. Or.
38p. of the same, 1,5401. ; lot 27, an equally rich close
of pasture land, 1,610/. ; and nearly all the other lots at
the same rate, averaging upwards of 1001. per acre.

SHOCKING CASE OF CRUELTY TO A CHILD.--At the
Leicester borough police-court on Monday, Henry
Crutchley, a book-keeper,and hie wife, were charged
with cruelly ill-treating a ild of three years old, a son of
the male prisoner by a former wife. One of the.witnesses
said she had seen the father beat the child with a walking-
stick until the blood flowed. Another, a neighbour, said he
had ee el the father frequently fetch:cold water into the
yard, and always noticed that the child screamed fright-
fully afterwards. On ono occasion he contrived to look
into the yard, and saw the child stripped and put into
a " pippin" or foot. bath of cold water, and struck with
a brush for refusing to sit down. He then heard the pri-
soner tell his wife to keep him there till he came home.
Others persons spoke to hearing the child scream fre-
quently. The defence was that the child was "rickety,"
and frequently fell down, which, it was alleged, pro-
duced the injuries apparent on its body. The spectacle
presented by the child was shocking, it being little else
than a mass of braises. After a long investigation both
prisoners were committed for trial.. The court was sur-
rounded by hundreds of persons whose exasperation
was such that the prisoners could only be removed to
gaol under the guard of a strong body of police.
DISOBEYING A RAILWAY SIGNAL.—At the Halifax
police-court, on Saturiay, an engine- 'river named Wil-
liam High was charged before the West Riding magis-
trates with having neglected to bring his engine to a
stand at a evrtain auxiliary signal fixed on the down line
of the Lancashire tied Yorkshire Railway, near the
Sowerby-bridge station, on the 25th ult. On the morn-
ing of this day the defendant was the driver of an excur-
sion train, containing about 1,200 Sunday school chil-
dren, with their teachers. At Sewerby-bridge station
the danger signals were turned on, in consequence of
the main line b.ing occupied with several empty passen-
ger carriage.. When the defendant's train came up,
however, instead of shutting off the steam and bringing
up his engine, in obedience to the signals at the station,
he dashed on at a speed of between 40 and 50 miles an
hour, and ran into the empty carriages on the main line,
completely shattering two and damaging eight others.
The collision excited considerable consternation among
the juvenil excursionists, but happily none cf them were
much hurt. The driver being evidently guilty of gross
negligence, the company determined to prosecute him
under their bye laws, and the bench now committed him
to trial at the sessions, but admitted him to bail.
ANGLING IN THE LEA.—Broxbourne Bridge fishery
appears destined to maintain its high reputation for its
trout and jack fishing, the success of the late seasons
having been remarkable. It is not unusual to take jack
above the ordinary size in these waters, and trout of a
good average weight are commonly secured ; but during
the last two or three years the character of the fish,
both in appearance and size, have greatly improved,
and the care taken in preserving the water has evidently
rewarded the exertions of the proprietors. Early
this week a trout, in most splendid condition,
was captured by Mr. Skeen, who landed his fish
within seven minutes from the time he first cast his line.
When brought to the scale it was found to weigh above
eleven pounds and a half, and certainly in symmetry and
colour, was one of the finest fish ever seen. It was
taken by the process known asspinning the minnow. It
is stated that there are other trout in the stream of
equally large, if not larger s"ze ; and some are said to
have been seen at Carthagena Weir which cannot weigh
less than fifteen pounds. Eels at the lock have this
week been taken by sniggling, averaging from two
pounds to two pounds and a half, Chub have been very
plentiful, and-of good weight. Altogether the patrons
of the gentle craft have reason to be well satisfied with
their success in this locality.
PROTECTION OF YOUNG FEMALES.—The anniversary
festival of the London Society for the Protection of
Young Females was held lest evening at the Albion
Tavern, Aldersgate-street, on which occasion Mr. Thos.
Chambers, Common Serjeant of the City of London,
occupied the chair. The society itself is under the espei-
cial patronage of his Royal Highness the Prince Con-
sort, and has for its immediate object the rescue of
young females under 15 years of age. The result of the
society's operations is certified by there being at the pre-
sent time 56 young females under the prescribed age, fed,
clothed, and educated, and fitted by the discipline and
course of instruction adoptecl for respectable servitude.
The asylum is situated at Tottenham, where, under effi-
cient superintendence and control these young girls are
not only rescued from contamination, but brought up to
be respectable members of society. Numerous appli-
cations are continually being made for admission, but
in the present state of the society's finances no addi-
tion can be allowed. The Chairman's appeal therefore,
in proposing the toast of the evening, was to this effect
—to increase the means of the society, and thereby to
extend its usefulness to a much wider sphere of charity
and benevolence than under present circumstances could
be adopted. The annual subscription is one guinea, and
a life subscription five guineas. The society was estab-
lished in the year 1835, since whice time it has been the
the instrument for suppressing a large number of im-
proper hou,es, and has saved from ruin no less than 600
PRINCE
of CthEe iN
young females under 15 years of age.
jell wars
sEPrfPiOnNtlhAeTodWay of Napoleon I. a camp
SKl.—Thera was in the
anecdote current among French and German soldiers,
which is now perhaps almost, if not quite forgotten ;
time
s
for we do not think history's muse has condescended to
keep the record, though it relates to no less a personage
than Prince Joseph Poniatowski, nephew of the last King
of Poland, a brave general in the French army, and a
great favourite with Napoleon. During the French
campaign in Gerrnary, in 1813, a German or
tipsy inied fri fluently to come to the camp to cast nati-
vities and tell soldiers their fortunes. One day Ponia-
towski came upon a group listening to the sybil, and he
chid them for their superstition. The gipsy looked up,
himgazed
tthat
feardoiml y
thea at himii
lines
sf i
o somehisphlysnoi agennoniy
ts , tirede
perceived then told
that it was his fate to die an " aster," which word
signifies in German, a magpie. Tee prince ridiculed a
prediction so little in character with a soldier engaged in
a hot campaign, and rode away. Shortly afterwards
the battle of Leipsic was fought (October the 19th).
Poniatowski displayed his usual valour and military
skill ; but when he saw that the French were totally
beaten, and that neither courage nor conduct could
retrieve the day, he galloped to the swampy banks of
the river that watered the scene of strife, intending to
swim his horse across. He plunged in—man and horse
were swept away by the current, and both perished.
The name of that river is The Eleter. Thus the pre-
diction, like the Pagan oracles, bore a double meaning,
and was fulfilled in a sense different from that in which
it was understood,—lrish Mcfropolitcm Magcine.

LATEST NEWS.

THE BOMBAY MAILS.
(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

SOUTHAMPTON, THURSDAY• MORNING%

The Ripon, steamer, Captain Powell, has ar•
rived with the Bombay mails.

She left Alexandria May 26 ; Malta, 30th ;
and Gibraltar, June 4 ; and brings 215 passen-
gers, 5,3851. in specie, and general cargo.