The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-25 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY = EVENING, JULY 25, 1859,

in his opinion, was a good picture. There
was another picture for £650, stated to have
been sold in Florence in 1560, He would venture
to assert that there was not a single square
inch of the original of that in the present pic
ture ; and yet it was one of those the purchase of
which caused the item for travelling expenses.
If the facts he stated were true the whole system
of management at the National Gallery was bad ;
but it still went on, although, unfortunately, the
destruction of pictures, by what was called cleaning,
had been stopped. When the travelling agent arrived
in any town in Italy the price of pictures there went
up £5OO per cent., and when he did purchase a pic-
ture it was generally of an inferior description, like
that of PAUL VERONEsE,for which £14,000 was given,
and that was only purchased to cover the blunder
which had been made in buying the
,‘ Adoration
of the Magi.' That picture had been knocking
about "Venice for a long time, and could have been
obtained for £2OO or £3OO, but the gullibility of
the travelling agent was such that he was induced
to give as many thousands for it. The country
looked with a watchful eye to what the House
would do in this matter, and the course pursued by
the Government in reference to this motion would
be a test of the earnestness of their professions in
favour of reform and retrenchment." Several of
the facts referred to by Mr. CONINGHAM in the
course of these remarks will be recognised by many
of our readers as familiar enough in themselves.
Their repetition and reiteration, however, on Friday
in the House of Commons proved, unhappily, to be
of so little avail that the motion—not
even being seconded—dropped accordingly. Whence
is this studied evasion of the charges directed again
and again against the President of the Royal
Academy ? Does something of the divinity that,
according to SHAKSPERE, " hedges in a king"—
hedge in a royal favourite, too—and hedge him
round, moreover, so effectually, that there is no
getting at him ? Echo answers to this inquiry—
At him !—again, Mr. CONINGHAM !

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

(From the Times.)

It is curious enough that at the very time when
our English Statesmen are visiting the English
Press with their severest censures for daring to
speak in plLn terms concerning the French Em-
peror and his policy, the Journal des Debats is at-
tacking our English Statesmen in no measured
language for exciting in this country a spirit of
animosity against France. In truth, no such ani-
mosity exists. We wish to live at peace with
France, because we see in a general alliance of the
two countries the securest guarantee for the peace
of the world, and all our most vital interests are
bound up with the preservation of peace. 'When
we are putting our fleets and our armies in such
order r s will enable us to resist any sudden act of
aggression, we are in reality doing that which will
best enable the French Emperor to resist the coun-
sels of those indiscreet advisers who are ever ready
to suggest an attack upon this country as an act of
sound policy.
Mr. Bright, Lord John Russell, and Lord
Palmerston on Thursday evening offered a solemn
protest in the House of Commons upon this subject.
Mr. Bright is of opinion that we have at length
reached that golden age when the nations of the
world are so convinced of the sin and impolicy of
war, that it needs but forbearance on the part of the
people and the Press, and the peace of the world
will be maintained. We think of the Pruth and the
Mincio, of Inkerman and Solferino, and we are not
so convinced as we could wish of the truth of this
position. Mr. Bright has been cooing on in this
monotonous strain for the last ten years, and we
cannot see that his predictions have been borne out
by the results. Still less are we aware that any
article or any phrase which has appeared in any of
the English journals has had any effect in bringing
about the last two great wars which have afflicted
the world. The late Emperor Nicholas concocted
the design of one amid the Russian snows. The pre-
sent Emperor Louis Napoleon devised the other
amid the banquets of Compiegne. Each of these
potentates formed his design, and carried it out
purely and entirely for his own political ends. The
Russian war of 1854, and the Italian war of 1859,
would equally have occurred had M. de Laguerron-
niere been enthroned in Scotland-yard with un-
limited power over the English Press. Are these
things true ? 'We leave the answer to Mr. Bright
when the oratorical fervour is off him, and he de-
scends from the tripod. Lord John Russell followed
Mr. John Bright. Lord John is of opinion that,
looking back on the wars that have occurred in the
past, " they have been caused less by disputed claims
to territory than by anger and animosity sedulously
encouraged, which, after they have for some time
past aggravated all the feelings of pride that belong
to a great people, have made the most rightful
question, which might have been settled by two
or three weeks of diplomatic correspondence, the
occasion of a war." Lord John had just ex-
pressed his concurrence with the views of Mr.
Bright. But, presuming Lord John's position to be
a true one, who made all the wars between A.D.
1100 and 1800? Certainly not the Press ; for, with
the exception of efforts made by the pamphleteers
of Anne's days and the earlier Georgian era—
writers after 'Mr. Bright's and Lord John's own
heart, paid and hired by the leading Statesmen of
their day to do their specific work—we know of
no very stormy exhortations to war in the public
journals before the beginning of the present cen-
tury. The Press (as we understand the term at
present) cannot be said to have had an existence in
those days ; and yet, Gad knows, the soil of Europe
was often enough saturated with the life-blood of
the noblest and bravest of successive generations.
Who did this work ? Lord John Russell suggests
—the Press ; we say it was done by Emperors and
Kings, by Priests, by Statesmen, by Diplomatists
—in fact, by the very prototypes of Lord John
Russell ! Let us again take the case of the great
European war, from the rupture of the Peace of
Amiens down to 1815. Will any reasonable man
of decent education maintain now that this great
struggle was due to any other cause than the am-
bition of the elder !ionaparte ? True, when he
was at a loss for a pretext, he quarrelled with the
watchdog for his bark. He denounced the Eng-
lish while he was maturing designs in Switzer-
land and on the Rhine, and preparing his forces
for another assault upon the liberties of Europe.
It was the ambition of a conqueror, not the impru-
dence of a writer, which led to that series of cala-
mities, and, as it was then, so it has ever been
since. If the Emperor Nicholas and the Emperor
Napoleon have deluged the earth with human
blood, it was not printer's ink which worked the
harm. Was it the Austrian Press—poor, effete,
and police-ridden—which attracted 200,000 French
combatants into Lombardy a few weeks ago ?
What would Lord John have us to do ? Are
those events which are of vital importance to the
interests of mankind, and which affect the very
existence of this country, not to be discussed at all
in the English journals ? On the whole, have we
morn to gain by falsehood, or by silence, than by
straightforward, honest speech ? No doubt,
plain speaking carries with it certain disad-
vantages, but in the long run these sink into
insignificance when compared with thu bene-
fits which arise from the open publication
of English opinion. •Would Lord John Russell
maintain that the Emperor Louis Napoleon would
refrain for a moment from carrying into execution
any warlike design he might have formed against
this country if the united Press of England was
crouching at his feet? If the occasion were there,
and the advantage to himself were obvious, such
subservience would be deemed rather as an argu-
ment of our apprehensions and an indication of our
weakness than as a motive for withholding the
blow. As we before remarked, the silence of the
Austrian Press—nay, the complimentary and
courtly tone of the Austrian journals—passed by
the Imperial ears like the idle wind, and the fatal
resolution was taken notwithstanding. If nothing
more is meant than that the English Press, or in-
deed the Press of any nation, should abstain from
injurious expressions against the chief of a foreign
Government when no great national interest is at
stake, then we can only express our agreement with
him. But, if nothing more is meant than this, why
should Lord John go out of his way to back up Mr.
Bright, the champion of the hustings against the
Press ? We would venture, with all due deference,
to suggest that the recent military foray of the
Fre :ch armaments upon peaceful Europe was an
occasion on which it behoved the publio writers of
these kingdoms to print their thoughts plainly and
boldly, for the information and warning of their
fellow-subjects. The defenceless condition of our
shores was another point on which no Englishman
could have reflected without the keenest anxiety.
Does Lord Palmerston suppose that the 'French
Emperor was not acquainted with the true state of
the case ? It was known everywhere save in the
British Islands, and was the subject of conversation
in every cafe and every barrack-room. If ever there
is war between England and France it will not be
because the Press has compelled a Ministry to put
the country in an adequate state of preparation, but
because England can be taken unprepared. If that
should ever happen, there will indeed be the
" Panic " which Lord John Russell deprecates; our
object is, and has always been, to prevent the possi-
bility of lanie by tiluely wad quiet precaution.

LATEST NEWS.

AUSTRALIA.

The ship Lincolnshire arrived off Falmouth on
Saturday from Melbourne.
She landed Mails and passengers.
She has on freight about 50,000 ounces of gold
and 70,000 sovereigns.
She proceeds to London.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :

PARIS, JULY 24.
The 3[oniteur of to-day contains the following :
The Duke of Malakhoff has been appointed
Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour.
The Emperor has granted to the mother of
General Auger an annuity of 3,000 f., to be paid
out of his Majesty's privy purse.

VIENNA, JULY 24.

The Austrian Correspondence publishes an ener-
getic article concerning the circular recently ad-
dressed by the Prussian Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Baron Von Schleinitz, to the Prussian
Embassies in Germany, and endeavours to prove
by a combination of facts the correctness of the
statements contained in the Imperial manifesto.

TURIN, JULY 23.

A rumour is current that the Sardinian Commis-
sioners in Tuscany, Modena, and Parma will be
immediately recalled.

TURIN, JULY 23.

The Municipality of Florence has expressed in
its deliberations of the 20th inst., a wish for the an-
nexation of Tuscany to an Italian kingdom under
the sceptre of Victor Emmanuel, or in case the
annexation, for reasons of high policy, should be
impossible, that Tuscany should be governed by a
Prince of the House of Savoy.

TURIN, JULY 24.

According to advices received from Florence,
Professor Matteucci leaves to-morrow for Turin
and Paris, having been intrusted with a private
mission by the Government of Tuscany.

ROME, JULY 20.

Baron Hubner, formerly Austrian Ambassador
at the Court of the Tuileries, has arrived here and
will replace Count Colloredo as Austrian Ambas-
sador at Rome.

This morning, his Holiness the Pope received M.
Menval, dicier d'ordonnance of the Emperor Na-
poleon.

BOLOGNA, JULY 23.

A great number of addresses are being signed in
the Romagna against the return of the clerical
Government and in favour of union with Sardinia.
The country has resolved upon maintaining public
order and on repulsing any attack of the Swiss
troops in the service of the Pope ; also that a re-
gular voting should take place to express the wishes
of the country.

BELGRADE, JULY 24.

A denial has been given to the reports spread by
the German and Turkish press against Prince
Milosch.
Prince Milosch leaves to-morrow for the interior
of the country.

trian, 647 f. 50c. to . 560 f. ; Lombardo-Venetian,
540 E to 545 f. ; Orleans, 1,335 f. to 1,345 f. ; Lyons,
857 f. 50c. to 865 f. ; Southern, 500 f. to 507 f. 50c.
The rates •continued 'to advance until the close,
when the following were the last quotations :

41 per Cents. 95 20
Do. end month 95 35
3 per Cents 67 80
Do. end month 6B
Bank Shares 2850

Credit Fonder 640
Belgian 4f . —
Piedmontese (5) B3 50
Roman B6 50
Austrian

Credit Mobilier .. 780 Spanish Threes —
Do, Account ..... 795 Home Debt 4O 75

RAILWAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans
Northern .. 915 .. 925
New ditto. BO5 .. 810
Lyons and Mediterranean B6O .. 860
Geneva 5lB 75 .. 518 75
Southern
Western 540 .. 540
Eastern
Sardiniaß 402 50 .. 407 50
Austrian
Exchange on London, at sight, paper, 25f. 6c. ; money,
25f 4c.; three months, paper, 24f. 94c.; money, 24f. 93c.

AMERICA.

LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY.

The royal mail steam-ship Arabia, Capt. James
Stone, which sailed from Boston on the 13th inst.,
and touched at Halifax on the morning of the 15th,
arrived in this port about 9.30 yesterday evening,
bringing 420,000 dollars in specie and 216 passen-
gers, including some soldiers.
On the 13th instant she passed the steam-ship
Canada, about fifty miles east of Boston light.
The following steam-ships arrived at New York
on the 11th inst. :—The City of Baltimore, hence ;
the Arago, from Southampton ; and the Adelaide,
from Galway, via St. John's, Newfoundland.
The news by this arrival is unimportant.
A Washington despatch says :—" The State De-
partment has recently had under consideration the
subject of the Hudson Bay and Puget Sound Agri-
cultural Companies in connexion with their privi-
leges in Washington territory, and it is understood
that its action thereon is to the effect that their
possessory rights' ceased by the limitation of
their charters on the 30th of May last, as well as
under the Oregon treaty. It will be recollected
these companies some years ago offered to sell their
rights to the United States for a million dollars, and
subsequently that they-expressed their readiness to
be satisfied with six hundred thousand for their
possessions. The Catholic missions at Vancouver
and other islands are involved in this decision.
which now, falling under the administration of the
interior department, is likely to present some
important features, if not controversy, concerning
titles to valuable lands. There is authority
for the assertion that however desirable the acqui-
sition of Lower California may be to the adminis-
tration, no such proposition is now pending between
the Governments of the United States and Mexico
as has been stated."

It was reported that the Hon. Daniel E. Sickles
and his wife had become entirely reconciled, and
that he was now living with her.
The Vermont State Republican Convention was
held on the 12th inst. The present state officers
were re-nominated. Resolutions were passed con-
demning the extravagance and pro-slavery charac-
ter of the present administration; and maintaining
the right of naturalised citizens to protection
against the Cass doctrine.

The New York Times, in spite of the frequent
reports to the contrary, asserts that the Collins
steamers have not passed from the hands of their
present holders.
The weekly statement of the New York city banks
shows an increase of 2,984 dols. in specie, 187,271
dols. in circulation, a decrease of 787,140 dols. in
loans, and 1,129,599 dols. in deposits.
A special despatch, dated New Orleans, Bth inst.,
in the Charleston Courier, says that General Noll
has defeated the liberal forces under Gen. Zuazua,
at Guanajuato, and proclaimed Santa Anna dicta-
tor. The despatch also states that this affair had
caused great confusion at San Luis Potosi, that ex-
Governor Barrerra had attempted to stir up a revo-
lution in the province of Campeachy, which was
followed by similar demonstrations in other pro-
vinces, and that the Government was making.
vigorous efforts to suppress the outbreak.
Advices from Havannah are to the Bth inst.
INews unimportant. Sugar buoyant, and all qua-
lities liF,d slightly advanced. Sterling exchange'
1,5 prem.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
(BY TELEGRAPH TO BOSTON.)
NEw YORK, July 12.
Money easy at 5 per cent. on call, and 6 to 7 for
short first class paper. Sterling exchange iu fair
demand, at 1101. Stocks are in better demand,
and prices are generally firmer. Illinois Central
Bonds, 831 ; Panama, 117 ; Michigan Central, 42 ;
New York Central, 744- ; Erie Convertible Bonds of
1862, 16 ; Ohio Sixes, 991- ; Virginia Sixes, 921 ;
Tennessee Sixes, 89.

Cotton unchanged ; middling Uplands, 114 c.
Flour.—S tate and Western very heavy, unsettled,
and 15c. to 20c. lower ; superfine state, 5 dols. 30c.
to 5 dels. 76c. ; extra state, 5 dols. 75c. to 6 dols.
10c. ; round hoop Ohio, 5 dols. 80c. to 5 dols. 95c.
old ; 6 dols. to 6 dols. 30e. for fresh ground ; corn
mon to good sxtra Western, 5 dols. 70c. to 6 dols.
30c. ; Southern dull and lower. Wheat dull and
drooping; -Western red, 1 dol. 45e. to 1 dol. 50c.
Corn easier ; mixed Western, 86c. to 871 c.
Freights to Liverpool quiet and unchanged;
cotton id.

LATEST BY TELEGRAPH VIA HALIFAX.
WASHINGTON, JULY 14.

The Government have sent instructions to • the
United States Minister at Berlin to demand the
release of the naturalised citizens who have been
drafted into the Hanoverian army.

NEW YORK, JULY 14, EVENING.
The cotton market was steady to-day. The sales
of the last two days amount to 1,600 bales, at 114 c.
for middling Uplands.
The stock market was firm, and rates had slightly
advanced.
Flour closed dull at a decline of 10c. Wheat was
also depressed, but Indian corn was buoyant.

NEW ORLEANS, JULY 14, EVENING.

The cotton market was without change to-day.
The sales of the last two days barely foot up 1,000
bales.