The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENINWI FEBRUARY 19, 1866.1

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Sunday Evening.
Sometimes political facts transpire here before
they are known in England, and particularly news
of Ministerial modifications. I know not if a report
of the resignation of Sir George Grey is of this
character. It is mentioned by a paper of large cir-
culation, which hints that other changes in Earl
Russell's Cabinet are probable.
The Siecle, remarking upon the subject of Reform
in England, says :—" The reform movement is not
so insignificant as some have imagined. Imposing
and numerous meetings rapidly succeed each other.
The working men of London are very eager for
Parliamentary Reform."
The Memorial Diploniatique contradicts the re-
port that Austria is about to recognise the Kingdom
of Italy, but says that the Governments of Austria
and Italy are about to come to an understanding
with a view to improve their commercial relations.
A foot race, which excited considerable interest,
has just taken place at the Avenue de l'lmperatrice,
Bois de Boulogne, between the groom of Mr. Wat-
son, an American gentleman, and the jockey of M.
de Cerilly. The bet between those gentlemen was
20,000 f., and more than £l,OOO sterling was sported
by the backers. The distance is about two miles.
M. de Cerilly's jockey performed it in nine minutes
and five seconds. The groom took two seconds
more, so that the winner was M. de Cerilly. To be
accurate, I should mention that the pedestrians
went three times round the race course, and the
French estimate of the distance is six kilometres (or
four English miles).
A beautiful and lifelike bust of Verdi, the com-
poser, has just been executed by Dantan, the most
eminent sculptor of France, and a few evenings ago
a friendly inauguration of it took place at Verdi's
residence in the Champs Elysees. Only a few
friends were present, chiefly singers, including Patti,
Delle Sedie, Fraschini, Escudier, the Tamburini
family, and of course Dantan himself. Me'ry, who
is hard at work upon Verdi's new opera, was pre-
vented from attending by indisposition. The bust
has been much admired by all who have seen it ;
and on the occasion in question there was an agree-
able surprise, which excited much laughter—the
exhibition of a caricature bust, also by Dantan,
the resemblance of which to Verdi is easily recog-
nised. He is represented as a lion, the face of which
presents all the characteristics of that of Verdi
Underneath is the following verse
a des fiers Lions la griffe et la criniere,
'!'rouser est son triomphe, i 3 ce maitre hardi,
II suit a travers champs des chemins sans orniere,
L'art fleurira toujours—tant qu'il aura Verdi.

Patti, in her usual, unaffected and courteous
style, offered to sing an air from one of Verdi's
operas. " No," said Verdi, "no usurpation. To-
day is the fête of the sculptor. Let the musician
be silent."

With respect to the opera of Don Carlos, I can
inform you that the libretto by Messrs. Mery and
Camille Dulocle, founded upon Schiller's work, is
nearly finished, and Verdi has composed two of the
five acts. He has engaged to finish the whole of the
music by the 15th of July. It will be produced in
the course of December next. A splendid ballet
will be introduced into it. The scene is laid at
Aranjeuz, and poetry, music, and action will be re-
dolent of Spanish characteristics. Schiller's drama
turns chiefly upon an incident worked out in the
" Phxdre" of Racine—the mutual love of a mother-
in-law and her son-in-law. Philippi the Second of
Spain has married a princess of France, Elizabeth
de Valois. Don Carlos, the King's son, had loved
the lady before her marriage, but fur State reasons
their union had been forbidden, and the love of the
son had been sacrificed to that of the father. One
of the ladies of honour, who is also in love with
Don Carlos, but who is repulsed by him, with jea-
lous watchfulness, discovers some letters in the Queen's
possession written before her marriage, which prove

her passion for Don Carlos. The lady discloses the fact
to Philippe, and, of course, that monarch is furious,

and swears that he will destroy his son. In the
meantime, he delivers him to the tender mercies of

the Inquisition. There is a pretty considerable
amount of material for an opera, or drama, or what

you like, and such incidents, musically illustrated
by a Verdi, must perforce prove enticing. The

caste is arranged to this extent. The characters

will be thus supported—the Marquis de Posa by

Fauve, Philippe the Second by Obin, the Grand

Inquisitor by Belval, Elizabeth de Valois by Mdlle.
Saxe, the Princess d'Ebole (the Lady of Honour)
by Mdlle. Bloch. There can be no doubt that Verdi
will have finished the opera by the time proposed,
for " Il Trovatore" was composed in 33 days, and

the " Traviata," it is said, in a fortnight. He is

. .
about to leave Paris for his chateau in Italy for

quiet inspiration and the enjoyment of his native
air. His present intention is to return to Paris in

June with his opera finished. I told you of the curi-
ous mistake of the telegraph about killing Fauve. The
account was quite accurate. M. Mery has made up his
mind that Faure shall be killed in the fourth act by

a shot from a carbine. It may not be generally
known that Verdi was at one time a deputy in the
Italian Parliament. He resigned his seat because
he viehed to devote hie time exclu4iyely to musical

composition. While in Parliament he distinguish°
himself as the successful advocate of copyright in
literary property in Italy.
A curious calculation has been made as to th(
consumption and manufacture of silk at Lyons.
The city of Lyons consumes annually a million kilo-
grammes (two million pounds) of silk worked up in
different ways. Four cocoons are required for one
gramme of silk (there are 500 grammesin a pound) .
The consumption of Lyons only amounts to
4,200,000,000 grammes. The average length of a
cocoon of silk is 500 metres. The 4,200,000,000
metres manufactured annually by the industry of
Lyons would form together a length of 2,100 mil-
liards of metres, or 2,100,000,000 kilometres. This
length is that of 14 times the distance of the earth
from the sun, and 5,494 that of the moon from the
earth. Thus it would go 52,505 times round the
earth or the equator, and 200,000 times round the
moon.

A sale of books, drawings, and works of art from
the cabinet of M. Gustave flciquet, will commence
to-morrow, which is likely to prove interesting
The drawings and portraits are valuable. One
work of art will, no doubt, excite much competi-
tion. It is a copy in crayon and sepia of the beau-
tiful picture representing the entrance of Charles
the Sixth into Paris.

The committee of the Great National Exhibition
have accepted the proposal of M. Hostein, director
of the Theatre du Chatelet, and M. Carvalho,
director of the Theatre Lyrique Imperial, to erect
one or more theatres in the part attached to the
building. Tho idea is to perform plays in all the
known languages of the world. Some English
managers, I am told, have made arrangements to
take advantage of the concession, so that among
other attractions of the Exhibition will be the perfor-
mance of English tragedy and comedy, and, I pre-
sume, the production of dramatic performances of
every description.
There will, of course, be no balls at the Tuileries
during Lent, but there will be some admirable con-
certs, in which all the leading singers will partici-
pate.

Winter has come back to us ; yesterday aid to-
day the weather has been cold, cheerless, and miser-
able. It has rained constantly since the morning.

The Government of Jamaica.

The following is a copy of the bill to make pro-
vision for the Government ofi Jamaica which has
been introduced by Mr. Cardwell :

" Whereas two acts were passed by the Legisla-
ture of Jamaica during a session held in the present
year of her Majesty, intituled respectively, An Act
to Alter and Amend the Political Constitution of
this Island,' and An Act to Amend an Act passed
in the present session, intituled, " An Act to Alter
and Amend the Political Constitution of this
Island,' " and it is expedient that the said acts
should be brought into operation, under authority
of Parliament, in the manner and to the extent
hereinafter set forth : Be it therefore enacted by the
Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Tem-
poral, and Commons, in the present Parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows :

" 1. So much of said recited acts as is contained
in the accompanying schedule shall come into ope-
ration in the Island of Jamaica as soon as the assent
of her Majesty in Council shall have been pro-
claimed in the said island by the officer administer-
ing the government thereof, and, unless continued
by authority of Parliament, shall cease to be in force
at the expiration of three years from the date of
such proclamation.

" 2. In construing the secondly-recited act, the
term' Government' shall be held to include " Legis-
lature;' and the powers exercised by her Majesty
under the said act shall be exercised by her Majesty
in Council.

" SCHEDULE.

' An Act to Alter and Amend the Political Con

stitution of this Island.

" Whereas it is necessary to alter the present po-
litical constitution of this island : Be it enacted by
the Governor, Legislative Council, and Assembly
of this island, and it is hereby enacted by the autho-
rity of the same,

" First, that from and after the coming into ope.
ration of this act the present Legislative Counci
and House of Assembly, and all and every the funs•
tions and privileges of those two bodies respectively;
shall cease and determine absolutely.

"An Act to Amend an Act passed in the present
session, entitled ' An Act to Alter and Amend the
Political Constitution of this Island.'
" Whereas an Act was passed by the Legislature
of this island during this present session, entitled
An Act to Alter and Amend the Political Consti-
tution of this island ;' and whereas it is desirable
that the same should be amended ; be it therefore
enacted by the Governor, Legislative Council, and
Assembly of this island, and it is hereby enacted
by the authority of the same,
" In place of the Legislature abolished by the
first section of the recited Act, it shall be lawful for
her Majesty the Queen to create and constitute a
Government for this island in such form and with
such powers as to her Majesty may best seem fit-
ting, and from time to time to alter or amend such
Government."

EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED.—As another step
towards the solution of the great commercial pro-
blems affecting the relations between employers and em-
ployed, we have pleasure in here recording the fact that at
a meeting of the directors of Greening and Co. (Limited),
manufacturers of iron and wire fences, iron gates, &c., hold
at their offices in Manchester, on the 12th inst., it was
unanimously resolved :—" That, in order to stimulate the
zeal, fidelity, and good-will of the clerks, foremen, and
workpeople employed by this company, and with a view of
enabling them to acquire a substantial interest in the pro-
sperity of the firm, the directors undertake to recommend
and support, at the first ordinary meeting of shareholders,
the adoption of the following special arrangements :-
Ist. Whenever the nett profits in any one half-year exceed
7i per cent. upon the gross paid-up capital of the company,
then for every additional 2f per cent, dividend or bonus
paid to the shareholders upon their capital, a dividend or
bonus of 2! per cent. shall be paid to every person em-
ployed by the company upon the amount of wages earned
by him or her in the same half-year: provided always
that such participation in profits shall not give toany of the
work-people (not being shareholders) any right to inter-
fere in any way in the management of the company's busi-
ness : nor shall it render them liablo to any debts or respon-
sibilities incurred by the company. 2d. That shares of the
company at par value be issued from time to time to the
work-people, and that they be permitted to pay the calls
upon same, either out of a common fund to be subscribed
by them, or out of dividends and bonuses accruing to them.
3d. That these resolutions be printed and circulated
amongst the work-people, with a cordial appeal to them to
co-operate in promoting the welfare of the establishment
of which they form a part."

THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY,
when a witness before the Royal Academy Commis-
sion of 1863, as the Reader takes occasion to remind us,
spoke strongly against the pre-Raffaelite school. His words
as reported in the Blue-book, aro : " I think that it has
thrown art back 50 years. I think that pre-Raffaelitism
has been most injurious to art. . . . It descends to a little-
ness which is below art. . . It has taken away from its
followers large ideas of breadth, and made them more
imitators without art. . . . There is a littleness in that
style of art which I think very unsatisfactory. . . . I
think it has done a groat deal of harm. . . . It has sent
men in a wrong direction. Instead of aiming at largo and
broad effect, it has descended to a needlework style of art,
which is anything but art; it is labour without art."
GROWTH OF TILE BRITISH MUSEUM.—The original
collection, says the London Review, comprised in round
numbers about 50,000 volumes and valuable manuscripts,
besides 69,352 articles of vertu described in the catalogue.
It has, however, been since enormously increased by gifts,
bequests, and purchases ; by the Cottonian,
other libraries ; by the Townley Marbles, in 1812 ;
Haddam, and
by the
Elgin Marbles, 1816 ; by the Lycian Marbles, obtained by
Sir C. Fellows, 1842-6, &c, George 11. presented the Royal
Library in 1757 ; and George IV. gave, in 1823, the library
collected at Buckingham 'louse by Georg() 111., consisting
of 65,250 volumes and about 19,000 pamphlets. In 1846
the Right lion. Thomas Grenville bequeathed to the Mu-
seum his library, consisting of 20,240 volumes. Tho spe-
cimens of ancient art were considerably enriched during
the next few years by the Assyrian Sculptures, and other
treasures, for which we are indebted to the researches and
indefatigable energy of Ur. Layaxd. In 1858 were added
antiquities from Halicalnassus, which had been obtained
by Mr. C. Newton; and, in 1860, further relics of great
value were Dreugut 4'94 Carthage.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ITALY.

NAPLES, FEB. 18 (Evening.)

The strike of the cabmen of Naples has ceased,
and they have resumed work. Perfect tranquillity

prevails.

Advices from Messina state that at the second
electiou of a Deputy, which was necessary since the
first without result, Mazzini obtained 311 and
Bottari 169 votes.

AUSTRIA.
VIENNA, FEB. 19.

It is asserted that Prussia is about to send a
Note to the Austrian Cabinet, declaring the per-
sonal union of the Duchies with Prussia to be the
only solution of the Schleswig-Holstein question.