The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-24 00:00:00

pact body under any leader at all—Lord PALMER-
STON, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, or any one else—then
indeed it might be said with reason that the clear
majority was a majority of fifty-one. But certainly
not otherwise. Certainly not while there are several
distinct parties and several distinct chiefs—while
there is but one party, but one supreme chief on the
side of the reigning Government, namely, Mr.
DISRAELI and the 302 Conservatives.

Besides—it is simply an extravagance to assert
that there can be this clear majority against
Ministers of 51 in 655—when it is undeniable that
there was merely a clear majority of 39 in 626 in
the last Parliament, while at the same time it is
admitted distinctly by the Times that in the new
Parliament there is a clear gain, as compared to
the former House, of 26 seats to the Derbyites,
amounting to 52 upon a division ! How there
could possibly be a majority (as admitted
by the Times) of 52 for Ministers in the
new House of 655—at the same time that there
was a majority 39 for the Opposition in the last
house of 626—and yet, according to the Times,
there is still, in spite of that gain of 26 seats (or 52
upon a division) for Ministers, with a clear gain in
all for the Opposition of 51 in the new Parliament
of 655, passes all reasonable comprehension. It is
simply an outrage to common sense. It is a dis-
tinct and glaring defiance of the simplest rules of
arithmetic. COCKER proves beyond a doubt that the
deduction of the Times is simply an impossibility.
The wish is father to the thought, and therefore
the thought is boldly asserted. But the next divi-
sion will be sufficient to show that 39 is less than
52—supposing any one still to remain incredulous.

THE LONDON GLEE AND MADRIGAL

UNION.

The fifth and last concert of the present stries was given
by this union, at the Hanover-square Rooms, yesterday,
with great success. Many old glees and madrigals were
revived on this occasion, and several that had been especial
favourites at the former concerts were repeated. Dr. Call-
cott's beautiful glee, " With sighs, sweet rose," was
admirably sung by four members of the union, and
Luca Marengio's madrigal, " Lady, see," was ren-
dered with great effect. The music expresses the meaning
of the words with singular power. A four-part song, by
R. S. Pearsall, " Why with toil thy life consuming," was
graceful and flowing. One of the curiosities of the concert
was the introduction of an ancient round, the composer of
which is unknown. It belongs to the thirteenth century,
and begins, " Summer is icumen in, loudly sings cuccu ;"
but it is more to be regarded as a musical curiosity than
from any intrinsic merit. Sir Henry Bishop's glee, " The
Fisherman's good night," was so well sung that an unani-
mous encore greeted its conclusion. Another favourite
was Hatton's spirited part song for male voices,
"The hunt is up." Mr. Oliphant, the honorary secretary,
who prefaced each performance with a few remarks, in-
formed the audience that it was not many years since this
accomplished composer found it necessary to disguise his
plain English surname under a Polish appellation. Sir
Henry Bishop's concerted piece, " Though he be now a
grey, grey friar," though not at all easy for concert per-
formances of this character, was very well sung. Several
other glees and madrigals, mostly from old composers,
concluded the performances. Mr. T. Oliphant interspersed
the performances with notices and references to the compo-
sitions of the great madrigalian writers, and entertained
the audience by his humorous remarks. In conclusion,
he rendered a well-deservA tribute to the labours of the
London Glee and Madrigal Union, and expressed a hope,
which was no doubt shared by the audience, that it might
not be the last occasion on which they met for this pur-
pose.

LORDS-LIEUTENANT OF COUNTIES.