The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-23 00:00:00

PRICE 41). S FAMEED, 613.

lity of organisation, which renders_ these men more
sensible to.pain, which multiplies the-effect of pain
and care upon them ; and when once pain and care
have assumed a certain influence, they tell directly
upon what, to use the language of • political eco-
nomy, we. may call their pioductive powers ; so that
the combination of these causes, together with the
liabilities which attach to such men,, and which
attach to them in proportion as their professions
are devotedly followed, constitutes a case of peculicr
necessity and of peculiar right to -your assistance.
Now, there is another point of view in which it
appears to me the institution of a fund like this is
of the utmost importance. The law of demand and
supply works admirably well with respect to mate.
rial commodities; but it does not work with the
same perfection in reference to the productions of
the mind. Those works of the human mind which
are destined-to endure are not always those which
at the. first moment attract popular approbation.
(Cheers.) There are certain portions of the domain
of literature in which the 'efficient labourer is cer-
tain of an immediate and adequate return, but there
are other portions, not less important, in which,
irrespective of any blame to him—irrespective of
any blame to the public-;•-it is less certain when he
will obtain his return. At all events, it is totally
uncertain whether he will obtain a return at the
precise time when in obedience to the common
necessities of .our nature' he may require 'it. It
would be vain to quote from literary history in-
stances of works which have attained world-wide
fame in after years, but which have never:bee6 the
means of blessing their;authors with ,prosperity or
even with .comfort., (Hear, hear.) I know not
how far this may be the' ease in the present day,
but.undoubtedly in the Very last generation there
were distinguished and .splendid instances—aye,
and those instances in the walk of poetry, where,
as a general rule, you may look for a fairer appor-
tionment of immediate gain--or men who, with
Km:Pie-minded devotion, following the purpose of
• 1?
their hearts, but not able to meet the calls of the
market, produced works which an inner instinct
told them were worthy to live, and would live, but
which would not, at all events for a time, afford
the means of life to their authors. (Hear, hear.)
Now, I apprehend that it is a special purpose of
this fund to meet the cases of necessity which
arise among those persons whose vocation it has
been to apply themselves less to that description
of works which is called for by the imme-
diate taste of the public than to more solid, though
perhaps less attractive, productions.. have an
illustration at hand. t have before me the last ac
count of the distribution of the funds of this institu

THE LOSS OF B.M.S HERON.

tion, and I find that the two -largest sums, awagded
during the. year 1858 were £330 and respoc-.
tively,- and both these amounts- were granted Vo-the,
authors of works of a description that is 'not always:
immediately popular,: clatingstiiefly. to seiffnee. and
art. Now, this is one of the purposes which is secved
by such •an institution as the'LitbidrY Pad.'" If
there he a 'danger. with regriectto the<solid "pad of
literature at all times, I -am afraid that undealptedly
that danger is aggravatedby the circumstances of
the present day. We livein times when there'llas
been a wonderful multiplication col the branches of
knowledge. There is, iu, fact, the greatest
,contrast
between' the condition otihe educated` `man of the
present day and the educated .mail of-tOrmee
Itwe go back foy a. few wq go bank.
even for a .few. generations, we shalk_find -that the
well-educated man of -those • days was a man in Pos-'
session of all the knowledge-of his time.,: -We kuuw
perfectly well that this has alroady become entirely
hopeless. The expansion of the sea of information is
such that it has become imposssible to traverse. it.,
and while the number oUmen who can now-tie called
well-educated in the high sense of possessing a gene- :
ral command of knowledge is extremely limited, we.
'have to feat' that as time goesi on We shairsee more:
.and more of Speeialty--more and more of division of
labour—more and more,,it_is to be apprehended, of
slight and siiperfiCial inforMation, -and less .of com-,
prehensive training, and of those commanding
views necessarily resting upon the :.possession 'of
severe and profound,• as well as of.slight accomp—
lishments, which formed the "bases of ithei colossal
structures of the faine' Of the great zneti'orfornier
days. (Cheers.) There are certain causes in ope-
ration with continually increasing power which tend
to draw us in a direction adverse to that concentra-
tion of thought which is necessary to all sound pro-
ductions in the regions of literature. In the simple
but emphatic language of Wordsworth—
" The world is too much with us ; late and soon
Getting and spending welay waste our powers,
Little we see. in nature that is ours •
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon."
Now, whatever tends—as this institution tends—to
maintain the vital. warmth of the heart involves in

it, as I think, a principle of soundness, and consti-
tutes a witness on behalf of the deep student, the
laborious thinker, as contrasted with the mere fol-,
lower of those pursuits which happen to be con-
nected with an immediate popularity. I am happy
to think that, as this institution professes to extend
your bounty to other countries, so it possesses in it-,
self a character peculiarly English. It is a remark-
able feature of English character and life that so
much is done in this. country by means of free and
voluntary association; and, in addition to its other
merits, I think one possessed by the Literary Fund
is, that while its character associatess it with other
countries, it is eminently national. It is among us,
•perhaps, more than in any other country that a
peculiar danger of the age prevails. It is here that
material development runs its most rapid race. It
is the immense spirit of enterprise—the unbounded'
development of trade and commerce—the practical.
energy of the Englishman, which, while they secure
to him and his countrymen a great predominance
in the affairs of mankind, are likewise continually
tending to lead him away from the more. tranquil
pursuits to which you seek to administer either re-
wards or relief. (Hear, hear.) Let me say on behalf
of my own countrymen one word at least, and I may
say it with the less reluctance, because I owe the
remark to a distinguished foreigner. It is an 'lista,
rian, as I may say, of our Universities—the only,
person who has entered deeply into the remarkable
records of their growth, their life, and their expe-'
rience through the long ages for which they have
lasted and have dispensed rich stores of knowledge
and civilisation—who has told us what I am about
to say. He is no Englishman ; he is a German. I
allude to the distinguished writer, M. Huber.
Comparing the studies and acquirements of Eng-
land with the studies and acquirements of Germany,
he says, " You Englishmen depreciate yourselves
because the catalogue of your authors is more,
scanty than the catalogue of authors in. Germany.
In Germany almost every educated man is an author.
In England you have a very large class of educated
men of letters, and who have either never put pen
to paper, or at any rate have never put paper to the
press." This is true, and I think it is a just and
your divines, laudable distinction, which England may claim,
that in all the walks and professions of life—whe.!
physicians,ther yo takeu
yo u your ol ua
lawyers,
ys statesmen, somr egno into
will—you will find large numbers of men who are
enjoying the benefits of true literary cultivation,
keeping up the standards of thought and of lan-
guage, diffusing around them the -
influence of pure
taste, reaping all the advantage of that mental dis-
cipline that flows from a true and solid training,
and who constitute a literary class far more ex-
tended than the mere class of authors in this, coun-
try. Now, if this be so, ours is .a country Where
such an institution as that the anniversary of
'which we are now celebrating ought to be well and
liberally supported. Here you have an unbounded
accumulation of wealth; here you have immense
means of education—imperfectly used and imper-
fectly developed; but still I trust in course of pro-
gress towards more effective use and more complete
development. Here you have still subsisting those
old foundations which the wisdom of former times
set apart with a view to the prosecution of learning
—still doing good where
theyare effective, and still
capable of improvement where they are less effective
than they should be. Here you have the old tra-
ditions of education, and the civilisation with which
it is connected. I rejoice to think that in this coun-
try that for the first time the happy idea has been
conceived of founding an institution for the pur-
pose of ministering to the peculiar needs and claims
of authors, and I feel a profound conviction that in
this country; too, no insurmountable difficulty will
be experienced in providing funds for that institu-
tion with so liberal a hand that it will become truly
adequate for the great purposes with which it was
established. (Loud cheering.)
The toast having been duly honoured.
Mr. It. BELL made a brief statement of the pro;
gress of the institution. From 1790 to 1858 'the
amount appropriated to the recipients of the fund
was £51,345. Between 1839. and 1858, a period of
20 years, during which the fund had been under its,
present management. £26,775 had beeir thus ap-,
plied. In the-first '39 years, the amount bestowed in
grants was 4:24,570, while in the last 20 years id
had reached £26,775, showing an excess in the lat-
ter as compared with the former peiind bf £2,200.;
In the first ten years from 1839 the grants had
amounted to £11,970, while in the last ten years
they had amounted to £14,805. In the first fiver
years .from • I-849 the grantri had been, 46,825, andi

Mr. Mindry here said—l have no questions to
ask witness, but he has omitted to state we could
get neither provisions nor water at Ascension.
We had but 30 days' supply on board, 20 of which
were consumed when the vessel was lost.

Two other witnesses were called, whose evidence
was in a great measure corroborative of that of tho

quartermaster. Neither of them, however, was in
a position to hear the conversation between Mr.
Blair and the first lieutenant with reference to
_

shortening sail, but James Bartlett, who did duty
on board the Heron as captain of the maintop, said.
that on the morning of the accident he heard Mr.
Blair say to the officer of the watch, " You had
better keep the ropes down, sir." This witness
also said he was Lot surprised that sail was not
shortened before the squall struck the ship, because
-Mr. Blair was very much in the habit of " carrying
on." On the other hand, he had seen the captain
up at all hours of the night when the weather had
been threatening. When the squall was approach-
ing on the Sunday, the captain ordered everything
to be taken off the ship, and the helm put up. The
captain was very careful in carrying sail.
Mr. Mindry, on being asked if he had any fur-
ther observation to offer to the court, said—On the
forenoon of Sunday, the Bth, the day previous to
the accident, Mr. Blair was officer of the watch,
and he was so reluctant in shortening sail that the
captain spoke sharply to him, and said, " The sails
ought to have been shortened before, and the men
out of the wet." It was invariably the captain's
and practicesendto shortenthemen
tfho reo tfho
reeseqasutallel. coaumt eonf etahie,

wet.
The court was then closed. On its re-opening
the Deputy Judge-Advocate, Mr. Heller, read the
finding," which was to the following effect :
The court was .of opinion that the loss of H.M.'s

brig Heron was caused by foundering at sea, in a
heavy squall, owing to the officer in charge of.the
deck not taking sufficient precaution by shorteninr,
sail; although the squall gave sufficient warning of
its approach. The court was further of opinion
that no blame was attributable to Mr. Mindry, and
adjudged him to be fully acquitted.

GARIBALDi'S PROCLAMATION TO-
THE INHABITANTS OF BRESCIA.

The following proclamation has been addressed
to the inhabitants of Brescia by general Gari-
baldi :

" The joyous demonstrations with which you have
received the Chasseurs of the Alps, give new proof
of your patriotic enthusiasm. The sublime spec-
tacle which your city presented the instant that
the sound of the alarm bell was heard, has shown
that you are worthy of your renown. Hastening
at the first cry, with the Chasseurs of the Alps, you
showed that, as jealous guardians of your recovered
independence, you were resolved to defend it with
your lives, to consecrate it with your,blood. Glory"'
to the Brescians !
" The enemy who still infest these countries are
not armies who menace our city, but fugitive bandi
who, in opening the way of retreat, leave, wherever
they go, traces of their barbarity and their exe-
crable domination, now finally overthrown. The
moment has come for accomplishing' the country's
vengeance, for fighting in the name of your brothers,
dead, on the battle-field .or ,upon the gibbets of
Mantua—for continuing your splendid traditions
Of glory. To the rage of your *witinies, who are
forced to abandon this, beautiful .coutitry for ever,
hasten to augment the ranks of
the volunteers.
The tri-colour banner, the idol of our hearts; floats
over your heads, and you coniumatl the -love ana
the. courage of the counti7-. •
" Let. the. glorious Italo-French armies in deliver-
Vou from your enemies find you worthy of year
liberators.
"General
(Signed) GARIBALDI."
Commissioner of his Sar
diniait Majesi y
Avocat BERNARD BIANCHI.
Brescia, June 13, 18'09.1'

f3i.:: ~

( . , •-,, v.
- e
iji a
3) 414'7
440)--za: ."Z
';'Lfil
'''''s"---,.---.- ----,.,,--'----! C 7-- Iti th . five years £7,980. The; ,gra -- ' .414
-,.. _ ,
~ • -4 hadsamounted to £1,225, in 1857 tevx. ,') - ?
.1856!to £1,840, the largest animal sum sore, /*trill S -
• buted from the fund.
, ,:.;, --, , ;- he Earl. of, Itipon proposed in complimt. ntary
-- terms, " The Health -of the Chairman," wilt ) re-
turned thanks.
---- Mr. Forsyth then gave, " The Literature of V'o-
reign courtries," the toast being acknowledged by
,: Princit Vrederick of Holstein.
Anion;;the other toasts were, " The Menibers of
Parliament who .horieurecttheMeeting,with their
Pri.serice," proposed by Lord Tielidley and respo tided
t 6 --liy Mr.-.L. Wilson -; -" The Writers -bn Science,"
proposed by Vice-Chancellor Sir J. Stuart, anii; ac-
knowledged by PrOfessor Owen ; " The Literature
Of Great Britain;'?Proposed by Mr. K. Macaulay,
and acknowledged by,Mr. Thackeray ; and " The
Colonies," proposed by the Rev. E. Hawkins, and
...
responded to by Mr. Justice Haliburton.

A court-martial, -comprising Capt. G. T. Gordon,
H,M.S. Asia, president; Capt. Sir W. Hoste, Bart.,
R.-Harris, A. Farquhar, R. S. Hewlett, C. 8., T.
Hope, T. Wilson, W. Edmonstone, J. Frere, and R.
B. Crawford, assembled yesterday on board H.M.S.
Victory, flag ship, Portsmouth, to try Mr. Mindry,
gunner, the only surviving officer, and the surviv-
ing crew of her Majesty's late brig Heron, for the
loss of that vessel. 1.
- The court having been sworn, Mr. Mindry's let-
ter reporting the_ circumstances attending the loss
Of the Heron (which has been already published)
was read by Mr. Hellyer, the Deputy Judge-Advo-
cate.

Mr. Min dry and' the' survivors 'of the crew baying
stated that they had no et Mplaint to-tnake.the one
-against the other in respect to the loss'of the vessel,
the court . was cleared, and on its.xe-opening the
crew were acquitted, the court:being of eßinion that,
if blame were attribut:a'
.ble to: any ,person, it could
only be to Mr. Mindry.
Mr. Mindi7 was then put' /rpm,' his trial.

• Tames White, pnartimnastei,, wa4.the
Wit-
ness examined. lle.said-L-I'was qtfartermialtr of
her Majesty's brig H'eron on the 9th of May last.
It was. my morning watch on that day. I :have
-heard the letter read. from the gunner. 'To ,the -best
of my knowledge I believe the contents to be true.
The officer of the morning watch on the 9th. of. May
was-Mr. Blair, mate.. Mr. Eden, the boatswain, was
also on deck. I did net see the captain-on deck that
morning. The sloop Was under topgallant sails,
single-reefed topsail, courses, jib and boom main-
sail. I observed in the weather indications of a tor-
nado coming on._ -At a quarter before five I called
the first lieutenant. He came on deck, and ordered
the ropes to be coiled -up. Mr. Blair told him we
had better shorten sail. Herepliell, 4.! Pooh, pooh ;
it will be nothing.". There were appearances of
the squall coming on three -quarters•of an hour be-
fore the accident, occurred. If sail 40 been 'shoe.
tened in time I tliink the accident would 'not have
taken -place. W encountered -a worse squall on
the Sunday .moroing previous. We took in• the
courses and • top-gallant sails, lowered the
topsail and, bsom-rnairisaildianled down. the jib, and
*nit the ;vessel before the squall. The ship. was l;e •
fore the wind at four o'clock. -The squanstruck the
'Ship an-the beag.tAhi.fielintvas put=up pt6vious.to
striking I
.heard, Ole sq n 411.7611 :the
Water about- tviainiirititesbefore :it struck the "reSsel:
.444 accompanied the squall, iant I did not,-notice
utny, thunder or lightning. • Nona:of --the:eheets or
haulyards were let go .`ai;4il it~. 'as , At
about five minutes I,OONe, rh,Oyeilipieg.j "the
shilk*as-goingtfpur 'Ftellotted ple_same to
Mr. Blair at the gangway, and- just as got back to
the helm Mr. Blair sung out, "-Mind-your helm'!'
I. answered 4„‘ All right, sir." I-took the wheel from
the man at the helm-, and he assisted me to put the
-helm up. In less than a minntaafterwards'thethip
was on her sails in the water. I was thrown on the
wheel." I then got holdpf the fun, passed through
the _port on. the_shipci upper sole, and assisted' to
clear away the boat. As the brig sunk we pushed
off with 23 men in the boat. We could find ho
crutches in the boat, and' I cut up the pendant or
the' mast to make gummets, •While I was diiing
that the captain was picked up ; also kinhorn, the
quartermaster.
,• • • - • - .• •
By the Court-The first lituieiiint-tha on deck at
the moment cf the accident. He did not hear him
give any order to shorten sail, nor did he see how or
when the-captain got on deck. :The brig was not full
of -provisions at the time of the accident. She had on
bound about two or three weeks provisionsp and water.
Nothing gaye way when the squall •struck her.
About 20 minutes elapsed between her being thrown
on her beam ends and her foundering. About ten
Minutes elapsed between
,'the :time when the first
Jieutenant ordered the ropes to be Coiled up, and the
Squall striking the ship. Did not as the squall came
near hear any order given to get the ropes down.
Only two of the watch below got on deck before the
ship foundered. When the officer of the watch told
the first lieutenant to shorten sail, witness was by
the side of the man ut the-wheel. Mr. Blair and the
first lieutenant were standing at the binnacle. He
did not know whether the officer called the captain.
Mr. Blair was officer of the watch when the ship
was taken by a squall on the previous Snnday.
The captain had to abuse him then. The captain
ordered the sail to be shortened on the Sunday.
The cause of his abusing Mr. Blair was because he
did not give his orders quick' enough. The ship
was on the morning of the accident about 200 miles
to the southward -of Sierra Leone. They were
making a passage. They were coming from As-
cension, and had been 16 or 17 days out. When
the squall struck the ship they were on the star-
board tack.