The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-15 00:00:00

THE ' SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 15, 1859.

ASCOT RACES, 15th, 16th, and. 1 ith,
June.—GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—Carriages
and Horses will be taken to Windsor on this line by any. of
the regular Trains on each day of the Races. The Trains
leave Paddington for Windsor at 6 a.m., 7 15 a.m., 8 45 a.m.,
10 a.m., 10 30 a m., 11 a.m., 12 noon, and return from Windsor
at 4 35 p.m., 5 50 pin., 6 20 p.m., 6 40 p.m., 8 5 p.m., 9 35 p.m.,
and 10 45 p.m.
In addition to the above, on THURSDAY, the 16th June,
A SPECIAL TRAIN will leave Paddington at 11 45 a.m.,
direct for Windsor, returning from thence at 7 p.m.
Fares to Windsor and Back :—First Class, as Gd ; Second
Class, 4s 6d ; and by 845 a.m. and 10 a.m. Down Trains, re-
turning from Windsor at 6 40 p.m. and 8.5 p.m., 2s 6d.
A large number of London Pleasure Vans will run from
Windsor to the Course and Back for 2s 6d. Omnibuses will
also be provided.

METROPOLITAN, COUNTIES, AND
GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY,
27, Regent-street, Waterloo-place, London, S.W.
Life Assurance, Annuities, and Endowments.
Loans on real and personal security.
F. FERGUSON CAMROUX, Manager.

LA IV LIFE ASSURANCE.
Office—Fleet-street, London.
23d May, 1859.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That in conformity with
the provisions of the Deed of Settlement, A GENERAL
MEETING of the Proprietors will be held at the Society's
' Office, Fleet-street, London, on FRIDAY, the 24th d ay o
f
June next, at twelve o'clock at noon, precisely, to elect FiVe
Directors and Two Auditors, when those who go out of office
by rotatiop will be proposed for re-election ; also to elect one
other Director, in lieu oc' William Vizard, Esquire, deceased,
who would have gone out of office by rotation ; and one other
Director in lieu of Francis Smedley, Esq., deceased ; and for
general purposes.
The Director to be chosen in the room of Francis Smedley,
Esq., deceased, will remain in office until the 24th day of June,
1861, and the Director to he chosen in the room of William
Vizard, Esq., deceased, will remain in office until the 24th day
of June, 1863.
By order of the Directors,
WILLIAM SAMUEL DOWNES, Actuary.

17.P.PS'S COCOA.—Epps, homoeopathic chemist,
London.—This, excellent preparation, originally pro-
duced specially for the use of hommopathic patients, having
been adopted by the general public, can now be had of the
principal grocers. Each packet is labelled James Eppa,
homoeopathic chemist, London.

lATURDAY HALF HOLIDAY MOVEMENT.
JAMES SPENCE Co., Silk Mercers, Drapers, Sze ,77
and 78, St. Paul's Churchyard, desirous of promoting this
laudable obiect, have decided upon CLOSING their ESTA-
BLISHMENT during the months ofJUNE, JULY, AUGUST,
and SEPTEMBER, at FIVE O'CLOCK on SATURDAYS,
which,- if found practicable, will be PERMANENTLY CON-
TINUED.
Customers and the Public are earnestly requested to aid
this cause by considerately making their purchases previous
to that hour. - -

JAMES SPENCE and Co 77 and 78, St. Paul's Churchyard.

CONTRACT FOR WHEAT,

Department of the Comptroller for Victualling,
Somerset-house, 11th June, 1859.
THE COMMISSIONERS for EXECUTING the
OFFICE of LORD HIGH ADMIRAL of the UNITED
KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND, DO
HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that on THURSDAY, the
23d instant, at Half past One o'clock, they will be ready
to treat with such Persons as may be willing to CONTRACT
for supplying and delivering into her Majesty's Victualling
Stores at Deptford,
WHEAT

When to be delivered—Half in a fortnight, and the
remainder in a fortnight afterwards, or earlier if preferred
by the party tendering.
Tenders may be made for the whole or any portion of the
wheat.
Their Lordships reserve to themselves' the power, when
the tenders are opened, of contracting either for the whole,
or for such part thereof only as they may deem fit, or for a
greater quantity, or of not contracting. for any, and also an
unlimited power of selection.
A proportional part of the price per bushel of wheat will be
paid for any weight exceeding 60 lbs per bushel.
Samples (not less than two quarts), must be produced by
the parties tendering.
The samples produced by persons whose tenders are not ac-
cepted, are requested to be taken away by them immediately
after the Contract has been decided.
No tender will be received unless made on the printed form
provided for the purpose, and which may be obtained on ap-
plication at the said office.
Particular attention is called to the recent modifications of
the conditions of contract, which may be seen at the said office.
No tender will be received after Half-past One o'clock on
the day of treaty, and it will not be required that the party
tendering, or an agent on his behalf, should attend at the
Office on the day of Contract, as the result of the offer received
from each person will be communicated to hinr and his pro-
posed sureties in writing.
Every tender must be addressed to the Secretary of the
Admiralty, and bear in the left-hand corner the words " Ten-
der for Wheat," and must also be delivered at Somerset-
house.

LORD .211,4L3IBSBURY AND AUSTRIA.

(From the Times.)

We recognise to its fullest extent the force of the
verdict which has just been pronounced by the
Lower House of the Leoislature. Beyond all doubt,
any such decision is sufficient to overturn any Go-
vernment, to substitute one set of Ministers for
another, to banish one political party from power,
and to set up another in its place ; but it does not
deprive the Queen of her legitimate prerogative.
According to the Constitution of England the Queen
has as much right to confer titles and dignities of
honour upon whom she may choose as the House of
Commons has a right to say that this or that poli-
tical party must be removed from office because
they have ceased to enjoy the confidence, or rather
have been unable to obtain the confidence, of the
representatives of the people. The Sovereign may
exercise her prerogative unwisely, but that is quite
another question, subject to fair argument, and to
the reasonable comments which any public act per-
formed by the Queen may naturally call forth. Now,
it seems that at the present time, just as the Derby
Ministry are about to vacate their offices, it has been
resolved that the Garter shall be bestcwed upon
Lord Derby himself, and that the honour of
G.C.B. shalt be conferred upon Lord Maltnesbury
and Sir John Pakington. This decision has given
rise to a certain amount of discontent among the
more intense Liberals, but we really think this
discontent unfounded. The courtesies of political
life and the exigencies of the public service are
quite in accordance upon this point. A public
career must have its prizes, or the nation will be
the worse served; and these prizes must not be
confined to the barren tenure of office for a few
years or months, if we would secure the services of
our highest nobles and most opulent gentlemen.
To such persons the not very generous stipend
which we assign to our ministers of State can con-
stitute no inducement for taking upon themselves
the cares and anxieties of the great Parliamentary
struggle. We cannot turn them all into Peers at
the termination of their tenure of office, for many
of them are Veers already, and to others the dis-
tinction of the Peerage may be too great a reward.
Is it not a fortunate thing, then, that it should be
in the power of the Sovereign to confer upon them
certain honorary distinctions on which they set a
great value, but which can have no influence upon
the course f subsequent political events, and which
cost the nation not one shilling ? If there are any
persons who believe that to the country it would
be a matter orindifference that the richest and most
influential persons in private life should keep aloof
from a public career because it could hold forth no
glittering inducements in aid of their patriotism,
from that opinion we would very respectfully dis-
sent. The history of pre-revolutionary France and
the actual history of the United States may furnish
us with illustrations of the dangers which arise
from keeping in political obscurity those men who
in the absence of Heaven-born statesmen are the
natural leaders of a country. England must break
with all her traditions before we can arrive at such
a conclusion as this.

Why, then, should not the Sovereign confer the
honour of the Garter upon Vie Earl of Derby ?
Certainly, it is no business of ours to compose the
eulogy, or rather to write the honorary epitaph,
of a Minister whose public acts we have felt it
our duty so earnestly to oppose upon many occa-
sions. It is not, however, to be denied that Lord
Derby is the leader of one of the great political
parties of the country. More than once, and during
very momentous times, he has been the chief
director of our public affairs. Even now and for
some sixteen months he has been—we speak of
subjects—the principal person in the State. With
reference to the point of which we are speaking
we do not care to criticise his acts. It is sufficient
to state that he enjoyed the confidence of his
Sovereign, that he commanded a majority in the
House of Lords, and that if he has at last been
ousted from power by a majority of the House
of Commons, that
_majority has been a narrow
one. Surely sueh a man, according to the
honorary distinct
"on it may please his
cnstorns of England, is
which entitled to any mere
b said
.that
at he has
Lord Derby it must . e
high .
Sovereign to confer upon him. In justice to
His lineage and his
not been grasping.him, indeed,
.have removed him, indeed,
eies o .
f vulgar ambition ; but it
pfrrninnicetlyhe faoprtpuenteen
detract somewhat from his . _
u themselves for
should be remembered that, idfistihnetesreecsotendsnideesrsa, considerations
also constitute express claims i
Accordine, to custom, this lion
Royal such an honorary distinction
honour
itaheeonGfaerrit.eerei
upon the' members of our own Family,
upon t
p oiiiieland.foreign No n
Sovereigns,latter what the upon the
ohi.l„(arhwnaorbriloers
of
high unless r
ahnekhiand
or the counsels of a statesman may have been,
anybody venture Ptoeesraay"teh,Will
invest him with the symbols of this dignity.
the
elherited or had .won his way to a
is not found such an union of high position and
aitt ihnasno
Lordt been Der
buys utahle to
great ability displayed in the public service as
entitles him to be enrolled among the Knights of
the Garter? Had he been a greater and more pru-
dent statesman he might have remained Premier of

' England ; but surely he has done enough to earn
this distinction if he desires to possess it. The fact
that Lord Derby is now a Knight of the Garter
can have no effect upPn the public servi
He has received his reward—the very reward which
he had selected for himself. No man can know
better • than Lord Derby the value of the services
which he has rendered to the State. He vas a great
ornament to the House of Commons he is a great
ornament to the House of Lords. The reward which
he has coveted and which he has obtained is—an
ornament. Can anything more be said?
As to the distinctions about to be conferred upon
Lord Malmesbury and Sir John Pakington the
case is not quite so clear. Thus much, however,
is certain—that the honour about to be bestowed
upon them has lost much of its claim upon public
respect since the abuse of it at the conelusion of the
Crimean war. Lord Malmesbury may have been
the dupe of French Diplomacy; Sir John Pakington
may never have soared above the regions of com-
monplace ; but surely they are as meritorious public
servants as the Chelsea warriors Who were honoured
with the distinction of the Bath ! It will surprise
many that Sir John Pakington, occupying as he
does the respectable -position of an English country
gentleman, should have desired so unsuitable a
mark of his Sovereign's favour. But, after all, he
knows best. If he is willing to confront the little
ridicule of the matter, why should we be wiser for
him than he is for himself? The transactions at
Dover are so fresh in the public recollection that
Sir John Pakington must make up his mind to wear
his blushing riband with corresponding 'embarrass-
ment in his ingenuous countenance. After a time
the riband will remain and Dover be forgotten, and
then it will be well with the new G.C.B. Lord
Malmesbury can scarcely 131; said to have obtained
any social advancement—political,._ady,ancenaeni
of course, out of the question—by his acceptance of
this somewhat questionable distinction. Yet why
should we grudge it him ? If he has done nothing
great, he has obtained nothing great. Some of the.
arguments which applied in Lord Derby's case will
apply also in the case of Lord Malmesbury,
although, of course, in a far lesser degree. If the
Queen is pleased to bestow such a mark of distinc-
tion upon a nobleman who has served the State
somehow or other for sixteen months, why make a
fuss about such a trifle ?

LOSS OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIP

HERON.

We have been favoured by the Secretary of the
Admiralty with the following report of this unfor-
tunate occurrence : .

" REPORT OF MR. R. MINDRY, GUNNER.
"COPY.)

" H.M.S. Victory, Portsmouth, June 10.
" Sir,—Being the only surviving officer from the
wreck of her Majesty's brig Heron, I have the
himour to report, for the information of the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, my proceedings
immediately before the wreck, and until my arrival.
on board this ship.
" On Sunday, the Bth May, I had the first watch
(from-8 to 12 p.m.) At' nine o'clock ;the captain
left his order-book. with me ; it ran as folloWs
' Course' N.E. by 'N.' Shorten sail on 'any ap-
pearance, of a squall, and oall me.' At midnight
I was relieved by Lieut. Porter, of the Trident,
who was taking passage and doing duty. The ship
at the time was under topgallant sails, single-reefed
topsail's; courses, boom mainsail and jibs ; going
1.8 ; a fine starlight night. •
"At five. the following morning, of the 9th, I
was thrown Out of my bed against the main ladder.
I rushed on deck, caught a rope, which had fallen
to Leeward, and succeeded in getting on the ship's
bottom, where I found a number of men. I imme-
diately called for a knife, when Samuel Handsford,
captain forecastle, cut away the foremast fall of the
weather whale, boat. The ship then sunk, leaving
the boat afloat, the after-fall having been cut or
separated, but not known by whom. Twenty.three
men and myself got into the whale boat. After
being in the boat about four minutes I saw a White
speck on the water making towards us. I then
gatelarders to keep every one off the boat, as she
was already overcrowded. When the white speck
was within a few feet of the boat I found by the
voice that it was the captain, and instantly took
him in ; the weather at this time was very dark,
and raining heavily.
" The captain was so much exhausted that I
kept charge of the boat for about 40 minutes, when
he, being partially recovered, and his wounds
bound up, took charge.
" When daylight appeared we found the boat's
crutches, and commenced pulling, keeping head to
sea. After about an hour John Waldren, ordinary,
said he saw a sail ahead, which was not visible to
any one else, but we all saw her about a quarter of
an hour afterwards, and reached her at 2 p m. We
were then taken on board the Irlam, a bark of Liver-
pool, from Calabar to Sierra Leone, where we arrived
at noon on the 16th. Capt. Truscott went on hoard
her Majesty's ship' Trident and reported himself ;
the Trident's cutter then took us out of the barque.
" On the 19th May we went on board the Ethiope,
African mail steamer, for passage to Liverpool.
" On the 29th May James Kettle, private. Royal
Marines, died; on the 30th Mr. George Haydon,
boatswain, died ; and on the 3d of June Capt. Trus-
cott died—all of whom were buried at sea.

"We arrived at Liverpool at 6 p.m., yesterday,
the 9th, when Commander Goldfinch forwarded us
on by rail to this ship.
" I annex a list of all the survivors who have
arrived with me—viz.: Alexander Allan, gunner's
mate; James White, quartermaster; George Pin.
horn, quartermaster ; Samuel Handsford, captain
forecastle ; James Bartlett, captain afterguard ;
James Waldikn, ordinary ; William Windover,
ordinary; James Gifford, ordinary ; Richard Hicks,
ordinary; George Gedge, ordinary ; John H. Kemp,
ordinary; William Becket, ordinary; Nicholas
Harvey, painter ;• Richard Gorey, boy, first class ;
Wm. Miller, drummer; Henry Anderson, private,
R.M.—I have, &c,
"ROBERT MINDRY, Gunner, 3d Class."

"List of Prize Crew belonging to her Majesty's
late brig Heron, left at Sierra Leone, on board her
Majesty's ship Trident :
" Lieutenant Chapman, in charge; Charles Hors-
pool, captain maintop; Wm. Rogers, boatswain's
mate (dead) ; John Spencer, leading seaman ;
Thomas Bowsy, A.B. ; John Osborne, ordinary ;
John Germain, ordinary ; William Young,
ordinary ; • George Beaver, ordinary; Reginald
Andrews, ordinary ; Alfred Dibden, ordinary ;
John Troves, boy, second-class; William Hurst,
private, Royal Marines ; William Bridgeman,
private, Royal Marines.
" Admiral WM. BOWLES, C. 8., Bze.,
" Commander-in-Chief."

THE TWO NEW NARSIIALS.

(Fro;n Galignani's Messenger.)

The following are some particulars of the military
career of the two new Marshals of France :

" Count de M'Mahon (Marie Patrice Maurice)
was born about 1807, at the chateau of Sully, in the
arrondissemont of Autun. He is descended from
an Irish family, which, after living with distinction
for many centuries in Ireland, risked all for the last
of the Stuart Kings. The M'Mahons, carrying

their national traditions and historic name to France,
mingled their blood by marriage with the old
nobility of their adopted country, and obtained
with the hand of an heiress the magnificent castle
and extensive estates of Sully. The present Gene-
ral's father, the Count de M`Mahon, who was an
officer of high rank, a peer of France, a Grand Cross
of the Order of St. Louis, and a personal friend of
Charles X., espoused a lady of. the ducal house of
Caraman, and left four sons and four daughters.
Of that numerous family the youngest is the hero
of Malakoff and Magenta. He was educated partly
at his father's, and partly at the seminary for young
men destined for the priesthood in that city. He
afterwards entered the military school at St. Cyr,
on leaving which, in 1825, he entered the French
military service, and in 1830 joined the army of
Algeria, where he soon distinguished himself alike
by his gallantry and intelligence. After the com•
bat of the Col de Terchia, in which he was the
aide-de-camp to General Archard, the latter said to
him, Can you carry to Col. Rullieres, at Bfidah,
the order to change his march ? As the mission is
dangerous, I will give you a squadron of light
dragoons as an escort.' The young officer refused
the escort, declaring that it was either too little or
too much, and preferred going alone. On arriving
at about half a mile from Blidah he saw groups
of the enemy's horsemen on each side, as well as
behind him ; but he went firmly on, knowing that
a deep precipice, called the ravine of Blidah, was a
little way in front of him. He there drove his
horse, a high-blooded animal, at the tremendous
chasm, and the animal, without hesitation, sprang
into mid air. The rider held his seat immovably and
escaped unhurt, but was obliged to abandon his
charger, which had its forelegs broken. Not one
of the Arabs ventured to take the desperate leap,
and the young officer reached Blidah in safety.
He rose rapidly through the different grades, and
attained that of General of Brigade in 1848. For
a time he occupied the position of Governor of the
province of Oran, and afterwards of Constantina,
and in 1852 became General of Div ision. In 1855,
when General Canrobert left the Crimea, General
M'Mahon was selected by the Emperor to succeed
him in the command of a division, and when the
chiefs of the allied armies resolved on assaulting
Sebastopol lie had assigned to him the honourable
and perilous post -of carrying the works of the
Malakoff. The manner in which he performed that
duty is too fresh in the memory of our readers to
need mention, and his able conduct at the battle of
Magenta has now raised him to the highest rank in
the army. The Marshal married in 1954 Made-
moiselle Elizabeth de Castries, daughter of the
Marquis de Castries, and has by her a son born in
1855."
The following details relate to his companion in
arms :
" Count Regnault de Saint Jean d'Angely, com-
manding in chief the Imperial Guard, is the son of
a distinguished officer of the First Empire. He
commenced his military career under that Empire
as sub-lieutenant of the Bth Regiment of Hussars.
In that regiment he made the campaign of Russia,
and was at the battle of Leipzig. Both in the re-
treat from Russia and in the battle his regiment
suffered severely, and it was by a sort of miracle
that he escaped. In 1814 he was attached to the
Imperial staff, and was made a captain by the Em-
peror, for having distinguished himself in presence
of his Majesty before Rheims. On the return of
Napoleon from the Isle of Elba he was nominated
one of his Majesty's orderly officers, and he dis-
played such marked bravery at the battle of
Waterloo that he was made a Chef cliEscadron
on the field. After the downfall of Napoleon he
was struck out of the army list, but he joined
Colonel Fabvier in his expedition to Greece. In
1830 he was restored to his grade of Chef d'Esca-
dron, and was in 1832 appointed colonel of the Ist
Regiment of Lancers. In 1840 he was made major-
general, and in 1848 general of division. In the
revolution of 1848 he commanded a brigade of
cavalry, and Marshal Bugeaud declared of him that
he stood by the King to the last. In 1849 he com-
manded the troops forming the expedition to
Rome. Having been elected deputy of the Cha-
rente-Inferieure, he joined the party of the Emperor.
In 1851 he was for a short time Minister of War.