The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-13 00:00:00

THE ONEIDA.

The sileriCe ofthe telegraph from Trieste respect-
ing the. Oneida, ,while announcing the arrival of the
Indian mail in Egypt, shows that. the ni'ssincr, Aus-
tralian mail packet had not arrived at Point de Galle
ou the 17th ult., nor at Aden on the 28th ult., nor
at Suez ou the sth inst., and she is therefore 29
days Overdue at all thoSe plac:is. As there is only
a monthly communication with the Mauritius," we
shad not have any, news from thence by mail packet
until the 26th ofthis month or, the Ist or. NI ay,
Many naval men 'are of opinion that the OnAda I,as
broken down, and put back to Aus-ralia. It mt us
lie "remembered that, only 13 days •plapsed between
the. departure
,of .the Oneida and Simla from Aus.-
tralia. Suppose '"the former -,broke dow;i" 1,030
miles at sea, it is not at all improbable that Captain
Hyde, might. consider that he could get back to
Melbourne quicker than he could get to the Mauri-
tius or‘Galle, and yet' might have been unable to
reach the first port until just after the departure of
the Simla. Great anxiety will therefore be felt for
the arrival of the European with the next overland
Australian mail, due at Suez on' the 4cl of this
month, and theniews of which will reach England
by telegraph from Marseilles about theist proximo.
It is fully expebted that the European will be
punctual to "her tithe: The mails on 13,:ard the
Oneida consisted of 861 boxes for Englan.d. from Mel-
bourne alone, containing 25,000 letters 41'1434,000
newspapers "; above 1,700 of the letters were
registered ones. She also had nearly 1,000
letters for India, ,some of them valuable and
registered ones ; and, a very large mail for Eug
land from the other Australasian colonies„

besides.the one from Melbourne. Altog-ther, per-
haps, her mail for England cblitained not less than
50,000 letters, many of them of great va.!ue, and
60,000 newspapers.
In answer to many inquiries with respect to the
passengers on board the Oneida, the Australian
and 1s ew Zealand Gazette supplies the following
'list :—From Sydney : Lady Dowling and s:!rvant,
Mr.. and M.S. Russell, Mrs. and Miss Wilson, Mr.
Moss; Messrs. D. P. M'Ewan, F. C. Ede; Lawson,
E. Norman Bremner, M‘Michael, R. L. Garland,
O. F. Logan Campbell, Assistant-Surgeon Popple-
well.. From Melbourne : Mr. J. and Miss Cum-
ming, Mr. J. and. Mrs. Nicholson, and family,
Agnes, Euphemia, and Lucy Dawson, Mrs. Taylor
and servant, Mr. David and Mrs: Carman, Mr.
Walter, Mrs. and Miss Laura- Powell, Mr. and
Mrs. J. Wood and child, Mr. Alexander Wood,
Dr. Rankin, Miss Richardson, Mrs. Reynoldss
Messrs. A. and H. Hallows, F. Wolk, A. M.
Lachlan, Callum, C. M'Donald, Francis Clerk,
James Makin, Peter Martin, H. Vantres, George
Mason, J. 3. Rearden, James Shepherd, Henry
Moore, James Laing, Abbot Adelman, R. H.
JeWin, A. Matheuson, George Bartlett, William
Gray, Murray Powell; P. M. Bachellor.

HANDEL FESTIVAL, CRYSTAL PALACE

This important undettaking gradually ad-
vances, and promises a result which, if the festival
of 1857 is to be simply a preliminary essay, to test
the poSsibility of still greater things in 1859 (the
centenary anniversary of Handel's death), will lead
to expectations with respect to the latter by no
means easy to realise. -
During the last few, weeks material progress has
been made. The metropolitan division of the
chorus, appointed under the direction of sub-com-
mittees for each vocal part—these Sub-commiitees
receiving aid•and counsel from competeot profea- •
sional advisers—has terminated in the selection of

1,100 picked voices. Each applicant for a place in
the chords, before being admitted, has been tried
at the pianoforte, the compass' and quality of voices,
proficiency ,at sight-reading, and other essential.
gifts being registered, so as to guarantee the ulti
mate choice of the most efficient. The ‘-‘1,100"

have already passed the ordeal of two rehearsals at
Exeter-hall, under the superintendence of Mr. Costa,
in choruses of " Israel in Egypt" and
:"The Mes-
siah" respectively and on Wednesday evening the
third oratorio, "Judas Maccaba3us," will be sub-
mitted to a similar experiment. The effect produced
in the first-mentioned oratorios was pronounced by
all present to be more than satisfactory. The
provincial branches of the chorus are funning in
the principal , cities and towns of Great Britain
under the guidance of professors and amateurs of
acknoWledged ability.'
The numbers and distribution of the orchestra
are already determined on. There will be 76 first
violins, 74 second violins, 50 violas, 50 violoncellos,
and 50 double-basses (in all 300 stringed instru-
ments) ; 9 flutes, 9 oboes, 9 clarionets, 9 bassoons,
12 horng, 12 trumpet and cornets, 9 trombones,
3 ophicleides; 9 serpents and bass-horns, 3 drums,
and 6 side-drums (90 wirid.instrunienfs)—a force
hitherto unprecedented. .
The organ, constructed expressly for the occasion
by Messrs. Gray and Davison, will be one of great
power and on an appropriately g4l,an.tic scale. The
instrument being nearly in a state of completion,
the swell and great organs were recently tried in the,
manufactory ; but, as there was not space enough
even in the very extensive premises of the makers to
put up the pedal organ, it could not be heard on that
occasion. What was tented, howeVer, was unanimously
approved by the connoisseurs present. The orrin
will occupy. a platform in the Crystal Pulses of 40
feet wide by 24 deep, which will not only afford
sufficient room 'for the pipes to
"speak, but ample
pas Sage between each division, so that any depart-
ment of the immense 'harmonious structure can be
approached without difficulty and at an instant's
ncitioe.• The employment of "pueutnadc" action
will insure immediate responSe to' the touch, and
thus materially assist the exertions of -the per-
formance. The erection of the organ at the Crystal
Palace is to begin on Wednesday morning. The
weight of the new instrument will be somewhere'
about 20 tons, which, as it is to remain a fixture,
will demand a platform of the most solid and durable
nature. 'A
list of the stops, &c., may probably inte-
rest the vast number of our readers who are eitherl
players upon the organ, or admirers of it, as the
chief instrumental representative of sacred music.
We therefore append the following resume, premis-
ing that it has. four rows of keys—CC to A in alt.
Groat Organ—Double open diapasou, 16 feet, double
ditleiana 16 feet, open diapason 8 fret, flute a PariPon
8, claribel flute 8, flute harmonique 8, flute octaviante4,
twelfth 3, super-octave 2, flageolet harmonique 2. Mix-
ture, four racks—Furniture 3, cymbal 5; 'contra-trom-
bone .16, posanne' 8, trumpet 'harmonique 8, clarion 4,
octavo-clarion 2.
Pedal Organ—Contra-hass 32 fret, open diapason
(wood) 16, open diapason `(meta') 16, violin 16, octave 8,
twelfth 6, super-octave A. Mixture, four racks—Contra-
bombards 32, bombarde 16, trumpet 8, clarion 4.
Choir Organ—Bourdon 16 feet, gamba 8, salcional 8,
voix celeste 8, clarionet 8, gems horn 4, claribel flute 4,
spitz flute 2, piccolo 2. Mixture, three ranks—Con Ang-
lais and bassoon 8, trumpet 8.

Swell Organ—Bourdon 16 feet, open diapason 8, vox
humans 8, kdraulophon 8, concert lute 8, octave 4, flute
octavianto 4, twelfth 3, super octave 2. Mixture, four
ranks—Furniture 3; piccolo harmonique 2, contra-fa-
gotte 16, cornopean 8,, oboe 8, clarion 4, echo-troutha 8.
Trernulante.

Solo-Organ.—Flute• harmonique, 8 feet, flute octavi-
auto 4. Mixture—two ranks. Corno di bassaito, 8 ;
grand tromba' 8.
Couplers. Swells to great manual and to choir.
Super-octave and sub-octave—swells to great manual.
Choir, octave, and solo, to great manual. Solo, great
choir, and swell manuals to'pedals.
The above will give to those initiated on the sub-
ject some notion of the extent and variety of this
newitgreat work from the manufactory of Messrs. ,
Gray and Davison. Of its absolute quality we
must take another occasion to speak, 'since that cats
only, be adjudged by oral experience in the locale
for which it is destined.
Tbe'orchestra, already completed, occupies a space
of 168 feet in width (just 38 feet wider than Exeter-
hall), and 90 feet in depth. The seats for the per-
formers are gradually raised, one above another, so
that every instrumentalist and vocalist can have a ,
full view of their conductor. The band will be in
front, the chorus at the back. The aspect presented
by this gigantic superstructure, crowded from roof to
base With singers and players, can hardly fail to be
one of the most imposing description. The whole
is contrived on the most improved principles for
the insuring strength and resistance. The teams
of timber, screwed and bolted together (there arc
no nails), with their stage and struts and bearings,
present the appearance of a complete forest of-
woodwork. The two upper rows, allotted to the,
instrumental department of the orchestra, will le!
consigned to the double-basses, &c. Between then e
and the seats intended for the' chorus that-cis a
broad avenue for passage to and fro. In short,
the accommodation is so judiciously arranged that
every Singer and player will be thoroughly at
ease, and thus better able •to give to the ensern6/c
the benefit a his talents, under favourableand cot n-
..
fortable cireum=tances, A photograph. of the
orchestra, by Messrs. "Nogretti, is on view, and
affords a capital notion of its appearance and pro-
portions.
,Up to this moment :we are informed that public
curiosity has been excited to an unusual extent,
and that the dispool of vouchers, entitling pea-

[PRIGR 4D. STAMPED 5D

sessors to a preference' in the choice of plmes
when the.regular tickets are issued,
.has been far
greater than was even anticipated. We sha7l fur-
ther report progress as occasion offers.