The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-16 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Westminster .Review.—Under the quaint and
somewhat questionable heading of " Wordline.ss
and Other-Worldliness," we have a sparking, but
hitter and otherwise exceptionable article en the
poet Young. Much of the criticism is unimpeach-
able ; but the apparent motive of the onslaught,
toget her with occasional bits of flagrant irreverence,
mir the reader's satisfaction in the perusal. "No
ram," we are told, "can be better fitted (than
Young) for an Estabiished. Church: He personifies
completely her nice balance of temporalities and
spintualities. He is equally impressed with
the momentousness of death and cf burial
fees—he languishes at once for immortal life
and felt " iivinga"—he has a fervid attach-
msnt to patrons in general, but on the
whole prefers the Almighty • . . To a clay
compounded chiefly of the worldling and the rhe-
torician there is added a real spark of Promethean
fire. He will one day clothe his apostrophes and
objurgations, his astronomical religion, and his
charnel-house morality in lastin verse, which will
stand like a Juggernaut made of gold and jewels,
at once magnificent and repulsive. Towards the
conclusion a contrast is presented between him and
the poet Cowper—the sum of which is as follows :
—" In Young we have the type of that deficient
human sympathy, that impiety towards the present
and visible which flies for its motives, its sanctities,
and its religion to the remole, the vague, and the
unknown. In Cowper we have the type of that
genuine love which cherishes things in proportion
to their nearness, and feels its reverence grow in
proportion to Vie intimacy of its knowledge."
Enough has been adduced to show the scope and
tendency of the article. An able paper ou the
" Capabilities and Disabilities of Women" is suc-
ceeded by a gloomy article on " English
Lave its
Oppression and Confusion." The writer offers
little hope of real and substantial improvement
until the people are better represented in Par-
liament, small and very slow reforms being, in
his opinion, all that at present it is any use to, ask
for. The dp,ctiption given of the existing state
of the law and the progress mad• towards reform is
anything but grateful to one's feeling of nationality,
and, what is more, to ono's sense of justice. The
" State of Parties in Italy since 1848" is the sub-
ject of one of the most rigorous articles in the
number. The writer foresees, sooner or later, a
renewal of the struggle between right and injustice
in Italy ; designates indifference to the issue as
" atheism," and asserting that we have never
grasped the Italian question in its unity ; essays
"to obtain from a brief survey of facts and docu-
ments, too little known, a clearer insight into it.'
The profound sacredness attaching to the idea of
nationality being demonstrated, it is said—" In
Italy all these sacred instincts and realities of race,
language, and cherished traditions were perhaps more
ruthlessly violated than in any other country in
Europe by the treaties of 1815, which our Govern-
ment has recently agreed, with the despotic Go-
vernments of Europe, to respect." Proof of this
having been given, "the natural result, we are
told, was seen first in a lat,nt, then in an open
struggle on the part of the populations the
Treaties of Vienna divided ln spite of
Governmental maps, Lombards, Romans, Tuscans,
Neapolitans, and edeilians continue to feel that they
are but part of au indestructible whole—the Italian
people. The prophecy of Dante, Petrarch, and
Machiavelli will be fulfilled, for the idea of Dante
lives in the hearts of twenty-six millions of Italians
suffering under a common tyranny, and united by
a common martyrdom. They seek to become, and
they will not rest till they do become, a compact
whole, and bear their just weight in the scale of
Europe. Napoleon comprehended this, and de-
clared at St. Helena that " unity of man-
ners, of language, of literature, must at a
future, more or less remote, end in bring-
ing her inhabitants under one government."
There is an idea at work. No local remedies, no
fractionary improvements or partial reforms will
consequently avail. "In England, from net un-
derstanding this idea, we have imagined Italy di-
vided into a variety of parties, but, in fact, the
Italians know that there are two—the Party of
Action, or the National Patty, and the Moderate
Party. . . . A glance at the late insurrections,
in different parts of the Peninsula, and at the
leaders who have arisen out of such insurrections
will show that all have consciously or unconsciously
tended to the realisation of the great idea, the
unity of Italy." The National party, it is said, is
eminently the party of the people, while the Mode-
rate party is composed of those who, despairing
of the Italians being able to free themselves
and vindicate their right to a national existence
in the face of Europe, seek to obtain through
diplomacy, from the Governments of Europe,
gradual administrative reform, and a slow and
partial amelioration of the tyranny under which
Italy now writhes. The treachery of Charles
Albert to the great Italian cause is forcibly ex-
hibited in a retrospect of the war of iudependence,
and the fact, that after such experience of the
consequences of putting their trust in princes, the
moderate party in Italy should still preach to the
people, that their hope is in the king of Piedmont,
is said not to he surprising. "We have seen that
they are men without grasp of intellect, without
first principles to guide them." Another quota-
tion, and we are done ; it relates both to the pre-
sent and the future. "There is in Italy a visible
progressive movement, and it is especially evident
since the Crimean war, towards the national party.
It counts among its ranks the working classes of
the cities all over Italy, and almost all the young
men who fought in Lombardi', Venice, Rome, and
Sicily in 1847, 1848, and 1849. One thing is certain,
that as hatred and abhorrence of A ustria is the
dominant idea of every true Italian heart,
whenever the National Party shall raise its'
flag for action ev n the great bulk of Piedmontese
will cease all talk of opportunity and diplomatic
arrangements, rally round the tricolor standard,
and forget all minor differences in the universal cry
of " Fuori de Barbari." Among the remaining
contributions maybe noticed an elaborate article on
the proposed " Revision of the English Bible,"
and another of more immediate interest, if not of
greater importance, on " Herat aid the Persian
war." The writer is of opinion, and undertakes to
sho.e an invasion of India by Persia is far from im-
practicable, and asserts that one fundamental
axiom ought to regulate all our policy in Persia
—to wit, that the day will come when she will
combine with Russia in molesting us there. Be
recommends our establishing ourselves in Candahar,
the real key of India, and which, according to the
best living authorities, could be reached at present
by an invading army from the frontiers of Georgia
with but little difficulty. Canclahar, to be_ sure,
belongs to the Affghans, but a little diplomacy
might
might put it in our possession—that falling,
said we would be justified in taking it by force, the
welfare of a few Affghans being as nothing to that
. of the millions of India.

The National Review.
An excellent number—the best indeed we have
seen of this newly-established review. To variety
is added the positive merit of judicious selection,
and a quiet power and comprehensiveness of grasp
have been brought to bear on some of the subjects
but too seldom met with in our periodical literature.
The mo.t noticeable article is one on " William
Wordsworth," which opens the number. The writer
manifests a subtle and masterly apprehension of
the genius of the poet, and a judicial impartiality
in setting forth his defects and merits. In order
to the comprehension of Wordsworth's matter, we
are told " it is absolutely necessary to understand
his manner first. There is no poet who gives to
his theme so perfectly new a birth as Wordsworth.
Not indeed that he discerns and revivifies the
natural life which is in it : but he creates a new
thing altogether—namely, the life of thought which
it has the power to generate in his own brooding
imagination. Thus he uses human sorrow, for ex-
ample, as an influence to stir up his own meditative
'spirit till it loses its own nature, and becomes—
" `Sorrow that is not sorrow, but delight,
And miserable love, that is not pain
To bear of, for the glory that redounds
Therefrom to human kind and what we are.'
It is this strange transmuting power which his
meditative spirit exercises over all earthly and
human themes, that gives to Wordsworth's poems
the intense air of solitude which everywhere per-
vades them. He is the most solitary of poets. . .
In solitude only could they have originated, and
in solitude only can they be perfectly enjoyed.
Natural rays of feeling are refracted the
• • •
moment they enter Wordsworth's imagination. It
is not the theme acting on the man that you see,
but the man acting on the theme." Going bc_paclakina,
mind.little, we,,
Ifitudwatrinksieufbadteaszeipttihoantoifafthae poet's
Englishman, though steeped in the dim light of
constant meditation, a piercing
though gifted with
though narrow imaginative force." Theeaertlincleg
however, is of too continuous a character for brief
extracts to do justice to its merits, or those of its
subject. A paper on " The Relations of Art to
Religion" appears to have been written under
Ruskinian inspiration. " Balzac in Pantoufles" is
the title of a clever article, in which the peculiari-
ties of that eccentric author are
of
airooicnttaentoo_onfs. thnoesenneipsti
faculty
pre-
sented. The , • . graphically
meat," his offs •
may live, but that th _,4 biz
offspring bemg createdaolinnao"ntdinSthaetnlitnbethdive:
ey may calculate.
Spurgeon and his Popularity" are candidly cent
dered, not however in the precise spirit or with the
exact exact results his more sympathetic adreir.ersapirit
likely to approve. " The Literature r
Rapping" supplies an entertaining PaPer:were the

result not a humiliating expose of this most extra-
! vagant "bit of humbug." The remaining Prticles
include "Latham and Grimm on the Ethnology of
Germany," " The Credit Mobilier, and Banking
Companies in France," " Striiuks and German
Hellenism," and "The Slave Empire of the West."
The writar of the last holds forth but little hope of
the extinction of Slavery in the United States, and
in pointing out the duties of this country, expres3e3
the wish that our Indian authorities may sti,nula e
to the utmost the growth of cotton in tie Es, .t, so
as to relax the tension of product on, and the rush
into fresh fields in the tropical st ttss of America,
and to set fre 3 tti e tnor4l sympathies of our mer-
cantile classes at home from an oppressive reci-
procity with the planters' interest. To which we
add a cordial—Amen I

MR. WARREN, M. P., ON THE INCOME
TAX.

On Saturday afternoon last, a meeting on the
subject of the income tax was held at the Tows
Hall, Midhurst, the High Bailiff in the chair, at
which Mr. Warren attended, and addressed Lis
constituents for upwards of an hour, in a speech
which was listened to throughout with the deepest
attention. He was the first person to communi-
cate the intelligence in the borough that the ‘• War
Narepence " had fillen—lan announcement which
was welcomed with great cheering. He stated
that he had been in his place in the House till it
rose on the preceding evening, and had listened
with painful. attent'on to the elaborate and pro-
tracted statement of the Onancellor of the Ex-
chequer--who had cansumed three mortal hours
before he came to the only point of interest to his
eager auditory—the 'war niuepence—which was
then announced to have been at last surrendered to
the unanimous demand of public opinion. But
that surrender had been greatly accelerated, if not
occasioned, by the determined attitude assumed by
the Earl of Derby, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Glad-
stone ; and Mr. Warren commented in very fer ling
terms on the absence of any allusion in the Queen's
Speech, to the patience and magnanimity with
which the people had borne the enormous burdens
of the war taxation. After explaining the nature
of Mr. Gladstone's comprehensive and final se tie-
ment of the income tax question in 1853, iu order
to extinguish that intolerable tax in 1860, and com-
menting sarcastically on the sudden and precipitate
reduction of the estimates, which yet required to
be rigorously scLutinised, with a view to its fur-
ther reduction ; and pointing out that by inflicting
the sevenpenny tax for the next three years, Mr.
Gladstone's compact had been violated—Mr. War-
ren proceeded to denounce the income tax with
great vigour, as totally indefensible, except as a
desperate remedy for a desperate disease. He spoke
of its original imposition in 1842, professedly for
throe years only, as very strongly savouring of
misrepretentatiox and bad faith, having regard to
the then declared object of simply enabling
Sir Robert Peel to place the fiscal and commer-
cial policy of the country, by a prodigious effort
on a new footing, which would admit of .1
speedy extinction of the tax. Mr. Warren paintea
an affecting picture of the anxiety and privation
occasioned to the earners of limited and precarious
incomes—the comforts and conveniences of which

they were despoiled—the opportunities and. advan-
tages which they were forced to undergo, while it
was "in va'n to rase up early, to sit up late, and
eat the bread 'of sorrow." He said that all tho e
classes suffered a like —pi,oft ssional men, trades,
farme s, merchants—the energies of all were cruelly
cramped, and those energies all the while " pefsh-
ing in the using." How many of intellect, of
genius, of virtuous pa ience, high princple, and
resolute fortitude I,ad been palsied and driven to
desperation by this cruel and unjust tax 1 " And
while," said the honourable and learned member,
"the Chancellor of the Exchequer looks compla-
cently at his sixteen millions—the produce of his
income tax—l regard it, very differently, at a sick-
ening exponent of an immense mass of silent suf-
fering—of he)rt-wrung anguish on the one hand,
and on the other of enormous frauds. The income
tax is at once breaking the spirit end corrupting
the morals of the middle classes, on whom it ope-
rates with so tremendous and relentless a pressure.
It wounds their honest pride, it tempts into unc3n-
scientiousness. The exposure of private affairs
which it entails is insufferable : a man's most criti-
cal condition is revelled, it may be, to his next-door
neighbour and rival. In fact, this tax comprises
every characteristic of a vicious tax—it is unjust, it
is oppressive, it is inquisitorial, it is inconsistent
with the free spirit of Englishmen, and the voice of
the country is calling out to it—begone I" Mr.
Warren then entered into a general explanation of
the Budget, and. said that he had no doubt it would
on Monday be subjected to a thorough and un-
sparing criticism, in which (as we undtrstood the
honourable and learned gentleman) he might him-
self take part, only for his reluctance to speak too
frequently in the House. At the close of his ad-
dress, which was received with loud demonstrations
of applause, several `resolutions were passed con-
demnatory of the income tax ; and the meetiucr-
7rhich was a very influential one, and unanimousiu
its condemnation of the income taxs and cordial
thanks to their member for his promFtness in
coming down to announce the aboli•ion of the
" war Mnepence"—broke up, after a vote of thanks
to the High Bailiff.

THE WIDOW ALLSOP.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,—l shall feel obliged, if you will, at your
earliest convenience, give me a place in your paper
for this letter, it concerning a matter of public in-
terest.

On the 10th in,t. you publishei [in our report
from the police court] a letter from Eliza Alhop,
the consequence of wh4ch was thata large number of
letters have been sent to me containing money f.f
her.

At the time 1 mentioned Mrs. Allsop's case to
your reporter an officer had been sent to her resi-
dence, and I was much impressed in her favour ;
but I have since had good reason to believe that I
have been greatly deceived, and an attempt has
been made in your police reports to s'op any more
of these lett.zs ; but this having failed, as they
continue to come from all parts of the country, I
flan feel greatly obliged if you will allow me to
take this mode of requesting that no more money
or letters may be sent for Mrs. Allsop. 1 reserve
all the money, together with the letters, for t' e
present, and when the case is completed the putili-,
through you, shall be informed of the result.
But there is connected with the subject a matter
that has pa;ned me much. I allqde to the attacks
that have been made in some papers upon his
Royal Highness Prince Albert, and it is belonging
to truth and justice that they should be contr.).-
dieted as soon as possib'e. I have reason to know
atti
itnhi
gmaa his n
.lr
si bi.
indiscriminating llorttipaomntiihnea;
petitionedt publicbi
n but surely
hand
ifash;he were
awhneear we
lot no
know
dnB4l
ht
aatilbnstedoe
that his Royal Highness distributes his charities
twdwhoii
early as
that according to the directions laid down for The
invariable guidance of those intrusted with the
d'stribution of the charity of the Queen and the
Prince, Mrs. Allsop's case appearing to be one de-
rerving assistance was inquired into in 1848, and
her petition was reported upon by the Mendacity
Society, for whose valuable aid in the recommen-
dation of deserving cases and the detection of im-
posit:on the advisers of the Prince are under great
obligation.
This petition was the first of a series of begging
letters which has continued ever since.
'which she
The Mendicity Society made a long report in
1848, which states, among other matters, " That
you whether, ft
she is living in a common lodging-house, and de-
uce to'refuQe'
srsiNs-ezmhaerticsauiplypoprutresnutesir.eJy firrohmenbfeogilgoinwgs,
a very bad
account of her habits.
toa attend
rtethned
it was not she
oafpptealhe ':ri
unfavourable result of this inquiry,
imApenrdatnivoew,dsiruty, I
to her many and reputed beggingl . '
e ters
But I wishing to give her every chance, . very onal-
lowing her to prove, if she can, that- nee,
am
she ever had
any sons under the circumstances
her petition to the Prince there. she
states. In
is no mention of
any sons killed at Cab 1 u ; nor is there any mention,
in her petition to
Crimea. • And I have • communicated with several
Clergymen who have known
her for years, but who
never heard of these sons.
Can there be a doubt, air, as to the line of duty_
to be pursued in this case ? and yet his R o
did'ai
.
Highness is to be attacked for the course he
take. Surely the authors of these attacks will see
how untrue and unjust they are.
bedour of this letter.
Pray, sir, excuse the
our obedient servant,
I have the honour to be Y
ic .....
, E. BROUGITON.
e Feb.'lir le , l4.
Police-court,
,aalbon___L____----.

. has been added to the Rcyal COMMIE-
Bar" gArtin the Statute
commissioners meet every
Commis-
sion for lequiry into and Common Law
courts, and the Courts of Assize, in the room of Baron
presidency of Chief Justice Lord
campboll, to bear evidence,and to decide upon the sub-
saltjdrdir9:;: under deceased.t
res
ject of theirlabours. Though they have come to no deci
szon respec.ting the number of judges in the common law
courts, it is understood that the present judicial staff
cannot be safely reduced. The business of the assize is
much more likely to be increased than diminished. In
fact we are likely to have a general gaol delivery three
times a year. The law commission have examined seve-
ral of the judges, and are about to examine the authori-
ties and representatives of Leeds, Manchester, Birming-
ham, &c., who are anxious to have the assizes held in
those places.

14,a1745
11-

SZT:V OFFICE, Seven, oTlock.

TATTERSALLIS.—(This Evening.)

LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE.
8 to 1 agst Minos
12 to 1 agt Hoptless Star
12 to 1 agst Omer Pasba
16 to 1 agst Weathercock
20 to 1 agst Jean du Quesne
25 to 1 agst Escape

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STAKES.
10 to 1 agst Mamas.

METROPOLITAN STAKES.
6to 1 agat British Remedy
10 to 1 agst Madame Rachel
10 to 1 agst Lady Malcolm
TWO TIIOUSAND GUINEAS.
sto 1 agst Layola
Bto 1 apt Vedette
Bto 1 agst Lambourn
CHESTER CUP.
12 to 1 agat Leamington
25 to 1 agst Claret
30 to 1 agat Yellow Jack
30 to 1 agat Rogerthorpe
66 to 1 agst Cotswold
66 to 1 agst Swyndel Dbygga

DERBY.
20 to 1 agst Blink Bonny
20 to 1 agst M.D.
30 to 1 agst Kent
30 to 1 agst Saunterer
40 to 1 agst Ack worth
40 to 1 agst Lambourn
45 to 1 agst Messenger

SPEECH OF THE EMPEROR OF THE

FRENCI-I.— ',This Day.)

OPENING OF THE LEGISLATIVE CORPS.

(BY B.RITISIT AND SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH.)

This day the Session of the Legislative Corps
was opened by the Emperor in person.
After some general remarks, the Emperor said
that the conflict between the King of Prussia
and the Confederation, having lot all belligerent
character, it might be hoped would soon
receive a favourable solution. That the
agreement between the Three Powers rendered
the continued occupation of Greaca unnecessary.
That the unfortunate differences with Naples had
their origin in the desire entertained by England
and France to promote the interests of humanity
and civilisation. The Emperor then enlarged on the
commercial activity of the c i►nntry, and the nature
of credit, which, while producing marvellous re-
sults, caused, he said, by an increase of specula-
tion too frequently individual losi. Thence arose
the necessity of watching its progress, stimulating
some, moderating others, and of enlightening and

directing the public mind. In regard t 3 the
Budget, his Majesty said that the cost of the war
would be entirely defrayed by past loans, and
that no additional loan would be required for
the current expenditure. After announcing
five millions proposed to be allotted for the
increase of SIDE.It (flit:ha salaries, he said
twat from January 1, 1858, the war tax
imposed nn the " Droits d'enregistrement," new
producing 23 million?, would be abolished, and
the deficiency met by a tix on persoml property.
The Cayenne criminal e:t tblishment is to be.trans-
ferred to Algeria, for sanitary reason?. His
Majesty concluded by saying, " I see for our
country a future full of hope. France, without
injuring the rights of any one, has t ikon iu the
world that rank which belongs t.. 1 her ; and
can safely devot3 herself to everything which. is
conformable to the genius of peace. May God never
cease to protaet France, and very soon may we be
able to say of our epoch that which an illustrious
statesman of our country has written of the CAl-
sulate, "La satisfaction etoit partout ; et qui-
qticonque n'avait pas dans le ca?ur les rnauvaises
passions, etoit heureux du bonheur publique."

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(This Evening.)

Tho LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wool-
sack at five o'clock.

LAW OF LIBEL.
Lord FAVERSHAII presented a petition from the
proprietors of the York Gazette, praying for an immediate
Llteration of the law of libel, in consequence of the cicci-
bion htely given in the case of Davidson v. Duncan.
Lord BROUGHAM also presented a petition from
'the Mftsrs. Baines, proprietors of the Leeds Me cury,
complaining of the difficulty in which they were placed
in consequence of the recent decision in the Court of
Queen's Bench, by which it appeared that the Ite, af-
forded no sound protection for publisher; either
of newspapers or of books, or of the speeches
or proceedings at ordinary ptiQ.c meetings, however
regularly constituted in case of any Lbellous matter
being reported.