The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-23 00:00:00

TYRONE (COUNTY).

The• Derry Standard, a Presbyterian paper, says
that Major Blackhall, of Coolamber-park, county
Longford, is in the field as a candidate for county
Tyrone, on the tenant rights and Liberal interest,
and that he will be extensively supported by the
Presbyterian and Roman Catholic electors. Major
Blackhall is nd stranger to county Tyrone. He is
an extensive landed proprietor in that county, and
a member of the grand jury, so that his claims are
sustained by local connection and by local interest.

WATERFORD (COUNTY).
Sir Edward Kennedy (Conservative) and Mr.
John Ball, late M.P. for Limerick City, are both
canvassing the electors. It is not yet altogether
certain that Mr. Power retires. Mr. Esmonde is
again in the field.

REPRES'ENTATION OF EDINBURGH

Mr. Black, who solicits re-election by the city of
Edinburgh, and Mr. Moncrieff, who withdraws from
the Leith burghs to offer himself for the city, held a
meeting with the electors in the Music-hall there on
Wedaesday. The Lord Provost presided.
Mr. BLACK at some length vindicated the resolu-
tion of 11,ord John Russell, on the ground that it
was of essential importance to decide first on those
principles which gave a character to the whole
bill. Had it, he sail, been thrown out on the
second reading, seeing it contained some good
clauses, then the opponents of the measure might
have been censured for objecting to reform and to
what was good in the bill. On the other hand,
had. they permitted it to go into committee to be
discussed clause by clause, it would only have been
a waste of time. If the Liberals and the Ministry
each continued firm to their principles, it must
have been thrown out at last or abandoned by the
Ministry after weeks or months of fruitless wrang-
ling. The Reform Bill of 1832, supported by an
undivided Ministry and with a majority of more
than a hundred at their back, was retained strug-
gling its way through the House of Commons from
the 15th of June to the 22d of September, though
at last agreed. to by a majority of 109. Well, then,
what would have been the fate of this bill with a
majority against it ? The resolution of Lord. John
Russell was not only the most convenient for the
House of Commons, but ought to have been con-
sidered the most favourable for the Ministry them-
selves. The main principles were brought forward
to be tested at once, and the decision upon them
was most remarkable. On the Opposition side ofl
the House there was a unanimous opinion against
them, and on the Ministerial side of the house, ex-
cepting the Ministers themselves, no man spoke in
favour of them. In short, I never saw a more
unanimous opinion expressed than on that occasion
against the principles of the bill which were struck
at by Lord John Russell's resolution. From the
course the Ministry adopted. they must have made
up their minds that if they were in a minority they
would either resign or dissolve the Parliament.
They did dissolve ; and who is responsible for all
the unnecessary turmoil in the country, and the
serious injury to trade, and the dangers, arising
from the threatening state of affairs in Europe ?
Had the Ministry yielded as they ought to have
done to the unequivocally expressed. opinion of the
House of Commons, there needed. to have been no
dissolution. Lord. J. Russell's resolution was carried
by a majority of 39 ; the second reading of the Edin-
burgh Annuity Tax Bill by a majority of 40. (Cheers
and hisses.) There is something curious about this
majority of 39. I sometimes amuse myself with
analysing the divisions on important questions ; on
this I found there was a majority' of 17 among the
Scotch members—(cheers)—but these were neutral-
ised by the Irish members, who gave a majority of
16 to the' Ministry, a number of the Liberal
Catholic members voting contrary to their usual
policy. (Hear, hear.) What could have been the
cause for this ? Is it possible that this ultra-
Protestant Ministry, the men who have uniformly
resisted even the just claims of Catholics and Jews,
could have resorted to any unworthy promises and
compliances to secure a few votes ? (Hear.) Had
there been no Irish members in the house, the
English and. Scotch would have given a majority of
55 ; and. if all the Liberal members had voted, as
they ought to have done, the majority would have
exceeded 100. (Cheers.) Bit it is one of the
reproaches brought against 'the Liberal party, and
not unjustly, that they are a rope of sand—that
they have no cohesion. With this they were
taunted again and again from Ministerial benches.
The fact is, we are too independent ; every man
must follow his own individual notions. The Tory
party are a compact, well-disciplined army. We
are made up of different clans and volunteers, every
one thinking he has a right to fight for his own
hand, sometimes on one side, sometimes on the
other. The consequence is, although we are the
majority, we are generally beaten, just as a dis-
jointed army, especially if under discordant leaders,
are sure to be discomfited by well-disciplined troops
under leaders acting in concert. There is often a
clamour raised against " party men," but, gentle-
men, let me tell you there is a large and a powerful
party against you, and unless you can form a party
lare-er and more powerful you must submit to
their rule. It is not the members of Parliament
who are alone to blame for this disorderly state of
your troops ; the constituencies are not altogether
guiltless. They sometimes speak slightingly or
reproachfully against a member because he joins
with others of similar sentiments who are generally
acting under the same leaders. They taunt him
with being a party man. Gentlemen, I make
bold to say that I am as independent as any
man in the House of Commons, or any man in this
room—(cheers)—and. I consider it my duty to act
In all great questions with that party who are the
supporters of Liberal measures, and I will act under
any leader who secures the confidence of that party,
and in so doing I am convinced I shall promote the
best interests of the country. (Cheers.)
Mr. MONCRIEFt', after an eloquent reference to
the past struggles for reform made in the city of
Edinburgh, said—Gentlemen, her Majesty's 31ini-
sters, in a great crisis of public affairs, in a position
both at home and abroad of very considerable
anxiety, have recommended her Majesty to dissolve
Parliament—to dissolve it before it has run more
than two years of its course. The cause of this
dissolution is an adverse vote of .the House of
Commons ; and, according to constitutional prin-
ciple, the dissolution must mean an appeal from the
vote ofthe House of Commons to the opinion of the
country. There is, therefore, a question asked
which the country is expected to answer, and that
question must be a weighty and important one. I
heard Mr. Disraeli say that so critical was the state
of our foreign affairs that even our debating his
Reform Bill had weakened the friends of the
Government. And yet' there is a question which
the country is expected to answer, so pressing and
so momentous that, notwithstanding the state of
our foreign relations, her Majesty's Ministers have
advised the Crown to take the sense of the people
upon it. Gentlemen, upon former occasions when
a dissolution took place under such circumstances,
the question sent to the country was a very clear
and distinct one. In 1831, when another Reform
Bill was rejected, the sense of the country was ap-
pealed to on the clearest of all issues, and it gave
the clearest of all answers; and in the same way
in 1857, when Lord Palmerston appealed to the
country from the vote on the China war, there was
no doubt as to what the question was which the
country was asked, and there was as little doubt as
to its answer. But here, when I turn to the first
thing that we must attend to in such a case, and ask
what is the question which the country is to answer,
I declare I am totally at a loss, If I look to the
account given of it by the Prime Minister in his
speech,*liere I should have expected to find it, I find
that the question which he was most anxious about
was whether he or Lord John Russell had been the
most liberal, useful, and consistent politician. Gen-
tlemen, if that were the question, I suspect the
country would have very little difficuty in giving
it
Conservativear Cl. anStalvn elre.y Premier 0(
Crheiers.) I should say that for the
Lo
e fßeformlBs9,
withßill
lofsulpBp3o2s—e
thethe
repeated cheers of all the survivors of that House
of Lords who • did not assemble to oppose that
Reform Bill in 1832--to put such an issue certainly

shows that his character for indiscreet courage has
not been unjustly earned. (Hear, hear.) But,
gentlemen, although the Prime Minister chose to
put it on a personal altercation of that kind, though
he talks a great deal about divisions in our party,
he may depend on it that the memory of the coun-
try is much better than his own, and that they have
forgotten nothing of what has happened in the
interval from 1832 till now, and that they never
would think of placing• on the same level the long,
consistent, useful, and honourable career of the one
with the erratic, the volatile, and the fitful lead-
ings of a pilot, oquen4 indeed, and full of genius,
but trimming his casual sails to every. passing
breeze, and subsisting on the changes and impulses
of the transient hour. (Cheers.) But if we must
find some issue other than that, and if we go from
the speech of the Prime Minister to the speech
which he has advised her Majesty to deliver from
the throne, I must say my wonder is infinitely
increased. We are told that this dissolution has
taken place in order that the country may consider
the state of the country. That is all the informa-
tion you are given ; and the question you are asked
is, what is the state of the country ? The Prime
Minister thinks that the firebrand, for such it is, of
a dissolution and general election is to be cast
abroad, people taken from their avocations, and trade
injured, in order that the country at large may
consider the state of the country. (Hear, and ap-
plause.) Not a word about the Reform Bill. You
could not have discovered from that speech that
there had been a Reform Bill, but we are told
that the country is to consider its own state,
because two Ministries have successively lost
the confidence of the House of Commons. Gentle-
men, I say that that is as unsatisfactory an expla-
nation of the grounds on which this dissolution has
taken place as ever proceeded from a Prime Minis-
ter of this country. (Cheers.) But, gentlemen,
the two questions we have to consider are, first, the
merits of Lord Derby's Reform Bill ; and, second,
the merits of Lord Derby's Government. In the
first place, as regards Lord Derby's Reform Bill, I
do not know that there can be much doubt about
the answer to be given to it, for I know nobody
that is in favour of it, not even Lord Derby himself
—at least, I have never heard him say so—and cer-
tainly neither in his speech in the House of Lords,
nor in the Queen's speech, is there any indication
given of that kind. The truth is, that having been
defeated on this question of a Reform Bill they
throw it to the winds. They have nothing to say
for it themselves; their friends have nothing to say
for it ; and having admitted that they brought in a
measure for which they did not care, or which they
did not dare to stand lsy, they now come to dissolve
Parliament on some other issue which they have
not explained. They introduced a Reform Bill,
but it was a bill that had not one feature of reform
in it. It was a retrograde bill from beginning to
end. (Cheers.) It was a bill that could have Iso
effect but to increase the power of the landed pro-
prietors and of the aristocracy, and to diminish the
popular element; and here you have the reason
why, when this was found out, there was so little
said in its favour. Why, the bill was simply this
—the 40s. freeholders were to be put out of the
county because they were the popular element in
the county ; a £lO occupancy was to be given to
counties, without providing for residence or a dwell-
ing-house on the subject, which would have
enabled landed proprietors with tenants at will to
have made- just as many votes as they had acres
yielding £lO a-year, and these all out-voters, resi-
dence not being required ; and having done that In
the counties the bill introduces a £2 property fran-
chise in the burghs without requiring residence,
and you see how that would work in the smaller
burghs, and how many persons could thereby
acquire a vote ; by this means the Carlton
Club could have bought up, I believe, a very
large proportion of the burghs of England. That
bill, gentlemen, has met with its righteous fate. It
is in vain to tell us about coalitions and factious
movements ; it was a bill of such a nature as never
could have been read a second time in a reformed
House of Commons. (Applause.) It would have
been great treachery to the whole principles of true
representation if the House of Commons had ever
permitted that bill to go into committee. (Ap-
plause.) But it has gone "to the tomb of all the
Capulets," and we shall never hear of it again ; but
the question still remains, what are we to do ? Are
we to have a Reform Bill? I think we 'must.
(Cheers.) After expressing his desire to see the
question of Reform settled " when the sea was
calm, and the weather was fair," Mr. Moncreiff
went on to say :—"ln December last, addressing
my present constituency at Leith, I went back to
the Reform Bill of 1854, and suggested it as being
probably as fair a solution of our difficulties as any
other. I think so still. r think a £lO occupation
franchise for the counties, with residence—for that
is indispensable—and a-£6 occupancy franchise in
the burghs, would be a fair, reasonable, useful, and
beneficial extension." (Applause.) After some
further remarks on the Reform question the hon.
and learned gentleman proceeded :—" As to the
second issue, what are we to say about Lord
Derby's Government ? Is there anything in his
Government which it is so important to preserve
that Parliament should be dissolved in order to ask
the opinion of the country in regard to it ? The
truth is that there is a very important question
connected with that. It is not whether we are to
have Lord Derby's Government or not, but whether
we are to have any Government which, in this free
country, really deserves to be called a Govern-
ment. Are we to have this system of petty expe-
dients from day to day—a little support picked up
here, and a little support picked up there, and no
general principle laid down, or, if laid down, never
adhered to ? I believe that the country has long
grown tired of that kind of game. They see great
questions at issue; they see that great measures
are required, and they want a Government with
boldness enough to propose such measures, and with
resolution and self-reliance enough to stand by their
measures when proposed. (Applause.) Now, we
all felt when the Derby Government came in that
it deserved,as certainly it required, a deal of gentle
consideration—(a laugh)—and it got it. But, at
all events, coming in in that way, and trusting to
the leniency of their opponents, we might at least
have expected that they would have been reason-
ably moderate, quiet, and polite in their language.
Now, I must say, I have seen and heard with an
astonishment I cannot express the kind of vitupe-
ration which has been going on of late in this quar-
ter against what they call factious combination and
factious coalitions, and all manner of imputations
and improper motives launched at some of the best
and greatest men of this country; and for what ?
Why, because the Liberal party, who have always
supported Reform, thought proper to oppose a Re-
form Bill produced by a Government representing
those who themselves had always opposed it.
(Hear.) That is the great crime which we have
committed, and we are told that this is a factious
combination. But who are these gentlemen who
complain ; and how did they get into their present
position ? (Hear, hear.) It was the Conspiracy
Bill on which Lord Derby's Government came into
power, and yet they all voted for the first reading
of that bill ; and, moreover, I think Lord Derby in
the House of Lords encouraged Lord Palmerston
very strongly to bring in the Conspiracy Bill.
That was a question on which there was room for
difference of opinion, and there were about 100
gentlemen on the Liberal side of the house who
did differ from the measure on grounds which were
quite intelligible ; but the Conservatives supported
the bill on the first reading, and they came down
to the house on the second, and I will just tell you
what I saw. Mr. Milner Gibson made a speech of
great power, which was cheered loudly by those
who took the same view as himself and had voted
against the first reading, but it was received with
unanimous silence by the Opposition up to a par-
ticular period of the debate, when suddenly
cheers began to surge from below the gang-
way and above the gangway, and at last,
when Mr. Walpole got up to support Mr. Milner.
Gibson's motion, there was a shout from the
Opposition which rent the roof, as if a sudden con-
viction had flashed on their minds as by electricity,
and they had for the first time seen all the iniquity
of the Conspiracy Bill, and all the merits of Mr.
Milner Gibson's motion. Now, there was no diffi-
culty in understanding that. (Hear, hear.) They
made a combination for the moment—which,
of course, was not factious—with Mr. Milner
Gibson and the 99 Liberals, and so obtained the
reics of Government. But it is not for them—l
pe lset tohneyi-s
say it is very ungrateful of them—to speak of fac-
tiousness, for if we may not combine with Mr.
Milner Gibson and Mr. Bright I do not know on what
fibmuwndismtheaenGsotvoedrnomsoe.nt
ptlrieinqcui (t Ho
be (Hear.) r .)
carriedßu t
on ? I believe there is only one way, and that is
by the union of the Liberal
party. I see in that
party the elements of a strong Government, and I
see it nowhere else; but I trust that, however that
may be, the country will no longer allow its states-
men to degrade the high positicn of conducting the
affairs of this great and free country into a mere
miserable game of political chess." (Cheers.)
. A vote in favour of the two candidates was
unanimously carried, as was also a vote of thanks
to Mr. Cowan the retiring representative.

It is said in a letter from Vienna that in a recent
sitting of the Municipal Council of Pesth it was proposed,
in the event of war, to form a corps_ of volunteers at the
expense of the city.
A letter from one of the principal vine-growers
near Apex-nay says lam sorry to inform you that on
the morning- of the ISth all the Vinnyards in Champagne
were cut up by a sharp frost. There does not rtrril
be p,
in for
the present one, eighth of a crop, and the result wil
great failure for the year. We are .not yet out of danger
forthe remainder, and cannot be I?.fore the Mi(1410 4413.#
sneAtb.."

THE NEW Hi

":ARLIAffIENT.

---
Our readers will be glad to learn that the great
clock at Westminster is at least progressing towards
m clocls will soon
conveyletion
t.
hle
nimsapyriensgsitehnisthwaet
thebyno means intend
ctbooe
g:ngoing,
or that a considerable interval may not
yet elapse before it is completed, or even that it will
wevere
hbehcaosmgpivl eetne d r
iaste a
to
In
e. s
neh enspeakingessof a u
disputes, sb cwet
must guard ourselves, we suppose, against express-
ing any opinion at all. We only, therefore, announce
the fact that Mr. Dent's workmen have at last begun
to do that which should have been done long ago, and
that the mechanism of the clock is being put toge-
ther very slowly in the clock chamber behind the
dials. Unquestionably, for a clock whose history now
extends over 15 years, and which has been going
for nearly three years in Mr. Dent's factory, it is
no great matter to say that after all this time it is
at length in course of being sent to the very place
for which it was constructed. But little as this
may be in the way of progress, it, at all events, is
progress, which is more than we have been able to
say of the whole affair any time these two years
past. Before the clock will be really in going and
striking order many little difficulties, we believe,
have yet to be overcome. One is a contrivance
which shall catch the hammer of the great bell the
instant it has struck, in order to prevent the re-
bound again dropping it upon the bell, and lift it
clear from the side, that the vibration may not be
interfered with. This is, of course, a difficulty which
can be overcome, though devising and perfecting
the means will require time, especially with a clock
of such accurate construction that its striking is
guaranteed to be true to a single second. Another
difficulty is connected with the arrangements for its
being regularly wound. To wind it by hand labour
is almost out of the question. This monstrous clock
will require winding once in three days, and take
11,500 revolutions of the handle to wind it com-
pletely. Supposing two men to be able at such
labour to work continuously, and to make 800 re-
volutions of the handle per hour, it would require
141 hours of such exertion every third day. If to
this is added the delay caused by the men having
to make up the difference caused by the descent of
the weights when the clock struck (in striking 12
they descend six feet), it is not too much to esti-
mate the labour at 18 hours, instead (dl4/; or, to
speak generally, about four months of every year
would be spent in winding it up. Of course, Mr.
Denison will devise some contrivance which will ob-
viate this difficulty, and he can scarcely find a better
one than has already been worked out by Mr. James
and the indefatigable clerk of the works at the New
Houses, 11r. Quarm. By the plan of these gentle-
men the clock is made self-winding. When the
weights have descended a certain length they open
a valve communicating with a column of water
from the top of the tower. This water is let into a
cylinder with a piston of six feet stroke, which by
the weight of the water is forced up with the clock
weights to its full height. As often as the clock
strikes this hydraulic winder acts with the expendi-,
tura of a very small quantity of water. Of course,
when the piston is out to its full stroke the valve
communicating with the column of water is shut off
and the piston descends till the weights again reach
the level at which they require winding. The num-
ber of gas jots to illuminate each dial has been re-
duced to 38 making 152 burners for all. These, as
we have before stated, are so connected with the
mechanism of the clock, as to be gradually burnt
down with the approach of dawn each morning,
and burnt in full again as the sun sinks. All the
additional supports which were required for the bell
framework have been adjusted, and the frame of Big
Ben and his satellites is now as rigid as the tower
itself. A light ironwork staircase is being put up
to lead above the bell chamber into the upper lan-
tern of the tower, As we are upon the subject of
tt
uh
ne Ht
yo
oufs erse'
foefr
rPi
na rgl itaomtehnet we c
.we
ymoay fs taomkee
partst his p oofptohre-
stonework already, and the effectual method which
has been adopted to arrest this slow but sure de-
struction of one of the noblest edifices in Europe.
Notwithstanding the great care that was taken in
the selection of the stone used in the New Palaces,
it has undoubtedly yielded to atmospheric influences
in many places to a much greater extent than could
have been anticipated from the evidene6 of its dura-
bility, as shown in ancient buildings, and the results
of the chemical experiments to which it was sub-
jected before being employed. The commissioners
appointed in 1839 to select the stone to be employed,
after having, visited 103 quarries, in all parts of the
United Kingdom, and tested 36 varieties of stone,
and after having examined the 'state of many of
such specimens of stone in upwards of 100 ancient
edifices, recommended the stone which has been
used for its crystalline character, with its close
approach to the equivalent proportions of lime
and magnesia. It was found to absorb
182-1,000 of its bulk of water, while the
least absorbent from Chihnark was 053-1,000,
and the most absorbent from Bath 312-1,000.
This power of absorbing, of course, indicated the
amount of space between the molecules of the stone,
as the tests were all conducted under the exhausted
receiver of an air pump. The decay in this stone
which has already taken place seems to be confined
principally to the parapets where the stone is ex-
posed on two faces, in the water tables, tills, bases,
cappings, and plinths, and the stonework above and
below them. within the influence of the drippings
and splashings of showers, and more especially
where these parts are exposed to the south and
south-west winds. Sir Charles Barry considers
that a most fruitful source of decay is due to the
unusual and extensive use of Water externally for
purposes of ventilation, by which a considerable
portion of the masonry is rendered alternately wet
and dry, the most severe test to which the durabi-
lity of any stone can be subjected. The first symp-
toms of decay in the stone aro manifested by a
blackish discolouration, which appears to be caused
by absorption of the moisture and dirt of the atmos-
phere. The next stage is an eruption of a coating
of this discoloured material, under which thenatural
colour of the stone appears, but in a state of powder,
which continues from time to time to be removed,
and so occasions a rapid and constant disruption of
the surface. During the last four years no less than
six inventors have applied their compositions to
various parts of the building, for the purpose of dis-
covering by actual test the best means of defending the
stone from all atmospheric influences. With one
exception, all these inventions have failed more or
less totally, to effect their object. The one composi-
tion which has succeeded beyond all expectation is
an invention or discovery of Mr. Szerelmey's, a
Polish gentleman. What this composition is
is unknown to all except the inventor, but the
effect produced by the application of the almost
colourless liquid is perfectly marvellous. It
at once renders the stone unabsorbent of mois-
ture, thereby removing the primary cause
of all decomposition due to atmospheric -in-
fluences. It seems to fill completly the inter-
stices between the molecules of the stone with
an intensely hard flinty substance, which Mr.
Szerelmey declares will literally last for ever
against the action of the air. The secret, whatever it
is, was obtained from analysis and examination of
the flinty coating which has protected the bricks of
the Pyramids and the statues of Egypt for thou-
sands of years. As it is now applied in some parts
of the new Palace, it endures without change any
amount of heat and cold, and resists the action
even of the strongest acids. The colour of the com-
position is that of the stone-when newly worked,
and neither the granulated appearance of the sur-
face nor the tool marks upon it are obliterated by
its application, which is effecte I rapidly by means
of a common brush, as in painting. Many attempts
have been-made to remove the composition or im-
pair its effects by long-continued scrubbing with
wire brushes and water, but without making the
least impression on it. In reporting on the merits
of this composition to the Board of Works, Sir
Charles Barry strongly recommends its application
to all the external masonry of the New Palace as a
specific against further decay, and in a great degree
against all discolouration arising from the impuri-
ties of the atmosphere. The cost of applying this
composition to the stonework is only, ls. per square
yard, and it is an operation which is done as quickly
as whitewashing. Some of the river front (though
only very small portions), the Speaker's Court, and
one side of St. Stephen's hall have been coated; the
latter place for about two years and a•half, et the
composition is as clean, as flinty, and as unchanged
as the day it was first applied.
Another composition of Mr. Szerchney's, which
extensively used in the roof of the
a very cheap solution, called a gra-
niteNhaeswals o
Houses,be e n
is
composition, for the preservation of iron from
suss. This has been applied over the roofs of the
Clock and Victoria Towers, and the ironwork, both
wrought and cast, has thus been preserved as
bright. and even shining as the day it left the
foundry.
Both compositions, as we have said, have proved
themselves eminently successful, but ofthe two that'
which prevents all chance of rust in iron is thought
to be the mo,t valuable, as being, perhaps, more
generally required. Iron when thus coated seems
uttterly indestructible by the action of the die-
chisels a part of the seuiernfpearwcoechoefsnsuthsocefsciorwovnietrniisiti
silents, and even if immersed in sulphuric acid no
effect is produced. Its adhesion to the surface is so
tenacious that when small portions are removed with
iron
°lrelionisdiotsiter°enrdiseliNsN'Ni'tg°ll.lllaldt'oufaltTliyil' going fonvard, though almost
g
orn-
so eminently s'4ceessfUl.*
generally
removed
too slowly when the undoubted efficacy of the
ampeda;Zgprpvqtigg &pay been
so long tried