The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-19 00:00:00

ROYAL CREMORIVE GARDENS.

The season at these popular gardens commenced last
night. The beautiful weather and the promising an-
nouncements put forth by the spirited pr )prietor, Mr.
T. B. Simpson, raised the public expectations, which
were more than realised by the various entertainments
and the brilliant decorations provided for the visitors.
We need not, however, more particularly allude to the
improved appearance of Cremorne, as we gave some ac-
count of them on Saturday last.
The gardens opened at three, at which early hour the
spectators began to pour in, and s, on the extensive
grounds presented a very animated appearance. The
season opened right loyally by the performance of the
National Anthem by M. Bosisio's celebrated band.
This was followed by other instrumental performances,
and by a concert, in which it was evident that a
great addition of vocal talent had been provided. The
programme was so long and varied that it is im-
possible for us to notice ail the performances in detail ;
but the feats of Master Bond, the contortionist, are
worthy of espec'al mention, and the burlesque opera
scena, from " Lucia di Lammermoor," by a troupe of
real sable harmonists, was the finest "nigger" performance
we have ever witnessed, and excited shouts of laughter.
This was followed by a very excellent ballet pantomime,
arranged by M. Milano, entitled, " The Gipsey Girl ; or,
the Doctor in Love." The • scenery by Mr. Dalby : the
properties and costumes were of the first order ; and the
comic acting of Mr. Seymour. as a maid-of-all-work,
afforded infinite merriment. The leading dances were
performed by Miss Cuihnie, Miss Louise Leclercq, and
M. Milano, supported by a numerous and well-selected
corps de ballet. Before the evening had far advanced the
gardens were literally thronged, and when the illumina-
tions that have been added to the Chinese platform were
lighted up, the effect was surprisingly beautiful, and the
'audience spontaneously gave a burst of applause. A
very effective pyrotechnic display took place at an earlier
hour than usual, after which the pleasures of the dance
were entered upon. Mr. Simpson has every reason to
be proud of the auspicious opening of the present season.

SINGULSR RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—A railway accident,
which might have been attended with a serious loss of
life, occurred on the South Devon Railway on Saturday
morning. It appears that as the luggage train from
Exeter to Plymouth approached the Teignmouth station
at a moderate speed the poiutsman, from some uoex
plained cause, turned the train into a dead siding which
ii contiguous to the platform of the station. Tile result
was that the flagging of the. platform was torn up, the
stone pillars which supported the iron roof were knocked
down, and the roof fell with a fearful crash across the
line, while the engine, tender, and first carriage of the
train were literally buried in the debris of the booking-
office. The driver and stoker, seeing the approaching
danger, jumped off the engine just in time to save thei,
lives. The amount of property destroyed belonging ti
the South Devon Company is estimated at several thou-
sand pounds. Traffic on the line was impeded for up
wards of four hours, and the morning mail from Exeter
to Plymoutlr reached the latter town four hours later
than its appointed time.

(From the Daily News.)
When we yesterday intimated that it was the
intention of Government to burke, if possible, the
report of Messrs. Lake, Yolland,' and' Smith on
ForeigreMilitary Education, we wete well aware
that 'we had good ground for what we stated. We.
did not, however, calculate'npon'so epee ly and so
startling a proof of the correctness of our iufornsa-
tioe, or the necessity for our warnings. Sir De L.
Evans, yesterday evening rose :to express a hope
'that there would be no further delay in placing
-the report' in question in the hands of members of
the House of. Commons. A day or two before
the 'dissolution he had, he .said, been about to
'move that a copy of the report 'should be laid
on- the table, when he was informed " that
it was already ;irr print, and. would be
circulated immediately.' He had learnt that
it had been since circulated among the Lords, but'
•it had not. yet, found its way into' the Comsuons,
and he begged to know when its advent might be
looked for: Lord Palmerston's reply evinced
.either the most profound ignorance: the result of
def .ctive officisl cramming, or the most discreditable
desire to evade a plain question by an ambiguous
answer. A boar'd of military officers with the Com-.
manderi:in-Chief at its heads was busily engaged, •
said the-noble viscount, in the incubation ef a plan.
'When matured, that plan would be brought, before:
the honourable house ; but the honourable-. house
woulsishaselly desire to have-before them the mate-
:rials out of wLich the plan was to be framed, (spe-
cially when such materials mainly consisted of con- ,
fidential suggestions. Sir De Lacy Evans, upon
this,..suggeste 1 that there must have been soma mis-
take The report having been circulated in the
other house, could haruly be conSiderd confi-
dential. The indomitable viscount begged to state
in reply that he-would inquire- by whom it had
been circulated. It might have been by private
parties ; at all events be knew nothing about it ;
the hOn. member would perhaps get more definite
information, &c. Now, could Lord Dechnus himself
have done better than this? Thus it is that a Prime
Minister, when bent on suppression, can speak of
a State paper which, as Mr. Sidney Herbert took
care to remind him, was "a report of certain
commissioners appointed by Government
.t-a in-
quire into the state of the army." Will the Howe
of Commons—will the country submit to this sort of
thing ? Is the reform of the army—that reform in
the vigorous and effectual promotion of which the
whole community has so vital a stake—to be trifled
away by such official mystification as this ? The
Prime: Minister assumes that the house and the
public can have nq desire to acquaint themselves
with the materials on which the plan- for the,
future education of officers is to be bseeth other
words he assumes that they can have no desire to
possess the means of forming a judgment, whether
that plan is or is not adequate to its purpose, does or
does not come up to the mark of what other coun—
tries have achieved, and of what England ought to
insist upon having accomplished.
We do trust that upon this point a pressure of
public opinion will be brought to bear upon the
Minister, proportioned to the exigency of the occa-
sion and the importance of the object. The parti-
sans of Lord Palmerston glory in the fact, which
we are not concerned to deny, that he is• an emi-
nently practical statesman. The only consideration
with him- in bringing forward, or in refusing to
bring forward, any. measure, is simply this : whe-
tller the majority of the public demand it, and whe-
ther that which is proposed will pass. Lord Pal-
merston
will not lead the country—be will not sug-
gest anything ; but we believe, if he finds that the
feeling of the country and of the House of Corn-
-mons upon any matter is sufficiently strong, lie will
acquiesce in that feeling and give it practical effect.
Assuredly such conduct as this implies no very lofty
conception of statesmanship. But, nevertheless,'
amongst a free, enlightened, and' self-governed
people, it has its advantages. In this country vox
populi vox Dei.is a reality. In every community of •
menthe administrator learns that there are defects
in his administration by the complaints of those
who are subject to it—sometimes, no doubt, roughly
enough, as in Turkey, where a -Cown, in flames pro-
claims the necessity of reform. But-. in England,
where intelligence is so widely diffused—where the
press is free—where Parliament, besides the duty
of legislation, recognises the duty of discussion, the
Government is accustomed to receive authentic in-
telligence, not only of defects to be remedied, but
of the mode in which that result may be best at-
tained. Thus an English Prime Minister who, in-
stead of leading, waits to be led—who, instead of
suggesting himself, will give practical' effect to the
suggestions of others, has his value, and the Pal-
merston
view of statesmanship becomes reason-
able. At the same time it is obvious that if a
Ministry acts upon this theory, the public and '
the Rouse of Commons have serious duties cast
upon them. If the Prime Minister insists that he
is the mere servant of the country—the mere prac-
tical man who is to put into practical shape the
schemes of those whom he governs—if be renounces
the higher office of pointing out defects and laying
bare secret abuses, then it becomes' the imperative
duty of the people and the people's representatives
to make themselves heard, to demonstrate with over-
whelming power the necessity and the practicability
of such measures as they may deem essential t r the
public service, and to insist that :those measures
shall be carriel into effect. This is no mere ima-
gination. It is a reality, and Lord Palmerston's
own conduct gives it proof. Is it credible that his
lordship would ever have taken upon himself to in-
augurate the Civil Service Commission, by which
the iniquities of patronage have been so much di-
minished—to set on foot the competitive examina-
tion for admission into the Artillery and Engineers
—to advise the Queen to summon Sir John M`Neill
to a seat at the Council Board—to decorate Colo-
nel Tulloch with the badge of a K.C. B.—to pro-
mise a new Reform Bill even next secs on—to pro-
pose an alteration of oaths as a Government
measure—in short, to make a single change woich
he has made, unless he had convinced himself—
on some occasions, perhaps, somewhat° late in the
day—that he must either yield to the public
demand or abandon power ? When a man has few
convictions it is difficult for him to do violence
to them. .Wewill not say whether this observation
does or doe's not apply to the Premier, but we
must certainly do him the justice to remark that
the result of the changes which the public have
driven him to accept have amply justified their
summons to surrender and his readiness to give
way. The only conclusion is, that the same policy
which the public have hitherto found so successful
must still be pursued.
These remarks apply with especial effect to this
question of Army Reform. No truce must be
given to the Premier till this 'report is produced.
It is of vital importance that the members of the
house should be in possessien of the facts, and these
facts are contained in the report and the other do-
cuments moved for by Sir De Lacy Evans on Fri-
day last. Indeed, we desire nothing more than
that the first 40 pages of the report itself should be
carefully pursued. Upon that we are prepared. to
rest the case for an improved military education.
It is a remarkable fact that whilst no single voice
has been raised in Parliament,. or in the press,
against the changes advocated, there is an over-
whelming array of names in their favour.
Sir De Lacy Evans, one of the ablest and most
experienced of the military men of the day • Mr.
S. Herbert, formerly Secretary-at-War ;- and Sir
W F. Williams of Kars, are one and all committee,
both by speech and writing, to the same cause.
Mr. Palk, an independent county member, made a
deliberate promise, this very year, to' a.d.vo( ate the
subject ' • and. we doubt not that the courageous
logic of Mr. Roebuck and of Lord Stanley, and the
earnest fair-mindedness and purity of i ntention of
Lord Goderich and of Mr. Adderley, twill not be
wanting to urge the subject upon the Government.
It may also fairly be anticipated that the Duke of
Newcastle will lend his aid in the House, of Lords
to the furtherance of the same cause. But, further,
this is not a mere professional question— it affects
other interests besides those of the army ; it is, in
fact, a great branch of the general subject of edu-
cation. In this respect it deserves the support of
all those who profess their belief in the beteefits' of
education, and who have spent their lives i:a advo-
cating its diffusion. To Lord J. Russell, thinef ire,-
we appeal as-one of the most illustrious of theae advo-
cates ' • and we trust that, when the subject comes
to be discussed, he will be found in his place to
give his personal weight to the arguments in favour
of an improved Army. Education. As this is no
professional question, neither is it a party questions.,
This discussion affects more things than the army
and its results will lie felt when party distinction .9
are forgotten. It is in truth, a question the rieht
decision of which-has an important bearing on Cs?.
welfare and the glory of the whole empire.
In a subject so wide it is of infinite importune e
that public attention should be concentrated on or ie
or two salient points. Whether attempts should'ae
made at once to carry into effect a complete scheane
of Military Education it is perhaps difficult to say.
At all events it is absolutely essential that th