The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-07 00:00:00

CANTERBURY HALL.

The energetic proprietor, Mr. Holland, seems
determined to present to the Easter holiday-makers
a programme of an extraordinary nature, and one
altogether outrivalling any hitherto issued by the
management of any establishment of a like descrip-
tion. The new engagements embrace a great num-
ber of artistes, among whom we find Ethardo, the
great spiral ascensionist, who will give a new perfor-
mance, differing entirely from that which has rendered
him so celebrated. Two new ballets also will be
produced, the first a grand Watteau entertainment,
demon ballet, aided with splended scenery and dresses, in which
Miss Esther Austin, Mdm. Carle, Lilly Carle, and
second,
Herro nd a Carle, (
e German
from n
legendary Paris, will appear ; and the
pro-
duced by Mr. F. Evans, and supported entirely by
his staff of pantomimists. Then we are to have "The
Revels of the Athletes," supported by no less than 40
who will appear at
ognyemtnimasetso,nEtnhgelsisthagaen, d foreign,
and go through their perfor-
mance under the direction of Mr. J. Ellis. Amongst
the latest additions to the Corps of vocalists the
names of Louise Sherrington and Mr. H. Liston
will be found, whilst the services of Mr. Vance
and Mr. Hamilton have been retained. The brothers
Gerrard, the aerial gymnasts, still continue under
engagement, and so does Mr. Daniels, the negro
instrumentalist. The band of the establishment
has been greatly strengthened, so that Mr. A. Lee
will have under his direction an orchestra quite com-
petent to give due effect to the compositions of the
greatest masters. Such spirited exertions on the
part of Mr. Holland, the proprietor, is a strong
proof of his desire to give his patrons a first-rate
entertainment ; and as only very large audiences
can remunerate him for his great outlay, it is to be
wished that his endeavours may be rightly estimated,
and that he may receive that substantial reward
to which his untiring energy has given him a posi-
tive claim.

DAVID ROBERTS.—In 1824 Roberts exhibited, for
the first time in London, at the British Institution, and
also at the opening exhibition at the Suffolk-street Gal-
lery. The picture at the British Institution was a
view of Dryburgh Abbey, and afterwards engraved ;
and those at Suffolk-street were —oue, the East
Front, and the other the South Transept, of Melrose
Abbey. They were bought by Sir Felix Booth for the
sum of twenty-five guineas each—a large lump of money
to the rising scene-painter at that time. Another pic-
ture—the "West Front of Notre-Dame, Rouen"—also pur-
chased by Sir Felix Booth for eighty guineas, brought
Roberts one of his best and most valuable friends in
Lord Northwick, who wrote to him under cover to
Stanfield, proposing that he should paint him one of the
same size and subject, a little varied, and that Stanfield
should paint a companion picture of the same size,
both to be exhibited together next season. It
was a highly characteristic letter, generous, thought-
ful, and delicate; and when PIY time came,
that crucial test of a man's real nature, the generous
words translated themselves into corresponding deeds, and
instead of the £l.lO asked, Lord Northwick gave the
painter a cheque for £2OO, and won his heart for life.—
Dickens's " All the Year Round."

DEATH OF MR. H. WlDDlCo3o.—Playgoers Ni ill
hear with regret of the death of this popular comedian,
who expired yesterday, after an illness of some duration,
which had allowed but little hope to he entertaiced of his
recovery. At the Surrey Theatre Mr. Harry Widdicomb
was for a censiderable period an established favourite, and
at the Princess's and Lyceum Theatres he more recently
exhibited powers which fully entitled him to be spoken of
as a comec;ian of distinguished ability. Mr. H. Widdicomb
was the son of the famous Widdicomb so long associated
with Astley's in the days of Ducrow. He had been pro-
minently connected with the London stage for the last 26
years, and was about bi at the time of his decease.

PARIS, MONDAY, April O.

The Danish Minister of War is expected at Paris. 'This
item of news has given rise to much speculation, inas-
much as it is taken for granted that the Minister comes
here on the North Schleswig business. That business is
supposed to be one of the black spots no bigger than a
man's hand at present, but which, for aught that we can
tell, may overshadow the whole heavens. M. Emile de
Girardin has a short article in to-day's Liberte with
the heading, " Peace or War ?" The Liberte says :
"To this question, Shall we have war ? men
reply, No ; things (or circumstances) reply, Yes.
Will things prevail over men, or men over things ?
Echo says, Things." The worst of it is, that no
one can feel any confidence or certainty about the future.
The want of a responsible Government is most painfully
felt just now. The Emperor can make war without con-
sulting the nation. Marshal Niel is exerting all his
energies to place the Emperor in such a position that he
can do so on the shortest notice. Yet, after all, public
opinion counts for something, even in France.
The friends of M. Drouyn de Lhuys have abandoned
the hope of that Minister's speedy return to the Foreign
Office. They say it is adjourned until the autumn.
The Volunteers (francs•tireurs) are just now in a state of
agitation, in consequence of an order from the Minister of
War, placing them under the control of the War Office,
and under officers appointed by the Minister. The order
further states that in the event of the National Mobile
Guard being called out for active service, the Volunteers
will have the privilege of being employed for the defence
of their own homes, instead of being marched to another
part of the country.
There is sad depression in trade this year. In 1866 the
exports for the first three months were valued at over
£12,000,000. For the first quarter of this year they are
under £10,000,000, a decrease of nearly 20 per cent. The
diminution is greatest in natural products and raw materials.
To make the matter worse, we are obliged to enter
upon large purchases of corn. During the first two
months of this year we bought corn and flour to the value
of £2,680,000, as compared with only £240,000 in
1866, and we have imported cattle to the value of
£680,000, as compared with £300,000 in 1866. At
Marseilles, which is the chief port for corn, the number of
vessels entered during the first two months of the year
was 1,309, whereas in 1866 it was only 721. At other
ports there has been a considerable decrease in the number
of ships entered. Thus it is clear that we are spending all
our spare cash, and more than we can well spare, upon
the first necessity of life.
What do your readers think of Paris becoming a sea-
port? M. Aristide Dumont has been lecturing on this
subject at the Ecole Centrale, under the auspices of the
Association Polytechnique. His plan is to excavate an
enormous basin at Gennevilliers, which would be sur-
rounded with docks, warehouses, and all the appliances of
a great seaport. He would connect this port with the
Atlantic at Dieppe by means of a canal passing by Gisors
and Gournay, and would n ake use of the Seine where-
ever practicable. At present the distanco, by water, of
Paris from the sea is about 220 miles ; by the canal it
would be 102. M. Dumont reckons the cost of his scheme
at 160 million francs (£6,400,000), and he believes that
this expense would be defrayed by the dock (hies that
would be imposed. A grand scheme, this, no doubt ; but
I question if the Parisians would care to see their city—
n'ow the show capital of the world—converted into a second
Liverpool.

The chief theme of the Abyssinian correspondence is
Colonel Phayre and the little mistake made by him in the
matter of the roads. That a soldier of Colonel Phayre's
experience should have made the mistake of working for
a fortnight on a bad road while there was a good one
almost under his hand, appears to be inexplicable. The Com-
mander-in-Chief is said to be very angry, as it was his
special ambition to get forward quickly. The next
favourite topic of discussion is that raised by "A British
Taxpayer" in the English papers, whether 3,000 men could
not have conquered 'Theodore as well as the present large
force. Seeing that those in Abyssinia have better means of
judging than we at home, the declaration unanimously made
that the small force would have inevitably failed is worthy
of note. Again : it is asserted that the native tribes have
been friendly only because they were afraid of us. The
fierce Gallas have been ready to help rather than
annoy the army, simply because it was strong enough
to keep them in order. Still, there seems to be • a feel:ng
that we shall receive some compensation for our expendi-
ture. It is suggested that we might open the country to
trade. The repugnance expressed some time ago at any-
thing like occupation of the country seems, since its
resources have been made known, to have given place to a
wish to utilise the place, and by some means to open it to
Europeans. One of the correspondents mentions that the
style of paying for everything adopted by the commis-
sariat has led the natives unanimously to express hopes
that we should take possession of the country and become
their masters.

The Calcutta correspondent of the Times has made a
visit to Bombay, whence he writes his last letter. He
says that he has made the journey in 4 days, with
his heavy luggage, in perfect comfort. The whole distance
is 1,537 miles, of which only 161 are destitute of railway
communication. When the line is completed to Jubbulpore
the Government propose to run an express daily, from
Calcutta to Bombay, in sixty hours. As, however, travellers
will scarcely care to rush through the country at this rate,
it is most likely that the express will be only a
weekly one for the despatch of mails. At present
the traveller, on arriving at Jubbulpore, finds a " horse
dak," or roomy sleeping carriage, drawn by two small
horses, changed every six miles. The correspondent gives
a deplorable account of the Nagpore line. There is hardly
a bridge which has not given way. Contractors, engi-
neers, and Government blame each other; but, whoever
is to blame, the folly and the fraud have been gigantic.
For instance, the traveller can see how arches have been
merely faced with masonry, the thin ends of the stones
being turned inside, and the hollows filled up with rubble.
The Thull Ghaut is, fortunately, in good order. A descent
of eight miles is made in forty minutes, through thirty-
eight tunnels, and over viaducts, the steepest gradient
being one in twenty-nine.
Speaking of Bombay, the correspondent says it is diffi-
cult to imagine whither the 80 to 100 millions sterling
poured into Bombay (in addition to the ordinary price of
cotton) has gone. Of all the gigantic schemes of land re-
clamation there is scarcely any which has survived the
great crash. The Parsees were the heaviest losers. Still,
there was one class that gained. All testimony bears out
the belief that the peasantry have freed themselves from
centuries of hereditary debt, from the grip of the usurer,
from the peculation of the petty bazaar dealer. They now
sell their own cotton direct, and at a far better price.
Consequently they live more comfortably, and are educa-
ting their children. It must be admitted, too, that sani-
tary matters have improved. Bombay no longer rivals
Cologne in the fragrance of its drains. As a consequence,
cholera is a far less frequent visitor. Bombay has its
Baron Haussmann, a Mr. Crawford, a near relative of the
member for London. He is doing much both to improve
and to beautify the city. Yet though Bombay has au
admirable supply of building-stone, it is far behind Cal-
cutta, which has no material but bricks. Bombay ought
to be the Edinburgh of India ; it is only its Dundee.
The flag of the Hanseatic Towns has disappeared. This
flag 500 years ago was owned by no fewer than sixty-six
cities, and the Hansa (Union) was at that time a powerful
association. Thirty years' war destroyed its strength, and
for more than 200 years this association has comprised
only three towns of importance—Hamburg, Lubeck,
and Bremen. On April 1 the old flag was hauled down
and the new Federal ensign was hoisted.
Speculations are gradually verging into certainties, and
it appears to be generally understood that the Cabinet will
hold together and prolong their resistance to their Liberal
assailants. A dissolution of Parliament is now out of the
question. The Standard is now of opinion that
since a real appeal can be only to the new con-
stituencies, the inference is that Mr. Disraeli has
a right to await their decision, and in the mean-
time to press those measures which are necessary to
enable them to exercise their rights ; not that he should
resign without al peal. Indeed, he has no right to do so ;
he has no right to treat the ver,:ict of the existing How:
of Commons as decisive of a great constitutional question
suddenly raised and pronounced on by surprise; it is his
duty to reserve the question, unprejudiced by the factious
move of his opponents, for the reformed constituency of
1869. This he must do at any cost.
Testimonials are just now the order of the day. Last
week the Liberal ex-whip received a handsome one. Now
there is a proposal broached in the Conservative journals
of a presentation to the Earl of Derby, "for the great and
distinguished services he has rendered to the country."
The Coroner for South Cheshire, a Mr. Henry Churton,
recommends that a committee be in.mediately formed for
the purpose of giving practical effect to the suggestion,
which he is sure would be responded to by men of every
shade of politics. Going into detail in order to give an
opportunity to as large a number of contributors as pos-
sible, he advises that the subscriptions shall not exceed
£2 nor be less than 10s.
THE NEW COMMISSION ON THE POLLITTION OF
RIVERS.—The only appointment officially known respect-
ing this new commission is that Sir George Denison
(brother of the Speaker of the House of Commons) is to be
Chief Commissioner. When the preliminary proceedings
are all settled the new commissioners will commence their
inquiries, it is anticipated, at lin enhead or its in mediate
vicinity.

THE DISTUBBANCES IN LANCASSIBE.

'There was MUca excitement in and around the Borough
Police-court at Wigan, on Monday, as the court and its
approaches were crowded with colliers anxious to be
present at the hearing of nearly three dozen summonses
against the men on strike and their female friends, for
committing breaches of the peace on the recent occasion,
when attempts were made to prevent the knobsticks
descending the Lindsay Pit in Whelley. The mayor and
other magistrates were on the bench ; Mr. Walter May-
hew, representing the Wigan Coal and Iron Company,
prosecuted ; and Mr. Forshaw, of Preston, was in-
structed for the defence. The first batch of de-
fendants was sixteen in number, and Mr. Mayhew said
that the charge against them was for riotous and dis-
orderly conduct on the morning of the 31st of March
at Whelley. He said that on the morning in question the
borough police were called to the neighbourhood to enable
the men desirous of working to reach the pit, and they
were then witnesses of disorderly conduct, which would be
detailed in evidence. Mr. Mayhew made reference to the
unfortunate position of affairs at the present moment.
The first witness called was the chief constable of the
borough, Mr. William Simm, who said that cn Tuesday
morning last, about four o'clock, he proceeded to the
Lindsay Pit with twenty-six constables, and after remain-
ing there a short time the assistance of the force was
requested to enable the knobsticks to reach the pit.
He took the men into the road, and formed
them in line, back to back, and then began the
work of dispersing the crowd of 400 or 500 men
which had assembled. By the advance of the
police the colliers were separated into two divisions,
which were subsequently allowed to unite, and then
the officers were hooted, and stones were thrown.
Afterwards the police charged the mob, and succeeded
in clearing the highway. A number of the officers
on duty were then called to identify the defendants as
present in the crowd ; and a knobstick, named James
Rowe, residing in the neighbourhood, gave particulars
of an attack upon his house the same evening. Witness
fired a revolver to attract the attention of the police,
but they were then too far away. In opening the case
for the defence, Mr. Forshaw requested the magistrates
to dismiss from their minds anything they had heard
or which had been reported in the papers, and to
judge of the case as it stood ; upon which the mayor
informed him that he had no need to trouble himself
on that point, as the magistrates had no feeling either on
one side or the other, and only wished to do justice be-
tween both parties, and to preserve the peace. After
contending that the summonses could not be suppprted
on the evidence, Mr. Forshaw alleged that the men were
perfectly justified in going in numbers to the pit, and
endeavouring to induce their fellow-workmen to join
them. They had as much right to try to persuade the
men not to work as the masters had to try to induce
them to work. Even if the magistrates thought the
charge proved, he urged that it would be quite suffi-
cient if the magistrates accepted the promise through
him that the defendants would not on any future
occasion assemble for such a purpose, and by that means
they would not widen the breach already existing between
masters and men, and which was sure to be widened if
severe measures were taken. Mr. Mayhew thought the
best preventive measure was to bind the men over to
keep the peace ; and after one or two witnesses had been
called for the defence, the mayor announced the decision
of the bench to bind over two of the defendants, who had
taken the most prominent part in the proceedings, to keep
the peace for twelve months, finding sureties, themselves
in £5O and two others in £25 each. The remaining four-
teen were directed to find sureties to a similar amount for
six months.