The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-14 00:00:00

MANCHESTER, SATURDAY.

Preliminary proceedings have been taken in this
city in reference to the great Exhibition of Arts and
Manufactures to be held in the metropolis under the
auspices of his Royal Highness Prince Albert in the
year 1851. The Manchester Committee has been
nominated, the Lord Bishop ( f the diosese having
been elected president ; the Mayors of Manchester
and Salford, Mr. J. Brotherton, M.P., and Mr. A.
Henry, M.P., vice-presidents; and Mr. H. Fleming,
honorary secretary. These nominations were made
on Thursday, at a private meeting held in the Mayor's
parlour at the Town-hall, on which occasion a desul-
tory conversation took place, which showed that the
gentlemen present were by no means satisfied with
the conduct of the L )ndon management. The gen-
tlemen who took part in this discussion were—Mr.W.
Entwise, late Member for South Lancashire; Mr.
J. Brotherton, M.P. ; Mr. A. Henry, M.P.; Mr.
Alderman Nield, Mr. A. Turner, Mr. J. Potter (the
Mayor), and others. The chief ground of complaint
was, the unseemly haste with which the London
proceedings had been conducted. It was stated that
on the 6th of November last, the deputation ap-
pointed by Prince Albert met a numerous essembly
of merchants and manufacturers ( f M inchebter and

the neighb2urbooo, convened by tl'e Mayor, for the
purpose of explaining his Itvat ll,ghness's design,
and of receiving the opinion of the inhabitants of
this great seat of practical art and manufactures
thereon. The assembly then convened were di.p),ed
to discuss various details as to the plan ; but the de-
putation it was alleged at the meeting on Thursday
rather checked than invited discussion, on the ground
that nothing had yet been determined upon in Lon-
don beyond preliminary matters, and that no final ar-
rangements would be adopted till the whole country
had pronounced upon every point. Mr. Cole,
one of the deputation said, "We sh:11, in a
short time, send you a form which will include
every particular in a tabularized manner; and, after
the Prince has caused these forms to be collected in,
then will every point be settled conformable with the
opinions thus collected, and Minch( ster, as you may
suppose, Will have much weight in the decision." It
was further stated at the meeting on Thursday, that
on the 7th of November (the day after Mr. Cole
thus spoke) the contract was signed in London with
the Messrs. Munday for erecting the building in
which the exposition is to be held, and for providing
20,0001. for prizes ; and hints were thrown out that
these arrangements had been determined upon seve-
ral weeks before that period. Only one opinion was
expressed at the meeting in reference to the contract
entered into, and that was in reprobation of the haste
with which it had been made, and of the principle of
a private contract in a great national undertaking,
designed to bring forth the art and industry of the
entire kingdom. The language used.by the speakers
was strongly condemnatory of the contract affair,
which, if not an actual job, was considered to be
somewhat approaching to it. A resolution, expres-
sive of these opinions, was unanimously adopted, and
ordered forthwith to be fJrwarded to the Central
Commission in London.

Madame Sontag suffered so severely from being
snowed up in the railway trai❑ in the north, that on
reaching York, where she was engaged to give a concert
on Monday, she was so extremely iii that Dr. Simpson
was called in. The concert was abandoned, to the great
disappointment of the Yorkshire families, and the fair
vocaliA has been confined to her bed at the Black Swan
Ilot-1, in York, for several days. We are happy to state,

she is recovering.
RETURN OF AN OUTWARD-DOUND INDIAMAN.—The
ship Columbus, A. Hatton, master, which loaded in the
West India Docks with a cargo for Bombay, and cleared
out from London on the 21st ult., having put into the
port of Ramsgate in distress, part of ber cargo has been
transhipped into the vessels John and Pandora, for the
purpose of being returned to the West India docks, to
which place the ship will also be towed by steamers as
soon as it can convaniently Le done.
GORHAM V. THE BISHOP OF EIRTER.—The Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council will assemble to-morrow

to confer upon their dccision in the case of " Gorham
against the Bishop of Ext t3r," and will not deliver their
judgment until they shall have coef2rrei amongst them•
selves on the interesting subject.
BRISTOL, SATURDAY.—During the week Mr.
Macrea,ily has been perf,rming to crowded houses at the
Theatre, Old King-street, in this city. The course of
characters delinrattei bas embraced Macbeth, Werner*
Hamlet, and Richelieu, and the announcement that this
was the last appearance of Mr. Macready bef .re a Bristol
audience prior to his final rtt remeet from the stage
called forth all the hi.trionie sym; athies of the citizens*
fir each evening the theatre was filled ti ovoerflr
wem.rg,,
and long beforAhe hour of commencemeetcerw d
. evenings w
dpiotpauplpaorinatcetdori.n thmerir. dmesaircerracifytaokn inga fa
two ejiof thepere
.3thtehefoelnloswteinngg week.
is
from
THE GALS OT LAST WEEK.—A correspondent of
formed at Bath, where ho was most warmly r(ceived„
llis sctayie,dionnßiarnis
the a
personal observation:—" On Thursday morning last,
about 35 sail bad sought shelter under the Fern Islands;
but from the fury of the tempest, and many not being
able to get near enough to the island, also from parting.
Mtoleriesulir: givesitedt
*lipping, end driving, the fleet had by Friday evening
been reduced to 15 afloat
Friday,
master,
aebi
sdtetlhareayetr:
,t:
Britannia
having
vt
alongside
:nye
gsni
itiidhaie,
prickedoAs Captainit:tlah.steamer
e th etiererLsoaAfwi
Arab,
fraacnoerbndee Leith)w,
t(ofhothreruasaLrmvunini
sanmskfsgueet
rnkaborktieefi—edntsnhsvo,erAinzuh
iw.mnb,
ruo.iett
la:holt:doe:
sunk on the top of her ; both crews then transferring
themselves on board the Mary Key, of Dundee. The
Nelly, of Montrose, Pershore master, having rolled away
her masts in the morning, was found to be in a sinking
state, and by 10 A.M. the crew were conveyed on board
the John, of Dundee, Captain Roger, being hauled
through the water by a rope thrown from one ship to the
other. By 3 P.M. on Friday the dismasted ship swnag
np under the stern of the John, and in a few minutes
stove her, so that they both sunk together. Tito crews
of both vessels had then to escapo in the utmost haste on
board the Margaret and Eliza, of North Berwick,
which vessel's chains were then overlaid by the wrecks,
and consequently had to be slipped on Sunday, when
she stood out to sea with windlass broken in trio."
LEICESTER TRADE.—WhiIe no material activity
prevails in the market, business on the whole is in an
apparently healthy state, and a good trade is expected.
The prices of material remain firm.--41,79ttingham Journal.

THE PRUSSIAN CONSTITUTION.
The Royal Message, containing the decision of the
Cabinet on the articles of the Constitution on which
the two Chambers could not agree was communi-
cated to them by the Mininisters, on the 9th, by Count
Brandenburgh. He stated that the Crown had in
general accepted the amendments of the Chambers,
but had thought it necessary to make some modifica-
tions in them, and that it entertained the hope
of seeing the Constitution definitively established
within a short period, in order that the Sovereign
might take the oath to it. The Government hoped
also that the people would recognise in the present
step a proof of the conscientious adherence of the
Sovereign to his promises. He also stated that the
legislation with regard to the press and the right of
association ought to be proceeded with immediately,
according to Arts. 24 and 28, in order that the Go-
vernment might be able to preserve public peace and
order without resorting to exceptional measures.
The following are the most important modifica-
tions of the Constitution as agreed to by the Cham-
bers :

The 26th article is cancelled. It contained the
power of prosecuting the publisher, printer, and dis-
tributor of a work when the author of the same was
not known.
In article 33 the definition of the army is stated
thus: —" The army inclades every part of the stand-
ing military force and the Ltndwehr. In case of
war the King can, under the provisions of the regular
law, surnmoe the whole lendsturm (the arming of the
whole poduletion).
Article 35 is cancelled, and instead of it, an addi-
tion to article 104 is made to this effect :—" For the
preservation of order, a Burgherwehr can be organ-
ised, by the resolution of the Communes, with the
assent of the Government."
In Article 38 is inserted—" The creation of fiefs is
prohibited. Those now in existence are, according
to a future law, to he changed into freeholds.
Another law will render more easy a similar change
in the case of family entails, and establish the condi-
tions under which new entails can he established.
(By the Constitution, as it stood, entails were uncon-
ditionally abolished.)
Are. 42. " The Ministers are responsible to the
King and the nation."
Are 49. In case of a dissolution the election for
the new Chambers is to take place within sixty days ;
the Chambers themselves are to be summoned within
ninety days.
Art. 60. To this article is added, " LAWS relating
to the finances (or money hills) are to be first intro-
duced in the Second Chamber."
Art. 63 relates to the Upper Chamber ; by this
article, as amended by the Cabinet, the Upper Cham-
ber is to consist of-
1. Tne Princes of the Royal House who may be
summoned to it by the King.
2. The heads of the princely families of the empire
existing in Prussia, and the heads of those families
who, according to the law of primogeniture and lineal
descent, may be called to a seat and voice in the
Chamber by the King. The summons itself will
contain the conditions on which the right is exercised.
No representatives (or proxies) are allowed, and the
right is suspended if the possessor of it is in the ser-
vice of another German State.
3. Of such members as the King may nominate for
life only. Their number cannot exceed the tenth of
those created by the preceding articles.
4. Of 60 members elected by 200 of the highest
tax payers in each province by direct election.
5. Of six members elected by the six universities of
Prussia, the tight of election is given to the public
professors of those bodies.
The whole number of the Upper Chamber, consist-
ing of the above members, is not to exceed 200.
Articles from 66 to 70 efine the constitution of the
Second Chamber. It is to consist of 350 members ;
the elective districts are to be fixed by law ; they may
consist of one or more circles, that contain more than
10,000 inhabitants.
APer article 93 the following new article is intro-
duced :
" The legislature may create a Court of Special
Jurisdiction that is to take cognizance of all charges
of high treasons and offences against the internal and
out ward security of the state. The law will also define
how far the ordinary courts can exercise their juris-
diction over these offences."
Art. 95. Tne conditions under which the civil
and military officers of the state can be prosecuted
for exceeding their powers are to be defined by a
special law.
Art. 107. The members of both Chambers and
the civil officers in the employ of the Government
are to take the oath of allegiance and obedience to
the King and of a conscientious observance of the
Constitution. The army will not be sworn to the
Constitution.
The motives on which these alterations are grounded
are stated at great length, but may be omitted with-
out loss. This message completes the work of the
Prussian Constitution. Its working must he left to
time and events ; at present the obj.letions raised are
to the creation of a partial hereditary peerage, and to
the refusal to swear the army to the Constitution.