The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-11 00:00:00

XLISMOLLANZOIIS.

It has been determined that the Royal Exchange shall
be thrown open to the public between the 12th and the
17th of next month, the day to be appointed by her
Majesty.
It is said that the trade between Liverpool and the
Mediterranean never was so brisk as at the present time.
One of the first acts of Mr. O'Connell, after leaving
the Richmond Penitentiary, was to forward his own sub-
scription of 5/. to the lluncombe Testimonial, the regu-
lations of that prison having prevented him from doing
so earlier.

The repeal rent for the lakt week •mounted to 575
's. 6d.

The majority of the Marquis of Chandos was celebrated
at Stowe on Tuesday with great rejoicings. Among
other parties present on the occasion was the Lord Chan-
cellor with his lady and daughter.
A dinner was given at Belfast on Thursday to Robert
Burns, the eldest son of the Scottish poet. When his
health was proposed he said he was not without a strong
tie to the Green Isle. His sister was the widow of an
Irish gentleman, who, when alive, resided at New Ross,
and his second brother, Colonel Burns, was the widower
of an Irish lady.
On Tuesday the Precursor, a fine steam-vessel, Capt.
Harris, which has been purchased by the Peninsular
and Oriental Steam Company, at an enormous expense,
left Southampton to assume her station in the East
Indies. She was built by a Glasgow Company, which
did not proceed in their enterprise, and had been in the
market at 100,000/, but was purchased by the Peninsu-
lar and Oriental Company for 45,000/, without repairs.
She is 800 tons burden, and carries engines of 550-horse
power. Her destination is Calcutta and Ceylon, from
the former of which places she is intended to carry the
Government mails to Suez.

ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL CHILDREN IN BRIGHTON.

—A special train, consisting of her Majesty's carriage,
between two other first-class carriages, and a couple of
carriage trucks, bearing two of the Queen's private car-
riages, arrived at the Brighton terminus yesterday
afternoon at a quarter to six o'clock. The engine
was driven by Mr. Cubitt, and Mr. Crowley, one of the
Directors of the London and Brighton Railway (who
with Captain Kelly, the chairman, and Mr. Ottley, the
secretary, had received the royal party at New Cross),
accompanied the train to Brighton. Arrangements had
been made for the reception of the royal party, a part of
the platform being carpeted. Six of her Majesty's horses
were in waiting, and in about five minutes these were
attached to the royal carriages, and the Prince of Wales
and his royal brother and sister, together with Lady
Lyttelton, left the terminus, and entered the Palace gates
at five minutes to six o'clock.
CHINESE PROVERBS.--The tombs open every mo-
ment, and close for ever.—lt is from what people say
that we judge of the value of their silence.— fervor}
rather counterfeits wit than supplies it; a thousand re-
collections are not worth one thought.—With money th(
dead can be made to speak; without it even the dam!
will not be silent —Whoever seeks nothing but how t.
do men good, can never be deceived by them.—Cap t '
Pidding's Chinese Olio.

THIRD REPORT OF THE CON'
e
MISSIONERS ON THE FINE ART'

WITH APPENDIX.
We resume our extracts from this important doer(
meats. With the terms of the papers Nos. 1,2, and:3!is
the Appendix (a list of the contents of which Appenu,
we gave in a former paper), our readers are alresui
too well acquainted to make it expedient here to I:
peat them ; but No. 4 is a "Letter from the Rig
lion. Sir Robert Peel, Bart., respecting r 11,131.;
Monuments to Men distinguished for Civil Service"
addressed to Mr. Eastlake, the Secretary to the COT:
mission, and dated " Whitehall, August 17, 184'''f
This letter does appear to us to contain the gerill,_.%
all the absurd blunderings and inconsequence: W,lllew
have hitherto marked the progress of the two 1190
Houses, and their decorative embellishments. 1t
.
also eminently characteristic of Sir Roberts eg°tl6ootl
By his own showing it was the wish of Fallon%
that he should do one thing. He takes it li
himself to do another ; and Mr. Barry—distracters
it seems to us between his homage to some not Yerit
fortunate suggestions on the part of Prince Albert
(to which we have already referred), and this patrlt
ing expression of the wishes of the Premier—doe,
substantively carry out either object; but expatill`
in the attempt, into the costly and ill-judged excrer
cence of the new Queen's Gallery. Sir Robert CO
mences his letter to Mr. Eastlake thus—
" Dear Sir,—A proposal was recently made in tIA
House of Commons that the Commissioners should_,
empowered by her Majesty to inquire into the best roe'of doing honour by public monuments, in sculpture r
painting, to be erected at the public charge to the
mory of men- entitled to the gratitude of their collo"'
by eminent civil, literary, or scientific services." 00
A very intelligible proposal, surely; a proposal 0,
which (one would have thought) any body of ntt
uninformed cr uninspired by that royal afflafee tbs
,7,1
constitutes A, B, and C into "a Commission on 7t.
Fine Arts," might very well deliberate and rert,
But Sir Robert, like some pedagogue fearful of 010
taxing the powers of his promising pupils, redo
ot
and alters the " theme". which the House of 60101110
would have set them, and recasts it after his °
diluted and wordy manner, thus—
" I was unwilling to devolve on the Commission('r
general inquiry of this nature, not immediately e(4,
netted with the original object for which the Coro% ,
sion was appointed; but I willingly undertook to I'o°o
mend to her Majesty to give to the Commissioners
he
authority to consider whether there is any portion cif tole
edifice intended for the accommodation of the House6_,li.
Parliament, or of the buildings connected with that elo
flee, which could with advantage and propriety to
allotted to the reception of monuments such as those.oo
which I have above adverted, and to report their 00'10
to her Majesty, not only with regard to the particl:l,at
site of such monuments, but, inithe event of an approP-,„ of
site in connexion with the New houses a Parliten_eA
being recommended by the Commissioners, with rec.
to the principles generally which should govern dolled
lection of the names to be honoured by so distingelis g
a record of national gratitude, and to the best lacueica
combining the public acknowledgment of eminent serY
with encouragement to the arts in this country?' ,130
Now, the reader will not fail to bear in mind
the one object common to the proposal of the
of Commons, and Sir Robert Peel's recommendatite
to her Majesty, was —the erection of monuraellso
either in sculpture or painting, to the honour of trot
men whose services to the country had entitled tiff,
to such a manifestation of the national gratitude. ;I,
Barry, who was clearly referred to only for inf°ro
tion, and his opinions as to the capacity and weaves,
location possessed by his buildings for such steo,
&c., in his "Report" to Mr. Eastlake addresses it
sel to other and very different matters ;—on vvlue„,itej,
contend, it was never meant he should be consul
The consequence of this mistake, on Mr. Barry's Prno,
is to commit him to the expression of much nonsetote
and suggestions at utter variance with all good re,
and propriety. He is also betrayed into scene ft,
marks on the highest branch of the poetry °f bed
which it had been much better for his reputation
$1,9
he kept to himself. There was no necessity, 'doe
rate, for his announcing them to all the world. ivies
first instance of Mr. Barry's supererogator,y 11"
to the Commissioners occurs in this passage: the
" I may, however, mention that, in addition te°oo.
statues of royal and military personages, which I rci. the
mended to be placed in the niches forming part °
architectural decoration of the several halls, those ofiroda
ment men of this country, who have at various Pe se,
distinguished themselves in the advancement -°i r►
pot
science, and literature, but whose services have °A'
hitherto been specially recorded by any public se"
ledgment, might form part of the series.
Of what possible value can these eclectic notiotril
Mr. Barry's, as to the parties to be "singled out Teo
all the world" for the posthumous distinction
_foot
contemplated, be, to a Commission numbering lye
its members men so profoundly read in 31l
-th the
branches of learning and tradition connected Wif.orde
history and institutions of this country, as "4050),
Lyndhurst and Lansdowne, Aberdeen, J. nu we
Melbourne and Palmerston ; as Hallam and Macau lye
Knight and Rogers ? Far more seemly an.
purpose is the professional statement which follows
a.,
" The following is an enumeration of the niche' rd
vided for such purposes in the several parts OL. "'l.llerfr
ing:—ln Westminster Hall, 12; in the Victoria-lortle
106; in the Queen's Porch, 4; in the House 68i
18; in St. Stephen's Hall, 12; in the Central /00,n its
making altogether 220 niches, averaging seven le"
height."
But perhaps Mr. Barry's taste for ":Culp ter,
was of so elevated and classical, and pure a charsicona
that it is well to have elicited from his infortneu_ectr.
critical judgment some hints for the judicious eta
tion and arrangement of this portion of the na, note
records to be raised to the memory of our great i°
We think, involuntarily, of heroic ages and which
statuary; of the divine, but simple forms? ,into
Grecian art chiselled from the unconscious ro;estion
immortal legacies, to be bequeathed by the insPlof the
of antique genius to the passionate reverence_ boo
remotest posterity. Alas ! Mr. Barry seems t°oo la
imagined himself in Sir Robert's crowded $lllOO,lO
Whitehall -gardens among the gilded castes of Pl•vieg
Parisian foundry. He would debauch our eel, by
taste, nourished as that has been for years 104 the
such wholesome nutriment as the contemplation:l, the
simple forms of the Theseus and the Illyssllst
draped compositions of Phidias and LyslPPl3srblee'
extant in the virgin purity of their original 0'404
by the vile and barbarous accessories of the dboeviniesi
ages of Greek and Roman greatness. This se;
tion, be it remembered, was one of the most spa „dee
indications of debased genius in the most deie'got
and brutalised ages of the lower empire, and rtij whet
superstitious darkness of the Greek Churent.„ooo
coloured stones were used to repair the disaPPeol7 the
of architectural design, and the vestments 000
Virgin and the Saints were profusely t° which
that indolent and lifeless worship of the senses' le to
was no longer genuine or pure enough to be 'bob
tix its contemplations on less obtrusive BPI
celestial piety and innocence.
11,,reat cod
" Those in the Victoria Gallery, Queen's order go
House of Lords, might be of bronze gilt, but in
avoid false lights and effects, the gilding should Le
tbe
or unburnished.
" In other parts of the building above adeerteatorti ifrf,
statues might be of coloured marbles, in harvioq
decors
prevailing tone and colour of the architectural
,fleer
And then, again, as to the drawing-room
tionalities" (as General Fladdick has it in t dr;
Chuzzlewit"); if Mr. Barry imperatively insist cols
glitter and the gilding of the statues that aresiseobleii
into contact with the well-bred companpler
within the walls; the others, which are toss
over tb.t
out of doors or any where—about and aliges 0 852,1
building—these statues " of the lower clas-
were, he remits in the nakedness of their _ little
s'
bronze to the pelting of the elements, with rod
compunction as if he were giving them orders 7.0
mission into a poor-law union-house. on ee'
" The statues should invariably be of bron ;. those
count of the imperishable nature of that metal
.% 0..
on the exterior of the building might be left to 11:ere t,l,
ral colour of the metal, but in the interior, "'Pod 07
light will be much subdued, I would recontre a gold'
they should be coated with matted or unburolsh,t edeC
as being best calculated to render the statue Ill_u;ot
tire, and allow of its being seen to the gre°
vantage." tt Orr
But Mr. Barry recollects that he has got 11.110_5,blie
nibus" confided to him ; and in the most bust
_70,00'
manner he thus determines to consult the "llect'abes,eo
dation" of his metal and marble passengers! (tow t°
do appear to be in-siders.) They are, actualy%os r
be subject, like drivers and cabmen, to regul
their standing !"
" The principle which he would adopt for tte_Tehqp
et°
of the monuments generally, is that of confinitg
all ti- der
such portions of the building only a 3 uo of
without inconvenience, be open to the Punistiatts
and of
proper and efficient control, and such reg?
might be deemed expedient. This princiPeo'vided
amount of accommodation that could be tis iliPo
public monuments, as well as their arrange!ofll.; Lippe%
trated in the accompanying plan ; h,}' "+lestatues, be
that Westminster Hall might contain 58,:‘,11, 24;
Stephen's Hall, 16; the Central or Octagon 1-1',0500°"...
Corridors leading to the Houses of Lords and co;
20; and the Public Corridors and Waiting-it:o,i; ie 04'
fleeted with the Committee-rooms, 69; of
Accommodation for 187 statues. The urY,r,red, ,'"d
Stephen's Chapel, which is proposed to be res.,-
virestra
ut
to which convenient access will be made from t.„l. abo
Hall, which would also afford accommodation
14 monuments."
and d 15111;
He thus proceeds to recapitulate his PI with the
sition. The reader cannot fail to be struck
insignificant, nay paltry, proportions ovt
ersfijogesuo7
(see preceding paragraph) for statues,
about seven feet high ! The fact is this acuTssio 0.1.1
the edifice can have formed no part of ther,_°:; 01:t_ro
ginally contemplated by Mr. Barry. I.y.roporto
thought, and it is clear the means have
Abbey' be re'
to the end. Now, for Westminster
is also t°. rypt,
" The cloister of the chapel, which the ci
cej
stored, and will he connected with the hall and
tatuest P 10'130*
.night afford accommodation for thirteen
externally ; and a surface of wall for tow"