The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-22 00:00:00

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FINE ARTS AT EDINBURGH.
ROYAL INSTITUTION.
We hare much pleasure in calling the attention of our
readers to the arrangements which have been made in
the Royal Institution building, by which a large, varied,
and valuable collection of paistings, marble, and breez-s
are new thrown open twice a-week fur the gra!u;tous
inspection of the public. R will be remr.mbered that sr- -
ragiTetronts were entered into betwecu the L. rd -
rroeost arid Mr. Sheriff Speirs, and the b of
trustees of the floral Institution, with the view of
having the painting ibequeathel to the university by the -
hie Sir J. Erskine, of Turry, Bart., transferred from the
c dlege to the building of the institution, as afferdigig
better accommodation fur the display of these paintings.
Accordingly the south octagon' of the central ruff's of _
rooln.; has been appropriated to this purpose, where they
have been hung with great taste and jet-lg.-vent. In oath
tien to she Torry collection, the direefors of the lt..yal
Institution bare very handsomely trans'errest teir
inns t, the board of trustees to be exhibit d to the p .t.lie •
on the same terms. In granting this invaluable iron
to the community at large, the Royal Institution have
f.regone pecuniary smolurnents, which in virile of
their lease from the boar.l of trustees they receiv gl by
the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy, and from .
the exhibition of their own paintings. Their great ob-
ject, as well as that of the board of trustees, being to
promote a taste for the fine arts, they have handed over
their paintings to the board of trustees, deeming that •
their exhibition alorg with the Torry paintings will
serve as a stronger inducement to inspection, and conse-
quently facilitate the attainment of the object which the
two societies in common have in view. These paintings,
which comprise specimens of the creations of the Caracei,
Guido, Vandyke, Rembrandt, and other celebrated
painters, are suspended on the walls of the central eon).
partrnents. In the northern octagon also the fine large
paintings of Etty, the property of the Royal Academy,
are for the present at least displayed. The
room adjacent to the southern octagon has been
set apart for private contributions of • paintings,
and for the marbles, bronzes, &e. For the trot-
ter display of the latter, an octagonal table has been
erected in the centre of the room. When to three col-
lections is added the much-admired gallery of cas,s, it
must be admitted that within the walls of this elegant
building is to be found an exhibition of the most attrac-
tive description, It is often said of this country that it
provides little or no means of rational amusement and
beneficial recreation for the working classes ; that, in
short, the principles of conservation and exclusion are
too strictly applied to institutions which ought rightly tn
be open and accessible to all classes, and more particu-
larly to that class which, within themselves, have little
or no means of cultivating a taste for the sublime and
beautiful, although it is admitted on all hands to be a
most effectual means of elevating their thoughts and
habits. We hail with pleasure the facilities which the
Board of Trustees have afforded, and trust that the boon
will be eagerly embraced, and that the visitors will show
their grateful acknowledgments by in no way abusink
the privilege so g: nerously granted to them.—Eda,bury4
Advorscr.

COURT-11ARTIAL AT LEEDS.

A General Court•martial, consisting of fifteen mem.
hers, presided over by General Sir William WRrre,
K C. 8., has been sitting at Leeds since the Ist instant,
by order of the Duke of Wellington, for the trial of
Lieutenant W. Augustine llyder, lOtk Royal Hussars,
on a charge preferred against him by Colonel Yande-
leur, the Colonel of that regiment. The Court did not
conclude its sittings till Thursday afternoon; but its deci-
sion will not be publicly known till after the finding shall
have have received the Queen's approbation. Mr. Warren
was specially retained to conduct the defence, and the
charge woul 1 appear at first sight to be of a very stale and
trivial character, consisting of an alleged attempt by
Lieutenant Hyder, when the regiment was stationed at
Ballineollig, in Ireland, in October, 1842, to trick his
Co'onel out of two months' leave of absence, by preposieg
to a Mr. Oliver that he should lend Lieutenant -Hydee
a horse, w hich was to pass off as his own charger before
the Colonel, for the period above mentioned, and then to
he returned to Mr. Oliver. The inquiry into this chnrg.,
however, soon led to very important disclosures ; an ' an
incident occurred during the trial of a totally unprece-
dented kind in the annals of courts-martial, or, it:&Ed,
of any other court. The prisoner's defence consist. d
of a point blank denial of the charge, and an assertion
that it had been concocted between Mr. Oliver r.nj
Colonel Vandeleur,—the former from spite, arising out
of a quarrel about the rayment for a horse sold by hint
to Lieutenant Ilyder, in October, 1842 ; and the latter,
in orchr to shield himself from a serious charge of sys-
tematic ill-treatment and oppression of Lieutenant
Hyder, preferred by that gentleman against Celonel
Vandeleur to the Duke of Wellington early in April last.
The prisoner succeeded clearly in shoving that
Colonel Vandeleur did not prefer the present charge till
after he had been required to answer that against
himself Ey Lieutenant Hyder ; and in order to show
the connexion between Colonel Vandeleur and Mr. Oliver
is getting up the charge, required the production of a
letter written by Colonel Vandeleur to Mr. Oliver,.
dated the 9th of May lest, t which it appeared, had
elicited Mr. Oliver's letter containing a statement of
the charge. An order from the Hers') Guards
had been obtained Ix the production of the
letter in question, which the witness had accord-
ingly brought from Ireland to Leeds on the morning of
the first day's sitting of the court-martial. During a tem-
porary adjournment of the court, however, it appeared in
evidence, that Col. Vandeleur took Mr. Oliver into a
room adjoining that in which the Court held its sittings,
and he and Mr. Oliver then actually destroyed all the
letters which the former had written to Mr. Oliver, in-
cluding that of the 9th of May. The discovery of this
fact, which was elicited during a very severe cross-exa-
mination of Mr. Oliver, produced a profound sensation
in the Court, and excited great interest and astonish-
ment in military circles. It is supposed thet very serious
notice of the transaction will be taken by the authorities
at the Horse Guards, and that a second court-martial •
may be speedily looked for. Lieutenant Hyder's ac-
quittal is regarded as a matter of course, and the de-
struction of the document in question has excited great
public indignation at Leeds.— Times.

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