The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-07 00:00:00

ADELAIDE GALLERY•

DISSOLVING VIEWS.—Last evening the members of
the Press were invited to witness Mr. E. M. Clarke's ex-
hibition of Dissolving Views, in which he considers the
application of his new principles only now completed.
We had already spoken of them in The Sun, with what
we considered well-merited commendation, to which we
have only to add, that since our former visit, Mr. Clarke
has made very great improvements, and has brought his
adaptation, of ,the Camera Lucida to the highest degree
of perfection. The scenes last night exhibited were fif-
teen finely painted pictures by Acres, Ackerman, and
Simpson, the exhibition of each being accompanied by
characteristic music, selected and arranged by Mr. Louis
Emanuel. The views were selected from the richest
scenery of Ireland, Switzerland, and Italy, and three views
of the Tower of London, •by day, by moonlight,
and on fire were greatly admired. The burning of the
arsenal, the gradual spreading and varied intensity of the
flames, together with the successive explosions which
marked the several stages of the conflagration were
managed with surprising dexterity and effect. The ,dis.
solving views wege preceded by a very droll phantasm tr
gorio of " diablerie, ' accompanied by appropriate mus.,..c
of great character andexpression, a la Freischutz, though
altogether original, being entirely composed and
arrange& Mi. Emanuel. It has at every exhibition
elicited universal applause.
In the course of the evening, Mr. Swift delivered an
instructive lecture on combustion. The little harpist re-
peated her wonderful performance on her native—we
might say, her natural instrument ; and Miss Lyons
sang delightfully several Italian and other melodies, to
the loudly expressed delight of the company, which, we
are glad to perceive, continues nightly to bo very
numerous.

LUXURIES VERSUS NECESSARIES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sra—ln The Sun of Saturday I observe a paragraph
(copied from the Manchester Guardian) stating that
venison is now being impOrted into this country from
America. I have seen some dead deer also brought to
this port from Hamburg.' The law which admits veni-
son for the rich, excludes fresh mutton, beef, and
pork for the poor, all which latter might be had abroad
for 2d. a pound. Whilst these are prohibited, game, viz.,
blackcock, capercalizies, &c., from Norway, and venison,
come in as "goods unmanufactured," paying a duty of
51., per cwt. ad valorem. This is of a piece with the
whole. Preserved turtle is now admitted at the same
rate as fresh—namely, duty free, because a long voyage
deteriorates this article for the rich man's table ; but
corned beef is excluded, and salted only is admitted at
12s. 7d. per cwt. ; hams pay 11. 9s. 4d. the cwt. ; sau-
sages 4d. the pound ; butter 11. ls. the cwt. By the way,
another gross sin and iniquity arises with respect to the
latter article. Owing to the high duty imposed, the im-
porter often finds that it will not reach a remunerating
price after it arrives here, and though it would serve
many domestic purposes, such as " shortening" for crust,
and even do to butter the poor man's bread, when he can
get a leaf, our selfish legislators will not permit it, but
order that, when it cannot pay the landlord's tax, tar
shall be mixed with it, to reduce it to grease, and the
Custom House officer who superintends this pleasant
duty has to certify that it is rendered unfit for human
food. Is not this a cruel and wilful destruction of the
bounties of Providence, for which the present laws are
responsible ?
In all our petitions against the abominable Corn-laws
we should as well denounce the no less hateful exactions
upon provisions. The effort to abrogate one should be
applied to the whole ; nor as a measure of justice should
we slacken our efforts until we have obtained indemnity
from the landlords for the wrongs they have so many
years inflicted upon the other classes of the community.
I am quite of opinion with our good friend Col. Thomp-
son on this. subject. As a Hull man, I blush that that
veteran apostle of free trada does not now represent us ;
but attribute it not to the apathy or indifference of the
great body to the odious enactments on corn and pro-
visions, for at the election the middle classes, or those
who have the 101. franchise, gave the Colonel and Mr.
Clay a majority of 300 over the Tories.. The evil was
perpetrated by the old freemen, who for lucre sold their
country to the enemy ; many of whom, however, now
find where the shoe pinches, and, deprived of labour con-
sequent upon loss of trade, deplore the evils they were
seduced to inflict upon themselves.
I rejoice to say that Hull is showing some signs of
vitality on the Corn-law question. A requisition to the
Mayor to call a public meeting for total repeal is being
numerously signed, and as our worthy Chief Magistrate
is a good Repealer there is little doubt of , a successful
meeting. As one of his old constituents, I would, how.
ever, urge on Colonel Thompson again to " come over
and help us" against the Philistines.
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
Hull, Jan. 4, 1142. A FREE 'TRADER.

THE LONDON NEWSVENDER.—The " second-
class" news-vender entered the ranks when a strippling,
and has gone successfully through the initiatory ordeal
without ever suffering a cusromer or a coadjutor to get
the better of his wisdom ; he has never been fool enough
to take cost price for a newspaper some two or three days
old without previously demanding double its original
value, on the speculative ground that the article
is scarce. He is not only acquainted with the penetralia

of a newspaper manufaelory, but is also on the most
intimate terms with the daily emanations therefrom.
He knows by sight all the editors and sub-editors, and
is theoretically conversant with the nature of their
duties. He fully understands the political principles
of every newspaper in Europe—from the Star down to
" the great Globe itself." He is neither a Whig, a
Tory, nor a Radical, but an enigmatical compound of
all three; and, strange to say, he can at any time
mould his opinion so as to produce a corresponding har-
mony between his own sentiments and those of the
three political parties. At one time, for the sake of
peace and a " glass of grog," he will be the staunchest
advocate of Sir Robert Peel; at another time—when
he has had a glass too many—for the sake of " a good
argument," he does not hesitate to swear that black is
white, in order to prove that Lord Melbourne and
Joseph Hume are Britain's truest friends. He can tell
you when one paper is losing caste, and when an-
other is " getting up," with as much precision as an
Alderman can point the way to the gallows, or a New-
gate chronicler the way to glory! In short, the news-
vender (we speak especially of the " old hand") is one
of the most useful and impartial representatives of the
public press. He is the arbiter of its destinies—the har-
binger of its fate—the propagator of its vicissitudes ;
yet he is looked upon in the light of a common porter—
a mere drudge, whose duty consists not in " diffusing "
useful knowledge, but in merely carrying it from place
to place, and thus bearing on his back a burden which
Atlas might have sunk under.—The New Monthly Belle
Assemblee.

LIVERIES.—The term livery, as applied to the
dress of servants, is of French origin, being deriveg
from the verb livrer, to deliver. At the plenary courts
of France, under the first two races of monarchs, the
King was accustomed to deliver to the servants of the
Royal Family particular clothes which were called
livrees, because given at the King's expense. The nobi-
lity and gentry iu like manner presented to their de-
pendents liveries, which term sometimes denoted both
food and clothes, but usually clothes alone, or even only
a particular mark or badge for the clothes.