The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-05-20 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

they esteem fornication a less offence than marriage.
Painting and sculpture may have their legitimate objects ;
but indecency, blasphemy, and idolatry, are not to be
endured, however exquisitely delineated in alabaster, or

pourtrayed on canvass." Another correspondent, writing
on the same topic, observes :—" On the right hand and on
the left you meet with altars dressed up in all the gorgeous
finery of that corrupt church, cardinals and archbishops
of the apostate faith decked out in ' all their trumpery,'

and arrayed in more than Great Lama magnificence.
Madonnas of wax or stucco, dressed out in lace, copes of
all sizes,Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers,
* * * reliques, beads.
But, above all this, the image of that Holy One, ' for our
sakes nailed t) the cursed tree,' exposed in all directions,
and amid the most incongruous accompaniments, to the
idle gaze ! Can we, as Protestants, without protesting,
suffer these things ? Are we any longer, as a nation, to
be permitted to hold up the word of light to a world for
the greatest part hid in superstition or error ? If not—
why, to be consistent, not let the other nations spread
their superstitions before us? Let China, let far India,
bring their idols, or their cars, triumphant in their shame;
let Thibet display her more than rival claims to the me-
diaeval charms; let Africa bring her monsters, and the
fair isles of the Pacific her feather-crowned gods, cast
away. through the blessing of the Most High, on the
scriptural efforts of Protestant missionaries—let these
have their share of notice, or let Protestant England
prove that she deserves that name."

CONTROVERSY WITH BISHOP BROWN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING HERALD.

SlR,—Bishop Brown, in his letter to you, dated May
12, says, " I never entertained the most remote idea of
not carrying out fully the controversy with the Rev.
Joseph Baylee, according to the conditions to which I
had subscribed."

well played on both sides, and if Hardman saves the Earl
of Loftus (Wilmot's father) and the Duke of Middlesex
from the consequences of being implicated in a Jacobite
plot, Wilmot has been no less magnanimous, for he has
purchased from Sir Robert Walpole a government office
for Hardman, at the price of a hlurillo. Advantages be-
ing so great on either side, love alone can settle where
the balance is to be placed, and Hardman, discovering
that Wilmot is really the man after Lucy's heart, resigns
his pretensions. This is the main story, in which Mr.
Shadowly Softhead, a Cockney worshipper of fashion,
who takes Wilmot for his model, and Mr. Easy, a res-
pectable city gentleman, who is, nevertheless, so proud of
getting drunk with a lord, that his pride takes him to the
watch-house, appear as secondary personages. In the
delineation of his characters the author Las kept in view
the title of his work, Not so Bad as we Seem, and it is
the peculiar faculty of Hardman to discover the many
sides of a man's nature. Thus, in accordance with the
good-humoured moral of the play, the proud Duke's
superciliousness is compensated by his high sense of ho-
nour ; Wilmot's rakish aberrations are excused by his
excellent heart and head ; and David Fallen, though ap-
parently an abject hireling, is found to possess a strong
sense of virtue—and so on, as far as one may be pleased
to pursue the work of analysis. The amateurs performed
admirably.

Crum! Alfsreilanp,

The weaving trade at Paisley is in a very gloomy state.
The Royal Agricultural Society will meet at Lewes in
1852.

The population of Bristol is 65,712, being an increase
of 2,956 in the year.
Wheat is about 18, flour 30at, and bread 491 per cent.
dearer in London than in Paris.

Miss Salon, and the Sisters of Mercy, have left Ply-
mouth, and taken a house in Lower Green, Bristol.
The Rev. J. H. Woodward, late incumbent of St.
James's, Bristol, was received into the Church of Rome,
at Lulworth, Dorset, on Sunday week.
The foundation-stone of a new Dominican convent has
lately been laid at Woodchester, by William Leigh, Esq.,
of Woodchester Park, near Stroud.
A vessel arrived from Bombay has brought to London
the unusually large quantity of 4,592 bales, and 103 half-
bales, of East India cotton.

At the Central Criminal Court, on Thursday, Frederick
Judd, aged 18, was found guilty of the manslaughter of
his father, and was sentenced to transportation for life.
Mr. C. Foulkes, of Leicester, fell down dead in one of
the streets of London, on Tuesday. He was a young
man, and left a widow and one child.
The bullion in the Bank of England has at last made
a move in the right direction. The return for the week,
ending the 10th instant, shows an increase of £lB,OOO.
On Monday week, a cat belonging to a shopkeeper at
Dodworth, Yorkshire, gave birth to a kitten having eight
legs and two mouths.
An Irishman named M'Grath was committed to prison
for two months, at Bradford, on Monday week, for having
bitten off the tip of the nose of a man named Brearley.
A reward of £250 has been offered for the discovery of
the persons who committed the late gold-dust robbery on
the South-Western Railway.

The Treasury have authorised the importation of to-
bacco direct from Egypt, in packages of 100 lbs. each, for
the future. _

Messrs. Fry and Sons have brought an action against
the editors of the Lancet, for asserting that their chicory,
sold as genuine, contained roasted corn.
The Elephant Inn, Kendal, was robbed on Monday of
£lOO in cash and notes. Suspicion has fallen on a neigh-
bour, who has since absconded.

Newark was all agog the other day, a lady's bustle hav-
ing been picked up in the streets, containing a handker-
chief, a pair of gloves, a cordial flask, and a night-cap !
The Earl of Eldon, at his recent rent-day for his ex-
tensive estates in the County of Durham, made, unsolici-
ted, the handsome return of 15 per cent.
The Wakefield Journal says that the Rev. T. D. Par-
kinson, incumbent of St. Mary's, in that town, has
resigned his office in consequence of " doubts."
Lord Ashley presided at the meeting of the Jews Society
last week. It was stated that Miss Cook, of Cheltenham,
had contributed in all to the society £59,177.

The Stamp-office authorities have intimated to the
newspaper proprietors that if, in future, they mention the
names of hotels with their list of arrivals, such paragraphs
will be charged with advertisement duty.

Owen Thomas, mate, was drowned at Bangor, last
week, in saving a boy, which he succeeded in doing, but
he himself sunk, it is supposed from cramp. A boat put
off to their assistance.

THE SHEFFIELD MURDER.—A verdict of wilful murder
has been returned against William Battersby and Eliza
Wilkinson, for the murder of John Wilkinson, husband
of the latter.

At the Central Criminal Court, Samuel Hill, one of the
keepers of a lunatic asylum, recently convicted of causing
the death of one of the patients by violence, was sentenced
to 12 months' imprisonment.
On Thursday a man committed suicide by leaping from
Blackfriars Bridge, London. A fireman heroically sprang
into the water after the unfortunate victim, but his efforts
to save him proved ineffectual.
At the late sale of the furniture and the fittings of the
Earl of Pembroke's mansion in London, a set of three
Sevres vases fetched £698 55., and a set of five Sevres
vases and covers fetched £1465.
The total extent of coal area of the British islands
amounts to 12,000 square miles, being about 1-10th of
the entire area of the country ; their annual production
beine 32,000,000 tons.
Count de Thomar, the ex-Prime Minister of Portugal,
arrived at Southampton on Thursday; by the Iberia
steamer, from Vigo. He confined himself to his cabin
during the whole voyage.
An extraordinary scene was witnessed at Bradford,
about twelve miles from Bristol, on Saturday last, when
the village was visited by a heavy shower of snails. They
might have been gathered up by bushels.
A fine trout, taken in the Don, and weighing 511b5.,
when cleaned was found to contain in its stomach two
young kittens—rather a strange kind of grub for the
finny race.
Nearly £20,000 worth of land has just been secured for
the Birmingham Freehold Land Society. This will make
nearly 800 freeholds in addition to the 945 previously made
by this Society, or a total of more than 1,700.
A pair of sparrows have built their nest, which now
contains two eggs, in a gigantic cabbage plant, measuring
sft. 6in. in height, that is now growing in a garden at
Waltham, near Grimsby.
At Marlborough police-office, on Monday, Frank Sim-
son, describing as a " Prussian officer," was fined for pa-
rading the streets in a female dress, with a female dressed
up as a man, thus collecting a crowd of about five hun-
dred persons.
On Wednesday week, a piece of coal fell from a corve
at the top of the shaft of a coalpit in Garsdale, near Sed-
bergh, and struck a boy named Winn, who was standing
at the bottom of the shaft, so severely on the head, that
he died the same night.
FOREIGN FRESH MEAT.—The steamer Cesarea, from
Hamburgh, has brought several casks of fresh-killed
butchers' meat as a portion of her cargo, consigned to
order. This description of foreign provision is on impor-
tation free of duty.
While a lad named Sharp was furling the topgallant
sail of the brig 2Eolus, off Flamborough Head, on the Ist
instant, his leg was struck by lightning, and was so se-
verely injured that it was necessary to land him at Brid-
lington Quay, in order that he might obtain medical
assistance.

Mazzini is said to have forwarded a long commu-
nication to the Central Committee of Resistance, in
London, giving an account of the progress of democratic
principles throughout continental Europe, which he deems
highly satisfactory to the revolutionary cause.—[He has,
however, denied that the address proceeds from him.]
There is said to have been a contest between Moses
and Nicholl for the 900 guinea advertisement on the last
page of the exhibition catalogue. It is to be presumed
neither of the combatants were disposed to concede the
additional 100, as the place of honour is occupied by a
watchmaker.
Great excitement has been created in the town of
Uttoxeter in consequence of the absconding of a master
shoemaker, named John Weston, taking with him a sum
of £250 belonging to the Widow and Orphans' Fund of
the Odd Fellows. The offender was secretary to that
branch of the Order.

Four wheat stacks and a bean stack were destroyed by
fire on Friday week, in the farm-yard of Mr. Skelton,
near Worksop. The loss is estimated at £650, and Mr.
Skelton is insured for £5OO. The fire was occasioned by
an incendiary, as all the stacks had been fired from the
bottom, and burst out in flames simultaneously.
On Sunday week, at Inverness, a sparrow-hawk darted
through the closed window of a house, at a canary bird,
in a cage, but missed his first swoop. After hovering for
a moment or two in the room, the hawk made a second
swoop and struck the cage with such violence as to be
thrown on his back, and was then easily captured by
some children who were in the apartment at the time.
A new two-act comedy, called "Kensington Gardens,"
written by Mr. R. B. Brough, was successfully produced
at the Strand Theatre last week. The Times says " the
dialogue is rendered with a great deal of English smart-
ness by Mr. Robert Brough." Miss E. Romer, sister to
Miss Anne Romer, made her dibilt on the stage in the
piece.
_

At Guildhall, London, on Tuesday, two men were
brought before Alderman Wilson, charged with painting
in whitewash on Blackfriar's Bridge " Free Trade and
Starvation." The men said they were paid ls. 6d. to 2s.
a night for their work by a gentleman. The Alderman
gave them the alternative of cleaning the bridge or going
to prison. They chose the former.
The body of a hawker, named Charles White, has been
found in the river Tees, below Barnard Castle, under cir-
cumstances which have created strong suspicion that he
came to his death by violence. The hands were tied to-
gether, and there were wounds on the face and forehead,
which bled on the body being taken out of the water, and
which were inflicted before the unfortunate man was
drowned.
The extent of the coal area in Northumberland and
Durham is, in round numbers, 500,000,acres, and, conse-
quently, its total contents amount to not less than
10,000,000,000 tons of coal, of which 1,500,000,000 only
have been worked. The present annual consumption is
estimated at 10,000,000, including the waste; and it con-
sequently follows that, at this rate, it would take above
eight centuries ro exhaust this single field !
PRINCESS'S THEATRE,—A farce, written by Mr. Wm.
Brougb, was produced here on Wednesday night with
complete success. The plot refers to the anticipated
over-crowding of longing-houses during the World's
Fair. " The piece," says the Times, " met with the
greatest success which the author of an extravaganza
could desire. A continsed shout of laughter followed
its
marked 14 termination."
progress from beginning t 9 end, and anar Of mime

NEW TOWN HALL AT LEEDS.—A few days ago this
subject was again under discussion by the town council
of Leeds. A report of the committee was presented, and
the council expressed a favourable opinion of the site
recommended—namely, the ground offered by Dr. Hob-
son, in Park-lane. The matter was eventually referred
back to the committee, with instructions to obtain plans,
and an estimate of the cost of the proposed building.
A copy of the first edition of Cocker's Arithmetic.
" printed for Thos. Passenger, on London Bridge, 1678,"
was sold by auction at the rooms of Messrs. Puttick and
Simpson, London, on Saturday week, for £8 10s. There
is no copy in the British Museum, and the catalogue de-
scribed this as one of only two extant copies. Dr. Dibden
has never seen any edition printed in the seventeenth
century ; be mentions the thirty-second as the earliest he
had met with.

A man at Bristol is in custody on a charge of ill-using
his daughter. Her step-mother is also implicated. She
was kept confined in a small room for months, and had
only pieces of dry bread given to her twice a day. The
room was never cleaned except by herself, and the accu-
mulations of filth were thrown under the fire-grate. She
was beaten on several occasions by both the prisoners,
and she exhibited a shocking spectacle of emaciation,—
her body being worn away to a skeleton, and being dis.
coloured and ulcerated.

FRENCH WHEAT AND FLOUR versus BRITISH LINEN
YARN.—Just in the same proportion that we increase our
imports of corn from France, so do we export less of linen
yarn :

IMPORT OF WHEAT AND FLOUR.
Wheat. Flour.
1841 147,966 qrq 161,011 cwt
1850 595,355 qrs ..1,925,175 cwt,

LINEN YARN EXPORTED

1841 20,882,875 lbs. l 1850 690,502 lbs.
SINGULAR FAMILY.—In taking the census at Otley,
one of the enumerators had to record perhaps one of the
most singular families in the kingdom, comprised of six
individuals—father, mother, and four children. Five of
this number are deaf and dumb, and have been so from
their birth—namely, the mother, three sons, and a
daughter. In other respects few persons could be found
to surpass them ; they are particularly lively, active, in-
dustrious, and most interesting to those who know them.
—Wakefield Journal.

DISCOVERY OF A GAMEKEEPER'S CORPSE IN A WOOD.
—The body of a gamekeeper named Howe, who had been
abQent from his home, at Finhaven, since the previous
"Wednesday, was discovered in a wood near Forfar, on
Sunday last. In their faithful attachment to their master
his two dogs were found lying by his side, one of them
having died by protracted abstinence. The result of medi-
cal inspection shows that poison had been the agent em-
ployed in occasioning How's death; but whether it had
been administered by himself or not is unknown.—Dundee
Advertiser.

There appears now to be some probability of discover-
ing the Californian gold dust stolen from the South-
Western Railway. Mr. Inspector Field has ascertained
that two men left Southampton by the mail train on the
night of the robbery with two weighty bags in their pos-
session ; and it is stated that there is good reason to be-
lieve they had the two boxes of gold dust in their posses.
sion. On reaching the Waterloo station they got a cab,
and drove to the terminus of the Eastern Counties Rail-
way at Shoreditch, where they alighted and went into a
coffee-house ; after remaining a short time, they hired
another cab and proceeded to the Minories.
A DOG WITH AN UNFORTUNATE NAME.—A. few days
ago, two or three young ladies of the highest respecta-
bility were taking their evening walk, when they saw
approaching a countryman with a dog. The dog, in its
playful mood, seized the dress of one of the your g ladies,
the countryman bawling out as loudly as possible " Stop-
per, Stop-per !" At length the dog quitted his hold, and
they were released from their apparent danger. On
arriving at home they related their unfortunate adventure,
and the countryman was sent for, when it was ascertained
that he had named the dog " Stopper," and that when the
young ladies deemed that he was bidding the dog to
" stop her," he was making the best use of his lungs to
call " Stopper" away.—Hereford Times.
PROTECTION OF FEMALES.—The report of the pro-
ceedings of the fourth quarterly conference of the Nor-
thern Counties Societies for the protection of females and
for the prevention of prostitution has just been published,
and gives a highly satisfactory account of the exertions
made by the several societies in carrying out the impor-
tant objects for which they were constituted. A commit.
tee has been appointed to co-operate with the London
Society for improving the dwellings of the labouring
classes, and Lord Ashley has furnished several valuable
papers on the subject, which have been of great
service in prosecuting the necessary inquiries in this
district. The next conference will be held on the third
of June. A deficiency appearing in the finances of the
society, an appeal is being made to the public for pecu-
niary aid, and from the good already effected by the so-
ciety, it may be anticipated that the appeal will be cordially
responded to.
SOYER'S BANQUET TO THE LITERATI OF ALL NATIONS.
—On Thursday evening, the " Baronial Hall" of M.
Soyer's Symposium, was the scene of a festive reunion of
the " literati of all nations," on which interesting occa-
sion the metropolitan, provincial, and continental press
was represented. Amongst the general company, which
numbered upwards of 300 gentlemen, were several emi-
nent artists, whilst the portraits of the several celebrities
in art and literature, local as well as foreign, occupied
prominent positions in the decorations of the hall. Of
the banquet in its various phases, it were needless to say
more than that it fully sustained the reputation of M.
Soyer, and afforded him the opportunity of adding to that
reputation by the accomplishment of a feat hitherto
deemed impracticable, even by those most skilled in the
gastronomic art, namely, the roasting of a huge baron of
beef in the open air, by gas. M. Soyer, as the presiding
deity, occupied the chair on the occasion.
AN INJURY NOT AN TNJURY.—The Morning He-
rald says :—" The only event of note in our advices from
Madrid of the 7th instant is that Queen Isabella had had
the misfortune to break her leg the previous evening, in
descending from her carriage at Aranjuez. We are happy
to say the injury was not of a very serious nature." Our
contemporary sets down a broken leg as a trifle. He must
be related to Horace Walpole's sullen friend, who never
laughed but once, and that was when his best friend
fractured his thigh. The associates of Tybalt saw that
gentleman run through with a rapier, and " were happy
to assure him that the injury was not of a very serious
nature." It was certainly, as the sufferer remarked,
" neither as deep as a well, nor as wide as a church door,"
but, as ho significantly added, "it will do." The Queen
Dowager of Spain may say the same when she is told that
a broken leg is a trifle. The matter, we suppose, would
not come into the Heraldic category of " very serious"
unless her Majesty had broken her neck. At all events,
it is difficult to gather from the daily journals what is and
what is not serious. The Morning Post of Friday speaks
of a " serious accident" to the Marquis of Anglesey, by
which his lordship " was not seriously injured."
RIOT AT HOLYHEAD.-011T correspondent writes :
The past week has been one of great excitement at Holy-
head, and a serious riot has taken place at the harbour
works. For some time past the Welshmen engaged at the
works have harboured very hostile feelings towards their
fellow labourers, the Irish, on account of the prejudices
they entertain towards the country of the latter. On
Saturday evening last an Irishman stabbed a Welshman
in a drunken brawl with a knife. The latter narrowly
escaped with his life, having received a dangerous wound
in the neck. On the circumstance becoming generally
known on Monday morning, a party of Welsh, engaged on
the mountain, made a furious attack on a number of the
Irish, and with much cheering forced fifteen of the poor
men on board the Irish Express packet, leaving their wives
and children behind. On Tuesday the excitement became
still greater, business was suspended, and the shops were
closed. All public-houses were ordered to be shut up,
and no liquor to be sold. A great number of workmen
perambulated the streets all night. On Thursday, after
much persuasion, the men resumed work, and it is hoped
that the affray has ended. The late disturbances on the
Bangor and Carnarvon Railway, which originated in the
same feeling of prejudice against the Irish, have termi-
nated, and the line is rapidly progressing.
THE EAGLE AND THE GRAVE-DIGGER.—On Monday,
as the sexton of St, Nicholas's Church, Nottingham, was
preparing agrave,he perceived a majesticeagle soaring in the
air, being evidently about to alight in the churchyard.
The bird-king took a gallant swoop, and then settled on a
mound of green turf near the wonder-struck sexton, who,
in a fit of desperate courage, resolved, if possible, to effect
a capture of the noble bird. The feathered giant peered
keenly at his civilized opponent, and drooped his wings
like a game-cock preparing for " the tug of war." They
advanced towards each other, closed, struggled, and the
contest had commenced. Textile manufacture soon gave
way before the rapid attacks made upon it by the eagle's
hard beak and sharp talons, but the representative of the
man tribe was determined to show that he was one of the
" lords of creation," and resolved to conquer or perish in
the attempt. His coat sleeve was reduced to a thing of
shreds, but still the battle was vigorously maintained, now
the bird and anon the man appearing to have the advan-
tage. At length however, by a coup de main, the sexton
floored the monarch of the feathered tribe, and having
rendered him powerless by pinioning his wings, he bore
him away in triumph. This circumstance might astound
the ornithological world, were it not stated that the eagle,
though it certainly alarmed the sexton, was afterwards as-
certained to be " the living sign" of Mr. Raynor's, the
Spread Eagle, Long-row, Nottingham. It had slipped its
chain that afternoon, and escaped.—Notts Guardian.
A CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS COMMITTED TO PRISON 1
—At Marlborough-street Police-court, yesterday week,
Capt. Henry Paulet Somerset, Coldstream Guards, was
other constables to prebent all carriages from going into
tbhr
ao udgi ha
at
hua pr
goenathe ica hdaur gve. ofGorbiffistnrupc t
69,
wasa p ol
placedce ma
within
ti
hn
the road leading to the Exhibition, and to send them by
Rotten-row. The Captain, driving in a phaeton and pair,
paid no heed to the gestures and wavings of the police-
man,
vtehetnhesepizoeldicetmh ea
nr eai n
ds ,0
zuepno
Ina
swhhe isc
ohr t
rah eo
Its gallant
across the face and head, till he let go.—The
hsmCoiaaslpdntiw'eahrwinihgpcomplained that he was afraid the horses would
kick, and, as the constable would not when told let them
go, he lost his temper and struck him ; and he considered
the policeman had not paid that respect due to a gentle-
man.—Mr. Hardwick expressed his surprise at an officer
in her Majesty's service not setting a better example of
obedience to those in authority. Constables must be
protected in their duty, and he should send the Captain
to the House of Correction for ten days.—Defendant :
House of Correction ! Pray allow me to pay a fine. I
trust you will consider your decision over again. Such a
sentence will probably oblige me to leave my regiment.
I will pay any fine you may inflict.—Mr. Hardwick : No ;
I decline to make any alteration in the sentence. The
law knows no distinction of persons, and there are no
circumstances of mitigation in your case, as you, from
your position, melt to have set an example of obedience
to those in authority.—Capt. Somerset was then removed
to the lock-up cells, evidently in a state) of moat uncom-
fortable bewilderment,

May 20 1851.
...

THE SOCIAL AND MORAL RESULTS OF TO

GREAT EXHIBITION.

(From the Bath Chronicle.)
owfe
which vtehde
tionahgeni
gi fihctee nne
tehoof
psi
est:7:l allet.chtz,e
i n cliVd tsst
we must repudiate the pregnant social character
which
some writers extravagantly claim for it. When we are
told that a building so imposing the world never saw ?,e.B
fore, we point to the vat or s Colosseum of Rome,the
Pantheon, or the Pyramids, greater in their decay
this brittle palace in its prime. When we are told the
the assemblage which its opening attracted is without Pa
rallel, we recollect the hosts of Xerxes, the army of occa
pation in Paris, and the million of men who stood face to
face within this very year on the soil of Gertnall;
While, however, we cannot unite with those who wou
exalt the occasion to the top pinnacle of vain glory, we
give all due praise to the Exhibition as a great and War.
vellous show.
We deny that the mere fact of the Duke of NVellingtoa
and Mr. Cobden shaking hands on the occasion is a fout•
dation broad enough for the settlement of universal Peace;
A huge fair, in fact, has been opened, in which the war%
of many lands, and the best of their kind, are exhibited,
They are collected in one spot instead of being geatter.
throughout the warehouses of a great city. The Exlin
tion is a great gala sufficiently attractive to draw the 10
rious from long distances. Considering it in this „
cannot view it, as some have done, as a national dangel
as the probable herald of national calamity. But if it were
really the commencement of a new era, the fraternised()
of the world, and the social phenemenon which it appear„
to be in the dazzled eyes of our commercial philoscpber::
then are we thrown back upon the warnings of experien
We cannot but remember that Providence has plan
,710
the spirit of separation in the family of nations, as in the
family of individuals, for wise purposes, and that the re,.l
suit has been the growth of various energies and forms
industry. We cannot but remember that as of Greece,su
of Rome, when they had reached the highest pitch °f res;
finement they fell, until they have become in our day
the merest dust in the balance of nations. We carlo
but remember that the growth of wealth and arts--er, 1.„
ace a fitter word, of the luxury of which we are now beat
ing—are as frequently the signs of decay as of progres"
Coming down to later times, we cannot but remernbe!
that the first French Revolution, which converted Earet
into a volcano, was heralded by a gentle spirit in the P"„"
litical world, the patronage of industry and art by prince"
the growth of commerce, and a spirit of liberalist)!
amounting to political indifference. To use the words oS
Alison, " a sweeter blood seemed in all to circulate
through every member of the political body. The loweso
of the people under governments the most despoticat
longer held their countenances prone to the earth, ale
were taught to erect them with a becoming sense of theft
own nature; and the brow of authority, instead of al
austere frown, wore a more inviting airof complaceneY
amenity." Descending still lower in the course of dal
we cannot but remember that only three years ago it °I
proclaimed that, politically speaking, the lion had Ir
down with the lamb. " There will be no more:reveli
tions," said the " apostle of free trade;" and then, 135 a
in mockery, the tempest burst in an unclouded sky, a"„
whilst sovereigns were shaken from their thrones, the%
terial interests of the greatest nations were shattered to
atoms. We shall be laughed at, doubtless, by those 0
are now so loud in their praise of human perfectibilitY; _,"O
reply that these are the dangers of the Exhibition, ifiti,"
indeed, the mighty thing which they represent it to ue'
In the noble language of Burke, we declare that "
longs to the infinite and unspeakable Power,—the Deity,it
who, with His arm, hurls a comet like a projectile On
of its course, and enables it to endure the sun's heat, a'
the pitchy darkness of the chilly night, to aim at the 04;
illation of infinite perfection ; to vs, poor, weak, incaPae,t
mortals, there is no safe rule of conduct but experienceAt
But, as we do not regard the Exhibition as a gr'
industrial and social revolution, so we do not fear soasoil
disturbances from it. It will have its benefits.
stimulated a special industry, and it has opened a fie'"is,
which practical skill and invention may reap their bargee jo
It will please the eye, gratify the heart, and possibly, 0
some slight degree, lead to improvements in the 1110
condition. It will enrich " mine hosts" of the Pupil,
inns, revive the drooping spirits of lodging house-keel)."
and restore the palmy days of railway shareholders. ro,
will create acquaintance beyond the sea; and, in all and
bability, there will be much additional " marrying, 710...
giving in marriage." There will be a great sale 0 cs,
mestic calicoes and a great purchasing of foreign ,t,0)0
But it cannot be honestly said that the occasion sc"
an unmixed one. May we not expect, on the contrta;
some of the demoralization inherent in a great egging
Our neighbours may impart their Sabbath.brealill
habits, if they do not infect us with their lax notionsge'r
religion ; and probably they will not leave their gr°s
vices at home. We look for a striking exemplificatialjer
" the mingled yarn." Just, in truth, as a fair is Pr so
nant with evil, as well as good for trade, to a district(
Jo
will the Great Exhibition be to the whole company' the
in the one we see special constables sworn in, so in
s i 0
other we have troops collected to keep the peace. Apr,
a town, too, all legitimate business is paralysed by a
so is the business of our nation by the " World's Far itri
An inefficient ministry is kept in office, even against of
own will, because of the Exhibition. A dissolution.oo
Parliament, to which the nation is looking for a solat.l_
of its difficulties, is deferred, because of the Exhibitie(s'o
Justice cannot be obtained by the agriculturists beeatif
of the Exhibition. No wonder, then, that they seartol
regard it with a favourable eye. Finally, London u„ '
benefit at the expense of the country. Already our s,.
he r
keepers have suffered from the hoarding for the ExhiTo
tion ; and people will spend money in the metrof1g
which the country tradesman will wish had been frAioll
home. We heartily wish to believe that the Exu".3a
we
will be productive of far more good than evil ; 2111whicii
sincerely say " Amen" to the beautiful prayer with Taoo
it was opened. But we protest, in the name of cerawitll
sense, against the arrogant if not irreverent boasting_,lo
which the project and its consequences are spokenueirog,
some quarters. We protest, on still higher gr°
against the notion that this harvest will be free ,080
its full share of weeds. To conclude in the ad of the
which common honesty has extorted from one tiler
loudest of the panegyrists :—" We are alive to the uesteoo
of magnifying that act. We know how often the gr
tragedies have been ushered in by a morning of Pr itself
We know that works of art are perishable, that o'oo
will have an end, and that a world's happiness fi?tiot
not in the multitude and splendour of its acnaleti
We feel, too, that we tread on tender ground w
congratulate our species on any other union than t"
apd
which the sanction and means are expressly Divine,
the duration eternity."