The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-11-02
NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1856.

olFN1Nd Vi The IMMUNE A1ao"Ns |
rHAcKERAY ON GEORGE THE FRsT-The COM
nittce of the Mercantile Library Association
opened the lecture season last evening to
crowded house, at the Rev. Mr.. Chapin's
church, Broadway. The lecturer was Mr.. W.
NJ Thackeray, successful writer, and the last
British lion who has favored US with the sight
of his name and the sound of his roar. The.
subject Of his lecture last night was the re- I'm
of George the First, King of England, fro1n the
year IVA to 1927. Mr.. ThackergJ will con
tinue these lectures until the rei,,ns of all the
Georges have been Analysed. The Lecture
Committee of the Society are entitled to credit
for their enterprise in securing this STAR
whose terms are about three hundred dollars
per night. The receipts Of the lectures Will
increase the fuGds of the society, and enable
the young fellows to zee lots Of pretty girls,
who will come to hear the lion roar not kaow-
ing Chat he is only Snug the Joiner, after all.
Mr.. Tbackeray has made request that the
newspapers will not report his lectures. We
kave not reported him, but we do not acccde
to his request. We do not report Mr.. Thacke-
rays lectures simply because they are not
worth reporting, and our space is too
valuable to be filed up with speculations
upon the anatomy of dead mems bones.
AT the same time we desire it to be distinctly
understood that we hold to the doctrine that
mouth they become the property Of the public.
If they are worth printing we always intend
10 give them. There is no more research or
labor required to get up a lecture like that Of
Mr.. Thackeray on George /. than to prepare
many of the articles which appear in the
HERALD. Yet we give them freely, and never
stop the exchange when the country papers
steal them--a not unfrequent occurrence.
Again Mr.,Everett, Mr.. Choate, Mr.. Bancroft,
and other gentlemen, whose words are really
worth preserving, are happy to give them
freely SO that all classes, from the highest to
the lowest, may profit by them If man has
genius, it is a gift of Heaven, and it belongs
TO all. It is the especial duty of the press to
give record Of the triumphs of orators
and lecturers for the enlightenment of the
people, The lecturer speaks to hundreds the
audience of the popular newspaper is counted
by hundreds of thousands So, if we thought
Mr.. Thackeray's views on the Georges were
better than Goldsmith 's-which any one can
consult, free, ct the Astor Library-we should
report them. AS it is, we may review the lee
lures at some future time.
"CAN SUCH THINGS Be ?''-"Is there no balm
in Gilead ?" Us there no hope for the Webster
and Fillmore silver grays? According to the
article which we. copy to day from the Tribune,
built upon the testimony of quasi American
party organ, the straight wings had crooked
meeting in this city last Saturday, at which
they resolved TO fuse and form an amalgam
with the soft she'll Pierce Van Buren, Buffalo
democracy, anti-slavery resolutions, Patrick
II. Agan, the jerry rescuer, and all! We are
further told that this fusion was the result of
a recommendation from Ex-Governor Hunt to
go it. Our Seward organ speaks as by the
card; it knows "frcm the best authority" that
Governor Hunt had declared before Saturday
last in favor of this artful dodge, and that
Saturdays meeting was called together to
carry out his wishes. "Can such things be?"
We can't believe it. We suspect that this is
one of those barefaced Roorbacks peculiar to
desperate and reckless political tsicksters upon
the heels of every important election--a trick,
weak invention of of the enemy to blacken
the fair fame Of the rebellOus silver grays
But If we are mistaken-if these grays have
gone over to the Van Buren, browns, to defeat
the Seward blacks--there may be something in
John Van BGren's prediction of fifty thousand
plurality for the soft shells, after all. Per-
haps the Prince was in this secret when he
went to Washington the other day; and this
may be the reason why he carried his head so
high against the thunders of the Kitchen Cabi-
net. Wing silver grays and Van Buren, softs
fusing! Well, if it is so, it is too late to halo
it. We can only exclaim with Ophela, ave
know what we are, but we know not what we
may be-" Seward and Preston King-Gov-
ernor Hunt and John Van Buren, Who goes
there?
A QUEER CONVENTION. They are having an