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Leader (1850-1860), 20th June 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 4

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      Imperial Parliament. —-•?—%-I Mon&Xg, Ju...

      If they rejected the bill in opposition to the opinion of the other House , the proceeding would be pregnant with evil to the Church of Ireland . He urged upon the House that they would place the Government in a position of considerable difficulty by rejecting the bill , and earnestly implored of their Lordships to pass it . The Earl of Derby warmly opposed the bill , ^ which was only justified by Government' on the low ground of expediency . The impost was not a tax on religious opinions , but a rate levied on property , of the existence of which the purchaser is well aware when he buys it . The funds at the disposal of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners are inadequate to meet this additional burden of 12 , 000 ? . per annum . If the bill -were passed , the

      Commissioners would be compelled to abstain from carrying out the very objects which they are appointed to advance . The measure was an acknowledgment on the part of the Government that they are not strong enough to maintain the law , and that , in compliance with an unfair agitation on the part of the tax-payer , they had consented to violate the sacred rights of property . He moved that the bill be read a second time that day six months . — This motion was supported by the Bishop of Kilmore , "Viscount Dbngahnon , the

      Earl of Wicklow , and the Earl of Donoughmore ; while the second reading was advocated by the Earl of Cork , Lord Talbot de Malahide , the Earl of Ellenborough ( who , however , objected to transferring the charge to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners , as they are almost bankrupt , and who thought the amount of the tax might be saved by giving the management of the Irish Church Temporalities to the Irish Board of Works ) , and the Duke of Newcastle , who nevertheless conceived that some explanation "was due from the Government with respect to the non-enforcement of the

      existing law by the Lord-Lieutenant . Earl Granville replied , and said , in regard to the suggestion made by the Earl of EUenborough , that , though he did not presume to pledge Government on the subject , it was a suggestion well worthy of attention , and which , if feasible , might be productive of a great saving and great good . With respect to the point raised by the Duke of Newcastle , Earl Granville said : — " The noble Duke who spoke last said that the Government

      ought to give some explanation with respect to the charge that the law has been suspended in deference to those who resist its operation . I know of no declaration such as that quoted as coming from the Lord ^ Lieutenant ; on the contrary , I know that the legal proceedings in question were pushed with the utmost vigour until the Parliamentary announcement was made by her Majesty ' s Government that it was proposed to bring in a bill on the subject , when , of course , the proceedings were arrested . " ( Hear , hearS )

      The Earl of Derby made a few supplementary observations , and referred Lord Granville for an explanation , for which he had asked , respecting the preparation of the bill abolishing Church cess , to the Lord Chief Justice , who , as Attorney-General of the Grey Administration ( with which Lord Derby , then Lord Stanley , was connected ) , drew up the bill . —Lord Campbell rose on this appeal , and reminded Lord Derby that he had thrown overboard ten Bishops —( Hear)— and the Church cess ; and he regretted he had not also thrown over Ministers ' It foney . He believed that Ministers' Money was overlooked ; but this bill would complete the work .

      Their Lordships then divided . After the numbers were ascertained , proxies were called , when the result stood thus : —Contents present , 65 ; proxies , 36 ; total , 101 . Noncontents present , 71 ; proxies , 25 ; total , 96 . Majority for second reading , 5 . —The bill was then read a second time , and the House shortly afterwards adjourned .

      SAVINGS BANKS . In the House of Commons , in reply to Lord Goderioh , the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that , in the event of the Savings Banks Bill becoming law in the present session , he should be prepared to assent to the appointment next session of a committee to consider the general state of the law relating to savings banks , both aa regarded their constitution and the financial questions raised by gentlemen opposite , with a view to the reconsideration and consolidation of the statutory enactments .

      ARMY ORGANIZATION . On th « report of the Committee of Supply being brought up by Mr . Fitzkoy , General J * eel called attention to portions of the evidence taken before the Sebastopol Committee and the Cholsoa Commission , showing the necessity of defining the reaponaibility and dutioa of the various departments . The great fault of our military system , he observed , is the making on © department responsible for another , and he instanced the Quartermaster-General ' s Department ; so that there is a want of security for the co-operation of the whole . There should

      be a proper organization of the various War Departments , and . a clear definition of the duties and responsibilities of each . —Mr . Ellicb , Ben ., believed that very much had been done since the late -war to . put the army In a state of efficiency ; but n definite statement from the war department on this important subject was looked for by the country . As a consequence of our copying the continental system , wo had now a much larger number of staff-officers than was hitherto considered nooeasary . He gavo a qualified condemnation of the establishment at Aldorohot s and doubted whether there did

      not previously exist sufficient barrack accommodation about the country . He should have preferred Aldershot being a summer camp rather- ( than permanent barracks . —Sir John Pakington thought the Crimean evils were rather the result of general disorganisation than of personal demerit or shortcomings . He trusted that the cause of the errors had now been removed ; and that , should a war again unfortunately arise , the * army would be found to be in a state of complete efficiency . —Sir William Codrington attributed a great deal of the disorganisation of the army to the clashing authority of the Commander-in-Chief and the War Secretary , the latter of whom is constantly interfering in the details of military management . The knowledge

      and training acquired by our men at Chobham in 1853 was of great use to them during the late war . — Mr . Henley said he should regret to see the details of army management brought into the House of Commons . — . Sir John Trelawney complained that the aides-decamp in the English army are less efficient than those on the Continent . In France , an officer cannot be an aide-de-camp unless he has served two years in the cavalry , two years in the infantry , and two years in the artillery ; and even then he must pass a rigid examination . Lord Palmerston said the subject was one ^ of great interest and of considerable . importance . When the war began , the House would recollect that our military departments were not in a satisfactory state ; but the arrangements had since been altered : there are now only two departments- and there has been a great

      simplification , tending to expedition as well as efficiency . As to the expediency of establishing a distinct line of separation between the duties of the Secretary for War and those of the Commander-in-Chief , although a line might be drawn upon paper , yet in execution one department must avail itself of the services of the other . Under our Parliamentary system , moreover , for every act there must be an adviser responsible to that House , and this showed that it was impossible to build up a wall of brass between the Secretary for War and the Commander-in-Chief , separating entirely the functions of the two . He was glad to say that nothing could be more-complete than the harmony and confidence of their communication ? , and Lord Panmure was engaged , in concert with the Commander-in-Chief , in working out arrangements for the distribution of business between the two departments .

      Mr . Stafford believed that the Premier desires to carry out military reforms , but is frustrated , —After some further desultorv discussion , the subject dropped .

      ORDNANCE SUKVET OF SCOTLAND . The question of the 25 ^ irich scale survey of Scotland was again brought before the House by Sir Dkniiam Norreys , who considered it useless and extravagant , and who advocated the employment of the six-inch scale used for England and Ireland . He moved that the supplemental vote of 151 , 744 J . for the Ordnance Survey be reduced by 36 , 000 / ., the sub-estimate for the 25-inch survey of Scotland . —The large scale was also

      condemned by the Earl of Gifford , Mr . Hknley , Mr . Locke , Colonel Boldero , Mr . Vance , and Mr . Tite , and approved of by Lord Duncan , Sir William Jolliffe , Lord Elcho , the Lord Advocate , and Lord Palmerston , who contended that the larger scale is , in fact , more economical . —On the House dividing , there appeared—for the amendment , 172 ; against , 102 ; so that the Government was left in a minority of 10 . —The vote as reduced was then put , and carried by 290 to 22 . The remaining votes were also agreed to . Some routine business being then got through , the House adjourned at turned half-past one .

      580 The Deader. Rno. 378. Sa^_ '

      580 THE DEADER . rNo . 378 . sA ^_

      The Handel Festival. The. Series Of Full...

      THE HANDEL FESTIVAL . The . series of full rehearsals of this magnificent celebration commenced last Saturday . The weather was lovely , and the palace was crowded with music-lovers and glowing with the brilliant dresses of the ladies . In another part of this day ' s paper we have entered into a brief critical estimate of the performance itself ; but in the present place it will bo neceasary to give the reader some idea of the general arrangements , which were on a scale of unparalleled vaatnoaa and grandeur . And here we cannot do bettor than reproduce aoino of the interesting details laboriously collected by our daily contemporaries . Wo road in the Times : —

      " The orchestra , its aspect , and the method of its construction , havo already been described in general terms ; but a few brief technical memoranda will not bo out of place . Thia really ingonioua and novel work of architectural carpentry waa not erected by contract ( like its coatly prodeceaaor , at tho inauguration of the Sy don ham Palace in 1864 ) , but planned and completed by Mr . W . Eareo , the company ' s resident clork of tho works , aseiatod by the permanent staff of workmen . It occupioa a space of 14 , 784 superficial feet , 168 foot wide , and abht of tho

      sorbs 10 , 102 cubical foot of timber . Tho weig entire structure ia about 100 tona . Tho banka of aoata for the chorus are 28 in number , whioh , With 0 for the inatrumental performers , makea a total of 82 . JLUo highest range ia 5 , 2 foot from tho floor of tho orohoatra , where Mr . Costa , the oonduotor , and tho principal vooallats are stationed . Tho average curved extent of each range of aoata ia 100 foot . Thia huge masa of timber ia supported by uprights , ' with a scantling of 5 Inches by 6 , and diagonal braces 4 inches by 1 J .

      In the Daily News , we read : " Thn awu » , """ like a vast amphitheatre , and wouldI bSEtf" ** where else as affording sufficient accomStion f " " large audience . The orchestra , in the form „• ° a rises from the floor at a front deration o 8 4 ? 2 ft then carried , m a series of semicircular stenf I from 10 to 15 inches each , to a total hSgS of 2 W Ample room has been- giveu to the performed S " violins havo 15 square feet , and the double b 2 ea 2 ? violoncellos 24 square feet for each desk . Tim S ? are all seated on raised benches ; each nerson h era inches in width by 30 inches in de Jh h * m * 21

      " The organ , " says the Times , . " erected for the n sion by Messrs . Gray and Davison ( who also bnilf Vk ' instrument for the last Handel commemoration whw ! took place in 1834 , at Westminster AbbeyV cov ^ area of 42 X 26 feet , and is supported by a * plaK of enormous strength and solidity . " A pamphlet has been published , in which the organ is thus described--. "Tt width is 40 feet by a depth of 30 . The reader wfll perhaps , be at a loss to conceive how by any possibility a musical instrument can require 1200 superficial feet of

      standing room , and be tempted to set it down as a piece of display—an attempt to impose on him by the mere appearance of magnitude . A few simple facts will however , convince him that these arrangemen ts are controlled by a necessity passing all show . When he is told that this organ contains 4510 sounding pipes varying in size from 32 feet in length with a diameter sufficient to easily admit the passage of a stout man ' s body to less than 1 inch in length , with the bore of an

      ordinary quill ; that , in order to place these 4510 pipes efficiently at the performer ' s disposal , at least 6800 other separate working parts are required ( many of these being complete machines in themselves , tbe separate members of which , if reckoned as in the process of manufacture , would at least quintuple the number ); that all these . 11 , 310 sounding and working parts require such a disposition and arrangement that each one may be more or less easily accessible for those occasions of adjustment which must frequently arise in so complicated an instrument ; and , finally , that the entire masa

      before him weighs nearly fifty tons , lie will scarcely fail to perceive that the space is economically rather than ostentatiously occupied , and will , ir . oreover , be enabled perhaps to understand some of those points often deemed mysterious with regard to large organs in generalsuch , for example , as their cost and the time occupied in their manufacture . " This wonderful instrument stands on more ground than is allotted to most ordinary houses , and the orchestra covers considerably more space than is found in any music hall in the kingdom . "

      The marshalling in their proper places of the 2500 vocal and ¦ instrumental performers must have been a work of great difficulty , but it was accomplished with admirable precision , quiet , and celurity . Mr . Costa was exact to his time ( eleven o ' clock ) , and th : n the harmonious thunders poured forth through tho vast building with wonderful and unrivalled effect . Tbe pieces performed consisted of extracts from the Messiah , Judas Afaccabccus , Israel in Eyypt . An interval of an hour , for refreshment , took place between the two parts , and the performance terminated with tho National Anthem . At the end of the rehearsal , Mr . Costasays tho Times , " summoned the

      superin-, tendents of the various London and provincial branches of tho chorus , with whom it was arranged that the sopranos and altos should change places with the tenors and basses in the orchestra . Tho fairer members of tho chorus will now bo stationod in tlie centre , which will prove advantageous to tho general cfloot , sinco during Hie rehearsal it was more than onco remarked that tho male voices were heard with much greater distinctness than the others . " Tho same writer gives the subjoined sketch of tho nppciminooof the Palaco previous to and during tho performance : — " Tho winding staircases that connect tho ffnllerioa with each other appeared locomotive

      to distant beholders as though endowed with power—as if , indeed , they themselves woro mukwg wun strange evolutions the passage from platform to platform , of which they woro merely tho unconscious instruments under the pressure of living feet . Tho oppor unity of perpetuating so imposing a spectacle was not lost , since , vvliilo Mr . Costa was directing the rohoarsul ol one of tho choruses , Messra . Nogrettl and Zambia , photographors to tho Crystal J ' alneo Company , proourou , » almost an inatant of time , for tho stereoscope , a vjj striking daguorrootypo view of the whole orchestra ana a groat purt of the audience , which was »^* J ™ % forwarded to tho Ouoon . " Tho rolwnwal oudod about

      three o'olock . , . 'r | lfl Tho second performance took place on I > lon «« 3-woathor again waa glorious . » The road fromJD » ie < to tho Palace , " says tho Times , " had an a ? V ^ m which wo can only on poet to boo ngnln lo-m ° rro ' aoomod a Uindof """ iionJo Dorby U « y , biit « n ^ respect inoro orderly than tho mixed , note ' » J ™ ° , , which alwnya marka that groat oquostrl . S « ^ All tl | o pathwnya and hedgerow * woro"nod w » n rf tritorVnndon t »> ° 1 '" » 8 out ? V JS ^ thMPeot floated l « dlbfl , whioh gave' to tho whole roiid tno I of a long fUte vlmmjiGtrc . An im . noi . BO oio > wd . oil i wore collected outside tho building , * . ul ro . na noU i ^ throughout tho entire porforrnAn ™* - Jiioy w , tainl y not unrewarded , for durinfi tho olioruM » " » » , ( 0 » f voices eoomod to swell from tho building , and

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 20, 1857, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20061857/page/4/