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MUSEUMS AND PICTUEE GALLERIES.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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ill-that State ( Hungary ) , so that all places were full of complaints ; and the Empeeok was So besieged by the authors of these oppressions / and the proceedings were so suminary . upon very slight grounds , that it was not . to be wondered if the Hungarians were disposed to shake off the yoke , when a proper opportunity should offer itself . " " And , " he adds , " it is not to be doubtedbut the French had agents among them "—a description of danger which it seems Austria ifTwilling repeatedly to incur , rather than forego her meddling . This was in 1701 . Shortly afterwards , Ragoczi was made King , but on his expulsion , the Austrian Em ^ egok was again admitted to the lloyalty , on his once more engaging to leave to Hungary its civil and religious liberties .
After this , in 1722 , the Hungarians made the further concession of admitting even the female heirs of the House of Austria to their throne—an addition to the before-mentioned arrangement . Almost every reader knows that , later in the century , Austria ' s debt of irratitude was enhanced—that the Hungarians literally saved the throne of Austria from Frederick the Gueat . They have been faithful subjects in extremity , and for all this Austria ' s debt has l ) een paid in repeatedly-violated covenants . -We repeat , that we do not consider the Hungarians positivelyblameless : such men as Hagoczi and Tekei . yi may have been unreasonable ; the congregations mny have been unwise in rejecting the reforms of Joseph II ., simply because lie had not gpno through
the ceremonial of being crowned King of Hungary .- In their internal administration , as far as it has been left to themselves , the country nobles may have been overbearing and ignorant * and the tpwndepur ties silent and despised—but Austria has had ' no right to forget her obligations and violate her word . In social matters , Hungary owes nothing to Austria . Not many years ago , a German traveller , Kohl , was able to say that " there did not exist in Hungary one hospital , almshouse , poor-house , or lunatic asylum supported or instituted by Government . All improvement was left to such men as SzECiiENYi and Kossuth—long before the latter name was known as . that of a justly malcontent missionary of resistance against Austria .
Austria has not a moment to lose in thoroughly conciliating Hungary , if she . wishes to concentrate her strength for any coming struggle . Her last move was the act of blindness and bigotrybad for herself , bad even for the relig ion of which she wishes to lie the diampiontand whiclHias made its last advances in England , at any rate , solely on jthe ground that in Germany , at least , it had ceased to be'tyrannical and aggressive . Tin ' s was one of the keynotes of almost all the thinking' men who advocated the measure of Roman Catholic Emancipation . A cross is often erected where brigands have committed a murder . Perhaps the Cross of Rome more strongly resembles the hilt of the dagger left in the body of expiring liberty ^— ¦ " Extantes reclusi 3 Pectoribus c . ipxilos ( Italias )/' Wo hope sincerely that any reform which . Austria may be making in her treatment of the Protestants of Hungary ^ niay be permanent , but we cannot help reverting to i > ast experience in this matter .
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npjlE country is now in possession of the expected report of tho J- Fortification Commissioners , and no one will be disappointed at the result . It was wise on the part of the Government to bring such a question before Parliament towards the elosb of a session , and the votes required , if taken at all , will be most appropriately passed in the small hours of the morning , when vigilance has been out ' wcached and the national purse guardians are asleep . The sum demanded for this precious scheme is just under twelve millions , —the Commissioners , with a ludicrous ' affectation of exactness , stopping short at , £ -11 , 850 , 000 . For this . sum , in a little more than three yeiuv » , we may construct works at various places , as the following table will show : —r
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j Itocoiinnendntiona of the j Alrondy ,,, Itoynl Commission , authorized , Toial AJ ' " ; .. : —I l » ut not I Puri'lmsu of Erection ¦ of " ' voted . I Lund . - | WorUd , j ¦ ¦ Portsmouth ! 3 , W , 0 " 0 2 , 070 . 000 400 . 000 2 . . O 0 O Plymouth ... ' ¦ 7 fir » , oni > i . ms . ooo n . w . ooo : * , 020 . 000 Pembroke I lfiO . . . fiO . OilO 1 IS 5 . 000 7 <) 5 , ' 0 f > Portland ! 10 !> . Ol ) 0 liW . 000 I I 5 S 0 000 030 , 001 ) Thumcs \ fvlWl , ™ r 1 SO . O 00 \ Nil . ImO . OiiO aiodwi . y and Slioernces ... / 6 (> > ()( K ) V 400 , 000 Nil . . 150 . 000 Ohnilmm ... lso . ooo i , i 7 o . ooo Nil . i ,: tr . o , ooo Woolwich 300 , 000 . 1 / 00 , 001 ) ' Nil . ' 700 , 000 Dover 20 , 000 irx > , onii KS » , ooo . : i : i 5 . ooo . Cork - iuo . ooo Nil . 120 , 000 Armiuncmt . of Worka ... — — —I •"• 00 . 000 FloatliiK DofoncL's , — _ j- — I 1 . 0 '"> , 0 »» Totni ! , c'i , aaft . ooo I 7 , oo . > , ooi > i , 4 ( io , oi » j ii , a '> o , ooo The presence of every , j « l » is Us economy , and an obsequious Cabinot could have no difficulty in proving- tliat tho country was agaijujr by paying Hrs Royal HighnuBS PA . TicittfA . Mixrvs tho salary of a Field-Marshal in addition to his other pny . Our CwnmiHsioners pretend that their fortifications would enable us to do with fewer troops , although tho contrary ia obviously f , ho cano , for everyone of the plans specified would require large garrisons , and additional forcea must bo providod to meet the enemy in tho field . We are almost surprised , that our fortifiers admit that the whole coast
! cannot be defended by walls , batteries , and bastions . Sir Joseph Paxton ' s notable design of putting all London under a glass case , and growing our metropolitan beauties like hothouse-grapes ; would have been transcended by a scheme for encircling our tight little island with ramparts and guris , and JLord Elgin might . have leen commissioned to send home plans and particulars of the Cninese wall . One great object which the fortification schemes had in view , was to provide for the defence of our chief arsenals , if they were assailed by a large force landed upon our shores . The theory is , that our Channel fleet would be certain of preventing the landing of an army
on some part of the coast , and from this probable surmise a false inference is drawn , that great- fortifications are desirable . In the first place , if our home fleet were well appointed , and did its dut } % and if our chief rivers were defended . by .. gunboats ; and movable Armstrong guns along their banks , no important landing-place could be many hours in the possession of an enemy ; and we must remember , it would require several days to land a large army , with its complement of cavalry , artillery , baggage , and stores . It would be a great achievement for all possible enemies combined , if they could disembark 100 , 000 men anywhere near an important place , and such a number we ought to be able to deal with , without putting them to the trouble of a tiresome siege . To make out the
amount of weakness necessary for the ' success-of our invaders , if no fortifications checked the ardour of their arms , ifc is necessary to dispose of our volunteer forces , and fortification commissioners can beat as ' nsjiny as you like with a stroke of the pen . This kind of authority manufactures its own history , as well as its designs for forts * , and wilfully ignores the abundant proof that volunteer troops are fully equal to regular armies . The soldiers of a French revolution who scattered | the best-drilled legions of their enemies , were to all intents and purposes volunteers— -not practised men . The Hungaiian volunteers put to flig ht the old warriors of Austria , and Garibaldi's Cacciatori did not fail either at Varese
or in Sicily , because ' regular troops fought against them . The Fortification Commissioner ' s and army red-tape officers confound raw levies with trained and well-armed volunteers .. There is no reason why our volunteers should be ignorant of their business ; they have proved that they can learn soldiering much quicker than the ignorant men who are the usual subjects of the recruiting sergeant's engaging attentions ; and all that they : want to make them [ . . efficient in the nekl is , to be commanded by officers whom they believe they can trust . Under a GabijbaxdI they would not flinch from any foe ; and if war should arise , bunjpa ' trioti « -QuEE 2 rwould : no doubt lock up the ( 3 keys and Phippses in one of the royal cupboards until the
victory was won . _ " t We " shall return to this subject at-greater , length , on another occasion , but we could not lose a moment in denouncing a scherne that can onlv be the precursor of sinister designs upon the national credulity and purse , and would have us trust in stone walls / rather than in ' that indomitable courage of our people which hus never fniled us in the hour of need .
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IT does not appear -probable that the British public will trouble — i-fKeTTTnllelriuJo ^^^ antiquities . It is in a very secondary degree affected by natural history , however well exemplified and illustrated by stuffed beasts , birds , fishes , ' insects * and reptiles . It does not care greatly for menageries , though it . is always well pleased when it does catch a glimpse of them , and it will even spare a second or so to view the happy family at the foot of "Waterloo Uridge . J 5 ut beyond this quiet acquiescence in them as good things , which belong to itself , and are therefore to be proud of , it takes no further care ; and were they—National Gallery , Biilish Museum , and . all—transplanted .. to Coventry , it would do ' no more than growl for a week or two , and declare ihe whole proceeding a disgraceful job . We all know that the British lion is a remarkably somniferous animal , hard to awake , and when awakened hard to Htirup . You may do anything to him but take away his dinner , and he will let a good deal of that go
before he will get up . Presuming- upon this notable good nature of the beast , those who manage \\\ a art-concerns for him take v « ry much their own way , and copy a leaf out of the Spanish book , and a . s in tliHt country when it rains they ¦ " lot it rain , " so here , when tho British lion growls they let him growl . We have lately had several striking instances of this . Sir Edwin Lasdskkh , a pninttr , has been appointed to carve the lions for the base of tho Nkmon monument ; they were given to JUr . liOUGii ; but , as ho is a sculptor , and peculiarly skilled m animal life , the commission wa « cancelled , lest an iimnno idea should
get abroad that a man who has anything to do for Government in the way of art ou ^ ht to be qualified to do it well . Indeed , the prevailing- ' notion bccujs to be that a novice should be employed , because if he " jfoca wrong , tho nation can pay for it , and never mind the little bill which comes in iimong tho miscellaneous estimates at tho cMiV 7 > fil'io-y ^ diiion is that ho « houhl bo a novice of the right sort , that howhould bo a friend , or what is still bettor a connection of t \ w family—that ho tihould be in good odour with Gkkyh , JXua «« i . i . s , and Elliotts , or , what is equally meritorious , that ho bhoulU . bo a German . ii . x « perimentfl have been lately made with bo much success on the public temper , that wo shall soon havo a now un-angomont oi all our treasures of ail , unless we can stir up a little iechug on the Hiibiect , The plan is by no means given up of removing the pictures from tho National Gallery to Kensington , whore , as a moans ot
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June 16 , 1860 . J The Leader and Saturday Analyst . 567
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Museums And Pictuee Galleries.
MUSEUMS AND PICTUEE GALLERIES .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 16, 1860, page 567, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2352/page/11/
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