The Press. — London, England, 1858-09-18 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEPTEMBER 18,1858. 896 oeive that these wise precautions have been laid aside under the impressions of a false economy. It is the natural wish of her Majesty's Government to contribute to the safety and protection of the distant dependencies of the British Crown, but the necessities of the empire have withdrawn many troops, and may compel the withdrawal of more. In a critical period of our history, these necessities at home, and a strain upon our resources, both in men and means, have called forth the generous and loyal sympathies of her Majesty's subjects in many parts of her colonial empire. But it is not alone by the material addition of a new regiment to the line, or by munificent contributions in aid of those who have experi enced the sufferings and losses of a barbarous warfare, or by the expression of a loyalty and devotion, that the English colonies can give the mother country an effective support in seasons of trial and difficulty. It is by evoking the means of self-defence and internal protection, by enabling this country to avail herself to the utmost of her own military resources, and by dispensing with the troops which, so long as they could be spared, have been freely given, that the \Vest Indian colonies will best mark the spirit which, iam persuaded, animates them. It is a sacrifice which the mother country has a right to claim, and which the colony ought to be the first to approve. It was therefore with gratification that I have observed during the recent riots the readiness with which so many gentlemen have hastened to enrol themselves on the side of c7.ler, and to place their services at the disposal of the governor. It is with still greater satisfaction that I have learnt the intention to form volunteer corps, alike to secure the colony from aggression abroad and to maintain peace at home. The more fully that this selfreliant feeling is confirmed, and that these precautions are adopted, the less will be the prob of the danger, and the more the discipline and the efficiency that can be communicated to the new force the less will be the expense and the diffi culty in preserving a high standard hereafter. There can be no safety to life or security to property, and to the transactions of commerce in that community, which does not earnestly and resolutely seek to develop within itself the requisite force to vindicate the dignity of its own laws against the outbreaks of internal disorder. I watch with interest the progress which the colony ender your government is makirg in this important and salutary direction, and her Majesty looks with confidence to the loyalty and good feeling of the inhabitants of her West Indian colonies in rendering their utmost support to the authorities in this somewhat difficult, but necessary and laudable undertaking. You will take an early opportunity of making these sentiments known to the Legislature .of Antigua. BRITISH COLUMBIA has already occupied the atten tion of the Colonial Secretary. Sir E. Lytton has made arrangements for opening a bank at Van couver's Island, and ultimately in Bntish Columbia. He has also suggested a plan for uniting a fortnightly postal commun►cation to New Zealand and South Australia via Panama, with a postal service by the same route to Vancouver. Mr. Brew, of the Irish constabulary, who served with great distinction in the Crimea, has been appointed to organize a con stabulary police in British Columbia. Two chaplains are sent to the colony by the Society for the Pro pagation of the Gospel. THE REPORT ON THE PURCHASE OF COMMISSIONS IN THE ARMY, on the evidence of Sir C. Trevelyan, has been published. The committee appointed by the War office discussed Sir Charles's recommendations or suggestions seriatim. Having given definite an swers to certain questions of detail specifically put to them, the committee proceed to show their bear ing generally upon Sir C. Trevelyan's statement. Sir Charles, they remark, has estimated that a net reduction of 81,8661. a year, as compared with the present expense of the purchasing portions of the army, would result tram his propositions ; but OHb commiitee, differing from him in the important item of the expense of the full-pay retirements, estimate that an increase of about 220,000/. a year would be thrown on the public, plus the cost of compensating officers who have bought their commissions or ob. tained by service a claim to sell. And there are circumstances which might not improbably add still more to this increased expenditure, arising out of the proposed discontinuance of widows pensions. The inquiry of the committee was confined exclu sively to the financial bearing of Sir C. Trevelyan's proposition. The calculations of the committee are endorsed, as correct, by an able actuary, Mr. Charles Gellicoe, vice-president of the Hon. Institute of Actuaries. MR. PATRICE Coi.ouuor has been appointed to the vacant judgeship in the. lonian Islands. The essential requisites tor that appointment are an in timate knowledge of the Greek language and of Roman law ; and Mr. Colgtilynin is not only a pre eminent scholar in ancient Greek, but speaks the modern language with the facility of a native, while be is the author of the most learned and authorita tive recent work upon Roman civil law. A AlttErtso of GREENWICH ELECTORS and others, held on Thursday evening, amid considerable confusion, was addressed by Mr. Ernest Jones, as a candidate for the vacant seat for the borough. A resolution in favour of manhood suffrage, the ballot, triennial parliaments,and re -arrangement of electoral districts, was carried unanimously, b u t a resolution in favour of Mr. Ernest Jone N's candidature fell to the ground, an amendment being adopted to the effect that it was better to wait before selecting any condi date, inasmuch as the new writ could not issue for several months. THE WEST RIDING, according to rumour, IS to be cut up into two parliamentary constituencies in the Reform Bill of 1850. THE INVESTIGATIONS into the state of the store and clothing depots at Weedon, Woolwich, and the Tower, will be resumed on Tuesday next, in No. H Committee•room at the House of Commons. proe l an oThat,at nv:.nueree.. Ha'.lltteknsilier: , eifhmhTe hnsmeet expressedrei . iol e esst o afw tml divided. tcneol hianrm:esgraitt: Mr. W. F. Cooke, Mr. J. Blight' Mr. Booth Scott, Mr. T. Kelly Mr T being e r r e its o oa and ae h drol e ynt h e t T shr i u d teyg e dg o 3r.e c eas e autri o gsv t h ' eoi M l o r at . fhn A adt l h e bm 'x ea eorf ' Gt r i or ' d i c ; ip h s . s t e a e r s a pu d r es e c . a s al i .l a T ' i p m ci a s v e a d d b a y s V t. a i s i l c o o w u s n , t a P t a t l h m e e r. e s l t a o s i e i , l a L f r p P d ar r a J M a in t t edo e e p e eisi,rnu h os ri a opw s pn • o e rhseoe t iv o neohnf o ta i vi s ecgo e r r ube v rta c e t :oein t fa h g a ee t amta s hb al o e m mni i c i a - sk e P he e n h aoo o it. : g f l ee : r e iwn u oeg p rg o dul n s.ao Sir J. against atzri Shelley natsnotg sts:: hxpe,i m aa ai o nat v dna e d e. t"oh theamendment. T a The accumulation of substi tutiongimaaiuvt d ete ; ei : te paragraph 20, the committee divided, six to t•ix, on an amendment of Mr. Percy, depr eca ti ng any sewage arrangement that might injuriou s ly affect other towns and places on the banks o f the river; the chairman again voted against the amendment, hi h was therefore negatived by his casting vote. motion was made for the removal of th e mud bank under the terrace of the Palace at Westminster, and the raising of a bank of gravel along th e terrace to within a few feet of high-water mark at the terrace wall, and for the continuance of such bank uniformly to the distance of about 200 yards on each side of the terrace, so that the eddies continually depositing sewage matter may be got rid of. The com m it tee , dividing, rejected the motion by eight to four v o tes . Tfrowss ALLSOP, the alleged accomplice in the attempt made by Orsini anal his two confederates on the life of the Emperor of the French, has returned to London ; the reward of 2001. offered for his apprehension having been withdrawn after the acquittal of Dr. Bernard, indicted for the same con spiracy. There is no doubt that Mr. Allsop has been in London for a week or two, though he has escaped obsereation until now by all save his own immediate relatives and a few others. It is said that on quitting this country, he went first to the United States, and after remaining there some time pro ceeded to Mexico, and thence again to California. From California, so soon as he found it was safe for him to do so, he returned direct to England. Mr. Allsop was at one time a member of the Stock Exchange and resided at Natfielti-house, near Reigate, his own property. He formerly lived at Redhill, in the vicinity of Lincoln. THE COMET of Donati, according to Mr. J. R. Hind, who wntes from Mr. Bishop's observatory, in the Regent's-park, under date of Monday, presented itself as a very conspicuous object in the north eastern heavens from three to four o'clock that morning, the sky being remarkably clear. Its nucleus was as bright as a star of the second magnitude, and, tnoogh not planetary in appearance, bore high magnifiers better than any comet he remembers to have seen. 'fbe tail, which might be traced in the " comet-seeker." about five degrees from the head, consisted of &single ray, very well defined on the side preceding with reference to the direction of motion, but fading a wa y indistinctly on the opposite side. A very faint ray of light emanated from the nucleus towards the sus, as previously remarked in several of these object:. an 1 he thought at momenta that a short " fern " or "sectiou" issued therefrom at right anglei to the axis of the tail. The increase in the brightness ~ f this comet is so nearly in confarmity with theory that there is a high probability of it hieing visible wit h telescopes in full sunshine about the e p aet of maximum brilliancy in October. The a pp arent diameter of the nucleus is about five seco nds of are, and, as the comet is still upwards of 10,000,00 0 miles from the earth, the real diameter is over 3,000 miles. Taking the apparent length of the tail attire degrees, its true length appears to be about .5,000, 000 miles. Encke's comet was very distinct is the clear morning sky. As the Mercury of comets it Iri!I always possess interest for the astronomer, though just now the far brighter one of Donati wi I of coure : attract more general attention. He adds the! the path of the comet appears to be very well represent/ by a parabolic orbit, and, conseque nt(, , it is : o likely to revisit these psa ts of space for a kw ha.' yam A FEARFUL SCENE AT A FIRE happened )a Tueinia: morning about five o'clock. A fire broke out on t h e pre mines of Mr. Thomas Macrow, a tead!aler, No.l William's•place. Walworth-road. So string a hot' had the tire obtained, that it was fount imisai•ibl' for any one to get down stairs, and Mr. and !dr , . Macrow made tor me of the windows. Rarinswordi, the conductor of the Royal Society's escape, tmme (timely proceeded with his machine to the burnini house, and arrited just in time to resew from the occupants of the house. He was obliged to carry - Mrs, tMheachreoaw, heated d low s n themo ke.ladder, she bang! nu'ea* c Bible THE SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM has been during the week ending Sept. 11, by WO liert",.''' The total number of visitors from the mailing Of t"' Museum is 582,147. ftlttragolitan. CHOLERAIC AND DIARRHCEA DISEASES, SO notoriously prevalent in England in the autumn, especially during the "plum season," are thus referred to by Mr. Simon in his valuable preface to Dr. Greenhow's report :—Cholera, dysentery, and diarrhoea, during the nine years from 1848 to 1850. carried off to the regions of Orcus as many as 2:37,429 persons. No annual average, however, can be struck, because the number of deaths from these diseases is not what mathematicians would call " a constant quantity." Thus in 1849 and 1854 there were 116,240 deaths, while in 1850 and 1855 only 29,425 deaths occurred from choleraic diseases. These diseases prevail epidemically in certain years, and hence the annual inequality of fatal cases. It is no consolation to be told by Mr. Simon that diarrhceal diseases are decidedly increasing in this country. Their propor tion from 1847 to 1855 was five times as great as from 1838 to 1842. The epidemic attacks of these alvine diseases are sometimes of appalling seventy. " Probably," says Mr. Simon, " since the days of the great plague death has never so seared our English population as in the cholera epidemic of Newcastle iu 1833, and in the Golden square, Regenestreet, outbreak in 1854." Nothing in medicine is more certain than the general meaning of high diarrliteal death rates. The mucous mem• brane of the alvine or intestinal canal is the exciting surface to which nature directs all the accidental putridities which enter our bodies. Whether inhaled, or eaten, or drunk, or absorbed into the blood from the surfaces of foul ulcers, or directly injected into the bloedvessels by the physiological experimenter, there it is that they settle and act. As wine "gets into the head," so these malefic agents "gets into the bowels." There, of course, they tend to produce diarrhoea, either simple or specific, as when the ferments of cholera or typhoid fever are in operaiion. " And it is a practical certainty," says Mr. Simon, that "in the districts which suffer the high diarrhceal death -rates, the population either breathes or drinks a large amount of putrefying animal refuse." A certain quantity of diarrhea', no doubt, depends on other causes than putrefactive pollution of the system, such as plithisis (which often proves finally fatal by a purgative process), errors of diet, and habitually improper food. But these various causes operate evenly throughout England, and their aggregate results are so inconsiderable as not to affect the above general conclusion. The quality of the water for drinking has produced the most fatal and disastrous effects in the metropolis, it being estimated that two thirds of the cholera deaths in those parts of London which have most severely suffered from that disease were caused by river water polluted by town drainage, sewage water from the Thames—water abundantly charged (as proved by microscopic observation) with matter in course of putrefactive change. And it is certain that the choleraic pison is invited by filth and impurity ; or, in other words, that it requires a foul medium for diffusing its contagion, supposing the disease to he contagious, as some contend. The great preventives to cholera would accordingly be pure water, pure air, good ventilation, good drainage, wholesome and nutritious food, and general cleanliness both of the dwelling and the person. Cholera loves dirt and filth, arid, like vice, shuns punty as a thing uncon genial and odious to its very nature.—Phtliisis and pulmonary diseases, aceorling to the (same report, cause very nearly one-fourth of the annual mortality of England. Every 100,000 of the population on the average, 552 victims annually to this deadly class of disease. This death rate is far from uniform ; the district death-rate varies from 210 to 999. Infants are peculii.ily susceptible of pulmonary disease. 23,000 children, under five years of age, annually die of inflammations of the respiratory organs, besides 4,000 deaths from pure plahisis. These 27,060 deaths are so unequally distributed as to range from 213 in the healthiest to 2,897 in the unhealthiest district of England. THE STATE OF THE THAMES has been reported on by the select committee. The minutes of evidence have been printed in the form of a bulky blue-hook. The witnesses included Mr. GoblswoerhyGurney, Mr. .T. Downey, Mr. W. Cory, jun., Mr. R. Miller, Mr. 'F. Holmes, Dr. L. Thompson, Mr. W. Scholey, Mr. Alexander Gordon (an eminent engineer connected ith the Board of Trade), Mr..l. Walker, Mr. G. I'. Bidder, Mr. Bennett Lewes, Mr. J. F. Bateman, Mr. W. Haywood, Mr. Bazaigette, Mr. W. Woodcock, • Ru 5 the to' d lilt (it tho thi S to A( th Ire at he ar re S t til P I of k vi 1 in 11 of ho til ;. Cr e A is is si d II C It n t. or r. It 1, Ie ;el le ht ar Ia le ;h is of I Dr IS is It th of ut 'e, ra gr ill :11 ;te le at IC ha 1, Id ;le ;e• tg t IO le ;