The Press. — London, England, 1857-04-11 00:00:00

THE PRESS. APRIL 11, 1857. have landed at Macao ; but he declined to do so. He got back to Hong Kong as quickly as possible, and made a voluntary statement to the authorities. When a chest in his house was broken open 1,200 dollars were found in it by Mr. MAY, the superintendent of police ; and the extent of his dealings and payments immediately previous to his leaving fur Macao clearly indicated that he meant to carry on his business as usual at Hong Kong. The proof of his innocence seems conclusive, and so far the case may be dismissed. But there are two circumstances in connection with it which call for remark. The first is the barbarous and inhuman treatment of the prisoners. On their apprehension, they were, forty-two in number, thrust into a cell about fifteen feet square. The air-hole was a mere slit in the wall, and the galls and floor of the dungeon were (lamp. In this horrible place they were confined for twenty days, being compelled to perform in it the requirements of nature, with scarcely sufficient space to lie down, with no bedding, or change of clothing. Those who have visited this black hole descril.e the stench exhaling from it as terrible. The wonder is, that the prisoners survived their cruel sufferings. The second point is, the animus displayed by the Attorney-General, Mr. CHISHOLM ANSTEY, on the trial. He endeavoured, if the account in the China Mail reports him correctly, to terrify the jury into returning a verdict of " Guilty," by declaring that, if the prisoners escaped, the lives of all the British residents in Hong Kong would be imperilled. He demanded that an example should bo made to strike terror into the hearts of the Chinese, and insisted on the expediency of hanging the prisoners, that no similar attempt might be made in future. Such considerations were foreign to the ends of justice. The only point to be determined was the guilt or innocence of, the prisoner; and Mr. CHISHOLM ANSTEY by his intemperate harangue, and by his call for an " example,' seems to have excited scarcely less disgust among the British community than was felt at the barbarous treatment to which the prisoners were subjected. After their acquittal, they were detained, and recommitted to prison. We hope that our Premier, when next he denounces the proceedings of that " insolent barbarian," Commissioner YEFh will not omit to express his disapproval of the confinement of forty-two Chinese prisoners in " the Black Hole of Hong Kong." YEH himself could scarcely have done worse. The Hon. and Rev. Mr. PELHAM, the rector of Marylebone, and brother of Lord CHICHESTER, is it is announced, to be the new Bishop of Norwich. Many persons did not believe the report when it was first promulgated. They thought it unlikely that Lord PALMERSTON would fill up an ecclesiastical dignity several weeks before it could be legally vacated. A bill must be introduced into the Legislature, and be carried through all its forms, before Dr. HINDS can vacate his see, or his successor be appointed. A still stronger ground for incredulity was the character of the appointment. It was thought impossible that Lord PALMERSTON should have so completely surrendered himself into the hands of a panicular party in the Church. It is now, however, clear that he has done so: that the compact has been signed, sealed, and delivered ; that the Premier is to continue the part of " the man of God," and play out to the end his new role of political Tartuffe. The unseemly haste with which the choice has been made, and the triumph with which it is announced, looks very like a delibe rate attempt to produce a schism in the Church. The great body of Churchmen will never consent to have the Prayer-book nullified, which seems to be the aim of the extreme Evangelical party. As a compensation for this danger, the divines selected by Lord PALMERS TON are chiefly remarkable for their poverty of learn;ng, their political partisanship, and their patrician connections. It has been well remarked that the Premier seems determined that the names of his prelates, if not found in the book of life, shall, at least, be found in the book of the peerage. An old divine, seeing inscribed on the sepulchre of a peer, the words, " Ultima domus," wrote with his pencil : Did he who thus inscribed this wall Not read or not believe St. Paul, Who says there is, where'er it stands, Anothei house not built with hands ? Or shall we gather from his words, That house is not a House of Lords? Had the writer lived. in these days he would not have ventured the doubt on the connexion between the two houses which his lines express. Even supposing Lord PALMERSTON'S prelates to be the reverse of what they are usually thought, supposing their lights are hid under a bushel, and that they are really men of genius, learning and profound thought; and, supposing, moreover, that extreme opinions are a legitimate recommendation as evidence of great earnestness, we then repeat that this description of earnestness must be sought on every side alike, and the Episcop.tl Bench be made fairly to represent the opinions which prevail in the Church itself. If this be not done, then it is evident that the plea is merely a pretext, and that the real object is to insure the ascendancy of a particular party in the Church, and to secure votes in the House of Lords by promoting to the Episcopacy the most dangerous of all characters—men who to violent opinions unite only moderato abilities, little sagacity, and a slender stock of infor mation. The Board of Admiralty possess a certain and unenviable reputation, which the chapter of accidents never helps but on the wrong side. Troops are just now wanted for China and the colonies. The Admiralty, with commendable haste, fit out troop-ships. The first leaks like a sieve ; officers write to the Times, predicting a melancholy fate to the passen gers, and the foundering of the ship in the first gale of wind. A second is fitted out, and sent down channel, with a similar result. In both cases the ships return, are docked, undergo extensive repairs, and at length, once more declared seaworthy, are finally sent on their way. Ac last a third troop-ship is ordered to be prepared for 361 China. There is luck in odd numbers, if there is any truth in popular superstitions ; but even popular superstitions, when applied to the Board of Admiralty, prove false and inefficacious. This troop-ship had once leaked, but she will leak no more ; she had once broken down-- Lord GRANVILLE remembers the occasion—but she is guaranteed never to do so again. She puts to sea, gets into a fog off the Needles, and drops her anchor for the night in five fathoms. The officers of the watch forget that their ship lies at single anchor in a tideway ; they neglect to keep her clear of her anchor, and, of course, at turn of tide she swings foul, knocks a hole in her forefoot, and is taken into Ports mouth harbour next morning with nine feet water in the hold. Official writers—and the Admiralty in this case, we must admit, are doar from blame—console us with the absurd reflection, that if the accident had happened at sea, how much more horrible would have been the result with eight hundred men on board, and not boats for a fourth part of them. Such an accident never could have occurred at sea ; and it is a piece of unpardonable neglect in some quarter that it should have happened at all. The crowded state of the great metropolitan thoroughfares has long demanded a remedy. They are rapidly becoming choked up with traffic, and threaten soon to become impassable for vehicles except at a foot-pace. The consequent inconvenience need not be dwelt on. Every one must have experienced it who reckons that, by getting into cab or omnibus, he will be "just in time " to reach a particular railway-station. Our eyes, ears, and limbs are alike annoyed and endangered by the present condition of the streets. Who shall first devise a practicable remedy for this great and growing inconvenience will deserve the title of a public benefactor. Mr. RIMMELL, a civil engineer, has forwarded us a plan for the introduction of street railways, to be propelled on the atmo spheric principle. His design is to erect the rails upon cast-iron columns and girders, at an elevation of fourteen feet above the level of the footway. The line of road would be so contrived as to form a circuit, connecting the principal railway-stations, and passing through the main thoroughfares, by which means only one line of rails would be required. By this plan all chances of collision would be avoided, and trains might be kept continually moving. Mr. RtMMELL does not overlook one objection which may be urged to his plan. It is, that his line would be brought nearly on a level with the first-floor windows of houses. His idea is, that this would simply lead to the employment of first floors i as show-rooms, and that thus tradesmen would be rather gainers than otherwise. Mr. RIMMELL suggests the New-road as a favourable locality for a model line in the first instance, to connect the stations of the Great Western, London and Birmingham, and Great Northern Railways. It is for the benefit of the public, we think, that the scheme should be tried somewhere. We cannot go on much longer with the streets in their present state, and we are bound, therefore, to pay attention to any inventor who comes forward with any feasible scheme of improve ment. It is but justice to Mr. RIMMELL to say that all the details of his scheme appear to have been carefully considered, and that he supplies a strong presumption that the lines he proposes would be eminently remunerative, could they he brought into operation. The Report of Dr. LETHEBY, read before the City Commissioners of Sewers on Tuesday last, is one of those revelations of the horrors by which we are surrounded, which from time to time startle us out of our apathy, and arouse even the sluggish emotions of acclimatised citizens. The subject of the present report is unhappily no novelty, though, for all that seems to have been done in the way of remedy, it might well appear one. The shameful and shameless condition of the lodging-l►ouses of the London poor is still a standing reproach to an enlightened and philanthropic generation. The Order in Council prohibiting the importation of cattle and hides from the Baltic ports, is a necessary and, as far as it goes, an excellent measure to prevent the importation into these islands of the murrain now raging among the cattle on the Continent. But, unfor tunately for us, the Order in Council only meets the evil at one extre mity. The murrain, by the latest accounts, is raging in the low marshes cf the Elbe ; upwards of 80 per cent. there of the cattle are reported to be affected ; while it is notorious that throughout the whole Duchy of Holstein the murrain has spread and is extending. It is front these very ports of the Elbe, the Eider and Weser, that the exportation of cattle is greatest; and yet the st-m considered in the wisdom of Government most efficacious as a preventive measure is to prohibit the importation from ports in the Baltic whence cattle sel dom come, and to permit importation from ports in the German Ocean whence cattle always come. We trust the authorities will amend their decision, and at once include the German Ocean ports in the prohi bitive order. Mr. THACKERAY, who was entertained last week at a public dinner at Edinburgh, took advantage of the opportunity to reply to the charge that he enjoyed, with malicious pleasure, exposing the vices of deceased monarchs. Mr. THACKERAY grounded his defence principally upon the fact that he had invariably lauded her Majesty the Queen. Reigning Sovereigns have seldom wanted similar tributes of admiration. Mr. THACKERAY must be well aware that Queen ANNE was endowed with all The royal virtues as with crown and ball ; and that GEORGE the FIRST was the " Caesar" of cotemporary writers. We doubt whether it would be quite safe for any lecturer of the present day to speak otherwise than respectfully of her Majesty the Queen. and Mr THACKERAY can hardly therefore expect that his laudation will be received as conclusive evidence of either generous feeling or devoted loyalty. A