The Sun. — London, England, 1866-12-20 00:00:00

BRITISH AND FOREIGN ART UNION.- A SYECTAL MEETING of the Shareholders will be held at the Office. No. 30, John-street, Bedford-row, on IatSVAY, the 3d day of .lanuary, 1t67, for the DRAW ING of the SPECIAL LO lI"HEATRE ROYAL, lIAYMARKET, Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Buckstone, THIS EV.I4.NING, A GAMk OF SPECULATION. Messrs. C. Mathews, Chippendale, Kendal. Rogers, Clark, Braid, ; Mesdames Fitzwiliam, Laws, Wrignt, Sidney. Followed by ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Mr. Chas. Mathews, Mr. Compton, Mr. tiog,ers, Er Clark, Ste. ; Mes dames C Mathews, Hill. Wright, Colman, Sidney, &e. To conclude Ilia' FIST' OU T OF WATER. Mr. Compton Commence at Seven. . SOTIIERN.— On BOXING NIG RT, in L a New Comedy, "A LESSON FOR LIFE," by Tom Taylor, llryo arket Theatre. lIE ATR E ROYAL ADELPIII. :Foie Proprietor and Matia!,;er, Mr. B. NVLbster. THIS EVENING, at Seven precisely, TUN: BARONET ABROAD. :Hiss Roden. Alter which. at EiglP, A SISTER'S PENANCE. Miss Rate Terry, Miss Hughes, Miss Emily Piit ; Mr. Herman Vtzin ; Messrs. Billiogtoo, Ashley, J. A. Shaw, Stephenson, ;tburne, Ilom.r. To conclude with A PASDE FASCINATIOY. Miss Furtado. Miss Emily Fitt. Messrs. Eburne, Aahly, Homer, C. J. Smith. ROYAL OLYAIPIC THEATRE. New Management.—Boxing Night. MR. AND MRS. ChARLES MATHEWS. -ROYAL STRAND TIIEATRE. bole Lessee and Manageress, Mrs. Swanborough. TIIIS EVENING. NEIGHBOURS. Messrs. Parselle, Belford, and G Murray; Misses Swanborough, Johnstone, and Hughes. After which. will be produced the Grand Burlesque of KENILWORTH: Messrs. Thorne, Jame.. and Fenton ; lidesdames Swanborough, Johnstone. and Raynham. To conclude wiai BOOTS AT THE SWAN. Commence at Seven. HOLBORN THEATRE ROYAL. Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Sefton Parry. TEItS KVENING, a new Farce, MY TURN NEXT. Mr. Delmore, Miss Foote, hiss Lennox. After which, Boucicault's drama of FLYING SCUD. Messrs. Neville, Belmore, Blake, Garden,Vollaire ; Mesdames F. Josephs, C. Saunders, B. Foote, Raym nd. rpHEATRE ROYAL, ASTLEY'S. Under the Sole Management of Mr. W. H. C. Nation. - This Theatre is CLOSED until BOXING NIGIiT (Dec. 2G, 1865), when s% ill be produced the Great NATION-AL Pantomime, HUSE - I-A-BYE ABY, UPON Till; TEE;; TOP. Further particulars will be duly announced. E "SUN" NEWSPAPER. — G. 11. GLENIE, Sporting Library, 4, Connaught• terrace, Ed4ware-road, is specially appointed AGIOI e to deliver the LATE EDITION of " 1IIl•; SUN " at the earliest possible moment alter leaving the press. Ile is able to deliver copies in Town, the Suburbs, and in many parts of the Country at & comparatively early hour the same evening, say 49 miles by 9 o'clock. Orders by Post punctually attended to. TILE "SUN" NEWSPAPER.- G. R. GLENIK delivers the LATE EDITION at Clielse I, 7.40 ; liilbuzn, 8; Starch-green, 8; Woolwich, 7.30 ; Uxbridge, 9.20; Walford, 8.15. THE LATEST EDITION of "THE SUN." J. LIOLMES begs to inform his friends, and the pubic 7,euerally, that he supplies the LATEST EDITIuN SUN " as soon as published —No. 16, Hampstead road ,N.W. THE LAST EDITION of " THE SUN " supplied as soon as Published. containing all the LA ['EST NEWS and s:2ott.riNur I.YrELLIGE E, by NC U. W. HABILIS, Newspaper Agent, 4, Blacktriars-roaU, Loudon, S. cIPORTING.—JOHN ROBERTS supplies the ishLAsT EorrioN ot " SUN - as souu as pub ud. —l, Ila.th-strcet, City-road, E.C. FOR THE LATEST POLITICAL and SPORTING INTELLIGENCE see the Late Edition et " The Sue" at Mr. Blake's, Queen's Head, Windsor street, Uxbridge. LATEST INTELLIGENCE.- 1.4 Samuel SMITE', late of Chelse now of the White hart, Acton, Middlesex, begs to inform ]i's friends and neighbours that the Latest Edition of "The Sun" can be seen at his house as above. MOSES and S O N, E. Ready-made and Bespoke Tailors, Habit Makers, Woollen Drapers, Hatters, Hosiers, Boot and Shoe Manu facturers, and General Outfitters for all Classes. E. MOSES and SON respectfully invite an inspection of their STOCK, which will be found to comprise all the most fashionable styles and an extensive assortment of the newest fabrics. A very large and well-assorted stock of OVERCOATS, and Winter Clothing generally, at their usually moderate prices. The following are the London addresses of E. Moses and Son :- 151, MINORIES. 155, MINORIES. 156, MINORIES. 157, MINORIES. 83, ALDGATE. 81, ALDGATE. 85, ALDGATE. 86, ALDGATE. 87, ALDGATE. 88, ALDGATE. 89, ALDGATE. 506, NEW OXFORD-STREET. 507, NEW OXFORD-STREET. 508 NEW OXFORD-STREET. 1, HART-STREET. 2, HART-STREET. 3, HART-STREET. 137, TOTTENHAII-COURT-ROAD. 138, T (Yr TENHAA.I-COURT-ROAD. 283, EUSTON-ROAD. Also, 19, BRIDGE-STREET, BRADFORD, YORKS. 20, BRIDGE-STREET, BRADFORD, YORKS. FMOSES and SON'S ESTABLISHMENTS d• are CLOSED EVERY FRIDAY EVENING at sunset till SATURDAY EVENING at sunset, when business is resumed till Eleven o'clock. All articles are marked the lowest price in plain figures, from which no abatement can be m a d e. Any article not approved of will be exchanged, or the money will be returned. Lists of Prices with rules for Self- measurement and Fashion Sheet, with Patterns and "History of L on d on, " gratis and post free. APOPULAR lIISTORY of LONDON from the Invasion of Juliu s c aosar to the Prese nt Time. — Part the First, from B.G. 55 to A.D. 1066. Moses and Son, corner of Minories and Aldgate ; New Oxford-street, and Tottenham-court-road, Londo n; And Bradford, Yorkshire.' Gratis and post free on application. 111G11 WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. rim DAY.—Morning, 12h. sm.—Afternoon, 12:1. 32in 1%1-Moithow.-Morning, 12h. 58,u.—Afternoon, Ih. 26ru cy 4 L 21111, LONDON, THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 18G6. It may fairly be said that the House of Commons is on its trial, so far as the opinion of some politi cians is concerned, and therefore all that the differ ent members of Parliament say on the subject at meetings and other places naturally engages atten tion and creates interest. So great an authority as Mr. LowE is sure to meet respect, and many will peruse his speech with curiosity whether they agree or not with all its sentiments. At a banquet, given on •Tuesday by the Merchant Taylors' Company, the right hon. gentleman returned thanks for the " Two Houses of Parliament" with which his name was coupled, and prefaced his re marks by saying that there had been a time when no one could have an easier or more pleasant task imposed upon him than that of returning thanks for the House of Commons; it was, iu fact, " a sort of rhetorical bed of roses." All went smoothly for the orator, the sentiments of those around him coin cided with those of the nation around him ; but now all things are changed. Mr. LOWE declared, in terms of great eloquence, that what the former position of the louse of Commons had been, " the admiration of foreign countries and the pride of our own," that institution which, for six hundred years, we have cherished, and which during that period has is no w been much improved and amplified , " becom ing s scoffing and a bycword among certain classes iu this country. It has become among these per sons the target at which every shaft is aimed, the Big which they like to drag and trample upon." This is no exaggeration, but every word of it is strictly true. Nothing is more absurd and unbe coming than the manner in which the noble in stitution of the House of Commons is derided by Mr. BRIGHT and his friends and followers. They go on from bad to worse, until they succeed iu sketching a picture frightful to contem plate. If one half, or a quarter of what they say were true, it would be no use to think of altering or improving the arrangement of it, for it would be hopelessly irreclaimable and universally injurious. It is a relief to find so bold A champion stand forward as the exponent of the merits and the vin- 1 sembled Englishmen to which its glorious past and its most useful and industrious present fairly entitle it." The. style which many speakers have adopted has been indeed most reprehensible, and it seems strange that their exaggerated remarks should have met with approval ; but when people get excited upon any topic they are apt to let prejudice run away with their judgment, and so it has been in this instance in a very conspicuous manner. Mr. LOWE continued to find a good deal to say in favour of that assembly which has been so vili- fled and misrepresented in certain quarters. In the first place, it is an eminently intelligent assembly; in the next it is eminently business-like ; and it is also an orderly assembly. It contrives to preserve due decorum " without the necessity of ringing a bell, or of suspending its sittings for half an hour every now and then." " I will say," continued the right hon. gentleman, " that as a body we are pure, our hands are clean, no ' wire- pullers,' no lobbyers frequent our lobbies to induce us to prostitute our high offices for the purpose of individual gain." It is certainly safer to be too slow than too fast in making comprehensive changes, and it is better to be too sparing of criticism than to deal in sweeping censure and wholesale abuse. If anything more than another has re tarded the result of Reform it has been the senseless clamour raised by those who have gone such lengths in their words that cautious folks dread their acts. As Mr. LowE said, "If you injure the House of Commons, you injure every department of the public service, from the highest to the lowest ; and it is of great consequence to consider not only the evil thus directly occasioned, but also the great amount of indirect mischief that would be wrought by having inconsiderate changes." The ceremony of inaugurating her MAJESTY'S ship Chichester, as a training-school for the homeless boys of London, took place on Tuesday last, in one of the dry docks in Mr. GREEN'S shipbuilding yards, Poplar. The occasion was one of some importance, as well as of considerable interest, for the scheme not only concerns the welfare of those little City Arabs whose desolate condition must have moved the pity of every one familiar with the highways and byeways of London, but it proposes a very sens ible and practical plan for recruiting our navy. It is now some time since the movement in favour of the destitute and houseless children of the metropolis was set on foot. Wise and good men bethought themselves of giving them industrial instruction as well as mental and moral training, and thus quali fying them for earning an honest living, instead of being reduced, from sheer idleness and thriftless ness, to pilfering and swindling, if nothing more. In July, 1852, a refuge for homeless and destitute boys, was opened in Broad-street, Bloomsbury, and it shows us how much is gained by promptitude in such matters whe n we remember that the boys who were then taken under its shelter are now full grown men. Without these helping hands stretched outat the beginning of their friendless careers, what would have been their fate ? It is not difficult to guess its character in outline if not in detail, and the earnest-minded lovers of their kind, who begun this good work under discouraging auspices, have reason to be more than satisfied with the result. So slender were their resources at first that they could only receive six boys, but as time went on they prospered more and more, so that in 1857, five years after the first effort, they were able to take their present commodious premises in Great Queen-street, Lincoln's-inn-fields. Seeing the six were gathered together to the end of last year 1,016 boys have been ad mitted, of whom 758 have left for the navy and merchant services, for situations at home or for emigration to the colonies, thus entering on most active and useful careers, with the prospect of honour and happiness to themselves and of good service to the State, instead of swelling the ranks of the dangerous (because untrained and neglected) classes. Since the public were startled at the revelations concerning th e casua l war d s o f our wor kh ouses, fresh efforts have been made by th e p romo t ers o f th e refuge sin ce it was proved that boys of tender age were forced to associate with men of debased cha racter. It will be remembered that early% this year a general invitation was Given a good supper at the refuge, e w n it t h o homeless a view of boys arriv to arriving ng at some further information respecting them, and of enlisting the s ympathy of the p u bli c on t h e i r be half. Nearly 200 came to the supper, and when Lord SHAFTESB URY, who was present, asked them whether they would any of them like to go on board a ship, nearly every little hand in the room was held up in answer. The contrast presented to the ragged crew on that occasion by the trim little blue-jackets who strutted proudly a b out the Chichester on Tuesday was not a little striking It was a happy thought, and will, we trust, pro duce great and lasting good. It shows how much the vices of the adult population are due to lack of early training that not a single act of in subordination has occurred in the refuge, though a large number were taken in haphazard, and 70 or 80 have been added every week. The committee of gentlemen who superintended the supper were struck with the number who were lame or par tially blind, or suffering from some other afflic tion. They had, many of them, never known their parents ; some had lost one or both ; others bad been deserted. They slept at night in the dreaded casual wards, or under sheds or waggons, sometimes on doorsteps, and lived as they could throughout the day. Many more such boys there are will in our streets and lanes, but surely they will not be left much longer. We must pay for them some way, either in gaol, or workhouse, or infirmary. It has been estimated that a single professional thief costs the taxpayers of the country a tolerable fortune by the time his career is done, and we may fairly believe that a very large proportion of these little ragamuffins would have developed into thieves and burglars if left unaided. Surely this is a work worth helping on every ground. The military growth of Prussia is a subject that engrosses a great deal of attention at present, and very naturally so, since the changes that have taken place in Germany of late are of the most striking and momentous character. In the last number of the Edinburgh there is a very excellent article on this subject, which takes a very comprehensive view of the matter, and puts before us in t n impressive style some of the chief consequences of the late war. First of all, a survey is taken of the pst position of dicator of the rights of the House, as Mr. LOWE Prussia, and it is curious, indeed, to look from the undoubtedly is, for hitherto the demagogues state of strength and the stronghold of power she have had nearly all the say on their side now enjoys, to contemplate the picture here drawn during the recess, and if not contradicted they of her state at the time of the First NAPOLEON. get more and more extreme and excited in their " Stripped of half her territory, the rest a mere field assertions and comments. Mr. LOWE declared that for French tax-gatherers, or exercise-ground for the challenge he had given had never been replied French troops, the policy of Prussia for the next to, for all he asked for the House of Commons was six years to the outward world seemed to consist that people should point out, in a definite manner, in different degrees of servility to the master whose what were the faults that existed in it, and state chains she had no power to shake off ; her revenues what improvements they wanted. We certainly were swallowed up by foreign exactions, her army concur in this expression of the right hon. reduced to a mere corps by the decree of NAPOLEON; gentleman. "In my humble judgment, her means of rising against the oppressor seemed the House of Commons has not during i hopelessly gone. A sudden change was made from the recess received that treatment from as- this dreary position when the allied powers proceeded to make a new division of territory after the peace of 1815, but not satisfied with this advantage the rulers strove vigorously to increase her military resources, and thus to confer upon them a power beyond the natural importance of the territory. This seems, in truth, to have been the great idea of Prussian states men for some time past, and we may fairly presume their ambitious projects to have culminated in the late splendid successes of BISMARCK. We may trace one great evil in the present system of military arrangement, and that is the monopoly which is enjoyed by the higher classes in the possession of appointments in the army. " Many of the noble families of Prussia are almost without means except as they may find them in the public service, and since the civil bureaux have been thrown open to other classes, the aristocracy are all the more tenacious of the supposed hereditary right of their order to the officering of the army." Besides this it must be taken into account that the Crown has the privilege of giving a large part of the first commissions, and of late years the proportion of these has increased, and it may easily be imagined that the consequence of this is that there is no simi larity of taste or feeling between these officers and the bulk of the people. It seems a sufficient condem nation of the system to mention that not more than a twelfth part of the officers are of the middle orders. We quite agree with the opinion here put forth that " it needs no prophet to foretell the difficulties which this system will produce in revolutionary times." It is a great burden upon the people that they should have to deal with the effrontery of this military caste ; and nothing can make the thing en durable but the prospect of foreign enemies making themselves obnoxious; and when the time comes for any remodelling of the odious system now in vogue, the prejudices which these exclusive and aristocratic soldiers of fortune feel towards all civil interference will be very likely to cause a decided collision to take place between the Crown and the people. There is a'bundant cause for irritation in the circum stances attendant upon this state of things, and it will need but a spark at an exciting moment to create such a conflagration as may well be dreaded. A more exclusive system could hardly prevail than that which restricts the privileges and hinders the progress of this great military people, and it is difficult, indeed, to realise at once all the conse quences of the mischievous customs that prevail. " Promotion from the ranks of the line in Prussia, in the sense in which it is understood in our service and that of France, is a thing unknown ;" and we think this circumstance alone is a fitting answer to those who have lately taken to magnifying the merits of the Prussian Government, and extolling its progress in civilisation and liberty. An able account is here given of the state of affairs in the Prussian army, and the great risks which its leaders are of meeting with disaffection in its ranks. All did not go on so smoothly as some enthusiasts would since have had us believe, but, on the con trary, the unpopular Minister was as loudly blamed " in the camps around Glatz and Galitz, as in the democratic circles of Frankfort or the Courts of Austria's allies." The arrogant and audacious Government of Berlin would have found itself in a very critical state indeed had anything but a striking success followed upon the attempt of last summer, but, as we have seen, " on such suc cess, BISMARCK staked and threw.'! But it is in deed idle to deduce from hence that all his plans were advisable ones, or that he might regard the result of his efforts as the consequences of the con fidence he inspired in the army. It is, indeed, just as suitable to come to this conclusion, as it would be wise to seek for illustrations in the pages of his tory and select those who were tyrants and oppres sors, and consider that their triumphs were the meed of their toil or the proof of their merit. It is truly said here that the .moral must be a twofold one which our nation should draw from the recent events in Prussia and the history of the war. Our statesmen should look into matters and consider if our system could not be improved ; so that it might be more available in case of war our infantry must be armed with the breech-loader and fitted for its use ; and, moreover, whatever be the number of the " combatant force " that is main tained, there should be kept in readiness and com plete equipment and machinery for the service of a much more considerable one. Other matters natu rally present themselves to notice in connection with this subject of Prussian success. We entirely con cur in the observations here made as to the probable result of the late contest, and in the doubts ex pressed as to the accuracy of those prophets who deem that BISMARCK is only the instrument for working out the long-cherished scheme of German unity, and that he will subside into a secondary state when his work is done. There are signs and tokens which may well be taken as proofs that the new empire is not likely to ke kept in the limits which some lay down for it. It is truly said that in sketching the historical growth of the military force of Prussia the writer has done no injustice to the " patriotism of her princes, the dexterity of her statesmen, and the value of her armies," but that the triumphant success of a great military conspiracy against the existence of her own confederates and allies, and the political results to Northern Germany, " cannot efface the recollection of the scandalous duplicity and falsehood on the part of the Prussian Court which marked every stage of the late transactions." We are glad to see so eminent an authority thus come forward to vindicate the majesty of truth, and uphold the sacred rights of justice which have been too much slighted by those who join in the hero-worship of BISMARCK. How forcible is this passage :—" The unchecked success of Prussia in this enterprise has given an irreparable blow to political morality, it has shaken all trust in those public engagements on which the peace of the world depends ; it has taught mankind once more the cruel lesson that strength alone, and not law, can give them security. Great those Prussian indeed must be the advantages and political results a o r f m th s e w ne h w ich sy c s a t n e system to compensate sa t e established mankind fby theor po sitive evils." We think that this view of the ques tion is the correct one, and before long the p ositi o n of affairs will doubtless make it evident to those who are now too much wrapt up in the success of BISMARCK to allow themselves to take a fair view of the question. CHURCH AT CONSTANTINOPLE.—Her Majesty the Queen has forwarded, through Sir Thomas Biddulph, K.C.8., to the treasurers of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel the sum of £5OO, as the joint contribution of her Majesty and the Prince Consort towards the memorial church at Constantinople, which, we understand, is now rapidly approaching completion. CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) PARIS, Wednesday Evening. The following is the most interesting portion o. to-day's official news :• " The Mogador belonging the French Imperial Marine left Civita Vecchia on Monday evening, having on board the remainder of the French troops from the Pontifical territory. " The Journal l'ltalie asserted the other day that the Holy See would not enter into any negotiations upon religious questions with the Envoy of the Italian Government until after his Holiness was acquainted with the contents of the Royal Speech from King Victor Emmanuel. It is, however, now known that M. Tonello was received at a private audience by the Pope on the very day of the open ing of the Session. This reception was gracious and cordial." A young fellow, employed as an assistant cook at a restaurant in the Palais Royal, has stolen a I,ooof. note from his master, in acknowledgment of which he sent him the following cool and off-hand letter : " Dear and honoured Master,—For a long time I have been sick of the kitchen, and I now have no warm feeling for my furnaces. I wanted to change my trade, but till now I had no opportunity of doing so. You gave me a I,ooof. note to get changed. I have not stolen it, but have only borrowed the amount, and I will repay it, upon my honour. When you receive this letter I shall have departed, for I am going to Rome. They tell me there is very rapid advancement in the regiment of the Pontifical Zouaves. With my education, my toupet and my courage, I shall become an officer, not of the kitchen, but it is well understood. That is my ambition. Forgive me for my forced loan. I will retun you the money be assured. And besides when I return, wearing a brilliant uniform, with what pleasure you will say to me, That youth owes to me all his] happiness and all his glory.'— Your cx and future officer, " ANTOINE W." As soon as the restaurateur had the honour of re ceiving the above letter he decided upon not waiting to enjoy the delight of seeing his cook in Zouave uniform, but he gave instant information to the police. The consequence was that just as the Zouave officer who was (not) to be was taking his ticket at the railway station at Lyons on his way to Rome,the police arrested him, and summarily dis turbed his dreams of future greatness and glory by taking him to a police court, in order to enable him to enter into fuller explanations in regard to his " forced loan." The Empress has sent 500 f. for the relief of the victims who were on board of the Evening Star. One of the literary journals says, that in spite of the supposed authenticity of the head of Cardinal Richelieu just interred with the remains in the Church [of the Sorbonne, M. Merimee, Senator, possesses a similar relic, and that he has also docu ments to prove that the head was really that of the great Cardinal. The circumstance may or may not support the adage that " two heads are better than one." The nocturnal attacks in Paris seem on the in crease, and excite unusual alarm. As a young man was passing along the Avenue Montaigne early on Monday morning three individuals rushed upon him . One of them had a knife in his hand and inflicted a slight:wound. A passer-by saw the attack and gave an alarm, which led to the appearance of the police. One of the assailants is a young man of 22, who says he is a groom. It is evident, from the knife with which one of the robbers was armed, that they were bent on mischief, perhaps murder. There have been two more suicides in Paris since Sunday. The weather to-day hag been dull and rather rainy, but not cold for the season. The Seine still exhibits a tendency to rise. The King and Queen of Spain have returned from their visit to the King of Portugal. They were en thusiastically received on reaching Madrid. A telegram from Copenhagen announces that M. de Blume, formerly President of the Council of Mi nisters of Denmark, died in that capital on Sunday. There has been an interesting meeting of the Ad ministrative Council of the Central Society for pre serving Lives in Cases of Shipwreck, under the presidency of Admiral Rigault de Genouilly. A report was read giving an account of the labours of the committee since the last meeting. Some inte resting details were given relative to the machines destined to shoot arrows to communicate with vessels, according to the system of M. Delvigne. The number of stations for saving life is now 80. Various particulars were given in regard to the augmentation of the means of effecting that great object. M. Arthur Petit Didier, a shipowner, it was stated, had made great exertions to forward the object, and had formed many representatives in foreign countries, and also subscriptions amounting to more than 35,000 francs. A well-known thief, Charles V., in the exercise of his profession, has caught a Tartar, or rather two. The night before last he went into a wine shop in a lonely part of the Batignolles kept by Mdlle. Jose phine. He took a glass of brandy and waited until she was alone. He then rushed at her and said, ",You are in a lonely place; no one can assist you. I do not like to shed blood. If you make any noise I will strangle you. lam the chief of the Thugs of Paris. Open your till and give me all your money." Mdlle. Josephine did not discover the propriety of the request, and instead of giving the Thug her money she seized him by the throat. He, however, after a violent struggle succeeded in throwing her down, and then went and took out all the money which the till contained. Josephine, however, got up again, and the struggle was renewed. Her cries brought a woman, a neighbour, to her assistance ; and they valiantly succeeded in binding the Thug hand and foot with cords, and waited until a police officer should pass. A sergent de ville soon arrived, and the two ladies consigned the Thug to his sympa thetic and tinder mercy. "SPECIAL ANO URGENT APPEAL." THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DLCEMBER 20, 1866. TO TILE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR, —Christmas is fast approaching, and in a fow days will be ushered in with all its usual festivity and joy ; it behoves us then at such a time to remember the poor who have not the moans of providing a Christmas dinner for themselves. The Plough-court Ragged School Relief Fund was established in the winter of 1860, for the pur pose of providing the poor with coals, bread, tea, sugar, rice, and potatoes, according to their several wants, the money received through The Sun, forming the nucleus of the same. Several cases have already been brought under our notice, but wo have not the means and wherewith to relieve them. Tho committee take this opportunity of informing your numerous readers that they hope to con clude arrangements at Christmas whereby they will be placed in possession of a suitable building wherein to carry on their numerous operations, in addition to several now ones, but before they can conclude them the com mittee require about £l4O to pay off their present liabi lities, and for fitting up the new premises —their school house having beeen purchased by the guardians of the poor for the West London Union for the purpose of a casual ward and relieving office. The committee, however, appeal with every confidence to your numerous readers for help both for the relief fund and, the new school, feeling surd they have only to make the fact known and the necessary funds will bo at once forthcoming, and the minds of the committee relieved from all further anxiety on that score; and, in conclusion, I will only say in the words of the poor negro, " God's work must be done, and I may be dead, ' Therefore, freely ye have received, freely give.'" Subscriptions, donations, and parcels of left-off clothing will bo most thankfully received by the following :—Ragged School Union, 1, Exeter-ball, Strand ; the Superintendent, Mr. J. G. Upton, 12, Yardley-street, Wilmington-square; the bankers,! Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smiths, 1, Lom bard-street, E.C. ; or sent to me, by whom they will be most thankfully received and acknowledged. I remain, y our o bli ge d serva nt, _ Mos. BEBBISH, Hon. Sec. 27, Bedford-street, Covent-garden, W.C., Dec. 15, 1866. MADAME TUSSALTD'S.—The Christmas holidays will, .we:trust, bring joy to many, and among the various amusements in the metropolis none will be found more worthy of being patronised than Madame Tussaud's ad mired waxwork exhibition in Baker street. Among the life-size portrait models is a bridal group of the Princess Helena with Prince Christian, also effigies of John Bright, Esq., M.P., and the late Richard Cobden, Esq., M.P. The truly magnificent Court dresses aro rich and costly in the extreme. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE FRENCH TROOPS FROM MEXICO. PARIS, December 19 (Evening). The Moniteur de Soir, in its weekly political bulletin, says :-- " The expeditionary corps in Mexico continues its movement of concentration without encountering any serious difficulties. At the same time the necessary preparations for the return of our troops are actively prosecuted upon a large scale. The transport Var has already left for Vera Cruz. Other vessels will start for the same port without delay. The squadron destined to bring back our troops will be promptly assembled, and all measures are taken that the evacuation en masse may be ac complished within a brief period. M. FOULD'S FINANCIAL REPORT. PARIS, Dec. 20. The financial report of M. Fould has been pnb lished to-day. The Minister shows that owing to an increase of 45,000,000 f. in the revenue, arising from indirect taxation, the Budget for 1866 will be definitively balanced. Relative to the rectified Budget for 1867 the Minister estimates the surplus revenue yielded by indirect taxes at 90 millions, and points out other resources. He concludes, there fore, that this Budget will also be in equilibrium. Notwithstanding the considerable expenditure ne cessitated by new armaments, and the return to France of the troops from Mexico, it will not be necessary to impose new taxes or to appeal to public credit. The Minister estimates that the ordinary Budget for 1868 will show a surplus of 121,000,000 francs. No credit is demanded in the Budget for 1868 ,in respect to the new organisation of the army, the Emperor having determined that the necessary expenditure should be provided for by special bills on the presentation of the rectified Budget for 1868. M. Fould states that there is every reason to anti cipate that the State will then be in possession of more than sufficient resources to meet these re quirements. The Ministerial report then says :—" Some appre hensions are created by the new military organisa tion of the army, which will, however, be dispelled by the certainty that the proposed changes have only be caused by the necessity of placing the mili tary forces of France on a footing equivalent to her position in Europe and to the development of the military institutions of other States. The country will see in this measure a fresh guarantee of peace and security for the future." HUNGARY. PESTII, Dec. 19 (Evening). Count Majlath has arrived here. The Upper House of the Hungarian Diet has voted by a large majority the address passed by the Lower House. Baron Bay, former Chancellor, and Count Forgach spoke in favour of the Address, which was opposed by the ex-Minister Herr von Szesen. The Tavernicus Count Senycy spoke in defence of the Government, and expressed the wish that a compromise might be effected in principle in order to tranquillise the non-Hungarian provinces. Count Senycy was confident that Hungary, by accepting the principle of common affairs, would become the centre of gravity of the Empire. In conclusion, he stated that his Majesty was determined to re establish the constitution of Hungary. BELGIUM. BRUSSELS, Dec. 20. On the proposal of the Minister of War a Royal decree has been published appointing a committee to inquire whether the present organisation of the army is adequate to the national defence. SPAIN. MADRID, Dec. 20. The Banking firm of M. Fould has undertaken to lend the Spanish Government 90 millions of francs. The contract for the loan was signed by the Minis ter of Finance on the 18th inst. AMERICA. BY ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (Evening). Gold, 136 g. Sterling exchange on London, 109 i. 5-20 United States Bonds, 1071. Illinois, 118. Erie, 73g. OUTWARD BOMBAY MAIL The Tanjore, from Southampton on the 12th inst., arrived yesterday at 7 p.m., and left at 10 p.m. for Alexandria. She had experienced bad weather. Quarantine upon arrival from Southampton has been reduced to three days. FRANCE. BOURSE, Dec. 19, Two o'clock.—The tone of the market is better, and a certain amount of business is transacted for some securities at better quotations. French Threes are particularly in demand at 69f. 20c., with an advance of 27ic. Italian Fives are also firm at 57fr. 35c—•10c. higher. Even Credit Mobilier seem to have got over the panic, for open ing at 495-15 fr. lower—they have since rallied to 507 fr. 50c, with a loss of only 2f. 50c. Spanish Mobilier have advanced 11f. 25c.—at 301 f. 25c. But Comptoir d'Escompte remain weak, with a de cline of 10f.—at 835 f. Railway Shares remain steady, with no noticeable fluctuations. Three o'cock.—The market has closed with the following quotations:— 44 per Cents Do. end month — 3 per Cents. — Do. end month 69 20 Credit Mobilier Do. end month Credit Foncier — Do. end month 1387 50 RAIL Bank Shares — Italian Loan 57 25 Do. end month 57 25 Mexican Loan — Do. Bonds — Spanish Threes Home Debt — Deferred 'LYS. For Account. Orleans Northern 1195 Lyons and Mediterranean 897 50 Southern 582 50 Western — Eastern — Sardinian Austrian - - Lombard 3BO North of Spain ll5 Saragosea Ditto to Barcelona — Roman,— THE CATHOLIC CALENDAR FOR 1867—is a little fourpenny publication for the New Year, admirably well-arranged in a pocket volumette of seventy odd pages, and issued in good time before the First of January, by James Duffy, of Paternoster-row. Besides the calendar itself and the Church guide following it, the brochure, small though it is, com prises within it an extraordinary amount of valu able and interesting information. CHEAP ELECTRIC CLOCK.--Searcely a railway ac cidentof magnitude has hitherto occurred the origin of which could not be traced to want of punctuality, and though professedly Greenwich time is kept on rail ways gene rally, it must be admitted that even a comparison of the clocks of two stations next to each other afford un doubted evidence of want of isochronism. An invention, however, is now being introduced into this country by a Belgian, who can supply indicators which will work in absolute unison with (say) the Greenwich Observatory re gulator, at about 325. each. The indicator has but three wheels and two electro magnets, one telegraph wire, and an ordinary Daniell's battery, will cause all the dials to indicate the minutes simultaneously ; and as the entire indicator can be hermetically closed, it would work for years without attention or repairs. By this arrangement the electric clock is changed from an expensive luxury to the most common indicator extant.—,Mining Journal. THE INDIA, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIAN MAP 5. (REUTER'S EXPRESS.) SOUTHAMPTON, Dec. 19. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam ship Massilia, Capt. Locke], with the heavy portion of the above mails has arrived ; she brings 57 pas sengers, 32 boxes specie, value £516,729, and 2,675 packages cargo, including 1,397 boxes dates, and 823 bales raw silk, value £75,000 sterling. The Massilia experienced a heavy swell from the westward since making St. Vincent. On the even ing of the 14th she spoke a British frigate off Tarifa ; her Majesty's ships Victoria, Hibernia, Royal Oak, Resistance, Prince Consort, Eudymion, Cruiser, Wizard, and Caradoc. GIBRALTAR, 14th.—Letters from the West Coast of Barbary state that some inconvenience and in terruption to their business is experienced by mer chants at the ports arising out of the Spanish inter vention in the Moorish Custom-houses. The following British vessels have arrived here since the 7th :—Schooner Mary Phillips, to Car diff ; R.V.Y.C. schooner Tyne, to Cowes ; brig Cedar, to Sunderland ; steamer Montezuma, from London ; steamer Hercules, to Falmouth ; brig Marmion, to Cardiff ; steamer Italian, to Liverpool; steamer Ripon, to Southampton ; and Britannia, to London. The American ship Prescott has arrived at Algesiras from Callao ; she reports having spoke on the 28th Oct., lat. 5.52 N., long. 27.10 W., ship Broomielaw, from Glasgow for Bombay, 31 days out, on the 29th, lat. 4.54, long. 27.1; barque Albert the Good, from Sunderland to Madras, 70 days out; and on November 15th, lat. 28.32 N., long. 32.4 W., barque Memory, from Liverpool to Salveston. Her Majesty's ships, Gibraltar, Redpole, and Sky lark, are in the harbour. The American armour-clad turret Miantonomah arrived this morning from Cadiz. Exchanges are unaltered. THE PONTIFICAL DEBT. 1. The Moniteur publishes the convention signed on the 7th inst. between France and Italy for the regu lation of the Pontifical debt. The provisions are the following : Art. 1. Tho proportional part belonging to Italy in the perpetual debt, and the redeemable one of the former States of the Church—to wit:—For the Romagnas at the date of June 30, 1859, and for the Marches, Umbria, and Bene vento at the date of September 30, 1860, the epoch of en trance into possession is recognised to amount, for the for mer to 7,892,985 f., and for the latter to 7 ,337,160 f., or to gether to 15,230,145 f. • Art. 2. A sum of 1,468,617 f. being already paid annually by the Italian Government to the holders of the stock of the perpetual debt of the said provinces, the now charge falling upon Italy, in virtue of the present Convention, on account of the two speciesindicated in the preceding article is, and remains fixed at, the sum of 13,761,527 f. Art. 3. Italy takes, besides, to her charge the reimburse ment of the interest due, calculated from the epochs before indicated, up the 31st of December. The payment of these sums shall be effected in the following manner :—The last three half-years, or 20,642,291 f., shall be paid in specie on the 15th of March next, at latest. For the remainder of the arrears the Italian Government takes to its charge a yearly payment at par of £3,397,627f., which will by so much increase the portion of the redeemable debt falling upon Italy. Art. 4. The yearly payments indicated in the two pre ceding articles, and amounting to 18,627,773, are to remain at the charge of Italy, dating from the first half-year of 1867. The said payments will be made in the same manner as was fixed for the original contracts. Art. 5. In what concerns the life debt of the former States of the Church, the Italian Government will pay al the pensions regularly settled at the periods of the annexal tious to the holders belonging to the former Pontifical pro vinces, and residing in the kingdom of Italy. Art. 6. The demands for reimbursement which Italy may have to make on the Holy See are reserved, as are re ciprocally the claims which the Pontifical Government may have to address to Italy. Art. 7. The Government of the Emperor of the French will produce, iu the shortest delay possible, all the docu ments that will be necessary for the transfer to the Great Book of the Italian Debt of the inscriptions of the various kinds of Route of which the Holy See is discharged in virtue of the present Convention. Art. 8. The present CJavcatiou shall be ratified, and the necessary papers exchanged, within a delay of a week or sooner if possible. THE TASMANIAN. SOUTHAMPTON, Wednesday. Instructions were received from the Privy Coun cil this morning, that the passengers by the West India mail steamer Tasmanian were to be released from quarantine to-day, provided the report re specting their health was satisfactory to the medical superintendent of quarantine. Dr. Wiblin proceeded to the Motherbank this afternoon to make the ne cessary inquiries, and act accordingly. A curious incident has transpired in connection with the Tasmanian and the present state of the quarantine laws, the facts of which are set forth in the subjoined memorial which has been forwarded to the Board of Customs iu London : Southampton, Dec. 17, 1866. " The Hon. Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs. " Honourable Sirs,—l beg leave respectfully to lay before your honours the following plain .state merit of facts : " I have been many years a waterman in this town, having several boats of my own, and ever since the Royal Mail Company's ships have been here I have done work for them. On Saturday evening last I was employed by the provedore super intendent of that company to convey from the docks to the Parana, then lying in the river under quarantine, fresh meat and provisions for the pas sengers who had been transferred to that ship from the Tasmanian. I sent my boat, the Alma, man ned by George Deyer and William Blake (who have been upwards of 20 years in my employment), and as the weather was stormy I sent an extra hand in the boat. Mr. Fletcher, of the provodore depart ment in the Royal Mail Company, made the ar rangements with the tide surveyor for the boat going off, and a Customs' officer was sent in charge, with instructions to see that everything was carried out regularly, and no communication held with the ship beyond delivery of the things while the boat was alongside. Dr. Wiblin, who was passing along the river in a small steamer, challenged them; whereupon he was informed by the Customs' officer that he was an officer of Customs there, under in structions from his superior officer, in charge of the boat, for the purpose of transferring the provisions to the Parana, and that everything had been carried out according to the directions he had received. Notwithstanding this, Dr. Wiblin ordered the boat into quarantine, and as the Parana proceeded yes terday morning to the Motherbank, my boat was also ordered by Dr. Wiblin to proceed there. The Custmq officer, I believe, went on board the Parana Yesterday, and my men, I understand, were put on board the 2Eolus, the boat remaining on the quarantine ground. " As my boat was employed in a lawful manner in charge of your officers, I have respectfully to seek the interference of your honourable Board on a matter in which the liberty of British subjects has been so grossly outraged; and I have further humbly on behalf of the men employed by me, and on my own behalf, to ask for compensation for the loss and damage we have sustained, and are sustaining, by reason of your proceeding.—l have the honour to be, your honours' obedient servant, " WILLIAM DIBLE." The whole question of the quarantine laws and their operation upon commerce at home and abroad was brought under the consideration of the Cham ber of Commerce at this port on Monday evening, and a deputation was appointed to wait upon the Privy Council to endeavour to obtain such a modi fication of the present laws as shall, if possible, satisfy the requirements of foreign Governments, and, at the same time, relieve healthy persons arriv ing at British ports from the lengthened detention to which they are liable under the present system when rigidly enforced. The Parana steamer and the Tasmanian passengers have been released from quarantine, and the pas sengers landed in the docks this evening —the healthy crew on board the 2Eolus, the convalescents in the Menelaus. Dible's boat and men are still de tained at the Alotherbauk. z.,,, \-!*,-,yrav:i9 emu , str , . HER MAJESTY, &e. OSBORNE, Wednesday. The Queen drove out yesterday afternoon, ac companied by Princess Christian, and her Majcsty walked and rode in the grounds this 'horning with Princess Louise. Prince Christian rodo out yesterday afternoon, attended by Major-General F. H. Seymour, and his royal highness walked and drove this morning with Princess Christian. Prince Leopold and Prince henry of Prussia drove out yesterday, attended by Mr. Legg. The Duchess of Athole has succeeded the March ioness of Ely as Lady in Waiting to her Majesty. The Duke of Hamilton is entertaining the fol lowing party at Easton Park, Suffolk :—The Hon. F. Bertie, Hon. R. Herbert and Mrs. Herbert, Mr. and Mrs. Granville, Mr. F. Wombwell, Mr. It. Burton, Mr. H. Craw shaw, and Lieut.-Colonel Knox, Fusilier Guards. Heavy bags have been made during the past week in his grace's coverts. The Dowager Duchess of Atticle and Miss Murray Macgregor have left the St. George's Hotel, for Osborne, Isle of Wight. The Duchess of Newcastle, the Earl and Countess of Portarlington, the Marchioness of Hastings, and Lady Constance Marsham have also left the same establishment. The Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury have been entertaining a select party at Hatfield House, Herts. It is riot their intention this year to give the ball at Hat field. Sir F. Johnstone, Bart., in consequence of receiv ing the information of the death of Mr. Oswald, at Cannes, has relinquished for the present his hunting at Melton Mowbray. LITERATURE. Abortive Malice. Under the heading of " Mr. Charles Rcade's Masterpiece of Plagiary," the Round Table returns to its attack upon " Griffith Gaunt." It charges the author of that tale with the most barefaced plagiarism. It not merely denies in toto his claims to the merit of originality, but boldly asserts that he borrows his plot, his ideas, his characters, his incidents, his very language from other writers, and those writers his own immediate contemporaries. To make good this charge it prints in three parallel columns extracts to which it directs attention as not merely similar, but, as it asserts, absolutely identical—three parallel columns of extract - upon extract from Charles Reade's " Griffith Gaunt,' published in 1866—from Wilkie Collins's Griffiths' Story, published in 1859 as a portion of " The Queen of Hearts,"—and to crown all, from an anonymous paper, entitled " The Frenchman of Two Wives," which appeared on Dec. 6, 1856, in No. 350 of Charles Dickens's Household Words. Nowt having very carefully taken into consideration the audacious charge thus directed against Mr. Charles Reade by his enemies of the Round Table, and and having carefully examined and compared the parallel columns of extracts with which the Round Table undertakes to make good its assertions, we must protest, in the interests of truth and in the names of Fair Play and Common Honesty, to say nothing, of Common Decency, that for these shame ful charges we cannot perceive in the extracts given the shadow of a shade of justification. If this be plagiarism, then can no future writer ever have the faintest possible chance of making good any claim to originality. Love and Jealousy had been written about beforo, and will be written about afterwards , but for all tliat " Griffith Gaunt" is original, if it IS nothing else—and that it has other merits besides that great and conspicuous merit of originality we ourselves took occasion to indicate, in as plain language as we could contrive to employ to that purpose, in our review not long since of Mr. Charles lleade's last, and in some respect his most remark' able, contribution to our imaginative literature. Guildford Election. GUILDFORD, Wednesday. Tho official declaration of the poll was made yesterdaY morning at twelve o'clock. Mr. Garth, Q.C., the successful candidate, and his opPo nent, Mr. Pocock, were both present, and the former wee loudly cheered by his supporters upon his entering the hall. The proceedings, however, were much more orderly and quiet than on the day of the nomination. Mr. P. W. JACOB (the mayor) announced the number s polled for each candidate to be as follows :—For Mr. Garth , 339 ; for Mr. Pocock, 301 ; majority for Mr. Garth, 38 " (Great cheering.) Ho therefore declared Mr. Garth to he duly elected to represent the borough of Guildford in the present Parliament. (Renewed cheering.) Mr. GARTH then briefly addressed the electors, thanking them for the honour they had done him by returning hi ll : to Parliament as their representative. He also thanked his opponent and his supporters for the very fair mari ner in which they had conducted the contest, and for thor endeavours to make it a fair fight. (Hear, hear.) could not, however, help considering that the Conserve tive electors of the borough had achieved a very grea t triumph on the present occasion, and he did not attri bute any of the merit to himself, but to their attachment to the great cause of Conservatism with which he was asso ciated and which he had the honour to represent. (Chee rs ' ) The hon. member then repeated that the fight on the Pre sent occasion had been fou g ht as a fi g ht s hould be on b oth sides, fairly and honestly. (Hear, hear.) In conclusion 311.' Garth said that he considered the trust that had been re posed in him a most sacred one, and he assured them t hat he should use his best endeavours to repay the c onfiden ce that had been placed in him by devoting his best en er g ieS to their service. (Cheers.) Mr. POcOCK also briefly addressed the electors, and dis claimed entertaining views favourable to universal suffrage] and said that in this respect he had been very much nits represented by his opponents on the present occasion. A resolution of thanks to the Mayor closed the proceed • ings. A FARMER OF HISTORIC NOTE.—A farmer' named Rolfe, has just died at Beaconsfield, at an advanced age, about whom a passing word is but justicet o a id of memory. This Mr. Rolfe was son of the farm bailiff, the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, and had been the original of the famous picture, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, of Infant Hercules." Mr. Jesse, in his " Favourite ',Taunts' recounting his visit to Beaconsfield in 1845, thus re fer , to the circumstance :—" Mr. Rolfe's mother-in-10'4 writes Mr. Jesse, " told me a circumstance that I /V3A little prepare.' to hear—it was the fact that her g °°- ,i honest, and portly son-in-law, whom I saw before me, been the very infant whom Sir Joshua Reynolds took ag the model of his well-known picture of The Infant cules.' The infant's father was the farm bailiff of 101 :: Burke, with whom he was an especial favourite , th ile e ' . great man in his happier days frequently co ming to cottage, sometimes eating potatoes roasted in the em ber : of a wood fire, and once trying the merits of a ro ok jackdaw pie, or rather a mixture of both." Sir Joshua BO; nolds, it seems, when visiting at Burke's, happened t o s e ic the infant Rolfe sprawling on the grass, and was W ee ! , with the look of strength the child possessed, and be t in him for his model of the demi-god, all powerful eV° 11 - 6 his tenderest years. Rolfe did not belie the opinion ' 2i t o painter. He grew up a very strong and stalwart 1 13314 , 3 0 5 , so he appeared even in his old age , when he was fau'i lie i fe known to the last as the " Infant Hercules." r' t° ()tbe lived in a snug farm close to Beaconsfield and e d statesman's favourite spot, " Burke's Grove," and he to receive strangers visiting his cottage very cou rteou sly and would show them sundry relics of the Burke fanliii• Among other curiosities he would, with great prides e s . 1 , 1 bit a dagger, which he maintained was the;identica l that Mr. Burke threw down in the House of Conam °l3s. o f THE OXFORD RIFLE CORPS.—A large nuni ber „ s e the members of the Oxford Rifle Corps dined together y of terday afternoon in the town-hall, under the pres ideoa t 7 O their commanding officer Capt. Pa rso ns. With the vie f sg t ho bring the dinner within the means of every Inom ba ° v corps, the officers, and other friends of the volunteer nil, ment contributed largely towards the entertainme nt ' e a rl , liberal supply of game was given by the Duke of ce borough (the Lord Lieutenant of the county). ' lie b-ia and many other distinguished persons, who had bce rl ric o vited to the banquet, were unable to attend in consecluecob of previous engagements. Among the guests wer e North, M.P., Mr. Spiers (the mayor), and most of the _ cers of the corps. - GLOOM .. Y WINTER PROSPECT AT GREENO CK ' the stoppage of a shipbuilder in Greenock, whose difnellth ties have arisen from the losses of a Frenc h house wl which he is connected, no fewer than 2, 000 menhav° been thrown idle; and 50 men lately employed in the follll`-1 of this builder, and upwards of 200 hands recently enag::, with another shipbuilder having been paid off, there 2,250 men unemployed in the town. This calamity, {ole lowing so immediately after the return to work of tile shipbuilders from their strike, which resulted in their 5C i CI cepting the former terms, presents an alar min g prospect severe privation during the winter months. Th e 1)411 Y al Anot i, ta ...o n y raglan The u een i 27,001 Th e a nlount for E n , liambu Th e I J at a llotted 4 ''d to t niaim u rupee 1., The d 1 1 ‘' at 4 r• IV; ecitinexii hE `'‘) th e e: Qtleidat] dressed _ T 1 Cent. short offici adva Press th e 1 lYsed ploy ( unio l dent Man , way s sta g❑ Pleth uncle ri: woub sunk exten Th Natiic Pany ° l l. de On de 7 day able ; Th £516, Aust, At and lotior la st th e c , holde