The Sun. — London, England, 1867-09-20 00:00:00

IHE CHANCELLOR OF HOME THE EXCHEQUER AT . Yesterday the parish of Hughenden, Bucks, of which the Chancellor of the Exchequer is " the &vire," celebrated the completion of the harvest. This is the third year in which the parish has had its " Harvest Home," the initiation and increasing success of the celebrations being due to the vicar, the Rev. C. W. Clubbe, and the churchwardens, Messrs. Thomas Coates and G. H. Hussey ; and this year's is the second which Mr. Disraeli has attended. Yesterday the farm labourers of the parish, their employers, and the friends of both met at half-past ten o'clock near the church, which had been profusely decorated internally for the occasion. By eleven o'clock the church was filled, and the congregation included the Chan cellor of the Exchequer and Mrs. Disraeli. The vicar read the prayers, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. C. Lloyd, the chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, from Job xix. 26, " In my flesh shall I see God." The sermon, as will be seen below, was highly eulogised by the Chancellor of the Exche. quer. Service over, the villagers went in some thing like procession, accompanied by a band of music, to the manor grounds, where, close to " the squire's" residence, spacious tents had been erected —a long one for dinner and the others for subsidiary purposes. When the villagers were seated the Chancellor of the Exchequer entered and took the chair. He was accompanied by Mrs. Disraeli, Sir C. Young, the clergyman named, and other friends. A substantial meal was despatched, while the band played outside, With a waggon for an orchestra. For ventilation sake the tent was open at the side, and there was revealed a vista of wooded slopes of which Mr. Disraeli, familiar as he must be with the scenery, could not help expressing his admiration. Dinner over, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and said—l have to propose a toast which you will anticipate, but which you will none the less drink with the utmost enthusiasm. It is " The Health of the Queen," beloved by her subjects; and, consi dering her peculiar relations with the county of Buckingham, and how she has patronised all our institutions from the moment she ascended the throne, it will be a health drunk to-day, I am sure, with feelings which cannot be exceeded in any part of the kingdom. (Cheers.) In proposing the next toast, " The Prince and Princess of Wales," the CHANCELLOR of the Ex cneuert said—The Prince of Wales is well known in this county, because he hunts in our fields, and that like a gallant sportsman. ller Royal Highness is now absent from England, with the hope of gain ing under a foreign sky that health in the restora tion of which we are all so deeply interested. I hope she has found to-day at Wiesbaden as sunny an atmosphere as we are now enjoying at Hughenden. (Cheers.) The next toast was "The Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese," and in proposing it the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said—The bishop and clergy of this diocese are much and deservedly beloved. This parish possesses a vicar who, by the manner in which he performs his duties, and his complete sympathy with all classes, is endeared to every inhabitant. There is also present to-day another member of that reverend profession to whom we are also peculiarly indebted, and that is the rector of Chalfont, who has to-day favoured us with a sermon which I must say was one of the most successful I ever listened to. It was genial, it was adapted to the occasion, it was original, and it was not too long. (Laughter and cheers.) lam sure that you who listened to that inspiriting exhortation must have felt after it that you were better men, and more inclined to fulfil the duties and enjoy the blessings of existence. I now therefore propose to you a toast which will be, I am sure, drunk not in form only, but with the sincerity of real feeling. (Cheers.) The Rev. C. LLOYD, in responding, said he greatly approved such gatherings as these, and that they were of inestimable value. Without deprecating distinctions in rank, the due blending of which made England what she was, he disliked that exaggera tion of distinction which prevented men gather ing together and sitting down to eat and drink as God's creatures at the same table. He was proud to propose the health of tne Chancellor of the Ex chequer, " the Squire of Hughenden." Politics being excluded from discussion at such gatherings, he would only say that, when a statesman had taken upon himself to extend the franchise, as the right hon. gentleman had done, he further took a step in the right direction by gathering together the people of his parish in this way. Such gatherings were calculated to furnish the best " safeguards' in the extension of political power ; for through their aris tocracy, gentry, farmers, and peasantry were brought together, and, instead of finding that their interests were antagonistic, they found that they were united by common ties and sympathies, and that by co operation they would promote the common good. This was the way to make men who were intrusted with increased political power use it for the benefit of the country as well as their own. Therefore " harvest homes" might be included among the " safeguards" of which we had recently heard so much. In conclusion, he proposed " The Health of the Chancellor of the Exchequer," which was drunk with enthusiasm. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in respond ing, said—l am extremely sensible of your kindness iu drinking my health to-day, and of the manner in which you have received it. lam not quite up to politics in the month of September—(laughter) — and therefore you will excuse me for dilating on the theme which my excellent friend the rector of Chal font has so delicately alluded to. I have no doubt his opinions are perfectly sound, but on the present occasion I will merely say that ncthiug gratifies me more than presiding at the " harvest home" at Hugh enden. I am on the present occasion more gratified, because I can congratulate all around me upon the results of this harvest. There is at present, as there always is at this period, very great controversy going on as to the character and results of the gene ral harvest, not merely of England, not merely of Europe, not merely of America, but of the world ; and we hear contrary accounts and conflicting cal culations upon that all-important subject. On the present occasion I am satisfied with the limited horizon in which we live, and I think I can say this without exaggeration, that when we met in church this morning to return thanks to the Giver of All Goodness we might sincerely return thanks for a most satisfactory and plenteous harvest in the parish of Hughenden. Whatever may be the accounts which may reach us from other quarters, whatever may be the conclusions arrived at and the criticisms passed by others, I think there is no doubt that in the parish of Hughenden we ought to be content with the ingathering which we have just accomplished. With regard to the wheat harvest, of which in other places we have heard such contrary accounts, we have realised an average. As regards barley it has that brightness which brewers love. (Laughter.) As for our oats, rarely have I seen such a prolific and golden ingatheriug. These are very great results under all circumstances, and alone would constitute a good harvest. But when I look around me I remember and observe that these results have been obtained in these varieties of grain i❑ a district where the root crops are equally dis tinguished. Nor ought we to forget, my friends, that this satisfactory and prolific season has afforded one of the finest hay harvests that can be remem bered on the Chiltern hills—so great and plentiful that even the after-math will exhibit almost as fertile a condition as our pastures have had in the last few years in the month of June. Well, then, I think we have a right to be satisfied, and we ought to be grateful for the harvest which we have just in gathered in this district and parish; and at the pre sent moment I am speaking only of this parish, with whose interests I am so intimately connected, and with whose feelings I so deeply sympathise. I think, so far as I can take an impartial survey of our rural world, there are other things in this parish, of no less importance, upon which we may equally congratulate ourselves. In the first place, I think it is a matter of great satisfaction that at this moment there is no able bodied labourer who is not employed, and who also is not employed at good wages. We are, no doubt, in some degree indebted for this result to the happy circumstance of that rural manufacture, and the prosperity of that rural manufacture which converts the raw material of our beechen woods into the convenient form of chairs for the accommodation, not only of England, but even of the colonies and of foreign parts. lam glad to say we are indebted for that satisfactory result to another and not less efficient cause, and that is the highly improved husbandry of this district and parish. It is to the skilful rotation of crops, it is to the various and often costly manner in which our lands are now dressed, and the great bead of stock that is now maintained on the farms of this parish, that the result of the population being well employed, and being employed at high and satisfactory wages, are mainly or at least equally to be ascribed, and these are very satisfactory results. There is another cir cumstance of our rural life in this parish in which I think we may find congratulation, and it refers to a subject which I have more than once brought under your consideration—that is the dwellings of those to whom we are peculiarly indebted for the labour which cultivates our fields and gathers in our crops. lam glad to say there has been going on for some time a continuous improvement in the re sidences of the peasantry, of the labourers on the soil of this parish. Some time ago I mentioned this subject, and, indeed, more than once I have dwelt upon it in your presence. These are legitimate and proper occasions on which we ought to touch upon such subjects. lam much in favour of building new cottages for the labouring population, but at the same time I know it is a process which can only be very gradually carried out. I will not enter into any controversy on this subject, because this is not a moment for controversy, further than to repeat what I have often said, that those take a limited and too contracted view of the case who, in build ing cottages for the labouring population, look only to the immediate return in the shape of rent. There is an immediate return far more valuable than rent, which is to be acquired by giving the labour ing population dwellings which conduce to their health, to their strength, and to their happiness. (Hear, hear.) But I would make this remark, be cause it is one essentially practical and applicable to this parish, that you may do a great deal to im prove the dwellings and to increase the comfort of the labouring classes without absolutely building new cottages ; you may improve those that exist. I believe that there are three things which a labourer in the Chiltern-hills most desires. The first is a porch, the second an oven, and the third a tank. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) I have for some time been extremely anxious that every labouring man on my estate should have these three sources of com fort and happiness—a porch, an oven, and a tank. I am very glad to say that the example I set is spreading, and I hope when we hold our next " har vest home" we shall find that the custom of providing the three things I have named is meeting with gene ral adoption. (Hear, hear.) Whether I look to our harvest, whether I look to the general condition of those who have mainly assisted in its in-gathering, I think I can congratulate the proprietors and the cultivators, the farmers, the occupiers, and the labourers of this parish on its general prosperity. I am sure from what I have seen this morning I am addressing a society that, in the possession of these great advantages, is deeply grateful to the Giver of all Goodness, to whom we are indebted for these blessings. I trust that the prosperity of Hughenden may long continue. It is founded on sound princi ples, and under the blessing of Providence it ought at least to be superior to most of the vicissitudes that interfere with human occupation. lam sin cerely obliged to you for drinking my health on an occasion like the present. Your kind feelings I greatly appreciate, and your good opinion will al ways be my best reward. I thank you heartily. (Cheers.) The right hon. gentleman had only just resumed his seat when a village maiden stepped up and pre sented him with a cereal doll-shaped figure. Whether it were effigy, fetish, or idol, or only a sample of the harvest on which he had been speak ing, seemed a general puzzle. Its head was of oats, its arms were barley, and its feet were wheat ; and somewhat of a feminine character was imparted by a dress of blue paper. For the satisfaction of the curious and uninitiated, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER added—l was for a moment a little daunted. I feared that one of the most ancient customs in England had been forgotten on this occasion. I hold in my band a representation of the goddess Ceres. For centuries this figure, dressed up in robes of similar magnifi cence—(a laugh)—has been brought forward on these occasions as representing that golden harvest for which in this parish we are deeply grateful. This reminds me—indeed, my mind was already full of the subject—of those who are, perhaps, more in terested in the success of the harvest than even other classes intimately connected with it. We are in this parish favoured, I believe, with a body of farmers who, take them altogether, equal, I believe—per haps more than equal—those of any parish in the county. It is not merely that they are skilful far mers, and that they bring to the cultivation of the soil a knowledge of its character, and all those arti ficial adjuncts which develope its qualities, but they are men who are sensible of their social duties as farmers, as great tillers of the soil. They look upon their occupation as being one not directly of a com mercial character. They remember and do fulfil their duties towards those who are dependent upon them. Indeed, I have always found that the skilful farmer is a man who most appreciates the good qualities of the person labouring under him, and knows the value of a good character. Such a per son is always found to be the best master. I must congratulate the farmers of Hughenden upon their great success and prosperity this year ; I propose that we drink " the healths of the Farmers of the Parish," and I trust that they may have many happy returns of seasons like the present. The toast was drunk, and was responded to by Mr. COATES. He said that if they did not spend their capital in that part of the country they would get no return, although they were blessed with some prolific land. With regard to wheat, barley, and oats, they were favoured this year with a fair, aver age crop, and he certaiAly considered that they were better off in that respect than farmers were on many of the wet soils. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then pro posed that they should drink the health of another order of the agricultural hierarchy, not inferior in importance or utility to those whose healths had been drunk. It was " the Health of those to whom they were indebted for the in-gathering of the crops, and for the preceding processes of culture." So far as he could form an opinion of his neigh bours, and he was happy to say that when at Hug henden he lived much among them, the labouring class in the parish was one of which the parish might be proud. They were skilful husbandmen, they were moral, they were influenced, generally speaking, by a great sense of duty. In proposing the health of the labourers ho would connect the toast with the name of one who had long worked on his estate, and who in his own person combined many of the best qualities of the English husband man. This was Hatt, who worked for Mr. James Leigh, and who was a model of what a skilful, in dependent, and excellent husbandman ought to be. The toast having been drunk, Hatt rose to respond. He was a hale old man, and a good speci men of an agricultural labourer. But speaking was evidently not his forte. In disjointed frag ments of sentences he expressed his thanks, and his appreciation of these celebrations and the kindly associations of classes in them. He also referred to the morning's discourse, and concluded by invoking a general blessing. Somehow he seemed to suggest more than he said by his unaffected earnestness of manner, and he sat down amid cheers. The Rev. C.W. CLUBBE proposed " the Health of Mrs. Disraeli," who had many claims on their re spect and regard, sympathised with the amusements of their rural fete, and was the great promoter of the mirth, fun, and jollity which were essential elements of the proper celebration of a " harvest home." Rev.. " The compliment was acknowledged by the C. LLOYD. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCIIEQUER proposed the Visitors," and also the healths of the gentle men who superintended the details of the celebra tion, and then announced that the remainder of the afternoon wottld be aevoted to that agreeable re- Taxation on the light fantastic toe which was the de light of English beauties. The company accordingly adjourned for dancing and other sports. 2114.DES' OUTRAGES COMMISSION. THIRTEENTH DAY. MANCHESTER, Sept. 19. Edward Hindley sworn—ls a builder at Prest wich,:,andiin 1866 had a contract to do the brickwork of a reservoir. In March there was a dispute over a boy. George Ramsbottom, a member of the Union, said there had been a meeting over the lad, and he must be bound apprentice. He ordered an inden ture; which was duly prepared by a lawyer. Peter Yateson the next Thursday said they (the masons) had had another meeting, and would not have him made apprentice. They would have no more brick layers made. Ile was, consequently, obliged to give up the contract. The bricklayers belonged to White field Club, some of them Salford men, and some Manchester men. They tried to stop him having bricks supplied, but did not succeed for a time. Kay was then sent by the Manchester brickmakers' club and stopped any more bricks being supplied. The Union men had worked seven or eight months with the lad before they interfered. When the indenture had been made the objection was that the lad was 17, and too old. _ _ _ James Thorp said he gave upbrickmaking in July, 1866. Had been in the business two years. Sup plied 100,000 bricks to Mr. Robinson. The yard was out of the Manchester district, at Prestwich, and the buildings were in the union. Charles Johnson, a youth, working as a brick maker in Regent-road, Salford, was called and exa mined as to whether he had not told Detective IVil - that he saw Kay and Mannering on the morning of the sth inst., and that they were dressed up as if they were going on a cheap trip. He denied that he bad ever said so. stone, with the intention, apparently, of going to the westward. The Redwing will probably fol low to-night. Capt. Johnson is absent on leave for ten days on account of a family affliction, but he has been recalled, and will return to-night. The Liffey was put into commission recently in place of the Liverpool, and has been some time in the Sound, expecting orders to cruise in the Channel ; but counter-instructions were received on Monday. She goes direct to Queenstown. This sudden Admi ralty order is attributed by some to the outrage at Manchester on Wednesday, and the escape of Col. Kelly and Capt. Deasy, while others attribute it to the possibility of a second rising in Ireland. The paddle-wheel steam yacht Black Eagle, Staff Commander Thomas J. Whinier, from Portland, arrived on Tuesday evening at Plymouth, with the Secretary for War (Sir John Pakington) and the Inspector-General of Engineers (General Sir John F. Burgoyne), who are visiting the coast fortifications. On Wednesday morning Major-Gen. Spencer, K.C.8., Commander of the Forces in the West, and Port Admiral Sir W. F. Martin, went on board the Black Eagle. At noon Sir J. Pakington embarked on board the steam tender Pincess Alice, and accompanied by the Commander of the Forces, Colonel A. Benn, R.A., Capt. Dunsford, and other officers, proceeded up the Tamar, and having landed, inspected the fort at Scraesdon, Tregantle, Pickle combe, &c. They subsequently visited the fortifi cations on Straddon Heights, and then landed on the breakwater in Plymouth Sound. The St. George, unarmoured screw line of battle ship, 72, 2,861 tons, 500 horse power, Capt. M. S. Nollock, having completed her repairs and ordered alterations to her internal fittings in Portsmouth harbour, has rebent her sails, and will leave harbour on Moaday morning for Spithead, where she will take on board ammunition preparatory to sailing for Portland to resume her duties there as training ship. The unarmoured screw line of battle ship Dun can, 3,127 tons, 800 horse power, Capt. Fellowes (late of the Duke of 'Wellington), sailed from Spit head at daylight yesterday morning, for Queens ferry, Scotland, to assume her duties there as coast guard ship of the port and district. The unarmoured screw line of battle ship Nelson, 2,736 tons, 500 horse power, Lieut.-Commander Payne, Colonial Steam Guard and Training Ship, is nearly complete in her outfit and receipt of stores at Portsmouth, and will very shortly now sail for het destination, Victoria. The Nelson takes out a large quantity of stores for the colony, including heavy rifled muzzle loading guns, with their iron carriages and slides, large cast iron guns, bored out and retubed with rifled steel tubes of 7 and 6.3 in. diameter, on Major Palliser's plan as it is generally termed, a large quantity of studded shot and shell for the rifled guns, carefully packed each in a coarse hempen bag, a transporting waggon for the 12i ton guns for coast battery service, &c. The Nelson was built at Woolwich from the design of the then Sur veyor of the Navy office, and after her launch she was sent round to Portsmouth. tier only trip out side the latter port since that time was her trial of speed over the measured mile in Stokes's-bay, on being fitted, after alterations and conversion to a steamship, with screw machinery. The screw troopship Orontes, 2,812 tons, 500 horse-power, Capt. Henry Phelps, arrived at Ports mouth yesterday afternoon from Queenstown, Ire land, with the depot of the 60th Rifles on board. The depot will be disembarked this morning, and forwarded on to Winchester. The foundation of the Shovel Rock Fort, inside the breakwater, having been completed some two or three years since by the Admiralty, was then passed into the control of the War Department, whose pro per office is, it appears, to erect all that portion of the fortification which is above high water mark. It appears that the War Office has at length deter mined to commence operations. The breakwater is built nearly east and west, and underneath the eas tern part, lying nearly north and south, is the Shovel Rock. It is upon the inner or northern por tion of this rock, separate from the breakwater, that the foundation is laid. The lower part of the foun dation consists of granite blocks and cement and con crete blocks faced with granite ; the inner portion is filled in with cement concreteblocks brought up to high water mark in one solid and compact foundation. Upon this the basement is built, the cill of the case mates being about 16ft. above high-water mark. The inner, or north, side of the basement will con tain the magazines, and the sea, or south, side will be fitted up as ablution rooms and accommodation for men. From this basement communication will be had by two circular staircases of stone to the casemates over. We now come to a description of the new work. Hitherto this erection has been called the Shovel Rock Fort ; hereafter it will be termed the Breakwater Fort. Although close to it, the breakwater is unconnected with it, and there appears no present intention of forming a connection. The foundation is oval ; the fort will be the same, and will extend to within four feet of the verge. The masonry basement is 150 ft. east and west by 120 ft. north and south. The casemates will be above 45ft. deep, leaving open in the centre a space some 50ft. by 30ft. The battery will mount 18 guns, which will be nearly equidistant from each other, and will point in all directions. The face of the battery is lift. high, with a rake, like a ship's side, of 18in. ; it will consist of three layers of 5-in. wrought iron plates, bolted against perpendicular wrought-iron ribs, about 3ft. apart. Three feet behind the ribs there will be at intervals some wrought-iron cylin ders filled with the best concrete. They are to be 7ft. by 3ft., with the broadest part facing the ribs. The roof of the casement will consist of arches of brick covered with concrete 6ft. thick, and faced with Seyssel asphalte to keep the casemates dry. The accommodation for artillerymen is not very extensive, but it is contemplated that, during peace at least, it will not be necessary for many to be stationed there. It is understood that Messrs. Hub bard, who have had several contracts at Plymouth from the Government will erect the Breakwater Fort. After a minute inspection of the breakwater, Sir John Pakington returned to the Black Eagle, in Hamoaze. The detachment of non-commissioned officers and sappers of the Royal Engineers selected for service with the Abyssinian expedition are undergoing a course of instruction, at the Royal Engineer estab lishment, Chatham, in day and night military sig nalling, under the direction of Capt. F. J. Bottou, 12th Regiment. According to orders received from headquarters, the detachment is to consist of 25 non-commissioned officers and men, half of whom will be selected from the Royal Engineers' Train, and the remainder from the companies at head quarters. The officers detailed to accompany the Royal Engineers are Lieut. A. R. Puzey, just re turned with the party of Royal Engineers employed on signal service in Ireland during the Fenian out break, and Lieut. J. L. Morgan, assistant instructor of musketry at headquarters. A party of photo graphers will accompany the Royal Engineers for the scenic views of the various localities passed through by the forces comprising the expedition. An order has been received at the headquarters of the Royal Engineer establishment, Chatham, for volunteering to be opened from the companies at Brornpton Barracks, for the three depot companies of Royal Engineers about being formed in India. The volunteers required for this special service arc undergoing a course of instruction in military engi neering, topography, and sapping and mining, pre viously to leaving for India in February next. It is intended to form three skeleton companies of Royal Engineers in India, to be stationed respec tively at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. Yesterday Major-General J. 0. Travers, C. 8., Inspector-General of the Royal Marines Light Infantry, who has been. engaged for the last few days in the inspection of the Chatham division of Royal Marines Light Infantry, completed the in spection of the Royal Marine establishment, and will proceed this morning to visit the musketry establishment at Gravesend, where the Royal Marines are undergoing a course of instruction in the use of the Snider breechloading rifle. On the completion of the barrack inspection, the Inspector- General proceeded to Chatham lines, where a small battalion of the Royal Marines, numbering about 400 men of all ranks, was drawn up under the com mand of Lieut.sColonel E. A. Wylde, for the purpose of enabling General Travers to test the efficiency of the officers and men in battalio exercises, and subalterns were singly called to the front, and ordered to put the battalion through the required movements. Gen. Travers also inspected the schools of the division. The inspection of the Chatham division of Royal Marines, completed yesterday afternoon, is understood to have been highly satisfactory. The following appointments were made yester day at the Admiralty :—Captain J. Corbett, of the Mersey, to the Britannia, vice Randolph, ap pointed Commodore at the Cape of Good llopc ; Commander C. Parry to the Cordelia, vice De Wahl, promoted ; Commander 11. APC, Alexander, to the Mutine, vice Swinburne, invalided ; Com mander IL L. Perceval to the Falcon, vice Blake, promoted ; Lieut. J. M. D. Elphinstone, to the Caradoc, vice Wilkinson, promoted ; Lieut. E. J. Church, from the Excellent, to the Tyrian, vice Montagu, promoted ; Lieut. B. S. Hamilton, from the Revenge, to the Sharpshooter, vice Bax, pro moted ; Lieut. J. J. Martin, from the Duncan to the Penguin, vice Garforth, promoted; Navigating Sub-Lieut. Thomas E. B. Cope, to the Challenger ; and the Rev. J. Cawston to be chaplain to the Royal Marines at Fort Cumberland. ADLIESION - OF LIQUIDS. 4 Some of our readers may remember our giving, many months ago, an account of a series of experi ments by Mr. Tomlinson, Lecturer on Experimental Science, King's College School, London, relating to certain manifestations of cohesion and adhesion when a drop of a certain liquid is gently deposited on the surface of another, such as water for instance. Thus, a drop of oil of turpentine de posited on water will form an island, indented all round in a peculiar way, different from that which would be assumed by a drop of another substance, the cause of the variety of figures obtained being a struggle between two contrary forces : that of cohe sion between the particles of the deposited liquid, tending to contract them into a sort of convex lens, and that of adhesion of the deposited liquid to the water, tending to spread out the former into a film. Mr. Tomlinson has now published another series of experiments on these cohesion-figures, in which he took creosote on water as a standard. The former, on being deposited on water, immediately assumes the shape of a disk, indented like the rowel of a spur, and of the size of a franc-piece. This will last about five minutes ; but if the tempera ture be below 10 degrees Centigrade, it will almost instantly split open, and form a kind of irre gular arc, which soon after is shivered into a number of separate disks, each resembling the original one. The results of our author's experience are as fol lows :-1. Creosote may be rendered inactive (i.e., stationary) by heat. 2. The adhesive force of the liquid surface declines as the temperature is raised. This is shown by the creosote figure being either not formed at all, or having, when formed, its dura tion considerably extended. 3. The duration of the figure is increased in a hydrogen, and diminished in a carbonic acid atmosphere. 4. The adhesive force of the surface is diminished by the addition to the water of small portions of liquid and solid bodies soluble therein. 5. The adhesive force of the sur face is diminished or destroyed by placing on it a film of some other liquid. 6. The adhesive force of a film for the surface of water may be estimated by the displacing power of creosote, or by the increased duration of the creosote figure. COUNTRY M.ARKETS. BRISTOL- THURSDAY. On our market to-day there was a better supply of English wheat, and fully previous currencies were realised. In foreign wheat, which met a good inquiry, prices were unaltered. Malting barley little inquired for; grinding sorts 6d per qr, advance, with a trilling supply. Oats in fair demand, and rather lower. Beans at about is over the rates of last market. Indian corn 2s dearer. MAN C HE S T ER-THURSDAY. Our market this morning was well attended. There was a dull business done in wheat, and English descriptions advanced is to 2s per qr and foreign 3d to 4d per cents!. Trade in flour slow, at fully is per sack over late curren cies. In oats and oatmeal no material change to note. Indian corn advanced 3s per qr. Beans steady. BURY ST. EDMUNDS -WEDNESDAY. The supply of wheat at this market to-day was good, and farmers were able to make previous rates, with a foir trade. In barley a limited sale. Oats is dearer. Other articles were unchanged. Average prices : Wheat, 60s lid ; barley, 39s id; oats, 29s Cd; beaus, —s Od. BIRMINGHAM-THURSDAY. At to-day's market there was a good supply of English wheat, and closed dull at the quotations of last week. Barley at 6d to is per quarter advance. Oats ruled at for mer prices. Beans and peas were tending upwards. EDINBURGH-WEDNESDAY. Wheat on the top, is Od up average, is lld down. Barley on the top, is Od down average, Is 3d down. Oats on the top, is 6d down average, 2s Od down. Beans on the top, bs Od up average, Os 5d up. - " Total supply and sales. Wheat 152 qrs sold 89 Barley 586 qrs sold 501 Oats Beans lll qrs sold 22 Average prices. Wheat, 64s ld I Oats, 33s 4d Barley, 37s Od 1 Beans 4ss 5d Town-made flour sells as follows :—White, 54s Od ; extra superfine, 52s Od ; superfine, 00s Od ; fine, 48s Od. GLASGOW-WEDNESDAY. ---- • • - - To-day's market was moderately attended, and the trade done in wheat was inactive, at about 6d per 2401 b dearer. Flour firm. Oats met a quiet sale,as last quoted. Barley rather easier. Maize is per 2tiOlb. dealer. Beans and peas unaltered. Foreign Mail l'aciret List. MAILS DUE. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton Oct. 20. Ditto, via Marseilles Oat. 14 Ditto, via Panama Brazil, Buenos Ayres, and Monte Video Oct. 4. Ditto, by French packet . Sept. 22 Cape Yards, by Brazil packet ...... . 001. 4. Cape of Good Hope. Ascension. and St• Helena.... Sept. 27. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton.. Oct. 3. Ditto, via Marseilles . Sept. 27. Falkland Islands Oct. 4: Gibraltar, via Southampton . • Sept. 27. India, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseil es Sept. 21. Malta, Egypt, &c. Ditto, Marseilles Sept. 21. Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal, via Southampton. Sept. 20. Ditto, via MareeDies Oct. 14. Newfoundland Sept. 25. Portugal Oct. 4. Ditto, by private ship to Oporto Ditto ditto to Lisbon United States, Canada, California, &c., by British packet Ditto, by United States packet Ditto ditto (New York) Ditto ditto (New York) Ditto ditto (Baltimore) Ditto, by Canadian packet Sept. 27. West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe Oct. 3. West Indies and Pacific ;except Mexico and Baha mas) Cubs and Mexico Bahamas, via New York Oct. 9 Bermuda, via Halifltx -Sept. 25. Births. BARING—On the 18th inst., at Bath House, Piccadilly, the Hon. Mrs. Baring, of a son. LEET —On the 18th inst., at Brompton Cottage, Chatham, the wife of Dr. Leet, Royal Engineers, of a son. MILLER —On the 18th inst., at Brantinghom Hall, Brougb, East Yorks, tho wife of G. Miller, Esq., of a daughter. Marriages. ATKINS —NUTT— On the 19th inst., at St. Mary's, Stoke Newington, Alfred Charles Atkins, of Grove House, Stoke Newington-green, to Emily, fourth daughter of J• W. Nutt, Esq., of Stoke Newington. EDGE—LOUGHBOROUGH—On the 18th inst., at Holy Trinity Church, Tulse-hill, Surrey, John Edg&, of the Middle Temple, barrister-at-law, to Laura, youngest daughter of Thomas Loughborough, Esq., of Selwood Lode, T ulse-hill. Deaths. BLACKBURNE—On the 17th inst., at The Castle, Rathfarn hatn, near Dublin, the Right lion. Francis Blackburnel late Lord Chancellor of Ireland. GERARD--On the 17th inst., at Duthieston, Duni)lane, Jas. Gerard, Esq., aged 73. HumfEs —On the 16th inst., at Montrose Villa, Brixton, James Hughes, Esq., of Great Dover-street and Mark-- lane, aged 52. JONES— On the 16th inst., at Birmingham Hall, Wes; Cowes, 1.W., Major C. Jones, Ist Battalion 60th RoY Rifles, of Dollaudstown, county Meath, Ireland, aged 3 9 ' LACK—On the 15th inst., at Dalston. Mr. Win. Lack, la te of Kingsland and Leadenhall-market, aged 67. MARK—On the 17th inst., at Denmark-road, Lowestoft Mr. Joseph Mark, late of Great Ilford, Essex, aged 6 4 . POWLES—On the 11th inst., at Barnham Lodge, Elstree, Herts, John D. Powles, Esq., aged 80. T upon —On the 18th inst., Charles Tudor, Esq., of the late 233 Light Dragoons, aged 86. London Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 119, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Oatoe, No 111, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, ii tk 9 County OL *eptembQr 20, 1807, THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 20, 1867. fund of the general amalgamated society. Could not say what the strike at the Assize Court cost, but thought it would be nothing like £3,000. The general society had general laws, which they were bound by and could not go beyond. In his expe rience of 22 years this society had never paid a farthing for anything of the kind relative to this inquiry. The Court adjourned about 4 o'clock. Court of Common Council. Detective Williams, of the Salford police, said he saw the last witness a fortnight ago at a brick croft near Regent-road barracks. He said he knew Kay and Mannering. Witness took down what he said in writing. He described to witness the dress of both Kay and Mannering, and said he saw them about 7 on the morning of the sth inst. dressed as though going on a cheap trip. Had seen him again yesterday in court, when he said he remembered all he had told him. Johnson was recalled, and solemnly swore that he never said anything of the kind. Frederick Bagley sworn—ls a partner of Bates and Co., brickmakers at Droylsden, which is on the fur ther side of the canal, in the Ashton district, and is separated by the canal only from the Manch ester brick makers' district. Had a plant there value £3OO and 300,000 bricks,the market for which had been taken away by the Manchester Union forbidding him from carting them across the canal to builders on the Manchester side. They had two other yards about a mile from the other, and the Ashton brickmakers had given him notice that they in• tended to work those yards. The result would be that he would have a stock of three million bricks, with a very restricted district in which to sell them. He employed none but union men, but had 40,000 bricks destroyedin 1863 for having carted bricks against the rules of the Manchester Union. John Kettle said he was foreman to Mr. Braman in building the new gaol in 1864. The bricklayers' labourers struck in April, and afterwards the brick layers and joiners. Three men only remained at work. The works were picketed afterwards by the three unions. The three men were beaten on the way from their work, and two men, John Nolan and Thos. Daly, were taken into custody for the as sault, but had to be discharged through the wit nesses being taken out of the way. The places of the men were afterwards filled up by non-society men. Had not been threatened, but a man named Gomer Roberts told him that during the strike the brick makers proposed to shoot him, or blow up his house, but the bricklayers would not take part in the pro position, and the chairman left the chair. For some buildings he had been engaged in he had made a contract to be supplied by Mr. Pimlott with 200,000 bricks, but had received only 11,000, owing to the Manchester brickmakers deciding that he must not have them. This was in July last year, and by this time 150,000 bricks ought to have been delivered. When working at the gaol the Bricklayers' Union sent to Mr. Bramall to say he must discharge wit ness, or he should have no more men from their so ciety. About three weeks ago the brickmakers, on application, agreed to let him open his works again, but the bricklayers interfered and said they should stop the supply of bricks. So the brickmakers thought it better to throw over witness than quarrel with the bricklayers. Benjamin Bradburn, bricklayer, said he was not a Union man. In Feb., 1865, he was working at the new gaol. On the 22d he was assaulted along with Wm. Bradburn and another in Deansgate by men who called them " knobsticks." He and his compa nions received a few bruises, but were not hurt. The men were taken and imprisoned two months. Daniel Callaghan—ln 1864 worked for Mr. Bra mall as a bricklayers' labourer. They (the Union) had stopped him working before that because he had been a member and could not pay 2s. 6d. a week to the Union, and had been turned out. Witness described various assaults upon him by Union men. George Henry Carr sworn—ls a railway clerk, and in 1864 saw the assault on Wilfred, Upton, and Bradshaw, the men who were working at the gaol after the strike. One of the tnen was Nolan, and he was afterwards examined before the magis trates. Swore to Nolan. Another man charged, named Daly, he could not identify. Was dodged about the streets for a fortnight. Was afterwards told through his brother to meet two men in Strange-ways'. He did this, and they said Wilfred had received £2 to leave work at the gaol, but he returned to work, and they asked witness to swerve in his evidence before the magistrates. Did notpro mise them anything. Afterwards the men met him and his father in Salford at a publichouse and gave his father £lO. After that, before the magistrates, witness said he believed Nolan was the man who committed the assault, but he could not swear to him. William Mills, a joiner, gave evidence of acts of intimidation by Union men. George Burton said he bad been a member of the Bricklayers' Society 20 years. There was a certain amount of co operation between the bricklayers and joiners some eight months after the gaol strike. They (the bricklayers) came to a resolution not to use machine bricks in consequence of the difficulties thrown in the way after a trial of six or seven years. Witness considered the machine bricks decidedly inferior to hand made, except the bricks made of dry clay, by Platt's machine. The attempt at the gaol to utilize the clay got on their ground at the gaol was an utter failure. The bricks were not fit to be used. Knew a man in the club named Highley. Would swear he never made a claim on the society for destroying books. He made a claim of 225, for re-entering minutes from an old book into a new one. Did not copy all the old entries, and supposed it was because they did not want all their proceed ings seen. It was against his opinion, because he thought there was nothing in them which they should fear being sceu. The society wished it, and so it was done. The old book was in the hands of the president. henry Davis, who had been president of the Bricklayers' Society at the time the last witness transferred the entries to a new book, produced the old book, and said he saw no reason why there should have been any omissions. They were mostly en tries relating to strikes, which would be found in the book produced. Richard Coppock, bricklayer, said he was a mem ber of the society, and acknowledged to taking some of the witnesses to London out of the way, when the men charged with assault on the men working at the Assize Courts were in custody. They had £7 each while away and expenses. They were away for 14 days. James Powers, president of the Bricklayers' As sociation, said he paid the money to the last witness. The money was furnished by the Labourers' Asso ciation. Remembered a strike supported by the Amalgamated Society costing £920, and this might occur again if necessary. Each member of the Union subscribed 3d, per head per mouth to the Yesterday a Court of Common Council was held at Guildhall ; the Lord Mayor in the chair. REPORTS. The CITY REMEMBRANCER reported that the Con tagious Diseases Bill, the Metropolitan Streets Act, and the County Courts Act Amendment Bill had all received the Royal assent. It was then ordered that a copy of the Metropolitan Streets Act, as obtained from the Queen's printers, should be sent to each member of the court. THE GAS QUESTION. The TOWN CLERK (Mr. Woodthorpe) read a lengthened report from the Special Gas Committee, in which they entered into the whole of the gas question, referring to the proceedings in Parliament, the conduct of the Government, and the action taken by the various gas companies in relation to the price and illuminating power of the gas. Adopting the report of the special committee of the House of Commons, the committee reported as follows : "It is their decided opinion that, either by way of regulation, or by way of an independent supply, the consumer is entitled to a far more efficient control than he at present enjoys with respect to the supply of gas to the metropolis. The difficulty with which the committee have had to contend will be found to apply to every general Bill which may be introduced without the concurrence of the companies for the regulation of their present monopoly. But it will always be in the power of Parliament to prescribe terms of regulations as each company comes be fora it to apply for new powers, and the necessity for new powers has usually brought the companies to Parliament at no long intervals of time. The Committee, however, do not think it would be just to the consumer to leave him to the casualties of this mode of remedy, and recommend that if the companies decline to submit to general regulations such as Parliament may consider reasonable, measures should be taken for the introduc tion of a new supply in independent hands. It is evident from the nature of the case that the possibility of introducing competition in respect of gas is qualified by circumstances which restrain it within even narrower limits than those which apply to other large incorporated undertak ings. The difficulty of finding room for mains and service pipes in the already crowded line of the streets, the public inconvenience of frequently disturbing the pavement, the objections usually entertained by the inhabitants of populous dis tricts to the introduction of new gasworks, &c., all are obstacles in addition to those which are con nected with the raising of the capital required for so great an undertaking as that of supplying with gas any large portion of the metropolis. It seems to the committee, therefore, that the consumer can not rely upon the probable introduction of new companies in competition with the powerful organisation whose existence has been confirmed by the Act of 1860, and that if the consent of the companies to an amendment of that Act cannot be obtained, the proper remedy will be for Parliament to concede to the city of London, the Metropolitan Board of Works, or other local authorities of the respective districts, the power of supplying those districts in the manner in which the Corporation of Manchester supplies that city and the surrounding neighbourhood. If it shall be urged on the part of the companies that it would be hard to compel them to compete with the public authority, the sufficient answer, in the judgment of the committee, will be that they have brought the competition upon them selves by rejecting reasonable terms, and that it would be unjust to the consumer that he should continue subject to monopoly, and not be provided with the safeguard of effective regulation. The committee consider that the main cause of the failure of legislation which has thus taken place in the present year has been the absence of any bills authorising the establishment of an independent supply of gas in the hands of the local authorities. They recommend that unless terms satisfactory to the consumer can be arranged with the companies the Board of Trade should abstain from the intro duction of any other measure like the Metropolis Gas Bill of 1867." The Parliamentary Committee considered that unless the gas companies were pre pared during the recess to consent to an arrange ment as to terms, as suggested by the committee, every facility should be afforded to th e l oca l autho rities of the metropolis in the session of 1868 for the introduction of an independent supply. The Special Gas Committee then recommended that they should have authority to act upon this opinion of the Com mittee of the House of Commons, and to take such steps as they might deem necessary e ff ec ti ve l y t o prosecute in the ensuing session a bill to confer on the corporation the power of supplying the city of London with gas. Mr. BONTEMS, the chairman of the Special Gas Committee, in a speee'a of great length, inoved the adoption of the report. At two of th e mee ti ngs o f the gas companies, he said, the corporation had been accused of a desire for gain and popularity in pur suing their present course, but to that charge he would not deign to rcply. To say nothing of the health and property o: the public, which had been injured by impure gas, he believed it would be a moderate assertion on his part to say that at least the sum of £2,800, 000 h ad been taken injudiciously by the gas companies within the l as t f ew years f r om the pockets of the consumers. But how did he make that out ? In the first place the companies took off 6d. a thousand from the price of gas. That amounted to £200,000 a year, and there was no reason why that 6d. should ever have been put on. Therefore, during the five years that it had been imposed there was £1,000,000 taken from the con sumers. Then, the committee of the House of Com mons were of opinion that the price might still fur ther be reduced by 3d. per 1,000 ft., and that reduc tion, accompanied with the reduced cost of making 16-candle gas, would come to £160,000 a year. In this way, extending these and other reductions over a series of five or seven years, he came to the con clusion that the excess of charge to the consumers to which he had alluded - was more than fully borne out by fact. The corporation had hitherto been called upon to expend something like £7,000 to pro mote this gas inquiry in Parliament. It was pro bable that this year £5,000 additional would be re quired. Why should they be called upon to expend a further amount? Simply, upon the ground that further expenditure was necessary. He regretted its necessity for several reasons, chiefly for the sake of the gas companies themselves. When he looked at the magnitude of the property imperilled by these companies, involving a capital of £6,000,000 and a net profit of £600,000, and recollected that their Parliamentary expenses since 1857 had amounted to £lOO,OOO, he confessed that he felt regret on their account. Hitherto, unfortunately, those heavy Par liamentary expenses had been charged by the com panies upon the consumers, but that was a burden which he had some reason to believe would never be allowed to be imposed again. '['he companies now were trying whether nine of them should not be im molated iu order to preserve the remaining four. They knew they had been condemned by two Parlia mentary Committees—in the first instance delicately, but in the second boldly, declaring that not only must the price be reduce], but that the magnifying power must be increased. The Government had brought in a bill to rectify matters. The corpora tion had withdrawn their own bill and supported that of the Government, and there had been 336 petitions, signed by 27,000 gas consumers, presented from the city. The real reason why the Bill of last Session was rejected was because the companies wanted still to retain the power in their own hands of making up their back dividends out of present profits. He believed that the rejection of that bill was unwise. So thought many of the lead ing journals. If the gas companies would not yield to the reasonable demands of the consumers an in dependent supply should be obtained. He called on the corporation, as they had put their hand to the A long discussion ensued, at the close of which the motion was rejected by a majority of 47 to 42. DIR. PEABODY'S STATUE. Upon the motion of Alderman Sir B. PiIILLIPS the Court granted the appropriation of the railed in portion of the ground opposite the north-eastern corner of the Royal Exchange (formerly the church yard of St. Benet Fink) as a site on which to erect a statue to Mr. George Peabody. THE UNITED lIORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Upon the motion of Mr. Alderman Hale, a peti Lion from the United Horticultural Society for the use of the Guildhall on the 12th, 13th, and 14th of November next, for an exhibition of flowers and fruit, was referred to a committee for consideration and report. THE CITY BURGLARIES. Mr. GOVER moved the adoption of a report of the Law, Parliamentary, and City Courts Com mittee on the several references made to them in June last, relative to felons' goods, in which they recommend that the sum of £5O realised by the goods found upon the felons who had committed the great burglary a couple of years ago upon Mr. Walker, the jeweller in Cornhill, be handed over to the latter. Mr. MEDWIN moved an amendment that the sum to be allo ived to Mr. Walker be £240 instead of £5O. The amendment, after a long and animated dis cussion, was rejected. The original motion was then carried, and the court adjourned. NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE. VALETTA, Sept. 15.—1 n my last letter it was announced that there had been several deaths from cholera in the newly-arrived 14th Regiment. Since then, according to official information, there have been five more deaths from the same cause in the wing quartered at Pembroke Camp, two on the 9th, two on the 11th, and one on the 13th inst. A case has also occurred in the other wing at Fort Manoel. The poor fellow was seized while on guard in another part of the fortress, and died in 12 hours. Yesterday morning the wing at Pembroke Camp was sent in her Majesty's steamer Hearty to Gozo. It is to be quartered in Fort Chambray, one of the healthiest and most comfortable barracks which the island affords, and it is hoped the change will be beneficial. On the morning of their embarkation an attack of cholera took place among them. Happily the other troops in garrison, up to the present time, are free from all taint of disease, and the fever in the Ist battalion of the Bth Regt. has disappeared. The issue by Malta of foul bills of health has been followed by the anticipated consequences. Mar seilles, the non-infected ports of Italy, Alexandria, and Tunis (the latter country having herself only just been delivered of the pest) have imposed various terms of quarantine on arrivals from our island. The cases during the week among the population have scarcely ever exceeded two or three a day. As we are now nearing the cooler season, hopes are entertained that all trac3s of this baneful disease will disappear. The new Indian troopship Croco dile, which was to leave England on the 15th inst. with reliefs, will, I hear, coal at Gibraltar instead of at Malta, to avoid quarantine at Alexandria, and will not communicate in any way with this island The Hydra, surveying steamer, Capt. Shortland received orders to-day, by telegraph, to proceed to the Arabian Gulf, calling at Gibraltar for further instructions. She is to be employed in taking soundings between Aden and Bombay, preparatory to the Anglo-Indian Telegraph Cable being laid for establishing telegraphic communication between these two points, in connection with a line to Europe by the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. She has been fitted, provisioned, and stored for a year's ser vice, and will sail to-morrow morning for her long voyage. A number of officers accredited to the In dian Government have passed through Malta during the week on their way to the East, chiefly in con nection with the supplies for the expedition to Abys sinia. Deputy-Assist. Commissary-Generals Furse and Casolani, and a commissariat clerk left Malta a few days ago for this purpose in a small steamtug, the packet Delta having declined to take passen gers from this island, as such a step would subject her to quarantine on arrival at Alexandria. Some 260 mules have been secured in Malta for the ex pedition, and the number will probably be made up to 300. The light pack mules have been selected. The cost of these animals before they reach the Red Sea will, it is thought, amount to £5O a head, or £15,000. If this kind of animal is to be used in pre ference to bullocks, would it not be a great saving, and be at the same time very desirable, to seek for them on the shores of the Red Sea itself ? A com missariat officer, who served for some time in the Mauritius, informs me that the countries bor dering the Red Sea will supply any number of ex cellent mules already acclimatised, and procurable at a comparatively small cost. Six years ago first rate mules, he assures me, used to be imported into that island from the neighbourhood of the Red Sea, for the Commissariat Department, free of all other expenses, at £l2 each. A few Maltese carts, with harness complete, have also been purchased for transport purposes, they being considered very light and well adapted for hilly countries. Letters from the squadron of the 9th of September came to hand this morning, via Marseilles. Lord C. Paget, with the ships under his command, arrived at Bastia on that day, having left Porto Ferrajo on the 3d to meet the Psyche and despatch the mails. They were to return to Spezzia shortly, and were likely to remain in that neighbourhood for some time, as the crews continued healthy. Lieutenant Howes, of the flagship, was to be tried by court-martial, charged with being asleep twice in two middle watches, once during a gale at Gibraltar and once at sea lately, besides being the worse for drink. The youngest son of our present Gover nor, a child of about six years of age, died on Wednesday last from choleraic diarrhoea. The whole community have shown the deepest sympathy with Sir Patrick and Lady Grant in their bereave ment. Letters from the Pirzus of the 3d September say that since the middle of August the French squadron had conveyed to the Piraeus from Candia 1,200 Cretans, the Russian ships 1,600, the Italian 390, the Austrian gunboat 300, and the Prussian gunboat 250. The Greek blockade-runners had also landed 1,000 at Nauplia. It is calculated that there are now more than 30,000 Cretan refugees distri buted over Greece. The French squadron having ceased bringing over any more of these distressed people the various ships have been sent to the diffe rent stations. There has been a revulsion of feeling against the French Admiral for having witnessed the destruction of the Arkadi by the Turkish cruiser Izzedin without interfering. The ships of war at the Piraeus were the English corvette Racer, the French war vessels Renommee and Promothee, the Prussian gunboat Blitz, and the Greek corvette Missolonghi. We learn from Plymouth, by telegraph, that the Lords of the Admiralty telegraphed at noon yester day to Port Admiral Sir W. F. Martin to prepare for active service the screw:steam frigate Liffey, 31, Capt. Johnson ; the iron and armour-plated turret ship Wivern, 4, Capt. Burgoyne ; and the gunboat Redwing, tender to the Cambridge. The Wiveru left the Sound by the western channel at p.m.) and then toot a cot= for the Lady- plough, not now to turn back, and he expressed his belief that one more effort would result in the pass ing of a gas bill which would entitle its promoters to the thanks of the public. Mr. D. ROGERS seconded the motion. After a few remarks from Mr. Deputy ELLIOTT, the report was adopted and ordered to be printed and circulated. TIIE METROPOLITAN MARKETS. Mr. H. L. TAYLOR, in reply to a question from Mr. Ridley, said that the works connected with the metropolitan markets were being proceeded with in a most satisfactory manner. MR. MELVILLE'S PICTURE. A letter was read from Mr. Alex. Melville rela- tine to his picture of the " Presentation of the Free dom of the City to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales," stating that four years of labour had been expended by him in producing this work of art, and asking for some compensation. Dr. SAUNDERS moved that the letter he referred to a committee to consider and report. 11l