The Sun. — London, England, 1870-06-20 00:00:00

- L1 MOSES and SON, 4 r • CORNER of MINORIES and ALDGATE. NEW OXFORD-STREET, CORNER of HART-STRENT. CORNER of TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD and EUSTON-ROAD. BRADFORD, YORKSHIRE. EMOSES and SON'S PRICE LIST of • GENTLEMEN'S OLOTHING. Frock Dress Oxford Camb. Fishing Coats. Coats. Coats. Coats. Coats. ~...—...—. 258. 265. 17s. 18s. 10s. 1 30s, 80s. 21s. 225. 15s. 355. 355. 265. 28s. 18s. 423. 425. 30s. 325. 225. 50s. 50s. 365. 365. 28s. 635. 00s. 425. 425. 355. ALSO AT OTHER PRICES LAMOSES and SON beg to remind the public e that the cheapness of an article depends entirely on its quality, and they venture to affirm that every article sold by them is considerably cheaper than what can be obtained at any other o Ise in England. T MOSES and SON'S PRICE LIST of GENTLEMEN'S CLOTHING CONTINUED : Summer I Race Business Morning Dress Overcoats. Coats. Suits. Trousers. Trousers. 13s. 6d. 12s. 30s. 10s. 6d. 15s. 18s. 13s. 6d. 355. 13s. 18s. 21s. 15s. 40s. 16s. 21s. 245. 18s. 6d. 455. 18s. 265. 30s. 21s. 50s. 20s. 40s. I 245. ALSO AT OTHER PRICES, ORDERS by post are attended to with care and punctuality, and the easy and accurate system of self measure introduced by E. MOSES and SON enables them to guarantee a faultless fit. T; MOSES and SON'S PRICE LIST of IJ. B OY'S CLOTHING: Knickerbocker Eton Brighton Harrow Suits. Suits. Suits. Suits. 9s. 6d. 15s. 18s. 18s. 13s. 6d. 19s. 235. 235. 16s. 6d. 21s. 265. 265. 21s. 265. 325. 325. 265. SOs. 365. 365. Ns. I Ns. 48s. -1 48s, ALSO AT OTHER PRICES. MOSES and SON supply every description of clothing, ready-made, or made to measure, for all ages, all occasions, and all classes : also Hosiery and Drapery, Hats and Caps, Boots and Shoes, and complete outfits for all climates. All Goods marked in Plain Figures. Any article exchanged if not worn or injured. List of Prices, with Rules for Self-measure, Patterns, and Fashion-sheet, gratis and post-free. E. MOSES and SON'S Establishments are closed every Friday evening at sunset, till Saturday evening at sunset, when busi ness is resumed until Eleven o'clock. The following are the only addresses of E. MOSES and SON LONDON. CORNER of MINORIES and ALDGATE. NEW OXFORD-STREET, CORNER OF HART-STREET. CORNER of TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD and EUSTON-ROAD, COUNTRY BRANCH, _nu A_lll7,TlT,_:.LYta.srlarrm-nn..2_ MEXICAN BONDS 1851 - 1864. MR. GUEDALLA invites all BONDHOLDERS to a CON FERENCE with him at the LONDON TAVERN, on TUESDAY, the 21st inst., at 12 o'clock very precisely, for the purpose of ar ranging and settling the basis of a course of action necessary to be adopted by them in reference to the somewhat improved aspect of their postion and future prospects, as he considers that only by prompt and energetic measures can they take advantage of a chance which has just offered itself, and may not occur again perhaps for years. Gresham-street, 13th June, 1870. NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE. AGUA AMARELLA restores the Human Hair to its pristine hue, no matter at what age. _ _ - J NO. GOANB I,L and CO. have at length, - with the aid of one of the most eminent Chemists, succeeded in perfecting this wonder ful liquid. It is now offered to the public in a more concentrated form, and at a lower price. Sold in bottles, 3s each ; also 55., 7s. 6d., and 15s. each, includ ng brush. Red Bull Wharf, Angel-passage, Upper Thames-street, Lon don, E.C. JOHN GOSNELL and CO.'S CHERRY TOOTH PASTE is greatly superior to any tooth powder; gives the teeth a pearl whiteness, protects the enamel from decay, and imparts a pleasant fragrance to the breath. Price is. Gd Red Bull Wharf, 93, Upper Thames street, London. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. THIS EVENING, at 7, MARRIED LIFE; Mr Buckstone, Mr Chippendale, Mr Howe, Mr Kendal, Mr Rogers, Mrs Chip pendale, Mrs Frank Matthews, Mrs E. Fitzwilliam, Miss C. Mil, Mrs Laws. _ _ After which, at 8.30. "HOME." Ur Sothern, Mr Chippendale, Mr Compton, Mr iiuckstone, jun., Miss Ada Cavendish, Miss Fanny Gwynne, and Miss Caroline Hill. Concluding with FAMILY JARS. Mr Compton. ROYAL MUSIC HALL, HOLBORN. Proprietor, 3fr. J. S. SWEASEY, The Press have unanimously praised and acknowledged the entertainment provided at the above Hall for the Whitsun holidays to be the best in* London. The Brothers Voltaire, the Champion Gymnasts, in their surprising performances, particularly their aerial leaps, extending the whole length of the Hall (nearly 100 feet), engaged to appear solely at this establishment ; Mr. H. Collard (Le Petit Sims Reeves), the miniature man, the smallest and sweetest tenor singer in the world, can be heard at this hall only ; Messrs. St. Albyn, P. Corri, and Miss Barrie have made an immense hit with their operatic selections ; Miss Georgina Smith son has returned to meet with fresh admirers ; Mr. Baldwin has supplemented the brilliant encomiums he has already received from the provincial press ; Miss Louie Sherring ton is received nightly with uproarious applause ; Mr. J. H. Milburn is an old favourite ; the Great Vance is not to be, heard elsewhere, excepting at his concerts ; Mr. J. H. Ryley, and Madame Barnam, as comic duettists, have met with decided success; the acknowledged largest and best band in London. Bal cony, 6d.; stalls, is.; private boxes, 10s. 6d. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE, Wych-street, Strand. Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr W. H. LISTON. Miss BATEMAN as MARY 11ARNER every Evening during the week, assisted by Messrs. G. Belmore, W. H. Vernon. Blake ley, Elliott, David Fisher; Mrs. Poynter and Mrs. W. H. List m. In reply to numerous applications at the Box Office, and to prevent disappointment to parties deFirous of securing seats several weeks in advance, Mr, W. H. LISToN feels compelled to announce with regret that, in consequence of previous arran2e ments, the bf Iliant engagement oi this distinguished Artiste must POSITIVELY TERMINATE on SATURDAY, Jusn 25. Commencing with MUSIC HATH CHARMS. Concluding with THE 'VARSITY BOAT RACE. Box Office open from 10 till 5. L YCEUM THEATRE (under the management of Messrs. Mansell). THIS EVENING, at 7.30, HIS OWN RIVAL Mr. F. Jharles and Miss L. Morgan. At 8, BREAKING THE SPELL. After which, at 8.30, LITTLE FAUST: Mr. T. Maclagan, M. Marius, Mr. Aynsley Cook, Mr. Odell, and Mr. Wilmot; Mdlle. Debreux, Mesdames Lennox G. cy, Lawson, Leo, and Emily Soldene. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Sole Lessee and 3I anageress, Mrs. Swanborough. THIS ENENING, at 7 o'clock, LOVING BEARTS. Messrs Edward Terry and Turner; Mesdames Buf ton an dSantley. Followed by KENILWORTH. Messrs David James, Terry, Turner, and Fenton; Mesdames Sant:ey, Anstiss, Goodall, Met calfe, and Moore. V AUDEVILLE THEATRE, STRAND.- Lessees—Messrs H. J. Montague. D. James, and T. Thorne.—THlS EVENING, at 7 30. CUPBOARD LOVE, by F. Hay. Atter which, at 8, a new and original Comedy, in Three Acts, entitled TWO 11.0.:•. , E5. To conclude with the new and successful lAirlcsque. DON CARLOS; or, The Infante in Aims. Supported by Messrs. H. J. Montague, 11. Irving, G. Honey, W. H. Stephens, and T. Thorne; Mesdames Nelly Power, Amy Few sitt, T Lavis; and A: Newton. Doors - opea at Seven. Commence at 7.30. rrillE LATE EDITION of " THE SUN" at Mr. BEAUMONT'S, " The Wellington," Wellington-street, Strand rrinE LATE EDITION of "THE SUN" at w. SMITH'S Camden Stores," 78, Park-street, Camden- LA'Z'ES I EI) ITION of "THE SUN" supplied ftS soon as published , containing 1..11 the LATEST N — EWS SPOR'I7ING INTELLIGENC E, by II W. HARRIS, Nowspaper Agent, 4, Blackfriars-road London. E THE " SUN" forwarded by Morning and Evening ➢ia iwith undeviating regularity, and delivered in Town as ALEXANDER, blished. Advertisements inserted. Apply to W. 24, Old Cavendish-street, W. Established 1760. town. PROVIDENT CLER _ASSOCI HS' MUTUAL LIFE [ATION. Established 1840. TRUSTEES. • Thomas Baring, Esq., M.P. I Thomas Hankey, Esq. It. W. Crawford, Esq., M.P. Baron L. de Rothschild, M.P. The report and balance-sheets of this association for the year 1869, exhibiting in full details the amounts assured, ages of the members, with particulars of the invested fund, may be had or application to the chief office, or to the agents. The annual income from premiums is ............ From interest on investments The invested fund, after payment of all claims, exceeds 415,000 The whole of the profits divided among the members. Cash bonuses have already been allotted to the assured amounting to £lOO,OOO. WM. THOS. LINFORD, Secretary 15, Moorgate-street, June 1, 1870. £64,000 19,000 OPERAS, THEATRES, AND AMUSEMENTS. ITALIAN OPERA, Drury Lane.—ll Trovatore. 8.30 p.m. HAYMARKET—At Seven, Married Life. Home. Family Jars. ADELPHI—At Seven, The Robust Invalid. Free Labour. PRINCE OF WALES'S—At 7.30. Quite by Accident M.P. Dearest Mamma. Lvcaux—At 7.30, His Own Rival, Breaking the Spell. At 8.10, Little Faust. OLYMPIC -At Seven, Music hath Charms. At 8, Mary Warner, The 'Varsity Boat Race. GAIETY—At Seven, First Night. The Princess of Trebizonde, QuEEx's—At Seven, ty Wife's Dentist. 'Twist Axe and Crown. STRAND—At Seven, Loving Hearts. rth. VAUDEVILLE—Cupboard Love. Two Roses. Don Carlos. ST. JAMES'S—At Seven, Paul Pry. La Belle Sauvage WOODIN'S CARPET-BAG AND SITETCFI BD( K. Egyptian Hall, Pic cadilly, every Evening (except Saturday), at 8; Saturday Morn ings at 3. Admission is, 2s, 3s. CI:MISTY MINSTRELS. St. James's Hall, Every Night, at 8; Wed. =clays and Saturdays, at 3 and 8 all the year round. Zo LOGICAL GARDENS, Regent's-park. Open daily ;except Sun days). Admission, Is.; on Mondays, 6d. Children under twelve, 6d. MADAME TIISSAIJD'S ExmatTlON, Baker-street, from 11 a.m. till 3.0 p.m., and from 7 till 10 p.m. Admission, ls.; extra 6d. ttg S- 1 ,14 ,C)un. EVENING EDITION. LONDON, 1110NDAY, JUNE 20, 1870. JOHN BULL with his hands in his breeches pockets counting out his money'• in Committee of Supply— as represented now by one M.P., now by another— is a moving spectacle. He pours out the golden showers so open handidly—yet every now and then, with a growl and a grumble. It was thus on Friday evening when over £45,000 were voted as salaries for the officers of the House of Lords, and nearly £50,000 for those of the House of Commons, close upon £60,000 for the expenses of the Treasury, almost £90,000 for the item of the Home Depart ment, not far short of 65,000 for the Foreign, still nearer £35,000 for the Colonial, £47,000 and upwards for the Privy Council office and subordinate departments, and upwards of £lOO,OOO for the Board of Trade and its subordinate depart ments. Altogether, not very far short of £400,000 — to be precise, just £386,164 —being handed over in lumps, one after another, to eight of the great Departments of Administration, certainly with no niggardliness, and only now and then with an ex ceptional grunt of dissatisfaction. JOHN BULL, as represented on Friday night by Mr. MELLOR, took exception in passing, and no wonder, to the cir cumstance that one official personage connected with our diplomatic system has ronoiyvi altogether - - -= iris good services, the sum of £75,000, or, as the member for oddly put it, at the rate of £917 for every year from the date of his (the diplomatist's) birth. No wonder the House laughed —poor JOHN figuratively speak ing, having to grin and bear it—for, very soon afterwards, one comes to the record on the Parlia. mentary report intimating that "the vote was agreed to." It always is. But for the sake of appearances the House i❑ Committee of Supply goes through the formality. Once, and once only, at Friday's sit ting of the House of Commons in Committee of Supply, might it be said that JOHN grumbled, not at having too little to pay, bnt at having too little asked of him in payment. This was in regard to a mere matter of detail, but a rather prominent one in respect to the salaries of the Treasury, or, to come at once to the point, in respect to the salary set apart for the First Lord of the Treasury. Remembering the enormous responsibilities devolving upon the First Minister of the Crown, the Leader of the House of Commons and the Head of the Government, every one must surely agree in pronouncing the salary of £5,000 allotted to him, as compared with his immense labours and incessant drudgery, the paltriest pittance, a meed in every way the most inathquate. One of these days, we may presume, that the time must come when a small amount of discretionary power will at last he exercised by the House of Commons sitting in Committe of Supply, when [if only the good time would come at once !] the salaries of the Ministers and other great officers of State will be redistributed in more suitable pro portions. " Tins Thorncliffe Reign of Terror must be put an end to." Such is the verdict of the Bench at Shef field. Such is probably the verdict of all unpreju diced and right judging minds, but is there any hope or chance that so just and reasonable a decision will produCe any practical effect? The particular offenders in question may get the two or three months' imprisonment, which they so richly deserve, but unless our future experience prove very different from our past, we shall not see the last of the Yorkshire ROBESPIERRES, MARATS, and DANTONS for some time to Come, CHARLES READE and the Sheffield magistrates notwithstanding. The evil is by no means confined to a single district ; if it were there might be some hope of crushing it, eradicating it, or starving it out ; but Sheffield seems so proud of Mr. BROADHEAD and his associates that she need not object to being selected as a represedtative city. Let us look at the case in question. All the world knows there have been strikes at the Thorncliffe colleries, in fact those strikes have long ago assumed the aspect of riots. Into the rights and wrongs of the dispute it is not necessary at present to enter. We have only to look at the matter as an ordinary .trade dispute, arising from a difference of opinion as to wages, hours of work, &c. In what manner does the love of fair play supposed to be characteristic of Englishmen exhibit itself ? Five non-unionists are employed at Thorncliffe, and as a matter of course the unionists on strike endeavour to persuade them to leave their employ ment. Failing in this, a mab of unionists lie in wait for the men, and as they are passing quietly 'home from work, they assail them with violence. Sticks, stones, and other weapons are called into re quisition. What treatment can be too severe for a man who dares to work when his fellows bid him be idle. Such an intolerable exercise of individual independence among the honest workmen of Great THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, J IiNE 20, 1870. Britain, whose claims to political rights have been so loudly supported in the House of Commons, and so enthusiastically maintained outside, such an exercise is in the highest degree traitorous, criminal, and avaricious. It must be sternly repressed, and we need not wone.er that several of these unfortu nate non-unionists were so maltreated that they could not work for some days. Quite right, of course. They could not stop work ing when directed to do so by their fellows, therefore they must be made to stop. All's fair in love and war, says the a-'age, and of course this is specially the case when the war is between labour and capital, between employer and employed. We have heard something of aristocratic tyranny, of middle class oppression, of the honest desire of English working-men for political rights for themselves and their children. All just and excellent, no doubt, but if this is a specimen of their legislation, it might be more pru dent to keep to the legislation of Peers and Bour geoisie, since we all stand a chance, under these admi rable social theorists, of getting our heads broken with a stone, or our limbs shattered with a flask of gunpowder, should we be indiscreet or dishonest enough - Oa depart from the beaten track. PRESIDENT GRANT'S proclamation condemning the Fenian raid was thought a fine stroke of friendli ness in this country, and the English Ambassador at Washington has thanked the American Government for the favour ; but the Canadians are disposed to think differently. They have, indeed, decided upon making a formal complaint of the conduct of the United States Executive in allowing a Fenian invasion of Canada to be prepared without let or hindrance on American territory. They declare that the proclama tion was issued so late as to be almost worthless in affecting the course of the Fenian movement; it only appeared after much injury had been done, whereas measures might have been taken much sooner. The facts certainly afford great justification, for this complaint. The Fenian raid was no secret scheme, but open and notorious. Long before it took place the world was informed that the great descent VMS in preparation. In every considerable town in the Northern States the plans of the Brotherhood underwent discussion; the organisation was carried to some degree of perfection; funds and weapons were collected; and at length was visible a general movement of Fenians all along the frontier from Michigan to the Atlantic seaboard. The Government remained inactive. The invasion was allowed to take place. A considerably bodq of Fenians concentrated themselves in Vermont, adjoining the Canadian frontier on the east; they hastily crossed, and still more hastily recrossed, after a sanguinary conflict in which not less than one man was killed, and, say, two or three wounded. After the invasion appeared the proclamation, discountenancing the attempt, and directing the. United States officers to inter fere ; and after the defeat some of the Fenian ringleaders were captured. This was all very well, but the Canadians hold that the marauders might have been stopped at an earlier stage of their doings, for, as it was, great loss . was inflicted on the colony by panic and the cost of preparation—all of which injury might have been prevented by timely movement. There can be no doubt that the negative assistance of the American Government was of value. Had the Fenians found cause to entertain the hope that their enterprise was gporAtiv annroved at Washington the. invasion have become formidable. Moreover, there is some thing to be said in respect of the liberty of the sub ject, to which so wide an interpretation is given in . America. More unrestrainedly even than in England, can a man say and write what he pleases in the United States. It was impossible for the President to prevent the full discussion and development of the Fenian plans, just as it is impossible for the English Ministry to hinder the elaboration of anti-Napoleonic plots in London, Still there is a wide difference between the open discussion of hostile schemes and the actual assembling of large bodies of armed men at different points on the fron tier. President GRANT might have prevented the movement from attaining this menacing position. That he would not have exceeded the limits of his authority in doing so is proven by a precedent, which he himself has established. Some time ago a filibus tering expedition, under the command of Colonel RYAN, destined for Cuba, was completely frustrated by the American authorities. In this case the Govern ment did not wait until an act of invasion had been accomplished. It was deemed sufficient that the expedition was notoriously planned to aid the Cuban insurgents. On this common information the Government took action, arrested Colonel RYAN, dispersed his men, and so broke up the organisation that no considerable portion of it ever reached Cuba. Surely this is a case in point. Had PRESIDENT GRANT acted towards the Cuban filibusters as he acted towardstheFenians, he would have quietly allowed the expedition to sail, it would have accomplished whatever mischief it was capable of in Cuba, then would have appeared an official proclamation setting forth the wickedness of such plans, and a straggler or two might have been arrested as they returned home. What the PRESIDENT actually did was right. If it was right in one case, it was right in the other. Had the American Exe. cutive taken note of this wholesale migration of. Fenians to the North, and prevented the incursion across the border; had the proclamation and the arrests come a few days sooner, the claim of the Americans to English and Canadian gratitude could not have been alloyed by unpleasant considerationa THE hackneyed Horatian maxim about the trans forming effect of time must have been in the minds of a good many persons who were present at Mon day night's debate on the University Tests Bill. Four years ago Mr. GLADSTONE seemed to the Conservative party the incarnation of revolu tion, the most dangerous of agitators, except, per haps, Mr. BRIGHT: Nay, even last year he was held up to public reprobation as the ruthless destroyer of time-honoured institutions. Yet this session we find him filling the part so long taken by his prede cessor, and allying himself with the Conservative party against the extreme section of his own fol lowers. There were four divisions on Monday upon the measure above-mentioned, and in each instance of Government success the hostile amendment was moved by a Liberal, in each case the very large minority was composed of Mr. GLADSTONE'S own nominal supporters, and the majority was obtained by the help of Mr. DISRAELI, Mr. HARDY, and their followers. Nor is this likely to be the only occasion on which this phenomenon will be exhibited during the present session. The position is a grave one, and may well cause Mr. GLADSTONE some anxiety. At the same time it does not necessarily follow that he is responsible for it. Ilis Government is very different irom Lord PALMERSTON'S. He has no desire to be the embodi ment of the "can't you let it alone ?" policy. But if the disaffected Liberals go beyond . the Liberal programme, or make demands which the country would not support, the Premier is justified in resisting them. No statesman can, in a country like this, be much in advance of the nation. It is his duty to direct and to lead, but he ought never to go so far ahead as to be out of sight. Yet men like Mr. FAWCETT and Mr. VERNON HARCOURT, mis taking their own set for the people of England, would urge the PREMIER forward in a path where the people of England would cer tainly not follow him at present, nor, we believe, at any future time. The attempt to prohibit religious teaching in primary schools, which is to be made this week, was preceded -on Monday by the attempt to prohibit the establishment of denominational colleges. The jealmisy of the clergy and of all, religious teachers and teaching entertained by the advanced Radicals, has made them forget the first principles of Liberalism, has made them utterly intolerant to all religion. Mr. VERNON HARCOURT, for instance, would actually forbid pious persons to found colleges at Oxford in which religious teaching formed an es sential part of the curriculum, just as he would pre vent any body -of religionists from establishing a denominational school. The very foundation of the University Tests Bill being the abolition of religious disabilities, Mr. HARCOURT would re-enact them in another form ; only whereas under the present sys tem a man suffers loss because he does not hold one particular form of faith, the member for Oxford city would punish him for holding any form of faith. Anything more monstrously unjust, more flagrantly opposed to the political principles whichare supposed to govern all classes of Liberals, cannot be con ceived. But the incident shows . clearly that fanaticism is not confined to religious professors, and that it is easy to be as bigoted and intolerant against religion as for it. There was one point on wl ich we think the Secu larists had logic on their side. It is . not clear how in a measure intended to abolish religious tests any exception can be made with regard to degrees in divinity. Mr. GLADSTONE and Sir JOHN COLERIDGE argued that, as the degree implied fitness to teach, we could not give the degree unless we were prepared to admit the right of any one who had taken it to become professor in the faculty; and they attempted to frighten the Nonconformists with the spectre of Archbishop MAN NING as regius professor of divinity at Oxford. Con sidering that this professor is appointed by the CitowN, there is not very much chance of a Roman prelate being selected for the post. But whether the chance be great or little it has nothing to do with tho prin ciple that the examination in theology is for the purpose of testing knowledge, not opinions ; and that therefore acquaintance with the evidences of Christianity should be sufficient without any avowal of belief in creeds or articles. And what objection can there be to this arrangement ? A candidate who is examined in any other faculty does not pledge himself to accept, even in the present, much less for all time to come, the principles of science or the facts of history he has learnt; and there is no reason whythe study of divinity should imply any such obligation. More over, as an ounce of fact is worth a ton of theory, we have only to point to the Scotch universities where no such rule prevails. The Scots are the most theo logical people in the world, and, as a consequence, they are the most sectarian, the most given to sepa rate from each other on points of doctrine. Yet they have never found any difficulty in esta blishing a school of divinity at their universities which is open alike to members of the Established Church and to Dissenting bodies. Mr. WINTER BOTHAM, for some reason which ie altogether too sub . tle for ordinary comprehension, opposed the amendment urged by his friends, and he thereby shewed that the Nonconformists were not at unity on this point. It was not to be expected, therefore, amt miuloctus, w ho limy° biro foal of " unuater place" before them, would adopt an amendment that had not the unanimous support of the party from whom it emanated. THE hesitation shown by the public in making use of great scientific improvements has long been a matter of astonishment and perplexity. The world's practice is ever behind its theory. Science always moves onward, but its discoveries meet with little attention ; even when the advantage is great and obvious it is long before any new project or invention finds its way into general favour. The threshing machine was in active operation in Scot land for upwards of eighty years before it found its way to the South of England. At the present moment a manufactory is in full operation in Bir mingham, making tinder-boxes for the use of those persons who have not yet discovered the superiority of the lucifer, not to speak of those inventions which are improvements upon the lucifer itself. Patent mangles were found clumsy and awkward half-a-century ago, but they are still made and distributed, and the arm of the widow with five young children yet grinds at the old familiar mill. In times when education was backward and news not rapidly diffused, this slowness of practical progress might be excusable; but it is inexplicable now-a-days. The management of our streets and roads has long stood prominent as an example of backwardness. For years past the Parisians by the use of steam rollers have got over the difficulty which we always experience in Eng laud when a road is newly paved with loose stones. The advantages of a roller are great. The sharp stones which inflict such injury upon horses are in a few hours ground by the action of this instrument into a smooth and level road. To supplement the experience of Paris two or three experiments have been tried in London with thoroughly successful results ; yet the improvement has not met with its well-deserved general adoption. The Marylebone Vestry (the local authorities of that parish are famous for their Radical proclivities) have displayed such enterprise as to hire one of AVELING and PORTER'S steam rollers for a monthon trial. It is to be hoped that this wonderful develop ment of energy will be duly rewarded. The other day the machine was employed on the Wellington Road, St. John's Wood. About 600 yards of road way were selected for the experiment; the traffic was diverted . for three days, during which the steam roller was kept at work, and the result was a path as smooth and as level as a dining-table. So far so good ; but in Paris equally satisfactory effects are attained with much less inconvenience to the public. The system is this: in the morning a s trong contingent of men is set to work to break up about 250 yards of roadway to the extent of half the width of the path. In the course of the d a y this broken space is covered with the proper quantity of stones ; at seven o'clock in the evening the steam rollers are got into operation, and by seven o'clock the next morning the level road is in a perfect state. The other half of the way is then treated in the same manner, and thus 250 yards are completed in two days with no interruption to traffic. Surely the English local bodies are capable of rising to the level of this simple contrivance. Why should traffic be interrupted for several clays, when by the half-and-half system, and by working at night, the inconvenience to the public may be obviated, portion of the road still left open to the public, and the whole undertaking finished in a shorter space of time. It would be difficult to estimate the waste an d injury resulting from the employment of the tender feet of valuable horses and the narrow wheels of costly carriages in converting these loose stones into a firm road. Of course this sacrifice does not involve any pressure upon the rates, and therefore nothing is thought of it; and thus the most extravagant system is approved of on the plea of economy. There is really no economy even to the rates in such a miserably clumsy practice. Not only are the horses and carriages seriously injured, but by the process which we adopt, the stones themselves are crushed into dust and mud before the road becomes level. The path is destroyed in the process of construction, and a large proportion of the material is wasted. By the use of steam rollers the stones are at once firmly impressed into the road, present a smooth and hard surface, and last much longer than the pave ment constructed in the usual barbarous and bungling manner. Why a process so simple and effective should not have become zeneral it is difficult to imagine. Nor is there even now any great liheli bood that human perversity will be drawn from its accustomed groove. We may hope, however, even against probability. TOPICS OF THE DAY. THE EDUCATION BILL. It would seem that Mr. Gladstone appre hends that the course' of the Education Bill will not run smoothly to-night. At all events, the Adver tiser tells us that every supporter not in London has been summoned in anticipation of an apprehended union of forces by the Opposition ,and the advanced Radicals sitting below the gangway. A number of somewhat troublesome supporters of the Gladstone Administration, after the education debate was concluded on Thursday night, held a con ference in the tea-room of the House of Commons, and were tolerably unanimous, although they then came to no formal resolution, that the Prime Minister's amended proposals respecting religious teaching were not such as they could accept. " Every thing now depends on the leader of the Opposition." Not quite. The leader of the Opposition may be glad of a raid upon the Government with the help of the Radicals, but the Conservative party generally have had enough of such enterprises. The difference between the Conservatives and the Secularists is greater Clan the difference between the Secularists and the Government, and no unholy alliance is now likely. LEGISLATORS AT PLAY. The House of Commons not very unfrequently complains of the hard work imposed upon its mem bers by the exigencies of modern legislation, and to relieve the tedious hours gentlemen of a facetious turn now and then get up a game of hide and seek. It is astonishing with what gusto hon. members enter into the affair. The public can only hope that the change from the dry discussions on political science to the frolic of school-boy enjoyment is necessary for the preservation of their overworked brains. Having got rid of the question of unemployed labour the House on Friday proceeded to take advantage of the order to go into committee on the Clerical Disabilities Bill to amuse itself. Mr. Cross objected to consider the bill at ten minutes past one o'clock, and moved the adjournment of the debate, but some of the members were disinclined to this course, and the motion was rejected. Submissiveness to majorities is not a distinguishing characteristic of a House elected under a minority clause Re form Bill, and division on division took place till the number amounted to eleven. Even the appeal ad nzisericordiam of Mr. Pell, who had sat for thirteen consecutive hours, except when he was at dinner, had no other effect than to cause a laugh. At a quarter to four o'clock, however, the fun was ex hausted, and the boys of St. Stephen's relieved the reporters and went home to bed, having enjoyed this pleasantry for two hours and a half. PROCESSIONS IN IRELAND. The Act providing for the discontinuance of pro cessions in the sister island has been printed. The influence of the enactments is to extend to Ireland only, and they order that every assembly of persons who shall come together for the purpose of provoking animosity, or encouraging treason, or who shall carry arms "or other offensive weapon," shall be dealt with as if they were taking part in a riot. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland will have power to issue a prohibition of any procession of which he has had warning, and every man who is apprehended for attempting to make or join such procession will be liable to severe punishment. The bill directs the repeal of the old "Party Processions Act," inasmuch as its own provisions apply to all creeds and parties alike, and therefore precautions with respect to any particular class of Irishmen ceases to be any longer requisite. FAILURE OF SERVICE REFORM SCHEMES. It is apparently very manifest that the governing authorities, who have latterly been proposing changes in the army and navy systems, have been doing so without due caution or consideration. Apart from the dissatisfaction which is generally expressed with respect to the reforms, in the Military Train and other departments, which are said to have been accomplished, there are several designs which have only reached an embryo stage, but which, never theless, have succeeded in making large num bers of officers unsettled and anxious. Two of these schemes have just been abandoned, and it is satisfactory to learn that a final decision, even for the withdrawal of contemplated plans, can be arrived at by the governing bodies. Mr. Baxter, one of the Secretaries to the Admiralty, is to be congratulated on the abandonment of his purchase system ; the scheme of allowing officers retiring from the army to make a commutation of their pensions on retire ment, has also been allowed to perish. There can be no doubt that every newly suggested arrangement upsets the equilibrium of many minds in the services, and abstracts their care and attention from duties that ought to be performed efficiently and zealously. It is, moreover, true that confidence will be shaken in the heads of departments, if they are ever absolutely resorting to changes, or even thinking of them. Under these circumstances it would be well if all pending designs either followed the fate of those which fell through this week, or were pushed on to completion ; and if designs for remodelling in the government of the army and navy were undertaken at all future times with discrimination and common sense. THIS ADVANTAGES OF SOLDIER LABOUR. The fears of commanding officers that soldiers if employed on Government works instead of civilians, would soon degenerate in discipline, and in their drill, have been proved perfectly unfounded by the trial of the. system. So far from this being the case, reports have been furnished to Parliament declaring that the Marines employed as artificers at Chatham, Eastney, Plymouth, Deal, and other places, have not only been constant at drill and tidy in their appear ance all through the period of their engagements, but that they have advanced remarkably in the several trades in which they have been instructed. By the employment of 215 Marines at the Govern ment works in 1869, a saving of £3,050 was effected ; and in 1870 the expenditure, in consequence of 158 soldiers being employed as labourers on Government property, is stated to have been £2,440 less than if the labour had been entrusted to ordinary workmen. The colonels commandant, who have charge of the men employed at Chatham, Plymouth, and other places where works under Government are rendered necessary, report that the system has been most beneficial in all cases. The men execute what they have to do admirably, they like their occupation, and their general conduct is improved by it, while their duties as soldiers have neither been forgotten nor neglected. SEWAGE. The question how to utilise the Metropolitan sewage has been engaging the attention of the select committee of the House of Commons, which has been investigating the Thames Navigation Bill. In waiting until the utilisation be fairly accomplished, the committee has given its approval to a bill for preventing the obstruction of the river by the flow of sewage. This is merely a temporary expedient to diminish a pressing inconvenience, but the recommendation of the committee that im mediate attention be given to the utilisation of the sewage is an important step in the right direction. Other towns have grappled with the evil, and though the proportions it assumes in the metropolis are naturally much more formidable, the difficulty of the task furnishes no excuse for avoid ing it. The drought which now prevails to so great an extent proves the necessity of turning our fertilising resources to the best account possible, in stead of employing them to injure our rivers. THE AMERICAN MAILS. The intelligence that the Postmaster of the United States has made arrangements with the Cunard and the Inman Steamship Companies for carry ing the United States mails is not the least important item of news received through the cable. For several months the commercial com munity has laboured under a grievance which call only be understood by men engaged in the pursuits of trade. Parliament denied its responsibility for the delay in the arrival of the mails from America, and threw the blame upon the United States postmaster, who had refused to continue the contracts with the two companies at the rates agreed upon. The demand made by this official was sudden, and the Cunard and Inman Companies were not prepared to make a sacrifice for the benefit of the American Post-office. The mails were then given to the Guion line, and much praise is due to this company for its efforts in arresting the blow which would have been felt by a complete stoppage of the mail communication between the two countries. The resumption of the contract by the two well-known companies is, nevertheless, a matter for congratu lation. THE BRINDISI ROUTE. There is at present some contention respecting the relative merits of the mail routes by Brindisi and by Marseilles. There is no doubt that the former has the advantage of rapidity, an advantage which in . these days ranks very high in the public estimation. Letters from the East by Brindisi are delivered in London before the letters received by the Marseilles mail. Sometimes the time thus gained by the Brindisi route has been as much as thirty or forty hours. Indeed, the first May mail which arrived in London via Marseilles was anticipated by the Brindisi route by no less than forty-nine hours. The Brin disi mail arrived in London on Friday, April 29, at 5.43 p.m., while the Marseilles mail did not reach London until Sunday, May 1, at 6.45 p.m. Under these circumstances it is thought unreasonable that the Post-office authorities should not alter the arrangement and make Brindisi the principal route and Marseilles the supplementary one; but the Post-office argues that the people can send their letters by Brindisi now if they choose. Some of the Oriental banks, it is said, make occasional profits by receiving their remit tances through Brindisi a day or two earlier than the public receive their drafts on the banks. Some accounts have described the population of the Adriatic coast as dirty and half savage peasants, the air along the coast from Venice to Reggio as miasmatic, and the whole Brindisi route unfavour able. On the other hand, it is urged that the country near Brindisi is a garden of olives and almond trees and vines, and that the whole line of country is rapidly improving. The Mont Cenis tunnel, when completed, is expected to shorten the Brindisi route by some eight or ten hours, in which case letters will reach London before the Alexandria steamer reaches Marseilles. Petitions are being presented to the Governments of Germany, Holland, and Denmark, for the adoption of this route for Asiatic correspondence, and it is said that an influ ential city member intends to support the same plan in the English Parliament. TRADES UNIONISM AND TUE TAILORS. No amount of experience or of argument, it would seem, will suffice to convince English working men that the liberty they claim for themselves they are bound to allow to others. Trades unionism is still extant among us, and it is just now flourishing in full vigour at Cork. Two journeyman tailors have been charged at Marlborough" street with annoying and assaulting a workwoman named Maria Davis. Mr. Keane, a master tailor, of Cork, said that a strike began among his workpeople, in that town, a month ago, and had not yet ceased. It was for an increase of wages, and also on account of the employment of machinery, which the men would not work with. Mr. Sims, of Vine-street, London, worked for Mr. Keane and the other master tailors of Cork, and the assault complained of was committed in London on a woman employed at his shop. The system employed was that called " picketing," relays of men watching the workpeople go in and out and telling them they were on strike work. The people employed, having the fear of violence before their eyes, often took their work back and told Mr. Sims. It was urged, on behalf of the prisoners that they had not been guilty of violence or intimidation, but bud merely told the workpeople that there was a strike at Cork. However, the magistrate was not convinced that the proceedings had been quite so innocent, and though he admitted the evidence was slight, be thought it advisable to remand the prisoners on bail. It gives an idea of the energy and organisation of these unions that men should be sent over from Dublin to London to carry out one particular design. CHARLES DICKENS ON DOCTORS AND LAWYERS• Shakespere has been claimed in turn by almost every profession in the kingdom. The wide range of his genius was co-extensive with humanity, and his powers of depicting the thousand and one phases of the mind was an essential attribute of a power both creative and critical. Like Shakespere, Charles Dickens was endowed in an extraordinary degree with this gift of genius. The Law Journal re marks that he has left us a whole gallery of legal portraits. In the first rank of masterpieces Serjeall t Buzfuz stands out with a distinctness of outline 1 10 t to be excelled—surely the learned serj eant will never die. In "Bleak House," the Chancery suit of " Jarndyce v. Jarndyce " enabled our great novelist to give descriptions of the Court/ the lawyers engaged, the solicitor of the Dedloek family, and`the law writer, whose double may be met in the regions of Chancery-lane every day of the year. The British Medical Journal says that his des cription of hectic (in "Oliver Twist") has found its way into standard works in medicine and s urgery i. that he had anticipated the clinical researche s °f several well-known names, and that his descrir tions of moral and mental insanity sh ell/ the hand of a master. Every one kno ws the immortal Bob Sawyer, and though he often laughed at the members of the profession, which, like other mundane things, is not perfectio n .. l he laughed as one who loved what was good it' One of Dickens's latest essays was in advocacy of the East London Hospital for Children. CHIGNONS IN CHANCERY. Chancery is the region of wigs, and therefore we must conclude that a discussion on the most ridicy kus of fashions is not altogether unsuitable to its sober precincts. Chignons, after making the circuit of the habitable globe, have at last found then way into Vice-Chancellor Malins' Court. Manchester, which boasts of the variety of its trades, owns among them a ." chignon and frizette manufac turer," who sought to restrain the defendants, Messrs. Crawley and Son, from infringing his patent. gr. Rushton being, we may presume, unable to keep pace with the demands of the fair damsels of Manchester for artificial tresses, set to work to manufacture hair. Al th u e p cip be Ser Pli Y. - I Lal M: C O , hat WC Ilig liftl tio x Op r hod;