The Sun. — London, England, 1871-01-04 00:00:00

MOSES and r_=ON'S Av INTER OVERCOATS, 19s, to £5. B OY'S OVERCOATS, 78. 6d. to 455. MOSES and SON beg to remind the public E • that the cheapness of an article depends entirely on its quality. and they venture to s ly that their prices will compare favourably with those of any other rJ Ise in England. MuSES and SON'S OXFORD COATS, 17s. to 60s. °AMBRIDGE COATS, 19s. to 50s. IERTCH JACKETS, 15s. to 425. SUTHERLAND JACKETS, 19a. 6d. to 50s. BUSINESS SUITS, 28s. to GOs. EMOSES and SON'S easy and accurate system . of self-measure enables them to execute orders by post with the guarantee of a faultless lit. "LI MOSES and SON'S FROCK CO 435, 245. to O3s. DRESS COATS, 255. to 60s. ORNING TROUSERS, lls. 6d. to 21s. DRESS TROUSERS, 12s. Gd. to 265. MOURNING SUITS, 28s. to .3*. ua• MOSES and SON invit,D special attention to their large stock of GEN TLEMEN'S DRESSING ROBES at 18s. to 20 Guineas ; the assortment is unequalled for variety of materials and designs, and neatness and elegance of finish. TIIG I MOSES and SON'S • BOYS' CLOTHING : KNICKERBOCKER SUITS, 9s. 6d. to 40s. ETON SUITS, 15s. to 40s. BR,GIITON SUITS, 18s. to 48s. 13 RESS SUITS, 255. to 635. 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 tide 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 SOlsi'S Establishments are closed every Friday evening at sunset till Saturday evening at sunset, when busi ess is resumed until Eleven o'clock. Me following are the only addresses of B. MOSES and SON LONDON. CORNER of MINORIES and ALDGATE. NEW OXFORD-STREET, CORNER OF HART-STREET. CORNER of TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD and EUSTON-ROAD. COUNIIIT BRANCH. BADFORD. YORKf3IEIRE. arHEATRB ROYAL, DRURY LANE.- Sole Lessee and Manager, F. B. Chatterton.—Morning rformanoes every Wednesday and Saturday, until Saturday, February 25th. Inclusive. THIS EVENING, (Wednesday), will be produced the Drury Lane Grand Comic CHRISTMAS ANNUA4 written by B. L. Blanchard, entitled the DRAGON OF WANTLEY I and Harlequin Old Mother Shipton ! with New and Charaoteristis Scenery by William Beverly, whose personal services are now exclusively devoted to illustrating the produc tions of this Theatre. The general action of the Pantomime arranged by, and the whole produced under, the direction of Mr. Edward Stirling. Characters in the opening by Messrs. Fred. Yokes, H. Moreland, Charles Steyne, Fawdon "Yokes, H. Naylor, Seymour Firth , Meade, Webber F. Wright, Master Russsll ; Misses Victoria Yokes, Jessie Yokes, Rosina Yokes, Harriet Coveney, M. A. Basquerville, A. Hamilton, Hall, Florence Harvey, De Grey, Ross, Timbrell, Elphinstone, Har court, Lee, Leslie, Mills, White, Burpitt, Rivers, Russell, Hastings. The Harlequinade will include those popular Pan tomimists, forming a Double Company, F. Evans, and W. H. Harvey, Clowns ; Paul Herring and J: Mor is, Pantaloons ; W. Fawdon Yokes and Stonette, Harlequins ; the Misses Rosina and Jessie Yokes, Columbines ; Miss Lizzie Grosvenor, Har lequina. B. Slowman, Imitator of Birds, &c. air. 11. Collard, the Pocket Sims Reeves. Master Dassie, the Chickaleary Boy. E. D. Lyon, the Short Footman, Lawson and Garton, the French Plerrots. Master 11. Rawlings, Clog Dancer. La Patrie, the Baby Velocipedist. The Masks and Costumes from Designs by Vandyke Brown. The Music Composed and Selected by Mr. W. C. Levey. The Dances and Action of the Ballet, and the general business of the Children's Scenes, Invented and Arranged by Mr. John Cormack. The Comic Scenes and Tricks, etc., arranged by Mr. John Cormask and Messrs. Evans and Harvey. Doors open at Half-past Six ; commence at Seven. Box-office open from Ten till live daily. Private Boxes, 1,2, 8,4, and 5 Guineas. Stalls, Ts. Dress Circle, ss. First Circle, 4s. Balcony, 3s. Tit, 2s. Lower Gallery, is. Upper Gallery, 6d. THEE DRAGON OF WANTLEY ; or, Harlequin Old Mother Shipton, will be produced To-night (Wednesday) January 3, and positively withdrawn on Saturday, February 25. Places can be secured from the first until the last date. MORNING PERFORMANCES every WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY ; therefore to prevent disappointment, an early application for seats is respectfully requested. Box-offloe open from Teu till Eire daiIy.—THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE. ft/rORNING PERFORMANCES of the Grand i-TA. Pantomime, entitled the DRAGON OF WANTLEY, every Wednesday and Saturday. Children and Schools at re duced prices to the following parts of the Theatre ;—First Circle, Dress Circle, and Stalls. Box Office open from 10 till 5 daily.— THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE. ricHEATRE ROYAL, HAYAIARKET. For - 1. tieth Night of a NEW FAIRY COMEDY. PHIS EVENING (Wednesday) at Seven, O'Keefe's Musical Piece, TH E POOR SOLDIER, with selections from the original music . Patrick, Miss Fanny Wright, Norah, Miss Fanny Gwynne. After which, at a quarter to Eight o'clock , a new Fairy Comedy, in Three Acts, entitled THE FALAI% OF TRUTH. Characters by Mr. Buckstone, Messrs. Kendal, Everill, Clark, Braid, Rogers, Mesdames Robertson, Chippendale, C. Hill, Fanny Wright, and Fanny Gwynne. Act I. Garden of King Phanor s Country House. Act 11. Interior of the Palace of Truth. Act 111. The Avenue of Palms. Followed by UNCLE'S WILL. Mr. Kendal and Miss Robertson. Concluding with the Farce of THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM. Box office open daily from 10 till 6. AI)ELPHI THEATRE ROYAL—SoIe Pro prietor, Mr. BENJAMIN WEBSTER ; Managers, Mr. B. WEBSTER and Mr. F. B. CHATTERTON.—THIS EVENING, at 7, a new Drama, in One Act, SMOKE. Mr. Billington, Mr. Ashley, Mr. C. H. Stephenson, Mrs. Billington, and Miss Furtado. After which, THE MISTLETOE BOUGH. Mrs. A. Mellon, Miss Elise Holt, Mademoiselle Debreaux, Mdlle. Camilla, Dubois, Miss i! ellew Miss M. Cooper, and Miss Bella Moore, Mi. Brittain Wright, Mr. John Rouse, and Mr. Odell ; And THE MILLINER'S HOLIDAY, Mr. John Rouse and Miss Emma Barnett. GLOBE THEATRE.—Manageress, Miss Clovis. Great Attraction for Christmas.—New Burlesque 'Ey F. C. Burnand. New Company. Grand Ballet, in which the re nowned Madame Colonna and Troupe will appear. This and EVERY EVENING until further notiee, at 7, BOARD AND RESIDENCE. At 7.30, DELICATE GROUND. Messrs. Walter Lacy, W. H. Vernon (his first appearance under the present management), and Miss Ada Cavendish. To be followed by a Grand New Fairy Burlesque Extravaganza, entitled THE WHITE CAT ; or Prince Lardi-Dardi and the Radiant Rosetta. Gorgeous scenery by Messrs. Fenton, Johnson, and assistants. Superb costumes and appointments. Mr. E. Danvers, Mes dames Emily Fowler, Nelly Nisbett, Rose Roberts, and Miss Montgomery (their first appearance at this theatre), in' addi tion to the regular Company. To conclude with a popular farce. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manageress, Mrs. SWANBOROUGH. This Evening, at 7, ON AND OFF, LIVING AT EASE. Messrs. Crouch, Turner ; Mesdames Ada Swanborough, E. Buf ton, and F. Hughes. CCEUR-DE-LION, Messrs. Terry, Pennon, Fenton, and Turner ; Mesdames Amy Sheridan, E. Buf ton, Santley, Lee, Goodall, ctc. AT.AIJDEVILLE THEATRE, STRAND.- V Lessees— Messrs. H. J. Montague, D. James, and T. Thorne. THIS EVENING, at 7 CHISELLING, Mr. David James: after which TWO ROSES (183rd night), by James Albery. Conclude with ELIZABETH. Supported by Messrs. 11. J. Montague, David James. and T. Thorne, &c. ; Mesdames AmyFawsitt, A. Newton, and Nelly Power, &c. r`i T. JAMES'S T HEATR E.—LPssee and 41 Manageress, Mrs. JOAN WOOD. —LAST NIGHTS 0/ FERNANDE. This Evening at 7.45 great play, FERNANDE, Messrs. Farren, Leeson, Lin Rayne, Murray, and L. Brough ; Mrs. Hermann Vezin, Miss Larkin, Miss Fannie ttrough, Miss Turner, and Mrs. John Wood.—Doors open at 6.30. At 7, TO OBLIGE BENSON. At 7.45, FERNANDE. To con clude.wi the Great Burlesque, BOMBASTES FURIOSO,—Box Office 11 — te 0. No fees. PRINCESS'S THEATRE.—SoIe Lessee, Ben jamin Webster. Managers, B. Webster and F. B. Chat, terton.—THlS EVENING will be performed A CHRISTMAS CAROL ; or Past, Present and Future, dramatised with the especial sanction of the late Charles Dickens, by Mr. Edward Stirling. After which will be produced an entirely new grand spectacular extravaganza, entitled LITTLE GIL BLAS ; and How he Played the Spanish Deuce. Written by 11. B. Farnie. The music selected and arrangeki by Frank Musgrave ; thz: ballet, gro - kpings, ezc., by J. Milano ; tho new and magnificent scenery by Mr. F. Lloyds and assistants ; the costumes designed after drawings by Gustave Dor& To conclude with lIE'S A LUNATIC. Mr. J. Clayton.—Box Office open from Ton till Five. p OYALT Y THEATRE, DEAN-STREET, SOHO. - - - - • Crowded Houses. Brilliant Sucdass of R. Reece's Genuine Burlesque " Whittington, Junior, and his Sensation Cat," pro duced with New and Gorgeous Scenery, Superb Costumes, Choice Music, Characteristic Dances, and Splendid Appoint ments. Every Evening, at 7.30, WEALTH. At 9.20, the New Grand Burlesque WHITTINGTON, JUNIOR, AND HIS SENSATION CAT. Concluding with THE RENDEZVOUS. Box Office open from Eleven till Five. No Fees for Booking. ASTLEY'S PANTOMIME. - TOM TITTLE MOUSE and the ELEVEN DANCING PRINCESSES • or, DEEDLE DEEDLE DUMPLIN and the SILVER FROG. Scenery by Grieve and Son. Morning Performances every Wednesday and Saturday at 2. Characters in the Opening by Messrs. Atkins, Beckett, Barrett, Russell, Misses Armstrong, Hodson and Braham. Tramways from Brixton, Clapham, Ken nington, and Stockwell pass the door. Best pantomime in London. CHRISTMAS EXHIBITION of WAXWORK j now OPEN at 360, Oxford-street, W. (nearly opposite the Princess's Theatre). Historical Tableaux. Moveable Figures, a splendid GE.rman Christmas Tree.—Admission, is., Children half-price. NIADAME TUSSAUD'S EXHIBITION, Baker street.—On view Portrait Models of the ex-Emperor and Empress of the French, and Prince Imperial. Also, Marshal Bazaine, Marshal Canrobert, General Trochu, &c., &e. &c.— Admission, Is. Children under Ten Years of age, od. Extra Rooms. od. extra. Open from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. M".ADAME TUSSA UD'S EXHIBITION, Baker street.—On view Portrait Models of the King and Crown Prince of Prussia, Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern. Also Count von Bismarck and Count von Moltke.—Admission ls. ; children under ten years of age, 6d. Extra rooms, 6d. extra.— Open from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. PARTRIDGE AND COOPER, MANUFACTURING STATIONERS, 192, FLEET-STREET (CORNER OF CHANCERY-LANE), LONDON 111 E PUBLIC SUPPLIED AT WHOLESALE PRICES, AND JARRIAGE PAID to the COUNTRY ON ORDERS OVER 200 Per ream. s. d. Fine Cream Laid Note; a cheap paper.. .. Superfine Cream Laid Note; much approved Superfine Thick Cream Laid Note ;especially recommended 5 6 Extra Superfine Double Thick Cream Laid Note ... 7 0 Straw Paper, " Patent;" adapted for rapid writing ............. 2 6 Large Commercial Note Papers is., 4a. be., and 6 0 Foolscap Papers, blue or cream.......... 105. 6d , 12s. 6d., and 14 6 Outsides Foolscap Letter Paper for scribbling plain, 45.; ruled ditto, 4 6 Tinted Lined Note ... five quires for Is. Cd., or 5 6 New Vellum Wove "Club House" 'Note, five quires for 2s. Cd. Superfine Cream or Blue Envelopes, ~s 6d, 5s 6d, & 6s 6d .. Large Blue Wove Commercial Envelopes, 4s 6dl . / per 1,000 Cheap Buff Colour, for circulars, &0., Be. COLOUR STAMPING (Belief) reduced to ls. per:100. Polished steel dies sunk by the best artists in the trade at * about half the prices charged by the retail houses. An ILLU3TRA.TED CATALOGUE, containing full descrip tion, with prices of Account Books, Copying Presses, Inkstands, Stationery, Cabinets, Postage Scales, Despatch Boxes, Travelling Writing Oases. Desks. post free. Established 1841 TOHN GOSNELL and CO.'S CHERRY 1 TOOTH PASTE is g rea tly super i or t o an y t oo th powder ; gives the teeth a pearl whiteness, protects the enamel from decay, and imparts a pleasant fragrance to the breath. Pike Is. dd. Lied Bull Wharf, 98, Upper Thames-street, London. NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE. A GUA AMARELLA restores the Human Hair LA_ to its Pristine hue, no matter at what age. JNO. GOSNELL and CO. have at length, with the aid of one of the moat 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, Ss. each; also 55., M. 6d., and 15s. each, Includ ing brush. Bed Bull Wharf, Angel-passage, 92, Tipper Thames-street, Lon don, E.O. IDARTNER WANTED, WITH £5OO, in a well established and expanding wholesale business in the BOOKSELLING and STATIONERY line, includingthe collection of periodicals and Advertising Agency, in which £1,500 ad ditional could be lucratively invested. Applicants communi cating with T. W. Buckler, 23, Old Jewry, KC., will receive full particulars, personally or by letter. Principals only dealt with. THEATRES, AND AMUSEMENTS. DRURY LANE—RuIe Britannia. Dragon of Wantley. COVENT GARDEN—Lottery Ticket. Sleeping Beauty. ADELPHI—Smoke. Mistletoe Bough. HAvmAnEET—The Poor Soldier. The Palace of Truth. Uncle's Will. The Spectre Bridegroom. VAUDEVILLE—ChiseIIing. Two Roses. Elizabeth, or the Invisible Armada. STRAND—OR and Off. Living at Ease. Coeur-de. Lion. ST. jAmEs'a—To Oblige Benson.. rernande. Bombastes Furioso. OLvmPio--Poppleton's Predicament. Nel and (Bur lesque) Paul and Virginia. ROYALTY Wealth, Whittington Junior and his Sensa. tion Cat, and The Rendezvous. GAlrrv—Tartuffe. A Christmas Story. Alladin 11. QUEEN'S—Farce. Midsummer Night's Dream. GLoßE—Board and Residence. Delicate Ground. The White Cat. Rely on my Discretion. -- -- OPERA COMIQUE Blue Devils. Found Drowned. Nothing to Nurse. HOLBORN—The Married Bachelor. A Breach of Promise. Jezab el. PRINCE OF WALES'S. Queen Stork. Ours. Locked In. PRINCESS'S—A Christmas Carol. Little Gil Blas. He's a Lunatic. NATIONAL STANDARD—Farce. Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross. ASTLEY'S—Farce. Little Tom Tittlemouse. SADLER'S WELLS—Farce. Sinbad the Sailor. SURREY—Farce. My Son Jack. POLYTECHNIC—Professor Pepper's War Lecture. After noon and Evening. EGYPTIAN HALL—Poole and Young's Panorama of the Franco-Prussian War. AMPHITHEATRE AND CIRCUS (Holborn)—Scenes in the Arena. ST. JAMEs'S HALL.—Christy Minstrels. Every evening. PALMS ROYAL—Japanese Troupe. Performing Gorilla. ALHAMBRA—Promenade Concert. MADAME TITSSAUD'S (Baker-street) —From 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. ls.; extra rooms, 6d. air A r , "14V3P-PPLk *tilt 11".°k. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1871. THE SIEGE. If we are to accept the information given by the Times, the beginning of the end is near. The sur render of Paris is, according to that journal, a mere question of days. It would be very hazardous indeed to conclude thus rashly that capitu lation is at hand ; but it can hardly be delayed many weeks longer. The utmost period assigned by reasonable calculation has been until the ' beginning of March, and even if the defence terminates a month sooner, all will have been done that could rationally be expected. It is now a month since the Germans discovered their grievous mistake in supposing that the supplies in the capital must be exhausted by the end of November. Add another month, and the extent of the German error is fairly covered. The Times' prophecy may be correct, but similar forecasts have been made before by still more com petent authorities, and have come to nought. The news from Paris is very unfavour able to the defence, but doei not point to capitulation within a few days. The last sortie was a lamentable failure. The Parisians were as much puzzled to understand General Trochu's plan as people outside were, and an unmistakeable feeling of dissatisfaction with the commander was spreading through the city. Fuel was even scarcer than food, and some portions of the troops still behaved badly. THE CONSTITUENTS OF THE. PREMIErt. A. petition is being(signed in some parts of Green wich calling upon the Premier to resign his seat as representative of the borough. Tho reasons set forth by the undersigned electors are numerous, commencing with the personal grievance that from the time he became the member for Greenwici, the right hon. gen tlemanhad never visited the borough,nor devoted so much as his passing attention to any of its interests. These interests, indeed, are represented as being worse than neglected, for this part of the peti tion winds up by saying, "In a word, your ill-timed and miserable economy has col.verted this old historic place into a scene of pauperism and desolation." The Greenwich electors have still less confidence in Mr. Gladstone when they consider the condition of the country at large. Ireland is:dissatisfied and discontented, though two sessions were consumed in passing measures affecting her interests. As for foreign affairs the veteran leader of the Whigs, Lord Russell, was left to sound the alarm trumpet, and demand that men should be enrolled for the defence of the country. Mr. Gladstone is blamed for the disastrous reductions which he made in the departments of the State, but the chief charge brought against him is his state of "suicidal apathy." It is not yet stated who origi nated the petition, nor what class of voters are sign ing it. These, however, are obviously important questions. BREECHLOADING GUNS FOR THE 'NAVY. Captain Sherard Osborn expresses his astonishment at the decisions of the Military Committee in favour of muzzle-loading guns being employed for the fleet. He protests against the conclusion that a muzzle loading gun is better for naval purposes than a breechloader, and trusts that before they accept the decision of the Committee the Admiralty will insti tute an inquiry on an extensive scale. He points out that it would be well to wait a little longer and profit by the practical tests now being made by the Germans and the French. Among the reasons why lie advocates the adoption of breechloaders for the Navy, Captain Osborn says that it is advisable to avoid the present dangerous exposure of four men to a gun while loading at the muzzle. A. breechloader gun also entails less labour on the gun's craw. Another advantage of breech loaders is that no trouble is given by dragging the gun in to load after recoil, and it can be so fitted that it returns to its position when the recoil has expended itself. He fears, however, that no arguments put forward by a naval officer will be allowed to weigh against the decision of the military authorities " in asserting that for ship purposes a muzzle-loader is superior to a breechloader." INVASION OF ENGLAND. Some of the Times' correspondents with the Ger man armies, not being allowed to say much about what they see, fill up with accounts of the enlight ened conversations they hear. It seems the German officers are especially fond of discussing the prospects of an invasion of England, and the Times' correspon dents have Jenkins enough in their composition to retail this rubbish. Dr. Russell, at Versailles, sent the first specimen of fleas at German headquarters and the correspondent with Prince Frederick Charles sends the second :—" What will people think at home of no less gigantic an idea than a bridge of boats from Calais to Dover or thereabouts ; not, of course, as the means for a first landing, but to pass over the reinforcements to a small army landed first, and protected by field works ? The channel would thus be treated as a huge river, and it is considered that an army once across could live uncommonly well by requisitions." The qu(s!ion really is, "What will people at home think of" the writer and the editor who allow such stuff to be put in print ? The German fleet has never yet shewn itself at sea since the beginning of the war. No naval engagement has taken place, except a brush between two little steamers at Havana. Everybody knows that if the German fleet had risked a battle, it would have gone to the bottom. Yet the German officers manage to persuade their visitors that a stronger navy than that of France could be overcome, and that a bridge of boats could be main tained across the Channel! THE NRIV YORK PRESS ON GENERAL SCHENCK. The New York Tribune says the appointment of General Schenck as Minister to England was accepted by the whole country as an assurance that a settlement of the Alabama claims was to be in sisted upon. It is understood that General Schenck is instructed to • demand payment of the claims of American shipowners for vessels lost, with interest added, reimburse ment to the American Government for expenses incurred in consequence of the depredations of the English Confederate cruisers, and public recog nition of the principles of neutrality insisted on by the American Government. Such is the pleasant programme of the Tribune. The New York Times, always more moderate, and happily more influential, claims for the Alabama question an earnest and un biassed consideration in the States, though it admits the exact position of the discussion at the present time to be most unsatisfactory. Ater tracing the history of the dispute, the New York Times declares the ill feeling and apparent indisposition of the Americans to treat is the result of the English policy throughout the civil war, and especially of the tone of the English press. It warns the people, however, that they must now dec;de whether they want to go to war on the question or not. "We must admit," adds the ?bites "that there is at present a real dange • ~f our drifting into war. Next spring will, in all probability, see Great Britain plungeci. in a tremendous struggle with Russia, and such a war would almost inevitably draw us in were the Alabama claims unsettled." And it asks what greater calamity could befall civilisation than such a struggle between the two leading Christian Powers ? CUMULATIVE VOTING. The member for Bury St. Edmund's, though favourable to the extension of cumulative voting to constituencies which vote for school boards, is very much opposed to the privilege being granted in respect of parliamentary elections. Anything which gives indi vidual voters more voting power will, in his opinion, strengthen the power of cliques to secure a candi date's return, but will diminish the influence of political motives. In school board elections there is, Mr. Hardcastle argues, a reason why minorities should have a power given to them disproportionate to their numerical importance. No one, however, would urge that when such boards have to legislate, it would be fair to give the representatives of mi norities more power than that of the majority. There aro two distinct elements concerned in the different elections—in the one a personal element, given to enable men to choose and return men who are neighbours, friends, or local residents, and therefore qualified to undertake the oversight of the educational system, in the way that the respective supporters of the candidates in the election most desire. In the other case the element is political, an element which should return men to a national as sembly who would not have to support local an d selfish ends so much as to take fon nterast in questions solely for the welfare of the whole country. SCIENCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. Tile question whether practical scientific instruc tion ought to be made a leading feature, or a feature at all, in the secular department of the new education system is engaging much attention among several of our best known proles- Ord. In a letter to the Birmingham Gazette, Mr. Smith, F.R.A.S., has just added his testimony in favour of the proposal. In a lengthened tour throug,h the Middle and Western States of America, Mr. Smith found that under the American common school boards system the schools ha I done an immense amount of good in inspiring the pupils with a love of science in general. The effects showed themselves in an intelligent smartness and aptitude which he regrets is yet unknown among the young of this country, FE➢IALE EDUCATION. It would appear that Prussia, so advanced in all other enlightening and civilising processes, can yet point to one more superiority over us, in the system that country adopts for the education of women. At an unusually full meeting of the Victoria Discussion Society, on Monday evening, the superficial character of the education given to Eng lish girls, and the general inefficiency of those who professed to teach them, was once more discussed. A lady from Germany spoke in praise of the system under which her countrywomen were instruc'ed, and subsequently Miss Faithfull condemned the English plan in the presence of the German lady, and informed the audience that Miss Nightingale had said that three fourths of the whole mischief in women's lives arose from their excepting themselves from the rules of training con sidered needful for men. After the lady speakers, Dr. Brewer, M.P., who took the chair, made an address, probably one delivered under a certain sense of awe, as he merely suggested that the advantages of the mar ried condition were overrated, and that one of the things most wanting in the education of girls was self-reliance. In women of the present day he saw too little prudence and forethought, and the evils he noticed were chiefly to be found among the poorer class. 13ooic PUBLISHING IN 1870. It has been remarked that a man who had been absent from the world for a twelvemonth might gather the history of the year from the register of the books published. Thus in 1870 he would find, first, a hcst of pamphlets on the land question in Ireland, and accounts of the Council at Rome. Later on he would meet with a host of biographies of Charles Dickens, and then war publications, without number Educational works, travels through the Isthmus of Suez, and treatises on aeriel naviga tion, would enlighten him as ,to other points in the year's history. Such as are disposed to carry their analysis further will find some very curious statistics in the Publishers' Circular. During the year there have been 4,656 new books and new editions published in Great Britain -3,377 new books and 1,279 new editions. The books are divide ( into fourteen classes. Strange to say, the largeit number of new books and new editions come under the head of theology, sermons, and works of that class, which number 811. Tho next in amount is the dive of juvenile works and tales, 695 ; educational, classical, &c., are 568; novels and works of fiction, 381. In this class the propor tion of new editions to new works is the highest, being 162. In poetry and the drama the average of new editions is 134 against 212 new works, while, in the class of travel it is lowest, being: only 52 new editions against 245 new works. There is an increase of 90 in the education division over last year, and a reduction of 83 in fiction. The largest number of new books in any one division is that of juvenile books in November—Christmas presents, in fact. The variations of the trade in the months are very perceptible, November having 375, while August has .only 159. The chief American importations were theology and history. A BACHELOR'S VIEWS ON CELIBACY. Tbe correspondence in the Daily News upon " English Homes and Housewives" has called forth opinions from almost every class cf people who have time to write about married and single domestic life, and the various mistakes people of a matrimonial disposition are subject before and after marriage. One of the most pungent of the letters is from a bachelor, who signs himself "Forty Years," and who looks upon wives as doubtful benefits and positive cares. What he says is at least amusing. He is not disposed to be hard upon those who marry and who don't like it. They have, in his eyes, enough to bear. He thoroughly believes, however, in Thackeray's advice to young men, " wait till you come to forty years, then you know the worth of a lass." Having reached that age, the bachelor feels justified in speaking his mind, ai:d this ho does with no tender hand. " Women," he says, "so far as I am able to judge, are of two kinds—the stupid patient drudges, and the sharp-witted sympathetic companions who claim equality and want to share your pursuits. ,The latter are the most dangerous and give most trouble. The former are only a dead weight. The one is a passive, the other an active bore, and whether with or without capacity for cooking or taste for dress, it puzzles me exceedingly to know what they can give in exchange for what they exact." As he smokes his Havana, the bachelor evolves fancy pictures out of all this correspondence in the Daily News. It pleases him, and he is satisfied that there is no limit to the good the revelations may effect in the determination of men hovering on the brink of matrimony, who now for the first time learn the categcry of female faults and virtues from their own lips. For himself lie is content to live on alone. He is spared all anxiety respecting the fate of others, and he can hold his own with married men who have four times his means. SPIDERS. An exceptional number of prosperous spiders were noticed on the premises of a quill-pen manufacturer in the city of London, whose business was disposed of a short time ago. It turned out that these quantities of well-fed insects were the consequence, not of neglect, but of design. The feathers of the goose-quill are infested by a most destructive species of moth, for whici spiders have an especial pred fiction, and therefore quill-pen manufacturers keep up their stock of the commonly despised insect with much care. Spiders are in quill manufactories as valuable as cats in granaries. It is truly remarked of this pleasant story that the spider has been under a cloud ever since his perseverance stimulated Robert Bruce to fresh efforts, and now he appears in a favourable light agtin. Why do not other classes of the com munity profit by the lesson, and keep, say, carrion 9 crows • THE SNOW. Among the many who feel angry that the snow has come down so al.undantly, and clothed our thoroughfares, roofs, and gardens, are the burglars. Like the bargemen on the rivers, their occupa tion is rendered impossible just at present. If they do attempt to pursue their usually remunerative profession, foot-marks in the snow leaf to their identity and arrest; while ice upon the window sills makes the latter disagree able and dangerous places to be at work. The dread which may justly be produced in the philanthropic mind of the burglar by snow s may perhaps be judged of from a case heard at the Mansion-house on Monday. An attempt to enter a bullion dealer's in the city was discovered to have been made. One point of attack was the roof, and even here in the snow were positive footmarks, which at once afforded valual,le testimony for the prosecution. THE PROVINCIAL ARMIES. All appearances indicate that Paris will not sur render without at least one more effort being made by the garrison. The provincial armies, too . seem dis posed to try another chance. A. good rest has been given them, and the skirmishes of the lest few days show that they are moving. Nobody knows where Bcurbaki is; but he has advanced in some direction or other. His force is very strong in ntunbers, and will require a considerable army to oppose it. The question h whether the Germans can spare sufficient men to hold him at arnt's-length eastwards of Or leans, and yet keep Chanzy down on the west. The answer to this question will decide the fate of Paris. Chanzy has unquestionably started from Le Mans, for one of his corps won an engagement near Vendome on Saturday. Everything betokens a forward movement. The weather is very bad for campaigning, but the French Generals linow well that they cannot wait for the thermometer to rise. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 187 CHRISTMAS IN NEW ENGLAND. The New Englanders, like the rest of the-civilised world, have been keeping the great festival of. Christmas, but they have celebrated in the same week the memories of a body of men and women who ignored Christmas altogether. The amliver sary of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers n Massachusetts Bay is a grand day for all New England, and for Plymouth especially.. The Hon. l!obei t Winthrop, descendant of one of the Pilgrims, delivered the oration at Plymouth, where the great central celebration was held, and a dinner in the railway station and a ball in the evening concluded the day. Fancy the. Pilgrims, old or young, being honoured by a ball! - But then, as an American journalist reminds us, they would have been as much bewildered at the idea of a rail way, and the world must grow in one direction as well as in another. .The Boston Advertiser takes advantage of the occasion to inculcate the import ance of popular education. Much has been claimed for the Pilgrim Fathers which does not belong to them, it says. They did not bring with them freedom of thought, religious toleration, or the equality of man, but they brought the seed from which all these great growths sprang, and they planted it when they com pelled every child to go to school. They founded the school first, and the college after; and to those two institutions America owes the Declaration of Independence in the last century, and the Proclama tion of Emancipation in this. The moral will not, it may be hoped, be lost on England. THE TURKISH ARMY. A correspondent of the Daily News at Constanti nople represents the Turks as fully convinced that a war is impending (notwithstanding appearances of friendship between the Ottoman and the Muscovite Governments); and adds that they are making ready. There are 000,000 breechloaders in the hands of the troopi or in the depots, and 500,000 more are being converted, and will be ready in the spring. The field artillery numbers 2,000 rifled guns. Of mitrailleurs, 200 of Gatlings, 10-barrel, have been ordered, and between 20 and 30 delivered at Tophana. The .troops have acquired great proficiency in using them. With financial support from England, Turkey does not fear a single-handed encounter with Russia. AT= I • • eitillti TIER 31 AJES7' 1 - . OSBORNE, Jan. 3. Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice, drove out yesterday after noon, attended by the Hon. Flora Macdonald. Her Majesty drove out this morning, accompanied by Princess Christian and Princess Louise. Prince Arthur and Prince Christian went out shooting to-day. THE CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY. The Birmingham Post says Mr. Stansfeld refused to accept the Postmaster-Generalship without a seat in the Cabinet. The salary, £2,500 a year, is £5OO a year more than Mr. Stansfeld receives as Financial Secretary of the Treasury. The transfer of the Irish Secretaryship from Mr. Fortescue to the Marquis of Hartington (a Dublin cor respondent writes) will give satisfaction in Ireland. Mr. Fortescue was popularly considered as a doubtful friend to the principle of mixed education, which has a strong hold of the minds of the independent political class. The Marquis of Hartington, on the other hand, is believed to be more firmly attached to it. INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION. A committee on International Arbitration has been appointed by the Social Science Association, in accord ance with the resolution passed at the Newcastle Con gress. The committee, which includes Sir Travers Twiss, Mr. Westlake, and other jurists, is addressing itself to the practical difficulties by which the question is surrounded. TIIE SINKING OF SHIPS AT DUCLAIR. On Monday night an order was issued by the Govern ment authorities for the immediate removal from the Well-street Sailors' Home (London) of the thirty-four sailors who had been placed there by the Registrar- General of British Seamen, in consequence of their having been left without means by the sinking of the vessels in which they were employed in the Seine, by Germans. The officers and seamen of the vessels in question will be com pelled to return to their homes, and some of them state that the destruction of their vessels and the loss of their property had left them destitute. BOILER EXPLOSION AT ROCHDALE. On Monday morning a boiler of eight-horse power, in the foundry of Mr. James M`Owen, in George street, Rochdale, exploded with terrific force, and the shock was felt over a radius of a quarter of a mile. The boiler was used for supplying blast, and was fixed beneath the surface five or six feet. The explosion is supposed to have been caused by the freezing of the . feed pipe. Four or five men were working in the foundry at the time, but fortunately escaped injury, with one exception : James Holt, of No. 7, Sussex-street, was struck with a missile on the back of the head, but no serious result is apprehended. One end of the boiler was blown to a distance of about 100 yards, and a part of the body was ripped up into slips and forced into various directions. The portion of the foundry adjoining the boiler, was thrown into ruins, and the roofs and windows of neighbouring houses were broken by the shower of bricks and stones. A large stone, about 2001 b. weight, was thrown over the adjacent houses, and struck the wall of Mr. Jenning's mill, a distance of about 100 yards from the foundry. Several windows of the mill were broken, one of which was in the fifth storey. The damage is roughly estimated at upwards of £2OO, TIIE CENSUS.—A census of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom will be taken in April next. The statis tical section of the British Association has presented to the Home Secretary a memorial setting forth the anomalies of previous enumerations, and offering suggestions for their future avoidance. The suggestions are these :—. 1. That the principal body of tables relating to the num bers, age, sex, birthplace, civil condition, and occupation of the people, should be drawn up and printed in an exactly identical form for the three parts of the United Kingdom. 2. That while the commissioners may with great advantage continue to exercise their free &sere tiou in drawing up such minor tables as appear to have especial interest for distinct localities, they should agree to prepare in a uniform manner such minor or sum mary tables as may be of importance as regards all parts of the United Kingdom. 3. That a general index of subjects should be prepared for the whole of the reports, appendices, and tables, so that an inquirer can readily ascertain where the corresponding information for different parts of the United Kingdom is to be found without making, as hitherto, three• independent searches through a mass of complex and almost nntndexed infor mation. - _ _ SEAFARING MORTALITY.—If we can do nothing to diminish the number of preventible accidents in the public streets and on railways, we might at least extend our consideration to unfortunate sailors who have no Dr. Lankester on board their ships to inquire into the cause of their deaths. Mr. Finlaison, actuary of the National Debt, in a letter to the Secretary to the Royal Commission Patriotic Fund, which appears in the appendix to the Annual Report of the Commissioners just issued, calls attention to the very large proportion of deaths brought about by causualties proper only to seafaring life (as shewn by the Statistical Abstracts of the Health of the Navy), which, he states, is distressing to see. No less than 60 per cent, of the deaths from injury are accounted for by drowning and falls from aloft. If the prevention of accidents is a matter worth serious attention, surely there is room for, at all events, a slight reduction in these figures ; for even if it is absolutely necessary that a large number of sailors should be annually drowned, a little carefulness might prevent them falling from aloft at this rate. In respect of deaths in action Mr. Finlaison adds that the loss of the naval force stated in the only return available for reference is " absolutely trivial."' Out of 5,080 men employed on the China station from Midsummer, 1864, to Midsummer, 1865, 24 only fell by the hands of the enemy. This is at the rate of 47 per 10,000 men, and not one-half per cent. In the four years ending with Midsummer, 1868, the whole number which fell in action was 33. This is another proof, if any were needed, that our enemies are really our best friends, for they never destroy us half so ruthlessly as we destroy our selves.—Pall MO Gazette. THE MAGAZINES. Blackwood.—There is a kindly notice enough in Maga of Sir Henry Bulwer's Life of Lord Palmerston, praise and blame being as cunningly mingled by the reviewer as the "mordant" mustard and the "softening" potato, the soothing oil and the stinging vinegar are blent into one appetizing whole by a clever salad mixer. A new serial story begins with the new year. It is entitled " Fair to See," and, this once at any rate, bears no sign about it indicative of its coining from the hand of Mrs. Oliphant. A genial, affectionate tribute is offered to one of the Blackwood "set"—George Moir—recently deceased. There vre some highly spiced • lines headed " This morning's Times in Chambers," that would be all the better if they Lad not, here and there, a flavour of vulgarity. Fraser.—More than one of the contributions to Regina for January—three, at least, of the nine—appear to us dreadfully out of date. F. W. Newman, in the first of them, undertakes to explain " The Causes of the Crimean War." Then, again, there is an account of " The Loss of H.M.S. Captain," of which, by this time, we have heard and read almost enough. Closing the whole number there is a paper on "Scotland in the Sixteenth Century" not in the nineteenth, but the sixteenth ! Dr. Dionysius Diamond, however, completes his record of " The Tempta tion of the Reverend Stephen Holdfast," so that we have some cause after all for thankfulness. Macmillan.—That favourite of more than Cantabs— llacmillan—is chiefly delightful this month by reason of its containing the most charming of all the memorial articles that have yet appeared on Charles Dickens, the paper, here, being strictly anonymous (we have 'ourselves not the faintest conjecture who wrote it), and conveying to the reader a most vivid idea of the charm of those famous private theatricals at Tavistock House, in the course cf which Mr. Dickens shewed his wonderful power as an actor. Mr. Scott Russell in this number begins a clever, dashing account of a recent visit paid by him to Paris and Versailles. Cornhill.—Although there is an able memorial chapter on the Spanish hero " Zamalaca rregu y," an d three carryingani anuds away Asia Minor, n imagination the charm Wales, I m r a en te ic d e, e N ol e it w ril s m o t u io th ns and interest of the Cornhill still continue to be divided between the two narrators of the companion, or rather contrasting, serial storks now pursuing their course in its pages—" Lord Kilgoblin" and " Harry Richmond." The former promises to be one of the brightest, raciest, and most interesting of all the bright, racy, and interesting Irish stories of Charles Lever. The delineation of the characters pourtrayed in Lord Kilgoblin .is in his very happiest style:—Joe Atlee, for example, and Dick Kearney, and Cecil Walpole, and Major Lockwood, being discriminated, quite as admirably as Kate or Nina, the rival heroines of the tale. " Harry Richmond" is full of wit and brilliancy, but has about it a dash of extravagance render ing it wholly unreal—the living bronze statue, for instance, and all that about the Princess Ottilia and the Margra vine. But the delineation of the character of Harry's father, Augustus Fitz-George Frederick William Rich mond Guelph Roy, is admirable, and has about it a suave and yet intolerable fascination. The Gentleman's.—R. H. Horne, whom we are glad to welcome back among his literary confreres, leads off the Gentleman's with an agreeable fragment of autobiography. Percy Fitzgerald sketches Calais, the Countess Bothmei " Kaulbach," and Clark Russell " Tyburnia." Six more chapters bring Sutherland Edward's story evidently very nearly to its conclusion. TtlE ECLIPSE EXPEDITION. A report has been received from that portion of the Eclipse Expedition which went to Oran. When the as tronomers reached there they found that M. Janssen, so distinguished by his spectroscopic observations of the red flames in 1868 in India, had arrived. at Oran, having escaped from Paris with his instruments in a balloon. He had fixed his station about seven miles from the town of Oran. As at this distance the ship would be inconvenient for the English observers, a station was chosen near the railway station, about two miles and a half from the port. By a singular coincidence the piece of ground selected was found to belong to an Englishman resident at Oran, Mr. Hinshelwood, who most liberally placed the whole of his land at the service of the Expedi tion. The day of the eclipse came with much wind, and rapidly driving misses of cloud ; still it was hoped that some views of the eclipse would be obtained through the clear spaces by which the clouds 'were separated. If the weather had permitted the sun to be visible at the proper time, there would have been no difficulty, with the instruments provided, in obtaining full and certain information of the nature of the coronal light. Alas !it was not to be. The earlier stages of the eclipse were seen and a photograph taken, but ten minutes before totality a dense bank of clouds came over the sun, which extinguished all hope and ren dered useless the laborious preparations of many weeks. M. Janssen was of course equally unsuccessful. Though the darkness was almost appalling as it rapidly increased up to the moment of totality, still the scene was deprived of a large part of its impressiveness by the dense mantle of cloud which Concealed nearly the whole heavens. AID TO THE SICK AND WOUNDED.—CoIoneI Loyd Lindsay has written a long letter, descriptive of the operations of the National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War. The communication is of a most satisfactory nature as regards the appropriation of the enormous funds entrusted to the society, and in conclu sion it is stated that the most active sphere of action of the. society is in the immediate neighbourhood of the battle. fields in France, but that the needs and requireme n t s o f the numerous military hospitals scattered throughout Germany are not overlooked. The only hospital in Ger many under English management, that established at. Darmstadt, by Dr. Mayo, which is still worked by him,. has achieved most successful results, and earned the ad miration of the German authorities. THE FIRE AT THE BIRMINGHAM EXCHANGE.. —A fire was discovered on Saturday morning, about tem o'clock, and seems t o h ave b roken out in the office of Mr- Ryland, in the front of the Exchange, Stephenson-place, Birmingham. In a short time the flames burst throrgh the windows, and the traffic of New-street was stopped by a large crowd. The fire engines were at hand in a few minutes, but for some time no water could be procured, as the plugs could not be opened on account of the frost. There was then danger that the handsome building might be destroyed. Fortunately a plug was found in Warwick. House-passage which could be opened, and in about three, quarters of au hour the fire was subdued. The damage, done is considerable, and the Exchange is somewhat dis figured by the fire. VENTNOIL, ISLE OF WIGHT LOCAL BOARD AND THE BOARD OF TRADE.- The Ventnor Local Board are involved in litigation with the Crown. They are nego tiating the purchase of the foreshore from the Lord of the Manor, and have erected a groyne on the shore for the protection of the sea wall, of the esplanade. The Crown also claims the right to the shore, and the Board. of Trade wrote to the Local Board, asking a nominal rental, requesting to be furnished with plans, etc., of the groyne illegally placed there. The Local Board re fused to remove the groyne, or, as the matter was in dis pute, to acknowledge the right of the Crown to the foreshore, and at their meeting on Monday evening, a letter was read from the Board of Trade, informing them that desirous as this Board were of assisting useful works, the last letter from the Local Board leaves them no option but to place the matter in the hands of their solicito.m which they have accordingly done." THE MULLINGAR MunnEn.—An inquest was held on Friday evening on the body of Thomas Waters, who was murdered on the previous night near Mullingar. Few additional facts came out in evidence, and nothing was elicited to explain the motive of the crime. The- deceased was a young man, about 26 years of ace, andi lived with a widowed mother, who, with her family, was dspendent on him for support. Two constables deposed that at eleven o'clock on Thursday night they found nearly in the centre of the road his two clotti coats in an oil-skin overcoat, a s he had worn them and a few yards distant his cap. They then searched on the Knockdun road, knowing that it was by that road he usually went home, and at the workhouse gate they found the body. They observed no trace of a struggle. One of them had seen Waters alive that, day, about three o'clock,. perfectly sober. The doctor who made a post-mortem examination stated that he found two gunshot wounds lib his breast, and two leaden, pellets lodged in his chest. One of them had gone, through his heart, and must have killed. him instantaneously. It was impossible ha could have inflicted the wounds on himself. Mn. KNATCHBULL HUGESSRN, M.P., AND TUB PRINCESS OF WALES.—Inv preface to. his new fairy tale book for children, Mr, Knatchbull Hugessen, M.P., dedi cates the work to the Princess of Wales, in the following words :—" This volume is published at the request of man child-readers and other lovers of magic lore. I did not venture to ask permission to dedicate a book to your royal highness until the kind reception accorded by the. public to my first attempt emboldened me to hope that the second might not be deemed unworthy of such an honour. It appears to me peculiarly appropriate that stories, humbly framed after the model of the inimitable Hans Andersen, should be dedicated to an illustrious lady who not only resembles that author in her Danish origin, but also in having won to herself the love of English hearts by a spell no lees potent than that by which her great countryinan has captivated the affections of count less English readers. It seems natural, also, that an author who ventures upon that field of Fairy literature —their mutual love of which constitutes one of the malul ties of sympathy between the peoples of Denmark and Englandshould desire to dedicate his ward to a princes 3 who represents in her own person the strongest and most popular tie which unites the two countries." The book entitled " Crackers for Christmas," THE EUROPEAN WAR. The SUN is Published Every Morning at EIGTI r O'CLOCK, with SOME HOURS' LATER NEWS than any other paper. This edition will always contain the LATEST N EWS of the WAR, and of all other events.