The Press.
London, England, 1854-09-30 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

SATURDAY,

After directing a series of military evolutions on a grand scale by
the army at Boulogne, the Emperor, with his Empress, has returned
to Paris. An important innovation is to be introduced in the capital.
A police force, on the model of our own, is to be established, which it
is not improbably conjectured may hereafter rob Paris of its character
as a city of barricades.

At home the meeting of the British Association at Liverpool has
been distinguished by extraordinary activity. So many papers were
read and subjects debated in the different sections, that the reports
which have appeared afford a very inadequate idea of the proceedings.
The lecture of Professor OWEN on the leading distinctions between
man and the several species of ape was a masterly exposition of the
subject ; and his conclusion that man was the sole species of his
genus, the sole representative of his order, the latest and highest form
of animal life, and that the scientific interpretation of God's works
correspond with what is revealed to us in God's word, met with the
emphatic approval of his crowded audience. Among the practical
subjects best deserving attention was a discussion on the decimal
coinage. The plan, lucidly explained by Mr. W. BROWN, M P., of
making the pound the basis of the decimal system, was approved by
the vast majority of those present. The question is gaining ground,
as it is of great importance viewed merely as an aid to education.
Captain M'CLURE, the first man who can boast that he has actually
discovered and accomplished a north-west passage, has arrived at
Cork. It will be remembered that this gallant navigator steered direct
for the pack ice off Behring's Straits, and, working his way through it
with marvellous perseverance, at length reached the Banks's Land
discovered by PARRY, returning home by Lancaster Sound. But what
has become of Captain COLLINSON, who, up to the date of M`Ctuaz's
steering for the ice, had kept company with him? Is his
vessel still frozen up in that icy sea which separates PARRY'S disco-
veries from the North American coast? His fate begins to excite ap-
prehension, and it is proper that all possible exertions be made to aid
him, lest aid should come too late. Of FRANKLIN'S ships no trace has
been discovered. The mystery which shrouds their fate forms the
saddest chapter in Arctic discovery.
The cholera continues to decline in most wonderful accordance
with the decrease when it last visited us in 1849. In each case the
abatement was visible on the same day. The returns disclose some
frightful facts as to the filth in which portions of our population are
compelled to live. The Board of Health, when willing to act, seems
to want power to enforce its decisions. A gross case of neglect has been
established this week against the Clerkenwell board of guardians,
and it is to be regretted that at the inquest on the body of a child,
whose death must be ascribed to their neglect, a verdict was not
returned which would have told them that they are responsible to the
law, as they are to God and society, for the faithful discharge of their
duties.

NAPIER TO ABERDEEN.
(TILE LATEST VERSION OF BERNS'S " MY JO JANET.")
NAPIER: Kind Premier, o' yer courtesy,
Will ye but gie the word, sir,
An' ships to stanes I'll gar ye see
Is nae sic match absurd, sir !
Keep yer fire yer pipe to light,
Charley ! Charley !
A'm no a man that's gi'en to fight,
Ma frien' Charley.
Then gin ye'll but the gun-boats sen',
As a'm a leevin man, sir !
I'll gie ye news o' Neva's fen
If aim to timmer stan', sir!
Keep your guns to shoot the craws,
Charley ! Charley!
Wait ye till the Neva thaws,
Ma frien' Charley.
Guid guide us ! Maun I walk the deck?
Jest puffin' ma cigar, man?
Sent ye me oot to fill and tack,
An no to wage a war, man ?
Smokin's no sae far frae right,
Charley ! Charley !
An' cruisin's safer than a fight,
Ma frien' Charley !

ABERDEEN:

NAPIER:

ABERDEEN:

NAPIER :

ABERDEEN:

THE ONLY MODE OF ENDING THE WAR.
(Being Part of the Specification of Lord Dundonald's Patent for his" Secret Plan.")
I. A Torpedo called the " ABERDEEN," calculated to benumb ships-
of-war and throw an Admiral into a mesmeric sleep, as far off as from
Downing-street to the Gulf of Finland, no matter how lively and ad-
venturous the gallant officer may be by nature. This machine must
be used carefully, as it is of ancient make and adaptation, being three-
score and ten years old, and liable to a sudden accident called "Mu'
lar indignation," which compels it to drift northward before the wind.
11. A general regulator of machinery called the " Clarendon,
which acts as a fly wheel, and controls the advance of warlike desires
by an abating power called "negotiation," which, adroitly contrived,
like the sae ortion of a ootton-mill, leaves the movement preci
where it found p
it, and generally restrains the velocity of the works.sely

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