The Press.
London, England, 1858-11-06 00:00:00

are destroyed and a proportionate number of long-tails bagged ; but as
soon as the covers have had time to lie quiet a little the game begins to
return, and next season a goodly head of ruffians is heard of with much
glee by the officers of her Majesty's squadron. One good thing is that a
victory over these gentry is gained with really fewer casualties than fre-
quently befall an actual shooting party. Yet nevertheless, as the pirates,
we suppose, do try to hit us, and as stinkpots and spears, to say nothing of
cannon-balls, are even worse than a charge of small shot in the calf; or a
few pellets sportingly lodged about the nose and eyes, it would be as well
if strong measures could be taken with these troublesome rovers. To
judge from the despatches recently received from Admiral SEYMOUR, her
Majesty's servants seem to find it excellent sport, and may feel disinclined
to kill down all the breed at once. But, seriously, we think some resolute
and vigorous effort should be made to terminate this singular pastime.

The principal subject which engaged the attention of the, Com-
missioners on Army Clothing, &c., at the renewal of their inquiries on
Thursday last, was the system of purchasing timber for the Government.
The main question at issue was this—whether the employment of brokers
in this transaction was desirable or not. To judge merely from the
evidence, we should say that the result was entirely in favour of open com-
petition. But then we must remember that the bulk of the evidence on
the other side was held back as being too voluminous for publication. The
opponents of the broker system endeavoured to show that timber which
could have been purchased direct from the importer at a certain sum, was
purchased from the broker through whose hands it had passed at a much
larger one. To this it was replied that the Government officers insisted
upon picking their timber; so that if a broker purchased so many loads
from an importer at a particular price, he was justified in charging extra
for picked portions of the same. Yet, granting this to be the case, there is
the broker's per-centage to be taken into account, and also, as it seems, a
higher charge for lighterage than the direct seller is in the habit of
charging. Mr. HOWELL, Director of Contracts at the War-office, appeared
to be in favour of the brokerage system ; Colonel TULLOCH, Head of the
Royal Carriage Department, and Captain FARMER, an officer under him,
in favour of open competition. Not having, as before stated, the whole
evidence before us, we can only write subject to correction. But nothing
certainly has yet transpired to make us a convert to the system which
entails an additional expense without, as far as can be seen, any corre-
sponding advantages. The " middleman" is already almost a proverbial
character, and the 0711.13 probandi certainly rests upon his champions.

Cardinal WISEMAN has been delivering a lecture to the inhabitants of
the metropolis on the present condition of Ireland as presented to him in
his recent progress. He disclaimed the idea that his journey was official,
and then proceeded to state his conviction that Ireland was now at last
recovering from a prostration of three centuries. Better farming, better
tenures of land, and the diffusion of capital had combined, he said, to pro-
duce a marked change on the outward aspect of th,. peasantry. They
were now smiling and prosperous, and the whole face of the country was
assuming a corresponding appearance. We are sure we are only too happy
to hear these tidings, be they from the lips of Catholic or Protestant, of
priest or layman. But we very much wish that we could have asked the
Cardinal this one question. If; as he declared, the people is just as much
under the control of the priesthood as ever, is it not in the power of the
latter to prevent such atrocities as that which has occurred in Donegal?
And is not the Cardinal aware that the very thing to arrest the present
progress of the Irish people, and to throw them back into the miserable
condition from which they have emerged, is the revival of that lawless
spirit which once made all improvement hopeless? A circular from the
Cardinal upon this subject would do more to convince us of his sincerity
than a dozen such flowing orations as he delivered on Wednesday last.

The terrible case of wholesale poisoning at Bradford, where fifteen
persons have died, and as many more lie dangerously ill, from the acci-
dental admixture of arsenic with some lozenges sold commonly at the con-
fectioners, has at present resulted in this—that three persons have been
remanded by the magistrates on the charge of manslaughter. They are
Mr. NEIL, the manufacturer of the lozenges; Mr. HonG*rx, the druggist
from whom he bought the arsenic; and GODDARD, his assistant. In the
conduct of the two former there seems, indeed, to have been culpable care-
lessness. What Mr. NEIL wanted for his purpose was a preparation
called daff," and it was kept in a large tub in Mr. HonGsosellar, in
which was also kept a large tub of arsenic open at the top and without any
label. Mr. HonosoN, who happened to be unwell when Mr. NEIL 's
man called, sent his assistant to fetch the " daff," without, as it appears,
giving him any warning. And now follows the result we have all hears
a thousand times : GODDARD took the arsenic by mistake, and they e
lamentable consequences ensued. But the extraordinary part of the bur
ness is this,—that on Mr. NEIL'S being shown the tub from which t he
arsenic was taken, he at once exclaimed, " Why, that's not daff !" HoN v
it possible, therefore, that he should not have made the same discover y in
the course of manufacturing his lozenges ? If he did so, and still con-
tinued to use the material, which, he confessed, gave him acute pains in
the eyes and nostrils, without inquiring into the nature of the sub ,titute
supplied him, his culpability is heavy indeed ; if he did not, his st ipidity
is something superhuman.

We regret that the French Government should have tat ;en what
appears to us the very impolitic as well as the very unjust step of prose-
cuting M. DE 31o:crausmsEnt for the article upon England whit
.h appeared
in the Correspondant. A complete impression of the artti le will, we
understand, be published by Mr. JEFFS in the ensuing week.