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

PURE NONSENSE.

CHICORY—for some inexplicable reason—continues
to enjoy the favour and protection of the Govern-
ment. Why, in defiance of the general principle of
the excise laws, chicory should be permitted to b e
sold for coffee, any more than sloe leaves for tea, or
cabbage for tobacco, is beyond our comprehension.
The adulteration is as plain in one case as in the
other, and is equally a fraud to tae consumer, and
an injury to the revenue. We have adverted to this
subject before. To allow a mixture of chicory and

coffee to be sold under any circumstances was bad
enough, because the purchaser could never know
what proportion of the genuine article he received.
Plain sense suggested that the two articles,--on e
taxed highly, the other not taxed at all,—ought to
be kept separate, and sold separate. But a recent
Treasury order, with the interpretation authoritatively
given to it, goes much further than sanctioning the
mixture, as it allows the compound to be sold though
coffee should be asked for.

This order, dated the 10th of August, states that
the Board of Inland Reveuue, having ascertaiued
that "a practice prevails among grocers of selling a
" mixture of chicory and coffee in cases where pure
" coffee is asked for by the purchaser," gives notice to
the trade that in such cases a sale of the mixture,
though labelled with the words " a mixture of chicory
" and coffee," will subject the vender to prosecution
for a fraudulent sale. On a cursory perusal this order
appears fair enough,—supposing it were right to
allow the mixture to be sold at all,—but on closer
examination the words " pure coffee," constantly
used throughout the order, raised a question whether
the chicory mixture might not still be sold to a buyer
for coffee provided "pure coffee" were not expressly
asked for.

In answer to inquiries on this point the Secretary
to the Treasury replies, through the Economist, that
persons will not be exposed to prosecution who bell
the mixture when coffee is asked for, but only when
" pure coffee" is demanded. It is said :
" The very object of the notification seems to be to draw
a distinction between those cases when the mixture is
supplied when coffee generally is asked for, but with proper
printed intimation that it is so, and those cases where pure
coffee is distinctly asked for and still a mixture is furnished.
The distinction, in fact, is where trade se rarried on honestly
without intention of deceit or fraud, and where a mere
form is used to cover frauds."

The public, we are sure, will conclude that the
Government must be rather anxious to encourage
fraud than to check it, when it sanctions such verbal
juggling as this. The prevalence of the fraud is
admitted—the mixture is sold when coffee is asked
for—yet, instead of compelling the grocer to furnish
the article required, it screens his fraud by requiring
the buyer to particularly express that he requires
pure coffee. How are the mass of persons who
frequent grocers' shops to comprehend this nice
distinction' How, indeed, are they to be made
acquainted with it? The Economist is not sent to
them gratis, nor will the Treasury circular, with its
official interpretation, be distributed among all
coffee•buyers in the kingdom. In fact, the order,
under pretence of restraining the fraud, virtually
legalises it.
"What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the
gander." Traders may not unnaturally think that
the recognised practice as regards coffee may legiti-
mately apply to other commodities. The grocer,
when asked for sugar withoutthe prefix "pure," may
suppose that his excellent sand mixture is required;
and the baker, when merely bread is demanded by
his customers, may infer from the Treasury circular
that he is justified in selling a loaf compounded of
bone•dust and flour. The plain way to prevent fraud
would be to prohibit adulteration; or, if the mixture
be thought desirable, why should there be a duty on
the genuine article, while the spurious one goes free?
Are we to conclude that it is no offence to cheat the
revenue when the public are cheated at the same
time ?

THE WINDSOR COURTS-MARTIAL.
(From a Correspondent.)
TER trial of Lieutenant PERRY, which has
engaged so large u portion of public attention,
is uow closed, and the sentence of the court-
martial has been approved and published.
Lieutenant PERRY has been found guilty.
Those conversant with military matters pro•
bably expected no other result. Enough has
been proved against the unfortunate young
man to justify the sentence ; and the public
feeling interested in his favour, and the inju-
dicious support of some of the daily news-
papers, could have no effect in altering it.
Such interference was equally injurious to the
prisoner and subversive of the ends of justice.
No court of justice can suffer its decisions to
be suggested by the public press, and all men
of honour and spirit would shrink from the
suspicion of having yielded to its dictation.
We think, however, that the case of this uu
fortunate youth might have been recommended
to the favourable consideration of the highest
authorities, and even to the clemency of the
Crown ; allowance might have been made for
his youth and inexperience ; nor should it
have been forgotten that he adopted rather
than influenced the manners of the corps he
joined, and that many of his faults he may
justly lay to the charge of older and more
experienced officers.
It is upon the " memorandum " of the Com-
mander-in-Chief, dated Sept. 2nd, 1854, and
published in the newspapers, that we wish
to make a few remarks, rather than on the
decision of the court-martial and the dis-
closures to which it has led.
After recapitulating all that has recently
been done to purify the manners of the army,
his Lordship observes :—" Those coarse iris
" gularities termed practical jokes, and the
" use of disgusting language, have increased,
" it is said, since the introduction of those
" articles of war in 1844 which more strictly
" prohibited duelling in the army." This
order, we are given to understand, had its
origin in a duel between two officers nearly
connected with each other, and which termi-
nated fatally to one of them. The melancholy
accident to which his Lordship refers is fresh
in all our memories, but it is not a case in
point. True, both gentlemen were in the
army, but the cause of their quarrel was a
private oue, arising out of the conflicting in
terests of mere relationship, and would equally
have led to mortal arbitration whatever had
been their profession, excepting, we presume,
that of the Church.
The above case was so peculiar a one that it
should hardly, we think, have been selected
for the ground of a general order ; indeed, the
Commander in-Chief himself seeins to be of
the same opinion, for he proceeds to remark:—
The better and true reason, however, for the increased
strictness of the articles prohibiting duelling was, that the
tone of society had improved, and that all men had united
in reprobating so barbarous a mode of settling a dispute.
We are not more inclined than his Lordship
to become the advocates of duelling, but that
the tone of society (in the army at least) has
improved of late years cannot, we think, in
the face of the recent trials, be maintained.
It cannot be doubted that the arrogance and
petulance of young officers have greatly in-
ereased since the promulgation of the above-
mentioned order : it is equally certain that
the restoration of good manners would be
dearly purchased by the introduction of
habitual duelling, but it is happily not less
true that no such price need be paid. Energy
and perseverance, with consistency in the
authorities, would effect much; and this re-
formation we would earnestly recommend to
the serious attention of the Commander in-
Chief :
It would be a fatal mistake to infer (Lord Hardinge re-
marks) that, because duelling has been prohibited, any
lower standard of morals will be tolerated in the British

army.
Those coarse irregularities called practical
jokes to which he before alluded cannot be
tolerated, and must be discontinued, as greatly
injurious to military efficiency and social de-
corum. "If an ensign is firm he can have no
" difficulty in resenting them ;" and every
aesistance and support are given to the young

THE PRESS.

officer in his endeavours to avoid rendering

himself liable to these consequences :
" In May last, before the spring inspection, regiments
were ordered to report whether any particular jokes have
been carried out at !die mess-table or elsewhere, or any
steps taken to prevent them." " The reports are satisfac-
tory," he informs us ; and he " confidently asserts that
the regimental system of the British army, now so long
established, has proved its efficiency, as admirably
adapted for the varied duties of war and peace."
The 46th Regiment, we must presume, has
escaped the vigilance of those officials em-
ployed to inspect it, and, in some way or other,
Lord HARDINGE must admit that his ma-
chinery has proved totally inefficient:—
The captuin of the company to which the ensign on
joining is appointed will give him advice and support.
The major entrusted with this branch of the internal
discipline of the regiment will do the same, and be held
responsible that he does it effectually.
Had these regulations been carried out, the
incidents which led to the courts-martial in
the 46th Regiment would never have occurred.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? So far from
" every assistance " having been given to young
officers to resist the coarse ill-treatment to
which they were exposed by the captain of
their company, Und the major to whom the
charge of protecting them was entrusted, it
has been proved that these superior officers
themselves joined in the riot, and that even
the presence of the commanding officer him-
self imposed no restraint on their merriment.
One field officer, it appears, was in the room,
though " his back was turned," when an in-
decent outrage was perpetrated on a young
officer; and on another similar occasion, to
which his attention is called, he pleads that
" he forgets 'the circumstance," proving by
his answers either that the frequent recur-
rence of such scenes prevented his remember-
ing the particulars of each, or that this did
not call for his particular attention.
We are of opinion that the conduct of the
officers of the 46th Regiment violated both
the letter and the spirit of the instructions
of the Commander-in-Chief, and loudly calls
for more decided animadversion than he has
thought proper to bestow. Mr. WALDY should
not have been the only officer selected from
the group for reproof; and the censure of the
Commander-in-Chief and the displeasure of
the Crown should have fallen on other offi-
cers of this ill-regulated corps ; nor is the
conduct of Mr. PERRY, however culpable he
may have been, so unfitting that of an officer
and a gentleman as that of his comrades and
krters.

AT the meeting of the proprietors of the Railway
Passengers' Assurance Company held on Wednesday,
the directors declared a dividend at the rate of 4 per
cent. per annum. The receipts of the half year had
been 7,5271., and the payments 4,7891., including a
sum of 1,808/. paid for compensation on account of
injuries received by railway accidents.
AT the late anniversary of the Devon and Exeter
Hospital, the president, Mr. Commissioner Bere,
stated that the annual sum derived from a legacy
left to the hospital some time ago by the late Mrs.
Raiford, who resided in the neighbourhood of
Exeter, amounted to 1,4001., and, when certain an-
nuities fell in, that sum would be augmented by
upwards of 1,2001. a year more. As a proof of the
benefit conferred on the poor by this institution,
it was stated that 500 patients had been discharged
cured during the year, and a great number had been
benefited.
NOTICES were posted on Wednesday in the Ex-
change and underwriters' rooms at Liverpool inviting
tenders for the hire of one or two steamers, from
700 to 800 tons (new measurement), to convey bis•
cuits to the Black Sea, from Deptford, Portsmouth,
or Plymouth.
THE FRENCH CRUISERS have put an end to the
illegal practice of the French fishermen from
Boulogne and other ports purchasing herrings as
they were caught from the Scotch fishermen and
cruisers, and then entering them for bounties, as if
they had been taken and cured at sea. The
Government of the Netherlands has also had one
or two cruisers on the east coast to look after their
fishing craft.
AHoNG the passengers by the Peninsular Mail
steamer Madrid, which arrived at Southampton on
Saturday night, were the two sons and three daughters
of the Duke of Rianzares (Munoz) and Queen Chris
tina. They embarked on board the Madrid at Lis-
bon incognito. The daughters are grown up; the
sons mere boys.
THE visitors to the Crystal Palace last week num-
bered 49,878, including season-ticket holders. The
amount, of receipts for admission was 2051.

SATURDAY,

THE WAR.

THE CRIMEA EXPEDITION.
Our latast news from Turkey reports facts which
place the long-promised expedition against Sebas-
topol among the actualities of the war. Letters from
Constantinople of the 31st ult. state that Marechal
de St. Arnaud had issued an order of the day
announcing the expedition to the Crimea, and ex•
pressing his hope very soon to see the three standards
of France, England, and Turkey floating on the
walls of Sebastopol by the aid of the devotedness
and courage of the allied troops. The expedition
was to con-ist of 71,000 men, namely, 25,000 Eng-
lish, 26,000 French, and 20,000 Turks. The pros-
pect of active service had created immense enthu•
siasm ►unoug the troops ; and it was said that the
Marines had obtained permission to take part in the
assault.
The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Napoleon had
proceeded to join the expedition, against the advice
of their physicians, as they were still suffering from
fever. Cholera bad, however, happily disappeared
almost, if not entirely, among the troops.
Letters from Varna of the 29th state that the
Guards and the 28th, 42nd, 44th, 79th, and 93rd
Regiments had already embarked, and that the Light
Division was under orders to embark.
A great portion of the French force was to embark
at Bourgas and Baltschik. Lord Cardigan's division
was also under orders to embark at Varna. General
Sir John Burgoyne had arrived. Lord Raglan was
to embark at Varna in the Caradoc on the 2nd of
September, and the expedition was to rendezvous at
Baltschik.
It was known by the Russians in .Bessarabia that
a landing was to take place in that province or in the
Crimea. An order has been issued that wherever
the enemy appears the towns and villages " are to be
reduced to ashes." In Odessa and Sebastopol a
great number of prisoners taken from the fortresses
are to serve the port batteries. In the last-men-
tioned place a gang of 200 convicts in irons will con-
vey ammunition to the batteries.
It is asserted that the Russians have destroyed all
the tire-engines and other requisites for extinguish-
ing a conflagration at Odessa, Reni, Brailow, Galatz,
and Ismail, with the intention of setting fire to
these important towns should they be forced to
abandon them.
The Fremden Blatt has advises from Galatz of the
Ist, according to which a considerable number of
French and English gun-boats entered the Sulina
mouth of the Danube on the 31st of August. Another
flotilla of gun-boats was to enter the Kilia mouth of
the Danube,
The Russian force at Odessa consists of 20,000
infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 80 pieces of cannon.
An eyewitness of the disasters of the French at
Baldjick states that there were about 2,000 Zouaves
under General Espinasse. They came in after a
forced march of twenty hours' duration, "footsore
and wearied." They drank greedily of the water
from the wells, and in two or three hours were dying
by scores. He never should forget the sight of Espi-
nasse as he came from his tent and saw his men all
lying in the attitude of sleep. The sky was beauti-
fully clear, and all around was still as night. When
he saw the truth his agony burst forth, and he wept
like a child. It was reported that he had committed
suicide. General Canrobert, when he knew it, swore
that he would avenge their deaths. It is a very
common belief among the French that the wells were
poisoned, but, even if they were not, it was most im-
prudent to drink after being heated, in a hot
climate.

Marshal de St. Arnaud, in order to encourage his
forces under their sufferings from cholera and inac-
tion, issued the following address. It is dated
" Head• quarters at Varna, August 8 " :
" In the midst of the painful trials which we have just
passed through, I have found consolation in the acts of
devotedness which the common peril has called forth, and
in the moral vigour which has been exhibited during the
epidemic both by those who obey and by those who com-
mand in this army. The first division, surprised during
its march by the invasion of the scourge, was placed in a
most afflicting situation ; but order, hope, and calm never
ceased to prevail there, as at the very best of times, and it
renewed in that respect the fine examples which 1M
already been given by the garrison of Gallipoli. I praise,
as they well deserve, and I thank most warmly, the officers
and soldiers who have thus honoured themselves in the
eyes of the army by struggling with an energy that nothing
could overcome against the difficulties of a situation whack
at certain moments, might have astonished the most tried
courage. The regret which 1 give to such of our coninnley
as we have lost, and who have expired so nobly at
theif
post of combat, is tempered by the satisfaction which I fedi
at seeing myself surrounded by so many brave men, I
know that I may expect everything from them, and I rt
gard with the most complete security the efforts which I
shall have to ask from them in order to bring our great
enterprise to a successful issue.
" A. DZ ST. AR.; ton,
" Marshal, Commanderin•Chief."