The Express.
London, England, 1866-01-09 00:00:00

TSB SANPHIeIE COLLISION.

The Time, finds many contradictions In the sentence of
the Board of Trade in the cue of the Samphire collision.
The occurrence is called an accident, although it is stated
that it might have been avoided with greater cue ; and the
captain, though acknowledged to be culpable, is practically
exculpated, and diemireed from the inquiry with a com-
pliment. The doctrine that the premium offered by the
Tost.office authorities for quick passages creates " • natural
desire" on the pert of the captain which may excuse him
for imperilling the safety of his passengers—is pronounced

by the Times to be disgraceful, monstrous, a scandal to the
court which pronounced it, and to the service which accepted
it without protest.
The Post expects to find iu the customary report which
will be forthwith prepared and published, a condemnation
of a system which regards punctuality in postal delivery as
a paramount consideration to the as f.ety of the travelling
public. . . . .

. -
The Tdegraph agrees with the report, and urges that
there would be no gain in rafety from a less rapid rate of
speed. As to the light, the crew of an ill-manned American
trading vessel were infinitely more likely to omit the pre-
cautions required by the law of the seas than the officers of
a remarkably well organ;icd and well paid packet ser►ice
The second imputation brought against the officers and men
of the mail packet, that they failed to do their duty after
the accident took place, may be safely dismissed as " Not
proven."

WS TOPICS.

The Tire., still sees the pouibiity of embarrassment
to England arising from the existence of Fenianism. Even
in Ireland, though nobody imagines a Fenian government
could be established, it would be alarming enough to those
on the spot if it ware true that one hundred thousand of
the peasants or artisans have sworn to rise in civil war,
while in America the Fenian', who appear to have plenty
of money, are now, we are told, intending a raid into
Canada. The calculations of the brotherhood are that out
of the complication' thus caused war may arise between
England and America. We know enough to show that
even the nary squabbles and ludicrous pretensions of the
New York conspirators are not without a certain import-
snot.

The Daily News comment. upon various incidents which
have drawn the attention of townspeople of late to the
actual state of village hardness and iscurable neg-
ligence of the holders of cottage property—and the intole-
rable hardships endured by their tenants. It sees reason
to believe, however, now that the Union Chargeability Act
is law, and the end of the law of settlement not far off, the
worst is over in regard to the labourers' accommodates. The
discovery of the deodorisiog properties of earth, the better
method of building which provides for a more regular sup-
ply of water, the institution of village hospitals, the
im-
proved harvest homes of recent years, and the substitu-
tion of registration for statute fairs—are all subsidiary
improvements of great importance. Few districts are quite
as bad as they were, and some are improving in fair propor-
tion to the advancement of the agricultural mind which is
ow of the characteristics of oor day.

Among the newspapers brought by the last mail is the
Liberator, which clone its existence with the year that is
gone ; and in it we real, " With our own hands we have
pot in type the unspeakably cheering announcement " of the
abolition of slavery in the whole territory of the United
States. The man who has lived to do this, the Daily News
reminds its readers, is the same who with his own hands pat
into type, ably. thirty years ago, the first call upon his
country and nation to pat away their great sin and avoid
the retribution to come. Tire career of William Lloyd Gar-
rison is one of deep and instruetive interest in itself ; but it
is also so implic del with the great events and influences of
his time, that some understanding of it is °scenery to any
tree appreciation of the greet inns of the civil war.
The Day News then proceeds to swats the principal to.