The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-27 00:00:00

i.There is one point to which Lord STANLEY has
not alluded, but which would render the change
stir' more beneficial, and materially improve the
business of legislation. It is a subject to which
nis father has already directed public attention,
(ife ring irresistible arguments in its favour. It
is, that business once introduced in Parliament
should be continued until it has been finally dis-
posed of, either by receiving the Legislative sanc-
tion, or being rejected at some stage of its pro-
; tress. This would not abridge any of the con-
s titutional safeguards against reckless or hasty
hig,islation. On the contrary, it would prevent
the emasculation of measures, and insure mature
and ample deliberation on every point. There
,would then be no necessity for the annual "mas-
s acre of the innocents." The House of Lords
would have no reason to complain that they were
aot allowed fair time for deliberation ; nor would

lye see very injurious alterations submitted to by
having charge of bills merely to prevent
their total loss. With this necessary amendment,
the proposal of Lord STANLEY will be received

with: universal satisfaction, and be decidedly re-
f-4:l,rd ed as one of the most important reforms of

ni od ern days.

However painful it may be to read of our losses
by the enemy, it is infinitely more so to read of
our losses by avoidable disease. In the one case
there is the mournful satisfaction of believing that
the blood of our gallant fellows has not been shed
needlessly nor in vain, but that the country of
their birth will hereafter reap the fruits of their
heroism' and self-devotion ; in the other, the
p erusal is embittered by the reflection that the
r,..cord is one of nothing but loss, and that instead
of being offered up as a glorious holocaust to their
'country's cause, with its inexorable requirements
:and splendid rewards, the noble fellows have fallen
.useless, if not unhonoured, victims to the igno-
:ranee, incompetency, and neglect of those whose
bounden duty it was to take every precaution
-necessary for the preservation of their health.
';.'To read of fifty men as having fallen iu the
'trenches, by the shot of the enemy, is a very dif-
:' -ferent thing to reading of that number fallen by
:pestilence. Yet who that is conversant with the
;":history of the War but knows how small a propor-
tion of our losses, up to the present time, is as-
. ,eribable to the unavoidable requirements of war,
:and that to pestilential—that is to say, avoidable—
disease we owe the decimation of our troops ! The
‘eye that has brightened with pride at their heroic
deeds has oftener, it must be confessed, been
'dimmed with pity and shame at the manner in
which their welfare has been neglected.
Under such circumstances the letter of Dr.
SUTHERLAND, the Sanitary Commissioner in the
'Crimea—the Golgotha of our troops—possesses
peculiar interest. From this document, addressed,
by the way, to the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, it would
:appear that the sanitary condition of the army is
better than might have been expected, and that
:his efforts have been rewarded by considerable
:success. The most striking parts, however, are
those containing his confirmation of the reports
,of the frightful condition of Balaklava on his
arrival, and his remarks on the sanitary
prospects of the army before Sebastopol.
The following is his description of Balaklava
before he entered on his duties :••••..." It is a small
port, land-locked, lying among lofty hills, crowded
with ships, the margins of the harbour formed
'with dead animals, and filth of all kinds ; the
upper end a marsh, which has been used as a
,graveyard, where some thousands of the carcases
'of men and animals had been buried, mostly in
water, and hardly covered with earth ; carcases
'floating in the harbour, and also the refuse and
blood of cattle slaughtered on board ship ;
no latrines but the hill sides, and back yards
of houses covered with filth in consequence."
Can it be wondered at, if in such a state of things
_with a harbour in so filthy a condition, visited
daily by 20,000 men, so many have been swept
4,-)ff by pestilence ? The wonder really is that
there has not been more. The present sanitary
condition of the army adds its testimony to the
existence and results of previous neglect. Though
by no means in so good a condition as might be
attained, the troops appear to be healthy as com-
pared with the past. Diarrhoea hais been preva-
lent, it is true, but by care and attention the
disease has not gone further in the majority of
instances. That such cases should: be numerous
is not surprising, under the aircumstances,
considering the change of climate with new

troopsL_the animal remains festexing beneath

the surface, and the pestilential vapours ever and
anon wafted from the doomed city. It is grati-

.
fying, however, to find that the locality is not in

itself particularly unhealthy, and that the marshy

spots where malaria is engendered are neither nu-

►nerous nor unavoidable, As to the sanitary
prospects of the army we confess to some appre-
-1 tension. it is quite evident from his letter that
1 Dr. SIITIIERLAND has met with discouragement in
his labours from quarters to which he had a right
to look for encouragement, and that he is not
very hopeful of his directions being carried out
in his absence. This, if there be cause, as we
fear there is, for his despondency, is greatly
to be regretted. Any such neglect, indeed,
by the officials in future, ought to bring down

several members feel that it is an addition to
their labours, for which no equivalent allowance
will be made. But let them only understand
that they will be enabled to disperse so much the
earlier—that for every day occupied in Novem-
ber, December, or January, they will have a holi-
or August—and they will hail
day in June, July,
with delight the summons which is now regarded
as an intolerable bore.
The objection to which Lord STANLEY chiefly
applies himself is that relating to what may be
termed the sporting phase of the question. Many
country gentlemen are passionately devoted to
hunting, and will not willingly consent to any-
thing
which will curtail their crusade against
foxes. But even if the convenience and interests
of a large majority of the House, and of the entire
community, without exception, were to be sacri-
ficed to the modem "NIXERODS," even they them-
selves might find ample opportunities for culti-
vating their favourite pursuits notwithstanding a
November session. The votaries of the trigger, who
constitute a large proportion of the sporting com-
munity-, would be little interfered with. The
Scottish moors would still maintain their attrac-
-1 tions ; the partridges would be generally dis-
Iposed of by November, and quite enough time
would remain for hares and pheasants. Besides,
there would be an ample equivalent in the salmon
fishing and yachting, from which, if not altogether
debarred under the existing system, there are
many serious drawbacks. With railway facilities,
and considering how scanty is the attendance be-
fore Easter, save when some question of party
interest is under4lisoussion, those devoted to fox-
hunting might contrive to indulge considerably
:in their favourite pursuit even in November and
December, notwithstanding the Parliamentary
olaims on their time. The NIMRODS, too, are,
g enerally speaking, fond of other country pur-
slats, and would, we venture to assert, not regret
the power of enjoying themselves on their respec-
tivep estates after the middle of June.