The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-20 00:00:00

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM.

Ministers have agreed to place themselves under the i
protection of their Tory rivals, for the purpose of evading i
Administrative Reform, they have contrived to obtain t
a majority of seven to one. What impression this ma-
nceuvre and its immediate success may have upon the
mind of the country, it were premature, perhaps, to say.
There are many earnest and determined spirits on whom
such a declaration of Parliamentary defiance will act
only as a new stimulus, and whose energies will only lee
the more actively called forth as the necessity for greater
and deeper changes than were at first contemplated is
forced upon national reflection. As against the claim of
the middle classes to a just share in the administrative
government of the State, all the oligarchic factions have
shown their readiness to combine. The pretences al-
leged by each of them varies, indeed, according to their
respective antecedents and actual positions. Mr. Dis-
raeli spurns the popular demand as imposture, while he
pathetically reminds us•of a bantling of his own, of
wondrous promise, which was smothered in its official
cradle, when he and his friends were driven from
power. With equal parental fondness Mr. Gladstone
tells us of the still-birth of the scheme, whose early
obsequies have been elaborately performed by Sir S.
Nortbcote and Sir C. Trevelyan : but which, had the
breath of life been ever breathed into it, would, we are
assured,all
theha provedvselipper
y aan
dv eirnysidHioeurciu
jobsles whose folds now, capable of strang-
lingencircle the public interest. On the part of the Whigs,
Lord Palmerston avers that the favourite of the people
is a foundling of low and disrfputable origin ; but that
an offspring of right
wmhordseurciltiy•ess is still, indeed, the
but whose usefulness in after
thohlodenyobuuarffraeba
lnne
duprbatiruuereni ntl
aigvg
eetry,
,o
years will be felt and acknowledged. All concur 111
supercilious repudiation of the child of the peeroy aristo-
cratple;its
in thefeatnresi house,ln(icat with twopleheian sympatliies ; a
exceptions,
voted accordingly
on Monday night that it should be turned out of doors.
Of the many long and tedious speeches delivered on
the occasion, it cannot be expected that we should speak
in much detail. Those of Mr. Disraeli and Lord Pal-
merston call, however, for some degree of separate notice.
The aim of the Derbyite leader appears to have been to
compliments be-
tween the opportunity for throwing another flying bridge
across the chasm that still separates the Tory seceders
of 1846 from the great bulk of their party. Of late there
has been h
the
two nothing
ex
Chancellors
ot interchange
Exchequer. e of c
Expe-
rience has convinced them both how much they stand
in need of each other, and we must do them the justice
' to say that neither of them has of late been wanting in
profuse offers of political hospitality. A delicate contro-
versy, indeed, is still waged between them as to which
is to be considered the host and which the guest ;
but where the tendency to embrace is so obvious,
it is but natural to expect that the objects of
mutual affection will advance to meet each other
half way. There is more difficulty in finding floating
6, topics which may serve as pontoons and planks for

A short discussion took place in the House of Com-
mons last night on the subject of the reward due to the
Arctic navigator who has at last succeeded in solving
the problem of the North-West Passage. Events of such
importance succeed each other so rapidly nowadays
that we can scarcely believe in the existence of a period
when the public were violently excited by tidings from
Behring's Straits or Lancaster Sopnd. Sir John Frank-
lin and his brave Companions, Sir James Ross and his
searching expedition, Sir Edward Belcher and his ships,
Captain Penny, the gallant Bellot —such-were the names
and the topics which were in everybody's mouth but
a very few years ago. Just now all recollection
of. them has passed away like a snow-wreath in
the sun. We must not, however, forget to be just, be-
cause it happens that England just now it engaged-in a
grapple with one of the great military powers of the
world. England can well contrive to carry on a war,
and to attend at the same tune to minor claims upon
her justice and her generosity. It was Mr. Mackinnon
who brought last night More the house the question of
Captain M'Clure's services. It is an undoubted fact that
though for the last three centuries and a half all the
great maritime nations of the world have been striving
to find a passage in one direction or another to the
northward of the great continent of America, all adven-
turers failed until Captain M'Clure took the matter in
hand. Beyond all question, he was indebted largely for
his success to the efforts of his predecessors, although,
even so, there was enough of uuknown water or ice in
the inhospitable regions through which the Investigator
forced her way to tax to the utmost the energies of the
boldest adventurer. It would be idle at a moment like
this, when every Englishman's mind is intent upon pro-
ceedings of a far more important kind to enter at any
length upon the romantic story of the Investigator's
cruise. Suffice it to say that in January, 1850, the In-
vestigator and Enterprise sailed together upon this List
voyage until off Cape Horn, when they parted company.
The Investigator in due time passed Behriug's Straits,
and reached the ice on the 2d of August in the same
year, without any tidings of her consort. Captain
M'Clure resolved to proceed, because it was hoped
at the time that some tidings of Sir John Franklin and
his party might be obtained in the region which he had
then reached. He took the Investigator accordingly up
Prince of Wales' Strait, and in a sledge reached "Bank's
Land. Opposite his position at this point lay Melville
Island—the Melville Island of Parry and his successors—
so that at the very moment the problem of a north-western
passage, which had occupied the thoughts of so many
navigators from the days of Sebastian Cabot to our own
time, was solved for all practical purposes.
It is needless to speak of the Investigator's further
adventures in connection with the search for Sir John
Franklin. The good ship lies in Mercy Bay, stuck hard
and fast in the ice, unless, indeed, she be already ground
to pieces or destroyed between the cold fingers of the
Polar furies. We could have wished that, like the ship
in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe,
she had been brought back to Deptford, and that Queen.
Victoria might have followed in the steps of Queen
Elizabeth. This was not, however, fated to be ; let us
only be thankful that we have got back her brave crew.
It is unfortunate for them that the old Parliamentary
offer of 20,0001., which was held out as a bait to the
adventurous between 1745 and 1828, had not been re-
newed. Strictly speaking, therefore, nothing can be
claimed upon this score. It has, however, been the
custom to bestow a reward either in honour or money,
or in both, upon all persons who have distinguished
themselves upon these perilous expeditions. Sir Edward
Parry, who reached 110 deg. west longitude, received
5,0001. and knighthood. Sir John Ross was rewarded
in a similar manner for his discoveries in Boothia Felix.
Sir G. Back was knighted on his return from Hudson's
Bay ;so was Sir James Richardson. Sir Jas. C. Ross
received the same honour for his adventurous expedi-
tion to the Antarctic Seam. Now, it would be difficult
to say that Captain M'Clure was not, equally with
these distinguished officers, entitled to honour and
reward. After all, it was he who actually solved
the problem, however he may have been assisted to
the solution by the labours of his predecessors., The die-
covery--we grant it freely—is entirely useless to the
human race for all purposesifof navigation and commerce.
It is however, something to have set at rest a question
upon which the minds of men have beenviolently agitated
for sosmany centuries. Examples of heroic endurance,
besides, are never thrown away upon the navy. Nor can
it be said of Captain M'Clure's expedition that it was
merely undertaken for a scientific purpose. He went to
look for Sir John Franklin, and found the North-Wes-
Passage. Perfect unanimity prevailed in the house at
the proprietyof appointinga select committee to examine
into Captain M'Clure's claim. We heartily wish him
success, for lye has fairly earned his reward in the midst
of dangers and hardships innumerable. With the re-
cognition of hie claim the cycle of Arctic discovery may
appropriately be closed.—Morning Paper.

BURSTING OF THE LOCK OF THE VICTORIA DOCKS.
—The opening of these spacious docks at Plaistow
marshes, which it was intended should take place in the
course of August next, will be necessarily delayed some
months in consequence of a serious accident which hap-
pened on Sunday by the bursting in of the principal
lock, or river entrance, near Bow-creek.

FATAL OCCURENOE AT BRISTOL.-A shocking Occur-
rence took place at Bristol on Sunday last, by which
a Mahometan sailor, aged 24, and a young worn*
the same age, met with their deaths. It appears the
ship Duncan, of Liverpool, was lying in the Floating
Harbour, where, on account of being infested with rats,
she was undergoing a fumigation with charcoal and
brimstone beneath hatches. The captain, 'to guard
against the possibility of danger to the crew, gave orders
that the hatches should not be opened, but the two de-
ceased persons managed (while the shipkeeper was in the
forepart of the vessel) to raise the ha,tchways and go be-
low in company with a Malay sailor. At a little before
six on Sunday morning, Sali and the woman were dis-
covered quite dead from suffocation, and the Malay
nearly so. Mr. David Davie, of Queen-square, surgeon,
used all efforts to re-animate the two former, butin vain.
The surviver is, however, recovering. An inquest. was
held yesterday, when a verdict was returned of " Acci-
dentally suffocated by the fumes of charcoal." •
INTENDED DISTRIBUTION OP NAVAL PRIZE MONEY.-
Notice has been given to the officers, seamen, and
marines, and to all persons interested therein, that the
' distribution of proceeds arising from the Russian vessel
Fidentia, captured on the 9th of April, 1854, by her Ma-
jesty's ships Tribune, Imperiense, and Leopard, will
commence on Monday, the 9th July, 1855, 'in the prize
branch of the department of the " Accountant-General
of the Navy, Admiralty, Somerset House." The fol-
lowing are the shares due to an individual in the several
classes :-Flag share, 851. ss. 104. ; captains, each 671.
10s. 53.; second class, 91. lie. 103. ; third, 71. 13s. 5.d.;
fourth, 41. 18s. Bd.; fifth, 21. 14s. 93.; sixth, 21. 9e. 3d.;
seventh, 11. 12s. 10d. ; eighth, sd. ; ninth, lls.
tenth, ss. 6d. A simiar notice has been given to the
officers, seamen, and marines, and to all persons inter-
ested therein, that the distribution of proceeds arising
from the Russian vessel Did°, captured on the 11th of
April, 1854, by her Majesty's Pains Imperieuse and Leo-
pard, will commence at the same tune and place._ The
f6llowilig lira the shires- dii-e-to an individual in the
several classes--Flag shari', .41/.../S. 6d.; captains, each
49i. 2s. 83.; second class, 61. 10s. 73.; third, 51. 4s. 5d.;
fourth, 31. 7s. 2d.; fifth, 1/. 17s. 43.; sixth, 1/.135. 7d.;
seventh, ii. 2s. 5d.; eighth, lls. 23.; ninth, 7s; 6d.; tenth,
3s. 9d.

A. meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Strahan, Paul,
and Bates, was held atthe Law Institution yesterday
~
- afternoon, to consider the steps to be taken to secure a
full , investigation of the petition :recently opened in
Bankruptcy. Between 50 and 6Q persons, were present,
nearly the whole of whom are connected with the legal
profession, andthe chair was occupied by Mr. E. S. Lee.'
It was explained by Mr. Futvoye, who has adopted the
initiative, that a number' of the creditors who have suf-
fered largely through the stoppage of this firm are de.,
sirous of a thorough inquiry into its affairs, and are con-
sequently prepared to pursue such measures as shall
insure that object. Many, he stated, were at first in •
-
clined'to view the suspension as sine of these unfortunate
catastrophes which may sametimes occur in busi-
nese ; but, as it appeared from all that could now be
ascertained that the partners had been aware of their
position for the last six, years, it was necessary to
carry out a strict examination. It was therefore pro-
posed to watch the proceedings with great vigilance.
Mr. Lawrance, who had entered at this stage, intimated
that, as the representative ofthe petitioning creditor, he
was most ready to state the course that had been pur-
sued and would continue to be pursued for the 'benefit
of the creditors and to insure the legal distribution of -
the assets. Observations had been made on the manner
in which the petition in 6ankruptcy had been adjudi-
cated, and the effect of friendly influence in relation to it;
but he thought he should be able to show that the step
had been taken with a desire to protect the estate against
extents ft= _the Crown and other claims which interfered
with the interests of the general body. Having been
called in and consulted, without possessing the slightest
previous knOiledge of Mr. Strahan or Sir J. D. Paul,
and having only a partial Acquaintance through one pro-
fessional transaction with Mr. Bates, lie' had given the
best advice in hie_. power, and the result was that, acting
for the petitioning creditor, he had recommended the
course in
.question. This had occurred after the house
had been culpably •kept open up to the Saturday, the
plea of the, partners being that they expected assistance.
Through the run on the Friday and Saturday the funds' •
of the establishment had been
,diminialsed between
•22,0001. And 24,0001,, and; notwithSta'nding their promp-
titude with the petition the' sheriff's 'officer entered on
behalf of the. Crown, and secured 2.000/., the remainder
of the available eash„besides which it was, necessary to
give him an undertaking to pay 7001. or 800/. additional,
to.prevent him seizing the books' and closing the' pre-
mises altogether. An important question would arise. as ,
to the source of the hints which .may have induced many
to withdraw or reduce their balances; and .if it could
be clearly proved that any intimation had been given
the Court would interpose its power and order restitu-
tion. With• regard to the choice of assignek, it was
proposed to name Mr. Barwis, an accountant :and navy
agent,' and Mr. Montagu Tatham, a proctor, and if the
creditors present thought fit to select a third there would
he little difficulty. An objection was made to the latter
gentleman, pot from any doubt,ct his integrity, but from
the fear that he might not proceed energetically, owing
to his connection with Sir J. D. Paul. It was said Mr.
Lee and'Mr. Appleyard, as being creditors and repre-
senting large claims, would be the proper parties.' With
referenota to the non-appointment of persons likely to be
influenced by family ties, Mr. Lawrance mentioned that
Mr. W. Spottiswoode had been at first requested to act,
but that, when it was intimated his 'relationship to Mr.
Strahan might be raised as an objection, he at once with.
drew. After a long consultation, in which the deplor-
able condition of the estate and the heaiy sums for whitih
certain contractors stand 'indebted to the firm were
alluded to, it was agreed to support tbe 'choice of assig-
nees propoied. adding the name of Mr: Appleyard, of
Lincoln's-inn ; the explanation .afforded by Mr. Law-
ranee being considered satisfactory. At the close of the
meetiogbe stated distinctly that he should act entirely
without restraint as the representative of the petitioning
creditor, and that he, as well as the whole of the, parties
'concerned, saw the necessity of an unfettered investi-
gation. It was stated that.there is scarcely a tradesman
among the debtors under the estate, the legal profession,
through themselves or. their clients, being' the principal
sufferers. The two firms of Messrs. Strahan, Paul, and
Co., and Messrs. Halford and Co., are identical, but the
opinion is that the latter will, as far as its separate posi-
tion is concerned, be found in a much better position
than the former. Some French railway concessions may,
it is thought, produce an addition td the assets.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

ABERDEEN AND SCOTTISH MIDLAND.

The directors of these companies, it appears, have
entered into a provisional arrangement far amalgamating
the two companies. The revenue, after deducting work-
ing
expenses, is to be divided in certain portions founded
on the average of the past four years. The shareholders
of the respective companies are to retain their present
rights and preferences. The two companies are to lease
the Dundee and Arbroath. Railway on ,what they con-
sider favourable terms, with a view to have the control
of the traffid by railtvay from Aberdeen to Perth and
Dundee.