The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-10 00:00:00

preceding Monarchs, dating from the Nor-
man Conqueror, and including amongst those
ten the Conqueror himself. In effect out of the
thirty-six Sovereigns who preceded Queen VICTO-
RIA on the throne of England since the date of the
Conquest, there have been only eleven who have
reigned longer than her MAJESTY has reigned even
now. HENRY I. reigned only eight years longer,
HENRY 11. only seven---EDWARD I. also but seven
years longer. HENRY VI. but twelve years
longer, HENRY VIII. eleven, ELIZSBETII
fourteen and a half. Cnaunns 11. nominally
owned the Crown bat nine years longer, even
if we so calculate the duration of his reign, at
an extravagant excess in the computation of it, by
ignoring the whole existence of the Commonwealth.
GEORGE 11. reigned altogether no more than sixteen
and a half years longer than Queen VICTORIA has
reigned already. By a well-known coincidence in
our national annals, the three longest reigns of all
have been these cf monarchs, each the third of
his name, viz. HENRY 111., EDWARD
and GEORGE 111. EDWARD M. reigning
altogether twenty-three and a half years
longer, HENRY 111, twenty-nine years longer, or
more than double the duration of her Majesty's
reign even so far as it has by this time extended—
GEORGE 111., her Majesty's grandfather, whose
reign was the longest of all the reigns of all our
sovereigns, exceeding the duration already attained
by her Majesty's reign by an addition of no less
than thirty-two years and a half. But then, while
we are in the midst of these curious historical
calculations, it ought, as a matter of course,
to be borne in remembrance, here, that many
of the closing years of the protracted reign of King
GEORGE 111. were passed by that afflicted monarch
in complete darkness both of mind and body—in
total blindness and utter bereavement of intellect.
Already, then, the longest reign saving eleven out
of the thirty-six reigns dating from VICTORIA
back to WILIIAM the Conqueror—the present reign
shines already conspicuously, shines, rather, it
should be said, pre-eminently in our annals as the
happiest of all, the most prosperous, the most
tranquil internally, that is among the people of these
islands—and all this because, under the blessing of
GOD, the reigning Sovereign has proved herself,
beyond all manner of doubt and question, to be the
most constitutional Monarch who ever wore the
crown or held the sceptre of EGBERT, doing so not
only es the Ruler of the State, but, as such, in the
fullest and noblest meaning of the words, as the eta•
todian of the rights and liberties,of Englishmen.

The report of the joint committee of the two
Houses relative to the various metropolitan railway
schemes was not suffered to pass without some
comment and opposition. A good many of the
arguments now brought against the decision of the
committee might with equal reason have been urged
against the appointment of a committee at all. One
hon. member, whose connection with the City of
London rendered his views of some importance, has
indeed suggested that a committee of inquiry
should be nominated before any new works should
be undertaken in the metropolis. It was of course
intended that this committee should be formed of
men who, by natural ability or long experience,
should be able to deal with the matter as
a whole, to combine practice with theory, and
a due regard for architectural beauty and
permanent utility,with public convenience and busi-
ness purposes. Such an assembly would, no doubt,
deprive the designs of directors and shareholders of
many of their angularities, would demur to unneces-
sary bridges and viaducts, and object to anything
that tended to the obstruction or disfigurement of
any locality. There might under its agency be
developed some harmonious scheme in which sim-
plicity should take the plaa: of confusion, and unity
of competition, but the proposal of such a committee
was open, as Mr. MILNER GIBSON showed the other
night, to a very serious objection. Its decisions
would be purely visionary. It might indicate what
in its opinion was the wisest course, and recommend
that railways should be laid down in certain direc-
tions, but unless the whole system of railway legis.
lation were altered it would be powerless to carry
those recommendations into effect. It has always
been a principle of our Constitution to allow as
much scope as possible to private enterprise, and
unless the executive were prepared to reverse this
custom, and take the whole work of railway con-
struction into its own hands, it could not enforce
the recommendations of the cummittee. It could
not compel shareholders to subscribe, directors to
come forward, and a railway company to start into
existence at the time and place indicated. The
matter, too, pressed for consideration, and the
public were impatient to have some guarantee 'that
London should not be absolutely converted into a
network of iron rails, and the interests of the eager
candidates for Parliamentary favour deserved some
consideration. Under these circumstances, the
somewhat exceptional course proposed by Mr.
MILNER GIBSON was perhaps one of the best that
could have been adopted. The labours of the
joint committee, if not lengthy, have been assi-
duous, and the time which, day after day,
they gave to the subject was exclusively
devoted to its consideration. There was no time
lost by putting irrelevant questions to witnesses,
or by hearing long speeches from counsel, says
Mr. GIBSON, and it must be remembered that the
lords and gentlemen who formed that committee
were selected by reason of their fitness fot the office.
Under these circumstances the report might safely
be agreed to, especially as it by no means commits
the House to the acceptance of all the bills which it
suffers to proceed another stage. The noble lord
the member for King's Lynn, whose good sense and
judgment render him an authority to whom all sides
seem disposed to refer in such a matter, pointed out,
in answer to some objections raised against the
report that the committee had not taken upon them-
selves the responsibility of absolutely approving, or
of absolutely condemning, any of the competing
schemes. They could not, indeed, have done so
without entering into a long and tedious investiga-
tion, in.the course of which justice would have de-
manded that the arguments on all sides should be
brought forward, thereby entailing the necessity of
hearing a number of counsel, and occupying an in-
calculable period of time. The result of this would,
of course, have been that all the bills would have
been postponed until next year, a proceeding which
would have been looked upon with disfavour in
many quarters. It would besides have been enter-
ing upon matters not properly belonging to the
jurisdiction of the committee, whose office was
merely a preliminary one, to ascertain which
schemes had sufficient show of reason and utility
upon their aide to warrant their appearing before
the ordinary tribunal. Lord STANLEY, in remark•
ing that he and his associates had only acted on the
principle of striking oat those bills which
did not appear to press
urgently for con-
sideration, advised the House to avoid the
hopeless task of discussing the rival merits
of proposals whose effect could only be rightly
appreciated by a careful study of maps and plans.
One important point to be borne in mind ine
reliefcons
con-
nection with the metropolitan railways is the
they:afford to some deusely packed and overcrowded
localities by enabling persons, whose presence in the
City or elsewhere is indispensable during businels

Several cases in Bethnal Green have lately at-
tracted attention and called forth censure, but the
last one recorded is about as painful as any that
have ever come under public notice. The adjourned
inquest on the women SARAH DovE revealed a
story that was awful in its consequences and most
irritating in its details. The result of a post modern
examination proved that the deceased had died from
want and privation. Owing to local occurrences
the Coroner very properly called in another opinion,
but the evidence adduced by the referee was, if
anything, still stronger and more condemnatory
than the previous report. Mr. GANT, the patho-
logical anatomist to the Royal Free Hospital,
declared that the body of the unfortunate woman
was "extremely emaciated," and that, all the facts
being taken into consideration, he gave it as his
opinion that the deceased died from sheer exhaus-
tion, consequent upon continued want of food and
clothing and the chief necessaries of life. Further.
more, he said that if she had been admitted to the
Infirmary a week previous to her death, she would
not only possibly but probably have rallied, being
very healthy. The facts were that Dr. MooRE
had given an order for her admission into the In-
firmary of the Workhouse some days previously,
but owing to gross mismanagement the order was
not carried into effect. Instead of admitting the
poor sufferer, the relieving-officer came to the house
where the family resided and told the husband that
he had brought an order for himself, wife, and two
children to go into the Workhouse. The man very
naturally replied that this did not suit his wishes,
for he earned two shillings and sixpence a day, and
he did not want his children to go into the Work-
house. To this it is alleged that Mr. CHRISTEY
replied, that " all should go in, so that you, DOVE,
can work in the House to help to support
your wife and children." Was ever anything
more inconsistent. 'kings have come to a pretty
pass if relieving cfficers are to be allowed to settle
the terms upon which alone admission can be
granted to paupers. The sequel to the sad tale is
sufficiently tragic to arrest notice, and the fact that
the suffering subject of this debate and altercation
died in her miserable home a few days after can
surprise nobody. A mere direct case of faulty in-
terpretation of the law has seldom been witnessed,
and SARAII DovE will long live in the recollection
of her neighbourhood as a victim to the insane
notions that prevail in the minds of some officials,
who carry out their own pet projects to the detri-
ment of all around them, and count life itself 93
light in the balance when compared with the due
observance of absurd customs, and the maintenance
of self-imposed or imaginary restraints. The idea
of compelling a man who was earning 2s. CI a day
to enter the workhouse seems alike devoid of com-
mon sense and common justice, while the manner in
which the unfortunate woman was treated was a
violation of all the dictates of good feeling and con-
sideration. At any rate the scheme for inducing
the husband to coma into the House was but a
crotchet, and for the sake of carrying it out what a
price has been paid, and what a sacrifice has been
offered up. It comes to this that human life must
pay the penalty for non-conformity to the hard
rules and harsh decrees of a prejudiced partisan.
Comfort and convenience are inadmissible terms
when applied to the claimants who turn in hunger
and nakedness to the refuge provided for them by
the laws of the land. It is one of the greatest hard-
ships imaginable that an ablebodied man should
be compelled to become a pauper for the remainder
of his life, perhaps, in order to satisfy the scruples of
official and parochial routine. Above all, it is a
monstrous thing that a member of the community
should literally perish of starvation and exposure
with the means at hand that would have saved her
life, perhaps, for many years, and the only reason
that can be adduced should be utterly unfounded as
the one here cited. It is very satisfactory that the
jury, returned so strong a verdict, and surely it
must have some effect upon the Poor LAW Board, to
whom at their request it has been forwarded. This
is not the first complaint that has been made con-
cerning Mr. CHRISTEY, and nothing but his imme-
diate dismissal from a post for which he is so
eminently unfitted can consort in any measure with
the principles of justice and mercy, which by his
conduct he has so greatly transgressed against.
Some blame attaches itself to those who have so
long persisted in retaining him in his position. 't'o
do this, after a man has proved himself unfit or
unequal to the duties of the peculiar vocation, is a
cruelty to himself and a wrong to those over whom
he exercises authority. The present system of rating
is very bad, and surely when so many deaths have
attested its inefficacy, and so many wretched lives
bear witness to its hardships and horrors, something
different will be adopted. To equalise the burden
and make some rich parishes who at present pay
little or next to nothing share the burden with the
less opulent neighbourhoods, who are worn down
by the pressure of their heavy rates, would be a
boon of inestimable value to all concerned. Evil is
wrought by want of thought as well as by want of
heart, is as true a saying as any that poet ever
penned and philosopher gave utterance to, and
there must be many well-intentioned persons at
present connected with the Poor Law Board who
would take up the matter heartily, if only they
were able to appreciate its necessity and recognise
ite importance. The evils of a system go
on unchecked because custom sanctions every-
thing, and use makes us conform to
strange and most inconsistent forms, but soon
or late, as the case may be, the truth dawns
upon the mind of those who at one time lent an
unwilling ear to the claims of some and the com-
plaints of others. There are many interests at
stake in this affair of the poor rates, and a better
adjustment of them will bestow satisfaction on
many hardworking members of the community,
and, better still, will shed a ray of light
over the
darkened dwellings where poverty cannot win its
daily breed, where pinching poverty is Sapping the

The Minister of the Interior laid three bills
before the Chamber. The first is for the suppres-
sion of electoral offences, the second regulates the
parliamentary disabilities of pubic functionaries,
and the third proposes the appointment of mayors
of towns by Royal decree.

INDIA AND CHINA MAILS,
MALTA, MARCH 8 7.20 p.m.
The Massilia and Pera, with the above mails,
leave at midnight.
The former may be expected at Alarseilles on the
11th inst., and the latter at Southampton about the
17th inst.

The Nubia brought the mails to Suez, arriving
there on the 31 (two days early).

FRANCE.

PARIS, MARCH 10.

The Moniteur of this morning says :—" A foreign
newspaper considers as abnormal the appointment
of Marshal M‘Mahon to the command of the camp
of Chalons. It is, however, quite regular. The
divisional staff will be composed according to the
ordinary basis and regulations."
The bulletin of the Moniteur says that the dis-
turbances in Rome were not of a serious nature.
The measures taken in concert by the Dake de
Montebello and Mgr. de Merode, permit the hope
that they will not be renewed.

BOURSE, M.rch 9.—The market has been firm,
with a fair mount of business doing, bat prices
show no improvement, Threes, for the Account,
being unvaried at 66fr. 30c. Mobilier have slightly
advanced, the present price being 1,040 fr. Rail-
way Sharek have varied but little from yesterday's
quotations. The market slightly improved towards
the close, and left off as follows :

41 per Cents .. 93
Do.
end month....

Italian Loan 67 30
, Do. end month —
New ditto
Do. end month —
, Russian
Austrian
Spanish Threes -
Florae Debt
Deferred

3 per Cents
Do. end month 66 40

Credit M0bi1ier....10:57 50
Do, end month.... 1043 75

Bank Shares 3318 75

Credit Fonder 1240
Roman

RA IL

Orleans
Northern

Cash. Account.
1005 .. 1005
951 .. 951

New ditto
Lyons and Mediterranean 927 50 .. 925
New ditto " 875
S mithern
Western
Eastern ....
SerJirian
Austrian
Lombard
North of Spain
Saragossa 577 50 .. 585
Ditto to Barcelona

SHIELDS, Tuesday Night.—The weather having
moderated, and the wind having kept well from the north-
ward, a high tide enabled a considerabbs fleet of laden
colliers and large vessels to /tit to sea this afternoon from
the Tyne, The night is flue, and the wind is favourable to
them.

THE RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT PUTNEY.—On Tues•
day evening Mr. William Carter, the coroner for
the Eastern Division of Surrey, held an inquest at the
Railway Hotel, Putney, on the body of Gilbert Cruick-
shank, aged 25, a book-stallkeeper, in the employment of
Messrs. W. H, Smith and Sat at Putney. The deceased
while attending his duties was called by one of the female
servants at a Mr. Alexander's house, the garden of which
adjoins the station on the down side of the line, to give her
some paper, and accordingly he ran across to her, when the
4 50 p.m. train from London (not stopping at Putney) was
within about 300 yards of the station. He got safely across,
and gave the girl the paper, and immediately the down
train passed. He jumped on the line to go back to his book-
stall, not seeing that a return engine was running up, and
was at that moment under the bridge, He managed to get
one leg on to the platform when the buffer caught him and
threw him between the metals. He was dragged under the
ash-pan a distance of about 150 yards. When picked up
he was quite dead. Mr. Thorn, the stationmaster at Put.
ney, stated, in reply to the coroner, that it was almost
impossible to prevent theordinary passengers from crossing
the line. The coroner said that he had considered for a
long time past that something ought to be done to prevent
persons crossing the line, especially at the Putney station.
The line there took a sharp curve just through the bridge,
and it was impossible for anyone to see a train approaching
until it was almost up to the platform. Travelling by
railway was now so universal that it was not
only necessary that every possible precaution should be
taken, but that those who, like himself, might be in a
position to see the dangers should draw the atten-
tion of the railway companies to the matter. Mr.
Godson, the general superintendent of the line, who was
present on behalf of the company, said that the Boaed had
already authorised such alterations at the station as would
obviate the dangers to which the learned coroner referred.
The company had always been anxious to do everything
possible for the comfort and safety of the passengers ; but,
though the platform at the Putney station was never left
without a porter night or day, it had been found impossible
to prevent the public risking their lives in crossing in spite
of cautions and etarnings, and even the porters were some-
times obliged to use forcible means to prevent the passen-
gers crossing the line. The jury expressed their satisfac-
tion at hearing Mr. Godson's statement that an alteration
was to be effected at the station, and returned a verdict that
the deceased lost his life through imprudently crossing the
line of railway in front of an approaching engine.
THE NEW TICKET Op LEAVE.—The Penal Servi-
tude Bill now passing
throughnew form proposed for orders of licence. The old form
gave licence to the convict
to be
atp alralrigaemienn t
the gives
Unitedth e
Kingdom for the remainder of his sentence unless it should
please her Majesty sooner to revoke the licence; the new
form adds, "or unless the said A B shall before the expire.
tion of the said term be convicted of some indictable offence
in which case the licence will be immediately forfeited by
law." It also adds that "upon the breach of any of the con-
ditions endorsed on the licence it will be liable to be revoked,
whether such breach is followed by a conviction or not."
The conditions endorsed are to be these four :—" 1. The
holder shall preserve his licence, and produce it where called
upon to do so by a magistrate or police officer ;" this condi-
tion is new. "2. lie shall abstain from any violation of the
law. 3. He shall not habitually associate with notoriously
bad characters, such as reputed thieves and prostitutes. 4.
He shall not load an idle and dissolute life, without visible
means of obtaining an honest livelihood. These three con-
ditions are substantially the same as on the licence, except
(if it be an exception) that the first of them thus ran—
" This licence is liable to be revoked in case of misconduct."
Lastly, the old licence adds that if revoked the convict may
have to undergo the whole rentainng portion of his original
sentence ;" the corresponding clause in the proposed new
licence is that if it is forfeited or revoked " in consequence
of a conviction of any offence," the convict will be liable to
undergo the term of penal servitude which was unexpired
when the licence was granted. By a clause in tho bill, a
breach of the conditions by an act not of itself punishable
either upon indictment or summary conviction is to be
punishable summarily with three months' imprisonment
with or without hard labour; and by another clause, where
the licence shall be either forfeited by a conviction for an
indictable offence or revoked in pursuance of summary con.
viction under this or any ether Act of Parliament, the con-
vict is to undergo the term of penal servitude which was
unexpired when the licence was granted, and this in addi-
tion to his i 3014 Oeuteuce.