The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-25 00:00:00

The Weather--• Sun Office, March 25, 1864,

THERMOME
This day at Two o'clock 4O

Barometer-29.9 I.
Wind—East; moderato breeze, and fine,

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAY.—Morning, Bh. 18m.—Afternoon, 3h. 36m
To-moußow.-Morning, 312. 52m.—Afternoon, 414 Sat

Zijit -

LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1864.

Something more, it is to be hoped, than mere
personalities will occupy the attention of the House
of Commons on the reassembling of Parliament. Of
personalities we have certainly had quite enough
and to spare during the eight weeks of the session
already elapsed, the eight weeks immediately pre-
ceding this Easter vacation, It should be remem-
bered, moreover, that for these personalities one
side of the House alone is not by any means to be
held responsible. The Opposition and the Govern-
ment may share the blame pretty equally between
them. And as demonstrative of the fact that
the lion's share of the blame is not, as a mere
matter of course, to be regarded as devolving upon
the Opposition, two rather significant facts may be
recalled to recollection. First, it was the Right
Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer
who began the indulgence in these personalities
in those matters relating to insurance companies
which were supposed for a time (thanks to Mr.
GLADSTONE)—and as it turned out quite un-
justifiably—to reflect so scandalously upon the
honourable member for Dudley. The initiative ,
in the ventilation of those personalities
was certainly, was, indeed, notoriously taken
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Again in
that miserable affair relating to M. MAzzINI, it
ought in justice to all parties to be borne especially
in recollection, that the inquiries first of all ad-
dressed to Mr. STAN SFELD, in respect to the fright-
ful insinuations thrown out against himself as a
subordinate member of her Britannic -MAJESTY'S Go-
vernment by the Procureur Imp6rial (a functionary
Since deceased), were in reality addressed to Mr.
STANSFELD, not by a member of the
Conservative Opposition, but, on the contrary, by
thehon, gentleman the Radical representative of the
metropolitan borough of Finsbury, Those two
instances—the two most conspicuous instances
of personalities that have occurred, even during
this session, par excellence,
a session of persona-
lities—the instance relating to Mr. SHERIDAN,
and the immediately subsequent, the almost
simultaneous instance relating to Mr. STANS •
I."'LD —alike indicate, by their origin, that
for these miserable personalities we cannot
reasonably hold as responsible—a Factious Op-
position. Whencesoever they
may arise, never
theless, whether from a diatinguished occu-
pant of the Treasury Bench, or from
one of the independent Liberal members,
we would most earnestly deprecate any further
indulgence in these shameful personalities during
the remainder of the Parliamentary Session, begin-
kg immediately from the renewal of :be sittin,-.3 or
the Legislature at the close of the present Paster
Holidays.

Charitable Institutions are now carried on in a
very dill Beat spirit from what they used to be
and in this respect certainly a coasiderable im-
provement has taken place. The akt Pa ust tell

upon the state of society in the long run ; and, if
slow, still the benefit will be steady and sure. One
of the best of its kind of the remedial institutions
is the " Workhouse Visiting Society's Industrial
Home for Girls, and Home for Incurable and Infirm
Women." The objects of this institution are most
excellent and laudable, and in some respects the
aim of the founders must rank above that of physi•
cal advantages, as the purpose is to provide young
girls with a safe asylum, and to rescue them from
danger, misery, and ruin. The third anniversary
of this institution was held last Friday at New
Ormond-street. The Archbishop of CANTERBURY
presided at the meeting, and several interesting
addresses were made, and Miss L. TWINING read
the report. A very wise resolution was moved, to
the effect that—" No girls should be in workhouses
after school period, as tending to undo the benefit
of separation and training in schools." It certainly
seems a very short-sighted scheme to go to labour
and expense to provide a particular course of treat-
ment for the young, and then to cast them adrift,
as i t were, just when they are most susceptible of
evil impressions, and most prone to be led into mis-
chief. This is one of those common errors into
which so many are apt to fall, and which, springing
from inattention and want of forethought at first,
are in the long run productive of the most grievous
results, and prolific in disastrous effects. Mr.
M‘Gen testified to the value of this Home for
Girls, and said that many had been received from
George's-in-the-East who were probably saved
from ruin. Another admirable part of this insti-
tution is the refuge it affords for infirm and incur-
able women, either for workhouses or elsewhere.
More than forty are now desirous of admission.
They can be received in no hospital, and an earnest
appeal was made for help. It is to be hoped
that due regard be had to this request, and that
many will be found who are both willing and
able to assist. Few positions can be more pain-
ful than that of these hapless sufferers. Dis-
tressing as is the ceaseless recurrence of the thou-
sand ills to which flesh is heir, perhaps worse
than the most acute suffering is the: conviction
that nothing can avail, no medicine alleviate, and
no skill remedy the evil. There are many doomed
to this in the homes of of but they can •
not be compared to those who experience in
poverty the real horrors of sickness and suffer-
ing, and are compelled to forego all the soothing
and assuaging treatment which might mitigate
their sad position. The greatest credit is due to
those who originated this plan for the succour and
relief of these distressed members of the com-
munity. These have been the heads that devised,
and the hearts that suggested the scheme; but it
is to be hoped that they will not be left alone
in their good work, but find assistance from those
whose ample means can well supply the pecuniary
assistance so especially required. It must be a
gratifying thought to those who spend fortunes in
luxury, that they have spared a portion of their
wealth, or relinquished an item of their luxury to
bestow upon a poor girl the refuge that protects
her from danger, or imparted to a hopeless suf-
ferer the only comfort which, in this world, she
can hope to find. Prectical benevolence is much
better than theoretical, and active kindness renders
such services as passive sympathy can never dream
of. Instead of lamenting over sin and its atten-
dants, sorrow and suffering, the truly wise and
earnestly pious will set about remedying the
effects, if they cannot hope or expect to eradicate
the cause. The labourers in this vineyard are scanty,
but if their efforts are faint and feeble at first,
they are of incalculable advantage, and must con-
duce to the furtherance of the temporal and eternal
interests of the sad children of mortality who come
under their notice. It is gratifying to notice that
her MAJESTY paid a visit to the Windsor Work-
house the other day. The royal visit lasted for
more than a hour, while the QUEEN inspected the
various departments and examined into the details,
&c. Dcuitless this attention on the part of the
Sovereign was productive of the greatest delight
to all the inmates, but it may serve to render more
important service if it draws the attention of the
upper and wealthy classes to the prospects and
progress of those who are placed in workhouses.
There should be no reason why those who, from
fault or misfortune, have to make a temporary
sojourn in these abodes should not be able to emerge
from them, and resume their place in the commu-
nity. Tho more attention that is paid to the
arrangements of these refuges the better, and if, by
the care of the well•informed and the inspection of
the influential, the condition of these wanderers on
life's highway is in any way improved or
brightened, a service will be rendered to a very
large section who have hitherto been very much
neglected and allowed to take their chance so far as
sympathy from without could avail them.

During the present transitory and uncertain
condition of the cotton trade, the returns of the
Cotton Supply Association are watched with con-
siderable interest. It is true that but little that is
absolutely new can be gained from the weekly
accounts, since no change or discovery is likely to
be sudden enough to be chronicled in so short a
space of time ; but the information to be gathered
is of so interesting and important a character that
every meeting adds something to our store. The
accounts of the gradual progress and development
of the cotton :cultivation in the various countries
which have been made the scene of the experiment
are perhaps of even more consequence as affecting
the prospects of the trade than any sudden enthu-
siasm or successful opening which may lead to
ultimate disappointment. The members of this
association have done good service to the cause.
After the first shock, when men began to look for-
ward and realise the fact that for many long
months, perhaps years, it would be idle to reckon
on a large and regular supply of American cotton,
it was natural that the more wealthy and enter-
prising of those especially concerned in the manu-
facture should address themselves to the question
of procuring the raw material elsewhere. But it

was only men of large means and great energy and
influence who could do much towards promoting
the growth of cotton in foreign countries, while
with regard to our own possessions, more espe-
cially India, the evil influence of red-tapeism
and prejudice stood in the way. Many persons,
too, might be anxious to make the experiment of
planting cotton who were unable or unwilling to
incur the necessary outlay. The Cotton Supply
Association, by supplying seed and machinery, by
stimulating enterprise, by urging the importance
of the tra'le upon foreign powers, end by keeping
up a regular correspondence with British authori-
ties in all parts of the world in which climate and
soil are favourable, has done much to remove these
difficulties and to guard against the indifference or
depression which so often follows on the enthu-
siasm and hopefulness which encourages the outset
of any great and laborious undertaking. The in
formation which has been collected by means of
this correspondence from so many different quar-
ters, has also been of value in reassuring the
public, in removing unnecessary anxiety,
and in convincing the least saneninc, that
with time and patience it was quite rea-
sonable to anticipate a regular supply of
cotton at a reasonable rate, eni,iiely indepea,,

dent of American plantations. India, which well-
informed persons confidently predict will one day '
prove a formidable rival to China for tea, and to
America for cotton; Egypt, where the cultivation
will, it is hoped, be highly beneficial to the popu-
lation ; Queensland, where every adjunct is favour-
able ; Turkey, and its dependencies ; South America
end the West Indies; Italy, and its lovely neigh•
bouring islands, are all reckoned among our sources
of supply. At the last meeting of the Association
a new place was mentioned, although it is one
which, from deficiency of labour and lack of the
means of communication, is not likely to be one of
the most prominent. The British Consul at Jassy
forwarded a sample of the cotton grown in that
neighbourhood, with a letter, stating that although
no care had been bestowed upon its culture, and no
attempt had been made to prepare the ground for
the seed, yet the crop had proved to be of a good
useful quality. From the drawbacks we have
mentioned, however, Jassy is not likely to be of
much importance as a permanent source of supply ;
but it adds another proof that cotton is by no means
so exclusively restricted to North America as was
supposed, and that given the ordinary conditions of
soil and climate, it is by no means formidable in its
cultivation. The forced labour system in Egypt
has interfered in some measure with the cultivation
in Egypt, and the Association has, consequently,
been endeavouring to secure the assistance of the
Government in memorialising the Viceroy on the
subject. The prospects of the crop in Malabar are
promising, though it is anticipated that its produce
will be chiefly for home consumption. In Mexico
and Peru some fine qualities have been successfully
cultivated, specimens having been forwarded from
the former State grown on the north-west coast, near
Mazatlan, which are valued at 25d. per lb, The
Association are busying themselves in forwarding
gins, &c., to many places where they would not be
easily procurable, and one of these, sent to Western
Australia, has been given by the Governor to the
most enterprising and successful cultivator of the
district. This is the right way to encourage energy
and industry, and we aro glad that these experi-
ments, whose 'Success is indirectly so closely con-
, netted with the national welfare, should receive the
assistance of an efficient and organised Society.

Among the many various changes for the better
which the refining influences of religion and civili-
sation have brought about in our social system,
there are few more remarkable than the alteration
which has taken place in the treatment of those un-
happy beings who are deficient in intellect. The
horrors of the madhouses of a former time have
been chronicled in more than one exciting narra-
tive ; but as truth is stranger than fiction, so doubt-

less the tragedies of the strait jacket and the dun-
geon were more numerous and more appalling than
the incidents of a romance. Madmen were re-
garded by an enlightened community as the natural
enemies of their kind, and the poor distracted, fren-
zied being was tortured with whips and chains,
and condemned to darkness and strict confinement.
When we read of the horrors from which HOWARD'S
intervention rescued the unhappy offenders against
civil law, we need not perhaps be surprised at the
inhuman treatment of lunatics. Idiots, though less
roughly used, were left to their fate. No effort was
made to ameliorate their condition, or to let in a
ray of light upon the darkened mind, to strengthen
the feeble intelligence, or to check those evil habits
and propensities which rendered them alike mise-
rable and mischievous. Things have now entirely
changed, and in spite of occasional instances of
cruelty, neglect, or ill-usage, such as that recently
brought to light at Flushing, the whole object of
society is now to reclaim, so far as may be, these
wretched beings, or at least to mitigate their dis-
order, and alleviate, as far as possible, their afflic-

tion. The excellent institution of the Commissioners
of Lunacy is a powerful protection to the weak and
helpless who are in danger of oppression, while the
whole tone and conduct of our madhouses and
asylums ha§ undergone a complete alteration. The
patients are not , regarded as wild bewsts, but as
sufferers under the direst affliction that can befall
man; and the object is no longer to keep them in
subjection, but to cure, as far as possible, their
distempered minds. The unfortunate imbecile, too,
is cared for in a manner entirely new to the present
generation. The splendid asylum at Earlswood
has done more than receive and cherish a certain
number of children thus afflicted. It has proved
the important physiological fact that idiots and

imbeciles are capable of cultivation—of course in dif-
ferent degrees, and that in some cases they may even
be enabled to earn their own living. We remember
hearing of a most unpromising case at Earlswood,
in which the boy, after spending some years in the
asylum, supported himself by labour. Headwork
they are of course incapable of; but they are often
extremely ingenious in mechanical employments,
for which they have sometimes a capacity amount-
ing to absolute talent. It is obvious how the culti-
vation of such a faculty must improve and refine
the whole individual, how it must interest him and
occupy him, making him feel more on an equality
with his fellows, and diverting him from mischief
or moroseness. At Earlswood great numbers of the
children are employed in agricultural pursuits,
which are found to be highly successful. So well
are the advantages of the training received in this
institution recognised, that many persons send their
sfilicted children there who are well able to afford
their maintenance, and who therefore pay liberal:y
for their reception. The institution is no new ex-

periment, the seventeenth anniversary festive]
having been held a few days since, when its prin•
cipal supporters assembled for the purpose of corn.
pleting their efforts to free the charity from debt
The chairman remarked, in the course of the even.
ing, that the number of idiots in the United King

dom was said to be no less than 60,000. This is a
frightful aggregate of helplessness and incapacity ;
but although the institution in question only receives

a few hundreds, yet its influence extends far
beyond the circle of its inmates, since it discovers
the best mode of dealing with these unfortunate
creatures, and affords ocular and practical demon-
stration of the marvels that may be wrought by
kindness, patience, and firmness in their treatment.
The patients are admitted at twelve years of age
for five years, after which time they are often re-
elected for life, but sometimes are restored to their
families no longer burdensome but self-supporting.
Such a society as this deserves every encouragement
from the public, whom it thus relieves from the
charge of many of its most helpless members; while
in the worst eases it effects something by enforcing
habits of order and self-control. With such satis-
factory results before us, it is gratifying to know
that the prospects of the institution are so satisfac-
tory, and that there is no reason to apprehend any
diminution of its humane and beneficial efforts.

The Baltic Gazette publishes the ensuing from
Swinemunde :—" The Nymphe reezived about 12
shots in her starboard side, most of them from spent balls.
She had a broadside from the line-of-battle ship, and at the
same time ono from the frigate. The Arcona has experi-
enced very trifling injury. The Nymphe had the most dan-
gerous position, as she contended at the same time with
three frigates and a line-of-battle ship. She will rrquire at
least a week to repair her damages. The commandants and
the officers showed the greatest coolness during the whole
affair, and the courage of the crews is worthy of the highest