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

LONDON, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1864.

The happy ceremonial which has taken place
this afternoon in the Chapel within Buckingham
Palace will inaugurate, let us hope, a new
epoch of domestic happiness for the Royal
Family of these realms. Any attempt at fore-
casting the future of the infant heir to the
Heir Apparent were, of cou.ree, worse than idle.
It is, nevertheless, a most consolatory reflection, a
reflection full of encouragement to every patriotic
citizen owning allegiance to our beloved and revered
SOVEREIGN, that never in the history of this
countryhas the first-born son of the heir apparent
to the Crown been christened under the tegie
of 63 complete and universal a loyalty—
a loyalty so securely based upon the Lffections of
the whole population. There is even the added
semitrient of a great grief still poignantly remem-
bered by the English People to enhance their sense
of personal attachment to the QUEEN herself, in her
own august character as the most deservedly.
beloved of all our Constitu,ional Sovereigns, and,
throlgh her MAJESTY, of personal attachment also
to her children and her children's children. Nearly
seven-and-twenty years have now elapsed since
the accession to the throne Of Queen VICTORIA
on the 20th of June, 1837, as the successor to
King WILLIAM IV. Already, therefore, the
present reign has more or less exceeded the
duration of the reigns respectively of the fourth
WILLIAM and pf the fourth GEORGS, of the
first of the Hanoverian Kings of that name,
of ANNE and WILLIAM of ORANG3, of the two
JAMESES. and the first CIIARLES, of MARY and of
EDWARD VI., of HENRY VII. and RICHARP
111.3 as well Ai of ten oat of the seventeen

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 lender. HENRY VI. but twelve years
longer, HENRY VIII. eleven, ELIZABETH
fourteen and a half. CHARLES 11. nominally
owned the C:cwa but nine sears longer, even
if we se calculato the duratien of his reign, at
an ez:eaysgant excess in the computation of it, by
ignoring the whole esistence of the Commonwealth.
GEORGE IT. reigned altogether no more than sixteen
and a half years longer than Queen VieToßie has
reigned already. By a well-known coincidence in
oar national annals, the three longest reigue of all
have been those et monarchs, each the third of
his name, viz. HENRY 111,, EDWARD 111.,
and GEORGE 111. EDWARD 111. 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 Msjesty's grandfather, whose
reign was the longest of all the reigns of all cur
sovereigns, exceeding the duration already attained
by her M.sjesty'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 &acted 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 Wineeeet 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 cr held the sceptre of EGBERT, doing so not
only es the Ruer of the State, but, as such, is the
fullest and noblest meaning of the words, as the ens, •
todian of the rights and li'oerties,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 demnr to unneces-
sary-bridges and viaducts, and object to anything
that tended to the obstruction or disfigurement of
any locality. Tiscre might under its agency be
developed. some harmonious scheme in which sim-
plicity should take the place, of confusion, and unity
of competition, bat 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 committee. 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
matte:, 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 sums
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 tho 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
lcrds and gentlemen who formed that committee
were selected by reason of their fitness for the office.
Under these circumstances the report might safely
be agreed to, especially as it by no means commits
the Heuse to the acceptance of ail the bills which it
suffers to proceed another otage. 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 come 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 investigas
Cell, 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-
-1 es. 2
upon matters not property belonging to the
jurisdiction of the ecuaseit!ee, whose of ee was
merely a preliminary one, to ascertain which
schemes had sufficient show of reason and utility
upon their side to
Warrant their appearing before
the ordinary tribanal. Lord e
ing that he and his associates had only
,
.TANLEY, in remark-
the
of striking cut those awe which
did not appear to mesa
acted on the
sideration, advised thAe'es
iaiouusregently for con-
' hopeless task of discussin the to avoid the
of proposals whose effect could oat yr ivb g
a r
i mehrtil
appreciated by a careful study
the retie'
maPs arid plans.
One important point to be borne in •
con-
nection with the metropolitan railwaysea mix in
they:afford to some densely pee-- I a overcrowded
egad _
et,
localities by enabling persons, whose
presence in the
City or elsewhere is indispensable during business

hours, to have their place of residence beyond the
magic circle. The facilities afforded to the labour-
ing classes by their means of obtaining better and
cheaper dwellings in healthier spots than the courts
and byways of the city is a matter of very great
importance. The engineer of the Commissioners of
Sewers, when examined by the committee, observed
that since the population of London doubled in 37
years, and that the demand for means of transit was
constantly on the increase, there must be an increase
in the railways to meet the demand. The distance
at which the crowded state of the City compels
many of those engaged in it to live, was another of
the arguments which imposed upon the committee
the propriety of not putting a summary and con-
clusive negative upon al. the schemes for additional
metropolitan railways. The uoreaeoneble number
and extent of these schemes, and the extravagance
of some of their piojects, have gone far to neutra-
lise the public confidence in the benefits they confer,
but that there era advantages as well as drawbacks
to a system of metropolitan railway communication
must be apparent oa very slight consideration.
That both sides of the question have been fully and
fairly weighed by the committee is apparent by the
number of the bills rejected and retained, and we
are glad that the House has approved the substance
of their Report, leaving all subsequent details to
be worked out in the ordinary course.

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 S.IRAH DOVE revealed a
story that was awful in its consequences and most
irritating in its details. The result of a post anorten:
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 end more condemnatory
than the previous report. Mr. GANT, the patho-
logical anatomist to the Royal Free Hespital,
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. Mooltu
had given an order for her admission into the In-
firmary of the Wcnkhouse some days previously,
but owing to gross mismanagement the order was
not carried into effect. Instead of admitting the
poor sufferer, the relieving-efEe2r 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, DOTE,
can work in the House to help to support
your wife and children." Was ever anything
more inconsistent. Things have come to a pretty
pass if relieving officers 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 subjrct of this debate and altercation
died in her miserable home a few days after can
surprise nobody. A mars direct case of faulty in-
terpretation of the law has seldom been witnessed,
and SARAH DOVA Wirt long live in the recollection
of her teigh'oourhood as a victim to the insane
notions that p:evail in the minds of some officials,
who carry- out thzir own pot projEens to the detri-
ment of all around them, and mitt life itself 35
tight in the balance when compared with the due
observatee of absurd customs, and the maintenance
of self-imposed or imaginary restraints. The idea
of compelling a man who was earning 2s. GI. a day
to enter the workhouse seems alike devoid of com-
mon sense and common jus!ice, 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
crochet, and for the sake of carrying it out what a
price hes 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 decreee of a prejudiced atartisan.
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 in 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 vit
must have soma 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. CIIItISTEY, and nothing but his imme-
diate dismiceal from a post for which he is so
eminently unfitted can consort in any measure with
the principles of justice and mercy, which by hie
conduct ho has En greatly transgressed against.
Some blame attar ;es itself to these who have -so
long persisted is retaining him in his
position. To
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
The present system of rating
he exercises authority.
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
difihrent 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
its importance. The evils of a system go
oa unchecked because custom sanctions every-
thing, end use makes us conform to
strange and meet inconsistent forms, but soon
or late, as the case may be, the truth dawns
non 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
adjestment 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
dAiiy bread, where pinching poverty is mapping the