The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-30 00:00:00

that during the twat year they have roseeuted
thousand cases to conviction, and out of these had
suateined only seven dismissals. One plan has re-
cently been devised which is a very good one. It is to
offer a premium of fifty pounds for an essay on
s, Vivisection " in English, and another of a thou-
sand francs for a undertaking in French.
Too much cannot be done to extend the know-
ledge of this subject, and it is impossible to dilate
too btrongly upcn its horrors, which are alike out-
rages on good sense and good feeling, and a viola-
tion of the fun !mental principles of humanity.
Much evil is done by the want of agitating the
subject at the right time, in the proper manner;
therefore, it is so much gained that the efforts so
strenuously made last year be kept up and thus some
fruition may reward the labours made in so worthy
a cause. The chairman properly put the case by
stating that when necessity did not enforce any
one to operate upon a living animal, it was a crime
so to do. The sooner this opinion is more uni-
♦ersally adopted the better it will be for the
character of the community among whom it attains
favour. Earl HARROWBT very truly remarked
that this society did good, not alone to animals,
but to mankind, "for nothing so degraded men as the
indulgence in the habit of treating animals with
cruelty." Nothing can be more correct than this,
for it is quite contrary to the principles inculcated
by the doctrines of Christianity, as well as adverse

to the notions of all justly-disposed persons, for
men to arrogate to themselves the right to torture
or destroy the c reatures that have their mission to
perform as well as they have, and were certainly
bestowed upon us for our use, but never for our
abuse of the privilege. It is greatly to be desired
that the funds of this society may meet with the
replenishment that they require and most especially
deserve, for it is hardly to be calculated what a vast
amount of good is effected by the ♦igilance end
promptitude of its officers. Tho check that the
knowledge of this surveillance must exercise upon
all evil-disposed persons, and the prevention of
mal-practices thus ensured, is a great satisfaction—
it is a gain in a good cause, and a service to the
interests of humanity. The prosperity of such an
institation will be a tribute offered up to the
cause of mercy, and no kindly-disposed person,
able to give any assistance, will hesitate to do his
part for the furtherance of an effort as the suppres-
sion of cruelty. It will be a national benefit to
put down all such disgraceful practices, for no-
thing so lowers a people as the familiarity in
such barbarous habits; and, on the other hand,
notting more refines the mind, elevates the thoughts,
and softens the heart, as the prevalence of kindly
feelings and benevolent intentions; all such must
conduce to the better observance of the golden
rule, "Do unto others as ye would that they
should do unto you.

FETE CHAMPETRE AT ORLEANS HOUSE, TWICK•
ENHAM.—His Royal Highness the Duke d'Autnale,
as patron and honorary president o: the French Benevolent
Society (Socie'e. Frangaise de Bienfaisance), has been gra-

ciously pleased to give a fete 0114meg-re at Orleans House on
Wednesday and Thursday next in aid of the funds this
excellent institution. Her Royal Highness'oneDuchess
d'Aumale has personally superintends
the arrangements,
and will preside at one of the stalls of the fancy fair, likewise
to be held on each of these together with H.R.H. the
Duchess de Chartres,
4.'ne Duchess of St. Albans, the Mar-
chioness of Ely, Countess of Tankerville, the Countess
Waldegraw,, the Lady Proby. Vast preparations have been
made fti• thisfete during the last twe months; all the tents
an',i decorations have been supplied from Paris, and Jullien's
band has been engaged, as well as the band of the Grena-
dier Guards, under the direction of Mr Godfrey, who will
ass:st in the performance of a new composition of M. Jul-
lien's entitled" Souvenirs d' Alger," which will be performed
on this occasion for the first time. In consequence of the
marriage of their Royal Highnesses the Count de Paris and
the Princess lash.lla rl'OrlPan, which takes plan-
morning, A very large number of royal personages and dis-
tinguished foreigner,' arc now on a visit to the royal family
of France at Claremont and at Twickenham, and they have
all expressed their intention of supporting these fetes and
honouring them with their presence. Their Royal High-
nesses the Duchess of Cambridge, the Gran' Duchess of
Mecklenburg- S trellis, and the Princess Mary of Cambridge
have likewise honoured the society with their patronage,
and it is believed that if their Royal Highnesses the Prince
and Princess of Wales's engagements permit they will also
be present at the fete of Wednesday.

FIRES.—On Saturday night a fire broke out in a
timber building containing 1,000 tone of coal belong.
ing to Messrs. Walton and Gowland, coal merchants, Broad-
street, Ratciiff-cross. Several steam and manual fire-
engines were soon on the spot, and fluating engines were also
brought to bear on the fire from the river. A good supply
of water was obtained, but the fire spread to the spars and
sails of a brig named the J Croggin, of Hartlepool, and was
not extinguished until the building containing the coals hAd
been burnt to the ground and considerable damage had been
done to the brig and to the sheds in the dry dock belonging
to Messrs Ewing and Winshur. A fire also occurred on
Saturday in the premises of Mr John Popwell, a bedstead
maker, 10, King's .road, St. Pancras. A man named Powell,
aged 70, who lived in the room from which the flames appear
to have proceeded, was suffocated by the smoke. When the
fire had been extinguished his body was found by the fire-
men, and it has been removed to the St. Pancras Workhouse,
where it awaits an inquest.

GRANITE FOR THE THAMES EMBANKMENT.—
The contracts for the gigantic and costly unt er-
taking of embanking the north side of the Thames are at
present in the course of being let. The stone to be princi-
pally employed is granite, and we are glad to learn that
the contract for the supply of granite for the first section
has been secured, under the government contractor, Mr.
Furness, by the lessees of the granite quarries of Kirkconnell
and of Old Lands, on the Urr, belonging respectively to
Mr. Witham of Kirkconnell, and Mr. Maxwell of Munches.
The first section of the embankment extends from West-
minster to Waterloo-bridge, and the quantity of stone will
be very great. There is thus every prospect that our local
quarries will be wrought with the utmost vigour for some
time to come, and give abundance of employment, thus

proving highly advantageous to the whole district. Among
others who are likely to benefit by the full development of
the resources of the Kirkconnell quarry are the Nith
Commissioners of Tonnage, as the whole of the stone taken
from Kirkconnell must be forwarded to London by sea,—
liutpfries Courier.
THE STEAM RAMS.—We call the attention of
oar readers to the report of the recent legal pro-
ceedings in this important case, and to the explanations
given by the Attorney-General. There can be no doubt
that the impression conveyed by the statement of the Solici-
tor• General, in the Court of Exchequer on Thursday, was
that the owners and builders of the rams had virtually
pleaded guilty. That statement is, perhaps, not to be won-
dered at considering the source from which it emanated, but
it gives a thorougly erroneous version of the affair. The
fact is, neither party admits anything. It is a drawn battle,
and, had the Crown required any admission, the question
would have been fought to the last by both owners and
builders, who were perfectly confident about the result.
But litigation might go.on for years, and in the mean-
time the ships would have been ruined ; and the builders
especially had very little object in litigation, as they could
gain nothing but the balance due to them on the completion
of the contract. The Messrs. Laird are, by the present ar-
rangement, to complete the ships as originally designed,
and deliver them to the Government, and we trust they may
prove as useful to the country as most naval authorities
expect them to be.—Morning Herald.

VANCOUVER ISLAND.—Captain Arthur E. Ken-
nedy, C. 8., landed at Victoria on Lady-day, and was very
cordially welcomed by the people. On the following day
he drove to the Government-house and took the oath of
office as Governor of the colony of Vancouver Island and
its dependencies and Vice-Admiral of the same, after which
he received congratulatory addresses from the corporation
and from various public bodies.

CABDRIVERS' STRIKE AGAINST WEARING BADGES.
—The cabdrivers of Glasgow, in accordance with a
resolution adopted at a meeting which they held on Tuesday
evening, struck work on Thursday. Not a cab was to be
seen at any of the stands in the city, and the few that did
appear on the streets seemed to be driven by stablemen or
other supernumeraries. The grievances which the cabmen
have put forward as the ostensible cause of their strike is a
regulation contained in the new by-laws recently issued by
the magistrates, to the effect that they shall wear brass
badges on their outer garments. The wearing of such
badges they declare to be entirely useless, unjust, and
oppressive ; and they declare their determina'ion not to
return to their work till " such medals are wholly thrown
aside."—Scotsman.

EMIGRATION OF MORMONS.—A large number of
the disciples of Jcs Smith have left South Wales
this week en route for the Salt Lake, or "the land of
paradise," as they term it. An elder who has once been an
inhabitant of Utah accompanies the credulous people on
their long sad claiagerou journey.