The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-29 00:00:00

and the admiration of others, but much remains to
be done. If the entrances to these refuges are
guarded by cerberi in the shape of precedent and
prejudice, what hope remains for those who have
not the power to establish the one, nor the ability
to override the other. It is idle for us to boast of
this admirable arrangement, or to cite this excellent
plan if great mistakes are every day apparent and
wanton abuses prevail in the system. A more fla-
grant case of want of management than was re-
corded last week has seldom come under notice, and
ought really to call attention to the subject of due
provision for our disabled seamen. The Warrior
was paid out of commission at Portsmouth, and it
appears that the average amount of accidents oc-
curred during the term of the ship's commission'
One seaman fell from the maintop and broke both
his thighs, another was knocked down in coaling
ship and broke his leg and collar bone, and another
fell from the topgallant yard." It is scarcely neces-.
sary to add that by these casualties these unfortu-
nate sufferers have been thrown in to a state of help-
lessness, and from not being in a position of earning
their livelihood they are now dependent on charity
and doomed to a wretched condition for the re-
mainder of their existence. The first idea that sup.
gests itself to the reader who dwells on the cala•
mities, is that some provision will be made by the
service to which these men devoted themselves to
the casualties of which they have fallen victims. It
is, however, true, though sad, that no provision
whatever is made for those who thus exposed their
lives to great risk, and incurred grievous injuries
in so doing. It is difficult to conceive the meaning
of such a striking oversight on the part of those
who make the arrangements and concoct the laws
of our naval service. To be unmindful of the wel-
fare of the working members of his community has
always been rightly held to be a flaw in the cha.
ratter, and a slur an the renown of a general,
and no naval commander should be unmindful
of his seamen. When we think of the immense
sums that are annually squandered upon preposte-
rous schemes, thrown away through mere caprice,
and wasted by mismanagement, it is enough to call
forth the strongest indignation that men are
allowed to languish in misery and die from want
for aught that a country that should be mindfal of
their preservation bestows, or that administrators of
her service who should readily acknowledge their
zeal and deplore their calamities will provide.
Thousands are levied to suit the caprice of the
moment, and yet a small sum cannot be spared to
make provision for those whose lot is lamentable to
think upon. It is not the way to induce others to
give their years of strength and their prime of
existence to a service that leaves in the lurch al'.
who fall by the wayside, and ignores the claims of
those who by every just right should be indemnified
for their lose. Any one capable of comprehending
the flaws of the management of our naval affairs
could easily put his hand upon scores of items which
have led to expenses that must be paid, but any
one of which might have precluded these 'Eapless
sufferers from dragging on a life that is a burden to
their country—the reproach of their wrongs. It is
true that this matter was taken in hand, and it is
earnestly to be hoped that next session will not be
allowed to pass away without some notice being
made by independent members on the subject.
The navy of this country should be our chief care
to preserve in a due state of efficiency, and above
all the seamen should be properly treated. It was
by such gross oversight and culpable neglect, and
such sheer indifference as this, that the best men
are dragged away from our service and enter the
navy. It is a shame and a scandal that it should be
said that England does not know how to provide
for her sailors, or woroo otin doco not care to do so.
It was the boast of a more spirited generation than
the present that our flag " had braved a thousand
years the battle and the breEze," but the propelling
power, the inciting influence that kept that flag un-
furled was the spirit of the hearta of oak who
fought and fell beneath its colours. If we now
become indifferent to the rightful claire of their
successors we do not deserve that in an
hour of need they should exhibit that daring
and devotion, which in past times of peril have
actuated and animated those who have saved Bri.
tannia in her darkened hour. It cannot be the
wish of any one that brave men should suffer for
the lack of necessaries, while on all sides sums are
spent that would more than suffice for their wants
upon trifles and trivialities. It is idleness or in.
difference that brings about such calamitous results,
but let those who ought to rectify these abuses
take heed to their ways, and bear in mind that
" evil is wrought by want of thought as well as by
want of heart," and endeavour to amend the errors
into which they have fallen. No better proof could
be given of their desire to improve than to make
the occasion of these men being discharged inca-
pacitated an opportunity for reparation ; let it not
be said that they are another living reproof or
dying reproach to their country. If anything
were wanting to point the moral of this sad story
it would be the timely recognition of the claims of
these sufferers that was made by their shipmates.
Oa the occasion of receiving their pay each put
aside a little for the benefit of those so much in
need, and the accumulated sums reached the amount
of £5O. Small as this is for the necessities of the
case, it is a confirmation, strong as proofs of holy
writ, that a feeling of dissatisfaction was felt at
the official arrangements and want of care and
forethought. Such lamentable omission of impor-
tant duties and such great neglect of just claims
is enough to disgust any rational man from entering
the service at all. It is not thus that convicts and
malefactors are treated ; and while all due attention
should be paid to them, it does, indeed, seem too
bad that the defenders of our homes and hearths,
who are to go forth to brave the perils of the deep
and take their chance of the enemy's shots, should
be cast aside as a worn-out garment, or an imple-
ment that has served its turn, and is henceforth
worthy of no more regard. It is not to be tolerated
that this inconsistency should continue, and the
sooner a change is made the better it will be for
the honour of the country, the security of the sere
vice, and the reputation of those who put them-
selves forward in. the management of affairs which
they are not competent to arrange, and the failures
in which result in serious loss to those who can
the least afford to sustain them.

THE CHEMISTRY OF DIGESTION.—The services
rendered by modern discovery to the Maieria Medica of the
age, and the singular aptitude with which chemistry is
adapting these new elements of cure to the wants of the
community, are facts of the most cheering and consolatory
character. Among the secrets lately revealed is one con-
nected with the food solvent, known as gastric juice. When
this agent is weak, or its tone temporarily destroyed, in-
digestion, bypochondriasis, and a thousand ills afflict the
unfortunate invalid. To aid the oigestive organs by sup-
plying them with accessions of vital force, Pepsine Wine
has been called into requisition with marvellous success by
Messrs. Morson and Son, the manufacturing chemists, of
Southampton-row, Russell-square,—/Iforning .Post, Nov.
25, 1861.

AN UNKNOWN MAN FOUND DROWNED.—LIte
on Saturday evening the body of a man was taken
out of the Irwell; at Mode Wheel, It was very much de-
composed, and appeared to have been in the water a long
time. One leg, up to the knee, was missing; the other
foot had on a white sock and a blucher shoe. About the
body was a portion of an old black cloth coat, and cotton
cord trousers. It appeared to be the body of a man about
50 years of age. There was a little black hair turning
grey, on the scalp. The body lies at present at the Railway
Creas-laue.