The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-18 00:00:00

Commence at half past Eight.

Pit tickets, 7s. ; amphitheatre eta Is, 10s. 6d., 75., and 55.;
amphitheatre. 2s. 6d. Boxes, stalls, and tickets may be had
at th.- box-ofsca under the portico of the theatre, which is
open from ten to five, and at the principal musicseliers' and
librarians'.

THEATRE ROYAL DRUR Y-L AN E.
Managers, Messrs. Edmond Falconer and
F. B. Chatterton.

THIS EVENING, AN APRIL FOOL. Mr. G. Belmore.
Ater which, will be produced the Grand Stage
Revival of Shak<pere's Chr ,nicle or Historical Play, entitled
the First Part of
TIE vRY THE FOURTH. . .

The cast will include impersonatians by those emintlt
trtists, Mr. PLI:4;LPS, Hr. Walter Montgomery, Mr. Walter
Lacy, M cldiso , Mr. Ryder, Mr nobert Roxby, Mr.
Barrett, Mr. E Ph,lps, Mr. Rayner, Mr. H. Vandenhoff, Mr.
Belmore, Mr. Ellertan, Mr. Fitzjames, Mr. Neville ; Miss
Edith Wynne, Mss R, se Leclercq, nd Mrs. Edmund Fal-
coner, supported by all the Members of the Drury-la;:e Lcm-
pany.
Concluding with MY HEART'S IN THE HIGHLANDS.

THEATRE ROYAL HAY M ARKET.—
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Buckstone.
THIS EVENING, April 18, OUR AMERICAN COUSIN:
Messrs. iothern, Buckstone, Chippendale, Rogers, Clark,
Gordon, Braid, &c. ; Mesdames Angel, Lindley, Hill, Harris,
Snowden, &c
After which. the new Easter piece, entitled VENUS AND
ADONIS. Messrs. Compton, Wm. Parren, Coe. &c. ; Mes-
dames Louise Keeley, Snowden, NellyYower, Hill, Wright,
Rogers, &a
To conclude with TURNING THE TABLES.
Commence at 7.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.-
Sole Lesee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining.
THIS EVENING, PAUL'S RETURN.

After which, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. The Two
Dromios, by the Brother 4 Webb.
To conclude with, 21st time, a new Farce, by J. M. Morton,
Esq., entitled DRAWING-ROOM, SECOND FLOUR, AND
AT .

OYAII LYCEUM THEATRE.
Under the Sole Management of Mr. Fechter.
THIS EVENING, the performances will commence
with THE DAY AFTER THE FAIR: Messrs. Width-
combe, Garden, Moreland, and Miss E. Lavenu.

A ‘ter which, at Eight o'clock, the 134th Night of BEL
DEMON 10, a Love Story, in Twelve Tableaux, taken from
Stendhal's "Italian Chronicle,." Principal characters by
Messrs. Jordan, Charles, J. Broughlim, Emery, Morton,
Raymond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford, Collett, Sims ; Miss
Kate Terry, Miss E. Lavenu, Mrs. Lee, 31tes Elsworthy.

The Public are entreated to take notice that No Charge is
Blade to the occupants of Boxes, Box-places, or Stalls, either
for play bills or for the safe keeping of hat 4 and cloaks, ar.d
teat the attendants in all parts of the house are forbidden to
receive any gratuities whatever.
Box-office open daily from 11 to 5. Commence at 7.

MR. FECHTER begs to announce that the
whole profits of the First Night's Represents' ion of
Hamlet will be divided between the NATIONAL SHAK-
S VEARE COM3IIT LEE and the DRAMATIC COLLEGE
SCHOOLS FUND. Mr. FECIITER'S indisposition pre-
ventin„o• the production of Hamlet on the Evening of he 23d,
the LYCEUAI THEATRE will be closed that night.

NEW THEATRE-ft° YAL, ADELPHI.-
Sole Proprietor and Manager. Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, ICI ON PARLE FRANCAIS : Mr. J.
L. Toole, Mr. R. Phillips, Mr. Billington, and Bliss K.Kelly.

At S, LEAH: Hiss Bateman, supported by Messrs. A.
Stirling, R. Phillips, Billington, Stuart, Ebnrne, Stephenson ;
Miss H. Simms and Mrs, Billington.
To eoßelude with THE AREA BELLE : Messrs. J. L. Toole,
P. Bedford, K. homer, Miss Woolgar, and Mrs. H. Lewis.

-'i he Weather—Sun Office, April 18, 186-4.

THERMOMETER.
This day at Two o'clock

Barometer-29.66.
Wind—S.W. ; moderate breeze, and fine.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
r HIS DAY.—Morning, 11h. 69m.—Afternoon, h. m.
Co-moanow.-Morning, 12h. 27m.—Aftemoon, 12h. 58m.

' .:-A) 4f:- A, t c
'I i Utt

LONDON, MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1864.

The debate in the Upper House on Friday even-
ing concerning the Limited Enlistment Act and
Reserve Force was not without interest. The Earl
of LUCAN, who from his position might naturally
be supposed to know something of the wants and
wishes of the soldier, took the opportunity, while
moving for a return of the strength of the Reserve
Force, to pass some severe strictures upon the prin-
ciples which at present regulate our system of en-
listment. To most readers, however, unbiassed by
military etiquette or professional prejudice, the
authorities of the War-office will appear to have
the best of the argument, and the existing regula-
tions will be admitted to be far more reasonable
and more conducive to the benefit of the service
than those which Lord LUCAN regrets. Formerly,
as is well known, men were enlisted for life. When
they embarked on the strange and often perilous
career of a soldier, they were bound, whether they
liked it or no, to abide by it. It might prove very
different from what their boyish enthusiasm
painted ; in the hour of trial they might find them-
selves made of different stuff from what they had
fencied ; the roar of artillery, the groans of the
dying, the wounded, the disabled, the ghastly
wounds, the disabled horses, might be more than
their nerves could well bear. Bat once pledged
they were pledged for ever. There was no with-
drawing from the fatal circle, unless they wished
to have the brand of a deserter on their shoulders.
It was felt by most men that this was an unwar■
rentable hardship, that there was no reason why a
man should bind himself to be always a lawyer
any more than a barrister should swear never
to forsake the law courts. Those best ac-
quainted with the profession, among them
no less an authority than the late Duke
of WELLINGTON, were of opinion that a
wise relaxation in the terms of the Enlistment Act
would greatly increase the popularity of the army,
and probably add to the number of recruits. It
must be remembered by those who still censure the
Act of 1847 that matters have changed very much
during the last twenty or thirty years. A hundred
new courses are open to industry and enterprise.
The development of our railway system alone has
opened oat numberless channels to intelligent in-
dustry, while the rapid advance made by our
colonies—the Australasian ones more especially,
since the gold discoveries—has drawn off great
numbers of those classes who would of old have
enristed from the love of adventure and a daring
spirit. Such qualities now find the field for action
which they need without entering the ranks or
relinquishing their independence, and consequently
Earl DZ GREY and RIPON is very wise when, in-
stead of increasing the obstacles to obtaining
recruits, he endeavours to give the men every en-
couragement. The War Secretary reassured Lord
LUCAN as to the number of men who were entitled

to take their discharge this year and tha years fol-
lowing. Owing to the extensive enlistments at the
time of the Crimean war, the numbers will be
unusually large, but Earl DE GREY reminded the
House that, according to former experience, not
more than 4,000 of the 10,000 whose term of ser-
vice will be out this year may be expect( d to leave
the army. It is of course a great advantage to the
army to retain the o,d and experienced soldiers,
and therefore Earl LUCAN'S objections to the ad,
vantages offered tb those who re-enl►st are not well
founded. As Lord DE GREY pointed out, the free
kit and the bounty money would have to be given
to the raw recruit ; and surely it is better to get
a trained man who knows his business
than one who has all to learn. But an
additioaal reason for the reduced term
of enlistment is found in the statistics furnished by
the Army Medical Department. It appears from
the report that the death-rata of soldiers between
the ages of 20 and 24 is about two per 1,000 less

than the corresponding rate among civilians, but
that from that age it gradually increases until at
40 and upwards the military death-rate has reached
the predominance of 23.61 per 1,000 to 13.5 of the
civil population. Earl DE GREY therefore, re-
marked that at the ages to which the Limited En-
listment Act applied the death-rate:was at its lowest
point. The Earl of DALHOUSIE, who was the
original introducer of the bill, naturally supported
it, observing that tha effect of allowing the soldier
a certain time before reenlistment would be advan•
tageous to the service, since he could compare his
own life with the many agricultural and manufac-
turing labourers, and the noble lord made a good
suggestion that a bounty should be applied to such
a soldier for all the recruits he might bring. His

old friends and neighbours would be more likely
to be influenced by his pictures. of barrack life
than by the highly coloured representations of the
recruiting sergeant. A much greater amouw
of attention is now being given to the soldier's

health and comfort; various reforms have been

organised, and we may hope that others of equal
importance will shortly be set on foot. The crying

evil of almost compulsory idleness in barracks is

being remedied by gymnasiums, reading rooms,
lecture balls, and other resources—and officers are

beginning to see that it is useless to issue codes of
regulations unless they themselves pay heed to
those great moral and physical laws which nature
has laid down, and whoEe breach is certain to pro-
duce the most evil and disastrous results. We have,
therefore, good reason to hope that many of the
objections which steady and industrious men en-
tertain to a military life will shortly disappear,
and that consequently the difficulty of obtaining
recruits in time of peace will become as much a
thing of the past as the formidable life enlistments.

The destruction of dwellings occupied by the
working classes is a subject that especially calls for
attention, and nothing can excuse the negligence
with which it has been treated in some quarters.
In the hurry of events, and the eagerness for im-
proved communication and means of transit, the
claims of the humbler classes are very apt to be
overlooked. It is, then, highly requisite that due
care and caution be exercised, lest a great and
grievous injury be inflicted on the labouring popu-
lation of this vast metropolis. The evils that have
long existed are now found to be greatly augmented
by the immense increase of railways. The greatest
credit is due to those noblemen and gentlemen of
high position who have endeavoured strenuous:y to
procure advantages for the poor who are suffering
so much from the want of fresh air and proper ac-
commodation, and to bestow upon them the benefits
of country air, and this with the outlay of only a
moderate sum, The petition which the Earl of
DERBY presented to the House of Lords, from the
inhabitants of St, gorge's, Southwark, contained