The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-23 00:00:00

Great Fall of Snow in France,

The Moniteur of yesterday publishes the follow-
ing telegrams, by which it will be seen that a very
heavy fall of snow has taken place in the south of
France, and that communicatiot by railway is in
several cases interrupted :—`' Narbonne, Feb. 20,
5.25 p.m.—The trains are stopped upon the railway.
Train No. 114 was stopped at Nisson. The loco-
motive sent to its assistance could not proceed
beyond Courreau. The garrison was called out in
order to clear the line." "Beziers, Feb. 21, 11
o'clock a.m.—ln consequence of the large quantity
of snow which has been falling for the last thirty-
eight hours, and which covers the plain to the depth
of about 50 centimetres (18 inches), all the roads in
the district are obstructed, and the circulation upon
the railways suspended. The telegraph is no longer
in operation upon the Montpellier line. This state
of things causes some apprehension that the con-
scription cannot be drawn for on the 21st and 22d
in the cantons of St. Gervais and Bedarieue

" Lyons, Feb. 21, 8 o'clock a.m.—Express train
No. 2 and the omnibus train No, 36, of the 20th
February, have not arrived. The circulation is
impossible. Trains of all kinds are suspended until
further orders. The last passenger train which
arrived on the 20th was No. 24, two hours late.
Snow is still falling in Lyons. It is not yet more
than eleven centrinnetres in depth." "Valence,
Feb. 21, 10.36 a.m.—lt has been snowing for 36
hours, with a violent wind, 1111 communication is
interrupted between Lyons end Marseilles. The
railway is no longer practicable. The garrison has
been called out to clear the line." " Privaa, Feb.
21, 1 p.m.—Communication on horse and foot is
impossible. The operations of the conscription are
interrupted in several places in the department of
the Ardeche. The snow is six feet deep in the
mountain." " Beziers, Feb. 21, 1,55 p.m.—The
circulation is re established upon the Graissessac
line since mid-day. Active operations are going on
upon the southern line for removing the snow.
They will be completed it is hoped this evening."

THE HEALTH OF PRINTERS.—We are glad to

hear that, by an order from the Privy Council

Dr. Smith has been deputed to make inquiries respect-
ing the health of this valuable body of workmen, who
have for long suffered much beyond the average amount
of ill-health, and a far too large death-rate. We have
at several times directed attention to this very important
subject, and expressed a strong conviction that it is
in a great measure owing to the overcrowded and
badly-ventilated apartments in which many
of the composi-
tors work that the excessive death-rate from fever, cholera,
consumption, and so on arises. Wa could, even now, direct
attention to printing
offices in w:aich there are neglected
and offensive closets, and such otter unsanatory arrange-
ments, that to work under their influence and enjoy good
health is next to an impossibility. Besides this, in the con-
sideration of this question, there are other matters to be
thought of, such as the sedentars nature of the employ-
ment. When Benjamin Franklin worked as a journeyman in
the printing office now occupied by ltlessrs. Cox and Wyman,
he found the labour at hip case aff.eted his health, and ex-

changed it for work at th.3press. We do not, however,
think that there is much evil irt the peculiar position in
which compositors have to stand as in the long-continued
hours of work, and, in connexion with newspaper printing
the unnatural but necessary plan of turning night into day,
careful inquiry would show that the number of deaths in
the 1,000 amongst those who work at night is far greater
than it is amongst those who labour by day. Tho very cir-
cumstance of being obliged to labour by night instead of
day must, to a certain extent, affect health; but the mis-
chief is added to by the closing of windows and doors at
night, and thus, in the absence of other means of ventila-
tion, allowing the promises to become filled with vitiated
and unwholesome air. No correct idea of the poisonous
atmosphere of those places can be formed without a visit at
night, when the compositors are iu full work and the nume-
rous gaslights are burning.
The exposure to night air after
leaving these unwholesome and overheated quarters is also
injurious; or if the windows be opened deadly draughts
enter. We have heard of instances of the formation, by
those who work in the large printing-offices, of clubs, for
the practice of cricket and boating, and the plan is well
worthy of being more generally followed. As a rule, how-
ever, bat few printers have time for out-door exercise. Even
the Saturday half holiday i 4 denied them, with one or two
creditable exceptions; and, gccordingly, these hothouse
plants are cut off prematurely by tiro least blight. It is not,
moreover, the printers alone who suffer but, as we have be-
fore observed, editors, sub-editors, and reados are often even
worse circumstanced, being pent
Up for hours
close boxes, some of which are not very much lax'
oer than
a full-sized coffin.--Builder. together in

THE AMERICAN BLOCHADE.r...HALIFAX, Nov I
SCOTIA, Feb. 6.—Marshal Kane and a number of '
Confederate officers left in the steamer Alpha to-day for a
Confederate port. New York, Feb. 8. The blockade
runner Presto, in attempting to run into Charleston on the
2d of February, grounded on Sullivan's Island. The
Federals opened fire upon the vessel, but most of the cargo
was expected to be saved by
the Confederates. The Federal
vessels Sassacus and Floria have destroyed the blockade
runner Wild Payroll, near New Topsail Inlet, where she
had got ashore and discharged most of her cargo. Havan-
nah, Feb. 2.—The British man.q-war Shannon came in
on the 28th, from Matamoras. Sir Alexander Milne, in the
Nile, has been bore, and left for the Bermudas, where he is
tredjaums." The Cuba brought a large
nded for the
'lope. The Buzzard and
French, but finally tqpotie
atmrneetlei
ttyh hisaovfe a relief,ramlsso,
ivniSt
es
ii
do-
liverod het e to Mr. Ramsey, the Confederate agent, Of
course you can imagine the attempt will be made to run
them through the blockade. -: ri 1,
-.3 steamer Alice is loading
for this purpose, and a schooner will probably start to day
for the South. _ ___

CRITICAL POSITION OF TIER SULTAN OF TURKEY.
—A letter from Constantinople statesthat the Sultan, while
Esk-Medi, was placed in a
very dangerous situation. When at some distance from his
on a hunting excursion at
suite he suddenly found himself close to several wild boars.
The Sultan fired at them, when the animals rushed furiously
on him and threw him to the ground. Fortunately for the
Sultan, two sportsmen came to his assistance and put the
boars to flight. lie received no woluvis, but has ginco
indisposed for a few cloys,