The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-25 00:00:00

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widely circulated them . l
cotton ho will forward the informatton which may
be obtained. The report from the island of Boa:
Visa, Cape Yard, states that only in that island is
any cotton grown, and there merely in small (pan.
titics for local consumption. The population being-
very scanty and poor, although the island has a
large surface of land capable of producing cotton,
there is but little probability that the cultivation
will extend without the aid of foreign capital and
enterprise. The irregularity of the rains is a great
drawback. -A sample of the cotton grown at Boa
Vista has,been forwarded. A despatch from Smyrna
reports that the injury done to the cotton'crop in
that district and also in that of Ana by the late
continual heavy rains, which only coand on the
27th of Or.loher, has been very extensive, and owinK
to the cold weather the podgy are in a vary hKek--
ward state; it is calculated that not more than
60,000 to 60,000 bales can he exi:ected from the diss
t-rict of Suay ma, and about 40,000 bE les frctn Actiro.
A despatch forwarded by El:e

PRICE ...... ...Id.
STAMPED ....sd.

bers and very purity amongst our popu.a-
tions. The first effort then was to conquer a solid
basis for the science in the recognition and identfi-
cation of existing types ; and the next, to study the
phenomena presented by living peoples, and from
the changes which are being rff,cted and the Evolu-
tions in progress to endeavour to determine the
value and signification of the types in our possession
in other words, to eliminate tic laws that hsve
governed their origin and presided over their
development.
A lively discus.,,ion fellowe., in which Mr C: en-
ford, Professor Busk, Dr Hodgkin, Dr Hunt, Mr
Nash, and the President were speaktrl.
The new fellows elected were Viscount Milton and
H. Danby Seymour, Esq., M.P.
Important papers on the discovery of human res
mains and flint implements near Caithness, by Mr
Lang, Professor Huxley, and Mr John Evans, were
announced for the next meeting, which it was
thought would attract an unusually lerge audience.

EffiCe, was

received from the Governor of G.:lnbia, showirg

het the cultica:ion of cotton hoc

v incr3Ertd

Cotton Supply Association.

At the usual meeting of the Executive Committee,
held on Tuesday, Nov. 22, a letter was read, forward-
ing a pod of cotton recently plucked at Pompeii, and
Mating that the writer, when at Naples about a
month ago, was much gratified to find so large an
area in the neighbourhood under cotton cultivation
He thinks gins are needed as he saw numbers of
women and girls outside the cottages picking out
the seed very carefully. A letter from St Marian,
West Indies, reports that cotton is extensively cul-
tivated in that island, that the returns are remune.
rative, and free labour cheap. The writer desires
pecuniary assistance. A letter received from Go-
vernment-house, Antigua, states that cotton culti-
vation has greatly increased in that island—num-
bers are planting from 50 to 100 acres, and if the
price does not fall below is per lb. there will be a
very handsome return of £2O per ecre. The writer
is extending his own efforts in conjunction with
a very experienced planter. Samples of cot-
ton were received from the Governor-in-
Chief of the Leeward Islands, which have been
cleaned by the saw and Macarthy gins for the
purpose of ascertaining the effect produced by each
machine, A letter was read describing the efforts
made by her Majesty's Counsel at the Navigator's
Islands, South Seas, to induce the natives to grow
cotton, and stating that he himself has about 25
acres under cultivation, The grant of a gin was
made to assist the natives in their exertions, and
as the climate is represented to be highly suitable,
satisfactory results are anticipated. A circular was
read from tha Foreign-officestating that the Franco-
Swiss treaty, lately concluded, will reduce the
French import duty on silk ribands 60 per cent,
the advantages of which will be shared by British
industry. Consular reports were received from the
Foreign-office on the cultivation of cotton in Syria
and Cyprus, Latakia, Tripoli, Bagdad, Bussorah,
Moussul, Crete, Mexico, Central America, and Cape
Verd Islands, Her Majesty's Consul-General
at Beyrout reports that in Syria and the
Island of Cyprus 25,140 acres were planted
with cotton in 1863, and 53,000 acres in
1864—that 22,000ib of exotic seed were used in the
former year, and 62,7501 b, in the latter. The pro-
duce in 1863 was 3,975,0001 b., and this year it is
expected to be 8,900,0001 b., the greater part of
which is now sent to England. The crops present
a promising appearance, and are likely to be abun-
dant. They would be greatly increased by irriga-
tion, which is prevented by the general scarcity of
water. Batter protection on the part of the Go-
vernment is needed to prevent in the Ssuth of Syria
the incursions of the nom:d tribes, and in other
parts the ujust (Xlctions of tax gatherers ant
petty governors. The permission to Enrop:ans to
hold land would be of great advantage, and would
speedily lead to an improved system of agri-
culture. In the Vice-Consular district of "La-
takia the Extent of laud planted with cotton has
not been ascertain/El, but the produce which in
18E3 was 200,000 okcs of 21 1, each, is e x;cctEd
this year to be 400,000 ekes, which is sent to
Marseilles and Liverpool. The cotton crop is ti.

The Sheffield Inundation Subscription.

A case of great interest to all who joined in the
national subscription for the relief of the distress at
Sheffield was decided in the Court of the Inundation
Commission in Sheffield yesterday. Our readers
will recollect that in the course of a few wteks after
the disaster a subscription amounting to X 50,000
was raised in the county, and that sum was placed
at the control of a committee, of whom the Mayor
of Sheffield was chairman, and the sufferers were
relieved by eleven district committees, wh•o disbursed
many thousands of pounds in relieving the distress
arising from the inundation. At that time the lia-
bility of the Water Company, under the famous
Holmfirth clause in their Act of 1853, to make good
all damage caused by the giving way of their works
was fully admitted, but their ability to meet the
enormous demand was not so clear. The Relief
Committee, therefore. took promissory notes from
some of the sufferers for the amounts they advanced,
and in large numbers of other cases they got per.
sons to sign deeds, assigning the whole of their in-
terest as against the Water Company to the Mayor,
in consideration of these advances. Wnen the com-
pany goL their Act a question arose as to whether
they were liable to pay to these sufferers the
amounts which they had received from the Relief
Committee, and the case was argued at great length
before the COmmissiocers by Mr. Manisty, Q.C.,
for the. Mayor, and Mr. Pickering, Q C., for the
W4ter Company. Mr. Manisty, on the part of the
M:lyor, who sought to rccovcr the amounts he bad

dvanced to the sufferers, argued that the Commis-
sioners hed nothing to do with the Relief Com-
mittee, and that their judgment as to compensation
must go entirely irrespective of tLe obligations into
which the claimants had entered with the Relief
Committee. Oa the other hand, Mr Pickering sought
to show that the company end the pubic were
in the respective positions of assurer and es:.ured;
that the contract between them was a contract of
indemnity, and that if the assured had once been
recouped, no matter if by,the hand of charity or
otherwise, they could not claim against the com-
pany ; and he quoted the ease of Mr Pitt's debts,
where Government stepped in after his death and
paid his debts, and the Courts thereupon held that
creditors who had insured his life for the satisfac-
tion of their (Mots could not recover from the in.
surance offices. It was stated that the Mayor had
abandoned all claim in cases where the amounts
allowed were below £lO. The case excited great in-,
terest, as it was understood that in the event of the
Mayor recovering the sums advanced they would
be added to the ample surplus in hand, and re-
turned pro rata to the subscribers, if the latter
desire it. We ought to state here that in the
course of Mr Manisty's argument it was shown that
the question of the liability of the company bad
been raised in Leeds and other towns, when sub-
scriptions were asked, and the public were explicitly
informed that promissory notes and other securities
were being taken from the recipients of the fund in
order to keep alive the claim against the Water Com-
pany. Upon the faith of that assurance large num.
bers subscribed. A crowded court assembled yester-
day to hear the judgment, which was delivered by
Mr W. Overend, Q.C., chief commissioner. He said.
—We are of opinion that in all cases the persons
with whom the Commissioners have to deal are the
sufferers by the inundation. They are the only claims
ants whom we can recognise, and no arrangement
between theta and third parties can dispense with
the necessity of their appearing as the only claimants
for compensation, The Mayor, therefore, not being
a sufferer, has no locus standi before us, except
that he has sent in a claim as agent for and in behalf
of some sufferers. The sufferer, however, even in
the latter case, will be the person in whose favour
our order will be made. With reference to the
question whether the claimants' title to compensas
lion is extinguished or diminished by reason of their
having received money either by way of gift or loan
from the Relief Committee, we are of opinion that
any payment or loan by such committee to such suf.
ferers does not affect their right to ask for full com-
pensation from us to the same extent as if no such
gift or loan had been made. It is no part of our pro-
vince to decide whether the money a warded by us to
the claimants is after wards wholly or in part, accord-
ing to circumstances, to be paid over to the Mayor.
We purposely therefore avoid pronouncing our opi-
nion on that question, although it is quite apparent
that in the event of the deed or promissory notes
which have been executed by some sufferers being
valid securities, the parties who have given such
securities may, on recovering compensation from.
the Water Company, be liable for the amounts
contained in those securities to the Mayor. We
wish at the same time to state that, by abstaining
from giving any such decision, we hope that it will
not be inferred that we desire to throw the slightest
doubt upon their validity.
knurled for a fortnight, The Court then ad.
and will then meet again
to hear the arguments in the great trade cases, in
which questions of consequential damage are ind
volved. We may add that while the company's
witnesses in Parliament estimated the total damage
at £350,000, the claims sent in amount to £455,000,The claims for property
amount to .1.:378,166 ; for
loss of life, £46,221 (238 persons were drowned) ;
and for bodily injury, £21,776.

cellent, and a considerable extent of virgin-soil has
been turned up this year. The small quantity of
Egyptian seed that was sown has answered so well

that general regret is felt that all the seed grahr.
tously distributed was not planted, as it does not
require irrigation, and there is a determination to
make use of it next year, The incfficiency of the
Government, and the prohibition to Europeans to
hold land are represented to be hindrances to the
extension of cotton cultivation. In the district of
Tripoli the production was insignificant in 1863,
and only for local consumption; this year it is ex-
pected to be 50,000 okes. The cultivation will in..
crease if Government will protect the plantations
and provide seed at a fair price without the inter.
vention of those who wish to made a profit by it.
The report from the province of Bagdad states that
up to 1863 the produce was unequal to the local con-
sumption, and was supplemented by importations
from Persia. The crops last year were almost de•
stroyed by locusts. This year but little injury has
been done, and the new lands planted with cotton
are probably double the extent of previous years.
Some American and Egyptian seed procured from
Bombay was sown, and a considerable quantity of
the latter has been brought from Suez for use in

1865. Tho country is highly favourable to the cul.

tivation of cotton, but under the existing system
but little encouragement is afforded. Applications

from native speculators to undertake the caltiva,
tion of land for a term of years at a fixed rental,
and proposals from British merchants to introduce
pumps for the purposes of irrigation, are met by
Namik Pasha with the uniform answer that the
time has not arrived for taking them into conside-
ration. in Bussarah, Turkish Arabia, 200 acres
were planted with cotton in 1863, and 250 acres in

1864; the produce was 14,0001 b in the former year,
. .

and is expected to be 23,0001 b in the latter. The

district is well adapted to cotton cultivation, and

the only hindrances are the insEc lrity of pro%

perty, the native dislike to innovation, and the

scantiness of the population, In the province of
Moussul about 18,000 acres of land are annually
planted with cotton ; last year the produce was
2,377,3501 b., and the crops appear to promise a
considerable increase, the extent of which cannot

yet be ascertained. Cotton has hitherto been grown
only for local consumption, In Crete it has not been

found possible to ascertain the extent of land planted
with cotton, but the produce, which was 1,170 cwt.

in 1863, is expected Co be this year 4,000 cwt. The

crops are promising, though in some parts they

have been damaged by the early rains. But little

use has hitherto been made of exotic seed, that of

the country appearing to give a surer yield. In the
State of Vera Cruz, Mexico, the area planted with

cotton from 1853 to 1862 was upon an average 40,240
acres, and during the last two years the increase has
been about 50 per cent. The produce in 1863 was

2,500,0001 b , but this year it is not expected to ex•

teed 2,500,0001 b. I❑ the past two years the crop
has been nearly destroyed by the caterpillars. This

plague appears to visit all the coast every 12 or 14

years, for one or two seasons, and then disappears.
There is abundance of land suited for cotton, and

labour can be obtained from the upper country. In
the Republic of Salvador the extent of land planted
with cotton has not been ascertained, and though
under proper management the country could pro-
duce cotton, the people arc without experience in
the cultivation and are only now becoming fully alive
to its importance. Her Majesty's Consul at Pernam-
buco forwards a copy of a despatch received from the
British Vice-Consulate, Paraiba, stating that the
cotton crop having partially failed in many places
from the want of rain the quantity grown will be less
than was estimated, and according to general opinion
will not reach 60,000 begs. Her Majesty's Consul
at Mexico reports that he has had the queries of the
association translated into Spanish, and having

The Mission Government have completed the
public lino of telegraph throughout European Russia and
Siberia in Asiatic Russia to Kialthta, the frontier town of
China. Kiakhta lies to the north-west of Pekin, and is
distant about 750 miles from that city. It is, therefore,
possible to send a communication from London to the capital
of China in about four days. The line from St. Petersburg
to Kiakhta extends over a distance of some seven or eight
thousand miles, and its completion so far is an event of
great importance, not only to European merchants, but also
to the different Governments whose Ministers reside in the
Celestial City.

.r"

Il

in that calony during the last two yearn, and exw
preszill a strong conviction that this branch of in-
dustry will be still further developed. The upper
river is represented to be capable of producing et
large quantity of cotton, and the use of Egyptikn
seed is recommended in order to secure an im-
proved quality. A considerable quantity of nn.
ginned cotton, it •is said, has been' exported to
Germany. A sample of cotton received from Natal
grown from Egyptian seed. A large number of
samples of cotton grown this year throughout Italy
forwarded by the President of the Royal Italian
Commission, engaged the special attention of the
committee, and well deserve the careful examina-
tion ofepinners and others. The collection comprises
specimens of cotton grown in the various districts
of Italy, and affords an illustration of what that
country is able to produce. These samples may bg
seen at the room of the association, and the inspect=
tion of them is earnestly invited. An opportunity
is thus afforded for forming a jadgetteirtcaftirevermymmiwill
lity of Italian grown cotton. The Royal Commission
has determined to hold a second cotton exhibition
in 1865, which will be opened in Naples in April
next, and continued for a period of two months; To
it all manufacturers of gins and agricultural imple-
ments are invited to send their machinery. Yarns
and goods made solely of Italian cotton will be ex-
hibited, whether manufactured in Italy or else-
where. Prizes and medals will be conferred at the
close of the exhibition.