The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-16 00:00:00

It 0Y AL ENGLISH OPERA, ' do believe M. MAZZINI'S word to be as good as his
COVENT-GARDEN. bond! looking upon bond and word of his as of
Under the Management of Miss Louisa Fyne and
Mr. W. Harrison. exactly about the same value !)—" BUT," writes
THIS EVENING. SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER: MISS,
...uAZZINI, "if my testimony might be decisive of
Louisa Pyne, Miss Hike ; Messrs. H. Corri, G. ferren, and. M.
w. Harrison. the question I cannot withhold it from one whose
To conclude with FANCHETTE.
Deors open at half-past Six—Commence at Seven. friendship I highly value, and who has spoken so
generously of me in an assembly where his doing
so might expose him to some inconvenience and
misinterpretation:' After that, who shall dare to
breathe one syllable against the occupant of 35,
Thurloe-square P Even the law officers of the
Imperial Crown of France must, of course, by this
time be satisfied—now that no one less than M.
MAzzINI himself should have vindicated the charac-
ter of this English Minister and member of Parlia-
ment.

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

THIS VVENING, the Performances will commence with
THE FOUR, MOWBRAY'S. Master Fercy Roselle.
After which, MANFRED. Manfred. Mr. Phelps.
To conclude with anew farce. THE AL ABA 31A. Mr. G.
Belmore and Miss Lydia Thompson.
Prices as usual. Box Office open from 10 till 5 daffy.

frE AT RE ROYAL HAYNIARKET.-
Sole Lessee and Manag,er, Mr, Backstone.
THIS EVENING, THE LITTLE DAISY.
After which, BUNKUM MULLER. Mr. Sothern.
To be followed by OUR AMERICAN COUSIN Messrs.
Sothern, Buckstone, Chippendale, nocrers, Clark, Gordon,
Braid, &c. ; Mesdames Angel, Lindley, Hill, Harris, Snowden,

There is evidently something very generous, in-
deed, in the temperament of M. MAZZINI. It is not
alone Mr. STANSFELD that he has stood forth thus
very recently to champion. There was poor
Gnu°, the other day, over in Paris—that
amiable GRECO, whose little foible it was
to carry about with him a few trifles, in the
shape of bomb-shells of the most fearfully
destructive character, and whose other little weak-
ness it was to inveigle hornplayers like TREBUCCO
and scapegraces like IMPERATORI into charming
little deadly conspiracies of the most interesting
character imaginable ! Yes, there was this ingenu-
ous and delightful creature GRECO, who was under
a slight cloud, the other day, over in the French
capital—and it will be remembered of course per-
fectly well how M. MAZZINI (in the same frank
and spontaneous manner with which he is
now offering his inestimable tribute to the
English member of Parliament and " Minister
of the Crown"), wrote generously and
ingenuously of this poor amiable GRECO (as
MAZZINI did) as—" an enthusiastic patriot."
The last paragraph, by the way, in M. MAZZINI'S
letter to our leading contemporary is really
and truly in is way something quite exem-
plary ! "As to the Theory of the Dagger,'"
writes M. MAZZINI, referring to the pamphlet from
which Mr. HENNESSY was quoting so lengthily,
and as it still appears to us so very aptly
the other evening:in the House of Commons. "As
to The Theory of the Dagger,'" writes M. MAZ-
ZINI, " the first time I happen to write upon it"—
[so that he is just possibly going to write upon it
again : refreshing thought l] —" the first time I
happen to write on it will be modified"—[so
that, according to M. AlazeiNfs own show-
ing, it does admit of modification !] —" it wilt
be modified into the Theory of the Moral
Dagger.' " The italics sic in M. MAZZINI'S
own letter. "Theory of the Moral Dagger !" We
long to witness the appearance of M. MAZZINI as
a moralist. Now that he has thrown out an ex-
tenuating phrase in regard to GRECO, now that he
has vouchsafed a good word for Mr. STANSFELD—
by ail means let us have M, MAZZINI in his new
character as a moralist, and (so appropriately, too!)
a moralist about daggers !
It matters very little of course that we cannot
even now obtain the slightest clue in the world
as to who possibly this Mr. FLOWER may be
who has his letters directed on the sly to No, 35,
Thur:oe-square, Brompton, S.W. It matters still
less that M. Mazziett in his Theory-of-the-Dagger
Pamphlet—addressing himself to " enthusiastic
patriots " like GRECO—there told them years ago
" make daggers of your files"—recaliing to their
thoughts " the dagger of the Vespers," " the stone
of BALILLA," "the knife of PALAFOX." It matters
just absolutely nothing that he said to
to them "Blessed in your hands be every weapon
that can set you free "—hinting to them the
adoption of "the weapon that slew MINCOWICII,"
and that other weapon that "slew the Minister
Rossi in Rome." Plaia words it may be thought,
these. But—Ah ! what to those others, wherein
M. MAZZINI pronounced the Governments them-
selves to bs " responsible for the daggers that
glitter in the darkness of the land ! "
Always daggers always glittering they
fairly captivate his imagination. What wee his
other utterances ? Listen !—" Sacred in tho hand
of JUDITH is the sword that took the life of HoLo-
FERNES." " Sacred was the dagger which HAR
MODIUS encircled with roses." " Sacred was the
stiletto of the Sicilian." " I recognise in that mani
festation of tremendous equality between the tyrant
of millions and a single individual, the finger of
GOD." Surely, these are amenities culled from the
very Evangel of Assassination. There is evidently,
according to M. MAZZINI, but one Political Theory,
the Theory of the Dagger, call it, even if you will,
the Moral Dagger—and of that Theory, ripened into
a Religion, M. MAZZINI is himself st once the Pro
phet and the Evangelist.

And AN UNLUCKY MORTAL: Mr. W. Farren and
Mies 31. tiarris.

Commence at 7.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
Sole Lesee and Manacr,er, Mr. Geo. Vining'.
THIS EVENING, PAUL'S RETURN.
After which, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS.
Dromios, by the Brothers Webb.
And JACK'S ARRIVAL FROM CANTON.

The Two

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Under the Sole Management of Mr. Fechter.
Last Four Nights before Easter.
BEL DENIONIO (a Triumohant Success) will be repeated
Every Evening during the Week.
THIS EVENING, the performance will commence with a
New and Original Farce, entitled THE LOST CHILD . •
Messrs. H. Widdicombe, Shore, Garden, F. Charles Collett,
14 Misses Percy, Pauline Leclerc, Wood. Mrs. Lee,
and Miss E. Lavenu.

---
‘ter which, at Eight o'clock, the 112th Night of BEL
?lON 10, a Love Story, in Twelve Tableaux, taken from
Stendhal's "Italian Chronicle C," by Mr. John Brougham.
3fegsrs. Jordan, Charlee, Brougham, Emery, F. Morton,
Raymond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford, Collett, Sims ; Miss
Kate Terry, Miss E. Lavern.; 31rs. Lee, Bliss Elsworthy.

The Public are entreated to take notice that No Charge is
;trade to the occupazts of Boxes, Box-places, or Stalls, either
for play bale or for the safe keeping- of hats and cloaks, and
that the attendants in all parts of the house are forbidden to
receive any gratuities whatever.
Box-offlze open daily from 11 to 5. Commence at 7.

eFmEe Ct
wHi
trhEo Rn
ai
tn.
redoanys cnlignhetn, ca en
do
by
yt ht
bee aaedev
ice Coft
his uhyskAans, will be UNABLE to APPEAtt until Easter
Monday. March 28, when he will resume his character of
Angelo, in "Bel Demonio."

NT ENV THE ATRE-RO YAL, ADELPHI.—
,soin Proprietor and Manazor. M. B. Webster.
,I.IV

THIS EVENING. THE PRETTY HORSEBREA.KER
Mr_ J. L. Toole and lliss Woolgar.
Eivbt, LEAH . Miss Bate Alan, supported by Messrs,
A. Stirli.nz, R. Phillips, Bilington, Stuart, Stephenson,
Eburne; itiss H. Simms, and Mrs. Oillington.
To onnclitie with3th Liar, THE AREA BELLE: Messrs.
J. L. Toole, P. Bedford, Romer, Miss Woolgar, and Mrs. H.
Lewis.

The full extent of the recent calamity at Shef-
field is now pretty well known. It has far ex-
ceeded even the wild reports of rumour, and the
vast destruction of property occasioned by the
deluge is forgotten, while we contemplate the
great losa of life which has resulted from this
catastrophe. The Bradfield reservoir is some six
miles from Sheffield, at the junction of the
Loxley and Stammington Hills, and forming one
of the many belonging to the Sheffield Water
Company. Advantage was taken of the position
of the hills to form an immense reservoir between
them, by constructing a huge embankment some
300 yards, in length, and upwards of 80 feet
in height, so as to enclose a triangular
basin of some 76 acres area, and capable of con-
taining more than 100,000,000 cubic feet of
water. On Friday night this barrier gave way,
and the pent up waters rushed down the valley of
the Don, carrying all before them, destroying
houses and bridges, and sweeping every living
thing away. The full particulars of the tragedy
have been repeated in so many forms already that
it is unnecessary for us to dwell upon this sad scene
at the present moment. The first feeling of horror
and astonishment over the whole country has
awakened to the necessity of promptly aiding the
surviving sufferers. The people of Sheffield have
come forward with an eagerness which does them
great credit, and their example will no doubt be
liberally followed. But while we use our best
endeavours to assist those who have been
so suddenly bereft of their relations and their pro-
perty, let us turn our attention to the cause of all
this misery. England may well be proud of the
great works that have been executed by her en-
gineers. In a comparatively short time she has
risen from scientific obscurity to be the first en-
gineering nation is the world. Works are now
undertaken as ordinary matters of every day busi-
ness which our forefathers would do: have dreamed
of, and private companies undertake and carry out
enterprises the magnitude of which would have
made illustrious the mighty monarchs of former
times. Yet with all eur enterprises and resources
we are every day undermining our hard won pres-
tige by neglecting the dictates of prudence, as
the deep and silent waters in the welds of York-
shire were sapping the foundations of the Bradfield
dam. The bursting of a reservoir is no uncommon
occurrence. The pressure of water is well under-
stood, and the neglect of the proper precautions to
ensure security is an unpardonable oversight on
the part of all concerned. It is rot the want of
engineering skill CAS occasions the frequent acci-

dents that occur in this country, but rather the
avarice of proprietors, engineers, and contractors
combined. It is the universal greed for gain which
is the curse of the age to which is to be traced
more or less calamities like that recently wit-
nessed at Sheffield. In olden times strength and
durability were the first objects sought after by
the engineer, and when in doubt he erred on the safe
side, as is instanced in many ancient structures which
have almost set time at defiance. Iu the present
dly economy and effect are most in requisition, the
dividends of shareholders and the profits of en-
gineers and contractors take precedence of public
safety. We do nbt wish to prejudge a case of such
terrible importance, which must of course be most
stringently inquired into. The facts at present
before us are, however, sufficient to show that a
heavy responsibility rested somewhere. That,
from causes as yet unexplained, the means taken to
confine a vast body of water which had been col-
lected in the neighbourhood of a populous town
were wholly inadequate for that purpose, and that

some three hundred human lives were consequently

sacrificed. We gather fr)m local authorities that
the Bradfield reservoir was of great length and
depth, although narrow ; that the whole of this
lake was exposed to the force of the wind, which
at the time of the catastrophe was blowing heavily,
and the waves beating with great force upon the
embankment. Again, we learn that rumours were
current that " all was not right with the dam," and
that up to the hour of its giving way workmen
were employed upon it endeavouring to repair its
weak points, and to relieve the pressure by letting
off part of the water in another direction, and that
such became the peril at the end that the " navvies"
were in the act of blowing up a sluice to effect this

object more promptly, when the water burst through
and ail was over. That the dam was inadequate
to sustain the pressure to which it was exposed
is evident, not that its destruction was accelerated
by the force of the waves or rather the sway of the
water is equally certain. It cannot be right to
expose hundreds and it might be thousands of lives
to the possibility of destruction, by the bursting of
a dam, which is subjected to such an enormous pus-
sure as that of Bradfield. When it is deemed ne-
cessary to collect such an immense quantity of
water together as is the practice with large water
companies, it should be compulsory on them to so
subdivide the reservoirs by partitions as to relieve
the pressure, and to have them provided with such
ample means of Efflux that resort to blasting should
never be necessary. Again, when railway bridges
are required to undergo a Government inspection
before a passenger is permitted to pass over them,
why is there no district engineer and surveyor re-
sponsible for a gigantic structure upon the strength
of which the lives of the neighbouring inhabitants
depend. These are matters which will now be
thoroughly investigated, bat no investigation can
retrieve the past, though it may guide the -future.
Partial warnings seem to have been thrown away
upon us. The Holmfirth irruption produced no
beneficial results, and in the more recent case of the
bursting of the sluice of the Middle Level, which
was occasioned by negligence, in the case of
the embankments it does not seem to have
impressed the important fact upon the minds of
those responsible for the safe custody of that ele-
ment, that while they are sleeping it is ever work-
ing. The present disaster must, however, rouse a
determination in the public mind which cannot be
trifled with. The lives of the population of whole
districts can no longer be left in the keeping of
those who, rather than admit the weakness of their
handiwork, jeopardise the safety of unsuspecting
neighbours. Why, let us ask, were not the inhabi-
tants in the valley officially warned of the possibi-
lity of a deluge, and that down as far as any danger
could possibly occur ? True it is that those above
Damflask were warned in time, but rather in a pri-
vate, friendly way, than as by authority. When
it was deemed necessary to blow up a weir to
secure safety, might it not have been as well to send
expresses and telegraphs to warn the people of their
danger ?—was a possible injury to the character of
the company's property to be weighed in the balance
with hundreds of human lives ?

THE THAMES EMBANKMENT.—Yesterday some
hundreds of cartloada of earth, sand and chalk,were
thrown into the Thames for the purpose of forming a foun-
dation for the Thames Embackment. From an early hour
in the morning Norfolk-street, Arundel-street. and the ad-
jacent streets which run down to the river, were crowded
with these carts, all of which made their way in due time
to the bottom of Arundel-street, where they were unloaded.
At this spot and away eastward to the Temple-gardens the
works for the embankment are going on rapidly. In the
course of a few days the ship Royalist, which was one of
those which went out in the search of Franklin, but which
has of late years served the purpose of a Thames Police-
station, will have to leave her old quarters at the bottom of
Norfolk-street and find a position in some other part of the
river. The works bstween Westminster-bridge and Hun-
gerford are going on with great rapidity, vast numbers of
men being employed day and night in carrying out the
plans.

THE RAILWAY BRIDGE AT BLACKFRIAES.—Yes-
terday the 12th and last caisson of the new bridge
of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company,
at Blackfriars. was sunk into its plac'. At about half-
past one the workmen engaged in the sinking of the caisson,
together with a number of gentlemen interested in the line,
sat down to luncheon in the bottom of the caisson, 70ft,
below high-water mark. Mr. Thomas, who was called to
the chair, made a speech appropriate to the occaeion, and
concluded by proposing the toast. " Success to the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway Company." It is expected
that the bridge will bo open in June next, 14 months from
the date of its commencement.

OUTRAGE IN GREECE.—The Athens journals
mention a fact of extraordinary atrocity, which
only too strongly points out the anarcbial state of Greece.
Menidi, a small town of Attica, got tired of its mayor, but
despaired of being able to procure his removal, as he had
for his supporters a family whose name was an object of
terror to the country. The principal inhabitants assembled
to deliberate what course they should pursue,and an unani-
mous decision was come to that before anything could be
done with the mayor the family in question must be got rid
of. A vote of death was therefore passsd against them,
and the sentence was carried into execution the same day,
the 26th February, when the father and four sons out of
five were massacred in the street. The fifth son made his
escape. The murderers also killed a young child, a son of
one of the victims, alleging that if he were allowed to grow
up he would be as bad as his relations. In order to legalise
those crimes the municipal council assembled, and with an
almost incredible imprudence approved by a proces-verbal
of what had been done. When the examining magistrate
went to the place to investigate into the affair, the murderers
triumphantly showed him that document, and he was com-
pelled to withdraw without doing anything further.—
..1k kinani.

INFANT HOSTAGES IN NEW ZEALAND. —ln
reference to the mention made in yesterday's Sun
of a young girl of 12 years of age being taken as a hostage
from her grandfather, a wounded chief, in New Zealand, a
correspondent writes to us:—This is an old custom amongst
the natives—not exactly to send in children or women as
hostages; but in cases of capture or seri•ius reverses they
send their women to the captor to be taken care of. When
the old serpent Te Raupara was taken prisDner by Mr.
APKillop, of the'Calliope, that young officer was rather
embarrassed to find in his hut a few days afterwards, four
lady chiefs, varying from the ages of 50 to 15, who came,
according to custom, to place themselves under the protec-
tion of the captor of the natural protector. May this sub-
mission of the old chiefs be as perfect as was that of the
forced detention of Te Raupara.
DR. JACOB.—By the author of "John and I."—
It is a rare thing (says the Spectator) to find an
author or authoress's second novel decidedly superior to the
first. We thought " John and I" good, but there can be
no question that "Dr. Jacob'' is a great advance on it in
every way. Its principal character is much more original,
and is •worked out with a thoughtful and delicate imagina-
tion—while even the• pleasant and graceful sketches of
German social life are finished with a more skilful hand.
And there is not only a real unity in the thought of the
book, but there is an equal diffusion of skill over its greater
and minor conceptions. " Dr. Jacob" is one of the must
truthfully conceived and skilfully executed novels we have
read for many years.