The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-03 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY

serious social drag on those other portions of our
empire, where a population possessing the essential
requirements of civilization support,
,by a well-
directed industry, the dignity and honour of a great
national name." And it is observable, that in the
Northern Highlands, Ross, Sutherland, and Inver-
ness, where the Celt is considerably modified by a
Scandinavian or Saxon admixture, no such appalling
distress is to ba heard of as that witnessed in
the west. But the grand root of the evil
is to be found in the policy, or rather
want of policy, of the landed proprietors.
That class have, through a long and steady course of
bad management, brought themselves to pretty much
the same pass as the Irish landlords. It is a fact that
the landed property in the Highlands is at the
present moment burdened to the extent of upwards
of 75 per cent—the average amount of burden over
the whole of Ireland prior to the operation of the
Encumbered Estates Act. It is manifestly impos-
sible that men mortgaged and encumbered chin-deep
can, even with the best intention, aid or assist, them-
selves impoverished, their impoverished tenantry and
dependants. The landlord cannot, in self-defence, with
a fearful amount of yearly interest gnawing at his vitals,
afford to make a remission of rent in bad years. He
cannot in this manner supply the tenant with capital to
enable him to use those proper and necessary ap-
pliances for the requisite cultivation of the soil.
" Necessity on the part of the landlord to keep up
his annual interest, forces him to exact the
pound of flesh from the tenant, and from a certain
peculiar attachment which the Celtic people, beyond
any other, seem to have for the soil of their birth,
they are induced, year after year, to submit to the
hard terms, rather than remove to some other lo-
cality, where, possibly, a new mode of industry might
be opened up for them." But, as in this unnatural
state of things, matters must be becoming daily
worse, the unhappy tenant, before any great distance
of time, goes to utter ruin. Would not, then, the
adoption of such a measure as is in Ireland, rescuing
properties from the impotent hands of over-involved
proprietors, introduce a new class of landlords, and so
tend to effect that infusion of Anglo-Saxon blood,
under whose influence the capabilities of those dis-
tricts would receive a sure development ? The in-
gress of capitalists being thus facilitated to the
Western Highlands, employment would be afforded
to the resident natives, and encouragement would be
given, by the demand for labour, for the settlement of
lowland labourers among them also. Thus would the
commencement of mixture of blood be established)
and in a generation or two we might expect to see a
people arise combining the best qualities of the two
races, and much of the misery of an interesting por-
tion of the empire become a matter of tradition.
The great territorial noblemen, who are still men
of wealth, are likewise reprehensible for a proper
want of public spirit and regard to their dependants'
interests, and to which is to be mainly attributed the
inattention on the part of the Imperial Government
to assist by legislation the development of the natural
resources of this portion of the kingdom. There
could be nothing better calculated to improve the
industrial capabilities of the Highlands than bringing
the Lowlands into prompt and easy communication
with the principal highland towns—and those
industrial capabilities are very great ; for in-
stance, the establishment of railway communication
from Oban to Glasgow would be the means of con-
veying every species of industrial produce from the
remotest quarter of the Highlands to the Lowlands,
in the space of four hours, the line passing through
districts susceptible of the greatest possible improve-
ment. Yet it is evident that a scheme necessarily
promising a remuneration more remote than would
be the case in more cultivated regions, is not likely to
be taken up by private speculators. Neither is it to
be expected that the entire cost would be incurred by
Government. A considerable period would of neces-
sity elapse before the traffic could become sufficiently

extensive to yield a return for the outlay of
capital. In the meantime the measure could
only be regarded, not in the light of a
pecuniary speculation, but as a political
attempt to improve the social position of a hitherto
neglected and wretched district. Such an attempt
would be eminently worthy of Government, but the
impetus should emanate from, as well as a cordial cu-
operation be afforded by, the great landed proprietors,
who derive their wealth from the extreme poverty of
their dependants. They it is who are the natural
guardians of a poverty-stricken population, and it is
their bounden duty to foster the interests of those
humble and attached friends by whom they are sur-
rounded, performing their dutiesas " trustees of land
for the behoof of the people," and abandon-
ing that apathy which has freezingly retarded
the advance in social comfort of the
whole population of the Western Highlands.
A speedy wholesale revolution in the proprietorship
of lend is probably after all the sole effectual remedy
for the unfortunate state of things there. Emigra-
tion is of course a great relief but not a radical cure
in such an exigency. " Emigration can only be a
temporary alleviation of the injurious effects of a
redundant population. The population of the
Western Highlands is not:redundant, but the,reverse.
To be efficacious to any community it is necessary
that those left behind have amplo means of employ-
ment. What beneficial effects can emigration in-
duce to an agricultural district of country where
there is neither capital nor energy amongst
any class to carry on any settled course of
industry whatever ? To be of use in pro-
moting the effect intended, there must of ne-
cessity be an emigration of landlords as well as of
people. The miseries of the latter are so unquestion-
ably the result of the mismanagement of the former
that the mere removal of the minor evil, while the
greater is allowed to exist, can only serve to coun-
tenance and perpetuate a system which an examina-
tion into facts demonstrates to be barbarous."

THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH.
We some time back gave an account of the trial
trip of the General Screw Steam-ship Company's
new vessel the Queen of the South to the Nore Light,
which proved highly satisfactory, during which she
attained an average speed of ten and a half miles per
hour. We have since personally inspected her in the
East India Docks, when, through the courtesy of Mr.
Ford, the superintendent of the company, and Capt.
Hyde, her commander, from whom we received every
attention, we were enabled minutely to inspect the
various arrangements for the comfort of the passen-
gers. In our former notice we described fully the
dimensions of this splendid steamer, we will there-
fore only mention a few particulars which the Captain
kindly furnished us with, and those which we our-
selves observed. She was built by Messrs. Mare
and Co. and is a very fine specimen of
iron shipbuilding. She is divided into
seven watertight and fire-proof compartments, an
unu,ually large number, which must prove a great
security in case of accidents similar to those of the
Amazon or Birkenhead. Had the Birkenhead been
similarly constructed, it is probable that, the damage
being confined to a smaller space, the ship
might still
have floated, and so great a loss of human life pre-
vented. Her engines, which are of 300 horse power,
were constructed by Maudslay, and are on the direct
action principle, by which means the shaft of the
screw is brought into direct connection with the
engines, whereby a great reduction is made in the
complication and space occupied by the machinery,
which, by this contrivance, is almost entirely
below the water line. Her small horse power,
which is but, :Ithree hundred, enables her
owing to the consequent economy of fuel, to continue
under steam for a longer period than would other-
wise be the case.

The following are a few particulars which we
received from Mr. Ryder, her chief engineer :
Diameter of cylinder, 55 inches ; length of screw-
shait, 2.3 feet 6 inches ; pitch of screw, 17 feet.
Several important improvements have been made in
the machinery, which we stated in our impression of
the 17th ult.

The Queen of the South is fitted up with
every possible care and attention to the comforts of
passengers ; she has accommodation for 130 ; is
lofty between decks ; can stow GOO tons of coal,
and 800 tons of cargo. She is a remarkably fine
vessel of upwards of 1,800 tons. Her bulwarks are
remarkably nigh, and !Aunt inwards, affording thus
convenient protection to the passengers during bad
weather. She will sail on the 10th instant for Ply-
mouth, from which port she will take her final de-
partw. e for the Cape on the 15th : and, in fine, we
return Captain Hyde .our thanks for bis politeness
and attention ; and wish him and his passengers a
properous and pleasant voyage.

issued for the 40th Regiment to prepare for embarkation
THE ARMY.--We understand that orders have been
from Cork for Australia, and that in consequence the 15. th
will remain at Ceylon, and the 59th at Hong-Kong, it haying
been previously arranged that the 15th should proceed to
Chula, Awl the 50th to Allstralia.