The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-21 00:00:00

NV ED N ESDA Y EVEN LNG, SEPTE MBER

LATEST INTELLICTLAuk.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

HIS HOLINESS THE POPE.
ROME, SEPT. 18 (v Marseilles).
An encyclical letter of the Pope, addressed to
the Polish bishops, has been distributed among the
cardinals at Rome.
This letter draws a vivid picture of the persecu-
tion directed by the Russian Government against
the Catholic Church. The Pope stigmatises the
Russian Government as cruel, rebukes its excesses,
and condemns it before heaven and earth.
He censures also the confiscations and deports.
does carried out in Poland, and the treatment of
the Archbishop of Warsaw, unjustly despoiled.
His Holiness condemns, however, the Polish'
revolution, and reminds the Catholics of their duty
to obey all civil authorities.
The bishops, clergy, and all faithful Catholics in
Russia are enjoined to persevere in th© faith with
courage and resignation, and warned that they do
not owe obedienca to measures contrary to their
consciences and to Divine laws,
The Pope, in conclusion, threatens the persecu•
tors with Divine justice, he says, " will
soon appear, for the time of mercy is short, and the
powerful are powerfully chastised."

SPAIN.

MADRID, SEPT. 19 (Evening).

A circular of the Minister of the Interior has been
addressed to the Civil Governors, recommending
them to treat impartially all political parties, and
at the sama time to exercise severity in the main-
tenance of law and order.

L 864

hl,

bt r ot which bLcutn,,l berluu ly ti,, ELibplCloll felAoo
Signor V--, for whose arrest an order was imme-
diately given. For the moment he could not be
found, but later he presented himself, and so far
this fact is in his favour. lie has, however, been
committed to the prison of S. Francisco, and judi-
cial proceedings have been commenced. Signor
V--, whose father is a Senator, belongs to a
highly respectable and patriotic family, and some
hopes are entertained that he himself will be proved
to have been only the victim of a diabolical attempt.

Death of Mr. C. A. Saunders, of thc3 Great

Western Railway.

Yesterday morning, upon the resumption of business at
the general offices cf the Great 'Western Railway Company,
and indeed at all great railway stations in the metropolis, a
painful feeling prevailed, consequent upon the information
Ling received of the lamented death of Mr Charles Alex.
Saunders, who for many years held the important conjoint
post of secretary and general superintendent of the Great
Western system of railways. The melancholy event took
place on Monday afternoon at the residence cf the deceased
gentleman, Westbourne-lodge, Harrow-road, where he has
been confined from indisposition for some time past, Mr
Saunders, who was in his 68th year, it will be remembered
by all connected with the railway world, was appointed as
secretary and general superintendent of the Great Western
lino almost at the commencement of its operations, and
from that period up to little more than a year ago he con-
tinued to perform his laborious and onerous duties, not only
to the satisfaction of the shareholders (with, as of course
in all large undertakings, few small exceptions), but also
to the noblemen and gentlemen who have from time to
time acted as chairmen and members of the board of
direction. Mr Saunders was not only quite au fail as
a general superintendent of the working of a large line
of railway, but was a most invaluable auxiliary to the
directors and engineers in advising and instructing counsel
in the heavy proceedings before the committees of both
Houses of Parliament in dealing with the multifarious
schemes which were brought forward in every session, either
in the interests of the undertaking, or competing schemes,
which, if allowed to pass, must have materially affected
their property. Almost the last work of magnitude of this
character was the great fight for the amalgamation of the
West Midland and the South Wales lines with the Great
Western Coropany,which was, after a severe struggle, passed
in the session before last. The shareholders then suggested
to the directors that a policy cf " rest " should be adopted,
a:ud none appreciated it more than Mr Saunders, who, with
age creeping upon him, felt the mental and bodily effects of
the great exertions he had made beginning to tell. The
consequence was that as the amalgamated undertaking had
now assumed sm7l2 a vast magnitude it was decided that
Saunders should reti:e on a handsome pension, still giving
his advice to the board wfth the intention of ultimately tak-
ing his seat as a threctoi ; and also that the offices of secre-
tary and general superintendent should be henceforth held
separately. This was carried out, and Mr G. F. Saunders,
' the son of the deceased, was appointed as secretary. The
deceased was highly esteemed by all with whom he came
. in business contact, and his loss will be greatly felt by his
late colleagues at Paddington.

HARTLEY INS fITUTION, SOUTHAMPTON.—The
Ittv, Alex. J. D. D'Orsey began last night a cour3o of three
lectures on the English language, originally given at the

Royal Institution.
Toulon letters mention that preparations are
being made in that port for the immediate embarkation for
Algeria of an entire division of from 10,000 to 12,000 men
who aro to follow Marshal de Mae Mahon. A body of
1,200 men of the 2d Artillery, under the command of Col.
Maze!, arrived there on the 15th, to embark. Two strong
detachments of the 59th and 71st of the line, who are to go
and replace men discharged from the army at Rome, have
also reached that point by railway.
An Imperial ukase authorises the emission at St.
Petersburg of three new series of exchequer bills, each of
three millions ef roubles. The two first series bear interest
from Aug, 1, 18.61, and the third from Oct. 1 of the same

year.
The Chambers of Commerce of several towns of
Prussia, particularly those of Koenigsberg and Magdeburg,
have voted addresses, calling on the Cabinet of Berlin to
firmly maintain the treaty of commerce with France, and
demanding that no concessions shall be made to Austria
relative to Art. 31, which they consider as the capital point

of the document.
" It appears from an cffleial return," says the
Gazette de France," that during the first six months of the
present year the Piedmontese army occupying the King-
dom of Naples has sent 17,010 soldiers with fevers to the
hospitals, of which number 481 have died."
TEM Bisuor OF LONDON IN DANGER.—The
Bishop of London and family recently made an ex-
pedition to the island of Arran in a small steamer, where
they agent the day. When returning in the evening, the
sky became overcast, the weather stormy, and the night
dark. When near the entrance to Loch Fyno, they were
suddenly startled by the cry, " Breakers ahead 1" and, be
fore the steamboat's course could be altered, they were
aground upon rucks. '1 he captain informed them that, the
boat being iron, it would be dangerous to back her off for
fear she might have received such injuries as to
make it impossible to keep her afloat. They were
therefore obliged to land in the small boat. When the
party reached the shore, a new difficulty presented itself.
They discovered that they had landed, not upon the main-
land, but upon a rock which might possibly be covered by
the flowing tide. They soon, however, found that they
were safe at least from that danger. They were able to
construct a tent by means of some tarpauling, and under
the shelter which it afforded they spent the night. When
day dawned they were soon relieved from their disagreeable
position, and we are glad to hear that none of the party
have suffered from exposure during a night of somewhat
stormy weather.—. Record.
A REHEARSAL AT MADAME MALIBRAN'S.—The
rehearsal passed off most satisfactorily. The weather
was insensely hot, and what with the anxiety and the limited
dimensions of the apartment, produced the effect of our
perspiring most profusely. We dared not open the windows,
fearing that it might have alarmed the natives. However,
having finished, the room was ventilated by throwing open
doors and windows; and then our oharming hostess
invited us to partake a draught of that exhilarating fluid
called champagne. She also said she would cool us after
the manner of the South Americans, which operation
was executed by pouring eau de Cologne into the palm of
her hand, and rubbing it over our heads. And we also en-
joyed breezes produced by the action of a monstrous Chinese
fan. The relief experienced was delightful. But ono of
our party came to grief, in the person of the then pima
tenore of the Drury establishment. 'When it came to his
turn to enjoy the refresher, he kept bobbing his head up
and down. At last our hostess got him steady, and rub•
bing his head vigorously, away went the luxuriant scratch,
leaving him under a bare pole, to the great amusement
of the assembled party. The disconcerted tenor made
a rush to recover the fugitive jasey ; but Madame was
beforehand, and, grabbing hold of the curly flaxen decora-
tion, she refused to give it up until he consented to the
cooling and balmy process so much enjoyed by the lookers
on. That completed, she said, "My dear Mr T., I'm de-
ceived; I did not think there was anything false about
you;" and on replacing the wig on the distracted block,
whether from accident or design, she turned the hind part
before, so that the drooping ringlets decorated this figure-
head, to the great delight of the laughing throng.—. Reco-
llections and Wanderings of Paul Bedford.
The NEW FLOATING BRIDGE.—We have had an
opportunity of inspecting the new floating bridge
intended to take the place of the bridge which at present
works the traffic between Portsmouth and Gosport. She
is now on the point of completion, and will, we believe, be
placed on her chains very shortly. Sho is 100 ft long (or
16ft longer than the present bridge) and about 15ft wide.
The contract was taken by Messrs Lewis and Stockwell,
iron ship builders, of Blackwell, London, who entrusted
the engines and machinery to the eminent firm of James
Watt and Co., of London and Soho. The engines aro of
the collective nominal power of 50 horses, with duplicate
boilers—the condenser, air pump, and frame being all com-
bined, and forming a strong and compact structure. Much
attention seems to have been paid to the accommodation for
passengers, the want of which has been so much felt in the
old bridge, Two large and roomy cabins above Bft high are
placed at each end, and are well lighted by means of domes
or cupolas, which are further utilised on the upper deck.to
form comfortable seats for passengers. Upon the upper deck
also the present inconvenience of want of room is removed,
and the openings over the chain wheels being made flush
with the deck, a clear space for promenading is secured. The
gasholders, of which there are two on board of lift Gin dia-
meter, are conveniently disposed under the carriage deck, one
on each side the bridge ; and the spaces similar to those on
which the gasholders of the present bridge aro situated are
available for further cabin accommodation or for refresh-
ment rooms, a suggestion to which the attention of the
directors should be directed. The prows are massive, per-
haps a little too heavy in appearance for the rest of the
structure, but well built, of wood, firmly bound beneath by
iron girders, and an especial point has been introduced in
connexion with the working of these prows which, as far
as we know, is of a novel design, Attached to the
machinery are a pair of oscillating engines, which may be
worked on the carriage deck by means of a lever, and which
give the option of raising and lowering the prows by either
hand or steam power, These oscillating engines also work
the powerful bilge pumps on board the bridge. In the pose
Bible event of the disabling of the machinery provision has
been made by which the bridge can be worked across its
passage by hand-power only. The work throughout seems
to be of the strongest and most substantial character, while
the comfort and convenience of the passengers have been
consulted both in reference to the appearance and fittings
of the bridge; and the highest credit is due as well to the
contractors, Messrs. Lewis and Stockwell, as to their super-
intending engineer, Mr Trevithick, of Great George-street,
Westminster, and to the constructors of the machinery,-
/farspshire Telegraph.