The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-22 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 22, 1864.

British Association for the Advancement
of Science,

and so on. Of course, that would be an objection to the
mode proposed by Admiral Belcher, as it was prettty much
to all the modes hitherto adopted. To make ships quite
invulnerable would only be to make them unmanageable at

BATH, Tuesday.
The different sections resumed their sittings this morning.
SECTION G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE.
This section was presided over by Mr Hawkshaw, F.R.S.,
the president of the section.
Professor B ANXINE, F.R.S., read a paper on some of the
strains of ships, of which the following is an abstract :—ln
previous scientific investigationsrespeeting the strains which
ships have to bear, it has been usual to suppose the ship
balanced on a point of rock, or supported at the ends on two
rocks, The strains which would thus be produced are far
more severe than that which would have to be borne by a
ship afloat. The author computes the most severe straining
action which can act on a ship afloat— viz , that which takes
place when she is supported amidships on a wave-crest, and
dry at the ends ; and he finds that the bending action cannot
exceed that due to the weight of the ship with a leverage of
1-20th of her length, and that the racking action cannot ex-
ceed about 16-100ths of her weight. Applying those results
to two very good examples of ships of 2,680 tons displace-
ment, one of iron and the other of wool, described by Mr
John Vernon in a paper read to the Institution cf Mecha-
nical Engineers in 1863, he finds the following values of the
greatest stress of different kinds created on the material of
the ship :—ln the iron ship, tension 3.98 tons per square
inch, thrust 2.35, racking stress 0.975. It follows that in
the iron ship the factor of safety against bending is between
6 and g, agreeing exactly with the best practice of engineers,
and that there a a great surplus of strength against
racking. In the wooden ship, tension 0.375 ton per square
inch, and thrust 0.293. Here the factor of safety is be-
tween 10 and 16, which is also agreeable to good practice in
carpentry. As for the racking action, the iron diagonal
b: aces required by Lloyd's rules would be sufficient to bear
one-third of it, only leaving the rest to be borne by the fric-
tion and adhesion at the beams of the planking.
A paper was read by Captain B. A. Henderson on the
practical progress of naval architecture in ocean and river
steamers, with suggestions for improvement in the steerage
of the Great Eastern and large and small ironclads, rams
and gunboats, similar to the Assam and Nautilus, by the
use of balanced rudders in bows and stern.

Admiral Sir E. BELCH ER said he agreed with the sug-
gestion of building an iron vessel and then coating her.
Papers were also teal in this section by Mr George
Faweus, On " Improvements in Scale and other Ladders,"
and on " Improvements in Folding Doors ;" by Mr Zerah
Colburn, on " Steam Boilers;" by Mr George Glover, on
" Instruments for the Measurement of Gas." Mr James
Williams made some interesting experiments on the elas-

A paper was read by Captain Wheatly, R.N., on "Im-
provements in the Defence of Ships of War." He said—The
result of the experiments at Shoebury ness has publicly pro-
claimed that the 13-inch gun is the only gun to be thoroughly
depended on to act against iron plates. It must be, there-
fore, universally adopted as the chief naval gun. It may,
however, be modified by the introduction of gun cotton. As
yet we hear of no preparations for its adoption in our navy
but as we have mounted up from the 8-inch to the 9-inch
and from the 9 to the 101, so I trust we shall shortly come
to the 13-inch. I will now proceed to submit a system cal-
culated to mitigate the great evil which would be caused by
fragments of iron and splinters of wood, as shown by the
experiments at Shoeburyness. A flag officer has suggested
returning to the old system, and taking off your hat to
the shot and letting it pass. But *this does not meet the
emergency. If we entirely abandon plates we expose
ourselves to molten iron and other shells, in that case
much more destructive than solid shot. (The gallant officer
drew a diagram on the black board illustrating the system
he proposed to adopt.) The screen might not stop the solid
shot, but it would completely arrest all the fragments and
splinters driven in from the plates and backing forming the
under defence. I have placed the gun en barbette; in this
position it would be exposed to being dismounted ; by plac-
ing it in ports, the stop would be weakened to the depth of
the port. It is a choice between two evils. There is, how-
ever, a much greater evil than this which iron ships have to
contend with. In the only two naval actions that have
occurred lately at sea, both the defeated ships went down
the iron ship within an quarter of an hour after the fight
commenced. It appears to me that the best mode of attack-
ing an iron ship will be to imitate the practice of a breach-
ing battery on shore, where all the guns are directed on
the one spot where various lines meet. But as aiming and
hitting are not quite the same, we must see if a ship can be
kept afloat after receiving shot below her water line. For
this purpose I propose, all the materials being ready before-
hand, screens of oiled south-wester canvass tied up between
the beams in the wings, and having a piece of heavy wire
rope at the bottom. When let down immediately the shot
has struck, a bag of wood shavings to be forced into the gap,
covered by a plank, and shored up from the inner side of
the wing. This will only stop the main rush of the water;
a great deal will still flow through the irregular crevices*
These I propose to stop by plastering the canvass to the
side with hydraulic cement, which is said to become fixed
under water in a quarter of an hour. Where torn
by the jagged ends of iron, fresh canvas to be applied so as
to make a mould over them. I propose stopping other shot
holes in the surviving ship in the same way after the action
as neither planks nor iron plates will be of any use in
covering them. I submit, therefore, that this is an addi-
tional argument in favour of the system, and such is ad-
vocated in my former paper, in which—to assimilate it to
the practice on shore—the unplated gunboats, armed with
single 13-inch guns, resemble the line, and the much heavier
armed-plated ships the artillery. With respect to any diffi-
culties that may be started respecting the power of ships to
carry heavy guns, I have to observe that as long, I believe,
as two years ago, two 15-inch guns have been carried in
Federal vessels. That would be considered small in com-
parison with our scale. One probable reason why the Ame-
ricans have as yet no sea-going ironclads is that they are
directing all their energy and skill in constructing vessels
for coast and river warfare. Their monster guns show that
they are sufficiently capable of handling large masses of iron
to build sea-going ironclads when they re quire them.
Admiral Sir E. BELCHER read a paper on " Improve-
ments in the Structure of Ships of War." He considered
that our ships of war needed no more protection than would
keep their hulls safely floating, with such protection for
those fighting the guns as might be deemed sufficient to
keep off shells and musketry, suffering heavy shot to pass
freely through instead cf causing spiral showers of splinters
such as resulted from the destruction of the late targets at
Shoeburyness. The present paper, therefore, dealt with a
mode of construction adequate for contending kith ordinary
batteries, and also permitting external planking, and conse-
quently the old copper sheathing below water. It has been
so generally assumed that no thickness of armour plate could
be employed which would resist our new monster ordnance
that his attention had been directed to meet the difficulty
halfway, by protecting the mere vital shell of the lower
hull, so as defy the ordinary assault of any gun-bearing
vessel which should not by its accumulated weight or mass
of matter render defence impossible. It was important,
therefore, that such a tonnage should be provided as should,
as in the case of the Warrior class, be capable of floating
the contemplated armament independent of the forward and
after compartments, which might be assumed, as mere as-
sistant means of flotation, and to be so fitted with cellular
divisions below the level of flotation as to render injury
to those parts below the reach of shot of very trifling
importance. In or er to satisfy the means of offence, our
attention ought to be directed to the concentration of every
gun embarked on objects either ahead or astern. bearing in
mind that, under the throat that " no arm Air can withstand
the contemplated guns," we must calculate on their em-
ployment as much as possible near the line of axis of the
vessel. It was constantly asserted that the Warrior plates
would stand no chance against. the monster guns of which
so much was predicted ; but the question was whether some
other mode could not be devised of applying the same weight
to greater advantage, or, assuming that it was penetrated,
could we not avoid risk to the vitality of the ship by the
injury to be inflicted ? lie thought he saw his way to a re-
medy, which he would explain. Now, assuming that an
iron spherical shot of 13 inches was the missile to be dreaded,
the question to be considered was not exactly what plate of
iron was to resist it—for the authorities stated that no rea-
sonable thickness, even up to 12 inches, would withstand
the impact. Looking, however, only to the floating carcase
of the ship, and disregarding the ports until we had an im-
pregnable stage on which to place guns, then we should be
at liberty to increase the thickness to any amount. His pro-
position was to construct the ship on the customary plan of
close-iton ribs, but filling up the interstices between the
iron with condensed teak. Now, assuming we constructed a
vessel with 36 inches depth of rib at the vulnerable portions
which shot could reach, which would probably involve 12
vertical feet of her side—say 8 feet below water and 4 feet
above—we should then have a vessel of stronger framework
than any now built, building, or in contemplation. Then,
assuming that these iron ribs presented 2 inches at the ex-
terior, tapering in 36 inches to one inside, placed 6 inches
asunder, and filled in with compressed timber or other mat-
ter, we should have per cubic yard of bulwark 3,412.1251 b.,
that of the Warrior being 3,1231 b., showing only a differ-
ence of about 2901 b. to the cubic yard. It was yet to be de-
termined by actual experiment, whether that resistance
would offer the protection sought. Perhaps it would not,
but as he proposed to add a 6 inch-planking outside, he con-
sidered that the comparative danger with our present iron-
clads would be reduced to nil, or at least to something which
would satisfy the seaman. His plans for the final construc-
tion and fortification were not yet complete, but they would'
probably be laid before the Government in March next. On
a previous occasion he had alluded to paper as an opposing
medium. In 1816 at Algiers a roam of foolscap, end on, re-
sisted a 681 b shot from a 27 feet gun, at 76 yards ; and in 1854
he proposed to the Admiralty to construct moveable battery
rafts of brown paper, but the design was not carried out
Lately he learnt from a newspaper that, ten years after his
proposal, it was found that paper of 1-inch thickness was
fired at and not quite penetrated, while a similar shot went
quite through 10 inches of good oak, In conclusion, he
would observe that condensed millboard weighed less than
oak or teak, and, interposed in the manner he had sug-
gested, might form a target which would set even Big
Will at defiance.
The Cirmizmaer said he had himself always felt consi-
derable difficulty in all the suggestions made from time to
time for building ships of war where iron and wood wore
used, on both of which the strength of the ship itself was
made to depend, It appeared to him, apart from the diffe-
rent modes of construction which had been suggested from
time to time, that what they ought to aim at and secure if
they could was to build a ship wholly of iron, so that the
ship, if stripped of all its other coating, would still be a
water-tight ship capable of navigating, and in this way
they would, of course, have a perfect structure. Without
that he did not see hOW they Were to escape the dry rot,

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TlMES.—General M'Clellan'e acceptance of the
Chicago nomination completes the preparations for
the Peesidental contest. The lists are now open.
the champions produced, the issue is declared, and
the battle inevitable. Mr. Lincoln's friends fought
hard against assumptions so unfavourable to their
own prospects. They first argued that there could
be no unanimity at Chicago and that the strength
of the Democratic party would be destroyed by
division ; but these hopes were dashed to the
ground by a political accord and union unexpected,
probably, by the Democrats themselves. Since
the nomination of General M'Clellan under
circumstances so promising they have specu-
lated anxiously on his refusal of tho offer.
Many of the Republican journals have overwhelmed
him with compliments only to remind him that by
his acceptance of such a proposal he would forfeit
all his claims to popular respect, and ruin himself
in the estimation of the country. But this chance
of escape is now lost also. Gen. M'Clellan accepts
the nomination and consents to stand. Thus the
match is made, and the game must be played out.
Desperate, too, in the extreme will be the grapple
between the combatants, for the champions and the
parties are the most formidable that could be pitted
against each other. Mr Lincoln can no longer hope
to slip into a second term of office, either unopposed
or with only a contemptible opposition. The great
party of the Democrats have coalesced in perfect
unanimity against him, and they have secured as
their willing candidate the very man whose name
would bring the greatest strength to their cause.
From this time, therefore, the prospect is clearly
and sharply defined. The gladiators have stepped
into the political arena, and they must fight ace
cording to the laws of the strife. They are not ill.
matched. If the Democrats, when fairly united,
are not the more powerful party of the two, Europe
has been greatly misinformed of the state of opinions
in America; but the Republicans have the advane
tage of possession, a firmer and less equivocal
policy than their adversaries, and the chances of
support from military success. We have already
been assured that Sherman's victory in Georgia
proved immediately favourable to Mr. Lincoln's
cause, though the measure of that success is now
given in the General's own report. On the day fob.
lowing the battle he advanced with his army only to
find his enemy impregnably posted just six miles off.
So securely was the Confederate General intrenched
and so strong was his force, that Sherman declined
to attack him and prudently retired. Yet the victory
which pushed a Southern army this short distance
in retreat, but left it still is a plight to defy the
conquerors, sufficed for the moment to send Lincoln
up and M'Clellan down, and the not improbable
capture of Mobile may perhaps contribute to the
depression of the Democratic cause. On the other
hand, a great military disaster would assist Mr.
Lincoln's opponents, so that the ordinary political
calculations are liable to incessant disturbance from
the incidents of war. It will be observed that Gen.
M'Clellan, while approving a " pacific" policy in
place of the policy pursued by the present Admi-
nistration, nevertheless declares distinctly for the
re-establishment of the Union " at all hazards."
This profession of political faith involves a contra-
diction, but it is a contradiction which is accepted
by perhaps the most numerous section of his party.
All the Democrats wish for peace, but a portion
only of the party is bold enough to own that it
would purchase peace, if necessary, even at the
price of disunion. The rest entertain or effect a
hope that if the Republicans, whose accession to
power was the signal of Secession, could be super-
seded by the Democrats, whose sympathy with the
South are traditional and notorious, the Seceders
would desist from war and parley with their ancient
friends. Such is the slippery and precarious via
media which M'Clellan must at present tread; but
though the obligation exposes him to political sar-
casm, there was probably no escape from it. It ape
pears that a large number of Americans heartily
desire peace, and are yet afraid or unwilling to de-
clare for peace on the only terms which would cer-
tainly produce it. They wish to have done with
fighting, and yet they cannot bring themselves to
condemn the war except on the condition of secur-
ing its object by some better policy. On a pure policy
of peace the Chicago Convention would have been a
failure. It is only by appropriating the best cry of
the Republicans that the Democrats can go to the
country with any hope of success. If logic, how-
ever, conquer, Mr. Seward would win. He has the
best case, and he knows how to argue it. Moreover,
the Republicans are just as ready to borrow the
colours of their opponents as the Democrats. Just
as M'Clellan flatters one popular sentiment by de-
claring for Union, so Mr. Lincoln conciliates another
by pronouncing for peace. At Auburn, Mr. Seward
asserted, in terms as plain as he could venture to
use, that the President was as ready to make peace
with the South as the Democratic pretender to his
place, and that he woald offer the South as easy
and simple conditions of reconciliation. It had been
thrown in his teeth that he was a stickler for
abolition, and that ho required the Southerners
to give up slavery as well as re-enter the Union,
whereas the Democrats would ptomptly embrace
he South on condition of re-union only. But

ticity of iron; and Mr H. C, Sorby, F.R.S,, exhibited
and described a number of microscopical photographs of
various kinds of steel.
This concluded the business of the Section. There were
several other papers in the list to be read, but the Chair-
man said they must be taken as read.
The committee of this Section having been invited to see
an iron girder broken by the testing machihe (on which a
paper was read yesterday), a:number of the members pro-
ceeded to the works of Messrs, Stothert and Pitt, in this
city, and examined the machine, by which the successive
deflexions of the beam were accurately taken until it finally
broke with a loud report at the calculated weight.
Mr Fairbairn, and other members of the committee, ex-
pressed approval of the machine, which they considered to
have advantages not possessed by any other.
The girder weighed 16cwt., and broke with 17 tons.
There has been a grand floral fete to-day at the Sydney-
gardens. The flowers and fruits exhibited were choice and
beautiful, the attendance being large and fashionable. The
Scots Fnsileer Guards' and Hanoverian Bands performed
some excellent music.

The Eccles Find of Six Thousand Silver
Pennies,

Since this find on the 11th— August little has arisen re-
specting it worth publication. Notwithstanding the posi-
tive and peremptory claim of the Treasury, it turns out that
the coins really come to the Crown, in right of the Sove-
reign, not as Queen, but as Duchess of Lancaster.
When the Crown first created the duchy and granted to its
first duke what are termed jara regalia, the royal charters
conveyed to the Duke and his successors, amongst other
legal privileges and prerogatives, the right to all treasure-
trove which should be found within the ambit of the duchy.
We believe that this claim of the duchy has been recognised
by the Treasury; but the latest that we can learn of the
proceedings in the arcana of these departments of State is,
that the coins remain in the Treasury, though the right to
their possession is in the d achy. With all this, however,
the public have nothing to do; nor should we notice it, but
for the bad moral effect it is causing in Eccles and the
neighbourhood, more than a month having elapsed since
the coins were found, and so far no reward has been given
to the finder, a poor young working man, disabled by acci-
dent and out of employment, while he is the sole support of
a widowed mother. The general feeling is that he would
have done rightly to appropriate what he found to his own
use, This feeling is to be regretted; bat it is natural under
the long delay. People will say that the Circumlocution-
office is no myth, and that "how not to do it" is practised
with success in some at least of our State departments. It
should be remembered, however, that this is the season of
annual holiday for heads of departments; that London is
empty, and officials are away on the moors, or at the sea
side, or on the Rhine, or the Alps ; and that consequently red
tape and routine in London are creeping their slowest, if
not sleeping their soundest. _ .

- .
But leaving this subject, there are one of two hitherto
unnoticed points in this " find," which may be briefly
touched. First, as to the probable time of the deposit.
The coins found were mainly English, of Henry 11. or 111.
perhaps both; but a few were Irish pennies of King John,
and a few Scottish pennies of William the Lion. Thus the
three kingdoms contributed something to this hoard. Now
Ruding and other authorities suppose that John's Irish
coinage was not struck till the year 1210, when he went into
Ireland. Before that year, then, no Irish pennies of John
could have found their way into a Lancashire hoard. To
account for the presence of a few Scottish pennies in this
Eccles deposit, it may be stated that John built a fort at the
mouth of the Tweed, which William I. of Scotland pulled
down, The quarrel between them on this ground was
made up by John undertaking not to rebuild the fort,
on William the Lion paying to him the large sum of
15,000 marks (L 10,000). If this amount were paid in the
chief coin of circulation at that period, it would sufficiently
account for the presence of Scottish pennies cf William
the Lion in the Eccles hoard; and it also limits the
deposit to some time in the thirteenth century. But the
later limit is better fixed by the English coins, all Of
which (about 6,000) have on the reverse the .short double
cross, which is known to have been superseded in the
coinage of Henry 111. in 1247, by the long cross, carried to
the edge of the coin with a view to prevent clipping. As no
long- cross penny is found in the Eccles hoard, it must have
been planed in the ground before they came into circulation.
The above facts. then, limit the date of its hiding in the
earth between the years 1210 and 1248.
Many questions have been asked as to the value of these
coins. This value differs materially, according to the mode;
of estimation. There is a fancy or factitious value, as where
parsons in the neighbourhood offer a liberal price for a few
coins as obj cts of curiosity. Thus the finder of the Eccles
coins was offered 15s for half a dez.m pieces.
Again, there is what may bo called the antiquarian or
numismatic value of the coins, a fluctuating and uncertain
amount; for coins of a perticular reign may be very rare
and fetch high prices, till some large find occurs of that
type, which at once renders them plentiful and cheap.
Now there have been several finds of these pennies of Henry
which have reduced their value considerably for the cabi-
nets of collectors. The chief of these was at Tealby, in Lin-
colnshire, in 1807, the number being 5,700 ; but of these
most found their way to the melting-pot of the Royal Mint.
So large a number as that in the Eccles hoard will certainly
lower the price in the numismatic market, unless they have
thelike fate. Lastly,there is the bullion value,which can only
be roughly approximated. Tho whole weigh 21b avoir-
dupois, or say 231 b troy. At 5s the ounce or £3 the pound
troy, the bullion value would be about £6O or £7O.
But this Eccles find is an important one, not for its money
or other value, but for its providing a large mass of material
for evidence towards the decision of a question of some im-
portance—not
a mere numismatic or arc') PS °logical question,
but one relating to the history of the coinage of England in
one of its obscurest periods. It would be out of place here
to discuss this question in detail, but a few words may put
cur readers in possession of the main point. No coins of
any English mint exist either of Richard I. (Coeur de Lion)
or of his brother and successor John ; and collectors who
aim at possessing a complete series of English coins from
the Conquest have been accustomed to represent these two
kings by the Anglo-G allic pennies of Richard I. (struck
chiefly in Poitou), and by the Irish pennies of King John,
of whiol a few are found in the Eccles board. No one
can account for the absence of English pennies of these
kings. In the reign of John 16 English mints existed.
Again, as to she English pennies bearing the words " lien-
ricus Rex," there is nothing to show whether they were of
Henry 11. or Henry III„ or of both. Mr Hawkins, of;the
British Museum, and other eminent numismatists, attri-
bute this type of coins chiefly, if not wholly, to Henry 11. ;
Dlr Sainthill, the Rev. Assheton Pownall, and others think
them partly of that King and partly of his grandson Henry
111. Mr W. IL D. Longstaffe, F.S.A., goes further, and
says in effect that both Richard and John continued to use
the type of penny struck by their father, and that even
John's son, Henry 111, continued to do the same till 4247.
This hypothesis would account for the absence of the names
of Richard and John in coins struck at English mints
during their reigns. The only way of ascertaining the
truth is by an extended examination of coins of " Henricus
Rex" with the short cross at reverse. Their reverse legend
always contains the name of the mint and the moneyer, as
" Abel on London," " Paul on Canterbury ;" and by a very
careful examination of Exchequer records and other docu-
ments, it has been ascertained by Mr Longstaffe, that some
" Henrious" coins were struck by moneyers, who did not
live in the reign either of Henry 11. or Henry 111., but in
that of Richard or of John. For these reasons it is very
desirable that, before the Eccles coins aro scattered or
melted, they should be examined by some competent nu-
mismatist, conversant with this question. The Crown au.
thorities have had their attention drawn to this subject.
For the issue we must wait.

ATTEMPT OF A MOTHER TO MURDER FOUR
CHILDREN.—The utmost excitement prevailed on
Monday in the neighbourhood of the Victoria. Docks in
consequence of a rumour that a woman had made a most
desperate attempt upon the life of four of her children.
The would-be murderess resides at 17, Bell and Anchor-
cottages, near to the Victoria Docks, her husband, named
Philbric, being employed on the Pier-head, adjacent to the
docks. It appears that Mrs Philbric, who has hitherto
borne the character of a kind parent and affectionate wi e,
prepared the breakfast for her family in her utual manner
about 7 in the morning ; but immediately on her husband's
departure she desired the eldest child, a boy about 10 years
old, to go at once to bed again.. The boy had no sooner
got into bed than she rushed at him with a poker and struck
him on the head. She then procured a razor, and, in spite
of the violent screams and struggles of the poor little fellow,
she succeeded in inflicting a wound in his throat. Although
shockingly wounded, the boy contrived to escape into the
street, and by his cries for assistance alarmed the neighbours,
several of whom rushed into the house and succeeded in
preventing the wretched woman from murdering the three
other children. The boy was at once conveyed to the
Poplar Hospital, where he lies in a precarious condition.
Mrs Philbrio was removed to the West Ham Union under
the charge of the police, and the medical men called in pro-
nounced her to be insane.

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ailment.

when, asked Mr Seward, did the President refuse to
do the same, or who could pretend to say that this
condition of simple Union would ever be offered by
the Seceders ? The Confederates mean separation
and nothing less. There can be no peace except on
those terms, and it is mere absurdity to stipulate
for the maintenance of the Union and yet condemn
the war. If the South cannot be coerced into re-
Union, it can never be cajoled. Such, in brief, is
Mr Seward's retort upon his opponents. "We say
that nothing but victory in the field can restore
the Union, and therefore we are for the vigorous
prosecution of the war; but if the Seceders will
come to terms, let us hear what those terms are,
and we can accept them as well as you."
General M'Clellan wishes to consult the suscepti-
bilities of the War Democrats, and to catch the votes
of stray Republicans, and so he professes to uphold
the Union "at all hazards''—that is, even, if neceea
sary, at the cost of continued war. President Lin-
coln wishes to catch the votes of stray Democrats,
and so his Secretary throws over the slavery clues.
tion, and all other questions, save that of Union,
that might stand in the way of peace. In short, the
ostensible "platforms" of the two candidates are
identical, except that one is turned upside down.
Mr. Lincoln cannot forego the Union, and so must
keep on fighting, but he will make peace if the Union
is preserved, as conditionally es anybody. General
M.Clellan cannot forego the Union, but instead of
going on with the war, he puts the peace experi-
ment and reserves the fighting for afterwards. We
have repeatedly expressed our opinion that the policy
of the War Democrats is logically untenable, for it
means pacific war or warlike peace. The Republican
policy is more consistent—" peace when you please,
and on the terms you know, but war till then." It
would be hard, however, to say that the inconsistent
policy is not a judicious one. If the Americans
themselves do not know their own minds, or, know-
ing them, dare not speak them, the Democratic
policy is skilfully adapted to their uncertainties or
fears. It bridges the space between them and the
object which they desire. That object is peace, and
he Democrats put peace in the foreground. At
present they couple it with conditions which save
the national pride, but are probably quite incom-
patible with the object itself. A short time hence
the conditions may be dropped while the object is
kept in view, and the nation, after enjoying a re-
spite from the trials of war, and tasting the bless-
ings of peace once more, may gradually resolve on
retaining these blessings, even at the expense of
what would now be thought an impossible sur-
render.

HERALD.—It is wonderful how little one may
know of a country by merely ruling it, more espe-
cially a country like India, where the alien govern-
ing body is a very small minority to the native
population, and the policy of letting things alone as
much as possible hes prevailed until the last few
years. It ia not very long since the discovery was
made that torture was employed by the native subs
ordinates of Government for the collection of the
revenue ; and now we rind that in a district under
British administration slavery has been openly
practised for many years, and the buying and sells
ing of men, women, and children publicly registered
in the civil courts. It is to the honourable courage
of Col. Haughton, commissioner of Cooch Behar, in
Bengal, that we aro indebted for this exposure,
That officer, in a report just made to Government,
tells us that his attention was first brought directly
to the subject through an application made to him
for the purchase money of a child sold to a Brahmin
during the funeral ceremonies of the late Itjah,
and for which the Maharanees, then acting as Re-
gents of the kingdom, but whose powers have since
been taken over by the British Government, were
made responsible. Upon being appealed to, the
Maharanees explained the nature of the claim, tell-
ing Col. Haughton that it was customary to give
away slaves to Brahmins on such occasions as the
one in question ; but they admitted the practice to
be an evil one, and promised not to continue it.
Hearing of his interference in the matter, the judge
of the civil court (a native) told Col. Haughton that
he had always been in the habit of registering the
sales of slaves, and desired to know whether he
should do so for the future. Col. Haughton, know-
ing that the late Rajah had issued an order forbid-
ding the traffic altogether—which order, however,
he never had the energy to enforce—directed the
discontinuance of the registry without hesitation.
He next proceeded to ascertain the extent of the
evil, in order to deal with it generally, and for this
purpose secured the services of a trustworthy native
official, whose reappends to his own communica-
tion. The reporter deolaree that the cuotom of

buying and selling human kind has existed for a
very long time in Coach Behar. It is usual among
four classes of persons—viz., fathers and mothers
._
vho sell their daughters; husbands who sell their
wives ; priests and their disciples who sell the slaves'
male and female, whom they have acquired;
other persons who sell their relatives when fallen
;
into pecuniary distress. This manner of getting rid
of poor relations is, it seems, very prevalent, 011. d
.
when a man quarrels with his wife ono of his
favourite threats is to sell her to the Bbooteas, who'
it seems, are eager purchasers, and have agents on
the border ready to negotiate any number of trans'
actions of the kind. That the practice is carried on
purely for profit is evident from the fact that Hi"
dons sell their children to Mahomedans and Mah°°
medans to undoes, without any scruples as to rell;
gion, and as frequently as not for the purpose of
prostitution,. The evil, Col. Huugbton tells tie, iB°L.
long standing, but probably attained its height
during the period of misrule of the Rajah Narinder,
from 1800 to 1839. His son, Seebinder Naraiot
suffered for his father's conduct, and became a better
man. His education had taught him to look with
disgust at the practice, and the colonel has no doubt
that but for the imbecile state to which he was lately
reduced by debauchery he would have put a stop t°
it. The cause of his order not being carried int°,
execution is believed to have been the outcry raised
by the Ra"ees and females of the palace, who were
apprehensive that they would be unable to obtain
voluntary service. In the appendix to the report
there are some curious illustrations of the working
of the system. The manner in which poor men gel
"sold up," in a literal sense of the term, is very often
as follows :—There are various dues and exactions,
under different forms, which are levied upon the
cultivators of the soil, amounting in general to
three times the sum which they are bound by
their agreements to pay for the use of their
land, A ryot, say, has £2 per annum to pal
for rent, and hopes by his labour to make
the produce of his land being in another £2 for the
support of his wife and family. All would go well,
probably, but there comes in a claim of £6 for
taies levied by the native government. This be
cannot hope to meet by labour; so "he sells his
children, and probably prostitutes his wife by die
posing of her in mortgage"—we quote the official
language in which these horrors are described.
Even then the oppressor may not be satisfied; and
having having lost wife, family, and everything he
possessed, the unhappy victim saves himself if he
can by flying the country. One of the appended
documents is the petition of a public woman to the
commissioner for the recovery of a girl, whom she
had purchased when very young, " instructed,' as
she significantly informs us, and brought up to pro..
stitution, which girl had been detained by a man
to whom she bad let her out at so much a month.
She describes the transaction in the plainest pos"
Bible language, treating it as a regular matter of
business. It is this aspect of the system, indeed,
which is most repulsive; and it must, as Colonel
Haughton remarks, have a demoralising effect upon
the whole people ; parents being tempted to there'
gard the duties they owe to their children, and
other relatives impelled to look with a covetous eye
upon widows and orphans whom the ordinary in'
sancta of savages would lead them to pity and sue'
port. This miserable state of things does not exist
exactly under British rule, but most certainly under
British protection and administration. Colonel
Haughton is, however, taking decisive steps to
bring it to an end, though he does not hope to per'
form the task entirely at once. He has on his °WI;
responsibility refused to recognise the legality 0'
vales, and has suggested a series of rules for the
suppression of the traffic which we can scarcely
doubt will be confirmed by Government. It map
be expected, moreover, that the revelations
which have been made, and followed up hi
the action of authority, will lead to the dis'
closure of similar practices which are known to
exist more or less in most parts of India, not elo
cepting British territory. Slavery is an old custom
of the country, and though there is a great deal of
uncertainty as to its extent, there is every reason to
suppose that it is far from having died out. The
sale of female children is scarcely a marvel in a
land where a girl is an incumbrance to the poor,
and the power of the law is necessary to save her,
from being put out of the world altogether; and
we believe there. is no part of India where a person,
be he European or native, who wanted to make such
a purchase, could not be accommodated. Even in
Calcutta it is probable that sales of young girls are
frequently effected; and it is believed by those who
have excellent means of judging that there are maul
wealthy men in that city who have slaves in their
zenanas. That the practice has not before been
formally exposed is due to the old laisserfaire
policy, which it may be hoped has come to an end-
The European and native communities, since the,
very early days when our countrymen adopted local
customs—a great deal too much, have become more
and more estranged, and it is only under the present
healthy system, which has given the country intel-
ligible laws and really opened it up to the Western
world, that we are beginning to know the people.
In a further state of development, one of these days,
wo shall probably see an end to slavery.