The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-15 00:00:00

ITALY.

A Turin letter of the 11th contains the follow-
ing :

" M. Mordini, in a recent sitting of the Chamber
of Deputies, expressed his surprise that the fetes of
the Statuto should have passed without the Minister
of War taking advantage of the occasion to obtain
from the King the pardon of the soldiers under sen-
tence for the affair of Aspromonte. The Minister of
War, remaining inflexible, observed that it would
not be wise to base the policy of the Government on
sentimentalism. Notwithstanding the little hope
left by the language of General Della Rovere, peti-
tions are in course of signature praying the King to
pardon those soldiers, who, though undoubtedly
guilty of desertion, acted under the impulse of a
mistaken patriotism. I was assured yesterday that
the project of selling the State railways to the Lom-
bard company is meeting with fresh difficulties,
and the sale is now considered unlikely before next
Session. I am unable to say whether this report
is well founded or not; I only know that it is
generally accredited. While awaiting the financial
discussion, the chamber is occupied with the subject
of the office for deciding disputed administrative
affairs. The questio❑ was discussed yesterday by
M. Cordova and M. Mamiami, both eloquent men.
The first was opposed to the suppression of the office,
while the second is a warm partisan of that reform.
Those two deputies examined the question tho-
roughly, and said every thing that could be said on
such a subject. This fact will not, however, prevent
about twenty other speakers from repeating in an
imperfect manner all that has been thus said, and
from envenoming the debate for a week at least.
The length of the discussions and the number of dull
speeches are a great obstacle to the regular working
of tha representative form of government in this
country. Good sense, political spirit, moderation,
and propriety are not wanting, but the deputies are
too fond of speaking, and of speaking at great
length. The principal inconvenience of these eternal
discussions is that useful and almost indispensable
bills are postponed almost indefinitively. Thus the
one for an amalgamation between the Tuscan and
Na'ional Banks, and for crating a Bank of Italy,
with a capital of 100,000,000 fr., will cot be dis-
cussed this year."

REMINISCENCES OF THE OPERA. By Benjamin
Lumley, 20 years' director of Her Maj sty's Theatre. 1 Vol.
—"Behind the scenes I What a magical attraction there is
in the words ! As a revelation from this unknown world
the Reminiscences of a Twenty Years' Management of the
Opera could not fail to command attention, even if they
comprised a period less interesting in itself and in its iu •
fluence on the position of musicil art in the country than
that which is covered by Mr Lumley's narrative,. Our
space does not allow us to follow Mr Lumley in his many
anecdotes of artist life, or in his criticisms en the celebrated
artists who have from time to time peopled his stage. His
judgments strike us as not only discriminating, but emi-
nently fair and candid."—Saturday Review.
THE NEW NOVEL, MATTIE : A Stray." By the
author of "No Church," "Owen : a Waif," &c.—" The
story of Mattie Gray (says the Jam Bull) is one fully
worthy of the author's high reputation. The interest is
well sustained throughout the tale, and the descriptive pas-
sages are given with unusual power. As we are unwilling
to reveal the plot of what bids fair to be one of the most
popular novels of the season, we advise our readers to pro-
cure for themselves these interesting volumes; and while
they are amused, as they cannot fail to be by the tale, they
may possibly reflect whether other strays, now despised in
the lower stratum of society, might not turn out as esti-
mable characters as Mattie Gray."
ANTIQUITY OF MAN.—The question of the anti-
quity of our race still en
gages the attention of
ehopweopthleadt rothaencewnatsrecooefvEaluwroipthe, and are now only to bethe large ruminants that
geologists, and new facts are daily brought to light tending
otones
found in tropical climates or in the extreme north. In a
recent paper addressed to the Academy of Sciences, MM,
Garrigon and Martin describe the excavations effected
under their superintendence in the cavern of Espa-
lungue, also called the Grotto of Izeste, situated at
about a kilometre's distance from the village pf
Arudy, in the Lower Pyrenees. It is sunk in the
grey fossiliferous limestone which seems to belong to
the lower cretaceous beds. The mouth of the cavern,
situated at an altitude of 30 metres above the bottom of the
valley, is lofty and spacious, and is turned towards the
N.N.E. ; the cavern is a sort of passage, 200 metres in
length. Although the ground at the entrance of the cavern
appears to have been disturbed, this is not the case with the
floor of the innermost recess, which f rms a sort of hall,
Here the explorers found the fossil bones of the rein-
deer, of a large kind:of horse, and another much smaller
one of the Boa Prireigenius, and another of a smaller breed;
Arctos, of a large and smaller bird, &c. A single
human bone, the fifth left HlOtritarsitin (or of the foot) was
found, covered with the same crust as the others, and
marked with three deep furrows like those observed
on the other bones. Besides these, a vast quantity of
flint implimenta were discovered in the same bed to-
gether with bones carved into different shapes, but
presenting a curious peculurity. The bones found else-
where bear witness to the exigence of a certain degree
of civilisation, since they are fashioned into barbed spear-
heads, needles with eyes, scce, and are moreover polished.
But those found at Eepalungue seem to pertain to a much
remoter and lees civilised period. In a mass of 202 kilo-
grammes of bones brought to light, only one polished
implement was found ; the others offering traces of work
by human hands are carved, but not polished. Hence the
Eepalungue period must be considered much anterior to
that of Bruniquel and the Dordogne.
A ItOMAN CATHOLIC FLOATING REFORMATORY
IN THE NERSEY.—Yesterday the old man of war ship
Clarence, of 3,000 tons burthen, was towed into the Mersey,
from Plymouth, which place she left on Friday evening.
The Clarence will he set apart for the reception of juvenile
delinquents of the Roman Catholic faith. There are now
two floating reformatories in the Mersey, the Clarence and
the Akbar, both of which are old war ships,