The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-08 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This morning
This day at Two o'clock

Barometer-30.27.
Wind—S.-W. ; cloudy.

•
4 .0
I it
-V

LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 1863,

If anything can possibly constrain Europe to
interfere at last between those unhappy bellige-
rents in North America, it will be the recognition
of what is rendered more apparent than ever by
these last tidings brought to us this very morning
per the Persia—namely, the increasing and still
increasing horrors of the war. The augmentation
of the horrors of the war, it must be apparent at
length, is out of all proportion to the natural and
inevitable increase of them under ordinary circum-
stances. To the customary intensification of
among combatants in civil warfare, has been, and is
being, perpetually suparadded the fury born from
the clash of portico, of races, of principles.
The responsibility of originating the conflict rests
from the first, as all the world knows full well, with
the Federals, with the States of the North. They
were the original aggressors. Fire and sword were
carried first of all by them, southwards, in to the
Confederate States. If the Northern States have
since then been desolated by the demon of battle,
it has been thus with them simply because the Con-
federates were driven to the necessity of re-
taliation. Richmond was threatened long be-
fore the terrors of war were seen to be
adva acing ominously upon Washington. This
as to the mere facts of the war, as to its origin, and,
since then, as to its continuance. With regard to
the frightful augmentation of fury among the
combs tants, who is there amongst us, excepting,
of course always, the hon. member for Birmingham,
who will hesitate for one instant to assert that the
responsibility, there also, rests with the Federals,
and not with the Confederates ? Answer if it be
not so—that miserable, brutal swashbuckler that
Yankee HAYNAtJ, the mere mention of whose name,
it wi...11 be remembered, caused a cry of abhorrence
to riE,e from the not usually demonstrative House of
Commons! Answer if it be not so—the women-in-
sulting scoundrel General LITTLER ! Answer if the
exaggerated infuriation of the combatants, since this
dreaiful war commenced, be not traceable to the
lead ors, to the acts, to the proclamations of the
North, and not to the leaders, to the policy, or to
the proclamations of the Confederates ! No popular
preacher that we have everyet heard of in the South,
can compete with the Reverend" BEECHER" and the
Reverend " CIIEEVER"—those shameless ministers
(so-called) of the Gospel of CHRIST, who, in the
name of Religion, in the name of the religion of
.easy and Beneficence, have been hounding on
the citizens of the North to the slaughter of the
Con federates by every passionate adjuration they
coul 1 thick of. Again, who is there that can
possibly venture to gainsay the assertion that
President LiaxoaN's tardy announcement of a
Penal Emancipation, his flagrant proclamation
(at tie eleventh hour and purely for war purposes)
of the Freedom of the Slaves, a declaration so
made that it amounted to nothing less infamous of
its kind than the unfurling of the Black Banner
as a signal for a Servile War—who shall dare to
assert that this execrable proceeding on the part
of President LINCOLN stands to this moment wholly
unrivalled by any proceeding of a similar kind,
even in the way of retaliation (even after these and
other maddening provocations), on the part of
President Davis ! The actual ensuring of the
Corn mencement at least of this Servile War was, as
we know, promptly seen to by the North almost
immediately after the issuing of Mr. LINCOLN'S
atroctions proclamation. It was ensured in the most
effectual manner, in the most practical manner pos-
sible, by the enrolling of black regiments. With
what result upon the fury of the Confederates ? Let
the (nurse of the fierce struggle, just announced by
telegramie as having taken place at Fort Wagner,
cleanly andand most lamentably indicate. There-
1' the Confederate garrison themselves lost but
150 ',n all, killed—the Federals in killed, wounded,
and prisoners lost no less a number than 2,000 !
Nearly tasZrots
these 2,000 being buried under a flag
of tr ace! 4
,r
erY considerable proportion of the
2,00() being the
negroes who—put in front and
fighting the
side of the Federals—excited
the fury of the Confederates to such a pitch of
passiimate indigassior'
by the mere sight of
theta that, wherever black regiment moved,
there upon it was a
concentratedsouther, as to a focus,
the fire of the
incident of this 1 While an
occurring in the unsuccessful"
ameatabiaertl;:l.erY
is reported as
onslaught of the
o Corn-
Federals upon Fort Wagner, the C
nfederate
mander-in-Chief, the redoubtable h
c ho
known to have passed throe Generalheater
LEE, is
g aP, and to
be moving thence in the direction of
Orange Court
louse, or at any rate of Culpepper.

Far more important, however, than the intelli-
gence received by this mail in regard to the
mili-
tary movements at various parts of the seat of war,
are the rumours accompanying that intelligence as

to the' new phase of poiicy now about to be carried
out by President DAVIS us head of the Confederate
Government. Let but these rumours be verified
by ocr next advices, and the tables will prove to
have been turned against the Federals with a
vengeance .'A recognition of the Mexican occu-
pation by the French troops, followed or accom-
panied by an offensive and defensive alliance be-
tween the Imperial Government and the Confede-
rate Government, would tend, upon the instant, to
transform the whole aspect of the future, and
would certainly bring matters to a crisis between
North and South without any unnecessary delay
whatever.

Midsummer has no sooner passed than anxious
anticipations of the coming winter are beginning to
be felt, and our Northern friends think it advisable
to remind us that the efforts of last winter will

have to be in a measure renewed. Notwithstand-
ing the improvement in mill work, and the em•
ployment to be given by public works, much will
still remain to be done. There will be too many
who will be unable to find employment from
either of those sources ; and in the case of large
families the mill work at least will require sup
plementary aid if we wish to keep the people
above the level of starvation. We read that the
average rate of weavers' wages in Blackburn does
not exceed 6;. GI or 7s. per week, and in many
cases 3s. and 4s. is all that men and women can
earn by a week's labour of ten hours daily. It
might puzzle the most rigid economist to keep a
family on such an income ; and, consequently, we
must not hastily conclude, because we hear that
so many hands are at work again, that they and
their families are altogether independent of relief.
We must first ascertain what is the amount of
wages they receive—and we can readily believe
the assertion of one well qualified to speak, that
the regular hours of constant labour, unsupported
by improved diet, have already affected the health
and spirits of the people. It is not to be ex-
expected that a man or woman with a family of
five or six children receiving even ten shilolfintghsaat
week can provide shoes and clothing out
sum. Wise men are therefore beginning to calcu-
late the amount of relief
oth aw
l beh,
eat required
e r,
at the first appearance ftw
inclement il
genial summer sunshine
instead of leaving everythingnnog tloonbgeerdoenuepwplhieeen
the
lack of food and clothes. The Neapolitan lazza-
roni would find their dolce far niente life a very
difficult one to live in any climate but their own,
and so the deficient nourishment and scanty cover-
ing that will pass muster on days like these will
tell with terrible effect in the damp raw atmosphere
of our late autumn months. An interesting letter
has been addressed to our chief morning contem-
porary by an individual who was prominent last
session in organising the distribution of private
help in the most efficacious manner. He tells us
that the plans adopted were the establishment of
industrial schools, a servant's society, and mother's
kitchens. The orphanage, or home, and the
mother's kitchens were carried on until very lately,
when they were closed in the hope of being re-
opened before long. Al the inmates of the home
were provided for before leaving. During the
winter it had given temporary shelter and protec-
tion to no less than eighty-nine young girls and
friendless women. The statistics of the Servant's
Society tell us that of 260 placed in service 88 still

remain in their situations ; the others, after stay-
ing six months, returning in the hope of getting
mill-work. It is natural that these young women
should prefer the work to which they have been
accustomed, especially as it enables them to be in
the midst of their family and friends, but it is never-
theless to be regretted that they should have left
places where they were getting the means of liveli-
hood until better times were really come. The
Mothers' Kitchens are an excellent thought, cal-
culated to give very substantial and useful relief
in an unpretending manner. A large room or
cottage is taken—all those thus used being lent, and
consequently rent free—and a woman engaged as
cook at seven shillings a-week. Tickets for ad-
mission to the dinners are given to the clergy and
others actively engaged among the poor, and by
them distributed to women who have an infant
under two years of age. The dinners consist of
meat, bread, and vegetables, the average cost, in-
cluding all expenses, being 21d. As the writer of
the statement observes, no plan of effectual help
can be more economical, and " the nursing mothers,
overworked in mind and body with the care of
their young families, are especial sufferers in seasons
of distress." Even if the relief could be given
them at their own homes, we all know enough of
human nature to be sure that the mother's will be
the smallest share, and yet she probably needs
support the most. The women generally bring
their children with them to their dinners, and are
described as being cheerful, orderly, and grateful.
"It is perfectly easy," says the writer, " to have
one or two kitchens for mothers and aged people
in every parish and district of Blackburn if there is
money to support them ;" and as during a period
of 185 days, when 37,245 dinners were given, the
expenditure was only £404, so useful an institution
will not surely be suffered to stand still for want of
fonds. It is not proposed to reopen the industrial
schools at present, as those interested in the opera-
tives are most anxious to avoid interfering in the
mill-work, however laborious and unsatisfactory it

may be for the present. It is something, at any
rate, that trade is reviving, and that wages, though
far below their former level, are to be had at all.

As the diminished payment is chiefly owing to the
inferior quality of the cotton used,we may hope for
a considerable improvement in this particular. Time
is fighting our battle, not only in convincing the
Americans of the fruitlessness of the struggle, but
in bringing the period when the several quarters
of the globe shall send their cotton to supply the
need of Lancashire. Next season will, we may
hope, bring the precious stores in sufficient quantity,
and it will be Lancashire's own fault if she has ever
again to endure such a trial as that she is now
passing through.

The proposal for a Reform in the German
Federal Organisation, lately made by Austria,
seems significant enough. A semi-official paper
in Vienna thus explains the purport of the pro-
posal :—" Austria, in her proposal for a reform in
the organisation of the Confederation, has less in
view a new Federal constitution than the establish-
ment of the means of practically and energetically
removing the principal obstacles which at present
render the adoption of efficacious resolutions by the
Diet impossible. This sounds very fair, and
doubtless some of these results may be obtained; but,
of course, there is a deep political meaning in all
this, and those who watch the signs of the times,
and employ their skill in divining its mysteries,
will, doubtless, discover something very unpro-
pitious for Prussia in this new movement. It has
always been a matter of dispute as to which should
be the head of the German Confederation, Austria
or Prussia. Many have observed that, considering
the improvements lately made by the Government
at Vienna, and the decadence in liberal principles
that had taken place in Berlin, it would be
better for the former to possess the wished-for
Privilege. The Emperor of AUSTRIA seems
quite willing to act. He has boldly come
forward, and
appears equal to the emergency.
The.
- proposals of
PrussiansA nst ri a awreillfamireeetnothuegmh,
wbiutth re-
sistance, certain that the _
sistance. They
still look forward to the realisation
of their grand scheme
that there should be a Prus-
sian Germany, This,
of course, would not be
y Austria
, and the wisest course would be
allowed b
I refnern3Coannfeddferation. The
Diet is in urgent need of reform,
rom whatever
motive the proposal is made there can be
why the plan should not be worked out so as
satisfaction to all reasonable m•inds, to give
and
benefitl on some of the small States, confer a
-which
greatly ,
need some protection. After what hai already taken
place there will be no retractation, and therefore we
may confidently look forward to this meeting at
Frankfort as the era of a better ex.: tence, and the

dawn of a brighter day for those who are in want
of remedial measures, and whose state has long
called for interference. It is not likely, with all the
rival claims to be adjusted, and all the divers ob-
jections that are sure to occur at every turn, that
any undue power will be given to Austria ; but if
any greater share of influence be given to that
country it will be an advantage. The whole
course and tenour of the Prussian policy
of late years precludes the idea that
she can be of any use or assistance to other nations
in remodelling their constitution. At all events,
du rvi
en
rgy theli
like
e reignth e blindo
of
the
attempting mpresentting pto lead the blind.
monarch it would
be
All overtures and proposals that come from such a
quarter will be looked upon with suspicion, and
with good reason too, for those who ignore the
rights of their own subjects are not likely to show
very much respect for the privileges of others. The
fact is, that by the late events Prussia seems by
common consent to be put aside from the position
which she once held. Her mission at present seems
to be to win every nation against her, except
Russia, whom she seems to have adopted as the
withaa
prototype of her policy. France has become very
indignant
con-
duct.dtrupcakmlinpghlet,it
The
othersuch
day, in shiftingn important and
was said that "Prussia must renounce the ambi-
guous position she occupies. Does King W
ILLIAM
, forget the teachings of history, and force
France to
another Jena as the forerunner to another Fried-
, land ?" It is a difficult and delicate task that is
new placed before the Government of Berlin in this
critical posture of affairs. But the same mis-
chieveus spirit of contrariety that has ruled their
foreign policy, and dictated their domestic
concerns of late, seems to have urged them
forward on the wrong path. It is said, on what is
considered a reliable authority, that a despatch has
been received at Vienna from the Prussian Govern-
ment "declining the invitation of the Emperor of
AUSTRIA to a conference on the question of
reform in the German Confederation." If
such should prove to be the case, which
it is not probable that it will, the Prus•
sians will be playing a most suicidal game,
and losing a position that they may not regain for
many generations in influencing and advising the
States of Germany. It is to be trusted that those
who meet at the Conference will use the opportu-
nity to the utmost advantage. It is said that the
EMPEROR has decided that newspaper reporters
shall be admitted at the proposed conference of
German princes at Frankfort. This is a wise reso-
lution, and proves that the undertaking is made in
the right spirit, and it is to be trusted that an ad-
vance will be made in the right direction. There
is much to improve in the whole state of the Ger-
manic Confederation, and the more earnestly and
energetically they set to work to put down abuses,
do away with anomalies, and cast aside prejudices,
the more will it redound to their own happiness
and honour, and the better will it be for the peace
and the prosperity of Europe. Whatever may be
the ultimate consequences of this Conference, it is
certain that it takes place under favourable auspices,
and whether or not its augury of success be realised
there is great credit due to its originator. The
Emperor of AUSTRIA merits the thanks of all Ger-
many for his resolute effort to effect some lasting
good, and the several nations of Europe will accord
him great praise if he succeed in ameliorating the
position of affairs in the complicated construction
of the Germanic Confederation. As Prussia recedes
so will Austria advance, and the setting of one star
of promise may be followed by the rise of another,
if these events really bring about the advantages
they herald, and realise their promises by perform
antes.

The Accident at a Review near Teignmouth.

As briefly stated in our yesterday's impression an
alarming accident occurred on Thursday, at a bri-
gade review of the Devon County Volunteers, on
Little Haldown Down, near Teignmouth. The
following details are from the -Western Morning
News :—" Just after the last rank of the volunteers
had passed the inspecting officer there arose a noise
and a cry which sent a thrill of horror among the
crowd. A glance in the direction of the grand
stand, whence the crash proceeded, at once revealed
the cause of alarm. The whole of the interior fit-
tings of the stand, which was crowded with specta-
tors, had suddenly given way, and appalling
screams were raised by the unfortunate women who
were buried in the debris. Everybody present
rushed to the scene of the disaster, some to help and
some to gratify their curiosity. For a few minutes
it was supposed that several lives must have been
lost, and intense excitement prevailed. Within the
enclosure the scene was truly awful. Men stood
appalled at the frantic cries proceeding from the
ladies, who were seen jammed between or buried
beneath the timbers. As soon as possible they were
extricated, and a search commenced for those who
were beneath. There were several surgeons on the
spot, fortunately, who were ready to render assist-
ance to the maimed, of whom, ;we regret to say,
there were several ; but, happily, no fatal result up
to the time of our most recent information attended
the accident. The under part of the stand was
occupied by Mr. Gifford, of Exeter, for the sale of
refreshments. When the floor of the stand gave
way there were several persons beneath, among
whom were Mrs. Gifford, a man who was assisting,
and a female assistant named Mrs. Shute. As soon
as the debris was partially removed, it was found
that Mrs. Gifford was very severely in-
jured, and that the man had sustained a
severe fracture of the leg. Mrs. Shute was still more
seriously hurt, and her face presented a most painful
spectacle, not only from the discoloration of the
skin, but also from cuts and bruises. It was at first
thought the unfortunate woman was dead; but
having been removed on a shutter to the open
ground, she received medical treatment, and soon
recovered consciousness; although we are informed
that the surgeon is doubtful whether she will survive
the internal injuries which she has received. Mrs.
Gifford and the man were removed to an ambulance
under the care of Assistant-Surgeon May, 2d Devon ;
and the more seriously injured were conveyed to the
Infirmary at Teignmouth. Among those who sus-
tained minor injuries were—Mrs. Hayes and Miss
Gliddon, of George-street, Devonport ; Mr. Burt,
watchmaker, Devonport, and Miss Vanstone ; Mr.
Picken,
of Mthimple-street ; Mr. Shapcott, sail-
maker, and several others whose names we could
not ascertain. It was also asserted that a little boy
to rui leger
a.
lebununetg
owe were
time f
i ndaef u
et
after
rr
itbhnaeabbsl
eul effeto r
confusion
verifyfruseh ea nd
bthhea
eedn r hisue
mx
prevailed on the stand, crowds rushing in to know
the extent of the calamity, whilst others came in
search of missing articles of jewellery and wearing
apparel, of which there was a motley collection.
These were heaped together by the police—hats,
opera glasses, wigs, parasols, brooches, bonnets, &c.,
and some of the owners were obliged to go hatless
away, in consequence of the very jealous care exer-
cised by the officials. The cause of the accident
was stated to be the very inefficient manner in
which the edifice was constructed. Notwithstand-
ingsa
said
that
to
have thep
standr was full, person in charge is
e
ssed othersweight was greater than the structure was intended
to bear, and it gave way in the centre, the omit. to ascend, until the
pants falling together in a mass. The builders
were Messrs. Stafford, of Exeter. The accident
was not so serious as at one time it was believed
to be ; but it is to be feared that many persons will
come."
suffer from the consequences for a long time to

The Earl and Countess Russell and Ladies
Russell arrived at the residence of the Countess of Fla-
hault, on the banks of the Tay, in Perthshire, on Monday
from London, haying gone north by easy stages,