The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-10 00:00:00

WHO DISCOVERED PHOTOGRAPHY ?

A bewildering revelation has suggested this in-
quiry to the Saturday Beam, and is thus com-
mented upon by our contemporary :
It has hitherto been considered a curious coinci-
dence that the process of taking permanent photo-
graphic pictures was discovered simultaneously in
England and France by Mr. Fox Talbot and M.
Daguerre—the former producing his pictures on
paper, the latter on silvered metal plates. Their
results were made public in 1839, and were respec-
tively called Talbotypes and Daguerrotypes. Prior
to this date, many scientific men had diligently
worked at the subject. The camera had been in-
vented at least 300 years before ; and the influence
of light on the salts of silver was certainly known
as early as the 16th century. But those investiga-
tors who recorded the results of their labours only
chronicled a succession of failures in their endea-
vours to render permanent the pictures obtained
the latest confession of failure in this essential part
of the process being that made by Sir Humphrey
Davy in 1802.
At the meeting of the London Photographic So-
ciety, on Tuesday last, a large gathering of photo-
graphers assembled to ascertain what foundation
there might be for rumours which have been for
some time afloat concerning the discovery of certain
undoubted sun-pictures taken at the close of the
last century, and the very existence of which up to
the present time would afford sufficient evidence of
their durability. The whole history of the curious
circumstances connected with the discovery of these
pictures was related by Mr. Smith, Curator of the
Museum of Patents at South Kensington, to whom
belongs the credit of rescuing from impending de-
struction the numerous specimens exhibited. With
most praiseworthy industry he collected every scrap
of evidence, direct and corroborative, in order to
determine the means by which the exhibited pic-
tures were produced, the time when, and the person
by whom, they were taken. The story of the find-
ing of them may be briefly told, but nothing has
yet been discovered as to how they were done.
For purposes connected with his departeavet, Mr.
Smith had to visit the old house at Soho, near Bir-
mingham, where the renowned engineering manu-
factory of Watt and Boulton was originally esta-
blished. The works were about to be removed,
and a clearing out of the house was being effected.
It may be mentioned, en passant, that it was here
the famous body the Lunar Society, which included
among its members the chief scientific men of the day,
held their meetings on the night of every full moon;
and the dismantling of the library disclosed traces
which led the initiated to believe that these meetings
had something of the nature of Freemason Lodges.
It certainly seems reasonable to conjecture that
many matters, scientific and otherwise, were dis-
cussed at the meetings of such eminent men, other
than are set down in the meagre records of the
transactions of the Lunar Society.
Matthew Boulton resided at Soho until his death
in 1809. His library and its contents appear to
have remain undisturbed for half a century, when
in the course of clearing out, and whilst removing
a vast collection of old documents, there Were found
a nunaSer of crumpled and folded sheets of paper
t
with pictures on them of a most
much so as to attract the esattentionpuzzlingof Mr. Smith,
he not being either an artist or photographer, and,
.
moreover, being fully occupied at the time with far
different business.
On smoothing out these plc-
tures,they were found to consist of copies, on large
sheets of very coarse foolscap paper, certain well
of
Angelina Kauffmann
known designs barked paper -being thickly
the porous water-
coated with
some varnish-like substance, on
which the picture had been
produced. All the surface of w-
, the sheets found in the library,
as well as others subsequently discovered, presented
the same characters—a glossy surface with minute
varnish-like cracks, the drawing of the figures most
elaborately finished, the lights and shades so fully
rendered as to give much the effect of a mezzotint, and
an invariable reversal of the position of the figures,
so that all the Nymphs and Cupids (Kauffmann's
pet subjects) appeared to be left-handed. These
paper pictures were sent to London, and submitted
to the best authorities on the subjects of drawing
and painting ; and here the mystery about them
began, for they were pronounced to have been pro-
duced by some process entirely different from any-
thing
`previously seen, and certainly
not to have
been done by hand. This led to immediate search
being made for any more of the pictures that
inquiries, might exist, and also to among the oldest
inhabitants, for any one who had lived at Soho
in the time of Boulton, and could supply any in-
formation about them.

In a broker's shop were found several more of the
pictures, which had been brought from the house
as waste paper. One of these represented a large
figure picture by West, and was on two sheets of
paper, each about 2ft. by 18in., intricately cut at
the joining place so that the line of union might
fall at the edge of a shadow, and not be perceived
when the two halves were put together to form the
complete picture. Further research at Soho also
led to the discovery of a couple of silvered-metal
plates, each about the size of a sheet of note-paper,
precisely resembling in appearance those used
hbyy
Daguerre in the early days of photography'
On each of these plates was a 1 faintahiy image
of of the house at Soho, so unmistakeably
by
aid
from nature, and so evidently prod
at once
of light, that all experts of any authority
pictures taken
pronounced them to be photographedAttLfelied to these
produced
the
directly by means of a camera..
,-, that they were
plates was a memorandum statue,
or to certain
• the house Pr
sun-pictures representing
Following out their
alterations mad© in 1791. Following
these pictures were
search as to the means by which
eters learnt that there had
produced, the investigrunra .n
1 Boulton's lib,:ar
once been found
aca
to the kind of instruct
description
sof this size. Unfortunately this
. ed fez plate
required
had been given away', and great Was the hunt to
..

r find someiraces of its subseque
discovery of the recipient of
much holy matters, as he had
during a removal. So the sea
and there are sanguine expect
be found—possibly converted
some thrifty housewife. Not .
was living an old man who had for many Ye-
been employed at Soho, and who related Meer the
and
bn
wise men used to come there at eadh full moon,
used to sit very late at night, and that he remt
bered Mr. Boulton and some of them once took a
picture of the house, and had to go into a dark plac,e
during the process.
So fir the evidence as to the metal plates, which,
if subsiatotiated, will go far to prove that the dis-
coveries of Niepee and Daguerre were anticipated
by Boulton. It may possibly prove more; for the re-
semblance bet
an: eiofe nn these h.
.eiips, k b platesfound and t the early
nnect pro-
ductions of Dagnerre is really marvellous if only
accidental,
But Me further evidence already
obtained as to the pictures
on paper discovered at
Soho presents
quite a taogle of curious circum-
stances. From invoices anti other office papers, all
bearing date about the end in the last century, it is
evident that these pictures, hoaKrever produced, were
The
idenetsmh
method
dpnpdeoaf fro
trt
ho
ethi hraevmpe
roduotion becoming
actually sold at Soho in large quontities, and at low
betw taken to en s great, and con-
generally known. So there must exist a large
number of them at the present Orme, scattered
through various collections and portfolios. The
prices.s d pre-
venter ab
thelTe
glazy surface, the porous, rough,
water-marked,
foolscap paper, bearing Whatman's impress and
the reversed figures, will distinguish them; fa,- their
appearance on cursory examination very munch
resembles that of the common coloured mezzot'nts
which our grandeires so much affected.
It appears that Sir William Beatty painted
Boulton's portrait about 1794, the picture being
subsequently exhibited at the Royal Academy. He
was horrified on being shown a number of paper
lectures similar to those recently. oeovered ; and-
' he got up -a`petition, signed by a number of artists,
entreating that the manufacture of these pictures
might be stayed, as it would inevitably ruin the
picture trade. A sort of foreman of Boulton's, named
Edginton, appears to have superintended the produc-
tion of these pictures, if he did not actually discover
the process by which the transfer to paper was done-
Several of his letters are extant:referring to the subs&
quent colouring which some of the pictures under-
went none of them, however, afford any clue as to
the original method of their production. But a
little later, and after the alarm was taken by the
artists, we find a talk of granting Edgington a
Government pension. This fell through because of a
curious autograph letter of Matthew Boulton's
which has been fortunately found. In this letter,
officially addressed to the Minister, he claims for
himself the discovery of the process on account of
which Edgington's annuity had been eontemplated ;
he intimates his knowledge that the grant was only"
intended to ensure the discontinuance of the pro-
cess, suggests that he could arrange this in a
much more certain way, and concludes his letter
with a strong hint that he is open to be dealt with.
Whatever ensued as the result of this letter, it
seems very clear that the production of the pictures
was thenceforward discontinued.
Here the evidence comes to an end so far as re-
gards these curious paper pictures, and the silvered
plates which the highest authorities refer to about
the year 1791. In this same year, Thomas Wedg-
wood, son of the famous potter, was certainly at
work on photography, as is shown by his bills and
orders for apparatus and chemicals. At the meet-
ing of the Photographic Society there was exhibited,
side by side with the above-mentioned metal plates,
a photograph of a neatly laid breakfast table, taken
upon paper by Wedgwood, and the information
about it tended to the conclusion that it also was
done in the year 1791. Thus far we have written the
history of this curious discovery in accordance with
the evidence laid before the Photographic Society;
but still there are many links wanting before it can
be taken as proved that the pictures found at Soho
were produced by photography, It' it shall be shown
that they were so produced, then it will also be
established that at that time photographic feats
were done which we cannot now-a-days accom-
plish. For it has been proved by chemical analysis
that these pictures do not contain a trace of silver,
and must, therefore, if of photographic origin, have
been lost to us. That an art promising such greet
results should have been suffered to die out, is in
itself curious in these days of diffusion of know-
ledge; but st:11 more remarkable is the double co-
incidence existing between the independently pro-
duced metal and paper photographs of Boulton
and Wedgwood, of 1791, and of Daguerre and Fox
, Talbot in 1839.

The Addresses of Loyalty from Lithuania.

The Cats publisheso
rr
tae
isdnsdgrferfsorsmoe
ms t thtohe
et
phnaeolbaNit
liinattayi
toena adol;
Government, signed by 249,646 inhabitants of
Lithuania, protesting against the measures adopted
dresses of loyalty to the Czar. The following is a
wtb ry ainirvinsl7:t
....ir oa nvieofff the in.

The Inhabitants of the Palatinate of Wilna to the National
Government.
In the midst of the bloody war of independence against
Russia, in which all classes of society in Lithuania take an
heroic part, the late marshal of the Wilna palatinate drew
up an address to the Czar of Muscovy, expressing senti-
ments of loyalty on behalf of the nobility, after which the
Muscovite authorities called upon the nobles to confirm
this base document by their signatures.
The noble-hearted mon who by refusing to sign suffered
the loss of their property, exile to Siberia, or a martyr's
death, have already given to the world a glorious testimony
of the means used by Muscovy in obtaining signatures.
Their blood innocently shed, their boUndless sacrifices,
proved on the one hand how Muscovy feels herself deprived
of every lawful footing in Lithuania ; how, having no real
rights, she strives to invent imaginary ones ; and how she
can only obtain these by the use of the most savage com-
pulsion—and on the other hand, that addresses and signa-
tures which are obtained by armed force, by threats of Siberia
or the gallows, by murder, destruction, and imprisonment
lose all the significance they might otherwise have had.
But even an apparent abandonment of the country's
cause is painful to the hearts of Poles, in whom the love of
their country has become almost a religion. We, there-
fore, the undersigned inhabitants of the Wilna palatinate,
both those who have been forced by Muscovy to Si:
this false document and those who have not yet
abe_
exposed to that dreadful trial, hereby protest officially
.01,
against both the spirit and the letter of the address w
has been forwarded to the Czar, and withdraw
extorted
claim to be null the signatures which have been.
_otr°ol-vy.
from us by force. We reject all connection withde luu A.
lve *Men,
which is opposed to our national spirit and thet—. We re-
of our civilization and the wants of, the count united
new our oath of fidelity to Poland, to whooreur
ancestors at
by an indissoluble bond, sworn to by
mutual glory and
Horadlo and Lublin, and confirmed
our doer .
happiness of five centuries, and
sufferings. We wish to serve this
of
car LbscLuuennttry
until
her independence
death, and we place for the recovery
ao blood at the die-
our persons, our possessions, ant,:whiffs.wtheecoonalfiyramutthhoi:
po
ritsyalwoef
rteheeognNaistieoinnaol
uGto.evoeurntitniryellas
, in the presence of God, One in
declaration by our signatures
auth •
e presence of our country and of
the Holy Trinity, and in
enticity
118g603v.
Europe.
signatures, the
government of the
Dated Here the 13th (8,9,315
of which is certifiedth)b:ePthteembeievr'i
palatinate of Wilna.
addresses express similar sentiments,
other
The

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d eriegas
or enfeebled. We extract a few out
of 60,000 Cures
No. 58,216 or the Marchioness de
Brehm, Paris, of
a liver complaint, wasting away for seven
years, debility, With a nervous palpitation all over, bad
digestion, constant sleeplessness, the most intolerable nervous
agitation,de
and dreadfully low spirited.—Cure No. 1,771. Lord
Stuart
Decies, Lord Lieut. of Waterford, of many years'
dyspepsia.—No. 49,832. "Fifty years' indescribable agony
front dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation,
flatulency, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jolly."
—Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frlmley, Surrey, of
thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange •
meat, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth,
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spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure No. 54,616. The Revt.o Js;.
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re
225. ; 241 b,
In tins, 1 lb., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d ; 51b., ;
12
Loudon ;
40s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street,.
also Fortnum and Mason ; and all Grocers and L'u
cmfets in
L every town of the United liing•dem.

MESSRS.
the most unique and JAY and CO. have now on show
perfect assortment of
BONNETS,
which their Manager has selected in Paris, and brought
back with her to this EstAblishment.
247, 249, 251, Regent-street.

TIONNET'S SILKS a LYON.—Every Article oS
_UP commerce takes fts title either from the inventor otr
facturer, wl the more perfect the production th,e
eater is the credit which attaches to the originator.
DaOZINET'S SILKS are said to be incapable of identifical-
Von
in England ; but the fallacy of such an assertion is ezr-
os .4 by the very trade mark of the firm, as exhibited by
P Messrs. JAY, of Regent-street.
The following interwoven mark may be seen at the end.
of each piece :—,‘ 31anufacture de C. J. Bonnet et Cie., 4 Lyon
et a Injurieux." Wear guaranteed.

ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA,
COVENT-GARDEN.
Under the Management of Miss Louisa Pyne and
Mr. W. Harrison.
THIS EVENING, Wallace's Romantic Opera, THE
PES r:RT FLOWER: Miss Louisa Fyne, Miss Susan Pyne ;
Messrs. W. H. Weiss, H. Cond. A. Cook, and W. Harrison.
Conductor. Mr. A. Mellon.—Doors open at half-past Seven.
t.ommenee at Eight.

FIEATRE ROYAL DRURY- LANE.
T
Managers, Messrs. E. Falconer and F. B. Chatterton.
THIS EVENING the performances will commence with an
byJ. Oxenford, Esq., entitled BEAUTY Olt THE BEAST.
Principal characters by Messrs. Addison, G. F. Neville,
Barret, Spencer, and G. Weston ; Mrs Edmund Falconer and
Miss U. Lecicrq.
After which, Lord Byron's Choral Tragedy, MANFRED.
Messrs. helps, Ryder, Rayner, Mr agreson, Ward, Spencer,;
Miss Heath, Miss E. Atkinson, Miss Leclercq, and Mrs.
Falconer. Vocalists—Miss Poole, Miss litter, Miss Cicely
Nott, Miss Heywood, and Mr. Swift.
To conclude with a New and Original Farce,. by_ *_ IN
W Brough and A. Halliday, entitled 3I" a6IiTTIr
THE HIGIILANDS : characters by Mr. J. and
Weston, Mr. Warde, Mr. J. Mauls ; Mrs. C. Melville,
Miss Harfieur.

THEATREM
ROYAL HAY NI ARKET.-
Sole Lessee and anager, Mr, Buckstone.
THIS EVE ING (2cl",time), LIT rLE DAISY.
.N
Atter which, at half-past 7 (3d time), A BULL IN A
CHINA S 110 P. Messrs. Charles 3lathe
Lindleyws, Com,
W ripght, ton, Clark
Fitz-
Rogers, and Gordon ; Mesdames
Followed Hill by T FIE GOLDEN FLEECE. Mess
srs. Char
thews
les
Mathew', Compton,Weathersby, &c. ; Mesdame C. M,
L Keeley. Griffith, .tic.
And MY HUSBAND'S GHOST.
Commence at 7.

LYCEUM THEATRE.
110
, Under the Sole Management of Mr. Pechter.
p DNSIO further nIO (a hti nt Success) will be repeated
Nyco Even 11^
untiloce.
,'
.2 EVENING, to commence with a Comedietta
by W. Gilbert, Esq., entitled UNCLE BABY: Mess-s. J.G.
shore, Widdicombe, Charles, Miss P. Le:lercq, and Carlotta
Leclercq.
After which, at a Quarter-past Eight, BEL DEIONIO
a Love Story, in Twelve Tableaux, taken from Satleertharal _ 's
'fad= Chronicle ," by John Brougham. Princip
ter by Mr. Pechter, supported by Messrs. Jordan, Charles,c-
13r-iui.r,irim, Emery, Raymond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford
Collett, Andrews, Sims ; Miss Kate Terry, Lavenue, Mrs.
Lee, and Miss Elsworthy.

Tel ET, DEMONIO; a LOVE STORY, in Twelve
JLIP Tableaux.

EW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHL-
Sole Proprietor and Manager. Mr. B. Webster.

. .
THIS EVENLNG, at 7, THE TRAGEDY QUEEN : Mrs.
Stirling.

At 8, the New Drama of LEAH : Miss Bateman, supported
by Messrs. Arthur H. Phillips, Billinv,ton, Stuart,
A Wood, Eburne, Miss IL Simms and Mrs. Billington.

To conclude with CATCHING AN HEIRESS : Miss
Woolgar and Mr. A. Wood.

MISS BATEMAN.—LEAH.—The triumphant
V 1 and enthusiastic success of the treat tragic artiste,
Miss BATEMAN, on her first appearance In the character of
LEAH, in the new five act Drama of that title, having been
nightly repeated, and even exceeded during the last four
weeks, amidst the applause ano tears of crowded audiences,
and tne profound impression created upon all who have wit-
nessed the touching impersonation by Miss Bateman of the
heart-broken Jewish maiden, being confirmed by the unani-
mous verdict and critical approval of the entire press, the
Manager ot the NEW ADEL ['III THEATRE has the honour
to announce that Miss BATSMAN will appear in the New
Drama of LEA U EVERY EVENING till further notice; and
in order to meet, as far as possible, the increasing demand
for stalls, has added two more rows to those previously
existing.

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.-THIS EVENING,
at Seven o'clock, the Comedietta of THE MISTRESS
OF THE MILL. blessrs. Chester ai.cl Butler; Madame
Simon and Miss Collinson. After which, at Eight o'clock
(Half-price to all parts of the House), the Whole of FIERR-
MANN'S EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCES.

OYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough.
THIS EVENING, WHERE'S YOUR WIFE. Miss
Simpson.
After which, MI REAM'S CRIME. Messrs. a Honey,
Parselle, Belford, Turner, Miss K.Saville, and Miss Manders.
To conclude with FAINT HEART NEVER WON FAIR
LADY. Mr. Leigh Murray.
Commence at 7.

1144 E 'THIRD EDITION OF "THE SUN,"
Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
fan be had Every Evening- of

G. R. GLIcNIE, Ntws AGENT,
No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.

HIGH WATER. AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAY.—Morning, lh. 4m.—Afternoon, lh. 22m
TO-stoßßow.-Morning, lh. 42m.—Afternoon, 2h. 2m

The Weather—Sun Office, Nov. 10, 1863.

THERMOMETER.
This day at Two o'clock
Barometer-29.75.
Wind—South-West ; moderate, and cloudy.

at*
un,

LONDON, TUESDAY, NOV. 10, 1863.

Whila the Emperor NAPOLEON is for once as

open and clear as the daylight, avowing quite
frankly his opinions, his wishes, and his aspirations,
Lord PALMERSTON, as the Prime Minister of Eng-

land, is plainly and most carefully studied in—what
is that horrid word that we are most of

us using so often of late, usque ad nauseam
--his " reticence." We allude here, of course, to
the Premier's speech yesterday at the Lord Mayor's
Bouquet
in Guildhall. In the French EMPEROR'S
Speech how much there is compacted together,
and the chief among the topics there touched
uPlu
v 4 tlle Ter - •
Englibb.
I,reraiy weightiest importance ! In the
and truly t'S Speech how little there is—
reallyjust next to nothing ! It reads
off for th7e"dan
about as vacant:'i
onion opens, leaf after leaf
curling
next
to
uuthi :closure at last of, again we
say it,
It is like a rhetorical
realisation of Mr.Tit&e4/!.
the FO'URTII—" tuider.4.ltArs sarcasm on GEORGE
wailteottattecmt, more under-waist-
coat, more under-
lord might just as lief ha,v;:t"thing!" The noble 1
413Yed at home either in I
Broadlands or in Piccadilly,
olu
bably, at the Guildhall, a, ''t he was there pro- 1
simply and purely for
of
the Purpli„" anything,
in an appearance. Deservedly and putting
City
usually cordial though the welcome ver:en un-
the gallant company, collected tegetii-ea Which
in the ancient Guildhall of the
"London accorded to the Great StatesraftY,
on
°f
the gala day now doubly welcome every year as the
birthday of his Royal Highness the Heir Apparent
to the Throne, no less than as the inaugural day of
the new Lord Mayor's civic reign over the great
metropolitan municipality—it was rewarded, this
enthusiastic welcome, by no political confidences
whatever from our veteran Premier, Lord PALMER-
STON. Not an inkling as to the future was afforded
to those who hung breathlessly upon the words
falling from the lips of the Premier. And this, all
the more tantalizingly, upon the very morrow of
the delivery by the Emperor NAPOLEON 111. of a
speech from the throne, on opening the newly-
assembled Legislature of France, weightier, more
startling, when regarded from one point of
view more ominous of war, and when regarded
from th • u diametrically opposite direction more
11,!utficently propitious ' imperial
addressut peace, than any royal or
that has been pronounced, from
any one of the thrones of Europe, within the memory
of the present genera!:
the policy likely to be pursued
For any revelation of
pursued by our Government
in regard to the
Euptits
.proposal of an Euro-
pean Congress, We must W,
att as patiently as may
be, until that motley Government
it
willto
not
naent of ours has had
time to deliberate. in
regard
policy, let
that at any rate
ns hope
not be either
apathetic or ambiguous in its character, There are
times and occasions in the history of
a great coun-
try, when its rulers ought at any rate, and at
whatever hazard in the result, to be perfectly plain

spoken. For precisely such plain speaking on
the part of England—now is the very time, this is
the precise occasion.

It would seem that the Government are deter-
mined not to remain long idle with respect to the
redoubtable steam rams now lying at Birkenhead.
In the first place, when active proceedings were
determined on, the Broad Arrow was marked on the
vessels, and a Customhouse officer put on board,
This bold step, however, was not sufficient to allay
Mr. ADAMS'S restless uneasiness, or to satisfy Lora
RUSSELL'S assiduous friendship. The officer, who,
according to the respect claimed by English law,
should have been a host in himself as the represen-
tative of the law,
envess
guard oelusg, hwtats°llv
noattehoben sufficientueghtforinidabtleo
enough, and accordingly a body othf
e generalmarines super
seded the civil officer. Whether
indig-
nation excited both in London and Liverpool by
this manoeuvre had any effect on our Cabinet, or
whether they began to anticipate awkward ques-
tions on the meeting of Parliament, is not known ;
but they have suddenly changed their tactics, and
show signs of a willingness to emerge from the
awkward predicament in which they have placed
themselves, although by so doing they are only
trying to cover one illegality by another. It seems
that, owing to instructions received from the Go-
vernment, the two unfinished steam rams have been
valued. El Toussin, the most advanced, is esti-
mated at over £lOO,OOO, and its fellow at £BO,OOO.
It is said that the Government would like to pur-
chase them from the French owners, Messrs.
BREVET. This shows the striking illegality of
their acts. If the vessels have really been
unlawfully constructed and have been justly
seized, the Government has surely no need
to expend any money in paying for what is
already their property. If Messrs. BREVEY have a
right to sell vessels to the British Government, it
is evident that they must have had an equal right
to receive them from Messrs. LAIRD. The Govern-
ment can in no case claim to dispose of the rams by
a forced sale, seeing that if they are not "contra-
band of war" the Cabinet has no business to inter-
fere between Mr. LAIRD and his contract. The case
must be tried, and until there has been a little
sounder and more constitutional law brought to bear
upon it than the opinions of her MAJESTY'S advisers,
the piblic will not feel very well satisfied. Fortu-
nately, the matter rests in the hands of a man of
spirit and capital. Mr. LAIRD has refused to dis-
close the contrast price, and will, no doubt, hold his
own valiantly to the end. Were he unable to do
so, he would find a hundred offers of aid pour in,
for the feeling of the country is now thoroughly
roused upon this matter. The vacillation and timor-
ous temporising which has so disgusted the Eng-
lish in our American policy have, in the case of
these rams, reached a point previously unheard of,
and the claims of law, custom, courtesy, and busi.
ness seem to be alike set at defiance. It was a very
questionable compliment to a man of character
and standing like Mr. LAIRD, a member of the Eng-
lish Parliament, to send a body of marines to de-
tain a vessel which he had pledged his word should
not depart without notice. The law officers of the
Crown, if they have been consulted on the mats
ter, will find it difficult to produce their
precedents, while if, as is more likely, their opi-
nions have not been taken, they will be puzzled to
defend the acts of their colleagues. The valuing of
the vessels is the most extraordinary and inconsis-
tent of all the remarkable proceedings of the Go-
vernment with respect to these rams. Earl Rus-
SELL might have restrained his anxiety until a
court of law had decided to whom they really be-
longed, when, as we have before said, if confiscated
there need be no payment, if left free there need
be no interference with the contract. Perhaps
Earl RUSSELL wants to make a useful Christmas
present to his friends at Washington, and thinks
these rams would get over to New York in nice time
for the holiday festivities. In his impatience to
secure the prize for his Federal friends Earl Rus-
SELL has nearly made the country pay pretty dear
The Prince Consort, sent through the gale to assist
in the mighty business of keeping these unfinished
rams at home, very nearly paid the penalty for the
rash meddling of our Foreign Secretary. Our
Admiralty officials had better go to Birkenhead
and take a few lessons in shipbuilding, for Mr.
LAIRD'S vessels seem to give only too much satisfac-
tion to his customers instead of too little, as is very
generally the case with Admiralty jobs, whether of
design, construction, adaptation, or improvement.
That is an old story, but this affair at Birkenhead
is a very new one ; and we should like to
know on what possible pretext a Frenchman
is refused the right of giving an order
to an English shipbuilder. Law has no business
to trouble itself about the purposes to which an
article may hereafter be turned ; it does not deal
with men's intentions or wishes, but with their
acts. The facts of the case are simply that a
French firm given an eminent English firm an

order for some steam rams, and our Government
has not the shadow of a right to interfere in the
transaction. But the nerves of the North are ap-
parently so shaken by the Alabama, that at the first
rumour of the possible destination of these rams,
Mr. ADAMS invoked tho aid of his trusty friend
and ally at the Foreign-office, who valiantly came
to the rescue, and flung right, reason, and constitu•

:ions' law entirely on one side. There is a limit,

however, to all things, and we suspect the genera
feeling will be rather with Mr. LAIRD, in his re•

fusal to disclose the contract price, than with the

formidable array, naval and military, sent against
these luckless vessels, whose storms have begun be-

fore they have left port. The excitement and

exertion occasioned by the supposed departure of
these unfinished vessels reminds us of the nursery

rhyme which tells us how
" Four-and-twenty tailors went to kill a snail."
Earl RUSSELL and Mr. ADAMS, and the Washing-
ton Cabinet to boot, had better look to themselves,
of
r" the English public will not tolerate much more
these Proceedings—proceedings as absurd andas
ztravaz-
ant as they are unconstitutional and
unmet.

, the streets. It is tooofwteans
thletsaisf""e"
of those
cautions and
evil has tiole that something
in anthorit
terrifying, and
concerning the tdhoonperaacbtoicuet
to
a, Y to neglect to use timely pre-
thenitude that is really
assornu:P,t Prudential measures, until
fault rise
aaronid:-rigB rise up far and near
of the laws. Very recently two ver
curred, which, beginning in Street y sad cases co-
llated in death. In one instaneoutrages, termi-
asked to sec after a neighbour's houB' '''elan was
so durini, h
absence, and, on going there, she heard a no.her
lhe and
n,.ri
very imprudently knocked. The door was o' a
suddenly, and Mrs. 11ATSON received a blow
0.-1-1 -te:
head from one of the men who rushed out, so
fatal were its effects that she speedily sank under
it, and the most grievous thing that could occur iv,
that no trace of the murderers is discovered. It is

difficult to conceive how anyone can be so cruel ;
for of course two men could easily have passed one
female without having recourse to such violence.
It is evident that a sufficent watch could not have
been kept over the house and its vicinity, or the

ruffians could not have obtained ingress to it. The
other case is, if possible, still more outrageous, for

the desperate deed was done deliberate I
deliberately, anndwas
evidently the result of predetermination.
con-
sequence of the deceased having given some opinion
in a gambling transaction, which offended certain
parties, they swore revenge, and were unfortunately
enabled to carry out their cruel desire. It is cer-
tainly a very lamentable state of things when law-
less and ungovernable characters are to have it
in their power to plan and execute these revolting
crimes. It seems reprehensible not to have taken
down the deposition of the dying man, for he died
on the fifth of the month, and the blow was
inflicted on the seventh of the last one, so that
ample time must have elapsed for the necessary
formulas to be gone through. The daughter of the
deceased stated that she did not remember the name
of the party her father mentioned a having sworn
to take away his life. This is a most unwise pro-
ceeding, for, doubtless owing to the laxity of one
side and the confusion of the other, the chief
delinquent will escape the detection he so richly
deserves, and hence future offenders will be induced
to proceed on their coarse with more recklessness,
from previous non•convictions establishing a pre-
cedent as it were. It would appear from all these
fearful incidents, either that there are not sufficient
police about these lonely environs, or else that they
are not vigilant enough. It comes to this that the
lives of her MAJESTY'S subjects are not efficiently
protected under the present system, and hence it is
worth while, at the risk of offending any pre-
judices, or militating against any special arrange-
ments, to protest against a mode of procedure which
aims at so much, but whose results are so unsatis-
factory. The Coroner in the case of the man named
HOMERTON, most emphatically declared that
"outrages in the streets were becoming dreadfully
prevalent." This is surely a reply to those framers
and executors of the law who plume themselves on
their skill and sagacity. There can be no valid
reason why, just at this time, these outrages
should be so frequent in their occurrence and
fatal in their results. At all events, since un-
happily the fact is patent to all that the wrong is
so prevalent, let some means be adopted at once
to check the further spread of the ruffianly conduct
and cruel outrages that must now be considered,• as
a part of our daily records of street proceedings.
Only the other day there was a considerable trouble
experienced in prosecuting some reckless individuals
who employed their time in persecuting and insult-
ing female passers-by. The difficulty that arose
on these cases being tried, doubtless induced others
to make similar attempts, and thus in many parts
of London it was almost impossible for respectable
persons to walk in the evening for fear of an
unpleasant interruption. The laws that regulate
the conviction of these criminals are not as they
should be, or we should not find so many perti-
naciously following the bad example, and hear of
such numerous °sees of oppressive cruelty and bar-
barous insults. The garotters, too, are by no
means an extinct race, and already they have tried
their hands in the early part of this autumn on
unwary foot passengers. There could be no harm
done in making the experiment of a new system
of espionage, and adopting some more decisive
measures when the culprits are captured. The
very faulty arrangements of the prisons are against
any terrorism of confinement being held up as a
warning to the reckless and the daring. If men
are not mortified by a prison life, it does more harm
than good to themselves and others. There is no
doubt that to the mistaken mildness and absurd
indulgencies of prisons, a great part of our garot.
ting bands of last year were to be attributed. Let
not the short days and dark nights of the ensuing
winter offer more opportunities for the perpetration
of these villainies, and let no efforts be relaxed
until their gangs are broken up and their occupa-
tion gone. Extensive vigilance will, no doubt, be
required, and, perhaps, the means adopted may be
very expensive, but how can the public money be
better spent, or the time and strength of the
officials be more worthily employed, than in pro-
tecting life, and bringing malefactors to justice.
It is always meet to look our dangers in the
face at times, to discover the remedy, and not
to shirk the responailsility or the difficulty of its
application. Taken in time, many things are kept
under which else might assume a hydra-like form,
and, perhaps, circumvent the efforts and befits the
zeal of those tuo late roused to the contemplation
of the danger, and too little prepared to act with
decision and promptness.

THE PROPOSED EUROPEAN CONGRESS.

(From the Times.)
Her Majesty the Queen received yesterday morn-
ing an autograph letter from the Emperor of the
French, in which his Imperial Majesty requested
the Queen to send representatives to a Congress of
the chief European States, whose duty it shall be
to take note of and recognise the points in which
the Treaty of Vienna had bzen infringed, and to
adopt such measures with respect to present com-
plications as may best secure the general peace.

"We believe that her Majesty's Ministers will meet
in Cabinet to•day, to consider of the answer to be
returned by her Majesty to the Emperor of the
French,