The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-04 00:00:00

that no further invasions of this rule will be allowed
by Great Britain. It may further be asked that he
should take occasion to suggest to that Minister,
'hat during she continuance of the blockgde, of all
S,,uthern ports the question of contraband of war
should in no case be raised, seeing that it can in no
case be relevant. There are s o unblockaded. Con-
federate ports—or none which are admitted by the
Federalists to be unblockaded. A ship carrying a
cargo of books, or silks, or jewels, to a blockaded
port, is liable to confiscation; a ship carrying a
cargo of cannon and rifles to Matamoras may not
lawfully be intercepted by Federal cruisers. Lord
Russell cannot refuse any of these demands; for
they are all in strict accordance with law. It is the
duty of Parliament to see that he no longer evades
them. Finally, while every one admits the bellige-
rent right of visit, and of detention in suspicious
cases, it is affirmed by Lord Russell himself that the
use of this right for purposes of vexation--.-that is,
to harass or interrupt a lawful neutral trade—is
an offence which cannot be tolerated by neutral
powers. Now, the trade between Liverpool and
Nassau, and the trade between London and Mata-
moms, whether in arms or in medicines, in powder
or in linen, is strictly lawful, in so far as the
Federal Government is concerned ; and yet the Fe-
deral cruisers do systematically interrupt that trade,
when carried on in British bottoms, to such an ex-
tent that vessel concerned in it are obliged to pay a
heavy premium for insurance against war risk. It
is demanded that by a peremptory remonstrance—
peremptory in purport, however friendly in form—
this hostile proceeding of the Federal squadrons
should be terminated. This demand, also, is in
strict accordance with the law, as laid down by all
jurists, and as admitted by Lord Russell and by
Mr. Seward. Such are the simple, lawful, and
equitable requests which have been addressed by
the mercantile community to the Foreign Secretary.
And if they be not complied with, in the presence
of the gross outrage committed on the Britian flag by
the captain of the Rhode Island, we trust the mat-
ter will be taken up by others, and that Parlia-
ment will request of her Majesty the dismissal of
a Minister more zealous for the interest of the
United Stets than for the rights of British com-
. merce and the honour of the British Crown.

PosT.—Much of the happiness of human life de
pends upon the right management of apparently
small matters, and the fate of kingdoms has before
now been decided by the state of the gastric juice of
distinguished personages. Undoubtedly the corn-
forts of borne in every station ot life are greatly en-
hanced by wholesome food and good cookery. The
ancients elevated the art of preparing food into a
profession, and even at the present day among
ourselves a French cook skilled in the culinary de-
partment commands a better income than many a
junior barrister or tutor. The Great Duke is said
to have greatly disconcerted a Parisian chef whom
he had taken into his service by declaring his utter
iedifference as to what he ate. Yet, notwithstand-
ine the Spartan simplicity which characterised the
habits of that great man, there can be no doubt
that, as a French philospher once remarked, feed
being a necessary of human life, it may as well be
made palatable as not. According to all reliable
accounts, the Greeks and Romans had a greater
variety of edible dishes and more elaborate
modes of preparing them than we now possess.
Apicius spent two millions and a half on the plea-
sures of the table, and then committed suicide
because the remnant of his fortune would not etable
him to continue his former extravagance. Roman
epicures could fatten up snails with paste to such a
degree that the shells of some of them would con-
tain many quarts. The livers of geese unnaturally
distended by artificial means, young hawks, asses,
and portions of animals that would now never be
thought of as articles of food, were in those days
converted into dainties by the superior skill of the
cook. Many animals and fishes like the porpoise
were then highly esteemed, and altogether it may
be safely affirmed that the civilised nations of anti-
quity had more elaborate modes of preparing their
food, and a greater variety of it, than now exist.
Whether this state of things arises from a change
in the public taste with regard to articles fit for
sustaining life, or to the decline of the culinary art,
we are not prepared to state. We know, indeed,
that the humbler classes in our seaport towns have
strong prejudices against eating fish ; the inhabi-
tants of Ireland of every degree have a positive
aversion to young rooks and sucking pig, while the
English gips)* will enjoy a hedgehog roasted in a
ball of clay ; but notwithstanding these circum-
stances, the fact cannot be denied that the great
masses of the inhabitants of the British Isles are
sadly deficient in varieties of food, and in economi-
cal and wholesome modes of preparing it.
Any plans, then, of a practical nature which
may be suggested for remedying these deficiencies
are surely worthy of public attention and support.
The Acclimatisation Society, whose annual dinner
took place the other day, proposes to domesticate in
this country all birds, fishes, and vegetables which
may be proved on trial to be useful additions to
the already existing articles of human food; and
their efforts so far have been attended with consi-
derable success, as their last report and increasing
subscriptions abundantly testify. We have little
doubt that the introduction of the Chinese sheep
into this country will ultimately prove a decided
success in every point of view, possessing as it does
a flavour superior even to that of Welsh, High-
land, or Portland mutton, and being twice as
prolific as any breed of sheep in this country.
Most people know the enormous waste which
ensues on cooking a joint of Cotswold mutton,
or one from the gross Lincolnshire animal ; but
if the Ong-Ti breed of Chinese sheep can be
successfully reared in this country, or crossed with
some of our heavier animals, a more delicate flavour
will be imparted to our mutton, and twice the num-
ber of animals kept on the same ground than are
now to be-found. As to the introduction of new
sorts of fish into this country, little seems to have
been done. As yet only efforts are being made to
secure either the ova or living specimens of the
Murray cod, the mountain mullet ot Jamaica, and
the lucio perca, all which are highly spoken of; but
we venture to suggest tha► when they arrive they
shall be placed in private waters, as it is just possi-
ble, from our imp, rftct knowledge of their habits
and modes of life, they might if put into any of our
salmon, trout, or grayling streams, seriously injure,
if not ultimately destroy, some of our best native
breeds. Attention also is bei!.g directed to the fur-
ther distribution of groyfing, charr, and cr.) fish
among our rivers and lakes in which they are not
now to be found ; and it is rather a remarkable mad
that there is sot a grayling in any Irish river, nor,
until their recent introduction to the Clyde, in any
Scotch stream. There are to our certain knowledge
many waters in both the sister kingdoms eminently
suited to the habits of this beautiful fish, and we
trust to hear soon that some of the Irish rivers have
been stocked with it. As to the crayfish, we advise
the proprietors of all trout and salmon rivers to
make themselves thoroughly acquainted with its
habits and modes of life, and especially to ascertain
whether it has not a fondness for the spawn of other
fish, or before they ran any risks in placing it in
rivers where it may possibly.do an infinite amount
of mischief ; and if once put into a stream it is very
difficult to get rid of it. The cultivation of the
Chinese yam seems on the whole, notwithstanding
conflicting accounts by those who have grown it, to
have been attended with satisfactory results, and in
France it is highly esteemed and extensively planted.
There is little doubt that when thoroughly acclima-
tised it may improve both in flavour and substance ;
and as the potato is still liable to disease, perhaps
from the use of artificial manures or over-cultivation,
this Eastern root may on trial be found to be a good
substitute. Lady Dorothy Nevill has been emi-
nently successful in the management of the Ailan-
thus silkworm ; and this branch of industry, it is
thought, might be profitably pursued in this coun-
try, and prove a great boon to cottagers and others.
Altogether the efforts of the Acclimatisation Society
have been attended with considerable success.
Their sphere of operations and their subscriptions
increase every year; and as their objects are the
introduction of new articles of food and fresh
branches of industry, they cannot fail to secure the
sympathies and support of all persona interested in
the welfare of tho nation.

BANKRUPTCY OF DION BOUCICAULT.—A petition
of adjudication of bankruptcy was yesterday pre-
sented ageinst Mr. Dion Boucicault, formerly an actor at
the Adelphi and Drury-lane Theatres, and afterwards
manager of the New Theatre Royal, Westminster, and the
author of the well-known drama the " Colleen Bawn."
Adjudication was duly made, the solicitors to the petition
being Messrs. Linklater. It is stated that the bankrupt,
having made a large sum of money at the Adelphi, entered
upon the occupation of the Westminster Theatre (late
Astley's), and there expended about £14,000 upon decora-
tions and improvements. A company was afterwards
started for the purchase of the bankrupt's premises, and the
bankrupt was to receive as much as £lO,OOO out of the pro-
ceeds. To the non•completion a that arrangement the
bankrupt attributed his failure. The bankrupt's liabilities
are stated in round numbers at £30,000 ; the assets are re-
urned at £20,000, independently of a claim fot £38,000
upon the New Theatre Company.
-

- -
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—HOIIOWay'S Ointment and Pills
should receive a fair and impartial trial from all afflicted
with sores, wounds, varicose veins, numbness of the
muscleg, contracted sinews, and a host of other male
dies 'by which multitudes pass through a miserable exist-
ence to an early grave. Cases of ulcerations which had
been going on from year to year getting worse and worse,
have been thoroughly cured by this cooling and healing
unguent when all other applications have even failed to give
ease. Holloway's pills lend great assistance in the curative
process. In all chronic and constitutional maladies the
ointment and pills act together most harmoniously ; Loth
of them are admirably suited to different ages, habits of life,
climate, and season.