The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-06 00:00:00

he was himself thoroughly convinced of the sound-
ness of the peculiar theories which were advocated
by him, it is impossible to deny that owing to his
special tenacity of opinion, and a peculiarity of
mind which prevented his adapting himself and his
system to the further discoveries and experience of
othere, he constituted himself for many years an in-
vincible obstruction in the practical advancement
of reformatory science; and that, not being willing
himself to carry on a bona fide ticket-of-leave
system, he has caused a powerful popular
prejudice to attach itself to anything bearing
that name, by the substitution of such a
spurious anomaly as the granting conditional
liberty to criminals on conditions which he
purposely made no attempt to enforce. He had ap-
parently possessed himself of the idea that his pri-
sons were such self-acting purifiers that it was un-
necessary, if not impertinent, for the public to de-
mand any further proof of changed character in
discharged convicts than the fact of their having
duly graduated in his department. Giving Sir J.
Jebb full credit for sincerity in the belief that his
own reformatory processes were the best, it must
also be admitted that he was a most assiduous and
painstaking public officer, and that in many,
minor respects he was a very vaiusble contri-
butor to the improvements in prison discipline.
Sensibly alive to comment on his official conduct,
he was always desirous to do that in which he lat-
terly so very signally failed, namely, to enlist public
opinion and the press in his favour, It is owing to
this, and the great desire which he manifested to
enlighten and set right on matters upon which we
had ourselves commented, that we are able person-
ally to bear testimony to his agreeable bearing and
urbanity, while it enables and compels us also to
state that the great failing of his mind was a total
incapacity for argument. He could always give,
and was at all times ready to afford a complete his-
tory of a case, and all the information in his power,
but he could not argue upon it, and was almost in-
variably led to mistake reiteration for reasoning.
With this paramount mental fault, he was to a great
extent unqualified for high administrative responsi-
bility, and it explains and in some degree excuses
many of his most prominent errors. By Sir Joshua
Jebb's decease three most important offices become
vacant, each requiring special talent, and which
should never be again held in combination by one
individual. They are the Chairmanship of the
Board of Directors of Convict Prisons, the office of
Surveyor-General of Prisons, and the Inspector-
Generalship of Military Prisons. If the occasion be
properly used, the removal of the late Chief Direc-
tor of Convict Prisons may be made to facilitate the
speedy and more satisfactory settlement of a much-
vexed question, and if the Government neglects
the opportunity now afforded it may never return.
It is, under the circumstances, clear that nothing
s •ould be determined on as to the chief government
of the convict service until the report of the Royal
Commission is in the hands of the public, and an op-
portunity has been afforded for its decisions being
canvassed in the Legislature.
WEEKLY REGISTER.—The Emperor Napoleon
has just proposed a practical reform, which, if he is
able to carry it out, will make him the greatest bene-
factor France has known for centuries. The great
evil of France is too much government. Hitherto
this evil has been left untouched under every suc-
cessive change of government. Legitimate Kings,
Republics, Directors, Consuls, Empires, Citizen
Kings have equally left unchanged this, which lies
at the root of more than half of the social evils of
Franco and most other Continental States. It has
arisen more from the desire to provide places under
Government for the greatest possible number of
persons than from any anxiety to extend the di-
rect power of the Administration. Whatever has
been done in France for some two centuries past has
been done by Government and its officials, and the
people have at length learned to look to the Go-
vernment to do whatever has to be done, instead of
doing it themselves. We some time back pointed out
an instance of this in the relief of the cotton manu-
facturers in England and France. Nowhere is
charity more hearty or more active than in France;;
yet the instinctive feeling of a Frenchman in the
presence of that calamity was, "Government must
do something," while the instinctive feeling of an
Englishman was " I must do something." This was
not because Englishmen are more charitable than
Frenchmen, but because the Englishman has always
been used "to administer,", and the Frenchman
"to be administered." Elsewhere on the Conti-
nent the same system has produced the same result,
a miserable system that has too generally passedifor
the deepest statecraft. In truth, nothing could be
more fatal. It has corrupted the people, and the
Government instead of being strengthened has been
undermined. In all the revolutions of late years,
worthless functionaries have been the class by whom
it has been betrayed. The Emperor Napoleon has
shown by his late letter to the President of the
Council of State, that he has not watched with an
unobservant eye the affairs of a country in which it
is a fundamental maxim that every man is to attend
to his own business, and the Government merely to
keep peace and order. According to our notion,
there would be no need of Government at all, if all
men paid willing obedience to the laws. Govern-
ment is necessary to enforce the laws, because
men will not obey them unless they are enforced.
According to the Continental system, Government
would be necessary, even if all the subjects were
saints, because they must still have it to think
and act for them, and in their stead. We much fear
that the public mind of France has been too much
accustomed to the working of an evil system to
appreciate the immense value of the reform pro-
posed by the Emperor. If he has firmness and
courage to carry it out, he will be the greatest bene-
factor France has known for centuries.
ATHENZUM.—The number of visitors to Kew
Gardens last year exceeded that of any previous one
by 70,000, mainly due to the visits of foreigners to
the International Exhibition. The total number of
visitors was 550,000; this multitude did no harm to
the gardens, plants or buildings ; of the whole, more
than half, or 267,935, came on bundays. At Kew
no new buildings have been erected during the past
year, but seven of the largest tropical and temperate
houses have been re-arranged. Among these the
architectural hothouse, near the entrance, has been
refilled with aroids and other tropical large-leaved
climbers, the splendid foliage and peculiar habits of
which attract attention. The old orangery, built
either in George the First or Second's time, has been
found useless, a curious comment on the progress of
botany in this country. The palm-house has been
rearranged. Important contributions of plants and
seeds have been received from West Africa, Japan,
British Columbia, also of bulbs and orchids. The
cultivation of Chinconcas in the Neilgherries, Hima-
laya, Ceylon, and the West India Islands is described
as highly satisfactory. It is to be hoped that the
medical world will derive benefit from this effort of the
authorities, and not forget to be grateful to Sir W.
Hooker for it. In the scientific department of the
gardens the acquisition of valuable specimens has
been unprecedented, and mainly due to the Inter
national Exhibition having brought a vast number
of the productions of all parts of the globe together.
Almost the whole of the vegetable productions of
our colonies is now represented at Kew. Costly
and nearly complete collections from Tasmania,Vic-
toria, North, South, and West Australia, Queens-
, land, Canada, Guiana, Natal, and Dominica, have
been received in perfect classification, Fine collec-
tions of woods from the same places, and British
Columbia, Vancouver's Island, Trinidad, Cape of
Good Hope, Mauritius, St, Helena, Bahamas, New
Brunswick, Ceylon, lonian Islands, Russia, and
Austria, now tax the space at command to hold
them. Besides these, fruits from Venezuela—vege-
table oils and varnishes from the Messrs. Wallis—
perfumes from Messrs.Piesse—preserved fruits from
Messrs. Fortnum and Mason, boxwood for engrav-
ing from Mr. R. J. Scott—illustrations of toy manu-
facture by turnery; from Leipzig, by Prof. Reichen-
bach, jun., have been added. One of the most re-
markable donations is that of vegetable substanoes,
illustrating the costumes and food of the inhabitants
of the ancient lake dwellings of the pre-historic
races of Switzerland, a highly curious collection
presented by Prof. 0. Heer, of Zurich. The addi-
tions to the Herbarium have been very large, and
include the British Herbarium of the lateW. Borrer,
representing the rise and progress of botany in the
British Isles through more than half a century.

ACCURATE REPORTING. —Had the report of the
proceedings in the Court of Queen's Bench, in the
matter of Zadkiel and his glass ball, been as correctly given
in all the papers as in the Daily lelegraph, there would
have been no need for us to refei to that trial. Zadkiel sent
us an account of Sir John Franklin, seen in his glass ball
darkly, which we printed to laugh at, as an impertinent piece
of drollery—act, as might be inferred from some of the re-
ports, because we thought it of any value. Anybody may see
this for himself by turning to the Atheneum for February
9, 1859.-4thenccum. [Our contemporary the Atheneum
is apparently not aware that the report of Zadkiel's trial
published in the Daily lelcgraph of Tuesday, saving and
excepting only the omission of a fragment of a sentences
WAS word for word the same as the report which appeared
in The Sun of the preceding evening.
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—Holloway's Pills.—lnfectious Ma-
ladies.—We are all aware that at certain times disease runs
through the people like the plague of old, and all should
likewise know that Holloway's:Pills can check such spread-
ing calamity. This purifying medicine expels from the
blood and system all obnoxious matters which breed both
contagious and infectious maladies—it institutes a radically
curative rather than a palliative treatment. Holloway's
Pills should be taken without one moment's needless delay
when disordered stomach, headache, restlessness, or general
feverishness betoken some derangement or debility of the
frame. The true art of conquering disease lies in obeying
nature, and surely quietly getting rid of lurking poisons
and overcoming their pernicious effects is the safest course
for the phyeicau.