The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-26 00:00:00

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE IN PARIS,

The official annual report on the hospitals and charitable
institutions of Paris during the year 1861 has just been
published by M. Huseon, director of that department. He
begins by calling attention to an important improvement
introduced into hospitals as regards spiritual consolation.
Hitberto the clergy of the recognised forms of worship had
alone enjoyed free access to the hospitals, to the exclusion
of members of the Anglican, Greek, and other foreign
churches. This restriction has now been removed, and
ministers of all creeds, appointed for the purpose by their
respective ambassadors, have now free admittance to patients
of their own nation. Since the annexation of the new com-
munes to Paris, the right of sending patients to the hospices
or alms-houses is exercised by the Bureaux de Bienfaisance
of the 20 arrondissements in an inverse order of rotation;
thus, the bureau of the 20th arrondissement has the presen-
tation to the first vacant bed, that of the 19th to the second,
and so on. The number of admissions to the hospices of the
Salperriere, the Incurables, Menages, and Charonne was
1,071 in 1861. The bake-house for all the hospitals, in which
establishment, as our readers may remember, impor-
tant experiments have been in progress on a large scale for
the better extraction of all the most nutritive parts of bread
stuffs in general, baked 7,351,238 kilos. of bread in 1861.
The hospitals consumed during the same year 1,307,315
kilos. of meat; 1,890,500 litres of wine, 1,363,325 litres of
milk; 1,601,284 eggs; 105,383 kilos. of butter; and
1,317,000 kilos. of vegetables. The Bureaux de Bienfaisance
of the 20 arrondissements expended 4,401,1129 f. for chari-
table purposes. The number of patients treated in the hos-
pitals of Paris was 34,911, the number of days passed there
was 2,137,685, and the total expense 4,321,9791. The largest
number of patients were contributed by the sth, 11th, 10th,
and 4th arrondissements, commencing from the sth as the
heaviest (8,076 patients). The minimum of patients was
contributed by the 16th arrondissement (1,220 patients).
The total expenditure of the Administration of Public As-
sistants amounted in 1861 to 23,467,304 f. ; the amount of
donations received during the year was 1,622,3271. in money,
and 3,646 f. rente. M. Husson's report contains many other
valuable details, for which we must refer the reader to the
book itself.

According to an official report, Paris in 1859
contained 1,433 streets, boulevards, or avenues, 84 courts,
36 quays, and 141 squares or open places. By the exten-
sion of the limits of the city to the fortifications in 1860,
there were added 1,230 streets, boulevards, or avenues, 146
court, 13 quays, and 103 squares or open places.
SUDDEN DEATH OF A CLERGYMAN.—The Rev.
Spencer Dod Wilde, M.A„ vicar of the parish of Fletching,
in Sussex, has just died in a very unexpected manner.
On
Sunday last, after performing the usual morning service in
the church, he went to the pulpit to deliver the sermon,
selecting for his text the words, "The rich and the poor
meet together ; the Lord is the maker of them all." He
had only commenced his discourse a few minutes when he
faltered and appeared unable to go on, It was at first sup-
posed that he was labouring under strong emotion, arising
from the serious illness of his brother, Mr. George Wilde,
who resides in Surrey, and with whom he had been staying
fora few weeks previously ; but it soon became apparent
that he was too ill to proceed with his sermon. He was then
assisted from the pulpit and conveyed to the vicarage im-
mediately adjoining, and the congregation dispersed. Medi-
cal aid was promptly obtained, but proved unavailing, as
the reverend gentleman lingered in a semi-unconscious state
until four o'clock on Monday morning, when he expired.
Apoplexy is believed to have been the cause of his death.
The deceased was 60 years of age, and had held the vicarage
for about 30 years.

SILK,—It is an interesting historical fact that
although the rearing of silkworms and the un-
ravelling of the thread from them to be manufactured into
articles of dress, were first practised by the Chinese, the
introduction of this branch of industry into Europe was
due to Justinian, who, in the year 550, first succeeded
in having the eggs brought to Constantinople. Mul-
berry trees were planted, and every attention bestowed
on the rearing of the insects. In a subsequent region,
we are informed by Gibbon, that such was the pro-
gress made, that China silk was successfully com-
peted with by the new industry. Spreading into
Greece, it did not extend farther till the 12th
century, when, cn the sacking of Corinth and Athens by
the King of Sicily, it was introduced into Italy, and from
thence, in the latter part of the 15th century, the rearing
of silkworms was first prosecuted in the south of France.
There it was deemed of such importance by Henry IV. that
he rewarded persons who had been engaged in the manu-
facture of silk for 12 years with patents of nobility. The
v..lne of silk at Rome in Julius Ciesar's time was that of
gold—a pound of silk being worth the same weight of the
precious metal. Justinian's labour was not in vain, as
Europe has since realised its advantages, and it is now a
remarkable, but for Turkish economists a gratifying, fact
that at the present day the district of Brousa occupies the
foremost rank for the production of this valuable filament.
—levant Herald.

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