The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-22 00:00:00

Causes of the late Earthquake.

To our minds the inferences to be drawn are-
1. That every earthquake is not absolutely the same
in its development. 2. That an earthquake is in-
variably the result of an equalisation of force from
some central portion of the earth, where such force
has accumulated, to the surrounding parts. 3. That
the force may in some cases take the form of elec-
tricity, and that the shock felt may be, in truth,
a subterranean electrical storm causing no neces-
sary disruption of the earth's surface, but instanta-
neous and widely radiated shock or vibration. 4.
That the force may be developed in the form of heat
as well as electricity, giving rise, in the central
point, to volcanic explosion and disruption of
the earth, with vibration communicated to
surrounding districts. 5. That earthquakes which
are due to accumulation of heat, from suppression,
may occur without any special antecedent atmo-
spheric phenomena. That earthquakes due to elec-
trical discharge may, as Dr. Stukeley explained, be
preceded by special atmospheric variations indicat-
ing disturbance between the electrical forces of the
earth and of the watery vapour above; and may
end in a discharge from the earth, upon its coming
in contact with clouds negatively electrical, followed
by a vibration instantaneously felt through a large
tract of the earth's surface, but not of necessity pro-
ducing either breakage, volcano, or geyser.
The earthquake of Monday was probably of this
last-named character.—Social Science _Review.

FREE NEGRO " GENTS" AT SIERRA LEONE.—
"It is a political as well as a social mistake to per-
mit these men to dine in the main cabin, which they will
end by monopolizing: a ruling race cannot be too particular
about these small matters. The white man's position is
rendered far more precarious on the coast than it might be,
if the black man were always kept in his proper place.
A European without stockings or waistcoat, and with
ragged slops hanging about his limbs, would not be
admitted into the cuddy ; an African will. Many
of the fellows come on board to make money by
picking a quarrel. And what does one think of a
dusky belle, after dropping her napkin at Govern-
ment House, saying to her neighbour, 'Please, Mr. Officer-
man, pick up my towel,' or of such a dialogue as this. The
steward has neglected to supply soup to some negro. who
at every meal has edged himself higher up towards the top
of the table, and whose conversation consists of whispering
into the ears of an adjacent negro, and of hyssna-like guf-
faws. ' I say, daddee, I want any soop; all de passenger,
he drink 'im soop; me no drink my soop : what he mean,
dis palaver ?'—The words are uttered in a kind of scream ;
the steward cannot help smiling, and the nigger resumes :
'Ah, you laff I And for why you laff? I no laff; no drinkee
soop I' Here the dialogue ends, and the ladies look their
acknowledgments that travelling does throw us into strange
society."
THE DELIGHTS OF WORD HUNTING.—There are
few more instructive occupations than dictionary
making; and Dr Lowden did his work honestly. None of
his neighbours in scarlet and top-boots hunted a fox with
a more keen relish for the sport than this crippled old man
chased the words up and down, out of ono book and through
another. When they broke cover from the mother tongue,
he worried them out of one language into another, never
suffering himself or Ralph to rest until he had run ion
themd to
earth in their original roots. Then, proudly as
hangs another scalp in hie wigwam, he placed
his dictionary, where he felt it must remain fo
rtehveanewr,oirldluisn-
trious or ignoble according to the parentsgset. hseephuaidchdrie%
covered for it.—Arnold's Story of Ralph. or,
and St. Stephen's.
SHIPWRECK AND Loss OF LIFE.—On the morning
of Sunday last the brig
Antigua Packet, of Liver-
pool, Colman master, from Demerara to Workington, with
a cargo of greenheart timber, became a total wreck by
striking on a sandbank in the Solway Frith, within sight of
the part of the captain is
her destination. A mistake
said to have been the cause "Of the disaster. When the
her going to pieces seemed so
vessel struck the danger °I.
imminent that the crewaet ocancpetati?noktotoletahveebtohaet,vbeustseil, in vain
n on and
deav red to induce
th
eat length
put off without him, arriving at Southerness at
10 a.m On Monday nothing could be seen of the vessel,
and there is every reason to believe that the captain perished
with her. The Antigua Packet was owned by Messrs.
Sateliff and Co., of Liverpool. There is little chance of
recovering the cargo, which was a valuable one.
DESTRUCTIVE DROUGHT.—A Smyrna letter of
the 6th has
the subjoined intelligence :—The de-
structive drought, which has done so much harm to all our
crops, still continues, and in many parts of the town there
positive water-famine. The figs have suffered greatly
from a
romthis cause, and the season's crop will in consequence
be far below the average both in quality and quantity. The
cotton crop will suffer to an equal or perhaps greater extent.
The continued activity of the brigands has induced our
Governor-General to make a vigorous move amongst his
subordinates in the interior towards suppressing the evil.
With this view, he has addressed to the mudirs and other
local chiefs stringent orders to use their most strenuous
endeavours to arrest every armed vagabond who cannot
give a satisfactory account of himself, and to send him
down to Smyrna for examination. The province has for
months been in a state which is a positive disgrace to all
government—notwithstanding the honest and energetic
efforts of Ahmet Pasha, within the immediate neighbour-
hood of Smyrna, to put down the evil. The light-house
administration. is fast completing its service of lights fur
these waters. and will, it is expected, have the line of this
bay, and hence round the strait of Mytoline, fully function-
idg in the course of next week. The service will be a great
boon for our own immediate navigation, the accidents to
which from the want of such beacons, especially near the
castle and on the liermus bank, have of late years became
numerous and costly, if not fatal, in proportion to our ex-
tending trade."

THE MURRAIN.—The following intelligence
comes from Mostar (Herzogovina), Oct. 2 :—" Ti."
ravages of the murrain have bean very serious among toe
1 200
cattle in the district. At Brood (Turkey), out. °, lie,
oxen only 100 remain. Throughout all Bosndutesancrl
ono
zogovina the mortality amongst the cattle of all
t 0
toe Wo"..ie.
has been equally heavy,causing immense lossc
nritieP:, P
who
Much blame is attributable to the localhaeo b
take no adequate precautions to preventwtn
into the rivers
spread of ale
disease. The cattle which died were thrown
all
animals
Save and Unna, and other streams ;icokly
became diseased.
drinking of the poisoned water rl,u_ Austrian frontier,and
The murrain is now raging aloneigb:Bl°. At Petrova a serious
the cattle are dying in groat nu
the
inhabitants, which is
epidemic has broken out amongimpure water. The Catholic
ascribed to their using the Baracic, died last week in the
Bishop of Herzegovina,
tilithge.age of 67 years. The deceased
supporter of Austrian influence, d
Sirßrigh converi-,-
prelate was an ardent
taeal with the decoration of Comm' and
rewarded for his
Pt
Comman-
der of the Iron Crown,