The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 26, 1863

personal friendship for the departed soldier, and
paid due honour to his memory. Not at such a
time or place, he said, could he give a summary of
the deeds of the late Fie d Marshal, or even men-
tion the chief events in a career which extended
" from the time when he joined the British army in
1805, amidst the wooded cliffs of Portugal, on the
eve of the battle of Vimiera, to when he trampled
under foot the last embers of the Sepoy insurrec-
tion beneath the shadow of the mountains of Ne•
paul." But although Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON did
not attempt such a task as this, he could dwell on
the personal characteristics and substantial virtues
of his friend ; he could testify to the simplicity, the
generosity, the absence of all those mean and en-
vious feelings which sometimes shadow the nobility
of men who have achieved eminence. He could
dilate upon the high sense of duty which animated
Lord CLYDE, his promptness and willingness to
act in his country's service ; his modesty, which
was so great as to lead to misapprehension and pre-
vent him from doing himself justice. Sir ARCHI-
BALD could also dojustice to the merits of the Gene-
ral who, ever ready to hazavd his own life, was
always sparing of his soldiers. The young officer
who led the forlorn hope at St. Sebastian was the
same leader, it is true, whose " thin red line" ex-
cited the wonder of friends and foes at Balakiava,
but he was also the commander who exhausted
every combination in his endeavour to accomplish
a necessary end with the least possible sacrifice of
men. His capacities as Commander-in-Chief can
only be estimated by the last act in his long mili-
tary career—the final subjugation of the Sepoy
mutiny. Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON cited several in-
stances to prove that, however influence or preju-
dice might succeed in putting others before him
when times were fair, in the moment of emergency
and peril, when real efficiency was needed, he was at
once turned to. The most remarkable occasion of
this sort is fresh in all our recollections, and we ail
remember, too, the characteristic reply to the ques-
tion, when he could be ready to start for India—
" To-morrow morning." Arrived there, there was
no sign of haste or rashness to be found in the im-
petuous soldier. Some, indeed, blamed him for
dilatoriness and over-caution, but he heeded them
not, but went on his way steadily till the end was
won. It was an office of no small responsibility and
danger, for, in the words of his eulogist at the
Glasgow meeting, when marching from Cawnpore
to Lucknow, " He bore the fate of India on his
sword's point, for he was marching with 6,000 men
—our last reserve—to assail 60,000, intrenched to
the teeth, in the capital of Oude, with 15,000 vic-
torious rebels threatening his rear and communica-
tions." Such recollections may well animate his
countrymen to do honour to his fame, and in no
more fitting spot could they raise his memorial than
in the streets of his native city.

Among social improvers there are few who rank
higher, or whose rank exercise a more beneficial
influence on the community, than those who address
themselves to the wants and privations of the in-
mates of workhouses. There is no class of institu-
tion at present existing in the metropolis or through-
out the country that stands in greater need of care
and attention than these receptacles for the desti-
tute. It may be said of them, lasciente ogni
speranza vir ch'entrale. While hospitals are price-
less boons to the poor and suffering, and while even
prisons and gaols are often rendered positive places
of relief, as regards physical comforts, it
has been
proved by close investigation and attested by not-
able witnesses that the workhouse is per se, as it
were, among those establishments that receive a
large share of our population. This inferiority is
especially to be regretted, because for the most part
those who become denizens within its walls are com-
pelled so to do in consequence of great misfortunes
having befallen them, or of sickness depriving them
of the means of supporting themselves. The paper
read by Miss TWINING at the Social Science Con-
gress at Edinburgh goes far to show the great neces-
sity that prevails for some remedial measures to be
adopted. It seems a strange and a sad thing that
in this wealthy and benevolent land, so many
charities should abound, and yet that by
some unaccountable mischance no provision
should be made for a class that particu-
Italy deserves our commiseration. There are
many painful ordeals to be gone through in the
treatment of disease, many anxious moments of sus-
pense to be endured during its fluctuations, but
nothing else can so of-ilia the sufferer as to be told
that hope is past. The human mind naturally
shrinks from the contemplation of such a dreary
and dismal prospect, It seems hard, then, to reflect
that there is no alleviation whatever afforded to
those unhappy beings who are dismissed from the
hospital as incurable. They are compelled, almost
without exception, to proceed to the workhouse,
where their condition is truly deplorable. There is
great truth in the remark of Miss TWINING that it
" certainly seems strange that, thoughtful and
liberal as we have been in these countries about the
temporarily sick, we have bestowed so little thought
in inquiring what becomis of all those incurably ,
sick persons who are annually dismissed from hos-
pitals." It is of no use to question the records of
the past, but it will be of the most service if we avoid
the recurrence of this unfortunate neglect for the
future. It stands to reason that one of the first
evils to be rectified is that glaring error mentioned
in this paper referred to, namely, the practice of em-
Playing untrained pauper nurses, and these, too, with-
out a superintendent to watch their proceedings.
Hapless is the lot of the unhappy victims to lingering
maladies, to be subjected to so many of those minor
alaictinne which, in the time of sickness and de-
pression, assume a form of magnitude, and are a
grievers burthen. The Workhouse Visiting Society
has endeavoured to relieve some of the sufferings
alluded to by timely snggestions, and the introduc-
tion of sympathising visitors. Also an admirable
proposal was made, which, in some instances, has
been found to be most efficacious—namely, to place
the incurable in a separate ward, where they might
obtain more attention and voluntary relief, without
creating jealousy among the other inmates. The
plan suggested by Miss TWINING bids fair to miti-
gate the worst part of the evils now so prevalent.
It is that a ward should be set apart for those who
are able to pay a small sum, or whose friends can
pay for them. Here they would have nearly all the
advantages of an hospital, and with the continued
care that cannot be afforded in those institutions,
many of the poor sufferers, whose recovery is now
deemed hopeless, would very likely be restored to
comparative health, or be enabled to gain their
awn livelihood. At present there are many
in this position, and if they contribute
theirr.vesmall stipend to their support, they
no " distinction whatever" from those who
P 537 nothing. The incurable wards, before refer' ed
to, via partially
supply the wants of the destitute
class, and thus
afflicted
members of
numerous and grievously
of
the community will be in a
fair way of seeing better days. Surely if one class
more than another claims
our pity, merits our con-
sideration, and deserves
oar exertions, it is the in-
curable in workhouses,
Aa a
present they are
situated, in too many cases thent seem enduring
a
state as monstrous, and position as forlorn,
that can afflict humanity. "A night everlasting
any
has Shut them from day," so far as regards the co