The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENENG, DEMIBER 26, 1862.

LA TES I/ N E WS.

ROME, DEC. 25.

The Pope did not officiate at the Vatican to-day.
His indisposition, however, is not severe, as he was
able to receive individually the members of the
diplomatic Corps.

PARIS, DEC. 25.

The Moniteur, , in its bulletin of to-day, says :
"The Papal Nuncio has remitted to M. Drouyn
de Lhuys the sum of 10,000 f., sent by the Pope
for the poor workmen of tho department of the
Lower Seine, at the same time stating that his Holi-
ness regretted that the state of his finances pre-
vented him from sending a more considerable sum.
His Holiness, however, wished to testify his sym-
pathy for the French people and his gratitude for
the tokens of devotion which he receives from
France."

THE GREEK QUESTION.
PARIS, DEC. 25.

La France of this evening asserts that two of the
Great Powers are not in favour of the lonian Islands
being ceded to Greece, maintaining that the present
Protectorate of those islands was established in the
interest of the European equilibrium, and that if
this Protectorate were to cease they would become a
permanent focus of insurrection.

ST. PETERSBURG, DEC. 25.

The Journal de St. Petersburg of to-day, in an
article replying to the Opintone -Nationale and La
France, says :

" These journals have ascribed to us an absur-
dity. We wished to say that if England is at liberty
to renounce the Protectorate of the lonian Islands
it is for Europe alone to determine their subse-
quent destiny, and to do so with the same con-
sideration for the common interest which on a
former occasion confided the Protectorate of those
Islands to England.
"Besides, the English Government has also
adopted this doctrine when calling the attention
of the Powers who signed the Treaties of 1815,
and of those who have subsequently agreed to
them, to the question of the cession of the lonian
Islands to Greece."

TURIN, DEC. 25.
Garibaldi arrived at Caprera on the 22d inst.

MADRID, DEC. 24.

The statement made by some Spanish journals
that M, Barrot had proposed a new treaty between
France and Spain, in reference to Mexico, is devoid
of foundation.

The Senate has adjourned until the 29th inst.

it must have been heavy. Of Europeans two were
killed and a few wounded. The Chinese auxiliaries
suffered but slightly. Tho event occurred on the
24th ultimo.

Previously, on the Bth of that month, Fung-Wha
in the Ningpo district had been retaken from the
rebels by a naval party under the command of
Captain Dew, of her Majesty's ship Encounter, and
a body of trained Chinese. It was a smart affair,
and a very gallant one on the part of the Europeans,
who were not supported by the Chinese levies.
Several of the English were wounded, and the party
was obliged to be withdrawn with the intention of
renewing the attack on the following day ; but
in the night the Taepings evacuated the city.
As at Kah-ding the rebels fought with much reso-
lution, and the fortifications at both places were
found to have been greatly strengthened since they
had re-occupied them. At Canton, the Chinese
troops are making good progress in drill under
English instructors, and the Governor-General is
repairing and strengthening his defences, while the
city is tranquil.
From Japan unanthenticated rumours come of a
desire on the part of the Tycoon and his council
that the foreign representatives should employ a
force to chastise the insolence of the Prince of
Satsuma, and humble his power. Other versions
represent them as asking assistance, to enable them
to do it themselves, bat nothing is really known of
what is passing between the Japanese authorities
and the European envoys. It seems to be an ascer-
tained fact, however, that the Tycoon is obliged to
obey the summons of the Mikado to present himself
at Miako, and that he would shortly proceed
thither. The more that foreigners learn of Japan
the more evident it becomes that, without the sanc-
tion of the Spiritual Chief, the foreign treaties are
not considered binding on the country, and it would
almost seem as if the unacknowledged act of the
Tycoon in making them proprio motu had strength-
ened the hands of the Emperor, and regained him
in part his ancient power.

The steamer Orissa leaves to-day at 2 p.m. with
the outward mails, those from London of Sept. 10
having been detained by the steamer Salsette on
the 23d ultimo. Via San Francisco telegraphic in-
telligence has been received from New York to the
2d of September. _

Nov. 15

The fortnight just elapsed, although not fur-
nishing many incidents of war, has been marked
by events of some importance, After the Allies
had returned to Shanghai from Kah-ding, that city
was agai❑ threatened by the rebels. How far the
Imperialist garrison, unassisted, will be able to hold
their own, remains to be seen. Apart from all poli-
tical considerations the loss of life from disease in
the military and naval force employed on these ex-
peditions is a serious matter. Before the Allies
had quitted Kah-ding, cholera had shown itself
fatally among the English, and the mortality has
been very great since at Shanghai, her Majesty's
ship Euryalus alone having lost 20 officers and men.
The setting in of the cold weather had, however,
been of much benefit in abating sickness.
The Russians, as was to be expected, are unwil-
ling to leave the cure of the Chinese " sick man" ex-
clusively to the English and French, and, probably
to anticipate Captain Sherard Osborne and his
flotilla, have volunteered their assistance. Their aid
has been accepted by Prince Kung, but to what ex-
tent is not publicly known ; though it is confidently
stated by persons at Shanghai, usually well in-
formed, that they undertake to quell the rebellion.
Certain it is, that three corvettes, with troops, were
daily expected at Shanghai, while Hakodadi is
named as the rendezvous of a considerable force for
the promised operations, whatever they may be. It

is not difficult to foresee how remuneration for ser-
vices of this description will be enforced; but the
result of this new and most important phase of
Chinese politics cannot but be damaging to the
prestige of Englatid, and to the commercial interests
in this country of her Majesty's subjects.
At Ningpo there has been a kind of mutiny
among Ward's men, the particulars of which are
not correctly known here. For some alleged or
real cause of complaint, probably the last, they at-
tacked and looted the Taontae's house. Capt. Dew,
of her Majesty's ship Encounter, landed and put
down the riot, after which two of the men were shot,
but by whose orders does not clearly appear. At
Hankow there had lately been an alarm of rebels,
but it had passed away.

Vi2e-.Admiral Sir James Hope quits the station
on the 18th inst., in the private steamer Thunder,
for Calcutta, on a visit to Lord Elgin, and thenc4)
proceeds home. His flag ship, Imperieuse, sails
for England a few days later, and her Majesty's
ship Vulcan left this morning for Calcutta with the
22d Native Regiment on board.

The mails for Europe will be despatched to-day
at 2 p.m., per steamer Salsette. Those from Lon-
don of September 26 only arrived here on the 12th
inst., being brought by the sleamer Columbian. By
the mail telegrams were received from London to
October 3, and, via San Francisco, intelligence
from New York comes down to September 19.

CONVICT LIVING AT POR7LAND.

When we selected Portland as an illustration of
the " system" of penal servitude, we did so as it is
acknowledged to be beyond all doubt the best man-
aged establishment of its kind in the kingdom, and
one in which the " hard labour" is supposed to be
hardest. What the hard labour is has been shown,
but it does not of necessary follow that it can easily
bo made harder. " You may take a horse to the
water," &c., is a musty, but very true saying; you
' may bring the convict to his work, but nothing
short of an immense staff, which would cost ten
times more than his labour was worth, will ever
make him do a fair day's work, if he did it even
then. With few and rare exceptions, convicts won't
work hard; they will move slowly, hit lightly, and
stop often, and they are up to every dodge of
"malingering" and idleness which might be ex-
pected among such a set. Occasionally one comes
who works vigorously, and to the best of his power.
Such a man was Redpath, who is now at large on his
ticket of leave, and who can live in splendour on
the proceeds of his gigantic forgeries—proceeds
which, it is well known, he had somehow man-
aged to make secure before his apprehension.
Such instances, however, are rather scarce. It is
true that the warders do report convicts who obsti-
nately refuse to come up to the low standard of
labour required, but the officer only does so when
he cannot help himself ; for it must not be forgotten
that the warder is quite alive to the prudence of
keeping on tolerable terms with his gang of men,
and knows well that if he prerses matters hard with
them he does so very probably at the risk of his
life. The convicts are not men to be safely trifled
with, and there are many at Portland who would
think very little of trying to murder any warder
who they thought had illtreated them. At these
very Assizes at Dorchester a convict has been tried
for murdering one of the quietest and least active
of the warders at Portland, who he fancied had
reported him, though, in reality, this was done by
another officer. With instances like these, there-
fore, before them, with others of murderous as-
saults, or, more common still, the plans that are
laid to effect them, which are not unfrequently
discovered, the warders are reluctant to provoke
such desperate ruffians too far, or report them more
than is absolutely necessary. Occasionally a pri-
soner gives information to the Governor about in-
tended mischief on the part of some gang or other,
and such an one, if his information is important,
and the intended offenders are punished, has to be
sent away to Chatham or Portsmouth. The war-
ders frankly own that they could not protect him,
and "that somehow or other" the exasperated con-
victs would take, or try to take, the informer's life.
Is it likely, therefore, that convicts can be driven
and coerced into their hard work by men who have
no interest whatever in pushing them to it, but have
these strong motives of self-preservation to prevent
their pushing them at all ? All prison officials at
present say that if that most important part of "the
system," tickets of leave, are abolished, it will be
very difficult to keep order in the prisons. Without
some such reward for their good behaviour, some
prospect of getting away from prison earlier by
good conduct than by evincing a spirit of insubordi-
nation and discontent, the convicts, they say, are
certain to adopt the latter course of conduct and
give a great deal of trouble. It is this "giving
trouble" to the prison officials that appears to be
their only argument in favour of tickets of leave ;
and, as it makes the routine of their duties very
much smoother, they naturally support it. Sir
Joshua Jebb says, "Many an iron-hearted man who
would be unmoved or grow sulky and obstinate
under harsh treatment has determined on a new
line of conduct by seeing clearly that it was his in-
terest to take advantage of the terms offered to him
by paying the price in good conduct," &c. Passing
over the gratuitous assumption that because the
ticket of leave is to be withdrawn the convict is also
to be subjected to "harsh treatment," we cannot
help directing attention to the very different stan-
dards implied by the public and the prison autho-
rities in the term "good conduei." In the prison
dictionary good conduct means little or nothing
more than that a convict has given" no trouble" to
the officials. He has not forged, nor stolen, nor
garotted, because he has had no proper field for
such congenial operations. He has done as little
work as he possibly could do without being
punished for refusal, and he has either conformed
to or not been detected in breaking the mild prison
regulations. Such a man gets his ticket of leave with .
wonderful facility, though at the time it is given to
him the prison authorities know almost to a cer-
tainty that he is as incorrigible as ever, and that
he will at once return to " smashing" or burglaries,
and be back again from the next assizes with a fresh
sentence, to be got rid of as lightly as the first. The
police are expected to look after them when they are
out ; the prison officials have nothing to do but to
report to Sir Joshua Jebb that they have complied
for a certain time with prison rules, and given no
trouble, whereupon Sir Joshua lets them go. Sir
George Grey is the only nominal remitter of sen-
tences; it is Sir Joshua Jebb who is the real par-
doner, and ho must accept the compliment to his
heart at the expense of his head when we say that
he pardons on a most liberal scale. It is said that
the tickets of leave are strictly limited in their

powers of remission to one-sixth of short sentences,

one-fourth of medium sentences (from five to 12
years), and one •third of long sentences of from 12
to 15 years or upwards. This, however, is not the
case, and if there is any proper inquiry into the
system, or rather want of system, on which these

tickets have been distributed through the prisons,
right and left, it will, we think, be found that in
very many cases much larger proportions of the
sentences have been remitted, and that in every in-
stance tickets have been given with perfect disre-
gard of previous committals or of the claimant
having been known to return to crime the instant
he got his previous pardon. If proof were wanted
of this, we need only refer to the remarks of Mr.
Baron Bramwell, who, in reply the other day to the
presentment of the grand jury of Nottingham, com-
plaining of the reckless way in which these tickets
were granted, said :
" He had tried men who had had, if he might use the term,
one sentence overlapping another. They had been con-
victed, let out, and convicted again, and in some cases con-
victed a third time, and a third time let out before the term
fixed by the first sentence had expired,"

It is impossible after thisstatement, from a higher
authority even than Sir Joshua Jebb, to deny
that the tickets are most incautiously given as re-
gards the use the liberated convict intends to make
of his pardon. The warders as well know the men
who are certain to be back again for a fresh felony
or desperate outrage in a few months as they
do the minority, whose faces they will never see
again after they leave the prison. Yet the tickets
of leave are given with equal freedom to both. In
fact, that most ill• used body, the British public, is
never considered throughout the whole transaction.
What the convict is going to do with his liberty is
nothing to the directors of prisons. It is enongh
that for a certain time, while in prison, he has con-
formed to its rules, and given no trouble, therefore
he may go.
.As to the old, incapable remon-
strance, that no discipline can be kept in prisons if
the ticket of leave is withdrawn, the objection is
absolutely puerile. If a convict has such a horror
of prison so as to conduct himself well, to gain his
ticket of leave, and so get out sooner, why does it
not keep him out when he is free ? But it does not.
They come back again, as Mr. Baron Bramwell
said, with a third sentence before the first has ex-
pired. Surely this shows no horror of prison. If
it shows anything it is that their pardons have done
them no good, that they have no objection to the
good living and light labour of penal servitude, and
that their good conduct in prison was a farce.
As we have said, good conduct in prison means
literally nothing, and we venture to think that if
an accurate return of the prison character of all the
felons now in Portland were published from the
prison books to-morrow it would be found that
nearly 90 per cent. had the words exemplary and
very good prefixed to their names, instead of what
it ought to be—" idle, but not troublesome." If,
however, it is true, as daily experience shows, that
after a short liberty they don't mind returning to it,
then it is clear that tickets of leave are an encourage-
ment to convicts. Let the converse of the