The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-08 00:00:00

such important matters than to jump at conclu-
sions. It would indeed be much more conducive to
the general interests of the community if the ex-
ample of this committee were more universally f ol-
lowed, and more correct conclusions would be

come to, as haste in such matters is often very
disastrous in its consequences ; and indeed in many

instances precipitancy necessitates additional in-
vestigations at a future period. Lord STANLEY
said he could not hold out any hopes to the Cham-
ber as to the reduction of the tax on marine in-
surance, but he thought it might be desirable if
Parliament were better informed on the matter,
and to this end the Chamber of Commerce in
Liverpool might greatly conduce if they deemed
it advisable so to do. It is well, how-
ever, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is
always rather backward in taking up these
matters. He seems to have a positive objec-
tion to the remission of those taxes which are bur-
dens on prudence and militate against the best

interests of trade and commerce.
It is the more incumbent, therefore, on those who
are in influential positions to do their utmost to
put forward the claims of those who suffer from
undue restrictions and the pressure of heavy taxes,
and to make the public well acquainted with the
facts of the case, so that in time the voice of popu-
lar opinion may be too strong for the prejudices of
office to withstand. The fewer the taxes on insur-
ance, and the less the amounts of them, the better
it will be for the community ; and this cannot be
too strongly urged upon the authorities on such

subjects.
Concerning the fiscal policy of Austria Lord
STANLEY spoke at some length, and advocated great
caution in the negotiations that may be set on foot
to forward the introduction of our manufactures to
Wat country. The noble lord said that there was
one fact which they must bear in mind if they
wished to succeed, and that was that " there was
such a thing as losing a bargain by being too eager
to make it." This is a very wise precaution, and
the hint may be taken with advantage by many
zealous pretenders. These worthy individuals
are a great deal too wise in their own conceit,
and with good intentions do a great deal of harm.
As the noble lord observed, if we go on continually
pressing foreign Governments against their will,
we shall end by provoking them or giving rise to
the supposition that all the haste and persistency
made is to further our own interests, and not ad-
vance the great work of progress among nations.
Time and experience are the best teachers, and it
will be the wisest and safest course to leave the issue
to them instead of resorting to secondary influences
that are often hurtful and disastrous in their results.
A multiplication of treaties of commerce Lord STAN-
LEY does not think desirable, and very likely in
this, as in other matters, there may be
too much of a good thing. Both sides expect
others to make sacrifices, and great jealousy pre-
vails, and often grave mistakes are made, as in
the French Treaty Mr. COBDEN and Mr. GLAD-
STONE caused great injury to our manufacturers by
their very zeal to propitiate the foreigners and
convince them against their will.
Lord STANLEY was the Chairman of the Com-
mission that for nearly two years sat upon the
Patent Law question, and he came to the conclu-
sion that patents for inventions did more harm than
good, and that no mere administrative improve-
ment would be an effectual remedy. Many
evils result from the seeming advantages that
accrue from patents—one of which is that some
great employers buy up the patents in their respec-
tive branches of business, and thus create an
exclusive monopoly ; besides this, minor evils are
formed in the working of patents, for many are
taken out entirely on speculation. The noble lord
considered that the important matter of granting
patents at all should be gone into before a coat-,
mittee of the House of Commcns. No do.ubt Wis
will be found to be the best way of settling the
it
vexed question for the interests of the comm ity
and the benefit of individuals, for the subje t is
replete with difficulties, and cannot be too f4lly
investigated if a satisfactory issue is sought to be
gained.

The spread of the cattle plague continues to give
very great uneasiness throughout the metropolis,
and the consideration of the preventive measures
most to be relied upon is still very important. There
is good reason for the prevailing anxiety on the sub-
ject, since the price of meat, already the topic of
common remark, is likely to be seriously affected by
it. During the last few months plain ordinary beef
and mutton have been at prices which were a vir-
tual prohibition to the poorer classes, and produc-
tive of real inconvenience to householders if the
middle raliks. What then must we expect of this
new disaster is to decimate our cattle ? The effect
upon the supply of milk, although riot immediately
perceptible, is likely to be another consequence of
the disease, since the mulch cows in the metropolis
have suffered terribly. One dairyman owning 16
cows has lost them all, while a few of the large
cowkeepers have seen their stocks diminished by
one-half or one-third. The disease has as yet raged
principally in London and its neighbourhood, but
there are signs of its appearing in different parts of
the country. It has made such rapid progress

hitherto that unless its course is arrested it will pro-
bably create a terrible amount of havoc. The loss to
the owners is undoubtedly a very serious thing, but
unfortunately it is by no means the worst part of
the trouble. The high price and scarcity of meat
are evils that press very heavily on the poorer and
worse fed classes of the population ; and if these
are obliged to give it up altogether, or to take it of
indifferent quality or in insufficient quantity, the
public health is likely to be affected. More espe-
cially is the want of meat to be dreaded at a time
when cholera is to be feared, since the low and
depressed condition produced by want of nourishing
food is especially conducive to the spread of an
epidemic. In more than one case a cattle plague
has preceded the outbreak of an epidemic among
human beings, and has undoubtedly had something
to do with it by increasing distress and want. In

thela,t virulentlate
praise was
given to the Minister of Public Works,
whose precautions undoubtedly preserved the men
employed on the works from a severe attack. The
most illiPrtallt part of his plan was the distribution
of from 150 or 200 sheep
we daily, boiled down, for
may see hows u important
jeethdistinguishedas
the labourers ; and thus
a share good nourishing food has i
Then the preserva-
tion of the general health.
attre.cted the attention of the most
of our veterinary practitioners, and an agree
in insisting that the only means of ar-
resting the plague is by carefully guarding against
infection. There seems little hope that the disease
can be subjugated by medical treatment; at any
rate the number of animals that fall victims when
attacked is so large in proportion to those that re-
cover that we must admit that if it is curable we
have not yet discovered the right method of treating

it with any certainty.
Last evening a public meeting was held at
the Marylebone Institution, in support of the Na-
tional Association for the Prevention of Cattle
Diseases, at which Professor GAIIGEE read the re-
port of the proceedings of the committee appointed

THE SUB, LOl,

by the Anociation. The committee, it appeared,
had entered into communication with the Privy
Clunen and the Board of Customs, so as to obtain
fuilther information, and to secure a rigorous exclu-
sion ,of diseased cattle from our ports. But the
public) will learn with surprise that it is the convic-
tion of the committee that the Government, if left
to themselves, will take no vigorous action. Vigour
and promptitude are two words which have no place
in the dictionary used by Lord PALMERSTON'S Ad-
minisitration. Professor GAMGEE stated that the
committee had received accounts of the spread of
the disease in several English counties, and
it has appeared so far north as Northum-
berland and Roxburgh. A correspondent at
North. Walsham says 'that 70 cattle had died
within. a radius of two miles from that place. Mr.
SMITH, veterinary surgeon, of Norwich, has ad-
dressed, a letter to the Clerk of the Privy Council,
in which he states that great alarm had been caused
in the county by the outbreak of this fatal disorder
among the cattle, and that it was traceable to some
lots of Irish and Dutch oxen bought at the Norwich
market. On July 1 a lot of 38 Irish cattle were
taken to North Walsh= and distributed in the
neighbourhood ; the result being that they all be-
came affected with the disease in a short time, 35 of
them died, a large number of other cattle caught it,
and from 70 to 80 per cent. have also died. This
appears to be the usual rate of mortality
among those attacked, and it is sufficiently
high to induce all possible precautionary measures.
Professor GAMGEE, in the report we have referred
to, remarked that in Egypt, where the disease had
been left to run its course unchecked, it had carried
off 80 per cent. of all the cattle in the country, the
valley of the Nile being at that time cleared of cows
and oxen by it. In Austria, on the contrary, where
the authorities had acted vigorously, it had only
destroyed 2 per cent. The chief measure adopted
in Austria was the establishment of a system of in-
surance and indemnity, under which a man whose
stock was attacked was saved from ruin if
he openly proclaimed his case. Professor GAM-
GEE is of opinion that this method should
be immediately adopted in this country, and
that the owners of cattle and the public gene-
rally should support the Association in carrying it
out. If the disease could be limited to a few dis-
tricts and gradually extirpated in those there would
soon be an end of it, provided always that a strict
system of inspection was adopted towards cattle.
If it be true, as has been stated, that foreign cattle
are sent over here in the early stages of the disease,
one having been brought over so ill that it had to
bo kept up with brandy and water, and sold ou its
arrival for £ll, there is no need to ask where it
comes from. Even if the animals are not known to
be infected when' sent, it is manifest
that a sea voyage must greatly increase
their liability to the inflammatory cold which seems
to be the first stage of the malady. Surely, this
is a case in which the Government should interfere
without delay, and by adoptins some system of
inspection, or quarantine, for the animals brought
over to our large ports, take measures against the
continual keeping up of the infection. Dr. BUDD,
writing from Clifton, suggests that a veterinary
board, composed of veterinary surgeons and scien-
tific men, should be immediately formed, under the
authority of the Privy Council, with extensive
powers, and that every cowkeeper in London and
the suburbs sho-ald be directed to give them due
notice of the appearance of any illness among their
cows. Various other reasons might be taken by
the same Board, as the writer suggests, and it
appears. to be a good plan to organise a central
authority. Only while we are debating as to 'the
best method of dealing with the evil, we must re-
luember that it is every day extending its limits,
and-that if ever there was a case in which preven-
;on is better than cure it is now under con-

sideration.

Covent Garden.—Mr. Mellon's Concerts,

The fifth season of Mr. Mellon's Concerts com-
menced last evening, and the attendance on the
inaugural nights was larger than on any previous
occasion. The stage has been most tastefully de-
corated with white and gold hangings, and the
orchestra comprises an assembly of instrumentalists
of unrivalled ability.
The concert commenced with Beethoven's mag-
nificent overture " Leonora," which was played
with the greatest care, and evoked the loudest
applause. It was followed by a " Prelude
and Meditation," by Bach and Gounod, for
violin, harp, and organ, which created a perfect
furore. The composition is full of elaborate but
beautiful passages, and the effect of the combination
of the three instruments was truly enchanting. The
audience was in ecstacies, and before Mr. Mellon
could proceed with the next piece in the programme
this delicious morceau had to be repeated. Mr.
Levy, who was welcomed in the most hearty man-
ner by the audience, performed a solo on the cornet-
a-piston, " Alexis," by Hartmann, and the solo
parts of Mr. Godfrey's new waltz, " Mabel," with
astonishing effect ; and two very young ladies, the
Misses Hamilton, executed a brilliant duet for two
violins. The greatest compliment, we take it, that
could be paid to the ladies was the hearty manner
in which every member of the orchestra applauded
their performance. Mdlle. Marie Krebs played
Listz's " Tarantella" so exquisitely that the audience
declined to part with her, and on her reseating
herself at the piano she gave " Home, sweet home,"
with variations. The best of the evening vocalists
were Mdlle. Liebhardt and Signor Ferrante, and it
is almost needless to say their portion of the con-
cert was quite on a par with the instrumentalists.
We congratulate Mr. Alfred Mellon on the great
success of his opening concert, which we feel con-
fident will be but the commencement of one of the
most successful seasons he has yet achieved. The
first classical evening takes place to-morrow, the
programme being selected from the works of Men-
delssohn.