The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-02 00:00:00

rnE SUN, LONDON, SATUIthAir EVENING) SEPTEMBER 2, 1865

_
meaning with regard to principle being the para-
mount object in the minds of right-minded and far-
seeing statesmen. He said that our institutions
really meant nothing in themselves, but it was the
temper and spirit in which they were maintained.
He had seen in his travels a Venetian palace, which
had once belonged to a noble family in the old days
of the city's greatness, but it was now used as a
barrack for the Austrian troops. "The walls were
the same as when all that art, trade, and enterprise
could bring together assembled there; they were the
same as once were racy with the laughter of wit
and the merriment of beauty ; they were the same
as once assembled within them all that was great
and noble ; and now they afforded a shelter to those
mercenary troops who held at the bayonet's point
that captive city in subjection." Such may typify
our institutions, if the old spirit does not animate
us and the old feelings prevail. It was truly ob-
served in this speech that we are as a nation at a
trying point of our history ; we have to guard
instead of to gain, to preserve in lieu of taking
possession. The pages of history, indeed, offer us
many warnings of the danger of relaxing in
energy ; but in the bustle and excitement of daily
life around us we are too apt to forget the
lesson. The lion. gentleman concluded his brilliant
discourse by declaring that the country could not
really enjoy prosperity unless these great truths
were recognised and appreciated. " Woe to that
man, and woe to that nation which does not place
high ideals before itself." This is precisely the kind
of backing which the public mind at present requires,
and the more widely these sentiments, or those
similar to them, are disseminated the better. We
shall then, as a people, be better prepared to endure
the most trying ordeal that humanity can pass
through—a cause of great prosperity—and to hand
down to posterity those benefits and blessings which
our forefathers won for us in many a hard fight,
and that *e still should preserve for generations
unborn.

The change which a few months may sometimes
bring over the general aspect of affairs has been
strikingly evidenced this year amongst ourselves,
amd Mr. BUXTON, in addressing his constituents of
East Surrey the other evening, was able to point
to the alteration in the general confidence and
prosperity at the time of the general election. Un-
happily for the next Liberal candidate for a borough,
he will not be able to bring forward the state of
the harvest, of trade, .or of the public health as the
result of Whig Government. He will have to hand
them over to his opponents, and declare that they are
due to the factious opposition which Lord PALMER-
STON'S Government has encountered. Mr. BUXTON,
in his catalogue of our present causes for anxiety,
especially dwelt upon the feeling of exasperation
existing on the other side of the Atlantic, and the
too great probability that a slight provocation might
hurry us into a war. His theory is that the best
means to avoid such a disaster is to remove every
temptation out of the way of America, and he con-
siders that the fact of a few British troops being
stationed in Canada is a great temptation to aggres-
sion. He, therefore, is in favour of a gradual
severance of the connection between us, though he
is shrewd enough to object to the proposal that Canada
should be neutralised—i.e., that in case of war both
parties should agree not to set foul upon her territory.
It does not require much foresight to guess that this
treaty would not be very long respected at Wash-
ington, but that, as Mr. BUXTON observes, it would
give the Americans the advantage of the first start.
But does Mr. BUXTON really believe that the sever-
ance he proposes would protect Canada or pacify
America'? It is not by disarming ourselves and
crying " Miserere" that the old feud between France
and England has so completely died out ; and very
' ccrtainly brothvi (7- 11:1 rLK &V liaa nob o/iarru himccif
so magnanimous that we should expect him to show
more consideration •to feebleness than to strength.
If we are to resign all possessions that may tempt
the aggression or cupidity of other nations we shall
have enough to do, and every possession we have in
the West maybe at once handed over to the Federal
Government, without satisfying their demands. Such a
course would be as unworthy:of Englishmen as it would

be politically suicidal. These gentlemen who talk
so lightly of resigning our dependencies forget that
the growth of England's wealth and greatness is

commensurate with the rise of her colonies, and
that, commercially as well as politically, they
are an immense source of strength. But Canada, it
seems, is untenable. How came it, then, that we re-
tain its government after two wars with America?
Our Government have acted frankly and liberally
towards the Canadians, and their conduct has been
far more in accordance with the wishes and interests
of the people than Mr. BUXTON'S proposed course
would be. Let us hope that by a firm and con-
sistent colonial government they may make some
amends for their weak and blundering foreign policy.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

DEPARTIIItt Or THE PRENOI FLEET.
PORTSMOUTH, SEPT. 2, 11 A.M.
The French Fleet has just left pithead under

steam.

SPAIN.

MADRID, SErr. 2.

It is considered probable that General Serrano
will be the Government candidate for the Presi-
dency of the Senate on the assembling of the new
Cortes.

The Royal Mail steamship Cuba, which left New

York on the morning of the 23d ult., arrived at
Queenstown at 5.50 p.m. yesterday, with 116 pas-
sengers. She landed 104 sacks of mails and 26
passengers, and proceeded for Liverpool immedi-
ately. All well.
The Cuba brings no specie.

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, Evening.

A military commission assembled at Washington
yesterday for the trial of Captain Wirz. The speci-
fication charges Wirz with murder, also with con-
spiring with Lee, Winder, Seldon, and others to
destroy the lives of the Federal prisoners at Ander-
sonville by various malicious means. The court
adjourned to-day without naming a day for re-
assembling, giving rise to the report that the charge
of conspiracy would be abandoned. Wirz's counsel
entered several pleas denying the authority of the
court, protesting against the indefinite adjourn-
ment, and demanding the discharge or trial of the
prisoner. The Judge Advocate decided that, the
court having adjourned, counsel could not be heard.

General Schenck has made a speech asserting
that President Johnson had informed him he re-
garded the local governments of rebellious States as
temporary experiments, to give the people the op-
portunity to show whether they will develope the
right spirit necessary for full restoration to their
position in the Government. The military would
remain to prevent them, if necessary, from straying
back into their former ways.
General Gilmore has returned to Charleston from
his tour in South Carolina. He has stated that the
military must maintain the direction of Rffairs until
a regular State Government is organised.
The Mayor of Fayetteville, of North Carolina,
monies the ill-usage of nertroes by civil authorities
_
or eivilians. -

The continued reduction of the naval forces is
progressing.
The Belgian, the City of Baltimore, and the Bo-
russia have arrived out.

NEW YORX, Aug. 23, 6 a.m.

The Mississippi State Convention has passed the
State Constitutional amendment for the abolition of
slavery.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, Evening.
Money easy. Gold, 1438. Exchange on London,
157/ ; ditto on Paris, 3 57i. Stocks steady. New
York Centrals, 90+ ; Illinois, 122 ; Erie, 83+ ; 5-20
United States Bonds, 1068. Cotton steady ; Mid-
dling Upland, 45. Flour good inquiry. Wheat
and corn steady. Provisions good inquiry. Coffee
steady. Sugar good inquiry. Molasses quiet.
Petroleum quiet ; crude, 32c. ; refined, 52c.

CANADA.

QUEBEC, Aug. 22.

The surveys and estimates of the Intercolonial
Railroad have been submitted to the Colonial Par-
liament. The route recommended is via River du
Loup, Bay of Chaleur, Fredericktown, and Pictou,
to Halifax, and will cost 25 millions, or $440,000
per mile.

Great Western Railway Carriage Works.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—As the following letter from the eminent
geologist, the Rev. J. C. Clutterbuck, may contain
valuable information for those who are interested
in the above question, I shall feel obliged by your
giving it a place in your impression of the 2d ins
—I am faithfully yours,

C. H. LINDSAY.
Caldicott, Lodge, Bushey, Sept. 1.

Long Wittenham, Abingdon, August 30.

Dear Sir,—ln answer to your letter of yesterday, I can
have no objection to give you my opinion as to the pro-
posed removal of the Great Western Railway works to
Cripley-meadow, near Oxford.
lam well acquainted with the locality. I have seen the
holes lately made to test the quality and condition of the
soil. The water stands so near the surface that I could
only judge from the soil thrown out. The section through-
out the depth could not be seen. Not long since, however,
I made a very close examination of the soil within 100
yards of the spot, and am convinced that it is essentially
the same as the soil of Cripley-meadow. By specimens I
have by me, and of which I send you samples, I find that
,the surface soil—say d r f,..+_. .on. above the gravel,
ru
avldently the deposit o floods, quayoods, consists of layers Iquay,
and ar,s-illaceous snt, hat immediately above the gravel
being generally (and as shown in the specimen sent) of a
peaty character. The depth of the drift gravel is uncer-
tain from the undulating nature of the surface of the
underlying Oxford clay. The depth of the surface warp, as
it may be called, varies also, but at Cripley may be put at
four feet. I believe it would be necessary to remove the
whole of this before a solid foundation could be secured,
and this at a vast expense of pumping on the water level,
which lies in and rises through the gravel, and which could
not be permanently reduced even in dry seasons, more than
18 inches or two feet by drains cut to a lower outfall in
this part of the Thames Valley.
In direct answer to your question, and according to the
rules of common sense, I do not think it a site on which an
establishment such as the Great Western Railway works
ought to be placed.
As to the sanitary question, I would rather refer you to
Dr. Acland's elaborate and valuable memoir on the cholera
at Oxford (J. H. Parker, 377, Strand, and at Oxford), in
the year 1854, but having reference also to 1832 and 1849,
a book all should study who value the health of towns. In

the beautifully executed and elaborate map of Oxford, by
which it is illustrated, it is shown that the disease was
nearly confined to the lowest localities, as indicated by
contour lines drawn at a rise of every five feet, none, how-
ever, being so low as Cripley-meadow, which is below the
flood line given in the map, and, consequently, below any,
inhabited part of Oxford.
As to the offer of a site by Sir G. Bowyer, I know that
there are many spots on his extensive estates near the
railway which are healthy and well fitted for building
purposes, such as are required by the Great Western Rail-
way, and far above the flood line. It is a remarkable fact
that there was not, I believe, a single case of cholera in
Abingdon in 1832. I think I have now answered all your
questions, and am, dear sir, yours faithfully,
JAMES C. CLUTTERBUCK.
The Hon. Colonel C. IL Lindsay, M.P.