The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-08 00:00:00

VICTOR IIUGO ON THE TREA7MENT OF
_ROSALIE DOISE.

The Paris paper Le Temps, having opened a
subscription on behalf of Rosalie Doise, the late
victim of an Imperial Court of Justice, M. Victor
Hugo has written the following letter to the editor
of that journal:-_

ir,—Have the goodness to put down my name for 100
francs in the subscription Gardin. But we must not confine
ourselves to money. Something worse perhaps than the
affair of Lesurques, the re-establishment of torture in
France in the 19th century, confession extorted by suffoca-
tion, the strait waistcoat put on a pregnant woman, the
prisoner urged to madness—l know not what frightful
legal infanticide—the child murdered by torture in its
mother's womb—the conduct of the examining magistrate,
of the judges, and two procureurs-generaux—innocence con-
demned, and when afterwards acknowledged, insulted in
open court in the name of that justice which should have
fallen on its knees before her—all this is not an affair of

No doubt tho subaaiption is well, useful, and praise-
worthy, but a higher indemnity is called for. Society is
more deeply wounded than Rosalie Doise. The outrage to
civilisation is profound. In this matter the greatest insult
is offered to justice herself.

Subscribe—be it so—but it appears to me that the ex-
keepers of the seals, and ex-leaders of the bar, have some-
thing more to do, and, as for myself, I have a duty, and I
will not shrink from it.—l have, &c.,

VICTOR HUGO.

Hauteville House, Dec. 2, 1362.

SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY, EXETER HALL.
The usual Christmas performances of Handel's "Messiah"
take place on Friday s the 12th and 19th inst.
It is probable that Mr. Fechter will open his
season with "Romeo and Juliet," at the Lyceum, playing
the hero himself, with Miss Faucit as Juliet, and Mr.
Phelps as Mcrcutio.

The French Government has determined to send
an additional battalion of Marines to Cochin China. Six
companies, completely equipped, will embark at Toulon on
the 15th on the large transport Japon, which will convey
them to Alexandria. Four officers of the Ist Regiment of
Marines, at:present in Cherbourg, have been selected for
this expedition. The fitting out of the steam frigate Im-
peteuse is going on withgreat activity at Cherbourg. It is
said she is forthwith to make a voyage to the Pacific ocean.
The accouchement of the Princess Louis of Hesse
is expected in April.—Court Circular.
Preparations have been already commenced at
Windsor Castle for the accommodation of the numerous -
guests who will have the honour of being invited to the
Prince of Wales' wedding, which we announced nearly
two months ago would take place with great splendour at
Windsor. All the rooms in the Round Tower are being
fitted up as bedrooms for the accommodation of visitors.—
Court Journal.

REPRESENTATION OF EAST KENT.-Mr. P.

Wykeham Martin, the father of the member for Rochester,
is spoken of as the candidate in the Liberal interest for the
eastern division of the county of Kent, rendered vacant by
the death of Mr. Deedes. The Conservatives are already
at work to secure the return of Sir Norton Knatchbull.
The name of Mr. Beresford Hope, who has estates in the
county, has also been mentioned.
ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE.-16,091 applications
have been received and 14,166 volunteers enrolled :—Of the
above 49 possess certificates of competency as masters ; 189
certificates of competency as mates; 19 certificates of ser -
vice as masters; 47 certificates of service as mates. The force
also includes 2,240 petty officers in the merchant service.
Considerable progress has been made in the work
of plating the Royal Oak, at Chatham, the whole of the
available shipwrights and mechanics not required on the
iron frigate Achilles, 50, now working upon her. The last
tier of armour plates, which will entirely encase her from
stem to stern—rendering her, in fact, a complete mass of
floating iron—was affixed to her sides on Friday, and the
mechanics have commenced bolting the armour plates to
her stern.

The theatrical company at Compiegne is very
numerous, and its members are as hospitably treated as
were at Versailles the comedians-who performed Moliere's
plays before Louis Quatorze. They all travelled from Paris
in a special train, consisting of first class carriages, no
matter whether they were scene shifters, stage carpenters,
mutes, or prompters. As they set out at about 3in th
afternoon they reached their destination about 4, when a
dinner, served on two tables, awaited them in an immense
dining-hall. Around one table were placed the etat major
of the company, such as the director, stage manager, actors,
actresses, author or authors of the pieces they were to act
in the course of the evening, and the principal members of
the orchestra. The rest dined at the second table. But
all were given the same dishes, the same wines, and served
with equally fine linen, porcelain, and silver, as well as
provided with the same number of attendants. Cigars and
coffee were handed round after the cloth was removed in
two salons, where, after they had dined, the two sets retired
'or half an hour, at the and of which they proceeded along
a seemingly interminable passage to the theatre, where the
play appointed for the same evening was rehearsed till half-
past 7. At half-past 8 the Emperor and Empress made
their appearance, which was the signal for the performance
to commence. When it was finished the theatrical com-
pany were again conducted to tho ealle a manger in which
they dined, where a champagne supper awaited them.
AUSTRIAN GUNNERY EXPERIMENTS.—The Aus-
trians have been steadily pursuing a systematic course of
experiments with gun-cotton, and not only have they per-
fected this material, so as to use it in field guns, but have
also been led to investigate the properties of metals with
the view of finding an alloy which would impart hardness
to copper, and enable them to obtain a perfect, safe, strong,
and durable gun. This they have now effected, and it is
said that their gun-metal, by the addition of a small quan-
tity of iron, has been made very hard, and also exceedingly
tough and elastic. One great advantage possessed by this
gun-metal is, that it can be recast at small cost it the guns
become damaged, or the rifling prove unsatisfactory. The
field-pieces have been rifled with grooves, which help to
support the projectile in centering upon a rounded bearing.
The projectile is of iron only, indeed nothing else would
withstand the force of the gun-cotton, which is more in-
stantaneous in its explosion than gunpowder, and therefore
a higher velocity can be obtained with a much shorter gun.
The Austrian Government is now about to cast large ord-
nance, and if the reports given to us be correct, they have
certainly hit upon the right metal, as it withstands the
blows of shot fired at it much better than any material which
we have yet used in England.—Army and Navy Gazette,
DR. NELATON'S REFUSAL OF PARLIAMENTARY
HONOURS.—The follawing is given by some of the journals
as the reply of Dr. Nelaton to a certain number of work-
men who offered to vote for him as deputy :—" Gentlemen,
—I feel much gratified at the step you have taken, but I
must confess that it astonishes me as much as it does me
honour. Ido not well see how my knowledge of surgery
can have made you imagine that I am qualified for the
mission with which you wish to invest me, or how I should,
have become a political economist, a financier, and a legis-
lator, because I have discovered the presence of a ball in
the foot of a wounded nan. If the object in view were to
appoint me surgeon to the Chamber, that would be a diffe-
rent affair; but the business of a deputy is what I have
never learnt in Hippocrates, and for which, to speak
frankly, I have no taste. lam even convinced that the
affairs of the country would not go on better, and that my
patients being neglected would fare the worse. I must,
therefore, while thanking you for what you have done, de-
clare that you propose to me an honour which it is impos-
sible for me to accept."

We very much regret to hear that Sir Henry W.
Bruce, K.C.8., Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, is so
seriously ill as to oblige him to transfer the active part of
his duties to Rear-Admiral the lion. George Grey, the
Superintendent of the bockyard.— Army and Navy Ga-
zette.

We understand that H.R.H. the Duke of Cam-
bridge has referred back to the Court of Inquiry upon the
Burnaby scandal the report which, as we stated last week,
it had laid before him in his capacity as Colonel of the
Grenadier Guards. We have already characterised the re-
port as incomplete and unsatisfactory, b.nd his Royal High-
ness would appear to share this view, from the fact of his
seeking further information upon this very delicate subject.
—Army and Navy Gazette.
It is understood that the post of Inspecting Field
Officer at Bristol, vacant by the recent promotion of Major-
General Henry Cooper, will not be filled pending a recon-
sideration of the cost of the present recruiting arrange-
ments throughout the kingdom.—Army and Navy Gazette.
A letter from Bucharest of the 26th ult., in the
Augsburg Gazette, says :
" For some days past a considerable move<
'
ment has existed among the Consular body, in con-
sequence of a considerable quantity of arms hav-
ing been sent from Bessarabia, and accusations have
been made personally against Prince Cousa on the
subject. The English and Austrian Consuls were
the first to move in the matter, and they were told

that the affair was only that of 40 vehicles laden with
old rusty muskets and other military effects, which
had been sent to Bucharest to be repaired, as it
could be done there cheaper than elsewhere.
No difficulty, however, existed in proving that
it was not 40, but from 600 to 700 cartloads
which had arrived. A report was current that
a M. Bonaki VogoridLs had ordered them on his
own account, with a view to projects which he con-
templated in Bulgaria. That version, however,
appeared so incredible, that it made the Russian
Consul-General and his colleague of France shrug
their shoulders. its to Russia, her agents will
know how to take measures in order to prevent
those arms from falling into the hands of the Polish
emigrants, who are collected in different places
along the frontier.