The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-31 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 1865.

- 111.--

The weather as yet seems inclined to favour the
entente cordiale between the two great Western Na-
tions, and has added to the skilful arrangements
and splendid hospitality of Portsmouth and the
Admiralty those attractions which a bright sky and
warm sunshine alone give. All has passed off
hitherto in the most satisfactory manner, and our
French guests must admit that it does not always
rain even in England. The pleasant weather in
the beginning of the week will, we may hope, be
continued to the end, so that there may be neither
literal nor figurative cloud to mar the kindly ex-
change of courtesies. Portsmouth is busier than
ever, full of visitors from France, as well as pleasure-
seekers from all parts of England. There is a
tangible excuse or pretext for any one taking a holi-
day to wend his way southwards for such a night,
as the meeting of the fleets is not to be seen every
day. In the race of naval competition England
and France have lavished immense sums, and have
availed themselves of all the inventions of art and
the discoveries of science to strengthen and improve
their fleets. Having each accomplished so much,
they meet and exhibit what each has done, com--
paring results and measuring achievements.
In respect to the dockyard arrange-
ments, one side of the comparison is
only in- futuro, since we have nothing to put
against the naval splendour of Brest and Cherbourg
but plans and outlines. In these, however, our
visitors seem to have taken much interest, and when
completed Portsmouth Dockyard will be worthy of
our fleet.

The Admiralty were apparently determined to
do their best to amuse their guests • andyesterday,
after conducting them over lair
.L
r 2
Scorpion, they took them to the
AAIRD'S famous
dockyard,
where
they could see the wonders achieved by NASIITTR's
hammer, and other mechanical contrivances. Thence
they wait to the iron and brass foundries, and after_
wards to Southampton-water, when they visited
Netley Hospital. Afterwards came the grand din-
ner at the Naval College, with all its attendant ex-
citements. The visit must be highly interesting to
both parties, and will do much to promote a kindly
feeling between the two nations.

The great and thriving city of Manchester has
just now three very unwonted visitors. It pos-
sesses, no doubt, many attractions and curiosities,
but its present guests are curiosities of themselves,
and their visit is highly significant. They come
from an old and effete semi-civilisation to one of
the busiest centres of our modern manufacturing
life, and the force and constancy with which the
tide of knowledge and enlightenment is spreading
eastward has seldom received a more powerful illus-
tration than in the visit of these high caste Indians
to the English manufacturing city. The cotton-
growers are inspecting the wonderful factories in
which their raw material is converted into the
almost indispensable material. The natives of
Madras'have been examining the spinning, weaving,
bleaching, and calico-printing works of Manchester;
they have been staring at the last representation of

" Arrah na Pogue ;" they have been visiting
'Change ; have watched the processes of the print-
ing-office, and the daily routine of life at the bank.
There has been plenty of traffic between Man-
chester and India during the last two or three years,
but the trip of RAMA REDDI and his companions is
certainly something new under the sun in these
days. For Indians of their caste to condescend
to visit foreign shores is no ordinary occur-
rence, and the fact of their undertaking a
voyage to this country, partly from commercial
motives, and partly to acquaint themselves with the
details of the civilisation of which they have heard
so much, is an interesting and significant fact. We
can fancy the wonder and curiosity with which these
intelligent natives would look over establishments
so different from anything that they had ever seen
before, and their opinion of the strength, and skill,
and wisdom .of the conquering race must have been
greatly enhanced by the very sight of the crowded
thoroughfares of the busy commercial city. Such
active life must impress men of intelligent minds
and quick appreciation, fresh from the calm of the
inert Hindoos, and the enterprising travellers will
carry back tales to their countrymen that will sound
to them as strange and as incredible as the adven-
tures of Baron MUNCHAUSEN or GULLIVER'S Tra-
vels. They will look with fresh interest on their
cotton when they recall the wonderful processes
through which they have seen it pass, the carding
and the spinning, the weaving and the bleaching,
and finally the printing of gay forms and colours.
In these departments of manufacture they will
be especially interested, not only because
they are Manchester's principal business, but
because they themselves are cotton-growers; and the
cause of their visit was partly their doubt of the
accuracy of the accounts received in Madras respect-
ing Liverpool prices. They come as a deputation
from the native growers and merchants, who want
to know for themselves what the merchants on this
side are really paying for their cotton; and the
leader of the party, RAMA REDDI, is a man well
calculated for such an expedition. He is one of
those natives whose natural intelligence and deter-
mination of character enable him to appreciate the
superiority of Western civilisation. His companions
and associates endeavoured to dissuade him from
the voyage, and assembled on the beach to beg him
not to go. However he persevered, and, although
his companions quarrelled with him on board for
breaking caste by eating food cooked on board, he
contrived to bring them to reason by throwing over-
board their own cooking apparatus. Caste was not
to be preserved at the cost of starvation, so RAMA
REDDI had the best of it. Visits like this will go
far to civilise the people of India, since it will enable
them to understand not only England but English-
men better than they have hitherto done. They will
be animated to fresh exertion, and take fresh in-
terest in the canals and railways, and other great
works which Western science has originated in their
own country, when theylearn from eye-witnesses of
their own race what marvellous results can be
achieved by human industry and skill. The natives
of India are sufficiently intelligent to appreciate
our civilisation, when they aro once free from those
trammels of prejudice and superstition which RAMA
REDDI and his fellows seem likely to break.

All the suggestions concerning the cure and the
prevention of the cattle plague are worthy of atten-
tion ; and as it is an undisputed fact that great
discoveries have often taken place from simple
' occurrences, it seems unwise to turn aside from any
plans or proposals that are made. Her MAJESTY'S
Consul-General at Warsaw has forwarded to the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs a letter, which
makes mention of a remedy for the cattle disease,
which was successfully tried in Poland some years
ago. Mr. MANSFIELD states he was conversing
upon this topic with some large landed proprietors,
and that they stated that when, in 1857, the disease
was very prevalent in Poland, the best remedy was
found to be "water strongly impregnated with
iron." It is curious to hear that this treatment was
first discovered from the circumstance that upon a
farm where there was a chalybeate spring the cattle
were but slightly affectedby the disease, or recovered
when they had drunk large quantities of the water,
yet on the neighbouring farms they died in large
numbers. It was subsequently found that on
putting " old iron into the cattle-troughs" the
cattle recovered, by this production of a
highly chalybeate water. This suggestion is surely
worthy of notice from all who are concerned in the
treatment of cattle, and no doubt its adoption will
prove of great utility. Many people may be too
prejudiced to avail themselves of it, but they had
better reflect how many benefits have accrued to
the human race in consequence of the carrying out
of ideas which were suggested by .trifling circum-
stances. Thus vaccination was discovered through
the fact of no one who came into contact with cows
catching the small-pox, or only having it lightly.
If all apparently trifling circumstances are over-
looked and disregarded it is very certain that much
valuable knowledge will be lost. There can be no
reason why this remedy of iron should not be tried
at all events, and thus a fair chance given to the
scheme. It is the bounden duty of all those who
have anything to do with the management of cattle
to be on the alert, and while they discard
dangerous proposals, and turn aside from the ad-
vice of those who suggest a system of " quackery"
to lose no opportunity and throw away no chance
of remedial measures that may be brought before
them from time to time. So only can we expect or
hope with any reason that a speedy period will be
put to the sufferings of these poor creatures, and
that the community at large will be freed from the
dangers and annoyance they now sustain. This
remedy appears feasible at all events, and it sounds
to sense that it presents a good chance of success,
for the iron must purify the blood and strengthen
the system of the animals altogether, thus checking
that tendency to decay and that fatal debility
which are unfailing symptoms of the prevailing
distressing epidemic. It is satisfactory to notice
that a telegram has been received at the Foreign-
office, which states that the Minister of the Interior
has given instructions that not a single head of
cattle " shall leave a Russian port without exami-
nation,
nciaen:ld a certificate of health." It would be
, if the other foreign Powers followed
the example which the Government of St. Peters-
burg has set them. It must tend greatly to check
the further spread of the contagious malady ; and
to make the thing complete, it now remains for
those who traffic in foreign cattle to make more
liberal preparations for their comfort during their
transit. It is most reprehensible that such a state
of things as the neglect that prevailed at these
times should have continued so long, but for it to
be persisted in now is a positive crime, for it is
sowing disease and misery broadcast through the
length and breadth of the land.
In Edinburgh the spread of the cattle plague
has caused the greatest consternation, and as
people have been very naturally anxious to consult
as to the best steps to be taken in the emergency, a
meeting was held on Monday last, consisting of
justices of the peace ; the Duke of Buc CLEUCH
presided. From the report that was read, it ap-
peared that the disease in question had not spread
in the suburbs, but had been confinel to the near