The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 28 1865.

in Parlit tment. There is nothing more inconsistent
or out o character with the principles upon which
the Constitution of the country is based than to set
up these notions, and the sooner they meet with the
contempt they deserve the better. Mr. HOLROYD very
properly answered the attacks of his opponent by
saying that " he must have known that I was not a
railway clerk, but was the son of one man, the
grandson of another, both among the brightest
ornaments of that profession to which his own father
belonged." Lord HENLEY also animadverted upon
the " sporting tastes" of this candidate, which was
indeed an absurd and most unaccountable mode of
attack. It is quite unjustifiable to argue on these
personal matters. The true and fitting manner in
which to settle the question is for each candidate
to state his views to the electors, and then to allow
them to decide which will suit their views
the best, and the most fairly and fully re-
present their interests. Such a course will
be found the most consistent and the most
successful in the long run, and it is imperatively
necessary that due attention be given to the manner
in which the business at elections is carried on.
Mr. HOLROYD has made his counter-statement in a
fair and honourable style, and shows a spirit which
does him honour. Certainly, a cause does not
seem very promising if its supporters are compelled
to resort to the expediency of damaging their op-
ponents, and no doubt this unworthy manoeuvre
will defeat itself, for nothing is so prejudicial to a
candidate as the knowledge that he is unfair in his
mode of attack. The electors of any place will
despise such machinations, no matter how contrary
to their views may be the politics of the party
attacked.

The Society for Improving the Condition of the
Dwellings of the Labouring Classes has attained
its majority, having just held its twenty-first annual
meeting ; but its services were never more requi-
site, nor had it ever so much work to do. The
building and pulling down, the railroads, and the
metropolitan improvements, are day by day de-
stroying the rookeries and alleys where the poorer
classes congregate, so as to drive them more and
more closely together. The effects of over-
crowding on health and morals are so well known
that they require no illustration, and our philan-
thropists and social reformers are beginning to see
that preaching and philosophy are thrown away
upon persons who live under such conditions.
As a gentleman very truly observed at the meeting
yesterday the immediate consequences of these
wretched fever-stricken, over-crowded dwellings
is drunkenness, for stimulants are constantly
resorted to to relieve the depression occasioned
by them. One house at Westminster had five
cases of fever without any especial cause, but the
doctor said there was no need for a cause, since the
very boards of the house were full of fever. Lord
SHAFTESBURY, always the practical and consistent
friend of the working classes, remarked that
the experience of the society had proved one
important fact which was previously, doubt-
ful—namely, that the people themselves prefer bet-
ter dwellings, and that when transferred from bad
to better they improved in morals. The great diffi-
culty with all practical reformers is that good build-
ings cannot be raised at as low a figure that small
rents can be made to return a profit of more than 5
per cent., whereas individual builders expect to get
10 per cent. An extensive reform can therefore only
be hoped for through the agency of capitalists who
are willing to take a small profit, or from a society
possessing a large amount of capital. If buildings
could be erected close to those railway lines which
run penny trains something might be done, and it
is very evident that vigorous exertions must be
made to keep pace with the necessities of the time ;
at any rate the Society shows what can be done,
and by its experiments and undertakings clears the
way for others.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ITALY.
RETURN OF SIGNOR VEGEZZI.

FLORENCE, JUNE 28.
Signor Vegezzi arrived here yesterday evening
and was present at a council of Ministers.
A Royal decree has been published, appointing
the members of the new Council of State.

SPAIN.

MADRID, JUNE 27 (Evening).

To-day in the Congress the Minister for Foreign
Affairs brought forward the bill authorising the
Government to ratify the treaty of commerce with

Society for Improving the Condition of the
Labouring Classes.

The 21st annual meeting of this society was
held yesterday at -Willis's-rooms, King-street, St.
James's ; the Earl of Shaftesbury presiding. The ob-
ject of the society is to improve the dwellings of the
labouring classes. In carrying out this object the
report states that the society have renovated old
houses and erected new buildings. The first
scene of their operations was Pentonville, where
they have set up model dwellings for the accom-
modation of 23 families and 30 single women. In
Charles-street, Drury-lane, they havethree lodging-
houses, affording superior accommodation, at low
rents, to 82 men. In George-street, Bloomsbury,
they have a model lodging-house capable of accom-
modating 104 men. In Hatton-garden they have
also a building for single men. In Streatham
street, Bloomsbury, they have erected a building to
accommodate 54 families. In Portpool-lane they
have a building for 20 families and 128 single women.
To this a washhouse is attached, and during the
year, up to last December, there have been 20,766
washings. Several houses hare been renovated by
the society in 'Wild-court, Drury-lane, and 11
houses have been renovated in Clark's-buildings,
Broad-street, St. Giles's. In Tyndal's-buildings,
also, several houses have been repaired and put into
tenantable condition. With regard to the funds,
the sum received in the year ending the 31st of De-
cember, 1864, from all sources, for the general pur-
poses of the society was £6,399 17s. 9f d., which
with the balance in hand at that time (being £294
10s. 4d) made a total amount to be accounted for of
£6,694 Bs. ld. Against this was to be charged for
current expenses of all the lodging-houses, including
repairs, painting, &c., £3,431 Bs. 2d. ; loans repaid
and other claims andinterest, £2,298 40s. 2d. ; rent
of offices, salaries managers' commission, printing,
plans, and other incidentals, £677 9s. 9d., making
a total of outgoings of £6,407 Bs. Id., and leaving
a balance of £287 Os. Old. The real property, &c.,
of the society (valued at cost) is estimated at
£44,561 9s. 11d., and the general liabilities are set
at £21,789 6s. 5d., leaving assets amounting £22,772
3s. 6d. The Rev. Canon Conway, in moving that
the report and account be adopted, printed and cir-
culated, said he had come to the meeting from a
somewhat selfish motive, as he was desirous of know-
ing whether anything was intended to be done by
the society for the benefit of his own locality—
namely, -Westminster, where he was sorry to say a
large population was in a sad state of destitution as
to suitable dwellings. He knew a house in which
five cases of fever occurred, for which no particular
cause could be assigned ; but when the medical man
was spoken to on the subject he said it was of no
use to make inquiries about the cause, for the very
boards of the house were full of fever. The imme-

diate consequence of this state ofithings was depres-
sion of health, and what arose out of that ? Intem-
perance, because stimulants were required, and when

once those were resorted to excess ensued, and all
the evils of drunkenness were incurred. He wished
the society possessed the means of securing spots of
ground around the stations of the metropolitan rail-
ways on which to erect houses for the labouring
classes, who were being rapidly driven out of Lon-
don by the demolition of all the dwellings in which
they had hitherto lived. Sir Walter Stirling seconded
the motion, which was agreed to. On the motion of
the. Rev. Mr. Owen, seconded by Mr. W. J. Max-

well, a committee was appointed for the ensuing year.
The Rev. Mr. Bayley moved a vote of thanks to
Lord Shaftesbury for having presided on that occa-

sion, and in doing so said that one feature of the
present epoch was that it was a great building era.
When they beheld what was done aboveground and
underground, in the air, and even under water, they
might well suppose that the spirit of constructive-
ness had seized upon both man and woman to a
marvellous extent. Great evils arose not only from
over-crowded rooms, but from houses being crowded
too closely together in narrow alleys. He thought that
a system of inspection might be adopted to prevent
such crowding of buildings. Lord Shaftesbury, in
returning thanks, said it should never be forgotten
that the society was merely a model society, and one
not intended to do good on an extensive scale, but
rather to show what was possible to be done pro-
vided sufficient capital was embarked in the work.
In some cases they had built houses, in others they
had only renovated old ones, but in every instance
their experiment had been successful. It had proved
that the people, on being transferred from bad to
better dwellings, were improved in morals, and it
also established a fact which some persons had
questioned, that the people were themselves desirous
of living in better dwellings. But experience had
also proved that these better sorts of dwellings could
not be built to realise a profit of more than 5 per
cent., and, as individual builders expected to make
at least 10 per cent. on their outlay, it was obvious
that no such houses as were contemplated by the
society could be built for the use of the working
classes except by a body possessing a large amount
of capital. As to bringing the present houses under
public inspection, he had made the attempt twice in
Parliament, but had hitherto failed ; still it was an
object to be constantly kept in mind. Some of the
railway companies had instituted penny trains, but
penny trains presupposed houses in the suburbs for
the people to go to ; while they all knew that for
the great mass of the poorer sort there were no
such houses at all. At present he was at a loss to
discover any remedy for the evil that was increas-
ing every day ; and he thought that until. buildings
could be raised at so low a figure that rents of small
amount could be made profitable it was impossible
for the society in that direction to do any good.
The meeting then broke up.

Stoppage of the Canterbury Savings Bank.

CANTERBURY, Tuesday Afternoon.

Last night, but not till a late hour, it became
known that something was wrong in connection
with the Canterbury Savings-bank, an institution
which has for many years enjoyed the full confi-
dence of the labouring classes of East Kent. In
proof of this it need only be said that the deposits
amount to not less than from £140,000 to £150,000.
This morning the news spread rapidly that the bank
had stopped, and for some time great alarm was
felt. There could be no doubt of the fact that the
bank was closed, for the announcement was made
officially in the Kentish Gazette, but the alarm was
prevented from becoming exciting by the assur-
ance that the trustees and managers had decided, at
a meeting convened to consider the position of the
bank, to pay the depositors in full. The bank has
been closed in consequence of defalcations by the
actuary and secretary, Mr. S. Greaves, who has for
many years been held in great esteem by the leading
inhabitants of Canterbury and East Kent. So far as
has been ascertained the defalcations amount to
£5,000, and they extend over a period of more than
20 years. 'This morning at 10 o'clock the bank was
opened to receive the depositors' pass-books, and the
trustees and managers have announced that, with
the concurrence of the authorities of the National
Debt-office, they will this week be in a position to
pay to the depositors the amount of their respective
accounts with interest. The defaulting secretary
has been for many years chairman of the Canter-
bury Gas and Waterworks Company.

THE ALLEGED FATAL FIGHT.--Yesterday morn-
ing the inquiry touching the death of Joseph Sulli-
van, better known as Sailor Jack, who, it was alleged,
was killed through injuries ho received in a pugilistic en-
counter at South Crescent-mews a few weeks since, was re-
sumed by Dr. Lankester, the coroner for Middlesex, at the
University College Hospital, Gower-street. Mr. Ricketts,
solicitor, of Frederick-street, Gray's Inn-road, appeared to
watch the case on behalf of some parties supposed to be
implicated in causing the death of the deceased. The facts
of the case have already been reported, and it will be recol-
lected that the deceased had had a fight and had his head
cut, and a week after that ho was admitted to the above
hospital, and it was then found that ho was suffering from
erysipelas. A great deal of evidence pro and con. was gone
into, and it was endeavoured to be shown that a man named
Harding had fought with the deceased and cut his head.
Mr. Ricketts severely cross-examined the witnesses, and eli-
cited from them the fact that the deceased was a drunken,
dissipated man, and that after tho fight he said that he was
drunk, and fell down and cut his head, and that in the fight
he did not got a scratch. The coroner having summed up
at some length, the jury returned a verdict that the de-
ceased died from erysipelas, brought on by a wound in the
head, but how that wound was produced there was not
evidence sufficient to prove.