The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-03 00:00:00

lightly worked, and the conduct of his guardians
rigidly watched. Each convict, too, has the privi-
lege of making a complaint to the governor of his
prison—a very wise and just rule which in no
way interferes with proper discipline ; but let
the pauper venture on such a course and
he would soon get into trouble. We have
attempted some modification of our system,
but the whole question still remains one of the
public difficulties of the day. It is very fairly con-
sidered in all its aspects in a brief paper* by Mr.
COMBIE, which was read at the Social Science
meeting, and is now republished with one or two
others. Mr. M'C ODIBIE was formerly a member of
the Legislative Council of Victoria, and his
views on the transportation point naturally
take the colonial side, but his remarks on
the general question are independent of
any local interest. He considers our penal
discipline to have been faulty in two particulars : it
has been too pleasant and easy for the criminals,
and it has been defiicent in a proper system of
classification. On the latter point he insists very
strongly. The dishonest class, he says, is more a
class per se than is usually thought. " The other
classes of society do not freely enter upon criminal
causes, even the poorest working men do not em-
bark on these evil ways .without shame and com-
punction." In England there are two classes of
law breakers who deserve, he considers, an alto-
gether different treatment—the one is systematically
and professedly dishonest; the other offends from
intemperance, sudden temptation, and other excep-
tional causes. "It is a great . error," says Mr.
M'CommE very justly, " to mix up the two orders,
as they are in reality quite distinct in habits and
character." He suggests that for the hopeless class
of criminals:a penal settlement should be found on
such a spot as the Falkland Islands, where they
may be strictly guarded, and especially prevented
from returning to the mother country. " Free our
society from this constant taint and re-
lieve the country from the professional crimi-
nals of whose reformation there can be
no hope, and other criminals will be more
easily dealt with at home and reformed."
Jr seems hard to say of any man that he is thoroughly
hopeless, but there is no reason why he should be
put beyond the pale of reformation because he is
expatriated. The ministers of religion, the teachers
of other kinds, may still continue their benevolent
efforts, but it is undoubtedly fair and right that
those who have manifested such a steadfast deter-
mination to live upon their fellows, rather than by
the work of their own hands, should not be suffered
to contaminate those less hardened and less hope-
less. A gentleman familiar with the matter gave
his opinion before the Committee of the House of
Lords, that certain classes of obstinate offenders,
such as habitual thieves, reeeivers of stolen
goods, and the coiners and passers of bad money
were practically incorrigible, and many of those
repeatedly convicted of crimes of violence or cruelty,
no doubt come under the same head. Yet some-
thing must be done with these men, and since all
sides disclaim the notion of capital punishment for
any offence less than the destruction of life, and
transportation to our colonies is no longer possible,
such a scheme as Mr. M'ComßlE's, of the Falk-
land Isles, would be worth consideration under
certain limits and restrictions, and would certainly
be more likely to exercise a deterrent influence than
the easy life inside our home prisons.

* " Free Colonisation and Trade." Three papers by J.
M‘Combie, F.R.S. Sampson Lowe and Co.

ADELPHI THEATRE.

Miss Bateman last evening made her reappear-
ance at this theatre in her celebrated character of
Leah ; she was most warmly -welcomed by a very
numerous audience, and her whole performance
elicited the most enthusiastic applause. There was
no perceivable alteration in her assumption of the
part—her great effort, the curse in the forth act,
being given with the usual intensity. There has
been an alteration in some of the other characters.
Mr. Jordan, for instance, takes the place of Mr.
Billington as Rudolf, and Mr. Swinbourne that of
Mr. Arthur Stirling as Nathan the apostate, neither
of which can be looked upon as an improvement.
We believe that Julia in Sherdian Knowles's play
of the " Hunchback" will be the next character in
which Miss Bateman will appear.

Public Peculation.

" HER MAJESTY'S SHIP TARTAR, SHANGHAI,
Nov. 14, 1864.
"My Lord,—lt is my painful duty to report
direct for the information of the Lord Commis-
sioners of the Admiralty that her Majesty's ship
Racehorse was wrecked on the night of the 4th inst.,
at 8.30 p.m., about 5 leagues south-east of Chefoo
Cape and about 2 miles E.S.E. from White Rock.
Only nine of her crew have been saved—three
officers and six men.

" I beg to enclose a copy of a letter I have re-
ceived from Lieutenant Nicolas, of the Insolent,
giving, as nearly as he could, by desire of Com-
mander Boxer, a description of this melancholy
accident.

" A list of officers drowned and saved is also
attached. _

" The Racehorse, in pursuance of orders from
the Commander-in-Chief, was on her way to Chefoo
from this port. She left here on the Ist inst.
" Immediately on receiving this intelligence I
despatched her Majesty's steamer Rattler to the
assistance of Commander Boxer, and now await
Commander Webb's report.
" I am, &c.,
" J. M. HAYNES, Captain and Senior Officer,
North China Division.
" To Lord Clarence Paget, C. 8., Admiralty."

H.M. Gunboat Insolent, Teutai,
Nov. 8, 1864.

" Sir,—l am ordered by Capt. Boxer to report
that H.M.S. Racehorse was wrecked on the night
of Friday, 4th November, at 8.30 p.m., about five
leagues to the S.E. of Chefoo Cape, and about two
miles E.S.E. from Wlite Rock, and only nine of
her crew saved.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Six,---I have read the interesting report or official state-
ment of the Postmaster-General concerning the numerous
Post-office robberies which had occurred recently, and
which Government can scarcely prevent in such a large
" At the time of Ithe ship striking it was corn
and important establishment The simple system of
registering letters and parcels containing valuable things, paratively smooth ; ' boats were lowered, stream
if generally adopted, certainly would diminish the frauds
connected with the Post-office. But, in this country, this when heavy rollers se
t
system would be more popular than it is, if it should
anchor and cable plaped in cutters ready to lay out,
and gig, and breaking entirely over the ship ; the
be made cheap and more convenient.
I believe that, if instead of paying fourpence for a regis-
masts were then cut away, and ship steamed full
tered letter, the sender of it could effect registration by speed on shore, endeavouring to save life, but, the
means of a penny, or twopenny stamp, marked in a parti-
cular manner, to distinguish it from wind increasing to a gale, the rollers washed away
ordinary stamps on all skylights and filled the ship.
letters, rendering any application at the Post-office un- ny were then sent aft, told the
necessary, in order to obtain " the Post-office order," then
and that ' if they held on till
" The ship's compa
position of the ship,
the registration system would increase greatly, to the beue-
every hope of all hands being
fit of the Post-office as well as of the public. In some daylight there was towns there are particular boxes for " late letters," and for saved. Unfortunately, the endurance of only a few
fregistered "newspapers;' Why cannot there be a separate
box alsOe
was equal to this, the poor fellows dropping off one
and stamped letters and parcels,
as abovb effects of the cold and the force of
y one from the
suggested by, Sir, yours obediently,
CHR. COOKE. the sea. h
Braunton, Jan. 1, 1865.

THE SUN'S OCEAN OF LIGHT.--Whert the su
is viewed through powerful telescopes, its surface- n
that is, the luminous envelope of the mass—is seen to
have a peculiar mottled or curdy appearance. Arago pro-
posed that this envelope should be called the Photosphere,
a name now generally adopted. By the elder Herschel,
the surface of this photosphere was compared to mother-
of-pearl. Other astronomers have said that it resembles
the ocean on a tranquil summer day, when its surface is
slightly crisped by a gentle breeze, and an undulating play
of light is reflected from these little billows. Irregular
lines of light are sent back from the crests of the small
waves, and lines of shadow indicate the hollows.
Within the last few years Mr. Nasmyth has discovered a
more remarkable condition than any that had previously
been suspected. Examining the solar 'surface with
a fine telescope of great penetrating power, this
astronomer has discovered objects which are peculiarly
lens shaped. He describes them as more like willow leaves
than anything else ; but some other observers, since their
discovery, have likened them to rice grains, and others
to some forms of Diatomacete. These leaved forms are
different in size ; they are not arranged in any order ; they
lie crossing each other in all directions ; and they have an
irregular motion among themselves. They are, says Mr.
Nasmyth, " arranged without any approach to symmetri-
cal order in the details, but rather (if the term may be
used) in a sort of regular random scattering." They are
seen approaching to and receding from each other, and
sometimes assuming new angular positions, so that the
appearance, resulting from the combination of simultane-
ous motions among those forms, has been compared to a
dense shoal of fish, which indeed they resemble in shape:
The size of these objects gives a grand idea of the gigantic
scale upon which physical operations are carried out in the
um. They cannot be less than a thousand miles in length,
and from two to three hundred miles in breadth. The most
probable conjecture which has been offered respecting those
leaf or lens like objects, is that the photosphere is an im-
mense ocean of gaseous matter in a state of intense inean-
&Renee, and that they are perspective projections of the
sheets of flame. Whatever they may be, it is evident they
are the immediate sources of solar heat and light.—Popular
Science Review.

_ ....._. .
A list of those saved and lost is enclosed.

" Captain Boxer desires me to add that the con-
duct of the officers and men during this frightful
night was most cool and collected, obeying every
order smartly and energetically, especially by the
first-lieutenant, master, and boatswain.
" I have the honour to be, &c.,
" G. Tour NICOLAS, Lieutenant Commanding.
" To Captain Hayes, H.M.S. Tartar, Shanghai."

A LIST OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN WHO WERE
SAVED AND LOST ON THE OCCASION OF H.M.
RACEHORSE BEING WRECKED:—
Those whose names are marked * signify that
the bodies have been recovered and buried.
OFFICERS AND MEN SAVED.
Commander Boxer ; Mr. W. H. Thompson, pay-
master ; Mr. W. Loulett, boatswain ; Jno. Hollis,
boatswain's mate ; Omer Roberts, A.B. ;
Eaton, A.B. ; Wm. Pugh, gunner R.M.A. ; Wm.
Washington, private R.M. ; Jno. Nicholls, stoker ;
Richardson, stoker, left at Shanghai, sick in the
hospital.

OFFICERS LOST.
*Lieut. W. Farquharson.
Lieut. A. G. C. Tait.
Master Thomas Dobbin.
Surgeon Jos. E. Fawcett.
Chief Engineer G. M. Dooley.
*Assistant Paymaster Richard Crabbe.
Assistant Engineer Phillips.
Assistant Engineer Tapping.
Assistant Engineer Tickle.
To JOIN INSOLENT.

Mr. Roberts, second master (from Swallow).
Gunner James Porter.
Gunner David Gingle.
LIST OF MEN LOST.
*Thomas Hart, Joseph Mummery, *W. Watts,
J. Hearsay, *G. Wellard, *W. Baily (stoker),
*George Winters, *Joseph Kennan, J. Jordan,
Jones (boy), Sharp (boy), Crump (boy), *Malliker
(boy), Kingwill (boy), Reppan (boy), Allen (boy),
Venton (boy), Charlick (boy), Jerred, Baxter,
Maher, Hayward, Lay, W. E. Thomas, John Boyd
(stoker), D. Forrest (stoker), Wilson (stoker),
White (stoker), Evans (stoker), W. Lucas (stoker),
Kenton (stoker), John Barry Hood, Whitelock
Peter Webster, Joseph Casey, W. Cook, M. Moore,
Jerh. Sullivan) Alfred Tucker, Dixon, Bowyer

ECCLESIASTICAL PREFERMENTS. The master and
scholars of Balliol College, Oxford, have presented the
vicarage of Bere Regis, with Winterbourne Kingston, in
the county of Dorset, and diocese of Salisbury, worth .£330
per annum and residence, population 2,213, and vacant by
the death of the Rev. Cariington Levy, who had held it for
nearly half a century, on the Rev. Francis Warr°, M.A.
The living of Maiden Bradley, Wilts, in the same diocese,
has been conferred by the Dean and Chapter of Christ
Church, Oxford, on the Rev. Thomas Waters, 8.A., vice
the IiVT. ichaxd Rowley, deceased.