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

THAMES.

CASUAL PAUPERS AND THEIR EXPENSE.—Benjamin Bliss,
John Smith, the elder, John Smith, the younger, George
Spurr, and George Snowdon, the eldest about 36 years old,
the youngest 16, were brought before Mr. Selfe, charged
with tearing up their clothes in the Poplar Union-house.
James Merrick, Superintendent of Labour, said that last
week 504 casual paupers were relieved with a night's
lodging, supper, and breakfast in the casual ward, and each
had to pick a pound of oakum. Of these ten were con-
victed for destroying their clothes. The prisoners were
admitted last night, and tore up their clothes this morning.
Mr. Selfe—Did you supply them with the clothes they
now have on ?
Witness—Yes, sir.
Mr. Selfe—From the workhouse stores ?
Witness—No, sir ; we obtain the clothes from a shop in
High-street, Poplar, opposite the workhouse.

Mr. Selfe—Neckties as well ?
Witness—They preserved their neckties.
Mr. Selfe—Two of them have good waistcoats on.
Witness—Those are their own, they brought them in last
night. I gave Spurr a suit of clothes last week, and he tore
them up this morning. The " tear ups" amount to 20 or
30 per week, and the expense is very large indeed.
Mr. Selfe asked Spurr if he was very particular as to fit?
Spurr—l could have pulled the trousers over my head,
logs and all.'
Mr. Selfe—Are you well fitted now ?
Spurr—Pretty fair, sir. _

The prisoners said they could obtain no work, and were
compelled to seek refuge in the casual ward. Their
clothes were ragged and dirty.
Mr. Selfe said that could not bo the case with Spurr,
who was supplied with clothes last week.
Spurr—They were too big.
Mr. Selfe—You are too particular. You expect, I sup-
pose, to be measured by a tailor and to select the patterns.
I shall sentence you all to 14 days' imprisonment and hard
labour. The punishment would be greater if 1 was not
informed that a longer imprisonment would insure a better
diet. An imprisonment of 14 days will obtain for you a
very low diet.

THE ISLE OF MAN BREAKWATER.—The break-
water now being erected at the picturesque Port Erin Bay,
in the Isle of Man, at a cost of nearly £60,000, is making
great progress. Port Erin Bay is an almost naturally formed
hatrbour of refuge, requiring merely the breakwater now
being erected in front of part of the entrance to completely
landlook it. The adjoining coast is rocky and precipitous,
and therefore the Port Erin Harbour of Refuge will be of
great service, especially to the large herring fleet belonging
to the island, and also to the shipping, lying right in the
track of the American and Irish traders. During the last
few weeks Mr. Matthews, the engineer of the works, has
been superintending preparations which have been actively
made to clear away by explosion an immense mass of rocks
which interfered with the progress of the works. For this
purpose 14 chambers, each about 25 feet deep, were drilled
into the solid rocks, which are so hard that it fully
occupied the time of three men several days to drill each
chamber. In each chamber was deposited 501 b. of gun-
powder, so that altogether 7001 b. of powder was used. The
discharge of such a large quantity of powder, and the up-
heaval of such an immense mass of rocks as it wA ex-
pected the explosion would clear away, made it necessary
that extreme caution should be exercised in order to guard
against accidents, and, therefore, the fact that such an
operation was to take place was generally kept secret.
In spite, however, of the determination to keep the matter
as quiet as possible, it somehow or other "got wind," and,
consequently, a large number of persons, among whom
were many of the principal gentlemen in the island,
assembled to witness the explosion. Fourteen men were
told off to fire the fusee; and at a given signal they at-
tached the matches and quickly retired. The result is thus
described by an eyewitness :—" In a very short time, during
which the spectators heldtheir breath from exciting expec-
tancy, about half a dozen of the chambers exploded, and,
with a dull, heavy boom, hurled out an immense body of
rocks. After a brief pause the earth again trembled, and
the bosom of the adjoining ocean heaved, as the remaining
chambers went off with a force that made you fancy you
were in the vicinity of an earthquake during an eruption.
The grand result was that about 20,000 tons of solid rock
were torn from the position they hadheld for countless ages
and hurled on to a roadway which, a few minutes before,
had been as clear as a high road." It will take a Ion; time
to clear away the immense amount of debris that was scat-
tered over the road after the explosion, the report of which
was heard several miles off. A celebrated English engineer,
who was present on the occasion, said that the operation
was eminently successful, and that he had never seen such
an amount of rock displaced even with three times the
quantity of powder that was used on this occasion. Since
the commencement of the undertaking in October last an
immense amount of labour has been performed. Three
lines of tramways have been laid down, and two powerful
locomotive cranes are in full operation.—Manchester
Courier.

THE FRENCH MOTHER.--There are seldom more
than two children in a ménage, three at the utmost,
whatever the reason may be, and these children are com-
monly idolised both by father and mother, and the
children in return have an actual culte for " ma mere,"
pronounced with a certain intonation, in the pulpit or on
the stage, never fail to set handkerchiefs in requisition in
all directions. I remember an amusing instance, in a
melodrama by Dumas pere, in which a certain notorious
bandit was boasting of his high and mighty deeds, and was
interrupted by a friend with the gross remark—" After
all, you are nothing but a robber." " Stay, my friend,"
he replied ; " I have a mother." Profound sensation in the
audience. Every car is pricked eagerly. The bandit
resumes, " Onco in every month, on the first day of the
month, I leave my eagle eyrie ; I descend into the lowly
plain. Crossing it with hasty and indignant steps, I enter
the city of Valencia. There I enter a lofty mansion in the
dead of night. I mount the marble stairs. I push a heavy
oaken door—a chamber lies before me ;in that chamber a
couch ; on that couch a woman, a venerable woman !
I approach that sleeping saint. But does she sleep ? I
impress a kiss upon her sacred lips, and she—she gives me
back that kiss ! Now dare to say lam a robber !" Tre-
mendous explosion of applause and universal weeping.—
Fortnightly Review.