The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-08 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Morning, bh. 20m.—Afternoon, bh. 45m.
To-Monnow.-Morning, 6h. Bm.—Afternoon, 6h. 31m.

tj 11L
jg •
jr."Ar 67-A
11.01 €4901.1. 21 nu.

LONDON, IVEDNESDAY, NOV. 8, 1865.

On Monday evening Lord STANLEY made some
remarks on physical education in opening the Liver-
pool new Gymnasium. The arrangements of this
place render it one of the finest and most perfect in
Europe, and the noble lord briefly adverted to the
circumstances under which it was raised. lle truly
declared that it was very creditable to Liverpool
that such an attempt should have been successfully
made to promote the wellbeing of the community
purely from disinterested motives. It is satisfac-
tory to find that the returns of the first six months
show that success so far attended the venture, and
as the result of this probationaryperiod has been so
happy there is every reasonable ground to hope that
for the future it may go on and prosper. Unusual
interest attaches itself to this undertaking on ac-
count of its being in some sort a nuisance, for it is
not tried on so large a scale anywhere else except in
Edinburgh. If this attempt prove successful and
satisfactory in the main, other places will follow the
example thus set, and beneficial results can hardly
fail to follow.

Lord STANLEY laid some stress upon the impor-
tance of the object of such institutions, and ex-
plained the mistake which some persons are apt to
make in thinking of these matters. They look upon
gymnasiums as a sort of a hobby to some individuals
very much after the fashion of a yacht club or an
Alpine club, or an amusement to employ time plea-
santly. This is not, however, the case, and more
practical results are expected to follow from this
effort. As the noble lord emphatically observed,
" a new phase of social existence is opening before
Europe, and especially England. The number of
those who reside in towns is greatly increased, and
as the population also increases at a rapid rate, it
stands to reason that more and more energy is re-
quired to provide necessary aids to health and exer-
cise." Without recourse to " statistics," that fatal
term which horrifies so many, and the meaning of
which so few will take the trouble to comprehend,
the noble lord contrived to make his reasons under-
stood for thus advocating the-foimation of this and
similar gymnastic undertakings. Thosewho watched
" the increase of houses in the town of Liverpool,
and witnessed the gradual disappearance of
the green fields, and the spread in their
place of streets and lanes, and who have
daily before their eyes the long lines of villas
which spring up at every adjoining railway station,
should require no proof from Parliamentary returns
to tell them how rapid and continuous is the increase
of that part of the population engaged in some one
of the many branches of commerce, and destined
for the most part to sedentary pursuits in crowded
localities." Of course the argument thus produced
may apply to all largo cities, and in a lesser degree
to small ones, but perhaps nowhere with equal
force as to Liverpool. In this town the death-rate
stands nearly the highest in England, and such
surely should be an unanswerable argument as to the
necessity that exists for some strenuous efforts to be
made to counteract the hurtful influences of the
engrossing pursuits of trade and commerce. The
sad details of the great mortality that occurs in
Liverpool furnish abundant evidence that sanitary
regulations alone are not sufficient, and that some-
thing more is required. When all has been done
that can be done, when the inventions of science
are exhausted, and the skill and appliances of the
most able are employed, much will remain that
prevents the artificial existence of sedentary em-
ployments from being otherwise than injurious to
the human frame. As it is appropriately