The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-09 00:00:00

To commence at 7.

NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHI.—
~pie rrouri.tor and Manzkvir. N.'. Is. aim t.r.
THIS EVENING, THE IRISH TIGER. Mess s. C. H.
Stephenson and Eburne; Miss K. Kelly.
At er which, TH t HUNCHBACK. Julia :41h time) Miss
Ba,teman, supported by liessr, George J. rdan, Swinboarne,
btuart, Ashley, Eburne, J. L. Toole ; and Miss
Simms.

To conelu le with THE AREA BELLE Mcsars. J. L
Toole, I'aul Bedford, and Mrs. A. Mellon.
Com►nence at 7.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Under 1112 Sole Management of Mr. t telite%
EVENING, SINII'SoN AND CO. Messrs. S.
Emery, C. Ilursman, ; Mesdalues C. Ilursman, II en-
rad,, E. 1:o) ce, and Elswortfiy.
Alter whi,h, at halt-past 8, a New Dr .ma, entitled TIIE
ROADSIDE INN. It. bert Ma:ahe, Mr. Fechter. Messrs.
Widslicomb, C. Ilorsman, N itzpatrick, Garden, Mor.::;and,
Raymond, Collett; 31,sdames .E,s n orthy and B. Percy.
To conclude with TWO IN 'ME 3101{NIA. G. Messrs
ViiaPeomb and Erne y.
Doors open at Half-past Siv.
The Box-office open daily from Elor.n till Five.

RCYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining.
THU EVENING, a new Farce, by Mr. David Fisher,
entitled HEAKT-STRINGS AND FIDDLE-3TR NOS.
Alter which, THE bTREET3 OF LONDON. Messrs.
Vining, J. W. Ray, D. Fisher, D. Murray, J. Nelson, 11.
Forret•tcr. H. Mellon ; Mrs. Henry Alaiston, Miss Emus
Barnett, and Miss F.uny Gwynn.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
sole Lcssee and slanageress Mrs. Swanborougt.
THIS EVENING, at 7, THE WILFUL WARD. Mr.
IleHord; Miss Palmer.
Atter which, the great Comic Drama, MILKY WHITE
Iletbrs. Craven, Stoy le, Jame.; Miss Swanborough.
To conclude w th T i3E "GRIN" BUSHES : Mr. Fenton,
&c. ; Mesdames Laynham, Simrson, Johnstone, &c.

GRATIS.AND POST FREE.
E. MOSES and SONS' New Pamphlet,
THE PHILOSOPHY OF DRESS.

MOSES AND S 0 N
• respectfully call attention to their large and well-
assorted stock of JUVENILE CLOTHING. The newest
taurics are combined with the latest and most fashionable
eesigns, and the best workmanship. E. MOSES and SON
give particular attention to this important branch of their
business, and they can with confidence affirm that the prices
ere such as must satisfy the most economical. Tills depart.
ment is in a nistinct part of the premises, which will be fauna
a gre4t conv.nience for ladies and children,

E MOSES AND SON
1,• respectfully invite public attention to their large and
well-assorted
SPRING STOCK.

L MOSE S AND SON'S
'4 • "SANDRINGHAM" and "DANISH " WRAPPER
;introduced by them) Is the newest and most fashion
style of Overcoats for the season.

MOSES AND S ON'S
J 4• READY-MAUL and BESPOKE CLOTHING lor

all classes and all apes.

EMOSES AND SON'S
• CELEBRATED "INDISPENSABLE" SLIT,
Irma 30s.

Lo MOSES AND
Lu• HOSIERY and DRIYERY,
Dior all classes and all ages.

S 0 N'S

10 MOSES AND SON,s
12,1• RATS AND CAPS,
fur all c asses and all ages.

MOSES AND SON'S
• BOOTS and SHOES,
for all classes and all ages.

E. MOSES AND SON'S
OUTFITS,
for all classes, all ages, and all climates.

I'. MOSES AND SON'S
iu.d• LONDON EIOUS.ES,
154, 155, 15-1, 157, Minories; 83, 84, 85, 86.87, 88. 89, Aldgate
500, 507, 508, New Oxford--street ; 1,2, 3, Li
a 8 t - s I r e et;
137, 138, Tottenham-court-road ; 288, Euston-road
Also, Bradford, Yorkshire.

-L-1, MOSES AND SON'S
-0-4 • Establishments are closed eve-y Friday evening at
e' 'set until Saturday evening at buns et, when business is re-
sumed tut it li o'clock.
All articles ar.: marked the lowest prices in plain figures.
Any article not appr,ved of will be euhaegtel, or the money
returned.
List of P
Card, arid ou
Prices with Rules for Self-measurement, Fashion
_
. r new pamphlet, "The rhilosephy of Dress,"
gratis and post tree.

THE LATEST EDITION of " THE SUN "
supplied, as soon as published every EVenini; b)
VV. ALEXAN DER. (I.de II1Ooli.6), Newspaper Agent, 21,
Old tjuveuttiso-,drect, oxiord..treet.

trIIE LAST EDITION OF TIIE SUN,"
Cuntainiug the Latest aVoicrimi ilt:LLlti LA tr..
sw. Lau kvery livening of
U. 11. (1 JAW E, NEWS AGENT,
No. f, Connaught-terra.ce, Hyde-park.

TLIB LAST EDITION of " THE SUN
supplied as roan as Published containing an the
LA rEST ..NEWS and SPORTING- INTELLIGii:Ncg, 14,
LL. HutitiS, Neel spaper Agent, 4, Blacktriars-road
London, S.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.—SOUTTIAAMPTON7
Wednesday.—The Union Steam Shipping Company's
steamer Roman, Captain Strutt, sailed this afternoon for
Ascension, St. Helena, the Cape of Good Hope, and Mau-
ritius. She took out 70 passengers, and on freight gold
can, £5,000; jewellery, £2,000; and upwards of 600-tone
general ciigo. The Roman will call at Plymouth, and
embark her mails on the 10th.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON...BRIDGE.
Ts DA-T.—Morning, 12h. 14m.—Afternoon, 12h. 40m.
Tins
To-Monnow.-Morning, lh. Bm.—Afternoon,lh. 30m.

‘,14 _ 4rh•
allt (1M ,k4:04,*4 nit

LONDON, THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1865.

The importance of pure water to health has been

ranked by most of our scientific men as next to the
value of pure air, while some even rank it higher.
Whatever may be its exact position in the scale
there can be no possible doubt as to its vast conse-

quence to the public well-being. It does not need
a careful analysis of the component parts of impure
water, or a knowledge of the unwholesome materials
of which it is composed, to be certain of its injurious
agency. A great many of the diseases which render
an Anglo-Indian life perilous are directly traced to
the scarcity and impurity of the water, but we need

not go so far to witness the deleterious effects of a
bad supply. Our courts and lanes and byeways
have since the increase of our population suffered

terribly from this cause, one of the prime agents

of the dreaded typhus, while, besides its immediate
results, it slowly but surely undermines the health
and predisposes the system to every contagious in-

.. _
fluence. Agricultural districts, too, whose griev-

ances are less known to the social reformer or the

philanthropist, often greatly lack a sufficient supply

.. -
of pure water, which may without exaggeration be

called one of the first necessaries of healthful life,

The question naturally arises, how it is in a country
like England, temperate, well watered, and inter-

sected by canals, there should be any scarcity ? and
the " intelligent foreigner," .when asking the ques-
tion, would perhaps be surprised to learn in answer
that it is a self-made trouble. By an ingenious

application of " matter in the wrong place," we
have contrived to corrupt our rivers at the same
time that we pay enormous sums for sewage, that
we import guano for manuring our land, and that
water companies charge us heavy rates for supplying
us with what might be had at little or no cost were
it not for our own perverse folly. Lord ROBERT
MONTAGU, in his speech last night, certainly did not
do much for the temperance cause, for his revela-
tions were startling enough to frighten all water
drinkers for ever. We are in the habit of proceed-

ing somewhat slowly with our reforms ; but when
the Sewage Commission reported, four years since,
that upwards of 100 rivers were in an absolutely
poisonous condition, and the Committee of last year
not only confirmed this statement, but added to it,

it is really time that we got upon the road to im•
provement of some kind. The official opinions no•

only confirm the assertions of private individuals,
but go far beyond them. Mr. RawmxsoN, the
Government engineer, on being asked what he
thought would be the probable condition of the
rivers if the present course were persisted in,
answered that he " could hardly imagine the rivers
and streams ever becoming worse than they are
now." The river Exe has suffered so much from
the sewage that a farmer on the banks is obliged
to dig artificial places for his cattle, as they can-
not touch the river water. Mr. RAWLINSON says
that on the Medlock, at Manchester, there
is a scum so thick that birds walked on it,

and you can see the gas rising up in a bubble. As
for old Father Thames himself, we metropolitan

citizens have had pretty convincing evidence of his
condition, but the details furnished by official
reports are as startling as unpleasant. The injury
to health is the great consideration, but the waste
of money has also a claim on our notice. " At Leeds
£150,000 had been spent in sewage operations. It
was then found that the water of the river Aire
could not be drank, and they accordingly spent

upwards of £350,000 in getting water from
another river" This, as it proved, was no

great acquisition, for sewers, factories, paper
mills, and other miscellaneous contributors,
rendered the water absolutely poisonous,
so that when a carpenter's foot-rule was dipped
four inches below the surface it was impossible to
read the figures. There are plenty more such
practical proofs forthcoming. A bottle of pure
paraffin has been made from the waters of the Dee.
A gentleman tumbling into the Calder, found him-
self not only figuratively but literally in the blues,
for his white trousers emerged of a deep blue colour
from the dye stuff with which the river abounds.
Some years ago a salmon was an every day prize in
the Calder, but now there is no such thing as a
fish to be found in its " deep dark blue " waters.
This is another part of the public loss, since no fish
can live in such poisoned rivers, and cattle in some
instances have been destroyed by them. The
fishermen at Chester have picked up dozens of
poisoned salmon, which, remembering the paraffin,
is not surprising. The Severn, with a watershed
of 4,437 square miles, only yields salmon to the
value of £l,OOO, while the Tay, with only 2,283
square miles, gives 30,000. This is certainly a very
great argument in favour of a change, for one of
our great national resources is thus wantonly de-
teriorated and destroyed. The waste of the sewage
matter is another drawback to the present system,
though that of course is secondary to the injury to
public health. " Would it not be as sensible,"
asked Lord R. MONTAGU last night, "to throw
away the whole of our sheep and to send to Saxony
for cloth, as to throw away our manure and send
to distant countries 'for guano ?" The answer to
the apparently difficult question of how to dispose
of the sewage which poisons our fish, lowers the
public health, wastes money, and produces evils
and discomforts innumerable, is readily supplied by
mploatcheeirs
tehaerthfruhietrsuelf. sourcThe aotf which in the
eicase
is
ifriwrghotnlyg
applied conducive to health and plenty. We have
already had numerous instances of the improved
value of land after the judicious application of
sewage, but a case mentioned by Lord R. MONTAGU
last evening is worth notice. At Croydon some
land was worth £2 an acre, but when the sewage
of the town was utilised it went up to £4 an acre,
and the town afterwards let it to a tenant at £5.
By the application of sewage this tenant got four
crops of grass a year, averaging from 12 to 14 tons
per acre, which he sold, as it stood, for £8 a crop.
He therefore paid £5 rent and received for the pro-
duce of his land £32. This would seem convincing
enough and the owners of land, and of the rights
of fisheries, as well as the people at large, who are
poisoned by bad water, or have to pay heavy rates
for a tolerable supply, are equally interested in the
matter. When we read such details as were
tfuart-
nished us last night we must all fervently hope h
the Government will fulfil a promise for once, and
take immediate steps to secure the public from a
further consumption of blue dye, paraffin, and other
animal, mineral, and vegetable poisons.

It is satisfactory to find that his Royal Highness
the Prince of WALES has set his face against the

pernicious practice of " percentage to servants,"
and that his intention has been made public, for we
may now confidently expect that an end will be put
to the evil custom that has so long prevailed. The
same West.end firm that forwarded the Duke of
SUTHERLAND'S letter on the subject to the Times‘hAs
now sent a communication received from General

KNOLLYS to the effect that his Royal Highness will
not permit the prevalence of the practice in his
household. This epistle intimates that the Prince
of WALES having understood that a " practice pre-
vails of tradesmen offering to servants a percentag
on the amount of their bills," has directed that
" every servant who receives, and every tradesman
who offers, such percentage should be disc nissed, and
cease to enjoy his Royal Highness'is custom."
This is sure to be of service to the ca use that has
been so energetically taken up by some already, but
which of course has much to mintate against its
progress from perversity and prejudice. General
KNOLLY'S observes with great justice that such a
practice is equally detrimental to the tradesman
and his employees, a:nd that his Royal Highness
believes that every tradesmen ought therefore to
desire to put a stop to the practice. The West-end
firm before alluded to very truly observes that the
PRINCE'S high example, "if widely known, will en-
courage the indifferent to adopt the same system,
and by that means an end must be put to an ac-
knowledged evil." It is difficult to estimate rightly
the full extent of the injuries that are inflicted by
this custom. Its effects are widely spread and
extensively felt, although many may not take time
and thought enough fully to realise the fact or suffi-
ciently to comprehend all the bearings of the case.
It lowers the tone of morality among all who
adopt the practice to a great f'degyee, and even those
who do not follow it to a considerable length
are sure to become more or less vitiated by the
habit. The high wages that are given to the ser-
vants in large establishments render the thing quite
ridiculous in some measure, and it is quite certain
that no gratitude is ever entertained by the reci-
pients of such extr?e donations in the shape of per-
centages and perquisites. It seems a very strange
thing that in a country so celebrated for its busi-
ness-like qualities, such a lax state of things should
go on in the conduct and management of its chief
establishments. It is, indeed, the duty of those in a
high position and possessed of great wealth to guard
against the existence of evils in their households, and
especially those which tempt their dependents to the
commission of fraud, and the habit of cheating in a
minor degree. All that tends to destroy fair play
and to put a stop to above-board transactions. It
may be suggested in connection with this subject
that a great deal of evil would be avoided, if those

in influential positions would follow the example of
her MAJESTY, and settle their accounts quarterly.
By this means a great source of temptation
would be removed both to tradesmen and servants,
as the long-standing accounts afford so many in-
ducements to both sides to cheat, or at all events to
mystify. Another evil is that those employed in
establishments where this lax system prevails be-
come spoiled by luxury, and ruined for more strict
management in after life. If the circumstances of
their careers lead them into positions where they
must work harder and fare less sumptuously, they
are often in one way or another induced to adopt
dishonest practices. The example of his Royal
Highness in the matter of percentages is likely to
be of great benefit in many ways, and it is gratify-
ing to think that one is, who may be called the
leader of fashionable society at present, so deter-
mined to put down a practice that has been proved
so pernicious. It is quite time that something was
done to check the many evils that have sprung up
in the social system through the extravagance of
some, and the carelessness of others, acting directly
or indirectly upon those who came under their
influence.

The decision of the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council yesterday, in the case of the Fusi-
lier, will meet with universal approbation. It is
not only for its immediate consequences, but for its
after effects, that this adjudication may be consi-
dered as one of importance and interest. The owners
of cargo on board the Fusilier appealed against a
decree of the Judge of the Court of Admiralty,
which held them liable to " contribute to the remu-
neration of certain sailors for saving the lives of
the passengers on board that vessel." Lord CHELMS-
FORD delivered judgment, to the effect that the
owners of cargo are liable to contribute to " life-
salvage remuneration." The decision of the Court
of Admiralty is thus affirmed, which is most satis-
factory in every respect. It seems strange that
objection should be made to the salvage claim, for
it is one that is almost universally acknowledged.
The practice of the National Lifeboat Institution
is always to confer rewards upon those
who have particularly distinguished them-
selves in rescuing lives from shipwreck ;
and it is one that cannot be too generally followed
or universally adopted. If property be liable to this
charge, surely the lives of human beings ought to be
considered of more account, and it is but fair that
the preservation of passengers should be held
worthy of remuneration. Had the decision of the
Privy Council been favourable to the appeal, a great
injury would have been inflicted upon all whose
pursuits or engagements expose them to the perils
of the sea. Now that this decision has settled the
question, it is to be trusted that many similarly cir-
cumstanced will take warning, and not demur to
the rightful claims of those who render such signal
services to the cause of humanity. In every re-
spect, then, we may rejoice at the issue of the
question, and trust that the success of the claims of
- the salvors in this instance will encourage others of
the same calling to pursue their vocation with in-
creased ardour and assiduity. It is universally
admitted that the labourer is worthy of his hire ;
and this theory can never better be applied than to
those who risk their lives to rescue others from im-

minent peril by land and certain destruction on the

mighty waters. It is a false spirit of economy that
induces those in authority to refuse the claims put
forward by the energetic class who do so much for so
very little in many cases; and it is gratifying to find
that a legal decision has done more service to the in-
terests of the general public, in this instance, than
it often does in matters of moment and questions of
great magnitude and significance.

THEPOLES IN SWITZERLAND.—The correspondent
at Berne of the Inde'pendance Belye, writing on the
2d says :—" A despatch from Romanshorn, a village of
Thurgovia, upon the banks of Lake Constance, announces
that the Polish ex-dictator Langiewiez arrived there on
the Ist of March with an elderly lady, and immediately
left by the railway for Zurich. During the latter part of
February upwards of a hundred more Polish refugees arrived
at Romanshorn. The Federal subsidies for the maintenance
of these unfortunate men having ceased, and the cantonal
subsidies being insufficient, the journals of East Switzerland
propose a public subscription for three months at sd. per
month in favour of the Poles who are destitute."
A FRENCH ANNIVERSARY.—It has occurred to
swehvoermaeletoffotrhtehej
dischargeof
ofthpeubclioeu
dnuttyie3oaft
tAhlaidsdesesioenx-
ustices
Session-
house, Clerkenwell, that a proposal to celebrate the comple-
tion of 50 years peace with France by some suitable demon-
stration would be received with general approval. The in-
tention is to invite to a public banquet certain distinguished
noblemen and gentlemen of France, and to fix the enter-
ment for some day in the month of June. A committee is
about to be formed, and an announcement of their views
will shortly be laid before the public.
FLOGGING IN THE ARIIY.—A return was issued a
year ago, stating that the number of persons flogged in the
in
army the year 1862 was 126, and the number of lashes
inflicted 5,999. But that included only the army at home ;
and a return now issued states that the whole number
flogged in the year in the army at home and abroad was 379,
and the number of lashes inflicted 18,180. In the same
year 1,462 i soldiers were marked with the letter D, and 37
with B.C.
FOR THE NURSERY.—Where must little boys who
put their fingers in their mouths expect to go to ? Why,
Cr'laaw-thumb-erland, you bad child.:—Punc4.