The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-02 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, JU.VE 2, 1863.

llerr VON BISMARK has been busy again, and
expressed his opinions concerning Schleswig Ilol-
stein pretty strongly in the Chamber of Deputies.
He actually had the assurance to state in the course
of his observations that the conditions which the
Government insisted on were moderate. There is
a great diversity of opinion concerning the meaning
of words and phrases, but it must appear a strange
distortion of facts to apply the term moderate to
any of the tactics of the Berlin Cabinet. Herr VON
BISMARK is very ingenious in his plausible version
of the matter, but it may plainly be asked how it
was that we never heard anything of the claims of
Prussia to the Duchies last year when the subject was
pretty neaxly exhausted. The cry was first for the inde-
pendence of the Duchies, and afterwards fur the
rights of the Duke of AtGUSTENBERG to their pos-
session. All at once when
.the general public be-
lieved the settlement of the vexed question was at
hand up starts a new and dangerous rival on the
fears of Prussia, and the Duke's ally turns into an
enemy of a serious character. Herr VON BISMARK
stated the other day that " as long as no pretender
can show what in our opinion would be a better
title to the Duchies than our own, I do not see
who should contest our possession." Can anything
be more plain-spoken than this, or more calculated
to show the determination of Prussia to keep to
her fixed resolve, in spite of all that may be
said or done in opposition to it. This was so
thoroughly sifted, and one would have thought the
last discourse of the Prussian Minister is more de-
cided in its tone than any that he has yet uttered on
the subject, and we may now look out therefore for
something like a real struggle for supremacy taking
place before long. It appears to be the settledpur-
pose of the Prussian Cabinet to gain possession of
their long-coveted prize, and they may think them-
selves very fortunate if, in so doing, they do not
grasp the shadow and lose the substance. The
language of llerr Von BISmARK is couched in
cautious terms ; but still his meaning peeps out
plainly enough, and he who runs may read its signi-
ficance. Ile says that the Sovereigns of Austria and
Prussia have the Dukedom of Schleswig-Holstein and
Lauenburg vested in them, and thence goes on to state
that they intend to convoke the Estates, and will
neither constrain that body, nor allow themselves to
be constrained by it. This means that the Estate
will meet to keep up appearances, but that
in reality no heed will be paid to its de-
sires whether expressed or understood. This is
shown in an unmistakeable; manner by the
concluding sentences of Herr Von BIS3IARK'S
address. He says that if no understanding be
arrived at, " no one-sided proceeding will be able
to make us quit the Duchies." No one who has
studied the circumstances of the case could have ar-
rived at any other conclusion, but it is a new phase of
the affair to hear the intentions so plainly announced.
Herr Von BISMARCK concludes by advising the
Chamber of Deputies to do their part towards the
solution of the matter, and says, " If you doubt
our right, make your vote of the supplies dependent
upon the condition of our acquiring Kiel, and say,
No Kiel, no money., e It remains to be seen how
successful thia last dodge of the wily statesman
may prove ; but in awaiting the result of it, we may
presume that before long the world will witness a
new and striking development of the Schleswig-
Holstein question, which has fulfilled the old notion
of setting all Europe by the ears, and has also
created great scandal to those who respect the rights
of nations and honour the claims of justice.

A very important social reform is just now being
attompted, which it is only wonderful has been so
long neglected. It does not affect the moral or
mental welfare of neglected classes, but the actual
physical health and comfort of the upper ranks of
the community as well. Yet, notwithstanding the
fact of its universal benefit, the scheme just set on
foot for providing hospital carriages, has not as yet
received the amount of public support which might
reasonably have been expected. Any Dian for alleviat-
ing especial forms of surienn. g, fog; opening new

most excellent in intention and practical in its
results, is too much of a preventive scheme to enlist
much sympathy. But it commends itself very
forcibly to the reason of the prudent and to the fears
of the selfish, as well as to the kindness of the bene-
volent. The spread of infectious diseases is always
a matter of regret, and in a populous city it is an
evil difficult to deal with. Still the custom of
conveying sick persons to fever hospitals in the
common conveyances of the metropolitan thorough-
fares is so preposterous that it appears almost in-
credible that it should have been so long tolerated.
There are so very many cases where lodgers, ser-
vants, &c., are taken ill, and are removed to
the hospital, cabs being the only available
means of conveyance. The officials are earnest in
advising the heads of workhouses, and other large
establishments, at once to remove any contagious
sickness from their midst to the proper institution,
and cabs again would be in requisition. The cab,
in any of these cases, takes the sufferer
from fel, er, small-pox, or other contagious
malady, to the proper hospital, and then goes
on plying in the streets as usual. In fact, the cab-
driver may be hailed by a fare on his return jour-
ney, and would probably take up the unconscious
victim without scruple. Of course the disease
is not caught by the passenger in all such
cases, or we should hear still more of the
spread of fever in the metropolis, but every one
must admit that a very serious risk is run. The
caution with which the middle classes guard against
infection is carried sometimes to a ridiculous ex-
treme, yet the most nervous and fidgetty person
may avoid a hundred possible risks to step into a
cab which has just carried a deadly fever.
Yet, while all who knew the danger have
long deplored it, there was no means of cure.
Fever-stricken sufferers could not possibly walk
two or three miles to the hospital, while to keep
them in the houses where they were living was
often impossible. The public has no excuse for
shutting its eyes to the facts so clearly put before
it, for long since the managers of the Fever
Hospital openly stated that the greater proportion
of their patients came in common street cabs. Very
recently a case was cited in which a physician was
hurriedly summoned to the bedside of a patient
dying of smallpox. He took a cab, for haste, but
on arriving found that all was over. The cabman,
struck by seeing the closed house, asked the reason,
and then told the doctor that two or three weeks
before he had taken a lady to that house, just after
driving a patient to the Smallpox Hospital. This
lady, as might be supposed, was the victim ; and,
dobtless, there are many such cases every week,
only they do not happen to become known. It is,
therefore, a matter of very great and general im-
portance that proper conveyances, exclusively for
the use of hospital patients, should be provided. A
very simple and efficacious method is proposed, by
which the cabs, when summoned, can go to any
part and fetch the invalid, thus avoiding all danger.
We can hardly suppose that so sensible and prac-
tical a scheme will be suffered to fail for want of
funds. It is only to be wondered that, in these
days of sanitary reform, so great and general an
evil should have been left SO long without remedy.

Mr. GLADSTONE has not been very successful in
his attempts to gain the favour of the good people
of Chester. He is placed in the unfortunate posi-
tion of an halting between two opinions, and
doubtless many electors will think that, if they
want moderate views, they might as well return
Mr. RAIKES, while their notions of progress will be
better represented by Mr. FENTON. At any rate,
the candidute made a fair speech in its way, and
more straightforward, than might have been ex.
pected from one who is peculiarly circumstanced.
It is certainly a very unfortunate circumstance, and
one that speaks very ill for their patriotism, that
there is such a preponderance of candidates who
contest the seats at election times in the liberal
cause (it cannot be said interes), because a
house divided against itself is in a very
insecure and infelicitous position The Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer very kindly gives
all the blame of the matter to Mr. FENTON, and
declares that the responsibility rests with him ; but
that, of course, is a matter of opinion. The right
hon. gentleman went too far in his zeal, however,
and caused a great confusion. All is fair in election
time, it is true, but it may fairly be questioned if it
would not have been better to have proceeded with
more caution, and not to have given rise to angry
feelings and altercations. Mr. GLADSTONE has not
been more fortunate than Lord AMBERLEY in his
attempts to slip quietly into the favour of a large
constituency, and he is not more liberal, in a com-
prehensive view of the matter, than that noble lord.
He is against the ballot, which he thinks a
failure in America. This enunciation of his senti-
ments proved rather a failure for there
was a cry of " Three cheers for the ballot." The
concluding passage of Mr. GLADSTONE'S speech was
interrupted by some determined advocate of Mr
FENTON'S, who set up his claims at every imagin-
able opportunity, and completely marred the effect
of the moral which the speaker sought to convey.
When they were told that they must return a man
who was a Liberal candidate if they wanted remis-
sion of taxes and many substantial benefits, there
was at every pause the cry of " FENTON will do
that." This shows the folly of candidates profes-
sing the same policy contesting the same place.
This discrepancy between practice and profession is
rarely if ever witnessed among Conservatives, and
their opponents may well take a leaf out of their
book, and look less to individual interest and more to
the triumph of the party and the success of the cause
Chester will no doubt present an animated scene at
the time of election ; but it cannot be a matter of
wonder if Mr. RAMS reaps the benefit of the strife
and discord that his rivals are sowing with no nig-
gardly hand among the constituency. If more
unity were displayed at elections it would be better
for the cause of fair play ; and, indeed, the electors
are not likely to come to a clear understanding
when such contrary opinions are given by those on
same side.

The Metropolitan Sewage and Essex Reclamation
Bill has finally passed the Upper House. The last
Parliamentary appearance was attended with some
little interest from the fact of its being the first
occasion on which the Heir Apparent recorded his
vote as a Peer. His Royal Highness has several

times honoured the debates of the Lords with his
presence, but has never previously taken an active
part. Last night, however, he recorded his name
in the division list, when Lord DEN3IAN'S amend-
ment was pressed to a division, and, as was natu-
rally to be expected from the interest and intelli-
gence which the Prince has shown with regard to
the Main Drainage system, he joined with the ma-
jority against Lord DENMAN'S very slender
train of followers. The noble lord, on the
motion for the third reading, moved its in-
definite postponement, and argued that a bill of
this nature ought not to be in the hands of a private
company. It was certainly a late stage of the pro-
ceedings to raise an objection of this kind, but Lord
RENUAIT went still further, and on the autl4ity of

PARIS, JUNE 1.
The following is the return of the Bank of France
for the week ending to-day, together with the cor-
responding figures of the previous account :