The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-13 00:00:00

however, would be given of the day when the
subject would be taken !"
We fear, after this, that there is but little
reason to anticipate that the Right Honourable
Gentleman will yield to the oft-expressed wishes
of the House, or that he will fairly enter upon
the final struggle, while there is any possibility of
the advocates of total repeal obtaining the legiti-
mate fruits of success. He has apparently deter-
mined to carry out his object per fas, ant nefas,
to defeat by any means, however reprehensible,
and under any circumstances, the insubordinate
attempt of those who have wills of their own, and
refuse to submit to the dictation of the crotchetty
Minister of Finance. This he may be enabled to
do, considering the advanced period of the session,
and the extraordinary facilities afforded to Minis-
ters for obstructing and impeding any measure to
which they are in any degree opposed. But be-
fore he enter upon a course so unwise, and we will
add, so discreditable, he will do well to count the
cost, to estimate not merely the possible, but the
very probable, consequences of the transaction ;
that he will lose the friendship and confidence of a
numerous and influential party would be a cer-
tain result. Any person possessed of a particle of
spirit of self-respect would necessarily resent
the insolent attempt at domination, and thence-
forward would toto ccelo oppose the would-
be despot who endeavoured to ride rough

shod over the independent representatives of in-
dependent constituencies, and they must be very
" verdant" indeed if they could place any trust
in the good faith of the Minister who could be
guilty of such conduct, conduct which would
justify even a factious opposition.

It may be said that the Newspaper Stamp
Duties Bill has been placed among the orders for
a second reading each Government day. This,,
however, is but adding insult to injury, as it is
placed in such a position that it cannot by a
possibility come on for discussion. Tia.st Thursday
it was high in the list. Last night it was seven-
teenth. It is now stated that it will be brought
on on Thursday. It may be so, but not unless
Mr. MILNER GIBSON and his coadjutors exert
themselves zealously and energetically in the
interim, and indicate in plain and unequivocal
terms the line which they will feel themselves
bound to adopt if there should be a further con-
tinuance of the unfair and objectionable course
hitherto pursued on this important and interesting
subject.

In France, the Government itself is undertaking
he erection of dwellings for the poor, and will,
we have no doubt, perform the task they have
undertaken in the very best style with regard to
abrye
aarbrleantgemesuernptass.s
eTnhetybe wciellntliiialerndtlyb,yhGowe--
esavneii-t,
vernment skill what has already been effected in
this country by private enterprise and benevolence.
It is true, nothing beyond model efforts have yet
been attempted, but these have so completely suc-
ceeded that they must be and will be promptly
followed up. The Continental theory is that Go-
vernment should leave nothing to the people which
it can take upon itself ; and possibly the habits
of Continentals render this desirable. In England,
on the contrary, Government does nothing for the
people which the people can do without its
aid ; and our habits of voluntary co-operation
and of enterprise justify our principle. We
must look, therefore, to our right-minded
capitalists to give full play to the clearly success-
ful operations of the Society for Improving th
Dwellings of the Industrious Classes. The money
invested in their operations is certain to pay
fair interest. The highly respectable Noblemen
and Gentlemen connooted with it are deeply int( -
rested in making it a paying concern to the inverter,
as well as a beneficial one to the operative, since
on no other principle can they hope to extend
their system very widely ; and the proved sani-
tary results are such as to demand of the benevo-
lent some pecuniary hazard, or even sacrifice,
were it necessary, which we are confident is not
the case. We certainly would not discourage
church-building liberality, but it is worth
while for those who have their 5,0001. or
10,0001. to spare for public objects, to ask whether
the first necessity is not that the people should
be " alive and well." He who preferred "mercy
to sacrifice," and healing on the Sabbath to
Pliarasaical observance of it, has certainly directed
our first attention to the bodily necessities of our
fellow-creatures.
Can we, then, have facts which make a louder
call for social co-operation than the two following.
First, That in the Society's Buildings typhus fever
has never occurred. Secondly, That the rate of
mortality in them has been but seven and a frac-
tion in a thousand, while for the rest of the
metropolis it has been 22 in a thousand ;—and of
infant mortality, 10 in a thousand ; while in
London generally, it has averaged 52 in a thou-
sand. In the Metropolitan Building, Old Pan-
eras-road, with a population of 680, the deaths
had been nine, but on the entire number
of 1,343 living in the Society's Dwell-
ings not more than 10. Of the inhabitants,
490 were children, the deaths amongst them being
5; the comparative low proportion which we have
just indicated. The low rate of mortality is a
most striking feature; but in some respects the
entire absence of that dreadful disease, typhus
fever, is still more so. This, as Dr. SOUTHWOOD
SmiTtr (from whose speech at the annual meeting
we quote these facts) observes, " is not the disease
of the young, the weak, or the destitute ; it is
pre-eminently the disease of the adult, the well-
nourished, and the strong ; it is the disease of
parents, not of children, and is thus one of the
great causes of orphanage, and consequent pau-
perism. It has its source in no want of food or
clothing, in no condition natural to this climate,
in no habits peculiar to the people, one single
word comprehending its main condition—filth."
We have been told ourselves by a medical gen-
tleman, living in one of the healthiest country
districts of England, that he never yet had a
single case of typhus which he could not trace
distinctly to some accumulated, but often un-
noticed, filth. Simply by efficient drainage, an
adequate supply of water, and banishing the fatal
cesspool, the Society has literally placed a barrier
around its dwellings which feVer cannot pass

The same results, according to the same authority,
_ _

have followed the experiment of the Lodging•

House Act. In Wigan, 25 lodging-houses have

not had a single case of fever among 29,655
lodgers. At Wolverhampton, in 200 lodging-
houses, which received during the year 511,000
lodgers, there has also not occurred one single case
of fever ! Similar returns have been received from
other towns, and from London also. Before the

houses came under the act, 20 cases of fever have
been received from single houses into the Fever Hos-
pital in the course of a few . weeks. Can any
further facts be needed to embolden our rulers to

legislate to the uttermost against dirt ?
• Let us remind our readers again, however,
hat the Society, to whose invaluable efforts we

have called attention, is the exact voluntary corn•

plement to these legislative means. If Govern-
ment resolutely banishes dirt, society must as

energetically provide attractive and economical
cleanliness. The poor cannot afford to build.

That must be done for them by their betters,

Let it be heartily and extensively done. This
is no Mrs. JELLYBY society ; no throwing away

of energy upon the unmanageable distant which
is needed at home. The work is one to bless our

next door but needy neighbours, and to return
to us, ourselves, the not to be despised blessings

of immunity from hotbeds of fatal fever, and a

fair interest for our money too.

MR. BARON PARSE.—We regret to hear that Mr.
Baron Parke is suffering from indisposition, which
prevents him at present from performing his judicial
functions.

LORD ERNEST VANE.--We find we were misinformed
in some of the particulars relating to the supposed en-
listment of Lord Ernest Vane. We have since beard
that this young 10rd,., after a quarrel with the clergyman
under whose tuition he had been placed, proceeded to
London Recruiting District, intending to be enlisted ;
but the officer commanding that branch of the service
suspecting the position of the would-be soldier, dis-
covered, by questioning, his real name, and communi-
cated with his friends. The enlistment, therefore, was
not completed. We hear Lord Ernest has since been
entrusted to the care of a gentleman, to prepare him for
passing his examination, previous to his obtaining a
commission in the army.—Morning Pot,