The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-13 00:00:00

THE SUN,

form a resolution was passed, in which the Mayor was
j requested to communicate to Mr. Palmer, his col-
league, and himself, the desire of the electors that
they should attend the present meeting, and give
the weight of their influence to the sanitary cause.
They had accordingly done so, regarding the wish of
their constituents as an additional obligation upon
them to be present on so important an occasion.—
(Hear, hear.) He thought it would add greatly to
the moral weight of the meeting when it was known
that many members of Parliament, and among others,
his friend Mr. Parker, of Sheffield, were in attendance
at the request of their constituents. He had been
requested to move the following resolution :
" That although great exertions have been made
by sanitary associations, ably seconded by the press,
to arouse the public mind to a sense of the evils
(physical, economical, and moral) which affect all
classes, but especially the poorest, much ignorance
and apathy still remain ; and that this meeting, while
it pledges itself to aid the Health of Towns Associa-
tion in the efforts now making for their removal,
would especially call upon the clergy and members of
the medical profession to exert their powerful influ-
ence in furtherance of this great object."
The Noble Lord expressed his satisfaction that the
same apathy did not exist on this question as formerly.
He then gave a variety of statements, having refer-
ence to the condition of the town of Plymouth, and
the necessity that existed for great improvements in
that town, notwithstanding all that had already been
done. The necessity for sanitary reform was indeed
evident in every large town. It was a question
affecting not the physical comfort only, but the moral
and spiritual welfare of millions. The Rev. Mr.
Clay, of Preston, had well said that dirt, disease,
and crime were concurrent.—(Hear, hear.) If they
took a map and marked all the places where there
was an absence of sewers and a limited supply
of water, and where the fever, and cholera, and epi-
demics of all sorts prevailed, and if, on the same map
they marked the residence of criminals and the habi-
tual haunts of vice, it would be found that almost the
same spots, from house to house, would represent
them.—(Hear, hear.) How could it be otherwise,
when they found, as in the town of Plymouth, 11,000
people living in single rooms? And is this respect
Plymouth was not a whit worse than other town,
in-all parts of the kingdom. How could they expect
to find a moral state of society in such districts, when
families were herded together, more like pigs than
human beings, in one single room ?—(Hear, hear.)
The depressing effect of the bad atmosphere which
these people breathed, too, was such as to produce the
most lamentable habits, especially habits of gross in -
tetnperance.—(Hear, hear.) It had been proved
that in many districts, 'and even in the immediate
neighbourhood of Regent-street, the depressing na-
ture of the atmosphere was such that it was almost
impossible for the poor inhabitants to resist the
te,riptations to intemperance.—(Hear.) In Glasgow
there was one house for every five or ten for the
sale of spirits ; and in that city the deaths from epi-
demics transcended the very worst places of this
metropolis. It was therefore of the utmost import-
ance that all classes, especially the clerical and me-
dical professions, should exert themselves in this
cause, so as to promote not merely the economical,
but the moral and spiritual welfare of the poor and
neglected labouring classes in our large towns.
Mr. W. BAINES, M.P., seconded, the; resolittion.
He was glad to be able to say that the town which
he represented had set on this question an example
deserving of all honour and imitation. The clergy
of all denominations had been exerting themselves
in this great cause, and so had also the medical pro-
fession, with a unanimity and a zeal that had been
attended with the happiest effects.—(Cheers.) Every
medical man in the place joined in forming an asso-
ciation for the purpose of investigating the sanitary
state of the town, with the view of pointing
out those measures that might seem to be neces-
sary. A report had since been published containing
many recommendations applicable not only to the
locality of Hull, but to all parts of the empire. lie
had no hesitation in concurring in the remark that
had been made, that the hotbeds of disease, engen-
dered by filth, were also the hotbeds of crime—(Hear)
—and that by a regard to our own interest's, as well
as a regard for the moral and religious interests of
that unfortunate people, by every consideration of
love to our neighbours and of love to ourselves, we
were bound to say that there could be no cause more
important, more holy, or more deserving the support
of the public and the Government of this country.
The resolution was then unanimously carried.
Mr. SLANEY, M.P., moved the following resolu-
tion :
" That the thanks of this meeting be respectfully
tendered to the Most Noble the Marquis of Norman--
by for his able and impartial conduct in the chair,
and his valuable services to the cause on all occasions."
He observed, that large measures of sanitary reform
had been recommended by repeated committees and
commissions, all of which tended to the same end,
viz , to preserve to the community that first of bless-
ings—health. The Poor-law Comniission in 1838
made a similar recommendation in one of their re-
ports, as did also a Committee of the House of Com-
mons in 1838, of which he had the honour to he
chairman.—(Hear, hear.) He was one of those who
had volunteered to investigate the state of the large
towns. The inquiry embraced no fewer than 50 ;
arid, in drainage, cleansing, and the supply of water,
48 were found deficient so far as regarded the work-
ing classes. The advocates of sanitary improvement
had worthy leaders in the Noble Lord in the chair;
Lord Ashley, the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl of
Lincoln, and Lord Morpeth.
Dr. S. SMITH, who was received with great cheer-
ing, seconded the resolution, and warmly eulogised
the noble chairman for the fidelity and consistency
with which he had supported the association..
Mr. C. Cocuamse, having been again called for,
addressed the meeting. He complained that he had
been treated with personal disrespect, a gentleman
having accused him of creating the confusion. He
had attended in consequence of a letter from Lord
Ashley, and was himself a member of the association.
He had come forward to read the association a kind
of moral lesson.—(Oh, oh !) In conclusion, he pro-
ceeded to urge the necessity of adopting a system of
public agitation for the purpose of promoting sanitary
reform.

The resolution was carried unanimously.
The Marquis of NORMANBY made his acknow-
ledgments, and, as evidence of progress in sanitary
improvement, referred to a notice issued in St. Mary's
NV hitechapel, stating that the trustees, wherever they
found any nuisance, or any dwelling not in a habit-
able state, would proceed against the landlords.
The meeting then separated.

SOUTHAMPTON, DEC. 10.—The Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company's ship Tagus, R.
W. Evans, commander, arrived at Southampton last
evening from Trebizonde, Constantinople, Smyrna,
Malta, and Gibraltar, bringing the heavy portion of the
East India mails, and twenty-three passengers. She
brings sixty-one packages of specie, supposed to be worth
100,0001., and a large and valuable cargo, consisting of
57 bales and 180 cases of silk, 29 cases of opium, 214
bales of goat's wool, 47 bales of sheep's wool, 5 casks
of wine, 17 tubs of leeches, 7 bags of yellow berries, 8
cases of otto of roses, 1,423 drums of figs, 50 cases of
fruit, and 80 packages of sundry merchandise. The
Tagus experienced very heavy weather between Trebi-
zonde and Constantinople, having at that time nearly.
800 Turkish passengers on board. On the 80th of No-
vember, during the passage from Malta to Gibraltar, a
sea struck one of the boats, and an able seaman, named
George Snooks, was washed away and lost. She had
a very stormy passage across the Bay of Biscay, lost
one of her boats, and had her deck-house washed away
Some anxiety is felt for the safety of the Washington,
and intelligence is hourly expected from Bremen, as to
whether she has safely arrived there. She left Cowes on
Friday afternoon last, with the United States mails and
passengers for Breruen, and must consequently have been
in the severe gale that raged from Friday to Sunday.
From the Washington's excellent qualities as a sea-going
vessel, hopes are confidently entertained that she has
been able to reach Bremen haven in safety.
ATTEMPTS TO OVERTHROW TRAlNS.—Within the
past week two most daring and deliberate attempts
have been made by some miscreants to throw the trains
on the Taff-vale Railway, between Cardiff and Merthyr,
off the rails, which, had they not been providentially
discovered, must have caused a fearful sacrifice of life.
In the first attempt the miscreants turned the points on
the line; but, fortunately. it was dis Covered by the ser-
vants of the company. Having failed in tbeir first at
tempt, they on Wednesday perpetrated a much more
malignant act. It appears that the engine-driver of the
last passenger-train, on seeing, about a mile from the
tunnel on the Merthyr side, at a place where the rail-
way makes a sharp turn, and runs on the brink of a
precipice, that there was something wrong with the
plates, slackened his pace, but not in time to prevent the
engine and tender and the three first carriages being
thrown off the line with a considerable shock. On ex-
amining the cause of the accident it was discovered that
a pair of the rails had been taken up, one on each side
of the road. Twenty minutes before a train had gone
down and all was then safe, so that the rails must have
been taken up in the interval, and from the appearances
it would seem that they had been taken up persons well
acquainted with raising and laying down rails. Fortu-
nately the engine when running off the line inclined to
the right side and ran into the bank; had it inclined to
engaged
river beneath, and the sacrifice of life would have been
\
fearful. As it was, no injury occurred to the passerigvs
the • i• se outrages.
army of :India,
endeavouringl) erty.
Th e
company'sto discover
,cat,hasAßMY.—Major-General Sir Dudley St. Le-
Tux
and been appointed to the staff of the
ger Hill
preasentto cotamand the Meerut division
of the army at
Major- General Samuel undere Sir John Grey, K.CiB.
pointed to the staff of Bombaytheumut Cae.rally', has been sip
and proceeds
goanver:f the
the provi ce
immediately to take thecomara d-
vice Sir C. Napier. The troops in Sin e,
has been committed to Mr. Pringle, Ma' r
General Peter Augustns Lautour,
succeeded to the increased good service pay of 1 "
diem, from the 19th ult.—United Service Gazette. • r