The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-27 00:00:00

px-ition, and when war breaks out they are detained
at Home by "urgent private affairs." This creates
grumbling and discontent among the men. The offi-
cers, from being generally employed on home service,
luvnage to pick up most of the crumbs that fall from
the table at the Horse Guards. When in the field
the men have so mnch to do in pipe-claying and

furbishing in order to keep their fancy uniforms
clean, that they have no heart left for performing
other duties. To make Ion; marches in their present
al surd uniforms is almost impossible. It is to be
regretted that the writer does not make any sugges-

Lions for a reform in this portion of the service.
About twenty years ago Captain Nolan wrote an
excellent work on the subject, suggesting a remedy
for this state of things. His theory was that light
muscular men should be mounted on horses enured
to hardships, and so trained as to be fit for campaign
work, and that the riders should be clad in simple,
but easy-fitting clothing. General approval was
given to his plan, but although the Russian war
broke out shortly afterwards, and ample evidence
was afforded during that contest of the ill-effects of
the present mode of equipping and mounting our
cavalry, no steps have been taken to remedy the
evil. It is to be hoped that in the forthcoming plan
of Army Organisation our cavalry will not be

neglecte,

MIDDLE CLASS EDUCATION.
Mr. Forster, M.P., has been waited upon by a
—eputation from the Council of the College of Pre-
ceptors on the subject of the establishment of a
training college for teachers engaged in middle class
education. The principal object of the deputation
was to establish a training college for school-
masters and schoolmistresses engaged in middle
class schools, and it was a secondary consi-
deration whether the Government would make
use of the College of Preceptors, or establish one
The Vice-President of the Council

,emselves.

informed the deputation that the principle involved
was one which he did not think would be accepted
by Parliament, as it would be quite a new thing for
tho Government to interfere in, or give aid tj,
secondary education. On financial and other grounds
there would also be some difficulty in accepting the
proposition. The Schools Inquiry Commission had
entered fully into the subject, and had reported
against it. Although there were strong arguments
in favour of the scheme which would turn the edu-
cational profession. into a close profession, the
balance of argument was against it. The supply
of good teachers might safely be left to the opera-
tion of the law of supply and deman(l. With respect
to endowed schools, the Government had to take care
of their endowments, and had therefore a right to
impose conditions. It was the intention of the Go-
vernment to issue a new revised code this year, and
it would be laid before Parliament shortly after its
opening

SMALLPDX IN THE METROPOLIS.
The Medical officer of the Privy Council, after
sending round his circular to the Metropolitan Boards
of Guardians respecting the prevalence of small-
pox, has now instituted an active inquiry
into the preventive measures en by
tan te
Metropolitan Boards. Four gentlemen are
carrying out this inquiry, and there is good
reason for prosecuting it with vigour, since there is
little room for doubt that, had all the Boards of
Guardians followed the example of those of St.
Luke and Poplar, and acted upon the warning given
by the medical officer of the • Privy Council
so long ago as la t March, the epidemic
would have been very limited in its area.
In those two wiser parishes, where the
Vaccination Act has been enforced, almost the only
cases of smallpox which have, occurred have been
imported from the neighbouring parishes. The rest
of the boards did nothing whatever until the
epidemic was in full force. The necessity of vigilant
.supervision on the part of the authorities is abun-
dantly proved by the cases brought before our police
courts from time to time. A person named Huff
residing at Greenwich, was summoned a day or two
since for neglecting to have a child under 14 years
of age vaccinated, It appeared that he had been
previously fined for the neglect. Since be disbe-
lieved in the efficacy of vaccination, his wife had
suffered from illness through it. He protested
against a reiterated fine, but was told that a fresh
fine could be imposed every time the
complaint was made. On the same day, at the same
court, an application was made for assistance
in removing the body of a child who had died
from smallpox in a overcrowded room. The house
in which the body lay contained only four rooms
about 10 feet by 9 feet, each of which contained a
different family, 20 children and 8 adults in all. The
father and mother of the dead chill and four other
children, one of them an infant, were in the room
with the corpse. One of the children, sickening for
the smallpox, was in the same bed with the mother
and baby. Niter such cases we need hardly ask how
smallpox spreads.

THE " TRUCK" SYSTEM IN SCOTLAND.
Some evidence has been taken in Edinburgh with
respect to " truck " dealings in Scotland. The clerks
of supply at Lerwick attributed the high rate of
pauperism among the islanders to the system of
barter. An account of the wholesale " trucking "
which prevails in the hosiery and fishing industries
was given by a farmer and factor. It is an understood
thing that the women get no cash for their work
in knitting ; but they are pail in fancy goods.
The knitter from the country brings her work to the
merchant in town, who gives her goods in exchange.
The merchant makes a profit of twenty-five shillings
on a shawl which sells for thirty shillings. The Shet-
land merchant has an account with the different mem-
bers of thesame family, for every child above twelve
years goes into debt, but he never furnishes 'them
with a copy of that account. In the fishing trade boys
are engaged as beach boys, and the boy is allowed to
draw his coat to go to church in, but by the end of
the fishing he has overdrawn his account, and
he is thus " trucked " away for life unless
he can contrive to "get south. The mer-
chant never fixes a price with the men until
he finds a market, and knows what the fish will
realise. The men being yearly tenants, the merchant
has a hold upon them. There is no tree trade ir
Shetland, and monopaly is the bane of the country.
EGG KILLING.

There appears to be almost as much swindling in
the egg trade as there is in the seed trade, and
especially amongst vendors who advertize eggs "for
setting from prize birds." In the first place the pur-
chaser is seldom able to judge himself by the
shape or colour of the eggs the breed they
represent, and he has besides no means
of knowing if the vendor really owns the birds whose
eggs he offers. Frequently one or two live eggs are
sent in the parcel, but the remainder are " killed."
The process of killing appears to be a very simple
one : the egg is dipped in hot water, and then shaken
in order to rupture the membranes and disarrange
the fluid contents. They are then sold at rates of
from one to five shillings each. When eggs become
rotten in a warm nest who can say that they
were dead when first placed there I It is said that
fully three-fourths of all the eggs sold to amateur
breeders of poultry are killed before they are sent
away to the purchaser. This infamous trade has
been carried on so long and so successfully that it is
time the public was placed on its guard against such
imposition. It is curious that the fraud has not been
exposed before.
How COLLIERY EXPLOSIONS ARE CAUSED.

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A case which has just been tried by the
Barnsley magistrates very forcibly illustrates the
recklessness of miners. Joseph Parker, a miner of
Wombwell, was charged with having in his pockets
a tobacco pipe and three lucifer matches
while at work in the Lund hill Colliery, which some