The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-05 00:00:00

THE FLYING SQUADRON.

The new flying squadron, comprising the Narcissus,
28 gun screw frigate, Captain W. Codrington, bearing the
flag of Rear-Admiral Beauchamp Seymour, C. 8., Ad-
miral in command of the squadron ; the Immortalit4, 28,
screw frigate, Captain C. W. Sullivan, C.B. ; the Cad-
mus, 17, screw corvette, Captain W. H. Whyte ; and the
Wlage, 8, screw corvette, Captain AI. Seymour, left
Plymouth *Sound at half-past one yesterday afternoon for
the West Indies.

GREAT POVERTY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE " BUN."

SIR,—An appeal of mine last winter to a benevolent
public was not, alas, responded to with such liberal hands
as the preceding year. I only received £53 uls. 6d.,
against five times that amount in 1869. What is this
among 5,000 to 6,000 souls in the district I visit, some
few yards from Regent-street ?
The distress this winter is greater than I ever knew it,
owing to the present extreme cold, and to the disastrous
war on the Continent, which affect the poor in many
ways, too numerous to detail, but which easily occur to
the thoughtful and reflective.
Any contributions, however small, sent to Messrs.
Herries, Farquhar, and Ca., 16, St. James-street, S.W.,
or to myself, will be thankfully received.
Your obedient servant„
GEORGE CAVENDISH.
Burlington Gardens, W., Ist January, 1871.

THE CHURCH OF IRELAND. Mr. D+;•nnelly,
Registrar-General for Ireland, has issued 94 circular to
the clergy of the disestablished Church, directing them
to erase from the marriage registers the words " Church
of Ireland," and to substitute the 'words " Protestant
Episcopal Church of Ireland," Many of them have
returned for answer a flat, and not over-polite refusal
to comply with this order, which, they maintain, asks
them to falsify the title accorded to the Church
even by the Act of Parliament by which it was dis-
established.

SENTENCES OF PRISONERS.—On Tuesday, at the
Glocestershire Quarter Sessions, Mr. Borwick Baker re-
newed a discussion as to a general principle in sentencing
prisoners on summary conviction. He was warmly
thanked for his well-known labours in this and like
matters, and, after a long discussion, the Court unani
mously adopted a set of suggestions he had drawn
up, recognising the expediency of a general rule
as to sentences for felony which, while making*
allowance for exceptional cases, might secure a'
uniformity of practice intelligible to the public
and deterrent to those likely to fall into crime-
One suggestion is that in the case of a prisoner charged
with felony the police shall seek to ascertain his history
during the previous five years, and that if no antecedents
can be shewn he shall, as a rule, be commited for trial ;
another, that a man not previously convicted shall receive
a light sentence ; another, that, save in exceptional cases,
a man convicted twice of felony shall not have less than
six months' imprisonment and seven years' police super-
vision ; another, that seven years' penal servitude shall be
awarded on a third conviction, and so on. Mr. Baker
gave his opinion that gradually these rules Of practice
would pervade the country.
\IR. THOMAS CARLYLE ON VERSE WRITING.
A characteristic protest against the writing of verse is to
be found in a letter from Mr. Carlyle to Mr. W. a Ben-
nett, LL.D., which the latter gentleman has printed in o
collection of " testimonials" made to further his applica-
tion for the Secretaryship of the London School Board-
" your name hitherto," says Mr. Carlyle, "is known to
me chiefly as associated with verse. It is one of my con-
stant regrets, in this generation, that men to whom
the gods have given a genius (which means a light
of intelligence, of courage, and all manfulness, or else
means nothing) will insist, in such an earnest time as ours
has grown, in bringing out their divine gift in the shape of
verse, which now no man reads entirely in earnest. That
a man has to bring out his gift in words of any kind, and
not in silent divine actions, which alone are fit to express
it well, seems to me a great misfortune for him ; but
that he should select verse, with its half credibilities and
other sad accompaniments, when he might have prose
and be wholly credible, if he desired it ; this I lay at the
door of our spiritual teachers (pedants mostly, and!
speaking an obsolete dialect), who thereby incalculably rol
the world ; making him who might have been a soldier and
fighter (so terribly wanted just at present), a mere preacher
and idle singer. This is a fixed perception of mine,
growing ever more fixed those many years ; and I offer it
to you, as I have done to many others in the like ease, pot
much hoping that you will believe in it all at once. But,
certainly, a good, wise, earnest piece in p/ose from you
would please me better than the rausicPflest verses
could." This was written to Mr. Bennett Rome years ago
in acknowledgment of a letter and sonnet which he bad
sent to Mr. Carlyle.

THE WORKING`-MEN'S COLLEGIC.—The Christmas
conversa,zione of this institution -was held on Tuesday
evening in the new class-rooms of the College, Great
Ormond street, Bloomsbury. The college was founded il
1851, and now contains 350 students, who are for the most'
part clerks and working men, the sole test imposed °
entrance being an elementary knowledge of rerAtißig,-
writing, and arithmetic. There are a library, iron'
which books can be borrowed, a coffee and conversation'
room, and class-rooms well adapted for their purpose 401
which, for moderate fees, lessons are given In lang,uage?,.
in history and law, mathematics, physical science, 'll`
art, and other subjects ; and when the funds of the ia-
stitution permit, a museum and lecture-hall will be'
added. At present. the executive committee are'
wisely applying themselves to the liquidation of debt be
fore they cam ark in further expenditure. Datec'
while they. have acquired the freehold of, two, lt,mice es, in
one of which (formerly the residence of 14rAwd r urio)
the College is established, and the site, lc* 0 nueeno
and hall is available when the necesy p-
ideaeag. forth.
coming. On Tuesday nightsatiOaßtc.rya-
of progress in art study, the. wakki - idi was given
of class"
rooms being hung with col. 7
° one
life or fre°
antiques, and with water-031w" drawings..rom the
0. N i.icii
were exceedingly creditalat 'k• , some t... v_i,l,tor
College choir 19,`,4
of the art classes IS, -5'
•NI J the students. The direytill
f , ence
the
Cave Thomas. Another sr,„e
more favourite study "is •, . and tP.
that of vocal music, a Ol
'''' renn6,.
" , sang an excellent selection t
part-songs MA ;cr)'"
shewilid Vsoes -
Altoq.ttlAgtr • cruses, with pianoforte
.accompayeir_necily:
training and fair musical prof' lue_eitil
wovk 5,
goodit is clear that the Collee is doing a
_.. 0
~, the great educational advantages which it offer.rs
I.ot more widely appreciated by the class for whore ttto
that ~i workmanlike fashion ;a and the wonnset,o
friends of the institution were present, and we mused i 9
are intended. Mr. Hughes, M.P., and other ‘Y,An'ot
omit to add that the teaching in the various clas-v'
almost wholly unpaid.