The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-31 00:00:00

of small properties are energetically bestirring them-
selves. In the South of Ireland, as might have been
expected, the majority of the new claims have been
put forward. We find in one case compensation
demanded for putting manure and seed on a farm.
In this instance the landlord complaine I that the
tenant had used the drawing-room of the farm
building as a cow-house, and in turn demanded
his compensation. The chief claims are for " disturb-
a,lce and improvements" and most of the demands
are disputed. Nevertheless the working of the Act
u;► b) the present seems to promise covenants which
ill be acceptable to all parties, and peace meantime
is becoming more general over the country. It is
believed that the bill prepared by the Dublin
Mansion House Committee for the purchase of the
Irish railways by Government, a measure which
proposes a tax of a penny in the pound on
Irish incomes for three years for the completion of the
railway system, and the education question, will
occupy much of the attention of the House of Com-
mons in the coming session. Once these subjects are
&Tided, Ireland will probably make rapid strides in
the progress which began in the country in 1869, and
which continues slowly to manifest itself everywhere.

THE OPIUM TRADE.
The consumption of opium in the Chinese Empire
is on the increase, and it is of importance to ascer-
tain how far the Indian opium will be superseded-by
the native. Indian opium will, it is believed, hold
its present position as an article of luxury ; but while
the native-grown is greatly inferior in strength and
flavour, it displaces the foreign in many inland marts
on account of its cheapness. The Deleg ttes of the
Shanghai Chamber of Commerce state that according
to popular belief four men in every five smoke,
and half the women. The British Consul
at Tien-tsin considers that the increasing production
of the native drug in China might be checked if
proper measures were taken in India, and the transit
duty of the Malwa opium to Bombay were lowered.
The China markets might be supplied at a cheaper
rate, and the Indian Government would, in all pro-
bability, gain more revenue in the end by the in-
creased demand for Indian opium in those parts of
China where it is still preferred. The
Indian Government would likewise attain greater
returns if they offered larger quantities of
opium at the Calcutta auctions where the Bengal
drug is sold. The Consul thinks that the wealth of
the Chinese is diminished by the unproductive con-
sumption of opium, and they are, consequently, pre-
vented from purchasing so many European manufac-
tures as they might otherwise do.
THE ALFONSIST PARTY IN SPAIN.

The venerable Marquis de Miraflores, the leader of
the party who advocate the elevation of the Prince
of Asturias to the Spanish Throne, has addressed a
long manifesto to the Epoca, the leading
organ of his party. El Debate an-
nounced that tha Marquis had shewn himself
favourable to the conciliatory movement going
on in Madrid, among' some prominent politicians,
and he therefore feels called upon to explain his
situation. He has held no communication with the,
persons referred to by the Debate, and shares
none of their aspirations. He detests coalitions
and attributes all the evils which have resulted
from the coalition of 1868, to the union of three an-
tagonistic parties. He is equally opposed, however, to
conspiracies and exaggerated opposition, which only
increase evils, and therefore he retires altogether
from the political arena. The only true solution for
the national difficulties is, he believes, to be found in
the proclamation of the Prince of Asturias, who is
King by right since the abdication of his mother,
and in the establishment of a rezency during his mi-
nority. He does not share the illusions of those who
think the restoration of the Queen would be easy ;
but he considers the substitution of an elective
for an hereditary monarchy will lead to endless
constitutional embarrassments. The Marquis, not-
withstanding, expresses his respect for the illustrious
House of Savoy and his admiration for the young
Prince, whose youthful inexperience has accepted a
Crown full of thorns ; but neither his political ante-
cedents, his convictions, nor his intimate and cordial
relations with the fallen dynasty, will permit him to
give either material or moral support to any King
but Alfonso XII. The Marquis is 78 years or
age.

ROAD STEAMERS FOR INDIA.
The Indian Government have recently ordered
four of " Thompson's " road steamers, with the in-
tention of running them between two stations in the
Punjaub—viz., Rawul Pinde and Jhelum, a distance
of 68* miles. The journey is to be accomplished,
inclusive of stoppages, in seven hours, and the train
will consist of one omnibus, which will carry 20 first,
20 second, and 20 third-class passengers, and about
50 cwt. of mails and luggage. The estimated
cost of the whole of the plant, iacluding buildings,
rolling stock, repairing shops, &c., is rather less than
£l2O a mile. As a means of transport for troops,
and the removal of heavy guns, it is thought that
this means of locomotion will prove almost invaluable.
From experiments already made with a small engine
of this discription, which was purchased by the Indian
Government some time back, there is no doubt
that the four engines, with their omnibuses,
would be capable of transporting 200 men with
food, ammunition, and baggage for seven days, at
the rate of 100 miles per day. One
peculiar advantage these engines appear to
possess over the ordinary road steamers arises
from the fact that the boiler is on the vertical prin-
ciple, and therefore a nearly uniform water level is
maintained when either ascents or descents are being
made. The wheels are to have india-rubber tyres
4* inches thick. Should this experiment be found
to answer, we in England may perhaps begin to ask
ourselves whether something of the kind should not
be tried here.
THE HISTORY OF THE REBUS.

An ingenious French writer, M. Octave Delepierre
has contributed some details to the history of the
rebus. Picardy has the honour of being its birth-
place, but, in fact, this form of playing upon
words was known in earlier and ruder
times. Men were wont to convey by signs wha'
could not be expressed by words. The old Az*
generals painted their despatches, and the whole
advance of Cortes on Mexico was explained to the
Cacique, or ruler, in pictures. In Egypt and China
the hieroglyphics were a kind of rebus,
and even in England ecclesiastical architec-
ture of an early date bears traces of such
illustettions. Camden tells us that the Rebus
in its modern form was imported hom France
by the English who accompanied Edward 111, and
words and phrases expressed in signs became uni-
versally popular. A Mr. Foxcraft painted in his
room° a fox feigning to be dead on the ice,
in the midst of unsuspecting poultry, and
it was a common thing for men to take a sign
illustrating their name or state. M. Delepierre says
the rebus declined in England from the time when
tavern signs adopted it, as the Bolt in Tun, the
Bull and Mouth, &c., standing for Bolton and
Boulogne Mouth. The English rebus, however, was
always somewhat clumsy, and seldom gained the
point, the vivacity, and the esprit of its French
original.

sem,
611114 tvtabt