The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-29 00:00:00

i'BE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29,- 18M.

ADVANTAGEOUS EMPLO I 2q. EN T OF
MONEY, - -
(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

Notwithstanding -the general depression which has ex-
isted in enterprise of all kinds since the memorable panic
of 1866, a superabundance of capital is lying at unrernune-
rative interest in banks and elsewhere, whilst its owners
would be very glad to invest it in channels combining
security with the substantial prospect of a fair return. An
opportunity of this description, possessing features pecu-
liarly advantages to persons desirous of securing improv-
ing endowments, is presented by the Tontine arrange-
ment under which it is proposed to open the Alexandra
Park and Palace at Muswell Hill, London.. The capital
required for all purposes (reserving right to issue' deben:
tures of moderate and fixed amount) is £650,000. This is
divided into 20s. shares, bearing no interest, but conferring
rights of free anmission and of tickets in three Art
Unions, which appear to be eminently attractive—indeed,
in themselves worth much more than the amount cf the
investment.

The members entitled to the benefits of the Tontine are
confined to the subscribers for the first £500,000 of capital.
The survivors amongst these, or their nominees, (who may
be appointed and registered up to a date to be fixed in the
articles of association), will become owners of the entire
property, at the short and satisfactory term of ten years,
when the Tontine will be completed. But it is expected
that by exchange of shares for increased privileges of
admission, by gaining valuable prizes in the Art 'Unions,
and by natural lapse of life, the amount of capital Parti-
cipating in the Tontine will have been reduced by nearly
one half—say by £250,000—leaving the holders of capital
to the amount of £250,000 to divide the property. Now
according to opinions expressed by our contemporary the
Architect, and other recognised business authorities, the
market value of the Park (400 acres) and Palace will at
that time exceed £2,000,000,—an estimate more than justi-
fied by what has taken place at Sydenham and Norwood—
where, since the opening of the Crystal Palace £3,000
per acre has been paid for land previously worth
only £3OO, an increase of 1,000 per cent. But
in order to keep safely within the limit of virtual cer-
tainty, the promoters of the Alexandra Park Association
put their estimate at only £1,500,000, which, supposing
that it were determined to sell the estate, would yield a
return of £6 upon every £1 invested. Option, however,
is reserved to the then Government to purchase the pro-
perty in order that the institution may be carried on in
the interest of the public ; and even should Government
not exercise this option, the great probability is that the
majority of the shareholders would, instead of selling, de-
cide upon maintaining the establishment, as, considering
that the revenue will be unencumbered by any heavy
burdens, the entertainments of a most attractive character,
and regarding, moreover, the rapid increase of population
and the growth of improved taste, there can be no doubt
that the clear profits will suffice for the payment of an
immense and progressive annual dividend. As a benefi-
cially accumulating endowment for a rising family, it
seems scarcely possible to make a more prudent and pro-
fitable use of money than investing in these 20s. shares,
and nominating to the interest in them the person for whom
it is desired to make provision. The limitation of time at
which the Tontine benefit is to take effect divests it of
any objectionable features which might have been alleged
against the old tontines, in which life was, as it were,
pitted against life, and imparts to the whole arrangement
the essential nature of a deferred endowment policy
granted by a life insurance office, and payable upon the
life 'named-aged, let us suppose, 12 years—attaining the
age of 22. The only real difference between the two is
that the benefit conferred by the tontine shares will be
greater, several times over, than would be recived from
the endowment. It need scarcely be remarked that the
probabilities of a young and healthy life not surviving
ten years are exceedingly slight. But to preclude the re-
mote possibility of any loss of the money invested taking
place through this contingency, the life of the person to
be benefited could be insured (for a young life) by a ter-
minable policy at a merely fractional expense, and the
policy made payable upon death occurring before the ex-
piration of ten years. Thus, even in the latter very im-
probable event, loss of the capital sum invested would be
avoided, as the amount of the policy would be paid by the
insurance office. The contingency of loss of interest is
obviously far more than counterbalanced by the enormous
advantage that will accrue upon survival for ten years.
Of course all our readers are aware that one of the most
convenient uses of life insurance is that of securing a debt
by a terminable polio) upon the life of a person who will
be entitled to property at a stated time or age. That
familiar process is strictly identical with the one here
described.

But it is important to mention another fact, which illus-
trates the careful skill with which the interests of
members are provided for upon all points. We have
alluded to the free admissions and Art Union privileges.
Well, suppose that an investment be made to the extent
of 100 shares £lOO. This entitles the holder to free
admission (accompanied, at his or her pleasure, by four
friends with or without carriages and horses), for ten
years, and 100 tickets in each of three Art Unions, some
of the prizes in which will be of the value of £5OO, others
of £4OO, others of £3OO, ranging from these values down-
wards, so that the holder may possibly draw prizes of the
value of very many thousands. The drawing of a prize
extinguishes only one twenty shilling share ; therefore the
investor to the amount of £lOO may draw fifty valuable
prizes, and still retain the right of the remaining fifty
shares to participate in the benefits of the Tontine.
After the enjoyment of these prilvileges for ten years,
then will come the reversion to the Tontine, or, should
premature death have taken place, the money invested
will have been recovered (minus the trifle paid for the
policy) by the cheap and simple insurance arrangement
already mentioned. It will, moreover, be optional with
members either to take their chances for prizes with the
whole or some portion of their shares, or to retain all or
a portion of them, for absolute participation in the pro-
perty. On the whole view of the matter we do not
call to mind an enterprise founded on a more

_ .
secure business basis, or comprising features
more lucrative and advantageous for those who
take part in it, and influential committees are in course
of formation at Wood Green, Hornsey, Highgate, Hamp-
stead, Barnet, and in other of the northern suburban dis-
tricts of London for the purpose of organising the subscrip-
tion of the necessary capital.

The case of the Queen v. Boulton and Park, which
was removed by certiorari from the Central Criminal
Court for trial in the Queen's Bench, does not appear in
the list of causes, and will not, therefore, be tried at the
present sittings of that court unless a special application
to enter it be made to the Lord Chief Justice and com-
plied with. It is thought that nothing more will be
heard of the matter.

SPAIN AND THE POPE.—On the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception a public wt of devotion on behalf
of the Sovereign Pontiff is to take place over the whole of
Spain. The people are to frequent the churches in com-
panies clueing the whole day, and when the solemn services
are not going on they are to recite the Rosary and the
Litany of the Saints. •
THE RIGHT HON. B. DISRAELI AND LANCA-
SHIng.—A requisition from the Conservative Associations
in Lancashire is in course of signature, inviting the Right
Hon. B. Disraeli to visit this county before the commence-
ment of the parliamentary session. The secretaries of
any association who may not have received a copy of the
requisition may obtain one on application to Mr. Joseph
Maltby, secretary to the City of Manchester Conserva-
tive Union, 4, Temple Chambers, St. James's-square,
Manchester.—Manchester Courier.

VOYAGE OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.—
Her Majesty's ship Galatea, under the command of his
Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh arrived at
Sydney on the 15th September, having called at Welling-
ton, New Zealand, on her way from the Cape of Good
Hope. His Royal Highness arrived in time to see the
Inter-colonial Exhibition, and the closing ceremony was
performed by him. The Galatea on October 11 was in
the Sydney Graving Dock, and was expected to sail about
the end of October for the South Seas, her commander
having received instructions from the Admiralty to make
an investigation with reference to some murders alleged
to have been committed at the Kingsmill Islands by Cap-
tain Carmichael, of the ship Hannah Bloomfield. His
Royal Highness was expected to visit Melbourne prior to
the departure of his vessel for the islands.

PROPOSED NEUTRALITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN
COLONIES.—By telegraphic summary of Australian news
furnished by the Melbourne Argus, under date of Oct. 11,
and forwarded by Brindisi route, we learn that a propo-
sition has emanated from a Royal Commission on Federal
"Union, appointed by the Governor of this colony, to the
effect that an Imperial Act should be obtained enabling
any two or more of the Australian colonies to unite for
legislative or other purposes on terms to be mutually
agreed upon. It is also suggested that the colonies should
be placed in a position which would enable them to de-
clare their neutrality in the event of a war between
Great Britain and another Power. Never since the
Crimean war has the arrival of the various instalments of
European news via Suez or California been,awaited with
such eagerness in Australia, and scarcely any intelligence
ever brought to the colony has produced greater excite-
ment than the tidings which arrived by the last mail of
the disasters to the French arms, and the advance of the
Prussians upon Paris.

THE WAR.

THE SIEGE OF PARIS.

BY BALLOON MAIL.

M. Wilfred de Fonvielle, one of the last aeronauts
who have arrived from Paris, sends a letter to the Etoile
Beige. He says :—" I cannot sufficiently thank tho
nhabitants of Louvain for the sympathetic wel-
come which I and my companions met with
on the Belgian soil. One of the principal objects
of my voyage was to prove to Europe that
French aeronauts were not so intimidated by Prussian
shots that they were obliged to confine themselves to
nocturnal voyaging. I can affirm on honour that Paris is
perfectly provisioned, that public spirit there is excellent,
and that the National Guard is animated by warlike
sentiments. All that has been said of ultra-
democratic agitation is pure exaggeration, if not Prussian
invention. Paris is sure of success, and may well trust to
the strength of her ramparts and the provisions which are
yet in, her storehouses. It is only two days since the salt
meat was begun, and people are now getting accustomed
to eat the flesh of horses, which I find a great delicacy.
The army which will enter on its campaign in Paris will
soon be in a fit state to commence active operations. Great
activity prevails in the manufacture of arms and war-
' like munitions. Some delay hss taken place in the
carrying on of the war, on account of the difficulties in
the way of the fabrication of cannon. The Prussian line
has drawn back during the last few. weeks. lam going
to England, to explain the state of affairs to the British
nation. I offered to the Republic the Egalitd balloon,
which conveyed me to Belgium, and which I
hope will soon take me back again to Paris.
The pigeons which I bought at my own expense are
already en route for Tours to be at the disposal of the
French Government. I must here declare that it is fake
to say that General Trochu is waiting for the Army of the
Loire. As a good tactician, he is watching for the appro-
priate time to make the grand coup. It would not be
expedient for me to say what I know of strategical
combinations, but Paris is acting in concert with the pro-
vinces. Paris has no wish to dictate to the rest of France
but to shed her blood for the defence of the eountry. My
balloon Egalitti is much larger than the other balloons
which have hlft Paris. I am convinced that if the
Republic has better balloons it has no aeronaut more
willing than I am to die for its safety and glory."

M. Rochefort, who has become an artillery gunner,
will resume the publication of his well-known journal, La
Lantern e.

The Times Versailles correspondent says the French
made a judicious use of their irregulars in distracting the
German forces, and endeavouring to deceive them.
The greatest sufferers of all in Paris are the infants, for
want of milk. The mortnlity among them is beginning
to be very great. The weather is cold around the capital,
and winter appears to have set in prematurely.

WAR PREPARATIONS.
AT TOURS.

The special correspondent of the Telegraph, in his letter
from Tours,dated November 24, says :—The great fight of
his campaign will, I am persuaded, take place nearer—
much nearer—to Paris than the world has any idea of.
Trochu is ready to issue forth with 300,000 men whenever
Aurelles de Paladine shall be within easy reach of
the Prussian lines at Versailles. Whether the Duke of
Mecklenburg on the right of the French line at Le
Mans, or the Ptinee Frederick Charles on its left
at Nevers, will stop tin advance of the Army of
the Loire—remains, of course, to be proved. My own
opinion is, that the Prussians have greatly underrated
both the quantity and the quality of the French army,
and will suffer the penalty that falls upon every leader
who values his enemy too cheaply. In this view, as I hear
indirectly, I am upheld by the two English officers now
with the army at Orleans and Nevers—Colonel Fielding,
of the Coldstream Guards, and Colonel Reilly, of
the Royal Artillery. They are both, I understand,
greatly astonished at the state of discipline of
all the French forces in this part of the country. And, if
what I hear whispered in the Ministerial circles here is
true, it may come to pass that France and French troops
may prove of the highest interest to England and Eng-
lishmen; for it is openly said here in Tours that Mr.
Odo Russell's reception by Bismarck at Versailles on
the subject of the Eastern question has been much
of the same ' kind as the envoy of a petty Rajah in
India would receive at the hands of the Governor-
General if he came to ask for help out of a difficulty.
In this town preparations for war are going on with great
system, great regularity, and upon an almost gigantic
scale. This morning I counted twenty carts coming from
the railway station, each containing ten cases of rifles,
and each case must have held fifty of these weapons.
This makes a total of ten thousand rifles,
which have just reached us from Brest, whither they
had been brought from America. The rifles are,
I believe, of the pattern called Remington, which the
French greatly pr fifer to any other kind they have yet
tried. Half an hour later I saw the train carrying off to
some military station in the South twelve thousand knap-
sacks that had been made in this neighbourhood. As for
stores, there are contractors here who are ready and
anxious to furnish the army with anything and every-
thing it may want in the way of eating and drinking, or
clothing, or war materials, no matter in what line or to
what extent. I heard of one gentleman the other clay who
offered to deliver, within a fabulously short period, and
for payment only when the goods should be brought to
the house, a small matter of three complete Arm-
strong field batteries, horses, harness, and all com
plete. Where he could have got the " goods" is a
marvel, unless he is in the habit of walking into
the Woolwich Arsenal and carrying away 12-pounders in
the pockets of his overcoat. The energy and determina-
tion shdwn in every Government department here to
overcsme all difficulties are certainly beyond praise,
and form a great and sad contrast with what
used to be seen at Strasburg and Nancy before the war
commenced. In those days there was a degree of laissez
alley and feebleness of purpose, a want of forethought,
which a child would have perceived. But we have changed
all that now, and have run into the very opposite—and
certainly better—extreme.

THE GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION AT METZ
A correspondent of the Daily News, writing from Metz
on the 21st instant, says :—I arrived here on Saturday
evening to find the town in a filthily dirty state, and
every hotel crammed with Prussians. This morn-
ing, about nine o'clock, • one of the powder maga-
zines of Fort Plappeville, containing some say 5,000,
others 10,000 kilogrammes of powder, exploded
and killed some thirty Prussians, besides wounding
many others. It is supposed to have been due to the
smoking propensities of the Germans, some of whom, it
is said, were seen to enter the magazine with pipes in their
mouths. I made my way there this afternoon. During
my journey I came across a number of miserable look-
ing wretches, pictures of despair and starvation, in
charge of some GerAran soldiers. They were huddled
together in what had once been a field, but was now
a miserable bog in which it was. impossible to stand for a
few minutes without sinking deep into the mud. Those
I spoke to informed me that they had been prisoners in
the fort, and had been removed directly after the explo
sion ; they appeared to have no idea as to their ultimate
destination, or where they were to spend the night. None
of then' had had any food that day, and they all seemed
to be in a most abject state of misery and demorali-
sation. I continued my journey to the fort, but soon met
with a strong guard of soldiers, who prevented anyone
from approaching it. They were afraid of some further
explosion, as it appears that the majority of the forts
are mined. Fort Plappeville commands a very
large area of ground. On the inner slope which faces
.Metz are a number of mud huts, which were formerly
occupied by the French army. Many of them have
been destroyed, but judging from those that remain, it is
a mystery to me how any one could have lived in them
for any length of time without engendering every disease
under the sun. Even now, in many parts, the stench
is quite insupportable, and likely to create a large amount
of illness. The prices of provisions- are coming down
somewhat, though the shopkeepers are doing
their utmost to keep them up. From what I see
and hear, it would seem as though the better class of the
inhabitants did not suffer much, if at all, during the
siege. It was the poorer classes and the soldiers who had
to endure all the misery. The hospitals are still crowded,
and are in a wretched condition. They are very dirty,
and the superintendence is all at fault. There is an
insufficiency of pro Visions, which are, moreover, in many
cases, very bad. The bread, for instance, is of such an
inferior and coarse quality, besides being very badly made,
that it can hardly conduce to the restoration to health of
patients broken down by disease, hunger, and suffering,
not to mention neglect.