The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-10 00:00:00

M. VILLEMAIN.

On Sunday morning, at three o'clock, M. Villemain,
one of the most distinguished of French litterateurs, died
at the age of 83. He died after little suffering, his chief
affliction being the loss of sight. The intellectual night
in which he was plunged was, for him, says a French
writer, more cruel than the night of death. M. Villemain
early distinguished himself in literature, and gave promise
even in his childhood of future celebrity. At twelve
years old he performed in a Greek tragedy ; at
twenty, in the closing days of the first Empire, he suc-
ceeded Luce di Lancival in the chair of Professor of
Rhetoric. In 1816 he took the Professorship of French
Literature. At 29 years of age he was an academician,
but he did not hesitate to risk his position
by protesting, together with Cbateaubriand and Lacre-
telle, in the name of the Academy, against the restrictions
on the liberty of the press. Later on he took a prominent
part in politics, and in the time of Louis-Philippe he was peer
of France. He was Minister of Public Instruction from 1840
to 1845, and took an active part in the Education Laws.
" Literature leads to everything else on condition of for-
saking it," said M. Villemain, but the Revolution of 1848
sent him back to private life, and he resumed his pen,
writing many noted works, including " Souvenirs Con-
temporains," " Chateaubriand," and "Le Tableau .de
l'Eloquence Cretienne."

TRADE STATISTICS.—We learn that Mr. Bruce,

the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has
given instructions for the preparation of some valuable
statistics relating to the various trades which are now
regulated by the Factory Acts. Hitherto these statistics
have been published only in cunnection with the larger
manufactures, such as cotton, wool, silk, flour, and jute,
and they have been moved for at very irregular intervals
in the House of Commons by independent members,
latterly by Mr. Baines, M. P. for Leeds. At the last
meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, held
in London, a resolution was passed that the Home Secre-
tary should be desired to obtain similarinformation from
all the trades now under legal inspection, and this resolu-
tion, having been communicated to Mr. Bruce, was at
once assented to. The information will be collected and
prepared for publication by the Factory Department. As
it will be issued at stated intervals it will form a useful
addition to the statistics of our mannfacturing industries.

—Daily News.
THE' CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ACT.—A number of
persons in Canterbury who are opposed to the Contagious
Diseases Act have resolved on bringing an action against
the inspector of police in that place to recover the sum of
£lOO from him for false imprisonment. The plaintiff in
the action is Jane Smith. who, in the interval between her
examination under the provisions of the Act and her
removal to the hospital, was detained by the inspector for
a certain time. The result of this case will be watched
with solicitude by the people of. Canterbury, who have
shewn the deepest interest in the question which is to be
determined. At Maidstone, on Saturday, a woman named
Anne Baker was summoned for not submitting to exami-
nation under the provisions of the Contagious Diseases
Act, and was sentenced to ten days' imprisonment in
Maidstone Gaol. The case was heard in private.

THE LOSS OF THE EARL OF ELGIN.-A survivor
of the collision which occurred in the channel, on Friday
night, gives the following account of the disaster :—" We
left Sunderland in the Earl of Elgin a few minutes before
eight o'clock on Friday night. All went well until very
near to Whitby, about eight miles off the land, when a
steamer's mast-head light was seen on the starboard bow,
and a short time after the Earl of Elgin was run into by a
steamer, which turned out to be the Jesmond, of Shields.
The latter struck the Earl of Elgin on the starboard side,
right amidships, going nearly half through the vessel,
immediately the sea came in, and in a very few
minutes the vessel sank. The alarm having been given
that the •vessel was sinking, confusion reigned for some
time, and in attempting to get out the jolly-boat it was
capsized, by which one poor fellow was drowned. The
captain had a child with him, a girl seven years of age. The
mate had his wife on board, and there was also a female
passenger, the wife of another captain. It was then dis-
covered that the starboard lifeboat had been stove in the
collision, and there was only one boat left for the whole
of the crew. Into this the master (who was the last to leave
the vessel) got, with his daughter in his arms, accom-
panied by a female passenger, but what became of them
until the master was picked up in the water, very much
exhausted, is not known, although it is stated that the
captain had the child in his arms when he sank down ex-
hausted. There was a general rush to the boat ; some
ran up the mast and some jumped into the water, making
for the side of the Jesmond, by which three or four of
them were saved. The remainder were picked up by the
jesmond's boat's crew, with the exception of five men,
the two women, and the child, who went down with the
sinking vessel. When taken on board the Jesmond they
were treated with the greatest kindness, and landed at
Shields about six o'clock on Saturday morning."