The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-25 00:00:00

MA 25, 184 G.

Price Is. 6
S 0111 E SUGGESTIONS& for the BETTER
GOVERNMENT of IRELAND.
Addressed to the Marquis of Kildare.
By LORD WILLIAM FITZGERALD.
James Ridgway, Piccadilly, and all Booksellers.

Published on May 1, in one vol. :Town Bvo., with Map and Plates,
price 65., cloth.
'ICRIPTURE HISTORY, designed for the use
of Young Persons ; containing the History of the Israelites from
the Call of Abraham to the Building of Solomon's Temple : chiefly
in the words of the Bible.
By CATHERINE IRENE FINCH, Author of" Look Forward," &c.
London: Simpkiu, Marshall, and Co. Birmingham : James Bel-
cher and Son.

PARLIAMENTIT BUSINESS.
(From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.)
FRIDAY, MAY 22.
STANDING ORDERS' COMMITTEE.
The following resolittions were reported from this Committee
1. That, in the case of the Midland Railway Bills petition to read
the Bills a third time, the sessional order ought to be dispensed
with :---That the parties be permitted to read the Bills mentioned
in the certificate deposited in the Private Bill-office a third time.
2. That, in the case of the Dundee and Arbroath Railway Exten-
sions Bill, cause on consideration of rep )rt, the clause is of such a
nature as may be adopted without the re-commitment of the Bill, if
the House shall think fit.

3. That, in the case of the Dundee and Perth Railway amendment
Bill, clause on consideration of report, the clause is of such a nature
as may be adopted without the re-commitment of the Bill, if the
House shall think fit.

4. That, in the case of the Hartlepool Gas Bill, Amendment on
consideration of report, the amendment is of such a nature as may
be adopted without the re-commitment of the Bill, if the House
shall think fit.

5. That, in the case of the Scottish Central ittelway (Perth Ter-
mini and Stations) Bill, clause on consideration of report, the clause
is of such a nature as may be adopted without the re-commitment of
the Bill. if the House shall think fit.

6. That, in the case of the Manchester, Bolton, and Bury Canal
Navigation and Railway, report on petition for addlional provision,
the standing orders ought not to be dispensed with.
7. That, in the case of the Manchester, Bolton, and Bury Canal
Navigation and Railway Extensions, petition for additional provision,
the standing orders ought not to be dispensed with.
First resolution agreed to.—Report to lie on the table.

PRICE SD.

ROYAL INSTITUTION. ..._.........
On Friday evening Sir Roderick Murchison delivered a
lecture before Lord Prudhoe, president, in the chair, and a
crowded audience, on the " Surface-accumulations of Russia
and the north of Europe, bearing especially upon the origin
and formation of erratic blocks or boulders." After some
preliminary observations on the science of geology, he said,
that the present inquiry extended only to surface geology,
which by some had been erroneously considered as the
easiest branch of the science, because it treated of those
peculiarities in the phenomena of the earth's surface which
are open to the observation. On the contrary, that portion
of the science is by far the most difficult the geologist has
to contend with. The distribution of erratic blocks or
boulders has long engaged the attention of geologists, and it
is a subject which is rendered the more interesting from the
observations of certain philosophers in the Alpine valleys,
who have assigned to them an origin very different from that
which they really possess. lt has been urged that, because
similar characteristics in the striation and polish have been
the philosophers
poron in question. rarked in the Alpine regions, the boulders which are dis-
tributedwith a
over Europe are identical with rocks examined by
is a stone which may
question. But erratic blocks, together
be traced
and near 1\ oFogrod there
2tuurs, are found distributed over
the lower regions of
Scandinavia. From one of blocksto certain rocks in
Finland. The same phenomena observedn'ay be
thistrac.ed to
on side cf.
the statue of
Peter the Great was formed, whichs
the Scandinavian
and this ridge is the source of them all. is remarked
To she hnatt is
on the other,
o
the fact, Sir Roderick Murchison observed,
that the orr
portions of rocky promontories have the surface polisherdn
whereas the southern side of the same rock is rough, scarped'
or terraced. This singular phenomenon is universal, and the
striation does not extend beyond the north. Yet there are
some naturalists who have endeavoured to apply to it the
glacial theory, because they say they argue from a vera causes,
and the appearances in the one case are similar to those in the
other. In answer to this, it must be remembered that glaciers
cannot descend below a certain angle of inclination ; and
Mr. Hopkins, of Cambridge, has shown that an inclination
of two degrees is the least at which it is possible for a glacier
to descend; conseguently, if ,thi,s Aeon., Allem- 3correct, the
1 Alpine masses would nut only have tqUi.e Their way over
a level track, but up an elevation of 'several hundred feet.
The lecturer then made some observations in reference to such
phenomena, on the Continent of Europe, as were produced by
the action of the sea, and said that it was necessary to ac-
count for them ly an hypothesis of submarine action. On
the coast of Sweden, the banks of deb4bes were formed by the
depositions left by mountain torrents, and on this theory
there can be no doubt about the formation and origin of the
great boulders. Sir Roderick Murchison gives it as his opi-
nion that at a remote period, when the whole of the present
north of Europe was a glacial region, that icebergs of vast size
were precipitated towards the south, and as the mass gradually
melted, the stones and fragments of its native rock were de-
posited an conlomerated, thus forming a mass totally
different in d its structure from the rock whereon it rested. In
proceeding to the north of Sweden they become very nume-
rous, and the nearer the point from which they all radiate is
approached, the more are they multiplied. Long after the
period of these erratic blocks, those mammalia whose fossil
remains have, from time to time, been discovered, migrated
into this country, having been generated in one common
centre. Of the lost races of mammalia, one species only, the
bison, or bos aurochs' is in existence. This animal is found
in one forest only of Lithuania ; a fact which has been satis-
factorily established by Professor Owen, through the ex-
amination of an unique and splendid skeleton of one
of the present herd, which, at the request of Sir
Roderick Murchison, was sent to England by the
Emperor of Russia. Sir Roderick took this opportunity
of announcing to the British public, that having last year ex-
pressed to his Imperial Majesty the vast interest which would
be attached by Englishmen to the presence of a live specimen
of this companion of the mammoth, and other gigantic
animals now extinct, in the Zoological Gardens of London,
that Sovereign had munificently authorised Count de Kis-
sileff, the Minister of the Imperial Domains, to order the
capture of a male and female of the race, for the purpose, if
found possible, of transmitting them to the Regent's Park.
This is a remarkable instance of the friendly feelings enter-
tained by the Emperor of Russia towards this country; and
as no specimen of the bos arochs has ever been seen in
Western Europe, it is an act of splendid munificence, and
one that Englishmen know fully hew to estimate.

THE ARMY.
CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM.

Horse Guards, May 5, 1846.
A second Lieut.-Colonel having been appointed to all
regiments having reserved battalions, it has been deemed
expedient to modify the regulations under which the com-
mand of these battalions has hitherto been administered, and
to place them on a footing similar in most respects to the
regular 2d battalions of particular corps, with a view to
rendering them more efficient for separate service.
1. The second Lieut.-Colonel will assume the command of
the reserve battalion unless otherwise specially ordered, and
on its first formation he will be assisted by the junior Major,
but afterwards the Lieut.-Colonel alone will be liable to be
transferred to the Ist battalion, on the removal, by promotion
or otherwise, of his superior.
2. All the other officers will continue to in the batta-
lion to which they shall have been originally posted, until by
obtaining a superior
_rank they may happen to fall into
vacancies in the otherS.

3. The second Lieutenanf-Colonel 'will be held *responsible
in all respects for the discipline and intorioriZonomy of the
reserve battalion, which, however, mu* be conducted ac-
cording to the system previously established in the regi-
ment; he is to have the selection and appointment of his own
non-commissioned officers, and is not to be interfered with in
the administration and exercise of his command by the
senior Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, whose authority
will henceforth be limited to the battalion under his imme-
diate command.

4. The subscriptions on appointment or promotion towards
defraying the expenses of the regimental band, will continue
uniform throughout the regiment, but the annual contribu-
tion towards its support will be limited in reserve battalions
to six days' pay from each officer.
5. The regimental depot will remain, as hitherto, com-
mon to both battalions, but in order to secure an equitable
distribution of the men, and to provide for the equal effi-
ciency of the whole corps, the commandant of the depOt
battalion is not to leave the selection to the Captains in
charge of particular depOts, but will be careful to send out
the drafts as they may be required, according to the date of
enlistment of the recruits, provided they are in all respects
it for service.

6. The same rule will be followed on the arrival of the
drafts at a foreign station, whore two battalions of the same
corps may happen to be serving together, when the men will
be posted to battalions from the roster, without selection,
and without reference to character, stature, or personal ap-
pearance.

- 7. All the other regulations, with respect to the manage-
ment of these battalions, are to continue in force asheretofore.
By command of
Field-Marshal the Duke of WELLINGTON,
Commander-in-Chief
JOHN MACDONALD, Adjutant-General.

"THE TAMING of A Srfaxw."—This celebrated pro-
duction of our great national bard was played in propria
persona at the railway station, in this town, on the morn-
ing of Thursday. A lady demanded a ticket for London ;
her husband interfered and prevented the clerk giving her
one! she attempted to enter the carriage for the purpose of
going without ; he caught hold of her, and would not allow
her to accomplish her desire; and then she turned round upon
him, broke her parasol upon his head, and fisticuffed him well.
At length the train started, when the rage of " Catherine "
knew no bounds ; she ran towards the Leen, and would have
thrown herself into the tiny river for the purpose of drowning
hers.ell, but his arm again frustrated her design. Many
persons had now gathered round, who wondered much
to see a lady so misconduct herself, and wondered more to
see her husband keep his temper so well. A cab was sent
for, and " Petrucio ' exerted all his powers of persuasion to
induce his " Catherine" to enter, but instead of complying
she sat down in the middle of the station-yard, and said,
" No, no ; the more I see of yen the more I hate you!"
This farce continued until nearly two o'clock : " Petrucio "
gave up his efforts to tame " the shrew," and had reached
the end of Carrington-street, on his way home, when he was
overtaken by the self-willed dame, who now acknowledged
that hunger had done what her lord and master could not
do. They entered the Railway Inn, and dined together,
after which we understand the ladyreturned home, and gave
up for ever the design of leaving a husband whose temper
showed him to be eminently qualified to make her happy.
The gentlemen appeared to be a country clergyman.---Aot-
tinham Mercury.
ItOYAL ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL.—"A fancy and full-
dress ball was given at Willies Rooms on Thursday night
for the benefit of this institution, and from the crowded ap-
pearance of the saloon about midnigeddhietswiaittnhameagoyennshti eldeempr
aretensl
eu
wmaeeard;
was
and 400aattended
vthat
atghee. u
Bn de et rwt
ea
ek in n3goo
present; and, under the auspices of Jullien, there was no
lack of hilarity. The fancy dresses were not very numerous,
but what we saw were costly and elegant, the " debardeur"
besetianbglisTeeaprinevlagle3nBt,
stiaSnelee.whTichhe
tiOrnrethiotphceal ts. proved Hcitfal
greatwas
service to the crippled poor. The report intimatoes gat
" the average daily attendance of out-patients is now about
100; the new cases presented weekly from 20 to 40 ; and
the number relieved shwa the opening exceeds 3,000." The
advance which the institution has recently made in the con-
sideration of the public, and the rapid augmentation of its
Enances show that the value of such an establishment is begin-
ning to be properly felt; and it is with no small degree of
solicitude that we urge its claims upon the notice of the
wealthy and the benevolent.
THE BATTLES OF ALIWAL AND SOURAON.— Two
paintings, in illustration of these recent events, stre now on
exhibition at the Cosmorama Rooms, Regent-street, and
have, we believe, in consequence of the interest felt in the
event, already attracted a considerable number of visitors.
In the first painting the time chosen is that of the charge of
the 16th Lancers upon a square of Seikh infantry, which
by the determined onset of her Majesty's troops, is broken
and thrown into disorder. The Sutlej is seen in the distance,
and the general character of the surrounding country is well
described. The second picture, pourtraying the battle of
Sobraon, is by far the best of the two. We here see the
death of Sir Henry Dick, who is represented to have fallen
amongst a crowd of the brave soldiers who are rushing to
storm the batteries of the enemy. The 10th Regiment is
charging up to the cannon's mouth, and a murderous dis-
charge of grape and round shot seems to have swept a
lane through the unyielding mass of the attacking party.
The horrors of this field of blood and slaughter are
brought, by means of this picture, more truly before the
spectator than it is possible to effect by a written descrip-
tion. In the rear of the enemy the smooth waters of the
Sutlej wind across the plain, shortly to be tinged with
Seikli blood, and to carry along with it, like the Simoom,
the numerous bodies, shields, and helmets of the vanquished.
The deadly conflict of Sobraon is one which confirms our
power over the Seiklis, and it is nothing m^re than right that
every difficultiesaare
withinEhnigalriselan
aicmhtnsheonualbdleahviamil
theimunsedlefraoftasnudchthmeeans
with which our brave troops had to contend, and to teach
him to set a proper value upon their services.
THE FALKIRK BURGHs.—A gentleman from London
lately presented himself to the electors of these burghs, to sound
them on the subject of petitioning against Lord Lincoln's return, and
intimated, that if an effort to unseat his Lordship were made, the
expense would be defrayed by parties in London, who were, of
course, friends to " purity of electior." Some few persons, we are
informed, have agreed to petition ; but we have reason to believe
that the great majority of the Liberal electors have resolved not to
countenance the scheme in any way. Whatever the London gentle.
man may pretend, we feel confident that his employers will turn out
to be ConvorTaTo rrotcctloutot4.—§94o44lt,