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

THE TRAMWAYS BILL.

The following are given as the settled resolutions of
the Tramways Committee :-1. That provisional orders
be substituted for certificates. 2. That the consent
of ratepayers be not required in boroughs governed
by a municipal council. 3. That the consent of
such municipal council be given at a special
meeting, at which two-thirds of the members shall be
present. 4. That local inquiries by the referee of the
Board of Trade be at the discretion of the board.-5.
That the Board of Trade, after considering objections,
shall have power to proceed. with the provisional order,
notwithstanding that certain of the local or road autho-
rities refuse their consent, and shall report to Parliament
their reasons for the same.—. That clause 5 of the bill
conferring powers of sale upon the promoters be omitted.
—7. That the provisional orders shall specify the
nature of the traffic for which the tramways are
sanctioned.-8. That the maximum tolls be inserted
in the provisional orders.--9- That the Metropolitan
Board be the local authority for the metropolis, except
for the City ; but the consent of the vestries be necessary
as road authorities, subject to resolution 5.-10. That a
locus standi be reserved for the owners and occupiers of
property fronting a road or street, through which it is
proposed to construct a tramway, to appear before referees
at any local inquiry directed by the Board of Trade, and
also before Parliament.-11. That power be given to loca,
authorities to make byelaws for the regulation of traffic,
and for licensing drivers and conductors of vehicles.-12.
That power be given to local authorities to remove tram-
ways found injurious or disused.-13. That the bill be
extended to Scotland.

The Marquis de Caux has sent 1,500 f. to the
Central Plebi scitary Committee.
The marriage of Mr. W. C. Bovill, eldest son of
Lord Chief Justice Bcvill, with Miss Taylor, daughter of Mr.
Pitt Taylor, of Eccleston-square, was solemnised this morn-
ing at St. Peter's Church, Eaton- square.

The officers of the 17th Lancers will dine together
on Thursday, the 2d of Juno, at the St. James Hotel, Picca-
dilly. The Duke of Cambridge will preside.

A telegram from Suez states that her Majesty's
Indian troopship Jumna, with the 77th Regiment on board,
entered the Canal on the morning of the 3d of May, en route
for Port Said and Portsmouth.

Yesterday afternoon the council of the Royal
Agricultural Society determined to accept the invitation o:
Wolverhampton to hold in that town the exhibition of 1 871

Henry Kelley's north country friends last night
presented him with a purse of £6O and a gold medal, in re-
cognition of his services as a rower.

At the annual meeting of the Reform CIO, to-day,
a great effort will be made to liberalise the committee, and
to reduce the number of blackballs which disqualify can-
didates.

To-morrow a special meeting of the City Comis-
missioners of Sewers will be held to sign a petition to the
House of Lords against the second reading of the Metropo-
litan District Railway Bill, and its extension to the Man-
sion House.

The Board of Admiralty, having decided to ap-
point a flag officer as second in command in the Mediter-
ranean, the appointment has been offered to and accepted
by Rear-Admiral Key, at present superintendent of the
dockyard at Portsmouth.

The hearing of the Tipperary election petition wil
commence on the 26th inst.

Another party of emigrants, about a hundred and
fifty in number, will leave the St. Pancras station this
evening for Liverpool, en route for Canada. They are sent
out under the auspices of the Working Men's Emigration
Association.

A new and cheap monthly publication, entitled
" The American and Continental Monthly," has just made
its appearance. It consists of a variety of excellent original
writings and a choice selection from the best American and
Continental publications. The idea is a good one if it is wel
carried out. The book is very neatly printed, and altogether
there appears to be the best prospect for its permanent
success.

PIGEON COURIERS.—On Tuesday after the race
at Newmarket for the Two Thousand Guineas eighteen
London pigeon fanciers flew a match with pigeons. The
conditions were the first bird arriving home with the
name of the winning horse to be the winner, and a blue
pigeon of the Antwerp breed, the property of Mr D. Hird, of
the Kent-road, flew the distance, about 60 miles, in 1 hour
and 33 minutes. The stakes were 18 guineas.
THE CITY EXCELSIOR MUSICAL SOCIETY.—The
closing concert of this flourishing society was given a few
evenings ago at the George Hotel, Aldermanbury, and at-
tracted a very large attendance. The programme was as
usual an excellent one and afforded the greatest satisfaction
to the entire company. The quartette "The Men of Har.
lech," ,a as excellently given by Messrs. C. and G. Thurston,
Harrison, and Gillard, and the best songs were those sung
by Mr. H. Gillard, "The Blush of Early Morn," and "Let
me Like a Soldier Fall," Mr. Pocklington, " To the Clouds"
and "Rudier than the Cherry," and Mr. R. Odell, " Hark the
Clarion." The comic element, was well supported by Mr.
Lay, and the reading by Mr. Burcham Cooper, " The Bash-
ful man," excellent. Altogether the concert passed off in the
most satisfactory manner.
A correspondent at Plymouth says that the statemelii,
in the Echo that the master butcher at Plymouth had
been convicted of receiving bribes from the contractor is
not correct. The master butcher, who is also a farmer,
has sold bullocks to the contractor ; but has taken no
money from him for which full value was not given. The
Admiralty officials were fully informed by the master
butcher of the transactions, and have pronounced them
to be irregular, and he has been dismissed, the office
being abolished, but he will probable receive superan-
nuation.

It is rumoured that M. de Grammont will be the
new French Minister for Foreign Affairs.

M. 011ivier has written to the Monzteur Universe!,
declaring the Government will not be driven into reaction
by the conduct of the Republicans.
. _

" rhe attention of the Bishop of Chester has been
called to the circumstance that recently the Greek Arch-
bishop of Syra and Tenos took part in the services at St.
Margaret's Church, Liverpool. The incumbent has been
communicated with, and has satisfied his lordship by
giving an assurance that " such an occurrence is not
likely to arise again."

The girls employed at the white work in the
cotton mill at Airdrie had another dispute in connection
with wages on Monday, and • almost 600 of them ceased
from work. It appears that fifty of the girls who had
struck on Friday were not allowed to begin again, and the
rest of the girls stopped on Monday morning en that
account. The girls seem determined to remain out till
their demand is acceded to.

The Caledonian Railway Company has provided a
handsome saloon carriage for the special accommodation
of the sugar brokers who travel daily between Greenock
and Glasgow, their increased trade necessitating greater
accommodation. The brokers and the railway authori-
ties took a trial trip together a day or two ago, and the
company provided a luncheon which was consumed during
the journey.

Fresh disturbances have taken place in Lurgan, a
town in the county Armagh, which has of late become
rather notorious in this respect. An evening or two ago
an Orange drumming party entered the town from two
villages adjacent. They entered the district known as the
Pound, which is inhabited by Roman Catholics. The
constabulary attempted to turn them, and they then
attacked .the police, who were obliged to draw their
swords. Subsequently order was restored.

012't577 diseased fish of various kinds were seized
and destroyed at the two London fish-markets during the
last month.

Father Ignatius preached the other night at
St. James' Chapel, Brighton, to a very large congrega-
tion. The service was conducted in full Ritualist style,
the Rev. Mr. Purchas being arrayed in a magnificent
crimson cope, and the banner bearers, choristers, &c.,
splendidly attired. Father Ignatius in his monk's dress
and leathern girdle formed a striking contrast.
A PHILOSOPHICAL CELEBRATION.—The Leeds
Philosophical and Literary Society has just been keeping
its fiftieth birthday with all the honours. It claims to be
one of the oldest and most L accessful philosophical
societies out of London. The Yorkshiremen of an earlier
generation were evidently as remarkable for their shrewd-
ness and " hard headedness " as their descendants, since
scientific study occupied by no means the same position half
a century ago as it does now. Mr. E. Baines, M.P., who
presided, delivered an interesting address, and boasted of
the number of honourable names associated with their
society. In the second session of its existence, William
Smith, who is called the father' of practical geology, gave
a lecture, as Professors Owen and Huxley and Sir John
Herchel have done since. Besides these, Dr. Whewell,
of Trinity College, Sir H. Rawlinson, and others, have
assisted, and the association has become a great success.
More than a hundred students attended the last geology
lectures, and a museum, thrown open to the public at the
charge of one penny, secured 50,000 visitors.

A BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LABOURBR.--A strange
colloquy took place at the Uxbridge Sessions between the
Clerk and a labourer named Hammond. Hammond was
called to give evidence in a case of assault. The Clerk :
From what I know of this class of men I think I must
hesitate before swearing him. (To witness) : Do you
know the nature of au oath? Witness (rubbing his head) :
I dun'no what you mean.—The Clerk : Can you read—
have you read the Bible ? Witness : No.—The Clerk :
Can you write ? Witness : No.—The Clerk :
Well, you know your name, how do
_you spell
that ? Witness : I dun'no. —The Clerk : Have you
ever been to church ? Witness : Yes, once or twice
when I was a young 'un. The Chairman : We cannot
take that man's evidence, Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith : But,
sir, he cannot be so bad as that. I will put the questions
in a different form. (To witness) : Now, my man, tell
me, do you believe in future rewards and punishments?
Witness seemed more perplexed than ever, and did not
answer.—Mr. Smith : Come, have you ever heard of a
God or a devil ? Witness : I dun no.—Mr. Smith : Do
you know how old you are? Witness : I be more nor
20.—Mr. Smith : I think I must give him up, your
worships. The "witness" was then ordered to stand
down.

SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.

THE ELECTORAL DISABILITIES OF WOMEN.

The Times admits that the mas f women are, perhaPs,
as well qualified to judge between o two rival candidates
for the House of Commons as the mass of men, or thV.
would be if they gavt the requisite attention to the su,°_
,ject. These are the stock arguments in favour of tir,
change, and we should be ready to admit their cogency
A titswomen and men were nothing but taxpaying and
consuming machines, or if all the work of life were tau°
of mere physical and intellectual labour. But if we hav,s
to take into account, in addition, a variety of delicate
moral and domestic relations, it becomes apparent that
such pleas as we have mentioned do but touch the first and
most superficial part of the question. We are not PreA
pared, in judging of such a question, to put instinct o,°.'-`
experience entirely aside, and to argue from the theoretia
cal capacity of the sexes. The great work which wolis
have discharged from the beginning of the world to t d
day is the care of families, the nurture of children, an
the many delicate offices of domestic life. This, ror'
over, is the work which men never have done,
and, speaking generally, never can do. Such subjects
tter
ought to be, and generally are, a secondary 1113-„t„
in the lives of men ; they are of first-rate iinl3°
ante in the lives of women. To treat men and women
on an equality in political matters would be, therefore, 68ignore the essential distinction of their nature, and, ht
far as it goes, would tend to confound things that oug
to be kept apart. It is ridiculous to think of women,•
if
the language of some of the speakers, as in the condition
of the negro in the Southern States, or to compare WI
with the women of India and Turkey. Their Wills a'T:tu
their minds are free, and their indirect influence in :
matters in which they an interest is imp:tells:a
They are simply debarred from being distract _
and excited by questions which would witluirs.:
them from their natural sphere, and they .gr'''a
relieved from the roughest and hardest work of life. " f
believe, with Mr. Scourfield, that the great majority °
women would deeply lament being burdened with so
troublesome a responsibility. The labours and thoughts
of life were meant to be divided, and it would be an 11.11-
fortunate day if women were ever encouraged by pal
ment to forsake the hearth for the hustings and the
ing-booth. Nature, no doubt, would soon bring us nue.,
to the teaching of experience ; but meanwhile ras,ll-'
fine natures would be spoilt, and many a happy home w"
ordered.
The Daily News remarks that the House of Conira°llS
has resolved on a very small, but very important, exten;
sion of the elective franchise. After a very characteristl
debate, Mr. Jacob Bright's Bill for Removing the glee,:
toral Disabilities of Women was read a second time bY
majority of 33-124 to 91. The measure thus sanctioned•
in principle has on a first glance a somewhat revolui
tionary appearance. In its terms it seems
one stroke to double the electoral body, ancl_me
bring into the pale of the Constitution that
half of the people who are at present excluded frora
We do not of course, anticipate any great results fro
ai
the bill. It will neither flood the country with women
lecturers, nor make our wives and daughters
politicians. The female element which it Nvci
introduce into the political arena is alref' ,
voters
completely measured. The new female "
will constitute but one quarter of the elector's
even in the city of Bath while in Manchestr
they will be but a seventh, in Bristol an eightTh'
and in Northampton a fourteenth of the constituenel;
The measure is a-mere act of justice which will have roll
but beneficial results • and even should it give the wn.raer
of England a greater knowledge of politics ; and a qui,c'e-0,5
sense of the meaning and value of our political greabn:
and freedom, it will only bring a quickening and elevatig
influence into our political life, and even in social life no
but give men and. women one more topic of Coraul"
interest and common pursuit.

LOTHAIR.
The Standard declares that the literary merits of
"Lothair" have had the effect, so far, of diverting attt;
tion from the purpose which, me imagine, prompted
composition. Mr. Disraeli cannot complain that tw
shining qualities of his story have not been fully aPP of
ciated by that particular class on whom nearly all
letters look with disfavour. We never remember i'.•;
instance in which the professional critics were so unanin;
and cordial in their praise as in the case of "Lothair.
mellow art with which the tale is constructed, the e""'
and grece with which the mirror is held up to society,
the seemingly careless perfection of the style, the cor,u2;
eating wit, the interest of the incidents, the charm ef
characters, all these have been profuseip though not
warmly acknowledged ; and Mr. Israeli, who ka:
never shewn himself greedy of compliments, must be
more than satisfied with the judgments passed upon JU'
brilliant volumes. But disappointment, we feel con'
winced, will predominate in his mind over every feeling
of satisfaction, should the public fail to perceive the inner
signification and final motive of "Lothair." De they
know what I really mean?" is the question, we will b:
bound to say, which its author is asking himself 3
this moment. The success of " Lothair," as a literary
performance, is assured, and everybody is agreed that
Mr. Disraeli has, in a most conspicuous manner, adorned
a tale. We are convinced that he equally intende
and
d W point a moral; and if that be missed the serious
more important part of his labour will'have been utterly
I
thrown away. t has often been said that art should be
its own end, and that the attempt to employ it for
a moral purpose is a lamentable mistake. There is,
no doubt, a certain amount of truth and ProloietZ
in this view, but perhaps the way in which it
usually put requires qualification, and all that can
be said with justice is that art should never be suborcw
nated to moral design. " Lothair "is a splendid
_
tion of this principle. Indeed, unless Mr. Disraeli ha
u
placed upon the title-page a highly significant Latin cluT
tation we should perhaps find it difficult to prove that h_l4.,
aim has been more than to amuse. But when the ver:
first words we read, on opening these seductive volumj
are that a knowledge of the things with which they de a
is a matter of life and death to young fellows, it Now;„
argue excessive dulness to deny that we must look
" Lothair " for a meaning which does not lie upon the en''
face and saute aux yeux.

THE FARMERS' LAST GRIEVANCE.
Of all classes in the community, says the Te/egr%-
farmers possess the greatest genius for discovering or 11,
veilinggrzevances.> They constantly have some pet tries
that especially burthens their souls. If they have nor
long drought, or excessive rain, or a cattle plague, °
sheep rot, they have potato or turnip disease, or guallt°o,
dear. Then they have the malt tax, the highway ra -so
and a thousand other items of malignant oppression ; of
that they not only exclaim, " Damn the natur%ey
things !" but they blaspheme their morning paper as ;orte
discover that something new has been said or ,
in Parliament to vex them. We have, h° fat
ever, recently discovered something, to us the
least, quite fresh. We find that among the
worst of woes waiting on agriculture is the editor Of
Mark Lane Express. We know nothing about that g`bt,
tleman. He belongs nominally to the Press, no cic' llors
but we never dared to imagine that he was as other edit
are : we always imagined him to be four-fifths farmer aota
only one-fifth literary—able to tramp over a thous a
acres a day, and knowing at a single glance the qualitio.
everything grown thereon—perpetually in top bootswo
cessively florid, very John Bullish, and very stout.
fancy portrait of our imagination may be exceedingly
like the mark ; but we are amazed at discovering that
aiy
press representative of English agriculture is act' s,
the bete noire of the Farmers' Club. He reitj
paper at the Salisbury Hotel on Monday, ,743-a
straightway it roused the ire of the assenn,:sut
agriculturists—not because it was offensive,
because it was the production of their own Secretn.,,,
Editor. We have never clapped eyes on our doubtlere
estimable contemporary; but what can his paper 119'`it
contained to excite the ire of all the farmers ? Doe ,5,
sneer at their honourable calling? Does it •` speak dl
respectfully "of guano ? Does it make cutting realm' if
about mangold wurzel ? Does it chaff them about the
threshing machines? Does it "thaw up" Chambers„°t.
Agriculture? We are quite in the dark ; but to our "°`;.,o
sider " intellects there seems somethingas odd in a farinecli
attacking the Mark Lane Express, as in a Low Char,.
parson's swearing at the Record, or a pugislist's refusing
take in Bell's Life.

ENGLAND AND G E.
Some remarks have been made abroad, says the Postsr
the tone of the English press, and especially 01
journal, towards Greece. It has been suggested thwio.
proposing a temporary occupation of Athens we Clot
selled a more adventurous expedition than that a*-iog
Abyssinia, on account of the relationship between s'-u 0
George and the Czar. We cannot think that such
of
of
argument would have weight with any Englishin‘—re-
spirit ; but there is just enough of speciousness in it.Ttbe
commend it to those who would at any price av°' id
risk of collision with foreign Powers. The most tini
however, need be under no apprehension. The Peace
Europe is not and cannot be threatened by this outlio
The action to be taken is not yet definitively settled, but of
were to involve a temporary occupation of a pertilile
Greece, such a measure would be dictated by no 1'940
intentions either towards the Sovereign or people d b
country. We do not covet one inch of Greek soil `-
"cl
we desire is that brigandage should be extirpatedi,
Greece rendered safe for foreign residents and traveybich
That a state of things should continue under cith
robber Chieftains can treat on equal terms tb
Ministers of State and Foreign Envoys, correspond of
members of the Opposition, and consult laYrYer'-vet
eminence in the capital, is no longer to be tolerated. dopt
we are menaced with the displeasure of Russia if we a that
such action as is manifestly advisable. We replY „we
Greek brigandage is a European evil, and that the Yo'r, of
that devotes its energies to the complete eradicatbictor.
that evil cannot but be regarded as a universal bene'ating
No other Power could quarrel with England for anger roor
however ,tungly, her right to provide, in such way ~g
Wing
seem best to her, against a repetition of the sichu
horrors thitt have now occurred.

THE NEW SUGAR DUTY.—Already the public tirr,:
feeling the benefit of the Chancellor of the Exellecluceor
Budget, in the reduction of the duty on sugar'
nd t beY
Burners are saving one half-penny in every pou
purchase.—Times. the
The Times has the following paragraphsend
East Suffolk election :—" to A meeting has decided to -.ce,
a requisition to Sir Edward -Kerrison, which has Ito
been signed in the Market. The meeting was oPP°se,,sed
a stranger coming forward, and a feeling WaS op P°
in favour of no opposition in the event of Sir 14.;cbcery
Kerrison refusing. We are informed' that it is
unlikely Sir E. Kerrison will accede to the requisition.
-r-2 11'00
ORIENTAL DISCOURTESY.—On the fete of mft—ncor
the European consuls paid the customary visit to the,.l'J,
of Tunis. The Prime Minister made a speech, but aclui-,„,
sing himself solely to the representatives of Emil
Austria, England, and Italy, turned his back to themhi
among whom were those of the United States, Sp, rcie ,
Belgium. These latter, when the Minister had conchlu_.,
protested against this violation of all diplomatic courtero:
and would not accept the apologies offered until the 84'
cation had been repeated to them.