The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-01 00:00:00

Poisonous Tea.

Dr. Muter reports that the trade in the lowest
class of adulterated tea continues. He procured
samples from no less than eighty chests exposed for
sale, and found that they consisted of a variety
of rubbish sold for twopence three farthings
per pound. The stuff yielded an ash amounting
to 22.86 per cent. chiefly consisting of iron filings,
and under the microscope presented the structures of
many foreign vegetable matters. But the worst
sample that came under his notice was s green tea
from India, highly faced, and yielding an ash contain-
ing a quantity of copper. This, he observes, is
really a sad thing, because it was thought that Indian
planters had refrained from such practices. Dr.
Muter adds that the colour seems to have been pro-
duced by roasting in contact with copper.
While there is hope, however, that this
prompt discovery and exposure of what is
presumed to be the first case, as far as India is con-
cerned, may discourage a continuance of the practice,
a correspondent from Shanghai communicates the
satisfactory intelligence that recent proceedings in
London are likely to put a stop to shipments from
China of the compound known as Maloo mixture.
Hired Carriages.

The service of hired carriages recently established
in London, by a limited liability company, has up to
the present time proved a complete success. There
are now two depots, at which horses and carriages
stand, not exposed like cabs and cab-horses
to the inclemency of the weather, but ready
to be turned out at a moment's notice. The object is
to provide conveyances which, with a due regard to
economy, shall combine the comfort and style of a
private carriage with the ready accessibility of a street
cab. For instance, the one-horse broughams have
been built expressly for the company at £lOO each.
They have roomy front seats, are painted dark blue,
lined with blue cloth, and fitted with spring silk
blinds ; in fact they precisely resemble ordinary pri-
vate carriages. They are horsed by fine horses, and
the drivers, who are in dark blue livery, are
all men of guaranteed good character such
as would he engaged as private coachmen. A
conveyance of this kind can be instantly obtained
from either depot at a charge of one shilling for the
first, and ninepence each successive mile. For a
day of ten hours the charge is a guinea, or six
guineas for a week of seven days. When hired by
the mile or hour an additional sixpence is charged
for each person in excess of two. It may
be added that the carriages of the company do not
come under the operation of the Hackney Carriage
Act. The managers will, therefore, refuse to convey
dirty or infected persons, and the carriages will be
free to enter the parks and other places from which
cabs are excluded.
Treasure from the Sea.

It is announced that the efforts to recover the
treasure which has been lying at the bottom of Vigo
Bay, Spain, for the last 150 years, are likely to be
successful. The Spanish Government consents to
have the valuables rescued on condition that it
receives one-half the total ; and nothing now
remains except to provide a safe place of
keeping—no unimportant consideration in Spain.
It may be interesting to tell how this treasure got to
the bottom of Vigo Bay. It happened in the war of
the Spanish Succession. The combined Dutch and
English fleets were operating against the Spaniards,
the commanders displaying much jealousy and
ill-feeling, and very little concord. But the
news that richly laden galleons from America
would soon arrive on the coast restored harmony.
The Dutch and English went after the galleons with
alacrity. The Spaniards fled to Vigo Bay. It
turned out, however, that Vigo was not the proper
place ; the treasure could be landed only at Cadiz,
according to the rules of Spanish red tape, which
rules alter not. The Dutch and English prepared
to assail the galleons in the bay. Nothing could be
easier than to save the treasure by simply landing it ' •
but then—it could be landed only at -Cadiz. The
momentous question of allowing it to be landed just
this once at Vigo, was debated by the solemn
Spaniards with great earnestness. Cadiz pro-
tested. A great council deliberated. And whilst
the deliberation was going on, the English and Dutch
brokeinto the bay, captured half the money, and
sent the rest to the bottom, where it yet remains.