The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-30 00:00:00

THE ADULT BLIND.
His Serene Highness the Prince of Teck presided over a
large and fashionable meeting, held on Wednesday, at
Hanover-square Rooms, for the purpose of celebrating the
seventh anniversary of the establishment of the Alexandra
Institution for the Adult Blind, of which her Royal
Highness the Princess of Wales is the patroness. We
gather from the report that there are 30,000 blind in the
United Kingdom, the majority being past the middle
age; and of the twenty-five institutions established for their
benefit, and which only accommodate 2,000, nearly the
whole of them are devoted to the young. The Alex-
andra Institute provides homes for the adult blind of all
England, who cannot be accommodated elsewhere, gives
industrial trtining to those who are too old to enter
schools, and employs those who, after leaving school,
would otherwise be thrown on the parishes or their
friends. Considerable progress has been made in the-
good work, and the sales effected have very much increased,
but funds are still urgently required to enable the promo-
ters to extend its sphere of usefulness.—Lord Wharncliffe
said that in a social sense there could be no doubt
of the desirability that those whom God had
caused to suffer from the worst of all, afflic-
tions should be assisted to contribute towards
their own support instead of being obliged to submit to a
life of idleness. Morally and spiritually considered, the
importance of instructing the blind was also beyond ques-
tion. The institution aimed at the assistance of these
chiefly who by illness or accident were deprived of sight,
and who weer therefore even greater sufferers than those
who were blind from their birth. One important matter
had forced itself upon him. A bill for the education of
the people was now before the country, and he was not
aware that any provision was contained in it
which would enable the ratepayers to afford any
assistance to schools for the education of the blind. Rates
for the purpose of educating the people would be levied
throughout the kingdom, and yet not one penny would be
available for the education of the blind. Why 30,000 of _
our most unhappy fellow creatures who were unable to
help themselves, should thus be deprived of the benefits
which would be extended to those who were not so afflicted,
he was at a loss to cqnceive. He thought it would be
very desirable that they should combine and endeavour
to enforce upon the Legislature the necessity of inserting
a clause in the bill which should have the effect of remedy-
ing the omissionhe had pointed out. Professor Fawcett,
M.P., who is blind, Mr. J. W. Pease, M.P., Mr. R. N.
Fowler, M.P., Ca,nort Niabett, and others addressed the
meeting, and resolutions commending the institution to
public support were passed.

A BRIGAND'S LAST LETTER.
Mr. Berkeley Thompson has sent to the paper the
following translation of a letter Wfitten by a brigand,
lately executed in Greece, to his brother, and published in
the Phos :
" Brother Nicolaki, I salute you. My brother, I enjoin
you to give fifty drachmas to the church of St. Pa,raskevi,
in the village of Limogarthi ; also to St. John of
Palechori thirty drachmas ; give a gallon of oil to the
church of Neochori, and a gallon of oil to St. Nicholas
of Divri. Give a gallon of oil to the Virgin of Xerio-
tissa ; and when you return to our native place give to the
poor all you choose for the salvation of my soul. My
brother, I leave you my. blessing ; but my curse if
-
instead of returning to our own village, you remain on
this soot. Write first to our mother, andi tell her that I _
-
the ; but do not tell her that I die this ignominous death.
Do not leave ray baby in this place, but wrap him up and
carry him to our mother. Take care not to give him up to
anyone else • and if my wife is determined not to marry
again, take 'her also to our home, and treat her as your
sister, because I chrish the sweet hope that she will not
marry again • but should she desire to do so, do not
take away die silver ornaments -that I gave her, or any
thing else, but only the wedding ring which bears my
name. Make a garland, write my name upon it, and with
it crown the head of St. Nicholas in our church. Do not
quarrel on account of the disputed cattle with Yannakf
Founta, or else his curse will follow me, but take for
settlement whatever he chooses to give you. Do what
you like with the cows that I have at Divri. If my
wife wishes to marry, give her what you like. Do
not be such a madman as to quarrel with our enemies,
or you would ruin altogether our father's name. On
the contrary, wherever you meet them bow to them
graciously, because I forgave them, and God alone will
judge them. When I was a lad I robbed from the Church
the holy books of Father Veta, and he cursed me—
therefore you must find a priezt, a-1d bring him to my
grave to bless it, otherwise I am afraid that
my body will not be changed. When you return to
our village give a banquet to all my mates to celebrate
my marriage, as they were not present at it ; and
if it ever passes through your mind to injure any of
those who tried me, I leave you my curse, that you may
come to the same shameful end as myself. If you do not
intend to return to our birthplace, take care of my child
and treat him as your own ; and execute faithfully all that
I command you here. Try if you can take possession
of my body, and bury it near that of our master at
Zimogarthi, but if you cannot obtain my body
at least try to take my head. If you succeed
in getting my body, and you bury it as I order
you, place a tombstone with my name over it, and
if you remain two or three years in our native place, take
my bones into your house. When you meet ragged beg-
gars, receive them, and assist them as much as you can,
otherwise God will not permit the salvation of my soul.
Ask my godmother, also Miss Vasilik4, and all the ser-
vants, to forgive me, from their hearts, and ask Father
Athanasi to come personally to my grave, and pronounce
a long benediction over it ; and, besides, ask all the
peasants of Limogarthi to forgive me also, from the
bottom of their hearts. I left my watch with Mr. Rizo-
Manoli. Go to him, and give twenty-eight drachmas.
Sell your own, and take mine as a keepsake. Write to
the mother of Costa, and also to Athanasi Millio, whom
I injured, to forgive me. I left in the house of our
master two muskets. Take them, sell them, and give
the proceeds to the poor, for the salvation of my soul.
I salute you sweetly, and as a brother, and I remain,
your dead brother,

" THOMAS lOANNOU."

The Bishop of London is about to sign the moni-
tions drawn up against certain Ritualists in the diocese
of London, and that they will be issued forthwith.
The flags over the public buildings at Liverpool
were lowered half-mast on Friday, in token of respect to
the memory of the late Foreign Secretary.

The Eastern Bud get says that the distinction just
conferred by the Emperor of Austria on Count Beust is
to a certain extent without precedent. There are several
cases in Austrian history where eminent men who have
deserved well of their country have been permitted to
quarter the arms of Austria with their own, but no case is
yet known of the arms of Hungary having ever been quar-
tered with those of a private family.
The Daily News remarks that there are many
instances in the peerage in which families whose heads
occupy antagonistic positions in politics are bound to-
gether by matrimonial ties. Earl Percy, the heir to the
dukedom of Northumberland, is the son-in-law of the
Duke of Argyll. The Duchess Dowager of Nor-
thumberland is a sister of the Marquis of West-
minster. The eldest son of Viscount Halifax is
married to the only daughter of the Eal 1 of
Devon. The eldest daughter of Earl Russell is
married to a son of General Peel. The Duchess of
Abercorn is nearly related to the Duke of Bedford. One
of her Grace's daughters is married to the Earl of
Lichfield, a second to the Earl of Durham, a third to the
Earl of Dalkeith, eldest son of the Duke of Buccleuch,
a fourth to the Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe, a fifth to the
Marquis of Blandford, eldest son of the Duke of Marl-
borough, and a sixth to the Marquis of Landsdowne. The
sons-in-law of the Duke of Abercom are, therefore,
equally divided in political opinions.
CAPTAIN EYRE OF THE BOMBAY.—The fruitless
efforts made by Captain Eyre, of the steamship Bombay,
to obtain a reversal of the sentence pronounced upon him
for his conduct towards the United States corvette
Oneida, at the time of the collision, have been duly recorded
,in a Parliamentary paper. The Peninsular and Oriental
Company addressed a letter, on the 13th of May, to the
Secretary of the Board of Trade empatically dissenting
from the conclusions arrived at by the Board. It will be
remembered that so far from accepting the explanations
offered by Captain Eyre, the Board declared his sentence to
be too lenient rather than too severe, and that he not only
disregarded professional obligations, but the dictates of
common humanity. Following this comes a lengthened
statement from Captain Eyre himself, in which he regrets
not having been offered an opportunity of appearing
before the Board, and cites several passages from the evi-
dence given at Yokohama, supporting his view of the case.
In conclusion he hopes the board will review the decision
of the naval court, or at least withdraw the expression of
its adverse opinion, giving him credit for ordinary
humanity as well as for seamanship. In this hope he is
disappointed. The board in a letter dated June 2,
points out that any further investigation would be
irregular and contrary to the usual practice, In a case
of such importance, if it could have been shewn that the
evidence had not been fully taken or that material facts
had been subsequently brought to light, the board would
have endeavoured to do substantial justice. This, how-
ever, is not the case. There are no new facts, and the
evidence cited by Captain Eyre has already been com-
mented on and considered., The Board therefore distinctly
declines to re-open the case.

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