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

THE SUEZ CANAL.

Mr. G. Bate, one of the special guests of the
Khedive at the opening of the Suez Canal, has read
an interesting paper to the members of the
Royal Colonial Institute. He introduced the
subject by giving an historical account of the
abandoned canals of the isthmus from a period of
600 years be fore Christ. He said, whether
view ed politically, socially, or economically,
the canal must be productive of vast beneficial re-
sults to the world at large, and especially to this
country, as greatly facilitating our intercourse with
the colonies. Two-thirds of the trade with
India, China, and Australia, was in Bri-
tish hands ; and, looking at the great saving
in time by the canal, it must be for our our interest
that English shipowners and English merchants
should not leaVe it for the foreigner to develop its
resources. He thought by treaty, arrangement, and
guarantees this important highway should be placed
under the protectorate and management of the great
powers, and not left to +3,P control of a private com-
pany.

OIL AND WATER.—No wonder this old gentleman from
the country is puzzled. His friends have carelessly sent
him to the Royal Academy Exhibition with a " Water-
Colour " catalogue

SOMETHING LIKE A BONNET.—We read in that
delightful organ of feminine fashion, Le Follet—that the
spring bonnets will have " fronts, crowns, and curtains."
La Follet may well call bonnets with so many features of
the bonnet about them " elegant novelties."

" THE UNION WHEEL. "—With exceptionally bad taste
the manager of the Sheffield Theatre has produced a
drama called " The Union Wheel," which deals with
" Broadhea,dism " (hiss 'ens, it should have been) and other
unpleasant trade matters. The sentiments in favour of
the ruffianism of the " Union " were received with delight
by the gallery. We always thought the jurisdiction of
the Lord Chamberlain extended to the provinces so far as
the licensing of new plays was concerned. If so, where
was Mr. Donne on this occasion ? Perhaps the piece ujas
produced without his knowledge. If so, we beg to refer
him to a recent number of the Sheffield Independent, in
which this charming drama is fully described.

(From Fun.)

MEAN TlME.—Porter (loudly) : "Hi ! Bill ! What
time does the parlymentry to town arrive 'ere-- gent
wants to know ?" [Very pleasant for that mean fellow
Bertie (who wanted to sneak up on the cheap) to have
the query shouted out before all the party from the
Castle.]
SERVE HIM RIGHT.—This is pleasant reading :—A
young man named Ralph Hudson has been summoned
before the Sunderland magistrates for throwing orange
peel on the footpath in Bishopwearmouth. The bench,
considering the danger of this practice, inflicted a penalty
of 55., and 6s. 6d. costs, which was paid. Surely our
London magistrates will wake up at last, and follow this
excellent example. Every fellow who so disposed of a
peel should be disposed of without appeal, summarily.
He should be punished not only for his own misdeeds but
for the slips of others.

(From Judy.)

Why is a river the laziest thing in creation ?—Because
it is never seen out of its bed.
Why should a European never expect generous treat-
ment from a Japanese daimio ?—Because they are all two
sworded (too sordid).

FROM PARIS.—In consideration of his sweet temper and
saccharine budget, Mr. Lowe might very appropriately be
called l'eau sacra.

SUCCESSFUL REVOLT IN AN INDIAN GAOL.
The discontent for a time pent up among the inmates
of the Central Gaol, Trichinopoly, appears, from what was
enacted the other day, to have taken a most serious turn.
About noon,, on Wednesday, at the hour of repose, every
convict within the gaol was ordered to take rest, and, as
usual, all went to the shady side to stretch their weary
limbs. Some of the convicts, on various pretences,
left the main body, screened themselves within the
intricacies of the building, armed themselves with
some iron palisades, about six feet long, that
were lying loose about the gaol, and by a little manoeuvre
came suddenly on to the sentry, seized him, and
threatened to knock him down if he attempted to give
the alarm. A native head constable at this time, is said
to have gone up to the ringleader, Koorchy Taven, with
the intention of arresting him, when a blow on the head
soon silenced him for a time. About twenty of the con-
victs then made a rush to the guard-room, forcibly book
away eight stands of arms, five swords, with a quantity
of pouches containing ball ammunition, and scampered
off over the plain in the direction of Puducottah,
pursued by both the gaolers and a few constables,
skirmishing as they kept running, and exchang-
ing shots. A constable luckily knocked over the ring-
leader by sending a ball through his head, killing him on
the spot. The convicts, after this, fled as fast as their legs
could carry them, and managed to reach a jungle and take
up a position in a Hindoo pagoda, from whence they kept
up a desultory fire on their pursuers ; but finding the police
were becoming stronger in number, they left the pagoda,
took to flight, and escaped in the dark. A party of the
police scoured the jungle the remainder of the night, but
did not succeed in coming on their trial. A reward of Rs. 25
for each prisoner has been offered by the superintendent of
the goal, and every available means taken to bring back the
runaway convicts. The ringleader is said to be the only
one out of the twenty who was a life convict ; the othqrs
were undergoing various periods of imprisonment. Some
of the police and warders at the time in the gaol are also
said to have been overpowered, dand afterwards roughly
handled, before the convicts left, he gaol. We have no
doubt before long we shall hear something, more of these
runaways.—Madras Chronicle.

ADDRESS OF GARIBALDI TO THE FRENCH

ARMY.

Garibaldi has issued an address to the French army. It
is dated Caprera, April 22. The following extract em-
braces the greater portion of it :—" I shall certainly not
belie myself in saying that I am the friend
of the army of the Second Empire—of that Em-
pire which has made use of your bravery to enslave
peoples—of that Empire which makes use of your
imposing and valiant mass to protect a lying tyranny,
which, without you, would be but an old tradition of our
misfortunes. No matter Friend or enemy, I address
myself to that chivalric army which, at the battle of Fon-
tenoy, bade the Englth fire the first, a trait characteristic
of an army of brave men. Even ween Tno
on the point of fighting against you as the
exterminating instrument of a despot, I am bound
to confess that I searched in vain in my heart for some-
thing which would resemble a hatred for the noble children
of France, for that army which joyfully marched to the
deliverance of my native land, and watered with the
blood of its heroes the plains of Magenta and
the hills of Solferino, whose echoes still resound
with the victories of the French soldier. In-
stead of the soldiers of Mexico and Mentana, I
should desire—let me not be misunderstood—to see in
you only the worthy descendants of the volunteers of
Fleurus and Jemmapea—the stns of the warriors of
these fourteen armies which, astounding the world by
miracles, placed the old European monarchies in the light
of reason; for Marengo and Austerlitz, which crushed
those monarchies, were only the corollary of Fleurus,
Jemmapes, and Zurich. Then, although an invalid,
saluting your superb flag of the Revolution, I would
again march by your side and would ask to re-occupy on
I
your left the post which had the honour to hold in 1859,
when you passed over the body of Austrian tyranny with
the brave men of our army.—G. GARIBALDI."

LIQUOR CONSUMPTION IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
—A writer in the Alliance News has the following :
"The Edinburgh Review for the current quarter contains
an article on ` Taxation,' in the course of which the con-
sumption of ardent spirits in France is set down at
870,246 hectolitres in 1864, 'or an average of about 2 litres
per head of the whole French population. This allow-
ance in English imperial measure means a little
more than half a gallon for each man, woman, and child
—about half the average consumption per head per
annum, of the British consumption.' But, if I
mistake not, the Edinburgh reviewer has made
the error of taking the quantity of alcohol
taxed for the quantity of ardent spirits con-
sumed ; and, as the latter is twice that of the
former, the French average is, at a stroke,
made equal to the British. Mr. Delavan, in 1868,
took great pains to learn the entire production of intoxi-
cating liquors in France, and this he found to amount to
1,516,746,000 gallons, an average of about forty gallons to
each person—certainly a higher average than that of the
United Kingdom. The cost of this enormous quantity
of liquor to the French consumers, Mr. Delavan
estimated to be three times as great as great as our
annual expenditure on alcoholic liquors. The Edinburgh.
writer places the revenue receipts in France from this
source at twenty millions sterling, as compared with
thirty millions sterling in our country; but this latter
estimate is upwards of five millions boo high for the
United Kingdom (including the charges on licences), the
total for 1868 being about twenty-four millions and a
quarter.

We hear with the deepest regret, says the
British Medical Journal, that the state of Sir James
Simpson's health, although happily improving, will
prevent him again resuming his Universities duties,
and that he has be 9 advised to resign the Chair of Mid-
wifery in the University of Edinburgh, which he has
filled with brilliant distinction for a long term of years.
HATS.—One of the novelties of the season is a
summer hat looking like very good straw, but in
reality made of wood shavings, and sold for the fabu-
lously small sum of 2id. A highly superior article of this
kind of manufacture may be had for 9d. How far are
we in advance of the time when it was an opprobrium to
wear a hat at 4s. 9d ! The hat 4t 91jd.
looks very nearly as well as a Panama. It is of
exquisite whiteness, very well shaped, light and com-
fortable on the head, and might be worn by a well-dressed,
heavy swell at a horticultural show. Of course it is i
fragile ; a heavy shower would reduce it to the consis-
tency of blotting paper, and it will not stand the
slightest blow. But with careful handling in fine
weather it will look well for several days, and as the
fine days in the course of a summer during which a.
man cares to wear a straw hat are often very few, it
is a great question even with the owner of a Panama,
and there are few possessors of a good Panama, whether
a succession of four or five new smart, fresh-looking
hats at 94d. is not a better investment than the Os.
which it takes to get a Panama cleaned—a Panama
which, however fine the quality, is sure to look terribly
dirty before the end of tue season. —Daily News Parts
Correspondent.

THE SUN.—LATEST EDITION to he seen
in the Coffee Room, at the "Southampton Arms," High-
street, Camden-town, where all Sporting and Politica events
are freely discussed.