The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-02 00:00:00

THE REVENUE.

It is evident, remarks the Economist, that there has been a
very large recovery of revenue. It is somewhat difficult to
make a detailed comparison with the previous year, owing
to the changes in the Budget, but the fact of a general
recovery is 'none the less unquestionable. It is addition-
ally satisfactory that under no head of revenue is there
any falling off. In some cases Mr. Lowe's estimate has
not been fulfilled, though it is for the most part greatly
exceeded ; but the estimate in such cases was in excess of
the actual return of the previous year. In the Customs,
which is one of these cases, the apparent falling off is
£900,000, but this is exactly the amount lost by the
aboliton of the corn duty, so that there has been nc
diminution. In the Post Office, which is the only othez
case, the return of the past year is £lO,OOO in excess of
the previous one. The great improvement on the other
heads especially Excise, which is about £1,400,000 bettel
—is therefore matter for unalloyed satisfaction. If the
Customs and Post Office have not progressed with the
other branches of revenue, we may be sure at least that
it is from no want of progress in the country.

The Solicitor's Journal says that the proposed
abolition of the Home Circuit has producnd so much op-
position in the five counties proposed to be affected, that
it is to be abandoned or materially modified.

THE RESULT OF SLEEPING IN CHURCH.--The
other.night, after the service in Bishopwearmouth parish
church had terminated, the lights extinguished, and the
place locked up, the sexton, while on his road home, heard
one of the bells ring.out a few notes, and returned to see
what had caused the unusual commotion. He discovered
that the bellows-blower to the organist had been locked
up. It appears that he had fallen asleep in his bellows-
loft, and slumbered on until the place was in darkness,
when he awoke and found himself locked in. Groping
his way to the bell-loft, he began to chime the bells until
the noise attracted attention, and he was liberated.
CITY TRAFFIC. While London is proposing
street tramways, New York has under consideration a
scheme for a sub-arcade railway to run under Broadway,
"with the view of relieving that street from its present in.
terruptions." A board of engineers to whom the project
was referred report that it provides a pleasant, rapid
transit for through passengers between the lower and
upper ends of the island, and a slower but still
speedy movement for the local passengers. It
provides a cheap and convenient channel for the
conveyance of freight between the termini of the
steam railways and a large portion of the business houses
in the city. It classifies the travel and trade, and removes
from the present street so many of its vehicles as to rendez
it more useful and pleasant for carriages. It furnishes an
arcade avenue and promenade, convenient for pedestrian°
at all times, in warm, cold, or stormy weather. The sub.
way will be well ventilated and lighted, so that its use
will be pleasant and healthy.
Railway carriages in Sweden are warmed by
means of hot sand, which can of course be made much
hotter than water, and retains the heat much longer.
The Massachusetts Legislature, by a vote of 121
to 94, has passed an Act to open the public libraries of
Boston on Sunday. Such is the outcome of legislation
in a community .which 250 years ago adopted the
Mosaic code in the Pentateuch as the constitution of the
State.