The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-26 00:00:00

Colonel Sir Charles Russell, in responding to the
toast of "The British Forces," said that the present
state of our national defences called for special atten-
tion. When Mr. Cardwell came into office he reduced the
army by some 22,000 men; but that reduction was hardly
completed when the events on the continent necessitated
his attempting to replace them by 20,000 fresh recruits.
The success attending this endeavour might be judged
from the statements of the Ministerial organ, which
said that only two-thirds of the number had been recruited,
notwithstanding that the standard had been reduced and
the medical inspection made somewhat less severe. Mr.
Cardwell had made a blunder there, and he had success-
fully continued it throughout. 'What was the position
with regard to the artillery ? We had 180 guns—
exactly one-third of what we required. He should like
to. know if even the pattern of the guns had been
decided, or the fuse, or even the harness determined
upon. We had got one mitrailleuse ; or to be quite
correct, he would not swear that there were not two. We
had manufactured, or were nsianufacturing 100,000 new
Snider rifles—a condemned weapon, the committee having
reported a year ago_ in favour of a new weapon, not one
of which, however, had been manufactured under Mr.
Cardwell's orders. Our troops in India were armed with
the muzzle-loader • and it was pretty well known what
was done to the Military and volunteers. Mr. Cardwell
said that when all things were completed he could put
60,000 men in the field ; but how could it be done ? The
aimy had neither commissariat nor transport. Looking
forward to what would await him when Parliament next
met, the Secretary for War might well look around him
and see what he had done. It amounted to this—that he
had reduced the regiments to skeletons, and the rank and
file to dwarfs. As regarded our present position, it was
the very worst time to make changes. It was like changing
one's front in the presence of the enemy. What he (Sir
Charles) would suggest was this. Let the Government enlist
freely and fairly, and embody the militia if they had power
to do so. If not, the sanction of Parliament should be
obtained without delay. They should provide the material
which was essentially requisite in the shape of guns and
arms, and should encourage the volunteers in every fair
and legitimate way. As regarded the future, he was all
for local efforts, and he thought the best mode would
be to take the county as a nucleus. The men raised
by the county should be divided into battalions—the
first for active service, the second a reserve force, and
the third a home battalion ; the men in the
latter battalions being ' encouraged to enlist into the
former. Each county should be required to provide a
certain number of troops, for which the Government
would find equipment, &c., and in the event of their not
doing so a ballot should be taken, and every part of the
kingdom compelled to find its quota for the national
defence. As to the navy, he trusted that it was in a
really respectable state for defence ; and although he
had raised his voice against the indiscriminate discharge
of dockyard labourers, he hoped that we should come
better off as regarded the position of our navy than
would at first sight appear. He trusted that Englishmen
would awake to the reality of their position, and that they
' would not stand gazing at the " little streak of silver sea,"
but would unite as one man in bravely upholding the
empire, and in handing it down as a glorious inheritance,
untarnished and unimpaired.
Colonel Shute briefly replied on behalf of the volunteers.

THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS
Several members of Parliament and others interested in
education, and desirous of having working men directly
represented on the School Board, have been actively
engaged during the last few days in endeavours to
induce one of the two working men candidates
for Westminster, Chelsea, and Lambeth to with-
draw, so that the one going to the poll might have a
better chance of success. Those candidates are Messrs.
Potter and Shipton for Westminister, Messrs. Harry and
Osborne for Chelsea, and... Messrs. Mottershead and.Apple-
garth for Lambeth. These efforts, however, have been in
vain. The other boroughs have only one working man
candidate each.
Mr. S. Morley, M.P., and Mr. G. W. Hastings, ad,
dressed a meeting of the electors in the Aldersgate Ward
on Thursday evening. Mr. Morley said he considered
himself ono of the hardest worked men in the City of
London, and yet he should be glad to assist in the inaugu-
ration of the bright state of things which this bill was
calculated to bring about. He thought it would be neces-
sary to have a great extension of infant schools. It
would be requisite to be careful as to how they
gave gratuitous education ; but he believed a large amount
would have to be expended in the gratuitous education of
children.
A meeting of the supporters of Lord Lawrence and the
Rev. Canon Cromwell was held at the Vestry Hall, Ken-
sington, the Hon. RC. Curzon in the chair. Sir George
Lawrence appeared for his brother, Lord Lawrence, who
was unable to attend through serious indisposition, and
he very briefly stated the reasons upon which Lord Law-
rence sought to represent the ratepayers at the Board.
Resolutions in favour of Lord Lawrence and Canon
Cromwell were carried unanimously.
Mr. A. M'Arthur has held during the present week a
series of largely-attended and influential meetings in
Lambeth. Mr. B. Hannen, after retiring, forwarded,
through a member of his own committee, a subscription to
the fund for defraying Mr. Applegarth's expenses. The
number of electors is variously estimated at from 60,000
to 100,000,
Lord Howard, of Glossop, the Roman Catholic candi-
date for Westminster for the School Board, addressed a
meeting of ratepayers at St. Mary's schoolroom, Gate-street,
Lincoln's-inn-fields. Lord Howard said he sought a seat at
the Board in the interests of the thousands of Roman
Catholic children in the metropolis, although he should
feel it his duty to act for the benefit of the children of
all religions. A resolution in support of the candidate
was agreed to.
Mrs. Grey, the widow lady who is a candidate for
Chelsea, finds her candidature for the School Board
has been represented in colours so alarming to
weak nerves, that she is anxious to chew that
she is not quite sa black as she has been
painted. She says :—" Let me assure those who have
been alarmed by their imaginary pictures of me, that I
am no dangerous firebrand, no propagator of destructive
doctrines. I am only a quiet, middle-aged English
gentlewoman, with old-fashioned notions about the neces-
sity of doing my duty when I see it clearly before me;
and it seemed to me clearly my duty to become a can-
didate for the School Board, since Parliament has made
women eligible, and I have time, health, independent
means, and some knowledge of education to fit we for the
oat."

The death is announced of Mr. William Andrew
Rew, D.C.L. He graduated in 1828, and having been
elected a Fellow of St. John's, was called to the bar by
the Hon. Society of the Inner Temple, and went the
Northern Circuit.
RETURN OF EARL COWPER TO HERTFORD.—
The Right Hon. Earl Oowper will return with Lady
Cowper to Panstanger, Hertford, on Monday. They
will be received by the 2nd battalion of the Herts Rifle
Volunteers, of which his lordship is lieutenant-colonel.
There will be other demonstrations in celebration of his
lordship's recent marriage.
MISS EMILY FAMINULL AT PENZANCE.—Pre-
bendary Hedgeland presided at the Penzance Institute,
when Miss Faithful' lectured there a few days since on
" The Best Society." In moving for a vote of thanks, he
remarked that Miss Faithful' had alluded to education,
but he begged to say he considered " such an eminently
suggestive lecture a great factor in education itself."—
Plymouth. Nercury.
LARGE JEWELLERY ROBBERY AT HULL.—Be-
tween twelve o'clock and seven o'clock yesterday morning
the shop of James Scott, jeweller and watchmaker,
Market-place, Hull, was broken into and robbed of stock
to the value cf 22,000, consisting of eighty watches and
other articles. Entrance was effected through au empty
shop next door, mid a hole was drilled through the wall of
Mr. Scott's establishment. The burglars left several of
their implements behind, and also a large quantity of
stock, which had been prepared apparently for removaL
GOVERNMENT INQUIRY ON THE TREATMENT OF
LEPROSY.—We understand that the Government have
applied to the authorities at the London College of
Physicians to nominate to them a physician who should
proceed to Trinidad to report on' a mode of treatment of
leprosy of which favourable reports have been received
from colonial authorities. Dr. Gavin Milroy has consented
to undertake this mission at the request of the college,
and has accordingly been nominated to the Government.—

British Medical Journal.
REQUISITES FOR FEANCE.—lmmense orders have
just been received in Wolverhampton for tin goods to be
used in the equipping of men in the camp. Nearly every
one of the tin-plate working firms, large and small, in that
borough are now busy upon such wares as canteens, soup
cans, stew pans, and the like. Of these wares they have
engaged to turn out by a few days hence as many as will
require for the payment the sum of £15,000. It is stated
that Birmingham firms likeWiKe- are equally active upon
he same i class of :. goods, 0.4:t rrdeml by the -military
b.i.ithorities of France. . . .
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