The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-05 00:00:00

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

LINCOLN RACES.-YESTERDAY.
JUVENILE STAKES.

Manille
Highthorn
HAINTON STAKES,

Amarl
Gamos
Capsule
Seven ran.
AVELAND NURSERY.

Johannes Rex
Athol Daisy ..
Lady Mortimer
Fifteen ran.
INNKEEPERS' STAKES.
Waif

Thorpe
Woodthorpe
Four ran.
HER MAJESTY'S PLATE.

Musket
Dutch Skater.
Blue Gown
Five ran.
CONSOLATION STAKES.

Countryman ...
Outpost ...
Surgeon
Six ran.
HUNTERS' PLATE.

Cinderella
Doretta..
Ten ran.
BURGHERSH CHA.NTRY STAKES.

Witchcraft .
The Bee

2

Adrian ...e ~,...... 3
Six ran.
The Stewards have disqualified Luck's All for the
Hurdle Race yesterday, and awarded the race to Mons
Lonis.

CITY BETTING.—YESTERDAY.
•
LIVERPOOL CUP.
100 to 15 agst Rosicrucian (taken and offered-7 to 1
laid to £5O)
Bto 1 agst Blandford (taken freely)
11 to 1 agst Cardinal York (taken and offered)
13 to 1 agst Barford (offered)
100 to 6 agst Flibustier (offered)
20 to 1 agst Cecil (taken)
20 to 1 agst Miss Hervine (taken)
25 to 1 apt Alarie (offered—take 30 to 1)
1000 to 30 agst Islam (taken and offered)
1000 to 30 agst Heraut d'Armes (taken and offered)
1000 to 30 agst My Uncle (taken and offered)
1000 to 25 agst Vestminster (offered)
1000 to 25 agst Adonis (offered)
500 to 5 agst White Slave (taken and offered)
1000 to 10 agst Filou (offered)
500 to 2 agst Starter (taken)
500 to 5 agst Judge (offered)
2000 to 100 agst Mr. Hodgman, s lot (taken)
1000 to 30 agst W. Day's lot bar Blandford (taken)
700 to 100 agst W. Day's lot (taken)
6to 1 agst Cardinal York and Syrian coupled

SUPPRESSION OF THE AFRICAN SLAVE

TRADE.

A copy of a report made to the Foreign Office by a
committee appointed to consider the measures necessary
for the suppression of the slave trade on the east coast of
Africa has been received by us. Circumstances, it is
thought, would favour any attempt to suppress the extent
of this traffic. The African slave trade is now confined
almost entirely to the territories of the Sultan of
Zanzibar on the East Coast. The Sultan himself
derives 220,000 a year, one. fourth of his income, from
the traffic. From a single port 20,000 negroes
are admitted to be shipped off every year as
slaves. Custom House records prove that 97,203 were
exported through Kilwa to Zanzibar between 1862 and
1867, and 20,500 to other places. This is the recognised
traffic; but many slaves are also exported from Kilwa
and other places on the coast ; and the committee who
have been investigating the subject are informed that
during last year, owing probably to the great
difficulties experienced by the slave dealers in
procuring slaves in the neighbourhood of Zan-
zibar, the Galla tribes about Fazi were incited
to go to war; the result being that large numbers of
captives were made, taken down to the coast to the north
of the Sultan's dominions, and there sold for slaves. Con-
stant slave raids, it is said, have so depopulated the dis-
tricts bordering on the coast that the dealers, who are
chiefly Arab subjects of the Sultan of Zanzibar, are now
obligsd to go far into the interior of Africa for their sup-
plies, and so large a tract of country has thus been
laid waste that it is from the vicinity of Lake Nyassa
and beyond it that slaves are now said to be obtained.
Should this nefarious traffic continue much longer to
thrive, it would be difficult for our Government to avoid
the odium of a share of the responsibility. The Sultan
of Zanzibar is under the British protectorate, and he has
bound himself by treaty to suppress the foreign slave
trade. It is notorious that he has not fulfilled this engage-
ment. Though he has prohibited by decree the sale of
slaves to northern Arabs, the law is evaded, and what
slaves the Arabs cannot buy they steal. " Such is their
power and lawless daring," we are told "that during their
stay at Zanzibar they are a terror to all the peaceable
inhabitants," negroes daring not to leave their houses after
dark, lest they should be kidnapped. The legal traffic is
confined chiefly to the export of slaves from Kilwa,
mainland port to the south of the island of Zanzibar about
150 miles distant, and to Momfia, Pemba, Mombaza,
and to Lamoo, some 300 miles to the north.
Even connected with this legal traffic the bar-
barities are appalling. Dr. Livingstone has stated
that not one in five, in some cases not one in
ten, of the victims of the slave trade ever reach the coast
alive and become slaves ; the rest die in the interior. At
the lowest computation—assuming this to be true—more
than 100,000 persona are annually carried off from the
interior, under the provisions of a treaty to which Eng-
land is a party. Account has not been taken here of
the illegal trade. Under the eyes of the Sultan, Northern
Arabs arrive at Zanzibar every year to purchase
and kidnap slaves, whom they export for sale to Arabia
and the shores of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
The committee report to the Foreign-office their opinion
that the Sultan should be pleased gradually to diminish
the legal export of slaves from the mainland with a view
to its total aboiition. Holding that it would not be prac-
ticable at once to prohibit all the traffic, they suggest that
it should be brought under supervision and control, and to
this end they recommend that all persons shipped at Dar
Selam should, in the first instance go direct to Zanzibar,
with liberty to go thence to Pemba and Mombaza only,
imports to any other plac .s or which have not come
through Zanzibar, being declared illegal and liable to cap-
ture. By these means ; by entirely prohibiting their
transport when the Northern Arab dhows are in Zanzibar
waters ; by doing away with the coast traffic, and abolish-
ing the open slave markets ; by inflicting severe penalties
for any breach of the laws against the slave trade, and
for any improper interference with the liberated slaves ;
by providing that no vessel shall be allowed to carry
slaves without a special pass from the Sultan, and some
distinctive mark on the hull or sails to indicate the nature
of her occupation, the committee are sanguine that
" whilst an effectual check will be put upon the
illicit traffic, and great difficulties thrown in
the way of slave traders, a ready means will be
afforded for limiting the export of slaves for the
home trade with a view to its ultimate total aboli-
tion." The success of these measures, however,
would depend much upon the efficiency of the British
cruisers engaged in suppressing the traffic. Not more
than 7 per cent. of the slaves exported are liberated by
British cruisers. The gains of the traffic are, therefore,
comparatively greater than the risks. This should be
reversed, and with this -object in view, the committee
recommend that the naval force to be permanently em-
ployed in suppressing the slave trade on the east coast
should consist of three cruisers and one steam-launch, to
be assisted by three other vessels, during March, April,
and May ; larger and better equipped boats being
provided.

11111. BRIGHT.—The President of the Board of
Trade is still at his home, One Ash, Rochdale. The
right hon. gentleman frequently takes outdoor exercise in
the neighbourhood. -

.
IRE ELECTION JUDGES.—The judges appointed
to try election petitions for the years 1870-71 are Mr.
Justice Keating, Mr. Baron Channel, and Mr. Justice
Lush. Up to the present time petitions have been lodged
against the returns for Norwich, Shrewsbury, and Brecon,
but it is doubtful whether all these will be " fought." The
Act of Parliament, by virtus of which " election judges"
are appointed, will expire next year.
On the 22nd ult., at the British Consulate at
Geneva, a marriage was solemnised between Mr. William
Abbott and her Serene Highness the Princess de Looz
Corswarem, daughter of the Prince de Godoy Bassaino,
granddaughter of his Serene Highness the Prince de la
I'aix. The nuptial benediction was conferred by Mon-
seigneur Mermillod, the Bishop of Geneva. The Princess
de Godoy Bassaino, the Prince de Godoy, and his Excel-
lency Segnor Contina, the Spanish Minister, were present
at the ceremony.

A rival to the far-famed Mont Cenis Tunnel is
announced from America. The tunnel through the
Hoosac Mountain, on the Troy and Greenfield Railway,
is stemlily progressing, and has now overcome the great
difficulties with which it started. It is 41 miles in length
(more than half that of Mont Cenis), and of this distance
about one third is already penetrated. The work is ac-
tively proceeding night and day from both ends, and it is
expected it will be finished before the expiration of the
contract in 1874.--IVature.

THE FEELING IN RUSSlA.—Russia, we are told,
is greatly troubled by a hint which has been thrown out
iu one of the Berlin reviews, that " the policy of consoli-
dation which Prussia is pursuing in the west with Alsace
and Lorraine might with equal advantage be extended to
the Russian Baltic provinces in which C4-erman is spoken.
The declaration, says the Moscow correspondent of the
Mornag Post, has given rise to an " absolute panic." Nor
is this the only terrror which has overtaken the Russian
mind. The revival of Polish nationality under the pro-
tection of the Prussian Crown is regarded as a not impos-
sible event. There is no answering for the daring brain
of Count Bicmarck ; but, without strong provocation,
there are a thousand things he is more likely to attempt
than either the annexation of the Baltic provinces or the
resuscitation of Poland.

OUR COTEMPORARIES---This Morn ng

THE PROPOSED ARMISTICE.

The Times, commenting on the negotiations, says : We
struggle for peace. We strive to believe in peace. We
recognise with extreme satisfaction the fact that the Go-
vernment of Defence at Paris are strong enough to brave
popular suspicion in consenting to accept the principle
of an armistice as a preparation for peace. If it- rests
with French opinion, an armistice will be accepted,
provided it is offered on the only terms Cult can be
reasonably proposed—on the terms of maintaining through-
out its duration the proportionate military power of the
two combatants. If Crermany, through Count Bismarck,
assents to this, the first and most diricult step is overcome.
We may fairly ask for an iminediat, answer to the ques-
tion whether the Chancellor does or does not concede
an armistice on such conditions. We are not prepared to
condemn him if he refuses to allow a cessation of hostili-
ties in this fashion. He is the inspiring political genius of a
great war, and he may believe it better on every account to
bring the war to a speedy, if destructive, end. This much,
however, we ►nay say—the Chancellor is bound to assent—
as we hope, has assented—to an Armistice on the basis of
maintaining the status quo in the fullest interpretation of
the phrase, or to withdraw the circular in which
he described the consequences of a defence of
Paris until the last ounce of bread is consumed.
He cannot indulge at once in an effusive
benevolence and in an unqualified adherence to the
severest military policy. On him rests the responsibility
of the choice. We hope he has decided on the side or
humanity. The balance of evidence inclines to accept this
conclusion. Yet we cannot say that we rely on it with
undoubting faith ; we long for a better assurance that
what we desire has been accomplished.
The Telegraph says : The exact conditions of the pro-
posed armistice are not as yet officially known ; but some
curious points are sure to arise. Will the Germans be
allowed to erect new batteries, to bring up new guns, to
movetroops from their rear to their front? If so, may the
Parisians also erect new lines of defence, strengthen their
forts, and plant new cannon? If, the armistice involves
the ingress of provisions into Paris, disputes may arise as
to the kind or amount of supplies that may be tolerated ;
but Count Bismarck may, of course, specify the conditions.
The military advantages to France, from a truce, seem
at first sight considerable ; but against all such
material advantages may be set this moral dis-
advantage : Will not the pause in actual fighting
and the prospect of peace tend to uneerve French hearts
and to diminish national and individual enthusiasm for
'• war ? Such delays are always much more dangerous
to an irregular than to a regular force, and after the
truce the leaders of France may find that the
taste for peace has taken away the old tierce relish
for combat. If so, Count Bismarck will gain by the
delay. But if France shews herself firm and manly
enough to renew in cold blood the vows made in violence
and haste, then Count Bismarck will do well to reconsider
any resolution he may have made to exact from his victim
the already stipulated "pound of flesh."

Count Bismarck, observes the Daily News, says he hag
been offering terms ever since the beginning of last
month. Perhaps these terms are not very generous—of
that it is impossible to form any opinion, for they
have never been stated ; but it is at all events not very
cheering to observe that the mere preliminaries to the dis-
cussion of terms seem to have been ill received by a sec-
tion of the inhabitants of Paris. We must hope that the
calmer and better feeling of the capital and of the coun-
try will allow no such stumblingblock to be placed in the
way of a possible peace ; and there is this one bit of con-
solation offered to us, that Trochu, in his proclama-
tion of Tuesday, apparently accepts the responsibility
of having agreed to the terms of the armistice.
If the Provisional Government, utilising this armis-
tice, comes to an arrangement with Count Bismarck,
and makes peace, it will probably in so doing sign
the decree of its own deposition. But that result is a
lesser evil than the continuance of the war. We be-
lieve that the Germans will negotiate with any Govern-
ment which will sign a treaty of peace, and will there-
after leave France to choose her own rulers. The ques-
tion, therefore, is—Will the Provisional Government—.
supposing that no difficulties about the revictualling of
Paris lie in the way of an armistice— brave the oppo-
sition of the Irreconcilables, and do its best for the
country at the risk of incurring its own dissolution
Or will it go so far in this direction as to convene a
Constituent Assembly, and throw upon that body the
onus of making a pact with the Prussians, and clearing
the departments of France by peaceable means,
since warlike ones have failed? Or will it espouse the cry
of the extreme Republicans, and swear to make no peace
so long as a Prussian soldier remains on the sacred
s3il of France? At any moment we may learn
the answer to this question—upon which hang the
lives of thousands and the happiness of millions of human

beings.
The Standard still doubts whether Count Bismarck has
offered an armistice which the Government of the
National Defence, strengthened and encouraged as it may
be by a vote of confidence in Paris, can venture or could
be willing to accept. Are General Trochu and M. Jules
Favre willing to agree in principle to a cession of
territory ? Is Count Bismarck ready to waive the demand
for such a cession? When we get a clear answer to
these questions we can speak with some confidence as to
the end of the negotiations which have been commenced
at Versailles. Of an armistice concluded without any
understanding as to the terms of peace, we can entertain
very little expectation, and of the arrival of such an
agreement as to those terms we have at present very
little hope. If either side has receded from its old
position there may be a good chance of an armistice and a
peace. What reason, we must aak again, is there to
believe or hope that such a moral revolution had taken
place? Suppose that the Government of the National
Defence in Paris, either appreciating coolly the situation of
France, or considering the interests of the capital, should
agree to an armistice which would necessarily, although not
implicitly, include a peace asking from France Alsace
and Lorraine, Strasburg and Metz, would it be accepted
in the South and the West ? Certainly not. The cry of
treason would be raised still louder, and with more seem-
ing ground. But putting that aside, what reason can
there be to expect that the Government of the National
Defence will surrender at discretion, as they would
practically do, by signing an armistice for twenty-five
days without agreeing at the same time in principle upon
the terms of peace to be presented to the Constituent As-
sembly, or capitulate after the manner of Sedan and
Metz—as those capitulations have been qualified by them-
selves—by agreeing to do, before a shell has been fired at
Paris, what up to the last few days they have insisted
they would rather die than do ?

Her Royal Highness the Princess Christian of
Schleswig-Holstein visited London yesterday.
A slight further decrease has taken. place in the
number of fever patients at the Liverpool workhouse
hospital, there being 1,341 this week as compared with
1,383 a week since.

As an instance of the high value sometimes placed
upon rare animals, we are told that Professor von Hare,
the African traveller, has been offered 20,000 dollars for a
large gorilla, by an American agent.

Following the example of the authorities in
London, the Liverpool magistrates are turning their atten-
tion to the subject of questionable dances, &c., at
theatres. On Thursday Mr. W. H. Pearson applied for
a license for the Prince of Wales Theatre, in that town.
Reference was made to the can-can, and the license was
only granted on the express condition that no improper
dances should be exhibited.

A. TIME TO SELL.—NeW York papers announce
that on the 18th of October at Washington, General
Dyer, chief of the Ordnance Btu-eau, opened the bids for
200,000 Springfield rifled muskets, new, and 110,000 old,
but serviceable ; also, 40,000 new Enfield rifles, 40,000
serviceable, and 30,000 arms unservicable. There was a
number of offers. A list of them was made, and would
be acted upon forthworth. An additional number of arms
was to be offered on the 29th.

A correspondent of the Cologne Gazette thanks the
women of } ranee for their courtesy and tact in dealing
with the invading forces. They seem to make the best of
their calamities. " Only yesterday the landlady of an
ordinary village inn begged me, with a sigh, to interpret
for her what the soldiers upstairs were wanting. One
ought not,' she said, 'to treat them ill, for our soldiers are
much worse than yours, and nothing Is safe from them."

THE NEW M.P. FOR COLCHESTER.—CoIoneI
Alexander Learmouth, of Dean, Midlothian, who was
elected on Thursday in, the Conservative interest as ono
of the representatives of Colchester, in the place of the
late Mr. J. Gurdon-Rebow, is the eldest surviving son of
the late Mr. John Learmouth, of Dean (who was a magis-
trate and Deputy Lieutenant for. the county of Mid-
lothian, and at one time Lord Provost of Edinburgh), by
his wife, Margaret, daughter of the late Mr. James
Cleghorn, M.D., of Dublin. He was born in 1829,
and was educated at Eton and at University College,
Oxford. He is a lieutenant-colonel in the army, and was
formerly in the 17th Hussars. fie is also a magistrate for
Midlothian ; he was, along with Mr. Edward K. Kars-
lake, Q.C., an unsuccessful candidate for the borough at
the late general election in December, 1868, when he stood
at the bottom of the poll. Colonel Learmouth married, in
1858, Miss Charlotte Salter Lyons. eldest daughter of
Colonel Humphrey Lyons, of the I-lon. East India Corn-
Lpanys service. As the late Mr. Gurdon-Rebow was a
Liberal, this election must count as the gain of a seat to
I the Conservative party.