The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-19 00:00:00

THE SIIN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY

the admission of well-digested enactments—enact- ,
ments calculated to effect a rapid evidence of sanitary
reformation throughout these islands.
Frequently as we have had occasion to comment
upon the literary and oratorical labours of the more
conspicuous advocates of sanitary improvement, often
as we have particularised the merits of lectures, pam-
phlets, speeches, journals, magazines, and statistical
broadsheets devoted to this great question of popular
advancement—we do not remember a publication
orkof,
be
eoriet
obse peculiarlyrved, entitledreeultintgo ofruermapaplaeuesme
biansa tai own
very considerable industry, experience, and sa-
gacity) than the volume recently published upon
" The Regulation of Buildings in Towns," and
written by Mr. HOMING.* The arguments con-
tained in this volume would alone be sufficient to
demonstrate the exigency of a speedy movement on the
part of the Legislature, and to arouse, not only the
Chief Commissioner of her Majesty's Woods and
Forests, but the other members of the Adminis-
tration and the Parliament to an activity such as they
have not hitherto evinced. Lord NORMANDY has
spoken admirably to the point, both in the Upper
House and elsewhere, in behalf of the inhabitants of
the more squalid quarters of our populous cities ;
Lord LINCOLN has acted effectively, to a certain
extent, in the same direction ; Lord MORPETH, in
like manner, has not been wholly lethargic. Dr.
SOUTHWOOD SMITH has entitled himself to the
lasting gratitude of his countrymen by the unob-
trusive energy with which he has devoted his
genius to the good cause, and promulgated
wholesome truths to' the populace through his
many intelligent and admirable writings. Under
his auspices the Health of Towns Association has
continued to work as energetically as the Anti- Corn-
law League worked fur the abolition of commercial
monopoly. In correspondence with this society a
kindred institution has commenced its exertions in the
metropolis, under the title of " The Health of London
Association ;" and the efforts of both these societies
have been nobly consummated by the organization of
a Sanitary Commission in Gwydyr House. Of a
kindred: disposition have been the monthly organs,
The Health of Towns Magazine, and The Journal
of Public Health. Both these periodicals have endea-
voured to correspond with the press, and to concen-
trate in a distinct publication the anxieties incidentally
expressed by the public journalists. With these
labourers for the people Mr. HOMING has now asso-
ciated himself by his very laudable and sagacious
production—a production which proves, with un-
answerable precision, the necessity existing for the
better regulation, the systematic and assiduous regu-
lation, of the different buildings erected in the towns
of the United Kingdom. The very divisions' of his
volume testify, in an obvious manner, the practicable
character of his suggestions :

REGULATION OF BUILDINGS.
RELATIVE POSITION OF BUILDINGS.
SAFE STRUCTURE OF BUILDINGS.
DRAINAGE OF BUILDINGS.
VENTILATION OF BUILDINGS.

From the closing sentences of his " Introduction"
we may glean an accurate definition of the entire
work :—" Education," says the author, " leads the
man to impose upon himself restraints more severe
than those to which, as a child, he was compelled to
submit; and the practice which is herein indicated or
otherwise set forth as proper to be adopted, and as a
rule to be imposed, is no other than [such as ?) a
community rightly taught would impose upon itself."
A volume of this character is precisely what is best
calculated to forward the cause propounded by the
first aanitary advocates. It is by the appearance of
such publications, that public opinion is developed to
snch a degree of pressure as must ultimately compel
the Legislature to act as well as to deliberate, and
to secure the health by ensuring the cleanliness of
the population.

Our readers doubtless remember the case of Mrs.
SHUTTLEWORTH, who was incarcerated in a lunatic
asylum, at the request- of a clergyman, on the certi-
ficates of " two skilful persons," who was subse-
quently brought up by habeas before the Court of
Queen's Bench, and remanded back to the custody
of the keeper of the asylum (notwithstanding an in-
formality in one of the medical certificates), because
Lord DENXAN held thst tl2O opinion of " two skilful
persons," that one of the QUEEN'S subjects was insane
was quite sufficient to authorise the incarceration of
such alleged lunatic without the " skilful persons"
setting forth in their certificates the facts on
which they grounded their opinions, albeit
the Act of Parliament declares that they are bound
so to do. This unfortunate lady was, therefore, as
we have before said, remanded back to her place of
confinement, where she died about a week since. It
might have been imagined that here would have been
an end. Not so, however. The abominable lunacy
laws do not release their hold even of a corpse; and
the application of Miss RHODES, the sister of Mrs.
SHUTTLEWORTH, to have the remains of the deceased
delivered up to her for interment, was refused.
Hereupon Miss RHODES applied to the " Alleged
Lunatics' Friend Society," and the secretary, Mr.
PERCIVAL, lost no time in addressing a letter (from
which the following is an extract) to the metropolitan
Commissioners in Lunacy :
" Parthenon Club, Jan. 12, 1846.

" My Lords and Gentlemen,—On my retur❑ home
yesterday evening, I was informed that Miss Rhodes
had been to my house to inform me that her sister,
Mrs. Shuttleworth, was no more, and to request me
to interfere in her behalf that she might be allowed
to bury her sister.
" I hope that the enormities of the system which
you have been superintending so many years, and in
which you are so slow to introduce any adequate and
effectual reform, will not be allowed to extend beyond
the lives of the unfortunate persons Rho are subjected
to them, and that Miss Rhodes and the other relations
of Mrs. Shuttleworth may have the consolatio❑ of
discharging the last duties of affection and respect to
her remains without any interruption from other par-
ties."

In reply to this application Mr. PRIICIVIL received
the next day the following reply :
" Office of Commissioners of Lunacy,
19, New-street, Spring-gardens. Jan. 13, 1848.
" Sir,—Your letter, this day received, relative to
the death of Mrs. Shuttleworth, and conveying the
request of her sister, Miss Rhodes, to be allowed to
bury her, has been laid before the Commissioners in
Lunacy, by whom I am directed to say that they
have no jurisdiction or authority to interfere in the
matter.--I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
"R. W. S: LUTWIDGE, Sec.
" J. Percival, Esq., Campden Cottage."

From the statement of Miss RHODES it appears
that Mrs. SnuTTLEwonTrr died on the 6th of January,
and that she had received no information of her de-
cease until the 11th of January; that
on being informed of the fact she proceeded
to the undertaker's, into whose care the body had
been delivered, to demand that it should be given up
to her for interment, which was refused, in obedience
to orders said to have been received from the Rev.
Mr. ROWLETT and Dr. PARKIN (the gentlemen
through whose instrumentality we believe Mrs.
SnurrcEwowrif was originally confined, and to
whom, therefore, in all. probability her body was
delivered up by Dr. MILLINGEN). It would appear
that the undertaker must have misunderstood his
orders, as Mr. ROWLETT and Dr. PARKIN, when
applied to by Miss RHODES, both seem to have
assented to her request, and Mr. ROWLETT indig-
nantly denied that he had given any such orders.
In the observations which we feel called upon to
make on the very defective state of the law, we beg
to be distinctly understood as not intending' to cast
the least imputation on any of the parties concerned
in this case. Of Dr.
iLLe ik'ZiGEN we repeat what
we have before said, that w
iul, humane, and most honouranb°lew him to be a skil-
m
man, and
'TTE•
and we have
Was
a:H
no doubt but that his treatment of
WORTH was judicious, and that she
of Lcomfort-
able and as well cared for in the asylum
MILLINGEN as she could have been in any other
asylum in the kingdom. Mr. ROWLETT, it appears,
behaved as well as man could behave when he Was
informed by Miss RHODES of the refusal of the
undertaker to deliver up to her the corpse of her
sister, and Dr. PARKIN did not finally withhold his
consent. But the question naturally arises, why was
Miss RHODES forced to apply to these gentlemen
(who do no;; appear to have been relatives of the

"A Guide to the Proper Regulation of Buildings
in Towns, a, a means of promoting and securing the
health, comfort, and safety of the Inhabitants." By
William flocking, architect, civil engineer, &c.8v0.,
pp., 5. London; John Murray. 1848.

deceased) for permission to see and to inter her sister's
body? Why were not the relatives of Mrs. SHUT-.
TLEWORTH informed of her illness ; or, at all events,
of her death ? How comes it that the Commissioners
of Lunacy have no power in such cases ? There
is a great defect in the law here, a defect which
opens the door to the perpetration of the most
horrible enormities. Suppose a keeper by
brutal violence deprives a lunatic patient of
life ; as the law now stands, he may escape with im-
punity. The body is sent to an uadertaker to be
buried—no notice is given to the relatives, and before
they are aware that their lunatic relative is dead, the
body may have become so decomposed as to render it
impossible to ascertain the cause of death. There
have been cases of conspiracies to murder—there may
be such again, and in the event of a keeper of an
asylum conspiring with the incarcerating relative of
an alleged lunatic to remove the only obstruction be-
tween that relative and a large inheritance, the
present state of the law is such as to secure
to them an almost certain impunity. The remedy
for all these dangers is a very simple one. Apply
to lunatic asylums the same rule that is applied to
gaols, and have a coroner's inquest held on the body
of every person who dies in confinement at a lunatic
asylum, at the same time giving notice to all persons
known to be near relations of the deceased who reside
in the United Kingdom of the day on which such in-
quest is to be held, in order that they may be present
if they should think fit.

nistry ; he then went to Brigue, where he got the
representatives of the Sonderbund who were at )
Brigue at the time to sign a demand for intervention.
He brought to Sion a letter from SIEGWART MULLER,
addressed to the Council of State of the Valais, by
which the chiefs of the Sonderbund applied for au-
thority to establish their head-quarters in the ter-
ritory of the Valais, and promised that if the canton
could hold out four or five days there should be an
armed intervention in favour of the Sonderbund. The
Council of State rejected these overtures, in order
that it might not expose the canton to the chance of
a ruinous war."

Madrid journals of the 12th have arrived.
The Gaceha publishes two royal decrees, appointing
General JOSE FuLGosio Captain-General of New
Castile, and General ROMAN BARRENEcHEA Governor
of Madrid, and Deputy-Commander of the province.
The Committee on the Salamanca impeachment is
composed of seven members, namely, M. FERNANDEZ,
S. ROMAN, M. SEIJAS, M. ARTECA, M. VAHEY, M.
ESTEBAN COLLANTES, the Marquis DE BEDMAR, and
M. ZARAGOZA. Of these only two can be considered
favourable to the accusation—M. SEIJAS, who was
one of those who signed the report on which the re-
cent debate took place, and M. ARTECA, who voted
for the charges to be taken into consideration. All
the others voted against the matter being taken up.
Thus, then, the Government has succeeded in effecting
the object which was ascribed to it—that of getting
a Committee favourable to SALAMANCA, so that the
accusation may be allowed to drop, whereby it is be-
lieved that awkward disclosures and great scandal may
be prevented.
General ESPARTERO is confined to his bed by
influenza.

General PAVIA: has announced the complete
pacification of Catalonia.
A letter of the sth from Malaga states that the
expedition from that port to plant the standard of
Castile, in the name of ISAEELLA 11., on the Zaffarine
Islands, at the mouth of the Moulaya, sailed the
preceding evening, under the command of General
SERRANO. It is composed of the steamers Vaitlano
and Piles, towing the brigs of war Isabella 11. and
La Fleche, with four transports carrying two
companies of the regiment of Africa, some artillery-
men, and a supply of ammunition and provisions.
MADRID BOLSA, JAN. 12.—The Three per Cents•
were done at 26i for cash, and 26k at fifty days ; the
Five per Cents., at 15 13-16 for cash, and 16 at fifty
days; the Debt without Interest, at 5 for paper;
and the Coupons, at 11 for cash.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
The debate on the Address was brought to a
close on Monday. The discussion on the ninth
paragraph brought the affairs of Algiers before
the Chambers, and M. DE BOISSY took the oppor-
tunity of expressing in the Chamber of Peers
his sense of the impolicy of the appointment of the
Due D'AustALE to the Governor- Generalship of the
colony, and particularised the Convention entered into
by the young Governor with ABD-EL-KADER as a
proof of the impropriety of the appointment. After
digcussing at great length the merits of the Conven-
tion entered into with A BD-EL•KADER, M. DE
BOISSY thus concluded—" It is a cause of deep regret
to be forced to disavow the Duc D'AUMALE. If a
Marshal of France only were concerned, the Govern-
ment would not hesitate. It remains then to be seen
whether the interests of France will prevail over the
consideration due to the word of the son of
a king. I call therefore on the Minister
to explain himself clearly, and in conclusion
I will observe that if the convention is rati-
fied, the interests of France will be seriously
compromised ; if it is not ratified, the word of the
son of a king will be compromised."
This brought up M. GUIZOT, who, after:defending the
appointment of the Due D' AUMALE to the Governor-
Generalship, proceeded to allude to the convention, and
thus proceeded :—" We have not considered, we never
could have considered, that it was in the power of any
General, of any General-in-Chief, even of a Prince,
to enter into political engagements which should
bind the Government of the KING, without examina-
tion and without the possibility of escape." After
paying a compliment to the Duc DE NEMOURS, who
was present, and stating that the Duo D'AUMALE had
accepted the Goeeenor-a encra_a_l_p uirrely
any other General would have accepted it
M. GuizoT thus proceeded :—" With regard to the
question now under discussion, his MAJESTY'S
Government reserves to itself, and intends to
reserve to itself the most perfect liberty of examina-
tion and of decision. The Hon. Member asks what
the Government has decided, what the Government
will do. In answering that question, he must excuse
me from entering into details. There are two great
interests to reconcile here first the interest of
the State—and at the same time great and honourable
account must be taken of words uttered and of pro-
mises made—made according to the measure and
within the limits in which they can be performed.
I entertain the greatest confidence that the KING'S
Government will be able to reconcile these two in-
terests. I have great confidence in the possibility of
finding means faithfully to perform the promises
which have been made, and of obtaining at the same
time everything that is necessary for the security of
France in Africa. The Hon. Member and the
Chamber may rest assured that neither of these duties
will be neglected ; and I repeat, after an attentive
consideration of the question, of its difficulties, and
of the means of resolving them, I feel assured that we
cannot fail to arrive at such a solution."

The Constitutionnel, in speaking of this declaration
of M. GUIZOT, says, it has no sense whatever, unless
it means that the promises made to the Emir will be
broken, " observing, at the same time, the forms of
courtesy towards the makers of those promises."
A passage from the Journal des Debuts will,
perhaps, furnish the key to M. GuizoT's mean-
ing, and explain the reason of the close imprison-
ment of ABD-EL-KADER (a direct violation of the
convention of Sidi Brahim) in the fortress of La-
malgue. It is intended to coerce the ex-Emir into
consenting to an abrogation of the convention, a
mode of proceeding even more dishonourable than
would have been the bold disavowal of it. The
Journal des Debats says," The Ministry may tear up
the capitulation, and disavow the Generals, if the
safety of the country requires it. But it will
have better served the fair fame of France if it
can reconcile her interest with her honour, and the
care of her defence with the respect due to her
solemn observance of an oath; in a word, if it is
skilful as well as firm, if it can untie a knot which
it might have cut. Such is our hope. The noble
words of M. GUIZOT, the prudent conduct of the
Government, the news recently received from
Toulon, all inspire us with confidence that this
hope will not be deceived. A*D-EL-KADER, what-
ever may be the ambition which he entertains in
secret, will prefer being the guest of France to being
her prisoner."
Whether or not this notable scheme for pre-
serving appearances will succeed it is impos-
sible to tell. One thing, however, is certain, that
the pledged word of the Duke D'AUMALE has
been already broken by the imprisonment of
ABD-EL-KADER in Fort Lamalgue, and his
forced separation from his friends, and that
the ex-Emir will not be bound either by law, justice
or morality, to observe any conditions, nor to perform
any promises extorted from him while under duress ;
all promises made under such circumstances are ipso
facto void.
Al Toulon journal says—" When M. ROUSSEAU,
the interpreter, communicated to ABD-EL-KADER the
order for his removal to fort Lamalgue, he invited the
ex-Emir to indicate the persons of his suite, in
addition to the members of his family, whom he wished
to accompany him. AED-EL-KADER replied-6 They
are all my family—there is not one from whom it
would not be cruel for me to soparate, and, having no
preference, I have no choice to make.' All the
prisoners wished to follow their chief, but KADOUR
and KARA MUSTATIIA, the brother-in-law of ARO-
EL..KADER, were the only persons in addition to
his wives and blood relations, and his servants, who
obtained permission. KARA MUSTAPIIA, who was
the executor and perhaps the only author of the
massacre of the French prisoners at the deira of
ABD-ELfKADER, is a man of most ferocious appear-
ance. His countenance is as ferocious as that of ADD-
EL-KAMM is benevolent and mild.

The Journal de Undre says—" For some days past
it has been reported that in the event of ABD•Ble•