The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-22 00:00:00

TURKEY AND THE EASTERN QUESTION.
A letter from Constantinople in the Independence Beige
says that the Russian question has already subsided into
silence. Only a few days before a great number of foreign
representatives were coming . and going at the
Porte, and there were frequent gatherings of
the Ministers. Now everything is quiet enough
in that quarter, only the Ambassador of Russia
continues to have interviews with the Grand Vizier, whose
object does not transpire, but which puzzle all the world;
more especially as Genera, Ignatieff seems very well satis-
fied with his relations witlr-.the Ministers of the Sultan.
The Turks consider the denunciation of the Treaty of
Paris as a fait accompli, so far as regards the Black
Sea, and the manner in which the new state of affairs is
to be diplomatically settled is only a matter of secondary
importance. They will not, therefore, interfere in the
negotiations respecting the Conference, whose decisions
they regard as already settled. They have from the
outset rightly judged the state of affairs. The
authority of Russia must infallibly increase, on account
of the decline of the power of France. It was because
Ali Pasha foresaw this that she endeavoured after Sedan
to induce the Neutral Powers to make an energetic
intervention in favour of peace. England did not under--
stand, or would not understand, though from her
situation, and from the prestige she enjoyed in Europe,
she might have supported the Turkish proposal with some
effect. Some of the European journals go too fast in
giving Russia already an organised war fleet in the Black
Sea, and in attributing to her immediate aggressive
designs against Turkey. We are not there yet. Russia
proceeds eastward without precipitation, and for the
time being she does not seek conquest so much as a
preponderating influence, she moves slowly but surely,
and she knows that the force of events will do more for
her t han her fleets and her armies. In a political point
of view the war news no longer engrosses our statesmen
to the same extent. What was to be apprehended by
Turkey—the defeat of France—has already arrived. The
evil is accepted.

THE POLICE AND THE SCHOOLS ACT.
The Birmingham Gazette says :—" Above all,—no zeal."
We should have thought that an officer of so much experi-
ence as our Chief Superintendent of Police would 'scarcely
require to be reminded of the advice given to the younc
diplomatist by the famous Talley rand. It seems we should
have erred. At the recent election of a School Board

for this town the police were forbidden to vote, and it
turns out that the order conveying the prohi-
bition was issued by AV. Glossop entirely on his own
responsibility. At the meeting of the Watch Committee
on Tuesday, in answer to a number of queries, Mr.
Glossop said it was " a question " whether the police were
allowed to vote; but he admitted that while it was his
rule to take the opinion of the Town Clerk on
such questions, in this case he did not do so,
although, he was aware that the Chief Commis-
sioner in London had said that the police could
vote or not, as they thought proper. Still more
closely pressed as to the necessity of consulting the Town
Clerk before issuing such an order. Mr. Glossop blurted
out that "it was done hastily, without thought, to
keep the men on the safe side !" Really, this paternal
care is extraordinary ; but perhaps it may be accounted
for by the silly notion prevalent among police
authorities that constables are not "civilians,"
but a sort of military force, subject to a
sort of martial law. At all events, our Chief
Superintendent, whose good intentions we do not
for a moment doubt, stands self - convicted
of too much zeaL Through neglecting the obvious and
usual precaution of obtaining advice at all times open to
him, he has, in his anxiety to keep his men on the safe
side, got himself in the wrong box. If he had ascertained
it to be illegal for policemen to vote in the election of a
School Board, his " order " would have been unnecessary,
as a simple intimation would have sufficed ; not having
ascertained the illegality of the act he forbade, he
has clearly overstepped the strict line of his duty,
and it may even turn out that he has broken the law
himself.

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.
A Plymouth correspondent telegraphs that Mr.
Childers and Admiral Sir Sydney Dacres spent the greater
part of Tuesday on board the armour-plated ram Hotspur,
which went outside Plymouth Breakwater, and was put
through a variety of movements. She returned to the
Sound twice during the day.
Her Majesty's yacht Osborne was launched on Monday
afternoon at the Pembroke yard. The ceremony of
christening was performed by the Countess of Cawdor.
The Osborne was designed by Mr. E. J. Reed, C. 8.,
ex-Chief Constructor of the Navy. She is a paddle-
steamer, with engines of 450-horse power nominal,
supplied by Messrs. Maudslay Sons and Field, built with
wood frame, and two thicknesses of diagonal planking,
with fore-and-aft plank on the outside. Her bows are
after the style known as the " Scotch clipper ; " she is
250 ft. between perpendiculars, with a burthen of 1,542
tons, 0.8. M.
Her Majesty's Indian troopship Crocodile, Captain
Parnyn, from Alexandria and Malta, arrived at Ports-
mouth yesterday with the Bth Regiment, military in-
valids, and time-expired men.
About 30,000 Snider rifles havebeen sent from Chatham
to the Tower to be improved.
Camp and barrack stores are being issued from Wool-
wich to the various depots round the coast.

A 'Havana despatch announces that the Spanish
Government has accepted the resignation of Captain-
General de Rodas, of Cuba, and that he will sail for
Spain December 20. General Valmaseda, who has come
to Havana from the field, is to take his place tempo-
rarily until a successor comes from Madrid.
It has been ascertained that, of all the passengers
in the express train which was crushed in the recent colli-
sion at Harrow, only eight were provided with accident
assurance tickets. On one of those who were killed a
ticket entitling his heirs to £l,OOO (which is about to be
paid) was found, and it was the only bit of property of
any kind which he had about him.

The Guardian is authorised to state that after
careful deliberation and conference with the former
Twelve Days' Mission Committee, the Bishops of London,
Winchester, and Rochester have resolved that they will
take the matter into their own hands, and will themselves
take the lead in a simultaneous mission to be held either
immediately before the season of Advent in 1871, or of
Lent, 1872.
Mr. Charles Henry Foot, barrister-at-law, died
suddenly on Monday, at his residence, 14, Upper Fitz-
william-street, Dublin. The intelligence of the death of
the learned gentleman has caused sincere regret amongst
the members of the legal profession, by whom he was
highly esteemed. Mr. Foot was called to the bar in 1856,
and was the author of a valuable treatise on the Grand
Jury Acts.
A communication has been received by the officials
at Chatham of the intention of the Government to recom-
mend to the Grown the release of the Fenian convicts now
under confinement. The commission, of which the Earl
of Devon is the chairman, appointed to inquire into the
alleged ill-treatment of the Fenian convict prisoners at the
Chatham establishment, have, it is understood, completed
their inquiries. It will be shewn that at Chatham the
Fenian convicts have been treated with exceptional kind-
ness, as compared with the other convicts.
The Liverpool Central Relief Society held its
annual meeting on Tuesday, the Mayor presiding. The
society have relieved 21,000 cases, against 17,000 last
year, by distributing bread and soup tickets, the latter
representing 164,000 quarts of soup. Since the estab-
lishment of the society they have always had a balance
in hand at this period of the year, but are now in debt
£3OO, having expended in relief about £2,500. A remark-
able feature is that the poor themselves have purchased
more soup at id. per quart than has been distributed
gratuitously or subscribed for by the public in the pur-
chase of tickets for distribution. A remunerative labour
test of pauperism has also been established by the erection -
of a factory for making fire lighters, where those in
need may earn from ls. to Is. 6d. per day.
MURDER IN BEDFORDSHIRIC.—On Tuesday William
Bull, aged 22, an agricultural labourer, was brought up
before the Bletsoe division of the Bedfordshire magistrates
on a charge of murdering Sarah Maronell, aged 52, at
Slaughton, Bedfordshire. The murdered woman, who
lived alone in a cottage, was employed in taking care of
children, but also received parish relief. Her body was
found dead on the morning of the 30th ultimo in her
cottage, covered with bruises and wounds which chewed
that she had been strangled after a dreadful struggle.
In consequence of the deceased having told a neigh' )our of
an attempt to violate her by William Bull, suspicion fell
on him. He could not be found till after midnight of
Thursday, when the police, paying a visit to his mother's
house, found him there. On telling him the charge, he
swore he would not be taken, rushed out of the house, and
look a chase across country, but was followed by the
police officer, who eventually overtook him, and after a
fearful struggle he was overpowered. On his clothes was
found what was ascertained to be blood. The prisoner was
fully committed for trial at the assizes on the charge of
wilful murder.