The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-04 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1856.

Were we to judge from appearances Russia
must have come triumphantly out of the Eastern
difficulty. She is already exhibiting a degree of
arrogance and insolence that could only be antici•
pated from a Conqueror—one who, in the pleni-
tude of power, could afford to be indulgent, r.nd
Gould issue her ukases to nations who had learned
from bitter experience the absolute necessity of
submission, and the impossibility of resisting any
resolution at which she had arrived. This is the
return which the Western States have received for
their extraordinary forbearance in permitting her
to escape the penal consequences of former
aggressions. She is still to all intents and
purposes the same as she has ever been, and
it requires no extraordinary amount of pre-
science to know that all the sacrifices of men and
money to check her aggressive spirit have been
worse than useless.

We may be told that these demonstrations have
been merely intended to operate on Muscovite
feelings ; that it would not answer for the AUTO-
CRAT, at the time of his coronation, to exhibit the
slightest symptom of defeat ; and that the high
tone manifested in the despatch relative to any
interference in Neapolitan matters is merely in-
tended for his own subjects ! A pettifogging
distinction between circulars to diplomatic agents
and remonstrances to other Governments has been
suggested. But we cannot place much credence
on these fine-drawn arguments. We look
to acts rather than words. But when both say.
ingg and doings point in the same direction, it is
time for those assailed by the "double-barrel" to
look to their own security, and to see that the
actual menaces are not carried into practical
exesution.

„ The Isle of Serpents” has already afforded
very decided warning as to Russian intentions.
The Proceeding's in reference to
the new boun-
daries, or, more properly speaking,
gi the rectifi-
to Kars, and Ismail,
cation of the frontiers,"
and Reni, gave fresh lessons of caution. They
proved that the Clan was already desirous of
evading the obligations imposed by the Traaty of
Paris, and that he would only respec t the stipulations
contained therein, eolen, as it might prove conve-
nient to do so. But they
evidence that must :is further corroborative
convince the most sceptical.
The Cabinet of St. Paters
is offering great
inducements for the foatio: of steam naviga-
tion companies in the Enzin__ vessels
being so constructed ethe
all
as to be capable " rrl im
J
guns," or, in fact, being neither of ca i
more nor less
on vessels of war without the alma
ine
could be added in a very short time.
Tntshe that
ear-
nestness with which the Russian Governreent has
entered into the speculation may be estimate
from the fact, that subsidies, to the amount of
between XOO,OOOI. and 500,000/. per annum, have

been already granted for the furtherance of the
project—the line to Alexandria—passing through
the Dardanelles alone receiving 50,0001. per
annum, besides other privileges. The shares
already command 10 premium. A matter quite
sufficient to direct the eyes of English capitalists
in the desired direction.

It is needless to say that this is a palpable vio-
lation of the Treaty so improvidently concluded
last April. Some of the projected lines could not
by any possibility pay the mere working expenses,
to say nothing of a dividend on the capital in-
vested therein, nor is there any legitimate object
that could induce the CZAR to pay such enormous
subsidies to the shareholders. It is manifestly an
ingenious device to procure vessels that can be
converted at a brief notice into an effective navy
that could more than match the limited force
allowed to the Allied Powers.

This decided effort to counteract, or rather to
break through, the Treaty so recently entered into,
should be promptly and decidedly met. That
which could not be directly done should not be
tolerated in an underhand manner. Russia is
striving to procure English and French capital
to construct long lines of military railways.
She is now endeavouring to procure a
Black Sea Fleet in the same manner, and it is
surely time that the Governments, which have al-
ready submitted to such enormous sacrifices to
check her aggressive propensities, should interfere
before they are made " laughing-stocks" in the
eyes of Europe. A determined attitude, in the
first instance, ►ill be all that is required, and it
will save a much greater expenditure in the long

The numerous cases of poisoning, intentionally
or by mistake, which have recently attracted
public attention, lead to the inquiry whether the
Legislature may not interpose regulations on the
sale of poisons, in order to the protection of the
community. The subject is one of great import-
ance, and to be dealt with effectually must not be
approached under the influence of panic, nor
without due consideration of the many difficulties
connected with it. Sweeping measures are gene-
rally ineffective or injurious measures, and no in-
terference with the freedom of trade can noway
days, with any show of propriety, be permitted,
unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the
purpose is so sacred as imperatively to call for it,
and such interference is likely to accomplish that
purpose to some appreciable extent. Moreover, it
must extend no further than is absolutely neces-
sary, and in doing away with or diminishing one
source of danger another, or others, must not lie
produced of an equal or superior magnitude.
At the outset, it must further be remarked, no
legislation whatever can possibly prevent access to
mineral poisons by a large class of the community
—such poisons being largely used in the arts, and
to a less extent by the agricultural community ;
besides which, it may be asked, where is the house
without its copper utensil ? Neither can any
!egislation prevent access to vegetable poisons,
which are of British growth. Further, no legis-
lation can protect the suffering patient wholly from
accidents in the preparation and administration
3f drugs, to say nothing of errors of judgment
and design, so long as human nature continues as
it is. And here we cannot refrain from advert-
ing to what most painfully struck us in connection
with the case of PALMBR, vi.., the startling proof
the evidence afforded of his adoption of a subtle
and deadly policy, to which a regard for the pub•
lic prevents us from further alluding than by
saying the exhibition of strychnine was, in all
oroba.bility, the result of impatience, and foreign
to his original design. We all knew how his
brother died ; and if PA.LNIER sought his death,
Qie difference of means was not identical with ,a
difference of principle in the adoption of them.
nipossiOnity to winch we have already adverted,
vie., of securing immunity from poisoning for the
public.

The propriety of moderation in dealing with
the subject being thus plainly indicted, we come
a consideration of the poisons against which a
special guard would seem to be required. These
are of an active class; and, as the reader
is aware, include the following—arsenic, cor-
rosive sublimate, tartar emetic, prussic acid,
opium, nux vomica, hellebore, ac., and prepara-
tions from them, such as black drop, laudanum,
morphia, strychnia, veratria, &c. Arsenic is used
in solution for rheumatism, for the destruction of
bugs, and by farmers for steeping their wheat, to
preserve it from the worm, during germina.tiou,
as well as by others, for purposes of art, as bird-
staffing, and colour making. It is also used in
farriery, and for poisoning vermin. Corrosive
sublimate is a favourite remedy in certain cas,s,
and is largely employed in the preservation of
wood, dsc. Tartar emetic is used as an emetic,
and can better be depended on than ipecacuanha
for a speedy evacuation of the contents of the
stomach. Opium is largely used in bulk—the
quantities taken by individuals in Lincolnshire
would hardly be credited, and to those who are
addicted to its use the supply is almost esseutia,
tb existence. Laudanum is recognised as a valu-
able household drug, of great and immediate ser-
vice in many cases. Nux vomica is used for poi-
, soning rats, hellebore for diseases of the skin in
dogs. As for prussic acid, morphia, and
drugs of such intensely poisonous nature,
the use of them is almost exclusively
confined, as it should be altogether, to
the medical profession and druggists, who ap-
portion the doses taken by the patient. For the
'ale of these, in bulk, to private individuals,
there can be neither necessity nor excuse, and it
should be prohibited under penalty.
The parties who sell poisons are manufacturers
and wholesale druggists, apothecaries, chemists
and druggists, and grocers, and other dealers,
who sell drugs. The way in which drugs have
fallen into the hands of the latter has been partly
the want of druggists in particular localities—
we know many villages where there is no druggis

—and partly the excessive profits demanded on
;he sale of drugs of a harmless description and in
general request, just as the expense of medical
attendance has led to advice and medicines being
given by the druggist. The question for con-
sideration now is What ought to be done ? The
sale of poisons must go on. Prohibition is out
of the question. Shall none be permitted to sell
any drugs or chemicals of this character but
members of Apothecaries' Hall and of the P:aa,r-
maceutical Society ? To say nothing of the ab-
surdity and intolerable tyranny involved in such
a measure, we have surely had enough of mono-
poly—even here the public having, in all proba-
bility, paid more, in life and health, because of
the practical monopoly, which until of late ycar3
was enjoyed by the apothecary and druggist, than
there is the least chance of their doing by acci-
dental or designed poisoning. It i 3 quite as bad
to die for want of drugs you have not the means
to purchase as by drugs you have ; and the public
must look to it, or the hubbaboo about poisons
will lead to the establishment of a monopoly for
which they will be severely mulcted. What,
then, can be done? the reader may somewhat

acxiously7 inquire. A thoughtful consideration

of the subject leads us to the conviction —but
little, with a beneficial effect. The manufacturer
and wholesale druggist, we suppose, are already
amenable, and, if they are not, should be
made so, for want of care in supplying the parti-

cular article asked for. The apothecary and
druggist should be compelled under penalty to
exercise a reasonable discretion in the sale of
poisonous drugs in daily use—refusing them to
individuals ignorant of their properties, to chil-
dren, and to any asking for them under suspicious
circumstances. Where the sale can be effected with
apparent propriety, the apothecary or druggist
should be compelled under penalty to label the
article, whether in parcel, bottle, or jar, correctly,
with the word " Poison," in large letters, and in
the most conspicuous position. Further, the sale
of arsenic—indeed, any poison—in dangerous
bulk should be registered by the seller in a book
kept for the purpose, and accessible to superin-
tendents of police on a magistrate's order—.the re-
gistration describing the name of the purchaser,
the date of purchase, and the motive advanced by
the buyer for wanting the article sold. Where
"raw" apprentices, or other incompetent persons,
occasion death by their ignorance, the principal
should be held responsible. Women, by the way,
are not necessarily incompetent, as manya town and
country surgeon or druggist's wife or sister's expo-
rienoe would prove. Nor is a surgeon or master
druggist necessarily the most reliable dispenser.
Intelligent young men and grown women have
sometimes shown a great aptitude that way,
and may be relied on in ordinary cases.
In no case should anything of a poisonous nature
be sold in a cup or in any vehicle not admitting
of the label " Poison" being conspicuously placed,
so as to attract the eye—or likely to be used for
ordinary purposes by any member of an ordinary
household. As for the grocer or other trader
selling drugs, in country or out-of-the-way
places, it might be well if one or more of the
medical profession and of the body of regular
druggists in the district should furnish the
intended seller with testimonials as to his fitness
to retail medicines in common use, and, armed
with these, he could apply for the permission of
the magistrate, who should be compelled to grant
it if the testimonials be satisfactory. We merely
throw this out to be canvassed by those who
understand the subject. In no case should he
b© permitted to dispense arsenic or any drug or
chemical used as poison of a like virulent nature,
and an observance of the same regulations as
those followed by the apothecary and druggist
with regard to the sale of needful drugs of a
poisonous nature must be demanded from him.
Such appears to us to be the outline of what can
be done by legislation for the protection of the
subject against poison with effect. Despotic
legislation would infallibly defeat its object, nay,
occasion more mischief than it was intended to
prevent. A system of penalties for neglect of
due precautions in the dispensing of poisons, if
neither over nor under rigorous, but invariably
put in force, would, we are certain, be produc-
tive of marked beneficial results.

ROYAL CREMORNE GARDEYS.

MR. ADAMS'S BENEFIT.

The special entertainments of the season at this de-
lightful resort were on Thursday night brought to a
termination in a manner every way calculated to main-
tain the high character they have far so long a period
enjoyed. This was the last grand fete of the season,
and the performances were for the benefit of Mr. Adams,
the indefatigable secretary, for whose invariable cour-
tesy and attention in those matters pertaining to his
particular jurisdiction the public are so much indebted.
It was the first benefit of the kind that Mr. Adams has
had at these gardens, notwithstanding the long period
he has filled his present appointment, avid the manner
in which he was supported bore ample testimony to the
high estimation with which he is regarled by all who
know bias. The programme was of the most libera
description, and in the musical department this observa
tion was especially applicable. Some concerted
u.l T
we say that Miss Poole, Mr. Bathurst, and Mr. llooke,
together with Miss Seyfried, sang some of their favourite
songs in their best style, we need scarcely add that the
whJle was received with groat applause. The fire-
works of the Chevalier Mortram fitly closed the scene,
displayin9: iri pyrotechnic colours E. M. Adams's thanks,
and the 1856 season of Cremorne expired in a blaze o
glory and a storm of applause.

ecea

The Vigilance Committee of San Francisco, the New
Cork Herald informs us, has been declared an illegal
body, and its president, William Coleman, has been
arrested.
The woman•flogging business has not yet been settled
by the guardians of the poor at Marylebone. The Poar
law B qi.rd has called upon the master of the workhouse
to reign ; he has refused to do so ; and at the meeting
yesterday it was ordered that the request be takeu into
conkderation at a special court to be held for the
purpose.
Yesterday Mr. Hale was elected Alderman of
man-street Ward, in the place of the late Alderman
Hunter.

A man undergoing penal servitude on board the
Defence hulk, off Woolwich, yesterday attempted to
escape, but he was recaptured. He mixed with the
labourers at breakfast-time, and passed through the
gates He was recaptured in a short time after.
Robson, the person charged with defrauding the Crys
tal Palace Company, and for whose apprehension 2501,
has been offered, is still at large. The police, up to last
night, had not discovered his hiding-place.
"It is stated," says the Malta Mail, "that Commis-
sary-General Smyth, C. 8., is appointed to replace Com-
missary-General Wyld in this island. The departure of
this latter estimable gentleman will, we are sure, be ge-.
nerally regretted."
General Narvaez, whose arrival at Bayonne has been
already announced, was to leave that place yesterday
for Spain. We are informed that he will proceed by
easy stages to Madrid, where his friends are anxiously
waiting his presence.
Thellfoniteur Algerien, of the 25th ult., contains some
further account of the operations of the expedition
against the Kabyles. After the successes obtained on
the 12th and following days several sheiks sent in their
submission.
PRINCE OSCAR OF SWEDEN.—The Royal family of
Sweden (say the Cologne Gazette) is about to contract an
alliance with the ducal family of Nassau. The marriage
of Prince (hear, second son of the King of Sweden, born
in 1829, with Princess Sophie, born in 1836, the
youngest sister of the reigning Duke of Nassau, has
been determined on.
The Courrier of Marseilles says :—"A party of from
ten to twelve English sailors made an irruption two
nights back into a tobacco-shop here, and after having
extinguished the gas laid hold of a number of merechaum
pipes, and then made off. Not one of them has been
arrested."

Rear-Admiral Count de Gueydon has been appointed
to the command of the French squadron on the station
of the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico. He will hoist
hI fin on board the Cleopatra frigate.
Nrarehal Pelissier left Paris the day before yesterday
for Clormont.

Count de Benkendorff, who is charged to convey to
Queen Isabella an autograph letter from the Czar, has
arrived in Parifi on his way to Madrid.
Mr. Mason, the American minister, has returned to
Paris from England.
SUICIDE BY OXALIC AClD.—Mary Ann Hill, the wife
of a lighterman, yesterday poisoned herself by taking a
quantity of oxalic acid. The deceased was a very in-

temperate woman.
FLIGHT OP A SOLICITOB;—A Nor wich solicitor has
lately fled the city, leaving behind him liabilities, prin-
cipally in the shape of bills to the amount of 2,0001. It
is believed that the party, who was in a fair way of busi-
ness, has left the country, and proceeded either to
Australia or to the United States.

PEEL PARK, BRADFORD.—The very pleasing duty, says
the Bradford Observer, devolves upon us this week of

announcing the payment of the two subscriptions o
2,000/. to this object, by Mr. Salt and Messrs. Mil•

ligan, Forbes, and Co., and of 2501. by Mr. Wm. Rand.
These subscriptions were contingent upon the raising of
8,000/. towards the object, and although the fact is not
officially announced, we assume the payment of these
amounts to mean that the said sum has been realised.
We congratulate all parties upon this result.
MINES.—The business tranbacted in mining shares
this week has been of a more extended character than

or some time past, though prices in some instances.

have been fluctuating and uncertain.

The safest

principle to act upon in mining investments, that
of laying out a small amount in seine half dozen or
dozen well selected mines, instead of confining pur-
chases to any one in particular, seems to be more gene-
rally adopted, especially by new parties to the market.
Great Alfred shares have again fluctuated very much,
various opinions being circulated respecting the mine,
each party supporting his O. The opinions, how-
ever, of the best practical agents, and those most to be
relied upon, are decidedly favourable.—Mining
of this day, Journal