The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-17 00:00:00

42a per cwt.
INDIGO.—To-day at auction 26 erns Guatemala Indigo
sold at 2s 8d to 48; these are barely former rates.
SALTPETRE.—At auction 472 begs Bombay were in
part sold at 25s for 114 to 12} per cent ; 723
bags Calcutta 8} to 84 ditto 26s to 26s 6d, and
14} to 29i ditto 25a to 265 6d. The finest
cannot now be quoted above 28s. British Refined has been
operated in with reluctance ut 28s 6d to 29s 6d. In Nitrate
of Soda a good business is doing at 14s 6d to 155, and
there is a firm market.
COCHINEAL.—To-day a public sale of 130 bags Hon-
duras Cochineal went rather better at full rates to a
small advance; low to flue silvers realised 2s 10d to
3a 6d.
TALLow.—In Russia on the spot large transactions
have taken place, and advanced rates are obtained, fine
new Y.C. realizing 39s 9d to 40s, and old 38s per cwt;
at these terms there are not generally sellers; for deli-
very a good business has been transacted; new
realised 40s to 40s 3d for the last 3 months
of the year, 40s 3d to 40s Gd for the early part of
1850. Home melted met with a free sale, the prices
paid being 378 6d to 385 net cash for fine quality. Ope•
rations in other sorts are also upon a larger scale, and at
an advance ; at auction 540 casks of Australian sold,
Beef at 35s to 37s 6d, Sheep, 34s 6d to 38s; 270 pkgs
South American 35a to 38s 9d, 28 casks North Ameri-
can, fine 38s, and 30 casks Italian 37s 3d to 38s.
OILS.—In Seal Oil less business is doing; supply is
more plentiful, and prices are lower. Of 60 tuns at
auction a part only sold, pale at 331 10i, tinged at 331,
straw 321 to 321 108, brown 311. Only small purchases
made in Cod, and there are sellers at 361 to 361 10=.
Southern is not cheaper, and there are at present
few buyers; prices for low to fine rule at 311 108
to 331. Sperm is, however, in brisk request, and rates
are rising; a public sale of 20 tuns went at 851 to 86/
15s for first sort: there is only a limited supply at
market. In Olive large transactions have taken place,
and rates rule firm, Gallipoli at 401 to 411, hnd other
sorts 391 to 391 108; the stock also continues to de-
crease. Linseed Oil has further declined in value;
several export orders, however, have been executed
during the last few days, and the home trade demand is
now good. To-day at auction 114 hhds Ceylon Cocoa
Nut Oil sold at 31s to 325.

MR. HUME, M.P., AND HIS CONSTITUENTS.

On Saturday last Mr. Hullo met a large number
of his constituents in the Town•hall, Montrose, the

Provost in the chair.
Mr. HOME, on being introduced to the meeting by
the chairman, was received with loud cheers. After
referring to several local matters, he said that, al-
though his constitution bad received a severe shake,
he did not believe that there was another Member of
the House of Commons whose name appeared so often
in the division list as his own. The reason was that
he was anxious to do his duty, to excluded all class
interests from legislation, and to look to the good of
the community at large. Government was estab-
lished for the interest of the many, and all public
measures ought to be of the same character. When
he entered the House of Commons class interest was
triumphant. He therefore set himself in opposition to
this, and advocated the removal of all monopolies, so
as to give fair play to talent and enterprise, to do away
with all unnecessary taxation, and to allow no man to
put his hand into his neighbour's pocket. The cause
of reform had advanced greatly since that time, but
still there was much to do. Those who now occupied
a prominent place in political affairs would pass away
and be forgotten, but the country would remain.
We must therefore look to the future, and apply all
our energies in endeavouring to place the country in
a condition to compete with the United States. That
is the only country which will press us hard ; there
is nothing to fear from any other. But the Ameri-
cans are an economical people ; they have not useless
offices, and they pay only in proportion to the ser-
vices received. If England is to remain at the head
of the commercial world, or even to be able to com-
pete with that rising power, she must reduce her ex-
penditure ; and in order that this may be done the
people must have the direction of that taxing machine
—the House of Commons. This shows the necessity
for Parliamentary reform. England owes her supe-
riority to her perfect machinery, and to maintain her
political and commercial superiority she must perfect
the taxing machine. At present it does not
work well—it does its work badly. It taxed those
who should not be taxed, and passes by those who
should bear the public burdens. The reason of this
was that class interest to a certain extent governed
and swayed the House of Commons. There must,
therefore, be a fresh accession of popular strength.
The people must now, in short, be thoroughly repre-
sented. The bees who make the honey must have a
voice in the government of the hive. Lord John
Russell had promised an amendment of the repre-
sentation, and he had been asked what length the
Bill would go. That he did not know. He did not
believe the Government had made up their minds
about the matter. But there was one thing they
might be sure of, and that was that the Government
would give as little as possible. The extent of re-
form would depend upon the pressure from without.
The people must tell the Government what they
want. They must demand that every householder
have a vote in the national representation. The
country will not be content with less. This would
increase voters from 900,000 to between 3,000,000
and 4,000,000. That would be the result of house-
hold suffrage ; but we must have something more.
Tne voter must be protected from intimidation ; the
ballot must accompany household suffrage. He
was sorry to say that Lord John Russell was
opposed to the ballot, but what was the practice of
the aristocracy ? Why, in all their clubs the ballot
ws used. Let them do, then, as they would be done
to themselves. The electoral districts must also be
equalized. Many were opposed to the idea of taking
population as the basis of representation, and con-
tended that property ought to form the basis. Now,
it was a curious fact, shown by the census, that as
population had increased, property had also increased
in proportion. He could speak long enough
about the inequalities of our representation, but, in-
deed, it was not necessary. Look at Dundee and
Harwich, for example. The former with a popula-
tion of 70,000 returned one Member, while the latter
with only 200 electors returned two Members to
Parliament. \Vas this state of things fair ? IVas it
reasonable, or in accordance with common sense ?
Such were the reforms the people wanted. By
granting these the Ministry would satisfy the
country and increase the happiness and prosperity of
the nation.
Mr. Flume was greeted during his speech with re-
peated applause, and after a vote of confidence was
unanimously accorded him the meeting separated.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF TIIIS DAY.
TIMES—The best part of a year has slipped away
since we parted company from the Metropolitan Com-
mistioners of Sewers. Despite the ominous hints of
its friends and the determined opposition of its ene-
mies, this body has maintained itself outwardly un-
impaired, and while other Commissions have been
consigned to disrepute or extinction, the Greek-street
Court is apparently entering upon a fresh lease of
official vitality. It has been reorganized under a new,
and, as we are tolc3, a more efficient chairman; it
certainly levies a considerable amount of money, and
it transacts no small quantity of routine business.
We had not intended to do more than watch its per-
formances in what may be, perhaps, only a transition
state of existence, but an incident occurred the other
day which indirectly produced disclosures of great
general interest. At the Temple-pier, as we need
not tell any body residing between Charing-cross and
St. Paul's, an enormous sewer is incessantly dis-
charging its contents into the tidal waters of the
Thames. Of course the immediate neighbourhood
experiences the usual results of such arrangements ;
but the nuisance, in the present case, was not confined
to the population of the vicinity. The pier is in great
request as a landing-place, and thousands of visitors
from healthier quarters of the metropolis were thus
indulged with a taste of what was daily endured
by those less favourably lodged than themselves.
Accordingly there was a resolute "representation"
made to the Commissioners on the subject. The
steam-boat company complained, the passengers com-
plained, the inhabitants complained, and a large
number "of barristers and others" signed an indig-
nant memorial. Attached to the document also was
a " mark" resembling the famous sign manuel of the
King of Ava, which the British Ambassador com-
pared to the impression producible on a sheet of paper
by the dirty claw of a hen. This was the attestation
of the Chinaman on board the junk, who, with all the
training and patience of his countrymen, found it,
nevertheless, impossible to support the customs of our
good city of London. On Friday last, therefore, the
Chairman of the Commission introduced this subject
at a special Court, which incontinently proceeded to
discuss and resolve thereon. There was no doubt
about the magnitude or reality of the nuisance alleged.
The sewer in question was " one of the largest run-
ning into the Thames ; it collected the drainage of
"an immense district ;" the river was " greatly pol-
luted and exceedingly offensive," while the crowded
state of the thoroughfare was undeniable. In point
of fact, one of the best frequented spots in the metro-
polis had been selected for the most profuse discharge
of sewage, and, to mend the matter, the Chairman
was fain to admit with remarkable candour that
" under the recent proceedings of the Commission the
place had become decidedly more offensive than be -
fore." All this was extremely ingenuous and in-
teresting, but what was to be done ? The expense
of covering in the sewer with a trunk was
estimated at 4501., and though the outlay might not
appear unreasonable in itself considering the occasion,
it could not be forgotten that we had been promised a
bodily extinction of the whole system together. To
expend 4501., therefore, in patching a sewer which
was to be presently disused, and in modifying a nui-
sance which was to be summarily abated, naturally
looked unbusinesslike and extravagant. Thus the
very essence of the Commission's capacity and func-
tion was accidentally brought on the table. If Lon-
don, including the Thames, was to be forthwith
scientifically and comprehensively drained, the
Temple-pier nuisance would vanish of itself ; but if
not, or if only at some indefinite period, then some
expedient in mitigation of the evil must be employed
meanwhile. 'Which of these presumptions was to be
accepted? Is the great work of drainage going on
or not ? The question is none other than the iden-
tical inquiry which has been made so earnestly and so
often ; and here are the Commissioners inveigled
against their will into a practical confession of the
truth. The chairman boldly expressed his own
opinion that it would not be advisable to incur much
charge on a work which " must be rendered
useless by the general system of drainage the
Commi-sioners bad then in band." Mr. Kendall
very justly observed that the question turned
"on the time the nuisance would have to
be endured," pending the accomplishment of the new
works. " If," he added, " there was little prospect
of such completion within a few years, then some
expence might be incurred at present." Mr. Ste-
phenson came nearer to the point by remarking that
" the system of intercepting sewers could not he com-
pleted until four or five years at least, even if their
construction could be commenced at once, which could
not be done." He further stated it as "manifest that
the Committee must not entirely abandon outlets into
the Thames for the sewage, but retain them as safety-
valves, in case of the other outlets becoming acci-
dentally choked." These were the opinions of the
Metropolitan Commissioners on the case before them,
and these are prospects in the matter of drainage as
authentically depicted. The only conclusion at
which we can arrive from such information is that
the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers is just as
much in the dark respecting the drainage of London
as the chief mate of the Chinese junk. If there was
any single point on which a plain categorical reply
might have been expected from the Commissioners,
it was surely the position of their own proceedings.
We left them regenerate in constitution and sentiment,
resolute to drain the city forthwith, and actually decided
upon certain specific plans for that purpose. Every-
thing at last was in proper train, and the only ques-
tion was one which could be approximately answered
by any experienced contractor. Yet now, after the
lapse of nine months, when a point arises involving
the reality of all these doings, neither the Chairman
nor his colleagues appear to have any definite infor-
mation on the subject. Mr. Lewes, to be sure, spoke
of the general system as being " then in hand," but
Mr. Stephenson tells us not only that no " commence-
ment" has yet been made, but that it is impossible to
make one, while Mr. Kendall speaks of the " pros-
pects" of the Commission as a point on which the
Commissioners themselves are left wholly to conjec-
ture. But if the Court knows so little, who knows
any more ? What upon earth are ordinary ratepayers
to conclude about their chances of relief if these
chances appear utterly inscrutable and obscure to
those charged with the accomplishment of the
task ? As some indication of their convictions, the
Commissioners ordered a plan and estimate to be
prepared for covering in the Temple-pier sewer, so
that we may take their general impression as un-
favourable to the proximity of any " general
system" of drainage. We have no wish to be under-
stood on the present occasion as imputing any perso-
nal blame to the Commisionera engaged. Taking
the "prospects" as they actually appeared, there could
be no question about the propriety of mitigating the
Temple-pier nuisance without waiting for the com-
pletion of a work which it is judged impracticable to
commence. Neither is the indefiniteness of these
views probably chargeable on the members of the
Commission. Perhaps the course to which public
opinion compelled them was not altogether acceptable
to those prepossessed with conclusions of their own ;
nor do we conceive that the diversion of the sewage
from Ithe Thames has been acquiesced in as an in-
dispensable condition without considerable reluctance.
But the obstacles at present opposed to efficient action
are more likely to be concerned with the constitutional
and financial prospects of the Commission than with
the caprices of its individual members. Lord J. Rus-
sell dropped a hint in Parliament about the possible
amalgamation of these duties with the great busi-
ness of water-supply, and funds, we know, are bard
to come by when credit is shaken. It was to some
such considerations, we suspect, that Mr. Stephen-
son's " impossibilities" referred ; but although we
give these embarrassments their due allowance, we
cannot disguise from ourselves that the actual resul'
is as detrimental to the sanitary interests of the _
tropolis as the most wilful neglect. In plain words,
the drainage of London is no nearer than before. We
have secured the recognition of a principle, but we
have made no further advance towards the execution
of the work. Our streets are ripped open, our houses
are bodily undermined, and our pockets are heavily
taxed, but by the confession of the Commissioners
themselves there is no prospect of even commencing
an effective reform, while in the meanwhile the offen-
siveness of the existing system is somewhat greater
than before. This state of things must be termi-
nated. If the Commission is to be charged with the
projected duty, it should be invested with proper
powers ; if a better machinery is available, it should
be substituted at once. At present we actually pay
for damage instead of benefit, and should esteem it a
AWFUL OCCURRENCE.--An old man named Mark positive improvement to get nothing at all for our
Bassett has been committed to Winchester gaol for the man- I money.
slaughter of his sin, aged 13. It seems that the unhappy
parent threw a walking-stick, which he held in his hand, at CHRONICLE.—The Admiralty have at length
the deceased with such force that the small end of the stick issued an advertisement, calling for tenders for a line
passed through the poor little fellow's hat and entered his of postal screw-steamers to Australia; but we much
skull to the extent of some four or five inches. The wretched
con-
father was found sitting on the ground with his sou lying 'regret to be compelled to add that the proposed
across his lap in a aught stag. The coroner's jury returned tract is fettered with conditions, and is brought
a verdict et manslaughter against the father, who is in his forward under circumstances, which will prevent any
66th year, and his agonies are so great that it is thought ho real progress being made at present towards the
will not live to take his trial. I
effectual settlement of the question which has been so
TIVERTON LONGEVITY.—The following is a striking long at issue. The chief features of the scheme are,
proof that the salubrity of our climate tends greatly to that
it stipulates for the dispatch of a steamer from
strengthen and comfort the declining years of man. From England to Sydney, and vice versa, not every month,
the 2d to the 9th September, were registered successively but only every alternate month; that it confines the
i knots au
seven persons, of the following ages-67, 78, 55, 74, 79, 7„g,
contract to screw-steamers ; that it fixes 8
82.—Woolmer's Exeter Gazette.

hour as the average speed during each voyage, both
out and home; that it limits the duration of the
arrangement to four years, subject to a twelvemonth's
notice at the end of that time; that it does not exclude
either iron or wooden vessels from the service; and
that it does not specify any particular period within
which the first steamer is to be dispatched. As re-
gards several of these points, the present advertise-
ment is a great improvement upon former ones of a
similar nature. For example, to stipulate for a par-
ticular
rate of average speed is far better than to '
demand vessels of a specified amount of horse-
power ; and the omission of the usual clause re-
quiring the dispatch of the first vessel within some
fixed period—the interval named in such cases
being often unreasonably short—is only fair towards
the general body of shipowners, as it gives them
a chance of competing with the powerful
joint-stock companies embarked in steam-naviga•
tion enterprises. There is wisdom also in leaving the
competition open both to iron and wooden vessels;
and we are glad to observe that the Admiralty intend
in the first instance at least, to try the experiment of
offering only a short term—in this instance four years
—of guaranteed continuance of the contract. Here,
however, our commendations must end. Whilst, as
regards details, the Government seem prepared to
profit by the discussions of the last three or four
years, and particularly by the evidence laid before the
Select Committees of the last two sessions, it is too
plain that, in everything which relates to the prin-
ciples which ought to determine such a question, Sir
Charles Wood adheres as obstinately and blindly as
ever to the narrow and mischievous fallacies which
he developed, in the early part of 1850, in his famous
India House controversy. The limitation of the pro-
posed service to six voyages each way in the course of
a year—in other words, the adoption of an " alter-
nate-monthly "_instead of a " monthly" servid—is
fatal to the -esilbetejsaheine as regards the establish-
ment either of an efficient service via the Cape, or of
a satisfactory postal intercourse with the Australian
colonies. There is already a monthly screw-steamer
to the Cape, which is a full half of the distance to
Sidney. Extend that monthly line to an Aus-
tralian terminus, and the arrangement will be
effective, economical, and complete. But the
proposal to run once a month to the Cape,
and only once in two months to Sydney, is ab-
surd on the face of it. If the Cape route to Sydney
,is worth adopting at all, it is worth adopting in its
I integrity ; and it can only be so adopted by entering
into arrangements which will render the service effi-
cient and profitable—which will attract towards it
that large and constant traffic which is only to be se-
cured by the combined inducements of frequency, ex-
pedition, certainty, and cheapness. An alternate-
monthly steamer to Sydney Willa e a costly plan for
Government, a hazardous undertaking for the con-
tractor, almost useless as respects the colonies, and in
the highest degree unsatisfactory to the Australian
interests in this country. It will facilitate nothing,
develop nothing, and please nobody but Sir Charles
Wood. We are, however, led to believe that, behind
this proposal, there is a scheme of which the public
have as yet had no intimation. We shall be prepared
to see an advertisement issued by the Admiralty, be-
fore the end of the year, for such an adjustment of the
existing contract with the Peninsular and Oriental
Company as will permit that company to run a steamer
every alternate month from Singapore to Sydney; and
it is probable that, in the official notice which has just
made its appearance, we have before us only
half of the exquisitely ridiculous plan which
Sir Charles Wood has conceived for the
settlement of the long neglected Australian
mail question. The country will, we suspect, be
called upon—notwithstanding all the discussions
which have taken place, the evidence which has been
collected, the facts which have been established, and
the distinct recommendations which have been made
by Lord Jocelyn's Committee—to support some in-
geniously complicated scheme for reaching Sydney
twelve times a year, partly via Singapore, and partly
by way of the Cape. We have no hesitation in saying
' that a more delusive and unsatisfactory arrangement
could scarcely be imagined. We could understand a
plain and open preference either of the one route or of
the other—and the multiplication of risks and uncer-
tainties which such a scheme involves—all this consti-
tutes one of those peculiar exhibitions of perverse and
obstinate ingenuity which have already made Sir
Charles Wood's name the bye-word of his party. We
cannot hope that, under present circumstances, he
will relinquish the impracticable project of which the
recent Admiralty notice may be regarded as the first
development; but we are certain that, no matter
how it may be introduced and supported, it will not
succeed. It is no doubt in his power, by further
procrastination and delay, to inflict severe injury on
every interest connected with the Australian colonies ;
but in the end the Cape line will be adopted, and Sir
Charles Wood will only succeed in confirming and
improving the very peculiar and most undesirable
reputation which he has already acquired in connexion
with this question. As regards the average speed re-
quired by the contract, we do not think that the pro-
posed rate of Si knots is open to any valid objection.
It must be remembered that this part of the subject is
simply a question of cost. If the Admiralty think
proper to pay the price, they can have 10} as easily as
81- knots an hour; but the circumstances of the Aus-
tralian packet service do not call for any such extra-
vagance. In the communications with India and
America the case is different. On those lines
the public expect to have the highest speed
which, in the present state of science, can
be attained ; and when, either in consequence
of gold discoveries, or—which would be still
better—of the legitimate and healthy deve-
lopment of its resources, Australia shall have become
of as much consequence to us as India or America, we
shall be prepared to place the Cape packet line on
the same first-class footing as our communications with
those countries. In the meantime, however, it is
important that the public should clearly perceive the
absurd and mischievous nature of the present device,
which virtually tends to supersede the Cape line by
introducing a mere alternate monthly service. Noth-
ing could be more clearly established than the fact
of the practicability and desirableness of that line, as
shown ;by the evidence given before Lord Jocelyn's
Committee of last session. Many of the members of
that body, who entered upon the inquiry with a pre-
judice in favour either of the Singapore or of the Pa-
nama route, were so impressed by the testimony
adduced in favour of the Cape line, that they became
its active supporters, and the decided views enter-
tained by the Committee on the subject may be in-
ferred from the following paragraph of their first
report, which was adopted without dissent or opposi..
Lion :—" Your Committee consider that it has been
satisfactorily proved that, by the Cape, postal service
with England may be conducted with sufficient re-
gularity and rapidity to meet the present require-
ments of the colonies ; that it would bring into direct
csmmunication with each other the principal colonies
of Australia; that it would furnish the most econo-
mical, and, at the same time, the least inconvenient
means of transit to passengers, including even the
labouring classes; that it would offer facilities for the
transmission of merchandize without the inconve-
nience of transhipment; and that it would establish a
line of communication, independent of other nations,
between the mother-country and her distant colonies,
which might, in case of any sudden emergency, be
useful in keeping open the communication between
England and her Empire in the East." When it is
remembered that this passage is not the language of
partisans wedded by interest or prejudice to the ad-
vocacy of a particular project, but that it conveys
the deliberate judgment of a Select Committee of the
House of Commons, composed of men of all parties,
our readers will feel no difficulty in perceiving the
mischievousness of the course to which Government
seemed resolved on committing themselves.
me- -

COTTAGE ECONOMY.
BEER.—.. correspondent, who is a bee-keeper, ob-
serves he often hears cottagers complain of the difficulty
of paying their rent, and as an efficient means of doing
so, he recommends them to turn their attention to
bees. " I would advise," he says, young people,
as soon as they are married, instead of buying so
many fine paltry things into the house, to endeavour to
save a half sovereign, and buy a skep of bees. In two
years they can get a good stock, that will bring them in
money enough to pay their rent every year. I have
kept bees for twenty-one years, and have been very for-
tunate with them; the account of honey and wax pro-
ceeds for the last three years is as follows:-
1849. 221 lbs of honey, at 6d. per 1b.... £5 10 6
it 9 ditto wax, Is.6d ditto ... 013 6
1850. 131 ditto honey, at 6d. ditto ... 3 5 6
61 7 ditto wax, at Is. 4d. ditto ... 0 9 4
1851. 170 ditto honey, at 6d. ditto ... 4 5 0
64 8 ditto wax, at Is. 2J. ditto ... 0 9 4

'''''
t—
,
THE GREAT 1B lox,- ,_- `
Ex 7--
~,,,,,._ ... „,
. esterday the suns of 3,0051. 9s. as mien la 'Y'sarts‘)'"A
shillings at the doors, and 1/. fur the of trieason 1.4.:,41
ticket. The number of visitors ac rd's , -to the ',.. ‘-.21
police rbterns was 62,622. It will i :.. the
near approach of the time when the Exl b Ili A to ,1410.
be closed begins to tell upon the masses, and before
the 11th of next month it is expected that the popu-
larity of the great display will be demonstrated in a
manner the most unmistakeable and impressive. 'rho
sensation of freshness and the first delightful feelings
of novelty have gone, but a general conviction appear 3
Vto be entertained that the Exhibition cannot tenni-
nate in an unworthy or 'undignified manner, and that
1 that event will be celebrated by a ceremony which,
if not equal to the opening, will at least be worthy
of and in perfect harmony with it. In the mean-
time the sale of season tickets continues, founded
1 in all probability on the strength of that impression.
The best method of appropriating the surplus its
every day becoming a matter of greater interest,
and more keen discussion among the leading men
connected with the Exhibition. Upon one point
all the projectors seem ageeed—namely, that it should
be funded for future emergencies, and that the inte-
rest only should be considered available for such
schemes as it may be deemed expedient to carry out
in the meantime. This is an important matter on
which to secure unanimity ; for if, after a given
number of years, it is found desirable to have another
Great Exhibition, by a prudent economy at present
we shall have the means of doing so on a worthy
scale secured to us. There is something also in the
character of this surplus, coming to the Royal Com-
mission almost like a supernatural gift from the good
genius of the Crystal Palace, which forbids that it
should be expended on schemes of a hazardous and
doubtful character. If they let it slip through their
fingers they will not easily get such a sum of
money for the promotion of industrial exhibitions
again collected. It would be folly to rely on Go-
vernment for assistance, and the public might not be
disposed to support so warmly a second time with
their subscriptions an undertaking in the first ill..
stance recommended -by its novelty and by the direct
patronage of the Crown. Industry and provident
habits should go band in hand, and the Royal Com-
mission cannot do wrong in funding the surplus.
The unanimity that prevails upon this point is a
pledge that it will be so, but, before it is done, there
are; certain debts of honour which the Commission
have to discharge, and which it is in every way
desirable that they should meet in a liberal spirit.
When the plan of a great exhibition was still in em-
bryo, its expensiveness certain, and its success
doubtful, it was prudently determined to keep the
outlay incurred within the strictest control. A scale
of salaries and remuneration was, under the cir-
cumstances, laid down, totally inadequate to the
services to be performed, and so far was this carried
that some of the most important and indispensable
labours of the Exhibition have been discharged with-
out any recompense whatever. To specity names
would be invidious where so many have been pe-
cuniary sufferers, by an undertaking which their Wl-
tiring exertions and ability mainly brought to a tri-
umphant termination. The Commission, however, are
quite aware of the facts. To stop short in the midst of
a man's regular pursuits, and to devote many months
entirely to an episodical scheme like the Exhibition,
is no ordinary exercise of self. denial and risk for a
public object. To do this, and to be shabbily paid
for services of the most arduous and responsible
character, would, with a large surplus in hand, be a
case of extreme hardship and injustice. If the
Commission chose to stand upon the strict letter of
the law, they could saddle the contractors with a
heavy loss for having dared to build the Crystal
Palace ; they could dismiss Mr. Paxton with an
empty expression of thanks for his brilliant design.
They could quietly overlook the claims of such men
as Professor Ansted and Dr. Lindley, bringing to
their gratuitous labours the highest scientific attain-
ments. Even their Executive Committee might be
coolly set aside, with one of its acting members,
entirely unrewarded, and another with his previous
position unimproved and his paramount claims unre-
cognised. The public do not feel as much at present
as they will do when they have had more time to con-
sider how the praises. the honours, and the rewards
connected with the origin and fulfilment of the Great
Exhibition should be apportioned. Their eyes are
naturally drawn to the formal and official heads of
the undertaking, and the merits of those who have
worked under them and been content to veil their
exertions under the shade of a subordinate position,
have been concealed from view. These things, how-
ever, cannot always remain unknown, and as it is one
of the most conspicuous features of the great indus-
trial display in Hyde-park to raise up obscure talent
and proclaim excellqnce from wheresoever it comes,
we trust that the Royal Commission in dealing with
their staff of officials will set a worthy example of the
principles they recognize. They did not originate
the scheme of the Great Exhibition—they did not
watch over it during its precarious infancy—they
did not get the Prince to stand godfather to it, and,
with a boldness unusual among Royal personages.
pin his name aad reputation to its success. The un-
dertaking had been well developed, and taken a firm
bold upon the public mind before the Commission
existed—nor will it escape observation that the list
of Commissioners does not contain one individual
except the Prince whose name can be considered as
largely mixed up with the Exhibition from the oat-
-set. This is not said in disparagement of their use-
fulness, for that has been undoubted. They concen-
trated an immense amcunt of favourable influence
upon the undertaking. They raised it above any
suspicion of jobbery or partiality, and they gave it
that prestige of high supervision to which in this
country so much consequence is attached. Individual
members, especially Lord Granville, rendered most
important, services, and the proceedings of the body
have, on the whole, been characterized by great
judgment and good sense. Still it is necessary to
bear in mind that the chief credit and éclat of the
Exhibition do not belong to them. Upon this state of
matters comes the question of remuneration ; and, as
the surplus is a fair fund upon which to draw for such
a purpose, the distribution of rewards which must take
place may easily be managed in such a way as to satisfy
every reasonable expectation. The Commission seek
to propitiate exhibitors and jurors by an extensive dis-
tribution of medals, certificates, and reports. Their
staff of officials is more under their control, and less
likely to be obstreperous, should the claims of its mem-
bers be overlooked. I'lre cannot, however, suppose
that as a body the Royal Commission can be capable
of such ingratitude as their legal position enables theta
to practise with impunity. They have not yet, it is
true, shown any decided inclination to lay the honours
and praises which have been heaped upon them at the
feet of the subordinates, but perhaps they are reserving
their acknowledgments for the close of the Exhibition,
and are preparing to publish the awards to their staff
contemporaneously with those of the j uries to exhibitors.
Two additions have recently been made to the
United States' department which are well worthy of
notice. The first is the Maynard primer, a substi-
tution for the percussion cap, which is simply a coil
of paper, at intervals in which spots of detonating
powder are placed. The action of the doghead car-
ries out from the chamber in which it is contained
this cheap and self-acting substitute for the ordinary
guu apparatus, which is a vast economy in expense as
well as in time. In its character the invention is on•
which admits of being easily adapted to every de-
scription of firearms at present commonly in use, and
that at a trifling cost. Another remarkable addition
to the American department is a service of gold
plate, presented to Mr. Collins, of steam navigation
celebrity, by the city of New York, and the metal
composing which was, only three months ago, still
lying undiscovered in the diggings of Cafforisia.
Within that wonderfully brief period the gold has
been found, brought to New York, and manufactured,
without alloy, by Messrs. Ball, Tompkins, and Black,
into a series of articles highly creditable to their good
taste. There is nothing in the Exhibition at all com-
parable to the auriferous brilliancy of colour which
this Californian plate possesses, and for that reams
alone it is well worthy of inspection. One of the
patent bank locks which Mr. Hobbs recommends it
at present in the hands of an expert English mechanic,
who is endeavouring to pick it. Mr. Hobbs has, it
is said, afforded to our countryman every facility
that was at all reasonable, and has even handed over
to him another lock exactly similar to that on which
he is operating, in order that he may have the moat
ai
complete means for examining the pnciple on which
it is constructed.—Morning Paper.

THE FATAL FIRE AT ROTHERHAM; _Mt, Badger.
the coroner, held an inquest on Monday, on view of the
bodies of Ann Nicholson, aged 82, and Jane Taylor, her in-
fant granddaughter, whose deaths were caused by the con-
flagration which took place at the Black Horse, Rotherham.
on Sunday morning. The calamitous circumstance has
made a deep impression on the public mind, and it engrosses
a great degree of attention from the fact of Mrs. Nicholson's
grandson, Joseph Nicholson Kaye, being sutipected of hav-
ing designedly set fire to the house. He and his grandmother
have frequently quarrelled about money matters. 10/. in
cash, and a number of silver spoons, are missing from a chest
in an upper room. Mrs. Harriet Taylor identified the bodied
of her mother and daughter, and stated that her mother and
Kaye (witness's own son by a former husband) had PI!:
quently quarrelled about money, and some property that!!".,l
been left to 'witness by her brother. Kaye had tils
Total in three years ... ... £l4 13 2 ,to know where deceased kept her money. Police-serge
Per year .........4 14 4i
This will psy the rent and leave a few shillings b3sides riddled, in hof the old
, Hudson said he had caused twheonaruabnbaishvailnuata?kitbcuhtebnatohl4
f search
only After
someound further
to put into the pook,As.—l am yours obediently,
" JAS. PETTIS,
—Chelmsford Chronicle. Mashbury. - ! have ample opportunity of proc
„ adjourned to TthhluelirrsecdvoaplydpeNenvreceeakih,daidntbohEuneerrint"o-t-thrgellaft°:oatrhtheeluerPolirnliar.qigupogerwmitrtgaallant
evidence.
TELEGRAPH IN BRITISH NORTH AmmaicA.—The
wire between Quebec and Halifax, including the submersionprofuse.ccatAertsboir:
pisheasangenetrallnnly
in the gulf of St. Lawrence, is Rood, and in some p laces.
coddling, one branch of which:,
nearly completed. Anewh eis a Keswick c
thirty-three
feature, alike feasible for adoption, but a Welland, t er
The apple crop in
of in this country, has been introduced
p pi
na rAenmt leyr
in,
ao—t tthhoautg ho
ft NV r
marking the dlittuace by railway 9D, the telegraphic poles, sC , each apple
__,Gloucestershire Chronicle. 1
i
burthtwapopfleeebt
eloinngg,frob anis cslouvsetne rteod
eiugphotujuitaioincir faerpouplada.
given ranges.