The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-06 00:00:00

Hunt on, Stammering. Second Edition. Long►.na

ana Company.

Unquestionably the most popular treatise ever
given to the world upon the affliction variously
known as Stammering, or Psellismus, or Stutter..
ing. It recounts in a very readable form the par-
tictila:s of the "Life" of the late Thomas, Hunt,
the memorable Originator of the System for the
Cure of Stammering. It explains that beautiful
and himane system, and, in doing so, indicates
rapidly. and succinctly the character amd, be it said,
also tne cruelty and inadequacy of the various
systems hitherto in vogue for the Cure of. Impedi-
ments of Speech. James Hunt, the son. of the late
Thomas Hunt—the " worthy son of a warthy sirs"
—is tie author of the volume compriving this
really admirable treatise—and this no lesii admir-
able biography. The system explained in the
course of the work under notice—a remarkable
work, of whichithe present is the "second edition"
considerably enlarged—was simply, it may btu .re-
marked (in the apt words of the writer of a grac:e-
ful obituary notice of the late Mr. Hunt), a ph in
for teaching the sufferers by " the plainest coi n-
mon-sense directions, the means of restoring n a-
ture to its functions," functions " perverted said
counteracted by evil habits, or the curious infec-
tion of involuntary imitation." Mr. Hunt abhor. red
the employment of the knife—maintaining ti iat
not one case out of fifty was really the result; of
either deficient or distorted organisation. Closing
the volume, after an unaffectedly respectful tEE-
amination of its contents, we bid God-speed to the
benevolent Scheme, of which it is truly and lucidly
explanatory—remembering with honour, wiile vie
do so, the keen-sighted and large-hearted man wit()
was, humanly speaking, its Originator, and whit),
as its Originator, is entitled to recollection as on
of the world's practical philanthropists.

Jonathan Oldham. By J. Crawford Wilson-

Richard-Bentley.
We have often wondered bow it came to pass so
intelligent a body as the commercial travellers
have contributed so little to our current literature.
Few men have better opportunities for studying
mankind and becoming acquainted with the cir-
cumstances of domestic events at the fountain-
head, while to no class of individuals is accessible
a richer store of romantic incident and amusing
anecd)tes. Into the cause of this literary laches
we are not at present disposed to make inquiry ;
all we will say is, we trust the work before us will,
without any detriment to business, be the precur-
sor of many more of various types. The author of
these " Leaves from the Diary of a CommerciAl
Traveller" may or may not be a member of the
body himself ; ho writes, however, pretty much
as if he was, or had been, and the leaves of his
diary, if largely fictitious, may serve to indicate
what may be achieved with facts, which it is truly
said are often stranger than fiction. The work
embraces but one journey from Euston-square to
Dublin, from thence to Glasgow and Edinburgh,
aid back to London via Manchester. Plot or busi-
ness matter there is comparatively none—instead of
which we have a number of romantic, and more
or loss amusing and interesting stories strung to-
gether by means of a hero, who, f a little of " a
gent," is a good fellow at bottom, and is very pro-
perly rewarded with a pretty, well-behaved Wife,
who was previously, as is often the case, a bit of a
romp. During perusal we have here and there
hit on something we fancied we remembered to
have seen before, and on turning to the preface
found the author had rechristened a notable hero
of his, whose adventures a while back amused the
readers of Bentley, to wit, " Benjamin Bobbin,"
being moved to the act by having, in obedience to
Mr. Bentley, added to, and altered " Benjamin "
so far that only with difficulty he could be recog-
soiderat.
nised. As a first attempt in prose " Jonathan" is
very creditable to its author. Leaving' this fact,
mhouweehvseur,rpernitsierdelyifouhet
does
ecsonn t
find 1011, we shall be
composi-
tion more profitable than prose
poetr f he y— or has
.suc-
ceeded in producing a very readable and amusing
book, which is more than canb done with most
of the poetry so called of the
present day.

NEW Music. The Eglantine Waltzes. By Frank
13. Tussaud. F. Moutrie.
A bouquet of four sweet little waltzes, clustered
together in the name of the mellifluous Eglantine.
Companions to another group, strung together
by the same daintily ingenious hand, under the no
less agreeable designation of the Violetta. Mr.
Frank Tussaud is fast creating for himself a double_
reputation, as a very charming song-writeroa_n d
84 composer of dance-music, not unworthy beat-
ing a melodious ihythm to the
toe," lending a new charm to what has been
"light fantas fantastic
ecstatically called the Poetry of Motion !

uhpaaivsittnohglleoasheodt
---
SUICIDE TN HORSZMONGER•LANE GeoL.—Yestarday
morning Samuel George Lucas, aged 37, a married ran,
having a family of three children, committed suicide in
the Surrey County Gaol. 'He was charged with burglary
at Epsom, and examined before the county magistrates
on the 28th ult., by whom be was remanded until yes.
terday for re-examination. On the turnkey going to his
was found lying on his back on
cell in the morning, he
the floor quite dead. It appeared that he had fastened
his stockings round his neck, and fixed the ends to the
the incursions
bar over the doorway ; but his weight had broken the
stockings, and he fell down. The tightness round his
neck, however, Ptrangled him.
to capturehs
SHOOTING A RAT.—On Wednesday a most dangerous
accident occurred to Mr. W. C. Burniston collector of
familyo f taxes,
a ratSh Suffolk-road,
had for
of ltokhr-
the
ooamd
cellar,e, from
tim
aen
been
eh
ehenad annoyed
in bursting
vaii
kobfny
tried
the intruder with a trap. On Wednesday the ratvden-
tured intopi
stthl,k
droveitchen,i
it into
11 1 rt
h.
eB
garden,urnisto
at it as it stood with its head buried in the snow, as the
a horse
ostrich hides its head in a bush. The pistol burst at the
onl
was t
fractured
afcotruer forehead, d
in,
w sta breech, and shattered the stock to pieces. Parts of it
struck Mr. Burniston on the hand, which.
was severely
injured, the thumb being almost torn off. The barrel
hits
ku l h
down; and on a surgeon being called in, it was found
h
fractures were removed, and no depressiensof the brain
e
having taken place,
that
struck
at
th
estwo
or instantly
three knocking
iackicengg. him
the injuries
not likely to prove fatal. The accident is believed 'to
, though dangerous, are _
.y.
have arisen from the pistol, which had not been in use
for some 111011t118, having been imperfectly cleaned about
two months
ago, Mr. Burniston is progressing very
ivrourabi

METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.

(Front the Timer.)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief
Commissioner of Public Works, and a deputation

of the Metropolitan Board of Works had a meeting
on Thursday to discuss one of the most important
points connected with the new sewage scheme—
namely, the cost of the works, and the method of
providing for the expenditure. To this complexion
we must come at last. If we still wish that the

town shall be effectually drained of its complicated
pollutions—if we are still of opinion that in the
improved sanitary condition of the metropolis we
shall get a quid pro quo for the money which we
shall certainly be called on to disburse in order to
carry our design into effect, we must not shrink
from handling the estimates. Let us, then, at
once look at the ugly side of the question. The
Chairman of the Metropolitan Board applied to
the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the sum of
4,000,0001., as the amount of expense which we,
the ratepayers, shall be called upon to meet. We
need not, of course, be very diffuse upon the point
that it was not Mr. Thwaites' idea that the charge

for the drainage of the metropolis was to be thrown
upon the backs of the general contributors to the
national income. The request of the Metropolitan
Board amounts to this—that Government should

borrow the money upon the best possible terms,
and then lend it to the Board, and to their suc-
cessors. The rateable property of the metropoli-
tan area is the security offered for the loan. It
is asked that Government should endorse this
security, so that the money may be obtained on
better terms. The present rateable value of the
property o
fr--ere. 4 in security is 11,150,000/., and it
is calculate that a rate of 3ad. would suffice to
repay tile loan in fifty years. The main drainage
scherr.le is to absorb about 3,000,0001. of the money
so borrowed ; the other million is to be devoted to
the payment of arrears which have been cast upon
the present Board, and to various metropolitan
improvements. When we add that this sum of
4,000,0001. is to be paid in by the lender in quar-
terly payments, but so that at the least 1,040,000/.
shall be paid up every year, we have said enough
to put our readers in possession of the necessary
figures and facts updn which they are called upon
to form their decision.

Now, the metropolitan ratepayers will not shrink
from the expenditure even of so considerable a sum
as 4,000,0001., provided they are satisfied that they
are to receive their money's worth in exchange. We
are all agreed about the necessity of finding some
vent for the sewage of the town at a distance from
the metropolitan area, and of defecating the river
Thames. We are also agreed upon the point that no
half-measure will suffice. The work as done must
stand, and be sufficient for the end iu view. The
ratepayers will yield a far heartier and readier con-
sent to a larger expenditure for a proper and final re-
sult than to a lesser-expenditure with the probability
superadded that in a few years the work must be re-
commenced and the question reopened. This is not
only a question of policy, but one of d uty. . We are,very
properly, about to call upon our children and grand-
children to contribute their quota to the purification
of the town which they will inhabit when we, who
have made the settlement, have long sinced passed
away. It is, then, our paramounCduty, as far as
human foresight may avail, to guard their interests
and to save them from the necessity of constantly
recurring expenditure. Let us, then, at once in-
sist on having a thorough measure in reference to
this sewage question. It appears from expressions
used by Sir Benjamin Hall at a recent interview
with a deputation from the Metropolitan Board,
that the Government does not disallow the prin-
ciple that, beyond a certain point, the ratepayers of
the metropolis have a right to look to the general
taxpayers of the country for assistance in carrying
out a larger and more magnificent scheme for the
drainage of the metropolis of the empire. We do
not shrink from doing our part, and doing it
liberally, but when we have fairly comp ied with
the terms and spirit of the recent act it stems but
reasonable that the nation should help is in the
execution of a national work. Let us, iowever,
for the moment confine ourselves to the mmediate
subject of the conversation which occurred on
Thursday in Downing street. The Chairman of
the Metropolitan Board wants the Governnent to
assist him in borrowing 4,000,0001. for the purpose
of executing certain works ; but what works ?
We protest most emphatically against the principle
that the Government is to find the mune: first,
and then that the Beard of Works is to devise a
`method for getting rid of it. There will be no kind
of difficulty in ritterina and jobbing away
4,000,0001., but we would not put the very best
officials in the presence of such a temptation. The
facts at present stand thus :—The Metropolitan
Board has produced a plan for carrying down the
metropolitan sewage to Erith, or thereabouts, ard
for discharging it there into the river. The Chef
Commissioner of Works has put his negative rn
this plan for alleged non-compliance with the spirit
of the act of Parliament. The moot points between
the dissident functionaries are still under discus-
sion, and, although it is possible that they may
ultimately arrive at some agreement, this agree-
ment will represent, not the best plan for draining
the metropolis, but the result of a compromise be
tween adverse disputants. The ratepayers will
look with the greatest suspicion upon such a set-
tlement, because they will be well aware that it is
no settlement at all. In a few years time the screw
will be put upon us again, and the language then
held will be—" You cannot stop short now ; you
have already sunk 3,000,0001. or 4,000,0001. in
the execution of these works. Time, which proves
all things, has proved that they were not adequate
for the ead in view. The alternative now is to
spend a million or two more, or to acquiesce in the
conclusion that the original expenditure has been
fruitless and thrown away. The river is still f ,ul,
the town still unwholesome, but with a little sup-
plementary budget we can put this all to rights."
Experience has shown us in such cases that there
is nothing for it but to make fresh sacrifices with
the best possible grace ; for whatever may be the
feelings of the patient, his reason tells him that
he must escape from it, at whatever cost.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, we trust, will
_ _

not give the assistance of the Government towards
the borrowing of half-a-crown on account of the
Board of Works until a final and satisfactory plan
has been devised for carrying off the sewagerof the
town. If he does so he will simply evoke a spirit
of discontent and anger which will endure against
every
successive Government until the question is
settled n some other way. When the money is
once provided the Board will have it all its own
way ; the attention of the ratepayers will be called
away to other objects of more immediate, though
not of greater real intersst. In the end, this great
811 M °I 4,000,000 i. will be
spent nobody will know
how, and we shall but have exchanged one nuisance
for another. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had
Thursday that itteeefsee, and the spirit to declare, on
present and to come,
the animus of the ratepayers,
for theloan which thee' constituted the real iii:curity
to guarantee. Fran Government were called upon
terms be held to the ere
Boards would, no doubt, in
utien of contracts entered
into by their predecessors, If they made default in
the payment either of interestS.
pt incipal a rnanda.
mus might be procured from or
All th the Queen's Bench
which would soon bring the metropolitan
this
repudia•
tors to their senses. is is true enough, but
what Government would bequeath such a legacy of
discord to its successors ?
warfare of the most irritating kind wdould be open
between th(
Government of the day on the oneln
Londoners on the other. Why shouldde and the
the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, without any correlative
stake ---
advantage, invest the public money or the
public credit on such stormy credit? This reason-
soiling, however, only applies to the case in which
the scheme for draining the metropolis should he
found justly tainted with suspicion.
Let us have
such a plan as will recommend itself to the assent
of the ratepayers by its obvious sufficiency amrco ea-
pleteness, and all such objections will d
drop at once.
The ratepayers, seeing that a goo bargain has
been made for them, would cheerfully carry out
their part of the con ract. Our children, too,
when their time comes for dealii g with debits and
credits, seeing that their fathers did the best for
them which could be done, will not be reluctant to
pay the share of the price of a clean London. At
present Mr. Thwaites is clearly putting the cart
before the horse. We must have the plan first,
and he shall have the money afterwards, if we ap-
prove the plan. Now, is it not true that the plan
which he and his fellows have brought forward
bas been devised under the simple idea of Satl3-
!Png the terms of the act in the most meagre
Manner possible ? He has we think, erred even
as to the feelings of his constituents. What we
want from the Metropolitan Board is not the most
economical plan which can be devised, but the plan
which will
best
and combine economy with a satisfac-
tory result;it cannot be said that to throw the
sewage of
Londonwashed backwardsand
into the river at Erith, to be
forwards by the flux and
reflux of the tide, is asatisfactory result. If the
at all, l
work is to be doneet it be done in a man-
ner worthy of the City and of the nation, or 1,7,4, us
stop as we are. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
will best consult the wishes
payers and the credit of his of the London rate-
-8 own administration by
withholding all assistance from the Metropolitan
Board until they have produced a really satisfac
tory scheme for draining the metropolis.

CRYSTAL PALACE. ONE SHILLING DAT, Friday,
Dec. s.—Admissions on payment, 287 ; ditto by season
tickets, 181; total visitors, 463.