The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-16 00:00:00

Lc and the Adriatic—a power which would en

lighten and not alarm Europe-=-a power which
would inaugurate an era of prosperity and gran-
deur to which no one could point out a limit." Italy
free from the Alps to the Adriatic—" such," ex-
claimed M. FAVRE, " was the promise made to Italy
and to the world by France when ready to enter on
the campaign." Yet, after alluding to the reiterated
defeats experience by the Austrians, he insisted
that the object of the war had not been obtained !
In point of fact the treaty of Zurich, the armistice of
Villafranca—constituted, each of them separately,
both of them together, a miserable anti-climax to the
majestic Milan Proclamation. It was a magnificent
project, not a doubt of it, this design of liberating
Italy from the Alps to the Adriatic—this dream of
rendering free the whole of the Roman Peninsula-
-this halcyon vision of " Italy for the Italians,"
whether under one ruler or under several rulers,
whether with the new title of a Kingdom or of a
Confederation. Has not Lord BYRON when speak-
ing of Greece, in the name of the Greeks, at the
mere mention of POLYCRATES, exclaimed with a
sort of agonised rapture even over that painful re-

membrance—
" A TYRANT I But our masters then
Were still at least our countrymen !"
As thus at the mere thought of Greece for the Gre•
cians—so at this project of Italy for the Italians ! I
was a project superbly commenced—apparently for
some little time in a fair way towards its realisation.
But—"O most lame and impotent con clusion"—th ere
followed hard upon the heels of the victory of Sol•
ferino—the truce of Villafranca ! "In the same
way," said M. FAVRE, " that it had only depended
on one will to declarn war, so it had depended on
one will alone to put an end to it, and to leave un-
finished a work in which the dignity and the inte-
rests of
,the country were involved;" and, in so
speaking, he "declared that he did not make this
remark by way of criticism—that went bLyond
his right—but he considered it as his duty to
point out the fate of his country, and to make
France understand that she had placed herself
under the hands of a master!" Certainly a
very startling reminder heard in the Tribune,
and reported in the Moniteur. So bold at last be-
came the comments and criticisms of M. FAVRE,
that the hon. deputy was at length interrupted by
the President, the Count DE MORNY, who observed
that, while (as the Chamber would certainly do
him the justice to admit), he had allowed
M. FAVRE the fullest latitude to express
his opinions, he must now remind that representa-
tive that it was not to be permitted that he should
forget the respect due to the Sovereign." Adding
that "M. J. FAVRE had reproached the EMPEROR
with that which was his best title to the admiration
of the country,_ namely, his moderation in the hour
of victory, and his constant solicitude for the
interests of France." And certainly it must
be allowed even in regard to the Italian
policy of the reigning Emperor of the FRENCH,
his Majesty is faithfully carrying out to the
letter the famous axiom of the great founder of
his dynasty—Tout pour: la France ! Only it
happens that that" little-a// " includes just now—
Savoy and the Savoyards ! And not only
that—it swallows up the honour of the Empire and
the solemn promises of the Sovereign. It can
hardly be wondered at therefore that criticisms
should still be indulged in even in the French
Tribune, even as now reported in the official head
of the French press, the Itioniteur—sharp and
searching criticisms upon a policy sketched out so
clearly in the proclamation of Milan, and falsified
so disastrously in the armistice on the morrow of
Solferino, and the melancholy sequels to the
armistice of Villafranca !

Now for the real tug of war. The Treaty and
Budget have been all but carried, though two
not unimportant points—the wine licenses and the
paper duties—remain yet to be settled. The Bank-
ruptcy Bill ought not to be regarded as a party
question ; it is an admirable project as a whole;
lawyers on both sides have spoken well of it, and
we may hope that so valuable and necessary a
measure will by common consent be exempted
from all the mischiefs of partisan warfare. But
the Reform Bill is quite another question. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer always possesses many
facilities for carrying the house by storm. There
are numerous members on both sides who can
hardly be brought by their own party to vote
against any budget; the money must be had,
and no one likes to refuse. Quite the _ oppo-
site is the case with any " Poor little
Bill" on Representative Reform. Almost
every member has something to say against it.
Hardly one is there who does not think it goes too
far or net far enough, hardly one who does not
question whether it leaves his re-election as hopeful
as it was before ; and not one who would not most
thank fully put off sine anno, the passing of a Re-
form Bill—especially is he unwilling to help one
forward, which, in addition to all unpleasant possi-
bilities, has this most unpleasant certainty, that the
year of its passing must be followed by a general

caulay.

'THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING; APRIL' 16, :1860.

it is far lighter than it once was, and is brighter
than that which is still drawn of the chief towns
of England and the large cities of Europe. Ten
years ago the annual mortality of the city was
rarely less than 25 in the 1,000 ; and we are
told by the Registrar-General that the death-rate
of our large towns at the present time is little short
of 26 in the 1,000. Our present condition is 19
per cent. better than that; and we owe it to the
sanatory labours of the last ten years. Even five
years ago, the average mortality in the city was
as high as 3,190 in the year ; but in the course
futir years; ines., fruits of tho:v.2,

lat' as have begun to rioc,n, tae number has fat!

to I.li a,crige of 2,902; ai.ti it is no small tiii;6 Li)
have brought about the saving of nearly 300 lives
in the year, and that, too, in the midst of difficul-
ties of no ordinary character. The chief towns of
England, with their high mortality, are not subject
as we are to the unwholesome influences of an ex-
cessive overcrowding. Here the inhabitants are
so thronged together that from 131 to 291 must
find room upon an acre. No such condition of
things as this is forced upon the towns of England
—for the density of their population is rarely above
50 on the acre—and yet their mortality ranges from
24 to 36 in the 1,000. We have reason, therefore,
for congratulation that the sanatory state of the
city is as good as it is, and that the untoward cir-
cumstances which are forced upon us by our neces-
sities are kept so largely in cheek."
It appears from the earlier tables of the report
that " the greatest strain upon a city life is during
childhood and mature age." The mortality of
children during the first few years of their exist-
ence is somewhat startling. During the past year
the deaths of infants during the first year of their
age has amounted to nearly one-fifth of all the
births, 608 having died out of 3,260 born: In
some parts of the City the rate of infant mortality
has amounted to 22 per cent., while in the rest of
London, as in all England, it is only from 15 to
15.5 per cent. These figures prove better than any
arguments the fatal effects of overcrowding and
want of ventilation and cleanliness on infant life.
With regard to deaths at more advanced periods of
life, there are other causes to consider. We must
not forget that a city life is generally one of close
and unremitting attention to business, often with
the depressing influences of care and anxiety.
Those who begrudge the city clerk or artisan his
Sunday excursion to the forest or the seaside, forget
what a refreshment to both body and mind is a
change of air and scene—a temporary escape from
the Weary routine and stifling atmosphere of their
daily lives. " The conclusion from all this is," says
Dr. Letheby, in summing up his statistics, " that
the circumstances of a city life are peculiarly try-
ing, for they increase the death-rate from a nor-
mal standard of about 17 in the 1,000 to nearly 23;
they double the mortality of the infant population,
and shorten the period of adult life from an
average ago of 60 to 51." The evil, as Dr.
Letheby ably proves, is self-sustaining ; it is not
confined to one generation, for the conditions which
enfeeble the parent, weaken the child, and the future
generations become less and less able to contend
against the deleterious' agencies. The great in-
fluences which shorten a city life, according to his
theory, are those which check the healthy nourish-
ment of the body, while they yet hurry forward the
movement of the vital powers. Thus mental wear
and tear and excessive demands upon the nervous
energy are too often accompanied by circumstances
which depress and exhaust the physical forces
The able and intelligent framer of the repor tis not one
who contents himself with statingthe self-evident and
immediate causes of disease and mortality; he aims
at discovering the influences which are secretly at
work, predisposing the sufferer to succumb unresist-
ingly to some pressing evil. The time is not far
off, in Dr. LETHEBY'S opinion, when it will be
thought necessary to extend the researches of sani-
tary science beyond its present area. It may be
long, perhaps, before it will be able to deal as suc-
cessfully with these more hidden but equally sinis-
ter influences as with the more apparent evils re-
sulting from over-crowding, dirt, and a deficient
and impure supply of air and water. It is,
however, comparatively but a short time since
the sad results of the infraction of these important
laws of nature were looked upon as uncontrollable,
and we have therefore grounds for hoping that
the injurious effects we see spreading around
us of that high pressure system, which is the
growing characteristic of our age, may yet be
counteracted and modified by a more advanced
state of sanitary inquiry, and a greater diffusion of
the principles of mental as well as of physical
science.

His Excellency the Prussian Minister and the
Countess do Bernstorff have returned to Prussia House
from visiting Lady Marian Alford, at Ashbridge Park.
His excellency and the countess will leave town to-day on
a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort, at Bad-
minton.

His Excellency the Earl of Carlisle arrived at
Stafford House on Friday night from Dublin, to stay a few
days with the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland.
The Lord Chancellor has arrived at Stratheden
House, Knightsbridge, from his seat in Roxburghshire.
The Duke and Duchess of Wellington will return
to Apsley House, on "Wednesday, from Strathfieldsaye,
where they have been passing the hslidays.

The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough arrived
in St. James's-square on Saturday evening from Blenheim
Palace, near Woodstock, for the season.

The Duke and Duchess of Argyll, accompanied
by the Marquis of Lorn and their youthful family, arrived
at their villa at Campden-hill, Kensington, on Saturday,
from passing the holidays at Weymouth.

The Duke of Newcastle and Lady Susan Pelham
Clinton come to town to-day from Clumber Park; Notts,
f'or the season.

The Duke of Bedford has been sworn in High
Steward of Cambridge, in the room of the late Lord Ma-

The Marquis and Marchioness of Downshire
return to their mansion in Belgrave-square to-morrow, from
East Hampstead Park, Berks, where they have been pass-
ing the holidays.

The Earl and Countess of Aralmesbury have
arrived in Whitehall Gardens, from Heron Court, their
seat in Hants.

Viscount Palmerston comes to town to-day from
Brocket Hall. Her ladyship will not return to Cambridge
House until Thursday.

Lord Stanley of Alderley has arrived at his resi-
dence in Dover-street, from Alderley Park, Cheshire.
THE QUEEN.—We believe there is a probability
of her Majesty's paying a short visit to Balmoral in the
month of May. We do not announce this as an arrange-
ment positively determined on, but we learn that the Queen
is anxious to see the Highlands in the spring ; and that a
sort of conditional promise was given, that her Majesty
would visit Scotland during the spring. We may there-
fore, perhaps, hear that her Majesty has determined to
spend her birthday this year at Balmoral. There is nothing
in the Court arrangements announced to prevent its being
accomplished.—Court Journal.

DEATH OF LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR HENRY E.
BuNnunY, Thum, K.C.8.--"We have to record the de-
mise of the above venerable baronet, who expired at an early
hour on Friday morning at Barton Hall, Suffolk, at the
advanced age of 82 years, having been born 4th May,
17T8.

DEATH OF A WELL-KNOWN ACTUARY.--Wei
regret to announce the death of John Finlaison, Esq., the
celebrated actuary and Governm-,nt calculator. lie died
Du Friday morning, at his residence, at Notting-hill, in his
77th year, nearly 50 of which were spent in the Govern-
ment service.

DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENTS.—Mr, J. S. Lumley
now Secretary to her Majesty's Mission at St. Petersburg,
is appointed Secretary to the British Embassy at Constan-
tinoplo, in the room of Mr. Alison, appointed to succeed
Sir Henry RasEason as Minister at the Persian Court.
Mr. E. S. Erskine, now Steretary of Legation at Stock-
holm, is appointed Secretary of Legation to the Mission at
St. Petersburg. Mr. Fdwiu Corbett, who was Secretary
to the late Mission at Florence, is appointed Secretary.,
,Legation at Stockholm,