The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-29 00:00:00

THE PERMISSIVE BILL.

An important meeting was held at Manchester on
Tuesday night in favour of the Permissive Bill.
Some of the leading men of the neighbourhood spoke.
Mr. Birley, the Conservative, member for Man-
chester, said he

"Had often felt that, however anxious they might
be to promote temperance, and however willing they
might be to impose sacrifices upon themselves, yet it might
be-a question how far they had a right to impose those
sacrifices upon others. But when he considered that in
the progress of legislation it was sometimes necessary
to curtail and diminish the freedom of the individual for
the general good, it certainly appeared to him that the
present was an occasion upon, which that principle might
be fully carried out. He believed that if the bill was
adopted in any large portion of a c'tc, that that portion
would become the favourite residenca of the respectable
inhabitants. It was distressing to know that, at
the present time, a respectable working man e ;pc.
rienced the greatest difficulty in finding a home for
his family in a locality where they were not exposed
to sounds and scenes which they ought not to see and
hear. Last year he visited many towns in Germany, nod
be made it his study
to see whether there were to be sewn
there the degrading
sights which met the eye at every
turn in this country; hut he observed a marked difference.
A degree of quiet and order prevailed in .the lower parts
of the towns which could not be found in this country
amongst the same orders of sock ty. The evil.of druhleen-
ness had risen to a height N% hich must be earnestly.
grappled with by both the people and the Legislature."

. .
• THE CAPTIVES IN THE 501.731AL1 COUNTRY.
During the excitement caused bythe-Successful
termination of the war in Abyssinia efforts were put
forth in this country, to obtain- an interest in some
very apocryphal white slaves, who, it was said,..were
being detained in the Soumali country. The .story
told was most romantic. A ship called the St. Abbs
had been wrecked off the coast of Soumali on the
west of Africa. Certain of the crew managed to
escape dro IT fling, and were cast up
.on the shore
where the " wild Africans" live. Those most interest-
ing persons had no pity on- the -.shipwrecked Sailors,
but took theminto the interior of the "country and
sold then'. for slaves. That they were still alive was
said to have been attested by certain: inscriptions on
the skins which came from- the neighbourhood where
they were supposed to be held 'in bondage. The
story was investigated. how it arose nobody knew.
Certain it was that nearly every statement on which
it might be supposed to rest fell to the ground. Thera
were left only the two facts that a ship was wre3l,:cd,
tin,i that skins inscribed with Roman literals had
conic to the coast. This was considered sufficient to
call for a private expedition. The Oovernment
• ordered every inquiry to be .made. fir. IL A.
Churchill, C. 8., her Majesty's political agent at Zan-
zibar, writes to the Foreign Office reporting that Mr.
Heale, who had been sent to Brava, has learnt nothing
respecting the men. The sum of 8100 was offered
for every captive, but no response was made
during the six -n:onths that Mr. Bede was at Brava
front an:7 1-41.rter, although the most influential
.444Q1 Ufikva Qa4uic teatffix luaawalairiainas,,,