The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-29 00:00:00

thing of all this had even been attempted to be '
commenced. It is not so long since that the greatest
of all British warriors, ARTHUR Duke of WEL-
LINGTON, towards the close of his career of more
than 80 years acknowledged his profound solicitude
as to what amounted, in his estimation, to the abso-
lute defencelessness of England against the perils of
any sudden invasion. This was at the beginning
of the first of a series of panics that have at length
happily resulted in our present preparedness. Sir
FRANCIS HEAD, among others who thought griev-
ously indeed of our dangerous plight, published a
big book demonstrating the unwelcome truth long
suspected that Britannia, by allowing her arms to
rust and her ships to rot, had, after 40 years' peace,
become peculiarly vulnerable. It was hardly pos-
sible to enumerate accurately the enormous num-
ber of the chinks in our ancient panoply ! The
rust is pretty well rubbed off at last by this time,
the uncounted flaws are nearly all repaired—Eng-
land is armed or arming can-a pie for any emer-
gency. And we have all been so thoroughly in earnest
in the good work—and Mr. BRIGHT for one has
again been proved to be so utterly void of any ap-
preciable influence at all upon the judgment of his
fellow-countrymen—that we are now, as we have
said, in this year of peace, spending upon our mili-
tary and maritime forces alone some £30,000,000,
or nearly one entire moiety of our appalling an-
nual expenditure of £70,000,000 !

What renders the situation of our present pre-
paredness yet more satisfactory is the conviction
we may now happily arrive at with confidence, that
in doing so we shall not in any way be self-deceived,
the conviction arising that there is no reasonable
probability of our very soon falling back again into
our former indifference. Indeed we have cause in
one sense to be in some sort grateful upon this
head to our dear friend and ally across the water
—who certainly gives us ample reason to keep ever
vigilantly upon the alert, and to have our weather
eye constantly open. The oldest and wisest amongst
us too raise their voices loudly and most persua-
sively, urging England to remain henceforth keenly
on the watch. Instance this, Lord LYNDHURST
in the House of Peers, and Lord ;BROUGHAM yet
more recently out of it. As to the former venerable
Ex-Chancellor, did not TENNIEL'S cartoon in Punch
illustrate by an admirable classic reminder the im-
portance of the warning addressed to his peers not
long since by Lord LYNDHITRST ?

As to the Chancellor of the University of Edin-
burgh, he too has, within the last few days, spoken
in a kindred strain down in the province thus ad-
mirably to the point—addressing himself not only
to his actual hearers, but beyond them, through
the press, to the entire population. Lord BROUGHAM
has said—" Now I have recently heard the state of
this country with respect to foreign nations at this
time frequently alluded to. We are in peace, pro-
found peace Nay, even in alliance with those who
used to be our enemies. Therefore I have no fear or
apprehension, no fear of anything happening to in-
terrupt this blessed condition of peace ; but for that
very reason I would be well, well prepared in case
of accident. And, therefore, I would not have any
of our neighbours, our allies, our friends beyond
the water, in Europe to take it amiss, or to be jea-
lous of those preparations, because preparations are
absolutely necessary on all hands, when Europe is
at this moment filled with armed men, and sur-
rounded with armed navies. Without any danger
of peace being broken, and without any jealousy of
any power whatever—one power more than ano-
ther—l do greatly rejoice from the bottom of my
heart—l rejoice to find that all over all this coun-
try there prevails the wise, the zealous, the indo-
mitable desire to prepare effectually for the defence
of the country." These are words that must surely
have their weight—words that, weighed in the
balance of public opinion, must make all the windy
nonsense of Mr. BRIGHT kick the beam. They are
the utterances, these words of Lord BROUGHAM,
the deliberate and profound utterances—not of an
alarmist, but of a wise, and far-seeing, and patriotic
Englishman.

The Duke of Bedford has, we regret to learn,
been suffering from indisposition, at his town residence in
Bel grave- square.
The Marchioness de San Carlos has arrived at
Paris from Spain, on a visit to her father, his Excellency
Senor Don Juan de Francisco Martin. The marquis accom-
panied his wife as far as Bayonne, and returned to Madrid
to attend the Cortes.

Lord and Lady Lindsay, and Mr. lt. Holford,
M.P., and Mrs. Holford, have arrived at the Queen's Hotel,
Upper Norwood.
His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir Gaspard
Le Marchant, Governor of Malta, accompanied by Captain
Graham, A.D.C., arrived at Price's Hotel, Dover-street,
on Sunday evening.

The 200th anniversary banquet of the Scots
Fusilier Guards will take place on Tuesday, the 19th
proximo, at Willis's Rooms, and not on the 18th, as stated
in error yesterday.
I3LINGTON PROPRIETARY SCHGOL.—We an-
nounced some days ago that two of the pupils from this
school had, within the last few weeks, gained open scholar.
ships at Oxford. Since then Mr. Candy, from the same
school, has been elected to an open scholarship at Wadham
College.

CRICKET.—THE Two ELEVENS.—This very ex-
citing match was commenced at Lord's yesterday, and it
will be seen by the subjoined score that it is a most inte-
resting contest. There were present upwards of 4,000
spectators, and we anticipate that that number will be ex-
ceeded to-day. The score is as follows :—All England,
first innings, 71 ; United, first innings, 89.

DROVE OF PIGS POISONED —On Friday a strange
case of poisoning occurred at Habton, in Yorkshire, which
will entail upon a farmer there, Mr. Barker, a serious loss.
It appears that some powdered hellebore, used for killing
lice on stock, had been found by one of the servants, and,
although labelled, was supposed to be " colouring," and
was mixed with milk. Being a failure, however, the mix-
ture was most thoughtlessly put into the pig-tub, and the
consequence was the poisoning of nearly a dozen valuable
pigs in the fold. Some are dead, and the rest are expected
to share the same fate.

MEMORIAL TO THE LATE BISHOP CARR.—It is
proposed to fill in the East and West windows of Bath
Abbey Church with stained glass as memorials of the late
Bishop Carr, Rector of Bath, and the late Thomas Bellot,
Esq., founder of Bath Hospital.
THE BOILER EXPLOSION AT WOLVERHAMPTON.
—Yesterday the inquest was held at the Horse and Jockey,
Wolverhampton' on the body of Bernard Burns, labourer,
who died in the South Staffordshire Hospital, on Saturday
forenoon, from the injuries which he received by the boiler
explosion on the previous Thursday at the Chillington Com-
pany's ironworks in that town. The evidence was chiefly
as to the construction of the boiler, and a verdict of " Acci-
dental death" was returned.
MATTHEW HENRY TESTIMONIAL—We have
pleasure in announcing that the Matthew Henry Memorial
is now approaching its coirpletion. The founda4 ion has
already been laid in St. Bridget's churchyard, in which
parish this eminent commentator odo-Holy Scripture re-
sided when he wrote his Commentary. There still exists a
deficiency of about £lO, and the committee feel sure this
need only be made public to secure a sum fully equal to the
expenditure incurred.—Cheshire Observer.

EXTRAORDINARY DEATH OF A BATTIER IN TIIE
SEKPENTINL-Mr. Bedford, the coroner for Westmi ster,
held a lengthened inquiry at the workhouse, St. George,
llanover-square, on Saturday, as to the cause of the death
.of Edward Reynolds, 42 years of age. It appeared from
the evidence that on the previous Saturday night the de-
ceased, after the time allotted to bathers, was found by
police-constable 522 A stripped to his shirt, preparatory to
bathing in the Serpentine, and was informed by him that,
as the hour appointed for bathing had elapsed, he forbade
his doing so. The deceased, however, persisting in his
original intention, the constable seized him by the shirt,
which the unfortunate man, after a brief struggle, slipped
over his head, and plunged into the water and was seen n,)
more, although he was represented to be an expert swim-
mer by several witnesses. Search was at once instituted
for the body and continued daily until last Friday when it
was found &Wing in the middle of the Serpentine. Ver-
dict, accidentally drowned.
LOSSES AMONG THE SHEEP STOCK IN TILE HIGH-
LANDs.—Tho sheep stock in the Highlands has already
suffered severely from the recent winter ; but we understand
hat in some districts, and particularly about Glenlyon, new
agencies, equally destructive, are now being felt to a consi •
derable extent. We allude to the depredations committed
by ravens, foxes, and other vermin. The ravens take ad-
vantage of the weak condition of the sheep, and., darting
down upon them, scoop out their eyes, and not unirequently
pierce their lower jaws in order to get at their tongues. A
good many sheep have been mutilated in this mAnner,
while the fox has caus.l much havoc among the very but
of the lambs. We understand that the gamekeepers are
exerting themselves to the utmost in carrying on a war of
extermination against those vermin; but in spite of their
diligence there will always be a remnant which take refuge
among the inaccessible rocks.—Perthshire Courier.