The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FBIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 15, 1869

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE CONFERENCE.
:VIENNA, Jun. 15.

AMERICA.

QUEENSTOWN, Jan. 15.

The Royal Mail steamship Russia, from New
York, arrived here at 3 a.m. to-day, with 70 cabin
passengers and 850,000 in specie. She landed 136
sacks of mails, and proceeded immediately for Liver-
pool. All well.

SOUTHAMPTON, Jan. 15.

The North German Lloyd steamer Berlin, from
Baltimore on the 2J inst., arrived here this morning
with 17 passengers for this port and Bremen, and a
large cargo, including 1,747 bales of cotton and 300
hogsheads of tobacco. No specie.

The Berlin experienced variable winds through-

out her passage.

THE WAR IN BRAZIL. 11
Rio DE JANEIRO, Dec. 24.

Telegrams from Paraguay, dated 12th inst. an-
nounce that the allies made a flank movement on
Villeta, and twice routed the Paraguayans. The
allies occupying Valeta. Augustura is also re-
ported to have been abandoned by the Paragnayans.

so much discussion on the subject of crime, renders
the appointment of his successor one of the most
pressing questions of the day. Mr. BRUCE'S task
of selection will not be an easy one, but we may be
sure that the public will not be satisfied with any-
thing less than a thorough revision and reorganisa-
tion of the whole system. Of course, iu a great and
populous city, we cannot expect to be altogether free
from crimes of fraud and violence, but the rapidity of
their increase amongst us, and the vast extent of
the criminal classes, are sufficiently startling to de-
mand immediate attention, and to justify the most
prompt and vigorous measures.

THE second report of the Irish Railway Commis-
sioners is an exceedingly satisfactory document. It
is not without much value as a contribution to our
knowledge on the general question of the State
management of railways, whilst the conclusions
drawn from the inquiry, as applied to the Irish
system in particular, are full of hope and encourage-
ment. It returns a satisfactory answer on each of
three points submitted for consideration. The
three great advantages to be derived from the
proposed departure from the ordinary rule, from the
preference of public to private enterprise in railways,
are the promotion of trade by the reduction of fares,
economy of management by concentrating the
various boards into one public department, and the
saving in interest which is secured by borrowing at a
uniform rate and under Government guarantee.
The first of these problems is by far the most diffi-
cult and doubtful, but, happily, the commissioners
had not to deal with an unopened question.
The experiment which is proposed in Ire-
land has long been tried in Belgium. Since
the year 1831 a portion of the Belgian
lines has been in the hands of the State ; and though
for some years they were worked at a loss, since 1852
they have been prosperous, and have invariably
returned a profit, small in some years and considerable
in others. Such a result as this is all that can be
desired, for, provided that the expenditure be covered
it is always a question whether any excess of income
should not be returned to the public in the shape of
cheaper and better accommodation. In this case it
was advantageously employed in reducing the original ,
cost of the lines. The Belgian authorities ascribe
the success of their management since 1852
to the reductions in the rates for goods. '
Certainly the figures are decisive enough. In eight
years the goods charges have been lowered 28 per
cent., whilst the traffic has increased 106 per cent. ;
£BOO,OOO has been economised in the cost of carriage,
and yet a large profit has been paid into the public
treasury. The reduction of passenger fares has
not been sufficiently long in operation to afford
any conclusive data of its results ; but •
though hitherto the receipts have decreased, the
authorities do not despair of a better issue on a fuller
trial. Applying the Belgian returns, with allowance
for difference. of circumstances, to the Irish system
of railways, the commissioners prepare themselves for
a total reductionof i 655,000 on the present receipts of
the traffic.

This apparently formidable loss is in reality a most
. favourable result. The reductions proposed are
so substantial that a great impetus to railway traffic
in Ireland must be the infallible consequence. The
charges upon goods are to be lowered in many cases
as much as 78 per cent., and in no case less than 50
per cent. The carriage of live stock is to be
' decreased 32 per cent. Passenger fares are to be
reduced 31, 45, and 42 per cent. for the first,
second, and third classes respectively. These altera-
tions are so sensible that the commissioners are
quit e justified in assuming that a considerable and
immediate increase of traffic will follow. But they
have not reckoned upon one farthing from this source
in their estimates, and all that is so gained
year by year will go to reduce the total loss
of £655,000. It is not to be doubted
that such a sum will soon be cleared off altogether.
The net result of these investigations shews that so
far as the decrease of fares is concerned the Irish
people may enjoy a benefit so real without the
slightest loss. The two other questions have not
given much trouble. Saving by concentration
of management and by consolidation of debt
have always been two of the admitted arguments in
favour .of State railways. The advantage of one
central government in place of the numerous expen-
sive boards which now control single railways, even
though the substitute must be a public depart-
ment, and still more, the gain by borrowing
at a low rate of interest on Imperial
security instead of the ruinous expedients by which
bankrupt companies are now kept alive, are self-
evident. The commissioners had only to calculate
the amount of saving from each of these sources,
and they accordingly reckon upon £BB,OOO a year as
the gain upon the debt and £32,000 a year as the
saving In management. As the entire receipts
of the Irish railways amount at present to no more
than £1,726,444, this sum is by no means to be
despised. Add such a saving to the certain increase

of traffic, and the benefit to the material prosperity
of Ireland—which will equally strengthen the
receipts—and it becomes evident that this Irish rail-

way budget is as favourable as could be h oped for.
The Government may undertake the th-.'rd great

work of Irish reform with perfect confiiencc .

THE LORD CHANCELLOR'S CHURCH TATRA )NAGS.
—The Lord Chancellor has presented the Bev- Hugh
Johnson llindley, M.A., incumbent of St. George"s, Ever-
ton, Liverpool, to the vicarage of Edlington, near Korn-
castle, vacant by the death of the Rev. W. Briscoe, M.A.;
and the Rev. John Scudamore Stanhope, -ILA., to ..the
rectory of Humber, near Leominster, vacant by the (loath
of the Rev. 0. Goodrich, M.A.

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falling off. It prevents baldness. It promotes luxuriant growth;
it causes the Hair to grow thick and strong. It rem, )vcs all
dandruff. It contains neither oil nor dye. In largo .ttles
Price Six Shillings. Sold by most Chemists and pert timers,
Depot, 266, High Holborn

management of the police force itself, the framers of LATEST INTELL LGENCE.
the memorial have plenty more to say. From the
time of the act passed in the year 1829 for the forma-
tion of the police for,;e no inquiry has been made by
Parliament into its efficiency or its management ; and
while the total charge for the metropolitan police in
1860 was £491,496, it had risen in 1867 to £660,034.
The memorialists believe that the police are too often
engaged in private services, while it has been found
necessary to discontinue some of the pillar posts for
lack of adequate protection. They have reason to
know that too much time is spent in military drill,
and they consider the police rate much too high.
They point out that thee city police rate is much less
than the metropolitan, and they wish to see the
control and finances of the latter placed under
the supervision of a representative board. The
memorial conclu les with the expression of
a conviction that the foregoing facts afford suf
ficieut groun is for a prompt and searching Par-
liamentary iniuiry into the present inefficient state
of the metropolitan police force, and into the alarm-
ing extent of violent and predatory crime. It is
quite evident that the public attention is now tho-
roughly aroused, and as it is a subject, regarding
which no man can even pretend to be indifferent, we
may look, without doubt, for some immediate legis-
lation. It is not unreasonable to hope and believe,
that the recent alarming progress made by the crimi-
nal classes will eventually prove to have been really of
service to the cause of order and justice. We all of
us are apt to find familiarity breed contempt, and the
constable has, perhaps, of late underrated the inge-
nuity and activity of the thief. The more demon-
strative branches of the profession of crime are evi-
dently now in vogue. But even the less dangerous
worthies are pests to society, and should be elimi-
nated from our midst. The death of Sir RICHARD
MAYNE occuriug just at the season of short days and
moonless nights, at a time too, when there has been

It is stated that England, France, Austria, Italy,
and Prussia have invited the Greek Government not
to insist upon a mere question of form, and thereby
prevent the peaceful arrangement of the pending
question. In this invitation Russia as yet has not
joined, and negociations on the subject are there-
fore being carried on with the Russian Cabinet.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, THURSDAY, January 14.
If there is such a possibility as a rational suicide, the
merchant of Vanvres who has ended his days
because he despairs of the state of politics
may lay some claim to that title. Such an
instance of political insanity is not without parallel.
A strange case of madness is now causing considerable
sensation at Paris. Father Mingeard, companion of the
illustrious Lacordaire, has gone mad. Your readers will
doubtless remember that this Christian orator was endowed
with the most exalted ideas of democracy, which he carried to
such an extent that the Government thought it necessary
to forbid his preaching, after a celebrated discourse on
behalf of the Poles. His political convictions, however,
remain as strong as ever, and there can be little doubt that
his enforced silence led to this melancholy result. Father
Alingeard suffers from political madness.
The Committee of Finance for the city of Paris has
published the budget report for the capital. The Journal
Officiel highly lauds this document. The good people who
pay the bill, though not adverse to the beautifying of their
city, do not express an equally enthusiastic approval.
The Tribunal of Correctional Police is coining down
rather heavy upon the duellists. Several have suffered
penalties during the last few weeks, and now six—
two principals and four seconds have just been
mulcted in a fine each, besides having to go through the
process of a public trial. It is satisfactory to find that the
Second Empire is doing something to repress this evil.
The law, however, is by no means so strict as it ought
to be.

The proposed bridge across the Straits of Dover crops
up occasionally. The Emperor, who takes a very lively
interest in the project, has examined the plans, and they
will shortly be submitted to several eminent engineers.
Whether the stupendous undertaking will ever be com-
menced I cannot say, but it has already gone through
much of the preliminary stage. The Channel has been
carefully sounded, and it is found that the depth varies
from 180 to 100 ft., in no case exceeding the former figure.
M. Boutet is the originator of the scheme, which finds
much favour here.

The consumption of horseflesh is on the increase here.
Not only is there a pretty brisk trade done at the public
shops, but it is quite an open question how much that
passes for beef is really horse. Many an Englishman who
has innocently sat down to a steak in a Paris restaurant
has unwittingly partaken of the new food. In Berlin
4,044 horses have been slaughtered for food during the
last year. The Langham banquet did not succeed in
dissipating English antipathy to innovations in food, but
the Continentals are by no means equally particular.

There is some talk that the Figaro will be sold for
£4o,ooo—a very fair price, I should imagine, for a [Paris
journal. M. de Sainte Beuve, who has gone over to the
Temps, receives less than £l,OOO for his yearly services.
This is indifferent pay for such a man, but then France is
not the land of the remunerative newspaper, and pro-
prietors are compelled to recompense genius according to
their pockets, and not according to its worth.
London rents are outrageously high, but they can hardly
outrun the prices demanded here. For the ground floor.
entresol, and cellars of a house in the Avenue Napol6on
£2,200 is to be paid, according to the terms of a lease, for
the first three years, and £2,880 for the next six.
The Journal de Liige gives an interesting incident
apropos of the illness of the Duke of Brabant. The young
invalid has a great passion for music, and much:of the long-
suffering which has excited such just admiration has been
due to the soothing effects of Orpheus. His mother,
perceiving • that he had a special taste for the harp,
resolved that none but Iherself should furnish him
with that distraction. In the midst of her melancholy
duties she has found time to learn the instrument, and,
thanks to an efficient harpist, now plays well.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.

METEOROLOGICAL RETORTS.

E st reme

Friday,
Jan. 15,
8 a.m.

Nairn
Aberdeen
Leith

Shlefds
Scarborough
Yarmouth
Fielder ...I
Cuz haven
Skud eau ea
Asdr ossan
Green castle
Holyhead
Liver pool
Valentia
Cape Clear
Roches Pt.
Penzance
Plymouth
Weymouth
Portsmouth
London
gpeGris Nez
Brest
L'Ot lent
Roch efcrt
Warr itz . • • •
Corunue
Brussels j

Parts ...•
dtrastourg,

29•57 f.
?29-66f.
29'58f.
29'59f.
29'57f.
29'68f.

29'96r.
30'03r.

S.S.E.
E.
S E.
S.
S.S.E.

N.B.
N. E.
E. N. E.
N. N. W.
N. N. W.
W. N. W.
W.N.W.
W.
W. N. W.
S.W.
B.S.W.
S.
N.W.

r.youm ......1
Toulon
Heart's Con-
tent 19 a.m.
local time) I

:4'2Cr.

S.S.E.

S.S.W.
S.S.W.

S.E.
S.S.E.
S.S.E.
E.
S.Y.

'o'7s
'o'4s
'062,
!o'3l
0.20'

E. S. E.
E. S. E.
S.
S.IV.
S. E.
S. W.

o. c.'
c ro
r. c. I
c.o. j
o. c.
o. re
c. o.
r.o.

E..E.

S.S.E.