The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-19 00:00:00

slap _of-the. tnited .Church ..of- England and -Irelands-
enjoying profits, privileges, and hononrs on the condition
of advocating the rights of that Church, and preserving
her faith and defending her privileges. Why do our
bishops sit in the House of Lords except to maintain the
constitution of the country in Church and State? The
Bishop of St. David's " has no misgivings." It would
have been more becoming if he had some. There is a law
of " propriety " for bishops as for other clergymen. That
law bids them go with their order, stand by their
order, vote with their order. While the clergy do
this they-may be unpopular, but they will be respected.
When they go against their order, they may catch a
momentary applause from the ruck of Liberals,
but they inspire no respect• in those who applaud
them. Treachery to one's own party, and desertion of
one's own order, are offences which, like virtue, reward
themselves. Englishmen love pluck, and they love con-
sistency. They despise cowardice and they hate inconsis-
tency. The duty, plain, unmistakable, and clear, of the
bishops in the House of Lords, is to vote for the interests '
of the United Church, and to give expression in Parlia-
ment to the feelings of the clergy. If they do this with
courage the Liberals will fear them; if they do it with
consistency the Liberals will respect them. The Bishop
of St. David's treats the greatest Constitutional question
that has been opened for years with the arguments of a
lawyer, and in the spirit of a Whig. When the Liberal
majority which follows Mr. Bright demands that the
bishops sball no longer sit in the House of Lords, how
many voices will be raised in favour of the Bishop of St.
David's being any longer continued there? It will be no
sacrilege to move him from thence. Out of his own mouth
he shall be convisted that his high position is not owing to
his " superior. sanctity." It certainly cannot be de-
fended on the ground of " local need or general use-
fulness."
The Economist says that the main evil is the coining
committee. No great work will bear the emendations of
a hostile critic. Every great law has certain principles
which make it what it is, and which filled the mind of
those who drew it, and which cannot be touched without
marring its symmetry and impairing its results. Unques-
tionably all great laws.ought to be revised by many minds.
The authors and draughtsmen are sure to exaggerate
much, and to forget much. But then the second minds
should be in harmony with the first. The interpellations
should be of a piece with the original, because the alterers
were like the creators. But an Irish Church Bill passed THE PUNISHMENT FOR ASSAULTS.
by the present House of Commons and revised by the The Star calls attention again to the law of
House of Lords is as if the poems of Wordsworth had been assaults, a propos to two cases which have recently
interpolated by Lord Jeffery, or the Bank Charter Act been heard before the metropolitan magistrates. A
amended by Mr. Tooke. The drawers liking one colour person at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, who was
and the changers liking another, the results cannot match. remonstrated with for picking some flowers in the
The Marquis of Salisbury says with masculine vigour that saloon, had deliberately cut open the cheek of one of
the House of Lords may alter details on which the nation has the attendants with a diamond ring, which he
not thought, but must submit to principles on which the carefully adjusted before clenching his hand. A
farmer, who appeared at another
of court, had
nation has spoken. And nothing could be better if there
were a judicial arbitrator, some authoritative supreme raintleoulirohnoiziboacwkeraemsoutillgthaorrnutemerselvensuirsn eomnao
osf
court to decide which is which, to say where principle his hayfields, and lashed them 'out of it with his whip.
ends and where detail begins. But, unfortunately, the He was fined a pound, and the gentleman with the
Chamber which hates the principle has to decide this, the diamond ring was asked for five. "If society," says
most critical point of all, and it is sure to say it may alter the Star, " has a right to inflict the bodily discomfort
as much as possible, and is bound to leave alone as little of imprisonment on any of its members, surely it is
as possible. And when it does alter, its changes will not just in such cases as these that that right should be
bo the ones which would harmonise best with the original exercised."
object, but those which will suit worst. Those who con- REFORM OF THE CRIMINAL LAW.
bider a design thoroughly bad cannot be blamed if they On Thursday a meeting was held in the Law Asso-
endeavour to prevent the adoption of as much of that ciation's Rooms, Liverpool, under the auspices of the
design as they can, and to prevent it as long as they can. Criminal Law A mendment Association, to discuss the
reform of the Criminal Laws. Mr. Yates, president
of the Incorporated Law Society of Liverpool, was
, chairman, and he said that the subject before them
_
' was of great importance to the community, but
Among other peculiarities of Lord Houghton's presi- it was difficult to obtain the co-operation of
dency of the Newspaper Press Fund Anniversary, besides the public. After some discussionhad taken
those noted, he had alongside of him contributors to news- place on the mcst important subjects pre-
parers in the Persian, Turkish, and Spanish languages. sented to them the meeting passed resolutions
The editor of a London daily paper was introduced to his to the effect that justice demanded a reform
colleague, the editor of the Turkish paper in London. The of the criminal law ; that, without prejudice to her
history of the refugee press in London would make a Ma;esty's prerogative of mercy, it was desirable to
curious chapter. establish a Court of Criminal Appeal, not only to
Much has been said and written about the wanton review questions of law, but to consider applications
destruction of ecclesiastical remains by the Puritan party for new trials, the mitigation of sentences, and the
during the civil wars of 1641 and following years. Much power of commutation of sentences pending inquiry
before the proposed court, and the consideration of
mischief was undoubtedly done at this period, which,
sitting
defendants in a criminal case to give evi-
however, has been made to bear the blame of wreckings den .
that took effect at an earlier time, and is loaded with the A POINT OF LAW.
shame of later official ignorance. The Athenccum ob-
served the other day, in a broadside in the British A decision lately given by Lord Romilly, in the
Rolls Court, in a case of some importance to the
Museum, 669 f, 20-29, dated August 1656, that, under the shareholders in joint-stock companies, has provoked
Protector, provision was made for the repair of Gloucester some criticism. The case was as follows :—ln
Cathedral. Other instances may be found. February 1866, Dr. Fyfe, the holder of twenty
A story was current a short time since to the effect that shares in the Joint-Stock Discount Company,
Hogarth's house at Chiswick was to be pulled down. The sold them, to a person named Strawbridge.
Atheneum is glad to say that such is not the case, and The transfer was duly executed and lodged at the
that it remains in hands which are at least as careful as office of the company for registration. It was not,
those of the tenant who recently inhabited it. Something however, registered, and the company was soon after
ought to be done for the preservation of this inestimable wound up. Dr. Fyfe's name being still on the list
relic of the great humourist. A very small sum would
of shareholders, he was placed 4,11 the list of
doubtless secure it against destruction. Hogarth's family contributories. After some legal proceedings in the
matter, the Master of the Rolls has refused toremove
tomb, in Chiswick churchyard, is in good order, thanks it, Strawbridge having died in the interval, and there
to the care of the painter's namesake of Aberdeen and being no name to substitute on the list. The
London. Master of the Rolls admitted that Dr. Fyfe was un-
A Globe edition of Pope has been issued by Messrs. questionably entitled at one time to have Strawbridge's
Macmillan and Co., as companion to the Globe edition of name substituted for his own, but held that lie for-
feited that right by his delay. The censors of his
Shakespere. The book is handsome and handy, and the
text as good as can be got in advance of the critical edition lordship's judgment hold that it was the business of
t
so often promised by Mr. Elwin. The notes are many, the official liquidator, having the transfer in the
and the matter of them is rich in interest. office, to have substituted the name of Strawbridge
The President and Vice-Presidents of Sections have When, in proceeding to make out the list of con-
tributOries, he found that Dr. Fyfe had made
been appointed for the next meeting of the British Associa- a
proper legal transfer of his shares, and
tion. In Section A., Professor Sylvester will preside, that his name had not been removed from
relieved by Professor Adams and Mr. Grove ; in Section the register -by the fault of the directors, it
8., Dr. Debus, relieved by Professor Odling and Professor was, it was said, the liquidator's duty to have applied
Williamson ;in Section C., Professor Harkness, relieved to the court to rectify the register. It is further
by Mr. Godwin-Austen and Mr. W. Pendelly ;in Section argued that in the case, "Re Lafitte and Co. v. De
D., Professor Rolleston, relieved by Mr. Spence Bate and Rosaz," the Master of the Rolls held that the proof
Mr. E. B. Tylor ;in Section E., Sir Bartle Freres relieved of liability lay upon the official liquidator. On these
by Sir George Grey and Mr. A. G. Findlay; in Section grounds the Judgment is thought to require recon-
F., Sir Stafford Northcote, relieved by Mr. T. D. Acland sideration.
and Colonel Sykes; in Section G., by Mr. Siemens, relieved ARBITRATION AND STRIKES.
by Mr. G. P. Bidder and Mr. C. Vignolles. Professor Arbitration has again been successful in settling a
Milner will give a special lecture to the working men of dispute between masters and men. The Leeds
Exeter. joiners protested that the masters were not now

-MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

ART AND LITERARY GOSSIP.

The Orchestra says that Rubinstein, en paying uniformly according to the rate. The route to Russia,
met masters admitting this, said that so bad were
Thalber in g Paris, and at a soir,'e given by Mdme. the times that men offered themselves at
Erard, these two lion-pianists played a duet together on less than the standard rate, and they also
two pianofortes with great effect. urged that they were justified in paying Mdlle. Lucca will m,t appear this season in Covent poor workmen less than good ones. The men
Garden. The operation on her tonsils has affected her still objecting, arbitration was resorted to. A long
health, and her voice in particular needs restoration. In diseusslon took place, and in the end it was agreed
the hope of gaining this Mdlle. Lucca will make a long that GO. per hour should be paid to fair workmen,
sojourn at Ischl, but that a man might be engaged without stipula-
tion as to the wag©, and that, after two or three
days, he should be paid' according to his worth.
The Philological Society has elected four new honorary
members, Mons. E. Littr6, the author of the admirable The cotton trade of Oldham and th© district is
" Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise," Professor Ritsehl, threatened to be again brought tea standstill
the celebrated Plautine scholar, Professor Matzner, the by a lock-out. The men hav only just
author of the well-known " Englische Grammatik" and returned to their worie after the recent strike.
" Spraehproben," and Professor C. Friedrich Koch, the Nearly all the- operatives at Oldham, Shaw, and
author of the most complete English historical grammar Crompton have resumed work, but in the Lees
yet published. district twenty-six mills are stopped, the hands not
having accepted the reduction of 5 per cent. in their
wages. The manufacturers of the whole district, in
order to support those whose mills are thus stopped,
threaten that, unless the workpeople come to terms
with their employers before Monday nextz a lock-out
will be resorted to throughout the district, and all
the mills will again be closed.
The proprietors of the Strafford Main Colliery,
near Barnsley, have given their men (between 300
and 400) notice of a reduction of 10 per cent. in
their wages, which notice will expire in -a few days.
The miners will, it is thought, resist the reduction.
The strike and the lock-out in connection with the
Denaby Main, the Tinsley Park and Manor Pits, and
the Thorncliffe and Chapeltown Collieries still
continue.
The dispute in the building trades at Bristol has
terminated in favour of the men. The masters were
in some cases obliged to proceed with contracts, and
this produced disunion, and the other masters
succumbed.

NARROW ESCAPE.—The negligence of a railway
ganger was very nearly leading to a serious accident on
Wednesday on the Severn Valley Railway. One of the
small waggons by which platelayers convey their heavy
tools, &c., to different parts of the line was being pushed
along about the time a passenger train from Bewdley to
Arley was due. The ganger, Jem Wren, ought to have
sent a man back to signal the passenger-train, but
neglected to do so, his " excuse" afterwards being that he
thought he could get into a siding before the train came
up. The train, however, overtook the waggon, and it was
smashedto pieces, the engine also being somewhat damaged
by the collision. Fortunately, no personal injury was
sustained. Wren was apprehended, and, being subse-
quently taken before Messrs. Homfray and Woodward,
county magistrates, at Kidderminster, he was fined £3
and costs, or a month in default.
THE DANCER OF DISCHARGING SEWAGE INTO
RIVERS.—The Enginecr winds up an article on Sewage
by a statement which it gives authoritatively, and which
is most alarming as affects the supply of water from
wells, &c. Our contemporary states that the Crossness
pumping-station, where sewage is utilised,
requires
864,000 gallons of water per (lay for the engines, in addi-
tion to about 2,500 gallons per day for the use of the work-
people residing on the premises. In the hope of getting
a good and adequate supply, a boring has been carried
down through the under-lying strata, to the extraordinary
depth of Looort. The chalk has been completely pene-
trated, together with the upper greensand, and about
1;0ft. of the gault. Last autumn the water in
the boring was found to contain so large a quan-
tity of salt, that Dr. Odling suggested there
was some connection between tl:e well and the
flames. As the depth increased matters seem to have
become worse rather than better. In the latter part of
October the water contained from 253 to 202 grains of
common salt per gallon. At a depth of (261 ft., as much as
303 grains of chloride of sodium were reported. The pro-
gress of the boring Las latterly been slow, and the advice
of gentlemen connected with tl:e Geological Survey of
Englani has been scual,t. In the meantime it is stated that
the water fetched op from the boring has betrayed unmis-
takable signs of sewage contamination, the fluid smelling
strongly of suiphuretted hydrogen. Remembering Dr.
Odling's suggestion, that there was " some connection"
between the well and the Thames, the presence of sulphu
rotted hydrogen in the well is readily explained, on the
supposition that Thames water percolates into the boring
and carries sewtve with it. To what level the contazni-
nated Thames water has penetrated into the underlying
strata, may yet he doubtful. But if the Thames goes
into the chalk at all, it may readily soak through to the
very base, penetrating also the upper greensand and accu-
mulating on the floor of the gault, whence it would creep
down the outer surface of
_the bore-pipe and so appear at
til.e_lol,9o point of by Loring,

THE WYKEUA3IISTS.

Rarely have the Wykehamists mustered in such
force as they did at their annual dinner this week.
Among the guests were the Lord Chancellor, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State
for War, Lord Justice Giffard, Ex-Chief Justice
Erle, Sir Rowidell Palmer, the Bishop of Lincoln,
the Dean of Chichester, and a whole host of minor
celebrities.

THE SUN,-1.,0N,D0-14; EVENING,- -JUNE -19; 4869.

houses is only 18 peT 1,(100, as against rz4 tor trio
whole-metropolis;-and against-a much -higher -figure
for that portion of London in which working men
most reside. •