The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-09 00:00:00

THE CONVICT.

He is taken out of the jail at sunrise or before it; he
labours uninterruptedly all day, with, the exception of an
hour, perhaps, at noon (for I am not sure that this in-
dulgence is in every case allowed), when he generally satis-
fies the cravings of hunger with a lit tle parched grain (a
species of pulse), or rice, or perhaps ~vith these grains in a
perfectly raw state. He then continues to labour on, till
4 o'clock p.m., when he commences his return to jail; but
this may be at some distance, so that, by the time ha
reaches it, and the whole of the prisoners are counted over,
it is often near sunset. They have then their sole meal to,
prepare and eat, before they are locked up for the night.
All this, it is to be recollected, is exacted from a class who
are frequently the roost prone to disease, from their pre-
vious habits of dissipation, who are suffering much mental
anxiety and distress, who are scantily fed, who enjoy no
reward for their labour, and who, in addition to everything
else, are working heavily ironed. Many of these persons
too, be it remembered, are considerably advanced in years ;
and to a still greater number, the mode of labour to which
they are forced, is totally new and unaccustomed. . .
In the rains, they are generally, if not always, taken out,
unless it actually happens to rain at the time they would
otherwise be leaving the jail ; they frequently como home
drenched with rain ; and few of them, I should suppose,
are very well prepared with a change of apparel. Taking
all these things into account, together with a review of the
work performed by the peasantry of the country, this phi-
lanthropist concluded that the out-door labourers were
overworked, and many of them were destroyed in con-
sequence.

Dr. Ewart's work conti.ins hints on the general
defective sanitary arrangements of the prisons,
and very properly maintains that "the sanitary
powers of medical officers in charge of every jail
ought to be augmented, and that the medical officer
should be as supreme in all matters connected with
PREVENTION as he is now in respect to CURATIVE
MEDICINE. The author's ideas seem correct enough,
in most cases ; but his desire to reform completely
the prisons, and to abolish existing abuses in one
or two instances, leads him to false conclusions. For
example, he declares tobacco to be poison, and such
being the case, that the consumption of the smallest
quantity is deleterious: Now, although it may be
advisable to withhold the indulgence of tobacco
from prisoners, Dr. Ewart had far better have
rested his argument on the maintenance of prison
discipline, than the false premise, that because ex-
cess causes death, moderation necessarily pernicious
Were this conclusion correct, all medicines and
most articles of food would endanger existence.
The author has appended some views of his own
on the discipline, arrangement, and construction
of prisons. He has devoted much consideration to
the subject; and, on the whole, his remarks are
well worthy of attention. Now that the Govern-
ment of the East has been removed from the hands
of a jobbing company, it is the duty of the Govern-
ment to pay every attention to the suggestions of
those whose long experience has rendered their
opinions valuable.

DR. CUMMIV OA THE FUTURE OF
ENGLAND IN PROPHECY.

On Tuesday evening the Rev. Dr. Cumming delivered a
lecture on "The Future of England in the Prophetic Re-
cord," in the large hall of the Collegiate Institute, Liver-
pool.
Dr. CUMMING, after reading and discussing the remark.'
able passages in the 18th chapter of Isaiah, on which he
bases his opinions, said he had never pretended to say that
the world would come to an end in 1867, but he did think
that that year was the great bisecting period in which all
the great chronological epochs culminated. He did not be-
lieve that the world would be destroyed. On the contrary,
his belief was that in the time to come this earth will be
one of the loveliest outposts of Heaven.. He believed that
whatever sin had introduced into the world would be handed
over to the devil, who should have all the credit of it, and that
the earth would be restored to a Paradise more magnificent
than that in which it began. Who could be satisfied with the
abnormal state of things that at present existed? Who could
be satisfied with the brcken circles that are constantly be-
ing repeated? Was there no flock in which there was not
one dead lamb—no home in which there was not one vacant
chair ? And who could be satisfied with that ? Would they
not rather rejoice when the hour arrives when all things
will be made new, when that glorious age comes to whose
purification all past ages shall contribute, and in whose
glory all past centuries shall culminate ? In an able and
learned exposition, the doctor then showed the manner in
which, by giving, as he alleged, the true translations to
several important passages in Isaiah, he established the
connection between the destiny of the Jewish and the Eng-
lish nations, and the important part which the latter would
play in restoring the former to their ancient home. He held
that the prophecy was clear that the "ocean steamers" and
locomotives of England would be used in the return of
the Jaws to Palestine. In the course of a rapid but com-
prehensive sketch of the position of the Jews all over the
world, the lecturer alluded to the condition of the inhabi-
tants of the Jewish quarter in Rome, which he character-
ised as the most miserable and unhappy that could be con-
ceived. Whilst dwelling upon his interpretation of the text,
in whiel he contended that England is specially referred to
as the untry " sending ambassadors over the sea," he
said England was represented at every Court but one, and
at that one he thanked God she was not. (Cheers.) " The poor
old priest" had called on all people to help him, and he had
got some from Ireland, but the Irish legion had returned
home ashamed of themselves. (Great laughter.) Confident
in the bright destiny of England, he asserted his belief that
the roll of her drums would be heard in every land ;
that the boom of her cannon would still be the signal to the
oppressor that there was an avenger, and to the oppressed
that there was a deliverer ; that the winds of all lands will
England,
a powerful, a mercantile,supported and sustained, and
fill her sails ; that the waters of every shore would sustain
blessedher keels;
Gaondd,
willthat
b Ee na
prosperous,
and maritime nation to the very end of the present world.
England at this moment presented a grand spectacle. Never
before were such efforts made to bring the light of the Gospel
down into the depths of the social and moral degradation
which exists in society. At this moment England was
powerful and respected. That old, unhappy priest of Rome,
who felt that he was in a very precarious position, asked his
own people to come and help him out of his difficulty, and re-
pel Garibaldi and the King of Sardinia. How did they re-
spond P Per I,oooyears the power and influence of the Pope-
dom had been consolidated. The English Church was held
in a granary outside the walls of Rome, because no heretics
were allowed to disturb the repose of the eternal city,
The field at the command of the Pope was splendid, his
opportunity was grand ; 1,000 years of power had been
given to his Church. He fell into difficulties, and asked his
own people to help him, but he did not get 1,000 of them to
help him. He had to hire the Algerine General Lamoriciere,
he bad to send collectors to all the purlieus and infamous
dens of Austria, France, Switzerland, and even into the
bogs of Tipperary—the off-scourings of Dr. Cullen's flock.
(Laughter and cheers.) The Brigade, poor fellows, had
come home with a wiser and better opinion of the Pope than
they had before. (Laughter.) When he got them they were
worth nothing. That state of things was a marked contrast
to the position of England. Our beloved Queen, faintly,
and without ostentation, put into the mouth of her Minister
the expression of the bare possibility that the boom of a
French gun might be heard on our white cliffs ; that the
foot of a foe might touch our soil ; and no sooner was that
possibility made known than 200,000 of the best blood of
England, in the form of rifle and artillery volunteers, sprang
up to defend her. (Cheers) He thought the scenes which had
lately taken place would make the despots think twice be-
fore, in their cabinets, they proposed to invade England.
Ho held that the fulfilment of the prophecies approached
I ear. On every hand there were indications of app cach-
ing conflict. What nation was not agitated, what court
was not prepared for war, what king had not his hand on
his sword-hilt ? Every people seemed to be trembling
with the fear of things that were coming upon the earth, as
if God was giving a presentiment of that terrible conflict in
wiiich England may suffer; but out of which England
would emerge powerful, prosperous, better, and greater
than ever she had been before. Dr. Cumming concluded
amidst great applause.

The Ag•apernonites have not altogether given up
regaining possession of Mrs. Price and of keeping
The Bridgewater Mercury states that on
honesiTl ehrur/s ddo'afoyo°last the captive wife was observed to throw a
small silk bag from her chamber window
yffbca.Navgui with
te
caused
it.
thes
, which was im-
mediately picked up by a lady standing beneath, and who
iTbl latter ent sympathyedrttoo b
contain
o stopped,n t aionf at hlae hentitdne
whenr abdi
dresoed to 13roIkor Thoioaa) of the Abode of Love.
atsathn.oetnsge.iaernye walkue dvieatdht ee?