The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-27 00:00:00

THE ADMIRALTY CORRUPTION CASE.

The prosecution of Mr. Rumble is likely to prove
a notable case, and to lead to such disclosures as will
make us blush for the reputation of Government
officials. Sir Thomas Henry, the magistrate before
whom. the preliminary charge is being heard, dis-
tinctly stated that the case against Rumble " might
resolve itself into several charges, that of extortion
for hist:lice ;" and he added that there were books
found in the possession of the prisoner containing
entries which the prosecution were bound to investi-
gate. It is strange that so clever a man as Mr.
Rumble seems to be, since he has escaped such a
charge as this for many years, should not have had
the forethought to make to himself friends of the
mammon of unrighteousness. Not a single person
can he get to stand bail for him.
MISPLACED SARCASM.

A correspondent of the Standard writes, " For
quiet sarcasm commend me to Sir J. Hay's motion,
viz., ' Rule of the Road at Sea.' Sir J. Hay gave
notice that he would, on Friday next, call the atten-
tion of the House to the rule of the road at sea, and
that he would put a question to the right hon. gentle-
man the President of the Board of Trade upon the
subject. Fancy the right hon. President of the
Board of Trade undergoing an examination in naval
matters ! His is, indeed, a hard case ; after ruining his
family by his patriotism, to be sent to sea at his time
of life." The correspondent forgets that neither of
the two last Presidents of the Board of Trade, Sir
Stafford Northcote and Mr. Cave, were brought up
to the sea. Both were landsmen. It is usual for
both parties to appoint landsmen to this post. It is
not unusual to appoint landsmen—Mr. Cony and Sir
John Pahington to wit—to the far more nautical post
of First Lord of the Admiralty.
CONFERENCE OF THE LONDON CHARITIES.

A short time ago a conference of persons
interested in the London charities was held at the
rooms of the Society of Arts, and an interesting
discussion took place. The Bishop of London
presided, and many of the representatives of
the great London charities expressed their
views on the subject of pauperism. Dr.
Hawliesley the author of the pamphlet on the
Charities of London, which formed the basis of the
Conference, moved that they should recommend
the organisation of the London Charities to the Met ro-
politan Association for theßepression of Crime and
Pauperism. Some discussion arose as to the propriety
of working the system of the Poor-law Board and
the charitable institutions together, and the con-
ference adjourned. It was resumed last Thursday,
and Dr. Barry, Principal of King's College, presided.
Dr. Ilawicesley's resolution was withdrawn, and an
amendment, proposed by Sir W. Fraser, substituted.
This suggested an organisation of the Lon don charities,
without proposing any plan for the purpose. A reso-
lution was carried to the effect that an official register
of all applicants for relief in the metropolis was most
essential. Mr. said that some charities should
be private and others public, and too much was said
about indiscriminate charity. Another resolution
was carried in favour of the registration of chari-
table societies and the audit of their accounts.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
There has been a great difference of opinion
expressed as to whether the fear of death has pre-
vented would-be murderers from committing the
greatest offence known to the law. It has been stated
that criminals fear life-long imprisonment more than
: death, and that while the one is a terror to them, the
idea of being sent out of this world altogether lulls
them into a state of indifference. M. Lallemant
Advocate of the Court of Nancy, publishes a letter on
this:subject, and gives a totallydiff erent opin ion ,founded
on eighteen years' experience. He maintains that the
punishment of death is the only one which great
criminals fear. As for transportation to Cayenne or
New Caledonia, they rather like it ; and an assassin
who, in virtue of « extenuating circumstances," finds
himself let off with travaux forces for life, dances
the cancan and shrieks with delight. "To under-
stand the question," says M. Lallemant, " you should
have witnessed, as I have done, the loud, expan-
sive joy of murderers on re-entering their prison
after just escaping the scaffold. How happy they
are, how they rejoice, uttering cries of joy between
two dances of the most expressive character, at only
being condemned to hard labour for life." Under
the old French law, theft, like assassination, was
punished with death, and the consequence was that
a thief, already liable, if convicted to capital punish-
ment, did not hesitate to proceed from theft to
murder, if by so doing ho could increase his chances
of impunity. The same thing, M. Lallemant argues,
would happen again if capital punishment were
altogether abolished. The thief, who now thinks
twice before he commits murder, would no longer
pause, for, whether he murdered or not, his punis..)-
ment would still be only hard labour for life.

THE PRIZE SYSTEM.
A letter from Dr. Henry Bence Jones, M.D.,
F.R.S., appears in the Times, protesting against the
prize system which at present prevails at the public
schools. " I am strongly urged," he writes, "
by
one whose child is in danger of suffering from the

prize system in school to s:iy to the public what I
have said to him, namely, that mental work beyond the
strength which the nervous system is able to bear will
affect the development of the whole body, and dispose
it to wrong actions which would not otherwise chew
themselves. The prize system does no good whatever
to the mass of boys. They leave school repelled from
all knowledge, chiefly because they have been
nozzled in heathen learaing.' The few who will work
often include those who are quite unfit for premature
brain work.' The trainerknows little, and thinks less of
this; he urges the competition; the race is run, and, if
a breakdown occurs, he continues to train others for
a similar competition. Surely it would be a n,,ble
thin:: if traines, instead of this prze system, would
encourage the mess to love learning and to know
English, and would save the growing brain of the
willing few from the evils of premature overwork."
The evil to which Dr. Jones points can be overcome
only by leading the youths to love education for its
own sake. Can he propose any system calculated to
produce such a love ?

/HE WAR OFFICE AND INVENTORS.
At last there is to be a definite principle on which
inventors are to be treated by the War Office. They
are no longer to be exposed to death from a broken
heart, like poor Mr. Snider, nor to ten years' delay,
like the more fortunate Captain Moncrieff. Lord
Northbrook, Under Secretary for War, has issued
a memorandum, in which four regulations ar6
laid down for the guidance of inventors.
First, they must clearly set forth the nature of th 6
invention. the person who expects to be naid.ana the