The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-22 00:00:00

BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES AND 0 TWO DEANS ON CHURCH TOPICS.
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

'The time is nowtast approaching when country
Men and provincial Dissenting ministers invade the
metropolis to attend the well-known " May meetings."_ In
the principal streets of London the white necktie, usually
scarce enough, seems suddenly to be worn by half the pedes-
trians. Before these meetings set off in good earnest
there are the numerous local benevolent institutions and
less-known societies to hold their meetings. Some ten of
these held their annual reunion on Wednesday. A list of
them may be mentioned :
THE GOVERNESSES BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.—Lord
Denman presided at a dinner—the anniversary festival—
of this institution, and announced that the subscriptions
to it amounted to £1,253. This institution embraces in
its objects temporary assistance to governesses in distress,
given privately through the ladies' et li.mittee ;an annuity
fund which provides annuttics to aged governesses; a pro-
vident fund, including a savings bank; a home for gover-
nesses during the interval between their engagements ;.a
system of registration free of expense ; and an asylum for
the aged. Some 2,000 governesses have availed themselves
of this means of relief.

ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATI:JIM—Of this society the
Bishop of St. David's is president, though he did not pre-
side at the annual meeting. His report sheaved the
society to be in a flourishing condition.

ItErorawronv CIIILDREN.— One of the most interest-
ing of the many meetings was that held under the presi-
dency of the Earl of Shaftesbury, in Exeter Hall. The
occasion was the annual gathering of reformatory children,
under tl:e auspices of the Reformatory and Refuge Union,
and the attendance of the friends and supporters of themove-
meat was so great that to accommodate all who came would
probably have required more than twice the space
afforded by the building. The noble carl presided; and
amongst the gentlemen present were Sir Stafford North-
cote, M.P., Mr. Baron Pigott, Mr. Hodgson Barrow,
M.P., Mr. Charles Buxton, M.P., Judge Payne, Dr.
Mackenzie (Provost of Inverness), and many of the
clergy. Both before and after the speaking portion of
the proceedings a choir of 700 children from the various
refuges and homes of London delighted the audience by
singing a number of pieces under the direction of Mr.
J. Proudman, and accompanied Ly the organ. The Earl
of Shaftelbury, referring to the children, said it would
not be easy to forget the sight they presented, and he
asked Lis hearers whether their minds could be more
pleased, their hearts mere gratified, or their natural
aspirations more satisfied, than by what they had
seen and beard. Let them then go tomorrow to the slums
of Bethnal Green, Slit rediteh, Westminster, and the
Mint, and they would discover from what degradation
these happy children l.ad been rescued, and the vast field
there remained for the labours of those who were engaged
in this good work. Be shuddered to think what England
might have been now had it not been commenced some
five-and-twenty or thirty years ago.---In the course of the
evening Mr. Ford, the secretary of the union, read a
statement, exhibiting its progress, and referring to the
good likely to result from the conference now being held
in London. During the past year the union bad made
grants to the extent of over £2,000, and,,in addition to the
training-ships at Newcastle, Southampton, Glasgow, and
Liverpool, which had been opened this year, three others
would shortly be placed at Bristol, Dundee, and Edin-
burgh. Reformatories had also been established in
Jamaica, and, under the influence of Miss Carpenter and
Lord Lawrence, at no distant date they would be extended
to India.

The Marine Society, the City of London Truss Society,
the Solicitors' Benevolent Society, the Royal Hospital for
Diseases of the Chest, the Tailors' Benevolent Institution,
&c., held meetings.

At 'Willie's Rooms a drawing for an album for the
benefit of the Dramatic College at Alaybury took place.

The halipendance Edge reports that the Emperor
of the French las been bitten in the cell of the leg by a
small dog. The wound does not signify, but his Majesty is
reported to have remarked in a jocular way, "It is a Lad
sign."

A man respectably dressed, and believed to be A
foreign sailor, was found dead, with his skull terribly
fractured, on the railway between Cork and Mallow,
yesterday morning. The circumstances give rise to a
suspicion that be has been robbed and murdered while Le-
velling over the line.

The Duke of Abercorn, wLo is now on the Conti-
tinent, has written stating that should the health of his
daughter, Lady Mouut-Edgecumbe, permit of Lis coming to
England; will consider it his duty to protest, publicly
against the Irish Clinch scheme, which, while it will not
have the smallest effect in araying diecentent, Nvi3 inflict
impart/Ith injury uj on Ireland. •
The rtrike in the South YeiksLiic coal trade still
c:r.ntiutles, and tLo between the unionists and
non-unionists seems to be increasing. At the Dent:by Main
COliiery they have again Lem in eoll's'on. As two of the
latter were proceeding to their l.ernes ou Mtnday evening
they n ere attacked by a body of the mcn locked out, and
very lautal'y ill-treated. Thr( e men are in custody on the
charge of being imi heated iu the assault.

Two boys, the elthAt Lot over 12 years of age,
were charged at the Liverpool Police-court on Tuesday with
having set fire to a stable in Northumberland-street,
Liverpool. The your ger prisener, it appeared, evggested
to his companicn the idea of setting fro to the stable,
and inforn.irg the cm ner, wilh the view cigetting a reward.
They accordingly-threw a belted match among the straw,
and then went to the owner and told him leis stable was on
fire. The latter, to their astonishment, gave the lads into
custody. They were remanded.
In the Court of Divorce on Thursday Mrs. Godrich
applied for permission to filo another petition against her
husband for judicial sop tratien. She stated that she was
prosecuting for perjury the women rpon whose evi-
dence she had b. en found guilty of adultety in the suit
instituted against her by Ler husband, and Met she obtained
true bills against two of them, end v.aq indicting a
third. She had no means, Ler Lubber. d having made
her no allowance fur four months, and one of her objects
in filing the petition was to obtain alimony. Lord Penzance
informed her that he Lad no diecretion in the matter. It
was quite open to her to file a fresh petition, but he could
give her no advice. Mrs. Godrich thanked his lordship and
retired.

Domestic scandals in high life seem to multiply
now-a-days. The London correspondent of Saunders's News
Letter announces a fresh one. He taus describes the parties
to it :—"A gentleman well known in the upper circles has
eloped with the wife of a friend, a lady wl o has for the
last few years taken a prominent part in the beau
monde. The former is a near relative of a naval Baronet,
not long deceased; the latter comes of a sporting race,
and abandons not only an estimable husband and an enviable
position in the world, but leaves also a youthful family to,
ono day, blush for her disgrace. I fear it to be but too true
that proceedings are taken for bringing before the Divorce
Court the cad case of matrimonial infidelity which society
has been of late so generally discussing. It is asserted that
the eldest son of one of your earls has been selected as co-
nspondent."
A tabulated account of the gross public income
and expenditure for the year ending March 31st, 1869, has
been•published as a Parliamentary paper. With the fact that
the total ordinary expenditure was £2,905,824 in excess
of the total income, the public is already sufficiently fami-
liar, but on account of the balances of the public
money, given on the same sheet, is more novel. At the
comrnet cement of the last financial year the Exchequer
balance was 21,781,845. The money raised by additions to the
fended and unfunded debt, by annuities and Exehequerbonds,
as well as by Bank advencee and repayments on account
of advances for public works, Jtc., brings the sum
up to £10,696,081. This has been so far disposed of by the
paying off of Exchequer bonds, by repayment of Bank ad-
vances, by advances for public works, and by meeting the
4eliciency of income, the.t the remaining balance in the
Banks of England and Ireland on the 31st of March, 1869,
was .£4,707,258.
THE WEDGWOOD MEMORIAL INSTITUTE AT
BURSLE3I.—The Wedgwood. Memorial Institute at Burs-
lem, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Pre-
mier several years since, was formally opened on Wednes-
day by Earl de Grey and Ripon, Lord President of the
Council. The Free Libraries and Museums Act had been
adopted by the inhabitants in connection with this institution
which will also include a echool of art and other educational
agencies. The building itself is constructed entirely of
ceramic materials, and the design of the architect, Mr.
It. Edgar, of London, has been to illustrate in the facade
the mode in which terracotta and other enrichments may
be introduced, not for the mere purpose of ornamentation
;
and veneering, but re peels of the actual structure of
edifice. In this particular the building is cite of ex
tional interest and value. The institution is inaugurated
P
guerectejd.
liberal o f Science
foraoneradn
by an art exhibition, which will probably
remain
Artf or
havesever
madetl
a months.very
rich The
aand contribution
Department
the South Kensington Museum. There
Herbert,
is a fine collec-
tmi oinllaoifsoil
nannsda water-colour/ toenrh- ceonlro,u r paintings
Turner,Trci'u
iy Dyce, t
Inlunt, New.
ton, Gastineau, Leighton, Copley Fielding,:
De Bruycker, and many other artists of rainwbite'
em
the history of British pottery is illustrated inence
; and
by examplesof
the Celtic or Ancient British, the romiano-British, the
Mediezval, the Seventeenth Century,
periods. There is a superb collection nafultvthe Wedgwood
dgwood's own
productions of every description. Earl. de Grey was
honoured with a public reception at the Town Hall, where
an address was presented to his lordship
inhabitants. At a luncheon held subsequently, under the
presidency of Lord de Grey, addresses suitable to the
occasion were delivered by his lor •
dship, the Right Hoe
ti2"eYl Mil)" 4S-4 WWI ggamsp, a *
li

'', i. -,-, -

the Dean of Ripon, in addressing a meeting last week,
said that Popery was employing " sappers and miners"
all over England, and that some of our statesmen
were the dupes of Manning and Cullen. England should
he aroused to the danger, and an effort was
needed to rouse the Protestant feeling of the country.
The Dean of Carlisle presided at a Church Missionary
Society's meeting on Monday, and called attention
to a remark of the Bishop of London's, that
the triumph of the missionary cause was the
most entire refutation of scepticism. He thought
the acts of the missionaries were the best refutation
of the errors with which the Church was plagued. It
had been said that civilisation must go before Chris-
tianity; but this was not true, they must have Christianitv
first, and education Lite: w,Jets.