The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-11 00:00:00

THE INUNDATIONS IN FRANCE.

A letter from Tours gives the following descrip-
tion of the appearance of that city :
" The Rue Royale presents the appearance of a
canal, and boats are plying on it incessantly, car-
rying relief to the unfortunate inhabitants, who
either would not or could not quit their houses.
The Mail is like a torrent, and all sorts of things
brought down by the Loire and the Cher are float-
ing about it. The ornamental trees on it have
been torn up. The railway station, the centre of
the commercial activity of the town, is still sur-
rounded with water, as high as the windows. In
the garden of the Prefecture opposite nothing is
to be seen but the tops of the trees ; the walls of
the garden are thrown down. The Rues de Paris,
de Bordeaux, and du Rempart, built on the old
ramparts of the city, are under water. At every
step we take we sell the ravages of the waters, and
from the Route de Grammont we perceive in all
their horror the effects of the catastrophe in the
adjacent country. As far as the eye can reach
there is water—nothing but water ! The inunda-
tions were not able to surmount the obstacle
caused by the Route de Bordeaux, but they
rose to a great height, and they are strewed with
articles of furniture, clothing, and woodwork.
The Pont de l'Archeveque threatens to fall in ;
the viaduct of the railway to Nantes, beaten with
great fury by the waters, has been thrown down.
Wherever the eye rests it sees farms submerged,
houses that cannot be inhabited for a long time to
come, even if they can ever be inhabited again ;
and on the heights thousands of victims grouped
together without shelter and without food ! Even
the dark and narrow streets of the old city occupied
by lower classes have not escaped. From the Rue
Borgne to the Commune of La Riche ; from the
Champ de Mars to the Mail ; and from the Place
d'Aumont to Saint Sauveur ; is an immense lake,
reaching in height to the first storey of the houses.
Such is the state of our city, after five days of mor-
tal anxiety and indescribable calamities !" In the
same journal of the 7th we read :—" The fall of
the waters has commenced, and is proceeding slowly,
in the streets which run into the Mail; but in the
Mail a rapid current still exists. The west side of
the city has suffered as well as the east. Three-
fourths of the Rues de la Grandiere and
Chanoineau have been invaded, but to-day
only the lower part of the streets is sub-
merged. All the Rues Saint Eloi and des
Reeollets were under water, but only portions
remain so. The infantry barracks are still
surrounded with large sheets of water. All the
Rue des Villeperdue and part of that of La Riche
were submerged, but the waters flowed from the
Rue des Acacias into the Rue des Oiseaux. All
these districts present a terrible scene of desola-
tion ; the waters have torn up the paving-stones,
and still remain in the ground-floors and court-
yards of some houses. The inundations have in-
terrupted communications between this city and
the communes of the department. It is conse-
quently impossible to obtain information as to the
total damage done, but the prefecture has ascer-
tained these facts :—The dykes of the Loire gave
way at St. Mars la Pile, between La Varenne and
La Daudiere, to an extent of about 100 yards, and
at Amboise in the same place in 1846. In this
town the waters in some places rose as high as the
first storey of the houses, but no lives were lost.
The bridge and all the village of Savennibres have
been carried away, but it is not stated that any
one perished. At Brohemont the country is inun-
dated, and one old woman, who obstinately refused
to leave her residence, has been drowned. All the
inhabitants of La Chapelle-aux Naux, which is in-
undated, have succeeded iu obtaining refuge at
Lignieres. The commune of La Riche-extra is in-
undated, and enormous loss, but no death, has
been occasioned."

" The accounts from Saumur of the ravages com-
mitted by the Loire and the Authion are even more
distressing than those previously received. The
pupils of the cavalry school of that place gave a fine
example of courage and devotedness. They plunged
into their waters with their horses, they saved many
invalids and infirm persons from certain death, and
compelled the inhabitants to leave their dwellings.
The clergy likewise displayed considerable energy,
and effected much in combating the strange deter-
mination of the people to remain in their houses.
A young curate swam to a man who was clinging
to a tree, and succeeded in lauding him in safety.
Considerable sums of money had been collected in
the department of the Cher, and had at once been
distributed by the Prefect to the victims of the
inundations. In that department the disasters are
however less great than in others, and no deaths
have had to be deplored. Workmen are actively
engaged in repairing the railroad and dykes. A
curious phenomenon in the annals of hydrography
has just taken place in the Beauce district (Eure-
et-Loire). A ravine, called the Couarde, which is
transformed into a rivulet only about once every
ten years, this year attained the proportions of
a river. The waters of the forest of Orleans
spread over the plateau which slopes towards the
department of the Eure-et-Loire, ran off iu abso-
lute torrents, and that circumstance explains how
certain high grounds, which are usually with-
out water-springs, were inundated in the late
visitation. These torrents iu their turn swelled
the Couarde to an immense height. But the most an-
imus fact connected with this sudden filling of the
Couarde is, that the fish were as abundant in it as
in the Loire or the Loiret. This phenomenon may
perhaps be explained by the rising of the water in
the fishponds of the different chateaux, the flood
gates of which were obliged to be opened, and thus
let the finny inhabitants escape. The Lyons jour-
nals state that the Rhone and Saone continue to
fall, and that the waters are gradually running off
from the inundated quarters. The Guillotiere,
properly so called, has suffered comparatively less
than in other inundated quarters, but still the in-
jury sustained there is considerable, several houses
having fallen, and others being so much injured
that the inhabitants are obliged to abandon them.
As the waters retire numerous bodies are disco-
vered, all in a state of decomposition. Workmen
are employed in building wooden huts on the Place
St. Pothin for the reception of the persons who are
without homes. The directors of the Mediterra-
nean Railway have placed a number of railway
carriages at the disposal of the authorities for the
temporary accommodation of the houseless. When
the Emperor came to Lyons he gave I,ooof. to be
divided among the engine drivers and other em-
ployes of the train. That sum has been generously
given by those men to the subscription opened at
Lyons for the sufferers. A letter from Aries states
that the extent of the country inundated in that
neighbourhood is at least 20 leagues. Although
the waters are going gradually down, guns are still
frequently heard in different parts round, as sig-
nals of distress from the inhabitants of the inun-
dated houses. Boats are moving about in all di-
rections to render assistance.

_
" The Rhone.—The inundations which have just
caused such extensive calamities in the depart-
ments of the south naturally direct attention to

the questions connected with the hydrogrephy of
some of the great rivers of France. The Rhone,
which stands in the first rank, rises in Switzerland
at the foot of Mount Force, in the canton of the
Valais, the whole of which it traverses. It has its
rise from three different springs, and forms for it-
self a very irregular bed among rocks and innumer-
able glaciers. It afterwards falls over an immense
precipice near the Chapel St. Nicholas into the
small plain of Oberwald, where it receives several
tributary streams. From its source as far as Mar-
tigny, a town situated at the commencement of the
Great St. Bernard-road, and which was almost en-
tirely destroyed by the terrible inundation of 1818,
the Rhone follows a south-western course. At a
short distance from Martigny it suddenly turns to
the north-west, and after passing a narrow gorge
throws itself by two branches into the Lake • Ge-
neva, and at about 12 miles further on enters the
French territory near the Fort do l'Ecluse, and
forms the frontier between France and Savoy. The
river in ordinary times is not more than 12 feet
wide at Oberwald. Above the Lake of Geneva it
is 150 yards wide. On leaving the lake, and on its
confluence with the Arve, it is 88 yards wide, and
on entering France 175 yards. From its source to the
Fort do l'Ecluse its fall is 1,496 yards. The Rhone,
after quitting Switzerland, runs towards Lyons,
and on passing through the Lake of Geneva, is
hemmed in on its right bank as far as below Cey..
sarien, by the slopes of the Jura, and on the left
bank as far as its confluence with the Uches by the
Montagnes aux Vaches in Savoy. Between l'Ecluse
and Genisseat it runs through a narrow defile about
12 miles in length. After Genisseat, the moun-
tains retire from the banks of the river until near
Vienne, where they again approach it, and con-
tinue so until its confluence with the Ardecbe on
the right, and the Durance on the left. After this
the banks become lower. The Rhone falls into the
Mediterranean after a total course of 825 kilo-
metres (about 515 miles). It is navigable for about
315 miles. Its principal tributaries on the right
bank are the Ain, the Sabne, the Ardeche, the
Ceze, and the Gard ; and on the left the duier,
the Isere, and the Durance. The Saone, one of
the largest rivers in France, rises in the depart-
ment of the Vosges in the arrondissement of Mire-
court. It traverses the departments of the Haute-
Saone, the Cote-d'Or, and Same-et-Loire, sepa-
rates those of the Rhone and Ain, and falls in-
to the Rhone at Lyons, after a course of about
280 miles. As far as its confluence with the Oig-
non it runs through a narrow valley; it becomes na-
vigable below Gray, at about this point the situa.
tion of the country changes ; the valley widens on
its left bank, while on the right it is skirted by
the slopes of the mountains of the CQtes-d'Or and

of the Charolais. The principal affluents of the
Saone are the Doubs and the Oignon, on the left,
and the Ouche and the Azergue, on the right. The
question of the overflow of the Rhone and the
Saone has for a long time occupied serious attention.
Without entering into the causes which may be de.
rived from the laws of terrestrial philosophy, it is
interesting to know the opinion on this subject of
Vauban, one of the most celebrated men that France
ever possessed. This superior engineer, on being
consulted by Louis XIV. on the question of the
overflew of rivers, gave it as his opinion that the
most effectual means to prevent the recurrence of
inundations was to always keep in a good state the
depth and width of the beds of rivers and streams.
Colbert profited by this idea, and some years after
issued an edict which obliged governors of provinces
to keep the beds of rivers and streams perfectly
clear and in good order, and there still exists a
celebrated decree issued by the Parliament of Dijon
in 1698, which condemned the administration of
the rivers and forests of Burgundy to a fine of
6,000 crowns for the benefit of the hospitals, for
having neglected to clear out the bed of the Saone,
and for having allowed it to get narrower in some
places. These facts now possess great interest, and
it would be curious to ascertain whether since the
end of the 18th century the narrowing of the beds
of rivers has not had a very powerful influence in
causing the repeated inundations.

THE RECENT OUTRAGE IN THE AME-
RICAN SENATE.

We lately alluded to a murderous attack made ia
the American Senate by Senator Brooks, of South
Carolina, upon the Hon. C. Sumner, the well-
known senator from Massachusetts. It was stated
that a committee had been appointed by the
Senate to inquire into and report the circumstances.
These gentlemen, we now learn, have waited on
Mr. Sumner and taken his testimony. He was in
bed during the examination, and was in a very
weak state. His account of the outrage, given
under oath, is as follows
_

I attended the Senate as usual on Thursday, the
22d of May. After some formal business a message
was received from the House of Representatives
announcing the death of a member of that body
from Missouri. This was followed by a brief tri-
bute to the deceased from Mr. Geyer, of Missouri,
when, according to usage, and out of respect to the
deceased, the Senate adjourned at once. Instead
of leaving the Senate chamber with the rest of the
senators on the adjournment, I continued in my
seat, occupied with my pen, and while thus intent
in order to be in season for the mail, which was
soon to close, I was approached by several persons
who desired to converse with me, but I answered
them promptly and briefly, excusing myself for the
reason that I was much engaged. When the last
of these persons left me I drew my arm-chair close
to my desk, and with my logs under the desk, con-
tinued writing. My attention at this time was so
entirely drawn from all other subjects that, though
there must have been many persons in the Senate,
I saw nobody. While thus intent, with my head
bent over my writing, I was addressed by a person
who approached the front of my desk ; I was so
entirely ahsorbed that I was not aware of his pre-
sence until I heard my name pronounced. As I
looked up, with pen in hand, I saw a tall man, whoa*
countenance was not familiar, standing directly
over me, and at the same moment caught these words
—" I have read your speech twice over carefully ;
it is a libel on South Carolina and Mr. Butler, who
is a relative of mine." While these words were still
passing from his lips he commenced a succession of
heavy blows with a heavy cane on my bare head,
by the first of which I was stunned so as to lose
my sight. I saw no longer my assailant, nor any
other person or object in the room. What I did
afterwards was done almost unconsciously, acting
under the instincts of self-defence. With head al-
ready bent down, I rose from my seat—wrenching
up my desk, which was screwed to the floor—and
then pressing forward, while myassailant continued
his blows. I had no other consciousness until I
found myself ten feet forward in front of my desk,
lying on the floor of the Senate, with my bleeding
head supported on the knee of a gentleman whom I
soon recognised by voice and manner asiMr. Mor-
gan, of New York. Other persons there were
about me offering friendly assistance, but I did not
recognise any of them. Others there were at a dis-
tance, looking on and offering no assistance, of
whom I recognised only Mr. Douglas, of Illinois,
Mr. Toombs of Georgia, and [ thought also my as-
sailant standing between them. I was helped from
the floor and conducted into the lobby of the Se-
nate, where I was placed upon a sofa. Of those
who helped me here I have no recollection. As I
entered the lobby I recognised Mr. Sliddell, of
Louisiana, who retreated, but I recognised no one
else until I felt a friendly grasp of the hand,
which seemed to come from Mr. Campbell, of
Ohio. I have a vague impression that Mr.
Bright, president of the Senate, spoko to me
while I was on the floor of the Senate in the lobby.
I make this statement in answer to the inter-
rogatory of the committee, and offer it as pre-
senting completely all my recollections of the as-
sault and of the attending circumstances, whether
immediately before or immediately after. I desire
to add that, besides the words which I have given
as uttered by my assailant, I have an indistinct
recollection of the words " old man ;" but these
are so enveloped in the mist which ensued from the
first blow that I r.m not sure whether they were
uttered or not.
On the cross-examination of Mr. Sumner, he
stated that he was entirely without arms of any
kind, and that he had no notice or warning of any
kind, direct or indirect, of this assault.

Iu answer to a cross-question Mr. Sumner replied
that what he had said of Mr. Butler was strictly
responsive to Mr. Butler's speeches, and according
to the usages of parliamentary debate.

SUMMER CIRCUITS OF THE JUDGES.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.

Yester,7.ay, Mr. Baron Alderson and Mr. Justice
Wightman, the Judges appointed to hold the ensuing
assizes for this Circuit, appointed the following days fer
opening the commission in and for each county comprised
within the Circuit, viz. :--

Berkshire—Tuesday, July 8, at Abingdon.
Oxfordshire—Thursday, July 10, at the Courts at
Oxt.rd.

Worcestershire—Saturday, July 12, at Worcester.
City of Worcester—Saturday, July 12, at the Guild-
hall of the City.
Staffordshire—Wednesday, July 16, at Stafford.
Shropshire—Wednesday, July 23, at Shrewsbury.
Herefordshire—Saturday, July 26, at Hereford.

Moinuouthshire—WeduLday, July 30, at Monmouth.
Gloucestershire—Saturday, Aug. 2, at Gloucester.
City of Gloucester—Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Guild.
hall of the City.

Nor,TH AND SOUTH WALES AND CHESTER

CIRCUIT.
The days on these Circuits have not yet been finally
determined ; a difficulty has arisen, in consequence of re-
prel;entation made to the Judges that the business at
Cardiff was so heavy that it would require the presence
of two Judges ; but it has been arranged that the Judge
who proceeds on the Noah Wales Circuit shall go
through his Circuit, and proceed to Chester, and dispose
of the business there alone, leaving the Judge of the
South \Vales Circuit (Hr. Justice Williams) to dispose
of the business at Cardiff, with the understanding that •
he should proceed to Chester, if required.