The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 2, 1858.

LONDON CRYSTAL PALACE.-
Regent-circus, Oxford-street, and Great Portland-
street—This magnificent building' will be opened to the
Public on WEDNESDAY, December let, 1858, for the sale of
all kinds of 'useful and fancy Articles. It will contain the
largest number of first-class Exhibitors of any Building in
Europe. The Photographic Establishment is the finest in
London. The Aviary, Conservatory, General Refreshment
Room, and Ladies' Private Refreshment Room, with Retiring
Room attached, will be replete in their several departments.
Applications for the remaining space are requested to be
made forthwith.

BANK OF DEPOSIT,
Established A.D. 1844.
3, PALL MALL EAST, LONDON.
Parties desirous of Investing Money are requested to exa-
mine the Plan of The Bank of Deposit, by which a high rate
of interest may be obtained with ample security.
Deposits made by Special Agreement may be withdrawn
without notice
The Interest is payable in January and July.
PETER MORRISON, Managing Director.
Forms for Opening Accounts sent free on application.

GLENFIELD PATENT STARCH,
USED IN THE ROYAL LAUNDRY,
AND PRONOUNCED BY HER MAJESTY'S LAUNDRESS to be
THE. FINEST STARCH SHE EVER USED.
Sold by all Chandlers, Grocers, &c., &c.

GEORGE HOBSON begs to call the attention
of Gentlemen to his New Autumnal Trousers, 21s. to
259. Also his New Partridge Mixture Shooting Coats.

Excellence with Economy.
GEORGE HOBSON, 57, Lombard-street.
Established 1796.

CIOCKS'S CELEBRATED READING SAUCE,
kJ which is so highly esteemed with Fish, Game, Steaks,
Soups, Grills, Gravies, Hot and Cold Meats, and unrivalled
for general use, is sold by the most respectable dealers in Fish
Sauces.—J, and C. COCKS, Reading, Sole Manufacturers.

WHO WILL PAY THE CHINESE
INDEMNITY? Why, the English themselves. An
export duty is to be levied, and then not even the East India
Tea Company will be able, as they now are, to sell 61b. of
Black, Green, or Mixed Tea, at ls. 10d. per lb., and Coffee, in
the Berry, at 10d.—Warehouse, 9, Great St. Helen's-church-
yard, City.

BOARD AND RESIDENCE. A Superior
Home is offered to a Gentleman of steady habits, en-
gaged during the day, by a family residing near Regent's-
Park. For a young man coming to London for the first time
this would be found a desirable residence. Terms moderate.
References to be exchanged. Address, J. P., Wright's
Dairy, Granby-street, Hampstead-road, N.W.

ARMY CONTRACTS FOR PAILLASSE STRAW, 1858-9.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That sealed
Tenders will be received at this Office, on or before
,SATURDAY, 13th November next, for the supply of such
quantities of PAILASSE STRAW as may be required for
service of Her Majesty's Troops in Great Britain and the
Channel Islands for a period of twelve months from Ist De-
cember next.
All proposals to contract must be made upon the printed
form of tender, which may be obtained on application at this
office, between the hours of ten and four, and which must be
properly filled I, signed, sealed, marked on the outside
"Tender for Paillasse Straw," and delivered at this office on
or before 13th November next.
THOMAS HOWELL, Director of Contracts..

CONTRACTS FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF STORES,
WEEDON.

WAR-OFFICE, Pall-mall, London, S.W.,
30th October, 1858.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That sealed
Tenders will be received at this Office on or before
THURSDAY, 11th November, for the CONVEYANCE OF
STORES from WEEDON to the various Barracks and other
Military Stations in Great Britain and Ireland, for a period
of one year, from 15th November, 1858.
All proposals must be made upon the proper printed form,
which may be obtained on application at this Moe, between
the hours of ten and four.
The tenders should be marked on the ontside " Tender for
the Conveyance of Stores, Weedon," and addressed to the
Director of Contracts, War-Office, Pall-mall.
THOMAS lIOWELL, Director of Contracts,

THE THEATRES.

commanding, never commanded, save by her own ii.nagin-
lugs, which bid her walk through the darkness, a spectre
of guilt, fearing naught external, and scaring all who may
cross her path.
Wedded to this woman oft; undaunted mettle," Macbeth
has yet to be surrounded by appropriate circumstances to
stamp his career with its distinguishing mark. Neither
his crimes nor his motives belong to a cultivated state of
society; we must suppose him placed amil a nation of
rugged men, and in a region where supernatnral inflursices
are within the compass of ordinal), belief. While, as an
actor Mr. Charles Kean makes the character of Macbeth a
vehicle for the grandest display of histrionic genius; as a
manager he takes care that the scenery and costumes shall
perfectly illustrate the time and place of alt:on,: and that
all the witchery which the modem improxemep.ts in deco-
rative art can supply, shall be employed to give the old tale
of crime its supernatural clothing. We walk through dark
scantily-arnished halls, or ers:-. our eyes over barren un-
cultivated grounds. Here spectres might roam—here
witches might hold their unhallowed revels.

The choruses are really grand, and, it may be observed,
are so admirably managed that the masses appeal to the eye
ai the music addresses the ear. Whatever may be said of
the extreme purists, there is no doubt that Locke's compo-
sition greatly relieves the tragic actor of the play, while it is
in perfect harmony with Elul' ncidents. In the hands, too,
of a manager like Mr. Charles Kean, the musical intervals
become so many chw-ateristic " episodes" in the sense of
the wo-d that has become prevalent since the revival of
Richard 11.

"Macbeth" takes rank among the greatest efforts of
Shakespeare's genius, and the public may congratulate
themselves that this marvellous tragedy is now presented
with' an the appliances that decorative art can achieve,
guided by the most perfect taste and knowledge, and
supported in its representation by the two finest artists of
the present age—Mr. and Mrs.. Charles Kean.

, LYCEUM—JTILXEN'S CONCERTS.
Jullien's Concerts d'adieu commenced here last evening
with every prospect of immense success. The house has
been tastefully fitted up for the occasion, and the band, as
usual, is composed of sixty first-rate artistes. On the
entry of the maestro he was very cordially received.
The house was full, and the programme consisted
of selections from the best and greatest masters. A
very, important feature in the entertainment was the
first appearance, in England of M. Wieniawsld, ' a
violinist of extraordinary ability, who, it appears, enjoys
already, though still apparently very young, a great
reputation on the Continent. M. Wieniawski played
Mendelssohn's concerto and Paganini's variations on
the " Carnival of Venice," and in both pieces
displayed such a command over the resources of his instru-
ment and so much musical sentiment
-as to justify 'us in
placing him in the first rank of living violinists. _ Miss L.
Vinning gave Verdi's " Tacea la [nate " so charmingly
as to gain an encore. She responded by singing ." Where
the Bee Sucks," with equal grace; it was quite refreshing
to hear that lovely air aster the paltry composition which
preceded it. The scenes of senseless uproar which have
unhappily disgraced M. Jullien's " first night" for some
years past, were not wanting on the present occasion. M.
Jullien niade several long speeches to no purpose. A strong
body of determined policemen would have been the shortest
and most expeditious way to restore order.

THE BALLOT.

. -
A 13/LL TO CAUSE THE VOTES. OF PARLIAMENTARY
ELECTORS TO BE TAKEN BY WAY OF BALLOT.

Whereas the freedom of elections for members to
serve for the Commons in Parliament is of the ut-
rAost consequence to the preservation of the rights
and liberties of the people. And whereas com-
plaints are made that notwithstanding the laws now
in force such elections are often procured or effected
by bribery, treating, intimidation, undue influence,.
and other corrupt and dishonourable means, •to the
great scandal of the kingdom and destructive (if
permitted) of the independent constitution of Par-
liament itself. For the remedy therefore of so
great' an evil, and to the end that all election's of
members to serve in the Commons House of Par-
liament may hereafter be freely and indifferently
made, be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent
Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the
Lords spiritual and teriaporal and Commons in this
present Parliament assembled, and by the autho-
rity of the same, as follows
1. From and after the, passing of this act. At
any election for members to serve in Parliament the
returning officer shall, if a poll be demanded, cause
as many booths to be erected, or rooms to be hired
or otherwise obtained, at each polling place as are
by law required, and the same shall be so divided
and arranged as to the returning,officer shall seem
best adapted for carrying out the provisions of this
act, but so that at each booth or room there shall

be one or Endre inner rooms' and compartments as
hereinafter enacted ; and the returning officer shall
before the day fixed for the polling, if a poll be de-
manded, cause to be furnished for the use of each

such booth or room a sufficient number of copies of
the register of electors for the borough, city, or
county for which such election shall take place, and
shall also, provide for the use of each such booth or
room a ballot-box with a secure lock, and with an
aperture through which the ballot papers may be
placed in such ballot-box.
2. The returning officer at any election where a
poll is demanded shall preside at one of the booths
appointed for taking the poll at such election, and
shall appoint a deputy returning officer to preside
at each other booth or room and it shall be the duty
of such :returning officer and his deputies to see
that the votes of the electors are given according to
the provisions of this act.
3. Each candidate shall appoint one or more
persons, not exceeding three for each booth, to be
scrutineers on his behalf at such election, and the
returning officer and each deputy returning officer
and scrutineer shall prior to• the commencement of
the poll make the following declaration :
" I, A.B. the returning officer (or a deputy re-
turning officer, or scrutineer) appointed by C.D. a
candidate at the election of a member (or members)
to serve in Parliament for the borough, city, or
county of do declare that
I will faithfully assist in the said election, that I
will not in any manner interfere with any elector
when filling up his ballot paper, or attempt to
ascertain the name or names of the candidate or
candidates for whom any elector at such election
shall record his •vote, and in case I shall become
acquainted with the name or names of the candidate
or candidates for whom any elector shall record his
vote, then that I will not disclose to any person
whomsoever the fad so coming to my knowledge."
And any returning officer, deputy returning officer
or scrutineer doing any act in contravention of such
declaration shall deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
4. The Returning Officer immediately after a
poll is demanded shall cause to be printed a num-
ber of ballot papers sufficient for the number of
electors on the register of persons entitled to vote
at such election, and such papers shall be of
uniform size and colour and in the form pre-
scribed in the schedule to this act, and the names of
all the candidates on whose behalf a poll shall be
demanded at such election shall be printed in alpha-
betical order thereon, and the returning officer,
prior to the commencement of the poll, shall authen-
ticate each such paper by marking the same on the
back with a stamp to be provided by such returning
officer.

5. On or before the day of polling the returning
officer shall deliver to each deputy returning officer
a number of the said papers so authenticated by
him as required by this act, sufficient for the num-
ber of electors entitled to vote at the polling place
at which' such deputy is to preside, and retain a
number of such papers sufficient for the number of
electors entitled to vote at the polling booth at
which he shall himself preside.
6. The returning officer shall cause the names of
all the candidates on whose behalf a poll shall be
demanded to be painted or printed on placards, one
or more of which placards shall be placed in each
booth or room and also in some conspicuous position
on the outside of each booth or room.

7. At every booth or other place for taking the
poll at an election the returning officer shall pro-
vide one or more inner rooms, each containing as
many separate apartments, for the purpose of en-
abling the electors privately to mark their papers as
the said returning officer shall think necessary, in
which inner room and compartments no person
other than the electors actually voting shall be en-
titled to be or remain. Provided always that it
shall be lawful for the returning officer or deputy
returning officer to permit any constable or other
officer to enter such inner room or compartments
for the purpose of removing therefrom any person
or persons who may obstruct the voting or wilfully
violate any of the provisions of this act, and any
person improperly going into or remaining in the
said inner room or compartments shall be guilty of
a misdemeanour.

8. The returning officer shall on or before the
day appointed for taking the poll at any election
deliver to his deputy appointed for each polling
booth such a box as herein before referred to, which
box shall be when delivered to such deputy return-
ing officer locked and under the seal of the return-
ing officer, and the returning officer shall retain a
box so locked and sealed as aforesaid for the polling
place where he himself shall preside, and each
deputy returning officer shall during the said poll
keep the said boxes locked and sealed, and the key
of each such box shall be kept during the poll by
the person entitled to the custody of the said box,
and during the taking of the poll each such box
shall stand on the table in the polling booth or room
in the presence of the returning officer or his deputy
and of the said scrutineers,—Provided each candi-
date or any scrutineer on his behalf may require to
see that such boxes are empty prior to their being
locked and scaled as aforesaid.
9. Each elector having first according to law
satisfied the returning officer or his deputy that he
is entitled to vote, and having also signed his name
or placed his mark opposite to his name upon a
copy of the register of persons entitled to vote at
such election shall receive from the returning officer
or his deputy a paper in the form prescribed in
the said schedule, and such elector shall then
immediately take such ballot paper into a com-
partment of the inner room required by this act to be
provided in each polling booth for such purpose, and
shall there without delay strike through the name
or names of the candidate or candidates for whom
he does not intend to vote, but so that if there be
only one member to be returned for such county,
city or borough he only leave one name not struck
out, and if there be more than one member to
be returned for such county, city or borough he
does not leave the names of more candidates not
struck out than there are members to be returned
for such county, city, or borough, otherwise such
paper shall be invalid, and when such elector shall
have struck through the name or names of such
candidate or candidates, such elector shall fold up
such paper so as to exhibit only the stamp or au-
thentication on the back thereof by this act required,
and shall immediately place such paper in such a
box as hereinbefore required to be provided, and
each elector shall leave the said inner-room or com-
partment as soon as he has voted, and shall not re-
enter the same during the election, and no two
electors shall be or remain in the same compartment
at the same time, nor shall any elector after re-
ceiving any such ballot paper take the same out of
the said inner room or compartment either before or
after he has marked the same, except it may be
necessary for the placing of the same when folded
in the said box, nor shall any elector exhibit his
paper to any person after the names are erased,and
the returning officer or his deputy shall not allow
any papers taken away or exhibitedsaid box, but
contrary to the
foregoing provisions to be deposited inox,
shall reject the same, and shall not give to any
doctor more than one paper, and any elector wil-
fully offending against any of the provisions in this
act contained, shall be deemed guilty of a misde-
mean our.
10. Each deputy-returning officer shall, imme-
diately- on the close of the poll, and not before, in
the presence of the said scrutineers, open the said
boxes, count the papers therein, and the votes given
for each candidate, and shall collect and seal up
the papers which have been usel at the polling
place whereat he presided and shall seal up in a
separate parcel all such papers as shall not have
been used, and in another separate parcel any ballot
Papers which are invalid or informal, or rejected, and
the mid parcels Wall be respeetiyely =died on the

PRICE 4D. STAMPED, SD.

//Z

outside" Election for " " Voting papers used,"
" Voting papers unused," and " Voting papers
rejected," and each deputy, returning officer shall
make out an account in which he shall state the

numbers polled for each candidate and charge him-
self with the number of papers delivered to him by
the returning officer and specify the number de-
livered to and used by voters, and the number (if
any) left unused, and the number (if any) invalid or
informal or rejected, and such account shall be
verified by his said signature and by those of the
said scrutineers, and the said deputy returning
officer shall with the least possible delay deliver or
cause to be delivered under seal the said account,
together with the copy of the Register of Electors
so signed by the electors who shall have voted and
also all the said parcels to the returning officer of
the county, city, or borough for which the election
shall take place.
11. The returning officer of each county, city, or
borough, shall, at the close of the poll, in the pre-
sence of the scrutineers appointed for each candi-
date, open the ballot-box used at the polling place
at which such returning officer shall have presided,
and shall count the papers and seal them up in such
parcels and make out such an account as herein-
before mentioned, and shall with as little delay as
possible publicly and in the presence of at least one
scrutineer on behalf of each candidate open and
examine the accounts and parcels of the voting
papers delivered to him by such deputy returning
officer and ascertain their correctness, and shall
make out an account of the aggregate number of
votes given for each candidate, which account shall
be verified by his signature and by that of at least
one scrutineer on behalf of each candidate, and the
said returning officer shall at the place of nomina-
tion, at such time as by law appointed, openly
declare the general -state of the poll at the
close of the election as the same shall have been
so made up and ascertained by him from the papers
taken at the several polling places, and shall
at the same time and place declare the name or
names of the person or persons who shall be elected
at such election.

12. In ascertaining the votes given for each
candidate, any paper on which the names of more
candidates than can be returned at the election are
left, not struck out, and any paper which shall bear
the name of any voter, or any mark, impression, or
device designed to distinguish such paper from other
papers shall be invalid and not counted as a vote.

- 13. The Returning Officer shall forward under
seal, without delay, to the Clerk of the Crown
all the papers used, unused, and rejected at such
election, and all such accounts and signed copies of
the register as hereinbefore required to be made out,
and the provisions for the safe custody of poll books
contained in the 93d section of the statute made
and passed in the sixth year of her present Majesty
Queen Victoria, entituled " An Act to amend the
law for the registration of persons entitled to vote,
and to define certain rights of voting and to regu-
late certain proceedings in the election of Members
to serve in Parliament for England and Wales,"
shall extend and apply to such papers, accounts,
and copies, and the said section shall be considered
held and treated as incorporated in this act.
14. All such papers, accounts, and copies shall
be kept by the said Clerk of the Crown until after
the expiration. of the time within which a petition
against the return of the Member or Members
chosen at such election can be presented, and shall
then be destroyed.
_ _

15. Any elector who may be blind or unable
to read shall signify the same to the returning officer
or his deputy, who shall thereupon mark or strike
out the names of such candidates as such ele*tor
may designate.
16. Any person who shall in any manner tam-
per with any votinc, paper given or used at any
election, or with any box provided for the reception
of votes, or who shall do any act whereby the re-
sult of such election shall or may be affected,
defeated, or falsified, or the votes given at any
election, or any of them shall or may be falsified or
made of no effect shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
17. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with
this act are repealed.

SCHEDULE.
County, City, or Borough) of
Election of (here insert number) Members

CANDIDATES.
:here insert names of candidates alpha,betically.)

DIRECTIONS.

The voter is to strike out the name or names of
the candidate or candidates for whom he does not
intend to vote by drawing a line through the same.
He must be careful not to leave not struck out
the names of more candidates than are capable of
being returned, namely- (here insert number of
members), otherwise his vote will be of no effect"
If he cannot read he may require the returning
officer or deputy returning officer to strike out for
him such name or names as he may direct.
The ballot paper so marked by or for the voter
is to be dropped by him into the ballot box, folded
so as to exhibit only the stamp on the back.
The voter is not to take his ballot paper out of
the ballot room or polling booth, nor to exhibit his
paper after the names are erased, to any person,
otherwise his vote will be of no effect.

If this paper bears the name of any voter or any
mark, impression, or device designed to distinguish
it from other papers, it will be invalid and not
counted as a vote.

WEST INDIA ENCUMBERED ESTATES

COURT.

IN RE THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM SAMUEL GREAT-
HEAD.-EX PARTE SOPHIA BURGESS.

A Court of Commissioners for Sale of Encum-
bered Estates in the West ludies was held yester-
day at 8, Park-street, Westminster. There was a
numerous attendance.

This was the first sale under the commission, and
the Chief Commissioner (H. J. Stonor, Esq.), in
opening the proceedings made the following obser-
vations :

" As this is the first sale by, auction in "this court,
I think that it will be of advantage if, before the
sale takes place, I make a few ebservations as to
the title which this court is authorised to give to
the purchaser, the mode of sale, the form of the
conveyance, the terms for the payment of the pur-
chase money, and the means of obtaining possession
of the property; after which Mr. Leifcliild (whom
we have employed to act as auctioneer) will read
the particulars of sale, stating the nature of the
•property, and will receive the biddings which will
be made for it.-1. And first, as to the title which
this court is authorised to give. I have to refer
you to the Act 21 and 22 Vic., c. 96, passed this year
for the amendment of the original Act of 17 and 18
Vic. for the regulation of this commission, and from
the passing of which Amendment Act must be
dated the real operation of this commission.
The 10th section of the 21st and 22d Vic. enacts
Every conveyance executed by the commisioners iia
pursuance of these acts shall be effectual to pass
the fee simple, and inheritance, and absolute in-
terest of and in the land thereby expressed to be
conveyed, or such lesser estate or interest as may
in such conveyance be specified, subject to such
right and uncommuted payments, if any, as are re-
ferred to in the 36th section of the principal Act
(namely, crown rents, tithes, and similar payments),
and to such tenancies, leases, underlcases, incum-
brances, and interests, as shall bo expressed or re-
ferred to in the said conveyance as aforesaid (there
are none in the present case), but save as aforesaid
discharged from all former and other estates,
rights, titles, charges, and incumbrances whatso-
ever of her Majesty, her heirs and successors, and
of all other persons whomsoever; and no convey.
ance by the commissioners shall be set aside on
the ground of their not having jurisdiction over the
subject-matter thereof.' rhis section is quite
clear in its language, and it is unnecessary for me
to add any comment. Upon it is based the pur-
chaser's title, and, together with the conveyance
from the commissioners, it forms the whole of his
title, and saves him and all future purchasers any
trouble, expense, or care as to the earlier title, or
the evidence required for its support. 2. In the
next place, as to the mode of sale and conveyance,
the estate will be offered by the auctioneer at an
upset price, and the biddings received at a certain
rate varying in each case. In the present case the
upset price will be
offer less than £5O £5,000, and no purchaser will
advanced price at each bidding ;
but probably at first purchasers will make larger
advances to save time. The commissioners have
the power to buy in the estate, or, to speak more
accurately, to refuse all the biddings, and post-
pone the sale to a fixed day or otherwise. This
power, however, will be exercised sparingly ; in
ordinary cases, the highest bidder will be declared
the purchaser, Immediately on a bidding being
so received, an order will be made declaring the
person offering it to be the purchaser, and direct-
ing the payment of the purchase money into
the Bank of England generally, as in the
present case, one quarter as a deposit within 14
days, and the balance within three months,
and authority will be given to the bank to re-
ceive the same. On the payment of the purchase
money the conveyance will be executed under the
Deal of the court, to be prepared at the expellee of

NEWSPAPER

ar4 q-,.1 \-7- • 514
car
•
the purchaser, which will, h
trifling, and Mr. Cust, the secretaiN
gi
every assistance for its preparation. UN3II the
13th section of the Amendment Act it is free from
stamp duty. The purchaser will also receive a cer-
tificate under the seal of the court of his purchase,
which will be evidence to all persons of his having
been declared the purchaser, and which will corre-
spond with the other made by the court. 3. With
regard to possession. Generally upon payment of
ilze deposit, and not before, the purchaser will re-
ceive an order on the parties in possession to deliver
up the property. In the present case, however, the
peculiar circumstances of the climate and season
rendering immediate possession indispensable for
the cultivation' of the estate for the next ten
-months, I have, in consequence of several applica-
tions and with the consent of_ the petitioner,. deter-
mined to give the order for possession upon the
guarantee of a London banker for payment of the
deposit within 14 days. Lastly, in order to gua-
rantee obedience to this order for possession on the
parties, an order will also be made on the provost
marshal, the sheriff of the colony, requiring him to
vindicate the purchaser's rights in case of resistance,
which, however, is not to be anticipated, and the
purchaser will further be entitled to every assist-
ance from the supreme court of the colony. And a
letter will be addressed to the Chief Justice, the
local commissioner under the act, informing him of
the sale to the purchassr. Whilst these are the
purchaser's rights, his liabilities are simply to the
payment of the deposit and the purchase money on
the day stated, and in the event of non-compliance,
the purchaser will be in contempt and liable to
committal ; besides, he will be required to pay in-
terest at five per cent. for every day during which
his payments may be in arrear. And, moreover,
the estate will be resold, and the purchaser will be
held liable to make good any deficiency in price at
such subsequent sale. I have only to add, that
every information and facility will be given by the
court to the purchaser, and that as the mail goes
to-night, Mr. Cust and I will continue in attend-
ance during the whole of the day, if required."
Mr. Leifchild, the auctioneer of the court, then
read the particulars, and offered the property for
sale, which ultimately, after a spirited competition,
was purchased by the Very Rev. F. R. Braith-
waite, who it is understood is connected with the
colony, at the sum of £lO,OOO.
This sum was considerably higher than was ex-
pected, and augurs well for future sales. Imme-
diately on the tonclusion of the sale an order for
delivery of possession to the purchaser was given,
and went out by the same night's mail.
AN AMERICAN STEAM RAM.

The following curious statement is extracted
from a letter addressed to a contemporary :
It has been stated publicly and frequently that
the engine of destruction called the " naval rain"
was first invented by the Emperor of the French,
and the idea of vessels propelled by steam, imper-
vious to shot and shell from without, has been
claimed as an original one by more than one. So
much discussion has taken place on this head that
not only has the idea never been entertained that
a vessel such as has been theoretically described
actually, practically exists, but the question of—
Has Prussia, has France, has America, such a ves-
sel—has been answered in the negative. The fol-
lowing statement may, therefore, be new to your
readers, and, if so, may prove the means of awaken-
ing inquiry :
Not many years since there lived in America a
rich merchant named Stephens. He suffered
seriously in his pocket from sundry unfortunate
collisions at sea, and thus his attention was turned
to the subject, and it occurred to him that the tre-
mendous force of steam power might be turned to
account in naval warfare in the same way. In a
word, he conceived the possibility of building a
steam ram, and, after long thought, he communi-
cated his ideas to the Government. These new-
fangled notions were not appreciated, but Stephens
was so impressed with the importance of the matter
that he determined to set to work at once. Being
a rich man, he met with no obstacle, and ran-
sacked the workshops of New York in search of
first-rate and respectable workmen. He bound them
over to secrecy, and then threw up a high wall
round the slip where he proposed to give reality
to his idea. Year after year went by, and
gradually the leviathan progressed. The steamer
was to be shot-proof by means of iron plates, and
since then the manner in which those plates resist
for hours the heaviest shot has become so liotorious
that I need not dwell longer on that theme. It was
to be the lar6est steamer afloat, which, I need
hardly say, it is not now, being surpassed by our
Great Eastern, and it was to travel at the rate of
20 knots an hours—that is to say, faster than ocean
steamers, though not so fast, for instance, as her
Majesty's yacht. It was to be propelled by six
powerful engines, to be sharp at the bow and stern,
being a bed of iron at both extremities, carrying
one monster gun, and a heavy, but not numerically
strong, armament, after the Merrimac model. Such
a vessel would be a fearful antagonist for even a
fleet of three-deckers to meet with 'on the wide
ocean, and all she would have to fear would be
being laid aboard. To prevent this she was to
throw streams of boiling water- from her sides, so
as to be unapproachable. The enterprise gradually
progressed, but Mr. Stephens did not live to 112 C it
completed, although he was fortunate enough to
have his conception approvedby his country, and his
expenses refunded, the American Government car-
rying out his idea. This mammoth naval ram is
now nearly finished, a yearly sum having been
allotted to the work—so nearly as to be ready for
immediate use, and what a fearful power is thus
possessed by America!
We are totally unprepared to meet this, and,
though it certainly does not hurt much yet, what
would be the consequence should such an engine of
destruction appear unexpectedly among us P "We
wanted," said my informant, ‘1 to find some means
•f destruction which should floor you at once and
effectually, if we went to war, and therefore wesaid
nothing about it.', The facts I now advance arc
easily verified, and thus not only is the assertion
nullified that no other country is further advanced
in this branch of naval warfare than we are, but it
becomes a question as to what effect such a vessel
would have had on past events. I cannot givo
the precise date when the lines of this monster
ship were laid, but I know it to have been pro-
gressing for at least ten years, consequently
such a vessel would have been available during
the late war, and another tale would then have
been told of our naval operations iu the Baltic.
What would have been its effect on the batteries
of Sweaborg, of Cronstadt--nay, on the sea bas-
tions of Sebastopol itself ?
I repeat, this does not hurt mei yet, but had
we not better look to it before the harm is done,
and England's naval pre ,tige has suffered from
her slowness in keeping pace with other Powers.
While we have been disputing as to who should
have the merit of the conception, here is a great.
naval nation who hai not only years since invented,
but has realised the conception for which we are
quarrelling, and while our orators are boldly as-
serting that such an engine of destruction does not
exist, are laughing in quiet self-complacency,
-knowing, as America does know, that the wall
which surrounds the ealisation of Stephens's
idea conceals from the world the true author of
this great effort of modern naval warfare. True,
it does not hurt much yet.

An
dac at
tt wmasontgmiavrt.in August sntilcans,t melan-
cholywohfoahadbeen
c edining
in
affair
together and were slightly intoxicated, were pro-
at a late hour at night along the Rue des Portes
Blanches, when they were overtaken by three other men,
who had come from the fete of St. Ou3n, and who were also
in liquor. One of the last party asked one of the former, a
coachman, named Decote, the way to Paris ; Decote gave a
gruff answer ; the other took offence their respective com-
panions interfered, and a regular fight ensued. Presently
the companions of Decote ran away, and in a few minutes
the latter followed. But some persons, who had been at-
tracted to the spot by the noise of the fray, found two men,
hwoimtht ah
ekynirfaew, arundndneaind .g a m
,Tmhye,y a mn'de n c
at
pi n_
eah
pursuittwi oefeastambanedy
tured him in a public house, with a blood-stained knife in
his hand—this was Deeote., and he could not deny that it
was he who had stabbed .the men. Yesterday Decote was
brought to trial before the Court of Assizes for having killed
the two men, whose names were Laurance and Duval. His
advocate endeavoured to show that, having been attacked
on a very dark night, in a narrow and deserted street, and
by men who were greatly superior to him in physical
strength; he had been justified in using his knife ; but the
jury declared him guilty, though with extenuating circum-
stances, and the Court sentenced him to five years' har-
' abour.
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~~~

upwards of his fellow-countrymen who are paupers
and on the verge of pauperism.
Mr. Blum:TT's contribution, then, to the solution
of the great social problem of the condition of the
people is—alas ! for poor human nature—a bril-
liant and showy declamation, " full cf sound and
fury, signifying nothing." And yet he comes
near to the truth. The reduction of the nation's
expenditure is his panacea for the social evils of
the system. It is, then, after all, like most other
things, a MONEY QUESTION. Poverty, vice, misery
abound, because the poor man earns too little and
pays too much. Now, we will refer Mr. BRIGHT
to a few plain facts. In the years 1854, 1855, and
1856, taxes were high, and wheat was from 80s. to
90s. a quarter, and yet the condition of the people
was rapidly improving, both in the agricultural
and manufacturing districts. Mr. BRIGHT must
remember well, if any man in England does, that
not only were the people willing to pay the heavy
load of taxes for the Russian war, but they were
able. How was this ? The reason why, during
these years, the people could pay their taxes was,
that they had plenty of money to pay them with.
The influx of Australian gold enabled the Bank to
keep out an adequate bank-note circulation. With ,
this circulation the price of all commodities was
permitted to rise, so as to include the additional
amount of taxation imposed. The producer got a
good price for his goods, and was therefore able to
pay good wages to the working man. The working
man, as a consumer, paid a price for his food re-
munerative to the food-producer ; and he could
afford to do this, for he got adequate wages. Every
industrious man in the kingdom was doing well.
The usurer and the hard calculator partook of the
general prosperity, but he seldom got more than 5
per cent. for his money, and he could no longer
purchase luxuries below cost price. Peace came,
and bullion went out. We had a monetary crisis,
which raised discount to 10 per cent., and the poor-
rates in Lancashire 56 per cent. Government
stepped in at the last moment to prevent a national
convulsion, and granted to Fear that relaxation of
the monetary system which they had denied to
Justice.

NAPLES.

Are these things necessary ? We affirm most
decidedly that they are not. We want money in
the realm, not so far abundant as to excite to
wild speculation, nor so inadequate to the nation's
wants as to produce depression of trade, misery,
and starvation. Experience tells us that a limited
amount of national money (L 20,000,000), basea on
the honour, good faith, and wealth of England,
issued by the authority of the Queen and Parlia-
ment, would be sufficient.

By " the sacred duty which we owe to our coun-
try,"—in the name of the million of paupers, and
the million struggling between independence_ and
pauperism—we call upon Mr. BRIGHT to direct
his energies and abilities to the unpopular but most
important subject—the Money Question. This is,
indeed, the great social question of the day, and
far beyond the honours which even the SOVEREIGN
of this mighty empire can bestow:Far beyond the
loud applause which the most despotic demagogue
can extort from his worshippers will be the honour
due to the man who shall bring happiness, content-
ment, and every social blessing into the lowly
dwelling of every labourer and operative in the
kingdom.

THE SUN.

TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 2, 1858.

JOHN BRIGHT is a man. Right or wrong he
speaks out, and gives utterance to his sincere con-
victions in a manly, straightforward way. He
means what he says, and he says what he means.
There is no mistake, there can be no mistake, as to
his opinions. The language in which he clothes
his 'earnest, honest views of men and things is
plain, strong, nervous English. We listen to him
with pleasure, even when we have the misfortune
to differ from him ; and we also think that we
have a right to speak our mind. It is our mission,
as it is that of Mr. BRIGHT, to tell the country
what we believe to be the truth. We "dare" to
differ from Mr. BRIGHT. We believe that on
many occasions he speaks the truth, but we refuse
to admit that he alwayk according to our appre-
hension, speaks " the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth." Mr. BRIGHT, as we have said before,
is not infallible. We admire his self-reliance. But
it is possible to be too self-confident. And when
a man asks his fellow-citizens how they " dare" to
differ in opinion, we say at once that his self-
confidence has degenerated into intolerance.
Now we are not going to say a word at present
about Mr. BRIGHT'S opinion as to the advantage
of Peace-at-any-price. Sir It. WALPOLE, Mr. Fox,
Lord GREY, Sir R. PEEL, and Mr. BRIGHT alto-
gether would not convince us, any more than they
would convince the nation, that " any-peace is
better than the most successful war." But we
differ widely from Mr. BRIGHT upon another and
a most important subject, and that is, the best
means of improving the condition of the people of
England. Before we " dare" to tell him in what
respect we differ, we will do ourselves the pleasure
of informing him in what respect we agree with
what he said the other day at Birmingham on this
topic.

Habernus corifitentem .1 On Friday the Tines
in an elaborate argument, endeavours to extract
the sting of Mr. BRIGHT'S remarks, in which he
convicts our contemporary of inconsistency in
writing anonymously its contemptuous arguments
against the Ballot. But on Saturday it finds itself
required :to defend secret authorship against Mr.
SIDNEY HERBERT, who, we must confess by some
very plausible reasoning, endeavoured to show that
articles in newspapers would have more weight if
authors habitually appended their names to them.
The Times feels that Mr. HERBERT'S arguments
have something in them. Of course a man who
wrote on his responsibility by giving his name,
would have an extra inducement to care, both in
his facts and arguments. There is positively no
denying such an obvious truth as this. Yes, but,
says the Times, " If; Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT made
a clean breast of it he would confess that not love
but hate was father to his 'thought. He knows,
and we know, that it is just the anonymous charac-
ter of the Press that has sec•froil ifs in'lgnivlence."
Even so—the secret author is an independent
authof—and will the Times deny that the secret
voter must also be an independent voter ? Or,
will it take the other horn of the dilemma, and deny
that the voter ought to be independent ? Yes, says
the Times, in reply to Mr. BRIGHT, but there is no
analogy that we can perceive between the cases.
The voter's is a legal act which aids in choosing
him and me a governor; and I have a right to know
how his act affects me. Not quite so fast, good
Mr. ANONYMOUS. There is at least the resemblance
of securing independence in both cases. That you
assert strongly on Saturday. Secrecy is inde-
pendence ; so far good. Next, independence is
always asserted to be a desirable qualification for
an elector. You do not like to give a vote to the
operative or farm servant, because he is not inde-
pendent ; that is one at least of your reasons. Then,
again, will the Times not readily allow that a
column or two of its bourgeois is a thing which
very much affects our common governors ? Does
it not often print them to get certain governors in
or out, or in again when they have been turned
out P and is not the censorship of the whole Euro-
pean press evidence enough that an article in a
newspaper is a matter of much more concern to
governors than a poor independent vote ?
We beg the Times' pardon, and hope it will not
think us guilty of flattery, but we have a much
higher opinion of the influence of its articles than
its modesty permits it to entertain of them itself.
Why, we think, in our vanity, better of our own.
We believe that the clients of our Coppocks
in numberless cases, be most thankful to know who
wrote some- leader or communication in a news.
paper ; these leaders have often a great deal to
do with which senator is elected. The candidate
senators never overlook an editor if they know
him, and, if they do not, they like to be friendly
with the manager or the proprietor. The truth is,
the voter ought to be represented—that no one will
deny. If he fears, or merely wishes to oblige in his
political good nature, any one else, then he repre-
sents that individual or individuals, not himself.
If it be really intended that every voter shall repre-
sent others who have no vote, then in the name of
common sense give the unrepresented votes for
electors. Let us, have, as they have in some. coun -
tries, double election—electors chosing others
whose business it shall be to elect the representa-
tative. But now the voter is presumed to be inde-
pendent, and the Times has assured us that secrecy
is the soul of independence.
We are often told, however, that we cannot
secure secrecy—an odd objection, to be sure, from
opponents of secrecy. We reply, however—try.
Though the acts of our Australian, colonies are not
framed for absolute secrecy in-
the event of a
scrutiny, yet they have secured secrecy there, and
even when the majority has beck' but narrow, the
defeated party has not doubted the honesty of the
• tino. or appealed to a scrutiny. We
_lay before

" When I am told," said Mr. BRIGHT, " that the
greatness of our country is shown by the
£100,000,000 of revenue produced, may I not ask
how is it that we have 1,100,000 paupers in this
kingdom, and why it is that £7,000,000 should be
taken annually from the industry, chiefly of the
labouring classes, to support a small nation, as it
were, of paupers?" We agree that this is a ques-
tion which ought to be asked. "But," he continues,
" it is well known that just above the level of the
1,100,000 there is an equal number who are ever
oscillating between independence and pauperism,
who, with a heroism which is not the less heroic
because it is secret and unrecorded, are doing their
very utmost to maintain an honourable and inde-
pendent position before their fellow men." There
are, then; 1,100,000 of British paupers, and, another
1,000,000 of our fellow subjects living on the verge
of pauperism—living a life of careworn and
anxious struggle for food enough to eat, and cloth-
ing enough to wear. In Ireland the rate of wages
is a shilling a day i in .Scotland's remautic glen. q.
and moorlands there are many families existing
from day to day and from week to week on oat-
meal. While these things continue, says Mr.
BRIGHT, "we are bound by the sacred duty which
we owe to our country to examine why it is that,
with all this trade, all this industry, and all this
personal freedom, there is still so much that is un-
sound at the base of our social fabric."

With this view of the question we entirely and
cordially agree. We re-echo the eloquent and glow.
ing language of the hon. member for Birmingham
with heartfelt approbation_ Crowns, coronets,..“
mitres, military display, the pomp of war, wide
colonies, and a huge empire, are all trifles light as
air, and not worth considering, unless with them
you can have a fair share of comfort, contentment,
and happiness among the great body of the peojle.,,
Mr. BRIGHT, then, has truly and forcibly
depicted the evils of the social condition of the
people, and declared that the first business of a
statesman is to direct his attention to the removal
of those evils. With all this we agree. But what
are Mr. BRIGHT'S proposed remedies for these evils?
Get, he says in effect, some political privileges, in
order that you may reduce the taxes ; and, in the
meanwhile, if you are starving, and cannot wait
for political privileges and reduced taxation, emi-
grate. This is all the advice which the great
popular orator has to offer to the two millions and

our readers, h' Jwever, the draught of a bill, whic h
if they will bAlt compel our legislators to make it
law, Will, we ;think, set the landlords and the whole
tribe of vote purchasers at defiance. Indeed,
nothing can be much -easier than to provide me.
chanically for secrecy, if our governors but wish to
do it. And tl ten, as in the case of the Income•tax,
the sentiment generated by the law and its recti-
tude comes in aid. Practically it is found that
where the law- gives a man a secret and thereby an
independent • rote, men are slow to disgrace them-
selves by pry ing, if they could, into what the law
forbids them to know.

LATEST NEWS.

THE PENINSULAR MAILS.
(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY MORNING.
The Valetta steamer, with the Peninsular mails,
is telegraphed from Hurst at 10 45 a.m.

SPAIN.
The following telegrams were received at Mr.
Reuter's office, Nov. 1 :

MADRID, Nov. 1.

The coalition of the parties in opposition to the
Ministry have had the majority in the elections at
Madrid.

Government has triumphed everywhere in the

provinces.
General tranquillity reigns in all parts of the
country.

PARIS, MONDAY.

Letters from Naples state that the King liars had
frequent conferences with Monsieur de Tilanguer.
There is a report that be will be again appointed
Minister.

THFJ SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 2, 18

iii. 'signing any treaty at all. He was at that time
on his return journey overland to Nagasaki. Had
any doubts existed as to the propriety of proceed- •
ing without delay to negotiate at Jeddo, they
were at once solved by this intelligence, for A
became incumbent on the Ambassador to lose' no
time in securing for Great Brtain those advantages
and privileges which other nations either bad
acquired or were acquiring, and in placing her,
without delay, in the position of the other Euro-
pean Powers at that time represented in Japan.
As, unfortunately, all the efforts made at Nagasaki
to procure a Dutch interpreter had proved unavail-
ing, an insuperable difficulty seemed to present
itself on learning that the only language in which
the Japanese could communicate at Jeddo was
Dutch. This obstacle was, however, removed by
the friendly act of Mr. Harris, who, with great
liberality and courtesy, placed his own interpreter,
Mr Huesken, at Lord Elgin's disposal. _During the
fortnight's stay of the squadron at Jeddo the ser-
vices of this gentleman were in constant request,
and his readiness to oblige rendered him univer-
sally popular, while in his official capacity his
knowledge of the people and familiarity with their
habits, acquired during a residence among them of
two years, must have rendered him invaluable.
Simoda is about 80 miles from the city of Jeddo,
situate at the extreme point of the promontory
which forms one side of the capacious bay, or rather
gulf, at the head of which the capital is placed.
Up this bay the squadron proceeded, with a fair
wind, on the morning of the 12th, and passing
through the Straits of Uraga, the left shore of
which is feathered with rich verdure and indented
with little bays, reached a point opposite the
Port of Kanagawa, beyond which no foreign ships
had ever ventured, and where the Russian
squadron could then be discerned at anchor.
Captain Osborn, however, professing his readi-
ness to explore the unknown waters at the
head of the bay, and to approach as near the city
as possible, Lord Elgin seemed determined not to
lose an 'opportunity of establishing a precedent
likely to be so important in our future intercourse
with Japan, and, to the astonishment of both Rus-
sians and Japanese, the British ships deliberately
passed the sacred limit without communicating
with the shore, and a few minutes after were
cautiously feeling their way round a long spit of
land which runs far put into the bay and offers
some danger to the navigator. An instinct for
deep water must have guided-the ships along, the
channel, which was afterwards found_ to be suffi-
ciently narrow and tortuous, but at last all doubts
as to the feasibility of the enterprise were removed
by the appearance of several large, square-rigged,
Japanese vessels at anchor, the draught of water of
which was a guarantee for our own. Behind these
rose gradually out of the waters of the bay a line
of insulated forts, which marked the defences of
Jeddo, while an extensive suburb, running along
the western shore, formed a continuous street as
far as the eye could reach. The ships ultimately
anchored in three fathoms of water, about a mile
and a half from this suburb, and the same distance
from the fine island forts abovementioned, which
are situated on a sandbank, the intervening channels
being always covered with water. About a mile
beyond these forts, and parallel to them, lay the
main body of the city ; the wooded height, on
which' is situated the Castle of the Tycoon, forming
a conspicuous object. The-arrival of the British
squadron in waters which the Japanese had sedu-
lously, represented as being too shallow; to admit of
the approach of large ships filled them wth dismay
and astonishment ; boats followed each other, with
officials of ascending degrees of rank, to beg them
to return to Kanagawa ; and finally urgent repre-
sentations were made to the Ambassador on the
subject. The pleas generally put forward were
amusing and characteristic ;—first, it was said the
anchorage was dangerous, but the presence of their
• own squadron was referred to as an evidence to the
contrary ; then that it would be impossible to pro-
cure and send off supplies, but it was protested
that if necessary we could do without these. The
merits and comforts of Kanagawa were. expatiated
on in vain ; the paramount duty was the delivery of
the' yacht at Jeddo, and to deliver the yacht there
it was necesspry to remain at the present anchorage.
No sooner was this settlod than the Japanese in
their usual way becaMe perfectly reconciled to the
arrangement,. sent off supplies with great willing-
ness, and began to prepare a residence on shore for
Lord Elgin and his Staff. It appeared that Count
Putiatine had been delayed for 10 days negotiating
on this subject at Kanagawa, and only succeeded in
taking up his residence at Jeddo on the same day
that we cast anchor before the town. He had
made the journey overland from Kanaga, a dis-
tance of 18 miles.

male and female populatidif Might be seen innocently
"tubbing" at the coroners of die streets. In
"JeddO they frequent large ,bathing establishments,
the, doors of which are open to the passer-by, and pre-
sent a curious spectacle, more especially if the in-
mates of both sexes ingenuously rush to it to gaze
at him as he rides blushingly past. But it would
not be possible to condense within the limits of a
letter the experiences and observations of a resi-
dence in the capital of an empire about which
the information at home is so very scanty, and
which presents probably a greater variety of
interesting and curious matter to the stranger
than any other part of the world. Suffice it to be
recorded as our general impression that, in its
climate, its fertility, and its picturesque beauty,
Japan is not equalled by any country on the face of
the globe; while, as if to harmonise with its sur-
passing natural endowments, it is peopled by a race
whose qualities are of the most amiable and winning
description, and whose material prosperity has been
so equalised as to insure happiness and. content-
ment to all classes. 'We never saw two Japanese
quarrel, and beggars have yet to be introduced
with other luxuries of western civilisatign. It is
not to be wondered at that a people rendered inde-
pendent by the resources of their country arid the
frugality and absence of luxury which so strikingly
characterise them should not have, xperienced any
great desire to establish an intercourse with other
nations, which, in all probabity, would carry in its
train greater evils than could be compensated for
its incidental advantages. Their exclusiveness
has arisen, not, as in. China, from an assumption
of superiolity over the rest of the world, but
from a conviction that the wellbeing and hap-
pinesss of the community would not be increased
by the introduction of foreign tastes and luxuries ;
and that very propensity to imitate and adopt the
appliances of civilisation, so foreign to the China-
man, is so strongly developed in Japan that their
rulers foresee that the changes now being effected
will, in all probability, some day or other revolu-
tionise the country—an apprehension which need
cause the Emperor but little alarm ; no one can
doubt who has visited the two countries that the
Chinaman will still be navigating the canals of his
country in the crazy old junks of his ancestors
when the Japanese is skimming along his rivers in
high-pressure steamers, or flying across the country
behind a locomotive. We have yet to discover what
the exports of Japan may be beyond camphor, wax,
and copper ; but, from a consideration of the natural
tendencies and "go ahead" disposition of the peo-
ple, there can be little doubt that a market will at
some future day exist in these islands for the pro-
duce and manufactures of the West of sufficient
magnitude and importance to secure for them a high
place in the list of Great Britain's customers.

The landing of a British Ambassador in state at
the capital of empire of Japan was only in keep-
ing with the act of unparalleled audacity which had
already been committed in anchoring British ships
within the sacred limits of its harbour. Japanese
officials were sent off to superintend the operation,
but they little expected to make the return voyage
in one of her Majesty's gunboats, with 13 ships'
boats in tow, amid the thunddr of salutes, the in-
spiring strains of a naval baud, and the flutter of
hundreds of flags with which the ships were dressed.
Close under the green batteries; threading its way
amid hosts of huge masted broad-sterned junks, the
little Lee, surrounded by her gay flotilla, steamed
steadily, and not until the water had shoaled to
seven feet, and the Japanese had ceased to remon-
strate, or even to wonder, from sheer despair, did
she drop anchor, and the procession of boats was
formed, the four paddle-box boats, each with a
24-pound howitzer in her bows, enclosing between
them the Ambassador's barge, the remainder of the
ships' boats, with captains and officers all' in full
dress, leading the way. The band struck up " God
Save the Queen" as Lord Elgin ascended the steps
of the official landing-place near the centre of the
city, and was received and put into his chair by
sundry two-sworded personages, the rest of the
mission, together with some officers of the squa-
dron, following on horseback. The crowd which
for upwards of a mile lined the streets leading
to the building fixed on as the residence of the
Embassy was dense in the extreme ; the
procession was preceded by policemen in harle-
quin costume, jingling huge iron rods of office,
hung with heavy changing rings, to warn the
crowd away. Ropes were stretched across the
cross streets, down which masses of the people
rushed, attracted by the novel sight ; while every
few hundred yards were gates partitioning off the
different wards, which were severally closed imme-
diately on the passing of the procession, thus
hopelessly barring the further progress of the old
crowd, which strained anxiously through the bars
and envied the persons composing the rapidly-
forming nucleus. During Lord Elgin's stay of
eight days on shore nearly all the officers of the
squadron had an opportunity of paying him a
visit. His residence was a portion of a templ e
situated upon the outskirts of what was known as
the Princes' Quarter—in other words, it was the
Knightsbridge of Jeddo. In front of it was a street
which continued for 10 miles, as closely packed
with houses and as densely crowded with people as
it is from Hyde-park-corner to Mile-end. At the
back of it stretched a wide and somewhat dreary
aristocratic quarter, containing the residences of
260 hereditary Princes, each a petty Sovereign in
his own right, many of them with half-a-dozen
town-houses, and some of them able to accommo-
date in these same mansions 10,000 retainers. Pass-
ing through the spacious and silent (except where
a party of English were traversing them) streets
we arrive at the outer moat of the castle ; crossing
it we are still in the Princes' Quarter, but • are
astounded as we reach its further limit at the
scene which now bursts upon us—a magnificent
moat, 70 or 80 yards broad, faced with a smooth
green escarpment as many feet in height, above
which runs a massive wall composed of stones
Cyclopian in their dimensions. This is crowned, in
its turn, by a lofty palisade. Towering above all,
the spreadin g arms of giant cedars proudly dis-
play, themselves, and denote that within the Im-
perial precincts the picturesque is not forgotten.
From the highest point of the fortifications in rear
of the castle a panoramic view is obtained of the
vast city with its two million and a half inhabi-
tants, and an area equal to, if not greater than,
that of London: The castle alone is computed to
be capable of containing 40,000 souls.
But the party on shore did not confine itself to
exploring the city alone ; excursions of 10 miles into
the country were made in two different directions,
and but one opinion prevailed with respect
to the extraordinary evidences of civilisation
which met the eye in every direction. Every
cottage, temple, and tea-house was surrounded by
gardens laid out with exquisite taste, and the
most elaborate neatness was skilfully blended with
grandeur of design. The natural features of the
country were admirably taken advantage of, and a
long ride was certain to be rewarded by a romantic
scene, where a tea-house was picturesquely perched
over a waterfall, or a temple reared its ~carved
gables amid groves of ancient cedars. The tea-
house is a national characteristic of Japan.
The traveller, wearied with the noonday heat,
need never be at a loss to find rest and refresh-
ment ; stretched upon the softest and cleanest
of matting, imbibing the most delicately flavoured
tea, inhaling through a short pipe the fragrant
tobacco of Japan, he resigns himself to the minis-
trations of a bevy of fair damsels, who glide rapidly
and noiselessly about, the most zealous and skilful of
attendants.
In their personal cleanliness the Japanese present
a marked contrast to the Chinese : no deformed
objects meet the eye in the crowded streets ;
cutaneous diseases seem almost unknown. In
Nagasaki towards evening a large portion of the