The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-29 00:00:00

nu,: SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 29, 1858

ful faces." There let us leave the little cluster of
celebrities—Mr. PICKWIC'K sitting uneasily in his
chair and wincing a good deal under the operation,
SAM leaning reflectively the while against the
chair back, with a secret sense that it woul4. have

afforded him the liveliest satisfaction to have made
a fierce assault upon all the turnkeys there assembled
one after another, if his so doing might have been con-
strued tobein any way lawful and peaceable. Turn
we from the group to ask, Might not photography
be applied as a system in our criminal establish-
ments, not, as in the instance of the Fleet sittings,
for the mere convenience of turnkeys, but with
respect to old offenders, ticket-of-leaves, and the
like, fqr the purposes of future identification ? Judi-
ciously employed, we believe the art would come
in effectively to aid in bringing about the further-
ance of the ends of justice. Altogether, we rest
perfectly well assured that the criminal population
might be brought more effectually and completely
within the reach of the strong arm of the law, if
the police system were rendered argus-eyed by
means of photography, and in a manner übiquitous
by means of a proper application of the electric
telegraph to its whole complex and comprehensive
scheme of organisation.

THE FIRE IN WARWICK-STREET, ON
CHRISTMAS DAY. •

TO THE EDITOR OF 'THE SUN.

SlR,—The description given in this day's papers
of the calamitous fire on Christmas-day, and thB
total destruction of neighbouring property, also
states that the premises belonging to Messrs. Nicoll
were considerably damaged. Permit me to say
that such have happily escaped with very slight
injury, and the business will not be interrupted.
—I am, yours, &c.,

TILDEN simgs,
Manager of Messrs. H., J., and D. Nicoll's
Clothing Department.

Dec. 27, 1858.

Yesterday morning the marriage of Miss
M'Alpine, eldest daughter of the late Col. James M'Alpine,
formerly of the 15th Hussars, with Capt. A. M. Robinson,
of the 4th Dragoon Guards, was solemnised at St. Peter's
Church, Eaton-square.

Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cam-
bridge and the Princess Mary leave Cambridge Cottage,
Kew, the week after next, to take up their residence at the
Royal Duchess's apartments in St. James's Palace.

His Excellency the Ambassador of France and
the Duchess de Malakoff will leave Albert-gate House, in a
few days, for Paris.

His Excellency the Minister for the Netherlands
has returned to town from visiting the Marquis and Mar-
chioness of Salisbury, at Hatfield House, Herts.

The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland are sur•
rounded by a select family circle at Trentham.
The Duchess of Athole has arrived at the St
George's Hotel.

The Marauis of Huntly, who has been very
severely indisposed at Orton Longueville, has so much im-
proved of late that his lordship is likely soon to be restored
to his usual health.

The Earl of Gifford and Lord Dufferin and Lady
Dufferin have arrived at Cuba in his lordship's yacht.
The Countess of Kinnoul has left Portman-
square on a tour of visits. Her ladyship is at present on a
visit to Lord and Lady Delamere at Vale Royal, Cheshire.
Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston left Broad-
lands on Monday, on a visit to the Marquis of Lansdowne,
at Bowood, Wilts.

Viscountess Jocelyn andher youthful family have
left Broadlands, on a visit :to the Earl and Countess of
Shaftesbury, at St. Giles's, Dorset.

Viscount and Viscountess Enfield and family,
have arrived in town from Wrotham Park, near Hadley,
preparatory to the marriage of the Hon. Miss Byng and
Mr. H. Hilton Jolliffe, M.P., son of Sir Wm. Hilton Jolliffe,
Bart., M.P.

Lord and Lady Lilford are still in the south of
France. His lordship has quite recovered from his late in-
disposition.

Lady Granville Somerset has left the St. George's
Hotel.

Lord Alfred Paget has arrived in town from
Levington, near Ipswich, fora few days.

The Right Hon. W. F. and Mrs.. Cowper have
left Broadlands on a visit to the Earl and Countess of
Shaftesbury, at St. Giles's, Dorset.

Sir William and Lady Middleton have Ipf+
Groervtmor-place tor their seat, Suitiblan&!Park, Suffolk.

Admiral Lisboa has arrived at the St. George's
Hotel.

The Duke of Chartres has passed his examina-
tion at the Military School of Turin in a distinguished
manner, and has been classed among pupils of the third

On the 14th inst. Mr. Gladstone reached Zante.
A letter from Vienna says that when he entered the carriage
which was waiting for him, twelve young men in the Greek
costume took out the horses and drew him up to the castle.
The demonstration in favour of the union with Greece was
very general.
The death has taken place, at Nice, within the
last few days, of the youngest daughter of Orsini, aged six
years. She was of frail constitution, and it was thought at
the time that she would scarcely be able to survive the
fatigue of her journey to Paris with her sister and mother,
for the purpose of a farewell interview with her father.
A weekly English newspaper, to be called the
Levant Herald, is about to be published in Constanti-
nople.

Vice-Chancellor Kindersley proposes, on the
18th January, to make a call of £1 15s. per share on the
contributaries of the National Patent Steam Fuel Com-

pang.

The Moniteur of yesterday contains the follow-
ing :—" The Emperor of Russia has, by a recent decision,
prolonged for another year the enjoyment of the existing
privileges of the guilds in favour of French subjects in the
ports of New Russia."
An Amateur Dramatic Performance will be
given on January 11, in the Private Theatre at Camden
House, Kensingtonf by distinguished ladies and gentle-
mee amateurs; the proceeds to be devoted to the Prize
Fund of the Society for the encouragement of the Fine
Arts.
The Madrid papers announce the debut of M.
Giuglini at the Theatre Re in " La Favorite," and without
exception describes his success as something quite unparal-
leled in that city. The representation was attendid by their
Majesties and the court.
M. Fould, the French Minister of State, has
granted the privilege of the new Theatre du Peuple, on the
Boulevard de Sebastopol, to the son of Lafond, the tragedian
of the Theatre Frangais in the time of Telma.
The Bank of Frankfort, which raised its rate of
discount on the 10th of October to 5 per cent., has adopted
a reduction to 31 per cent.
The National Bank of Austria, under the autho-
rity of the Minister of Finance, have announced the issue
of one-florin notes in the same proportion in the new cur-
rency in which notes for one, two and five florins in the
old are withdrawn. The amount of new notes is not to
exceed £10,000,000, and they are secured by the mortgaged
State domains. An increase of the metallic reserve is like-
wise promised.
The trAnsformation scene-, in the pantomime pro:
ducen the Standard Theatre, was designed and painted
by Mr. Thomas Rogers, and not by Messrs. Gas and
Irwin.

LIFEBOATS ON THE IRISH COAST. The
National Lifeboat Institution has, during the past week,
sent two of its single-banked 30 feet lifeboats to Carnsore,
near Wexford, and to Tramore, near Waterford. Each
boat rows six oars, single-banked, and both are admirably
adapted for their respective localities. They are on Peake's
design, and were built by Forrestt, of Limehouse. They
possess the usual qualities of the society's boats, the power
of self-righting if upset, and of self-ejecting any water they
may ship. The cost of the Carnsore lifeboat was generously
presented to the institution by a lady, whose life was pro-
videntially saved last summer from drowning by Mr. H.
A. Hamilton, of Balbriggan, who has since distinguished
himself by his extraordinary gallantry and perseverance
in rescuing with the society's lifeboat stationed at Skerries,
a vessel's crew. A carriage, after the design of the inspector
of life-boats to the institution, is attached to each lifeboat,
from which they can be easilylaunched with their crews on
board, by the aid of ropes handled by the bystanders on the
shore, the crews being then enabled to give the boats way
through the sea before it has time to beat them back on
the beach. The Lifeboat Institution is also now building
lifeboats and carriages for Dundalk (the houses of which
Lord Clermont is literally causing to be built at his ex-
pense), Kilmore, and Dungarvan. The National Lifeboat
Institution has now lifeboats and carriages thoroughly
equipped and ready for instantaneous service on the Irish
coast at the following places :—Groomsport, Newcastle
(Dundrum Bay), Skerries, Drogheda, Wicklow, Arklow,
Cahore, Rosslare, Carnson, Ardmore, Youghal, Tramore,
and Westport. This humane and important woyk
has involved an expenditure of upwards of £4,000, nearly
the whole of which has been defrayed from the funds of tie
institution; indeed, it is a fact that the society has been
compelled to sell out a ccniiderable portion of its small
funded capital, which is so essential to its permanency, to
meet this heavy expenditure. The National Lifeboat In-
stitution has now upwards of eighty establishments on
various parts of the coast of the British Isles under its
management, to maintain which in a state of thorough
efficiency requires a large permanent annual lucerne. We
aro informed on credible authority that, notwithstanding
the publicity which the operations of this truly national
and philanthropic institution obtains, it has only been able
to pursue its useful course by trenching to a very consider-
able extent on its funded capital, which, as we have before
observed, is so indispensable to its permament efficiency.