The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-31 00:00:00

they theinaelvea arc couipelled in -remain imp:Alec in
their encampments, and consume the supplies that
are grudgingly afforded by the charity or Brigham
Young. More and more wonderful, as we consider
it, becomes the influence which that artful impostor
wields over the minds of subject thousands ; and
more convincing becomes the assurance that Utah,
with its present population, and under present cir-
cumstances, will never yield submission to, or become
an integral part of, the American Union. The
Mormons must sooner or later be removed, and their
migration will probably take place in the summer of
1659, with Sonora as its destination. Many of the
males will, however, doubtless find their way to
Fraser's River, and it is even not impossible that be-
fore another year the. whole extraordinary system of
pseudo-theocracy may have collapsed, and nothing
but the record of a wide-spread delusion be left to
indicate the existence of the Mormon faith.
The Washington news of the week is confined to
a series of rumours of little interest. President and
Cabinet are scattered in different directions, snatching
a brief respite from the scorching and pestilential
atmosphere of the capitol, and public business there-
fore has no extraordinary features. The prepara-
tions for the absurd expedition against Paraguay,
nevertheless, are proceeding, and the " squad-
ron" will sail between now and October. The
press of the country is almost unanimous in ex-
claiming that such a public display of impotence
had better remain avoided ; when, however, the
grounds of quarrel are considered—the expulsion of
an infamous bully from Asunsion and the refusal
to ratify a treaty which was disliked—the armanent
appears fully adequate to the occasion.
The only domestic intelligence of European
interest consists in the recent elections in Kansas and
Missouri. Both took place on the 2d of August, but
from Kansas we have only partially complete reports.
From these it appears, however, that the Lecompton
Bill is rejected by a large majority, which will be
sustained by the vote of counties yet to hear from,
and that therefore the darling measure of the Admi-
nistration is rejected. Should these reports prove
correct, and the territory really cast a vote adverse
to the English-Lecompton Bill, the hated slave-con-
stitution will fall to the ground, and Kansas remain
unorganised as a State for a year or two longer. The
territory is now peaceable, and the Governor (Denver)
although pro-Lecompton, appears to have made him-
self liked. We shall hear more of Kansas in the next
presidential campaign.
The Missouri election is interesting from the fact
that in that bigoted slave State an important move-
ment towards emancipation took place last year. It
had long been acknowledged that slave labour is
unprofitable in Missouri, and it was seen that so
long as slavery exists white immigration will be
deterred. With these facts, an agitation for the con-
version of Missouri into a free State was commenced,
and was so far successful that an anti-slavery repre-
sentative was actually returned to Congress, being
the only free-soil representative of a State in which
slavery exists. He was only elected, however,
through a split among his antagonists, and the
majority was still against him, although he had a
plurality of votes ; but the novel fact of finding in
Congress a voice raised from Missouri in favour of
circumscribing the limits of negro bondage made a
powerful impression through the South. Yet it
would appear that Missouri is not yet ripe for eman-
cipation, as this year Mr. Blair has lost his seat, and
the "Democratic ticket" is triumphantly returned.
It is believed that a cargo of slaves was recently
landed at some point in the south, as a vessel arrived
at Savannah without papers, her captain stating that
she came from the coast oiAfrica, and appearances
testify to her late nefarious adventure. The usual
fine for want of papers will be imposed, and a new
set issued. A North and a South Carolinian have
recently informed me, quite independently of each
other, that cargoes of slaves are not unfrequently
landed, to their own knowledge, on the southern
coasts. This statement is corroborated by the num-
ber of young native Africans, frequently tatooed,
whom any one can see in the slave markets at New
Orleans. These unfortunate wretches are usually
" run across" from Cuba, and their landing is, of
course, winked at by the democratic officials of the
South.
Until the arrival of the Niagara and the
success of the submarine telegraph, all New
York was discussing a late judicial outrage
in a case of alleged libel. The publisher of an
amusing but somewhat scurrilous paper entitled the
Alligator was recently put in possession of informa-
tion touching certain functionaries in New York.
He heard that the head of the municipality was in
the habit of allowing himself undue familiarity with
the blooming matron of a public charitable institu-
tion, whom he appointed to the responsible post, and
Branch boldly published the statement, together
with many others of similar import. He was crimi-
nally indicted for libel, and brought up last week
before a jury which is said to have been openly
" packed." The prosecution was conducted as
usual, but when the witnesses for the defence ap-
peared all but the most indirect testimony was
arbitrarily excluded by the Court. The prisoner's
counsel protested, but in vain, and after a one-sided
charge from the judge, the jury retired for a few mo-
ments, and then returned a verdict of guilty. In-
stantly, without allowing the defending counsel time
to protest, the sentence was delivered, and the heaviest
penalty of the law—one year at the penitew•
tiary and a fine of s2so—fell on the unfortunate
Branch. Within three hours of his arraignment lie
was confined in the Tombs (being placed between a
couple of murderers), and next morning was hurried
off to the penitentiary, where his head was shaved, a
prison dress put on him, and the other indignities of
a prison fully wrought out. I was in conversation a
few hours after this mock trial with a prominent
Democratic politician,who, as he alluded to it, dashed
his fist heavily upon a table standing near and ex-
claimed, "By G—d, sir, I shudder when I think of
our French revolution." Scarcely, however, was
Branch housed in the penitentiary when Frank
Leslie, the crusader against poisonous milk, was
overthrown by the strong arm of the law. Leslie
(an Englishman), publishing an illustrated news-
paper, has recently exposed the iniquities of the dis-
tillery cow stables, the milk from which is sold by
the cartload in New York, and causes annually the
death, it is calculated, of 4,000 infants, and
in the course of his undertaking has severely
animadverted on the corruption of the alder-
men appointed to investigate the swill - milk
system. These men have presented a report,
in which they laud this poisonous milk as equal,
if not superior, to that of grass-fed cows ! On
Saturday, the 7th instant, Leslie was arrested
and hurried to the tombs (the city prison), on
half-a-dozen suits for libel, emanating from the
aldermen, and the presiding justice, demanding
47,500 bail, refused to receive it at all unless Leslie
entered into recognisances to drop the subject he
had been prosecuting during the space of an entire
year. Instead of going to prison for 24 hours,
Leslie accepted the terms of his adversaries, and he
also will probably be sentenced to the penitentiary.
I cannot forbear extracting a small specimen of
forensic eloquence which emanated from the counsel
of the indignant aldermen. This lawyer, Graham
by name, had been, I believe, the subject of a
humorous engraving in Leslie's paper. I quote:
from the report of the New York Times:—
" Mr. Graham proceeded to state that they intended to
show Ouse English scoundrels that they could not libel and
caricature respectable citizens with impunity.
" Mr. Leslie suggested that Mr. Graham should be mote
careful in his use of epithets.
" Mr. Graham—Don't speak to me, you scoundrel, or I
shall not be answerable for the consequences. The first
acquaintance I ever had with Leslie showed him to he a
d—d scoundrel. If they will meet me on any flat in New
York, I'll take the heads off both of them. I'll show them
there h: no Miss-Naucyistn about rue.
" Mr. Leslie—We are gentlemen. We are no pugilists,
Mr. Graham.
" Mr. Graham—You are a G—tl d—d English thief. I
can lick the pair of you.
"Justice Osborne—Gentlemen, you must stop this.
" Mr. Graham—The only question is, are two gentlemen
to be continually libelled by these English transports?
They contaminate the air. If I stay in the room much
longer, I shall suffocate. See the mean-looking English
thieves."

I have only extracted the more decent portion of
this colloquy, but I think it right to add that Mr.
.Graham, although a leading man in the profession,
is not a fair sample of the New York bar, so far as
respectability is concerned. The principal lawyers
in New York are Irishmen—as, indeed, is the case all
over the country. Dick Busteed and Jim Brady,
both natives of the Emerald Isle, are at the head of
the profession here.
Many, it' not all, your Irish readers will remember
Thomas Savage, who, at a very early age, became
foolishly implicated in the troubles of 1848, and was
expatriated in consequence. He is now domiciled at
Washington, as editor of the Slates' Newspaper,
where his raw-head-and bloody-hones order of pa-
triotism has entirely left him. He has recently,.
completed a tragedy in five acts, entitled "
which is to be produced during the winter, the prin-
cipal role being filled by a gifted young actress, who
is now studying the part. She is enthusiastic con-
cerning the merits of the piece, and I am informed by
those who have seen " Sybil," that it really is a
meritorious production. As a matter of course, it is
devoted to the delineation of female character, and
the author's delicate perceptions of womanly feeling
and instinct have been highly commended.
There is little stirring in literature, but a new
work by the Italian, Guerrazzi, will shortly be pub-
lish i
pub-
lished here. The translation is by an Italian pro-
fes or at Havard College. Guerrazzi's work is
devoted to the life and tragic death of Isabella Medici
dcgli Orsini, and is somewhat less saturated with
blood, and horrid with unnatural crimes, than his last
work, " Beatrice Cenci." AUGUST 16.
Your correspondent attended on Saturday last a
curious merrymaking, by special inviAtion. The

occasion was so very novel and natialial, as well as
pleasant and creditable, that J. ant tempted to recall
a few particulars concerning it. Two young and
enterprising Scotchmen, Messrs. Douglass and Sher-
wood, who have made large fortunes within the last
three years in the manufacture of crinoline skirts,
employ an establishment of more than 800 girls in
the fabrication of that article. The establishment
of Messrs. Douglass and Sherwood is just such an
assemblage of females, or gynmceum, as that alluded
to in your felicitous editorial of July 17, but it pre-
sents more than one unusual and exemplary feature
which might be studied with advantage by hundreds
of British employers. The 800 employes of Douglass
and Sherwood are for the most part young American
girls—a small proportion only Irish—of the same
station in life as that of the female workers in your
London millinery establishments. In the marble
palace where they daily assemble they are distributed
in sections at their work, and each section is super-
vised by one of the most staid and matronly of the
young ladies. Work is commenced at eight a.m., and
continues until twelve, when a huge gong announces
the dinner hour. A general adjournment then takes
place to the parlour—a spacious and well-furnished
apartment, in which the young ladies enjoy their
meals, sing, romp, dance, and play on pianofortes,
guitars, and accordions, especially provided for them
by their employers. At one o'clock work is resumed
and continues until five, at which early hour the
labours of the day are over. A well-selected circu-
lating library is placed under the charge of a young
lady engaged for that especial purpose, and each of
the sections is admitted, by turns, to the privileges
of this library. Not content, however, with this
almost unparalleled solicitude and generosity,Messrs.
Douglass and Sherwood lately resolved on treating
their establishment to a pic-nic, and this affair came
off on Saturday last). A huge steamer and two
capacious barges were chartered for the occasion,
and the 800 young ladies, about 1,200 of their male
and female friends and relatives (each girl received
three tickets of admission), with one or two hundred
invited guests and delegations from the press, set out
at an early hour in the morning for an island in the
sound, about 20 miles from New York. Each of the
young ladies had been presented with a dollar by
their-employers for the purpose of providing suitable
pic-nic fare, and two bands of music were provided
tor the entertainment of the vast company, as
well as for the use of the dancers. As mentioned
already, your correspondent found himself a member
of the merry expedition, and was pleased with the
opportunity of observing a new phase of American
social life. The 800 young ladies were creditable to
their country. It may reasonably be doubted, in-
deed, whether, in as miscellaneous an assembly in
Europe, so much genuine refinement and delicate
beauty would have been presented. Although natu-
rally in anything but affluent circumstances, and de-
priyed of the avantages of a complete education,
many of the fair sempstresses would have done
honour to a European drawingroom. All were
decently dressed, and the great majority wore toi-
lettes that would not have disgraced an aristocratic
fete at Chiswick. At least 200 could be called
pretty, at least a score were beautiful, and all but
one or two were modest. Miss C., the Queen
of the pic-nic, was literally besieged by more than a
dozen representatives of the press, the military, and
the public, yet the artless, fair-haired, blue-eyed
Venus is "nothing but a sempstress ! " Dancing
was unremittingly kept up during the three hours'
voyage to the island, and the only difference percep-
tible between the decks of the barges and the floor of
a Fifth Avenue drawingroom was that there was a
trifle more decorum and a vast deal more enjoyment.
Four or five hours were spent upon David's Island,
where all the frolic of a pic-nic was enjoyed, and where
a luxuriant dinner, overflowing with good cheer and
champagne, was provided for the press and-the invited
guests. It was a day of perfect and unsophisticated
happiness. When the pic-nic was once more under
weigh, dancing was resumed, and was kept up until
New York was reached once more, as the city clocks
were striking eight. Everything was republican
throughout ; employers and employes dancing to-
gether, and shaking hands with a cordiality that must
have been a sufficient recompense to the benevolent
merchants for their great outlay. The expense of
the pic-nic, I may mention, was in excess of £BOO
(more than $4,000.) The only disagreeable feature
was the presence of one or two hundred " rowdies,"
and "Bowery b'hoys," who could not be excluded,
as they were the beaux or brothers of some of the
poorer class of girls. A strong force of police
kept these imitations of humanity in order, and
only one unpleasant incident—an attempted murder,
which resulted harmlessly—disturbed the occasion.
I have dwelt at some length upon this pic-nic, both
because I think it worthy in itself of mention, and
' because I indulge in the hope that the particulars I
have recorded concerning Messrs. Douglass and
Sherwood's treatment of their employes may serve
' as useful hints to some of your British manufac-'
turers. But I fear that stout Mr. Smith, of Man-
chester, and burly Mr. Jones, of Salford, will hold
I up their hands, and cast up the yellow of their eyes
in astonishment at the folly of providing recreation
and a dancingroom for " hands ' in the building in
which they work. And the pianoforte's ! and the cir-
culating library ! If not unheard of in English
factories, such a provision is indeed most rare. But,
as the example of these energetic and far-seeing
young Scotchmen has not only already inculcated
the truth that men may employ their hands during
reasonable hours, grant them every indulgence, and
yet prosper in a most extraordinary manner, but
has also inoculated other manufacturing partnerships
with the idea of beneficence, so I do not despair tl-gt
the gynmceums of Great Britain may yet be con-
verted into healthy and wholesome institutions,
where the worker shall be elevated instead of demo-
ralised, educated into ladyhood instead of driven
into prostitution.
The steamer St. Louis brought us, at the close of
last week, some interesting information from Fraser
River. The details were carried out by the Vanderbilt
on Saturday, so I will merely add some information
I have since received. An experienced miner has
recently returned from British Columbia, where he
spent six weeks in wandering through the region of
the upper river in search of gold. Setting out from
Fort Hope, he journeyed some 200 miles northward,
stopping here and there to prospect, but working-only
two whole days, in which he secured about $2OO per
diem. He penetrated farther inland than any other
known white man, and returned only when his provi-
sions failed. He "is perfectly satisfied of the extreme
richness of the rivers, and says Fraser River is the
richest he ever knew—is not excelled by the most
famous in California." This favourable account
appears to be worthy of credence, but even this
deponent does not deny that the floods of the Fraser
will prevent digging on the bars during the greater
portion of the year. The consequent forced inaction
of the population will be most prejudicial to the
interests of the new colony, as well as to themselves,
unless, indeed, the attention of the new settlers can
be turned to agriculture in the intervals of gold
seeking. It is, moreover, possible that dry diggings
may be discovered, which will materially alter the
state of the case. At the last dates from British
Columbia the immigrated population was suffering
greatly through lack of food. Flour was selling at
20 guineas per barrel.
It is greatly to be hoped that the friends of the
British Pacific Railway will not allow their energy
to be dulled during the Parliamentary recess, but
will rather prepare for a triumphant campaign in the
next session. The road must be built ; and, if it be
once safely established upon British ground, Mr.
Roebuck may dismiss his fears (idle at best) of the
" overshadowing of the world" by the United States.
The Hon. Wm. H. Seward has long ago prophesied
for Canada the controlling part in the affairs of this
continent, the advent of which the Pacific railroad
will accelerate. This fact is clearly perceived by many
American public men and journalists, and strenuous
—possibly successful--efforts will be used in Decem-
ber to wring from the South, in Congress repre-
sented, its consent to a railway through the State of
Minnesota to the Pacific. This may or may not be
done, but in any case it will be equally incumbent
upon Canada and Great Britain to see that a pathway
is opened from the great commercial and naval port
in Vancouver's Island to the waters of the Atlantic
at Halifax and St. John.
I received this morning a most interesting letter
from a friend in Wisconsin, a young New Englander,
a person of cultivation and refinement, who, never-
theless, recently deserted the pursuits of commerce
for the bitter sweets of a farming life upon the
prairie. Writing from " Sharon, Wisconsin," he
tells me—" Our farm is situated at the edge of 1311;
Foot, and consists in 120 acres of land, 80 of which
are tillage and 40 pasture. Our stock counts up two
horses, three cows, two steers, two pigs, 34 sheep
—the nucleus of a flock—poultry, &c. The farm is
considered one of the best in Walworth county •
and our harvest is bountiful. Next week we real;
our wheat, then the oats, next gather in Indian corn
and potatoes, and finally buckwheat, millet, and tur-
nips. You ask me for a sketch of the scenery in my
neighbourhood : I enclose you an ear of wheat.
This, better than any pencil of mine, will convey
to your mind an idea of our surroundings.
11 I was at all disappointed in my ex-
pectations of the country around here, it
was because I found none of the anticipated wilder-
ness. Although nearly '2,000 miles west of New
York, we remain partially civilised. I had looked
for a wild country, dotted with log cabins, sparsely
settled in isolated farms, uncleared, unfenced, and
with a population of a decided back woodish turn of
mind. On the contrary, the country in which lam
settled is a perfect garden, at least for grain. As
you know, the western lands are all surveyed and
laid out by Government in rectangular sections.
The lines run due north, south, east, and west, and
the roads generally follow the same course, being

usually about a mile or a mile and a half apart iu
districts as well settled as this. In this manner
counties, towns,* and farina are laid out almost in-
variably in squares and rectaugles. Farms usually
occupy either 40, 80, 120, or 160 acres, the last
number constituting a section ; but of course there
are some individuals who own many sections. Wal-
worth county is one of the most thoroughly cultivated
in the State, and there is scarcely any forest left within
it. The price of land ranges from $2O to $7O per
acre. New settlers generally prefer rich prairie land,
because it is so soon brought under cultivation, and
it therefore commands a high price. Old settlers,
however, always prefer a wooded farm, as the land
is better for pasturage, and more productive for
everything but corn. Of course a farm on the edge
of a prairie, and including a portion of " oak
opening," is the most desirable of all. Unlike the
prairies of Illinois, ours do not cover the State, but
are scattered over it ; in some parts of Wisconsin
the country is even hilly. Our own farm is an
opening (wooded country), and extends to the edge
of Big Foot Prairie, which is only some ten miles
across. The neighbouring farmers are chiefly of
.English and Welsh origin, and have been formerly
settled in different parts of the Eastern States, but
have been induced or compelled to come out here,
and, after several years of pretty arduous toil,
have been enabled to establish comfortable homes
but no more. If any one can renounce
all hope of growing rich, is blessed with health,
and enjoys hard labour, it is well enough to farm
it west but it is scarcely the life to fascinate me.
Yet there is a strange sort of idyllic pleasure in sur-
veying a hundred acres of land, one's undivided own,
and in ordering the seed-time and the harvest, sub-
ject only to the seasons and to God !" My corres-
pondent adds that there is every prospect of an
abundant harvest in Wisconsin.
I must add a ?mall quota to the stock of American
literature known in Europe. The usual annual con-
ventions of coloured people were held in different
parts of New England on August 1, the anniversary
of Jamaican emancipation, and the proceedings were
in many cases highly amusing as well as highly co-
loured. A friend in Boston sends me a newspaper
containing the following touching ballad, sung at the
New Bedford Convention. Pleasantry apart, and
looking rationally at the artless language employed,
there is a deep meaning, as well as sentiment, in the
song. I quote one verse only :
I heard Victoria plainly say,
If we would all forsake
Our native land of slavery,
And come across the Lake,
That she was standing on the shore,
With arms extended wide,
To give us all a peaceful home
Beyond the rolling tide.
Farewell, Old Master!
That's enough for me—
I'm going straight to Caaada,
Where coloured men are free."
The words and air (they were sung to the tune of
" Susannah") may provoke a smile ; but there is gi
saddening shadow for a citizen of the United States
in the closing words, " Where coloured men are
free !"
A more ambitious composition was a " poem" of
about 150 lines, writen by a Mr. Perry, of which the
following is a good specimen brick. Ido not knoYl
whether it is epic, lyric, or dithyrambic
" The polluted grasp of the miscreant Taney,
Who boldly instigated on the many
Judges of the Court Supreme to make a law,
Such as the world before had never saw.
All men are born both free
And equal.
Here would they see near three
Million souls iu chains ;
And one, the nominally free,
Despotism reigns
Triumphantly supreme,
With the indignities which all have seen,
Emanating from lands where Liberty has never been.
For the edict of the recreant Taney had gone forth, to"
if in caverns found were they,
Come forth they must without delay,
Because they had no rights that white men must obey!'
I have read less sensible poetry than even this.
* It is scarcely necessary to say that the American 0,13
I
corresponds rather with the French commune than with A'
English town. It is a political—or, better, civil—parish'