The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-16 00:00:00

these pleasant places of resort. The town of Liver-
pool possesses public parks, but the Corporation of
the town have unanimously enacted that no preach-
ing or lecturing shall be permitted within them, or
that any political or religious demonstrations shall
be allowed within the enclosures. This is not with
the view or intention of checking political or reli-
gious discussion. The inhabitants of the good city of
Liverpool, with its mixed and varied community,
would not be very likely to aim at such a hopeless
and undesirable result. But just because there is
so much diversity of sentiment, and so ready a de-
termination to express it, the managers of the parks
resolve not to allow them to be turned into lecture
halls or platforms. There are plenty of other con-
venient localities for those who wish to debate or
demonstrate any particular point, and we have never
heard it remarked that Liverpool was destitute
of public spirit or deficint in a sense of its rights.
The more crowded and populous a city the more
important it is that there should be some open space
for those who want a little fresh air and quiet
otherwise unattainable. The Reform League can
hardly be always in existence, neither can we sup-
pose that the most enthusiastic of their followers
have nothing better to do than to carry banners
and listen to speeches on a subject which, for the
present at least, is exhausted. But if the right
to hold meetings in the Parks is conceded,
they will have plenty of imitators. 'We may have
(who knows ?) anti-reformers. We shall certainly
have religious disputants by the dozen, and every
local quarrel will be settled in Hyde Park. Mr.
DEN3IAN urges on behalf of his clients that the
people have a moral right to the use of the parks as
Parliament has spent enormous sums of money in
improvements. This argument, however, points
rather the other way, since the taxpayers of the
metropolis have a right to be consulted in the
matter, which is at present temporarily settled by
he clamour of a few.

A very striking proof of our army mismanage
meet was yesterday brought before Mr. KNox, at
the Marlborough-street Police-court. We need not
wonder at the growing unpopularity of our military
service when such instances are constantly before
the eyes of young men entering life. The first idea
in the mind of a man on taking up his trade or pro-
fession is to earn enough by steadiness and industry
to insure a provision for the days when from
illness or incapacity he can work no more.
But a long period of arduous service,
medals, and certificates, and other testimonies
of merit fail to secure the disabled soldier from want
and desolation. PATRICK ILEA, a pensioned sol-
dier, was brought before Mr. KNOX, charged with
attempting to commit suicide in Kensington Gar-
dens. A paper with a list of his services was handed
in, and they included all the principal actions of

the Indian war of 1857-58, besides services in the
earlier Indian campaigns. This paper, signed by
the officer of the regiment to which he belonged,
stated that he had an Indian medal and two
clasps. The poor man told his pitiful tale with
much emotion. He was discharged last October
on a pension of sixpence a day. He tried work first
here, then there, but every time his failing health
compelled him to give it up. He is suffering from
consumption, so his troubles are not likely to be
long, but they were more than he could bear. He
attended an hospitable and tried to get into one, but
failed. He had no friends, and having paid his
debts with his quarter's pension he went into the
gardens and gave way to despair. The magi-
strate, after commenting on the deplorable na-
ture of the case, gave the man some relief, and said
that no doubt something would be done for him,
❑ow his case was known. Probably it will, and

the poor man will be placed in some comfort for the
rest of his days. But let Ili ask our hlorse-Guards
how many more such invalided pensioners are liv-
ing, or trying to live, on sixpence a day ?

The Earthquake in Java.

THE HAGUE, Aug. 14

The mail of the 27th of June from Batavia brings
the following particulars of the terrible earthquake
which happened in the Island of Java a few days
previously :
" The damage caused in the district of Djocjo-
carta was most serious. Several large estates and
numerous manufactories and dwelling-houses were
in a few minutes totally destroyed. Scarcely a
building remained uninjured. The damage in
Djocjocarta was estimated at four million florins.
Three hundred bodies were recovered from the ruins.
Among the buildings destroyed was the Djocjocarta
Hospital, by which catastrophe the whole of the
family of the director perished, only the father and
one child succeeding in making their escape. The
number of people killed would undoubtedly have
been much smaller but for the early hour (half-past
four in the morning) at which the occurrence took
place, the whole population being still in bed and
enveloped in darkness. Fortunately the harvest
suffered little. The destruction and distress were,
however, great, and were increased by native ma-
rauders, who availed themselves of the dilapidated
state of the dwellings, which, in some cases, they
themselves had been instrumental in bringing about,
to rob the colonists of their property."