The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-30 00:00:00

Houses of Parliament.

Since the last sitting of Parliament considerable
alteration has been made in the House of Lords, in
order to lessen, as far as practicable, the risk of
conflagration. There was a very large accumulation
of easily combustible material over the ceiling,
which had been employed in making arrangements
for certain methods of ventilation long ago con-
demned as failures, and abandoned accordingly.
The numerous openings in the ceiling for the outlet
of the vitiated air from the House, the manner in
which the woodwork was distributed, and the desic-
cation of the wood in consequence of the ascent of
the highly heated products of combustion from the
large gas-burners nine feet undernaih, werer condi-
tions obviously most favourabte to ignition and
rapidc combustion ; and if, unhappily, fire had
broken ont in that part of the House, it would
have been subdued with great difficulty, in
spite of the constant attendance of
with all their appliances at band
and infi r goodem e n
order. The combustible matter removed consists of
dry seasoned pine, laths, and quartering, and the
total weight is about ttons with
tons.
thick,There
thewe framedre6,7oo
square feet of flooring, 11 .
quartering to support it; nearly2,ooOsquarefeet
of partition, formed of upright quartering, Covered
ou both sides with lath and plaster, and several
doors and minor partitions, extending over about
500 square feet. The total surface would thus ex-
ceed 9,000 square feet of dry wood, of which the
greater part was only a few inches above the ceiling.
During the recess of 1865 a large quantity of use-
less, dry, readily inflammable pine wood was taken
away from above the ceiling of the House of Com-
mons. Even if fire should occur in or above the
ceiling of either llouse, every part is now accessible
to the firemen, and would be so fully exposed to the
action of the water ejected from the.hose that there
is every reason to believe it would be speedily extin-
guished. In both Houses of Parliament the risk of
conflagration may now be regarded as very greatly
diminished.

THE THAMES EMBANKMENT (NORTH SIDEI.-
Owing to a delay in, the preparation of the stone for these
works, they are to a certain extent again suspended. It is
understood, however, that immediately on the meeting of
Parliament a question will be asked as to the cause of the
great delay which has occurred since the prorogation, in
order to have the state of the works fully explained to the
house.

WATFO.
The second annual meeting of the lOtts
Agricultural Society was held this afternoon at the
Essex Hotel ; the Earl of Clarendon, the president
..
for the year, took the chair, and among the
members present were the Earl of Essex, Lord Ebury,
Mr. Jones Loyd, Mr. John White, Mr. Waghorn,
Mr. Cobb, Mr. Finch, Mr. Alfred Sedgwick (the
hon. secretary), &c.
The Earl of CLAIZENDON, after explaining that ill-
ness had prevented him from being present at pre-
vious meetings, congratulated his hearers on the
success of the society, and dwelt on the numer.us
benefits of such associations. They brought people
of all classes together, and made them feel when
engaged on an object of common interest that they
are equal. After referring to various subjec's con-
nected with the ►management of the society, Lord
Clarendon said,--The committee are particularly
anxious to call the attention of the tenant farnyers
to the prizes given for the best cultivated farms.
Prizes of £5O and £25 are worth competing for.
They open a wide field for competition. The ob-
taining of such prizes is most honourable, and I can-
not conceive anything more beneficial to a district
than a number of men pitted against each other, and
bringing their knowledge to bear on the increase of
the produce of the laud. There is one class of prizes
which I hope will never be eliminated from our list,
and which I hope to see extended in number and
value—l mean the prizes for labourers. (Cheers.)
I allude to this because these prizes have often been
made the subject of ridicule, and attempts, although
happily unsuccessful, have been made to discourage
the donors, and to deprive the recipients of these
prizes. It has been said that it is degrading to a man
to receive a prize of £2 or £3 for a long course of
good conduct under circumstances the most trying.
But I think these critics do not understand the
mainspring of human action ; for in all of ns nature
has implanted a natural ambition. There is no one
who is worth anything who does not aim at distinc-
tion, at raising himself in the estimation of others.
The Victoria Cross is given as the reward for daring
actsof valour. Admirals, generals, successful diplo-
matists, adventurers—those noble men who have
made geographical discoveries, those who have laid
down the Atlantic Cable, receive the decoration of
the Order of the Bath. It would be absurd to measure
these distinctions by their mere money value. The
same remark applies to the labourer. He cannot
win battles, or sign treaties, or explore distant
countries, but he can so conduct himself as to be an
example to all those around him and confer a great
benefit on his locality. (Cheers.) The man who
lives for many years in the same place—the man
who brings up many children without relying upon
the parish for relief—the man who in provident so-
cieties or savings-banks lays by for a day of
trouble, the man who gives proofs of intelligence,
sobriety, and industry, and of having according to
the best of his ability performed the duty that de-
volve upon him, deserves the greatest encourage-
ment. It is incumbent on a society like this to seek
out such men, to publish their characters, to re-
ward their merits ; and I think when the prizes are
given they should be accompanied by a diploma
recording the causes of the gift, which would be to
the man's family his Order of the Bath or his Vic-
' toria Cross. (Cheers.) But this mrtter needs no
argument. The fact is that the labourers value
these prizes—that they compete for them most will-
ingly—that they are proud of them—and that is
quite sufficient for us. (Cheers.) I wish now to
say a word on a matter to which I attach con-
siderable importance, and that is the subject of
agricultural statistics, in which hitherto England
has been most lamentably behindhand. I think •
there is no one who reflects on this matter who can
deny that a correct collection of facts showing the
actual state of agriculture and its. i►reproved con-
dition from one year to another must be of great
importance to the nation at large, and most espe-
cially to the owners and occupiers of land. (Hear,
hear.) Upon most matters that affect the highest
interests of the country we are in the habit of col-
lecting the most valuable returns and information,
and drawing from them the most useful and inte-
resting lessons. Upon our trade and commerce,
our exports and imports, our currency, our popula-
tion, our criminal jurisprudence, and, in short,
upon everything that can throw light on the
moral and social condition of the country,
we have for years past been in the habit of col-
lecting and acting upon the most reliable informa-
tion we could obtain. But it is upon the pro-
duce of our soil, upon the relation between produc-
tion and population, upon that knowledge which
will impart to us the amount of the production of
our own soil, and ;how far we must rely upon
foreigners for our food, what are the regulating
causes of price—upon everything which it is most
important for the producer to know, the agricul-
tural interest have refused to be informed, and have
preferred to remain in ignorance and darkness.
(Hear, hear.) This is a strong thing to say, but I
am justified in, saying it, and I will tell you why.
Having laboured much abroad, and having been
aware of the enormous benefit which foreign coun-
tries derive from the accurate collection of facts—
particularly France—l was anxious, when I was in
a position to carry out my intentions, that my own
country should be similarly benefited—and when I
was President of the Board of Trade in 1847 I
caused a bill to be prepared and laid on the table of
the House of Commons authorising the collection of
agricultural statistics. But it met with such bitter
opposition, and the prejudice was so strong, and the
measure was considered so odious and inquisitorial
that we had to give it up. But when I was ap-
pointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, I determined
to try the experiment in that country, and a system
was organised which worked most admirably, and
there are not in Europe agricultural statistics so
complete and reliable as those obtained in Ireland.
The quickness and penetration of the Irish people
saw what the value of such information would be
to an agricultural country, and the readiness with
which they lent themselves to procure this infor-
mation called forth general thanks. These admir-
able statistics have for many years been a standing
reproach to Great Britain. But at length prejudice
s':ems to have given way to common sense, and the
Board of Trade has been able to organise a sys-
tem which is beginning to work tolerably well;
and a return - of 186 G shows the total population,
area, abstract of avrerge under crops, bare fallow,
and grass, and the total number of cattle and
sheep in each division of the United Kingdom, in
' each county, and in various foreign countries.
So that we shall not only know what we are
doing, but shall be able to compare our pro-.
gress or decline with that of most foreign countries,
and shall be able to judge what will be the prices at
home and abroad. The answers to the inquiries in
Scotland have, I believe, been most satisfactory.
But in England there is a great deal to desire, and
my reason for venturing to call attention to the
subject is that I believe it to be the duty of every-
body connected with laud to aid by voluntary re-
turns and other means the very useful work in
which the Board of Trade is now engaged. (Hear,
hear.)

Mr. SEDGWICK then read the statement of
accounts, which having been passed, a vote of
thanks •was given to the President, and briefly
acknowledged.
The Earl of ESSEX proposed that Lord Ebury
be elected as President for next year, which was
agreed to, and the vice-presidents and committee
were also appointed.

UNION OF ENOLISEI AND IRISH REFORMERS.—The
O'Donoghue, M.P., will address a meeting which is to be
held in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, next Friday
evening, under the presidency of Mr. John Bright, M.P.,
on " The importance of union between English and Irish
Reformers."
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