The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LOINDON, SATURIMY EV ENING, FEBRUARY 2, 1867

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE

Tins DAY.—Morning, 12h. 30m.—Afternoon, 12h. 57 on.
ra-Monßow.-Morning, lh. 14-11.—Afternoon, Ih. 46117,

7
im,
,400000.,

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEB. 2, 1867.

At the usual meeting of the Metropolitan Boarcrt
of Works yesterday a matter of considerable im-
portance to Londoners came under notice. The
General Purposes Committee presented their report,
submitting the result of their negotiations with Sir
THOMAS WILSON respecting Hampstead-heath.
The object of the committee was, of course, to ascer-
tain upon what terms Sir THOMAS would consent
to surrender his manorial rights for the benefit of
the public. The settlement of the question is the
more pressing, inasmuch as Sir THOMAS is not con-
tent in the exercise of his authority with merely
temporary interference with popular enjoyment,
but is bent upon doing lasting mischief, enclosing
some parts of the heath, digging up others
for sand, and threatening the lovers of blue skies and
green grass with the ruthless invasion of bricks and
mortar. It is very much easier to destroy than to
create, and if we let Hampstead-heath, with all
its rural picturesqueness, vanish out of our grasp,
all the boards and vestries in the metropolis will
not be able to restore it. We may have parks, in-
deed, people's parks and aristocratic gardens, but
although admirable and agreeable in their way, they
can never rival the charms of an actual bit
of nature. Londoners are fully sensible of this,
and while the wealthy and professional
classes hurry off during their leisure season
to seaside or country some hundred miles off from
metropolitan dust and traffic, those who are more
restricted in time and means feel the same craving
for air and nature, and snatch a brief holiday at
Hampstead or Epping Forest. Let them make the
most of both, " with the sky above their bead, and
the grass beneath their feet," for, thanks to the en-
lightened improvements of modern times, they will
not have either much longer. Hampstead-heath is
in imminent peril, and another generation or two
will hear of its past pleasures with the same
kind of surprise as we now listen to tales of the
Fleet ditch or the little village of Charing. Whether
the name of Heath will still be retained in mocking
remembrance of what once was, after the fashion
of St. Giles and St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, may be
a matter of speculation ; but, at any rate, it is more
than probable that prim terraces will replace the
hills and dales, and rows of stuccoed villas will
efface the tradition of ponds and donkeys. It is
not an agreeable prospect in the eyes of most of
us, though we may not in actual computation rate

the money value of the heath quite so highly as

Sir THOMAS WILSON does. The lord of the manor
may well be reluctant to resign his rights when he
seriously believes the value of the land to be from
£5,000 to £lO,OOO an acre.
The result of the interview between the chairman
of the committee and Sir T. WILSON was that the
chairman distinctly put it to Sir THOMAS that, pro-
vided an arrangement could be come to between
the board and himself for the purchase of the heath,
they would be willing to join him in an application
to Parliament for the purpose of obtaining the
necessary powers to enable him to grant building
leases of such portions of the adjoining lands as the
board might not require for the purposes of the
public, and that in all probability Parliament, hav-
ing regard to the fact that such an arrangement
would secure the heath to the public in perpetuity,
would accede to the request. Sir Thomas, however,
was not inclined to agree to this proposition,
although to ordinary mortals it appears a very

favourable arrangement. He argued that he saw

no reason why he should sell his property at Hamp-
stead to benefit certain parties who had for years
opposed him in obtaining his rights. The " certain
parties" to be benefited are, in fact, a large propor-
tion of the three million inhabitants of smoky Lon-
don. The price which Sir THOMAS put upon the
land was so exorbitant that we should almost ima-
gine he meant it to settle the question, and to show
that he did not entertain the idea of coming to any
terms at all. He could hardly be serious when he
estimated it according to the price which had been
paid him by the South Eastern Railway Company

'or some /and which they required at Charlton for

their line. As we have said, Sir THOMAS estimated
his property on the Health at from £5,000 to £lO,OOO
an acre, whereupon, of course, the negotiations
came to an end, and the chairman, after expressing
his astonishment and regret, abandoned the attempt
in despair. It is one thing to negotiate for the
transfer of ordinary waste land, and another to
make an offer for the river of Pactolas and the
sands of Ophir. The prospect of London holiday-
seekers is but a poor one. They may as well
wish to disport themselves on the veritable " Tom
Tiddler's ground," so dear to children, as to ex-
pect to run races or make picnics in the Vale
of Health. Like most disputed affairs in England
the matter has got into Chancery, and there is no-
thing to be done by the Committee but to " watch
the proceedings before the Master of the Rolls."
The prospects of Epping Forest are not much

better, excepting that a committee has been formed

who are of opinion that the public have very strong
rights over their favourite forest, and intend to take
active steps to assert the same. The dense popula-
tion of the east of London value this place of resort
very highly, and it is cruel indeed that they should
be deprived of it. We have heard a great deal lately
about the lack of sanitary arrangements in that
part of London, and we are most of us familiar 1
with the dreary and depressing nature of their
dwellings. The recent 'visitation by cholera has
shown us pretty clearly what their physical power
of resistance is worth, and fresh air is one of the
great remedial agents prescribed by all to raise the
tone of the overworked and underfed. Epping is
an easy distance from the East of London, and it
offers advantages and pleasures which no park or
even common near at hand can give. What, then,
is its present position, according to good authority?
Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE, M.P., speaking on behalf of
the Commons Preservation Society, told the
meeting which assembled at Mile-end " that
half the forest had been enclosed, and the
other half would soon be enclosed if the
people did not take active steps to prevent it."
The Marquis of TOWNSHEND, who presided over the
meeting, very sensibly said that a-great movement
was being made on behalf of early closing, but it
was of no use to give working-men the facilities of
going out unless they had places to go to. If
Hampstead-heath and Epping Forest are to be
taken from them, the summer evenings of the arti-
zans of the North and East of London will lose half
their charms, and certainly more than half their
benefits, because the attractions of the too
alluring public-house will be so much en-
hanced. The arguments adduced by the several
speakers at the Mile-end meeting were not
new, but they were certainly very cogent, and we
are glad to find that the speakers for the most part
believe in the existence of tangible rights on behalf
of the public.

Parliament will have plenty to do this session, but

' we must hope that it will find time for the discussion
of this matter, because the necessity is a pressing
one, and the mischief, as we have said, once done
cannot be undone. Let the Government inquire
into the matter and suggest, if they can, some prac-
tical remedy. The right of the lords of the manor mast
be clearly defined, and arrangements made for buying
them out on fair and equitable terms. It will not
do for lords of the manor to assume the rights of
freeholders, and put fancy prices on the land which
they claim. Matters of private interest are not
settled in this way. Why then should an affair
ivhich so closely affects the health and well-being
of our over-crowded population be disposed of by
the parties most closely concerned?

It seems as if a good understanding could never
be come to by the Prussians. No matter what is
undertaken, there is always some Power at work to
undermine it, or some evil influence to cast its malig-
nant spell on the proceedings of theauthorities. Thus
the Upper House rejects what the Lower House
sanctions, and so on to the end of the chapter. We
cannot deny, however, that in the last exercise of
their authority the Upper House has done wisely
and well. They have rejected the Bill passed
by the Lower House for affording remuneration
to the members of the North German Parliament.
This is a very sensible decision, because the
system is a false one, and cannot fail to produce
evil results if it be put into practice. The sort of
men who would thus be got together would not be
likely to resist the encroachments of the Berlin Go-
vernment, or to carry on successfully the great
work of German unity and national renovation.
We hope that this absurd and inconvenient idea is
now done for, and that the scheme will be aban-
doned at once and for ever. We have very little
confidence in the future of this much-boasted Par-
liament for North Germany at the best ; but it will
be giving it no chance at all if it is to be formed
on such a foundation. They must see who propose
the vast undertaking that it will be difficult at the
best to unite so many different interests together,
and it seems strange indeed that any one should be
so infatuated as to propose such a thing as paying
members. We have had enough in all conscience of
such doings in America, and yet we see that there
are politicians infatuated enough to seek to try
the experiment at a critical juncture, and under cir-
cumstances which call for all the measures that pru-
dence can foresee, or that experience can carry out.

It would really seem as if we were never to have
the last of Mr. BRIGHT, what with one thing and
the other. He is always undertaking to effect
something wonderful, or to draw some significant
conclusions from passing events or contemporaneous
speeches. Last night at Manchester a meeting
was held in the Free-trade Hall, for the purpose of
hearing THE O'DoNoGHUE discourse upon the im-
portance of a union between English and Irish Re-
formers, Mr. BRIGHT occupying the chair on
the auspicious occasion. In introducing the
business of the evening to the assembly
Mr. BRIGHT declared that he was un-
accustomed to take the chair at great
popular meetings, but yet he felt confidence in his
undertaking, and the satisfaction he experienced
was partly drawn from a remarkable source, namely,
that it was his province there to listen and not to
speak. In pursuing his task, the chairman went on
to say that THE (YDONOGLIUE was a worthy suc-
s his
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cessor to GRA.TrAN and O'CONNELL, and they were
the only ones that had done anything great to
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with his usual want of caution and - ab-
sence of moderation. He did not blame
those men who were opposed to England, although
he knew that there was a very considerable party
hostile to England and the English; and the reason
why he did not accuse them was, that " he thought
in his conscience that nothing could be more justi-
fiable in Ireland than a dislike for what Ireland has
seen for a long period of the legislation of the Im-
perial Parliament in regard to the great and perma-
nent interests of the country." We suppose that if
his present orations as an English agitator fail
him, Mr. BRIGHT will cross the Channel
and bid for the office of a Head Centre
of Fenianism, or something of the sort.
He does not agree with the man who thought to
cure the ills of Ireland by putting it under water
for a fortnight ; but he would like to float it 2,000
miles to the westward, and to make it a portion
of the great United States of America ; but as this
is not possible he passes on to consider things as
they are.

First of all we learn that the Tory party, although
a minority, is yet a very powerful minority in the
House of Commons. The aspect of affairs is in-
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sible as the idea of some enthusiasts that
it might be floated off across the broad Atlantis to
join the republic of the Western World. If he were
Minister of this country he would do wonders, and
would let every political prisoner free. After this
extravagant tirade against the injustice of England
and the wrongs of Ireland had been delivered by
the chairman, an address was presented to THE
who declared that he " regarded the
as one of peculiar and even momentous
He then went on to argue that
Irish6ol33°inge'lDneyt:fiitnNehgeGnce.iluE' could understand their own griev-
ances. The bon. member then proceeded to ex-
plain the rise and origin of Fenianism in most
glowing language. Sympathy has always existed
between the Irish and the Americans; but, owing
to improved facility of communication of late, it
has taken a political shape, and hence the " grow-
ing strength of those who, from despairing bands
of flying and crouching emigrants, have gradually
swelled into a great nation, confident in their might
and almost frantic with the spirit of retalia-
tion." Really, when we think of the doings in
New York just now, and the confession of
STEPHENS'S hiding, and his former friends de-
nouncing him at every meeting, we think that the
word almost might have been omitted in this
grandiloquent description, or quite frantic substi-
tuted for it.

We are, however, in more danger than we ap-
prehended, and those who have been foolishly re-
joicing in the present quiet aspect of things must
now learn their mistake, for THE O'DONOGIIUE de-
clares that nothing will put a stop to the combina-
tion unless a " voice goes across the Atlantic to
announce that a new era has begun, of equal laws
and of equal justice, and that the past must be for-
gotten." It is a matter of regret that any one in an
influential position 'should use such language, and

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

thus foster the very spirit of discontent upon which
they are discoursing. We cannot agree with Mr.
BRIGHT in his concluding observations, that the
result of this meeting will be beneficial both for
England and Ireland, and that its memory would
last for many a day, probably after all present were
forgotten. To spread the feelings of ill-wg‘against
existing authorities is always a very undesirable
thing to do, and there is nothing to rejoice at in
adding fuel to the fire of discontent that has already
been productive of such pernicious effects.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

PARIS, Friday Evening.

News is still scarce, and the fabricators arc
again occupied in drawing up sensation articles, or
in contradicting some of their recent effusions.

Count de Barral, Minister of Italy at Berlin,
has been appointed to the same post at Vienna,
and has left Florence to return to Berlin to take
leave of the King, and present his letters of recal.
There are splendid fetes at LeiFsic, on the occa-
casion of the vizit of the King of Saxony to that city.
The discussion of the project of law regulating
the relations in common between Austria and Hun-
gary proceeds with activity. One of the amend-
ments supported by the Deak party, and couched as
follows, was agreed to :—" Every point respecting
the direction and military organisation of the entire
army is recognised to be within the exclusive com-
petence of the Emperor."
A letter from Stettin, dated Jan. 24, gives some

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.

(BY ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.)

is depressed.

ARRIVAL OF THE PERSIA.

interesting facts relative to the great increase in the
maritime reserves of Prussia since her recent
aggrandisement. The three provinces washed by
the Baltic, Pomerania, the province of Prussia, and
Schleswig Holstein, have upon that sea a develop-
ment upon the coast of 163 geographical miles.
Hanover and Schleswig Holstein have besides upon
the North Sea a line of coast of 55 geographical miles,
The elements of maritime activity upon this vast
extent are particularly concentrated towards the
coast. The Prussian Ports of the Baltic serve as
outlets or provisioning points to the basins of the
Niemen, the Vistula and the Oder, composing, with
the territories washed by the rivers flowing into
them, an extent of more than 3,700 square yards
of Russian or Austrian territory. These ports,
having nothing to fear from the opposition of Meek-
lenbourg and Lubeck, are thus placed in a position
to obtain exceptional prosperity. The Holstein and
Hanoverian ports of the North Sea, in the valley of
the Elbe and Ems, must add very greatly to the
maritime influence of Prussia.
The latest news received in Paris from Mexico is
not favourable to the cause of the Imperialists.
Zacatejas, the chief town of the State, and Guadala-
jara, the second city of Mexico in regard to popu-
lation, have been occupied by the Juarists. Ortega,
whose arrogant pretensions has caused dissatisfac-
tion even among his own adherents, has been made
prisoner by the troops of Juarez. The Congress
which had been convoked by the Emperor Maxi-
milian, to give him advice as to whether he should
abdicate or not, seems distasteful to the Republican
chiefs, and the idea will probably be abandoned.
Thus, in short, the affairs of Mexico are in a more
entangled and difficult position than ever.
The Patrie, of Naples, states that numerous
bands of brigands have been concentrating upon the
Pontifical territory for some days past.
Lord Gray of Gray died the day before yesterday
in Paris. His lordship was nearly 70. He has
resided in Paris for some years past.
There is another change in the weather suddenly,
which is not an improvement. It has been dull and
rainy to-day, but still warm for the season.
The report in well-informed political circles is
that at the meeting of the Chambers a request
will be made by tome leading members of the
Opposition for permission to put questions (inter-
pellations) in regard to several points of foreign
policy, and particularly with reference to Prussia
and the new position of thd States of Germany. All
sorts of conjectures are in circulation as to the pre-
cise nature of the new law for the regulation of the
press. One of the papers says that the Govern-
ment is disposed to facilitate the establishment of
new political papers without reference to their
politics.

trated numerous assassinations.
N. P. Willis is dead.

MEXICO.

RUSSIA.

ST. PETERSBURG, Feb. 2.

DENMARK.

COPENHAGEN, Feb. 2.

Prince Paul de Broglie, a Lieutenant in the
Navy, has resigned his commission, and is about to
enter into Holy Orders. The Prince was born in
1834, and is the second son of the Duke de
Broglie, member of the French Academy.
A literary paper in Paris having proposed for
discussion the question, " What is a Woman ?" a
correspondent sent to the editor the following
answer A woman is a small article of luxurious
furniture, which ought not to make the journey of
life without a label, inscribed 'Very fragile.'"
The second ball at the Tuileries the night before
last was very splendid, animated, and numerously
attended. Their Majesties opened the ball at ten
o'clock. The Empress was simply but tastefully
dressed. Her Majesty wore a white muslin dress
striped with yellow satin, and ornamented with
h
bunches of grapes. During the evening the Emperor
had a long conversation with the Prussian ambassa-
dor. Prince Napoleon Jerome and the Princess,
. Supper was
siN
ravt
ei ldd a a
tw were among
afterthe companyiwhich
dancing was re-
rl e
sumed with spirit during the first hours of the
i

ROME AND ITALY.

ROME, Feb. 1.

morning.
Madame Marie Sass (Madame Castau) the
well known singer, representative of " L'Afri-
caine," "La Favorite," and "La Juive,"
has instituted a suit for separation against
her husband on the ground of brutal treat-
ment, cruelty, and violence. The Tribunal (the
First Chamber), in the absence of the husband, who
did not appear, decided that the case was proved by
documents and testimony, and gave a decree in
favour of the separation.

SYRIA.

MARSEILLES, Feb. 2.

The following circular from the War-office, signed
by Lieut.-Gen. Sir E. Lugard, K.C.8., Under-Sec-
retary of State for War, was yesterday promulgated
for general information :

The Secretary of State for War has approved the follow-
ing arrangements for promulgating regulations and in-
structions to the army : —l. The practice of issuing circu-
lars on distinct subjects is discontinued. Special separate
circulars will, however, continue to be issued on subjects
of a very pressing nature, but the orders therein contained
will also be incorporated in the next army circular, which
will thus be kept complete as a record. 2. The army cir-
cular will, foi the present, be issued monthly, and will con-
tain instructions relating to finance and the duties of de-
partmental officers, together with such regulations on these
and other subjects as the Secretary of State may see fit
to promulgate for general information. 3. Unless other-
wise expressed, each clause will apply to home and foreign
stations, exclusive of India. Commanding, financial, and
departmental officers will be held responsible that the
various regulations and instructions are carefully complied
with.

The following officers of the Royal Engineers are
ordered to join the headquarters of the corps, at
Chatham, ou the 14th inst.—viz., Lieut. H. J. H.
Logan Home, Lieut. W. A. H. Hare, Lieut. J. C.
Pottinger, Lieut. A. 0. Green, Lieut. H. M. Cham-
bers, and Lieut. J. F. Lewis.
Notwithstanding the activity which prevails in
the various establishments at Chatham dockyard,
and moie espcially in the shipbuilding department,
an order has been received from the Admiralty
directing a number of the workmen, consisting
chiefly of hired shipwrights, drillers, rivetters, and
labourers, to be discharged from the establishment
this afternoon. The reason for this order is not
that there is an insufficiency of work just now for
even more than the number of workmen employed
at Chatham, but solely because the amount allowed
by the Treasury for the artisans' wages will be ex-
hausted before the close of the financial year.
The following non-commissioned officers and men
at Chatham garrison have been awarded silver
medals and gratuities by his Royal Highness the
Duke of Cambridge for long service and exemplary
conduct :—Colour-Sergeant P. Butler, 2d battalion
of the 14th Regiment, medal and gratuity of £5 ;
Private W. Carney, 2d battalion of the Bth Regi-
ment, medal and £5 ; and Private M. Mullins, 2d
battalion of the 17th Regiment, medal ands.

L A TEST INTELLIGENCE.

NEW YORK, Feb. 1.

Gold, 135 i. Sterling Exchange on London,
108/ ; Illinois, 114 ; Erie 561 ; 5-20 United States
Bonds, 1074.

The Stock Market is firmer, but trade generally

QUEENSTOWN, Feb. 2.

The Royal Mail steamship Persia, from New
York on the 23d ult., arrived here at 1 a.m. to-day
with 69 passengers and $76,220 in specie. She
landed all the mails except those for Liverpool and
Scotland and proceeded for Liverpool at 1.20 a.m.
All well.

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, Morning.

Resolutions have been introduced in the House
of Representatives declaring that Civil State Go-
vernments do not exist in the South, and that the
South is not entitled to a voice in ratifying Con-
stitutional amendments.

The Supreme Court of Alabama has decided that
Alabama was de facto a Government under the
Confederacy.

It is reported that a rerious diffictty has arisen
between President Mosquera of Columbia and Mr.
Burton, the United States Minister to that Republic.
The latter had demanded his passports.
A meeting in aid of the Cretans was held yester-
day in New York, at which the Mayor, Mr. Hoff-
man, presided. Funds and clothing were subscribed.

The Indians in the Western plains are becoming
warlike and troublesome, and have recently perpe-

Two more Fenian prisoners have been sentenced
at Toronto to be hung on the Bth of March.

NEW YORK, Jan. 23.

It is reported that a severe conscription is being
enforced in the city of Mexico, and that the Em-
peror Maximilian has decided to abdicate if the
National Congress should refuse to sustain him.
Mexican advices received in Washington on the
23d January assert that Juarez is in possession of
Matamoras, Monterez, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosi,
Aguas Calientes, Guadalajara, and the greater por-
tion of the roads leading to the city of Mexico, so
that in the event of a successful fight with the Im-
perialists, who had gone to meet the Liberals, he
would be able to occupy the capital.

SOUTHAMPTON, Feb. 2.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Tanjore arrived off the Needles at 10 40 a.m. to-
day.

THE BRAZIL MAIL.
SOUTHAMPTON, Feb. 2.
The Royal Mail Company's Steamship Oneida
arrived off the needles at 11.25 a.m. to-day.

The concession for the railway from] Kursk to
Kier bas been granted to Messrs. Merck and Dol-
gorucki. The length of the new line is to be 438
versts. The capital for the formation of the com-
pany is fixed at 4f million roubles, and the shares
will be issued in pounds sterling, francs, thalers,
and Dutch florins.

It is understood that Prince John will leave this
capital to-morrow for Athens to undertake the
duties of Regent cluing the absence of the King.
Immediately upon his arrival King George will
start upon his visit to Copenhagen.

The Official Journal of Rome contradicts, as
wholly unfounded, the statement that the conven-
tion between the Italian Government and M.
Laugrand Dumonceau had been preceded by long
negotiations on the subject with the Holy See and
the Italian Bishops.
It further says :—"The assertions of the Italian
semi-official journals respecting the opinions of the
Holy See upon that operation are entirely untrust-
worthy, and are a manoeuvre employed to gain time
and mislead the public, in order to facilitate the
consummation of the impious and anti-projects
which they are secretly preparing."

Advices received here from Beyrouth to the 23d
ult. state that France has obtained the restitution
of the confiscated property of Joseph Karam and
a general amnesty for the Maronites. Joseph Karam
had entered Beyrouth with the French Consul-Gene-
ral, when the population, it is added, raised shouts
for France and the Emperor. Joseph Karam had
visited the foreign Consuls, and had left Beyrouth
with his friends for Algeria, where he will in future
Naval and Military Intelligence. I reside.

INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.
MARSEILLES, Feb. 1.
Tho Messageries Imperiales steamer Said, with
;he above mails, arrived here at noon to-day.