The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-31 00:00:00

cOARRSPORDENCE PROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, MONDAY, bee. 30.
I don't suppose any ono here has any doubt that the
ill for the reorganisation of the army will be duly passed.
am sure the whole city will rejoice to get the subject
ut of the way. Parisians soon weary and crave for
omething new. The Chambers sit to-day, then adjourn
ill Friday, and in the course of next week I suppose the
'nal vote will be taken.

We are thinking much of Russia. It cannot be con-
ealed that in some quarters a feeling of fear is cherished
hat Russia is meditating the possibility of an intimate
aliance with England. When closely questioning those
rho hold this view, they tell you that were she allowed
'9. deal as she pleased with Greece, Russia would, as an
qu i val en t , help to maintain the power of England in
tsia. While this opinion prevails in some quarters, in
'thers it is a recognised item of belief that it is an im•
)erative necessity that the ambition of Russia should be
necked, and that to this end England, France, and Aus
iia should assume an energetic attitude.

The English company which was formed to purchase the
;rand Hotel and the Hotel du Louvre has not been able
complete the bargain. It wanted to pay 21 millions
►f francs in cash, and the balance in shares of a French
:ompany. The
.Sociad ImmobiHere will agree to nothing
)ut the whole amount in ready money.

I am glad to state, on his own authority, that M. de
`Jamartine is not in a dying state. He is able to pay and
.eceive daily visits, and to walk in the neighbourhood of

It will hardly be believed that a Paris newspaper-gravely
ieclares that it is within an ace of being proved that the
lestruction of the House of Detention at Clerkenwell was
attempted at the instance of your Government. La
EiberM, however, makes the statement, intimating that the
authorities procured the assistance of the lowest class of
renians to accomplish the explosion for the pur-
pose of throwing discredit on the movement, which,
t is to be presumed, M. Emile de Girardin's jour-
Pal regards as patriotic and praiseworthy. The Fenian
:enders, we are informed, have ample proof of the action
;aken by the Government, which proof will be produced
Lt their trial. Truly, the intelligence of La Lao* is
!earfully and wonderfully made.

The Emperor of Russia declines to receive the Livonian
Parliament petition, which had for its object the con-
tinuance of the German idiom in schools and in official
correspondence.

Through the exertions of Governor Patton, of Alabama,
arrangements have been made to raise the money neces.
nary to pay the interest now due to the foreign holders of
the Alabama debt.

It is officially announced by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer that her Majesty's Government have declined
the proposals for reducing the duty on Portuguese wines
imported into Great Britain, submitted by the Portuguese
Government as a basis for the negotiation of a commercial
treaty between the two countries,

A unique communication on • the present condition
of Turkey has appeared in the Dziennik Paynanski, a
Polish journal. The author of the letter is ',iya
Bey, a well-known Turkish Liberal, who at one
time held the highest offices under the Porte.
At this moment he Is an exile in Paris. In the
writer's view the principal cause of the evils now over-
whelming the East is to be found in the peculiar form of
government, which is unlike any that exists in other
despotic States. Unlimited as is the power of the Porte, it
is not vested in the Sultan, but in a handful of dignitaries,
making it a fact that while the Sultan reigns the Cabinet
rules. These old dignitaries, by removing all talented
persons from responsible offices, have led the foreign Am-
bassadors to the conclusion that they themselves are the
only intelligent men to be found in Turkey. Possessed of
no settled policy of their own, they are mainly guided by
the representatives of foreign Powers. Bad government,
intimates the Bey, prevails throughout the whole country.
The Mussulman is as much the victim of tyranny as the
Christian. Russia daily instils poison into the veins of
the body politic, and fosters revolution. The only remedy
suggested for this deplorable state of things is a radical
reform of the institutions of the State. To set the enter-
prise afoot there must be either a direct intervention of
the foreign powers, or a domestic revolution, or the initia-
tive of the Sultan aided by the sympathies of Europe.

A letter in the Times from Mr. Lamb, of the British
Consulate at St. Thomas, furnishes some interesting
details of the condition of the island since the earthquake.
The writer says that from the Ist to the 12th of December
from five to ten shocks had •been 'experienced daily, and
that at the last-named date further considerable damage
,was done to the buildings in the town. Many of the
inhabitants have fallen victims to yellow fever, superin-
duced by the exposure to which they have been sub-
jected during their forced residence under canvas on the
hills. Admiral Palmer, of the United States navy, the
senior officer commanding the Gulf and West India
squadron, was one of the first carried off by the malignant
disease.

SUDDEN DEATH IN WORCESTER CATHEDRAL-A
case of sudden death occurred at Worcester on Sunday,
under very melancholy circumstances. Mr. Brookes,
builder and undertaker, of Spring Gardens, Britannia-
square, attended morning service at the cathedral, and
during the service expired in an apoplectic fit. Mr.
Brookes's death created a sad feeling throughout the city.
—Birmingham Post.

A SINGULAR COINCIDENCE.— The Edinburgh
workmen's lifeboat, stationed at Port Logan, saved on the
17th instant the crew, consisting of fifteen persons, from
the barque Strathleven, of Glasgow. On the 16th of De-
cember last year, when the lifeboat was being exhibited in
Glasgow, the wife of the captain of the Stra.thleven went
to see the boat, and put an offering into the subscription
box. Exactly one year after, on the 16th December, 1867,
the captain's vessel was wrecked, and on the following
morning he and his men were providentially rescued by
the very boat which his wife had contributed to support.

BOILER EXPLOSION AT LEEDS.—A large boiler at
the Wellington Corn Mill, New Wortley, Leeds, exploded
on Monday morning, doing much damage to the premises,
and scalding the two men in charge of the engine. This
took place at six o'clock in the morning, when there were
not many persons in the neighbourhood, or greater mischief
might have been done. The two engine-men are going on
favourably. The boiler was made a quarter of a century
ago, but bad been recently repaired. The material damage
done is estimated at 2'500.

The Cincinnati Commercial tells a story of a
lellow who walked into a millinery store in that city the
other evening, and after looking about, asked the proprie-
tress if she conducted the establishment alone. She
informed him that he had no business to ask such ques-
tions, and politely requested him to leave. " I under-
stand," said he, " that you have considerable money about
the house ; and I mean to have it." For answer, the lady
quietly rose from her chair, seized a hatchet from under
the counter, and chopped into the fellow's face with it in a
way that made the blood spirt in all directions. The mis-
guided man rushed into the street, and has not since been
heard of.

BABY FARINIING.—SOme further disclosures rela-
tive to the practice of baby-farming were made on Mon-
day at an inquest in the parish of St. Luke's. The
illegitimate child of a soldier was placed out by its mother
to nurse, and died a fortnight afterwards. The woman
who took charge of the child had altogether three or four
under her care, and she was wholly dependent upon the
pittance she received from the parents for the support of
herself and her own family. This person advertised in a
Clerkenwell paper, and in fact made a regular business of
taking charge of these poor babies. The jury in their
verdict expressed a strong opinion as to the necessity of
Government interference in the matter, and certainly
the law is bound to afford protection to infants virtually
abandoned by their parents. It has been suggested that
houses should be licensed for the reception of such children,
and subjected to proper inspection.
PRESENCE OF MIND. —Mr. E. T. Smith, writing in
reference to a letter from Lord Londesborcugh in eulogy
of the presence of mind displayed by Miss Furtado during
the momentary panic at the Lyceum, says : "All the praise
bestowed upon that lady by his lordship is well deserved.
But to Miss Parkes, Miss Goodall, Mr. Milano, and,
indeed, all the artistes, the officers in every department,
and to the firemen, equal praise is due. Every one, with
the exception of one or two supernumeraries, was calm.
collected, and prompt in allaying the unnecessary alarm.
The facts are that a small piece of gauze took fire, and being
seen by a supernumerary, he cried aloud, ' Gauze on fire,' at
the very instant it was extinguished by the firemen. One
or two timid girls rushed on the stage ; hence the audience
took the alarm. It is well to let the public know that
on no occasion has a theatre been destroyed by fire while
the audience were in the building. The stage and every
other part are too well watched by the great number of
artistes, employes, &c., numbering hundreds during this
season, and whose livelihoods depend entirely on the safety
of the building. Besides, this theatre is constructed prin-
cipally of stone, and the various parts of it are separated
by strong fireproof iron doors. In every part of the house
are fire-plugs, always charged ; hose reaching in every
direction, with all requisite apparatus for cutting down
and extinguishing instantly anything that can ignite ; a
staff of firemen are always on the premises day and night,
and I firmly believe it is impossible for a fire to spre4in
this building."