The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-04 00:00:00

that port on the 27thof March for Halifax, Nova
Scotia. At the same period the Themis, bear-
ing the flag of Vice-Admiral Didelot, had sailed for
Port-au-Prince, from whence the news was satis-
factory. The provisional Government of General
Nissage Saget appeared to afford guarantees of
order, and the fear of a violent reaction was dis-
pelled for the present. Admiral Clone, on board the
frigate Le Magellan, and followed by the gunboat
Adonis, had again put to sea with the intention of
proceeding direct to France.
A tremendous storm, unexampled for violence,
prevailed all day on Sunday last at Bordeaux, and
the inundation in the streets stopped the circulation.
It was about four in the afternoon that the storm
was at its height. Trees were blown down and
chimney-pots dashed to pieces, and houses were
unroofed. No personal injury, however, was sus-
tained.

In restoring a buiding at Sta,nz, in Switzerland,
a beautiful fresco painting has been discovered, re-
presenting the descent from the Cross and the de-
posit of Christ in the tomb. This picture was
executed in 1570, at the expense of M. Heing, the
head of the Municipality of Uri, whose coat of arms
and that of his wife figure in this ancient work of
art. The colours are still fresh, and indeed it is
altogether in good preservation.

The police of Geneva, assisted by two bankers of
that city, have just arrested some English malefac-
tors implicated in a charge of fraudulent bankruptcy.
Among the number is a man named Sichmon, who
fled from London about about a year ago, carrying
away diamonds and other precious stones to the
value of a million francs. The police of London
had offered a reward of £2OO for the capture of this
thief, and, it is said, went to New York after him,
being deceived in consequence of his having left
orders to have his letters directed to him at that
city. The band consists of three men and two
women. They were in possession of much valuable
property, including a magnificent painting of
Raphael, wbich the Marquis de Champana of Rome
intrusted a few years ago to Sichmon to sell for
him. This picture was valued in the catalogue at
800,000 fr. An English police-officer was expected
at Geneva to take charge of Sichmon.
Considerable excitement has been created at
Lyons by the murder of M. Josephin Gouvalant
under extraordinary circumstances. He was what is
called un honinte d'affaires, that is to say, he kept
an office in the Rue Ferraudicre, where both ladies
and gentlemen went to consult him upon business
of any kind. He found husbands for ladies and
wives for gentlemen, servants for masters and
masters for servants, and he acted as agent for the
purchase or sale of property. M. Gouvalant was
about 35 and unmarried. He had valuable jewellery
and property of other kind at his house, and was
fond of exhibiting his treasures. This will explain
the motive of the crime which has thrown the city
of Lyons into agitation. The mutilated body of
the unfortunate man was found a day or two ago
in the Rhone, not far from the city. The head was
cut off. There was a mortal wound on the left
breast, which the surgeons believe was inflicted
during life. The arms and legs were cut from the
body apparently by a skilful person. From certain
circumstances the identification is complete. The
deceased had been missing from his house since the
24th of April. On searching the house, it was dis-
covered that all his money and valuables had been
taken away. It is not supposed that the deceased
was murdered in his house, but the probability is
that he was decoyed to some lonely spot and then
murdered. The assassins took away his keys, which
he was in the habit of carrying about with him, and
then went to his house and carried off his property.
The Lyons Courier says that there is reason for
suspecting that a young woman of bad repute has
played a principal character in this terrible drama,
so surrounded with atrocity.
The weather has been fine and warm to-day,
without rain, but there are still indications of
change and storm.

The Exhibition has been much crowded to-day ;
in fact, each day it increases in interest and attrac-
tion, in spite of a few ill-natured but foolish and
impotent attempts to depreciate its grandeur and
m agnificen ce.

Iu the Legislative Body to-day an important
communication was made on the part of the Go-
vertitnent, to the effect that Austria, France, Great
Britain, Prussia, and Russia, in accord with Hol-
land, had consented to a Conference to settle the
difficulties relative to the Grand Duchy of Luxem-
bourg, on the principle of neutralisation, and that
the Conference would assemble in London on Tues-
day next.

The Origin of our Volunteer Army.
- -
TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—In your columns yesterday there appeared
the report of a meeting convened to present a testi-
monial for services rendered in connection with the
origin of the Volunteer movement. At that meet-
ing Lord Ranelagh seems to have made a most un-
necessary and wholly unprovoked attack on Capt.
Hans Busk.

I trust, therefore, that in common fairness, I miy
be allowed space for a few observations in reply.
Lord Ranelagh stated that Captain Busk took credit
to himself for having been cheered in Hyde-park as
" the originator of the Volunteers," on the occasion
of the memorable review in June, 1860. Very little
turns upon the fact, but that the circumstance re-
ferred did occur is sufficiently attested by the fol-
lowing paragraph which appeared in the Brighton
Guardian of June 27, 1860, quoted, if I mistake
not, from the limes :—"AN INCIDENT OF TIIK LATE
REVIEW.—As the troops commenced their march
past the Queen considerable interest and curiosity
were manifested by many of the spectators to catch
a glimpse of Captain Busk, who has attained such
celebrity as the great authority of the day on all
matters connected with the rifle. As the VICTORIA.
RIFLES advanced with that manly bearing which so
pre-eminently disauguish them from other Volun-
teer corps they were received with deafening cheers,
and Captain Hans Busk was loudly greeted from
various quarters as he was recognised at the head of
his company. The spectacle displayed in Hyde
Park on the 23d June was, unquestionably, the
grandest that has been witnessed by the present
generation, but for obvious reasons it must have
been peculiarly gratifying to the gallant officer
above alluded to."

Lord Ranelagh further, by a garbled extract
from one of Captain Busk's works, altogether per-
verting the author's meaning, took upon himself
to affirm that Captain Busk bad spoken disparag-
ingly of volunteers in general. His lordship alto-
gether ignoring that the sole purport of the book
was strenuously to urge the organisation of such
forces, and with which it was that the raw materials
of militia and line regiments were unfavourably
contrasted, the reason given being, that as the latter
troops must necessarily be taken from a class lower
in the social scale, they could not be expected to be
animated by the chivalrous feeling, the energy, or
the indomitable pluck of an army having to so large
an extent among its rank and file men of the same
grade as the officers in line or militia regiments.
That this was the meaning in which the passage
was accepted is sufficiently obvious from a review
by Mr. A. B. Richards himself, who, alluding expressly
to the portion of the volume in question, thus
wrote :

" This is an admirable treatise, the concluding
portion ought to be printed in gold, and hung over the
chimney-piece of every man who has a spark of the
old feeling of Crecy and Agincourt smouldering in
hi 6 breast."

Lord Ranelagh went on to say that " Captain
Busk had better not have exhibited himself as
originator, as he only di,' it for SELF. He puts
himself forward most improperly, and in a way not
creditable to him."

The first part of this sentence sounds strangely
from one who at the very time was actually soli-
citing pecuniary contributions for a personal testi-
monial to a friend of his own ! The fact being,
that on every occasion from 1860 up to the Ares: nt
hour, when a similar recognition of Captain Busk's
eminent and acknowledged services has been p o
posed, he has invariably and persistently decliuLd
to accept the smallest token of public gratitude, or
any emolument of any description ; and at this
moment, a considerable amount bang been sub-