The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 15, 1867,

money is the charitable box of the Humane Society
on the premises. It is worthy of remark that, not-
withstanding the intense cold, Mr. Williams, of the
receiving-house, reports ten persons as having bathed
in the Serpentine yesterday morning, and thatthere
is not a morning throughout the winter, however
cold, -w-hen there are fewer than 10 to 15 bathers.

On the water in the enclosure of St.James's Park
the ice was generally very strong, and many thou-
sands of skaters and sliders were upon it from an early
hour in the morning until dusk. Numerous immer-
sions took place, and some severe injuries from falls
occurred, but none of a fatal character. The above
cases were all taken to the Humane Society's tent,
and those requiring it were promptly attended to by
Dr. ISl‘Cann. The Humane Society have 37 ice-
men on duty in the parks during the frost, some
of whom are on duty all night, and the secretary,
Mr. L. Young, makes a daily round of all the parks
to see that the duty is properly performed. The
Battersea and Victoria-park waters, as well as the
ponds on Hampstead-heath and Clapham-common,
and the lakes at the Crystal Palace, were all largely
patronised by the lovers of skating. Great masses
of ice were yesterday floating up and down with
the tide on the Thames, and the traffic through the
bridges, especially at Blackfriars, was very dan:
gerous.
says :—" The weather
as very severe. There
in TEhdeinSbcnortsgmhannnosf
aytesurtdeardyawy
was a keen frost, and in addition a strong, bitter
wind prevailed. There were one or two slight falls
of snow during the forenoon, but, save at these in-
tervals, the sky was clear and by no means threat-
ening. In the afternoon, however, an unpleasant
change occurred ; the wind increased until it blew
almost a hurricane, and the snow, which was finely
pulverised, came down in blinding thickness, and
drifted in places to a depth of several inches. To-
' wards 4 o'clock the storm abated, and the night was
clear though intensely cold. Sunday was a clear
frosty day, with much sunshine, but no warmth.
The barometer was steady, and during the night the
thermometer, even on the walls of a heated build-
ing, fell to about 20 deg. The lochs on Saturday
were crowded all day, and skaters and curlers, un-
deterred by the gale, enjoyed their sport with great
success.
Of the accident near Aberdeen the Scotsman says:
—" We learn by telegraph from our Aberdeen cor-
respondent that a fatal collision occurred near
Muchalls Station, on the Scottish North Eastern
Railway, about 6 o'clock on Sunday morning, be-
tween two pilot engines. One engine coming from

Aberdeen, with a snow-plough attached to it, met
another which was going north, and in the darkness
they ran into each other. Thomas Cormie, fireman,
and Alex. Anderson, foreman platelayer, were killed
instantaneously. John Guild, pilot, however, saved
himself by leaping
off, when be perceived his danger
from the engine. John Methven, the driven, had
both legs and one of his arms broken, and his in-
juries were such that he died soon afterwards. The
force of the collision was such that it knocked the
tender to pieces, and
it was one of the splinters that
struck Anderson and killed him. Cormie, a native of
Markinch, leaves a wife and family, who live in
Aberdeen. Robert Petrie, the fireman, was also
much injured. Dr. Keith left Aberdeen for the scene
of the accident in a dogcart. All the injured men
were taken to Stonehaven, and were there attended
to by Dr. Keith."

EDINBURGH, Monday Night.
About 20 mail bags from the north are overdue
here. On Sunday many of the Aberdeen and Inver-
ness mails due on Friday and Saturday were received;
but there has been again a large arrear, and no
through communication has to-day taken place with
Edinburgh from places north of Bair Athol on the
Highland line and Montrose on the Aberdeen line.
The latest telegrams from the north, however, inti-
mate the reopening of the communication between
Perth and Aberdeen. The snow fall here has been
slight, and a keen frost prevails.

which competitors may be found should be duly
considered. To have maintained intact traditional
circumstances of harmony and happiness, whilst
progressing in agricultural or industrial pursuits, is
a good ground of claim; but the introduction of
improvements where antagonism and suffering pre-
viously existed is not less meritorious. sth. The
jury has not thought it right to exclude from the
competition individuals or societies which, although
not engaged in agricultural or manufactuk lug pur-
suits, have founded durable and prosperous institu-
tions, contributing to the propagation of good feel-
ing and happiness, of which it is desirable to seek
the best examples.
I.—GENERAL QUESTIONS WHICH APPLY TO
ALL CASES.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The Ides of March are upon us. There
may be frost and snow without, but the symptoms
of the coming spring thicken. Streams of eloquence
which have been pent up during the winter are
waiting but a signal to issue forth once more. Al-

ready we hear of the Parliamentary dinners which
solemnise the opening of the sealed waters, and
after—is it the deluge? What will it be when On

iloois come ? is the thought of many a Laember now
snugly ensconced in the country as he notes the
signs of the advancing season. Will he be swept
away clean out of mind, or will some lucky chance
bear him into an eddy where he may, swiftly re-
volving cn his own axis, escape destruction ? This
is the question which haunts the unhappy member
as he looks backwards and forwards. Perhaps he is
a Liberal who has always voted on the right side
with a cheerfulness proportionate to his belief that
nothing would come of it, and now dimly perceives
that something may come of it. Perhaps he has
been a Tory, stout and stubborn, and is tormented
with a fear lest, like Lord Castlereagh, he may be
required to turn his back upon himself. Anyhow,
his peace of mind is troubled. The prospects and
retrospects of many a member of the House of
Commons are alike unpleasant, but we are assured
that every cloud has its silver lining. If the recol-
lection of our own mistakes be irksome, we can
divert ourselves by dwelling upon those of our neigh-
bours. " There is something in the misfortunes of
our best friends," says the cynical Frenchman, "not
unproductive of consolation, and our friends luckily
are not aware of it." Among the signs heralding
the coming Sessioh may be reckoned the republica-
tion of speeches, and it will indeed be hard if they
bring us no Comfort. The Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer and Mr. Bright, acting, as we may sup-
pose, independently of each other, have resolved
to reprint their speeches on Parliamentary Reform.
The announcement of Mr. Disraeli's intention to
collect his disquisitions on this question was first
made, but, while we are still waiting for the fulfil-
ment of this promise, Mr. Bright's speeches have
appeared. Mr. Disraeli's printer is, perhaps, a
laggard ; perhaps his own Christmas holidays have
been unusually prolonged ; perhaps his speeches
require a great deal of editing, and the time of a
Cabinet Minister is naturally somewhat occupied,
However it may be, Mr. Bright has forestalled his

formidable antagonist, and is first at the post. We
cannot help regretting that it was thought advis-
able to include in the eightpenny pamphlet before
us, the price of which might have been increased for
the purpose, a reprint of the collection Mr. Bright
published eight years ago. A certain repetition—a
harping on the same theme with little variation of
treatment, and no marks of progress, might, no
doubt, have been observable ; but the earlier collec-
tion has long been out of print, and it would have
been well to take the opportunity of giving it to
the world anew. Mr. Bright's speeches are un-

questionably the best thing about him ; hiswarniest
admirers will probably allow that the legislation he
has from time to time proposed gives little promise
of practical statesmanship ; while his fiercest op-
ponents, if their ignorance be not equal to their dis-
like, must admit that in his own style of robust and
manly eloquence he is without an equal. But we
must be content with the speeches delivered since
the end of last session, in the absence of a com-

plete collection, and, indeed, they exhibit pretty
fully the character of the speaker and the simplicity
of his plans of Parliamentary Reform. All the sub-
stance of Mr. Bright's political philosophy is here.
His reasoning is always transparent, and, indeed, it
is impossible to glance through this little pamphlet
without understanding why he should be regarded
with dislike by one large section of his countrymen
and with distrust by a still larger number. Mr.
Bright himself is, we believe sincerely, unable to
comprehend why he should be the object of such
feelings. The only explanation he can discover
for the fact lies in the resentful arrogance of a
proud aristocracy, or the natural depravity of the
human heart. Dispassionate observers can be at
no loss for reasons more satisfactorily explaining
why men differ from Mr. Bright. We are not speak-
ing of the fanatical outbursts of those who have re-

ritorial legislation, for instance, will open a wide
and important field for this, particularly in Utah.
An initiatory step in this direction has been taken
by Senator Howard, of Michigan, who offered the
other day an amendment to the amendments re-
ported by the Committee on Territories to the bill
of last session to regulate the selection of grand and
petit jurors in Utah, and for other purposes. The
most significant feature in this amendment is the
following clause :--" And if any person 01;11
presual..; to sol,nnuise marriage in said Ter-
ritory who is not by this act authorised so to do,
he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour,
and, upon conviction thereof before any court of
competent jurisdiction, shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding five hundred dollars nor less than
one hundred dollars, or be imprisoned in the
Penitentiary not exceeding six months, nor less
than one month, or both, at the discretion of the