The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 16, 1867

life. Many of the victims in such cases are no
doubt victims to their own recklessness and fool-
hardiness. But folly and recklessness are neither
very uncommon nor very heinous faults in the class
of young men and boys who generally form a large
proportion of the company on the ice. Older and wiser
persons may well censure and caution them, but
they cannot really be surprised if their cautions are
disregarded by vigorous and careless youth. It
would, then, be very desirable to remove some of
the risks attending the sport. In the ornamental
water on our parks surely it would be possible,
either by granting the assistance of the police to
keep persons off ice known to be in the dangerous
condition of the Regent's-park water yesterday, or
else to reduce all our ornamental water to
the depth of that in St. James's-park, which
answers every purpose of ornament, and
in which no accidents of a very serious
extent are any longer possible. The fact is that
it is some years since we have had an accident of
this nature, and we fear that all parties have begun
to lose sight of the danger. We should like to see
the perils of skating, at least in London, to be re-
duced to the risks of a fall, or a concussion, and not
as now to include the possibility of so great and
melancholy a disaster as that which we record in
our columns to-day.

The Conservatives of Durham have given a great
banquet in order to celebrate the accession to office
of a Conservative Government, and also to compli-
ment the member for the city, the Right Hon. J.
MOWBRAY, upon his re-appointment as Judge-
Advocate-General. The Right hon. gentleman
made an interesting speech upon those topics
which at the present day engage most deeply
our attention and regard. First, with re-
spect to foreign affairs, he considered that our
relations with America were improved, and
that Lord STANLEY had done wisely in resorting to
refer to arbitration the Alabama claims. Lord
CARNARVON, for his part, seemed likely to have the
" craving glory of completing that great work of
the Confederation of the North American provinces
—a work so well begun and all but accomplished by
Mr. CARDWELL." This is praise that is well de-
served, because there is nothing for which Mr.
CARDWELL deserved more credit during his recent
tenure of office than his management of this
awkward business, and it redounds to the credit of
Mr. MOWBRAY also that he should be ready to acknow-
ledge the services rendered by a political opponent.
As for Ireland, the right hon. gentleman found
matter for congratulation in the fact that this winter,
which had been so dreaded there, was passing away
without a single outbreak or the shedding of a drop
of blood, and those who hurried over there to pro-
mote sedition are now hastening back to the West
'• and crowding the steamboats in Euch numbers, that
the proprietors are happily enabled to raise their
fares."

Further on, in referring to the question of Re-
form, he said, very truly, that the blame of the de-
lays did not rest with the Conservatives, and above
all, that if the Bill of 1859, which was now admitted
to have been a carefully devised and comprehensive
measure, fitted to become the basis of legislation,
never got into committee, it was because the Libe-
ral leaders were more anxious to regain office than
they were intent upon reforming Parliament.'
This so exactly coincides with the opinion
which we expressed at the time of the introduc-
tion of the measure, that we are glad to quote
the passage referred to. Another dodge of those
who are jealous of the present Government was
ably shown up by Mr. MOWBRAY, when he said
that some agreed that the Conservatives might
bring in a Reform Bill, if they thought it con-
sistent with self-respect to do so. "Those who
climbed into power in 1859, on the programme
we adopted at Willis's Rooms, and allowed the
question to sleep for six years, were no great
authorities as to self-respect; and had not Lord
DERBY, one of the authors of the Reform Act of
1832, as good a right to take part in its amend-
ment as Earl RUSSELL."

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Tuesday Evening.

n Tt
hhee
dif
fool lnoiwin
teurg
to-day is all th:
,foreign r
the
ews adoptioncontainedithe Chamber of Deputies of Prussia of the project
of law relative to the increase of the number of
Deputies it was submitted to the House of Lords.
That House proposed an amendment, to the effect
that the number of members of the House of Lords
should be increased by 80 members, to be chosen
from the countries recently annexed to Prussia.
We hear from Venice that the elections for the
provincial and municipal councils are terminated,
and that the result is very satisfactory. The coun-
cils will be composed in a fair proportion of the most
honourable men of property, barristers, and men
connected with commerce and industry."
The Italie says that the Western Powers have
taken up the Eastern question diplomatically.
Turkey, it says, has addressed to them a Note com-
plaining of the policy of Greece, and Greece on her
part has sent a counter-note, arraigning the conduct
of Turkey, adding that if justice be not done to her
she will adopt efficacious measure to defend her
rights. Upon this the Italie remarks that it is more
easy to make threats than to carry them into execu-
tion. A war against Greece would be the signal of
the ruin of the Ottoman Empire. If the Turks have
not been able to conquer the Greeks dur-
ing a war of six years, from 1821 to 1827, if
in 1866 they had not the power to reduce
the island of Crete, how can they hope to conquer
Greece ? Europe would not allow them to do so.
She would infallibly interfere, and the Ottoman
Empire would emerge from the crisis she had evoked,
if not ruined, at least very much weakened.

The Russian Government has just appointed
Baron de Meyendorff as Charge d'Affaires of Russia
at the Grand Ducal Court of Saxony.
By virtue of a royal ordinance, dated the 9th of
this month, vessels from the Pontifical States win
be admitted to free pratique iu Spain. Vessels
from France, England, the United States of
America, Hamburg, Holland, Sweden, Norway,
and Austria, destined for Spanish ports, will in
future be subjected to a quarantine of three days of
observation at Cartbagena, Cadiz, and Santander.
A letter has been received in Paris from Blidab,
dated Jan. 5, which states that on the previous
evening there had been several severe shocks of
earthquakes, and that two of them were very vio-
lent. The earth was continually trembling, and
great alarm prevailed from the indications that
some more terrible convulsions would take place.

A letter from Naples, datEd Jan. 7, in the
Journal des Debuts, says " a fact of great import-
ance has been accomplished at Naples and through-
out Italy. All the monks have left their convents.
If there be exceptions, it is only in small communes.
They are resigned, if not indifferent, and say that
it is the will of God.
An account has been received of the death of M.
Victor Cousin, one of the most illustrious members
of the French Academy, which took place at Cannes.
He was formerly Minister of Public Instruction
and a peer of France. M. Cousin was born at
Paris on the 28th Nov., 1792.
M. Ingres, the renowned painter, has, as was
feared from the first, succumbed to the violent attack
of bronchitis which suddenly seized him. He was
born at Montauban in 1781, and, although at this
advanced age, he was in the full possession of all his
admirable faculties. The number of his paintings
is really immense. At the Universal Exhibition of
1855 a room was exclusively reserved for them.