The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-27 00:00:00

Johnston's Handy Royal Atlv.

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS.
The magnificent Atlas, designed by Alexander
Keith Johnston—known far and wide as TIIE
ROYAL ATLAS of Modern Geography—has sug-
gested to its Proprietors a publication likely to
be more widely popular, and quite worthy of
being a rival to it in reputation. The title of
the projected pendant, as it may be called, to
the earlier, more costly, and more highly elabo-
rated production from which it thus emanates, as
bTyhe all a 2s/ odryt RoofyalaAftet/ra-st—hotuogibitegiven above.
issuedi in a serial
form—in twelve monthly parts, each costing four
shillings, so that the whole work when completed
will be producible at less than half the price of Mr.
Johnston's magnum opus already mentioned. For,
whereas " The Royal Atlas" is published as a five-
guinea-and-a-half volume, " The Handy Royal
Atlas" will, on the contrary, be no more than u
two-guinea-and-a-half volume. It should be remem-
bered, however, that the larger and costlier of these
two works comprises within it close upon 150,000 re-
ferences, being (and no wonder it attained the dis-
tinction) the only Atlas for which in 1862 a medal
was awarded at the Great International Exhibi-
tion. How, in fact, has the " Royal Atlas" been
spoken of by perhaps the greatest geographical
authority in Christendom, meaning M. Malte-
Brun ? Why, Malte-Brun has not hesitated to
proclaim it as, in his opinion, "Un repertoire
des plus complets de l'etat de la science geo-
graphiques a notre (Toque !" In other words,
a work worthy of being classified with Mr.
Johnston's two other masterpieces, " The Physical
Atlas" and the "Dictionary of Geography." The
smaller, cheaper, and more accessible work,
therefore, which is now announced by the
Messrs. Blackwood and Sons as immediately forth-
coming cannot of course be regarded in any way as
an Atlas directly competing with its more ambitious
predecessor. It undertakes to be, according
to the wording of its prospectus, in so many words—
"an entirely new, useful, and moderately-priced
Atlas of General Geography, which shall, on a
smaller but still a distinct scale, and with a less
ambitious aim, present many of the excellencies of
its more elaborate prototype." The size of the
volume will be that of an imperial quarto (181 by
l 4f inches), sufficiently compact to be easily handled
and readily placed upon the bookshelf. As an illus-
tration of how the index may be relied upon and
turned to for rapid reference, take the following :--
Map. Lat. Long.
Oviedo

Palma lO Ne ... 39.35 N ... 2.43 E

Pamplona

..... 10 Ib ... 42.50 N ... 1.12 w

Salamanca lO Ed ... 40.59 N ... 5.39 w
San Sebastian
Santander lO Ga ... 43.30 N 3.51 w
Santiago de Compostela
Segovia
Sevilla... - ... 37.22 N ... 5.52 w
Soria
St. Vincent, c
Tagus, r lO Af 38.40 N ... 9.18 w
Toledo
Trafalgar, c
Valladolid lO Fe 41.38 N 4.47 NV
Zaragoza or Saragossa

Judging from the specimen-map, moreover, which
has been submitted to our consideration, Tine Handy
Royal Atlas gives promise of being as beautiful as
it will be useful as an aid to popular instruction.

EDUCATION AND THE FRANCHISE.—The annual
meeting of the East Lancashire Union of Mechanics'
Institutes was held at Gawthorpe Hall, the residence of Sir
J. P. Kay Shuttleworth, Bart., on Wednesday evening.
There was a very large and respectable audience. The
prizes obtained by the successful members of the various
institutes were distributed by the Rev. Dr. 'Whittaker,
vicar of Whalley. Sir James Kay Shuttiewokh, Bart.,
who occupied the chair, opened the proceedings, and after-
wards delivered an instructive address on education and
the franchise.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE:

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

REPORTED DISTURBANCES IN
THE PUN DAUB.

PARIS, JAN. 26.

Advices received here from Bombay give an ac-
count of disturbances which had taken place at the
end of December, in the valley of Loond Isar, on the
frontier of the Punjaub.

The inhabitants of three important villages en-
tered the English territory, and, after committing
various acts of pillage, immediately recrossed the
frontier. The robbers were pursued by the Eng-
lish troops, and the booty recovered. The three
villages were also destroyed, and the ringleaders
captured.

BELGIUM.
BRUSSELS, JAN. 27.

Yesterday Lord Howard de Walden and Seaford
had an audience of the King, to whom he presented
a letter from Queen Victoria, condoling with his
Majesty on the death of Leopold 1., anclielicitating
him on his accession to the throne.

He was subsequently received by the Queen, who
entrusted him with a letter to Queen Victoria.

Lord Howard is confirmed at his post as Envoy
Extraordinary at the Belgian Court.

SWITZERLAND.

After a discussion of 12 hours the Grand Council
of the Swiss Confederation have provisionally re-
jected, by a majority of 111 against 77, the project
for granting a subsidy to the St. Gothard line.