The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 1, 1866.

life which the great Duke led was never permitted upon their Christianity, bnt in this matter they had
by him to interfere with that which he owed to those evidently ignored the injunction to do unto others
around him as a landlord and a neighbour. (Cheers.) as they would that others should do unto them, for
It was but right, therefore, that his tenantry should though they were pleased to possess the franchise
cherish his memory. It had not been riven to him, i themselves they persisted in refusing to others the
or to them, to be with him at Assaye or in the Pe- right of voting. Mr. Langley, moreover, advised
ninsula, or the crowning day of his glory at Water- his hearers to refrain from committing any violence,
100, when all the genius of Napoleon and all the because by behaving in an orderly manner they
gallantry of the French soldiery broke themselves would hold up those who had " always been called
against his columns in vain. It had not been given the stupid party" to general ridicule on account of
to them to participate in the scarcely less illustrious their bringing up the troops from Aldershott and
scenes of his civil life ; but it must, notwithstand- filling Buckingham Palace with soldiers.
ing, be to them a matter of lasting pride that they Mr. MASON JONES, in seconding the resolution,
had seen and known such a man. (Cheers.) The suggested that a petition should be signed by the
more closely the character of the departed hero was chairman on behalf of the meeting, and sent to her
examined the higher would be the admiration which Majesty, praying the dismissal of the Earl of Derby
it must inspire, and he was happy to think that he from office and the recall of Earl Russell and Mr.
had lived to a good old age to enjoy the honours Gladstone, in whom the people had profound con-
,' which he had won. Still, knowing as he did how at- fidence. He had exceedingly strong objections to
tached he was to the late Sir R. Peel, and how zea- a Tory Government, because when the people asked
lously be supported him, he could have wished that for the franchise they received nothing but trunch-
he had lived a few years longer to witness the close eons, and a demand for the ballot was met with an
{ family union which had taken place between his son offer of the bayonet. If the police of London had
and the present Sir R. Peel. (Cheers.) He was become hateful to the people, the fault was due to
well aware how great was the affection which the the conduct of the Government, who were alone to
fathers of those two men felt for one another, and blame, and who had been found guilty by the peo-
rejoiced, as they would have rejoiced, in the inti- ple that night. As the Tory party had been rash
mate alliance of their descendants. (Cheers.) In enough to refuse the demand for al7 rental franchise,
conclusion, he begged again to give the " Health of they would now find that the people would be con-
the Duke of Wellington." tent with nothing less than manhood suffrage. The
The toast was drunk amid loud cheers. fact was simply that they had been bamboozled, but it
The Duke of WELLINGTON expressed the gratifi- was not at all probable that they would submit to be
cation with which he saw around him those friends victimised again. When the news of the proceed-
with whom he had so long been co-operating in the ings of the last few days reached Vienna and New
endeavour to raise a monument worthy of their York, the inhabitants of those cities would say, and
heroic benefactor, adding that, having rejected other say with truth, that the people of England had been
materials, he had come to the conclusion that none kept out of their own parks by an " insolent, domi-
were so well adapted to the purpose which they had neering oligarchy."
in view as the polished granite which had been Mr. BLIGII, shoemaker, proposed, and Mr. Michell,
selected. (Cheers.) The noble Duke then gave joiner, seconded the third resolution :—" That this
" The Health of Sir R. Murchison," observing that meeting is of opinion that the present Government,
he had accompanied his father when he first landed by its conduct towards the people last Monday week
in the Peninsula, and had continued to be his at- at Hyde-park, and their employment of the police
tached friend throughout his life. As for himself, he and military to prevent the peaceable meeting of the
did not know that he could well refuse Sir Rode- people, have forfeited all claims to the confidence or
rick anything, but he must at the same time dis- support of the people, and hereby calls upon her
tinctly inform him that he could not give permission Majesty to dismiss them from office." But as by this
to bring his geological hammer tobear on the monu- time darkness had set in, they refrained from deli-
ment. (A laugh.) vering any speeches. A vote of thanks was passed
Sir R. MußcnisoN, in returning thanks, remarked to the chairman, and the business of the meeting ter-
that, so far from wishing to destroy the testimonial minated. The resolutions were, of course, all car-
to his illustrious friend, he should have been glad to ried, and but little opposition was shown in any guar-
have served as'the humblest labourer in preparing ter. A gentleman in the crowd seemed at one period
the granite for its erection. (Cheers.) He had some to be inclined to ridicule the sentiments which came
experience of rocks, and he could safely say that from the platform, but he was speedily bonneted.
those which composed the monument were likely to He would no doubt have been subjected to further
be as durable as the fame of him whose memory ill-usage, but having a good stout stick in his hand
they were meant to honour. (Cheers.) he struck out on all sides with determination and
Sir R. PEELproposed "The Health of the Duchess energy, which soon secured him a clear field. A
of Wellington," and in doing so took occasion tosay large portion of those present followed the band and
that no man had, during the last 25 years of the life the leaders of the movement, who marched off the
of the late Duke of Wellington, enjoyed to a greater ground at the conclusion of the proceedings, and the
extent than his own father the political and personal remainder separated more gradually, but without
friendship of that distinguished man ; nor was there any disorder.
any one by whom the value of his counsel was more

fully appreciated. There had been many monuments
raised to the memory of the Great Duke, but he
stood in no need of them. He had, by the fame of
his exploits, fixed his name for ever on the page of
history. Still, it was grateful to the feelings of those
he left behind to see so enduring a testimony of the
respect and affection of those who knew him best,
raised as it were at the very threshold of his home.
Count STRZELECKI having responded to the toast
proposed by Sir R. Peel in a humorous speech, the
company separated.

Reform Meeting in Lincoln's-•inn-Fields.
A meeting in favour of Reform, convened by the
Working Men's Association, was held last evening
in Lincoln's-inn-fields. According to the original
programme, a procession headed by bands of music
and banners was to have set out from Gough-square
at 7 o'clock, and having marched through Fleet-
street and Farringdon-street, and having been joined
by deputations from Clerkenwell and other places,
was to have proceeded through Holborn and Queen-
street to the place of meeting. This design, however,
was not carried out. At 7 o'clock there were about
150 persons- —men, women, and children—in Gough-
square, of whom not 40 appeared to belong to the
working classes. Mr. Potter, Mr. Baxter Langley,
and one or two other leading members of the Asso-
ciation stood moodily apart. A hitch in the pro-
ceedings had e\idently occurred, for no band was
there ready to collect a crowd and lead them off to
the place of meeting amid the enlivening strains of
music. After a delay of about half an hour, Mr.
Potter and his friends, attended by a rather scanty
following, proceeded by the most direct way to
Lincoln's-inn-fields, where a considerable crowd of
the most composite materials bad already assembled.
There was a large body of people who were merely
spectators, a consiberable collection of roughs, and
a still larger number of urchins who had poured out
in hundreds, ragged and bare-headed, from the
neighbouring streets and alleys. Before the arrival
of the reinforcements from Clerkenwell, which did
not take place until the proceedings were well ad-
vanced, the working men seemed almost lost amid
the miscellaneous elements of which the motley
gathering was composed. No preparations whatever
appeared to have been made beforehand for the
accommodation of the speakers, but as eight o'clock
drew near a large coE.termonger's barrow was wheeled
up close to the railings to the east of the Royal
College of Surgeons, and was converted into a plat-
form by general acclamation.
Mr. G. Potter was moved to the barrow amid loud
cheers, and the proceedings were declared to have
commenced.

The CHAIRMAN said they were met not for the pur-
pose of making speeches, but by way of guarantee
that they were resolved to have a large and compre-
hensive measure of Reform. In the house of Lords
and the House of Commons men were found to
slander the people, but the people would return the
slanders twofold. (Loud cheering.) The enemies
of the people had called the meeting of
last
night at the Agricultural-hall a " donkey show."
(Laughter.) But they might rely on it they would
have a great many donkey-shows of that kind, for
they would be repeated in all the towns of England.
(Cheers.) The people would rise in their sovereign
strength, and make such manifestations and demon-
strations during the winter as would convert the
Tory party. The Times had been converted already,
for it saw that it could no longer ignore such de-
monstrations as that of last night. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. UPSHALL moved the first resolution, which
pledged the meeting to " residential registered man-
hood suffrage, equal representation, and the ballot,"
&c., all of which, he contended, were essential to the
freedom of the people. He congratulated his hearers
on the fact that the Times had spoken well of their
great meeting last night, and had given them credit
for the excellent way in which they had managed it,
but, he added, the Times had done so because it
could not do otherwise.

THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

- -
The resolution was seconded by lir. DAVIS, a
painter, who exhorted the working men by their
own exertions, instead of the efforts of others, to
obtain those rights to which they
heyolfveNewpo
were entitled.
ed.
Mr. WALTON, an architect,who
pose of taking partin
stated that he had travtheleledße2fooOrnml idleesmfoonrstthreatpiounr-
s
supported the resolution.
at the Agricultural-hall ai‘nird. Lwirnaeltoolnn
nr
tni ufi leal rd sy:
wished those engaged in advocating Reform
to
tend their agitation and organization agricul-
tural
districts, which at present could only be re-
garded as the strongholds of the Conservative
party.
Mr. BAXTER LANGLEYMOVed the next resolution :
—" That this meeting, regretting that the present
Government have not proposed to introduce now,
or at any future time, a measure of Reform, pledge
themselves to oppose the continuance of any Go-
vernment in office that will not introduce and
honestly endeavour to carry through a Reform
bill, comprising a large extension of the franchise,
and a comparative equality of representation." Mr.
L,, fellow-roughs,"
commenced by addressing his auditors as
and said that if such a name was
to be fastened upon them because they demanded a
al amr go en
gmtehaossuer
oe
nofwlhtoemfortmha,
thaepwpaelslagtl iaocul two
abs e
bestowedincluded.
A large number of the Tories with a very " pretty
, head" in the shape of the bishops prided themselves

(From the Registrar-General's Weekly Return.)
In the week that ended on Saturday, July 28, the
births registered in London and 12 other large towns
of the United Kingdom were 4,147; the deaths
registered 4,356. The annual rate of mortality was
37 per 1,000 persons living.
In London the births of 1,016 boys and 973 girls,
in all 1,989 children, were registered in the week.
In the corresponding weeks of ten years 1856-65 the
average number, corrected for increase of popula-

Lion, was 1,966.

The deaths registered in London during the week
were 2,600. It was the 30th week of the year;
and the average number of deaths for that week is,
with a correction for increase of population, 1,387.
The deaths in the present return exceed by 1,213
the estimated number.

The excess of deaths is caused entirely by cholera
and diarrhoea. 904 deaths by cholera, 349 by
diarrhea were registered in the week, making in the
aggregate 1,253 deaths. The deaths by cholera in
the last five weeks have been 6, 14, 32, 346, and
904; by its allied disease, diarrhoea, 67, 102, 150,
221, and 349. The epidemic takes the form of
diarrhoea chiefly in young children ; thus 309 of the
349 deaths from diarrhoea last week were children
under five years of age, including 244 infants. Of
cholera 179 children of the same age died ; 160 boys
and girls of five and under 20 years of age ; 455
men and women in the prime of life ; and 110 people
of ages above 60.

It is a peculiarity of the case that the greater part
of this slaughter in seven days of 1,253 people of all
ages took place within a limited portion of the Lon-
don area. 924 of the deaths, 811 by cholera and
113 by diarrhoea, were registered in the six districts
of Bethnal-green, Whitechapel, St. George-in-the-
East, Stepney, Mile-end Old-town, and Poplar, in-
cluding Bow, among about a seventh part of the
pepulation of London and on one-fourteenth of its
area. The attack extends all along the north side of
the Thames, from the river Lea and the Isle of Dogs
to the Tower of London. Limehouse-basin and the
Regent's-canal are the central line of the attack,
which stretches as far north as Victoria Park. This is
essentially the port of London, inhabited by its mari-
time population. The canals and the basin are full
of foul water, and are apparently connected with the
Limehouse-cut, the Hackney-cut, and the River Lea.
The East London Waterworks Canal draws its
supply from the river at Lea-bridge, where there is
a reservoir, and runs for a couple of miles by the
side of the Hackney cut down to its other reservoirs
north of Bow and near the Lea. The present cholera
field derives its waters from these works. It is right
to add that the water has hitherto borne a comparison
with the other London water in Dr. Frankland's
analyses. To-day at Poplar the water looks clear,
and no complaints are made of its quality. The
company will no doubt take exemplary pains to filter
its waters ; but it is not easy to guarantee the purity
of water drawn from such a river as the Lea, in dan-
gerous proximity to sewers, cuts, and canals.

Whoever will take the trouble to go among the
people now suffering in crowded dwellings will see
the danger of the water-butt ; poor women are
washing the dirty linen of patients with water drawn
from those vessels, which are often found close to
water-closets. It would be a source of additional
safety to London if tanks and butts were abolished,
and the pipes were filled on the system of constant
supply. The time has come for this reform.
The mortality is overwhelming in some .of the dis-
tricts. In Poplar alone 145, in Bow 188 people died
last week, including Dr. Ansell, the meritorious
health officer, and Mr. Ceeley, clerk to the Board of
Works, whose name figures on the placards. The
people are falling ill every hour ; you see them of
all ages, children and adults, lying about their beds
like people under the influence of a deadly poison,
some acutely suffering, nearly all conscious of their
fate and of all that is going on around them. Here
the doctor is drawn in by the husband to see the
wife now attacked ; there the husband lies in
spasms ; here is an old woman seated dead, with eyes
wide open ; there lies a fine four-year old child, his
curly head drooping in death, but his mother says
the pulse is strong, and he takes what she gives him.
An older brother just recovered is running about.
Several wards of the London Hospital are full of
patients, many of them very young children in
all stages of the disease ; some dying, some well
again and playing. The medical men have no rest,
and with the health officers are nobly doing their
duty; brave men ready to lay down their lives for
their patients. The people themselves are most
patient ; most willing to help each other, the women
always in front, and none shrinking danger. There
is no desertion of children, husbands,wives, fathers,
or mothers from fear.

In the midst of this scene the authorities have
been, to some extent, paralysed. The nuisance in-
spectors are not sufficiently numerous, neither are
the medical officers. The administrative work has
not been organised with sufficient promptitude, and
is not carried out with sufficient energy.

Such a calamity as this may well call forth the
whole resources of London, and what is especially
wanted is executive power well organised in con-
junction with the medical health officers. The people
of East London want help. .

The annual rate of mortality last week was 44 per
1,000 in London, 24 in Edinburgh, and 20 in Dub-