The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-12 00:00:00

TEE DOVER POSTAL CONT4.-.C,T-.
IN I; P.A PE

The Select Committee on Packet 7[hic
Contracts, 1859, has agreed to the RO tvina re_
port :-
1. The attention of your corn fie, during ,g,Z)
the short time which has elapsed sin't , wem:=4,41,1.,-;
appointed irected t
, has been chiefly d
packet service.for Dover. Si
" 2. A'contract, dated April 1, 1854, to continue
until Oct. 1, 1858, was entered into with Messrs.
Jenkings and Churchward (who had offered the
lowest terms by public tender), for conveying the
mails between Dover and Calais and Dover and .
Ostend.
" 3. An agreement was signed on or about June
20, 1855, substituting for the above contract
another,. extending the term from Oct. 1, 1858,
until June 20, 1863; this extension, which was
agreed to by the Admiralty without previous con-
sultation with the Treasury or the Post-office, does
not appear, from the evidence laid before this corn;
mittee, to have been made with due care and con-
sideration for the public intere.7t.
" 4. On April 26, 1859, an, agreement was en-
tered into, again substituting another contract,
further extending the term until April 26, 1870.
Your committee have failed to discover
ficient public grounds to justify this exten-
sion, which appears to have been conceded by the
Treasury on the recommendation of the Admiralty,
but in opposition to the views of the Postmaster- .
General, and, as appears to the committee, without
sufficient inquiry into the grounds upon which the
claim for the extension of the contract was pre-
ferred. _ _

"5. It is in evidence before this committee that
Mr. Cb.urchward, one of the contractors, on the
eve of the last general election, at the time when
the extension of his contract was under considera-
tion at the Treasury, volunteered his support, as
an influential elector for Dover, to the Hon. Cap-
tain Carnegie, one of the Lords of the Admiralty,
if he should become a candidate for that borough,
on the expectation that his contract was to be ex-
tende4, and expriseased his intention, if required, to
vote for two Government candidates for Dover ;
though, the committee think it right to add that
the renewal of the contract had been recom-
mended by the Admiralty to the Treasury at
least six weeks before the date of the conversa-
tion referred to, and that it appears to your com-
mittee that the officers with whom the decision of
the questionyested, that neither the Amdiralty nor
the Treasury were influenced in granting the re-
newal of the contract by any corrupt or political.
motive. Your committee consider that the con-
duct of Mr. Murray, the private secretary of the
First Lord of the Admiralty, was open to grave
censure, but they have not sufficient evidencd to
show that any member of the Government was
cognisant of the conversation between Mr. Mur-
ray, Mr. Churchward, and Captain Carnegie.
"6. While most anxious for the fulfilment of
all engagements entered into in good faith be-
tween the Government and individuals, the com-
mittee submit for the consideration of the House
whether Mr. Churchward, in having resorted
to corrupt expedients affecting injuriously the
character of the representation of the people in
Parliament, has not rendered it impossible for the
House of Commons, with due regard to its honour
and dignity, to vote the sums of money necessary
to fulfil the agreement to extend Mr. Churchward's
contract from the 20th of June, 1863, to the 26th.
of April, 1870.
"7. Although some evidence has been taken re-
specting the general management of the postal
packet service, the committee abstain, in the pre-
sent incomplete state of their inquiry, from offering
any opinion on the subject, beyond the expression
of a desire that the important matters referred for
their investigation may be again brought under the
notice of a committee at the earliest opportunity."

STATE 017 NAPLES.

(Ftom a Corl•espondent of the Times.)

NAPLES, Aug. 6.—A young Sovereign, especially
one educated as Francis 11. has been, has much
claim on the consideration of the public. Criticism
may well be silent for a short time where youth
and inexperience have to contend with so many
difficulties. But there is a limit to this indulgence,
for by overlooking acts we are liable to do a seri-
ous injustice to another party, consisting of some
millions of human souls. Three months have
now passed since Francis 11, assumed the reins
of power. If we examine, however, step by
step, all that has been done, we shall meet
with nothing but what is calculated to disap-
point and to create disgust. These, I assure
you, are not mere words—they are confirmed by
patent facts, and it would at first sight appear as
if my Lord Sohn Russell must be either misin-
formed or ill-informed when he says that the
"Kingdom of Naples is, I believe, becoming
greatly improved." At present, I believe it is, if
possible, in a worse state than it was, and I will
tell you why. Because, while the Government
affects to do something it does nothing, and lives
on the prestige which it has created by false
appearances. I last week sent . you an ac-
count of the illegal and infamous deportation of
persons to the island of Capri—of men who
have been shut up in prison for three years
without trial. A greater insult was never
offered to England, for her Minister has insisted
more on the liberation of these men than upon any
other point whatever, and yet, after renewing rela-
tions with this Power in buona fede, that conces-
sions would be the o: der of the day—with a fleet in .
the Bay and a Minister pressing for conciliatory
measures-30 untried men are manacled and tied
to a long rope, and sent into exile.
The fleet went over to Castellamare for ball prac-
tice on Thursday morning last, leaving here the
Centurion and the Exmouth. The Euryalus and
the Lapwing left Naples on Tuesday morning, 'and
the Caradoc went out with Captain Yelverton
on Monday night to Malta. Captain Yelverton
has been appointed to the Coast-guard, and was
therefore called on to give up his command of the
Conqueror, to which Captain Clifford, late of the
Centaur, has been appointed.
I never witnessed a prettier scene in my life. I
was sitting in one of the cabins of the Centurion
when the silence of the evening was broken by a
" Hip, hip, hip, hurrah." How such sounds stir
one's blood in a foreign land! Rushing to the win-
dow, cite could just discern in the dusk of the
evening all the -yards of the Conqueror manned.
Then the land breeze brought down to us the
sounds of " Should auld acquaintance be forgot,"
&c., played by the band. A launch shot off from
the vessel, a profusion of blue lights were let off,
and Captain Yelverton ceased to command the Con-
queror. He was a great and universal favourite,
and deserved the unusual honours he received. It
would be well for our navy if many captains would
take a lesson from him.
" The state of siege continues in Palermo, and at
Messina two gross cases of torture by order of an
recent lnspector
demonstrations
of lihada
mocacnurerfede.nerSgoyown
aasftseng
after the
to fill that office, and Giuseppe Toscano was chosen.
ce
Without going into all the details, a young lad
called Casella was examined by the Inspector in a
criminal case. As he appeared to withhold his
evidence, the Inspector beat him ferociously, and
then had him tortured in the following manner.
First, manacles were put on him, and then a thin
cord was bound tightly round the wrists His
cries were tremendous—" Kill me, kill me ! But
don't torture me ! " The Inspector ordered the in-
strument of silence to be put on, and a piece of
wood was put in his mouth, and tied to the back
of his head. During the torture a young advocate
entered the office, and claimed the protection of the
law for Casella, but was thrust out with insults. I
have seen a copy of the statement of the case which
had been presented to the Swiss Instructor with a
wrists,
,
demand for justice. I have seen also a copy of the
übtolotwhes won
ricertificates of the medical men who were appointed.
templeto e x ami
andne
thethe
arms,boy . a n Idt isrpneaatki
injury s ofr
threatening the loss of the use of the h dap s, as
sensation and motion had been stopped.
The other case was that of a cloth merchant, who
refused to give himself up to the police unless the
cause of his arrest was made known to him. In fact,
he undressed, got into bed, and refused to move.
How or- with what instruments the police wounded
him is unkb..lwn, but certain it is that he leapt out
of the -window, ,naked as he was and bleeding, and
ran through the si:eets calling for justice. lam
informed that the Vico- Consuls of England, France,
and Austria have reportt24 the circumstances
-ne observation _ to s
.on to his
interesting chiefs. Toscano is at laiTe,
and pursuing
interesting avocations. I have o.
make. If such barbarities are pray tiled towards
people accused of ordinary offences, of the wjot may we
imagine must have been the sufferings
poli-
tical offenders ?"

PAUPERISM.—In the fourth
POOR RATES .AND
week of June last there was a decrease of pauperism in
England and Wales amountiu,s- to 31,165 persons, or 3.74
per
cent. In the metropolis the decrease was 1.81 per cent.,
and we rejoice to add that the decrease of pauperism was
without exception throughout all the districts. The same
may be said of the other three weeks of the month of June,
the general decrease having been respectively 4.36, 4.19,
and 4.08 per cent. The principal manufacturing districts
of the country exhibit the equally satisfactory result of a
decline of pauperism. There is
eaeldarBescli9reeraanwsedeoefkinsseffqhybeu2ot,Ote
decreasesi)auPrs comparing
greateri‘iidsumin in the
quar-
ter. The diminution of pauperism continues in the metro-
polis, the number of paupers on the relief lists being unu-
sually low during all the weeks of the past quarter.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Morning, lh. 14m.—Afternoon, lh. 35m.
To-MORROW-Morning, lh. 55m.—Afternoon, 2h. 13m.

A short bill, for a new description of copper coin,
introduced by Mr. GLADSTONE, is quietly passing
through Parliament. This measure is entitled,
" A Bill to Extend the Enactments relative to the
Copper Coin to Coin of Mixed Metal." The
preamble states that, " whereas her MAJESTY may
think fit, for the public convenience, to cause to be
issued coins of :bronze or mixed metal, instead of
copper moneys, or for the purposes of the like
payments for which copper moneys have been made
current, be it enacted that such coin of bronze or
mixed metal shall be placed in the same legal
position as the current copper coin, and all enact-
ments whatever where current copper coin is men-
tioned or referred to, shall be construed and take
effect as if, in addition to current coin, current coin
of bronze or mixed metal had been also in every
such case mentioned or referred to."

In taking a vote of £lO,OOO only for this new
coinage, Mr. GLADSTONE mentioned some curious
facts. " The whole value," he said, " of the copper
coinage was £BOO,OOO, and the quantity of copper
was 3,500 tons. Taking the copper at £lO7 10s.
per ton, the actual value was only £379,000, so that
the copper coin was a pure token, the iubziacio
value being less than one-half of the nominal
or apparent value." " A part of it was coun-
terfeit, and another part foreign coins, and
another injured and battered—one-third required
renewal." Now observe what Mr. GLADSTONE,
under these circumstances, proposes. The copper
coin at present is, in fact, a pure token. Mr.
GLADSTONE proposes to make it a pure token by
law. " If it were renewed such as it now was he
should be obliged to ask for a vote for £40,000,"
but he recommends that we should follow the ex-
ample set by France, and the plan which has been
tried in Canada and Nova Scotia—and he might
hove added in the United States—and substituted
bronze and mixed metal tokens for our copper
coinage. " The new coins would be much lighter
than those in present use, the change of metal would
enable them to be made much thinner in proportion
to their superficies, and their intrinsic value would
not be more than half that of the present coins.
The quantity of copper now coined into 26 of the
old pence would make 45 of the new ones. If the
3,500 tons of the old copper were called in and. re-
coined, the profit would be. about £92,000 ; but if
there were an increased demand for the new coin,
to the amount of 25 er 30 per cent., that would
leave a considerable profit on the operation." " The
French," he says, " had paid for the expense of
converting the coin, and realised from the reduction
of weight a profit not far short of £500,000." In
France, however, the copper average being larger
than ours, the profit would be greater.
We think Mr. GLADSTONE quite right in this
measure. By it he departs from the principle of
the Bullionists and Peelites, and adopts that of
common sense and sound monetary science. Lord
LIVERPOOL was the founder of the Bullionist
School. The Bullion Committee and PEEL adopted
the errors of their teacher. Now what principle
did Lord LIVERPOOL adopt when GEORGE 111., in
1798, in recommending a new copper coinage,
appointed a committee to consider the state of the
coin of this kingdom "Money," said Lord LIVER-
POOL, "is not only the standard measure by which
the value of all things, bought and sold,. is regu-
lated and ascertained," but " it is itself, at the
same time, the value, or equivalent, for which
goods are exchanged, and in which contracts are
generally made payable." He admits that these
two qualities can never be brought perfectly to
agree. Money is made of any material, as gold,
silver, or Copper, subject to fluctuations in the
market, and" fails on that account in the quality of
a standard, or measure, and will not continue to be
perfectly uniform, and at all times the same."
Lord LIVERPOOL nevertheless adopted this im-
perfect principle of making
money of intrinsic
value. He might have learned how mistaken he
was in adopting it by what
happened with the
new copper coinage. These coins were made by
Mr. BoULTON, on the principle "that the nominal
value of each piece should be equal to the value of
the metal it contained, and the price of the work-
manship employed in making it; these new
coins,
therefore, were of more intrinsic value than any
coins of that metal which had hitherto been
issued." How did they succeed ? " It is singular,"
says his lordship, with the most candid simplicity,
" that few of the new copper coins ever made their
appearance, either in London or its neighbourhood,
though to my knowledge great numbers were sent
thither." He fancies that the people may have
been " desirous of retaining" these copper coins,
and that they may "have them still in their pos-
session ;" the plain fact being that, from a rise in
the price of copper, it became profitable to melt
the new copper coins, and melted they accordingly
were; the expense of the coinage being, conse-

quently, thrown away, and the object of providing
new copper money entirely defeated. The only
parties benefited were the copper merchants, who,
being practical men, melted down the fine new
copper coins, put the money in their pockets, and
laughed at Lord LIVERPOOL and his theories. We
see, then, how completely Mr. GLADSTONE departs
in principle and practice from the head of the
Bullionist School. Instead of restoring the copper
coinage to its intrinsic and "equivalent" value, he
lowers what has become a pure token still lower,
and tells us that the intrinsic value of the new
bronze tokens will not be "more than half that of
the present coins." And Mr. GLADSTONE is quite
right. The new bronze money will neither be
bronzed, melted, nor exported. It will remain,
what it was intended to be, MONEY. It will
circulate from hand to hand, facilitating
the exchange of commodities, and thus answering
for many years the purposes for which it was
made. Our amiable CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER tells us that this " pure token " will be
" very convenient, very nice in appearance, and a
most agreeable coin to handle." It will also, he
assures us, smell better—non olet. It will be hard,
cheap, durable ; but it will be something much
better than all this—it will be in fact, and in law,
a " pure token."
Observe that the poor man will by law be com-
pelled to take twelve of these tokens, not worth
more than sixpence, for a shilling. But will he be
injured ? Not in the least. He can discharge a
shilling's worth of indebtedness with his tokens
and he can pay Mr. GLADSTONE back in his own
coin for his taxes.

But why should Mr. GLADSTONE stop here ?
Why not have silver tokens as well as copper
tokens—why not have gold tokens as well as silver
tokens ? Mr. GLADSTONE is, like MICHAEL CAS-
SIO, a great arithmetician. Will he work out this
sum for us ? If by the issue of copper tokens the
country gains £92,000, how many millions sterling
would it gain by the issue of silver tokens, and
how many tens of millions sterling would it gain
by the issue of gold tokens ?
Lord LIVERPOOL, indeed, affirmed that " coins
should be made of metals more or less valuable, in
proportion to the wealth and commerce of the
country in which they are to be the measure of
property." But this was a mere affirmation,
unsupported by a shadow of argument. He
might as well have said that the rails
on a railway should be made of metal
more or less valuable in proportion
to the wealth and traffic of the line. The whole of
PEEL'S monetary system is based on this absurd
assumption. As the wealth and commerce of a
country expand, we should have the most conve-
nient, the cheapest, the least fluctuating, the
steadiest circulating medium. We then require
money not to be hoarded, melted, or separated ;
money for the use of which we do not give 2
per cent. one day and 20 per cent. another. Will
Mr. GLADSTONE tell us who would be inconve•
nienced by the adoption of cheap gold tokens, or
paper pound notes, any more than by the adoption
of bronze penny tokens ? If he will not, we will
tell him. The goldsmith, or gold chainmaker, who
at present melts down, as the Act of 1844 allows
him to do, new sovereigns from the Mint, would be
slightly inconvenienced. He would then have to
assay and weigh the gold he bought for manufac-
turing purposes. This would no longer be done
here at the national expense. The foreigner would
have to deal with the bullion merchant for gold re-
quired for exportation, or with the Bank in the
character of a bullion merchant, instead of export-
ing our coined intmay _ But thQ pnrgnns princi-
pally inconvenienced would be the hard calculator
and the usurer. Gold tokens would not be ex-
ported, the whole basis of our circulating medium
would not be violently contracted, the hard calcu-
lator would not buy his commodities, every now
and then, 30 per cent, below cost price, nor would
the usurer gain his £lOO,OOO bya panic.

We will further tell Mr. GLADSTONE who would
benefit by cheap gold tokens, or national paper
money. First, the people of England. They would
retain the money necessary for the circulation of
commodities from hand to hand, and for free and
honest remuneration of their labour. Their money
would not, as now, be one day depreciated by a glut
of gold for which the Bank is obliged to issue out
bank-notes where they are not wanted, thereby
engendering unwholesome speculation, nor could it
be subject to irregular and violent contractions by
which commerce is paralysed and labour starved.

The whole commercial class would benefit imme-
diately and largely by money at a settled and
equitable rate of discount, and a freedom from the
ruinous disasters of periodically recurring- monetary
panics. And last, not least, we can assure Mr.
GLADSTONE that that inestimable functionary, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, would be a prosperous
and a popular man. Give the country a steady
and unfluctuating circulating medium, and the
talent, energy, and industry of the people will have
fair play. Uncertainty, commercial depression,
and panics lie at the root of all our financial diffi-
culties. And commercial depression, speculative
over-trading, and monetary crises have been proved
by sad experience to be the inevitable attendants
on the unsuccessful attempts to carry out Lord
LIVERPOOL'S system of money of intrinsic value.
Mr. GLADSTONE dislikes loans, and so do we. But
with a well-regulated monetary system the re-
sources of the country would not only be found
sufficient for ordinary, but even for extraordinary
requirements. In time of peace the great incubus
of the country —the National Debt —might be
rapidly reduced. In time of war a revenue might
be raised adequate to the necessary expenditure.
Mr. GLADSTONE has already thrown overboard the
bullionist theory of money of intrinsic value.
Let him go boldly on in the course of Cur-
rency Reform, and he will restore permanent
prosperity to his country, and enable England once
more to take her proper position among the nations
of Europe.

When Doctors disagree—but the proverb's some-
what musty. Mr. STEPHENSON 15 in favour of
the experimental project for cleansing (?) the Ser-
pentine by means of filtration. Sir JOSEPH PAX-
TON is against it. Mr. FITZROY is still infatuated
with the notion that this is the very wisest plan
of cleansing the waters of a stagnant pool that the
ingenuity of engineering ever yet hit up. It is so
extremely simple—don't you see ?—this charming
little scheme of Mr. HAWKSLEY'S contrivance. All
that will be required to carry it out will be simply
this—to erect an ornamental building at the Bays-
haatte rbueinlng
end of the Serpentine ! To put together in
ta couple of stationary engines for the
purpose of pumping up the polluted water from the
other extremity of the Serpentine ! To subject this
polluted water (when
f
filtration ! And then utmopeetdi
t up)ru nt o toffh_e_
Ipvr
ho
te
hs se
ro
Why," bock again" into the old dirty bed of the Ser-
pentine ! And so to go on perpetually—pumping,
and draining, and running the water back again
" to the place from whence it came," there to be
passed out once more, and refiltered, and returned
in a never ending circle of wishy Washy dabblin,rs
between dirt and cleanliness!
be of two horse Power each The engines will only

—the building hiding them from view will prevent
the possibility of their being an eyesore—the whole
puffing and swilling process will be accomplished.
sub rosa, but, alas ! it must be added sub naso of
every frequenter of the Ring and the Row, as well
as of every inhabitant of that aristocratic, but un-

fortunate, neighbourhood. True, a certain area in
the vicinity of the ornamental home of the sta-

tiotary engines will be required for the purpose of
filtering every day 2,000,000 gallons of this abomi-
nable water, pnmped out and immediately after-
wards washed back again into the Serpentine.
But that, Mr. FITZROY tells us, will be the
merest trifle—just three-fourths of an acre, or
thereabouts. What a sweet, charming, melliffious
picture to be sure ! Three-fourths of an acre of
stench arising from alternately dry and liquid
abominations in a continual sequence of stir and
stagnation! Why, a bed of heliotropes in full
bloom with a south breeze fluttering over them is
nothing to it. No wonder that Sir JOSEPH
PAXTON, that later KENT—that king among land-
scape gardeners—shrunk with dismay from the
notion of such a stretch of perpetuated effluvia,
reeking, and sweltering, and steaming over the
surface of three-fourths of an acre in the midst of
the verdent sweep of Hyde-park, on the banks
of the Serpentine, in close contiguity to that
highly-favoured (soon also, at this rate, to be
highly flavoured), but really most unoffending
Bayswater.

Mr. STEPHENSON'S argument in direct advocacy
of the pet project of Mr. FITZROY this (bright idea
of Mr. HAWKSLEY about filtration and refiltration)
is really when one comes to examine it rationally, the
result of one of the oddest non-sequiturs imaginable.
Mr. STEPHENSON maintains energetically (not to
say dogmatically) that the Serpentine is already
as sweet and pure as any reasonable man could
wish it to be. He speaks from experience, he re-
minds the House—having to pass and repass the
Serpentine always twice, occasionally four times
a day. While, to almost every one else, the
offence of the Serpentine, like that of the King in
HAMLET—

it
And smells to Heaven ! "

to the olfactory nerves of our eminent engineer, it is
really and truly, if we understand him rightly,
about as free from anything disagreeable as the
balmy and aromatic breath of Araby the blest. Mr.
STEPHENSON'S nasal organ must be about as case-
hardened, we should imagine, as the palate, in the
first instance, and the stomach afterwards, of that
lover of strong waters, the Humane Society's drags-
man, who told that correspondent of the Times the
other day, that whenever he was thirsty he drank
the water of the Serpentine ! And smacked his
lips after it, we suppose, with a relish However
this may be—the Humane Society's man (himself
humane apparently to everybody but himself)
drinks and likes the water of the Serpentine—
while Mr. STEPHENSON, in the same spirit of com-
placent satisfaction with things as they are,
sniffs and likes the atmosphere wafted by
every passing breeze from those same waters
of the Serpentine. Yet it gives one rather a qualm,
by the way, to hear Mr. STEPHENSON at the very
same time observing, that, "as one of the Commis-
sioners of Sewers, he had devoted a good deal of
attention to the exclusion from the Serpentine of
the sewage of Bayswater, which some years ago was
conveyed into it, and the exclusion of that sewage
had undoubtedly, to a very considerable extent, led
to the purification of the river"—meaning, more
correctly, not the river, but the stagnant lake of
the Serpentine. So—that only a few years ago
the sewage of Bayswater was poured into the b©d
of that stagnant Serpentine. It was poured in thud
for many years previously. Since it has been directed
from its course elsewhere, we are not aware that the
bed of that same stagnant pool (into which the
sewage had been pouring so long and so abundantly)
has ever once to this day been' cleaned out even
partially. It has never in fact been cleaned out at
all. It is this very cleaning out that we are now
arguing for, as a piece of cleanliness imperatively
demanded. There the sewage has been allowed to
settle down as a substratum to this pellucid lake of
liquid crystal at whose Hygeian spring the
Humane Society's man quaffs with such a relish—
and by whose ambrosial banks Mr. STEPHENSON
ambels his cob day after day with a sense of such
ineffable satisfaction. We commend the memory
of all that sewage to the dragsman, and to the
honourable gentleman the member for Whitby,
as calculated possibly to impart (by the
mere thought of it) an extra relish
to the tonic cup of health drunk by the one, and
to the daily zephyr inhaled by the other. Testi-
mony like that of Mr. STEPHENSON must have been
" nuts" to Mr. FITZROY. He also, as might have
been expected, can regard the reputed abomination
of the Serpentine somewhat in the vein of Sir Chas.
Coldstream—protesting that there's Nothing in it!
Yet—and here is the non sequitur of Mr. STEPHEN-
SON'S argument—while the First Commissioner of
Public Works and the honourable member for
Whitby, and others who think with them, people
who have particularly strong noses, or who
have no noses at all—while they maintain
that the Serpentine is not by any means so foul as
it is stated to be ; on the contrary, that it is rather
delicious and refreshing than otherwise—yet, at
the same time, most inconsistently suggest that it
shall be elaborately cleansed and re-cleansed over
and over aga;n by one of the most preposterously
complicated arrangements that engineer ever yet
thought of, for the simple purpose of cleaning out
a dirty piece of water. One would suppose that
about the most obviously rational course that any
one could pursue in regard to a stagnant lake like
the Serpentine would be preciesly the very course
we are insisting upon as the one of manifest neces-
sity—namely, to drain the whole of the water now
in it away—to lay the bed of its channel
bare—to clear away the whole of the filth there
discovered—to fill up the dangerous holes in which,
year after year, so many people are drowned acci-
dentally—to reduce all to one uniform level, sloping
up to the margin—to line the whole bed of the
Serpentine with concrete, and then to brim it up
again—but this time with really pure, fresh
sparkling water. Common sense tells one that
this would be immeasurably better than all this
puddling, and draining, and messing, and filtering
of the old dirty bed and the old dirty water just as
it is—with an ornamental building to hide the
nasty process—with two steam engines pumping
and wheezzing there in affected secresy—and with
an area of three-fourths of an acre, permanently
supplying the neighbourhood with stench, for
£l7,ooo,the vaguely estimated cost of this absurd
scheme of filtration.

It is recorded among the sayings of the Great
NAPOLEON that he once whimsically observed
(speaking of course as a physiognomist)—" Give
me a man with plenty of Nose !" It is remarked,
however, of the EMPEROR, that he closed his own
career only upon the very occasion when he himselfat
last encountered a man with just perhaps a little too
much n3se. However this may be, we certainly
trust that the next PREMIER will, if only in consi-
deration of the Serpentine, take that saying of
NAPOLEON'S as his guiding principle—" Give me a

man with plenty of nose"—when making a selection
of the most fitting administrator to fill the office of
First Commissioner of Public Works.

The adage says " Time is money," therefore the
quicker you go the more you save or make. On
this principle the bill which has just received
the Royal assent, in very spite of the so-called guar-
dians of St. Thomas's Hospital, will be a great
boon to that portion of the public at the West-end
who want to go by the Brighton or South-Eastern
Railways, from the Grand Terminus, near London-
bridge. We can speak from personal inconve-
nience, too frequently experienced in going to the
station either by cab or 'bus, no matter which, for
both are doomed to pay a heavy toll (of time)
on London - bridge before arriving just too late
for the train ! Why, it often takes as
long from the Strand to London-bridge Station
as from the station to Brighton or perhaps Dover !
Thanks to that spirited directors of the South
Eastern Railway and others, this torpid incon-
venience will soon be remedied by a branch from
head-quarters right away to the Waterloo-station of
the South-Western, and crossing the Thames, pitch
its tent at what now is Hungerford-market. The
statue at Charing-cross will begin to be wide-
awake, while the Church of St. lilartin's will be
greater than St. Paul's, or even St. Peter's at
Rome. Time changes everything else, but stands
stock-still itself ! There's the marvel which has
puzzled the philosopher, and will yet puzzle our
wise legislators, who are never tired of mak-
ing amendments upon amendments, but
always forgetting to amend themselves.
They say that charity begins at home, but few can
believe it for our charity chiefly walks abroad, as
in the golden age when small change was scarce.
Well, with one improvement upon another we
may hope to do by and by without either doctors
or lawyers, which will indeed be a blessing as yet
unhoped for. But good times are coming, and the
sooner one can shake them by the hand the better.
To be in London at one, and in Brighton,
Tunbridge Wells, or Dover at two, seems
to be too good to be true ; but so it will
be, and we hope our travellers will become all the
wiser for their speed. Really the people of Bel-
gravia will henceforth be the very elect of tra-
vellers, and may exult in the happy cognomen of
wise men of the West—not West-enders, for place
and circumstance have undergone a change, and
all for the better. Thanks, say we, to the spirited
promoters of this rapid accommodation to the
metropolis, which will prove beneficial to the
over-crowded streets and to the people at large.

Our foreign news seems to be " all at sea."
Italy is in a blaze of excitement—hoping for the
best yet evidently preparing for the worst—come
what will. It is said the Red Republic has been
proclaimed at Parma, and the Piedmontese driven
from the city. We must wait for more reliable
news. While the Conference is talking at Zurich,
the Italians are arming to obtain a better and
more general peace. Half measures will not do,
as Villafranca can bear witness.

The Queen will hold a Privy Council at Osborne
to-day. After the Council her Majesty and his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort will embark on board the
Victoria and Albert royal yacht, for an excursion for a few
days at sea. In all probability her Majesty and her illus-
trious Consort will, during the cruise, visit the Channel
Islands.

We have reason to believe that the Grand Duke
Constantine, on leaving Ryde, will pay a visit to the Em-
peror Napoleon at Biarritz.

The foundation stone of the Metropolitan Taber-
nacle at Newington for Mr. Spurgeon's congregation will
be laid on Tuesday next by Sir S. M. Peto, Bart., M.P.
It is stated in letters from Berlin that a Prussian
expedition will sail in October for Japan.

The report of the directors of the Mid-Kent Rail-
way recommends a half-Yearly dividend at the rate of 3 per
cent. per annum.

The Diritto of Turin reports, on the authority of
letters from Venice, that 200,000 Austrians will remain in
the Venetian* country during the winter.

Accounts from Batavia state that M. Teengs,
president of the factory of the Dutch Commercial Company
at that place, had been murdered by one of his clerks.

The Piedmontese Gazette contains a royal de-
cree authorising the concession to Messrs. Peto and Wag-
staff of a railway to be constructed between Voltri and.
Savona in Piedmont.
The steam-ship Ellora arrived yesterday. at
Southampton from Marseilles. On Tuesday she passed an
American frigate in the Bay of Biscay, standing to the
westward.

The opening of the shooting season in the de-
partments of the Seine, Seine et Oise, Seine et Marne,
Seine Inferieure, and the Somme, is fixed for the Ist of
September.

We understand that a telegraphic cable, intended
for submersion between Marseilles and Oran, in Algeria, is
now in course of manufacture in this country. It will
probably be laid down in November next.
The half-yearly dividend on the shares of the
Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway Company is officially
announced at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum, being the
same as that paid for the corresponding period of 1858.

A letter from St. Petersburg mentions that an
account had been received of a fire having broken out at
Moscow. When the intelligence was sent off, 50 houses
had been destroyed, and the fire was then burning with
great violence.

The Quebec .Morning Chronicle says: "The
youngster Young, who wanted Blondin to carry him over
the Niagara river on a rope, went to the Falls, but Blondin
demanded the payment of 500 lols in advance for the trip.
Young thought the fare too high, and wasn't carried."
DETONPORT ELECTION.—Mr. Ferrand, who was
unsuccessful against Sir Michael Seymour on Tuesday, has
determined to contest with Sir Arthur Buller the seat va-
cated by the promotion of Mr. Wilson. It is probable that
the nomination will take place on Tuesday, and the election
on Wednesday next.
DEATH OF SIR GEORGE STAUNTON.—We have
to record the death of Sir George Thomas Staunton, Bart.,
which occurred on Wednesday at his town residence, No.
17, Devonshire-street, Portland-place. The deceased
baronet was born at Milford House, near Salisbury, in 1781,
and succeeded his father, the first baronet, in 1810, and was
educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.
WIFE MURDER IN BEDFORDSHIRE.—The in-
habitants of the usually quiet town of Luton, in Bedford-
shire, were on Tuesday greatly shocked by the intelligence
that a murder had been committed in broad daylight on a
public footpath near the ruins of Summeries Castle, about
one mile from the town. The facts appear to be that the
unfortunate victim was the wife of George Castle, who
previous to the murder had been working in a malting
at Ware. In consequence of a domestic quarrel on the
previous day she left her husband and went for pro-
tection to her parents, who reside at Luton. The hus-
band followed, and being denied access to his wife,
would seem to have then decided on his deadly revenge.
On the following morning, having provided himself with
a knife, and his mother-in-law being obliged to leave
home, he got into the house and persuaded his wife to re-
turn with him to Ware, for which place they left ; but in
about two hours afterwards her dead body was found by the
roadside with her throat fearfully cut, the ground bearing
marks of a desperate struggle having taken place. Infor-
mation was immediately given to the police at Luton, who
at once instituted an active pursuit, in which they were as-
sisted by several gentlemen and inhabitants of the town and
neighbourhood. After a long search the prisoner was traced
going through several woods to Welwyn, where he gave
himself into custody a few minutes before the arrival of the
Luton inspector of police. The unfortunate deceased was
only 21 years of agej and had been married only six months.
THE MURDER AT DURSLEY.—The following are
more detailed particulars of this horrible crime briefly re-
ferred to in The Sun of yesterday. The deceased, Thomas
Rutter, was 36 years old, and followed the trade of a jour-
neyman blacksmith. His wife Ellen, the murderess, is a
few years younger, and is his second wife. By a former wife
the deceased had. a son, now a young man, who was still
living at his father's house. On Saturday evening last his
father gave him money to procure meat for Sunday's dinner,
and he was about leaving the house when his mother-in-law
stopped him, and wanted to know the reason she was not to
be mtrusted with the money. This circumstance was the
origin .of a quarrel between the deceased 'and his wife,
who since their marriage have lived very unhappily toge-
the. Late the same (Saturday) evening they were both
at the Star publichouse, and drinking, Mrs. Rutter sit •
ting with other men, and not with her husband. Of this
conduct he complained to her, and said he married her in
order that she might wait upon him. The woman, how-
ever, with an oath, denied the marriage, and used several
filthy expressions towards her husband. Later in the even-
ing she told the man, by whom she was sitting of her deter-
mination to "go home and cut Tom's throat," being at the
same time in a very excited state. She also subsequently
said, on being remonstrated with, that "if 20 people per-
suaded her she'd go and do it." A woman named Wood
accompanied Mrs. Rutter part of the way home, and by that
time she promised not to carry out her previous determina-
tion with regard to her husband. Early on Sunday morn-
ing, however, she knocked up a neighbour named Hancock,
and said, "Tom has made away with himself," adding, "and
see how he has served me," her sleeve and dress being
covered with blood. Hancock and his son afterwards
went to Rutter's house, and found the deceased
bleeding profusely from two wounds on his face,
and a frightful one in the throat. Hancock said
" Who did this ?'" and Ellen Rutter replied, " I did." At
Gloucester yesterday the judge commented on this case in
his charge to the grand jury, and said he was afraid they
could come to no other decision than that of a " bill for
wilful murder." The trial is expected to take place on
Saturday.

LATEST NEWS.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :

FLORENCE, AUG. 11.
OFFICIAL DESPATCH.

The Ministers and Deputies went this morning
to the cathedral to implore Heavenly benediction.
They were cheered at the opening of the Assem-
bly. A great number of the population were pre-
sent.

The opening message of Signor Ricasoli was
much applauded. The Assembly was occupied
with the examination of the elections of the mem-
bers.

The whole town is covered with placards ending
with the words, " Viva Vittore Emmanele it nostre
Re."

ZURICH, AUG. 12.

The diplomatic banquet has taken place here.
Speeches were made by the President of the Go-
vernment, M. Dubs, Count Colloredo, and the
Federal Vice-President.

M. de Bourquency has invited the diplomatic
corps to a grand banquet for the 15th inst. The
Grand Duke of Baden will be present at the open-
ing of the railway of Waldshut, and will arrive at
Zurich on Tuesday next.

VIENNA, AUG. 11.

The official Austrian Correspondence of this even-
ing contains private intelligence, dated Parma, the
9th instant, stating that the Piedmontese had been
driven from the city. The red republic had been
proclaimed. Property holders and the friends of
order were taking flight.

TURIN, AUG. 11.

Advices received from Bologna state that a decree
of the Government has convoked an assembly to be
elected by the inhabitants, in order to express the
wishes of the population.
Several agents of Mazzini had been arrested and
expelled.

It is asserted that the conference of Zurich has
prolonged the armistice indefinitely.
The French troops have suspended their depar-
ture from Italy.

BERNE, AUG. 11.

According to news received from Zurich, M. de
Bourqueney had to-day a conference with M. de
Desambrais. At three o'clock p.m. another con-
ference took place between M. de Bourqueney and
Count Colloredo.

Marquis de Turgot, French Ambassador at Berne,
has issued numerous invitations for celebrating the
fete of Napoleon on the sth inst.

BERNE, AUG. 11.

Yesterday there was no sitting of the Conference
at Zurich. At the sitting of the day before yester-
day the representative of Sardinia was not present.

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THE SUN.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1859.