The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-04 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

LEICESTER, Jan. 3.—The hosiery trade is healthy
and satisfactory. There is, however, not much yet
_doing in any department, it being too early in the
new year for the demand to set in. Business is also
quiet in the country districts, and the operatives
are not fully employed. The wool market continues
firm, and high prices are quoted. In worsted yarns
there is no important alteration ; the market con-
tinues steady. Cotton yarns are unaltered in value.
NOTTINGHAM, 3d.—There has been rather more
doing in the lace trade during the past few days,
and there are symptoms of a revival in business
generally. The cotton branch is, however, still
quiet, and manufacturers are finishing to order.
There is little doing in silk mechlins and quillings,
and black laces. The narrow edging branch remains
quiet. Only a few buyers have recently been in the
market, and their purchases have not been large.
Cotton yarns are firm and high in price. Silk con-
tinues extremely dear. The hosiery trade remains
exceedingly active. All departments are well en-
gaged, and manufacturers have still numerous or-
ders on hand. The shipping trade is brisk, and
the home demand is fully an average. The work-
people continue well employed. Hosiery yarns are
unaltered in value.

Freaks of a Ticket•of-Leave Man at
Maidstone.

In March, 1863, a man named John Devine was
convicted at Brighton for felony, and sentenced to
three years' penal servitude, upon which he was sent
to Portland. While undergoing sentence there a
lady—who has a brother-in-law engaged in an offi-
cial position on the Maidstone and Sevenoaks
Railway—visited the establishment, and from con-
versation with the prisoner. took a great interest
in him. About three weeks since a ticket-of-
leave was granted the convict. On obtaining this
the lady wrote to her brother-in-law to procure the
ticket-of-leave gentleman work, which he did on
the Maidstone and Sevenoaks Railway, in the Maid-
stone district, as a mason, Mrs. supplying him
with a new outfit of clothes and tools. Prisoner
came to Maidstone about the above time, and com-
menced work, taking up his abode at Mr. Smith's,
Scrubb's-lane, and agreeing to pay Mr. Smith 13s.
a week for his board and lodgings. While with
Mr. Smith he wanted the loan of his watch to
" make him look like a gentleman," but as the
acquaintance was of very short duration, Mr. Smith
respectfully declined. At the expiration of a week
the Portland prince left his-lodgings,-forgetting to
pay his rent and board. During the week, when
engaged on the railway, he told his fellow-workmen
that he had £7OO in the bank, which had been de-
r posited there on his account for having saved the
life of Mr. T—'s brother in the Crimea. At this
time the ticket gentleman spent his evenings at the
beerhouse of Mr. Bird, in Fant-fields, who supplied
him with beer ad libitum for the men on the works.
He also had provided a supper, to which he invited
40 of his fellow-workmen, who dubbed him a
"hearty good fellow." A band of music was also
in attendance, Mr. Bird paying for the whole on
the strength of the " gentleman" withdrawing a
portion of his bank deposit. While working on the
line he became acquainted with Mr. Martin, of
the Kentish Waggoner. On leaving his lodg-
ings on the Sunday night he visited the house
of Mr. Martin, where he fell desperately in
love with a buxom blooming daughter of the
worthy host. Whether the flame was returned with
the same ardour or not cannot be said ; but at any
rate the ticket gentleman's prospects induced the
young lady to consent to be led to Hymen's altar.
Every preparation was actively set on foot for the
marriage ceremony. Tailors, drapers, dressmakers,
&c., were busily engaged on the work. For three
days the gallant bridegroom kept Mr. Martin in tow,
visiting sundry places in the town, among others the
bank, where he took the precaution to leave the re-
spected Boniface outside, while he went in under the
pretence of inquiring about his money, for the pur-
pose of blinding Mr. Martin. On the third day of
courtship, unfortunately for the course of true love,
the cup of bliss was dashed to the ground. An active
police constable of the Maidstone force, who had
been on the convict's track, called on that day upon
Mr. Martin, and informed him that his son-in-law
in the perspective was nothing more nor less than a
ticket-of-leave man, and that his bank deposit was
all moonshine; whereupon Mr. Martin showed the
convict bridegroom the door, and it was not long be-
fore he was on his road to Chatham, having first
succeeded in obtaining from Mrs. Martin the loan of
ss. to meet his immediate necessities. When at Chat-
ham he commenced the same game, whereby he ob-
tained sundry watches; but hearing, we may surmise,
that the police were again on bis trail, he was soon
non est. Nothing since has been heard of him. Our
ticket-of-leave gentleman is no doubt carrying on
the course of winning young ladies' hearts, deluding
beerhouse keepers, bilking tailors, and being toasted
round as a hearty good fellow. He stands oft. 84in.
high, is 26 years of age, with dark hair and com-
mark over the right eye.—Maidstone
plexion, and a
Telegraph.

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esterday afternoo
llows of this
St. Martin's-place
usual routine business, including the rending of the
reports of the treasurer, the curator, and librarian,
The president, Dr. JAMES HUNT, delivered the
anniversary address. He adverted, in the first
place, to the deaths during the past year of those
gentlemen who held a prominent position in the
society, including Mr. Roberts, Mr. Cassell, and
Governor Freeman. He then took into considera-
tion the definitions that had been given of the term
anthropology, and he contended• that, as the veri-
table science of man, it should take a high rank
among the sciences. The science might be divided,
he said, into descriptive anthropology, archaic an-
thropology, historic anthropology, and comparative
anthropology, and ho explained the bearing of each
division on anthropology in general, so as to con-
stitute a complete science of man. The president
then commented with much severity on the manner
in which that science had been treated at the last
meeting of the British Association at Birmingham,
where, owing to the hostility of some members of
the geographical section, anthropology had been re-
fused distinct recognition, by the rejection of the
motion to have a separate section devoted to it. He
took occasion also to animadvert on the conduct of
some members of the Ethnological Society, and to
predict that in the course of time ethnology would
become extinct as a separate science, and would
be merged in the more comprehensive objects
of anthropology. Nor did he allow Sir Ro-
derick Murchison, who took a prominent part
in opposing the application of the Anthropo-
logical Society of Birmingham, to pass without com-
ment ; and he alleged that, as president of the Geo-
logical Society, he had made the meetings of that
society rather a fashionable reunion than a means of
promoting geography. The importance of anthro-
pology, he Observed, batl-never been adequately ap,-
preciated in this country, and, among public men
who had shown their ignorance of it, he particularly
mentioned the present Prime Minister of England,
who had ignored the first principles on which an-
thropology depends, by ignoring race character. It
was, he said, a study to which statesmen should par-
ticularly apply themselves, and he hoped the time
was not far distant when a knowledge of the prin-
ciples of anthropology would be considered essential
in the education of all public men. He alluded pro-
minently to the late outbreak in Jamaica as an oc-
currence which might have been piedicted from the
power which had been given to the negroes in that
island. He eulogised, in strong terms, Governor
Eyre, as a man of whom England should be proud,
as he had preserved the white inhabitants from the
outrages which the negroes would otherwise have
perpetrated. It was by such men only that the
negro could be ruled, and it was absurd to ignore
all distinctions of race character in governing them,
for it was impossible to make laws that were equally
applicable to Europeans and to men of African
blood. In the course of his address the president
also alluded to the bitter attacks that had been made
on the Anthropological Society by the religious
press, on account of the papers and discussions on
the results of missionary labours in Africa ; and he
defended the society from those attacks, observing
that the society merely investigated facts, and that
they did not wish to interfere with religious belief.
He concluded with hopeful expressions of the future
of the society, and by urging the members to make
increased exertions to promote its prosperity.
Thanks having been given to the president for
his address, the scrutineers of the ballet-boxes re-
ported that the officers named by the council for
the present year had been elected unanimously, in-
cluding the continuance in office of Dr. Hunt, as •
president, and of Mr. Bollaert and Mr. H. J. Beavau
as secretaries. The Rev. Dunbar Heath was elected
treasurer, iu the room of Dr. Charnock, who had
resigned. The meeting then adjourned, and a num-
ber of the fellows afterwards dined together at St.
James's hall.

Christmas Lectures at the Royal Insti-

tution.

-

Yesterday Professor Tindall delivered the fourth
Of his Christmas lectures "On Sound," at the
Royal Institution. The musical notes produced by
the vibration of strings and elastic plates formed
the branch of the subject to which he directed at-
tention. He showed, by various illustrations, that
when a stretched string is vibrated, it divides itself
generally into vibrating parts, which are separated
from each other by points called " nodes," that re-
main nearly at rest. lie illustrated this condition
of a vibrating string, in the first instance, by means
of a vulcanised indiarubber tube, filled with sand,
suspended from the top of the lecture-room. By
jerking one end, an undulation was formed on the
tube, which moved upwards to the top, whence
it was reflected and returned to the hand.
When the elastic tube thus vibrated as a whole, it
represented the vibrations of the fundamental note
of a string or wire, but, by repeating the jerks
.in
more rapid succession, the undulations proceeding
upwards were met by those returning ; and at cer-
tain points, depending on the rapidity of the action,
the vibration ceased, and those nodes served to
divide the vibrations of the string in the same man-
ner as if it had been held at those points. By a
slow suctession of movements the tube was divided
first into two vibratiugparts, then in three, and into
five. A similar effect was shown to take place by
vibration of a long steel wire, the divisions into
nodes and " ventral segments" being exhibited by
throwing a magnified shadow of the wire on a
screen by means of the electric lamp. These divi-
sions of the string are caused by the combination
of direct and reflected undulati ofennvagso.,
teadAn tdoett.olhln
ce
onsider-
able
string
rrr
tae
chba.
ell called e dil
portionl theus
tr
a"t
illustration
harmonies"
theof th electure ofvi
swi
divisions
rodi
stretched s
into its harmonies, one of the most remarkable ex-
periments being performed with a wire upwards of
20ft. long stretched horizontally. Several red and
white pieces of paper were laid across the wire at
equal divisions, and when one division of the wire,
separated from the rest by pressing against it, was
vibrated, the white pieces of paper placed at the
nodes remained unmoved while all the red pieces
were thrown off. Some beautiful experimentsillus-
trating the same effect on elastic plates were also
exhibited. White sand was sprinkled on several
metal discs and flat plates placed horizontally and
fixed in their centres so as to allow them to vibrate
freely, and when the bow cf a violin was drawn
along the edges the vibrations of the plates and discs
caused the sand to collect at the nodes and to be
thrown off the vibrating parts, and thus formed
very regular patterns. As an exemplification of the
harmonious effect produced by the vibrations of thin
surfaces, Professor Tyndall exhibited a glass fiddle
and a magnificent set of musical glasses constructed
by Mr. Bird, of Birmingham, who was present
and played tunes on these instruments. The glass
fiddle consisted of a number of small glasses shaped
like goblets fixed on a board, with a fiddle bow in
each hand. Mr. Bird succeeded in playing " Rous-
seau's Dream" with admirable effect, the sound
having the same melodious tone as the larger mus.i-
cal glasses and greater variety. This interlude in
the scientific lecture was greatly appreciated by the
audience, both young and old.

TILE DAVENPORTS' EXHIBITION. —BY
-- -..---- __--
the last mail
from America intelligence was brought that Mr. Pay,
recently agent for the Davenport Brothers," had proved
false to his associates, by explaining the manner in which
their delusions were practised. This Mr. ray has been
sadly handled since, and has been called traitor and all
sorts of other bad names. A Mr. W. M. Fay, however
writes to say that he left Nov York with the Davenport
Brothers in 1861, arid lias been with them over since, and
is now on his way to Ireland with them.
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LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1866.

+-

Mr. BRIGHT has a great contempt for all that
appertains to antiquity, and therefore we have a
good right to suppose that he includes proverbs
and sayings among his dislikes. Certainly, he
totally ignores the meaning of the adage which
implies that you can have too much of a good
thing. It is difficult to understand for what pur-
pose he is continually addressing large meetings,
and repeating himself over and over again. It
cannot be to prejudice the people against any at-
tempt on the part of the Government to bring in
a measure of Reform, which was unquestionably
his motive at
the period of the DERBY Go-
vernment contemplating the introduction of
such a measure. It cannot be that Mr.
e
BRIGHT considers any educated person in the
Country to be ignorant of his extreme views on all
public questions. Perhaps we shall be nearer a
solution of the enigma if we come to the conclusion
that the hon. member wishes to impress upon
Ministers his own vast importance ; he is speaking
to his opponents, but at his friends. we have be-
fore this met with some significant allusions made
by his friends and supporters as to the neglect with
which he has been treated, and Mr. BRIGHT went
so far as to say that, had lie manifested a desire for
office, he could have obtained it. This may or may
not be interpreted into a declaration that he
would not assume the responsibility. We know
that CESAR refused the crown at first, and thus

has furnished an illustrious example to. all
who deem it advisable to hesitate be-
fore proceeding to extremities. Mr. POTTER,
M.P., however, thinks it quite time that plain
speaking should be adopted in this important ra
and therefore he boldly expressed his opinicru that
"he should have had more confidence in the Re-
form movement if the great leader of the Reform
party in England, Mr. BRIGHT, now held & seat in
the Cabinet. If proof were wanting of the total
unfitness of the hon. member for Birmingham for
occupying such an important position he certainly
afforded it during his discourse last night.
Truth and justice were totally cast to the winds
when Mr. BRIGHT touched upon the dangerous
topic of Jamaica. If possible he spoke out
still more vehemently than before, and displayed
his bigotry and intolerance to no ordinary degree.
He began by saying that the Government displayed
their weakness in two points : the first was their
conduct respecting Jamaica. As far as we can
make out, Mr. BRIGHT seems to think that Mr.
CARDWELL did very wrong in having nothing to
tell the great deputation when they waited upon
him. Mr. BRIGHT told us before that he considered
the execution of GORDON to have been murder,
and he now drags in all the judges of the country
to keep him in countenance. He declares that there
is not a judge in the kingdom, not a law officer in
the three kingdoms, nor a lawyer in practice, who
will differ from him, when he says that the
execution of GORDON in all its acts " was a
mass of illegality," and no judge in the
United Kingdom but would say in his private

capacity that GORDON was murdered. We ask
emphatically is a man who addresses a public meet-
ing in this strain fit to lecture then upon the im-
portant subject of a change in the representation of
the country. He shows himself in his true colours
when he gets upon a topic like that of Jamaica.
He contradicts facts, makes unfounded statements,
charges honourable men with the commission of
deadly crimes, and, to crown, all he becomes abso-
lutely profane in his frantic attempts to give vent to
his excited feelings. Those who considered Mr.
BRIGHT, if mistaken in some points, was at any rate
sincere and consistent, will be shocked to peruse that
passage in his speech in which he refers to the last
letter written by GORDON. He declares that his
first thought on reading it was—" Why this re-
minds me of the temper and language of the martyr
STEPHEN. Men who go to such extreme lengths as
this are the most dangerous -witnesses against
themselves, and in point of fact need no further
condemnation in the sight of intelligent and inde-
pendent persons. But it is because a large class of
ignorant and infatuated persons listen to Mr.
BRIGHT, and applaud his remarks to the echo, that
we take every opportunity, and trust that others
will take every opportunity, of denouncing his mis-
chievous tours'. In the first place, GORDON was
not hurried to death, but had two days for pre-
paration.

Mr. BRIGHT'S indignation is aroused by the re-
port that when Parliament meets there will be
a " desperate onslaught" made on the Go-
vernment respecting the course they have
pursued in this Jamaica affair. " One of those Tory
gentlemen said, " Ay, if So and So had been Prime
Minister, he would not have given way to the cla-
mour of a hundred Dissenting parsons." Such re-
marks Mr. BRIGHT considers most absurd, and he
drew a melodramatic picture of Mrs. GORDON
appearing at the bar of the House, and demanding
justice, and still further of her going as a suppliant
to the steps of the Throne as the widow of the
" murdered" GORDON, to seek redress from Eng-
land's widowed Queen. Such a claptrap style of
oratory is contemptible, and alike derogatory to the
dignity of him who indulges in it, and insulting to
the common sense of those who listen to it.

The course pursued by Mr. BRIGHT, and some
others of the leading Radical members about this
Jamaica business, has covered them with disgrace,
and proves how totally unfit they are to be trusted
with the conduct of affairs, or even to influence, in
any especial degree, the policy of the country. Fair
play is quite out of their line, and after proof has
been afforded they reiterate their former charges,
with a sublime contempt and a total indifference
for all that has been adduced since the subject was
first broached. Earl RUSSELL has made a complete
mistake, and one of an irretrievable character. It

has cast a blight upon the opening of his new career
of Premier, and may yet bring his tenure of office to a

premature and precipitate termination. It appears,

from Mr. BRIGHT'S speech, that he has given offence
by not going far enough in vindicating the claims

of the ill-used blacks, so that the noble lord will
reap the due reward of his vacillation by pleasing

neither side. Mr. BRIGHT trusts that Mr. DISRAELI

will have too much sense to permit the " shocking

atrocities" committed in Jamaica, or a defence of
them, to be in any way associated with his public
character or career ! Perhaps he speaks his wishes
in thus expressing himself, and endeavours to pro-
pitiate the Tory party by informing them that he
' can't believe they will make the question
of Jamaica a battle-ground during the eni:
suing session," as if the faction of Exeter Hall

had not been making it a battle- ground with

a vengeance for some weeks past, and
were not ready to hurl defiance at all
who presume to treat their comments with the

scorn which they deserve, or compare their extra-

vagant assertions with correct details aad authentic

reports.

The second proof of feebleness which Mr. BRIGIIT
has discovered in the present Government is, that
Earl RUSSELL has asked Lord STANLEY to join his
Administration. This is a confession of weakness,

it seems, as if Earl RUSSELL " acknowledged to
the world that the Whig party, as far as States-
manship was concerned, was worn out. If so, he
considers it to be their own fault, because they have

never been c4reful to fill up their vacancies by the
able men of their own party. The hopeful spirit of
the member for Birmingham will not quail, however,
if all the old `Whigs are deposited in Westminster
Abbey. He thinks that a very good Government
might be formed out of the three hundred and
sixty Liberals who now appear in Parliament, and
that it is quite inconsistent to go over to the
Opposition to seek recruits. We have no doubt
that Mr. BRIGHT thinks Earl RUSSELL might have
looked in his direction, instead of seeking the ser-
vices of Lord STANLEY.

The chief impression which Air.BRIGIIT'S speeches
carry to us is that he is more like a barrister hold-
ing a brief than a public man representing the in-
terests of a great country. The other day it was the
Tory party that had to sustain his sledge hammer
attacks; now the Government come under the lire

of his denunciations for their hesitating policy
about Jamaica. He talks glibly enough about new
Reform Bills and the importance of enfranchising
the people, but we look in vain for principles, for

steady purposes, and for a consistent character in

his orations. He accuses his opponents o; mono-

poly and prejudice, but we see how prejudiced he

can be himself when he takes up an idea. To con-

vince him of the injustice of his language concern-
ing Governor EYRE and those who assisted him

would be a hopeless task ; but he will find out,

when it is too late, that ho has squandered his repu-
tation and throwti•n away his induenc by preferring

to advance the cause of a faction instead of taking
his stand on the broad basis of principle, which
knows no divisions of party, and is fettered by no
ties of bigotry.

The exorbitant price of butchers' meat has long
been a standing grievance to all classes of the com-
munity, and, thanks to the steady and unrelenting
progress of the cattle disease, there appears little
chance of any speedy reduction. Setting aside the
vexed question of the butchers' profits, there has
been for the last several years an increasing demand
for meat, and consequently an increase in the price.
Housekeepers nowadays would rejoice over the
prices of some ten or twelve years ago as a wonder-
ful boon, but even without the cattle plague there
was no prospect of a return to them. The demand
is, in fact, increasing very much among
the working classes, who, naturally enough,
when they earn good wages, like to obtain
the best and most nourishing food. Neither are
they wrong in trying to obtain the best kind of
food to sustain them under the exhausting influences
of hard work, and too often of bad air and bad
water. But the consequence of the growing de-
mand on the butcher from classes who in the
last generation hardly ever thought of touch-
ing meat naturally induces him to raise his
prices, especially since, thanks to our English
fashion, everybody wants the same parts of the
animal. A Frenchwoman would make an excellent
dinner out of what an English mechanic's wife would
scorn to buy. The inevitable frying and roasting are
very ill-adapted to economising the material, and
consequently many very useful parts of the animal
are almost put out of the category of regular
butchers'.;.meat, and only sold, if sold at all, in
scraps to the very poorest. It is very much to be
regretted that more efforts are not made to teach
our young women the art of cooking, since, how-
ever homely an accomplishment, it closely affects
the health and wellbeing of those working classes
which form the sinews of our population. Simple
as the question of household management may ap-
pear at first sight, the intemperance and improvi-
dence which throw thousands on the public charge
owe a great part of their origin to the lack of it.
We should like to see this homely lesson included
in our national schemes of education, since, if pro-
perly learned, it would tend very much to diminish
the struggles and sufferings of the respectable
poor.

There is another department of purveying in
which almost all English people, high and low, are
very neglectful. With the continued high price of
most kinds of nourishing food, and with dairy pro-
duce liable, as we have seen, to be at any time
affected by an epidemic, pleasant, wholesome food
may be obtained almost for the trouble of getting
it, and yet this trouble is not taken. The natural
advantages which we possess we do not avail our-
selves of, and, thanks partly to old-
fashioned prejudice, partly to mismanagement,
and partly to indifference, our magnificent
supply of fish is turned to very little account.
With railways running in every direction at all
hours of the day and night the question of transit
is not to be considered ; and with a very little con-
trivance, far less than is necessary to bring up the
thousands of gallons of milk now daily coming to
London, our hard-working poor might get a com-
fortable and nourishing meal for about half the
price they would have to give for an indifferent
meat dinner. With improved legislation, or rather
the removal of legislative interference with the
fisheries, there would probably be still more
difference, while a considerable increase in the
consumption of fish would of course diminish the
excessive demand on the butcher, and thus reduce
the price of meat. The consumption of fish in
London is by no means insignificant ; but, thanks
to the price, it is chiefly used by the upper classes,
and not by those within whose means it ought to
come more readily than any other kind of food.
The Report of the Deep Sea Fisheries Commis-
sion which is now before us is full of interesting
information. This Commission was appointed some
two years ago to inquire into the condition of the
deep sea fisheries, and more especially to ascertain
how far they had been affected by the modern
system of fishing. In pursuance of these objects
the Commissioners have visited most of the fishing
stations of the three kingdoms, taking the evidence
of the fishermen and others [acquainted with the
subject. The value of the British fisheries proves
to have been hitherto underrated rather than exag-
gerated. " The produce of the sea around our
coasts bears a far higher proportion to that of the
land than is generally imagined. The most fre-
quented grounds are much more prolific of food
than the same extent of the richest land. Once in
the year an acre of good land carefully tilled pro-
duces a ton of corn, or two or three cwt. of meat
or cheese. The same area at the bottom of the sea
on the best fishing grounds yields a greater weight
of food to the persevering fisherman every week in
the year." Weare further told that five vessels in one
night's fishing brought in 17 tons of fish, or an
amount of wholesome food equal to that of 50 cattle
or 300 sheep, and yet the ground which they
covered during the night's fishing was not more
than 50 acres in extent. On a rough calculation,
the Commissioners have estimated that London con-
sumes an average of 90,000 tons of beef annually,
and 80,000 tons of trawled fish, irrespective of her-
rings, sprats, and shell-fish, supplied by other means.
So that the weight of beef and fish annually con-
sumed in London is in no great disproportion,
though when we come to consider the relative price
the case is very different.

" The fisherman receives on an average little over
£7 a ton for his fish, prime and offal together—the
farmer is readily paid for his beef not less than £6O
a ton." This difference in price does not benefit
the consumer but the retail dealer, who charges
ls., is. 3d., and is. Cid. a pound for prime fish
which he buys at Billingsgate for 3d. and 4d. per
lb. The Commissionersivery seriously suggest that
a check might be put on these exorbitant charges by
the publication of a daily return, signed by
the Clerk of the Market, giving the wholesale
prices of the different kinds of fish sold at Bil-
lingsgate. If this were regtilarly published '
in the newspapers, the West-end fisherman would
feel a little embarrassment in quietly asking fifteen-
pence a pound profit for his own share, or five-sixths
of the amount charged to his customer. It is strange
that competition has not brought down the prices, but
this is probably due to the fact of fish being regarded
more as a luxury than as a cheap and wholesome part
of the regular household supply. Yet, even as it,is,
the supply at Billingsgate is not equal to the de-
mand, while the old adage which tells us that there
are more fish in the sea than ever came out is
strictly and literally true. The North Sea fisheries
are only partially fished. The Dogger Bank
has an area of several hundred square miles
yet unworked, and new grounds are constantly
being discovered where fish are most abundant.
The average depth of theGermanOcean between En-
gland and the Continent is ninety feet, and one-fifth
of it is occupied by banks which are being con-
stantly increased by the muddy deposits of rivers.
In extent these banks are equal to the superficial
area of Ireland, and " this great and prolific area,"