The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-23 00:00:00

TEE SON, LONDON, THURSDAY 141VENINO, AUGUST 23, 1866.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE. This Day.

GENERAL LEE.

The following letter has been addressed to a
contemporary :
Sir,—The undersigned has been instrusled with an im-
portant mission to the people of Great Britain, and begs
your attention to the following brief statements of facts,
which he trusts will secure your interest and sympathy.

You aro probably aware tLat since the close of the recent
American war, Gen. Robert E. Lee has become the Presi-
dent of Washington College in Virginia. This institution,
situate at Lexington, in that State, was originally endowed
by George Washington, and has always borne his name.
For more than half a century it has worthily fulfilled the
intention of its illustrious founder. But during the con-
tinuance of hostilities, the Valley of Virginia, as you
know, was the theatre of active military operations, and
Lexington falling into the hands of the Federal; the Col-
lege suffered very cruel losses in its library and apparatus.
Subsequently, when the State was conquered by the Fe-
deral armies, it sustained a still graver loss in the ruinous
depreciation of its funds. It is now desired, in the inte-
rests of education—and not less for the benefit of General
Lee—to add to the endowment of the institution a suffi-
cient sum to repair the ravages of the war, and to provide
a proper salary fur the new President.

The sum of £30,000 is needed for this puxpose. One-
third of the amount has already been subscribed by friends
in America, and it is confidently hoped that another third
will be secured when the returns of the new harvest have
been realised. For the remaining third I appeal to the libe-
rality of England.

The sincere admiration felt for the high qualities of
Robert E. Lee by the English people inspires the belief that
they would gladly unite in a testimonial in his behalf could
a fitting occasion be presented to them for so doing. But
General Lee, with the self-abnegation that has always
marked his conduct, has persistently refused to permit any
efforts to be made for his personal advantage, and has ex-
pressly declined to accept gratuities that had been sub-
scribed without his knowledge. He would not authorise
the use of his name in any effort of this kind that might
be set on foot in Virginia or elsewhere, and it ought to be
stated that the present writing is wholly without consulta-
tion with him. 1 feel, however, that the people of England
will readily seo in the proposed "R. E. Lee Endowment
Fund for Washington College" an opportunity of testifying
their regard for the Christian hero in a manner that will
enure practically to his material benefit, without wounding
in the least his sensitive delicacy or compromising his per-
sonal independence.

Should the English people generously respond to myap-
peal, as 1 am induced to hope they will, the double object
will be attained of placing General Lee in a position of
honourable competence, and of reorganising on a scale of
wider usefulness an institution which owes its origin to the
munificence of Washington, and is now under the
guidance of Washington's worthiest successor.—l am, sir,
most respectfully your obedient servant,
15, Ryder-street, St. James's. July. S. D. STUART.

CHIEF BARON KELLY.—At the Judges' Chambers
yesterday Chief Baron Kelly attended for the first time
since his appointment. His lordship was accompanied by
Mr. Baron Bramwell, and had the assistance of one of the
Masters of the court (Mr. Walton) in disposing of some of
the matters.

LONDON STREET NAMES.--A blue-book has just
been issued by the Metropolitan Board of Works giving
returns of the names of streets in the metropolis as regu-
lated by the orders of the Board since 1856. These returns
show that from 1857 to May in the present year 46,879
houses were re-numbered, 2,110 subsidiarynames of streets
were abolished on re-naming or re-numbering the whole
street, and 824 new btreets have been approved from time
to time under the Metropolis Local Management Act. In
selecting new names of streets, the rule of the Board is to
adopt such as are not already in use in the metropolis, as
far as this can be known, but they complain that the law
on the subject is not sufficiently observed by vestries and
district boards, who frequently adopt names for new
streets without communicating with the Board. The con-
sequence is that streets, roads, terraces, squares, and
places of the same name are constantly recurring all over
London. The "Post-office Directory" for 1866 gives the
following among other results :—London contains 6 streets
called Smith-street, 12 Thomas-streets, 14 Gloucester-
streets (with 9 Gloucester-places, 9 terraces, and 6 Glou-
cester-roads), 15 Market-streets, 18 James-streets, 20
George-streets, upwards of 20 Duke-streets, 20 Princes-
streets, 21 Union-streets, 25 William-streets, 26 High-
streets, 30 Charles-streets, 35 Devonshire-streets, terraces,
and places, 40 Wellington ditto, 40 John-streets, 40 King-
streets, and upwards of 30 Queen-streets ; there are 46
occurs4o
tiea h
Park-streets,
epslianctes,e
Lrraoaceds,onansdtrreoeat nameuids;retheteor including Victoria
4 streets, 8 terraces, 9 roads, and 6 places; and the name
Albert occurs about as often. York, a very favourite street
Teths,erttendar2eo IN4orltVhe-sstt;
metropolis ; 85 thoroughfares designated "Great" and 118
East-streets,natne, occursl76osotaimthe-ss.tre se tezeisi,
thel.2
designated " Little" (there aro as many as 8 Little George-
streets alone), and there aro 50 Lower-streets, and the
largo number of 189 Uppor.-Arceto in the modern Baby-
lon. These names have been abolished in a number of
instances by the regulations of the recent act. It is worth
every one's while to know the following facts touching
the naming of streets and the numbering of houses.
St. Paul's Cathedral is recognisid as a central point,
teor i ntg h
aotf
building.houses beginsT a
Taking,
nagt the
therefore,en d of theth e
satnrdeet eathnenruesmtb
sides of the streets as right and left (assuming the back
to bo towards St. Paul's) the odd number will be assigned
to the left and the even numbers to the right hand
side. No name is to be used for a street unless with the ap-
proval of the Board, and the name must be one consisting,
if possible, of one word, with the addition of "street," or
" road" as the case may be, not already in use in the street
nomenclature of the metropolis. Only such streets as are
leading thoroughfares of considerable length can be desig-
nated " roads." Lastly, names for terraces, or places, or
other blocks of houses, and sections of streets, and usually
known as subsidiary names,
will not be recognized ; nor
such names as are already in use for provincial towns and
postal places. If persons about to build would give atten-
tion to these directions it would facilitate the labours of the
board and tend greatly to simplify our street arrangements.
—Building News.

THE BOULOGNE DERBY DAY.—There are dog-
carts, seciables, butchers' and bakers' rattletraps, with
jingling bells on the horses' collars, business vehicles con-
verted into pleasuro-chaises, pony-carts and donkey ditto.
Also there is an omnibus or two, and a waggonnette which,
on the race-ground, announces itself as the betting-office.
m
"Beeeaces
e!tneai
carriages s tsnt
iegsloty neFgar Fleet-street, ee trh-saet
dvr
however,ee
ber
yte
e Ln
race,oisn
precededd
quite
ueos tint
epaa presentation
nl
aay es
Nood
ffeomtmrhriocei su: tc
ae:ynArdddlriimaDtym:
com-
missariat for the sustenance and refreshment of holiday-
makersa
pair of wheels, at the further earceonudploef ofw hpioclhetsbsaulpanpocrintegdtohne
driver, cocked-hatted policemen in snow-white trousers do
not disdain to ride ; nondescript vehicles laden with fruit,
although drink-vendors aro manifestly in the ascendant.
For here follows an English venture filled with a cargo of
sandwiches and Cheshire cheese, to excuse the absorption
of small beer (very), bitter ale, and Rawlings's soda water
(double)—whatever its duplicity may mean—prepared ex-
pressly for the Prince of Wales, and sold at the Boulogne
races, on this occasion only, by kind permission of his royal
highness. Accompanying, skirting, and following the pro-
cession, are pedestrians more mixed in their quality than
the 'grander visitors who roll on wheels. Frenchwomen
toiling under "hotter," or back-baskets, containing tons of
fnetrstraand
free goof o sj oebek
joke and
ds
fleetfoot-soldiers
e f limb;
sellers
eirn
bs
of i
cakes, male and female ; bons bourgeoise with their wives
and
children ; single ladies and single gentlemen ; lads and
t
lassesbesstle
by currants,
twos, by throes, and by dozens ; English youths
in 103E30-going groups ; Fi.ench school-boys in file, at-
tended by ushers ; workpeoplo in blouses, blue or white,
with their dames carrying nese-bags and provision-baskets ;
tourists with purses en bandouliere, containing untold sums
of silver and copper ; shoeless boys carrying their shoes in
ece curesati i n ;
fathertheir
caltheir hands, to be put on shiny by-and-bye; hobnailed
navvies
v dress
truant from their toil
reen
their Thursday's
son, mother and daughter, father and daughter, mother and
ays playinggg
son. Amongst the pedestrians, too, we must reckon the
dogs, whether snub-nosed, bob-tailed, crooked-legged, or
a and
crop-eared. The white-woolled lonlon, the square-built
pointer, the graceful retrieve; the lop-eared hound, trot
along alike intent on business, with determination in their
faces to make a day of it. Then there is a proportion of
people on horseback, first of whom are the superb gen-
darmes. English Amazons, with their attendant papas ;
masters of equitation, with promising pupils; horse-dealers,
with ; young gentlemen, unattached,
with showy
veils imaanndwalits fai
without; natty little boys, on their clever
ponies, help ;to make up the goodly show.—All the Year
Round.

the Duo de Luynes to Palestine in 1865, has THE DEAD SEA.—.M. Terrell, who accompanied
ad-
dressed a paper to the Academy on the chemical composi-
tion of the waters of the Dead Sea. The inland lake has
generally been considered untenanted by living creatures,
but M. Terrell states null near Sodom he distinctly saw a
number of small fish that seemed to thrive very well. His
other observations may be summed up as follows : —l. The
density of the waters of the Dead Sea increases with their
depth. 2. Their composition is not everywhere the same ;
thus the samples taken at a distance of five miles east of
Wady-Mrabba contain four times more calcium than those
taken five miles east of Ras Teshkah, which contain twice
likewise
skemwuicshe
variable.sodiui 4 as
s th.
e
lfiohremsearmplea taken north of Sodom,.
8. Their concentration is
in that part which forms a lagoon, contain more chloride of
ealsilunith this explains why
e salts contained in
ssmodailulmfisthhawnilichlilvoeriidneito.f
sm.aognf
the Dead Sea, the bromides alone seem to be much more
concentrated at the bottom, in those strata the depth of
which exceeds 300 metres. 6. The waters of the Dead
Sea contain no iodine, nor are there any traces of phosphoric
acid. 7. Their residue after evaporation does not by the
spectroscope reveal the presence either of lithine, or ox-
slum, or rubidium. They contain little 6ulphuric acid.—
Galiananes Mosenger,

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TDlES.—There was a time, and not long ago
either, when the whole number of troops of the line
retained in this country for the defence of the king-
dom did not exceed 12,000 men ; when there was no
militia force in reserve to support this fraction of an
army, when the volunteers had not been heard of,
and when it was actually found that the artillery
was not in a condition to furnish the contingent of
guns required at a field-marshal's funeral. If,
therefore, our present armaments are still incom-
mensurate with the circumstances of the time, it
must be allowed that we have made some pro-
gress ; and it will serve, we think, to elucidate
the question now before the country if we de-
scribe the steps which have successively been taken
towards the augmentation of our defensive forces, and
the actual position to which they have brought us.
As regards mere numbers, the only deficiency is in
the militia. The regular army at home is small, but
it is likely to be increased by reductions of garrisons
abroad, and it is in excellent condition. The volun-
teer force is a real force, every inch. Every man of
that force is actually available, and is as good as he
seems, but the militia has been allowed to decline,
insomuch that a correspondent acquainted with the
subject doubts whether more than 60,000 men out
of the 120,000 would be forthcoming at a sudden call.
This, however, is not the weak point of the force.
Numbers can soon be made up, but the militia is
seriously deficient in one of the chief elements of
a reserve force—the admixture of old soldiers.
And this fact, well known to all professional
authorities, leads us at once to inquire whether we
should not be introducing a most effective reform
by amalgamating the great reserve force of the
Militia with the smaller and now distinct reserves
composed of old soldiers exclusively. It appears
to us that the enrolled pensioners and the Army
of Reserve would be far more usefully employed in
leavening and strengthening the Militia than in
standing alone, as they stand now. They are too
small to be of much account of themselves, but they
are numerous enough to be of infinite service in
setting an example to others. We are informed, too,
that pensioners are anxious to enter the enrolled
corps, and that for every vacancy in the establishment
there are many applications. So that in point of
fact we have upwards of 40,000 old soldiers in the
kingdom still capable of bearing arms, and there-
fore eminently capable of giving tone and instruction
to a body of young soldiers strong in numbers, and
wanting nothing but discipline and experience. Let,
then, our real army of reserve be the militia itself.
It is evident that on the terms we have offered we
cannot create any other such army, nor do we need
it. The three divisions of regulars, reserves, and
auxiliaries supply classification sufficient, and what-
ever force is not included in the first or third of
these divisions should be fused in the second. By
these means the militia, raised first to its own proper
strength, would soon represent a force nearly
200,000 strong ; and if it were then fed, as it might
be, by soldiers annually leaving the ranks of the
line, it would form, with our regulars and volun-
teers, as strong a defensive army as it is ever likely
we should require.

POST.—It cannot be doubted that the welcome
and sympathy which Mr. Eyre has received at
Southampton express the sentiments of a numerous
and influential portion of his countrymen. We can
perfectly understand the feelings which have been
provoked and exasperated. Mr. Eyre has many
personal friends, some of whom are well known
to be warm-hearted and free-speaking Englishmen,
and he is also energetically supported on public
grounds by men who are qualified to form an
opinion on his conduct in an emergency, and who
can appreciate the spirit by which he was actuated.
Add to this that the ex-Governor of Jamaica has
been mercilessly calumniated, that his motives
have been misrepresented, that fanatical invective
and coarse vituperation have been vindictively em-
ployed to traduce his character, that he has been
described as cruel and cowardly,. and that he is now
threatened with an indictment for murder, and it
must be admitted that those who entertained
him on Tuesday evening exercised remarkable
and commendable forbearance. At the same

time, it may be matter of regret that such a
demonstration was in a manner forced upon them.
Whatever good purpose the report of the Royal
Commissioners might have served, and whatever
benefit might have rssultcd from the recall of Mr.
Eyre, are altogether compromised by the action
of the Jamaica Committee. It is exceedingly
difficult to reconcile the proceedings of this associa-
tion with any of the ordinary rules of justice. Mr.
Mill and Mr. Bright are clearly entitled to all the
law allows. They may take their pound of flesh
on the conditions of the bond. Still, one of two
things—they are claiming a legal•- right, or they
are persecuting a man whose case has been con-
sidered and decided by the late Administration ;
and if the former be their object, it is very much
to be deplored that their proceedings suggest the
alternative. Many persons who will stand be-
tween Mr. Eyre and the vengeance of a clique
would doubtless have accepted the decision of the
Government, even if they had concurred in it.
It is plain and beyond all dispute that, under trying
circumstances, Mr. Eyre honestly and courageously
exercised the judgment and ability which he pos-
sessed. That he may have erred is equally indis-
putable ; but if, for an error of judgment, the ser-
vants of the Crown are, as Macaulay puts it, "to
have the axe ever before their eyes," they might be
driven to unworthy compliances—to concessions to
agitation incompatible with their duty, or, on the
other hand, to measures as cruel and sanguinary as
those which they were seeking to avoid.