The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-22 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

A new and improved description of ten
military purposes, the invention of Major Rhodes
late of the 94th Regiment, having been brought
under the notice of the authorities at the Horse
Guards, the Duke of Cambridge has given direc-
tions for two of the tents to be pitched at Chatham
garrison, in order to put to a practical test the
superiority of the invention over the ordinary mili-
tary tents now in use by the army when encamped
at Aldershot, the Curragh, Chatham, and other
military stations. Two of the tents have accord-
ingly just been erected on the grounds adjoining
the Garrison Hospital at Chatham, under the per-
sonal superintendence of Major Rhodes, and
during the storm and hurricane which swept over
Chatnam on Wednesday night they were found to
be in every respect superior to the ordinary
tents erected near the same spot. The largest
of Major Rhodes's tents is about 30 feet in length,
15 wide, and 10 in height, and is a kind of oval
and vaulted construction so that no part of the
exterior presents a lodgment for moisture. Instead
of the ordinary tent-pole, which is found to take
up so much room in a tent, the interior is entirely
free from this obstruction, thus allowing tables and
seats, as in the soldiers' barrack-rooms, to be placed
in the tents—an arrangement impossible in the
present military tents. The covering of the tent is
supported on light and ingeniously contrived bowed
ribs, which fit into sockets, and can be moved and
stowed away with the greatest ease and celerity.
The system of ventilation is most efficient, the
" roof" of the tent being provided with ventilating
holes, which can be opened and closed at pleasure.
Major Rhodes has named his large tent " the hospi-
tal tent." After the tent had been fixed on Wed-
nesday afternoon, ten of the portable bedsteads from
the hospital were moved into it, and as many
patients directed to take possession of them. Not-
withstanding the tremendous storm wnich raged
early yesterday morning, not the slightest incon-
venience was experienced by the inmates, who slept
as dry as in an ordinary room, while many of the
other tents admitted the water, which poured in as
through a sieve. Major Rhodes's hospital tent can
be pitched by eight men in 12 minutes ; and where-
as in the present tents there are about 150 pegs and
70 ropes to each, the new invention has only about
40 pegs and 12 ropes to secure it, there being no
necessity for the men to turn out in the rain dur-
ing the night to " slack" the ropes, as is the case
with the present tents—a serious matter when that
duty has to be performed by sick patients.
Major Rhodes's hospital tent weighs about 1121bs.
less than the hospital marquee, and its whole
cost is about £3 under the contract price. The field
tent for troops, one of which has also been erected
close to the hospital tent, is of bell shape, and'about
10 feet in diameter.,. The support in this tent also
is in ribs, wnich form a kind of vaulted frame, over
which the covering is placed. The middle area is not
diminished by a pole, and the men can stand up-
right with ease. This tent will accommodate 10 men,
and is supplied with short ropes on which each sol-
dier can hang his accoutrements.

Lt for

THE INCOME TAX.

(From the Times City Article.)

In confirmation of the remarks made on the
Budget the day before yesterday, complaints have
been received regarding numerous special instances
in which the proposal to levy the whole of the in-
tended increase to the income-tax in a single half-
year will operate with peculiar hardship. As mere
matters of calculation, they are so precise and un-
deniable that they are certain, upon being properly
represented, to receive attention. Whatever may
be the opinion as to any recommendations of Mr.
Gladstone, no one will doubt that they are always
put forth with conscientious anxiety, and that there
will never be a disposition to maintain them from
the feeling too often manifested by less scrupulous
financiers, that the protesting parties Pre so small
a minority that they may be ill-treated without
danger. It my therefore be expected that the
grievances in question will be redressed, or that,
failing this, such explanations with be accorded as
will cause them to be tolerated for the sake of
public convenience at a particular emergency. Nine
people out of ten who would resist the least infrac-
tion of their rights when attempted without
apology, would submit quietly to sacrifices that
might be asked from them with a candid appeal to
their forbearance. With regard to the re-imposi-
tion of the income-tax on a scale to favour one c!asi
at the expense of another, the same argument ap-
plies. If persons realising more than £l5O per
annum are to contribute in a heavier proportion
than those below that sum, then those of £5OO
should pay less than those of £l,OOO, and so on
until the principle is carried to its logical conclu-
sion in the case of the largest incomes. The experi-
ment was tried after the first French Revolution,
and found its natural result. In now reviving it,
without pointing out its real character, and warn-
ing the public that the force of his name is not to
be lent to establish it as a precedent, Mr. Gladstone
failed to perform a duty he owed to himself, no less
than to the world. From any one without reputa-
tion for innate rectitude the matter would involve
little danger, but the confidence of the public in the
present Chancellor of the Exchequer is founded on
a conviction of his honesty and unselfishness, and
such an omission, therefore, on his part, cannot be
passed over without regret.

"NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN."—There is
not in any department of science, or in all our mighty im •
provements, anything but putting to new uses old laws and
properties of matter. All our great inventions, as we call
them, are but the discovery and application of the laws of
nature to our own purposes. Thus; steam always possessed
the same power that it does now; the vapour arising from
boiling, water, with all its mighty forces, was a law of na-
ture ; the work which is now accomplished by that potent
agent is but the application to new uses of what has existed
since the world began ; and the so-called "new invention,"
the
gyroscope, has been known for more than two centuries
as the wheel of Galileo.—Galiko's Wheel, the New 20y
from Twenty.

LITERATURE.

The Works of the Rev. Sydney Smith. Part VII.

Long-man:

This seventh part completes .the set of Sydney
Smith's works in the cheap edition. We cannot
doubt that the writings of one whose name has
become a household word from his keen sagacity,
his sound sense, and his genuine humanity, will
receive a ready welcome from many classes of the
community now they are accessible on such mode-
rate terms. In this seventh and concluding part
the title pages and tables of contents requisite for
binding the two volumes of essays are added.
Sydney Smith's preface to his collected works is of
course appen3ed, and those who have not met with
the larger edition of his works, may be interested
in his own account of the origin of the famous
Edinburgh Review:—

When first I went into the Church, I had a curacy in
the middle of Salisbury Plain. The Squire of the parish
took a fancy to me, and requested me to go with his son to
reside at the University of Weimar ; before we could get
there Germany became the seat of war, and in stress of
politics we put into Edinburgh, where I remained five years.
The principles of the French Revolution were then fully
afloat, and it is impossible to conceive a more violent and
agitated state of society. Among the first persons with
whom I became acquainted were Lord Jeffrey, Lord Mur-
ray (late Lord Advocate for Scotland), and Lord Brougham;
all of them maintaining opinions upon political suhjects a
little too liberal for the dynasty of Dundas, then exercising
supreme power over the northern division of the island.
One day we happened to meet in the eighth or ninth
story or flat in Buccleuch-place, the elevated residence of
the then Mr. Jeffrey. I proposed that we should set up a
Review ; this was acceded to with acclamation. I- was ap-
pointed Editor, and remained long enough in Edinburgh to
edit the first number of the Edinburgh Review. The
motto I proposed for the Review was,

" Tenui musom meditamur arena."

" We cultivate literature upon a little oatmeal."
But this was too near the truth to be admitted, and so we
took our present grave motto from Publius Syrus, of whom
none of us had, I am sure, ever read a single line ; and so
began what has since turned out to be a very important and
able journal. When I left Edinburgh, it fell into the
stronger hands of Lord Jeffrey and Lord Brougham, and
reached the highest point of popularity and success. I con-
tributed from England many articles, which I have been
foolish enough to collect, and publish with some other tracts
written by me.
To appreciate the value of the Edinburgh Review, the
state of England at the period when that journal began
should be had in remembrance. The Catholics were not
emancipated—the Corporation and Test Acts were unre-
pealed—the Game Laws were horribly oppressive—Steel
Traps and Spring Guns were set all over the country--
Prisoners tried for their Lives could have no Counsel—Lord
Eldon and the Court of Chancery pressed heavily upon
mankind—Libel was punished by the most cruel and vin-
dictive imprisonments—the principles of Political Eco-
nomy were little understood—the law of Debt and of Con-
spiracy were upon the worst possible footing—the enormous
wickedness of the Slave. Trade was tolerated—a thousand
evils were in existence, which the talents of good and able
men have since lessened or removed ; and these efforts have
been not a little assisted by the honest boldness of the
Edinburgh Review.
I see very little in my Reviews to alter or repent of : I
always endeavoured to fight against evil ; and what I
thought evil then, I think evil now. lam heartily glad
that all our disqualifying laws for religious opinions are
abolished, and I see nothing in such measures but unmixed
good and real increase of strength to our Establishment.

The Parent's Cabinet of Amusement and Instruction.

Part VIII.

Smith and Elder.

This admirable little miscellany, is suited for
young people of varying ages and degrees of intel-
ligence. It is written throughout in a clear and
simple style, but it contains a good deal of informa-
tion that elder readers need not despise. Accounts
of travels, of steam engines, inventions, manufac-
tures, biographical sketches, natural history, &c.,
are mingled with anecdotes and stories of all de-
scriptions. It deserves to be extensively circulated
in this new and attractive form, and should find
admittance into every juvenile library.