The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-16 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS—Tms EVENING.

Mr. DODSON (doputy-Speaker) took tho chair at four
o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

Tho following bills were read a third time and passed :

—Afon Valley -Railway, Bodmin Water, Lancashiro and
Yorkshire Railway (Blackburn and Padiham), Neath and
Brecon Railway (Capital), New Milford Docks, West Mid-
dlesex Water, and Whitby, Redcar, and Middlesborough
Union Railway.
LONDON GAS BILL.

Mr. CRAWFORD moved that this bill be committed to
the select committee on the London Corporation (City)
Gas Bill.—Agreed to.
FLOGGING IN THE ARMY.

Mr. TAYLOR moved for returns of the, number of men
flogged in the army and militia of Great Britain and Ire-
land in the years 1863, 1864, and 1865 respectively, specify-
ing the offence, the regiment, the place of station, whether
at home, in India, or the colonies, the sentence, and the
number of lashes inflicted on each person ; and of the num-
ber of men marked with the letter D or with the letters
B C during the same years.
The return was ordered.
METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.
Mr. COWPER gave notice that ou Monday he should
move that the Thames Embankment Approaches Bill and
the Park-lane Improvement Bill be referred to a select
committee of 12 members.
THE WAR IN CHILI.

Mr. H. SELWIN asked the Under Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs whether any communication- had been
made by the Foreign-office to the representatives in this
country of the Spanish Government, as well as to those of
Chili and Peru, with reference to any vessels of war which
their respective Governments might be building in English
yards ; and further what replies, if any, had been received ?
Mr. LAYARD said her Majesty's Government had boon
in communication with the representatives of Spain,
Chili,
b
Chili, and Peru, and an assurance 84 22.
given
awndou nokl
ships of war that might bo in England at thatte time t
leave the port during the existence of war,
such vessels had left. The Chilian Minister had further in-
formed the Government that no attempt would bo made
on the part of his Government to secretly arrange the de-
parture of any vessel of war ; on the contrary, it was
the desire of the Chian Government to conform in all re-
spects to the law of this country.
THE CUSTOMS CLERKS.

Mr. TREEBY asked the Secretary to the Treasury,
whether her Majesty's Treasury had decided upon a re-
vised classification for the London and outport clerks of
customs ; and, if so, whether any and what steps had been
taken for the amelioration of the condition of the lower
class of her Majesty's collectors of customs at the out-
ports ?
Mr. CHILDERS said lie had informed the house the
other evening of the revision of the classification of clerks
in the Customs stationed in London and the outports. The
arrangements with respect to those in London he had
stated, but that part of the arrangements relating to the
outports had not yet been completed. The officers
referred to by the honourable gentlemen would be treated
as clerks. What proposition would be made for that class,
and what would be the effect of the change on the salaries
of those persons, he could not at present say.
MARCH OF RUSSIAN TROOPS.
Sir H. RAWLINSON asked the Under Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs if her Majesty's Government had
received any information of the march of a Russian force
under General Tchernaief from Tashkent' upon Bokhara.;
and, if so, what was the avowed object of such an expeal
tion ?
beyond
ytohnadt
Mr. LAYARD said rumours bad reached her Majesty's
Government of the march of Russian troops towards
Bokhara, but he was not in a position inforsimanthGeohvoeurnse-
what was the object of such a step. The
ru os n t i assurances
er b
Govern-
ment, however, had given the most sole.innEf
there was no desire to advance their
Bokhara.
OF CADETS.
Lord E. CECIL rose to move that an humble address
be presented to her Maiestlt praying
TREATMENT
that she will be
graciously pleased to appoint a Royal Commission, consist-
ing of military and civilian members, to inquire into the
present constitution, system of education and dis-
YAcademy at Wool-
wich , and of the Royal Military Collage at Sandhurst, as
cipline of the Royal Military
well as into the general treatment of the gentlemen cadets,
as also into the rules and reguiations ruder which candi-
dates are admitted into these colleges. Tha noble lord
took the "opportunity of stating the stringent regulations
under which cadets were treated at Woolwich, and
stated that, in sonic instances, cadets were actually
better treated than the young men who were qualifying
themselves for commissions in the Royal Artillery and
Engineers. They were made to brush their own clothes
and do other menial operations. The mode of examina-
tion was most objectionable, because they were in many
instances asked questions which it was impossible for them
to answer. He had taken the trouble to submit some
of the mathematical questions to a first-rate scholar,
and he had informed him that it was unfair and unjust
to call upon young men to make calculations which only
the most practised and clever mathematician could
work out. The only article of which there seemed to be
an abundance of was professors - (hoar, hear)—as he
found there was one professor to every four cadets.
(Laughter.) In our public schools generally there
was one tutor to every twenty-five scholars, while
at Eton and Harrow he believed there was a master to
every 22 boys. The food supplied to the cadets was both
limited in quantity and bad in quality, and there were other

s..___

matters which made it of the utmost importance that tha
commission which he asked for should be granted.
Col. S. KNOX said he agreed in a great many of the
observations of the noble lord, but he could not thiisk a
young soldier was any the worse for a little roughing. He
saw several gentlemen around who at Eaton brushed their
own and other people's shoes, and yet they made just as
good members of that house as others which had not had
io do so.
Mr. ACLAND said the subject of military education
was one of the highest importance, and he hoped the noble
marquis, who now stood at the head of the War Depart-
ment, would thoroughly sift the whole matter to the,
bottom, in order that that which was objectionable
should be removed, and that young gentlemen qualifying
fur commissions in the army should be treated with that
consideration which they had a right to expect.
Sir J. FERGUSON did not think it. was necessary that
cadets should go through the drill and private duties of
private soldier. lie thought that the cadet should be,
treated in a manner likely to make him become a wel:k_
disciplined and efficient officer.

[LEFT SITTING.]

COURSE OP EXCHANGE—This Evening.

Amsterdam Short. 11 18i
Ditto 3 Mouths. 12 2
Rotterdam
Antwerp — 25 55
Brussels
Hamburg
Paris
Ditto 3 Months. 25 50
Marseilles
Frankfort on the Maine 121
Vienna — 10 57i
Trieste — 10 60
Pet ersburgh - 291
Berlin
Madrid —46 k
Cadiz
Leghorn
Milan
Genoa
Naples — 25 62k

Foreign Fisheries.

11 19
12 21.
12 21
25 Go'
25 co
13 10i
25 324:
25 57;.
25 57.;
121. i
10 b 24-
10 65-

29
6 29*.
46
47
25 65
25 65
25 671
25 67*

In the Annales du Commerce Exterieur, publishf:d
by the French Government, we find the following
account of the cod-fishing of Belgium during the
past year. The quantity of fish taken is the
is given as 12,712 tons, being rather more than a
thousand tons less than the quantity obtained last
year ; the price on the contrary was much higher
than in 1864, the average in that year having been
only 345., while this season it reached 435. Bd. Thy
number of boats engaged was the same each year--
namely, 156 ; but in the latter nearly the whole of
the cod was taken on the Doggerbank, and only
356 tons off the Feroe Islands, which the Belgian
fishermen seem to be deserting. The boats are now
setting out again for fresh fish for the market, the
supply having been somewhat diminished by the
recent stormy weather.

The market price of oysters continues to increase,
and there appears no hope of a reduction ; the last
quotations which we have from Ostend are as
follows :

One-hall ton of 1,600 to 1,800 oysters 1751r.
One-fourth ditto 800 to 850 „
One-eighth ditto 400 to 425 „
One-sixteenth 200 to 210 „
These are cash prices without discount or abate-
ment of any kind.

A second exhibition of fresh and preserved fish,
matters resulting from the fisheries and applied in
medicine, and in agriculture and other industries,
fishing tackle, implements used in the various preser-
vative processes, raw materials employed in connec-
tion with the fisheries, boats, apparats of pisiculture,
and models of the habitations, clothing and fittings
of fishermen, took place at Bergen, in August last,
the first having been held in 1861. On the latter
occasion, the French Government sent a commis-
sion composed of naval officers, shipowners, and
master fishermen, to report on the results. The
commission, amongst other things, says that the
sail cloths of France carried away the palm from all
competitors, being pronounced to be not only supe-
rior in quality, but also cheaper than those of Hol-
land, which formerly held the place of honour. The
hints held out for the use of the French fishermen
may possibly be of service to others ; the commis-
sioners say that the winter cod-fishery around the
Luffoden Islands seems highly productive, especially
in the West-Fiord, the abundance of fish being so
great during the season which ended in May last,
that twenty-four ',millions were captured, being an
average of a thousand fish for each man engaged in
the taking. Off Iceland the average is said rarely
to amount to 600 fish a head during the season,
although the fishing goes on by night as well as day,
while in Norway the nets are laid overnight to be
taken up the next morning. The French fishermen
are accustomed to set sail for Iceland between the
middle of March and the beginning of April, and
the fishing generally becomes productive about the
middle of the latter month ; the commissioners re-
commend that in future the boats shall set out at
the end of February for the entrance of the 'West-
Fiord, when they will meet the fish on their way out
from the bay. The fishing comniencing at that
point may afterwards be continued in the usual
spots around Iceland, and the boats will be filled
much more rapidly than they are at present. With
respect to the herring fishery a similar recommen-
dation is given, namely, that it should commence
about the middle of June, in which month the fish
are found in Norway in great abundance, and be
continued on the coast of Scotland from about the
middle of July.

It is well known that the streams in the West
Indian Islands, and especially of Martinique, abound
in craw fish, or habitants as they are called by the
creolcs, and that they grow to a large size, as large
sometimes as the langouste or spring lobster. The
catching of habitants—literally, taking in the natives
—is a very favourite sport with the biped inhabi-
tants of the island, and the method employed is
rather curious. The craw fish are exceedingly fond
of the manioc root, a smallpiece of which will stupify
one of these silly crustaceans, who, not having the
nous or the self-restraint of human beings, do not
hesitate to take greedily into their mouths that
which steals away their brains. The manioc, cut in
small pieces, is attached to the hooks, and the lines
being supplied with small floats of light wood, cork,
or feathers are dropped into the course of one of the
gaillons or mountain streams, calm and limpid in
fine weather, but often converted in au hour or so
into rushing torrents, which carry everything before
them. If the weather proves fine, the habitants
seize the manioc like maniacs, and straightway be-
come as torpid as a Chinese opium-smoker, or as the
traditionary alderman after dinner, and at night the
fishing party takes abominable advantage of the poor
crustacean's condition ; a number of men provided
with torches illuminate the bed of the stream, and
a hand-net with a strong handle being drawn along
the bottom, the craw fish are captured without dif-
ficulty. But catching habitants is not always agree-
able work. If the skies prove propitious, it is fine
otherwise, the tables are
fun for the fisherman; if
turned upon him rather unpleasantly ; should one of
the torrential showers overtake him, he suddenly
finds the air filled with small flies which get into his
nose, his ears, his eyes, and half blind, hall madden
him. Again, if by any accident the torches are ex-
tinguished, the fishermen have to grope their way
home down the courses of the gaillons, overhung by
huge trees, which make the road as dark, almost as
terrible, but not nearly so facile as that of Avernus,
with the chance of falling into a hole or striking
against a rock or boulder ; if, on the contrary, the
benighted craw fishermen venture to return by terra
firma, the probabilities are greatly in favour of
stumbling upon some of the venomous reptiles with
which the island abounds. There are few nicer
things than sove ca la bisque, but the raw material,
ike most good things, is not to be picked up with-
,ut some trouble.