The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-28 00:00:00

CAMBRIDGE, FEB. 27.

The following have passed the examination forthe
B.A. degree :—Adams, Caius ; Brice, Caius • Buck-
master,- Trinity Hall ; Dunn, Corpus ; G-ooderham,
Caius ; Macleod, Trinity ; Miers, Down ; Mitchell,
Caius ; Schneider, Trinity ; Smith, Trinity ; Thomas,
Trinity ; and Watney, John's.
Hopes continue to be entertained that the master
of Trinity will recover from the effects of his acci-
dent.

THE HON. GRANTLEY BERKELEY'S LIFE AND
RECOLLECTIONS. Vols. 3 and 4, completing the Work.--
"It is almost unnecessary (says the Globe) to review these
volumes. The author in his former publication gives a
sufficient taste of his quality. In tho present work we
have less of personal biography and more of the recollec-
tions. The author's knowledge of distinguished persons
is naturally very great, and whether he narrates the dis-
comfiture of an aspiring feminine diplomatist by such an
astute veteran as Talleyrand or the adventures of a sport-
ing hero he is equally at home. There is no doubt that in
these sketches wo have much that is worth preserving of
the life and manners of the upper ten thousand during the
last half century."
DUCHY OF LANCASTER.—The annual account for
the Duchy of Lancaster has been laid before Parliament.
The receipts in the year 1865, chiefly from rentsand profits
of courts, and royalties and rents of mines, amounted to
£40,098. The ordinary expenditure, mainly for salaries and
superannuations, was £13,674. There was also an outlay
of £4,453 for restoration of the Savoy Chapel, but this was
almost entirely covered by the insurance. As in th,e.pro-
ceding year, the sum of £26,000. was paid, as net income,
rof her Majesty's Privy 'Purse, for her Ma-
jteosttyh'e PBsKuseee.

_. ~.:~

.

LONDON, IVEDAESDAY, FEB. 28, 1866.

Metropolitan local government is a subject that
may well engage serious attention, for it is one
that concerns the interests of the community in a
great degree. Lord It. MONTAGU on Monday
called the notice of the House to the very inefficient
manner in which the work was carried on by the
local self-governments ; and in the course of his
speech he gave some very good definitions of the
state of the case. Indeed the noble lord very truly
said that, in many respects, London was worse off
than Paris, and even than small corporate cities in the
kingdom. In illustration of this he mentioned the
miseries endured during the last snow-storm through
the state of the London streets, he himself finding the
slush ancle-deep. The vestries never perform their
appointed duty of causing the footpaths to be swept
and cleaned. In the frost, also, great danger
accrues from the neglect that prevails in not adopting
proper measures to preserve passengers on foot or
on horseback from slipping. Another important
thing to notice is that from want of a "ruling autho-
rity " many persons are run over, 232 being killed
in one year by being driven against by cabs, drays,
and carts. A better proof of the want of a better
arrangement could not be furnished than the fact that
typhus fever is greatly on the increase. Under the
existing system little or no attention is paid to the
removal of nuisances, and no thanks are given to
those who point them out. The medical officer of
St. Pancras in his report showed where the nests
of typhus might be found, and in consequence he
was called impertinent by some of the vestrymen.
No wonder that the noble lord should deny that
there was any advantage in this so-called " noble
Principle of self-government." If one board had the
complete jurisdiction over all the metropolis a better
state of things would follow. It would not be
necessary to break up the minor boards.
Last night Mr. AYRTON moved that a Select
Committee be appointed to inquire into the local
government and local taxation of the metropolis.
The hon. member was very indignant at the re-
marks made by the
noble lord the even-
ing before, and i„ expressed a hope that
he might not again hear
a a" repetition in that
House of such observations
s had recently been
made
with respect to the vestrymen of the metro-
This is certainly rather
dinar
an extraordinary
observation, observation, and we should like to know Y
why this
class in particular should be considered sacred from
• • • Mr. AYRTON did his best to
criticism. defend the
and declared that local s
present system, _elf -govern_
had been of more service to the community
than the doings of the central Government by way
of interference. Lord R. MONTAGE again made
some observations in favour of a commission
instead of a committee, and blamed the conduct of
Sir G. GREY in not dealing with the subject in a de-
cisive manner, instead of showing great hesitation.
That, however, is the fashionable course for
Ministers to pursue nowadays, and therefore
no one need feel surprise, though it is
very inconsistent for the Government to leave
all these matters to be settled by the house instead
of inaugurating a policy of their own. Lord R.
=‘lo= rauu very properly said that ,4 the ordinary rule
was to appoi a committee to agcertain biets, and

when these were known to appoint a Royal Com-
mission to devise a measure to meet an acknowledged
difficulty." Sir G. GREY said that the House
seemed in favour of the appointment of a committee,
and he coincided in that opinion, because the diffe-
rent members of the metropolis could assist at the

inquiry.
Mr. LIDDELL made some observations on the coal
tax, which, he said, he feared the Metropolitan
Board were hankering to continue, in order to carry
on improvements. The hon. member truly stated
that " coal in the metropolis was an absolute neces-
sary of life, and there was no impost to which he
unJerstood there was a greater objection, because it
was a tax levied in its worst form."
Lord ELCHO'S remarks reverted to the state of
the poorer classes, and he stated that people might
well imagine no one took into account how far,
and in what way, all these improvements
might affect the working classes. The House
of Lords had, however, as the noble
lord said, issued a standing order, to the effect that
statements should be made of the number of persons II
displaced by any works for which compulsory
powers were granted, and what was to be done to
remedy the evils of such displacement ? We con-
cur with the noble lord in his wish that the House
of Commons should adopt a provision similar to
that of the House of Lords, which certainly has the
credit of making the first attempt to protect the
rights of the poor. In this money-making age there
is no danger more to be guarded against than this
encroachment on the dwellings of the working
classes, because little or no effort is made
to remedy the ills thus occasioned. Mr. LOCKE
pointed out the great difficulty that laid in the way
of providing dwellings for those who were turned
out by railways being brought near their habita-
tions, because in many neighbourhoods the inha-
bitants are most averse to the poorer classes coming
to settle in their parish for fear they should even-
tually become chargeable to the parish rates. To
put a stop to this evil the hon. member advocated
the advantage of union rating. A uniform rate in
all the parishes of the metropolis is what has long
been wanted, both for the interests of the
community in general, and for the free-
dom and welfare of the working classes.
As Mr. LOCKE stated, the parishes which are the
richest are the most lightly taxed, and the inhabi-
tants of St. George's, Hanover-square, only pay a
six or seven-pence in the pound. The committee
having been granted, it is to be hoped that their
labours may be successful, and that results may
follow alike creditable to the House and beneficial
to the public ; and certainly the matter under their
consideration is one that should long ago have been
dealt with in a vigorous manner.

The subject to which Mr. CRAWFORD last night
directed the attention of the house is unquestion-
ably a very important one, and its importance in
these days of commercial enterprise is likely to in-
crease rather than diminish. Our mercantile con-
nection with India, which has been so long allowed
to languish from various causes, is now extending
so rapidly owing to the peculiar position of the
cotton trade, the new tea plantations, and many
other movements of the kind, that the rapidity
and fidelity of the telegraphic communi-
cation becomes a matter of considerable
moment. It might naturally have been sup-
posed that a country, whose wealth and whose
mechanical resources are alike illimitable, would
have made the communication with its own terri-
tories one of the first objects of its ambition. If we
have enterprise and revenue enough to attempt lay-
ing a cable under the Atlantic, we might surely have
contrived to establish a rapid and effectual system
of communication between England and India.
Some parts of the route are no doubt difficult and
dangerous, but the great point of complaint is not
that the line does not work, but that the

messages transmitted by it are most inaccurately
rendered. The cases which Mr. CRAWFORD cited

last evening were of a very serious nature, especi-
ally when we remember the extent of the interests
involved. As Mr. CRAWFORD observed, the tele-
graph at the present day has almost super-
seded the post in commercial matters, especi-
ally with regard to a tedious and dangerous
voyage. "In relation to the trade with India it
was the custom when goods were shipped for tele-
graphic information to be sent of that fact. On
the receipt of the bill of lading, if the market were
favourable, the goods were sold while on their
way to their destination, and by that
means the shipper was relieved from a great part
of the risk, and was therefore content to re-
ceive less than he otherwise would accept, and so
the public were enabled to obtain the 'goods at a
reduced price." There is, however, another aspect
to the question in which the telegraphic system is
not so advantageous to any party concerned. A
mercantile house in Liverpool sent last September
an order for 1,000 bales of cotton, which was deli-
vered in India as an order for 21,000 ! Another
order from another house was transformed from
500 bales at 12d. per lb. to 500 bales
at 20d. per lb. It will not take a
man of business very long to calculate the effect of
such blunders, although their consequences would
naturally vary with the resources of the firm which
gave them the order. Thus we find that the
failure of one house was ascribed to the fact of a
telegraphic order to Egypt for 500 bales of cotton
being converted into an order for 5,000. When we
remember the extraordinary accuracy with which
telegraphic messages are transmitted on other occa-
sions, we shall he more surprised that greater fidelity
is not attained in respect to so important a trade.
According to the official retut:ns of 1864 the aggregate
value of the commodities imported into this coun-
try from abroad was 275 millions sterling, and of
the goods exported was 214 millions sterling.
"Of the goods imported," said Mr. CRAW FORD,
" those from India were 20 per cent. of the
whole, and Ceylon, Singapore, China, Japan,
Australia, and the Mauritius supplied 11 or
12 per cent. in addition, so that portion of the
world which was the subject of his motion supplied
no less than one-third of the whole of the imports.
In the case of exports, out of the total of 219 fr
millions those countries took no less than 42 millions
sterling." The nature of the goods imported is also
a matter of consideration. Rice, sugar, and tea
enter largely into the list, while articles supplying
material for the industry of the country amount to
nine minions, exclusive of cotton, which is 38 mil-
lions alone.

The confusion created by the inaccuracy of the
telegraph is heightened by another evil, the extreme
uncertainty and tardiness in the delivery of the
messages. If a message is correctly given, the
delay of a month in the transmission may
render it virtually inaccurate. Yet this is
Mr. Ilop,s-

no uncommon occurrence.
FALL, who seconded Mr. CRAWFORD'S motion,
mentioned that a message which should have been
delivered in 36 hours at Bombay did not reach its
destination for 36 days--in fact, after a letter en-
closing a duplicate of the order telegraphed had
reached the parties. The complaints, in fact, have
been so numerous that both mover and seconder
declared themselves unable to allude to a tithe of
them, Nr, CRAWFORD stated that binee he had