The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-07 00:00:00

or do other service, and return inside of the boat
again without inconvenience.
Curiously enough, the gentleman who has come
over here with this invention, and who, though not

the inventor, is part proprietor of the patent, was
instructed not to offer it to the British Government
until it had first been offered to the Emperor of the
French. The reasons for making such a distinction
arises from the notion which our transatlantic
cousins entertain of the red-tape system of the Eng-
lish Government, and their slowness to adopt any
sudden or great improvements. That this idea is
hardly well founded is shown from the fact that
when the invention was first brought under the
notice of the Secretary of the United States' Navy,
he merely wrote to the inventor to say, by way of
badinage, that American ships were required in the
water and never wanted to go under them. The
proffer to the Emperor of the French received even
less attention, as no answer was returned to the
letter at all. Contrary to American expectation,
when the letter was brought a few days since under
the notice of the English Board of Admiralty it
received full and prompt attention, and Sir Baldwin
Walker has already had interviews with the gentle-
man to whose care the disposal of the patent is
intrusted. Nothing definite has yet resulted from
these audiences, though as the cost of building the
submarine boat is very small, we believe that one
will eventually be constructed in this country, and
if it only fulfils half what the patentee expects of
it the invention will be purchased by the. British
Government.

PROPOSED UNION OF CITY

CHURCHES.

On Tuesday afternoon a general meeting of the
Fellows of Sion College, comprising the incumbents
of all churches and parishes within the old Arch-
deaconry of London, took place in their great hall,
for the purpose of considering what answer they
should return respecting the bishop's inquiry rela-
tive to the proposed union of some of the city bene-
fices. The Rev Wm. Scott, M.A., incumbent of
Christ Church, Hoxton, the President of Sion Col-
lege, took the chair. It may be mentioned, in ex•
planation of the object of the meeting, that some
years since the Rev. Charles Hume, rector of St.
Michael's, Wood-street, made a formal proposition
to the late Bishop of London for a union of some of
the parishes in the city which, having considerable
endowments, have little or no resident population,
with a view to the endowment of additional churches
in destitute portions of the metropolis and its out-
skirts. The late bishop concurred in Mr. Hume's
suggestion, and introduced a bill into Parliament
to effect that object, but it met with a strong opposi-
tion, and was eventually withdrawn. The present.
Bishop of London, in his primary charge to the
clergy of his diocess in Nov. last, adverted to the
subject, and has also addressed formal inquiries to
them, with a view to determine what course he
ought to adopt in reference to the matter. The an-
swers to the inquiries of the bishop made by the
clergy present some curious features. The `Rev.
J. Charlesworth, rector of the joint parishes
of St. Mildred, Bread-street, and St. Mar-
garet Moses, replies in answer to the bishop's inter-
rogatories that the largest attendance at any of his
church services is 10, that his net income is £220
a year, and that the population is 258. The Rev.
J. Minchin, rector of the joint parishes of St. Mil-
dred, Poultry, and St. Mary Colechurch, reports
that the largest attendance at his services is 30, his
net income £2BO, and the population 500. The Rev.
Thomas Darling, rector of St. Michael Paternoster
Royal and St. Martin's Vintry, reports that his
largest attendance is 25, his net income £240, popu-
lation 430. The Rev. Dr. Kynaston, high master of
St. Paul's school, reports that the attendance at the
church of the joint parishes of St. Nicolas Cole
Abbey and St. Nicolas Olave, of which he is rector,
is 30, his income £263, with a house in good repair
—population 592. The Rev. Charles Mackenzie,
rector of the joint parishes of St. Benet, Grace-
church, and St• Leonard, Eastcheap, of which he is
rector, is 48, net income £287, population 300. The
Rev. Dr. 'Stebbing, rector of St. Mary Somerset and
St. Mary Woolchurch Haw, reports that his largest
attendance is 40, net income. £250, population un-
known. The Rev. Thomas Jones, rector of All-
hallows, Lombard-street, reports .that his largest
attendance is 50, his net income £396, population
456. The Rev. F. J. Stainforth, incumbent of All-
hallows Staining, reports that his largest attendance
is 50, net income £BOO, population 500. Many more
of the same sort might be given from the official
returns, and in some cases there is an attend-
ance of 100 or 150 persons where the income of the
incumbent is upwards of £l,OOO a-year. The patrons
of these city churches, with whom it is believedthere
would be no difficulty in carrying out the Bishop of
London's views of amalgamation, are Eton College,
the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, the Duke of
Buccleuch, the Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury,
the Corporation of London, the Grocers' Com-
pany, Balliol College, Oxford, the Duke of
Northumberland, Magdalen College, Cambridge,
the Governors of St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
the Dean and Canons of Westminster, the
master and wardens of Merchant Taylors' Company,
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the Drapers'
Company, and a few private individuals. The meet-
ing held at Sion College on Tuesday was of a private
character, although a very large number of the
clergy were present, and took a strong interest in
the discussion. It was agreed that the opinions of
the incumbents whose interests it was proposed to
affect should be collected and arranged for pre-
sentation to the Bishop of London.