The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-16 00:00:00

'THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 16, 1866.

men who entertain such opinions as this Secretary,
just referred to, the sooner a change takes place the
better. We can assure the writer of this letter, and
all who think with him, that they are wrong in
themselves, and are also doing great wrong to
others. If this FEARNEYHOUGH had committed of-
fences, nothing can possibly under any circum-
stances excuse or explain such acts as these com-
mitted in New Hereford-street. " Next to the
perpetrators themselves I abhor their conduct,"
writes the secretary in descanting upon the course
pursued by one like FEARNEYHOUGH, and while
such sentiments prevail among those who direct the
men, how can we expect improvement to take place,
or anything like freedom or fair play to exist?
Of all tyrannies none equals that exercised by
societies like these. It is time that the sense and
spirit of the country should declare strongly against
such proceedings, and, to borrow the secretary's
own expression, we consider the language he uses
far more " disreputable' than any act which FEAR-
NEYHOUGH committed in not joining the society.
It is satisfactory to notice that a large reward has
been offered by the masters in order to bring the
offenders to justice, but we believe that if the
Trades Unions themselves do their utmost they will
have a better chance of success ; and for the cre-
dit of society at large, and the cause of justice, we
hope that before long those who have been mur-
derers at heart may receive the retribution which
they deserve.

It is certain that the condition of Mexico at the
present moment is calculated to give rise to the
most serious apprehensions for its security and
safety. It is generally believed that the Emperor
MAXIMILLIAN will have to retire from the scene of
his arduous exertions, if he is not speedily rein-
forced with men and supplied with money ; and as
the untiring efforts of his devoted Consort nave been
attended with no success in Europe it is no wonder
that speculations are rife concerning the future.
The French troops are now collecting towards
the centre, and it is said that preparations
are being rapidly made for their successive enter-
tainment. It is to be hoped, at all events, that
their departure may take place peaceably, and that
no great disasters may mark the close of their stay
in America. The position of the Emperor MAXI-
MILIAN is indeed a very painful one, and those who
have all along been doubtful as to the result of this
Mexican venture must agree that he has shown a
spirit and a determination worthy of a better
cause and of more prosperous circumstances. It
is confidently asserted by some that the
Emperor NAPOLEON has found it to be impossible
to afford the assistance required of him by MAXI-
MILIAN, in consequence of arrangements he has
previously made with the United States, and hence
the failure of the expedition of the EMPRESS. If
the United States' Government are resolved that
there shall be no longer an Empire in Mexico, upon

them will devolve the serious responsibility of pre-
venting the unfortunate nation from relapsing into
the state of anarchy which previously afflicted it.
We do not wonder that so mush doubt and dis-
quietude should prevail among the inhabitants who
desire tranquillity, for under no circumstances do
their future prospects look very bright, or their
chances of security from strife very promising.

coast of Brittany, the other day there was some
rather heavy betting on Gladiateur. Of course,
Gladiateur, as usual, was the winner. It may not
be generally known that young crabs can run more
swiftly than a horse.
The Museum of the Louvre now contains 2,000
pictures, of which 560 are of the Italian school, 620
3f the schools of the North, 700 French, 25 Spanish.
The rest are of various schools. In those of the
Italian school there are 12 pictures by Raphael, 3
of Corregio, 18 of Titian, 13 of Paul Veronese, 9
of Leonardo da Vinci, and 8 of Perugini. The
northern schools are represented by 12 of Reubens,
22 Vandyck, 11 Gerard Don, 17 of Rembrandt, 11
of Philip Wourertnann, 14 of Teniers, 7 of Adrien
Ostade, 6 of Ruysclaal, 2 of Hobbenia, 11 of Berg-
hern. The French school includes 40 paintings of
Poussin, 48 of Lemeur, 16 of Claude Lorraine, 20
of Philippe de Champaigne, 17 of Sebastien Bour-
don, 26 of Lebrun, 12 of Mignard, 41 of Joseph
Vernet, 1 of Largilliere, 1 of Watteau, 13 of David.
In the Spanish school there are 11 of Murillo and 6
of Velasquez.
The Emperor has ordered a bronzed medal to be
struck at the Mint commemorative of his decision
as arbitrator on the 6th July, 1864, in favour of the
execution of the Suez Canal. The inscription on
the medal will be " Junction of the Two Seas."
An unfortunate child, only nine years old, has
been arrested for stealing a piece of stuff from the
door of a mercer in the Rue St. Lazare. The child
said his mother had ordered him to-steal it, and she
was watching about to see that he did so. The
wretched mother was of course taken into custody.
A drag-vessel, which is now in operation on the
Seine near Notre Dame, has brought up from the
bed of the river a number of bronze medals of the
date of 1710. On the obverse is the figure of the
Virgin and the infant Jesus. On the reverse, in
Roman figures, are the number of sous, from three
to 19, which the Chapter of Notre Dame gave to
the poor who were the holders of the medals, and
the amount was paid to them on application at the
Treasury of the Chapter. The year 1710, when
these medals were struck, was that which followed
the remarkable year when the winter was so ex-
tremely severe, and which was followed by three
years when much misery and destitution prevailed
in Paris.
There was rather heavy rain last night, and the
fog reappeared this morning, but not so dense as it
has been generally for the last fortnight. The sun
was not visible till two this afternoon, but continued
to shine brightly unt:l sunset. The temperature
was moderately warm.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE INSURRECTION IN CANDIA•
PARIS, OCt 16.

The Illoniteur of this morning says :—" Accord-
ing to intelligence brought to Constantinople by
the Sultan's aide-de-camp, Djemil Pacha, who left
Caudia on the 12th inst., no engagement had taken
place up to that date. The Turks had commenced
an offensive movement, and had occupied an im-
portant and advanced position in the direction of
Dapoconio, the principal centre of the insurrection.
This point was to be attacked on the 17th instant.
Dissension was beginning to arise among the in-
surgents.

AMERICA.
(Br ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.)
NEw YORK, Oct. 15.

The hamburg and American Company's
steamship Bavaria and the North German Lloyd's
steamer America arrived out to-day.

ITALY.

FLORENCE, Oct. 16.

It is stated that Count Oppizzoni, formerly
Charge d'Affaires at Frankfort, will take charge of
the Italian Legation at Vienna until the appoint-
ment of a plenipotentiary.

The Atlantic Cables and the Screw
Propeller.

-a---

TO THE EDITOR OF Till SUN.

Sin,—l have read with much pride, as all other
Englishmen must have done, your almost daily re-
ports and leading articles on the progress and final
success which has been achieved in the laying of the
Atlantic cable of 1866, as well as the recovery and
restoration of that of 1865, which was so generally
considered to have been for ever lost at the bottom
of the ocean.

Next to the gratification experienced by all
classes at the completion of so huge a task, in the
face of innumerable difficulties and in direct opposi-
tion to public opinion as to the feasibility of raising
the 1865 cable, comes the public announcement, at
the Atlantic Telegraph banquet at Liverpool, on the
Ist inst., of the honours which her Majesty the
Queen had been pleased to confer so promptly and
graciously on the gentlemen who in their respective
departments have contributed so much towards the
accomplishment of one of the greatest, if not the
most important, feats of the present age.
All England does, no doubt, and all the world
should if it does not, join in one big vote of thanks
to every gentleman officer, man and boy, engaged in
the recent cable-laying expedition.
The promptitude, however, with which these acts
of justice have been performed to the persons whose
names must for ever shine with electric brightness in
the history of submarine telegraphy, serves to mark
with greater force the tardiness and neglect with
which the name of Smith has been so far treated.
Francis Petitt Smith, I mean—he man to whom
I the world is indebted for the benefits conferred on

its maritime interests by his successful introduction
of the screw propeller.
More than a quarter of a century has now elapsed
since I saw his first screw ship, the Archimedes, ex-
perimenting at Portsmouth, and having, like many

other officers at the time, looked upon her as a mere
toy, and predicted a total failure of the principle
when tried on a larger and more practical scale, I
cannot now think of or overlook the wonderful
changes which have been effected in the sister ser-
vices of my country without a blush to own, and in
this way give publicity to the fact, that this very
Smith, who expended the best twenty years of his
life, at first in overcoming endless difficulties, and
latterly in beating down with all superhuman per-
severance, the prejudices commonly opposed by
vested interests to the introduction of anything new,
is at this moment scarcely known or heard of be-

yond the precincts of a small salaried office in the
machinery department of the South Kensington
Museum.

Surely, sir, this is not the way for a great and
prosperous country to repay such labour, such an
expenditure of tine and capital.
The Archimedes of 1840 was the immediate parent
vessel of the Great Britain, admitted to be the most
successful ocean steamer that ever rounded Cape
llorn ; from which and others came the queen of
cable-laying ships, the Great Eastern. Add to these
leviathans 476 ships in her Majesty's service and
912 vessels in the merchant service, which, accord-
ing to the latest Admiralty and Custom-house re-
turns, have been fitted with the screw. What
stronger proof can be given or required of the value
and importance of Mr. Smith's past services ? Who
in this country at the age of threescore years can
be more entitled to honours, who, after a life of
toil
and anxiety, more deserving of retirement and a
proportionate compensation for paving the way to
a peaceful old age ?
It would be a well-timed act indeed if Sir John
Pakington or Sir Stafford Northcote, or perhaps
both, as the heads of the two marine services of the
country, which have been alike benefited, were to
unite in recommending Mr. Smith's long-forgotten
claims to the favourable notice of her Majesty.
AN ULD NAVAL ENGINEER.
Portsmouth, Oct. 12.