The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, I.olsl. ON, FIIIDA Y EVENING, NOVEMBER 23, 1866.

to the prosper ty of Ireland. He observed that he
had an advantage over some of his predecessors,
that he wasp long acquainted with Ireland, and thus
knew the ea timable qualities of her people, and could
appreciate more fully her wants and requirements
than those who had not resided among them could
hope or expect to do. If his connection with Ire-
land had been crowned with success, he said that he
" did not attribute his good fortune so much to his
own merit as to the good order and industry of the
tenants themselves. Thus the toast of Prosperity to
Ireland,' with which his name was coupled, was not
one of a mere political sentiment, and of a loyal ex-
pression of philanthropy." It was, on the con-
trary, one which he was bound up by every tie of
affection, interest, and long hereditary connection."
It is really a relief to find any one discussing Ir ish
questions who takes a hopeful view of affairs, and.
while admitting that some drawbacks exist, yet
declare that much remains to inspire confidence
and deserve gratitude. There has been this year
a decrease of emigration, compared with last year,
of eight thousand persons, and we agree with
his Excellency that this is matter of con-
gratulation.
He said that he " had viewed
with regret the emigration, which had drained
their shores of some of the most enterprising,
hardiest, and most industrious of the popu-
lation—those, in fact, whom they could least easily
have spared." The Marquis of ABERCORN then
adverted to the great work just accomplished, by
means of which an " electric whisper" gained their
shores to those of a distant people, who spoke the
same language as themselves and progressed in the
same civilisation. In the present unsettled state of
feeling in some parts of Ireland it is doubly im-
portaut to notice the unanimity that prevailed among
these who appeared en this feitiye. ecoa,!ier_. 972‘.1
repfesented many and divers irtc.:;•',.

The newo which reaches us from India tells us
that matters are proceeding pretty quietly, although
there is still terrible distress in the famine districts of
Bengal. Private communications assert that there
is great need for more money, and that at a meeting
held on the 9th ult. it was resolved to make an ear-
nest appeal to the public of India, England, and
elsewhere for subscriptions. If the Governments of
the Presidencies do their duty vigorously, and in a
liberal spirit, there ought to be no need for this, but
the local authorities have from the first mani-
i fested an extraordinary unwillingness to ap-
preciate the magnitude of the evil and its
pressing character. The Bengal Government
has now requested the Calcutta Committee to ex-
tend its operation to all Bengal and Orissa. The
scarcity will last until the new crops are gathered,
but it is at least satisfactory to know that they pro-
mise well. There is a rumour now current of
scarcity being felt in some districts of Bombay—
the same which suffered in 1864. We hope tha
the Bombay Government will take warning by the
Bombay authorities, whose incredulity and neglect
in the early stages of the famine have done so much
mischief. It will be easy by instituting an efficient
inquiry to arrive at the truth of the report, and if
there is even a threatening of scarcity the
Government should prepare to encounter a famine.
It does not follow that idlenei;s and improvidence
would be encouraged by such a course, for due
precautions might be taken ; but, as famine is an
enemy who can never take us by surprise, but give
warning of his approach, so he is a foe that it is
difficult, if not impossible, to dislodge speedily.
There is certainly no economy of money or labour
in postponing the proper measures, though the
difference is that in the one case they are under-
taken by the Administration, in the other
the expense and the exertion are both
borne by voluntary effort. The Calcutta Com-
mittee have already raised more than. 2.,27,000,
and more is required. As in the case of our visi Ca-
tion by the cholera, the famine, when it departs,
will leave so much distress behind it in the shape of
sick destitute persons and orphans that public bene-
volence will still have much to do. It is to be hoped
too that the effect of both visitations will be prac-
tical and lasting good. As the ravages of the cho-
lera among our poorer districts have forced upon
public attention the deficiencies of our sanitary ar-
rangements, and the miserable condition of the
labourers' dwellings, so the famine in India
will, we trust, secure immediate attention
to the necessity for works of irrigation. Those
who have studied the subject are confident that a
scientific irrigation of the famine districts will
greatly diminish, if not altogether remove, the
chances of its recurrence, while even those who
oppose or disregard the system can only give their
opinions without reference to facts. The important
services which canals would render as cheap and
easy means for the conveyance of stores are indis-
putable ; and we hope that all our chief Anglo-
Indian officials, whether new or old in their posts,
will combine heartily to carry on the public works
of the country.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROII OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Thursday Evening.

The Moniteur announces that the King of Italy,
accompanied by the Princes, his sons, and the
Prince de Carignan, had returned to Florence.
The troops of the garrison and the Naticnal Guard
received his Majesty at the railway station, which
was filled with an enthusiastic crowd. The city was
illuminated in the evening.

The Government has received despatches from
Mexico, to the 12th of October, but they do not con-
tain any news of importance. Nothing is men-
tioned of the reported abdication of the Emperor
Maximilian. The political situation of Vera Cruz is
described as satisfactory.

The Marquis de la Valette, the Minister of the
Interior, has resumed his functions which, during
his temporary absence, were fulfilled by M. Rouher.
According to the National Gazette, of Berlin, the
Senate of Hamburg is about to conclude a treaty
of commerce with England. This news it says has
created some excitement at Berlin, because it is not
understood there how one of the members of the
future Confederation of the North can at this
moment enter into private engagements with a
foreigu Power.

The Siecle has some remarks upon the announce-
ment that M. Von der Heydt, the Prussian Minister
of Finance, intended to ask the Chambers to allow
asum of a million and a half of dollars, to be devoted
to the officers of the Prussian army whose services
had been eminent during the late war, " which had
gi V4l unparallel ed glbry and aggranclisez,
objecttoP trhuast-
sia." The Siecle says, "It is not for us
Prussia should recompense the chiefs of her army at
the expense of poor Germany, but since she has
taken up this matter, it would he equitable that she
should also think of the soldiers. On the other
band, vast numbers of persons are of opinion that
in doing honour to the conquerors of Sadowa she
might infuse a little modesty into her songs of
triumph. One might be tempted to think that she
is not accustomed to such liberality, and that• the
fumes of unexpected success have turned her brain."
A letter from Madrid gives a melancholy, if not
alarming, accaunt of the present position of Spain.
It says that everything is paralysed—commerce,
industry, and agriculture. The vigour with
which the payment of taxes is demanded,
in order tO fa upply the exigencies of the Government,

terrifies the people. In the large cities there are
resources to satisfy these demands, but in the vil-
lages the reign of desolation is established. The
poor are compelled to pay all they have in support
of taxation, and to leave themselves without the
means of procuring food. In the meantime the
prisons are filled with inoffensive citizens. Nothing
is respected ; neither age nor sex. There is sorrow
in families, disgust in the army, and alarm every-
where. Fear, however, is more prevalent among the
Government than elsewhere. As " the thief fears
in every bush an officer," so the Spanish Govern-
ment at this moment sees revolutionists in all
directions. This alarm induces despotic acts,
domiciliary visits are paid, the secret of correspon-
dence is violated, and despotic acts multiply. The
Government, in its anxiety to discover conspirators,
has taken a step which may bring it to grief. M.
Berger, Marquis d'lsidori, a French subject, has
been arrested at his hotel at the unseasonable hour
of three o'clock in the morning, upon some imagi-
nary idea that he has been connected with plots.
In conclusion, the letter says :—" The continuance
of this state of things is impossible, and from day
to day some great catastrophe may be expected, for
despair and misery drive people to extremity."
The accounts from Italy state that the clergy of
the annexed provinces evince the utmost enthusiasm
in favour of the King. The Patriarch Cardinal,
Trevisanato, and the clergy of the diocese of Venice,
have presented an address to Victor Emmanuel, in
which they express " the Catholic and sincere
homage of their fidelity."

When it became known at Paris that the New
York Yacht Club had, upon the occasion of the
Great Exhibition, organised a match between New
York and Havre, for a prize to the amount of
400,000 f., the Parisian Regatta Club placed at the
disposal of the President of the New York Club a
gold medal, with its arms, which is to be presented
to the winner.

It is announced that the Champ de Mars will be
irrevocably opened to the public on the Ist of
ntzt. -7:771S Z7O. 17.A7::::r.F:
tio4., tut they prcef.ca with inatliA-naic
The Worlian I,3unci. Lad at Lint:, relcrence
whom her husband, M. Rosseau, wrote to his friends
to announce that the death of his wife had been
mentioned by a "deplorable error," turns out to be
a woman named Matton, who had recently arrived
at Lille from Paris. She was a person of bad cha-
racter, and had not long been released from prison.
No explanation has yet been given of the circum-
stances connected with her death, or by what means
the corpse came in the collar. The mystery has
been an exciting topic at Lille.

There was a Cabinet Council yesterday at Com-
piegne, at which the Emperor presided. Th
Empress was present at the Council.
The number of postage stamps sold in France,
which only reached 19 millions in 1819, increased
to 414 millions in 1865, and the estimated number
is 450 millions for the present year. This number
is much less than that consumed in England.

Nothing official has been published relative to the
recommendations of the Army Commission. It is,
however, reported that it will propose to fix the
effective army at :360,0e0 men instead of 420,000.
By the new arrangements it i 3 said that the Govern-
ment will in future have at disposal 1,080,000 men,
viz., active: army, 3G0,000 ; reserve, 480,000 ;
mobile national guArd, 240,000 ; total, 1,080,000
men.

M. Louis Joseph d'Orteque, a writer of note, and
one of the editors of the Journal dcs Debats, who
died very suddenly, aged 65, was buried to -day.
The funeral was attended by troops of friends.
A soldier, named Jalabett, aged 107 years and
eight months, has just died at Basset. lie was at
the capture of the Bastille, and fought against the
Yendeeans in 1794.

There. is more than usual gaiety and festivity at
Compiegne just now. The amusements are shoot-
ing, smoking, billiards, card-playing, and theatricals.
A day or two ago no less than 193 birds fell to the
Emperor's gun, more than the number killed by any
other gentleman of the party. It will give great
pleasure to every one to know that his Majesty is
quite well. Sometimes he has been seen walking
about by himself smoking his cigar, followed by his
dog Nero, which, if possible, is as attached and
faithful to him as his people.

The Late Shower of Meteors,

-.0-

The Dorpfries Courier states that the best ac-
count it has seen of the late shower of meteors is
that furnished by Professor Grant, of the Royal
Observatory, Glasgow, to the Glasgow Herald, and
then gives the following extract from Professor
Grant's article :

"The expected shower- of meteors was observed here
under eminently favourable circumstances. About mid-
night the constellation Leo had ascended in the east above
the horizon, and as the point of emanation of the meteors
is situated in this constellation, it might have been ex-
pected that henceforward the phenomenon would assume
a more prominent aspect. Shortly after one o'clock the
heavens everywhere became beautifully clear, and we had
the good fortune to obtain henceforward a magnificent
and uninterrupted view of the phenomenon. At 1 hour
15 minutes the heavens had assumed an extremely im-
posing aspect. Multitudes of beautiful meteors were
now everywhere visible, but especially in the
eastern region of the heaven; where the constellation
Leo was to be seen as ho gradually ascended in his course
towards the meridian. Hundreds of the meteors far sur-
passed in brilliancy the stars of the first magnitude. In
multitudes of instances they were brighter than Jupiter,and
some of them even equalled Venus when she is at hergreat-
est brillancy. Their prevailing colour was white, but some
had a yellowish tinge of light, while others had a blueish
tinge. In every instance they were accompanied by a straight
narrow train of well-defined light, of a beautiful emerald
green colour. The length of the train varied much for the
different meteors. Many of them extended over an arc of 30
deg., 40 deg, or 50 deg., and some were even of still greater
length. As stated, they wore almost without exception
straight in the direction of their length, and their course
among the stars presented clear indications of the emana-
tion of the meteors from a common region of the heavens
situated somewhere in the constellation Leo. The meteor in
every case first presented itself to observation, and then,
as it pursued its course westward through the heavens,
it was seen spitting out its beautiful train of green
light. In general the meteor and its train were visible for
about three or four seconds, but in some instances they
continued in view as long as five seconds. At 1 hour
18 min. a whole group of brilliant meteors was seen
to burst out, and diverge like a fan from the radiant
point in Leo. The appearance which the heavens every-
where now presented can only be compared to the effect
produced by the general discharge of a vast number of
rockets. At 1 hour 20 minutes I counted the number of
meteors visible in one minute, and I found them to
amount to fifty-seven; but this in all probability did not
exceed one-third of the number really visible in every
part of the heavens. Shortly afterwards it became evident
that the earth had passed through the thickest of the
shower. At 2 hours 42 min. the most remarkable pheno-
menon of this kind presented itself to us in the constellation
of Ursa Major; but unfortunately none of us caught the
commencement of it. The blaze of light which this meteor
emitted at the time of vanishing was extraordinary. It left
behind it a curved residue of faint light of sensible breadth,
and having the form of a horseshoe. This singular pheno-
menon continued visible in the heavens for twenty minutes
after it first attracted our attention. At 3 hours the num-
ber of meteors visible in a minute had diminished to two
or three. It may be remarked that the constellation Leo
indicates the region of the heavens in the direction of
which the earth is at present travelling in virtue of its
annual motion round the sun.

" The Novembe meteors are bodies in all probability
analogous to the small planets which revolve round the sun
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and to the meteors
which physical astronomy indicates as probably revolving
round the same body within the orbit (,f Mercury. Meteors,
like comets, may be said to be indefinitely great in number,
although the aggregate mass of those which revolve in the
vicinity of the hitherto discovered bodies of the planetary
system must necessarily be small. What purpose they
servo i❑ the economy of creation it is difficult to discover,
but that their existence is connected with some important
operations of nature is a conclusion which must occur to
every thoughtful mind. . .

- _
"It may be mentioned that the average height of the
meteors above the earth's surface has been found to be
about 70 miles."

We have authority to state that the Admiralty
have directed a copy of the published correspon-
dence between Mr. Buxton, M.P., and Lieutenant Brand,
R.N., to be sent to Commodore M'Clintock, at Jamaica,
with instructions that if Lieutenant gaud is unable to
deny the authenticity of the letters imp uted to him, he is
to be- immediately superseded and se at to England, as
having been guilty of conduct inconsistent with the cha-
racter of an officer and a gentleman. We are also autho-
rised to state that any rumour to the effect that Lieutenant
Brand has received promotion from the present Board of
Admiralty is entirely without fou4dgion.—Morning Posh

LATEST INTEL LIGENOF.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.).

_._ ---~-

THE TYROL.
INNSPRL'CK, Nov. 21.

In yesterday's sitting of the Tyrolean Diet, a
deputy demanded whether the rumours current in
the Italian districts of the Tyrol of an intention to
cede them to Italy were correct, and ii not, whether
the Government was resolved to prosecute with
energy the persons spreading such rumours.
The Government Commissioner replied that the
rumours in question were absolutely without foun-
thtion, and that the Government was firmly deter.
mined not to cede Southern Tyrol, and to take
vigorous measures against any agitation in the
Italian districts for annexation to Italy.

TURKEY AND GREECE.

CONSTANTINOPLE, Nov. 15 (Via Marseilles).

The Greek Minister in this capital has, it is stated,
demanded that the Greek soldiers captured in
Candia should be given up to him. The Porte has
refused compliance with this request, and the
foreign Consuls also have declined to enter into the
question. The Greek Plenipotentiary, however,
persisted in his demand.

News received here from Candia states that
Ismail Pacha, General of the Egyptian Contingent
in that island, was killed in the last engagement
with the insurgents.

THE RUSSIANS IN CENTRAL ASIA.

ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 22.

The Liralick of to-day contradicts the statement
recently published, that a concentration of Russian
troops had been effected at Samarcand.
s'anie jommal .--t.nnermees fC::tl'ecrZ
PjulKl:, the la t, strer.gleld cf the Emir ci Biehara,
was taken by assault after an eight days' siege.