The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-03 00:00:00

Commence at 7.

ones, and it need hardly be said that typhus is rife
in such places. The " party upstairs " catches the
fever first, and thence it is spread through the
place ; the third classes consists of those houses
originally meant for better occupants, but which
now possesses as many families as rooms. In some
of these houses the former traffic to the back-yard
is stopped by a mass of dust garbage and sweepings
which has not been removed for years.
Those who think that they are at all events out
of the reach of the infection from such places may be
shocked to find that means of communication exist
between them and these by-places, nests such as
they little dream of. In many houses, -where
typhus had been or was then raging, "smart, warm
children's clothing, and good cloth garments for
children and men" were being made, and the most
uninitiated may understand how dreadful would be
the consequences to the wearers of such articles.
No wonder Mr. JEAFFRESON should say that " the
homes of the poor are an Augean stable, to cleanse
which effectually requires the earnest action of a
more numerous and effective staff than are now
brought to bear upon the subject." The courts and
allies are in such a state that family after family
often succumb to its ravages; and where the fever
has not broken out actually, it is easy to perceive
that a spark of specific contagion is all that is
wanting to cause it to blaze, and to spread with
fearful rapidity. The second portion of the subject
is the composition of the London vestries, who are
answerable for both the lives and health of others.
It turned out on investigation that the owners
of certain " low typhus infected house property "
were active and obstructive members of vestries,
and sometimes even guardians of the poor. This
is in itself a very significant thing ; and very
truly is it remarked here that, without being ever in a
majority, these men may do great harm, for it takes
very little self-interest to outweigh a great deal of
" indifference, honest ignorance, or even public
spirit." A table is given of 368 members of these
vestries, and enough is shown thereby to justify the
strictures passed upon such a construction. The

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET.-
Sole Lessee and Mangger, Mr. Buckstone.
THIS EVENING, BROTHER SAIL: Messrs. Sothern,
Buckstone, Compton; Mesdames Nell), Moose, Snowden,
&c.

To be followed by ORPIIEUS IN THE HAYMARKET,
Messrs. W. Farren, Fisher, Bartleman, Weal hersby, 4:c ;
Mesdames Keeley, Snowden, Moore, Lindley, Woolgar.
Howard, Wright, Coleman, Lovell, Prevot, &c.
To conclude with SHOCKING EVENTS. Mr. Com, ton.
Commence at Seven.

ROYAL LYCEUM T EIEATRE.-
Under the sole Management of Mr. Fechter.
THIS EVENING, THE ILLUSTRIOUS STRANGER.
Mr. B. Widdicomb.
Atter which, THE MASTER OF RAVENSWOOD.
Mr. Fechter; Messrs. Jordan, Emery, Widdicomb, Vezin,
J. H. Fitzpatrick, D. Evans ; Mesdames Ternan, ElsworthY.
Lavenu, and C. Leclercq.
Box Office open daily from Eleven till Five.

NEW THEATRE-ROYAL ADELPHI.
Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, at Seven, a new farce called ssEHIND
TIME. Messrs. J. L. Toole, R. Phillips. Eburne, C. J. Smith;
Miss A. tleaman,
Alter which, at 8, RIP VALI WINKLE. Rip (his 104th.
appearance), Mr. Jefferson, supported by Messrs. Billington,
P. Bedford, It Phillips, Felix. Itog,..rs, Ashley, li.burne, C. J.
Smith; Mrs. Biliingtor, &c.
To conclude with T FIE STEEPLECHASE. Messrs. J. L.
Toole, I'. Redford, Ashley; Miss K. Kelly, &o.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE,
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining.

-
THIS EVENING, QUIET LODGINGS.
After which, at a quarter to Eight, IT IS NEVER TOO
LATE TO MENI). characters by Messrs. Vining% T. Mel-
ville, T. Mead, I). Murray, S. Calhaem, F. Villiers, J. a
Shore, a Murray, If. Mellon, C. Seyton, R. Cathcart•; Nisi
L. Moore and Miss Katherine Rodgers.

ROYAL SIRAND THEATRE.
Sole Lessee and Manageress, Mrs. Swanborough.
THIS EVENING. at Seven, NOTHING VENTURE
NOTHING WIN.
After which will be produced a new Opera Burlesque,
L'AFRICAINE ; or, The Queen of the Cannibtl Islan is.
Messrs. Stoyle, James, Thorne ; Mesdames Swanborough,
itaynharu, Johnstone, /to.
To conclude with TURN HIM OUT.

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HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
TIM DAY.—Morning, 3h. 15m.—Afternoon, 31.1. 35m
To-Monnow.-31druing, 3h. 57m.—Afternoon, 4b. 18m,

'
"Ara.
'..r442W"fir'LN ‘lll

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JAMIARY 3, 1866,

A painful interest attaches itself to the letter
which H. JEAFFRESON, MM., late resident
medical officer to the London Fever Hospital, has
addressed to the Times. It concerns a subject
which ought to be taken up at once, and dealt with
discreetly and vigorously. The letter commences
with a reference to the communication made the
other day by the secretary of the hospital, in which
he asked fcr assistance from the public, and stated
that for the last month the daily average of patients
was 260, and during the last four years the number
of cases amounted to 11,589. Mr. JEAFFRESON truly
adds that such a statement proves the unsatisfactory
sanitary condition of the metropolis, and therefore
we are sure that the public must turn with interest to
peruse this report here given of the state of those
portions of London most affected by fever. The
object set forth here is a very desirable one ; it en-
deavours not only to announce the effect of the
evil but to do more, and seeks out the cause. It is
truly stated here that the details of our low house
property district and its surroundings may well
furnish a type of all others, and a more depressinc,
subject of contemplation can hardly be found than
this picture of the dwellings of the poor, or tpphus
nests, as they are appropriately called. The supply
of water is most deficient in the first place. The
best supplied among them have a butt holding
80 gallons, into which the water flows from a
stand-pipe for half an-hour a day at the utmost,
and this quantity is supposed to be sufficient for 20
persons for the purposes of washing themselves, their
houses, and clothes ; in other parts a less quantity
of water is furnished ; and on Sunday even this
scanty supply is absent, and the water required for
the Sunday cooking is begged for from neighbours
who are better off in this respect, and, as is quaintly
put here, are more provident or " more dirty."
The wretchedness and misery of this mismanage-
ment cannot be misunderstood, nor can we overrate
the extreme unhealthiness of such a system. To
add to the bad state of things often these
water-butts are so constructed that they have
no covering ; < Hence the drippings from the
houses are received with the insufficient
scanty supply, and the result may be imagined.
This water question is one which should
be seen to without delay, as so much mischief en-
sues from the present condition of affairs in this
important respect. ne backs of these houses are
also in a disgraceful state, and so foul and offensive
is the condition of them that the inhabitants have
often to shut the windows that look out on them.
Can anything be more provocative of fever than
such a state of things, and can we wonder that so
many cases present themselves to notice when such
horrors abound ? These houses are divided, gene-
rally speaking, into three classes, the first of which
is a numerous one, and contains four rooms ;
I, wet walls, sodden floors, and loose ceilings, and
roofs permitting the rain to come through ; another
class has no means of regular ventilation or stair-
case windows, so that the inhabitants of the upper
rooms only breathe the unFue air fror4 the lower 1

fact is, that all these matters require re-organi-
sation, and ought to come under the notice of the
authorities. Old systems are pursued in important
departments which call loudly for change and re-

form. The interests of the public and the
welfare of the community demand that the sani-
tary condition of our poor be greatly im-
proved ; and nothing can excuse hesitation and
delay when time is precious, and the seeds of
disease and death are being sown broadcast in the
abodes of poverty-. It is stated here that much
harm results from the difficulty encountered in
" dealing summarily" with the property of thought-
less or culpable landlords. These men adopt the
system of underletting two or three deep ; they thus
get large profits out of the unhealthy houses in
paying rents, for which " the hard-ground poor
have to support a set of persons whose interest
is all concerned in frustrating the efforts of the sani-

tary officers."
It is sad to reflect that when all possible reforms
have been made, in a sanitary point of view,
much evil will abound on account of the
very bad state of the houses themselves. In
the busiest parts of London acres are covered
with two-storied houses, where, if lofty, well-built
houses occupied the same space, far greater numbers
could be accommodated, and health and conveni-
ence alike studied. The Society for Improving the
Dwellings of the Poor have dose much in the right
direction, but it still remains a very up -hill
task. One point of encouragement may
be furnished in the fact here stated, that
the poor in " squalid quarters" pay such high rents
that there is a hope that rebuilding their homes
might bring in direct profit to the " shareholders
as well as the ratepayers, and that part of the com-
munity whose fortunes are made and maintained
by the health and labour of the working classes."
During the approaching session nothing of more
interest and importance can engage the attention
of Parliament than the condition of the poor. It
would seem as if the present state of the laws
affecting sanitary matters was so constituted as to
encourage those who prey upon the poor, keep the
wretched from ever raising themselves out of their
low condition, and render the homes nests of fever
and hot-beds of disease. It is quite time that a
change for the better took place ; and if the adop-
tion of remedies be much longer delayed, some un-
favourable season will develope the evils now ger-
minating, and we shall have an epidemic of an
alarming and extensive character pervading the
metropolis, entirely brought about by mismanage
meat and neglect.

The intelligence which we receive from the United
Statesby the City of Boston is of some importance.
President JOHNSON is evidently determined to show
that neither the threats nor intrigues of the Radi-
cals can turn him from the just and patriotic course
upon which he has entered. He has lately taken an
important step by setting
aside the Pro vi Provisional
o thea l
Governor of South Carolina, and directing
Governor Elect to assume office. South Carolina,
as every one knows who has followed the fortunes
of the war, was the very stronghold of secession,
and therefore the substitution of the Governor
elected by the people for the provisional authority
appointed by the Washington Government, is
a great gain in the work of reconstruction,
and affords the Southern people an additional proof
that President JOHNSON is resolved to rule over
them in accordance with constitutional law and
national feeling, not with that rod of iron which
the Puritans of New England would fain wield
over all who differ from them. Meanwhile, in the
Senate, there are tokens that the Radical party
begins to feel that the temper of the public is
opposed to the extremity and intolerance of their
views. Mr. ve-
he believed the rebels
a Senator, said that, although
with the PRESIDENT
against freedmen, to be committing outrages
he had no issue to raise
that with regard to h. upon the subject, and
he had no
is honesty and patrotism
Inis o 4 •
party would, he added,
vilonogks. The Democratic
in vain fora conflict
between- the Republicans arid the PRESIDENT in
. TEVENS
in that House. Mr. RAym
os speech etehc
eh
sienp
acroant
et an v
oe
fit t
ti ohne
rebellious
ef
b eillious States from the
olw made a powerful
lr S
's doctrine
Union, though he considered they should be called
upon to give a new guarantee before being admitted
to representation in Congress. The Southern
members elect have held a meeting, at which they
decided ton disperse and return home, assembling
again in Washington on the 4th of March.. The
great question of Southern representation still re-
mains unsettled, though it is absolutely imperative, for
the interests of both white, and black that it should
be decided. The Radical portion in the House of
Representatives are troubled with no scruples as to
differing from the President. On the 18th, Mr.
THADEUS STEVENS made a most intemperate
harangue, in which his/ policy towards the
South was plainly indicated. He declared
that the rebel States were " dead as to
all national and political action," " dead carcases
lying within the Union ;" and he stigma-
tised those who uphold the theory of the
Union ' haying never been really broken as I

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 3, 1866.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ITALY.

MARSEILLES, JAN. 2.

Letters received here from Rome announce that
the Pope had written to the Emperor Napoleon
stating that he would accept funds from the Italian
Government for the payment of a portion of the
Pontifical debt, but without renouncing his rights
With respect to the former provinces of the Church,
without treating with the Italian Government, and
without recognising the September Convention. It
is added that the Emperor has not yet replied to the
letter of His Holiness.

His Majesty, however, is said to have previously
offered to guarantee the transmission to Rome of
au annual sum proceeding from the Italian Govern-

ment.

FLORENCE, JAN. 3.
It is believed that Signor Scialoja, the new Mini-
ster of Finance, will maintain the budget as drawn
up by Signor Sella, with the exception of the army
and navy estimates, in which he will endeavour to
make further reductions.

HUNGARY.

HERMANNSTADT, JAN. 2 (Evening;

The Imperial Rescript has been forwarded to the
Transylvanian Diet, which promises that the repre-
sentatives of Transylvania will shortly be summoned
to the Diet at Pesth.

SPAIN
MADRID, JAN. 2

The Correspondencia of this evening says :
" The Government knows the revolutionary pro-
jects of those who mistake forbearance for weakness,
and, in any case, is certain of defeating them."
MADRID, Dec. 30.
The passage of the King and Queen of Portu-
gal through Madrid has again revived the idea of
Iberian unity, to which for some time past the
Liberal press have frequently reverted. The So-
berania Nacional publishes minute biographies of
the young sovereigns, dwelling upon the identity
of origin and interests of the two nations, and
indirectly advocating Iberian unity. The Nove-
dades and Iberia welcomed the visit of Dom Luis
with the warmest congratulations, eulogising his
sincere constitutionalism and his love of liberty,
which had secured to him the respect and affec-
tion of his people. The Refornza, while considering
Iberian unity as utopian, desires that the closest
alliance should subsist between the two countries,
and that facilities of communication and treaties
should daily strengthen the bonds of interest be-
tween them.

The Senate will assemble to-day, to elect the
permanent committees and the committees for draw-

ing up the reply to the speech from the throne.
The moderate and clerical Opposition in the
Senate steadily continue their efforts to secure the
defeat of the Government in that Assembly. The
moderate faction has already given proof of
its activity at the election of the secretaries, in
which the Government candidates were only suc-
cessful, after a strong contest, by 10 votes. It is
reported that Senor Arrazola will bring forward in

the Senate one of' the amendments relative to the
policy of Spain towards the Holy See, and that an
amendment will also be presented referring to the
course adopted by the Spanish Government with
the prelates.

The speech from the throne is unfavourably com-
mented upon by the Madrid press, with the excep-
tion of the strictly Ministerial organs. Vague-
ness and obscurity, particularly in the paragraph
upon Italian affairs, are the faults objected to by
several Liberal organs, while the clerical papers
ask what are the rights of the Holy See which
the Government professes that it will protect,
when it has recognised Italy, and allows the clergy
to be openly and violently attacked in its new organs.
The Novedades says—

" We remark in the royal speech one of the greatest
defects possible in a document of this nature. It is
not in harmony with the political condition of affairs,
neither does it depict the state of public opinion ; it
conceals the evils that threaten us, and presents no
suitable remedy. While praising the army, the navy,
the Senate, the Congress, and the Government itself,
it contains not a single phrase, not one word of re-
gret for the cities invaded by cholera, which have
given an example of virtue to the world that it will
be difficult to erase from the hearts of the poor."
The Reforma considers that the speech reveals the
singular anomaly that the Ministry have no general
policy. It says :
" Upon international relations the Cabinet has
not known what to say. Neither in Europe, Asia,
nor America, where our flag confronts the enemy,
does it know what it wishes, to what it aspires, nor
for what it imposes sacrifices of blood and treasure
upon the country. In speaking of Italy it employs
a phrase unsuitable and ambiguous which says
nothing. Respecting the war with Chili it is satisfied
with stating the fact, and is silent with regard to
Peru, except in erroneously alluding to difficulties
as past which may well be considered to have revived.

Finally, the Epoca, in its summary, has the fol

Lowing :

" As an exposition of doctrine, and an anticipatory
announcement of what is to be done in the present
legislature, it has deceived many expectations. From
the first point of view (continues the Epoca) it does
not even speak of the solution of all conflicts by
means of liberty, although it promises respect for the
laws ; from the second, we only find mentioned a few
measures, some old, as that of the diminution of ere-

dits, others that have been taken up and abandoned
at different times, like the municipal law. Although,
to speak truly, nothing of this should be disdained,
it appears to us there was no motive to represent the
Liberal Union as a transformed and rejuvenated
party, full of life and vigour, and ready to under-
take, without resting from the work, the political,
moral, and material regeneration of Spain."

RUSSIA AND GREECE.
ATHENS, Dec. 24.
M. Novikow, Envdy Extraordinary and Minister

Plenipotentiary of the Emperor of Russia to this

Court, presented his credentials to King George a
few days ago, upon which occasion the Envoy de-
livered the following speech:—
" Sire,—The Emperor, my august master, has
deigned to appoint me his representative to your
Majesty. In calling me to this honourable post he
desired me, sire, to convey to you the renewed and
unalterable expression of his affectionate sentiments
towards your august person, with his friendly good
wishes for the destinies of Greece. These wishes,
sire, are those of entire Russia. I am happy to have
been selected as the interpreter of our ancient and
cordial sympathy with the Hellenic nation—a sym-
pathy constantly renewed from the source of a com-
mon creed, and to which such noble recollections
are attached. Sire, my august master has deeply at
heart the prosperity of Greece. He will congratu-
late himself upon seeing, under your Majesty's
sceptre, and with the patriotic assistance of your
people, those great principles of public order which
are the surest guarantee of that prosperity become
more and more consolidated. I have the honour
to hand your Majesty the letters accrediting me as
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of his Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, and
venture to hope, sire, that your Majesty will deign
to grant me the precious encouragement of your
goodwill in the performance of my mission."
King George replied :
" M. l'Envoye,—l am touched by the goodwill
constantly displayed by his Majesty the Emperor
of All the Russias towards myself and the na-
tion with whose interests lam charged. Greece
has never ceased to entertain sentiments, of the

liveliest- gratitude towards Russia, as one of the
Great Powers who have so nobly and generously
contributed to the consolidation of her independence,
and who Piave overwhelmed her with benefits. As
chief of that nation I entirely partake its sentiments,