The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-28 00:00:00

of the metropolis are only too well known amongs

its inhabitants. All these obstacles, in the majo-
rity of instances, might be easily evaded, of course,
by the very simple arrangement securing to each
house an independent supply of its own. Supposing
there were such a supply always on hand in
each house—or let us here make, at any
rate, a strictly reasonable proposition—supposing
there were such a reserve supply as we are
speaking of (as so desirable) in each street—a hose
immediately connected with this might readily
enough pour a sufficient quantity of water upon the
commencement of a fire so as to extinguish it, in the
majority of instances, before ever a parish engine
could arrive ! The possibility of any house or of
any street securing this adequate safeguard from
destruction by fire, the Water Companies deny to
all houses and to all streets, by the system at
present authorised (in their interests) by thetupreme
authority of the Legislature. The obstacles raised
to this end by the Water Companies, so that they
can thus effectually shut the public at large from
any such rational safeguard, have been thus
tersely epitomised by our able contemporary
the Daily News :—" Their total charge," says
our contemporary, while referring thus to the
Water Companies, " Their total charge on
a dwelling-house is made up of a variety of
items. There is first a rate of 4 per cent. on the
rental. Then there is a charge of 4s. to 12s. per
annum for each single watercloset, bath, or high
service, and of 2s. to 6s. per annum for each addi-
tional convenience of such nature. A high service
is a delivery of water into a cistern more than 10
feet above the pavement. Thus, every new cistern
on an upper floor involves a payment of 2s. to 6s.
per annum, although not a drop of water may be
wanted from it or may flow into it during the whole
year. In like manner, every extra watercloset in-
volves a similar annual expense, though it is toler-
ably obvious that it involves no additional con-
sumption of water or other extra expense to the
companies." Here then are clustering together
what are generally nuts to our M.Ps.—grievances
upon grievances—public grievances sorely requir-
ing immediate removal, with a view to the preven-
tion henceforth of countless (otherwise inevitable)
catastrophes. We heartily commend this subject
for legislative interposition to the energy and to
the humanity of our metropolitan representatives.
Whoever may take the matter up at last in genuine
earnest, may now most effectively and (we are
sanguine) effectually point the moral and adorn the
tale of these same grievances by directing attention
anew to the insignificant origin and the gigantic
consequences of this last Great Bonfire, costing
£2,000,000 !

The address delivered to the London Scottish
Rifle Corps on Saturday by a veteran countryman,
no less distinguished as a soldier in the regular army
than Court CAMPBELL, Ist Lord CLYDE, was in
every syllable of it full of hearty encouragement.
It must have been singularly gratifying to the
gallant members of that distinguished corps of
Volunteers. And beyond their ranks its every
syllable cannot fail to be welcome among all classes
of their fellow-countrymen. Nothing in the way
of commendation could at one and the same time
have been more warmly, more cordially, more judi-
, ciously discriminative, or more eminently soldierlike
throughout. " Gentlemen," said Lord CLYDE at

the very outset of his remarks—
" Gentlemen,--I feel gratified in expressing to you the
very great surprise and admiration with which I have seen
you go through your work. You have shown, in all that
you have done, a degree of steadiness that evidences the
excellence of your instruction; and I should be very sorry
to be considered as flattering you when I tell you that from
what I have seen •f you to-day I would just as willingly
lead you into action as I would any regiment in the regular

army."
Surely the very highest kind of commendation
that could possibly fall from the lips of a dis-
tinguished soldier, who has himself occupied the
responsible position not merely of a General of
Brigade, but of Commander-in-Chief of a royal
army ! Lord CLYDE immediately went on to ob-
serve to the London Scottish Riflemen on Satur-
day—

" Gentlemen,--I say this as the candid opinion of an old
soldier, and one proud of our nationality. And when I say
that lam surprised at the steadiness and soldier-like way
in which yeu have manieuvred in every position, I may tell
you that, of course, I expected a good deal from Scotchmeni
and men who, in general, are drawn from classes starting
with greater advantages than those who mostly enter the
regular army. What has surprised me has been to observe
the perfect silence in the ranks, and the exactness of your
formations, which indicates obedience and attention to
orders; and knowing that you have been only about 18
montb• in existence, I am sure that you must have
laboured very hard, and you must have shown a great
deal of devotion to have already (and that, too, in addition

-- - -
to performing all your various duties in society) acquired
those very qualities which distinguish the old soldier, and
make him valuable—perfect quietness, obedience, and atten-
tion to orders. Gentlemen, an old soldier possesses these
qualities through long training, which enable his general
and his officeis to rely upon him. And should you be called
upon (which God forbid), I may say, from the machine which
I have seen at work to-day, that you may be relied upon
in action as well as upon parade ; and, indeed, after having
13:ien once in action, you would go into action a second
time with confidence, and you would experience then for
yourselves the value of those qualities which I have spoken
of, and which it has gratified me so much to see you pos-
sess."

There is a valuable significance, by the way, in
every one of those simple but earnest words, com-
ing as they do from the sound judgment, the brave
,tenfaamedous in so many different
like Lord
oarndd
CthLeyDexE experience of a Veteran
quarters of the globe, long before he gained his
peerage at the point of his keen sword, as the
the ranks
valiant Sir CoLIN CAMPBELL. But, not con-
tented with encouraging his young compatriots
here enrolled and disciplined in
of the London Scottish Rifle Corps, not
satisfied with encouraging them thus with these
cordial and hitherto generalized words of mingled
approval and advice—Lord CLYDE gave proof posi-
tive to his hearers, on Saturday, that in uttering
these agreeable and thrice welcome words to them,
at once as an Old Soldier and as an Old Scotch-
man, he was by no means speaking with random
carelessness, or out of mere complaisance. He ob-

serves :
" 1 have watched your ranks closely, and have oDsCrVel