The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-11 00:00:00

FUNERAL OF

OF THE TREASURY.

" My Lord—We feel it our duty, as members of the Libe-
ral party in the House of Commons, who have generally
supported your Government, respectfully to express to you
the anxious concern with which we view the present state
of the public expenditure, and to request for the subject the
very serious consideration of the Government in preparing
the estimates for the next session.

" We cannot but hope that the enormous expenditure of
the current financial year was forced upon the Government
against their will by an unhappy combination of circum-
stances. Its amount, however, was so far beyond what has
ever been known when the country was not engaged in a
European war, that a great responsibility will rest on the
Government and the House of Commons if it should not be
materially reduced at the earliest opportunity.
" The foreign relations of the country at the close of the
year are such as to encourage a reasonable confidence in th •
maintenance of peace. The war with China is at an end.
The Italian revolutions appear to be issuing in the estab-
lishment of the constitutional rule of Victor Emmanuel
over the Peninsula, whilst the neutrality which has been
observed by England is acknowledged both at home and
abroad to have been the policy of wisdom. Above all,
our relations with France have become decidedly amicable,
having obtained the guarantee of a Commercial Treaty
favourable to the interests of both countries, and being
made still more friendly by the abolition, on the part of the
Emperor, of the passport system in France, especially on
behalf of the subjects of her Majesty.
" Under these cireumstances the country will naturally
expect a considerable reduction of our warlike establish-
ments from the extraordinary scale of the present year.
"We would also invite attention to the civil and miscel-

laneous expenditure of the country, which has for many
years been in course of rapid and extraordinary increase,
until it has reached an amount which loudly demands re-
vision and retrenchment.

3We are convinced that retrenchment will prove the

truest policy of the Government as the only method of
meeting the financial exigencies of the State, satisfying the
expectations of Parliament, conciliating the good opinion of
the commercial and monied interests, allaying the dissatis-
faction of the taxpayers, and preventing the loud outcry
which would inevitably arise in case of another unfavour-
able harvest or any check to the public prosperity.
" We are compelled to say that we should view an ex-
penditure for the coming year approaching that of the cur-
rent yaar with great regret an disapprobation; and we
believe that that would be the feelings of our constituents
and of the country at large.
" We have, therefore, thought it right to offer these sug-
gestions in a friendly spirit to your lordship, and we trust
they may not be thought unworthy to receive the serious
consideration of the Government—We are, my lord, your
lordship's most obedient servants."
Amongst the signatures already obtained are those of Sir
James Duke, Mr. R. W. Crawford, Mr. Baines, Mr. Brim
tow, Mr.Buxton, Mr. Crossley, Mr. Ewing, Mr, S. Gurney,
Mr. R. Hanbury, Mr. Mellor, Mr. Pilkington, Sir J.
Shelley, Colonel Sykes, and Mr. J. A. Turner.

TILE DROWIYINO OF AN ARTILLERY-
SCBNE.

Particulars of the following distressing case
only now transpire. On the morning of the New
Year's-eve, a small dingy on Thorn Island, at the
entrance to Milford House, and which was used by
the men of the coast brigade for communicating
with their large boat anchored about 60 yards off,
was washed away by a heavy sea. Gunner Burke
having volunteered to swim off to the large boat
which his comrades were anxious to procure in
order to go after and recover the dingy, fastened a
rope round his waist, and giving the other end to a
comrade, jumped into the sea ; but the rope being
too short by three or four yards, another piece was
immediately added. In the meantime Burke was
carried by a strong ebb tide below the boat, and
called out .to his comrades to haul him on
shore. In attempting to do so, unfortunately,
the rope parted at the joining just made, and the
gallant fellow was left struggling against a
strong and a high sea, and hampered by the rope.
round his waist, was drifted further from the
island, calling in vain for help. His poor wife, who
was daily expecting her confinement, and her three
children, were witnesses to the scene, and mingled
their wild and frantic shrieks of despair with the
piteous gurgling cries of the drowning husband
and father.

At this moment Bombardier Kay, a married man,
with a wife and four young children, plunged into
the sea from a high rock, a sharp frost prevailing
at the time, in order, if possible, to save his com-
rade ; but although a good swimmer and a power-
fully-built man, six feet six inches in height, he
could not stem the strong current and terrific sea,
and after struggling for nearly a quarter of an hour
in the water, was himself nearly drowned, when
fortunately a huge sea dashed him, bruised and
senseless, 20 or 30 feet high among the rocks. The
moment he recovered his consciousness he endea-
voured to jump in again, but was restrained by his
comrades, who informed him that poor Burke had
just sunk between two seas. The latter rose to the
surface shortly afterwards quite dead, the back of
his head and shoulders being visible over the water.
At this moment a large sea-gull perched on the body
and commenced picking at the head. Thus the body
of the drowned soldier, with its lonely freight,
remained in sight for nearly two hours, and was
gradually drifted out to sea and lost to the bewil-
dered gaze of the widow and her orphans. It has
not since been recovered.

Two days afterwards Mrs. Burke gave birth to
another child. Her forlorn condition, bereft of her
husband and only source of support, and left on the
world with four orphans, one of them a cripple, calls
for sympathy and compassion. It is to be hoped
that the Royal Humane Society will recognise
such noble conduct as that evinced by Bom-
bardier Kay. Subscriptions in aid of the widow
will be received by Col. Brown, Pembroke-dock,
commandant of the Royal Artillery in the district,
who is exerting herself on her behalf; and also by
the Rev. Charles Hort, chaplain to the Forces, Pem-
broke-dock, who has furnished us with the fore-
going narratiye of this sad affair.

THIS DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

The whole of the vessels recently reported in the river
with English wheat have still their cargoes on board,
owing to the severity of the weather. No sales, therefore,
took place on board ship to-day, but the samples which
reached us by land carriage from Ess6x and Kent were
disposed of at quite Monday's currency.
There was a slight improvement in the demand for
foreign wheat, and about an average business was trans-
acted, at extreme rates. Floating cargoes were almost
nominal. Fine barley was quite as dear as last week, but
very low qualities of foreign were a dull inquiry.
There was a moderate demand for malt, and late rates
were well supported.
Good and fine oats were rather dearer, and other kind•
supported previous rates.
Both beans and peas were scarce, and quite as dear as
on Monday. We have no change to notice in the value
of flour.

ARRIVALS THIS WEEK.
Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
English..
Irish.. — 1,000
Foreign.. .. 5,770-- 8,850 j 500 lacks
3.220 brie.