The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-27 00:00:00

Commence at 7.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.-
Lessee, Mr. A. Harris.
Re-engagement of the Wonderful Dancer, Mons. Espinosa.
First appearance of Mdlle. Marietta Rosetta, Principal Dan-
sense 7t La Scala, Milan ; and first time of the Delapierre
Family. These hiuhly-talented Children will appear every
night. The Royal Princess's Rifles on parade every evening.
THIS EVENING, (TUESDAY), the new drama, HOME
TRUTHS. Messrs. G. Melville, J. G. Shore, F. Matthews,
Miss C. Lec'ercq and Mrs. Charles Young.
After which, a new Christmas burlesque pantomime, by H.
J. Byron, called JACK THE GIANT KILLER ; or, Harle-
quin King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Jack, Miss Louise Keeley—Harlequin. Mr. Cormack - Panta-
loon, Mr. Paulo—Columbine, Miss Caroline Adams—Clown,
Mr. A. F. Forrest.

Morning Performances on Monday, January 0,16, and 23
commence at two o'clock.

MEW THEATRE - ROYAL, AD ELPHL
11 Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Benj. Webster.

Holiday Attractions.— The Christmas Carol and the New
Spectacular Extravaganza, by H. J. Byron, Esq„ the Nymph
of the Lurlyberg ; or the Knight anti the Naiades.
THIS EVENING, THE CHRISTMAS CAROL. Messrs
J. L. Toole, C. Selby, Paul Bedford, Stuart, Billington, C. J.
Smith. Romer; Miss Woolgar, Mrs. Billington,Mrs.Chatter-
ley, Laidlaw.

After which THE NYMPHS OF THE LTTRLEYBERG ;
or, The Knight and the Naiades. Messrs. Toole, Bedford,
Eburne, Smith, Powell, Romer, Miss Woolgar, C. Webb, K.
Kelly, Laidlaw.
Doors open at half-past six—Commence at seven. Box-
Office open from 10 to 5. No charge for securing seats,
nor for bills of performance. All fees to servants of this
establishment are strictly prohibited.
Acting Manager—Mr. Wm. Smith.

ROYAL ST. JAMES'S THEATRE,
King-street, St. James's. Lessee, Mr. T. B. Chatter-
ton. The nearest Theatre to Chelsea, Pimlico, and West-
minster, the Park being open to carriages and foot passen-
gers all hours of the night.
TA ES EVENING the performances will commence with
GARIBALDPS ENGLISHMAN. Messrs. Barrett and C.
Young.

Followed by a new sketch, A HOUSEHOLD FAIRY.
Miss Wyndham and Mr. H. T. Craven.

To conclude with the new pantomime of PUNCH, AND
JUDY. Introducing Miss Lydia Thompson and the Corps
de Ballet. Clown, Harlequin, Columbine, and Pantaloon, and
the wonderful Performing Dogs,
Reduced Prices—Gallery, 6d ; Pit, is. The Box-office open
from 11 to 5 daily. Doors open at half-past six ; perform -
ance commences at 7.

AsTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE,
Westminster-road.

Sole Lessee—Arr. William Cooke, his Farewell Season.

Great Attraction for the Holidays. The new bombastic
hippodramatic,eratic Pantomime, abounding in comicality,
called ' HARLEQUIN TOM MOODY ; or, Old Towler the
Huntsman and the Goddess Diana, with songspy Miss
Esther Jacobs.—Gorgeous and Dazzling mechanical transfor-
mation scene. Harlequin, M. Richarde ; Pantaloon, Mr. P.
Abbot, Columbine, Maddle. Mazzoni ; Clown, Mr. Hilde-
brand ; a family of Sprites by the Elastic lncomprehensibles.
Scenes in the Circle by the Star Riders of the World. Three
Morning performances of the Pantomime, and Scenes in the
Circle, on Monday and Saturday, Dec. 26 and 31, and Monday
Jan. e, 1860, at Two o'clock each day.

CANTERB UR Y HALL CONCERTS.-
EVERY EVENING. Sterndale Bennett's MAY
QUEEN.

And a Grand Se eetion from Meyerbeer'e new opera of
DINORAH.

Comic Vocalists —Messrs. George Hodson (the Irish Come-
dian and Mimic), W. 'l'. Critchfield, and E. W. Mackney.

Several interestinfr Pictures are added to the Fine Arts
Gallery. The suite of Halls have been re-decorated and
beautified, and constitute one of the most unique and brilliant
sights of the metropolis.
ROSA RONHEUR'S celebrated PICTURE of the HORSE
FAIR is now added to the already magnificent Collection of
Paintings in the Canterbury Hall Fine Arts Gallery. The
gallery is open from 5 till 11 on Sunday Evening.

THE WEATHER.—SIIN OFFICE, DEC. 27.
• THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
47—highest since noon yesterday.
40—lowest this morning and during the night.
47—this day at noon.
lisltommTsit-29.35—a rise of three-quarters of an inch
since yesterday.
WIND, South-Westerly; moderate,:with fine weather.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tuts DAY.—Morning, 3h. 44m.—Afternoon, 4h. 2m.
To-mon,now.-Morning, 4h. 19m.—Afternoon, 9h. 36m.

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THE SUN.
LONDON, TUESDAY, DEC. 27, 1859.

As a matter of course there will be laid upon
the table of both Houses, almost immediately after
the re-assembling of Parliament, authentic returns
of the different corps of Rifle Volunteers formed
throughout the United Kingdom, and of the num-
ber of those who have spontaneously and patrioti-
cally responded to the trumpet-call of this great
national. enrolment. The Earl GREY, in his ad-
mirably telling speech on Friday last, down at
Newcastle-upon-Yryne, rather underrated than
over-stated the aggregate numerical strength
already attained by these corps, when he
observed, "I hope that we shall soon be
able to reckon upon the services of 50,000
men—l should be glad if it were even double that
number—but, at all events, upon the services of
50,000 men, well drilled, and well taught in the
use of that formidable weapon, the rifle, ready at a
moment's notice to come forward in the defence of
our common country." There is no reason whatever,
indeed, that the aggregate number of rifle volun-
teers should stop at 100,000, or even At 200,000.
Let it be borne in mind that the total of the adult
male population of these islands may be taken at
very little short of 10,000,000; and then say whe-
ther a National Guard selected out of the youth and
strength, the vigour and energy of that grand
total Seed be regarded by necessity as having
reached its maximum at 50,000, at 100,000, at
200,000 ! Extraordinary as the advance has already
been in this grand onward movement, it has even
now—only commenced. If by this time we hate,
according to Earl GREY'S notion, already closely ap-
proximated to an aggregate of 50,000, it will take
but a comparatively brief while longer to have that
total doubled, trebled, quadrupled. Let this
work of enrolling but proceed as it has hitherto
been proceeding, and England will speedily have
a National Guard worthy of the designation.
Worthy of it, in the first instance, by its numerical
importance—worthy of it afterwards by its skill
in the use of the deadly weapon which yields it the
very title distinctive cf its armament.

Among all the numerous commentaries upon the
Rifle Corps movement that have recently appeared,
not one has been more clearly or more admirably
explanatory of its character than that from which
we have already quoted, the address delivered on
Friday by Earl GREY to the local volunteers (800
strong) down at Newcastle-on-Tyne. There is
only one previous comment upon the movement
that we conceive, indeed, to be in any way worthy
of comparison with it. We mean the impressive
harangue not long since delivered by Mr. ALEX.
KINGLAKE to his constituents at Bridgewater.
But, then, Mr.. KINGLAKE'S speech was
a comprehensive political oration addressed
to those Constituents in his capacity. as
::heir thrice-elected representative—his remarks
only referring incidentally to the significance of this
enrolment of Rifle Volunteers. Whereas the
uldress delivered by Earl GREY, on Friday, was

3xclu.sively directed to a consideration of that one

vitally important topic. It was an address, as we
lave taken occasion to observe before, delivered to

;he assembled members of the Volunteer Rifle

' Corps of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. After refuting
the arguments of those who would check the move-
ment by ridicule, as a movement unnecessary under
the circumstances, Lord GREY immediately added—
" Far be it from me to impute to the Emperor of the
FRENCH, or to the gallant nation which he governs,
that he or they cherish hostile designs against this
country." And observed further, " I am willing
to give him credit for those assurances of a friendly
disposition towards England which we are told are
constantly reiterated by the EMPEROR, but still I
say that within the last few years circumstances
have arisen which make it expedient that this
' country should increase its means of defence." Earl
GREY thereupon enumerated very pointedly a few
of the more important of these strikingly illustra-
tive circumstances. He spoke of France always
having a much larger military force than we have
ourselves. He reminded his hearers that in Algeria
alone our Imperial Ally has a land force there
four times as large as that of England.
He referred to the magnitude and efficiency of the
French navy, to her active preparation of a fleet
of steam transports, to the organisation during the
last few years throughout her dominions of a vast
and admirably united system of railroads, and
finally to the latest of all these " great facts,"
namely, that "at a moment when we were told that
she could not disarm, because she had never armed,
in an incredibly short space of time she was able to
assemble beyond the Alps an army of 200,000 or
300,000 men." Adding, " Now, gentlemen, I say
that when we see all these measures we are bound
to look to our own means of protection." Will any-
body gainsay the reasonableness of this ? " I have
no doubt," Lord GREY at once subjoined, " I don't
mean to throw any doubt upon the declarations of
the Emperor that these preparations do not imply hos-
tility to us, but when I consider the nature of these
measures, that they are not all of them of a defen-
sive character, I think it must be admitted that
their object is this—namely, that if France
should be unexpectedly engaged in war with
any Power she may be enabled promptly to
strike a severe, if not a fatal, blow upon her
antagonist. Now, gentlemen, it is possible that
we may be that antagonist; and if France is
ready to strike, I say we ought to be ready to de-
fend." It is a remark, by the way, not applying
to France exclusively, but equally to every
other Power or to any number of the
other powers combined. England, surely, in rea-
son, ought not simply now, but always, to be pre-
pared to defend: herself against any antagonist,
or any number of antagonists. She ought to pos-
sess at all times a naval force capable of preventing,
and ready upon any emergency (however sudden),
to prevent the landing upon her shores of any
hostile armament. And, together with an efficient
Channel Fleet, she ought also to have ever orga-
nised within her seagirt boundaries a National
Guard, skilled in the use of the rifle, and capable,
by means of her railways, of rapid concentration.
"A movement like this is only rational. "We
must not," as Earl GREY says, "owe the
safety, we must not owe the security of this land,
which has* been for centuries unpolluted by the foot
of an invader—we must not owe our safety to the
forbearance or to the good faith of any other nation
—but, under GOD'S providence, we must rely upon
ourselves." There is the good old proverb that
tells us " GOD helps those who help them-
selves." It is the recognition of the force
of this great truth, it is the vivid recognition
of it at last by England that has led to
the enrolling of her new National Guard under the
name of these Rifle Volunteers. It is an enrolment
purely Defensive. And one, therefore, that need
give umbrage to no ally, however sensitive both by
temperament and by propinquity.

The communications of Mr. MEclli and Baron
LIEBIG to our leading morning contemporary de-
serve notice. Long ago, before the construction of the
Metropolitan Parliament and the determination to
construct the enormous sewers for which we must
all pay so heavily, we insisted strongly on the im-
possibility. of such a system being the final one.
We knew, indeed, that it was hopeless to think of
staying the new-born zeal to carry off our sewer-
age by this sort of Cyclopean underground archi-
tecture ; but we felt then, as we now do, pretty
certain that in no great length of time these vast
constructions would be found to be useless, that
they would be used for drainage only, not for
sewerage. Our principal reason for thinking so
was that we had read with no little interest Baron
LIEBIG'S views on agricultural chemistry, from
which it follows with, we may say, ma-
thematical certainty, that the rejects of
the towns, as they came from the soil, and are
essential elements of its fertility, must, be returned
to it. The unwholesome effects of such vast quan-
tities of fever-producing fluids circulating beneath
our feet, and sending up their noxious effluvia
through innumerable apertures, as our senses can
but•too well testify, are indeed, a strongly corrobo-
ratory argument against the sewer system ; but
the main fact is that the excreta which form the
worst part of these fluids, are imperiously de-
manded back by the fields which have furnished
our towns with food for their inhabitants.
Mr. MEDIU and Baron LIEBIG are much in
the position just now of Col. THOMPSON and Mr.
COBDEN before the Corn-law agitation commenced
and gathered strength. They plead for a cause'
the justice of which is as yet, apparent
to a • resolute thinker only. It .is surmised
in regard to them, as it was in regard to the
Free-traders, that plausible as their case seems,
some overlooked considerations 'will turn up, or
that the rough-and-ready practice of agriculture,
as of commerce, can afford to laugh at the reason-
ings of philosophers, and of the few practical men
who are convinced by them. The misfortune of
the case is, that we must be prophets. The crisis
of the evil is not visibly urgent. Twenty or five
and twenty years must elapse before the guano of
the tropics will cease to be a substitute for our own
sewerage; for so long,at least, it is calculated that,
at an enormous price, we may bring across the
globe what might be supplied by good arrange-
ments at home, to the great advantage of the
health of our towns and the purity of our waters.
But we can hardly doubt that the time mast come
when, if war and pestilence, does not reduce the
populations of England and Western Europe, the
price of food will become one of the greatest diffi-
culties in the government and administration
of nations. We hardly need advert to the
notorious fact that the cost of bread has had not a
little to do with most revolutions from those of
ancient Rome to those of modern France. While,
however, food is at a reasonable price, and wages
on the whole good, LIEBIG and his followers may
be listened to, and thought clever fellows, but no
public action will follow. It required the stench of
the Thames for two or three years, and the flight
of members of Parliament from Westminster, to
compel the purification of the river. And it will
take high prices and discontents, and farmers com-
plaining of the impoSsibility of getting artificial
manures; and, above all, landlords unable for this
reason to keep Up their rents—it will require all
this to move our practical nation. The time must
dome, and When it does there will be a kind of