The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-15 00:00:00

RAILWAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans 1365 .. 1363' 75
Northern

New ditto B7O ..
Lyons and Mediterranean 896 25 .. 895
Geneva 370 .. 370
Southern 505 .. 505
Western
Eastern
Sardinian
.72

Austrian
Loir bard N 462 60 .. 03 75

PRUSSIA.

A letter from Berlin, dated 12th January, says :
"To avoid misunderstandings in the Holstein
question, allow me to observe that Prussia has not,
as some papers have announced, made a separate
motion at Frankfort. The Prussian envoy, in
explaining in the sitting of the Committee of the
Diet on the 7th inst., in concert with the Austrian
envoy, the point of view of the two great German
Powers on the measures to be taken against Hol-
stein, only supported the motion made by the
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg on the 26th July
last. That motion proposed armed interven-
tion in Holstein, as resolved on the 11th Feb-
ruary, 1858, adopted (in principle) on the 12th
August, 1858, but provisionally suspended by a
federal decree of the Bth March, 1860.

" It is supposed that the Chamber of Represen-
tatives, on the occasion of the change of Sovereigns,
will this year vote an address in reply to the speech
from the Throne.

" General Bonin, ex-Minister of War, has arrived
at Berlin. The General will be sent to England to
notify to her Majesty the accession of the new
King. M. de Manteuffel has resigned his place as
member of the House of Representatives. The
Count of Flanders, Prince Murat, the Grand Duke
Nicholas of Russia, andthe Grand Duke of Tuscany
have left Berlin."

A Turin letter in the Independance affirms that
the French :fleet, on leaving Gaeta, will go to
cruise in the Adriatic, "in order to relieve the
Italian fleet of the painful duty of acting against
Garibaldi, in case he should persist in making an
expedition against Venetia."

LONDON; BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH. COAST
RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—I am instructed by the Board of Directors
to inform you that the accounts for the past half-
year having been this day submitted to them, they
have decided upon recommending the payment of a
dividend for the half-year of £3 10s. per cent. on
the consolidated stpck of the company, making the
total dividend for the year amount to 6 per cent.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
lan. 14, 1861. FRED. SLIGHT, Secretary.

TUE CAMBRIDGE PROCTOR AND TUE SPINNING-
HOUSE.—Yesterday, in the Court of Common Pleas, Sir F.
Kelly obtained a rule against the plaintiffs to show MIN
why a new trial eholild not take place.

TIIE DWELLINGS OF THE POOR.

ROMSEY, MONDAY.

A meeting, convened by private circular. and
attended by nearly all the landed proprietors of the
district, was held in the Town-hall of Romsey this
afternoon, for the purpose of taking into conside-
ration the best means of improving the dwellings
of the labouring classes. Lord Palmerston pre-
sided, and there were also present—the Right Hon.
W. Cowper, M.P., Chief Commissioner of Public
Works ; the Hon. R. Dutton, .M.P., Mr. W. E.
Nightingale, Sir George Shee, Mr. Fluder (mayor
of Romsey), the Rev. G. L. Berthon (vicar), the
Hon. and Rev. C. Harris, the Rev. F. H. Tragett,
Mr. Eyre, Mr. Lordan, &c.
Lord PALMERSTON, who was received with great
enthusiasm, in opening the proceedings, said—We
are met here, gentlemen, at the suggestion of our
worthy vicar, to take into consideration the state
of the habitations of the poorer and labouring
classes. The badness of that condition has been
long, especially in this town, the subject of remark.

I don't know, however, that we are worse off in
that respect than many other towns, but it is our
duty to look to what exists here, and endeavour, if
possible, to provide some alleviation and remedy for
the evil. (Hear, hear.) Some years ago, when the
cholera .prevail.ed generally, a very distinguished
medical gentleman happened to be staying at
Broadlands. At my request he made a medical
inspection of this town, and drew up a report, of
which a copy, I think, was given to the mayor for
the time being, and which is now in fhe possession
of the authorities of the town. He stated that there
was a great number of habitations which wera not
fit for the occupation of human beings, that they
were destitute of all those accommodations and con-
veniences requisite for a decent dwelling-house, and
that they were positively unhealthy owing to the
want of ventilation and the absence of a sufficient
number of cubical feet of space for each person who
lived in them. I believe that that report was
acted upon, and that a great deal of good resulted.
There was, I think, a committee appointed for the
removal of nuisances, who were very actively
occupied, and who, by their exertions, removed in
some degree the causes of illness which at that
time prevailed; but of course nothing could be
done, because the functions of that committee did
not include any measures for improving the habi-
tations of the lower classes. Our worthy vicar, who
devotes his mind most assiduously to the welfare of
his parishioners, and who is not content simply with
making provision for their spiritual welfare, but
also directs his attention to their temporal advan-

tage, has been exceedingly solicitous that measures,
if possible, should be taken to improve the condition
of these very bad habitations, of which I trust there
are not a great many, though I believe there are
still a considerable number. We are met here to-
day, gentlemen, to take this important matter into
serious consideration. I have no particular proposal
to make myself, but there are others here who, I
am sure, will suggest some means whereby the evil
may be alleviated. I therefore shall be glad, as you
I have no doubt, will be, to hear their opinions as

to the best means by which it may be possible to
remove the evil, and provide a sufficient and ade-
quate remedy. Having stated the object of the meet-
ing, I leave it now for any person who has matured
in his own mind the consideration of this important
subject to state what has occurred to him in the
course of his reflections.

Mr. COWPER, M.P.,—Having been called upon to
make a few remarks, I think I need not say much
as to the improvements—as to the necessity for im-
proving the dwellings of the labouring classes in
this country. In former times there was very little
knowledge and very little interest taken in the
subject by the public at large ; but, happily, in re-
cent years the inquiries of commissions, the infor-
mation which has been collected by the clergy,
by the medical profession, and by persons who
have turned their attention to the condition of the
working classes, and in a great degree the discus-
sions we have had in the newspapers, have brought
us to this point, that it is universally acknow-
ledged that one of the means by which we can best
assist in promoting the welfare of the labouring
elassva of the country is by doing something to
improve the dwellings in which they live. The pro-
gress of science and skill has at last raised a stan-
dard of decent habitation which is pretty generally
recognised as one that ought to be attained. I do not
think there is anything in which the progress of civi-
lisation is more apparent than in the changes which
have taken place in the homes and houses of the
people. (Hear.) We know that in the time of
Elizabeth, when there were no carpets, the floors
of even the best houses were strewed with rushes,
and we are told, in some of the contemporaneous
letters that have been handed down to us, that
when a ball took place, and the floors were cleared
for dancing, and the rushes were swept away,
there arose such a stench from the decayed vege-
table matter that even the most enthusiastic and
steadiest dancer hardly ventured to commence the
saltatory amusement until the effluvia arising from
the floors had in some degree abated. (A laugh.)
In modern times we have had great improvements
introduced, not only in the mansions of the great
and the smaller class of private houses, but espe-
cially in the dwellings of the cottagers. We have
had model buildings erected in accessible situa-
tions. In London we have many such models, and
on most well managed estates in the country you
will find that improved and comfortable cottages
have been built. I say again, there are no means
by which the poorest classes can be so well helped
as by improving their dwellings. (Hear.) It is a
perfectly safe method of assisting them. Charity
given profusely will sometimes induce working
men to rely too much on the benevolence of others,
and to relax their own exertions in earning their
livelihood. But in regard to their houses the
matter is entirely beyond their reach. The labour-
ing man has no means of building a house; all he
can do is to choose the best that is presented to him,
and it must depend on persons of capital what sort
of a house he can obtain. But it is wonderful
how much the mere influence of the Louse he lives
in acts both upon the mental and physical condi-
tion of the labouring man. (Hear, hear.) If the
house is built with walls too thin, if the outer-door
opens into the riving room, so that every time the
door is opened there is a rush of cold air into
the apartment, and the house is liable to con-
tinued draughts, and if the floors are damp, the
occupants become positively afraid of the fresh air
which ought to find its way in for the purposes of
ventilation, and exert all their ingenuity to stop
up every crevice that may exist, and thus expose
themselves not only to colds, but rheumatism and
ailments of a more dangerous character. Then,
agaie, if the mother of a family has not a proper
place in which to wash and dry the clothes, and is
obliged to carry on that operation in the living
room, the living room becomes untenantable to the
father and children, and they desire to get out of
it as often and as soon as they can. In my opinion,
that is the cause by which one of the greatest curses
of our country, viz., drunkenness, is promoted and
encourages'. It is the discomfort of a man's home
which induces him to withdraw from it whenever
he can, and resort to the public-house for comfort
which he cannot get at his own house. It is by
this accidental circumstance that he is led into a
habit of drinking, which he would probably have
abstained from if he had had a more comfortable
home. (Hear, hear.) Then, again, there is no-
thing that more conduces to the morality of a family
than having a decent dwelling-place. It is one of
God's ordinances that the family relationship shall
be the means of preserving the members of the
family from temptation and evil, and anything cal-
culated to make the home uncomfortable and
diminish the ties of family could not be too
much deprecated. (Hear, hear.) It is most im-
portant that the youth of this country should be
educated, but if, on returning home from school a
boy finds that the home influences do not coincide
with the moral lessons he has been taught, there is
a great risk of those lessons being deprived of the
greatest portion of their efficiency. (Hear, hear.)
If, instead of finding peace and comfort at home,
be finds discomfort, annoyance, and irritation, the
most evil consequences are certain to result. (Hear,
hear.) Now, I believe there is no way in which the
wealthy classes or this country can better spud ,

money than by improving the dwellings of the
poor. No doubt many cottages are in a satisfactory
condition, but still there are in all large towns and in
every rural district a certain number of dwellings
in which a proper state of decency, of propriety,
and of self-respeet cannot by possibility be attained,
in which health cannot be preserved, and in
which the whole moral atmosphere of the family
is tainted and deteriorated. (Hear.) I believe it is
pretty well understood by enlightened landed pro-
prietors that they have resting upon them the duty
of providing, as far as they can, that the persons
dependent upon them shall be well lodged, and I
don't think it will be found in most of those cases
in which complaints have been made that the cot-

tages belong to persons of capital. The evil gene-
rally arises where cottages, either in town or
country, are held by persons of small means, who
have not sufficient capital to enable them to im-
prove old or build new good houses at the begin-
ning, and, cons( quently, neglect a duty which their
position ought to require them to perform. I think
that the best means by which that difficulty can be
overcome is by the formation of a society, consisting
of kind-hearted persons, who will join in a sort of
joint-stock undertaking, and by subscribing shares
endeavour to put themselves in the shoes of persons
who, having small means, are yet possessed of cot-
tages unfit for decent human habitation. If we agree
to form such an association, I think I can foresee
many great benefits that will result, and at very
little sacrifice to those who are willing to enter into
the undertaking. If such a society were formed, the
first business would be to hunt out with great keen-
ness all the worst habitations ; following their
scent, they should then endeavour to detect the
most offensive portions of the town. They should
seek the open ditches and gutters, the places where
noxious gases are emitted ; they should follow a
picturesque eye and see where the cottage roofs are
most dilapidated, because, however well they may
look upon canvas, they are most repugnant to the
eye of a philanthropist. Having discovered the
worst portions of a town, they should endeavour
either to purchase the property or take possession
of it upon long leases. Then, if there are houses
which are discreditable to the neighbourhood and
the town, and in such a bad state of repair that they
cannot be improved, they should at once be pulled
down. But if the foundations are good and [the
outer walls are sound, the modus operands', should
be to convert the tenement from one of discomfort
into one of comfort and health, by closing in the
doors of the outer porches, by properly distributing
the rooms inside, and by providing bedrooms for
the decent accommodation of both sexes of the
family. Then the floor must be changed from a
brick floor into a boarded one, the walls must be
whitewashed, and a good grate provided, capable
of giving the greatest amount of warmth and
cooking power at the smallest expenditure of fuel.
(Hear, hear.) By these means a cottage may be
changed from a really bad, unfit, and improper
place of residence into one which the most benevo-
lent person might fairly wish to see provided for a
decent respectable family. The way has already
been trodden by many societies, one of which is the
Cottage Improvement Society as Hastings. The
society has now been in operation for three years
and a half. It has a capital of £12,000, in shares
of £lOO each, and has obtained possession of 100
houses. It has not built any, but has merely taken
existing houses and improved them. The gross
rents they have received have been about 11f per
cent. on the total outlay, and the net rental, after
paying rates, taxes, and insurance, has been about
82 per cent. They have paid every year since
they started a dividend of 6 per cent., and have
laid by a reserve fund amounting at the present
moment to £2OO. At Red-hill there is another
society, which has been in operation for three
years, and, in addition to an accumulating fund,
has paid its shareholders a dividend of 5 per cent.
The society at Windsor has also paid a per centage
upon its operations, In London the society esta-
blished in the Strand have directed their attention
to the renovation of old houses rather than to the
building of new ones, and they have realised a net
profit of about 41 per cent. The experience of
these societies shows that it is not, as people
fancy, a hopeless thing to get a fair interest
for money laid out in this manner. I may de-
scribe to you what the London society has done.
At Tindal's-buildings, near Holborn, they expe-
rienced great difficulty in obtaining possession of
the property. Before it came into their possession,
Tindal's court was known as one of the worst nests
of fever in the Holborn district ; but such a change
was produced by the improvement which the society
effected during the last year that there was not a
single case of low fever there at all. Another point
to which I ought to direct your attention is to pro-
vide lodging-houses for single men. In ordinary
cases it is found that a man living with a strange
family takes up the room that is wanted for others,
and he is generally driven to the publichouse. Thera
is one thing to be avoided in establishing these
societies. Care must be taken that the staff is not
so large as to swallow up the profit. I think we can
fairly establish this good work without any great
sacrifice, or without embarking in it any consider-
able amount of money. What we have to consider
is not merely a scheme of pure benevolence and
charity, but a proposal which, by an investment of
our money, will give us a fair interest, and enable
us to effect a vast amount of good. (Cheers.)
Mr. Dutton, M.P., the Rev. E. L. Berthon, and
Mr. Taylor having addressed the meeting,

The MAYOR moved the appointment of a com-
mittee for the purpose of forming a company, under
the Limited Liability Act, to carry out the otjects
of the meeting.

The motion was seconded and unanimously
agreed to.

The proceedings were then brought to a close by
a Tote of thanks to Lord Palmerston for presiding.

THE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.

An extraordinary general meeting of the proprie-
tors of the Polytechnic Institution was held yester-
day afternoon in the premises, for the purpose of
receiving from the directors a report of the present
position and future prospects of the institution.
The Rev. J. B. Owen occupied the chair. The
minutes of the previous meeting having been read
and confirmed, the report of the directors was read.
It sfated that they had purchased the leases,
stock, and fixtures of the late Polytechnic
Institution for the sum of £4,000. The
small amount of share capital subscribed had
enforced on the board the greatest economy in
making the alterations and repairs. The directors
having only one-half of the shares subscribed had
done their utmost to bring dawn the outlay. There
had been incurred for the repairs and alterations of
building, £5,013 lls. fiel.; for gas apparatus, fit
tings, views, &c., £366 Os, Bd. ; for wages, legal and
other expenses, &c., up to opening, £1,875
10s. 3d. The total on capital account in re-
opening the building to the public had been
£12,255. The number of shares taken was given
at 1,010, representing a capital of £lO,lOO. The
sum of £5OO had been received in donations, and
£2,000 had been lent to the institution partly
on a guarantee given by certain shareholders, and
partly on the security of the leases. The total
capital account received had been £12,908 12s. 6d.,
which left £653 9s. lid. in hand when the whole
of the uncalled capital was received, but against
which there was owing £1,500 on the loan before
mentioned. The current account, the report went
on to say, had not done much towards placing the
institution in a satisfactory position. In the
1860,a,.31a,instthe
sum
of
£Bll
the sum of
exs seven weeks
(lheadd.
b oe ee
fnndt
hi
ears
asgrle3dom
Dec.
might be considered inci-
dental to the opening season, and therefore the
expenditure might fairly be put down at £7BO, and
it was to be remembered that November was the
least remunerative month in the year. The directors
believed that a greater excess of receipts over
expenditure might be anticipated, and the two
weeks of the present year confirmed that opinion
to an extent which justified them in believing that
the institution was growing in public favour.
Either the shares at present subscribed for would
require to be fully called up without loss of time
to meet outstanding claims, or other exertions would
be required. The directors hoped that, seeing success
had so far been attained, the proprietors would
dispose of at least 200 more shares, which would
enable the institution to be carried on with advan-
tage to the public and the shareholders.
Mr. E. MAYHEW having explained in detail the
figures in the report, it was adopted.

I