The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-16 00:00:00

ZEE. SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY ETENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1861.

2±30,
—Speaking still ca guely of " a number of men" who
were amusing ti iemselves with shouting and
throwing their caps into the air like so
many larking schoolboys, Sir GEORGE ob-

served—" They 1‘ iere separated by the warders
of the civil gual re, and the remainder were
ordered by the CI oTernor to return to the prison.
They obeyed the order, and the remainder were

sent to their cells." Tile Secretary of State cer-

vainly adds hereupon that; ' the disturbance became

general," and adds yet fur,'..her, what appears to us
wholly incomprehensible an'il even ludicrotTs under

,he circumstances, that 4' Captain GAMBIER

remonstrated with them"—the' felon-rioters! But

immediately afterwards Sir G. LEWIS is contented
to observe simply, that " the military were sent for"
—without mentioning how mans of the military !
What followed last evening in the Home Secretary's
explanation is really worth looking at very care-
fully—" Before the arrival of th e military," re-
marked Sir GEORGE LEWIS, " the convicts broke
some windows and threw some stanes, but the
military on their arrival suppressed the outbreak
without loss of life, or any serious wounds, and the
prisoners were locked up." Surely nothing
simpler than all this—surely nothing at all here
that can be deemed in any way extraordinary !
One would never suppose, listening to these
very bland assurances of the Secretary of State,
reading what he said last evening from his
place in the House of Commons, that the Facts and
Figures of the cases were as they must now be
very briefly recapitulated—That the ruffians who
revolted on the 11th inst. in Chatham Prison num-
bered altogether from one thousand to fifteen hun-
dred of the most abandoned miscreants on GOD'S
earth !—that this formidable band of felons had to
deal in the first instance with an insignificant
minority of 150 warders who were quickly over-
mastered !—and this, not very wonderful to relate
under the circumstances, especially remembering
how the visiting director, Captain GAMBIER,
resorted to the extreme measure of actually
remonstrating with tie rioters in the very crisis of
the revolt, when they were showing themselves
to be most infuriated !—that the whole of that
huge convict establishment at Chatham was, for
two hours or thereabouts, completely in the
possession of these insurgent desperadoes !-=.
that during that interval of two hours the whole
interior of the prison was reduced to a complete
wreck—everything the miscreants could lay their
hands upon being smashed remorselessly, and the
building itself absolutely set on fire in two or three
different directions ! Knowing this, one cannot
but marvel to read the complacent assurance of the
Home Secretary that "some stones were thrown,"
and. that " some windows were broken "—when
scarce one whole pane of glass was anywhere dis-
coverable—when the riot was at length put an end
to, how we shall soon see—scarcely one whole pane
of glass was anywhere discernible in the entire
establishment.

Any one reading for the first time about this
outbreak of the convicts at Chatham by the light
of Sir GEORGE LEWIS'S explanation would hardly
guess that " the military " spoken of by the Home
Secretary numbered altogether upwards of ONE
THOUSAND BAYONETS ! Yet that was never-
theless absolutely the Fact these, in round
numbers, were literally the Figures. And it is now
regarded down in the neighbourhood of these disas-
trous occurrences as nothing less than absolutely
providential that the troops of the garrison were
all at their quarters—instead of being absent from
the barracks brigading—at the moment NN hen they
were summoned to quell those appalling disturb-
ances. Otherwise had they chanced to be away
from barracks at the time—the convicts, it is felt
certain would, in all human probability, have con-
trived to make their escape from the Prison before
the scattered troops could have been mustered.
Under which instructions, under the supposition of
which alarming contingency, it is the opinion of a
correspondent, writing as recently as yesterday from
Chatham to our contemporary the Morning Post—
"that the probable sacrifice of life and property would
have been appalling, as there is no doubt that 1,100
convicts loose would have completely sacked
Chatham and Brompton." Recollecting the for-
midable character of this revolt of the convicts at
Chatham, we do earnestly trust that the remark-
able solicitude yesterday manifested by her MA-
JESTY'S Home Secretary to make the best of it—is not
indicative of a predetermination on the part
of the authorities to hush the matter up
according to official custom as—inconvenient !
It is for the good of the public service
essential that nothing of this kind should
be attempted, or if attempted, should be for
one instant tolerated. Into these frightful
occurrences at Chatham Convict Prison the most
searching inquiries should be instituted—so that
the causes of them should be brought to light ,
and those who are in any way culpable dealt
with accordingly.

THE EARL OF DERBT.—Yesterday the Earl of
Derby, who appears to have lost all traces of his recent
severe illness, honoured Mr. Mayall, the photographer,
with a visit at his studio in Regent-street. The weather
was far from favourable to photographic manipulation,
but Mr. Mayall was fortunate enough to produce several
remarkably successful portraits, some of which, we under-
stand, are to be published.

The Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and family
do not intend to leave Dalkeith Palace for town until after
Easter.

The Duchess of Norfolk and family have arrived
at Norfolk House, from Arundel Castle.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Winchester
have arrived in town from Amport House, Andover, for

the season.

The Marquis and Marchioness St. Antonio and
Madame Costella have left the Brunswick Hotel, Jermyn-
street, for Portugal.

The Countess Dowager of Tankerville entertained
at dinner yesterday, at her residence in Hertford-street, the
Countess of Chesterfield, the Hon. Frederick and Lady
Adelaide Cadogan, the Earl Granville, the Earl of Shel-
burne, Count de Jaucourt, and Mr. Charles Greville.

The Countess of Mount Edgcumbe and Lady
Ernestine Edgcumbe have joined the Earl of Mount Edg-
cumbe at Farrance's Hotel, from Mount Edgcumbe,
Devonport.

The Earl and Countess of Lincoln are expected
in town early next week from Paris.
The Countess Cowley and the ladies Wellesley
have left town for Paris.

Viscountess Palmerston will have an assembly
this evening, and on Saturday next.

Lord and Lady Chelmsford entertained a select
party at dinner last evening, at their residence in Eaton.
square. _

Lord and Lady Egerton have arrived in St.
James's-square from their seat in Cheshire, for the season.
Lord Richard Grosvenor has just returned home
after several years' absence, during which period his lord-
ship has travelled in America, Australia, China, and Japan.

, .
The Hon. C. Bertie Percy and family have left
Guy's Cliffe, for Torquay.

Among the passengers who landed at Southamp-
ton yesterday from America, per Teuton, was Herr Formes,
the celebrated basso.

CHAPEL BURNT DOWN, AT BRADFORD.—OR
Thursday afternoon the Providence, Primitive Methodist
Chapel, Manchester-road, Bradford, was burnt down in
less than an hour, property to the value of £3,000 being
destroyed.

LONDON AND WESTMINSTER BANK.—The joint-
stock banks, at a meeting held at the London and West-
minster Bank yesterday, decided not to make any alteration
in their allowance on deposits. A similar resolution has
been adopted by the discount houses.
It is stated that a kind of joint-stock combina-
tion has been foamed at Manchester to purchase cotton in
India, America, or wherever it can be obtained. The ply.
posed sum is £1,000,000, each subscriber contributing
£l,OOO, and about £200,000 is said already to have been
paid &Tit

LATEST NEWS.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAIS.)

PARIS, FEB. 16.

The Moniteur of to-day conttins a decree,
according to which the raw tissue; of cotton des-
tined to be printed in France for re-exportation,
will be temporarily admitted free of duty.
The Moniteur also announces that Admiral
Charner has received the Grand Crum of the Legion
of Honour.

TERRACITTA, FEB. 14.

The capitulation of Gaeta was accelerated by
the explosion of two powder magazines on the
13th inst. The garrison remain prisoners of war,
enjoying military honours. Another article of the
capitulations stipulated that Franeis 11. was to be
free.

Francis 11., the Queen, the Princes, and the.
Ambassadors have embarked on board the Monette.
Francis 11. addressed an earnest farewell to the
troops, who were deeply affected, and cheered the
King. The Monette fired a Royal salute at the
moment of departure. The battery of the port
fired a salute of 21 guns.

PARIS, FEB. 16.

Reports are current here that the proclamation
of the Kingdom of Italy will not for the present be
communicated in an official manner to several Go-

perial rescript, and in favour of the electoral law'
of 1848. While on the subject, it may be as
well to call attention to an out-spoken article
in the Ost Deutsche Post, which reviews the
dangers now threatening the Austrian Empire,
and shows the urgency for adopting a new
policy, The following is part of the article :
" Things are in as bad a state as possible in
Austria. Her finances are deplorable; her consti-
tution is still in an embryo state, and no one knows
what will become of it. The Patent of October,
drawn up in haste, and executed with hesitation,
has precipitated us into a host of contradictions
and half-measures, of which it is not yet possible
to see an end; in many eases a want of 'good will
and of decision is displayed; and what is still
worse, we see no men of talent and character. And
yet, in spite of all these misfortunes and all these
faults, Austria will live. Attempts have been
made to unite the different parts of Austria by
force, by absolutism, by bayonets, but all in vain.
Let now a directly contrary line of policy be
adopted with energy. Let Austria be organised by
liberty and civil courage; let her not be centra-
ised at the green tables of Ministerial offices, but
et her be centralised in a great Parliament !"