The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

way abated. It mattered nothing whether the
muse of Mrs. HEMANS was oiled in to apos-

trophise—

" The cottage homes of England I"

Or, still more—
" The stately homes of England,
How beautiful they stand
Among our tall ancestral trees,
The glory of the land."
Nothing would do to assuage the indignation of
the Staffordshire agriculturists. Perhaps it would
have been better, under the circumstances,
to• have changed the subject altogether, by
a dexterous turn of oratory: and—so doing—
by the aid of a kindred poetess, by the help of
the muse of ELIZA COOK—to

"--pledge our native land,
The ploughshare of Old England,
And the sturdy peasant band."

It would have carried Mr. WEGUELIN'S irritated
agricultural audience with him even there, we
cannot but think, had he improvised a toast (out
of the list) with the closing words of the ditty of
our great Song-writer—

" Fill up, fill up, with glowing heart,
And pledge our fertile land,
The ploughshare of Old England,
And the sturdy peasant band."

As it was—at the close of this tiff between Mr.
WEGUELIN, of the Bank of England, and those
particularly sensitive and thin-skinned agricul-
turists of Staffordshire—one cannot help remem-
bering the impressive words addressed by PORTIA
to NERISSA, in the second scene of the Ist act of
the Merchant of Venice, " If to do were as easy as
to know what to do, chapels had been churches, and
POOR MEN'S COTTAGES PRINCES' PALACES." Still,
as one step in the right direction, we may yet have,
either from the Whigs or from the Tories (it mat-
ters little enough which), that Transfer of Lands
Bill which was last session so cavalierly set aside.

One of the best measures of the last session, if

can be but carried out in actual practice, was the
creation of the Post (Vice Savings Banks. We

need not say much in the way of explanation, since
a penny tract supplies all the information wanted,
and can be obtained for distribution, post free, at
7s. per hundred, ftom T. P. LEMARE, 42, Pater.
noster-row. The tract commences with the follow-
ing condensed statement.
The following important advantages are offered
to the public by the Post Office Savings Banks :-
1. Government security.
2. Interest at the rate of 21 per cent. per annum (being
sixpence per year, or id. per month, on each £1) is
allowed.

3. Sums from Is. and upwards are received.
4. Money can be paid in and withdrawn every day.
5. Money deposited at one office will be repaid, if desired,
at any other office in England.
6. Depositor need not attend personally to deposit or
withdraw money.
7. Married women, children, and trustees may deposit.
8. All forms and letters on the subject pass free of postage.
9. Deposits freo of stamp duty.
10. Facility of settlement in case of death of depositor.

To which should be added, that all officers en-
gaged in the Savings Bank or Departments are
bound not to disclose any matter relating to the
Department, except to the Postmaster-Geheral and
his appointed officers. This is, of course, highly
important, since the depositors of shillings, as
little like to have their pecuniary affairs disclosed to

their neighbours, as those who keep a banker's
balance of thousands of pounds.

A:little experience will test the practicability a

this excellent scheme ; and may possibly suggest
some amendments. We do not observe, however,
that any are needed. The object is perfect security
against fraud on the depositors; and the precau-
tions taken for this object seem to be as complete
as possible. If the depositor suffers his book to be
made use of by those who would rob him, it is but
just he should bear the loss of money
withdrawn by his own carlessness ; but if
the servants of the post-office are guilty
of fraud upon him, the Government will
bear the loss. If the interest be not high, it
is sufficient for perfect security; and the depositors
may be assured that in that all-important point
they are as safe as possible, as there will never be
an English Parliament which will not hold these
deposits as the most sacred entrusted to their care.
We trust that clergymen and ministers of all de-
nominations, schoolmasters, large employers of
labour, and all persons who have much access to
working people, will not fail to draw their atten-
tion to the new savings banks. They will be doing
a most benevolent deed. The banks will soon be
brought home to every neighbourhood, and facili-
ties for the safest investment of savings will be
afforded, such as have never been known
before. We ' all know that nothing tends
more to raise the character of the working
man than the independence created by economy,
and providing in a measure for futurity. We
would not depreciate any of the existing modes of
providing against future wants, but it strikes us
that there is something more elevating in the con-
sciousness that a man has a certain sum in the bank
of which he is absolute master, than in having the
right to claim aid in virtue of a subscription. The
latter is indeed good, very good, and desirable ; but
cannot the working man often do both ? Can he
not place something in the bank to use as he pleases,
as well as something in the society's treasury to
accessible only in case of sickness. The two com•
bined would be probably the best and most plea
sant provision he could make for the future.

Kossturr.—A letter from Genoa, written in an
Austrian spirit, says that Kossuth's recent visit to that
city was to endeavour to bring about a reconciliation be-
tween his party and several prominent members of the Hun-
garian emigration who have entirely detached themselves
from him. The attempt, it is added, proved unsuccessful ;
Klapka was very cool towards him, and other well-known
refugees would have nothing to say to him. Turr alone,
the writer maliciously adds, "in his capacity of a new mem-
ber of the Bonaparte family," seemed indisposed completely
to turn his back upuu the great Hungarian agitator. The
letter also speaks of the great activity displayed in naval
constructions at Genoa as well as at Leghorn and Spezia,
and says that the naval officers boast that by the spring
the Italian navy will be more than double the strength of
the Austrian.
BLONDIN AT SOUTHAMPTON.—BIondin performed
at Southampton, yesterday, in Bannister-park, before
10,000 persons. Excursioa trains laden with passengers ran
on all the South-Western lines during the day. Just before
the performance, one of the poles, 100 feet high, on which
the rope wasrstretched, broke, and the cord had to be fas-
tened to one of the loftiest trees in the park. Blondin was
received with the greatest enthusiasm. Such a crowd as
went to witness him has not been seen in Southampton for
many a day. The nobility and gentry from all parts of the
surrounding neighbourhood came to witness the exhibition.
THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.---A letter from Magde-
burg of the 18th says :—" A disgraceful scene occurred here
yesterday evening in the Friedrichstadt faubourg. Two
officers who commanded the reserve of the 38th Regiment
passed through Magdeburg after midnight, and knocked at
the door of em aubet ye, the Rainbow, for which Lieutenant
Sobbe had a billeting ticket. The waiter of the hotel, who
was asleep, was not roused until the officers had knocked
for some time, and hesitated opening the door, not knowing
who was there. When he did open it Lieut. Sobbe ran
him through with a sword. The officers then took to flight,
thinking they had not been seen, but the noise aroused a
neighbour, who opened his window. One of the officers
immediately struck at him with, a sword, but the man
escaped the blow, which broke the window. Other people
ran up, and the officers would have fared badly if the patrols
had not protected them. Before morning the waiter of the
hotel died from his wound.
EXPORTATION OF CORN TO FRANCE.—Our people
have but a faint idea of the demands made upon English
corn markets by French merchants. The following facts
connected with the corn market and port of Ipswich will
tend to illustrate the extent of trade done. The shipments
of one firm have already reached 30,000 qrs., and they are
engaged to ship 20,000 gra. more to the same destination.
The quantity of flour they have shipped and are engaged to
ship is about 10,000 sacks, and the amount of money drawn
from France during the eight or nine weeks they have been
engaged in these operations already exceeds £lOO,OOO, and
will fall, when all is shipped by the merchants of the port,
but little short of double that sum, which, drawn from the
other side of the Channel and distributed over the country
districts, must be as refreshing to the farmers as rain is. to
thirsty ground.
AN IMPUDENT THEFT.—On the day of her
Majesty's embarkation at Ross Quay a gentleman of this
town, whosename it is unnecessary to mention, was relieved
of his watch—a twenty pounder—in a very ingenious man-
ner. Anxious to have a good view of her Majesty, and at
the same time remembering the golden lesson, that—
He who a watch would wear, two things must do—
Pocket his watch, and watch his pocket, too—
very wisely, as he deemed, placed his hand on the valuable
horologue in such a way that, while in that position, no-
thing but force could abstract it from his waistcoat. One
of the "swell mob," however, perceiving the too demon-
strative care taken of the watch, procured a small bramble,
and tickling the verdant one under the ear, who, fancying
at the moment that a "Killarney mosquito" had perched
on his neck, incontinently raised his hand to brush the in-
truder off, when, "hey, presto 1" the watch disappeared
Cork Constitution.
THE PIPING CROW OR MAGPIE OF NEW
SOUTH WALES.--It is not uncommon for eggs of the same
species of birds to vary so much both inform or colour as to
cause doubts as to their being really produced by the same
species. Dr. G. Bennett, in a communication to the Zoo-
logical Society, states that this is very much the case in the
eggs of the piping crow. "On Aug. 25, 1860," says Mr.
E. Ramsey, who forwarded specimens to Dr. Bennett, "the
first magpie's eggs were taken this season. I have six
varieties of the eggs of this bird, and so much do they differ
from each ether that, had I net taken them from the nest,
I could not have believed them to be the eggs of the same
bird. All the young birds I have taken from the nest have
had the breast of a dull brown colour ; and a young bird
brought home from the nest in 1859 isnow (1860) changing
the plumage of the breast to black." The eggs of the red-
tailed tropic bird also vary very much in appearance. •
The Wanderer, referring to the accounts from
Montenegro, expresses strong doubts of Omar Pasha's soon
achieving decisive advantages in that quarter, and draws
a disheartening picture of the obstacles he has to contend
with. From Servia we hear of military organisation
on a very considerable scale. According to the Frank-
fort Journal, the army is to consist of 45,800 infan-
try, 2,400 horse, 1,200 artillerymen, 980 sappers, and six
batteries. It is to be divided into five commands, or
corps. Every Servian, from 20 to 50 years of age, is
liable to military service. By this plan it is hoped to form
a landwehr, or reserve of 50,000 drilled soldiers, available
at any moment. It is a question with some whether Aus
tria and the Porte will not protest against this augments.
ton of the Servian military force. The new law of t txa•
tion divides the taxpayers into six classes, and includes
churches and convents, as well as charitable institutions,
both public and private. The Prince of Servia is expected
to make his entry into Belgrade on the 27th inst.
TRAVELLING IN INDIA.—We (Oudh Gazette) have
heard of a most extraordinary occurrence which has just
happened to an officer travelling with his wife from Meerut
to Mussoorie. On the way he was seized with cholera, and
at some place beyond Roorkee, feeling himself getting worse,
he took a rather liberal dose of brandy and laudanum, which
threw him into a state of total insensibility. The doolee

bearers, discovering this, set down the doolee, and delibe-
rately stripped him of everything he had—his ring, his
watch, his clothes, his boxes, his bedding—leaving him
literally naked. His wife, who had remained back to bring
up the baggage, coming up a short time afterwards, was, as
may be well imagined, rather astonished to find him in the
state she did, still insensible. She, however, did her best to
clothe him with a portion of her own garments, and brought
him in safe to Mussoorie. When he recovered he remem-
bered nothing of what had happened, save that he had been
dreaming of something very awful occurring. The case is
before the magistrate, but little hope seems to be entertained
of the discovery of the robbers.
GERMAN HONESTT.—Germans are rather apt to
boast of honesty and fair dealing as national characteris-
tics, and they may be justified in so doing, and in setting
dots n as exceptions that prove the rule the examples of a
contrary nature which occasionally are heard of. Rather
a strong instance of this kind is cited to-day by a Vienna
journal. An English family of five persons occupied, for
three days, several rooms in a large hotel at Salzburg.

. .
When about to depart they were presented with a bill 0;
1,100 florins, or about £7B• This trifling was demurred to ;
the chief of the party addressed himself to the authorities,

and, leclaring that
_he objected to pay on account of the
imtudonce of:, the charge, not of the largeness of the
sum, proposed that the bill should be taxed, and

that the sum deducted from it should go to the charities o

the town. Thereupon he handed over to the magistrate
the 1,100 florins, and left the place. The consequence of
this very judicious mode of proceeding was that the bill
was forthwith. reduced by 500 florins, which were handed

over to the fund for the poor. The name of the hotel is not
given, but the paper which tells the story advises German
travellers to follow the Englishman's example. It may be
doubted whether German travellers are often exposed to
such extortions, and, considering the wonderful examples
of justices' justice that have lately been occasionally wit-
nessed, it may bo held still more doubtful whether the
Salzburg Boniface would have had to submit to so heavy a
reduction had not his victim put the town charities in the
position of the plaintiff in the suit.

BOIMMIAN SUPERSTITIONS. —On this curious
subject we find a highly amusing article by Baron Ernouf,
in the Revue Contemporaine. According to the Bohemian
creed, tho festivals of the Virgin Mary used to be held
t.a.!red even by animals; and bird, for instance, took pecu-
liar care not to work at their nests on those days. The
cuckoo, having infringed that custom, was cursed, and
obliged to wander perpetually without ever having a nest
of its own. The following Pagan custom has survived in
_ . .

Bohemia in some localities of the circle of Budweis

When a marriage takes place during carnival time, a cock
is sacrificed with great ceremony. The victim is seleoted

and fattened with the utmost care at least a fortnight be.

forehand. On the day prescribed for the sacrifice the cock is

subjected to a regular criminal trial ; they dress it up in a

pair of trousers, a grey mantle, and a red cap ; two of the

persons present are the prosecutors; a third, with a big
book in his hand, plays the part of a judge, and pronounces

sentence on the culprit, amid the applause of the bystanders.
The cock is then carried in great pomp, preceded by music,
to the public square, where a platform has been erected,

with his executioner by his side, dressed in red, with a cut-
lass in his hand. Before the execution, all the bystanders
solemnly ask the cock's pardon ; then the executioner per-
forms his office; the dead body of the victim is carried

home processionally, its head is given to the accusers, and
the rest is roasted and eaten. Another singular custom is
observed in the village of Ghebsel, where, on Shrove
Tuesday, the you girls of the place get up before day-
break, go and sit, distaff in hand, upon a dog-kennel, and
there spin for a few minutes, thinking thereby to secure to
themselves a good year's work. In order to render thi
. .

ceremony lully ef•icious, it is absolutely requisite that it
should be performed in that peculiar costume under which
Fainters represent Mother Eve; night, however, fortu-
nately casts a discreet veil over the scene.