The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-15 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Parish. I•s powers and obligations at law, as
regards the welfare of every neighbourhood; and
in relation to Vie State ; its officers and com-
mittees ; and the responsibi ity of every pa-
rishioner. With illustrations of the practical
working of this iustituti,on iu all secular affairs,
and of some modern attemp's at ecclesiastical
' encroachment. By. Toulmin Smith. Second
edition. Pp. 682. H. Sweet. •
-Pre-eminently among the institutions of our
country, and one of those affording the fullest scope
for sound and useful local action stands that of
the Parish. It is the one which 'has fallen least
into disuse, and the opportunities and powers under
which only need to be more widely known to
. be again as a..tively and valuably exercised as they
were formerly, and have been until a very late
period. To extend thi knowledge of these oppor-
tunities and powers, the above w rk has b-en
written. In it will he found something that coo;
cerns every parishioner, as well those who are out et
office as those who are taking their share in the
duties owing by all towards their neighbourhood.
Mr. Toulmin Smith shows us that it is the duty,
as well as to the benefit, of every man to take all
interest in the welfare of his parish.
But the oljects of the book will Le best shown
the author's own words :

" The parish, as a practical institution, is the sub'
ject of this book. Its object is to shoe the practical use
and value of the parish in all the social and secular re'
Minns of men ; the pi aotical duties and rights of eeery,
rarishioner ; and how best that use and those duties may
be babitualiy realised."
Mr. Toulmiu Smith begins at the beginning, 64
goes to the bottom of the whole ma tar. He trace°
the history of the parish, showing that it was seq:
lar in origin, and that tool( siasical arrangemeou:
were adapted to " the pre-existing secular division't
oft e land.", He points out the importance 1:)..
local action in small communities, and the need f°'
the adaptation—by some of the overgrown parishes
of the metropolis, for example—of the ancient sir
tem of self division into, wards and townsbl4'
The powers of parishioners, in vestry assemble°,
are stated and explained, and are also
trat• d by a variety of quotations from origin!.
records of the proceedings of different parishes
England. These powers are much larger than 1
now commonly supposed ; and are shown to et3l,:e
brace the ordering the removal of nuisances, t".,
executing works of drainage and sanatory impr°ll;
'news, the making of any needed rates, thepuni,
ment of officers, ;so that it is the fault of t'
parishioners themselves if they be not well g°.
verned, or have not wholesome dwellings.
Tue history and duties of each of the psl4'sllse
officers are gone into, but more particularly til°,s,
of the churchwardens and surveyors of highsil:Le
thew being now of the greatest importance.
chapters on " Constables" and " Watch and
will IT found very interesting and instructVoi
especially at the present time, when the subjec'et
public prosecutors is before the public. The 001
sity fur keeping responsibility as the fundan3eld
principle of a constabillary is very forcibly 'pnil3.osl
ottt ; and the great utility of the coroner's tnq tit
to a true system of watch and ward, and to
public safety, is clearly shown.
The original purposes of Church Endowroe
and their later perversions, are treated on at °1:10
length, in connection with points of inattou'igi,
general interest and importance. A mass of 01.1;i11
nal authorities are also quoted to prove__wbattl
astonish some of our readers no doubt—that 1,1
consecration of burial grounds is illegal by the
of England. The practical importance of this, °co
ject is now being deeply felt in very many
under the New Burial Acts.
Very interesting, to lovers of the "goodj:
times," will be the chapter on " Parish Rec°sll
where, among other quotations, more author:dr
arocollected together on the subject of parishiteel
vale, and their social benefits, than we hay°
able to find elsewhere.
The sale of a large edition of this work ill I
years, shows the appreciation of its merits blo
public ; and we sincerely hope, for the belie
society, •that the large additions made in this se
edition will make its usefulness still more felt, -
that it may have a widely-spread circulation.

We are informed that, in con,equence of rePreri
tationa which have been made to the Colonial4s,
two companies of the Royal Canadian Rifles hace,'
ordered to proceed to the Red River settlement, to a's
tafn order among the 9,000 British suajects
' under the arbitrary and anomalous rule of the
Bay Company, and to restrain the access of theee.aii
diens who, in defiance of the supposed restre-
the company's chart. r, are determined to trade odi
the territory. With the example of Newfogel4
before him, Mr. Labouchere should be careful bees.,
ignores the unanimous wishes of the Canadian por
Morning Post.
dlO
DISTURBANCES AT MALAGA.—GIBRALTAR, A r
Private letters from Malaga, received by the
steamer Ville de Lii•bonne, report that martial Ise s'
proclaimed in that city on the evening of the 22'.
Rueeours of conspiracies had 'prevailed, and: e°
precautions observed amongst the troops for a fo,
before. All the taverns were ordered to be ele4i
the 25th, and the same measure was adopted
lowing day. The proclamation of martial law weal
with a band of music and a strong escort. Fourtes
sons bad been arrested, and part of the troops 10:1;
pied the Ua,tle. On the 26th everything was croo.
only change observable in the city being an fide
number of sentinels. Arrests have alio been sae
menial law proclaimed in Jean.
HOLYHEAD HARBOUR.—A wand !blasting Os
is to be executed in the werks of Holyhead lifer "°,i
Thursday next, the 21st inst. The elevatioe
quarry face to be operated on is 120 feet, the 1-I°,l
mountain itself being 780 feet above the sea leveilor
quartz rock to be operated on is estimated at Is
tons ; the total charges of gunpawder, divided ie
will be 18,000 pounds ; the power of the galvaes'tt
tery 48 cells. Messrs. Rigby, the contract ref?
given every facility for informing the public of tb.i,
display of explosive power, which creates much I,
among engineers. Sir John Burgoyne, Colcie°le,
ham, and other officers from Chatham and Wef,'
besides several eminent engineers, British aria
are expected to be present.
isOf
A GIRL of FOURTEEN* KILLED BY A ; 0
FIFTEEN.—At Kirkham in the Fylde, about 13',1/100
from Preston, on Tuesday last, about seven
the evening, as some children were playing in Poi
a quarrel arose among some of the gals, and aBttiboel
thrown ley which a boy named John Howell, e
years old, the son of a hawker, was in some eel
yoked, He was at the moment cutting oui sii"di
toy is called, with a clasp knife, and turning re `it,
denly he stabbed a gal near him, of the-name scis
intim, in the neck. The pier girl, vvha toi4
danghter of a labourer in the village, walked d,
her home, but bad not got far before she faint' t al"
was then carried home, where she died shoos ejt;
diately, without saying a word. The boy decaol,P
hid himself in the fields till Wednesday moraiee'
he gave himself up to the police. etiletC
SALOON OMNIBUS COMPANY.—One of the 'lath
meetings which have been lately held in the 001:e041'e
omnibus travellers of the outlying districts sit' di*
the Britannia Tavern; Hackney, last evening
Richardson, of Bisbopsgate street, in the e-„aeLl
speakers, who were principally resident in ria°lecrsi
its neighbourhood, complained of the inadeqtesaV
modatioe provided by the Genera, Omnibus Lie.cssis
who,have neglected the repeated applications whtbely
been made to them to increase the number of Bop ,r
hicles, and to improve their conditit,n. The r‘ssis
this meeting, which in numbers and enthool...'ecl.lip;
passed any other that had been held on the eubioeeS
resolution was unanimously passed pledging theoi
to support the company by taking shares eels
dreds of which were taken:in the rootn), and sofq
theite friends to follow their example. It was ird 00)
that the result of similar meetings already be,' fir
ordering of upwards of 50 omnibuses, wbi°l'
course of construction.
ass ese;
SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY.—From a E- r
receipts and expenditure in the current half-Ye t i/halloo
venue account it appears that the receipts ne bof
pany's railways for four weeks ending the O Po'si'
amounted, for passengers, parcels, mails, go°";fg
69,1171. 6s. 4d., less collection and deliver' ya e
2,1551. lls. 11d., leaving 66,9611. 14'al 57561',
receipts for rents and sundries amounted to," g3'
nd 7d., a for the steampacket service to 3,4l6`'ischie.4
together 71,8651. Pa. 6d. The expenditure/ ,sefl,iit
ra,es, taxoe, tolls, Government duty, and CrliOist
steampacket service, amounted to 36,2151. 161';ias
the net profit on working 35,6401. 14s. 6d, ounte
bia
receipts for the eight precening weeks aTi.lo'
116,749/. 11s. 7d., which, added to tbea7l,Bso"pdag Dr
makes the total receipts for the 12 weeksetot
25th of April 188,6061. 2s. id. Flom this fee tse
tl
ducted 76,5401. 12s. 2d. for the expenses °,`,, Pr et
preceding weeks, and the above 36,2101. lu":atOrd'
four past weeks, waking together an exPeiels,
112,7561. Bs. 2d., and leaving 75,8491. 13'1dd',
net profit on working the company'a relni
steamboats for the 12 weeks ending the 25'1
LIGHTING RAILWAY CARRIAGES WITH GAsike 7„11,
experiment eas tried by Mr. Knapton. Ist tiarrA
Foundry, York, which threw ens to rev ° e
eiS
'Yates(' of lighting railway carriages. Serf: ioteeo
ago Mr. Knapton teok out a le, telt f
col t sivav"
called " dry geeoneeer," and this cald.
has now fixed to the bottom of a flepa,
Toe gasometer can be 'filled by means el )8
tube from any of the station. mains. The ealsje 19:4:
diced into the compartments of the car aril sSo
ordinary -piping, and can be turned
(70100140'i
pleasate. The Great Northern Railoay a col' gr'
ipg
given directions to Mr. Knapton to fit uPdoptatid. o,
this manner, and should the plan be a
ectiletot
re
saving will be effected eted a brilliant light
_isite 1,0
gasometer will con ain more gas than is re.slsets
journey tit m York to London. Three P.a.-.4A1 p
nine feet of gas in the hour, and, taking
itia° Jaw ti
six hours, a consumption of 54 feet will a lia_t ?",,
cost of little more than 2d.,
is. 6d. This is an immense saving to the t
eeeortittee
compared with it the expense of the ee,
—Northern. Daily Express,
1
as against a oaepie