The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-10 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN GOSSIP.

Are the springs of public charity running dry : It
would really seem so when we compare the magnificent
sum raised after the Hartley Colliery explosion with the
miserable amount which is all that has yet been sub-
scribed for the Clerkenwell sufferers. In the first case
more than £70,000 was xaised ; in the second a little over
£i,ooo. And yet the second calamity ought to appeal
even more strongly to the public than the first. Many of
chief victims are still living and requiring aid, and will
reauire it for many a day to come, whereas the Hartley
victims were killed at once: Then, too, the Clerkenwell
sufferers are to a certain degree representatives of the nation.
They suffered in a conspiracy against the nation, and they
have as much right to look to the nation for assistance as
the widows and orphans of the Hartley pitmen had to
look to the owners of the colliery. lam afraid it will be
found that Mr. Disraeli's well-intentioned grant did more
harm than good. It did, indeed, provide funds imme-
diately, but at the expense of future subscriptions. Some-
how, State aid and voluntary aid do not thrive well
together, and directly Government opens the public
purse individuals shut their own. Here is a text for the
advocates of voluntaryism to preach from.

Persons who take an interest in the working of th.
Reform Bill, especially in its local effects, are asking when
the Boundary Commissioners are going to make
their report. I may state that they do not intend to
make any report. The result of their inquiries has been,
or will be, made known to the Government, who will em•
body it in the Boundary Bill, which will be brought in
early in the session. Until that bill has been laid before
Parliament there will be little done in the way of elec-
tioneering. Candidates will want to know what the con-
stituencies are, and how far the alteration of the old
boundaries will affect the position of political parties, be-
fore they come forward.
I am sorry to say that gambling still goes on to •
ruinous extent in some of the London clubs. At one of
recent formation, but very well known, and strongly
political, a young member lost a few nights ago over
£lO,OOO. The worst of it is that one does not see how
this is to be prevented. We may shut up "hells," but
we cannot preveni. foolish men from playing for extrava-
gant stakes if they choose to do so. A new club—the
City Carlton—is now in course of formation, and it is to
be hoped that its members will chew greater wisdom than
their more aristocratic fellow politicians of the West
End. The first have quite enough of gambling in their
business.

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The North London Railway are making an experimen,
which is likely to have a very beneficial effect upon the
sanitary condition of London. For three or four months
past they have used anthracite instead of bituminous coal,
and the result is highly satisfactory. It would appear to
be an easy matter to substitute one coal for another, but
the change usually involves some trouble to the officials,
and is not made unless a necessity arises. In the case of
the North London, necessity came upon them in the shape
of numerous actions or threatened actions for damages for
the emission of "opaque smoke." By the use of anthracite
coal the company not only avoid all ground of complaint,
but effect an actual saving of several thousand pounds per
annum. The coal is found to be 25 per cent. more effective
than the bituminous coal previously used. Another evidence
is thus afforded of the fact that the emission of " opaque
smoke" is an unnecessary evil, and one which ought under
no circumstances to be allowed. The smokeless coal is as
applicable for fixed steam-engines as for locomotives ; it is
now used at the City Flour Mills and other places where
steam power is required.

The complaints respecting the working of the Indian
telegraph do not abate. Delay is not the worst part of the
mismanagement. The messages, when they do arrive,
are frequently utter nonsense. The errors in transmission
are ascribed to the obstinacy of the Turkish Government,
which refuses to employ a sufficient number of competent
clerks. Not long since a gallant young officer in one of
the Hill stations made a proposal of marriage to a charm-
ing girt. The young lady was willing ;so was papa, on
one condition—namely, that the suitor should obtain his
father's consent. Of course the lover would not submit to
the delay that must have occurred if he had waited for
an answer from England by post. He telegraphed
home, and received in reply a message wholly unintel-
ligible. There was not one word of sens 3 from beginning
to end. The young man did what most lovers would
have done under the circumstances—took the message
as read, considered that the consent had been given,
and won his bride. There was not much harm done in
this case ; in others the failure might be a very serious
matter. Another abuse has just been discovered in con-
nection with the Indian telegraph. Mr. Glass, the w. 211-
known telegraphic cable constructor, asserts that all
messages sent by the Government in England to the
Government in India are copied out in Paris and sent
to the French Government, which files thei. Clearly,
if this is the case, we ought to be independent of land
mutes, and we ought, to consider very seriously if the
proposed line from Falmouth to Gibraltaz
,And thence to
Sicily ought not to be proceeded with at once.

This year's Senior Wrangler will be, unless all the prophets
are wrong, the son of a Wesleyan minister, and the same
authorities say that next year's will also be the son of a
Wesleyan minister. It remains to be seen if these young
men will follow the example of Dr. Farrar, by joining the
English Church, and thus becoming able to enjoy those
prizes which are confined to Churchmen. It is not all
Dissenters at the universities who do this. There is still
an old Senior Wrangler at Cambridge—Mr. Aldis, who
remains a Baptist, and who therefore, while qualified to
act as a tutor, is not qualified to hold a fellowship. This
case is worth a good deal to those who advocate that the
honours and emoluments of the universities shall be freely
tkaVa_929u.tci all menl withouVmect 9f creed.