The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-23 00:00:00

MR. WILLIAM HARRISON.

A complimentary benefit to this gentleman is
arranged to take place on Monday next, at Covent
Garden Theatre, under very distinguished patronage.
It may be fairly said of Mr. Harrison that he
has done more than any living man for the
cause of English Opera, and in his attempts
to found it a home has impoverished himself,
and now that he is afflicted with severe illness
he stands in need of this tribute to his
talents as a singer, his enterprise as a manager,
and his worth as a man. While associated
with Miss Louise Pyne in the management of
Covent Garden and other Theatres, Mr. Harrison
produced the following works :—" The Rose of
Castille," " Satanella," 46 Blanche de Nevers,"
" Bianca," " Armourer of Nantes," and the " Puri-
tan's Daughter," by Balfe ; " Lurline," the " De-
sert Flower," and " Love's Triumph," by W. V.
Wallace; "She Stoops to Conquer," by Macfar-
ren ; " Ruy Blas," by Howard Glover; " Victorine,"
by Alfred Mellon ; " Court and Cottage," by F.
Clay; " Romance," by H. Leslie ; " Fanchette and
Punchinello," by W. C. Levey; and the " Lily of
Killarney," by Benedict. It was to Mr. Harrison's en-
terprise that the public was indebted for the excellent
English versions of " Dinorah" and the " Domino
Noir," both of which were placed on the stage with
a completeness that only liberality could effect. It
will be seen from this list how earnestly Mr. Harri-
son worked in what proved to be a disastrous cause,
and we sincerely hope that the public, remembering
his past z3al and energy, will rally in strong force
on Monday next and prove their appreciation of big
services in the advancement of the lyric art in this
country.

The Rev. T. B. O'Donnell, Catholic chaplain to
the Brownlow Hill workhouse, Liverpo3l, writes to
the Times to correct au erroneous statement m ide
by Sir M. H. Beach in committee on the Poor Re-
lief Bill. The hou. baronet is reported to have said
on that occasion that " the guardians of the poor in
Liverpool, taking into consideration the fact that
the majority of their paupers are Roman Catholics,
have appointed a Roman Catholic chaplain to their
workhouse with a salary of £3OO a year." Mr.
O'Donnell replies that there are upwards of 4,000
paupers in the workhouse, and that two chaplains
have been appointed to minister to them—one a
Protestant, the other a Roman Catholic.
The Pro-
testant receives for his labours £3OO a year, the
Roman Catholic nil. The Roman Catholic rate-
payers of the town have repeatedly claimed that
their chaplain shall receive pay equal to that re-
ceived by the Protestant chaplain, but the guardians
steadfastly decline to accede to their request.
Emboldened by their successes in Wales, the Mor"
rnbns have endeavoured to break ground in Liver-
pool. Few persons out of the principality are aware
of the immense encouragement which the emissaries
of Brigham Young always find in the Welsh coun-
ties, especially in the southern parts. The miners
are allured by the promises held out to them of
getting " land for the asking," high wages, and a
comfortable home in the Salt Lake settlement, and
they gladly abandon a life of toil for the fairer pros-
pect which is pictured to them. The Mormon elders,
however, seek chiefly for girls, and many a house-
hold in Wales loses its best female servants once or
twice a year, owing to the persuasions of Mormon
preachers. These young women are generally told
that polygamy forms no part of the Mormon reli-
gion or practice, and that its alleged existence is
mere wicked calumny of the " Gentiles." In Mon-
mouthshire the progress of the sect during the last
few years has been amazing, but it is impossible to
estimate it properly by statistics or returns, because
the " converts" are taken out of the country as fast
as they are won. In Liverpool the Mormon pioneers
did not find a promising field the other day. TWO
of them began to preach in Sheil Park, but they
were mobbed and driven from the spot. it is not
usual for Mormons to resort to this method of pro'
selytizing ; they prefer to work unnoticed, and
" lead captive silly women." The elders are not
men to be discouraged by the displeasure of a single
crowd in Liverpool.

From a recent Parliamentary return supplied
from the Poor Law Commissioners' Office in Dub-
lin, it appears that there are 78 unions in Ireland is
which a third meal is not yet allowed to the several
classes of healthy inmates of the workhouse, and
that there are 55 unions in which workhouse inmates
are not provided with shoes and stockings, not"
withstanding the strong remonstrances of the poor
Law Commissioners against the continuance of these
practices as being calculated to be injurious to the
health of the inmates. Mr. Cogan has given notice
of his intention to bring the matter under the notice
of the House of Commons before the end of the
session, and it is to be hoped Lord Mayo will be able
to give a satisfactory answer.
It seems no longer to be a secret that the Irisll,
Church Commisssioners have unanimously resolved
to recommend that from out of the twelve remain-
ing bishoprics four shall be abolished, and that the
incomes of the rem tining eight shall be £3,000
year for each of six bishops, £4,000 or £4,500
year for the see of Dublin, according as it shall b3r
a bishopric or archbishopric, and £6,000 a year f°
the Archbishop of Armagh. An extra allowance °f
£5OO a year for each bishop whose turn it is t° eit
in Parliament is also recommended.—The Recor°
ANOTHER FIRE FROM THE HEAT OF THE 5t
The present hot weather, besides drying up AlIa).0
every description of vegetation, except the staple Artic,s,
of wheat., threatens to do an incalculable amount of ior..
chief to waterside and other large depots. Irosth.c
day forenoon, between nine and ten o'clock, a telogrlt:a
message was received at the stations of the Ifetropoucof
Fire Brigade that the extensive tar factory at 1101%es
Wick had been fired by the heat of the sun. The ongt-
quickly attended, and the fire was soon subdued.
BRITISH COLLEGE OF HEALTH, EUSTO,--nOA stPt
LONDON.—health- a
LONDON.—calth secnred by. Morison's VoEotable
Medicines. Read the worka of Janae3 Morison,Morison, the ay vio •nr
Vacs te,etion.-o.tWertiecin mt.]