The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WE uNESDAY EVENING, JAAINUARY 15, 1868,

' farent result, owing to the unfavourable condition
of the weather, and more especially the great
amount of destitution and distress existing among
the poorer classes. Even as it is, it is grievous to
atse that three deaths are recorded from privation,
and it may well set men, considering where lies the
error in our administration that men and women
should die in our wealthy and charitable city from
" exhaustion from insufficiency of food," from
" destitution and exhaustion," from" want of food
and other privations." Such facts are startling,
and the more so as they are recorded from different
parts of London. One of these melancholy deaths
occurred in Westminster, one in Whitechapel,
one in Kennington in the public roa'l. Besides
these extreme cases, there are thousands, no doubt,
on the verge of starvation. The difficulties attend-
ing the administration of the Poor Law are very
great, both practically and theoretically. It is very
difficult to strike the just medium between giving
undue encouragement to laziness and thriftlessness
and neglecting to relieve those really unable to help
themselves. Again, there is the difficulty arising
from the undue pressure of the rates on the poorer
ratepayers. It seems absurd on the face of it to
declare that the poorer a parish is the more
shall its householders pay, yet such is the real
result of the inequality of our poor rates. If the
charge were actually equal all over London the
small shopkeeper in Bethnal-green or Mile-end
would certainly feel two shillings or half a crown
in the pound a much heavier burden than the
wealthy householder in llanover-square or Bel-
gravia. But, as things are at present arranged,
the poor man pays for the support of other poor
men five or six times as much in proportion than
his rich fellow-citizen. Why, the duty of support-
ing the pauper population is more incum-
bent on those with whom it is a per-
petual struggle to keep above the line of
pauperism themselves than on those to whom a
hundred or two is a matter of indifference may well
puzzle the inquirer ; but the fact that the existing
law recognises it to be so adds very much to the
perplexity of relieving the destitute. ' The official
scale of relief in Poplar is sixpence a day in money
and three 41b. loaves a-week for a man with a
wife and one child, and one additional quartern
loaf for every other child. A single man is allowed
3d. a day and three quartern loaves ; but in all
cases the money is only given for six days
in the week. In the winter 'weather .it
may very well be asked how a family can
keep above starvation at such a rate. Three shil-
lings a week will not certainly allow for paying
rent and buying coals, considering what rents are
even in the poorest parts of London. Six loaves
will be useful, no doubt, but two persons and four
children can hardly support life for seven days in
winter weather upon them. Poplar, however, is
rather a liberal parish. The average out-door re-
lief is at the rate of is. 4}d. in the Poor-law return
for December, whereas that of Stepney is Is. Id.,
of Whitechapel 11d., and in Bethnal-green only
9fd. per week ! Thus a man with a wife and one
child receives in the latter parish 3} loaves and
sixpence a week ; a man with a wife and three child-
ren 3} loaves and one shilling and sixpence. These
are plain facts, speaking for themselves, and the
natural impulse is to condemn the guardians. Yet
what can they do ? The ratepayers in the poorer
parishes are being summoned by the hundred. We
h and the other day of 1,000 defaulters in a
comparatively limited area. The bad times,
the depression of trade, and lack of employment
have pressed heavily on them as well as
on the labouring classes. Indeed many of them
actually belong to that class themselves. They
have not only to contend against high prices and
high rates, but they have for the talc
been losing (if shopkeepers) their customers.
Those who are now crowding the Board-room for
tr
lel lei
ierf
wwaegr
ees l a
isnt
tyheea r
little earn ingmoney a
shop
sof th e
irn d n
egh b o spendingur-
hood.
cir
rigid
ies
airateiciaoulni
rsoyofl ui
tnthitoeonmttehoter
oaappl
olpl
iiittcah:et eornaspt
rates,
brlaernmed-s
laisiemft,hoseroeethat impostors and drunkards may be de-
tected, and the money now fruitlessly expended
saved.

It is utterly useless at the present time for Trades
Unionists to try to get up any sympathy for their
cause, and all the meetings and protestations in the
world cannot make the worst appear the better side
of the argument. Their last attempt is to induce
Mr. GLADSTONE to be their champion, but we expect
that the right hon. gentleman will not be so easily
caught as they imagine and desire. Mr. POTTER has
sent a Circular to Mr. GLADSTONE, in which he
directed attention to a speech of that gentle-
man " denunciatory" of Trades Unions. To
this Mr. GLADSTONE sent a very fitting answer
couched in a dignified and impartial strain. Ile
declared that what he had said at Oldham was, that
it was the " abuse, and not the use, of such asso-
ciations " that was to be objected to. " I;then ob -
jected broadly for myself to all rules which tend to
limit the freedom of labour, or to produce an arti-
ficial equality among workmen, and this mainly on
the ground of the injury which they do to the
working classes." This is a very sensible and ex-
plicit definition of the state of the case, and we are
glad that Mr. GLADSTONE should be so decidedly and
promptly state his views on this vexed question at
this especial juncture, when so many misrepresen-
tations are being made on the matter. At the same
time, the right hon. gentleman expresses his readi-
ness to hear and consider anything that may be
said on the other side, and therefore he agrees either
to receive a deputation, or to peruse any written
document which may be forwarded to him. This
is fair enough ; but it seems difficult to under-
stand how men can deceive themselves after
this fashion, when so many outrages have been
shown to have been committed in the cause and
for the furtherance of these Unions. It needed not
" false charges brought by influential persons" to
damage them : they are tbeir own witnesses against
themselves. They have been. condemned by the
words out of their own mouths, and therefore it is
quite idle to argue in this manner. The worst and
most prejudiced opponents of the Union could hardly
do more than accuse them of murderand wanton acts
of cruelty, and for this they have acknowledged all
themselves. Let us hear no more of this defence,
but rather let those who are so infatuated about
the merits of the Trade Unions set themselves to
work to cancel the errors and evils that abound in

It is quite time that they should be reformed

if they are to exist at all, but it is not the right
way to go to work to attempt a braggadocian style
of argument that can do no good to any one.

The John Bull is authorised to contradict a
statement that is current in Paris as to the Earl of Claren-
don having been entrusted witha mission iu Italy by the
Government.
JEANIE'S QUIET LIFE. By the Author of " Si.
Wave's," etc. 3 Vols.—" The authoress of 'St. Olave's '
always writes well, and contrives out of the simplest ma-
terial to make a thoroughly interesting story. And sl.o
has never exhibited this quality to better advantage than
in her new novel 'Jeanie's Quiet Life.' It is esSentially
a novel of character, but its merits are not confined to it
delineations. of character, clever though they are. It con
tams numerous pictures of English home life—of that
quiet domesticity in which everything that is good amor g
us rejoices. The book is one to be read, and it is sure to
be admired."—Star.

CORRESPONDENCE PROM PARIS.

("TOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, TUSEPAY, 4n. 14:

- ,
To-day the ReorganiSation 13111 has neen-agreed
to by 189 vote 'against 60, and the Corps L6gislatif has
adjourned to the 27th.

Much disappointnient has been felt at the delay which
hailtrisen in the publication of the financial statement for
the year. <t is, however, promised in a few days.
Maple's illness, it is commonly reported, ha caused
the postponement.
Count von der Goltz is much improved in health.

The Imperial Court of Paris has been engaged in hear-
ing a remarkable appeal case from the Civil Tribunal at
Bayonne. The guardianship of a young English lady, the
only daughter of a colonel in the Guards, was deputed to
her mother, by her paternal grandfather. The mother,
Mrs. B--, whose fortune is considerable, attracted by
the reputation of Biarritz and the mildness of its climate,
settled in that place, with a large establishment of servants,
and a governess exclusively devoted to the education of her
child. That governess having suddenly been compelled to
go home on account of urgent private affairs, Mrs. B-
placed her daughter at school at Bayonne. The managers
of the school were Catholics. This circumstance alarmed
the zealous Piotestantism of the grandfather, and he com-
municated with his daughter-in-law ; but Mrs. B- only
replied to the first of these communications, and evinced her
determination not to removeher child from an establishment
which she knew to be suitable in every way. The resistance of
his daughter-in-law exasperated the grandfather, who en-
deavoured to gain possession of the child. In an action
which he brought before the Civil Tribunal of Bayonne he
claimed that she should be given up to his custody ex-
clusively. He was nonsuited. He then attempted, with
the assistance of two men, to carry off the young lady
bodily from the school, but the attempt failed by the
energy of the schoolmistresses. After this check he once more
appealed to the law, but ineffectually, to obtain by judicial
means that which violence and cunning had been unable to
Compass. The court dismissed the colonel's suit,
made the schoolmistresses provisional guardians of the
child, and gave leave to move for a judgment " interdict-
ing " Mrs. 13- [i.e, pronouncing her civilly incapable of
managing her own affairs.] An application was then
made to the English Court of Chancery, on an affidavit
that Mrs. B- had deserted her daughter abroad. One
of the Vice-Chancellors ordered •the girl to be
taken to England in her grandfather's custody.
Mrs. B- determined to make a last effort to regain her
daughter. She therefore presented herself on Sunday
morning at the school already referred toaand asked to
see her before her departure for Pau. Mrs. B- was
shewn into the dressing-room, where the young lady was
About to commence her toilette. Mrs. B-, profiting by
the absence of the servant, wrapped her daughter in a
shawl, jumped from the window, which was on the ground
floor, and succeeded in escaping with the treasure without
being seen. A cab, it is supposed, awaited them near the
school, and up to the present moment all search after the
younglady has proved in vain. In the meantime the Court of
Pau has given judgment in the case. Putting aside the
arguments of the Tribunal of Bayonne, the court decided
that it was not only its duty to fulfil a simple formality in
adding its visa to the English judgment, but to investigate
the grounds of the action, in order to assure itself with
regard to the private rights of the parties, as well as with
regard to private and public morals. The court, there-
fore, decided that the Vice-Chancellor was right in order-
ing that, pending a final decision, the young lady in ques-
tion, compromised by the imprudent conduct of her mother,
and abandoned to the care of a servant, should be handed
over to the protection of the grandfather.
Our detective police have made a successful haul of
thieves. At the commencement of the year a band of
English pickpockets, men and women, arrived in Paris
for the fetes. Notice had, however, been sent from Eng-
land, and several were arrested while pursuing their
operations among the persons collected round the shop-
windows of two of the principal confectioners. When
taken to the Prefecture of Police, several portmonnaies,
all of French make, were found upon them, containing
more than 4,000 f. in gold, and other property. Of course
they knew nothing of each other, and had only just
arrived from England. They have all been committed
for trial.

The Papal Nuncio has personally announced to the
French Minister of Foreign Affairs the decision of the
Pope to confer the cardinal's hat upon the Archbishop of
Paris, as requested by the Emperor. The Metropolitan of
Paris is the youngest of the French archbishops. He ix
but 54
years of age, and only entered the episcopate in
1859, when he was made Bishop of Nancy. The nomina-
tion of the Abbe Bonaparte to the rank of cardinal is an
act of courtesy and gratitude, of which the initiative is due
to the Holy Father. This promotion of a member of the Im-
perial Family of France to the scarlet hat is an exceptional
u. zrory L. nave proposed the new Archbishop
act. The French Government,inaccordB,,,,,,ica tn e desire of
of Rennes, Monseigneur Landriot, who was raised to the
episcopacy in 1856, and Monseigneur Regnier, Archbishop
of Cambrai, aged 73, and who was made a bishop in 1842,
as the two other prelates to be honoured in the same way.
Paris has almost always had eight cardinals. At present
she has only five.

It is not anticipated that the Hungarian Loan will be
introduced into Paris before the 20th or 22nd inst., and it
seems likely to meet with a favourable reception both
from the Bourse and from the public. It is estimated
that 100,000 obligations out of the number into which the
loan will be divided have been subscribed in Hungary
itself by anticipation. The excellent harvest of last
year has made money abundant there. Hungary will
probably take one-seventh of the whole number of
obligations.

The Berlin correspondent of the Times, referring to the
deplorable famine which is now devastating East Prussia,
says it extends over a tract of country inhabited by
1,250,000 people, a very considerable portion of whom are
destitute of the most ordinary necessaries of life. In some
parts the sufferers, a large proportion of whom seem to be
Lithuanians, have been terrified by the appearance of a
malignant typhus, the result of starvation or a long-
continued course of bad food. In Esthonia and Finland,
provinces not very distant from those outlying regions of
Prussia, things are even worse. From Berlin daily trains
with fuel and provisions are despatched to the afflicted
districts, but as yet without any visible alleviation of the
calamity. The charitable munificence of the middle
classes is very great.

The Radical and Secessionist party in Wurtemberg
e a
refuse to take any part n the election of deputies to the
trial of strength, which
might prove the contrary.
Customs' Parliament. islt supposed that having so
tf henreeciyu aree nt
layt rbaoi ad
sttoe d vti ray. g
upon the majority on their side,

The bill conferring absolute liberty of speech upon
members has been read a second time in the Prussian
Lower House of Parliament. The new Minister of Justice
declared that the Government had not made up their
minds whether they would advise the Crown to sanction
or reject the measure. This, according to the corre-
spondent of the Times, is 'tantamount to an invitation to
the House of Lords to throw it out. The struggle for
liberty of speech in the State Parliament will now be
transferred to the Federal Assembly.
The number of persons perishing from the famine in
Algeria is so great that, according to a correspondent of
the Avenir National, they are thrown into trenches for
burial, ns on the day after a battle.

The Brussels correspondent of the "Merning Post states
that the King of the Belgians will not go, to Vienna to
attend the funeral of the late Emperor of Mexico. His
Majesty has sent as his representatives the Count
Vanderstraten-Ponthos and Major Vandermissen, two
dignitaries of the Royal household.

The members for Halifax, Mr. Stansfeld and Colonel
Akroyd, addressed a crowded meeting of their constituents
on Tuesday evening.
The speech of the evening was that
of Mr. Stansfeld. He reviewed at considerable length the
events of last session with regard to the Reform Bill, and
condemned the methods used by the Conservative party to
obtain its passing as un-English, as a poor and feeble copy
of continental statecraft, which bore an Imperial hue. As
to the future, the Liberal party should not think how soon
it might return to the possession of office and to nominal
power. That return would come soon enough—he hoped
not too soon. Their object ought to be, as genuine Liberals,
not to return to power, but to reconstitute the Liberal
party, and to propound a programme which would be
worthy of the Liberal name. They must complete the
Reform Bill ; they must work their way sooner or later
to a radical redistribution of representative power; they
must work their way to the removal of the fanciful and
valuless ratepaying tests. With household suffrage he was
in favour of the ballot.

Mr. Moncreiff,
M.P,, has been lecturing in Edinburgh
on modern scientific speculation in its relation to received
religious opinions. The learned gentleman declared that
he was not at all impressed with the soundness of these
speculations. On the contrary, he had read Colenso, and
was confirmed by his criticisms that. St. Paul knew more
about religious truth than the bishop. He had read
Darwin, and was satisfied that man was created, not de-
veloped. He had read Lyell, and met no evidence that
man was older than the Mosaic chronology. Mr. Mon-
creiff combated Sir John Lubbock's theory, as stated at
Ptmde e , of the progressive intellect of mankind. The
learned representative observed that the real progress of
.?aoderntimes was moral, not intellectual. Our superiority
to the ancients arose from the shadow of Christian
PnCePt under which we liVe.

LATEST INTELL LGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION.
(By Malta and Alexandria Telegraph.)

ADEN, Jan. 4.

The Bengal brigade is now passing this point
en route for Annesley Bay.

Steamers from Abyssinia are hurriedly returning
to Bombay, to bring up the remainder of the
troops destined for the expedition.
From accounts that have been received from
Abyssinia it is believed that it will be absolutely
necessary to employ force to effect the liberation of
the captives.

RUSSIA.

ST. PETERSBURG, Jan. 14.

The semi-official Marine Gazette of to-day asserts
that both England and France are actively carrying
on military preparations in the Mediterranean.
The marriage of the Hereditary Grand Duke of
Oldenburg with the Princess of Leuchteuberg will
take place on the 2d of February.

AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, Jan. 15.

The Presse of to-day states that at a Council of
the Ministers, held yesterday under the presidency
of the Emperor, the budget for the Empire was