The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-01 00:00:00

A QUAKER ENCYCLICAL.

An extract from the Quaker Encyclical, an address
which is issued annually by the executive of the Society
of Friends to their constituents, has been published. The
writers say :—" We lament the increasing departure
amongst us from true Christian simplicity. Whilst
providing liberal instruction for their children, may
parents not be drawn aside by the desire for
fashionable or merely ornamental accomplishments,
from a course of training and education condu-
cive to a useful and honourable life upon earth
and in harmony with the discipline that renders meet for
heaven. We have received, in the usual course, epistles
from our friends in Ireland, and from nine of the yearly
meetings on the American continent. The accounts
therein contained of the spreading of the truth, and of a
continued concern in connection with scriptural educa-
tion, with the welfare of the freedmen and with our
Christian testimony against war, are encouraging.
Our lively interest has been again awakened for our dear
friends in the newly-settled yearly meeting of Canada,
and we desire all our distant friends to accept the
renewed assurance of our sympathy and love. Arrong
the subjects which have come before us, few have taken
deeper hold of our feelings than the awful fact that in
this, the nineteenth century of the dispensation of the
Prince of Peace, we find amongst the nations of Europe
millions of men, including the ?strength and stay of
families, withdrawn from their homes and all the sacred
duties and joys of life, and forced into immediate con-
tact with temptation, vice, and wretchedness. And for
what purpose ? That they may become adepts in the
science of mutual destruction, and that nations called
Christian, under the influence of distrust, rivalry, or am-
bition, may the more promptly and effectively engage
in mortal conflict one with another. Although on this
solemn subject our voice may meet with but little
response in the professing churches of Christ, we feel
called upon to entreat all who love His name seriously
to consider the utter incompatibility of these things with
those fruits of the Spirit which Christians are to bring
forth, and with the great purposes of the Redeemer's
coming and reign."

Fresh herrings were disposed of in Douglas
market, Isle of Man, during the past week at 2a. per
hundred.

At Warrington the borough magistrates have
made an order, under the 100th section of the Local Im•
provcmcnt Act, for the substitution of incombustible for
combustible materials in the roofs of certain cottages in
the outskirts of the town, imposing a fine upon the owner
in the event of non-compliance—the object being to
diminish the risk of fire.

Wednesday, the 15th July, has been fixed for
the ceremony of presenting the memorial window in the
Guildhall to the Corporation of London from the Lan.
cashire cotton operatives, to commemorate the munificent
subscription raised in the City and other parts of the
metropolis for their relief during the protracted cotton
famine consequent upon the American civil war.

A Mr. Kerr, of Edinburgh, has invented a re-
flector for a locomotive, by means of which the engineer
is able to see the rear of his train, the conductor, and all
who are either getting on or off, without moving from his
seat. It can be arranged for any length of train by simply
changing the angle of reflection. It has been tried on the
Jeffersonville road, and pronounced to be a success in every
respect.

From a return to an order of the House of
Commons, shelving the amount assessed for income and
property tax in the United Kingdom, it appears that the
total amount of property and profits charged to income
tax in 1866 was, in England and Wales, £316,331,476 ; in
Scotland, £32,309,138 ; and in Ireland, £25,273,390. The
gross amount of revenue raised, excluding miscellaneous,
for the same year was, in Great Britain, £61,727,257, and
in Ireland, £7,463,710.

SHOCKING SIIICIDE.—A soldier of the 33rd
Regiment (a volunteer from the 100th Regiment) named
Patrick Daley, committed suicide at Portsmouth on
Tuesday by discharging a loaded rifle into his mouth.
The unfortunate man had been detached for duty at the
commissariat stores in Earl•street Point, and almost
directly on going on sentry he committed the sad act.
His head was literally blown to pieces, and death was
instantaneous.

"An Old Bristolian," writing to the Western
Daily Press, suggests that both Mr. Morley and Mr.
Miles should be withdrawn as candidates for the city of
Bristol, and that some person quite unconnected with
either party be elected, with the understanding that he
will not he thought of for the general election. The
expense, which would be small, should be divided between
both parties. He would name Sir Robert Napier, the
hero of Abyssinia. "It would be a compliment to him ;
he need not be consulted." His political views are not
known, but that is considered of little importance.

MURDER AND SUICIDE BY. A WOMAN.—An in-
quest has been held at Huddersfield touching the death of
Sarah Blackburn, aged 29, and Arthur Blackburn, aged
2 years, the wife and son of John Blackburn, dyer, Mold-
green. The evidence shewed that a few days ago the
woman said to her husband and mother that " it had been
done now," for attempts had been made to prevent her
getting a living by damaging her character ; and about
two hours after she said this she was seen with her child in
her arms near the canal, not far from the place where she
was subsequently found. The jury returned a verdict that
she had destroyed herself and her child in a fit of tem-
porary insanity.

THE CRYSTAL PALACE.—The half-yearly meet-
ing of the proprietors of the Crystal Palace, held on
Tuesday, was very protracted and somewhat excited. The
cause of contention was the old-standing question of
opening the palace on Sundays. The result was
another triumph for the friends of the Sunday opening.
In the course of the discussion the chairman, Mr. T.
Hughes, M. P., stated that the Duke of Edinburgh
had consented to a public reception to take place next
Saturday at the Crystal Palace, that the Prince of
Wales and other members of the Royal Family would
be present, and that everything would be done to give
eclat to the occasion.

LORD JUSTICE SIR WILLIAM PAGE WOOD ON
TEMPERANCE.—Mr. John Bennett Anderson has received a
letter from Lord Justice Wood, which is forwarded
for publication :—" 31, Great George-street, S.W., June
28, 1868. My dear sir, I fully appreciate your labours in
the very important direction of promoting temperance
among our people. If they would but learn this they would,
indeed, become changed into new men. The only founda
tion for such a happy result is a sound Christian faith,
and you have done well in resting your arguments on that
sure basis. Whilst they are yet weak in faith, perhaps
total abstinence may be the best course of tuition, but the
Christian will be temperate in all things, and recognise
that every cr ture of God is good when used with faitl
and thankseing.—Yours truly, W, J), W99D,—gy,
33, Azcleivon2l..