The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCEI 4, 1808.

but -who can say that he has really committed an
error oi: interfered with the authority of King
WILLIAI q. The truth is that, perhaps, like the fable
of the " %Volf and the Lamb," if one objection had
been ovozruled another would have been speedily
substituted for it. It is also intended that some-
thing more shall be done to mark still further the
displeasure of King WILLIAM about the affair of
the " silver wedding," and the Supreme Court
has decided to proceed against Count PLAT-
TEN, King GEORGE'S Minister, at Hietzing,
on the charge of high treason. This is a
most unjust thing to do, but not too strong a
measure for a country like that of Prussia to adopt
in pursuance of its arbitrary rules and oppressive
policy. How it can be made out to be " high
treason" for Count PLATTEN to have acted as he has
done it is difficult to imagine ; but the Prussians
seem to venture anything for the sake of fulfilling
their objects, and carrying out their purpose. The
public will be anxious to hear further news from
Berlin on this subject, but we would suggest that
from this time people should abstain from flourishing
about the freedom of Prussia, and the great benefits
that must accrue from her increased sway inGermany.
In plain words, it amounts to this, that the pro-
vinces newly annexed have lost all their inde-
pendence; and their rulers, if retained, are no better
than puppets, for they can neither think, speak, nor
act with anything like independence. Perhaps
some second thoughts may prevail, and a more
honourable policy yet be pursued towards King
GEORGE ; but we do not feel sanguine, and indeed
regret, that the chances of war should have proved
too adverse, and that he should be subject to mor-
tification and insults that his former position might
have shielded him from, and that his affliction
should have withheld his enemies from reducing
him to.

It will afford general satisfaction to hear that the
health of the Emperor NAPOLEON is not in so seri-
ous a state as some would have had us believe but
lately, and his MAJESTY has given a direct contra-
diction to the rumours set afloat by riding in the
Bois de Boulogne. The mysterious journey of
Prince NAPOLEON has filled all Paris with the
greatest excitement, and it is most curious to notice
the speculations that are rife on the subject. As
nothing serious is apprehended, there is every op-
portunity for edification in these endless re-
ports, which stretch from the sublime to
the ridiculous, and finally wind up by the
declaration that the Prince is only travelling
through Germany for his own pleasure. It is in-
teresting to dwell upon the comments that the new
aspect of affairs in this country have called forth
from the French writers ; and the Press of France,
it must be confessed, has come out very creditably
on the matter. It is more satisfactory to read the
remarks made, as they show an intimate know-
ledge of our political leaders which could hardly
have been expected from them, but there has
been for some time past a great improve-
ment in this respect among our Continental
neighbours. An eloquent article has appeared
in the Revue des Deux Mondes, which many will be
glad to perceive. 'The writer explains what the
Premiership really signifies in England, and then
illustrates his meaning by giving a sketch of Mr.
DISRAELI'S career. Ile then exults in the triumph
a man of letters has met with among us, and com-
pares it with the depreciatory remarks that have
just been made against writers in France during the
discussions on the Press Bill. The present Prime
Minister of England once declared that he had no
" coat of arms save literature ;" and added, " I
am a gentleman of the Press." To com-
plete the picture, it is then shown that the
statesman who inducted him into the high func-
tionsof the State was a nobleman of high position,
" the
crossed representative
with N
the present
the c
Saxononciu race,est;;"
blood,fth sin
and finally it explains how Lord DERBY himself
has
won high literary honours. He is a scholar of great
repute, " a consummate and practical master of the
pure well of English undefiled, the translator of
1103IER. into SIIAKSPERE'S idiom." After the
many strictures that have been passed upon us
by various critics, not without justice, as to
our neglect of men of letters, it is really a
relief to meet with this ex
genuine
•
pre.on of ap-
proval, and to learn that it is merited. If party
zeal and political prejudice did not pervert the judg-
ment of some politicians among us they would join
in the feeling of satisfaction at the elevation of
merit and ability, instead of leaving the highest
offices of the State to be filled up by rank and title.
It is a step in advance, at any rate, that the Con-
servatives have made, and all true Liberals will
consider it as such, for to go out of the beaten track
is, as in this case, to open the door for the admis-
sion of intelligence.

LATEST INTELL IGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION.
ALEXANDRIA (via Malta), Feb. 25.
The Egyptian interpreter employed at Massowah
by the Egyptian Government has boon brought on
to Cairo in irons ; the cause is unknown.
Doctor Krapf has returned from Abyssinia.

DENMARK.
COPENHAGEN, March 4.
Herr Martin Sevy, the Chief Secretary of the
Finance Ministry, left this capital yesterday for
Berlin, commissioned by the Danish Government
to conclude a postal convention with the North
German Confederation.

CORRESPONDENCE PROM PARI&,

(nom OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Tur 13 DAT, March 3,

I alluded yesterday very briefly to the stormy debate in
the Corps Ldgislatif which took place that afternoon. It
was indeed stormy. It is long since the like of it was seen
here. Everything betokened what was coming. Every
passage of the building was thronged with a surging crowd,
who cheered Jules Simon as he passed into the Chamber.
Inside there was a sea of heads. Deputies, senators, men
of letters, men of fashion were all mingled together. One
stranger had the audacity to seat himself among the
deputies, and was " invited "to remove himself. When
M. du Miral, acting temporarily as the President, rose,
there was dead silence. He called upon M. Ravin, proprietor
of the Siecle, to speak, and that gentleman then mounted
the tribune. No sooner had he opened his mouth than the
storm broke forth. "I am not going to read you the
decision of the Jury of Honour," sold M. Havin. But the
Arcadians were not to be pacified. '• You know it already,"
he cried. At this the shouting was louder than ever. Once
more he began ; but so did the uproar. " ..A.ssez ! It l'ordre !
Consultez la ehambre ! Cela ne nous regarde has!" Still
Havin persisted, and still the majority declared that they
would not hear him, and demanded the order of the day.
At last the speaker turned to the President for protection,
and had a long and animated conversation with him, of
which no one could hear a word. All this time the hostile
deputies were making as much noise as they could,
knocking with paper-knives, jingling keys, slamming
desks—a concert worthy of Wagner. Seeing that it was
useless to speak farther, Havin gathered up his papers and
descended from the tribune, but on his way had another
conversation with the President, and afterwards mounted
again. This was the signal for a fresh burst of fury more
violent than before. The deputies declared that the inci-
dent was finished,and called upon 'Du Miral to pass to the
order of the day. He appealed to Havin, declaring that
he must abide by the wish of the majority. Havin still
maintained his rights, but at length the President put an
end to the scene, and the other business was proceeded
with.

This morning Havin publishes in the Sieele, the Liberte,
..ud other journals, the speech which he had intended to
make. It is short enough and inoffensive enough to have
been listened to without any noise. It simply states very
briefly the accusation made by M. Kcrv6guen that certain
Paris journals had been in the pay of foreign Powers, that
a jury of honour had been appointed to investigate the
charge, and that it had been found false and calumnious.
In spite of all the clatter of the Arcadians the matter will
not end here. Yesterday three summonses were served
by the Avenir .National, the Journal des Dlbats, and the
Liberte upon the secretary of the Pays, in which paper
the defamatory charges have been repeated, calling upon
the editor to furnish his alleged proofs. The editor of the
Revue des deux Mondes, as I mentioned yesterday, has
commenced a criminal prosecution against M. de Cassag-
nac cf the Pays. There is one disadvantage in this mode
of procedure. The trial cannot be reported, and so the
public will know nothing of it, except the verdict.
Prince Napoleon's visit is now supposed to be without
political significance. He is travelling incognito as the
the Count de Meudon, and has gone to a private hotel
at Berlin. He passed through Frankfort on his way.
The Emperor has sent to Vienna a number of medals,
struck in Paris at his own expense, for distribution t(
those Austrian volunteers who served in the French
Mexican army. Ido not know what the device is, but l
imagine it is not that of Maximilian and his two general:
standing up to be shot. One would have thought that the
less this unhappy expedition was " commemorated" the
better.

There is sad news from Algeria. It is feared that not
less than 2.5,000 persons have died of starvation. Public
works have been set on foot by the Government, but thu
best news is that the harvest is looking particularly well.
and is likely to be very abundant. In France the limm
supply of wheat is nearly exhausted, and increased prices
are anticipated with some anxiety.

Your readers may like to know something about Father
F6lix, the celebrated preacher whose Notre Dame Confer
ences always attract an enormous crowd of listeners ever
Lent. He is in his 58th year. At 27 he joined the Jesuits.
and spent ten years in completing his theological training.
He then became a professor in Belgium, but soon afterward,
he lost his voice and came to Paris to get cured. Subsequentl:.
he retired to the monastery of Notre Paine d'Ay. It wa,
while ho was in this retreat that he made his first at
tempt at preaching. His audience was a pour and
rude one, miners of Rive-de•Giers. But his word,
won a way to their hearts. The society soon discovere,l
his power, and directed him to enter on the preacher':
mission. In 1851 he preached the Advent course at Cu.
Church of St. Thomas Aquinas, Paris. The following:;
year be preached in the better-knewn Churches of St.
Germain-des-Prbs and St. Sulrice. In 1853 he began hi:
Notre Dame Conferences. All Paris was soon t,
hear the short, pale, black-eyed, and youtbful-100l
monk. He had quite recovered his ye:cc, and it completel:.
filled the nave. He preached, among other subj,,Os,
the danger of separating material pr. v-es 3 from reli,_,:oL
and declared that one maxim of a wise man wagwo: n!,l
than all the railways of the forowers of Saint S:n on. lie i
preaching at Notre Dame every Sunday during Lent. .;
is estimated that 4),000 le% a .Biers are at Clis time giving
series of Lent sermons in France.

This being the season of Lent, we are all of us, of cGur.,e,
fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes. Not quite all.
For instance, D.I. rinard, Alinister of the Interi,.r.
gives a grand dinner to-night, and among the guests wil]
be Lord Lyons. Yesterday there was a grand concert at
the Tuileries. These were the penitential robes in whiel
the Empress appeared. A dress of green tulle, with
excessively grrc ,ful trimming or Mignonette. aiq it
of diamonds, and an enormous emerald; iii her hair, all in
on her forehead,a band of ma"). rows of diamonds, fasten,...,
by green velvet. This concert came off just in ; to
day the Court goes into mourning for King Ludwig of
Bavaria.

A special correspondent of the Times describes the Erst
press trial by jury which has taken place in I fungtry.
Last summer Kossuth addressed a letter to the electors o'
Waitzen, denouncing all the changes which had tideee
place, and especially the reconciliation between Hung:lvy
and the Emperor of Austria. This I..tter was
in the organ of the Magyar Radicals, andi.l,ooo cop:us Avec,
distributed gratuitously throughout the country. It wit--
felt by the Government that such a document, fron
such a man, could not be overlooked, and so, the writci
being abroad, a prosecution was dircetel against the editor.
who is a member cf the Diet. After many delays and psi
texts for postponement on the part of the defcmial,t, tin
trial has just taken place, and the jury, by eleven to (lw
after half an hour's conAultatien, broulit in a verdict IY
guilty. Considering that the letter might hi: ve been pith
lished in haste, the mitigated penalty of one year'
meat and 2,000 florins (k 200) has been inflicted. Thus, a
the present moment there are journalists suffering inipri
sonment in Ireland, France, and Hungary.
The unfortunate Archduke Henry has been se.vere.,
punished for his offence in marrying the pretty singer.
Mdlle. Hoffmann. Not only has he been deprived of he
commands, but a large portion of his revenues have
taken from him. The Bishop of Trent, who 12yanted tiR
necessary dispensation, has been strongly reprimanded.

A recent interview between the Premiers of Wiirtera
berg and Bavaria has given rise to much speculation. It
is believed to signify .a fresh attempt to establish a Soutl,
German Confederation. The success of the project wil
depend upon the co-operation of the Grand Puke of Baden,
a very unlikely contingency, onsidering how cc nnpletely
.that sovereign has identified himself with his father-in
law, the King of Prussia,

Particulars are published of the recent disturbances in
Granada. They were caused by the high price of bread.
The military authorities acted with the utmost vigour,
which, being interpreted, signifies rigour• They charged
the people, slew thirty of them, and wounded a number
of others, and having thus reestablished order, opened
public works and reduced the price of bread. Why did
not the sedative precede the operation ?

The Italian Government has renounced its intention of
sending an expedition to the River Plate. It will, in view
of possible complications with the United States arising
out of intervention in American affairs, content itself with
a naval demonstration having for its object the payment
of the Italian creditors of the Monte-Videan Government.
Among them is Garibaldi, to whom nearly £ll,OOO is
due ; but he declares that he would sooner lose the money
than see his country involved in hostilities.

The sale of Church property in Italy is going-on-rapidly.
Estates to the value of 5i millions sterling. have been sold,
and lands which have been long lying waste are now being
brought into cultivation. The selling price has exceeded
the most sanguine expectations.

The Italian Government has renewed its negotiations
for a loan with the house of Rothschild. It is believed
that the affair will be carried through this time.

The nugitian Government has given orders to the com-
manders of Russian ships that they arc not to transport
any more refugees from Crete. There are already 60,000
in Greece, and they are said to be in danger of starvation.
Brigham Young has just wedded his thirty-first wife,
The favoured lady's name, is Merivini Van Cott. She is
2.8 yeahold, and the daughter of one of the dignitaries of
the Mormon Church.
Poo POOR-RATE PATERS,—It is said the Mayor
of Salford was, on Monday, called upon to sign 3,500 sum-
Menses for poor.rates, that for some time to come the
ftvemeers rpoziirp fioi issued atl t 800 sum-
*WIRES per week. .e • ' ' "

As the time rapidly approaches for a declaration of
policy on the part of the new Premier, speculations mul-
tiply as to what that policy is likely to be. There is a
growing belief that the presence of Lord Cairns and Mr.
Gathorne Hardy in the Cabinet will effectually prevent
any revolutionary measures being carried out with respect
to the Irish Church. It is assumed that this difficult
question will be staved off on the plea of there being an
inquiry by Royal Commission in progress ; that another
commission will be issued to inquire into the Irish Land
question ; that some compromise will be made about a
charter for the Catholic University ; and that the project
for a purchase of the Irish Railways will be seriously taken
in hand.

Looking at probabilities, the Post looks upon it as not
unlikely that Mr. Disraeli will endeavour to postpone the
consideration of the Irish question till next year, and will
avail himself of the measures of Reform which are now
pending to deprive his opponents of the occasion of oust-
ing him from office in consequence of this delay. So much
the more rer.son, then, for the Liberal party to reconnoitre
well the position of the Government before proceeding to
attack it. The few remarks which Mr. Gladstone let fall
on Friday evening indicate an intention on his part to lose
no time in attempting to dislodge the present occupants of
the Treasury bench. The Times thinks that while on the
one hand it will be possible for the Liberals to dislodge
the Government, it is also possible that an unsuccessful
assault would materially strengthen its position.

The metropolitan police having interdicted the meetings
of the Holborn Branch of the Reform League at a public-
house known as the Nag's Head, the executive of the
League, headed by Mr. Beaks, determined to ascertain
whether the police would resort to measures of ejectment
should the prohibition be set at nought. Mr. James
Acland has, with that view, delivered a lecture at the
Nag's Head on the Equality of the Law, and the
meeting was not interfered with.

The ceremony of electing the Marquis of Lorn as M.P.
for Argyllshire, in succession to Mr. Finlay, was as brief
as it was unexciting. The Duke of Argyll was not present
to witness his son's unopposed return for the shire in which
so much of his property is situate. His Grace was at the
Prince of Wales's levde.

We have to announce the death of Baron Bentinck, the
representative in this country of the King of the Nether-
lands. The Baron was 70 years of age. His Excellency
had been accredited to the Court of St. James's for more
than sixteen years. M. D. Everwyn, Secretary to the
Legation, will hold the post of Charge d'Affaires until the
appointment of a successor to the late Minister.

The Duke of Argyll and Mr. Gladstone are making use
of their enforced hours of idleness in the same way. The
first is writing in Good Words upon Darwin's theory of the
origin of species, and the second has just concluded a
series of papers on " Ecce Homo." In the same periodical
Dean Stanley appeals to Englishmen not to let the ex-
ploration of Palestine stop for want of funds, and he holds
up to them the example of the French Duke de Luynes,
who died last year to the great loss of the promoters of the
exploration.

Dover and Brighton having had their turn in connec-
tion with the Easter Monday Volunteer Review, Ports-
mouth is this year to be the scene of the gathering. At the
meeting of Volunteer commanding officers at which this
decision was come to, an influential attempt on behalf
of Brighton was made, but it was defeated by a large
majority.

Mr. Train is again in trouble, and this time without the
opportunity of demanding £lOO,OOO from the British
Government. He had been announced to lecture at the
Rotunda, in Dublin. on Tuesday evening, and was on his
way to that building, when he was arrested for an old debt
on a judgment which had been obtained against him by a
London firm. On Train's agent announcing the fact of
his arrest to the expectant audience, they demanded back
their admission money. The agent refused, and Mr. Train
was then denounced as a swindler. Ultimately an arrange.
ment was made whereby the disappointed ones were
appeased and the reputation of the imprisoned one
preserved.

The Dublin Town Council have refused to allow Mr. A.
M. Sullivan to relinquish his seat in their body. Accord.
ing to a bye-law any member absent for three months is
struck off the roll, and Mr. Sullivan, writing from Rich-
mond Bridewell, tendered his resignation in anticipation
of his six months' imprisonment. Conservatives joined
with Liberals in the Council in refusing- to accept it. It is
stated that Mr. Sullivan was one of the most active and
useful members of some of the business committees of the
corporation.

DRUNKENNESS IN THE ARMY.—Sir C. E. Tre-
velyan has written a thoughtful letter on the subject of
drunkenness in the army, a vice which statistics prove to
be greatly on the increase. Sir Charles's remedy is to
expel from the service all bad or incorrigible characters,
and to attract to it a much higher class of men by throwing
open to 013 private soldier a portion of the military and
nearly the whole of the administrative protaotion. He is
justly severe in condemning Sergeant Kite's malpractices.
There is no doubt that the recruiting sergeant in many
instances accomplishes his object by pandering to that
very ,pp tite for drink which ultimately leads the young
greenholn who pockets the shilling to grave breaches of
military discipline. Besides, in garrison towns there arc
too many facilities for intemperance. •

OUTRAGE BY TRADE UNIONISTS.—Tho stipendiary
magistrate of Liverpool was lately occupied for a con-
siderable time in hearing a case of extremely cowardly
assault by trade unionists. Some weeks since, the boiler-
makers in the employ of Messrs. George Forrester and
Co., the well-known engineers, of Vauxhall Foundry,
being dissatisfied with their wages, turned out on strike.
By the aid of the Free Labour Association of London,
the places vacated by the " strikers" were filled 'by men
from the Isle of Dogs. • On Friday last, seven of the new
comers were passing along Regent-road, on their way to do
some work at the Canada Duck, when they were met by
a body of about a hundred men, who set upon and mal-
treated them in a most brutal manner. Two of the men
thus attacked were " spirited away ;" the others were in
attendance at the court to prefer the charge. Seven of the
assailants have been apprehended, and were now charged
with a common assault only. Nothing has been seen or
heard of the two men said to have been spirited away.
The prisoners were all sent for trial at the quarter sessions,
but admitted to bail.

DISGUSTING CRUELTY TO A DOG.—The maps-
trates at Tinslade, near Leighton Buzzard, have convicted
two men, named respectively James Stone, farmer, of
Soulbury, Bucks, and Thomas Robinson, ono of his
labourers, of practising atrocious cruelty to a dog, and the
offenders were fined each 58., with costs nearly £3, all
of which were paid by the man Stone. The facts of the
case Were briefly these. The Rev. David Carson, rector
of Soulbury, was the owner of a little rough terrier,
which, it was alleged, was accustomed frequently to go
from his master's house on to the premises of the farmer
Stone after a little dog owned by that prisoner. This was
regarded as a nuisance. On the Ist of January James
Stone, and his man, Thomas Robinson, caught the rector's
dog on the farm, took it into a barn, and tied it up.
Stone's son Richard was there, and another farmer named
John Mead, and all were witnesses or assistants in the
disgusting treatment to which the poor little animal was
subjected. Mead, who most unwillingly gave evidence,
and somehow was not included in the charge, held
the dog. When it was released it ran home howling
piteously, and seemingly mad with agony. Examination
of the tortured creature revealed the fact that it had been
horribly cut and mutilated in a disgusting manner, and
that turpentine had been poured upon the fresh wounds.
The magistrates were the Rev. P. T. Ouvry, rector of
Grove and vicar of Wing, Bucks, and the Rev. Maynard
Wodehouse Currie, M.A., rural dean and vicar of Ment-
more, Bucks. They retired for a quarter of an hour to con-
sider the sentence, which was, that the case being made
out, each of the defendants be fined ss.

A TALE FOR THE MARINES.—There is in the
House of Commons a certain noble lord, whose name it
will be better not to mention, but who has somewhat
recently appeared in the, to him, new character of a
lawmaker. This noble lord met at a dinner party, a
few weeks ago, a certain great " City man," whose
transactions in stock amount yearly to a fabulous sum,
The young legislator began to talk in the City man's
hearing of Cabinet secrets, and to do so with a very
great assumption of knowledge on the subject. " Talk
of Cabinet secrets," at leist cried Mr. Consol, "there's
one secret—the secret of a Cabinet Minister too—that I
should uncommonly like to know. It would be worth
£5,000 to me if I knew what judgment Lord Chelmsford
will give to-morrow in the case of Bloxam and the Metro-
politan Railway." "Five thousand pounds !" cried his
aristocratic neighbour, who is as poor as any lord mei
wish to be ; " do you mean to say you would give five
thousand pounds to any one who could tell you whitt old
Chelmsford's judgment will be ? " " Yes ; indeed
I should," said the other. " Then, by Jove, 11l
find out and tell yJu." "Do so," said the City man,
with a laugh, as he went on with his soup. That very
night, when the tired merchant in his Bayswater palace
was wooing gentle sleep, quite forgetful of his conversa-
tion with this young sprig of the nobility, he was roused
by a summons at his bedroom door. His servant on
being admitted told him that Lord —'s valet was below
with a message for him. "Show him up," said Mr.
Consol, in wonder as to what it all meant. Enter the valet,
who speaks as follows :—" Beg your pardon for disturbing
you, sir, but my lord sent me with a note to Lord Chelms-
ford's, and said I was to bring the answer to you. I took
the note, sir, and Lord Chelmsford told me to say there
was no answer !" The story is a strange one ; but it is
true neTiatheless. —.Leeds IllercurY.