The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-24 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—In consequence of the extraordinary mys-
tery about the carpet bag that hay lately been found
on one of the buttresses of Waterloo-bridge, it
strikes me (as a magistrate of this place) that the
Government should now adopt some measures to
prevent suicides and other crimes taking place—
particularly such as the one mentioned. Bodies
are no doubt often thrown into the river for con-
cealment. Now I suggest that through your valu-
able newspaper, if you deem it worthy of insertion,
some remarks should he made for the consideration
of the Government. Two policemen at least ought
to patrol all the bridges at night, and watch-boxes
should be erected for their comfort, to go into in
bad weather, as the situation is so 'exposed. By
adopting this, much crime would no doubt be pre-
vented, as people would then be afraid, knowing
the police were at hand. I do not wish my name to
appear in suggesting the above.—l am, sir, yours,
Sze., —.

DREADFUL SHIP WRECKS.

NORWICH, FRIDAY, OCT. 23.

At an early hour this morning' the Ontario, of
Shields, a full-rigged vessel of '7OO or 800 tons,
struck on the Barber Sands off Great Yarmouth,
and became a total wreck. Ths mate was picked
up by the Caistor beachmen. It is believed that
he is the only survivor, and that the captain, his
wife, and 22 other peraons were drowned.
It is also repotted that another vessel went down
durint, the gale which prevailed on Thursday night,
with all hands lost.

AGRICULTURAL STATIsTrOs SOOTLAND. The
statistics of acreage under rotation of crops in Scotland
and of farm stock for the year 1857 have just been
reported to the Board of Trade by the Highland and
Agricultural Society. In Mr. Hall Maxwell's letter to
the Board he states that the only point in which the
present report differs from that of 1856 ie that in
Caithness and Orkney tenants rented at from 101. to 201.
have been brought within the soope of the inquiry in
Highland districts to persons paying not less than 201.
of rout operates only in Argyll, Arran, Inverness, Rosa,
and Sutherland. In addition to the results reported, he
states that there must be included about 220,000 acres of
tillage and 320,000 head of stook estimated in 1854 to
be in the hands of small occupants not embraced by the
inquiry. The enumerators have been requested to
furnish the secretary with their estimates of produce so
soon after the 11th of November as possible, on
receiving which the final report for the year will be
made up. The tables now published show that the
number of occupants in Scotland included in the inquiry
is 43,432, and that the acreage under rotation of crops
is 3,556,572, as against 3,545,191 in the previous
year. Toe following is the acreage reported under
tho different crops :—Wheat, 223,1521; barley,
188 3871 ; oats, 938,6131 ; rye, 5.9891 ; here, 21,6071 ;
beans, 39,186 ; peas, 3,6871 ; vetches, or tares, 18,4184 ;
turnips, 476,6914 ; potatoes, 139,819; marigold, 2,8031 ;
carrots, 1,4011 ; cabbage, 1,704 ; rape, 2,0322 ; flax,
1,5342 ; turaipseed, 2,5761 ; other grain and root crops,
5771 ; bare or summer fallow, 18,5822 ; grass and hay
under rotation, 1,459,1052. The table of stock gives
the total of all deecriptioas as 6,989,368, as against
7,090,384 in the previous year. The classification of
stock for 1857 is—horses for agricultural purposes above
three years old, 126,471 ; do. under three years, 34,47 ;
other horses, 23,991 ; milch cows, 303,912 ; other cat-
tle, 475,327 ; calves, 195,198 ; sheep for breeding,
2,632,283 ; sheep for feeding, 1,181,782: lambs,
1,869,103 ; swine, 146,354 ; or total horses, 185,409 ;
total cattle, 974,437 ; total sheep, 5,683,168,
THE ORGAN NUISANCE,—The accompanying petition
is now being extensively signed by the inhabitants of
Belgravia and Belgravia, South :—" To the knight-,
citizens and burgesses in this present Parliament as•
sembled.—The humble petition of the inhabitants of
Belgravia and Belgravia South—Showeth that the peace
and tranquillity of our streets and residences are
dit-
curbed by day and night by a number of persons, as we
believe exclusively foreieners, having barrel or hand
organs and such like instruments for the purpose of
obtaining money. That the provisions of the 2d
and 31 of Victoria, cap. 47, are wholly inoperative to
enable the police to deliver your petitioners from this
continual and increasing annoyance, the limit of the
powers of the police being, in fact, only to remove such
a nuisance if it obtrude itself opposite the house of a sick
person, Your petitioners feel it to be a positive inva-
sion of right that under pretence of music any itinerant
person should be permitted to occupy a large area of any
street designed and intended solely for traffic with a
machine to annoy the inhabitants and distract their
from their lawful business. That assuming that some
few individuals may be found who are partial to those
instruments, they constitute undoubtedly a very insigni-
ficant minority, and your petitioners submit that they
might indulge their tastes by taking
and their instruments into their houses without in•
the hawkers
Hinting a wrong on their neighbours. That importee
nate begging is forbidden iii our stree'F. Your
petitioners, therefore, pray your honourable linu,e
to regard those adventurers as beggars, which in
truth they really are, and have them dealt with by
law accordingly. That the law will not now per-
mit nuisances injurious to health to be carried on in the
streets, however beneficial to the owners of such esta-
blishments, and yet, notwithstanding, even now before
a sick person can avail himself of the power to remove
such a p:st from his vicinity he must go or send to seek
the aid of the police, who cannot remain stationed on
the spot for the sake of an individual ; and such are the
nu,nber of those mendicants that ten or more in one street
in the same day is a incalsrate computation of their
visitations, particularly in those streets which have not
the traffic peculiar to the anurne:co of the city. That
the members of your honourable Home residing in L n-
don will not require to be informed that this invasion
has now complete impunity. They who make it are
et'rte teel or brought over here from abroad on a specu-
lation for gain, and your petitioners think it a great
grievance that the peaceable inhabitants are to remain
in any degree the victitue of a system thus established
fur lucre. That the police force can give your hoMour-
able HoUse ample teetimony that ti;e general wish of the
inhabitants is to have the streets no longer infested by
such nuisances. And your petitioners earnestly pray
your honourable House to pass such an enactment as ,
shall re tore to your petitioners the right to enjoy tran-
quillity in their homes, of which the weak legislation of
the Police Act is the means of depriving them."