The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-23 00:00:00

gGNIFIOANT STATISTIC_

The calendar of cases of drunkenness and assault is
naturally excessive during the license of electioneering
days. According to the judicial statistics for the five
years ended with September 1867, the total number
of cases of what in the police returns comes under the
class " drunk, and drunk and disorderly," and of
"assaults," amounted in England and Wales to the
enormous figure of 1,000,000 nearly ; or precisely to an
annual average of 193,640 separate cases. The persons
charged with these offences were summarily proceeded
against before the magistrates. Lord Palmerston's Par-
liament was dissolved in July 1865, and the writs were
returnable in the middle of the succeeding August ; conse-
quently the rioting of that interval should make its mark,
if any mark were to be made, somewhere in the following
figures :
Number of Cases treated summarily by the Magistrate!
during the Five Years ended with September.
Drunk,
- Drunk and Disorderly. Assaults. Total.
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867

Now it is clear that though there were causes in operatiOri
which produced a large increase in 1864 over 1863, in both
classes of offence, the culminating point was reached in
the election year 1864.5, when the drunken cases
were alout 5,000 more than in 1863-4 and 11,000 over
1862-3, and when also the assaults compared with the
spective years just named were 4,000 and 12,000 in excess ;
or, comparing the total of cases, in 1864-5, speaking
roundly, 23,000 more cases were brought under summary
jurisdiction than two years earlier, the proportionate
increase being 121 per cent. The next year is distin-
guished by a very appreciabledecline under" drunk, &c.,"
by a more decided decline under "assaults ; " while
the balance still further turned to the side of peace and
sobriety in 1866-7, though that year unfortunately remained
0,000, or five per cent. above the aggregate return of
1862-3. It should be noted that " assaults " are dis-
tinguished as-1, common assaults ; 2, assaults on peace
officers, resisting, obstructing, &c. ; and, 3, aggravated
assaults on women and children. Taken in regard to the
classes as they here stand, the separate numbers were
74,080, 12,555, and 2,623—together, 90,158, as stated
above. The returns do not discriminate the newablv
drank from the disorderly drunk.

,THE FENIAN DEMONSTRATION IN
HYDE PARK.

The demonstration which disturbed the quiet of the
,ondoners' Sunday, and sent a crowd of roughs to Hyde
Park to listen to the oratory of Finlen, was repudiated on
every side. Even the " Representative Irishmen " would
have nothing to do with it, and made a protest against
Finlen's interference. They were afraid that he would
do harm to the cause of Irish liberty. The general
procession was by no means imposing. The police would
not allow it to form on Clerkenwell-green. It was
formed gradually on the route. The Times says there was
not one respectably-dressed person in the crowd. But
even then Finlen was hissed. For a long time neither
speakers were heard nor crowd attended. Ere Finlen had
arrived other processionists had met and carried a resolu-
tion to the effect that " James Finlen should be desired to
refrain from damaging the cause of Irish liberty by his
self-assumed championship, which all honest Irishmen
most heartily repudiate and detest." Those who had
carried that resolution hissed Finlen. For a long
time no speech could be heard, and it was
only when the chairman, a man named Doyle,
summoned the attention of the gathering by the
utterance of some frightful expletives against the
authorities for interfering with the procession, that the
least heed was paid to the "chair." A man named
Murphy then spoke in the same strain. He called
upon the people of Ireland to be prepared to wrest
their country from its rulers, and to maintain their
right to a distinct nationalty and Government. Three
groans were given for Government officials—Sir Richard
Mayne, Mr. Gathorne Hardy, and others. Finlen
then essayed to speak, and commenced by calling for
"three cheers for Ireland and the glorious Fenians." The
cheers were given, and also attention to some extent to
what the speaker said, especially as he commenced a most
violent tirade against all order and society, and inter•.
spersed his language with foul adjectives, never heard
except among the lowest of the population. He declared
he had been kicked that day by the police, because he
was the only prominent public man who dared to stand
up in defence of Fenianism. He had a bitter hatred
to the Government of England and to the —aristocracy.
This gathering he called a "Fenian Convention," and
the sentiment being cheered with amazing force, he pro-
nounced it courageous to meet there in front of the dwell-
ings of the aristocracy. But he went on to say that
the butchers of police would interfere with the constitu-
tional right of meeting soon, and therefore he would do
something more—he would issue a proclamation in the
name of glorious Fenian Republicanism, and call upon the
noble body whom he saw before him to do something more
than mere talk, and this was to release Ireland from the
" bloody, odious rule of the British aristocracy."
There was cheering at this, and the crowd seemed to
get more unmanageable as the inflammatory languaz
was spoken. The meeting was not over at dusk.

CAPTURE OF SLAVERS. her Majesty's ship
Nymph has, it is said, " this season " captured nine slave
dhows on the east coast of Africa.

A letter hem Borne states that the Consistory for
the creation of Cardinals is deferred I ill next March. Tho
purple will bo conferred upon ton prelates at once.
Tho hat will to Leslows d on Monsignor de Mercde,
in spite of Cardinal utenelli's opposition, and his
post of grand almoner will given to Monsignor
Talbot do Malahide. On the same occasion the
Pope will restore the Roman Catholic hierarchy of Scotland;
establishing a primate at Glasgow; and confer the cardinal's
hat on Archbishop Manning. Theuzli disappointed at the re.-
ft:sal of the schismatic Patriarch of Constantinople and several
Protestant dignitaries and synods to accept his invitation to
the (Ecumenical Council, the Pope is sanguine of being sup.
ported by many influential Protestants both from America
and England. It is certain that favourable answers have
been received from a number of ecclesiastics in those coun-
tries, but the greatest secrecy is maintained as to th9ix
Liillles.: