The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-19 00:00:00

TH E LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 19, 1868.

THE NOVEMBER STAR SHOWERS.

The Daily Non comments on the recurrence again this
year of the November star showers, speaking of it as the
most remarkable fact yet recorded concerning those mys-
terious bodies, the meteors. "In the first place, the mere
occurrence of the display is remarkable, without any
reference to the part of the world in which it was
seen. We believe that no instance is on record of the
appearance of a shower in four successive years.
In 1865 a well-marked display was seen in parts of
Europe ; in 1866, as we all remember, a splendid shower
was seen in England ; in 1867 a fine shower was seen in
America ; and, lastly, this year a shower has been •
seen in England. Now, when we come .tn consider
the real meaning of this succession of showers,
we are at once struck with the marvellous
extent of the meteoric zone. The part of the
zone to which the shower of 1865 was due had moved
off upwards of 500 millions of miles at the hour when
we were watching the display of 1866, and at
the same hour the part which was to cause the
display of 1867 was more than 500 millions of miles
from us (measuring along the zone itself). Here, then,
at once we had an extension of the richly-strewn part of
the meteor-zone over 1,000 millions of miles. But now
we find that we must assign to it a yet greater
extension, since the part which caused the display of
1867 was more than five hundred millions of miles away
from us when Professor Phillips was watching the shower
on Saturday at Oxford. All this is very wonderful, but
it is not so much in this light that the occurrence of this
year's display is to be wondered at as in another respect
Conceive the meteor-z one as an enormous ova'
hoop in space, extending far out beyond the orbit
of distant Uranus. That hoop is not fixed, but
slowly sliding round (bodily—we are not referring
to the swift motion of the individual meteors), so that each
year the earth has to advance a little further in its path
before reaching the meteor-zone. That fact had been esta-
blished by observation, and Professor Adams had shewn
it to be a necessary result of the attractions to which the
meteor band is subjected by the planets. But
what has been shewn by the occurrence of a
display on Saturday last is even more remarkable ;
for we learn from that event that the hoop of
meteors is subject to other and irregular changes—which
may be compared to the vibrations that might affect areal
hoop made of some elastic material—and these changes
appear very extraordinary when their extent is considered.
The same facts establish the existence of these marvellous
vibrations, and the wide range which belongs to them. Last
year the display should have attained its maximum at
half-past seven, whereas it really did so at half-past nine,
In those two hours the earth travelled 130,000 miles, and
by that amount the hoop had been twisted out of its mean
shape. But this year we have a yet more remarkable
change. The display, calculated from that of 1866, should
have attained its maximum at about half-past one in th.
afternoon of the 13th, and, calculated from that of lab
year, two hours later. From the splendour of the showei
seen by Professor Phillips at Oxford, and by observe];
at Valeutia, it is clear that the display really attaine.
its most brilliant phase at about three in the morning of
the 14tb, or twelve hours after its calculated time. In
tin el hours the earth travels nearly 800,000 miles, and
inch was the change of place exhibited by the meteor bald
over and above the calculated change due to the Blom,
progressive shifting dealt with by Professor Adams. it
is clear that a long time must elapse before astronomen
and mathematicians will be able to master all the intri-
cacies and peculiarities which characterise the movements
of this grand cosmical zane.

FOREIGN NOTES.

THE PRINCESS ROYAL OF PRUSSIA.

It has been confidently asserted in many quarters that
the exchange of visits between the Princess Royal of
Prussia and the Emperor Napoleon had a political object.
A correspondent of the Standard, writing from Munich,
has some interesting remarks on what he terms this event-
ful meeting. He says that the aim of the Princess Royal
was to tranquillise the Emperor with regard to the future
policy of Prussia. The English lady possesses much
influence over her husband, and is naturally desirous of
peace. She has a sister in South Germany, and near rela-
tions in Denmark, all of whom might be losers by a con-
flict. Her husband at present is no great power in the
State, so thoroughly paramount is the great Prussian
statesman. But the King is aged, and the probability of
his outliving the French Emperor is very small. It is,
therefore, of the utmost importance to the sovereign of
France to be able to calculate with certainty
on the di: ection which the heir presumptive to
the Prussian throne will follow. "To enlighten
his Majesty on this point was the object of the Princess
Royal's visit to Paris. In the name of the Crown Prince
the Emperor was assured that the jealousy or anzourpropre
of France would on no account be wounded by an attempt
to cross the Maine, and thus aggrandise Prussia in that
direction. Prussia would conscientiously abide by the
provisions of the Treaty of Prague. It would, moreover,
fulfil the conditions named in paragraph 5, and be quite
ready to annul the violations of paragraph 4, which
France, very justly, cannot but view with distrust."
These are very definite statements, but they are not
unreasonable. This much is certain : the alliance between
the royal houses of England and Prussia must, so far as it
goes, be an influence on the side of peace.

cause, from the accession of Washington till the ad-
vent of President Jackson. • It was with the ad-
ministraiion of that officer that the present system
was inaugurated, which Mr. Jenckes hopes to de-
stroy, and which, we, believe, he will succeed in
doing during the administration of President Grant.
Jackson's motto was simple ; he regarded politics
as a fight for power, the spoils belonging to the vic-
tor, and from that date, 40 years ago, the political aid
given to the candidate for office has been held
more binding than any qualifications. A. more
fatal system could not be devised, but it did not act
with the present force till after the war, when the
Civil Service increased to such huge proportions. Of
the 50,000 officers, exclusive of those requiring the
Sena te's confirmation, 30,000 are in the postal de-
partment, and the 20,000 in the various public offices
are within the scope of Mr. Jencke-s' Bill. Of these,
the Department of the Treasury numbers more than
all the others combined. Some collect the Customs,
some assess and collect the internal revenue, look
after the lighthouses and the coast survey ; many
are in the office of the Treasury of the United
States—in that of the Register of the Treasury, the
Auditors and Comptrollers, the Loan Department,
Comptroller of the Currency, the Bureaux of In-
ternal Revenues and Statistics, printing and issuing
currency,revenue cutter service,inspection of steam-
boats and steam boilers, special agencies, police and
detectives, special agents in the Bureau of the Com-
missioner of Customs.

The Department of the Interior numbers, be-
sides the general staff, the officers in the Gene-
ral
Land Office, who have charge of all busi-
ness relating to the public lands those in
the Patent Office, including many skilled in
technology in the Indian Office and in the
Pension Office. The War Department includes
that of the Quartermaster, the Subsistence, and
the Pay Departments ; the offices of the Surgeon-
General, the Ordnance, the Adjutant-General, the
Engineer, the Freedman's Bureau, and the bureaux
in charge of the Washington Aqueduct and public
buildings. The Navy Department comprises all its
m.lny clerks at Washington, as well as the bureaux
and commissions of the navy yards throughout the
country. Most of the offices of the Department of
State require the confirmation of the Senate, com-
posed as they are, thOliplornatic service of the United
States, but the clerks and others employed at Wash-
ington are insignificant in number. The Post-office
Department includes the clerks at Washington, and
in the principal post offices throughout the country.
Mr. Jenckes' Bill proposes to establish a Board of
Commissioners to ascertain and determine the
standard of qualification required for each class
and grade of these inferior offices, no appointment
being permitted until the candidate shall have passed
the required examination, and shall have served
satisfactorily during the period of probation, when
he will be entitled to a permanent place in the service.
The Commissioners will receive, if this hill passes,
ample pow'srs to establish rules and regulations Co
govern ex-uninations and probations for the admiS-
Edon of all candidates to the public service and to
eject all deficient in these qualifications, or who
may be inefficient or incompetent from any other
cause.

In reply to 37 questions submitted to a large
number of civil officers the testitnony was almost

unanimous iu favour of the change, making the ser-
vice permanent, appointing at first to the lowest
grade after a rigid test examination, and requiring all
officers to undergo such examination before promo-
tion. Many thought that the work could be better
performed under the system now recommended by
two-thirds of the officers at present employed, and
men better educated, more talented, and of higher
character would enter the service. Several speak
very favourably of women as clerks, but their
duties appear to be wholly confined to copying,
in which work they compare favourably with the
men for diligence and efficiency. This is almost
unanimously the testimony--some even rating their
intelligence higher; but Mr. Sargent, Commissioner
of Customs, has the hardihood to declare that he has
got rid of his female employees; although some were
good clerks as a rule, they were less reliable and
efficient than males, and more difficult to govern.
He would be unwilling to trust the unravelling of
confused and erroneous statements to such, pursuing
the errors through a long series of returns, as he
had never yet seen the woman equal to the task.
S. M. Clark, Chief of Printing Division, National
Currency Bureau, gives a curious accouut of his
examination in August, 1;56. Mr. Rodman was
then chief clerk, and Major Barker and Mr. INl‘Koati,
two prominent fourth-clais clerks, composed the
Board. Major Barker commenced the examination
by saying, " You are from New York, I believe,
Mr. Clark ?" and on learning that he was, the major
gave a detailed narrative of his first visit, grapni-
cally describing the disturbance created in his mind
by the noise and confusion of the great city ; to
which Mr. Clark listened attentively, that the
reference therein to his examination might not
be lost on him. The narrative took half an hour,
and Clark was in despair, for if there was any
reference, he had failed to detect it. He was,
however, relieved on the close by, the narrator
saying to his associate examiners, " Well, gentle-
men, I suppose there is no doubt Mr. Clark is qua-
lified," upon which they all signed the certificate,
and the examination closed. The chief coiner of
the United States Mint, A. Loudon Snowden,
is almost as expert in coining grand sentences as
money, for he writes as follows :—" To those who
accomplish this great work will belong the honour
of having inaugurated a new era in the history of
our country. She will arise from the dust and cast
off her old garments stained with the corruption of
the times, and in a new and spotless robe march on
to the accomplishment of her great destiny—on
a second great proclamation of her emancipation.
It is in view of these important and vital considera-
tions I witness with profound satisfaction the
efforts of patriotic men at Washington to reorganize
the Civil Service of the United States upon a
sound and enduring basis; and I do but speak
the words of soberness and truth in declaring that
he who most prominently identifies himself with this
reform, who labours most earnestly, and strikes moat
fearlessly and effectively against the present defec-
tive and c)rrupt system, will secure a place in our
history, and in the hearts of all true lovers of our
country, that alone can be occupied by him who
does a great and enduring work in behalf of the
highest and noblest interests of our people and age."
John W. Douglas, collector of Internal Revenue,
Erie, removed one of his subordinates for the suffi-
cient reason that he was a consistent thief, and an
inconsistent preacher. Mr. Shriner urges Govern-
ment to dismiss all spies and informers who harass
the people and eat up their substance. Many offi-
cers advocate rigorous punishment in cases of me-
venue fraud. The testimony is so vast, collected
all over the Union, from hundreds of officers of all
grades in the service, that it is impossible to do more
than cursorily glance at their evidence here. The
fuller opinions then cone of former Presidents and
other prominent citizens, followed by extracts from
the most striking articles on the subject in the
Press, among which we must express our surprise
at not being honoured with a place. Appendix F.
is devoted to the Civil Service of China, which is
of so interesting a character that we purpose to dis-
cuss it by itself in a future number. The Civil Service
of Prussia is next described ; then the English Ser-
vice; after which the French Service, besides two full
and complete reports on the Civil Service of France
and the United Kingdom. The clauses of the pro-
posed bill are then given, together with two speeches
delivered by the Hon. Thomas A. Jenckes, the
first iu January, 1867, and the other last May.

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