The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-14 00:00:00

GERMANY.

The following is the decree of the King of Prussia
for reducing the army :
" As the reasons which called forth my command for
making the whole army mobile, on the 6.h of Novem-
ber, have been removed by the conclusion of an under-
standing with the Imperial Government of Austria, I
hereby direct the Ministry to suspend the measures now
in progress for placing the corps of the army on a war
footing, and gradually to effect a reduction of the num-
ber of the troops to their former strength.
" FREDERIC WILLIAM.
" MANTEUFFEL.
" VON DER HEIDT.
" VON RABE SIMONS.
" VON ST:CKIIAUSEN.
"Potsdam, Dec. 10, 1850,"

(Countersigned)

The Deutsche Reform has an extensive report of
a Cabinet Council which was held at Vienna on
the sth instant. In this Council Prince Schwarzen-
berg gave a detailed account of the result of his
mission to Olmutz, and an animated discussion en-
sued on the subject of the German question. The
greatest interest was manifested on the topic of the
re-organization of the Confederation, and the mem-
bers of the Cabinet were as much divided on
this subject as the Princes of the Imperial
House, who are wont to exercise great influence
on the decisions of the Cabinet. At length the
Council agreed that a reorganization of the old Diet,
if any, must be undertaken in a liberal spirit. The
Archduke Lewis, who has hitherto been a strenuous
supporter of Conservative measures, protested on this
occasion that nothing would so much tend to establish
the Diet on a respectable and influential footing as
a thorough liberal reform, with the consent of all
German Powers. The Archduke protested that
this new time had its claims and its rights; that he
had been an advocate of absolute authority, because
he had reason to believe such authority seasonable and
necessary, but that at present he must vote for a strict
adherence to constitutional principles, since these prin-
ciples were protected by public opinion, which ranked
first among the elements of political life. The Em-
peror expressed his concurrence with the views of his
uncle, and it was decided that at the commencement
of the Conferences Austria should submit a proposal
tending to a liberal reform of the old Diet.

PROGRESS OF FREE TRADE IN

GEILNI ANY.

We read in the /adepeadance of Brussels : " Our
readers know the diffrence of material and commer-
cial interests which exist between the north and south
of Germany, and which more, perhaps, than any
other motive was the first obstacle to the realization
of German unity. From the first meeting of the
National Assembly of Frankfort, when the represen-
tatives of the different German nationalities suc-
ceeded in coming to an understanding on the political
questions on the order of the day, an abyss separated
them immediately whenever a question relative to
cornm7,=ree or customs duties was raised. The south
of Germany, which is more manufacturing, is favour-
able to the protective system, and its represenatives
form at Frankfort the association for the protection
of labour; the north, on the contrary, which pas
sesses a large mercantile nevy and vast com-
mercial relati ms, is in favour of free trade, anti
has constituted free trade associations at Hamburgh,
Frankfort, and Berlin. It is this antagonism which
led to the constitution of the Steuerverein, or cus-
toms' assoeietien, between Oldenburg and Hanover,
in opposition to the Prussian Z)liverein, and which
hes always prevented the accession of the mari-
time states to the custom' union constituted
under the presidency of Prussia. The lest propo-
sitions submitted to the conferences at Cassel by the
Prussian Minister of Commerce, which tended to
cause the Zellverein to adopt the prohibitive system,
as a satisfaction to the southern states, menaced
by the existence of the Zollverein, have made the
msmbers of the Steuerverein still more hostile; and
they, by the instigation of the Hanoverian Govern-
ment, have resolved to send delegates to Hanover,
charged to come to an understanding on the means of
protecting the interests of the north of Germany, by
acting in concert in the conferences of Dresden.
The delegates of Hanover, Bremen, and Oldenburg
have already met, and those of Hamburgh, Lubeck,
and the two Mecklenburgs are expected to join them."

AN ACCOUNT OF OPERATIONS FOR
CATARACT ON BEARS.
BY WHITE COOPER, F.R.C.S.
(From the Medical Times of Dec. 14 )
Having received several communications on the
subject of certain operations recently performed by me
at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's-park, the par-
ticulars may perhaps be acceptable, as these are, I
believe, the first known operations for cataract on the
larger carnivore.
The objections which have hitherto prevented this
operation being performed on animals are, the pre-
sence of a powerful retractor muscle, which with-
draws the eye with great force into the orbit, and the
supposed necessity for artificial optical assistance after
the cataracts have disappeared. The powerful action
of the muscles of the lids was not to be overlooked ;
and, as regards the beasts of prey, their formidable
means of resistance constituted another objection to
any attempt for their relief.
The discovery of chloroform obviated many of these
difficulties, as by its use the eye is completely at the
command of the operator. The necessity for subse-
quent artificial assistance has been overrated. With-
out entering into the question of the reproduction of
the lens, which the experiments of M. Leroy d'Etiolles
have shown to take place in the rabbit, cat, and dog,
and may therefore occur in other mammalia, though
not in man, there are strong grounds for supposing
that the sight of animals operated on for cataract when
young, may be very materially recovered. The
powers of nature in restoring vision under such cir-
cumstances are familiar to those who have paid at-
tention to opthalmic surgery, and numerous instances
are recorded where, by depriving the eye of glasses,
and compelling it as it were to accommodate itself to
its altered condition, very useful sight has been re-
stored even in old persons. The earlier in life the
operation, the more perfect the recovery of the sight.
If this be the case in man. whose restorative powers
are far less active than those of the lower animals,
we may reasonably suppose that the latter will not
fall short of him in the amount of benefit received,
and as the sight required by animals when domesti-
cated, or in confinement at leaflt, is less than that
needed by man, I am of opinion, that if the cataract
be removed in young animals, they will recover use -
• ful vision besides losing a considerable blemish.
The Grizzly Bears of the B.ocky Mountains are
the largest, most powerful, and most ferocious
of the bear tribe, and v;about the aid of chloro-
form it would be utterly impossible to perform
any delicate operation upon them. As, however,
tvk o of the three fine young grizzly bears recently
aided to the menagerie of the Zoological Society
were blind, and their value thereby greatly diminished,
Mr. Mitchell, Secretary to the Society, proposed to
me to make an effort to restere them to sigh*. Dr.
Snow having kindly undertaken the application of the
chloroform, the first operation wa performed on the
s:b of last November.
The patient having been separated From the other
bears, a strong leathern collar and chain was buckled
. round his neck, and the chain being fastened round
one of the front bars of the cage, two strong men
proceeded to pull him to it as a bullock is hauled to
• the slaughtering ring. The bear was the size of a
young donkey, and his resistance was quite remark-
able; for full ten minutes he set their efforts at
defiance, and ultimately it was only by the
united strength of four men that he was
placed in a position favourable for the applica-
tion of the chloroform. Dr. Snow endeavoured to
hold a sponge to his nose, but it was only by fairly
. tying it to his muzzle that the object was attained.
The dropping of the paws, with the cessation of his
roaring and struggles, told that he was insensible;
and, the sponge being removed, he was laid with his
head on a plank outside the den. A solution of atro.
pine had been placed in the eyes on the previous
• "fling, and the pupils were found fully dilated.
• The instrument used was a strong straight
cutting needle. The extraordinary toughness and
thickness of the cornea rendered the insertion
of this difficult; and the lens was singularly
large in proportion to the eye. Thi3 rendered
the breaking up of that body by no means' easy, and
it occupied full a minute. The morning wes
and the margin of the deep brown iris not distinctly
seen, which led to its being wounded in one eye and
bleeding freely. The cataracts having been th roughly
destroyed, the bear was drawn again into the den.
For some minutes he continued in a state of profound
coma, giving scarcely
any evidence of 'if-, but gra-
dually recovered, and rising with some difficulty he
• staggered into his sleeping apartment.
On my going to his den the following' morning the
door of the dormitory was thrown open, and to my
surprise, he came out with his eyes open, faced the
light without the slightest inconvenience, and began
licking his paws with perfect satisfaction. A dose of
Rochelle salts was given to him rather as a matter of
precaution than because they were needed, and his
recovery was rapid, not one red vessel discolouring;
the conjunctiva at any time.
Encouraged by this result,a similar operation was
perfornied on the second bear on November 15th.
This animal was brought out of the den and secured
to the iron rail in front by six men, and was thus more
manageable. The dote .administered on the first oc-
casion being rather greater than
,was needed, Dr..
Snow tbia- time used chloroform and spirit in equal