The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-31 00:00:00

PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE ROYAL MARINES.

A correspondent of the Times cf Wednesday sets
forth in emphatic terms the services which the
splendid and. efficient body of the marines ..have
rendered to the country. The superior discipline of
the Royal- Marines saved the navy in one great
mutiny, and many naval officers can bear testimony
that they have depended upon it when they were in
difficulties. It may well be a matter of serious con-
sideration whether a body of men lik e the R oyal Marines
should be altogether dispensed with, for they are good
gunners and useful in boat-service. Without the
support of the marines, our sailors might not have
undertaken some of those operations which have
added to the renown of our navy. The country is
bound to see that those conditions are carried out on
which the rank and file of the marines have enlisted,
and the authorities mutt pay strict attention to this
matter if they determine upon making the proposed
changes. If the reduction of the marines be carried
into effect, it will be necessary that each man be
dealt with justly, and that an equitable compensation
be afforded to him for the right he may have
acquired to a pension, however short or long his
service may have been.
INSOLVENCY IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.

The attention of our authorities appears to have
been at last called to the unsatisfactory condition of
the private affairs of too many of our public ser-
vants. The last London Gazette contains a Treasury
minute, dated the 30th ult., relating to the bank-
ruptcy or insolvency of members of the civil service.
This minute lays down some rules for general
observance, premising that it is to be henceforth
understood' that serious pecuniary embarrassment,
from whatever cause it arises, impairs the efficiency
of a public servant. Such embarrassment, if occa-
sioned by imprudence or by other reprehensible cause,
will b e held tb be an offence a s affecting the respectability
of the service and thetrustworthiness of the individual.
Any person so offending will forfeit his claim to pro-
motion or increase of salary from length of service,
and he shall not regain it until he shall have relieved
himself from the discredit of such a position. Aggra-
vated cases will be more severely dealt with, and the
mere fact of becoming a party to accommodation
bills under any plea whatever will subject a civil
servant to the disadvantages mentioned above. In
the event of any civil servant being arvsted, or being
"!i,.ated a bankrupt, or entering into a
coo ~.3ition - with his creditors, he will be
BUS' led from duty and salary, and not reinstated
until a careful examination has taken place of the
facts of the case, and it has been shewn that his
difficulties have been occasioned by unavoidable mis-
fortune, and not by extravagance or culpable miscon-
duct. Any person who does not inform the head of
his department immediately he is arrested or finds
himself in danger of becoming a bankrupt, will, so
soon as the fact becomes known, be removed from
the service without prospect of reinstatement

EMIGRATION IN THE METROPOLIS
The question of emigration has been taken up
very strongly in the district of St. Paul's, Clerken-
well. A sort of reading-room or library has been
established there, and a discussion-class formed, con-
sisting of a dozen working men. They hit upon
" Migration " as one of their-topics, and the incum-
bent, the Rev. A. Herring. was requested to furnish
them with full information on the subject. - The
result of the inquiries was that a " unanimous vote
was passed in favour of emigration to Canada." A
man who was engaged in the clock and watch trade
made an experimental trip to Canada, and his success
was so great that he is now saving money to
fetch out his family. An emigration fund has
been formed by the people of St. Paul's, and the
plan of operation is very simple. A block of land is
to be obtained in Canada, and a regular settlement
formed, to be called " -New Clerkenwell." This land
is to be divided into allotments, and those persons
wishing to emigrate are to subscribe to the fund OD a
certain scale. On the basis of this scheme 284 persons
are now paying in their subscriptions. These repre-
sent as many as eighty-nine trades, a fact which
shews how great the distress has been among the
working classes, and how general is • the feeling in
favour of emigration. The majority of the sub-
scribers are heads of families, so that the number of
individuals concerned in the movement cannot well be
less than a thousand.