The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-25 00:00:00

LONDON AND THE ELECTIONS,

The greatest excitement prevailed in London yester-
day respecting the elections. Lord George Hamilton's
return was safe from the first, owing to the personal squabble
between the two Liberal candidates. In Mid-Surrey
also the Conservatives kept ahead throughout. But the
chief interest was in the South-West Lancashire election.
At the Carlton Club telegrams were received every quarter
of an hour. It was there reckoned that if Mr.
Gladstone were not ahead more than seven hundred
at twelve o'clock he would be beaten. His
majority at that hour was not more than a
quarter of this figure, and when the one o'clock return
sheaved Mr. Gladstone second on the poll,
and only eight ahead of Mr. Turner, both sides
considered the Liberal leader's re-election lost. At
two o'clock, Mr. Gladstone was found to have
fallen to the third place, with 70 votes less than the second
Conservative candidate, and the ultimate result was no
longer doubtful. Long after dark the newspaper offices
were besieged by a crowd reading the telegrams placed up
in the windows.

A swan from Norwich is yearly presented to
the Pope as a tribute of respect from a devoted son of the
Church of Rome.

One contingent of 4,600 volunteers, who are to
leave Spain for Cuba, is now ready. On the 30th of
November, says the Imperial of Madrid, an imposing
squadron will depart from Cadiz for the Queen of the
Antilles.

HAD SEEN SERVICE. —Moses Smith, a coloured
man, died at Washington on the 4th inst., at the age of
120. He was formerly a slave in Virginia, and retained a
distinct recollection of the stirring events of the Revolu-
tion. He was servant of an officer in the Legion of Light
Horse Harry, and remembered many incidents, which,
despite his age, he related graphically, of the campaign of
this cavalier in the Carolinas. His wife is still living, at
the age of 115 years.

MORE RuMouus.—The Post says that a rumour
has been current to the effect that the Ministry would
probably resign on the eve of the meeting of Parliament.
The Post understands that this story is quite unfounded,
and that the Government, having challenged the verdict
of the country, will abide by the issue, and stand or fall
en the result of the motion of want of confidence which
will be at once put forward on the assembling of the new
House of Commons.

DEATH OF THE OLDEST GENERAL IN THE BRITISH
Aintv.--We have to record the decease of General R.
Pigot, which took place on Sunday, at his residence,
Chieveley, near Newbury, where he had lived with his
family for many years. The late officer, who was
colonel of the 4th Dragoon Guards, was in his 95th year,
and was the oldest general in the British army. He entered
the service in 1793.

The last male descendant of Gustavus Vasa, M.
de Stjerneld, died on the 14th inst. at Stockholm. He was
born in 1791, and entered the diplomatic service in 1811.
In 1313 he went to Germany with the Swedish Crown
Prince, was appointed Charge d'Affaires at the Hague in
1814, and came to London as Swedish Envoy Extraordi-
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary in 1818. In 1838 he
obtained the portfolio of Minister of Foreign Affairs at,
Stockholm. He held this post until 1842, and resumed it
in 1848, when a new Ministry was appointed by Ring
Oscar. He finally withdrew from public affairs in 1856.
THE RETURN OF MR, GLADSTONE.—With regard
to the statement that Mr. Gladstone's return for Green-
wich would be opposed, the Morning Summary (a Cower.
vative paper) has the following :—" There is a rumour
that a petition will he presented against the return of
Alderman Salomons and Mr. Gladstone for Greenwich, on
the ground of treating and intimidation. There can, we
believe, be no doubt that Conservative electors were pre-
vented polling ; and the same would have been the case
with West Kent electors at Bromley on Monday, had not
a strong body of police been despatched from London."
The Record attempts to throw contempt on Mr.
Gregory, the newly-appointed Canon of St. Paula, by
describing him as a Ritualist, and by stating that
a son of Mr. Gladstone is his curate. The Daily
News also gives circulation to the statement. Mr.
Gregory, it is now stated, is not a Ritualist as Ritualism
is understood at St. Alban's All Saints,' Lambeth, and else-
where, but he has enccuraged a full develt,pment of choral
service (as many Evangelicals rave, done), and the Evange-
lical Bishop of Winchester has designated him " The Quo( n
Dee of the Diocese." It is not true that Mr. Gladstone's
son is his curate, the gentleman alluded to not being in holy
orders. It is, however, said that Mr. S. E. Gladstone in-
tends to enter the ministry of the Church, and it is possible
that Mr. Gregory may give him a title to orders.

Within the last few days several of the grand
marble tableaux, executed in inlay work by Baron Tri-
queti, and intended for the decoration of the Albert
Memorial Chapel, have arrived at Windsor Castle. Two
of these beautiful works of art have been placed in their
proper positions on the south wall of the interior of the
chapel. The first to be noticed is that contributed by her
Royal Highness Princess Louis of Hesse (Princess Alice
of Great Britain and Ireland.) The subject is, "Pharaoh
creating Joseph Viceroy of Egypt." The next ta'bleau,
upon the south wall, is " The offering of the firstborn of
the Queen and the late Prince Consort." It is the picture
presented by her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of
Prussia (Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland),
who with her royal husband, Prince Frederick Wilhelm,
is now a guest at Windsor Castle. The subject selected
for Princess Victoria's tableau is "Jacob Blessing the
Sons of Joseph." Only a portion of the Princess of
Wales's offering has yet reached the Castle.

THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL'S RETURNS.—Accord-
mg to the Registrar-General's weekly return the death-
rate last week in London and in thirteen other large
towns of the United Kingdom was 27 per 1,000. In the
metropolis it was 25 ; Bristol was the lowest, at 19 ;
and Glargow the highest, at 36. The births registered
in London were 2,126; and the deaths 1,507, or 125
less than the estimated number for the forty-seventh
week of the year. There were 118 deaths from
scarlatina, but the Registrar contrasts this with the very
satisfactory feature of this week's return. During the
past quarter only fifty-eight persons have died from small-
pox in an estimated population of more than three
millions, and this favourable result may be attributed to
successful vaccination. The authorities in the large towns
where smallpox had been very fatal are recommended to
lose no time in carrying out measures for checking the
progress of this malady.
SAILORS' HOMES WANTED.—Our own work is not
yet half done, and it is forthe good of his own country that
Admiral Hall is still actively working at the head of an
organisation called " The Sailors' Home Society," which
has its office at 6, New-inn-street, with Mr. John Davies
for its honorary secretary, and Admiral Sir William Hall
for its chairman and honorary managing director. At this
particular time it is hard at work upon two endeavours.
One is to set up a Home which is much wanted at
Weymouth for the seamen of the Royal Navy ; the other
is to add to the two Homes which are all that have been
yet provided by the great and wealthy port of London;
another on the south side of the Thames, at Rotherhithe.
As to the need there, it is enough to say that at present
there is no such thing as a Sailors' Home to be found on
the south side of the river, where accessible lodgings are
immeasurably squalid, and the docks—though less impor-
tant than those of the north side—receive as much ship.
ping as almost any port in the kingdom.—Dickens's All
the Year Round.

STATISTICAL SOCIETY.—The first ordinary meet-
ing of the present session was held'on Tuesday, the 17th
instant; Mr. James Heywood, F.R.S., vice-president, in
the chair. A paper was read by Professor Jevons,
M.A., "On the Amount of the Metallic Currency of the
United Kingdom with reference to the question of
International Coinage." The author described the
results of a kind of partial census of the age and condition
of the gold currency which he has lately carried out with
the aid of a number of bankers. lie estimates the gold
currency at 80 millions sterling, of which 12 millions are
in half-sovereigns. The most practical result is to shew
that about one-third of the sovereigns and one-
half of the half-sovereigns are below the least
weight of legal currency, so that there are about
25 millions of light gold in use. Bankers who have
to remit gold coin to the Bank of England invariably pick
the heavy gold for the purpose, and considerable trouble
and injustice is occasioned. As the present free coinage
system fails to remedy this depreciation of the currency,
a recoinage and the imposition of a small Mint charge
were becoming a matter of necessity, and it was pointed
out in conclusion how favourable were the circumstances
for the introci,nction of an international coinage, Which
might be adopted without the alighted disturbance of
tzlitiost goolt4o