The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 24, 1868.

and Huns `tae tton, to Walsingbam and Holkham,
and to Grea t Yarmouth. Cromer possesses great
attractions for the geologist. Hunstanton cliffs,
too, though not boasting of a forest bed, or a
mammaliferons crag, has an object worth notice
in its section of red chalk and green sand. The
excursion t o Walsingham was of a more picturesque
and arcbmc logical character, the visitors inspecting
the ruins o.F. an ancient monastery, the interesting
records of Holkhatn Hall, with all the tradi-
tional reies of the great Lord COKE, from whom
Earl of Leicester is descended. The Great
Yarmouth had plenty of wonders, new and
old, to see, beginning with the Roman camp,
at Burgh, and ending with the Sailors' Home and
the rocket apparatus of the present day.
In alluding to the close of the labours of the
Association we must not omit to mention the very
able and interesting address delivered by Professor
HUXLEY to the working men of Norwich on Wed-
nesday evening. He especially referred to the
discoveries recently made in the course of marine
surveying, which afford most valuable additions to
our stock of geological facts. It is a striking fact,
ascertained by an American microscopist, that the
deep-sea soundings, brought up from a depth of
10,000 and 11,000 feet from the bottom of the
North Atlantic Ocean, are chiefly made up
of minute shells, as minute as those found
in the chalk, and identical in their structure and
character. The Admiralty subsequently despatched
Captain DAYMAN on a task which, as Professor
HURLEY observed, reminds us cf the obligations
laid upon the young princes of the fairy tales.
They bade him take a ship and bring up the bot-
tom of the Atlantic for 1,700 miles at regular in-
tervals. Captain DAYMAN fulfilled his commission
as promptly and as efficiently as though he had a
fairy godmother to aid him, and the examination of
his specimens was entrusted to Professor Huxuv.
That gentleman showed his audience a lump
of grey chalk which, he said, exactly corre-
sponded in appearance with the covering of
the vast, plain which lies below the Atlantic. Fully
95 per cent. of this substance, which covers a plain
1,000 miles wide, is made up of little shells, the
largest of which is not more than one-fiftieth of an
inch in diameter, while the smallest may sink to
one-thousandth of an inch. This is a most remark-
able fact, and the more so as the identity of the
globigerina of the Atlantic mud and the globigerina
of the English chalk is clearly established. "We
Englishmen," said the Professor, in alluding to
the antiquity of the chalk, " are very proud if
we can trace our ancestry back to the battle of
Hastings ; but we have here a little shell whose
ancestors might have witnessed a battle of ichthy-
osauri in the sea over the country where Hastings
now stands, and that puts all our escutcheons to
shame." Professor HUXLEY'S lecture was listened
to with deep interest and attention, and the work-
ing men of Norwich may think themselves fortunate
in thus having so good a share of the intellectual
feast which the rest of the citizens have been en-

joying.

the half-yearly meetings of our southern railway
companies have brought about, as might have been
expected, some discussion respecting the recent
raising of the fares. Both directors and share-
holders are very well aware by this time that the
movement i 3 highly unpopular ; but we are sorry
to find that they are not yet amenable to reason.
However the state of their dividends at the close
of the year will probably supply unanswerable
arguments, since already the traffic on the
southern lines has considerably diminished. People
will not pay what they deem exorbitant prices
for pleasure trips if they are compelled to do so for
business journeys, and the Brighton and Myer
lines have been in the habit of reaping a large
harvest from the general preference for the southern
coast. We apprehend that at the end of the season
the railways will find they have made a mistake.
The chairman of the London, Chatham, and Dover
line took a very haughty view of the matter, and
said the tone which the public had adopted was
most unreasDnable. The fares hitherto charged
had been found to be unremunerative, and
the directors were bound to consult the
interest of the s'lareholders. He did not say
why moderate fares had proved insufficient, nor
allude to the extravagance which the public are
called upon to pay for. A shareholder present said
he did not see why the railway company should be
treated worse than the butcher or baker, whose in-
creased prices were paid without grumbling ! How-
ever the Chairman admitted that it was quite a
commercial question, and if the present fares did
not answer they must alter them, which is some-
thing gained.

RINK OF FRANCE.

PARIS, Aug. 27.

rile following is the return of the Bank of France
for the week ending to-day, together with the cor-
responding figures of the previous account :---

CORRESPONDENCE PROM PARIS.

2FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
p-7
PARIS, THURSDAY, August 27.

The visit of the Count and Countess of Girgenti still
occupies the attention of the ingenious. Driven to despair
by the lack of greater problems, the Presse believes that
Rome is to be the object of this interview, and that an
unexpected solution of the Franco-Roman question may
be loolced for. The Count de Girgenti is certainly
the brother of the Ex-King of Naples, but then
the Countess is the daughter of the Queen of
Spain. Here is an admirable opportunity of a see-saw
for the numerous politicians who rely upon their imagina-
tion for their facts. Those who reject the Rome theory
insist that the Empress of the French would like to hear
from the daught, r of the Queen of Spain respecting the
events which are cc ur ing, or may occur, in the benighted
peninsula. This is much more yraisemblable than the
first theory. As to the Emperor, it is pretty certain that
the statement of the Figaro is correct, and that there will
be no interview between his Imperial Majesty and the
Queen of Spain at Biarritz.
By the influence of the colonel of the 83rd Regiment an
inquiry has been made into the events which transpired
at Nimes on the 29th of July, when a private meeting
was interrupted by the police with several soldiers. It was
reported that M. Lanier was struck and wounded by a lieu-
tenant who has since been made a captain. The inquiry shews
that M. Lanier was wounded by a bayonet thrust from a
soldier, and that the lieutenant was behind. It is said
that M. Lanier suffers much from the effects of hi 4
wound. But still worse remains to be told. The father
of M. Lanier was so excited when his wounded son wail,
brought to him that he died in four days from tiff
nervous shock which he experienced. -More than fifty
thousand persons were present at the funeral.
Must we estimate amongst the merciful " dispensation;
of Providence," to use Mr. Disraeli's phrase, that villany
can never restrain itself within due bounds? A young
dealer in jewels here established himself in business, and.
was enabled to obtain unlimited credit on account of his
being the nephew of a rich and highly esteemed merchant.
To obtain jewels wholesale on the security of his
signature, and dispose of them to the public for cash,
was a highly lucrative business, and it is not sur-
prising that the young trader prospered exceedingly
for a while. The species of fraud which consists in obtain-
ing goods without paying for them is not original, but it is
profitable and safe. But our young friend could not stop
here. One day he became possessed, on credit, of diamonds
Ep the value of £14,000, and the temptation proved too great.
Ile could not wait for the tedious process of realisation by
trade, so he left his business behind him and decamped with
the diamonds. When " wanted" he was abroad. Whether
the defaulter can be captured, or whether the sale
of the diamonds can be prevented, is a problem for the
police ; but the boundary within which fraud is safe has
been overstepped, and the " respectable trader " is now a
criminal. Does not the difference between the crime and
the prelude appear remarkably small?
The opening of the Councils-General has been attended
with few features of interest. They are presided over by
some of the foremost Ministers, but the "utterances" so
far have not been remarkable. The presidents have
generally confined themselves to the stereotype routine of
the harvest, the glorious success of the loan, and some
Delphian predictions on the question of peace or war.
The three forthcoming elections in the Var, the Nibvre,
and the Moselle departments are looked forward to with
extreme interest after the result of the Jura. The candi-
dates have all been chosen, and are now vis-d-ris, but there
are no means of estimating the results.
The sale of the Figaro in the streets has been stopped—
why, I cannot learn. This is the only press event of the
week, so that the journalists consider themselves very
mildly treated so far. Moreover MM. Pinard and Baroche
have been summoned to Fontainebleau, and this is con-
strued as an indication that the rigour of the press prosecu-
tions is to be abated.

A dreadful crime has taken place at St. Denis. An old
man of 73 years, with his woman-servant, aged nearly 50,
have been murdered by a workman under circumstances
of great barbarity. The murderer committed suicide on
the spot.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.

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