The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-25 00:00:00

MINING IN7ELLIGENCE.

Letter from Ophir Canon :—The present summer
bids fair to eclipse any previous season. It is pretty
well understood that a vigorous working of several
mines will be carried shortly; the Autocrat, in this
canon, the Eclipse in Summit, and the Brown and
Spiker in Wisconsin. The latter has been worked
upon as steadily as the weather would permit fur
several months ; an incline to a depth of 130 feet
is now completed which discloses a fine body of
very rich ore.

Independence Valley is a new mining field, 60
miles north of the Humboldt. There are now about
25 miners there, mostly engaged in placer mining,
with considerable success. The gold obtained is
worth about $l3 per ounce—is rather fine, and has
the appearance of not having been long released
from quartz. The day before the writer left he saw
three men take out $lOO from their claim. There are
arrangements making, by a party from Austin, to
put up a 10-stamp mill to work the ore of a ledge
which they say will pay $4O to the ton in gold, with
ore enough above the surface of the ground to keep
the mill running two years.

A private correspondent of the News writes that
—" The Empress of the French has assured her life for a
very heavy sum, portions of the risk are held iu London.
lam told that the Queen is insured. It is impertinent to
pry into the domestic affairs of the Sovereign, but her
loyal subjects are interested in all that concerns het, and
might be glad to ascertain what her annual premiums
amount t'."

SELF-LIGHTING GAS-BURNER.—A new burner of
this description, illustrated in the Scientific American for
May 9, has a miniature supplementary pipe by the bide of
the main nipple, receiving its supply of gas from a chan-
nel cut from the main supply aperture in the cock par-
tially around its circumference. When the gas is
turned on to the main burner, the supply to the
supplementary burner is entirely cut off ; but when shut
off from the primary or principal burner, a small portion
escapes through the auxiliary, lighted in the instant
of turning off by the flame from the main burner, in
consequence of the rapid spiral of the channel cut in
the circumference of the cock, which is simply a
" fast" screw thread. In lighting, the jet of gas from
the auxilary tube, when the cock is turned, "jumps up"
and ignites the gas from the main tube. The small tube,
of course, burns gas when the main tube is not acting, but
the amount thus burned is slight and proves to be far less
expensive than the use of matches and other appliances
for lighting gas. A cowl or cap protects the wallet
from being extinguished by currents of air.
The newspapers aro teeming with references to econo-
my in tea by co-operation. forninan and Co. have for 30
years co• operated through Agents to supply tea on more
advantageous terms than by the ordinary channel; their tea
reaches the consumer in the same pure state as it leaves the
grower, as it is secured in packets.

INEWSPAPEU
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. tiLADSTONE AND :4
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FOR WESTMINSTER. •
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Mr. Mill and Captain Grosvenor on Friday.addressed
their constituents. The following letter from Mr. Glad.
stone was read. It was dated July 21:—
" Sir,—l have the honcur to • acknowledge your letter
)f yesterday, and to express my regret that I shall be
=able to attend the meeting on Friday evening
which it is proposed to hold on behalf of Messrs.
Grosvenor and Mill as candidates for Westminster.
Allow me, however, to assure you of my lively
hterest in their cause ; and this, not only on their own
• tccount, but for the dignity and credit of the City of
Westminster, now invited, as I understand, to displace
one or the other of her members, both of whom,' in
receiving honour from it, have done it honour. I have not
a word to say against Mr. Smith in any capacity, except
as a candidate for Westminster ; and against him in that
capacity I could say a good many words, for I am asso-
ciated with your actual representatives in a good and
great cause, the progress of which it is his purpose to
impede. Ent I would rather speak of our present mem-
bers. Captain Grosvenor, who was first recommended to us
by the connection of his family with the city, and by the
cordial and deserved respect in which they are held, has
shewn himself to be an able and faithful representative,
whom his constituents might well have chosen front
his personal merits and abilities alone. Of Mr. Mill,
who has attained a world-wide fame, it would be almost
impertinent in me to speak the language of eulogy.
Yet I will venture on two assertions, both having
exclusive reference to his parliamentary career. Firm
in the maintenance of his own opinions, Mr.
Mill has ever exhibited the largest indulgence for
those •of others ; and with this liberal tolerance of
differences he has shewn in the most remarkable
manner how to reconcile, on the one hand, a thorough
independence, and, on the other, an enlightened sense of
the value and power of that kind of union which is desig-
nated by the name of political party. More than this,
Mr. Mill has set us all a rare example of forgiving temper,
of forgetfulness of self, of absolute devotion to public duty;
and I do not hesitate to express my deliberate opinion that
his presence in the House of Commons has materially
helped to raise and maintain its moral tone. I ask your
pardon for having been led to greater length than I had
intended, and I remain, sir, your faithful servant, W. E.
GLADSTONE."

Mr. MILL met with an enthusiastic reception. Referring
to the Bribery Bill, he said that when the present Govern-
ment introduced it he really was in hopes that there
was something like an intention to suppress, if possible,
the bad practices prevailing at our elections. The Govern.
meat took one rather bold step—they asked the House of
Commons, tenacious as that assembly was of its privilege;
to give up the power of judging as to the extent to which
corruption might have prevailed at elections. They thought,
and he thought, that judges were not so likely to
sympathise with the offenders as the very class from
which the offenders were drawn. Besides the change
of tribunal, the Government proposed to increase
the penalties upon the offenders. This gave him hopes.
He thought there was coming from the Tories something
substantial for the prevention of corruption. The meeting
were not to think him credulous. It was very possible for
Tories to be sincere in what might favour their cause at
elections. In the terrible struggle which had been going on for
some weeks, almost from day to day, to endeavour to
introduce into the bill precautions against corruption at
elections, and to prevent that improper expense
which made it impossible for any but rich men to
gain a seat in Parliament, no persons stood more
consistently by those who promoted the effort,
and more honourably, than ten or a dozen Tories—high.
minded, honourable men, who would not owe a seat in
Parliament to corruption. He could name several Tories
who, not only by their votes, but by motions and speeches,
did what they could. But it was all in vain. After the
Ministers bad carried their own original proposition for a
change of jurisdiction, not one single improvement would
they allow to be made in the bill. One after another
liberal and honest Tory members moved resolution after
resolution, and amendment after amendment, and pressed
these to a division, every one of which had for its
object to make elections purer and cheaper. But not
one of them would the Government suffer to be
carried. Many Liberal members had gone into
the country, to which they generally rushed at
this period of the session—and he was sorry to say it
was the period at which all tricks were perpetrated,
and by this combination of causes those who promoted
improvement had been defeated. As far as concerned the
present Government, electors were now delivered into the
hands of millionaires. Continuing, he said he gave credit
to the Government for a slight preference for honesty when
they introduced the bill, but he had no doubt that Mr.
Spoffortb, who managed the elections for the Tory party,
who knew all that was going on everywhere and in every
constituency in the Tory camp well as any man living—
he had no doubt thiS individual told his friends in the
Cabinet they must not, at this election at least, put these
practices at an end ; if they acted too rigidly it was very
much to be feared some of their members would not
get in.
A vote, pledging the meeting to support the hon. mem-
bers at the next election, closed the proceedings.

MORE DEATHS FROM SUNSTROKE.

-.--.--......

Two cases of sunstroke occurred at Witham, on
Wednesday ; the first to a labouring man, named
Benjamin Holland, aged 41, who was harvesting for Mr.
Shoobridge. He left the field to have his dinner at the
Woolpack public-house, where he lodged, between one
and two o'clock. As he was proceeding up Church-street,
he was observed to stager and fall ; he was assisted to
his lodgings as quickly as possible, and Mr. Tomkin
was soon in attendance upon him, but his services were
of no avail, and at twenty minutes to four the man
expired. The second case occurred to a man named
Groves, aged 73, a carrier, from Earls Colne.
He was engaged by Mr. It. Hunt, of that place, to remove
some iron hurdles to Hove-hills. About two o'clock he
passed through Rivenhall, and spoke to a man named
Shelley, remarking that it was very hot. About half an hour
Afterwards the same man Shelley was proceeding to
Witham, and on the railway bridge, a short distance
from the town, he found the poor fellow lying on his
face between the legs of his horse, which was standing
quite still. Two police constables were soon on the spot,
and he was removed to the union house as speedily as
possible, when Dr. Gimson, Mr. Proctor, and another
medical gentleman were soon with him, but he died on
Friday morning. On Tuesday a lad belonging to Danebury
was struck down near the Blue Lion Inn, Great Baddow,
and conveyed home in a very critical state, but we are glad
to hear that he is recovering. On Wednesday a maltster
named Smith, in the employ of Messrs. Wells and Perry,
was taken suddenly ill with symptoms of sunstroke, and
for some hours partially lost the use of his eyesight. He
is now gradually recovering. The same evening a cart-
horse belonging to Messrs. Marriage and Son suddenly
fell near the railway station, and died in a few minutes,
owing, it is supposed, to the intense heat. A man,
named Thomas Ruffell, living in Rainsfcrd-road, received
a severe sunstroke, rendering him completely insensible,
and he now lies in a dangerous state. A correspondent
at Hitchin reports five deaths from the excessive heat
which have taken place in the vicinity of that town within'
the present week. In each case the victims were
labourers struck down while working in the harvest fields,
and each poor man died a few minutes after the attack.
Several widows and numerous young children are thus left
in want. In another case, which happened in Letchworth
Park (the proprietor of which died last week), four men
were struck down by the sun almost simultaneously. One
went raving mad for a time, and had to be strapped down;
but all these are recovering.