The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-11 00:00:00

ENVIRONS OF LONDON.

The Second Part of this useful and agreeable work
has just made its appearance, and details some pleasant,
gossipping information respecting Richmond, with its
far-famed hill, Holland House, Petersham, Twicken-
ham, and the adjacent neighbourhood. While speak-
ing of Richmond, the Author does not, of course,
forget to remind us of the poet Collins, and of Kean,
who was .buried there a few years ago. The mention
of Twickenhan recals the recollection of Pope's house
and grotto, of which there are one or two excellent
engravings. But, indeed, the engravings generally
are of a very superior character ; and when com-
pleted,
_the work will form a copious and faithful
Itinerary of the most remarkable spots in the vicinity
of the metropolis.

POETICAL RECOLLECTIONS OF IRISH
HISTORY. Curry, Dublin, 1842.
The design of this work is superior to its execu-
tion, and the authoress shows herself a better patriot
than poet. She has versified some of the leading inci-
dents of early Irish history ; but we cannot congratu-
late her on her success, for though her rhymes are
smooth and correct enough, yet her thoughts and
images seldom rise above common-place.

THOUGHTS ON THE PURITY OF ELEC-
TION. BY A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
Though we differ essentially from Mr. Monckton
Milnes, the avowed author of this pamphlet, the pe-
rusal of it has much raised him in our estimation. It
proves that he is thoughtful and discriminating. We
may say that he shares these characters with a num-
ber of young men of his party. Whether it be from
the rise of l'useyism in the Church, or the hand of
affliction, which has latterly laid with some weight
and more apprehension on that body, it is undoubted
that she has latterly turned out some well-drilled
youths. We speak not of their opinions, which are
erroneous, but of their habits of thought, which are
sedate and careful. They have been drilled to serve
the Church. The majority of them will profit by their
teaching hereafter, to be useful in putting down her
authority. They are taught to observe and reason,
which must be fatal to her pretensions. Their present
zeal in her cause will soon give way, and as they ad-
vance in life they will see the hollowness of her de-
...

mands on public approbation. In bestowing a just meed
of praise on the principles of the Church, we have no fear
that we shall strengthen them to do battle against
the cause we advocate. We rely with confidence on
its-truth, and hail with satisfaction every appearance
of intelligence in Young England, size that it will
ultimately be on our side.
The object of Mr. M. Milnes is to explain and de-
fine " purity of election," of which he takes a rationa
view.

"As long as the motive is selfish," he says, "no modi
fication can alter its nature, and the difference between
the hope of future profit and the enjoyment of
present gain is intellectual rather than moral. The
principle of purity of election is indeed just as
.clearly violated by any consideration of the kind alluded
to, as by a direct sale of a vote. There can be no dis-

tinction between money and money's worth ; and if any
vote is tendered in a spirit of selfishness, it matters
nothing whether the object be the immediate possession
of a few pounds, or the expectation of the means of
making many."
" Notwithstanding, however, the apparent identity
of motive in the corruption of the idea of purity of
election in all classes of the community, a distinction
has been drawn by which the receipt of money, in consi-
deration for a vote, has been pronounced illegal and
infamous. Even while boroughs were openly matters of
sale and contract, and there was a recognised price in
the market for a seat in Parliament, the poor man de-
tected in making use of his franchise to help him on in
lie and better his condition, and the wealthy man who
gave him the means of doing so, were liable to heavy
penalties in the shape of fine, 'imprisonment, and dis-
qualification : that is to say, a full and generous concep-
tion of the principle of purity of election was expected
from the poor man, while the principle was avowedly set
at nought by the great and powerful."
Looking at the matter under the general aspect, he
does not, as might be expected, share all the horror
which has of late been expressed at bribery by money.
lie says :-
1 "Iu the new boroughs the constituencies have some of
them escaped without temptation, and-in none.has any
habit of corruption by these means been generated : in
the old, the freemen are .fast dying off, and the new
ten-pound constituencies have not laid claim to the
money-privileges which the freemen have frequently
confounded with their political rights ; a sense of poli-
tical independence is gradually asserting itself In the
few boroughs still dependent on the possession of local
property by certain families, and yet,at this moment the
leading politicians in the Legislature profess themselves
so oppressed with horror and disgust at the amount of
money corruption, that they are prepared to pass the
severest law to coerce into purity the tempters and
the tempted.
" Truly such a moral uproar as this is unfair as regards
the past, whatever it may be as regards the future: the
old maxims are passing away, and new ones are being
born, but let us celebrate their nativity with as little in-
justice as possible. It was no doubt ft great blessing that
the habit of making presents to Judges was put a stop
to in England, but it would have been as well, if the re-
sult could have been obtained without the sacrifice of
Bacon's reputation, and without all . the calumny which
envy first, and ignorance afterwards, have heaped upon
that noble name.

Like other men, he has his own cure for corrup-
tion, and suggests partial disqualification and disfran-
chisement for a number of years as the punishment of
bribery. We will not discuss these remedies, for we
believe they would be fruitless, there can be no re-
medy for bribery but by makin,, the interest of the
public and the voters identical, by enlarging the suf-
frage. We have not thought it of importance suffi-
cient for our readers to contest any of Mr. M.
Milnes's propositions ; we are content with saying that
we dissent from many of them, while we recognise in
the author a gentleman of a cultivated mind and sober
habits of thought.

A DICTIONAI?Y of SCIENCE, LITERATURE

- and AR7'.
The Twelfth Part, just published, completes this
useful work. It is comprised in one octavo volume,
with a vast number of engravings on wood, supplies
concise and authentic information on the various sub-
jects generally embraced in Encyclopmdias, and will
be found a useful and convenient book of reference
The descriptions are in general, brief, though there
are several exiteptions arising out of the importance of
particular treatises, and in these instances the most
ample information is given. We have, however, so
frequently had occasion to make remarks on the plan
and execution of the articles in the other Parts, that
further notice would be superfluous, and we therefore
conclude with brief extracts respecting two of the
, most remarkable works of the present tune,—the
Thames Tunnel and the Box Tunnel on the Great
Western Railway. Few of our readers, we believe,
are aware that two attempts had been made in former
times to form an archway below the Thames, and that
one of them was actually to within 150 feet of the shore.
THAMES TUNNEL.—On account of the peculiar
nature of the difficulties to, be overcome, the
tunnel, which has recently been carried under the
bed of the Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping,
may, perhaps, be regarded as the most remark-
able work of the kind which has ever been executed. A
short account of this operation will probably be the best
made of conveying a notion of the extent and difficulty
of such works generally.
Some previous attempts had been made to carry a
tunnel under the river below London-bridge. In 1799,
one was projected at Gravesend ; but the project was
soon abandoned. In 1804, another was attempted from
Botherhitho to Limehousc. A shaft of 11 feet in dia-
meter was sunk to the depth of 42 feet, and continued at
a reduced diameter of 8 feet to the depth of 76 feet,
whence a drift was carried 923 feet under the river, and
• to within 150 feet of the opposite shore, where difficulties
of so formidable a nature arose, that the engineer re-
ported farther progress to be impossible. The scheme,
however, continued to be agitated ; and in 1823, Mr.
Brunel propoSed a plan which has at length been carried
successfully into execution.

Box TUNNEL—The establishment of railway com-
munication in this country has given rise to
some stupendous undertakings in the way of tun-
neling. One of the most remarkable, perhaps the
most remarkable of ail, is the I3ox Tunnel, on
the Great Western Railway. This tunnel pierces
through Box-hill, between Chirpenham and Bath, part
of which is 400 feet above the level of the railway. " It
is 9,680 feet long, 39 feet high, and 35 wide, to the out-
side of the brickwork. The shafts for making and ven-
tilating it are thirteen in number, and vary in depth from
SO to 306 feet. The excavation amounted to 414,000
cubic yards, and the brickwork and masonry to more
than 54,000 cubic yards. The number of bricks used
was 30,000,000; a ton of gunpowder and a ton of candles
were consumed every week for two years and a half, and

1,100 men and .250 horses were constantly employed."
For a considerable distance, the tunnel passes through
freestone rock, from the fissures of which there was at
times an immense influx of water, whereby, on one occa-
sion, the works were interrupted for a period of mine
months. On a subsequent occasion, after an irruption,
water was for some time discharged by the engine at the
rate of 32,000 hogsheads a-day. This tunnel occurs OH
an inclined plane of 1 in 100.

NARRATIVE OF THE SECOND CAMPAIGN
IN CHINA. Bentley, London, 1842.
The author of this slight, sketchy little volume,
Mr. Mackenzie, was Military Secretary to the Com-
mander-in-Chief of the British forces in India,
during the period of which he treats ; and as he was,
moreover, present at all the actions he has described,
the authenticity and correctness of his statements
may be relied on. His work may be consi-
dered, as a sort of continuation of Lord Jocelyn s,
which was published last year ; but it is less in-
teresting, first, from its comparative dearth of cha-
racteristic sketches and anecdotes; and, secondly,
from the exceeding slenderness of its materials.
The author tells us little more than the papers
have already told us, respecting the attacks and cap-
ture of Canton ; and speaks of the distrust, treachery,
and cowardice of the Chinese, in pretty nearly the same
terms that other authors have used, while describing
this strange people. His account of the breakfastgiven
by Keshen to Captain Elliot, is perhaps the most en-
tertaining passage in his volume. The breakfast was
given in a handsome tent, lined with yellow, in which
tbur tables were set out, each capable of accom-
modating six persons, and consisted, among other
recherche dishes, of partridge soup,. and pheasant-
breast sandwiches ; delicious preserves and dessert,
and bird's-nest and shark's-fin soup ; together
with—in addition to the usual European wines—
a weak Chinese wine, heated, and handed round in
small cups. We could not much fancy breakfasting
off birds nests, and should doubt the delicate flavour
of soup manufactured from the fins of a shark ; but all
the other items are unimpeachable, and the "phea-
sant-breast sandwiches," in particular, are worthy to
figure conspicuously on a Scotch breakfast table.