Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1856-05-17

to promote education in England. Education is
one of Lord Johns hobbies, which he rides peri
odically, but always with little skill and less
success He has not the grasp of mind or bold
ness Of character to mark out broad, popular
plan Of education, and adhere to it with the te-
nacity and courage of statesman confident in
the goodness of his cause, and determined to
fight only for ultimate victory. On the contrary,
he loads his scheme with obnoxious or imprac-
ticable details, against which the enemies Of
popular education direct their fercest assaults,
and Lord John, frightened by the force of the
opposition, beats hasty retreat, abandoning
the main principle as we'll as the unpopular de-
tails.
Lord Johns last measure, in many respects
| superior to previous ones, has been defeated in
the House of Commons, by vote of 26O to 1853.
The opposition and the discussion turned prn-
cipaly on the provisions Of the bill authorizing
the compulsory levying of school rates. The
opponents of the measure talked very eloquently
about those .'ideas of restraint and compulsion
so odious to Englishmen just as if Eoglish-
men are not subject to restraint and compulsion
in hundred things that ought to be more obi
GUS to them than the education of their children.
The real question was scarcely touched, and as
Lord John himself wavered, popular education,
so "odious to the British aristecracy, received
another contemptuous kick in the British Legis-
lature.
DEATH ON THE CARs.-On the train of cars
which left Philadelphia for Pittsburgh on we'd
nesday night last, one Of the passengers, James
p. Williams, of New Brunswick, N. j., came to
his death in the following very strange manner:
His wife was sleeping beside him, and his son,
small boy, on the seat in front of him. When
ohnut fwo houys mt from phi1oHaIphiA IL
observed that his head hung down outside Of
one of the windows of the car in which he was
seated, and on being pulled inside, he was found
to be insensble, apparently dying, the blood
flowed profusely from q severe confusion or
wound on the head At the next station he was
taken of the car and soon expired His wife
was in the deepest agony of mind, and tele-
graphed to her relatives in New Brunswick to
come to her relief. The deceased, with his wife
and child, was on his way to Chicago, on visit
to his wife's father. The suppositon is that the
wound was inflicted on passing water tank or
some cars standing on the other track. This is
another admonition that passengers should OBJ
serve the advice painted on the doors of the cars,
to avoid putting their heads or arms out Of the
windows.-Pitsburgh Post,
DIR. BARTON ON THE ORIGIN OF YELLOW FEVER.
This gentleman recently read an address before
the New Orleans Academy of Science, which the
editor of the Bulletin has had the privilege of Pc
rusng. He thus speaks Of it:
In this report will be found, we think, the evil
dence of the fact have stated, of step forward
in our knowledge, in reference to the causes Of
yellow fever. From long array of facts dating
at early period, the important truth is eviscera-
ted, that an epidemic season here is accompanied
by disturbance of the soil to considerable depth.
Every epidemic since the digging Of the Canal
Carondeet, in 1885, to the present time, is noticed
and invariably, when any disturbance of the SUBJ
soil has taken place, an epidemic has ensued!
This surely cannot have been mere accident;
accidents are not thus invariable. Whether there
poisonous gases, which, escaping by loosening
the earth, unite with certain meteorological condi
tons above grouad, and thus form compound
that is fatal to human life also, in certain condi
tons, or whether the result is brought about in
some other manner, is Of course beyond our pres
ent knowledge. The fact that the fever does occur
when any unusual agitation Of the sub-soil takes
place, is sufficient to teach US practical lesson.