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Leader (1850-1860), 12th July 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 648, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      Brooke retires from this investigation with an untarnished character and an unblemished honour . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Cobden argued , in reply , that the whole of Borneo , a circumference of 2000 miles , was " imported" into the discussion ; and also the whole of the Indian Archipelago , an aqueous surface of 5000 or 6000 miles ; that the Dyaks occupied only a particular spot on this surface ; that the pirates who infested it were Malays ; that Dyaks were not Malays ; and that , in opposition to Lord Palmerston , he believed

      these particular tribes had never committed piracy against European ships . Sir James Brooke claimed the merit of being in Borneo to put down piracy . Why , then , did he not attack the Zooloos or Ilianoons ? They would have given him some trouble , and would not have been an easy prey like these Dyaks . Colonel Thompson no more believed in the existence of Dyak pirates in Borneo—( laughter ) — than he believed in dragons in Cappadocia . ( Great laughter . ) When the House divided there

      were—For the motion , 19 ; against it , 230 . Majority against , 211 . After the second reading of the Smithfield Market Removal Bill on Monday night , the Ecclesiastical Titles Assumption Bill was introduced into the House of Lords by Lord Lansdowne . Lord Montjeagle would not oppose the first reading , as a matter of courtesy ; but it must be understood that the principle of the bill was not thereby affirmed . We notice this simply as the first sign of opposition in the Lords . There was no discussion of the measure . The Earl of Shaftesbtjry ( late Lord Ashley ) moved the second reading of the Model Lodging-Houses Bill : —

      " The operation of the bill would , in the first instance , be limited to boroughs and parishes not having less than a population of 10 , 000 persons ; and it was provided that the council of any borough might adopt the act , the expense to be charged on the borough fund ; that , on the requisition of ten ratepayers , churchwardens might convene a vestry to determine whether the act should be adopted ; but the resolutions were not to be deemed carried unless two-thirds voted for them ; that , when the act was adopted , the vestry should appoint commissioners for carrying the same into effect , and that the overseers should levy , as part of the poor ' s rate , such sums as the

      vestry should deem necessary ; that vestries of two or more parishes might concur ; that town-councils and commissioners might erect lodging-houses , or adapt buildings , or purchase existing houses ; that if lodginghouses were considered unnecessary , or too expensive , they might be sold with the approval of the Treasury ; that the council and commissioners might make by-laws , subject to the approval of the Secretary of State . Then came a provision which was necessary to prevent abuse , and it was to the effect that no person receiving parochial relief should be a tenant of these lodging-houses , except the relief was given on account of accident or temporary illness . "

      The public necessities upon which this bill is based are well known . Lord Shaftesbury entered into the whole question in detail , showing how excessively crowded lodging-houses brought on immoral habits , how a foul atmosphere necessitated the use of " stimulants , and how poverty and crime a ct and react upon each other . Ihe details have been so often , before the public that we need do no more than allude to them . Lord Shaftesbury showed that

      model lodging-houses " would pay , " from instances of success within his own experience . And he pointed out something much more important , namely , that unless education be accompanied with provisions for better homes for the people , it will be of little avail . The bill was read a second time , no opposition whatever being offered . Lord NoKMANitY spoke in its favour . It must have been pleasant to the Earl of Shaftesbury to have his old fellow-lnbourcr in the cause of sanitary reform again at his side .

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      Jotke PurSjUJI ) .- —Lord Kllenboroui > h again brought the case of Jotee Persaud before the House of Lords on Monday , with a view to force from the Government an inquiry into the alleged facts , lie reiterated what has been previously stated , and added some allegations , which , if true , will make it difficult for the Indian Government to escape the severest censure . Lord Eu , ionlumouau distinctly Btatcd , " not on the authority of newspapers , " but on the word of respectable informantH , and of private letters from Agra , Unit witnesses had been subjected to a series of moHt disgraceful and cruel persecutions , because they would not vary ( heir depositions in favour of Jotco Pernaud . Lord Ukoughton , who made no intelligible reply , not having auflicient information , wound up hia upeech by promising an inquiry .

      Landlord and Tunant . —There is a bill in the House of Commonu for improving the procedure in'the Courta of Law with regard to civil bill ** . In thi « iiieuauie , among other things , the trystcm of giving tenants notice to quit before proceeding to eject in ultf » littlu-d . The House went into committee upon thi « bill during the Tuesday morning Bitting ; and it wns objected that tho abolition of the notice nyntciii ought not to be " foisted" into a bill of thin kind . Great complaint wan made ngainot MininterH for " partial patchwork legislation " on the Hubject of tenant-right . Mr . Wiutukidh , though nuniuirting the clause , as right in itHclf , thought it out of l > l : ux ' . He made some useful remarks on tho state of luudlord uiul tenant law : — " In the reign of George III . no lens than ( 50 acts of Parliament were pnoHi .-d on the relations of landlord and tenant : the law of distress

      alone occupied 30 , and the lawyer had to grope his way through all those acts to know what the law was . 1 he mischief of this legislation was not taking the whole subject into consideration . The landlords and tenants in Ireland were oppressed by the number and comp lexity of the laws , and the greatest boon would be to condense and systematize them . { Hear . ) " The amendment , which expunged the objectionable words from the clause , was lost by 55 to 24 ; and the clause carried by 56 to 20 .

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      THE MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION . Prince Albert's visit to Ipswich decidedly spoiled the meeting of the Association . When he left on Friday , the town became suddenly empty , and numbers of the Associates came up to London . _ Kestored to tranquillity , those remaining pursued their accustomed labours . In the evening , Professor Owen lectured in the Corn Exchange "On the distinction between plants and animals , and their changes of form . " The lecture was illustrated by a variety of diagrams , and afforded great enjoyment and instruction to the auditory . Saturday was the excursion day , and the Association went into the country in large parties . Meeting again on Monday , various learned gentlemen addressed their fellows ; among others Colonel Sabine "On the Blew Magnetographs" ; Dr . Whewell , " On our Ignorance of the Course of the Tides" ; Dr . Danbeny , " On the Chemical Nomenclature of Organic Substances "; and Sir Charles Lyell and Professor Forbes " On Geology . " In the mechanical section a discussion was carried on between the advocates of Mr . Asa Whitney ' s project of a railway from lake Michigan , across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific , and Mr . Alexander Dould ' s plan of a railway communication between

      the Atlantic and Pacific , through the British territories . Mr . Asa Whitney contended that the route through the " States" is the only one practicable , and intimated that the old country was too much worn out to execute so grand a project . Mr . Dould , on the other hand , defended the route through the British territories , and told Mr . Whitney that the English were quite as able to do anything great as the inhabitants of the States . Captain Fitzroy , however , advocated Mr . Whitney ' s plan , and stated that the general rise of the surface of the country from Lake Michigan to the Rocky Mountains greatly facilitated the route by railway in

      that direction . There is a gap in the Rocky Mountains , through which alone a road could be carried . The elevation , it is true , is 7000 feet above the level of the sea ; but the gradients will be found very practicable , as the praries slope upwards on both sides . M . Boutigny was pledged to thrust his hand into a pot of melted iron , to be prepared for this purpose at the foundry of Messrs . llansome and May , on Tuesday evening . Accordingly , at a few minutes before seven o ' clock , a large party assembled at the reception-room , and

      proceeded with the French philosopher to the place of fiery ordeal . A pot of glowing metal , red-hot from the furnace , being placed before M . Boutigny , this gentleman , having damped his right hand with a little water , plunged it with perfect impunity into the mass . The sensation , he assured the spectators , was one of cold rather than heat , and he gave the following rationale of the phenomenon : — The moisture of the skin became converted , by heat , into that peculiar condition termed spheroidul vapour , which , being a bad conductor of heat , effectually prevented the skin from being burned .

      beverul ladies were invited to the president ' s dinner on Tuesday—for the lirat time . The chief object of interest , however , was Professor Airy ' s discourse on the approaching total eclipse of the sun . The professor said it was his intention to go to Gottenburgh to observe the phenomenon on the 28 th inst ., us the eclipse will not be quite total in this country . In the physical section , this morning , a communication from Captuin Johnson , lt . N ., was received by Colonel Sabitiu , on the effect of telescopic funnels of steam-ships on their compasses . Some- facts were stated as tho result of triuls on two largo iron steamships in the royal navy , which showed that when the funnels arc shortened by the iron casings beingdropped within each other , in the telescope form , the compass is strongly affected .

      The proceedings of the association finally terminated in a fiat fashion on Wednesday . The number of members who have passed the treasurer ' s books at Ipswich i » only 711 , including thirty-seven foreigners , and the sum received is £ 020 . After thniikn had been voted to the local authorities , to the local secretaries , and to the President , the meeting adjourned till August , 18 / 32 , to be then held in Hclt , iHt _

      Untitled Article

      KKOAL AND OTHlOlt FESTIVITIES . The past week has been a perfect gala . Three State visits of Royalty in seven days is enough to turn the heads of all the nmn-inilinery in town . Lust Saturday the gilded chariot and tho armed escort conveyed the Queen to the Italian Opera in the Huyinarket ; on Wednesday , amid great rejoicing and blaze of barbaric splendour , Victoria visited her lieges in the City ; and on Thursday « ho proceeded

      to Covent Garden after the same fashion . The opera going is an ordinary process ; the visit to Guildhall has been an event . Immense were the preparations ; Guildhall was decorated up to the height of City taste—not very high , we fear . The celebrated " crypt " was so far cleansed , put in order , and made resplendent , as to afford a supper-room even for royalty . Early in the morning of Wednesday the City streets were inconveniently crowded . The hideous design for illuminating Temple-bar was stared at by a curious and critical crowd all day . Along the whole line lamps were being hung up , gas-fittings adjusted laurel wreaths prepared . From Temple-bar to the *

      Man 6 ion-house the good citizens arranged to illumine the path of the Queen . Stars of all kinds , the royal initials , political , and social , and loyal mottoes standards , banners , union jacks floated over the roadway , wreaths of lamps around columns , and lines of them stretching along facades , transparencies , and a vast consumption of gas appeared along the whole line of streets , Great was the display of barbaric grandeur . About half-past nine o ' clock the royal carriages passed throughTemple-bar and reached King-street about twenty minutes to ten . The Queen was received with the usual ceremonies , and forthwith conducted to the ballroom by the authorities .

      The Queen wore a white satin dress , embroidered in gold , trimmed with gold , silver , and white satin ribands , and richly ornamented with diamonds . The head-dress was composed of poppies , golden oat and wheat ears , ornamented with diamonds . Prinee Albert had donned his uniform as Captain-General and Colonel of the Artillery Company , with the ensigns of the Orders of the Garter and the Golden Fleece set in diamonds . After the Queen had taken her seat upon the throne , the orchestras struck up ; but " dancing , " says one present , " except mentally , was in most cases quite impossible . " We do not intend to follow out the evening ' s performances . It is sufficient to say that they were as usual . The Times says there was a " genuine City mob " about the throne . The only novelties of the evening : were connected with the

      crypt , where 6 upper was served . The following unctious account we extract from the Times : — " In compliance with the antique character which the vaulted arches and low-crowned cells of the apartment gave to the place , the provedores had invented dishes the origin of which we cannot now stop to trace , though the taste be excellent to the most modern of palates . The peacock full-feathered , and with all the glories of his shining plumage and resplendent tail—the lmre de sanglier , fresh from the Forest of Ardennes , with the

      ancient couplet so familiar to all our Oxford men , made pleasant companionship with boudin de foie gras aux truffes , and chapons a . la Pompadour . Dummies in armour holding lights , which nickered from their spearheads , lent a romantic character to the scene ; and wo could not but rejoice that the committee in their Christian kindness had not carried out their original idea of incarcerating policemen in these coats of mail , considering that their duties would have been extremely arduous as xceil as protracted .

      " The tables for the Itoyal supper were laid out in a splendid and really tasteful manner . There was the finest Amontillado , hock of 1822 , sherry ( bottled for Napoleon ) 105 years old , which then cost £ GU () a butt , and muscatel and paxarc ' tu , sillery and sparkling champagne , gave proofs of the taste of the Messrs . Staples . The wine glasses ( made for the occasion ) had the Royal crown , the City shield , and the globe ( as typifying all nations ) engraved with intervening gronp . s of coin , lruit , and flowers , emblematic of the various portions of Europe . The doyleyB were of pale green denna velvet , richly embroidered with devices of Peace and Plenty ;

      the ltoyaf crown in the centre , encircled with the national flags of England , France , Austria , Turkey , the United States , &c , and the arms of the city of London . The dessert plates , of Hose du Barri , ' had the lloyal arms and those of the Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales on each side ; the arms of the City , and of the Eaat India Company , and a surrounding wreath of the rose , thistle , and shamrock . The hills of fare were of delicate pale gold tiutin , with an emboKscd border , showing the initials of her Majesty and Prince Albert , and the arms of the city of London in relief . The nap kin ;; were of the finest Scotch damask , tastefully embroidered and trimmed with rich lace . " The Queen left this region of ostentatious loyalty and high living about ono o ' clock , attended by the usual cheering crowd who nsscrnbleon such occasions . The annual Scottish fete , in Holland-park , commenced on Thursday . The games begun about one o ' clock ; but the rain began also , und competed with the players lor possession of the ground . Nevertheless the performers continued , in spite of the weather ; the band played , tho bagpipes struck up , the spectators stood it out as well as they could ; but it wan altogether a dreary day . A " Strathspey" wan started by kilted dancers upon : i platform rendered slippery by rain , and the consequence was that down came several of them , to tho great amusement of th " eompany . Then "the light putting stone " was tried during a blink of sunshine , by a party of Hig hland competitors , the best men hurling it forward with immense vigour . To " tlio putting stone " succeeded a highly effective and intoresting display

      Untitled Article

      648 1 Kt ) $ ULt&itt * [ Saturday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 12, 1851, page 648, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1891/page/4/