AMERICA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 29, 7 April 1866, Page 3

AMERICA.

By the Gothenburg we have received via Melbourne, later news from America. Mr. Secretary Seward was expected to arrive at Havannah. The troops on the Rio Grande have been dismissed . In Mexico the position of the Imperialists is very unfavorable. Desertion among the troops is on the increase. The Belgian soldiers have protested against the barbarities perpetrated by Maximilian. The Spanish fleet is about to raise the blockade ofthe Chilian ports. Cholera is raging at Gadaloupe.

A Ministerial Midnight Visit.— On Tuesdayjust before midnight, the superintendent of the Pop" lar casual wards was aroused froin his.'quietiide hy the appearance of several gentlemen seeking admit**" tance — not as recipients of the -relief bestowed by the guardians, but for the purpose of satisfying them- '. selves that the deserving hous.el.ess poor were properly cared for. The unexpected visitors-were none other than Sir Gi' Grey, Mr. Waddington, Sir Bichard Mayne, and his two sons. The first call '.made by the Home Secretary was at the Sailors' Home, Well- ; street, wliich was .duly inspected, after which they proceeded to the Poplar casual wards, which for the past . six weeks have been placed under the police, and who issue all orders for admittance. The vagrant class have disappeared, and the number seeking admittance reduced to one-third. Prior to the appointment ofthe police as assistant relieying-ofEcers, 28 cases were taken before the magistrate in one month • for destroying clothing, whereas only one case has occurred. since. On the occasion alluded. to the wards were comparatively quiet ; the occupants did notnumber 20, one of whom had recently entered, hid/ taken his bath, and was 'eating his meal of bread.Thus the Home Secretary had ocular demonstration • that not only had the houseless poor a comfortablenight's lodging, but that cleanliness was. a prominent ' feature. The visitors proceeded on their tour of inspection tOkOther casual wards, as likewise to several licensed lodging-houses inthe locality, for the'purpose of witnessing the distinction between the accommodation offered by the casual wards and the threepenny lodging-houses. The accommodation of the Poplar casual wards, no doubt, is far preferable to that offered by these lodging-houses ; hut the poor have not been so well cared for in other unions. Even in some of the wards visited on Tuesday night, the poor were all huddled together on the floor, with scarcely any covering on them, and not one equalled Poplar in comfort and accommodation. — Tower Hamlets Express.