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DJftapolitan (Sossip.
DJftapolitan (Sossip. BY OUR OWN COKBWCPOTDKNT. [The remarks under this head are to be regarded as the 8%. pression of independent opinion, from the pen of a gentleman in whom we have the greatest confidence, but for which WO nevertheless do not hold ourselves responsible.] In the political world the chief topic appears still to be the Irish Church question, apropos ol Mr. Glad- stone's bill. Immediately on the measure being brought in there were conflicting rumours as to the line of action which the C. nservative party would take, but there is now no doubt as to their course. Last Thursday there was a meeting at the town residence of Lord Derby, and it is said the feeling was unanimous in favour—to put it in familiar English—of war to the knife, and hence the notice of amendment on the second reading, given by Mr. Gathorne Hardy on behalf of Mr. Disraeli. The second reading of the bill stands for Thursday, the 18th, and on that evening we may expect one of Mr. Disraeli's elaborate and caustic speeches. The debate on the bill is looked forward to with much interest, as it is believed that both parties will put forward their best speakers. As to the divi- sion, the whips on either side will be hard at work, for it is felt that the result will be of immense political importance. People are actively speculating on that result, but the dominant opinion undoubtedly is that Mr. Gladstone will have a majority. Meanwhile the House of Commons is bard at work on other matters. The new Parliament, in fact, seems to have a vigor- ous appetite for work. No less than forty notices of motion were given on one evening, and the amount of business already commenced, or which is indicated by preliminary notice, is enough in itself for the remainder of the session, at least. The attendance in the House, too, is good, and the business of Parliament, so far, at all events, as the Lower House is concerned, is carried on with spirit. The visit of her Majesty to London, the welcome royal standard flying from the flagstaff on Bucking- ham Palace, the holding of a court and levée, and the announcement of further court assemblies have naturally produced a cheering effect in our quiet re- tired little village. The Queen's visits to London are short and far between," but they are valued all the more highly for that reason. On the whole, the London RaBOn this year promises to be more lively than any we have had for several years. The nation was heartily congratulating itself on the prospect of decreased taxation, consequent on the army and nary estimates showing a reduction of £2,385,000, when all of a sudden the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes one of the most unpleasant announcements we could have had. That wretched Abyssinian war is very far from being paid for yet. People were congratulating themselves that five millions sterling *v uiild pay for it, but now Mr. Lowe has asked for a supplemental estimate of making altogether the enormous sum of £8,600,000 for rsleaeing a few prisocers; and there is reason to fear that this amount, large as it is, will not pay the entire bill. Well may one of the members speak of monstrous discrepancy of the original estimate and the total sum asked for—and granted. After all this, he must be a very sanguine man who would look forward to a very favourable budget. Whether it would or would not be desirable to have the ballot, I will not argue, but it is very remarkable that a. prominent member of the present Government has avowed himself in favour of it. The Home Secre- tary, in moving for a select committee to inquire into the mode of conducting parliamentary and municipal elections, stated that his experience at the last election had converted him to the ballot, and avowed that the object of this committee is to see whether some system of secret voting cannot be devised. When Mr. Bruce avowed himself a convert to the ballot there were loud cheers from the ministerial benches. The matter as it stands is remarkable, for such an avowal and such cheers must be regarded as very significant; but of course it remains to be seen whether the committee will recommend the ballot, and whether Parliament will adopt it if it be recommended. At all events the advocates of the ballot are in high spirits at this partial triumph of their principles. Sir Rowland Hill in his most sanguine moments pro- bably never thought that the gross income of the Post Office would reach in any one year such an enormous sum as £4,590,000, but the return just issued shows that this amount has been earned during the last year. ,Now that the Post Office has thus achieved so glorious a success, the question may well be asked whether it is not high time that we had a much-needed reform. Ocean penny postage would be a glorious thing, but this is not what I refer to. More desirable than this is the reduction of postage on printed matter, and Mr. Graves, the representative of a large commercial con- stituency, does well to call the attention of the House of Commons to the subject. We are behind America and the Continent in this matter. What is wanted is a halfpenny stamp for newspapers, circulars, and printed matter generally, say under two ounces, or some would say under four ounces. Now the former would be a great boon to the commercial community, newspaper proprietors, and newspaper purchasers, and in lirectly it would greatly promote trade by the issue and delivery of circulars by post. Perhaps a half- penny stamp for printed matter under four ounces would be too great a change to make at once, but the minor reform would largely benefit the country and, instead of injuring the Post Office revenue, would, in a short time, largely increase it. Miss Rye is again going out to Canada, in May, with a party of young women as emigrants. She has found that, when once in our colonies, women can obtain immediate and satisfactory employment. How is it then that this lady receives so little patron- age and aid ? Very quietly and unostentatiously, but also very persistently, she has now for several years been helping women to emigrate. Cannot our noble and wealthy assist her ? Great good would be' done in this way, not only by relieving our overstocked female labour-market here, but the indirect nflianc.3 In the cause of morality would be very great. Whil Miss Rye is helping her poorer sisters, a numbe of city gentlemen, with the Lord Mayor at their head, ar trying to help poor workmen and their families to emigrate from the wretched eastern districts of Lon- don, and the Queen has come forward with a contribu- tion of JE150 towards the fund. Another important fact must be mentioned. The colony of Victoria is arranging the preliminaries for a line of large steamers which are to carry emigrants from England to Mel- bourne in large numbers. And then there are emi- gration clubs in various parts of the country, so that altogether unusual attention is being devoted to the subject of emigration. History repeats itself, and some of the saddest episodes in history, too A month ago there was a double murder at Poplar," and now the body of the murderer has just been found. He had committed suicide. And simultaneously with this discovery the town is ringing with the news of "another double murder at Poplar and suicide of the murderer." These two triple crimes have features of horror peculiar to themselves, but, alas! they will probably ere long be forgotten amid the details of some other horrid crime for in each case the suicide of the murderer, though it adds to the fearful character of the offence against God and man, prevents public excitement being kept alive as it would be were the trial of the murderers ending. Another victim to working men's burial societies. A workman applies to a magistrate to compel a burial society to pay £7 to which the man is entitled. He had paid 2d. a week for twelve years, and his wife had belonged to the society for twenty years, and yet, when the poor fellow's wife lies dead and he applies to the society he is told that there are no funds, and that the society is dissolved! Well may the magistrate speak of such societies as miserable swindles. "Com- plaints of this kind, he was sorry to say, were too fre, quent to be looked over; and enry week øome fresh complaint of publicans and secretaries came under his Dotice, people paying for a number of years and being defrauded of their hard earnings. He heartily wished the Legislature would put a stop to such rascally pro- ceedings." Too much publicity cannot be given to such a case as this. Benefit societies, burial societies, clc., are excellent things in their way, always pro. vided they are honourably conducted and are secure but if neither, they are little less than curses to the working classes. The Legislature has an immense amount of work on hand and before it, but really so important a matter ought not to be neglected 1 For years a remedy has been talked of. but that is all. I cannot help thinking that Mr. Tidd Pratt uninten- tionally and unavoidably does a good deal of harm. He is merely the revising barrister appointed to certify that the rules of the benefit societies are in •-ocerdance with the Act of Parliament, and this duty uo doubt he performs honourably enough but his name is advertised in connection with these societies a a though he guaranteed their respectability anc soivence. He does nothing of the kind, and the sooner "working men fully realise the fact the better. Slowly but steadily the ground is being cleared for the new Pe of Justice, though, I believe, at the present moment it iIa not absolutely decided that the new law courts are to be built upon this site. In due time the bouses adjoining Temple Bar will be pulled down, they having just been sold for that purpose, and the Bgly oKLcity gate will soon follow. Great progress is making with Holborn Viaduct and the adjacent streets, and it is hoped that in June or July this new road will be publicly opened—perhaps by the Prince of Wales. When the viaduct and the streets in the neighbourhood .are completed, this part of London will have undergone the greatest ^hanr e* of any, aud the improreaaent wiil be immense. Among other im- iwovements its the Tower Subway, and the work is gradually7progressing! The excavation has been par- tially effected, and the greater portion of the cast-iron shaft cylinders have arrived. A railway through this subway will greatly relieve the traffic on either side of the riTer, and will go far to supply the want of a bridge but the necesity of at least two or three new bridges onr the river is all great as ever. Enry one who has passed through Leicester-square must haTe noticed the horribly dilapidated state of the railings of the inclosure, and the wretched condi. tion of the inclosure itself. It is neither a public square, a garden, an open space, a recreation ground, nor anything but a miserable receptacle for refuse, and occasionally it presents the aspect of a cemetery for dogs and cats. The high and mighty Court of Chancery however, has just decided that it can do nothing in the matter, and the owners of this pitiable place are now legally allowed-to let it alone. More's the pity
A LONDON MYSTERY.
A LONDON MYSTERY. On Thursday morning, in last week, a double murder was dicovered at Poplar, near London, of which tragic deed, the following are the particulars In High-street is a confectioner's shop, for some years occupied by a Mrs. Brown, aged 50, who had been separated fro n her husband for the last 20 years, but who contrived to maintain herself and her daughter, aged 23, who lived with her, from the profits of the bU5iness, Both of them were snen in the shop by neighbours on Tuesday evening last. Ou Wednesday morning some astonishment was felt at the shop not being opened at the ordinary hour, and as it remained closed throughout the day se, eral persons knocked, but C011lÙ not succeed in obtaining an answer. 011 Thui sday at Loon it was still closed. A brother and sifter of Mrs. Brown's called upon Mr. binden, boot and shoemaker, of 2û7, High-street, two doors from Mrs. Brown's shop, and asked permission to pass through his back premises. Ob- taillilJg a ladder, they got into the house, a1ld upon going down stairs into the back parlour and opening the shutters, a most horrible spectacle presented itself. On the table the supper cloth was spread, and this and the various articles upon it, such M plates, glasses, knives and forks, were covered with blood. On the floor of the room, near tne piano, lay the lifeless body of Mrs. Brown, with her throat cut in the most frightful manner. Beneath her was found the sheath of a clasp-knife. On returning to the room above, through the window of which admission had been gained, and making an examination, the body of Miss Brown, the daughter, was discovered in bed, her head bemg almot severed from the body. She was clothed in her night dress cnly, except that a flannel petticoat was partly wrapped round her head, and she was lying on her right side with her right arm extended. The bedclothes and bedding were saturated WIth blood. It appears that Mrs. Brown and her daughter were at the time of the murder the only occupants of the shop and premises, but that an engineer named .rlradshaw, aged forty, had been previously lodging with them for a considerable time, and. had only left a fort- night since. In the course of the day it transpired that the pollee had received information to the effect that an engineer answering the description of Bradshaw had committed suicide by cutting his throat on Wednesday morning, at & house in Bow. This turned out to be true, antl an inquest on the body of the supposed murderer was held on Friday, when Harriet Emberson, a good-looking young woman, said she lived at 8, Archibald-street, Bromley. She had been a do- mestic servant, but left her situation to o and live with de- ceased. II e was a marine engineer, and was forty-one, ears of age. She lived with him five weeks as his wife, under a promise of marriage. The deceased, who was out of work, left home a1)out eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning, and re- turned between twelve and one next morning. She was up when he came home, and he appeared to be quite sober. He got out of bed at a quarter to seven in the morning, his ullual time of rising being a little after eight. He was restless during the night, and got up once while she was awake. She went out for lIomething for breakfast, and when she came back she saw him coming down stairs. He went up- stairs again, saying he was ill, and shortly after she heard groans proceeding from the upper back room. She entered the room in which he WM, and found him bleeding from a wound. She could not see where the wound was, but she perceived blood. They had no quaITel that morning nor the night previously. She made his acquaintance six years ago, and he was then living at Mrs. Brown's, in Poplar. He left Mrs. Brown's to go to the house in which they lived. She never heard him threaten to take his own life. George F. Bradshaw. a clerk, living at Grantham, said the deceased was his brother. He last saw him alive a fortnight ago at Granth&m. The deceased was then in good spirits, aud made no mention of a design upon his life. He did not know that his brother was on terms of intimacy with any member of the. Brown family. His mother died two years ago in a lunatic asylum. The deceased was a man of violent temper. After some other evidence had been taken, the 1ury re- turned a verdict of/eta de se.
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The inquest on the bodies of the murdered women was alf o held 011 Friday, and after some preliminary evidence had been taken it was adjourned until Saturday. Meanwhile, the mysterious circumstances connected with the double murder and suicide were very considerably deepened by the fat that the day before the tragedy WII8 enacted a family residing In the East India-road received two packages of let ten. On the outside of one of the packages was printed the words" Steam Navigation Com- pany. When one of the ladie. ill the house opened the bundlell she found that they contained MOme very affectionate letters to Mr. Bradshaw.
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Ou Saturday, when the inquest was l'eS<J.melt, iTr. Marsh, solicitor, watched the procefidings in the interest of Mrs. Littlepage, who was the supposed w-Mtcr of the letters alluded to, which had got into the hand's (If thû }Joliœ, and which formed matter of inquiry in the course of the PN- ceedings. Ann Munroe, of 294, High-street, Poplar, laid h6 lIve: 1 with her mother, who kept a baker's shop which walt directly opposite to Mrs. Brown's. At 20 minutes to eleven o'c:ïück, 0n Tuesday night she heard the shutters of Mrs. liowns shop being put up. It was earlier than. they were usually put up. She saw a man standing in the parlour at the back of the shop about two o'clock in the afternoon. She knew that Bradshaw had lived there. The person whom she saw had his back to her, and, consequently, she did not know who it was, but lihe believed from his appearance that it was Bradshaw. Sinclair Raymond, a young woman, stated that she kept the baker's shop. On Tuesday, in the middle of the day, a boy, who saId he was sent by Irs Brown, came and purchased some oread. It was very unusual for Mrs. Brown to send in that way. John Xlcholls, gasfitter, knew Bradshaw perfectly wen, and a family named Owen only by repute. Mhs Brown, OH last Sunday night at hill own house, where she was from six to eleven o'clock in the evening, told him that Bradshaw had received letters from Urs. Littlepage, who, before her mar- riage, was a Miss Owen. He used to throw the letters, she saill, on the tab'e, in order that she might see them. A portrait was enclosed in cne of the letters. Bradshaw had put the letters in a packet, and after affixint four stamps to them he addressed them, and requested her to post them. She refused to post them, saying she did not wish to be mixed up in anyhing o the kind, anù he put them i.ll his pocket, saying Never mmd." She quoted several passages from the letters, and also told him II.bout the quarrel in which the coral was smashed. :2y Mr. Marsh: Mrs. Brown told him that the letten were from Mrs. Littlepage. She did not say she knew as an actual fact they were in Mrs. Littlepage's handwriting, but she knew that lrs. Littlepae frequently went to her mothfir's shop inquiring after him. Kate Littlepage, living at 19, Barking-road, was the next witness. Sae waa dressed in mourniDg, and had over her face a heavy blaek crape veil In answer to the Coroner, she &aid she was a married woman, and that her maiden name was Owen, The Coroner: I am going to put to yon some questions which are somewhat palllful and may appear to you unneces- sary, but which I deem it neverthelelis my duty to address to you. The witness, in reply to the Coroner's questions, said she not eparated frem her husband, who 111 at sea. She knew }lr. Bradhaw, the deceased, and last saw him on Friday week, at Xo. 18, Barking-road, at her own house. (Witness corrected her tirst statement as to her address, saying that her mother lived at No, 19 Bradshaw WM a friend of her family. He left about two o'clock in the afternoon. She paid the rent aud taxes of No. 18, but while her husband was away she lived with her mother. It was at her own house she saw Bradshaw. The Coroner asked the witness if the letters placed in her hand were in her handwriting. Witness, in an indignAnt tone, replied that they were not. The letters were read, and were as follows: — Bromley, E., Jan. 14,1869. Dear Mr Bradshaw,-I thought you would have been round this evening, but out of sight out of mind. Will Y6U come round and dllle to-morrow to meet Miss Grub ? Miss Arnold cannot come. I had a letter from Mr. L. the same pi usual. Joey called at Brown's to-night to see if yøu were m. I must now conclude.-With kind regards, yours sin- cerely. << KATE." "19, Barking-road, Bromley, E, "Dear Mr. Bradshaw,-I can net imagine how it is our messages are not given to you, but wll1 yom come round to tell. this afternoon, for we want to talk to you about Joe. If it is fine I will go out for a walk, Excuse haste -Yours truly. "Joe has been round twice for you." "Bromley, E., Jan. 16, 1869. "Dear Mr. Bradsbaw,-If it does not pour with rain I shall go to town on }londay, I will be at the station in E. I. road by a bout half-past eleven. I hope you have sustained the disappointment at not seeing Martha, but you must console yoursèU that you have the pleasure in store. How early you departed laat night! I told mamma you were jealous of the dog. Excuse more, as this is the third letter I have written. From yours sincerely. The Coroner You see one is dated from your house, 18, Barking-road ?—Witness No, I don't: I know it is not my writing. In reply to further questions the witness said she did not know in whose handwriting they were. She had a si<ter-in- law named Mrs. M'Innes. he was her husband's sister. She had Feen her handwriting, but could not swear to It. She knew a photonph produced (a photograph of the witness). It was taken out of her album by Mr, :Brad,haw en Friday week. She did not know Mr, Bradshaw's hand .riting. She did not think to her knowledge she had seen it, She had three brothers. One named Joseph was the one whom Mr. Bradshaw interested himself in to get articled. She never sent this brother or anybody to Ir Bradshaw's house. The Coroner It is somewhat of a puzzle, but perhaps you can explain it. The letter I put into your hands is dated from your mother's house, lQ, Barking-road, and it refers to your brother Joe, whom, you admit, :Mr. Bradshaw in- terested himself in to get a situation. N ow, if I understand you rightly that it 111 so, I want to know from whom this letter possibly comes other han from yourself, which deals with your brother Joe ?—Witness It is not in my power to inform you. The Coroner: Then I may take it that you know nothing at all about the letter with reference to your brother ? -Witnesll: Nothing whatever. The Coroner: Did you at any time promise you would have your carte de vilite taken to give to :Mr. Bradshaw.— Witness: No. The Coroner Well, now, Mrs. Littlepage, I must trouble you to try to assist the ends of justice. You find letters dated from your own house, and sied with your own name, and dealing with your own brother, for whom Mr, Bradshaw you yourself st.te was interesting himself to et him a situation. I think you must be able to give some in. formation as to whose handwriting you believe those letters to be ill. The facts are so patent that you must be able to form some opinion as to wholle handwriting it is.-Witness made no reply. The Coroner: Will you state as far as you can what is your belief in the matter1-Witness: I don't know; I have never len them before. The Coroner Then you persist that you cannot throw any light upon the question as to who it was that wrote in your ame with reference to your brother. and from your own nouse —Witness I would immediately if I could, but I have not the slightest idea. I know Miss Grubb and 1Iiss Arnold, • Bradshaw one evening was at our house when a letter came from nll8 Grubb, and he took up the eJilvelope and upon a piece of paper imitated the writing, and he said, You see I can copy writing." That was at supper-time. The <oroner agam ved the form of the question, ask- mg her If sh could posslbl 80nceive any person capable of taking the lIberty of writing in her name anfl from her ad- dress, at the same tlm knowing several members of her acquaintance, and especially of the circumstance of )lr. Bradshaw interesting himself on behalf of her hrûther. The witness replied The only person I -.ould say I think had Jone it would be Mr. Bradshaw himself, for he was seen copying writmg at our house, aud he as the only one who heard the names of these two young ladies mentioned. The Coroner: Did he pass the Sunday at Your house a short ago ?—Witness 0; I had n0t seen him, until 14st Friday, since the 15th of February, when my mother an,1 I met him at the Broad-street railway-station. The Coroner Do you rememùer his parsing a Sunday at your house ?-Witness: He dined at my mamma's. I can't exactly swear to the date, but I believe it was about the end of January. In r"ply to further questions, the witness afd she WM in mourniog tor the deat'1 üf hr father, am tllat ',],1(> used ;:1 her eoiresponder.ee paper with a Mack border, hut a border a great deal deeper than that of the payer on whlcf< ttieae letters wen- written. e Coroner Assuming your supposition to be correct that Bradshaw wrote thsse letters, can you assign any reason why he should write letters to himself dealing with your own name, your husband's name, your brother's name, and your friends' narues ?-Witness: No. By Mr. Marsh: She had never been alone in Mr. Brad- shaw's company. Her mother or sister was always pr-sent. Mr. Bradshaw volunteered to get her brother a situation. She had never met him by appointment alone, but she had casually, when with her mother, met him at the Broad- j street station, and on another occasion she and a friend were accosted by him in the street, and he accompanied them home, holding his umbrella over them, as it was raining. A juryman asked the witness if Miss Grubb and Miss Arnold came to tea as invited. Witness said they had never been at her house. The Coroner asked if they had been at her mother's. Wit- ness replied in the negative, adding that Miss Arnold was at the present moment dying of consumption, and unable to leave her home. In reply to further questions from the Coroner, she said she never in her life left any message for Bradshaw at Mrs Brown's. Miss Grubb's name was Martha. Witness had no dog at her house, nor had her mother one. Her brother who resided in High-street, Poplar, had a large dog, but it had only been once at her mother's house and this was last Sunday week. The Coroner, once more put the question as to whether witness could throw any light on the mystery, but she main- tained her former assertion. The Coroner called her atten- tion to the dates of the letters (including some that were not read, and which it was unnecessary, tlierefore, to hand to the press for publication), and asked her if she thought Mr. Bradshaw was amusing himself by writing the letters to herself over a period of two months, from December to the 24th of February. Her answer was that this was the only inference she could draw. A person who gave the name of Alfred Watkins, and said he lived at Bow, came forward and volunteeied the informa- tion that Bradshaw, whom he knew well was a tolerably good writer for a mau of his class, but was no; able to spell correctly. Mrs. M'Innes, having been sworn, deposed that she had received the letters by post. They were in a large envelope. She knew the handwriting of them it was her brother's wife's, Mrs. Littlepage. Before this inquiry she went down to her cousin, a Mr. Beaumont, and showed them to him. She thought it an act of foolishness on fhe part of Mrs. Lit- tlepage to write the letters to Bradshaw, and it was that feeling which prompted her resolution not to say or do any- thing in the matter until her brother's return from sea. The envelope containing the photograph she received separately, but by the same post. She had no knowledge from whom they came. By Mr. Marsh: Mrs. Littlepage had been married to wit- ness's brother fifteen months, and witness knew her shortly before the marriage. A short time after the marriage there was some little dissension between witness and Mrs. Little- page, and they had since been on unfriendly terms. Wit- ness had never seen Mrs. Littlepage in the act of writing. She had none of Mrs. Littlepage's writing by her, and spoke from memory solely. She never saw Mrs. Littlepage with Bradshaw alone, but about the time when, according to one of the letters, Mrs. Littlepage appointed to meet him at the station, witness saw her and her mother pass her house in Bradshaw's company. Witness resided on the East India- road. She had not volunteered to show the letters to a gentleman of the Press, but a gentleman of the Press had called upon her, and asked to see them, and she let him see them. By the Coroner: She had no idea of doing wrong when she did so. She did not know what paper the gentleman represented. She had no knowledge when her brother, Mr. Littlepage, would be at home. Mrs. Littlepage had kept her husband's address from her friends, who knew nothing of him, other than that he was regularly remitting money home to his wife. ° e j Henry Owen, a brother to Mrs. Littlepage, put a question to Mrs. M'Innes, asking when it was that she had her last communication by letter from Mrs. Littlepage. Mrs. M'Innes answered that it was shortly before her brother went to sea, which was about twelve months ago. Henry Owen, at his own request, was sworn, and he stated that he was a grocer and cheesemonger out of business and living with his mother at 19, Barking-road. The leters were not in the handwriting of his sister. He had often spoken to Bradshaw, and once, on going past Brown's, he shook hands with him, seeing him standing at the door. George Binden, shoemaker, carrying on business in High- street, immediately opposite to where Mrs. Littlepage, when Miss Owen, had resided, said he had seen her call at Mrs Brown's. There was not the least mistake in the world about it. He knew her perfectly well. He had seen her both go in ana leave the shop, not alone, however, but accompanied by her younger sisters. John Fishpannel, grocer and teadealer, said to the best of his knowledge and belief the letters were not in Mrs. Littlepage's handwriting, which he knew well, having received at different times two notes from her when she was Miss Owen. He did not know M a fact that the notes were written by Miss Owen, but they were in her name. After the police had given their evidence as to the finding of the bodies of Mrs. and Miss Brown, the Corcner proceeded to sum up at great length, after which the jury found a verdict of "Wilful Murder" against Bradshaw, appending with^ whi^h Xtv.r» completeness with which the p»lice had got up the case, and of the £ ,mmPif ie aiJd,dexterity manifested by them in a most difficult and painful duty. difficult and painful duty.
A NARROW ESCAPE:
A NARROW ESCAPE: A Verona paper publishes a curious letter ad- dressed to a friend by Signor Carlo Cagliari, of that city, who is an officer of bersaglieri in garrison at Car- soil, a town in the Abruzzi. It is so characteristic of the state of things and of the character of the people in that part of Italy that an abridged translation will be read with interest: Ou the 3rd Inst (says Lieutenant Cagilari' I set OHt with five bertPAjlieri, disguised as brigands, on an exploring I expedition. For six whole days we visited the most secret recesses of these mountains without discovering anything r meeting .anyone On the lith. at J p m., as we lay ?n ambush in a thicket, we were surprise.! a volley from ?.»« or Mx muskets. No,19 ol us were hit, and we at one.; sfoovi upon the defensire, do'tU^g uot that we were «.*• sa vied or brigands who h*J detected our disguise. I» it was not so I «eon perceived that we had ti dc with ti detachment of National Guards from a rl neigh bouring village who took us for real brigands. I shouted to them not to fire, that we were bersaglieri in dis- guise, but they would not believe us, and a second volley, at not more than 50 paces, stretched one of my men upon the ground. I knew not what to do at last I called to them to cease firing, and that we would surrender ourselves and lay down our arms. They accepted this, and we laid our revolvers (our only arms) upon the ground. About 40 persens, National Guards and armed peasants, then sur- rounded as. I inquired for their chief, and was shown a man of ferocious and sinister aspect, to whom I imme- diately presented my passport: but he only abused us, de- clared the document a forgery, had us placed upon our knees by main force, and ordered four of his men to load their arms and shoot us. I thought of my family and looked at my companions, who were mute and resigned. Again addressing the commander of the National Guards, I warned t,im of the frightful crime he was about to commit, and of the punishment he would incur by shoo*, ing us with- out ascertaining who we were. My persistence in maintain- ing myself to be a bersaglieri and an officer only exasperated his ferocity, and he threw himself upon me, struck me in in the belly, tore my clothes, and wounded me slightly. My bersaglieri all uttered a cry of indigna- tion, and that moment we regretted our revolvers. Just then came up a peasant, whom the others addressed as the syndic. I spoke to him, and asked at least four hours' respite, that I might write to my captain. He consented, ana sent us to the village under escort. I begged him to ascertain whether the soldier who had been shot down at my side was dead, or only wounded. An hour afterwards he was brought in, badly wounded by a bullet that had passed through his thigh. Three hours later my captain arrived in hot haste, and I and my men were set at liberty.
MR. GLADSTONE'S FIGURES ON…
MR. GLADSTONE'S FIGURES ON THE IRISH CHURCH. Mr. Gladstone, in answer to a question by Sir S. Northcote, on Monday night, repeated his calculations as to the property of the Irish Church in a somewhat more precise and detailed form than when he intro- duced his bill. His figures are as follows ASSETS. Tithe-rent charge £ 9,000,000 Leased lands and perpetuity rents, 4,000,000: Glebe and other lands let out for short terms. 1,500,000 Lands in occupa- tion of ecclesias- tics. 750,000 Miscellaneous fund 750,000 £ 16,000,000' 8,650,000 £7,350,000 CHARGES. Life interests et in- cumbents of all ranks. 44,900,000 Curates. 81\0,01;0 Lay compensations 600,OJO Advowsons 300,000 Private endow- ments 500,000 Building charges on glebe-houses.. 250,000 Presbyterian and Roman Catholic compensations 1,100,000 Expenses of Com- mission (420,000 a-year) 200,000 48,650,000 Jseiieving, however, that on the whole the results will come out rather better than worse," Mr. Glad- stone fixes 27,500,000 as the probable surplus.
THE REASON WHY?
THE REASON WHY? Before the impression produced by what is sensa- tionally termed the great convent case has quite passed away, and people have forgotten how' for about a month one of our law courts was devoted to the settlement of a female squabble, and judge and jury sat day after day endeavouring to discover which of two ladies, who had somehow fallen out. was most in the wrong, we (Pall Mall Gazette) may be allowed to repeat the questions we put in the very first number of this journal. Why is it feminine cases are invariably so tedious, so long-winded, and so surcharged with evidence? And if it be an inevi- table necessity arising from the nature of things that they should be so, would it not be an advantage to all parties-the parties themselves as well as the public- if such cases were made impossible ? How far public opinion is prepared for the passing of such an act as we then proposed, we cannot say; but certainly the spectacle presented at Westminster, and the state of the Press during the last three or four weeks woul d seem to justify a piece of legislation such as the pre- amble we sketched out suggested Whereas that section of her Majesty's subjects, commonly called, known, and described as the fair sex, is at present harshly, unjustly, and iniquitously degraded to the level of certain other but inferior subjects of her Majesty-to wit, the male population of the United Kingdom—by being al- lowed to take certain proceedings-to wit, law proceedings- in her Majesty's courts of justice, and to have recourse to certain tricks, artifices, and dodges, the property of and in- vented by the other-to wit, the un-fair sex and whereas it has been found that such proceedings are tedious and long- winded, and occupy an unreasonable portion of her Majesty's time and whereas certain persons, called reporters, at the instigation of the printer's devil, do set fprth such proceed- ings at an unjustifiable length in the public press, to the dis- traction of her Majesty's subjects, and the corruption of good manners; be it enacted, &c. This was our suggestion four years ago, and all the evils it points to seem to be increasing rather than diminishing.
PRISONERS' FRIENDS.
PRISONERS' FRIENDS. A writer in the D cily News gives the following sketch of one of the many sad pictures which are to be seen in London On certain mornings, and at regular hours, small groups of woe-begone tearful girls and women may be seen in the Old Bailey, exchanging whispers with each other, or thread- ing their way silently through the throng of meat- salesmen, City policemen, ticket porters, warehousemen, clerks, and shopboys, with which the busy place is full. They are the female friends of prisoners in Newgate, are of all ages, and beyond misery and shabbiness, have little in common. The girls look prematurely old and worn, and many of them have the unmistakeable expression all hunted animals obtain; while the older women may be divided into two classes-the callous and the crushed. There is a world of misery behind the defiatft as well as the tortured faces one sees here. All pause at the steps leading up to the half-door, behind which the head and shoulders of a stalwart man in uniform are seen and after a moment's parley they are admitted within. The object of their journey is nearly accomplished now, for they are about to be allowed to see and converse with their husbands or lovers, their brothers or sons. These last are taking their prescribed amount of exercise in the prison yards, and it is from behind one of the gratings looking on these that they are permitted to gaze from a presciibed dis- tance upon, and exchange woras with, their visitors. Ed twjeii the prisoners and their friends runs a passa^" of about a yard wide, with another set of iron bars fencing 1.. from the place where the women stand; so that between the visitor* and the visited are two stout barriers and su/Scient spaoa to preclude the possibility of articles being handed from one to the other. There are no seats. The prisoners are told to break out of the line of march, and permitted to advance to the grating of the yard in batches of three or four. The women who have come to see them stand exactly opposite, within the prison, and all have to press their faces close to the bars to make hearing possible. If a double set of wild beast c iges were planted in parallel lines, with the ironwork of e. ch facing the others, but a yard or so apart; if the lions and tigers were pushing their nose& eagerly at the' barriers, as if trying to escape and if a keeper or two were planted in the intervening space to watch, a fair imitation of Newgate gaol during visiting would be obtained. The gloomy place has been vastly altered and improved during the last few years. Tho-e who > nly remember its old dark walls with their long line of oakum pickers at work in the day time who saw the condemned cell, say about the time Palmer had occupied it or Bousfleld endeavoured to commit suicide by throwing himself in its fire, would be amazed at the transformation effected in its interior. Light iron staircases lead to airy galleries, out of which the vari- ous cells open, and from the lower floor of which the exercise grounds are gained. The condemned cell differs little now from that appropriated to ordinary prisoners, save that there is accommodation for the warders, whose duty it is to watch the wretch sentenced to die, and who never leave him il he falls from the gallows' drop. But our present business is with the exercise yards, smd the interviews held between the bars. There is a ghastly resemblance between them and the playground of some strict school. Pacing regularly round, a fixed space being main- tained between each man or boy, and the rate ef walking in each case the same, procepd the prisoners. It is their wicked, callous faces which make the school simile seem ghastly. Dangerous beasts moving restlessly to and fro in a vast cage seems much nearer the mark. now that we are among them. Sordid common villany, thefc, forgery, assault, burglary, cutting and wounding, and passing bad money, make up the bulk of offences with which the men before us stand charged. A stout florid-faced man, who looks like a country farmer, and who is gestulating violently through the bars t(o¡ the cowed and crying little woman beyond them, is on a charge of horse-stealing lie has been in prison before, and indeed was only out of it t n days when he was again apprehended. A mmcubr powerful man, he looks as if he could carry off ahorse bodily, if necessary; and one wonders what the messages are he IS impressing so earnestl on his wife. A warder is standing near enougn to the twain to overhear their talk, but we are assured no effort is made to eavesdrop the presence of a prison official being insisted on simply as a precautionary measure. Next to the horse-dealer IS a well- dressed jouiig clerk, whose alleged offence is embezzlement. The elderly woman whose sobs reach us across the ) aid is his mother. She seems to be pleading earnestly, and he to be half sullen, half ashamed, but finally to yield to her entreaties whatever their purport may have been. The third prisoner being visited is an older man, and the girl talking to him looks like his daughter. Their interview is far calmer than the other two, and seems indeed of a business character for some clean linen has been brought, and the man is actually talking of the weather as we pass by—a proceeding which we thought a feint, but which, as we were reminded, was natural enough. The three-qaarters of an hour allotted to each intnview is doubtless a very precious time. It can only be had on particular days, and the strongest wish of those concerned must be to compress as many questions and answers into it as possible. Fancy the painful excitement with which a man abrut to be tried for some serious crime must look fonmrd to his pro- mised talk with those whom he can trust to act fer him out- side. The anxious thoughts, the doubts, the fears, the hopes which agitate him in the solitude of his cell are to all hear fruit in t momentous onversation he is permitted to hold. The chances of the impending trial, his fate if convicted, the mpans to be raised for his defence, and the effect upon those e ,elldent on him of his present state, have to be eagerly canvassed and it is all important that not a moment should be lost. But this very eagernesli defeats itself. Just as it often happens, that when people meet after a long absence, and for a limited time, they fail to recal half the topics in which they are vitally interested, and on hlCh they are anxious to compare notes-so with the imprisoned men be- fore us and their friends. In the other yards we visited men and women who were absolutely staring at each other througtr the bars, in silence though the latter had come on purpose to talk, and the former would be shut up again in a quarter of an hour. In s°!l1e cases it may have been the dumbness of despair which made them tongue tied; but many seemed so nervously anxious to express all they had to say that they were unable to arrange their ideas sufficiently to give them articulate shape. Some of the wemen treated the whole affair lightly, smirked at the warders, and looked boldly round but these were the exceptions. Th rule both in those waiting and those in communication with their male friends was abso- lute dejection. Two other kinds of accommodation aro pro- vided for special visitors, both similar in character. The first is an enclosed closet 1';1 the centre of the principal corridor, and is for the attornies; the second is for the pri- soners whe are Roman Catholics, and who are visited by their priest. Both have glass sides and roof, and realise "the light closets," upon which Clarissa laid sneh stress when de- scribing the lodgings she had been entrapped into by Lovelace. The advice to little children, "to be seea but not heard," is rigidly enforced upon all people inside these two places. They live for the time being literally in a glass-house, and every movement can be seen from almost any portion of the chamber or corridor in which they stand. Both places are empty during our stay, the only visitors being the women pressing against the iron bars It is easy to fill up their vacancy, however; and all but impossible not to realise the scenes which take place in the attornies' box, as well as the priests'. There are seats here, and a resting-place for papers. It is, indeed, a small office under a glass 3ase, and swept and garnished for the next tenants. The futile attempts at deceit, the half confessions, the miserable equivocations as to the extent and circum- stances of guilt on the one hand the calm business tone, the remonstrances on the suicidal folly tlf concealment, the penetrating questions, the practised art with which the truth is wormed out; and ths astute 8J!8urances of help from the professional advisers on the other, this place has heard If glass walls have ears like their neihbours of stone and brick, what strange stories could this little cramped cage reveal! There are more women in the porter's lodge, as we leave, tearful and miserable a# the vest., aud awa'ttog their turn ior interviews. i"hey, too, will be conducted to the iron ior interviews. fhor, too, will be conducted to the iron barriers, anù utter thel.. broken conversation across tha dismal yard oî intervening space, The prison of Newgatr ill so obviously well manned, and the comforts ive had almost l .\Titten the luxuries- of its inmates are l. carefully secured, that its authorities have doubtless sufficient reasons for t >• ru'.cs under which tar. v;ut? of prisnner; frionds 'nay be paid and received. Still. a vast majority of the inmates are "I emand eases;" and as they are all seut elsewhere as soon as possible after conviction, it is difficult to repress a wish that some less restricted morle of communication couid be allowed. Although many of the evil laies we saw marching round were 01.1 prison hands, we presume that the law holds them innocent of the particular offences they are charged with, untilit finds them uilty. Again, it IllU<t occasionally happen tht guiltless persons who have baen committed for trial are detained here, and there is something repulsive in the absolutely penal character of the reception they have in each case to give their friends.
---------THE QUEEN'S LEVEE.
THE QUEEN'S LEVEE. The first levee of the season was held by her Ma- jesty in person, on Friday in last week, at Bucking- ham Palace. Her Majesty was accompanied to the throne-room by Prince Arthur, the Duke of Cam- bridge, and other members of the royal family, and was attended by members of the royal household. Since the last levee, in the summer of last year, a new Parliament has been elected, new sheriffs for the various counties have been nominated. and various other changes have been made which have constituted a large number of new claimants for presentation, and although three levees are announced to be held within a period of less than a month, the Lord Chamberlain has been deluged with applications for presentations at the first. Another point in connexion with this first levee of 1869 was the changed attire in which many of the gentlemen appeared. Military and naval men were, of course, in uniform judges wore their ermine and their robes bishops the episcopal habit; and her Majesty's Ministers the Windsor uniform; but ordi- nary civilians, who had no special uniform to claim, appeared in the new regulation dresses, which have the merit at all events of putting people somewhat at ease. That which has been not inappropriately described as the vieille eour was scarcely peen. Addresses and petitions praying her Majesty's mer- ciful consideration for the release of the Irish political prisoners were presented by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and a number of members of Parliament of England and Ireland. The total number of presentations exceeded 300. The Queen wore a black silk dress with a train trimmed with crape and jet, and a white tulle cap with a long veil, the cap ornamented with large pearls. Her Majesty also wore a necklace composed of four rows of large pearls and a pearl brooch, the Riband and the Star of the Order of the Garter, the Orders of Victoria and Albert and Louise of Prussia and the Coburg and Gotha. Family Order. The Princess Louise wore a train of silver moire antique trimmed with silver, a moire tulle skirt and a silver tunic trimmed with silver. Head-dress—Convolulus and diamonds ornaments—diamonds, Victoria and Albert order, order of St. Isabel, and the Coburg and Gotha Family Order. After the levee the Queen and the Princesses (Prince Christian and the Princess Henrietta of Slesvig- Holstein being of the Royal party) left Buckingham Palace for Windsor, arriving there at seven o'clock.
DEATH OF SIR JAMES EMERSON…
DEATH OF SIR JAMES EMERSON TENNENT. We have to announce the death of this gentleman, which took place suddenly last Saturday afternoon. The deceased baronet, who was sixty-five years of age, was a native of Belfast, a borough which he repre- sented in Parliament for several years. In the second Government of Sir Robert Peel he was Secretary to the India Board, and was afterwards appointed Governor of Ceylon. In Lord Derby's first Mini-try he was Secretary to the Poor Law Board, a post which he subsequently vacated for that of Permanent Secre- tary to the Board of Trade. This office he relinquished in 1867, and upon his retirement from public life he re- ceived a baronetcy. Sir James, who was the author of many works of travel, history, and natural science, is succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son, who is now in his 34th year.
-----._-----BREACH OF PROMISE…
BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE. At Nottingham, the cause of Symmingtun v. Ether- ington" has been tried, and was a special jury case. Plaintiff is the daughter of Mr. Symmington, a surgeon, residing at Dewsbury, in Yorkshire the defendant is an independent gentleman, and resides on his own property, at Sneinton, near Nottingham. 'Plaintiff was forty years of age, and defendant about fifty-one. Mr. D;gby Seymour, for the plaintiff, said his client had sacrificed the bloom of her early youth for the defendant; and there had passed between them 134 letters, 34 of which Were on hig brief, from which the learned counsel read copious extracts, the court from time to time being convulsed with laughter. In one of the defendant's earliest letters, dated 1858, he con- cludes as follows :— Make yourself happy and comfortable, and proceed on your way rejoicing, and accept the assurance of the unfal- tering love and affection of your devoted "JOHN ETHERINGTON, Jun." In another letter, dated the same year, he said— 1 11 never leave, deceive, nor forsake you. Forty summers have I wandered on this terrestrial scene, tessed by various tempests [still feel at a loss to comprehend why you should heitate for one moment to let me know your exact age. Can you think, my dearest, that I should allow my feelings towards yon to be influenced or affected in the least whether you were fifty or sixty? No! no! Alice is engraven upon my breast and there it must remain. I cannot erase it. I desire a strongnainded, spirited, intelligent, and sensible womn. I think I perceive these qualities in Ytlur own dear self, Do not desert me. 'Oh, let no rival your affection share, Long as my bosom beats, ye lovely fair.' I am becoming quite bald with anxiety and trouble. Not iJ with you. You can spare me olle of your bright ringlets. I shall preserve It as a sacred token of your affection and love. I never cease thinking of you, from the rising to the reclining upon my lonely couch: and I watch with an anxiety I never before ex- perienced for the recepti ,n of those loving and cheering dues reciprocating the sincere and heartfelt sentiments of the unchangeable love and affec ion of your devoted and ever attached, ETHKRINGTON, Jun." In another letter of the same year defendant wrote :— Accept therfore the humble declaration of one who reveres and adores YOIl; for come what may, as long as I have & head upon my shoulders and hands to work, I will never desert thai woman if she continues in the path of rectitude, whe has for so long a period fostered me in her thoughts and devoted herself to me I do highly appreciate your letters. They are short, but they are no less sweet and lovely and embrace in a few words what it takes me sheets to disclose. But what is this inclosed in an envelope ? It is not glass. No, it 1 reality. It is a lock of my dear Alice's hair How comforting, how exhilarating, how beau- tiful? Where shall I place it? Here, next to my heart—in the interior of my inside waistcoat pocket. There shall I preserve it as a precious token of unchangeable love. It shall remain in the envelope; neither gold nor silver shall encircle it, they would debase it. But you, oh, you, my Alice, So perfect and so peerless, are created Of every creature best.' "Will you permit these lines to this abrupt conclusion by reiterating the sacred and warm expression whi h closed your last. I am sure you will accept the overflowing stream of affection which has dictated these lines, and preserved me in your bosom, where alone my happiness is centred, for I am still, and ever shall be, your ever devoted and attached, "JOHN ETHERINGTON, Jun.' In a subsequent letter the defendant concludes as follows:— Fatigue would be much more agreeable to me than re- pose, and dangers than ease if endured in your service. The idea dees no solid pleasure give, She must within my sight as well as fancy live.' And now, my dear creature, accept from your unworthy love the deep current of affection whicn has dictated these lines and permit me to reciprocate those endearing lines which closed your last. May God bless, protect, and direct you for the best, is the sincere prayer and wish of your ever d- voted and attached, JOHN ETHERINGTON, Jun." In another letter, which occupied four sheets, defen- dant said :— "But, oh! my dear Alice, if I could again but see you, how many proofs could I give you or those endearing senti- ments which so completely overwhelm me Never mind, my love; the time is not far distant when I trust we tdiall again meet: and then, oh then my Alice, such sweet kisses and embraces, we should never forget them. With you at my side, oh my amiable Alice, my long- cherished love, cheering me on to happier days. I would walk bare-footed a hundred miles to see you for a lew days." In the course of a few years the defendant's letters became cool, and he ceased to correspond with the plaintiff in 1863. She wrote to remonstrate with him, but he never answered her letters. In 1868, however, the defendant wrote to her as follows:— "I am surprised at your intolerable impudence and audacity, and yet I need not be when I find, unfortunately, women so imprudent as to be constantly following, pestering, and boring men with their insatiable, affected, and selfish devotion and humbug, gratifying no doubt to those who merely consult their own interests and other people's pockets, but, be assured, command not the least sym- pathy of men, who regard this cort of conduct with pity mingled with contempt. I told you many years pait that 1 declliJed,,11 correspondence and all association with you in terms sufficient to convince the most senseless, and for reasons which I had then and now good cause to en- tertain; and yet, notwithstanding, by your note of yester- day, you appear to have been following me with your pappish' letters for years past, dogging my every step and movement. What do you mean by this conduct? I don't want you. I would not be bothered witn you at any price. I am not quite such a fool as that, although you may think so, as you treat me otherwise, and "eware if YOIl still persist in troubling and annoying me I shall take other steps of pro- tecting myself, and prevent you being a source of any fur- ther annoyance to me." Several witnesses were examined to show that the plaintiff had suffered from great prostration since the engagement was broken off. The Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff—damages JE600.
A MAN OF EEACE WITH IMPLEMENTS…
A MAN OF EEACE WITH IMPLEMENTS OF WAR. A deputation of gunmakers from Birmingham has had an interview with the Right Honourable John Bright (remarks the Daily Telegraph). We men of peace are avenged. For a long time past the tendency has been to thrust soldiers into every berth which might fall vacant, without regard to fitness or unfit- ness. The half-pay captains have taken the smaller places colonels on the retired lit have been the favoured candidates for the better things of this world. We have, however, got the upper hand of the Army List at last. This time the Gown has fairly beaten the Sword. The soldiers may have had their little triumphs but can they point to such a success as we have won? Here is the most eminent member of the Society of Friends presiding over the manu- facture of small arms, and gravely transacting business with the gunmakers as though he had spent his early life in a powder-magazine. What the result of the interview may be, we know not; nor is it likely that Mr. Bright will tell us. If some improvement in revolvers has occurred to the right honourable gentleman, we can scarcely hope that he will take us into his confidence. From small arms to big guns is but a step, as compared with the gulf which yawns between the small-arm trade and Mr. Brighfs ante- cedents. We may hear of him next at Shoeburyness, settling the vexed question oc. artillery and armour- plates—of attack and defence. ) here is nothing to be ashamed of in all this. Whatever Mr. Bright takes in hand, no doubt he will do it well. After all, it was out of such stuff as John Bright that the Ironsides wde rnade. They would fight by the hour, and pray by the yard. Zeru ibabel Pray-till-Dawn and Zephaniah Pound-Text werfe, in one sensfc, frightful bores. It is, nevertheless, true that many who, Ctafe to laugh at them went away laughing very uvichon the wrong side of their months. Among other little matterN, they understood how smite the Rollicking Ranks'' of the period hip and thigh—yea, even till the going down of the sun. Has not John Bright — even our John—smitten his curled and per- fumed foes till there isn't a curl left in them and, as for perfume, the less said about that the better* Jerkins and jack-boots, culverins and petro- nels, have been out of date in our time; but John has met his opponents manfully with the weapons of the period, and given back as good ae ever he got The heart of many a dull, fighting corporal, who would never have shrunk from mounting the imminent deadly breach, would have fainted in the face of the warfare which John Bright has had to wage. His heart never fainted. Macbeth, in Jbis last splutter, was a lamb compared to Friend John when his fighting blood was well up. Why, then, should we wonder if he feels an interest in small arms ? Of course his heart warms to a good weapon. To our fancy, however, a broadsword should have been his tool. He would have done his work like Balfour of Burley, in Walter Scott's tale. Age may have some- what checked the headlong current of his blood, may have slightly blanched bis hair, dimmed the brightness of his fiery glance, and, indeed, he may be getting a shade too stout for active service but, depend upon it, if the clarion sounds, and calls England once more to arms, John Bright is the chief for our money.
---- -----------LATEST NEWS…
LATEST NEWS FROM ABYSSINIA. The latest authentic news from Abyesinia is that Menilek, King of Shoa, and the Wakshum Gobaze were in the vicinity of Magdala, ready for battle. Mastyat, the Queen of the Wallo-Dallas, has joined the latter and Queen Warkit, her rival, has allied herself to the former, both bringing a large contin- gent in support of their respective confederates. 'Ali Faris, the chief of Yadjow, still holds his own but in the event of a battle between Menilek and the Wakshum Gobaze, he will be obliged to submit to the conqueror. Gondar, the old capital, is held by a rebel leader, supposed to be BitwaCldad Hailo, one of the late chiefs of Magdala, as all the Amhara country to the north and west of Lake Tana is governed conjointly by him and his cousin Balambaras Gabra-Madhane 'Alam. Mashisha, Theodore's eldest son, is a prisoner in the hands of the latter chief. An attempt to capture him was made by the son of Tadla Gwalu, the chief of Gojjam, which was so far successful that the assailants were carrying him off to imprison him in the Amba of Gojjam when the people of the Balambaras overtook them and rescued the captive. The Prince has now been sent as a prisoner to the Sar-Amba, in Chalga. Tadla Gwalu's son has nominally joined the Wak- shum Gobaze from dread of the Balambaras Gahra- Madhane 'Alam but he will scarcely put himself in the hands of the powerful Lasta chief. Kasa, of Tigre, is sending 20,000 dollars to Cairo, to obtain a new Abuna from the Coptic Patriarch. By the latest accounts received at Massowah, Menilek and Gobaze had come to an understanding, and tbe latter was returning to Debra Tabor. Gobaze was expected in Tigre, but it is questioned whether he will be able to make his way thither through the inter- mediate country, which is still held by rebels. It is also stated that there is a sore famine through- out Abyssinia, owing to the anarchy which has pre- vailed since the departure of the British force. The demands of rival factions have prevented the peasantry from tilling the soil.
AN ELECTION IN HUNGARY.
AN ELECTION IN HUNGARY. A correspondent at Bardiov, in Hungary, thus describes the preliminaries of an election for the Hungarian Parlia- ment which took place there a week ago :— There were two candidates in the field—M. Dienes, a wealthy and highly educated landowner, and M. Hollan, the representative of the clericals. It was a contest, not of parties, but of classes and this may perhaps account for the passion with which it was fought. Treating was unscrupulously resorted to by both sides in the most open manner; for several weeks before the election drink, food, and tobacco were freely distributed among the voters, and not a day passed with- out a street fight more or less serious. On one of these occasions the supporters of M. Dienes got up a torchlight procession, and when they came opposite his house were attacked by the clericals with sticks and stones. The fight was begun by the mayor of the town striking one of the torch-bearers, who returned the blow with interest. A general melee ensued, the clericals fighting with sticks and their adversaries with torches, and before the troops came up to restore order three men were killed and Sl veral wounded. Among the latter was a priest who had taken a pro- minent part in the riot. When the fiht was over the contending parties distributed themselves among the various taverns in the town, where they passed the night in eating and drinking at the expense ot the candidates.
----------PROHIBITION OF MARRIAGE…
PROHIBITION OF MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER. A Dorsetshire clergyman (who, for obvious reasons, witholds his name) writes the following to the papers :— 1 am glad to find that the subject of a man marrying his deceased wife's sister is once more brought before Parlia- ment, with the view of rendering such an union legal in our staiute hook, as I verily believe it is simctionefl-most assuredly it is not forbidden in the Bible; and furthermore recommended by clergymen of much experience and weight, such as Dr. Hook, the late Bishop Villiers, Hugh Stowell, and several others whom I could name. My object in address- ing you is to stat an instafiCc of sl1ch a marriae which occurred in my parish several years since, in which the wife, shortly before her death, expressed a wish to her husband that if he ever married again, he would ma-ry her sister. I was consulted by the friends of the family, a respectable one, respecting my opinion of such a marriage. Of course I could give but one answer—viz., that as it was forbidden by the law of te land, I could not pAssihly sanction a breach of the law; still less could I solemnise such a marriage, as I should thereby incur a heavy peuaUy. At the same time I expressed a wish that the law might be alteftd, as I did not think that such an union was contrary to the law—and so far as the law was expression of His mi"d and will—of God. They were in consequence. at a place far distant, and the union I belle-? o M been a one.
llltstcIIimtoMS nttIligtnttt"
llltstcIIimtoMS nttIligtnttt" HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. | PRESSURE OF THE RATES.—A table, intended to exhibit the great decree with which the rates press upof. farmers a-, compared with other clashes of per- sons in agricultural districts, is given in the current number of the Chamber of Aflriculture Journal. Re- turns were obtained from sixteen persons, thirteen of whom wi re farmers, one a purgeon, one a general dealer, and one was rated simply as a "householder." Several of these returns are from Northumberland, and they show that a farmer who in 1868 paid income- tax on £250 paid rates amounting to 20 per cent. of his supposed income that a surgeon paying income-tax on £200 paid rates which only amounted to 01 per cent. that the like per centage was paid by a "householder who paid income-tax on £800; and that a general dealer, who reckoned his income at £150 per year, paid rates which amounted to Ii per cent. upon that amount. SUPERSEDING A PRIEST.—The American papers I give particulars of a curious dispute which has oc- curred at Auburn between the Roman Catholics of that place and their bishop. A priest who had offi- ciated for twenty-three years there was removed, and another put in his place. The congregation, however, refused to hear the new comer, geutly led him out of the church, together with the bishop, and then held a meeting, in which they denounced the action of the latter, and threatened to appeal to the Pope if neces- sary. The New York Times draws attention to the occurrence as one which shows the independent spirit, which pervades every organisation that is established in America, and says that a more noteworthy assertion of popular rights in ecclesiastical matter has not been recorded for some time. "No doubt the Bishop will triumph in the end," it adds, for llome is sure to sup- port its own autnorities, but the signs of the times show that the Catholics of America will not submit to ecclesiastical domination without a loud and significant protest." THE GAME LAWS.—The bill brought into the House of Commons by Lord Elcho, to amend the game laws in Scotland, sanctions the killing of hares by tenants without license on lands in their own occu- pation, where the exclusive right is not specially reo served to the proprietor in the lease. A tenant may also appoint one person to kill hares or rabbits, subject to the approval of such person by the landlord. It is also provided that a tenant shall be entitled to recover compensation from his lessor for any damages he may sustain in consequence of the increase of hares, rabbits, and game unduly encouraged or not duly pre- vented by the lessor, on lands occupied by t'1 tenan during the currency of his lease. VELOCIPEDE RACE AT LIVERPOOL.—The intro- duction of the velocipede into Liverpool, though only of a recent date, is rapidly developing itself, and on Saturday last a very exciting eight mile race, for a prize of a silver cup, came off, the competitors being members of the Liverpool Velocipede Club. About three o'clock, the hour appointed for the start, only five Velocipedeans came up to the starting post and mounted their vehicles. Just as the vehicles got under way, one of them knocked down a little boy, but the rider kept his seat. The pace was rather slow owing to the crowded state of the streets, but as the bicycle gained the open country the velocipedeans began to work in earnest. The rate at which they got over the ground was astonishing, and several horsemen and carriages who followed the racers found it a most diffi- cult task to keep up with them, although the roads were rather rough for the bicycles. At sixteen minutes to four o'clock the Marine Parade at Water- 100 was reached by 1\1:r. Browne, who rode a much larger velocipede than the other competitors. The distance traversed was a little over eight miles, which was got over in forty-four minutes. Beyond the mis- hap mentioned above, the bicycles ran clear of every- thing. MURDEROUS ATTACK ON A WIFE.—On Monday the Mayor of Bradford went to the house of James l'nwin, driver of a wherry, residing in New Leeds, and took the depositions of his wife Ann. The injured woman said :— My husband came home at twenty minutes to one o'clock on Saturday morning last- I don't know whether he was drunk or sober. He knocked me down with bis fist, and while [ was down he kicked me all over my bo<Jy and face, causing the injuries from which I am now suffering, and from which I don't expect to recover. After he had kicked me he struck me on the head with the coal rake, aud I shoved ir. out of my head. I was inaersible until half-past two o'clock, and when I came round he was asleep. When we were living in Scarborough he came home drunk one night and attempted to cut my throat, and on other oc- casions when he has come home drunk he has violently ill- treated me. I was confined a month ago to-night. The baby was dead. He had struck me on the Friday night pre- viously across the shoulder with the poker, aud about a month before that he struck me across the shoulder with the poker. THE "ROB ROY" CANOE ON THE SEA OF GA LILEE.— Every hour of my day is filled up with plea- sant duties. Not a moment seems to be lost, or to hang heavy. As for loneliness, the idea of it never crosses my mind. The particular sort of observations to be made in this" land and water" journey would be quite incompatible with the presence of a companion unlrss he was both deaf and dumb. Yet one can scarcely imagine a more delightful tour. Often I have a long ride and a walk, and a paddle, and a sail all in one day. Take, for instance, my first dy on the Sea of Galilee. We are camped near it, by the Jordan, and a crowd of Arabs accompany the Rob Roy to the river. Gliding down the winding stream I soon float out upon the wide lake of Gennisareth. A hundred hills and vales, aud ruins and bays, all familiar to the student of biblical geography, are suddenly present around me in actual life. I turn eastwards at once, and coast the shore with an eager gaz downwards into the clear glassy water, looking for relics there which could not be seen from lanM, and which have never been thus searched for in the water. Careful records are made of each buried column, each hidden pier, or quay, or fallen stone, and my lunch is taken by a pebble beach with sunlight glinting under the wavelets that ripple to 1 he soft and balmy breeze. Stretching out then to the centre of the lake I recline in my canoe with the won- derful panoramaabout me, gorgeous in colour and grace- ful in outline, sacred in deep realities, and powerfully stirring the mind. Here I read the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, which tells how Christ taught on that plain, and fed the people on that hill how he went alone for prayer to that mountain, while his disciples went by boat across this bay then the night came on and they were toiling in rowing, for the wind was contrary."—" Rob Roy," in Land and Water. CONVICTION OF AN HOTEL SWINDLER. — In the papers, a few weeks since, there appeared an ac- count of the calJture of a man named Charles Thomas Woodhouse, charged with swindling the proprietor of the Mount Ephraim Hotel, Tunbridge Wells. The prisoner went to the hotel with two large bags. A few days after his arrival a letter appeared in the news- papers giving a description of a man who had imposed upon innkeepers in various parts of the country. This descrilJtion exactly applied to the prisoner, who was thereupon apprehended, and his bags found to contain hay and stones. He has just been tri' d at the Kent Quarter Sessions, and found guilty. He also pleaded guilty to a similar offence at Nottingham in October, 1866, when he was sentenced to fix months' imprison- ment. Immediately after his release at Nottingham he ran up a bill at an hotel at Wells, Somerset, and absconded without paying it. He had been traced in fifteen counties, had stated himself to be an inspector of mines, &c., and had assumed fifteen or sixteen different names, among them Captain Devereux and the nephew of the Archbishop of Armagh. The Court now sentenced him to two years' hard labour. A COLD ST. VALENTINE'S. -The St. Catherines (Canada) Times says :—"The 14th of February will long be remembered as an extraordinary day. The whole country became an immense glacier, and the eye was regaled with delicate fringes of icicles pendant from fence rails, housetops, and the branches of trees. The more tender varieties of fruit and ornamental trees are badly injured in every direction—literally smashed down with the weight of ice formed upon them during the night. Peach trees have suffered most, many of these being entirely ruined. About six years ago we had just such another sped of weather, and, strangely enough, there was an abundant crop of fruit the following season, notwithstanding the destruction of many choice trees. A Montreal paper states the fall of snow this winter at no less than 118 inches. WEIGHT OF RED DEER.—The Earl of Derby writes the following observations on the weight of red deer — The heaviest stag I ever killed at Knowsley weighed 30st. 4Ib., or 4241b. clean, that is, after gralloching. (The gralloch would probably weigh Cst. more.) He was au outlying deer, and very fat. I killed one, a year or two ago, of 4l2lb. but of late years the weight has diminished, chiefly owin, I thiuk, to the park being overstocked, the numher of rell deer exceeding 300. Ihe average weight of a stag eight or ten years, aud iu oondition, wOllld be from 20st, to 5st., or :801b. to 3501b. I have seldom killed any below the former, or, of late years, above the latter weight. ANOTHER WATERLOO VETERAN GONE !—The death 01 General Sir Arthur Ben jamin Clifton removes another from the decreasing list of Peninsular and Waterloo veterans. Authorities differ as to the age of the gallant officer. According to one account he was born in 1769, the year which witnessed the birth of the late Duke of Wellington and of the First Napoleon, so that he would have been now about a hundred years old. Another authority gives the date as 1770, and a third as 1772. Taking the general, therefore, at his youngest, he would have attained the age of 97, and would have been a British subject four years before the United States of America obtained their indepen- dence. Sir Arthur Clinton, who had a medal and clasps for service at lalavera, Busaco, and Toulouse, was heir-presumptive to the baronetcy of his nephew, Sir Robert Clifton, one of the members for Notting- ham. RATTENING AT SHEFFIELD. On Saturday morning an attempt was made to blow up a non- unionist saw handle maker, named Joseph Martin, of 76, Broad-lane, Sheffield. The man had recently been in the employ of another firm, but owing to orders being slack he went on Tuesday last to Messrs. Spear and Jackson's, whose saw handle makers had left work some time ago in consequence of a notice of a reduc tion of wages. About one o'clock in the morning the inmates of the house were awakened by hearing a loud crash. A policeman who was passing shortly after- wards found on the pavement a broken stone bottle, the contents of which, consisting of powder and steel filings and scraps, were scattered about. A chalk mark was placed near Martin's door, and a similar mark on the pavement opposite. The bottle had been thrown at a garret window, and had it exploded would would not have injured Martin, who slept in another room. The persons that would have been hurt had the attempt succeeded were a bed-ridden old woman and two little children. PRKSBYTKRIAN ELOQUENCE DISPLAYED, An old book thus describes the method of preaching papu- lar among the Presbyterians of the seventeenth century :—" One John Simple, a very zealous preacher among them, used to personate and act sermons in the old monkish style. At a certain time he preached upon that debate, whether a man be justified by faith or by works, and acted it after this manner "Sirs, I, this is a very great debate; but who is that looking in Iat the door with his red cap ? It is very ill manners t to be looking in: but what's your nam e ? Robert t Bellarmine. Bellarmine, saith he, whether 18. man justified by faith or by works ? He ia justified by works. Stand thou there, man. But what is he, that honest-like man standing in the floor with a long beard and Geneva cowl ? A very honest-like man draw near; w at's your name, 8ir? My name is John Calvin. Calvin, honest Calvin, whether a man justified by faith or by works ? He is justified by faith. Very well, John. thy leg to my leg, and we shall hough (trip) down Bellarmine even now." Another time, preaching on the day of judgment, he ttllfi them, 'Sirs, this wi 1 be a terrible day we'l JaIl be there, and in the throng I, John Simple, will be, &nd all of you will stand at my back. Christ will look b me, and he will say, who is that standing there ? 111 again, yea, even as ye ken'd not, Lord. say, I know thou's honest John Simple draw near, John. Now John, what good service have you done to me on earth ? I have brought hither a company of blue bonnets for you, Lord. Blue bonnets, John What is brcome of the brave hats, the silks, and the satins, John? I'll tell, I know not, Lord they went a gait of their own. Well, honest John, thou and thy blue bonnets are welcome to me come to my right hand, and let the devil take the hats, the silks, and the satins."—Curiosi- ties of the Pulpit. TRIALS FOR MANSLAUGHTER.—At the Lancaster assizes, on Saturday, sentence was passed upon Thomas Martin, a wheelwright, of Lancaster, and Robert Caton, a plasterer, of Preston each of whom had been found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife. In Martin's case Mr. Justice Lush said death had been caused under circumstances of considerable brutality. Whilst infuriated by drink Martin had gone home on Christmas Day last, and deliberately knocked his wife down, and then beat her to such an extent wir.h his fist on the head as to cause effusion on the brain, from which she died two days afterwards. His lordship sentenced Martin to five years' penal s rvitude. With regard to Caton, who had been recommended to mercy on account of the provocation he had received, the judge said he quite concurred in that r» commendation. It seemed that whilst in a state of intoxication, Caton's wife had accused him of improper conduct with his daughter, in the presence of two or three persons. This so enraged him that he gave her three or four blows on the head with a brush handle, which fractured her skull, and she died the same night. Caton was sen- tenced to twelve months' imprisonment, with hard labour. WINE AND BEERHOUSE LICENCES.—On Saturday the text of a bill was published, which has for its object the amendment of the law relating to wine and beerhouses. It provides that no licence, or renewal of licence, for the sale, by retail, of beer, cider, or wine, shall be granted, except upon the production of cer- tificates to be issued by the justices at the general annual licensing meeting. The bill proposes to give to the police the right of entry into houses licensed to sell beer not to be consumed on the premises—and it also provides that persons found present in houses open at illegal hours shall be liable for half the amount of pecuniary penalties imposed on the keepers of such houses. This bill is endorsed by Mr. Selwin-Ibbetson, Mr. Akroyd, and Mr. Headlam. A PRhTTY PREACHLR.—At a ragged-school meeting in Sheffield, the other day, the Earl of Shafteshury said ladies would be surprised what effect they could produce if they would undertake to teach young men of the ragged and forlorn class. They would be treated with affection and with reverence. In one of the worst parts of London there was an institution which he visited. In one room he found about thirty-five men listening to the teachings of the daughter of a small shopkeeper in the neighbourhood. She wa. one of the prettiest women he ever saw in his life. He noticed that there was no one present but the young woman with those rough men, and said to the superintendent, Are you not afraid to leave my dear little friend alone with all those men ?" He replied, "lam." "Then why don't you go to her?" "You mistake my fear. I am not afraid of their doing her any harm. They love her so much that they would lick the ground on which she walks but 1 am afraid some person may step in, and, not under authority, or not knowing the manners of the place, may say something impertinent to her, and if he did he would not leave the place alive." NOT A SELF-DENYING MAN.—Lamartine's ex- travagance, even under the most desperate pressure of poverty, is well known. The story is told in p'-ivate circles in Paris of an enthusiastic admirer of the poet who severely stinted himself, to offer a large subscrip- tion for the re-purchase of the Lamartine estates. On the day on which he had paid in the money, he hap- pened to ask at a well-known fishmonger's the price of a turbot. "Forty francs," replied the Parisian Charles. Ah, that is much too dear for me," said the gentleman, and was passing on his way, when a distinguished-looking personage paused for a moment before the shop, and without questioning the price, ordered the fish to be sent to his house. Who may that be ? asked the first customer. Do you not know ?" said the fishmonger that is M. de Lamar- tine." It may be surmised that the future subscrip- tions of the gentleman were few.—[But as a set-off to the above, we now read that the notary who was for many years Lamartine's man of business, certifies in a. public letter that to his certain knowledge Lamartine, in the course of twenty years, spent 200,000 francs in charity, in the department of the Saone-et-Loire.] CURIOUS BOOKS.—At the sale of the library of the late Rev. W.-Moore Brabazon, at Messrs. Puttick and Simpson's, London, the following curious articles occurred :—Lot 92. D'TJrfey's*' Pills to Purge Melan- choly," 6 vols., uncut," sold for jS42 another copy in the last day's sale, in the ordinary state, produced £10 5s. only—so much for rough edges Lot 310. Common Prayer," printed by Jugge and Cawood in 1559, the iirst edition in Elizabeth's reign, althsujli nut quite perfect, sold for JE43. NKW AND GIGANTIC PLANT.— Within the last few days living specimens have been forwarded to this country from Nicaragua of one of the most gigantic plants in the vegetable world. It is closely allied to the Arums (or Lords and Ladies ") of our in dges, and, until the present time, has wholly escaped the notice of travelling botanists. It produces but one leaf, nearly 14ft. in length, supported on a stalk 10ft. long. The stem of the flower is a foot in circumfer- ence, the spathe or flower 2ft. long, purplish blue in colour, with a powerful carrion-like odour. As this remarkable species of Aroideas is quite new to science it has not yet received a name. AN EXPENSIVE DOLL.—In a shop in Rome there is to be seen a doll ordered by an American lady as a present to a child—the Marchesa M C-. It n an Easter offering; and so, of course, is put in an egg. Now here is the literal description of this dear (£80) little thing" :— The doll, as it appears, was dressed in a short costume of pearl-grey cashmere, worn over a petticoat of cerise satin, a Grande Ducuesse hat of pearl grey, feather, with fun-bl..wn rose. There are several dresses besides, bu; the two most worthy of notice are a dinner and ban dress: the tirst iM a rich sUk of turquoise hlue. made with two boc1ies; the latter is of Valenciennes lace, with the smallest bit of mustn let in (the cost of this lace dress is 300f.J Then there is a white cashmere peignoir, beautifully embroidered also muslin ones, trimmed with lace. The whole of the under-linen is of the finest batiste, richly trimmed with Valenciennes the pocket-handkerchiefs are perfect cobwebs of lace; a half- square &hawl of fine Brussels lace a carved ivory fan gloves of all kinds (even the useful dogskin); a bonnet of white blond, (trimmed with forget-me-nots boots, shoes, and slippers a boxful of lovely china and glass for the toilet; and last.though not least, a real Indian cashmere. TERRORISM IN IRELAND.—The disparity between the proportions of detected and undetected crime was adverted to by the Lord Chief Justice when opening the Commission for the King's County at Tullauiore the other day. One of the cases mentioned in the con- stabulary returns was an act of incendiarism, the house of So farmer who had taken a piece of land from which another had been evicted having been set on fire. There were three or four other cases of a similar kind. In another case an armed party went to the house of a farmer and threatened to shoot him if li« took a piece of land which he was anxious to get from his landlord. Auother class of agrarian crime was the sending of threatening letters. In one instance a farmer had received a letter threatening his life if he did not give up a piece of land which he held for seventeen years. None of those offenders had been brought to justice. His lordship observed that if such terrorism be permitted to prevail all law would be overthrown. He expressed his horror at the assassina- tion of the station-master, Anketell, who haa shown him into his carriage and was shot the same night. CnRiqus LAW SUIT IN PARIS.—A suit was brought on Friday at the Civil Tribunal of the Seine by M. Mendelsheim, a writer on the press, against M. Wittersheim, publisher of the Journal Officiel, to recover 3,000fr. damages for the inconvenience to which he has been subjected by the late delivery of the Government organ, to which he had subscribed, and the bad paper on which it was printed, and which rendered it almost illegible. The defendant showed that the delay had been inevitable in consequence of that the delay had been inevitable in consequence of the difficulties of a new organisation; the paper he admitted had at first been indifferent, but he had since changed his manufacturer and both causes of com- plaint were now remedied. The Court decided that the plaintiff had no claim for damages, and merely con- demned Wittersheim to the payment of costs. MORE TO BE PITIED THAN BLAMED !—An in- quest was held in London, on Monday, on the body of a child named Annie Bell, aged three years, who had died in Bethnal-green Workhouse. The mother of the child, Annie Bell or Brown, it appeared from the evi- dence, had been adopted by a lady who, at her death, about four years ago, left her adopted daughter JE900 and a furnished house. JE600 of this, however, it seems, she never got—it having been applied, according to a solicitor's statement, to payment of the debts of the deceased lady—and she was wheedled by various persons out of portions of the £ 300 which did come into her possession. For some time past she had been living in a state of extreme poverty, her troubles appear to have affected her brain, and she was ultimately removed to the insane ward of the workhouse, where her child, who did not wei^h more than eight pounds, soon died. The father of the ehild, the woman said, when she became acquainted with him, lodged in a house where she then lived. He had since married, and when she went to his house to apply for assistance she was removed by the police. The coroner said he thought the poor woman was more to be pitied than blamed, and the jury returned a verdiet of "Death from disease, accelerated by want of food and clothing." CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE.—The rate im- posed by the Gas Company.—Free Lance. A SELF-MADE MAN.—Mr. Alexander T. Stew- art, Secretary of the United States Treasury (under General Grant), is a native of Ireland, who went young and poor to New York, and now ranks with those famous millionaires who, like Astor and Girard, created great fortunes by their own energies and singular capacity for business. As a merchant, he is better known in America than any other living man. The house of A. T. Stewart and Co. does what is known as an importing and jobbing business in dry goods—that is, in cotton, silk, and woollen fabrics—their sales of which have been until lately larger than those of any other firm. Their amount has of late years exceeded forty millions of dollars annually (about £10,000,000), and Mr. Stewart paid a tax in one year on an income of a million and a half. Before the war he was a Democrat, but aban- doned his party in order to sustain the war, to which he contributed ureat sums. He has long been intimate with General Grant, and often mentioned aa his pro- bable Finanoe Minister. __L — • ■■