The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. In the Honse of Commons, on Monday, Lord Stanley, in reply to a question from Mir. Hovaman, stated that he had reason to believe that; the propositions for a conference in London on the subject of Luxemburg would be accepted both by Prance and Prussia, and that the question was in a fair way of being speedily and amicably arranges. He contradicted the rumour that her Majesty's Government had expressed an opinion on the subject, but they had ex- pressed a strong opinion that the matter should be settled peaceably, and had stated that if war were resorted to, the position of England would be one of strict impartiality. Mr. Laing gave notice of his intention in committee on the Representation of the People Bill to move that, no borough containing less tban 10,000 population at the last census shall return more than one member, but that inatead- there should be given a third member to boroughs other than metropolitan which have a population of over 150,000; also that, a second member be given to boroughs whose population exceeds50.000.. The adioumed aebate on the second reading of the Tenants' Improvement (Ireland) Bill was resinned by Mr. Gregory, who said there were three cardinal detects in the bilJ-firbt, that it is not applicable to a large propor- tion of the agricultural classes in Ireland; second, that it completely ignores and passes by the great cause or discon- tent in Ireland—namely, instability ot tenure; .and, third, that it needlesaiy interferes with the rights Oi property. He moved, as an amendment, "That without prejudging the second reading of this bill, this House is of opinion that no enactment for the settlement ot the landlord and tenant question in Ireland can be deemed satisfactory which does not provide for the encouragement of leases in that, C°Mr^r'i3ryan seconded the amendment. He warned the House that this measure would liot settle the question. Land let on lease in Ireland fetched more rent than other land. Why, then, was not more land let on lease ? Because the tenants would then be independent of the landlord, and could no longer be driven to tho poll by the agent. MI". Saadford looked with suspicion on such a bill from the present Government, who had opposed other bills of a similar character. It was a reactionary bill, opposed to every principle of political economy. Captain White believed there would be agitation on this question so long as half measures were offered to the people. In some isolated cases the bill might be useful, but in the aggregate the tenants would not be willing to avail them- selves of it. Mr. M'Kenna supported the bill. Mr. Bagwell and Mr. Synan opposed the bill. The O'Donoghue said the bill was founded on the assump- tion that the tenants in Ireland have not, and onght not to have, ¡¡hY interest in the land. The foundation ot all the evils of Ireland was the tenancy at will system. To ensure the prosperity of Ireland they must give security 01 tenure. He should vote for the amendment. Mr. Pici did not tbinli the bill would meet the anficulty; but in itself it-was a good measure..He suggested that this and the Land Improvement and Leasing Bill should be referred to a select committee. Sir F. Heygate looked upon the bill as involving prin- ciples destructive of property. The relations of landlord and tenant ought to be left to the parties making the con- tract. At the same time be would give the landlord no special privilege, but he should have the same remedy as other creditors. He hoped the bill would be withdrawn. The discussion was continued by Mr. Monsell, Lord C. Hamilton, the Q'Conor Don, Read, and Mr. Kennedy. The Attorney-General for Ireland defended the bill. It was not offered as a panacea, but as a moderate and practical measure. It was opposed because it would take away the cry which had been made so much of in Ireland by agitators of compensation to tenants. The bill was to enable Governmeet to advance money on easy terms to tenants, repayable by instalments extending over 35 years, the tenant, if he were evicted, retaining a charge on the land for his improvements. At the same time the rights of the landlord were preserved. The amendment, he submitted, was not srermane to the bill. Mr.- Sullivan remarked that if the bill were not intended to settle the question, the Government were dealing with the question in an illusory manner. Mr. Graves moved the adjournment of the debate. Mr. G. Fortescue opposed the adjournment. Lord Naas was willing to go to a division. He did not think the amendment was intended to defeat the bill, and he thought, the question of compensation and leasing ought to be dealt with separately; but if the House should think otherwise, he should not on that account drep the bill. After some discussion the motion for adjournment: was withclrawu, and Mr. Sandford moved a further amendment, that 110 pro- perty should be charged with the repayment-of loans ad- vaneed for the purpose of making improvements except such improvements be made with the consent of the landlord. The House divided on Mr. Gregory's amendment, which was negatived by 108 to 101 Oil Mr. Sandford's amendment being put, Lord Haas opposed it. Mr.1 C. 5V>rtescue also opposed tfce amendment. He com- plained of the way in which the Government had manipu- lated the division. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said the right hon. gen- tlemanhad given the Govamment credit for dexterity it did not posess. The discussion had turned, not on the bill, but on Mr. Gregory's amendment, and therefore he thought the debate ought to be adjourned. Mr. ritzwiliiam Dick moved the adjournment of the debate. Mr. O'Eeilly and other members opposed the adjourn- ment, but on a division the adjournment was carried by 115 to 97. The Vice-President of the Board of Trade Bill passed through committee. The Customs and Inland Revenue Bill, the Local Govern- jnent Supplemental Bill, and the Land Drainage Supplemen- tal Bill wero respectively read a seeond time. The House adjourned. In the House of Commons, on Tuesday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in reply to questions as to when the Irish Reform Bill and the Scotch Reform Bill will be introduced, •said the Scotch Reform Bill was more pressing than the Irish, because there was an Irish Reform Bill of a comparatively recent date. He hoped to introduce a Scotch Reform Bill soon, but it was necessary first to make.some progress with recent date. He hoped to introduce a Scotch Reform Bill soon, but it was necessary first to make some progress with the English bill. With regard to another question on the paper, whether, there being no compounding of rates in Scotland, he proposed to give the franchise to every rate- paying householder in Scotch burghs, he said it would be more convenient that he should explain the provisions or the bill when he made the general statement with regard to it than in answer to interrogatories. 'Mr. Trevelyan called attention to the system of purchasing commissions in the army. The army could never be, in the real sense of the word, a profession as long as the purchase system existed, for the very meaning of the word" profes- sion was that a man should live by it. He moved that the system of purchasing commissions in the army tends greatly to diminish the efficiency of our military force. Colonel Sykes seconded, and Captain Stanley supported, the motion, and it was opposed by Colonel North and Major Jervis. Sir J. Pakington said he did not defend the purchase system in theory, but it had been in existence a long time; its abolition would be attended by financial difficulty, and it was argued that poor officers by this means got more rapid promotion than they would otherwise obtain. He hoped that under all circumstances the hon. gentleman would not press his motion to a rlivision. The Marquis of Hartington said the system of purchase was very objectionable, and he believed there was no friend of the army who did not wish to see it abolished, if a system could he substituted which had not greater disadvantages, but he joined wirh Sir J. Pakington in pressing his hon. friend to be satisfied with the discussion, and not press the motion to a division. Mr. Trevelyan having shortly replied,. the House divided, and the motion was negatived by 116 to 75. Mr. K. Mills obtained leave to bring in a bill to repeal the several Acts granting and regulating the appropriation of £20!33ü irom the ConsolidatedPund for the ecclesiastical establishment in the West Indies. Lord R. Montagu also obtained leave to bring in a bill to consolidate and amend the laws of vaccination. One or two bills were advanced a. stage; and in committee of supply £ 302,000 was granted. towards the site for the new courts of justice, and The House adjourned.

A WONDERFUL BLIND CARRIER. A local contemporary has the following :-A stranger passing through Godalming on any day, save Sunday, t about noon, could not fail to be struck with the appear- ance of a cheery-looking old man, with a number o 1' parcels and bundles hung about him in all sorts of im- possible ways, and a small twisted brass horn slung from his neck. On closer inspection he would perceive that this little liale old man, posting along at a rapid rate, with a stout stick in his hand, but making no uncommon use of it, is blind, although an extraordinary intelligence lightens up the features and takes away that painful and melaacholy look which often accompanies blindness in those who are the subject of that greatest of depriva- tions. This is old George Harden, who for upwards of 20 years has acted as carrier between Hambledon and Godalming. During the whole of that period lie has been totally blind. He is now considerably over 70 years of age, and yet he daily trudges between these places, which are four miles apart, calling where- ever he is required, and discharging the responsible duties of his vocation with unerring accuracy. The road which lie traverses is exceedingly intricate, being chiefly paths across commons, and otherwise involved, and lie often has to make divergences to the residences of persons living off the main track. But old George never stumbles. A blast from his little horn makes known his approach and whether at the cottage of the humble or at the mansion of the rich, there are few more welcome visitants, for lie is a great importer of news and gossip, and never arrives empty handed. During the severe snowstorms of last winter, when the paths which lie traversed were completely. obliterated, and it would have puzzled the keenest-sighted in- dividual to have made the journey, George Marden never missed a day, and it is believed never wandered out of his road an inch. Indeed, the old fellow's other per- ceptive faculties are wonderfully acute, and the inha- bitants of Godalming declare that he knows every one of them as he passes, even though they do not speak-a belief which gains strength from the fact that he salutes them by name, and never errs. It is said that he makes fewer mistakes than any other carrier in or out of the town and there is no one who is more implicitly relied on for the performance of those numerous little com- missions so often entrusted by the denizens of a village to the carrier to the nearest town. Old George enjoys excellent health, and is reported never to have missed a day since (nearly a quarter of a century ago) he first entered on his career as a carrier.

WESLEY AN MISSION TO OHINA. On Saturday morning the annual breakfast "of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, in connection with its missions to China, took place at the London Tavern, at nine o'clock, and there was a gathering of Wesleyan and other ministers and ladies and gentlemen, which com- pletely thronged the grand hall of that establishment, as well as two or three other apartments. Mr. Sheriff Lycett presided, supported by the Rev. W. Arthur, President of the Wesleyan Conference the Rev. W. Preston, missionary from China W. M'Arthur, Esq. the Rev. R. Spencer Hardy, Ceylon James Budgett, Esq. and a large number of ministers and prominent members of the Wesleyan denomination. Breakfast having concluded and prayers being said, The chairman, in addressing the assembly, congratu- lated the company on the support which appeared to be given by their presence to the China mission, which had been inaugurated by a single missionary (Mr. Parry) under circumstances of great discouragement, but who now, under the auspices of the Wesleyan body, had associated with him other zealous friends at Canton. These gentlemen, having succeeded by perseverance in acquiring a most difficult language, had established churches and schools, with assistants. The result of their exertions had been such already that they had the most confident belief that they would gradually make a strong impression upon the minds of three millions of Chinese, who had possessed a deep- rooted attachment to the antiquity of their own idolatry,, and who were consequently exceedingly hostile at the outset to Christianity. Under such cir- cumstances it was a marvellous thing that there could be any conversions from heathenism to the truth and light of the Gospel. Not many years ago the entire empire of China was closed against missionary efforts, but now the agents of that and other missionary socie- ties had full permission to preach the Gospel in all large cities and towns. Thus great hopes were entertained that the efforts of this as well as of the other societies would be effective in introducing the great truths of Christianity into that benighted region. The chairman concluded by introducing to the meeting the Rev. R. S. Hardy, missionary from Ceylon, who, he believed he was justified in asserting, was the best Buddhist scholar in England. The Rev. R. S. Hardy, in moving the first resolution, argued that no matter what ridicule might be attempted to be cast upon them, it was a duty on the part of all English Christians to send evangelists to preach the Gospel to the heathen nations of the East. He spoke confidently, and, as he believed, truthfully, that the time was fast arriving when China would become one of the greatest nations on the face of the earth (hear, hear), as it was now one of the most extensive, and, in some respects, one of the most important. In many things the Chinese were in advance of civilised nations. Not only did the Chinese invent the mariner's compass, but they were the first to make gunpowder and paper. They first established examinations, now so popular amongst our- selves, for ascertaining the ability of those who sought official or responsible positions in society. They were, without doubt, an intelligent and progressive people, and from the experience he had obtained he was led to believe that, only once let Christianity obtain a firm hold in China, its progress in that empire would be more rapid than in any other nation of the East. The rev. gentleman concluded by moving a resolution affirm- ing the advantages of the Wesleyan mission to China, and pledging the meeting to its support. The Rev. Mr. Preston seconded the resolution, and re- marked, as having recently returned from China, that the great difficulty they had in dealing with the Chinese was their vanity and conceit, and their veneration for the worship of their ancestors, but by perseverance all that was required would in time be accomplished. Mr. M'Arthur, who was introduced by the chairman as his probable successor in the office of Sheriff of London, supported the resolution, which was adopted. The Rev. Robert Stephenson, Madras, and the Rev. J. Roberts, Chinese missionary, addressed the meeting, and, after a liberal collection in aid of the funds of the mission, the proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman. *,1 11'$1 1

A WILL CASE. In the Probate Court, on Thursday, the case of Finch v. Finch was heard. This was a suit instituted for'the purpose of propounding the will of the late James Finch, who resided in Jubilee-street, and who died on the 6th of April, 1866. Dr. Deane, Q. C., who, with Mr. Browning appeared for the plaintiff, stated that the case was a very pecu- liar one. In June, 1865, the deceased appeared to have executed a will by which he appointed his daughter, Mary Hester Finch, his sole executrix and universal legatee. The will was drawn up by a person of the name of Glaice, at whose house it was executed. After it was executed it was put into an envelope and given to the testator, who took it home with him. A few weeks before his death he told his daughter that he had made a will in her favour, and that it was placed in a drawer in his bedroom. After the testator's death the will was not found, and the plaintiff suspected, from conversations she had previously had with her brother, the defendant in this case, to the effect that their father's property should be divided between them, that he had abstracted the will. He had possession of the keys of the drawer in which the will was, and the plain- tiff, soon after the testator's death, met him coming out of the room with something under his coat. He was also accused by Glaice, who prepared the will, of having abstracted it, when he was said, to have become very pale. The question, therefore, arose whether, the will not having been found after the testator's death, it had been destroyed by him for the purpose of revoking it, or whether from the circumstances stated the Court would hold that the will had been abstracted by the son, and would grant probate of the draft of it. The defendant had been cited, but did not appear. After hearing the evidence the Court held that the will which the testator executed in June, 1865, in favour of the plaintiff, was in existence at the time of the tes- tator's death, and accordingly pronounced for the will, ordering probate to pass upon the draft of it.

BURNING A PUBLIO MAN IN EFFIGY. In the Court of Queen's Bench the decision, of the Queen in the prosecution of Leversage v. Lucas Mar- shall Bennett has just been given. In this case a conditional order for a criminal infor- mation was granted on the last day of Hilary term. The afficravit stated that the prosecutor was possessed .of certain property which was charged with a certain sum which had been bequeathed for the purpose of distribut- ing bread once a year to the poor of Winterton. The prosecutor is a.n attorney, and clerk of the Board.,of Health of that town, and the defendant a surgeon, and one of the churchwardens of the parish of Winterton. The charge against the defendant was that he 1,.a(l, given out that prosecutor had distributed the charity, not amongst the poor people who were its proper objects, but amongst those who had voted for him when lie was a candidate for a public office; that on the 31st December las defendant called a public meeting of the poor of Winterton. at which he distributed bread, tea, and tobacco amongst them that he then produced a large doll, dressed in a velvet coat, check waistcoat, large turned up collar, and white hat—meant to be an effigy of the prosecutor —and burned it; that thereupon the crowd proceeded to the prosecutor's house, and shouted and created a disturbance, greatly to his annoyance and that this conduct was calculated to. bring him into contempt. Mr. Keane, Q.C., appeared in support of the rule. Mr. Bennett showed cause in person. He said he -had made an affidavit, in which he stated that only a few loaves were distributed that, instead, of bread, '.nut- megs, candied peel, and tea were given that over .100 poor people, who had for thirty years before received bread came to him to complain that they had been refused that he invited them to meet him at the Tem- perance-hall. which was his private property, and that lie there gave them bread and tea. Mr. Justice Mellor And tobacco. Mr. Bennett: I deny the tobacco (laughter). Mr. Justice Blackburne Was it a public meeting ?— Mi'. Bennett Oh, no, my lord it was a quiet, meeting of myself and 134 poor people (loud laughter). Mr. Justice Lush Was the effigy burned .as com- plained of %—Mr. Bennett: I'll explain what took.place, my lord (laughter). Mr. Justice Blackburne Answer the question. Was a doll produced dressed up with a white hat, velyctceit, check waistcoat, and stand-up collar ?- Mr. Bennett: Oh, not at all, my lord. There was a small cardboard thing produced. Mr. Justice Mellor: With a turaed-up collar and white hat ?—Mr. Bennett: I distinctly deny both- the collar and hat (laughter). The Lord Chief Justice Then how was it dressed ? —Mr. Bennett: Not dressed at all, my lord '(loud laughter). The Lord Chief Justice Was it meant to bean effigy of Mr. Leversage ? Mr. Bennett It was not. It was a cardboard representation of Sir John Barleycorn, who is often tried and burned (laughter). Mr. Keane said that there was no allusion to that fact in the affidavit. It was finally arranged that Mr. Bennett should enter into recognisance in £ 100 to keep the peace towards the prosecutor, and not in any way to molest. or annoy him. Mr. Keane applied for costs against the defendant. Mr. Bennett: Oh, I object to that (laughter) The Lord Chief Justice We cannot forget that the most serious charge was that the defendant. burned a doll. If I were Mr. Leversage, and that Mr. -Bennett intended to burn a doll again, I would ask him ,to send me word when he intended to do so, that I might be present at the fun. Rule discharged.

ONLY A LARK. John Flashman, a carman in the service, of the South- Western Railway Company, was brought before the magistrate at the Wandsworth Police-court,, oil Saturday, on the charge of stealing a mackintosh coat belong Lug to John Hiscock, a guard. It appeared that ,on -the previous night the prosecutor arrived at the Nine Elms Station with a goods train. He went intothe office to sign off," taking with him his mackintosh and;basket. He placed them down on a desk and went into au. inner office. On his return his mackintosh was gone. The loss was communicated to the clerks and carmen who were about the office, and while inquiries were .being made Inspector Spire, of the railway police, came up, and was made acquainted with what had happened. While passing a portico at the office, he saw soradthinc- dark in a corner, and it proved to be the missing mackin- tosh. It was then replaced in the corner,, and a:,ooy was placed in a wagon, which was standing, opposite, to watch the place. While looking through a hole in the wagon he saw two carmen leave the office, and on a third following he went to the corner, picked up the mackintosh, and walked away with it. The man happened to be the,prisoner, who commenced running, as it was supposed, from see- ing Inspector Spire. That officer, who had jilsp been watching, ran after the prisoner, and stoppedchim.with the mackintosh in his hand. The prisoner's defence was that he.had no intention o stealing the mackintosh. He said by the company, and if he took the he could not sell it. He took the lllacldntosh, for a-lark, but if he had not been drinking it would not.have happened. Mr. Dayman said it was impossible for him to dis- criminate between a lark and what he considered a-theft, and therefore he would be imprisoned for two njonths, with hard labour. Mr. Mayo, solicitor, afterwards appealed to the magistrate on behalf of the prisoner to reduce the, punish- ment. Mr. Dayman said the difficulty in the case was that property on a railway must be exposed,and-for that reason the servants ought to protect it. Mr. Mayo reminded the magistrate that the,prisoner would lose his situation, which would be a great punish- ment, as he had a wife and four children. b Mr. Dayman said he could not consider the man's family. It seemed to him to be a very heartless thing for the railway servants to commit depredations ujpon one another. He also said that there \vas.,no .tempta- tion for the prisoner to take the mackintosh, and there- fore there was no excuse. Mr. Mayo said it was a sudden temptation. The application was refused. —

THE CASE OF TOOM-ER.—A letter has been re- ceived from the Homo-office,, by Mr. W. R. Bartlett,.o Reading, solicitor to the father of Neville Maskelyne Toomer (the circumstances of whose case are well-khown) informing that gentleman that the Right Hon. S. H. Walpole, her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Home Department, having given a most careful and anxious consideration to the whole matter, feels it to be, his duty to recommend her Majesty to remit the remaining .por- tion of Toomer's sentence. "NOTHING NEW UNDER THE Sü." It is said that international exhibitions are not modern in- ventions after all, and that the first effort .in .this direc- tion was made some 1,800 years ago by the Emperor Nero, of whom Seneca says in one of his letters :1 was preseiit-the other day at the .solemn exhibition of the riches of Rome, where I saw marvellous chefs d/micvre; there were also exquisite cloths, hangings and costume,s, which had come from beyond the limits, of the Roman frontiers." Roman frontiers."

THE Liberie mentions that the Queen of Spain has been selling almost all her jewels, in London, and that a single dia.moud watch chain has found a purchaser at the trifling figure of < £ 24:,000. THE WESTMINSTER, ABBEY SERVICES.—The special services were resumed in. the nave of Westminster Abbey on Sunday, the 28th of April, and there was a large attendance. The prayers were intoned by the Rev. S. Flood Jones, M.A., incumbent of St. Matthew's, Spring-gardens, and the sermon was preached by Dean Stanley. ANOTHER LONG INCUMBENCY.—The Rev. J. H. Bromby, who has just resigned the vicarage of the Holy Trinity, Hull, was in the 70th year of his incum- bency, having succeeded the Rev. Joseph Milner, the church historian, in 1797. The rev. gentleman is in the 97th year of his age he is in good health, and in the perfect possession of his faculties. THE NEW BANKRUPTCY BILL. -A deputation, consisting of Mr. S. S. Lloyd and other members of the special committee of the Association of the Chamber of Commerce of the United Kingdom, had a lengthened interview on Friday with the Attorney-General, Sir John Rolt, in reference to the above bill. A copy of the alterations and amendments proposed by the association with regard to certain points of detail had been pre- viously furnished. The deputation warmly expressed their gratification with the general principles of the mea- sure proposed by the Government; and the Attorney- General, who received the suggestions made in a most courteous and considerate manner, promised to have the bill reprinted with such amendments as the Government might adopt, and to urge it forward with, all convenient speed.

SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A PARO- CHIAL OFFICER. f At the Clerkenweli Police-court, on Thursday, a poor working man applied to Mr. Cooke for an order com- pelling the parish authorities of St. Pancras to grant him an order to bury his child, he stating that it had died on Saturday last, and the corpse was now begin- ning to smell. He also stated that he had been out of work for some time, and that the officers told him that he ought to be ashamed of himself to go to the work- house on such an errand, and that he was strong enough to pay the money. Mr. Cooke granted the order asked for, and directed that the applicant should take it to the assistant relieving officer at once. The applicant attended again on Friday morning, and said that on Thursday both he and his wife went to the Vestry-hall and saw Mr. James, who refused to take any notice of his statement or of the magistrate's order. As the smell from the corpse was getting very bad, and the place in which he resided (Draper's-place) was only a few feet wide, and almost every room was occupied by a single family, he was afraid that some l contagion would break out; and he therefore went this morning and again saw Mr. James, who said that he would not give him an order to bury the child, and when he showed him the magistrate's order, he said he did not care for all the magistrates in the metropolis, and that he would not give him an order. Mr. Flowers directed that Willingate, one of the warrant officers of the court, should go to the Vestry, and direct that Mr. James should attend before him. Mr. James attended and said that he could not see to the matter yesterday, and this morning, when the appli- cant came, he told him that if he could not bury the child himself he had better apply to his friends. The man told him that if he did not give him an order, he should go to the magistrate, and what he told him was, that if he did go he had better confine himself to the truth. When the man left he sent a man after him to tell him that he had given directions that a coffin slio-LLId be sent, and asked the man to return, but he would not do so. Mr. Flowers Then I understand that you have given directions to have a coffin supplied to the applicant. Mr. James Yes, sir. The applicant was very hot. The Applicant I beg your pardon, he did not say anything about giving me an order. He said that he did not care for all the magistrates in London. The magistrate having said that he hoped the order had been given, the matter dropped. øar 4.

COUNSEL'S FEES IN THE STATE TRIALS AT DUBLIN. On the 20th of April Mr. Lawless wrote to Mr. M. Anderson, the Crown Solicitor, stating that he had called twice at his office without being fortunate enough, to meet hini, to speak on the subject of fees, &c. Mr. Anderson, in reply, stated that, in pursuance of the authority given him by the Government, he would con- sent to a fee of 25 guineas being given to each Queen's Counsel with his brief with all the prisoners included in the same indictment, and a refreshing fee of X3 3s. per each day after the first during which the prisoners should be on trial; and to fees of 15 guineas with briefs, and two guineas a day after, for counsel of the outer bar. To the attorney he would give a lump sum at the rate of three guineas for each prisoner to whom he had been assigned. A letter is published from Mr. Butt, Q.C., dated April 10, in which he says it is plain that the Government must increase the fees, and he would not place himself in the position of defending a prisoner for high treason on such terms. He adds I have, however, been publicly assigned by the judges as counsel for those prisoners. This was done without my consent or any previous application to me. But I am sure it was done from a belief on the part of the prisoners that named me that the intimation of the Chief Justice meant that they were to select their counsel at the public expense. Under all the circum- stances, I have made up my mind in. the cases in which I have been already assigned, not to decline the duty put upon me by the judges because the prisoners have not the means of defence. I will, therefore, accept any brief you send me for the defence of any of those prisoners, but I will not accept of any fee that is paid by the Government. You may depend upon my undivided attention to the cases." Mr. Butt wrote this before he had any idea of the amount of fees that would be granted by the Crown. Mr. Dowse, Q.C., who was assigned as his colleague, has written that lie considers the amount "altogether insufficient," and that in justice to himself and the profession he could not accept "such a miserable remuneration for his services." He would much prefer defending the prisoners gratuitously than to lower the profession by accepting briefs on such important cases with such fees marked upon them. Mr. O'Loghlen also declined to receive the fees named. Mr. Dowse, in, a second letter, says I know Mr. Butt has lately enter- tain-ed the opinion that he should not receive any fees, small or great, from the Crown. I do not, however, think that the public or the pri- soners would consider that we would discharge ou.r duties less effectively for the men who are to stand their trial if we were paid by the Crown. I have reason to believe that the prisoners themselves, when they asked to have us assigned, thought that the Crown would pay us our fees. I think I am entitled to add that, whatever the public or the prisoners might think, with me it would make no difference in the discharge of my duties from what source my fees came, so long as they were given to me by you as the prisoners' attorney." This is rather an awkward business, considering the array of counsel engaged for the prosecution, and the liberal scale on which the Crown remunerates its own advocates. Messrs. Butt and Dowse are by far the most eminent counsel now at the Irish bar. 18r1lO .b.

EXTRAORDINARY THEFTS BY A TRADESMAN. At the London Guildhall, on Saturday, Win. Met- calfe, a linendraper, carrying on business at 137, Copen- hagen-street, Islington, was placed at the bar before Alderman Salomons, charged with stealing a box con- taining a dozen pairs of gloves, value 7s. 7d., and some Jenny Lind crotchet caps, value 3s. 3d., from the ware- house of Mr. NViieatcroft, 2, Hart-street, Wood-street. Mr. Buchanan prosecuted. Henry Wlieatcroft said he was a warehouseman, and the prisoner had been a customer of his since October last. On Wednesday morning last he went to the pri- soner's shop respecting an account, and saw a box on a shelf behind the counter belonging to him. The box had contained a dozen pairs of gloves, value 7s. 7d. He left the shop and communicated with the police. He went on Friday' in company with a police-constable named Fawke, and saw the box in the same place. He waited until the prisoner came in, .and then told him that he had lost a box of gloves, and those that were on the shelf were the same that lie had lost. The prisoner then did not say anything. The officer asked him for the box, and he gave it him. He then asked if he could. account for having it, and he replied that he could not, nor-could he show any invoice for it. The officer then went out to look at the window, and when he had left the prisoner said, "Harry, the gloves are yours; for God's sake, don't lock me up." The policeman then came in. There were some crochet Jenny Lind caps in the wllldow, and he (prosecutor) told the prisoner, that they looked 'very much like what he had lost. The prisoner said they were witness's, that he had taken a fancy to them, and did not know why he took, them. The value of the caps was 3s. 3d. The prisoner then asked witness to take him into his employment, and lie would go through fire and water for him. He gave the prisoner into custody. There were two pairs of gloves in the box and nine in the window, and prisoner said he supposed he had sold the other pair. The prisoner owed him £ 92. He had suspected the prisoner of robbing him about two months before, but that not being quite certain he passed the aftair over. The prisoner was remanded. remanded. I The prisoner-asked whether he might be admitted to bail, and was supported in his application by the prosecutor, on the ground that if he were at liberty lie t could point out in his stock the goods which he had taken from the prosecutor's warehouse, and without that assistance there would be great difficulty in identifying j the articles, as the prisoner dealt with him. j Alderman Salomons refused to take bail. |

CONVICTION OF ~A GANG OF BURGLARS. At the Middlesex Sessions, George Vincent, 24, Win. J Castle, 18, Thomas M'Cullum, 30, alias Bell, alias Ballard, alias M'Donald, alias Burke, pleaded guilty to I an indictment charging them with attempting burglari- ously to break and enter the d'welling-house of Mr. Harrison, with intent to steal the goods and chattels I therein being and the last-named prisoner, with Phoebe lil,Ciillu,m, his wife, for breaking and entering the dwell ing-house of Henry Clarke, and stealing a purse and j the sum of 30s., the property and money of Henry Clarke. They (the M'Cullums) were further indicted for breaking and entering the dwelling-house of John Brett, and stealing therein six spoons, his property. I The prisoners were undefended. Vincent and Castle I pleaded guilty the M'Cullums not guilty, On the morning of the 10th of April two constables, who were on duty in Crowland-terrace, Church-road, De Beauvoir-town, found a footmark upon the doorstep of No. 1, where the prosecutor lived, and upon going into the garden, at the rear of the Church-road, found the male prisoners under the garden wall, and took them I into custody. Upon examination, it was found that the house had been attempted tq be broken into by the application of some instrument to the lower sash of the I kitchen window a pane of glg^s was broken, and there I were other corroborative traces that a burglary had been attempted. The jury found the prisoners guilty. In the other cases the prisoners M'Cullum were I proved to have broken into Mr. Clarke's house, No. 35, Oakley-road, and stolen a purse containing £1 10s.; and into the dwelling-house of Mr. Brett, of 42, Ball's- i pond-road, Islington, and stolen six spoons from a j washhouse. | Sergeant Chown, 5 E, said the prisoner M'Cullum, 'I who went by several aliases, was convicted at the. Central Criminal Court in 1853 for burglary, and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment; again, in 1855, to four years' penal servitude for a similar offence and in 1858 to six years' penal servitude for a similar offence; and again, in 1863, at the Middlesex Sessions, to three years' penal servitude for shoplifting. He was known as a desperate thief, and as a frequenter of the notorious den called the "Thieves' Kitchen," in Fulwood's-rents, Holborn. He made his escape some years ago from the Old Bailey. Warder King, of the House of Correction, proved several short convictions against the. other male prisoners. The female prisoner was not known. The Assistant-Judge sentenced M'Cullum to be kept, in penal servitude for 10 years his wife to four months' imprisonment, with hard labour; Vincent to 12 months, and Castle to 18 months' imprisonment,' both with hard labour. The prisoner 'I'CuUUlll threatened to do" for Sergeant Chown when lie came out of prison.

THE FENIAN TRIALS. DUBLIN, SATURDAY NIGIIT.The further hearing of the trials for high treason were resumed this morning, at the Commissioners' Court. Corydon stated in evi- dence that it was he who gave information of the intended attack on Chester Castle, which was arranged the night before, at a meeting of American officers, in Edgar-street, Liverpool. Tlie Fenian leaders, suspecting treachery, countermanded the enterprise. On cross- examination he admitted that he had been supplying the Government Yvithinformation since the middle of 1866, and he kept the authorities well posted as to where they would secure concealed arms and Greek fire. At that time.two sources of income were open to him— the Government, money on the one hand, and Fenian gold on the other. He came to the conclusion that the Fenian organisation was not worth spilling a drop of blood for, and he then resolved to become an informer. General Massey stated on Friday" that ,he.served in the Crimea as a private in the Transport Corps that, he went to America and became an ,officer in the Con- federate array that he joined the Fenian Brotherhood in America, and used.all his influence to bring about an insurrection in. Ireland that he received £ 550 in gold, British money, from Colonel Kelly, on leaving New York, for carrying on, the rebellion that he met 20 centres in Dublin, to whom lie gave, orders for the general rising on the ,5th of -March that■, he visited various ,districts for the purpose of organising the war that the numerical strength in Dublin was 14,000 men, with 3,000 stand of arms, and in Cork 20,000, with 1,500 weapons, and he was about to meet the concen- trated forces at the "Limerick Junction when-he was arrested, and determined with his whole heart to estab- lish the Irish, republic,,and that when in prison he was persuaded by his wife to give information to the Govern- ment." DéiELIN, SUNDAY.-—A court-martial assembled on Saturday .at the Royal Barracks to try a private of the Military Train on a charge of Fenianism. The prisoner pleaded guilty, and it is understood several trials on similar charges will follow. The informer Massey was taken suddenly ill on Friday, something that he had cl eaten having disagreed with him. His sudden death was reported late on Saturday evening, but the report is unfound- d. The Special Commission Court was occu- pied yesterday with evidence as to overt acts at -the rising at Tallaght, and the attack on the police at Glen- cullen and Stepaside. The police and constabulary were the principal witnesses, and they deposed that they heard the word of command, "Doran, bring up the rMle- men," given, and after that the police were surrounded and captured. Doran is one of the prisoners under trial. "<n-