Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register

n rh?rd at the Ball—Parker What! That o\<: otl'I,'r 'J WhY, she don't look old enough to daughter as—a—ahem—as—er—as young as ha\ II 0 ?? ?')rl for the eastern counties. Old lady: Oh, yon V;-v. where did vun get all that holly from? Don't b1l un k ?n? k-u.??oMcatech?m enjoins you to keep your YOU .w, d t I. ?.. 13 ,r Ikiiig and steahng?" Bov Yes'm, f¡. J "Y:lr tongue from evil speaking, lying, and ?nderiu.L'. tew Manners.—Discontented pauper (on the Christmas y a.. Well, this is the wu?t Christmas dinner as ulllPl:I I. D1 L w' 'ad since I've been in the 'ouse I I thinks as Cll'r l:' h h C-V ?? t \? !t= ? dinner party, the master oug t to ax us *'lC.»K-r Wl. ljkt-s it well done, and whether we take r?nd not cut the vittles and shove it on our plates aD?'Lo? ?oi:t and fat fellow once presented himself to s- Francis KiirJett. and asked him if he had a situa- .toeivehim. "I do not know you," said Sir t1..n, b'I \h h f fu?. t o!ung ?t him. Why, have you forgotten '? ??id tiiL- ifiiow. I was formerly a page in  b .d h vour house." ?!y ?snr boy, said the baronet, "you have become a volume. Our Chri-tmas Concert.—The Rector (who con- In -is the rche ir-al): Suppose we try that movement' "•ai n'> I thi"k. Mr Tootles, you were half a bar i?h:ud in t.??? up your point. Oh, dear you're not'toiug- Mr T o—Mr Tootles (our nauto secondo, fntfJ? Y''s-'ir." If you'r so perticular's t' alf a III C' th bar. I -!? n't <0? the s'ciety jrcntlLijiiin called at the residence of Professor Snore- of the r niversity of Texas, after dark. Matilda Snowball was standing at the gate. I. Is the pro- ffer in ?" Sah." But," said the gentleman, pjimiiig to the window blind on which the silhouette ?tht-{r'?'?c'rwnsp]n.]?Iy portrayed. there he is DOW' Xo, sah, dat's not him dat's nufBn but his 'o, sah, dat's not him dat's nuffin but his .Asking Nothing Unrea-sonable.-Bnlfinch How are Xaggtrdat and his wife getting along together ? ,h01Cil Oh, I don't know what makes you ask ? Ual.'ine.'i Oh, nothing only when they got married they had one of those mottos, "God Bless Our Home," in the sitting-room and now he has it up in his smoking-room with As far as possible," written ni^Lixeath it. Ingenious.— The Mayor of a small village in France, having occasion to give a pass?ort to a dis- | tiuiruished personage in his neighbourhood, who was Llm.l ''? an cve. was in great embarrassment on ] co"? to ?"? description of his person. Fearful of otfeudt!? the good man, he adopted the following ingenious expedient of avoiding the mention of his deformity—" Black eyes, one of which is absent." i gold .-An ingenious way of buying the necessaries 1 of life is repjneu irom me ueignoournooa or merlin. | A peasant woman with a large basket on her back 1 entered the ?tocer'a shop of the place. In the circular basket was a large earthenware jar. The woman be- spoke about a sovereign's worth of oods which she (packed in the earthenware jar, then tied up the iiionth. and asked permission to leave it in me corner. She would return JI1 an hour, she said, letch the things, and pay for them. The grocer having granted her wish, she carefully put the jar in the corner and retired—never tn return. After many hours, the shop- man proceeded to examine the large earthenware jar. It had no bottom The fiilluwing story which is told of Lord Carmarthen shows that a noble lord who seeks elec- tion to the House of Commons has not an altogether easy tiuii in these democratic days, and that his rank is not always looked upon as an advantage. When the heir of the Godolphin-Osbornes was addressing a meeting of the electors of Brixton a certain section of the audience showed itself indis- posed to hear him. Finally one of the interrupters cried out, We want no bloated aristocrats here." Thereupon the marquis, who, as is well known, is eminently renned-looking and well-appointed, pathetically turned to the audience and said, Gentle- men. I must appeal to you. I may be an aristocrat, but do llock bloated ?" which resort turned the laugh a.-ain^t the interrupter and scored one to the noble I lord. House C'eaning.—The man of the house took to the sofa in the sitting room with a newspaper directly after breakfast, while his wife went on with the house cleaning. She was dismantling the front room, and while he pursued the sporting column she carried past in turu. seven chairs, three tables, a desk, four foot- stools. all of the pictures, a piano stool, a bookcase, and t'liv rest of the furniture. Then she lugged in a p-.iir of ,ep- ;t.d a big pail of water, and begun to clean. Maria, do you want any assistance ?" said the mm jt:,t then, rising and folding his newspaper. Not just yet. f-ear," said Maria. Well, then, I j think lïllewe yon" 5aiti he and he started for the office. On the way down he told three men that if there was anything that wore him to the skin and bone it was that cmfuunded house-cleaning. Said he: We arc iu the midst of it, and I tell you I'm about J used up." j Thinking Aloud.Tlie Author of Flemish Interiors.' in his recently published Gossip of the Century. s:tvs-'l le laco Duke of Cambridge con- stantly attended the Sunday morning services at St. Paul's Knightshridge, in the time of the Rer. W. J. E. Bennett, and occasionally was pleased to ex- press in all audible tone his approbation of the proceedings, and his opinion of the sermon. I remem- ber on one occasion, when the officiating clergman pronounced the exhortation—" Let us pray"—the Duke bravely responded from his pew. Aye, be sure why not let ns pray, let us pray, let us prav!" On another occasion, while the commandments were being read. I heard him remark—" Ste-.xl I no, of course not: mustn't steal, mustn't steal, mustn't steal." At the opera, this eccentric habit betrayed itself in a still more marked and frequent way. I remember once hearing him all across the house, exclaim, as he moved his opera glass round the circles-" Why, I declare there are not half a dozen pretty girls in the house not half a dozen, not half a dozen, not < h;{ rt dozen." That s a good Trick."—The parrot's determina- tion to speak his set phrases under all sorts of cir- enmstane. s otten produces strange situations. The i-i told Of :L ?; l e' ,f i i t of h- 0 .tud performer who kept a parrot that he had trained to say, whenever one of the master s tricks had been finished, That's a good tnck—what s the next one ?" One day the juggler, being in a seaport town, gave his performance in a loft un one of the wharves, which happened to be just Over the place wLere a large quantity of powder was stored :n The juggler was about to perform some feat which required the lighting of a candle; he bad hgnt jd it. raid tlirr,.v the match away without making sure that the blaze had cone out. The match stil. burning, fell trough a crack in the floor, and dropped into one of the kegs of powder, which explui.ed with great force, throwing the building into ] 'I:> I:> thea.r. 1 he p.trrot, who was blown up with the rest, dii. not slop until l.e had reached the pinnaccle of tne topmast of a great ship which layoff the wharf. c'un" desperately; and look'.ng down to the world he c,,tlle I on- in a shrill voice: That's a good trick—what's the next one." A Grand Duke as Moujik.—A story was once told at -Moscow tc. the effect that the Grand Duke Sergius, Rou-rnor of the city, disguised himself as a moujik, in order to discover the truth of certain allegations as to thv of buying small quantities of bread. pro en-fd himself at a baker's shop and inquired m j [frK'cot bre!Ld per pound. and was told thne copecks. He R"k.:d LO Le served v.nh three copecks' worth, say- il1 Unu it, w.? all the money he possessed. The Dakur ietu>ei! to sell Ies than a pound buthe insisted on li; riglit to bliv as much as the money he offered ■a» worth. Relieving he had to do with a peasant, the bahM coiirner.cei I .?businp him, nnd bade him Ititve thu I"-L'u??. This the Gr?nd Dake declined tto ? do. ?? hcrMpnn the h?er called in the police, who, ift ?";?iY ha.-t!,? the pretended peasant, finally eJected hnu ,nto the treet, and proceeded to draw up "/Pri0r to taking him in charge. When t1e doeUIlIUlt was written the prisoner was invited to ?.wh.cjihcdidwi:hhia full name and title of ^t< r v,h he threw off his disguise and TAV fC 1 in),].p)f tu the astonished crowd, an of whom n n rcco?tisud him at CHee. The same evening tnrcPpoftc.-hinccrsitnpHcated in the affair committed -ucht,.?nj?.,th the closing of four bakers' shops, the incident terminated. 1'1- Caens -Niakes Amends.—Mr Percy Fitzgerald, the e ji-known veteran author, has published his recollec- tions in two volumes, under the title of Memoirs of an Author." Mr Fitzgerald has much to sav about tuarles Dickens, with whom he was well acquainted. The latest of his glimpses of the great novelist dates but two months before his sudden death, when Mr Fitzgerald met him at a private concert given by Oickcns himself at Mrs Milner Gibson's house in llvde Prk.place. AI Dickens's friends were there — ills and his lively wife and others, to say nothing of his own family and its many branches. It was altogether a brilliant and delightful night. But the central figure was that of the engaging host, with his ever brilliant and remarkable face-now a little strained and worn, yet full of smiles and animation, flitting here, there, and everywhere, and attending to everybody. I see him thus passing a very attractive, demure little lady recently married, who in her half- shy way stopped him as he flitted by. and very prettily s:tid-- Mr Dickens, you have passed me Constantly duriiij; the night, and have never once EP kt-n to me.' He gave a pleasantly dramatic start 01 horror. Good gracious I No ? You dor.'t say Then let us make up for it at once, and go downstairs together to supper.' And away she tripped. giviug her husband a glance of pride. At he suppu- table he was in great spirits with this ittle dame, pulling crackers, etc., and uttering his ?ty and 'juaiut conceits. One of these toys, a green | ?rprjsu fan of tissue paper, which he drew out of its CS ?sumcd awe, is now before me, it and !th he kbi-li? l aforesaid being the sole faded memorials of the night. That was his last act of hospitality, and in two short months the curtain had been rung down and the lights were out for ever."

The result of the triennial School Board election wn.ch took place at Burnley on Saturdav was made known nday' Six Church candidates, one Roman Catholic, aud six Pfogressives were returned. The last Board consisted of seven Prugressives, five Churchmen, and a Homan Catholic. — wAilT!v^viIT!>\ TCx.—When vou ask for T £ Ti1PT\Trr,np,c BLUE sce that  get The m?nf?turers beg tocM?H? on? the pnbhe?unst imitation Equare Blue, of vcry inferior quality. The Paris Blue in squares is sold in wrappers bearing their name and Trade Mark. Refuse 0 others. 12lz

Here and There. I r Extracts from London Letters, <&c.\ I The youngest guardian in the United Kingdom under the new reyiine is Miss Annie Beatrice Evans, who headed the poll at St. Asaph and won the suffrages of more than two-thirds of the whole electorate, and who came of age only just in time to be duly qualified." Miss Evans is the fourth daughter of the Rev. David Evans, rural dean, vicar of Abergele, and member of the Lower House of Convocation. Lady Londonderry has been unanimously elected as the president of the Grindon Parish Council, Grindon being the parish in which Wyayard Park is situated. She did not go to the poll, but was elected by co-optation, and has for her coadjutors a labourer, a mason, a publican, a gardener, two farmers, and a land agent. I understand that during the past season six thousand brace of grouse have been killed on Lord Sefton's extensive range of moors in the Wyredale district of Lancashire. This is by far the heaviest bag of the year, and considerably exceeds the score on the Duke of Devonshire's moors in V'harfdale, adove Bolton Priory. Sir Charles Cameron, M.P., is to have honour done him in his own city by the erection of a drinking- fountain at one of Glasgow's west-end crosses." Sir Charles has represented the College Division of Glasgow, one of the largest and most influential of the seven divisions of the city, for many years. He is the Second's City's eldest member. Sir Charles, who is a son of the late Mr John Cameron, of Glasgow and Dublin, is proprietor of the Xorih British Daily Mail and the Weekly Mail. The Bishop of Chester, in a circular from his palace, dated Saturday, makes an unpleasant ex- posure of the correspondent who recently investigated the Gothenburg system on the spot. This gentleman, whom our contemporary selected to inquire into a system which he, on the whole, com- mended, bad,before he went to Sweden, contributed a signed article to a paper called the Senate, in which he declared that the proposals based on the Gothen- burg plan are essentially wrong and ethically per- nicious," that Mr Chamberlain was running Gothen- burg against Local Veto for. party purposes," although Mr Gladstone has expressed his approval of the said proposals, which rest on a mass of assumptions fortified by ignorance." This is just the Senate's way of putting things, and the elegance of its habitual language is well exhibited by Air Shadwell's plira! s a slobbery state of mind," and muddle-headed thinking." The Bishop is curious to know how the Times chose the Senate writer to conduct its investiga- tions, and what value is to be attached to the opinions of a man who could write so differently in the Times and in the Senate ?

I MARRIAGE OF MISS MAUD BARKER, I OF LLYNDIR. Although the air was of the coldest, and the condition of the roads of a slippery character, a very large number of people assembled in Rossett Church, on Tuesday, to testify by their presence their regard for Mr F. H. Barker, or Llyndir, and his family. The occasion was a wedding, and the bride—Miss Maud Elizabeth Barker, the youngest daughter of Llrndir-had, by reason of her kindness and affability, made a A m + i ii ■ mi t nosi 01 irienas in an ranKs. JLne ceremony took place at two o'clock, when the bridal party drove up. The bridegroom was Captain Augustus Frederick Cooper, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. and he had as his best man Captain and Adjutant S. G. Everett, R.W.F. The bride, who was escorted by her father—who, by the way, formerly held a commission in what is now the 3rd Batt. R. W.F.—wore a dress of ivory white satin, trimmed with lace and pearl embroidery. She had also a veil of tulle and a small wreath of orange blossoms. Her bouquet was of choice white flowers, tied with a ribbon of white satin. The bridesmaids were Miss Mabe'. Barker, the bride's sister; Miss Mabel Cooper, sister of the bridegroom; and Miss Sybil Barker, cousin of the bride. They wore dresses of blue crepon, with fichus of white chiffon and black velvet hats. The young ladies carried bouquets of white flowers with white streamers, which, with the gold and pearl bangles they wore, were the gifts of the bridegroom. The officiating clergyman was the Rev. F. Barker, rector of Winborne, St. Giles, Dorset, who was assisted by the Rev. F. James, vicar of the parish. The service was choral, and Miss Boydell offici- ated at the organ with her customary good taste. The church was tastefully decorated, and the congregation included Serjeant-Major Vernon, Sergeant-Major Macgregor, Quarter-Master-Ser- geant Quinn, and other members of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers from the Wrexli. n Barracks. Arches were erected at interval which bore good wishes to the newly wedded p;i-: and to the Regi- ment with which Captain Cooper is connected. Decorations were also noticeable in many houses. After the ceremony, a reception was held at Llyndir, which was attended by a number of relatives and friends. The brides' cake, which was a beautiful work oi confectionery art, was supplied by Messrs Bolland and Son, of Chester. Later in the day, Captain and Mrs Cooper left for London. Mrs Cooper's travelling dress was of brown cloth with cape to match, trimmed with fur and a small toque. The following is a list of the wedding presents Bridegroom to Bride, silver brushes, mirror, powder box, pin tray, &c., pearl ring, Maltese lace, diamond gipsy ring Bride to Bridegroom, gold signet ring. grenade studs sleeve links, gold horseshoe pin Bride's Mother to Bride, silver-raouuted dressing bag Bride's Mother to Bridegroom, letter balance Bride's Father, canteen of table plate Mrs Cooper, silver table aud dessert spoons, silver salt cellars and spoons, embroidered cushion Miss Barker and Miss Mabel Barker, silver teapot, cream jug, sugar basin and spoons Mr and Mrs H. Y. Barker, pearl pendant with diamond centre, brass pedestal lamp, amber silk shade Master Broch Barker, silver muffineers Miss Mabel Cooper, silver card case, silver fish carvers Miss H. Boydel, Parisian paste star Miss Boydel, Bamboo flower table Mr E. L. Barker, dessert service Mr and Mrs F. James, two wrought iron candlesticks Major and Mrs Archdale, afternoon tea set of china Mrs Hutton, lace pocket handkerchief Mr Alfred Barker, dessert knives and forks, in case Captain Ethelstone (late B.W.F.), silver hot water jug Major and Hon. Mrs R. H. Bertie, silver-mouuted initi- alled blotter Mrs Arthur Pots. pierced silver bon-bon dish Mr J. S. Pownall, silver table uapkin rings Mr R. S. Barker, gold and pearl bangle Misses A. M. and S. Potts, silver pepper pots Captain S. G. Everitt, R.W.F., silver cream jug Mr W. H. Barker, wrought iron lamp Mrs Kice Wiggin, case of silver salt cellars Colonel and Mrs Hughes, Ystrad, pearl and turquoise brooch General Hon. Savage Mostyn, wrought iron candle- labra Mr and Mrs Edward Francis, cream jug and sugar basin, in stand Miss Swetenham and Mr Foster Swetenham, plate warmer Miss Rice Wigffin, feather fan Mr G. H. Reserson, four silver embossed dessert spoons Miss Lins, silver candlestick and toast rack Mr and Mrs A. Finlay, plate warmer Mrs and the Misses Howell Evans, ornamental candle sticks and tray Household at Llyndir, copper kettle and iron stand Mrs Townshend, pearl brooch Captain and Mrs Duun, high standard lamp Captain and Mrs White, brass ormolu inkstand Madame Hamley, lace pocket handkerchief Mrs Roberts, preserve jar Mr and Mrs Reginald Potts, silver mustard pot Rev. H. L. Nelthrop, ivory handled crumb scoop Miss E. H. Barker, silver-mounted sugar basin and tongs Miss S. P. Boydell, oak photograph frame Captain G. F. Walker (R.W.F.), silver-mounted crystal inkstand Miss Lorrie Peers, silver shell salt cellars Miss Iball, china tea set The Misses Wilcoxon, silver fruit spoons Mr and Mrs Williams, silver flower vase Mr Geoffrey and Mr Guy Barker, pierced silver bon-bon dish Mrs and Miss Potts, inkstand Mrs Ask, prayer book Captain Locke, silver inkstand Rev. G. H. Williams and Rev. J. Davies, brass candle- sticks Colonel and Mrs Lloyd Williams, paper knife Dr. and Mrs Pollen, bread platter and knife Misses Brainston, cut glass scent bottle Members of Permanent Staff 4th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, marble clock and table gong Miss Francis Cooper, folding screen Mr and Mrs Kirbv, crumb scoop Mr and Mrs L. Garnett, bon-bon dish Miss Pleasance Cooper, pair suver corner disnes Mr aiul Mrs Dalton Hardy, silver candlesticks Mrs Hetley, brocade photograph screen Mr Townshend Wickham, silver salt cellars Mr and Mrs Jones, silver butter dish Amelia and Ruby Jones, bread knife and platter. 11 Coachman and Nurse at Barrel Well, silver salt cellars Mrs Gough, letter rack Miss Griffith-Bosenwen, satchet Colonel and Mrs Platt. ivory paper cutter Miss Egerton, antique silver mounted Chatelaine purse Mrs Lloyd, silver hutton hook Members 01 Lavister Mother's Meeting, silver cake basket Mr A. K. Whish, marble clock Miss A. Whish, silver butter knife Mrs Powell, sachet Miss A. Cooper, onyx signet ring l.nga.de Surgeon and Mr3 Owen, cheese scoop Mr .Latham W ickham, silver sugar basin and sifter Captain Gugh, k-w f- silver egg stand ?VI Lambert, cream jug and sugar basin Mr and Mrs Roa.mes, silver mustard pot Mrs Hogan, dessert doyleys ^S?e '^SSesY*a*ton' silver sugar basin .Mr ?Mrs Beclmith, silver sugar sifters table cloths r'VeiIlbroidere(i table cloths shoe lift TLeadbetter, silver button hook and shoe Miss Burnett, folding photo screen Mr L. p, 1 otts, silver bonbon dish Major and Mrs Birch, silver sugar castor Mrs Hutchings, silver glove stretchers    ceHara and spoons M^SS L. S. Putts, tea table cloth Cel'ars Mr and Mrs E. M Swetenham, silver scent bottle and siTvcr Lolgrave- Ai?eriod set in tortoise shell a.nd sil vef ^f1101 and Ml'3 Trevor Parkins, silver sugar basin and tongs The Misses Bullock, silver sugar basin and sifters Mr and Miss James Bovdel). lace pocket handk?-hiaf Mrs Edward Townshend. case of silver te??o?d tongs Mr H. E. Walker, R.W.F., silver fruit dish Colonel Wilson, commanding 23rd Regimental District, tortoiseshell paper knife Mr Butt, silver mounted pin tray and embroidered table cloth Mrs Barns ton, silver dessert basket Miss D. and G. Bullock, silver mounted date case Mr C. E. Willes, R.W.F., bilver candlesticks Mrs Mc-dwin, tea table Mrs Hirsch, china flower vase The Misses Williams, table cloth Mr George Dodsworth.pin cushion Rev. F. and Mrs Barker, silver sugar basin and sifter Mr and Mrs A, Bryans, silver box.

General News. -n The will of the late Mr John Walter, of Bearwood, Berks, have been proved, the net personal estate being sworn at £ 277,575 13s 4d. The Channel steamer Empress, which stranded near Calais last week, was successfully floated on Wednesday, and taken into the harbour. An explosion took place on board on Saturday on an excursion steamer off Rio Harbour. No fewer than 120 of those on board are reported to have been drowned.. The members of the London Cabdrivers' Trade Union who voted on the question of sixpenny fares during the day time have decided against that pro- posal by a very large majority. Mr W. S. Caine, M.P., presided over the new year's gathering of the United Kingdom Band of Hope Union, at Exeter-hall, on Saturday, when the Rev. J. W, Horsley delivered the annual address. Dr. Barnardo's annual supper to 2,000 waifs and stays was given at the Edinburgh Castle, Limehouse, on Wednesday, and afterwards a large number of absolutely destitute children were admitted to the Homes. The writ for the election of a member of Parlia- ment for the Evesham Division was received on Tues- day. The nomination is fixed for to-day (Saturday), and the polling for Friday next. The votes will be counted on the 19th. The remains of the eight victims of the Edgware- road laundry fire were interred at Kensall-green Cemetery on Wednesday, after a requiem mass had been celebrated at the French Church, Little George- street, Portman-square. Christ Church, Woburn-square, was crowded on Sunday for the memorial service in honour of the late Christina Georgina Rossetti. The Rev. J. Glendinn- ing Nash was the preacher. Dr. Clifford's discourse at Westbourne-park Chapel in the evening was on the life and poetry of the deceased authoress. The coroner's inquiry as to the fatal fire at a laundery in the Edgware Road London, on Satnrday. The jury found that all possible efforts were made to subdue the fire, and that, although at first the supply of water from one defective plug was deficient in prea&ure, yet the supply afterwards was ample for the engines. The jury added to their verdict a strong recommendation that laundries should be placed under the provisions of the Factories Acts or some other government inspection. The necessity for inspection in this case was shown by the rapidity with which the flames spread through and destroyed the building. No fireproof wall or floor of any kind could have existed, and the whole interior was intensley inflammable. In many parts of the country snow fell heavily on Monday. The railway traffic in the north of Scotland was stopped by the drifting snow. The frail character of the ice formed by the recent frost caused the loss of many lives. At Blackburn on Sunday the lake in the Queen's Park was crowded with people. A large sheet of ice gave way, and over sixty people were immersed, but only one person was drowned. Two youths were drowned on Saturday at Fenton, Staffordshire, and on Sunday fatal accident-l occurred at Chester, Long Sutton, and Stairfooi, net. iiarnsley, On Monday a man named Young was ciru ivuuj ll t Earls wood, Surrey, while trying to rescue a boy who had fallen into a pond while skating. The boy was> aved. Two young men fell through some ice at Shelton, Worcestshire, on Mon- day, and were both drowned. Two lads were drowned in a pond at Seacombe, near Birkenhead. on Wednes- day evening, by the breaking of the ice upon which they were skating. A Btrange and painful scene was witnessed in Paris on Saturday, the occasion being the public degradation of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, an officer of the General Staff, who had been convicted of treason- able practices, The officer was taken to the Military School, where, in the presence of about 5,000 soldiers and a great c-owd of civilians, his sword was broken and he was declared, in the name of the French people, to be unworthy to bear arms. The prisoner loudly protosted his innocence and shouted "Long live France I" but the crowd responded with furious cries of "Death to the traitor I" "Death to the German I" Some officers who were standing in the square reviled the prisoner a3 a "Judas" and a traitor. The ceremony of degradation being comlpeted, Dreyfus was taken back to prison. It is expected that. he will be imprisoned for life in a penal settlement which the Government intends to establish on the Coast of French Gaiaaa. Mr Edmund Gosse has received from Samoa, a long letter from Mr Robert Louis Stevenson, begun on December 1st and inished on the 2nd, or else on the morning of the 3rd, the day he died. It is en- closed in a note written to Mr Gosse by Mr Steven- son's stepson on the 4th, immediately after the funeral. Mr Lloyd Osborne says Louis has died of apoplexy of the lungs suddenly and painlessly. He had been working at Herriston,' dictating to me to the very last. He was in good health and spirits. He lay in the big hall with the family about him and the Samoans he loved so well. All night, chiefs came bringing fine mats which they laid over his feet, saying, Alofa Tusitala. He is buried on the very top of Yala Mountain, within sound of the surf. All night his favourite boy Sosimo sat beside him, and he and the others chanted the Catholic prayers for the dead. It took forty men to cut the road through this morning the mountain's side is like a precipiece. No stranger's hand touched him. His own Sosimo dressed him, kissing his white fingers as he laid them on his breast. Our own boys dug his grave, and his friends the chiefs, cut the road, and carried him up."

ALLEGED DIVERSION OF A STREAM NEAR RUTHIN. His Honour Judge Sir Horatio Lloyd was occupied the whole of the day on Saturday at Rhyl in hearing the action commenced on the preceding day, wherein John Garner, farmer, Ysgubor Isaf Farm, Ruthin, and Mary Ann Garner, added as plaintiff, sought an injunction to restrain Joseph Smith, of Becheirig Farm, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, near Ruthin, from unlawfully diverting a watercourse. Mr F. Marshall, Q.C. (instructed by Messrs Sharpe and Finchett, solicitors, Chester), appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr J. Bryn Roberts, M.P. (instructed by Messrs Lioyd and Roberts, solicitors, Ruthin), for the defendant. The case for the plaintiff was that the stream in question, until diverted by the defendant, had been used for years for domestic convenience by the tenants of plaintiff's farm. It was the only source of water supply for such a purpose without going a. con- siderable distance away. During the summer of 1893 Mr Garner discovered that the stream had suddenly become very much smaller than usual. He made inquiries, and ascertained that the defendant had so dammed the stream as to divert it to his own farm. He saw defendant's wife, who expressed surprise when he told her that they were short of water. He eventually broke down the dam, and the water flowed as before. The defendant took no notice, and the matter went on as usual until the summer, when the same thing occurred again. Plaintiff thereupon communicated with the defendant, informing him of the great inconvenience caused by the diversion of the stream, and giving him notice that if it was again diverted he would place the matter in the hands of his solicitors, with instructions to obtain an inj unction and damages. In- answer to the letter the defendant went over to see the plaintiff in a great temper, and told him he could do what he liked. However, as the winter was coming on, when there was always a good supply of water, plaintiff took no further proceedings. But the following summer he found that the defendant had dammed up the stream again. As defendant con- tinued to refuse to do anything, plaintiff wrote to his solicitors, and after some correspondence the defen- dant took the dam away, and the diversion was dis- continued. Soon afterwards the female plaintiff bought the farm, when the stream was again diverted. Steps were then taken to obtain an injunction, and a writ was issued on October 4th. After the issue of the writ defendant made an effort to return the plain- tiff some of the water by laying a line of pipes from the farmyard, and an open trench, but as a matter of fact the remedy, it wai contended, was worse than the disease, because the water, being returned through the farmyard, past a manure heap, was so polluted as to foul the whole of the stream water when it returned into it, and rendered it unfit for drinking and domestic purposes. Sample of the water had been submitted to the county analyst, one from the stream itself at a point where the farmyard water joined it, and another where the retained water from the farmyard mingled with the stream. The first sample was found to be very clear, and the second very muddy and turbid, being considerably con- taminated and unfit for drinking and domestic pur- poses. A large number of witnesses were called in support of the above facts submitted on behalf of the plaintiff. Mr Bryn Roberts, for the defence, con- tended that they were fully entitled to divert the stream provided they returned it, and he was sup- ported in his view by Embey and Owen," which was the leading case on the subject. As a matter of fact they did return it, and literally speaking did not use it at all. Defendant finding that his water supply was running short, merely dammed the stream—not in such a way as to divert the whole of the water— and ran a portion along the trench into the farmyard where it worked several turb:nes, and then proceeded in another direction back to the stream, so that plaintiff got the same quantity that he had been in the habit of getting. That was done immediately the defendant nnderstood that there was really a ground of complaint. It was also done before the writ was issued, and not, as had been stated, after- wards. He maintained that they had increased and not decreased the supply of water to Ysgubor Isaf Farm. The water had been guaged at different points by engineering experts, and it was found that the flow was between 20,000 and 40,000 gallons per day, when the machinery was not in motion. The plaintiff had attempted to show that the water when returned was not fit to drink, but the parties in the case had never complained about the water being bad. The male plaintiff admitted that be had not complained to anybody, and even Mrs Garner, who said she had done so, confessed in cross-examination that it was only to her husband. The question of pollution had been dragged in by the expert wit- nesses. He submitted that an injunction ought not to be granted unless there was permanent and sub- stantial injury, which in this case there was not. It had been stated by witnesses that the stream during the last two summers was dry owing to the action of the defendant, but it was a matter of common know- ledge that last summer and the summer before were exceptionally dry summers, and that the greater part of the country was suffering from drought. Evidence having been given by Mr Thomas Blunt, county analyst, who deposed that although both samples of water, one taken from the pure stream and the other from the alleged polluted portion, were slightly turbid, they were quite fit for consumption.—Mr Storr, water and civil engineer, Wrexham; Colonel Lloyd Williams, surveyor, Denbigh John Morris, sanitary inspector, Ruthin, gave evidence as to the impossibility of the water being contaminated while returning to the th 1 1, rm)-ard, and there the dam merely consisted of a ;ew rods and email boulders aud ukL- not water-tight. Counsel on both sides again addressed the court, after which his Honour said he would reserve judgment.

Round and About. It is reported that an uional hockey match will be played by teai presenting Ireland and Wales at Rhyl on January L-Jth. The Prime Minister has been unable, it is stated, to accept an invitation to visit Swansea, when he goes to Wales, in connection with the forthcoming meeting of the National Liberal Federation. Professor Hughes, the Conservative candidate for the Arfon division of Carnarvon, addressed a Primrose league meeting last week at Llandudno and advised the members to arrange an educational programme for their meetings. Lord Mostyn presided and delivered a short speech. An inque3t was held, on Monday evening, at Chester, on the body of a farmer named Akitt, aged forty-nine. Deceased had been missing for some days. His body was recovered from the Chester Canal. There was nothing to show how he got into the canal, and the jury returned a. verdict of found drowned. Agricultural prices, options, and futures formed the subject of an address given on Tuesday at Ludlow br Mr Charles Smith, of Whitney, Herefordshire, who advocated legislation to put down speculative gambling in wheat and to prevent markets and prices from being controlled by outsiders without the know- ledge or consent of farmers themselves. A serious landslip is reported to have occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a quarry at Talysarn, in the Nantlle Yale. Three winding engines were dislodged, and, together with a great quantity of rock and soil, slid down the sides of the quarry to the bottom. Several of the quarrymen were struck by the falling materials, and there were some narrow escapes. Much satisfaction has been experienced in the lower South Wales Counties by the decision of the Home Secretary, after investigation, to remit the latter part of three months' imprisonment to which Margaret Lewis, known as "the Welsh tithe martyr." was s-atenced about the middle of November by the C' irdiganshire justices, for alleged cruelty to a cow and calf. Mrs Lewis is seventy years old, and still pleads innocence of the offence. The coming of age of Mr G. H. Mytton, of Garth, was celebrated last week, when the presentations to the heir, from the tenants and others, showed the good feeling which happily exists on the Garth estate, and the esteem in which Captain Mytton and the family are held. At the luncheon at Garth, the health of the heir was proposed by Colonel Harrison, and the toast of Captain Mytton" was given by Mr Humphreys-Owen, M.P. On Monday an inquest was held at Shoothill Farm, near Ford, Salop, on the body of John Eaton, sixty- two, farmer, who shot himself fatally on the previous Friday morning. The jury, whilst agreeing that the deceased committed suicide, were some time in deciding upon his state of mind when he committed the act. Eventually a verdict was returned to the effect that deceased committed suicide by shooting himself during a fit of temporary insanity. At Llandudno, on Wednesday, a meeting was held at the instigation of Mrs Goode, the object being to raise a fund for the purpose of presenting Lady Augusta Mostyn, Gloddaeth Hall, with a painting of herself in recognition of her services to the public as president of the Board of Management of the cottage Hospital, the painting eventually to Ie pre- sented to the institution by Lady Mostyn. Mr Joseph Broome, of Manchester and Llandudi;o, i.-s chairman of the committee, and Mr H. Anderson the secretary. The Sheriff of Chester, on Monday, presented the Recorder (his Honour Judge Sir Horatio Lloyd), and the officials of the Court with white kid gloves, in honour of a maiden quarter sessions. The Recorder, in congratulating the grand jury, stated that there had only been six maiden sessions in twenty-nine years at Chester, and it was pleasant to reflect that four of these had occurred during the past five yearj. There was a manifest decrease in the statistics of drnnhenness and petty crime in Chester. As the result of a conference at the Cardiff Liberal Club on Monday, it was resolved to support the amalgamation of the South Wales Liberal Federa- tion and the Cymru Fydd League, the titular desig- nation to be in English the Welsh National Federa- tion, and in Welsh the National Federation of Cymru Fydd. A resolution was afterwards passed condemning the dismissal of London and North- Western Railway workmen, and asking Welsh mem- bers to raise the question in Parliament. At a monthly meeting of the Bangor City Council on Tuesday a letter was read from the secretary of the London and North-Western Railway Company ackonwledging, in the absence of the chairman of the Company, the receipt of a resolution passed by the council calling upon the company to institute an inquiry into the circumstances under which a number of Welsh-speaking railway servants were discharged. Some members of the Council expressed surprise of the curtness of the reply, and it was decided to in- quire whether upon the chairman's return the inquiry asked for would be made.

MR AND MRS GLADSTONE. I Mr Herbert Gladstone, M.P., addressing his con- stituents in West Leeds on Saturday night, referred to Armenia, and said he could give the best possible accounts of the late leader of the Liberal party, whom he had left that morning at Hawarden once more wielding the axe with very good effect. Mrs Gladstone attained her eighty-third birthday on Sunday. She, like Mr Gladstone, is in excellent health. Mr and Mrs Gladstone, Mrs Drew, and Miss Helen Gladstone attended morning service at the parish church on Sunday. Mr Gladstone walked from the Castle to the church. In the afternoon Mr and Mrs Gladstone attended the christening of the daughter of the Rev. Stephen and Mrs Gladstone, of Hawarden Rectory. Lady Frederick Cavendish acted as one of the god-mothers. Mr Gladstone, accompanied by Mrs Gladstone and Miss Helen Gladstone, lett Hawarden on Monday morning for Cannes. The right hon. gentleman drove to Broughton Hall, where he caught the 11.10 train. Mr Gladstone was respectfully saluted at Chester Station by a few people assembled on the platform. The travellers arrived at Euston at about half-past three in the afternoon. Mr Armistead was in waiting for the Ex-Premier with a pair-horse car- riage, and a crowd of some hundred persons on the platform made a. hearty demonstration of welcome. Mrs Gladstone was the first to step out of the train, and the entire crowd uncovered as she smilingly acknowledged the salutes on all sides but when Mr Gladstone alighted with bared head and an unmis- takable glow of health and pleasure on his face, the enthusiasm of the crowd found vent in prolonged cheers, and all the efforts of the railway officials were required to clear a way to the carriage. The cheers were kept up until the party had taken their seats, and then were redoubled as the veteran statesman drove away, still smilingly acknowledging the ex- pressions of goodwill. The Ex-Premier remained for the night at Mr Henry Gladstone's. In the evenii-, the ex-Premier leceived an address at 4, Whitehall-court, from thi-Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, an Irish society in America, which was presented by Mr T. P. O'Connor, M.P. In the course of the conversation which followed Mr Glad- stone said that his own interest in the Nationalist cause in Ireland would continue unabated as long as he lived, and that every Nationalist should under- stand that discord must mean the postponement of the Irish claims. He suggested that steps might be taken in America to secure reunion in their ranks. Mr and Mrs Gladstone, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Henry Gladstone, Miss Helen Gladstone, Mr George Russell, M.P., and Mr Edward Hall, drove from Whitehall-court at half-past nine on Tuesday morning to Charing Cross, to catch the ten o'clock train, en route to Cannes. On arrival at the station, where about 200 persons had assembled, Mrs Glad- stone was escorted by Mr George Russell to the saloon in which the party was to travel, and Mr Gladstone was received by Lord Welby, with whom he entered into conversation. Mr Gladstone, who wore a long fur-lined coat, with a deep fur cape, and displayed a button-hole composed of white hyacinths and maidenhair fern, looked in excellent health and spirits, and none the worse for his journey from the ;Foirth on Monday. After exchanging a few worda with Sir Myles Fenton, general manager of the South-Eastern Railway, the ex-Premier, who was carrying a small travelling basket, walked with Lord Welby to the saloon, jllowed by the remainder of the party, and there joined in a hasty and animated conversation with his son, Mr Herbert Gladstone, M.P., who, accompanied by Mr Armi- stead, had just walked on to the platform. Among the small crowd of personal and other friends who were present to see the ex-Premier off, and who alter- nately conversed for a minute or two with him, were Sir J. Carmichael, M.P., Sir Algernon West, Canon Wilberforce, Mr G. Murray klord Rosebery's private secretary), Miss Phillimore, Mr Shand (formerly private secretary to the ex-Premier), Mrs Shand, and Mr J. U. Kobertson. representing the Glasgow Liberal Association. Mrs Shand handed to Mrs Gladstone a handsome bouquet of yellow roses, intertwined with crimson tulips. Mr flerbert Gladstone, having embraced his mother and sister, and taken leave of his father, stepped out of the saloon a minute or so before the train started. Punctually to time the express steamed slowly out of the station. The cheering was renewed, and the privileged few who were near the saloon uncovered as they wished the party God speed. Both Mr and Mrs Gladstone acknowledged the greetings of the crowd, and the good wishes of their friends. Mr and Mrs Henry Gladstone and Miss Helen Gladstone accompany them to Cannes. The train reached Folkestone shortly before twelve o'clock, where the distinguished travellers had a very hearty reception. It was snow- ing heavily, but the sea was quite smooth. They left at noon for Boulogne, with the prospect of a good passage, and arrived in Paris at six o'clock. The right hon. gentleman, who looked remarkably well, was met at the station by three members of the Armenian colony, who presented him with an address of welcome, at the same time offering a bouquet to Mrs Gladstone. Mr and Mrs Gladstone arrived at Cannes at twenty-minutes past eight, on Wednesday evening. The train, which was five hours late, was delayed two hours at Miramas while the snow blocking the line was being cleared away. Mr Gladstone was received on the platform by Mr Taylor, the British Vice-Consul, but owing to the uncertainty regarding the hour of arrival few other persons were present. As he drove away from the station, how- ever, Mr Gladstone was cheered by a crowd of persons who had collected in the vicinity. In reply to ques- tions, the right hon. gentleman said he felt no fatigue notwithstanding the unexpected delay. Mr Glad- stone, together with his wife and family, drove straight to the Chateau Thorenc, where he will be the guest of Lord Rendel for the next month. The Chateau is situated in a sheltered position, and it is expected that Mr Gladstone will derive much benefit from his stay there.

Don't forget Scott's Emulsion when your baby is thin and weak, or your child is suffering from some wasting disease. Nothing in the world of food medicine gives strength, and makes healthy flesh and solid bones like Scott's Emulsion. It is invaluable to babies and growing children. 1

The musical editorship of the new Welsh Church Hymnal, which is being compiled nuder the super- vision of the Bishop of Bangor, has been placed in the hands of Doctor Roland Rogers. The death is announced of the Rev. Thomas Williams, B.A., at 244, Westminster-road, Liverpool. The deceased, who was aged seventy-five, had held curacies at Pentraeth and Llandeusant, and in 1869 became rector of Llechcynfarwydd, Anglesey. The Archbishop of York has completed his self- imposed task of visiting the whole of the 600 parishes in his diocese. The work has occupied three years. Many of the parishes had not previously been visited by a prelate of the Church within living memory. The Archbishop of Canterbury has sent the follow- ing message to his diocese ing message to his diocese :-I"iUotto for 1895, Mundet ac Muniat. Cleanse and Defend.' Were there no Ultence there would need no Defence. Upon all the Glory shall be a Defence Purity and Security walk together. Pray ye that He will cleanse His Clergy and his People from haste and remissness, from laxity and uncharitableness, from selifshness, from all things that do offend, and give all Courage and Obedience. Pray ye that He will defend the Church's enemies from the sin of hindering the cleansing she desires. Pray ye that as her Day is so may her Strength be, that she may renew her youth, that she may live in her first love.fundet ac .Jfuniat.-EDW.ARD CAMTUAR." Mr Gladstone has been, perhaps (says the Saturday Review) the greatest moral influence of his time, and that is why we say he should have been an arch- bishop. He belongs to the schoolmen as a contro- versialist and a scholar. It may be regretted that the archbishops of our Church seldom or never ex- hibit Mr Gladstone's higher qualities. Learning and courtesy, it is true, they sometimes show, and their manners are seldom lacking in a certain dignity that might be mistaken for pride. But they seldom think it advisable to throw in their lot with the wretched, whether of their own or any other race, or to take part with the oppressed as against the oppressors. The generous enthusiasm which Mr Gladstone puts at the service of human misery, his passionate revolt against wrong-doing, appeared to be unshared by the Princes of the Church. The only real danger of the Church of England will be found in its want of sym- pathy, in a certain cold formalism. Had Mr Glad- stone been one of her archbishops, this charge could never have been made. The following are the official statistics of the Welsh Wesleyan Methodists (published in the Welsh diary of the Connexion for 1895):—South Wales dis- trict Probationers, 751; new members, 608; received from other circuits, 187; removed to other circuits, 364; deaths, 92; losses, 100; members, 5,176; in- crease, 261: ministers, 36; local preachers, 74; deacons and elders, 244; preaching stations, 103. North Wales district: Probationers, 1,739; new members, 1,122; received from other circuits, 503; removed to other circuits, 827 deaths, 291; emigrated, 57; losses, 276; members, 13,653; increase, 193; ministers, 77; local preachers, 250; deacons and elders, 614; preaching stations, 257. The Rev. T. Morgan, Brynmawr, is the president of the South Wales district, and the Rev. H. Pritchard, Tredegar, is the secretary; the next Synod will be held at Pontyprydd. The Rev. Hugh Jones (b) Tregarth, Bethesda, is the president of the North Wales district, and the Rev. Edward Humphreys, Bangor, is the secretary. The next Synod will be held at Colwvu Bay. The quarterly meeting of the Holywell Wesleyan circuit was held on Tuesday afternoon at Pendre Chapel, Holywell, when there was a full attendance of delegates, including the Revs. D. Marriott, chair- man P. Price, Caerwys W. T. Ellis, Swansea. and Messrs. D. Pierce and W. Williams, circuit stewards. Mr Pierce submitted the usual financial statement, which showed an increase in the church membership. Messrs. D.. Pierce and Joseph Jones were elected circuit stewards for the ensuing year. It was decided to invite the Rev. D. Thomas, Penvgroes, Carnarvon, to succeed the Rev. P. Price at Caerwys at the end of the present year, and a committee was appointed to select a successor to the Rev. D. Marriott at Holy- well.—At the quarterly meeting of the Mold circuit, under the chairmanship of the Rev. T. O. Jones, superintendent minister, a satisfactory report as to finances and membership was read. It was decided to send a vote of sympathy to the family of the late Mr Thomas Bleddyn, Llanarmon, with a vote of thanks for their gift of a freehold site at Llanarmon on which to build a church. Messrs. T. Lewis, Mold, and E. Anwyl Prydderch, Leeswood, were appointed circuit stewards for the ensuing year, and Mr Hugh Williams, secretary. It was reported to the meeting that the Rev. E. Davies had accepted a call to be- come the superintendent minister at Mold in August next.

MR GLADSTONE AND THE OLD I CATHOLICS. The following letter from Mr Gladstone to Mdme. Novikoff appears in the Revue Internationale for January Hawarden Castle. Chester, October 6th, 1894. My dear Mdme. Novikoff,—I can hardly ever write anything upon suggestion. What is more is that I have before me continuous operations, long ago planned, and must refrain from those that are fragmentary. So I can undertake nothing new. My interest in the Old Catholics is cordial. A sister of mine died in virtual union with them after having been Roman for over 30 years. I remember suggest- ing to Dr. Dollinger that the future would probably depend in great measure upon their being able to enter into some kind of solid relations with the Eastern Church. And I earnestly hope this may go for- ward. Dr. Dollinger agreed in this opinion. They may do great good, and prevent the Latin Church by moral force from further extravagances. All this you will think disheartening with reference to the object of your letter. But I have a little more to say. I have been drawn into writing a preface to a pic- torial edition of the Bible, which will probably have a very wide circulation in America, but will be con- fined to English-speakers. My preface will have no reference to that edition, but to the authority and value of the Scriptures. I think there will be nothing to which you or Old Catholics would object. —Believe me, sincerely yours, W. E. GLADSTONE."

FATAL GUN ACCIDENT NEAR HOLYWELL. On Monday morning a fatal gun accident happened to a young man named Robert Price, who resided with his father, a farmer, at Calcot, a small village on the mountainous district above Holywell. It appears that Price was setting out for a neighbouring farm to shoot pigeons, and having loaded his gun with small shot, he covered it with a sack and placed it on the back of his pony. He then mounted the animal, and had only gone a short distance when by some means, probably the catching of the trigger in the sacking, the gun went off, and the contents were lodged in his body, inflicting a terrible wound. He was at once taken heme, and a messenger was despatched for Dr. J. Owen Jones, who, together with Dr. Williams, was soon on the spot, and did what was possible for him. Price, however, died in the afternoon in great suffering. On Tuesday the Flintshire coroner, Mr William Davies, held an inquest at the Llynymawn Inn, Brynford. Mr J.il)ez Price, farmer, Calau, the father of the deceased, stated that about noon on Monday he heard the report of a gnn and a cry from the servant lad, who ran in and said that Bob was shot. He went into the yard and was met by the deceased's donkey, and he noticed the barrels of a gun pointing towards him from its back on the ground. The deceased cried out Father, I've shot myself, and added, God be merciful to me, a sinner." He carried the deceased into the house and sent for medical assistance. Drs. Jones and Williams dressed the wound, but the deceased died about half- past five.-Parry, the servant lad, f tated that he saw the deceased load the gun and put it on the donkey's back, and directly afterwards he heard a shot.—The father of the deceased, at the request of the jury, gave his theory as to how the accident happened. He thought that the deceased, in opening the gate for the donkey, disturbed the gun, and caused something to catch the trigger.—Dr. James Williams stated that the muzzle of the gun must have been close to the deceased's stomach when the charge exploded.—The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. ————— —————

METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. FOR WEEK ENDING JANUARY 9th, 1895. FROM THE BROUGHTON AND PLAS POWBB COAL COMPANY, LIMITED. BAROMETER READINGS. Taken at 9 a.m., from an Aneroid by Negrett and Zambra. THERMOMETER (IN DEGREES.) Minimum 24 27 27 26 21 1 24 21 MlIJtimum 35 37 36 35 35 36 36 MMianxiimmuum m 35 37 36 35 35 36 36 Wet Bulb I 1 3432 3323 3631 Dry Bulb 1 34 32 33 M 36 31 All maximum temperatures are s?Mtd? temperatures. I M .02 | .11 Rainfall in 1 ,02 I 1.11 I inches Total rainfall for week, .17 inches.

One man was killed and several seriouslv injured by an explosion at the works of the Nobel Explosives Company in Ayrshire. RUPTURE. J. A. SHERMAN, hernia specialist. If you wish to be cured send for his book, post free, 7d. J. A. SHERMAN, 19, Mount-street, opposite Central Station, Manchester. 1498

Coalowners and Miners. THE MINERS' FEDERATION. The annual conference of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain was opened in Birmingham on Tues- day. The president (Mr Pickard) in his address, re- ferred to the wages question, and said the securing of a minimum rate of wages was one of the greatest strokes of business in trade union matters ever known. As to Parliamentary legislation, if the Government was going to take note of the Peases, the Joyces, the Burts, the John Wilsons, and the Fenwicks as representing the true ideas and ideals of the working men and democracy of the country, then such a Government would be swept away at the first opportunity. The business of the Jliners' Federation was con- tinued at Birmingham on Wednesday. It was resolved, that with a view to assist in the promotion of strict terms of equality between capital aud labour, I ?.- ? public bodies, such as town councils, in all coal con- tracts which they may enter into should allow no exemption from the fulfilment of such contracts on account of any stoppage consequent upon any attempt to reduce wages. The conference afterwards considered a new Eight Hours Bill which had been drafted by the instructions of the Executive Com- mittee. It was a similar Bill to that of last year, with the addition of the Home Secretary's amend- ment providing that penalties should be imposed on miners as well as on masters in cases where an offence against the Act was committed. A resolution was adopted urging that the Bill should be pushed forward with vigour at the opening of Parliament. A resolution protesting against the compulsory estab- lishment of Arbitration Boards was agreed to unani- mously.

ELLESMERE DISPENSARY BALL. The annual ball in aid of the funds of the Elles: mere Dispensary was held in the Town Hall, Elles- mere on Tuesday night. The room was very tastefully decorated. The music was supplied by Mr H. H. Tims's band, and Mr Knight, of the Bridge- water Hotel, catered for the supper. The company present included :—Mrs Clarke and party of Petton, Mrs G. B. Clarke, Mr A. Trotter, Mr Watkin Cun- liffe, Captain Cunliffe and party, including Mr W. Pryce, Mr C. Roberts, Mr W. N. Cunliffe, Mrs Cun- liffe, Miss Cunliffe, Misses Bathye, the Misses Reisse, Mr A. Eyton, Mr H. Pryce, Mrs Lovett, and Mr Brooke Cunliffe the Ellesmere Vicarage part in- cluding Mr and Mrs W. J. Toye, Miss L. Lloyd, Mr H. J. E. Peake, and Mr W. K. Peake, Royal Berk- shire Regiment, Mr Maddocks, and Mr F. B. Mad- docks, The Woodlands; Mr and Mrs Brownlow Tower, Miss A. Cust, Mr Meeking, Lord Keuyon, Mr Heber Percy, Mr W. Bridgeman, Mr and Miss Head, Mr Leighton, Miss Tayleur, Mr Griffiths, Captain Lovett, Miss L. Lovett, Mr and Mrs Le Champion, Mr A. Atcherley, Mr De Burgho Hodge, of the Welsh Fusiliers, the Misses De Burghe Hodge, Colonel Lloyd, Mr Warburton Lee, Captain and Mrs Dickin, Loppinton House, the Misses Dickin, Mr T. Dickin, Mr G. Dickin, Mr Pearson, Miss Fathill, Mr and Mrs 0. Ormrod, Penylan Miss Peel, Mr E. J. Peel, Miss Wilkinson, Mrs Hugh Aldersey, Mr and Mrs Mainwaring, Oteley Miss Lucy, Miss Joyce Lucy, Miss Tayleur, CoIn; Mrs Lovett, Miss H. Williams Wynn, Mr Frank Mainwaring, Mr Randle Main- waring, Jr Campbell, Mr R. Williams Wynn, Mr W. Ta.yleur, Mr J. Tayleur, Mr Fowler, Captain and Mrs Archdale, Miss Robinson, Mr and Mrs C. R. Mostyn Owen, Erway; Mr and Mrs A. J. P. Child, Miss Dumville Lees, Mr Harold Gaskell, Miss Williams, The Brow; Miss Antonia Williams, Mrs Ormrod, Miss Olive Ormrod, Mr Rushton, Mr Henry Tayleur, Mr Hume Meeking, Mr Fiennes Colville, Mr Roger Kynaston, Hardwicke; the Hon. Mrs St. Laurance Tighe, Ashgrove Miss Tighe, Mr Hugh Miss Parker, Miss Liddell, and Mr Barston Barr.

— — — I Agriculture. i At Crewe on Monday evidence was taken in an arbitration upon a claim made by Lord Shrewsbury against a late tenant for alleged breach of agreement. When giving up his'farm the tenant sold the hay and straw by auction, and this was stated on behalf of the landlord to be a breach of the agreement existing, which bound the tenant to consume on the premises all the produce grown on the land. The tenant's legal adviser described the agreement as one of the most extraordinary he had ever seen. The award will be made shortly.

MARKETS. WREXHAM. CATTLE, Monday.—At tnis market there was a medium supply of stock, and trade showed a little improvement and most of the stock changed hands. Best beef made, from 6d to 6td per lb., while other qualities fetched 5Ad per lb. Mutton realised from 8d to 8Jd per lb. Pigs averaged 7s 6d per score lbs.. and pork pigs made from fs 6d to 8s per score lbs. There were a good many dairy cows on offer, and these sold at from 915 to iCI9 each. The trade for store cattle was better, and they advanced 5s per head. THUBSDAY. s. 4. II, d. White wheat (new), per measure 3 6 ko 3 8 Red „ „ i 4 N 3 6 Oats (old), 3 0to 3 6 (new), .I 2 2 to 3 < Barley (malting), 4 • to 4 6 1. (grinding), .I 0 0 to 0 0 Potatoes per hamper 3 6 to 0 0 Butter, per lb. of 16L)z. 1 2to 1 3 Beef, per 1b. & to 0 9 Mutton, per lb. 6 to 0 9 Pork, 7 to 0 9 Veal, 11 0 0 to 0 0 Lamb, per lb, 0 to 0 0 Fowls, per couple 3 3 to 4 3 Ducks, 1. 5 0 to 0 0 Turkey cocks per couple 11 0 to 12 0 hens 11 0 to 12 0 Geese, per lb 0 8 to 0 0 Eggs, 11 to 12 for a shilling. CHESTER CORN, Saturday.—The deliveries of wheat during the week have been practically nil, while the offerings were exceedingly light and trade was consequently dull with no quotable change to note in prices. The same remarks equally applied to oats and barley. The market for foreign wheat was steady at late values. Indian corn being generally lower to buy on the week's quotations. Prices ;-lted wheat 3s 6d per 751b malting barley, 3s 6d per 601b.; oats 2s Od to 2s 4d per 461b.; Indian corn, new, lis 9d per 2401b old 12s 9d. CHBSHIRH HUTTER AND EGGS, Friday.—Home dairy stock continues in more than average supply. Prices con- tinue reasonable, with a fair inquiry. At Sandback fresh butter wat sold at Is 4d per lb., and the same rates pre- vailed at Stockport. At a few centres moderate makes may be had for Is 3d per lb. New laid eggs at Stockport and Altrinchan 8 for Is, at Sandbach 9 for Is, at Nautwich slightly easier. CHESHIKB POULTRY.—Market continue well stocked. Inquiry for Christmas-fed poultry considerable. Quota- tions per couple—Chester Fowls, 4s to 5s; ducks 5s and 5a 6d. Nautwich Fowls, 4s6d ducks 5s and 5s 6d. North- wich Fowls, 4s and 45 6d; ducks, 5s. Crewe: Fowls, 3s 6d to 4s 6d ducks 58 and 5s 6d. Sandbach Fowls, 4s ducks 5s. Runcorn Fowls, 3s 6d an,l 4s ducks 4s 6d and. 5s. Macclesfield 1 Fowls, 3s 6d and 48 6d ducks, 4s 6d to 5s 6d. CREWE CATTLB, Monday.—Good supply of stock. and fair attendance of buyers. Prices Beef, 5d. to 6Jd. per lb. Mutton, 7d. to 8Jd. per lb. Veal, 7d. per lb. Porket pigs 9s. to 9s. 6d. per score. Bacon pig., 7s. 6d. to 8s. Od. per score. New milch and calving cows and heifers, JE14 to JE20 each. Barrens, JE7 to £10 each. Stirks, £4 10.. to £7 each. SHREWSBURY. CORN, Saturday.—Messrs W. L, Browne and Co. report: —Wheat was not freely oifered, and former prices were realised. The supply of barley chiefly consisted o t secondary quality, which moved slowly at former rates. Oats were steady. Flour sold to a moderate extent at un- changed prices. Quotations White wheat 3s 6dto 3a 8d;red ditto 3s. 4d. to 3s. 6d. per 751b. barley 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d per 701b.; oats 10s. 6d. to 12s. 6d.; peas lie. 6d to 12s 6d per 2251b, beans 15s. to 16s. 6d. per 240ib. OSWESTRY. WEDNESDAY.—White wheat old, 3s 6d to 38 ad red wheat old, 3s 4d to 3s 6d per 751bs.; oats, old, 10s Od to 12s Od; malting barley, 14s to 17s Od potatoes, 3s 6d to 48 per cwt; butter Is 3d to Is 4d; beef, 6d to 7d; muttoji 7d to 8d; veal, 7d to 9d lamb, Od to Od pork, 6d to 8d per lb.; fowls, 4s 6d to 5s ducks, 5s6d to 6s 6d par couple geese. 5s to 6s each eggs. 10 to 12 for Is. WEEKLY CATTLE FAIR. Wednesday.—The attendance at this fair was well up to the average, and stock was looking in fairly good condion all round. tstock sold at pretty good rates, the following being about the prices ruling :-Beef made from 5d to 6d; mutton, 8d to aid; veal, 6d to 7d per lb.; and park, 9s to 9s 6d per score lbs. ELLESMERE. TUESDAY.—White wheat, Os Od to Os Od red, Os Od t* Os Od per 751bs.; barley, Os Od to Os (d oats, Os Od to 08 Od eggs, 9 to 10 for is butter. Is 3d to Is 4d per 16oa. fowl3, 5s 6d to 6s ducks, 6s to 7s Od per couple; geese, 7s Od to 8s each turkeys, 8s Od to 9s each; potatoes, 3s 6d to 4s per cwt. rabbits, 2i1 4d to 2s 6d per couple; pigeons, 2s Oi to 2s 3d der couple; guinea fowls, 5s 6d to 6s per couple: carrots, 2s 9d to 3s per cwt. WHITCHURCH. FRIDAY.—Wheat, 3s 2d to 3s 6d per 751bs.; barley, 3s 6d to 4s 3d per 70 lbs. oats, 2s 6d to 3s Od per 501bs. eggs, 9 to 10 for Is butter Is 2d to la 4d per 16oz fowls, 3s 6d to 4s ducks, Os to Os Od per couple geese, Os Od to Os Od turkeys, Os Od to 0s Od per potatoes per measure, 2s 6d to 3s beef, 6d to 8d per lb.; mutton, 7d to 9d; lauib, Od veal, 7d to 8d pork,6d to 7d apples, 2d per lb. LIVERPOOL. n iv -i mu _1_- m _L _LL UATTLK, monuay.—ine suppty 01 suoca was rauier larger than last week. The demand good at higher prices for the best cattle, but without much material change in inferior beasts, prices being somewhat irregular. Sheep trade slow and prices hardly as good as last week, except for a few extra prime lots. Prices Beef, 1st class, 6id 2nd Siù; 3rd 4d per lb.: Scotch mutton, 9id to 6d per lb., Irish, 8Jd to 6d per lb. Live-weight cattle, 1st class, 33s 4d 2nd 28s 3rd 21s 4d per 1121bs. At market: cattle, 1,590; sheep, 3,162. PROVISIONS, Tuesday.—Cheese, per 1121bs.—Finest States and Canadian, 51s to 52s Od; Cheshire, 55s to 70s. Butter, per 1121bs—Danish Choicest, 118s to 125s American 60s to 75s. Irish creameries, 114s to 116s. Irish factories, 100s to 106s. Finest Margarine, 57s to 60s medium, 45s to 50s low, 32s to 40s. Eggs, per 120.—Irish hen, 10s Od to 10s 6:1 Conti- nental. 8s 6d to 9s 0.1; Canadian. 68 lOd to 8s 8d. CORN, Tuesday.—Lower quotations from America chiefly owiug to the more favourable estimates regarding the Argentine crop, adversely affected values at the out- set, though with Paris again dearer and afternoon cables from the Sta.tes displaying a hardening tendency, little actual change took place in any department. There was a steady feeling in wheat on the spot, and a moderate business was done at Friday's extreme prices, Californian options failed to attract attention, and with buyers and sellers indifferent, prices remained more or less nominal. Red American futures at the opening were generally Id per cental under last Monday night, but the offerings at any time were never liberal, and a steady tone Drevailed throughout, buyers appearing more anxious towards the finish, when prices marked a loss of only an occasional id on the day. East Indian futures were more freely offered in view of the heavy shipments advised by cable, and the improvement reported Monday was lost. MANCHESTER. H.\Y AND STRAW, Moli(lay.-Hibyg 4d to 5,1; clover, 5d to 74d straw, wheat, 3Jd; ditto, oat, 3d to 3N per stone of 141b, FAT PIG, Monday.—There was a large supply of pigs. which met with a slow demand. Quotations First- class pigs, 7s 6d secoud-class. 6s 8d to 7s Od; third-class, 5s 6d to 6s per 201b.

CORN HARVEST ALL THE YEAR ROUND. Use the POSITIVE CORN and WART CURE. Ease results immediately d per bottle; post free, 1 J. F. EDISBURY, 3 HIGH STREET WREXHAM ws

I THE BISHOP OF CHESTER AND "THE TIMES." The special correspondent of the Tiireq lately in Gothenburg writes as follows to the editor of that journal with reference to the attack made upon him by the Bishop of Chester :—" I have carried out many inquiries on important subjects for important news- papers, and I have often had to say things that were unpalatable to some people. They have replied in a legitimate way, and the public has been able to judge between us. I ask for no better treatment, and have never yet had to fear the result. It is new to me to meet with a controversialist who is so angry with what I have written, and at the same time so unable to answer it, that he has to resort to a personal attack on me behind my back. Surely it is unworthy of the Bishop of Chester to stoop to such a mnnneuvre when the columns of the Times arc open to a legitimate reply. And your readers will probably think his conduct the more strange when they learn that the information on which his attack is based was supplied by myself in a private and friendly way at his private and frien31y request. Without that information he could not have made it. The bishop happens to be my old college tutor, and on the strength of that connection I met his request with the utmost frankness, and placed in his hanq the weapon with which he was intending to stab me in the back. I am not sure that such a pitiful proceeding deserves any further notice, but perhaps an explana- tion is due to you, sir. The Bishop's attack is this- that my letters ta the Times on the Gothenburg system are valueless, and I myself a, worthless person, because I previously wrote another article in a different spirit. He calls that article skimble- skamble stuff' and airy scoffing.' Perhaps it is better men have been guilty of no less, and even a Bishop has been known to kick mp his literary heels upon occasion, but that need not prevent him from being grave at the right time. 1 claim a privilege enjoyed by every writer and every speaker. The subjects of my two utterances were totally different. The article in question was not on the Gothenberg system at all, but on the tactics of some of its English advocates, and particularly on the fancy picture of the public house commonly drawn by ardent reformers. Both are fair game for a scoffing treatment. My letters to the Times dealt with the Gothenburg system as it is, on which I had passed no previous judgment, and was absolutely without prejudice. I approached the subject with the Btronge6t[seG8e[of responsibility, and if the Bishop of Chester had taken half the trouble to master it that I have, he would have been saved from such an egregious blunder as attributing to the influence of the syatemSa police regulation which was passed nearly two ye.,ti-A I d,;ore the system existed. How- ever, the public can judge. If there is anything unfair in my treatment of the subject let the bishop convict me, and I will own my fault; if there is not, his allegation of prejudice is an additional testimonial to my impartiality, which has been cleariv strong enough to overcome the alleged prejudice. My real crime is that I have spoken the truth. I knew it would get me into trouble, and it has it always does. Partisans on both sides have found fault with me, and that is as good a proof as one can want in a controversial question that one has pretty nearly hit the centre. The cordial recognition of my efforts by the great public, which takes neither side, but loves fairplay, is an ample recompense. To it I confidently appeal." In a leading article upon the subject on Tuesday's issue, the l'iiiies says: In the temperate and weighty letter which we print to-day, our special correspondent, who recently investigated the Gothen- burg system 'confidently appeals, on the accusations brought against him by the Bishop of Chester, to the great public which takes neither side, but loves fairplay." There is no room for doubt as what the verdict of that public will be. The form in which the attack upon our correspondent has been made, shows, as we pointed out in our brief reference to the matter on Tuesday, that zeal for temperance, or rather zeal for his own special temperance scheme, has completely consumed the Bishop's sense of common justice and common fairness. The Bishop called upon us as a matter of courtesy and candour to give full publicity to ae '.<' parte statement impugning the impartiality and the competence of our correspondent in a maaner cal- culated to do him an injury in his profession as a writer for the public press. The bishon made this demand upon us without affording us any opportunity of inquiring into the alleged grounds of the charges which he brought. Some doubt, indeed, seems to have crossed his mind as to whether we were likely to consent to condemn unheard a contributor whom we had every reason to trust, for he took the precau- tion of publishing his injurious accusations through another channel. The bishop, as we stated yester- day, did not even favour us with a copy of the article which proves, as he contends, that our correspon- dent's testimony is unworthy of trust. We have since received one, but we owe it to the courtesy of the editors of the Senate, and not to any sense of justice on the part of the Bishop of Chester. Our correspondent's letter will confirm and intensify in the mind of that' great public on whom he relies the impression which must have been at once created by the character of the bishop's attack. The writer observes with entire justice that our columns were open to his assailant, if that assailant desired to make a legitimate reply to such portions of the articles in question as he objected to. The bishop did not choose to take this straightforward course. What his reasons may have been for deciding not to do so must remain a matter of surmise. Possibly he was too angry. Perhaps, as our correspondent suggests, he was unable to refute the statements and the arguments which he dislikes. At all events, he preferred to resort to what our correspondent described as 'a personal attack on me behind my back.' Our correspondent ventures to intimate that, in his opinion, a manoeuvre of the kind is unworthy of the bishop. We fancy that a good many persons will agree with him. Still more discreditable than the issue of the circular itself are the means by which the information was obtained on which that document is based. The bishop's contention is that our correspondents evidence is unworthy, because our correspondent had previously written the article in the Senate. It was indispensable, therefore, to have authentic legal evidence of the authorship of the articles in the Times. The bishop perceived the necessity, if awkward and un- pleasant consequences were to be avoided, and he determined to get the evidence. Our correspondent telis us how he got it, and we are satisfied that the story will be read with grief and shame by all to whom the reputation of the Bishops as good men, and honourable gentlemen is dear. It is, perhaps, best not to characterise this pitiful pro- ceeding as it deserves. Englishmen of all classes will form without difficulty their own judgment upon it." The article concludes as follows :—The bishop's action affords ouly one more example of the extremes to which even men of character and sense are often driven when they suffer their moral judgaeut to be warped by a too exclusive devotion to particular views. We know to what lengths even so good and so pious a man as Dr. Pusey suffered himself to be carried when his peculiar opinions were concerned—lengths which sometimes were fairly shocking to the unso- phisticated conscience of p)ain men ?f the WGrld. The Bishop of Chester is not a Pusey, but he seems to be in d.mger of falling into the same perilous habit of defending a cause by means not wholly dissimilar. He cannot excuse his conduct to ourselves by pre- tending that we have ever exhibited hostility to him- self or to the cause he advocates. Oil the contrary, we have given great prominence to the letters on this mo it important subject with which he has repeatedly favoured us; we have reported the speeches and addresses which he has delivered upon it, and, while realising the many difficulties which, in common with all other temperance schemes, it presents, we have frequently written of it in our leading columns with respect and sympathy. In these circumstances, we conceive, that the Bishop of Chester owes it both to his personal character and to the position which he occupies to make a full and ample apology both to ourselves and to our correspondent for the extra- ordinary course of action which he has adopted towards us. We confess that we are in some doubt whether a dignitary who has stooped to conduct of the kind will have the manliness to feel and to acknowledge the wrong of which he has been gniity. We are quite confident, however, that there will be but one opinion amongst all classes as to the duty which is now incumbent upon him." DR. JAYNE'S EXPLANATION. The Times of Wednesday contains a letter from the Bishop of Chester, in which he writes I beg leave to inform you that there is no truth in the statement upon which your comments a.re founded. I knew upon authentic legal evidence obtained directly from Sweden who your special correspondent was before I ever wrote to him. I never asked him whether he was the author of the letters in the Times. Your correspondent never told me that he was the author of the letters in the Times. My letter to your correspondent asked him for a copy of a signed magazine article (which I had previously read and thrown aside) bearing his full name, and asking whether the name was his. I may be wrong, and if so I shall willingly express my regret, but it never occurred to me, nor docs it now, that there was any impropriety in asking an honourable man to acknow- ledge his own signed article or to furnish the person who was its subject with a copy. There is one point on which I cordially express my regret. I was quite under the impression that you were fully aware of the strong prepossessions of your correspondent on this particular subject. My very respect for the Times and the special weight attaching to its articles made me resent what I supposed to be a departure from its usuai practice. Hence the course I took. I find that my impression was wrong, and I have real pleasure in acknowledging my mistake. May I also express my regret if I have treated your correspondent with the same severity he had previously dealt out to my allies and myself ? I should be truly sorrv if what I wrote, purely as public criticism and because the interests of our movement seemed to reqaire it. should in any way damage professionally an able writer whose articles in yonr columns received and deserved wide attention." The Titaex appends the following note to the above letter :—" The Bishop's correction is a mere quibble. What he required to obtain before he could attack our correspondent was conclusive proof that the writer of the article in the Senate and of the letters in the Times was the same individual, and this proof he admits he obtained by the means our correspondent described. We sincerely wish we could regard the Bishop's expression of regret as adequate and satis- factory. But we feel bound to point out that it deals with only some of the breaches of fairness and courtesy which he has committed, and thatit reiterates a charge of strong prepossessions against our cor- respondent which has been emphatically denied, and of which there is no proof."

The most important recommendations in :he report of the -Archbishops' Education Committee, of which Lord Cross was chairman, are that the capita- tion grant should be increased from 17s 6d to 21s, and that increased Imperial aid should be given by means of State payment of the whole teaching staff of the country, both for voluntary and Board schools. The claim for aid from the rates is abandoned in consequence of the difficulty of arriving a.t a unani- mous opinion on a.ny scheme. The committee nrge greater generosity on the part of churchmen.