The Cardigan Observer and General Advertiser for the Counties of Cardigan Carmarthen and Pembroke

AUSTRALIAN NEWS. The latest newt from Australia cornea by telegraphic despatch, via San Francisco. The chief items of in- telligenee are the following: The New Seuth Wales Budget for 1877-1878 shows that the actual revenue for last year amounted to j £ 5,751,879, and the ex- ptntUture to £ 5,530,050. The revenue exceeded that of 1876 by £ 714,217, the principal increases being £ f>V,861 in the Customs, £427,128 in the land sales, and £121,500 in the receipts from railways. The total accumulated surplus at the end of the year amounts to < £ 2,317,343, and the cash balance to £ 4,071,147. The estimated revenue for this year amounts to £4,878,700, the decrease being caused by the curtailment of land,sales totheextentof < £ 1,000000. The estimated expenditure is X4,723,689, including £ 75,000 for immigration purposes and S320,000 for public instruction. The Legislative Assembly has nearly completed the Estimates for the current year, and has parsed the io)- mjgrabion and educational votee. A billamendiog the Electoral Law has been introduced providing for twenty-three new members, thus raising the total number to nicety eix. The new elections necessitated through this addition w.11 bo held during the recess, after the passage of the bill. The Government is actively pushing forward the organisation of the defences of the colory, in accord- ance with the recommendations of Sir W. Jervois, and large quantities of explosives have already been received. Mr. Edward Combep, Member of the New South Wales Parliament, has been appointed Executive Oommissioner of the Colony at the Paris Exhibition. The offices of Emigration Agents for this colony in America and Germany have been abolished. The later-Colonial Cricket Match of Victoria v. New South Wales has resulted in the victory of the latter by one wicket. As already telegraphed, the severe drought from which the Colony has been suffering has now com- pletely broken up, and all partB are plentifully visited with rain. The Italian war vessel Ohristoforo Colombo, which fe on a scientific cruise, arrived at Sydney on the 3rd of February. Sir George Grey, the Premier of New Zealand, has visited the Maori King Javhias, and remained for two days in his dominions. All the influential chiefs and 2000 Maories were present at the meeting. No business was transacted, but Sir George Grey will again meet the King in March.

OUR INDIAN ARMY. According to the last returns, our Indian army matter* aomething over 200,000 men, Europeans and natives. Of British troops there are 61,500. The Europeans oomprise fifty battalions of the line, nine regimenta ef cavalry and eighty-six batteries of artillery, and are stationed in the proportion of 10,000 in each of the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras, while Bengal absorbs the remainder. The native regiments master 120,000 of all ranks, and may be roughly divided into 20,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry. There is very little native artillery, the authorities in India deeming it wise to retain that arm in the hands of British soldiers. A few mountain batteries are to be found on the Punjaub frontier, ofieered by the Royal Artillery, and manned by native gunners, but this force is too insignificant to be takøn into consideration. The native infantry and cavalry are otfieered in the same way as our British troops, the officers in command of companies and troops being also natives. The squadron com- manders in the cavalry, and the half-battalion com- manders in the infantry, as also the colonel and adjutant are, however, British officers belonging to the Staff Oorpa, seven being attached to each regiment or battalion. The cavalry, for the most part at any rate, is irregular cavalry, and resembles a good deal that of the Osssacks, since every man rides his own horse and enjoys more independence than a trooper in a line regiment; The Madras Light Cavalry is the only ex- eeption to this rule, for in this can the Indian Go- vernment mounts the men, this section, which may be termed regular cavalry, numbering about 2400 sabres. The infantry is modelled on our own line regiments. There are eight companies in every battalion, num- bering from 700 to 800 men, and they are drilled and disciplined in accordance with instructions framed at the Horse Guards at home, te which all are amenable through the Commander-in-Chief in India. In fact, to all intents and purposes, the native Indian army is under the control of the Field Marshal Commanding- in-Ohief, as are the Colonial forces. There is in India, it seems, no lack of recruits. and the number of native troops could it any mcment be very consider- ably augmented without much trouble to recruiting officers.

OTTB AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. — The latest number of the Australian Star to band contains an in- teresting statistical review of our Australasian Colonies, the total area of which is represented at 3,114,501, the population being estimated at about two and a half millions. Victoria—the smallest colony but one in size-heads the list with a population of 855,362; while Western Australia, with the largest area—a million square miles-baa a population of but 27,321. The males would aeem to preponderate in that part of the globe, only 100 of the fair sex being born to 123'19 males. The average birth-rate for the Colonies is given at 36 04, the marriage rate at 7'15, while the "leakage/' for thus the Star facetiously terms the death-rate, is stated to be 16*37. The immigration returns for 1876 show a total of 26,404 assisted and free passenger?, of whom over 10,000 were females. The total immigra- tiou for that year, however, appears to have been double that, or about 50,000, the immigration pre- ponderating, as it ought to de, over the emigration, although, not so appreciably as might have been expected to have been the can. The Public Revenue and Expenditure Returns do not, un- fortunately, teN us how mueh it costs to govern eaoikColony, although the Star hopes, and so do we, that especial attention will in future be devoted to this point. The total revenue for 1876, however, is pat at £ 16,012,208, the expenditure being £737.635 in excess. £.5,606,003 of the revenue is raised by taxation. The total taxation throughout the colonies --excluding New Zealand, whose population is not as- certained—averages X2 2s. per bead. The public debt for the same year approached £60,000,000. and the total value of the exports and imports is estimated at £ 88,599,000, the former being valued at.£46.505,û8:J, and the latter at £ 43,093,920. TUBNXB'S PICTURES AND DBA. WINGs.-In connection with the tale of the Munro collection, it may be interesting to reeall some other of the highest prices which have been paid at auction for the wonM of Turner. In the we of the Bick- nell collection, April, 1863, at Christie's, The Palestrina" sold for 1900 guineas; "Port Buys- dael"—1900 guineas; II Bhrenbreitltein" 1800 guineas; "Venice, the Campo Santo"— £ 2000; "Venice, the Giudecca"—1650 guineas; "The "Wreckers "—1890 guineac Antwerp "—510 gui- neas; Helvoetaluys "—1600 guineas;" Ivybridge, Devon"—880 guineas; u Oalder Bridge "—500 gui- neae. Water Colour Drawings.—The most important were Lakeof Lucerne"— £ 714, for which Turnerwa. paid B-zberough, 1809,"— £ 5 >6 Mowbray todge, Bipon — £ 535 10s.; "Grouse Shooting," with portrait or Turner, and dogs, by Stubbs— £ 451 10s.; Woodcock Shooting "— £ 535 10s. In the Gillott collection, sold 1872.—"Going to the Ball, Venice" -1700 guineas; "Returning from the Ball, Venice"—1500 guineas; "CalaisSands"—1700 guineas; Bosen&u-1850 guineas. Water Colour Drawings.—" Heidelberg," 13i by 20— £ 2782 10s.; Ehrenbreitstein," 11A by 17 £ — £ 278210* 11 Bam- borough Castle," 20 by 28— £ 3307 10s.; Winder- mere," lli by 18— £ 2047 10s. In the sale of Mr. Greenwood's collection, March, 1876, among many drawings of minor importance were the "Lake of Lucerne," which sold for 800 guineas, and "Grenoble," for 1600 guineas. In the same year the collection of Mr. Quilter was sold, when the Tomb of Cecilia Metetim," from the Munro collection, sold for 836 guineas; the "Malvern"—840 guineas; Heidel- berg "— £ 1522 10s.; Oberwesel "— £ 1627 10s. It was in this sale that the fine drawing by Copley Field- ing of the "Mull of Galloway sold for .£1732 10s., and the SouthaU, Notts," by De Wint, for the same mm, both being the highest prices ever given for these drawings, though much below those of some of the Turner drawings abovenamed. THIS WHITWORTH GUNS of the Neptune (late Independence) are to be sent to Woolwich to be examined. It is not twelve months since these guns were tested at the Woolwich butts, by request of the Brazilian Government; bo* I suppose a certain amount, of money must be spent on war preparations. A I. GRAND SORT OF MEASLM.—Dr. Goldie, in his last report upon the sanitary condition of Leeds, speaks of the extreme difficulty he has found during a recent outbreak of measles in inducing parents to isolate the children suffering from this eemplaint from the healthy children. He says that one lady on whom he spent extra time and trouble for this purpose answered all his advice and objec- tions by the remark, "Now, doctor, our bairn's measles 11 do nobody no harm, they're such a grand sort." And she consistently acted on her belief by sending another child to school while she was attending the one with the grand sort" of measles at home. She may even have thought she was conferring a favour on the other children by disseminating the disease, and so "gettingit over;" aathoee people phraae it, who believe thoir children must necessarily have scarlet fever, measles, whooping-cough, as an introduction to the troubles of this life.

THE CASE OF THE REV. MR. DODWELL NOW IN NEWGATE. In a report to the Home Secretary, under date March 23, Dr. Forbes Winslow stated that he had on two separate occasions, in consultation with Dr. Gibson and Dr. Winn, lengthy interviews with the Rev. Mr. DodweII, now in Newgate. The report says: 11 The act for which he is now in Newgate had been premeditated for the last six months. As a proof of this,he read me an extract from a letter written by him to the Lord Chancellor, in which he stated that it was his intention to break the law in order to obtain a hearing. His first idea was to fire off a pistol in Vice-Chancellor Malins's court,, but he found by so doing he would simply be committed for con- tempt of Court, and the purpose be had in view would remain unaccomplished. He was anxious to impress on me that he never bad the intention of commuting murder. To prevent or rebut a charge of so serious a character he purchased a pistol, and not a revolver, as he only intended to fire once. Ha also informed me that a few wt!d¡s previous to his attempt he read of a man who was injured by the discharge of a piatol containing blank cartridge. This accident would have been avoided had not the pistol been close to the injured man. To avoid any possible injury being incurred by the Master of the Rolls he (the pri- soner) stood, at what he considered, to be a safe distance from his lordship before discharging his pistol. A month previous to the assault he met a friend in the Strand at the time he considered that he was suffering from gross injustice, and having failed in obtaining clerical employment had only a few shillings in the world with which to support a wife and four children. On this occasion he exclaimed, I will not go to the workhouse except through the gate of the dock, and, if by so doing, my case is placed before the reflecting people of England, and I sink I must sink.' He is a man apparently of determined pur- pose, and this seems to have been hia character through life. I have carefully inquired into the history of his antecedents and can detect no evidence of hereditary disease. During the whole of my conversation with him he was calm and collected. There were no symptoms indicative of a morbid impulse. He ap- peared to be a man driven to desperation and ruin by circumstances. He did not labour under any de- lusions. He declared he had only acted unlawfully with a view to securing the attention of his country- men to the subject of his alleged wrongs. He gave, clearly and distinctly, an account of his previous history. His memory seemed to be excellent. His conversation, manner, and general demeanour were most rational in every respect; and I was unable to detect any symptoms indicative of mental disorder. I am of opinion, from a careful and anxious consi- deration of the case, that he is of sound mind, and there is nothing to justify his detention as a criminal lwatic."

THE NEPTUNE. The Neptune, 4, late the Brazilian turret ship In- dependencia, left Sheerness at eleven o'clock in the morning, and arrived at Portsmouth at one o'clock the following afternoon, having made the passage under easy steam, and with from forty to fifty revolu- tions of the engines per minute, in order that, by catch- ing the tide, the necessity of anchoring at Spithead might be avoided. She was temporarily berthed in the tidal basin opposite the Thunderer, with which she could thus be conveniently compared. But, as a matter of fact, with the exception of the form of the hurricane deck and the disposition of the turrets, which are built along the middle line of the ship, there are few points of resemblance between the vessels. On the contrary, the Neptune has been constructed after the model of the Monarch, for which ship Mr. Reed, who constructed both, has expressed great par- tiality, and is thus the second fully-rigged turret ship which the service possesses, or the third counting the Temeraire, the turrets of which, however, are fixed and constructed on the en barbette principle. She is 300 feet long between perpendiculars, 63ft. in extreme breadth, and draws 25ft. of water. Her displacement is 0000 tons and as her en- gines, which are by Messrs. Penn, can work up to the same number of horses, the Nep- tune is the most powerfully-engraed ship in the service, with the single exception of the Iris. But while she resembles the Monarch in design, she is a much more formidable engine of war. Though 30ft. shorter, and having 3ft. less freeboard than the Monarch, she has 5Jft. more beam, and over 600 greater volume. Her turret armour is 13in., while that of the Monarch is ten inches; and while the latter carries four 25-ton guns, toe new Monarch carries four 35 ton Whitworth guns, worked by hydraulic power. This is the same armament as the Devastation but while her turret armour is an inch thinner, the guns of the Nep- tune throw heavier projectiles and possess greater penetrating power. The bulwarks fall flush with the upper deck, the same as in the older turret ship. She also possesses the same drawbacks as the Monarch, seeing that the turrets in both ships are deprived of direct fore-and-aft fire by the forecastle and paop. In both ships, aga'n, end-on fire is obtained by means of a forecastle battery containing a couple of 6j-ton 7 inch guns. The Neptune will be completed for sea and fitted with torpedo gear at Portsmouth. But before this is done she will be taken into the steam basin for the purpose of being inclined to ascertain the vertical position of her centre of gravity, sixty tons of iron ballast having been provided for the experiment. To obtain the utmost accuracy it will be necessary to empty the boilers of water, secure all weights on board, and free the bilges of water. The ship is an object of great professional interest at Portsmouth, where she is considered an important accession of strength to the navy. -4-

HOW TO PRESERVE ORDER.—The State Legis- lature of th. Western States of America used to have rough-and-ready methods of preserving order. during Sessions. In one Statf—Texas, we believe-the Speaker used to take his seat armed with a double- barrelled rifle ready for use. One day a member rose and addressed the chair, saying, Sir, I believe I am in order. If you say 'go on' I'll go on, but if you say loquak,'Ill squat like a partridge." The Speaker gravely slung round his rifle, covered the hon. member, and uttered the monosyllable squat." The member squatted. How would some mild but firm legislation of this kind work for the suppression of certain recent Parliamentary difficulties ? KILLED IN THE SHAFT OF A PIT, — An in- quest was held before Mr. Newill, coroner, at the Lamb ln n, Wrockwardine, Salop, upon the bodies of Thomas Pitchford and Noah Oliver, who were killed in the shaft of a pit in Wrockwardine. The evidence showed that Pitchford and a man named Lowe were removing some "backing" at the bottom of the shaft. Pitchford, while pushing it away, got his foot between the cage and the rod, and was pulled up the shaft fourteen yards. Perceiving Pitchford being drawn np the shaft Lowe signalled to stop, which was done. He then climbed up the rods to release Pitchford. On reaching him, and finding the perilous position he was in, Lowe called for help from the top of the pit, when Oliver went down the rods with a saw fastened to his back. On reaching the cage Oliver clasped Pitchford round the body to prevent him from falling, while Lowe sawed the red through. As soon as the rod was sawn through a band (iron rope) "sprung," and threw Pitchford and Oliver to the bottom of the ahaft, a depth of fourteen yards. Pitchford was killed on the spot, Oliver sur- vived but a short time, and Lowe, who remained in the cage, received serious injuries. The jury returned a verdict of Accidentally killed." GROCERS' LiCHNSM.—A Parliamentary return shows that the number of licenses issued to spirit dealers in England to retail spirits for consumption off the premises in the years which ended the 31st of March, 1875, 1876, and 1877, was in 1875, 4402; in 1876, 4706; and in 1877, 5100. The number of grocers and other persons in England keeping shops for the sale of goods other than intoxicating liquors who had on the 1st of January, 1878, licenses for sale by retail of beer, spirits, or wine not to be consumed on the premises was as follows; Holding beer licenses only, 8301; holding spirit licenses only (bottle), 288 holding wine licenses only, 1732; holding both beer and spirit licenses, 272; holding beer and wine licenses, 588; holding spirit and wine licenses, 1402; holding beer, spirit, and wine licenses, 1832 grocers selling spirits in bottles, but who have not obtained a magis- trace's certificate, 95. THB PORT OF MELBOURNE.—Sir J. Coode has commenced active duties in reporting upon the necessary improvements of the port of Melbourne, and defence preparations are being vigorously carried on. The apprehension of a European war had made the need of double cable communication strongly apparent, and the matter was to be made the subject of a Conference with the adjoining Conies. A LUCKY CONTRACrOR.-The Bradford Cor- poration have accepted the tender of Mr. Steuart, of Manchester, offering .£10.859 per annum for seven years for the azumoniscal liquor produced at the Brad- ford GasWorks during that period from July 1. There were several tenders, the highest being £ 10,600. The price paid under the expiring contract has been £ 800 per annum during the past ten years. The holder of this contract was among the competitors for the new contract, and his tender was not X800 a year, but .CoOOO a year! The discovery in the liquor of a certain chemical substance used in nualine dyes has greatly enhanced its value. A PEACEFUL PABisH.—It is worthy of remark that in a parish hear Blandford a petition in favour of peace has been signed by every grown-up man and woman, with the exception of one farmer. The peti- tion is headed with the name of the vicar, the Hon. and Bev. A. G. Douglas. P-

DOTHEGIRLS' HALL: HABBOWING STORY. Under the above title appears an article in the World, the statements in which, if true, disclose one of the most scandalous educational swindles ever heard of. Our contemporary says: There lately ap- peared in several papers an advertisement setting forth the many merits of a certain school for voung ladies. The bait tempted several to write for the pro- spectus and in one instance at least a lady was in. duced to see the proprietress, with a view to placing a daughter in the establishment as governess-student." The terms were arranged; the explanations as to the "college" not being then quite prepared for habitation, being in process ot re-decoration, were satisfactory; and 4U the 19th of February last the young lady entered on the engagement. From the prospectus we learn that tbe principal of "The College, Mount Pleasant, Sunbury-on-Thamcs," is, or rather was, Mrs. Paté. The principal is assisted by six resident English and foreign governess and an efficient staff of masters." The tprms range from forty guineas per annum for young ladies over 15 years of age to thirty, guineas for those younger. Governess students—t.e., pupils who give so many hours weekly to assist in the tuition of juniors, are charged from twenty-five guineas for the first year to fifteen for the third. A g! owing description of the situation and advantages of the college was gi"n, and "diet unlimited and of the best quality" was added. At the commencement of the term in February last the young ladies assem- bled to spend a joyous period in this scholastic para- dise at Sunbury. A few were somewhat disconcerted at its forsaken look without and barrenness within, but the principal assured them that everything would shortly be perfection, and for the purpose of completing the arrangements, the lady being tempo- rarily short of cash, borrowed from each girl's pocket money, the sundry sums ranging from 28s. to Is. A considerable number of, if not all, the term-fees of the young ladies bad been paid in advanco. The tuition re- solved itself into mutual instruction by the pupils themselves and the only foreign governess was a kitchen domestic. Now for the diet unlimited." For breakfast at 7 30 there was a thick dole of new bread, innocent of butter, and a small basin of tea- tinted fluid. Dinner, which consisted of bone scrap, ings in a mesa of potato-squash, came occasionally at two o'clock; oftener at four, five, or six o'clock, and sometimes not until the day after. Tea was a repetition of breakfast. On one occasion the whole of the forty-five young lady pupils were knocking for their tea at Mrs. Path's private sitting-room door at eleven o'clock at night I The girls had no pocket-money left to buy their own clothes, as they did at first. All theirletters passed through the principal's hands, and there re- mained. In a fortnight the girls became weak and spiritless. One fainted four times in one day, and being unable to rise from her bed on Sunday morning, Feb- ruary 24, the principal sent up a single bit of dry toast. A poor orphan girl went delirious. One youngUady risked her secretly-kept last shilling on a telegram to her parents sixty miles away. No response came. By a desperate strategy she herself crawled with a smuggled letter to the post, and by the earliest train her mother hurried to the rescue. It was 4 30 p.m. on her arrival, and the lady found the forty-five girls clamouring for their dinner, Mrs. Pat6 preserved her coolness throughout this scene. On the telegram being mentioned the shilling was reluctantly returned, but no penny of the prepaid fee for the term could be extorted, and the lady left with her daughter, whose health had been cruelly undermined. Measures were taken to communicate with the friends of the unhappy pupils, and itthen transpired that there were not a few orphan girls placed lln Mrs. Path's care, and others whose parents are abroad; these had all paid the full fees in ad- vance. Upon one parent going to demand the fees and the linen of his daughter, he learned that a day or two before the principal had coolly informed her pupils one morning that the bailiffs were in the house, and that they must get out, and that day the railway station was crowded with careworn young ladies, who were assisted by villagers to pay their fares heme. One or two friendless orphans were taken in charity by residents in the neighbourhood. A joint reward is offered to any one who will give information that will lead to the apprehension of Mrs. Pat6 and her hUlband.

CAVALRY ORGANISATION. A lecture hao been delivered before the Royal United Service Institution by Major Boulderson on Cavalry Organisation. The chief points treated of in the paper were—the proper place for mounted in- fantry in the military system, the best armament for British cavalry, the respective values of lance and sword, and the best means for obtaining cavalry re- serves. Fo.- rapidly increasing our cavalry force, the lecturer would preferably take drilled men, able to ride,from the line, militia, and volunteers, to be trained as divisional cavalry, the duties of which could be learned in from four to six months, as had actually been done by the Peshawur Light Horse during the Indian Mutiny. The divisional cavalry, or mounted infantry, as it would be called, could not, in the lecturer's opinion, be employed for outpost duties or to make charges, which only cavalry proper could effectively perform, and history proved that to arm cavalry with an infantry fire-arm deteriorated them for the purpose of a charge in the field. In the discussion which followed the reading of the paper, General Beauchamp Walker, General Sir William Codrington, Lieut.-Colonel Lord Elcho, and Mr. Graves, 20th Hussars, took part. Lord Elcho thought that to arm the front rank with lance and sword and only the rear rank with fire arms was a re- trograde step, and he strongly protested against the idea that cavalry armed with the Martini Henry carbine, a weapon eleven inches shorter than the in- fantry rifle, would not be at a greater disadvantage if encountered by a similar force carrying the long rifle. The question was merely one of con- venience of carrying the rifle and Colonel Bower, who had introduced a system he found successfully used by the Kaffirs many years ago, had demon- strated that by the use of the Namaqua bucket, the long rifle could be easily carried without interfering with the use of the sword. General Steele said he had quite made up his mind that every cavalry man for general service should have a long range flre-arm if it could be properly car- ried. He did not approve of the proposal to arm the front rank differently from the rear rank, and he agreed with General Walker that the weight and force of the men were the deciding conditions in a cavalry charge, whether the lance or the sword was the weapon employed. A cordial vote of thanks was awarded to Major Boulderson for his paper.

THE CLEOPATRA VERDICT. In the Admiralty Division of the High Court of Adjudicature, judgment was given in this action (Dixon v. Burrell), which was brought by the con- tractor for bringing Cleopatra's Needle from Egypt to England against the owners and crew of the screw steamer Fitzmaurice, to ascertain the amount of salvage remuneration which should be paid for the recent services of the defendants in the Bay of Biscay. Mr, Butt, Q.C., Mr. Gainsford Bruce, and Mr. Hollams appeared on behalf of the plaintiff, and Sir Henry Jauies, Q.C., and Mr. Clarkson re- presented the defendants. Sir Robert Phillimore, after recounting the circumstances immediately connected with the salvage services, said the ingredients of a salvage service were, firstly the enterprise of the salvors to go out during tempests, and on other occa* sions risking their own lives to save life and property of their fellow subjects secondly, the ppsition of the property at the time it was found, that is whether it was in imminent peril; thirdly, the amount of labonr which was expended by the salvors; and lastly, the value of the property saved. The peculiar character of the property saved in the present case presented some difficulty in the application of the last of those elements. In ordinary cases the marketablo value was easily ascertained. It wns estimated and appraised by skilled persons. It could not even be said that the property before the Court was not marketable pro perty, inasmuch as it was stated in the affidavit of Mr. Burrell that the city of Glasgow and other cities would be glad to pay large sums for such an object. Then apart from the consideration of the mere market able value of the obelisk it was undoubtedly of great antiquity. It would be as absurd to consider the value of the obelisk only depended upon the value of the piece of granite as such as to estimate the pric3 of a Michael Angelo according to the value of the canvas upon which the painting, was depicted. So, after taking all the circumstances attending the existence of the present obelisk into con- sideration, he fixed the price at £ 25,000. Bearing in mind that the property was wholly abandoned by the owners, that it had been saved by great courage, labour, and skill exhibited under circumstances of considerable peril, and that in the opinion of the Elder Brethren if she had been struck in her derelict state she would certainly have sunk, besides occasion- iug great peril to the ship which came into contact with her, he thought he would be right in awarding a sum of X2000 with costs. On application by counsel execution waa stayed upon the usual terms.

SALE OF THE NOVAR COLLECTION. The recent sale of the Novar collection, which was formed by the late Mr. Munro, the intimate friend and executor of J. M. W. Turner, the great landscape painter, drew together a large assembly of art patrons and dealers, who completely filled the auction-room of Messrs. Christie, Mfenson, and Woods; and many persons who came were unable to get near enough tither to see the pictures or take part in the bidding. The first four works in the catalogue were by Bonington, and one was bought for 3000 guineas. This picture, the subject of which is the "Fish Market at Boulogne," was followed by the came artist's fine work, The Grand Canal, Venice;" which also went up to 3000 guineas. Twelve works by W. Rtty, B A., realised but small prices. TObe best were: The Graces," 170 guineas; a nymph with a dove, forty guineas; and The Good Samaritan," 160 guineas. Venus and AdoniB," after Titian, in the National Gallery, 220 guineas, and Diana and Endy mion," 300guineas. Then came a couple of scenes from Harlot's Progress," by Hogarth, the quarrel with her new lover, 620 guineas and the companion picture, "The Scene in Bridewell," 300 guineas. These two pictures are the only remaining works of this celebrated series, the others having been des- troyed by fire. Kitty Fisher, the celebrated actress, with dovas, by Sir J. Reynolds, P.B.A., 700 guineas. Portrait of the Hon. Mrs*. Stanhope as the personifi- cation of Contemplation," by Sir J. Reynolds, 3000 gmineas. Works by Stothard, Smirke, Wilkie, Wilson, and Cipriani followed, the prices realised being, in most instances, good, but not extra- ordinary. Then came the water-colour drawings by Turner, and they may be divided into three series. First, sixteen minute and beautifully-finished drawings, averaging Sin. by 6in. The second series was eight larger drawings, averaging 12lin. by 18in.; and the third consisted of eight drawings, which are engraved in Turner's Picturesque Views in England and Wales. As these drawings were reached there was considerable excitement, and when the firtt, a tiny vignette, was placed upon the easel, its appearance was greeted with a round of ap- plause. The first was called The Sea, the Sea I" and was bought for 200 guineas. The remaining fifteen in the first series wore as follows: The Simplon," 205 guineas; TheBellerophon," 175guineas; H&tel de Ville, Paris," 140 guineas; "H6tel de ViIle, Brussels," 130 guineas; Stirling," 304guineas; Edin- burgh," 410 guineas; "Inverness," 306 guineas; Glencoe,320 guineas; Lock Katrine," 320 guineas; Moonlight on the Nile," 250 guineas; Kenilwortb, Moonlight," 150 guineas; Valley of the Var," 400 guineas; The Walls of Rome: Tomb of Caius Sex tus," 205 guineas; Bhodes," 250 guineas; Acr°" polis of Athens," 125 guineas. Series 2.—"Lichfield*" 400 guineas; Oxford," 500 guineas; A River in Switzerlandsketch, 115 guineas; "Baths of Pfeffers: Bagalz, Pass of the Splugen," 1000 guineas; "Descent of the St. Gothard: Airolo in the distance," 500 guineas Lake of Lucerne," 590 guineas Eussnacht: Lake of Lucerne," 970 guineas; Zurich," a splendid example, 1200 guineas. The third series were: "Ashby de la Zouche," 500 guineas Chain Bridge over tbe Tef s," 1420 guineas; "Blenheim," 680 guineas Knaresborough," 1160 guineas; "Lowestoffe," 1140 guineas; "Malmes- burT," 700 guineas c. Pembroke Oastle," 600 guineas; Ulleswater," 650 guineas. The 32 water-colour drawings having been sold for the large sum of 16,015 guineas, the auctioneer pro' ceeded to sell nine large pictures by Turner. The first was "Ancient Italy; Oviat Banished from Rome," (36 inches by 48 inches), knoeked down for 5200 guineas. The companion picture, "Modern Italy," sold for 5000 guineas. The others were as follows: Bome View from Mount Aveatine," &850 guineas; Modern Bome Oampo Vaccino," 4450 guineas; St. Mark's-place, Venice, by Moonlight "Juliet after the Masquerade" (engraved), 5200 guineas; Van Tromp's Shallop at the Entrance to the Texel, 1645," 5200 guineas; Avalanche in the Valley of Aosta, Savoy," 910 guineas; "The Depar- ture of Adonis for the Chase," 1850 guineas; Kil- garrau Castle," 3400 guineas. These nine pictures sold for 41,560 guineas, so that the whole of Turner's works gold realised the enormous amount of 57,575 guineas. The result of the day's sale, comprising 105 Pictures and drawings, was .£73,519 5s. 6d., or an average of abouL£700 each.

BIGAMY OP AN ESCAPED COMMUNIST.—AT Lambeth Police-court, London, Deaire Theodore Joseph ToØln, a Frenchman, was charged, on remand, with feloniously marrying Emma Harris, his wife, Marie Virginie Boutellier, being alive. Mr. Mead, barrister, prosecuted on behalf of the Treasury; Mr. Bordman (Messrs. Parker and Bordman), defended. Emma Harris stated that she met the defendant at a hatter's factory where they both worked, and in June, 1877, was married to him at All Saints' Church, Newington. He never told her he was a married man. Evidence was also given by Sergeant Borrer, of the Detective Department, Scotland-yard, with regard to the first marriage, which was celebrated in 1874, at the town of d Engbien, Belgium; and a brother or the wife, who had come over to London at the instance of the Treasury, proved being present at such mar- riage. When faken into custody by Detective Edmond Beid, of the P Division, the prisoner, broken English, said, Marie bad wife; Emma good one." He added that, after his punishment, he should go back to Emma. The prisoner, who, it was stated, was an escaped Communist, was fully committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court. MR. OGLE'S BODY.—On the morning of the 7th inst. the rsmains of the Timet late lamented cor- respondent, Mr. Ogle, were taken On board her Ma- jesty's ship Wizard, Captain Doxat, to be conveyed to the Pireeus, where they were to be received by the Greek Ministers. The coffin, covered by the English flag, was carried from the church to the ship's boat by a number of the sailors, preceded by marines. A box containing votive wreaths to be placed on the coffin on its arrival in Athens accompanied it. Two of these wreaths deserve special notice, being the grateful ef- fering of the women and children of Boulgarini and Portaria, to whose assistance Mr. Ogle went at the peril of his life. IT may seem a little remarkable that, in these days, the greatest part of the white-washing is done- with ink. WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE.—Professor Rogers pre- sided at a public meeting in the Corn Exchange at Oxford, in favour of extending the Parliamentary suf- frage to women householders. The speakers included Miss Lydia Becker, Mrs. L. Ashworth Hallett, Miss A. P. Downing, and the Bev. Mark Pattison, reator of Lincoln College. There was a large attendance, in- cluding many ladies and members of the University; and a resolution in favour of the objects of the association was passed, with but very few dissen- tients. It was afterwards reeolved that the chairman should sign a petition on behalf of the meeting to the same effect. THE other night a suburban butoher was in- vited to attend a popular lecture, but positively de- clined, even when a ticket was offered to him. When j pressed for a reason, he replied: If I should go I I should SEE BO many people who owe me for meat that I it wotild spoil all my enjoyment."

MADAME TEIAL AND Madame Rachel, whose real name is said to be Levison, and whose age has been variously stated by herself and other .PjfPj6 f anything between 60 and 85-she stated it, indeed, to be eighty more than ten I years ago, according to certain evidence given on a previous occasion—is so well known by name to the public that it would have been almoetan affectation to have ignored in the present trial the fact that she had stood before in a simdar position. The fact that the previous trial was referred to in the evidence of the prosecutrix, and that a curious explanation of it as a conepiracyto obtain from fcer a sum of £80,000 was given by Madame Eaehel herself, relieved tbe jury trem the nece«S)t.y ot pretending that they had never heard of Madame Bachel s name before. The cir- cumstances ot the former trial ^ere discredit- able to olher people besides the prisoner, »r,d it is unnecessary to refer to them here, as the incidents of the present fraud, of which Mr8, Per^faS,; en. aade the ™tim, were of a very different character. Mrs. Pearse, according to her evidence, made the acquaintance of Madame Bachei in part of 1876, and somewhere about the middle of last year began the regular use of certain Eastern water, of which Madame Rachel was the vendor at a guinea thej bottle. She was told, and apparently she believed, that the astute old woman wbo was convicted was the inventor of a pro- cess of enamelling or beautifying, by which aperfect complexion could be ensured to an advanced age! and that at ^dy occuPying a conspicuous position in society had paid her one if not tw £ thousand gui- neas for this costly luxury. It does not appear, how- ever, that Mrs. Pearse was sufficiently attracted by this tempting suggestion, until the use of the wash which she had obtained from the prisoner produced a rash upon her face. On her going in Bome distress to complain of this and ask for advice the impostor into whose hands she had fallen commenced the process of terrorism and extortion for which the five years' penal servitude to wbieh she was on Thursday sentenced is no whit too sejereapunishment. She was told that she was that the pores of her skin wer » ^^t even the application of soap or Pr°duce permanent dis- figurement, and that nothing but the completion of Madame Bachel s..xpensive process could save her. Upon the victim s protest that it would be absolutelv impossiweiorner to raise the sum suggested,, the ex- tortionate abated her demand from a T° hundred. two hundred, and ultimately fifty 'Pounds. Mrs. Pearse being unable to raise even the latter sum without I kev kar^«. a -uggeetion was made that she should deposit her jewels for the amount; and to encourage her in this step, Madame Bachei ^invented the most extraordi- na'T and grotmwus l,e by which even her career has been distmguisbed. It Was actually asserted that the Oountes y 8 jewels, which were supposed to havebeen stolen at a railway station, and for which a £ 1000 reward had been offered, had been in reality sur. reptitiously pledged with Madame Rachel for the lame purpoBe as that for which Mrs. Pearse was invited to do the same, and were then actually lying in the next room. One would have thought that the lady's curiosity would have induced her to ask to be allowed te look at them, especially as diamonds were spoken ef as big as the top of Madame Bachele thumb; b„t Mrs. PearB6j Pperh™a £ £ m engrossed m her own troubles, appears to have atotawed from this request. It is clear that M?8', 18 e»mpt from at least one of the foioles common to her sex. The bait, however, proved sufficiently attractive to induce her to confide'her jewels to Madame Bachel's care, and eventually to glTe her a written authority to pledge them. It was not until this last step had been taken that Mrs. he°^ /ft?f hU8band of theentanglementinto ♦wo betw^n a xd aft€r a fruitie88 lnfcerTieW ° £ gentleman and Madame Bachel thV„f £ T Wer? commenced which resulted in f injP0Btor to penal servitude for five years.

ah fv, a FL°or)S IN LONDON. AU the Southern districts of London, and also TOSrftlth00d' North of the Thames, were f0^8' C°1?8e<luent upon the heavy rain, nearly three inches being the registered fall at Green- wich. A great amount of water bad been lying in *™bfi0ad',a-d 8b0ut 8ix °'clock there was a "P»-aTaI 1DJmany Parte- The highway SX mer; and. every branching and do, chning lane a torrent. Soon every cellar in the neighbourhood was flooded. The water covered the footboards of the tramway cars, and even reached the insides of these vehicles. It is ^at trafflc waa greatly impeded where £ thwlfi nn been 8t°PPed- Matters continued in this state till noon, when the flood fell, and it began to be possible to ascertain its results, and in some mea- sure to remedy them. The damage done was found to be exceedingly great. The neighbourhood of the White Horse, in the Brixton-road, has suffered most. It is there the waterspouts were thickest. This arose from the fact that a stream called the Effra, whose course followed the line of the present road when the most of the district was meadow land, is now covered over, and tbe crown of the brickwork TH "T' • a below the surface of the street, jsy tne immense pressure of this watercourse the brickwork was burst in many places, and the gravel and pavement above displaced. Several old drains i -j' though amply sufficient when they were ^or ^e requirements of the vicinity, are now wholly inadequate during heavy rain, gave way in this road, and added to the inundation. Many persons imagined that the great main sewer which was constructed here some half-dozen years ago had opened, but though it was fully choked with the flood, being well built and deeply laid, it held together. Throughout the whole day the occupants of the houses and shops were engaged in pumping and banng out their premises. The greatest sufferers were of course those whose goods were, like groceries ana other edibles, of a very perishable nature. The well-known establishment called the Bon Marche, near .Brixton Station, may be taken as a sample of what occurred. The foundations of this large store are laid deep, and much business is done on the basement flat. The water there rose to a height of nearly art. rushing through the traps in the cellars, and soon the goods on the lowest floor were swimming about in a vast tank. Wearing apparel of all kinds was half spoiled in one department. Hogsheads of sugar and cases of coffee and tea were wholly ruined. A great number of the poor people who inhabit the rather mean streets which at some points connect I .Mixion.road with Clapham-road must be counted amongst the sufferers. Many of them had not much to lQle, it is true, but that little has been greatly damaged. The flood even reached to Olap- kftI1?"r9ad. There is much talk in the district as to the cause of the accident; and it is admitted, even by fbe district surveyors, that the sewers are not of sufficient capacity to carry Off a maxi- mum rainfall. The rain was no doubt excessive, seeing v *wo inches fell within twenty-four hours. •fti u the flood subsided very suddenly and swiitly about noon is held by many persons to point J^missness at Deptford, where the sewage of this district is pumped, so as to give it a fall into the fl^r" Was a meeting of the Lambeth Vestry, ana, many of the vestrymen having been losers by the events of the morning, they were full of the subject, and made their complaints loudly heard. A search- rng no doubt be made by the Metropolitan Board of Works. 1

TEM-Ulc exists among women a secret tie, like that antong prieate of the same faith. They hate each other, yet protect each other's interests. ACCIDENT IN CHELSEA.—A furniture van was l! a* the Piccadilly end of Sloane-street, when the horses took fright and started off at a furious pace, towards Sloane-equare. A man wheel- ing a hand truck was knocked down, and had a narrow escape of being killed, the truck being smashed. The horses continued their mad career, and feara were entertained that serious mis- c let would be done. Two carriages, one be- longing to the Prince of Wales, were standing in front of Messrs. Hawthorne's, eoachbuilders, fu if third was being wheeled into the roadway, as J, 6 u1*?8 the van came along. The van caught the wheels of the latter, and drove it into the other two carnages. The shock seems to have had the effect of tnomentarily checking the horses, and they were instantly secured. It was thought that the car. riages were smashed, but, with the exception of some grazee, they escaped without much injury. The man wno was knocked down was conveyed to a hospital, his head and face being badly cut. FOR TilE BETTER PROTECTION of the ships in the Mediterranean from torpedo attack, steps are to be taken for the immediate despatch of a large number or steam^launches to that station, and astearaer will be hired to take them out. The Invincible will also em- Iamid& ^ese k°a*a f°r the squadron at Two barristers in a county oourt-one'of whom bad grey hair, and the other, though just as old a man as his learned friend, bad hair which looked suspiciously black had some altercation about a queotion of practice, in which the gentle- man with the dark hair remarked to his opponent, "A person at your time of life" (look- ing at the barrister's grey need) "ought to hawe long enough experience to know what is customary in such Sr8^" • 0U may 8kare at my grey hair if you like. My hair Will be grey as iong as I live, and yours will be black as long as you dye 1"

OUR MILITARY POSITION. ■ READY FOR WAR. {trom thell Times.") A few weeks have effected a transformation which may be almost termed dramatic. The regiments, with few exceptions, have been brought up to the increased peace strength laid down by the latest rei Illations viz., a little over 900 of all ranks. The weakest of them only want some 30 or 40 men each to complete. Moreover, there are scarcely, any men who in the course of another fortnight will not be fully clothed, equipped, and sufficiently drilled to take their place in the ranks in the event of an emergency. It is true that a small proportion of the recruits are too young and weakly to go at once on active service, but a few months' regular living, good food, drill, and gymnastics will make such an improvement in their physique that they may be reckoned on for the first reserve of an army in the field. In addition to these deductions for immediate purposes, an addition of nearly 200 men per battalion will be required to bring the line battalions of the 1st Army Corps up to their full war strength of 1097 of all ranks, or in all about 250 men per battalion. This makes for the 18 line battalions in question 4100 men. These would, we imagine, be furnished by the 10,000 men or so of the infantry portion of the First Class Army Reserve, thus leaving nearly 6000 men for the2nd Army Corps. We have left out of calculation the three battalions of Guards, for out of seven battalions of a strength of 5913 these could be easily completed to war strength, without including the Guards portion of the First Class Army Reserve, which, indeed, is comparatively insignificant in numbers. The six regiments of cavalry belonging to the 1st Army Corps have been rendered efficient by the purchase of a number of excellent five and six year old horses, so that they could now on an average turn out four squadrons of 100 rank and file each. The greatest improvement of all has been the formation of regimental transport, by which each regiment of cavalry and battalion of infantry is ren- dered independent-save as regards the carriage of tents and camp equipage—of the general transport of the army. It will be easy with the present cadre to so increase the regimental transport that it will be able to carry the tents also. The 2nd Army Corps has just received its orders for mobilisation. It will be necessary, in the first place, to provide it with regimental transport, and, in the second place, to obtain more horses for the cavalry and men for the infantry. Provisional arrangements have, we understand, been made by the Remount Committee for at once ob- taining both the troop and transport horses needed, and, judging from the fact that in the 1st Army Corps the drivers have been rendered tolerably efficient after only six weeks' training, we may feel confident that before the end of May the regimental transport of the 2nd Army Corps will be equally ready to take the field. As regards the men, it is to be regretted that several of the infantry battalions constituting the 2nd Army Corps have been so weakened by giving volun- teers to the 1st Armv Corps that they are mere cadres, and the remainder at home have not got, even if up to their establishments, more than 603 of all ranks. After deducting recruits and men medically unfit, it is pro- bable that the average number fit for active service is under 500 of all ranks. It has been suggested that a second brigade of Guards would form a portion of the 2nd Army Corps, but such an arrangement would not be desirable, for, even admitting that there were 100 men per battalion of Guards in the Reserve-and this, we are convinced, is far in excess of the true number-there would not be then enough to furnish six battalions of Guards, without any deduction for re- cruits and the medically unfit. Moreover, it would be indispensable that some men should be left to per- form home duties, trfcin recruits, and supply a reserve for the field battalions. We may assume, therefore, that the second Corps d'Arntfe would consist entirely of line bsttalions, of which twelve now in garrison in the Mediterranean might form a portion. The twelve regiments might be relieved by weaker line battalions from England and militia regiments. The Mediterranean battalions are each 896 of all ranks strong, and would only need some 200 men, exclusive of officers, to raise them to a full war establishment. Thus, to complete the in- fantry of the second Army Corps some 7800 men would be needed. Now, after supplying the needs of the 1st Army Corps, there would remain of the infantry portion of the First Class Army Beserve about 5800 men available for the 2nd Army Corps. Thus it would be necessary to draw 2000 men from the Militia Reserve. This would leave about 23,000 men of the latter available for other purposes. It is evident, therefore, that, if necessary, we could have by midsummer three army corps, or rather over 100,000 men, ready to send from England to any seat of war, and that these army corps, judging from the experience of the last three months, would be com- plete in every requisite for the field. The only difficulty would be as regards transport horses and troop horses for the cavalry. But we are entitled to assume that by paying a good price these would be forthcoming. We have 19 regiments of line and three of Household Cavalry at home, and for three army corps 18 would be needed. We have thus sufficient, but only just sufficient, cavalry for an army of 100,000 men, and it would be, perhap3, desirable in case of a serious war, not only to add a depot squadron to each regiment in the field, but also to raise two or three additional regiments. We are justified in be- lieving that our artillery is the most efficient in the world, and that nothing but a few additional horses is required to enable us to turn out sufficient of that arm for three army corps. These would require 12 Horse Artillery and 33 Field Artillery batteries, or a total of 270 guns. The war establishment of a Horse Artillery battery if, officers and officers' chargers excluded, 172 men and 157 horses. This would give for 12 batteries 2064 non commissioned officers and men, and 1884 horses. According to the estimates, we have 2832 non-commissioned officers and men, and 1818 horses, exclusive of the riding establishment. We could, therefore, supply the men, and by taking all the horses available, we should be only, after deduct. ing sick, &c., deficient of, say, 100 horses, which could be easily and quickly obtained. As to the field artillery, the total war strength of thirty-three field batteries would be, non -commissioned officers and men 6069, and horses 4782. We actually possess 7688 non-commissioned officers and men and 3918 horses. There are, therefore, enough men and a deficiency of about 1000 horses. Some additional horses have, we believe, been lately pur- chased. For the ammunition columns we should need 3302 non-commissioned officers and men and 3924 horses. Neither men nor horses need be of as good quality as those employed in the batteries, and the men could be furnished from the artillery portion of the Army Reserve and the Militia Beserve and volun- teers from the militia.

WILD ANIMALS IN INDIA.—A correspondent of the Field makes the very serious statement that in at least one district of India-Miuapore-" tigers and panthers are systematically preserved by the magistrates" for the purpose of affording sport to Europeans of the official class. The same statement, we are perfectly aware, has been made before, but in this case the correspondent relates his own personal experience, showing how his endeavours to shoot tigers were systematically impeded by natives who had received orders to throw every obstacle in his way, and how he actually received an abusive letter from the collector" of the district, threatening him with a proseeution for trespass. He also states his willingness to produce documentary proof of all his statements. The bearing of this matter is easily understood from one instance given in the letter of a tiger which was shot in January by an official, which had lived, to the writer's certain knowledge, for eighteen months in a small jungle of about 200 acres. During that period of time he killed one man and upwards of a hundred head of cattle. This tiger, the writer states, "could have been killed with the greatest ease over any one of his numerous kills; but no, he was solicitously watched over till the great man came." This is specifically stated to have taken place at a place called Newarree, forty miles from Mirzapore, and it is added that the people groan and submit." Statements thus definitely made give a very serious aspect to the question, and we trust it will be ventilated in Parliament, and thoroughly investigated. The same thing has been more vaguely stated so often that we fear there cannot but be some truth in it; and if so, it will be felt in- tolerable that native life and property should be coolly destroyed in order to afford sufficiently exciting "sport" to a dominant race. On the other hand, if the allegations be unfounded, the sooner that. shown the better.—Live Btoek Journal. THE FORGED LEASES CASE.—At the Central Criminal Court, before the Recorder, Bdward Downs, 42, solicitor, who had pleaded guilty to several in- dictments charging him with obtaining large sums of money by false leases, was brought up for judgment. Mr. Poland, for the prosecution, briefly stated the facts of the case, and said that the total amount ob- tained by the prisoner was over £ 30,000. Mr. Besley urged in mitigation of punishment that the prisoner had borne a high character, and that he had a wife and family dependent on him. The Recorder said it was a very serious case, and he sentenced the prisoner to twenty years' penal servitude. BOILEB EXPLOSION.—A boiler recently ex- ploded at the mill of Messrs. Thomas Emmott and Sons, Oldham. One half of the building was destroyed, and several people have been hurt. It is feared that OMk ftwo persons hate been buried in the ruins. The btiifdlng afterwards took fire.

CIGAR ENDS. The English are very often and very justly accused of being a wasteful people, and the modes ia which they exhibit this traic in their character are of the moat infinite and surprising variety. It may b.a sup- posed that they are not very far advanced towards amending their ways when it is remembered that they are very seldom even aware that they are charge- able with the weakness in question. Perhaps a lesson wh'ch has just been read by the people of Stuttgart to the world will sooner or later come home to the people of this country, and teach them tbe advantages of economy even when practised 021 the humblest Ecale. In the capital of Wurtembcrg a good many cigars are smoked in tho course of eypry year. Per- haps, indeed, it would not be going too far to say that a great many are f-raoked in the course of every twenty-four hours. Now evirjr on- of these cU rs may be taken to have had an unsmoked end to it, and each such epd, however carefully smoked, must contain a roll of tobacco — or what serveS as tobacco in Wurtemberg—of at least a centimetre in length. Taking one cigar with another, and the careless smokers with the rest, it would, perhaps be safe to say that on an average the twelfth part of every cigar is left unsmoked. The idea of utilising these ends ia not by any means novel. It has beeO familiar for some years past to the gamins of ParlS, who have made a practice of picking up all the cigar- ends outside the theatres and in the streets, with a view sometime, no doubt, of smoking them, but more often of selling them for fumigating purposes to the market-gardeners and florists of the suburbs..At Stuttgart it appears that the street boys are either too idle or too industrious to indulge in this occupation and until lately the cigar-ends have lain neglected )11 the rather unsavoury gutters. Within the last feft weeks or months, however, the matter has been take" in hand in a really serious style, and a society of charitable persons has been at work" col- lecting" cigar ends, just as children collet eggs or butterflies, or as impulsive young Isdi^ collect stamps and monograms. The result of their labours was a harvest of rather ill-looking scraps containing various proportions of tobacco, which they sold for 400 marks, to be distributed to the poor. AO "appeal" is now being made to the smokers in soB*8 parts of France to take care of their cigar-ends, we may expect before long to hear of men cases for the old ends of their cigars as well as for tbe cigars themselves.

THE AMERICAN SILVER ACT. — The Jiefll York Nation says that the real silver-men have already begun to perceive the inherent treachery and fraud of the present Silver Act and the mockery of (hail' money which it offers. The House Committee Oil Banking has accordingly reported in favour of leglB; lation compelling the Treasury to issue certificates Ot par against the deposit of silver bullion, like the gold certificates now issued. This would get rid at blow of the restrictions on the injection of sil*e into the circulation created by the limits tions which the Act now in operation plac6* on the coining powers of Treasury, and 0 of any limitation imposed by the temporary scarcity of mints. It is true that the committee dõ not PrL" pose to make the certificates a legal tender for anJ thing but Government dues, but they would nefet" theless constitute a working addition to the circulation and would furnish a market to the silver dealers which they would be able to share in the profit b<& made by the Government on the coinage. It loo*: more and more, in fact, as if "the money power" got the better of the people" in this last bit legislation also. The Nation would suggest, means of making the issue of certificates a final complete measure of relief, that the should be compelled to issue them, bullion or no bul' lion, to the amount say S10 a head of population, 0 8400,000,000 in all, and divided on that basis aUlO members of Congress for distribution in their reepee" tive States and Territories, to adult citizens not lull" tics or convicts. In no other way that our porary knows of can the poor man get his share the national money, or the money be applied on verv axle of the wheels of industry." ø TORPEDOES.—In the present crisis, when may be involved in a deadly conflict with the Bar bars of the North at any moment (says a contempo- rary), a few facts not generally known about torpf does will probably prove interesting. AltboO^ submarine infernal machines of some kind or °Qa are believed to have been in use as far back as 16^ the first time the word torpedo seems to have given to these machines was in 1777. In that year 0 American, named David Bushnell, invented a desttØwø tive submarine instrument, to which he gave name torpedo, probably having in view qualities attributed to the electric ray, the scieD^ name of which fish is Torpedo vulgaris. 1777, of course, vast strides have been in this peculiar mode of naval warfare, and Amef' appears to be able to take credit for most of these provements. An American, named Fulton, gave jØ impetus to the manufacture of such appliances « 1797 by certain inventions, and again, in 1841, Col°vj Colt (whose revolvers are so well-known) mooted employment of electricity as a means of firing t»w submarine machines. So far, notwithstanding excessive destructive powers—or, it may be, J of this—torpedoes have played but a very small P in modern warfare. If war should break out bet^9 this country and Bnssia, however, there can be doubt but that they will prove most formi^9 weapons on both sides.. 00 RAISING THE PRICE CI/I TOBACCO.—MEETJ^ of the wholesale and retail dealers in tobacco in to North of England were held in consider tbe difficulties occasioned to the trade by recent imposition of an extra duty of 4d. on tobacco. The retailers resolved that all '$ tobaccos be advanced 4d. per lb. halfpen^y^ the ounce, halfpenny in the two ounces, and Jib. That all common tobacco be 3 £ d. per oZ,yM the half or., 6 £ d. the two ounces, and Is. Jib. The wholesale dealers determined to a the price of manufactured tobacco not less per lb. in all qualities above 4s. per lb. and 3d. per 10, on lower priced goods. The meeting strongly.r. mended the retailers of tobacco to make the mittito if price Sid. per oz. The nearly obsolete farthÏØg j coming into use among purchasers of tobacco- meeting of tobacconists was held at the Falstaff J change, Market-place, Manchester, for the purpoge,, to ec. considering what steps should be taken with reep aii, the price of tobacco, in view of the proposed II tional duty of 4d. in the pound. There was a attendance. The Chairman, in opening the ings, remarked that the tobacco trade had for years been a very bad one, and now was the dealers to make an advance in the price. Aftef & siderable discussion it was resolved that the all tobaccos should be immediately raised a per ounce. It was subsequently agreed that ciation of tobacco dealers of Manchester and should be formed, no organisation of any kind sent existing in connection with the trade. THE Loss or THE ETTRYDICB.—The of the Admiralty has issued the following cop?L telegram received from the commander-in-chief jjr America containing the names of certain wela Of charged from her Majesty's ship Earydice ft sailed from Bermuda, and of men discharged je# for passage to England: Ship's corporal: J. Saunders. Ordinary seamen: Charles Alfred W. Walker, Peter Lamond, Russell, Henry Underwood, John Scanlan, McDermott, James Pearce.—Discharged from before she left Bermuda. Following discharged her for passage from Terror. Ship's corporal Nye. Colour-serieant, B.M.L.I.: Henry Privates, B.M.L I.: Alfred E. Howe, Alfred John Saunders, John Graham, John Young, W, jje* Hull, Edwin Parker, Frederick Thorne, Hilbert, Henry Smith. From Argus.-O.nÍtt' seaman: J. Tozer. Late ship's F. Derrick. Late captain's cook: B.M.L.I. James Clvmo. Domestic: H. W. }(# From Bover.—Ordinary seamen: Henry well, Valentine Wildaon. From Bullfinch seaman: William Larkin. From Plover.— seaman: Edward Green. From Zephyr.jjjj»^ Edward Beale. From Martin.—Ordinary: Shascon. Also following military passengers Engineers: Captain Louis Fcrrier (already jj. Corporals: W. J. Curtis, J. Ewer. Sappersj Lairg, J. Stone, W. Lucas. 46th Regiment: < H. Mansbridge." n fri LAST TEAR 30,029 tons of fresh beef, worth £ 1,670,000, were imported from A into the United Kingdom. What became of Did the butchers buy It, and sell it, as Why, for this is the practical side of the has not the price of butcher's meat gone do*v Truth. ø DISSECTION OF A DEAD JOITRNALIST.—^ A&EJT seline, the Badical journalist who died so the other day, was a member of the Mutual A QK Society mentioned some time ago, this being death in its rankf. His body accordingly ul,(l fofU. dissection. The frontoparietal sutures were ^ity ossified, as usual at the age of 49. The Si that, were the same thing observable in the other persons living by their tyrains, it that mental activity retards ossification. *0$, | THE VINTAGE PROSPECTUS IN VICTOB1^ rally were greatly improved, excepting in the | district, where the phylloxefra had made it^ ef0r ance. Vigorous measures were being taken cate tbe pest co Printed aad published by th#j proprietor, ROBERTS, at hia General ? Printing Office, JJ> lane, Cardigan, in the parish of Saint County of Caiclig&n.-o&ty trd&y April 20, *8'