The Aberdare Times

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. In the House of Lords, on July 16, the Royal Assent was (by commission) given to a large number of Bills, chiefly of a private nature. „ T).„ Lord Redezdale withdrew the Churchyards Bill and intro- duced ai amended measure in its place. The Dogs (Ireland) Bill was read a second time, after some remarks from the Lord Chancellor and Lord Stanley of Alderley, indicating certain modifications which in their ludsnieBt the Bill should rcc6iv6 in Committee. Their Lordships then adjourned. The House of Commons met again on Monday for the first time after the re-elections, when the new Ministers took their seats, and the new writs were issued for the re- maining elections consequent on the completion of the Ministry, and the various pr imotions to the Peerage and the Bench which have taken place. Among numerous other notices given of questions and motions, Mr. Horsman gave notice that on Friday he would call attention to the state of affsira on the Continent and would ask questions, and Mr. Laing gave notice that he would ask Lord Stanley for an assurance that no steps should be taken to commit this country to intervention in the struggle on the Continent until Parliament has had an opportunity of expressing its opinion on such a policy; Mr. Watkin gave notice that he would move for a Com- mission to inquire into the protracted pressure in the money-market and into our currency system generally and Mr. Buxton gave notice that on theSlst July he would call attention to the Jamaica Report, and would move a resolution. Mr. Gladstone gave notice that on Thursday he would move that the four bills relating to the representation of the people be discharged. On going into Committee of Supply, a discussion on the supply of breech-loaders was commenced by Captain Vivian, who expressed a strong approval of the Snider principle, and was continued by Sir C. Russe'l, who predicted that the introduction of breech-loading and repeating rifles would lead to modifications in our drill and to improvements in military transport; by Mr. J. B. Smith, who mentioned that he had brought the needle-gun under the notice of Mr. Fox Maule, then Secretary at War, fifteen years ago; and by Mr. H. Seymour, who asked how many of our troops in India were armed with breech-loaders. Colonel Knox, Mr. Newdegate, and Oliphant also made some remarks on the subject. General Peel explained that the Government, having had their attention called to the importance of breech-loaders, not only by The Times' correspondence from the seat of war, but by the reports of the British officers attached to the Austrian and Prussian armies, had ordered 100,000 Enfields to be converted in the Government manufactories, and he expected that another 100,000 would be converted by the trade, so that by the end of the financial year 200,000 excellent breech-loaders would be in the hands of our troops. Up to the present moment the Government had confined themselves entirely to conversion, and had taken no steps to order new rifles. The Marquis of Hartington approved the course proposed to be taken by General PeeL The House then went into Committee of Supply, and the votes for the Inland Revenue and Post-office and Packet Services were agreed to. The remaining Orders (68 in number) were disposed of, and the House adjourned.

INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. The following are extracts from the "Military Corre- spondent of The Times with the Prussian army" :— LONGING FOB ACTION. All the sickly and weak were draughted out of the ranks, and were sentenced to be left there—a sure sign that long and severe marches are expected, and that it is intended the army shall move free of all possible encumbrance. In vain did those who were selected to remain behind protest that they were the strongest men in the regiment, and call upon their comrades to bear witness to their marching powers. The doctors were goodnaturedly obdurate, and the men selected had to bear the disappointment of not going for- ward with the army, being solaced with the assurance that they should rejoin as soon as possible. Those destined to be left behind were far from numerous—indeed, their number was surprisingly small, for the army has been making long marches and bivouacking out nearly every night in most changeable weather. CAPTURED BAGGAGE WAGGONS. A number of baggage waggons have fallen into the hands of the conquerors, and, after being employed in helping to carry the wounded from the field, joined in the long lines of carriages which followed the Prussian army. They were easily distinguished in the line of march by their light yellow colour, which contrasted strongly with the dark blue with which all the Prussian military carriages are painted. Every hour shows how much more severely the Austrians have felt their defeat at Koniggratz than was at first sup- posed in this army. KINDNESS TO THE WOUNDED. The morale of this army has now risen high, and the soldiers are convinced that the Austrian troops cannot stand against them—a feeling which is no contemptible augury of future victories. But, though the soldiers are confident in themselves, their arms, and their leaders, their confidence never steps beyond just bounds they are tender and kind to the wounded and prisoners, not only by attending to their wants, but by showing them much consideration, and never exulting over the victory in their presence, which could not be expected from men serving in the ranks. But the Prus- sian system of recruiting enlists in the army as privates men of high education and refined feelings, and these easily in- fluence their comrades, who are naturally warm-hearted, to act kindly and charitably to the unfortunate. THE SOLDIERS BUYING PROVISIONS. The panic among the country people caused by the defeat of the Austrians at the battle of Koniggratz did not extend into the country lying south of the Elbe, and here the in- habitants have not left their houses. All was busy and full ot life, peasants were working in the fields, women and children were abundant in the villages, and the soldiers, who seem to be supplied plentifully with money by their friends at home, for their pay is small, bought eggs, butter, milk, and poultry as they passed along, but in many cases they had little return for their money, for eggs are difficult to carry in crowded ranks, and butter is inclined to melt when stowed away in a knapsack, so that many found when they reached the halting place that their prudence in pro- viding themselves with eatables was vain, and that they were disappointed of the luxuries they had meant to enjoy with their mid-day meal. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SOLDIERS. As soon as the troops marched in the town of Herman- mesletz and were dismissed from their parades a rush was made at the shops. The soldiers crowded in at the doors and up to the counters, calling loudly for tobacco and cigars. These were not to be had in any quantity, but coffee was plentiful at first, though the whole in the town was soon bought. Then arose difficulties about money, for the sol- diers do not yet thorougbly understand the Austrian coinage, and the shopkeepers tried to take the utmost advantage of their ignorance; but the men protested loudly against flagrant cases of imposition, and amid a great deal of noise and loud talking, the bargains were concluded generally con- siderably to the advantage of the dealer. ALL IS BUSTLE AND CONFUSION Every taproom is filled by an importunate crowd eager for food, beer, and wine; knapsacks are piled on the benches rifles stand thick in the corners, and their owners press round the bar, each trying by dint of noise to secure the services of the landlord for himself. But, though they are hungry and thirsty, the soldiers are always good humoured. Differences of opinion often arise as to the comparative value of kreutzers and silber groschen; but when the dis- pute rises high the landlord calls in the assistance of his wife, and then almost invariably the soldier has to retire worsted from the contest, exposing discontentedly to his comrades the small handful of little coins he has received in change for a dollar. As soon as it becomes dark all noise ceases, and all bustle is stilled. The men disappear to go to sleep. Some lie in the houses 08 straw, others in sheds, many in the gardens, for the house accommodation is not sufficient for them, and many seem wisely to prefer the summer air to a crowded room. Thus the town, before so noisy, is perfectly still, and no sound is heard except the monotonous step of a sentry or the uneasy neigh of some restiff horse; but the arms piled, with the bayonets fixed, beside each house, with the knapsacks laid beside them packed and ready to be instantly taken up, tell that the soldiers are ready, and that the least alarm would fill the streets with armed men ready to march. SEARCHING FOB THE ENEMY. Writing from Chrast, the correspondent says In the meantime, amid rumours of probable peace the army still continues its steady advance, and Its march Is continued with the same precautions and the same circum- spection as if the campaign was only beginning, and as if an unbroken enemy was in front, ready to take advantage of the slightest error. Advanced guards are sent forward who carefully feel the way for the marching columns, sending scouts to the top of every rise, who, standing out sharp against the sky, peer into the distance; riflemen move in dotted lines through the fields at an even pace with the troops marching on the road, and tread through the corn as carefully as if they were sportsmen beating a covert, or, slipping Into a thicket, now appear, now disappear in the foliage much like hounds drawing for a fox. The troops on the road push along as steadily and perseveringly as on the first day they entered Saxony. The infantry, with their trousers turned up and boots often drawn on outside them, trudge along merrily, and seem little to feel the heavy yellow cowskin knapsacks and mess tins for cooking which they carry on their backs. HOW THEY GET RID OF THE HORSES! ?f Koniggratz the positions that had been occupied by the field batteries on either side could be traced by the numbers of dead horses lying where the timbers and waggons had stood. Often twenty or thirty lay dead in a line near together along the front of the battery, and ethers limped about near them, and though always moving never tried to go away from their dead companions They too, were soon snetched npon the ground, for the Krankentrager t?er9UuUJy Put a carbine behind the ear of every wounded animal, and quickly put it out of pain. FURTHER PROGRESS OF THE ARMY. Again we have marched through a country rich and abun- dant in supplies, and from which the natives have not fled t j ^5» £ ar,m and cottages are built of brick thickly-coated with clean white plaster, and in the smallest hamlet there is always a church with a steenle snrmnnnt«? by the large globelike top, often gilt, wWchP^^culi^ to Slavonic countries. No wooden cottages ar«f £ J £ here for the people are richer than those north of the Elbe and we left behind us when we crossed that river the nine'wood huts, so many of which have been lately destroyed bvtht flames kindled by the fire of artillery. The houses both out- side and inside, are beautifully clean; the furniture U of plain deal, without paint, scoured to a whiteness which is unknown in northern Bohemia; the brass handles of drawers and the steel and Iron round the fireplaces shine bright from much polishing and reflect back distorted images of the soldiers, who, in their dusty clothes and heavy boots dirty from marching, look much out of place in the houses to which they are billeted. SAD EFFECTS OF WAR. The Inhabitants sigh sadly over the war, for their crops have been injured; soldiers ofbotbarmies have been billeted in their houses, for the Austrians retreated through here two days ago and some of them have sons or brothers in the Austrian service. But there is no ill-will between them and the Prussian soldiers. Indeed, the latter are always so good- natured that it would be difficult even for churls to quarrel with them and such the natives of the Elbe-thai are not. They would prefer peace to war; they suffer deeply in having their houses turned into barracks, their cornfields into bivouacs, their barns and outhouses into stables for war horses, but they do net blame the soldiers for injuries for the cause of which the latter are as innocent as the inhabi- tants themselves they give the men what they can; nor do the villagers and peasants attempt to impose upon the soldiers, though the town shopkeepers, more keenly alive to their own interests, generally manage to make a profit out of the difference of the Prussian and Austrian coinage. A QUEER PLACE FOR HEADQUARTERS! Head-quarters are to-night established in a monastery here. The priests are still here, but have given up thd greater part of the house to Prince Frederick Charles and his staff. Military waggons and horses are picketed inside d7>tJ?l?Ka8tery cloBe soldier servants go whistling up and yaHse. £ £ ,'corridors and among the cells, saddle-bags and soon be vervutoUn<l?ed uP"8taIrs, and the monastery would keep flittine aboSt w.e,re 14 not that the priests to both officers and «ni^lure y proffering food and drink both as the enemies ot their countrv^^Ugh vhey lool £ 01i tu> a* »qr FSSSAARIS and fast, and they practise that charity which should be the connecting link among all Christian creeds SCENE ON SUNDAY. The church bell sounding slowly, probably for vespers, for to-day is Sunday, and a few women with shawls in Bohemian fashion thrown over their bare heads disappear- ing into the church door, and just seen within crossing themselves with the holy water, would make the whole scene one of perfect peace; but the piles of bayonets by every door, the perpetual soldiers bustling along the streets, the cantonniers who have established their itinerant stalls close outside the church door, and are squabbling with soldiers over the value of black cigars or schnapps, tell that this smiling little town is the head-quarters of an army which has just marched from a battle field, and is pressing forward again to force its enemy to battle; for the policy of the Prussian army mast now be to cling to the heels of the retreating Austrians and to force them to fight before they have time to reorganize.

The following are interesting extracts of events in connection with the war, and are taken from various sources;— THE HORRORS OF WAR. Every successive victory is represented here only by another and yet another train full of cut and hashed men, until the railway stations and the neighbouring buildings overflow, and by roadside, and on bank, and in deep straw-bedded ditch lie the wounded soldiers, and their sores festering in the hot sun. Certainly great efforts have been made to alleviate these sufferings. Private gentlemen, medical students, and others are here from Berlin, with the white badge of charity on their arm but the work is too great for them. There is also a body of Sisters of Mercy—and truly they are Sisters of Mercy at the present moment—who, in their black dress and white cap, go about among the soldiers, and so far as they can dress the frightful bayonet thrusts and sword slashes with ointment and clean linen There are, besides, a number of monks in cloaks and big hoods, and with the metaphoric knotted rope reund their waist, who aid in this work. The soldiers themselves aid one another; those who are slightly wounded tending those who have more serious injuries. Here is a man with both feet bandaged being carried about on the shoulders of one who has only his hand bound up. Another, quite helpless, and crying like a ehild, is taken into the nearest shed by four of his comrades, and there laid tenderly down on the soft hay. Another lies on some cut shrubs, wrapped up in an Austrian officer's jacket; while his neighbour, now not able to ask for the water for which he stretches out his hand, still wears the cockade of Austrian feathers which in a moment of jubilation he had cut from some officer's|hat and stuck on the side of hisjown helmet. An Austrian officer declared that, though he had fought in the Hungarian insurrection war, and had been present throughout the great Italian campaign of 1859, he had never before this realised what war really meant, and that the battle of Kalitz beat the battle of Magenta hollow, and by the side of Sadowa even Solferino dwindled into comparative in- significance For once, it appears, the thunder of cannon must have sounded like something more terribly real than a mere puny imitation of heaven's artillery. Soon afternoon the voice of the cannon grew a little hoarse. This compara- tive lull, he declared, made the battle seem something more like Solferino at its hottest! PUTTING A FINE POINT ON IT. Prince Gortschakoff, who afterwards gained a more solid renown by his obstinate defence of Sebastopol, and by his splendid passage from the south to the north side of the fortress, when the "infernal fire "hid done its work and the pride of the Malakhoff had been laid low, once invited the ridicule of Europe by calling a compulsory bona fide retreat of his forces a voluntary retrogate movement for strategic reasons." Benedek has actua'ly succeeded in out-Gorts- chakofling him. In his reDort of the battle and its resultshe stylet the headlong flight ol his broken brigades a retrogade movement, slow at first, and orderly, but "in- creasing in celerity as the foe became more pressing in his pursuit." The Prussian version of the affair, as related by eye-witnesses, is that after tte capture of the fifth and last Austrian position, a sauve qui pent and a wild flight ensued, such as the world has not witnessed since the day of Waterloo. "THEY LEFT HIM ALONE IN HIS GLORY I" Alittle gem of a story is related about an Austrian standard- bearer. In the fierce fight of Trautenau, the advancing Prus- sians came upon a ditch half-filled with dead and wounded Austrians. Among the latter was a young officer, evidently hard hit; he was lying on his back in the wet ditch. Moved with manly compassion, the Prussians were about to remove the wounded man, that his case might be attended to by the surgeon, when he entreated them to let him lie there, as he felt quite cool and comfortable. He expired shortly after. When the dead body was removed it was found that, even with the life ebbing from it fast, it had still served to protect the bit of rag" which in the morning of that bloody day had been the standard of the regimen*. He had carefully folded it np, and then lain down upon It to die. His noble foes forbore to touch the trophy. They wrapped it round him, and they let him take his rest in it. The Prussian general who told me this story, told it bare-headed. He had lost two nephews in the fierce fight. One of them, a Baron von Wurm, adjutant to Lieutenant-Colonel von Pannewitz, had been killed by the same grenade which struck down his chief. A FEARFUL SCENE Another story shows one of the worst and most forbidding reverses of the medal of military glory. It was during the combat of the 27th ult., at Trautenau, that the 45th Prussian R'g;mellt of Foot,, one of the Oantzig regiments, sent aline of skirmishers forward. They were driven in by an Austrian attack in forca. One of the officers, a Lieutenant Treuge, a great favourite with the men, received a ballet wound in the neck. He fell, bilt endeavoured to rise again, when an Austrian officer thrust his sword through the chest of the wounded man, and then, seizing a musket from the ground, beat in the Pruss'an's skull with the butt-end. The retreating skirmishers, already vengefully disposed, it appears, as they hai lost two other favourite officers of theirs in the advance, Captains Konig and Gabain, returned with the swiftness and fierceness of tigers, regardless of the hail of bullets showered npon them by the Austrians. Ere the aSilassin could secure his retreat they were up-n him. These men carry their cheese knives in their boots; down went their needle-guns on the ground; and, sickenirg to relate, yet only too fear- fully true, five minutes after, the atrocious deed was avenged still more atrociously, every one of their knives had drunk the wretched slayer's and victim's blood, and the body had been literally cut and slashed to pieces. Yet, the fierce fight done, these same mfn might be seen going about comforting and relieving, in their rough way, the wounded Austrians on the ground, freely handing them their field-flasks, with the drop of wine or brandy purchased out of their poor pay, and originally intended to put a little new life into their own exhausted frames. BENEDEK'S FIRST DIFFICULTY. If what is commonly said in the camp be true, Benedek was first prevented from placing his army in the position best calculated for the employment of his strongest troops— cavalry—by both actual and diplomatic clogs upon his movements. From a purely military point of view he should have occupied friendly Saxony as soon as hostilities became inevitable; but his army was not ready, and who can dis- believe the assertion that Vienna dared not begin the war, awed by the declarations of England, France, and Russia that the Power which should first commence hostilities would be regarded as an enemy of civilization ? This was the Feldzeugmeister's first difficulty, and for it he cannot be con- sidered responsible, while it entailed upon him afterwards the obligation to pushhis troops forward with more despatch than was compatible with keeping them fresh to contend with an enemy whom they might meet on their line of march. This was illustrated on the first day of the SKalitz affair, when the men were too much fatigued to meet the Prussians on equal terms. WAS BENEDEK WELL SERVED BY HIS GENERALS? A court of inquiry will probably soon decide whether Benedek was well served by his Generals, and to whom the greatest blame of fiasco on the 3d inst. attaches. To a looker- on the Feldzeugmeister's intentions appeared plain enough, though it is quite possible that one may have been mistaken. What was the disposition of his troops ? Strong on his left, he expected there the principal Prussisn attack. His right was more or lesa protected by natural obstacles, and Josephstadt was not far distant. He has been blamed for not using his cavalry sufficiently, but he had a reason for keeping them fresh and intact. I believe that at the moment the disaster took place he was on the point of advancing his centre; in fact some orders to that effect had already been given a great effort was to be made to break the enemy's line (Napoleon's favourite movement), and, while the left should still hold the Prussian right wing in check, or even push it back, to crush the left and centre with his reserve artillery and masses ef cavalry. But he suddenly found his own line penetrated where he least expected, at its strongest natural point. How this could have been permitted it is Impossible for the student of this battle to conceive. The advance of the 4th and 2d Corps is comprehensible enough, but if it be true that Klum, the key of the position, was left unoccupied, or occupied only by a few men, "semebody blundered" indeed. THE EFFECTS OF THE NEEDLE-GUN. Advancing in the open, the Austrian soldier's courage and onward movement is so determined that the enemy hardly dares to face him. On more than one occasion we could see from the hill Prussians fleeing to avoid the bayonet, or rather the butt of those grey-coated, hard-featured battalions. Thisis not their system, this up and down, rude, unpleasant kind of fighting; but put them behind a bank or into a village, let them once get down on their fronts with a hillock of earth or tuft of grass in front of them, the cool butts of their beloved rifles against their cheeks, and who is ) he that will make them move? And, further, the rapidity of fire excites the imagination to believe that the enemy is many times more numerous than he really is. A few skirmishers become magnified into a battalion, aregiment into a corps d'armee, the panic spreads, the post, which perhaps a few resolute men might have forced, and turned against the approaching supports, is left untaken, and the day is lost. Lost. indeed, this time, for it will be recollected that the Austrian position was in the form of a salient angle, and the enemy once on the right flank was also in rear of the centre. Down the valley, passing those terrible Prussian guns where theirs had so lately been, the army had to retire; the artillery of their own left turned against the newly- arrived Prussian batteries only Increased the confusion. From the hollow it was impossible to tell that the shells rushing over their heads and bursting so close were not in- tended for the retiring troops. The enemy pressed them in rear, the Inundations and the Elbe itself were in front; shot, stabbed, and drowned, the great army of the North lost its hopes, its order, and its strength in one short summer's after- noon. And for how much of.this was Benedek responsible? His training to war, like that of the Austrian army generally, has been chiefly in the plains of Lombardy, where there are few natural defensive positions, where the enemy can see little of what is gobtg on, and where downright bulldog courage has a better opportunity of winning a battle. He may have failed to appreciate the importance of commanding situations, though the place for his first stand was certainly well selected as far as the features of groun d are concerned. The Prussians declined to attack his whole army there, and, finding that one corps, the first, was too distant to be reinforced, threw themselves upon it, drove it back, and in so doing turned his flank. It was well for his army that the defeat did not occur on the first line taken up by him, for the roads leading back from it were so few and narrow that a defeat there would have been annihilation.

SUNDAY AT WIMBLEDON. A great many persons from London and the sur- rounding country visited the camp at Wimbledon on Sunday. It is the practice on Sunday to make no charge for admission to the camp, and to allow every one who comes to enter. There was divine service in the morning at eleven in the bell-tent. The sailors in camp had decorated it with flags, and constructed a reading-desk, which they covered with the union-jack. Round the centre camp-chairs and forms were ranged in rows, the inner circle being reserved for dis- tinguished visitors, and the next for the officers of the different corps. Beyond those the great body of the volunteers were accommodated, the members of dif- ferent corps sitting together, and the large army of police employed on duty at Wimbledon occupied the outer circle, the general public" having to be con- tent with standing-room beyond the margin of the tent. The volunteers paraded in front of Lord Elcho's house, and, preceded by the band of the London Scottish, marched to the temporary church. The service was performed by the Rev. Frederick W. Farrer, M.A., F.R.S., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and hon. chaplain to the 18th Middlesex. The Earl and Countess Spencer, Lord and Lady Elcho, Lord Bury, and Mr. Thomas Hughes, M.P., were among the congregation. In the absence of an organ, the aid was again obtained of the London bcottish band, and they played the sacred tunes in the service with taste and effect.

AN INTERESTING SWIMMING MATCH. In London on Monday morning, a swimming match for 251. a side took place in the Serpentine, the dis- tance being 1,000 yards, from the eastern end to Kensington-bridge. The competitors were David Pamplin and Henry Coulter, two of the finest swimmers of the day. Coulter is the Captain of the Serpentine Club, and has won one of Sir William Fraser's gold medals (an annual prize), with numerous other prizes, but he was beaten last summer by Henry G-urr, champion swimmer of England; who is the captain of the London Swimming Club. Pamplin has been the winner of several prizes, and last year won the Lon- don Swimming Club gold medal, having beaten in 1864 several first-rate amateurs in the Thames for a valuable silver cup. He is considered the next best swimmer in the London Club to Henry Gurr, and this match derived additional interest from a strongly entertained belief that whoever should win would try conclusions with the hitherto invincible Gurr There were many thousands on the banks, and at sixteen minutes past seven the competitors took up their position, both being in splendid condition. Mr. Walters was umpire for Pamplin, Mr. Bullett for Coulter, and Mr. Latey, the hon. secretary of the London Swimming Club, was starter and referee. They took the water at the same moment on the word "Off I" Pamplin rising first to the surface, they were literally nose and nose" to the first boat-house, but between there and the Humane Society's Receiving House Coulter spurted and led by a yard. Within 100 yards further on Pamplin was up with him and in the same distance was his own length ahead and won a splendid race by four yards, the time being eighteen minutes two and-a half seconds. There was a question raised by Coulter's umpire, but the referee at once decided against him. Coulter was very much more depressed than his conqueror, but after a few minutes he recovered himself.

VIENNA NOT TO BE DEFENDED. The contents of the Imperial manifesto made such a very bad impression on the inhabitants of this city that the Municipal Council yesterday (says The Times correspondent writing on July 11th), resolved to send a deputation to the Emperor in order if possible, to learn from him whether he intended to defend the metropolis should it be exposed to the attack of a Prussian army. The Burgomaster and the two Vice- Burgomasters applied for an audience, and having been admitted to the presence of his Majesty at half- past two o'clock in the afternoon, the former presented a petition, in which it was said that the representa- tives of Vienna trust the safety of the city will not be imperilled by a battle being fought in its immediate neighbourhood, and, further, that they hope such changes will be made in the system of government as are best calculated to satisfy the nation and to inspire it with confidence in the future. To this the Emperor replied as follows:— Vienna will not be an object of defence. It is my will that it be treated as an open (defenceless) city. Although the tete-du-pont on the Danube (at Florldsdorf) has been fortified it is not for the defence of the city. It is simply a measure of defenca against the passage of the Danube on the part of the Prussians, who may perhaps try to cross that river in several places. It is possible that the precautionary measure may prove to be of no avail, but we are obliged to take it. It must not be said of Austria, that having suffered a defeat she lost courage, and renouncing aU hops tamely allowed the enemy to cross the Banube. The Imperial authorities—the police, the statdtholderate, &c.—will continue to fulfil their duties till the last moment, and after the withdrawal of my troops from the city, I will be the last (official) person to quit it. To this His Majesty added, that as soon as the external questions now at issue are disposed of, the internal matters will be settled agreeably to the wishes of the people. The Municipal Council is about to present a loyal address to the Emperor, and if it does its duty to him and to the nation it will plainly state that nothing but a complete change of system can save the Empire from perdition. Everybody seems to entertain this opinion, but, strange to say, few per- sons have the courage openly to express it.

SINGULAR CHARGE OF LIBEL. At the Warwick Assizes, on Friday, Mary Ann Morris Mills was indicted for maliciously publishing a libel on the Rev. George Burton Potts Latimer. The prosecutor is the rector of St. Paul's, Birmingham, of which parish he had been incumbent about eighteen years. The defendant is a young lady living at Edgbas. ton with her parents, who for two or three years past has attended Mr. Latimer's church, and has acted as a district visitor in his parish. In the autumn of the year 1865 Mr. Latimer was about to be married to a lady in Northumberland, with whose family he had been on intimate terms for many years. On the 1st of January of the present year Miss Mills wrote to Mr. Latimer a letter, of which the following is a copy:— I am writing this from my bed, being so ill I can hardly use my pen, but 1 tell you I will be in Tynemouth with my brother time enough to stop this shameful marriage, if it is not already over. Your mouldy old bride has waited so long she might have waited longer. She will be sadly discom- forted, yet you had better not bring her here, for if you do I will strangle her. You knew 1 cared for you more than anyone, and used those very means to destroy my reputation. Never attempt to preach in St. Paul's again, for I will have you horsewhipped before all your congregation. If you have not married the old wreteh, be warned in time. Tell her what is the truth, that she is better as she is, and that you get yourself in such messes that you are not fit to marry. I don't know how you think you are going to do, for I will spend my whole time in making her miserable. I promise you faithfully she shall not live long, but that I suppose you would not care for, as your only object must have been her money. You are a disgusting wretch, and no more fit to be a clergyman than a cat. I shan't give in, I can tell you I'll make her knock under to me with a vengeance. I'll pay upon her all the insolence of your creatures at the church. Keep where you are if you are wise; if you are obliged to, come home by yourself. Even if I could be silent, half Birmingham would tell her. What right had you to act towards me as you have done if you were going te marry an- other woman ? On Sunday, the 14th of January, during morning service, when Mr. Latimer had retired into the vestry, Miss Mills attempted to force her way into it, and was only prevented by threats of the churchwardens to have her removed from the church. Shortly after- wards, in consequence of rumours which began to spread against the character of Mr. Latimer, the churchwardens called upon Miss Mills to ask if she had any charge to make against him. She said that she had, and made an appointment with them for the purpose of disclosing what it was. Before the day of the appointment, however, she wrote to them to say that she had put the matter in the hands of her brothers, and that she declined to see the church- wardens again. On the 30th of January she wrote to a clergyman of Northumberland the following letter:— Sir,—As I hear that your halfsister is engaged to be married to Mr. Latimer, I should be glad to hear the report confirmed by you as his conduct to me has been such that I cannot believe it. I yesterday received a visit from his two churchwardens, desiring me to make or withdraw the charge I have against him. I think it but right to tell you that if this marriage is allowed to proceed what I have to say of him will prevent his holding office as a clergyman therefore, as a friend to the lady, it would be wise to post- pone it for a short time at least, if not altogether. So long as he remains single the charge will not be made but he has destroyed my reputation, and gained an undue influence over my feelings and I am not bound to remain under a stain when I can clear myself. I am, yours truly, M. A. MILLS—P. S. He will, no doubt, treat the matter lightly, and tell you I am not right in my head, as he has done here, but that remains to be proved." The clergyman thus written to, wrote, in reply, to ask the names of the churchwardens and the nature of the charge; and the marriage of Mr. Latimer, which was then about to take place, was postponed for a few days. Miss Mills, however, declined to give the names of the churchwardens, or to state what the charge was, and in the middle of February, therefore, the marriage took place. Miss Mills, on being applied to, declined to withdraw or substantiate the charge, and the present proceedings were therefore commenced.— Mr. Latimer was put into the witness-box, and stated that he only knew Miss Mills as a sedulous district visitor, and that his intercourse with her was only such as a clergyman must have with ladies who are active in parochial matters. He indignantly denied that there was any foundation for the implied charge which was contained in Miss Mills's letters. He was not cross-examined as to any alleged impropriety, nor was any insinuation of improper conduct made.—His lordship thereupon observed that it was manifest Miss Mills had beep entirely mistaken as to the nature of the attentions on the part of Mr. Latimer, and suggested that she should plead guilty, and enter into recognisances not to offend again. She, however, refused to accede to the suggestion, and the trial was proceeded with. No witnesses were called for the defence, nor was any substantial defence set up.—The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and recommended the defendant to the merciful consideration of the Court.—His Lordship concurred in the recommenda- tion, and said it was manifest the defendant had acted under the influence of excited feelings. The defendant was then set at liberty, upon herself and her father entering into recognisances for her good behaviour for the future.

CHILDREN'S EMPLOYMENT COMMMISSION. The labours of the Children's Employment Com- mission is at length concluded by the publication of a fifth report. In this last report forms of em- ployment are described in whioh from 50,000 to 60,000 children labour without having the protection of the Factory Acts. The commissioners recommend that the Acts shall be extended to all the methods of labour reported upon. As in former reports, so in this there is a collection of facts ot very great in- terest to those who pay any attention to the con- dition of our industrious population. A table is given showing the estimated number of children, young' persons and women, included in the recom- mendations of the commissioners in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th reports. The total number is 1,400,000. Probably more than one-half of the persons repre- sented by those figures are employed in the many forms of labour which may be carried on in private houses, or places to which the present Factory Acts could not be easily applied. And yet it is neces- sary that the Legislature should protect the people so employed. It is, indeed, possible that the stringent enforcement of the Factory Acts in large places may tend to increase the number of private houses," &c., in which labour is performed, but in which inspectors may have no authority. To allow such a state of things would be to countenance injustice to the larger employers for whilst their factories are under regu- lation, the hours of labour in the smaller places i —in their own branch of labour, too—will be under no legislative restriction. Besides this injustice arising from the unfair condition of competition in regard to hours, which the exemption of the smaller Elaces would create, the larger manufacturers would ave the disadvantage of finding their supply of < juvenile and female labour drawn off to the places free from legislative interference. The Daily Telegraph, in a leader upon the Report, amongst other remarks, saysi It is strange to observe how little the English I people know of each other. Everybody is so busy, the occupations are so numerous, the divisions of labour so minute, that one set of workers has seldom the time or opportunity of learning what another set is doing. Now and then we obtain an insight into the manners and customs of the English" which is alto- gether novel information to most people; and a very curious contribution to the particular branch of know- < ledge is contained in the reports of the Children's < Employment Commission," which, after four years' i investigation, has just concluded its researches. We i learn from these documents that in the great work- ] shops of England there are vast numbers of operatives ] whose existence and pursuits must be unknown to the 1 mass of their countrymen. The reports confirm the common belief that, as a nation, we work too hard; < and, whatever controversy may arise as to the sound- ] ness of the conclusions adopted by the commissioners, there will be no dispute that they have collected a quantity of very remarkable information respecting various occupations and callings about which that indefinite entity—the Public—has hitherto known but little. The Report describes particular trades as proper subjects of supervision, but a mere enumeration of particulars, in lieu of setting forth a general principle, is not quite satisfactory. Some of the revelations are astonishing, and some very amusing. It appears that there are editors of, and writers of articles in magazines, weekly newspapers, and other weekly or monthly periodicals, who will not send in their contri- butions until the last moment. Cases are mentioned of editors not having in the evening completed the writing of articles for magazines that are to be printed off, bound, and circulated the next day. Can anything more fearful be imagined ? Humanity shudders at the narration of such horrors. The com- missioners evince quite a sentimental affection for the martyrs of industry, and pounce down on them with all the love of entomologists for rare beetles and butterflies. Special instances of juvenile suffering and ignorance paraded in the blue-book before us are very instructive. An ingenious boy, who works in a brass- foundry at Bristol, gives this evidence :— Go to school on Sunday, but not to night school, because mother makes me go to bed early. Can read a little. There are five half-crowns in a sovereign. Bristol and London are large towns. Have not heard of Dublin. Ireland Is a small town. Scotland is a large town. The following is an excerpt from the evidence of another child at Bridport:— Cannot read without spelling; can easy words. Cannot tell who the Queen of England is. or what her name is. Might know her name if I heard it. Question: Is it Victoria ? That is not her name, I think. Much more evidence equally valuable is gravely and unsuspiciously recorded by the commissioners, and printed at the public expense. It is possible, as the experience of Westminister Hall shows, to have too good a witness. The ignorance of the lads which is so complacently noted in the blue book may have been real, but there is just a possibility that it may have been simulated, or that the boys misapprehended the questions; though they were sharp enough some- times to seize the opportunity as they understood it. Alfred Serle, at Bristol, aged twelve years, deposes as follows: Was at school ever since three years old, but it was not a good one. They hit you about too much. Didn't like the teacher very well, and didn't take much interest in it, and don't think he did either. The gentleman thus conspicuously quoted takes a practical view of life. School he accounts objection- able for the very sufficient reason that they hit you about too much;" yet the same argument would con- demn Eton and other academies of some distinction. Of course, useful materials are to be gathered from the blue-book, but it is diluted and encumbered by a mass of more than questionable matter. From want of will, or want of skill, the commissioners do not appear to have done much towards sifting the evidence of their very youthful informants, and, consequently, they write down more in the comic vein than usually enlivens the literature of Hansard's office. The con- cluding sentence of the report will give a fair idea of the loose diction and amiable sentiments with which it abounds:— Should it be found practicable to extend the principles of the Factory Act! so as to embrace the large numbers which have come under review in these reports, the blessings j j follow—If at all equal to those which have at- tended that series of Acts since their commencement in 1802 —will add largely to the store that has been accumulated by the beneficent legislation of your Majesty's reign. We do not precisely understand what is the "store here mentioned but we are quite clear as to this— that the commissioners ought to have ascertained whether it was practicable" to apply the Factory Acts in the case which have come under review in these reports;" since that was precisely the purpose for which the commission was instituted. It is rather disappointing, after five years' investigation, to ob- serve that they speak doubtfully and in the potential mood on the essential point. They recommend that a considerable number of manufactories, including those of lace, hosiery, straw plait, wearing apparel made.by milliners and tailors, and other miscellaneous trades and manufactures," shall be subject to sanitary inspection and regulation. The success of past legis- lation is a strong argument for its further extension- and the notorious sufferings of persons engaged in several of these pursuits urgently demand the attention of Parliament. But it may be doubted whether the Legislature could act safely, without further inquiry, upon the benevolent but somewhat vague recommenda- tion of the Children's Employment Commission.

Utisdlancmis littdlipw, HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. FOUR DAYS IN A BOG.—The wife of a journey- man painter, at Dublin, recently went to see some friends at Ballinteskar, and, in making a short cut across a farm, got swamped in what is called a shaking bog, and the more she tried to extricate herself the farther she sank, and had to remain in that state for four days and four nights. As may be supposed, she was, when found by a ploughman on the farm, in a moat frightful and painful state. Her head, arms, and P8;^ of her body remaining above the bog, were fright- iully burned and blistered with the sun. Her legs, arms, and the part of her body sunken in the bog were also fearfully parboiled. From her sufferings, for want of rest and nourishment, she was quite insensible; with care she recovered. A FEW REMARKS ON ROYAL WEDDING PRE- SENTS.—The regard felt by the friends of the Princess Helena for that amiable bride has chiefly taken the form of jewellery—diamonds, rubies, sapphires, tur- quoises enough to furnish a West-end shop (remarks the Spectator). The King and Queen of the Belgians indulge in sentiment, having put Souvenir in tur- quoises on their gold band bracelet. So does the Princess Louis of Hesse, who has set her" A. L." in diamonds and rubies in the centre of a heart-shaped crystal locket, and so does her Royal Highness the Duchess of Mecklenburg, who has put "Salve" in diamonds on the blue enamel centre of a circular gold locket. On the whole, the great people seem to feel as much difficulty and to show as little resource in Wed- ding presents as the small. We once heard a man complain of having a small shopful of bronze orna- ments presented to him, another of having received twelve dial pieces—a good supply for a middling-sized watchmaker—and another, with less opulent relatives, of having the range of six butter knives; but the Princess Helena will be persevering and conscientious if she wears all this jewellery once before she dies. The cumulation of the same kind of wedding presents certainly diminishes the gratification to the instinct of property. If the contents of an ironmonger's shop were emptied at the feet of a middle-class bride we do not think her pleasure would be as great as her embarrassment; and there is no great difference be- tween having a vast superfluity of lockets and a vast superfluity of fenders. STRANGE CASE.—On the 4th instant a young married man, occupying a respectable position suddenly absconded with 751, the property of a young staying at his mother's house (says the Liverpool Albion). Photographs of the absconder were left at the detective-office^ and every inquiry made. Nothing was heard of him until Thursday, when an inspector t TIT 7erP.°°L detective force, who was in the Isle ot Man, hearing that a person who had been a great figure" in the island had been found dead in a glen near to a waterfall, went to look at the body and having with him one of his photographic likenesses he was no little surprised and shocked at finding that the young man was no other than he after whom inquiry had been made by the police in Liverpool. It transpired that the unfortunate man, after possessing himself of the money, made off to the Isle of Man. Pos- sessing a high-sounding foreign name, he affixed to it the title of count, possessed himself of an equipage fitting his assumed dignity, and cut a great dash in the island! Be visited the glen celebrated for its waterfall, and whilst climbing the height to view the lake whence the water issued, he slipped, fell, and was killed. All the money found upon him wa.s151., so that he had lavished during his few days' absence at least 60J. A SCENE IN A COURT OF JUSTICE.—Bradley, the man charged with the murder of the old lady Le Brun, at Jersey, was convicted in the Royal Court in the island last week of the crime. The prisoner, a noto- riously bad character, conducted himself with great violence in the court, calling the judges and others robbers, &c. Some of the exploded judicial customs of England appear to be still preserved in the Jersey Court, as, on the bailiff and jurats having covered themselves previously to passing sentence, the prisoner was requested to kneel. He refused to do so, and was then compelled by the usher of the court and the turn- keys to kneel. The bailiff proceeded to pass sentence of death, when the prisoner observed, You are an assassin. Bailiff.—The law compels me to pass sen- tence of death upon you, Francis Bradley. You are condemned to be taken from where you will be con- fined to the place of execution, and— Prisoner. You are a lot of brigands and thieves. Bailiff.—And with the rope round your neck, there to be strangled until death ensue, and — The prisoner here again interrupted the bailiff by using very foul language. Bailiff.—And all your chattels, if you have any, are confiscated to the Crown. The prisoner was then re- moved. THE CHOLERA IN AMERICA.—The neighbouring city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, is afflicted by a visita- tion of Asiatic cholera. The people are greatly alarmed, and have placed cordons of police about the houses in the infected district. Nine deaths have occurred, six in one house. The disease, it is said, was introduced by a German emigrant who escaped from the steam ship Virginia, recently in quarantine. Elizabeth is but twelve miles from New York, and some of our discreet public journals have made the most of the (to them) fortunate endemic. In fact, the sensation headings of the New York journals have driven at least 100,000 citizens from the metro- polis, and have kept away as many strangers who would have given their summer patronage to the city, besides convincing the general outside public that Man- hattan Island is a perfect Golgotha. A THIEVES' MEETING.—A singular meeting was held In the Clerkenwell Mission-house, London, the other evening. Thieves were specially invited, by placard and personal interview, to attend, and it was stated that a returned convict and three convicted thieves would address the meeting. The place was crowded to excess. The meeting was, considering its composition, very orderly. The majority paid marked attention and respect to the addresses of the various speakers, and joined heartily in the singing of the hymns, and in more than one case the tears could be seen running down the cheeks of some. of the older thieves. One man, evidently approaching his alloted threescore-and-ten, sobbed audibly on the expression of some well-pointed moral, and wiped his eyes with his old cloth cap. SUPERSTITION IN AMERICA.—An extraordinary cause (criminal) is now on trial before the county court of Venango County, Pennsylvania, at Titusviile A superstition exists among many of the German farmers in Pennsylvania that a speedy, horrible, and unex- pected death will.be the fate of any person who occu- pies a new building for the first time, provided £ hat the term of occupation exceeds two hours A named Albrecht moved into a new hm^f y on the TO, ot Jane ■ members of the family had decoyed a youig girl nWmed Weissman into the vacant house, and tbefe forcibly detained her for several hours—locking her up in a room. On the 14th of June the girl Weissman was caught in a. shafting in the factory in which she was an operative and torn to pieces. The parents of the girl now bring suit against the Albrechts for abduction. LORD LYNDHURST'S THOROUGHNESS. It was on the occasion of the trial of "Boville v. Moore" that Sir John Copley '(afterwards Lord Lyndhurst) who was retained in the interest of Mr. Heathcot' learnt to work the bobbinnet machine in order that he might master the details of the invention. On reading over his brief he confessed that he did not clearly understand the merits of the case; but, as it seemed to him to be one of great importance, he offered to go down into the country forthwith, and set himself to work the machine until he thoroughly understood it; "and then," said he, "I will defend you to the best of my ability." He accordingly put himself into that very night's mail, and went down to Nottingham, J^here he worked at the machine, making a piece of bobbin-net very deftly, until he thoroughly understood the principle as well as the details of the invention. When the case came before the court the learned ser- geant was enabled to work the model on the table with such ease and skill, and to explain the action of the machine with such felicitous clearness as to astonish alike judge, jury, and spectators; and the thorough conscientiousness and mastery with which he handled the wholcase nc doubt exercised considerable influence on the decision of the court. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF !"—At the Clerkenwell Police-court, in London, on Saturday, a young man of respectable appearance applied to the magistrates to relieve him from a difficulty. He and his wife had been in a pleasure van to Epping Forest, and on the return began talking with a young woman who had a well-dressed infant 0 with her. They sang Love your Neighbour as Yourself," after which they got out of the van, and the young woman asked ap- plicant's wife to hold the child a minute or two while she went to a neighbouring public-house to find her husband. She did not return, and applicant wanted an order on the parish to receive the child, as he had a family of his own, aud could not support it. He had been unable to find the mother, and the worst of it was his wife began to express her suspicion that he knew more about it than he ought, though there was no cause. The magistrate could not assist the ap- plicant. QUICK "WORK.—They do things in a hurry in California, as witness the following programme of a "pleasant little affair":—San Juan Nevada stage robbed at five a.m. of 3,000 dols. reward was offered at seven a.m.; robbers shot and all the money recovered at two p.m.; coroner's inquest at three p.m.; funeral of the thieves at six p.m. THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.—Numerous applications having been made to the Prussian Embassy by English gentlemen wishing to enter the Prussian army, or to be admitted as witnesses of the campaign, and by phy- sicians, surgeons, and other medical men, offering their services for the duration of the present war, it is made known hereby :— 1, That the entry of any foreign officer into the Prussian army can only take place by a special order of His Majesty the Kmg 2, that volunteers are only admitted by the com- manders of the different corps of troops, according to the wants and peculiar circumstances; 3, that following the army as witnesses is generally not permitted, but that exceptions for reporters, &o., may be made on application to the Com- manders-in-Chief of the respective armies; 4, that the ad- mission of physicians, surgeons, and medical men in general is a matter for the consideration of the General Staff Physi- cian of the army, to whom applications are to be made at Berlin. VERY TARDY JUSTICE.—Captain James Raw- storne (1SO5), an officer who entered the navy so far back as 1806, has been awarded a pension of 100J. per annum for injuries sustained by him while in the exe- cution of his duty in 1843 on the coast of China. Cap- tain Rawstorne may fairly be permitted to say "Better late than never."—Army and lYavy Gazette. ROYAL THRIFT!—A correspondent of "The Times "informs the public that Earl Russell was re- quested to grant a pension out of this year's allowance to Mrs. Thomson, widow of Dr. R. D. Thomson (re- marks the Spectator). This gentleman had for years analyzed the water supplied by the metropolitan com- panies gratuitously, to the great advantage of the public and loss of his own time. Lord Palmerston promised a pension, and Earl Russell was warned of the promise, but did not fulfil it. The writer suggests that Earl Russell had a pleasure in disregarding Lord Palmerston's wishes, but had he looked at the pension list he might have found another explanation. Only 1,200l. are allowed to be granted in any one year in acknowledgment of such services, and of this sum 150J. has this year been granted to LadyPhipps, widow of Sir Constantine Phipps, late Keeper of the Privy Purse, who must have saved the Royal Family scores of thousands of pounds. Thrift is a virtue which be- comes constitutional kings, but then it must be thrift of the national money. A MELANCHOLY EVENT.—On Thursday after- noon^ the Rev. Francis Morse, vicar of St. Mary's, Nottingham, and his wife and family, accompanied the choir to Ratcliffe-on-Trent, where they were having their annual treat. After a pleasant evening's enter- tainment they reached home about ten o'clock at night, and as the young people had become somewhat over- heated, Mrs. Morse ordered them to have a warm bath. One of the servants had carried some hot water upstairs in a pan. Before the bath could be prepared Master Wilfred Hanbury Morse, a fine little fellow of four years old, who was ready to take his first turn, accidentally slipped into the pan of boiling water, and though he was instantly lifted out, he was fearfully scalded. The usual remedies were applied, but after a night of intense suffering he died the next morning. A CANDID BRIDE.—A young woman of the humbler classes was married in Paris the other day to a young man in the same sphere of life. The priest had gone through the conjungo, and was making a few appropriate remarks, exhorting the young couple to mutual affection and fidelity. After he had finished, the bride, whose turn it was, briefly said, Monsieur Ie Cure, if my husband conduct himself as he ought to do, I promise that my conduct towards him shall be irreproachable; but if he do not, why I will not bind myself to observe anything you have said." RAISING HIS WARNING VOICE !—A member of the legislature of a State lying beyond the Ohio, which is noted for its divorce-made-easy laws, when a bill was lately introduced for the purpose of tightening the reins a little on applicants for the severance of the marriage tie, "arose in his place," and said, Mr. Chairman, I'm opposed to the bill before the house on principle. No difficulties should be thrown in the way of parties wishin' a divorce. Divorce is a good thing -a blessed thing. I speak from personal experience. 1 ve been personally divorced seven times. I tell you it's a good thing. I advise you all to try it a few ij times before you commit yourselves on this bill. t There s nothin like experience in these matters. Go home and get divorced, and then you'll be in a condi- tion to act intelligently on this bill. Mr. Chairman, I've raised my warnin' voice, and my duty's done, and so 'm I." The bill was defeated. THE PERILS OF THE BALL-ROOM —"At Lady Tadcaster's ball the other night," says a correspondent of the Court Journal, "I was terrified by seeing a waltzer fly past me with so much way upon him that he could not stop, and with both his legs entangled in the middle of his partner's train, strips of which were swathing themselves round and round him at each gyration inextricably. Fortunately, just as they were about to tumble headlong into the Princess of Wales' lap the couple were brought up short by a strong hand, the impediments vigorously torn away, and the un- lucky prisoner set free without any fatal catastrophe occurring. His legs were not even broken, for I saw him later in the evening, with undaunted courage, de. molishing another similar train, or mantrap." MAKING THE MOST OF IT! When the Great Eastern was at Foilhommerum Bay fowls were purchaseable for 5d. each, eggs, 3d. a dozen, trout Id. each, milk Id. a quart, but, as a set off, the Irish- man, seeing that their services were urgently required in coaling, agreed amongst themselves to extort, on commercial principles, the highest terms obtainable, and eventually succeeded in getting 5s. a day and their keep for nine hours' work per diem. What they did was unquestionably the very minimum of a labour test. On the Friday, when the dinner of bread, meat and potatoes was offered to the3e men, not a single one' of the 200 so employed would touch it, as it was a fast day; and, accordingly, biscuits and coffee had to be served out to them instead. The following were the stores taken on board :-Ten bullocks, one milch cow, ¡14 sheep, twenty pigs, twenty.nine geese, fourteen turkeys, and 500 fowls make up the live SJJ J0N board»t noon to-dav; while to that must be added twenty-eight dead bullocks, twenty-two sheep, four calves, four pigs, 300 fowls, and 18,000 eggs.

EPITOME OF NEWS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. ( The salary of the newly-appointed Chief Baron of 1 theExchequer is 7, COM a-year. The o her Judge a have6 0001. 1 each. with the exception of the Lord Cnief Justice, who has < 8»000t. a-year. The Chief Justice of the Common Pleas has 7,0001 a-year. An American contemporary says" According to 1 the present rate of immigration into the United States we shall have a population of forty and a half millions in 1870, seventy millions in 1890, and 100 millions at the end of the present century." During the last fifty years France < has increased in population thirty-seven per cent., Eng- land and Wales 121 per cent., and the United States ] nearly 600 per cent. ] Amongst the ironworks of the North (says the Leeds Mercury) a disturbed state of feeling exists, which ) threatens to lead to very injurious results. About 1,000 men < employed at the extensive works of Messrs. Hawes, Craw- ] shaw, and Co., of Gateshead, are expected to go on strike, < having declined to consent to a reduction of their wages The men employed at the ironworks of Messrs. Bolckow and Vaughan, of Bishop Auckland, are also about to cease work for a similar reason, and it is feared that strikes will occnr at other large establishments in the North. Catching a cat in a rat-trap, and setting on vonr to worry it to death, is lawful '—at least in Manchester ? case of the kind was brought by the Society for the tion of Cruelty to Animals before the stipendiary of that city, onSatudary, and he dismissed glstrate costs, observing that there WM no evi^- '118 -th torture," He offered, however tn mnt Wetice of wilful Bench, if the society chose to take the matter th ueen 8 passing the defendants savage dog. A boy was a gateway and seized him when the dog ran out of dog bit the same hnv ii j?e le8 and bit him. The same and the defendant Ah manner tweIve months ago, strov it Ho nnt? had then promised that he would de- s teased hnf 6 d°R was harmless except when < it whpn hutilf rSLD0 evideBce that complainant had teased 1 that The magistrate said it was clearly proved, nt Hi! defendant had a knowledge of the ferocious nature s .8. and therefore he inflicted the fine named, to- e getner with the costs. j There has been a special religious service at Yalentia i v » starting of the Great Eastern for the laylDg of the Atlantic cable. Letters of apology were read on the c occasion from the Bishop of Cork (Gregg), Sir R. Peel, the c Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr. Jonathan Pim, M.P., and Mr. I OConnelI, of Derrynane Abbey. An extempore prayer a having been offered up by the Dean of Ardfert, the assembly t was addressed by several Episcopal and Presbyterian clergy- s men, and by Messss. Glass and Varley, the electricians. Mr. il Varley expressed the greatest confidence in the success of (J the project, this year. He had been on board the Great II Eastern last year, and portions of he machinery found a defective then had been improved; the machinery was Ii colossal in strength and magnitude, and the devotion shown b in overcoming all difficulties, whether electrical, mechanical, v or of a pecuniary character, deserved the Jtuccesa which he t WMconadent would attend them, f' II The story goes in Paris that in 1864 Bismarck said •, to the Russian Councillor of State Ewert, who expressed doubts as to the success of his plans in Germany,—" I will bribe some, conquer others, and then win them all to my side by leading them against France." ■Yas stated in the French Legislative Assembly that the rural letter-carrierB walk daily, on an average, 16 miles, and sometimes ag much as 20 or 25, and yet receive some as little as 121. a year. Some of the country post- mistresses receive only 201, to 251. per annum, out of which they have to pay rent. At an inquest held at Rath, Carlow, a few days ago, on the body of a child, the medical man who conducted the post-mortem examination said that each hand of the cnua had an extra finger; that one fool had six toes, the V?n °Penin.g the cavity of the chest he found fn<» if li?,n. right side, both lobes of the lungs encircl- i a11 were surrounded by the intestines; the liver, very large. nearly filled the entire abdominal cavity; the braia and other organs normal. ambulances of the Prussian army fwtrA ?y de8Xe3S> as the patients recover, i f l stationary hospitals, of which a es!tablished, containing 6,000 bads. The principle in the Prussian military service is to avoid the crowding which produces the hospital epidemics. Mr. Harry Emmanuel, the London jeweller, made, for a present by the Queen to the Princess Helena a hand- some gold bracelet, with a star in diamonds. Engraved within are the words" Zur Erinnerung an die Yermahlung unserer Kinder, am 5, Juli, 1866, von Victoria R." (Ii" memory of the marriage of our children, on July 5.1866. from Victoria R.) V A few days ago a servant girl was accosted in St. James ff-park, London, by a woman, who asked her to take care of a black leather bag for her for a few minutes. She did so, but the woman did not return, and the bag was afterwards found to contain the decomposed body of a child. Miss Eva.ns, the authoress of "Felix Holt," is said to have received 4,00PZ. for her novel, and that she is now in Germany, "whither" say the papers, "she has gone to escape the temptation of reading, and the annoyance of listening to criticisms on her new work." The Emigration Commissioners say, in their report jllst Ï;¡sued, that the emigration during the year 1865 was ? • ?h,?let8 were English, 61,345 Scotch, 6 291 100,676 foreigners, 28,619; not distinguished, A Londan daily paper, in giving an account oE an inquest, stated that the deceased bore an accidental character, and the jury returned a verdict of excellent ,t\ death. ;J Colonel Scott, commanding the forces in South J* Carolina, reports a great increase of crime and vagrancy among the freed men, and that they show complete gard to their labour contracts. -1 The needle-gun is to the ordinary musket what shorthand is to common writing"—such is the definition given M by the Archduke William, commander-in-chief of the Austrian artillery. It may be interesting to some of our readers, says Land and Water, to know that the new green so fashion- able for ladies' dresses is just as dangerous in its nature all the green wall paper about which so much was written some f time since. It is prepared with a large quantity of arsenic, and we have been assured by several of the lead- ing dressmakers that the workwomen employed in making i up dresses of this colour are seriously affected with all the 1 symptoms of arsenical poisoning. Let our lady friends I take care. f take care. f A supplement to the London Gazette of Friday last, contains an Order in Council directing that the provisiocii contained in the Diseases Prevention Act, 1855" (23rd aud. 24th Victoria), for the prevention of diseases, shall, from and after the 14th inst., be put in force within the whole of England. Professor Agassiz says the general impression in re- gard to the Amazon river is very erroneous, not only in re- gard to the climate of that region, which he had been informed was unhealthy, but also as to its fertility. He found the valley of the Amazon uncommonly fertile and its climate very healthy. It is his opinion that it will one day become the mart of the world, supporting in comfort twenty millions of inhabitants. Last year 365,000,000 eggs were imported from the aud from Ireland into Great Britain. During the current year the number imported has been daily on the in- crease. In May last it exceeded 66,000,000. Estimating the value of imported eggs at 6s. per 120, those imported in 186a must have sold for upwards of three millions sterling. In contradiction to the opinion that no substitute can ever be found for coal, Mr. Richardson has taken out a patent for burning petroleum and paraffin by the means of a porous and incombustible material, such as a fire-brick, &c. and in a hollow chamber, such as a gas retort. he can keep up a continuous supply of these substitutive appliances, and at less cost, without smoke. No stokers or pokers are required to keep up his fires, and there is in every way an economy of fuel" and of labour. A widower with seven children recently married in Western New York a widow with five. Each had concealed from the other the fact of the offspring, and the discovery made a pleasant episode. It has been satisfactorily ascertained by the foreign physiciins that old rum is one of the most efficacious pre- yentauves against cholera, especially when taken with hot tea. The consumption of rum on the Continent is, in con- sequence, much on the increase. A novelty in gymnastics has found its way to the Hippodrome, Paris, entitled the Man with the Golden Jaw- bone. He is an athlete, who with his teeth lifts up another acrobat, the man thus held throwing himself about in the air and going through wonderful evolutions to the admira- tion of the spectators. The lady abbess of a convent at Acquaviva, where o ^ere lately quartered, has addressed mf rhiAS f Nicotera, thanking him and the men pl in th orders fo^ their exemplary conduct during their crpatlv • Ihe nuns>" she adds, were all greatly edined at their conduct; the night passed in the greatest quiet and not a fly was to be heard. It looked not like a soldiers' quarters, but like the lodgings of men who sleep in the peace of the Lord." A violent thunderstorm visited the north of England and some parts of Scotland on Friday afternoon. No fatal accidents from the lightning are reported, but great quan- tities of hail fell, and a vast quantity of glass was broken. Two deaths from sunstroke are reported from Not- tingham. At Halifax, on Saturday, a young man named Geo. Mitchell was charged with the manslaughter of his brother, John. They lived at the same house. On the 23rd ult. a quarrel aros 9 between them, they seized each other and fell UP™ ^he cottage floor, when John lound that he had been stabbed in the arm. He was removed to the Huddersfleld Infirmary, where he died on Friday. The largest income of a Bostonian is that of Mr. Robbins, treasurer of the American Watch Company who is assessed for 377,000 dollars. In New York, the largest in- come assessment is that of A. T. Stewart, the dry-goods merchaut-4,780,000 dollars. 6 Among the claims presented at the Glamorganshire Court of Quarter Sessions was a claim for poison used in killing stray dogs at Merthyr another was from the chief inspector of the Swansea police for killing 100 dogs at Is. each; while the third was from a person whe charged ll. Is. for the removal and interment of three cartloads of the dead bodies of the dogs. The claims were allowed. The Independence Beige states that in Hungary great sympathy is felt for Austria, and there is much antipathy toward Prussia. A Hertford (Connecticut) paper reports that MrIt. Walker, wife of a machinist in that city, has fallen heir to a fortune m England estimated at 35,000,000 dols. á The Times has reason to believe that there is no i present danger of an armed "mediation" on the part of France, and thinks it begins to be tolerably clear that. Austria will bow to necessity. Prussia makes no mystery of her design to drive Austria out of the German Con- federation; but she expresses no wish to destroy her position as a great European Power. At Spit Point, near Par, the other day, a miner, who was picking limpets, heard a screeching noise, and on going to the spot whence the noise proce eded, he found a 5a^ght by the n03e by an oyster! He immediately killed the rat, and ate the oyster! A French paper states that a signalman recently went to sleep on the Lyons Railway, with his right leg on the rails; that a passing train cut it clean off; and that the sleeper did not discover his loss until he awoke some time afterwards and attempted to walk. An inquest has been held on the body of John Tomlmson, a clerk, at Preston. It was stated in evidence that on one day shortly before his death, he drank fifty glasses of ale. The verdict was "Intemperence." An official return contained in the Moniteur shows- that the total revenue of France from indirect taxes during the first half of the present year amounted to 619574000 francs, betng an increase of 56,653,000 francs on the corres- ponding period In 1865, and of 22,200,000 francs in 1864 The direct taxes during the first six months of 1866 producedl 271,066,000 francs. A gentleman asked Rothschild's advice as to sneeisw lating in the finance and banking companies at that time in high favour. "Oh yes," was the advice, "but if Wto speculate, my friend, you must do as you Would in aS»we? bath—Boon in and soon out." aoowex The Osservatore Romano, the organ of the Papal £ .7nen«w»n '.< wmina<ea an article on th° cession of Venftiw Th—j Ie resign ourselves to the decrees of Provi- I?H JF of "aly is dear to us, provided the liberty of the Church be secure." In a certain district in "the black country," it is stated, the person holding office as Nusiance Inspector is let, a general shopkeeper; gnd, a coffin maker; 3rd an agent for a patent hearse; 4th, a house and rent collector; 6th, an auctioneer and valuer 6th, a road surveyor 7th a clerk to coffin and other clubs; 8th, a jobbing carpenter- 9th and lastly, a nuisance inspector, for which he receives a yearly salary of 102. from the public. The demolitions in Paris are continuing as actively as ever, for the formation of new streets and boulevards Within the last few days the city of Paris has been con- demned to pay nearly 750,0001. English, for a few houses int theRue Laffiiite and the Chaussee d'Antin, which it requires; to pull down for the prolongation of the Rue Lafayette This large sum will give an idea of what demolitions in Paris cost. When the Empress Eugenie returned home from her visit to the cholera patients of I A mien a, the Emperor welcomed her by the following wordsEugenie, this has been a eood day for France. You at Amiens, I in Paris, have done a good day's work." Venice had just been ceded. The principal drapery establishments of London his intention to close Pdu?i"g °the montifs o? ^Sly^ndl theSempaioy!d." 6Very Thursday> ior "the recreation ot! Earn 181 J110 Leicester Assizes, Henry Samsoni Leicester S -age> Pleaded guilty to stealing the* robbery wan t. Ppi!1*?hanJ' mail-bag in May last Thai rallwaJvIn in 1°-1 the, middle of the night fro*»» to itI JJS ? ? 1'was Placed Pending its transmission wi„f nation. After the robbery the prisoner left his aiDd,lll8guardians beln8 communicated with his trunk was broken open, and the mail-oag discovered. On his being arrested, the duplicate of a valuable watch, which had been abstracted from the bag, was found upon him. '?: i he prisoner pleaded drunkenness as htsexcaae. Hewasa"i sentenced to 15 months' hard labour. An inquest has been held at Devonport, on fito body of Joseph Colclough, a soldier in the 94th Regiment On Sunday morning the sleepers in the Raglan Soracke were aroused by cries of distress, and on going ani; of the barrack-room they found the deceased lying on the around suffering from severe injuries. It is supposed that the de- ceased, who had gone to bed quite sober, had walked in his sleep and fallen out througtl a large window which had beeu left open. A very extraordinary charge was made against a sohcitor on Saturday at the Westminster police-court Ac- cording to the opening, and, of course, ex parte statement. ThPr^0mPmeS1aU the incidents 01 » fashionable novel- There is, or was, a large estate devised as long ago as 1769 after several generations a break occurred in the direct line) of heirship; the property then did not get into the rightt hands; and there is something about a factitious son and various other romantic matters. The charge against tfea accused is that in 1840 he and others had possession in trust ef the property, and had ever since been receiving the rents and putting them into their own pockets Sevend witnesses were called, and the case was adjourned." Each year (says Galignani) the Minister of Atrrf- culture and Commerce publishes in the Monitenr a iut nf" deposits whichhave been allowed to lie in the aavin^ t! for thirty years. In that just given there appea^fr ?^ as having remained unclaimed since Anril is ia2t\ the property of one Amable Jean JaS staff captain, residing in the Rue Saint-AntoiS! 129 Thl™ o\Te cXe1ovVfj £ Tr thus ^noring^thfexuS °" manv yeaw —At th« L±ast°Po1 Tand keeping the money •= wfnears also to h™ I T date £ ouia 1Jlanc' law student;, • lisf f™ AQf? L money by. &nd his name is on th* britv anrt 1x11118 Blanc has gained some cele- ^# S'pn "I'mlf,4 have been found in London. He ha*M tion F^anpninl Dix Ans>" L'Histoire de la RevoluT f ™c-' and m 1848 he was on« of the eleve* members of the Provisional Government.