The Aberdare Times

THE BIRMINGHAM EXPLOSION. The more clearly the facts of the great explosion at Messrs. Ludlow's cartridge woiks last week come to be known, the more terrible and disastrous does the catastrophe appear. Already the number of deaths has risen from 17 to 23. six out of 53 sufferers in the hospital having died since Friday night, and of the survivors it is not expected that more than a moiety can recover. The last six victims were Polly Smith, aged 15, Margaret Burns, 18, Lousia Ilately, Mary Ann Weach, Elizabeth Clark, and Elizabeth Taylor—the latter of whom leaves six children. Incident- ally, two other deaths must be referred to the same fatal cause, aa this morning two of the injured women in the hospital gave birth to children, both of whom are dead. Another of the sufferers, Emma Anson, who had sustained a compound fracture of the leg, had the limb amputated on Saturday. If to the ascertained number of victims in the dead- house and hospital be added the "unknown quantity" of persons more or less slightly injured who are being treated at home, it is believed the total number, of sufferers by the explosion cannot fall far short of 100. A calamity of such unprecedented magnitude following in the rear of so many others of a like character, though of smaller proportions, in the same vicinity has naturally caused a most painful sensation here, and public opinion is loud in demanding a rigid and searching inquiry into the causes of these repeated "accidents," in which the sufferers are almost exclusively women and young children. It is pointed out that in a space of nlue weeks there have been no less than four explosions at the Witton Cartridge Works-vlz., three at Messrs. Kynoch's factory, and one at Messrs. Ludlow's, which is within a stone's throw of the other, and that these "accidents" have been steadily progressive, the number of sufferers by the four explosions being respectively 2, 10, 67, and now 70; and it is urged that unless some check is imposed on the growth o! these dangerous factories, or in the mode In which their processes are conducted, not the workpeople only, but the surrounding population, will be imperilled. Even in the present instance, when only three cut of the nineteen shops," or sheds, composing the factory exploded, the force of the concussion was so great as to shatter the windows of houses situated at a distance of some hun- dreds of yards, and had the explosion extended to the other sheds or the powder magazines in the same field, it is impossible to say what the consequences might have been. To the brief account of the explosion given In the papers of last Saturday it may be useful to add a few details as to the locality and arrangement of the works which have been so terribly visited. The site is a low lying field, bounded on one side by a railway embankment, and fenced off on the others from neighbouring fields and from the main road, Witton-lane, which at this point, some 3} siiles from Bir- mingham, passes under the railway. On this patch of ground stood some 19 substantial wooden stalls, averaging about 40ft. long by 20ft. wide, and separated from each other by inter- vals of from 10 to 20 yards. The interior arrangements of these sheds may be said to consist generally of wooden benches, running round the walls, and narrow tables dis- posed longitudinally in couples on each side of the centre, which is loft free for locomotion. It is in the centre that the heating stove is usually placed, and that was its position in the "shop" or shed where the recent explosion originated. This latter shed, technically known as the Enfield loading shop," and used for completing the "loading" of the car- tridges—the most dangerous part of the manufacturing pro- cess—stood at a distance of some 80 or 90 feet fram the road fence. About ten yards from this, in an oblique direc- tion, was another shed used for charging the cartridges with- powder, and some seventeen yards further of was a third shed, appropriated to a similar purpose, [n the three sheds there probably were employed altogether about 100 persons, chiefly women and girls, and of these scarcely any escaped without injuries more or less serious. At the moment of the explosion the manager or overseer of the works was quitting a magazine in another part of the field, and had just stepped out of the door when he saw a dazzling sheet of flame shoot out from beneath the Enfield shop, which wb: imme- diately rent asunder with a deafening roar. In a minute the wreck was a mass of fire, and the blazing fragments by the force of the explosion were scattered far and wide. Some of them apparently fell upon the neighbouring shop," which must have been partially burst in by the force of the con- cussion, as it exploded almost instantaneously under the shower of live sparks from the first shed, and in its turn communicated the fire to shed No. 3. The most destruc- tive of the three explosions was the first, In which out of some 25 workwomen 17 were killed on the spot, or de- voured by the flames in view of the spectators, without a chance of rescue. From the other two sheds the work- people for the most part contrived to scramble out, un- aided, burnt, blackened, bleeding, and blinded, but still alive. Many of the poor women who staggered out meaning and shrieking into the road, where they fell down, had scarcely a strip of clothing left on them, and the ground for yards around was strewed with the burnt and tattered and blood-stained fragments of female dress. Help wax, happily, soon at hand, both from the neighbouring works ef Messrs. Kynoch and from the heuses in the road, and in an incredibly short space of time no less than 63 women and girls whose injuries demanded medical treatment were removed in cabs and cars to the General Hospital. Seventeen others who had been engaged In the Enfield loading shop were burnt almost to cinders, and their charred remains were removed to neigh- bouring premises to await identification. That painful task began on Sunday and resulted In the identification more or less complete of five out of the 17 bodies—viz., those of Harriet Smith, 16 Selina Bullivant (27), Maria Brown '23), married Amelia Woodman (39), married; Mary Owen (18), married; and Jane Ward (14). These were the least disfigured corpses, but even in their cases the features were entirely obliterated, and the only clue to their identity was some ornament or fragment of apparel. One of the first bodies identified was that of Harriet Smith, who was recognized solely by one of her boots and a button of her dress. Another body was claimed by no less than three different people, one being the supposed husband of the deceased, whose claim, how- ever, was overruled. Another was identified by a piece of round her throat, and another by a ring of peculiar form • but the great majority of attempts at identification were'futile, and the sorrowing survivors had to depart without even the melancholy satisfaction of claiming the remains of their relative. One man who had lost both a wife and a daughter contrived to identify the former by means of a belt she wore, but the daughter s body was not distinguishable. Another man, an old one, with whitened hair and tottering steps, was so overpowered by the ghastly sight in the shed, where he came to seek his child's corpse, that he fled from the building with a shriek of horror. Respecting the cause and manner of the accident, little more Is known than was stated on Saturday. All accounts concur in attributing it to the awkwardness or inadvertence of one of the workwomen, whose dress caught fire as she stood near the open stove where her dinner was warming. On discovering her peril the poor girl is said to have rushed screaming to and fro, and her companions apparently had not the presence of mind to throw her down and crush out the fire before It communicated with the loose powder lying about. From the benches, the sheet of flame would easily extend to the "hoppers or reservoirs of gunpowder from which the cartridges are fed, and this would explain the statewent of one of the survivors, that the fil1sh came down the whole side like lightning." The stove which caused the mischief is said to have been recently fixed for the purpose of warming the shed—a truly perilous comfort. SUNDAY EVENING. Sour more of the sufferers by the recent Witton explosion have died since yesterday afternoon. Their names are Fanny Clark, John Hickman, Mary Ann Bradeley, and Sarah M'Kenna. This makes ten deaths in the hospital, and raises the total mortality from the accident to twenty-seven. Several of the other patients are in a very critical state, and are not expected to survive many days.

The Inquest upon the bodies of the unfortunate persons who were killed in the explosion, was opened on Monday, and after the necessary evidence had been taken, the coroner stated his intention to apply to the Government to appoint a properly qualified person for the purpose of in- vestigating and reporting upon the whole of the circum- stances, and the inquest was adjourned until the 20th Inst. t,1p to this time So deaths had been returned.

BREACH OF PROMISE. In London, the eause of "Hall v. Regnart" has been tried, and was an action for breach of promise of marriage. The defendant denied the promise, and pleaded, secondly, that a reasonable time for the marriage had not elapsed; and, thirdly, that the agreement to marry was upon the condition that the plaintiff's mother should, before the marriage took place, satisfy her creditors and obtain a respectable position, and that this condition had not been fulfilled. Mr. Turner, in his opening, said this wai a esse in which the young lady had been deeply wronged, be- cause the defendant, after breaking his promise, had tried to insult her, and wound her feelings. The plaintiff, Emma Hall, in 1859, when 19 years of age, was living with her father, a dealer in china and glass in the Tottenham court-road, and the defendant, Horatio Greece Regnart, who was about the same age, was then a shopman in the employ of IMestrs. Mapte and Son, the well-known upholsterers in that thorough- fare. In consequence of business communications they became intimate, and in 1861 the defendant made the young lady an offer of marriage, which was accepted. Owing to some misconduct on the part of her father Miss Hall left home and took a situation as sales- woman in a shop at Bayswater. A constant corres- pondence was kept up between the parties, and the defendant's letters were couched in the most endear- ing terms, beginning "my darling Emma., or my darling," and winding up with y tionate lover, Horace Regnart" (using that Ohrihtian name instead of his proper one, Horatio), or fondest love and best wishes, yours ever, «o.» similar phrases. Miss Hall's father died in 1864, and in 1865 she went on a visit to Scotland, and after- wards, on the persuasion of the defendant, she took a situation in the shop of Mrs. Temple at Brighton. While she was there the correspondence continued, and in one letter the defendant said—" You are very acute in reading love letters, but you know what a duffer I am at it while in others he spoke of an absence of a few days from her being like a separation for years, and of her being his" principal port in this world," and strongly advised her for his sake to avoid the damp and cold of Brighton. On July 14, 1865, he wrote— I received your kind letter yesterday morning. I am very glad to hear that you have had a bathe. I intend to have one every morning when I come down. I have a very peculiar feeling, which tends to make me uneasy—it is that J feel quite lost when you are away." In another letter, written on the 27th December, 1865, he said— I was highly delighted to hear of your safe arrival, and nope you will not catch cold by your cold Journey. The piece of poetry seems to me to be very appropriate indeed, under the circumstances I really fancy, my dear Emma, you must have got it purposely for the occasion. I feel that I must apologise to you, but I must confess that I really felt unwell on Tuesday, ana although I cannot get rid of it my cold Is a little better than when we parted. My mother has wanted me to have a mustard plaster on, but you know how I abhor them. However, if it is no better to-morrow evening I will take her advice. I have been thinking that I am sure you would use good discretion in destroying my very silly letters for I am sure that the leading press, the •' Times," would not con- sider them of any value to publish If you thought it neces- sary, but if your mind Is as comfortable upon that point as mine is that day's news will not occur for the public at large." When Mr. Hall died, the business was carried on by a son-in-law for the benefit of the widow, but ultimately Mrs. Hall took it into her own hands. In February, 1867, by the wish of the defendant, Miss Hall came to London to assist her mother. She lent him some of her savings, and he lent the mother £20, which was repaid, with 10 per cent, interest. In the same year Mrs. Hall failed, and her daughter went to another situation at Tunbridge Wells. The correspondence was still kept up, and the defendant alluded to having a salary qI jElM a year, besides commission, to hia having insured his life for another £200, and to his looking out for house pro- perty. He made reference also to some calico, a pre- sent for the young lady, but after the marriage was broken off he made a claim for the price of it. In July, 1869, Mhs Hall noticed a change in his manner to her, and she heard he was paying visits to another young lady, whom it was believed he subsequently married. She asked for an interview, and he then told her he had made a mistake, and must break off the engage. ment. Thus, after having wasted the best part of the girl's life, he whistled her off, to be an object for the laughter and ridicule of others. During the engage- ment he had not sciupled to borrow £26 from her, and in October, 1869, he wrote to her, in reference to the loan, this cool note — Mr. Regnart Is very sorry to find he is not able to keep his promise to-day to Miss Hall with regard to the pay- ment of the money he owes her. It may be as well to state that there may be no ground for alarm; that I owe the debt, and I feel sorry it was ever contracted." In afterwards remitting the money he deducted JE3 4, for the calico. The defendant said a reasonable time had not elapsed for the marriage, but he had found time to marry another girl. With regard to the other plea as to the mother's obtaining a respectable position, the learned counsel said that she had never held any but a respectable position, and had done her best to resuscitate her husband's business, and that after having been engaged to the young lady for so many years, it was only adding insult to injury to say that the promise was dependent on such a condition. Mr. Baron Martin, on the conclusion of the learned counsel's statement, expressed his opinion that it was a case for settlement. And the parties, who at the outset had endeavoured, but in vain, to come to terms, entered again into nego- ciatioc, and the result was a verdict for the plaintiff- Damages £150.

STRANGE CASE OF BIGAMY. At the Central Criminal Court, In London, Fanny Reeve, 26, a good-looking woman, has been tried on a charge of bigamy. This cape was a very remarkable one. It appeared that the prisoner was married in 1863 to a gentleman named Charles Julien Reeve, and in 1867 she con- tracted another marriage with a gentleman named Blechmere. For contracting this second marriage she was tried at the Central Criminal Court in June, 1868, for bigamy, and was convicted before the Recorder and sentenced to one month's imprisonment. She was again married, in June of the present year, to a gentle- man named Wood, at Wandsworth Church, and she then represented her name to he Fanny Armstrong, and that she was the widow of Captain Armstrong of the 16th Regiment. The prisoner, in her defence, declared that at the time she married Mr. Wood she believed her first husband, Mr. Reeve, was dead. The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty. Mr. Wood, the gentleman who contracted the last marriage with the prisoner, said that she had deceived him in every respect. Before they were married she said that she had never known either her father or her mother, but he ascertained that her father and mother were both living within a very short distance of the place where he lived at Wands worth. After the marriage, the prisoner had obtained money from several of his friends by various frauds and pretences. The prisoner again asserted that at the time she married Mr. Wood she believed her first husband was dead. The Common Serjeant told her it was idle for her to say that, because when she was tried in this court in 1868 she must have heard it sworn that Mr. Reeve was alive. He considered it a bad case, and he sen- tenced her to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for twelve months. It was stated in court that the prisoner had con- tracted a fourth marriage in January, 1864, with a person named Robert Mills.

CURIOUS ACTION AGAINST A PAWNBROKER. Sheriff Bell, of Lanarkshire, ba'1 just pronounced judgment in a case of a peculiar and most unusual nature. In July, 1869, an act on was raised by the Rev. John Crighton, Established Church Minuter, Larkhall, against John Small, pawnbroker, Hamilton, for delivery of certain aitides alleged to have been pawned by his wife without his knowledge or consent, and which were therefore in the illegal possession of the respondent. On 26th July of the present year Sheriff Spens issued an interlocutor, from which it appeared that the articles—consisting of gold finger and ear ring<<, brooches, bracelets, silk dresses, opera cloaks, mantles, fans, domestic and table utensils, electro-plated spoons, and baby clothes, &c.—were pawned by the petitioner's wife, or by a servant acting generally under her in- structions and without her husband's knowledge, the total sums advanced amounting to £481005., none of which did the husband receive, and the restoration of all the property was ordained. It was stated for the pawnbroker that £15 of the money advanced had gone in part payment of a draper's bill of JE110 7s. 6d. The draper had already sued for the payment of the balance, but his action was dis- missed on the ground that the debt was incurred without the husband's sanction, and that it was ex- cessively large for a woman in her position of life. Both parties appealed to Sheriff Bell, who has gene- rally confirmed the former judgments, but rules that the J215 paid to the draper was a reasonable sum for clothes, and that paraphernalia may bj pledged in security for a husband's debts he allows the pawn- broker to retain possession of property to that amount, and ordains delivery of the balance.

LORD LYTTELTON ON THE EDUCA- TION OF GIRLS. In addressing a meeting at St. Pancras Vestry Hall, the other night, to support the establishment of schools in Camden Town for daughters of the middle classes, Lord Lyttelton, who presided, made a few observations on the general question of the education of girls. Ex- pressing much sympathy with those who believe im- provemenisrequisite, he was of opinion that it is a doubt- ful question whether there is not, intellectually and morally, more equality between the sexes than we have been in the habit of thinking. Though he could not agree that American experience has proved the mental capacity of women and men to be the same, yet he believed that much more may be done by the gentler sex than has hitherto been thought possible. That the public mind was ttnding in this direction was clearly shown by the election of two ladies to the Metropolitan School Board. It could not be supposed that on so great a question, affecting such important interests, natural gallantry influenced the result. On the contrary, he believed that Miss Davies and Miss Garrett were fitted for the duty imposed upon them. Contenting him- self, however, with the tentative and experimental stage in speaking of these subjects,_ he was not certain how far these enlarged occupations would be found suitable for women at large but he did not see how it was possible to resist the argument that fair and full experiment must be made to admit them to a great many branches of industry in this country which have hitherto been monopolised entirely by men. Re- solutions in favour of the proposed schools, which are to be on a similar plan to the middle-class schools for boys in the City, and are to be conducted by Miss Buss, were advocated by the Rev. A. W. Thorold, Vicar of St. Pancras, and other speakers, and passed.

INCOME TAX ON HOUSES AND LAND. The assessment to income tax in Great Britain, under Schedule A (in respect of the property in lands and houses) in the financial year 1869-70, shows 34 of the 40 counties of England assessed at more than a million sterling. The annual value assessed to the tax under this schedule in Middlesex amounted to £18,052,185; in Lancashire, £ 12,098.829; Yorkshire, £11,036,433; Surrey, £5,716,848; Kent..64776,199; Lincoln, £3.527,721 Somerset, £3,229,421 Warwick- shire, 3,166,588; Staffordshire, £ 3,139,443? Devon- shire; £3,028,854: Norfolk, jE2,823,508 Essex, £2,672,415; Cheshire, £2,671,267 Sussex, £2 604,605; Southampton, jE2 517,747 Suffolk, £2,089,047; GIocester,Bl,929,005; Northumberland, £1,839,644; Durham, £1.781,667; Worcestershire, jEl.713,189 Derbyshire, £ 1,655,586 Wilts, jSl, 654,206 Notting- hamshire, £ 1,599 780 Northamptonshire,£I.584,137 Leicestershire, £1,575,787; Salop,£1,543,517; Cam- bridgeshire, m 380,527 Cornwall, £1,295,491; Berkshire, £1,192,142; Oxfordshire, £1,191,096; Herts, £1,154,;)69; Dorset, £ 1,122.977; Bucking. hamshire, £1,112,473; Cumberland, £1,077,663. In Wales, Glamorganshire was assessed under Schedule A at £1,084,440; each of the other 11 counties was under half a million, but Carmarthen reached £458,168, and Denbigh, £476,289. In Scotland. Lanarkshire was assessed at £2,723,440; Edinburgh county, at £1,661,015; Forfarshire, £945,060; Aberdpenshire, £914,642; Perthshire, £843,914; Ayrshire, £806,0;)4; Fifeshire, £ 732,960; Renfrew, £717,269; the other counties are under half a million. Most of the counties show a larger value assessed than in the preceding year, but several show some de- crease. By far the most remarkable difference occurs In the instance of Gloucestershire, where the value as- sessed under Schedule A waa £2,589,572 in the year 1868.69, and only JE1,929,005 in 1869-70 and under in 1869 70D' £ 1>627,789 ™ 1868 69» and only £ 1,133,848

HOPE FOR IRELAND. The Dublin Correspondent of the London Times writes It must be gratifying to every true friend of Ire- land to observe the convincing proofs of its social im- provement which are on every side presented. The gloomy pictures of its material condition which the fomentors of disaffection exhibit are misrepresentations which deceive only those who have no opportunity of examining the facts. There can be no doubt, notwith- standing the statements of interested persons to the contrary, that under British rule the country is steadily advancing in agricultural and commercial prosperity, and the people have abundant reason to be satisfied with the more comfortable circumstances in which they are placed and the meana of further pro- gress now at their disposal. Ihey are too in- telligent not to see that the substantial causes of discontent have been removed, and that they really possess exceptional advantages which they ought to appreciate. It will require time to dev elope the beneficial effects of legislation, but already signs are not wanting of the growth of a better feeling be- tween different classes and more general contentment. With the inducements to industry which are now afforded, not only by the higher rewards of labour in wages and prices but the prospect of a secure enjoy- ment of its fruits, it may be hoped that the occupiers and tillers of the soil will have a proportionate sense of the necessity of maintaining tranquillity and order, and the risk of irreparable injury to their own interests from political disturbance. They can hardly fail to re- cognize the value of a settled Government, able to pro- tect and anxious to assist them, and they will be the less disposed to countenance the schemes of vision- ary enthusiasts or selfish agitators. They are already showing, in places where it might be least expected, that they do not implicitly believe the statement that the Land Act is a sham, and that the landlords are exterminators and oppressors, who are to be regarded with irreconcileable hatred. The rales for the regulation of the practice as to sales of property to tenants have only been a few dayB oeiore the public, and forms of agreement for taking advan- tage of this branch of the Act are now in actual pre- paration. In the North the tenants are quite alive to the importance of the recent legislative changes, and are making arrangements to vindicate their rights. Associations have been formed for the purpose of securing the full benefits of the tenant-custom clauses, and protect their interests in the discussion of the legal questions which are likely to arise.

THE ENGLISH IN PARIS. The following letter appeared in Monday's Times .-— By the extract subjoined you will learn that permis- sion is refused to all strangers to leave Paris. This refusal was at first ascribed to Count Bismarck and now to General Trochu. There still remain in Paris about 150 British sub- jects, to whom this unaccountable decision is very grievous, they being all anxious to spend the approaching Christmas in England as usual. These 150 names have been inscribed at the American Consul's who kindly replaces t :.e British Embassy now at Tours, since the 3rd of October last. They have since been anxiously awaiting the required permission, and are now informed that it has been definitely refused. I venture to lay their unfortunate case before you in the hope that a notice iu your influential journal, so eagerly read by both contending parties, may induce them to lay aside a crotchet so useless to themselves and so very vexatious to no. I write by the same post to such friends as I have in Parliament to request them to bring the matter before the House. Apologising for troubling you, and wishing you sincerely a merrier Christmas" than, at present, appears to be reserved for us,—I remain, yours very respectfully, CLIFTON. Paris, Nov. 22. FAITS DIVERS. II Nous avonsl11 dans uu journal d'hier solr que M. de Bis- mark a dficidC qu'aucun Stranger ne sortiralt plus de Paris; c'est une erreur de croite que cette decision vient de Ver sailles; elle vient de Paris et c'est Ie Gfinfiral Trochu qui a prls cette resolution."

CARRIER PIGEONS. On this interesting subject—the peculiar instinct of birds and animals, by which they are enabled to find their way home again--the following letters have been sent to the Daily News for publication :— In your interesting leader of December 9, respecting the communication with Paris by means of carrier-pigeons, allu- sion is made to a subject, that has long had a deep interest for naturalists-namely, the power possessed by birds and animals of finding their way back to a given spot by a road never before travelled by them. There appears to be no doubt that Providence has bestowed an instinct upon them which we, who do not possess it, are hardly able to compre- hend. Birds of passage find their way by means of this unerring guide to the remotest regions of the earth, and seem to prefer travelling by night, as the keepers of lighthouses are well aware, Inasmuch as they frequently find woodcocks and other birds lying dead under the win- dows, having been killed by flying against the thick plate glass, attracted, like moths, by the light. The aame faculty exists In various domestic animals, but Is not so strongly developed as in birds. A horse belonging to a friend cf mine was turned out In some marshes ad- joining the Thames. The distance in a straight line from his owner's house was only a few miles, but he had to be sent a long way round to cross a bridge. In less than twenty-four hours he made his appearance at the stable door dripping wet, having swam the river and taken a straight line home. During the life of the celebrated sportsman the late Sir Richard Sutton a draught of young hounds were sent up to London, by waggon, from the kennel near Lincoln, and there put on board a vessel to go abroad. While the ship was dropping down the Thames one of them jumped overboard, and swam ashore. Some weeks after it made its appearance at the kennel half starved, and covered with bites bestowed upon it by its more fortunate fellows. I regret to have to add that it was killed immediately, so many valuable hounds having recently been destroyed in that pack by madness that the huntsman was afraid to take it in. I rather think that it was a black cock, not a hawk, that Rob fuly boasted of his son being able to bring down with a single ball. This feat has been surpassed by the present Lord Huntlngfleld, who hat the reputation of being the be&t shot in England. An eyewitness told me that he saw him bring down a brace of black coek which rose together unexpectedly in a small cover, eaoh with a single ball from a double-barrelled deer-stalking rifle.—I am, &e. A LOVER OF NATURAL HISTORY.

"ith respect to your leading article upon carrier- pigeons, &s perhaps you may consider the following anecdotes sufficiently interesting for a place in your columns. Some years since a dog-fox was run to ground on Hatbfleld- heath, near Ashford, Kent. When dug out he was found to have some remarkable white spots about him, therefore the Earl of Thauet had him sent to his seat in Westmoreland- Appleby Castle—a distance of 3CO miles, and turned down. A tortnight afterwards the same fox was killed near Hath- field-his native place. Not very long ago I saw a cow bought at a farm auction. About six o'clock in the evening she was sent oil home by the purchaser, and was placed in in the yard, a distance of fifteen miles from her former home. At six o'clock the next morning she was found back in her old shed, quietly chewing the cud and waiting to be milked as usuaL I once purchased a brood of ducklings, about a month old, without the hen that hatched them. I took them home and plaeed tbem, as I thought, safely in a pig-pound. In the morning I found they were all gone, and I discovered them sncgly huddled together at their old quarters, at the other end of the village, 18 the nest in which they were hatched. Al abourer told me he had met them in the street, homeward bound, at four o'clock a.m., as he was going to work. They had not been off the premises where they were bred before. —I am, &c" L. I. J.

ALEXANDRE DUMAS. A recent mention of the alarming illness of M. Alexandre Dumas will have prepared our readers for the news of the death of that most popular and most prolific of French novelists and dramatic writers. His death was the result of a paralytic seizure, and he wanted two or three years of attaining the alloted three score years and ten. His father, M. Alexandre Davy Dumas, was a French General officer, who distinguished himself in the waril of the First Napoleon, and who, according to the received account, was the natural son of the Marquis de Pailleterie by a negress from the island of St. Domingo. Born on the 24th of June, 1803, at Villiers Cotterets, he was brought up, if not in the school of poverty, at all events in narrow circum- stances, for his mother applied, though in vain for a military pension. The son's education, therefore, was rather of a haphazard kind; on applying for employ- ment through the interest of his father's friends, he found but little chance of aid; and he might have starved or died of hunger if it had not been for the kindness of General Foy, who resolved to befriend him. Finding that young Dumas wrote a neat hand, the General recommended him to the post of supernumerary clerk in the office of the secretary of the Duke of Orleans (afterwards King of the French). His scanty income* ot £50 was then a fortune to him who after- wards conceived that dream of exhau-stlesa wealth— Monte Christo. For three years he lived the life of a recluse; the whole cf his leisure being devoted to supply- ing the defects in the education of his early years, and by this means he soon acquired a taste for literature and a desire to excel as anauthor. Having witnessed Charles Kemble's representation of Hamlet in Paris, his ambi- tion was stimulated to produce atragedy after the model of the English dramatist, and on the 1st of February, 1829, his first drama, Henri III. et sa Cour,was played, and met with unbounded applause, spreading the fame of the author far and wide. After this came in rapid succession a whole series of plays— Charles VII., Christine, Antony Richard Arlington, Therese, Angela — all of which were equally successful. Out of his own country the name of M. Dumas was probably better known as a novelist than a dramatist, and more espe- cially by his Monte Christo and Les Trois Mousquttaives, the former of which has been reproduced in England in a variety of forms. As a dramatic author he was a bold innovator upon the old-established manner of the French stage, and his writings have been of considerable service to French literature in assisting to free his countrymen from subjec- tion to arbitrary rules of composition. His claim to the authorship of the Tour des Nesle is disputed bat it is conceded that he furnished a great part of it. The controversy regarding this work, it may be remem- bered, led to a duel between Dumas and Gaillardet, the two claimants. His first romances were Isabeau de Bavibre, Les Souvenirs d'Antony, and Gaul ct France: then came his Impressions de Voyage-very amusing reading, but, as travels, monstrous fictions. In 1857 M. Dumas visited England during the General Election, and in 1860 he was with Gari- baldi in Italy, and wrote that great soldier's memoirs, and for a brief period held the office of Conservator of the Naples Museum. In 1852 Dumas began to publish his Memoirs, and of these upwards of 30 volumes have appeared. Taken collectively the catalogue of his writings is scarcely conceivable for its extent, num- bering, it is said, from first to last more than 1,200 volumes. A writer in a London contemporary some years ago gives the. following description of M. Dumas :— "If you should ever go to Paris, and chance In some of the streets to meet a great boy, about 5ft. 4in. in height, having a physiognomy resembling that of a negro, with frizzled hair, broad nOle, and an olive complexion, his costume also being distinguished by some peculiarity, such as light yellow under-waistcoat, or a riband of an infinite variety of colours, depending from his button hole speaking loudly and gesti- culating fiercely, as If he was quarrelling instead of con- versing with a Irland-you may go boldly up to him, and say, without fear of being deceived,' Good day, M. Dumas.' Be assured it is the man himself; for there are not two such physiognomies to be found In Paris at least, though there may be in the colonies, among men of colour. He will receive you very civilly, converse with you, and in a few moments you will feel, as it were, almost instinctively that you are confronted with the greatest or, at all events, the most prolific writer of modern times." M. Dumas's pen during the hey-day of his popularity was in constant and well-paid employment; and it is said that at one time his literary earnings amounted to an average of between 700,000f and 800,000f. a year; in other words, about jE28,000 or £32,oeO. But, notwithstanding this princely income, so great was his recklessness and improvidence, that he was constantly in pecuniary difficulties. His contributions to the French feuilktons were at the bottom of this success and such a popularity, in France at least, was the high road to wealth. The temptations held out to him by rival journalists to write for their papers were abundant and irresistible; and at last, we are told, he entered into agreements to write five romances at once for as many papers, an instalment of each appearing daily. At one time, indeed, about a quarter of a century ago, so great a furore was raised about his name as a contributor, and so fierce was the contest as to who should have the pre-emption of his pen, that the question came be- fore a court of law at Paris, and he had to sustain a procis against several (we believe five) of the great literary capitalists of Paris, who sued him for breach of literary contract. The contest, which would really by itself form an interesting chapter in the History of the Quarrels of Authors, was thus recorded in the columns of the Illustrated News of the time :— The hearing of the process commenced on the 22nd of January, when M. Lacon and M. Langlais, advocates of M. Vêren, girant of the Constitutionnel, and of M. de Girar- din, girant of the Presse, exposed the case of their clients. From their statements, it appeared that in March, 1845, M. Vfiron and M. de Girardin conceived the idea that it would be advantageous to their journals to secure the exclusive services of M. Alexandre Dumas, and thereby prevent him from enriching other newspapers with his productions. M. Dumas having complied with their views, treaties were drawn up between the respective pu-tiet). These treaties, dated March 28 and 30, 1845, set forth that Alexandre Dumas bound himself not to wrlse, during the ensuing five years, more than 18 volumes of romances per annum, of which nine were for the Presse and nine for the Constitutionnel. M. Veron and M. de Girardin, on their part, bound themselves to pay the prices M. Dumas thought fit to put upon his own works, which was, that each volume, forming about 22 feuilletons, and consist- ing of 6,000 lines (bits of lines being counted as whole lines), should be paid 3,500r., wh'.ch made 63,000f. per annum for the 18 volumes, or SlE.OOOt. for the five years. But, as M. Dumas, at the time of signing the treaties, was under other engagements, It was stipulated that he should be at liberty to fulfil them. These engagements were specified; they were merely to complete eight flUtlncC worD. When they were done Dumas was to belong to the Constitutionnel and the Presse alone." It must not, of course, be supposed, that M. Dumas wrote out all these romances word for word and line for line for the publishers. On the contrary, he kept in constant employment, a school of disciples, a corps of underwriters," who worked out the ideas which he sketched in the rough, and brought their labours back to him to be retouched by the hand of the great master whom they served. His son, M. Alexandre Dumas the younger, is well known both as a novelist and as one of the most popu- lar dramatic writers in France.

THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER ON MUSCULAR CHRISTIANITY. On Monday evening the Bishop of Manchester oc- cupied the chair at the fifteenth annual meeting of the Leeds Young Men's Christian Association. The Bishop, in the course of his remarks, referred to what was called "Muscular Christianitya term which meant a slap-daah way of going through the world. He remembered how once it had been said, just as a man in perfect health will not always be feeling his pulse to see whether or no it is beating f quably, but if he do and it is not will M) into an unnerved condition, so would the poor Christian if he would only go straight on, taking things pretty much as he found them, and had good heart, mightgo through the contamination of the world without peril, without fear. As in all things there was a measure of truth and a measure of falsehood, and there was rather a perilous measure of falsehood in the term "muscular Christianity," One of the temptations which they kuew the evil one put into the way of the Divine Lord was that he should cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, because the angels were ready at hand to catch him ere he fell, lest in his fall his feet should be bruised against the stones. But the Divine Lord, our example, was not to be caught by such sophistries. His simple answer was, and in all these ques- tions their simple answer should be, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." And it was temptation if they went in search of evil, If they tried to dally with sin, if they said they would go as near and as close to evil as they could, be- cause they heard all the world talking about it, aud should like to see something of it, for they did not like to be told that that they were ignorant fools and did not know any- thlug about the wùrld. It was poor, foolish Eve's weakness. Not contented with knowing the good, she desired to know something bad.

ANOTHER FEARFUL RAILWAY COLLISION. A fearful accident occurred shortly after six o'clock on Monday evening, on the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Hallway. A number of goods trucks, which were being shunted at a siding in Barnsley, got loose and ran down an incline to Stairfoot, two miles distant, and ran into a passenger train, from Barnsley to Sheffield, which had just drawn up to the platform, smashing the^break van and two of the passenger car- riages into pieces, and tearing up the line for some distance. Twelve passengers were killed, and upwards of twenty were seriously injured. Most of the local surgeons and the police were speedily on the spot, and some of the injured persons had their limbs amputated. Up to eleven o'clock the lines were not clear. Large fires were lighted on the line to enable the officers and others summoned to the scene of the accident to carry on the work of ex- tricating such of the dead and dying as were under the debris. Most of the sufferers are supposed to belong to the South Yorkshire district. At the time the accident happened a tea meeting was being held within a few yards of the station, to celebrate the opening of communication between the Old and New 0*ks Collieries.

THE MARKETS. MARK-LANE. «-MONDAY. The Corn Market is generally dull, an. all business ex. hibits much hesitation. The week's supply of Enllfsh wheat Is good, but the samples want condition, and pric« are weak at last Monday's rates, the Improvement of Fridav being lost, whereas on that day a further advance d looked for this week Foreign wheat is held at former rate? but is neglected, and on Saturday sellers of Careoes accented 6d. less money. Flour maintains last Svle bft very sparingly purchased-37s. to 44s. per sack is the range. Maize, oats, beans, peas, and feeding stuffs are unaltered la value, and demand keeps steady. The usual American telegram has not been received this morning, but on the 9th value in New York was the same as on the previous days. The week's imports into the United Kingdom 144 OC6 quarters of wheat and flour, are about equal to current wants, and the return just collected of London stocks at the end of November shows ample stores in granary, although less than at the end of October. —— METROPOLITAN CHRISTMAS CATTLE MARKET — MONDAY. The annual market of fat stock for Christmas consumnMmi was held to-day. Making due allowance for the ad?e«e* character of the past season, and the drawbacks presented to the fattening of live stock, owing to the partial failure of the hay crep, aud to the high prices asked for all kinds of feeding stuffs, the show must be considered as a Success. Certainly the actual weight of meat was perhaps rather less than the average of seasons, but the general quality was eminently satisfactory, especially as regards the Scotch re- ceipts. From our own grazing districts the arrivals V™ satisfaction, and we noticed some very fine shorthorn* at ?h!! stands. Devons and Herefords wSe no numerous but their quality was good. The wet weather coupled with the time that must elapse before killing caused the market ta open qu etly; but the tone eventually becZe mo™ favourable, and choice stock commanded favourable, and choice stock commanded extreme quotations, the best Scots and crosses making 6s 2d ner 81b £ ualMaw8 8hte £ th«a"lva,a were on the increase,'and toe Srm rx ade was not ai^ive but prices ruled. p t.he Downs and half-breds made 0J. and 6s. 44. rh<E. 7ev? >?ve Peen flr™> and Pigs steady. Among the choice Scotch beastB on offer, twelve forwarded by Mr each, the average for thirty^ seven being £ 45 per head. Per 81b. to sink the offal. Infer, coarse beasts 3* 6 4 4 Prime Southdown e o" a *4 Second quality. 4 6 4 10 Large coarseca'va. q s 4 4 Prime large oxen.. 6 4 6 10 Prime i o 6 Prime Scots, &c. 5 8 6 2 Large hog-. "4 66 2 Infer, coarse sheep 3 6 8 10 Neatsmall porkers 6 6 6 4 Second quality. 4 4 4 8 Suckling cal ves. 0 0 0 0 Pr. coarse woolled 6 2 6 10 Qr. old st. pigs,each 0 0 0 0 METROPOLITAN MEAT MARKET.—MONDAY. The market has been fairly supplied with meat. The trade has been dull at 0114 quotations. Per 81b. by the oaroase. s. d. s. d. s. d 1 d Inferior beef 3 4 3 8 Inferior mutton 3 a 4 9 Middling ditto 8 8 4 0 Middling ditto. 444 s Prime large ditto.. 4 10 6 0 Prime ditto 4 10 6 2 Prime small ditto.. 6 0 5 4 Large pork 3 4 « o Veal 4 8 6 4 Small ditto ,'4 J? ° FISH. Pickled herrings, 30s. to 32s. 6tL, red, 8s. to 16* tu» ditto bloaters, 2s. to 4a. ditto kippers 3S to box; turbots. 7s. 6d. to 13s. 6d.; bmi 3s 6i soles, Is. 3d. to 6s. per pair cod, £ 5 to# 7 10 each: ditto, 6s. to 10s. each whitings, 8s. to 10s nep hatl"?0™ 2s. to 6s. per bushel, eels, lid. to lg sd n/r u? BPr*to. ««lv. o„M„, m POTATOES. potatoes^Th^6toquixy hM^ofbepif 8uppUed *lth English Regents, 6o7to^( £ aSlK1at,our'lotions. Rocks, 60s. to 70s! per ton. £ egento» «*■ «> 86s.; TT, HOPS. »»s as the demand for medium qualities has been tolerably 0 ther sorts have 80ldqutetly, but at unaltered MId and Fast Kent, 85s. to 140s. Weald of R ant, bft to 5&. Btmex, SOL to 70s. Farnham and oouutry. 75L to 12ft old 20s. to 60L per cwL old 208. to 60s. per WOOL. mukeir M,0^"011 botlced In the woo ? produce has continued to realise full wlcea. English has been

But few additional facts have come to light regarding the manner and cause of the explosion. The latest theory of the accident is that one of the workwomen placed upon the stove an open tin vessel containing her dinner, and that in or about this vessel some gunpowder had fallen while it stood upon the workbench. The ignition of this loose powder by the heat of the stove is supposed to have been the immediate cause of the explosion. The stoves, it Is said, were only fixed in the sheds a short time before the ac- cident, which will explain the impunity hitherto attending their use. Strange to say, the factory rules, of which the following is a copy, provided against nearly every other form of danger except this, the most obvious one of all, which was not a little enhanced of late by the necessity of working by night as well as by day. "1. The working hours are from 8.30 in the morning until 7 In the evening, allowing one hour for dinner, and half an hour for tea." "2. No one, on any account, can be admitted Into this shop during working hours, except he is employed in the same." "8. No more than 501b. of gunpowder, loose or made up Into cartridges, can be kept in this shop at one time. A thousand cartridges, when filled, will contain about 101b. of powder." 4. No fulminating mercury, lucifer matches, or any ex- plosive composition can be kept in this shop." "5, Any person infringing these rules will be dismissed."

|Uiscc!lanco«s |nlcl(if)fnx £ HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. TAKING A GLOOMY VIEW OF IT !—In an article entitled "The Situation," the London Standard re- marks :— There is reason to view with some apprehension the ap- proaching Conference at London. The trial will be decisive as to the future of Great Britain. Indecision may destroy her; firmness may save her. The diplomatic battle on the point of taking place ought to constitute her the chief of a large group of Powers, and leave to Russia only the disgrace of a culpable attempt. If England compromises and yields, she will sign her abdication. Her allies, unsupported, will withdraw, and leave her isolated. lhe signs of our deca- dence will then beceme visible—but too late—to all eyes. And so complications and responsibilities will multiply and accumulate. To get the clue to this labyrinth, and to gain the path we ought to follow, it will be necessary to look to the meeting of Parliament. It Is by free debate we can show our sympathy towards our ancient ally, arrest war, and moderate the terms of peace. It ig by free discussion that we can uphold and guide the representatives of the nation in the conflict raised by Russia. Parliament is summoned for the 17th January. Its meeting should not be delayed a single day. HOUSE OF COMMONS' DIVISIONS.—In the Ses- sion of 1870 the House of Commons divided no less than 244 times—four times on private business, and 240 times on public business. In 1870 there were 37 divisions on the Irish Land Bill and 41 on the Ele- mentary Education Bill. The largest number of members present at a division was on the 4th of April, when 521 were in the House on a division upon the Irish Land Bill. Seventy-eight of the divisions cccurred after midnight. The sitting which began at four o'clock in the afternoon of the 14th of July lasted until a quarter-past five on the following morning. The discussion was on the provision in the Elementary Edu- cation Bill for the voting being by ballot; and there were nine divisions on motion* for adjournment, seven of them after midnight; 168 members stayed to the last division, which showed 146 against 21 votes. CotTON SEED.—American papers notice an in- creasing branch of commerce between the Southern States and Great Britain. The ship Ocean Wave, which cleared rfcently from New Orleans for Liver- pool, took 10,612 sacks of cotton seed. Factories for the manufacture of oil from cotton seed are at work in the South, and ready sale is found for the oil-cake in the Northern States and in Europe, the product being found of much value for feeding stock. The oil is one of the most valuable of the vegetable oils, and in New York brings from 35c. to 40c. per gallon. At the pre- sent time the total production of cotton seed in the South is 2,250,000 tons, of which nearly one-third is produced in the valley of the Mississippi. The market price for the seed in New Orleans is from 12 dols. to 13 dols. per ton. PUNCTUATION.—About sixty years ago there was an eccentric merchant, named Timothy Dexter, in Salem, Massachusetts, who had a work of his own writing, called, "A Pickle for the Knowing Ones," published, which contained no punctuation marks from beginning to end, except in a few pages at the close, which were entirely filled with commas, colons, semicolon?, and periods, with a notice that each reader of the book might "mix them in to suit himself." Timothy Dexter was the same person who sent a cargo of warming pans to the West India islands, but he lost no money by this, for the people knocked the lids off and used them for dipping out molasses.— Notes and Queries. THE MONT CENIS TUNNEL. — The Union Savoisienne contains the following :— "On Sunday morning, the 27th of November, the men working on the north side of the Mont Cenls Tunnel heard a rumbling sound on the BardonnSche side. To make lure of what it was they ceased working for a short time, fond then distinctly heard the blastings on the south side. These must have been at the time about 130 metres distant. The grand problem, therefore, is nearly solved. By Christmas, and even before then, the workmen will have met, for they are able to work at the rate of five metres per day." A ESMABKIBLE ANIMAL. The Cincinatti Gazette of the 12th ult. says, that a remarkable animal, supposed to be a young leviathan," is to be seen in a globe of water in the saloon of Mr. Mayer, on the south-west corner of Bremen and Fifteenth streets. It was caught in the Ohio river on the pre- vious Monday, and has been carefully preserved ever since. Many naturalists have visited it, but never have seen anything like it before. It is not a serpent nor an eel, for it has legs nor is it a fish, though it has gills. It is not a water-dog, nor is it an alligator. In length it is about nine inches. Its body is cylin- drical, like that of a serpent, the skin has a snaky texture and look, and is covered with brown spots. The head and mouth resemble those of the catfish, and the eyes are very smalL The tail flattens vertically, like that of a fish, but has no sign of a fin upon it. Behind the eyes are two gills, like those of a fiah, ex- cept that from each of them protrude beautiful deli- cate purple plumy tissues. It has four short legs, all terminating in beautiful little hands, the front pair provided with four, the hind pair with five fingers each. Altogether, the Gazette says, the animal is as comely in appearance as it is strange in character. A LILLIPUTIAN NEWSPAPER.—We (Daily News) have received a rather curious specimen of French in- genuity—a copy of LeSoir of the 25th November, com- pressed, by means of photography, into a sheet measur- ing only three and a half by two and a half inches. This Lilliputian journal, nevertheless, presents the full contents of an ordinary full-sized number, and with the aid of a good microscope can be read easily. It is Erinted on one side only of 'the little sheet, and is eadedVith a notice that it must be read as a trans- parency—that is, against the pane of a window, and with a magnifying-glass. This reduction of a news- paper to a very small size is not new it has often been done as a photographic curiosity; but it is the first time that we have seen its application to practical business purposes for in this way Le Soir can be sent out by the balloons in immense quantities, without any curtailment of its usual contents. POOR PUSSY !—From Food in Paris during the Siege," in the Food Journal:—There has always been a joke in Paris on the disappearance of cats, and a common name for puss is "gutter rabbit," while a dead cat is commonly called a civet" (civet de lievre), jugged hare. A caricaturist fixed tbis firmly in the public mind years ago. He sketched a chiffonier and a chiffonibre in presence of a fine dead cat on a heap of rubbish. After you with the civet," said the gentleman to the lady, politely lifting his hat. Like many other jokes, this one has come true; cat is eaten and sold openly, and although I never had the pleasure of par- taking of a civet of the kind—to my knowledge-I can assure you that cats are relished by a good many people and are quoted at 6 fr. each, while dog is quoted at 4 fr. the half animal I have, however, doubts about the dog. One journal declares that more than 24,000 cats have been sold and eaten. A student in medicine sent the following note to a friend :— Come on Saturday to my rooms and eat a broiled cat, seasoned with pis- tachio nuts, olives, girkms, and pimento, and washed down with Chablis. After dinner we will drink some Rhenish wine to the indivisibility of France." At a good house the other day—the house of a gourmet- the bill of fare was Met de cheval róti, escaloppes d'anon, plum pudding, au graisse de beeuf. STRANGE DEATH FROM THE BITE OF A DOG. —An inquest has been held at Liverpool, upon the body of Fredrick Duckett, a lumper. It appeared in evidence that the deceased was at the house of a friend when two dogs began to fight. The deceased separated them, and in doing so had his hand bitten, the flesh having been torn from one finger. The wound bled very much. He sucked the finger, and steeped it in rum for ten minutes. He was able to go to work next day, but the finger was much inflamed. It grew worse from day to day, extending to the arm. He had lofct his appetite, but was able to drink all beverages. Dr. CoBtine attended him. On Friday last he (de- ceased) was very ill with a pain in the stomach, the inflammation having extended to hia chest. On Satur. day he died, having been delirious for an boor btfore that event. The medical testimony set forth that death arose from blood poisoning, to which the deceased was no doubt predisposed, Dr. Costine stated, by reason of intemperate habits, although the bite from a man or an animal was dangerous irrespective of blood poison- Verdict, "Died from blood poisoning owing to the bite of a dog." AN AFFAIR OF THE RICH!—The Daily News has the following reflection on the recent London Cattle Show :— The Cattle Show week has come and gone. After the spectacle, comes reflection. It has left, if not the Cattle Plague, yet a Cattle Disease behind It. We believe that the malady is not general, and that the precautionary measures which have been taken will stop it. It illustrates, however, theiiskof these gatherings. Still, the advantages of them counterbalance their possible danger. If, indeed, the Show were nothing more than a collection of unwieldy oxen crammed with distressful oil-cake, of apoplectic pigs, and of discomfortable muttons, there would not only be a terrible sameness in the solemnity, but its economical benefits might fairly be disputed. A vast live meat market at the approach of Christmas is, no doubt, an Interesting and agreeable spec- tacle to those who can afford to celebrate the season in that guzzling and gormandizing fashion peculiar to the worship- pers of the great god Comfort in these islands. But from the point of view of agricultural economy in its relation to the food supply of the population, It maybe doubted whether the abnormal and happily artificial procr sses to which the growers aud feeders resort in their endeavours to heap mountains of fat upon their beasts in the shortest possible time, and without regard to cost or to the laws of Nature, are in themselves very admirable results of all this whole- sale rivalry in the production of grease and suet. Like many other exhibitions In this country, it is an aflair of the rich. The principal producers of these prize victims are the rich; the eaters, like the feeders, are the rich also. Then it cannot be denied that there is a large amount of inevitable cruelty Involved in this struggle of the graaiers to oulfatten one another; not so much, perhaps, as iu a great war between thousands of human beings, but more than enough to distinguish the country in which legislation against cruelty to animals was originated. Moreover, the condition of the prize. winner is not one of rude and vigorous health, but of disease. It il nothing more or less thau fatty degeneration. Soft-hearted people, who when they eat a patd de foi gras regret to think how the poor geese must have suffered from l1ver complaint, find it easy to forget how the honours of a Cattle Show were achieved, not to speak of the horrors of the passage from the distant fields and farms to the Coliseum of Islington. There may be no sort of novelty In the remark that an exhi- bition of agricultural labourers side by side with the fat cattle would be an instructive contrast for those easy-goicg statisticians who are always telling us how wonderfully wages have risen and prices diminished of late years, but the reo mark is worth repeating once every year. A DECLARATION OF HUMAN FREEDOM.—With regard to the denunciation by the Working Men's Union of New York" of the doctrine that every working man has a right to decide for himself whether he will or will not be a member of a trades organi- sation, the New York Journal of Commerce observes :— "The Unions declare that' this doctrine has already done the trade unions of America the greatest possible harm.' To be sure it has, and so It will to the end of time. It is a de- claration of human freedom, of the rights of man. All the resolutions and threats of all the unions cannot prevent that sentiment from spreading and being adopted by working men who are capable of thinking for themselves. Mr. Mundella, knowing that it is the height of folly for trade unions to try to bully men into joining them, wisely counsels them to give up such absurd and unjust attempts and stick to what is lawful and practicable. The Working-men's Union of thh city now gives him its answer, and shows anew how despotic aud narrow-minded such organisations are.' SUICIDE AT NIAGARA.—On November the 19th, a lady, arrived from the west, put up at the Spencer-house, Niagara Falls. On Sunday morning she took breakfast, and inquired the way to the Fallp. She went to Goat Island bridge, which is a distance of about 50 yards from the edge of the American Falls, climbed up the railing on the bridge, and jumped off before any assistance could reach her. From letters written by her it transpired that she had come from Chicago for this purpose. She had been for years more or less mentally diseased, but had escaped the watch kept upon her, and proceeded instantly to Niagara. THE NOVEMBER METEORS.—The November meteors were watched for on the morning of the 14th at Y ale College, Connecticut, by six observers, who counted 153 in four hours and 40 minutes. Last year the number was much larger, and in 18G8 there were about 7,000 seen on one morning by a party of observers. From these observations the inference is drawn that the great meteor stream had this year passed by the orbit of the earth at the time of observation in November. This belt of meteoric matter, it has been calculated, is about 1,000 millions of miles long and 50,000 miles thick, spreads over about one-fourth of its orbit, and has a velocity of 100,000 miles an hour. The November meteors, it is believed, will still be visible for several years, but in smaller numbers each year until they disappear entirely, to return again with great splendour in the year 1900. A CHURCH STORY.—There is an old lady patroness living not many thousand miles away from Oxford diocese, who signs herself, "Yours, &c., &c. in the old-fashioned style, but does not like being signed back to Yours, &c., &c. in the old- fashioned style also—a lady who has got a living with the funniest church in the world, and has lately presented" the living to a man with "considerable private means." It was indeed understood to be necessary that "considerable private means" should be one of the recommendations of every candidate for this most undesirable preferment. Several curates went to see "Yours, &c., &c. about the living, and were questioned narrowly about the exact amount of your private income, if I should decide to preaent the living to you, Mr. Brown." Of course the curate would be all aglow with expectation, and bding as a rule a far more honest and straightforward dealer than Yours, &c., &c." would, in his simplicity, and also in his commendable Christian candour and sincerity, tell what was the exact amount of his means. "Ah, I'm ofraid that would not be sufficient, my dear sir. Much as I should like to present you, this living requires larger means." All of which signified that the curate would not take a hint and make an offer.— The Churchman's Shilling Magazine. MR. T. HUGHES, M.P., ON AMERICA.—On Saturday evening, Mr. Hughes, in a lecture at the Working Men's College, Great Ormond street, London, gave a familiar description of some of the things which had struck him during his recent trip to America. Though he found the Americans exceed- ingly courteous and civil, he at the same time found it extremely difficult to open up a conversation with them. All over the States, contrary to his impression, he had found them a remarkably self-contained, serious, and almost sad people. If ever he should leave England, Boston, he said would be his resting- place for the remamdtr of his life. He was graphic in his description of the quaint old city, with its noble common fringed with the residences of men whose names are known almost as well in this country as in their own and of Cambridge, the seat of the Harvard University, where he stayed with Professor Lowell, and close by the house of Longfellow. Mr. Hughes paid a visit to the falls of Niagara. Some enterpris- ing Yankees have erected baths above the falls on the Canadian shore, which enable the bather to enjoy the sensation of a plunge—holding a rope be it understood —into the rapids of Niagara. Though the first im- pression appears to be that of being torn limb from limb, it is said, after getting used to it, to be a very delightful sensation; and on the strength of his own experince, the hon, gentleman strongly advised any! of his hearers who went to Niagara not to come away without trying the rapids bath.

EPITOME OF NEWS, I BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Sparrows are 50 cents a brace in Paris. The new way of spelling softly is psoughtleigh." Rumour has given the Duke of Devonshire as the probable chairman of the Captain commission. The last of the Mohicans is in the insane asylum at Middletown, Connecticut. He Is ninety-eight years old. Gustave Dore, who recently returned to France from London, has been missing for many weeks, and no informa- tion whatever can be obtained of his whereabouts. It is reported that some one has left or given to the indefatigable Father Iguatius a sum of £4,000 for com- pleting his monastery. M. Richard Wallace, who inherited the wealth of the late Marquis of Hertford, has given to the city of Parfg 200,COOf. fur filing for the poor. He lately gave 300,000f. for an ambulance. <* The Chancellor of the Exchequer acknowledges (as conscience money) the receipt of the first halves of notes for £15, and 4s. 2d. in stamps, from N. K. E. on account of Income-tax. The soldiers at Aberdeen, while on their march out" a few days ago, were preceded by two deer, walking loosely along Union-street. The spectacle was largely pat- ronised by the city boys. The band played Thou art so far, and yet so dear." At a New York wedding the groom forgot the ring. The traditional curtain ring was unavailable, and matters were at a standstill, till an ingenious lady cut off an end of one of the bride's curls, and framed out of this a ring with which the marriage was consummated. The Rev. Canon Harcourt, prebend of Carlisle Cathedral, died on Saturday morning at Carlisle. The canonry thus rendered vacant is worth about jE750 per annum, and the deceased prebend held other appointments worth about £1,000, A young nobleman proposes at;. his own expense to give a dinner to all the poor of London on the receipt of the news of the first really great French victory. Our neighbours have therefore something to fight for quite novel—namely, for charity's sake. The president of Cornell University presented Mr. Hughes to the company In a happy style. He found some difficulty In calling his name, hesitating at Tom Brown, Mr Mugby, Thomas Oxford—no, I mean Mr. Thomas Brown author of Tom Hughes at Rugby." A somewhat curious discussion in the Virginian press as to the exact baptismal name of General Lee has re- pealed the singular fact that the whole country has known 11m by a wrong name, as Robert Edmund Lee His name ippears to have been Robert Edward Lse, and is thus en- rraved upon hi. coffin-plate. History, must, therefore, thus Ipeak of him. A correspondent writes "Seeing a letter in the papers recommending copying Ink to be used on postal sards—a more simple plan Is new milk when dry there Is no J £ ?ea»inCu. held before a fire It becomes bright ea. Alarklng-ink Is not always available, more particularly n the country, and it is not a bad test in towns as to the jurity of the milk. proposal to victual Paris has been made by j j nnoni °' Ryde, who has written to the London standard to state that the firm of which he is the senior, are prepared to construct such large and safe balloons, that Paris :ould be supplied with provisions during the continuance of the siege. He shews that by means of ten of his aerial machines he could supply Paris with 90,000 rations daily, and tie promises to equip his balloons with formidable light weapons. If all stories be true, Count Bismarck has his hands full just now. Besides his projects for aggrandizing Prussia at the expense of France, and absorbing Luxemburg, he has fixed a covetous eye on the New World as well A rumour Is said to be current in "diplomatic circles" in Washington that Prussia desires a foothold in the West Indies, and has asked the assent of the United States to her acquiring a naval station there, either by purchase or conquest; offering by way of compensation to facilitate the acquisition by the American Government of a naval station in the Mediter- ranean. In the action of "Wilson v. Webb for seduction of the plaintiffs wife, tried in the Dublin Courts, the Jury on Saturday found a verdict for j61,000 damages and costs. In his charge, Mr J ustice Fitzgerald said that allusion had been made to the Divorce Court; he hoped no Parliament would ever inflict upon Ireland the Injury of such a court. We don't want tt. We have no necessity for it; and I believe I lpeak the truth when I say that five-sixths of the population —I do not allude to any particular Church, but speak equally if Protestants and Catholics—believe that the tie of matri- mony can only be dissolved by the band and ministry of tefttb, a war correspondent of the Daily Tuegraph is of opinion that midnight on a raw December night is not the most cheerful hour in which to begin a j urney by rail At Lancaster, a little girl two years of age, has been suffocated through accldentallly swallowing a marble which she had put in her mouth to prevent a lister getting it. It is stated that the Register-General of Seaman is paying visits to the chief seaports of the tJnited Kingdom, with the view of ascertaining how far and by what means the Royal Naval Reserve Force may be Increased. No less than four inquests were held in London last Saturday on children who had lost their lives by fire, under the usual preventible circumstances common to this class of accident. A story is current that a signalman who prevented Sr catastrophe at a siding a few months ago, u ;>s magnificently rewarded with a half-crown and the thanks of the Board of Directors!" The Boston Traveller is an express admirer of General Butler. It says his style of speech-making 2, iiti letter-writing is the "harnm scarum-helter-skelter, knock-ilown and-drag- out, one-down-another-come-on, go-it ye-ciipples style." A gushing American editor remarks that it is plea- sant for lovers to sit on the porch these evenings, and be happy In the thought that their blood is mvningling iu the same mosquito. Tile younger Count Seckendorff (brother to the Cr^wn Prince's Aide-de-C imp), of the Duke of Weimar's Regiment, was killed before Orleans. He was wounded at Woerth, and had only just returned to his regiment. The Empress Eugenie has, it is stated, invited Dr. Piesse to Chlslehurat, to take part In a consultation in refer- ence to the formation of a society to aid the rench prisoners In the various fortresses In Germany. A memorial has been presented to the Treasury, urging the granting of a pension to Dr. Bake. author of Origines BibUcc," and The Sources of the Nile," who Is now in the 70th year of his age, and is in ill health. The Earl of Faversham has settled the church-rate question on his Yorkshire estates, by making the rate an im- post upon himself instead of upon his tenants When the parish is wholly his lordship's property he pays the whole rate, and when held jniutly with other proprietors that part of the rate chargeable on his portion of the land. The Dean of Chester preached before the Q leen last Sunday in the private chapel at Windsor. On Saturday the Prince and Princess Christian, the Princo and Princess of Teck, the Duchess of lloxburghe, the Hon. Lady Buchanan, and Sir Stafford Northcote dined with the Qiuen, and on Sunday the Lord Chancellor dined with her Majesty. The Princess Louise has been graciously pleased to accept a shawl which has been specially worked for her by one of the girls in the Edinburgh Blind Asylum. The same girl has had the honour of doing work for her Majesty and the late Prince Consort. The shawl will he exhibited in the institution during the Christmas and New Year weeks. Mr. Hammond, writing on behalf of Earl Granville to the Mayor of Birmingham, acknowledging the receipt of a resolution passed at a public meeting there, i-ays:—' I am to Inform you. In reply, that her Majesty'* Government are earnestly desirous to maintain peace with Russia by all pos- sible means compatible with the honour and interests of this country." An action to recover damages against the North Landon Railway Company has been tiied in the Court of Common Pleas, In London, and ended in a verdict for the defendants. Chief Justice Boviil, in expressing his con- currence, remarked that during the late sittings at West- minster, four or five railway actions were tried, and in every case the verdict was for the company. Several persons last week went to Havre from Southampton with the expectation of witnessing the expected attack on Havre by the Prussians. Two of tbem, Mr. Cooksey, a Southampton magistrate, and Mr Keane, the wharfinger of that port, were viewing the fortifications of Havre on Friday last, when they were apprehended as spies, and for some time their safety was in jeopardy. The old workings of the Oaks Colliery, the scene of the terrible explosion in 1866, have been re opei ed during the last few days, and on Saturday and Sunday several of the unrecovered bodies known to be in the pit were found. The bodies were in such a state of preservation a3 to be < atily identified. It is expected that the exploration will lead to the recovery of the greater portion of the bodies yet in the workings. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has discovered that in many London firms it is the custom to pay employes partly by salary, and partly by a commission on the profits, but that whereas the employes return the first for assess- ment to the income-tax, they forget to mention the reward. So he is just now causing muchperturbaticu in clerkly circles by Inquiries which he thinks very pertinent and they think very impertinent. A curious swindling project is reported from Aus- tralia. A deposit of gold and quartz, recmtly supposed to have been discovered in Victoria, Australia, created much excitement. A company was formed, and the shares were rapidly taken and paid for. Further investigation, however, shewed that the mine had been veneered with gold leaf, laid on with size or varnish. The projectors of the company have been arrested. A gentleman named Smallbones, resioing at Whit- church, near Southampton, having been assessed in a sum of 4s. 3d. as a church-rate, refused to pay it on the ground that it had been illegal:y made The question came before the Court of Arches, when Mr. Smallbones was ordered to pay the rate, with costs. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has now reversed this decision, and the church- wardens are to pay the costs in both courts. Mr. Richard Wallace, the testamentary heir of the late Marquis of Hertford, has given away £ 20 000 in Paris alone within a period of little more than two months to necessitous Englishmen and the inhabitants generally, and continues to subscribe most munificently to various objects raised to mitigate the sufferings of the poor in that city. The last two numbers of the Tuileries papers," writes a Paris correspondent, are mainly filled with tele- grams from the Emperor, his wife, ministers, generals, &c between the opening of the campaign and 4ih September. Even after what you already know of the heedlessness with which the war was entered on, the Incapacity with which it was conducted up to Sedan, and the lying that clothed all as with a garment, these telegrams surprise j ou." It is related that when Sir James Graham, in the China debate, spoke about the approval of conscience, and the future ratification by a higher Power than man of a Policy of justice and honesty, that Lord Palmerat ti-with an un- conscious ingenuousness which, greatly to his own surprise, made the House of Ccmmous laugh at him—declared that for his part he'd id not look so far, and was content with the support of that House. Friends and brother officers of the lamented Lieut.* Colonel Pemberton will be agreeably Inters ted to learn that the testimonial clock designed by him, before leaving England, for presentation to the Guards' mess at the St. James's Palace is now completed. It is modelled In exact representation of the frontage of St. James's Palace, and the inscription tells that it is From Christopher Pemberton to the dear old regiment, in memory of the many cheery Guards' they have had together. 1870." During the past week Dr. Moberlr-y, Bishop of Salisbury, confirmed 53 of the convicts In Portland prison. In the course of his sermon on the occasion the Bishop, quoting from the chaplain's report, stated that of 119 pri- soners admitted to Holy Communion at Christmas, 1868, only 31 were reported for breach of the prison rules during the succeeding 12 months, and of these 26 were reported once only the number of Protestants In the prison being 1,309. The confirmation took place in the large chapel of the prisonl An American correspondent, writing from St. Louis, alludes to a mechanical euriosity exhibited there, styled a steam man." This extraordinary maehine is turned to practical use. The man is about nine feet in height, and walks behind a carriage containing four men, the carriage being pushed along at a very rapid rate. The correspondent states that a more natural affair he never taw than the "steam man," which looks just like a man pushing a peram- bulator. with four men in the latter. This singular specimen of Yankee ingenuity is said to be a decided success to the ingenious inventor. The Indipendance Beige says that the ex-Qaeen of »pain lately attended a great religious celebration at Caronge near Geneva, and was very badly received by the crowd. Reproaches were addressed to her on varlon. subjects, but especially on her supposed culpability » iS regard to the present war which has so seriously injured the trade and industry of the neutral countries, particularly the canton of Geneva. The ex Queen was loudly accused of having made an arrangement with the Empress, by which her son was to be replaced on the throne of Spain. Alto- gether the crowd seems to have expatiated at great length and with considerable acumen on various portions of the Queen's career, which it was no doubt qualified to do. an in Switzerland the very apple-women read the newspapers.