The Aberdare Times

IING WEATHER-A WARNING. andard of Tuesday published the following letter :— I beg your permist-i >n to say that a very great leric disturbance will occur on or about the 20th instant, which period may prove inconvenient a having hay crops; and, indeed, yachtsmen well to keep a safe port under their lee at the entioned, when we shall surely have rough The warning applies to the whole of the a hemisphere especially, but will be felt more hroughout the world. I have se often explained a cases) the why and wherefore that I will seek to occupy your valuable space unneces- 1 am the more anxious about seamen, because 5 ?™-Bolar £ alos the barometer is not to be relied on. How long after the 24th the dis- e may last no man can safely predict. We may a high flow of the Thames on the 24th this, will be much influenced by the direction of dj but precautions would be prudent.—I have, S. M. SAXBY, E N.

AMERICAN EMIGRATION. Boston (Massachusetts) Post says :—" During the 0 years the number of outward-boun 1 steerage by the steamship lines running between this d Liverpool has largely exceeded the number r. It was hoped that with the return of Spring 3 would have so far improved as to arrest this ant, wbiA is evidently draining the country of ,th-producinz forces. But this hope has not thus i realiz jd. The week before last the outgoing steamer took 160 steerage passengers, and last )5. These returning emigrants consist of two -those who are suffering from want of remunera- ployment and hope to better their condition in country, and those who have established them. l business here and have accumulated sufficient iO enable them to revisit their native land for wure of the trip, or from motives of social grati- About 75 per cent. probably belong to the class and 25 to the latter. These outward- passengers are, generally speaking, a much apectable looking and intelligent set of men men than those coming this way, the former the impress of that culture and refinement A.merican society has given them. Many of re as well to do, probably, as some Europeans tive Americans who would consider it beneath ignity to take passage in the steerage of an at ship. But some of these people prefer to 1 this humble way from motives and habits of y. A few indigent and worthy persons are by the company to work their passage on every outward trip. The only instances of ex- IOverty noticed on Saturday (May 13) were two I from the State almshouse at Monson, whose was paid by the authorites. A large portion eturning emigrants are women of respectable Ylce, who manifested much attachment to I land."

CARRIAGE OF EXPLOSIVES. lajendie, R.A., her Majesty's Inspector of in his annual report describes the action ring into operation, on the Istof January last, Bives Act of last session. The necessary nts were, as far as his department was con- npleted by the 9th of December. The Board ad, early in the autumn, issued^ notices to lanal andharbour authorities, calling on them ye-laws under sections 34 and 35 of the act. ) of explosives other than gunpowder, with ions, double packages had been required, and of nitro glycerine preparation the packages > be waterproof. It was represented to him nsist upon the invariable use of double or gunpowder would involve a serious dis- the trade, and accordingly the expedient of cages to be approved by the Government in- 48 suggested as a solution of the difficulty, servation of the right of the trade to use ickages if they preferred. Accordingly, i 33 it is directed that if gunpowder ex- b. is packed for conveyance in a "single (as distinguished from a double package by the same section), such single package a box, barrel, or case of such strength, con- and character as may be for the time being by the Government inspector as being trengtb, construction, and character that t be broken or accidentally opened, or efective or insecure whilst being conveyed, not allow the gunpowder to escape." jendie, in order to remove the question of the )f the different packages from the region of it be called caprice or fancy, devised a set of h would show the capability of the package o (1) exposure to alterations of temperature spheric changes, (2) falls and blows, (3) shak- ilticg, and ultimately assigned a standard test that which the government barrels used in ments proved themselves capable of satisfy- standard of strength has, he says, been iticiaed, and pronounced excessive, but he is of opinion that any lower standard would d to afford that increased measure of safety an sport of powder which it was one of the objects of the Explosive Acts to afford.

iS OF WAR IN THE PHILA- DELPHIA EXHIBITION. pondent of The Times, tn noticing the Military n the Philadelphia Exhibition, remarks:- ijority of the visitots are peaceful civilians, r Department, with its formidable array of ipons and latest improvements for the ruction of life, is naturally the most popu- ly among ladies, and the extremely civil g soldiers in attendance—whose patience ) inexhaustible—have sometimes to answer igular question", as to why rifles should be LO wrong end, and bow many enemies per be killed by the Gatling gun. As real o have been in action and with their own aed of a score or two of men, though they modest to confess it, they are regarded as uthorities, and the most implicit faith is appropriate answers which they always But, independently of their instruction, exhibited are so well arranged, and, as a rule, ticketed, that whatever useful knowledge impart in the art of slaughter is within > humblest lay comprehension. It ia a notice- ably commendable feature of the Goyem- ment Hall that special pains are taken in it to teach what may, perhaps, be considered the main lesson of the Centennial Exhibition, considered as a whole, by showing the changes and advances in the state of the country produced by one century. Thus, in the Military Department, the visitor may first examine a curious collection of the cumbrous flint-lock muskets and huge pistols in use 100 years ago, and then find, a few yards off, the very latest editions of Colt's, Remington's, or Springfield's—some with improvements so recent that their value has, I suspect, yet to be tested in war. I, at least, have never before seen an arrangement by which car- tridges may, with a spring, be fastened to the right side of the rifle, close to the trigger, so that the soldier has them as close as potsible to his hand. The Ameri- can bayonet is also, to me, a novelty. It looks less like a weap3n for thrusting or tfighting than like an elongated trowel, with sharp point and sides, which make it a fairly serviceable implement for digging and chopping. A small wooden handle, which it requires when thus employed, is carried by the soldier in his pocket. The theory of its construction would seem to ba that the long range of modern fire-arms has made the bayonet less wanted as a sword than as a knife or spade. Some of the contrasts between ancient and modern institutions are not more instructive than quaint. Close to the Cavalry soldier of to-day stands the" Minuteman" of 1776-so called, it is said, be- cause he was always ready to come out and fight at a minute's notice. Assuming the Minuteman's cos- tume historically correct, he was quite sublime in his picturesque simplicity. He seems to have been seated all ready in his shirt sleeves, with red waistcoat, drab breeches, homespun socks, and well- polished pumps, and to have had nothing to do when the summons to battle came but to clap on his wideawake, throw a cloak over one shoulder in stage- bandit fashion, and seiza the" flint-lock musket used at Bunker's-hill." Behind him is a rude drum-shaped canteen, out of which he may have drunk, for it was carried through the revolutionary war by Corporal Isaac Sherbet," whose grandson, with pardonable pride, now lends it to the Exhibition and shares his grandsire's immortality. Compared with the self-sufficing Minuteman, his neighbour, the Cavalry soldier of this degenerate cen- tury, is a poor creature enough, with as many wants and new-fangled appliances as a whimsical invalid. It is only fair, however, to say that they are chiefly for his horse, but the sum total for man and btast is ap- palling-saddle-bags. forage-bag, n)se-bag, haversack, blanket, great-coat, Spring-field carbine, pistol, spare shoes, lariat, watering-bridle, hobbling chains, curry- combs and brush, with other "conveniences of civiliza- tion which I cannot now recall. They give altogether a very impressive picture of the completeness of American Cavalry equipments, but also tempt one to speculate how much of them is really carried after the second day's marca. The Cavalry soldier's uniform, resemb- ling that of the Infantry, is neat and serviceable, if not very rhowy-dark, blue coat, with light blue trousers. lz" An imposing group of life-size figures in martial array illustrate the changes through which the American uniform has gradually gone and here again one is conscious of a painful deterioration in modern taste, when one compares the cojtumes of to-day with that of Washington's Life Guards, in their long coats, with lappels fastened back, buff waistcoats and breeches, top-boots, white laced neckties, and cornered hats, with their smart cockade and white plume. Here and there among these formidable battalions of object lessons," the visitor comes upon such in- terasting historical relics as the 6 pounders presented to the United States by Lafayette," or even upon mere curiosities in which one vainly seeks for any loftier aim than to amuse. Conspicuous are two bullets which have met in full course in mid-air, like those of Munchausen, though with a different result. The concussion and friction have welded the two indis- solubly into something like a mushroom with a hole in the top, and a hollow stem. In appropriate proximity is the stump of an oak, such as even Munchausen never foresaw, cut down by bullets as by a blunt axe. In speaking of the Patent Office Department, The Times Correspondent also remarks:— The Patent Office is one of the most characteristic of American institutions, and deserves more space than I can here give it. I will now only say about it that it has a very prominent part assigned to it in the Go- vernment Hall programme, taking up over forty cases, and exhibiting some 5,000 models. As it became an Executive Department of the Government nearly 90 years ago, it has a peculiarly appropriate place in a Centennial Exhibition, since it illustrates with marvel- lous variety and copiousness the century's progress in scientific invention. The 5,000 models in the Exhibition are picked specimens from 150,000 at Washington. The Americans have a wonderful genius for patents which, like other forms of genius, sometimes borders on madness. Applications are perpetually being made for patents of the wildest description. Oae genius is said to have wanted a patent for a machine which was to bore through the earth; another, for a huge illuminator, which, huag over great cities, would dispense with gas and the moon; a third, for an apparatus to make spirits—spirits of the rapping and scratching kind—visible to mortal eye. Visitors who do not know that the Patent Office was once the only fire-proof building in Washington, may wonder what connexion there is between patents and such relics as Martha Washing- ton's china—a present to her from Lafayelt?, or Washington's camp service of plainest pewter, or still more Bacred treasure, his vests and pants." They were consigned as among the most precious of America's possessions to the safest place. In the same case with them figures what, when the consecrating dust of agea has embalmed it, will be scarcely less venerated than Washington's pants-the model of a plan for lifting vessels over shoals designed by Abraham Lincoln.

TRADE IN AMERICA. Mr. Consul-General Archibald, in his report to the Foreign Office on the trade of New York for last year, amongst other matters, remarks:- The published reports on the condition of the labour market in N ew York city, both for skilled and unskilled labour, show that the mechanical industries have not yet recovered from the financial crisis of 1873. The number ef bands employed seems to be gradually decreasing, and the wages exhibit a corresponding reduction. The trades unions now number only about one-third of their total strength three years ago. This is more especially the case in regard to the building trades, the societies in which, in 1873, numbered over 10,000 members, whereas now the number is not much above 3,000. A list of the principal traces unions shows that, in 1873, the various unions had altogether 41,180 members, while, at the beginning of this year, they contained less than 18,000, of which about 3,800 are out of employment. Of workmen outside of trades organisations, it is estimated that there aie probably 58,000, of which about two-fifths are idle. Mr. Archibald adds The falling off in the de- mand for labour is of course to be attributed to diminished production, mainly brought about by the spirit of economy which has been evident everywhere. This has induced a large class of consumers to refrain from purchases which, in more favourable times, would have been freely made. And, with the lessened demand for labour, wages have had to submit to a corresponding reduction. Before 1873, when the unions were in fall strength, bricklayers, stone- masons, "and carpenters could earn 4dols. 50c. to 5 do Is. a day. Bricklayers may now be had for 2dols. a day, or, indeed, any sum that the men will take for in the present condition of things the unions are nearly powerless, owing to the diminished demand for labour. Stonecutters are somewhat better off than the bricklayers, as their wages are still 3 dols. 50c. a ay. Plasterers accept 2 dols. a day where they used to earn 5 dols, and plumbers are even worse off. The earnings of varnishers and polishers have dropped from 18 dols. to 10 dols. a week; wages of paperhangera average from 10 dols. to 12 dols. a week, but there is little demand for their services. The trades perhaps least affected are the tailora, shoemakers, and hatters, though they, too, have suffered from the general de- pression and lack of employment. Purchasers now seek a cheaper class of goods than formerly, and es- pecially is this noticeable in the item of ready- made furniture, the demand for which has been almost for the cheapest kind, the better varieties of it being a drug in the market. Contrasted with the showing of some of the trades, the carriage makers, cigars makers, and piano makers have been more favourably situated, the fal- ling off in their wages being much less than among bricklayers and mechanics, though carriages, cigars, and pianoB may certainly be considered articles of luxury. Upon the whole, the reduction in the hours of labour and in the wages offered indicate economy rather than poverty in the consuming class. Unskilled labour has, of course, had to bear the heaviest pressure, The long-shoremen's or dock labourers' union in this city, formerly so strong, has now but a nominal existence, and its mandates are nearly powerless. The labourers union is entirely broken up, and the same may be said of other similar societies. In fact, common labourers -in which term may be comprised some who would object to be closed as such-can just now be had in this city for one dollar a day, where they used heretofore to earn more than double that rate. So soon as a more prosperous condition of affairs arises, and the necessity for the present rigid economy shall have passed away, the tone of the labour market here will doubtless be improved; and the fact that this economy has been and is being practised is one of the most promising signs of a return of prosperity in the future."

CHEMISTRY OF VEGETATION. About the beginning of the present century Theodore de Sauasure proved that the leaves of plants, confined in au atmosphere deprived of carbonic acid, soon began to fade, and would die if they were kept long in such an unfavourable atmosphere. He operated on plants vegetating in water and covered with a glass bell, under which he put a vessel full of lime water, for the purpose of absorbing the carbonic acid emanating from their respiration. M. Corenwinder, having taken up the same subject, last week communicated his results to the Academy of Sciences. On the 25th of April, 1875 he introduced into a tubulated balleon a branch of a* young fig tree, the stem of which measured a centimetre in diameter. This branch had a few leaves not quite expanded, and also some buds. A current of pure air was then uninterruptedly driven through the ball on, in order to carry off the carbonic acid generated during the night as well as by day. The branch was not separated from the trunk of the young fig-tree, which was growing vigorously in a favourable soil. Oa the 6th of June following the leaves that were outside the balloon had acquired their normal development; those on the con- trary that had been totally deprived of carbonic acid had begun to fade, and had remained very small. From this experimont, agreeing with those of Saussure and others it may be concluded that in order to thrive, leaves must absorb carbonic acid through their outer surface. It remained to be seen whether similar results would be obtained in the case of full-grown trees having many branches laden with leave*. The subject selected for experiment was ahorse-chestnut tree about-18 feet high. The extremity of one of its twigs was intro- duced into a balloon as before, and pure air was driven through. The single bud borne by the twig expanded very regularly, emitting carbonic acid duiiag the day. Here it was proved that a full-grown tree not only absorbs carbonic acid by its surface, but also assimi- latea that which circulates in its tissues,—GMignam,

PERMISSIVE BILL DEMONSTRATION IN LONDON. The demonstration in Hyde Park on Monday in favour of the Permissive Bill was one of the largest and most orderly assemblages of the many which have gathered of late years. It had the additional quality of being nearly as a whole demonstrative, in place of one-half the gathering, as has often been the case, look- ing on without sympathy at the other. The demon- strators" (remarks The Timea) had the attraction of coming face to face with celebrities of the day in Cardinal Archbishop Manning, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P.—the latter the invited guest of the demonstrators, and receiving from the im- mense multitude a most cordial greeting—Mr. Thomas Burt, M.P.. Lord F. G. G. Osborne, Mr. Samuel Pope, Q.C., Father Lockhart, the Rev. G. M. Murphy, Mr. Andrew Dunn, and others, who made up, ia the whole, a representation of religious, social, and political opinions in sympathy only together on this one subject of temperancs." The drawback of the day was that it was wet. The rain was not, however, sufficient to deter the processions from assembling early and in great numbers, for the gathering was variously estimated at from 50,000 to 120,000, and the multitude heard tha usual speeches from many plat- forms, thus lessening the crush at one centre. The people came from all parts of London, and com- prised tcades' unionists, labour leagues, workmen's clubs, benefit, temperance, and religious societies, among the latter being the Roman Catholic League of the Cross. The banners were numerous, and some of them very costly. The Union Jack was prominent in the English portion of the procession, while the green banners distinguished the Irish, who in orderly con- duct were not otherwise distinguishable from their fellow subjects. The processions met on the Thames Embankment and headed by bands, the various bodies moved by way of Northumberland-avenue, Cockspur-street, Pall-mall, St. James's-street, and Piccadilly to the Park, the spot therein selected for the platforms being that which is surrounded by the Reformers' Trees." Mr. Thomas Burt, M.P., who had been elected to the position of chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that he was satisfied that the object of their meet- ing, apart from any speeches, had been already achieved, because they were all agreed upon what they had met to promote, and were of opinion that the traffic in drink was the great curse of the country, and that the be.t object at which they could aim was to restrict, cripple, and, as far as they possibly could, destroy it altogether. He had always noticed in the House of Commons a willingness and a desire to put down the evil of drink, but those who expressed that sympathy with the movers in this agitation certainly had a curious way of showing it. (Hear, hear.) Whatever might be the political apathy prevailing at that moment, it certainly was a matter for congratulation that the great mass of the people of this country had at any rate come to the conclusion that the drink traffic was an evil, a danger, and a curse to the community, and that they were determined to use every legitimate effort to put an end to it. (Cheers.) The object of their gathering was to assist and encourage Sir Wilfrid Lawson in his great and noble mission. Ob- j tction had been taken to it because, as it was said, Sir Wilfrid had chosen too narrow a suffrage in con- fining the votes to ratepayers, but the reason that a wider suffrage was not adopted was that it did not exist. Another objection was that it would rob a poor man of his beer-(laughter)-but he had found that those who were so unwilling to rob the poor man of his beer were disposed to take away from him things that did him far more good than his beer. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Brighty moved, Mr. Parker seconded, and Mr. O'L jary supported the first resolution, calling upon members of Parliament to support Sir Wilfrid Law- son's Bill when it came before Parliament. The reso- lution was then put and carried unanimously, amid loud cheering. Cardinal Manning, who was received with every token of respect, said this meeting was not called by Sir Wilfrid Lawson, it was not called by members of Parliament who desired support in voting for the second reading of the Permissive Bill; but it was called by the working men of London, and that great gathering from first to last was their work, and in ex- tent it had never been surpassed. He was bound to say never had Whit-Monday been so well kept, for the organs of public opinion would show the country that the people of London had met in their 100,000 on their holiday, on purpose to protest against the curse, the shame, and the danger of drunkenness; and in making this protest they had kept Whit- Monday as Whit-Monday had never been kept before. (Cheers.) He rejoiced at this work of the working men of London, and he rejoiced, too, because, though he saw a large number of old faces, he saw a greater number of young ones. The old faces were going to their account, and he hoped it would be a good one; but the young men were the fathers of families who would form the next generation, and if these young men were enlisted in the cause of sobriety, he was confident that their homes would be the homes of temperance when the old faces had departed; for where one man abstained he made three men temperate by his example. (Cheers.) Referring to the statement made by previous speakers aa to prohibited districts, his Eminence said that it was within the power of pro- prietors to prohibit drinking places on their estates, and what the rich man had by right of property the poor man asked to have by right of law. A public- house in a street brought to a working man's home the example and influence which came from drink to taint his home, and the working man should have the power of saying if he wished to have this influence. (Cheers.) It was not a question which a capital of £ 50,0j0,000 should determine-not a question to be decided by the people in the trade; but it was to be determined by the people who had to pay the penalties whether they would or would not have it. As to the number of publichouses spoken of in a place, he had heard of a poor man who had to struggle against the temptation to drink, saying, after one tf his falls, I went by ten on my way home, but the eleventh was too much for me." (A laugh.) If the working man had the power of voting on this question, he could say how many he would have dogging his steps on his way home, and the public would soon see how many the working man wanted. If, too, vutes were given to wives who had suffered from drunken husbands, and to children who had suffered from drunken parents, there would be such a manifestation of public opinion as Parliament had never known. He urged them to go on in their determination to deal with this question upon the great English principle— that of the popular vote, and he said that upon their steadfastly pressing depended the peace and happiness of the domestic life of this country, which was being wrecked by this evil, and, he added, he trusted that they would not cease their efforts until this plague at their threshhold had been stayed. Mr. S. Pope, Q.C., then read a petition to Parliament which he moved the Chairman should present as from the meeting. This was as follows:- "That your petitioners are of opinion that the liquor traffic In- this couutry Is its greatest social curse, and that no attempt at regulation will secure the people against the evils to which it everywhere and inevitably gives rise. That in your petitioners' opinion, every locality should have'a legal power ot stopping this traffic, when ready to do so by a large majority of votes. That the Permissive Prohibitory Liquor Bill introduced into your honourable House by Sir Wilfrid Lawson and other honourable members would provide such a power in a manner most just and reasonable, and in perfect accordance with the great constitutional principle of local self-government. Your petitioners, therefore, pray your honourable House to read the Permissive Bill a second time on Wednesday, the 14th of June and to pass it through its subsequent stages, in order that a grievous public wrong may no longer exist without an available and efficient public remedy." This was carried amid cheers. Mr. A. Dann then presented an address to Sir Wilfrid Lawson, in the name of all the societies assem- bled in the Park, thanking him for his labours in the cause of temperance. Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P., who was received with a round of cheers, said that he liked that meeting a great deal better than the Derby Day. (A laugh.) He did not care for being in the midst of a lot of ruffians rob- bing one another; but he did rejoice at being in the presence of a number of honest working men, who were met to do good to the whole of the classes of society. (Cheers.) It was said in the House of Commons that he was not "practical," and he should merit the de- scription if ha attempted to make himself heard by all there. If he was not practical, he confessed he was of a rather sceptical turn of mind. (A laugh.) He did not believe all that was told him, especially when it was told him with great confidence; and when he heard of the intention to hold this great demonstration, he had great doubts if it would be a success but he had the greatest pleasure in congratulating them on the great and substantial success which had attended the efforts of those who organised that great gathering. (Cheers.) He was reading in a daily piper of that day a notice of that meeting, and one sentence in the article was—"The instant that the bulk of the working classes avow their wish to have the Permissive Bill tried the tiial will become inevitable." (Cheers.) It could easily be seen what that meant—the wind was turning and opinions were changing. (Hear.) He had no voice or power or need to speak there in defence of the Bill; but he desired most earnestly to thank them and Mr. Burt for coming there that day. It was true that Mr. Burt would Ecorn to be ticketed as a working man's member, but like Mr. Roebuck—(" Oh !")—Mr. Roebuck had his good points in his day (a laugh) and he once said, I am member for England." (Cheers.) And so Mr. Burt, in the same sense, could say, I am member for England," and so he said of himself, for they did not go to Parliament to legislate for any class, but to get the best measures passed which would be for the best interests of the whole community. (Cheers.) But, as Mr. Burt was undoubtedly returned by a constituency the majority of whose voters were working men, he, as representing the working men, showed that they were in favour of the Permissive Bill. (Hear.) Now, one word as to this Bill. It had been heard how the rich man could decide that there should be no public- houses on his estate, and the long and short of the thing was that the Bill was designed to give the poor man the same chance as the rich man. (Cheers.) The House of Commons laughed at that idea. They steadily refused to grant the poor man the power which the rich man had. The House of Commons might laugh at this demonstration. They would say, "How many voters were there?" and How many will vote against the publicans?" The House of Commons believed in votes, and acted upon votes, and acted upon nothing else that he could find out. The feeling in favour of the Bill had come to the House from all places, he balieved, except the English counties, whence nothing very good was got yet. (A laugh.) Therefore, it was necessary to organise and get upon the register, and then when the next Par- liament met the publican would find himself where he would not like. (Cheers.) Sit Wilfrid said he should not throw his voice away upon that meeting, for he had to meet the Housa of Commons, who would require much more persuading than the frienda before him (a laugh); but he took occasion to assure them that he was not hurt by the abuse which was levelled at him. This he took as a sort of barometer, for, when he had a new nick name, he knew that the publicans were beginning to feel the effects of bad weather without. (Alaugb.) He could now point to this great gathering to show that a vast number of his fellow countrymen knew that he was not working for him- self, but knew that he was in a humble and. it might be, stupid way—to the best of his ability (cheers)- doing what he could for the welfare of the people (Cheers.) When the next day they read of the pro. oeedings they would have the Bfttiefaction of feeling that they had done much to help forward a measure which was intended solely and entirely for the promo- tion of the order, the happiness, and the national morality upon which depended the greatness of Eng- land. (Loud cheers.) A vote of thanks was passed to the chairman, and the meeting closed in the most orderly manner. The procession had not left the Park before the rain, driz- zling before turned into a heavy dawnpour.

The Times has the following leader upon the above demonstration It is a remarkible fact that on such an occasion as Whit- Monday many thousands of holiday-makers in London should have testified to the depth and intensity of their convictions by making a procession through the streets to Hyde Park. The rain was falling from time to time In thick and drizzling showers, but the processionists marched steadily in the midst of the chilly rain to the rendezvous appointed. Taey succeeded In making, according to modern notions, an im- posing demonstration and though it may be Impossible to go as far as the extreme fanatics desire, yet their demands, when expressed with the earnestness they exhibited cannot be left safely out of account in the framing of a national policy. No Government can afford to ignore the manifest desire of a large section of the people that the Liquor Traffic should be restricted within as narrow limits as may be compatible with individual liberty and social convenience. But the difficulty arises when those limits have to be fixed by law. The most ardent partisan of Temperance principles cannot deny that a Government which has, in the last resort, to de- pend upon the support of the majority cannot enforce abstinence on a community where nine peopleout of ten con- sume much or little alcohol. All that legislation can do, even after recognizing the weight of many arguments against the Liquor Traffic, is to make the liquor dear to buy and difficult to procure. But the enthusiasts who organised the demonstration of Monday demanded much more than this, and, if they were truly in earnest, as we have every reason to suppose they were, they had much more In their own power. Men who walked in their thousands through mist and mud to bear witness to their faith in the cause of Temperance ought to be them- selves prepared for the trials which they wish to impose upon others. We have no reason to believe that the man who marched on Monday In procession to Hyde Park would not be sapable of a much nobler and more personal effort in the same jocd cause but if they are capable of this, they should lose no time in making it manifest to the world. It is certain that many persons who would not be moved by a Democratic cry for coercive legislation would be seriously moved by an organised effort among the masses o! the people for the sup- pression of drinking. If every man who walked with the binds and banners to Hyde Park was determined in his own mind to beat down the mischief against whtch he protested In solemn form, there would be a protestation of a much more effectual kind than a march through the streets, even on a wet day, and a volley of unheard speeches in the Park. Nor is such a practical demonstration of earnest feeling inconceivable. In an Irish town, long famed for its diiuking habits, a voluntary Liquor Law has, we under- stand, been established; and the members of the league, bound only to the point of honour, are said to observe the law with a strictness which is unusual in the case of Parlia- mentary enactments. There is no reason why the demon- strationists of Monday should not bind themselves by a voluntary pledge of this kind, and, if they did, the march to Hyde Park would have a really effective meaning It would not only import a demand pressed upon the Legislature which might be, and almost certainly would be, rejected as unreasonable, but also a personal renunciatory act, in the case of every individual party to the demon- stration, which must carry its moral weight, whether a change in the law should follow or not. We are not in love with processions or with the people who make processions. The former are generally futile and absurd; the latter are, in a great majority of cases, mischievous and idle. But we confess we should be reconciled to a great many processions and to most processionists if, instead of a mere march through the West-end streets and a mass of wordy nonsense in the Park, the organizers of the demon- stration were to impose a voluntary liquor law, binding only in honour, but in honour binding rigidly. If an IrÍóh com- munity in whom we are not inclined to look for the pre- dominance of self-restraint is able to set such an example, why should not the enthusiastic Temperance men who get up demonstrations and subscribe for bands and banners give a practical testimony to the reality of their faith? We do not iu the least believe that the" abstInence" of the active politicians who organised Monday's demonstration was fictitious; but we feel assured that the value of such processions would be vastly enhanced if the indifferent world were convinced, or had fair reasons for conviction, that those who took tart iu the protestation were prac- tically obeying the principles they wished to impose by legis- lation upon others. It is a wholesome sigon that any large gathering of English- men s iould take trouble to protest openly against the national vice of drunkenness We wish we could think that any effectual pressure upon the public sentiment of the country was being produced by such demonstrations. Bat we are apprehensive that bands and banners and wild de. clamation on Hyde Park platforms may bring a good cause into discredit. If the Temperance Party were to abandon the unsuitable machinery of [political agitation and were to try the method of teaching by example, we should be more hopeful of substantial results. Meantime, the evidence afforded by the Hyde Park demonstration of the activity and vitality of the temperance movement is a fact that ought not to be forgotten by intelligent politicians. They may assure themselves that sooner or later—and probably at no distant day-the question of the Liquor Traffic will have an increased influence on the relations and the policy of English Parties, and that they are not wise in placing themselves in an attitude of indifference towards ideas so fraught with possibilities of political potency. Certainly we bave no desire to exaggerate the significance of the procession, which, as it passed on Monday by the centres of political activity, haidly moved a languid sentiment of curiosity among a few careless observers but we are con- vinced that it is unsafe to ignore the passionate feelings and the energetic convictions which lie behind and, perhaps, animate these parades. Lit us appraise at their real value the forces both of fanaticism and of indifference but let us not underrate the political power of the former because its expression tak ;s a form which is absurd.

THE BREMERHAVEN EXPLOSION. Mr. Ward, the British Consul at Bremerhaven, reporting on the explosion of lithofracteur in December last, observe a that it is well-nigh impossible to convey any approximative conception of the colossal force of the momentary pressure which was thns caused. The large hole made in the quay at the spot where the cask exploded measured 9i metres (above 10 yards) in circumference, and 2| metres in depth, and the solid pavement with the Boil beneath it was pressed downwards, while neither stones nor sand were thrown up upon the sides of the hole. Most of the persons, the cart and horse and other things en the quay, and parts of the decks of two steamera were carried up into the air, thrown to various distances, and torn to pieces, injuring or destroying on their passage other persons or buildings. The most serious effects of the explosion were experi- enced within a circle the radius of which is given at 750 metres; but where no obstacles intervened the atmospheric pressure destroyed glass and similar fra- gile materials offering large surfaces of slight resisting power in places 1,400 metres distant from the spot of the explosion. The general concussion of the soil in Bremerhaven and neighbouring towns were so vio- lent that many persons in their rooms were thrown from their seats glass, crockery, and such light articles in shops fell from the shelves walls were cracked and stones thrown down. Trustworthy persons, says the Consul, report that the effects of the sudden atmos- pheric pretsure were observed in a few instances at a distance of nine and a half English miles through the sudden opening of doors and windows and the falling of piles of wood. He adds, also, that the detonation was, according to reliable sources, heard in parts of Holstein and Lauenberg—that is, at a distance of at least 55 English miles from Bremerhaven. Calculating from the resisting power of pieces of metal which were torn off the steamer Mosel, lying alongside the quay, it is estimated that the momentary pressure on the spot was 360,000 kilos. per square centimetre, or at the rate of 390,000 degrees of atmospheric pressure.

A BOA CONSTRICTOR IN LONDON. Mr. Frank A. Nash writes to The Times "Will you kindly allow me to give your readers a short description of an interesting event which occurred In the London Docks on Thursday, being the capture a large 4 boa constrictor,' on board the ship Surprise, which has just arrived from Port Natal laden with wool and hides. It appears that, while at the Port she went within the bar to load, being a small vessel, and consequently was close to the bush. One evening after her cargo had been shipped, while the crew were having a little jollification among themselves, one of the sailors, who happened to possess a concertina, was playing various tunes for the amusement of his companions. It is supposed that the music attracted the boa' on board, and being disturbed it must have found its way into the hold, as the hatches were off at the time, and concealed itself among the cargo, as it was not dis- covered till the ship was well on her voyage home. When she arrived in dock the question arose as to how it was to be captured, but, with the assistance of Mr. Jamrach it was successfully accomplished. I have seen the rep- tile and I should think it is about eight or nine feet in length, and as thick as the calf of a man's leg. It has existed during the voyage on rats and other varmin, with which, I am informed, the vessel swarmed. while at Port Natal, and there is not a rat to be seen in any part of the vessel, so that in future it may be thought desirable to ship a boa constrictor instead of other animals to catch the vermin."

FRENCH VISITORS AT FOLKESTONE. There was an interesting itte at Folkestone on Monday, the occasion being the visit of some thousand Frenchmen, members of friendly societies in Boulogne. A fortnight ago, it will be remembered, the French watering-place was subjected to a similar invasion from the representatives of our benefit unions, whose remi- niscences of their voyage across the Channel have every reason to be of the most pleasant description. Whit Monday having been fixed for the return of the compli- ment, Folkestone resolved to be seen at her best, and accordingly set resolutely to work erecting tents, hang- ing out flags, painting words of welcome, and otherwise preparing to give a cordial greeting to her Gallic friends. The Frenchmen, who were generously conveyed free from Boulogne and return in three of the finest boats belonging to the South Eastern Railway Company, viz, the Alexandra, the Napoleon, and the Lord Warden, arrived at Folkestone in the forenoon and were met and welcomed at the pier by the mayor and corporation. There were also Odd Fellows, D.uids, and Foresters in their quaint sashes, and bearing their still quainter insignia there were Kent and Sussex labourers, with bouquets of flowers and bucolic emblems there were G-ood lempiars, with richly em- blazoned banners; and lastly, and above all, there were great crowds of spectators. The weather un- fortunately interfered with the outdoor arrangements, which comprised a concert, in which Miss Mina Poole, Messrs T. Baxter, Wilford Morgan, Montem Smith, Chaplin Henry, and Mr. Watson took part, originally announced to have been given on the lawn in front of the West Cliff Hotel. Notwithstanding the depres- sing influences of the weather the visit appeared to be thoroughly enjoyed, The Alexandra was the first to arrive, her freight consisting of members, of the Soci^ de Bienfaisance and the Soc.e e de 1 Union, with contin- gents from the Soci«5.^ Musicale and the Soci&<3 I'Orph^on: then came the Napoleon III,, with the Soc de l Emulation Nautique, La Boulonnaise, and La Fourmi; while the Lord Warden brought up the rear with the Socie e-) de Mutuels-Secours, L'Union des Travailleurs, and des Sapeurs-Pompiers. Each arrival was heralded by the firing of guns, and as soon as the noine and smoke bad passed away there came peals of Heep, heep, 'ooray 1" from the visitors, fol- lowed by bursts of merriment at their own perform- ance in the way of cheering. Two magnificent bou- quets, brought over in large chests, were presented, one to Mr. J. Sherwood, Mayor of Folkestone, the other to Dr. Mackeeon, Mayor of Hythe, by M. Doault, president of the Societe de Bieofaisanee. Sic Edward Watkin, okainnaa of the South. Eastern Company, received the excursionists on their landing, and an order of procession being formed, the visitors proceeded into the town, amid the discordant hubbub caused by the play- ing of a score of bands and the cheering of hundreds of processionists and spectators. While the procession was in progress, there was a profuse exchange of in- ternational courtesies, and likewise of international criticism. For the latter there was certainly some excuse, for nothing could be more dissimilar than the appearance of the Saxons and of the Gauls (remarks the Daily Telegraph). The English processionists were clad for the most part in plain home spuns, and the spectators in the careless costume usual in watering-places. The Frenchmen, on the contrary, were in the main decked out in dress coat and glossy black hat, while not a few-notably those of the Societe l'Orph^on— had a copious display of shirt front, set off with white neckties. Tne majority of the men were considerably less in stature than their British friends and they peemed themselves to realise the fact, for there was nothing which excited their wonder so much as some stalwart linesmen and Highlanders, who stalked about in the crowd. In one thing the national- ties were alike—their determination to be jolly under inauspicious circumstances, for the Frenchmen eang merrily during the drizzling rain, and their halting efforts at "Heep, heep, 'ooray," were answered by sonorous British cheerp. When the West Cliff Hotel was reached, on the lawn of which a spacious luncheon-tent had been erected, with four long tables, the excursionists were regaled with a substantial lunch of beef, ham, &c., which had been provided for 1,000 guests. The band of the Coldstream Guards played during the repast, which was washed down with good English ale. Those who partook of this midday dinner were loud in their praises of the arrangements made on such a liberal scale for their reception. After the repast the Mayor of Folkestone addressed the assembled hundreds in a speech of welcome. The Mayor of Hythe and Sir Edward Watkin welcomed them in French with great effect. M. Poirel-Adam returned thanks in the name of the Municipality of Boulogne, and M. Doualt, President of the Society de Bienfaisance. The official speeches being ended, M. Teneissien addressed a few impressive words on behalf of the workmen then assembled. The band of the Coldstream Guards and of the Fanfare Boulonnaise played several pieces till three o'clock, when English games were announced in an adjoining meadow, where good humour and kindly fellowship increased. The band of fifes and bagpipes of the 78th Highlanders performed during the latter part of the afternoon, the bagpipes eliciting round after round of cheers from the French. At 3.30 the Mayor of Folkestone gave a lunch to the Presidents and officers of the French Societies, members of the Municipal Councils of Boulogne, Folkestone, Hythe, &s., who sat down, eighty in number, to an early dinner. During dessert the Mayor proposed the healths of Her Majesty, the Prince of Wales, and the Marshal-President of France, which were heartily responded to. Sir E. Watkin, in proposing the health of the Mayor and Municipality of Boulogne, drank to the everlasting friendship (.-f the two nations. Several other speeches followed, both French and English. In the course of the day l'Orphé In, a choral society which has taken several prizes at musical competitions, eang, a piece called 4 France' being more particu- larly admired. Owing to slight rain in the after. noon the lite concert was held in the marquee, when the Orphans won renewed app'ause, the 78th Highlanders again playing, to the immense delight, of the Boulonnais, who appeared to enjoy the day and entertainment the more th'-y had of it. The marquee and lawn were crowded. There was a vocal concert under the marquee by six English professionals. The Highland pipers danced a Highland reel, which 1 ke kiss in the ring,' immensely pleased the French visitors. This general fraternization increased till the hour of parting. The three steamers left by nine o'clock, amid great cheering and the music of the bands. All the approaches to Folkestone harbour pier were crowded. The passage was effected in less than two hours. Oa arrival at Boulogne the quay and port presented the appearance of a fite day from the numbers who had gathered to welcome back the travellers. A Frenchman, in expressing gratification at the visit, said (remarks The Times), Voila la vrai entente cordiale. Si les peuples et les classes ouvriferes pouvaient se frequenter et tie connalire entre eux, il n'y aurait plus de guerres.

NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION. At a meeting of this institution held at its house, John-street, Adelphi, London, the silver medal of the society, its thanks inscribed on vellum, and £ 110s. were voted to Mr. Richard Billett, chief boatman of Her Majesty's coastguard at Lydd Dungenesa, and coxswain of the lifeboat of the institution at that place, in acknowledgment of his brave and persevering services in assisting to save 17 persons from the barque llmatar, of Finland, wkich was wrecked off No 1 Battery, Dungeness, during a gale of wind and in a very heavy sea on the ISth May. The signals of distress shown from the stranded ship were first seen at three o'clock in the morn- ing. and at once every man within two miles assembled, but they only numbered ten altogether-not nearly sufficient to man the life-boat, a number of the coast- guard men being away on their summer cruise. Ac- cordinglv the coastguard galley was got out and manned by five of the men, who put on cork life- belts of the life-boat institution. At the firat launch a sea broke on board and capsized the boat, throwing it right over the men. They, however, regained the Bhore, again launched, and that time, with the assistance of the hauling-off line of the life-boat, they were more successful, and ultimately reached the wreck. Even while alongside the Vt S JeI one man was washed out of the boat; he was, however, rescued. The master and his wife were then taken from the stem of the ship, and the boat safely returned to the shore. Afterwards, more men being procurable, the life-boat was launched and saved the remaining 15 persons from the wreck. The Whitby life boats had done good service in rescuing the crews of four fishing cobles The Berwick-on-Tweed life-boat, which is named the Albert Victor after the eldest son of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, had also assisted the crews of fishing boats. The silver medal of the institution and its thanks inscribed on vellum were also voted to Mr. Robert J. Bartholomew, of Rothesay, N.B., in acknowledgment of his gallant and determined conduct in putting off in a small boat, with three other men, from the steamer Argyll, of that place, and saving one of the crew of the Russian barque Toiernus, which had sunk on Skelmorlie Bank in the river Clyde, in a gale of wind and heavy sea, on the 23rd December last. Other rewards were granted to the crews of life- boats and shore boats for services rendered on the occasion of shipwrecks on our coasts. Payments amounting to £2,283 were also made on some of the 254 life-boat establishments of the society. Several contributions to the institution were announced, including JE500 from Mr. George Regln- bottom, of Ashton-under-Lyne, to defray the cost of a lifeboat to be named the Ashtonian JB420 from the Jewish Scholars' Lifeboat Fund, for a lifeboat to be called the Michael Henry; E198 8j. lid. from Liverpool in aid of the cost of a Samuel Plimsoll lifeboat; JE50 from the Nottingham Amateur Christy Minstrels and £11 collected on board the ateam ship St. Osyth, per Captain A. M'Nab.

THE OLD AND THE NEW SULTAN. Many of the French papers, to which the grave aspect of a question is less welcome than the gay, are celebrating the fall of the Saltan by a whole volley of anecdotes, more or less ridiculous, illustrative of his life and reign (says the Globe.) It need hardly be said that these are not of a flattering character. Abdul Az z was born in the begirfning of 1830, and when he succeeded his brother on the throne in 1861 he had the reputation of being a modest, frugal, and sober-minded man. It was said that he had only one wife, and lived with her in the most homely and unostentatious style imaginable. This was, in fact, true, but the reason for it was to be found, not in the piety or austerity of the new Sovereign, but in the circumstance that he bad no money wherewith to indulge in extrava- gances. No sooner was he firmly settled on the throne than he passed at once into that tragico comic state of imbecile despotism so often and successfully represented in the burlepques of Offenbach and the other writers of opera bouffe. His caprices were almost as varied as those of Nero or Elagabalus. His mena- gerie was his great delight, and one morning his Ministers were ordered, on pain of instant dismissal, to procure a supply of tigers. They were so anxious to execute the command that in a few days no less than 50 of the beasts arrived. But in the meanwhile the Sultan had changed his mind. Lions were now all the rage and in a very short time some 50 lions were at the palace, only tJ be rejected in a similar style. Parrots were afterwards the particular fancy of this amateur naturalist, and for a long time all Stamboul was made hideous by the cries of the birds which had been brought for his approval. A visitor to the harem describes his unexpected meeting in one of the galleries with a large giraffe, which was painfully groping its way with neck bowed down and head scraping along the ceiling. From these absurdities the Imperial palaces have at last been freed. The new Sultan, like his uncle, comes to power with a reputation for modesty, vigour, and good sense. It remains to be seen whether he will fulfil better than his predecessor the nattering predictions' of public rumour.

THE "COMING GIRL." An American thus writes of the Comicg Girl: Curiously enough, the first nation which has seriously considered the propriety of increasing the efficiency of the usual style of girl by mounting her on wheels is the Conservative British nation. Within the past winter the roller skate has become immensely popular in England, and if we properly interpret the tone of the English prees, the time is close at hand when the efficiency of English girls will be at least trebled by the universal adoption of the ingenious device of fitting them with wheels. The cost of this improvement will be trifling in comparison with the advantages it will secure. The con- version of the Enfield Rifle into a breech-loader cost the British Government an enormous sum, but the nation cheerfully paidithe bill. The cost of converting the present English girl into a four, six, or even eight- wheeled girl would probably be so much less than the price paid for converting firearms that it might be under- taken by the Government without involving the slightest increase in taxation. As for the advantages which would be gained by the proposed conversion of young English women they hardly need be pointed out, The sportsman who hunts partridges with a doubled-barrel- led breach-loader is obviously better equipped than he would be were he to arm himself with a bow and arrows. In the pursuit of husbands wheeled girls will possess a similar superiority over unwheeled rivals. The old-fashioned pedestrian girl, who from her win- dow per jeives an heir to a title striding along the street, knows how hopeless it would bsS^r ^er ^orth with the view of pursuing him on the opposite side of the way, and of meeting him accidentally at some con- venient crossing. The wheeled girl, however, could practise this strategy with every prospect of success. If she is properly mounted, and her wheels run easily and without much friction, she can attain a rate of speed which will enable her to run down the best pair of unmarried masoulizs legs in the whole king" dom. The same capacity for high speed will render it easy for her to avoid portionless younger sons whom she may meet either in the ball-room or on the public promenade. In fact, the success of the wheeled girl would furnish a fine illustration of the doctrine of the survival of the fittest. The swiftest girls would capture the most eligible husbands, and the slowest girls would fail to catch even undesirable younger sons. Thus the poorer and the lower classes would gradually become extinct, and in time England would be peopled only by eight-wheeled girls, and desirable young men. It must also be noticed that the wheeled girls can always escape from a heavy and necessarily slow duenna, and the increased degree of freedom which wheels will thus ensure renders most girls of the period exceedingly anxious to adopt them.

THE TRADE IN ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. The merchants and manufacturers of London are suffering, in common with their neighbours, from the general stagnation of business (says the Daily News). In the City dulness and depression have prevailed for a considerable time, and, as the sea?on advances, the West-end is being reluctantly convinced that not even the advent of the most genial weather will restore to it at once the profitable custom it has enjoyed with unbroken regularity for some six or seven years past. One single branch of London industry, we be- lieve, may be excepted from this cheerless and dis- couraging prospect, and that is the manufacture of artificial flowers. Luckily for those engaged in this line of business the prevailing fashion this season is to wear artificial flowers in exceptional profusion, and the demand for them has been such that for some weeks past manufacturers have had some difficulty in keep- ing pace with it. London is the principal home of this industry in this country, and its history during the last fifteen years furnishes a good example of the bene- ficial influence of free trade. Prior to 1860 it was a "protected" native industry, an import duty being levied upon foreign artificial flowers. This was swept away by Mr. Gladstone's financial arrangements for that year. For a time there was a reaction, which seemed almost to threaten the existence of this in- dustry on this side of the Channel, but as time wore on, it slowly but gradually revived, and on a much more healthy and substantial foundation. While their manufacture was" prottcted," English artificial flowers were the most unartistic and the most un- attractive in the market. Since the trade became free," there has been a marvellous change, and the manufacture has grown and extended most rapidly. A considerable importation of French flowers continues, but their high price places them beyond the reach of many. Flowers of great beauty and of wonderful cheapness are now manufactured in the London work- rooms, in quantities which, prior to the abolition of the duty, would never have been dreamt of.

COUNTERFEIT COINING. Some information respecting counterfeit coining in this country is furnished in the report of the Deputy- Master of the Mint just issued. The number of these offences has of late steadily diminished, a result, Mr. Fremantle thinks, no doubt attributable to the absence of any real want or distress in the country, and also the growing intelligence of the lower ranks of the population, upon whom the frauds of the utterers of counterfeit coin are most generally practised. During the year 1875 nearly half the cases of counterfeit coin. ing and uttering, 180 in all, occurred within the juris- diction of the Central Criminal Court, but a consider- able proportion was also furnished by the t Jwns of Birmin gham, Leeds, and Manchester. 0 f the 182 persons convicted in 1875, 143 were men and 39 women, and in 33 cases of persons previously convicted of coin offences sentences were passed, generally of five, but in some in- stances of seven and ten years' penal servitude. Among gold coins half sovereigns, and among silver coins florins and shillings, are those mcst frequently counter- feited, probably because it is found by experience that coins of these denominations excite the least attention on the part of the public. "One form of counterfeit, principally met with in America," remarks Mr. Fre. mantle, consists of the shell of a coin only, the whole of the interior having been adroitly removed, and re- placed by base metal but the only counterfeits which can be considered really successful imitations are those of gilded platinum, which contain a small percentage of copper, and are sometimes provided with a rim ef pure gold. These counterfeits which have agood 'ring,: and are of correct weight, are not easily detected, and pass freely from hand to hand until the removal of the gold by wear discloses the platinum beneath. In most cases, however, the best test for a ooin suspected to be counterfeit is to weigh it against a piece of the same denomination which is evidently genuine. The instrument com- monly called a detector,' and used for bending cein, affords no proef that a piece is not genuine, and is rendered illegal by the Act 16 and 17 Vict., cap. 102, passed in 1853, to prevent the defacing of the current coin of the realm.' I may further remark that the ordinary test of 'ringing' a coin before receiving it is not more conclusive, as genuine coins may be easily rendered dumb' by a crack, and indeed are especially liable to become go if subjected for a length of time to the practice in question. The counterfeiters of silver coin usually employ a fusible alloy of lead and tin, which is cast in a mould of plaster of Paris; but when a press, even of rude construction, is employed, and the counterfeits are actually struck, it is evident that more successful and dangerous imitations may be produced. The difficulty, however, of imitating the 'milling' or 'lettering' on the edge of coins still remains, and the defects in this respect afford the best means of detection."

GERMAN COAL AND IRON. Germany is becoming a formidable rival to this country in the production of two of the most important articles of commerce, viz., coal and iron. Where ten or fifteen years ago, the principal seaports of Germany drew their chief supplies of coal from England, the proportien of British and German fuel so consumed is now less than half; while in the interior, and especially in the Westphalian and Rhenish coal-producing dis- tricts, German coal is almost exclusively used. Reports from British consuls in German towns unanimously assert that this falling off in the consumption of British coal in Germany is owing in a very great measure to the high price which has lately been maintained. Ger- man coal is much inferior to our own produce, being softer, and more liable to rapid deterioration; but its price is so low as to more than compensate for the want of economy in its use. The German rail- ways have reeently reduced their rate for the carriage of native coal, and thus given a great impetus to the colliery interest. It seems, therefore, to be a question of price, whether England is to retain G-srmany as customer for her black diamonds" or whether she is to lose the benefit of her orders. The English article will always have the preference on account of its superior quality but, in the days of competition espe- cially, low prices will always rule the market. As with coal, so it is with iron. The manufacture of iron in Germany has lately progressed with such great strides that the imports from abroad have been seriously de- pressed, and though on January 1, 1877, the duty on foreign iron will be abolished, and such a remission is generally followed by a large increase in the import of any article, it is hardly anticipated that the trade will revive. Within the last two or three years the imports of British iron, manufactured and unmanu- factured, into the principal German ports, have fallen some 50 and 75 per cent. On the contrary, the ex- ports have increased in some cases 100 per cent. The number of iron mines in Germany in 1871 was 1,228, producing 4,000,000 tons of iron. In 1873 the number bad risen to over 1,500, and the produce to 6,000,000. The year 1874 saw a relapse in the trade which had thus suddenly grown to such dimensions. This col- lapse was mainly owing to the fact that the markets became overstocked, and natural stagnation ensued. But the manufacture of iron ware has gone on steadily increasing, and, instead of importing, Germany is able to take her place as a considerable exporter of iron ware.-Globe.

LIQUOR SELLING IN NEW YORK. The enforcement of some laws in the United States is very unevenly managed (writes the Philadelphia correspondent of The Times). Statutes are permitted to slumber for years, and are then unexpectedly re- vived with startling Effect. In New York there is a law against liquor selling on Sunday which no one has thought of for a long while, but the attention of the Police Commissioners being called to it, they suddenly determined last Sunday to enforce. Liquor selliBg, which had been a free and unfettered American insti- tution, was, to the astonishment of all. suddenly prohibited, and the police force scoured New York to capture violators of the long-forgotten statute. In some cases warning was given, so that the saloon keepers closed their bars, but there never- theless were over 500 arrests made of liquor sellers, with whose cases the police magistrates had to deal next day. The commotion this procedure has caused may be imagined, for New York is a com- munity that is more stirred by this kind of interference with its settled habits than by the greater events that move the nation. The legal enforcement, if persisted in, may stop the flow of Sunday liquor in New York, but the thirsty population of that town merely cross to New Jersey for relief. The left bank of the Hudson 'has different rulers from the right bank, and whilst New Jersey has the same prohibitory Sunday liquor selling statute, it does not secure the same enforce- ment. Hence the saloon keepers of the New Jersey towns on the Hudson are anticipating a harvest on Sundays hereafter, the thought of which almost makes the New York publicans grieve with envy. Io Philadelphia there is a similar law against Sunday liquor, which is enforced by c osing the front door of the saloon and opening the back door. In the new por- tion of the town, near the Exhibition enclosure, the violations cf the law are much more flagrant. A myriad of bar3 are in full and open operation all day Sunday without any attempt at concealment. The people who want the Exhibition open on Sundays go out there in thousands to peep through the fence, and then assuage their grief at the saloons on the opposite side of the street. Last Sunday great crowds engaged in this business, and the liquor shops had a thriving trade.

TREASURE IN FRANCE. We read in Figaro that there were last week in the cellars of the Bank of France the enormous and extra- ordinary sum of two thousand millions, or two milliarda in coin tn i in bar. Thia represents about a third of the money circulation of France, and the tenth part of that of the whole of Europe. To move this treasure it would take six hundred carts with two horses each, the two milliards in gold weighing 605 tons. To count two milliards of francs (that is 100 millions of Louie) and to pay them out of a little door, would take more than the average lifetime of a cashier. A hundred million of Louis put up in ordinary cartridges of 1,000f. (£40) would take two millions of cartridges, and they would make 1,250 piles of gold as high as the towers of Notre Dame. With two milliards, Figaro says he could construct his hotel in solid silver. With two milliards all the land inside of the Paris fortifica- tions might be purchased, allowing lOf. for every metre. The Exhibition of 1878 would not only be built, but the whole world could be admitted free, and not a sou of the principal be touched. With two milliards the wretched Turkish and Egyptian debts could be paid, and the funds would go up lOOf. in a single Bonne. With this sum an ironclad fleet could be built which would sink to the bottom in one hour the assembled fleets of England, Frsaee, Germany, Russia, Italy, and Turkey. With two milliards one could purchase all the pictures exhibited in the Salon this year, paying for each picture 10v, QOOf., and for those which ob. tained the medal a million francs each. With two milliards the whole human race could be entertained at a dinner, and the menu should be one far from being despised. Two milliards is BO they eay. Just, about half of the fortune of the Rothschilds. What were the treasure3 of Croesus, or of Solomon at Jerusalem, or of the Gallions of the Spanish-American colonies of the time of Philip IV., ,hen placed along- side of this mass of gold actually buries m the czllam of the bank ? Two milliards represent millions sterling. The indemnity paid by France to Germany for the war of 1870 was £ 200,000,000.—Globe.

SELECTED ANECDOTES. RUSTIC SIMPLICITY.—On one occasion, when Jonn Kemble played Hamlet in the country, the gentleman who acted Guildenstern wag, or imagined himself to be, a capital musician. Hamlet asked him, "Will you play upon this pipe?" My lord, I cannot. I do beseech you."—"Well, if your lordship insists upon it, I will do as well as I can." And to the con- fusion of Hamlet and the great amazement of the audience, he played God save the Queen." A CONCISE STYLE -Louis XIV., who loved a con- cise style, met on the road, as he was travelling into the country, a priest, who was riding past; and, ordering him to stop, asked hastily—"Whence come you? Whence are you going? What do you want? The other, who perfectly well knew the king's dispo- sition, instantly replied-" From Bruges. To Paris. A benefice." You shall have it," replied the king and in a few days presented him to a valuable living. A bEAR PARBITCH PAN.—At the sale of an antiqua- rian gentleman's effects in Roxburghshire, which Sir Walter Scott happened to attend, there was one little article, a Roman ptatina, which occasioned a good deal of competition, and was eventually knocked down to the distinguished baronet at a high price. Sir Walter was excessively amused, during the time of bidding, to observe how much it excited the astonishment of an old woman, who had evidently come there to buy culinary utensils on a mora economical principle. If the par- ritch-pan," she at last burst out, if the parritch-pan gangs at that, what will the kail-pat gang for ? "-Dean Ramsay's Reminiscences. GEORGE III. AND HIS WINE MERCHANT.—Mr, Carbonell. the wine merchant, was a favourite with George III., and used to be admitted to the Royal hunt. Returning one day from the chase, his Majesty affably entered into conversation with his wine mer- chant, and rode a considerable way tite a tite with him. Lord Walsingham was in attendance and, watching an opportunity, he took Mr. Carbonell aside, and whispered him. What's that ? what's that ? said the King, "W alsingham has been saying to you ? Please you, sire, I find I have been guilty of unin- tentional disrespect; my lord has just informed me that I ought to have taken off my hat whenever I addressed your Majesty but your Majesty will please to observe that whenever I hunt my hat is fastened to my wig, and my wig is tied to my head, and I am riding a very high-spirited horse, so that if anything goes off we mu3t all go together." The King laughed heartily at this whimsical apology, which he good- naturedly accepted, and continued to chat with his wine merchant without endangering his falling off his horse. CHARLES KEAN.-During a visit to Exeter a ludi- crous incident occurred. He had a favourite New- foundl nd dog, named Lion, who accompanied him everywhere, and usually remained in his dressing-room while he was on the stage. One evening, during "Richard III. the door happened to be left open, and Lion heard the well-known voice in loud excite- ment. He trotted out, and appeared at the wing just as Richard and Richmond were on the point of engaging in the last scene. Lion growled at his master's anta- gonist, exhibited his teeth, and rushed furiously for- ward whereupon the terrified Richmond, deeming the odds too serious, fled from the field and was seen no more. Kean, being left without an antagonist, was obliged to fall ard die unwounded. Lion bestrode his master in triumph, licking his face, and barking voci- feriously while the curtain fell, amidst a roar of laughter and applause. Richard was then unanimously sum- moned before the curtain; presenting himself, he made his bow, and retired. Loud calls continued for the dog, but Lien having enacted his unstudied rCle declined a second appearance. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON IN PORTUGAL.—His lordship's dinner-table, at which his numerous adju- tants and several general officers constituted his guests was laid for twenty. The service of plate displayed extraordinary wealth. The servants waited in state liveries, and moat of the food seemed to have come from England; in short, it was hard to believe that I was seated at the table of a general who was opposed to a powerful enemy, in an utterly desolated country. At table a severe etiquette prevailed, as strict as could be found at any Royal table. The officers spoke in a low voice to each other, and all had their eyes fixed on the lord, who was very sparing in his speech, in order to answer his rare questions at once. Business com- pelled Wellington to leave the table early, but, at his request, the majority of the officers remained seated, and when the table-cloth was removed, and the port wine began to circulate, all speedily broke into that noisy merriment which the English so easily yield to when wine warms their blood.—Recollections of an Old German Hussar Officer. GENUINE CErricism.-A fastidious English lady on her travels, stopping temporarily at the log cabin of a literary trapper in Oregon, and seeing the Essays of Carlyle and Macaulay on the table, asked the frontiers- man what he thought of those authors. Oh! said he, them fellers is some pumpkins. They kin sling ink, they ken, now I tell you!" GETTING RID OF A BORE. -A soi-dismt naturalist was boring Hook with the distinctions in formation and habits between the two animals of the same genus. Hook, who neither knew nor wished to know anything about it, exclaimed—" It flashes on me now-I see the distinction—it's just the same in swine!"—"The same? cried the astonished naturalist.—"Yes," said Heok, you know some pigt are driven, and some pigs are lead." A PECULIAR RELATIONSHIP.—Mr. Howard was one day at a great dinner party which the late Duke of Norfolk gave to several of his neighbours. He sat at the bottom of the table, the duke being at the head, and one of the gentlemen who sat near the duke called out to him and said, Mr. Howard, will you drink a glass of wine with me! There was a connection between our families."—" Why, sir," resumed the gentleman, your ancestor, Lord William Howard, hung up twenty- three out of twenty-seven of my family, and you must own that was a tie." A SLIGHT MISTAKE —Mrs. Piozzi says Lord H. Poulett wrote to a gentleman to send him over two monkeys; but the word being written too, and all the characters of one height, it appeared like 100." What was poor Lord Harry Poulett's dismay, when a letter came to hand with the news that he would receive fifty monkeys by such a ship, and fifty more by the next conveyance, making up a hundred, according to his lordship's commands! PRESENCE OF MIND.-At the closing of a concert, while a young gentleman was struggling with his hat, cane, overcoat, opera glass, and his young lady's fan, all of which he was trying to retain on his lap, a suspicious-looking black bottle from the evercoa pocket fell on the floor with a loud thud. There, he exclaimed to his companion, I shall lose my cough medicine." That was presence of mind. A BRAVE AMBASSADOR—John Ballilowitz, the Czar of Russia, perceiving Sir Jeremy Bowes, the ambassador of Queen Elizabath, with his hat on in his presence, thus rebuked him :—" Have you not heard, sir, of the person I have punished for such an insult?" He had, in fact, punished him very savagely, by causing his hat to be struck through with a nail, and fastened to his head. Sir Jeremy answered, Yes, sir, but I am the Queen of England's am- bassador, who never yet Bteod bareheaded to any prince whatever her I represent, and on her justice I depend to do me right, if I am insulted."—" A brave fellow, this," said the czar, turning to his nebles; a brave fellow, truly, who dares thus to talk for his Sovereign's honour! Which of you would do so for me ?" LEGAL WIT.—Judge Dooly was remarkable for his wit, as well as for other talents. At one place where he attended court he was not pleased with his enter- tainment at the tavern. On the first day of his arrival, a hog—uuder the name of pig—had been cooked whole and laid on the table. No person attacked it. It was brought the next day, and the next, and treated with the same respect; and it was on the table on the day on which the court adjourned. As the party finished dinner, Judge Dooly rose from the table, and in a solemn manner, thus addressed the clerk Mr. Clerk, dismiss that hog on his recognizance until the first day of the next court. He has attended so faith- fully during the present term, that I don't think it will be found necessary to take any securi'y."

THE MARKETS. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET. —MONDAY. The number of beasts is small, and consequently prices are higher. A good clearance is effected of all kinds. The market generally has a holiday appearance. The sheep market ii barely supplied, and although trade is not brisk throughout, prices remain high. Lambs are selling about the same as of late. Calves are rather dearer. Our foreign supply consists of 1,020 beasts, 8,170 sheep, 130 calves, and 30 milch cows. From Scotland, 45 beasts Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, 1,600 Midland and other counties 805 beasts and 10 mUch cows. Best Scots, Merefords, 6s. to 6s. 4d.; Best Short horns, 6s. lOd. to 6s. 2d. Second quality beasts, 4s. 6d. to 6a. 4d. Calves, 4i. SI to 6s. 4d. Pigs, 4e 6d. to 6s. Beat Downs and half-bred sheep, 65 101 to 7a. 43. Shorn, 6». 8d- to 7s. second quality shorn, 6s 83. to 6s. 41 Lambs, 7s 6d. 8s. 6d. per stone of 8ibs. I TALLOV'. ) a. d. s. d. Town Tallow, per cwt. 42 9 Rough Stuff, per cwt.. 11 0 Rough Fat, per 81bs. 1 10 Greaves „ 16 0 Melted Stuff, per cwt.. 29 0 Good Dregs „ 6 0 Yellow Russian, new 47s. 6d. per cwt. Ditto I )itto old 00s. Od. Australian Mutton Tallow 42s. 6d. „ Ditto Beef Ditto. 40.. 6d. GAME AND POULTRY. Capons, 7s. to 121 fowls, Sa. to 5s. 6d.; chickens, 2s. 6d. to 6a. ducks, 2s. 6d. to 5s. 6d.; duckling 3s. 61. to 8s. coalings, 8s. to 10e. 6d.; ruffs, reeves, redtihankt, and god- wits 101. to Is Sd.; leverets. 2s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. hares, 8s. to 6s. rabbits, 8d. to Is. 6d. and haunches of venison, 60s. to 63s. each and fore-quarters ditto, 8id. to Is, per lb. FISH. Salmon, Is. 4d. te Is. 81. crimped ditto, Is. 103. to 2s. 2d grilse, Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. trout, Is. to Is. 6d. eels, 8d to Is. hallibut, 8d. to lOd. sturgeon, Is. to Is 6d_ ahad, 6d. to 8d. per lb.; soles, Is. 10d. to 6s. per pair; turbot, 81 6d. to 17s. 6i brill, Is to 2i 6d. dory, Is to 2s. 3d. gurnard, 9L to". 2s large plaice, Is. to Is. 6d. large haddock, Ss. to 7s. 6d! lobsters, 10J. to 2s. 3d. crabs, 6d. to 2s. each native oysters, 18s. 61 to 20s. per hundred. HAY. I WHITEQHAPEL, Tuesday.—There was short tupply of hay and straw on sale here to-day, with a dull trade Prices remained unchanged as follows —Prime clover, lOOi. to 145s.; interior ditto 86s. to 95s. prime meadow hay 90s. to 132s. Inferior ditto, to 76s. and straw, 3DS to 46s, per loåd.

STEAM TRAM-CARS. cars worked by steam are so rapidly coming ice and use, that the Engineer does good ser- iirecting attention to the real difficulties in the heir practical success difficulties by no means untable, but at the same time apt to be over- a a time of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm has a dis- plain facts and figures, but men who wish to enterprise pay have to look facts and figures ice. We have, in the first place, to remember litions. First" there must be power to over- B steepest gradients in all weathers; next there little or no noise and lastly, visib'e smoke and Lust be suppressed. As regards the first point; the resistance of a car on a railroad, with bree feet high, is about lOlbs. per ton, on a tram, aller wheels, it is not less than 491b3. A full weighs about four tons, so that we have a pull necessary to be gin with. Then there are inclines ;h a pitch as lin 20, and on these inclines it may sary to stop and start. This necessity so in- -he requisite power that nothing short of a pull 8. would be safe. This being so. the engine )t weigh less than four tons with sufficient water nksjto condense the steam emitted. This makes I weight to be moved as much as eight tons; and erof starting quickly is an object, the tractive ist be increased by four or five times over what is y to keep things going. To keep car and going at six miles an hour, and to orvercome riction would require 7-horBe power indicated, Bvery hour's journey the engine must carry a every hour's journey the engine must carry a a quarter of water, for feeding and condensing. whole, the engines must be capable, on occa- exerting 20-horee power indicated, and their Jns must be regulated accordingly. The con- leing given engineers can easily comply with but then the question will arise whether, the ns being accepted, horses will not, for this pur- cheaper than steam.-Standard.