The Aberdare Times

OUR LONDON CORRi SPUNDENT. The Parliamentary Session brought to aclofee last week was a long and laborious one; never- -theless, owing to the fact that it commenced much earlier than usual, prorogation was pos- sible in time to allow jaded legislators to take ;a holiday whilst the summer is still with us. In the early part of the century the end of July was considered unusually late for the winding up of the business of the Session, and, within the memory of many members of the present Parliament, a sitting after the 12th of August was an exceptional occurrence; but, during the last fifteen years, the old order of things has undergone a great change, and to be released from St. Stephen's soon enough for the opening of the grouse-shooting season is quite an event nowadays. In 1808 Parlia- ment sat from January 21 to July 4; and Lord Colchester, in recording in his diary the fact of the Prorogation, made the following entry: "The most laborious Session for hours of sitting ever known within living memory of the oldest members or officers of the House. There were 111 sitting days amounting to 829 hours, aver- seven and a—half hours a day. What & contrast to the Session just ended, when the House sat 141 days, the average length of each sitting being nearer ten hours than seven! Another indication of the alteration which has been wrought since George III's time is given by the record of divisions, the number in 1808 being 87, while this year it has reached the enormous total of 416. During the Recess the system of electric lighting will be further extended in the Palace of Westminster. Anxious not to cause an abnormal increase in the Estimates in any one year, Mr. Plunket has gone very gradually to work in replacing gas by the new illuminant; •Ijut the steps which he has already taken have met with such universal approval that it is now settled that the progress shall be continued -every autumn until operations are completed. A couple of years ago the flaring gas-lights in the suite of apartments devoted to the reporters were replaced by incandescent lamps and, last year, the Members' Lobby was for the first time made bearable by a similar improvement. In the coming months the attention of the Office of Works will be devoted mainly to such of the reading and refreshment-rooms as have not already been provided with the electric light. There will still remain the Committee-rooms to be dealt with; but, as they are not often used at night, their case is not one of urgency. It will hardly be conceived that in the Committee-rooms the antiquated practice of using oil-lamps has not vet been abolished. In the winter months, when logs often come on with great suddenness, it is no uncommon thing for the proceedings of a Select Committee to be brought to a complete standstill until the lamps can be lighted und brought in. Considerable alterations are also contemplated in connection with the refreshment depart- ment; but whether these will be carried out before Parliament reassembles has not tran- spired. Since the House of Commons took the control of its commissariat arrangements into its own hands the popularity of the dining- rooms has increased by leaps and bounds; and, during the past Session, no fewer than twenty-one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one dinners and luncheons were served. When the kitchen was planned it was never dreamt that so many meals would have to be prepared in the course of a single Session; and every year the chef and his assistants are more and more hampered by the inadequacy of their ac- commodation. With the continuous cooking which now goes on, it has also been brought home to the authorities that the basement is about the worst possible place for a kitchen. In the Dog Days, when every window in the building is thrown open, the fumes from the kitchen pervade the library, dining-rooms, and smoking- rooms, in the most unpleasant fashion and, if something is not done to remedy matters, there will be a terrible outcry amongst the members. The Kitchen Committee recommend that, as soon as the necessary accommodation can be provided, the culinary operations shall be trans- ferred to the top of the building, as it is in all the best clubs and hotels. Stimulated no doubt by the graphic descrip- tions of the scenery telegraphed to the London papers during Mr. Balfour's tour last year, and by the article from the pen of Miss Balfour which recently appeared in one of the monthlies, an unusually large number of tourists have chosen Donegal as the locale for their holidays this summer. The hotels at Gweedore and Carrick, which are the best centres in the county for shooting and fishing, have had their resources tested to the utmost; and even in quiet villages like Killibegs, Glenties, Ardara, and Dungloe, a rich harvest has been reaped by the innkeepers. Most people wishing to "do" the Highlands of Donegal thoroughly follow the same route as Mr. Balfour did last November; and, considering that the Chief Secretary's tour was mapped out for him by an official whose duties have made him famiJar with the district, a better plan could not be adopted. Leaving the rail- way system at thte town of Donegal, Mr. Balfour drove along the northern shore of Donegal Bay as far as Teelin Bay, whence he turned inland, and proceeded by way of Carrick, Ardara, and Glenties, to Gweedore. The route from Carrick to Gweedore lies through the most picturesque part of the county, and presents an endless variety of mountain and river scenery, whilst an excellent opportunity is afforded of con- trasting the wild desolation of rocky bogland with the congested pbverty of the low lying districts. From Gweedore there is a most exhilarating drive across the hills to Letterkenny, where the railway is again tapped. The church of St. Ethelburga, which has lately been brought into prominence on account of the suicide of its beadle, is seldom heard of nowadays; yet some years ago it was probably the best-known of all the City places of worship. It was one of the first churches in the J metropolis to adopt the 1.15 p.m. service, which has since become so popular and in fact it was the pioneer of most of the innovations which were the outcome of the Ritualistic movement. The smallest church in the City, it had for years gone on in the steady old-fashioned way, a morning and afternoon service on Sundays meeting all the requirements of its gradually- declining congregation, when suddenly a new departure was made, and now, in addition to three Sunday services, there is the Litany on Wednesdays and Fridays, and a choral celebra- tion on Saints' Days. The choir is one of the best in London. Many old residents in the neighbourhood can remember how, under the old regime, Mr. Marsh, the late beadle and clerk, preceded the surpliced choristers when they walked to their places at the commence- ment of the service. He carried a unique staff surmounted by a silver statue of St. Ethelbursra. Whilst the Dean of Westminster was giving evidence before the Royal Commission he mentioned a fact which few people are aware of-viz., that the Percy family still have a prescriptive right of burial in the abbey, a right which was exercised as recently as 1883. The Northumberland vault, whieh is situated in the Chapel of St. Nicholas, is nearly full, and, when a few more coffins have been placed in it, no persons will be absolutely entitled to burial in the abbey except Sove- reigns of the realm. The Chapel of St. Nicholas is in the right-hand corner just outside Henry VII.'s Chapel. The most interesting discovery which has been made in connection with the abbey for many years was made in Henry VII.'s Chapel, where Dean Stanley found, in the vault of Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York, the body of James I., always supposed to have been buried in the North-Eastern Chapel with that of Queen Anne of Denmark. One of the most curious instances of removal on record is that of Katherine of Valois, the ancestress, by her second husband, of the Tudor dynasty. Her body was first buried in the old Lady Chapel where Henry VII.'s Chapel now stands; and it was ostensibly in her honour that Henry VII. built his chapel. Dean Thomas had the coffin removed into the Percy vault referred to above, and Dean Stanley, after consulting with the Queen, obtained leave to move the body to where it rests now, above her husband's grave, and in the chantry which she had raised in his honour. R.

BARON ROTHSCHILD is fond of the London omnibus drivers. Every Christmas he sends a brace of pheasants, a bottle of wine, and five shillings to fill the drivers whose routes lie about Piccadilly. The other day one of the oldest drivers met with a serious accident. The famous banker noticed he was off the box, and made inquiries as to his absence. Being interested, he set about discovering where he lived, visited him, and made personal inquiries re- garding his health. In a few days a message was received by the astonished 'busman that Rothschild had allowed him a pension of fifteen shillings a week for the rest, of his life.

NEWS NOTES. THE tyrannical spirit so conspicuously domi- nating Russian rule at present makes itself manifest, not only in the rigorous persecution of Jews, but in the exercise of despotic authority at the northern and southern extremities of the Empire. Numerous suppressions have been taking place of late in the case of Finnish news- papers showing a desire for the preservation of self-government, and the whole Press of Finland, it is announced, will be placed under the same rigid censorship as distinguishes other parts of the Empire at the beginning of October next. The Czar is also making Finland witness military reviews on an imposing scale, as if for the purpose of affording a wholesome demon- stration of Russian invincible power. But the Czar himself has seen by unmistakable signs with his own eyes that his policy of force majeure, has lost him the hearts of the Finnish people. fu the southern side of the Russian Empire, as made known from Odessa, the ejection of German and other foreign farmers from the soil still continues on a large scale, the number under sentence of cleaiang out being set down at fifty thousand. Naturalisation is proclaimed to bo the only preventative of this dire result, and yet the obstacles put in the way of obtain- ing it are so very difficult that they prove in- surmountable in most cases. The effect of such a policy must necessarily be to throw the land into waste, on account of the sparse rural popu- lation showing no desire to take the cultivation in hand. TIIEContinent has been experiencing troubled weather for some weeks past, no less than our own country. Among European capitals, the greatest sufferer has been Vienna, which experi- enced an exceptionally severe gale, besides falls of rain, somewhat unusual in the fulness of their downpour. In consequence of coast storms, the great resort of visitors in good seasons being rendered unattractive for tem- porary residence, the capitals have derived benefit from the influx of what may be called refugees. The Brussels newspapers, referring to the fact, have made use of the well-known saying that it is an ill-wind which blows nobody good, and both hotelkeepers and shopkeepers were actively engaged in making hay, whether the sun chose to shine or otherwise. THE letter of Sir E. Reed happily produced a beneficial effect on M. Deloncle, a member of the French Chamber, and who entertains a j ealous feelings towards England, who expressed him- self dissatisfied with words which fell from the lips of the First Lord of the Admiralty in reply- ing to a question put to him in the House of Commons shortly before the Prorogation. The question had reference to providing special accommodation for sight-seeing members of Parliament at Portsmouth on the occasion of the fleet's forthcoming visit, and the reply of Lord George Hamilton was to the effect that he did not think members appeared to be particu- larly anxious about the matter. In fact, it was known to the First Lord, when he spoke, that members would be dispersed in all directions by the time Admiral Gervaise brought his iron- dads into the Solent, and this circumstance naturally enough accounted for any brusqueness perceptible in the tone of the reply. French susceptibility in a nature like that of M. Deloncle seems capable of springing up without any cause whatever at the slightest possible touch. THE prorogation of Parliament a week pre- vious to the 12th was an event well calculated to give satisfaction to the members of both Houses, who like to get to their shooting quarters in good time, and who feel quite out of sorts when they are not afoot on favourite moors at the very outset of the grouse-shooting season. The prospect of having a clear recess until February has apparently given much satisfaction all round. The experiences of members in the latter part of last year has made November Sessions widely distasteful, and Sir George Trevelyan will find it difficult ever to make the idea of winter sittings agreeable to the minds of our legislators. The frequent thick fogginess of London at that season has a scaring effect on many members, and creates a strong desire among them to be anywhere out of the metropolis. THE announcement that a. Scottish Moun- taineering Club has been formed, aiming at a. greater number of objects than the British Alpine Club, must give satisfaction to many tourists who are fond of paying autumnal visits to the Highlands, and who do not object to make now acquaintances on the tops of moun- tains. The club just established will do a great deal more than any motion brought before Par- liament by Mr. Bryce to keep the access to the mountains open, and prevent any of them being made preserves, where only red deer, sports- men, gillies, and trained dogs can roam at large. Two American friends who have been staying with Mr. Andrew Carnegie for a time at his northern residence, will carry back with them to New York romantic recollections of having lain for a night on a bracken bed in Craigdhu Cave, which sheltered Cluny Macpher- son when he was a fugitive after the fall of the Stuart cause at Culloden. There are plenty of historical associations, of which the above is a specimen, which impart attractive romantic interest to many parts of the Highlands, which the Scottish Mountaineering Club has taken under its broad wing.

THE HOME SECRETARY IN HERTFORDSHIRE. A Unionist demonstration and fete was held on Saturday in Beechwood-park, Hertfordshire, the 'esidence of Mrs. Adair. In the course of the after- loon speeches were delivered in front of the mansion. VIr. T. F. Halsey, M.P., for the Watford Division of ;he county, presided, and among those present were ;b ITijht Hon. Henry Matthews, M.P., Mr. Ash- mead-Bartlett, M.P., Mr. A. H. Smith-Barry, M.P., md Mrs. Smith-Barry, Mr. Vicary Gibbs, the Unionist candidate for St. Albans Division, and the Earl and Countess Brownlow. After a short address by the Chairman, Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett said they has just finished one of the longest, but also one of the most fruitful Sessions this generation had known. They had suc- ceeded in placing upon the statute book a great measure of free education, which would enable every child in this country to obtain the essential elements of knowledge without difficulty and without expense. The Tithes Act would, he hoped, settle a long vexed and difficult question, and the Home Secretary must be congratulated Oil having succeeded in placing on the statute book the great measure known as the Factories and Workshops Act. The claims of labour had also been recognised by Lord Salisbury in the appointment of the Royal Commission on Labour, while the Irish Land Purchase Act was admitted by all classes and parties to be the greatest measure for the amelioration of the condition of the Irish people ever passed by any Government. Mr. Matthews said he gathered from their presence that they felt at least some degree of approbation of the conduct of her Majesty's present Government. He would only say that if Ireland pacified, if the name of England restored in its relation to foreign Powers to something of its old weight, and something of its old dignity; if constant care and thoughtful attention to the needs of the people, and especially of the working classes of this country; if their burdens lightened, their taxation lessened, and their welfare and their interests considered above all, formed any title to the gratitude and goodwill of those whom he saw before him, the labours of the present Government would not have been in vain. But there was another inference he drew from their presence there that day, still more welcome to him. It was that they were one and all of them zealous and earnest in the great Unionist cause, which might well warm a man's heart and nerve his hand in the great struggle which alone could keep England what she had been in the past. He rejoiced to think that they would be helped in this struggle by a representative who had hereditary claims to their goodwill and regard, for the father of Mr. Vicary Gibbs was one of those members who was content to do honest and useful work without wasting time in vain and superfluous talk, and whose son gave marked promise of becoming a valuable publio servant.

DID- tlw Chinese invent the mariner's compass, and did we in our turn copy it from them? An interesting research which appears m » Shanghai journal makes it clear that four centuries before the Christian era the needle was used as implement for drawing astrological charts and firing lucky places" for tombs, and that four centuries later it was emploved by navigators, these navigators being well acquainted with the fact that the needle did not point to the true north, and that the variation is changeable from year to year. ALL herbalists agree in pronouncing strawbernes as wholesome and beneficial beyond every other English fruit; their smell is refreshing to the spirits, they a1: ate fever, and are diuretic and gently laxa- tive. The leaves may be used in gargles for quinsies and sore mouths. The chemical constituents of the strawberry are a peculiar volatile woma, sugar, mucilage, pectine, citric and malic acids in equal parts, woody fibre, and water. The fruit is muci- laginous, somewhat tart, and saccharine. It is especially suitable in inflammatory and putrid fevers, and for catarrhal sore thiroats.

THE VOLUNTEERS. So much publicity is given to the Easter manoeuvres of the volunteers that there is (the Morning Adver- tiser considers) some danger of their less brilliant but certainly not less solid work at other seasons of the year being lost sight of. Few people except the volunteers themselves and those :I officers of the regular forces who are brought into close contact with them have any idea of the extent of the training which many corps voluntarilv undergo or of the high state of efficiency which they have attained. We cannot expect them to be at all points equal to the line. for the amateur is naturally inferior to the professional in all walks of life, but when we realise the very small amount of official encouragement they receive and the very small State grant voted in their aid, the wonder is that the volunteers should have attained their present state of efficiency. This efficiency is mainly seen in those corps which annually visit one or other of our great camps of in- struction, where for a week they are subjected to military discipline, participate inmilitary manoeuvres, and generally acquire those hundred and one details of military life only to be learnt in the camp or bar- rack square. Mere drill can be taught at the head- quarters of corps, and in the matter of ordinary parade movements and in firing exercise there is not a corps ia the kingdom which is not sufficiently proficient to take its place in line with our best troops. But of the vicissitudes of a soldier's life the civilian must be obviously ignorant, and with these the volunteer must become acquainted if he is in any way to be considered even an amateur soldier. Sentry-go and picquet duties, fatigues and orderly work, prompt un- questioning obedience are all outside the regular routine which the volunteer must go through in order to be returned as an efficient." The mere firing off a certain number of rounds, and attending a certain number of parades is of importance so far as the finances of the corps are concerned, but the corps which boast the highest number of "efficients" is by no means the most valuable regiment. This the volun- teers themselves have long since learnt, and many regiments make it a point to go through a clear week's military training at Aldershot or some other convenient centre in order that officers and men may obtain an insight into the real duties of their profession. The Easter manoeuvres are valuable enough in their way, but the summer training is of far more importance, and is yearly becoming more and more popular, showing that the volunteers are keenly anxious to be considered as part and parcel of our fighting machine, and not as mere dilettanti soldiers. The training undergone at these camps is by no means holiday work. The men are treated in every way as regulars." They become their own hewers of wood and drawers of water, rations are issued by the quartermaster, taken over by company orderlies, and cooked by company cooks. In some corpi the cattle and sheep for the men's food have been purchased, slaughtered, and, we presume, even eaten regimentally. Kitchens are built by the men. tents are pitched and struck by them, and the whole routineof camp life carried on without the assistance of any professional soldiers, save and except the sergeant instructors of regiments. In the. matter of parade work a careful scheme of instruction is drawn up by the general or other senior officer commanding, embracing picquet and outpost duties, advance and rear guard work, the attack and defence of positions. These drills are made as little irksome and as in- teresting aud instructive as possible, the general idea being put in order beforehand, and the remarks on the operations published subsequently. Too much importance cannot be attached to the work performed and the lessons learned at these camps, nor can too much encouragement be given to regiments to adopt the course, which some of our best corps have followed for years, of spending a week annually at Aldershot or some similar place. At the present moment (August 6) from 14,000 to 15 000 volunteers are under canvas. Last week some 6000 men went through a course of instruction, and this at great personal sacrifice and considerable per- sonal expense. At Plymouth the Devon Yeomanry, the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Volunteer Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Cornwall Light Infantry, with the Gloucester Engineers, encamped on Staddon Downs, near Ply- mouth, for a series of manoeuvres in conjunction with the regular troops. The Plymouth division being destitute of cavalry, Sir R. Harrison, the officer in command, made full use of the yeomanry and of a very efficient body of mounted infantry attached to the 2nd Devon Volunteers. A movable column of regulars lent an air of reality to the proceedings, and their mobility necessitated constant manoeuvring on the part of the volunteer brigade, ofonvhich the Earl of Mount Edgcumbc is colonel in command. At the same time another brigade of western volunteers was mobilised in Wales under Colonel Aubrey Tucker, C.B., an officer whose war experience includes the Crimean and New Zealand campaigns. Sir R. Harrison being employed at Plymouth, he was compelled to delegate the inspection of this force to Lieut.-General Lyon Fremantle, the Deputy- Adjutant-General for Auxiliary Forces, who found five battalions of Welshmen encamped near Rhyl. Fine stalwart men they are, too, who compose the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the 1st and 2nd of the South Wales Borderers. At Aldershot some 6500 men are in camp, the Home Counties Brigade under Lord Wantage being composed of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Volunteer Battalions of the Bed- ford Regiment, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Oxford Light Infantry, the 1st Volunteer Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment, the 1st Bucks Rifles, and a battalion 430 strong from the Public School Corps of Bedford, Bradford, Cheltenham, Dulwich, Hailey- burv, Sherborne, and Wellington. The younger public schools have in this respect set a great and laudable example to the older and richer foundations. How is it that Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, and Chartel house have not sent their quota of boys? Even Mannamead, a small west country school, put a company of 40 rifles into the field during last week's manoeuvres at Aldershot. Colonel Trotter, of the Grenadier Guards, has taken down the East London Brigade, which includes the following well-known w metropolitan corps: 1st and 2nd Tower Hamlets, 15th and 24th Middlesex, and London Rifle Brigade, strengthened by details from the 3rd Royal West Surrey, 4th East Surrey, 1st and 14th Surrey Rifles, about 3000 men in all. Herefordshire and Liverpool also contribute a battalion apiece, these being at- tached to different infantry brigades. At Devizes, four strong regiments, the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Bat- talions of the Wilts Regiment, the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry from Bath, and a Worcester corps are in camp, and were inspected by the Duke of Connaught. At Conway, in North Wales, 2500 men of the Welsh Border Brigade, and at Port Talbot a rather stronger force of the Severn Brigade, are. going through a week's training. Close on 600 volunteer gunners belonging to tho 1st London, 1st Durham, 1st Kent, and Tyne- mouth Artillery are at Dover, whilst the Honour- able Artillery Company are hard by in camp at Shorncliffe. The City of London Engineers at Hendon are doing good and useful work, where their bridging operations and skill in the construction of batteries and other field works has called forth the warm commendation of several officers of rank and experience. The East London, or Tower Hamlets Engineers, have been enjoying the hospitality of the nitrate king, who owes his military rank to his con- nection with that volunteer corps, and doubtless, midst the entertainments at Eltham-park, some time will be found for the serious duties of their profes- sion. The Cyclist Corps has chosen Dorking for a rendezvous, and north country corps are dotted about the banks of the Mersey and the Ribble. Individual volunteers who are unable to spare the time for the week's camp-out availed themselves of the general holiday in order to shoot through their annual musketry course, so as to secure for their 'L.1: ..l.1.1 _won"'+- battalion ino autnorisea grant. Accjrding to the annual return of la-t year the number of enrolled volunteers was 221,000, of whom over 212,000, or 84-82 per cent., were efficient, 6126 officers and 13,000 sergeants had gained the special grant of 50s., HJ8 officers and non-commissioned officers were qualified signallers, and 1188 officers had passed an examination in tactics which qualified them for a further special grant. In spite of the many disadvantages under which it labours the efficiency of the force improves year by year. It has called forth the encomiums of British officers of the highest possible distinction, and of foreign potentates who at the same time are practised soldiers. Last month the German Emperor but echoed the sentiments expressed 12 years ago by his father as to the political value of our great citizen army. The self-abnegation and patriotism of the volunteers are beyond all praise. To many thousands of those who spend a week in camp, that week means the loss of a substantial wage or the curtailment of their summer holiday. All voluntarily give up valuable time. and in the majority of cases this represents money. Were it not for the fact that behind our small regular army stands the very substantial backing of 220,000 volun- teers that army would perforce have to be very largely increased, and in proportion to the improvement in efficiency of our volunteers, so will the necessity for increasing the strength of the army die away. It is clearlv, then, the duty of the Government, in the best interests of the nation, to encourage the force in every possible manner. Means should be employed to check the resignation of officers, many of whom are now leaving in consequence of the great expense attendant on holding a volunteer commission. The ruline which permits an officer of the line on retire- ment to be posted to a militia battalion might well be extended to the volunteers, and officers of the regulars encouraged to join the volunteer battalions of their old corps, or of their own county. The advantages derivable from camps of instruction might be recognised by making a substantial addition to the annual grant in aid of those corps who undergo this invaluable training. The rewards for marksman- ship now given to soldiers of the regular artillery and infantry might be made applicable to gunners and privates of the volunteers, for, strange as it may seem to those who read of the marvellou3 scores at Bisley, it is in shooting that the volunteer force is most inefficient. There are some hundreds of superb marksmen scattered throughout the kingdom, but the average shooting of the whole force is phenomenally bad. A prize of one sovereign a year to every marks- man in the volunteers wpuld have no appreciable effect on the Estimates, whilst it would tend to double the worth of oue citizen soldiers. The Tolunteers ¡u-e part and parcel of the defensive forces of thl country. it is a matter of national moment that they should be maintained in the highest possible state of efficiency. Hitherto the anxiety that they should attain a high degree of soldierly proficiency has been displayed only by the volunteers themselves. It is time that the War Office should display something more than a cold spirit of mere toleration, and sup- plement the very flattering reports of all officers who have inspected the volunteers by direct and substan- tial encouragement.

EMIGRATION RETURNS. The emigration returns for the month and for the seven months ended July 31 present on analysis some remarkable results. For both periods the total emigration shows substantial additions, having for the month risen from 25,501 in July, 1890, to 29,130 last month, and for the expired portion of the year from 184,413 in the corresponding period of last year 197,451, yielding respective increases of 3629 and 13,038. For the month the number of emi- grants of British birth amounted to 18,134, showing an increase of 1148, and the total of those of foreign extraction to 10,853, being an addition of 2477. As regards the United States the 12,952 emigrants on British account show an increase of 932, shared proportionately by the three component nationalities of the United Kingdom, and the 8639 foreigners are 478 in excess of the de- partures during the previous July. The emigration to Canada amounted to 4019, as compared with 2922 in July, 1890, and consisted of 2306 of British origin and 1713 foreigners. To South Africa and all other places the figures on British account are 832 and 838, showing the small respective increases of 74 and 20, while the foreign record is 251 and 213, as compared with 93 and 132. The Australian return alone shows a contraction, having fallen from 1438 in July, 1890, to 1243, tha decline being wholly due to England and Ireland, the numbers for which have fallen respectively from 1029 and 236 to 949 and 111. For the seven months the British emigra- tion reached a total of 126,085, presenting, as com- pared with 124,996 for the corresponding period of 1890, an excess of 1089. The remarkable feature in this table is the decline in the total number of English emigrants, which, returned at 73,226, shows a fall of 1843. This fall is shared by every place of destination except the United States, the figures for which are 45,520, as compared with 44,456. As regards Canada the numbers have fallen from 11,929 to 11,783, and with reference to Australia they have declined from 8259 to 6929. In like manner the figures for South Africa and all other places are reduced from 5586 and 4839 to 4461 and 4530. As regards Scotland the addition of 1027 in a total emigration of 12,744 is accounted for by the increase in the numbers entered for the United States and Australia, which at 8656 for the one destination, and 1464 for the other, show aug- mentations of 839 and 269. The return for Canada, 1738, is stationary, but there is a considerable fall in that for the Cape and Natal. Irishmen as usual prefer the United States, the 37,140 returned as having gone thither being an addition of nearly 2000. The 869 emigrants who went to Canada represent a decline of 200, which is compensated for by an almost corresponding increase as regards the 629 entered for other places. The foreign emigration for this period, returned at 69,780, shows the remarkable addition of 11,755. Of this total 58,391, representing all increase of 9000, were absorbed by the United States, and 8717, as against 6733 this time last year, went to Canada.

THE CHILIAN WAR. There have been so many contradictory statements by both parties to the sanguinary struggle in Chili that it has been difficult, from the published accounts, to get more than a general idea of the terrible cha- racter of the internecine quarrel. Bit by bit, however, as British ships and seamen arrive at home, details of the fierce fighting at the seaport towns are becoming known. The captain of a merchant steamer, who has just arrived in England, via. Antwerp, where his vessel lies, tells a London correspondent that he accommodated near 1000 refugees for the time being outside Iquique. The strange thing is that, notwithstanding the upset of all commerce and the chaotic state of the country generally, the belligerents seem to experience no lack of money. They are prepared to pay the most extrava- gant sums for officers and sailors to man their war vessels, and for the purpose of arms, ammunition, and coals, and there is no doubt that the financial obligations would be duly met.

MAXIMILIAN'S WIDOW. Princess Charlotte, the widow of Maximilian, Louis Napoleon's puppet-Emperor of Mexico, who is stated to have frightened her sister, the Queen of the Belgians, into her recent serious illness, has (says the London correspondent of the Birming- ham, Post) had the most romantic and most melancholy history of any person of Royal blood in Europe. When her husband had not been long on the throne she was invested with the dignity of Regent in the event of his death, but this proved a hollow honour. When things began to grow very wrong in Mexico she was despatched to Europe on a mission of help and one day. in the autumn of 1866, insanity first began to manifest itself during an interview with Pio Nono, the then Pope, to whom she declared that there was a conspiracy to destroy her by poison. Less than a year afterwards Maximilian was shot on the plain of Queretaro, by order of the Mexican Dictator, Juarez; and the last letter he wrote was to his wife, in which, recognising her mental condition, he exclaimed, If God one day permits your recovery and you read these lines, you will learn the cruelty of the ill-fortune which has unceasingly pursued me since your departure for Europe. If your sufferings be too great, if God call you speedily to rejoin me, I will bless the Divine hand which has so heavily pressed upon us." Nearly a quarter of a century has passed, and the unhappy Princess lingers on in hopeless insanity, to the anguish of all her friends.

A REVOLUTIONARY SMUGGLING SOCIETY. A society has been formed by the Polish Socialists for the purpose of introducing into the Russian empire prohibited Socialist and other litera- ture in the various languages spoken within the Czar's dominions. There is a great number of publications of such nature issued on this side of the frontier, in countries where freedom of the Press is guaranteed by the constitution. The great difficulty has always been to find a way of getting these publications across the frontier, watched as it is by a whole army of custom-house guards, Cossacks and soldiers. Owing to their geographical position, the Poles are better able than anyone else to carry on successfully this most useful work, and the society above-mentioned shows great promise of success in the work it has undertaken. The committee is composed of able and reliable men and women, mem- bers of the Polish Social Democratic party p_ Bornstein, Alexander Dembski, S. Mendel- son," Mary Mendelson, J. Mir, Jan. Nadolski, Anna Pocinki, Harry Powker, Marx Shier, Alex- ander Wronski. The members of the committee appeal not only to their own countrymen but also to the Russian revolutionists, whose aim," they add, in spite of all factitiously excited race prejudices, is the same as our own." This shows the great revulsion of feeling whhh has taken place in Poland during the last generation with regard to the Russians as a nation. Free Russia.

WHILE crossing a street at Govan, Margaret Robertson a widow, was knocked down by the Mitrinn of a steam car, a portion of which passed over I her limbs. She died an hour after. JANE M'DONALD, a little girl of three, living with her parents at Kirk-street, Glasgow, was killed by falling into the back court over a balcony leading to the house—a height of three storeys. falling into the back court over a balcony leading to the house—a height of three storeys. ASIIBURY PARK, a New Jersey town, has ]ust had a unique exhibition. Energetic citizens organised a baby Parade. No less than 383 babies were in the ^DuRiNcT'the three months ending March last the average price of wheat was 39s. 6d. per quarter, the average prices in the preceding two quarters having been 31s. lOd. and 32s. THE total amount of rate levied towards the support of the London pollce for the year ended March 31,1891, produced £ <38,603, and the Local Taxation Account contributed £ 590,681 to the Police Fund during the year.. ENGLISHMEN are such, instant and determined travellers in all parts of the world that though they can rough it as well as anyone when occasion demands, they have become past-mastersiin the art of making themselves comfortable and at home when- ever they have the chance. In India this charac- teristic shows itself in a very marked way. Many generations in the Great 'Dependency have handed down from successor to successor the traditi6no of what an Englishman in the East demands for com- fort, and of late years the spread of the railway system, and the improved communion, have increased the facilities for comfort, though they have possibly taken away some of its Eastern cha- An amusing anecdote is concerning the well-known bacteriologist Professor Bneger, who is Koch's successor at the yg' } • A Ufa SadW S: S2S2S. -T la h ever, appeared concentrated upon one jwrticular ?es3;i, which was enveloped.m smoke "Guess what I am boiling here, saId the professor to the visitor. The latter entire scale of known nll°r(? »"«« J1*! quoth Brieger, these are hot sausages. Gera uns (Germans), no doubt," dryly replied his English confrere. T T I A AU persons were married during IN London 16,044 P TBE NUMber being the first quarter of in proportion to population, above the average quo™ r capital crime un. IT is worth noting tb jn tho Metr0p0litan accounted for dur1^ West Ham. area was the murder oi ir,t;rivu!> on January 31.

THE AILESBURY ESTATES. On Monday, in the Chancery Division, upon the petition of the Marquis of Aileebury for lewve to sell to Lord Iveagh the Ailesbury estates, Mr. Justice Stirling delivered his reserved judgment. His lord- ship said the petition asked the Court to sanction the sale of the estates, together with the mansion house known as Savernake Hall. and the pleasure grounds, park, and the lands usually occupied there- with, for the sum of £ 750,000. The estates in ques- tion were settled by an indenture of settlement, dated July 16, 1885, upon certain trusts, under which the Marquis of Ailesbury was now tenant for life in possession. The petitioner's grandfather, who was alive at the date of the settlement, died on the 18th October, 1886'. The petitioner then became tenant for life. He was married in 1886 to Miss Julia Haseley, but there had been no issue of the marriage. One of the trustees of the settlement supported the petition and the other opposed, it was also opposed by all persons entitled in remainder. The property proposed to be sold comprised about 40,000 acres of land, 95 farms, 1000 cottages, and a hotel. The park, pleasure grounds, and lands usually occupied therewith, comprised 7743 acres, and included Savernake Forest, which was described as having no equal anywhere. Under the agreement for sale £250,000 of the pur- chase money was to be paid on completion of the purchase, and the balance of £500,000 was to remain on mortgage for five years at four per cent. The present marquis was 21 on the 8th of June, 1884, and on the 16th of July, 1885, the Ailesbury estates were settled on the petitioner for life. Simultaneously with this settlement an arrangement was made for the sale of the Yorkshire property, and there was no doubt that the object of this sale was to secure the continuance of the Ailesbury estates in the family. It was admitted that £ 175,000, the proceeds of the sale of the Yorkshire estates, had been either received by the petitioner or had been applied in payment of his debts. The Savernake estates were, no doubt, heavily encumbered, and it was not surprising that they should have been described by Lord Henry Bruce as the biggest white elephant ever known. The petitioner had not only spent the whole of the 9175,000 received from the sale of the Yorkshire property, but had encumbered his life interest in favour of Samuel Lewis to the extent of £ 200,000, and the encumbrancer had brought an action for foreclosure and obtained the appointment of a re- ceiver. Mr. Lewis, however, still continued to make advances to the petitioner, who admitted that he was mainly dependent upon them for support. It did not appear that the position of the marquis would be in any way improved by a sale, and any benefit from it would be reaped by his creditors. He was satisfied that £750,000 was the full value of the estate, but he was not satisfied that the petitioner was acting as an independent trustee for himself, and all the other members of the family. The marquis was not favourably situated to form an independent judg- ment. He had denied by affidavit that the agreement for sale had been entered into under pressure from his creditors, and he stated that he bad been endeavour- ing to sell the Wiltshire estate for the last four years. He derived no income from the estate, and was unable to keep it up. In the mansion house there were a number of heirlooms, and no provision had been made for their custody. The petitioner's life interest was encumbered to its full value. He had squandered a large sum, which would have gone far to enable him to retain with dignity his position as head of a great family, and there was very little probability of re- gaining his position. He came to the conclusion that the proposed sale, however beneficial it might be for the creditors of the petitioner, was not one in which due regard had been paid to the interests of all parties entitled under the settlement. He was, therefore, unable to sanction the sale, and dismissed the peti- tion. It was stated that all parties were willing that the costs of the petition should come out of the estate, if the petitioner undertook not to appeal from his lordship's decision. Mr. Justice Stirling said the order might be so drawn up if the petitioner gave the undertaking within a month, otherwise the ordinary course would be pursued.

A FINE FIREMAN DEAD. Superintendent Hutchings, the officer in command of the City of London and Clerkenwell districts of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, died suddenly on Monday. Mr. Hutchings had for years been one of Captain Shaw's most able and active assistants, and in recent years, under his chief officer, he had had the responsi- bility of taking charge at some of the biggest of City fires. He directed the firemen at Charterhouse- buildings, at the big fire in Queen Victoria-street, at Wood-street, and at the terrible fire in Clothfair, for his services at which disaster he was personally complimented by the coroner and jury. He was at headquarters for some years with the late superin- tendent, Mr. W. Port, and on one occasion was buried with Captain Shaw at a big rag fire in Southwark, where both had terribly narrow escapes. On Friday night of last week Mr. Hutchings was suddenly seized with illness. The medical officers who attended him reported him improving during Sunday and Monday. Captain Shaw, interrupting his annual leave by a couple-of days' sojourn in town, visited his sick bed at one o'clock on Monday afternoon, and had not left the station three minutes when the superintendent suddenly expired. The news was given to Captain Shaw a few minutes later on the main line platform at Paddington, and he at once abandoned his holiday.

MR. BALFOUR AT PLYMOUTH. Addressing a crowded audience at Plymouth on Monday night, Mr. Balfour justified the action of the Government in introducing and passing the Free Education Bill. With regard to the future, he hoped to be able next Session to carry a measure of electoral County Councils for Ireland. Many of the best friends of the Government, he admitted, viewed the promised measure with some suspicion or fear, but he anticipated good effects from it in welding all classes together for the management of county busi- I ness and the administration of funds belonging to the electors. He held, however, that centralised police was absolutely nocessary for Ireland, and he would never be a party to proposing to hand over the management of the police in Ireland to either County Councils or combination of County Cconcils and grand juries.

THE VISIT OF THE FRENCH FLEET. The Lord Mayor of London has intimated to the French Ambassador that it will afford him great pleasure to entertain the officers of the French Fleet either at a dinner or a dejeuner at the Mansion House, should it be their intention to visit London during their stay in British waters. The arrange- ments for the reception of the French fleet at Ports- mouth are now practically complete. The ships under Admiral Gervais will arrive on the 19th inst., and will remain in the Solent for five days. On the 20th they will be inspected in Osborne Bay by the Queen, who, it is understood, will be accompanied by the Duke of Edin- burgh and the Duke of Connaught. The Admiral will dine with her Majesty in the evening. On the 21st the fleet will anchor at Spithead, and at night the officers will be present at a grand ball given in the Town-hall by the naval commander-in- chief and the naval and marine officers of the port. On the 22nd the Mayor of Portsmouth will entertain the seamen of the fleet at dinner, and on the following Monday the officers will be entertained at a grant banquet at which the guests will include the Duke of Connaught, Admiral the Earl of Clanwilliam, and the Lords of the Admiralty. The Town Council have decided to vote a sum of £ 500 to assist the Mayor in meeting the expenses to be in- curred. wm—mmmm

PRIMITIVE WATCH REPAIRERS. There lives," says the Watchmaker, "in an Essex fishing village, an old oyster dredger who is watch and clock repairer-in-chief to its inhabitants. When the squire's clock goes wrong or the labourer's watch gets damaged it is he who sets them to rights. On being asked some time since how he repaired a broken spring, he replied, Sometimes I solder 'em, sometimes I rivet 'em, and sometimes I dovetail 'em.' We have often thought of the ingenuity this man must have employed but lately a card has come to our notice that entirely eclipses this. A traveller in the interior of Japan broke the mainspring of his watch, which he took to a native jeweller. It was returned to him, and went well until the season set in, when it stopped. It was then discovered that the ingenious Jap had put in a spring made from a thin strip of bamboo."

SUFFERINGS OF THE JEWS. With the object of mitigating as far as possible the sufferings of the Jews who are being driven from their homes by the arbitrary Government of the Czar, the chief Jewish communities in Europe are to be asked to lend what aid may be in their power; the executive committees formed outside of Russia are to be strengthened; and delegates are to be sent to St. Petersburg to constitute a central committee there, and local organisations in the provinces. It is hoped that by this means the wholesale emigration may be reduced to something like a system, and that the terrible hardships which many of those driven forth have had to endure may be averted. The success of the movement will, of course, depend in a large degree on the Russian Government.

IN an interesting paper on technical education in agriculture, Dr. W. Fream refers incidentally to the value of mathematical studies for the agriculturist. Dr. Fream's professional experience at agricultural colleges in England has convinced him that a lad who is fairly competent in mathematical studies is "a good Medium to work upon." Those interested in the welfare of any young agriculturist should take care," he says, that in his school-days the study of mathematics is not ignored. The time devoted to acquiring proficiency in arithmetic, geometry, mensuration,, and the elements of algebra and trigonometry—the latter really indispensable in the I ense of jfliirvevinfir—will never be recretted."

THE SHOEBURYNESS MEETING. None too fortunate, taken from any point of view, the meeting of the artilliry volunteers at Shoebury- ness on Monday opened with weather disgraceful even for the British climate. The morning began with a bright sun and puffy wind, and the brigades, which assembled in rear of the batteries at 8.30 a.m., in order to take advantage of the tide, had to take also the circumstances of wind and weather. The first shot was fired about nine o'clock, and throughout a morning, fine, if not excellent for shooting, the com- petition with the 64-pounder R.M.L. Palliser gun proceeded quickly. In this competition each detachment fire four rounds of common shell with time fuses, at targets twelve feet by six. The range is this year 1600 yards, an alteration from last year's range, which was 1900 yards. The conditions of the competition are based on the correct action of a time fuse with Shrap- nell shell, as being its only legitimate use. The points for marking are the length at which the shell bursts, correct laying for elevation and direction. The time allowed for the four rounds is 10 minutes, points being deducted for overtime. Each detachment must consist of eight members each, or it will not be allowed to compete. One hundred and forty yards in front of the target a upher 45ft. high is placed. There is another one, 38ft. high, put 30 yards nearer the target; while 80 yards nearer again a 19ft. upher is fixed. The shells must burst at cer- tain distances as judged by these uphers before the target to score. To count full points the shell must be in line from the gun to the target. A shell bursting on or running above the target counts but six points. The maximum is 12 points. The competition was left unfinished on the first night of the meeting. At about one o'clock, just as the last detachment had finished firing, the clouds, which for long had been gathering blackly, burst in a thunderstorm, and the weather appeared to break up for the day. i In the afternoon, in an interval of clear weather, the divisions were paraded for gun drill in the marshes; and the detachments for the repository competition also assembled. This competition, it may be as well to explain to the reader who is not an artillery volunteer, consists in shifting a 64- pounder rifled muzzle-loading gun of 58 cwt. over a triangular course; and off and on gun carriages. The gun in the first instance is mounted on a garrison standing carriage. The detachment dismount the gun by long skids and rollers, and construct a temporary sleigh on which the gun may be moved through a passage and over a ditch to another angle of a triangle. Thence the gun passes over another carriage and is finally mounted by watered skids up the rear of a carriage situate at the third angle of a triangle. Here the gun is lowered into the trunnion holes and run up into the line of fire. Perhaps thus detailed the circumstances of a Repository Competition sound no more interesting than the carrying of the same weight of coals over the same distances and ob- stacles would be. But in fact the competitions are exceedingly interesting, and hardly a moment in the 27 or 28 minutes which the shift" takes, do the muscles of the men relax cr: does the commanding voice of the No. 1 cease to issue his rapid orders. Skid! Hook tackle! Taut! Coom up! Lift, lift, lift! Prepare to bear down the muzzle! On the breech rope! Heave! Heave! Heave Prepare to lift!" His orders scarcely cease their running stream for the whole of the time occu- pied; and the swiftly moving figures of the squad (19 in all), and the stamp of feet, the unexpected difficulties of detail and their surmounting, make the work interesting and even exciting. This is the more so as the maximum time allowed for the shift is 27 minutes, and as the last seconds run out, the chances of success or failure become exciting. On Monday both the 3rd and 4th Detachments of the 2nd Durham (No. 1 Sargeant.-Major Greaves) and the 1st and 2nd Detachments of the same regiment (No. 1 Sergeant Rochester) failed to coitiplete their task within the maximum time. The fiwt-named of these completed a very good and difficult shift in 28 minutes, and the latter detachment, owing to a slip at the obstacle, took nearer 30. It should be men- tioned that any squad which exceeds the maximum time is disqualified, and that points are deducted for: (1) Faults in drill; (2) Carelessness in use of stores and (3) Unnecessary noise in the performance of the shift. At the conclusion of these two shifts, down came the rain again, and work ceased for the day.

A NEW LIFEBOAT. On Monday afternoon the Princess Louise (repre- senting Princess Beatrice, who was indisposed), ac- companied by Prince Henry of Battenberg, Lady Sophia Macnamara and Major Bell, drove from Ventnor to Atherfield Coastguard Station, and launched the lifeboat recently presented to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution by Mrs. Swift, of Glasgow. The Royal party arrived at three o'clock, and were received by a guard of honour under Captain Burt. Those present at the launchMneluded Admiral Sir Augustus Philimore, Captain Chetwynd, and others. The ceremony having been performed, a trial of the capabilities of the new boat was made by her crew. After tea, the Royal party witnessed an exhibition of life-saving, and then left for Ventnor, where they embarked on the yacht Aline.

DIVORCE SUITS. There were several divorce suits disposed of by the judges in that Division of the High Court on Monday, among them being two in which military officers were respondents. In the first Mrs. Warden prayed for a dissolution of her marriage with Captain Warden, of the 17th Madras Native Infantry, on the ground of misconduct and desertion. It was shown that Captain Warden, while his wife was in England, formed the acquaintance of another woman, that he dissuaded his wife from coming to India, and that he was rebuked for his misbehaviour by his superior officer. Mr. Justice Jeune, who tried the suit, considering the evidence sufficient, granted a decree nisi, and gave the petitioner the custody of the children. In the second case Captain Ensor, of the 12th Lancers, was the respondent, and his wife prayed for a divorce on account of his misconduct and cruelty. He had treated her, it was stated, with great cruelty, and on one occasion threatened to shoot her. He subsequently left her, cohabited with another woman, and refused to support his children. Mr. Justice Collins pronounced a decree nisi with costs and the custody of the children.

HYGIENE AND DEMOGRAPHY. On the occasion of the opening of the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography in London on Monday the Prince of Wales delivered an inaugural address, in the course of which he reviewed the variety of the programme. The only part of the vast subject, he said, on which he could personally speak with thorough knowledge, was the condition of the poor in the metropolis, as disclosed before the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes. Although much good had already resulted from that inquiry, much remained to be done, for the state of affairs as revealed by the evidence was sufficient to tax the highest and most strenuous efforts of sanitary science. After speeches by a number of foreign delegates, a vote of thanks was passed to his Royal Highness.

A SEVENTEEN YEARS' FAST. I Dr. Vergara, of Villacienzo, in the, province of Burgos, states that there is in that village a married woman, aged 48, says the British Medical Journal, who for the last 17 years has taken no nourishment of any kind, except a small amount of water, which she takes every three or four days. During all that time she has not left her bed for a single moment; she lies there in a state of lethargy, which might be mistaken for death but for occasional slight movements of her body and a feeble moan which she utters whea disturbed, as by a light falling on her face. There seems to be no opportunity of making a paying exhibition of the case, as the husband re- solutely shuts his door against sightseers.

PorE LEO XIII. is now in his 81st year. Hia eyes are still remarkably black and brilliant, but aside from this he has every appearance of an infirm old man. His features are thin and sharp, his com- plexion very pale, and his hand trembles to such an extent, that he is no longer able to write unaided. In signing documents, he is obliged to hold the right wrist with his left hand, and even then, the result is not satisfactory. This convulsive trembling is attributed to a fever from which he suffered several years ago, and from which he has never fully re- tovered. The Pope has seldom been seen to laugh during all of his long life. He lives plainly, eats alone, according to the established customs of Popes, while he is in Rome, and is troubled with excessive nervousness, which often prevents sleep. THE original form of the compass was a needle stuck through a bit of wood and floating on water. THE Empress of Austria's new palace at Corfu has cost £ 120,000. The bill, for the wood-carvings in the Pompeiian suite of seven rooms, which is the great feature of the house, amounted to £3000. PROFESSOR BLACKIE says Carlyle was a giant, and if he had used his club with less severity and more discrimination, he would not have been less a giant, but more of a man and a brother. SENATOR STAMFORD, who is one of the larges vineyard-owners in the United States, has been so successful in his manufacture of American B brands that he is going to commence making cham- PT1,T ta>», living to WjajL tilled hia wif» and th» ^ttSi SKS ffi'^ed Ms wife i, self. deGAMBLiN-Gat Monte Carlo has been highly exciting late owing to the extraordinary success of an Bngfrh player! This lucky individual won £ 20,000 in three days at roulette, and had the prudence to leave the table when he found his luck turning. On trying trent-et-quarante he won an additional £14,000, much to the interest of the crowd watching the proceedings. During his play he followed a set system, and never stirred from his seat for 11 hours at a time. If France permits the practice, her neighbour Spain sets her face very strongly against public gambling. All such play in the casino at the northern watering places is strictly prohibited this season.

THE CROPS. The Agricultural Gazette this week publisher itl annual crop returns with which it has been favoured by about 360 correspondents, representing all tha English counties and several parts of Wales, Scot- land, and Ireland. Before giving the figures, out contemporary explains that many of its contributor* refer to possible evil effects of the recent excessively wet weather, and state that if it should be con- tinued the yield of corn will be less thaN their estimates of its present promise, whd* potatoes may become badly diseased. the other hand, the Agricultural Gazette points outi that in interpreting its correspondents' remarks, whefl they do not distinctly state whether a crop is average or over or under that standard, it has not put doWfl any crop as over average unless it is described at very good," heavy," or by some similar teriBj Full average has been treated as average," and good as the same, unless there are other remark indicating a higher estimate; while light" Or poor is taken to mean less than average. The- abstracts are as follows: cons CROPS, 1891. u Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans. Peat.- Over average 72 100 46 21 34, Average 178 167 119 87 8tf Under average 60 50 163 79 3S> Total 310 317 328 187 16* PERCENTAGES, 1891. ? Over average 23'2 31-5 14'0 11'2 2V7 Average 57'4 52'7 36-3 46-5 56-0 Under average 19*4 15-8 49-7 42'3 22*3 -J 100 100 100 100 100 HAY, POTATOES, AND ROOTS, 1891. Hay. Potatoes. Turnips. Mangel* Over average. 16 93 32 44 Average 110 187 147 157 Under average 205 16 145 87 Total 331 296 324 228 PERCENTAGES, 1891. Over average. 4-8 31-4 9*9 15'3 Average 33-3 63'2 45'4 54'5 Under average 61-9 54 44-7 30'2 100 100 100 100 The percentage figures clearly show that wheak barley, and potatoes are about average, peas about average, and all the other crops are more or lesf below. If it had not been for the recent wet weathefV the figures for the over-average corn crops would have been better than they are, as sever#* correspondents state that they have lowered theiC estimates in consequence of the badly laid coø-: dition of some of the crops, while soUl'" who refer to mildew or blight" (which take to mean mildew where it is attributed to tW wet weather), have allowed for that source of deW rioration. Several correspondents refer to wheat SO the crop of the season but more put barley in th»j| position. Our figures do not touch the question quality, which many writers refer to as much injure" by the rains. Oats never recovered from the effectll of the cold, dry spring, but are better in Scotland and Ireland than in England. The winter bean crop appears to be generally a failure, and spring beans or? said in many reports to be short, but well podded* Peas, on the other hand, appear to have grown plenty of haulm, but not to have podded well in proportion to their bulk. Clover and mixed seeds" by themseWes wonIcJ come out above average, but are overweighted by great- deficiency of the more extensive meadow hay, crop. There is a great variation in the reports as tO the condition of the hay crop. A good number of o«i| correspondents say that the crop is light, but saved," or use other words of the same purport P but more complain of the serious injury done to tb crops, and an astonishingly large proportion, eluding some who live in the Home, Eastern, Southern counties, state that a large acreage of hat was unsaved when they wrote their reports-in tblt beginning or middle of the past week. potato crop is referred to in several reports as one ft the 'best ever grown, or in other superlative The great majority of the writers who mention tb subject of disease, say none had appeared when thejf wrote, though some of them fear its appearance. few, including correspondents in Kent, Esøetf Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Bucks, CornWft^ Devon, Sussex, and Rutland mention disease having appeared, though, as a rule, only to a sm» £ extent. We fear we shall hear more of ithereaft"! but hope that a hot and dry period will come an last long enough to prevent extensive injury. Reports on the root crops at this period of y* year are always liable to subsequent correctiQ. Like all other crops roots are very late, and sevef*^ correspondents who refer to them in somewb disparaging terms, say that they are -now gr0*r% fast. Mangels, however, are said, like most jg crops, to stand badly in need of sunshine. had not been for the attack of caterpillars, believe that the turnip crop would have come l over average. ju Both the root crops appear to be much bette* the west and south-west than in the east of Engl From Scotland, too, there are some good accoufl^ a the turnip crop, where caterpillaas have not attaC* it. In the abstracts of returns for 1890, which given below for comparison with those now publish6^, too much was taken off the promise of tho crop for its badly laid condition, and potato dis^° became worse after the reports were collected. Jr. root crops, too, failed to come up fully to their P mise. The abstracts for last year were as CORN CROPS, 1890 Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans. Over average 46 98 125 103 „g Average 140 139 139 66 Under average 80 25 20 Total 266 ~262 284 188 P PERCENTAGES, 1890. « Over average 17'3 37'4 44'0 56"3 Average 52*6 531 490 36'1 W Under average 30'1 9 5 7'0 7"6. 100 100 100 loo HAY, POTATOES, AND ROOTS, 1890. Hay. Potatoes. Turnips. JMab £ e_ Over average 78 95 143 :*r;" Average 88 98 94 102, Under average. 120 66 42 49 Total .286 259 279: PERCENTAGES, 1890. !■ Over average 27"3 36*7 ^2 il.<? Average 30'8 37*8 33'7» 2 Under average. 41'9 2o'o 15'0fL$0^ 100 100 100 l°°g/ It will be seen that the wheat anfl potato cr°P 1891 come out higher than those of 1890 V; centage tables, while barley is put about the of and all the other crops much lower. If the re the season should prove favourable* we trust Agricultural Gazette) that there w"ill, be 0ome 9% able disappointment.

SIR RICHARD WEBSTER figured in a at Cranleigh—not, however, with much pr*' jp Her Majesty's Attorney-General scored first innings and five in the second. UNDER the heading "A Curiosity7' the Daily witness publishes the following letter Ontario correspondent: I had presented the 3rd of May last a small fancy table as a <9 present—painted black, varnished and Qmfr' ever, it had not been in the house v^ry tj the legs were observed to be growing, and jegg still continuing to do so. One of put out a shoot four inches .lxjng, upon are 10 leaves. AltQ^ether it is a very pre with its black and goldj and now the green- they are apple-tree leaves.. I set it put glT jt occasionally, so that a little moisture nlig vr'. $ to it to continue the growth, as I do not may blossom and bring forth fruit, w Terv much increase the curiositv."