The Aberdare Times

OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. Those of us whom Parliamentary or other duties detain in London are being sorely tanta- lised just now by the reports which come from all the most favoured seaside reports of how they are crowded with happy holiday-makers. The renewed outburst of heat at a time when the weather had seemed definitely to have broken partly accounts for the overwhelming rush to the sea, and the watering-places within easy reach of London are especially crowded. Such popular resorts as Margate and Ramsgate have been so thronged that visitors have in some cases had to seek lodgings in surrounding villages, while some, according to report, have had to find a night's temporary and not too comfort- able lodgment in the bathing-machines. Stories of this kind have naturally sent many to the quieter spots, but with the necessary consequence that these likewise have been filled to overflow- ing, and hotel-keepers and the letters of lodgings have had great good reason to rejoice. Pro- bably it is only those who have to pay their charges who grumble at this, for their under- taking is obviously a precarious one, and de- pends too largely upon the weather to be re- garded as an absolutely safe one. Any who imagine that the British railway system has been perfected must be astonished when they see, year after year, some fresh piece of line being inaugurated and some new part of the country opened up. It is not only the ordinary demand of commerce that accounts for this, and even where an increase of trade mainly accounts for the new line, it happens that the lovers of scenery are benefited. Some pleasant seaside villages on the east and south ooasts have thus been made available to Londoners of late years, and this week a line in the West Country has been brought into use which will give the tourist greater facilities than before for travelling in M King Arthur's land." The extension of the South-Western system into Cornwall from Launceston to Camelford, on its way even further west, will enable one to go from London to King Arthur's Castle at Tintagel, which is on!y a few miles from Camelford, well within the day. Tennyson-lovers will certainly take the trip to the poet's "Dundagill by the Cornish Sea and although the scientific his- torian of these days scoffs at Arthur, and is in- clined te resolve the Table Round" into a sun myth, the picturesqueness of Tintagel and its surroundings will not be denied even by the most confirmed Dryasdust. Among the more curious results of the recent renewed burst of heat, the phenomenoa exhibited a few nights since in the Central Hall of the Palace of Westminster is to be noted. The heat during the day had been extremely oppressive, and the tiled floor seemed almost too hot to stand long upon; but tho surprise of the police, the attendants, and the members of the general public in waiting was extreme when they saw the floor generally rise in parts from the concrete bed upon which it rests. Forms were hurriedly fetched in order to surround the spot principally affected, so as to prevent the tiles being broken, and the central piece of all was removed, so as to give the others room in which to expand. A similar phenomenon was witnessed in very hot weather some time ago, but to nothing like the same extent, and it may be that means will now be taken to prevent a recurrence of so very strange an incident. The smaller among the coal consumers of the metropolis have reason to rejoice over the action which the London County Council has for some years been taking on their behalf, and in which it intends to persevere. It appears that the number of weights and measures and weighing machines verified and stamped by the Council's inspectors amounted last year to over sevenhundredthousand.whilemore than two hun- dred thousand were rejected as unfit for stamping. How much there is in this latter statement may be judged from the fact that it is believed that the loss to Londoners from defective weight used annually to amount to something like half a million of money, and a very large proportion of that vast sum would have come from the pockets of the humbler class of house- holder, who could not afford to buy more than one or two hundredweight of coal at a time. A very sharp eye, however, is now kept upon all the itinerant vendors, most of whom are honest, but some of whom are sad cheats; and it is now declared to be probable that in no other article of consumption can the London consumer now be so sure of getting good weight as in the case of coal. A great deal of curiosity is just now being exhibited in regard to the origin and earliest use of some of the beat known political phrases. It might have been thought that there would be no difficulty about such a phrase, for instance, as Member of Parliament," and yet so painstaking a historical student as Mr. James Gairdner has just con- fessed his inability to trace its origin, and so illustrious a historian as Dr. Gardiner had de- clared that he cannot find it earlier than 1650, while, singular as it may seem, it has been found in the official" Commons Journals nearly half a century before Dr. Gardiner has been able to discover it. Another question is now being asked as to the first use of whip or whipper in," as applied to a Parliamentary official; and this, as yet, appears to be traced back only to 1822, but the idea is certainly earlier. So prolonged and shrill was the flourish of trumpets which attended the preliminary stages of the Chicago Exhibition that it was inevitable that there should be some reaction, tout no one could have imagined that the grumbl&s would have been quite so many and the disappointment so unmistakeably great. Everything, however-if the reports which reach one from all hands be correct-has been going wrong with the show, and bankruptcy stares its promoters in the face. As is usual whenever there is a crop of major ills, a number of minor ones follow in the train, and one of these is not a little curious, for it is said that many of the water-colours which English artists sent to Chicago have been seriously affected, either by the voyage or by damp. As is well knowDj water-colours, unless thoroughly packed, develop, when exposed to sea air or damp, a fungoid growth of a most injurious character; but it was hoped, for the sake of both the painters and the possessors of the pictures in question, that the earlier reports have been exaggerated. A certain element of risk always, of course, enters into the send- ing of pictures abroad; but the danger in this ease could plainly have been foreseen, and it certainly ought to have been carefully guarded against. The Twelfth has come and gone, and lovers of grouse, as well as of grouse-shooting, have had full opportunity during the past few days to gratify their tastes. In the customary fashion, the London market had only a very few hours to wait for the earliest of the 1893 birds, and the heart of the gourmand was rejoiced when he found that the grouse of this season were as healthy as they promise to be abundant. Grouse-shooting is a sport which few save the very rich or the specially circum- stanced can enjoy but the prominence always given to its opening by the newspapers causes it to be so much talked about as almost to give it the character of a national sport. Much more widespread interest is really felt in the shooting of partridges and pheasants, the seasons for which open on the First of Sep- tember and October respectively, for that is a sport among the stubble which falls to the lot of many more than have ever seen grouse on the moors. R,

ExcisB returns indicate that on the Slat alt. there were in the bonded warehouses of the United King- dom 6<,244,4o51b. of tea; last year the quantity at the IISme oenod was 74.641,0791b. ONE of the most interesting marriages of the year will be that of Mr. W. D. Llewelyn, of Penllergare, Swansea, to the Hon. Gladys Rica, daughter of Lord Dynevor, of Dynevor-park, Llandilo. Mr. Willie Llewelyn is the eldest son of Sir John Talbot Dillwyn Llewelyn, Bart., of Penllergare. Sir John's father was a brother to Mr. Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn, tor many years M.P. for Swansea. On his marriage, however, with Miss Llewelyn of Penllergare, Mr. Dillwyn assumed the name of Llewelyn in addition to his own. Sir John Llewelyn owes his baronetcy to his constant, though un- successful, attempts at capturing Welsh seats for the Conservatives, and to his connection with the last Salisbury Government through his wife, who is a sister to Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. Mr. W. D. Llewelyn, however, has not definitely thrown in his lot with the Tory party, and;he is sus- pected It being more in sympathy with the Dillwyn and^ lal .ot than with the Llewelyn and Hicks-Beach trfvGitiOEs of his family. He is a fine, manly young feucv c..some 25 summers, and is exceedingly popular with the tenantry. He was educated at Eton aact New Collie, Oxford, where he took his decree • -He is a g00(j all-round sportsman an exceJeni. shot and rider, pl*yed three-quarter for his collage, and represented his school and university on the cricket fieiO. This year he has scored well for Glamorganshire and the M.C.C. and the Gentle- men. Accosri^ri to Figaro the Queen has promised to the Emperor of Germany to pass next April at the chateau of Stolzenfals on the banks of the Rhine, which she has not own since 1845.

NEWS NOTES. GOOD hopes are already entertained that the chief object for which the special meeting of OongreSS is being held ia the United States will be accomplished before the end of the month. The tone of President Cleveland's address indicated that he was confident of the result, which he strongly desires. It was Mr. Wilson, one of the members for West 'Virginia, who introduced the bill for the Repeal of the Sherman Act into the House of Representatives. At the Con- ference attended by members both friendly and hostile to the bill an agreement was arrived at that the debate should not extend beyond fourteen days. A good majority in favour of the bill is also confidently expected in the Senate. RACE hatred appears to be on the increase in the east and south-east of Europe, notwith- standing the number of counteracting in- fluences constantly at work. The detestation entertained by the Czechs, or native Bohemians, for the Austrian-Germans who abound in the province is hardly creditable on aocount of its depth, but the striking manifestation which it recently received at Prague might well suffice to remove all doubts. The very signs above shop doors displaying German names are so ob- noxious to the Czechs, that they desire to see them all removed. Hungary contains a large number of Roumanians who belong to the Greek Church, and the house occupied by a I bishop of that body in a small Hungarian town was recently attacked by infuriated Magyars, and the windows riddled in the absence I of the prelate. The Roumanians would find it safer to live in their own country. No evidence exist of the hatred in which Russian I Panslavists hold the Germans undergoing the slightest decrease. The Czechs, it may be stated, are Slavonic. SIR GERALD PORTAE only remains at Uganda until the arrival of Colonel Col- vile, who has been despatched by the Foreign Office to take his place. Whether Colonel Colvile has instructions to ad- minister the territory for a time, or merely to wind matters up and allow Sir Gerald Portal to return home more speedily, remains a matter of conjecture, on which the Foreign Office does not seem disposed at present to give any fuller information. Lord Rosebery, it is apparent, does not hold the opinion that Uganda should be precipitately left in the style recently done by the British East Africa Company. MR. LABOUCHERB, who has paired and gone away to Germany for several weeks, does not trouble his head at this season of the year about the urgent necessity of enlarging the House of Commons. Nothing ever takes place now in the shape of a scramble for seats, numbers of which remain vacant on account of their usual occupants having departed to all points of the compass. Sporting members would have considered themselves guilty of a cardinal sin if they had sat in the House on the Twelfth of August. Nevertheless, the House will continue to show its outside light until the necessary business is out of hand, and when that day comes there will be an ad- journment, not a prorogation, in order that the Autumn Session may form part of the Session now in progress. It must be admitted that several of the pairing members have paid tribute to conscience, and Mr. Caine is among the number, since he does not intend his visit to romantic Norway to extend beyond a fortnight. THE Twelfth of August has now come and gone, with various bag results in different parts of the country. It enjoyed the distinction of falling on the Saturday of the Bank Holiday week, which makes early August welcome to thousands of toilers. The sportsmen who go to the Highlands, and who scatter themselves abroad among the heathery mountains, always cast a compassionate eye upon their friends who have remained on the south side of the border to beat up the moorlands in certain English counties. At the beginning of each season grouse fall a comparatively easy prey to sportsmen, and it is only later on when they become, through the effects of experience, what the gillies call wild. THE volunteer brigades, at present under- going training exercise along with the regulars at Alder shot, found sham fighting on the Fox Hills, when the heat was exceed- ingly great, a more trying business than they bargained for when they started from the camp. At the close of the day, when the return was made, many volunteers and regulars also were insuchpoorconditionthattheyrequired to be sent to hospital. The melancholy case was reported of a volunteer drummer having died of heat paralysis. Sir Evelyn Wood, who has done much to promote efficiency at Alder- shot, saw the necessity of greater precautions being taken while the temperature continued at an abnormal height, which attained eighty degrees in the shade throughout the metropolis during the best part of last week. NOTHING but the heat can be blamed for the plague of wasps found to be infesting inland and seaside holiday quarters in the present season. It appears that some medical expert has de- clared the sting of wasps and bees to form an excel- lent antidote to rheumatic pains, but yellow wasps have a fancy for using their stings indiscrimi- nately, and making no special inquiries for rheumatic patients. It is fortunate that yellow wasps, bad as they happen to be, are not quite so formidable as the fiery insects of the same species which recently scattered a troop of German soldiers m East Africa.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL G. H. MARSHALL has been appointed Chief Instructor of Field Artillery at the School of Gunnery. QUITE a family party the Irish members are! To the Redmonds and Healys, and other related groups, we may now add two Ambroses. Dr. Robert Ambrose, the new member for West Mayo (vice Mr. Deasy the Indiscreet), is a cousin of Dr. D. Ambrose, the mem- ber for South Louth. Dr. Ambrose is a medical man. He was educated at Queen's College, Cork, and Galway, where he obtained his B.A. in 1876 and he is L.R.C.P. Edin., L.M., 1883, and L.R.C.S., Ed in. He has been practising in London for some 10 years, and he is now about 45 years of age. He has for many years been an active supporter of the Home Rule movement in London, and is president of the Holborn branch of the Irish National League of Great Britain. He lives at Mount Pleasant, White- chapel-road, E. OUT of 945 messengers appointed in the Civil departments of the public service since 1877, more than one-third had served as soldiers or sailors. REPORTS from the inspectors of training colleges show a steady rise in the degree of intelligence dis- played ir the answers of the young men and women preparing to enter the teaching profession. One inspector calls attention to the fact that the marked difference between the town and country candidates widens each year. The choice of pupil teachers being more limited and their opportunities of improvement during apprenticeship being less in country districts, the results of their papers, as might be expected, show a less intelligent grasp of the subjects. The answers given by the bulk of the te" ta candidates are more precise and accurate, and are greatly superior in matter, method, and arrangement." The subject in vhich most faults are found is French. Novels of Scott and Dickens appeared to be the favourite read- ing of candidates. THE living of Meonstoke, Hants, worth E1100 a year, has become vacant by the death of the Rev. Charles John Hume, who had been rector for 61 years. SIR JOHN KENNAWAY has declined to serve on the Opium Commnsion. He says he cannot give the time necessary to the consideration of so important an inquiry. b the absence from London of Sir Stuart Knill, who is taking a month's holiday, the duties of Lord Mayor will be carried out by Alderman Sir David Evans. I THE Board of Trade have appointed Mr. Henry M. Winearls an Assistant Official Receiver in com- panies liquidation. Mr. Winearls was admitted a solicitor in 1886. MR. GLADSTONE celebrated now four years ago his golden wedding, but it is just half a century since the occurrence of the little mishap by which the Premier -a fact, perhaps, not generally known to the outside ,a public-w88 deprived of the forefinger of his left hand. It was a little before the birth of Mr. Glad- stone's eldest daughter, Mrs. Wickham, when out shooting with his brother-in-law, the then rector of Hawarden, the Rev. Henry Glynne, that the accident happened. It was, let it be remembered, in the days of the old-fashioned ramrod. Mr. Gladstone had fired one of his barrels, and had by some oversight left the hammer of the other barrel at full-cock. When proceeding to reload, the butt of his gun being on the ground, a stiff piece of the stubble, it was afterwards surmised, must have pressed the trigger. It was only by a miracle, or rather, per- haps, from early training against the danger of standing over a fowling-piece when reloading, that the charge did not enter the future statesman's head. As it was, be found that the forefinger of his left hand had been very nearly blown away. The opera- tion which was necessitated was far from painless, but conducted by the sufferer's old friend, the late Sir Robert Phillimore, and borne with that calm which the G. O. M. has since proved in many a scene scarcely less trying, the amputation was successfully Derformed.

TERRIBLE RAILWAY SMASH. TWELVE LIVES LOST.—MANY INJURED. A terrible accident occurred on the evening of tho 12th inst. on the Taff Vale Railway, thjreqmiles from Pontypridd, resulting in the loss ofjl2 lives, and serious injury to a large number ofpersons. The half-past four train for Cardiff was proceeding round a sharp curve near Llantrissant junction, when several carriages by some means went off the line, and were overturned down a steep bank near Treforest Seat. The train was full of passengers. It was noticed that the train was going at a very high speed, with a view, it is believed, to make up for some delay at Pontypridd. At one side of the line the hill rises to a considerable height while at the other side the embankment slopes down for some 50 yards. Some of those in the train had just realised that something unusual was about to happen, when the first six carriages left the line and rolled down the embankment, turning over and over in the fall. The looomotive remained on the rails, so that the coupling must have either broken or become detached. The permament way for about 100 yards before the scene of the accident was torn up. and probably the front carriages must have been off the metals for some time before thsy went down the decline. A LARGE NUMBER OF AMBULANCES were quickly obtained, including those from RhymneY Railway and the drill hall. The cyclists of the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the Welsh Regiment Ambu- lance Corps went to the Taff Vale-station at Cardiff to receive the wounded, for whom the best possible provision was made at the* infirmary, some of the' patients whose condition admitted it being discharged to make room for the sufferers in more urgent need. A number of doctors had assembled at the infirmary, and otti 3rs had left Cardiff by special train to aid the local surgeons on the spot. It is stated that the driver noticed that the train was going off the, line, and endeavoured to stop it. He then saw the carriages toppling over, and heard the screams of the passengers endeavouring to escape from the train. Those who were little hurt rendered what aid they could, and the driver ran his engine to Cardiff for medical assistance. Both the driver and stoker were unhurt. Mr. Wm. Brace, the South Wales representative of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, was a pas- senger in the train, and had a miraculous escape. When interviewed by a Press representative, Mr. Brace said: After we left Treforest, and perhaps half-a-mile this side of the station, and the train going at tremendous speed-we were travelling quite as fast as if we were in an express train—one of the party in the same compartment as myself said, in an alarmed manner, I believe this train is GOING OFF THE LINE," In a moment I realised that we were being carried along towards the edge of the embankment. I made frantic efforts to get out of the carriage on the opposite side, but found that the door on that side was locked. We came to a standstill, and when I sprang out I saw that the first three or fonr carriages had gone down the embankment, and were lying in a confused mass of wreckage at the bottom, the wheels of some being up in the air, and the poor unfortunate passengers buried beneath the ruins. There were clouds of dust, and the whole scene was one of the most terrible and indescribable confusion. I never in my life witnessed a scene so appalling, and I trust I never may again. The air was rent with the SHRIEKS OF DESPAIR of women and children. I saw at a glance by the awful manner in which the woodwork of the carriages had been smashed up, that the loss of life must be deplorable. It seemed to me that in some over- turned carriages the people were so wedged in that even those around them could render no assistance until the necessary appliances had been brought to the spot, and gangs of the company's workmen put on. I saw four of the dead while I was on the spot, but I do not know how many more there may have been. Some terrible scenes were wit- nessed. There were hundreds of people on the scene in an incredibly short space of time, and they, of course, lent every assistance in their power, but the carriages had to be smashed in with hatchets in order that the poor people might be liberated. It was plain to my mind that the carriages must have TURNED OVER SEVERAL TIMBS on the embankment. The causes of the accident appear to me to be the breaking of the couplings of the first carriage and the speed at which we were travelling. The uninjured passengers were brought on later by a special train from Walnut Tree Bridge station. I never before had so narrow an escape, and it is only now, when 1 have a little time to collect my thoughts, that I fully realise what a remarkable deliverance from death I have had. NAMES OF THE KILLED. The following is the list of the dead furnished from Pontypridd: William Jones, a ganger, of Blaenant, who leaves a widow and several children John Davies, a smith, of Ferndale; William Williams, 25, single, smith, of Ferndale; T. W. Shapland, 27, Whitchurch, near Cardiff; Mary Williams, an excursionist from Bostle, north Wales; W. A. Williams, solicitor, employed as chief clerk to Mr. W. Spickell, solicitor, Pontypridd and residing near Llantrissant, who leaves a wife and two children; David Davies, butter mer- chant, Ystrad, married, four children William Attewell, 25, hawker, whose family, consisting of a wife and six children, are encamped on Whit- church-common; and James Brown, auctioneer, Coll-street, Cardiff, who leaves a wife and family. These, with deaths at Cardiff, bring up the total number of fatalities to 12. In all 18 persona were detained at the hospital for treatment. One patient-Henry Simonds, of Ton Pentre-died at an early hour on the morning follow- ing the accident, his mother, who had driven from Tongwynlars, arriving just before he passed away, and a very painful scene was witnessed at the death- bed. There is also a baby aged eight months which was killed. Considering the nature of the accident, and that so many were killed, the injuries sustained by the other passengers are not of a serious character. The most serious cases detained at the"infirmary were those of a man whose leg was amputated, and a boy who is suffering from a very severe shock. The others were reported to be progressing favourably. One of the most pathetic incidents reported is that of a baby, aged 17 months, whose mother was killed, and who was found alive, surrounded by wreckage and biscuits, as if the mother was in the act of feed- ing it when the accident happened. The child was tenderly picked up, and to stop its cries some of the biscuits were given to it by a bystander. A RESCUER KILLED. Volunteers for the work of rescue were easily obtained, and where the carriages were half turned over, there were scores of volunteers to go under. So daring were they that a number of them were seriously injured, and one man, named William Jones, met his death, for while scores of people were helping him to turn over one of the wrecked carriages, he failed to leave in time, for the overturning car- riage caught him and crushed him, so that in a few moments he succumbed to his injuries. The first person rescued from beneath the carriage was Mr. Samuel B. Murphy, late of Castle Knock, Dublin, and now of Merthyr Vale. He was uninjured and states that he noticed during the last mile they went that the coaches shook very much, and just as it had got past the crossing the carriage gave two or three big jumps. What happened im- mediately afterwards he does not know. The only thing he remembers is that he found himself under the carriage. There were two ladies, strangers to him, in the compartment, and his impression is that one of them is among the dead. NARRATIVE OF A DOCTOR. Dr. Howard Davies, of Pontypridd, who was the first medical gentleman on the spot after the acci- dent. says he was told there bad been a collision on the Taff Vale Railway near Cilhaul. He quickly got to the spot, but unfortunately had no bandages with him, nnd he had to do the best he could by using poofeet-hankerchiefs and neckties for tying up fractured limbs or staunching profuse bleeding. He found large numbers of people seriously injured. Some were conveyed to three cottages near by, others were placed in different parts of the field on the side of the railway, and in the carriages that remained OB the line. Many of them were in awful pain, and each one appealed to be attended to without delay. He thought it his duty, however, to attend to the worst cases first. There were women and children with broken limbs, and he set them with extemporised splints and tied them with handkerchiefs. The pieces of the railway carriages came in useful in this respect. As the injured were brought out from the wreckage they were placed on the cushions of the railway carriages, and made as comfortable as possible. Three or four of the passengers in the overturned carriages had their heads out of the wreckage, and were talking to us, but their legs were held tight by the debris, and M: was some time before they could be freed. While the 'injured were being attended to there was a good deal of confusion, on account of the crowd. Subsequently, a special train arrived from Cardiff, and the sufferers were removed II to the infirmary. An inspection of the permanent way for some distance above the scene of the accident was made on the day following the disaster, and a broken spring was found some way off, above the points at the junction. The injured passengers belong almost wholly to Wales. There were no Londoners in the train. INQUEST OPENED. At Pontypridd on the 14th inst., the inquest on the victims of the terrible railway accident was opened. After hearing formal evidence of identification, the coroner adjourned the inquiry. Most of the bodies were subsequently removed by relatives.

•'HAVE you auy boned turkey?" asked a hungry customer in a Nevada restaurant. The proprietor laid his hand on his revolver, and cried, "No insine- vations here, young man! We're honest here, and don't' bone' nothin' P WHEN a Virginia gentleman asks another to drink, he blandly says, Shall we give the public debt a lift ?" and they lift. THE other Sunday a iady preacher in Wisconsin discoursed from the text: I say unto you watch and the next week the gallant youths of her con- gregation gave her a nice gold one. i

THE COAL WAR. A report from Newcastle states that the returns already to hand of the Northumberland miners'votes on the question whether they shall strike or not show a majority in opposition to a stoppage of work, and it is believed that no strike will ocour. An important conference of South Wales and Monmouthshire coal- owners affected by the stoppage of associated collieries was held at Cardiff on the 12th inst., under the presidency of Sir William Thomas Lewis. The pro- ceedings were private, but it is understood that a very firm attitude was assumed by the owners, it being stated that they are determined to insist upon the whole of their workmen strictly carrying out their engagements under the sliding scale agreement. The gravity of the situation in the Rhondda Valley increases, and hundreds of horses have been raised from the pits and sent to graze in the fields. The Ocean Company have decided not to resume operations in two of their large collieries, where about 2000 men found regular employment, and about 20 large collieries are now idle. At the adjourned conference of Scotch miners' delegates at Glasgow on the 12th inst., it was decided by a large majority that those miners who had not received an advance of Is. per day should remain idle until their demands were conceded. The Denbighshire police are making inquiries as to an outrage perpetrated at Clay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd, in the Wrexham district. It is reported that in consequenoe of the proprietor drawing slack from the pit to keep his engines going, the colliers on strike threatened to wreck the place, and waggons were hurled down the pit shaft, and great damage otherwise done. MILITARY PROTECTION ASKED POR. The coal crisis does not An the whole appear to decease in intensity. Additions to the nambers of the men on strike are reported, and in South Wales the employers have been compelled to ask for the protection of the police and military for the men in some mines whe are still working. A Birmingham correspondent states that arrangements have been come to which will allow the miners of certain dis- tricts in Staffordshire to resume work, and efforts are being made to find a basis for negotiation between the colliery owners and the Miners' Federation.

THE^IOTIN G IN BOMBAY. TEMPLES AND MOSQUES DESTROYED. Reuter telegraphs from Bombay that the disturb ances which had broken out between Mahommedans and Hindoos are the greatest hitherto known. Throughout Friday night of last week the military were on duty, and desultory skirmishes took place in different parts of the city. Few persons are reported to have been killed, although hundreds have been badly injured. Altogether four Hindoo temples have been utterly demolished, all the sacred emblems being thrown out into the streets, where they were desecrated amid the most riototfs scenes ever witnessed. On the other hand, two mosques have been destroyed, and much looting occurred in the Mahommedan quarters. The most deadly feeling continues to prevail between the two parties, and it is only by the utmost vigilance on the part of the military that further and more sanguinary conflicts have, so far, been averted. Business was entirely suspended throughout the city on the 12th inst., and all the mills were closed. From early morning the Hindoos, mostly of the labouring classes, retaliated upon the Mahommedans for the previous day's outrages. A serious affray took place in the Grant-road, and a strong body of troops was despatched to the spot to quell the disturbance. At Girgaum the Hindoos took entire possession of the road from the Money School to the Portuguese church. They desecrated all the mosques near the Thokored- war Temple, and assaulted any stray Mahommedan who happened to fall in their way. The same con- dition of disorder and tumult prevailed in the Kalbadevi-road. Every available man of the regulars and volunteers was called out, but owing to the large area affected by the riots and the increasing gravity of the disorders the force is still insufficient. Late in the afternoon 300 armed railway police arrived to render assistance to the troops. A desperate fight occurred at Chincbpoogly, in which upwards of eight persons were killed, while 100 were badly wonnded. Collisions have also occurred in other parts of the city. The troops charged and fired at the rioters, who lost heavily. Lord Harris, the Governor, is expected to return to Bombay immediately. Several special magistrates have been appointed. Over 200 rioters have been taken prisoners. The Hindoo mill hands have struck work, and they are likely to prove formidable opponents to the Mabommedans. Two squadrons of Bombay Lancers have started from Poona for Bombay, and a force of bluejackets, armed with cutlasses, was landed on the 12th inst. from the men-of-war in the harbour. A later telegram from Bombay says that the riot- ing between the Mahommedans and the Hindoos has I not yet ceased, and, in fact, up to a late hour on Sun- day evening last the disturbances were still extend- ing in the outlying suburbs. Up to the present about 1200 rioters have been taken prisoners. The hospitals are reported to be filled with the injured. Even burial parties are fiercely attacked, and have to be accompanied by strong military escorts. A further force of cavalry and infantry reinforce- ments, consisting of the Lancashire Fusiliers and the 25th Bombay Native Infantry, have arrived from Poona. The troops are bivouacking in the streets. The Queen has sent a telegram to Lord Harris expressing her Majesty's grief on hearing of the riots. The native journals discuss the disturbances in moderate tones, and urge the leading citizens to pacify the rioters. They deplore the fact that the military were not called out earlier and the disorder thus nipped in the bud. THE DISTURBANCE SUBSIDING. Telegrams received from Bombay on the evening of the 14th inst. state that the arrival of military re- inforcements tended to allay the excitement caused by the rioting among the Hindoos and Mohammedans, although slight affrays were still occurring. Lord Harris, the Governor of Bombay, sent several des- patches to the India Office on the subject of the riots. In his last despatch he stated that there were no further disturbances in Bombay, and that he would send no more telegrams unless there should be a serious recrudescence of disorder, which, how- ever, he did not anticipate.

DEATH OF JULIA COUNTESS OF JERSEY. The news of the death of Julia Countess of Jersey will be received by many attached friends with some surprise and deep regret. A sudden chill, contracted in Switzerland, terminated fatally at Geneva. Lady Jersey was a type of those fast di-nppearing ladies who directly connect us with the fins manners and pleasant ways of the earlier part of the century. Lively, good-natured, and full of wit, she possessed many of the talents which distinguished the family of the great statesman, Peel. Her pleasant London home in Wilton-place, amply furnished with the artistic treasures amassed by herself and Mr. Brand- ling, was ever one of the chosen centres of the best Society, and her hospitality was always one of the features of the London Season. The charm of her welcome so manifestly sincere, and the engaging. fashion of her conversation rendered her universally popular. Like all mistresses ef a salon, Lady Jersey seemed ever to be at her post; and the loss to the world in which she played so considerable a part will be appreciated indeed when the void is felt as it must be. Sister of Sir Robert Peel, to whom she was warmly attached of the Speaker of the House of Ccmmons, of whom she was so justly proud; of the lamented Mrs. Stonor; of the brave Sir Wil- liam, one of the heroes of the Crimea; and of Sir Frederick Peel, she had known to the full all the incidents of political and social life that fall to the lot of a great English family bearing its full share in the political and national excitements of the day. The passage of years left little trace upon her lively and impulsive character; but as they rolled by so amiable and sincere a heart was sure to gather, as it did, troops of friends in the best sense of the word. She will be widely and sincerely mourned. Julia Countess of Jersey, married the sixth Earl of Jersey in 1841, and, secondly, in 1865, Mr. Charles Brandling, of Middleton Hall, near Leeds.

BREACH OF PROMISE. At the Leeds Assizes, on the 8th inst., Emily Turner, a dressmaker, of Rotherham, brought an action for breach of promise against Henry Stainrod, a collier, at Cutcliffe, near Sheffield. The parties had been long acquainted. In 1891 a courtship commenced. It was arranged they should be married in May of last year, but the defendant made excuses, and the wedding was postponed. It was afterwards ascertained that the defendant was keeping company with another woman. He had since had a legacy of £ 100 left him, but had lost it in letting. On being accused of this he said he would do as he liked, ana he offered the plaintiff £ 30 to settle the matte*, but this she declined. The jury found for the plaintiff, damages £ 15.

A COURTIER ot juonis XIV., to whom that Sovereign had never addressed any other question, was asked, How many children have yon T" to which; the courtier always replied, "Two." One day the courtier being asked the usual question, replied Eight." Whereupon the king, surprised at the sudden increase, exclaimed, "How! Eight? Why only two months ago, when I asked you the same question, yon said two 1" "Yes," answered the courtier, but I was afraid' of boring your Majesty by always saying the same thing." How many men have been able to remain in active politics beyond their 80th year? Mr. Gladstone, saya the Lancet, is, speaking medically, a dangerous excep- tion. There is," we believe, one instance in French history of a leading statesman, Cardinal Flenry, who served his King up to the age of 90. And, if our memory does not deceive us, Lord Lyndhurst, while verging on his 90th year, made a stirring speech in the House of Lords on a subject which was agitating .g the public mifid at the time it was delivered; but there is no similarity in the circumstances. Mr. Gladstone is doing what perhaps no other man in the history of States has done, and he is misleading men of ordinary capacity into thinking that they can do the same. The air of the House—whatever the soienlifio value of the ventilation-is not 'the open air of heaven. ¡

THE VICTORIA SURVIVORS. H.M.S. Triumph, having on board the survivors from the ill-fated battleship Victoria, arrived at Portsmouth at noon on the 12th inst. Several of the men who were seriously injured by the collision were left at Malta, while five, who died from immersion, were buried at Tripoli. Twenty injured men were treated on board the Triumph, the worst being that of a ship's corporal, who was so long in the water that it is feared he has sustained perma- nent injuries, for whenever he looks upon the sea he is seized with an apoplectic fit. The whole of the crew of the Victoria were sent to the depot ship to be paid off. When the friends of the survivors o! the Victoria were admitted on board the Triumph many affecting scenes were witnessed, and several of the women fainted on seeing their husbands and sweethearts. About two o'clock the marines were conveyed to Gosport in steam launches, and then marched to barracks, where they met with a cordial reception.

THEY say that conversation Is a lost art," also that the weather topic is to be abolished. If the latter occurs, then the former will, indeed, be lost, and the question is, what will take the place of the subject, what will be its objeot, or will the subject profit by a predicate that is only spoken to fill up an awkward pause or to open a conversation ? What will the chronic grumbler do if not allowed to vent his spleen on the weather ? how will the idler fare who always has a new complaint (cultivated like a talent) if the cold cannot be blamed for influenza and the rain for rheumatism ? What will young people talk of before they get to the stage where "what you think of me" and "what I think of you" are the all-engrossing topic of goneversa- tion ?" 6 &

nOCEEDlNGS IN PARLIAMENT. WOMEN'S PETITION AGAINST BOX. BULS. In the Housz OF COMMONS, on the 14th August, the Home .Secretary informed Mr. Ross that a memo- rial to the Queen, protesting against the Home Rule Bill, and signed by over 100,000 Irishwomen, had been received at the Home Office, and would be for- warded to her Majesty. He had refused to receive a deputation of the signatories because it was con- trary to practice for the Home Secretary to receive deputations in connection with the presentation of political addresses to the Queen. INDIA AND OPIUM. Mr. G. W. Russell stated, in answer to Sir J. Gorst, that no appointments had yet been made to the Indian Opium Commission, and no final decision had been come to as to how the cost of the inquiry would be defrayed. nolls BULB.—REPORT DBBATD. On the further consideration of the report of amendments to the Home Rule Bill, Mr. Chamber- lain resumed the discussion upon Mr. Carson's proposed new clause reserving the appointment of the Land Commissioners to her Majesty, and of the Assistant-Commissioners to the Lord-Lieutenant. He maintained that unless the clause were accepted only representatives of the tenants would be ap- pointed, and the landlords would have either to accept prairie value for their land or fly for their lives. Mr. D. Phmket also supported the clause, which was opposed by Mr. Gladstone, who argued that it would abrogate and stultifv the first principle of a bill intended to give Ireland self-government in domestic affairs, and that the Irish Parliament would be under the strongest moral and prudential obliga- tion to deal with the matter in a fair and reasonable spirit. Mr. A. Balfour pointed out that the Home Rule policy would be carried out by the Anti- Landlord Party, whose avdwed object was to im- poverish and drive out the English garrison, and 99 out of every 100 of whom would be dependent upon the votes of the tenants. It was, he contended, monstrous that these appointments should be made by one of the parties interested. On a division the proposed clause was negatived by 173 against 138. A new clause, moved by Mr. Arnold-Forster, requiring all confidential documents relating to the detection or punishment of crime and the adminis- tration of justice to be removed from Ireland te London before the establishment of the Home Rule Government, was negatived without a division, Mr. J. Morley explaining that the object of the clause was already provided for in the bill. A new clause proposed by Mr. Theobald, empowering the occupier of any premises to hoist the Union Jack or the Royal Standard, was also negatived. Major Darwin moved a new clause granting immunity to persons subject te military discipline for refusing to give assistance in Ireland when required by the civil authority if such refusal was in accordance with military orders issued by the advice of the Secretary of State for War. In the course of a prolonged discussion, in which the Solici- tor-General, Sir H. James, Mr. Matthews, Mr. Carson, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Balfour, Mr. Chamberlain, and others took part, it was pointed out that after the passing of the Act, unless the clause were adopted, British soldiers who refused, under orders from the Secretary for War, to obey the demands of the civil authorities in Ireland would be liable to an action or a prosecu- tion, which would be tried by an Irish jury; whilst on the part of the Government it was urged that the bill made no alteration in the responsibility of the individual officer or soldier, which would be the same in Ireland as in England. On a division the clause was negatived by 172 against 143, and the further consideration of the report was adjourned. The House adjourned at a quarter past twelve o'clock.

DEATH OF BISHOP CLIFFORD. We regret to announce the death of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clifton, which occurred on the 14th inst. at Prior-park College, near Bath. Dr. Clifford, who was in his 70th year, had been in a critical condition for some time past. The Right Rev. and Hon. William Hugh Joseph Clifford, D.D., was the second son of Hugh Chatles seventh Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, and uncle of the present peer. His mother was Mary Lucy, only daughter of Mr. Thomas Weld, of Lulworth Castle, Dorset, who late in life entered Holy Orders and eventually became a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Clifford was born at Irnham Hall, Lincolnshire, the seat of his uncle, the Hon. Charles T. Clifford, on the 24th of December, 1823, so that he had not completed his 70th year. He was for a short time, we believe, at Stonyhurst College, but he received the greater part of his education in the English College at Rome, where he was ordained in due course; and he resided to a very great extent in Rome even after attaining the priest- hood, being a great favourite of the late Pope Pius IX., who kept him about the Vatican, and who in 1857 named him "Assistant at the, Pontifical Throne," From 1849 onwards he was stationed at Clifton, and became one ot the chaplains to Dr. Hendren on the appointment of the latter to the See of Clifton, in 1850. In February, 1857, on the death of or. Thomas Burgess, he was consecrated to the Bishopric of Clifton, at Rome, by the hands of the then Pope. He took an active part ip-t" -Vatican Council* and was a strong supporter of its decisions, and oh'Hhe death of Cardinal Wiseman, and again on the death of Cardinal Manning, he was one of those prelates whose names were most talked about as the probable successor to the Archbishopric of West- minster. The late bishop was most popular with his clergy, and he was well known not only as a learned theologian, but also as an accomplished anti- quary and ecclesiologist.

COLLISLONS AT SEA. A Reuter's telegram states that the steamship Kirby, of Hartlepool, 1987 tons, from Bull River, laden with phosphate, was towed into Plymouth on the 13th inst. by her Majesty's cruiser Forth. The Kirby, after discharging half her cargo, left Plymouth on Saturday at 5.15 p.m. for Rotterdam. Two hours later off Berry Head, in a thick fog, the Forth ran into the Kirby amidships on the port side, tearing her side open from the keelson to the upper deck and filling the engine-room with water. The watertight bulkheads kept the Kirby afloat, although great con- sternation prevailed among the crew and other persons on board. A boat was speedily lowered, and no casualties oocurred. The Forth was also damaged. An extraordinary story is told by the crew of the Newcastle steamer Ferrando, who arrived in Liver- pool on the 12th inst. The Ferrando, which is a vessel of 1336 tons, owned by Scott Brothers, of Newcastle, was on a voyage from the Tyne to Genoa. On Tuesday afternoon, the 25th ult., in perfectly clear weather and broad daylight, she was run down in the Mediterranean, off the coast of France, by the French gruiser Cecille, and sank within half an hour. Captain Shirley and the crew of 25 hands saved themselves in the ship's boats, but bad to leave with- out any belongings. They aver that the French man-of-war gave them no assistance whatever, and that after they had been taken on board they were given food which was not fit for a dog. The crew of the wrecked vessel were taken to Toulon, thence over- land to Marseilles, and to Liverpool in the steamer St. Giles.

THREATENING A MINISTER. A DISCHARGED GUNNER'S EXTRAORDINARY LETTER. James Thompson, a thick-set man, late of the Royal Horse Artillery, but now an inmate of the Workhouse Infirmary, Fulham, was oharged at Bow- street on the 12th inst. with attempting to extort money by means of threats from the Right Hon. H. Campbell Bannerman, Secretary for War. Two letters were read in court, part of a series sent by the prisoner to various head officials at the War Office. In the first letter the prisoner said: I am tired of being in this chamber of horrors, the workhouse infirmary, where I have spent most of my time these last three years through the spite and malice of the War Office officials. I may as well die on the scaffold as die here. I only want justice, and unless you do me justice I swear by my God that I will take the life of someone of those who are now torturing and murder- ing me. I care not which one of you it is. I will stick a knife between his ribs as'soon as I get a chance. I may as well die on thet gallows as in the slaughterhouse. You as; well as the rest. First come first served." In the subsequent letter he wrote: "I demand my back pay of 5d. a day from the first moment of my discharge. If not, I will take the first opportunity of sending a bullet or knife or anything through you or any,other villains who have been persecuting and murdering me. And you have murdered my wife. There are six of you, and I am sure I should get a front seat in heaven if I send the lot of you to hell." Mr. Fleetwood Wilson, a private secretary of the War Office, said the prisoner had at one time been a private in the Royal Horse Artillery, and was allowed a pension of 9d. a day. Afterwards, on representations by the prisoner, and on his behalf, he received an allowance of 14d.per day. Later he was given work in the Royal Small Arms Factory, Birmingham, and there met with an accident, from which he was no doubt still suffering. Thompson admitted writing the letters, and made a lengthy statement to the magis- trate setting out his grievances. He said that it was 40 years since he joined the army. He had setved in the Indian Mutiny, in which he was severely wounded. He was discharged in October, 1864. He lost his sight, and was blind for six years. He applied to Chelsea Hospital for his full pension according to the rank he held at the time he was wounded. He was ultimately allewed 5d. per day extra, but only from the date of his ap- plication. He obtained employment at the Small Arms Factory, Birmingham, where he was twice severely injured, but he did not obtain proper com- pensation. Mr. Vaughan committed him for trial.

ALTHOUGH the Prince of Wales is one of the best, dressed men in London, yet, in common with many0 other humbler mortals, he has a sneaking regard for old clothes. This weakness he manifests in the pos- session of an old brown bowler" hat, which has been in his possession for any number of years, ^nd which has been again and again renovated by every possible process as to lining, binding, bands, &c. The hat in question, with its broad brim and high crown, • will be recalled by many frequenters of race courses, and has figured in innumerable Portraits and pictures of the Prince.

IRISH WOMEN AND HOME RULE. A memoriatto One Queen from women of Ireland of all creeds and classes, protesting against Home Rule, was deposited at the Home Offioe on the 12th inst. The bill is characterised as being certain to endanger the liberties of the people, to cause a re- moval of the principal manufactures of the country from Ulster, and to replace peace and increasing prosperity by distress and insecurity throughout Ire- land. Appended to this memorial there were over 103,000 signatures, exclusively of Irish women. The document was made up into three enormous rolls, and kept together by a very artistic arrangement of red, white and blue poplin ribbon, the colours being arranged as in a Union Jack. The whole was contained in a very handsome walnut casket lined with Irish poplin of the shade known as St. Patrick's Blue, which is the colour of the ribbon worn on the robes of the Knights of St. Patrick. The Home Secretary was requested to receive a deputation of Irish ladies, headed by the Duchess of Abercom, and representing the Ladies' Committee of the Irish Unionist Alliance, who were charged with the promo- tion of the memorial. Mr. Asquith having written to the secretary of the Alliaaee declining to receive the deputation the memorial was left at the Home Office by an official of the organisation.

THE TWELFTH." ? ¡ "The Twelfth" was favoured with fine summer weather, and the conditions were excellent for shoot- ing, save for the great heat of the sun, which, while it dispelled the haze existing in some districts, was not a little trying to sportsmen. From almost all parts of England and Scotland where grouse shooting is to be had good reports have been received. The opening day among the grouse was an ideal shooting one on the North Yorkshire moors. The guns had plenty of work, the birds being both plentiful and strong. They were never ia better condition. It is many years since the moors were so forward as they have proved to be this season, and the heather—one vast sheet of glorious purple-presented a lovely spectacle. Shooting opened very satisfactorily in the Sheffield district. From all parts of the South Yorkshire moors and North-Western Derbyshire come reports of the most encouraging character respecting the sport. On the Bradfield and Langsett moors the sport was excellent. The full complement of guns was at work. Birds were plentiful, drives containing 100 being quite common. Birds flew wild and speedily, and, when started by the dogs, they left cover and went rapidly away, none but the best shots being able to bring them down. Good bags on these moors were obtained, birds being reported to be in splendid condition. The Duke of Norfolk's party at Derwent Hall con- sisted of Lord and Lady Londonderry, Lord and Lady Castleross, Mr. George Wyndham, M.P., Lady Grosvenor, Lord Edmund Talbot and Lady Talbot, Colonel the Hon. and Mrs. Talbot, Mr. Chartres, Lady Galloway, Colonel Swayne, Mr. A. Gatty, and Dr. Stewart. Eight or 10 guns were out on the duke's extensive moors in good time. There were two drives during the morning. On their Moscar Low Moor Mr. T. Wilson and Mr. Kingsford Wilson made a record bag bringing down 82| brace, nearly all fine birds. Mr. George Wilson was absent through indisposition. Last year the three guns bagged 96 brace. In Derbyshire, the glowing accounts of the grouse prospects were not anything like realised, and the bags yielded very uneven numbers. There is far above an average number of birds, all of them in an exceptionally forward state, very strong, and in an excellent condition. Twenty-five and 30 birds were seen in some of the packs," and by some sportsmen it is feared that large bags will not be made until later in the season, when "driving" is resorted to. On the Duke of Rutland's moors at Longshawe- lodge, Lord Robert Manners and some friends opened the season on Saturday. The Duchess of Rutland has just arrived at Longshawe lodge, and will entertain a shooting party. On Lord Derby's moors, known as the Wild- boarclough Moors, situate on the borders of Derbyshire and Cheshire, and leased to Lord Scarsdale, the latter on Saturday entertained a shoot- ing party, including General Sir Drury Lowe, Colonel Fleming, the Hon. Alfred N. Curzon, and the Hon.F N. Curzon. Fairly good sport was enjoyed. On the Rushley moors, between Chatsworth and Matlock, average bags of very good-conditioned birds were obtained. In the Clitheroe district of North- East Lancashire large parties of sportsmen were out early in the moors, and the birds were found te be unusually numerous. Large bags have been secured. In the Chipping district excellent sport was experi- enced. Only an average number of guns were out on Saturday on the Furnees and South Cumberland moors. Fairly good bags were made. From almost all the moors in Merionethshire and Monmouthshire come favourable reports, but on a few others birds have been lost owing to the protracted drought. Throughout the Welsh moors sportsmen generally had a very good day's sport. Many heavy bags have been despatched from North Wales to London, the Midlands, and Lancashire. Large shoot- ing parties are entertained by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn at Wynnstay, Colonel Cornwallis West at Ruthven Castle, and Lord Penrhyn at Penrbyn Castle, and there are numerous parties on the Flint- shire, Carnarvonshire, Merionethshire, and Cardigan- shire moors. Satisfactory reports come from many parts of Scot- ) land. In Perthshire many sportsmen were out, and good sport was obtained. In Inverness-shire, as usual, the moors in the Kinguissie district have done well. Birds are reported plentiful, but unusually strong and wild. On Dunashton moor Mr. John Austin, M.P., and party had 150 brace, on Glentromie Mr. John Hargraves and party 91t brace, on Belleville Mr. Cooke and Mr. Dugdale 63-1 brace, on Phones Mr. 2 Hayes and party 80 brace, on Newtonmore Mr. Barclay and party 60 brace. In Elginshire the weather was warm and dry, the heath being tempered by a slight breeze. The birds have seldom been seen so strong on tire opening day. Coveys are numerous. In Forfarshire, in the Glenesk district, there was fair sport, but great complaints are made of the wildness of the birds.

SIR H. JAMES AT SHEFFIELD. SPEECH ON THE HOME RULE BILL. Sir Henry James, Q.C., M.P., was at Sheffield on the 12th inst., and opened a new Conservative and Unionist Club in the Ecelesall division. In the course of an address he said he had come from some long and weary, but he hoped not quite useless, work in the House of Commons. The platforms represented the final court of appeal, and the sooner that ulti- mate deoision was given the better. They had. at the present moment two immediate objects in view. The first was to ask the people of I this country Yes or No "—would they give their sanction to a measure of Home Rule? The second view was that when that question was asked it should be a plain and simple issue. Nothing should be wrapped round it: nothing should, as a Radical clergyman said at Newcastle, sandwich it. When they heard the Unionist party abused because they were endeavouring to obtain full, free discussion of this Home Rule question they should understand "tnat the only objects they had in view were, first, to make every elector who exercised the franchise -elearly understand what that measure meant. As seon as they could accomplish that they desired to have tBe judgment of the people upon it. It was openly boasted by the Gladstonians that we shall not go to the country when this bill is re- jected," not upon the merits of this bill, not upon what he had called the true issue, but we shall go with a cry against the House of Lords." The issue that would be attempted to be raised would-be one upon the second Chamber., because it had refused to endorse the action of the House of Commons. He had always believed in the great element of English strength—its common sense, audit would be for those who now knew what was occurring to re- member the position of the Lords. He protested against its being said that the House of Commons as a whole bore the responsibility with regard to the passing of the bill. The House of Commons had never passed it. There were a good many in the House of Commons at this moment who did not know what was in the bill. Out of 36 clauses six only had been fully discussed, four had been partially discussed, and the remaining 26 had never been submitted at all to the judgment of any member of that assembly. The electors of the country have never been informed that they were to be treated with such inequality as wA- exhibited by the present measure. He hoped the people would prevent the country from presenting the spectacle of a powerless people and an impotent empire.