The Aberystwith Observer

MASTERS AND WORKMEN. The committee appointed by the House of Commons to inquire Into the best means of settling differences and avoiding strikes have been sitting in London, steadily proceeding with the examination of witnesses. We ex- tract the following from the proceedings of Monday Mr. Winter, general secretary of the National Trades Association, was called, and in reply to questions from the chairman, said that in his opinion t the recent strike in London amongst the builders might have been altogether avoided if an equitable council of conciliation, similar to those proposed in the bill before the House, had been in existence. He thought that five masters and five operatives was the proper dumber to compose the council. He had paid great attention to the causes and resulta of strikes, and al- though he found that they were generally connected with the existence of dissatisfaction with respect to wages, yet they rarely assumed the form of a direct strike for wages, but much oftener were occasioned by some refusal on the part of the men to assent to some regulation of the masters, such as the document known as The Declaration." After a time both sides be- came irritated, arid bodies of men were much more likely to act unjustly, and were much less amenable to reason than individuals. He had paid attention to the nuestion of strikes, and he had generally found that tne meh almost invariably failed, not because they were wrong in their views, but because they were unable to hold out. As a general rule, it was much easier to settle disputes as soon as they arose than it was after the feelings of the men had become em- bittered against the masters in consequence of the pri- vations which they endured. Strikes in various trades were very apt to follow one another, and he recollected that the year 1856 was a general year of strikes, and there was a demand for extra wages in almost every part of the country. By Mr. Slaney: He did not think that a general council in each town for all the trades would be re- garded with favour, because it would be merely forming t,. new tribunal for the purpose of hearing trade dis- putes. Operatives would feel that the principal objec- tion they entertained—namely, that trade disputes were terminated by people who were not conversant with the nature and customs of the trade, would still remain. It was not likely, for instance, that shoe- makers, or printers, or carpenters, would feel that a council composed of master manufacturers and oper- f atives could satisfactorily settle their disputes, and, therefore, in his opinion, it would be absolutely necessary that separate councils should be formed for each trade. By Lord R. Montagu Strikes among the workmen frequently arose out of misconception on the part of the workmen. They frequently began in one town, and were followed up In another. In certain towns, for in- stance, the workmen found that the rate of wages was higher than in another, and without inquiring into the local circumstances that occasioned the increase, the workmen came to the conclusion that they were under- paid, and a strike took place. The conduct of men in recent strikes had been much more orderly than in past years. He did not remember more than three or four cases of outrage during the last three or four years, which he attributed to the spread of education among the working classes. The men out on strike were sup- ported by the trades societies, but that was only when the society concurred in the justness of the strike and every means had been taken to reconcile the mas- ters and the men. If the society did not con- ceive the men were justified in striking, they with- held their support, and endeavoured to persuade the men to return to their work. In a case of strike some years ago the matter was investigated, and the society advised a compromise and settled the matter. The society always refused their support when they con- ceived the men were in the wrong, and its operation al- ways tended to prevent strikes rather than to encourage or aggravate them. He did not think that the effect of a popular election of the members of the council would be to swamp the masters. It was generally found that more men joined the trades societies after a strike. The general effect of trades unions was to raise the workmen in the moral and social scale, and also to develope the skill of the workmen. By Mr. Urquhart: In most factories a series of bye- laws were drawn up. to which, however unjust they might seem to be, the workmen were compelled to subscribe, and the probability is that if those bye- laws were drawn up by councils of conciliation, many disputes would be avoided. He did not think as a general rule that workmen set themselves against piecework. There were, it was true, some who thought that its introduction was injurious in parti- cular trades, but others held a contrary doctrine. In point of fact, almost all the work done in this country was piecework. Shoemakers, silk weavers, compositors, frame-work knitters, linen-makers, and in fact almost all trades, with the exception of carpenters, bricklayers, stonemasons, and labourers, did actually work by piecework. He did not think as a general rule that workmen out on strike used any other than moral force to prevent other workmen who did not join in the strike from working. They endeavoured to persuade them to join the strike, and there might have been occasional acts of violence, but they were only isolated cases, and no svmpathy was felt by the workmen for those who brought themselves within the reach of the law by such acts. The trade societies altogether discouraged such proceedings, and withheld their support from the men engaged in them. The late builders' strike in London afforded an example of the peaceable and orderly conduct of the English workmen under circumstances of great privation and suffering, and he was firmly convinced that in that case the operation of an eqydtable council of conciliation would have been productive of the greatest amount of good. Trade associations partook of the character of friendly associations, and when a strike arose from what they considered a just cause, a general effort was made to obtain subscrip- tions to support those who were out on strike. As a general rule those subscriptions were highly successful. Many of the masters themselves are greatly in favour of forming councils of conciliation, while on the other hand the magistrates entertained the strongest objection to deciding cases which arose out of disputes between the masters and workmen, and which cast a vast deal of responsibility on them. In large cities he thought it would perhaps be better to have more than one council appointed, and in London he should have no objection to see them appointed for each parliamentary borough. There were several alterations which he thought might be judiciously made in the laws regu- lating the relations between masters and workmen. Alterations were required in the truck laws, and in the practices which prevailed in the frame-work knitting districts. At the suggestion of Sir M. Petb, the witness said that he would furnish the committee with some sugges- tions on paper for improving the bill, and on retiring he was complimented by the chairman and other members of the committee for the extremely impartial manner in which he had given his evidence. Mr. Vicars, secretary of the Weavers' Association in Spitalfields, gave some interesting particulars re- specting the state of that trade, from which it appeared that there are about 8,000 looms employed, and that the average wages amount to 9s. or 10s. a-week, and that it was only by an excessive amount of toil that they were able to live at all. The number of masters did not exceed 30. The committee then adjourned;

OUR FACTORY WOMEN AND CHILDREN. For the credit of the House of Commons, for the credit of British humanity, and, we may say, for the credit of the British race, we rejoice that the Bill for limiting the hours of labour of women and children in bleaching and dyeing works has been carried by a very large majority. We extract from the Timet the following remarks upon the subject Amid the storms of European politics, amid the rise and faU of dynasties, amid Indian outbreaks or Trans atlantic squabbles, the deep, silent stream of our national life flows on with hardly a notice from politi- cians and their followers. Statesmen inquire hardly anything about the people of this country. The only test of their prosperity is their quiet, and it is concluded that the satisfaction of hunger is sufficient to counter- balance every cause of dissatisfaction. Yet there may be high wages with the greatest misery, large exports with a deteriorating population, and beef and beer and gin consumed in horses where pale faces and distorted limbs give evidence of the ruin that is at work. The case of the women and children in the Bleaching Works deserves, and has at length received, the atten- tion of the Legislature. The stories which are told of these poor creatures must move every one whose heart the bigotry of so-called economical science has not turned into stone, The dullest imagination must be moved by the tortures inflicted by grasping traders and ruthless parents on the young, the delicate, and the sickly and it requires no philanthropical wisdom to teach us that a persistence in such a system is not only a disgrace to a Christian land, but a natiohal impolicy which will bring with it a heavy retribution. The bill on Wednesday was met by the usual argu- ment about the impolicy of interfering between master and servant, between employer and employed. We need not go into this subject. We are a people of pre- cedent. We are lawyers, even in our highest acts of policy, and it will be sufficient for Mr. Turner and those who argue with him to say that the point has years ago been decided against them. The House of Commons, in reading the bill a second time by an im- mense majority, only refused to reverse the policy which has been embodied in the Ten Hours Act and other legislative measures. The people of England have solemnly proclaimed that the principle of Laissez faire shall not apply to the using up of human flesh and blood. That women and children are not free agents, and that society in its corporate capacity has a right to interfere for their protection, is a principle which is now too late to combat. Indeed, the Legis- lature has gone much further, as in the Acts for the regulation of shipping, where seamen and emigrants are placed under the special protection of Government, and the doctrine of non-interference in private contracts utterly repudiated. Far above the advantage to society of material gain is the advantage of a vigorous and healthy people, and if a cancerous growth of dwarfiah- ness and imbecility is allowed to come into existence in any part of the island no one can tell what may be the consequences in the next age. In spite of all the care of Parliament and all the labours of sensible and right-minded employers, the population of a Lancashire town cannot be contemplated without a certain misgiving. Watch them as they pour along the streets to dinner, observe their pale faces, their stoop, their thin hands, and their somewhat un- steady gait, and it will glance across your mind that the first place in the commerce of the world may be too dearly purchased. But, whatever they may be, it is the universal testimony of the Factory Inspectors that the evil would have been far worse Without Government interference. Mr. Horner, in his report for the half-year ending the 31st of October, 1850, says:— The experience of 26 years convinces me that the legisla- tive interference for the regulation of the labour of children, young persons, and women, in factories, is now viewed by the great majority of the occupiers as having done, and as continuing to do, a great amount of good without any inter- ference with the prosperity of their trade. Mr. Horner is sanguine respecting the employment of children. He thinks that under the present law they are not overworked, that the three hours they get in school daily give them the rudiments of education, while their employment sharpens their faculties and gives them independence at an early age. Mr. Baker says I think I can show that the Factory Acts have put an end to the premature decrepitude of the former long hour workers; that they have enlarged their social and intellec- tual privileges; that by making them masters of their own time they have given them a moral energy which is direct- ing them to the eventual possession of political power, and that they hare lifted them up high in the scale of rational beings, compared with that which they had attained in 1833. So much for the right of Parliament to interfere with the labour in factories, and for the consequences which this interference has produced. Turn now to the Bleaching-works. Nothing in the annals of Manchester or Stockport, in the days when Lord Ashley carried on his campaign against the mill- owners, can be compared with the revelations which have been lately made respecting the condition of these abodes of misery. Mr. Roebuck only quoted a few of a whole series of heartrending narratives. We may give some further extracts. One youth says :— At times, if a sudden order has come, we have not been in bed more than sixteen or eighteen hours a-week. Another says :-At my commencement (when he was a child of 11) I began at 12 o'clock on Sunday night and worked till 8 o'clock on Monday night. Then we started at 6 o'clock on Tuesday morning, and worked till 12 at night; and we did this for two months without stopping. Wright Mather says:— I am foreman of the clamping-room. In summer I have seen the room at 120. in winter it is generally about 80 to 100 deg. We have come at 5 a.m. and worked till 9 p.m. all last week. There are four clamping-rooms, and when they are all agate there are 16 females at work in them. In the other drying-place there are five boys they work very often 16,17, and 18 hours a-day. The heat is very great in that room,—from 100 to 150 degrees, and that is under the mark. James Thomson, of Mr. Wallace's works, Burnbank, Glasgow, says:— We employ about 10 men and 40 females in summer some of the hands work occasionally from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. the whole week through we did this last summer several times. Three days we worked 20 hours each day. The ages of most of our girls are from 10 to 18 I feel when lam urging the females to work these long hours that I'm doing what is not right, but I have been urged to do it to get a lot of goods finished. Sometimes they stay here all night, and then we make a place for them to lie down upon in a store-room upon the pieces of goods unfinished. Sometimes 14 or more girls will pass the night in this manner after working 19 hours, and coming out of those hot places dripping wet with perspi- ration, and their clothes wet through with it. We feel that we need add nothing to this horrible picture. If such revelations do not rouse society to rescue these girls and these children from their living death, then do we as a nation deserve the worst that the world can say of us, and an hour of just punish- ment will inevitably arrive.

THE BALLOT IN AMERICA. The English partisans of the open voting system point to the fact that in America every possible artifice is resorted to to divest the ballot of its secret feature, (says an American paper). They say, truly, that we are accustomed to cover the ballot all over with marks and devices most difficult of imitation; and then men are stationed near the polls to act as spies upon such as would be glad to alter their tickets. They say, truly, that the viva voce system is prefer- able to this kind of ballot, for the reason that it attains the same end by more manly means. Both plans are designed to operate upon the fears of the voter, the difference beween them being that while one purports to be secret, it is just as open and public as the other. Now, it does seem to us that, if we really mean to have a secret ballot—if we mean to permit the poor man, or any man who is in some sense dependant upon another, the right to vote as he pleases without being called to account and punished, we should provide by law that all ballots shall be printed on plain white paper, and that there shall be no other words or marks upon them except such as are necessary to indicate to what box they re- spectively belong. The name of the party simply would not be objectionable, but that, and the word State," County," &c., should be required to be in some ordinary type, so that it should not operate as a check upon individual freedom of action. Were this plan adopted there would be less liability to mistakes than there is now, for every man would read his own ticket when he should come to understand that he might otherwise vote a wrong ticket. Now, we are all accustomed to look at the outside devices: -and, if they are right, we go it blind." A pretty good illustration of the abuses of the present system oc- curred in a Republican caucus the other evening. A ward politician had procured ballots printed on a peculiar tint for a Nash delegation. A Scrantom man had got one of the ballots secretly," and procured a large number of Scrantom ballots on precisely the same kind of paper! As the voting progressed the pink ballots poured in beyond the most sanguine anticipations of the original inventor;" one man, as we are cre- dibly informed, having voted that coloured ballot 21 times over! The original" man, supposing they were all right, made no objection—almost of course; and the other leader, knowing they were his "stripe" of pink, also looked on consentingly. The "original" pink ballot man was woefully taken aback when he found an overwhelming majority of the pink ballots were against him, and that the ward was lost in consequence; It is thus that our politics are corrupted at the very head spring; and we scarcely have a "regular nomi- nation" that is not tainted with fraud. The remedy for this state of things we have pointed out above. The law already prohibits the opening of an elector's ballot by an officer-on the theory that it is secret, and that no man has a right to know how or for whom his fellow-elector votes. But the marks and devices we refer to make the contents of the ballot just as public as if the law required it to be exhibited to the crowd before it is deposited in the box. We submit that this state of things imperatively demands legislative action J

WHAT NEXT? A correspondent of the Daily Feus writes as follows:- The present state of things is grave indeed. To the delight of the Tories and their "liberal" allies, the friendly feeling which has subsisted for some years between the two great Western Powers is probably at an end; it is right, therefore, that Englishmen should learn without delay what new programme of foreign policy Ministers propose to adopt. 1. Is a holy alliance, such as Lord John Manners would approve, to be our grand aim ? Are we going to plunge afresh into the dirty mespes of German intrigue ? Are we prepared to subsidise the spoliators of Poland, the violators of Cracow, the tyrants of Hungary, after the fashion introduced by Mr. Pitt ? 2. What is to be our future course with respect to Italy? Is that glorious question henceforth to be re- garded by us from a German point of view ? Are we disposed to revise our proceedings on the other side of the Alps, in order that we may conciliate Austria, rejoice the hearts of Orleanist conspirators, make Mr. Disraeli and his brass band sing for very joy, and draw tears of holv gratitude from the Pope, the Archduke, and the lordly traducer of Cavour, the "most noble slanderét of Giovanni Dolfi ? Yes; at once we ought to know how Ministers mean to act. Recollecting the language used only the other day by the dii majores of the late Conservative admi- nistration, bearing in mind the exasperating tirades against France ranted day after day by Mr. Horsman and his admirers, I confess I think the constituencies should bestir themselves. They may ponder with ad- vantage over this question—For whose interests is it that England drifts into war ? The hour long prayed for by Russia and all the plotters of Europe has to appearance come unless the Cabinet become equal to the juncture—unless the men of England refuse to be wheedled, deluded, cheated, made tools of, a more serious crisis has rarely over- taken our country. Hume acutely remarks—" England is ever too ready to engage in war against her great rival, and this is turned to account by continental diplomatists." Most certainly. What say my countrymen ?

Htkedaiuras fnicllipa. THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING !—There was once an able Sovereign of France whose boasted maxim was, Qui ne sait pas dinimuler ne aait pas regner," and who never did business in the annexing line without returning thanks to Heaven for the success of his plans, or kneeling before the leaden images in his hat to ask pardon for anything of a peculiarly unjustifiable kind in the means he employed to attain them. The French Moniteur of Monday announces that "their Majesties will hold no receptions during Passion week (the pre- sent), nor during Holy week (the next)." It is ex- pected, moreover, that a Te Deum will be ordered after Easter in thanksgiving for the new teraitory just ac- quired. Exultation will follow penance. HOPE FOR THE JFCTURE I-Popes and Kings do not live for ever (says the Times, Florence correspondent). The Holy See and the throne of the Two Sicilies may yet be tenanted by men able to understand the spirit of the age. That unity of the whole Peninsula which is now uppermost in the hearts of Italian patriots may be found an impracticable scheme,: and if another such man as Victor Emmanuel would go share with him, extend the southern kingdom over the Marches and the lands of the Tiber, in the same measure as the northern State annexes the Legations and the vales of the Arno, the two States, both equally free and national, might have their connecting link at Rome, where the Pope, reduced to the exercise of mere spiritual authority, might still claim the Presidency over the league indissolubly contracted between the two fraternal potentates. PUBLIC OPINION AND THE CHURCH-RATE BILL. —From the great number of petitions now presented every night in Parliament on various subjects, the Parliamentary reports necessarily fail to give that full information which those who are interested in petitioning movements usually desire. We find from the votes of the House of Commons, that no fewer than 312 additional petitions in favour of Church- rates abolition were presented on Monday night. These make a total of 1,979 petitions, with, probably, an aggregate of 180,000 signatures. From the number of petitions again presented on Tuesday night, and those which are likely to be presented during the week, it is probable that some three hundred thousand persons will have quickly responded to the inquiry—" who de- sires abolition ?" BEGINNING AT THE WRONG END!—In conse- quence of the reduction in the estimates voted for the forthcoming year, a large number of the artificers and labourers not forming the permanent establishment of Woolwich Dockyard, are ordered to be discharged, a the rate of 35 per week. A CURIOUS LEGACY.-The Marquis de la Cous- saye, who lately died in his villa, on the banks of the peaceful lake of Enghien, four miles from Paris, left a rather eccentric legacy. He bequeathed a sum of 50,000fr. to the commune of Enghien upon trust, to pay the interest thereof every year to some well-con- ducted girl for her marriage portion, but upon this condition, that the maiden to be annually elected shall, in the month of May, place a garland upon the testa- tor's tomb with one hand, while she receives her fortune with the other. WELCOMING A CURSE !-Bearing in mind all the signs of the times, it may well seem to the most zealous Roman Catholics that the greatest blessing which could befall the Italians at this present juncture would be—the Pope's curse (says a foreign corres- pondent). King victor Emmanuel and his subjects, both old and new, might well go on their knees before Pius IX., and beg him to make haste and visit their sacrileges with the heaviest excommunication that ever issued out of the Church's arsenal. Not a few of the Lombard, of the /Emilian, and even of the Tuscan clergy have dared boldly to dissociate the Pope's tem- poral power from his spiritual supremacy. Should Rome renew the old war of Church against State the result might be such a schism, such a revival of the old Milan diocess, as might introduce into the Catholicism of Northern and Central Italy not a little of the freedom once vindicated by the Gallican Church. Political enfranchisement in Italy must lead to intel- lectual and moral emancipation; religion itself must -be based on the principle of complete freedom of con- science and the Papacy, spiritually as well as temporally, must learn to stand on its own legs-it must rely on its unaided powers of persuasion. THE BURRADON COLLIERY EXPLOSION.—The in- quest was resumed on the 22nd inst., and a considerable part of the sitting was taken up by a discussion between Mr. Philipson and Mr. Dunn, Inspector of Mines, rela- tive to the examination of the pit. One witness was examined, after which the inquest was further adjourned till the 4th of April, to afford time to make a thorough survey of the pit. The kind-hearted Bishop of Durham has visited the bereaved families, and his interviews, especially with the aged people, were deeply affecting. The last body was got out of the pit on Tuesday. THE PRINCE OF WALES A PRISONER.—A con- temporary tells the following tale:- Considerable amusement has been afforded at Oxford through the eccentric conduct of a knight of the plough named Hedges, known under the soubriquet of "Lord Chief Justice Burns." It appears that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in company with Colonel Keppel, Equerry in Waiting, and several other gentlemen, went out with the South Oxfordshire hounds on Friday last; but, meeting with indifferent sport, the Royal party, on their return to Oxford, determined on a ride across country. Not being acquainted with the locality, they made their way across the lands of Farmer Hedges at Barton, and, without being aware of the temper of the sturdy farmer, rode into the farmyard. Farmer Hedges, with his usual regard for trespassers, immediately closed his gates on the illustrious party, and levied a fine of a sovereign for damages, enforcing the demand with an inti- mation that none of them should leave until he had pocketed the amount. The party at first imagined that when Hedges was acquainted with the names of his visitors he would at once have claimed the Royal clemency; but in this they were quite mistaken, for upon being informed that he was draining the future King of England, he remarked, Prince ,no Prince, I'll have my money." The Royal party, although somewhat annoyed at their detention and the obstinacy of the farmer, made the best of the joke, and yielded to the inexorable farmer's demands—the Prince above the rest being much amused at the turn matters had taken. AN ESTABLISHED BORE !-Church-rates The very words have already excited some gesture of impatience in half our readers (says the Times). The topic is an established bore. It would be in vain to count how much public time and how much private temper it has already unprofitably wasted. It is always costing good money and making bad law; it is always turning quiet rectors into scheming politicians, and sturdy chapel-goers into pinchbeck Hampdens. How anybody, be he noble or right reverend, or simply an hon. member, can wish to perpetuate the annual procession of this unquiet topic we cannot guess. How a house can ever now be got to do honour to it is to be explained only by those who are deep in the arcana of electioneering. There cannot be a more dreary portion of the duty of a member of either House of Legislature than to take part, as many will to-day, in this dull annual farce of discussing what in all modern times the House of Commons has always decided in the same way, and always has decided to purpose. AN ERRATIC BULLOCY.The other dav, as a bullock was being driven down Tavistock-street, Devonport, it showed a disposition to examine the stock of Miss Clements, milliner and draper, but (prob- ably through deficiency of sight, having only one eye), mistook the entrance and went by the side door into the house. After passing, with considerable difficulty, through several narrow turnings, it at length became so embarrassed that there was no other mode of retreating Unless it was by backing, and that was not approved of. It therefore plunged heavily down the kitchen stairs into a washhouse, where there was an unfortunate woman alone at the tub, whose first know- ledge of the arrival of this visitor was when there lay extended before her the suspicioUsdooking head, horns, and hoofs, which from its position was all she could see. The prostrate animal completely blockaded her only means of exit, and she was at first greatly alarmed. However, after a short suspense, some friends arrived and released her. The bullock was subsequently drawn up the area by ropes and pulleys, after various haulings and pullings of some fifteen and sixteen butchers and boys, who made the street ring with their shouts of laughter. WONDERFUL METAMORPHOSIS. A teetotaller was seen, a day or two ago, to turn into a public- house.-Puneh. TRYING TO SHELVE IT!-On Monday night the House of Commons made an attempt to throw the second reading of the Reform Bill over the Easter recess, without even observing the decency of dissimulation (says the Daily News). The Government asked for a morning sitting on Thursday, in order that the evening might be devoted to Lord John Russoll's pet measure, but the House went too evidently with Mr. Disraeli in his opposition, and the point was not pressed. We are accordingly informed by Lord Palmerston that it may be necessary to sit far into Passion Week, even to the day before Good Friday, if the debate on the Reform Bill Is to be concluded beforeEaster. What the opinions of the House on this point may be it is not difficult to guess. The" twenty-five gentlemen of ability and eloquence" on the Opposition side of the House, whom Mr. Whiteside declares to be desirous of express- ing their opinions, will possibly make common cause with as many gifted senators on the other side, the debate will be again adjourned, and the House will separate without having assented to the principle of the great measure which has been promised or threatened for so many years. EXTRAORDINARY BEQUESTS.—There has just been gathered to her father Agne3 Hamilton, grocer, Commercial-road, Glasgow, an old miserly woman, at the age of 81, and who has left 23,0001. of her savings from a small shop which she had rented for about 40 years. She was in every respect a miser, but she was a miser-merchant, who looked after the pence par ex- cellence, and also after the pounds. She was never married, and studiously avoided parting with a single farthing, that she could avoid. In this way, and by dint of half-starvation, she Succeeded in realising the above large sum (23,0001.), which she has bequeathed in 41. annuities to destitute people of good_ moral character, who are natives of, and have lived in, the Gorbals parish of Glasgow 40 years, and who have at- tained the age of 65. As the parish is small very few qualified claimants exist, or can exist. She has left nothing to any of her relations. A QUESTION FOR PHILOLOGISTS.-Philosopbers are raising the impertinent demand whether the utter- moat parts of the earth are inhabited solely by women. —Punth. BLOODSHED IN IRELAND.—Mr. Justice Chris- tian, in passing sentence upon one of the three prisoners convicted of manslaughter at Cork, observed Tbe peasantry of this part of the country use towards each other deadly weapons with a ferocity such as is not to be surpassed by what takes place amongst the most savage tribes inhabiting any portion of the earth. The three prisoners were severally arraigned for as many murders, but the Crown did not in any case press the capital charge. One was sentenced to four years' penal servitude, and each of the others to eight years. A DISAGREEABLE WIPE. Mr. Whitworth's three-pounder cleans itself out. One of the many ob- jections to Lord John's six-pounder is, that it is, very likely to lead to the use of the sponge.-Pu-iieh. LONDON DRUNKARDS.—Several calculations been made in order to test the amount of drinking that goes on in the metropolis. Thus, it has been pointed out that in 1848 there were 11,000 public- houses in London, while there were only 4,000 butchers and bakers. Again, 470,000 persons were counted as entering fourteen of the principal gin shops in one week, which gives an average of nearly 40,000 habitual attendants on fourteen out of the 5,000 gin shops of the metropolis. Again, it is stated, that more than 10,000 persons are annually taken up for drunken- ness in the streets of London, and that 250,000,000 are spent each year in spirits and beer in England. —Outcast't and Poor in London. A RUN FOR THE REFORM BILL.-Lord John Russell, the other evening, ran into the House of Commons, with a train of supporters at his heels just in time to secure the discussion of his Reform Bill by saving the House from being counted out. The noble Lord on that occasion may consider himself to have had a run of good luck.-Punch. ONLY WHAT MIGHT BE EXPECTED,—The adhe- sion of Savoy to France is the work of venal Savoyard organa.-Punch. LAW REFORM IN LONDON.-Dr. J. Walter Smith (the author of several popular works on the law), has delivered a lecture on the subject of How we make our laws for commercial and every-day life." The lecturer gave an interesting description of the way in which our laws of business life have come into existence by the gradual accumulation of judicial decisions, and how few of them we owe to the labours of Parliament. The learned gentleman described us as the victims of zigzag legislation," resulting in statutes and decisions relating to the same subject matter, and alternating one with the other without consistency or unity of design, the statutes giving occasion to cases, and the cases again to new statutes: while all the statutes and cases, repealed and unrepealed, lay "heaped together in one hopeless jumble." Dr. Smith then gave some interesting statistics with regard to the number of statutes, and how- many were now in force, and gave an account of the immense mass of books which form the lawyer's library. The lecturer con- cluded by stating that we could never expect altogether to avoid difficulty in understanding and applying the law, but that was no reason why it should remain in its present forbidding and useless shape; there was no reason why the law, whether composed of statutes or cases, should not be codified and form a complete and accessible whole. TAKING THE PLEDGE !-At a London police- court, Margaret Collins was charged, among a number of others, with being drunk and incapaple of taking care of herself. MAGISTRAIA: What have you to say to getting so drunk Defs^Hnt; Well, your worship, I am very sorry, but I've Wen ill a long time, and, iiM fact, was very^iueer, so a woman I works with says fl me, says she, 1 d have a drop of gin, Mrs. Collins; so I goes and haves some; ana whether it was that I haven't tasted a drop of spirits for a very long time, or whether it was that I was ill, I don't know, but it overcome me, and I became insensible. Magistrate But you have taken the pledge, I hear ? Defendant: I have. I took it five years ago, but my being ill broke it. Magistrate: And how long is the pledge supposed to last ? Defendant: For ever, when you like to keep it. Magistrate: And I suppose when you break it you take it again ,and so on ? Defendant: Just so, your worship. Magistrate Well, you must pay a shilling for breaking the pledge. Defendant was locked up during the day in default. THE AIX-LA-CHAPELLE REI.Tcs.-The Colle- giate Chapter of Aix-la-Chapelle has decided that the septennial exhibition of the sacred relics presented in the Church of Notre Dame in that town shall take place this year from the 10th to the 24th of July. The church possessing these"'preclous objects, which are designated by the name of the large and small relics, was built with great magnificence in 796, and was dedicated by Leon III., in 804, to the Holy Virgin. The great relics, which are only shown every seven years, are the robe of the -Virgin; the swaddling clothes of our Saviour; the linen, still marked with blood, in which John the Baptist, after being beheaded, was wrapped up; and the sheet which was used at the descent from the cross. The small relics are shown every day in the year to strangers who may apply for that purpose. Among these objects are the leathern girdle worn by our Saviour, the two ends of which are joined together, and sealed with the seal of Constantine-; a piece of the^ true cross; a part of the which are joined together, and sealed with the seal of Constantine) a piece of the true cross; a part of the sacred winding-sheet; the linen waistbelt of the Holy Virgin; some of her hair; a link of the chain of St. Peter; the right arm and thread of Charlemagne the bones of several saints; the marble throne' on which Charlemagne was seated in his tomb, and which was used at the coronation of the emperors. RIOT AND Loss OF LIFE AT CAMBERWELL.— Shortly after two o'clock on Tuesday morning the vi- cinity of Camberwell, London, was the scene of one of the most alarming riots that have taken place for many years amongst the Irish, and unfortunately one man has lost his life. For several days past there had been a series of disturbances, but the riot on Tuesday was of a most serious nature. About the time above stated upwards of 200 Irish assembled, and some alter- cation took place, which led to blows being struck, and eventually a general fight. At this juncture nearly 300 more persoris rushed from the different houses armed with pickaxes, crowbars, sticks, and other for- midable weapons, and the riot soon assumed a most alarming aspect, the men running about like madmen, a large number having received injuries j whilst gome of them were lying in the roadways much injured. The screaming and shouting caused a number of per- sons from the surrounding neighbourhood to congregate near the scene of uproar, but none dared to interfere. In the meantime a man was dispatched to the police station, and a body of police came to the spot; but it was found necessary to have a more pderlul force, and a strong body of the M division were soon in at- tendance, and even then it was upwards ot two hours be fore the riot was quelled. The injured persons as quickly as possible received medical aid, but one poor man lost his life. The police took the most prompt and ener- getic steps to put down the uproar, which would, no doubt, otherwise have resulted in much more serious consequences. EFFECT OF TOO MANY MATRIMONIAL ENGAGE- MENTS,,—A young man, named Archibald Campbell, committed suicide on Monday, at Ardtoune, Island of Mull, by hanging himself in his own barn. Deceased was on the point of getting married to a young woman from the island of Tiree. He sent to Tiree for her in order to make arrangements for the marriage, and everything was going on smoothly, when a stop was put to the proclamation of the banns in the church of Bunessan by two fair damsels belonging to the neighbourhood, to whom the deceased gave matri- monial promises on some former occasions. This, therefore, must have been the motive which led him to commit the rash act of putting an end to his mortal career.

• AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES IN PARIS." Galignani describes the sittings of the Circle Agricole,' the agricultural club of Paris, as highly Instructive gatherings. The lectures seem to be quite of a superior class. Our Paris contatudorary says W« have this year heard M. Babinet lecture on the electric light, and other physical phenomena connected with it; M. Marchal -do Luneville, on a subsequent night, gave his audience a highly amusing and in- teresting account of his travels in China; M. Payen, a member of the institute whose labours we have often noticed, on another occasion explained the nature of the celebrated birds' nests of China, and gave the company present an opportunity of tasting the broth they make; and on Friday last we heard the Abbi Moigno, the editor of the Cosmos," lecture on the intimate connection existing between the various forces of nature. The lecturer, on this occasion, ex- pounded a new theory of his own, showing that any one of these forces being given, the others might be engendered from it; thus, if motion be given, it will, by proper application, excite warmth, electricity, mag- netism, chemical affinity, or light; and conversely, any other of these Witf generate motion and the rest; so that, in fine, according to this theory, there is but one force in nature, which, according to circumstances, manifests itself under the different forms of electricity, warmth, &c. Several curious experiments were made in support of these views; and incidentally we had art opportunity of witnessing the application of Mr. Leon Scott's curious invention for writing sounds, and which we mentioned several months ago. In the present instance the experiment was conducted as follows An acoustic chamber, about a foot in diameter, and, having a membrane stretched over one of its orifices as in a drum, was placed opposite a revolving cylinder covered with black tracing-paper, The claw of a shrimp was fixed to the membrane, and rested upon the paper. Oh a kind of wooden trumpet being blown before the open orifice of the acoustic chamber, the membrane began to vibrate, and the cylinder being made to revolve at the same time, the vibrations were marked by the claw upon the paper, which, when released from the cylinder, presented a zig-zag line upon its surface, accurately representing the motion of the membrane. Similar experiments were made with a tuning-fork with equal success.

THE MAID SERVANT WITH A PEARL RING ON! At a London police-ddurt, a young woman named Frances Leete, housemaid in the service of lady Emily Hardinge, has been charged as follows:— It appeared that on Wednesday the prisoner went to the house of Mr. Haslam, linendraper, Knights- bridge, and after making some purchases asked for change for a cheque to the amount of 8J. 6s., signed "Lady Hardinge." The assistants would not give her the change then, but asked her to leave the cheque and come next day. The cheque was then discovered to be a forgery, and Inspector Whicher, of the detectives, was employed to in- vestigate the matter, and on f going to the assistant (Frank Beeton) who had supplied the prisoner with the articles she had purchased he accurately described her dress and appearance, stating that she had a pearl ring upon her finger while in Mr. Haslam's shop. From this description the inspector went to her ladyship's residence, near Hyde Park, and at once knew the prisoner to be the guilty person but, in order to be certain about the case, he asked her to write several words, among which was Lady Har- dinge," and the writing was similar to that on the cheque; and the inspector produced the paper on which was the writing, which corresponded precisely with that on the cheque, and among other things it turned out that the word eight" on the cheque was written eaght," and on the prisoner being asked to write the word she also wrote it "eaght." The in- spector then called the three other female servants up, and, all being placed side by side, the witness Beeton was called in, and recognised the prisoner at once, although she did not wear the ring then, but accounted for its absence by saying she had thrown it down the closet. She waa then accused of uttering a forged cheque, and, beginning to cry, admitted her guilt, and hoped her ladyship would forgive her. Lady Hardinge said that the prisoner had been house- maid in her service from six weeks to two months. On examining her cheque-book she found by the duplicate that cheque 31 (the cheque in question) had been torn from her banker's book, and the writing on the cheque produced was a forgery. The prisoner was committed for trial.

MORE PERSECUTION IN HUNGARY. The following la extracted from a letter from Pesth, dated March 15th:- A most lamentable occurrence has taken place in this town to-day. The students of the University and others had determined to commemorate the revolution of 1848 by going to church dressed in their national costume, and afterwards visiting the graves of fallen friends. In order to prevent them police were stationed before the doors of the churches, and all who wore the Hun- garian costume were refused admittance; but by acci- dent the Reformed Church was forgotten, the tower being under repair, and thither the whole multitude flocked, and, after praying and singing their national hymn, they proceeded in quiet order to the old cemetery, where the martyrs of freedom are buried, intending to make an oration, but, finding the ground occupied by armed police, horse and foot, they bent their way to the new cemetery, for the purpose of hanging garlands upon the graves of some renowned Hungarian poets. Here they were met by the military, upon which the unarmed crowd instantly drew back, notwithstanding hich the commanding officer called out" Shoot the dogs I (an order which, it is said, had been sent by the Archduke, then at Buda, and who, therefore, could not judge whether it would be necessary for the military to act or not). Shots were instantly fired, wounding several most dangerously, two of whom have just died; but, not content with this, the police fol- lowed the retreating defenceless crowd, some of whom, in their haste to escape, fell into a pit, and more shots were discharged, killing one poor old man, and maim- ing many others very severely. The town is horrified at these acts of brutality, which, of course, only servo to increase daily the contempt and hatred with which Austrian rule is regarded in this country. The general opinion is, that the conduct of the Aus- trian authorities, in first trying to prevent a perfectly innocent and perfectly justifiable demonstration, and next in firing on and bayonetting unarmed men, was perfectly scandalous. Their object, evidently, was to so exasperate the people as to excite them to fierce re- sistance, and so have a pretext for crushing them by means of the soldiery. The Viennese Government thinks that a revolt extinguished in bloodshed at Pesth would have the effect of cowing the popular spirit throughout all Hungary; but it is mistaken.

A BAR-ROOM DIFFICULTY IN AMERICA. A Washington letter contains the following account of a bar-room difficulty" which occurred there on the 7th :— An encounter occurred this afternoon between Colonel Lander, of Massachusetts, superintendent of the Overland Wagon-road Expedition, and W. Magraw, of Missouri, freight contractor, and late superintendent of the same expedition. It will be recollected that an attack was made last winter in the rotunda of Willard s Hotel by Mr. Magraw upon Colonel Lander. In this difficulty, it is said, Colonel Lander, after having received four terrible blows-the first struck while his back was turned-at last reached Magraw, knocked him down, and beat him until pulled oft by the bystanders. Magraw went West, and while Colonel Lander was absent in the Rocky Mountains, stated in St. Louis that he had whipped him in the fight, and at the same time applied opprobrious epithets to him. Directly after the occurrence Magraw sent two gentlemen to Colonel Lander begging him not to renew the difficulty, which had originally grown out of Ma- graw's refusal to fight Colonel Lander a duel, or make the required apology. Colonel Lander returned from California about two months ago. Magraw arrived yesterday. To-day Colonel Lander met Magraw in front of Kirkwood's Hotel, at which he is stopping. Magraw got out of a hack with some friends. Lander was°accompanied by Major Yates, the gentleman to whom Magraw had made the aforesaid remarks. whom Magraw had made the aforesaid remarks. Colonel Lander said, I demand of you an explana- tion of your remarks to this gentleman." Magraw stepped back on to the steps of the hotel, followed up by Lander. Magraw put his hand to his pocket and muttered something. Lander struck him upon the breast) pushing him back, saying, Speak up, and speak loltd, Sit 1" OH this Magraw said, Let me go int( the hoteUi Yes," said Lander, and followed up. Within the hotel, Magraw attempted to go into the entry but Lander stopped him, saying, "Turn round now, Sir, and face me, and answer me," at the same time turning him rudely round by the shoulder. Hereon the proprietor of the hotel interposed, which for an instant parted the combatants. Ultimately Colonel Lander Said, Come out on the avenue again, sir; relieve this gentleman from this affray here; take your pistol, and I will meet you as I am, unarmecl; come on." Magraw refused. Lander then, after stigmatizing him as a liar, thief, blackguard, and scoun- drel, requested any one of the crowd to step forward- of which there were more than 40—and take up the quarrel, if a friend of Magraw. None speaking, Colonel Lander retired. Colonel Lander then made his apologies to the proprietors of the hotel, offered to wait on the ladies and apologise, and retired. Colonel Lander was accompanied by Major Yates, and during the altercation was joined by his nephew, W. H. West, who took no part in the affair whatever. Colonel Lander is a Massachusetts man, and says, for the honour of his State, he will never carry concealed honour of his State, he will never carry concealed weapons, though he will fight any one who assails him with or without them.

MANIA IN PARIS, It has been remarked that of late in Paris eases (jf mental alienation have become unusually num-rotls I and on one day last week the police had to arrest not- fewer than three persons whose conduct proved them to be insane. The first was a young female, of lady- like appearance and address, who attempted to enter the court of the Tuileries, and who, when told that sbe could not pass, said, "Let me enter 1 I am the new Joan of Arc, and the daughter of God, and I must positively see the Emperor, for I have come to give him immortality!" When taken before' the commis- sary of police of the district, she talked in a wild way "I will take the earth in my hand and throw it at the sun said she, among other things; and, seeing a clerk take up a book to register her arrest, she cried out, If that is the Book of Life, you may put down my name; but if it is not, I protest I" She was locked up. Shortly after, a man, wearing a blouse and a red cravat, also endeavoured to force his way into the court of the palace. "I am the Minister of War," said he 4i do you know me ?" Before the commissary of police, he declared that, in his quality of Minister of War, he dismissed from the army an officer on duty at the palace who bad presumed to laugh at him. "Ah!" said he, seeing some of the persons present smile, "Ah! you doubt that I am the Minister, do you? But here are my orders and decorations which will prove it I" and, raising his blouse, he showed the end of a red cravat placed in his button-hole. Then turning to some persons who had been arrested for mendicity and vagabondage, he said, "What are you waiting for? You have no money, perhaps ? Well! I will give you some! How much will you have? Twenty thousand francs? But the poor man on being searched was found not to have a centime on him; and it was stated that he had not paid the fare of a cab in which he had driven to the Tuileries. The third person taken into custody was a well-dressed female, who entered the church of St. Rock, and interrupted the celebration of mass. In the course of the day all three individuals were sent to an asylum.

A KING OF CLUBS" IN TROUBLE. At the Middlesex Sessions, london, John Clubb, a tall young man, has been tried on a charge of assaulting Charlotte Clubb, his stepmother, under the following somewhat ex- traordinary circumstances:— The proseclutrix stated that she was married to the defendant's father, a fishmonger, in Tyler-street, Lon- don, but she had not been living with her husband lately, but with her own daughter, who was married, and resided with her husband at Kentish-town. Her son-in-law took out a County Court summons against Clubb, sen., her husband, for her maintenance, and when the case was heard he stated to the judge that she left his house of her own accord, and that his doors were open to her if she chose to return, and upon that the summons was dismissed. Accordingly, on the same day she presented herself at his shop, and seeing the now defendant, said she had come home. He pointed to the door and ordered her out. She said she would not go out, whereupon lie took hold of her by the wrists and shook her violently, nearly threw her down five or six times, struck her on the breast, and so hurt her that she had to go to a medical man, who ordered her hot fomentations, and she suffered a good deal of pain, The defendant, when before the magistrate, said he certainly did use a little force, but not more than was sufficient to put the prosecutrix out. The defence was that the prosecutrix left her hus- band's house voluntarily, and had done so seven differ- ent times, and that she had been allowed 5s. a week; habits of intemperance were imputed to her; without foundation, however, it was said on the other side. The assault with violence was denied. The defendant's father, a tall, corpulent, and elderly person, was called. He denied that his son committed the assault as stated, and in giving an account of his conjugal troubles made himself out to be a very injured person. He gave his answers with a good deal of pomposity. Mr. Doyle, in cross-examination, asked him if he was not married to the defendant's mother, to which question he emphatically replied No." Mr. Doyle: Now, Mr. Clubb, will you dare to repeat that answer ? Witness hesitated. Mr. Doyle repeated the question. Witness I shan't answer. Mr. Doyle: Were you not married to this young man's mother, and is she not now living on a settlement of 401. a-year? Witness would not answer; The judge said he was not compelled to answer if he thought his answer would criminate himself. Witness: Then I shall not answer your question, sir. Mr. Doyle: When you were married to this poor woman, the prosecutrix, did you not know that she was the widow of Colonel Macirone, and a woman of educa- tion and good social position ? Witness I don't know about her being a widow but I know she was a pauper, and that I lived with her, sir. Mr. Doyle Do vou mean to say that you cohabited with her before you married her? Witness (fiercely): Yes, I do, sir, and I never said an angry word to her in my life. Mr. Doyle Then how came she to leave you ? Witness I don't khow but she went away seven times. Mr. Doyle Well, we have Mrs. Clubb No. 1 and Mrs. Clubb No. 2. Now, is there not a Mrs. Clubb No. 3? Witness No, sir, there is not. Mr. Doyle Well, if there is not, are you not living with a woman who has children by you ? Witness: I have a housekeeper, sir, and she has a child; but is this relating to the assault case ? Mr. Doyle Are you not living with that person in concubinage, and are you not the father of a child she has? Witness (turning round to the jury and smiling blandly); That's hard to say, gentlemen. Mr. Doyle Don't answer in that ribald manner, sir. Don't you believe that you are the father of her child, and are you not openly living with her, and is that not the reason your wife is turned out of your house, and has had to compel you by the parish to allow her 5s. a-week ? Witness declined to answer. The judge told him he thought he was bound to answer. The witness said the person was his servant and had a child. Mr. Doyle Upon your oath, don t you believe you are that child's father ? Witness: I may be. Mr. Doyle: And was it not in consequence of your living with her that the prosecutrix was prevented returning home ? Witness: Idont-know. Mr. Doyle That's enough, Mr. Clubb. The witness denied that his son committed any assault, though, in reply to the Court, he admitted he was not present at the moment. Mr. Doyle, in reply, denounced the conduct of the father in terms of no measured severity, and com- mented upon what the cross-examination had elicited from him. The learned counsel contended that, beyond all question, the evidence of the prosecutrix (which was corroborated as to the injury to her breast by another witness) proved that a violent and unmanly ssault bad been comiritted upon her, He had indignantly spurned a_n offer made on the other side that the defendant should plead "guilty"and go out on his own recog- nisance. He asked for punishment for such an outrage by a powerful man upon one he ought to have pro- tected-his stepmother. The jury found the defendant guilty on two counts, one for inflicting personal injury, anu one for common assault. Mr. Payne said he could not but regard this as a bad case, and the defendant ought to have acted more like a man than to strike a woman on the breast, particu. larly his step-mother, and it was only too clear that be had been lending himself to conduct of his father's which was discreditable to him, to say the least of it. He should sentence the defendant to six months, hard labour. Both father and son seemed ratner amazed at the sentence, and the former went out of court, threaten- ing to indict the witnesses for perjury, and declaring his son's innocence. -=-

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