The Aberystwith Observer

THE INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES CONGRESS. PROFESSOR HUXLEY'S ADDRESS. On Monday afternoon his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales received the foreign and British jurors who are to officiate at the Fisheries Exhibition, and afterwards presided at the first of a series of con- ferences arranged by the executive committee. The ceremony took place in the conservatory of the Royal Horticultural Gardens, a structure admirably adapted for such a purpose. After the reception of the jurors, the Prince as- cended the platform, and, in the course of some intro- ductory remarks, said :-The Fisheries Exhibition up to the present moment, I think, may be considered to have been a success (cheers), The public have evinced the interest which they share in this great and international undertaking, as I believe I am not wrong in stating that not far short of half-a- million of people have already visited it (cheers). But to-day, when the duties of the jurors are about to begin, we may look upon the scientific and more important part of the Fisheries Exhibition as being about to commence; and I beg to thank all those gentlemen who have come forward, not only from our own country but from different parts of the world, to give us their assistance and I feel sure that their labours will be crowned with success. (Cheers.)— His Royal Highness then called upon Professor Huxley to deliver his inaugural address. Professor Huxley then proceeded to deliver his ad- dress, and having referred to the antiquity of the fishing industry, said—I pass on to speak of the fisheries from the point of view of our present prac- tical interests. The supply of food is, in the long run, the chief of these interests. Every nation has its anxiety on this soore, but the question presses most heavily on those who, like ourselves, are constantly and rapidly adding to the population of a limited area, and who require more food than that area can possibly supply. Under these circum- stances, it is satisfactory to reflect that the sea which shuts us in at the same time opens up to us supplies of food of almost unlimited extent. In reference to the relation which the fisheries bore to the total supply of food of those who had easy access to the sea he quoted the following paragraph from the report of the Fisheries Commissioners, 1866 :—" The produce of the sea around our coasts bears a far higher propor- tion to that of the land than is generally imagined. The most frequented fishing grounds are much more prolific of food than the same extent of the richest land. Oncein a yearan acre of good land, carefully tilled, produces a ton of corn or two or three hundred-weight of meat or cheese. The same area at the bottom of the sea in the best fishing grounds yields a greater weight of food to the persevering fisherman every week in the year. Five,vessels belonging to the same source in a single night's fishing brought in 17 tons' weight of fish, an amount of wholesome food equal in weight to that of 50 oattle or 300 sheep. The ground which these vessels oovered during the night's fishing could not have exceeded an area of 50 acres." My colleagues and I made this statement a good many years ago. I have recently tried to discover what yield may be ex- pected, not from the best natural fishing grounds, but from piscicultural operation?. At Comacchio, close to the embouchure of the Po in the Adriatic, there is a great shallow lagoon which covers some 70,000 acres, and in which pisciculture has been practised in a very ingenious manner for many oenturies. The fish culti- vated are eels, gray mullet, atherines, and soles and according to the figures given by M. Coste, th average yield for the 16 years from 1798 to 1813 amounted to 5cwt. per acre-that is to say, double the weight of cheese or meat which could have been obtained from the same area of good pasture land in the same time. Thus the seas around us are not only important sources of food, but they may be made still more important by the artificial develop- ment of their resources. But this Exhibition has brought another possibility within the range of prao- tically interesting questions. A short time ago a visitor to the market might have seen fresh trout from New Zealand lying side by side with fresh salmon from Scandinavia and from the lakes and rivers of North America. Steam and refrigerating apparatus combined have made it possible for us to draw upon the whole world for our supplies of fresh fish. In my boyhood Newcastle "waa the furthest source of the salmon cried about the streets of London, and that was generally pickled. My son or, at any rate, my grandson, whenever he goes to buy fish, may be offered his choice between a fresh salmon frcm Ontario and another from Tasmania. The fishing industry being thus important and thus ancient, it is singular that it can hardly be said to have kept pace with the rapid improvement of almost every other branoh of industrial occupation in modern times. If we contrast the progress of fishery with that of agriculture, for example, the comparison is not favourable to fishery. Within the last quarter of a century, or somewhat more, agriculture has been completely revolutionized, partly by scientific investigations into the conditions under which domestic animals and cultivated plants thrive, and partly by the application of mechanical contrivances and of steam as a motive power to agri- cultural processes. The same causes have produced such changes as have taken place in fishery, but pro- gress has been much slower. It is now somewhat more than 20 years since I was first called upon to interest myself especially in the sea fisheries. And my astonishment was great when I discovered that the practical fisherman, as a rule, knew nothing whatever about fish, except the way to catch them. In answer to questions relating to the habits, the food, and the mode of propagation of fish-points, be it observed, of funda- mental importance in any attempt to regulate fishing rationally—I usually met with vague and often absurd guesses in the place of positive knowledge. The Royal Commission, of which I was a member in 1864 and 1865, was issued chiefly on account of the allegation by the line fishermen that' the trawlers destroyed the spawn of the white fish-cod, haddock, whiting, and the like. But, in point of fact, the spawn which was produced in support of this allegation consisted of all sorts of soft marine organisms except fish. And if the men of practice had then known what the men of science have since discovered, -that the eggs of cod, haddock, and plaice float at the top of the sea, they would have spared themselves and their fel- low-fishermen, the trawlers, a great deal of unnecessary trouble and irritation. Thanks to the labours of Sara in the Scandinavian seas, of the German Fishery Com- mission in the Baltic and North Sea, and of the United States Fishery Commission in American waters, we now possess a great deal o £ accurate infor- mation about several of the most important of the food fishes, and the foundations of a scientific know- ledge of the fisheries have been laid. But we are still very far behind scientifiq agriculture, and, as to the application of machinery and of steam to fishery operations, in this country at any rate, a commence- ment has been made, but hardly more. The relative backwardness of the fishing industry made a great impression..on my colleagues and myself in the course of the inquiries of the Royal Commission to which I have referred and I beg permission to quote some remarks on this subject which are to be found in our report issued in 1866 When we consider the amount of care which has been bestowed on the improvement of agriculture, the national societies which are established for promoting it, and the scientific knowledge and engineering skill which have been enlisted in its aid, it seems strange that the sea fisheries have hitherto attracted so little of the public attention. There are few means of enter- prise that present better chances of profit than our sea fisheries, and no object of greater utility could be named than the development of enterprise, skill, and mechanical ingenuity which might be elicited by the periodical exhibition and publication of an influential society specially devoted to the British fisheries." Taking this exhibition, the third of its kind, as evi. dence that the public attention to fisheries for which they hop6d had been attained, Professor Huxley re- marked that the conferences opened that day formed an entirely new feature of such exhibitions, and ex- pressed a hope that there was in them a germ of that which, by due process of evolution, might become a great society, having for its object the welfare and the development of the fisheries of these islands. He presently turned to the question whether fisheries are exhaustible; and, if so, whether anything can be done to prevent their exhaustion. He did not think it possible to give a categorical answer. There were fisheries and fisheries; but he had no doubt that there were some fisheries which were exhaustible. Instancing the salmon rivers, he said it was quite clear that those who would protect the fish must address themselves to man, who was reach- able by force of law and that it not only might be possible, but it was actually practicable to so regulate the action of man with regard to a salmon river that no such process of extirpation should take place. But if we turned to the great sea fisheries, such as cod and herring fisheries, the case was entirely altered. Those who have watched these fisheries off the LQfoden Isles on the coast of Norway, say that the coming in of the cod in January and February is one of the most wonderful sights in the world; that the cod form what is called a cod mountain," which may occupy a ver- tical height of from 20 to 30 fathoms-that is to say, 120 to 130 feet, in the sea, and that these sheals of enormous extent keep on coming in in great numbers from the westward and southward for a period of somj- thing like two months. The number of these fish is so prodigious that Professor Sars, the most admirable authority, from whom I quote these details, tells us that when the fishermen let down their loaded lines, they feel the weight knocking against the bodies of the codfish for a long time before it gets to the bottom. I have made a computation, with the details of which I will not trouble you, which leads to this result, that if you allow the fish each of them fou feet in length, and let them be a yard apart, there will be in a square'mile of such shoals something like 190 million fish. I believe I am greatly understating the actual number, for I believe the fish lie much closer, but I would beg your attention to the bearing of this under-estimate, because I do not know that the Lofoden fishery has ever yielded more than 30 million fish in a good season and so far as I am aware the whole of the Norwegian fisheries, great as they are, do not yield more than 70 millions. So you will observe that one of these multitudinous shoals would be sufficient to supply all the fisheries of Norway completely, and to leave a large balance behind. And that is not all. These facts about the cod apply also to the herring; for not only Professor Sars, but all observers who are familiar with the life of the cod when it has attained a considerable size, tells us that the main food of the cod is the herring, so that these 120 million of cod in the square mile have to be fed with herring, and it is easy to see, if you allow them only one herring a day, that the quantity of herring which they will want in the course of a week will be something like 840 million. Now I be- lieve the whole Norwegian herring fishery has never reached the figure of 400 million fish-that is to say, one half the fish which this great shoal of codfish eats in a week would supply the whole of the Norwegian fisheries. On these and other grounds it seemed to him that this class of fisheries—cod, herring, pilchard, mackerel, &o.—mightbe regardecfas inexhaustible. But he should not venture to say this of the whole of the sea fisheries-of the oyster fisheries, for example. Here, again, the operations of man became exceed- ingly important. Regarding the regulation as to close time for oysters as alone absolutely futile for the purpose fof protection, he urged that the more logical provisions of Government supervision in Den- mark, France, and elsewhere were impracticable of application beyond the three-mile limit of this country. It was under this conviction that the Com- mission to which he referred recommended the abolition of all restrictive measures. In conclusion he pointed out how heavily this question bore on the social condition of the fisherman. Every act of legislation with regard to the fisherman created a new offence. If the common welfare and the common interest, said Professor Huxley, can be clearly shown to render such regulations desirable or necessary, then of course fishermen must put up with this as they put up with anything else-as we all .put up with such restrictions. But supposing that no good case is made out-supposing- that regulations of this kind are made on sufficient inquiry, and based on insufficient understanding of circumstances of the case, then I am free to confess that I think those who make such laws deserve very much severer penalties than those who break them. (Cheers,) On Monday evening a conversazione was given by the Fishmongers' Company, at Fishmongers' Hall, London-bridge, when the Executive Committee the International Fisheries Exhibition and the jurors were especially invited to attend. The guests were received by Mr. J. Hampden Fordham, Prime Warden, and Alderman Sir T. Dakin, and amongst those present were Count Munster, the Marquis of Exeter, the Earl and Countess of Ducie, the Baroness Burdett Coutts and Mr. Burdett Coutts, the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, Mr. Alderman and Sheriff De Keyser, Mr. Sheriff Savory, &c., &c. The band of the Royal Artillery played selections during the evening, and upon the principal staircase leading to the various apartments were stationed the watermen who had been winners of the prizes annually awarded by the Fishmongers' Company, in addition to the coat and badge given by the will of Thomas Doegett in 1721 to commemorate the accession to the throne of the family of her Majesty the Queen. Choice exoties were placed at the entrance and on the staircase and other portions of the building, and several works of art and objects of interest were exhibited in the magnificent great hall and other apartments.

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S PAPER. A brilliant company assembled on Tuesday in the conservatory where the conferences are held to listen to the paper of the Duke of Edinburgh on British Fisheries and Fishermen," embodying the results of his observations during the period he was in command of the Royal Naval Reserve, and had to visit every place of importance on the coasts of the United King- dom. The Prince, who was accompanied by the Duke of Northumberland, the German Ambassador, Lord Hamilton, the Marquis of Exeter, Lord H. Lennox, Mr. Birkbeck, M P., Professor Huxley, and other noblemen and gentlemen, took his place on the dais soon after twelve o'clock, and was warmly received by the audience. i The Prince of Wales then proceeded to read the paper, in which, after some preliminary observations, his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh saY8-1 have thought it best to accompany my remarks by some slight account of the principal kinds of fisheries in which the men are engaged, the number of persons dependent upon fishing for their livelihood, the methods of capture employed, the quantities of fish taken annu- ally, the manner of its disposal, and its commercial value. Throughout the period of three years, commenc- ing November, 1879, during which I held the command of our Naval Reserves, my duties necessitated my fre- quent presence on the British coasts, both by sea and by land, giving me occasion to visit a very large num- ber of our fishing villages. I was thus afforded oppor- tunities of observing our fishing population, and of appreciating the importance of our sea fisheries, not only in obtaining a considerable portion of our food supply, but in providing a means of subsistence for a large section of our population, and in keeping within our borders a skilful, brave, and hardy race of seamen, trained from their earliest boyhood to seek their livelihood from, and to contend with the most stormy and tempestuous of eeas. My duties, however, obliged me to be so constantly moving from place to place that I requested the divi- sional and station officers of her Majesty's coastguard to make inquiries within their several commands to collect statistics relating to the sea fisheries of their vicinity, and to furnish me with such information as they could obtain on the subject. I also addressed a similar request to the officers in command of her Majesty's Revenue cruisers, and I take this oppor- tunity of thanking them for their careful and pains- taking labour. These returns were furnished from nearly 800 different places on the coasts of the United Kingdom. Referring in graphic language to the effect of the railway system in distributing fish, the capture of which employed (counting fishermen and their families) over half a million of people or 540,000 souls, the paper then drew a picture of the existence of our fishermen, both in fine weather of summer when their life seemed most enjoyable, and when caught in a winter storm with all its sad consequences both to the men and their families. From the earliest ages the inhabitants of our coasts have made the sea contribute to their food, and the pursuit has pro- duced a race of men strong, inured to hardship and exposure, patient and persevering in their calling, brave, prompt, and full of resource, intelli- gent, and amenable to discipline. These qualities are inherited and intensified from generation to genera- tion, and the foundations of the great position which this kingdom has attained amongst the nations of the world must in some measure be attri- buted to our fishermen, for they were our first seamen who, increasing in numbers and skill, have leavened the whole nation with that love of maritime adventure which has resulted in peopling the uttermost parts of the earth with our race, and in establishing that Empire on which the sun never ceases to shine. (Applause.) The fisheries of the west of England were the nurseries of the sailors who enabled Drake to cir- cumnavigate the world, and, as he said, to singe the King of Spain's beard on more than one memorable occasion. A number of steamers or smacks attend on this fleet, for the purpose of conveying the fish which have been caught to the most convenient harbour, whence it can be despatched to the markets these vessels are called "carriers." Were it not for this system of carrying, the trawlers would either have to cure the fish taken by them on the distant fishing grounds, or much time would be lost by each vessel having to bring her own catch to land in a fresh state. They performed them with alacrity and steadiness, which could only be attained by close attention to, and a lively interest in, the in- struction imparted to them. The officers charged with their instruction without exception, spoke favour- ably of them. Great as are the risks inseparable from the fisherman's vocation, yet the men are daily exposed to dangers which might be avoided, but which at pre- sent result in lamentable loss of human life. The paper then explained, aa one source of this preventable loss of life, the system by which the North Sea trawlers transferred their boxes of fish by small boats from their excellent seaworthy vessels to the "carriers," fast smacks, or steamers, which carried them to the land, and suggested that a searching and careful enquiry should be made by a competent authority, whenever loss of life occurred on board a fishing vessel, as soon as the vessel returned to port.-The paper then set forth copious statistics showing the number of casualties occurring in various districts, and re- commends that fishermen should add one mora to their good qualities, and adopt the prudent plan of making provision, by assurance, for widows and orphans, and for their own old age. In a second part of his most interesting paper, his Royal Highness gives a lucid account of the sea fishing industry of the United Kingdom, classined in its four great divisions of trawling, drifting, great line fishing, and seining, trawling being the method resorted to for the capture of the various descriptions of fish which frequent" lower depths of the sea, such as soles, plaice, turbot, dorey, haddock, cod, &c.; drifting being employed for the capture of the 'fish which exist near the surface or in the middle depths of the ocean these are kerring, mackerel, and pilchard; the great Une being used for the capture of fish near the bottom and the seine its [ the net used to surrcund fish in shallow waters near the land. A number of interesting'facts are given as to the localities where fish must abound, and of the mode in which the owners and crews of the shipping 1 craft divide the produce taken. Much interesting and i valuable information is given also as to the habits of 1 fish and as to an interesting experiment which has I been made on the Dutch coast of dogs to bring lines 1 ashore from fishing-boats that want to beach when ] the surf is so heavy as to make the operation dan- gerous for men to attempt. In conclusion his Royal Highness said-The move- ments of fish are very difficult to account for; they appear in, and disappear from, localities for no obvious reasons. It may be that sea fish have found out that in the shallower waters near the land they are exposed to the attacks of an enemy which j they hope to avoid by seeking the greater depths of the ocean. Instead of looking upon any im- provement of the means of capture as tending to exterminate the species, I am rather disposed to welcome it as the possible producer of an increased supply of fish, for the benefit of our teeming popula- tion. Any research into the laws which govern the life, habits, and movements of fish, presents great dif- Acuities owing to the vastness of the subject, the limited power of man to explore the recesses of the ocean, the freedom of its inhabitants to roam whither- soever they please, and the never-ceasing tides and currents which, together with the variable action of the winds, keep the seas in such constant and uncertain motion. The Government of the United States has set the example of devoting a sum annually to the breeding of sea fishes it is pro- bable that the scientific research necessary to ensure success of this undertaking will furnish us with a knowledge not only of the method of spawning of sea fishes and of their powers of reproduction, but also of their habits and movements. It is difficult to over estimate the economical and commercial value of accurate information on these points; we may hope, in time, to learn from them how to stimulate the production, should it ever become neces- sary to do so, and how to improve the methods of capture so as to ensure the smallest percentage of de- struction of the young and immature of the species. Such knowledge, and its application, might tend to a very large increase in the supply of fish of various kinds. The example of the United States is well worthy of imitation by the European nations which have large stakes in the fisheries; from their relative position to one another joint action is almost a neces. sity, as all would equally share in the material and scientific benefits which might accrue from researches made in this direction. I, therefore, hope sincerely that the present International Exhibition may do much to bring about this unity of action. (Cheers). On the motion of the Duke of Roxburghe, a vote of thanks was passed to the Prince of Wales for read- ing the paper, and to the Duke of Edinburgh for writing it.

SERIOUS CARRIAGE ACCIDENTS, On Monday evening, while Mr. Arthur Gharrington was driving with his groom in a dog-cart near the Albert Institute, Windsor, the horse ran away, and the vehicle was dashed against the kerbing and upset. The occupants were thrown with great violenete against the wall, and much injured about the head and face. They were at once removed to the Windsor Infirmary and promptly attended to, when it was found that Mr. Charrington was suffering from a fracture of the thigh, and had received serious injuries to the head, while the groom had a compound fracture of the right arm, and also injuries on the head. Lady Braye met with a serious carriage aecident at Fulham on Monday. The hemes of Lady Braye's brougham took fright at a steam roller, and bolted. Her ladyship jumped from her carriage, and her head striking the pavement she remained insensible a few minutes. The brougham was not stopped for some distance. Lady Braye was taken home in a cab. Mr. Prescott Hewitt was immediately in attendance, and her ladyship is progressing very favourably.

FIGHTING ON THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA. Intelligence received at Madeira from Sierra Leone announces that another destructive raid having been made into British Sherbro by the 11 war boys of the Chief-Gbpowe and other Mendi Chiefs, Mr. Pinkett, the Administrator in Chief, following up his recent expedition to the Boom and Kittam Rivers, again embarked from Freetown on May .16; with one hundred men of the 1st West India Regiment, under the command of Major Talbot, and seventy police. The expedition proceeded up the Jong Rivet as far as the stockaded towns of Mamalaghi, Cortemahoo, and Hahoo, which were taken and burned. Chief Gbpowe's stronghold at Talliah, where no less than one thousand five hundred warriors were assembled. was next attacked. The rocket batteries and field guns, under the command of Captain Jackson, R.A., did great execution. The friendly natives who accom- panied the Expedition fought with much zeal against their ancient and powerful foe. No loss was sustained on the British side, but it is estimated that the enemy bad over two hundred killed. The town was entirely destroyed, and Gbpowe himself only escaped with great difficulty. A reward has been offered for his capture, which it is expected will be effected. The other chiefs in the disturbed districts were making their submission, and the peace of the surrounding country was becoming restored.

THE YORK AGRICULTURAL SHOW. In London, on Wednesday, a special meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society was held at its rooms in Hanover-square, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon occupying the chair. The Secretary (Mr. H. M. Jenkins) reported that the precautions which had been taken by order of the last monthly council with the view of preventing, as far aipossible, any outbreak of disease at the York show next month. These included the purchase of the graz- ing rights over the whole of Knavesmire, a tract of 300 acres, in the midst of which the showyard is situated, from the 4th inst, until after the close of the show the complete isolation and disuse of the railway siding at which the live stock to be_ sent for ex- hibition will be received and from which they will afterwards be despatched, also from the 4th inst. until after the departure of the show stock; further, the closing of the York cattle market by special request of the society from the 21st of June until after the removal of all the animals exhibited. Several coun- ties had suspended their restrictive regulations in view of the precautions which had been taken by the so- ciety. The North Riding of Yorkshire was now reported clear of disease, and there were only 25 cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the West Riding, the nearest of which was between 40 and 50 miles from the show-yard. Professor Brown, of the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council, stated that there was only one in- fected area in the East Riding, so that it was expected that before the opening of the show Yorkshire would be completely free from infection.

FBANcE'sMoTTo. Mistress of Tonquin though China squall.Punclh

A DISASTER AT A SCHOOL AVERTED. Advices from New York give particulars of a panic which occurred in a grammar school in that city on the Sth inst., in which, by the presence of mind of the ieaehers and some of the little scholars,, a catastrophe similar to the Sunderland disaster was averted. As it was, save a momentary alarm, the children, who num- bered 2,057, escaped unhurt. It seems that on the afternoon of the 8th inst. people in the vicinity cf East Fifth-street were terribly alarmed by the clamour and confusion proceeding from a grammar school in that street. The rumoux spread that the building was on fire, and instantly the place was besieged by parents anxious to know the fate of their little ones. In the meantime a body of police and some members of the fire brigade arrived, and after some difficulty succeeded in getting the crowd from the doors of the building and gaining admittance. The interior was then comparatively quiet. The building has five storeys, on the second of which were 967 infants receiving instruction. The panic, it seems, originated in this room. A dragon fly having got into the room alighted on the neck of one of the little girls. She cried out Oh, oh and others thinking there was a fire called out Fire." There was an immediate rising of the infants and a stampede towards the door. Some twenty-eight or thirty got out on to the landing but the lady teacher in charge firmly took possession of the door and would not allow any more children through, at the same time informing them that there was no fire, telling them to resume their seats. For some ten minutes there was the utmost confusion, the children crying and imploring 1 to be taken to their parents. While this was the scene inside, the door held by the mistress was besieged on the outside by anxious parents, and one woman forced her way inside. The lady teacher then locked the door, and by the aid of her assistants and by the courage shown by several little heroes in the room, quiet was at last restored. The third and fourth floors contained, the former 560 girla and the latter 530 boys, and the alarm having rapidly spread to them the scenes there were similar to those witnessed on the second Btorey. In each case, however, the action of the master and mistress, as well as the assistants, averted what might otherwise have been a terrible death-crush. So great was the excite- ment in and outside the school that with the advice of the police authorities the children were allowed to go home as soon as order was restored. A family residing in adjoining premises hearing the alarm got on the roof, and by the aid of some shutters got some 30 of the children out of the top storey on to the roof, but when it was found that all was safe, the children were taken back again.

j0k%ill! !■ I — THE TRIENNIAL HANDEL FESTIVAL. The Eighth Triennial Handel Festival began on Monday at the Crystal Palace with the accustomed performance of The Messiah. There was a very large attendances it being computed at three o'clock that over 20,000 persons bad entered the Palace. The day's proceedings were heralded by the customary per- formance of the National Anthem, which was given oat by the orchestra, then sung by the choral sopranos, then by the altos, the final verse having been given with full choir and orchestra. In the absence, through ill-health of Sir Michael Costa, the baton of conductor waa wielded by Mr. August Manna. In giving an account of the day's programme the Daily News says The overture to the Messiah served to display specially the tins body of stringed instruments, and the closeness with which the fugal allegro went bore testimony to the steadiness of the band and the con- ductor. In speaking of the vocal music first mention is due to Madame Aloani, to whom were assigned all the soprano solo*. It is within recent seasons that this eminent artiste has appeared as an oratorio singer, and has gained a distinction in this respect comparable to that whkh she had previously obtained-and still maintains—as a stage vocalist, Again, yesterday, the pure silvery quality of her voice was distinctly heard, even when most subdued, at a long distance from the orchestra. The bravura air "Rejoice greatly was given with bright and fluent voealiam and the airs "Come unto him and "I know that my Redeemer liveth with exquisite purity of style and religious sentiment; Madame Albani's delivery of the incidental recitatives and the leading parts in the two quartets having baen important, although subsidiary features. The contralto solos were divided between Madame Trebelli and Madame Patey, the former of whom produced a special effect tn tne airs "0, thou that tellest" and" He shall feed His flock," as did the other lady in the solo He was despised." Mr. Maaa, who sustained all the tenor solo music, was very successful in the airs Every valley and "But Thou didst not leave,"and elicited enthusiastic applause by his delivery of the de- clamatory solo" Thou shalt break them." The bass solos were partly rendered by Signor Foil, and partly by Mr. Santley. To the former was allotted the wondroasly suggestive air "The people that walked in darkness," which wa3 given with good effect. Mr. Santley gained much deserved applause by his rendering of the demonstrative air "Why do the nations"; the solo "The trumpet shall sound," having been assigned to the same artist in aasocia- tion with Mr. M'Grath, the, obligato trumpet ac. oompaniment. The chorus-singing generally bore out the good results promised by Friday's rehearsal- —it was bright in tone, ready in attack, and marvellously steady in execution, considering the vaet number of voices and the immense space of the building. The efficient rendering of some of the florid passages—such as those in the choruses And He shall purify," "For unto us," and "All we like sheep"—was truly surprising under the conditions just alluded to. And here fresh testimony is due to Mr. Manns for the rare ability which he has displayed in his exercise-for the first time at performances on so gigantic a scale-of a most arduous office undertaken at very short notice. The success of the opening day of the Festival could scarcely have been exceeded. Mr. Willing fulfilled the functions of accompanist at the organ, which are allotted to him for the whole festival. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the Duchess of Albany, and the Prince and Princess of Saxe- Meiningen were present at Monday's performance. The Times says :-The first day of the eighth triennial Handel Festival at Sydenham was in every sense worthy of the traditions of this great national gathering. From an early hour visitors and per- formers began pouring into the Crystal Palace, and as -train after train landed its load of human beings on the various platforms it became apparent that, as re- gards numbers, the present meeting would be equal if not superior to its predecessors—an impression which we have every reason to believe the official statistics will confirm. When Mr. Manns raised his baton the trans-pt of the Crystal Palace showed a vast sea of human heads, and when later on, to the sounds of the "Hallelujah" chorus, the audience rose to their feet, a rfioie impressive spectacle could not have been pre- sented. No wonder that great composers and other foreigners have testified to theimpresaiveness of asight to be equalled nowhere else in Europe. The national significance of that sight is enhanced by the reflection that chorus and audience contain representatives of almost all classes of society, from members of the Royal Family, seated in a special box erected for the purpose, downwards. It would be difficult to imagine such a meeting of Englishmen and Englishwomen assembled for any other artistic pur- pose than that of doing honour to the genius of the composer who before all others has taken hold of the hearts of the nation, the reason no doubt being that Handel's nm.-ic, and more especially the Messiah, appeals to, and is by tradition interwoven with, the strongest of all human instincts, the religious. It is as the great musical epic of the Christian faith, and not as a mere emanation of individual genius, that the Messiah has gained among us the unique position which it will continue to hold in spite of the changes of taste. The Daily Telegragh, in a notice of the perform ance saysHere were 4,000 performers, drawn from all parts of the country, placed under a conductor strange to moot d them, and set to work without rehearsal, yet the result was almost faultless. The vast mass moved with well-nigh perfect precision, took up every point with accuracy, and proved as unanimous in ex- pression as though there had been weeks of rehearsal. What this t>ays,for the theme we need not repeat, but it speaks for the executants that which calls for frank acknowledgment. In plain terms, the Festival band and chorus did noble work yesterday afternoon, and made Enkdisfcnien proud of the musical resources of their country. There are m the orchestra no fewer than four hun- dred and forty-one instruments, not counting the giant organ at which Mr. Willing ably presides. Of this number ninety-fire are first violins, ninety-two are second violins, fifty-six are violas, sixty-four are violonceliop, and fifty are double basses, making a grand total or 357 strings. To these must be added six piecoios, eight flutes, eight oboes, eight bassoons, two double bassoons, six trumpets, six cornets, twelve hor'.s, nine trombones, three ophicleides, and eight drums of various kinds, in all eifcht-four instruments of wind and percussion. As may be supposed, many of the performers upon the "strings" are ama- teurs from various parts of the country, and drawn from divers classes of society. Amongst them, for example, are six army officers, including five colonels, tour rioeiers in art or science, and at least one clergyman. As for the chorus, the figures are so large that a well inured professor of statistics is required to classify them. Enough that' the sopranos alone num- ber 722, and that the other voices are in propor- tion while every county in England, and almost every town of any importance, have sent recruits to the ranks, But even more noticeable than the size is the quality of this mighty orchestra. The instruments are well balanced while from the sections of the chorus it is hard to pick one that all the rest do not equal in excellence, On Wednesday, the second day of the Handel Festival there was a large attendance at the Crystal Palace to hear the performance of selections from Handed scored and secular works. Mr. August Manns again acted as conductor, owing to the son. tinued illness of Sir Michael Costa. Mr., Mrs., and Miss Gladstone, and Lady Brand wera amongst those who were present. As on the opening day, the chorus singing'' was the most rt Jmrk tb'y s-.cce ssful portion of the whole per- formance. The soloists wete also provided with work which fitted their several capacities, and so the measure of enjoyment was complete. The first chord of the "Occasional Overture," which followed the National Anthem and opened the selection, boldly tinrly given, was the keynote to the whole day's music. The final march was repeated in obedience *■> ger.erai desire. The chorus from J epbt hõ" Whsn his load voice," was splendidly sung, the fr:s?al parts clearly and distinctly rendered, and tbe detached sectencas, a. peculiar feature of Handed treatment of voice masses, were as sharply and firij ly "'unt by ora voice, not thousands. Mr, &,mky followed with the graceful and ex- preswitv aria from "Deborah," "Tears such as tender fathers shed." and then the noble chorus, "Envy, fdest born of hell," from the Oratorio "Saol" was heard. This is, as all musicians are constructed upon what is called a "gTfiunct bastthat is to say, a short bass passage which »* wti8*a,L>tly repeated, <*ach time with vaiied contrapmi'a' treatment. Ths device is one which was a vy-c'd favourite with the oi ler writers. It served a.- » st of the ingenuity of the composer, and of the t*< S > c-' training he nad undergone. Once again a -"r) offered a contrast to the preceding niece. ThU tiine Mn-d»roe Patey followed with the ever fresh songs fion .3 'loan jr." Wnat though I trace." An- other hold cbor'.a, Gird on thy aword," a thoroughly characteristic Handelian effort, was finely given on the whole. Tfeen Madame Albani sang, Angels ever bright and fair," wita rapt and expressive power. In the chrrus, "Ri.t.tdoua Heavsn," from "Susanna," which next, the broad choral writing, the wiaon visage*, and the double lugue. though calculated to l,-y til-3 powers of the singers to the n'.wnrt, s /<: v:i the sterling character of the Ill:" teria', I \e performance was as near perfection M oynlsl bs .ii^ainsd. A selection from" Joshua," consisting of an introductory recitative, a march, and a tenor solo and choius, "Glory to Gad" gave Mr. Edward Lloyd the first opportunity of being heard during the festival. His declamation was superb, and the effect of his singing upon the audience most exciting. The two obbligato parts for trumpet and horn were effectively given by Mr. M'Grath and Mr. Mann. Mr. Lloyd received a warm greeting from audience and chorus, a fact which showed how highly trained musicians could value his gifts and accomplishments. A. warm welcome also awaited Mr. Barton M'Guckin, to whom was assigned the well-known piece from "Jephtha," "Daeper and deeper fitill," whieh he gave with intelligence and effect, every note of his voice telling in the vast area. "Let the bright seraphim," from "Samson," with trumpet obbligato, Mr. M'Grath, was eung by Madame Albani, and was greatly applauded. The ainfonia, chorus, and solo, "The mighty pewer," frem "Athalia," Madame Trebelli taking the principal lead, ended the n .'st part. The second part, nominally seonlar, but including one or twc pieces from oratorios founded on sacred subjects, commenced with the Organ Concerto No. 1, Mr. W. T. Best, the organist of St. George's Hall, Liverpool, playing the solo with all his accustomed skill and individuality The concerto is one of the best of the series, and as it had not been given since 1871, had an element of peculiar freshness in the hands of the skilful player. Mr. Barton M'Guckin gave the solo, "The trumpets' loud clangour," one of the three pieces taken from Dryden's "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day," with power and spirit The march from the selection was encored. Madame Yalleria's solo, U From mighty kings," out of "Judas Maccabseus." was well received. The standard chorus on these occasions, "May no rash intruder," from Solomon," more familiarly known as the Nightingale Chorus, was subjected to the customary compliment of ap- proval. "Verdi prati," from Alcina," sung by Madame Trebelli, is also another well-known item on the" selectian day," not less admired and secure of a welcome than Lascia ch'io pianga," when it is sung by Madame Patey in the perfect style in which it was. According to expectation there was a large selection from Acis and Galatea," with solos and choruses 0, the pleasures of the plains," with solo for Madame Valleria, and "Wretched lovers" among the latter class: Love in her eyes," exquisitely sung by Mr. Lloyd, and "0, ruddier than the cherry," by Mr. Santley, with no diminution of his ancient spirit and incisive emphasis. The well-known trio and chorus, See the conquering here," was sung by Madame Valleria, Mrs. Suter, Madame Patey, and the chorus, and brought to a stirring end a most excellent concert. Net a little of the measure of the success was fur- nished by the care and ability with which Mr. Manns conducted. The members of the chorus gave him a reception which could scarcely be productive of other than gratification to himself and all interested in the success of the festival.

IN THE SEASON. Best! cries the Business Man, mid toil and strife Rest mid her balls and parties, cries his Wife But neither gains it mid the whirl of Ufe.—PMMcA.

THE. LABOUR MARKET. The iron market haa been more animated during the past week, inquiries being fairly numerous in all departments. There is a well-sustained demand for sheets and finished iron, and prices are steady, A quiet tone prevails throughout the coal trade, and where pits are kept going anything like full time stocks are rapidly accumulating. The cotton market is steady, and the cotton trade as a whole is certainly better than it has been for some time. Business is flat in the woollen industries, and the lace trade is very quiet. There is great activity in the hosiery branch. The boot and shoe trade is quiet, both for home and export. There is a slight but general improvement in the hardware branches, and prospects are more cheerful than for some time past. At Sheffield competition is keen in all branches, but manufacturers state that pr Sts are very small. The engineering and shipbuilding trades keep very busy, and the greatest activity prevails at all the yards on the Tyne, the Ware, and the Clyde. On the Thames, too, trade has much improved, and the ship- building firms have some large orders on hand. In the West of England trade is slowly improving. The quarterly return of the Master Builders' Associa- tion is much mora satisfactory than that of the cor- responding period of last year, and masons and car- penters are well employed; but there is still some surplus labour. Saddle and harness manufacturers are well supplied with orders, and there is a more cheerful tone in the country districts. The leather trade keeps quiet. The business being done in the clothing and boot and shoe manufactories is below the average for the time of year. The timber trade is quiet, the orders, though numerous, being compara- tively small, and merchants hold large quantities. Cabinet manufacturers continue busy. The provision trade is dull, with heavy stocks in merchants' hands.

RECOVERY OF SIR JOHN BENNETT'S WATCH. In London, on Tuesday, at Clerkenwell Police- court, Henry Robinson, 38, described as a watch- maker and jeweller, was charged, on remand, before Mr. Hosacfc, with breaking into the premises at No. 20, Baker-street, Clerkenwell, on the 4th ult., and with stealing therefrom a quantity of precious stones to the value of about £2,000, the property of Mr. John Garritt, lapidary and dealer in precious stones. At the last hearing of the case evidence was given that the prisoner had sold a large number of precious stones, which were identified by the prosecutor as having been stolen from a counting-house in his premises. It was now stated by Detective-Inspector Peel that the police had recovered the watch stolen from Sir John Bennett at the Birkbeck Institution a few weeks ago. On that occasion it will be remembered that Sir John lost a gold watch, chain, and seals, valued by him at J6200. Sir John Bennett said he waR wearing the watch and chain on the occasion of the Duke of Albany laying the foundation stone of the New Birkbeck Institution at Southampton-buildings, Chancery-lane, on the 23rd of April. He remembered standing near the plat- form in conversation with several well-known persons. At the time he lost his watch a prayer was being offered up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Directly after the prayer was over he missed his watch and chain. They were taken from him in a clever manner, the chain having been unhooked from his vest. He could not imagine who could have taken it. He did not remember having seen the prisoner. The watch produced he identified as his own, but it had been completely transmogrified," it having been altered internally in several ways. The whole of the enamelling in the inside of the case had been taken out, and the number and name had also been re- moved. He had been advised to wear a silver watch in future. Inspector Peel stated that the chain and seals Lad not been recovered. A French watchmaker, named Lacenleur, said he identified the watch as having belonged to Sir John Bennett. He finished the manufacture of the watch, and he now recognized some of the works, which were of unique make. The watch had been much altered, the external case being thinner than it was. Detective-sergeant Nash.said that on taking the prisoner into custody the watch, which was not then known to belong to Sir John Bennett, was found in his vest pocket. The prisoner said he had bought it. The charge against the prisoner was that he had re- ceived the watch knowing it to have been stolen. Another witness having been examined in the pre. vious case of robbery of precious stones, the prisoner was again remanded.

QUITE A MISTAKE.—" Oh, mamma, look at papa's chin He's been at the jam. Isn't that naughty of him ? FBut papa had only been shaving, and had cut himself.]-Judy. TWEED SALMON FismNQS.—Salmon and grilse, ac- cording to the takes obtained at these fishings, are al- most extinct. Trout are in fair numbers. Prices on Saturday were :—Salmon, Is. 5d. grilse and trout, h. 3d, per lb. The supply sent to Billingsgate from Berwick is about 50 per cent. more than last year.

CHILI AND PERU. The Anglo- Brazilian Times of May 23 says Chilian papers report a bloody engagement near Puna. bamba, between Chilian troops and Peruvian forces under Caceres. After being 24 hours without water, except what was carried with them, the Chilians found that the Peruvians had occupied and fortified the only watering-place. Infuriated with thirst and rage, the Chilians at once stormed the Peruvian position, and though they lost 43 killed and wounded, chiefly by bursting mines, quickly carried it, capturing, besides, a great number of prisoners. Caceres then withdrew to Chicla.

FATAL FIRE AT INVERNESS. Early on Friday moming -in last week, a fiae broke out in Theatre-lane, Inverness, in a dwelling-house owned and occupied by Mr. Hugh Allison, which re- sulted not only in completely gutting the building, but in the loss of four lives, a pensioner named Ferguson, his wife, and two young nieces, aged about three and four years respectively. The building was a high and commodious one. Four families occupied the uppar flats, and the lower part was let as shops. Nineteen persons were sleGping on the premises, thirteen of whom escaped with only slight injury. Allison together with his son were badly barned, and had to be re- moved to the iafirmary. Those who lost their lives lived on the top flat, Mr. Allison died in the infirmary on Sunday morn. ing from his injuries, making the fifth death.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. The receipts on account of Revenue from the 1st of April, 1883, when there was a balance of £ 6,972,730, to June 16,1883, were £ 17,693,084, against £ 16,963,681 in the corresponding- period of the preceding financial year, which began with a balance of £ 5,976,585. The net expenditure was £ 16,458,022j against £ 16,198,759 to the same date in the previous year. The Treasury balances on June 16 amounted to £7,423,898, and at the same date in 1882, to £6,280,021.

HENRY WARD BEECHER'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY. The Rev. H. W. Beecher completes his seventieth year on the 24th inst., and the occasion is to be marked by a popular commemoration in Brooklyn. When nineteen years of age he stood for the first time in a pulpit. He was the son of Dr. Lyman Beecher, the brother of Dr. Edward Beecher and of Dr. Charles Beecher and of Dr. George Beecher and of Catherine Beecher and of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and the brother-in- law of Professor Calvin E. Stowe, and his first sermon was not unworthy of his family. Shortly after that he went West, and in Lawreaceburg and Indianapolis and the towns then springing into life thereabouts he preached the gospel. In 1847 he came to Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, where he has remained ever Bincei His energy is so far from being exhausted that he has just accepted another year's engagement from Plymouth Church, and, with the close of his year's work, will, in a few days, start with his wife and Mr. Pond of Boston upon a lecturing tour through California and the Pacfic coast. He preaches twice a week to a congregation of perhaps 3,000 people, and his utterances are reported by papers which reach, at a moderate average, 1,000,000 readers. An American correspondent thus describes his present appearance. "Standing about five feet eight inches high, with hair perfectly white and long, he has a keen, kindly blue eye and full face, with heavy fea- tures, reddened and toughened by exposure to the air, and as handsome a mouth as was ever chiselled in marble. His body is heavy, his hands short and fat. He walks rapidly and with tremendous push."

A MILITARY TOURNAMENT IN LONDON. For the fourth year in succession the Grand Mili- tary Tournament in aid of the Cambridge Fund for Old and Disabled Soldiers has opened at the Agri-' cultural Hall, linden. On Monday afternoon the con- tests and exercises attracted a large body of spectators, and all the principal galleries, and indeed every point whence a view of the contests could be obtained, were occupied. The numbers were swelled by eight hundred boys from the Royal Naval School at Greenwich, a hundred and fifty children of Scottish soldiers, sailors, and marines from the Royal Caledonian Asylum, who marched in, headed by their band of diminutive pipers—the only one of its kind in Great Britain- fifty children from the Guards School and Home at Westminster, and forty Chelsea veterans, for all of whom seats had been provided by the Executive. The first competition was a bout at single-stick, in which the opponents displayed more vigorous dash and reckless daring than skill in fence. In several cases the difficulty was not to say whether there had been a hit, but which it was who had hit first, and only occasional doubts on this point prolonged pro- ceedings that would otherwise have been decided at the first encounter. The only other competition for dismounted men on the programme was sword against bayonet, but this had to be postponed, and the bugle sounded for mounted men to engage in a sword combat. There were twenty competitors, and with scarcely a single exception they displayed very skilful horsemanship, while the chargers performed every movement de- manded of them as if knowing their work quite as well as" the riders, so readily did they yield to the slightest pressure of bit or heel. Here, though the sword play was often fast and furious, while horses swerved, and the balance of riders was frequently disturbed by stout blows showered on them in quick succession, not one of the competitors came down. At this point the Duke of Cambridge, who was ac- companied by several officers of the Headquarters Staff, entered the hall, and his appearance was greeted with loud cheers. The lance combat that followed was productive of much excitement among the spectators. The op- ponents charged so vigorously that if the contemplated thrust had not been dexterously parried, many a gal- lant trooper must have bitten the dust, and many a lance shaft been shivered. So swift was the onslaught of one combatant, that he bore his adversary back on the enclosure, and nearly succeeded in hurling him among the ranks of spectators. Then a bugle Bounded the gallop, and a score of troopers with lances couched rode at pace round the arena. These were the tent peggers, whose feats of skill invariably win loud applause. To hit a mark only a few inches in breadth while going at full tilt, to draw it clean out of the ground, and to bear it away on,the lance point is not a feat easy of accomplish- ment. yet more than half the competitors succeeded in doing it at each attempt, and Sergeant Hamblin, of the 7th Dragoon Guards, especially took the peg with a finished dexterity that any Afghan warrior might have envied. In tilting at the ring no competitor gamed the full number of marks, but three of them came very near it, carrying off both rings at the first attempt, and only missing this the second time by a hair s breadth. After a display of lemon cutting, in which Private Goode, 15th Hussars, showed great aMI, there was a competition in wh'ch each horseman had to maks two cuts right and left at Turks' heads, throat through a ring jump, a fence, and make simtlas cuts and thrusts after clearing it. This two of the troopers performed without missing a single mark, and many only failed by the swerving of their horses. Drivers of the field and horse artillery shaw#d how skilfully they could pass at a trot, and gallop through the narrowest open- ings where a gun might go. Thirty-six troopers of the Life Guards, in brilliant full dress, went through the picturesque. "double ride," and the performance finished with a "Balaclava mel^e, in which six men on either side engage in a hand-to-hand sword struggle that lasts until all the distinguishing cockades but one have been cut away. The Princess of Wales, accompanied by the three young Princesses and the Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, the Duke of Cambridge, the Princess Mary Duchess of Teck, and the Duke of Teck, were present on Wed- nesday afternoon at the Military Tournament. Their Royal Highnesses arrived about four o'clock, and re- mained to watch most of the principal contests, in which officers of the regulars and auxiliary forces took part. The Agricultural Hall was densely crowded. I

CHBAT ENTERTAINMENT.—Standing orders.—Judy, A CUBIOUS WILL.-The Paris Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph states that M. Souzea de Monteille, one of the richest proprietors of tho Department of the Loire, has just died at St. Etienne, leaving behind him a somewhat curious will. Nearly the whole of his large fortune (£400,000) has been bequeathed to the hospitals of that town, under certain conditions, and to the miners of the district injured in the course of their duties. Provision has also been made for a tribunal that shall deoide finally and gratuitously oll thedisputea of the inhabitants,