County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

MISCELLANEOUS. --+- Two YACHTS IN A STORM.—The steam yachts Ceres and Red Rose, the former with the Duke of St. Albans, and the latter with Mr. Lan. caster, M.P., on board, started from Lerwick harbour for Bergen, Norway, on Saturday afternoon. Soon after they left the wind and sea. rose, and by mid- night a north-easterly gale, accompanied by heavy rain, was blowing. The Red Rose ran back to Ler- wick early on Sunday morning, and reported haying parted with the other yacht 12 miles off the Shetland coast. Much anxiety was felt concernipg the safety of the latter vessel, and on Sunday afternoon the revenue cruiser Active went out in search of her. A "PROTEST" MEETING-AT NORTHAMPTON. —A crowded meeting was held in the Guildhall, Northampton, to protest against the proposed grant to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for the Jndian visit. Aldeiman Gurney took the chair, and Councillors Adams and Covington moved, "That a petition be sent to Parliament asking that the grant be withheld until an account should be laid on the table showing what real estate is held by his Royal Highness, and what money has been received by him from the Duchy of Cornwall either by annual income or by sale of any portion of the Duchy estate, and also what real and personal property has come to his Royal Highness." Mr. Brae laugh supported the resolution in a long speech, in which he argued that this was a visit of pleasure, and not one of State necessity. The motion was carried unanimously. DISASTROUS CYCLONE,The disastrous cy- clone which swept over the Midnapore and Burdwan districts on the 15th and 16th of October forms the subject of an interesting report by the Lieut.. Governor, published in the Oalcutta Gazette. Near the mouth of the Hooghly the ship Grand Duchess was lost with all hands, and the Evening Star was wrecked in Sangor Roads with the IOES of all on hoard except 11 Lascars. The centre of the Etorm passed the mouth of the river just before low water, and a portion of the Contai, subdivision of Midnapore, was inundated by the storm wave. "Wherever it passed it left a scene of desolation. The less of life in Midnapore district is reported as amounting to 3049, while 17,500 cattle perished, and numbers of houses and trees were destrojed. In Burdwan upwards of 21,000 houses were blown down, and 29 lives lost. The other districts suffered less but 27 deaths were reported from Moorsheda. bad, nine from Hooghly, seven from Nuddea, and four from Rajshahye. The total number of deaths ascertained is 3392 or land; but the Lieutenant- Governor adds, all the district officers express their fear that this number falls far short of the actual deaths." MR. AND MRS. S. C. HALL.—borne lew months back, on the occasion of the celebration of the "golden wedding" of Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Bali, a committee was formed for the purpose of raisii g a fund to be employed in the presentation of a testimonial to these well-known writers. The cere- mony of presentation has now taken place at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, Kensington Palace-gardens, in presence of a very large gathering of Mr. and Mrs. g Hall's friends and admirers, representing every branch of art and literature. Lord Shaftes- bury presided, and the formal proceedings of the meeting were opened by Mr. George Godwin, F.S.A., who briefly explained the circumstances under which the testimonial had been got up, and the form which it had been considered most desirable for it to take-namely, J annuity. The sum raised amounted to ^1.030, with whieh £ 100 a year had been secured to Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Hall for their joint lives; a remaining balance was banded over to Mr. Hall, accompanied with a splendidly bound album, containing over 200 complimentary letters written to the recipients of this handsome testimonial. Lord Shaftesbury, in making the presentation, spoke with warmth of the moral in- fluence of the writings of Mr, and Mrs. S. C. Hall. Mr. Hall, who spoke with great emotion, expressed, in his own behalf as well as in that of his wife, the deep sense of his gratitude, declaring that, while he had criticised some 30,000 literary and artistic works, he had never knowingly written one word to give needless pain. A garden promenade, which had been arranged to take place after the ceremony of presentation, was unfortunately rendered impossible by the rain, which was falling with a. steady downpour. A WELSHER SENT TO PRISON. — At the Nottingham Police-court, a betting man who gave the name of George Drew, but on whose money-bag was the inscription John Caflerv, of Litchfield- road, Birmingham," was charged with having com- mitted two assaults at the races on Tuesday. A man named Beresford backed a horse with Drew. As it won he demanded payment, but various excuses to evade payment were given by the defendant, who tried to get away. A cry of "Welsher" was raised, and Drew was mobbed,but in the struggle he struck and kicked Beresford and the police-officer. He was lodged in the station-house, where two Bank of Elegance notes were found upon him. The Bench sentenced him to three months' imprisonment. MORE BURIAL SCANDALS IN WALES.—At the Bangor County Court, Judge Horatio Lloyd delivered judgment in the case of the Rev. John Morgan, vicar of Glanogwen Llanllechid, versus William Jones, a quarryman, of the same parish. The action was brought to recover fees amounting to 12s. 6d. for burying defendant's child in a common grave in Glanogwen Churchyard. Plaintiff had relied upon a special contract, and his Honour, in giving judgment for him, ruled that as a fact defend- ant, by an authorised agent, had contracted to pay this sum for an ordinary grave, and in considera- tion of such payment had the privilege of select- ing, and did select, his own site in the church- yard. He also found that 12s. 6d. was a reasonable sum for the services rencered by the clergyman, clerk, and sexton, and recom- mended the parishioners and clergy to come to some amicable arrangement for the future. Mr. Cartwright, solicitor, Chester, who represented the defendant, informed his Honour that this appeared to be far from being Mr. Morgan's desire. Last week he was requested to bury the body of the wife of a parishioner, and he actually refused to appoint either the time or a spot, and ultimately, because the rela- tives would not make any offer or eive any underta- king of, or contract for, paying the fees, selected him- self a spot where stones had been originally exca- vated for the church. The sexton also refused to dig the grave, and it was dug by a labourer. The body was placed among the stone rubbish, with only whoVpXa (of the plaintiff, fitted but as to their being only four inches of soil he be- lieved that to be utterly untrue. INSURRECTION IN THE HERZEG| Within the last two days rather alarming newsi has been spread of an insurrection in the Herzegovina. According to official information the reports are very much exaggerated. There have been, indeed, for some days, telegrams giving accounts of col- lisions between the Mussulmans and Christians on the frontier, but they are local and without great importance. The focus of them is the frontier town Metkiwich, on the river Haventa, which was visited by the Emperor of Austria en his late tour through Dalmatia, and the cause of them is disputed claims on the frontier. Although the disturbances possess no great importance, measures are being taken by the Go- vernment to stop them and prevent their spreading further. The gunboat Kerka has been sent up the Haventa with two companies of infantry, and two other companies of infantry, with the political head of the district, have been seat directly from Ragusa by land. p- MYSTERIOUS DEATH—Mr. Payne has held an inquiry respecting the death of a lady, name unknown, who was found on the up line of the North London Railway at Shoreditch Station, London. From the evidence it appeared that she had twica been to the terminus of the Great Eastern Rail way,IBishopsgate- street, accompanied by a boy. On the first occasion she said she wished to go to Witham, but she had no ticket, and subsequently went away, the boy stating that she lived at Hoo-place, Paddington. On Thursday afternoon deceased, accompanied by the same lad, came again, and asked for two tickets to Halstead, but as she had no money they were with- held. On the same evening she was found lying on the line terribly mutilated. She was conveyed to the hospital, where she died three hours after admission, the medical evidence showing that she had been run over by a train. Every effort had been made by the police to trace the identityof-tbe woman, and nothing had been heard of the boy. The jury eventually re- turned an open verdict. THEFT BY A SOLDIER AT "WIMBLEDON. At the Wandsworth Police-court, London, James Fleming, a private in the 104th Fusiliers, was charged'with stealing an umbrella, the property of Lieutenant Lawrence Edge, of the Royal Marines. The prosecutor was one of the officers|speciallyEm- ployed by the National Rifle Association at Wimble- don Camp. He was on duty at the range, and had occasion to use the umbrella. After the rain had ceased he put the umbrella down by a chair behind him. The rain came down again, and on looking for the umbrera-he missed it. Tne prisoner was seen behind the officer with an umbrella under his arm. He walked away with the umbrella, and returned without it. The umbrella was afterwards found in his tent. The prisoner. in,answer to the charge, said he was under the influence of liquor. He believed the magistrate himself, if he had been in the camp on Friday, would have taken the umbrella to use. Inspector Rowe said that each soldier was supplied with a mackintosh. It was common for soldiers to commit petty larcenies with a view of being discharged from the army. Mr. Ingham sentenced the prisoner to be imprisoned for three months, with hard labour. The prisoner was brought back soon afterwards and charged with com- mitting a violent assault. A police.constable, one of the officers of the court, said that while taking the prisoner iown to the cells he received a violent blow on the back, hurling him from the top of the stairs to the bottom. A constable caught him and saved him from a serious injury. The prisoner at the time said he might as well have seven years as three months. The prisoner, who admitted kicking the officer in the back, was committed for three months more. THE PRINCE AND PEINCESS OF WALES AT HAMSGATE.-The Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit to Margate for the purpose: of opening a branch of the London Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. On their arrival their Royal Highnesses were received by Earl Granville, Lord Warcen of the Cinque Ports, and by the corporate authorities, who presented aE address of welcome. The town was gaily decorated, and the Prince and Princess were waimly cheered as they passed through the streets. One of the members of the Ramsgate Artillery Corps, while engaged in firing the Royal salute on the arrival of the Prince and Princess, met with a serious accident. He was blown from the gnn into the sea, the tide being almost at its height at the time, and his arm was so severely hurt that amputation was found to be necessary. SERIOUS CASES OF FRAUD.—Ernest Aw dry Stiles and Henry John Bown have been tried before Mr. Justice Blackburn, at Salisbury, for conspiring to obtain "£16,000 by false and fraudulent pretences from the North Wilts Bank. Mr. Douglas Straight (specially retained) appeared for the prosecution. The frauds perpetrated by the prisoners appeared to have commenced 10 years back, and the system on which they were planned was that Bown, who was a customer of the bank, should draw any number of cheques he pleased, which, on their coming into the hands of Stiles, who was cashier at the head office in Melksham, would be paid with the money of the bank, but entered neither to the debit of Bown nor in any book open to the supervision of the authorities. The jury convicted both the prisoners, and StiJes was sentenced to six and Bown to 18 months' imprison- ment with hard labour. A second indictment was then proceeded with against Stiles and one William Arthur Giles for the theft of two hills of exchange, for the aggregate value of £ 455 14s. 6d., from the North Wilts Bank in the month of October, 1870. The jury convicted again in this case, and Stiles was sentenced to 15 and Giles to seven years' penal servitude. EXPLOSION OF FIREDAMP—By an explosion of firedamp in a. pit at Drumpellier, Lanarkshire, three young men-oversman, a forenlan, and a roads- man-have lost their lives, and a fourth has been seriously injured. The men were engaged building up an air course wall about 150 fathoms from the mine, and removing a wooden battery to erect a brick one in its place, with the view of making it more secure. That the work is attended with danger is proved by the circumstance that the manager warned the men on the previous day not to go to it. In the course of the afternoon it was discovered that an explosion had occurred, and, when an exploring party descended the pit, they found the three men lying dead, and the fourth in a very exhausted condition. The three men who were killed were married, and two of them were brothers. THE BARONESS BURDETT COUTTS AND THE FREEMASONS.—The Lodge "Burdett Coutta" (No. 1278 in the Grand Lodge of England Rolls) have re- ceived an intimation through Colonel Bardett that the Baroness intends to add to her presentation of a magnificent Bible, which she gave to the lodge some time ago, a. set of the chairs of the order "-namely, for the master and wardens. The, brethren have thankfully accepted the offer, and the presentation will be made by the Baroness in person at a meeting of the lodge, the members, by the dispensation of his Royal Highness the Grand Master, being allowed on the occasion, to wear" clothing." The Baroness in her letters to the lodge having recognised the chari- table:disposition of the craft, has expressed her earnest desire to be a co-worker with freemasonry. The brethren of the lodge will entertain the Baroness at a repast, and this will be the first occasion in England in which a lady has been present when lodge furni- ture," as such, has been in the room. A WONDERFUL JAPANESE MARKSMAN. One of the principal attractions in the camp at Wim- bledon is Major Muretta, of the Japanese army, who has entered his name as a competitor. One or two anecdotes about this marksman may be selected from the vast number which* (says the Daily Telegraph) are going the rounds of the camp. These which fol- low are substantially true, which is not the case with most of the others. At Hythe, Major Muretta was pitted against one of the most celebrated musketry instructors in the camp, an officer who can, to use a familiar phrase, face the target," that is, can say where Ife is going to place his shots, and then do it. The Japanese major saw everything that the English lieutenant was able to perform, and immediately pro- ceeded to cut him out in a manner that amazed all Lfcnlders At Ash, near Aldershot, he was pur- posely misinformed as to the distance of a range, the number of yards as given him being 80-0, whereas in Si SbU be»» deceived i» the toe, h* reply was that he had not been deceiv that the major fires direct from the shoulder as he stands ereot. AN OMNIBUS DRIVEN BT A DEAD MAN.— An omnibus, from Montrougeto the Eastern Railway, passed up the Avenue d' Orleans, Paris, on Friday evening, without any passenger on the impeiiale. Some paspers-by noticed that the, driver was crouched down on his seat, and that his body swayed from side to side with the motion of the vehicle like an inert mass. They called, the attention of the police to the fact, and tha omnibus was stopped. The discovery was then made that the coachman, named Courtillot, bad ceased, to exist for some minutes he had been struck with apoplexy. The horses, accu,t,tomed to the journey, bad continued their course although they bad not felt under con- trol. The corpse was take-down,, and another driver placed on the box. SHOOTING A MANIAC AT THE MASTHEAD,— A private letter received in Sheffield, from one of the crew of the iron ship Glance, of London, which arrived in the Thames, from Adelaide, on Thursday, brings intelligence of a terrible event which occurred on the 27th ult. On that day. the Glance passed the Jessie Osborne, outward bound, and was hailed by the captain. He reported that one of his crew had gone mad for five days bad stationed himself aloft, and that nothing could induce him to return to deck. It was further stated that the man had -armed himself with a large chisel, with which i he: was cutting the ropes that the boat- swain had endeavoured to bring him down, hut that the maniac had thrown a block at him, which struck him on the head, and that he had fallep on the deck, breaking an arm and a leg. As a matter of safety- to his vessel and his crew, the captain considered it was necessary to shoot the man, and this, after some consultation, was decided upon. The crew and officers of the Glance were requested to be present as witnesses, and in their presence the unfortunate man was shot with a revolver. In consequence of the way in which he moved about the rigging, three shots had to be fired before he was fatally struck. He was then mortally wounded, and died soon after- wards. RUFFIANISM IN THE SALTMARKET OF GLASGOW.—A lodging-house keeper in the Salt- market, Glasgow, has been apprehended in connec- tion with a very serious case. On Saturday morning a man named Shovelin, who had been an inmate in the lodging-house, was found lying in the street in a semi-unconscious state. His skull was fractured, his left leg broken in two places, and his breast-bone broken. It is supposed he had been thrown over the window by the lodging house keeper, named Samuel Harrold, with whom it is known he had been quarrel- ling during the previous evening. Shovelin, who is still alive and is lying in the infirmary, refuses to state who it was that threw him over the window, and 15 or 16 persons of the lowest class of society who must have been in the lodging-house at the time of the occurrence deny all knowledge of it. ENGLISH AND ITALIAN FREEMASONS.— The announcement was made on Saturday, at the consecration of a new lodge, named after the Princess of Wales, at the Alexandra Palace, that his. Royal Highness the Grand Master of English Freemasons had given official recognition to the Grand Orient of Italy, and the announcement was received with warm applause by the large body of eminent Freemasons assembled on the occasion. The new Alexandra Lodge was consecrated and constituted, under the warrant of the Grand Master, by the Grand Secretary, Brother John Hervey, assisted by Brother the Rev. R. J. Simpson, P. Grand Chaplain, Brother Thomas Fenn, and Brother Wentworth Little. RAILWAY COLLISIONS.—A goods train from Leeds to Liverpool ran into some passenger carriages which were standing at Maghull Station shortly before five o'clock on Saturday morting. The carriages contained a number of people from the neighbourhood ot Ormskirk, who were going to this market with farm produce. There were about 30 passengers who received a severe shaking, contusions, and slight injuries. The most seriously hurt was the driver of the goods train, who sustained a severe scalp wound. It is a sirgular fact that exactly 12 months ago an accident happened to the Orms- kitk market train in nearly the same place. This is the third within a short time. A railway collision of a somewhat dangerous description occurred at the Mijl-street Station of the Monmouthshire Railway. A goods ran into a passenger train with considerable violence, the break-van falling into the canal, and the guard escaping through the water. No passen- gers were injured beyond a severe shaking and the fright. For a time the traffic was blocked. A MANIA FOR MISCHIEF.—At the Central Criminal Court, the other day, John Young, 30, an American, was indicted for doing wilful damage. On the 7th of October the prisoner engaged a bed at the Haverstock Hotel, Aldgate, and left the next morn- ing without paying his bill. After he was gone it was discovered that the sheets and blankets in his bedroom had been burnt in several places, the spring mattress had been cut, the handles of the drawers broken, and disgusting words had been written on the windows and looking-glass with a diamond, and besides these acts of mischief a quantity of soft soap bad been kneaded into the carpet. The prisoner went again to the hotel a few weeks afterwards, stop ped all night, decamped without paying his bill, and again committed some disgusting mischief. He had the audacity to go a third time, but on this occasion he was recognised by the chambermaid, who locked him in his room and gave information to the pro- prietor of the hotel, and the prisoner was handed over to a policeman. He gave no explanation for his conduct, but merely begged for mercy. The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to 12 months' hard labour. MURDER OF A MOTHER-IN-LAW. George Henry Goosey, bricklayer's labourer, was charged at the assizes at Chester with the murder of his mother in-law, an old woman 78 years of age. Evidence was given showing that it was a daily occurrence for the prisoner to curse the woman, and o rea en e life. On June 1, as she was rather deaf, she placed a pan rather heavily on the floor, when the prisoner, with a terrible en's., ca.sht <ip tbe pokerjmd fractured her skull with it. She died two hour. afterwards. Instead of expressing repentance for the savage deed, he coolly informed a lodger that it served the old right. She ought to have been served tne old ngn night, dead years ago he didn t care & > and he was hanged on the m0" • 1 A brought in a verdict of aggravated manslaughter. Lord Chief Justice Cockburn said the jury had taken a most merciful view of his case. During many years he had lived with his mother-in law, and, instead of protecting:oJ "nd bEr™. • v i j him to ft better tr&me ot punishment bl1^ brutality and violence mind, and c g pr6valent in that county. HTsrxcfhrjp.^—<» «»■ AN Albbkma*TUX2 TKOXJBLE -An aldermen in himgelf} ^owed his ^rilt'b^rhe had Bnpp,y the Corporation^ j £ ,»oo. they reared, went"Z •SSTtfZS* —1 eft Repeated but ineffectual warnings were given to him, and now one of the burgesses has exercised his power of suing him for penalties, which amount to no less than .£250. The case was argued at the Chester Assizes, when the defendant was ordered to pay to the plaintiff the amount claimed. Business at this rate will soon extinguish the light of the tallow chandler, unless he is more careful as to where he trades in future.