The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

EXTRACTS FROM MANHATTAN. Our friend "Manhattan" appears to have re- covered the effects of his fall, for we find our con- temporary again publishing his lengthy letters, which are written in the same rollicking style as formerly; and without pledging ourselves either for the accuracy of his statements, or to the opinions oxpressed in them, we take the following extracts from his last communication:- M'Clellan Saved from Ridicule. The ridiculous contribution of peanuts or cents to M'Clellan has been abandoned. It was bur- lesqued by proposals to get up subscriptions for Pope, Burnside, and fighting Joe Hooker. The Government forbade any such demonstrations, and all are given up. Thus has M'Clellan been saved from the most scorching ridicule. War Defences. Our merchants are very busy about the harbour defences. It is all stuff. It will amount to nothing. When we had a prospect of a war with England about the Trent matter sensible old Governor Morgan purchased a million dollars' worth of timber, had it made into immense rafts, and floated them into the vicinity. Had war broken out England would have found the lower bay filled up with timber, and utterly impossible to pass with iron-clads. That is what we have to do now. Axe our immense forests in this State, raft them to the Narrows, and then ask the French just to put their noses into this harbour. The Adamic Origin of the Negro, Mr. John Hogg, of Westminster College, Lon- don, has had great success in this city in delivering lectures upon the Adamic origin of the negro. He has crowded audiences, makes money at twenty-five cents a ticket, explodes all the old theories about white people, and proves conclu- sively that Adam was a well-built six foot buck neo-ro. He proves it by the climate in the latitude where Adam was born. He asserts boldly that Eve was a bright intelligent mulatto girl, and proves it by a lock of Eve's hair, which is very black and crispy. I presume he is English from the college name. He is a very learned man, and negro stock under his lectures will go up fifty per cent. By the way, none of the negro mur- derers during the riots have been tried yet. A Newspaper Correspondent Scared to Death. The other day every paper in New York city had a full editorial about a speech Frank Grund made in Philadelphia on Monday night. The telegraphic portion of each paper contained the news of his sudden death. He was M'Clellan- ised to death. Grund was one of our most noted newspaper correspondents or writers. He was a German by birth, but had been twenty-five years in America. He had received several appoint- ments from different administrations. He was consul at Antwerp in the time of President John Tyler. Presidents Buchanan or Pierce gave him the consulship at Havre. He was a Democrat, but recently turned Union man. His speech pitched into Mr. Lincoln on Monday night.. On Tuesday night a crowd passed his house on their way to serenade M'Clellan. They hissed Mr. Grund. He was scared, went out at a back door, and ran to the nearest police-station. He begged for a physician to bleed him. Ere he came poor Grund was dead. He was a great scamp, as many politicians are necessarily. Still he was clever. The Antwerpians did not like him much in 1844 and 1845. He could write a clever article, and could also make a good speech. Curious enough, I know the complexion of Grund'& mind so well that I can safely say he would really have enjoyed this notice. Lotteries and Gambling. A relation of Nicaragua Squires killed himself recently at his lottery office, No. 476, Broadway. He had four hundred dollars' worth of lottery tickets stolen from him a week ago. He could not make it good to the lottery manager, so he killed himself. He was an only son, and was engaged to be married to a lovely young girl in this city. His name was Francis L. Squire. He was twenty-six years old. That young man was honest, but ex- tremely verdant. His letter to his poor mother is a gem:- Wednesday, Sept, 30. My dear Mother,-Forgive your poor erring son; his last prayer is for your welfare. Although in life he did not think what he was doing, now he feels the bitter pang of remorse. Pray for him, that God may have mercy upon him. I have written to Jane (his sister) why I have committed the terrible deed. I know you will think of me kindly; but I cannot live and feel the way I do now. Sell the furniture, and put the money in the bank. God grant that we may meet hereafter. Oh! mother, once more I ask your forgive- ness and blessing!—From your affectionate son, FRANK." Don't worry, dear mother." Lotteries are forbidden in this city. It is a State Prison affair to sell tickets, and yet it is done openly at nearly 1,600 high and low Ex- change-offices." These lotteries are drawn every day in Kentucky or Missouri. The price of tickets is from four dollars to twenty dollars, and they are sold in shares down as low as an eighth. Thousands buy daily and get ruined; but this class of lottery dealers are not a circumstance to the tens of thou- sands that are spent daily in policies based upon these lottery drawings. The great backer is Ben Wood. Thousands are ruined by these policy shops. Negroes venture their three cents, and ladies of the highest respectability venture and lose hundreds of dollars. It is an evil of the greatest magnitude in this city, but there is pro- bably a mode of arresting it now. Tickets in the Royal Havannah lotteries are also sold openly in every part of the city. War News. It is quite silly to attempt to write about the war news. The telegraph lies in the most infamous manner. There is no relying upon it. It is whis- pered around that there is very bad news from Chattanooga, but then it is kept back. We know that Rosecrans is fortifying his position, and is using his best efforts to keep the connection open and not to be cut off from his supplies. Still there are doubts whether he will succeed. Troops are being sent to his relief from all quarters. Twenty- five thousand have gone from Meade's army. Recently three regiments started from Jersey city for his relief. One hundred thousand men, if obtained before the 15th of October, it is said will save Rosy from total destruction.. We may as well deal in stern facts as to try to humbug the world. Gold has gone up ten per cent. within a few days. The reason is that the old financiers are making their calculations upon the surrender of Rosecrans and his entire army, if his connection is cut. It will have a very bad effect upon the cause of the North. It will lose Tennessee from the Union, and restore it to the South, never to. be recovered by us again. Should Rosecrans, with the 100,000 additional troops that are now going forward to him, be able to hold his present position, advance upon the enemy, and defeat him, the rebel cause will be the sufferer, and it will shake the con- fidence of the Southern people in their cause. This is a see-saw sort of business, that has now lasted a long time. Now we go up, up, up; Now we go down, down, downey!. has been our fate for more than two years, or since the defeat at Bull Run. Missouri. Reports are in town that Missouri is nearly ready for a civil war between the two- Northern factions. President Lincoln has been appealed to, and a committee of eighty of the best men in Missouri have asked him to remove General Scholefield. He has refused. We may expect to see the flames burst out in this State. New Orleans. From General Banks, at New Orleans, bad news has come, and much more is expected. I shall not be surprised if news comes soon that Banks is entirely defeated, or that New Orleans is regained. I have said from the beginning that it was the height of madness to take a civilian like Banks, who never had all hour's military experience, make a major-general of him, and to place him in com- mand of 50,000 men. This Sabine Pass business has made. my words good. Before the Southern generals get down with Banks he will be the most disgraced general that the North has yet had. Charleston. At Charleston things look extremely dusty. Gilmore seems to have used up his tether, and it is not long enough to let him get into Meeting- street. The indications to my mind are (I judge from the troops being sent south from Richmond) that the rebels intend to attack Gilmore, and if they do he will have about as much as he can at- tend to without throwing any more Greek fire into Charleston. It does not have the appearance as though this gallant city would be captured just now. There is very little hope expressed in the streets of New York just at present, consequently if it is taken it will be a pleasant surprise North. Virginia. From the grand army of General Meade in Vir- ginia there is the usual news. There stands the rebel army within a few hours' march of Wash- ington city, as it has stood, to the disgrace of this Government, for over two years. There is the back-bone to be crushed or hit, and yet the back- bone never was so strong as now. We have no general that dares attack Lee, who will eventually capture Washington city. Perseverance will ac- complish everything. At present General Meade is waiting patiently for the time to come when Virginia mud will be six feet deep, and when no wagon can be dragged a rod, and then he will make a great tune about attacking the rebels. Thus the winter will be spent, unless the rebels should attack us. People begin to despair of any practical result. It certainly cannot be reached as we are going on now. The civil war is only killing off, on an average, 50,000 men. A foreign war is our only salvation now. If the President is wise he will plunge us into it as speedily as possi- ble. It cannot harm, and it may save us. These are the down, down days." How long they will last is quite uncertain. It may be that there will be an up, up before long. The Nine Days' Wonders in New York. The commercial city of New York, one would think, ought to be solid and dignified in the most continuous manner, and not kick up its mercantile heels on any other occasion than the 4th of July, when we issued our great charter of liberty and independence from Great Britain, although it is getting extremely doubtful whether in the long run we shall find that we made much by the sepa- ration in 1776, and I am of opinion that before the one hundred years are up we shall have a domestic Sovereign. We do not adhere to our great and lawful holiday: we get crazy and go wild every now and then, and act more like lunys than sane people. Some new dodge is started, and we all turn out to see the show, and get as crazy as bed bugs about it. In my time I have seen some such outbreaks and mad fits on the part of this great city. They come on suddenly and unaccountably. When Kossuth, the Hungarian, and his tail came here in 1853, we all went mad about him, though nine in ten could not have told in what part of the world Hungary was located. He was received like a god, or Gen. Jackson. The city was stark, raving mad. Arches were erected. Then again we had the fever about Jenny Lind. She was clever, and it was not so bad. Then the city went mad again at Bill Poole's funeral. Bill was a leading Know-Nothing, a gambler, a prizefighter, and had his followers. His funeral was grand, almost equal to the Kossuth reception. Bill Poole, though dead, kept the city alive for three days. Then we had another idol, who had a reception equally grand. I allude to the Cyrus W. Field Atlantic cable celebration. The city went mad for a week. Cyrus, as he rode up Broadway, was gazed upon with wonder. Our people would have gone out into the street and lay prostrate at the feet of him and his gorgeously caparisoned horse, but the police would not allow it. Then the closing scene was the burning of the upper part of the City-hall, and then our city madness ended. There was but one sentence in the mouths of angels who looked down upon the scene-" What infernal fools those people are." Again the city broke out about the Japanese we were all stark, staring mad; we fairly wor- shipped those ugly devils, including two or three No Kamis, and Japan "Tommy." There is no pen capable of describing the mad and disgraceful scenes connected with the reception of those Japanese; ladies of the highest respectability went crazy to get a kiss from dirty Tommy. He received as presents portraits set in diamonds of hundreds of our best females, and a thousand ordinary photographs. He sold them at good prices, and a person who has recently returned from Japan told me that these likenesses were on exhibition in some of the worst dens. Co-operation with Russia. I will not place in the same catalogue the recep- tion of the English Prince of Wales; that was an event sanctioned by the best of our citizens and approved by all. Still, it brought out the crazy elements that would make an equally strong de- monstration to receive a white elephant from Siam, if Barnum should import one. The reception of the Prince was well calculated to redeem the city from the disgrace of Japan and kindred receptions. I skip them all to come to the last and most curious of all receptions-that of the Russians the other day. It was abrupt, unexpected, and yet it was very effective. We are all Russians, and shall be for a month. The Russian vessels of war, numbering eight, were undreamed of a month ago. It is possible that the Government at Washington had information that Russia wouldsendallhervessels of war to our ports, previous to the breaking out of war between Russia and France and England, which was evidently expected when the orders were given. But with this reception Government has had nothing to do. It was spontaneous. It was owing to the general belief that the Russians are to be our allies in the coming foreign war. In the late war between France and England on one side, and Russia on the other, the sympathies of the American people were clearly with Russia. I need only refer to the excitement occasioned by the enlistments on the part of the English minis- ter and Consul Barclay to prave what I write. This friendly feeling is now revived more power- fully than ever, ami the last seeeptioa proved our [ madness and c-rferavagajiee- without a cause. I will not attempt to give you any idea of the excited crowds following every squad of the most common Russian sailors. They are cheered in the streets by spontaneous crowds, as though they had just descended from the sky. I heard the shouts all night. Contrast Between the Reception given to the English and Russian. Authorities. The reception and enthusiasm of the city autho- rities of the, Russians is in striking contrast to the conduct of the mayor towards the English Ad- miral Milne, who also reached here last Wednes- day, and called upon the mayor at midday. He was accompanied by the British consul, Mr. Archi- bald. The mayor would not see them. It was reported that he was not in, but he was not out of the City-hall; it was done for political effect. Nor were the English officers now in this port invited to take any part in the great reception of Russians the other day. The feeling of the city is likely to be changed towards these Russians, should it leak out that their appearance here is accidental, or merely for their own convenience, and not, as is generally supposed, to protect this harbour against English or French vessels of war, or to engage in alliance with us in a war against those powerful nations.

EXTRACTS PBOH PUNCH &: FUN." The Sluggard. 'Tis the voice of the sluggard; I hear him complain, Because I've aroused him, in language profane. Let us see if we can't get him out of his bed, For shaking won't waken his stupid old head. And first with cold pig w £ ll commence the attack ("Cold p->" is wet towel stuffed down his poor back;, If you've delicate nerves, for retreating prepare, For I think it is likely the patient may swear. If after cold pig he is slumbering still, Wky skilfully tickle his ears with a quill; If that don't succeed in destroying his doze, Blow strongest rapee, through a tube, up his nose. If the methods with which I've proposed you should treat him .»i- Still fail to awaken the brute, bottom-sheet him; And if after that he still sticks to his bed, Shy several boot-jacks at his heavy head. Pile the furniture up on the quilt of his couch, Chairs, tables, drawers, mirrors, and jugs, then I'll vouch, If instead of up-getting, the slumberer snores, 'Twill be pleasant to feel that the fault isn t yours. THE SIMPLICITY OF A WAR CHRISTIAN.—The Rev. H W. Beecher so worships the Union that he is ready to sacrifice his son to it "faster than Abraham was going to offer up Isaac." This looks like pretty con- siderable idolatry. One would think that Mr. Beecher must be a queer sort of a Christian. So he is. Mr. Beecher is a War Christian. The less he_ says about Abraham the better. His only Abraham is Abraham Lincoln. From Mr. Beecher's speech at Glasgow we are surprised to learn that the deadly offence which we have given the Yankees, and for which they rail against us with such rabid malice, and vow robbery and murder against us with such venomous hate, is want of sympathy. What! Want of sympathy with a people who are struggling to prevent the disruption of their Empire? How can we, whose forefathers ex- perience the calamity of revolted colonies, fail to sympathise with the loyalty of the descendants of their revolted colonists? 7 A HUSBAND ON TIPS.—My dear Mr. Punch, What nonsense they write about not giving fees to railway porters. Let me ask you a few questions. Never mind about answering them. Are you a married man ? Do you ever take your wife on railway journeys ? Has she much luggage ? Do you tip the porters? Do you know how much more quickly the tipper is sent off with all his boxes, than a non-tipper ? Do you like a woman to be pleased, or do you prefer her sulky ? I am not going to make any deductions, but if you are able to put this and that together, you will easily see what I mean, and will never lend your- self to the nonsense of urging a man—that is, a husband-to save a shilling at the expense of a scolding for having been half-an-hour collecting two or three (eleven) boxes. Bachelors may be virtuous, if they like. I seldom find that they do like.—Yours truly, BENEDICT WISEMAN. HORRIBLE OUTRAGE.-On Monday last, a gentle- man, who was sitting on one of the benches in St. James's-park smoking a cigar, was suddenly struck by an idea. The police, of course, were not within call, and the unhappy victim was left prostrated for the space of nearly an hour. At the expiration of that period, the subject of this unwarrantable assault-for he deposes on oath that he was thinking of nothing of the sort-was conveyed to the hospital. The inju- ries were chiefly confined to his head, which has since been removed by an eminent surgeon, and the sufferer is progressing favourably. AN OBSERVATION BY A CONSTANT MAKER OF THEM.—The more ill-tempered is a man, the more ready is he'to nurse—his baby ? No. Anybody else's ? Certainly not. What then ? A grievance. THE best place for starving emigrants is Mexico, where, as the French have established a provisional government, victuals would, of course, be easily ob- tainable. T BLACK AND WHITE.—The king of Dahomey is expected at St. Petersburg on a visit to the Emperor of Russia. After a short sojourn with Alexander the Second, his sable Majesty will proceed to Wilna, and stay some time with General Mouravieff in order to witness the butcheries which are going on in Poland. OBADIAH ON THE EARTHQUAKE.—Among the nu- merous correspondents of the Times on the subject of the earthquake, there was one gentleman who began his letter with Respected Friend," and signed it with Thine instead of Yours. A particular account of the earthquake was to be expected from a Quaker. 'The Friends dislike titles of honour, but Mr. Ptmch "hopes that this gentleman will permit himself to be -called in future an Eartliquaker. THE LATEST AUDACITY.—Whymust flogging school- masters be always detested ?—Because nature abhors a whack-you-'em. THE BEST FISHING TACKLE FOR CATCHING SOLES AND (H) EELS.—A bootjack. A COLUMN FOR THE CURIOus.-The Nelson monu- ment.

THE PRINCE CONSORT MEMORIAL AT ABERDEEN. The ceremony of inaugurating the memorial statue of his Royal Highness the late Prince Consort took place at Aberdeen on Tuesday, in presence of her Majesty and various other mem- bers of the Royal family. The occasion excited great interest, as being the first on which her Majesty has appeared in public since her widow- hood. The statue, which was subscribed for by the city and county of Aberdeen, is of bronze, by Maro- chetti. It is placed upon a polished granite pedestal, and represents the Prince seated and wearing a field-marshal's uniform, with the robe of the thistle over it; in one hand he holds a roll, and in the other the field-marshars hat. .Her Majesty arrived by special train from Bal- moral at 1.30 p.m., and was received by the Duke of Richmond, the Lord Provost, and the city and university officials. Prince Alfred arrived from Edinburgh by a previous train. Accompaning her Majesty were the Princes Arthur and Leopold, the Princesses Helena and Louisa, the Prince and Princess of Prussia, and the Prince and Princess of Hesse. Sir G. Grey was the Minister of State in attendance. A procession of carriages was formed to the centre of the city, where the statue stands. Previous to the uncovering of the statue, Mr. Anderson, Provost of the city, presented an address to her Majesty from the committee of subscribers to the statue, in which they referred to the honour conferred on this part of the king- dom by the annual presence of the illustrious Prince in the county, and to the fact that the city a few years ago (1859) was signally favoured by the exertion of his great talents as president of the British Association, at its meeting there. The Queen, through Sir George Grey, returned a reply to the address as follows:— Your loyal and affectionate address has deeply touched me, and I thank you for it from my heart. It is with feelings I should vainly seek for words to ex- press that I determined to attend here to-day to wit- ness the uncovering of the statue which will record to future times the love and respect of the people in this county and city for my great and beloved husband, but I could not reconcile it to myself to remain at Balmoral while such a tribute was being paid to his memory, without making an exertion to assure you personally of the deep and heartfelt sense I entertain of your kindness and affection, and at the same time to proclaim in public the unbounded reverence and admiration and the devoted love that fills my heart for him whose loss must throw a lasting gloom over all my future life. Never can I forget the circumstances to which you so feelingly allude, that it was in this city he delivered his remarkable address to the British Association only four years ago, and that in this county we had for so many years been in the habit of spending some of the happiest days of our lives. After the address and reply the Queen was pleased to confer the honour of knighthood upon the Lord Provost, thenceforth Sir Alexander Anderson. Prayer was then offered up by the Principal of the Aberdeen University, and the statue was un- covered in full view of her Majesty, who, along with the members of the Royal family, stood on a bal- cony opposite. She gazed for a moment with earliest"emotion on the striking likeness of the de- ceased Prince, and then retired. Her Majesty left for Balmoral soon after three. Unfortunately it rained heavily during the whole da,y. There was no cheering and no display of flags except on the shipping; but dense crowds thronged the streets throughout the day.

THE CRURCH CONGRESS. The Church Congress at Manchester commenced on Tuesday. This congress is being held in accordance with a resolution passed at the close of the congress at Oxford in 1862. It was then determined to organise the present meeting of churchmen and laymen, to be held at Manchester, under the presidency of the bishop of the diocese, with a view to consultation as to the best means of promoting the practical efficiency of the United Church of England and Ireland. It was the desire of the committee that the congress should in- clude churchmen of every shade of opinion; free dis- cussion to be invited, but no vote taken, nor any formal decision recorded. The meetings are open to the public on payment of subscriptions, and on Tuesday the attendance was very large, considering the un- favourable weather. Opening Service. The ordinary morning service at the cathedral was very much crowded to hear the Very Rev. the Dean of Chichester preach before the Members' Congress. After the usual order of service the Very Rev. the Dean ascended the pulpit, and took his text from Ephesians iv., and the 15th verse, Speaking the truth in love." Truth; love. Teaching the truth from the motives of love to God and love to man. This formed the two parts of the great Christian duty which devolved upon the Church collectively, and on its individual members as far as in them lay. Not the one without the other, but the two in combination. So prone was human nature to wander from the one extreme to the other, that from the earliest period of Christianity they found the grand duty constantly evaded by well meaning men, to the damage of their own souls, and to the serious injury of their cause. It was not so with the apostles. Their im- mediate successors, appealing to their blood-sealed testimony, preached the gospel, and proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation; and the manner in which they fulfilled their work was evidenced by the common saying amongst the heathen, "See how these Chris- tians live." From this he endeavoured to draw a comparison between Christians of the present day. The British empire, he contended, was no longer a Christian em- pire. Some doubts might have been entertained until recently, but there could be no doubt upon the matter now. The Queen now reigned as Empress of India over millions of Mahometans and Hindoos and the Government has shown itself more concerned to afford protection to Mahometanism than to the interests of the church. The material that a parliament of such an empire would be admitted to consist of—though their Parliament, to a certain extent, did represent the Church of England, and other Protestant bodies-a mixture of Jews, Turks, Christians, and infidels, were not the men to control the church. Yet they had to decide what should, or should not be, the articles of a community of Christians; and the absurdity must force itself upon the minds of all honest men. After referring to the composition of Convocation; the partial manner in which the church was represented there; the differences between the bishops and the clergy, which led to the close of Con- vocation for several years; he said bishops had been chosen to their office, from time to time, through political intrigue, and with a view of strengthening one political party or another but by the over-ruling providence of a good God there had always been bishops who had acted conscientiously and well. He contended that permission should be given to Convo- cation to reject an obnoxious candidate for the episco- pal office, and then the advisers of the crown would be careiul not to select the wrong man. The President's Address. A very large meeting of the clergy of all denomi- nations was held in the Free Trade-hall in the evening. The Bishop of Manchester presided. The Right Rev. President was much applauded on rising. He said My right rev. and very rev. brethren, my rev. brethren, and brethren of the laity,-It would be impertinent in me to detain this meeting long with introductory observations. You will have subjects of discussion submitted to your attention of the utmost importance, and which will require your serious, prayerful, and dispassionate attention. But there are one or two points connected with this meeting which I consider to be so peculiarly affecting the interests of the large and important diocese in which we are assembled, that I may be allowed for a few minutes to trespass on your time (applause). We are here met under peculiar circumstances. When I was invited first to preside over this assembly, I at once accepted with thankfulness and alacrity the proposition, for I felt that a great desideratum was now in a fair way of being attained; and that it was not merely in assem- blies of the legislature, or in assemblies of the anti- quated representative bodies of the clergy, but that it was in an assembly in which the laity should take a prominent part (applause), that the welfare of the church was to be considered; and I feel that more especially because it is no less a duty than a pleasure on this occasion to bear my humble testimony in this diocese to the support-the more than support—the generous assistance which the cause of the church has received from the laity of the diocese of Manchester (applause). It has been by their liberality we have been enabled, during the time I have been here, to consecrate ninety new churches (cheers). It has been by their liberality we have added to the number and accommodation of our schools and the comfort -for our clergy — of our parsonages. It has been by their wise and judicious, and self-denying moderation, in attending to the consideration of all questions affecting the welfare especially of the poorest classes that we have been enabled to attain, under Almighty God, that hold on the feel- ings of the majority of the people which, I trust, the church of which we are members will ever retain (ap- plause). You will have brought before you questions connected with church extension, and I will not at this moment touch that subject further than rendering my grateful acknowledgments to those who have contri- buted to it. But you will have another question-the providing and training a class of ministers for the ser- vices of the church. I think that here in some respects a great misapprehension has gone abroad. I have compared the results of the examination for deacons in this diocese during the last sixteen years, and I must confess that the result has as much gratified as it has surprised me (applause). So far from the number of regular and qualified students being on the decrease, I have found that, out of 396 persons whom I have been permitted to admit into the diaconate, 245 were graduates of Oxford or Cambridge, 70 were per- sons who had received a regular course of theological 10 instruction in the universities of Dublin or of Durham; and when you come to subtract these large numbers from the whole, you will find that this leaves but a comparatively small number of those of whose services we are glad to avail ourselves, whose merit and use- fulness we most thankfully, in many instances grate- fully, acknowledge, but to whose services we would prefer, in most eases where we can obtain it, the ad- 1 vantage of a regularly and fully educated ministry. (But again, even here, I can point out an extraordinary | alteration. The proportion which has existed between the members of the universities of England and the two other bodies I have spoken of, so far from decreasing in five years, in any period of the three into which I have divided the time I refer to, has been rapidly and steadily increasing. And if there has been a diminution comparatively in the number of those who have presented themselves for ordination in the first five years of this time, it has been due mainly to the establishment at that time in large num- bers of the Peelite districts, and the necessity con- sequently for an extraordinary supply of ministers. I will not, however, indulge further in remarks on the specialities of the diocese, though I think, perhaps, were each of us to contribute the results of his own experience, mutual advantage might be gained. We are met here for the best of purposes, to compare in a Christian and moderate spirit different views of things, and different shades of opinion—to become personally charitable, to become under Pro- vidence liberal, yet at the same time not in any way sacrificing—no, not in one iota-the great and glorious principles on which the church of which we are members should depend (cheers). And though this assembly discusses questions of this high moment, yet let me remind you it comes to no au- thoritative decision (hear). It attempts to bind no one, each will propound his own individual opinions—each will, I trust, hear them discussed in a spirit of charity and candour, in the hope that what we give and what we receive may rub down differences and angularities, and promote, under God's blessing, unity and concord (applause). Supply and Training of Ministers." When the Congress re-assembled on Wednesday morning, the Rev. Canon Stowell read the first paper, in which he said the impression was not unfounded that the candidates for holy orders are inadequate to the wants of the Church. Among the causes of the defalcation were the expense and difficulty of an Uni- versity course the alienation of so many fellowships both in Oxford and Cambridge from their original purpose of serving as cradles to the ministry of the Church the inviting doors opened to young men by competitive examinations; the scantiness of the sup- port, aggravated by the more costly scale of modern social life; the unhappy divisions which more than ever disquiet and distract the Church; the unsettle- ment of opinion even upon the most vital theological points, and other influences, which hindered many from seeking to serve in our national sanctuaries. Referring to the scruples respecting parts of the Book of Common Prayer, the rev. canon suggested that those scruples might be met by a very slight alteration in the discipline of the Church—not by the introduction of any new declaration, but simply by not requiring any other declaration to be made by the clergy than that pre- scribed by the 36th Canon, that demanded by the Act of Uniformity being set aside, which, be it remembered, was avowedly in some degree a retaliative measure, in- tended to force out the Puritans from our pale (cries of "No!" and great uproar; the Venerable Arch- deacon Denison rising to order on the ground that Canon Stowell had exceeded the time allotted for read- ing his paper). The paper proceeded to object to any substantive alteration in the Prayer-Book, lest they should open the floodgates to change, and not be a,ble to close them again. A good deal of feeling was again called forth by the opinions expressed in this paper, and Time" being called the President decided that the feeling of the meeting was against any further extension of time. A second paper on the same subject was read by the Rev. T. E. Espin. The Bishop of Melbourne said the exertions which the Church was making to multiply small parishes with endowments of J-;100, JjlSO, and £ 200 would only decrease the existing deficiency of well qualified ministers the efforts it was making and the augmen- tation of small benefices would do little to diminish this deficiency..8300 a year was what the Church of England held up as the proper remuneration of a man qualified to undertake the cure of 10,000 souls. What remedy was there for this P The object of the Church of England ought to be gradually but largely to in- crease the number of its bishops (hear, hear). The object of the Church ought not to be to provide a bare subsistence for the clergy, but to provide an income suited to the positions they occupied; and he believed that object might yet be obtained, not by the reduction of the incomes of the richer clergy, not by the re-distribution of cathedral and other endow- ments, but by a plain, straightforward, and earnest appeal to the laity. This duty had never yet been plainly laid before the laity. After remarks from the Rev. Mr. D'Orsay and the Rev. W. Pollock, The Rev. Archdeacon Denison thought it was idle to talk of church extension and more ministers until they had at least about fifty more suffragan bishops. Without the latter the former would be giving branches only to a sapless tree. He explained that his interruption of Canon Stowell was on the ground of time; but he did not like to hear the Prayer Book abused (cheers, and great uproar, amid which the Rev. Canon Stowell rose, but in vain attempted to gain a. hearing). The Rev. Canon M'Neil protested against such a misrepresentation. The Bishop said much time was lost by such inter- ruptions, and he would now close the discussion. Various papers were then read on the subject of lay co-operation. On Thursday morning there was again a large atten- dance. A paper was read by the Rev. Mr. Cadman on the management of large parishes, which caused some dis. cussion. Vice-Chancellor Sir W. Page Wood read a paper on Parochial Mission Women, which did not provoke controversy, though the meeting was addressed on the subject by the Rev. Pelham Dale and the Rev. Canon Brook. Two papers were read on the "Growth of the Church in Lancashire," by the Rev. James Bardsley and the Rev. Dr. Hume. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Earl of Harrowby said he came forward at this moment as the advocate of an unpopular cause, to say a word on behalf of the much-execrated Ecclesiastical Commissioners (applause and laughter). There seemed to be great forgetfulness of what they had really done. When they were originally constituted it was supposed they might, after a long lapse of time, have appro- priated about £137,000 a year to small livings. They had already appropriated .£160,000 a year (applause) with the prospect of continual pro- gress. Had they done no good in their genera- tion (applause) ? How many of the Peel churches in Lancashire would have wanted endowments had not the Ecclesiastical Commissioners' funds been furnished ? It had been charged upon them that they had been bad stewards of the funds-expensive in their administration (loud applause, in which Archdeacon Denison energetically joined). All he could say was, that the matter had been simply and solely in the charge of men who stood higher in England as men of honour and of business than any other men that could be named. Who had these men been? Sir James Graham, Lord Eversley (Mr. Shaw Lefevre), Mr. Deedes, and Mr. Walpole. The charge was totally inaccurate. What had been the cost of this manage- ment ? Of the ten millions in estates to be adminis- tered, seven and a half millions had been administered so far at a cost of one and a half per cent. He defied any man engaged in transactions of that nature to do the work at a smaller cost, including stamps and other expenses; and he thought he could appeal to the names he had mentioned as some assurance to those who could not go into the details of the calculations (applause). After a few words from the Rev. Canon Durnford the discussion closed. In the afternoon papers were read (followed by dis- cussions) on The Law of the Colonial Church," by Dr. A. F. Hayford; the "Sllnplvof Native Ministers," by Dr. Hessy; and The Organisation of Ruri. Decana Meetings, Diocesan Synods, and Convoca- tion," by Eev. W. Emery, The reading of papers and discussions having termi- nated, The Bishop of Oxford moved that the next meeting should take place at Bristol, which was seconded by Mr. R. Sowler, Q.C., and unanimously agreed to. Mr. Hoare, seconded by Mr. Beresford Hope, moved the appointment of a central committee, which was also agreed to. A vote of thanks having, era the motion of the Earl of Harrowby, been given to the Bishop of Manchester for his conduct in the chair, the benediction was pronounced, and the proceedings of the Congress ter- minated.