The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

3\bnut ft* ttorhl We are almost tired of exposing the •- slanders of the i.Staii Iai-t,71 and-showing our conservative readers what a 1) ecious deposit ci truth and fairness their, organ is let us be thankfal-that-se many of them are better than their •representative. Here is another of the Standard's false accusatiors. :T.-na most tngmcious article referring to the Tetirement of Mr Bright, -v.ur contemp«?ary pointedly -called attention-to.she fact that the right hon. gentleman lad waited to complete the .t".o years' term which entitled lrim to a pension before he resigned. What are the facts? That Mr Bright.is jiot entitled to a pensiac;! The Daily ew8 says— It has been asvtieiii in some quarters that the President of the Board of T radeo-osvgned office after having completed the -two years of service jieoessary to entitle him to a^-nsion. It is Tfrue that by -thc Act of 1834, under which Mr Disraeli, Mr '"Walpole, Sir Geoige Ciray, and Jfe Milner Gibson, each receives £ 2,000 a year, Mr Bright could hr-ve claimed a pension to that .amount, when-either Q: the four b*.?ame vacant. But that Act -was repealed by-the Civil OtRcerS"sPensions Act of 1869, which -provided three .classes Qf retiring allowances. The first applied v -to all Cabinet Ministers; .each of Pilose salaries amounted to £ 5,000 a year, as weil4>s She First:Lord of the Admiralty, and these were entitied>to a.f»ension of &000 afterfour years of ser- -ice. The second elass.coK'.prised the Departments off, he Board -of Trade, Poor law Board,'Chancellorship of the Duety of Lan- master, Lord Privy Seal, the Post-office, and others, tbf: holders -of which would ne. L-e entifiied to a petsion of after six years of service. There■■•vas a thitl class of Ministers who were not to claim a>retr»iiy; allowance ,t:ntil they had b3en ten years in office. -The two years' term --io longer exist?,.sonse- -quently 3fr Bright's period, o* .service at .the Board of Traile can lave no reference wji&tever tea pension. A merasrial from Trinity College, Dublin, asking the ,tfamoti-, Usiversity of Göttien to unite in an effoet to save Paris, ha3 drawn forth a remarkable reply from Hie Xxerman pro ft -^ors. Tke Daily Neios says The Professors of Germany are tow the most warlike of men. .Bismarck and Moltke, Falkenstein and Manteuffel are do (Compared to t¡'C\ The victories <-t which hey hear in their cafe seclusion have roused toom -tc, .& frenzy of patriotic exalto- .tion which passes almost the iiouwls of sobtr reason. \Vh:»^ -imuch letrnin in £ G*.ie cases did amofc quite suweed in accomp- r lishing, has been achieved by the victories of -Fritz and the Red yrince. The heads of these poor Professors have been turned, -he German petipie/'they say, "'in their intellectual aspira- j ;1tions art) even sEekill to realize Paracelsus's proud remark, ■?/ English, French itatiaas, follow me, not I yoti." They may And a better model than the crazy rnraic, half-cliarlatanj half- J Ifanatic, whose ridiculous self-conceit and egotism they imitate. That the world;" they go on to say, retains its belief in jus- tice it owesv under God's grace, to the German people." -C,Plenclikl German people 1 modest Professors. Since Martin Chuzzlewit's American experiences, no language like this "has been uttered, We are the intellect and virtue of the airth, 1ihe cream Of hms-an natur'. and the flower Of moral force. Our backs is easy ris'. We must be cracked up, or they rises and we juiarls. We shows our teeth, I tell you, fierce. You'd better .crack us up, you had." Mr Hannibal Chollop was not more ."boastful than the German Professors of Gottingen, nor more aridiculous. The Professors wind up by denouncing the trade in arras in which some English merchants have engaged as a viola- ion of neutrality. In the mouths of German sub-officers and privates this accusation is a display of ignorance. In the mouths of German diplomatists it is a bit of professional special •pleading, uttered by direction, and according to an accepted, if aot questionable, casuistry, no further involving the personal character of th >se who make it than the falsities which barris- ters put f,"rtli muler instruction, and speaking from their briefs. The German Professors cannot plead the second excuse; those of the law faculty, at any rate, ought not to plead the first. The "best apol'>cry for them is that for the moment they have lost their head i. and with their heads the learning shut up there. Ju the mealtime, at a moment like the present, the spectacle of these grave Id learned men tumbling for the two hemispheres agreeable relieves the else painful tension of []i..«sTil <I;HI feeling, j The Da '7 > News savs there is some danger of forgetting "vfc r' ];.rÅ> IUIIT Bismarck for suspecting j %i.! of a rojeet which his now published manifesto does not menti -ir. tL" i.ewf first arrived in England of Count Biimarek Slaving sent a complaint to the Luxemburg Government about «e*taiu alleged breaches of neutrality, the general voice im- mediately charged him with the repudiation of the 18G7 Treaty, and With a design of annexing Luxemburg. In the note which iio th^n addressed to the Luxemburg Government—and which lias now been pub Uhed in full-there is no mention whatever of either project. He opens this document by calling the declara- tions made at the outbreak of the war by France and Germany, that they would equally respect the neutrality of Luxemburg in the conduct of the campaign. Even when it became merely a question whether Prussia might send her wounded soldiers through Luxemburg, she asked permission of France and, that being denied, she scrupulously avoided using Luxemburg terri- tory for any purpose. Count Bismarck now proceeds to detail minutely charges against the Luxemburg Government of violating that neutrality which was her safeguard. And the threat with which he winds up the document is that, besides reserving the right of prosecuting claims against the Govern- ment for damages, the Prussian Government no longer con- siders itself bound by any considerations connected with the neutrality of the Grand Duchy in the conduct of the military operations of the German army." The question, in the mean- time, is a purely military one. The London correspondent of the Leeds Mercury writes:- The accounts published respecting the health of Sir Roderick Murchison are, I fear, too favourable. He is out of immediate danger, but there is no hope of a complete recovery. His illness has led to a very interesting and satisfactory incident. For about fifteen years there has been a feud between him and Mr Sedgwick. The latter made a vehement onslaught on the now Invalided geologist at a meeting of the British Association, and the fierceness of the attack was scarcely mitigated by the phrase ''my learned friend," which Mr Sedgwick used through- out. A lady friend, whom Sir Roderick took down to dinner, iiked *'Kli him on the castigation he had received, and which e bad tome with g-eat good humour, He replied to his com- parSon, "Yes, Sedgwick Ueatd gue, I suppose, on the princi- ple of A woman, a spaniel, and a walnut tree, The more you beat them, the better they be. The fend continued until the last three or four weeks when Mr Sedgwick, hearing of the illness of his "learned friend U and foe, asked SIr Charles Lyell to convey to Sir Roderick a kind message which should heal mutual grievances that had been as deep as the "Silnrian" system. Sir Roderick responded in the same spirit of reconciliation. He dictated a letter to Mr Sedg- wick which he signed with his own hand, and once more the two v Id friends and rival geologists are in harmony. s go A greater than Leotard, Blondin, Olmar, or even the TTanlon Brothers, has appeared, and is creating a sensa- tion in the gymnastic "world." He or rather it-is a monkey, gifted with wonderful powers, gymnastic and re- fleciive, for a monkey. It is performing just now in Lou- don, to delighted audiences, at a well-known music hall. According to a contemporary, he ascends a pole, takes the seat prepared for him, assumes the balancing-rod in his forelegs, or bands, and executes several dances on his hind ones, with a dexterity and confidence and a sense of tune which are truly surprising. One of the most wonderful performances of "Hassan" is his jumping on a single pole through several hoops, and coming all right" in the "nil. A newspaper correspondent who was favoured by a private interview "Ith this extraordinary creature, savs that when he entered monkey's apartments it shook hands with his master, and kissed," after which it indulged in eggs and port wine. It seated itself in its chair before the fire, rested its head 0. ;s back, as would any middle-aged gentleman W- ¡'mged for a little repose, and finally went to bed at the request of its master. Mr Tomline, it seems, is not daunted by Mr Lowe's facetious reply to his working men. The hon. gentleman has written again to the Chancellor, through his 196 working men, near Ipswich," and here is what he says— c,. „ Walton, near Ipswich, Dec. 9, 1870. Sir,—We respectfully acknowledge your reply to our memo- rial, but it is no answer. You do not clearly refuse to coin 2,000 shillings, nor do you state plainly the reason why you avoid doing so. We do not expect you to write to us with dignity or gene- rosity, but we ask for perspicuity, and repeat our request. Winter's frost and snow make our position daily more hard, and not only 196 poor men, but practically all labourers, are in- terested in our application, for the same secret power which you claim to withhold from us 15s. a week enables you to reduce all prices, and all wages, even to those fortunate men whom you do not forbid to cash them. The ministers of Richard II. took from the people in taxes all the coin in the realm. Cardinal Wolsey tried, but the servile parliament of Henry VIII. was too independent to Submit. Neither the lawyers of Richard nor the ecclesiastics of Henry limited the coins in which taxes must be paid. You, the great taxgatherer, take all the coins which are permitted to circulate, and, alone in English history, have used the name of your Queen to limit their number. Many kings have debased the coinage. The effect then was to multiply the coins. You, too, have debased the silver coin- age, yet you limit the number of shillings. Ii* M63, 6,441,322 sovereigns were coined and 736,500 shillings; this contrast you call equality, and ridicule the pauperism which you cause. We know that we are helpless. We have no party, no newspaper, no friends. We have appealed to Mr Gladstone, who courteously declined to help us. We have written to the official guardian of paupers. Mr Goschen; he has not noticed our application. We cau but repeat our request that you will coin 2,000 shillings, pive work to an idle mint, and relieve us irom pauperism, or tell us plainly why you refuse. (Signed), H. DCRRANT, On behalf of 19u working men, near Ipswich. The Right Hon. R. Lowe, M.P., Master of the Mint."

Dr Moberley, the Bishop of Salisbury, has held a special con- firmation service in the larjrC chapel of Portland prison, and confirmed fifty-three of the convicts. DUNVILLE & Co., Belfast, are the largest holders of whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky is recom- mended hy the medical profession in preference to the French brandy. Supplied in casks and cases for home use or exportation. Quotations on application to MESSRS DUNVILLE AND CO., ROYAL IRISH DISTILLERIES, BELFAST. HOLLOWAT'S OINTMENT AND PII.L!4.-Chest and Stomach Complaints -The source and centre of almost every ail- mentis impurity of the blood; dislodge this poison, and dis- easedeparts. If olloway's Pills exercise the inestimahle power of thoroughly cleansing each component of the blood, and rendering that fluid fit to perform its important functions. They cope most successfully with chest diseases, stomach complaints, liver disorders, and many other maladies, which are at certain seasons the besetting dangers of man- kind in town and country. The directions for use enable Aevery one to regulate the operation of these Pills with the greatest n'cety. Chronic invalids, nervous sufferers, and all v 1 cm o'her treatment has failed to relieve, are re- spe; tfu'; inv ied to try Holloway's celebrated meiicine, Klich Vlll str ngthen and cure them.

t1 and tanrito. MOTTO FOE RABBIT POACHERS. Not particular to a hare." -Punch. A certain minister was not over fastidious about his wardrobe. One day, meeting his brother, who was also a divine, he was censured by him for being so careless about- his dress, and especially reprimanded for wearing striped -pants, it being alto- ether unclerical. Whereupon the humorous preacher retorted by saying, "Brsther 0., my religion does not lie in my breechesl" A London tradesman writes—I received a telegram from I>ublin this eek worded as follows ;—"Please send patterns for our cow." At first I felt inclined to treat the matter as a hoax-at any rate I considered it an Irish bull"—but on sec- -ond thought I determined to send patterns for "overcoats," this supposition proving correct. AnelItlwsiastic young politician, while werking at the polls in f'ordham, JVew York, on election day, suddenly remembered that he was to be married on that day. He forthwith procured his affianced, went to the clergyman's house -and had the knot tied, and then returned to the polls, where he worked till they closed. UNADULTERATED IMPUDENCE.—For cool impudence, we have met with nothing lately equal to a statement of the New York Tribune. Most people will remember that after the taking of Metz a long telegram was published, on the Monday following, in the columns of the Daily eics, which the Times quoted the next day with a well-deserved compliment to the enterprise of its contemporary. It appears that the Netv 'York Tribune now asserts that the message was its own. We give the actual words:—"The letter in question was written by the Tribune's own correspondent, Mr Muller, engaged solely by the Tribune, and acting solely under our orders. His work was really one of the most remarkable journalistic feats of tl;e war. The sur- render took place Saturday afternoon our correspondent spent h:ilf the afternoon in the surrendered city, and on Monday morning the Tribune contained his account of it-which the London Times reproduced on Tuesday, with words of generous praise." A MTSTERY OF THE SEA.-A French schooner has been brought into Scarborough harbour by two fishing smacks belong- ing to Mr James Sellers. The smacks were on the fishing ground off the Dogger Bank, when they espied a vessel drifting with the sea. They bore down to her, and found she had been aban- doned by her crew. She bore no name, and there was not to be found on board any book or paper or other indication whatever of the port to which she belongs. It is possible that in the strong weather which has prevailed in the North Sea the crew may have been -unduly alarmed, and taken refuse on board another vessel, or they may have been taken prisoners by a Prussian cruiser. From her build she is a French vessel. She is timber ladgn. AN UNPUBLISHED FARCE BY DICKENS.—Tlieve is, it appears in existence, a farce, the joint work of Charles Dickens and Mark Lemon, as yet unpublished, except for private circulation. The title of the piece is "Mr Nightingale's Diary." A writer in the January number of Macmillan's Magazine gives, from memory, the following extract, which is evidently the work of Dickens:—"No, sir, will not leave the house! I will not leave the establishment without my child, my boy. My boy, sir, which he were his mother's hope and his father's pride, and no one as I am aweer on's joy. Vich the name as was giv'to this blesse(lest of infants and vorked in best Vitechapel mixed upon apincushin, and "ave the mother' likewise, were Abjalom, after his own parential father, Mr Nightingale, who no other ways than by being guv'do liquor, lost a day's vork at the veel- wright business, vich it was but limited, Mr Skylark, being vee s of donkey-chaises and goats: and vun vas even drawn by geese for a wag-°r, and eavte up the aisle o' the parish church one Sunday arternoon by reason of the perwerseness of the ani- mals, as could be testified by Mr Wix the beadle afore he died of drawing on Vellinton boots to which he was not accustomed, after an 'earty meal of roast beef and a pickled walnut, too which he were too parj iil Yes, Mr Robin Redbreast, in the marble fontin cf that theer church was he baptized Abjalom, vich never can be unmade or undone, I am proud to say, not to piease nor give offence to no one, nohows and noveres, sir."

CHRISTMAS FUN FOR CHILDREN. The following admirably funny songs are from Mr r'iI clever new book, "Nonsense Songs, fee.*5 THE DADDY LONG-LEGS AND THE FLY. I. Once Mr Daddy Long-legs, Dressed in brown and gray, Walked about upon the sands Upon a summer's day. And there among the pebbles, When the wind was rather cold, He met with Mr Floppy Fly All dressed in blue and -old. And as it was too soon to dine They drank some periwinkle wine, And played an hour or two, or more, At battlecock and shuttledore. II. Said Mr Daddy Long-legs To Mr Floppy Flv, Why do you ..irae to court ? I wish votl, tell me why. All goM.Ind shine, in dress spfine, yon"- I ijitite delight the court. Why do you never go at all ? I really think you ouyht! .And if you went you'd see such sights Such rugs, and jugs, and candle-lights And, more than all, the King and Queen, One in red, one in green ill. 0:1, Mr Daddy Long-legs," Said Mr Floppy Fly, It's true I never go to court, And I will tell you why. If I had six long legs like yours At once I'd go court, But oh I can't, because my legs Are so extremely short. And I'm afraid the King and Queen (One in red and one in green) Would say aloud, 'You are not fit, You fly, to come to court a bit IV. Oh, Air Daddy Long-legs," Said Mr Floppy Fly, I wish you'd sing one little song, One mumbian melody. You used to sing so awful well, In former days gone by But now Yuu never sing at all; I wish you'd tell me why. For if you would, tho silvery sound Would please the shrimps and cockles round, And all the crabs would gladly come To hear you sing, 'Ah, Hum di Hum v. Said Mr Daddy Long-legs, I can never sing again And if you wish, I'll tell you why, Although it gives me pain. For years I cannot hum a bit, Or sing the smallest song; m And this the dreadful reason is, My legs aro grown too long. My six long legs, all here and there, Oppress my bosom with despair; And if I stand or lie or sit, I cannot sing one single bit." VI. So Mr Daddy Long-legs And Mr Floppy Fly Sat down in silence by the sea, And gazed upon the sky. They said, "This is a dreadful thing! The world has all gone wrong, Since one has legs too stout by half, The other much too long. One never more can go to court, Because his legs have grown too short; The other cannot sing a song, Because his legs have grown too long VII. Then Mr Daddy Long-legs And Mr Floppy Fly Rushed downward to the foamy sea With one sponge-taneous cry; And there they found a little boat. Whose sails were pink and gray; And off they sailed among the waves Far, and far away. They sailed across the silent main, And reached the great Gromboolian plain; And there they play for evermore. At battlecock and shattledoor. THE DUCK AND THE KANGAROO. Said the Duck to the Kangaroo, Good gracious how you hop Over the fields and the water too, As if you never would stip My life is a bore in this nasty pond, And I long to go out in the world beyond I wish I could leap like you Said the Duck to the Kangaroo. Please give me a ride on your back Said the Duck to the Kangaroo. I would sit quite still, and say nothing but Quack The whole of the long day through And we'd go to the Dee and the Jelly Bo Lee, Over the land and over the sea- Please take me a ride, oh do Said the Duck to the Kangaroo. Said the Kangaroo to the Duck, This requires some little reflection Perhaps on the whole it might bring me 1 And there seems but one objection, Which is, if you'll let me speak so bold, Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold, And you would probably give me the Roo- Matiz I" said the Kangaroo. Said the Duck, As I sat on the rocks I have thought over that completely, And I bought four pairs of worsted socks, Which fit my web-feet neatly; And to keep out the cold I've bought a cloak, And every day a cigar I'll smoke. All to follow my own dear true Love of a Kangaroo Said the Kangaroo, 'I'm ready All in the moonlight pale, But to balance me well, dear Duck sit steady, And quite at the end of my tail So awity they went with a hop and a bound, And they hopped the whole world three times round; And who so happy, 0 who! As the Duck and the Kangaroo?

A FOREIGN VIEW OF ENGLISH FEELING. — The Independance Belge says According to an account cre- dited in London, the true cause of Ir. Bright's retirement was his desire to see England interfere in favour of France, if needful, by force. The assertion is one of the most improbable character, but what cannot be disputed is that among the popular classes the sympathies of England, which preponderated in favour of Germany at the outset of the war, are daily losing ground to turn to the side of France, and this movement becomes stronger in proportion as the press displays the difficulties which the conqueror encounters in completing his task and in making his will prevail." CHUNDER SEN AND THE QUEEN.—A native paper in Bengal states that after his interview with the Queen, Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen was honoured with a private message from Colonel Ponsonby, the Queen's private secre- tary, who wrote from Windsor Castle to say that her Majesty the Queen was much pleased with her conversa- tion with you, and Princess Louise took much interest in the subject you spoke about." Both the Queen and the Princess were highly delighted to hear that India is a great field for philanthrophic labour, and that Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen had invited many of his lady friends in England to come there to undertake the work of female education. Her Majesty has manifested another token of her kindness by presenting Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen with her portrait, and two of H.R.H. Princess Louise, and her two books on the late Prince Consort. These are truly precious gifts, especially the books, as they contain her Majesty's autograph, which runs as follows :—"To Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen. From Victoria B., Sept., 1870.

(8enefld. Mr W. Kirk, liberal member for-niewry, is dead. The English Churchman understands that the Archbishop of Canterbury will pass the winter at San. Reano. The Turkish Government has sent a force of 15,000 men against the Assaye Arab tribes, and -reinforcements are getting ready. The Italian Chamber have adopted by 239 votes against 20, the Bill ratifying the decree relative te the Roman plebiscite. The Bishop of Exeter has narrowly escaped serious injury by his surplice taking fire in the vestry of Dunsford Church, near Exeter. Last week Vice-Chancellor Bacon decided in three cases that claimants in certain societies which had been amalgamated with other societies had accepted the latter as their debtors. We are informed that the first meeting of the Conference on the neutralisation of the Black Sea under the Treaty of Paris, 185G, is fixed for the 3rd of January, 1871. A daily newspaper, to be called .the Morning News, and to be edited by Mr George Dawson, M:A., and Dr. Langford, will be started in Birmingham on the 2nd January. The directors of the Monarch Assurance Company have been acquitted, but the jury condemned the great negligence the defendants had exhibited. His lordship concurred, and ex- pressed a hope that gentlemen in future would be more particu- lar before they allowed their names to be placed on prospectuses. General R. C. Schenck was last week nominated as repre- sentative of the United States in London. He will be commis- sioned to re-open the Alabama negotiations, and to make repre- sentations on the subject of the fishery troubles. The herring fishery may now be said to have terminated off the eastern coast. The total number of herrings landed at Great Yarmouth is calculated to have been about 240,000,000. lany of the boats engaged in the fishery have earned from 41,000 to ZI,500 each. During the current week wages have been distributed at Great Yarmonth among the crews engaged to the amount of about £ 40,000. The Lancet has been informed that some strong evidence has been brought forward before the royal commission on the Con- tagious Diseases Acts, showing the excellent effect of the work- ing of these Acts, in certain districts, in diminishing the number, by reform and otherwise, of young girls pursuing dissolute lives. Another agrarian murder has occurred in Tipperary. The victim is a farmer, named Michael Brien, who was beaten to death by two men, named White and Brien, the latter a cousin of the deceased, in revenge, because deceased had purchased some land for which they were negotiating. Both men have been apprehended and committed for trial. The Manchester Guardian's London correspondent is informed that an association is in course of formation, under the advice of Mr Roebuck and other well-known politicians, to co-operate with that which has for some months existed in Ireland, for the purpose of discussing the possibility of establishing a local legis- lature for local objects in that country and in Scotland aswell as in England and Wales, subordinate to Parliament, as the state e^islatures are to Congress in America. A pig-dealer of Berwick-upon-Tweed has been charged at the Guildhall with having sent for2r quarters of beef to the London market, unfit for human consumption. For a sum of 10s. the defendant had purchased a diseased steer with the object of boiling it down and feeding his pigs. He subsequently altered his intention, and sent it to London for sale. Sir Sydney Waterlow sentenced him to two months' imprisonment. In the Court of Exchequer last week a Mr Johnson, a draper, of North Walsham, brought an action against a firm of Norwich solicitors for having adjudicated him a bankrupt without reason- able ground. The defendants pleaded that they had acted upon the instructions of the late Sir Robert Harvey, a creditor of the plaintiff that everything had been done in the ordinary course of business, and that they were actuated by no vindictive feel- ings. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintfff-damages £ 1,560. A man named Thomas Dennis was found with his throat cut in one of the water-closets of the Boniesley railway station, Birmingham. The only things found upon him were a pair of gloves and a will, in which he said, Being homeless and friendless, and expecting death, I leave my wearing apparel to the landlady of the house where my body is taken, to pay her for her trouble. I give my body to the General Hospital for dissection, for the benefit of the pupils and the advancement of science." We understand that Vice-Chancellor Bacon has committed to Holloway Prison two gentlemen and two married ladies, sisters of the two gentlemen, foi- contempt of Court, in conspiring to marry a young lady, ward of the Court of Chancery, to one of the two gentlemen. The ward and her intended husband had suc- seeded in reaching Scotland, but before any marriage was celebrated the parties, under le^al advice, returned to England and submitted themselves to the Court-. We believe that the ward is possessed of considerable property.—Laic Journal. We have authority to state that Sir Roderick Murchison, in pressing his most grateful thanks for the «"l]«;itU(Te shown by hi numerous friends for the resti,r»ci0)f of his health, feels it necessarv f modify an i!?»noitiicement which appeared oil •'satiu'- fV.r 1«WM, th.'it he would be soon completely res- iend to public scientific duties, Although ..oiueiabiy improved in health, thanks to the skill of his Juend Dr. Bence Jones, srnfte time must yet elapse under the most favourable circumstances before he will be able to attend to scientific duties or to correspondence. A singular action for libel was tried in the Court of Common Pleas last week. The widow of the late Lieutenant-Colonel Pownall sued the sisters of the deceased, the Misses Sarah and Martha Pownall, for damages consequent upon some alleged libelous statements made by the defendants. The assertions were none other than that the plaintiff had poisoned her hus- band from motives of self-interest; and so strong had been these representations, that the body was exhumed, and an in- quest held. A verdict of death from natural causes was, how- ever, returned. The defendants yesterday pleaded that they had acted from an acute sense of duty, and Mr Serjeant Ballanfcine having retired from the case, Miss Martha Pownall addressed the jury. The verdict was for the plaintiff, damages L250 in each ease. The Detily Neics says The charge against Mr Frank Noel is his reward for having, at no small risk to his own life, done all in his power to save the lives of others. That the charge is the result of a base political intrigue no Englishman who knows anything of Greek Dolitics will doubt. It is, in fact, an act of retaliation. We have charged some politicians and influential persons in Greece wiÙ indirect complicity in the terrible tran- sactions of last spring. The Greek Government has acquitted them of the charge, and, by way of reply, fixes it on a country- man of our own. There is a good deal of Greek cunning in the proceeding, but it will be frustrated by English common sense and love of justice. We hope the Government will see that not a hair of Mr Frank Noel's head is harmed. His reputation can- not be injured by any proceedings the Greek Government may adopt." From the nature of the evidence taken at Chatham, where the greater number of the alleged "cruelties" were described as having taken place, there is little doubt that the report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the treatment of the Fenian prisoners, will entirely negative the extraordinary charges made in Parliament and elsewhere; and it will be shown that at Chatham the Fenian convicts have been treated with exceptional kindness, as compared with the other con- victs, nearly the whole of them having been purposely employed within the prison walls, while the other prisoners are compelled to work, even during the most severe and inclement weather, on the public works which are being carried on at Chatham. It is said that Mr Scudamore has at the Post Office a new telegraphic instrument by which he reckons that he sends mes- sages at the rate of sixty words per minute. This instrument is to be tried at the Houses of Parliament at the opening of the session, in transmitting the summary of the proceedings in both Houses to the provincial papers. The provincial press will be only too glad to learn that there is any prospect of improve- ment in telegraphing the Parliamentary news, which, through- out last session, was abominably done. The chief cause of de- lay was the discontinuance of the use of the wires which are laid direct to the House, all "copy" having to be sent by mes- senger from Westminster to Telegraph-street—nearly two and a half miles. If this system is altered we may again receive the news in reasonable time. An important point avose last week in an action in one of the superior courts, before Mr Under-Sheriff Burchell, Kelly v. Simmons." Mr M'Leod, as counsel for the plaintiff, claimed a sum for rent and dilapidations, and also for a portion of a quarter as rent. He said an Act was passed in the late session by which a person could recover for rent and other matters from day to day. Mr Under-Sheriff Burchell sent for the Act 33rd and 34th Vic, cap. 35, passed in August last" An Act for the Better Appor- tionment of Rent and other Periodical Payments," and found by the words of the second section that all rents, annuities, dividends, and other periodical payments in the nature of in- come (whether received or made payable under an instrument in writing, or otherwise) shall, like interest on money lent, be con- sidered as accruing from day to day, and shall be apportionable in respect of time accordingly." The Under-Sheriff held that under the new law the jury could find for half a quarter's rent, and it was included in the amount. This is the first decision under the Act. A most melancholy catastrophe happened in Berkshire on Saturday. Mr John Walter, M.P., of Bearwood, near Woking- ham, Berks, accompanied by his eldest son and other members of the family, and by Captain Edward Walter, his lady, and family, went to Bearwood Lake for an afternoon's recreation on the ice. About a quarter past three o'clock, while all were en- joying themselves, the ice gave way near the island, and Mr John Walter, jun., and Masters Tom Walter, Francis Walter, Henry Walter, and Richard, the son of Captain Walter, were all immersed. The lake, which covers a space of about eighty acres, was at this spot thirty feet deep. Mr Arthur Walter, James Rackley, the boat-keeper, and others, at once hastened to the rescue, while Mr John Walter, jun., nobly endeavoured to the rescue, while Mr John Walter, jun., nobly endeavoured to keep his immersed brothers and cousin from sinking. The ice, however, continually broke under their grasp, and the hole became wider. Eventually four of the party were rescued, and there is no doubt that the saving of the lives of three out of the four is due to the heroic exertions of Mr John Walter, jun. He was last seen endeavouring to lift and throw the youngest of the party towards the margin of the ice, where assistance was at hand, when he suddenly sank, probably from sheer exhaustion. His body was not recovered until nearly seven o clock, when life was extinct. The deceased was a young man of great promise, and had only on Monday returned, by way of New York and San Francisco, from a long course of Eastern travel.

Garrison battalions are about to be formed in Prussia, to take charge of the prisoners of war, and thus make the Landwehr available for garrison duty in France. During a recent storm the Conway gasometer was blown over, and the town was left in darkness for three davs. THE GARTH STONE AND THE METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WoRr,.s. The Peterborough Times says :—The Garth stone, which the notorious obtuseness and extravagance of the Metropolitan Board of Works will help to render famous, is from Mr Whalley's quarries. We must stop to tell the story. In the month of July last the Board, in a thrifty fit, decided to construct the face of the Chelsea Embankment with brick instead of with granite, in order to save the pockets of the ratepayers. "Thereupon," we quote from the report in the Times of the speech of Mr Shaw, a member of the Board, "the Garth Company came forward and tendered to supply stone for a price not exceeding the cost of bricks, when a great argument arose, and it was at length agreed to submit a sample of the stone to Professor Tennant, and the result was that he reported the stone was very good and equal to granite in durability. The committee of the whole Board afterwards resolved to recommend the Board to call for an estimate of the cost of facing the embankment both with granite and Garth stone, and when the report was brought up, when but a few members were present, no notice was taken of the professor's report-it was not even read, and without any discussion all the previous views of economy were cast aside, and it was determined to ask for estimates and complete the facing of the embankment with granite, the expense of which only a few months before led the committee to propose a brick facing. The professor had reported that Garth stone was as good as granite, and then followed another question, if Garth stone was as good as granite, whether it could be supplied at a much lees cost, and the company had stated that they were pre- pared to supply it at little, if anything, more than the cost of bricks." Mr Nicholay and Mr Fowler also main- tained that the Garth Company had been used most un- fairly/' and the latter gentleman reminded the meeting that so indubitable an authority as Sir W. Tite said before the committee that "the stone might be advantageously used at a much lower price than grarite and was very superior to bricks." Nevertheless tke Board coolly fell back on granite, and one of their number, Mr Runtz, I said if any member cf Parliament waaated a report from Professor Tennant, lie could easily obtaiii it by paying for it, but he declined.toiurnifib fbUst which «an obtained by the Board j

GLPIATLTAL THE DISTRESSED FRENCH AGRICULTURISTS. —The Agrit.nltmral Gazette, referring to the appeal for seed corn to assist the French agriculturists, says:—Let us hope that a suitable re- sponse wul be made to their appeal by the great body of Eng- lish, Scottish, and Irish farmers. Our correspondents W. G. D." and J. C. M." have been discussing lately the expenditure on seeds npon a single English farm. It appears that 10s. an acre is a moderate estimate of the cost of seeding arable land when more than a quarter of the occupation is in grass or clover. More than £300 for every square mile, according to this rate, is needed. How many square miles are there not in the sister country, with that dense population which comes of small farm- ing, whose inhabitants are despairing while we are feasting! Let not so great a contrast as the happy English Christmas time presents to that of France this year be destitute of fruit. It will undoubtedly add earnestness to many a prayer for the re- turn once more of Peace an earth. Let that Goodwill to men, of which the time reminds us, find expression also in self-deny- ing contributions to that special work ot relief, of which, as agriculturists, we can understand the great necessity: and to which it is wisely proposed that the contributions of English agriculturists, which are now requested, shall be confined. PRICES OF.NLEAT.-The Agricultural Gazette of Dec. 24, says —A comparison of the figures descriptive of number and price at the Great Islington Market at Christmas time, year by year, has some interest for agricultural readers. We quote the fol- lowing, therefore, showing that this year's experience has not equalled the average of past years as regards supply, and some- what exceeded it as regards price: Mondav. Dec. 17. 1S06. Price. s. d. s. d. No. Beef 4 0to5 8 Beasts 7,S40 Mutton 4 4 to 6 4 Sheep 19,120 Mutton 44 to 6 4 Sheep 19,120 Veal A 0 to 6 4 Calves 200 Pork 3 0 to 4 8 Pigs 310 Monday, Dec. í6, 1867. s. (I. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef 3 0 to 5 2 Beasts 8,110 Afutton 38 to 5 0 Sheep 20,840 Veal 3 8 to 5 8 Calves 218 Pork 3 0to4 0 Pigs 420 Monday, Dec. 14,1868. s. d. s. d. Beef 3 4 to 5 10 Beasts 5,320 Mutton 4 0 to 5 8 Sheep 18,210 Mutton 40 to 5 8 Sheep 18,210 Veal 4 0 to 6 0 Calves. 103 Pork 30 to 5 0 Pigs 320 Monday, Dec. 13,1869. s. d. s. d. Beef S 4toS 8 Beasts 6,728 Nftitton 40 to 5 101 Sheep 17,460 Veal 3 6 to 5 8 1 Calves 153 Pork 4 ø to 6 0 Pigs 170 Monday, Dec. 12, 1870. s. d. s. d. Beef 40 to 6 4 1 Beasts 6,425 Mutton 44 to 6 21 Sheep 18,700 Veal 4 0 to 6 8 Calves 169 Pork 4 6 to 6 0 Pigs 260

NOTES FOR FARMERS. By our own Correspondent. A gentleman asked me the other day if I thought agri- culture was making much progress, and the reply I gave him I cannot but think was the same as would have been given by nine out of every ten agriculturists, for I was obliged to acknowledge that although the science was cer- tainly not at a stand-still, yet in some of its departments it was not making that rapid progress which could be wished for. Now, I am not ignorant of the fact that the machinery in the present day available for farming pur- poses is very far superior to that used by the farmers of twenty years ago, and I don't deny that the fifty-seven millions of acres in the United Kingdom, which are suitable for agricultural purposes, have been very much improved during the last few years; but I question whether the farmers of the present day practice the most economical system of farming. No v, I wish in this letter to refer to one thing which would, I firmly believe, very considerably help those interested in agriculture to bring that science to a state of perfection—experimental farming. I can easily imagine some of your readers who have farmed f.<r many years, exclaiming with disgust, ()It, now for some new- fangled notions," 0. others, "It's not worth reading." Such exprMedons as these are nothing new. I wonder was tliore ever in this world any innovation of any kind at which there was not s ,-iiie exclamation? Unfortunately there is a large class of farmers who are so accustomed to their old system of farming that they decline to depart from it, even in the smallest matters. Their fathers found a certain course of tillage, and a certain quantity of seed sown, &c., &c., to answer, they have found the same, and they are perfectly willing to leave well" alone. But is this wise ? Now we constantly see letters and articles in the newspapers and magazines written by farmers who have departed in some ways from the old system, and have tried experiments which are found to be successful; yet how very slow many are to try the same thing for them- selves ? They want to farm on the most economical sys- tem, by which I mean the system that pays best in the long run, but they will not try to find that system out. To do this they should be a little speculative, and experi- mentalize instead of running in the same old groove. Let us take the subject of thin seeding, which is attracting a considerable amount of attention just now. I saw a letter in the newspapers not very long ago from a gentleman, say- ing he had sown on three patches of land of half an acre each, two, four, and eight pecks of wheat respectively. The produce from the two pecks was 13 bushels, 1 peck from the four pecks, 14 bushels, 3 pecks and from the eight pecks, 14 bushels, 1 [pecic The two pecks and four pecks were drilled twelve inches apart, aud the eight pecks six inches apart. It will be seen then that the four pecks sown produced the best crop. Mr. Mechi states that in 1864 a peck of wheat per acre, dibbled at intervals one kernel in a hole, produced 58 bushels of heavy wheat per_ acre and 2;| tons of straw. In iSGo he again tried the same quantity of seed, and the produce was again 58 bushels. In both years the yield exceeded the remainder of the field by two bushels per acre, and the straw was also more abundant. These are facts. It is well known that Mr Mechi invites visitors to his farm in Kent to see for themselves. It is useless therefore to deny the truth of these statements, as some have foolishly done. Now, if this quantity of seed will produce a good crop in one part of the country, it is very possible it will do so in other parts. No doubt ft will not answer in all lands, but let our farmers try it on half or quarter of an acre. The result of the experiment will be seen the same as if the whole field had been sown, and if it should prove to be a failure, why then the loss is not such a great one. It is estimated that the average increase of our corn crops is eight for one—one million quarters of seed to produce nine millions of corn. Mr Mechi states that on his farm forty for one is nearer the increase. Sup- posing this was the case all over England, what a vast difference there would be, not only to farmers, but to the country generally. Many farmers are strongly prejudiced against thin sowing, but all the arguments they can use against it is, that it won't answer on their land, although they have never given it a trial. I ask them to give it a fair trial on half an acre, and the result, I fancy, will be, that on most lands it will succeed. If so, their farm balance sheets will show all the more profit in their pockets. Another thing let me refer to. How many farmers are here whose newspaper literaturs consists solely of their weekly local paper. Although that may be very good of its sort, they should certainly in addition read an agricul- tural paper, so that they may see what their fellow agricul- turists are doing, and what improvements are being effected. It is not within the province of a weekly local paper to go into detail in these matters, but if they only took in regularly an agricultural paper, they would know what was going on in the agricultural world, and they would then benefit by the result of other people's ex- perience; and be able to avoid errors which they might otherwise have fallen into. The postage of newspapers is now so little that there is no reason whatever why every farmer in the kingdom should not get his paper regularly every week, and if he made a good selection he would have enough to interest him, and occupy his brain till the next number reached him. AGRICOLA.

A RISKY ADVENTURE.. The Times correspondent with the German armies on the Loire, writing of the battles near Beaugency, oil the 9th instant, says—The steeple of the church of Villorceau looked so tempting that, although it projected rather far into the battlefield, and was a point still in dispute, we determined to cross the broad stretch of plain which intervened between that village and Messas in order to secure a position which might be a permanent point of observation for the operations of the day. When we reached the village it appeared to be completely in the hands of the Germans but not staying to investigate the matter very closely, as we felt sure it was only a question of time, we rushed over the blood-staihed steps through the open door into the church. The door leading up to the tower was open. We were rewarded for our pains on reaching the summit by finding ourselves, as it were, in they very centre of the battle. At this moment we were startled by a shot which seemed to proceed as it were from our very feet, but as it was not followed by any others I continued to inspect the field of battle through my glass_ until my attention was arrested by a loud exclamation below, and, looking down, I saw a German taking a deliberate aim at me with his rifle. I dodged in back into the belfry just in time, and in a few moments we heard a rush of armed men up the latter. My com- panion, who was a German, shouted loudly in the choicest oaths of his country to his compatriots not to fire, 0, and offered, like the acoon in the American fable, to "come down;" but we were surrounding in the belfry, and had no difficulty in proving to our captors (one of whom had kept calling out as he came upstairs that we were his prisoners) that we were neither Frenchmen nor armed. The matter seemed a better joke to them than it did to us, and the man who had taken aim at me laughed heartily at the idea of having nearly shot me by mistake. He was still bent upon discovering the culprit who had fired at him, as he supposed, from the church tower, and a few moments after found the soldier who had fired, with his rifle still in his hands, in a house immediately beneath it. Rushing upon him before he had time again to use his weapon, he snatched it from him, and killed him at a blow with the butt end of it.

LE BON DOCTEUR NOIR.-It is a melancholy fact, which should, however, be recorded, that the lamented Dr Davis, who did such good service in Eastern France, and died at his post from small-pox, had never been vaccinated. He entertained a strong prejudice against the system, which he had expressed on more than one occa- sion. On his death bed, when it was, unfortunately, too late, he did not conceal his regret that he had not sub- mitted to the operation. The Lancet. A .correspondent writes—Count Moltke remains as calm and impassive as ever. At a quarter to nine every morning General Podleibski and Colonel Von Werde wait uponhim and receive his commands for the day. At too the count attends on the King of Prussia, returning at twelve for lllllch. He then drives out till four p.m. and works till six, dines and chats with friends till ten, at which time his suite retire, leaving him to work till midnirht. He then sleeps till half-past four, at which time he gets up and works till a quarter to nine. 'Such J is the lbV tif one uf the grej&est generals the worhE has ever seen. t

I SHOPPING IN WALES. (By an Irregular Correspondent.) There is perhaps no more general complaint among business men than that which bewails the nigh-pressure nature of their lives. The greatest possible difficulty is experienced in crowding into each day its allotted share of bnsiness transactions, and he is acknowledged to be a lucky man who retires to rest day by day without a con- siderable amount of arrears accumulating notwithstanding his most persevering efforts to fulfil his daily task. We are frequently told that trade and its demands on our un- ceasing toil are inexorable, and that railways, cheap postage, and electricity, by developing our resources, have added to our work instead of increasing our leisure; holidays have become fewer and less enjoyable owing to the numerous facilities for sending the Nemesis of our lives after us wherever we go, in the shape of a postman. We are told there is no respite, and every now and then the question how to obtain a little recreation without disastrous consequences to business following is gravely discussed, from the Family Herald upwards—or, if you like, downwards—through the weekly and daily papers (not forgetting the monthly magazines), to the sententious utterances of dull, heavy, and supposed to be exhaustive articles in the quarterlies. It is shown most conclusively that the labourer has his rest, the domestic drudge her day out; even the slave has his intervals of peace, but the business man is haunted night and day, summer and winter, early and late, without intermission all the year round, until at last it is not rest he desires but increased power to work, and he does not want this increased power in order to finish what lies before him so much as to pre- vent himself from being utterly swamped by the rapidly increasing demands made upon him. The foregoing is the burden of a great deal that is said and written in England, and it may be all very correct, or it may be a little exaggerated. I think it is just a little overdrawn, and I never quite believe those too busy people, because if I did I should have to think that they were preparing themselves for becoming residents in cer- tain institutions, dotted over this great and glorious land of ours, where personal liberty is not a distinguishing feature. Now in Wales there is not much rushing among business men. Business men in Wales, I should think pretty generally, take things quietly. The other day I went into a shop, or at least I would have gone in if the door-had not been locked, situated in the main street of a well- known town. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, the streets were tolerably busy, but as the day was some- what cold I was not surprised to see the shop door closed when, however, I discovered that the door was locked I asked a boy who was playing at marbles with himself if he knew where Mr was. He's gone to stashun," said the lad. How long do you think he will be ?" I asked. About half an hour, if the train is not late," he replied. Does he always lock up shop when he wants to go out, I wonder?" said I musingly. "Yes, sure, what for not," asked the boy who was suspiciously watching my move- ments and as three or four boatmen, who were lounging on the quay, seemed amused at my evident astonishment, I moved off. When I returned I found the master of the establishment behind the counter dealing out goods to his customers in a very patient, self-satisfied sort of way. I spoke to him about locking up, and he remarked that there was no particular hurry. On the following Saturday I was in another town, and wanted to see a shopkeeper whose place of busi- ness was within the shadow of the Town Hall. I stopped a man and asked where this man's place of business was, and he pointed it out, but said he did not, think T should find him in. I looked across and saw that the shop was apparently open so I walked up but found the door locked. Atter waiting about an hour he-made his appearance and soon appeared to be doing- a, thriving business. I stopped till the rush of customers subsided and then suggested that Saturday was rather a queer day to leave a shop like his. He said it was, "uncommon." I soon found that the word "uncommon" was a sort of refrain to ill 1 aid, and that locking his shop up in the middle of the day s anything but uncommon. A day or two later I was de- sirous of going into a shop situated in the main street of a Welsh town noted for manufactures, but was informed that the proprietor had locked up and gone to dinner, and as I had a little time to spare I waited until he returned he rubbed his hands and said he was sorry to keep me waiting, but you see we must eat sir, sometimes." I ackno vledged the necessity of that proceeding, and remarked that most people who were in business contrived to eat without suspending operations in their shops. In Wales, he said, he knew many men who regularly shut up their shops, sometimes for a whole day, and there were others who left a little boy or girl just to tell the customers that they would return directly, while they went a shooting or fishing. After I had taken leave of this gentleman I enquired into the matter, and I think I may safely recommend any- one who is fearful that the presence of business is becoming too much for their health and happiness to settle in one of these Welsh towns, where the people are kindly and patient, and where business quietly "bides the time" of those who have to transact it. Let your readers just think of the luxury of living in a town where yesterday's penny London paper sells for three halfpence, where cus- tomers stand outside your shop while you take a walk before dinner, and where if you feel disinclined for work there is no risk in not opening your shop at all for a day or two. These are the places which practically protest against the high pressure and wear and tear of modern business habits, and long may ease and prosperity jog on quietly together over the border, say I.

SPAIN. Florence, Tuesday. —King Amadeus left here this morning. General Cialdini, who, it is stated, is about to be made a Duke, is to leave definitely for Madrid as the Italian Minister and Pleniposentiary. Madrid, Sunday.—Senor Rivero, the President of the Cortes, has resigned, and Senor Sagosta has been entrusted with the Presidency of the House ad interim.

AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA. Berlin, Tuesday,—Count Bismarck has addressed a note to the North German ambassador at Vienna, expressing conviction that Austria does not expect or desire that the stipulations of the treaty of Prague should retard th e prosperous development of her German neighbours.

THE LUXEMBURG QUESTION. Luxemburg, Tuesday.—Prince Henry, in reply to an address from 45,0D0 Luxemburgers, expressed his confi- dence in the justice of their cause and the loyalty of the Powers which signed the Treaty of 1867.

THE CESSION OF NICE AND SAVOY. St. Petersburg!), Tuesday.—It is untrue that Russia will propose the cession of Nice and Savoy by France to the Pope.

TRAFFIC RECEIPTS. 1870. Great Western .) £ 79.852 West Midland V 1869. South Wales .J 278,089 1870. London and North Western 2132,817 Shrewsbury and Hereford. 1- 1869. Shropshire Union. J £ 129,097 For the week endim Dec. 25th, 1870. CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS (178 miles open)—Passengers, parcels, horses, cirriages, dogs, an,l mails, £ 1,329 mer- chandise, minerals, and cattle, 91. 191 total for the week, 92;520 aggregate from 1st July. £8:3,971. Corresponding week in 1869, passengers, &c., £ 1*164 merchandise, &c., £ 1 017 • total, £ 2,181; aggregate from 1st July, £ 79,475. For the iceek ending Dec. 18t,h, 1870. BRECON AND MEUTHYR RAILWAY.—(60^ miles Open) Passengers, parcels, &c., Et-53 14s. 4d.; goofls &c., 21,121 17s. 7d.; total, 1,275 11s. lid. B20 19s. lid. per mile per week. Corresponding week last year (60t miles open). Passengers, k-e., Cl65 12s. 10d.; goods, &c., 9921 8s. 3d.; total, £ 1,087 Is. Id.; R17 17s. lid. per week; increase, £188 10s. 10d.; aggregate from 1st July, 1870, 229,998 6s. 6d.; ditto, 1869, £ 26,690 10s. 2d.; increase £3,307 16s. 4d.

The Bolton magistrates on Satnrday fined a baker named James Core 25 for adulterating his bread with alum. A telegram from Lloyd's agent at Scilly, states that a letter bag from Paris by balloon post was picked up there. The letters were dated 29th November, and were saturated with water. The Times' correspondent at Versailles has arrived at the conclusion that General Trochu is forming a vast en- trenched camp under the guns of Fort Valerien, into which he intends to retire when Paris is all but starved, and the population is becoming troublesome. Some fatal accidents from youths having ventured on to thin ice are reported from Lancashire. One boy has been drowned near Accrington, and another, though rescued alive from the water into which he fell, near Oldham, died soon after. A young man was drowned in the River Wear at Durham, while skating on Sunday. The cruel sport known as hedge-popping"—shooting poor half-starved little birds in the hedgerows—is pursued at this period of the year with great avidity by overgrown lads, and even by men who are old enough to know better. These petty sportsmen seldom know how to handle a gun, and we frequently read of serious accidents. At Lutter- worth, a young man, named George Holt, son of a grazier, went out to shoot small birds, taking with him a double- barrelled gun. He missed a shot, and was reloading the same barrel, when the other barrel went off, and blew off half his head. Death was, of course, instantaneous. ROYAL ORDER TO WALES.-Her Majesty the Queen has again, for the fourth time, honoured Newtown, Mont- gomeryshire, with her commands for Welsh fabrics, in- cluding flannels. linseys, hosiery, kc., and, as heretofore, the execution of these commands has been entrusted to Mr Pryce Jones of the Royal warehouse. The goods will be despatched immediately, and direct to Her Most Gracious Majesty at Osborne, Isle of Wismt. The order is of course the cause of great rejoicing at Newtown. The bells of the church rang a merry peal to celebrate the event. MR. HENRY RICHARD, M.P., AT MERTHYR TYDFIL.— On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday week, Mr. Henry Richard, M.P., delivered a series of addresses to his con- stituents of the "Inited boroughs of Merthyr Tydfil, Dowlais, Hirwain, and Aberdare. At each place he received a very hearty welcome, and resolutions of "unbounded satis- faction" of his parliamentary conduct were carried unani- mously. In the course of his speech at Dowlais he alluded to the compensation which has been raised by voluntary subscription for the tenants evicted in Wales at the last election, and added, amid great applause, But we cannot always be doing this, and, therefore, I say that jf the landlords of Wales go on hereafter abusing their power as they have done heretofore, we must have a Ten. ant Rights Bill for Wales as well as for Ireland." The hon. member then warmly eulogised Mr. Gladstone's Irish legislation, and deprecated the wild suggestions'" now being made in many quarters by persons who are panic-struck lest foreigners, well nigh exhausted by not- ing, should invade England, or who, for other-reasons, desire a needless and,"travagant Tmtional expeii(Eture .d the,cost J' of Ike, alrepay, awrburdened taxpayer. I

SIIRP 0 IOU ttfJ. A new "journal of humour and criticism" The Ferret has just appeared in South Wales. The Marquis of Westminster has given a site for a Primitive Methodist Chapel, at Ellesmere Port and has also signified his intention to subscribe .£20 to the building fund. The Earl of Powis has offered a reward of £20, for the best substitute for slaughtering animals, which shall be an efficient substitute for the pole-axe by separating the spinal marrow. Mr Baldwyn Leighton has been delivering a lecture at Alberbury on "The War." Mr Leighton is reported to have given a graphic account of the struggle; and his- lecture was illustrated with a map. Sir Baldwin was present. The Chester Chronicle withdraws its statement that an influential nobleman in the neighbourhood had made certain conditions as to the continuance of his support of the races. His lordship has simply offered suggestions with the design of purifying the races. 00 Mr Salisbury definitely announces that he shall not offer himself again for the representation of Chester. The liberals now being united, it is not likely that a conserva- tive will stand much chance of election when another contest takes place. At the conference of the Executive Committee of the Amalgamated Association of Miners, concluded last week at Manchester, it was unanimously resolved that, con- XT thi co1a| trade is good, the miners in Lancashire, -North Staffordshire, and North Wales appeal for an in- crease of wages at the rate of 10 per cent." A man was engaged at Chester in fetching corn from a flat on the canal to a warehouse, when a number of empty bags, thrown from a trap door, struck him on the breast, knocked him down, and injured him so seriously that he died in a few hours A labourer named Ledsham, "in drink, but not drunk," was walking home at Chester about eleven o'clock the other night, when three men hustled him up an un- frequented road, knocked him down, and robbed him of 10s. or 12s. Two of them were arrested and committed for trial. Mr Corbet Davies has held an inquest at the Salop In. firmary upon the body of Annie Nicholls, aged eleven years, of Bayston-hill, who died from injuries received from burns. A verdict of "Accidental death" was returned. The London and North-Western line have, in conse- quence of the recent railway accidents, concluded arrange- ments to adopt Clarke's continuous breaks. These breaks, it is said, will pull up in twenty-five seconds a train traveling at about thirty miles an hour. At a recent conference in South Wales, the Venerable Archdeacon Williams stated that he had seen an applica- tion to the Education Department, for the support of a school, for a building grant, couched in the following worus We teach children of both denominations, and of those who are instructed ingrammer six is in constantly attendance. At the Chester City Police Court, last week, Henry Smith, a shoemaker, was charged with embezzling E14 2s. 6id., the moneys of the Gladstone Lodge of the Man- chester United Order of Oddfellows. The defendant was treasurer of the lodge, and when applied to for the money, at once admitted that he had used it for his own purpose. He was tried under the 24th section cf the Friendly Societies Act, which enables the Bench simply to fine when defendant consents to refund the money at once. The defendant, however, was unable to make the neces- sary promise, and he was committed to gaol for three months' hard labour. Last summer a case was decided at Ross, in which a fisher- man living there was convicted of taking salmon last spring in th Wye. The evidence was that of a policeman, who searching the defendant, found the fish in his possession. The defence set up was that proof had be en obtained by an illegal act-that of searching the person. The magis- trates, however, convicted, and an appeal against their decision was lodged in the Queen's Bench. The case was recently heard, and the Court decided to confirm the magisterial decision, ruling that the evidence, though ob- tained in an illegal manner, was admissible. Mr Wilkes, of Shrewsbury, among his other Christmas stock this year, exhibited a fine eland, from Hawkstone, where, for some years, this animal has been reared so suc- cessfully that it appears to have becime naturalised to the climate. The carcase was estimated to weigh ten scores per quarter, and it was disposed of at 9d. and lOd. per Ib. Some years ago, Viscount Hill sent one of these animals to the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, and it was slaughtered and readily disposed of in London. As an article of food, the flesh of the eland is very highly spoken of, and is described as "something between that of the ox and the deer." The animal was sent by Viscount Hill to Mr W likes s that Shrewsbury folk may have an opportunity of deciding for themselves as to its merits as food. A confectioner at Carmarthen named Jones was very violently attacked the other day by a journeyman on the tramp, whom he had' employed. The man--named James—lived in the house with the family, and on the morning in question Mr Jones and James got up at an early hour to work. At about half-past four they were in the bakehouse, which is situated at the back of the house, and while Mr Jones was stooping to put coal on the oven fire, James struck him a severe blow with a rolling-pin, which cut his head and partially stunned him. but he re- timed sufficient consciousness t,) put up his arm and ward off the second blow. The fellow again struck Mr Jones, and then a scuffle ensued. Mrs Jones, hearing a noise, got up, and finding her husband covered with blood, she went to the window and shouted for help. Mr C. S. Rogers, plumber, &c., who lives near, heard the cries, and, having partially dressed, he went out into the street, when Miss Jones asked for help, saying that a man was murder- ing her father. Mr Rogers sent for a policeman, and then went into the house, where he found Mr Jones and his journeyman. Mr Jones said James had tried to murder him, which the fellow did not deny, but he begged for mercy, stating that he would stab himself rather than fall into the hands of the police. rIe was asked why he had attacked his master, and he replied that he was a brigand, that he had been put on to do it, and that he was one of four in the town. He then insisted on being allowed to leave, and as the police had not arrived, Mr Rogers, who was unarmed, did not think itsafe to stop him, and he went down the Bridgehill. Presently the police came, but by- that time all trace of the man was lost. No particular reason can be given for the atrocious act, as the man had been offered no provocation of any kind, but it is supposed that his object was plunder. It is thought that he tried to poison the whole family a short time since, because one morning it was found that the heads of a lot of matches had been cut off and placed in the tea-kettle, but, fortu- nately, this was discovered in time to avert any ill effects.

The dead body of a child was found, a few days ago, concealed under some leaves in the Strand Wood, near- Holywell, by a little girl who was gathering sticks. A "handsome-looking" young woman, named Jemima Hall, aged 21, has died in Myddelton Square, London, from the effects of tight-lacing. On the body of deceased a post mortem, examination was made by the coroner's order, when it was found that the whole of the organs of the body were contracted and out of their places. Her stomach was smaller than that of an ordinary infant, and her heart only weighed 4 ounces. The body was fearfully emaciated, and the medical gentleman stated that it was the most remarkable case of the kind that had ever come under his notice. Dr. Harvey Goodwin, the present Bishop of Carlislei has issued a pastoral letter to the clergy of his diocese, in place of the usual visitation address. The principal point to which his lordship refers 13 as to the future of the Church of England—to the possibility that it may soon cease to be an Established Church. He does not think the change, if it be made at all, will be made soon and weighing advantages and disadvantages against each other, he devoutly trusts that the status of the Church of England as an Established Church may long be main- tained but looking to that which is possible, and which many thoughtful persons deem probable, he regards it as highly desirable that we should accustom ourselves to a kind of action which in the case of a disestablished Church becomes an absolute necessity. It is well, he says, to practice swimming before the craft becomes a wreck." THE UPPER SEVERN AND VERNIEW.—" A." in the field, writing on December 22nd, says We are now making up for the paucity of flsh in the early part of the breeding season. For the past fortnight there has been one con- tinuous stream of fish passing up to the spawning grounds. In the Verniew the number of fish now ascending is especially noticeable. At one of the weirs of this river, I yesterday counted nineteen fish leap in two minutes, and 100 in twenty minutes; and as I could not command a view of the whole of the weir, it is probable a great many leaped that I did not see. Most of the fish were of large size. Now, all these fish must have congregated here in a very short time, as on Monday night the river was bmk full, and the weir consequently no obstruction and only on Tuesday night did the water fall sufficently to prevent their getting over. The weather, which was exceedingly mild on the three first days of the week—the thermometer ranging as high as 52—-suddenly ehanged in the course of Tuesday night, and we have now hard frost, with occa- sional scuds of snow, accompanied by a piercing N.E. wind. The thermometer was 11 degrees below freezing point at eight o clock this morning. ABSCONDING OF A SISTER OF MERCY.—The ordinary quietude that is supposed to reign at the establishment of the Sisters of Mercy, North-road, Plymouth, was dis- turbed last week by the sudden disappearance of one of the sisters. The lady in question is about 30 years of age, and only a fortnight since came from a Sister of Mercy Hospital at Eastbourne, in Sussex, to become the portress at the Nortli-road establishment. During her short stay she had become convinced that the discipline was far too vigorous for her endurance, and, failing to obtain redress in an ordinary way, she at last was compelled to take French leave." She appealed to the Lady Superior to be allowed to return to Eastbourne. This she was told could not be permitted unless she wrote to Miss Sellou and obtained her sanction. The sister well knew that Miss Sellon, in the interest of discipline, would have taken no heed of her letter, and therefore resolved to make her escape. She wisely kept her own counsel, for, as she observed, had she dropped the slightest hint of her inten- tion she would have been locked up in her cell until she renounced her determination. Fortunately, in consequence of her cell not having been prepared, the plain clothes in which she travelled from Eastbourne still remained in the surgery. On Friday evening last a favourable opportunity for°eseape presented itself, and the sister, doffing her sister's habiliments and donning her plain dress, left the establishment unnoticed, placing the ke-y. s of her office near the door. It was her intention to go to London by the steamer that evening, but on arriving at the Milbay Pier she heard that it bad just left. She, however, soon found kind people who took her in that night and kept her til1 Sunday, She has ance left for London, and intends make apprteation to resMme her old situation at bourne, —Bristol rizw -nI- Mirror.