The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

EOOLESIASTIOAL Dr O'Brien, Catholic Bishop of Waterford and Lis more, resigned on Friday, October 2.5th. The Archbishop of Canterbury has summoned the joint commi ttee of the Canterbury Convocation on the Athanasian Creed to meet at Lambeth early in December. A new pastoral staff has been presented to the Bishop of Hereford. The Rev. C. Hargrave, a Roman Catholic priest, of Port of Spain, West Indiea, has seceded from the Roman Catholic Church, and resigoed his functions. A requiem service for the late Rev. J. Purchas, of Brighton, was beldat All Saints' Church, Lambeth, on Sun- day, Octobor 27th, with the extremest ritualistic ob- servances and the Rev. Dr Lee preached "a sermon from 2nd Samuel, chapter 22, verse 1, The Lord has delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies." Ripon Cathedral has been restored at a cost of E40 000 The completion of the work was celebrated by a special service on Thursday, October 24th. The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon (who, it will be remembered, Was attacked with a severe illness some few weeks ago), has left London for the south of France, for the benefit of his health. The reverend gentleman is expected to re- turn about the beginning of December. The Rock understands that the Rev. H. M. Barnett, after conferring with the council of the Free Church of England," has con; inued his preaching at Southampton, and will leave it to the Bishop of Winchester to initiate legal proceedings, if his lordship chooses to do so. It is be- lieved that, in the event of this course being adopted, the action will be defended. The death is announced of the Rev. Robert Bremner, LL.D., for the last thirty years minister of the parish of Banff. Dr Bremner had traveled extensively, and was the author of two volumes describing his journeyings in Russia. He gave great attention to botanical and other scientific pursuits, and was much and deservedly liked in the town. Dr Bremner died at Banff Castle on Wednesday, at the age of seventy-two.. The Nonconformist is publishing a series of special sup- plements. In the first supplement fourteen towns are selected, in which it is shown that 526 places of worship, of all kinds, have been built since 1851, giving an increase of 326,360 in the number of sittings. The total population of the towns named was at the last census (1871) 2,905,400, and the total accommodation provided in places of worship Is now 1,032,472 sittings. Thus, while in twenty years population has increased by about forty-two per cent, the increase ia church and chapel accommodation has been forty-four per cent, thus more than keeping pace with the increase of population. Another point brought out by Mr Miall's returns is that larger provision is made by •"the non-Established Churches" than by the Church of England—" the actual proportion of (total) accommoda- tion being 59" 8 per cent by the former, and 40 2 per cent by the latter," Of course—aud this in fairness must be noted-" the non-Established Churches include widely differing and sometimes hostile denominations, while, ex- ternally at least, the Church presents herself as one, and Arranges her places of worship so as not to compete with each other. With this observation, we may add the con- clusion arrived at by the Nonconformist, namely, that "the Free Churches [i e., the non-established] supply at the pre- sent time not very far from two-thirds of the means of re- ligious worship." The general figures for the fourteen large towns are, so far as relates to the principal denomi- nations, as follows --Church of England, 427,592 sittings Wesleyans, 142,346 Congregationalists, 114,516; Baptists, 70,201; Primitive Methodists, 46,179 United Methodists, 42,620; Roman Catholics, 57,101.

THE AFFAIRS OF OVEREND, GURNEY, AND CO. A paragraph which appeared announcing that, by the death of Mrs Taylor, of Norwich, her entire fortune of 2500,000 accrued to the liquidators of Overend, Gurney, and Co., Limited, as an asset of the estate, is calculated to convey a very erroneous impression of the facts. What the liquidators are entitled to is only the life-interest of this sum, amounting to about 219,000 a year-an interest which, of course, expires with the life of Mr John Henry Gurney. Unless the life interest can be sold for a lump sum, the annual return to the contributories would thus be a trifle over 5s. per share. Hitherto the returns to the shareholders out of the estate have been limited to two instalments of 10s. each; but the liquidators hope to be able to pay about E3 per share in addition, without, of course, including anything from the reversion now declared.

THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES. We have been requested to publish the following letter, which has appeared in the Daily News SIR,-A letter signed "Thomas Nicholas" appears in the Daily News of to-day, in which I am accused of having given an apocryphal account of the origin of this College," in a speech which I delivered at Aberystwyth. I am unable to refer to the report to which the letter alludes, but I hardly think it could have been accurate, or I feel sure that the writer would not have founded such a state- ment upon it. What I really said—and what I need hardly say that I am prepared to substantiate—was that I believe that it was nearly twenty years to a day since Mr Hugh Owen, Mr Salisbury, late M.P. for Chester, and myself, first started the idea-for it was nothing more- of a University for Wales." But I took care distinctly to point out that the proposal fell through for want of support. Indeed, beyond printing and circulating an appeal to the public, we at that time did and were able to do little or nothing to forward the movement, nor have I ever claimed credit for more. But this abortive project had nothing to do with the movement set on foot ten years afterwards by Dr Nicholas", the former secretary of the University, and others referred to in the report of the committee which he quotes. Nothing can be further from my thoughts than to rob Dr Nicholas or any other person of the credit which is justly due to them for their share in this im- portant undertaking, or to arrogate to myself any merit to which I am not entitled. Indeed, I am painfully aware how little-particularly of late years-I have been able to do to help on the movement.—I am, sir, your most obedient servant, GEO. OSBORNP. MORGAN 20, Bolton-street, Piccadilly, October 24th.

CHARGE OF ROBBERY AGAINST A SOLICITOR'S CLERK. At the Magistrates' Office, Newtown, on Thursday, Oct. 24,before R. D. Gough, Esq.,W.Clarence Allen was brought up on remand, charged with stealing a number of books, the property of Mr Geo. Randall. The prosecutor said—I had my deposition, taken before the Rev. Canon Herbert in this prosecution, on the 21st of October, read over to me. The book, Moore's Irish Melodies," I identify as the one I lost from the office, and which P.C. Hudson found in my presence at the prisoner's father's house. The prisoner admitted to me that he had taken thioi book from me. I identify the book, "Byron's Poems," by the name Sergeant-Major T. Sullivan being written therein in pencil. Prisoner admitted to me that he had taken this book also. I identify the book, Jack Hinton," by the letter S," written m pencil on the fly leaf. At the time I lost the books they were tied up together in the same parcel. Prisoner also admitted to me that he had taken this parcel. „ Sergeant Hudson said he found the two bookg first men- tioned at prisoner's father's house on the 9th October, and they were immediately identified by last witness. He apprehended prisoner at Leicester, and prisoner then ac- knowledged the offence. The prosecutor then applied for a remand until the petty sessions, which was granted, bail being accepted for the prisoner's appearance. A second charge was then preferred against the prisoner for having stolen a book, the property of Mr J. A. lalbot, solicitor. Prosecutor said that prisoner entered his o: Nov., 1871, as general clerk, and remained until the 24th September last. In December, 1871, or January, 1872, he (prosecutor) missed a book called Pollock and Nichols's County Court Practice," value, when new, 37s. Asked Allen if he had seen it, and he said he had not. The book which Sergeant Hudson produced was the one missed, and which prosecutor could identify by certain marks. He also lost a book called Cook's Probate Practice" about July last, and identified the one produced as his. Sergeant Hudson proved finding the books in Kim- berley Hall, the residence of prisoner's father. When apprehended he admitted taking the books, and gave the officer the key to unlock the bookcase which contained them. Mr Talbot applied for a remand until the petty sessions in this case, which was granted, bail being accepted for the ^ruioner's appearanoe, but be was afterwards committed in

BYE-GONEA. NOTES, QUERIES, and REPLIES, on irtieresting to WcU9& and the Borders, must be addressed, to Bye-gones- Caxton Works, Oswestry. Real na)nts antfaddresoft mw#t be sent, in confidence, and the writing must be legible.. Old n8-W8- papers, books, and MS.S. carefully used and promptly returned.

NOTES. ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF PENNANTS TOURS.—It is not generally known that an edition of the Tour and Snowdonia, on large paper, with a wide margin, and profusely illustrated with original drawings and sketches, many of them coloured, ny tfi £ hand of Mr Pennant's artist and companion in travel, Mr Griffith, was issued at the instance of Mr Pennant himself. For this edition, twelve copies of the Tour, and ten of Snoiodonia, were printed. The two make up a copy ia. t-wenty volumes quarto. Some of the copies were destroyed. The fol- lowing is an extract relating thereto, given, me by the late Sir Thomas Phillips, Bart., F.S.A., Middlehill, when with him at his residence in 1856-7, collating Welsh MSS. for him then printing at his private press. Sir Thomas was oossjssed of a copy. 4 Tour. Snoivdonia. 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 — 1 — 1 1 — a 1 3 — In the possession of. Thomas Pennant, Esq. R. W. Trent Chi swell, Esq. Richard Ball, E<q. Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. Anthony Storer, Esq. Sir William Burrell. Lady Lloyd. Destroyed by Mr Pennant. „ „ Mr Chiswell. Remain in Nir Chiswell's pos- session. Gave Mr White, the Booksoller. Robson, the Bookseller bad, which being defective, he destroyed. T. W. HANCOCK. QUERIES. HALLOW E'EN.—Pennant records that in North Wales "theie is a custom upon All Saints' Eire of making a great fire called GlJel Coeth, when every family about an hour in the night makes a great bonfire in the n,ost conspicuous place near the house; and when the fire is almost extinguished, everyone throws a white stone into the ashes, having first marked it; then, having said their prayers, turning round the fire, they go to bed. In the morning, as soon as they are up, they come to search out the stones and if any one of them is found wanting, they have a notion that the person who threw it in will die before he sees another All Saints' Eve." They also dis- tribute 'soul cakes' on All Souls'-day, at the receiving of which pour people pray to God to bless the next crop of wheat. Mr Owen's account of the bards, in Sir R. Hoare's Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales, say! The autumnal fire is still kindled in North Wales on the eve of the first of November, and is attended by many ceremonies such as running through the fire and smoke, each casting a stone into the fire, and all running off at the conclusion to escape from the black short-tailed sow; then supping upon parsnips, nuts, and apples; catching at an apple suspended by a string with the mouth alone, and the same by an apple in a tub of water each throwing a nut into the fire, and those that burn bright betoken prosperity to the owners through the following year, but those that burn black and crackle denote misfortune. On the fol- lowing morning the stones are searched for in the fire, and if any be missing they betide ill to those that threw them in." All the foregoing, and much more, appears in Hone's Every-day Book, and many of the older of my readers will remember some of the All Saints' eve customs as here described, common on the Welsh Border. I should very much Lke to see, in Bye-gones, an account of the manner in which the festival is kept this year of grace, 1872, in the Borders of Wales.-CYNOG. REPLIES. BARON OWEN OF LLWYN. (O.A. Mar. 27, Apr. 24, June 5, 1872). Some months since, one of your querists asked for infor- mation relative to the burial-place of Lewis Owen, Esq., who was Vice-Chamberlain of North Wales, Custes Rotulorum, and several times M.P. for the county of Merioneth,and was murdered near Dinas Mowddy, upon the 11th (or 12th) of October, 1555, being then Sheriff for the county. I replied that the place of the Baron's burial was unknown, but that it was probably at DolgeUey, as the distance of the spot where he was murdered is not so great from that town, but that it is probable his body was con- veyed to Dolgelley, the place of his residence. I added other information relative to the Baron and his family, to which another querist demurred. I have not his own letters nor my reply before me, but I can recollect much of their contents, and I think the statements I am about to make, rest upon authority which may be pronounced all but incontrovertible. You would have had them some time since, but one of the manuscripts from whence they are col- lected was at the binder's. Lewis Owen was not born at Dolscrey, nor ever owned it: For amongst the records at Nannan, is a document re- lating to a law-suit, showing that long after his time Lewis Gwynne was owner of Dolserey," and that he was born in or immediately about the year 1577. His ownership of it is proved by a MS. in the autograph of Robert Vaughan, the antiquary of Hengwrt (Hengwrt M.S. 96), the Baron's great-grandson. Another MS. in his autograph (Peniarth MS. 6), however, shows that Robert Owen, the fifth son of the Baron, was "of Dolserey," and was "an Attorney in the Court of the Marches of Wales." His family owned it for many generations, sinking into the position of small gentry or yeomen, never attaining the rank of magistrate, sheriff, or esquire, and in the present century, some fifty years since, they became extinct. It is true that there are two Dolsereys, one being part of the Nannau estate, and is called Dolserey ucha, but if this had been the place re- ferred to in the above-mentioned authorities, surely they would have so styled it. Llwyn never was in the ownership of Baron Owen.-I prove this by the following extract from some notes taken from|a brief in a law-suit relating to parts of the estate, in the time of Wm._ Lewis AnwiU, Esq., of Park, who pur- chased it from Richard Ireland, who had purchased it from the Baron's grandson, Lewis Owen, a spendthrift, living in 4 James I. Mr Anwill was contemporary with Baron Owen's children and grandchildren :— Garthmacian.-Gatto moyl, owner of in the township of Garthmaelan, died thereof seized about Ao., 1554. "Elisse his son, who dying without issue, the inheritance fell to his sister Gwen, wief of Wm, ap Rees ap Meuric, who sold Llwyn to John Owen. "Lewis Owen (the Baron) being owner of Maes Mawr and Maescaled, carried the hay and corn thereof to his dwelling house in Dolgelley ali his dayes. "John Owen, aforesaid (the Baron's eldest son, M.P. for the co of Merioneth), having bought Llwyn, did build a house there about 1576, and dwelled there. "Lewis Owen, his son, sold the Llwyn to Richard Ireland, and the Maesmawr and Maescaled, and alsoe the mill-he (Rd. Ireland) at last sould the Llwyn and the rest to Mr Anwill." If your correspondent should wish it, I can give him the names of the occupiers in the lands to which the law-suit relates. The following extract from the funeral certificate of- Mathew Herbert, who died in 1658, will show that Plasyn- dre, in Dolgelley, was the residence of Lewis Owen, the Baron. Piasyndre, shown to tourists, sight-seers, and photographers, as the Parliament house of Owen Glyndwr, where, if I mistake not, there is not one stone standing, of the time of Glyndwr "Mathew Herbert (the deceased) was the sonne of Samuel Herbert, who was the 2d sonne of Mathew Herbert, of Dolgeog, who was the 2d sonne of Edward Herbert of Mountgom., esq. The mother of Mathew Herbert, the present deceased, was the daughter and heir of Lewis Owen, of Peniarth, who was the eldest son of Griffith Owen, who was the 4th sonne of Lewis ap Owen (called ye baron), of Plasyndre, in Dolgelly:" So Mathew Herbert's mother was great grand-daughter to Baron Owen. In the MS. by Robert Vaughan above referred to (Peniarth MS., No. 6), occurs the following statement as to certain of the Baron's direct ancestors: Llewelyn ap Griffith Ddu sould his lands and tene- ments in Keven y rhos called Llawegros, Tyddyn Enion Grue, and divers other lands in Estimanner, to Tudur ap leuan ap'-Uudur ap Griffith, of Caethle, as by the records tfnJeWr? T1 } « manifest; he had a son called Howel ap Llewelyn ap Griffith Ddu, who removed from Estimanner and came to dwell to Talybont: he lived in the dayes of King Hen. VI., and was of the grandiury for the said countie in a Session kept at Caernarvon, be- fore Thomas Stanley, Justice of North Wales, in the 23 yeare of the said king, Americ Vaughan, of Nanney being foreman, Rees ap Griffith ap Aron of Peniarth, Howel ap Griffith Derwas of Dolgelley, Howel ap Llewelyn ap Griffith ddu, &c., as appears of record in the Exchequer of Caernarvon. I find him alsoe in divers other grand inquests Ano. 31, 32, 33, & 34 of H. 6, and alwayes ranked and placed with the best of the gentrie he had a sonne called Owen, father of Lewis .Owen, Esq., cemmonly called the Baron." From this time till the hys of the Baron I find nothing relating to his family in the county records. This may be thought to give some countenance to the assertion of their enemies the Nanneys of Nanney, of the family having become so depressed that, when Lewis Owen was a child, his mother led him about the streets of Dolgelley, begging. It has been often stated that the antiquary, Robert Vaughan, inherited Hengwrt through his mother. She certainly wasJMargaret, second daughter of Edward Owen, of that place, third son of the Baron, but she was no heiress. Hengwrt was purchased by the Vaughans, at the ti-ne of their purchase of it of Gwengraig, in the parish of Dolgelley, from the Owens, and the conveyance of it is now at Hengwrt. In Hengwrt MS. No. 321, is an account between Sir John Salusbury, Knt., Chamberlain of N. Wales, and Lewis Owen, his Deputy Chamberlain, dated at Lleweny, 2 Oct., 1555. This was less than a fortnight before his murder. In Peniarth MS. No. 36, is an account between one of the Nanneys of Nanney (now Nannau) and Baron Owen, supposed to be entirely in his autograph, and there are documents at Peniarth bearing his signature. The bed at Brynygwin, which I mentioned in my last communication as brought from Piasyndre, has been restored and set up. It is the most interesting and hand- somest old bed that I ever saw, and I do not doubt is as old as the days of Baron Owen. Hereafter I may send you a copy of the inscripions upon it. w.

A Stage Study.—Ganze and effectL-Fun. What coin should last longest? On* laat shilling.— Fw*

I TIPYN 0 BOB PETH The people- of Chester have begun to pray for fine Weather- It is "ed, thet Captain Rowley Conwy has given 2200 towards the BestorttMH* of Dyserth parish chlirch. Pleuro-pneumoaiaand footand-mouth disease are- stiilon the decooe in the aeighboorhood of Cheater. A North. Ameneao. in native costume, kaabteeu SieeWing at Chester. A Tnai), named Jkimes Croxton, has been-cocaantted to gaol at Mold few fourteen days, in default ov not. paying a fine foar gross- eroeJtiy to a horse. Th&Menthyr police magistrates on Saturday, Oct. 26th, fined John Morgan, brewer, of Merth.yr, £.150 for the illegal use of sugar in brewing operations. Last week at the Anglesea Quarter Sessions the Chair- man announced that there were no eriminalsJor trial. This is the third time there has been no criminal business at these sessions. Capt. W. Hugh Thomas Trevor and Seorge Pritchard Rayner, Esq., qualified at the last Anglssea Michaelmas Sessions. An effort is being made to obtain a pension from the literary fund for Mr R. J. Fryse (Gwetydd ap Rhys), of Bangor. A Denbigh tradesman lost a 25 note in Chester last week, and on .discovering the cab in which he rode to the station the note was found on the fibor. Mr Henry W. Williams, a Welshman, now residing in New Zealand, has for the second time sent a cheque for 210 to be expended for the benefit of the poor of Den- bigh. p A presentation has been made to the late Curate of Llan- badarn Church, Llanberis. The testimonial consisted of a large number of standard works. A short time ago the clerk of Llangadwaladr Church, on returning home, found the roof of his. house falling in. His neighbours helped him to remove his furniture, and in a short time the roof fell in, but nobody was hurt. A silver tea tray and P,410 has been presented to Dr E. T. Hughes, M.D., of Mold, by his friends on the occasion of his leaving Mold, where he has been in practice upwards of forty years. A number of gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Mold Iia,ve joined together and established a pack of harriers to be known as the Mid-Flintshire harriers. A committee has been formed to purchase a pack of bounds. It has been resolved to get the city of Peterborough in- corporated. The desire for a mayor and corporation seems to be very strong in the city, and an amendment sdverse to the movement only met with one supporter. The other day, in the neighbourhood of Llangerniew, a boy about six years old, was following his grandfather over a wooden bridge, when he fell into the swollen stream and was carried rapidly away. The body has not yet b.:en recovered. A young man, named Edward Hughes, a bricklayer, of Bagillt, left home at half-past five in the morning to go to his work. Some time after he was found dead on the road- side. The deceased had been in a state ofdeHcate health for some time, and was'subject to fits. The Chester Guardians have resolved to build a new workhouse, at a cost of about £30,000, and prizes of 2100 and C50 are to be offered for the best and second best -de- signs of a building suitable for the purposes of the union. The Peterborough Board of Guardians have been asked by the Sleaford Board to join them in pressing upon the Local Government Board the desirability of inserting a clause in the new Bastardly Act, next session, to empower justices of the peace to commit to prison for three months any womar who had been delivered of three illegitimate children. One of the Guardians asked if there was a lunatic asylum at Sleaford. Dr Nicholas, who was formerly secretary of the Welsh University College, has written a long letter to the papers as to whom the honour belongs of first starting that move- ment. Of course, according to the letter we refer to, Dr Nicholas was the man. Others, however, have written, claiming a share of the credit. Most likely all the aspirants for the honour have done their utmost for the cause, and it is to be hoped they will not quarrel as to the first place. The practice of tempting thieves by exposing goods out- side shops is a bad one. At Chester, last week, two women stole a couple of mantles, which were exposed for sale outside a shop in Foregate-streat. Tradesmen might reasonably ask themselves whether thieves of this class do not run away with more goods than are sold by hanging them outside. A young man, named William Bellis, was brought up at Mold, the other day, and charged with poacbing. A policeman met defendant in the streets about half-past two on Sunday morning with a rabbit in his hand, and followed by a retriever dog. During the hearing of the case it transpired that Bellis had been taking his sweet- heart home, and that his dog had caught the rabbit on Gwernymynedd Hill. The magistrates believed that the young man had no intention of infringing the game laws, and dismissed the case.

GREAT STRIKE IN THE BLACK COUNTRY. On Friday, October 25th, a meeting: of coalmasters was held at Dudley, to consider the demand of the engine ten- ters, for 53. a day of eight hours. A deputation of engine tenters was admitted, but was informed that the meeting could not adopt any resolutions, being merely a committee meeting. The engine tenters informed the masters that they intended to adhere to their resolution to strike, and were informed that the masters could make no concession. The men subsequently held a meeting, at which they con- demned the action of the masters, and blamed them for bringing matters to such a crisis by not showing a more conciliatory spirit. The resalt will be that about 500 engine tenters will leave work to-day, (Saturday), which will throw about 50,000 colliers "out of work. The move- ment necessitates the stoppage of all the collieries in the district, and all the horses in Lord Dudley's pit have been drawn up. A considerable number of engine tenters waited upon the masters during the week, and offered to resume upon the old terms, but the masters refused the offer unless all resumed work.

THE AUDACIOUS LLANFYLLIN SWINDLE. At Westminster Police Court on Monday, October 28th, Henry Alexander Guazzarnoi, alias Henry Court, alias Elizabeth C. Pugh, alias Clara E. Pugh, a man 50 years of age, was charged on remand with endeavouring to obtain a charitable contribution by means of false pretences from Mr Henry Morgan Vane, secretary to the Charity Com- mission, and he was also charged with attempting to defraud Mr Robert Cook, another gentleman connected with that Commission. Mr George Lewis, jun., appeared on behalf of the Charity Organisation Society, to prosecute and Mr W. D. Smyth, of Rochester-row, appeared to watch the case on behalf of Mr Pugb. the gentleman whom the prisoner had represented to be dead. The facts of the case were of a very peculiar character. The prisoner was the son of the Italian tutor to her pre- sent Majesty, and he was also the reader to the Princess Sophia in her blindness. He appears to have been pos- sessed of considerable literary talent, which he had, how- ever, devoted to the worst purposes. He was a clerk in the Ecclesiastical Commission, and afterwards in the Census-office, but he lost both those appointments by mis- conduct, and at length descended to the most artful de- vices and begging-letter impositions. Imitating the hand- writing of a lady, he wrote two letters to Mr Vane, and delivered them at his residence, 74, Eaton-square. They purported to be written by Mrs Clara E. Pugh, widow of Mr Oliver Vaughan Pugh, a solicitor, and registrar of the County Coart at Llanfyllin, Wales, and after apolo- gising for the great liberty of addressing Mr Vane, went on to recount the dire distress of the widow and orphans, describing them without even food or shelter. Names of various gentlemen connected with the office were men- tioned, and Mr Vane was anxious to see what could be done in the matter, as Mr Pugh was an old and valued friend of his, and had been with him at the office of the Charity Commission. He accordingly made inquiries at the office, but found that Mr Pugh was alive and well, and that the letters were forgeries, and when the prisoner called for the donation on behalf of the widow, he was given into custody. The second letter was merely a repetition of the first. Mr George Lewis said the society had been to great expense already, and he hoped the magistrats would deal summarily with ths prisoner, after he had proved two dis- tinct cases against him. Mr Arthur Charles Toller, clerk in the Charity Com- mission, proved that he saw Mr Pugh alive and well on Friday last. He had known him some years. Mr Robert Cook, of Argyll-street, Regent-street, said he was with the prisoner at the Ecclesiastical Commission some years ago. He knew the handwriting of the prisoner. The letters produced were in his handwriting. The letters produced were beautiful specimens of female caligraphy. Mr John Goodenough Hayter, a clerk in the Charity Commission, proved that a similar attempt at fraud had been made upon him, but without effect; the letter was in the same handwriting as the others, and to the same purpose. Prisoner said nothing, but buried his face in his hands. Mr Vane ",hoped he would be dealt leniently with, not only on account of his previous position, but more on accout of his age; he was deeply grieved to see him in such a position, but he had a public duty to perform, and he must perform it. Mr Woolrych said he felt a painful duty in having to pass sentence upon a man whose future, had it been de- voted to better uses, would have been no doubt one of the brightest, Well born, well educated, and well trained, he htid made use of those qualifications to attempt these wretched impositions, steeling the hearts of the charitable against the really needy and deserving, and causing dis- comfort and anxiety to the gentleman the report of whose death he had circulated it was a sad case, and he had listened to the appeal for mercy, but had the prisoner gone before a jury his punishment would probably have been more severe than the sentence he was about to pass, viz., six months' imprisonment with hard labour, being three months for each attempt at obtaining money. Prisoner was then led away from the dock,

There are certain most agreeable amusements in the world which can hardly be indulged in by men of certain callings without conveying to the mind a disagreeable idea. For instance, who, without a shudder, can entertain the notion of a dentist playing cricket, and detected in the horrid act of drawing a stlmp.-Punch. Judy reads that M. Gambetta has accepted an invi- tation to attend a banquet which is to be given at Cbam- bury to celebrate the annexation of Savoy to France." French patriots, like all others, have their inconsistencies. Gambetta laments the German acquisition of Alsace, and yet is jubilant over the annexation of Savoy-one of the most atriking instances of cabbage on record Judy.

GROM THE PAPERS Mr Bright left Newcastle for Iloch Jale on Friday after- noon, October 25bh. • The price of coal was reduced 2s. per ton in Cork on Saturday, Oct. 26da, and at Great Yarmouth, to tbe extent of 3s. a ton. Thirty thousand horses in New York are aSected with typhoid laryngitis,.and' the epidemic is spreading rapidly. In the Spanish Congress the motion proposing the aboli- tion of the punishment of death has been rejected by ninety-nine votes against fiftv-eight. The mortality last week in twenty-oine- at the leading places of the United Kingdom was at an annual rate of twenty-four per thousand. The price of beer has been raised in London, as experi- ence showed that? the profit at the present price did not pay for the wear and tear of the measures into-which thi beve- rage was drawn t The Government bas approved of the nine hours move- ment. The workmen at the Woolwich Arsenal have had their hours reduced from fifty-six to fifty-four weekly. Viscount Boyne, Baron Brancepatb, died on Tuesday afternoon at Braneepath Castle, Durham, aged seventy- five. He is succeeded by his son, the Hon. Gustavus Hamilton Russell, born 1830. In consequtnee of the general fall in the-price of coal the Steam Coal Owners' Association at Cardiff resolved, on Tuesday, October 22nd, to reduce the market price of steam coal 65. per togo. Perhaps the dealers in this district will follow the example here set them. Early on Friday morning, October 25th, seven men attacked a pwldler near Bishop Auckland, and after having nearly strangled him, they tied his legs. and arms and threw himihto a mill race. He was subsequently found in the water, apparently dead, but recovered under medical treatment. At the Birmingham police court oiv Monday, October 28th, John Ashmore, a butcher of Morrey, Staffordshire, was changed with sending four quarters of beef uufit for the foo& of man into Birmingham. The Bench remarked that it would be a mockery of justice-to give the defendant the option of a fine, and sentenced him to two months' imprisonment with hard labour. An official notice has been issued by the Emigration Commissioners, warning persons of the labouring classes against emigrating to Paraguay. The notice points out that since the war with Brazil the country has been in a wry unsettled state, and that it is- by no means a suitable place for British labourers. In choosing Paraguay, or any of the neighbouring states, they will have to contend with far greater difficulties than in the British Colonies. On Friday, October 25sli, 9 shocking accident took place at the Jarrow shipbuilding establishment, by which two men, named George Cram and John M 'Quinti,- 'afeurers, were suffocated. Both men had gone into a store-room in connection with the works to light a fire to make break- fast. After doing to they lay down to sleep, and while in that condition were suffocated by smoke from the fire. They were found some time afterwards, both quite dead. At Ramsgate, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, Earl Granville dis- tributed the prizes and certificates in connection with the Oxford local examinations. He highly praised the univer- sity authorities for establishing these tests, which stimu- lated the exertions of pupils, and the inteiest of parents. In concluding their inquest upon the bodies of the driver and fireman of a luggage train, who were killed in a collision on the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway, the jury attached great blame to the shunter, and severely censured the Directors for culpable want of accommodation at the station, and for not taking steps to prevent such an accident, as warned last year. Of course the shunter will be discharged, but it is questionable whether the Directors will provide the accommodation which is required. A shocking event occurred at Dublin last week. Mr Hubert de Burgh, a young barrister, was to have been married to Miss Margaret Rogers, the daughter of a clergy- man. The bride's party were at the church, and they waited for the bridegroom, whose mysterious absence none could account for. A messenger was sent to his residence, and then the frightful fact was disolosed that after care- fully dressing himself, and making every preparation for the wedding, he had gone to his room, and cut his throat. The sorrowful bride was taken senseless from the church to her father's house. The principal part of the town of Northwich was flooded on Tuesday. October 22nd, t-o a depth of five feet, owing to the River Weaver having overflowed its banks. At least a dozen shops were completly inundated, and very con- siderable damage was sustained. Traffic was materially impeded throughout the day, and boats were used for supplying the wants of the inhabitants of houses surrounded by water. The fires at the neighbouring saltworks were ex- tinguished, and a large quantity of salt was washed away. The river Dane also overflowed its banks, and the meadows between Northwich and Middlewich are under water. The flood has been equally disastrous in and around Winsford. The Birmingham Daily Post savsIt was bad enough for Mr Newdegate to suspect Mr Whalley of being a Jesuit, but that any person, and that person a Scotch- man, should suspect Dr Cumming of being Anti-Christ, is really too much. The awful number of the beast-666-it has been discovered by a correspondent of the Glasgoio Herald-corresponds with the number of letters in the title and name of Dr Cumming. Some learned pundits, into whose heads it is evidently impossible to get a joke but by means of the prcverbial hatchet, have, in reply, en- deavoured to prove that the letters make 667 This is even worse it is the number of the beast "-and one over. The Archidiaconal Conference of the Archdeaconry of Stafford was held at Stafford, on Thursday, October 24th, under the presidency of the Lord Bishop of Lichfield. A resolution in favour of a change in the laws of Church discipline, so that the method of enquiry might be better adapted to provide less expensive and more easy and speedy decisions in cases of moral delinquency, was carried nem. con. A motion for the appointment of a committee to consider whether, by the establishment of parochial tempe- rance societies in connection with the Church of England, the energies of the Church! could be more effectually di- rected to obviate the prevalence of drunkenness, was also carried. It was decided to make the conferences movable. The next conference will be held at Wolverhampton. On Saturday, October 26th, at the Marlborough Police Court, John Dorrington, M.A., &c., Master of the so- called College, at Ripley, Derbyshire, was charged with obtaining money on false pretences. A sister of the pri- soner deposed that their father and mother had suffered from paralysis, and that she herself had been afflicted with the same complaint. Her brother, the prisoner, had issued circulars, but only gave her a small sum. The cross- examination was damaging, and it was said that prisoner had lived upon the charitable for fifteen years. The magis- trates committed Dorrington for six months, two months for each of the three offences. The quacks, we hope, are going to get a bad time of it. We learn from the Lancet that a movement has been set on foot for the prosecution of those pseudo-physicians and others who prey so largely upon the fears of young men by the issue of filthy pamphlets and the invention of imaginary disorders." As the Lancet says, few people know the extent of the mischief done by these shameless knaves, and, we may add, by those newspaper proprietors who admit their Tile advertisements. May we hope the prosecution will extend to the newspaper proprietors, without whose aid the quacks would be almost entirely deprived of their prey ? A deputation of thirty six Indians, accompanied by ten squaws, decked in paint and feathers, have waited upon the American President, who informed them that the m efforts of the American Government were to advance the Indians in civilisation, and preserve their lives by en- couraging them to industrial pursuits, and making them comfortable homes. The white people are now so numerous and increasing so rapidly as to crowd upon the Indians, and therefore it was necessary the Indians should no more lead a roving life, but have fixed places of abode. The sooner they understood and valued this fact the better for them and for their children. From Friday, November 1st, the new Act on baby farming will come into force in the United Kingdom. Not more than one infant under one year old is to be nursed for hire unless the name of the person as well as the house is registered by the local authority of the place. A register is to be kept, and the local authority may refuse to register, or may remove the place from the register for neglect in providing proper care, food, and attention to infants. For an offence under the Act, the punishment is not to exceed six months, with or without hard labour, or a fine of J65, with the liability to have the name removed from the register. The local authorities are to pay from the rates the expenses under the Act, and any fines pay- able are to go to the local rate. The Act is not to extend to relatives or guardians of infants, nor to public institu- tions. Inquests are to be held on infants dying in regis- tered houses, unless the coraner is satisfied with the medical certificate. The other day the Prince of Wales was dragged about in a cart until he shot a bull which was supposed to be the king of a herd of wild cattle, and now he has helped to shoot 797 rabbits in a day, at the seat cf the Earl of Aylesford. This latter feat has been described by a Bir- mingham paper in a way which did not please the sports- men, and on the second day the reporters were requested to leave the park without the customary returns as to the extent of the slaughter which, curiously enough, is called spoit. Some people are stupid enough not to be able to see the fun of shooting rabbits which have been huddled together for the purpose, but of course it is all right, and perhaps the rabbits are as fond of the amusement as the creatures are who shoot them in this ignominious way. The inhabitants of Kensington, who have just rebuilt their parish church at enormous expense, after a grand design by Mr Gilbert Scott,have discovered that the Home Secretary can be as "smart" as Mr Lowe at a bargain. It appears that there is a strip of ground opposite the church, and on this piece of ground the Government intended to build a police-barrack. The Daily News says—No in- timation of this intention was given up to the last moment, when the parishioners suddenly found that the principal approach and the splendid front of their new church would be shut out from the public view and blocked in behind a shabby range of brick buildings. They at once appealed to the Home Office, and, of course, Mr Bruce saw his op- portunity. He had bided his time, and could make his market. He knew that the hapless parishioners would not submit at any price that their beautiful church should be huddled out of sight, and, like the Wandering Minstrel of Robson fame, he refuse! to move on" save under a solid consideration. He demanded £ 1,400 as the price of fore- going to build on this miserable little piece of ground which the Government has allowed to remain unoccupied for years past. The parishioners, already heavily drained to supply the funds for their church, were aghast at this new exaction. They pleaded for less exorbitant terms, and Mr Bruce, after much haggling, consented to be merci- ful, and to moye on" for the mitigated fine of ;65W. Of course the money will be forthcoming; it is a question, how- ever, whether the or of the Exchequer will forgive the maudlin, weakasse which reduces the extortiou by £ 200*.

A CHIRK COURTING CASE. At the Llangollen petty sessions, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, before G. H. Whalley, Esq., W. C. Yale, Esq., Captain C. R. W. Tottenham, and G. H. Dickin, Esq., Mr Enoch Fox, ChiIk, was charged by the Rev. S. Maud, Chirk, with being on his premises for unlawful purposes, on Fri- day, October 25th. Mr William Sherratt, Wrexham, ap- peared on behalf of the defendant. The Rev. S. Maud said On Friday, October 25th, I saw the defendant on my premises he was in the boot hole; he was locked there. My wife had locked him in. I sent for the police officer, who received the key of the boot hole, and got the defendant out. The defendant is a regular attendant at the church; he also attends my wife's Bible class at the house. He does not conduct himself in I church or in public as he ought to do, and therefore I do not think he is a respectable young man. I bought this book now produced in order to give it to the defendant for his attendance in the Bible class and Sunday School. I did not know when the defendant was apprehended by the police officer that one of my servants encouraged his visits to my house. I do know now, I know that the father and mother of the defendant are respectable persons. They have lived in Chirk for the last twenty years or more. They were in Chirk when I went there, and I have been there about twenty years. The books, which are given as prizes, are awarded to any person who attends regularly, and has no particular fault laid against him. I have seen defendant "dodging" young women. What I mean by dodging" is that he throws himself in their way on Sun- days when they go to church, and waits about the house for them to come out. I do not call it complimentary" at all, I call it "dodging." My object in b. inging this young man before the magistrates is chiefly that other young men may take a warning. Mr Maude, jun gave evidence corroborative of his father's. Mr Sherratt, on behalf of the defendant, stated that the facts which Mr Maude had given would not in any way make tha defendant liable to commitment. The charge was for being on the ground for unlawful purposes, and courting surely was not unlawful. He (Mr Maude) had failed to prove that the defendant was there unlawfully, and, therefore, the case ought to be dismissed. It would be a very painful thing for him (Mr Sherratt) to call Mr Maude's servants to prove what the defendant was on the premises for, aud hoped that sufficient evidence had been taken for the Bench to form an opinion that there was no case. The Bench concurred with what lMr Sherratt said about the defendant not being on the ground for unlawful purposes, and as the summons was taken out for that of- fence they had nothing to do but dismiss the case; if the complainant had proceeded against the defendant for tres- passing, he would no doubt have been fined. They ought to be very thankful to Mr Maude for bringing this case forward, as it was a very foolish custom of young men going to the servants at their masters' houses when they had no business whatever there. It would also be better for the young men themselves, for persons seeing them hiding in an out-house, or in any other place, might think they were burglars and shoot them. ♦ ■ ■■

GUARDIANS' DINNERS. The St. Pancras Guardians, amongst their other duties, have to visit the workhouse school*, aud as this work takes up a good deal 01 time the Gu .rdians Lave been in the habit of treating theniSf]Ses at tbe ratepayer- expense to a good dinner, which they wasiidown with half a Pint of decent wine at the cost of half-a-ci\'vrn' a second half crown being charged to the parochial acc'-iuS&NWF. dinner itself. The Government struck out the charge for wine, and a correspondence ensue,• nc.t7TeOn the Guardians and the Local Government Board, who suppoited the auditor in what he had done. In these surcharges there is always a misunderstanding somewhere, and, as the Guardians had acted under a "mistake," m the end the amount was remitted. The letter, however, accompanying this notification, also notified what the Local Government Board considered sufficient for a Guardian's dinner: The Board thinks a good dinner with ale and stout quite good enough, and the St. Pancras Guardians are to have no wine in the future. Guardians by this decision, therefore, know how to act. They can dine at the ratepayers' ex- pense when on parochial business, and can have a good dinner, but they must drink ale and stout only, and not- wine.

KILLED AT A FUNERAL. The other day, curious accident happened at Kensal- green Cemetery, by which a clerk of a riis'iict church lost his life. On October 19th, the deceased, with others, was engaged at a funeral at Kensal-grsen Cemetery. The Church service having been finished, the roftin andmournere proceeded in coaches towards the place of burial. The day being damp, the fort-man directed the coaches with the mourners to proceed to the grave by the pathway, and the hearse across the grass towards a grave digger who was motioning the nearest way. The cdfin. was moved from the hearse, and was being carried down a narrow path by six bearers, when orders were given to turn, so that the coffin, which was what is known in the trade as a four- pounds leaden one, should go head first. While the men were changing, it is supposed that deceased caught his foot against the side stone and stumbl-d. The other bearers, to save themselves, let the coffin go, and it fell with great force on to deceased, fracturing his jaws and ribs. The greatest confusion was created among the mourners who witnessed the accident, and the widow of the person about to be buried nearly went into hysterics. Further assistance having been procured the bum1 service was proceeded with, while deceased was conveyed to a surgery, and ulti- mately to the hospital, where he expirid on the 24th inst. from bronchitis after the injuries. The jury returned.. verdict of Accidental death."

AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. At Worcester, on Saturday, October 26th, Sir John Pakington and Lord Lyttelton made speeches on the posi- tion of the agricultural labourer, and of cou) ae a good deal was said about the old relations" which had formerly existed between the labourer, the tenaut farmer, and the landlord, and which were now in danger of being upset by "agitators." The love of everybody to the labourer as long as he was content to live like an animal and work like » slave for a pittance that was far too small to provide the bare necessaries of life was wonderful, but did not do much to elevate him in the social scale. In fact, notwithstand- ing the love, and kindly offices, and mutual interests which we hear so much about, the labourer was gradually becoming more brutal and less able to support himself without the aid of parish relief, while the farmer and landlord were, at any rate, improving every year. Sir John Pakington alluded to the "Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Agricultural Labourer," and pointed out the means by which that society seeks to achieve the object it has in view. These objects ar,, improved cot- tages and an allotment of garden ground to be held direct from the landlord. liberty to keep a cow, and piece work, and Sir John Pakington implored his hearers seriously to con- sider whether these points could not be or ceded, but he was met with disapprobation. The love of the tenants and landlords did not go so far as to encourage the labourer in thrift, and Lord Lyttelton said That there were two per- fectly distinct parties who were moving for a change in the position of the agricultural labourer, whose ideas were in diametrical opposition—the one was headed by a man named Arch, and the Spectator newspaper; and the other by Sir Baldwyn Leighton. If the w&ges of the labourer were to be raised from 10s. and 12s. to 16s. per week, then the labourers and their friends must take it that they would get nothing else. He thought it would be far better to re- tain the general lines of their old system of the most kindly relations between employers and employed, and that landowners and farmers should awake to the signs of the times-to the geneial rise of waes and the increased cost of the necessaries of life, and see that the labourer has good grounds for an advance. He thought that such advance should not be by money value, but that he should be better dealt with in other ways—in the way of kindnesses and comforts—and that the principle of the old system should continue. The intelligent labourer, we are afraid, will look at the man named Arch" as a greater friend than Lord Lyttel- ton, who expressed his disapproval of the suggestion that each well-conducted labourer should be allowed to keep a cow.

Instrumental music is said to attain to the highest per- fection in the Organ 'Alountains.pun ch. The liner of the good old times has been fairly out- stripped in the race for news in nearly every provincial paper ycu may find accidents—by machiner-f -Fun. Mr Tennyson's new book, Gareth and Lynette, has been received by the critics with various degrees of favour. Some of them put it lowest, the Spectator ranks it near the highest, in the splendid series of Idylls. Whatever is thought of the poem as a whole, there are passages in it which recall the finest efforts of the Poet Laureate. We have only room for one picture Then into hall Gareth ascending heard A voice, the voice of Arthur, and beheld Far over heads in that long-vaulted hall The splendour of the presence of the King Throned, and delivering doom-and look'd no more- But felt his young heart hammering in his ears And thought, I For this half shadow of a lie The truthful king will doom me when I speak.' Yet pressing on, tho' all in fear to find Sir Gawain or Sir Modred, saw nor one Nor other, but in all the listening eyes Of those tall knights, that ranged about the throne, Clear honour shining like the dewy star Of dawn, and faith in their great King, with pure Affection, and the light of victory, And glory gain'd, and evermore to gain." FIXED IDEAS. (From Punch.) IN THE MILO) OF MAN.—That he is overworked. That his constitution requires stimulants. That, if he had them he could at this moment invest a few hundreds to the ereaU est advantage. That smoking is good for his nerves hia worries, his literary pursuits, his toothache, &c. That he ought to belong to a club: That he could reform the army, do away with the income-tax, manage the railways better, aDd make a large fortune by keeping a hotel. That he knows a good glass of wine. That he could win a heap of money, if he were to go to Homburg. That medi- cine is all humbug. That he could preach as good a sermon himself. That be could soon pick np his French if he went abroad. That he must win on this Derby. )eara IN THE MIND OF WOMAN.-That she has nothing fit to put on. That things ought to be bought because they are cheap. That there is company in the kitchen. That she is net allowed sufficient money for housekeeping. That she never goes out anywhere. That her best black silk is getting awfully shabby. 1 bat she requires a change about th3 month of August. That her allowance is too small. That she never looks fit to be seen. That cook drink*. That there is *l™y» a glare." That there is somebody in the house. That Mrs Orpington is dreadfully gene off or dreadfully mad* up, or not so very good looking, tixst an.

FARM HOUSE LIFE. Samuel Roberts, Richard Humphreys, and Richard Evans charged Elizabeth Robertson, at Llanfair petty sessions, Oct. 25th, with not having provided proper and sufficient food for them while in her service. Roberts claimed £ 2 damages, and the other two, £ 1 each. Mr R. Williams, Newtown, appeared for defendant.—Roberts deposed: I live at the Smithy, Castle-Caereinion. I hired with Mrs Robertson as a farm servant. My wages were to be C7 till next May. I hired sometime during the hay harvest. I could not live on the meat she gave me. She used to buy meat at Welshpool. We could not eat it. It was full of maggots. It was during:the hot weather. Forfsome time I found my own food. The bad meat was given us all the time I was there. I complained about it to the bailiff. The broth we had for breakfast was covered with maggots. The bailiff complained to Mrs Robertsox).-To Mr Wil- liams I lived with Mr D. Thomas, Cyfronydd for fifteen months, and afterwards with E. Davies, Dewis Gwyn, for two years. I never lived nearer to Mrs Robertson than my home-some two or three fields' distance from her house. I never knew anything about their way of living. My father and sister worked with her. They found their own food. I believe Mrs Robertson bought the bacon at Welshpool. I was there for two months. We never told Mrs Robert- son about the meat; we thought it was enough to tell the bailiff; we never arranged together to leave her service we should have famished if we had stayed there my longer. I showed some of the meat to Major Davies I kept it for a day or two before showing it to him will take my oath it was the same meat.—Robert Hughes: I am a servant with Mr Thomas, Brynelen; I was a servant at Mrs Robertson's before May last; had bad meat when I was there. Two or three of the sheep died from a disease-a kind of worms in their heads. I quarreled with her about the horses I had complained to her of the food before this quarrel; I told her the meat was not fit to eat. One of the sheep was not quite dead. They flayed and salted it; I am quite certain I had some of it to eat. The meat had a bad taste and smell. I had enough food as it was it was much inferior to what I had at other places.—Eliza- beth Robertson said I hired Samuel Roberts in August last. About a week afterwards I purchased some bacon at Welshpool; it was brought home in the trap. The waggoner after bringing it in said it was full of maggots. I returned it next day to Welshpool and had another flitch instead; I always supplied the servants with the best of food. They had the same food as my family I cut it for them first; S. Roberts never complained to me the three men left the same day.—Wm. Farmer deposed: I am a provision dealer at Welshpool. Mrs Robertson purchased a flitch of bacon from me in August la&t. She sent it back in a day or two. I received a note with it. There might be-some fly-blows in it. I sent her another flitch. It was the same sort. They were both good; I never sup- plied Mrs Robertson with any but the best bacon.-J as. Astley said I am a butcher at Llanfair. I have killed many sheep with worms in the head. I have sold the meat. I never heard any complaints about it.-John Jones said I am a servant at Brynelen, with Mrs Robert- son. I went there at the beginning of the corn harvest. Samuel Roberts was there when I went. He left in about a month after. I had the same food as he had. It was quite sufficient for anyone. The bacon was the same as at other farmhouses. I ate it every day, and they left it on their plates.—Sarah Roberts deposed to not being able to eat the meat provided for her.—Elizabeth Robertson then charged S. Roberts, R. Humphreys, and R. Evans with having deserted her service on the 25th September last.- After a short consultation the Chairman (Captain Pryce) said that they were unanimously of opinion that the parties were justified in leaving her service, and that their wages were to be paid. No damages allowed, and Mrs Robertson to pay the costs in each case.

HINT TO MANUFACTURERS.—Remember A recent act, and don't stick to your Buzzer-ness Fun, .ANGLO-FRENCH COMUERCIAII TREATY.-The raw material may offer material for a raw.-Punch. The Cocoa (or Cac.\o) of Maravilla is the true Theobroma fe Linnaeus, and is rapidly superseding all other Cocoas in the Market. Those who have not yet tried Maravilla will do wefl to do so." Morning Post. it may justly be called the Perfection of Prepared Cocoa." British Medical Journal. For homceopaths and invalids we could not recommend a more agreeable or valuable beverage." C!oo<.—Sotd in tin-lined packets only by all Grocers. TAYLOR EBOXHKBS, London, pro- prietors. l Tgll NEW AUCI.TEBA.TION ACT. -AUY person now sell- ing adulterated articles is liable to a penalty of £ 50 f 'r the first offence, and six months impi iso iment. with hard labour, for the Becond. B nrvick's Ba dng Powder is warranted-puie- and free fr)m alum oftl otter i4W. rious ingrcdientg found in no it ol e»p Baik ag Powd» -s, u Hereiore may. be sold witho\ t fear by all dc lem.

Nkft POLITICS. Mr Frederick D und^p, M.P. for the Oikney and Shet* land Isles, ditd suddenly frim bt art dinpsc in Loi-don on Saturday night, Oct. 26th. He" as in his 71st year, end. was a Liberal. A statement published by the Washington Government shows that during the past three years the public debt has been reduced 300,000.000 dols., or at the rate of more than £20,000,000 a year. Mr Maguire, M.P., who is suffering from paralysis, was removed to Dublin for consultation on Mo nday, October 28th. Mr Sergeant Sleigh has issued an address to 1he Conser- vative electors of Frome, in which he bids them an affection- ate farewell. The Revenue returns from the l?t April to the 26th Oct. are as follows :-TIeceipts, £ :iS.573,G27: expenditure. £ 42,511.733balances, £36;>5,812. Mr W. E. Forster, M.P., Vice-President of the Privy I council, nas ;just purchased the estates of Canwell Hall and Shirrall Hall, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, for the sum of £ 191,000-. The estates contain 2,!008 acres, and are about ten miles from Birmingham, and close to Drayton Manor, the residence of Sir Rooert Peel, Bart., M.P. A meeting of Mr Cooke's s-upporters was held at Rich- mond the otlier evening. He opposed the universal es- tablishment: of school boards and the repeal of the twenty- fifth claus", but was in favour of giving compulsory educational powers to local authorities. The Alliance between a section of the Conservative party and the Roman Catholics on the question of con- current endowment is producing.its natural fruits. There is some talk of nominating Sir Robert Gerard, Bart., a Roman Catholic, as the third Conservative candidate for Liverpool at the next general election. The taxt of the San Juan award w.is Is ued by the Foreign Office on Tuesday evenine, UL t. 29. It was trans- mitted to Earl Granville- by Mr Odo Russell, British Am- bassador at Berlin, about mid-night on Wednesday, Oct. 23rd. The award is very brief, and no reasons for the deci- sion are contained in it. The Alliance paity are carrying out vigorously their polisy of supporting only those Parliamentary candidates who will support their pet schemes. Thy contemplate bringing forward a candidate for Dublin, ?nl have been, trying on the "permissive screw" at Richmond. Both candidates have been waited upon by an Alliance depu- ta.tion, who asked for an explanation of their views on the Prohibitory Liquor Bill. Mr Cooke decliued to support the Bill, but would go so far as to extend the principle of the Licensing Act, "by stringently regulating, without suppressing, the sale of intoxicating liqun:-s." Mr Dundas also refused to vote for prohibition, bin." would support any measure the Government miiilit ir troduce to lessen the acknowledged evils of intemperance."

WORK AND WORKERS. LEAD.—Thr'S metal is stea/y, and sellers are very firm. Good soft English pig ha-A bein sold at C20 15' Spanish at L20 2s. 6cL to 2 20 COAL IN WEST LANCASHIRE. On Saturday, October 27th, a nseetiag of West Lanca shire landowners was held at Paeston, Colonel Wilson lie Patten, M.P., presiding, to hear a statement from MrE. Young, engineer and geologist, of Sheffield, of his reasons for believing that coal in thick seams and at a workable depth exists throughout the whole of West Lancashire, from Lancaster to Liverpool, embracing an area of 500 square miles. Mr "Soung made an elalxsrate statement of his views, aud so far enlisted the coneurrence of his hearers in his opinion that, after some discussion, the Chairman suggested that Mr Young should favour them with his views as to where the coal measures cropped out, where he should advise bo-ring,and as to what would be the cost. He should also propose that a committee be appointed, and be empowered to call another meeting of the landowners. Mr Beaumont said that the cost of boring three holes, each 100 yards deep, would be about £600.. With the Diamond Boring Company's apparatus 100 yards would be com- pleted in about three weeks. A committee, consisting of Colonel Patten, I.P: Sir Gerald Fitzgerald, Bart. Col. Cross, Mr T. L. fcirley, Mr J. W. Faire, Mr D. H. Ellet- son, and Mr E. Garlick, was then appointed, and the I r J- ceedings terminated. THE COAB. TRADE IN THE NORTH. We learn from the JEdinburgh (Jowrant that at almost all the collieries in Fife a reduction of from 2s. to 2s. 6d. a ton has taken place on the prices of coal during the past week, and a further reduction is under contemplation in some districts where the demand has very greatly fallen off. The proprietors of'an extensive coal-field are contemplating the necessity of working only three days a week, and those of another have intimated to their workmen that a reduction of wages will shortly take place. A writer in the Nevxastle Chronicle says I met, the other day, the managers of two collieries in the county of Durham, and they allowed me to look over the returns of their workings for the last year, and for this as far as it has gone. At oae ofthe collieries, with the same number of hands, the out-put of coals from January 1st to September 30th had been Bearly 1,000 tons more this year (1872) than it was last year. (1871). At the other colliery, with a slightly increased, number of men, the out-put this year up to the end of September had been 20,000 tons less than it was last year. These figures show bow unsafe it is to pronounce any dogmatic opinion as to the falling off of the production of coal. At one colliery there is a reduction, at the other there is an increase. This remark applies to the county of Dijrfaaai. In Northumberland, I believe, the gross out-put this ye^r bas not fallen below last year—at least, such is the opinion or mr Joun UlT^er^n, M-P-, the Chairman of the-Steaui-Coal Owners'Association.. the-Steaui-Coal Owners' Association."