The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

THE FARMERS' COLUMN. "v.v.r.I.I'r'.I.V'i'r"¿o.V" seiioi a calamity has overtaken fanners in the West of E'idand. >-y the almost general appearance of "cawrt" among the flock- in all districts. The disease affects the -sbeep in k mally, and also injures the wool, and it is now so "widespre ii! that the riipply of mutton in every market is very short. Tie wet summer i sai l to be the cause of the disease. In many <as flocks in wbh'h some of the sheep are affected have all been sold at 7s. 6d. per head. Immediate slaughter seems to be the only step that can be taken in order to retain the meat for use, and the loss of so many sheep will be seriously felt in the lambing season. The cattle and poultry show at Eingley Hall, Birmingham, Onsefl on Thursday, Dec. 4. The attendance this year has been more than 27,000 less than at the exhibition twelve months ago, and the money taken at the doors shows a falling off of about £800. At a meeting of the Council on Thursday a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Baily for the services he had rendered to the society during a period of thirty years. Special reference was made to his labours in connection with the poultry department in which from its commencement to 1878 he efficiently filled the office of judge. It was regretted by the Council that Mr. Baily was unable to continue to render them his services. The Birming- ham do show also closed on Thursday evening, having proved, as compared with the last two years, by no means so successful in point of the attendance of the puJ:Jlic. As compared with last year the returns show a falling off of over 5,000 in the admissions, and of about £240 in the receipts. DECEMBER.-Tbe best advice we can give now is, that a look- out should be ept for heavy rain and sharp frost, that the ases they entail may be reduced to the least possible. Let the work be ordered with reference to the weather, that there may be no prr.fhir.r;" oi gronrd, or absnr*! conflict, with P-ost for doing what should have been done on halcyon days. In fine weather and during hard frost wheel out manure and as long as the ground can be dug without waste of labour, proceed to open trenches, make drains, and mend walks, for these are the times for improving, and the place must be very perfect which affords no work for winter weather. It is a good plan now to dispose of all muck by the simple process of putting it in trenches when preparing plots for early seeds. In sheds and outhouses many jobs may be found to keep the hands employed, such as making large substantial tallies for out-door use, the little paltry things commonly used being simply delusive, for they are invariably missing when wanted, from their liability to be trodden into the ground or kicked anywhere by a heedless foot. Make ready pea-sticks, stakes of sizes, and at odd times gather up all the rubbish thatis adapted fora grand "smoother." —Sutton's (Reading) Amateurs' Guide.

SHROPSHIRE AGRICULTURAL AND MIDDLE- CLASS REPRESENTATION ASSOCIATION. The following circular has been issued by a number of tenant farmers, associated together for the purpose of en- suring the return of tenant farmers and middle-class representatives for the Northern and Southern Divisions of Shropshire. AGRICULTURAL AND MIDDLE-CLASS REPRESENTATIVE ASSOCIATION. College Hill, Shrewsbury, December, 1879. Sir,—I am instructed by the committee of the above associa- tion to forward you the enclosed epitome of their objects. The committee are desirous of ascertaining the views of the con- stituency, and enlisting their support. For this purpose I en- close you blank forms for signature; I shall feel obliged if you will be good enough to return the same to me at your earliest convenience, stating your desire to support the scheme. It is felt that prior to further proceedings in the matter, and the selection of candidates (which will be decided by a general meeting of members), that the scope of the association should be as extended as possible throughout the two divisions of the county, and the necessary funds subscribed to support the object. Although the objects of the association can hardly be attained without considerable funds, the smallest donation is sufficient to constitute membership.—I am, sir, your obedient servant, ALFRED MANSELL, Secretary. Association for the return of a Tenant Farmers' and Middle- Class Representative for either of the Divisions of the County of Shropshire in future Elections. It is felt that the time has arrived when the present position of agriculture should be more directly and fully represented in Parliament than has heretofore been the case. There is no doubt that the influence of farmers, and those connected with country towns belonging to the middle classes, whose interests are identified with agriculture, has been, and is at the present time, totally ignored in the representation, and that without careful organization, and the sinews of war, it will in the future be equally ineffective. The object in view is to return repre- sentatives whose loyalty to agriculture and its ramifications in the county, shall not be subservient to the ties of party. The candidate's party political views must be respected, and they will no doubt exert a considerable influence upon the success of his candidature. On this account, it is not deemed essential that any member of the Association shall be pledged to the candidate brought forward, although as such candidate will be nominated at a general meeting of supporters convened for that purpose, he would most probably be acceptable to all who approve the object. The expenses of a contested county election are large, but divided among all interested in this movement, the cost would become of small moment to individuals it is necessary, therefore, first to secure funds, without which no step can be taken, and afterwards to complete an organization that cannot fail to be otherwise than effective. A representa- tive as above described would be more closely concerned than any other with many of the important questions connected with local taxation and administration, because the payment of Poor-law, County, Sanitary, School Board, and Highway Rates is assessed on the occupier, and therefore is a direct charge on his annual revenue far exceeding payments of the same nature hy owners of land and other capitalists. With respect to_ ad- ministration in local affairs of such measures as contagious diseases in cattle, the Highway Bill, Poor-law and Sanitary matters, County Government Bill, and other local measures that will from time to time be developed and locally adminis- that will from time to time be developed and locally adminis- tered, not least, perhaps, amongst them being that of securing improved and more readily attainable education for the sons of farmers and tradesmen through the establishment and improve- ment of middle-class schools, it is asserted with confidence that the technical knowledge of practical representatives on the above and kindred subjects would be of the utmost value to all concerned, while they would also be more individually identified with the requirements of agriculturists with respect to the occupation of land, both as regards terms of tenancy, security for outlay, and the necessity for freedom of cultiva- tion. No time, therefore, should be lost in making sure that some share in the representation in this county should be secured.

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SPORT. "v"'V"V'> WINNING MOUNTS IN 1879. Statistics of the winning and losing races together with the "total number of winning mounts on the flat, of the fourteen most successful jockeys, calculated up to the end of the flat racing season:- WON. LOST. TOTAL. Archer, F 188 • • • • 372 • • 571 Wood, C. 89 371 460 Cannon, T. 81 229 319 Luke 63 323 391 Fagan s. 50 204 254 Fordh,.km 47 207 254 Constable. H 47 151 198 Osborne, J 44 164 208 Greaves. 49 .219 268 Morgan, H 45 248 293 Goater, J 42 170 211 Snowden, J 43 161 .204 Lemaire. 39 231 270 Gallon 31 212 243

UACING FIXTURES. Manchester January 1

COURSING FIXTURES. Halston December 19 Lydbury North (Salop) December 31

MARKET REPORTS. "v'v"r- CORN AVERAGES, For the week ending December 6. The following are the quantities sold and the prices this year and last year :— QUANTITIES SOLD. PRICKS. This year. Last year. This ye.ir. Last yea Wheat. 38,428 57,855 46s. 7d. 40s. lid. Barley. 77,099 89,080 Sss. 4d. S9». 41.' Oats 5,318 4.918 21s. 4d. 21s. Id. Corn, &c.. I LI VKKPOUl,, TUESDAY. -A fair trado was done to-day in wheat, at 2d. for red and Id. to 2d. 3? cental advance for white description;Flour tid. ;¡¡J sack;higher. Beans and peas firm but little done. Indian corn id. 40 ceiltal dearer. A 1'11(;J< vtins day). 8. d. u. d. American Wheat,$100 lbs 10 4 to 11 8 Californian Flour,$100 lbs 15 3 0 0 Malting Barley, 7W 100 lbs 0 0 0 0 Grinding Btrley, V 100 lbs 6 3 ti 8 English Outs, ti 100 Its 6 10 9 6 Canadian Peas, V loo lbs 7 0 7 1 Egyptian Beans, 100 lbs 7 7 lff 710 lnaian corn, American new white. 6 6 6 8 „ mixed American 5 10} 5 11 Malt, pale new ili, V quarter GU o 72 0 LONDON, WEDNESDAY.—The market Was quiet. Wheat was unaltered in value, and little business done. Fleur slow of sale, at late rates. Oats realized full prices. Other articles without change.—Arrivals: British wheat, SO quarters; barley, 2,990 quarters oats, 470 quarters. Foreign wheat, 38,470 quarters barley, b,740 quarters; oats, 99,470 quarters; maize, 4,110 quarters flour, 7,930 sacks and 1,750 barrels. CUILILENT Pit ICES OF URAiN AT M.,ktK LANE. 1. ::0;. Wheal, new Essex ana Kent (whiter 50 tv 62 Ditto ditto (red) io 56 Wheat, Norfolk, Lincoln, and Yorkshire, new (red; 50 66 Barley (Chevalier) 42 52 Malt, English pale, new 66 72 Oats, English leed 23 L, 5 Beans (Mazagan) 64 37 Peas, vviiice boilers (English; 34 38 11 11 (foreign; ;,6 40 Maize 30 34 Flour, Town Households, lbs., 44s to 50a. LIVERPOOL, FlUDA Y.- With a good attendance, a very fair trade was done in wheat to-day, at the full prices of Tuesday to Id. cental advance, the latter generally applicable to red de- scriptions. Flour rather active, at extreme rate-. Beans and peas unchanged. Maize rather in sellers' favour, at 5s. 9jd. to 5s. lOd. at the close. LONDON, MONDAY.—The market was quiet, but firm. Both English and foreign wheat quoted firm at last week's- prices, without much business done. Flour quiet, and unaltered in value. Oats and maize 6d. to 9d., and peas 6d. to Is. dearer on the week. Beans remain at late values. Barley slow of sale. Farm seeds quiet. Arrivals: British wheat, 5,886 quarters; barley,;1,925 quarters; oats, l,458quarters; flour, 18,451. Foreign wheat, 83,524 quarters; barley, 13,872 quarters; oats, 61,306 quarters; maize, 5,127 quarters; fluur, 12,452 sacks and 1,182 barrels. MANCHESTER, THURSDAY.—At the market this morning there was a fair consumptive demand for both English and foreign wheat. Flour was only a slow sale, but cannot be quoted lower. Oats, beans, and maize ruled steady, with a moderate sale. I BIRMINGHAM, THURSDAY.—At last week's market there was a reduced supply of English wheat, which was in better condi- tion. There was an improved demand, both for English and foreign, but the market was not-quotably dearer. Best barley firm; inferior dull. Little enquiry for oats. There was no im- provement in the value of beans or peas, but Indian corn was again 6d. V quarter dearer.—Quotations were Wheat, English white, tis. tict. to 7s. 3d. V 62 lbs; ditto, red, 5s. 8d. to 7s. 6d.; American red, 6s. lOd. to 7s. 4d.; Ghirka, 6s. lOd. to 7s. Od.; Dantzig, 7s. 8d. to 8s. Od. Barley, grinding, 27s. Od. to 28s. Od.$392 lbs. Oats, English white, 26s. Od. to 30s. Od. V 312 li)s.; Irish white, 24s. Od. to 26s. Od.; ditto, gray, 24s. Od. to 25s. Od.: ditto, black, 23s. Od. to 2-is. Od. Beans: English, 16s. Od. to 19s. 6d. V 196 lbs.; Egyptian, washed, 16s. 9d. to 17s. Peas, grinding, 15s. 6d. to lbs. 6d.$196 lbs. Indian corn, American mixed, 12s. 6d. to 12s. 9d.$196 lbs.; smali, 13s. 6d. to 14s. 3d. Rye, 31s. Od. to 36s. Od.$. 430 lbs. WAKEFIELD, FRIDAY.—Factors held wheat for the full prices of last week, and in some cases a moderate extent of business was dene. Barley of good quality'in request at fully late rates; secondary sorts commanded more attention. Beans and oats steady. Maize Is. dearer. SHREWSBURV, SATURDAY.—This market was fairly well attended, and a full average amount of trade was (lone in best samples of grain, but for the rest there was little demand. The quotations were:- s. d. a. d. White Wheat, ty 75 lbs. 6 6 4 8 8 Red ditto 6 0 8 0 Barley (malting) V 1-0 5 6 6 Ö Barley (grinding) 4 0 4 6 Oats, # 225 lbs 23 0 24 0 Beans, V 235 lbs 23 0 24 0 Peas, # 225 lbs 15 0 16 0 Malt,$imperial bushel 8 6 9 0 BRIDGNORTH, SATURDAY.—The following were the prices at this market White wheat, 7s. Oct. ta 8s. 6d. <¡¡J 72 Iba.; red wheat, old, Os. Od. to Os. Od.; red, new, 6s. 8d. to 8s. Od. Malting barley, 36s. to 45s. V imp. quarter; grinding barley, 12s. ud to 13s. 6d. V 2uO lbs. Beans, OOs. Od. to OOs. Od. V 200 lbs. Peas, OOs. Od. to OOs. Od. V 200 lbs. Oats, 13s. 6d. to 18s 6a. ZO 160 lbs. Indian corn, 12s. 6d. to 13s. 9LI. V 2uO Ibs. Malt, 8s. 6d. to 9s. Od. V iiuperial bushel. CHESTER, SATURDAY. — There were fair supplies at this market. Wheat met a good demand, at last :Saturday's full rates for best-conditioned samples. WELSHPOOL, MONDAY.- Wheat, 8s. 6d. to 8s. 9d. Y 80 Ibs.; barley, 5s. Od. to 6s. 6d. 40 40 quarts; oats, 16s. Oli. to 21s. 0d.; eggs, 00 to 8 for a shilling; butter, Is 5d. to 1». 7d;W lb.; fowls, 3s. 01. to 4s Od. V couple; ducks, 5s. Od. to tb, 0d. t couple; geese, 6s.Od. to9s. Od. each.; turkeys,8s. O i. i.>_ 12.. 0d. each; potatoes, Us. Od. to 5s. Od.$90 lbs. NEWTOWN, TUESDAY (Dec. 9) —Wheat, 0s. Od. to 0.. Od.$ 75 lbs.; barley, 0s. Od. to 0s. 0d.; oats, 00s. to uOs., eggs, 0 to 8 for a shilling; butter, Is. 6d. to Is. aLt. V lb.; fowls, 3s. 6 i. to 5s. Od.$coupie ducks, 4s. Od. to 5s. 0.1.$couple; geese, 4s. 6d. to 6s. each; turkeys, 4s. 6d. to 8s. each; potato«>, 7 a,s. for .sixpence; beef, Sd. to gel.:i lb.; mutton, 7d. to 8:" veui, 0d. to OJ.; lamb, ud. to Od.; pork, 7d. to 8jd. OSWESTRY, WEDNESDAY (Dec. 10).—The following were the quotations: White wheat, 0s. Od. to Os. Od. V 75 lbs. red wheat, 7s. 4d. to 8s. od. V 75 tbs.; barley, ,23s. 6d. to 25s. Od. V 280 tbs.; oats, 14s. 3d. to 15s. 6d. v 200 lbs.; Indian corn, Os. Od. to Os. Od. ijjj cental; butter, Is. 4d. to Is. 6d.$tt> eggs, 00 to 8 for a shil- ling; fowls, 3s. 6d. to 4s. 0,1. V couple; ducks, 4s. 6d. to bi. Od., geese, Oli. Od. to Os. Od, each; turkeys, Os. uti. to 0s. Od. each; potatoes, Is. 6d. Is. Sd. score. WREXHAM, THURSDAY.—Wheat, 7s. Od. to 7s. 6d. V 75 lbs.; barley, 4s. Od. to 5s. 9d.; oats, 3s. 6d. to 4s. Od.; butter, 1.3. 5d. to Is. 6d. ? 16 oz.; eggs, 7 to 8 for a shilling; fowls, 3s. 6.,1. to 4s. od. V couple; ducks, 4s. Od. to 5s. Od. V uj'dple; geese, Os. to Os each potatoes, 4s. 6d. to 5s. Od. 19 90 lbs. Cattle. METROPOLITAN, MONDAY.—There was a better supply of good beasts, and the demand, although not quite so brisk as on Monday last, has been active at full prices. Trade, however, was dull and heavy for anything below this class, especially Irish, and prices were rather lower. The British supply com- prised 200 Scotch, 1,600 Irish, and 2,670 Midland and Home Counties beasts. Good sheep met a fair sale second and infe- rior, both British and foreign, were quoted lower, low class of the latter being unsaleable. Calves and pigs were quiet, and without change in value.—Average prices: Beef. 4s. to 5s. 8d^ mutton, 4s. Ocl. to 6: 6d., veal, 5s. Od. to 6s. Od.; pork, 4s. Od. to 5s Od. The stock on offer consisted of 4,S20 beasts, 11,090 sheep, 360 calves, and 30 pigs; included in which were 350 foreign beasts and 1.294 sheep LIVERPOOL, MONDAY.—There was a large supply of stock on offer this morning, the numbers being 3,4t>0 beasts and 9,298 sheep, included in which were 165 Canadian cattle and l,90t) sheep. The demand was slow for all kinds of stock, the weather interfering with the trade. Buyers from the country were rather numerous. Middling and inferior stock in large supply, but neglected.—Prices: Best beasts, 6jd. to 7jd. w lb.; second ditto, 5d. to 6;lld.; Irish sheep, 7d. to Sid.; Scotch ditto, 7d. to 9Jd. [The Christmas market will be held en Monday next.] BIRMINGHAM, TUESDAV.—Good supply of beasts (140). There was a quick demand for good cattle, but a very slow trade for inferor sorts. Beef made 6d. to 71d. V lb., and in a few instances 7id. Fair supply of sheep (1,017); the trade slow, making 6d. to 9d. ? lb. Short liipply of pigs (39); and a fair clearance made.—Bacon pigs, 9s. Ocl. to 9s. ><d. i- score; sows, 7s. Od. to 7s. 9d.; porket pigs, 9s. 6d. to 10s. Od. SALFORD, TUESDAY.—There was a larger supply of stock on offer but the show consisted of rough and inferior animals. Choice beasts were scarce, and in a few instances made a fraction over the highest price of last week. Middling and in- ferior beasts ruled very slow, and lower prices had to be taken. Sheep were also shown in larger numbers, and the quality was of a fair average character. There was a better demand all round than for some time past, and the prices of last Tuesday were readily given, with a slight advance for prime light weights. A moderately active trade in calves, and last week's prices were, maintained A few Canadian beasts and sheep for which there was a good enquiry at fair prices.—The great Christmas show of fat stock will be held on Tuesday next.- Quotations Beasts, Gåd. to 7Jd. V lb.; sheep, 61d. to 9d. calves, 7d. to 8d. SHREWSBURY, TUESDAY. There was a good show of stock in the market to-day, and a fair trade was done, prices varying but slightly from last week. Fat things a good supply, 71H f ol?g Quotations: Beef, 7|d. to 8jd. lb.; mutton, 6d$!°lb Vea*' Pigs, porkets, 6d. to 6jd.; bacons, 5jd. to :„, DEAD MEAT MARKET, MONDAY.—The foUow B J*UlRations$8 lbs. by the carcase: Middling auv« middHn^ and l'nf -to 4s" 4d- P^ime ditto, 4s. 6d. to 4:;10d. mutton, 3s. Od. to 4s. 4d.; prime ditto, o3' £ small ditto 5!jW' to 6s. 4d.; large pork, 3s. 0 1. to 3s. 4d., o.mniv I to 4s. 0d.—Trade was very slow to-day. The supply of meat was moderate. Miscellaneous. IRISH AND AMERICAN PROVISIONS LIVERPOOL FRI- DAY.-Butter .Choicequaities are armiy heW foffull prfces, with a steady biisiness Posing. Bacon in improved request, closing 3s to 4s. dearei L^d with considerable forward busi- ness, has improved 2s. to 3s. cwt. Cheese steady, at the full rates of last week. LONDON PROViSION, MONDAY.rhe arrivals week from Ireland were 3,187 b h',les K °m £ oieign ports 23,996 packages butter, and ^,328 bales bacon. The state of the weather caused an improved demand and higher prices for butter during the past week •prices generally advanced 4s. to 68. V. cwt. Finest Normandies .34s. to ldbs. Quay price for Dutch 116s. to 124s.. but the quality was very indifferent. The bacon market also ruled very flrm, and a good business was transacted at an advance of 23.$cwt. on Irish, and 3s. on Ham- burg sizeable meat, the market closing firm. AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, LONDON, SATURDAY. Current Prices:- s. d. s d. Cloverseed, British, com.,$cwt 40 0 @ 70 0 Foreign, red 46 0 65 (1 „ white 60 0 90 0 Trefoil, fine new 32 0 40 0 Ryegrass, British,$quarter' 0 0 0 C „ Italian, 2 cwt. 0 0 0 0 Linseed,$quarter fi!> n 74 f, Rapeseed X £ ]: Tares, new winter,$bushel 5 0 f- Mustard, brown and white 70 15 LONDON POTATO, MONDAY.-Good potatoes continue in moderate request, and sales retain a steady appearance. The quotations are as follow :— Regents 120s. to I Gos. r tou, Flukes 130s. to 150s. Rocks 80s. to 90s. Champions 140s. to 150s. French 75s. to 90s. 1 WORCESTER HOP, SATURDAY. — Messrs. Piercy, Long- bottom, and Faram, in their circular, say—The business doing on this market is very much restricted. Choice hops find buyers when offered, but they continue very scarce. LONDON HOP, MONDAY. There is no material alteration in the tone of our market buyers confine their operations to immediate requirements, the stock of Engii.-Ii hops is, however, reduced into such a smali compass that prices in consequence are very firm. Really choice samples are extremely scarce. The demand for vearlings and olds is limited. Kent £ 5 5 £ 0 0 £ 10 10 Sussex 5 0. 0 0 9 9 Farnharn 8 0 0 0 12 12 American 10 0 0 0 11 0 English (1873) 3 0 0 0 610 Foreign. 2 0 0 0 5 If BRADFORD WOOL, MONU.H.-The buoyancy in the English wool market continues, and price are again somewhat firmer, though the rise is much less rapid than it was. Consumers still operate freely for their requirements, and purchases ara also made for export. In worsted yarns the demand continues to be chiefly upon twofolds, for which quotations are still hardening. In single yarns the enquiry is much slower. In pieces more orders are coming forward. LIVERPOOL WOOL, FRIDAY. -Owing to the paucity of stocks of pretty nearly ail the most current descriptions, trans- actions have been of a very limited character this week. The enquiry for alpaca continues, and the price of 19d.$lb. for 2.0 bales denotes an advancing tendency. —Quotations: East India, white, 7d. to 17|d.; yellow, fcjd. to 15d.; gray, ifcc., 4d. to lid., washed Peruvian, 8d. to 12id.; washed River Plate, 1M. lall.; unwashed River Plate, 6d. to 9jd.; washed Morocco, lOd. to Hid.; unwashed Morocco, 5d. to 8u.; Egyptian white, lod. tc 16,itl.; Oporto iieece, lid. to 12d.; uioliair, Is. lOd. to 2s. 2d.; alpaca, is. 7d. to Is. 6d. LONDON WOOL, MONDAY.—The public sales of Colonial wool having now been concluded, there is nothing fresh to report in that department, but privately a firm tone prevails. In Eng- lish wool there is less doing, which was to be expected' when it is borne in mind that ala] ge business has been done of late, and that we are near to the close of the) ear. Prices, however, are without material change. CUIUUSNX riticfcs. This year. Last ye.u. (Per lb.) s. (1. s. d. s. d. s, u FUSECES.—Southdown hoggets ..1 LI to 1 2.}..1 1 to 1 2* Hah-bred ditto 1 0j to 1 lj..l 1 to 1 2 iieut lieeces 1 0 to 1 1 ..1 0 £ to 1 1 S. Down ewes and wethers ..1 litol 2j.. 1 1 toi 2 Leicester ditto 0 11J to 1 0i.. 1 oi L. i 1 SORTS.—Clothing 1 0 to] 3j..l lj ta 1 43' lJombing I 0 to J. 6t..1 :2 L\, ¡ t.i BIRMINGHAM HIDE, SKIN, AND FAT, SATUI DAY.— Hides, 95 ib. and upwards, 5d. to 5(1. It.; 85 to u4, 41:1. to 5d.; 70 :<, 84, 4fd. to 5d.; 65 to 74, 4Jd. to 4„-d.; 56 to 64,4d. to 41d.; 55 and umier, od. to 4d.; cvW, 3Jd. to 4d.; bulls, 3gd., tlawedaud irregular, 3Jd. to Sid. Calf, 14 Ill. aw. upwaids, 12 to 16, 7 d.; U tu 11, lid.; 7J. Wools, 3o. 3d. to 7s. 4d. eiteli. 0s. Od. to 0s. ûu. each. Fat, lad. to 3kd. fc' lli.- Nossiter's List. BARK, TANNING MATERIALS, &C.-SATUYDAY. ie s. A.. Ettglish, ? loa.d of 45 cwt. delivered in London.. 12 0 (a 14 lo Ditto, Coppice < 6 10 Mimosa, chopped £ 7 10 @ £ 9. Ground. 6 0 1 10 Valonia, Smyrna X12 10 £17 10. Morea 11 0 14 0 Gambier, in bales £ 17 17 6 <g £ 1S 0. Cubes 20 0 23 0 Cutch, best Pegu 30 0 33 lu Divi Divi 120 15 10 Myrabolams 8 lu 15 0 15 0 15 1C LEATHER.—LEADENHALL, TUESDAY. I V th. s. d. ki. 11. Hides, crop, 28 lbs. to 40 lbs 1 0 @ 1 3 Ditto, 41 lbs. to 60 lbs 1 2 1 8 English butts, 14 lbs. to 24 lbs 1 2 2 3 Ditto, 25 lbs. to 36 lbs 1 3 2 Foreign butts, 16 lbs. to 50 lbs 1 0 2 Crop bellies 0 7 0 10 Shoulders 0 9 13 Dressing hides, common. 0 10 1 5 Ditto, shaved 10 16 Calfskins 1 3 t LONDON PRODUCE, SATURDAY. Sugar: The market re- mains extremely quiet. Coffee dull and inactive. Rice is still without alteration. The cotton market steady. Jute active at full prices to a further advance. Tallow steady; old 43s., new 45s. Ii cvvt. on the spot. Oils Rape 29s. 9d. to 30s.; linseed 28s. to 28s. 3d. V cwt. Spirits of turpentine 29s. 6d. Petroleum flatter, at 7 £ d.$gallon. LIVERPOOL PROD GCE, WEDNESDKY.- Sugar is slow, but prices are unchanged. Cotfee very quiet. Rice also uuiet. Cocoa in limited request. Nitrate of soda 18s. 6d. to 18s. 9d. %) cwt. Palm oil continues firm. Olive oil quiet, but steady at late rates. Linseed oil 29s. to 29s. Gel., ;¡¡¡ cwt. in export casks. Rape oil, refined Stettin, 33s. to 33s. Gd. Cottonseed oil 29s. to 93. (id. for Liverpool refined. Tallow 38s. to 39s. for North American. Lard 40s. to 40s. td. Spirits of turpentine 3Js. to 30s. 6d. 41 ewt. Rosin, common, 5s. 4Jd.$cwt. Petroleum, refined oil, firm at 7Jd. to 8d. 9 gallon; spirit 6d. to 6jd. Ashes, 28s. W c wt. for pots pearls dull at 32s. FERTILIZERS.—LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY. £ s. d. 9 S. 1. Peruvian Guano, 10 to 12 am ton 11 10 0 @ 13 0 0 Ditto, high phosphatic „ 7 13 3 8 0 o i-iona Ash, River Plate 11 5 0 0 5 5 0 Superphosphate, 26 to 28 cent., in bulk.. 0 0 0 0 0 I. Ditto 35 to 37 cent. „ ..0 0 0 Out Nitrate of Soda$cwt. 0 0 0 0 18 6 HAY AND STRAW.—LONDON, SATURDAY.^ HAY, STRAW, AND PRODUCE.—LIYEIU'OOL, SATURDAY. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE.—LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY. I AGlUCU.LTURAL PRODUCE.-LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY. Hay, :¡¡¡ cwt. s. d. s. d. i 0 ion. 01(i 4 (46 3 s. 4. J. u New 0 0 0 0 | Carrots 0 0 @ 0 Straw Turnips 30 0 31 0 Wheat 2 10 3 8 I Mangel Wurzei.. 0 0 28 u Oat 3 0 3 5 I Manure 4 6 Barley 3 0 3 4 I Grass, 20 lbs.0 0 0 0 HAY AND STRAW.—LONDON, TUESDAY. s. d. «. Prime meadow, hay (:# ton) 90 0 @ 100 0 Inferior ditto „ 30 0 80 Prime clover 11 98 0 130 0 Inferior ditto „ 70 0 90 Straw ($36 trusses) 30 0 40

Trade Intelligence. WOLVERHAMPTON IRON TRADB.—WEDNESDAI All quotations were very strong this afternoon. A sensible effect had been produced upon the market by the circulars of Mr. Fisher Smith (for the Earl of Dudley) and of Messrs. Bar- rows and Sons, refusing to accept orders at other than next quarter's prices. Single sheets, ordinary quality, were up to from £9 to P,9 10s. V to i for prompt delivery. Stamping sheets were advanced 20s., and workmen's wages 5$cent. Hematite pigs were up 10s., making to-day s quotation L5 and Tredegar pigs were advanced DS., £4 10s. being refused. Coal was in growing demand. MINERAL REPORT.—MANCHESTER, SATURDAY. Messrs. Berger Spence and Co., in their weekly report, say— Although a steady increase continues to be observable in the demand for minerals, so far the additional total is not matter for great satisfaction The improvement, although it has touched all articles under the category, aud materially influ- enced the value of some, has yet not been sufficiently broad to instil confidence among buyers. The result is that the trade does not exhibit that buoyancy which might be expected, and it is only by a continual struggle that prices are prevented re- ceding. Holders of brimstoHe generally are seeking higher rates, but are by no means firm to their quotations. Iron ore continues to improve, and sellers can more easily obtain their own conditions. The enquiry for the better classes of ore con- tinues,io enlarge. Efforts are being made to re-open various sources of supply which have long been closed owfilg to the stagnation. Manganese enjoys a good demand; susplies, how- ever, are rather more easily obtained. THE CROPS AND THE CORN THADJi. The Mark-Lane Express says:—Sharp frost has prevailed for many days, to the interruption of all inland navigation, and the stoppae.of agricultural labour. Some breadth of land intended for wheat is yet unsown. Where mangel is still unsecured, the roots Have been injured by the severity of the frost. With the exception of turnips, the crops in Scotland have now been se- cured, but all farm work has been suspended owing to severe weather, particularly the ploughing of stubbles, which is much in arrear. Threshing has been carried on pretty briskly, al- though farmers' deliveries of wheat have shown a slight falling off compared with those of the preceding week. It cannot, however, be said that the offerings of hpme-grown grain have improved materially, either in quality or condition, in spite of the fine dry autumn weather which was counted upon to mature them. The fact is that quality, weight, and flour-producing properties are all sadly deficient in this year's produce, of which the bulk of the samples hitherto offered for sale has been neg- lected by millers as practically unfit for grinding. Business has, consequently, been Very slow, both at Mark-Lane and in the country, ana prices have undergone little variation.

MR. OSBORNE MORGAN ON LAND LAW REFORM. MR. OSBORNE MORGAN has contributed an article on Land Law Reform to the Fortnightly Review for December. The hon. and learned gentleman's legal knowledge and experience, which has been increased by the evidence recently given before the Select Com- mittee of which he was appointed chairman, entitle his remarks upon this subject to careful considera- tion and we shall endeavour, in the space at our dis- posal, to place our readers in possession of Mr. MORGAN'S opinions. The question has been thrust into prominence by the unusual difficulties which at the present moment surround the cultivation of the soil; and in this respect the history of land-law reform will agree with the history of almost all poli- tical changes. As Mr. GLADSTONE pointed out in a passage which has been criticized with malignity, it requires the shock of a grave disaster to arouse the national mind to the evils and dangers of customary abuses. Mr. MORGAN goes straight at his subject, and in little more than a dozen pages puts the matter clearly before his readers. First of all the evils of the present law are described. A man wants to buy a house or a farm, and the bargain is struck; but the title has to be investigated and weeks or even months may pass before he can be certain that the seller can make him the owner of the thing he wishes to buy. As to the cost of the transaction, his lawyer can only give him a vfgue hint; and Oil this point we have a most instructive note. Three ladies who were concerned in certain business relating to landed property employed three different solicitors. Though "the business was exactly and precisely the same in each case, the bill of the first was taxed at jE17, that of the second at 918, that of the third at £ 223." The client is left practically at the mercy of the solicitor, for thanks to what Mr. MORGAN calls "the preposterous principle" on which conveyancing costs are taxed, the measure of payment is not the value of the work done, but the length and number of the documents prepared. We have no doubt at all that solicitors are as honest as other men, but it is only too easy even for a scrupulous lawyer to run up an extravagant bill in his anxiety to protect the interests of his client. So much for the cost and delay of the first transaction, which only carries us one step forward in the ex- penditure of time, and temper, and money. If the purchaser wishes to borrow, his first experience may go for nothing at all. The mortgagee insists upon going through exactly the same investigation of title, and makes him pay for what he feels to be a needless repetition. Finally, if he desires to pay oft his mortgage debt, he has to open his purse strings again; and after all, "there is probably no civilized country in which a mortgage of landed property carries with it so little real protection against gfraud as it does in England." The annoyance of all this unnecessary expenditure of time and money is serious enough in itself, but the evil is a far reaching one, for it greatly diminishes the marketable value of land. An improved system of transfer probably means an addition of E2,000 in the selling price of an estate now worth 220,000, or, in other words, an increase by many millions in the market value of the fee-simple of England. Though, as we have said, it required a period of severe agricul- tural distress to bring the general question of land- law reform to the front, the evils we have now pointed out have been recognized by legislators for years, and unsuccessful attempts have been made to modify or remove them. Mr. MORGAN describes these attempts and the reasons why they failed. It was forgotten, he says, that laws which would suit- a new country like Australia or America, where land was necessarily held on the simplest conditions, could not be all at once transplanted to a commxmity where the owner- ship of laud is complicated by laws and customs, the rrrowth of centuries. In the same way, Mr. MoitaAi* exposes the common fallacy that land might be L nsferred quite as easily as stock. It is forgotten that" land is concrete and stock an abstract-ion; that stock pè no' boundaries, conocato no mioSMtlB. supports no game, pays no tithes, admits of ne easements, is let to no tenant, and hampered with no adjoining owners. But though the transfer of land and stock cannot be entirely assimilated, we may go a long way in that direction. For this pur- pose, "first, the land itself must be capable of easy and certain identification; and secondly, the title which it is sought to register must be itself clear and simple." The ordnance survey must be perfected and the ownership of land must be gathered up into one or two hands, and not distributed as it often is now, among persons who are "infants or lunatics, or in Honolulu or the Fiji Islands, or unborn, or un- ascertained." In Australia and New Zealand land is transferred with a simplicity which excites the wonderment of English lawyers and the envy of their clients. "A man wanting to borrow money or sell land, accompanied by the intending mortgagee or purchaser, walks into an office in Adelaide or Sydney with his certificate of title in his pocket. He employs no lawyer and executes no deed. An official is sum- moned, an entry is made, and a small fee paid, and at the end of five or ten minutes the transaction is complete, the land effectually pledged. or sold, and the money in the borrower's or vendorTs pocket." The success of this system, which is known as TORREN'S System of Land-Transfer, led to the introduction of Lord WESTBURY'S Act in 1862, and ío the Land Transfer Act of 1875, both of which failed to accomplish their purpose and the last legislative contribution to the subject was the report of Mr. MORGAN'S Committee a few months ago. The recommendations of the Com- mittee have the merit, which Mr. MORGAN claims for them, of directness and simplicity. These recommendations are summed up in the Fort- nightly in the following terms :— To complete the all-important work of surveying every county in England, so as to make each house and field capable of immediate and unquestionable identification— to clothe instruments relating to land in the simple lan- guage of every-day life, instead of disguising them in that of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth—to pay solicitors upon a principle which would no longer put a premium upon mere verbiage—to vest the freeholds, like the lease- holds, of a deceased person in some ascertained person, instead of leaving them at haphazard to devolve upon a child in the nursery, a lunatic in an asylum, or a gold- digger in Australia—to substitute simple charges upon laud, defeasible in case of repayment, for the unwieldy machinery of mortgages and reconveyances—to reduce still further the time fixed for the commencement of titles—to get rid of constructive notice" and the abomi- nation known as the Middlesex Register—and to establish inconvenient centres really well-arranged registers of all dealings with land, furnished with indexes enabling a per- son of ordinary intelligence to pick out all the charges, affecting the title in a few minutes, with proper provisions for utilising the result of previous searches, so as to obviate the necessity of repeating the same process upon every fresh transaction. It is obvious that if these suggestions could be realized, we should be carried a good way towards that reform of the Land Laws the necessity of which is so urgently shown on the face of the recommenda- tions themselves. According to competent wit- nesses, says Mr. MORGAN, one of these suggestions alone, the substitution of simple charges for our present legal mortgages, would effect a saving of several millions a year. So far we have only dealt with one branch of the subject; with the other and more difficult branch Mr. MORGAN'S Committee did not venture to grapple. It is the abrogation of laws and customs which tie up family estates, that will on one hand put to the severest test the courage and capacity of the statesman who under- takes it, and on the other hand bring the greatest benefit to the State. Mr. MORGAN is careful to ex- plain that settled estates are not nominally unsale- able in the way many people appear to suppose, but as a rule the power of sale amounts to little or nothing, and the family estate devolves from father to son with almost as much regularity as if it had been made inalienable by law." Mr. MORGAN does not profess to discuss at length the merits or drawbacks of a custom which is alternately extolled as the mainstay, and abused as the bane, of English society." But he shows in a few lines how disastrous the effects of this custom often are, and he says as it is obviously for the interest of the community that every acre should be made as productive as possible, it follows that no system can be really beneficial which hands over a large proportion of the land to the tender mercies of a limited ewner more or less crippled or impoverished, or still worse, of some usurer or loan society, whose interest it is to spend as little and get as much as possible during their precarious period of tenure." There are people 1= epared to prove in reply that the system of settled estates has the balance of advan- tages that it gives us larger numbers of wealthy and intelligent men, and a more abundant produce from the soil. We are not prepared to admit that great ac- cumulated wealth is advantageous to the community, or to take it as proved that, other things being equal, the tenants of large estates win more from the soil than the owners of small farms; but there is an- other side of the question. That large and increasing body of Englishmen who be- lieve that the prosperity of a nation is bound up with the greatest happiness of the greatest number," and who for years have been contrasting the lot of the thrifty and self-reliant peasant of Switzerland or Belgium, and that of the Dorsetshire labourer with no solace but the beershop, and no refuge in old age but the parish lwork- house, have been steadily coming round to the conviction that the real hope of England lies in the growth of small proprietorships. Those who, like myself, have seen the difference which the possession of a freehold cottage and half an acre of garden makes in the habits and character —nay, in the very expression and bearing, of a Denbigh- shire collier, or a Merionethshire quarryman, will need no additional arguments to convince them of this great social and political truth. But to say that you do not interfere with the multiplication of small proprietorships by tying up half the land in England for the exclusive benefit of a few thousand families, is as absurd as to contend that the Circulation of money would not be impeded by making it impossible to get change for a fire-pound note. Nor can the fact, so often repeated, that millions of acres are sold annually in Great Britain, be deemed a conclusive answer, so long as whole tracts of country exist where, from the fact of every square yard being in the hands of two or three great families, a working man would find as much "difficulty in buying land as in buying Imperial Tokay. Indeed, the experience of the Irish Encumbered Estates Court and the Irish Church Commission, as well as that of nearly all foreign countries, to say nothing of the reason of the thing, shows that the effect of bringing large quantities of property into the market is to give a chance to small capitalists, and to stimulate that appetite for the acquisition of land which is natural to all classes of men. In other words, the first step towards bringing small properties within reach of the poorer classes is to make sales easy and transfers cheap. Where, then, is the remedy to be found? Mr. MORGAN has already pointed out in the first part of his paper that the present complications of owner- ship must be' abolished before transfer can be simplified; and he now shows how the repeal of the law of primogeniture, though it would not at first affect one large family estate in a thousand, would remove a great hardship among the middle classes who have no ambition to found a family," and tend in the course of time to modify the custom of leaving lande d property to the eldest son. The truth is that in such matters law and custom act and re-act upon each other, and that you cannot change the one without insensibly affecting the other." As yet, however, we have only gone a few steps on our journey- Primogeniture may be swept away, but estates may still be tied up, life tenants may be crippled, agriculture may languish, and the whole community may suffer; Mr. MORGAN describes his proposed remedy as far more drastic than archer which he mentions; but whether it is drastic enough will perhaps be doubted by some of our readers, who may call in question the propriety of allowing land to be first of all tied up and then alienated by the possessor Our present purpose, however, is not to enter into a minute discussion of Mr. MORGAN'S proposals, but to place them before our readers and it must be borne in mind that the question is surrounded by many difficulties, or we should perhaps say, many prejudices, and that violent proposals are suicidal. Mr. MORGAN, after ex- pressing his anxiety'not to take away from a landed proprietor the power of making binding provision for his fmily after his death," says— What is really wanted is some cheap and simple process in the nature of that established by the Irish Landed Estates Act, by which real estate, in the hands of limited owners, might at their instance, or that of their in- cumbrancers, be turned into money, and the proceeds duly applied and invested for the benefit of all persons nterested in the land. The result would be that the land would be set free, the income of the limited owner largely increased, and the claims of all other interested persons transferred from the land to the purchase money :or the securities in which it was invested. Such a] machinery, though on somewhat too costly a scale, already exists, and is daily put into motion in the case of land taken by rail- way and other public companies, nor have I ever heard that it has caused any complaint or worked any injustice. Side by side with this we may place the opinion of the late Mr. KAY, with which many moderate and-law reformers agree— Do not let it be supposed, however, that I would de- prive a landowner of the power of making a will and of leaving his land to any child, or children, or person that he chose. I would leave him such a power. I believe, however, that it would be better for the land, for his family, and for the country, that the landowner should have no power whatever of rendering his land unsaleable, or of withdrawing it from the market, or of regulating its management in any way after his own death. The interests of an infant to whom he left any land might be satis- factorily guarded during his infancy by giving the necessary powers either to a guardian appointed by the will, or to one of the Courts. The object of reformers like Mr. KAY is a. very sim- ple one. They seek to remove the artificial barriers which human law has set up, and to let natural laws govern the exchange of land as they govern the ex- change of other things, with the smallest possible modifications, which may be called for by the special conditions of landed property. Law is to do nothing to split up the land into small parcels, or. on the other hand, to collect it into large estates, There is no' violence in a proposal of this sort, and to call it "re- volutionary" is to use a term which is meant to be abusive, but may be descriptive of a necessary and beneficent change. It is a matter for congratulation that a man of Mr. MORGAN'S high attainments and open mind has taken in hand a question of so much importance. The learned gentleman, in his conclud- ing words, refers to "the laws of distress and fixtures, the law of rating, the laws relating to ganie, and we hope to see another article from his pen dealmg with these subjects, and elucidating ^hem as he has eluci- dated the general question of the laws affecting ownership and transfer of land. One day lst week litfrd Mostyn and party bagged 291

Laad of in WhitforJ "VVood. His lordship is more 'b sa youio 0'£ as. ■j THE LATE MR. A. H. REID- We regret to announce that Mr. Augustus H. IWd, reg'SitTar of the Wrexham and Llangollen County C nuis, died residence, Nythfa, Wix-xhaji!, on She a of Decembijf, tti the 44th year of his age. after having been indelicate Health for some time. Mt>. li-id » t: e son of a London physician, and in 1S72 married a daughter of the late Mr. David Williams, M.P. for Merionethshire. H was a Liberal in politics, and up to a recent date acted as treasurer for the Wrexham Liberal Association. He was an active Freemason, and was the fourth W.M. of the "Square and Compans" Lodge, Wrexham. Both in public and private We l'r. itei.1 enjoyed the highest respect of those who were acquainted with him. The post of registrar, worth rüoo a year, is in the gift of the judge, Mr. Horatio Lloyd, On Saturday the remains uf the deceased gentleman were "buried in the new cemetery with Masonic honours. TBe solicitors of the town also determined upon attending the ftineral in a body, to show the respect in which Mr. Reid was held amongst his brother professionals. The cortege left the residence, Nythfa, Gros- venor-road, at twelve o'clock, in the follow- ing order :— Freemasons, to the number of about forty, the hearse containing the body; the first coach, in which were the chief mourners, Mr. H. LI. Reid, Mr. F. Vaughan-Williams, Mr. A. Osmond Wil- liams, and Mr. R. C. Beazley; the second carriage con- tained the Vicar (the Rev. David Howell, who officiated at the grave), Dr. Ll. Williams, and Mr. N. Griffith; Mr. C. Glascodine and Mr. J. Davies of the County Court Office, walked next; then followed the solicitors, Messrs. John James, J. D. PH,h, J. Allington Hughes, J. Jones, T. B. Acton, T. i; ry, Hampden Poyser, Ashton Bradley. J. PoweJl, Owen G. Jones, and Bernard Lewis, and they were followed in a carriage by M:. W. J. Sisson and Mr. W. Overton. Arriving a the gate of the cemetery, and in front of the chapel, the Freemasons filed off, and formed a passage down which the body was taken. The four pall-bearers were Mr. J. Lewis, Mr. W. Low, Mr. J. 0. Bury, and Mr. Walter Jones, all Masons. The grave, which is an exceedingly deep one, ii situated in the consecrated portion of the ground. After the usual service for the burial of the dead, the Ma yor as W.M. of the Square and Compass Lodge of Free- masons, read the Masonic burial service. A hymn, Brief life is here our portion," was then sung, and some evergreens and lamb skin were thrown into the grave. The mourners then left the ground and the Masons marched to the lodge-room, and there unrobed. Mr. W. Pierce of Bridge-street was the undertaker.

THE LATE MR. R. R. MINTON. The funeral of tke late Mr. R. R. Minton took place a Ruyton-of-the-Eleven-Towns on Saturday, Dec. 6. The body was conveyed to Baschurcli Station by the 12-40 train, and was met by the relatives and friends ot the deceased gentleman, who lives in this neighbourhood. In addition to these, many of the friends from Liverpool and Birkenhead came down to be present at the funeral. Amongst others we noticed Aldermen Jennings and P. Morris, Messrs. Isaac Morris, English, Bevan, Bowker, Goodwin, Hiles, W. Morris, &c. At the station the procession was formed as follows :— The Tenants. Meyrick Cox John Cox Richard Higginson William Jones James Blowers Georae Havward THE HEARSE. Carriage, containing Mrs Minton, Miss Minton, Mr R. R. Minton, Mr T. R. Minton. Carriage, containing Mr Minton (Clifton House), Mr P. Morris, Miss Morris, Mr J. Morris. Carriage, containing the Rev. F. P. Wilkinson, the Rev. Troughton, Mr Charles j Wilkinson.9 Seven carriages, containing Messrs. Jennings, English, Bevan, Bowker, Rogers, R. Brown, R. Minton (Cotton), Goodwin, Hiles, J. Minton (Baschurch), G. Carter, W. Morris, &c., &c. A large number of gentlemen followed on foot, and in the rear a detachment of the Loyal Admiral Benbow Lodge of Oddfellows, of which Mr. Minton had been an honorary member for many years. As the body was borne into the Church Mr. Burr played "I know that my Redeemer liveth," (Handel). The Vicar read the 39th Psalm, and the Rev. G. Troughton (vicar of the parish where Mr. Minton resided) the lesson. After the lesson the hymn "A few more years shall roll" was slowly and reverently sung. The vault is situated partly in the old churchyard and partly in the castle grounds, lately pur- chased from Mr. Minton on very advantageous terms. A large number of people had assembled to witness the burial of their kind friend. The concluding part of the ceremony was performed by the Rev. F. P. Wilkinson, and just before the blessing was pronounced the hymn, "Jesus lives!" was sung, The remains of Mr. Minton were enclosed in a leaden coffin, and this again in a handsome oaken coffin. The blinds were drawn all along the rote taken by the procession, and everyone seemed anxious to testify their respect to the deceased gentleman, whose liberality and kind-heartedness has made the name of Minton a household word in Ruyton. On Sunday the Rev. F. P. Wilkinson, in his sermon, referred to the death of Mr. Minton. He took for his text, I. Thess. iv. 13, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope." Sickness, death, and funerals, are things wnichfillus with dismay, confusion, and perplexity. We feel as if they were events in life which ought not to be, and but for sin they never would have been, and when sin goes out they will go out. At present they do exist, and we must meet them, prepare for them, and act with respect to them as wisdom and faith direct us. There are natural feelings and instincts concerning them, which God in His revealed Word has met, exhortations and consolations which he has caused to be written for our learning in these mat- ters, to teach us patience, to give us comfort and a good hope. Let us humbly and thankfully use them. 1 am not going to say anything directjy (said the preacher) concerning our kind friend who has, thank God, gone to his rest. The scene yesterday, the interest, and sympathy manifested bear a silent witness to a respect, sympathy, and affection which could not be increased by anything I could say. I will only add, for our comfort, that if kindness and thoughtful consideration for others, large heartedness, and generous sentiments led Our Saviour especially to love the disciple St. John, our friend was endowed with a disposition which we shall do well to cultivate. But I would rather take this opportunity of speaking on a subject of the deepest interest, and quite in accord with the event of yesterday. The rev. gentleman then dwelt at some length upon The Communion of Saints," showing the union and fellowship of the departed Christians with those left behind. As the congregation left the church the organist played the Dead March in Saul.

SOUTH AFRICA. News from the Cape, via Madeira, to the 18th Novem- ber, states that Sir Garnet Wolseley's plans for the attack on Secocceni are being matured, and a report has been current that the advance would take place on the 24th November. The 94th Regiment have marched from Fort Weeber, and will form the garrison of the new fort named Albert Edward, at Mapushla's Drift. The Swazis, 7,000 strong, ar3 to be at Lydenburg on the 20th. The soldiers, it is stated, anticipate victory and loot, as reports have been spread of Secocceni having diamonds in quart pots and sovereigns in mealie bags. In the Transvaal the English and loyal Dutch residents had held a mass meet- ing at Pretoria, and passed resolutions expressing satis- faction at the reiterated assurances of Sir Michael Hicks- Beach, Sir Bartle Frere, and Sir Garnet Wolseley that the British sovereignty is irrevocable, and urging the necessity for the immediate granting of a constitution for the government of all classes which would allay discon- tent. The resolutions also press for the reform of the native administration, and the promise of additional judges and increased railway facilities.

AFGHANISTAN. A Daily News telegram from Cabul states that the Governor of Maidan was killed on Wednesday night, Dec. 3, by regulars and hillmen, and that the Governors of Kohistan and the Logar Valley have been menaced. A telegram from Peshawur, published in the Standard, saya that the force under General Baker in the Maidan is still on the watch to prevent any junction between the troops from Kohistan and a body consisting of 7,000 men, with twelve guns, who have advanced from Ghuznee.

THE IRISH ARRESTS. Mr. Thomas Brennan, one of the leading Irish land agitators, and a member of the Land League, was arrested on Friday, Dec. 5, in Dublin, on a charge of using seditious language in his speech at the recent meeting at Balla, and was conveyed to Castlebar. The examination of Brennan, was concluded at Castle- bar on Monday, December 8. The accused was remanded for trial, bail being taken in £ 100 for himself, and two suerties of £ 50 each. The result was received with loud cheering. About 6,000 people attended the meeting at French Hill, near Castlebar, on Sunday, Dec. 7. The Rev. James Magee, parish priest, Castlebar, presided, and urged those present not to commit any illegality by word or act which might place them in the power of those who sought to entrap them. In some parts of his speech he was very impassionate.

MYSTERIOUS DEATH AT OSWESTRY. On Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, John Edwards, an old man of eighty-five, was found dead in his house in Jones's yard, adjoining Willow-street. The deceased's habits were somewhat peculiar, as he was accustomed to stay in bed for forty-eight hours at a time, and he declined to have anyone fo attend to his wants. He was last seen alive about the middle of last week, and it is conjectured that the body was lying in the house for four or five days be- fore it was discovered. The house was in a most neglected state, but from some books which have been found the miserable way in which the deceased lived was not caused by poverty. On Tuesday evening an inquest was held at the White Lion Inn, before Mr. J. Sides Davies, borough coroner, to ascertain the cause of death. Mr. S. P. Parry was elected foreman of the jury. P.C. Price said that on the previous Sunday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Pritchard, Willow-street, went to the Cross, and witness accompanied him to the house occupied by the deceased. Witness found the door locked, and as he could not make anyone hear he burst the door open. On entering he found the deceased lying at the bottom of the stairs in the kitchen. Edwards did not have anything but his shirt on. There was blood on the floor. Thomas Pritchard said that he had known the deceased for many years. A week last .Saturday he was at wit- ness's house, where he stopped for a couple of hours. When he left Edwards went up the street. The deceased was eighty-five years of age. He did not complain of being unwell. Witness did not see him again until he went in the house with the police-officer. The deceased was in the habit of going to witness's house, and as he had not seen him for soire time, and as the neighbours did not know anything about him, he went for an officer to see what had become of him. Deceased was in the habit of staying in bed for a day or two together.^ Edwards did not have anyone to attend him, and he did not think be had any relatives. The deceased had lived by himself for thThomasrMitdheli said that either on Wednesday or Thursday night he saw the deceased in The Cross. Wit- nessed not speak to him as he passed. Mr. Lewis, surgeon said that he was called Uy the police on Sunday afternoon to see Edwards. Witness found him lying at the foot of the stairs, on his right side. He examined him, and found he was dead. He subsequently made a post mortem examination of the body. He found several bruises on. various parts of his person, principalli &bout the legs and arms. There was blood about the deceased's face when witness was there on the Sunday. The body was very much emaciated the ljnpile were contr:«3ted; tlisre WHa a slight bruise about I the head. On examining the brain he found a consider- able amount of blood over the right hemisphere. There had also been hemorrhage into the s1¡b:al;c" of the brain. The other organs generally were congtst-d, le did not notice any external marks of violence which would cause death. In hi., opinio- der.-i; resulted from the deceased faille on the hea", vvL produced insensibility, and from the subsequei i exp." are in his naked condition. Had tLere been anyo.e to tend him at the time he fell there was a ¿rea.t possibility he would have recovered. His neck was not dislocated. From the condition of the body he was of opinion that t.he deceased had been dead four or five days before witre:,¡s saw him P.S. Morris said that 0:1 Sunday night he went to Ed- wards's house and tyok possession of the key. The next day he examined a cupboard sud found the article.. pro- duced. One was an old silver watch, a purse containing 2s. 10!d., and two bankbook- and a memorandum brok. The Coroner then briefly summed up the evidence, and a verdict of "Accidental death" was returned by the jury.—-The Coroner remarked that the condition of the house could scarcely be called creditable to the town.— The jury were unanimously of opinion that it was unfit for human habitation.

MR. GLADSTONE IX SCOTLAND.—HIS WELCOME HOME. Mr. Gladstone reached Glasgow from Taymouth Castle on Thursday, and was received with great enthu- siasm by the students and the populace. He was escorted from the station by 1,500 students, both Conservatives and Liberals, bearing torches. On Friday the right hon. gentleman delivered his rectorial address in the"presence of about 6,000 ladies and gentlemen. At the political meeting in St. Andrew's Hall, which Mr. Gladstone sub- sequently addressed, about 5,000 persons were present, and the right hon. gentleman met with a most enthusiastic reception. Sunday was spent at Dalziel Castle, and on Monday Mr. Gladstone returned to Hawarden. The Liverpool Mercury says it would scarcely be too much to say that his journey was one long ovation. At Chester the right hon. gentleman was welcomed home by a large number of the leading citizens, and an immense crowd of people. The Times thus describes the proceedings:— When Mr. Gladstone appeared outside the station, scene of indescribable enthusiasm took place. As far as the eye could reach, the streets were crowded with people, and thousands of upturned faces shone in the glare of the torches. The cheers were again a.nd again renewed, and it was some time before the carriage could be started. Mr. Gladstone repeatedly bowed in acknow- ledgment. The order of procession was as follows —A company of torch bearers, followed by the Robin Hood Band then a long array of torch bearers, the Steam-shed Band, next the carriage containing Mr. ard Mrs. Gladstone, Miss Gladstone, and Mr. W. H. Glad- stone, and the rear brought up by more torch bearers. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and the rows, and the cheers were loud and continuous, as the proces- sionfslowly marched through the City-road,Foregate-streer, Eastgate-street, and the Grosvenor-road. The whole city had turned out to do honour to Mr. Gladstone, and the scene as the procession passed through the quaint and narrow streets of Chester, lit up by hundreds of flambeaux, the people cheering from every coign of vantage and hand- kerchiefs waving from every window, was one to be re- membered." The torchlight procession accompanied Mr. Gladstone as far as Saltney, where he took leave of them in a short speech. At Hawarden the inhabitants had illuminated their windows with candles in honour of Mr. Gladstone's return.

PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES FOR WALES. According to a statement which has been published in the North Wales Express, the follwing eight Liberal seats in Wales will probably be contested at the general elec- tion :—Brecknockshire, now represented by Mr. W. F. MAITLAND, who is to be opposed by the Hon. A. J. MORGAN Cardiff, where Mr. A. GUEST will oppose Mr. E. J. REID; Carmarthen Boroughs, where Mr. BENJAMIN WILLIAMS, Q.C., is the sitting member, and another Liberal (Mr. JENKINS), as well as two Conservatives (Mr. J. GLASSBROOK and Mr. H. JEFFEREYS) are in the field Denbigh Boroughs, where Sir R. CUNLIFFE will have the Hon. G. T. KENYON for his opponent; Flint Boroughs, in which Mr. P. P. PENNANT will again oppose the sitting member, Mr. JOHN ROBERTS; Haverfordwest, where Lord KENSINGTON will offer himself for re-election, and will be opposed by Mr. E. C. G. PHILLIPPS; Pembroke Boroughs, where the contest will be between Mr. ALLEN, Liberal, and Mr. T. C. MEYKICK, Conservative; and the Radnor Boroughs, were there are nominally two Liberal candidates (Lord HARTINGTON and Mr. C. E. WILLIAMS), and 'one Conservative, Captain CECIL OTWAY. In Merionethshire also, it has been romoured that Mr. W. R. M. WYNNE will oppose Mr. HOLLAND, but we may be allowed to doubt whether the Conservatives will provoke an apparently hopeless contest. Seven Conservative seats are to be attacked by the Liberals:—Brecon, where Mr. CYRIL FLOWER will oppose the sitting member, Mr. J. P. GWYNNE HOLFORD; Cardiganshire, where Mr. LEWIS PUGH PUGH will oppose Mr. T. E. LLOYD, who ousted a Liberal member at the last election Carmarthenshire, where the two Conserva- tives (Lord EMLYN and Mr. J. JONES) will be opposed by Mr. W. H. POWELL; Carnarvonshire, where there will be a fight between the present member, the Hon. G. S. DOUGLAS PENNANT and Mr. LOVE JONES PARRY, whom he defeated in 1868 Montgomeryshire, where the sitting member, Mr. C. WYNN, will be opposed by Mr. STUART RENDEL; Pembrokeshire, where Mr. W. DAVIES is to oppose Mr. J. B. BOWEN, who at present represents the county and Radnorshire, where the candidates will be Ir. R. BASKERVILLE MYNORS, Conservative, and Sir R. GREEN PRICE, Liberal. Only one Conservative seat, that of Sir WATKIN W. WYNN for Denbighshire, will be un- challenged; but it seems probable that eleven Liberals will be allowed to walk over the course—Mr R. DAVIES (Anglesea), Mr. MORGAN LLOYD (Anglesea Boroughs), Mr. DAVID DAVIES (Cardigan Boroughs), Mr. W. B. HUGHES (Carnarvon Boroughs), Mr. OSBORNE MORGAN (Denbighshire), Lord R. GBOSVKNOB (Flintshire), Mr. TALBOT and Mr. H. VIVIAN (Glamorganshire), Mr. FOTHEBGILL and Mr. H. RICHARD (Merthyr), the Hon. F. S. HANBURY TRACY (Montgomery Boroughs), and Mr. L. L. DILLWYN (Swansea).

FOOTBALL WELSH ASSOCIATION CHALLENGEGUR ALBION (WREXHAM) v. EXCELSIOR (NEWTOWN1 these clubs played off their second tie on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Wrexham, when the Excelsior won by one goal to none. The result of the match was somewhat of a surprise to the friends of the Albion men, who had anticipated a crushing de- feat, but although the Excelsiors played a weak team (their captain and two of their "best back players being absent) the equality of the contest was most probably due to the state of the ground, which was frost bound, and too slippery for the display of any good play. The home team, however, played most pluckily, and had quite as many chances of scoring as their opponents. The teams were composed as follows :— EXCELSIOR. Goal, H. Hibbott; backs, D. Owen and LI. Savage; half- backs, E. Gittins (capt.), and E. Morris; right wing, D. Jones and D. Williams; left wing, E. Oliver and George Woosnam; cunre, H. Buckley and H. Barnes. Umpire, John Pugh. ALBION. Goal, R. Jewitt; backs, C. Roberts and H. Phoenix; half- backs, G. Tagg (captain), J. Ingham, and G. Dutton; right wing C. Jones and F. Mason; left wing, W. Roberts and A Poole; centre, W. Davies. Umpire, J. Fagan. Referee, H. Loxham.

Mr. Thelwall held an inquest at the Bowling Green Inn, Penybryn, on Wednesday, Dec. 3, on the body of a new-born male infant, which had been found the day before wrapped up in a piece of newspaper in the old burial ground in Ruthin-road. No evidence was taken, and the enquiry was adjourned in order to find out by post mortem examination whether the child was born alive. A Mr. Williams, who had been summoned on the jury, being absent, Inspector Lindsay, in reply to a question from the Coroner, said he thought that Mr. Williams was under the impression that it was only a lark, and that he was not really wanted. The Coroner said there ought to be no larking about matters of this kind, and Mr. Wil- liams would be fined 40s., thsugh it would probably be remitted if he appeared at the adjourned inquest and gave a proper explanation. GREAT WESTERN GOODS GUARDS.-—A meeting of the Great Western Railway goods guards was held in London on Monday, December 8, when it was announced that the delegates appointed in London and Wolverhamoton had had an interview with the directors of the Company to request that their work should be at the rate of ten hours per day, and all time over 60 hours per week be paid for also that the annual increase of wages agreed to a few years ago by the Company should again take effect. They asked, it addition, that an official circular should be issued fixing the hours and wages of the goods guards. The latter request the Board had refused to grant. After some discussion, the meeting appointed a sub-committee to report as to what course the goods guards should pur- sue to redress their grievances. A contemporary has reproduced the comments of the Times of February 13, 1874, on Mr. Gladstone's Govern- me?., that date was in a more sober mood, ana it is well to appeal to it from the Times intoxicated with admiration for Lord Beaconsfield's pyrotechnic policy. 1 his is how the results of the last Liberal Ad- ministration are summed up :— During Mr. Gladstone's tenure of office the country has been wonderfully prosperous; money has been forthcoming for all sorts of enterprises; the people have lived well and spent cor- respondingly, and the revenue shows an elasticity marvellous in the eyes of Europe. Whoever may have been the author of the Gladstone Cabinet's Budgets,they have been framed with a suffi- cient knowledge of the relative productiveness of taxes, the flow of commerce, and the most abundant springs of national wealth. The Gladstone Government leaves an overflowing exchequer There is a surplus of five millions, and a moral certainty that, if taxes to that amount were taken off, there would be still be a surplus next year, owing to the regular progress of the country. Mr. Disraeli and his friends will find the House in perfect order, and a magnificent revenue to maintain it. The Gladstone Government has been a successful Government; and it has kept and left the country great and prosperous. MAJOR WEST'S RENT AUDIT.—The half-yearly rent audit of Major Cornwallis West, Lord-Lieutenant of Denbighshire, was held at Ruthin on Thursday, Dec. 4. After transacting the business of the day, about sixty of the tenants sat down to a substantial dinner at the Castle Hotel. The chair was occupied by Major West, who al- luded to the propositions made by the Farmers' Alliance. He said the first was to secure better representation for the tenant farming interest in the Imperial Parliament. That was a most natural and legitimate proposal, and if they had discovered that the representatives were not of the right sort, it lay very much with the tenant farmers to see it altered, though perhaps the subject did not affect Wales so strongly as it did other parts of the kingdom. The second proposal was to stimulate improved cultiva- tion of the land by giving greater security for the tenants' capital and enterprise. Speaking personally, he would say that he at once put his estate under the Agricultural Holdings Act, which he thought was a good Act and gave almost as much security as a lease; but it should have been made compulsory. Many landlords at once contracted themselves out of it, and there was a report that the Duchy of Lancaster had been so dealt with. A lease was a good thing, but the difficulty just at that time was to learn the exact value of the land. The third thing recommended was freedom with cultivation of the land and disposal of the fproduce. That was also a difficult subject, for while no reasonable agent would object to a careful, trustworthy, and able man being entrusted with a farm to exercise his skill upon, and, for himself, he cer- tainly would not interfere; yet a careless, idle man may so run out a farm that it would cost a large sum of money to put it into a condition to let to a good tenant. Perhaps a lease for 21 years would be a good thing, with the pro- viso that for the first 17 years there should be no restric- tions, but for the last four, unless the lease waft it should be formod according to the usual coveDm0M. The fourth proposal of the Farmers' Alliance was » fication of the laws relating to land. After referring the Land Laws, the agricultural depression, West concluded by hopinjr that he should there again next year under happier circumstanc^, t wished would be peace abroad and plenty at home. them all £ ood health.