The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

FAOTS^ND^FANCIES^ SAR(ASTICAL.If we are to judge by the New York Berald's cable specials, a distinguished reception was given to Stanley at Westminster Abbey last Saturday, advantage of which was taken by the executors of a medical man, named Livingstone, to inter his remains.-St. Louis Globe. A FLOWER OF FASHION.—Fashionable Milliner "You'll have the flower on the !eft aids of the bonnet, of course, madam ?" Fashionable Lady Well-er-No The fact is, there's a pillar on the left side of my pew in church, so that only the right side of my head is seen by the con- gregation. Of course I could change my pew Fashion- able Lady's Husband: Ya—as. Or even the church, you know, if necessary." (Fashionable Milliner considers the point.)-Punch. To illustrate a story of assumption of dignity. a London correspondent tells the following amusing anecdote, apropos of a former Lady Mayoress of Dublin :—" Not very long ago at a civic junketing, a lady in her own rank was planted or walked into a post of honour in front of the Queen of the Mansion House. It was explained to the latter that Burke had so settled it as a matter of precedent, but she refused to comforted or reconciled to the situation. Lady ot ranK, indeed remarks the indignant spouse of his Corporation Lordship, Lady of rank, indeed! I always thought that the wife of the Lord Mayor was the rankest lady in CAT NURSING CHICKENS.—The following strange facts in animal life may possibly prove as interesting to some <at your readers as they were surprising to myself. In a pou y ▼ard of a near neighbour of mine two chickens hatched late last autumn were deserted by their mother at an early age, and used to take up their quarters at night in a shed -which a cat and her young kittens had also selected as their home. To the no small astonishment of my friend, he one morning discovered cat, kittens, and chickens all huddled up together in the same warm nest, and appar- ently on the best of terms. Fr-m this date tne cat treated both chickens and kittens alike i.e bringing them food. &c The chickens on the other hand, always returned at night to the cat and sometimes actually roosted on her back. Such a trait in her character was of course not easily forgotten, and when the following spring some other chickens happened to get injured in the hearl, it was at once introduced to the same cat, who without hesitation rewarded the confidence thus reposed in her by commen- cino- to lick the bead gently where the feathers were torn off ° and caking care of the chicken until quite recovered After this she would constantly follow the fowl about, and may often be seen basking in the son with this chicken on her back.-F.W.B. in the Field. rc mm~'

MR OSBORNE MORGAN ON MR CROSS'S LICENSING BILL. The following is a full report of the speech, which we were only able to give in a very abbreviated form last week W Mr OSBORNE MORGAN said that the simple ground upon whicii he opposed the Bill \va3, that in tae path along which thev had for years been painfully and laboriously toiling—the path which had for its goal the gradual deliver- ance of the people of this country from the curse of intem- perance-this Bill was distinctly a step backwards. But before he approached that question he wished to address himself to another. Had the right honourable gentleman (Mr Cross) made out a case for re-opening the settlement of 1872-in other words, had he proved the preamble of his Bill? Because, before they asked whether this was a good Bill or a bad Bill. they bad a right to ask, was there any necessity for a Bill at all ? He had always maintained, and still maintained, that a great. deal of unjust abuse had been heaped upon the Act of 1872, and upon its author, Lord Aberdare; a fact which people only now were beginning to recognize. That Act had been assailed upon two wholly inconsistent grounds, though it was easy to see, that the at- tack came from the same quarter. It was said on the one hand that it had not materially diminished drinking; on the other, that it unduly interfered with facilities for drink- ing. People pointed to increased convictions under the Act, and twitted them with having tried to make men sober by Act of Parliament, and having failed. But, as the Home Secretary admitted, those increased convictions were due rather to the increased vigilance of the police. Besides, the Act had not had fairplay. Two years were too short a time to test the merits of a measure which must bear fruit very eraduallv. Those two years, too, were very exceptional vears Never had the working clasps had so much loose cash in their pockets, or so much spare time on their hands. His honourable friend, the member for Cardigan, in his able speech on the malt tax the other day, had pointed out the close connection between high wages and hard drinking. He related an anecdote to the same effect of an ironmaster in Yorkshire, who, having to finish a contract for the sup. ply of inn under heavy penalties, proposed to his men that if they would work a day longer in the week he would raise their wages 25 per cent. for the time required. But the only answer he could get was, In that case we shall have more money than we want to drink and no time to drink it in." He did not wish to be too hard upon the working classes and what he said only applied to a portion of them. WUh the spread of education and the increase of domestic comforts thev would cultivate habits of self-respect, and would become a law to themselves, and thus drunkenness might be eradicated. But all this would require time and lav that you were not to try to arrest drunkenness in the meantime was as absurd as to say that you were not to arrest the famine now raging in Bengal, because in ten or twelve-years you would have a perfect system of irrigation in that country which would make a famine impossible. A good deal had been said about the interests of the publicans. He did not wish to make sweeping charges against them, or any other body of men. But it must be admitted that they carried on a trade which, unless put under certain re- strictions, became a noxious trade. The right to restrict this trade was implied in the very word licensing, because, if there was nothing to restrict there would be nothing to license. It came to this, therefore, that where the interests of the publicans and the wishes of the people founded on expe- rience come into collision, the former must give way. In Wales the unanimous feeling of all classes was that the Act had diminished drunkenness. He quoted letters from men in all positions of life, magistrates, ministers of religion, tradesmen and working men, to show that this was the case. They said is effect that there were two kinds of drink- ing which were especially hurtful-early drinking and late drinking, and the Act, as administered in Wales. had stopped both. It did not require much knowledge of phy- siology to know that a man who breakfasted on a dram would not be worth much afterwards, and as to late drmk- in?, the police reports showed that even where there was not less drunkenness there was less violence ai d rioting, tsut it was said that though the short hours might work well in Wales London and the large towns required an extension of hours. But he might retort the argument on the under secretary, and say that because people could not slake their thirst in London until half-past twelve, that was no reason whv they should be compelled to keep open public-houses in Wales till eleven. It was in fact Sir Toby Belch s com- plaint reversed. "Because you want your cakes and ale are we not allowed to be virtuous? He prophesied that the sixth clause giving an option would remain a dead letter, because if one publican kept open till eleven, his neighbour could not in self-defence close at ten. The bribe of a re- mission of one seventh of the licence duty did not come to more than twopence a night, and would be covered by the profit upon a single pot of ale. In Wales the Act meant an additional hour's drinking at either end, and in some places, such as Wrexham, an hour and a half at night. No wonder the Wrexham Magistrates and Guardians of the poor in that town had petitioned against the Act. But all this was done for the sake of uniformity, which, however, they did not get. So long as the beerhouses were closed at ten a man would go there and get boosey on beer until the clock "struck Bruce," and then he would cross the street the SS ft "w hSrS'? »eS Of to the licensed victuallers. He did not accuse the Home Secretary: of playing into the hands of that bqdy, but they must not ignore facts. Now it was an undoubted fact that the Con- servative party at the last election owed a great deal to the publican interest. It was hardly too much to say that the right honourable gentleman opposite reigned by the grace of the licensed victualler. At any rate it was a curious coincidence that in almost every constituency with which he waE acquainted, the publican had almost to a man voted for theConservative candidate. Another curious coincidence was that this Bill was modeled on the wishes of the pub- lican. Now did they not think that the world in general would put those two curious coincidences together, and ■tW thev would see in this measure the natural fruits of 7- this unholy alliance? It used to be said that there were two classes in England that no Parliament dared seriously as- sail,the publicans and the lawyers. He was afraid the lawyers had had their day, but the last election showed that the publicans were still a mighty power in England. 1 hat im- portant body had learnt that if they would only sink all minor differences in the great question what was the best for the trade,' no influence could resist them—that if they would only blow the trumpet of beer and bible long enough the walls of Jerich* would be sure to fall down before them. Meantime woe to the G-overment, woe to the party which dared to lay its little finger on the licensed victualler! They might d.se^Wish churches. They migbfc gap fhe foundation of pr0Per 7 lght let the army and navy CO to perdition. They mighteducate pauper children —but^here was one thing t^dare not and m £ st not do- they must not shut up pub ■ ha was th,3 moral, that was the lesson of tne mis2ivinS a lesson which ought to be bjg political opinions, whoVad which ought to be bjg political opinions, whoVad =

BKMFAST.-EPPS'SCOC01-OMJ |„a wljicll go "By a thorough knowledge of -ti artd by a careful ap- the operations of digestion and 'lected cocoa, Mr Eppa plication of the fine properties of we delicately flavoured has provided our breakfast tables with a ae biiis. Civil beverage whioh may save us many neavy Water or Milk. Service Gaeette. Made simply with T*MFS F,T.PS & Oo, Sold by Grocers in packets only, labelled-" <'A' m Picca. Homoeopathic Chemists. 48, Threadneedle-Street, a dillv; Works, Buston-road, Londoi. account of MANUFACTURE OF COCOA.—" We will now pve a° lactur. tile process adopted by Messrs James Bpps Road era of dietetio articles, at their works in the JiUaio London."—See article in Cassell's Household HOLLOWAY'S OINTMENT AND PILLS.—Reliable W™ dies.—In wounds, bruises, sprains, glandular SA,ellings, enlarged veins, neuralgic pains and rheumatism, the appli- cation of this soothing ointment to the affected parts not only gives the greatest ease, but likewise cures the com- plaint. The pills wonderfully assist in banishing the ten- dency to rheumatism and similarly painful disorders, whilst the ointment cures every local ailment. The pills remove all oonstiititional disturbance and regulate every impaired function of any organ throughout the human body. The cure is neither temporary nor superficial,but permanent and complete, and the disease rarely recurs, so perfect has been the purification performed by these searching yetharm- am preparation&

HERE AND THERE. The Standard says—" In the whirligig of time few more extraordinary spectacles have been presented than was witnessed in the Capital of the United States on the last day of April. On that day a half-blooded negro, who had been born a slave, was to be seen in the speaker's chair presiding over the popular branch of the Federal Congress. Mr Tiainev, the gentleman in question, our New York correspondent informs us, was born in South Carolina, and passed his youth in slavery. He afterwards obtained the means of purchasing his freedom, set up in Charles- town as a barber, and prospered. During the civil war he was impressed by the Confederate military authorities, and compelled to work on the fortification of the city. From this employmant he made his escape to the West Indies, and there remained till the restoration of peace. On his return he found society turned upside down. Those who had been absolute masters of the lives and persons of the coloured people were now under the heels of their former dlaves. After a while, when the State was re-admitted to the Union, Mr Rainey was elected representative of the First South Carolina District in the Federal Congress. He obtained the distinction of presiding through the favour of the Speaker, Mr Blaine, of Massachusetts. Mr Blaine, intending to be absent for the day, deputed Mr Rainey to fill his place, as a sensational proof of his own freedom from the prejudice against colour. But what- ever the motive dictating it, the act itself is certainly most remarkable, and one that only a very little while ago would have been deemed utterly impossible." We may add that the act is not only remarkable but satisfactory. Rather an amusing incident (says the London correspon- dent of the Liverpool Mercury) has occurred with respect to the Licensing Bill. During the late debate the Govern- ment referred to the reports by the inspectors of constabu- lary upon the working of Mr Bruce's Act, whereupon several members of the Opposition demanded that those reports should be produced. Much against their will, ministers consented, and the reports are now published. They are so highly favourable to the shorter hours that the United Kingdom Alliance has had them reprinted, placed in the hands of every M.F., and otherwise largely circulated. The Independent member" who writes in the Birming. ham Post gives the following account of Mr Burt's first speech in the HouseMr Burt, the member for Morpeth, made his first speech in the House on Wednesday, May 13th, and he may be put down as a success. His strong Northumbrian accent was palpable, but it was not so strong as to prevent his being perfectly intelligible, and it is need- less to say that upon every other point he proved himself a better speaker than the great majority of the House. He was very quiet and undemonstrative, and managed to pack a great deal into a very small compass, never going beyond his thought by a single word-an immense virtue. His argument in favour of Mr Trevelyan's Bill was drawn simplv from his own experience at Morpeth and in North- umberland, and was irrefragable. He was much cheered, and I observed that when he sat down he received many congratulations, all of which he thoroughly deserved. I was struck with the fact that Mr Disraeli, in winding up the debate, made no allusion whatever to Mr Burt, but on the other hand did so honour Mr Macdonald. This is not the first time he has shown a disposition to court Mr Mac- donald, whose position as a politician is not so very sharply defined. Of course, it would be considered an enormous triumph if one of the working men members could be per. suaded to listen to the voice of the Treasury Siren, and take his seat with the brewers and squires upon the opposite benches." The boarding-out of pauper children has been tried in Australia, with satisfactory results. The South Australian Register says :—" To the 280 children that were placed out up to December 31st, 1873, 523 visits, including those of the Boarding-out Society, were paid during the last six months. The conduct of the children was, in the great majority of cases, reported to be good, and only in three cases was the treatment they had received described as unsatisfactory. The health of the children had been very good, only three cases having come to the knowledge of the board, in the last two years, in which the services of a doctor were needed. It is also pleasing to find that the reports from the schoolmasters of the children are uniformly favourable, the only complaint being that during the periods of harvest and fruit-picking the attendance at school is somewhat irregular. The case of an English boy is noticed as an example of especially rapid progress. He was placed with a German family twelve months ago, and obtained in December the first prize in the school he attended for reading the Bible in German. Eight cases of absconding have taken place but we are prepared, with Mr Reid, to allow that that a not a large proportion, especially when the antecedents of many of the children are taken into consideration, and also the further fact that the interference of the parents is not without its mischievous effects." A case which has recently been heard before the Master of the Rolls is not without interest to places that allow sewage to be emptied into rivers. The Work- ington Local Board of Health complained of the nuisance occasioned to that town by the sewage from the town of Cockermouth which was cast into the Derwent, and carried down the river from Cockermouth to Work- ington. According to the evidence produced, it appeared that the defendants did discharge filthy matter into the river, but that no trace of any bad effect on the water was discoverable at Workington. The Master of the Rolls held that the defendants were not entitled to discharge any filthy matter into the river so as to deteriorate or affect the purity or quality of the water at the point of discharge, and granted an injunction on this information with costs,but dis- missed the bill of costs, the case of nuisance having alto- gether failed on the evidence. <> We learn thast, a movement is on foot in North Wales for the organization of a Welsh Reform Association, the primary objects of which are to be the disendowment and disestablishment of the Established Church, the amend- ment of the Elementary Education Act, the opening of parochial churchyards to all parishioners, the promotion of peace and international arbitration, a Land Act to give equal justice to landlord and tenant, the abolition of the game laws, giving power to ratepayers to regulate the granting of licences for the sale of intoxicating drinks, rating of Government property, and tha appointment of Welsh-speaking judges to Welsh county courts." The in- formation is supplied by the Inverpool Mercury, and it is probable the movement has originated in Liverpool. We are not very hopeful of its success. The "platform" is not homogeneous enough, for it is not many Liberals who can subscribe to all the varying articles of the creed given by our contemporary. What is wanted is an organization binding together those who are penetrated by the un- changing spirit of Liberalism, but differ on several of the points of this comprehensive programme. To speak plainly, it is an impertinence to attempt to mix up a great Liberal questions like that of Disestablishment with the advocacy of the Permissive Bill. We suppose there are still persons who believe that the people can be left uneducated without injury to the commonwealth, though few of them probably would vol- untarily put aside the little education they themselves por,sess! To such persons the following significant facts may be commended. — In 1833, Baden was one of the most backward parts of Germany. In 1864, after a single generation, it was reported of education "We have reached a point in which nothing more can be done." In 1854 there were 1,426 prisoners, in 1861 only 691. Marriages augmented, illegitimate births diminished. Thefts decreased from 1,009 to 460. The number of indigent declined one-fourth. "The principal element of the transformation," says Doctor Dietz, "has certainly been compulsory education of the popular classes." A scene at Cardiff supplies another argument in favour of Mr Osborne Morgan's Burials Bill. We learn from the Cardiff Times that a few days ago Mr Shapcott, a Baptist, lost by death two children, twins, and applied to have them interred by the side of the remains of his mother in Roath Churchyard. The grave was prepared, but late on the night before the funeral day, the Rev. F. W. Puller, the vicar, conveyed to the bereaved parents the opinion he held that the children could not be allowed Christian burial. In these painful circumstances the Rev. A. Tilley, a Baptist Minister, was asked to conduct the funeral, and he read the service and delivered a short ad- dress outside the Churchyard gate. A spectacle for men and angels! Most of the Liberal members for Wales and Shropshire voted, as our readers will see, in favour of Mr Trevelyan's motion for extending the county franchise, and most of the Conservative members opposed it. There were two excep- tions—Mr Nevill, Conservative M.P. for Llanelly, went into the lobby with the Liberals, and Mr H. Robertson Liberal M.P. for Shrewsbury, with the Tories. The latter will probably be asked to explain his reasons when he next appears before his constituents. The opposition to the re- solution was based simply on the ground that it was un- timely, aad Mr Disraeli must have astonished and annoyed his supporters by the kindly and hopeful way in which he referred to the present movement amongst the agricultural labourers. The majority against Mr Trevelyan's motion was unexpectedly large, but the justice of the proposal is so obvious, and its advantages would be so great, that it cannot be long before the law is altered which decrees that a man on one side of a hedge shall have the privileges of a citizen, and another shall not have them simply because he is on the other side. When Mr Forster warmly defends a proposal, and Mr Disraeli opposes it with less than half his heart, its triumph is near.

THE ORTON PROSECUTION. A return has been issued by order of the House of Com- an°dnS48howing the amount expended upon the prosecution, the votlpic0naHe amount still remaining to be paid out of amiunt « Parliament, for the prosecution of Orton. The were as follow. ed in 1872"3 was 22,644, the items of which erv, £ 673 12a 4.i ^°unsels' fees, £ 1,146 16s 6d; law station- The amount exr £ jit;?es8es' agents, &c„ £ 823 lis 5d. which was made .was £ 4Wl 16s lOd, £ 22,495 18s 4d foUowmS itemsCounsels' foes, stationers' printing £$KR'/Sie?tSi Ac*' ^,838 19s 8d; law £ 3,493 3s; jury, £ 3,780 Thew } shorthand writers, April 11, 1874, was tWefore £ 40 s^°V?t-,e?peD^ed up to timated that the amount still to be'Sid A J' £ 4 000 is for Australian and ChiHnn £ 5,500, of which for'Xr M pS&TSrSi ""if-500 bable cost of the trial is therefore £ 53,315 17^ ,1 pr0" In consequence of the indisposition of nr ir"' t inquiry ordered by the Benchers of Gray's^nS ^SitSe the conduct of th« ^edcounael whUe acting'al t^e 'S ing advocate for the Tichborne Claimant has been postponed to the 18th July. 1

f yt-nuts. NO TiS, vUtitHMX, aona on cu^jteU intereminy to W-Uex ana ihe Goraers, must be addressed to Bye-gones,' Crceawylin. 0-ncestry. Reai, naw-i and addresses must be sent, in confidence, and the writingin" be legible. Old news- pavers, bookand MS.S. carefully used and vromvtly returned. ^^—1

May 20, 1874. NOTES. SUDDEN FALL OF CHURCHEg.—"It is a very serious and remarkable truth," says a writer in the Salopian Journal, Jan. 29, 1800, "that within the last 50 years many of our finest ancient churches, have, by con- stant neglect, suddenly fallen down in utter ruin. About the year 1750 the parish Church of Whitchurch in this county instantaneously fell on a Sunday, between morning and evening service. In the year 1786 part of the great Nave, and the whole of the curious and magnificent front of Hereford Cathedral gave way, ani in a moment became a heap of ruins. In the same year, the large parish Church of St. Chad, in Shrewsbury, also suddenly fell down." SALOPIAN. QUERIES. ROWLAND JONES.—During the last century there lived at Hendre, in the parish of Llanfihangel Bachellaeth, near Pwllheli, Carnarvonshire, a person of some distinction as the author of several books displaying much curious learning. His name was Rowland Jones. He was educated first of all, according to tradition, at Llannor school, and subsequently at Bottwnog. In 1751 he became a member of the Inner Temple, but there is no evidence to show that he was ever called to the bar, though he has been called a barrister. He married a widow lady named Elizabeth Brown, who became possessed of the most fashionable street in London, namely, Regent-street. He purchased Y Weirgloddfawr, in the parish of Abereirch, near Pwllheli, where the present house called Broom Hall was erected during his son's minority. He appeared first as an author in the year 1764, and in 1773 the last work by him was published. The following is a list of his works The Origin of Languages and Nations defined and fixed, 1764. Hieroglyphic, or a Grammatical Introduction to an Uni- versal Hieroglyphic Language, 1768. The Philosophy of Words, 1769. 1 f. The Circles of Gomer, 1771. An Essay towards an Investigation and Introduction of English as an universal Language, 1771. The Io Triads; or the tenth Muse, 1773. When the sale of his effects took place fourteen or fifteen years ago, a large number of his books were found piled away in a garret at Weirgloddfawr, of which two cart loads were sold tu grocers and other shopkeepers as waste paper. It is a source of much regret that no enterprising bookseller was present at the sale to secure them for a better purpose, as they certainly deserved. Leaving aside the eccentricity which characterized his views, it must be admitted that his books are the result of extensive and laborious research whilst they exhibit a vast amount of talent and induatry. On the last leaf (pp. 79, 80) of "The hilosophy of Words," a pedigree of the Hendre family is given, in which the line is traced through Bleddyn ab Cynfyn, or as his name is there printed, "Blethyn ab Cifin," up to the Earls ofMercia; "Cifin" being stated to have been the son of Algar, Earl of Mercia and Chester. However, in the pedi- gree contained in the Myfyrian Archeology, 1870, p. 697, Cynfyn is said to have been the son of Gwerystan, the Lord of Cibwr in Gwent. There is also some discrepancy between the date of the decease of the several Earls of Mercia there given and that usually assigned to it. Leofric, the husband of the kind-hearted Countess Godiva, is there stated for instance to have died in the year 982, whereas his death is generally believed to have occurred in 1057. The son and only child of Rowland Jones, who bore the same name as his father, is said in a note at the foot of page 63 of the Kalendars of Gwynedd, to have deceased in 1850. But in the Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County FanLilies of Wales, vol. i., p. 353, Dr Nicholas states that the late Rowland Jones's death occurred in 185G, at the advanced age of 84. How is this to be reconciled with the statement in the foot note on page 63 of the Kalendars of Gqxyne-id, where it is asserted that the sale of his effects took place arter his death in 1850 ? It appears that the sale embraced the effects left by the father as well as those of his son, but when the death of the former occurred, or how old he was at his decease, I have not been able to ascertain. Any additional information respecting him as an author, a professional man, and a public character would be of interest to the biographical student as well as be the means of re&cuing the memory of a learned Cymro from oblivion. LLALLAWS. REPLIES. STONE ON SNOWDON (May 6, 1874).Mr Halliwell, in his Notes on Family Excursions in North Wales, speaks of this stone. At p. 215, after recounting various ascents of Snowdon, he adds, There have also been many excellent accounts published by recent tourists and the subject may now be said to be fairly exhausted, unless a tradition or two may be left to be picked up. There is one relating to a stone which stands, or formerly stood, in Yr Arddu, not very far from the summit. This stone, a large one, upon the top of which is a smaller one, is called Maen du Yr Arddu, the Black Stone of Arddu: and it is believed that if two persons slept a night on the top of it, in the morning one would become a poet and the other a madman. The simple inventor of this legend did not know that the terms were too often synonymous Mrs Hemans places this stone on Cader Idris, in one of her poems: I lay there in silence-a spirit came o'er me- Man's tongue hath no language, to speak what I saw Things glorious, unearthly, pass'd floating before me, And my heart almost fainted with rapture and awe I view'd tbe dread beings around us that hover, Though veil'd by the mists of mortality's breath I call'd upon darkness the vision to cover, For a strife was within me of madness and death." This is the second verse of "The Rock of Cader Idris," and in some editions the following note is appended There is a popular Welsh tradition, that on the summit of Cader Idris is an excavation in the rock, resembling a couch, and that whoever should pass a night in that seat, would be found in the morning, either dead, raving mad, or en- dowed with supernatural genius.—See Davies's Celtic Re- searches." N.W.S. Like most other legends this is common to several districts, namely, Craig Verwyn and Cader Idris. Mrs Hemans' most sublime song The Rock of Cader Idris commencing "I lay on that rock, &c. is based upon this legend. The stone on Snowdon, according to my guide's story some years ago, lies close to the well known and wonderfal spring of water near the highest eminence of the mountain. CERIST. WORDS AND PHRASES. (Mar. 18, 1874).- Walia and Willoio.. H.W.L. (March 18) will find the law of inflection fully bearing me out in saying Y Waliaufor instance, Y Wenol," Y Wyddfa, Y Wy- bren, Y Wendon, and most nouns in the feminine gender commencing with G. Y Wal" is feminine, though Y Mur, which is of the same meaning, is masculine. J.C.H. At least two of the words referred to (Feb. 11) by N.W.S. are in use over a wider area than he supposes. Scorkle," as applied to the core of an apple, is a common term in Worcestershire, and, doubtless in the adjacent counties. Barley" is a word constantly used by children in Scotland, and in play or mimic warfare entitles the per- son or party claiming "a barley" to the benefits of a cessa- tion of hostilities, which may be ended at their pleasure. The word is perhaps a corrupt form of parley," but bearing in mind the fact that a large number of words de- rived from the French are to be found in the Scottish dialect, I am inclined to think it is a relic of the ancient alliance between France and Scotland against England, long their common foe. The French verb "to speak I,- parlsr (pronounced par-lai) suggests to me the probable origin of the term so familiar to the Scottish youth. C. IValcly in Shropshire takes the form of IVady. Any food that is very solid and satisfying is said to be wady atin." The word is usually applied to something that is done slowly and laboriously or that is tedious. Hartshorne gives the following in his Salopian Glossary: Waydy, Weiidy, adj. This has been noticed both by Ray and Bailey as a Shropshire word, and they seem to have caught entirely the spirit of its meaning in the definitions they have given. The latter explains it thus. 'A wheady mile, a mile beyond expectation, a tedious one': and the former says a wheady smile is a long mile, a mile longer than it seems to be. And thus too, every task or labour which turns out to be greater than was at one time anticipated, or anything that is peculiarly long, tedious, or wearisome, is 'a weiidy job,' or described as 'mighty waydy.' A. Sax. wide, longus." The common word to wade is probably akin to this. R.E.D, Cummund. (May 6.) When I read JABCO'S re- marks apon this word, although I generally dot any strange expression down when I hear it, and afterwards make use of it, yet, I thought that possibly I had not caught the right sound of the word, and that perhaps the final d in cummund was a creature of my own imagination so I went out on a voyage of discovery, and managed to hear the word cummund three times, from different persons, in a very short time. JARCO'S information respecting its being pronounced cumniun is nevertheless valuable as showing the variation which the same word undergoes in the same county. It is quite possible that curnmun is the more ancient form, just as soun is the ancient form of sound, the d in the word sound being a vulgarism which has become fashionable. Pentice. The tice in this word is pronounced in these parts as the tice in the word apprentice. It might be written ptntiss. Would JARCO kindly let me know the sound of the u in the word pentus* which he gives as being the pronunciation of the word pentice (pentiss) in the Oswestry district? Does the syllable tus rhyme to fuss, or to duct in the word produce ? Wigs for buns is common about Llanidloes. Camlas or Gamlas. I thank CHATTERTON for his com- munication upon the derivation of this word. Such words need ventilating. If "glas" is a corruption of "clais," can any other examples be produced of a similiar kind of corruption ? E. OWEN. Caersws. Camlas or Gamlas. CnATERTON, on reference to words commencing with cl, as in clais, cledd, clwyt, and words commencing with gl, as in glyn, glan, glew, will find that clais is out of the question, and an impossible derivation to camlas. Without exception the cl softens to gl, and no further, and gl into l. Hence glas, or glais, become camlas. Had clais been the root, the word inevitably would have been camglas or camglais. May not the cam as in camva —a stile—mean a narrow water one may stride across ? J.C.H. [* Peatoss, not PoUtUNO-ED.)

STROUD ELECTION.—The poll wes declared at one o'clock on Saturday, May 16, as follows:—Dorrington (C), 2,796 Stanton (L), 2,722; Brand (L), 2,677 Holloway (C), 2,582, being a Conservative gain of one seat. Two or three doses daily of Pepper's Quisine and Iron Tonic camses a wonderful improvement to those in weak or disordered state ef health and suftering from prostration of strength, ner- vous derangement, neuralgic affections, aches and pains of every kind, sluggish circulation, depressed spirits, imperfect digestion, &c. By the formation of new blood and its vivifying effect on the nerve centres it develops new Health, Strength, and Energy Quickly. An increased appetite is always an effect of Pepper's quiniBe and Iron Tonic. Thirty-two dozes are contained in the 4s. 6d. Bottle; Next size, Us.; Stone Jars, 22s, In Pepper's Quinine and IronjTonic the ingredients are guaran- teed absolutely Chemically pure. Sold by most Chemists. Any Chemist will procareit; or send stamps to J. Pepper. 237,(Totten- bam feast Road, Loudon.

FROM THE PAPERS. The present Lord Lvtfcon i* preparing a memcir of his more distinguished father. Exchequer receipts, April 1st to May 16th, 1874, 28,886 918; corresponding period last year, 28,834,445. Expenditure, this year, £ 11,071,207, last year, £ 10.339 478. Balances, this year, £ 4.804.797, Jast year, £ 9,456,900. We are glad to see that Mr Shirley Brooks has not left his J family unprovided for, as was supposed. His will has been proved under 26,000 personalty. Mr Brooks bequeathes all his real and personal estates absolutely to his widow. On Sunday night, May 17, the London and North- Western express from Swansea to the North ran off the metal 3 about two miles from Knighton. One carriage was overturned. The guard was seriously hurt, and the passen- gers were much shaken. The line was blocked tor Beveral hours. The British Medical Journal understands that the result of imprisonment has been materially to lessen the enor- mous bulk of Arthur Orton, the Tichborne claimant. He gets the ordinary prison diet, and has not suffered in health, though reduced m weight from twenty-two stone to less than eighteen. His occupation is tailoring. On Saturday morning, May 16th, the Queen received at Windsor Castle aboHt twenty officers and soldiers who were engaged in the Ashantee war, for the purpose of bestowing distinguished conduct medals. The men were afterwards entertained at luncheon. A great catastrophe in Hampshire county, Massachusetts is reported by cable telegram. 150 lives have been lost and much property destroyed, by the bursting of three reservoirs. Three villages were submerged, and the velocity t of the escaped water was such that houses were swept away in blocks. In Arkansas the Democrat Governor, Brooks, has received notice from Washington of the recognition of his rival, and that he must consequently disband his forces. He is now stipulating with Mr Baxter, the recognised governor, for a general disarmament. On Taesday night, May 12th, Mr J. Egerton, a cattle dealer from Stone, was travelling by the mail train from Chester to Abergele, and, being desirous of breaking the journey at Rhyl, be attempted to leave the train whilst it was entering Rhyl station at rather a rapid rate. He missed his footing, and fell below the train, which passed over both of his legs and the lower part of his body. He was taken to the Dudley Arms Hotel, where he expired on Wednesday. Verdict, Accidental death." According to a Melbourne telegram, the terms on which the cession of the Fiji Islands are offered to this country are that the King is to retain the royal title and receive a pension of £3,000 per annum, other chiefs receiving sums varying from £"20 to 2500. The British Government is at the same time to assume the financial liabilities af Fiji, and the ruling; chief is to be recognised as the owner of the land. The Mordaunt case was before the House of Lords on Friday, May 15th, the law lords having asked the Judges whether," Under the statute 20 and 21 Vic., cap. 85, pro- ceedings for the dissolution of a marriage can be instituted or proceeded with either on behalf of or against a husband or wife who, before the proceedings were instituted, had be- come incurably lunatic." Justices Brett and Keating re- plied in the negative; while the Lord Chief Baron, Mr Baron Pollock, and Mr Justice Denmau would allow the Court to hear the petition, and give its decision. A shocking accident occurred on Monday, May i 8th, at the wet earth pit, Clifton, near Bolton, whereby two men were killed, and another was seriously burned. Informa- tion having been received that something was wrong in the pit, the fireman, Thomas Ivells, and his son, John Ivells, commenced descending, after the managers and others, to see what was the matter. The manager and his son arrived at the bottom safely, but the Ivells encountered black damp, which was being discharged from a mouthing about 100 yards from the bottom of the shaft. They signalled to the top, and were drawn up again, and when near the top, they had been so affected by the gas, that they fell out of the cage to the bottom of the pit, and were killed instan- taneously. It was discovered that the pit was on fire, and the furnaceman, Tbos. Entwisle, was found in the furnace seriously burned. A telegram from our (Daily News) Special Commissioner in India says that in the southern section of Tirhoot several deaths from starvation had occurred, owing to the difficulty of getting at and ascertaining the actual condition cf the sufferers. The relief works and gratuitous charity were being energetically administered. Haggard want was, however, steadily spreading in Tirhoot. According to the weekly telegram from the Viceroy of India respecting the famine, more rain wAs much required. There was no indi- cation of any general deficiency of food supply. No severe famine was felt, because relief had prevailed over famine, and no change for the worse had taken place in the condi- tion of the people. In the worst parts of Tirhoot there had been a marked improvement in their apparent condi- tion. Everywhere endeavours were being made to substi- tute piece-work for daily payments, 2,190,000 persons received assistance from Government in the last week of April. No fresh deaths from starvation bad been re- ported. On Satarday, May 16, the French cabinet was defeated in the Assembly on the question whether the Electoral or Municipal Bill should have the iprecedence, and the ministers immediately after gavrf^g-tfaeir resignation. The defeat was brought about by a combination for the occa- sion of the Legitimists and Honapartists with the three sections of the Left party. According to a Paris telegram M. de Goulard, who was entrusted with the formation of a new Cabinet.

BRUTAL MURDER NEAR NEWCASTLE. On Wednesday, May 13th, at a coroner's inquest held on the body of Joseph Galley, miner, at the Plough Inn, Knutton, the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Edward Davies, described as a farm labourer, who is connected with Oswestry. The facts of the case as stated at the inquest we -as fol- lows The deceased had been to a miner's demonstration at Hanley on the 4th May. He was suffering from burns received at the White Barn Colliery explosion, and this was the first day he had been any distance from home, and he was still unable to use one of his arms. Between eleven and twelve o'clock, Eliza Galley, the deceased's wife, was sitting in her house at Cross Heath, when she heard a noise and a tussle in the lane, and got up and opened the door. It was very dark. She heard her husband say, What are you going to do ?" She ran to the gate, and when she got there she saw a man kicking him the man appeared to be kicking with both feet as hard as he could. She did not hear her husband speak after. The man who was kicking had clogs on; she could tell by the sound. They were from forty to sixty yards from the house—past the house, from the Newcastle side, and on the opposite side of the road. She started to go across the road, and when about half way the man who had been kicking her husband ran away. She shouted after the man I'll make ■ you pay for this," and he replied I've made him pay for it." She could not remember the man, but she recognized the prisoner s voice as being that of the man who shouted back to her. She went to the spot where her husband lay, and found that he was dead. He never spoke, but she heard a noise in his throat. The man who ran towards Chesterton had clogs on. He was rather tall. A hat was afterwards pieked up near the spot, and was identified as being the one worn by the prisoner when employed by Mr William Grey, farmer, Chesterton. On Sunday morning, the 5th May, the prisoner was discovered in a straw bin on the pre- mises of Mr Ferneyhough, of the Little Dims lale farm, covered with blood, and in a shocking condition. He was without his hat. Several witnesses saw him upon that day and remarked upon his appearance, and the prisoner told one of them that he had been in a bit of a row coming from Newcastle." The prisoner was apprehended by Police Inspector Harston, at Tunstall, and accounted for his appearance by saying that he had fallen down while drunk. The foreman of the jury, after the verdict had been returned, stated that he had been instructed that it was the opinion of several on the inquest that the locality where the murder was committed had not sufficient police protec- tion, attacks upon passengers along the road being fre- quent. Chief Inspector Oswell promised that the matter should have consideration.

DEATH OF THE PROPHET ZADKIEL." A month ago, on the 5th ultimo, Commander Richard James Morrison, of the Royal Navy, known in his day among his intimate?, as a Hebrew scholar as well as a mathematician and an astronomer, died quite unexpectedly. At the time of his death he could have been very little short of eighty years of age. With all his unquestionable ability (and he was a man who had collected together, during the course of his long life, a curious store of old-world learning), he was chiefly remarkable for his devotion, during fifcy years and upwards, to the study of the pseudo-science of astrology. Every year since 1S30—that is, for a period of forty.four years consecutively-he had, under the tolerably notorious signature of Zadkiel Tao-Sze, brought out his little sixpenny pamphlet, known far and wide among the ciedulous as ZadkieVs Almanac. It sold annually by tens of thousands, running up sometimes to an imprint of 100,000 and 200,000 copies, and it secured to him for mope than the lifetime of a whole generation a moderate compe- tence. Apart from ZadkieVs Almanac, Captain Morrison was known among modern believers in astrology—for it is idle to blink the fact that there are such people—as the author of the Handbook of Astrology," of the Grammar of Astrology,' of Lilly's Introduction to Astrology,' and e of 'The Horoscope.' He wrote, besides these, for several years, in succession, the Astronomical Ephemeris,' a re- markable little book, entitled 'Astronomy in a Nutshell," and a daring treatise, embellished with ten large geometri- cal engravings—a treatise setting the whole Newtonian scheme of the heavens openly at defiance—a nine-shilling octavo, flagrantly entitled The Solar System as it Is and not as it is Represented.' Captain Morrison, otherwise Zadkiel," passed through the world with a reputation, among the many, of a chalatan, but among a select few, of a clever and accomplished man whose preference for odd studies amounted to something very like a distinct hallucination. Eleven years \C'o "ZncT kiel," then Lieutenant Mo-rison, E.N., brought an notion in the Court of Queen's Bench, against Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, for having libelled him, by denouncing him as an impostor. The case was tried before the present lord Chief Justice, Mr Serjeant Ballantine being tKunse^ for the defendant, and the late Mr Serjeant (afterwards :Mr Justice) Shee, the counsel for the plaintiff. According to Tmes report^ of the proceedings, vcrieus persons of rant appeared in the witness-box and gave evidence, all o them on behalf of the plaintiff; among them the late Lord Lytton, the Earl of Wilton, Lady Harry vane, aDd Lady Egerton of Tatton. After a careful summing-up of the evidence by Sir Alexander Cockburn, the vordict found was" for the plaintiff," the Court of 9Ult Bench, in Other words, formally deciding that C. Morrison, other- wise "Zadkiel," was not an lr.- .Athenæum..

WORK AND WORKERS The surface hands at the \linera lead min-s. Wrexham have resumed work at the a per cent. reduction. At a meeting held at the Brown Lion Inn, Oakengatea, on Saturday, the following resolution was passed :—Moved by Mr Cooper, seconded by Mr W. Jones "That we. the miners of Shropshire, disapprove of the course which some few of the miners in Lanarkshire have taken, in trying to blast the character of Mr Macdonald, M. P., who we believe to be worthy of the greatest respect from all miners, not only of Shropshire, but all other shires; and we express our fullest confidence in him in all his under- takings, believing that his object is a pure one, and for the benefit of all." A mass meeting of colliers employed in the Lougher dis* trict was held at Llanelly on Saturday, to consider the resolution passed by the masters' association at Cardiff on Thursday, by which it is proposed to make a reduction of 10 per cent. It was unanimously resolved to submit to the reduction should the delegate council consider that the present state of the market demanded it. A resolution was also passed approving the resistance by the men in South Staffordshire to a reduction of 25 per ceLt., and pledging the meeting to support the miners thrê during the present struggle. At a meeting of delegates it was de- cided to ontinue working only five days a weel-, Ps they have been doing for some time past, with a view to keeping down the output. There are some 10,000 anthracite miners employed in the Llanelly district, and all their contracts will terminate at the end of this month and, the masters having decided to make a reduction of 20 per cent., there is a prospect of a protracted struggle, as the .n consider this an unnecessaay pressure, and will resist its exacion. All the pits in Durham resumed work on Monday, May 18th, except Thornley Ludworth and Whealley j Jl, where the men decline to sign the agreement to work eiev.-n days a fortnight, and the managers refuse to allow them to re- commence work on any other terms than those accepted by the county generally.

EOOLESIASTICAL At Westminster Abbey on Sunday, May 16-h, the Rev. \V. West Jones, D.D., was consecrated bishop of C. pe- bishops [he Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by five Archdeacon Allen is the convener, and the R..v G. W. Pigott is a member of the committee which has been formed, with the sanction of the Archbishop, to consider the extension of the diaconate. The United Presbyterian Synod, sitting in Edinburgh, on Tuesday agreed to petition against Duke Richmond's Church Patronage Bill. At the sitting of the English Presbyterian Sywl a reso- lution was passed that unless a speedy and effectual check was put to the teaching and practice of so-called catholic doctrine within the Church of England, it would be the duty of the church to protest againt the continued connec- tion of Church and State. The Figaro siys-The Liberation Society has held its annual conference, and contrived somehow to say a lot of things unpleasantly sensible and sensibly unoleasant. There is no use denying it; you cannot ge a la-yn number of educated Englishmen together and set their tongues go- ing without bearing a good deal that you would ruther not if you don't happen to belong to their set. The London correspondent of the Liverpool Mercury says—" It seems as if we are going to have ant* sctisin in the English Church. It is called the Free Chmea of England, and is independent of andantagonislic io the existing bishops. It is stated that the whole of the mid- land counties have been constituted into of which Dr Herbert Biwer is to be the first bishop, and is io be set apart by the laying on of hands in July. He will be called bishop-president of Malvern. Two other gentlemen equ dly known or unknown to fame-Dr Dicksee. of Maiden, and Mr Sugden of Teddington -are mentioned as like y to be appointed bishop of the new metropolitan see. What with Bishop Jackson, his coadjutor, Bishop Claughton, Arch- bishop Manning, and now this threatened Free' bishop London certainly will not want for spiritual pastor?." Out of the thirty-four Wesleyan Methodist dif ricts of Great Britain there are twenty-nine whose urns have jast been published, in eighteen of which th..re is an increase .and in eleven a decrease. On the twenty-nine there is, after deducting for deaths, loss through removals, and those who have ceased to be recognised as mem i:T, a net increase of above 3,000 members. The largest increases are in the districts of London, Macclesfield, Manchester, Halifax, Newcastle, and still more in Liverpool. Sherfic-ld, Nottingham, Whitby, and Hull. The largest decreases are in the districts of Bedford and Northampton, N -rwieh and Lynn, Bath, Devonport, and Cornwall. The niimber on trial in Great Britain is more than 21,000. and larger than that reported for some years past. In Ireland tWe are 20,000 members, being twenty-three more than last year The losses there from deaths have been 301, and from emi- gration 448. The number on trial for Church member-hip gration 448. The number on trial for Church member-hip in Ireland is 700. It must be borne in mind that the number of members is only a portion—perhaps nut more than one.-fifth-of the entire number of adherents M. Hyacinthe Loyson {Pere Hyacinthe) add, essed a large 0 lbeT^hnf^K Y I?* 0U lhe of reform J' ™ «. 9h?rch- After rejecting reform bv means T 7 ^eistlc church, because theism i* merely a philosophy and not a religion—and by mea s cf Protes- tantism, because Protestantism ia only a religion, but not a universal church-the speaker laid down as the basis of Catholic Church reform that all schism mut be avoided, The present Old Catholic organisation in Germany and Switzerland, he contended, constitutes no schism, but only a provisional organisation. The dogmas of the Catholic Church, he urged, must be maintained, but in the iliscipline of the church reform is necessary by making confession and clerical celibacy optional, by restoring to the cotBinmdties the right of electing their priests and bishops, 4i,d by using the liturgy only in the respective national languages, At the meeting of the Congregational Union on Friday, May 15, the first subject under consideration was the agri- cultural labourers' lock-out, and a resolution was passed expressing sympathy with the labourers, but at the -ame time urging upon both farmers and labourers to refer their disputes to arbitration. The rest of the afternoon was oc- cupied with a discussion on the revival of reii ■<HT, the subject being introduced by the Rev. Dr. KenntdV" 'Sub- sequent speakers deprecated some of the featuie, rf the revival in Scotland, and maintained that appe d shou.d be maae to the reasoning rather than to the emotional il--rt of human nature. At the evening meeting, in the Cannon Street Hotel-Mr S. Morley preiding -the Rev. ii. W. Dale, of Birmingham, read a paper on "Theological Matters." Reviewing the Nonconformist theologians of the present day, he said that by allowing the most talented students to he too much loaded with general work, they did not make proper provisions for giowinc learned theologians. M?tthf mee,tiD3 ?f ,he Congregational Union, the Eev. mnV /nDa? r1ad- a P,:i?er 00 sf"'cial agencies nr the pro- r- r*evi 'in c?u;se °f whkh he j'- ^me severe strictures on several of MIP ;I Vi !.e\l¡,tl 111 Scotland and elsewhere. He particularly enured the making of public the sins and c u'-s-nms of the revived individuals and strou^y deprecated the immediate employment as reviving agencies of those who had been so revived. In further comajents on the extra\agancies cf revivalists in Scotland asd the agencies of revivalists, he mentioned that one of the in- struments used to promote revival was an American barrel-organ. (Hisses and applause.)—The Chairman was amazed at such demonstrations on an occasion of that kind. They were out of place, strange, and new to that assembly.—The reading of the paper was resumed, the writer's strictures on revivalists being more severe than ever. They were set upon considenng and admiring i cera- selves, thought was lost in sentiment, ar.d the tiroU self- consciousness of revivalists was c;lied laying Loin on the Gospel. He believed in revival, and hoped forV and prayed for it, but he did not believe in the agtDci,s of revivalists. (Cheers.)—The revival a -encies were 1 _ided and testimony was borne to the good effects produced.

DISASTROUS RAILWAY COLLISION AT MEBTHYR. A disastrous collision, attended with severe personal in- juries to about fifty pessons, and ,i great destruction of property, occurred on Saturday afternoon, May loLn, at the station of the Great Western Railway at Merthyr. The line of the Great Western Company ascends by a heavy gradient from the entrance of the station yard for bout two miles, the highest point being in the middle of ;» tun- nel about two miles long. The rails are double to within three hundred yards of the tunnel, from which point, through the tunnel, the line is sinsrle. A pointsn-an is stationed there to divert all inward traffic to tae down line., Shortly before three o'clock a train of twenty-five iaden coal waggons, drawn by two engines, was from Merthyr Tydvil, and it proceeded safely on its waV" until the whole train had disappeared in the tunnel bus before the summit of the ascent was reached a COUdKu2- three trucks back from the locomotives, and h <o,"Ptbe driver could stop and retrace his way, the loosened t ortion of the train had commenced a retrograde motion the peed of which rapidly increased. When it reached the point where the line doubles, it ran on to the down lin- rad= which led into the terminus. Meantime and hf'l had beCOme ■■Parent at*Brecon and Merthyr Station, a passenger tiaiu had passed Into the station on the same line 0f rails, and h,d drawn up at the ticket platform While it was standing, the runawav coal train dashed into it with tremendous force, propdi.ng it like a bolt through the station. lhe rear break, a-.d the carriage next to it, which contained most of the passengers, were smashed and thiown off the jails but the m; nm- parted to the whole train was terrilic. At the buff, r ?tays, at the end of the rails, the engine I. aped between w and five feet, and, crashing through the end of the station, crossed a road about forty feet wide, drove through a'masw hive stone wall, which sustainrd a parallel road &t a higher level, and buried itself severjl feet in h(, grour -I. Owing to the wreck which covered the engine, was*, im!,t):\r:.¡e to get to the fire, box to draw the fire or r>r>r;n 'he (,e to blow off the steam, and steam began t- tr'nera^e 8" apiJly that an explosion was feared. Ar engiLe,fitter, b:,wever, got on to the boiler and foroe, the valye nnron. The í;ff\ «« -r but bis breaksman waa "!th only a shock, five of the passenger^ cut a £ d bruised. Tli'rtv- seriously. Amongst e Hurt, some of t.hr- V,rv Llanidloes, who- e P ^engers wi? Sarah J ones, of the Great \vegtern > was oply shaken. Th k«ss to thousand portru's. ompanv is estimated at s. veral

i1 Bryant and Mav vTo„ 111 Oval Pocket Venta if direct sp^ciai sttenfio* to i!;«t »ew are entirelv fr«»« with Paten* Spring Covors, whinh admitted b- 1111 rou3h edge3 and sharp & mets, and Box PTTA- °ae to 1,6 the Best and Che?put,I Pocket Produced. Retailed everywhere at O" Penny j aWHteee and soie manufacturers, Bryant and May, e* J