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DEATH OF COLONEL PRYSE.

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DEATH OF COLONEL PRYSE. THE sudden and unexpected death of Colonel PRYSE, Pcithyll, lord lieutenant of Cardigan- shire, and formerly member of Parliament for the Cardigan Boroughs, adds another to the already long list of recent Cardiganshire bereave- ments. Within about three months there have died Mrs FRYER, of Lodge Park, Lord LISBURNE, Mr F. R. ROBERTS, Mrs MORRIS DAVIES, Mr LONGCROFT, and Colonel PRYSE. When a member of Parliament Colonel PRYSE was said to be the handsomest man in the House of Commons, and he retained his comely presence to the last. He was said to be most affable amongst his personal friends. but in public he was always on parade. He had strong views as to the relative positions of the classes, and never abated a jot of what he deemed to be due to him as Lord Lieutenant of the county, as an ex ntei-aber of Parliament, and as representing the- Gogerddan family. He seems hardly ever to have realised that the present baronet, who is 1 approaching fifty years of age, has attained his majority, and he frequently spoke of him- self as the representative of Gogerddan. The robust Radicalism of Cardiganshire was out of harmony with his notions of Libetalism, and during the past fifteen years he failed to keep pace with the local Liberal leaders, although at his death he was President of the Cardiganshire Liberal Association. He was not with the ad- vanced wing of Liberalism at the time the Irish Church was disestablished but after- wards approved of that great measure of justice. At the last election he was like many other good Liberals opposed to Mr GLADSTONE'S Home Rule policy, but when Mr Bow EX ROWLANDS defeated Mr DAVID DAVIES Colonel PaYSE at once invited the new member to Peithyll, put him on the Commission of the Peace, and generally accepted the situation with the best grace possible. He was a great Conservative force in the Liberal camp, and we almost always were more or less in opposition to him. He had ceased to be the centre of political power and influence in the county, and that a member should be returned for Cardiganshire, not only without the assistance but in spite of the opposition of Gogerddan and Colonel PRYSE must have been a severe blow to him. He was a grand old-fashioned autocrat, prepared to be kind and patronizing to all those who did not pretend to equality with him, but t-old and haughty to all democrats and Radicals and otner vulgar persons who ignored those differences of social position which he never failed to maintain. His sad death brings to an end an old order of things in Cardiganshire. He could not reverse the democratic currents but locally he stemmed them, and it was only because he was so utterly out of harmony with all modern forces that he failed in some of his conflicts with them The elementary teacher and the cheap news- paper were at work when he was out with the foxhounds, which he dearly loved, and when in recent years he came to take part in local movements he discovered that his name and example were less powerful than thirty years ago, and that people were wilful and disposed to follow new leaders who had no stake in the country and who were not even on the Com- mission of the Peace for the county. As Lord Lieutenant of the county Colonel PHYSE during the past ten or twelve years nominated many Liberals to be put on the Commission of the Peace, and at the present time Cardiganshire will compare favourably with most other counties in Wales in this respect. Our contention is that Liberals ought to be made magistrates as freely as Tories, and we never accepted the nomination of Liberals in any other sense than as an act of tardy justice. There is not at this moment a good Tory in Cardiganshire who is qualified to act who is not on the Commission, but there are plenty of Liberals. His successor, whoever he is, will probably be less fair. Colonel PRYSE believed it was his right and the right of his class to rule. He was prepared to make his rule beneficent to those who were obedient and duly thankful, but to those who ventured to assert themselves on terms of equality he had nothing to offer but exclusion from all benefits he could command. The manner of his death was startling, and the country has lost one who filled a large place in public life for more than thirty years, and who always commanded respect.

MINING ROYALTIES.

i A COMING EVENT. m