Weekly Mail

INTRODUCTORY. In telling the tale of the industries of Wales I tin going to sketch Wales from the Bristol Channel > Cardigan Bay, and from Chester to Mumbles. My course will be, not to give a tedious collec- tion of figures, but descriptive scenes, interesting facts, and biographies, and from the first sources ff informtion show the growth of those industries "hich have made Wales such an important part of the United Kingdom. I have maintained, in and out of these columns, that but for our coal and iron, our tin-plate and other industries, Wales would have presented features not altogether dissimilar to those of the Bister Isle. Fortunately the sons of the small farmers on the shores of Cardigan and Carmarthen feft their thatched dwellings by the shore and in the valleys of agricultural districts for the "ílills," ^here Vulcan plied his art, and in the fierce, red light of early days won comfort for themselves and insured peace and prosperity for the country. It is true some died by tlia way side." The sturdy son who ate his buttermilk and pota- toes by the peat fire of home fattened the old graveyards of the Zoars and Zions," and the rnan of "ocean-tossed hair and so* visage" who Save up precarious boating and fishing for labour n the coal mines fell victims to the blast of the fire fiend. Still, they died at the post of duty, in he annals of that commercial campaign which Das its uamedalled heroes and, alas! its martyrs, ,tud, so far, won greater honour than if they had Mooned away their life, or fretted it away in law- less enterprise. The trading annals of Wales form one of the great epochs of its history. We have the pre-historic days which offer such fine scope to the imaginative; that great era in "Which our good friend Moiien luxuriates with his Druids and Archdruids, with their system of batural religion, and more than a suspicion of sun Worship. That era of which Julius Csesar has handed down tradition representing a nation blore addicted to painting themselves than to Slothing their bodies after the manner of decent, Civilised people, and of uniting great valour with art equal degree of duplicity. I may fairly leave the Roman to his critics, and principally Ap Ithel, and only regret in passing that the evidence gleaned by able Welshmen has tlot been used in the books of modern historians, and English misconception and prejudice scattered thereby to the winds. Following the era of Roman Occupation we have that of Saxon raid and Native rule, and the long period of rival kingships and petty princedoms, with battle and /taurder as the records of progress, with here and there a bright exception when the land had rest, j&nd the bow was unstrung, and the reaper gathered jin his corn unmolested. Still another era of Roman Conquest, and of feud and foray; of monastic effort and seclusion, and of Bardism, and witty assault against the fraternity of baads and cowl3. And so down to tho days whop Welshmen and I Englishmen fought side by side at Agincourt and at Cressyat Bosworth and at Bannockburn, and every field, home or foreign, where the dragons have ^uttered in the wind. Then came in our era, that of trade, of commerce, insignificant at first, puny Its the puniest steam, for the time was yet remote "'ben the smithy was to be the forerunner of iron Works, and for the farmer to (Jiscover that greater harvests were to be had under, than upon his acres of mountain land. There was a little work in Wrexham, gold work, and armoury so the Welsh poet tells us,and furnaces j "Hall enough in all likelihood, at Flint. Later on *hterprising men found that Welsh ponies sold well j *t Barnet fair, and plodding Cardy's, with butter, { their way to remote Birmingham, but in I tiraes of unwritten history, so far as Wales is con- cerned, the trader was, in the main," the English- Inan, and the buyers, the Welsh.* It was a period, one may say, of historic calm, of which we have little or no record, the only Matter handed down, apart from poetic efforts, ktfng some few turbulences such as are chronicled illi the archives of the Wynnstay family. There was a lull. Prior to the great storms of nature, to the cyclone, -° the earthquake, and the votcanic eruption, Writers tell us that a dead and sinister calm pre- Vailed. Thus too, with the great laboratory of eveuts in human history perhaps ere great deeds Mule upon the stage of action, some such calm foreruns. Who shall say or deny ? Our great iron era had only so far sent forward its courier. Let us see what it was. From early days. as early as the Roman in Britain, as shown by Cindarford and other fords, the smith was a man worthy of the big following he had in I after time. In the laws of Hvwel Dda, which date from 925, or thereabouts, he was one of the great officers of State, though where he had his iron ore from can only be conjectured. He made his own ¡lrOn, and had the perquisites for casting boiling Pots for the palace, for making ploughshares, and v*rious articles for fretting the land or for use on I objectionable people. Thoy wanted knives and %lies then, and spear heads and pikes, and the j IItnith supplied them. Relics at Morlais Castle tqll u; where the smithy ^as, and at Caerphilly to this day you may s«e the furnaces for melting the iron or*, and possibly I "—for this is hinted at by old Iolo Morganwg"— for converting iron into steel. But we must come down to the tiPlIt of Henry VIII. and of Queen Elizabeth for further evidence of the smith's ptoogrtlSi in Wales. In the time of Queen Elizabeth, in particular, there was a furnace at Abercanaid, nearly opposite the old Duffiyn furnaces at Plymouth. Musbet had «platp" from this, presented it to A«thony Hill. Then Sir William Matthews, of j dyr, not far from the residence of Mr. G. Fisher, I 114d one furnace at work, and one some distance 'hove in the valley. These were more pretentious than the earlier o.nes of Sion ap Hywel Gwyn at Llwydcoed in the ^ioae of Henry VIII., and at various spots about the Aberdare Valley, but not so important as the ter ones of the Taff Valley, which the Puritans destroyed in the times of the Commonwealth, or Of the important one of Lewis's a.t Caerphilly, "hich preceded Dovylais. The reader must understand that the forerunner at the genuine iron furnace was a very simple Affair. You may see it in Italy to this day, so 44Y5 a traveller friend from the Rhondda, and the "let,d, evidently the same as the Romans used in Britain, seems like an echo, aa one might be Emitted to say, of the past. n,re is the method as sketched by old Iolq °rganwg," who had it, like his bardic lorf. from ^Questioned sources of inforpa:Atioo. j i.Anciently the method of smelting iron was in j j °omeries; the ore, charcoal, and limestone ware due proportion heaped together in the form of ^mulus, similar to what are now called charcoal Or the heaps of cord wood as put together for Sing converted into charcoal, and, like these, j e" covered over with earth or sods; but for i there was, it is said, » kind of funnel of iron j Mp in the middle, on the top of the heaps thus (price) is evidently a corruption from the Sng« ttn. ^biieprynu Cony) is pure Welsh. Int'preijtialiy then reasonably think that tli«» salesman was &UaQ. t '( formed to give vent to the smoke. Below, on or near the ground, there were two, three, four, or more pairs of large bellows, fixed or hung to posts in a manner similar to that in which blacksmiths hang their bellows. When the blower had raised the upper part of the bellows by pressing down the arm or handle, he stepped upon it that it might thus be pressed down and blow with greater force. Such a bellows was termed megin dan draed," i.e., a bellows under feet. At the base of the heap were formed two three, or four holes, into which the noses of the' bellows were inserted, and which were closely luted with well-tempered potter's clay (of the country), and thus were the fires blown, the smoke finding its vent at the central funnel. The fires were thus intensely kept up until the ore was smelted, and as often as the fire appeared through the covering more earth, or clay and sods, were added to cover it as closely as possible. When the ore was smelted the heap (marteg) was opened, and the metal conducted into moulds in sand to form it into pig iron. It was then cast into moulds also, for boiling pots, posnets or skillets, &c. For the purpose of rendering the iron malleable it was melted over several times—tradition says nine times. It was afterwards heated for the hammer and anvil, and so worked until it became fit for general use and tradition says that it was better iron than anv that has ever since been made in a j different. Converting it into steel they passed it through the fire in a proper process many times; some say nine times. The fires for such purposes were made, in addition to charcoal, of horns, hoofs of horses and cattle, bones, and other animal substances in due proportions. After it had pas&ed through the whole process it. was (witness tradition) most excellent steel. Those old ironmakers, or, if you please, ironmasters, had, it seems, a strong predilection for the number nine, or, at least, tradition has it for them. But the following ancient triad indicates clearly that steel was passed through nine fires" Tri chaled byd, y maen cellt, dur naw gwynias, a chalon, mab y crinwas." In English thusThe three hardest things in the world: A flint stone, the steel of nine fires, and tha heart of the miser. Such was the method, such the means, when, pre- ceded by a few minor venturers, all of whom are recorded in the History of Merthyr," Anthony Bacon a. London merchant, appeared upon the scene, and the first red lights of any importance began to gleam upon the hills. Cardiff owes a great deal to the memory of Anthony Bacon. His first appearance in the Merthyr Valley and at Hir- wain was in a mule carriage, but before his career was run he had constructed a road to Cardiff, and Cannon Wharf yet remains as his reminder. In those barren days of 1760, or thereabouts, when there no newspaper in Wales and no means of recording events, one can only fall back upon the hearsays of old people handed down from one to another. All that can in this way be gleaned about Bacon is that he was a London merchant, and London merchants were always on the look out for good things, whether in the South Seas, West Indies, or Wales. Further, that at one time he lived at Aberaman House, and was a genial friend of the many bards who lived in Aberdare Valley. Also that in 1765 he leased Cyfarthfa and Plymouth for 99 years, and for £200 only per annum, and that, being a North of England man, he was joined in his venture by Wood, Richardson, and others. And here I must digress a moment, for about Wood there is a pleasant history. Wood had iron- works at Whitehaven, and he was grandfather of Mary Howitt. Mrs. Howitt's mother was a Mrs. Ann Botham. who came into Wales with the Staf- fordshire migrants in the time of Homfray, and our gifted authoress passed early and pleasant days in the ravine known as Penydarren. days in the ravine known as Penydarren. We can scarcely realise this, for in modern days Penydarren has been a smoky, uncanny scene, haunted by squalid children, and about as dis- agreeable a place as any in the Black Country. But in early days, with its green slopes and purling Morlais, and woody foreground of Gwaun- farran, there were few mora beautiful spots in the Valley of the Taff. Anthony Bicon sold out his Cyfarthfa property to Crawshay and others, his Plymouth to the Hills, and retired. The great wealth realised passed out of Walps, unfortunately, as in too many instances, and the family is now, I believe, extinct. From a granddaughter at Bushey Park years ago some information was gained, the only fact of interest being thatqne son of Anthony, a boy who may be termed a Merthyr boy, figured as an ensign at Waterloo. William Crawshay, the grandson of Richard, the first Crawshay, is a notable man, and the biogra pher of his race. At a dinner given at Merthyr in October, 1847, to William Crawshay, in reply reply to the enthu- siastic toast of his health, he said:— I ask not for public life; I never did, mv whole object being to enjoy the esteem of those I see before me, and of the men whom I employ; to kuow that I enjoy their goodwill is my greatest satisfaction. God grant that my sons, at sixty years of age, may receive the same compliment from your successors. My connection with the place is so well understood that but little remains for me to tell you but if I do describe to you the first part of my grandfather's life, I trust you will receive it in the way in winch I intend it. I mean that it should be heard, not by setting suns, but by arising suns. And think not, gentlemen, that I am proud to make a. boast of my origin. Although I tell these things, and am in one sense proud of them, yet I do not boast of them. My grandfather was the the son of a respectable farmer at Nonnanton, in the county of York. At the age of sixteen father and son differed. My grandfather could not agree with his father—the reasons are unknown to me— and my grandfather, an enterprising boy, left Normanton for London, and rode his own pony up. When he got to London, which iu those days was an arduous task of some sixteen or twenty days' travelling, he fouud himself as destitute of friends as he possibly could be. Ho sold his pony for £15, and during the time that tho proceeds of the pouy kept him he found employment at an iron warehouse, kept by Mr. Bicklewith; he hired himself for three years for the price of his pony. His occupation was to clean the counting-house, to put the desks in order for his master and the clerks, and to do anything else that he was told to do. By industry, integrity, and perseverance, he gained his master's favour, and in the course of a few months he was considered decidedly better than the boy who had been there before him. He was termed the Yorkshire boy; a.nd thp Yorkshire boy, gentlemen, progressed in his master's favour by his activity, integrity, and perseverance. He had a very amiable and good mister, and at the end of a very short period, before he had beeu two years in his place, he stood high in his master's confidence. The trade in which he was engaged was only a cast-iron warehouse, aud his master assigned to him (the Yorkshire boy) the privilege of selling flat-irons—the things with which our shirts are fLitteued. The washerwomen of London were sharp folks, and when they bought one flat-iron they stole two. Mr. Bickle- with thought the best person to cope with them would be a person working for his own interests, and a Yorkshireman at the same time. My grand- father sold these articles, and that was the first matter of trading ever he embarked in in his life. By honesty and perseverance he continued to grow in his master's favour, who being an indo- lent man, in a few years retired, and left my grandfather in possession of this cast-iron business in London. That business was carried on on the very site where I now spend my days, in York Yard, London. In the course of time my grand. father left his business there, and came down here; and my father, who carried it on, supplied ¡ him with money almost as fast as he spent it here, but not quite so fast; and it is there I spend the pro- duce of this county. And you know to what an extent tne iron produce of this county has risen up. My grandfather established the ironworks at Merthyr and Cyfarthfa. He was only left three- eighths of it, but by purchase he obiained the whole, and by his benevolence I have succeeded to it. During my time the concern has not diminished, and I pray God it never may diminish and I hope the rising generation will see that, by industry, integrity, and perseverance, wealth and rank in life in the position they have chosen are attainable by everybody who started with humbler prospects than my grandfather. No man in tbis room is so poor that he cannot command £15, I have told you this before, and I am proud of it. Dopend on it, any young man who is industrious, honest, and persevering will be respected in any class of life he may move in and do you think, gentlemen, that there is a man in England prouder than I am at thII moment? What is all the world tome unless they know ine ? And you would not be here to-night unless you thought me entitled to your goodwill. Here, faded sotuewhat like an old picture, is the sketch of the first entry of Richard Crawshay into Merthyr. Can you not see the iron man and hear the cheers and the bells ? The day of Richard Crawshay's arrival in Merthvr was a memorable one. The village was in a state of the greatest excitement, and" every conceivable plan, some of the wildest and strangest nature, was thought of, to do honour to the occasion and the man for there was a romance about the life ar.d achievements of Richard, which gave special interest to the people, and they looked forward to his coming as the entrance of one who had already gained a great name in the land, and was about to raise Merthyr to the utmost pros- perity. Legendary gossip gave a colouring to this. It was said that be had entered as a poor boy into the flmDloV ot a London ironmonger swept the I shopirisen step by step; made £ 1,500 by a state lottery; married his master's daughter; and, ultimately, become possessed of the business. Then other rumours came. He was going to en- large the Cyfarthfa Works; a great many men would be wanted; he was worth a mint of money, nay, tIp. could even coin money. This completed the excitement. Merthyr turned out, the bells rang away merrilv, if not musically, for, previous to the re-building1 of the church, we had bells; work was abandoned; and all the inhabitants, young, middle-aged, and anc)ent, marched down the valley to sto the coming man, leaving the Village in solitude to the decrepid and the dogs. Silence in the narrow street, in the meadows, by forge and furnace silence by the mill and the farm. Soon the crovyd saw a carriage in the distance no one doubted for a moment that it was Crawshay's. The quick step became a run, the rqn a racg, and npar Troedyrhiw they met, and with deafening cheers gave their first hearly I welcome. Then the horses were taken uut of the carriage a hundred hardy meij took their places, and thus in triumph, Richard Crawshay was borne up the valley, through the village, and to Cyfarthfa—the scene of labours that were destined to enrich a great number of enterprising men—to be crowned as Iron King, to give his descendants a high position amongst the merchants of the world, and transform the village of Merthyr into a town of magnitude and importance. We dilate on this period with interest; for.though we underrate not the exertions of the first guest of Bacon, and of Homfray, yet, unquest.iopably,it was Richard Craw- shay who gave the desired impetus, and Merthvr may well hail and honour him as the founder "of her greatness. When he came here he was in the prime of life, stout and stalwart, with strongly marked features, pitted by small-pox. His appearance, as described to us by an old in- habitant, was that of a rugged Yorkshireman— keen-witted, strong-tempered, and blessed with that kind of iron will which brooks no opposition, but must force its way. Qualities he had decidedly, in common with heroes of classic days, and men of modern story; but it was his destiny, not, like them, to leave his history written in blood and devastation, glorified by eulogy and paean, by flaunting flag and the brazen trumpet of tame, but carved in the nobler records of a nation's progress, and glorified more harmo- niously in the annals of peaceful and happy lives. He had his virtues, and, like the rest of us, his failings; and hundreds of reminiscences are at hand to prove that he enjoyed the one, and shared the misfortune of having the other. From these we will select such only as are positively required to illustrate his character. He was homely in his manners. Once a week he visited one of the Merthyr villagers, a baker, and there smoked his pipe and gossiped without reserve. He was quick in temper, but only too happy to atone. Ho saw a workman one afternoon idling by a tram, and down came his stick on the idler's back. I The man fail against a piece of iron the blood flowed; things looked serious. In a. few moments the labourer was in the big house, carried by doughty Richard, and when he left he was full of good things, and in his pocket was n substantial atonement. On one occasion when the stables were being erected opposite the site of Cyfarthfa Castle, Mr. Crawshay observed a mason doing his work in a way that did not please him. He exclaimed, With such men about me I shall be ruined," and discharged him on the spot. The master mason who knew his peculiarities better than the aston- ished labourer, told him to continue his work, adding, The master won't know you again." During the day Mr. Crawshay again came by; it was after dinner, and he was in a. better humour. Looking at tlve same man, he called out,There, that is something like masonry you know your business, my man." He had a horse called Jck, as well known about the village as his master. Every market day Mr. Crawshay and his insepar- able "friend came down ;and while Richard bought, Jack munched, seizing everything that came within reach, the damage being duly recompensed by a gift before the ironmaster left. When Jack died, his friend mourned exceedingly, and the poor old horse was buried with more honours than are given even to the Indian brave. A large vault was prepared near the works, and in this, decorated like a departed hero, with the trappings of life, poor Jack was placed then the vault was solemnly I closed, and to this day it remains the reminder of a good servant and a kind master. One of our noblest institutions, the Sunday School, was first started here by him, under the immediate auspices of the eminent founder of Sunday Schools, Mr, Raikes of Gloucester, who came by invitation of Mr. Crawshay to organise the school. It. was first held in Cyfarthfa, but when the English Wesleyan chapel was built, it removed to the building attached to that edifice.

CLIPPINGS FROM THE COMICS. (From" Punch.") FOLLOWING THE FASHION. Baked-Tater Merchant: 'Ow's trade Why, fust-rate!! I'm a-goin' to conwert the bis'ness into a limited liability comp'ny—and retire into private life 1! THINGS ONE WOULD RATHER HAVE LEFT UNSAID. Hostess (across table): the way, bishop, I hear Sir Wormwood and Lady Scrubbs are in town, and Justice Tupper and his wife. I only wish I had known it before, for I would have asked them to-day to meet you Mental Chorus of Guests I wonder which of us would have been left out?" WILD WALES." Mr. Roundabout (Interviewer from England): Is your father at home ? Welsh Boy: "No, sir; he's gone to work at Rhosllanerchrugog." Mr. R.: Isn't your mother in ? Welsh Boy: She's at the Fair at Llanfair- mathafarrny t hof." Mr. Got any brothers and sisters? Welsh Boy: "Sister's living at Llanhangel Trevrr-Beirdd, and my brother's at school at L lan fair p w lIgwyngligogerychwrndrobwlltysly- fwrnl L" And yet," reflected Mr. R., "our boys spend years of their lives in learning dead languages! "— and decided he'd studv Cymraeg this Jubilee (From" Fun.") NEAR THE LAW COUBTS. He.—" Well, Miss Gadabout, the Colinderies is done with a.t last." She.—"Indeed! Is it ? I didn't know. What was the verdict CHABACTEBISTIC. Mrs. Prenderghast (to Mrs. PollingtoD, in a whisper of the most confidential kind).—"You would not suspect it to look at him, but his character is dreadful, my dear! Mrs. Pollington (to Mrs. Prenderghast).— Really 1 I didn't know he had any." THE SOCIAL PEEP-SHOW. Showman On the right you observe wirtue a-triumphing over wice." Johnny Please, sir, which is wice and which i» wirtue?" Showman: Whichever you please, my little dear you pays your money and you takes your choice." (From "Moonshine.") Reading the uewspapers of late, high life does not seem to be the very best sort of life any way. MAN AN a WIFE—CONFIDENCES. He: My dear, rather than make an exhibition of myself in that horrible Divorce Court I'm blest if I wouldn't rathdr keep married as I am." ONB WAY OF PUDDING IT. [The Habitual Criminal generally gets run in for a short period about this neason, so as to have the benefit of the extra Christmas fare in gaol.—The Paragr aphist.1 Habitual Criminal (to pal): Where are you going to spend your Christmas? Pal: I shall set run in on the South Coast somewhere." Habitual Criminal: Yes, too bracing, ain't it ?

Mr. John Bright and Trades Unions. A delegate meeting of the trades societies con- nected with the London Trades Council was held on Friday evening at the White Swan Tavern, Temple-street. Mr. A. G: Cook, compositor, pre- sided.—Messrs. C. J. Drummond and W. Jones gave in their reports upon the Trades Congress which met in Paris in August last, and Messrs. C. Freak and G. Shipt.on submitted their reports of the Hull Congress of last September, which, after considerable discussion, were adopted.—Mr. C. J. Drummond then called the attention of the dele- gates to the aspersions which Mr. John Bright had thrown upon the combinations of workmen in a letter to a gentleman in Nottingham with reference to the lace trade of that town, and moved the fol- lowing resolution:— That, in the opinion of this delegate meeting, the recent attack upon Trades Unions by Mr. John Bright is absolutely unwarranted, inasmuch as workmen have never" insisted 00 wages a trade cannot pay" but, 00 the contrary, have invariably heen willing to submit dis- Eutes as to wages to arbitral,ion, provided the employers a.ve been equally willing, by the production of their bonks, to convince tit" arbitrators ot the neceuityor otherwise of such proposed reduction, and that ill th" case of tl1eNot.tiuL:lwm lace trade a JjJoard of Concilia- tion, composed of employers and workmen, has fQr years exioted for tb" express purpoge of regulating wages; therefore, it is manifestly unjust to endeavour to hold the workmen responsible for that in which em- ployen take 811 equal share. —Mr. Pye (gold beater) seconded the resolution, which was adopted

A Remarkable Sermon. The Rev. H. R. Haweis, who lately was invited by the Rev. Dr. Parkpr to preach in the City Temple, but was practically prohibited by the Bishop of London from so doing, preached a remarkable sermon on Sunday night at St. Bride's Church, Fleet-street. He said the Church cf England had no monopoly of either Divine government, sound doctrine, or good works. Its attitude towards-1 the great Nonconformist body had been utterly wrong and un-Christian over since the Act of Uniformity, and the only way of healing the breach was to effect an interchange of pulpits. The bishops claimed to be successors of the Apostles, but they were not lineally by organic transmis- sion such successors, and if they were it would not much matter, since we did not believe in organic transmission. The life qf Chrjst's Church was derived,not from something mysteriously trick- ling through a bishop's fingers when he laid hands on the priest's head, nor from the methods of the Church of England, but from the spirituality of It II members. He never read the Athanaaian Creed, because he did not believe in it, and he was luke- warm about the Thirty-nine Articles. The sermon created a profound sensation.

Lord Salisbury and the Welsh Sunday Closing Act. We are informed that Mr. Parfitt, the secretary of the Pontypridd and Rhondda Valleys Licensed Victuallers' Association, recently wrote a private letter (i.e., not in his official capacity) to Lord Salisbury calling attention to the working of the Welsh Sunday Closing Act, quoting some remarks made by Mr. W. Jones, a Pontypridd magistrate, and suggesting the advisability of an inquiry being instituted into the operations of the Act. Lord Salisbury has now replied, stating that the Government will cake the matter into their careful consideration.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS. Policy of the Government. The Marquess of Salisbury was on Wednesday evening the principal guest of the members of the City Conservative Club at the Club-house, George-yard, Lombard-street. The Earl of Denbigh occupied the chair, and there was a very large attendance. Among others supporting the noble chairman were Sir C. Clifford, Bart., Mr. Dixon-Hartland, M.P., Colonel Maude, V.C., Lieut.- Colonel Cowan, Mr. S. Charrington, M.P., and Mr. F. E. Dobbing (hon. secretary of the club). Mr. H. D. ANDERSON (chairman of the com- mittee) proposed The Guest of the Evening, the Most Hon. the Marquess of Salisbury." Lord SALISBURY, on rising to respond, at 10.15, was received with loud and prolonged cheers. He said :—My Lords and Gentlemen,—I am very grateful for the kind and elo- quent language in which the chairman I of your club has been so good as to move my health, and very grateful to you for the kind and enthusiastic manner in which you, in accepting it, expressed your attachment to our party. (Cheers.) The remarkable movement in favour of Conserva- tism which has spread over all the Home Counties undoubtedly had its origin in this City of London-(hear, hear)—and I feel it a very great compliment to be thus received by a club which is undoubtedly one of the chief rallying points of Conservatism in the City of London. (Hear, hear.) A TIMB OF CRISIS, BUT NOT OF DISCOURAGEMENT. Gentlemen, the time when I have the honour to meet you is a time of crisis, but not a time of dis- couragement to the Conservative cause. (Hear, hear.) We have had only last night—(cheers)— proof that our opinions, at all events on some of the most important questions which are canvassed in these days, are shared by the finest intellects and the most influential members of what a year ago was the Liberal party—(hear, hearl-and we can- not but derive encouragement from the sight of so many and so powerful allies in support of the doctrines which have ever been foremost in our own political creed. It is a very remarkable phenomenon that men of the highest power and the greatest influence should have separated themselves in an instant from the party with which they were brought up, and should have devoted themselves to opposing the leader whom so short a time ago they implicitly obeyed. I derive from it an indication of the depth and the gravity of the controversy in which we are all engaged, and an encouragement to believe that resistance on behalf of the fundamental principles of our Constitution is not that hopeless matter which some would induce you to imagine. (Cheers.) THB ATTITUDE OF THE UNIONIST LIBERALS. From a public point of view the attitude of the ifnionist Liberals is one of great importance and the subject of great congratulation, because there was cause to fear that the bonds of party had become so strict that men no longer would dare to express their opinions on behalf of the supreme interests of their country, but any such fear as that has been utterly dissipated. (Hear, hear.) It is also of deep interest to our- selves. As you know, we do not hold a majority in the present Parliament, though our party is by far the most powerful of all. We have some 320 members, and want some fifteen more to give us a majority in the House of Commons. But. we have upon most vital and burning questions of the day—we know it now, we have always had full ground for believing it—we have the un- compromising and unreserved assistance of some 70 of not the least distinguished members of the Liberal party. (Cheers.) THE POLITICAL POSITION. Now, the political position is undoubtedly very peculiar and wholly unprecedented. (Hear, hear.) No psnty commands an absolute majority, but there is a majority in behalf of one view on the most important and engrossing question of the day, and that majority is commanded by the Conserva- tives and Unionist Liberals together. But in combining they have not lost their in- dividuality. Nothing was more remarkable in the speeches last night than the reiteration with which it was stated that the speakers, while tendering their support to the Government and the Conservative party in tha great Irish Struggle, had not lost their membership of the Liberal party or their attachment to Liberal opinion. They have not lost their individuality, neither has the Conser- vative party. (Hear, hear.) We are as attached to oqr Conservative opinions and as resolute to carry them out as ever we were. (Loud cheers.) Undoubtedly there are points upon which, if they came forward, we should be compelled to differ with our allies, or with some of our allies, among tha Liberal Unionists. (Hear, hear.) Fortunately, these points are in the background, and nothing of primary or essential importance is likely in the immediate future to occupy the attention of Parliament except I that great question upon which we are heartily agreed. (Cheers.) That fact furnishes a bond of union, and deeply impressed as we are with its importance, above all other Questions, we shall not be anxious or careful to find occasions of difference with our friends. (Cheers.) THE QOVEBNMJSNT AND HOME RULE, Sometimes they will tell you we have a Home Rule Bill and really intend to produce it. I think two months ago that was asserted with a persistent asseveration and minuteness of detail thatgave me a belief that courage, at all events, had not de- parted from the English race. (Laughter.) Some- times they will tell you, on the contrary, that it is our friends the Liberal Unionists who are going to Tie Home Rulers, and who are going to play us an ugly trick, and desert us Suddenly. That I believe to be as un- founded on imagination as the other. (Loud cheers.) In fact, I am glad to be able to say, from my own experience, that the perfect straightforwardness with which we have been met—the straightforwardness and simplicity with which we have been met by Lord Harting- ton—(loud cheers)—and those who follow him have made co-operation with them a very easy task indeed. (Renewed cheers.) But there is another explanation of our position, which was referred to by your chairman in proposing my health to-night, and that is the suggestion that we have abandoned all our opinions, and have become Radicals. (Loud laughter, and "Oh, oh.") Well, I was very much startled at this assertion, as I was not conscious of any change in my own sentiments on those subjects. (Laughter.) But do not imagine that this statement is made merely by what Lord Bea- consfield used to call irresponsible chatterers. It is made with all the gravity which beseems the Cabinet Ministers of the late Government. OPPONENTS CRITICISM. I saw in this morning's paper that the late First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Rippn—(laughter)— asserted that the present Government have a wonderful facility of conversion, and abandon their own principles and adopt those of other people with a rapidity and calm- ness perfectly marvellous. (Loud laughter.) I should be very glad to know on what occasion I have adopted any of the principles of Lord Ripon. (Continued laughter.) But that which is put with the vagueness—and courtesy, perhaps, I may say-becoming the assemblage in which he sits is put with a more simple directness by the late President of the Board of Trade, Mr. Mun- della. (Laughter.) Mr. Mundella says:— There vyas a serious side to this masquerade in other peoples principles and other people's clothes. H ue- lieved with Mr. Morley that if politics were to cme to this a highwayman's life would emore honourable than that of a member of Parliament. (Laughter.) Was the name of politician to be synonymous with rascal, or, as in America, was a politician to he a scoundrel ? (Loud laughter.) Well, when I first read that I did not see who spoke it, and I thought it was some over vehement Tory who was describing the atti- tude and position of the colleagues of Mr. Glad- stone and Sir William Harcourt—(laughter and cries of "Oh")—when they were stewing in the Parnellite juice, according to the description which he gave with so much fidelity and vigour two months before he stepped into the filthy bath himself. (Loud laughter and cheers.) But you will be astonished to hear that Mr. Mundella, when he was talking of people masque- rading in other people's principles and other people's clothes, was not speaking of the Glad- stonian Liberals. (Laughter.) He was apparently attempting to draw from this alliance of the Liberal Unionists and the Conservatives the assumption that we had abandoned our principles and adopted Radical principles instead. Now, I would only venture to suggest to these two estimable Cabinet Ministers that they should wait and see our mea- sures before they describe them in those terms. (Cheers.) They do not know a single provision of them or their details, and yet by intuition they have discovered that we are scoundrels and rascals and American politicians, who have stolen their principles instead of using our own. (Laughter.) All we have done is to announce that we shall deal with certain questions, and I imagine that the Conservative party is perfectly entitled to deal with any question upon which the feelings of her Majesty'* subjects are strongly expressed. (Cheers.) What they are not entitled to do is to deal with them on other principles, but what they are entitled to do is to stand by those principles which in good report and in evil report, in fair weather and in foul weather, they have always invariably hsld up. (Cheers.) Now, let me just allude to one or two of the subjects with which we have indicated our inten- tion of dealing, and you will see at once that this idea that we have adopted them in order to con- ciliate the Liberal Unionists by putting on a Radical uniform is ridiculously abeurd. (Cheers.) LOCAL GOVERNMENT. We have announced our intention of dealing with local government first-local govern- ment in England and Scotland, and then in due time with local government in Ireland. (Laughter and chpers.) Well, now, local govern- ment is a matter upon which we have been pledged for tep years back. (Hear, hear.) It is a subject which was introduced under Lord Baaconsfiela s Government ten years ago. It is q. matter upon which we have pledged ourselves again and again, both in and out of office; and t will tell you. among others, two reasons why I think it is roost important that it should be dealt with. In the first place, f think it is desirable that it should be dea)t with because it. has been so long under the discussion of politi- cians. It is desirable that some settlement should be arrived at which people can believe will be tolerably permanent, and that we should not have a number of authorities existing under notice to quit. But another and more important considera- tion is that there are grave social questions with which, I think, a re-constructed and amended local government would be competent to deal, but which it might be difficult to deal with at present. I refer specially to the licensing 4uesL^- and the allotment question. They are both very important questions, and on both a large amount of popular feeling exists. On the proper solution of both of them great interests depend, and I believe that a good local government will be the best instrument for adjust- ing and settling these questions. But be sure that we do not intend in dealing with either the one or the other to do anything which shall be at variance with the rights of property as they have been hitherto understood. (Cheers.) LAND TRANSFER. Well, then, among other things that we have mentioned, we desire to deal with land transfer—to make the acquisition of land as easy as it is possible to be. (Hear, hear.) But anybody must be absolutely ignorant of the history of this country who believes that either the desire to make the acquisition of land easy or tho desire to have a good and strong local government is inconsistent with the principles of the Conservative party. 'I (Hear, hear.) On the contrary, it belongs to the principles which they have constantly asserted. (Cheers.) The fact that I am speaking to a City of London audience reminds me that a very eminent gentleman—Mr. Bottomley Firth-(laughter)-has I recently claimed her Majesty's Government for his allies. (Renewed laughter.) Well, I was very grieved to see it—(laughter and Hear,hear")— for I should be very sorry to be thought to enter- tain the views with which he has become asso- ciated in the public mind. (Cheers.) THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON. But though we have been strongly opposed, and remain strongly opposed, to anything that can diminish the authority and lustre cf the ancient Corporation of London; though we have always beeu strongly opposed to the erection of a vast municipality, which we do not believe represents any community or interest, or would satisfy any real want—(cheers)—we have never been blind to the defects of the government of the Metro- polis outside the City, and we have never expressed the slightest unwillingness to ex- tend to them, in such fashion as might please them best, those advantages of municipal government which are so largely enjoyed by urban communities throughout this country. (Hear, hear.) But what 1 want to insist upon is that these are not new doctrines adopted to please the Liberal Unionists. They are what we said in Opposition. (Cheers.) PROCEDURE. Well, then, as to another burning question, the question of procedure in the House of Commons. 1 will venture to say that, so far from having changed our opinions, our opinions are absolutely the same. We still think that any excessive restriction is an evil of enormous magnitude—(cheers)—but whether the restriction is excessive or not depends upon the amount of evil with which you have to deal—(hear, hear)—and that the same r"medies should be sufficient when you have 90 Irish mem- bers as were sufficient when vou had 40 is very improbable indeed. (Hear, hear.) I think that those who have inferred our Radicalism from the announcement of our intention to deal with procedure had better have waited for our propositions before they made those confidell assertions. (Cheers.) But you may be sure that our object will be to retain to the utmost possible extent consistent with its efficiency as a legislative machine that freedom of speech in Parliament which is one of the proudest inheritances which our ancestors have bequeathed to us. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, these, of j course, are all questions of more or less interest, and questions with which we are bound to be pre- pared to deal; but how far or how soon we shall deal with any of them depends not entirely upon us. THE STATE OF IRELAND. There is a much more important and vital ques- tion, which takes precedence of all others, and before the urgency of which all others must give way—the question of the state of Ireland. (Cheers.) I do not believe that any cunning manipulation of the institutions of Ireland will give even a slight relief to the peculiar evils under which she at present labours. She labours under the evils that her population have been long deceived— (great cheering)—and nothing but the stern arm of the law, steadily and persistently applied —(renewed cheers)—can redeem her people from the deception under which they labour. (Cheers.) There was no feature of the meeting: of the Liberal Unionists last night which was more satisfactory to my mind than the extent to which they recognised that the conflict in which we are now at the present moment engaged upon Irish soil is not a political conflict. It is a con- flict on behalf of the existence of the very rudi- I ments of hw. (Cheers.) It is not a conflict as to whether Ireland shall have Home Rule or not. That is grave enough. On that we have opinions which we have emphatically expressed, and from which we shall never recede. But we have now to deal with a very different evil. A DANGEROUS PROPAGANDA. Under pretence of political zeal, under the cloak of political passion, an attempt is being made to set large classes of the Irish people against a minority of the population, an attempt to teach them to evade their legal obligations and to express thsir political opinions by a refusal to pay their just debts. (Heiir, hear.) This matter is always mixed up with the question, whether landlords are merciful or not. That question has nothing whatever to do with it. (Hear, hear.) It is right that landlords, like everybody else, should be con- siderate. forbearing, and merciful in the exercise of their just rights. That is a duty imposed upon us all by the reiJgion winch we profess-(hea, hear)-but the fact that that duty is imposed upon us does not diminish our rights by a single atom. (Hear, hear.) It does not diminish our obligations to those for whom sentiments of forbearance are invoked. If my neighbour gives money to all applicants by the wayside and I refuse to do so, that is no excuse for the appli- cant by the wayside proceeding to empty my pockets. (Cheers and laughter.) But that is the sort of argument which is advanced on behalf of the Irish tenants—or those of them who refuse to discharge their just obligations—when it is said that other landlords have behaved in a more for- bearing manner to them. (Cheers.) I cannot admit that that subject is rightly imported iato the con- sideration of their obligations, considering what their obligations are. They chose tp obtain a statu- tory title under the Land Act. tory title under the Land Act. THE ANTI-RENT CRUSADE IN IRELAND. I will not discuss the Land Act. 1 did wot like it, but it is the law of the land, and there is an end of the matter. (Cheers.) They chose to obtain a statutory title under the Land Act, and under that Act their obligation is this: they are bound either to pay their rent or to surrender their land. (Loud cheers.) It is not a simple obligation—it is an alternative obligation. They are bound to do one or the other, and to say that they cannot fulfil their obligation is obviously incorrect. If they cannot fulfil one side of the obligation they can the other. (Loud cheers.) Well, that being the state of the case, agitators- educated me", members of Parliament, and, I am sorry to say, even ministers of religion—go among them and tell them to refuse the payment in full of their just debts, and, unless that refusal is accepted, to dispose of their money in another manner. What is that but fraud ? (Loud cheers.) How can you distinguish it from any other case where debtors refuse to pay that which is due from them to their creditors jJ I do not say that the Irish tenantry are exposed to the same moral censure that would be applicable to any debiors in this country who pursued such » course. They are ignorant, and they have been terribly misled by those who have affected to be their friends. (Hear, hear.) A FRAUD UNDER THE PRETKNCB OF PATRIOTISM. But in its essence the thing is nothing else but fraud. (Hear, hear.) And this is fraud which is urged under the pretence of patriotic feelings, on the ground and great principle of nationalities. When have you ever hteard of patriotism using weapon* like these ? When have you ever heard of patriotism fighting by cunning devices for conveying into your own pocket money which belonged legally to another, (Loud cheers.) That is not patriotism. Here, in London, if it happened we should call it swindling. (Hear, hear.) I do not for a moment say that the English language can be used on Irish hillsides—(laughter)—but no political necessities in the world can alter the moral nature of an action—(hear,hear)—and morally the guilt of those who devise such a conspiracy as this is unchanged by the political circumstances that may exist. (Hear, hear.) And remember that these men tell you that they are trying to found a nation, that they are trying to set up a new Government to reverse the history of 700 years. Can you imagine that this great work of making a nation, which they tell you they are undertaking, that this can be founded on a basis of organised embezzlement ("Hear, hear," and loud cheers.) I au) in one sell88 deeply grieved that they have taken this course, because they are cutting down at the root of the small hope that existed of prosperity and progress for Ireland. Prosperity, industry, commerce, development—these things all spring out of one root, the confidence that exists between man and man. (Cheers.) If that con- fidence is destroyed, if doctrines are preached under which that force cannot exist, if the non-payment of just debts is held up as a patriotic action or enforced as a national obligation—if these things are done. there is a poisonjng of the prosperity of Ireland which generations will not destroy. (Cheers). A LESSON TO TBTI ENGLISH PEOPLE. On the other hand, however, 1 am glad with reference to tho controversy that we have in hand that they have taken this course. It is possible that some portion of the English people might have been misled, confused, and beyyildered with refe- rence to the National claims, with respect to the history of the nation jjud the virtues of Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Grattan, but the English people will never be misled upon the question of whether it is right to pay your legal debts or not. (Hear, hear.) And as this National cause is taking the form of an advocacy of general repudiations, I feel satisfied that there is no danger that political dismemberment, even if sweetened by the prospect of a general refusal to pay debts, will ever com- mend itself to the feelings of the English people. (Hear, hear.) I think we have", right to express our regret, as was expressed last night,, that this new phenomenal agitation, this new development of patriotism, has not received any rebiike from the allies of the Irish leaders in this country. (Hear, hear.) Remember, the Irish leaders arc no longer responsible for themselves alone. (Hear, hear.) THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF ENGLISH STATESMEN. Knglish statesmen of great tradition and high performances have undertaken the responsibility for the"1. They canudt divest themselves of all complicity with the doctrines that are preached or the acts that are performed by their allies, and, depend upon it, there is nothing which will lower their claim to be the guides of a people who thoroughly recognise honesty as the one necessary foundation of com- mercial and industrial prosperity than any tam- pering with this atrocious doctrine that has been started by the National leaders. (Hear, hear.) At all events, I feel that in this it is not merely the Conservative party, it is not merely the Liberal 'Monists. who will advance with eure stgp to certain victory we shall have beside us many and many a man whose sympathies have hitherto been on the other side. (Hear, hear.) They will feel that in resisting this new enterprise we are, not only resisting the dismemberment of the Empire—which every true patriot should oppose —(cheers)—but that we are resisting doctrines I that would be fatal to the development of industry, of wealth, or of the well being in any community of mankind. (Loud cheers, during which the noble lord resumed his seat.) Other speeches followed.

GREAT LIBERAL UNIONIST CONFERENCE. Speech by tke Marquess of Hartiagton. A conference of Liberal Unionists, presided over by the Marquess of Hartington, took place on Tuesday afternoon at Willis's Rooms, London. There was a crowded attendance, numbering some 2,000 persons, and including a large number of members of Parliament and other influential men. Amongst those who accepted the invitation to be present were the Duke of Westminster, the Earl ofl I Northbrook, the Earl of Selborne, Sir Henry James, M.P., the Earl of Derby, the Duke of Grafton, the Duke of Bedford, the Earl of Arran. Mr. Goschen, the Earl of Stair, Mr. G. Dixon, M.P., Mr. E. Heneage, M.P., the Duke of St. Albans, Lord Bram- well, the Earl of Suffolk, the Earl of Morley, the Marquess of Tweeddale, Lord Roths- child, Viscount Sherbrooke, Lord Alcester, Mr. Winterbotham. M.P.. Mr. Wodehouse, M.P., Colonel Cornwallis West, M.P., Sir D. Currie, M.P., Mr. Lyulph Stanley, Sir H. Verrity, Mr. M. Guest, Mr. Finlay, M.P., Mr. A. Grey, M.P., the Hon. R. Brand, Lord E. Cavendish, and Mr. Thomas- son. Punctually at three o'clock Lord Hartington entered the room amid loud cheers. At the request of the noble chairman, Mr. F. W. MAUD: the secretary, announced that letters expressing regret at inability to attend and sympathy with the Liberal Unionist cause had been received from the following, among others:—The Duke of Argyll, the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Devonshire, the Marquess of Sligo, Earl Durham, Earl Fife, Earl St. Germain's, Earl Kenmare, Earl Lichfield, Earl Strafford, Viscount Brabazon, Lord Abercrombie, Lord Dorchester, Lord Monck, Lord Monteagle, Lord Stanley of Alderley, the Right Hon. John Bright—(loud cheers)—the Right Hon. J. Chamberlain—(cheers) Mr. Peter Rylands, and several hundred other gentlemen. The CHAIRMAN, who was received with loud cheers: I have now, gentlemen, to call ripon Mr. P. A. Fen wick to present a resolution from the Northern Counties Liberal Unionist Association. Mr. FENWICK then read the resolution which was passed at a meeting of the Northumberland and Newcastle Liberal Unionist Association, expressing confidence ip the Right Hon. Lord Hartington. (Cheers.)

IMPORTANT LETTER FROM MR. JOHN BRIGHT. The CHAIRMAN You have heard the names of those who have sent letters of regret, but there is one letter and one telegram which I think ought to be read in extenso. The letter is from the Right Hon. J.Bright—(cheers)—whose authority I have for reading it at this meeting. Mr. Bright says :— Vour letter bus caused me some anxiety, and I wish I could reply to it as you wish. You know I am against anything like a Parliament in Dublin, and more against it, I suppose, than many or some of those who are acting with you. If present at the conference or the banquet I might be expected to say something, and might find Ill) self in some difficulty. I fear to speak or even to write. The course taken by Mr. Gladstone since the close of the session has astonished me, aDd has given me great trouble. His speaking and writing, and especially his recep- tion of the Irish deputation, seem to me to have driven him so far on the wrong course that we Civn have no hope of any more moderate policy from him. If I were to speak, what could I say ? I could only deplore and condemn, and it would be impossible to avoid opening still more widely the breach which now exists between us, and which has given me so much pain. At this moment his allies in Ireland, Messrs. Dillon, O'Brien, and Co., are driving matters to an extremity, and he and Mr. Parnell say not a word to arrest or to lessen the calamity which I fear is impending. (Cheers.) Mr. Parnell is, I believe, the proprietor of the organ United Ireland, and that paper is the chief promoter of the social war into which the people are being driven, i Mr. Gladstone is leading tlie bulk of the Liberal party in support of the men who are the authors of the desperate struggle which is now being waged between the owners and occupiers of land in Ireland. His voice is not heard on behalf of peace and moderation. (Cheers.) The Govern- Ulent may be compelled to take measures of repression, and Liberal speakers in conferences and on platforms are pledging th* mselves to their audiences to oppose everything that has the semblance of what is called "coercion," and every proposal for giving increased strength to the Irish Executive. If I were forced to speak I should have to say some strong things, and 1 might not be of any real service. I could say nothing with- out attacking Mr. Gladstone. That I might do if I were sure of doing good. But I am not sure of doing good, ana I abstain from attacking him on accouut of my personal regard for him. which cannot greatly diminish. I do not feel that I can come to the conference, but I hope your meeting may be large and infiuantial, that its effect may be good in the country, aud that it may add strength to the Goverment so far as it may be our duty to support it. (Loud cheers.)

TELEGRAM FROM MR. CHAMBERLAIN. The only telegram which I will read to you is one from Mr. Chamberlain. (Queers.) Regret my absence from England prevents my attendance to-morrow. While the Separatists maintain the defeated programme, organisation of Liberal Unionists is a necessary duty. (Cheers.) Our opposition is confined to the defeated policy. If that be abandoned we are ready to discuss any other scheme, but must first have assurance that the old plan, or one equally objec- tionable, will not again be proposed. (Cheers.) Agreement on the cardinal point is a necessary pre- liminary to any joint action. Failing this, the responsibility of the position rests with the Sepa- ratists. (Cheers.)

SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS 01' I HARTINGTON. The Marquess of HARTINGTON then said: I think it is time I should address to you some words in opening theso proceedings. The time, lam sorry to say, is limited, and I shall have to make a strong appeal to those who are to follow me to restrict very much more than any of us desire the length of the speeches which they will deliver. 1 should be willing to place myself under tho same restriction, but I believe that it is the wish of the Executive Committee of the Liberal Unionists that I shoulq trespass somewhat longer upon your time than can be allowed to the suc- ceeding speakers. But I can assure you that it is my desirg also to limit my remarks within as rea- sonable a compass a.s I can, and if I touch too briefly upon many points in which many of you take the greatest interest, I hope that you will bear in mind that the time allotted to me, as well as to succeeding speakers, is limited. Now, gentlemen, the manner in which the invi- tation of the committee has been responded to dispenses me from the necessity of giving or offer- ing any excuse or explanation of our action in summoning this conference. The great and influen- tial meeting which I$ee before me, the numerous let- ters which have been received show that there was a general desire throughout the counLry that-a meet- tng of tbis kind should be held. (Cheers.) But in opening the proceedings I should say a word as to the motives which induced the committee to call the meeting, and, in doing so, I must touch for a moment upon the brief, but not uneventful, his- tory of the Liberal Unionist party.

THE COURSE TO BE PUKiUkD. Our course of conduct must depend upon pre- elemcnts. It must depend upon the course which has been taken by the Government, by the Liberal Opposition, and by the Irish party and, further, it must depend upon the state of affairs in Ireland itself. (Cheers.) But, gentlemen, don't believe that your Parliamentary representatives will find any difficulty in agreeing upon a course of action in whatever circumstances may arise. 1 Hear, hear.) It may be true that there may be diffe- rences of opinion on many points having reference to tho question of Ireland; there may be some differences of opinion, but I believe, upon the main and vital points, the maintenance of the Legislative Union is assured, and we shall find no difficulty in agreeing upon a course of ..ctiou which touches upon this vital question.

ORNANISATtON. Now, gentlemen, one of the resolutions which will be moved will touch upon the question of organisation. On that point 1 feel that I am no authority. I have had but little to do with the working of any local organisation. I, therefore, shall say but one or two words upon that point. 1 think that there can be no doubt that where local Liberal Unionist Associations have been organised it is in the highest decree desirable that they should be maintained and supported. They have generally been formed under circumstances either where the party has been sufficiently powerful with the help of "a Conservative minorty to return a member representing accurately its own views, or elss they 1iave beep formed in other localities where the Liberal majority has been so active and so aggressive in carrying on the propaganda, so active in favour of Home Rule, that it has been the duty of Liberal Unionists to vote. in opposition to their old friends, for the Conservative candidate rather than support a Gladstonian. (Cheers.) But there are a great many clies which lie between and do not come under any of these categories, and it seems to me that the formation of Liberal Unionist Associations mut be left to the judgment and experience of those who have led the party in the locality, guided by the advice which 15 offered by the Executive Committee. There may be many cases in which it i? pot desi- rable to provoke disunion ip the Liberal party. (Hear, hear.) Theie may be many cases in which a comparatively quiescent attitude may secijre a seat for a Liberal Unionist at another election which would be lost if the party were driven into irreconcilable opposition. (Hear, hear.) I can only say I hope that those who have had more ex- perience in these meters—those who have been able to give more time and attention to it than I have—will in the remarks which they will make this evening touch upon this question and offer suggestions' for the consideration of the con- ference.

THE ATTITUDE OF GLADSTQNIANS. Thp speeches of Mr. Gladstone, Sir William! Harcourt—(jtiughter)—and Iklr. Morley—(cries of "Shame *)—are not speeches in the tone apd temper of Lord HerscbelPs suggestion. They are %hiiQ of thtf* I 6 ¥, a willingness to discuss details, lay down as the necessary basis of the future policy of the Liberal party the concession to Ireland of an Irish Parlia- ment and an Irish Executive for the manage- ment of affairs exclusively Irish. (" Never.") That is the tasis which they lay down, and they do not appear to pay the slightest regard to the reasons which havebeen urged by Liberal Unionists, while we consider such a concession incompatible with the maintenance of the real union of the Empire or the supremacy of the Imperial Parlia- ment. Mr. Gladstone, in his speech at Hawarden, told his audience that he remained where he was solely for the purpose of settling this question. We know what his ideas of settling this question are, and, if any doubt had remained before, that doubt was dissipated when, in that speech, Mr. Glad- stone identified himself with the cause of the Irish Nationalists, wnom he was addressing, and when he prophesied the speedy triumph of their cause, he more completely than ever severed himself from the possibility of the free discussion of that question which Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Her- schell invite. A conference met at Leeds, which passed a resolution affirming that the only plan which would meet the justice of the case was that of an his;) Legislature for the managem -nt of dis- tinctively Irish affairs. Now, gentlemen, the Liberal leaders know that these are not our views. They know the reasons for which we have opposed them. There is in those speeches and resolutions no indication of a ueeire to fall back on that platform of recognition of eich other's difficulties and views which Lord Herscheil says is the only ground on which the reconciliation of the Liberal party can take place. True it is that another overture has been made to us.

MR. GLADSTONE'S TERMS FOR A RECONCILIATION. Mr, Gladstone has said, not in a speech, but in II letter, that hedoes not pronounce an V opinion as to whether a reconciliation be or be not possible, but he says, at all events, a truce is possible on the basis of our joining him in demanding from the present Government, an immediate production of their Irish measures. (" Oh. oh.") Now, gentlemen, there is, I think, in this proposal or suggestion an assumption which ought not to pass unnoticed. Mr. Gladstone speaks of home Govern- ment and of local government as if there were some spocial contrast between the two. He contrasis, further, the time they have taken with the six weeks allowed to him to prepare his Bill. He seems to assume that the present Government have undertaken to compete with him in a rival scheme of Home Rule for Ireland, and that we are parties to this undertaking. But we have asked the present Government to undertake uothing of the sort. The present Government have declared that they will not be responsible for any measure giving in any shape or form what is called Home Rule for Ireland—(cheers)—and at the same time Mr. Glad- stone declares that a measure of Home Rule for Ireland is the only one which satisfies the justice and policy of the case. What, then, is the object of putting this pressure upon the Government ? What sincere desire can there be for re-union, what possible bads is there for reconciliation when such proposals as these are laid before 1.1811 I can easilv conceive that such a course of policy is very convenient to Mr. Gladstone himself, who, as he tells us, remains where he is for the sole purpose of settling the Irish question upon the basis of Home Rule. For all purposes of reconciliation between the two sections of the Liberal party, I do not see that these suggestions afford the slightest ground of settle- ment. (Cheers.) THE UNIONISTS AND THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT. I may be asked, Are you going to support her Majesty's Government in any policy of absolute inactivity ? It has been suggested that we are only Liberal to the extent permitted by the con- venience of the present Government. I know of no basis for such a suggestion as that. except this, that we have warned you, as we shall warn you again, that the displacement of the present Government under the present circumstances would probably be inevitably followed by the return to power of Mr. Gladstone and a Home Rula Government. (Cheers.) We have already given you that warning, and I wish to rcpeat that it is a grave consideration, and one which your Parliamentary re- presentatives will bear in mind when any ques- tion arises which involves the displacement of the present Government and the return of a Home Rule Government to power. But, gentlemen, before we are called upon to define the exact relation of our Liberalism to our Unionist opinions, are we not entitled to wait and see how far our Liberalism is to be decided by the present Government ? Up to the present time I do not think the most ardent Radical has had much to complain of. (Loud cheers.) Now, looking at administration —and administration is by no means the least part of Irish policy—if you look to Irish administration, the only complaint which I have heard 80 far has been that the administration of the law by the present, Government in Ireland has been too lax rather than too stringerjt and suppressive. Certai nlr, so far as I know, tjhere is no ground as yet in the action of the present Government in administra- tion matters why we should strain our Liberalism to retain them in power. (Cheers.) To turn from administration to legislation: The promises—the declarations of the Government, at all events— have not been, wanting in scope and in extent. (Laughter.) It is perfectly open to the Oppoi- tion to deny the possibility of their fulfilment, even if they be honest. But. seeing we have an interest in the retention of the present Govern- i ment in office-(cheers)-and are bound to assume until the fact be proved that the Government are in earnest in the declarations which they have made. are we bound to condemn unseen and to reject unheard the propositions which they may make to us P There seems to be no inherent impossi- bility in a considerable fulfilment, at all events, of the programme which has been laid down. (Cheers.) A year ago, before the unhappy dis- ruption of the Liberal party, I referred to Lord Salisbury's speech at Mewport as containing a great advance of Liberal ideas. I doubted at the time the possibility of the Conservative party translating that advance into practice, because I thought the Conservut.iva party was so opposed to change that the leaders would find it difficult to make the advance they desired.

AN OBJECT OF COMMON INTEREST. But much has changed since that time. (Cheers.) An object of common interest has arisen—(hear, hear)—which unites, on one point at least, the Conservative party with that of the Liberal party and I cannot but think the existence of the Dew interest must have some influence upon 1118 whole policy of the Conservative party—(cheers)—I cannot but think that it will tend to brush away some of the prejudices, and that it will have an influence upun the whole course of the policy of the Conservative party which may enable thein seriously to undertake some of those naccssary reforms the adoption of which they know is the lasting allegiance of our party. Loud cheers.) Gen- tlemen, the Government have undertaken to deal with the question of local government. If tiiey are wise, I think they will approach that subject in a. wide and comprehensive spirit; tliey will endeavour to obtain tha assent of Parlia.ment to principles which, suoject to the conditions and the uifferences of the three countries, shall be applicable to all of them. (Cheers.) That those principles will be acceptable or satisfactory to the Nationalist party in Ireland or to their English allies is improbable, if not impossible; but it is plain, whether they will be acceptable or not, whether they wiii be adequate in our opinion cannot be decided upon until the proposals of the Government are before us. But, whether the principles on which they intend to proceed are adequate in our opinion or not. the mode and method which horn their public declara- tions I understand the Government intend to adopt, namely, to apply, not identical, but similar local institutions to the three countries, is the mode and method which we have throughout this struggle advocated on every occasion, is the mode which we think ought to be adopted and it is, at all events, the mode which we should do our utmost to give the Government an opportunity of applying. Now, gentlemen, I fear I have exhausted your patience.

MR. GLADSTONE AND THE NATIONALISTS. Well, then, gentlemen, Mr. Gladstone and the leader of the Liberal party cannot be much longer silent on the Irish question. If it be true, as was said the other day by Lord Aberdeen, that Mr. Gladstone was now the leader of the Irish Nationalist party—(laughter) — and that upon his decision rested grave responsibility—if it is true, as they tell us, that certain things will happen, their presence does not justify them in withholding the aid which I thoy can give in resisting them. We are told that the democracy of this country will not tolerate the evictions which will be the inevitable consequence of perseverance in this agitation. I think the democracy of this country will take a totally different view of the matter. (Cheers.) I think tliey will ask who are responsible for the evictions iu Ireland and the suffering they have caused, whether it is the Government, whether it is the landlords, or whether it is the men who, for political purposes, have brought grave and dire misfortune upon the country. (Cheers.) Mr. Dillon has been admitted to the alliance of Eng- lish Liberals; he and his party have been admitted to political co-operation with men whose names are respected by every Liberal throughout the country. Well, gentlemen, this has conferred an influence upon Mr. Gladstone and his party which they can use. and which I say in the crisis ap- proaching they are bound to use. (Loud cheers.) Mr.Gladstone can speak the word—possibly he may not be able to control the proceedings of Mr. Dillon and some of his party—but he can speak the word which will dissolve the alliance—(loud cheers)—the alliance between the Liberal party j and the Irish Nationalist party. (Renewed cheers.)

FIRM: EESOLVE OF THE LIBEHAL UNIONISTS. Until this agitation is abandoned and this dis- order suppressed we can have nothing to say to the Irish party-(cheers)-and I believe we shall not be alone. The people of England are waiting for the word to bespoken, and if it be delayed the credit of the Liberal party will be seriously endan- gered — that credit and that name which, whatever may be our differences of political opinion, we, assembled in this house, value and treasure as much as any one of thosd who profess to speak for the party. (Cheers.) Now, gentlemen, I will only thank ypu for the indulgence which you have shown to me. I regret 1 should have detained you at such length and have taken more time than I intended. Bis lord- ship then repeated his previous injunction of the necessity of the subsequent speakers being brief, and concluded amid loud cheers. Lord Selborne and others also addressed the meeting. At the banquet in the evening the speakers were Mr. Goschen, Sir G. O. Trevelyan, the Mar- quess of Hartington, the Larl of Derby, Sir Henry James, and others.

DR. LOCOCK'S PULMONIC WAFERS.—Mr. Sandel, Chemist. Yeovii, writes:—" I recommend Dr. Locoeks" Wafers constantly, knowing them to be very (ood for coughs, asthma, Ac." In Asthma, Consumption. Bron- chins. Coughs, Rheumatism, and all Hysterical and XfrvtuM Pains, lQltant relief and & rapid ourt: is given by the Wafers, Which taste pleasantly. Sold bv alt druggUU at Is. Ud. and 2). 9d. ner ho^. ¡,c1 i

II Miss Kate Santiey in the Cardiff- County Court. An action was brought, in tho Cardiff Countv Court on Monday (befcre his Honour Judge Owen) by Mr. Neebe, lately stage manager and actor in Miss Kate Santiey "s Vetah "Company, against Miss Santiey for mimnges for breach of contract and illegal dismissal. Mr Tonkin, of Bristol, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Vacbell for the defendant. The amount originally claimed was L84, being £ 7 a week for twelve weeks, but this sum had been reduced to £ 50 to bring the case within the juris- diction of the county court. Mr. Tonkin was about to deliver an address in opening the case, but his Honour suggested that they should go on with the evidence at once. He then called the plaintiff, Frederick Neebe, who said he was a member of the theatrical profession, ana had been for 25 years. In August last he was solicited by defendant to become a member of a company then going on tour with" Vetah," Wnile negotiations were in progress with Mr. Blackmore, the business manager, a letter was written by Mr. D'Oyley Carte to Miss Santiey recommending the plainiift". He camc to terms with defendant, but before this was done he had a conversation with Mr. Black- more respecting one particular proviso in tlvj agreement. Mr. Vacbell having objected to this evidence, the agreement itself was handed in. Witness, continuing, said that before the con- tract was signed lie had a conversation with Mr. Biackmore as to woids which appeared in the agreement, to the effect that he should continue as st-a^e manager and play the part of the Rajah at L7 a week during the tour. After the agreement he went with the company on tour, commencing on the 30th of August at Portsmouth. Mr. Black- more then gave him a list of the engagements of the company, comprising fifteen towns, tor a week each. After the hrst performance at Portsmouth j he papers of that town contained a favourable reference to the performant 3 of his part. The Judge here remarked that a newspaper puff could not possibly have anything to do with this case. On further examination, witness said he sub- sequently received from Miss Kate a letter, dated the 3rd of September, stating that he did not grasp the part, and that, as his role was a very important one, and his perfor- mance was gravely imperilling her piece, she would ask him to resign his appointment at a fortnight's notice, adding that she took the step with great reluctance, as she liked him very much personally. That was the first intimation he had from Miss Santiey that there was any fault to find with his performance. He replied, stating that he should decline to accept ihe notice, as no provision was made for it in the agreement, and he further called her attention to the fact that the newspapers had spoken very favourably of his performance. She replied that she must ask him to "play his part with a little more unction,"which he did very much. (Laughter.) They afterwards went, to Torquay and Plymouth, where no complaint was made about his acting, and at the former place he was, at the request and expense of Miss Santl,ey, photo- graphed in character. They then came on to Cardiff, but on arriving there he was told that his services were not required. The bill put in was a copy of one which had been posted about the streets of Cardiff containing the caste of the company, and that contained Iiis name as taking the part for which he had been engaged. The subsequent week the company went to Bristol, and on the Bristol bills his name also appeared as stage manage. His name also appeared in the Era advertisement while at Cardiff as appearing in the part for which he was engaged. He had only been naid £7 1 week for three weeks, and he claimed YBk for the remaining twelve weeks. Mr. Tonkin here explained to the court that the plaintiff had expressly declined to sign the agree- ment unless it was stated that he was easaged for the tour and not subject to a fortnight's notice. His Honour replied" that the agreement stipulated that the engagement was subject to the rules and regulations which governed first-class London theatres, and if there was a rule giving Miss Santiey power to terminate the engagement at a fortnight's notice, he should hold that she had the power to terminate this particular agreement. Plaintiff, in further examination, admitted that in the absence of any stipulation as to the form of contract a fortnight's notice would terminate the engagement according to the usages of the profession. But where it was stipulated that, the engagement should extend throughout the tour, it was understood tLv.it 110 notice to terminate would be accepted. As most engage- ments were made from August to Christmas, he had been unable to obtain an engagement since. Cross-examined by Mr. Vac/nell, plaintiff stated that one gentleman of the cpmpany did object to his performance, and that was Mr Henry Ashley, a particular friend of Miss Kate SHutley. He. (plaintiff) had never been hissed off the stage On the contrary, he repeatedly had calls, but was not allowed to take them by the same Mr. shley. The first night he might have missed a dozen lines of hie part or altered them, but his explanation of that was that he had a Ion: part to take, and that his hands were full with the other business of stage management. He had been a manager for fifteen years, and had had man.* actors under his control, but whenever they had been engaged for a period or tour a fortnight's notice had never been given on either side. Mr. Edward Fletcher, lessee of the Cardiff Theatre, was the next witness called. He said lie had received from Miss Santley's agent in advancc the draft of the playbill which had been printed i and posted in Cardiff, anl that contained Lie plaintiff's name as appearing in thecharac-tei of the Rajah. His exp&r'utnca extended «ver 30 years in London and all parts of the kingdom, anj, as far | as he knew, there were no definite rules goverlling tours. If an actor was engaged for a^xiur it was understood that his engagement lasted to the end of the tour. Mr. G. Polini said he was manager for Mr. Wilson Barrett, whose company was at present playing in that town. He had had sixteen years' experience, and was not aware' of any fixed code of uies, j either for the best London theatres or for tours through the provinces, with the exception of the regulations which were sometimes printed on the backs of the agreements, and which had reference i to the dresses, attendances at and so on. If a man was engaged for a tour, and no sti- pulation made for uotice to terminate the engage- ment, it held good to the completion of the tour. Mr. VacheR, for the defence, contended that, according to the agreement, plaintiff was engaged subject to the rules of the best London theati es, and that under those rules a fortnight's notice was always given to terminate the engagement.! He, however, before going into the merits of the clte, would raise the question (-f the j u isd.,c,.ion of '.he court to deal with it. He maintained that the agreement, which was entered into in London, was put an end to at Plymouth, and that, there- fore, no part of the action arose at Cardiff. Mr. Tonkin, however, pointed out that the piai n. tiff's name was included in the bills for Cardiff, and that, as the notice given was illegal, the cause j of the action arose when plaintiff was told at Cardiff that bis services were no longer required. The Judge, having heard the arguments, ruled that the court had jurisdiction in the matter. Mr. Vachell then applied for an adjournment of the case, and complained that the action should have been brought in Cardiff instead of London, where it would have been more convenient for all parties. He desired an adjournment, so that he could call some of the London managers to prove the rule with regard to notice, and so 'hat the: defendant might herself appear. *6he was at pre- sent under heavy penalties to appear in hor part and could not possibly attend. Mr. Tonkin opposed the application, contending that Miss Santlev could have attended bad she i chosen, as there was a lady with her company who was capable of taking her place, and had frequently done so. Again, the solicitors for the defence had had plenty of time to get their witnesses together, as the case was commenced sevetal months ago. His Honour, however, decided to grant the ap- plication, and the case was adjourned until the next court, the plaintiff being allowed the costs of the day, including a solicitor and three witnesses.

Amusing Love Scene at Treforest. Love has been playing one of his pranks at Tre- forest by putting a Welshman and an Irishman to fight for a maiden who can be described, in the words of George IV., as "fat, fan, and forty." The Cymro was in the maiden's ow. house, whis- pering in her ears the sweet words suggested by a fond heart. To these she listened with more delight, doubtless, than she would have done to the strains of the harp of ,Eolus. Suddenly a local herbalist came bang into the cottage. He is a man who forty years ago ought to have reached the years of discretion," but. being a son of fair Erin, gravity has not come to him with the wheels of Time. When he saw the Welshman near the •' fairest of the fair" he gave a galvanic start, aud then, in language which was a mixture of English, Irish, and Welsh, breathed the most shocking threatenings against the Welshman. He said he would pull the Cymro's ears. The Cymro laughed. Bedad, I'll do it," roared Paddy, and'- the next moment be was tugging with all his might at Taffy's sound-organs. Both feil to the floor, the Welshman Leiog undei-inost. Ar' menid i," said the Welsh- man afterwards to a friend, 'twas then 1 realised the man was in earnest." A rally Twm Shon then took place on the floor between Wales and Ireland, and the fair one stood over both, like the figure of Britannia counselling peace. But both got on their legs, and the Welshman, now thoroughly roused, began to display Cambrian science in front of the Irishman, Suddenly stooping, he fetched the her- balist a whack on the side of the face, with the result that he fell across the fender at the feet of Britannia. There he lay as silent as a mouse. Britannia hurriedly directed the Welsh- i man to a little parlour, and no sooner was he there than the fine fornp of Acting-Sergeant Osmond was seen etit-ering. What's up ? What is the row p" he asked; and then, seeing the prostrate form of the herbalist, with blood oozing from one of his cheeks, he asked who struck him. Tbe fair one replied." It, was fall on the fender he did." Then, and not till then, the herbalist spoke. No," said he, it was that d chap who is in the next room struck me. Oh Oh! There ?" asked the officer, pointing to the little parlour. u There is no one there," said the maiden, but my sister." Of course Osmond was too gallant after that inti- mation to even peep into the room. He sent the Irishman out with a" run," and then left himself. Presently the Welshman re-appeared on the scene, and proceeded with the story which the Irishman had so rudely interrupted by his presence.

A CARD.—To all who are suffering from the errors and indiscretions of youth, nervous weakness, early decay, exbausted'Vitality, loss of vigour, nervous debility, Ac., I wili send a prescription that" ill cure you free of charge. This great remedy u discovered by a Missionary in Old Mexico. Send an addressed stamped envelope to the Rev. JosEpm T. HoutH, Bloomsbury Mansion, Bloomabury-square, London, W.C.

Grave Charges Against the Cardiff Police. Letter from Mr. Justice Wills Meeting of the Watch Committee A meeting of the Cardiff Wafcch Committee was held on Wednesday at the Town-hall, 'when there were present the Mayor (presiding), Aldermen Jacobs and Carey, Councillon D. E. Jones (ex- mayor), Vaughan, Reynolds, and Hurley. THE CLCB QUESTION. Mr. COLLINGWOOD asked for instructions with reference to the notices of appeal he had received from three managers of clubs recently prose- cuted. Alderman CARET said he had reason to believe that half the fines paid went to tha county treasurer, and the other half to the Superannuation Fund. Whilst admitting that the appeals should be defended. still, ID watching over the interests of the ratepayers, hê felt that as the County Fund received the benefit it should bear a portion of the costs in any appeal. The subject having been discussed, several mem- bers of the committee expressed their belief that a portion of the fines went to the Borough Fund 'lnn not In the County Fund. M;. Colling wood left the room for the purpose or getting the information desired. and on his return stated that the views g-¡ven expression to Ly Alderman Carey were correct. But as the money handed to the county treasurpr for fines had to be accounted for to the Home Office and would be under Imperial control it was not in the power of anyone locally to apportion any sum. The committee feeling that they could scarcely get any assistance from the county, On the motion of Alderman JACOBS, seconded by Mr. VACGHAN, it was decided to take steps to defend the appeals. A NlôW FIEK ESCAPE. It having transpired that the fire escape wa 0:];Y 50ft. high, and bearing in mind the fact that many nrw buildings in the borough were conside- rably higher than that, it was decided to order another escape 70ft. high. GRAVE CHANGES AGAINST THE POLICE. Two or three cases came before the committee in which certain constables were accused of using bad language. The HtAC-Cf nstasus said all constables had Special instructions not to use bad language. Tne MAYOR questioned the constables whether thpy were aware of tile order, aDd all replied in the am ¡-mitt] ve. The evidence being very contradictory, the cases were not dealt with, but The MAYOR stated that in the future if any con- stable was found using improper language the committee would deal with the cases stringently. The following letter from Mr. Justice Wills, who attended the last Glamorganshire Assize at Swansea, wa" read :— Judges' Lot1¡I).;s, 6wauea, Nov. S. 1086. Sir,—X desire w bring under your notice a piece of what seems to me very unfair conduct on the part of a Cardiff police officer who gave evidence before me two or three days a.: o, which I think should be inquired into. A uuui nameu Dooley \v*s iaied, ali.iiu with a woman named M'Ga.be, fora roobery in a brothel Tiie oniy evidence of identity apainst nim was that of a man Woo was drunk when the transaction took place, and the fact that at a later (itriod of the same night be was one of t1 party of six persons who were in thu street together, of whom the woman was one. The poliee-oflicer gave evidence that he had searched him, and found £Z or £4 in gold and silver upon him, but he suppressed the facttnathe found upon him also a dis"bare from a vess: which showed tti;,t two or three days heforethe robbery lie had been paid off afrera voyage and rece;e,1 between iCb and 4", and if the prisoner bad not in tne course of my summi ng upasked for it to show he was Il man in regular employment, 1 should have left. it to the jury as a serious piece ül evidence against him that be I'll d so large a sum about him. IL leD1S to me a very cruel piece of misconduct, if not explained in some way to which I have no clue. The duty of the police is not to procure convictions, but to further the ends of justice. Ignorant peopie, such t.s most, of tiiose who appear in the dock, do not know how to put rheir own cases, and this poor fellow wouid have had a very good ehanae of being con- victed from the apparently strong circumstance of his havin so much money and no explanation of where it callie from, and the policeman was standing by with the explanation in his pocket and suppressing it. The man was acquitted, and I believe he was inno- cent, but there ought to have been no doubt about it one way or the other, because the brothel deeper and his wife, who were under no suspicion of being cencerned in this robbery, had come into the bedroo II and rescued the prosecutor, and they could nave shown conclusively whether he prisoner was the thief or not. This, again, seems to me to be a lamentable piece of carelessness, and too much of a piece with a good deal that I see f; om time to time ali over tlie country. It ms too often to be thought that there is nothing to do bat togive some evidence against a man, and heissuretu be convicteo. I am sorry to say that 1 have to complain of anothei oificer from iardiff yesterday, who, upon a witness being called for the prisoner. stood up and volunteere 1 the information tbat the witness was the prisoner's father-in-law, instead of saying so quietly to the prosecuting solicitor. I trust this kind of tpirit does not prevail in the Cardiff force, but I an.. sure that nothing will tend more to discourage the spirit shown in these instances t.ian that the Watch Committee should take some notice of them. It will produce far more effect than anything 1 can say in court, and I am always anxious to say as little as I can which will tend to bring the police into disrepute. The name of the poiicemnn in he first case was Georgf Ben ley. The name of the policeman iu the second case (Begina r. Barry) was Sergeant Henry Johns. Mr. Abel Thomas telis me that he tiiinks he is a man who generally behaves fairly and kindly to prisoners, and, if this be so, 1 do noi. desire to make too much of his case. That of the other mai seems to me to be much more serious, and 1 feel I s'aou'd not satisfy myself without bringing it to yc:ir attention. Will vou Oe so good as to address anv reply to the ftoyai Courts of Justice, London, W-?-! am, sir, your faithful servant, ALFBJU) WIlLI. To the "Chairman of the Watch Committee, Cardiff. Another letter, dated the 13th of November, from Mr. J. E. Tallboy, upholsterer, itc., 171, Bute-road, was also read, complaining that he and two others were standing in the Saves at about ten minutes to nine. He had closed his business, and V\:as on his way home to Ga, iihvs, when he met a friend, one of tHe two mentioned, ard handed him a tele- gram respecting a horse they were trvmg to sell. While opening the rr.e-.jagt Police-Constable S5 Callie up, and in a very rough manner, and with sundry oaths, ordered them to "shift." Be replied that they would if the constable would but let tiiern read the telegram, when, with other oaths, tiie latLer took hold of complainant's arm to take him to the station. Be said he would go to the station without force being used. They then walked along quietly until they reached the middle of Wharton-street, where it was very dark, when the policeman suddenly and in a vpry violent manner grasped his arm, injuring it greatly. He could hardly use it for the next two days. On nearing the station the officer, he snid. again swore at him, and said be (the writer) had been watching him all night. At the station he was charged with obstruction, but Inspector Price told b he had better go home, which he did. He asked that the case might be inquired into. A little discussion followed. It being very gene- rally considered that the importance and urgency of Mr. Justice Wills' communication especially demanded a repoit from the head-constable, the meeting was adjourneJ till Tuesday next at three o'clock, in order that Mr. Hemingway might in- quire into the cases and report on them.

The Raid on Cardiff Bogus Clubs. At Cardiff Police-court on Wednesday (before Aldermen Lewis and Waring, and Messrs. Peter Price and J.A. le Doulangerl a further batch of club managers charged with the illegal sale of beer were proceeded against. Mr. H. Collingwood (deputy town-clerk) prosecuted. TKK EXCiXSlOH CLUB. The case against the manager of the Excelsior Club, Llandaff-road. Canton, named George Morris, was tirst taken. Mr. Abel Thomas defended. This club was proceeded against on the 6th of Septem- ber, and after hearing the evidence adduced the bench dismissed the case, on the grounds that thev thought there was an attempt to form a ioona fide club. The same police evidence as was given on that occnsion was again adduced, and Mr. Abel Thomas contended that as then no case was fouud against defendant, none could now be established. Mr. Collingwood argued that on that occasion the case was simply dismissed, and not decided. The question to be decided was whether the club was bona fide or no. The Bench decided, as the case had been so recently before the court, and as no fresh evidence against the manager was given, to dismiss tbe case. THE GREAT WESTERN CLCB. Thomas Fleming, the manager of the Great Western Club, New-street. Cardiff, was next charged. Mr. T. H. Belcher defended. After the formal police evidence had been given. Mr. Belcher said that his defence was exactly similar to that given in the previous case. A few months ago the manager of the club was proceeded against for the illegal sale of beer, and the case was dismissed. The Magistrates' Clerk, on referring to his notes found that the charge then preferred against the manager of the club was, Selling beer to a man who was not a member," and that the case of the bona fide nature of the club had not been raised. Mr. Belcher then put in the books of the club to prove its bona fide character. George Price, secretary of the club, also gave evidence. The Bench, however, were of opinion that the club was net a bona fide one, and fined the defen- dant £10 and costs, or, in default, one month.

Llandaff Highway Board The monthly meeting of this board was held a the offices of the board, Crockherbtown, on Wed- nesday, Mr. R. Forrest. In the chair. There were also present Messrs. Franklen, G. Evans, G. Dorn- ford, H. Lewis, H. J. Evans. W. Wride. T. Phillips, T. Bassett, and Rev. J. R. Buckley.-The Surveyor (Mr. Price) reported on an alleged enclosure of the Waingron Common, referred to at the last, meeting. He reportbd that he had met the solicitor of the late Mr. Cartwright and pointed out to him that the public had undoubtedly for many years made use of a footpath across the common, and it would bean interference with public nghts to close the footpath Mr. Cartwright's agent propollCl as a substitute a footpath round the common, which he was prepared to make at once. The enclosure of the common would be an advantage to the, neigi bourhood, as it was now (m!v a kind of campftig ground for gipsies.—The board discussed the ques- tion at some length, but resolved not to accept the offer, as it would be giving up a public right Lut consented to thecoirimor> being enclosed, pr vid<»d tbe footpath across it was preserved by posts aud rails.—The Clerk reported the results of the vn' meetings held at Llandaff respecting the closing of some footpaths in tho parish, hut the c ard left the matter in the hands of tho special committee appointed for the purpose some time since to negotiate with Mr. Corbett as to their preservaoor or substitution.-Tliis was all the b.