Weekly Mail

THE GREAT STORM. ] WRECKS AT SWANSEA, PORTHCAWL, AND PENARTH. TERRIBLE LOSS OF LIFE. SWANSEA LIFEBOAT DASHED TO PIECES. The Grower coast was visited on Saturday with a fearful gale, which unfortunately resulted in the loss of a large number of human lives and many thousands of pounds' worth of property. The barque Admiral Prinz Adalbert, belonging to Dantzic, in Germany, and commanded by Capt. L. Liebauer, was bound from Rochefort, in France, to Swansea, with a cargo of 990 tons of pitwood, consigned to Mr. James Davies, timber merchant, of the last-named port. She had a crew of six- teen hands, all told. At half-past eight in the morning she was abreast of the Mumbles Head, and it was noticed that she had a good offing. At nine o'clock she was seen to be half a mile to the west of the Bell Buoy. The buoy is a mile from tho Mumbles Head, so that at this time she was far enough from the shore to be out of danger. Some of her spars had been carried away, but with that exception she did not seem to have been damaged by the gale. The Prinz Adalbert got ashore on the Mixon Sands shortly after nine o'clok. The rocket apparatus was fired, but the vessel could not be reached in this way, and the lifeboat was launched as soon as possible. She was manned by Jenkin Jenkins, sen., coxswain, Jenkin .Jenkins, j'm., Richard (Jenkins, W. Rosser, John Williams, John Thomas, George Jenkins, Tom Michael, George Davis, David John Morgan, John Jenkins, second coxswain, Wm. Macnamara, Wm. Jenkins, and Wm. Rogers. When she approached the barque she threw out a lead line and hauled one man on board. A second man was diawn into the boat in the same way, and as the third was being pulled in a fearful sea swept over the ship and the boat. Hundreds of peorle were at this time standing on the headland watch- ing, and they saw the lifeboat dasiied with great violence against the side of the barque. The gunwale of the boat was smashed and all the crew were thrown out. One—John WiJliams-was thrown on to the deck of the barque, and the others into the sea. At the same time the line parted, and the carpenter, who was fastened to it, was drowned. The people who were looking on while this sad scene was being enacted were quite powerless to render aid. and could only cry out and wring their hands in pity. The tugboat was standing by inactive, and though the spectators shouted an appeal to her crew to help the gallant men who were perishing in the causo of humanity she made no response, and remained a passive witness of the calamity. When the lifeboat upset the 3econd coxswain and another of the crew were struck on the head and drowned immediately. Five others got back into the boat. One of them—George Davies—jumped overboard again with the intention of swimming ashore, and was thrown on the rocks by the sea. The others man tged to bring the lifeboat around into the bay, and when they reached the shore it was found that one of their number, William Jenkins, had been drowned while coming through the surf. The poor fellow had fastened his death- grip on the gunwale of the boat, and was clinging fast to it when it was discovered that he was dead. Subsequently it was ascertained that three more of those who manned the lifeboat had been drowned. Those who were saved either swam or waded ashore through the breakers, and the crew of the barque reached the land in the same way. Nearly all the lifeboat men were cut and bruised very much. The following are the names of the men who were DROWNED. John Jenkins, second coxswain, who has left a widow and six children. William Mack, widow and four children. William Jenkins, widow and two children. Wilham Rogers, widow and seven children. — Rehberg, carpenter, belonging to Dantzic, widow ai d two children. Mrs. Wright and Miss Ace, the daughters of the lighthouse keeper, were the means of saving two of the men's lives. The heroic women tied two shawls together, and went into the water up to their waist, on the rocks, and threw the shawls to two of the men who were fast sinking, and rescued them. The three masts of the barque were carried away by one sea, and she was left by the tide lying on her side on the rocks at the back of the Mumbles Head Lighthouse. Two of the bodies, those of the two Jenkinses, were afterwards found in Bob's Cave, very much cut and bruised by the hard vocks. The carpenter's bodv was washed ashore near the stranded vessel. George Jenkins was taken out of Bob's Cave alive, but teriibly in- jured. Both his legs are smashed, and his scalp is torn nearly off, and he is not expected to recover. He is a married man, and has three children. Old Jenkin Jenkins, the first coxswain, was sadly knocked about. His family are the greatest sutierera by the dire catas- trophe. The two Jenkinses who were drowned ¡ and the two who were saved were his sons, and Macnamara, another of those who perished, was his son-in-law. Poor Mack." as he was gerieruiy called, was not one of the lifeboat crew, but the boat was not sufficiently manned, and he volun- teered to go out in her on what proved to be his first and last expedition. He leaves seven children, the eldest being not more than ten years old, whilst the youngest are twins, who were born only a few weeks ago. THE INQUEST. The inquest on the bodies of John Jenkins and William Jenkins, two of the four members of the crew of the Mumbles Lifeboat, who were drowned in attempt- ing to rescue the crew of the Prussian barque Admiral Prinz Adalbert on Saturday, and Peter August Rehberg, the carpenter of the barque, who was also drowned, was opened at the Mermaid Hotel, Mumbles, on Monday afternoon, before Mr. Edward Strick, coroner. Captain Kaprimandaye, R.N., inspector of lifeboats, watched the inquiry. The Coroner, at the commencement of the pro- ceedings, said this was one of the most melan- choly calamities which had happened in this dis- trict within his recollection. John Williams, dredger, gave evidence as to the identity of the bodies of John Jenkins and William Jenkins. He said they were both his cousins, and both dredgers, like himself. John was 37 years of age, and he was the second cox- swain. William was 35 years of age. Witness was himself one of the lifeboat crew on this occasion. The boat had been got out of the house when he saw it, which was about ten o'clock on Saturday morning. He was told there was a vessel ashore on the Jutt Rocks. The crow consisted of thirteen men. (Their names have already been published.) They took the boat through the inner sound and saw the barque. The wind was blowing a perfect gale. The barque let go her anchor, but the chain broke, and she went on to the lighthouse rock. She bumped until the mast was bumped out of her, and then she lay quiet. The lifeboat went to windward of the vessel and let go her anchor, which held for a time. The anchor was attached to a four-inch rope, which was nearly new. They tried to heave a line to the vessel in order to get the men into the lifeboat. The boat was then 20 to 30 yards to windward of the barque, and the latter hove a lifebuoy over- board which was dragged into the boat. The boat then sent a line to the vessel, which was made fast. They fastened another line to the first one, and that was sent to the ship. By those means they got two of the crew into the boat. They were in the act of hauling in the third—the carpenter who was drowned—when the sea came and parted the line attached to the boat's anchor. Witness was washed on to the deck of the vessel, which was about 30ft. above the level of the boat. The next thing he saw was Jenkin Jenkins and George Jenkins swimming astern of the barque. Witness remained on the vessel until the tide ebbed away, when he walked ashore. The crew of the vessel got ashore in the same way. The boat was properly equipped. He heard no discussion as to whether it was prudent to anchor to windward of the vessel. His uncle, the first coxswain, called out to him, "Let go the anchor, Johnny," and he did so. He thought they rode at anchor for about three quarters of an hour. He could not see w ha.t else could ha. ve been done to protect the boat. When he was on board the barque he saw the lifeboat on top of the rocks. The coxswain was then standing on the rocks, and witness saw him go to his son, John Jenkins, who was lying dead lower down on the rocks. He saw George Jenkins on the rocks twice, and tho sea took him off again. Witness cried out to the people on the land to go down and pick him up, but they did not appear to hear him. Jenkin Jenkins, senior, was bleeding very much from the head. The tug- boat Flying Scud was standing by when the boat dropped her anchor, but she went away before the line parted. They did not hail the tug, because they would not have been heard. The tug might have been of great assistance. The boat might have been fastened to her by another line, and when the first line broke she might have towed the boat in. Witness saw George Jenkins washed into Bob's Cave. The lifeboat afterwards floated be- tween the sounds into smooth water, and then some men from the shore sent a rope from her to the tugboat, and she was towed in. He had seen the boat since, and noticed that the bottom on the port side had been stove in, and the gunwale on the 8taiV>oard side was broken out. The reason the boat stayed by the vessel was that they thought s^ would go to pieces every moment, the sea was ruling so high, and they could not wait for the tide-to recede. While the boat was at anchor he thought the cable was chafing on the rock. He couVj not say how far from the anchor the rope parted. A Juryman: Vrhy did the tugboat leave you when you were Vi trouble ? Why I cannot say, sir. The Coroner: We toav hear something more of that. Ludwig Leibaner, of Dantzic, master of th4 Prussian barque AdnArai Prinz Adalbert, ol Dantzic, said he was bound from Rochefort to Swansea. About twelve o'clock on Friday night he was off Caldy. it was then blowing very hard from W. by N. and W.N.W. He blew a flare as a signal for a pilot, but no one came. From four to seven o'clock on Saturday morning his vessel was hove to on the port tack He was then in the middle of the Channel. About eight o'clock in the morning a tugboat hailed him, and he gave her a rope immediately. He tried to wear his ship round, but failed. He was then seven or eight miles from the Mumbles. The first rope Le gave her was a 9in. jjgtwser, but it n !h about 50 minutes. Il'iien he gave her a 14in. hawser, whic! I irted immediately. He then let go hi I ort anchor, and had paid out about 50 fathoms c' I chain cable when it parted. He let go the star- I board anchor, but that did not hold. It did not check her at all. and she drifted on the rocks. The lifeboat came out and anchored to windward of the barque. In his judgment she could not have done anything better. Witness gave an account of the disaster to the lifeboat, which was the same as that given bv the previous witness. When tho tugboat hailed witness, the captain asked," Will you give £ 500?" and witness replied, "Here's the rope." A Juryman: Did the tugboat offer you her rope after she parted your two? Witness: No, she did not. She went away then. Another Juryman Did you not consider jESOOan exorbitant sum ? Witness: Well, 1 was in danger, and had to give it. The Coroner: Was there time enough for her to have given you another rope ?—Witness Yes. A Juryman Then you consider the tugboat did not do her duty ?—Witness: I think so. By the Coroner When the cable parted the tug blew her whistle and went, away, and witness had then no alternative but to put out his other anchor. By the Jury: When he let go his first anchor he was about a mile from where he struck. If the boat's cable had not. parted she would not have been upset. By the Coroner: He knew his vessel would not have gone to pieces with the fall of the tide. When he knew the tide was falling he felt they were not in danger of losing their lives. When the boat was alongside he did not know what danger there WHS. He advised the carpenter not to go in the boat because he wanted the boys to go first. Had all the others gone into the boat would you have remained on your vessel ? Well, I cannot say. I would stop on board so long as I could, and if I was drowned I would not care. Tom Rosser, one of the lifeboat crew, who ap- peared with his head bandaged, said he saw the baroue between eight and half-past eight o'clock. She was then about six miles brlow the Mumbles Head. The tugboat was going to her. Witness saw her again about half- past nine, when she was half a mile or so off the Jutt. at the back of the Mumbles Head. She waf inside the Nixon, and was heading straight for the land. Witness and a coxswain then launched the lifeboat, and when they got to the inner sound the vessel had just gone on the rocks. Witness confirmed what the captain had said about the movements of the boat. He added that he knew they-had a rocky bottom, but it did not occur to him that the cable would chafe. When the sea struck the hoat several of the crew were thrown out. but five remained in, and the boat righted herself. Witness was one of the five. After she had righted the coxswain sang out, "Haul in the how rope" (the cable). They did not know the cable had parted but when they pulled it in they discovered the fact. Witness then looked round and saw the coxswain and the second coxswain in the boat bleeding from the head. The boat'was then under the stern of the vessel, and another sea came and knocked her over. She turned, and witness was stall in her. Before she was struck the second time witness and the coxswain hauled William Macnamara into her. After the second time she was knocked over two or three times in a very short period. Witness was thrown out on the third time, and carried on to the rock3. Ace, the lighthouse keeper, and his two daughters threw him a rope. and pulled him up. He did not see Macnamara after the third time the boat was struck. He did not see John Jenkins after the second time. Nothing could have been dono to save life except what was done, as far as wit- ness could see. The lifeboat was got ready and the crew were in her in less than a quarter of an hour. The inquiry was at this stage adjourned until half-past four on Tuesday afternoon. The inquiry was at this stage adjourned until half-past four on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Coroner Strick resumed' the inquiry at the Mermaid Hotel, Mumbles, Swansea, on Tuesday evening, upon the bodies of John Jenkins and William Jenkins, two members of the lifeboat crew wrecked on, Saturday, and also upon the body of John Auguste Rehberg, carpenter of the vessel Admiral Prinz Adalbert, which stranded near the Mumbles Lighthouse on the same day. Captain La Primandaye, of the Royal National Lifeboat Insti- tute,. and Mr. Young, the local secretary, were present. Abraham Ace, the Mumbles Lighthouse keeper, said that about nine o'clock on Saturday morning he saw the Admiral Prinz Adalbert com- ing up the channel apparently unmanageable. At this time a steam tug was playing about" her. He could not say whether the tug was fast to the steamer when he first saw them, but at half- past nine they were certainly not connected. At this time the vessel was half a mile from the Mixen, and he felt positive that she would strike as she was drifting. Everything was then got ready for the purpose of saving life. He saw the captain let his anchor go at twenty minutes past ten, the vessel then being close in under the Mumbles Head. The two topsails were up, with the object of backing the ship, but she struck upon the Mumbles Rock. Witness then immediately saw the iifeboat come out from one of the sounds. Judging from the position of the ship, he thought there was great danger of the crew being washed ovoiDoard. She could not have been in greater danger. The sea was breaking over rtie ship very high. There was a tremendous ground sea on, and she bumped a good deal. The mast fell over the side to the eastward on to the rock. Witness saw a line between the lifeboat and the ship, and noticed two men en- deavour to leave the vessel by that means. A tremendously heavy sea then went right over the barque and the boat, turning the latter over. She righted liej-self, and as soon as the spray cleared away witness saw one man alongside of her and the others in the sea and on the rock. He did not see any well actually in the lifeboat after she had capsized. She then went through the "gutter" with this one man beside her, he being entangled. There wefa. he thought, four or five of the lifeboat men on the rocks, and they walked across to the lighthouse when the tide receded. Of those in the water witness, his two daughers, and an artillery- man saved two by heaving a ropo to them. Another man, William Jonkins, caught hold of a line which was thrown to him, but he failed to retain his grip. Witness saw the body of John Jenkins floating in the water. The lifeboat drifted through the sound, and stopped close to the steps by which the Lighthouse Rock is ascended. The tug which witness saw near the barque left her an hour before she struck. Of this he was positive. The tug did not appear to take any notice whatever of the vessel. Witness saw one rocket fired from the apparatus, but it failed to reach the ship. He did not know where the rocket apparatus was tired from. It could have been taken on to the Lighthouse Rock in a boat. He believed all did their uttermost to save life. He considered that after the mast went over the crew of the vessel would have been safer on board than in the lifeboat. The tide was then receding. Answering Mr. Young, witness said that the captainof the tug could have greatly assisted the lifeboat by passing a rope to her. In reply to a juryman, witness said that the men thrown out of the lifeboat were afloat for ten minutes. The artillerymen behaved bravely. There was no foundation for the report which placed their conduct in another light. There was no telegraphic communication between the lighthouse and the Mumbles village. John Thomas, dredger, Mumbles, one of the crew of the lifeboat, whose right hand was bandaged, said that after being knocked out of the boat he swam out to sea, being afraid of the rocks. He heard someone say Haul in the rope," and, upon looking round and seeing that the boat had righted herself, he re- turned and again got in her. Shortly afterwards she was struck by another sea. He was again knocked out, and again swam back to the boat. He then laid hold of her, and so remained till lie was rescued by a soldier. When he went out in the lifeboat he saw the tug Flying Scud to the windward of the vessel. A man on board the tug held up a rope to them, but one of the crew of the lifeboat said, Don't attend to that; you have got enough to do to look after your oar." He could not say how far off the tug was at this time.—By a Juryman: Had the steamer passed a rope to the lifeboat the crew might have been saved. William Harvey, master of the Flying Scud, steamtug, said that just at break of day on Satur- day he saw two barques hove-to about five miles from Pwlldu. He went to the bigger one, the Ad- miral Prinz Adalbert. The captain said he was bound for Swansea, to which witness replied, "Hard up and follow me, and you will get in this tide." This occurred between seven and eight o'clock. The captain gave orders in accordance with witness's advice, the foresail, forestaysail, and jib being set to keep the ship away. Finding the ship did not keep away witness turned round and asked the captain why he did not run up after him, to which he replied that hiahelm was hard up all the time. The ship, however, would not pay off at all. Witness again went away, and seeing the ship did not follow, turned a second time, when he saw the captain beckoning him. The latter said, Will you pull my ship's bow round?" To which witness said Yes, on conditions. I will tow your bow round for £500," The captain then directed his crew to give witness a rope, and one of seven inches was thrown to him. They then went ahead, but the rope parted after they had gone over two or three seas. A rope of thirteen inches was then handed to him, and they proceeded along, but the second rope broke also after they had experienced four or five seas. The ship then drifted on towards the land. The rope on board the tug was a small and short one, which was no use to give to the vessel. The sea was very high. Witness, seeing that he could do no more, blew his whistle, ran up to the Mumbles Head and signalled for the lifeboat. He then re- turned to the vessel and drifted up with her close to her stern. lie saw the two anchors let go, and ob- served the vessel strike her stern, swinging round on to the Mumbles Head. The first blow un- shipped the rudder, witness saw the lifeboat come out, and one of his men held up a rope to the lifeboat, but no notice was taken of it. He consi- dered t iat the lifeboat ought not to have gone where she was, considenngthfl spa, IS „ c' ? 5s 3u'y at the inquiry into the *e four lifeboat men and the carpenter of the Admiral Pnnz Adalbert, who lost their lives by the 3 to the Mumbles lifeboat on Satur- re P a verdict of Accidental •fh 'tha J1? exPressed their sympathy tlhTe ftlVe3 °f the deceased, found great fault with the owners of the Flying Scud in not having proper tow ropes on board, capable of tow- ing shiPf. and censured the caputs of the Flying Scud and Hying Cloud for not rendering assistance to the lifeboat. 6 The Mayor of Swansea (Alderman E. Rice Daniel) presided over a weltattanded meeting which was held at the Guild-ballon Wednesday with the object of collecting subscriptions for the relief of the tour widows and 19 orphans of the four men. His Worship, in opening the proceedings, said he was given to understand that two of the widows were expected to be confined very soon, Mid one had two pairs of twins, the youngest pail being only three weeks old. He was »lso sorry to tear that George Jenkins was not expected to teeuver. He thought they should mart; their high appreciation of the heroic and gallant coadu^t of t.b::ae men by subscribing liberally towards a fand i 'or the maintenance of their widows and orphans, lie would, therefore, propose that a subscription list should be opened. The Mayor then read a letter from Mr. Henry Warren, Jury-street, Win- chester, enclosing a cheque for £3 3s., and another from Mr. Peter Gibbs, enclosing a sub- scription of 10s., and suggesting that the ministers of the district should give the proceeds of one Sunday's collection to the fund.—Alderman Ford seconded the motion, and said he would give a subscription of £1010s,-The Mayor said Alder- man Yeo had given £25, and he (the mayor) would give £10 10s.—Captain La Primaidaye, R.N., in- spector of lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, said these men did not lose their lives from any want of foresight or stint of equipment on the part of their society. The institution would do its duty towards the widows and children of these men, who had themselves done more than their duty, because they were all volunteers and were not paid for their services. He could not tell the exact amount the insti- tution would give—that would be settled at the next monthly meeting—but they always gave as liberally as the public generosity enabled them to give. Their contribution would probably be rather more than £100 per head for the men who were lost, and between £70 and £80 for those who were injured. Altogether it may be taken as between JE700 and £1,000. (Applause.) The motion was then carried, and it was further decided to apply part of the fund to the men who were injured. Mr. J. W. Islay Young, the local secretary of the Life- boat Institution, was appointed treasurer, and Mr. Robert Hancorn secretary.—The Mayor announced that the result of the meeting held at the Mumbles was that jE320 was collected.—Alderman Ford stated that Captain Bevan and his wife had collected from £8 to £10, and suggested that books should be supplied by the committee to all who applied for them with the object of collecting small sums.—The Seamen's Missionary said he had collected £1 15s. 6d. from the captain and crew of a large steamer, and he thought he should be able to get additional sub- scriptions from similar sources.—Mr.Tamlynstated that the Swansea pilots had started a subscrip- tion list among themselves.—A subscription list was handed round the room, and in a few minutes contributions amounting to £120 were set down on it. It was stated that. between £2,000 and £3,000 would be required. A vote of thanks to the mayor closed the proceedings. LOSS OF A STEAMER AND ALL HANDS IN PORT EYNON HAY. Early on Saturday morning a messenger arrived at the office of Lloyd's agents in Swansea—Messrs. James Strick and Sons, Gloucester-place—and re- ported that two steamers had been wrecked that morning in Port Evnon Bay, and that all hands had been drowned. Port Eynon is 16g miles dis- tant from Swansea, and there are no means of rapid communication with the place. The nearest railway station is Killay, and the nearest telegraph office Sketty, and as the former place is only four or five and the latter only two miles Erom Swansea, it will easily be seen that news from Port Eynon must necessarily travel slowly. The messenger in this case rode to Killay on horse- back and took the train there. As soon as his melancholy tidings were received Lloyd's agents despatched a representative (Captain Simmonds) to Port Eynon post haste, in order to learn the names of the vessels and other particulars." The sad in- telligence soon became widely known in Swansea, and the belief gained ground that one of the steamers was the Agnes Jack, of Liverpool, which was known to have left the Mumbles Roads at three o'clock that morning for Llanelly. The belief was confirmed by intelligence brought by a second messenger, but it was not absolutely established until the return on Saturday evening of Captain Siinmonds. From his statement it appears that the inhabitants of Port Eynon heard cries of distress coming from the sea as early as five o'clock in the morn- ing, a.nd when day broke they discerned a vessel near Salthouse Point, just off Port Eynon Head, with its hull under water and eight men clinging to the masthead. The gale was at its height, and the sea was so rough that it was quite impossible to launch a boat. A rocket apparatus was pro- cured from Rhossily, and another from Oxwich, and four rockets were lired. All tour fell short of the ship, the last missing the yard-arm by about three feet, and just as the fourth was tired the mast fell over, carrying with it seven of the men. The other had fallen off previously, apparently from exhaustion. At high water nothing except tho mast-head was visible, but at ebb-tide about twenty feet of the bows of the steamer was seen. The ship was not identified until a boat bearing her name was washed ashore. Afterwards her articles were picked up on the beach, as well as one sail, the captain's trousers (which contained £3 in money), and a small tin box, containing a pair of solitaires and a gold ring. The Agnes Jack was owned by Mr. John Bacon, Liverpool, andfrequently plied as a general trader between that port and Swansea and Cardiff. Her official number was 29,983, her gross registered tonnage 737, her net registered tonnage 4-76. She was fitted with engines of a5 horse power nominal. Her cargo consisted of about 600 tons of lead ore, belonging to Messrs. Henry Bath and Son, Swansea. The ore contained silver, and the cargo is valued at between £ 9,000 and £ 10,000. It was insured. The recovery of the articles must be regarded as the most fortunate circumstance in connection with this sad affair. Had they not been found it would ha. been very difficult, to say the least, to ascertain t, names of the crew, inasmuch as the men were noi '.ipped all at the same time, in the usual way. The voyage commenced at Llanelly on the 6th of July, i882, and the articles were in the form of a running agreement. The last,entry in the official log-book which is attached to the the form of a running agreement. The last.entry in the official log-book which is attached to the articles shows that the vessel left Cagliari, Sar- dinia, on January xc. riio na,nM ut me eleven men not marked as discharged—in other words, those who were on board the ship when she was lost—are as follow:— John Jones, aged 33. Neath, captain. W. C. Wat-kins, 25, Maidstone, chief mate. William Morrison, 32, Alloa, chief engineer. James Down, 29, Taibach (Aberavon), second engineer. David Williams, 25, Pembrey, donkeyman. George Cook, Belfast, fireman. James Jones, 26, Cardigan, fireman. William Whaben, 30, boatswain. John Williams, 10, Liverpool, cook. James Owen, 40, Newport (Pembroke), steward. Augustus Hill,43, Boston, A.B. William Johnson. 25, Liverpool, A.B. John Yeo, 35, Plymouth, A.B. Richard Roberts. 35, Nevin, A .B.. William Smith, 46, Finland, A.B. ) Giovanni George, 30, Trieste, A.B. Jolm Finn, Sligo. THE INQUEST. Mr. John Gaskoin, deputy coroner for the seigniory of Gawel, opened an inquest at the Ship Inn, Port Eynon, on Tuesday on the bodies of nine of the men belonging to the crew of the steamer Agnes Jack, which was wrecked in Port Eynon Bay in the gale on Saturday morning, and also on the body of Philip Beynon, the Llanelly pilot. Only four others out of the ten bodies washed ashore have been identified. These are John Jones (the captain), David Williams (donkey-man), James Dowsoy (second engineer), and John Owen. The jury, of which the Rev. William Melland was foreman, first of all went to view the bodies. They were lying under some straw and sacks in an out- House on the foreshore of the bay, and presented a shocking appearance, being in exactly the same state as when they were thrown ashore. Mr. James Strick, Lloyd's Agent, watched the proceedings. William Thomas, Waunarllwyd, was the first witness. He identified the body of Philip Beynon, his uncle. The deceased, he added, was a married man, and had a family. He was 63 years of age. Morris Downing, a coastguard-man, stationed at Oxwich, said he found Beynon's body on the beach, at three o'clock on Sunday morning, abreast of where it was now lying. His left leg had been broken by the anchor, and there was a cut on his face. On Saturday morning, about six o'clock, witness was informed that a vessel was ashore just off Skysea Point, and he went there with a rocket apparatus. He saw the ship on the rocks. Her foremast and mainmast were standing, and there were men on the fore yard. The rocket apparatus was taken to Port Eynon Point, and one shot was fired, which did not touch the vessel. After waiting some time for the iSde to ebb, a second shot was fired from another point, which was also unsuccessful. A third shot was laid and aimed at the foremast, which fell at that moment with all the men upon it. The mainmast had gone before. He could not say how many men there were. Witness and others then went out as far as they could on the rocks and saw the men on the yard in the water for about fifteen minutes. They could render them no assis- tance. The vessel was only 200 yards from the shore when the rocket was fired, but the wind was 80 high that it carried the line over her, Four rockets were fired altogether, two by the Oxwich men and two by the Rhossily men. The vessel could not be identified at that time,but it had since been ascertained that she was the steamer Agnes Jack. Her headboard and her articles were washed ashore, and a lifeboat with her name on it. Joseph Darch, a coastguard, stationed at Rhos- sily, said he heard of the vessel being ashore at eight o'clock on Saturday morning, and came to Port Eynon with twenty other men, the volunteer life-saving crew. The men were still on the yard when they arrived. They approached within about 300 yards of the ship, and fired a rocket, which went too far to windward. They then went across the Sound, and got within 200 yards. From this point they fired a second rocket, and the line fell about four yards over the foreyard arm. The yard was slightly peaked, and the force of the wind carried the line off into the water. They were preparing another rocket when the mast fell over the side with the men on it. William Hopkins, labourer, Port Eynon, said he got trp about quarter to five on Saturday morning, and on going out of his house to work he heard cries coming from the sea, and saw a light, ap- parently half a mile from the land. He talked with some other men about it, and they came to the conclusion that there was a vessel in distress, and that the crew had left her in boats. They had no idea she was on the rocks. It was blowing very hard from the south-west, and there was a heavy sea on. When daylight came he saw the two masts of a vessel in tne direction in which the cries came in the morning. When he heard the cries he was in the village, He went down to the beach and listened, but did not hear the cries again. He then returned to his work.. Mr. Strick said he could not understand why this witness did not do something more before returning to his work. A Jurvman thereupon remarked that there was nothing-to encourage men to work for the sake of humanity. They had taken trouble on many occasions and had got nothing for it. Mr. Strick said they ought not to expect pay for trying to save life. William Jenkins, labourer, said he was on the beach at six on Saturday mwning, and he then heard cries coming from the sea and saw a ship's light some distance away. He then went to Oxwich to inform the coastguard. Mr. Strick said a watch belonging to Owen had been washed ashore. It had stopped at two minutes to five. The Foreman of the Jmw oaid that would seem, I ¡ 0 indicate that some of the crew had taken to the boats, which were capsized. The watch of Dowse, the second engineer, was produced. That had stopped at 8 25. Formal evidence as to the identification of the other four bodies was taken,and the jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased came to their deaths by reason of the wreck of the Agnes Jack. A portion of a seaman's certificate with a blue ribbon pinned in the corner was picked up on the beach on Tuesday morning. The body of Rehberg, the carpenter of the Admiral Prinz Adalbert, was buried in the church- yard at the Mumbles, on Tuesday. On Tuesday the body of Philip Beynon, the pilot, who was on board the ill-fated steamer, was brought to DaneDy. and was borne from the station tohisresidencein High-street. Very much sympathy is felt for Mrs. Beynon and her family, who hold highly respectable positions in Llanelly and else- where. The body of the donkeyman on board the same steamer, David Williams, 26 years of age, was conveyed to his home at Pembrey on Wednes- day, and was interred in Pembrey Churchyard the same afternoon. WRECK OF A STEAMER NEAR PORTHCAWL. About two o'clock on Saturday afternoon a large steamer was seen to be in distress on the Fairy Bank, about two miles east of Porthcawl. She appeared to be dragging her anchors, and, from her apparently helpless condition, it was supposed that her machinery or steering gear had got out of order. There was a very heavy sea on at the time, but the Porthcawl lifeboat was launched and manned by a good crow. As soon as the boat got outside the breakwater it was found impossible to proceed to the steamer, and the lifeboat was driven on to Newton Pool, where she had to lay to for several hours, when she was brought back to port by the tugboat belonging to Porthcawl. At the time the steamer was first seen to be in distress the tugboat was in the dock, and as it was then low water, could not be taken out. As it was found impossible to render assistance from Porthcawl, a party of 35 or 40 men pro- ceeded with the rocket apparatus to Ogmore. They fired several rockets and remained on the spot until between two and three o'clock on Sunday morning. About eight o'clock on Satur- day night two rockets were fired from the steamer-one from the bows, and the other from the stern. Nothing was afterwards seen of her. It is probable that she drifted to the Tuskar Rock and became a total wreck. Our Bridgend correspondent, writing on Tuesday night with reference to the wreck near Porthcawl, saysI-iiiive this evening seen Mr. John Ralph, late chief mate of the James Gray, of which he says:—I left the James Gray on Wednes- day evening at Cardiff. She left the Roath Basin on Friday morning at seven a.m. bound for Cape de Verds. She came to anchor in the Penarth Roads, and, from what I understand, proceeded on her voyage early on Saturday morning. In conse- quence of the description given in the fVe^ieniMail of the body found near Dunraven Castle I proceeded to St. Bride's Major, near Bridgend, on Tuesday after- noon. I there saw the body and identified it as that of Capt. Macleod, of the James Gray, of Whitby. I also saw the main rail, main boom, cabin oilcloth, and other things which had been washed ashore, and identified them as belonging to the James Gray. The captain had his wife and child on board for the vcyage. The James Gray was built at Whitby about five years ago, and was of about 1,059 tons register. She traded generally between Cardiff and ports on the Black Sea and America." Our correspondent further states that the stern of a boat with the name Edmund White has been found near Nash. This it seems was the name of a former master of the James Gray, and had nat been painted out- There can be no doubt now that the steamer wrecked on the Tuskar was the James Gray. Her crew consisted of 23 hands, but this number did not include the captain's wife and child. The total number of lives lost was, therefore, 25. On Tuesday the body of a coloured seaman, apparently about 40 years of age, was found on the shore near Nash Lighthouse. It as been taken to Marcross Church. The following is a complete list of the crew of the steamship James Gray.—Edward M'Cleod, master, 34 years of age, 6, Ban- nington-road, Leitli; W illiam Harries, 33 years of age. native of Fishguard, first mate. Tower-hill, Fishguard; John Thomas, 30 years of age, second mate, 22, Crichton-street, Cardiff; F. Murry, 48 years of age, 40, Leckwith-road, Cardiff; Henry Stell, 39 years of age, native of Gloucester, steward, 109, King's-road, Canton; Julian Danbar, Cape de Verds, cook, 27, Peel- street, Cardiff; Carlos Owens, 42 years of age, native of East London, boatswain, 67, Bute-street, Cardiff E. Voss, 32 years of a^e, German, A.B. and lamp trimmer M. Anderson, 25 years of age, Nor- wegian, Penygraig, near Pontypridd Peter Hanson, 27 years of age, Norwegian, A.B., 47, Christina- street, Cardiff; G. Gunder sen,21 years of age. A.B., 47, Christina-street, Cardiff; Thomas Hosking, 22 years of age, of Cornwall, living at Weymouth Joseph Baroni, 44 years of age, a native of Malta, II, Bute-terrace, Cardiff;^ John Jones, 25 years of age, first engineer, Woodville-road, Cathays, Cardiff; John Light-burn, 26 years of age, of Crewe, second engineer, Birkenhead; George Warton, 24 years of age, native of Con- gleton, third engineer, of Liverpool F. Canziani, 29 years of age, native of Naples, donkeyman; William Davies, 20 years of age, fire- man, 6, Union-street, Carmarthen J. Reed, 31 years of age, Trowbridge, fireman; W. J. Papi, 21 years of age, native of London, 16, Moira-street, Splotlands, Cardie R. Morgan, fireman. 25 years of age, of 36, Adam-street, Cardiff; David Hughes, 32 years of age, of Neath, 2, Parknold-street, Maindy, Cardiff John O'Neill, 17 years of age, I engineer's steward, of Beaumaais; D. Walker, 15 years of age, of Dundee, assistant steward, 2, RriHah Wnricmjin. Cardiff, A SCHOONER CAPSIZED NEAR THE HOLMS Captain Fowler, ot the steamtug Pioneer, be- longing to Messrs. C. O. Rundle and Co., Cardiff, reports that on Friday morning he passed a vessel bottom up, in Penarth Roads, between the Steep and Flat Holms. On getting alongside he made out the name Kelso, Bridgwater, on the stern, which was the only portion of her above water. Captain Fowler tried to tow the schooner, but his hawser parted, both anchors of the vessel beina on the ground. It is supposed that she was struck by a squall during the gale, and, her ballast shift- ing, she turned over. Nothing is known of her crew, but it is feared that they were nil lost. At mid-day on Sunday the Austrian barque Linbedrag dragged her anchor and ran into the Austrian brig Tempo, lying in Penarth Roads. The brig has her stern smashed in. The barque had stem damaged.. The brig is coal laden from Cardiff for Buenos Ayres, and will dock in the Roath Basin to discharge and repair damages. The barque is loaded with esparto grass for Cardiff. CASUALTIES IN THE BRISTOL CHANNEL. The barque Royal Lad, Captain Felkins, of and for Liverpool, with a cargo of petroleum, 29 days out from Philadelphia, was driven up to Penarth Roads on Sunday through stress of weather. Capt. Felkins reports that ten days ago he encountered severe weather, and a succession of heavy gales, up to his arrival in Penarth Roads. On Saturday, at noon, the ship being W.S.W. of Lundy Island, a sea struck the vessel, sleeping her decks, carry- ing overboard the deck house and galley, and the whole of the clothes belonging to the ship's com- pany. The cook, who was in the galley at the time, was washed overboard and drowned. The sea flooded the cabin, and swept all its contents overboard, including nearly the whole of the provisions. The ship's chronometer, which was strapped to a beam in the roof of the cabin, was saved. The captain was lashed in the mizzen rigging at the time. The ship lost several sails and her fore royal mast. There was four feet of water in the hold when the captain decided to bear up for Penarth Roads. The vessel will prob- ably be towed round to Liverpool. THREE VESSELS JN COLLISION AT CARMARTHEN. On Monday a casualty of a somewhat serious nature occurred tc the shipping lying in the River Towy, at Carmarthen Quay, owing to the great flood which filled the river. The French lugger Achille Marie, from Oberon, with a cargo 0 of potatoes, consigned to Mr. Jenkins, Carmarthen, was moored to the quay, and, occupying a berth outside of her, but moored to the same place, was the large French brigantine Philemon, of Nantes, also with a cargo of potatoes, consigned to Mr. Stephen Morgan. The flood reached a degree of great intensity about noon, when the stern of the brigantine was swung round. Two of the hawser lines which were mooring her parted, and she at once showed signs of drifting away. A remarkable feature is that the mooring-posts, which were solid columns of stone, were broken, and both ships then were swept down the river by the impetuous cur- rent. Occupying a bertha little lower down the river was the schooner Jane Owen, of Port Madoc, and on the Achille Marie and Philemon drifting they fouled with her. and in a short time the three vessels were in collision. The Jane Owen, how- ever, was re-moored with the slight damage of having part of her jibbom carried away and a por- tion of the bulwarks on the starboard side stove in. The other two vessels remained out in the river in collision for a long time. The lugger had jibboom carried away, stern post stove in, mizzen mast broken off, and other damage, whilst the damage sustained by the other French vessel has not been ascertained. She must have been considerably strained. The Philemon, which had not commenced to discharge, was got aground on the opposite side of the river late in the afternoon, and the lugger, which had about 70 tons of cargo remaining in her hold, was moored just below the quay. A large number of persons visited the scene of the disaster during the afternoon, the occurrence being unpre- cedented at Carmarthen. In London the storm was severely felt. At Falcon-lane a wall was blown down. wrecking two cottages. Only one of these was inhabited, and the six inmates, an ostler and his family, were buried beneath the ruins. After an hour's labour they were rescued from the dibris, and found to be so injured that they had to be removed to St. Thomas's Hospital, Westminster. On Saturday evening, the upper part of a newly erected house, situated at Battersea and unin- habited, was blown down, and the brickwork fell upon the roofs of two adjacent cottages, in one of which there were six persons at the time. The cottages were nearly levelled to the ground and the occupants buried in the debris. Assistance was rendered immediately, and when they were dug out it was found that; beyond bruises, only two of the six were seriouily injured, having each a broken leg, and one an additional injury to the spine. The latter case is considered hopeless. During Saturday night houses were unroofed and trees blown dow* along the Lancashire Coast. At Blackburn a large wall near the railway station was blown down, anil a cab driver named Jones buried underneath. When dug out he was found to be dead, his tody being much mangled. At Sheffield on Saturday night several chimney stacks were blown down, demolishing 50 yards of walling round Bramsst Large Cricket Ground, and causing vast destruction to house property. Several people werf injured by falling slates. At Bradford on Saturday night a portion of the gable of Horsfalls Mills fejl, but no personal injury was sustained. A Falmqath correspondent reports that ]' ■luring the gale on Friday night the Dutch brig Janna, from Cardiff forCuracoa, with coals (Capt Voley), went ashore on the Manacles, and Voley), went ashore on the Manacles, and became a total wreck. The captain and the crew landed at Porthadetstock, near Falmouth. At Sandgate, on Saturday, the sea ran so high that a large breach was made in the sea wall. On Sun- day morning a barque, laden with salt, which left Liverpool some days ago. went ashore a few miles from Southport. The crew were saved. The coast is strewn with wreckage and cargoes of wrecked vessels. By the capsizing of a fishing boat at Lybster, on the Caithness coast, on Satur- day, one fisherman, named Gunn, was drowned The remainder of the crew were saved. CARDIFF. On Saturday, the weather continued to be very rough, and a variety of incidental damage was done to house property in the district. In Cathavs a large plate glass window in the shop of Mr. Hancock, chemist, was blown out, and most of the tradesmen here as well as in other parts of the town barricaded their shop fronts in order to prevent damage by the gale. MILFORD HAVEN. A very heavy gale from the W.N.W. blew on Friday and Saturday at Milford Haven., Only minor casualties have happened to the vessels riding at anchor in the Haven, but in St. Bride's Bay two vessels have gone ashore, the Nanteos, of Aberystwith, and the Solferino, of Dublin. The crews landed in their boats previously to the vessels driving ashore, the crew of the Nanteos being met when half way to shore by the Little Haven lifeboat. Both vessels are total wrecks. KNIGHTON. Writing on Monday, our correspondent at Knighton says :—A fearful gale has been raging in this district for the last 24 hours, and the river Teme and its tributaries are much flooded. A lad named Walter Ravenseroft, son of the late Mr. E. Ravenscroft, station master, was returning from school on Monday morning, when he ran across a chain which spanned the VVilcombe Brook, and failing into the water was dashed along by the stream through a long culvert into the river. Efforts were made to rescue him, but without avail, and his dead body has since been found in the bed of the river nearly a mile away. THE MOVING BOG. The moving bog is reported to be still threaten- ing Castlerea. Mills have been stopped, bridges choked, and traffic between Ballinagare and Cas- tlerea suspended. The bog t Baslick is also reported to be breaking up.

THE LIBRARY OF CARDIFF CASTLE. So far back as the days of the feudal kings and the cloistered monks of England we have instances of a love of books. Their accretion, however, in these early days was confined to the regal palace, the monasteries, or, perchance, the castles of a few wealthy barons, whose means permitted the acqui- sition of so costly a luxury as that of a library. The invention of printing, however, in the Fifteenth Century marked the dawn of a new era in the world of letters, and from this period rapid strides were made in the growth of literature. The taste for reading advanced with the increased facilities for the production of books. New authors sprang into existence and traversed paths hitherto untrodden in the field of human inquiry, and before the close of the Seventeenth Century private libraries were to be found in the mansions of many of the nobility. But although in the present day there are few among the wealthy who are not possessors of large collections of books, yet, in most cases, these are regarded by their owners more in the light of accessories to the furnishing of a room or as a compliance with the usages of polite society than as a source of knowledge. There are, likewise, many, no doubt, to whom the artificial requirements in what may bo termed the externals of literature afford no pleasure to whom a vellum or morocco copy, shining in gold, is no more acceptable than if it had been pasted in mill- board or wrapped in sheepskin. Milton has well said, A book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond." Why, therefore, should not such a treasure be enclosed in a worthy casket? The Marquess of Bute whose library we have been permitted to inspect, evidently believes in this external fitness. Viewed either from an ;esthetic or literary point of view the truly unique collection in Cardiff Castle is a fair reflex of the mind of its noble owner. It differs from the libraries of most ancient families, inas- much as, instead of being the accumulation of many generations, it has been entirely collected by its present possessor. An ancestor of Lord Bute pur- chased from the executorsof the Duke of Argyll the library of that nobleman, and this was deposited at Luton Hoo, the then -residence of the Bute family; but it totally perished by fire in 1771 After the restoration of the mansion a second library was formed, as also the well-known gallery of paintings. Again, Luton Hoo was burnt down (1843), but, fortunately, this time the books and pictures were saved and removed for safety to the Pantechnicon, whence they were afterwards transferred to 83, Eccleston-square. The books still remain in their temporary home, but Lord Bute, with characteris- tic generosity, has recently lent upwards of 260 of the pictures to the Bethnal Green Museum, where they are now on view. The library at Cardiff Castle is situated directly beneath the Banqueting-hall, in the east front of the castle, and is approached from the grand 8taircnse by a short corridor. It is a magnificent room, about 75ft. long and 23ft. broad. The apart- ment is lighted by three octagonal bays and three two-light windows, the upper portions oi which are ¡;J!rvJ ;n uri/,n I1h"" with nntat,ions of the Old and New Testament writers. Its walls are lined with a coarse texture resembling canvas coloured and highly decorated. The ceiling is divided into bays with massive beams sub-divided by smaller beams, the larger ones being supported by corbeis, on which are carved the arms of the Princes of Wales. The doors and doorways are beautifully carved and decorated with animals, shields, and foliage. The chief ornament of this noble room is, however, the chimney piece. This is divided into five recessed niches, each contain- ing r, Moated figuro holding a tablet symbolising the growth of language. The book cases are of walnut, inlaid with box and various coloured and dved woods representing foliage, figures, &c. On the north, south, and west sides of the room the book-cases are ranged against the walls, but on the east end they spring from between the windows to the centre of the room. At each end of the library is a beautiful inlaid reading table, under which is placed an apparatus for heat- ing the apartment. At present the library com- prises about, five thousand handsomely bouud volumes, the majority being works of excessive value and rarity. It might be mentioned that in addition to the collection at Eccleston-square, Lord Bute has also libraries at Mount Stuart and at Dumfries House. Our limited space precludes the possibility of more than a. cursory reference to the books at Cardiff Castle. Therefore weshall only attempt to point out a few leading features in order to give our readers an idea of the exceptional character of this collection. We had anticipated that the library of the translator of The Roman Breviary would be rich in books pertaining to the ecclesiastical history and antiquities of the Christian Church, and in this our expectations were fully realised. The collection of books con- taining the history of all the events leading up to the Reformation and extending from that period down to the reign of the Stuarts is not to be ex- celled in any private library in the kingdom. These volumes are chiefly the productions of presses in England and abroad established or em- ployed by exiles from this country during the period of both Catholic and Protestant supremacy. The history of these books is little known", but they themselves throw an immense light on the occurrences of that period. In this department are the works of the Reformers as well as the adherents to the old faith, among them being remarkable specimens of the later period by Robert Parsons, in addition to others of Tyndale, Frith, Coverdale, and other Reformers. The condi- tion of the books of this period is unsurpassed, and the collection is, we imagine, as complete as that of any private library in Europe. As an instance of the value of many of these early printed books, we might mention a magnificent copy of a treatise On the Contemplacyon of Synners," printed by Wynkyn de Worde, in 1510. It is a small 4to. of about 200 pages, printed on thick paper, and in ex- ceptionally good condition. A very inferior copy of this work was recently sold for jE210 by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge, at the dispersal of the valuable library of John Bruce, F.S.A. It is thus described on the title- page :—" The contemplacyon of synners for everie daye of the weke, a singuler medytacyon, em- prentyd at Westmynster by Wynkyn de Worde." The prologue informs us that this book was com- piled and finished at the request of Richard Fox, Bishop of Durham and Lord Privy Seal of England. It is composed in an uncommon manner. There are seven different topics or meditations, divided according to the seven days of the week, con- sisting of brief sentences (because the life of man is short) drawn from the Scriptures, moral philosophers, Fathers and Doctors of the Church, all in Latin. Then follows a paraphrastical translation, or a kind of Concordance in English verse. The collection also comprises all the leading reli- gious controversial works of this and of later periods. Of homilies there is a great variety, conspicuous among them being a first edition of the Book of Homilies," as used in the Church of England, con- taining the leaves which were afterwards sup- pressed. We may add that one of these homilies, at present in use in the Church of England, was written by the so-called Bloody Bishop Bonner, and it is a singular fact that the subject on which it treats is Christian love and charity. In this department there is also an unique series ot the works of Father Parsons, so well known in England during the reign of Elizabeth. The breviaries, a wonderful col- lection,- include the services of the Church of Sarum and those of modern times. In this series is a quaintly-bound pocket volume used by the Roman Catholic emissaries in this country in the time of Elizabeth, when it was necessary to ad- minister the sacraments covertly. There are also the magnificent copies of the "Sarum Manual," 1554, "Breviarium Romanum," 1561.and the "Quignonian Breviary," all in their original bindings, and in the finest possible condition. The Liturgy of the Con- tinental Churches, more especially that of Coire, with its Breviary and Missal, will be found here. A very curious collection of the first editions of the works of John Bunyan, author of the "Pilgrim's Progress," is also worthy of attention. The General Historical Section contains, among other rarities, a glorious copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle," dated 1493, which is reputed to be the finest in the world. Its magnificent woodcuts and typography show what a remarkable degree of perfection had been achieved in the art of illustra- tion and printing at this early period. The size of its pages and the width of its margins would excite the admiration and envy of a bibliomaniac. A large copy of "Froissart's Chronicles of England," 11525-6, • is also in perfect condition, and in the original wooden boards. Modern History and Topography is represented I by the best editions of the leading writers, includ ing a complete set of the works of Tom llearn.- the antiquary, very many of the county histories, the Somers' tracts, &e. It also contains the whole of the literature relating to the Franco-Prussian war, written at the time and subsequently, both e in the French and German languages, and an ex- traordinary collection of caricatures put together during the siege of Paris. The latter forms one of four copies, the others being respectively in the possession of the British Museum and Prince Bismarck. The late Emperor of the French possessed the fourth. Jt includes every cartoon issued during that memorable siege. The books relating to art embrace a profuse variety of valuable works on architecture, paint- ing, and sculpture, and include a large collection of original views by the eminent English engraver Storer. The English classics are represented by first editions of Byron, Fielding, Keats, Lamb. Shelley, Dickens, and an edition de luxe of Thackeray, a complete set of Dr. Dollinger's works, Pope's works, with MS. notes by Cowper, and many others. Several contributions to cabalistic and astrological literature will also ba found in the library, a singular fact how- ever, is that although Lord Bute is a Celtic scholar, and has read papers in this department to the Scottish Society of Antiquaries, his library contains very little of value bearing upon the his- tory, topography, and philology of Wales. This is the more to be wondered at, as his lord- ship is conversant with and an admirer of the Welsh language. There are no MSS. at Cardiff Castle. The Luton MSS. and those subsequently purchased by the First Marquess of Bute are to be found in the library at Eccleston- square. An account of these is given in the third report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. In concluding this notice we feel it our bounden duty to thank Mr. Godwin, Lord Bute's librarian, to whose courtesy we are indebted for the privilege of a personal inspection.

CORRESPONDENCE. Under this head qur:st1Ons on legal subjects are anstcered by an experienced professional gentleman. Correspondents wishing for information or advice, 9 j are requested to observe the following rules •— 1. The facts must be stated fully and clearly; and the questions, if more than one, should be num- bered consecuti vel/I, 2. A full copy mast be sent of any document on which advice is wished for. 3. The real name and address of the writer must accompany the questions, but will not be puú, lished if a "pseudonym or initials be also sent for reference. 4. All communications must be addressed to The Editor, Legal Department, Weekly Mail Office, Cardiff."

HITSBAXD A YD WIFK.—" E. C." (Aberg,wenny) is advised that ii is the Jutv of her husband to make a will. If he should (tie intestate, witliout lawful issue, she would only b.) entitled to one-half of his personal estate, and the other halt would be divided amongst his next of kin. His real estate (if any) would pass t,o his heir at law, subject to our correspondent's dower, if not barred. ABANDONED SUMMONS.—" W.Y.S.P." (Newport) must be under some misapprehension, or the police-con- stable is attempting to impose upon him. We advise him to inquire of the clerk to the magistrates or the chief of police what the claim is ior. As the summons was paid for when issued, aird the matter has been settled without any further proceedings or summonses to witnesses, we cannot think that any further claim can properly be made but we shall be glad to advise furl her on learning the result of inquiry. WJ VVKR OF THIL DEKMY.—If J. Tones (New Ouyy; will send us the year in which the race was won we will tell him the name of the winner. FHIEXDLY SOCIETY.—Jjai or (Swansea) nuy write the registrar explaining his grievance, if the old society was registered; but if it was an unregistered society he, has no remedy. The address is J. M, Ludlow, Esq., Registrar of Friendly Societies, 23, Abingdon-street, Westminster, S.W. ILLEGITIMATE SON.—"Amo (Mountain Ash) is advised that the illegitimate son could only claim what is given to him by the will. He ou-iit to have sent a copy to enable us to a,iswerilis inquiry. The house, if free- hold, would pass to the residuary devisee, or if there is no residuary devisee, then to the heir at law, who cannot, be the illegitimate son. LANDLORD ASD TKNAXT.—" Inquirer" (Knighton) is informed that we answer all queries in the order in which we receive them. He cannot get the tenant out before Lady Day, 1834, for ",¡¡ieh lie must serve him with a notice to quit Oil or before next Michael- mas. In the meantime the tenant may sublet the house unless he is hound by written agreement not to do so. In the circumstances, we advise that the notice be served personally, if possible; and, in order Do avoid any difficulty in meeting with him at last, it might be served REGISTRATION OK MARIUAGK.—" Miio (Llandebie) is Informed That the new chapel must be registered before a marriage is celebrated in it. The registration of the old place of worship ceases to be in force on its being pulled down. TKUSTEK'S Bjscuairiiis.— A Trustee" (Swansea) is ad- vised that in order to he safe he restrict his choice to Government or real securities. Consols let present prices are not very proiitable investments, but they are ab olutely safe, and are the securities most in favour with the courts. A good mortgage is very well, and produces more income, ùaG tac dhiiealty is in knowing what is really good; and we have known trustees held responsible for loss incurred by insulii- cient security, which is hard upon those who incur trouble and anxiety without profits, If the will con- tains no directions as to investments we advise him Lo becontent with 3 per cent, from Consols rather tlun to run any risk in order to get 4 or 5 on mortgage, unless he knows the property and is satisfied as to its sufficiency. We think trustees ought to avoid risk as far as possible. PKCU.VIAHY EMBARRASSMENTS.—If "Inland Revenue" (Maestrtg) owes nothing which lie cannot pay, and is not subject, to any liability which he C¡UlIlot dis- charge in due course, he may properlyauswer the question in the negative. APPRKNTICB.—"J B." (Newport) is advised that the apprentice ought only to be bound till the time when he will attain the age of 21 years. A contract entered into by an infant is voidable oa his coming of age, and if he were to decide then that he would not serve any longer, it would be unfair to the master to have led ",i.u." K» wt t-o hnt1' tho h.H.t1t. of allOther year's service. Âlluther suùstantial objection is that our correspondent would be liable to an action for damages if his covenant for faithful service by his son (the apprentice) should be broken. INTESTACY.—" R. W, F." (Cathays) is informed that the widow is entitled to letters of administration, and after payment of funeral expenses, costs of administration, and debts, she will ba entitled to half the balance of the personal estate for her own benefit, and must pay the other half to-the father of the intestate, who left no children. SE'l'TLaMENT.—" Lucy (Cardiff) is advised to have her properly settled in the usual way before she is mar- ried. This will make her safe, aud be her protection against any temfitation to dispose of it for speculative or other risky purposes after marriage. It is impos- sible to foresee what may happen but, with a proper settlement and suitable trustees, she will ill any event be out of danger of having to go into the Workhouse. We hope she will not be shocked at our suo\Jvstin" the possibility of such a catastrophe. :1!i.'Hl,)' who have begun life with prospects as bright as, or brighter than, her own ended their days in that gloomy mansion. In giving her distasteful advice, we are her true friend. UNSTAMPED RECEIPT,—"A Constant Reader" (Pont- iottyn) is informed that any person who signs an Ull- ^V:V"'ol' iC2 or upwards is liable to a penalty Of tiO. The original receipt may be sent t the Com- nnsstonersof I tdand Revenue, Somerset Ho use, London, W.C., with a letter explaining the facts, and that though a stamped receipt was asked for it. Was refused. If the iequest has not been made it must be made before communicating with the Commissioners. The person who receives the money has to pay for lhe stamp. A copy of the receipt should be kept when t he original is sent away. TAX ON DIVIDENDS.—If the income of IN, p ( (Iaft's Well) from all sources is under cCi53 per annum 1 lie may get the money returned on making apolication on forms which will be given to him by the surveyor ( of taxes in whose district fit- resides; but the inc Jme tax must be deducted from the dividends in the first instance. GROUND GAME.—" Leo" (Trefgarne) must not do what he proposes. He may shoot the hares upon his farm I at any time between the commencement of the last j hour beiowi sunrise and the expiration of the first hour < after sunset. Would not the evening hour (feeding time) be invaluable to him? He must bs careful to discontinue before the hour after sunset expires. He may also within the same hours kill hares in any other i sportsmanlike way, as by coursing. He must not use i spring-traps, except in rabbit holes, nor employ poison for reducing the head of game. CREDITOR AND BILL OF SALE. IOU" (Llandovery) might get judgment in an act ion,and then he would be in a position to pay off the bill of sale holder and sell the goods; but it would not be prudent to do this unless there would clearly be a surplus. He cannot at present insist upon an account. When it becomes necessary to have the auctioneer's books produced, the. date must be given within certain limits, as nearly as can be ascertallled, There are some suspicious cireum- stances about the family compact which resulted in the giving of the bills of sale. It is a proper case for a solicitor, as difficult legal questions may have to be discussed. BILL OF SALE.—" A. F. G-. (Cardiff) is clearly liable to prosecution for obtaining money by false pretences. Or the money lender may sue him for principal and interest due. DAMAGED GOODS.—if A." (Swansea) returned the goods immediately, he has a good defence for any action which may be brought against him for the price thereof. He was not bound to accept damaged goods when he required perfect ones. NOTICE TO QUIT.—" D. W." (Brecon)is informed that the notice was quite sufficient if he is a Michaelmas tenant. There is no harm in serving a notice two or three days before the regular time but if it be served after quarter day it is useless. As a year's notice has been given to him, we assume that he is entitled to the benefit of the Agricultural Holdings Act, which must be remembered when the valuation is made. HOURS FOR MAKRIAGE.—'• J. D." (Pontypridd) is in- formed that by the Marriage Act, 1823, marriages after banns or by ordinary licence are required to be solem- nised between the hours of eight in the morning and twelve at noon; but this does not apply to marriages by special licence. A Bill was introduced into Parlia- ment last year for extending the hours, but it got crowded out. It is said that the limitation was en- acted because people were more frequently sober in the forenoon than in the afternoon and if that were the reason the practice might well be altered now. SALE OF BREAD.—" Baker" (Pentyrch) is informed that the Act of Parliament does not regulate the price of bread nor the size of the loaf but it does require bread to be sold by weight. This is for the protection of pur- chasers against "slIlallloaf bakers, who are not quite unknown in the trade. N CONSTRUCTION or WILL.—" Olivia (Maesteg), by her second marriage, has forfeited all her rights to and Power over the°property which by the will of her first husband was given to her during her widowhood. She never had power to sell any part of the property. UNPAID LOAN.—"Anxious One" (Pontnewydd) can do nothing more and he has already done more than Was legal. LIABILITY OF GRANDFATHER.— In either of the cases i suggested by" C.A." (Taibach) he could be compelled i to repay the amount expended out of the poor rates for the maintenance of his grandchildren, or part thereof, according to his means. The magistrates in Petty sessions would be the judges as to his ability to Pay. BREWING AND SELLING BEER.—" J. T. W." (Abersychan) j must not brew without a licence; and when he gets a licence to brew he must not sell any of his beer unless he gets a retailer's licence, which could only be obtained after a certificate granted by the magistrates, which would not be granted unless some public need were shown. For brewing without a licence the Penalty is £ 100 and £ 50 for unauthorised sale, with an increasing penalty on repetition. FIRE INSURANCE.—" Inquirer" is advised to take stock once a year, and to keep a'l his books in a fire-proof safe. This would very much facilitate his settling with the insurance company in case of fire. G. od Companies do not raise frivolous objections, but they very properly require some evidence of the amount Of damage done and they are most uncompromising in their endeavours to get persons punished who ry any tricks upon them. We quite agree with our cor- respondent that it would be extremely unwise to run any risk which can be avoided. We cannot recommend any office here. It is often desirable to divide the risk between two or more offices; but this is of no impor- J tance if a really good office be selected. DOMESTIC SERVANT.—"X. Y. Z." (Llanddarog) is in- formed that by custom domestic servants, though hired for a year, are subject to a month's notice on either side. If a servant leaves without gi I ing such notice she forfeits her current wages, but not the wages which had previously become due and payable to her, whether paid or not. MASTER AND SERVANT.—" W. H." (Quaker's Yard) can- not compel his late employer to answer any questions respecting him but if any answers are given which should be injuriously untrue, the master would subject 1 ImuseJf to the rillk. of an action for damages.

CuKRENT AGRICULTURAL TOPICS. (BY AGRICOLA OF THE" FtNLB.") The fact of Mr. Jonathan Peel's Shorthorn cow Casquette having taken a first prize as a fat cow at the Smithfield Club Show, after winning several leading premiums last summer and autumn as a breeding animal, is not looked on with favour by the council of the Royal Manchester, Liverpool, and North Lancashire Agricultural Society, and Mr. H. M. Jenkins, secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society, has been addressed on the subject by one gentleman, who threatens to pro- pose an alteration of the rules of the Royal Agricul- tural Society as soon as he finds fitting opportu- nity. with the view of bringing greater stringency to bear on the disqualification of animals exhi- bited in the breeding classes whose obesity ap- pears to be of marked character. But it is very questionable if the evils of the show-training system are to be put down in this way. Some animals have such a. tendency to put on Hesh that their owners find it a difficulty to keep them in what is termed store condition," even on the commonest food, and this is just the kind graziers think the leading societies ought to encourage. Judges can never tell whether a cow or heifer has been forced to the condition io. which it appears before them, or whether it has acquired flesh naturally. The Jersey Herd Book Committee, appointed at a meeting of breeders, held in the Bristol Royal show- yard in 1878, for the special object of bringing out a chronicle of pedigree Jersey cattle, met on Jan 8, and resolved that, having executed the task they were appointed to perform, they would issue a full report of what they had'done and resign the trust reposed in them with a recommendation that a Jersey Herd Buck Society should at once be established, on the same basis as the Shorthorn and other societies of a like nature, to carry on the publication of the Herd Book from time to time, as required. The two handsome volumes which have been issued-every Jersey breeder will desire to possess himself of, for, as the report truly states, it is scarcely possible to find in any work so many facts concerning the breed both on the island and in this country, and so much informa- tion from the earliest period regarding it, as may be found in these two volumes." As regards the number of animals chonicled, there are 973 bulls in Vol. 1, and 852 cows and 321 additional bulls appear in Vol. 2. The compilation was made by Mr. John Thornton, the almost world-renowned Shorthorn auctioneer, and the critical investiga- tions involved an amount of research which most men would have shrunk from. That the Jersey breeders feel their deep indebtedness to Mr. Thorn- ton is very evident from the paragraph before quoted, and well they may, for, in addition to the labours just glanced at, his History of the Breed from the Earliest Records contained in the first volume, and the paper on the" Management of a. Jersey Herd," also from his pen, in the second volume, impart, all the information a young breeder can possibly require. Looking at tho future, it will now be comparatively easy to form a Herd BiJOk Society on a permanent basis, to continue the chronicle begun, and promote the interests of the breed in every legitimate way, and it can scarcely be doubted that the needful organi- sation to carry out this object will at once be com- menced. Dairy records are valuable. In the British Dairy Farmers' Association Journal for 1881 appeared a chronicle of the respective milk yields of 60 of Mr. fisdall's most famous milkers, and the large annual productions of some of them formed the topic of considerable discussion at a meeting of the London farmers' Club subsequently, when the point was thoroughly enforced that the periodical testings of the milk yields of cows are just as necessary as carefully chronicled statistics show- ing the realisations from particular fields and crops. Last year a £ 50 cup was offered at the show of the British Dairy Farmers' Association for the best dairy record, and it was won by Mr Hosley, the manager of Lord Braybrooke's Jersey herd, and of his other farming concerns at Audley End, Essex. This gentleman has sent me a very full statement, or the butter, as well as milk, yields of Lord Braybrooke's Jerseys for a week and also for the year. Statistics have also been afforded me by him on several other interesting matters which he has elucidated by his testings, such as the per- centage of cream from the milk of the entire herd for every week in 1882, and the quantity of butter to a gallon of milk and milk to a pound of butter, in comparison with its cream percentage. The analysis of the milk and butter yields shows that the twenty cows and heifers of which the herd con- sists gave 2,017qts. of milk in the aggregate during 1882, from which 283ib. of butter and 1.710qts. of skim milk were derived. The weekly average from each animal, taking the period the cows and heifers were in profit, amounted to 46qts. of milk, or 6|lb. of butter, and 39qts. of skim milk; while the averages debited against them every week in the year were 38qts. of new milk, or 5 £ lb. of butter and 32nts. of skim-milk, per animal per week, Mr. Hosley also accompanies his figures with a full statement of how the animals were fE;il, which, of course, is neudful to enable aCCulate conclusions to be formed as to the merits of the animals. Con- sidering that they receive artificial food all the year round in tolerably large quantities, their realisations are m no respect surprising. However, the moral may at least be drawn that artificial food ought to be given to dairy cows when in profit far mo!'e generally thf1n IS the case at present, inas- much as no course of husbandry appears to be nin^tim ^lneHtiVe' M' Hosle>' varies dietry nine timts in the course ot the year, and I could if necessary, give them ail, but perhaps it will be surticient to quote two, just to show what teeuing is in the depth of winter and in the height of summer. From January 1 to February 19 it consists of peck of bean-meal, 3 pecks of grains. i peck of malt dust. 2 pecks of chaff, 81b. of hay, 101b. of carrots per day, with a run of from two to tour hours on grass. From July 10 to August 20, 8th of a peck of bean-meal, tth of a peck crushed oats, 1 peck of chaff, 1 £ peck of grains, with 20 hours on grass. The park at Audley End, on which these Jerseys feed, although noted for sweet mild herbage, is not deemed a/Buent in production, and tt may bo taken as a sure rule that the poorer pastures are the more artificial food dairy cows feeding on them ought to receive. An intelligent dairy-farm occupier not long since stated in a con- troversy that he could not afford to feed his pastures without the employment of artificial food, is he considered it would be the height of extrava- gance to do so. In the respective quantities of milk yielded both shorthorns and Ayrshires are often found to equal if not surpass Jerseys. Youatt in his work on Jat-tle mentions an instance of a Shorthorn cow lelonging to Mr. Calvert, of Sandysike, near Brampton, which was accustomed to yield 28 quarts of milk per day about Midsummer, and average nearly 20 quarts per day for 20 weeks, and 3731b. of butter was realised from her in 32 weeks. Many of the old Shorthorns were accustomed to uilk- as much as 8 gailons of milk per day when in tullprofit, and Mr. Whitaker, of Greenholme, near 3tley, tho contemporary and friend of Thomas Bates, once had two which exceeded that quantity As for Ayrshires, Mr. Alonzo Libby, an American farmer, has recently given a record almost as com- alete as that of Mr. Hosley, and his artificial 'ceding consists of four quarts of bran and 11 quart of cotton-seed meal and corn meal each per dav. A Thn R f°i the impoIted cow Queen of Ayi (1,786 A. R.), beginning September 1, 1875 when she was ten years old. and for such of her calves as have come to milk sin™ fh»n September 1, 1832. Tiie old cow gave for six vears Following September 1, 1875, an average of 9,40+ilb Av^13rd eft f b«ng 9'7751a Queen Ayr oia (M64-), from September 1. 1877 to an^T vLir 18f' gT an ;Jvei'ilt,'o of 8,8101b. of 7 8471b geSt 9'2901b"! tallest, Avr '& <4 iU'St CalL «ueen Ayi 1th (4,4o5), from .September 1, 1878 to September 1,1882, gave an average of 9 24351b • 7'926»>° «two jCr.' P'T" ,°f 'r 5,th fro'« September 1, *P1Umber1i' 1882' gave an average of 9,4641b.; highest yield, 10,8011b.; smallest, 7,9811b., at two ycarsotd. Queen of Ayr 6th (4,881), from September 1,1880, to September 1,1882, gave an average of 8,439 £ lb. for the two years first year, as a two-year-old, 7,8901b.; second year, 8,9891b. The above statement contains the respective realisations in pounds, which will prevent the reader from making a ready comparison with those of the Jerseys alluded to above, which were in nmvr^ TV1 "la-v b,° nen'8S:l!T to state that the cow in Lord Braybrooke's herd, which <*ave mo-e of theea otf 9'18h81b' °f pmUk k8t every one ot the others being far below Mr. Libbv's remarkahi that tllere are quite as Avr^hht Prodigies in the Jersey ranks as in the mlv f any other bl'Ged. attention n t»« J1 to a declaration made by a breeder I y* twh&nd Gazette, not long since, by a Jersey breeder who had tested the milk and butter yieias ot his two cows, "Gold Trinket" and eauty of Jersey," for every dav during one ee| £ *tle iormer had cmlved over a month when le test was applied, but her week's production was 64-Olb. 12oz. of milk, from which 161b. 2oz. of butter was made, while Beauty of Jersey," in the second week after calving, yielded 2081b. 15oz. of milk, the butter of which proved to be 1.91b. 2oz. Dairy farmers should insist on having their cows milked perfectly clean, as there cannot be the slightest doubt many a good milcher has been spoiled through the neglect of the milker in not draining the udder perfectly clean every time of milking. Although perfectly well known that the latest strippings contain most cream, I never recollect that the proportions of fat to milk in the first and last milkings haye been directly compared Md pointed out. Mr. Hosley has, however, taken the trouble to do this, and from his statistics I find that the percentage of cream in the last quarter pint of milk proved in all cases double that of the intire, and from five to eight times as much as was found in the first quarter of a pint in the milking thus in one case the percentages stood as B-2 for the first quarter pint, 40'1 the last, and 15-8 the entire yield, and in another 5-8, 33 5, and 15 5.

FARMERS AND RENTS. The Echo, in a leading article on agricultural depression, says:—The exceptional losses of the farmers during the last decade have been due to four causes—bad crops, bad prices, higher rents, md higher wages, which have amounted on an average, if Mr. Giffen is right, to £42,000,000 a year. If it be assumed that a third of this loss has been borne by landlords, which is extremely doubtful, the income of the tenantry as a class would still have decreased from £52,000,000 to S24,000,000 a year. It is not surprising, therefore that many of them are already ruined, and that many more are living upon capital which is rapidly becoming smaller. It is to be hoped that iooner or later sunny summers will return. There I is no good reason to suppose that the climate o, the United Kingdom has changed, though soml may be tempted to think it has. A period marked by a succession of bad years is no new thing in the history of English agriculture. What is new is to have bad prices along with bad seasons. It may sound paradoxical to assert it. but, 8S a writer in the new number of the Edinburgh Review shows, the years of plenty in the olden times were years of agricultural distress; the years of scarcity" were years of agricultural prosperity. Take an illustration given by Mr. Tuke in his History of Prices." Land which, in a good year, produced 33 bushels of wheat, worth 6s. a bushel, or £9 18s., in a bad year might, produce 22 bushels, worth 18s. a bushel, or £19 16s. The illustration is put in the most exaggerated form, but the argument is correct. The loss of the nation was the gain of a class, but the farmer is no longer able to look with' equanimity upon shrunken crops. 1879 was the' worst of the many bad years we have had of late but in that year, thanks to the enormous importa- tions of American wheat, the price of wheat was' lower than it had been for 30 years. Yet, though we hear of permanent reductions of rent being made here and there, the farmers are still required to pay the major portion of the £5,000,000 added to their rents during the years of plenty which immediately preceded the years of famine. There must, therefore, be a general reduction of rent if the farmer is to thrive. v

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN FARMING. There appears to be no good reason to supposa that American competition in breadstuns will last for ever on the same conditions as at present. The American farmers, in fact, according to the American Miller, which should be an authority &Iii such a subject, are simply killing their goose. Year by year the best lands are more and mots taken up and the wheat crop is propoitwsnateljf increased, but the system of cultivation a positively ruinous to the soil. Year after yeair wheat is cropped off the same land. The cokrofr- tion is of the most superficial character, aawt nothing is given back to the soil. A time muafc come when American farmers will have to manure their soil in the same way as English fawners lbftve to do, and then it will be impossible for them 110 raise wheat at present prices. Immense tracts of former wheat land have been, perforce, turned to other crops, and a system of rotation is gradually being introduced. America will always be a. larg-e wheat-producing country, perhaps the largest iw the world, but American farming will in the next half-century have to undergo a. radical ehangje of system, which will tend to equalise the conditions of production in the old countries and the naw.

THE LITTLE HLÅai Cow." T The Live Stock Journal says:—Year by year ttha value of the hardy deep-milking thrifty black Welsh cattle is becoming more fiuity realised, anch: especially upon poor cold farms. There i&no pure breed which for all-round good properties can be found to compete with them. JEven under more' favourable conditions those who kiy the founda- tion of their milking herd with these cows, and! use really well-bred dairy Shorthorn sires, will in at generation or two possess a. herd of cattle much- superior in thrift, in constitution and milking qualities, to any other. The Welsh is a good feeder,. and can be fed to a great weight—witness tfees heifer first as a yearling at the late Dairy Show, which sold at £58 to kill—and crosses admirably with other pure breeds if required. Some day well-selected herds (not pampered so as to lose their hardihood and constitution) will be sure to repay the attention of those who appreciate the good qualities of the little black cow."

NITROGEN IN ARABLE LAND. Some results of importance to farmers have been lately acquired by M. Dehérain fom seven years' observations on an experimental farm. He finds that the loss of combined nitrogen in a soil that is ploughed every year is not due exclusively to removal by crops. Moreover, it is more consider- able the more abundant the manure supplied, and it ceases when the soil is maintained in the state of artificial meadow instead of being ploughed annually. The mode of cultivation adopted has more iniluence on the richness of the soil than the deductions of crops and the additions of manure. The following conclusions are formulated:—(1.) The losses of nitrogen in arable land are due not merely to the requirements of the crops, but also, and in greater part, to the oxidation of the nitro- genised organic matter; they are more con- siderable the more numerous the dressings required. (2.) When the ground is not moved, but kept as natural or artificial meadow, the air penetrates It less easily, the combustions in it are less active, and the gains of nitrogen exceed the losses. (3.) Hence a farmer will more easily enrich his soil in nitrogen by keeping it meadow than by copious applications of manure.

POTATO MANURE. The following extract is taken from the Irish Agricultural Almanack, edited by Professor Bddwin, of Dublin, so well known in connection with Irish agriculture, and with the management of the model farm at Glasnevin :—It is singular that while this crop occupies so large a feature in the agricultural industry of this country, very little attention has been paid by Irish farmers to the manures best suited to its growth. It has been found that potash enters very largely into the composition of its ash constituents. It is, therefore, reasonable to expect that potash should form a component part of any special manure applied to the potato. We have repeatedly made experiments in the growth of this crop, and invariably found potash useful. On ordinary land in which potatoes have been exten- sively grown, potash, or a manure rich in potash, produces a very striking effect the first time it in applied. If any further experiencas were required to confirm this view, it would be found in the fact that sea-weed, which contains a large quantity of potash, is an excellent manure for potatoes. It is used extensively for this crapalana t.h» sntiiv sea* board of Ireland. And not only is the crop preMf ac- tive there, but it has been freer from disease than in inland districts in which other manures have been used. Five hundredweights of bone super- phosphate of lime, five hundredweights of genuine Lcopoldshall kainit, and one-and-a-half hundred- weight of nitrate of soda, per acre, make a good artificial mixture for the potato crop.

THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF AT BROMSGROVE. On Tuesday there was a large gathering of clergy, gentry and ladies at the Grammar School of King Edward VI., Bromsgrove, on the occasion of the opening of a new hall, library, and othei buildings, erected by subscriptions for the accom- modation of the increased number of pupils at the school. The company included the Lord Bishop of Worcester the Ven. Archdeacon Lewis, Bishop- designate of Llandaff; the head-masters of Birmingham, Canterbury, and Uppingham Schools, the local clergy of Worcester, the patrons of the school, and others. The proceedings commenced with service in the school chapel, when an appro- priate sermon was preached by the Rev. G. J. Blore, of Canterbury, late head-master of tha school. The company then adjourned to the new hall, and in welcoming the old Bromsgrovians Mr. H. Millington, the head-master, specially welcomed the Ven. Archdeacon Lewis, the newest Bishop 3n the Bench, an old Bromsgrovian, was now received in his old school the first words of welcome, expressions which were received with liaarty applause. Mr. Millington gave the history of the new Bishop, and the new buildings were then- declared open by the Bishop of Worcester. Archdeacon LEWIS, who was received most heartily, was called upon to address the company. Ho said he responded with great pleasure to tha call to address a few words in behalf of the Old Bromsgrovians, becauso his presence had given him the opportunity of witnessing the gratifying proceedings of that most interesting occasion. The invitation from Mr. Milhngton reached him it the time when he was overwhelmed with the contemplation of the responsi- bility of the great and important work he had just undertaken, and he thought, with that responsibility resting upon him, he could not iccept the invitation, but it presented to him the prospect of such intense pleasure that he soon accepted it. (Loud applause.) The pleasure he had derived was threefold. He had the pleasure of visiting the old school in which he had passed four years and a half of the best time of his life; next, he had the pleasure of shaking hands with many of his old friends; and thirdly, he had the pleasure of witnessing the marks of great improvements in the school which he had seen that dav. (Applause.) It was just forty years ago that month since he came a boy of fourteen to that school, and when he told them that there were only fifteen boys in the school, that there were then only-five studies, and all the furniture they possessed was a deal table and a chair, they would see what a marked improvement there was I in the school. There was then no beautiful cbapel in which to meet and worship God such as they had now, and that they would see was anothee sign of improvement since 40 years ago. The opening of the new building that day showed signs of advancement which were cheering and delightful, and he was persuaded that this was the beginning of another year of prosperity for the dear old school. (Loud ap- plause.) He had already briefly alluded to the life before him, and he would conclude by asking them all—the boys as well as the elders-to think of him in their prayers. The Bishop concluded amidst hearty cheers, and departed to catch a train for London. Several other speakers addressed the assem- blage, and the proceedings then terminated.

A MISSING CARDIFF STEAMER. A Press Association telegram says :—The: Waterford Coal Company's steamer Lord Cardigan, which left Cardiff for Waterford over nine days ago, has not yet arrived. Two other of the com- pany's steamers which left Cardiff some days later have reached Waterford.

ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINT- MENTS. We learn that the Rev. J. W. Wynne-Jones, vicai of Aberdare, and son-in-law of Lord Aberdare, has been appointed to the living of Lampeter-Velfrey. The Rev, E. Stephens, Penygraig, and previous to that of Gilfachgoch, has accepted the in- cumbency of St. John the Baptist's Church, Tony- refail, the former vicar having accepted the living of Caerwent.

A STEAMER ON FIRE AT HONG KONG. I Lloyd's agent at Hong-Kong telegraphed on Saturday that the Carisbrook, steamer, of Singa- pore, took fire in port at Hong-Kong, and wa4- scuttled in 18ft. of water