Weekly Mail

CARDIFF GAS-LIGHT AND COKE CU.IiP ANY. The ninety-fifth half-yearly meeting of the pro- prietors of this company was held in the board- room at the company's offices on Wednesday, Mr. C. H. Williams, the chairman of the directors, pre- siding. The notice convening the meeting having been read by the secretary, the report of the direc- tors and statement of accounts for the half-year ending the 30th of June, 1884, were taken as read. -Divi(tends at, the rate of £ 10 per cent. per annum on the A" Stock, X8 per cent. per annum on the B" Stock, and X7 per cent. per annum on the C" Stock and Shares (1870) were declared payable on the 28'h inst.—The price of gas was reduced 2d. per 1,000 cubic feet to all consumers; also a reduction in the charge for public lamps, to take effect from the 30th ot June last.—The thanks of the meeting were voted to Mr. Morley, the engineer, and Air. Stibbs, the secretary also to the chairman and directors for their attention to the interests of the corn^ay.

CARMARTHENSHIRE FARMERS' I CLUB. I ADDRESS ON HORSE ftEEDINCT. An ordinary quarterly gathering of the Carmar- thenshire Farmers' Club was held in the long room of the Castle Hotel, Llandovery, on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. D. T. Morris, Ferryside, the presi- dent for the year, in the chair. He was supported by MessrsJ. W. Jones, barrister, YsLrad Morgan, Llwyn; Dr. Hopkins, Carmarthen Lewis, Gurry Manor E. Seymour Jones, London John Francis, Carmarthen and about 50 other members. Mr. Geo. Jones, Gormouth, occupied the vice-chair. Prior to the general gathering of the members a meeting of the Executive Committee was held, at which the threatened resignation of the secretary (Mr. W. W. Prosser) was considered. After some consultation, the committee refused to accept the resignation, and Mr. Prosser ultimately agreed to continue in the position, which he has held for many years. The following gentlemen were elected as new members of the club, viz.:—Mr. J. E.Rees, Bel- mont, Llandovery Mr. E. Seymour Jones, London and Mr. Watkins, the Brewery, Llandovery. The PRESIDENT said he had no doubt the members missed a very familiar face at their meeting that day—that of Mr. John Lewis Philipps, of Bolahaul, and they probably all knew the reason was the death of his very excellent son. He asked them to join him, as a society, in expressing sympathy with the father, family, and widow of the deceased in the time of this their extremely great trouble. Mr. LEWIS (Gurry Manor) seconded the motion, which was supported by Mr. Morgan (Llwyn). and carried unanimously. A somewhat lengthy paper was read by Mr. J. T. PHILLIPS, of Llanegwad, a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, on The Breeding of Horses." Mr. Phillips remarked with reference to the judging of horses at agricultural exhibitions that it was becoming common to show yearlings and two and three year olds, a practice which was often prejudicial to the interests of the adult animal. It was natural for judges to award prizes to the best developed colts, forgetful for the time that early maturity and pampering in young horses was simply an evidence of over- feeding, whereby a predisposition to disease and premature decay were engendered. The accumu- lation of useless fat, without which it was igno- rantly considered no animal could be in show condition, proved that activity, beauty of limb, physical strength, and capacity for endurance had been sacrificed for a development, not only unprofitable, but absolutely pernicious. The tendency to accumulate fat in early life should be the last thing to aim at for an animal whose destiny was work. He i-o- commended farmers and horse breeders to keep good mares, and not to dispose of them because they could get a good price when there happened to be a demand. Inferior and under-bred horses were always a drug in the market and were always liable to ill-treatment. Bad horses were the result of ill-mating or the progeny of unsound parents. Farmers in hill districts required for their purpose a compact horse, not exceeding fifteen or sixteen hands high, and their best method for improving the breed was crossing, by the introduction of the English shire horse or the Suffolk stallion, In some districts it had been the custom to introduce the Suffolk, in order to obtain active, clean-legged horses for farm work, but after some time it was dis- covered that this attainment was attended with loss of bone. Therefore, in districts where bony and heavy, hairy-legged horses were required, tlu English shire should be retained. It was certain that the offspring of a cross alliance would inherit qualities superior to one parent and inferior to the other. It was, therefore, necessary for breeders before adopting a practice so influential in its consequence, to duly consider what qualification they desired to obtain, and fully estimate the probable effect. of extraneous blood. Speaking on the subject of in-and-in breeding, the lecturer re- marked that consanguineous unions amongst man- kind, so offensive to morality as they are disas- trous in their results, did not appear to be so contrary to the natural decrees which govern the brute creation. In-and-in breeding, instead of favouring progressive degeneration, had been practised with eminently successful results for the establishment and conservation of new and improved breeds of domesticated animals. Its utility was very marked in cases where certain especial quaiities were possessed by but few indi- viduals, and attained by them in an unknown manner. The practice, however, should never be adopted carelessly, nor except in necessary and particular cases for, when prosecuted to any con- siderable extent in animals having a family delect, most unsatisfactory results were likely to follow. Predisposition to even very trivial imperfections of form or health became so intensified in the off- On spring ot consanguineous unions that many successive generations of the alliance might be afflicted. In the choice of stallions, it was not wise to attach so much importance to the animal himself as the quality of his stock, and in this case it was better to choose one of the offsprings resembling the sire rather than the dam. Too much importance was often at- tached by some to horses which were fat and sleek, but that was seductive. A stallion which was fat and sleek, rounded in all parts, and which owed the brilliancy of his form to high feeding, thereby hid many deficiencies from the eye of the ordinary public. It was best to see such horses at work. The best time for mares to breed was from four years up to sixteen. Subject to certain influences, the alliance of strong young mares with aged and robust stallions was the most certain method of obtaining a yearly production of good foals. At the conclusion of the paper, discussion was invited; but, carrying out the tactics which were observed during the luncheon and whilst Mr. Phillips was (ieliveriiig his address, certain mem- bers occupying places near the vice-chair were frequently and most violently interrupting the proceedings. The Chairman called for order several times, but all to no purpose, as it appeared a few individuals were bent upon creating con- fusion. Mr. LEWIS, of Gurry Manor, said he had endea- voured for a long time to get the committee to consent to have one quarterly meeting in the year held at Llandovery but lie was now sorry that lie had done so, seeing the great disturbance which had taken place that day. Unless there was better behaviour at the subsequent meetings they would give up holding meetings at Llandovery alto- gether. Mr. LOCKYER, Ferryside, said he had been a mem- ber of the club for many years, and was now a member of the committee; and he had always opposed going further away from Carmarthen than Llaudilo. He was convinced that quite two- thirds of the members lived in the neighbourhood of Carmarthen and downwards. He had never attended a meeting which had been so reck- less as this one before. It was a difficult matter for the secretary and committee to induce members to get up and bring for- ward subjects for discussion at their meetings, and he should be glad if some of the gentlemen who had spoken so much that day would bring forward subjects instead of going there to taik° a lot of rubbish. Mr. HOPKINS, tanner, Llandovery, hoped the club would not think that the persons who interrupted represented the place generally. He thought the vice-chairman himself had been a little out of order, and he was not from Llandovery. Mr. PRICE, Plasderwen, asked the society to think better of the proceedings that day, and not withdraw from Llandovery altogether. A great many persons at Llandovery and the neighbour- hood supported the club, and he was very sorry that his young friends had interrupted. Mr. LL. LEWIS, Llandovery, got up from near the vice-chaii man, and was about to speak, but was called to order by the chairman, who said lie had asked him to sit down many times. A Member: Where's the chucker-out? Mr. MORGAN, Llwyn, Llandovery, said he felt sincerely sorry for the most disgraceful proceed- ings of that day. The club had never been accus- tomed to such behaviour. A handful of people had made a great row, and the honest farmers had not been able to do anything. Mr. LocKiEK, Ferryside, pointed out that their recognised chairman was the Rev. R. Gwynn Lawrence, of Middleton Hall, but he was not pre- sent, and another member, unauthorised, had oc- cupied the vice-chair. The proceedings shortly afterwards terminated.

DISPUTE AS TO A PRIZE CUP. A REMARKABLE JURY. Considerable interest was felt in a. case heard at Exeter Castle on Tuesday, and tho result, caused some amusement. The plaintiff was Mr. Brendon, of Bude, and the defendant Mr. Malcolm M'Coll, of Teignmouth. The real question was as to the ownership of a cup, given by the City of Exeter at the County Agricultural Show. The plaintiff entered his horse, Nobleman, in the heavy weight hunter class, and was awarded a £10 prize. The defendant offered X,180 for the horse, and this was accepted, but all risk was to be with the plaintiff until the close of the show, two days later. Previous to the sale Nobleman had been entered for a special prize, which was awarded him, at the latter part of the show, and after the deal be- tween the parties. The plaintiff contended that as the horse was entered for this cup previous to the sale, and as the animal remained in the exhibi- tion at his risk until the close of the exhibition, the cup was his, and it was now in the hands of his agent. The defendant, however, contended that the winnings of the horse subsequent, to the sale passed to him with the animal. When Mr. Pitt Lewis was about to open the defendant's case the jury intimated that there was no necessity for this, as their minds were made up. The idea of every- one who heard this intimation was that the jury were in favour of a verdict for the defendant, but to the evident surprise of the judge and counsel they gave a verdict for the plaintiff. Mr. Pitt Lewis complained that the course pursued by the jury was unusual, and that they had acted unfairly in stopping him and giving a verdict against his client without hearing his case. The foreman gave reasons for their verdict, and upon these reasons the judge ruled that in point of law the verdict could not be sustained, and he, therefore, granted a new trial, adding that the jury had un- doubtedly misled everyone.

\v KT.KLY RETCRX OF BlLl.5 OF SALE AXD FAILURES. In the week endin- August 16, 1884, there were 183 bills of sale in England and Wales, a decrease of lo over those of the corresponding period last year; and the failures gazetted num- bered 53, a decrease of 137. Totals for the portion of year to August 16, 1884, are bills of sale registered for England and Wales, 7,024, a decrease of 777; the failures gazetted number 2,384 a decrease, of 4,421.—Extract from Stall lis' Weekly Gazette.

I LETTERS TO LOCAL LEADERS. [BY PLAIN SPEAKER.] XO, I.—MR. LEWIS WILLIAMS, OF CARDIFF. MY DEAR ME. LEWIS WILLIAMS,— At a meeting of the Cardiff Liberal Association, over which you presided, on Tuesday night, the question of a projected Liberal Club was undei -o, consideration. I find it reported that on that occasion you li explained the course that had been taken to meet the conscientious scruples of the I friends of temperance, and as one of the tempe- ranee party declared that its views and objections had been very fully met by the promoters of the club so as to ensure perfect harmony among the Liberal party." As this statement appears in what you yourself describe as the paper that faithfully represents the Liberal party at Cardiff," 1 oresuine it may be accepted as correct and authentic, and tliat the Liberal Club, as now con- stituted, wiii be supported by you and those tee- totalers with whom you act. Now, Mr. Lewis Williams, I shall in this letter, and in others which from time to time I may hnd occasion to write, endeavour to vindicate my right-to the title of plain speaker." I shall call a spade a spade. I shall characterise cant and hum- bug and hypocrisy by their proper names, and I shall not scruple to tear away from those who wear it the mask of religion and philanthropy, behind which is hidden the grinning death's head of sec- tarian jealousy, social envy, and political partisan- ship ot the bitterest and most unscrupulous ,:ha.r;).c (1". As for yourself, you profess to be a conscientious total abstainer. Good. In a free country a man ought to be at liberty to drink or abstain from drinking as lie thinks proper Indeed, it is possible for a man to be a teetotaler and yet make •- living out of manufacturing and vending alcoholic stimulants. There are such rara- aves 's abstaining publicans, and if such persons find 'heir health and their business benefit by abstinence no one can condemn them for adopting the course of life which suits them best, nor charge them ."itl¡ inconsistency. Bat you are something more than a professed abstainer. You seek by legislative means to make other people abstainers also against heir will. You would nut only "rob a poor man of his beer," but ii youcouid have your way you would close every public-house in the United Kingdom by the strong arm of the law. We have seen in this iistrict a sample of your handiwork in the closing f the public-houses upon Suudav. That measure —the outcome of a fanaticism on the part of you ind other men like-minded which is only paral- leled by the stupidity, and apathy, aud insensi- bility to freedom in its broadest sense which, I grieve to admit, is one of the failings of the •\ elsli character—has produced a state of things •vhich it is appalling to contemplate. It has argely increased the vice of Sunday drunkenness. ;nd, what is even worse, has placed targe classe-3 f the community in an attitude of hostility to In impracticable law, which they either lefy or secretly evade. It is bad enough: hat this law should have resulted in 1 substantial increase of intemperance on Sun- lays it is infinitely worse that it should have pro- tuccd, as it has done every Sunday in Wales, tens, iiot hundreds, of thousands of breakers of a law vhich, as it is a direct violation of their personal ibort-y, fails to appeal fctt support to their con- sciences, or to the general instinct of right and wrong in the breast ot the community. Complete as the failure of the Sunday Closing Act has proved, it was, nevertheless, until recently .'■ossible for the charitably disposed to believe that its promoters, however mistaken they might have oeen in their views, were at all events moved bv •onscieutious impulses. Alas, that notion can no iotiger be entertained. The action which vou and your fellow-teetotalers in Car- lilt" have taken in supporting the new Li!>eral Club has entirely dissipated whatever oeiief might otherwise have been reposed in your eonsistency and fidelity tc a philanthropic convic- tion. Wiiat are the facts about this new Liberal Club ? There has been erected for its use a palatial ouilding on a costly site, fitted regardless of ex- pense, and which. I presume, will be furnished as luxuriously as the Conservative Ciub, of which it the copy and outcome. The rent, rates, uixes- the interest on and depreciation of the furniture' :110 lighting and warming, the supply of books, newspapers, and stationery, and the provision of in adequate staff of servants to keep the place in order, will involve an annual expenditure of a large sum or .money — larger, I venture to say, twice over than can possibly be by the subscriptions of the .uembers, even should the number joining it be as la-, ge as the number who support the rival political ,-lub 111 Hope-street. This is found to be the case with all clubs, even with those that impose a con- siderable entrance fee and a subscription of three •r five times the amount which it is proposed to •harge for membership in the new Liberal Club. Your suosrjption is to be :t guiuea a year. Now, -veil it you could secure a thousand members their united contributions would not defray the ex- penses I have indicated above. How, then, is the deficiency to be met? I answer by asking another question—How is it met iu other clubs? You know as well as I do that the incume necessary to support a well-appointed club is obtained to a great e.,cLeniL to the extent cl at least one;-ha,if- from the prof;t that is made by the sale of intoxi- jating drinks and the sums that are received from the card tables and the billiard-room. And yet,! with this knowledge, you do not hesitate to say that the views and objects ci the temperance party have been very fully met by the promoters of the club," In other w ords, you are a party to running this club as a drinking house on the co- operative principle, the non-drinking members to share the benefits purchased by the profits of the drinking and gambling section. J d m tojd thai you arc the originator of some verbal quibble, of some rogulatlve hocus-pocus, by which, whilst deriving all the advantages of the club, you reconcile it to your conscience that you are not actually a participator io the tap-room business which will be conducted in your fine new pre- mises at the corner of Custom House-street. } h This is exactly whc the hypocrisy comes in. If I iin rightly informed, the club viil consist- of two sections—"members" and The members" are to be, so to speak, a sort of scapegoat to carry the sins of liquor-selling which the club will commit upon their heads into the wilderness, whilst the" subscribers" will < comfort themselves with the notion that vicarious atonement has been made by their loss scrupulous brethren for tho sins which the club as a body may have committed. That a cood sound Radical, especially when lie superadds to that character fanatical teato-tali-m and religious sanctimoniousness, should be able lJy such poor subterfuges to palter with his con- science is not at all astonishing to the ordinary man of the world. But what is astonish- i n;, is that you and those who think with you should imagine that we worldlings cannot see through your flimsy hypocrisies, and that we dare not denounce them as mean and paltry evasions of the commonest obligations of truth and honesty. Believe me, Mr. Lewis Williams, that in philanthropic and religious and political, as well as purely business, concerns honesty is the best policy. But—and this is the gravamen of my charge against- you-it is not honest for you to shut up by iegal enactment the } public-house—the poor man's club—on the plea that drink is a curse, and then, on the site of Mr. John Matthews's former residence, open a rival drinking shop, where it will be possible for the membc.,rs," as distinguished from tho" suh- scribers," to procure drink to any extent at all hours of the day and night. It is not honest for you in your class meetings, in your Sunday Schools, and in your chapels to denounce the vice of gambling—for you, in your social circles, to taboo the innocent card, and describe it as the devil's prayer book, whilst at the same ti:ne the club to which you belong is taking its toll of card money and counting, at each week's end, the receipts of the tables from pool, and pyramids, and billiards. I have only just one more remark to make for your edification before I ciov, what I trust you will at all events consider a faithful, if not a flattering, epistle. You are reported at Tuesday's meeting to have described the South h ales jjauy News as a paper that faithfully represented the Liberal pai-tn, at Cardiff." Yet at the very time when you passed that encomium upon this charac- teristic specimen of Scotch journalism you knew that it was a living instance of the very hypocrisy of which this Liberal Club arrangement is such an admiraDle example. You and your fellow- religionists in South W ales—and you are never tired of telling us that four-fifths of the inhabi- tants of the Principality are Nonconformists—de- claim against gambling as one of the crying vices of the age. God knows, there is enough mischief and misery wrought by this pernicious custom in the very town in which you reside. Not tens or twenties, but hundreds,not to say thousands of young men of all classes of society in Cardiff are fascinated Lhv t ha, a ttracLioas of this daneeious Dursa.it. All i your preachings and nraver meetings and Sanda} Schools and love feasts and class meetings an powerless to stem the growing tide. But what religious agencies cannot do the Press, to nc inconsiderable extent,might easily accomplish. How comes it, then,that you describea paper asa faithful representative of the Liberal party which has for the purposes of sordid gain forced upon the com- munity a sporting service which is not only a j direct incentive to, but the most convenient means of, gambling that can possibly be imagined ? In so far as this particular journal pretends to represent the great Nonconformist bodies of South Wales-by whom at their Cymanfa and Associa- tions it is puffed and praised as the only genuine organ of Nonconformity—whilst at the same time it panders to bookmakers and betting men, and for the sake of a miserable pecuniary profit pub- lishes sporting tips and other inducements to gambling—just in so far is it a faithful represen tative of the Liberal party of Cardiff, and at the same time a. by no means distorted reflection.of the peculiar religious and mental condition which you and so many of your friends in Cardiff have attained. In conclusion, allow me, my dear Mr. Williams, to express a hope that what I have written above wilt induce you to re-consider your position, and to bring your public conduct into harmony with your public profession. You will observe that I cast no reflections upon your private character, foi which I have a sincere respect so far as it is known to me. It is with you in your public capacity alone that I deal. And in this respect you, whe criticise others so severely, must submit to bt criticised yourself. Meanwhile, console yoursel' with the reflection-for which we have th< authority of Holy Writ—that "Faithful are tin wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy art deceitful." I am, my dear Mr. Lewis Williams, faithfully yours, PLlN SPEAKER.

LORD HL-TE AXD ELECTRIC LIGHTING. SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS IN A SCOTCH CHURCH. Lord Bute, who has manifested the greatest interest in the development of electricity and I electric lighting, has introduced the new light into the Roman Catholic Church of St. John, built by his lordship at Old Cumnock, Ayrshire, from designs by the late Mr. Burges, R.A.,and very beautifully painted by Westlake. The design is Lord Bute's own, and the wiikle of the work has been carried out under the personal superintendence of Mr. W. H. Massey, of Twyford. Bucks, elect.rical engineer io the Hoyal Palaces. There are in all about 70 glow lamps of 20 candles each, arranged in a series of triangles hung from beams in the arches of the nave and around the sanctuary by means of almost invisible wires. The dynamo steam engine ana boiler are compactly fixed in a small housf only 10it. long by 7it. wide, and the whole instal lation is complete of its kind. It is intended to use the light every morning and ior all the evening services as well.

Tii L- A U IT Y 0 WELSH MUSIC. NEW WORK BY MR. BRINLEY RICHARDS. Mr. Brinlty Richards has done much to elucidate the musical history of the Welsh people, and it is owing largely to his efforts that a more general appreciation of Welsh song has been manifested throughout the country. Mr. Richards has just produced an enlarged collection of national songs, and oil Wednesday the Times reviewed the work in a somewhat apprccia tory manner. It will be of interest to many of our readers to know what the leading London journal has to say on the subject The review is as follows :— The latest addition to Messrs. Boosey's compre hensive collection of national songs is the DeW anc cnnöiderably enlarged collection of Welsh song- for which Mr. Brinley Richards is responsible. Ar editor more competent to deal with this particulai class of music could not have been found. Mr Brinley Richards is an able musician, and one of the tew modern composers who have succeeded ir producing an air which has become part and parcei of the musical life of the people-we are speaking of course, of the national anthem of the Princi- pality, God Bless the Prince of Wales." In addi- tion to this, lie has made the music of his country a matter of serious iiistorical study. Of this fact the interesting preface to the present volume shows ample projf. It deals chiefly with the mooted question of the antiquity of Welsh music, which by its genuine worshippers is upheld with a tenacity peculiar to the Celtic mind. There is, 110 doubt, unimpeachable historic evidence that music of a comparatively developed kind was prac- tised in Wales in the early Middle Ages. As early as 1177 we iiear of a great national festival held by Rhys ab Gruftydd, Prince of South Wales, at hi? Castle of Cardigan, at which, as at a modern Eisteddfod, a singing contest between the bards of the north and the South was R prominent feature of the proceedings, and Giraldus Cambrensis, who isved in the twelfth century, tells us that tht; Welsh do. not sing in unison like the inhabitants of othel countries, but in different parts"—a statement which seems to find further confirmation in the so-called four-and-tweuty games of the Welsh. s one of which consists of singing a song in foui parts with accentuations. Supposing this to be correct, it would no doubt prove a certain know- ledge of harmony at a very early period. But Welshmen are not satisfied with this. According tu ti., m, their forefathers were acquainted, not only with harmony, but also with the art of notation long before the rest of the world. In the library of the Welsh School, now removed to Ashford, there is saiu to oe a curious oiti manuscript containing, besides the" four-and-tweuty games," several pieces i oi- the harp in full harmony, which are supposed to belong to the eleventh century. This belief wascbeer- iuily accepted by the famous Dr. Burney. In his day the science of paJæù;rap1Jy was in its infancy, aud in statements of this kind a century or two made little difference. Not having examined the Ashford manuscript, we cannot say what its characteristics may be, but we may safely assert that if its notation is anything like that now in Use few people out oi Wales will be inclined to be- lieve in its authenticity. This Mr. Brinley Richards himself is fain to acknowledge. He is a Welshman of Welshmen, but he is also a musical historio- grapher with a conscience. His enthusiastic belief expressed iu his earlier editions has given WilY to grave doubts as regards both the age of the Wi-tsh manuscript ana the Congress of Prince Gruftyddat which it is said to have been indited. His concession will, we fear, rouse the ire of patriotic Cyuiru, but it will increase the confidence of stu- dents in Alt. Richards's scholarship and sincerity. Looking at this collection of Welsh songs as a whole one finds that they are rcmarkable rather for melodious charm than for a definite character of their own. A genuine Scotch ditty bears the distinctive stamp of us origin. Mr. Gilbert'# description— It was wild., it va6 fitful, as wild as the breeze, It wandered about into several Rcve. It Wil jerky, spasmodic, and harsh, I'm aware, But stiii it distinctly an air- although intended as a skit on Scotch music, hits the mark correctly. The fitful rhythm, the pre vailing minor keys, the plagal cadences at the con- elusiun-these are peculiarities rarely to be found in folksong snuth of the Tweed. Their origin may, no doubt, be traced to the national in strument, the bagpipe. In Males vocal melody was from the earliest times accompanied by the more civilised harp, or taglin," the derivation of which from a Welsh source is warmly advocated by Mr. Richards on historical and etymological grounds. He lijigiit have added, bearing on the argument, mat Ltle Wall-, Clf the ancient town of Conway are built in the shape of a Welsh harp. Certain it is that many of the ditties in this book, as tar as internal evidence is concerned, might just as well be English as Welsh. It is possible, however, that many characteristics of the original tunes have been rubbed oft in the successive stages of modernisation. fhere are, lwwcver, exceptiull to the rule, as, for example, the beautiful Lamerit Y Galon Di-oiii" the phrasing of which is quaint and impressive. Very beautifui isalso the tune known as "Lady Owen's Delight," which, if piayed quickly, might well serve as the accompaniment of a Welsh, Irish, t'r, generally speaking, Celtic dance. A similar rliythiu, although written in 6-8 time, pre- vails 111 another song, "Ap Sheukiu," which, although composed by a modern writer. John Parrv. better known in Wales as "Bard Alaw," might well pass for a genuine r'o'ksl/cd. Among the additions to this new issue of the volume we may instance the tne and characteristic specimen of Welsh music, Black Sir Harry," named after a Welsh knight of the fifteenth' century, who picture, showing a man of swarthy complexion in a suit of black armour, hung formerly in the old Gothic hall of Lleweny, Denbighshire.

IIh LATE DCKE OF WELLINGTON. The funeral of the late Duke of Wellington took place on Tuesday afternoon at Strathsiicldsayi, near Reading, in the presence ot a large assembly of mourners. The body, which reached the ducal residence overnight, was interred in the family vault under the western transept of the church on the estate. The chief mourners were Col. Henry Vellesley, successor to the dukedom, and Arthur Wellesley, while among the relatives who attended were the Duke of Beaufort, the Marquess of Exeter, the Marquess of Tweeddale, General Sir Richard Tavlor, Lord Fowdey, Mr Scott, Coionel W.' H. Welleslev, and Mr. Joh„ Grant Hamilton. Lord Raglan, Lord Wolselev, Field-Marshal Lord Strathnairn, Lord Sackvil'ie Cecil, Ltord nonaia uower, jar. Burdett Coutts. &c., wereamong those around the grave. The Queeu was represented by Lord Methuen, and General Sir Dighton Probvn attended on behalf of the Prince of Hales. W reaths were sent bv the Prince and Princess Ot Wales and numerous relatives and friends. The Duchess cf Wellington did not at- tend bc- interment, but remained in the house. The Duke s remaInS were conveyed to the church in a hearse drawn by four black chargers, the mourners following on loot. The ducal coronet was carried on a cushion in front of the hearse, by the duke's valet, Biddle. Service at the church was per- formed by the Rev. T. C. Keate, rector of Hartley, assisted by the Rev. H. B. Munro, rector of Straths- fields, and the musical part of the service was pre- cisely similar to that observed at the funeral ot '.he great duke, at St. Paul's Cathedral.

THE induction of Canon Evan Lewis to till deanery of Bangor is further postponed uDti1 tbt second week in September.

1 CURRENT AGRICULTURAL j TOPICS. ——— [BT "AGKTCOLA" OF THE 11 FIPLD."I Elderly people are characterising the present as S genuine old-fashioned summer, just as when we experienced a season of great severity in winter a few years since that was termed old-fashioned, too, which naturally leads to an inquiry of no small scientific interest. Is it a fact that seasons have changed in modern times, giving milder winters and dauiper, culder summers than those of former times ? Those who think so ought certainly to tell us to ■what epoch or series of years they refer; because, if we investigate weather registers and old books, no indications whatever are afforded of any normal ;Igtate of things having had existence radically :different from what occurs now. No doubt the clearings of forests and the drainage of stagnant tnarshes have a tendency to ameliorate climate, but even these influences must be somewhat limited. and would, of course, operate the other way as regards summers in making them drier and hotter than in ancient times. There is an old tradition, jrf which has found its way into some books, that in the age of the Ancient Britons, when the Romans invaded this country, its climate was not warm enough for wheat to be grown. Extraordinary seasons impress themselves much tnore forcibly on the memory than ordinary Ones, just as the most trying vicissitudes and greatest trials of life are remembered, while its more numerous tranquil periods are forgotten. Critical examination has ever yet failed in fixing any era i "When English summers were generally, for any t considerable number of years, hotter than they I are now. Our island temperature is singularly Uncertain, its fickleness being the only feature of a pronounced character about it. About a quarter of a century ago it was fashionable to beiieve that good corn-growing seasons came in cycles, four or five of Pharaoh's lean ones, and then about the same number of a reverse nature, but we have. Until this year, had a far lengthier series of un. favourable ones than has commonly fallen to the ,lot of any generation of farmers, inasmuch as we have to go back to 1874 for a good grain-yielding Season. Sir J. B. Lawes has noticed a singular Coincidence in all the best wheat-yielding sea-on., being in years either ending with a figure four or a multiple of it. The best during the past twenty years have been those of 1864,1868, 1870,1874, and 1884. Harvest work has progressed rapidly during the Past week, and become much more general. In all the early districts a considerable proportion of the cereal crops has already been harvested, and ^farmers are busily engaged in threshing the first fruits. There are many other places where much 'of the corn was quite gresn when August made its appearance, and some is not ripe yet. This has been so in the North Western and Welsh counties. in some of which haymaking is only just finished, and, of course, in the four northernmost, as well as in many parts of Scotland, the liarvesting of grain Crops has only just commenced. There never was Season when less difference of opinion prevailed as to the character of the g,¡¡n crops, which are where heaviest in the most fertile soils and "Where the best management has been applied. In all other cases the straw is rather short, and found <■ not over-thick in t he ground on being out. Count- :1. ing the number of stooks to the acre, thousands of ? fields give anything but an idea of a full average yield, but the affluence of sun which has prevailed throughout the blooming, kerning, and ripening periods caused the heads to be plump and heavy, 80 that the yield of grain itself is not likely to be disappointing. Sheaf-binding renping machines are so manifest success that large corn-growing f-vmirs can no longer afford to be without them in fact, large] numbers are lamenting their tardiness in not having secured the valuable acquisition in time for operation on tie present crop. Those not in the habit of making the best po-qible use of theil oWn eyes thought they would await the result of the Shrewsbury trials, but by doing so they have practically postponed ability to avail themselves Of the treasure until next year, as the whole of the best makers will now have their hands so full of ^"ders as to be unable to execute them until too la for the present season's use. All have not, acted thus, however, for in the famous Vale of Glamorgan I last week saw three ^'f-binding reaping machines in full swinging operation, two of which were working on adjoining f*rtns. One highly-intelligent farmer, who hail Purchased from Hornshy and Sons an instrument I)f Precisely the same pattern as that which lias taken the first Royal priz«, informed me that he Could now cut, tie, and place his grain in striok at *n expenditure of only 8tl. per acre in manual j labour. I walked over the field where the imple- ment had been performing the same day, and found the tying of the sheaves and the evenness nd closeness of cut to the ground all highly ^rotnendable features, and not the ieast worthy of « Approbation w-ig the small quantity ot strewn corn "Ilich appeared on the ground. There cannot be the slightest doubt that the sheaf-binding reaper will be the instrument of the 1 future. All who witnessed the Shrewsbury trials be well aware of this. A dozen or more of reapers tried performed in a truly admirable banner, and although I hive not the slightest. <1oUbt that. the English manufactured machines of Messrs. Hornsby nnd Sons nnd Messrs. J. and F. ^o^ardare stronger made than the American, and '1til¡ cut closer to ground, those of Wood and Corinick have their commendable points, and bussed tying very few sheaves indeed, however ) tljing the crop might be. That self-binding reapers do not work well when the grain is damp is an admitted fact; but pro- :ding8 at Shrewsbury prove their ability to deal :lh tangled and beaten down crops much better "0 baq generally been anticipated. This very Materially contributes to the value of the imple- 'nt. On a wet day, or even after a shower, a tetnporary stoppage of its working would not be 80 much account as being compelled to throw it ollt of use whet the crop is found tangled and atorrn-beaten. A valuable feature in Hornsby and "Otis'machine, which gained the first prize, appears be the trolly for carrying on the sheaves after being tied, and delivering them five or six at ce. Sir J. B. Lawes has furnished to the Agricultural osette additional arguments to substantiate his tbeory as to the Woburn experiments furnishing o better results on the cotton cake plots than the lI.ize ones. As is tolerably well known, he con- fers that the natural fertility of the Woburn soil of a high order in itself, so that it required no large amount of addition from external sources to Produce a maximum crop; that the amount sup- plied by the consumption of maize was abundantly •uflBcient for this, while, as a natural consequence, 6 larger addition from cotton cake consumption as u'1>lu3. I The leading objection which I, in common with Others, advanced against this theory when first Promulgated remains wholly unnoticed, and I do not see that any sufficient answer can be made to it- This is that, inasmuch as the other part of the *anie field where wheat and barley are grown c,)n- tinuously and manured heavily with either nitrate Of soda or sulphate of ammonia yield several bushels per acre annually more than either the < Cotton cake or maize plots of the rotation series, the latter cannot be said to yield maximum crops. L Not only am I of opinion that Sir J. B. Lawes s not hit on the right kind of explanation as to the reason why the Woburn experiments do not Prove that the consumption of cotton cake leaves greater manurial residuum than the consumption Of ttiaize^ but I am unable to approve of the way e Puts the case in regard to the supply of fertiliry 1n ftirtiaing generally, and the extent to which it yld be compensated for according to the Agri- cultural Holdings Act. savs the better the land the less is the value "•v the manure supplied to it, and asks whether the 0 *n>ount of compensation paid for it should be the 114rla6 as for a manure applied to poor land ? I I\bawer decidedly in the affirmative, and for this Efficient reason, that even the best of land can freely be too highly manured for certain crops I:1tl systems of farming. Would the market ^topengation for a large amount of fertility left behind by the previous tenant ? And would he tot Drefer to do so rather than receive the land in '1:1 ^*hausted condition ? 1 CATTLE FEEDING I THE NORTH.

of feeding in the North is to let the ^als come gradually on in condition, and not .°rCe unduly, just doing a bit better when you to fat, and increasing by degrees. When tjjp H' grass, and during the last three months, say Pounds per day of crushed oats, beans, malt, ^ai,.u,dian. corn, mixed, or such of tiiein as are k»l'l k'e' UL't more than three pounds of cake. Sty 'd,add to the above corn and cake some four ^o<iS °f roots> a fa'1' allowance of hay, and pulped sheep are always kept on grass, with es» a few oats, Indian corn, malt, long hay, these latter are available, with bran. Thus a 1 may c:l11 a "al urrtl A"8'1 is built up; and it ^yi flesh for the consumer, and the best- these latter are available, with bran. Thus a 1 may c:l11 a "al urrtl A"8'1 is built up; and it ^yi flesh for the consumer, and the best- <thf fl«-sh for the producer, seeing that you have e Auauicud*. wiUua voulmw1 £ 1 STRANGLES IN COLTS. I A correspondent in Farm and Home writes:— This is a disease peculiar to the young animal as measles in the human being, and the danger in- creases with nge. Having had several cases in colts, and found that bathing frequently with water in which the mallow or cabbage leaves have been boiled to be of service in bringing the a bscess forward, I should recommend P. W. C." to try the same, or he might stimulate with the following mixture:—Spirits of turpentine two parts, laudanum one part, and spirits of camphor one part, to be applied three times a day by means of a soft brush. After each application let him bind up, with 800le" guod" fhnnel-two or three pieces—the last. piece being long enough to go round he throat, and fasten at the top of the head, and which, having three slits at each end, will make an ei"ht-tailed bandage, two ends to tie in knots in fro of the ears, the other two behind, I which will keen the whole in its proper place. After the tumour is opened, the bandage will not be required. In some cases strangles attacks the horse in a more aggravated form, in which case the vet." should be called in. BEER DURING HARVEST. The question of beer in the harvest-field has again cropped up, and it is evident that those win are sending letters and recipes to the daily and weekly newspapers,have but very vague ideas on the subject. In the first place, they erroneously assume that farmers give strong ales to their harvest hands, and that intoxication follows. Now, if they would but total up the cost of such a proceeding, common sense would inform thein that no farmer could afford such an out!av. When men are workirg long hours under a hot sun, they need something to allay thirst, and to promote the flow of perspiration. For these objects farmers procure a class of small beer, which, if rightly taken care of, is sharp and fresh, and most rot i-esliing. Its cost is less than that of any of the teetotal beverages I have seen ^commended. As to intoxicating, it is simply impossible that any man could drink suffi- cient, especially when working in a harvest field, to make him feel the leastexhilarated. Itispleasantto the taste. I know that on the closing day of the harvest it is customary for some farmers to add a stronger drink as a sort of wind-up, but that is, of course, optional. On the other hand, most of the so-called teetotal drinks are insipid, cold, and likely to lead to illness of those who should indulge in them to any extent. I doubt not but that plenty of men would humour employers' fads on this point, adopt, their teetotal drinks, receive the beer money, and probably have their bottle of small beer on the field. LORD ^TJDELEY-'S JAM FARM. The Pall illatt Gazette describes a visit to the Home Farm, near Toddingtou, liioucestershire, and the report is here abridged :-TLe fruit farm, which lies beiow us. and beyond which, as we look west, stretches the broad valley of the Severn, with the outline of the Malvern Hills on the horizon about twenty miles off. was four years ago an ordinary arable farm which nobody wanted to take. The rent had been £ 1 an acre. The reputa- tion of Gloucestershire for fruit growing, and the success of the gardens near Evesham, encouraged Lord Sudeley to make this great experiment. The ground needs a great deal to be done to it first. Drain., g, levelling fences, burning clay, planting hedges, which growing up may shelter the fruit plantations, such are the first labours involved. Then plum trees (six feet standards) three years old must be brought from the nursery (started two or tliP-e years in advance), aud planted in rows of 15ft. apart, interspersed with rows of raspberry, gooseberry, or currant bushes, as the case may be. The principle of the quincunx must be rigidly observed. Then, wherever you are in the planta- non. straight, and interminable open before ou in every direction. Very careful staking is ivquired. Here the stakes employed are all creo- soted for the I8in. that are below ground, and it, was well worth wltile to build a creosote tank and furnace, as there were no fewer than 40,000 plum trees to be staked. The sturdy creosoted stake is then fixed in the ground eight inches from tae tree, and by a simple arrangement of the wisp of straw with whien it is tied to it at the top that end of the stake is also kept away from the stem, and all rubbing of the bark is avoided. fllen there is the endless weeding, the picking, and tlie carrying. The hands began picking Lt, foui- o'clock this morning, so as to knock off early in honour of Bank Holiday and the regatta at Tewkes- bury. To give a notion of what fruit picking is, I may say th-it. in one day this summer five tons of st "awberries were picked and brought to the factory. Sleeping sheds are pro- vided where the extra hands can sleep in picking time; coffee sheds where they get, their dinners (no beer or cider here) and shelter. Some 3,000 Canadian poplars surround the farm. They are placed one yard apart, and will ulti- mately make an impervious will, the trunks meet- ing and poliar Jed at 18 feet above the ground, as \0u see them in some parts of Kent. We have not far to go to the old farm buildings, now con- verted into a jam factory, and let to Mr. Beach, the well-known manutactuier of Ealing, who em- ploys some 40 hands, and, by their aid, in the most expeditious manner possible, deals with the huge tubs of fruit, containing two or three hundred weight eacii, which the three hundred pickers sent in as the result of their morning's work in the plantations. The scene of the boiling down is the old cart-shed, fitted up with eleven great copper pans, one of which has just been cleaned after black currants, and is ready for a new job. Into this is poured a jug of water, and into the water 241 i>s. of white sugitr-bcist Dutch crushed, as it is called, being a mixture of half-and-half cane and beetroot. When the sugar is dissolved 241bs. of raspberries, some of it, perhaps, gathered only an hour or two since, is thrown in, and then the crimson mixture, foaming and bubbling under the heat of steam (501b. pressure to the square inch) from the great boilet- in the adjoining sltole, is for about eight minutt's stirred and critically examined with t he aid of a long wooden ladle, till, being pronounced ready, it. is run off into another copper and carried int.o the old cattle-shed, now fitted up with dressers and shelves, where it is adroitly trans- ferred to thirty-six bottles, each now containing l,tib, /Jf the rHošt brilliant raspberry jam. As soo the air-light covers are tied on these bottles are ready to be despatched to the four corners of the glooe, or, as the case may be, to take their place on the well-laden shelves among the gooseberries, currants, and strawberries, to await their turn to go. Some idea of the extent of Mr. Beach's business may be obtained from the fact that the bottles used in a year cost about 11,000. The setting of the fruit is assisted by the visits of bees to the flower, and there is here an apiary consist- ing of 165 hives, under the care of an experienced bee-master.

I POULT LIT NOTES. MOULTINO. It seems likely to be an early moult (srtys Mr. L. Wright in the Live Stock Journal), especially if the hot. weather holds; and I am afraid it will not be a very good one. The sun has so much power that the first plumage is apt to get tanned and make mottled bu ds. It is partly fur this reason that some breeders seek to hasten" moult. Much can be done in this way, it is true. To let a broody hen sit. is, indeed, often advisable, as her plumage will often seem to drop all together after, and the new clothes come also together; but in such an early season as this the whole plumage is rather apt to get faded and spoilt before the best shows come on. That cannot be helped, any fur- ther than by providing the amplest possible shelter and the amplest supply of green fooll that can be managed fresh and constantly, for changes in this disorder the bowels. Cocks can be much hastened by snutting up in rather small houses, kept warm, for several weeks after the feathers begin to drop and many breeders do this regularly. It may save a show," and often does; but I beheve much is lost in the end, Nature's operations being intended for a certain average time. VVe cannot change her seasons beyond a cer- tain point with impunity. Cocks are, how- ever, rather apt to suffer in moult if kept with their hens. They leave them very generally when wild, and we should remember this; though I think mine always did best with just one or two for com- pany, which some will fret without; for this reason also an old cock does very well among a lot of cockerels, whom he will keep in order. Judicious feeding; in moult, is very important; and it is much more difficult with show birds, for a simple reason. When fowls are kept, for healthy condition only, or for breeding, they are kept, spare-rather lean and acti va, That is the best state in which they can face moulting, and it is easy then so to feed them rather extra that they may slightly gain in weight. Such almost invariably do well, and will come out at the Palace in their very best bloom. But if the birds have been in show" condition-that is, rather fat- they are in one sense prepared for moult, having laid up a store of nutriment for the extrix drain. Hut they have, as a rule, to lose flesh in the pro- cess, for they cannot be further forced without great danger; and the plumage is generally less crisp and glossy than that of the others. I have watched this difference over and over again; and the general moral of it is, to let fowls, wanted at their best, for the great shows, have rest and a little time to get spare and active, before seriously entering moult. Moulting is not really a disease, but too many birds are verging on a mild sort of disease when they enter upon it. A great deal may be learnt, and a great deal of mischief avoided, by every now and then feeding the fowls on their perches at night.

THE EXTRAORDINARY LICENSING PROSECUTIONS AT POOLE. At Poole Police Court on Monday seven persons were summoned on a charge of assaulting Mr. J. W. Norton, timber merchant and temperance advocate, who last Thursday commenced a series of prosecutions against a number of the police, publicans, and others for alleged infringements of the Licensing Acts. The first case was that of Joseph George Keynes, a butcher, charged with assaulting and threatening to kill complainant. Ultimately Keynes was fined X5, and was bound over to keep the peace in recognisances of £100, Mr. Budge, solicitor, asked Mr. Norton if he thought the temperance cause he was so fond of would be enhanced by the proceedings of that day, and appealed to him now that one conviction had been obtained to withdraw the other summonses. Ultimately the other cases were withdrawn on defendants promising not to further molest pro- secutor. On leaving the court Mr. Norton was followed by a large crowd, but a number of extra police were present, and no further molestation was offered..

ATTACK ON THE SALVATION ARMY. SERIOUS RIOTING AT WORTHING. THE MILITARY CALLED OUT. The "Press Assoiatiol¡" Brighton correspondent says:—Since Sunday the town of Worthing has been in a state of great excitement consequent on an attack made upon the Salvation Army by the Skeleton Army on Sunday, when the police inter- fered. Free fights ensued, and several policemen were severely handled. On Tuesday night, the Skeleton Army, in large numbers, attacked the shop of Mr. George Head, Salvationist, and ran- sacked the place. During the struggle shots were fired, and three persons were iniured. Other places were attacked and damaged, and it was two o'clock on W ednesday morning before the crowd dispersed. On Wednesday several summonse-. against members of the Skeleton Army were heard, and agiLin there was a scene of great excitement. While the cases were being heard members of the Skeleton Army marched round the hall singing and groaning, and when the police left the court they were stoned. In consequence of this, and further disturbances being feared, a delachment of the 4-th Dragoon Guards, numbering 37 men and three officers, left Boston on Wednesday evening for Worthing.

THE LEAGUE OF THE CHOSS. CARDINAL MANNING ON INTOXICATING DRINKS. The members of the Catholic Total Abstin-e League of the Cross held their annual fete at, the Crystal Palace OIl Monday. A crowded meeting was held at the Opera Theatre, tinder the presidency of Cardinal Mann;ng. Among those present, were three deputies from Newport. Cardinal Manning said, in the cour.se of his address:—Some people believed that God made half the world and thai the devil made t he other half, and he had been told thai intoxicating drinks were made by the Evil One. (Laughter.) He did not, go so far as that, but he knew that ten or twelve years ago there were Catholics in London who did lylievc thrtt, intoxica- ting drinks were not made by God, but came from some other source—that of the enemy of all good. lie tried to convince them of what was the real state of the case by lighting a candle, and he said to them, "Who made that flame?" The'answer was, God made it." He blew the candle out. and there was a smoke, and he asked, "Who made that smoke?" "You made that smoke," was the answer. (Laughter.) Well, who is it that makes the grapes, the wheat, and the barley? We all know the answer to that very tiiii, the wine, the beer, and the alcohol ? \\lIY, the man ,\v out.. who blew out the candle. (Cheers and laughter.) ^>ut, really there was notning sinlul in these harm- less things themselves, because there can be no sin by any man unless it be by his own reason and will ^and if that theatre were filled with barrels and tiott'es of intoxicating drinks there could be no sm in them. because jieoplc themselves were the sinners when they used these things and violated their conscience by their own free will. When the League of the Cross was lounoed there was a mul- titude of people trying to save them.-ielves from drinking habits through all societies which were not Catholic. Men said, Where shall we go ? You have shut the doors." Then, said he (the Cardinal), I will tilcill," and he had opened them. (Loud cheers.)

DISEASED MEAT AT CARDIFF. At the Cardiff Police Court on ,Wednesday (before Mr. B, O. Jones and Dr. Paine) Thomas David, butcher, was charged with being in possession, 011 the 9th of August, oi ;l carcase of beef in preparation for sale, and which was unfit for human food. Mr. Morgan Rees appeared for rhe defence.—David John, assistant, market keeper, said defendant brought a cow there 011 Friday week late in the evening. The cow was slaughtered the same night.and the meat was dressed. On the following morning, about live or six o'clock, he went to the slaughter-house and saw defendant there. The meat was quartered on ready to be sent away. Witness asked him what he was doing, and he said he had quartered it off to see if it was all right. Witness said he should not take it away until the inspector saw it, as it ap- peared to him to be bad. Defendant then went f)r the market-keeper.—Mr. Moir, the veterinary sur- geon, said the defendant called on him Ô:I the Saturday morning, and asked him to come and inspect some meat. He told witness he would not sell anything for the world if it w is not fit. Witness inspected ilie meat, and found it to be in a condi- tion such as to be dangerous as human food. The beast was in an advanced stage of consump- tion.—Mr. Rees contended that when defendant slaughtered the beast on the Friday night it w;» impossible for him to know whether the meat was bad. When David John met him the next morning he stated that he was quartering the meat to see if it was all right, and t his statement Was made be- fore John said anything about the condition or the c,i rez, -After some conversation Mr. Rees asked for an adjournment until Friday, to enable him to call witnesses.— This was granted.

SUDDEN DEATH OF THE SMALLEST MIDGET IN THE WORLD. Lily Evans, alius the "Lilliputian Wonder" and Smallest, Midget in the World," (liod suddenly at Birmingham on Tuesday, the death being attri- buted, it is alleged, to the excessive fatigue'' of its numerous "performances, having been, meta- phorically speaking, "on the stage" fifteen hours a day. The ehiid, who was two months old, was only nine inches in length, and weighed but ten ounces, the body being quite perfect. The parents, who had previously had several healthy, full-grown If chlldren, lured the" LIlliputIan for 00S. it wetk to a showman of monstrosities, who has exhibited it at. a hall at the corner of Albert-street, Birmingham. The levees commenced at nine o'cluck in the morn- ing and continued till midnight, the mite being shown to the audiences several times an hour by Madame Baker, the "celebrated phrenologist," and wife of the showman, who would challenge the world to find so diminutive a midget, and forfeit £100 if beaten." The child was born prematurely, and the diminutiveness was owing to her mother having been frightened by a monkej- which was capering on an organ shortly before the birth. On Saturday the midget, though apparently ill, went Saturday the midget, though apparently ill, went through its performances until twelve o'clock at night. Next morning tho tinv creature became worse, and medical assistance, which proved of no avail, was resorted to. ¡

THE Jewish World states that the Xew Year of the Jews commences five weeks hence. According to t.he traditional chronology of the Synagogue, this will be the 5645th year since the creation of the world. Autu mn commences at three o'clock in the morning of the 6th of October winter at half past ten in the morning of the 5th of January; spring at six o'clock in the evening of the 6rh of April and summer at half past one in the morn- ing of the 6th of July. The year 5645 is the 1816th since the destruction of the Second Temple. j TOOTHACHE WOOL, 6D. Instant cure; destroys the nerve. Of Chemists. Post, fret sei-eii stamps. Sole Proprietor, E. ]Lecviii, Cliewisl,.Xork--buildia.,s, Clifton, Bristol. 7Zc

BATHING DISASTERS. I A YOUNG LADY DROWNED AT SWANSEA. The first bathing fatality which has occurred this season at. S wansea took place in Langland Bay on Tuesday afternoon. The weather being warm there were a number of ladies bathing at the place in question, which is a favourite resort of the female sex for this purpose. The shore in the bay does not slope as gradually as at other spots near Swansea, and a fair depth is attained a few yards from the shore. Amongst the bathers were the Misses Batchelor, daughters of Mr. Batchelor who is connected with the office of Messrs. Poingdestre and Mesnier, and is a brother of Mr. Batchelor, of Penarth, and the late Mr. John Batchelor, of Cardiff. One of these ladies, fancying she had got beyond her depth and was being carried away, screamed for help. Her sister immediately proceeded to her assistance, and at the same time a young solicitor's clerk named Walter Evans swam towards them. They were both being taken away, but Evans suc- ceeded in bringing one of them ashore. The other was. however, soon lost to view, and was drowned. The scene was an inexpressibly painful one, as a number of the friends of the young lady were close by at the time, but none were able to proceed to her assistance. Although numerous fatal acci- dents have occurred at this place, no boat has been placed there. The want of one has on many occa- sions been greatly felt. The name of the deceased was Mary Clare Batchelor. She was 23 years of, age. The body was recovered a short time after the occurrence, and it did not appear that it had sunk at all. The opinion had been given that deceased, therefore, died purely from fright. It is stated that the deceased was seen sti uggling for life for a space of quite five minutes. The young man Evans, who lives at Norton, acted in a very heroic manner. An inquest was held on Wednesday by Mr. Strick, borough coroner. Evidence was given by the pro- prietor of the bathing machines at Langland Bay, who described the accident, as already reported. In answer to the coroner, he said that there was a heavy ground swell at Langland Bay after a south- ed st wind, which made it dangerous for bathing, and it was on occasions like that accidents occur- red. On Monday night there was a strong breeze from that direction, and Oil Tuesday the sea ran high, and the ground swell was strong. The wit- nesses of the accident were also called, and bore testimony to the dangers of the bay.— The Coroner, in addressing the jury, said that Messrs. Meager and Evans, the persons who at- tempted the rescue, deserved every commendation it was possible to give them, and they had acted in a very noble manner. He counselled the jury that the evidence showed the occurrence to be purely accidental, and to return a vordict accor- dingly. This was done. TO THE EDITOR OF THE "WEEKLY MAIL." Sin,—The awfully sad case of drowning of a young lady at Langland Bay this morning again reminds us of the dangers of bathing at this place at low water, and also of the apparent callousness of the authorities (if there be ariv) in not provid- ing a boat during the bathing season. If there is no available fund to provide for the expense of such a precaution, surely the visitors, if properly approached, would subscribe the necessary amount. This is, I believe, my eleventh annual visit to this delightful spot, but-my pleasure ha been invari- ably marred by a similar catastrophe to that of this morning; and what makes it so much more sad is the fact that had a boat been available the precious life sacrificed might have been saved, as willing hands to man the boat were not wanting, as evidenced by the noble efforts made to save the life lost. Is there no resident at the Mumbles of sufficient influence who would take the matter up ? If such a movement could be properly matured I should be pleased to subscribe a guinea annually.—I am, &c., E. T. COLLINS (of Bristol). Birch Grove, Mumbles, Aug. 19. MONMOUTH. As a Monmonth boatman, named George Davis, was making his way up the river for home in a boat on Monday niht, about, nine o'clock, he observed a heap of clothes on the bank of the I Wye at Lower Redbrook. As he merely thought the appnrel belonged to some person who was bathing he passed on without further notice. It has since transpired that the clothes belonged to a young man named Arthur Charles, aged about 19 years, a native of Lichfield, engaged by Mr. Palmer, J.P., of Newland, as footman. No further trace of the young man having since been found it, is feared he has been drowned whilst bathing. This part of the Wye is known as Lower Redbrook Wash, and is in the county of Gloucester, on the borders of the borough of Monmouth. LLANDUDNO. A young man named Edwards was drowned in Llandudno Bay whilst bathing on Tuesday morn- ing. Professor Reddish, who was near at the time, made several attempts to recover the body, but without avail. CHESTER. On Tuesday evening inquests were held at Chester on the bodies of Charles Evans, aged 22, striker in Messrs. Woods' Anchor Works, and Henry Hecton, eight N' Qiti-s of age, who were both drowned whilst bathing in the Dec late the preceding night. Evans, who could not swim, sank into a deep hole caused by a vessel which had been stranded, and was drowned. The boy was caught by the flush from the Dee Mills and washed away into deep water, and lie also was drowned. A verdict of Accidental death" was returned in each instance.

THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE. Mr. G. A. Charsley, coroner for Bucks, resumed his inquest on Tuesday afternoon, at the Eton Union, into the circumstances attending the death of Mr. John Rogers Coker, who shot himself on the night of the 11th instant, in it first-class car- riage, while travelling on the Great Western Rail- way between Paddington and Slough.—Mr. Chas. William Dare, banister, residing at Croydon, stated that in consequence of having seen an ac- count of the suicide in the newspapers he went down to the union, and recognised the body as that of his cousin, John Rogers Coker, who was between 31 and 32 years of age. He had no occu- pation, but, had been in London conducting negotia- tions with the North Borneo Co. for service in Borneo. The deceased, who had been five or seven years in the service of Rajah Brooke, of Sarawak, came home about ten months ago. When lie called upon witness he stayed with him nearly an hour, and, though rather strange in his manner, talked sen- sibly. lIe was a single man, of temperate habits, and, as far as witness knew, was not in any pecu- niary difficulties. ne could not accuunt for his having taken a ticket to Windsor. The deceased's portmanteau and clothing were at his lodgings, but he had found no oilier property or papers. Witness, though he had not expected that the deceased would co limit suicide, was not surprised. His parents lived at Weymouth, and were in well- to-do circumstances.—The jury returned a verdict that tho death of the deceased was caused by a pistol-shot, inflicted by his own hand while iu a state of temporary insanity. state of temporary insanity.

EXTRAORDINARY COLLISION IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. DASTARDLY CONDUCT OF A SHIP'S CREW. A serious collision occurred in the Channel, off Dungeness, early on Tuesday morning, the circum- stances of which furnish another instance of the cowardly conduct of one crew towards another, by sailing off without rendering any assistance to the vessel they have ran into. It seems that on Monday night the Swedish vessel Emma, a barque of about 500 tons, belonging to Hudikswall, was sailing down Channel from Rotterdam, with a cargo of empty barrels for Philadelphia. The night was clear, and according to the statement of the Swedish captain the collision was due to no fault on the part of his vessel, as they had both their lights burning, and had a good look out. Some time before the collision actually occurred the ap- proaching vessel was seen, and some of the crew of the Emma hailed her, but to no purpose. The vessel was noticed to be an iron full-risrged ship, of about 1,500 tons, but her name could not be dis- cerned as the vessels did not remain in contact with each other lsng enough. The Emma sustained damage to her starboard bow and had nearly the whole of her yards on the foremast carried away, some of the rigging falling on to the deck in great confusion. Two men had a narrow escape from the falling yards. At the time of the collision it was not known what, was the extent of the damage to tho bows, and the colliding vessel, which at once sheered off, was hailed for assistance. No notice whatever was taken of the request, the vessel con- tinuing her voyage. On an examination of the bows of the Emma being made it was found that the damage did not, fortunately, reach the water- line, and she was picked up by a tug later on and brought into Dover harbour.

SENSATIONAL OCCURRENCE IN PARIS. The Daily Telegraph Paris correspondent, tele- graphing on Tuesday evening, says:—Another of those dastardly attempts to murder women which continue to characterise the lower classes of the Paris population occurred yesterday. This time the would-be murderer was a mere boy, who, though not yet twenty years of age, had already graduated in the deepest phases of crime. The intended assassin, Brachet, who states that he is a commercial clerk, met a girl recently at a public ball in the Rue d' Allemagne, and asked her to give him a rendezvous for the next day. This the girl agreed to, but she failed to put in an appearance at the appointed time and place. Brachet subsequently followed the girl about, and threatened to murder her if she would not live with him. Yesterday evening he met her in the Faubourg St. Martin, and having again pressed his suit to no purpose, pulled a sheath knife from his pocket and plunged it into the breast of the unfortunate girl. The weapon pierced her lungs, and she fell inanimate on the pavement, without uttering a cry. Her wound having been examined by a chemist in the neigh- bourhood, she was atonco taken to the Lariboisiere Hospital, where she lies in a precarious condition. Brachet, who was instantly arrested, was under the impression that he had killed the girl outright. Besides the knife with which he endeavoured to carry out his murderous intention the would-be assassin was armed with a seven-chambered re- volver.

A LADY KILLED ON THE RAILWAY. Mrs. Wilkes, an elderly lady, the wife of a gentle- man living at Walsall, was killed at New Station on Wednesday afternoon, by getting into a train whilst in motion and proceeding to Walsall on the London and North Western Railway. The body was frightfully mutilated and cut in pieces by the wheels of the carriages.

THE Aihenttum states that the Earl of Ducie is collecting materials for a history of the Spanish Armada of 1588.

CARDIFF FREE LIBRARY COM- MITTEE. The usual meeting of this committee was held on Monday evening at the Town-hall, Cardiff. Dr. Taylor presided, and there were also present Dr. Wallace, and Messrs. Peter Davies, W. Ronnfeldt, W. J. Trounce, A. Fulton, T. H. Thomas, J. Evans, J. G. Proger, and W. Sanders. With reference to the outstanding books, the Clerk read a paragraph from the librarian's report, which stated that he was dealing as rapidly as possible with the matter; but he regretted to say that the result so far had not been satisfactory. By the date of next meeting lie hoped to be in a position to lay the matter more fully before the coiy ii)ittee.- Several alterations in the issue of books and the general working of the library, suggested by the librarian, and recommended bvthe sub-committee, were discussed at some length. Among the more important of the changes wis the extension of the time allowed for reading a book to fourteen days. This was accepted. A proposal, however, to allow a burgess to borrow Oil his own guarantee alone, and a non-burgess on that of one burgess instead of two, as at present, gave rise to a good deal of controversy. Mr. Sanders opposed the pro- posal on the ground that as one-fourth of the burgesses of the town changed their residence every year a large number of books would inevitably be lost. The Librarian contended that the system had worked well in larger towns than Cardiff, and lie considered that one of the drawbacks of the library at, present was that it was necessary for intending borrowers to trouble two of their neighbours to give a guarantee. This fact alone deterred many persons from availing themselves of the "privileges afforded by the institution. Mr. Sanders stated that there was only one other town in Great Britain to be compared to Cardiff in respect of the changes of its inhabitants, and that was Barrow-in-Furness. This was the difliculty they had to deal with. Dr. Wallace ultimately pro- posed that a burgess should be abie to borrow a book on his own guarantee and that of another burgess, and that, a non-burgess should, as at present, get the guarantee of two burgesses. This was seconded by the chairman. As an amend- ment Mr. Thomas proposed, "That any person should be allowed to borrow on the guarantee of one burgess, coupled with that of himself." Mr. Davies seconded, but on being put to the meeting the amendment was lost, by live votes to four, and the original motion was carried. The other sug- gestions were adopted. There was no other busi- ness of interest.

SIR, JOHN JONES JENKINS, M.P., ON FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. Sir John Jones Jenkins, M.P., was on Saturday evening initia ted as a member of the Loyal Oyster- mouth Castle Lodge of Oddfellows, Swansea, on the proposition of the m«yor (Mr. Burni. seconded by Brother Sheplmrd.—Sir John, in re- plying, after referring to the fact that he made the 365th member of the lodge, or one for every day in the year, and that the lodge was the second in point of wealth in the Swansea dis- trict, stated his views on the position of Friendly Societies. He had some time ngo found, on reference to a certain Blue Book, that the Friendly Societies were not as solvent as they ought <0 be, and had referred to the fact at a meeting. At the time he thought he had done wrong thus to cry Wolf," but was ylad since thai many lodges litid now awakened to a sense of their duty. Respecting the compulsory national insurance question, he (the speaker) would rather s03 the voluntary system extended all over the world than any compulsory system, and he would rather that, the problem how to deal with the improvident should be settled by these lo(1ge" than by Act of Parliament. He failed to see why the cost of maintaining paupers should now be 10s. per head of the population, as against 5s. twelve years a go, and intended asking a quest i:>n in Parliament about it. He th >u:'ht that these societies had a good deal to do with finding a remedy for it.

THE MANCHESTER AND MTLFORD RAILWAY HALF-YEARLY REPORT. The half-yearly report of the Manchester and Milford Railway, which came to hand on Wednes- day, is to the effcct that at the end of June 30 the receipts during the half-year amounted to £ 8,639 18s. 2d., as compared with^ £ 8 767 4s. 5. for the corresponding period of 1383, being a de- crease of JE127 6s. 3d. The expendit ure amounted to L6,512 17s. 3d., as compared with C6 807 Os. 4d. being a decrease of £ 294 3s. 8d. The line con- tinues to be worked under the control of the manager appointed by the court. i

j EDUCATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES. REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATION. The Select Committee, under the presidency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, appointed to consider how the Ministerial responsibility under which the votes of Education, Science, and Art are administered may be best secured, have agreed on the following report:- 1. Your Committee have examined the present and several former .Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Couiieil, Secretaries to the Lords-Lieutenant of Ireland, permanent heads of the Education Department in London, ttie present IJesiaent Commissioner of National Ji.mcatiou in Ireland, and also other gentlemen con- versant with the matters referred to your Committee. They nave also considered the evidence taken beiore the Select Committee appointed fit 18S5 and iôô6 to inquire into the eansliluuion of the Committee oi Council on .EJur"t,on. 2. The lirst question considered by your Committee was whether primary education in Ureal .i3riè>till and in 1: -laud should be placed under one supervising Minister, l'our omniitt.ee are satisfied that under presenteircum- stauces it would be undesirable to disturb the existing arrangement as to the Ministerial responsibility lor primary education in Ireland, l'iiey are aiso of opinion that, primary education in ihigiandand .^eotiand should lie under the eontrolof the same Minister. 3. The J>»rd .President of the Council, almost alwavsa peer, is nominally tiie head of the Education Depart- mcnt. for (ireat Britain. The Vice-President represents the department in the House of Commons, and really transacts almost all the business requiring authority above that oi i he pennant t officials. Your Committee are: of ujJiuillll that this arrangement is neither logical nor convenient. They ee lJU sufficient reason why mere should be any more real connection between the i>iuea- iiou Department and the Priyy Council than between the Board of Trade and the Privy Council; but as it may be convenient that the Minister for Education should have occasionally the assistance, whether its to English or Scotch education, 01 other i-rivy Councillors specially summoned tor c usultation with him, they recommend that a Board of (or Com- mittee ot Council for; Education should be constituted under a president, who should be the real as well as I twmilJai Minister, i" this respect holding a position like that of tih; President of the Board ot Siv le. Hitherto there has been a separate bcotch Department of the Privy I Council; and your Committee consider that it would be wdl to have a aistinet permanent Secretary appointed lor Scotland, responsible to the Minister of Education. WlIether the Minister of Euucation should always be a member of tire Cabinet or of the House of Com- mons, and what should be his salary, are questions upon which it is hardly within the province of your Committee to make absolute r;<oll1[neJldaLiO!ls. They think, however, rluit the duties ui iÜi5 MjJÜter :s1!0u1:1 be reeuguised ¡¡;; nut less important than those of some ùf the secretaries of The Minister of Education should have the assistance of a Parliamentary Secretary, able to sit iu either House of Parliament. While, on the whole, preferring the plan they have suggested, your Committee do noi deny that there are objections to the constitution of all Administrative Department in tUe form of a Board which has no real existence. The Pel" manent Secretary aud his assistant s bind by their signa- tun; 110 inaliy the Board, really the political chief. This system, it mast be adrmueu, tends t,) lessen the direct control aud responsibility to Parliament and tile ijui)iie, which is apparent in the oltice of a Secretary of Stale. 4. Theseeondquesi, ion discussed byyourCommittee was whether, and, it so, wha: authority ,;llOu,lei be exercised by the Minister of Tamcaliou over endowed schools. rour C immittee recommend that when schemes for elJ- dowed schools hive come into uj)erat.ion, whether in jJiigland or in Scotland, the Minister of .Education ,;110<1,,1 have full authority to call Oil the governing bodies to furnish him with SUdl reports ami inlorma- ion as he may require, and to direct any inquiries 01 inspection to be lllillic which he may deem necessary. o. As to public schools, your Committee recommend j¡,n r lit, Minister of Education should be authorised to call for such reports aud information as lie may require from the governing bodies, but tney aie not of OlJjuid¡¡ thril his powers should ex end to directing inspection. 6. With respect to the Universities in Great Britain rec ivlng grains chafed 011 the Votes of Parliament.or iii the consolidated Fuud, tll Minister ,houid be autho- l'i:5ed tl) require frolll thela a IJ. annual report ill .illL:l1 form as lie may order. 7. 1"lIr Committee have not taken any evidence as to lielormatory alld Industrial Schools, eonsid'tin^ that these "choe-is have so recenily formed t he subject oi an inquiry by a Royal Commission, the report and recom- mendations 01 which are before Parliament. Thy see '10 n:<lson for altering tll present responsibility for Workhouse schools, or for the primary Schools CUll- nected with the Army, the Xavy. or th Marines. The responsibility for the administration of the Votes ior Military and Xaval Colleges iu.es not appear 10 come it Inn the reference to your Committee. o. You, Committee see no rè;lS(J!1 to disturb the exist- ng ;irra.ngnl!l1ts as to the supervision 01 the science ind Art Department. I 9. There are various miscellaneous votes for Science and Art., slldl as those for Scientilic Research dis- tributed through the Itoynl Society; votes foi meteorology; ami votes in aid of the Royal Society of lidtnburgh and tile Royal Irish Academy. These votes, your committee think, should tie moved by the Minister .11 charge of education, and reports W11en liecessan should lie made t" him. 10- Your Committee do not propose to bring the British Museum and the National Gallery into elosei relations with her Majesty's Government than UI"S, now existing; with this exception, thai, in thcit opinion, the Minister of Education and the Parlia- mentary Secretary lloitlJ be ex ojficiu trustees of each ùj those insiituti.nis. Tne President of the Council, you Committee notice, is now an ex o.1'f:iU trustee of til. British Museum. The House of Commons would then took 11) the Education Department for explanations w hen the votes for t he British Museum and the National Gailery are Jis(;u5sCÙ in Committee of t3ujJpl.y. WELSH LU1STIC: The Report of the Committee of Council oi Educati"!1 (England and Wales) for 1283.4- L", just been published. From statistics tiwrûin con- tained it appears that the nuuinct of day schools inspected during the year ending August, 31, 1833, was 18,540, of which 11,703 were connected with tiie National Society or Church of England; 4,049 with School Boards. 1,412 wore British unit undenominational, 317 R<er:aii Catholics, and 55£, Wesleyan. The total average number of scholars in attendance was 3.127,21+, of which 1,562,507 were attached to Church Schools, 1,028,904 t, Board Schools, 247,990 to British Is, 162 310 to Roman Catholic Slt()Oj5, and 125,503 to Wes- leyan Schools. The total amount paid out ot the Parliamentary grants for the same veal" wa £2,518,6+1, of which ( excluding shillings and pence) £1.237,006 was paid to Church Schools, £88,694 Board, £ 201.614- British, £ 127,456 Roman Catholic, and 1103,869 W'eslevan. The highest rale of gran; per scholar in fLVerage attendance was 16s. 6!,d, paid to the Wesleyan Schools, this being closeiv bil- lowed by 16s. 6d, to Hoard Schools; 16s. 3ù. wa paid to British Schools, 15s. iOd. to Church Schools, and 15s. 8J 1. to Roman Catholic Schools, TilL aggregate annual income of the Dehllols was £ 5,629.731, of which £ 2,763.721 belonged to tilt Church Schools and £ 2,134,234 to tile Board Schools, and the rate of expenditure per scholar il average attendance was 2 ls. ùd. in Board Schools, £ 1 16s. 3d. in British Schools, Xi 15s. O,\d in Church Schools. £ 1 14s. lljjd. in Weslevai. Schools, and £ i 10". Cd, in 1.<);11;111 Catholic Schools. Regarding Wales, up to the 29t.Ii of Sep- tember, 1883, the School Boards in Wales num- bered 291, 15 of which were in boroughs, and 27o in parishes. Of these 285 sent to the Department statements of receipts and expenditure for the year ended Michaelmas, 1883; tllk- ottlei-s II had not received or paid money during the year. The sutn received by the 285 boards was £ 252,677, x,, lo,,iii or, excluding loans, £ 206,767. A (letaii ment shows that the proportiott of the ex- J peiiditure borne by grants ironi Imperial Funds is greater in Wales than in England, This appears to be due to the lowerc->st at which Welsh School Boards are able to carry Oil the educational work of their districts, i Grants for the maintenance of schools were paid to 267 boards, being an increase of eight over the number to which grants were paid in 1881-2. An increase in the average rate from 62d to 6'3d during the three years 18S1-3 is accounted for bv the facts that School Boards have increased; that there has been an increase in the average number of children attending the schools, and that tiieie was ail increase in the amount annually required tt) meet tiie liabilities incurred in providing school accommodation for the children. Up to .Michaelmas, 1883, the loans advanced to School Boards were— 111 boroughs, £ 194.654 and in parishes, £ 622.64-2; or a total of £ 817.296. Tiie liabilities of boroughs in respect, of loans outstanding were—in 1881, £ 638 215 in 1882, £ 712.897; in 1883, £ 742,698. The sum expended by School Boards during the year under review amounted to £ 257,895, as compared with £269,4-56. A percentage of 8'8 on the current expenditure, including the cost of enforcing attend- ance at, school, was incurred in carrying out the provision of the Education Acts a percentage 01 18 4 in providing school accommodation and a percentage of 72 in instructing the children. The total expenditure of the year was £ 257,895, which was met as follows :—Rates, 1!106,536, percentage 40'9; grants, school fees, &c„ £ 103,451—41'3; loans, £ 45.90S~17'8; or omitting expenui- ture by loans—rates, £ 104,444—=49'5 grants, school fees. :¡ 11' Other sources ¿;-f in.. come, £ lC6,451=-50'5. The expenditure on the maintenance of schools, £ 151.44S, was defrayed from the following sources:—Rates, grant,. £ 69,972—46 2 school foes, and books sold to children, £33,713=223; other sources of school income, The cost, of iii;iint-riii, pet child in average attendance was as follows :— In Board Schools, £ 1 13s. 6Ad.; iii Schools, £ 1 12s. 3J,d.

ST. DAVID'S DIOCLSAN CONFERENCE. Thd annual conference of the clerjv and lav delegates of the Diocese of St. David's has been fixed for Wednesday and Thursday, October 8 and 9, it, tho Assembly-rooms, uzider the presidency of the bishop. This con- ference is expected to be the most important of any held so far. About 200 clerical and lay 1l1t'mb(-rs are to attend, and the programme of business is an extensive one. On the first day (the conference meeting at eleven a.m.) there will be the presi- dent's address; the reports of the committees appointed to consider the questions of special ser- vices and lay agency consideiation oi the recom- mendations of the Executive Committee on the larger representation of populous places in the conference. Committees to be moved for the fol- lowing purposes:— lo consider the formation of an association of Jay helpers, to consider Par- liamentary matters, for Church flcfence. and on the subject of clerical charities within the diocese; consideration of the report of the Ecclesiastical Courts Commission and then it will be open for resolutions to be proposed. On the second day the conference will assemble at ten a.iii., proceed to the consideration of the following subjects:— Purity of life; committees to be proposed for rescue work, for organising the Young Men's Friendly Society in the diocese, and for the sub- ject of the Welsh Church Press; to receive and consider reports from the Diocesan Board of Edu- cation, Diocesan Church Building Board, and St. David's Diocesan Fund Board election of com- mittees election of delegates to the Central Council; and any other subjects that it may be necessary to bring forward.

ENGLAND AND THE SLAVE TRADE. KIDNAPPING IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC. HORRORS OF THE "LABOUR" TRADE. THE STORY OF AN OLD MASTER. In confirmation of the stories which have reached this country that the labour trade in the Western Pacific, though carried on under the British flag, is in many of its characteristics as cruel and hor- rible as the African slave trade, the 1'all Mall Ga.tiU publishes the narrative from an old master mariner who has himself been engaged in the trade. After describing the routine of getting the ship licensed the writer proceeds to describe the bargaining as follows Whcn the first boat approaches the shore the bargain is concluded in the following manner:—There is generally a head man on the beach, with several assistants belong- ing to him. They keep the 'boys' and the (women) in the background whin- the head man makes the bargain. Only one 'bov' is bought and sold at a time. The headman who gets into the 'trade' (boat) tells the recruiter how much he wants for the boy, and they in the uual way t.rv to make the best fctrgain they can. and on their agreeing upon the price the 'trade is taken from the trade chest, and passed into the head man's hands, exactly at the same moment that the 'boy' is passed into the boat. In order to make the thing legal, the man or woman is taken on board before the Government agent and the captain, and the question asked through an interpreter whether they would like to go to Queensland and work for three year. The interpreter knows exactly what the buyers would like him to I say, and he says it, and it is duly entered on the ship's log or the Government agent's official book. The islanders are thus bought, often without know- ing what has happened, and are carried oft". The following is the kind of price given for a boy :— One Snider rifle or two muskets, two dozen pipe. 50 sticks of negro-head tobacco, ten boxes 01 matches, five fathoms of calico, one fathom of Turkey red calico, one American axe, one tomahawk, three sheath knives, and aboui twenty rounds of ammunition. For such a boy the vessel receives on lauding in Australia £ 20. and the number of boys the vessel is allowed t- carry is about 110 to every 100 tons of the ship' register. For evei-v i- 1-tii,,it is, woman—iht captain and owners receive the sum of £ 15. A- the vessels generally average a little over 100 tons, 130 to 150 'boys' and '.Marys' may be regarded as an average full cargo, but the number of tin boys' is considerably larger than that of the Marys.' The trade is a paying one to all concerned, and tli,,re ure some rough crews engaged in it. As rule, the natives deal fairly, but the European t.raders who go among them try to cheat them, anI hey try to retaliate. The w(,d 'au,,iiion' is it great use among them. For example, if you sax anything to them that they do not care to believe t IIY will say, You g-imftion and when thev wish to ask if you illeall what you say, they wii say, You no gammon ■" They seem at some of tin islands to have a great terror of vessels from th. Fiji Islands, for the reason that there has been i, great deal of kidnapping going on by vessels from t ¡¡use islands, and it is hard to make them beliuv- at times that you are of a Queensland vessel and not a Fiji man. When uiu vessel has a full cargo, which it often takes her some months to collect, she starts off 01 her way home, going round first to drop the nativ. boat's crew which I have mentioned at the isiano from which they were taken, which often means i long round and great delay. As to the treatmen of the cargo during the voyage, it differs, of course, according to the character of the crew, but I liav, often seen things which it would be impossible t< relate with regard to decency. Tile wbole erev think they have a right to the persons of tie women, and I have known the latter, in conse quence, to be terribly infected by disease. Cruelty :8 less common, as it is the interest of the crew t, land the boys (who are generally fed on yams, i, most nutritious fruit) in good condition, but I huv. seen some cases of horrible barbarity. "There are very many 'dodges,' as they art trailed, resorted to In order to obtain recruits. Fo. instat.ee, when the trading boat, is on the bcae! .here are a great a.any natives who arc simply lookers-on, and have nothing whatever to do with trade; and one of the little tricks played on then, is to get hold of the son of a king or a chief, dra; him into the boat, and away with him on boan There will then be a great sensation on shore, an. die boy's parents will think they have lost him wiiile A the kidnappers will declare that the b, I fairly bought and paid for. The result is thai the parents in their despair will go to the bchoOlkl .i;id try m recover their boy, but before they ge: 011 board the youngster has been questions nid mwe to say that lie was quit, willing to go to Queensland, and consent to be hired out there at a few shillings pot month to work in the c.tnefields of a sugar planta- tion until his time had expired, when he would be <eut back to his island with a large eh^st 01 'tr;nie' of his own. Of course the thing is ab- surd. The boy never understood what he wa, agreeing to, but he has been induced to Dut, hi, mark to the papers and gone througn the regular form in the presence of the Government agent, so the crew decline to give him up. Then his friend- in their despair say they are willing to buy th; youngster off, and that is exactly what the kid- nappers want them to ùo, A hard bargain is now driven with the boy's friends. The kiunapper- will say, 'Before we give this boy up you iiiu,, imd us ten other boys.' In that case only vvd '.hey give the young prince, or whatever lie is, up. The number of recruits agreed upon, the bug 01 the chief will go Oil shore and get their somehow. At this stagt^the schooner is ready t i,'Ct under weigh, and as soon as tiie exchange i" • iiade she is off, and soon clear of the island. 1 have known this to happen several times in nr. own experience. Is it 1, be wondcred at that the nntivet murder bo its crews when an opportune;, offers ? it is not an unfrequenf occurrence for a vessel to arrive at one of these islands with an unscrupu- lous captain and crew on board, who wiii go all kinds of atrocities besides kidnapping They even go so far as to destroy the cocoa liu: trees, which are th;, verv life of the natives, am. I having done so will make their escape, and tii, result very often is that the natives will take revenge UJ: the first ship that comes after that. They will by any means in their power entice the boat's crew on shore, get. them up into a village, and there murder up into a village, and there murder tiiem or they sometimes adopt another course- they will wait, until the two boats are away from the ship recruiting, and when those boats are out of fight of the ship (which they very soon the canoes will go alongside ol" the vessels one by one under the pretence of tr<1u4 in" and when asufljcjeiii number are 011 board they will turn round on the few people that a:e in charge of the vessel, murder them, and alter looting tiCc ship will set tire t" I her. Those in the boats will escape with their lives, and either make for another island or go in search of auothor vessel, and will report the circumstance to the lirst ofnciaj I they meet, perhaps to the commanding ofiicer ot a man-of-war, who will perchance go to the island and bombard it, destroy the villages, kc. The taking of a ship and loftting her, then burning her, is bad, but the other side of the story io seldom 01 never told; moreover, it must be remembered that we go to these people's islands and entice them away from their homes, and supply those who are left, behind with the most deadly weapons to away from their homes, and supply those who are left behind with the most deadly weapons to enable them to fight among each other till one side or the other is exterminated. What I have just said has spoeial reference to the New Hebrides group, and matters are managed much the same at the Solomon group.

MEETING OF CAKDlil- RADICALS. AN APPEAL FOB FI NDS. The annual public meeting of the Liberals of the East, Ward was held on Tuesday eveningat the New Liberal Club, in Custom House-street, Cardiff. The busi ness was to elect otiioers and 45 representatives ut the Liberal Three Hundred; to admit members to the New Liberal Club, and receive subscriptions for the ensuing year. The chair was taken tt seven o'cL.ck by Dr. Edwards. There were also present Aldermen Lew is, Duncan, Elliott, Councillor Fulton, Messrs. E. Shackell, G. Bull, Lewis Williams, Dr. Wallace, J. T. Barry, D. Howell, J. Duncan, W. Blight, S:e.— Mr. Lewis Williams was elected pre- sident; Mr. K. Davies, treasurer, and Mr. D. Shep- herd, hon. secretary. The election of 45 was then made. after which the question of the Liberal Club was brought forward. It was understood to have been a failure for the want of n,eiiibei-s.-Oii the suggestion of Aideruiatt Duncan, it W,I:greed that a personal canvass of the Liberals should be made, after which the Treasurer intimated that the asso- elation wasin want of funds to carrv out the work of registration. Subscriptions would be received from 6d. to zCi. Among; the following speakers were Alderman Duncan, Mr. Fulton, Mr. Peter Price, Mr. Lewis Williams (who made a prospective allu- sion to the next election), and the Rev. Mr. Har-i greaves, who proposed that the Radicalsof the town should hold an open air demonstration—a ues- tion which, however, met with disapproval, bub- J scriptions were made in the room, and fifteen members gave in their names for £ 1 Is. each. Dr. Wallace complained that a recent paragraph in the Soiah Wales Datli/ Xetrs, purporting to report what was said by the secretary of the South Ward in reference to tho Liberal Club, was inaccurate iu a number of important particulars. He also noted that there had been tt report of the same meeting in the Western Mail.—The proceedings shortly afterwards concluded.

AND CilOMARTIE ELECTION. I, RESULT OF THE POLLING. The result of the polling at the Ross and Cro- inartie election on Tuesday was declared ou Wed- nesday to be as follows :— Mr. R. C. Munro-Ferguson (Liberal). 717 Mr. A. R M'Kenzie (Conservative) 334 Dr. R. -Al-Do!-iil(i (Land Reformer ) 248 I ..L: 1 rrevious to tms election niere had been no con- test, in the county since 1852. when the result of the poll was—Sir J. Matheson, Bart. ( L ) 238- Air G. W. H. Ross (C.), 218. sir J. Matheson was 're- turned without opposition in 1857, 1859, and 1S65 and Sir A. Matheson, the retiring member, had represented the county unopposed since Novem- ber, 1878. I