Monmouthshire Merlin

THE HARVEST. The following sensible letter, recently addressed to the Times, by the Rev. C. F. Watkins, of Brixworth, is worthy of attentive perusal by all who are interested in or desire to be informed as to the amount of their year's graiu crops, and our prospects as to a future supply. Mr. Watkins says—Now that the per cent- age is pretty well ascertained by the thrashing, which is the only sure criterion, to be more than 30 below the average, and the potato crop exceedingly bad, it behoves us well to consider what certain measures may be adopted to lessen the deficiency at present, and, humanly speaking, to acquire a better crop for the following year. z, An immediate mitigation is at hand, if the farmers will lay aside an old prejudice, and, instead of sowing three bushels, sow but half the quantity to the acre. For more than 30 years before Hewitt Davis wrote upon the subject, and long before Mechi practised, I have never sown more than six pecks upon light land, and four upon strong land in the autumn season in spring two bushels or two and a peck; and never have I had less than 36 bushels to the acre, and generally from 40 to 48, and above, even to 56. Of course the land must be in good condition, and the seed put in by the middle of October, if possible, to secure an early tillering and a level crop at harvest. I drill 12 inches apart on strong land and 10 on light. On clover leys, and where, from other causes, there is fear of the slug, 2t cwt. of salt to the acre should be sown before the ploughing and 2t after. Light land should be firmly pressed by the roll or clod crusher, and if the season be too wet for the roll, trampled in by sheep. It preserves the root from the winter frosts and north-east winds, and very much helps to secure it from the slug. Repeated in March it arrests the wire worm. The saving of the seed wheat will add millions and millions of bushels to the national supply and in such an emergency as that to which I fear we are now exposed it is the duty of every man to endeavour for the sustenance of his countrymen. And on this ground there should be no hesitation on the part of agriculturists in sending in immediate returns of the average acres under wheat in the passing year, that the Government may suggest and merchants carry out all possible means for feeding the people. The French are alive to this need, and thereby enabled to forestall us in the markets of the world. Nor let anyone suppose that it is meant for party purposes, or to effect taxation. This bugbear must be driven from the presence of every sensible man. To meet the threatened scarcity of that hearty and universal esculent, the potato, rice is one of the pleasantest substitutes to be eaten with meat; but the labourer can't work upon it. Indian corn and peas well boiled are agreeable and hearty food for the working man; and, though dearer than usual at present, are much less so than wheat is likely to be.. If families would supply themselves with what is ludicrously called the bake stone-that is a sheet of flat iron—they might frequently treat themselves— and no mean treat it is-wi 1 h an oaken cake from the most favoured crop this year of all our cereals; and a good mess of porridge is no bad breakfast for a working lad. The rhubarb has thrown out a second crop; this, if preserved, is a good substitute for the scarcity of apples. Should the Rider ou the BJack Horse appear, foresight and forethought will not be thrown away. The farmers of Northamptonshire will not suspect me of evil counsels. We understand each other, and I refer all others to them to assure them of good will towards them. In this confidence, I earnestly entreat them to hoe their wheat, clean or foul, early in the spring, and a second hoeing will bring its return. The nitre and ammonia in the atmosphere will thus reach the roots of their wheat through the pulverized earth, and the plant will have freedom for breathing, for exercise, and sporting under the rays of the sun and the dews of heaven, like the young of the animal creation, rejoicing in their strength. The stalk of their thin-sown wheat will stand up firm under storm and rain, and the stout ear will have its four rows entire, and the full corn in the ear. If, owing to extraordinary frosts, or bleak winds, or the ravages of the slug, the plant should have a weak appearance in spring, three or four cwt. of Messrs. Proctor and Co.'s manure will do wonders to restore it. I never knew it to fail. This is no puff,—they don't need it. It is but just and grateful to bear this testimony, with- out meaning to disparage others not tried like this for 20 years. Of 30 acres of wheat this year I had but one laid, and that under trees and hedges. The present glut of money, and the surplus in the Bank of England have been looked upon with regret. But may not this be a merciful provision for the pur- chase of foreign supplies if they can be had ? Egypt and Hungary are the only certain fields of abundance. I say certain, for American accounts are- sometimes apocryphal, and the South may need most of what the North can spare. Let. us hope that in the face of severe trials the labouring class will think of their wives and children, compromise their differences, and secure by constant employment the means of subsis- teiace and that all employers of labour will do their utmost to give employment to all who seek it. For certainly under present circumstances England expects every man to do his duty herein.

EFFICACY IN SKIN DISEASED OF DR. DE JONGH'S LIGHT-BROWN COD LIVER OIL.-In these distressing complaints the beneficial effects of this celebrated Oil have been most remarkable. Thomas Hunt, Esq., Surgeon to the Western Dispensary for Diseases of the Skin, in testifying to its efficacy in cutaneous affections, observes I had never heard that Cod Liver Oil had been found extensively useful in skin diseases (except in those of strumous origin) until I happened; meet with the widely circulated observations of Dr. de Jongh. I resolved to put it to the test of experiment, and I have now prescribed it in abou: one hundred and twenty cases of skin disease. It is bare justice to Dr. de Jongh to say, that the success attendiag its use in dispensary practice fully satisfies me that he has not exaggerated its value. To avoid the chance of adulteration, and to secure uniformity of quality, I have invariably prescribed, in the cutaneous cases herein alluded to, the Oil sold in bottles with Dr. de Jongh's seal upon them." Dr. de Jongh's Light-Brown Cod Liver Oil is sold only in capsuled imperial half-pints, 2s. 6d.; pints, 4s. 9d. quarts* 9s. labelled with his stamp and signature, without which none can possibly be genuine, by his sole consignees, Ansar. Harford, and Co., 77, Strand, London and respectable chemists. [IS

BANK DEPOSITS AND BANK SHARES. Two correspondents of the Times have called pub- lic attention to an anomaly which, in our opinion, is most remarkable from a point of view in which these writers have not regarded it. The principal joint- stock banks hold no less than £63,000,000 of the money of the public. The Bank rate is only 2 per cent., and the interest paid by the joint-stock banks is consequently only 1 per cent. Yet this enormous sum continues on deposit. The amount was not greater last year when the banks were pay- ing 6 per cent. or more. But the prices of the shares of the very banks which have in keeping so vast a proportion of the ready wealth of the community run exceedingly low. People will not buy them in suffi- cient numbers to make an effectual and price-raising demand. A deposit yields I per cent. An invest ment in shares yields, as things now are, from 5 to 9 per cent. But people with money court the 1 and eschew the 9. It is easy enough to prove that this preference is absurd. No one seriously believes that these bank shares are an unsafe investment. Such a proposition could not be for a moment supported. And, looking at the thing in a strictly logical way, investors who trust their money as depositing custo- mers in banks which they will not trust with the same amount in order to secure for themselves the profits of partners, forego a high rate of interest, when their own conduct proves they have no doubt of the security. The first writer in the Times puts this very strongly. Nobody," he says, would trust his money in the shape of -deposits to a bank in whose stability he had not the fullest confidence in other words, he must believe that his money would practically be as safe invested in its stock as lodged in its till. For all practical purposes this, I think, is indisputable. We all know, doubtless, that as a shareholder he might not merely lose his money, but t, y might be liable to his last shilling to the creditors of the bank in case it broke; whereas in the character of depositor he might get back his money in whole or in part should sue.. ;i failure occur. But what I think there is no question about is that unless the depositor had the strongest conviction in his own mind that nothing of the sort would happen, he would not deposit his money with the concern, and, therefore, practically, its shares, must, in his eyes, be as safe as the deposits in its till payable at call." Nothing can be clearer, and the letter goes on to show by details how absurd is the anomaly which he has brought to light. The London and Westminster is richer in deposits than it ever was before. The London and County is two millions richer than it was last year. The Union has about the same amount as it had twelvemonths ago. The London and Westminster and Joint Stock have been issuing shares, and their prices fluctuate. There have been large settlements going on, too, in reference to de ceased shareholders. But the general run of prices is unaffected by these considerations, and the ano- maly as it exists is fairly pointed out in the citation of the London and County as a bank, the shares of which stands very high (relatively), and which is quite in a settled state, its new shares having been long on the market. The London and County shares are quoted at 54 to 56. Suppose the price paid was S55. The Midsummer dividend was 22 4s. per share both this year and last, and last Christmas the dividend was C2 16s making £ 5 for the year on X53 investment that is, at the rate of 9 per cent. Yet this bank, in common with the others, pays 1 per cent. on its deposits, and whereas it held only £10,718,483 of the public's money last year, when the deposits earned 6 per cent., it holds X 12,032,334 now. Even the National Bank, whose branches are spread all over Ireland, and which therefore migh be supposed to have suffered so much from Fenian, ism, holds £ 4,906,837 this year, as compared with £5,169,03:J last." If it were necessary to heighten this demonstration of inconsistency and blind absti- nence from safe and profitable investments, attention might be drawn to the fact that in the last halt-yearly reports nearly all the joint-stock banks of London imitated the long-continued practice of the London and Westminster, and distinguished between their other liabilities and those arising out of acceptances, always in critical times a gaping chink in our bank- ing armour. To the criticisms of the Times letter- writers, therefore, we have nothing to object. So far as they go, those criticisms are sound. People are abstaining, without reason, from running after bank shares; they are unreasonably hoarding up their money on deposit at 1 per cent. If the writer of a letter in the Times says that he is not concerned in sending up Bank shares we for our part do not care to doubt his protestations. -The question is, what is the truth, and not who tells it? We at once, therefore, concede to these correspondents all they urge, without caring what reason they have for urging it But we must say we regard without the least surprise the anomaly which these writers look upon with such astonishment. We never knew the money market to be free from such anomalies, and we do not expeet it to free itself from them. Money matters are necessarily governed by a great number of individuals of very varying degrees of intelligence and stupidity, and the most profitable employment high intelligence can find in the money market is to gauge the lesser intelligence of other speculators and to foreknow, if possible, the silly delusions, facts, and excitements, which are immediately about to in- fluence prices. No one ever went on the Stock Ex change, or lived with those who had been there, without perceiving that in ordinary times its fluctua- tions are influenced by the smallest of men and the most trivial of circumstances. In great and pro longed crises there are opportunities for men of calm- ness and courage to play a long and wise game. In the American war many cotton men made fortunes (which some of them have since lost) in this way. But, as a rule, prices go up and down for petty reasons that sensible men are not sensible enough to think worth their notice. For example, it is of little use to buy for immediate purposes on the strength of a sound conviction that the latest news means peace, if the Paris Bourse fancies it means war, and all the London speculators follow suit. And all City expe- rience shows that, tin ess a man can afford a long game, and can play it, the surest way of making money is to trade on a level with those around, on the mere chances and changes of the actual market. For our part, we have seldom heard a reason as signed for any sudden change of price which com- mended itself to our judgment or gave us a high opinion of those who really rule the market. Yet it is evident that any one who was too wise to entertain the idea by which the market was affected would not be wise enough to make money out of the change.This being the general rule of the money and share mar- kets, and their affairs being especially the creatures en bloc of particularly small and short-sighted opera- tors, we are never surprised to find prices ruling and investments arranged in a manner which conflicts with all the dictates of reason. Letters such as those which this week appeared in the Times seem to as- sume that the Orson of speculation has been endowed with reason. He has not undergone any such salu tary change, and it is the Orson of the Stock Ex- change, and not the quiet investors in joint stock bank deposits, who govern the prices of shares. Of course, great influences tell. Even letter* in the limes tell, and it is quite possible we may soon see arising out of this correspondence a great rise in Bank shares. But at present those shares are still under the perfectly intelligible weight of another great influence- the late panic. The long conti- nuance of the 10 per cent, rate of discount was onlv a type of the protracted injury that panic did in ail departments of monetary affairs. There are always two classes of investors—those who want large inte- rest with risk and those who are satisfied with small interest in the hope of safety. In times when money is abundant the latter class recruits the for- mer. In times when money is scarce and credit weak money is abundant the latter class recruits the for- mer. In times when money is scarce and credit weak the slow" investors become more numerous, for it is useless at such times to make haste to be rich. The anomalies arise in the interregna, during which money is plentiful, but enterprise cannot get hold of any of it. Then it is that deposits run high and bank shares rule low. It is useless to prove to people —except in Times' letters, which nearly always have some effect-that they might do better with their money. They are not in the mood to do so. They rather prefer very small interest. They glut the Bank of England with bullion. What they will not do is to incur even the reasonable risks of commerce for its reasonable gains. A general tone of small profits pervades the public mind, and a deposit-note, easily 11 got out of" if things should look black, becomes, next to consols, the beau ideal of an investment for the times. Argument is lost upon this frame of mind, and till some feeling of encou- ragement and enterprise is created, very little money will be drawn from the hoard which has been accu- mulated so foolishly, but only a little in exaggeration of past precedents since last year's panic. The large lesson to be draw from the subject, which viewed with real philosophy is one of the greatest interest- and which whether philosophically viewed or not is of the deepest importance :-is this Panics should be prevented. Absolutely they cannot, but comparatively they can. The anomaly of bank shares not being bought while bank deposits are heavy, is not greater *han that of the Bank ofEnglaud being glutted with bullion at a time when, for commercial and indus- trial purposes, money is not to be had. And all such anomalies are traceable to the present currency law, which makes no provision for ameliorating or averting financial crises, and consequently inflicts upon commerce and upon capital all the affliction and none of the benefits of the strictest discipline.— London Review.

THE PAN-ANGLICAN SYNOD. The London public (says the London Revieto), will have an opportunity of witnessing a sight almost as rare as a transit of Venus, or a total eclipse of the Sun. It may not be so interesting as either of those phenomena, but it will be novel and striking- seventy-five bishops, Pan-Anglicans, assembling in full pomp and attire at Lambeth to deliberate on the affairs of Christendom, and of their own Church. The idea of such a gathering is excellent, and the oppor- tunity afforded by it of doing good, valuable but, unfortunately, the vord "bishop" does not impress the English public mind with the confidence that would lead it to expect much fruit from their labours. Whatever be the cause, the clerical mind, with a few exceptions, is a century behind the secular, which is rnnning away from it on rails, while it sits contented on country carts and in hackney coaches. We are not disposed to carp at names, but we should much prefer a Synod of the Bishops, Home and Colonial, of the Church of England, to a Pan- Anglican Synocl"-a hybrid term, half Greek, half Latin, savouring of rust and moths. We want a Synod of Bishops that can and will meet the real religious and social difficulties of the age, and not bolster them. We should like to hope that the Pan- Anglican Synod w:ll prove to be such, but we know it cannot. A bishop has immense influence and that influence is a power for good, if he will only use it without fear. There is not a man in the kingdom who would not respect him if he only candidly spoke his mind, and threw himself, in a practical way and with wisdom, into meeting and removing the reli- gious difficulties by which mens' minds are weighed down. But this is a consummation hardly to be ex- pected. It is a wonderful damper on a man's courage and zeal to have an income of zC6,000, or even zC2,000 a year, to be a spiritual peer, and be addressed My Lord," while, most unjustly, his wife is plain Mrs. Proudhie. We do not mean to say that a "liberal allowance" must damp his ardour; but undoubtedly the tendency is thitherward, and human nature is frail. However that may be, the Pan-Anglican Synod excites no interest among Eng- lishmen—a fact only to be accounted for by the pre- vailing conviction that bishops are not capable of grappling successfully with the difficulties they attempt to solve, and where they are capable, are not as useful as they should be. Let any person read Macaulay's account of the labours of Bishop Burnet, and he will know what a bishop can be—a real inspector" (episcopos), of the clergy and churches of his diocese. This is the kind of inspection and Church Government Englishmen want, and not the shutting up of the episcopacy within a little sphen "f their own, whence through old-fashioned holes they take an occasional look at the great world without, and in its turn allow the world to have a peep at them within. And this want of confidence and interest iu the Synod is confirmed by the programme of its proceed- ings. The universal and infallible remedy for moral and religious evil contemplated seems to be a Bishop. It is hard to see what else is denoted by the word Pan," for there is nothing else universal" about the proceedings only a few (not all Anglicans) take interest in them. The old dishes so much in repute In Convocation are to be served up again, as if a dozen country cousins, bishops from the Colonies, were likely to contribute much towards clearing the difficulties. The subject for the first day's conside- ration is the phantom illusion of the Reunion of Christendom. Will some intelligent Pan-Anglican give us a definite idea of what he means by this I reunion" ? Dr. Pusey burnt his fingers in playing with the subject a couple of years ago in his "Eireni- kon and what was the conclusion to which his arguments inevitably led ? Nothing less than an un conditional surrender to Rome. The Anglican and Greek Churches must bow down and subjugate the intellects of their respective worshippers to the infal- lible authority centred in the Eternal City. Do this, and you can have reunion refuse in the least to do it, and the thing is impossible. Under such circum- stances what good can be expected to come of seventy-five, or even ten times that number of bishops, deliberating one whole precious day on the Reunion of Christendom" ? And is it a wonder the English public is apathetic as regards the Synod? But the fallacy which lies at the root of all delibera- tions on tins subject is the assumption that unity of opinion is desirable. It is nothing of the kind. The tendency of the human mind is to diversity. No two persons think alike in all particulars, and to force them to do so is unnatural, and must be mischievous. If free inquiry be one of man's inalienable rights, there must be diversity of opinion in religion, and it must be good that there should be, at least until unity of opinion comes round in its time as the result of that inquiry. To attempt to accelerate its advent by Pan-Anglican synods would be to kill the hen that lays the golden eggs. To convince a person of the diaicultyof bringing about unity of opinion on reli- gious subjects, it is sufficient to direct attention to the difficulty of effecting the unity of love. It is hard to bring ecclesiastics to unity in love, yet people who differ in opinion can and do often love. But unity of opinion itself can only be the result of conviction. This is the lesson ecclesiastics have yet to learn. On the same subject, the Imperial Review says- When the idea of an Anolo-CEcumenical Council, or, as it has been more generally but barbarously styled, a Pan-Anglican Synod, was first launched into the world, it created quite a flutter of excitement in High Church bosoms. Those whose minds were accus- tomed to dwell upon the details of Church govern ment in primitive times, and who were used to live rather among the shadows of the past than the facts of the present, thought that they were about to see some parts of the glories of Nicezi, or Chalcedon, or Florence, revived again. There was a combination of vagueness and of magnificence in the project which suggested very large possibilities There was a sufficient occasion for such a meeting. The inspi- ration and veracity of Scripture which had been re- cently impugned, and the visible reunion of Chris- tendom which had recently become a topic of thought, at once presented themselves as worthy subjects for the consideration of all the Bishops of the Anglican Communion when met together according to ancient 9 1 precedent in a Church Council. The Council, if it should meet, would be greater and more imposing than a National Council, for the Episcopate of more than one nation was to be gathered to it. It seemed likely that the Priinatial See of St. Augustine might be compelled to expand into a Patriarchate to meet the necessities of the situation and it was fancied that the world was about to see a Patriarchial Synod meeting on the primitive model, to promote unity, to rebuke scepticism, and to intensify the energy and the ubiquity of the Anglican Church. It was looked upon also as a challenge to the Church of Rome, which had not ventured to summon a Synod of their own communion since that of Trent. And, indeed, that Church has not shown itself slow in replying to the challenge; for the Pope has declared his intention of also summoning a Romano-CEcumenical Synod in the autumn of 1868. Beginning with such really exciting and stirring associations and anticipations, it is quite a marvel to see how little interest the Pan Anglican Synod calls forth now that it is just going to meet.

There are but few artifices eo short sighted as hiding defects of consumable articles, as loss of custom is cer- tain to arise when the test of real cheapness is applied. The Parliamentary Report on Food Adulteration proves, that the Chinese jace' tea with mineral color, to dis- guise the perished brown appearance of the autumn leaves when so disguised they are enabled to puss off the bad at high prices, and get an additional profit at the expense of the consumer. Horniman and Co., desirous of obtaining a lading preference for their tea, have abolished artificial colur on all their imports their pure Green is a dark olive, (not bluish); their bLick tea is not made intensely dark. The high estimation in which these teas are everywhere held, arises from their beiftg reliably strong and very cheap in priee. All imitations abound, notice Horniman and Co.'s list of Agents in this paper.

THE MANCHESTER COMMISSION. The commission sitting at Manchester has now placed on record a very complete account of the conditions under which brickmaking and its kindred trades are conducted in that part of Lancashire. The leading fact to be noticed is that the whole trade of the district, in all its details, is subject to the ab- solute dictation of the Unions. The Union, and the Union alone, decides by whom the bricks are to be made, how they are to be made, and even where they are to be used. The trade is subject to the control of an absolute despotism, the decrees of which are enforced by violence. We will enumerate a few of the rules established by this self-constituted authority. First of all, no master may employ non-Union men. We beg it may be observed that the rule does not merely prohibit Union men from working with non- Union men; it prohibits the employment of non- Union men under any circumstances, and there is no offence for which masters are more frequently subjected to penalties than for selecting their own workmen as they please. Another rule-not formally laid down, indeed, in the laws of the Union, but by the admission of every witness universally enforced- is that the making of bricks by machinery is not to be tolerated. The bricklayers, by a special treaty with the brickmakers, have refused to lay machine- made bricks, and the brickmakers refuse to supply hand-made bricks to masters who use those made by the machine. Moreover, as this kind of protection is not sufficient, the machiues are destroyed. Ma- chine-made bricks," says a bricklayer, are better and cheaper than hand-made, and would supersede them in an open market." But the Union has issued its edict against them. By another rule, the Union forbids the transference of bricks from one district to another. None but bricks made within the district of the Manchester Union may be used within that Union and it is thought necessary to enforce this rule by cruel violence on the carters who may be the agents of brickmakers in infringing it. Lastly, the Union dictates what shall be paid for labour." The ferocity and cruelty of the penalties by which they enforce their laws are, we are inclined to think even more conspicuous at Manchester than at Shef- field. It is nothing to put thousands of needles into the clay, the effect of which is not so much to spoil bricks as to lame the hands of those who mould them. "Bottling"-that is, throwing bottles full of com bustible substances into rooms where masters, their wives and children are sleeping-is a very familiar practice. One witness describes an outrage which is absolutely identical with that attempt on Fearne- hough, which occasioned the Sheffield inquiry. Nor, again, is it the least unusual to put a pistol to the head of an inoffensive watchman. It does not appear that watchmen have been actually killed, but they have been shot in the head with slugs. But there is a peculiar brutality and ferocity about many of the outrages Hamstringing horses is a frequent prac tice, and is sufficiently cruel, but it is surpassed by one outrage committed at a machine brickmaker's. The stable was broken open, and a gray mare was tied up by the head, shavings were then placed under her and set on fire, and she was burnt to death after a couple of hours, having pulled the hayrack down in her struggles. The manager of this establishment was attacked by three brickmakers and knocked down, and one of the men struck a knife at his shoulder. It fortunately missed him, and stuck in the ground, in which a piece of the blade, two or three inches long, was afterwards found. A boy who was carrying some letters for the same master was seized and thrown into a pit of water He could not swim, and must have been drowned if he had not been accidentally rescued by a passer-by. There is one story which may serve for a summary picture of life in the Manchester brick trade. Mr. John Ash worth, at Salford, happened to employ his son, who was not a Union man, in some subordinate work. For this he had 60,000 bricks destroyed. A man was apprehended for the offence. Two members of the Union then came and called off his workmen and said he must pay a fine of zC50 for the apprehension of this man. He refused, and worked his yard by the help of his own family and two men. He then received a letter from A Well-wisher," informing him that the brickmakers had decided to shoot him or otherwise put an end to his existence." Two days after this a man who, from his dress, was probably taken for Mr. Ashworth's son, was found 50 yards from his house badly beaten and nearly killed. In the pool of blood in which he lay were found bottles with which they had beaten him. One bottle was filled with blasting powder." Mr. Ashworth at length submitted to the Union, and is now making bricks without interruption. Snch are the rules of the Manchester brickmakers, and such the penalties by which they are enforced. We have only to add that the public will inquire with some anxiety how these revelations are regarded by the working men in general. On a first view, it would appear somewhat shocking that they are not at once disavowed and condemned with the same vehemence as the Sheffield outrages. Are we to con- clude that the working men have learnt the lesson which Professor Beasley endeavoured to teach them I —"that it is possible to say too much" even of arson, of murder, and most of the most revolting cruelty to inoffensive animals ?—Times

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND AGRICULTUUAL SOCIETY.-At a meeting of the Council of this So- ciety, held at Taunton ou Tuesday last (Sir J. T. R Duckworth, hart, President, in the chair), a letter was read from Mr. C. M. Lee, honorary secretary to the Salisbury Local Committee, conveying a vote of thanks to the Society for having held its meeting at Salisbury, and acknowledging the benefits that had thereby accrued to the city and its neighbourhood. The Council then proceeded to consider letters which had been received from Bath, Gloucestershire, and Taunton, with reference to the place of meeting for 1869 a deputation, consisting of the town bail- iffs of Taunton, was also received; and eventually the Council (having regard to the fact that for the last two years the annual meetings of the society have been held at a considerable distance from the centre of the operations, and that in 1868 themeeting will take place at Falmouth), unanimously resolved that, subject to the compliance of the local authorities with the usual conditions of the Society, the meeting iu 1869 shall be held at Taunton. EDITORS AND THEIR CORRESPONDENTS.—" The man who writes to the newspapers" is a mysterious creatuie. He seems to gl).up and down th3 earth with an eye for a paragraph as hungry as that of a penny-a-liner. It is not his own grievances alone which troubles him. He will claim the a-sistance of the philanthropic for the survivors of a fire he will write a pathetic appeal on I behalf of houseless cats; he will denounce the tyranny of some petty magnate in a Roumanian town. It the editor of one of our daily papers would only publish, without note or comment, without choice or rejection, the entire correspondence addressed to him in any single day, the result would be one of the most marked curi- osities of modern life. If he wcie to publish the corres- pondence of a week, there would be a cry from every corner of the land for an increase in the number of lunuic asylums. Letters abusing the policy of the Duke of Wellington written years after his death, letters containing religious poetry and a request for six postase stamps, letters revealing horrible secrets connected with the Queen's family, letters demanJing the insertion of a notorious puff with a promisa that twenty copies of the paper shall be bought, letters thteatening to throw the editor over "Waterloo Bridge, if he does net make a public apology for having slandered somebody in a police report, letters asking him to a Sunday dinner with a Peckham family of whom he has never heard, and hinting that he will be permitted to view Mr. Smith's new method of killing bullocks-io short, letters marked by every conceivable phase of sim- plicity, unreason, and occasionally downright insanity, pour in from every quarter. These correspondents are not to be baffled by the mere rejection of their contri- butions. They will look out for a more thrilling subject; they will try the editor with an array of bigger adjec- tives. It may very readily be understood, therefore, that when an editor practically throws open his columns to all correspondents who choose to write about a certain subject, these nomadic authors rush at the opportunity with a hideous joy. In curt letters and in laboured essays, with a splendid indignation or in tones of cutting sarcasm, they tell the story of their private reflections upon this great topic until it would seem as if all the world were engaged in pondering over and writing upon one theme. This is an editorial device which has be- come common in those dull weeks when Parliamentary subject producers are partridge-shooting and salmon- fishing; and not unfrequently it has been productive of some good. THE HIMALAYA. TEA Co.'S PURE TEA has all the advantages of reduced duty, is moderate in price, excellent In quality being the purest tea in use it is the most wholesome, therefore the best and cheapest. Sold only ia Packete.

r ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ORATORY. We think there can be no doubt that the average American audience is what is commonly meant by more intelligent than an English one. Most of the individuals that compose it will be less destitute of education, and their minds will work more readily and more rapidly. But the education which they can really boast will be virtually so small that they are sure to be rather vain of it, and exceedingly anxious that it should pass for something consi- derably more than it is. Hence, if stuff be talked to them which they do not understand, they will be afraid of pronouncing it nonsense, lest it should in reality be something peculiarly profound which is unintelligible only to them. They are afraid to condemn the orator lest they should be condemning themselves. The comparative rapidity with which their minds work, as compared with those of Eng- lishmen of the same class, will but intensify their condition and faults as spectators, already induced by their little and dangerous knowledge. Failing to understand what a speaker says to them, they will try to imagine that they understand him, or that they catch a glimpse, at least, of his meaning. In default even of this, they will interpolate a meaning of their own, and conceive him to have said what they would have liked him to say. Now everybody will see at a glance that this would be an entirely false account of an ordinary English audience. The more ignorant portion of it would be more or less aware, and unfortunately not one whit ashamed, of its ignorance, whilst less, instructed and more in- structed alike would be mainly anxious that what was said to them should be comprehensible. Far from crying out, "Give us some Latiu," their de- mand would be, even to a man who addressed them in English but a trifle too learnedly, Tell us some- thing that we can understand." Their attitude towards the speaker would be a strange mixture of stupidity and exacting criticism, just as that of an analogous American audience would be an equally strange one of intelligence and lax toleration. It is not surprising that, audiences in the two coun- tries being so different-and what we have said of average audiences applies, mutatis mutandis, with almost equal force to any particular one—oratory, or the forms of speech addressed to them, should be strikingly dissimilar. To put an extreme case, an American speaker knows that he had far better talk nonsense than break down, whilst an English one had far better break down than talk what his audience will consider nonsense. For there is this peculiarity in English stupidity, that it is not unfre- quently profoundly conceited; and unless even a clever man has already acquired a reputation for sense and learning, he runs great risk of being ac- cused of being fundamentally unintelligible if he happens not to be understood. The American, like the Frenchman, is vain, and is afraid to call a person a fool who is fluent. The Englishman is proud, and dislikes to believe that there are things, or at any rate is not over-well pleased to be told about things of which he knows absolutely nothing.- His pride continually prevents him from learning from people wiser than himself, but it likewise makes him terrible to charlatans and pretenders. Hence American orators have to be extremely confident, English orators extremely cautious. The orator in England who liesitates is never lost. His ruin is not unfrequently due to quite another cause, as some of the most unhesitating possessors of the eopia fandi are experiencing at this moment to their sorrow and mortification. Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright are never at a loss for a word; but they are, in consequence, in want of something a trifle more valuable in the eyes of English politicians of note," viz., a compact body of followers. Lord Pal merston and Earl Russell, though they could not rival one of their colleagues in the advantage of being" denied by Heaven the gift of articulate speech," are butiordinary instances of politicians of note in England, whose speeches arc prodigally interspersed with "hums and haws." Mr. Disraeli, not naturally gifted with that winning charm, has taken great pains of late years to acquire it. Had he not done so, we very much doubt if, despite his more shining qualifications, he would at this moment have been leader of the House of Commons. The best American oratory would scarcely win for a man in England real political distinction, and even the best English oratory will not secure to him its pos- session. Either of these will in America make and keep him "one of the most remarkable men in the country." Passion and volubility are not unknown on this side of the Atlantic, but what they bring to a man here may, perhaps, be best exemplified by the instance of what they have brought to Mr. Horsman. In America, he could have scarcely failed to become President, had such beeu his am- bition. We by no means mean to insinuate that he is not a very fine speaker, who could impress any body of hearers. But we suspect that he would have more rivals among highly educated English- men, if they thought it wise to compete with him in that line. Writing in this sense, we think we may safely lay it down that to utter, somewhat clumsily, precisely that and only that which you want to utter, is a higher and more advanced style of oratory than to say more or less than you want, rather than be betrayed into any lack of readiness in saying it. The ancients avoided the difficulty by long and careful preparation. Both English and American politicians of note are too busy for that. Practice and hereditary habits will no doubt cultivate in both an ability to speak extemporaneously, with fluency, prudence, and precision combined. We have already some men who approach very near to this ideal. So far, the Americans can produce no kindred examples. Neither are they likely to further oratorical perfection in the future, as long as they entertain so exorbitant a dread of hesitation. They have writers fully as precise as any that we can boast, and in stump oratory they have no rivals. As in everything else, our average is, perhaps, below theirs; but, unquestionably, we can point to the highest types, whether we consider the speeches of the dead or those of the liring.-Imperial leeview.

THE OCTOBER FASHIONS. Black silk and other similar rca erials O-miinue o be much worn, even at the sea-side for instance, one I noticed was a robe ot black taffeta, trimmed with a gladiature ribbon (i.e. blue and red) the platetot edged with the same, having the sieves tied at thu top wi'h a Similar libb,,ii. 1 lie sa'rie lady wore a ltrge straw herdess hat, with a whi'e veil, and ornamented with a bouquet of roses. Tile peplum still continues to find much fivo,ir, and it IS often accompanied by a scarf of several bright e"iuu"" tied lightly behind. The toilettes of little girle have lost their ordinary gracefulness, since they no linger we?r any c ino'ine. Their principal toilettes are neaily all white, with very simple ornaments, although alw iys in colouis. Little boys generally wear the Breton, costume, with red stockings there are many other styles for choice, however. The Breton i, decidedly the most adopted. Little Girl's toi ette.-Co,tune composed of an under- petticoat of white 1 unii gauz-, with white hlue stripes. Skirt with side seams in baii, and plaited behind. To- wards the bottom, band of plain foulard, cut at the top only in round denticulations, embroidered witii white. Second skirt, Empire form, without piaiis. Large braiding of blue in tie scams, and on the e,ig, ot' dentic- ulat on, as Well as on the neck ot the bodice. Ball Toilettes.—Robe with train, composed of a first skirt of white satin, ornamented,en tablier, bv branchei of stiaded foiiage supporting fruits of jet. Tunio of tu::a open in front. Bodice of white satin, veiled with tulie, flead-dress ornamented with three bands passing through the hair. Necklet, braoele'.s, a:,d earrings to match. Country Toilettes. For a young lady. Robe composed of a first skirt of blue foulard, ornaiuentad above the hem by two clusters of grey ribbons second skirt com- plt:zely fla,, out at the bo: tom. in sharp angles. Th.s petticoat i. in grey poult-de-soie, and forms, in the same pattern, a small corslet, trimmo d at the top bv a cluster, and fringe rising on tii,4 shoulders. Blue Bash fastened by a bow having a star of pe.ris. Under- bodice with long blue sleeves. Small plain t,1118 patetot- Grey felt hat edged with small white fl iwers forming train behmu.—From the London and laris Magazine of Fashion.

HOLLWAY'S PILLS.-Protectors of Health.—In the hand-to-hand struggle for existance in the present day good health is everything. Holloway's purifying, diges- tive, and gently laxative Pills are so feebly perform d that life itself seems most precarious. The stomach may have its many maliidies removed by a judicious use of these Pills, the torpid liver is roused to active secivtati n and every other organ subserving digestion is placed at its natural standard and better fitted for its duties It is impossible to have a doctor at our elbow at all seasons and places, but these Pills will supplant that loss, for hey universally act beneficially in everv ailment. THE NECESSARIES o* LiirE.-A Fire in Winter, a Meal when Hungary, a Drink when Thirsty, a Bed at Night, a Friend in Need, a Lucifer Match in the Dark, and a box of Kaye's Wors- dell's Pills at all times.—Sold by all chemists and other dealers u patent medicines, at Is. li<L,2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d.—[Adv .}

I ARRIVAL AND & DEPARTURE OF MAIL, 11 NEWPORT. MAILS 3ox closes a' ^t^edat AI^ ~T20 P 91 London Day Mail. 10 5 a.m. 10 15 a.ine23630 London Night Miil 8 10 p.m. 9 10 p.m. s 0A& fli North Mail 4 45 p m. 5 0 p.m- 4 OplII 81 Western Valleys (N tli INTI 10 5 a.m. 1030 a.m. 10 30,10 J), Swansea Day Mail 1 45 p m. 2 0 p.m. c iSp1" ft 1st Pembroke Mail 1 30 a.m. 2 15 a.m. q 7P1" n Brecon Mail 1 30 a.m. 2 36 a.m. „ JOP1" 2nd Pembroke Mail 8 15 a.m. 9 30 a.m. "1 Newport Rural District. 1 30 am. 3 45 a.m ?$JJ Pontypool (XortliMail) 8 45 a.m. 9 0 a.m. jj THE TOWN DECEIVING HOUSES AND PILLAR BOXle C CLEARED AS UNDER. W First Second Third jfa A. M- P. M. P. M. Commercial street 9 0 4 0 7 15 « 0 Pillgwenlly 8 45 3 45 7 0 Baneswell 8 35 4 10 7 25 Dock street 8 45 3 55 7 10 a Commercial road 8 50 3 50 7 5 — j Commercial street 9 10 4 10 7 25 ••• Stow hill 8 30 4 .7 NEWPORT TlDiji i'ABLK. HIGH WATER. DE**10 ft I DATS. MORN, EVEN. jpOCgJ^X Sept., 1867. H. M. H. M. F1' JO 28, Saturday 6 55 7 8 30 « J 29, Sunday 7 31 7 44 31 g 30, Monday 8 4 8 19 il 1, Tuesday 8 25 8 50 28 2, Wednesday 9 5 9 19 27 3, Thursday 9 34 9 49 21 g 4, Friday 10 4 10 16 WEEKLY CALENDAR j Moon'« Age—New Moon, 27th, 3m. past 1 = — 1))-1 ] = — ] SEttia,™ ES° Mo.? J 2S 5 56 5 45 6 17 6 U m | 29 5 58 5 43 7 27 6 37 <0 t 30 a 59 5 41 8m 36 7a 6 g 1 6 1 5 40 9 m 43 7a 36$\ 2 6 3 5 38 10 45 8 U # » 3 6 5 5 35 11m 43 8 45 «11 4 6 7 5 32 12a 40 9 LONDON RAILWAY SHARE L j)U5¡JJe Shares. Railways ^Paid.j Closing Prices Stock. Birm.&StourValley All — Stock. Bristol and Exeter. 100 83 85 l Stock. Caledonian 100 105 —-106 Stock. Great Eastern 100 30i 31| 30if, Stock. Great Northern .100 110 —112 Stock. Do. A Stock 100 116 —118 J Stock. Great Western 100 47j{— 48^ 471 Stock. D,J. South Wales 100 J Stock. Do. W Mid. Oxfd 100 .28 32 I Stock. Do. Newport 100 29 31 ¡ Stock. fo. Hereford 1^0 f Stock. London&Blackwall 100 ( Stock. :Laucash.& Yorshire 100 127 -128 Stock. Loudon, Brighton,! and South Coast.. 100 53 — 53j 53 | au d South Coast.. 100 53 53 53 i 14 Stock. London&N.Westrn. 100 112jj 114t 113i Stock. Manchester, Shef- field, & Lincolnsh. 100 48 48 48fl; zi Stock Midland. 100 121J J22.t 12 Stock. Do. Birm.&Derby, 100 91 93 50 N.-Eastern,Leeds.. All 63 64 Stock. Do., York.l00 96 — 98 25 Stockton & Dar- lington All 33 34 Stock. Shropshire Union 100 56 57 50 South Devon 100 45 — 47 „ jff Stock. South-Eastern 100 69 69^ Stock. Taff Vale 100 143 148 10 Do. C 3 pm Stock. Vale of Neath 100 — v Stock. West Cornwall All — BRISTOL S TOe K EX C H A N G' September 26.. <>ice Share Railways. Paid 84' Stock rJristol and Exeter £ 100 834 54^ •itock Do. 4 p.ct. preference 100 83h" Stock Do. 4 p:ct. Do. 100 8 9 & 6 ales UL 25 26 3nstol & S ^Vales Un 25 8 Stock U reac Northern 100 _i—. 48 Stock sireat Western 100 47$^ Stock Do. 4 j p.c t .preference 100 ""not Stock London & North Western lOf Stock ilidland J00 — Stock Uo. 0 p.ct .brs & Birm. l°° <u 95 Stock vioa. ttail. Canal l00 L t luu Do.aperct. preference 100 Do. do 10 ;)o. lo. 230 30 Stock A'.Tti. £ istern Berwick 10u cnZ 61 10 li.'iymney j00 20 )oi;ierse t and Dorset. ]00 4/ 50 South Devon. jO0 • teck .South Wales. i00 60 Severn & Wye C. & It 50 147 Stock raff Vale 100 1^5 10 L>0, £ 10, Class B 9 Si 10 Do. £ 10, Class C 3 34^ tock Do. Preference No.l.. 100 50 Do. Aberaare 50 "9 itock Vale of Neath 100 90 gl 100 West Cornwall. 100 50 I Local ui id Miscellaneous. 1 10 Avonside Engine 7 lu Ditto new 3 -29 20 Bristol Cemetery 20 26 51 147 Bristol Dock Shares 147.9,0 85- iJitto Notes 121.8.9. Stock Bristol United Gas jyo 179 130 Bristol Steam Navigation 130 9$ 25 Bristol Commercial Koom 25 2^ 25 liristol Water Works 2-5 25i"^Qp0i "uock Do. Preierence 100 I Bristo 1 Bread Shares 4 1 i ih Britol Zoological 25 18 6 10 j Clifton Susp Bridge. 105gi 10 Western Wagon uonipny 10 91^ (J liennet and Avon Canal., av.40 it' St. Phiiip's Bridge 50 40 50 'V.of h.is.'V.iJs, Bank 15 P, RAILWAY TRAFFIC. The tollowiiip; are he receipts of railways for —— SceiPS- Miles opened .at}?. 12^* Railways. 186" 1866 2- 9^71 Belfast and Northern Counties 99 99 740 ogi? Balfast and County Down 49 49 jej? Blyth and Tyne 36 36 ?3 l9j Bristol and Exeter 134 121 Caledonian 573 502 3550* Cambrian 130 130 » Cork and Handon 20 20 » g Cork,Blackrock, and Passage 6 £ 6 £ ■" Cork and Youglial 32 32 -p »' Cornwall 65 65 1979 Deeside 17 .597 Do., Extension 15 iHi6 Dublin and Belfast Junction 63 *>3 lo 1 Dublin and Drogheda 75 0$ Dublin & Wicklow in.Kingstown 107 107 jjf Dublin and Meatli 35 35 ^0g 502? forth and Clyde Junction 30 30 .joO Fuvness 85 8-5 ,'<>152 Glasgow and South-Western 219 249 j'ago Great Eastern 709 709 Great Northern 487 422 g§8 Ut. Northern & Western (Ireland) 83| 83 Great North of Scotland and 4ig2 Deeside 275 274 m394 ?c«l Gt. Southern <te Western (Ireland; 419 419 o 1 >7fi6 Great Western & West Midland 1311 81 *^0 Hull and llornsea 13 13 5#% Highland 246 216 20*i Irish North Western 145 145 207' 463^ Lancashire and Yorkshire 403 40'5 Limerick and Enuis 26i 24 £ "Iq Limerick and Foynes 26 26 14 London and North-Western (in ,1 eluding Chester and Holyhead Q() Lancaster and Carlisle) 1326 1307 1239^ Loudon and Blackwall 5 5f 36"^ London, Brighton,and SouthCoast 335 293 28|j5, %,nA London and South-Westeru 503 500 307- 4L Londonderry and Coleraine 36 36 London Tilbury,& SoiitilelidE-xt., 42 42 106 516 Llanelly 46| 46 SL Lynvi Valley 30* 30 «« lA Manchester Sheffield,and Lincoln 246 246 fat IjJ Manchester S. June.&Altriucham 9 9 Marypor and Carlisle 33 28 bfyi Midland 703 683 611*' M Midland Great Western of Ireland 260 260 Metropolitan 43 4| 40W North British 743 j32 29098 North Eastern 1229 1207 7 6037 7oJ North London n 11 6037 North Staffordshire 268 267 8817 Ogmore 10 — Too *.<A Pembroke and Tenby 27 11 1* lihymuey 221 22 1* .1 Scottish North-Eastern & Dundee and Arbroath 143 j38 .ZZc iLj Somerset and Dorset 66 66 South Devon 110 98 South-Eastern 330 319 6fn1 TaffVMe 63 63 Do. Penarth 2 2 Ulster 105 105 Vale of Clwyd 10 10 Waterford and Kilkenny 31 31 Waterford and Limerick 77 77 West Cork 175 — 7' Whitehaven, Cleater,& Egremont 10 10 .ag FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. Austrian 828 828 V Bombay, Baroda, & Central India 306 306 777 l'0g Eastern Bengal no 110 East Indian U31 1129 32731 #6 Great Luxembourg 172 142 6*5 277^ Grand Trunk of Canada 1377 1377 ?54U* ^9" Great Westprn ef Canada 349 345 1* ll^.0 Great Indian Peninsula 852 701 1?QJ Great Southern of India 127 79 ZraR Madras 611 671 £ SOK Northern of Canada 97 94 Jj.go 707 j Northern of France 788 764 I °~0og Sfltnde 109 109 2- 09. PHnjab(MooltantoUmritsir) 253 233 | 'j