The Cardiff Times

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE PAST WEEK. 1824. 1883. In De £ £ £ South Eastern 31076.. 33048.. 1972 London, Brighton, and S C 318,31. 32963.. — 1132 Taff Vale & Penarth Rail. 14321.. 15753.. 1432 Aletropolitaii 11857.. 12403.536 MetroDolitan District »7783.. 7732.. 51.. Great Eastern 53265.. 53 75.. — 610 Midland 124458..125288.. 830 Lancashire and Yorkshire.. 63487 t,2514.. 973.. R'nymney 28,8.. 2874.. 46 Pembroke and Teiibv 334.. 393 — 11 Mid-Wales ? 583.. 562.. 21.. — London, Chatham, <fc Dover 18112.. 18987.. — 875 Great Western 130563..135150.. — 5867 London and North- Western174992..1'/6'35.. — 1943 London and South Western. 40599.. 42553.. — 1954

BIRTHS, MALTRIAGES, DEATHS Xotices Qt Bir&s, Marriages, and Deaths, are charged at the rate oj Is for the first Twenty Words, and Gd jor every additional Ten H ONFO, and must be NIEPALJ). In all Cas s the notice must be authenticated by the name a id address of the writer. MARRI GES. THOMAS—MACKY.—January 7th, at St Clement Dane's, London, Howell Thomas, 7, New Inn, London, late of Neath, to Elizabeth, only daughter of Theodore Macey, late of Worthing. 753 RAWLINGS—FENVVICK.—On the 8th inst., at Wesley Chapel, Charles-street, by the Uev, J. Stringer, James H erniman Rowlings, acconn!ant, of Cardiff, to Clara Alary (Kitty), daughter of John Fen wick, L.F., Melrose Cottage, Newport road, Cardifl. 745 DEATHS. ALLFN.—On the 5th inst., at Newton House. Severn- road, Canton, Ann, the beloved wife of Edwin Minifie, aged 48; affectionate daughter of Charles Allen, Edward-street, Ca.nton. Deeply regretted. 741 BRETT.—On the 8th inst., at Abercarn, IOll., Edward Trevor Mile3, the beloved chiid and only son of Fred W. and Sarah Brett, aged two rears and three months. 7^9 FORItEST.-On the 7th inst., at the Greenwood, St Fagan's, Robert Dyfrig Clark, beloved son of Robert and Flora Forrest, ftged 4 years and 10 months. 72670 JO,NES.- 011 the Stli at 2 North Edward-street, Cardiff, Sarah, relict of Noah Jones, surveyor and contractor, aged 67 years. 770 LLOYD.-On the 8th inst., at Springfield, Pontypridd, Thomas Lloyd, late schoolmaster, of Mertbyr, aged 61 year. JOHN.—Deeemb r 9th, at Sully, near Cardiff, Ethel, elde- -v.: !'i-hard and Maria John, aged 10 year-. 827 JONE?.—JA.IUA.-Y iiih, at Denver House, Newbridge, Ruabon, Tom, eidest son of Robert Jones, Belle Vue, Newbridge, and son-in-law of late Captain Evan3, Northcote-street, Cardiff, aged 28 years. 3 HUGHES.—January 14, at 2, Courthouse-street, Ponty- pridd, Sarah Anne, wife of T. J. Hughes.

1 Uqjti-0 of the (Meek. I SATURDAY, JAN. 17, 1885. LOCAL. THE DECADENCE OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. THOSE Welsh people who refuse to believe in the decadence of the Welsh language will vehemently denounce the opinions of Mr H. J. EVANS, as given on Wednesday night at the meeting held at Cardiff for the purpose of forming a Cambrian Society for South Wale3. Mr EVANS said there was at this moment going on such a rapid change from the use of the Welsh to the employment of the English language, that within the next decade in all probability there would be comparatively very few people in South Wales able to talk Welsh. Within the next 20 years the Welsh language would almost have disap- 9 peared, and there would be but one general commercial language throughout South Wales. It is quite possible that in 20 years from the present time English will be the commercia language of South Wales, but as to the probability of the Welsh language having almost disappeared in that time" Iv'C very'iiiuch question that opinion. Even in Cardiff there are large and flourishing Welsh churches, whilst in the Welsh speaking districts there are hundreds of children who speak nothing but Welsh at home, though taught in English at school. In some parts of South Wales even there are still to be found grown up men and women whose knowledge of Stesoneg is confined to a very few words. These facts do not seem to indicate that Mr H. J. EVANS' prophecy is likely to be fulfilled. But a3 his remarks are likely to call forth the protests of many of his fellow countrymen, we will wait and see -what they have to say upon the subject. CHILDREN AND SOOTHING MIXTURES. THE evidence given at an inquest held at Carmarthen on Monday illustrates the extreme danger attendant upon the administering of deleterious drugs to children. Paregoric, soothing syrups, sleeping powders, and so called cough mixtures usually contain drugs which arc of a highly poisonous nature if given in too large quantities. The inquest referred to was on the body of a child only six months old. The child had been suffer- ing from a cold and cough, and its father states that he went to a local chemist, and giving the age of the child and other particu- lars, obtained a bottle of mixture. This mixture contained laudanum in the pro- portion of one part in 30. The father says the chemist directed him to give the child five or six drops three times a day; whilst the chemist states that if he had known the age of the child lie would not have recommended that mixture, for it was not generally given to children of that age. We believe there is always some danger attendant upon supplying medicine of an anaesthetic character for very young children for the mother finding that the medicine soothes it off to sleep, is in many instances too apt to quieten the child by giving it more of the medicine than she ought. The coroner recommended the chemist not to sell such strong medicine for children so young, remarking that it was improper to give laudanum at that age, and if he continued to sell the mixture lie should put a label on the bottle stating that it must not be given to children under a certain number of months old. This caution is very appropriate under the cir- cumstances but the coroner might have gone a step further, and recommended that the "poison" label be put on bottles when cough mixture, containing a dangerous pro- portion of laudanum, is sold. uli THE DISPOSAL OF IIOUSI REFUSE. At the meeting of the health committee of het Cardiff Corporation on Monday, the report of the Medical Officer dealt with a subject of much interest to the inhabitants of Cardiff at the present time of high death rates-the disposal of house refuse. Dr PAINE says that as regards that portion of the refuse which is burnt, it is done by a process of slow combustion, that certain moisture is distillated, over which constrains some depomposing animal matter in solution and being carried away with the smoke into the surrounding atmosphere causes an offen- sive smell. Dr. PAINE says the pro- cesses of sifting and burning the refuse ought not to be conducted near dwellings or in any proximity to a public thoroughfare. He suggests that as the land used by the Corporation for refuse purposes is closely adjacent to the river, barges might be used to receive the accumulations composing the refuse stacks, and by means of a steamer might betowedonly into the Bristol Channel. After some discussion the committee decided to ascertain the cost of a steamer for the purpose referred to. As it is now agreed that many diseases are propagated by germs which float in the atmosphere, it is quite possible that some of the unhealthinesa of the town is due to the way in which house refuse is now dealt with. W CARDIFF DEATH-RATE. CARDIFF death-rate higher than last week The highest weekly number for more than three years! No less than 24 deaths from measles in the town in one week These are, indeed, serious facts, and the Town Council, as the urban sanitary authority, have taken up the question none too soon. Again, Cardiff has the unenviable distinction of being with regard to its death-rate the highest on the list of the 28 great towns. Our report states that in the borough of Cardiff there was a further increase in the mortality last week, for the deaths numbered 67, against 62 and 46 in the two previous weeks. These 67 corresponded to an annual rate of 36 "0 per 1,000, and wa3 a3 much as 11 1 above that of the 23 great towns. In fact it had the highest death-rate, the one which approached nearest being Preston, with 34'8. It is very evident that in the last 14 weeks, with two excep- tions, the mortality was excessive, and in some of tiern it was especially so. The total of 67 deaths caps all, and was the highest weekly number for more than three years. Measles was again on the increase, and was fatal in 24 cases, against 16, 4, and 10 in the previous three weeks. These 24 produced alone a rate of 12'9. There were besides two of whooping cough and one each of scarlet fever and diptheria. All these zymotic diseases yielded a rate of 15 1, which was the highest zymotic rate in England and WTales. Infant mortality was severe, as 21 deaths were those of children under one year. It is not likely that next week's record will show much improvement, and it is not to be wondered at if Cardiff people are becoming scared at the ravages made by measles, which has been more than ordinarily fatal during the present epidemic. It behoves parents to exercise the utmost caution and vigilance the danger attendant upon the disease being caught at school being very gre^-t -»

GENERAL. THE AÅ!"íK OF ENGLAND. THIS woiid-erful institution was originated by a Scotchmar. of the name of PATERSON, and commenced business in a single room. It now covers fhree acres of ground, and employs 900 clerks. Country cousins who go to London generally visit St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, ancUjhe theatres, but they might add with profiv; a visit to the Bank of England, in -.irder to guage the vast wealth of a tingle establishment, which may be callkl the centre of the treasures of world. Fifty thousand bank notes are printed in this establishment every day, and in five years 77 million notes are paid. The oremises are protected every night by a corr«iany of Foot Guards, who march from Wellington Barracks at six o'clock. There Is, a churchyard enclosed within the Bar-k, called the "garden," overlooked by the Bank parlour, where the famous Bank M: increased or decreased, according to thst^^gencies of the Money Market. MR. AND THE STAGE. MR BURNAISD deserves great credit for his out- spoken ai-Lcle in actresses in the "Fort- nightly Review. As a playwright he can speak with authority, as he knows what goes on beliit,Ot"the scenes. SHERIDAN KNOWLES, in the" latter period of his life. became a Baptist minister, and he never wrote a line for the stage afterwards. He also, as an actov and, dramatist of sterling merit, knew tha pitfalls of the actor's life, JEREMY CoLLiERinhis day, however, gave the hardest knocks, and upset the poet DRYDEN in a literary encounter with him on the evils of dramatic representation. It is curious to to note, however, that his descendent, of late JOHN PAYNE COLLIER, was one the the most acute dramatic commentators of SHAKESPEARE, and formed the finest dramatic library. It is but justice to state, in this con- nection, that such actresses as Mrs SIDDONS and Lady MARTIN, with many others, were ornaments to the profession, and that the simple act of .Miss, FORTESCUE, who has just settled £ 6,000 of the GAEMOYLE money upon her mother, will show that some actresses possess a noble nature. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. THE number of medical practitioners re- siding in Great Britain and Ireland at the close of 1884 was 21,381, an increase of 7 per cent. over 1883. London possesses one doctor for every 880 souls, Scotland one for every 1,624, and Ireland one for every 2,105. The average for England and Wales, ex- cluding London, is one for every 1,903. If it were not for our colonies, the medical pro- fession would be in a sad straight, but numbers go every year and settle down abroad. Specialists in London make large fortunes. Sir ASTLEY COOPER made 230,000 per annum, and Dr. MAR- SHALL TIALT, as much as £ 8,000. Some of the hospital doctors who have acquired a name realise £ 50 per"day, but they often have to struggle through great difficulties ere thej achieve that result. Such men as Sir ANDREW CLARK, Sir WILLIAM JENNER, and men of that stamp, are now making great fortunes. It is a noble profession, and no class of men deserve greater praise for the efforts they have made to reduce suffer- ing, and they are absolutely working against their own interests by what they are doing in a sanitary direction.

FOREIGN. SOMETHING LIKE A DIVIDEND. Mr CARNEGIE has written an account of the oil-wells of Pennsylvania, which contains some startling facts. He says that he and others purchased the Storey Farm for;28, 000 27years ago, and although they were not very sanguine as to the results, not knowing when the oil would be exhausted, the pro- fits one year amounted to £ 200,000, or 2,500 per cent. The oil wells now yield about twelve millions sterling per annum, and the total amount exported in the twenty-seven years since their discovery was of the value of 125 millions sterling. The profits from these wells throw Great Devon Consols, Burra Burra Mines, and the New River Company into the shade, and are only ex- celled by the Great Bonanza silver mine. A new source of wealth has now opened up in Pennsylvania in the discovery of a natural gas, which is being utilised for manufacturing purposes. It is a pity we cannot make a similar discovery in this country, which might have the effect of reducing the price in districts where it is now far too high. MR VANDERBILT AND GENERAL GRANT. MR YANDERBILT is, perhaps, the richest man in the United States. It is not so long since lie sent stock to London to be sold of the value of 7 millions sterling. The VANDE, RRILT family own about 73 millions of money, of which Mr VANDEREILT claims the lion's share. He has seized poor General GRANT'S treasures and heirlooms for a debt of £ 30,000, and has since offered it back to Mrs GRANT as a present, which she has declined. Mr YANDERBILT might do a graceful thing by giving back the whole of his property to the General, who saved the United States at a critical period. The Northerners ought not toallow the General's treasures to be taken from him, nor will they. They will buy the chief things in, and return them to the General. RICHARD COBDEN ventured his fortune in "Eries" many years ago, and lost it all. Such simple men ought not to enter the arena with the JAY GOULDS and VANDERBILTS. PRINCE BISMARCK AND COLONISATION. THE statement of Prince BISMARCK: in the Reichstag the other day to the effect that he will not interfere with the rights of any other power if they will respect those of Germany is reassuring. He says that Ger- many must henceforth be reckoned with as a colonial power, and he will keep his word. We do not see why other powers should not own colonies as well as Great Britain, more especially when it is remembered that this country owns at the present time one-eighth of the surface of the earth. We could have ¡ planted the British flag on all the islands seized by Germany, but we have not thought I lit to do so, and we must not pursue a dog- in-the-manger policy. The British have proved themselves to be the best colonisers it remains to bo seen what France and Germany can now do. Spain and Italy are also entering the field, &o that there will soon be little to claim on the part of those who wish to emulate; the deeds of Great Britain in this respect.

A CAMBRIAN SOCIETY FOR SOUTH WALES. THE desire for such a body as a Cambrian Society for South Wales has long been felt and often expressed. Many men of all shades of feeling have united in the common wish to give some practical form to their keen wish to nurture patriotism, and hence the movement which led to the meeting in Cardiff, on Wednesday afternoon, is sure to be popular. The gentlemen who were pre- sent came at the instance of a number of those who were much interested in the project, and who had taken some considerable trouble in initiating the present movement. The Archdeacon of LLANDAFF presided, and dwelt generally upon the scheme and upon the work which such a society might advantageously per- form. All those who were present received the Archdeacon's words with something like enthusiasm, and the meeting resulted in the formation of the Cambrian Society, having headquarters at Cardiff. The arrangements were carried so far as to include the naming of the time for the first meeting, which was fixed for St. David's Day. It may, there- fore, be considered that the new society was fairly launched, and the people of the Principality will be entitled to hope for some good results. It is satisfactory to see that the new venture is not be hampered with any of the hindrances which secta- rianism or politics often afford, and that it is not to be weighted with the avowed oppo- sition to any already existing similar or kindred institution. Free from prejudices, and free from bias, it starts to do a national work, and it sets out upon its course aided by the breeze of good wishes from all who have Welsh matters at heart. This work, indeed, may well be of first importance in the future to the Principality, and there is every reason to hope, and every ground to believe that, judging by those who have stood as sponsors to the young body, and have undertaken the difficult task of helping it through its first stages, the possibilities of the society will be carefully watched and encouraged. The work should indeed be a labour of love to Welshmen. To keep alive the love of all things Welsh, to fan the flame of true patriotism, to arouse in others the enthusiasm which they themselves feel, to guard with careful hand the treasures of national lore, to rewaken the trembling echoes of h>lf- forgotten Welsli music, to kindle once again the fast waning lights of Welsh legends, to aid in collecting all that is best and worthiest in Welsh art, poesy, and music-here, indeed, is a mission which anyone might long to perform, and an object which all classes could not but rejoice to further. The aid to the study of Oambrian history which in such a way might be rendered would be immense, and the permanent preservation of all that is best in Welsh habits, modes of I thought, language, and observances might be thus easily assisted. The idea of the I proposed Cambrian Society is not new, but it is tlways open to such a body to strike out an original course of action for itself. Other societies have, indeed, devoted much, and perhaps most, of their attention to con- cerns of a somewhat more practical and pre- sent character but that does not by any means prove that their work has been of the best kind, or likely to be of the greatest national benefit. Such a society should be always prepared to assist the national eis- teddfod in regulating its proceedings when its meetings are held in South Wales, but that should rather be an incident in than the end of its programme. We should desire to see it extending its sphere of national utility to embrace the objects to some of which we have reverted, and doing a national work in order to illuminate and preserve the characteristics of the Principality. The fact of there being so great a need for such a society shows that the work which a body of the kind ought to perform has not yet been done, and con- stitutes thus a still more powerful reason for the formation of the Cambrian Society for South Wales. No doubt the meeting on St. David's Day will-be productive. of some plans and a detailed method, and.these con- siderations and suggestions will be tak-en into account. Whatever is done, it is to be hoped that the. society will keep in view the desirability, we might say, the necessity, for resorting ina thorough manner to all possible j means for keeping intact all matters affecting Welsh institutions. There is an opinion, as expressed by Mr HENRY JONES EVANS at the meeting in Cardiff, aiid sliared probably by many, that the Welsh language is likely to disappear from South Wales in a, com- paratively speaking, few years. We do not share this opinion, and if we did it would constitute all the stronger inducement to organise such a society as that proposed as thoroughly as possible. Such a bulwark would be the best possible barrier to set up, and should be the most efficacious means of preventing, or, at any rate, long postponing the contingency which Mr HENRY JONESEVANS suggests. Thus, oliall sides, and on every account, there are to be found good and efficient reasons for accord- ing full support to a society whose aims are popular,, influence far extending, and work essentially national.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. IT seems too late in the day for theoretical advocates of divers new methods of repre- sentation to procure any alteration of the principles of the Bill which has passed its second reading in the House of Commons. The attention of working local politicians all over the country is now more generally directed to the task of detail in which the Boundary Commissioners are diligently employed, and which has proceeded hitherto in the counties upon the unquestionable basis of a uniform division into single- member constituencies. We have on a pre- vious occasion shown good reasons for rely- ing upon the wisdom of Mr GLADSTONE'S Government in their determination to apply similar principles to the populous cities and boroughs which are to receive a large addition of members, nstead of permitting the unwieldly aggran- disement of collective voting power in over- grown constituencies, such as Liverpool, out of all proportion to the ordinary separate electoral bodies in town and country. The nearer approach to equality and uniformity, with regard to population, and with mani- fest simplicity and consistency in the method of operation, the more likely is a new representative system to be perma- nently successful. It will more readily be comprehended by the people in general, and will sooner form in the minds of voters and candidates those habits, that mutual understanding, and that standard of political allegiance, which conduce to satisfactory relations between the country and the House of Commons. To the most experienced and practical statesmen of the day, and to leaders of the Liberal party accustomed to guide and manage its business in our groat towns, this consideration appears of great importance. It is, therefore, not surprising that a rather cold and unfruitful speculative approbation should have greeted Sir J. LUBBOCK and Mr COURT- NEY at the meetings they have attended upon the schemes of a plurality of members and a single transferable vote. These gentle- men, notwithstanding Mr OouRTNEY's recent position in office, and their useful services in Parliament, have never been very actively engaged in the conduct of great movements of popular politics, or conversant with the ihabits and feelings of large masses of our population. They are excellent Liberals of the doctrinaire or academical type, whose prescriptions, if the world were governed by logic and arithmetic, would be hailed a3 the triumph of scientific invention. But in the actual purposes of this nation, which needs a powerful machine of Government and legislation, with plenty of driving force," to effect the prompt and certain execution of its will, such mathematical nicety in the exact proportional reflection of every variety of opinion is not required. After all, Parliament is the supreme agent of public business, not the mere grand School of Discussion ior the United Kingdom. The Press is open to controversialists of all kinds and sects, and to the champions of all interests; the views and sentiments of every individual who can write or speak with marked ability command attention out of Parliament. In this way, as things are now, minorities are fully represented, and they will have a far better chance of getting their spokesmen into the House of Commons with the vastly increased number of separate constituencies afforded by the single member system. The honesty and sincerity of those eminent professors of proportional representation must still be admired. It is to be observed that they by no means seek to take particular advantage of the dissatisfaction that is felt by some citizens in places like Manchester at the cutting up of a famous large community, with a political history of its own, into so many wards. That objection, which is rather of a sentimental character, might possibly be softened by a slight modification of the schedule, and of the bovinclaryiiistrue- tions, allowing the central part of the town, like the city of London, to form a two- member constituency, and to bear the name of "Manchester City," for instance, I surrounded by four outer wards, each with its own member. This would be in harmony with the clause of the Bill which permits many other cities and towns of sufficient population to retain their two members, and with the arrangement of London. But Mr COURTNEY and Sir JOHN LUBBOCK do not Jay much stress on the imaginary degradation of large town They rest their case on the supposed aggregate result of the principle of unqualified majority representation throughout the country. Sir JOHN LUBBOCK, in his speech at Nottingham on Wednesday night, showed that in 1874, with a total majority of Liberal votes at the collective poll, a majority of Tory members was sent into the House of Commons. The increased number of separate constituencies henceforth given to the country is expected by some persons to make this result more likely in future. It is therefore essential to the policy of which these gentlemen are the advocates, that their system should not be confined to a few large towns, having from three to nine representatives, but should be applied to all the large counties. This is obviously, under present circumstancos, equivalent to the utter rejection of the bill which the House of Commons has unanimously affirmed in principle, and to a capricious violation of the compact deliberately made between the Ministry and the Opposition Party. If it were insisted upon by any con- siderable part of the supporters of the Liberal Government, Mr GLADSTONE would necessarily be obliged to resign, and the task of framing a Redistribution Bill would fall to the Tories. We cannot but regret that Mr COURTNEY, whose Liberalism is of genuine quality, and whose recent voluntary sacrifice of high prospects of personal am- bition is greatly to his honour, betrays such r a singular incapacity of discovering the political situation. He will never make a leading statesman, or a reliable Cabinet Minister, for he has not yet learned, with all his official opportunities, to weigh the probable consequences of a course of action. If Mr FAWCETT had lived and had gone with Mr COURTNEY, as it is supposed he would, the same verdict would be passed upon him and some would have remembered his defec- tion from the supporters of the Liberal Ministry in 1873, which contributed to inflict on the country six years of Tory rule, Our personal esteem for able and honourable men, with some of whose ..opinions we agree, but whose action may be occasionally detri- mental to the main cause of Liberal policy, should not prevent the exposure of these mistakes. We want to keep a Liberal Govern- ment, and we want a strong Government, with a strong and firm parliamentary majority at its back. If this were the general outcome of some six hundred fairly-shaped constituencies, we might well be content without going into precise arithmetical calculations of the parcel of votes recorded in different places on one side or the other. The vindication of an abstract right—which as matter of right we deny—of every fractional special interest and shade of opinion to return its own members of Parliament is an object not deserving of sympathy, and the loss of direct personal representation by the elector who has given his vote for an unsuccessful candidate, is an unreal grievance. These pretensions, were they not sometimes advanced by men of highly cultivated intelligence, would at once be dismissed as puerile fancies unworthy of serious thought. A Parliamentary assembly so constituted, with a view not to carry out the main intentions of the great body of the people, but to let in the most diverse assort- ment and heterogeneous variety of specimens of all denominations, could never work. It could talk wonderfully, but we have too much of that already. There could be no solid Ministerial party, no recognised and authori- tative Opposition, and therefore no Minis- terial responsibility, with such incoherent, inorganic fortuitous congregation of atoms" filling the House of Commons. It would end in the dissolving away of the Parlia- mentary body, as we have seen in foreign and historical examples when some usurping official dictatorship would assume uncontrolled power. That is the predestinecLfate of constitutions framed by doctrinaire professors of political architec- ture, who design beautiful edifices, with halls and chambers in which there is a niche and a shelf for every neatly-labelled piece of social welfare, but net founded and built on the broad common understanding of the people's will." .>

AGRICULTURAL NOTES. [BY A SOUTH WALES AGRICULTURIST.] The letter of Sir John B. Lawes in the Thnes, upon the effect of sewage on the production of fish in the sea, is important, hot only to towns but to rural populations. Sir John's summary is— There has been a very prevalent opinion that the sewage of London has been wasted. The evi- dence which I have brought forward will, I ven- ture to hope, not only do away with that impres- sion, but will also establish the fact that it has a decided influence on the production of fish. The absolute amount of this influence, however, is a question on whieh every 0110 can form his own opinion. We have as a fact that the sewage of the Thames r^stoies t) the sea much more than the whole of some and the greater portion of other important manure ingredients, which are annually taken out of it by our fishermen. Pro- fessor Huxley speaks of an acre of good land pro- ducing one ton of corn. This, Sir John says, he has produced for 40 years at Hothamsted on the same field, but llu professor speaks of an acre of the best fishery ground yielding one ton of fish every week. Sir John points out instances of lakes with a bare supply of fish, and also pure fresh water brooks and streams that have few and very small trout; in similar streams in the eame district, receiving train age, the trout grow to pounds weight instead of ounces, and qnoted the instance of the Ver or Colne, in Hert- fordshire, where trout grow to four and five pounds in weight. The stream is celebrated for its watercresses, which are manured with super- phosphate of lime. If the theory be correct, what a great pecuniary boon it confers upon towns 011 the sea coast or adjacent thereto, instead of puzzling their sanitary boards with plans and counter- plans, each incurring enormous expense on the ratepayers, for improving the sanitary condi- tion of the towns, and utilising, at the same time, a main drain to the sea, and the thing is done, and fishery ground established. We hear, it is true, that sewage allowed to run into rivers and brooks kill the fish, but (he reason is that it s too strong, and requires dilution. The sewage question is somewhat like Gitix's Baby," they don't know what to do with it. In rural dis- tricts no costly system ought to be incur- red in the face of the depreciation of land, The rural districts have constantly had thrown in their teeth the decrease of the population by absorption into towns yet that fact has been ignored under the Education and Sanitary Acts, and thus many rural parishes have incurred a. heavy debt for the future for buildings and schemes in excess of their future wants. It behoves our local authorities to bear this fact in mind when cairying out plans for the future not that we advocate the pollu tion of brooks or rivers, but the letter throws fresh and valuable light on sanitary science, and means, if it is correct, smaller rates to obtain a gi\en end. MrMoreton Frevven, U.S., has been advocat- ing at the Newcastle Farmers' Club the importa- tion of store stock instead of fat from America. We can get any number from the Western States, where 44 million cattle exist, and he calculates wo should require per annum,that being equivalent to the amount of dead meat we import, The supply of this number would not in his opinion create any perceptible vise of price in the Western States. He thinks they could be sold hers at about J315 per head for store cattle of 1,000 lbs. live weight, and England could thus profitably graze them. He states that in 1878 it cost £12 to send an animal to England, but now it cau ba done for £5. Mr Erewen, of course, advocates this course, with a view to his own interest as an importer, ignoring too much the question of disease imported into the United Kingdom and spread throughout its area. Another point is that if England depended for its supply of store animals from abroad, should disease, either as cattle plague or in any other dire form, break out there, and decimate the herds, what would become of the supply to the British farmer? Our true interests are to breed as much stock as we possibly can. Freights may go up and enhffnee the value, and we cannot in one or two years make up the sup- ply of home-bred cattle. He admits that live fat stock cannot be imported profitably, as the risks are great, and depreciation of value from the voyage so heavy. The weather is remarkably fine, and this fine dry frost will be of immense good to the soil, thoroughly disintegrating it, and effectually disposing of insect life. Our hunting friends will have a little check, though that will prove of benefit to horse flesh, as with the fine, open season so far they have had plenty of work, and rest will put their legs right, and fetch up their condition. Foxes are plentiful, and taking tithe of poultry, though perhaps they get credit for more than they deserve. We recollect hearing of a fox that took the fattest duck every Saturday night for five or six weeks running, to the intense astonishment of the owner, who con- cluded he must be a very old, astute member of the Vulpine race, whether possessed of two legs or more. We are glad to chronicle a slight improvement in the wheat trade since the commencement of the new year. An advance in price will stimu- late the markets, which have been devoid of life. Be-it malting barley shows a slight improvement, but the demand is excessively dull, and a good deal still remains in the grower's hands. Straw is being rapidly consumed, and will require careful husbanding to enable it to hold out till the spring. There have been a great many complaints of late as to the failure of the sainfoin plant during the last two or three years. Probably it has been caused by the wet, mild winters of late, fostering the growth of the crown of the plant, and thus rendering it more liable to injury from insects, wood pigeons, &c., and also from even slight at- tacks of frost. This wholosome frosty weather may prove the solution of the question, as the permanence of this important forage plant is a serious one at the present time, when it will play a still more important part in laying down land. to pasture.

MEDICINES, ELASTIC STOCKINGS, CHEMICALS, DRUGS, See., by parcola post, under Ub, 3d. Kay Bros. Stockport. U918

SPEECH BY Mil CHAMBER- LAIN, M.P. 1 Under the auspices of the National Liberal I Federation a representative conference was held on Wednesday afternoon at Ipswich Mechanics' Institute. Alderman Kenrick, chairman of the general committee, presided, and there was a large attendance of delegates. Mr Cole- man, M.P., meved a resolution of con- gratulation on the passing of the Fran- chise Bill, and regarding with satisfaction i that: .population had been accepted as [ the basis of TCpreseutatjon in the Seats Bill. This was agreed to, and u also o11i! for .extending the I principle of popular representation" to the Local I Government of counties and rural districts in the j United Kingdom. This was moved by the Rev. F. W. Fowle, rector of Islip, and | seconded by Mr R. -S. Wright (Liberal can- 1 didate "for Norwich), Mr Stevenson (Liberal candidate for the Eye division of Suffolk) moved a resolution favourable to Land Law reform and the increase of peasant proprietoty. An amendment was moved and seconded by the working men in favour of Land nationalisation, but upon a division it was rejected, being sup- ported by only about 20 delegates, and the original resolution was passed. On the motion of the Rev. F. A. Hervey, of Shotley. seconded by Mr R. K. Causton. M.P., a resolution was also passed expressing hearty approval of Mr Hop- wood's bill to substitute afSrmations for oaths.

THE PUBLIC MEETING. IPSWICH, Wednesday Night.—To-night Me Chamberlain addressed a large and representative meeting of the Liberals of the eastern counties in the Corn Exchange, which was crowded, there being from 2,500 to 3,000 persons present. The chair was taken by Mr N. Catch pole. Mr CHAMBERLAIN, who has accepted the pre- sidential chair of the Ipswich Reform Club, delivered his inaugural address. The right hon. gentleman was greeted on rising with loud and repeated cheers. He said that the outlook was hopeful for the Liberal cause. (Hear, hear.) It might be said that they had not got all they wanted. Probably that was so, but then there was no finality in politics, and the Liberal party had made this great step, and the Lords, which had at one time nearly provoked an attack upon themselves, had in reality gone back, and was repentant. (Laughter.) He ventured to say that they had got a reform now more Radical than any one of them could have expected to see passed in his time at least. That was very encouraging to the Liberallurty, and not very encouraging to the House ot Lords. (Cheers.) He doubted very much after what had occurred whet'icr the House of Lords would again stubbornly resist the will of the people, and, taking the two bills together, he might say they constituted a transfer of power which was absolutely unparalleled iu the history of reform. It really meant this, -that De- mocracy had established itself in the seat of government, and that the government of the would in the future be substituted for the government of the few. (Hear, hear.) That being so, it was quite as well that they should lie allowed to speculate somewhat upon this great change, and there were two points v, hieU stood out prominently in this review. (l-ler, hear,) In the first place, thoe was the great 1nm cae in the power aud influence of tÎ1e large towm, including London and in the old place, they would have a 1.e-.v factor in iha political scene in the agricultural Jaborreiv. (Hear, hear.) The great town; had had a powerful inther:c3 in the past" anI. had, no doubt, done a great deal to inouio tiie policy of the country, and that jnllutuco v> ..unl be increased in proportion as the number of electors was added to. (Hear, hear.) Ho be- lieved the enfranchisement of the labourer would tend in the same directions (Hear.) He would not speak dogmatically upon the point, because the agricultural labourer was at present a sealed book. But from all ihey know, he was among the most pathetic pic-u.e-; they could look at from any point of view, so far as social positiun was regarded, for after unremitting toil, his only reward was tuts poorhouse. (Hear, hear.) The agricultural labourer had been oppressed for genera' 'ons; he had been ignored and defrauded, and now his time had coma. He would he V0 to be reckoned with, and what had hitherto been an inarticulate voice would make known its wants, and the way in which they were to be supplied. (Cheers.) Therj was an old story of the man who was asked where he had been sleeping, and who said he had been 1ying upon solluone else who was now, getting better, and, therefore, he would have to look out for fresh quarters. (A laugh.) Well, the squire and the fanner had been lying on the agiicul- lural labourer for a good many yeais, and the latter was now getting better, so that the others must look out for a new position. (Laughter.) It followed, then, that the programme of the Liberal party would have to be enlarged, (Cheers.) The old Shibboleths must be removed, and they must discontinue to rattle the dry bouts of poor political couflicb. (Hear, hear.) The other day he was trying to show th. lmes on which he thought they ought to proceed, and the speech which h3 had delivered had been the subject of considerable remark. He was, however, easy on one point, because hair of his critics had described his remarks as mere platitudes, and the other half declared that he had made aa attack upon pro- perty, and had declared himself wholly in favour of confiscation. (Hear, hear.) He did not think that he was open to any such lemark as that, and, as president of the Ipswich Reform Club, he would say that he hoped to see them show now the same robust Liberalism which had been exhibited in other portions of thecountry. He ventured to declare that the interest of the rich and the poor was in no way antagonistic, and therefore he failed to see why his remarks should be con strued in the way the Times had attempted to construe them. He had referred to the arti- cles in the Tunes of 40 years ago, and he must say that he much preferred the humanity they then contained to the narrow- mindedness of tiie present day. The fact was that the right of the people had been bartered for a mess of pottage, and the question was what would be the end of it, and how could they provide against it in the future? Again, what assurance had they against a recurrence of such an event 1 They had this assurance, that the majority would now make the law. Then, it must not be made in the interest of altogether one class. They were bound to see that their less favoured brethren were not interfered with, and hero he was most anxious that they should under- stand one another. He had never endeavoured to bring the subject of the representation down to a dead level. He had never argued that the idler and drunkard, the criminal and the fool, were tu be regarded, but he had always said that the community, as a whole, must do something to add to the sum of human happiness-mmt do something to make those around it nobler and better. (Cheers.) Well, with this enlarged franchise, something would have to be done in the future. They would have to look after social legislation. (Hear, hear.) In these times of depression they would no doubt hear a great deal about State-aided emigration. That was a matter which he did not look upon with very great admiration, because he believed it possi- ble to find employment for our citizens at home, and hoped to see the time when that would be aecompli-hed. (Cheers.) The Education Acts again were matters of social legislation which demanded every attention, for it was their desire to put education of a useful character in the way of everyone. It was not so much making education compulsory as making it free at which they aimed and he hoped this would be among the first subjects to which a reformed Parliament would have its attention directed. (Hear, hear.) Then, again, a reformed Par- liament meant dealing with county govern- ment, and this h'3 was sure, if the pre- sent Government remained in power, there was no man more capable of bringing the n:atteE to an issue than his friend, Sir Charles Dilke. (Cheers.) He was sure if they had to deal with the matter, it would be by a radical and demo- cratic measure. (Cheers.) Last night, speaking at Kensington, Sir Charles Diike said that local Government wus but a moans to an end but he would say it was an end in itself, because it was the best political education the people can possibly have. It afforded to every man, who was able and willing, an opportunity of serving his fellow men, and it taught men more and more the importance of matters arising in the course of imperial legislation. (Hear, hear.) HQ, therefore, hoped that at the earliest oppor- tunity, efforts would be made to enlarge the scope of local government, and he might say that under this head there was a wide area. The subject of the dwel- lings "of the poorer population in the small towns and of the country labourers was well worthy of consideration, and he believed that both these questions might be satisfactorily solved through local authorities, and when such bodies were fairly established, he would give them the power at a fair valuation to arrange the sale and purchase of land between a willing purchaser and a willing seller. (Hear, hear.) Again, there was the local taxation question to be deal with, andtherewere auynumberofanoma- lies in Imperial taxation which could be discovered if people were only cultured by means of local arrangements to take an interest in the subject. (Hear, hear.) As an instance he might state that certain of the inferior classes of tobacco had to pay an import duty of something like 1,400 per cent., whilst the better classes of cigars and tobacco were admitted at a very small percentage indeed. ,Ag-aill, there were rdrnitted anomalies in the income tax, and further and above all was that great question of land reform. There were many like Mr Bright and Mr Cobden who approved of the principle of free trade in land. That was all very well, but if they had that there would be a good deal more to do. He did not believe that tho matter could possibly stop there. (Hear, hear.) But what was the remedy which Mr Lowther and his friends suggested for the present state of affairs ? They would have them return to protection. They saw 110 reason why there should not be a 5s tax on corn, and if that was not enough, why it should not be increased—(a laugh)—but the tendency of protection always was to enlarge its demand without doing the good which was anticipated. Of this he was sure, that the farmers would not flourish if they followed the advice of Mr Lowther and bis friends, and will o-the wisp. of that kind. (Laughter.) The condition of the farmer was never so hopelessly bad nor that of the labourer so abject as it was when corn was at its highest price, and he did not see IIJW the present condition of agriculture could much improve until they could secure permanence of occupation. Without that the price of corn would mean nothing. (Hear, hear.) A great deal had been said about the cultivation of 8gR8, butter, fruit, and other small produce, and of the profit which might be made, but in order to de this it was first of all necessary they should ge back to the old times, and multiply the nutnDQC of freeholders in the iand. (Cheers.)