Monmouthshire Merlin

Al liij. o V v. Th 110 inlaiShe is informec' that the Government has A_ct. 11 1011 repeal the Compulsory Vaccination Arthur has presented his portrait ,Jo Roy^i ^°^°ne^ ^rujie^ an(i the officers of t-io Of has announced his intention ^^dentp^^ borough of Nottingham on inde- ^ara,'R has been specially retained to a eharo-o ,'c ,.n^erbyl at the Somerset assizes on .o °i bribery S nS.'S'S" are being made at Shrewsbury their show nte,°yal Agricultural Society to hold t>r- Brent in SliroPsllire- ?Pment of G?i°j8 Essay on the History and Devel- 18 to be issued and the Origin of trade Unions Mr. IW-, lQ a separate form. Y^ESTER COIY,8011, assiatant-survevor of the Man- ^0r °f thg Tra^'0T1J was on Tuesday elected sur- A pan^ eamington Local Board. Produced 11111ne, called Lalla Rookh," has been a> a.nd ig evvr*s's Theatre on the Maidanal, Cal- The tifle reP0rted to be a success. js "Societv°^ ^r" Emerson's new volume of essav.% 111 number an? Solitude." The essays are twelve 5 one-half of them are reprints. Paris, is dead; rather an elabo- c^erottn ?l ^as been contributed by M. OQ e"Revue del'Instruction Publique. k*8 l)iU » of starch, Mr. Graves will bring in Papers> ajfj e reducfcion of the postage on news- ^Petiny °u letters weighing less than 2oz. to a It is QQ* ^eatg f0 ^laHy stated that the number of appoint- ^ear is ■> e toade in the civil service of India this ^e8t pr~ viz., 17 to Bengal and eight to the Nor ;h 3Ta OVlnces. 8ev6i>al 6 Rossini has allowed the performance o aeon al unpublished works by her late husband, at c^arifnv0lven^nI3aris f°rlthe benefit of an Italian cat)le association. Tli tain,e "brary of the United States Congress con- Phi ln0W 185>22? volumes, excluding unbound pam- VTVL an'^ periodicals this is an increase of 11,262 °'Urnes during the year. a, von Dollinger has received an address of kinks for the attitude he assumed on the infal- libility question from thirteen professors of Prague, ^ve of whom are ecclesiastics. The Russian Government has made a demand P°n the Swiss Federal Council for the extradition acoi prisoner. The man in question is used of conspiracy and murder. L )I. Strauss has been named Chevalier of the at th > -honour in consideration of good services qu'ii ('°pU. balls, and of the numerous waltzes a tait danser a la finefleur del' aristocatie." It that the indefatigable and indomitable ten >» lszt is at work on a symphony, King Step- So,^1* ^le Hungarian style, for the Philharmonic y of Pesth, to be produced there next winter. 01j» "p j v by (.1 nttierford and Lady Alcock were passengers lolt rS?c^Inail which left Hong Kong on the cutta ;infl +v, R'Jtherford proceeded direct to Cal- ^^gland ence to Bombay overland, en route for Tli church, E(Hn^ ^urtrie, of the St. Bernard's a magnificent d Was presented on Saturday with ^e^mtofen o7!?eof ^Iver plate and a time- congregation 6 estee»rin which he is held by It is said that thQ n on m English wV u01 for the instruction of be remn °^cial au'spiCpCk has been latel-v carried beincr builtf the arse** Shanghai, is portly to a omit for its Senal, where premises are t,.Tle Ki„ht „ Jirst Lorcf°fthe0J^rab]e Hugh Childers, M.P., Has laid befn 'Ity, has been at O sborne, chenio of naval i-At^ r Ma.iesty the Queen the before Par] in m tlreinent which he intends to lay A ^lament on the 24th inst. at- Lli;:rtation waited upon the Lord-Lieutenant the ln' ,on Saturday, to induce him to advocate I extension of tlie ^rant to tlie joint committee j, encouraging the growth of flax in Ireland. His Xcellencv said the subject would have his best °Usideration. ho^ an adjourned inquest held at Tiverton on the y of a child, said to have died from the effects a burn, it was discovered from a post-mortem ^oth1Ila^0n death had been caused by the pinT er ignorantly administering excessive doses of -root as a remedy for worms. ^and Vizier (says the Levant Times) has Cathowl cause the grievances of the Armeno- Ilasaonn against their Patriarch, Mgr. Pontifical p "is vicar, to be represented to the Office, and 0Ur^' through the Turkish Foreign °th partiesleanW^1^e ^as enj°ine(i forbearance on r leBo A-tenant-rial^ a county Antrim 0 eJJ011 Oration took place atToome, °t farmers and Monday. A considerable number ? aring that G0v ,ers attended, and resolutions de- enant farmgj, ,eiliti]ent should make advances to ttinriVa^V,.ation r> enable them to buy back the soil Tkeeys into the^' and allowing them to repay the Pr0ceedijlo. ational Treasury, were adopted. The propr" ^eie orderly. Lonf]^l°rs the Oxford Music Hall,Oxford stsbyjjr ,r 1 v,'ere on Saturday fined 40s. and isord0ri ,n°x tor permitting drunkenness and "e defend Q th'' hall on a recent occasion. af^e<i for a « immediately paid the fine, and charge(j the u™m°ns against the police, who had Perjiiry. rp,W ers with being drunk, for alleged e summons was granted. ^l;inda^n'heT'Stai^ that Mr. James and Mr. Henry tary'g pj e^onging to theclerical staff of theSecre- rec0r>, epartnient at the Admiralty, have been ^elie mended to the Treasury for retirement. We Sentl^ we are correct in stating that these two °f tli 111611 are tbe instances, in the reduction *eti Admiralty offices, of selection for compulsory lreraent having been resorted to.—Globe. ^INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN LIVERPOOL. — At a >ng held in the Town Hall on Tuesday, over °f 1^He Mayor presided, it was stated that a sum e*ecti been receive^ f°r the purpose of ther J1" atl hospital for infectious diseases. A fur- fit tir, ■ £ 3,000 would be required in order to ^ut this,6 sPital for the reception of patients, ^t0laise(fra0UI1^ or the greater part of it, has been se(l. Th Sl^teg^0^ President of the Council and the ?? Grrey were honoured by his Serene jv. fine's p Prince of Teck and the Princess. a ?' at the f0lnPaily at dinner on Saturday even- eie°t e0lnT, atnily residence in Carlton Gardens. A «esseSi i^Qy of guests met their Serene High- ey thrp ter tiie evening the Countess de C°mPany w '°Pen her saloons for the reception of 0118 VV,al a day evening the Prince and Princess of The coTrm a ^Pner party at Marlborough House. T*Uke of p ^eluded His Royal Highness the Hather]pJll?1!:)^*c^e, ^J0rd Chancellor and Lady aM ]\jar v .the Duchess of Sutherland, the Marquis tess ofV ?ness of LanRdowne, the Earl and Coun- and Comlf1 erley' the Co™tessof Clarendon, Earl Sydney88&f LelnSter'ViSC01lnt and Viscoun" year'igpq0^ trade in tlie United States during the Wee 1S Said to have been unusually depressed. rGPnblif.^P^PPortion of the volumes issued have been four 1 a^d is a si?nificant fact that Yo v nC' illustrated papers published in Up fr vF a°d Boston are almost exclusively made ^lish journals in London, while ^e*Aiv. a °rs have the place of honour in five of rican literary magazines. in^a^n^ Was held at Oxford, on Saturday even- ^Uke 0f ^i2Ur of the National EducationUnion. The "Uhgtjf,• artp°r°urrh presided And deprecated the forked Wpn an untried system for one which had i, 7^e argued that the disproportion be- a';e education in Prussia and Eng- 0 80 preat as was supposed, and children J0,lie intam^ education were being provided for. hut P f caused by adherents of the e, but resolutions were carr ed unanimously •i'lie Jsoaa-a ox "Worl £ 3 has determined to oppose all bills for constructing street tramways until it is seen how the lines already sanctioned as an ex- peviment will succeed. The Scotsman states that the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have resolved that situations in Government offices I sis all be filled by open oompetition. In the Court of Queen's Bench, on Saturday, two more verdicts, one for £ 800 and the other for = £ 4"j0, were returned agaiusu the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company. The Sporting Gazette states that the sales of the la,; Lord Derby's breeding stud will take place at Knowsley on the Friday after the Liverpool ^r.-epleciiase, under the superintendence of Messrs. i'iLi.i uriaJl bi<;i;!uus FIRE IX BIRMINGHAM—On Saturday morning, the premises of Messrs. J. R. Turner, jet. ornament manufacturers, 12 and 14, Buckingham- s.reet, Birmingham, were burnt to the ground. I).uiiages £ 2,000; partially insured in the Royal Fire Oiiice. Mr. George Hogarth, well known in literary and musical circles, died in London on Friday morning, at, the advanced aged of 87. He wasthefather- in-law of Mr. Charles Dickens, and contributed many valuable works on musical subjects to the literature of the day. A fire broke out, about one o'clock on Sunday morning, in the Assembly-rooms at Great Yar- mouth. The fire raged furiously for some time, and was not extinguished until three rooms and their contents had been completely destroyed. The origin of the fire is unknown. SAILING OF THE CORDILLERA.—On Saturday last, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's Royal Mail Steamer Cordillera sailed from the Mersey, with the mails and 30 passengers, for the Brazils, River Plate, and Valparaiso. The Cordillera, which .I holds a large and valuable car' will call at Bor- deaux and Lisbon. EMIGRATION TO SOUTH AMERICA.—A number of young men, in the middle rank of life, left Col- chester for Buenos Ayres, for the purpose of devot- ing themselves to agricultural pursuits. The emi- grants are all respectable and intelligent young men, and their departure has been regarded with some interest in Colchester. We notice in the programmes of many of the foreign concerts that duets for the piano and harmo- I niymi frequently appear; they are sometimes original pieces and sometimes arrangements. This feature may be recommended to concert managers, inasmuch as folks are beginning to get tired of the everlasting" iantasia on the so-called household i listruinent.—Musical Standard. Wills proved and administrations granted iu ISfSj In England, 26,398 wills and 9,597 adminis- trations—total, 35,995. In Scotland there wore 2,644 wills. In the year 1868 :—In England, S wills and 9,505 administrations—total 34,Oo„. L I Scotland, 2,327 wills, showing an increase in 1869 in England of, wills, 1,850, and administrations, 92 and in Scotland, wills, 305.—Illustrated London News. THE CUBAN DIFFICULTY.—The following tele- gram, dated New York, February 11th, appears in the Pall Mall Gazette :—Mr. Sherman, chairman of the Finance Committee, and technical leader of the Senate, to-day introduced a resolution setting forth that the people of the Uuited States sympa- thise with the Cubans in their efforts to secure in- dependence from foreign Powers, and recognise the present existence of the state of war between the kingdom of Spain and the colony of Cuba, and will preserve strict neutrality between belligerent parties. He followed his resolution with a short speech, after which it was referred to the commit- tee of foreign alfairs. The Cuba Junta in this coun- try are making renewed efforts to induce the re- cognition of belligerency, and are publishing long speeches in their favour as advertisements in the newbpapers. SUICIDE BY A CLERGYMAN.—On Saturday the family of the Rev. C. J. Sympson, rector of Kirby- Misperton, near Pickering, became alarmed at the continued absence of the rev. gentleman, and on their going to his bedroom he was found bleeding from a pistol shot in the head, the weapon being laid upon the bed. It appears not to be known at what time the sad event occurred, as no one heard any report. The rev. gentleman died in the even- ing, shortly after five o'clock. About six o'clock in the morning, something resembling the banging of an open door was heard in the rectory. The de- ceased gentleman was sixty-seven years of age, and succeeded the present Dean of York in the rectory in 1845. His death causes a feeling of regret among- all classes. He was M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge. The living is put down at < £ %0 per annum, and the patron is the Earl of Feversham. LIBEL ON DION BOUCICAULT.—At Marlborough. street (London) Police Court, on Saturday last, Mr. Montague Williams applied for a summons against the printer and publisher of the Pall.Afall Gazette, for a libel on Mr. Dion Boucicault. The alleged libel appeared in the form of a letter, headed Stage Morals," and was signed Azamut Batuk," in which reference was made to the play Formosa." It was contended that this critique, which des- cribed Mr. Boucicault not as a dramatist, but as a mere photographer of "ugliness or low life, con- veyed the inuendo that he did not move in such society as would enable him to photograph any- thing better, and that, in fact, he associated with forgers and swindlers.—Mr. Knox thought, after hearing the extracts that were read by the learned counsel, that one of them might fairly bear the construction of being libellous, and as it was right. to have the matter investigated, he granted the summons. THE SHOCKING OCCURRENCE AT STAFFORD RAIL- WAY STATION.—On Saturday last, at the Shire Hall, Stafford, Thomas Earley, of Starling Place, St. Stephen's Gate, Norwich, the person to whom the bottles containing the fluid which caused the accident, and which now turns out to be oil of vi- triol, belonged, appeared on remand, charged by the North Staffordshire Railway Company under sec. 105, cap. 20 of the 8th of Victoria, whereby a penalty of = £ 20 is ordered, and may be inflicted summarily by the justices, upon any person send- ing goods of a dangerous character by railway without labelling the same or giving notice in writ- ing to the company's servants. The defendant was further charged by the London and North-Western Company, under the 24th and 25th Victoria, where- by the same offence is constituted a misdemeanour, to be tried at quarter sessions. The Chairman (the Hon. and Rev. A. C. Talbot) having observed that Hon. and Rev. A. C. Talbot) having observed that it appeared to him the prosecution would be acting harshly in proceeding against the defendant in the iirst instance, under the act for the infliction of a penalty of £20, and afterwards under the more stringent act, a discussion arose as to which course should be adopted, and ultimately a further re- mand was agreed to, the chairman remarking that in his opinion, the matter was too serious for them to deal with it summarily. THE REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER OF THE COUN- CIL AT ROME.—As a proposal has been brought before the (Ecumenical Council to count the votes of prelates attending in proportion to the number of their respective flocks, it seems that the total number of prelates in the council is 754, claiming to represent a total population of 200,000,000. Of these 176 are from Italy, representing a population of 25,100,000; France sends 84, and representing 38,008,000; the United Kingdom 35, representing 6,500,000; the United States 48, representing 8,000,000; Austria 48, representing 22,000,000; Spain 41, representing 16,000,000; Germany 10, representing 12,000,000; British America, 16. re- presenting 1,372,000; and Belgium 6, representing 4,800,000. It will thus be seen that the Italians in the Council form nearly one-third of the whole number, while the population of Italy is not one- eighth of the whole Roman Catholic world, and many other similar discrepancies exist. Were votes to be weighed rather than counted, there is little doubt the Liberal or Rational party in the Council would be nearly a match for the wholp servile faction; and were the flocks to vote instead of the shepherds, the defeat of the Papacy would not be for one moment doubtful; as the Pope could only hope for a certain number of Ultramon- tanes in France, England, America; whereas, the majority, not only in France, Austria, and Ger- many, but even in Italy, would be for resistance against Paoal Dretensions. ■JV« rt J/'MM. or. Macarness was enthroned in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, as bishop of that see, on Mon- day morning. The ceremony, which was of a formal character, took place at the usual morning service. There was no sermon. THE ACTION BY MR. BOUCICAULT AGAINT THE "PALL MALL GAZETTE."—The writer of the criti- cism in the Pall Mall Gazette on Boucicault's play sends a letter of apology to the paper. He says he had no wish to say or to imply that Boucicault was living under Blackfriars Bridge or among pickpockets. Boucicault, he adds, has been en- couraged in his error by the very bad tastes of a certain portion of the British public. DEATH FROM WANT.—An inquest was neia on Saturday by the Brighton Borough Coroner, on Mary Deuch, forty-nine years of age, occupying one room in Richmond-buildings. She had ap- parently lived on parish relief, consisting of a loaf, sixpennyworth of meat, and one shilling in money weekly. She had had no bed for months, and slept on a rug with very little bed-clothing. She was found dying on Eriday morning by her landlady. Verdict, "Disease, accelerated by want and expo- sure to cold." HEARTLESS ROBBERY.-Issac Milton was charged on Saturday with having stolen property, worth 15s. belonging to Mr. Allan Comrie. It appeared that the latter had fallen into the water in Lord Mansfield's ponds, Highgate and, on being res- cued, had given his overcoat to the prisoner to take to the Gate House Hotel, High-street, Highgate. The property referred to was missed, and found in the house of the prisoner, who was then taken into custody. Evidence to prove these facts having been given, the prisoner was remanded. Two LADIES KILLED IN A CAERIAGE ACCIDENT. -An alarming accident occurred at Castle Heding- ton on Saturday afternoon, about four o'clock. A horse attached to a carriage took fright, it is said, from a band of music. The carriage was being driven into the village. The horses dashed off at full speed, and ran into a shop. Two ladies who were inside were thrown out by the overturning of the vehicle. One was killed on the spot, and the other expired on the road to the East Suffolk Hos- pital. She was the wife of a farmer of Obington. FATAL GUN ACCIDENT.—A sad affair has oc- curred at Bedworth, near Nuneaton. On Sunday afternoon, a man named Thomas Twigger. went out with a friend with the intention of shooting small birds. They called at the house of a neigh- bour. Twigger set down his gun against a chest of drawers, and while he was talking with his neigh- bour the latter's son entered the house, and, unob- served by Twigger, went towards the gun, which was loaded. The gun fell down, and the contents of the barrel lodged in the head of Twigger, kill- ing him on the spot. THE ALBERT ASSURANCE COMPANy.-The pro- spectus has appeared of the new Albert Life As- surance Company. The capital is to be £ 500,000, and is to be issued to the present shareholders in the Albert Life Assurance Company, as fully paid up-when they shall have paid the full amount of JE20 per share such shares to be distributed in number and value equal to the amount paid by them in the present Albert Life Assurance Com- pany. These shares are not, however, to bear any dividend until after the profits of the Company have realised sufficient to provide for the policies and to pay off the debentures issued to the policy holders. It has been decided that no person di- rectly or indirectly connected with the previous management of the Albert is to be associated with the new undertaking. THE FORGERIES ON THE CORN EXCHANGE.-It will be remembered that at the end 01 October last a large reward was offered for the apprehension of William Lindon, said to be a merchant in Wal- brook, for the alleged commission of forgeries of bills of lading, by which members of the Corn Ex- change were defrauded of some thousands of pounds. The accused had absconded, and a warrant had been issued by the Lord Mayor, and entrusted to Sergeant Hancock, of the City detective police. Minute descriptions of the man had been sent to the most important places in the kingdom, and to the principal outports. Nothing more was heard of him until Saturday last, when information was received that he had been arrested at Valentia. The officer Hancock was immediately despatched to Valentia, and in a few days the prisoner is likely to be undergoing examination before the Lord Mayor at the justice-room of the Mansion House. THE ACCIDENT TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL. We are glad to learn that although the accident to Sir Robert Collier was of a painful character, and at first excited considerable alarm amongst his friends, Sir Robert is now on a fair way to reco- very, and was on Friday able to transact business at his own house in Eaton-place, although unable to put his left foot to the ground. The hon. gen. tleman was shooting on his own estate at Deans, near Tunbridge Wells, having for a few hours shaken off the cares of official life, when his ser- vant, in firing at a rabit, allowed the charge to be deposited in thelower part of Sir Robert's left leg. The casualty would not have excited more incon- venience than the peppering" which most sports- men have in their time received, had it not been that one shot appears to have entered in unplea- sant proximity to the knee joint, and it was to ex- tract this that surgical aid from London was sought. There is no reason to doubt, however, that the Attorney-General will before long be able to actively resume the duties of his important of- D.ce.- lVestem News. PROSECUTION OF AN UNLICENSED THEATRE.— ARREST OF TWENTY-SIX PEPSONS.—On Friday night, about kn o'clock, Mr. Supt. Anderton, act- ing under an order of the magistrates, went with a number of officers in plain clothes to a building in New Islington, Ancoats, which was formerly a foundry, but has for the last two years been used as a theatre, or penny gaff," The place was not licensed for the performance of stage plays, and great complaints have been made to the police of the mischief caused by its attractions to young people, who were tempted to rob their employers in order to pay for admissions. In consequence of these complaints, it was resolved to take the pro- ceedings which were carried out on Friday nio-ht. The plain-clothes officers were reinforced by a body of men in uniform, under Inspector Meade. The place holds about 600 of an audience, and it was, as usual, crowded, the spectators including many of the lowest characters of both sexes. The police apprehended all the performers, musicians, keepers of refreshment stalls, and gambling boards, and also several of the lookers on, whose antecedents were known. Altogether, about 50 persons were taken to the police-office, but only those were de- tained whom it was finally deemed necessary to bring up before the magistrates. There are about twenty-six prisoners now in custody The place was h ept by a person named Simpson, and was the only one of the kind in the city. ICE ACCIDENTS.—On Saturday afternoon a man named Charles Walmsley was skating on Pen- wortham Lodge, near Preston, when the ice broke, and he wat immersed in the water. George Stand- ing, a boy 12 years old, fetched a pole from the bank and called for help. With the pole the end of a rope was given to the drowning man as he rose a second time, and some men were in the act of dragging him from the water when the rope broke, and he was again in danger of losing his life, but j the pole was once more pushed to him. Amidst the intense excitement of numerous spectators the rope was then tied to a brick which was pushed to Walmsley by the boy Standing, who lay down on the ice to accomplish that daring feat. Walmsley grasped the rope, and with great difficulty was hauled to the bank, after being in the water fully 20 minutes. Hewas almost insensible and thorough- ly benumbed. He was carried to a neighbouring house, where he gradually recovered. On Saturday afternoon a number of young men were skating on a sheet of water near Harborne, Birmingham. One of them, named Thomas Perry, in spite of repeated warnings, ventured to a dangerous part of the pond. He fell in, but the driving snow hiding him from his companions, he was not missed for some time. A labourer walking on the canal bank heard his cries, but it was half an hour before his body was got out. Life was, of course, extinct. At Rad- cliffe, on Friday, four lads were sliding on an old clay pit adjoining Black Lane Church School, near Bolton, when the ice gave way. Through the ex- ertions of Mr. J. Butterworth, the schoolmaster, three of the boys were rescued, but the other, named William Harlow, was not found until twenty minutes afterwards. He was then dead. I The office of Queen's Remembrancer for Scot. land is to be filled up. When the world was wondering at the triumph- ant valour of Havelock, we reminded his future biographer that Carthusians remembered him at the Charter House under a pet name which he had acquired by his gravity—" Phlos," the abridged from of Philosopher." Since then his memory has been consecrated by the establishment of the Have- lock Exhibition, which is open for competition to the whole school. This prize has been won by Mr. Henry Seymour King.—a circumstance agreeable to very many men of letters who have had relations with the young prizeman's father.—Athenaeum. THE PRINCE OF WALES'S EDUCATION PRIZE.— For several years past his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has given a valuable gold medal for competition by the pupils of the King's Lynn Grammar School. The Royal prize has this year been won by Robert Russell Harper, the son of Dr. Harper, of Littlebury House, Holbeach, Lincoln- shire, and he will receive the medal direct from the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his next visit to Sandringham. The subjects in which the com- petitors are examined are alternately classics and modern studies, the latter being the subject this year. THE NEWSPAPER POSTAGE. — ENGLAND AND COLOMBIA.—A post-office bill just issued notifies that henceforward the postage on newspapers ad- dressed to the United States of Colombia and for- warded by the French packet will be fixed at the same rate as are chargeable upon newspapers for the West Indies and places in Central America generally, by French packet, viz., twopence each paper not exceeding four ounces in weight, with twopence additions! for every four ounces in ex- cess. No alteration will be made in the postage on newspapers for the United States of Columbia by British packet. A writer in L'International says that the Theatre Lyrique, from the direction of which M. Pasdeloup has just retired, will never pay, owing to its situa- tion. He proposes removing the establishment to the site of the Bazar Bonne Noavelle, a step which would assure its existence by making public patron- age easy to the patrons. We observe that a brochure by M. de Charnace advocates, among other mea- sures for the revival of music in France, the con- secration of the Lyrique entirely to the works of new composers. This suggestion is accompanied, very properly, by a demand for an augmented sub- vention. THE TRADES UNION CONFERENCE AND THE EDU- CATION LEAGUE.-At the closing meeting of the Scottish Trades Union Conference, in Edinburgh, a discussion was opened on the question of national education.—Mr. Boa, Glasgow, read a paper on the subject, and moved that the Conference support the programme of the Birmingham National Edu- cation League.—Mr. Mooney, Glasgow, seconded the motion.—Mr. Lang, baker, Glasgow, did not see any chance at all of obtaining a satisfactory mea- sure unless the Government were left free to bring in a bill that should be considered quite unsectarian and general in its character. The programme* of the Birmingham League left it free whether the Bible should be taught in the schools or not.—Mr. Paterson, Edinburgh, spoke in support of the pro- gramme issued by the Birmingham League, and the motion was unanimously agreed to. POST-OFFICE TELEGRAPHS.—The telegraph block during the past week has been explained in general terms by Lord Hartington. It may be noted that the prevalent opinion is a mistake that more wires are imperatively required to ease the existing pres- sure. More wires will, doubtless, be put up, but the department is taking a speedier and not less efficient road to supply the needs of the public. A greatly increased number of the Wheatstone auto- matic instruments is being urgently pressed on in substitution for the Mor e instruments now com- monly in use. The former transmit 120 words a minute as against 30to40transmitted by the latter. Thus the matter resolves itself, not into a question of wires, but of instruments and of instrumenta- lists. In the latter the department finds itself es- pecially deficient. The companies had parted with the best of their staff to the various submarine cable companies, and much difficulty has been ex- perienced in supplying their places. But this diffi- culty energy and perseverance are gradually over- coming, and some indulgence is deserved at the hands of the public when it is considered that the increase on private messages has been from 30 to 40 per cent., and on press telegrams nearly 60 per ce^t. The increase in private messages has been chieny on long distances, Glasgow and Edinburgh exhibiting the maximum and Ireland ranking next. Railway News. SUIT AGAINST THE EX-QUEEN OF SPAIN.—A suit in which an important question of competency is involved, has just been brought before the Civil Tribunal of Paris. The plaintiffs, M. and Mdme. Casalini, claimed from Queen Isabella of Spain a sum of 25,000f. for remuneration and disburse- ments on the occasion of a mission to Spain be- tween the 1st January and 15th February of 1869, performed by the husband. The communications from this agent to her Majesty were sent daily, written in cipher, to Mdme. Casalini, w- o had the key, and who translated the correspondence into ordinary language. The Queen, who bv no means acknowledged her indebtedness, abstained in the present instance from contesting the demand on its own merits, but, in the first place, from reasons of opportuneness, and secondly, in order to put an end to the frequent strange pretensions brought forward against her since she has resided in Paris, she now simply opposed an objection that the French tribunals are incompetent to judge suits between foreigners, unless both parties accepted the jurisdiction, which her Majesty did not. The counsel on the other side maintained that a treaty of 1862, signed by the Queen herself, giving to the subjects of France and Spain free access to the tribunals of the other country to obtain justice, assimilated them to natives, and consequently made them also amenable to the same laws. The Advo- cate-General, in his summing up, adopted the same view, and concluded for the rejection of the plea put forward by ex-Queen Isabella. The Court post- poned judgment for a week. THE ALABAMA CLABlS. -The correspondence which has taken place in reference to the Alabama claims between June the 10th, 1869, and the 12th ultimo, has been published in the form of a parlia- mentary paper. Most of the documents in this have been published in the London Gazette, and by us, towards the end of December, and the only fresh despatches are one from Mr. Thornton, the British Minister at Washington, to Lord Claren- don, and the reply of the latter thereto. In the former of these, dated the 22nd November, Mr. Thornton announces that Lord Clarendon's despatch of the same month, and the 11 observations accom- panying it, had been read by him to Mr. Fish, and copies left in his hands. Mr. Fish said the docu- ments would be taken into consideration by his Government, and at the same time he expressed his hope that some means might be found of coming to an amicable arrangement of all the questions at issue. From Lord Clarendon's despatch of the 12th ult., addressed to Mr. Thornton, it appears that Mr. Fish did not include the documents last re- ferred to in the papers he presented to Congress, on the ground that they were assumed to be of an unofficial nature. Lord Clarendon, referring to an interview with Mr. Motley, from whom he learned this, says, "I did not question the right of Mr. Fish to deal with the correspondence in anymanner he thought fit, but that, for my own part, I must say, that in presenting a correspondence to Parlia- ment, I should not think it right to withhold the observations of a foreign Government upon an im- portant despatch of mine that had been officially communicated to it. The publication of the corre- spondence was, in my opinion, to be regretted, as having a tendency to prolong discussion, and not to allay irritation; but when it became known here that the correspondence had been sent to the Senate, her Majesty's Government had no other alternative than topublish the whole, as the British public had a right to expect that important in- formation should be furnished to them by their own Government, and not be derived from the newspapers of another country. Mr. Motley, in a friendly tone, supported the views of Mr. Fish, and a. conversation followed upon the general subject, which I do not think it necessary to report, be- cause Mr. Motley desired that it should not be ar-A- sidered to have an official character, as negotia- tions, if they were resumed. would be conducted tt Washington*" Mr. Henry Fletcher Rigge, of Wood Broughton, has been appointed Sheriff of the county palatine of Lancaster for the Year ensuing. REPORTED MASSACRE OF INDIANS.—A despatcn from Helena, Mont., states that, on the 18th ult., an expedition against certain tribes of Indians, who have been stealing stock and murdering whites for the past several months, left Fort Shaw, under the command of Colonel Baker. The expedition con- sisted of four companies of the Second Cavalry and one company of the Thirteenth Infantry. An In- dian who arrived at Fort Benton reports that early on the morning of the 23rd inst. Colonel Baker surprised Bear Chier's camp of over thirty lodges, and killed men, women, and children. No quarter was given. The surprise was complete. Only six or eight men escaped. Bear Chief was among the slain. Colonel Baker's loss was trifling. Other tribes of the Blackfeet, upon learning of the affair, immediately made aJI haste to reach the British possession, but it is understood the expedition has Government permission to cross the boundary line in pursuit. Bear Chief is known to have murdered several whites. This news is confirmed by other arrivals at Fort Benton. MR. LOWE AND THE BANK OF ENGLAND.—A cor- respondence is published between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England with reference to the notice of motion regarding the National Debt. Mr. Lowe, with the view of giving increased facilities to the fundhold- ers consistently with the attainment of certain public advantages, prepared a series of proposals embracing—1, the payment of the dividends quar- terly 2, the arrangement of the Consol-holders into three classes, so as to enable a twelfth part of the dividend money to be disbursed every month; 3, the formation of a stock terminable at the end of a century; 4, the conversion of New and Re- duced Three per Cents, into Consols upon a pay- ment of i per cent. by the holder, or into century stock in consideration of a bonus of 10 per cent. from the Government; 5, the extinction of the various small stocks, either by purchase or con- version and lastly, the limiting of any holding in the public funds to sums of not less than .£30, all holdings below that amount to be transferred to the care of the Post-office Savings-banks. Upon receipt of these proposals the Governor of the Bank took, with Mr. Lowe's permission, the prac- tical course of consulting the London bankers and a number of the leading members of the Stock Ex- change, when any difficulties that would have to be encountered were at once ascertained and dis- cussed. The result was that the payment of the dividends quarterly and the consolidation of the New Three per Cents, and Reduced Three per Cents, with Consols were admitted to be desirable measures; while the other, for reasons stated by the Governor of the Bank with great perspicacity, and the force of which seems to have been prompt- ly recognised by Mr: Lowe, were shown to be liable to objections more or less serious. A bill is therefore to be brought in embodying the two im- portant provisions on which all parties are agreed, and the other points are to be abandoned or re- served for further consideration. DEATHS FROM STARVATION.—Mr. Humphreys, the coroner, held an inquest at Mile-end, on Thurs- day, touching the death of Bridget Quin, aged 61 years. Ellen Neal, 4, Plough-street, Spitalfields, stated that she had known the deceased for the last fifteen years. She was the keeper of a stall in the Mile end-road, but latterly, through the depres- sion of trade, her business fell off to such an extent that she was ruined. She then borrowed a tea tray, and a person lent her 6d., which she laid out in lemons to sell in the streets. For the last fort- night she slept on the pavement at night. One night she slept in a refuge. A fortnight ago she applied to the Whitechapel Board of Guardians for relief, and they offered her a shilling a week and a loaf, or admission to the house. She said she had never been in a workhouse, and would not go into one. The guardians allowed her a shilling a week, and it was while she was in receipt of that she slept in the street. Several of the jurors said that a shilling a week orthe house was an offer frequent- ly made by workhouse authorities to persons they knew would never go into the house. Police-con- stable 34 H said that last Monday night, at a quar- ter to nine o'clock, he found the deceased lying on the pavement in Whitechapel. She said that she had not tasted food since the previous day. She was then dying and he removed her to the Chapel- yard Police-station, where she had been seen by a doctor, who ordered that she should be immedi- tely taken off to the workhouse. The medical evi- dence showed that death was owing to exposure and want of nourishment, and the jury returned a verdict to that effect.—Mr. Humphreys then held another inquest on the body of George Odkcroft, aged 74 years. From the evidence of George Grant, a fourpenny lodging-house keeper, at 98, Went- worth-street, Whitechapel, it appeared that he bad known the deceased for some months. He was a quack doctor, and some days he made 16s. by sell- ing small bottles filled with a brown liquid as a cure for head attacks. Three weeks ago he fell ill, and since then he had not been able to earn any money. Last Sunday witness had him removed to the Whitechapel Workhouse. When the deceased was in receipt of money he used to drink a pint and a half of rum in a day. Ann Blenchorn said that when the deceased was admitted into the work- house he said, I have not had any food for days." He died shortly after. Dr. M. Champneys said the post-mortem examination proved the deceased had died from want of food. His skin was like parchment. Witness did not believe the state- ment that the deceased had drunk a pint and a half of rum a day at any time of his life. The jury re- turned a verdict of Death from want of food." THE NATIONAL EDUCATION UNION.—A confer- ence was held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, to consider a supplementary scheme put forward by the National Education Union, to obviate some of the objections made to the details of the original scheme by those who were inclined to support the Union. After several hours' discussion the supple- mentary proposals were adopted, the chief points being as follows :—That it is desirable to preserve the schools and to maintain the leading principles of the present system, but to extend their applica- tion to the utmost possible limits; that it is de- sirable to bring all public schools of primary in- struction under Government inspection, and to give aid from the State to all such if they comply with the Government regulations; that without interfering with the trust deeds of existing schools, it should be a condition of Government grants that any parent or guardian may, on giving per- sonal or written notice, withdraw his child from religious teaching; that the provisions of the Fac- tory and Workshops Act be extended, as far as practicable, to all other branches of juvenile la- bour, and that a certificate of satisfactory school attendance be a condition of work for all children under 13 years of age; that in order to meet the case of children of the pauperised and vagabond classes, Mr. Evelyn Denison's Act (for the educa- tion of the children of those receiving out-door re- lief), and the Industrial Schools Act, now permis- sive, be made compulsory; and that in initiating schools greater liberty be given to the Education Department to vary the amount of their grant, and to modify the present rigid requirements as to local contributions and building regulations; that the general principle of parental responsibility be maintained by the requirement of suitable school fees that if in any locality it be proved to the satisfaction of the Government that additional school accommodation is required, the Education Department is to give due notice of the fact through the local authorities of the parish or union district; that if this notice be neglected, the Government should have authority to direct the erection and maintenance of suitable schools, partly by Go- vernment grant and partly at the expense of local rates, and to determine the subjects to be taught in all such schools; that in such cases the managers be nominated partly by the Government and partly by local election; that in cases of com- pulsory rating such rateyayers as contribute to existing authorised schools in the rated districts shall be exempted from such rate to the full extent to their contrbution, and no further. Amongst those who took part in the discussion were the Earl of Harrowby, W. F. Cowper Temple, M.P., Col. Akroyd, M.P., F. S. Corrance, M.P., T. Collins, M.P., Algernon Egerton, M.P., W. Egerton, M.P., W.H. Smith, M.P., H. Birley, M.P., Lord Sandon, M.P., E. Baines, M.P., H. C, Raikes, M.P., Revs, Canon Cromwell, G. Allen, W. Stanyer (secretary). 56S. Dale, W. Maclagan, Dr. Barry, and R. Tonge. A STRANGE CASE.—There is now in the mad- house at Charenton a retired military officer, M. Faulte dePuyparlier, confined, at his wife's request, on a certificate of madness signed by two surgeons. The French law accords the right to anyone to oon- line a member of his family on such a certificate, and it is of this right that Mdme. Puyparlier has availed herself. It appears, however, according to the Gaulois that her husband not only is not mad, out is a man of the highest intelligence and in- tegrity. In consequence of domestic unhappiness, however, he fell into a misanthropic state of mind, and after having been several times sued in various divorce courts, all of which rejected his wife's action, he resolved to leave her and quit the capital. A few days before his departure two gentlemen waited upon him under the pretext of buying his furniture. The breakfasted with him at a cafe, put some narcotic into his drink, and while he was asleep conveyed him to the madhouse. M. Puypaelier having no friends to look after his interests, the affair passed unnoticed until the press took it up. The alleged insanity of M. Puyparlier is now to be tested by a. jury of surgeons. LETTER FROM DR. LIVINGSTONE'S BROTHER.— The Glasgow Herald publishes the following extract from a letter from Mr. Charles Livingstone, Consul at Fernando the Po, brother of Dr. Livingstone. It was addressed to the distinguished traveller's daughter, who resides at Hamilton :.—I had a note from Mr. Vredenburg, our commissioner at Loando, which shows that the mendacious Portuguese are not all dead yet. It was accompanied by a letter from a Portuguese traveller to the interior, who had just returned, and gives Bome impressions the natives got of your father when he crossed the Continent in 1854, though it adds the fact, of which your father was not aware, that he had to drink the muange, and was cut to pieces by the natives, as some of the poison showed that it had taken effect on him. Poor Vredenburg has sent this letter to the Foreign Office, as he thinks it «leavés but little hope of the safety of Dr. L." As the natives told our Portuguese this yarn in June, 1868, it would appear that your father managed somehow to put all his pieces together again. I have written to Vredenburg that the muange and cutting-to- pieces part of this yarn came out of the two cala- bashes of cacolla (drink made of honey). with much secresy," says Vredenburg. the native told the Portuguese that Dr. Livingstone was a great fetish man." IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.—A discovery like that of the Moabite Stone has not been made for many a long day. Mr. E. Deutsch, in a letter to Mr. Grove, secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund, gives the following account of the inscription. The document starts with the words, I Mesha, son of Ch Whether this be the Mesha. who, driven at bay by the three allied armies of Judah, Israel, and Edom, sacrificed his son to save his country, or not, I cannot yet determine; but there is no special reason against the assumption. A king of Mesha's prowess might have spoken of his doings as proudly as is done on this monument. And, what is of much greater weight, the character of the writing, which in default of a better word, we must still call Phcenician," looks older than many of the Assyrian (Mesopotamian) bilingual cylinders in the British Museum, the date of which is, at the very least, as old as the ninth century B.C., the time of this Biblical Mesha. It is, indeed, the palseographical part of the document which at present seems paramount. Apart from the very primitive character of the whole alphabet as it here occurs, there is one letter (the Kaph) which, to my knowledge, is found on no other Semitic remnant in this peculiar Moabite" shape. Next to this point ranks always the geographical importance of this record. There start up with an absolute clearness such names as Beth-Bamoth, Beth-Barl-Meon, Horonaim, Dibon, well-known Biblical cities, either situate in Moab ("the names whereof were .changed by the Israelites," whence their variations), or temporarily held by Moab. These places among others, King Lesha on this stele boasts of having built." Indeed, the words I built" occur so frequently that they form welcome landmarks to the decipherer. Besides these places which occur in the Bible I find "Karkha," which I venture to identify with Kerek, the later name of the whole country, also the name of A hamlet still in exist- ence. But apart from this mention is also made re- peatedly of Israel," the rival, often hostile power, and Chemosh," the national God of Moab. Let this suffice just now. The historical, as well as the linguistic purport of this find are so startlingly obvious that nothing need be added at present. I would only beg to urge on your committee the ex- pediency of leaving no means untried to get pos- session of as much of this unique Moabite relic as may survive." In spite of the very reticent tone of his letter in the Times, Mr. Deutsch allows it to appear that we have here the very oldest Semitic monument of moment ever found. FRENCH CONVICT SHIPS.—A French paper gives details of the arrangements on board French ships of war when employed in the conveyance of con- victs. The frigate Sybille, commanded by Cap- tain Rierre, has just left Toulon, and sails for New Caledonia with 180 convicts. Its decks present a curious combination of the most severe means for the safe keeping of these unfortunate persons, with the most intelligent care for their bodily welfare. The deck, as in passenger ships, is covered with hen-coops, crates, rafts, &c., and no cannon is to be seen, with the exception of four placed aft, ready to fire on the convicts if, in their walks on deck, they should venture to pass the mainmast. In the fore part of the ship are two gigantic distilling ma- chines, capable of furnishing 2,500 French pints daily, so that there is abundance of fresh water. Here the convicts are obliged to wash three times a week in great tubs of cold or tepid water, ac- cording to the climate through which the ship is passing. Here, also, are placed immense casks of a beverage acidulated with lemon juice, to quench thirst and ward off scurvy. Between the decks the usual rows of cannon are replaced by four large cages, in which the convicts are confined. They are strongly built of iron bars, which are crossed with wooden ones, so that they cannot be forced apart, and contain chairs, &c., and could hold about 200 people. In each of these cages hammocks are suspended every evening to the bars, one ham- mock to two prisoners, who sleep in it by their turns. The convict who is not in the ha.m.mock may lie upon the ground. These four cages are separated from each other, and from the ship's sides, by a wide passage where warders pace about night and day, armed with revolvers and chasse- pots. On this deck also there are two cannon aft. The cage for women is furnished with thin iron shutters. In case of an epidemic a cage is always prepared, in which the sick can always be kept apart from their companions. There are on this deck fourteen berths for such of the relations of convicts as have obtained leave to accompany them to the colony. The air circulates freely between decks, as the portholes are left open whenever the weather permits, but these are strongly barred. This precaution is not so unnecessary as it seems. On board the Alceste two convicts jumped into the sea six miles from land, not having accurately judged the distance by the eye. They were never heard of again. Now such an accident is impossi- ble. The discipline is very severe on board the transport-120 soldiers and warders are employed to keep perfect order, and the 170 men forming the crew would help in case of need. They are armed with revolvers, and the convicts only come to the upper deck in relays of fifty. They may not go for- wards beyond a certain points and while they walk a guard armed with chassepots observes their slight- est movement. The simplest punishment to in- flict on a convict would be a deprivation of wine, but from regard to health a certainnumberof blows with a rope's end have been substituted for this. It is difficult on board to find anyone to carry out a sentence. If there were a regular excutioner he would be killed, if not on the voyage, tit least on arriving at the colony. Thehead of the executioner is therefore placed in a bag, so that he may not be recognised. He is always a convict, whose name is known only to the commandant and to the second in command. The punishment is witnessed by ten convicts from each cage. The Sybille carries more than 600human beings—passengers, crew, soldiers, and convicts. Amongst these are some criminal celebrities Consauve, the assassin of M. Samson, of Toulon and Parnolo, who killed an agent of police in that town; the Corporal Thouvenin, who endeavoured to explode the magazine of Pondi- chery; an old priest, and Jan son, of Nancy, a stu- dent in theology, an assassin, and an incendiary.