Monmouthshire Merlin

COLLIERY EXPLOSION. On Monday afternoon, about five o'clock, an explosion of gas occurred in the Dean Lane Colliery, Bed- minster, near Bristol. Five men were burned, three of them so seriously that it is feared fatal results will ensue. The explosion was caused by one of the injured men, Garland, entering a forbidden part of the mine with a naked light. The three men now at the general hospital are Daniel Garland, 46 James Selway, 28 and ThomM Woodbridge.

I FEARFUL EXPLOSION. FOUR MEN KILLED AND OTHERS INJURED. Four men were killed and others injured by an explosion of nitro-glycerine on March 2211d, at a manufactory of that article at Harlem. The force of the explosion was terrific, the manufactory and storehouses being blown long distances. The Tribune sayB the employes of the factory were in the habit of smoking pipes on the premises, and the explosion was directly caused by throwing down a bnrning match after lighting a pipe. It fell into a mass of explosives. The owners of the factory, says the Tribune, are as much to blame as the unfortunate employes.

I SENTENCE ON TRADE UNIONISTS. A correspondent informs us that at Nottingham Quarter Sessions, on Monday, before Mr. Hildyard, M.P., .Tames Whittle, James Dean, Win. Whittle, Frederick Dakin, and George Humphreys, lace makers, were in- dicted for unlawfully and maliciously wounding John Sylvester, at Lenton, on Christmas Day. The case was not concluded until eight o'clock at nilht. It will no doubt be remembered that last year a serious strike took place on the premises of Messrs. Sylvester and Bridgett, lace manufacturers, and many disturbances followed daily afterwards. On the night in auestion, as prose- cutor, who is son of one of the members of the firm, was going home through the Nottingham Park, he was met by the prisoners, who threatened to settle him, and called him white-livered," and, saying they would knock his brains out, struck him a violent blow on the head with a large stone tied in a handkerchief, and Sylvester was taken home and attended by Dr. Hather- ley. Humphrey, who struck the blow, was sentenced to nine months, and Dakin and William Whittle to six months' imprisonment, the rest being acquitted.

MR. CAVE'S REPORT ON EGYPTIAN FINANCE. This report was issued to members on Monday. It reviews the peculiar difficulties attending the railway system and sugar cultivation in Egypt, and proceeds to state that the revenue of Ef-'ypt has increased from £ 55,000 in 1804 to n,377,912 in 1871— the year previous to the changes caused by the law of Monkabala, under which land-owners could redeem one-half of the land tax on payment of about five and a half years' tax—a ruinous arrange- ment for the State. The revenue now produces an- nually £10,689,070, but of this amount the Monkabaea, ^1,531,118, is terminable, and will drop out of the account in ten years, whilst at the same time Jjhe land tax will fall from £ 4,305,131 to £ 2,634,824. ■^he normal Expenditure amounts to £ 9,080, ^hich £ 5,036,675 is devoted to paying the m- terest and sinking f«md of the various State loaOa. A detailed table of the various loans shows that none of them cost less than 12 per cent. Per allnum while some cost more than 13j, and the railway'loan even 26 to 29 per cent. per annum, including sinking fund. For the present large amount of indebtedness there is absolutely nothing to show but the Suez Canal shares. It would seem that the most feasible mode of averting danger would be to buy up f0r the purpose of consolida- tion the loaiis of I860 and 1873 and the bonds of the floating debt. It would, however, be essential that the gbedi^e should place a person who would command general confidence at the head of a Control De- partment, which should receive direct from the tax collector certain branches of revenue to be defined, but comprising the land tax, and should have a general supervision of the incidence and levying of the taxes. ne present revenue of Egypt is £ 10,689,070. wtich' 1886 -will be reduced to £ 8,473,000. The amount of capital of the larger loans is < 2 millions, leaving out of account three smaller loans nearly paid off, which may be dealt with separately, and paid out of revenue derived from the Monkabala. As concerns the funded debt, the interest on the nomi- nal amount of the loans is not excessive, but the sink- ing fund adds to it a yearly charge too heavy for the revenue. It is suggested that an offer might be made to the bondholders of these loans of a new atocK at seven per cent., repayable by the year 1926, instead of the bonds they now hold, redeemable from 1892 to 1903. It maybe expected that when the gravity of the situation is explained to the bondholders, they will consent to an arrangement for securing to them a fair return on their money, and saving them from the heavy loss inseparable from a financial collapse. The report then examines whether the resources of the country are equal-Ho these payments, and states in con- clusion :-Egypt is weli able to bear the charge of the whole of her present indebtedness at a reasonable rate of interest, but she cannot go on renewing floating debts at 25 per cent., and raising fresh loans at 12 or 13 per cent. interest to meet these additions to her debt.

LIEUT. CAMERON'S EXPLORATIONS IN AFRICA. Lieutenant Cameron's journey (the Daily News ob- serves) differs in some respects from those of any other African explorers. He has tramped over the country more persistently than Livingstone himself. He is not the first European who has crossed the African Con- tinent but he is the first who has actually walked across'it in itš tropical portions. The actual distance he has covered between Zanzibar on the east and ft«™ii«la on the west is 2953 miles. The whole of his Vast iourney has been done on foot, and nearly the whni« of it has been along a road which no other European has ever traversed. This was the case aven^n the east side of the Tanganyika Lake. In his journey from Unyanyembe to Ujiji, after sending on Livingstone's remains, he took a line different from that of other travellers, and discovered several of the tributaries of the Malgarazi river. On the west of the lake his course from Nyaugwe to Benguela was almost entirely over new ground. Livingstone's route to Loanda crossed that of Lieut. Cameron almost at right angles, and that of the brothers Pombeiros only ran parallel to it here and there. He has thus crossed all the streams which run from the southward to find their out- let through the Congo, has carefutly ascertained the names and direction of their tributaries, and has marked the line along which the watershed of the continent runs, parting the Zambesi on the east from the Congo on the west. He probably brines home a complete account of this wonderful water-system of the Upper Congo, which seems to be greater and more important than that of the Nile. His main merit has u t nVivQH'fil endurance be has manifested, been not in the physical en nor the moral courage witn v •; faced; but in the scientific accuracy with winchL he, has made these observations. Eminent geogiap P of him as first among African explorers in this respect. He has fixed the exact position, and ascer- tained the height, of most of the places he has visited, and he will therefore enable geographers at hone to produce a tolerably exact map of the district traversed. There are not many men to whom it is given to bring such laurels home in their thirty-first or thirty-second year. But Africa remains to this gene- ration what it was to our ancestors—a land of wonders. Every new discovery in its equatorial regions excites fresh surprise at the beauty and fruit- fulness of a continent which had always been supposed to be a land of deserts. Behind the deserts of the north and the unwholesome coast lines on the east and west lies a land of hills and meadows, of lakes and streams.

LAUNCH OF THE has been officially notified that the armour-plated ship Temeraire will be launched at Chatham on the 9th of May, and the public will be admitted to the yard two hours before that time. A large stand will be erected for the accommodation of the Lords of the Admiralty and members of the Houses of Parliament. Mrs. Ware Hunt, wife of the First Lord, will christen the ship.

THE LENNIE MUTINEERS. The nine men charged with mutiny and the murder of the captain and the first and second mates of the British ship Lennie underwent a further examination at Bow street Police Court on Saturday. The evidence for the prosecution was brought to a close, and Sir Thomas Henry being of opinion that there was no evidence against Moros, his discharge was ordered. The other eight prisoners were formally remanded.

THE BRITISH CHURCH AT STOCKHOLM. The following telegram has been received from the British Church Committee at Stockholm:- STOCKHOLM, April 1 (8.35 p.m.) The British Episcopal Church here was broken into at four o'clock to-day, by order of the Swedish authori- ties. The British Committee, assisted by her Majesty's consul, claim the Church on behalf of the British Government and subjects, and legal proceedings are still pending, but the Governor of Stockholm has ordered the keys to be given up. On the British Com- mittee refusing to do this, the church doors were forced.

BREACH OF PROMISE BY A FARMER. At the Liverpool assizes, on Saturday, an action was brought by Miss Maggie Sutton, daughter of a well-to- do farmer, of Ashton-in-Mackerfield, against Mr. Luke Pimblett, also a farmer in the same locality, to recover damages for breach of promise of marriage. The plaintiff was twenty-seven years old, and the defendant thirty-feur, and they had been engaged for nine years. Great affection was displayed by the defendant until within the last year or two, when he cooled in his protestations, and eventually married his mother's servant. There was no defence, and the jury awarded the plaintiff J6150.

EGYPTIAN FINANCE. A memorandum by Sir George A. Elliot to the Khedive on Egyptian finance is published. The principle of this plan is the consolidation of the debts and liabilities as well of the Government as of his Highness by the creation of a Government Stock into which these debts and liabilities shall be converted, the stock so be terminable in fifty years, bearing six per cent. interest, with one half per cent. addi- tional as a sinking fund for its redemption. The punctual payment to be effectually guaranteed. The aggregate of the secured loans is £55,832,611, and the floating debt £ 21,300,000. The loans of 1864, 1865, and 1867 are to be specially provided for by the Monkabla revenue. This leaves a total of £ 71,885,799. This is to be converted with a positive advantage to the holders of the various stocks into Y,65,000,000 of Consolidated Stock, which at 6S per cent. would entail an annual charge of £ 4,22o,000 As the estimated revenue for 1876, after deduction of the tribute and the £ 200.000 for canal shares sold to the English Government, is ;S8,2< 2.646. This leaves £ 4 047 646 available for the general purposes of admin- istration and the Civil List.

¡ THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER ON POLITICS AND CHURCH BELL-RINGING. On Sunday the Bishop of Manchester preached two sermons at Church Kirk, on the inauguration of the first new peals of bells in connection with that ancient adifice. In the course of his morning service he said be hoped those bells would never be rung fox any pur- pose which indicated a distinction of feeling, nor on any occasion when the sound of them, though pleasant to some, would be distasteful to others. His lordship proceeded :-1 thought it an unseemly thii), when the bells of the Blackburn Parish Church were rung as a note of triumph at the late election. I think we Churchmen ought to remember thai, our Church is the national Church; and if you mean to say she is to dwindle into a sect, either a religious or political sect, I wish you well to weigh the consequences. I hold-and I think it is con- sistent with the teachings of Christ-that the national Church ought to be the home of all citizens. Now in England we have division of feeling in matters of politics. There are those amongst us who are Conservatives, and there are those amongst us who are Liberals, and both may be and, I hope, often are equally good Churchmen. I have known Liberals who have seemed to me to take much broader and more intelligent views of what the Church should be than I have found in some Conservatives. At any rate the Church is the national Church, and I say distinctly that church bells, therefore, ought never to be rung to celebrate a mere political triumph which may be the triumph of one body of Churchmen over another. I was very pleased to see amongst the sub- scribers to your new peal of bells the names of several Nonconformists, and I hope that those bells will never be rung on any occasion which would give pain to Nonconformists.

THE DISTURBANCES AT SAMOA. The disturbances at Samoa and the position of affairs at the latest date, are fully explained by a correspondent writing to a Plymouth paper. Her Majesty's ship Barracouta remains at Samoa protect- ing the white population, who were menaced by Col. Sternberger's Government, and were holding con- ferences to devise means of self-defence. The vessel chartered by the Barracouta's captain to proceed to Fiji with despatches, has been lost on the reefs. Col. Sternberger's war yacht had been seized and sold, and the United States Consul had challenged him to pro- duce authority for his assumption of power.

THE PLAGUE. We are informed that the plague, which for the last two years has appeared now and again in villages on the lower Euphrates, has now broken out at Hillah, and that some cases have occurred at Bagdad. The disease has been absent from this country for more than 150 years, and from the continent of Europe, and from its once favourite haunts in Egypt, Syria, and Meso- potamia, for about 40 years. The recent, outbreaks, however, have shown no diminution of the old virulence, and there can be little doubt, when the present state of commercial communication is considered, that the malady will soon be conveyed from Bagdad to the Levant. From the Levant it might easily pass to Europe and even to our own shores. Fortunately, the unhealthy conditions of living by which plague was once fostered among ourselves, no longer exist; and partly from the changes in this respect, partly by reason of the powers now vested in local sanitary authorities, there is every reason to believe that any importation of the disease into this country would be speedily controlled and kept within narrow limits. There can be no doubt, however, that it is the duty of sanitary authorities, especially in seaport towns, to be fully prepared for any emergency which may arise, and to consider beforehand the precautions which would be required if any case of plague should be brought within their jurisdiction.- Times.

WILLS AND BEQUESTS. The will and codicil, both dated May 11, 1875, of Mr. George Pculett Scrope, formerly of Castle Combe, Wilts., but late of Fairlawn, Cobhain, Surrey, were proved on the 3rd ult., the personal estate being sworn under £ 180,000. The testator bequeaths to his wife, Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Poulett Scrope, certain house- hold furniture and effects, pecuniary legacies amount- ing to £7000, and confirms the deed made in her favour in 1872; to his great nephew, Christopher Weguelin, £ 10,000; to his nephew, William Henry Baring, £ 5000; to his nephews Arthur Eden and Frederick Eden, £ 20,000 each; upon trust for his ^Q°P^ed son> Arthur Hamilton Scrope, for life, £ 20,000; for the benefit of the two eldest sons of his said nephew, Hugh Hammersley, £ 20,000. After giving a few other legacies, he gives the residue of hia property to his last-named ■nephew.— The will, with two codicils, dated August 12, October 9, and November, 1875, of Harriet, Marchioness of Clanricarde, was proved on the 7th ult. the personal estate being sworn under £ 60,000. The testatrix be- queaths upon trust for her four daughters—the Coun- tess of Cork, Lady Catherine Weyland, Lady Mar- garet Beaumont, and Lady Harriet Wentworth- £ 5000 each; to her granddaughter. Lady Margaret Lascelles, £ 5000 to her son, the present Marquis of Clanricarde, EIO,000 Russia bonds; to each of her executors £ 100; to Sir R. W. C. Brownrigg, in addi- tion, to be dealt with by him according to her verbal in- 8tructions, £ 2000; and the residue of her moneys and securities for money to her two eldest unmarried grand- daughters at the time of her death other than the said Lady Margaret Lascelles. The rest of her property she leaves to her said son.—The will, dated January 19th, 1875, of Colonel John Daniel Dyson, late of Denne hill, Kent, was proved on the 4th ult. the personal estate being sworn under £ 120,000. The testator devises and bequeaths all his real and personal estate to his brother, subject to the payment of small legacies.-The will, dated Oct. 6th, 1875, of Mr. Lloyd Rayner, late of Moseley House, Liverpool, was proved on the 6th ult., the personal estate being sworn under £ 120,000. The testator bequeaths his furniture at Moseley House, horses, carriages, &c., and a pecuniary legacy of S500 to his wife absolutely to his stepdaughter, Mary Adeline Brown, £ 2000; to Mr. Parker, £ 200; and he provides for Mrs. Rayner having the use of Moseley House and the income of the residue of his property during her widowhood; upon her death or marriage again the testator directs the whole of his real and personal estate to be Eolè, and the proceeds equally divided amongst all his children by both his marriages.-The will, dated July 24th, 1875, of Mr. William English, late of Seymour Cottage. Lee, Kent, has been prove! under £ 30,000.—The will, with three codicils, datel respectively Ilfcvember 25, 1864; July 19, 1866; November 21, 1871; and January 9, 1874, of the Hon. and Rev. Edward George Moore, Canon of St, George's Chapel, Windsor, and Rector of West Ilsley, near Newbury, Berks, was proved on the 26th ult., the personalty being sworn under £ 14,000. The testator bequeaths £ 50, free of legacy duty, to the minister and churchwardens of each of the parishes of Ilsley, Berks, and Fermor, Tipperary, Ireland, to be by them distributed, at their discretion, amongst the poor.- The will, dated August 29, 1872, of Mr. James Thos. Hill, merchant, Hull, has been proved, the personal estate being sworn under £ 80,000,—Illustrated London News.

Captain Lodge last week recovered from the wreck of the Schiller £ 10,000. The Hon. Holt Mackenzie, senior member of her Majesty's Privy Council, died in London last week, aged 89 years. A case of gross inhumanity was brought to light at an inquest held at Runcorn, last week, upon the body of a lad, unknown, who was drowned during a high tide on the river. He was walking on the marsh when overtaken by the tide. He appealed to a group of workmen, who were a short distance off, to save him, Uut none of them had the courage to walk a few yards into the water. They went off, leaving the lad to his fate. It was stated that had the men looked there were plenty of planks and ropes available which would have enabled them to save him. The coroner stigma- tiaed the conduct of the men as mean, cowardly and inhuman in the extreme, t

RUMOURED PROBABLE ABDICATION OF THE QUEEN. The Era "litter of Saturdayhasthefollowingsignificant paragraph It is confidently reported that the cause of Mr. Disraeli's perseverance in pressing forward the unpopular Royal Titles Bill is the result of an inti- mation on the part of her Majesty that, if the country should refuse to comply with her wishes in this respect, she would consider the advisability of an abdication."

EXTRAORDINARY LETTER. A few days ago the police took to the Hackney Union Workhouse an infant male child, whom they had found deserted in the street at Someford-road, Stoke Newing- ton. The infant was very emaciated. There was attached to it a letter, evidently written by a well educated female, as follows:—"Be kind to this poor little darling. It is not done through heartlessness, but destitution. I have struggled to keep her nine weeks, and now my means are exhausted, and friends have turned from me. There were only two things foi me to do—this or a watery grave for both of us; and I know now she will be clothed and fed and receive all she requires. Poor darling God forgive me but he knows my heart, and will be merciful. I shall claim her as soon as I can, regardless of the punishment J submit myself to."

THE GREAT JEWEL ROBBERY. The London Telegraph, referring to the great jewel robbery in Hatton garden, says:—"We doubt whethei the thieves, whoever they may be, will ever be captured, Valuable jewels, when wrenched from their settings, pass in market overt from hand to hand as readily as sovereigns or banknotes. There is a tavern in one of the most frequented thoroughfares of London at which, during almost any hour of the day, can be found a dozen or more gentlemen, each of whom carries in his waistcoat pocket, wrapped up in a crumpled piece of whitey-brown paper, a small handful of diamonds, some cut, some rough, and some in the jacket,' which may, perhaps, be worth a ten-pound note, but which, as likely as not, may be valued at Y,3000 or £4000. The custom, in short, of the jewel trade is peculiar, and there are no receivers in it, for the simple reason that it has always been the recognised cus- tom of jewel merchants to buy from anybody who may have to sell. Not in London only, but at Rot- terdam, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg. New York, and, indeed, almost any rich city, plenty of mer- chants are to be found who will buy £ 20,000 worth of unset jewels across the counter, and pay for them in hard cash. It is, in short, in the case of » large jewel robbery, perfectly idle to look for the receivers. The one and only question to ask is, Who is the thief ? In the present instance, as we have already remarked, it might be thought that this inquiry would be comparatively easy, because its range, for obvious reasons, must be limited. Unfortunately, all experience goes to show that the task which lies befo"e the authorities of Scotland yard is one of more than usual difficulty. Some three years ago the Messrs. Hancock, the largest jewellers in London, discovered that gems, worth in the aggregate about* £ 15,000, had been stolen from their pre- mises. Diligent inquiry was made, and the result was to fix the theft, beyond all reasonable question upon one of the employes. Unfortunately it was found impossible to bring homo to the culprit in question more than the larceny of one or two watches, a silver teapot, and a few other articles of minor value. For stealing these he was convicted at the Old Bailey; but, in spite of every inquiry, it has never yet been ascertained into whose hands the bulk of the plunder ultimately passed. The property stolen con- sisted of rings, necklaces, crosses, tiaras, bracelets, and the like ornaments, made almost entirely of diamonds. These precious stones were wrenched from their settings with a common pair of pliers, and the settings were picked up by a boy whc found them tied together with a piece of string in the mud op the Thames, and endeavoured to sell them for copper, in happy ignorance that they were eighteen- carat gold. From that day to this Messrs. Hancock have never been able to discover what became of their brilliants, and, when we bear in mind the fact that for precious jewels the whole world is market overt, we fear that Messrs. Williams and Son, even if they suc- ceed in detecting the actual thieves, will yet be unable o_ trace the valuable 'portable property' which is missing from their safes, unless, indeed, as in the case of the robbery at. Mr. Walker's, in Cornhill, an accom- plice in the crime 'makes a clean breast' of the affair."

THE "SPIRIT OF MODERN NONCON- I FORMITY." The Standard thinks the meeting of Dissenting deputies which took place last week is very cha- racteristic of the spirit of modern nonconformity. Dissenters think to assert their dignity by having a finger in every pie. They strove hard to identify themselves with the agitation against the Fugitive Slave Circular; they would like to have it thought that they have special reasons for objecting to the Royal Titles Bill, and we should not be the least sur- prised at their opposing the Government Enclosure Bill, on the ground that it does not provide sites for the erection of Dissenting chapels. It is easy to see the meaning of all this. The maxim that the world will take you at your own valuation has a large element of truth in it, and the Dissenters no doubt believe that by asserting themselves on every pos- sible occasion, by thrusting themselves into every complication, whether it concerns them or not, and by bawling themselves hoarse over every measure of legis- lation which can be twisted for the moment into the semblance ef a grievance, they will induce the public at large to think them very fine fellows, and much more powerful than they are. We do not dispute the worldly wisdom of these tactics. Many people might think that sooner than be pestered with this eternal din it would be well to give them what they want and get rid of them. But we need not say what comes of bribing an organ grinder to leave off playing under your window, or a happy family to betake itself to the next street. The nuisance is intolerable, but by paying it to go away to-day you only bring it back again to-morrow. It pleases the Dissenters just now to demand the abolition of clerical fellowships, and that, no heads of houses shall in future be obliged to be churchmen. They had better at once demand a sweeping enactment that no endowment or foundation intended for the benefit of the Church of England shall in future be recognised by law. Whatever they say about particular points comes to this in the long run. When the Church and the nation Wfr6 u116' ^ese endowments were given to the Church; therefore they were given to the nation. That is the argument of the Dissenters, and certainly it may be contended that it is hard to keep men away from Oxford who are so much in want of a little logic. What was given to the Church was given to the Church, and if a part of the nation chooses to cut itself off from the enjoyment of these gifts so much the worse for the seoeders. They have no right to call for the confiscation of Church property because they have voluntarily deprived themselves of the benefits which it confers on others. Yet this is their demand. This is the real meaning of all such cries as this one for the abolition of clerical fellowships. We are almost tired of pointing this out. But cobwebs must se swept away, though we know that the ingenious nsect will spin them afresh next morning.

The British Medical Journal believes there is no truth B the statement that Netley Hospital is to be abo- lished. BRAVH RESCUE BY A LADY. --The other afternoon a little boy fell from the stone walk of the Waterloo Crescent. Dover, into the sea, and passed out some yards. His aunt, Miss Spain, though heavily dressed, jumped in after him, and, being a practised swimmer, succeeded bringing the drowning child to shore after being seve- ral minutes in the water.

HEAVY FAILURE IN LIVERPOOL." We learn from a correspondent that the failure was announced on Monday of Messrs. A. Duranty and Co., West India merchants and commission and forwarding agents, of Liverpool, in consequence of the inability of their Havre house to meet their engagements. During the past few years the firm have greatly extended their business, and have opened houses in Havre and Hayti. The liabilities are stated to be estimated at about £ 700,000, a considerable amount of which will fall on Manchester and London. The losses are under- stood to have occurred chiefly in the Hayti trade, and in coffee. The assets consist principally of debts due from the West Indies, and the books are said to show a dividend in full provided these debts are judiciously realised.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT AT A WIGAN COLLIERY. On Saturday morning a shocking accident occurred at the Moss Pits, at Ince, near Wigan, belonging to the Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company klimited), whereby three men were injured, two, it is feared, fatally. Two colliers, who were working in a jig brow in the seven-feet seam, having drilled a hole and filled it with powder for the purpose of blasting the coal, called in the fireman, as is the custom at this colliery, to fire it; and he having lighted the fuse retired along with the two colliers to a distance of eight or ten yards behind some brattice cloth. The shot, however, instead of burning down the coal, blew out of the hole and knocked down the brattice, and the flames caught the three men and burnt them severely.

A BARONET ON THE STAGE. Sir Randal Roberts, Bart., is to appear at the Olympic Theatre on May 15th, in a piece written by himself. It Is rumoured that olTers are pouring in on him from America, and that he has accepted an engagement at Wallack's, New York. The appearance of one of our oldest English baronets on the stage is giving rise to all sorts of conjectures as to the reasons which seem to have actuated him in adopting a pro- fession which, with the exception of the late Sir W lU. Don (Sir Randal's cousin), has had no precedent. Sir Randal is well known as a journalist,, and also in the literary and artistic world, being the author of many works and an exhibitor at the Royal Academy. He has aoted as Times correspondent in India, and was special correspondent to the Daily Telegraph with the First Prussian Army Corps, in the Franco-Prus- sian war, during which he was three times wounded, and had several horses shot under him. For his humane services in successfully saving life under heavy fire upon four different occasions, and his coolness under fire, his Majesty the Emperor of Germany de- corated Sir Randal with the Iron Cross," the highest distinction that can be conferred upon a foreigner. Much more might be said about this already distin- guished man, and the advent of his appearance on the stage is looked forward to with marked interest. j

ANOTHKR 1>KATH FROM THE UFK OF CHT.O- HOFORM.—On Saturday night Mr. Harrison, the Leices- ter Coroner, held an inquest on the body of William Bassett, aged 53, a builder, who "died on the previous day while under the administra- tion of chloroform preparatory to undergoing an operation at the Leicester Infirmary. Dr. Hodge, the house surgeon, stated that the deceased was thoroughly examined prior to and during the ad- ministration of the chloroform as to the existence of heart disease, but no trace of it could be found. This was the first fatal case that be had had during his expe- rience in the administration of chloroform in some four thousand cases, and he was of opinion that the fatality was owing to the sudden stoppage of the heart's action. -The iurv returned a verdict accordingly.

w- RETURN OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH TO ENGLAND. TheDuke of Edinburgh arrived at Dover on Monday by the special steamer Wave, and left for London by the ordinary mail train arriving at 5.40.

THE PROPOSED NEW BISHOPRIC. At a meeting at Exeter, on Saturday, the Bishop of Exeter announced that the Home Secretary was so far satisfied with the progress of the funds for establishing a bishopric for Cornwall that he had instructed him to get materials for draughting the bill, and he had no doubt it would be drawn before Easter. One lady has promised an endowment of £ 1200 a year to the bishopric. At the same meeting, in opposition to the wishes of the promoters of the meeting, a resolution, proposed by members of the English Church Union, was passed affirming that this was a fitting opportunity for assert- ing the right of the Church in Cornwall to some real voice in the appointment of the proposed new bishop and his successors.

ARRIVAL OF LIEUT. CAMERON IN ENGLAND. Lieut. Cameron, the African explorer, arrived at Liverpool on Sunday by the steamer Congo. He is in good health. He was met by the Mayor of Liver- pool, and driven to the Town Hall. His reception by the population and the municipal authorities was most C°^he1 following is a brief account of the expedition, as given by Lieutenant Cameron :-He went to Africa in the first instance on behalf of the Livingstone Search and Relief Expedition, and after the death of Dr. Livingstone he undertook an exploration on his own account, under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society. The original object of the expedition was to follow up the river Lualaba to the mouth of the Congo, and though Lieutenant Cameron was not able to carry out this plan of operation in its entirety, he has proved that the Lualaba and the north arm of the Congo are one and the same river, and has traversed the continent from the east to the west coasts, and in so doing has travelled over 1200 miles of new and hitherto unexplored country. The interior he describes as being for the most part very fertile and healthy, more especially the district of Katanga, lying between the rivers Lufira and Lualaba, and extending roughly from the 8th to the 11th degree of south latitude, and the twenty-fifth to the twenty-seventh of east longitude. According to the report wh ch he received, this dis- trict is rich in gold and copper and abounds with game. Lieutenant Cameron left Ujiji in March, 1 4, and crossed Lake Tanganyika, with a view to trace down the outlet from that lake to Livingstone's Lua- laba, which is properly called the Luvwa, and joins the real Lualaba, as originally mentioned by the Pombeiros, just before the latter flows into Lake Lhnji. Lieutenant Cameron travelled to Nyangwe, situated in the centre of an enormously wide valley, which receives the drainage of all this part of Africa. He endea- deavoured to get canoes at Nyangwe, but without success, and then proceeded with the intention of after- wards striking up for Lake Sankoira, through which the Lualaba flows. But this desire was frustrated by hostile chiefs, who refused to .allow his passage through their territories, and after spending some time at Kilemba in visiting various lakes in the neighbourhood, he decided to make for Benguele, on the west coast. Important observations as to the source and direction of the rivers of Ulanda and Rovale were made on the route, and close to the source of the Lulna was tound, a.fter going south to the Zambesi the river the sources of which he places at twenty-three degrees east longitude and eleven degrees fifteen minutes south latitude. Lieutenant Cameron was at- tacked with scurvy on the day he reached the coast and was obliged to remain at Loanda for some time, deeming it unadvisable to return to England until the warmer weather had commenced. He states that the last 130 milew to the coast he did with four or five men only, the others having all broken down. He is now looking very well, and bears little or no trace of his recent illness.

At Messrs. Christie's sale in London, last week, 148 of Albert Levy's collection of paintings were sold, and realised £ 23,400. The Slave Market," by Carro fetched £ 2760. TIm CASE OF M. LAHTTE.-On the case of M. Lafitte being called on in the House of Lords last week, Mr. Cotton stated that a compromise had been effected. All proceedings are to be stayed on payment of £ 75,000 by the official liquidator to the appellant,

MURDER BY A FISHERMAN. A fisherman, named James Pringle, murderea another named George Hossack yesterday morning, at Stanley, near Perth. On Saturday-night the two men quarrelled while playing at cards, in a public-house. Pringle afterwards went home, but at an early hour Hossack came to his house demanding admittance, which was refused. As the latter was going away, 1'ringle ran after him, and stabbed him fatally. Immediately after the deed the murderer surrendered to the police.

ISLE OF MAN LICENSING BILL. The House of Keys has just met to consider altera- tions in the Licensing Bill. The principal was a new clause instead of one regulating habitual drunkards. The new clause provided: That any person found drunk on the public highway or on licensed premises shall, on a third or subsequent conviction within twelve months, be liable to a fine of 40s., and may be inhibited from purchasing intoxicating liquor from licensed per- sons for twelve months. The Court may issue an order forbidding the sale of intoxicating liquor by a licensed person to or for the use of such inhibited person for twelve months. A licensed person acting in contravention of such order in writing to be liable to a penalty not exceeding XIO." Agreed to.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE AND CONFESSION OF MURDER. At Bristol Police Court, last week, Mary Jones, a young woman in service at Clifton, was charged with having attempted to commit suicide. On the 29th ult. she was pulled out of a pond in Redland Green by a man who had seen her throw herself in. Before leaving the house where she was employed she had told her fellow-servant that four years ago she gave birth to a child, and that a year afterwards she drowned it, and she could not endure the remorse any longer. Upon her was found a letter addressed to her sweet- heart, in which she said :—" It seems like a horrible dream, but for the remorse of three years. Oh, what shall I do ? I have prayed to God to forgive me. Oh, William, I am sorry, truly sorry, for you, but it is nothing you can help. I wish you had not been led on as you have, but better now than in the happy time that would have come. I cannot tell you any more. Try and forget me if you can. From your poor heart-broken MAKY."—The prisoner was remanded for a week in order that inquiries might be made.

MORE COCKFIGHTING. At Ulverston-in-Furness Police Court, last week, William Geldart and James Pickthal were charged with cockflshting at Siainton. Mr. Ingham, solioitor, of Barrow, appeared for the defendants. Police- constable Hodge stated that on the 24th inst. he saw a lot of men meet from contrary directions on the top of Stainton Close. The defendants set the birds to fight. The birds wore spurs, and on the crowd observ- ing him they all ran away. Geldart before doing so picked up a bird which was dead, and covered it with soil. Witness found this with blood upon it, as well as a live bird, which had an eye knocked out. Mr. Ingham contended that hia clients were only spec- tators and could not be convicted under the Act except they were principals. He characterised cock- fighting as not a very serious offence, and nothing like so inhuman as rabbit coursing. The Bench fined them X2. 10s. each and costs.

LANCASHIRE COLLIERS' WAGES. On Monday afternoon a meeting of colliers was held at Kersley, near Bolton, for the purpose of deciding upon the course to be pursued in reference to the recent reduction of colliers' wages. About a thousand colliers were present. Mr. William Pickard, miners' agent for the Wigan district, said while he considered the present reduction excessive, he strongly advised the men to accept a reasonable diminution in their wages, particularly as the men in the Worsley district were already working at the reduction. Mr. Thos. Halliday moved the following resolution, which was carried unanimously :—" That this meeting is of opinion that while the employers in this district have dealt with the mining population considerately during the time that prices of coal have been failing, the proposed reduction is excessive, and therefore we recommend that a depu- tation be sent to those employers who have imposed the reduction, or may do so during the week, and urgently request a mitigation of the amount."

ADVENTURES OF A STAGE ASPIRANT. Some days ago a young lady, eighteen years of age, n omc having been offended at something which had taken place at home, ran away from her father's house in Dublin, and took the steamer to Liverpool. On her arrival here, she called at all the Liverpool theatres asking for employment. On preferring the somewhat strange request to Mr. Kittle, the lessee of the Prince of Wales Theatre, that she wanted to act that night, that gentleman questioned the young lady closely, and having heard her story, persuaded her to return home. Not only did he do that, but he took her to the boat, paid her fare, and put in charge of the stewardess; and next day the father of the young lady-a wealthy merchant in Dublin—came over specially to thank Mr. Kittle for his kindness. He was most profuse in his thanks for the kindness he had displayed, and paid all the expenses which had been incurred. The young lady arrived at Liverpool at six in the morning, and walked about Liverpool till three in the afternoon without any food.

STRANGE MURDER BY A MINER'S WIFE. On Saturday, before the West Cornwall iyiagistrates, at Penzance, Elizabeth Rendle, wife of a miner living at Sancreed, was charged with the wilful murder of her youngest child. It was proved beyond doubt that the poor woman had been in a state of insanity since her confinement four months ago. The manner in which the murder was committed shows, however, her extreme cunning. Prisoner must have taken the infant unobserved by her three other children, and de- liberately sewn it in a bag so tightly that it was unable to struggle or breathe, and, therefore, "ould not reveal its presence, when the mother placed it in her market basket, and, taking she other children. locked the house up, and railed at her mother-in-law's house. Here the )ther children were left, and prisoner gave out that she was going to Penzance. The basket was noticed on her arm, but. the grandmother imagined that the infant had been put to bed. The road lay along the shore, and unobserved the prisoner must have deposited her fatal burden in the sea. She went to Penzance, returned home, and, inquiry being made for the infant by Rendle, on his return from the mine, she made several confused and entirely unsatisfactory statements. Next morning a Newlyn fisherman, walking on the beach, noticed a bundle washed up by the waves, and, on approaching it, was horrified to observe the arm of an infant protruding. Information was at once given tq the police, who then traced up the details of the fatal story as related above. The surgeon to whom the body was taken for examination, deposed that death must have ensued before the body was thrown into the sea. The prisoner has been sent at once to an asylum.

It is reported from Norwich that the Rev. R. J. Webb, vicar of Hampton-with-Braunstone, has been received into the Roman Catholic Church. THE WRECK or THE SCHILLER.—The steamer Lady of the Isles, from Scilly Islands, landed at Penzance on Monday specie valued at £ 10,000 from the wreck of the Schiller. On being landed it was seized by the collector of customs under an Admiralty writ at the suit of some Lands End boatmen, who saved several lives at the time of the wreck. Lieut. Cameron was on Monday presented with an address from the Mayor and Corporation of Liverpool and was afterwards entertained at a banquet in the Town Hall. In responding to the toast of his health, he briefly described the results of his travels, remarking that in the basin of the Quansa there existed one of the most magnificent systems of natural com- munication in the world. The Congo and the Zambesi could be joined by a canal 30 miles in length. On Saturday the whole of the bricklayers in the Wigan district struck work for an advance of wages. The men are at present paid 32s. per week in winter and 36s. in summer, the hours of working being 49 In December last they applied for an advance of 3s. per week, to come in force on Saturday, April 1st, and as this was not complied with the whole of the men left work. A petition has been presented to the Q-ieon from a body of Irishmen styling themselves The '82 Club," praying that the surplus funds of the Irish Church may be spent in building thousands of cottages for the Irish labourers. The reply from the Home Office was that Parliament alone had the power to dispose of the surplus, and accordingly Mr. P. J. Smyth will intro- duce a bill on the subject. THE NATIONAL BYRON MONUMEXT.-At a meeting of the committee held on Saturday it was resolved that the statue of Lord Byron should be in Sicilian marble, and that an application should be made to Mr. Dis- raeli, the president of the committee, to exercise his in- fluence to obtain permission for its erection in the Green Park, facing the house in Piccadilly in which Byron lived for some years and wrote some of his earlier and still most popular poems.

EARL RUSSELL, BISHOP FRASER, AND THE HERZEGOVINA INSURRECTION. At a meeting held in Manchester on the 31 st ult., to express sympathy with the oppressed Christians in Bosnia and the Herzegovina, the following letters were read:- ° "Dear Sir,—I am glad to hear that arrangements are made to hold a public meeting at Manchester on behalf of the Christians of Turkey. It is a righteous cause, and the insurgents of Herzegovina are justified in declaring, as 1 see they have done, that they can ?lace no reliance upon the promises of the Sultan, ou may announce another £ 50 from me in support of the insurgents. I remain, dear sir, yours truly, RUSSELL." The Bishop of Manchester wrote— I do not see my way clearly to the course which this country, with due regard to recognised inter- national obligations, can or ought to take with th" view of remedying the grievous oppression to which these unhappy people have for so long a time been subjected. Remonstrance has been tried, and pro- mises have been made, but I do not know that we can enforce the fulfilment of these promises. I am inclined to think that international obligations cease in the pre- sence of tyranny so cruel and revolting as this of the Turks has been, and that the interests of humanity have a higher claim upon us than the ar icles of trea- ties. The Turkish Government in its present condition is a solecism in the civilisation of Europe; aud, though I should not wish to preach a new crusade, yet I think that the Christian powers are not only entitled but almost bound to require at the hand of the Porte effective guarantees for a just and constitutional administration of these subject provinces. "J. MANCHESTER."

THE ROYAL TITLES BILL. A town's meeting at Manchester has passed re- solutions condemning the Royal Titles Bill. An amendment was proposed, but was lost by a majority of two to one. Tbe Oldham Liberal Association has also passed a similar resolution, copies of which were for- warded to Earl Granville and Mr. Fawcett. At a preliminary conference of Liberals, held on the 31st ult.. in the City of London, Mr. S. Morley, M.P., presiding, it was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Holms, M.P., to call a public meeting of citizens, to protest against the Royal Titles B'll. The Chairman stated that the feeling in the country amongst all parties is very strongly opposed to the bill. Mr. Goschen will be asked to preside at the meeting. A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Liberal Association for the borough of Wolverhampton denounced in the strongest possible language the action of the Government in respect of the Royal Titles Bill. The designation of "Empress" was declared to be fraught with great mischief to the Constitution. A great meeting, in opposition to other acts of the Tory Government, is about to be held, or a public meeting upon this question would be called. A resolution pro- testing against the measure, and asking the borough members to support Mr. Fawcett's motion, was adopted unanimously. A meeting of persons opposed to the adoption by the Queen of the title of Empress was held in Liverpool on Saturday. There was a large and respectable attendance, and the meeting was almost unanimous. Mr. T. D. Hornby acted as chairman, and in opening the meeting said it might be agreed that it was not unreasonable to include India among the titles of the Queen, but in the great point of the choice of a title the proposers of the measure had taken the very word they were absolutely bound to avuid. The title of Empress had a bad origin, baJ associations, and was utterly alien to the constitutional government of the country. It carried at once to every mind ideas of arbitrary government, military rule, and, above all, a vague and wide separation between ruler and sub- jects. (Cheers.)—Mr. Robert Gladstone, a Conservative, moved a resolution deprecating the proposed change as repugnant to the national sentiment, and not in accord- ance with the history of the nation and the loyalty of the people. This was seconded by Mr. H. A. Bright, a Liberal, and carried with great enthusiasm.—It was afterwards resolved to send a copy of the resolution to Lord Shaftesbury, to strengthen his motion in Parlia- ment. On Saturday evening a meeting of working men was held in the Co-operative Hall, Downing street, Man- chester, to protest against the proposed addition to the Queen's titles, and the proceedings were of the most uproarious character throughout, and a general fitihfc took place. The platform was invaded several times by the opponents of the meeting. The police were called in, and they expelled several people, but order could not be obtained, and the meeting was brought to a pre- mature termination. A resolution against the Royal Titles Bill was, however, passed. Similar meetings were held in Boston, Leamington, aud Darlington on the same evening. Resolutions were adopted, deprecating the proposed change in her Ma- jesty's title. The Gloucester Liberal Association have presented largely-signed petitions against the title of empress to the House of Lords, and to the House of Commons in favour of Mr. Fawcett's motion. In a recent Journal des Dehats. M. J. Lemoinne concluded an article on the Royal Titles Bill as fol- lows :—"We cannot help thinking that the latest act of the British Government is one of the greatest mis- takes committed by any Ministry for the last six years.

MOSLEM RELIGION AND MOSLEM DEFALCATIONS. There is (says the Times) such a gulf between the Moslem and the Infidel that praise or blame by the latter is absolutely without effect on the former. From the highest personage in the State or in religion down to porters and boatmen no Turk will ever he touched in what we call conscience by the knowledge that be has broken faith with European bondholders; and if they resent their losses, he is likely to feel all the more a satisfaction that he has inflicted them. But this alienation of European goodwill of which we have spoken, and this belief that the Turk is likely to remain for ever what he is, will yet have its practi- cal effects. It is pretty well understood by the chief people in the Administration, and it impresses them with the very disagreeable conviction that they are not likely to get any more of our money. Taking political and financial phenomena tog-ether, the pashas see clearly enough that the Ottoman State cannot raise another loan in Europe. Then comes into action an impulse well-nigh irresistible. WThy should they pay any longer when there is nothing more to hope from solvency or to fear from default ? It may be taken as a law as certain as any that governs the physical world that when a State has utterly exhausted its credit and can borrow no more it will cease to pay what it owes. Unless by some miraculous turn of events the Turkish Government recovors the hope of further assistance from ioreign countries, the influence we refer to must make itself felt. It is now announced thatthe payment of the April coupons will be deferred until July. The position of the finances is indeed deplorable. We need not repeat "any of the endless stories current as to the difllculty of obtaining the smallest sums for the immediate service of the Govern- ment, the arts employed, the properties pledged, and the extortionate interest paid. But there can be no doubt that the pressure and misery are extreme. The salaries of officials and of every order of persons in public employment are unpaid. During the last twelve months things have become rapidly worse- and the ruin has been accelerated since October. The traders are bankrupt, the artisans are unemployed, the country people have almost everything they possessed taken by the tax-gatherer or sold to provide themselves with the means of subsistence. The young men are taken for soldiers, and Asia becomes more and more de- populated. Furious discontents are said to prevail, which may at any time break out into open vio- lence. It is against this shattered body politic that the designs of hereditary enemies will in fu!ure be directed. The few able men within the Empire are dispirited, the Christian is apprehensive and distrust- ful, while hostile tributaries and their potent friends at the great courts watch eagerly for an opportunity. Here, also, we may see the effect of that disrepute into which the Turkish rule has fallen; for these last feel that the sympathy of the Western Powers for Turkey is but a languid sentiment of the past, a political tradi- tion which is fast wearing out, and they are encouraged to hope that a new and bolder policy on their part will meet with only a faint resistance.