Monmouthshire Merlin

EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION. It is apparent that at present the net loss of popula- tion by emigration is insignificant; but, as the marked decline in the number of emigrants has only been observable within the past two years, it would be un- safe to assume it as a permanent element in statistical estimates. If we look back for a quarter of a century and take the averages of quinquennial periods, we do not find that there has been any diminution of the stream of emigration. The average number of emigrants to the population was 84 in 10,000 souls down to 1855; in 1856-60 it was 43 in 1861-65, it was 40 in 1866-70, it was 56 and in 1871-75 it was 60. The earliest years were still affected by the Irish famine and the exodus which followed, and since 1855 there has been, over long periods, a positive increase in the proportion of the emigrants to the population. At the same time it is obvious that immigration is becoming a much more important element in population s-atisties. By immi- gration we mean, almost exclusively, the return of former emigrants to these kingdoms. In the ten years ending with 1860 the average annual immigra- tion was about 13,000 in the ten years ending with 1870 it was about 31,000; but in the last five years it has averaged not less than 84,000. These are very remarkable facts, and their im- portance is enhanced by the relation established be- tween them and a change observed in the nationality of the emigrants. Down to 1867 the Irish contributed more than one-half of the total emigration from the United Kingdom, England one-third or a little more, and Scotland one-eighth or one-tenth. But in recent years these proportions have been altered. In 1871-5 the English emigrants were 56 per cent., and the Irish only 34 per cent. of the whole, the Scotch remaining steady at 10 per cent. Thus emigration is no longer mainly sustained by the Irish exodus. It seems plain that the English and Scotch emigrants are less likely to be permanently absorbed in the society of the new countries to which they make their way than the Irish peasant. The English colonist in a great many cases returns to Eng!and when he has made his money abroad, which the Irish peasant rarely thought of doing. This may not account for the whole facts of the change, but it is a fair inference, if a partial one, from the fact that immigration increases when the nationalities of the emigrants show a change in their proportions.- Times.

HOW TO DEFINE ATROCITIES. The Standard, having sought to justify the Turkish atrocities by pointing to recent events in Fiji, the Daily News replies in the following terms — "Sir Arthur Gordon, it is observed, hns executed thirty Fijians, whose main ofte; co is that they were found in arms against British authority, and it, is asked how is it that journals which are shocked by what has been done by Turks in Bulgaria do not denounce the acts of the Governor of Fiji as atroci- ties.' We are bound to give our contemporary such aid as we are able. Remarking at the out- set that the number of persona executed at Yitu Levu is fourteen not thirty, we may lurther point out that Acbinet-Aghn and Chefket Pasha slaughtered Bulgarians who were not found and who never had been in arms against their Government, and did so after giving them a promise of safety. Sir Arthur Gordon, we need not say, did no'hing of this kind neither did he slay women and children. Further, the n e. Governor of Fiji, when a Fiji rising was to be put down, did not appeal to the passions of an alien and hostile race, but to the loyalty and public spirit of Fijians, and with them alone restored order, herein taking a course the very opposite of that taken by the Turkish Government in Bulgaria. Lastly, and it ought not to be necessary to remind a Conservative journalist of this fact, the men whom Sir Arthur Gordon quelled did not leave their mountains to make war at all, but were cannibals who descended to the plains to do what Acbmet-Agha did at Batak—kill women and children—and it was for that they were justly executed. If Sir Arthur Gordon could be trans- ferred to Bulgaria, and be provided with an effectual power to do justice there as he had in Fiji, we should hear of him not as destroying peaceful populations, but as hanging and shooting the Pashas and Aghas who commanded the massacres at Batak and elsewhere. Our contemporary may remain quite easy about Fiji, no one else wiil compare the acts of Sir Arthur Gordon with the atrocities of the Moslem proteges of Lord Beacons field." -+-

THE HARVEST. The harvest of 1876 seems likely to turn out better than was anticipated some weeks ago. The unusual continuance of hot weather has improved the quality of the grain, and up to the present time has enabled it to be garnered in first-rate condition. At the same time, the quantity, it is thought, will be below the average, though indications are not wanting that on this head our fears may be premature. According to the Mark Lane Krpress, the olis. and 57s. a quarter, which were being paid a fortnight ago, have already sunk to 44s. But considerable difference of opinion continues to prevail with regard to the probable average through- out the kingdom, though of tho quality and condition the report is universally favourable. Barley, we are told, is likely to turn out tolerably; while beans, though very ureVen, will present about an average crop. Oats apoear to be the worst of all, which, combined with the comparative failure of the hay crop, will make the keep of horses very expensive in the winter. Similar reports arrive from Ireland, a great oat growing country, so that this branch of the harvest must be regarded as anything but satisfactory. With regard to the supply of labour reports vary very much. In some districts it has been plentiful, and there the whole wheat crop has been secured with- in a single fortnight. We fear, however, that this state of things is far from universal. We hear of great scarcity of labour in the midland and west midland counties, and of some delay in harvest operations in consequence. Some symptoms of a disposition to strike were observable in the eastern counties at the beginning of harvest, but fortunately soon disappeared. And we fancy that the scarcity of labour in the districts we have mentioned is due rather to the competition of other trades, and to the migration of the rural popula- tion, than to any quarrel about wages. The fact, however, by itself is remarkable, though it is probable that the scarcity has been exaggerated. In one re- spect we fear the present season will be palpably below the average—we mean in all green things, whether grass, turnips, swedes, or mangold wurtzel. There was great hope at one time that the dry weather in july had not seriously affected them, and that even where it bad the rain which fell about the end of that mon' h would repair the injury. These hopes, however, have been but very partially verified. In the eastern counties, we believe, and in the north, turnips as a rule have done well, but in the south and west they seem to have suffered most severely, and from all quarters we hear of burnt-up pastures and grass fields as brown as fallows. This deficiency of grass and roots will make beef and mutton dear, so that on the whole the prospects for the winter are not as reas- suring as we could wish. Last spring and autumn were very unfavourable to the preparation of land for wheat, and also to the sowing of it, and we are now feeling the effect of the long and heavy rains and snows which lasted into April. The brilliant weather of July and August has done something to counteract the damage. hut we cannot expect to escape the con- sequences altogether, or that the superior quality of this year's wheat will entirely make up for deficiency In quantity, and for the extensive failure of our grass and other green crops.—Standard.

A Jamesville newspaper con'ains an announcement to this effect: —"Wanted at this office a bulldog, of good size, sound teeth, and ferocious disposition, that will attend to his business and tpke his pound of flesh from the man who soils our floor with tobacco juice, and steals our newspapers.'

MR. GLADSTONE AND TRIENNIAL i\\ LILIAN;ENTRI. At a Tichborne meeting, h .)d. in London on Tuesday, Dr. Kenealy, a» the close ol' his speech, read a post card sent by Mr. Gladstone to a ?■ ■ r. May, of Green- wich, in which the ex-Premier pressed a doub" whether the advantages of t i-i I parliaments would outweigh the eviis in the shape of increased election expenses and hindrance to public business which he feared they would entail bit' he promised to give the arguments in favour of the proposal his best con- sideration.

REGISTRAR GENERAL'S KEPORT. The Registrar General reports that during the week ending last Saturday there were 6057 births and 3676 deaths in the '23 lanre towns of the United Kingdom. The mortality in these towns was at an average rate of 24 annually per thousand. The rate in London was 20; Edinburgh, K; Glasgow, lit; Dublin, 17; Bristol, 1^ Oldham and Plymouth, 20; Newcastle, 22 Wol- verhampton and Brigh'on, 25: Bradford, 27; Liver- pool, 2B Leeds, 29: Nottingham and Birmingham, 30; Sheffield and S onderlnnd, 32; Manchester, 33; Svlford, 37 Leicester, 46. The mortality from diarrhcea has slightly increased.

INTIMIDATING A MINER. Oil Tuesday, at the Koughton-le-Spring Police Coui t, Durham, three woiuea and three pitmen, employed at Herrington Pit, one uf Lord Durham's collieries", were charged with intimidating a miner named Matthias Rigby. Owing to some dispute the complainant had with the Durham Miners' Union, the other miners re- fused to work with him. The male defendants bad forced him out of the cage and maltreated him; the women threw stones at him, hurting him seriously. One of the women was discharged, and the other two were fined X'5. The men esciped with lighter punish- ment.

"TFIE TIES AND CHICKENS." AN EXTRAORDINARY PHASE OF CRIME. At Marlborough street Police Court, London, Agnes Moore, 37, well-dressed, has been charged before Mr. Newton with stealing a florin. A gentleman stated that the prisoner, who was with a companion, accosted him in George street, Hanover square, about 11 o'clock at night, telling him that. she resided in a handsome house to which she pointed, but had left her purse at home, and, having forgotten the latch-key, she could not let herself in without observation. She was in want of a glass of lemonade, and if he would assist her to it she would be greatly obliged. Her appearance and manner impressed him favourably, and he offered to pay for a bo le of lemonade. No house, however, was open, and the gentl-man said he would have lent her sixpence it he had any smaller change thnn a florin, whici he produced. She snatched the florin out of his hand, and Ii" she refused to return it, he gave her inio custody. The prisoner, who spoke with an Iristi accent, said she was with a friend, a respect- able lady like herself. Tue complainant accosted them, ar.d beintr repuis-'d mu te a fulse charge against her. The friend who was wph her would corroborate her statement..—Mrs. Vernon, of 65, Drummond street, said she was walking with her friend, the prisoner, when the gentleman who preferred the charge spoke to them, but was indignantly repulsed.—Mr. Newton asked the witness, who was dressed in mourning, what she was and how she gained her living.—The <-<tness said she was a widow living on a small independence.— Vine, the deputy gaoler, asked to be allowed to make a statement. Having got into the witness-box, he said he had known the prisoner and her witness, the widow, for about five years. They belonged to a gang of women known as the Hen and Chickens." The hen," an old woman, went about with the "chickens"—four women of middle age and of superior dress and deportment. Their plan was to walk about the West End, principally in S tckville street, Charles street, and Hanover square, and to accost gentlemen as they came from their clubs at night, representing themselves as officers' widows or officers' wives, their husbands being from home. They would take any gentleman who was weak enough to listen to them to a line house, which they pretended was their residence bu> before going in they would declare they Baw a light in one of the bedrooms and that their husbands had returned. They would then propose to adjourn to some place for a short time until they could en'er the house, and this being acceded to they would contrive to borrow a sovereign to get wine, wi'h which they immediately decamped. The complaints by gentlemen against the "Hen and Chickens" were so frequent that a man had been placed on special duty to watch their movements. The prisoner had been in custody before. Mr. Newton told the gentleman it would only he giving him trouble to send the case to a jury, as no conviction was likely to follow. He would discharge the prisoner; but se- verely cautioned both her and the widow.

THE PREMIER'S EARLY POLITICS. As a curious personal and political reminiscence of the early career of the Prime Minister, possessing con- siderable interest at present, we reprint the full text of the famous so-called Radical address which he issued to the electors of Marylebone in 1833, when soliciting the suffrages of the constituency:— "TO THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORS OF TIIH BOROUCiH OF MARYLEBONE. "Gentlemen,—A speedy vacancy being generally anticipated in the representation of your borough, 1 have the honour to announce my determination to solicit your suffrages on the first occasion that offers. Although supported by neither of the aristocratic par- ties, I appeal to you with confidence as an independent, member of soch ty who has no interest direct or in- direct in corruption or misgovernment. As one of a family untainted by the receipt of public money, and which can prefer no claims to public consideration but those that are foundtd on public sympathy,. I claim your support as one who has already fought the battle of the people (referring to his previous contest at Wycombe), and as one who believes that the only foundation on which a beneficent and vigorous Government can now be raised is an un- limited confidence in the genius of the British nation. With this conviction I am desirous of completing the machinery of the Constitution by two measures which can inves the people with what was once their birth- right, and with a security which, I hope, their children will inherit. These measures are triennial Parliaments and election by ballot; and unless these measures be conceded, T cannot apprehend how the conduct of the Government can ever be in harmony with the feel- ings of the people. Because I am of opinion that those who are invested with power should be qualified for its exercise, I would support the abroga- tion of those stamp duties which eventually act as taxes on knowledge, believing that unless the public burdens are speedily and materially reduced, a civil convulsion must. occur. I am desirous of seeing a parliamentary committee appointed to revise the entire system of our taxation, with the object of relieving industry from those encumbrances which property is more capaci ated to endure and I especially pledge myself to exert all my energies to ob'ain the repeal of the as- sessed taxes—a repeal which, from the state of the constituency of your borough, as is necessary as a measure of constitutional privilege as of financial relief. Opportunities will soon occur for me to express to you my opinions upon all those sub- jects which engage the attention of a m ;n who aspires to be a representative of the people. It is sufficient for me to observe that I shall ever be found a supporter of that system which consults the great interests of general happiness, and that I shall promote every measure winch elevates the moral or improves the physical condition of the people of England. \Vi'-k these views, gentlemen, I solicit your attention. I hope soon t acquire your confldence.-I have the honour to subscribe myself,—" Your faithful servant "BENJAMIN DISRAELI. "Brodenhani House, Bucks., April 9tb, 1833." It is also interesting to recall the reasors which he gave for opposing the Whigs when he first entered Parliament for Maidstone, and for, at the same time, refusing to join the Tories. I so acted," he wrote soon afterwards, bee -use I found the Tories in a state of ignorant stuppfac'ion. The Whigs had assured them that they were annihilated, and they believed them. l'hev had not a single definite or intelligible idell. as to their position or their duties, or the character of their party. Tney were taunted with nervous sp- prehension of that great bugbear 'the people'—that bewildering tit'e under which a miserable minority continues to coerce and plunder a nation. They were ignorant that the millions of that nation required to be guided, and encouraged, and that they were their natural leaders, bound to marshal und to enlighten them."

At a meeting held in Glasgow, on Tuesday, the Lord Provost presiding, it was resolved that there should be a public meeting in the largest hall in the city to protest aga-ust the Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria Messrs. Cameron, Anderson, and Holms, members of Parli* ment, denounced in indignant terms these barbarities. BURNING OF A PASSENGER STEAMER.—The Earl of Mar, a passenger steamer plying on the Firth of Forth, took firs in Firth harbour on Monday evening, and was burned to the water's edge. The shipping in the harbour was placed in considerable danger, but none of the vessels caught fire. The Earl of Mar was launched at Stockton-on-Tees in the etrly part of the present year.

GREAT FIRE AT PAISLEY. DAMAGE, X'!0,000. A destructive (ire occurred on Monday, in the mould- ing shop of Messrs. Craig, engineer. Paisl.-y. Toe stiop, 2."0ft. by HSfc., was de>t,royed, together with the plant and a casting of (J0 tons, destined for Govern- ment. The damage is estimated at about oLiú 110:' and it is fully covered by insurance.

BOILER EXPLOSION AT HULL. ONE MAN KILLED AND FIVE INJUR 'D. On Monday a boiler exploded on the premises of Tnomas Donnison, seed crusher, Sculcoates, Hull, tilling Thos. Rose on the spot. and wrecking the boiler house. The proprietor, his three sons and a workman I were scalded from head to foot, and had to be removed to the Hull Infirmary.

REMARKABLE CASE OF FRAUD. At the London Mansion House, on Monday.. William Bouverie Cleveland Willmott, alias Charles Howard, was charged with obtaining £380 by fraud. A rela- tive of Mr. Harvey, the prosecutor, died, and left his property to his widow. Prisoner wrote to the prose- cutor, stating that he knew of a later will, in which a large sum of money was left to Mr. Harvey, but that the will was in the possession of a banker, who bad a lien upon It for £380. A cheque for that amount was sent to the prisoner, who then decamped. He was remanded.

MR. ARCH IN A RAILWAY COLLISION. Mr. Arch, president of the National Agricultural Labourers' Union, while travelling from the north to Warwick, to attend a meeting of the Executive Com- mittee, had a somewhat narrow escape. The train by which he was travelling came into col- lision near Stafford with another passenger train, and Mr. Arch sustained a severe blow on the neck and head. Ho was able, however, to preside at the meeting at Leamington on Monday when a report on the posi- tion and prospects of the union was presented.

DEATH OF A YORKSHIRE NOBLEMAN. A telegram has been received at Gisburn Park, York- shire, announcing the death of the Right Hon. Lord Ribblesdale, at Geneva, in his 49th year. The deceased was the third baron, and was born on the 28th April, 1828. He succeeded his father in 1832. In 184H he entered the Royal Horse Guards as cornet, and retired as lieutenant. He was a mngistrate and deputy lieu- tenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, ar-d in 1853 married Emma, third daughter of the late Wm. Mure, 15 q., of Caldwell. The seats of the family are Gis- burn Purk and Malbam Water, near Skipton, York- shire.

SERIOUS FAILURE OF LEEDS STOCK- BROKERS. I LIABILITIES £ 40,000. Messrs. Norris, Foster, and England, solicitors, of Halifax, have filed a petition under the liquidation clauses of the Bankruptcy Act, against Messrs. Back- house, Foster, and Travis, stock and share brokers, Bond street, Leeds. The aggregate indebtedness is £ 39,141, and as the bankrupts are young men, and have only been in business a short time, much surprise is expressed. It is understood the failure is due to rash and hazardous speculations and this being so, the assets will doubtless prove very in- considerable. In the preliminary list of creditors filed in court, the following names appear:—Yorkshire Banking Company, Leeds, £ 5400; S. Kirk, dyer, Leeds, £3öGG; Halifax Joint Stock Bank, £ 2074; Knares- borough and Claro Bank, £ 2387; Walter Rowley, Leeds, £ 547; S. H. Tonge, Sowerby Bridge, £ 5322; Hamilton and Lee, London, £8297; Miss Nelson, Acomb, York, £ 1947 Schwarbe and Ransford, Lon- don, £ 2376; Pielden and Abercrombie, Manchester, £ 1000; Darley Union Coal Company, £ 2891.

THE ALLEGED THREATENED FENIAN RESCUE. On Sunday night there was again an increase in the military and civil guard round St. Marys convict prison. The extra precautions had been taken partly on account of private information having been re- ceived of certain violent threats said to have been used at some of the Fenian meetings, and partly be- cause some of the chief officers and warders of the prison are absent on leave. Threats to blow down some of the prisons by dynamite or gun cotton, how- ever, are in official circles looked upon as mere bombast and puerile intimidation on the part of some of the Fenian agitators. It appears that thereare five of the Fenian convicts in Chatham prison, some of whom were concerned in the murder of Police-Sergeant Brett at Manchester. The chief of these men has for some time been wo ked in a gang along with Bidwell, the bank forger. Some extra surveillance has for some weeks been placed over both, owing to the fact that some time ago one of the warders was offered a bribe of £1000 to allow Bidwell to escape. Though the prison regulations are very strict, yet sometimes opportunities to escape offer themselves when the con- victs are out at work. Two men even recently effected their escape. One, while he was out at work, got off through the town, and the other succeeded in crossing the Medway in a boat during a fog, and was not captured for a day and a half. Probably he would not have been taken then, but, having no change of clothing, he was found by some civilians in a hovel and was given up to the police. As regards any general rescue of the Fenians, such are the precautions taken that it is looked upon as an impossibility even by some of the Irish Fenian sympathisers in Chatham. It appears that there are about 1500 convicts in the prison at Chatham, a lar;:e number of whom are employed in making the basins for the new docks and other Admiralty works. The new fortifications are also being rapidly proceeded with, and it is considered that Chatham will be one of the strongest fortified places of England in a few years to come, the works being in great part done by convict labour. Considerable curiosity was manifested throughout Sunday by many of the inhabitants in consequence of the increased guard. Both the red- coated military and also the civil guard dressed in blue were armed with loaded carbines and bayonets, and carried several rounds of ammunition. Extra precautions were also taken to prevent any person from going near the boundary wall, in case any letter or communication should be thrown over.

NEW LAW ON MERCHANT SHIPPING. On October 1 the Act, which received the royal assent on the day of the prorogation, to amend the Merchant Shipping Acts will come into operation. Orders in Council and rules may be m,,(Ie before that time, but not to take eff-et. There are 45 sections in the new Act, and a schedule showing the enactments to be repealed at the commencement of the Act, and also on January 1 next. The first, part of the statute relates to unseawortbv ships" being sent to get. Every person who sends or attempts to send sut-h ships to sea to be liable to a charge of misdemeanour, but not liable to summary proceedi- gs by way of punishment. It is an obligation bv the shipowner to the crew to use all reasonable efforts to secure seaworthiness, and where a British ship is in any port of the United Kingdom she may be detained, if unsea- worthy, with a liability in case of unla wful detention. Courts of survey are to be constituted and comis- sioners of wreck to be appointed by the Lord Chan- cellor, and to be paid out of money provided by Par- liament. An appeal is given to the Court, of Survey, when the usual certificates are refused to passenger ships and emigrant vessels. There are other provisions as to overloading and to cargoes. All passenger and emigrant ships are to carry signals of distress, &c. By the Act a step is made in allowing defendants to be ex- amined on oath. Any person charged with a misde- meanour, including a mnster, may give evidence in the same manner as any other witness, that he used all reasonable means to ensure a ship being sent seaworthy. The Act has application to the United Kingdom.

THE DISCIPLINE OF THE VATICAN. (From the Standard.) There are few things more remarkable in history than the power which the Church of Rome appears to possess of dealing with individuals who, in other bodies, would unquestionably remain thorns of discord and offence. Sometimes what amounts to force is em- ployed in order to coerce the recalcitrant; sometimes the stra.y sheep are wheedled and flattered back into the fold. As a rule things are made so uncom- fortable to the insubordinate that they are only too happy to end the struggle on the conditions of the status quo ante. Nor is this arrangement ever refused. The time was when a heretic could not wholly purge his offence by confession and recantation. He was shriven of his sin; but he was nevertheless burnt,, as a wholesome and deterrent example. But with the introduction of the milder manners which mark man's movement through the ages, the Vatican has learnt quietly to abandon these severe practices, and an erring brother who really repents has to do very little in the way of penance. The world is now so full of heretics and dissidents that the pleasure experienced in withdrawing from their clutches one of the faithful who threatened to join their ranks is sufficient. It is amazing what scandals hi va been overlooked by the Papal See when the scandal has been repaired by submission. The well-known defender of Royalist principles in the First French National Assembly, the Abbe Maury, was in 1704 made a cardinal and Bishop of Montefiascone. He is believed to have exercised no little influence in the elec- tion of Pius VII. in the Conclave which was held at Venice five years later. When Napoleon assumed the purple Cardinal Maury became an ardent Imperialist, and his devotion to the new monarch at length became so marked that the Emperor, acting of course tin- canonically. nominated him Archbishop of Paris. On the restoration he was ejected from that see, and Pius VII. deprived him likewise of his see of Montefiascone, forbade him to appear at the Vatican, or to take part in any consistory or congregation of which he had formerly been a member. When the Pope quitted Rome, on Napoleon's escape from Elba. Maury, who was residing in the Eternal City, again dis- played his political affection for the empire. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Cestle of Saint Angelo, and proceedings were commencrd against him. Suddenly these were dropped and Maury quitted the castle, again restored to the rank of cardinal, and empowered to exercise all the functions appertaining to that dignity. The incident has always remained more or less shrouded in mystery. But one thing Is clear. Cardinal Maury had cried peccavi. An incident of an analogous kind has occurred in our own time. Cardinal Andrea, Bishop of Sabina, went to Naples in 1864 without the Pope's permission, and indeed after having been refused leave to make the journey. On June 12, 1866. he was de- posed from his see, and on the 29th September of the following year Pius IX. issued a brief declaring him to have forfeited all his privileges as a cardinal, I even the right to entSr Conclave. There can be little I doubt that Pius IX. violated all the best p-ecedents in seeking to attach to him this last disqualiifcation, and the learned in such matters were anxious to see I whether Cardinal Andrea would not insist on his in- alienable right to vote tor tbe election of a new Pope, and Iiow his plea would be met. But suddenly he returned to Rome, in answer to a fresh citation and the world heard no more of his disobedience. Father Passaglia is another case in point, belonging to our own time. Doubtless Dr. Dollinger would be restor^/l to unreserved favour upon tbe same conditions. The new Opera House at D-e-de:; willbesoo' finished, I at co-t, of nearly X'KiO.t'Ot!. Tue oo a-tone paper ine.lr^rs 01, the Severe. have giv-Ti notLv for a reduction of hours from thirteen to tw»! ve hours per day. The first.. of a series of skating masquerades, at wh.ch about, 400 persons were present, took place at the Empress Rink, M irgate, on Saturday night. Thomas Park, a discharged so'.dier, was charged at C.tnterbury on Saturday, oil his own confession, with setting fire to the farm premises belonging to Jfr. Col- lard, farmer, of Hollar lane. He was remanded. Tbe Registrar-General, in his quarterly return just issued, states that during the pist quarter in CornwalT there were 472 marriages, 2668 births, and 1933 de i hs. Cardinal Mannincr, preached on Sunday to a crowded congregation in the Nottingham Roman Catholic Cathedral, and dwelt at length on the rise and decline of Romanism in England centuries ago. Saturday was the annivei-sarv of the birth of the late Prince Consort., when Prince Leopold met a numerous assemblage'at the Obelisk, near Balmoral, and all dr mk to the memory of the deceased. Marshal Macmahon has lost his favourite charger, which carried him at Reichshofen and Sedan, and which he has ridden at most of the reviews held at Longchamps since the war. A lettfir from Mr. Potter, M.P., with reference to thrf leadership of the Liberal party, is published. Mr. Potter S'LVS that if the Tory regime is to be upset the Liberals must have Mr. Gladstone to lead them. STABBING BY A SI-TF,II-IN"-T,AW. —A woman named Eliza Ann Finns died in the Royal Infirmary, Liver- pool, on Sunday morning, from the effects of a stab inflicted upon her by her sister-in-law, who is in cus- tody. Since the last meeting of the Grand Lodge of Free- masonry, on the 7tb June, his Rcyal Highness the Prince of Wales, Grand Master, has granted warrants for nineteen new lodges. Of these, seven are for lodges in London, eleven for the provinces, and one for the colonies. DEATH OF TITEREV. H. HOWAKTII.—The Rev. Henry Howarth, B.D., rector of St. George's, Hanover square, London, died on August 25th, at Tunbridge Wells. Mr. Howarth, who was one of her Majesty's chaplains and a rural dean, had held the living of St. George's since 1845. A fatal boat accident, occurred off Weymouth on Saturday evening. Two lads, named Stokes and Orchard, left the harbour in an open boat, which drifted across the bay to Osmington. About midnight the boat swamped. Orchard succeeded in swimming on shore- with great difficulty, but Stokeswas drowned. On Saturday evening a young man, named Joseph CostePo, a clerk in the Northern Bank, Belfast, was s(ep>ring out, of the train a, the Holy wood and Bangor Railway terminus, whin unhappily be missed his step and fell and the train being still slightly in motion. be was crushed between the s'ep and the platform. Death was almost instantaneous. In answer to letters from the committee of work- men formed in London for the purpose of organising a public meeting to denounce the conduct of the Government in reference to the Bulgarian atro- cities, the Bishop of Manchester and Mr. Gladstone have written expressing their approval of such a meeting. A serious accident occurred between Marlborough and Swindon on Saturday night to a picnic party who were returning to Swindon. A collision occurred with a brewery wacgon, and one of the breaks was smashed to pieces. Nearly 20 persons were thrown into the road. Two of them were picked up in a dying condi- tion, and several others were injured. At Taunton Police-court, on Saturday, Mark Besley, aged 50, formerly landlord of the Queen's Arms in that place, was charged with having attempted to murder George Vickery, at the Alma Inn, Taunton. He found Vickery sitting with his arm round Mrs. Besley's neck, and thereupon cut Vickery's throat.- The prisoner was remanded. The secretary of Liebig's Extract of Meat Company, Limited, states that in the excise prosecution of two chemists at Glasgow, reported the other d"y, the com- pound which they were fined for selling w \s "Liebig's Liquid Extract of Beef," and not the company's "Lie- big's Extract of Beef," which is pure extract of meat. withoui any admixture of wine, spirit, or any foreign ingredient whatever." DISCEVNIIY OF THE MISSING TOT.:RIsT.-The body of Mr. Bernard, of London, who has been missing for some time, has at length been discovered on one of the mountains in the Lake district. It appears that he had f,tlien and broken one of his legs, and it is con- iec!uretf that a mist had then struck in, and that he bad been unable to see his way hence the sad result. Having no one near to render him assistance, be must have been literally starved to death. Leonard Monk, a butler, has been committed for trial at Aylesburv on a charge of killing a hawker, named John Colyill. The deceased man, with his wife and child, walked to Hartwell, near Aylesbury, from Oxford, and being thirsty, went to a public-house, but the landlord refused to serve them. A quarrel en- sued, and it was stated that Monk struck him several blows, felling him to the ground, and causing concus- sion of the brain. A Pt RIIJ TEACHER SENT TO GAOL.—At Cambridge, on Saturday, the county magistrates investigated a charge against Alfred Hazel by Mr. King, Great Eastern Railway stationmaster at Waterbeach, for an assault upon Florence, his daughter, aged nine years, at the Waterbeach National School, where the de- fendant was a pupil teacher. A charge of indecent assault was allowed to be omitted from the informa- tion. The nature of the evidence, however, was such r as to induce the magistrates to send Hazel to prison for a mouth, as well as to order him to pay the costs. A second charge, for an assault upon a child named Frohock, was thereupon withdrawn. RAILWA y SERVANTS AND Tin-IR EMPLOYERS.—The Executive Council of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, representing some 20,000 railway employes, have just passed the following resolutions -First-" That this Council views with deep regret the recent retrograde movement by the companies, and the numerous breaches of faith wit: their servants, and should such action be taken in future as that lately taken by the Midland Company in dealing with their goods guards, this council will feel itself justified, after reasonable means have failed, in taking extreme mea- sures in the interests of its constituents." Second- "That with the view of giving effect to the above reso- lution, and for the purpose of reorganising men so as to place them in a position to resist such inroads on their rights, committees be formed in all large railway centres, such committees to be in constant communica- tion with, and under the direction of, the general office in London. CRUELTIES BY SIKII CuiEFS.—A Calcutta paper has received a letter from the Kooloo Valley containing very unpleasant stories of the cruelties perpetrated by some of the Sikh Rajahs and Chiefs in the protected Sikh territories. The writer has been for many years in these territories, and is personally acquainted with several hundred villages on the borders of Jheend and Puttialla. He says—"The people tell me freely of their troubles, and long for the Angrez Raj to come, especially in the territory of the Rajah of This Rajah is even worse than the Rajah of Puttialla, though less of a drunkard. Torturing people is his pastime. He has a tank in his palace court-yard, and when he wants 'sport' he sends men out into the bazaar, who seize men and bring them in, tie strings to their toes, throw them into the tank, while he laughs over their drowning struggles. When they are near dead, they are taken out and restored to life by his hakims. Not many years since an aged goldsmith was captured and brought in, and thrown into the tank. He soon became insensible, and died a few minutes after he was dragged out. Many of the native States are the dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty." A BISHOP ox THE INTERCHANGE OF PULPITS.—THE Bishop of Manchester preached at Penwortham Church, near Preston, on Sunday. His Lordship, alluding to what was called the unsectarian Christi- anity of the present day, said he had lately been asked by a Nonconformist gentleman in Manchester to go to his establishment and attend the mid-day prayer, being assured that he would rarely meet with any- thing that would offend him. He (the bishop) ex- cused himself by saying that the hour was incon- venient, and that when he was in town he could go to his own cathedral and pray there, for there he knew what he should meet with, and that there would not even be the possibility of being offended. He had also been asked by a Nonconformist minister in London to go and preach in his pulpit- He de- clined the invitation, for he did not believe that any good could come out of Churchmen entering Noncon- formist pulpits nor of Nonconformists entering Church puipits. The result would be confusion and chaos. He bad no faith in that vapid, hazy, indefinite sort of belief, as if indifferent to the teachings of his Church. Though be was often designated a broad Churchman, be was not quite so broad as all that, What he would say to Nonconformists was, Go on your own way and I will go on mine." That, he thought, was the way Churches of different denominations would best live in peace.

MR. ROYES BELL ON THE BRAVO CASE. Mr. Royes Bell, a cousin cf Mr. Charles Bravo, and one of the witnesses in the late inquiry, writes a epiri ed defence of his late relative to the limes. The following are the concluding portions :—"It is stated that he married his wife for money. This rests wholly on the evidence of Mr. Brooks, whose congratulations he looked upon as uncalled for and impertinent. Mr. Bravo's aociel position and prospects made marrying for mere money unnecessary. Moreover, he was con- spicuous among his friends for the open hand and the liberal heart, a thoroughly brave and manlv character. It is attempted to charge the murdered man with meanness because he wished to discharge Mrs. Cor, cos-,it,g £:01; or £ 400 a year, and whose constant presence must have been at times irksome, and to get rid of the cobs, which on several occa- sions had bolted with his wife, and which be thought dangerous. Now, is it not true that Mrs. Bravo's property was invested largely in stocks which were be- coming daily much depreciated in value, and was Mr. Bravo doing anything more than his absolute duty by impressing upon her the necessity for retrenchment, and, moreover, does not this utterly belie the assertion that he was excitable, restless, and rollicking, except that h s cheerful temperament was confounded with this by superficial observers ? Dr. Sheppard says, Is the credibility of this witness, though dying, to be put against that of a lady who states that he used the ex- pression, I have taken poison for Dr. Gully do not tell Florence ?' Now, in the first place, this credible witness admitted the grossest falsehoods in her pre- vious statements. In the second place, it does not agree with her previous version of the same sentence. Thirdly, it is quite at variance with the evidence of all the other far more credible witnesses. Fourthly, the expres- sion itself is that or a woman, not of a man. Had Mr. Bravo felt the sentiment, he would have expressed it in different language. Clearly the jury did not be- lieve it for a moment. They kept their eye on the laurel water and the treatments, and the suspicious going backwards and forwards, and the crooked ways and more crooked speech, and the disgraceful antecedents. They treated it all as a lie and an invention. My object is simply to defend the memory of a relative, whom everybody esteemed, from the most unworthy charges, and I will only allude to the antecedents and evidence of one, the poor fellow so dearly loved, and whom he would have been the last to asperse. The jury have, most fortunately for soc etv, fired a mark on the case that nothing can now remove. I say fortunately for society, for, if this be pronounced suicide, and not murder, there is no man safe even in the bosom of his family."

THE THUNDERER DISASTER. The Standard, referring to the scientific evidence as ¡' to the origin of the Thunderer explosion, says: That Mr Bramwell has correctly explained the state of affairs at the time the boiler burst seems scarcely to admit of doubt. The safety-valves were set fast, chiefly through the circumstance that they were made to fit with an exactness which might well give delisht toadfscipleof Sir Joseph Whitworth. Had another fiftieth of an inch been allowed for the action of these valves the 45 deaths we now deplore would not have happened. The main stop-valve of the boiler was also closed, and how or when this came to pass we cannot at present say. Here some human hand was at fault. Had the stop-valve been open the steam of this one boiler would have mingled with those of its fellows, and would have be"n available for working the engines. Then there was the last line of defence—the pressure- gauge. How came this part of the apparatus to fail ? Strictly speaking the pressure-guage did not fail, unless the evidence of the leading stoker Wells is alto- gether misleading. This witness says he noticed that when the giugcsontheotherboilersindicateda pressure of 26 pounds the gauge of the boiler which afterwards exploded stood at zero. It is now supposed that Wells mistook the position of the indicating band, the latter having really traversed the whole circle of the dial so as to come rourd to the back of the pin from whence it started. Wells having drawn attention to the appa- rent inaction of the gauge the glass of the dial was broken by one of the dockyard fitters and the hand pushed forward, whereupon it appeared to hang at 15 pounds. Mr. Bramwell's inference is that this really represented a pressure of 15 pounds above the summit of the scale, which was 35 pounds. Advancing a few pounds further the gauge would be altogether out of gear and would cease to act. The breaking of the glass took place at about a quarter-past eleven, and it certainly seems marvellous if the safety valves were stuck fast and close, and the stop-valve was also shut at that hour, how the boiler could hold together until some few minutes past one. That the boiler exploded under great pressure there can be no doubt, according to the indications wh'ch Mr. Bramwell has specified but the least we can say is that the boiler must h"Ye been an extremely good one to have endured as it did, though unfortunately its power of resistance only served to aggravate the ultimate disaster."

At. LTlverstone, on Aug. 24th, two publicans were fined jM and £1 respectively, with costs, for having on their licensed premises a number of glasses of less capacity than half a pint imperial standard. Two men have lost their lives at the Moat Colliery, Prince's End, Tipton. They were engaged in repair- ing a shaft, when the gearing gave way, and the men were precipitated into the shaft, which had a large quantity of water in it. A curious occurrence is reported to have taken place in the province of San Paulo, Brazil, at the town of Taub ate. Under the admonitions of a missionary friar all work had been abandoned for twenty days, and over "060 men. stripped to the waist, a handker- chief over the face, and a crown of thorns on the head, are stated to have flagellated themselves with ropes for an hour in the public square. Lieut.-Colonel Godfre- Wentworth Beaumont, late of the Scots Fusilier Guards, died at Hill House, Swansea, on the 23rd inst., in his forty-first year. The deceased entered the army as second lieutenant in the 21st (Royal North British Fusiliers), by purchase, on Marc t 17, Iç:í-l, and served in that regiment in the Eastern campaign of 1854, including the battles of Alma, Balaklava, and Inkerman, and siege of Sebas- topol, for which he was rewarded with the medal and four clasps and the Turkish medal. HYDRornoBiA.—Two deaths from hydrophobia were reported in Scotland during last week. The first was a young man in the prime of life, who succumbed to the disease in the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on the 13th, having been bitten by a dog in a railway car- riage on the 4th of the present month. The other, a boy 14 years of age, residing near Bathgate, was bitten by a dog about two months ago, and began, on the 13th ult., to suffer from nervousness and difficulty of swallowing. The disease rapidly ran its course, and he died on the evening of the 16th, after severe suffering. ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS AS OUT RELIEF. Last week, the Hackney Guardians discussed the propriety of altering the present system of granting wines and spirits as out-door relief. It appeared that hitherto the practice bad been to bottle off into half-pints and pints the alcoholics, and the bottled quantities were given out from the dispensaries of the union whenever alcoholics were prescribed by the district medical officers, so that if a child were taken ill with diarr- hoea, and the district officer prescribed brandy, the whole of the half-pint was given out when, perhaps, a teaspoonful would be sufficient. This the guardians felt was open to serious objection, medically and financially, and abuse was also possible, Dr. Millar observing that in some cases the patient might possibly not get the whole of the wine. The board thereupon, on the motion of Dr. Millar, seconded by Mr. R. Atkins, one of the vice-chairmen, unaninimously resolved to place alcoholics strictly within the category of medicines alone, and to require the district medical officers in all cases where they think it right to prescribe wines and spirits for the use of the sick, to state on the prescription paper the exact quantity to be given by the dispensers in computed ounces, and the latter to keep an exact record of the dis'ribution under the orders of the medical officers.

FUNERAL OF DR. IIALLEY. On Aug. 24th took place at Abney Park Cemetery the funeral of the Rev. Robn-t, Halley, D.D., late principal of New College, St. John's Wood. The cortege, which consisted of an open hearse, followed by a few mourning coaches, ai-rived at Abney Chapel at a quarter past twelve o'clock, and, the coffin having been carriea in alld placed on tressels at the foot of the pulpit, the funeral service commence d. After an opening hymn there was a reading of Scripture and prayer by Professor God- win followed by the usual funeral address, which was read by Dr. Newth, Dr. Halley's successor as principal of New College. The paper, which was eloquent and elaborate, dealt with Christian life and death gene- rally, and dwelt with affectionate admiration and emphasis on the long, useful, and happy life of their deceased friend, which had been closed by an equally happy and peaceful death. Almost the last words of Dr. Halley were, "I thank Thea, 0 God, for having been so good unto me, good unto the lagt." And be was fully justified. He had been permitted to live long, to enjoy good health, to preserve for many years the society of his beloved wife and children, and to do much useful and Christian work in preparing young ministers for the mission which he himself had so worthily fulfilled. They were not, therefore, to weep for the dead, but rather to rejoice that at a ripe nge and in the fulness of time their beloved friend had been translated to a better place. At the conclusion of the address a second prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Aveling, chairman of the Congregational Union, and the coffin was raised from the tressels and slowly carried across the road into the cemetery, where a grave had been prepared in an open spot between the mortuary chapel and the grave of Dr. Binney.

DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA. I A bov named Card, about seven years of age, son of the station-master at Betchworth, died on Monday morning from hydrophobia. He was bitten by a I stray retriever six weeks ago. The wound was cauter- ised at once, and nothing more thought of it till a week ago, when symptoms of hydrophobia set in, which I ended fatally, after a week's suffering. It

SUNDAY TRADING IN LONDON. It was perfectly evident at noon, on Sunday, in Leather lane, Holboru, that the Sunday trade of the shopkeepers and the oostermongers has received a check from which it is not likely it will recover. The statistics furnished to the Holborn District Board of Works by Mr. Peacock, the inspector, show that on Sunday, the 30th of July, there were in Leather lane, at 11 a.m., 39 shops and 323 stalls at which trade was being carried on. On Sunday, the 6th of August, at the same hour, there were only 32 shops and 180 stalls at which business was carried on, and on Sun- day, the 13th of August, the number of stalls open for business was reduced to 145, a decrease of 35 while the shops open were 47, an increase of 15 over the previous week. On Sunday week, as previously stated, the lane was literally cleared of barrows at 12.15, and the crowd of people who had come to buy, but had nothing to get, went away discomfited. On Sunday there was a still more remarkable change, and several of the members of the District Board of Works were present. As soon as the hour of eleven arrived, the board watering cart deluged the lane with water freely charged with carbolic acid, and several of the costermongers, evidently meant to inter- fere, but Chief Inspector Harnett and a strong force of police of the G Division were present, and the watering cart driver was unmolested. The three mem- bers of the District Board of Works stated to some of the traders in the "lane" that it was the deter- mination of the board to put down the enormous Sunday trading of Leather lane at all hazards, and pointed to the altered empty appearance of the tho- roughfare at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday compared with what it was six weeks ago, when over 3000 people were bargaining for goods, and the place was like a fair. On Sunday in all the length of Leather lane there were only three stands on which ''iced lemonade" and penny ices were exposed for sale.

GALLANT RESCUE.—A gallant rescue from drowning was on Sunday witnessed by the passengers on the arrival of the Alexandra saloon steamship from Sheer- ness. After all the excursionists had landed, Mrs. l'ayn, the stewardess, missed her footing, and fell into the river. An able seaman, named Thomas Stephens, witnessed the accident, and, without divesting himself of his coat, leaped into the Thames, and with much difficulty managed to save Mrs. Payn as she was sink- ing. The seaman was heartily cheered by the pas- 6engers for his gallant conduct.

MURDER. OF AN UNFORTUNATE." Robert Browning was co-nmi'ted f^r tr^a' at Cam- bridge, on Tuesday, f-«r the wilful murder of Emma Rolfe an "unfortunate," by cutting her throat with a razor.

FATAL FIRE IN F.DINBURCi IT. A disastrous fire b?oke oat at the Caledonian Distil- lery, Edinburgh, on Tu.-suay. A man n uned Muir was burnt io death, and damage to the extent, of £ ',00.! was done to the premises.

SUDDEN DEATH OF A LAWYER TNT COURT. A painful sensation was c-eated in the Liverpool Police-court on Tuesday. During the holding of tht licensing sessions, Mr. Bremner, a solicitor of lar 'e practice, was addressing the magistrates, when he suddenly dropped down, and expired a few minuteg afterwards.

SUI-TOSED MURDER. On Monday, at the Borough Police-court, IIudders- field, a labourer, named John Scalley, C is'legate, was brought. up on suspicion of having caused rhe death of a woman named Mary Kelley, by drowning her tu the canal. From the statement of the Chief Con- stable, it appeared that the two were at the Wharf Inn, Apsley, drinking on Saturday nigh:, and about eleven o'clock the\ left and were seen going in the direction of the ctnal. The woman was not seen alive a train. Her b dv was found in the canal close to a plantation in which the felt hat of the prisoner was found by the police. When the prisoner went to his lodgings it was noticed that his trousers were wet, and when asked about it, he said he had been in the canal to get out a man who was drowned. Tbe police had betrd nothing of any man being drowned, and wished for a remand in order to make inquiries. The prisoner was remanded.

MR. LOWE, M.P., ON BICYCLES IN THE PARKS A movement is on foot in London with the view of obtaining permission for bicyclists to ride in the parks. An association has been formed with this object, the secretary of wh ch has communicated with Mr. LOWP. M.P., who is president of the West Kent Bicycle Club, asking his advice on the subject. Mr. Lowe has sent the following reply:—"34, Lowndes square, S.W.— Sir,—1 should advise you by no means to cluiin any right for the simple reason that you have not got i% and that such a claim wou'd prevent you from getting anything. You are under the d fliculty that there is no Minister of Works. When he is appointed, I think the application which you mention is not un- reasonable, and might, very fairly be granted. I should not advi-e extending your application to Hvde Park.—Your obedient servant, ROBERT LOWE." The association has decided to petition the Commissioner es of Works asking for permission for bicycles to be admitted into the various metropolitan parks, with the excep'ion of Hyde Park.

EXECUTION OF A WIFE MURDERER IN NEWUATK. John Eblethrift was executed in Newgate on Tues- day f1 r the murder of his wife. Since the passing of the sentence of death the prisoner has been unre- mitting in his attention to the ministrations of the chaplain, and fuily admitted the justice of his sen- tence. He arose in the morning at half-pnst four and partook of a hearty breakfast. Punctually at eight, o'clock the procession entered the prison yard. Eble- thrift exclaimed in a loud voir-e, as he walked towards the scaffold, Lord have mercy upon me Lord Jesus have mercy upon me," and this he continued repeating until placed under the beam. He then gave a timid glance upwards, which seemed to reili-e, more than ever to him, the horror of his position, and in a voice of increased fervour and earnestness he recom- menced his supplications for mercy. Even after the cap had been drawn over his face the prayers of the man were distinctly audible, and he continued repeat- ing his appeals until Marwood drew the bolt and he disappeared from view. The prisoner was a muscular man, six feet in height, and was allowed a drop of five and a half feet. Death appeared to be instan- taneous.