South Wales Daily News

THE LIBERAL REACTION. Tila C< [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] a3itat; lleview says .-—Before the Bulgarian ,le present Government had no reason to be tide of ?e with the residt of occasional elections, but t.ie is 0rtune seems to have turned, and Mr Gladstone otlir.r j P°P'Jlar than ever with the multitude. On the fthsen0pla c' ^ie Government has an advantage in the ttsvy i)e °* any domestic excitement from which danger cies ^P1'5!1 ended. The existing borough constituen- ^sesti,hT1i0t anx;io'as to be swamped. The question of ^nger;cv fleu'; no^ 5re* r'P3» anc^ except in the con- ° external misadventure, the Government i3 *7 safe till the next dissolution.

THE FRENCH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBI- TION. The immediate result of the meeting of the Royal Com- missioners of the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, held last Saturday, under the presidency of the Prince of Wales, was printed documents describlss abe French arrangements for the exhibition, and others containing applications for space, were immediately forwarded to all firms in Great Britain and Ireland who have taken part in recent exhibitions, as well as to all chambers of commerce. As all space is granted free of cost, and the 17th of March next is the limit for applications, the earliest demands may probably have precedence.

THE EXTRAORDINARY GOLD ROBBERY. At the Guildhall Police-court, London, yesterday, before AMermar. Sir A. Lusk, M.l George Hymus, a carriage- Mp-ner in the employ of the Metropolitan Railway Com- tnv was charged with stealing £ 1,200 belonging to ife AToHnnal Provincial Bank. Mr. II. J. Boddam, ^ar-ister-at-law. prosecuted; and Mr. Pratt defended. It remembered from the previous evi- will be messenger named Holmes -was dence that a messenger lion> contained hX1?'bags°of £ 200 each,which were putJnto a larger bag (Mr. Albert) was» sent wx^mi. oufcof the lentTo Aldgate by the officials, and ^Albert E^ofslJS^T carriage in which they aad airnea, „ .gdon-street there was no trace of the had ridden to r gg eVentually charged with the rob- bag. The prise' ti statements resultedmhis appre- berv.and evidence was now given shewing that hT^ri'soner had purchased a watch and other articles monev which he was not able to account for the Possession of except that a man took the money, gave un v fand placed a pistol at his head, threatening that_ f he "told he would blow his brains out.. Fartby endejg was given as to the statement of the prisoner that he haa ,cen a. man counting something, as if it were money, 111 the neighbourhood of Vine-street Station, where the amonnt, less one bag of ;C200,was dug up by Detective Mitchell. It was further proved that on the 13th Febru- ary, at the time of the arrival of the tiain, the prisoner was engaged cleaning the carriages which had arrived at Ald- pate as stated bj Albert and Holmes A formal remand was granted for the completion of the depositions.— Mr. Pratt said through the culpable negligence of the two men Albert and Holmes, this poor man had been led into this temptation. Under the circumstances of the case he applied for bail.—The alderman said he sympathised with the prisoner, and agreed with Mr. Pratt that Albert and Holmes had been guilty of gross and culp^le negligence, but it would be a question for the jury to 8^3^ whether he was guilty; and for the judge to say.; how far the gross negligence of the clerk and messenger might be ta»^ in extenuation. Under present circumstances he oould not groat b»iL

BRITON FERRY.—On Thursday morning the wife of D Symes died after a few weeks' illness. The funeral wil'r take place next Monday at t cemetery. ABERTILTEILY.-The high wind of Wednesday did con- siderable damage to property in this neighbourhood, un- roofing several cottages, part of the Tinplate Works, blowing down the telegraph posts, and splitting a very high signal post on the Western Valleys Railway. Tlie, ,excessive wet weather is making sad havoc among the passes and roads in the valley and across the hills, ren- dering them all but impassable. There is a probability of an improvement being effected in the roads of Aber- tillery shortly, when the local board now forming hag got to work, xmouthem.

A VOLUNTEER REVIEW FOR SOUTH WALES AND MONMOUTHSHIRE. A Volunteer ofithe 10th.G.R.V. has sent us the follow- ing letter:—"Sir,—I perceive it is the intention of the commanding officers of the metropolitan corps to endea- vour to have the Easter Monday volunteer review held again this year. Now, I want to know why the volun- teers of Glamorganshire cannot have a review on Easter Monday. I would suggest that commanding officers of corps; in Glamorganshire meet in Cardiff to organise a county review and sham fight on a small scale on that day, and I see no reason why the corps in Monmouth- shire could not co-operate with them. No doubt the railway companies would convey the volunteers at a cheap rate to the place selected. I should say at least 5.000 men could be easily- and quickly brfrbght together by the railway compaaim Hundred# woutf pe enabled to go on the Saturday aad Sunday pWvidus, and many would not return unSgk the Tuesday, Ithus lessening tne pressure of the traffics I trust my k may tend to the establishment of a. county volun VIew.

CHURCH RESTORATION AT COYCHURCH. On Thursday a meeting was held at the schoolroom to take steps to restore the parish church, which was re- cently damaged to a serious extent. The diocesan archi- tect (Mr Prichard^ has ttot had time to make an estimate of the cost of reparation, but it is considered that it will be from £ 1,000 to £ 1,500. 'The meeting was- a-formal one, having been convened simply to arrange preliminaries. Mr E. Bevan, of Trebyn, presided. The Hector read a letter from Archdeacon Blosse in which he expressed regret at being unable to attend, and stated that he thought there ought to be a complete restoration of the church, though it might be flone in parts. It could not, he said, be expected that the calamities which had be- fallen the church could be remedied by funds raised within the parish, but he believed the general public would be much influenced by the interest taken in it by the parishioners, and by the amount of funds raised from the proprietors and residents. In the course of his letter the Ven. Archdeacon made a number of suggestions as to the beat course to pursue. Another letter was read from Mr John Howells, Poncoed, expressing his readiness to subscribe J;5 towards the cost of repairing the church. After some discnssion the following resolution was 1 That this meeting deeply deplores the calamity which has befallen the parishionssrs of Coychurch in the partial destiuction of their church, and resolves that active measures be taken to restore the edifice to it& fomer condition. A number of canvassers were afterwards appointed, and another resolution was passed to the effect that prompt steps be taken to place the building in a. sfe condition, and useful for the purposes of Divine worship.. ii g A vote of thanlc3 to the chairman ended the meetmg.

.= MERTHYR SCHOOL BOARD. IMPORTANT ADDRESS BY MR CLARK. The fortnightly meeting of this board was held yester- day, present Messrs G. T. Clark (chairman), T. Williams (Goitre), W. Vaughan, T. Williams (Duffryn), W. L. Daniel, Rev. N.R. Williams, O. Waldo James, J. M. Bowen, and T. Rces. Some formal business having been transacted, The CHAIRMAN reviewed the work which had been done by the board during its term of office. They were elected in March, 1874. They inherited from their predecessors certain schools at Abermorlais Penydarren, Troe- dyrhiw, and Abercanaid, which were then known as British schools, and three had been contracted for at Pcnydarren, Twynrodyn, and Caedraw. These Were more or less in progress, and the board had to carry on what their predecessors had begun. This was simply continuing the work which had betn be- queathed to them, but the board itself had secured the possession of the Georgetown School, being treated by the rector and the trustees with great liber- ality. If it had not been taken to by the board it would have been practically shut up, as they were not m a posi- tion to open it as a National school. They had to thank Mr Crawshav for the plant, which enabled them to com- mence the school very cheaply, and as. soon as trade im- proved they would rebuild the premises. In the course of 1876 the board made large additions and improvements to the Troedyrhiw school. In the district of the board there were about 11,000 children between the agfts of three and 13; of these 2,500 were between the ages of three and five. Speaking generally, children between the btter ages did not go to school, so deducting that 2,500 there would be left 8,500 who attended school. Out of this 8,500 it had been found there was 15 per cent of children who did not attend, owing to illness and other legitimate canses. Taking off this percentage, there would be 7,600 children. They had in the town of Merthyr two kinds of schools there were the voluntary schools, which cost individuals a good deal, but the parish nothing. Many of them were more or less efficient, and some very efficient. There were 5,284 children on the books of the voluntary schools, and 4,083 on the books of the board schools. But it naturally followed that all the children on the books did not attend school, so allowing for this there would be 3,663 attending the voluntary schools, and 2,547 attending the board schnols. Therefore out of the 9,367 who were on the books of the schools in the district which were inspected by Government, there would be 6,210 children in attendance. For the most part the school accommoda- tion was convenient to .the population. They had had some complaints from the outlying districts, but he considered it much better to have one large and good school than twenty small ones. With re- gard to compulsory attendance, the board, so soon Z, as they had schools, had appointed an attendance officer, who, by persuasion and. by visiting parents, brought in a great number of children. The board also had many of the parents before them, but they seemed to be in great poverty. Under the new law, however, he did sot see any reason why the whole of the children should not be compelled to attend school, and he was of opinion that in the course of a year or so every child should be receiv- ing a course of education. (Hear, hear.) He thought the neW school board would be greatly t ) blame if in the course of the year they did not force the children into the schools. As to the financial operations, the board of which Mr Williams, Mr James, and himself were members borrowed £ 20,000, and the present board had added to this £ 6,300, so that the total debt was about 926,000. The board was now carrying out the work which their forefathers should have done, and the Legisla- ture had, he thought, very unwisely given them 50 years to repay the debt. He thought it shouli have been 30 years. Of this £ 26,000 a sum of between kl, 100 and 21,500 had been paid off. The interest and principal paid amounted to something like £2,500 a year, and they were paying instalments of tho original debt. To meet their current expenses they drew from the rates, and the rate was 4d or 4gd on the valuation of property in the parish. He had a list of 15 principal towns and cities in the country, and he found that in all these towns the cost per child ranged from 28 10s to £ 22 l4s. The Merthyr parish stood eighth on the list, at £11133 6d per child. Of course this did not include the law expenses, the bill of which had not been received. The average of these 25 towns was 212 Is lld per child, so tllst Merthyr was below the average. (Hear, hear.) Ilad. tlieii contracts been fulfilled the cost per child should have been down to C8 10s 6d. The speaker then referred to the dispute with the architect, and said he thought the board had treated him with ex- ceeding kindness and liberality, and he said this advisedly. (Hear, hear.) said Why did you not com- promise." The boald agreed to compromise with the contractor, and they would have compromised with the architect if it would have 0 been doing justice to the ratepayers, but they thought that they had been treated very ill, and therefore could not, with common honesty and sense, compromise. (Hear, hear.) And if the board had the whole thing over again he did not think they coflld act more honestly than they had. Ho claimed that tiie board, in all its dealings witn the architect, was considerate, lenient, and thoroughly honest. They had hopei that by this time the matter would be settled. They took it before the arbitrator, and through the death of a relative it was postponed, and they were put to great expense* They had to send a deputa- tion twice to Lonaon, and although Mr Simons had made a good fight for them he wa2 afraid the award would not be known during the next fortnight. The schools were now in a state which tiey ought not to be in, and there were costs for repairs now which should never have occurred. Having referred to the question of school managers, the Chairman said they knew there was a great difference upon the religious question. Some people thought, and he thought, that if he sent a child to be taught French, German, or dancing, he should act ask after the religious tenets. But where they took child of 7 years, whose parents were not likely to instruct that child in its reli- gious duties, there was a difficulty. His own strong opinion was that if they took tli# child five days out of seven they should not teach any Aogniatic theology, but teach the child that there was a nlqA-1 government of the world. If they took the Bible theywould find it quoted by all the historians, poets, and gTeaimen of all shades of opinion, not merely because they jelieved in it, but of the great knowledge contained* tlierS'1- The electors of that parish had set their faces agaPst ^he Bible in the schools. Re thought education, how^fe.r mutilated, was better than none, although at one time he thought it almost wrong to have anything to do wfih a system which excluded the Bible. He felt it was bter on the whole, however much he dissented from it, to Aork with the im- perfect system, and he had thrown himselv &'■ orouglily into the matter. Whatever his private opinio might be, he claimed that while the board had existed, ?jS every mem- ber elected was on the whole willing t> carry out the popular view, and very strongly indeed, he felt that he should only introduce an apple of discord f. be brpught forward the question of tlie Bible in the^1*?0^. He claimed credit for this, and for having set asioehis private views. As to the members of the board, tW had done everything honestly and fairly, and carried oid that which they were sent there for. (Hear, hear.) The, board de- served credit for the way in which they bobaied in the matter of, the architect, and he tlKR^ht ^hej.deserved credit for the closest economy. He claimed 1rom the ratepayers that they should be thoroughly generated from blame, and on the other hand they desert credit for what they had done during the three years. Until the division the other day, which was more a qutlOn of finance, there had been no serious difference betw#11 ^he members of the board. He concluded by saying be licped the chairman of the next board would find 5IBSelf presiding over a body of men as good as those whoii now he had the pleasure of addressing. (Applause.) Mr W■ L. DANIEL moved a vote of thanks to the wai1-- man for his interesting speech. He said that referritg to the expense of the arbitration case with the [trchict, the expense of the arbitration case with the archifc0^ some of the Merthyr people seemed to forget iia^ while in London the members of the school board #re neglecting their own business. With regard to the tsji* gious question, he hoped the chairman would not uls" represent the ratepayers. They (the ratepayers) were opposed to the reading of the Bible in schools as school but they were opposed to it in board schools, where tlf children were compelled to attend. So far as the preset board was concerned, it must be distinctly understock that three years ago when meeetings were held, the sevaH members elected were simply pledged not to put the 25tb clause m roice, nuunng more, it was 9. remarkable fact that the only time when the question of "Bible" or "No Bible Was raised was at an election\ Nvhen Mr J. NNr James was called the champion of the Bible, and the Rev S. Johnston was termed the advocate of infidelity. It was, however, surprising that Mr John- ston was elected by a majority of three to one over Mr James. (Hear, hear.) The Rev O. W. JAMES seconded the motion. The Rev N. R. WILLIAMS supported the resolution, and referred in graceful terms to the courtesy exhibited by Mr Clark on all occasions towards him. The Rev T. REES also supported the motion, which was carried unanimousy- Mr CLARK, in reply, said he would not say there was a prejudice against the Bible in that district, but he aid not think they held the principles of 40 years ago, which principles were the perfect right of private judgment and belief in the Bible. He called himself a Protestant, but coulki hot understand what sort of Protestant a person was who would not push forward the Bible, and who would send a child to school five days out of the seven without Bible teaching. The board then-formed itself into committee.

The meeting which it was expected would be held to- day, in Dublin, to protest against the recent utterances of the Lord Justice of Appeal in accordance with a requisition addressed to the Father of the Bar, will not e held.. the latter having refused to summon it

THE HAMADRYAD SEAMEN'S HOSPITAL. Yesterday afternoon the annual meeting of the sup- porters of the Hamadryad Seaman's Hospital ship was held in the rooms of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce, Mr jshn Boyle presiding. There were present his wor- ship the Mayor of Cardiff (Aid.. Elliott), Rev G. A. Jones, Dr Paine, Messrs J. J. Hoist, E. Rinn (French consul), J. McAusland, A. T. Lucovich, M. Krieger, E. C. Downing, John Guthrie, A. B. Tellefsen, E. J. Knight. J. A. Le Boulanger, J. Treharne, S. Decandia, jun., Jonas Watson, G. S. Stowe, D. Roberts (Secretary), etc. The minutes of the last meeting were read and duly confirmed. The Secretary then read the annual report, which was as follows:— "The lapse of another year presents the usual oppor- tunity for a review of the operations of the Hamadryad Seamen's Hospital. The number of patients treated in 1876 is as. follows:—In-patients, 489—average per month, 41 out-patients, 2, ;)07 -:werage per month. 242 being a decrease of 5 in-patients, and an increase of 17 out- patients, as compared with the year 1875. The receipts from slijpping, £ 1,976 10s Sd, are the largest received in any one year since the establishment of the hospital, and are made up thus :—Bute Docks, £ 1,463 19s Gd; Penarth Docks, 365 17s 6d; French seamen, kl38 3s 8d. "The precautions against fire, mentioned in the report of last year as in course of adoption, have been completed at considerable expense. A special main-pipe from the Cardiff Waterworks has been down to within 20 yards of the ship, and lengths of fire-hose have been provided, and are kept constantly in readiness to attach thereto, capable of bringing a power- ful stream of water to bear upon any part of the ship, sufficient to extinguish immediately any fire that might break out on board. These efforts of the committee have met with the expression of the satisfaction of the Lords of the Admiralty. In the month of September last, the committee received from the Hospital Sunday Committee the sum of £ 100 as the share of the collections on last Hospital Sim- day, which had been appropriated to the Hamadryad Seamen's Hospital. The committee being of opinion that the existing state of the finances of this hospital enabled them on this occasion to dispense with assistance from that source, and feeling that the finances of the Infirmary stood, on the other hand, in need of all the assistance that could be procured, decided to return the sum which they had received to the committee of the Hospital Sunday fund, expressing a hope that, in handing over that sum to the Infirmary its operations might be made more exten- sively useful. This action of the committee received a grateful acknowledgment from the secretary to the com- mittee of the Infirmary. With a view to ■establish a proper understanding as I to a disposal of the funds in future to be collected on Hospital Sunday and to secure an harmonious working between the parties on whose behalf the collections are made, this committee have proposed to the committee of the Infirmary that a joint committee, selected from the two committees, should be appointed for the common objects of both, and they hope that this arrangement may be successfully organized, believing as they do that it would receive the approval and confidence of the public. the committee have invested 15s of their-sur- plus funds in the purchase of 115 5 per cent preference shares in the Taff Vale Railway Company, as will be seen by reference to the accounts herewith. "The thanks of the committee are again tended to the trustees of Lord Bute and to the directors of the Taff Vale Railway Company for the unvarying interest shown by them in the affairs of the Hospital. "The medical-superintendent (Dr Hughes) continues to possess the confidence of the committee, and the zealous manner in which he discharges all the duties appertaining to his office entitles him to their hearty acknowledgment, which they thus tender to him. Dr Paine, Colonel Hill, and Mr Lucovich retire from the committee by rotation, but offer themselves for re- election." The Secretary next read the annual statement of a&- counts, which showed that the receipts for the past year amounted to £ 2,111 Is 4d, and the expenditure to £ 1,704 14s &1, leaving a balance to the credit of the insti- tution of S406 6s 8d. The balance to credit from the year ending 31st December, 1875, was tM8 19s Od, making a total of £ 1,295 5s 8d in favour of the funda of the Hos- pital. The Secretary next read the following report from Dr Hughes, the medical superintender. t of the "Hama- dryad" "My Lord and Gentlemen,—My report for year end- iiig olst December, 187b, which I now beg* to lay before ^50u, is that 3,396 patients were treated in the Hospital, viz: 489 in-patients and 2,907 out-patients, being a de- crease of five in-patents and an increase of 17 out-patients. The total number of deaths was 17-13 were medical cases and four accidents. It is satisfactory to observe that there has been a steady decline in the admission of infectious cases to this hospital for some years—only 33 such cases were treated during the past year. This de- crease is doubtless owing to the activity and prompt attention on the part of the port sanitary authorities of this town. It is much to be regretted that a large num- ber of preventable diseases still remain to be negatived. The tables of the diseases treated in this Hospital during the past year show an increase of scurvy and specific affections. The former would be but little known if more care were taken to provide our sailors with a proper amount of succulent vegetable regimen, lime juice alone being comparatively useless as an antiscorbutic. The increase of specific diseases calls for an extension of the Contagious Diseases Act into this port, the wisdom and policy of which Act are amply vindicated by the statistical reports on the health of our navy. These two cachexies react injuriously on each other to such an alarming extent that irretrievable mischief is inflicted on the constitutions of our seamen, and, by weakening the barrier against other diseases, make a great number of them virtually unfit to bear the hardships of a seafaring life. This clearly shows the advisability of compulsory medical examination of sailors before they join their ships, as it would ensure a sound and healthy crew, and would aid commercial and financial interests quite as much as the compulsory inspection of vessels. A lar°-e proportion of unhealthy men would thus be weeded from the service, and a healthier tone and physique introduced. The introduction of water supply to the ship from the Cardiff Waterworks has been a great boon, and the addi- tional precaution against fire thus afforded is a source of great security. I wish to tender my thanks to the honorary medical staff for their continued kind services in aid of this institution. The present members of the staff perform their, duties in the most satisfactory man- ner. "(Signed) "W. HUGHES, Medical-superintendent. "Cardiff, 20th February, 1877." The CHAIRMAN proposed, That the statement of ac- counts, along with the committee's report, be adopted, and printed and circulated amongst the friends of the institution." He was rather sorry that so meagre a number should have attended that day. He hoped this was not in consequence of a failure of inter- est, but rather a continued and increasing confidence in the hospital. (Hear, hear.) No doubt thev had been satisfied with what they had just heard as to the working for the past year ^of the hospital, which was such an im- portant adjunct to the comfort and health of the town. The funds, they had heard, were advancing even in a better ratio than in past years, and he was happy to be able to say to them that the complaints so long made in reference to English ships, as frequently refusing their small contributions, were much reduced in number, the collector at the dock office informing him that it was very rarely indeed now that an English ship refuses its contribution. Some of these ships being steamers of course paid by a sort of composition* they; were not made to pay each time' but instances of not supporting the institution they found now to be exceedingly rare. He thought the most salient matters for observation really arose from the report of the medical officer, and he took leave to think that many of the remarks he had made were of high value. No doubt on the most important points in this report they would have the pertinent remarks of Dr Paine. It struck him that it would be well to consider very seriously- perhaps, however, it lay at the door of the authorities of the town rather than at their door—whether there should not be some application of the Contagious Diseases Act in Cardiff, seeing that it had been found in places similar to Cardiff to work so excellently on behalf of the specific diseases which were to be found in such towns as this port. (Hear hear.) Of course he only threw that out as an indication of personal opinion, and every gentleman would have the opportunity of discussing it as he thought fit. It cer- tainly was a matter of great congratulation that there was such an mfrequency of infectious diseases being brought into port by ships during the last year or two. He did not doubt at all that the reason which the medical officer assigned for this had a good deal to do with it, viz., that it resulted from the sanitary condition of the port bein"- good. 1 ne care which was devoted to making this sanitary condition perfect certainly made Cardiff remark- able amongst ports, and he had no hesitation in saying wat the town stood exceedingly well in this respect compared with other towns. Theymust con- gratulate themselves upon this state of things existing, not only tcat they were not spreading disease, but that on its making its appearance they could trample it out, partly by judicious usages,^ partly by that hospital, and "3 partly by the town authorities. Before they met again the committee would be able to establish something which would make this samtary conditition even more perfect, as that very day they had been discussing a matter as to a particular branch of disease. Another point which he would like personally to^ point out was an important one named by the medical officer, with respect to the examination of seamen's health before they shipped. It was a matter of regret that compulsion on this point had been struck out of the last Acu (hear, ieai) and the sooner the clause was brougnt back again the better; in fact he was sure if the opinion of the town were polled it would be in favour of this. The speaker concluded by eulogising the medical superintendent of the hospital, and by reading his mo- tion. ° Dr PAINE said he had great pleasure in performing a duty ttiat he had discharged on many previous occasions, which was the secoiiclmg of the motion proposed by their chairman. He was fully prepared to endorse the per- tinent remarks of the last speaker, and he believed he had touched on points which were well worthy, not only their consideration, but also that of those not present that day. He might congratulate them on the fact that the hospital was now an accomplished fact. During its first two or three years of existence it was an institution of a novel character, and not being self-supporting, it was a grave matter whether they were justified in carrying- it on. That doubt was now removed, from the constantly improving condition of its funds. One of the difficulties they had to contend against from the commencement was the argument that a ship was not a proper place for a hospital. When that difficulty was first expressed it was one that he gave his serious consi- deration, and although his opinion opposed that of others who no doubt gave theirs conscientiously, he believed that the result showed that he was right in the one he formed. Dr Paine proceeded to quote instances in favour of his argument, and remarked that a ship hos- pital was more in harmony in its details with the feelings of sailors than a permanent hospital. shore could be, He found that during the last year there had been treated on board the Hamadryad the mrge number of 489 in-patients, and that their revenue had been, in round numbers, £ 2,000, which showed— putting aside out-patients—that the ship could be coni due ted at the rate of £ 5 per case. (Hear hear.) This he iliought proved that the Hamadryad compared favour- (hfy with any other institution in point of economy and gnciency. As to the Contagious Diseases Act, this was subject which was under the consideration of the Medi- (P- Ass°ciation of this town within the last few months. It waf thoroughly discussed in all its bearings but to pjjss these before the public would only be to promote the oiff}, 11 to the Acts, and only destroy the chance of. wl# were so thoroughly satisfied would be eventually ac^pted by the public. There were circumstances con- nec^ Wlth tlie subject which forbad its being discussed publ^ and these prejudices could not be removed. The# v,'as nothing, he believed, so calculated to benefit the I#1113-1.1 race as the introduction of the Contagious DiseaJcs. Act, and he exploded althogether the notion that it m3$lmnfl°rality one of the cares of the Legislature. The to prevent the possibility of the destruction of the tf^frtution of the poor infant creatures bom to them, #d.^ho inherited by birth the infirmities oi their parents. ^vfar> hear.) He thought it was time the public sB,l,lcl consider the grave question, and the time would when the opposition so strong against it lyould v$ls"^ (Hear, hear. Tt was a, matter of con- siderable gratification to them to hear that infectious diseases were being reduced year by year, and he was of opinion that this was owing to the institution being based upon correct principles. The motion was put and carried. Rev G. A. JONES (vicar of St Mary) proposed the re- election on the committee of Dr Paine, Lieut.-Colonel Hill, and Mr Lucovich. Mr DOWNING seconded the motion, which was carried. Th3 MAYOR had pleasure in proposing that the thanks of this meeting be given to W. T. Edwards, Esq., H. J. Paine, Esq., W. Taylor, Esq., and J. J. Buist, Esq., for their valuable aid to this institution. His worship re- marked that the Hamadryad was a most excellent insti- tution, as it did a. large and good work for very little money, which the; as inhabitants of a seafaring town, should be very thankful for. Mr KNIGHT seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Dr PAINE returned thanks for the resolution, and proposed a vote of thanks to Dr. Hughes, the medical superintendent of the Hamadryad, which being seconded by Mr Krieger, was also unanimously carried. Dr. HUGHES returned thanks for the motion. Mr JONAS WATSON, in proposing a vote of thanks to the committee, took occasion to advocate the introduc- tion of the Contagious Diseases Act to Cardiff. Mr TREHARNE seconded, and Mr BOULANGER supported the proposition, which was cordially adopted. The CHAIRMAN returned thanks, expressing a hope that the proposition which they had made to the Infirmary, with regard to Infirmary Sunday, would bear good fruit. A formal vote of thanks to the chairman, proposed by Mr KNIGHT, closed the proceedings.

PONTYPOOL LOCAL BOARD. The monthly meeting of this board was held on Friday —present, Messrs E. H. Davis, chairman; W. Conway, T. Fletcher, W. Sandbrook, P. Eckersley, T. F.Williams, T. Roderick, R. Jones, T. Jones, J. Bevan, G. Wilton, and W. Collins. Plans of houses from Messrs Gameson, Williams and Griffiths were passed. It was reported that during the past month there was collected the sum of jE90 Os 3d the debt to the bank was £1816; 4d wages, JS32 188 lOd; wages, including S20 15s bank charges for two years, £117 14s 9d. The amount of uncollected rate3 was £200 14s lOid, a half of which is irrecoverable.

LOCAL BILLS BEFORE PARLIAMENT. In the House of Lords, yesterday, the Lord Chancellor announced that the Examiners of private Bills had certi- fied that the standing orders had been complied with in the case of the Worcester and Aberystwith Junction Rail- way Bill and the Severn Bridge Railway Bill. The Billa were ordered to lie on the table. The Wliitland, fCronware, and Pendine Railway, after being [postponed, came on before the Examiner, who declared that the standing order proofs of the House of Commons had not been complied with. The Neath and Brecon Railway Bill complied with the standing order proofs of the House of Lords.

THE ABERTILLERY EXPLOSION RELIEF FUND. Mr A. Tilney, the secretary of the abovenamed fund, writes :—The subscriptions for the South Wales Colliery explosion relief fund have reached the sum of £200. The wants of the sufferers and of the widows and orphans have already absorbed a considerable amount, and it is gratify- ing to know that much suffering has been averted. The directors of the South Wales Colliery Company have subscribed liberally, and a few firms have subscribed JE5 each there are, however, a large number of persons to whom an appeal of this description should not be made in vain, and it is hoped that by their assistance the list may become a lengthy one at an early date. Subscriptions may be sent to any branch of the National Provincial Bank.

NEW CEMETERIES FOR YSTRADY- FODWG. On Thursday a special meeting of the Ystradyfodwg Burial Board was held at the clerk's office, Treorky. There were. present, Mr W. G. McMurtrie (chairman), Dr Idris Davies, the Rev. William Morris, Messrs Evan Evans, John Davies, David Evans, Elias Henry Davies, Evan Williams, and Evan Morgan. Tbe special business was to open the tenders for the erection of chapels attached to the Ferndale Cemetery. The clerk said he had received seven tenders. It was resolved that the ten- der of Messrs-Charles Jenkins and Sons be accepted. The board then considered the desirability of taking imme- diate steps to provide a new cemetery for the lower por- tion of the parish. A resolution as to the site, which the board had selected, was confirmed, and the clerk was in- structed to write to Mr Gwylim Williams, Miskin Manor, the owner of the land, asking him on what terms he would sell 10 acres of Birthweinydd Fields.

THE PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE BRIDGEND AND COWBRIDGE UNION. The following is the quarterly report of the medical- officer of health to the Rural Sanitary Authority of the Bridgend and Cowbrirdge Union :—Since your last meet- ing four cases of scarlatina have brokeit out atLisworney, one at Penllyne, and, so far as I can ascertain, five at Cowbridge, where one case terminated fatally. There has also been one fatal case of gastro-enteric fever at Lis- worney. Two cases of scarlatina have also made their appearance at Llanharry, which I traced to Brynsaddler, where the grandmother of the children had been visiting some relatives infected with that disease. Measures are being taken to improve the sanitary condition of Lis- worney, where infectious diseases have so often broken out for so many years past. As there is a doubt re- specting the purity of the water I will test it. The principal complaints now prevailing are those of the respiratory organs, and rheumatism. I have visited St. Hilary and its vicinity, and have discovered several dangerous nuisances which should be removed or abated. The death rate has been 16 per 1,000 per annum. The number of deaths registered during the quarter have been-Males, 17 females, 23; total, 40 shewing an increase of only 11 births over deaths, contrasting with 21 births over deaths as reported by me at the end of the quarter ending Michaelmas last.

I' THE IRON AND COAL TRADES. EBBW VALE. Throughout the Valley everything is being pushed on with regularity and vigour in the steel, iron, and coal de- partments. The pits are worked regularly, but on the banks of some of them there is slackness in sending the coal and the coal is being taken to stock. The furiwes are all in full blast and two of the Abersyehan furnaces are to be blown in to Work iron for use at the Steel Works All the extensive cOlJIJe and other coke ovens below the Forge are in full operation, and there are visible signs of further extension at this point. Every- thin"- "X.no- the line betokens enterprise and activity. 0 THE DEPRESSION IN TRADE. Mr John Colledge, secretary to the Warwickshire Miners'Association, addressing a meeting of colliers at Bedworth on Thursday night, said it was a most lament- able circumstance that in various parts of the country colliery employers were endeavouring to enforce a still further reduction in the wages of their men. He ex- pressed an opinion that it would be utterly impossible for employers to derive any benefit from their action in this fespect and said it would only tend to further impoverish the ooliiers, and to glut the market with coal and iron. He thought the time had come when it was absolutely necessary that a R-oyal Commission should be appointed by Parliament to inquire into the present condition of the coal and iron trades of this country, with the view of some suggestion being made which might tend to remove, or at all events to mitigate, the distress now prevailing among the mining community. He considered that as a Roval Commission was appointed some time ago to inquire into the high price of coal, it was only fair that another Royal Commission should investigate the cause of the present depression. THE NORTH WALES COAL TRADE. [SPECIAL TELEGRAM. 1 The depression in the Wrexham colliery district does not seem to be so general as at first anticipated. The Bettisfield Colliery Company announce that they can employ 500 additional men, and during the week the new furnace at the Brymbo Iron W orks has been put on blast again, after having been out of blast from four to five months. There are now two in blast and one out.

CARDIGANSHIRE ASSIZES. These assizes were opened on Thursday last by Mr Justice Mellor. The trials of prisoners commenced on Fridav. The following gentlemen were sworn on the grand jury Sir T. D. Lloyd, Bronwyd (foreman), G. B. Jordan, J. R. Howell, T. H. Brenchley. Captain S. Jones Parry, M. Jones, D. G. Davies, J. Savile Miles, M. Davies, Thomas Davies, J. Longcroft, W. Buck. Colonel Lewis, J. T. Morgan, C. Home Fitawilliam, and Charles Lloyd. Ilia Lordship, in his charge, said he regretted the poor attendance of grand jurors. The business was of a very simple character, with the exception of one case. The case of robbery was one that would require their deepest consideration. His lordship dwelt at some length upon the criminal case, and upon the charge against John Barton Balcombe (on bail) for falsifying the accounts of the Bronfloyd Mining Company. The prisoner was charged on 18 counts, and the depositions were volumin- ous, being about a hundred folios. STEALING A PAIR OF KTOCI-YXCS AT LLANGEITHO. William Lewis, alias William Thompson, alias George Gill, aged 37, labourer (a tramp), was indicted for felon- iously stealing one pair of stockings, the property of David Evan Davies, on the 4th January, at Llangeitho, in the parish of Llanddewi-Brefi. He was further charged with feloniously stealing one flannel shirt, the property of I in the parish of Llanddewi-Brefi. He was further charged I with feloniously stealing one flannel shirt, the property of I David Williams, on the 4th January, 1877, at Llangeitho, in the parish of Llanddewi-Brefi. Prisoner pleaded guilty to the two indictments, and also to previous convictions, and was sentenced to penal servitude for seven years with five years' supervision of police. His lordship condemned the practice of leaving clothes out to dry in the country at night, aft it induced persons to steal them. ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE. Evan Evans, Henry Evans, and John Rogers (on bail) were indicted for feloniously stealing from the person of Daniel James, one sovereign and one half-soverein, at the parish of Gwnnws, and that they at the time of the said robbery did use personal violence to the said Daniel James. The grand jury found a true bill against Evan Evans, and no true bill against Henry Evans and John Rogers. The prisoner Evan Evans pleaded not guilty to the two charges in the indictment. Mr Abel Thomas (instructed by Messrs Hughes and Son, Aberystwith) appeared for the prosecutor, and MrW. Bowen Row- lands (instructed by lVIrlG. Jones, Aberystwith) for the defence. It appeared from the evidence that the prose- cutor was drunk at the time of the theft, and he could not identify the prisoner. Several of the witnesses gave the prisoner a good character. The jury thought there was no ground for proceeding furthe with the case, aud the prisoner was discharged.

The Indian relief troop ship Euphrates left Portsmouth yesterday afternoon for Bombay. FOOTBALL.—At Pontypool, on Thursday evening, a match was played between Pontypool and Aberdare. After a spirited contest, the game was drawn, slightly in favour of Pontypool. DAVIES' MEMORIAL HALL, LLAN.DILO.-On Thursday evening an entertainment was given at this hall. Dis- solving views were illuminated with the oxy-hydrogen lime light. The exhibitor was Mr Jos. Edwards, secre- tary of-Ebenezer Chapel, Swansea. The proceedings were enlivened by singing. The master of the Tabernacle British School acted as lecturer. The h wa*. crowded. The proceeds will go to aid the dlt '1. ''irculating library. <> "SINGER" MACHINES of best Eng WN mrractures. Cash prices-Family Machine, with treadle Z4 10s; Medium Machine, £5 12s 6d, with great improvement*, rendering them far superior to the Singer Company's machines. Elias Howe, treadle, £4 18s Cd. Bradbury Howe, L6 ISs. First-ciass Wheeler and Wilson principle. £ i 15s.—Henry Thomas, St. John's square, Cardiff. 9427 WATERS' QUININE WINE for Sixteen Years has been universally admitted to be the best T'"c known, and a useful and agreeable accompaniment to Cod Liver Oil. Vit can bear personal testimony to its value as a tonic."—Standard. Agent for Cardiff: Septimus Fletcher, Family Grocer, 23, St Mary-street, and 6, Wood-street. Wholesale Waters 301*, 34, Eastcheap, baudou: and Co.. Worcester,. taaaa

OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS, R13T7TER S AGENCY, PKESS ASSOCIATION, AND CENTRAL NEWS.] „ THE EASTERN CRISIS- n, "nrtlier correspondence respecting the affairs of ttrkey was published last night. It consists of a Acting Consri? Freeman on the _r*>citics committed on the north-western frontiers jjrJ^«Hua, and the Porte's answer, denying Mr 7je!lian's statements. Consul Freeman's report instances of acts of violence committed, and J^^ctcrises the general state of aftairs i °Ue of corrupt administration and un- ^led licentiousness and crime. A translation this report was laid before Easchid Pasha by Sir Elliot, with a warning that when authentic g^Uits of such abominations were received in they must excite the indignation of the civilized world, and no surprise need be 'teli Pr'bli" sympathy were on tlie side of those *° struggled to free themselves from a Govem- under which they were exposed to treatment n10'1 as was described. In reply, the charges of Otifsul Freeman were said to be "without found.v ,tlon. <if from Constantinople report favourably the peace negotiations. The Porte is willing to ^ke considerable concessions of territory to °nteuegro, and if the demands of the latter are too extravagant, peace may be regarded as Probable.. In the event of the negotiations proving Ucces:;ful, it is believed that the Powers will put Pressure on Russia to prevent her isolated action, tiiuc will be asked to try an experiment with e Turkish Constitution. Negotiations are re- vved to have taken place between Russia and YjV*tria for tha occupation of Servia, Bosnia, and erzegovina by tlio Austrian troops in the event war.

r> FRANCE. -1 AUi,s, Friday.— M. Bonnet Daverdier, a mem- pf the Extreme Radical party, on assuming the Presidency of the Paris Municipal Council, to I^cU he has just been elected, made a speech in f?v°ur of communal liberties, maintaining that i, emancipation of the Commune was necessary to Republic. AitiSj Friday evening.—M..de Hau de Stap- senator for the department of the Norcl, is He was a member of the Right. The -Alley caused by his death will have to be filled hý Section, as he was one of the category elected y the departments for three years. Further bilges iu the i irefectoral staff will shortly be an- a°«nced.

GERMANY. Friday,—The Reichstag met this after-- to constitute its bureaux, and to elect its cer.s. Herr von Forckenbeck was elected £ evident Baron von Stauffenberg, first vice- anc^ *>r*nce von Holienlohe Laugenburg, 0lld vice-president.

UNITED STATES. D WA"nINGTOIf, Friday.—The arguments of the j,emocratic and Republican counsel before the ecfoi-al Commission, on the question of the • eSon vote, having been closed yesterday even- Si the Commission will to-day come to a decision the questions of the presidential election. The *al committee of the House of Representatives reported a Bill authorizing the Government to 0i,t an Arctic expedition, which would establish eolony on Lady Franklin's Bay, and thence 5lMch exploring parties to the Pole.

SIR H. S. GIFFARD, Q.C. ,F [SPECIAL TELEGRAM. 1 j0r r Carries Henry Deakin, the Conservative member ftunceston, lias decided to retire in, order to make j/1 f°r Sir Hardinge G-iffard, the Solicitor-General. is the intention of the Liberals to oppose the candi- dature of Sir Hardinge Giffard, and though nothing is Q, ari'ar»ged definitely, it is understood that Mr Herbert Qe es -Drinhwater, who opposed Mr Deakin at the fteral election, will represent the Opposition. jj will be seen by our Parliamentary report that in the s»0llSe. °* Commons last night, on the motion of the Con- jg^^ive Whip, an order was given that a writ should be for the election of a new member for Launceston.

TlIE COMMAND OF THE ROYAL YACHT. T+ (.SPECIAL TLJ.EGRAM.] B,p T>s stated that the Queen has offered the command of g.i; ,°yaP j'acht Victoria and Albert to tne Duke oi nourgh, who has left his ship, Sultan.

^AUjWAY ACCIDENT NEAR TAVISTOCK. rp, [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] J-ne narrow guage up train from Marsh Mills, near Sh Mtock, smashed up a trolly yesterday afternoon 7 after leaving the station. A woman seated on it it is feared, fatally injured.

THE RATING OF MACHINERY. rp, T1 .[SPECIAL TELEGRAM.1 dav-6 .>re:sident of the Local Government Board yester- QIPP-!U ?rinec^ a d'epiftaticn from the Chambers of Com- afWf taat the Valuation Bill would not alter the law 'ting the rating of machinery,

PRINCE OF WALES IN THE HUNTING FIELD. RPR [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] ho'iv, mce of Wales hunted with Her Majesty's Stag- deer ds yesterday, at Redstone Farm, Waltham. The first a 'lncartecl made an indifferent run. The second gave tli'T hour's sport. The Prince returned to London in e evening.

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S SONS. RP. [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] Prince of Wales, it is reported, contemplates send- f0J t!us two sons on board the training ship Britannia, not they l3urPose oi training them as naval officers,but that th^ ^ay learn how to "rough it," and have imparted to tioii fj spirit of self-reliance which a course of instruc- 0li board that vessel is well calculated to give.

rTI, THE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE. [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] Crew soine tu'J. practice yesterday, the Cambridge anc\ Yv'r*^ ^aitsbite, under the coaching of Mr Goldie tlie n °' Close. Holmes pulled at bow throughout hom vtnoon's practice, in place of Hoskvns. On the _n ]'e'l":varcl journey the men rowed and paddled to Cook's the I' VT> anc^ a m'les, without stopping, coming up °»g -i-each at 30 strokes per minute.

ALLEGED EMBEZZLEMENT AT [ SHEFFIELD. I' At C F8PECIAL TELEGEAM.] Was ( i Sheffiield police-court, yesterday, Henry Else 15 vp a.-V°e embezzlement. He had occupied for 0, cou^dential position with Messrs Miller and had LkU manufacturers, and it was alleged that he ^lie rLf1 acbTa)it.ig'e of it to embezzle upwai'd.s of £ 2000. to nll,elce was that the prisoner had taken the money ternau(Iod. t6 all behalf of one of the partners. He was "n., cd.

^-SPJOTJS ACGIDSOT AT NEWCASTLE. Y [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] 8hone"itecrc^y afternoon a" large gallery in the erecting I I'orH > essr,s Hawthorn and Co., engine builders, 0:IA 8 Newcastle-on- i yne, fell with a crash, and uanied Thomas Woodman was killed, and eight jv-.il 3 were seriousljr injured by tye machinery and the i 8->r» y faliing upon them. The men were extricated as jtKra as Possible and removed to the Infirmary. No warn- tlio-V> a:s and. there seems to have been no idea that jj, „^v as any danger in respect to the gallery, which was ot v,-ood and supported by iron girders.

FROM LAST"NIGHT'S"GAZETTE." Edward P t, BANKRUPTS. TJi) inn ■Uawi:)arn, otherwise Ernest P. Dawbarn, of Koi-«,i0urt' Cld Broad-street, London, but late of 'John V, coaI '"erchot. viou,slvy' i°^ < ;haucer-road, not Clarence-road, as pre- CharleH tt ised, Dulwich, Surrey, auctioneer's clerk. h'c-?Hsv1inr^ Newman, of East Margate, Kent, late ,?anies Vy, r<wer, now brewer's assistant. V Ti101.n 1I^.e^y» Eckington, Derbyshire, joined Robert agents' ° HIgher Traurnere, Cheshire, commission lir-,1?,1 Whittal-rer, of Market Vaults, Macclesfield, jn'^eirsed victualler. teasTHodg8f°?; of ^arfjngton, builder. 'Iraper G°nimercial-street, Newport, Monmouth- oirif,POC^r0^'n AllcTt0n' Qear Bradford, Yorkshire, and soap ash manufacturer. axletv^Ias011, of New-street, Deddington, Oxfordshire, ieemakeT. John Hon, ANNULMENTS, Oxford-1 an,"l Henry Castle, of Canon Wharf, Osney, 1874. builders; date of adjudication July 11th, JEdward -Kent ch111^6' ^oun^ Ephraim, Tunbi'idge Wells, AiuruW p,^°^st and druggist; date af adjudication 'h, l86y date of annulment March 5th, 1872. \y. p r LIQUIDATIONS. •^Sfroc'ej. Vails) Victoria-street, Dowlais, Glamorgan, i,liow 11 p.^nWr%' Ivy Bush Inn, and Ivy Bush Brewery, V". ijdvil, beerhouse-keeper. 7 ac^. a'I ^:wmbach, shop and Royal Oak Inn, Cwm- a,'(^ iivni erdare, Glamorganshire, grocer and dealer, V" ^H^Per- -C °rV of Maltsters' Arms, Swansea, public-house Bfaih ^merly a solicitor's clerk. k,eeper > Vivian Arms, Sketty, near Swansea, inn- r1: Grcen n hers, J^g^iioll, Brook Villa and Great Western Cham- agent, ani c°hiery proprietor, merchant, commission l- Evans( j? parrier. 'W- F. Davi^^Se-street, Neath, tailor and draper. J. Knight Is? Market-street, Pontypool, Mon., grocer. v» Gwyn' j^wishouse-street, Monmouth, nurseryman, licensed 'v; ?ptune Hotel, Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, ctualler. ()

l^^es^wnQ^The fourth entertainment of the present "der tl,. 1, I, on Thursday evening, at the Drill-hall, figure in the8i(leucy P- Justice. The principal r»ls dOT.„ ,e ^ork of the evening was singing, and in ^dei-ahi /_ce?J: the Ponthir Baptist Choir, under the iJJ oi Mr:j0llu Hushes, rendered efficient servi(?<?.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—FEIBAI. Their lordships met a five o'clock. THE EASTERN QUESTION. Lord STRATHEDEN and CAMPBELL gave notice that the form in which he should bring forward the mo- tion lie'had previously given notice of, and which now stood on the paper for Monday next, would be as fol- lows :-4." That a humble address be lusesented tOi Her Majesty, praying- that Her Majesty f9if.1 adopt such mea- sures as appear to be best calculated at the present junc- ture to prevent hostilities in Europe and to secure adher- ence to the Treaties of the 30th March and 15th April, as the Conference of London of January, 1871, has re-estab- lished them, aaid to promote the welfare of the races sub- ject to the Ottoman Empire." In reply to questions that had been put to him, he wished to. state that it was his full intention to proceed with this motion, the object being to prevent hostilities; the armistice being about to expire on the 1st March. EMPLOYERS AND SERVANTS. Earl DE LA WARIi called attention to the state of the law as it existed between employers and servants in connection with the subject of common employment, and having pointed out the difficulty which aroae as to pro- ceedings against persons in the position of superintendents under "companies,'under whose orders acts were done by other servants, but who were held to be merely fellow- servants in a common employment with those who had obeyed their instructions, he moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to enquire into the operation of the law, and whether any amendment thereof was desirable. Lord HOUGHTON asked whether it was intended to re-appoint the committee of the House of Commons which sat last year on the same subject. » Earl BEAUCHAMP stated that it was intended to re-appoint the Commons' Committee, and therefore it would be unnecessary to appoint the committee asked for by the motion. Of course the Commons' Committee would notdie asked to go over the ground they had aire :idy*fe$red. Earl COWPER hoped the question would not be shelved, but that the result of the labours of the com- mittee would be something really practicable in the way of legislation. Lord DUNSANY expressed a similar hope. Earl DE LA WAKR withdrew his motion, and the House adjourned at 5 minutes, to 6. i> —

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRIDAY. The Sneaker took the chair at 4 o'clock. THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. Mr M'ARTHUR gave notice for the 23rd of March to call attention to the unsatisfactory state of affairs in the Island of Ceylon in relation to ecclesiastical endow- ment,. Tn[, S0TJTH AFRICAN STATES. Mr COURTNEY intimated that on Monday he should ask the Under Secretary for the Colonies whether he would lay on the table the draft Bill by which the pro- posed confederation of the South African States was to be effected. THE PRISONS BILL. Mr CHILDERS announced that on clause 25 of the Prisons Bill he will move an amendment which will have the effect of amalgamating the existing convict depart- ments. THE COLONY OF SURIN AM. Lord GEO. HAMILTON, in answer to Dr Cameron, stated that the Indian Government had suggested, as a temporary measure, that 300 coolies should leave Cal- cutta for the Dutch colony of Surinam, and the Secretary of State had given his consent to the proposal by tele- -ib, gram. Withregard to the removal of the present embargoon emigration to that colony, the conditions under which the Indian Government would be prepared to remove the embargo had been communicated to the Dutch Govern- ment, and were at present under their consideration. THE JURY LAWS.. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, answering Mr Ser- jeant-Simon, said until progress had been made with the measures mentioned in the Queen's Speech he should not be in a position to state whether a question of such mag- nitude as the amendment of the jury laws would be dealt with in the present session. POLICE SUPERANNUATION. Mr CROSS, in reply to General Shute, said the com- mittee of last year on police superannuation after taking a great deal of evidence adjourned because they ^'ere in want of financial statements, which took a great deal of time to complete. The information was now ready, and in a few days the committee would be reappointed. NEW WRIT. Qn the motion of Sir W. HART DYKE, a new writ was ordered for the election of a member for Launceston, in the room of Mr J. H. Deacon resigned. THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE. Mr TREVELYAN moved a resolution that, in the opinion of the- House, the principle of open competition for first appointments which prevailed in the army and most of the public departments, should be extended to the Foreign Offices and the Diplomatic Service. Mr BO (LItKE opposed the motion, on the groimd that the work of the Department was extremely well done, and that there was no more valuable class of public ser- vants than those engaged in the Diplomatic Service. A Select Committee of this House, whilst strongly approv- ing of the general principle of open competition, had made a special and urgent recommendation against its being ap- plied to the Foreign Office and the diplomatic service. He also pointed out that these services were of an excep- tional character, and it was essential that there should be men of social position and high qualifications in order that they might be received at foreign courts and by the distinguished foreigners they would have to meet upon terms of friendship and equality. After some remarks from Mr Grant DuS: arl Percy, Sir G. Bowyer, Dr Playfair, the Chancellor of the Exche- quer, Mr Lowe, Sir H. D. Wolff, and Capt Nolan, the resolution was rejected by 159 to 112. SCOTCH BUSINESS. Sir GEO. CAMPBELL called attention to the neglect of Scotch business, which, he complained, during the present session, was generally taken after midnight. He did not so much mind, but it was a substantial grievance on the part of the Scotch members that, after being kept night after night to the small hours, nothing whatever came of it. He saw no signs of a better states of things cr this session. Mr CROSS said that he fully admitted the complaint of the hon. baronet, but the Government would endeav- our to redress it as far as lay in their power. The Prisons and other Scotch Bills introduced by the Govern- ment would be gone on with in their regular order. After some discussion, in, which Sir Anstruther, Sir E. Colebrooke, Colonel Alexander, Mr M'Laren, Sir Geo. Balfour, Mr M. J. Stewart, the Lord Advocate, Mr Anderson, Mr James Barclay, and Mr W. Holms took part, the subject dropped. THE BLOCK OF BUSINESS IN THE LAW COURTS. Mr O. MORGAN called attention to the block of busi- ness under the recent Judicature Act, and moved a reso- lution to the effect that there ought to an increase in the judicial staff. Mr MARTIN suggested a series of changes in the pro- cedure. After an ineffectual attempt to count out, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL attributed the block of business to the great increase in the number of causes. The Government was considering how it was to be met, and he suggested that a remedy might be obtained in a re-arrangement of the business in Juciges' Chambers^ and an increase of the judicial strength of the Supreme Court of Justice, especially iu the Chancery Division. Several Bills were advanced a stage, and the House adjourned at 12.40 a.m.

THE PEMBROKE AND TENBY RAILWAY. The report of the oiiwetors of this coiirfs:.ij V-, :The statement of accounts for the half-year ended 31st Decem- ber last showed an increase of £ 40115s lOd in the traffic receipts as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. There ha3 been a decrease of fi127 15s 6d in the revenue expenditure as similarly compared. Several of the works and collieries adjacent to the line have been partially closed", thereby considerably affecting the traffic receipts. The plans of the proposed extension to deep water at Hobbs' Point terminus, Milford Haven, have been prepared, and your directors are negotiating for the carrying out of the work. After providing for the interest on loan capital and all fixed charges your directors are enabled to declare a dividend for the half- year at the rate of four per cent per annum on the pre- ^erence shares of the company, carrying forward a balance of £ 13/ los 6d*to next account. This result compares with three per cent per annum for the corresponding half-year of 1875, and a balance of £92 10s 3d carried forward.

CARDIFF. BUTE DOCKS INVESTMENT AND LOAN SOCIETY.—'The fifth annual meeting of this society was held on Thursday evening at the offices, Consulate Chambers, Bute Docks, when there was a fair attendance of members. The secretary, Mr John Cousins, read the annual report, from which it appeared that from the formation of the society (April, 1871) to the present time, there has not been a single loss or bad debt of any kind. From the state- ment of accounts presented, it was shown that in the borrowing department there had been advanced this year the sum of 1:577 5s 4d, and it was stated that the society only required more capital to increase the amount to five times that sum. The gross profits during the year was £ 13 3s 2d, which enabled the directors, after paying the expenses, to declare a dividend of 9 per cent. for the whole year, carrying 21 15s Gd forward for the next year's division. In the investing department there had been received 2104 lis 6d during the year; the sum withdrawn was 215 4s lid, and the investments now amount to the sum of £31:6 1Gs id to the 31st of December, 1876. It was stated that if the investments could bo increased to £1000 (which might be easily employed), the profits would of course be considerably augmented. The members ex- pressed themselves higliiy pleased with the society's^ pro- gress, which enabled the payment of so good a dividend as 9 per cent. Several pledged themselves to increase the capital as much as possible during the coming year, so that the society's operations might be more widely ex- tended among working men, to whom it has been a great boon. ALLEGED UNSEAWORTHY SHIP.—At the borough police- court, yesterday—before the Mayor, the ex-Mayor, and Mr B. O. Jones-six seamen, named William Henderson, Donald McLeod, Samuel Harrison, James Bradley, Leveret Gray, and 'George Dunn, forming the crew of thehrig No Name, of Liverpool, were charged by the master with refusing to do duty on board that vessel. It appeared from the evidence of William Johns, the master, that the crew and officers consisted of ten persons. They signed articles at Liverpool for a voyage to Africa, the vessel being laden with coal, gunpowder, and paraffin oil. Soon after leaving Liverpool they encountered very bad weather. On the evening of the 20th the vessel passed through some heavy squalls, and shipped a good deal of water ùn the deck. Then the whole of the crew refused to proceed on the voyage, the man at the wheel left it, and he had to go to the helm himself. He could not manage the vessel alone, and he was obliged, therefore, to put into the first port. The men afterwards refused to pump the ship, and she was therefore turned into the Bristol Channel and brought up into the Penarth Roads. The ship was in good condition, and was classed at Lloyd's, in 1873, A 1. After the squall was over there was nothing in the state of the vessel to prevent her proceeding on the intended voyage. The mate, Job Williams, gave evidence respecting the state of the ship. He had been mate of her for many years, and after she righted he saw no reason ■why she should not have proceeded on the voyage. He admitted that at one time he did not like the look of the ship, but that was while the water was in her. The men handed in a long written statement respecting the con- dition of the vessel. They particularly complained of the deck, the water running through between the planks when they pumped her, and they could not consequently get rid of it. She was loaded six inches below Mr Plirnsoil's line, and was quite unfit to proceed on the voyage. When they encountered the gale on the 20th the water swept over the deck, filled the deck house, and the men, who were in their bunks, were floating about. Two of the bunks were broken down by the force of the water. During the gale the ship also would not answer her helm, and all of them went aft to the captain and asked him to run the vessel into some port as their only means of safety. After they had been at the pumps for an hour and half they sounded, and found 2i feet of water still in her. Much of this arose from the defective state of the deck. During the gale a cask of water and a tierce of beef were washed overboard. The men now refused to proceed, and asked for a survey of the vessel to be made, more especially with reference to the state of the deck. The bench, after hearing the statements of the men, remanded them till Monday, and directed a general survey of the vessel to be made in the interim. LARCENY.—Jane Thomas, a married woman, residing at No. 8, Evelyn-street, pleaded guilty to stealing two blankets and a pair of boots, the property of William Patterson. The prisoner lodged at the house of the prosecutor. On Monday the articles were missed, and the police subsequently found that they had been pledged by the prisoner at the shop of Mr Beimstein. Prisoner alleged that she intended to redeem as soon as she had the money. She was sent to prison for a month, with hard labour. STABBING CASE.—Nicolo Campi, an Italia5 seaman, was charged with stabbing another Italian seaman, named Lorenzo Fassera. Both parties belonged to the Italian ship Prospero Padre, lying in the East Docif. The wounded man was unable to attend, and was at present in the Hamadryad ship. Dock-constable Grist said that on receiving information of the stabbing, on Wednesday, he went to the ship, and apprehended the prisoner, who then admitted that he .stabbed the^ com- plainant. He took the prisoner afterwards to the Hama- dryad ship, where the wounded man identified him. He also identified a knife belonging to the prisoner as tne one with which he had been stabbed. Prisoner wished to state, the reasons for using the knife, but the bench remanded him till Monday, when the medical superin- tendent of the hospital ship believed that the wounded man would be able to appear. THE STABBING CASE IN WHITMORE LANE.—James O'Neal, who had been twice remanded on the charge of stabbing a man, named Grace, in a house in Whitaiore- lane, was again remanded, the injured inan being stiL unable to attend. MR OWEN DAVIES CHARGED WITH, PERJURI. — Mr Blelloch, on the part of William Thayer, cab proprietor, 33, Oxford-street, Roath, applied for a summons for perjury against Mr Owen ^Davies, Teigil-house, Newport- road. The application was heard on an affidavit made by William Thayer, that on the 21st February Mr Davies committed wilful and corrupt perjury in the trial of a case at the Cardiff County-court, before Judge Herbert, in which William Thayer sued Owen Davies for £ 115s Od cab -hire, and during the trial Mr Davies swore that Thomas Jones, his late clerk, was not his agent at the municipal election for Roath in the month of Isovein- bar last, and that the denial that the said Thomas Jones was a fact material to the issue of the case. Mr R. O. Jones asked if the statement so made was material. Mr Blelioch said it was. Mr Davies deliberately swore that Jones was not his agent, when it was well-known that he was Davies's authorized a gent. The denial was most material to the fact. Mr Jones said that the summons would he granted, but it would be necessary to give the defendant time to enable him to prepare his defence. Mr Blelioch said he should; be quite willing to give the defendant any assistance in that way which he required. The ex-Mayor: The case was dis- missed on the ground that it was an illegal contract. Mr Blelloch considered that the statement made by Mr Davies was material to the issue. It was then agreed that the summons should be issued; and the case heard on Friday next. TOWN COUNCIL.—An adjourned quarterly meeting of the council has been convened for Monday next. Two matters are to be brought before the meeting, viz.To consider the tenders for the erection of new buildings at the Town-hall; and to consider the plans of ths proposed imorovements from Custom House-street to Mili -lane.^ PRESENTATION.—In connection with the Mount laoor Primitive Methodist Sunday school, Moira-terrace, a valedictory meeting was held on Thursday evening, to do honour to Mr and Mrs Lewis, who are leaving ( amiii for Darlington, After tea, and a few opening remarks from the Itev J. Lee, who was -chairman Mr J. Kams- dale the superintendent of the school, 111 the name of the officers, teachers, and select classes, presented Mr and Mrs Lewis with a valuable testimonial, consisting of a silver tea and coffee service, all which was engraved an ai-iorooriate inscription. After a suitable repiy by Mr and Mrs Lewis, addresses were given by Messrs 117. Gardner W. Jenkins, and J. Moon, who expressed their hi-li appreciation of the invaluable services rendered by Mr and Mrs Lewis in connection with the school, church, and Band of Hope. The speeches were interspersed with appropriate sacred songs. The plate wa3 supplied by Messrs Hooper and Allen, Duke-street, where it 13 now on view. „ „ „ FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE DOCKS.-—Robt Grant,age 17, a native of Scotland, apprentice 011 board tne Parraca, of London, now loading m-the Bute Dock for Hong Kong, fell overboard on Friday afternoon and was drowned. CARDIFF IMPROVEMENTS.—If "T. whose letter on the Cardiff Improvements we printed on Tuesday, wU call at our office, he can have a set of plans, seat for lum by Mr J 1*^ • Gollett. THE HANNAH-STREET SOCIAL SOCIETY gave another ot the'r entertainments in the schoolroom on Wednesday eveniii0". Mr J. M. Dykes presided. The programme was select and varied. Pianoforte solos by Miss Batchelor, Miss Shut-e, and Master Evans were well rendered and much admired. Mr Willijyns (London), an old friend, gave two recitations, which were distinguished for their eloquence, pathos, and power. Messrs Webber & Bird delighted the company with their recitals. The songs and duetts, by Mrs Morgan, Miss Ellis, Miss Steuner, Miss Dykes, Miss Douglas, Miss Maddox, and Messrs Palmer and Powell, were well rendered. Coffee and buns were supplied to the company during the interval. COUNTY COURT. — In this court, on Thursday, Mr Judge Herbert heard an action brought by Mr Williams, butcher, against Mr Cordey, grocer, for £ 16, damage caused to plaintiff's horse in a collision that occurred on the Whitchurch-road, in November last. Mr■ J. H. Evans appeared for the plaintiff, and Sir Vachell for the defendant. William Thomas, apprentice to Mr Williams, said he was riding, 011 the 11th November last, from Whitchurch to Cardiff, It was dark and wet. He met two cabs about 80 yards in front of the spot where the collision took place. On meeting the defendant's vehicle witness called out, but the defendant's servant ran into him. Witness cried out that the shaft had struck his horse in the breast, but defendant's servant took no notice. The shaft knocked the horse down on its haunches. Mr vVilhams, the plaintiff, gave a description of the injuries sustained by the horse" He had refused :4;) for the horse three weeks before the accident. It was not worth above R-go now. He had had to buy another horse. Mr Vachell addressed the court and called George Whitmarsh, the defendant's servant' who was driving the trap at tne time of the accident. He had a lamp on the left side, no light 011 the right. He estimated tjjie rate at which the plaintiff's servant was "•oing along at ten miles an hour. He was on liis right side. A brakesman named Piller, also gave evidence for defendant, and the plaintiff was non-suited. ACTION ON A BUILDING CONTRACT.—Henry Parish v. Thomas Wills.—This action was brought to recover B35 on account of work done for the defendant in Severn- road, Canton. Mr Davies appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Vachell for the "defendant. Mr Davies opened the case by saying that the action was brought by the plain- tiff, a builder, against Thomas Wills, with whom he entered into acontraet dated August 12, 1876, to do cer- tain walling work. The walling work was to oe (tone m Severn-road, at a villa of the defendant's. The sum of £73 odd was owing originally, but £ 38 odd had been paid by the defendant, and a slight reduction had to be made on account of a clerical error. This brought the balance down to the amount claimed. The plaintiff^ said lie entered into the contract mentioned. He had six certifi- cates. Alderman D. Jones gave evidence on behalf of the plaintiff, and evidence having been also given by the defendant and his architect, the case was adjourned, in order that the parties -might settle the matter themselves, by arbitration. PROPOSED TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH LUNDY ISLAND.—At the meeting of the Associated Chambers of- Commerce, on Thursday, Colonel Hill, of Cardiff, pro- posed That viewing the vast and increasing importance of the shipping frequenting the Bristol Channel, the public convenience demands the extension of the tele- graph system to Lundy Island, and the establishment of a signal station thereon, and that a deputation from the associated chambers be appointed to wait on the Post- master General on the subject." Considering that over a fifth of the entire shipping of the United Kingdom passed up this Channel, the proposal might be regarded as one of imperial interest. The island was aboui eiglit- and-half miles from the mainland, and the vessels going lip Channel numbered something like 100,000 in 1870. Communication by cable from the island to the nearest land would be a very great convenience indeed at all times, but particularly during the westerly gales which prevailed to a great extent during the winter months, when both steamers aud a&UUw: vessels sppjetiwes kMd it convenient to run for the roadstead. The postal com- munication was very uncertain, it being carried on by small boats, and when vessels were sometimes compelled to lie here for several days, considerable anxiety which now prevailed consequent on their non-arrival at their destination would be obviated were telegraphic communi- ca^ion available. Lundy Island was also a pilot station, ana tne importance of their being able to communicate in :'obvious. They urged that they had a ngnt to ask the Government to consider this question because it had a monopoly of the telegraphs, fv?' ^oreover, he believed they could lay without loss to themselves. He had j LT JS'»^ ky the whole of the Cardiff merchants, ,llri 110 doubt the establishment of such a station M !l!e unanimous approval of traders of the HIAT/ 111 -e Channel. An additional reason which wnc fhnf hJf e matter to the Postmaster-General rfwprriTYioTif0-1*6 telegraphs came into the hands of the ■ t }vas contemplated by one, if not by two Tohn est;abiioh this communication.—Mr ino- that in sec°nded_ the proposal, remark- qi-,p rriiVl-if disaster to a ship in the neighbourhood Th?Mavm-1nmVeuSsls'aace mtatls telegraph. Mr Nicholson ■^f cjep0i0l'?Ir Iv^onk(member forGloucester) castllon?! °f Sunderland, and Mr Clapham, of New- i -J' supported the resolution, which was put "Paniniously.-In the courde of the day a f i upon' Lord John Manners, and urged Ltridv and fVty°f telegraphic cable between ■'i i.7 mainland. Lord John Manners, in reply, co«ld incur expense on urn ior,'n"v • "^pensions, but he suggested that the per- should ereStec\ guarantee that the State J. TT; ,er l°ss from the extension if it were matter lordship also promised to consider the emr t \T^-n i

,r T y y Jxiy £ Jjj -bef0;f Te^lSLrv rfMgh Yeo and Mr T(--y (Mr J- C. howler), Mr F. A. labo'T^r wi" fk' I^mg.-stone—James Charlesworth, a bv PC1' Trm-i Sfd with begging. The case was proved ",e senfcsncstl to 10 spertor^homasE"a\-e~e-^FS" case, in which In- serves was deposited ir th"°S' f ft 1>re" Railwav in w„ i tlle stores of the Great estern Lion Confectionery Wo' i fro% £ F" P^S' tol, came on a,wL fks,> Cheltenham-road, Bru- it had been mKrnti fday orW, for hear^' tion of the tins nf tlle further, examina- medical officer of hoaHb niferfrV-e'% 'SLTarately the now deposed that Davies). Inspector Thomas taining a number or tin V'" examined three boxes, con- street, at the railwav&Vf •)n°1U° n- Jones, of High- andoutof thatnumli feu Tney opened lo< tms, ther lot, sent to Mr A til8m Jad/ Ia ano: found 9 of the 30 bad' they examined 30 tins, and the Great We^ ern' T> were all at the stores at the sound tins" h,. aud WtTe separate from evidence of Inspector Vv -Uavies said he had heard the said that the preservesw°:ilaS' a confirmed it. He unfit for the food of man %lUXSQ?nd' \\mvholesome> the stores to examine ft i' he Stipendiary proceeded to said In this ifaonpVW™8' °n hk retm? he served fruit of some S d ^fc a laroe quantity of pre- from Bristol for consi^nA* P- <?oly Piums» had heen. se}lt custody of the Great \V 41U Swansea, and is now m the formation reached the Railway Company. In- fruit was not in good ;)ector °,f musallces that the of the railway authoriMo and,fie' Wlth tlie cr011seut specimens of tin boxes -°l)tained possession of some doubt that a lar^e the preserve. I have no a preparation of Jf1/11"-1011 of the tins ,coiltai\l and unfit for sab* wmch ls llow damaged eaten with safety Rr t -> use' and calulot J,e sale in any shop I am t • has not 5retbeen exposed for for its destruction m a position to make an order properly brought her* t samples, which were most turned to the comnJ, J the ,c°urt to see, may be re- arises as to the conf^arr">ii,*J)remises' .a dispute it may be settled i» n veen consl £ nor and consignee state of the fruit will LUfUli way-' 1<'At,lofnce. °,f knowledge that has been fruit, it ought not to h obtained of the state of the exposed it will be liable fx'lx)'1ed for-sale, and if it is so incurred. e seized, and penalties will be GAOL CLOTHING Tho of clothing (including + contract for the supply of suits warders of the Swansea pOp"C0ats> for the officials and again given to Messrs 2%-number, has just been outfitters, of Wind-streJt (inffiths & tailors and Griffiths executed ,lnauner m which Messrs faction that the task of^f?? ^3? otherwise would have beef 11 WaS S dlfhcult tlian l4: UNIVERSITY COLII-ts- op UNIVERSITY COLII-ts- understand that for the ,V\ALES (ABERYSTWITH).—We made in the various „u r weeks collections will be behalf of this colle t of worship in this town on YOUNG MEN'S CrJ?,°mmence 011 Sunday next, connection with th" NL N ASSOCIATION.—A soiree in Thursday evening h, i\ vf institution was held ou when there was a' ^oo.-i lf,. ia^e room of tlie building, gathering was to indr^ ti"1 e' llle ob;iect of tlie join the association the young men of the town to past considerably (lecrr-T ies** to the occasion were .l i'- After tea addresses pertinent the Rev. Mr Mo™ *Llve £ ed by the vicar of St. Mary's, and other gentlemen' T? • J°siah Mason (Wesleyan), were devoted to sino-'w jn.tervals between the speeches CONCERT AT THE °Mr- instrumental music. given on Tliursdav nl„u grand concert was known Jubilee SiLe HaU by the well- tawe Glee Party assisted by the Glan- unfavourable weatW desPlte the exceedingly Clara Lewis was V e was a good attendance. Miss part admirably ^eouipanist, and performed her Mr Thomas Liavies nr soadnefcor. on various occasions r/K 4T The JllbiIee singers have cause, and the T services so many a good for the purpose of entertainment was got up mnsic. The wa" chieflv composed of slave me- lodies, which were' ? vvas chiefly composed of slave me- amongst the pieces v. y the i,arty- noteworthy piece, which was mo^ ?ied bein° "March 0l1," a sacred Another piece which^ y;sung and vociferously encored. the melody, I ain't + the heartiest applause was evening was Th,> |)t;.«"eary yet," but the gem of the Matthjws and eioWng Party," rendered by Mr Harris, Mr B. { The other singers were Misas who were severallv °S' Reynolds and Mr Rees. tion, Miss Abraham en^orc(j- Mr Kendall gave a recita- the concert was a o-riT'40 orfce scdo3> and 011 tiie v,'hole TAKE your childwl Sl'^ss. at three o'clock t u0 le Music Hall this afternoon, panorama. It is 'a see, Hardy Gillard's American —J ADVT.] ^ograpuieal treat for old and young. TERMINATION OV r,, between the master h mFi Masons? STRIKE.—The dispute iaasons has, v.-s are of town and the operative settle' A meetui« f Jlear> at length been amicably on Thursday evenimr Masters' Association was held situation, and we" arf tlle Jeffrey's Arms' to discuss the they came to tho C\1T; Jul<.)rmed that after due deliberation the'men, the result ] 1011 to concede to the wishes of have been withdraw '^lat fcile new r;l'iCs of the masters Monday upon tli,> and the men will return to work on e °A<1 terms.

CONCERT. M K EXPORT. concert at the To^l 3v1t1rs v- Charles gave their annual always a syi»na<-h^ on Thursday evening. There is Charles, and on evinced by the public towards Mr nobility and gentrv of his concert, the leading There was a good 11' district accord their patronage. Mrs Valentine Cii^ i1"dailce- The party consisted of B. Spittle, coiitriH«lft\,rS0l)raiia E- Wilkes and Mr J. F. Rowe 1 ^essro Pullen and Morgan, tenors Mr Charles, conduct^ltoneJ; Mr Whitten, bass and the occasion was hi- ■ !>iauisfc- Tlle programme for stances the pieces 10usly selected, and in most in- delighted, a fact Well rendered. The audience was applause. Both i\r at ^waa manifested by the frequent encored. The rL,ifrse £ harles aiid Miss Wilkes ™ POLICE °*.™e concert was very gratifying. magistrate on tliP ]' £ r H' plillIll)S was the only was unusually ii„i! Deil £ h yesterday. I he charge-sheet being found on+lT GeorSe James was charged with Poweli's-place w'tl • 1 >ren»ises of Mr John Thomas, at sentenced to 14 dfto commit a felony. He was SPECIAL Meett^ lmPnsonment. there was a special 70T* CoraaL.-Yesterday purpose of receivi^ g of the tow:l 00,1 nei1 for tlic committee relati-e w? rXJ,ort fr?^ the Parliamentary Bill now be W -0 ewport (Mon.) Gas Company's George Fother^m v, 1;«'bament The mayor (Mr sent Alderman° I L^'i'r ded\ ™ were als° Pre- sent Alderman Lle.wellin Alderman rro'.vusend, Coun- cillors John Mosi p p' Alderman V.vnsend, Umn- Parnall, W. WW*' T G™ham,- Jas Ihompson, H. J. W. Jones, EnochSriffitf ^ur?ll& Jones, J Joseph Gibbs p, Senj.Lvans, A. R. Bear, that the Pariiam^ff 3 rep-?fu Presented it mended that «nanim«f-5 tVp G-i<! rv.>v, l b.ltlo:i be presented and icv^cd against rP„,i T,au.V s Bill on the 24th inst. The petition %V,{l i" f. object is to get a clause inserted in SfSS Xo 'f'1 the charged for gas shall be made ^.fsVd Ib^1"01^ the borougli, and that the maximum Ivl reduoed t 4„ per 1000 feet, the same as at # a'AvJa s>ea'«and other towns in the neigbourhood tional »pital also provided that the adcli- i- .the company should be first offered by r-^nr<- o ,l A nau T-lewellin moved the adoption o "'lir the corporation seal be affixed to -Iv-nHrm'{ iT* West Seconded the motion. Some ? .i *oLo\yed, and it was said that the only ob- 3ei? £ ?, n was to protect the interests of the ratepy lue motion was carried. On tiie proposi- tion of Mr Moses, seconded by Mr Parnall, the Parlia- mentary committee were authorised to take the necessary steps to gi\ e effect; to the petition, and to treat With the G » Thls was the business. j j. 0RKMAK PUBLIC HOITSE COMPANY.—The second ordinary general meetin,T of the shareholders in this company -was held at the°Coffee Palace, Queen's Buildings, N ewport, on Thursday evening. Mr E.J. Smith presided, and there were present Messrs J. D. Whittaker, J. Barter, J. Handford, J. Carver, N. J. Tregaskes, W. Garland, John Johns, B. W. Winter, and J. O. Wiltshore, directors Mr F. J. Heyborne, secre- tary and betweon 30 and' 40 shareholders. After the notice convening the meeting had been read, the chair- man moved the adoption of the report and statement of accounts, from which we abstract the following :—The directors had pleasure in reporting increasmg progress in the business of the comx>anv. The premises in which they were met had been purchased for tne- sum of £ 1J)50 and although a mortgage oil advantageous tprmc liJ been effected, yet they had been enaoled tr. » comMerable in rent. 11,e BritH, WoJk.nS i„ mnnJpii n-i end °f 'June last, and now recom- dec] aration of a dividend at the same rate for the hal -y ar ending 31st December, 1876, a further-addi- tion of 10 per cent to the reserve fund, and 5 per cent to tlie contingent fund. The books of the company bad Keen duly audited. Messrs J. D. Whittaker and J.* O. Wilt- shire were re-elected directors, and Mr James Carver was elected 111 the room of MrH. G. Llovd, who was unable to stand for re-election. Messrs C. Slade and George W. Flmt were re-appointed auditors. It was reported that upwards of 800^ shares had been subscribed during the past year, and it was earnestly hoped that the remainder of the shares would soon be issued, and thereby enable the directors to improve and extend the usefulness of the houses under the management of the company. The ac- counts for the British Workman as well as for the Coffee Palace are kept distinct, and in each case show a satis- 0 factory prosperity. The receipts from the former amounted for the year to £ 784 5s 2d, and from the latter to £414 9s lid. After declaring the dividend there is a balance carried to the general revenue account of £ 78 6s 10d. The results were highly gratifying to the shareholders. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH.—On ? site on Stow- hill, near the Newport Infirmary, there has been erected an iron church, or mission room. It is stated that the cost of this building, which is spacious and well designed, has been incurred by Mr F. J. Mitchell, the 'Squire of Llanvrecliva, and it is understood that the services to be therein conducted will be of a high Ritualistic order. By the evangelical party in the Church the building is looked upon with suspicion. It is to be opened on Sunday mom- ing by a celebration of the Holy Communion, to be fol- lowed by service at 11, 3.80, and 6.30 psm. The Rev Canon Hawkins, the vicar of St. Woollos (the old parish church), will preach the opening sermon, and the circular announcing that fact isjdated from St.fWoollos's Vicarage. It had low bean considered that the Ilev CAuiiu was deeply tinged with Ritualistic proctivities, and tht position he now assumes with reward to the new mission room will tend to strengthen the opinions prcviouslj formed.

KILGERRAN. NOVEL REJOICINGS.—On Wednesday evening, whet the news arrived here of the release of the six quarrymen charged at Haverfordwest assizes with wounding two servants of Mr T.i E. Lloyd, M.P., there was great re- joicing. All the available fuel, old coracles, &c., wera collected together and burnt in a bonfire. Some coraclet) were burnt on the tower of the ancient Castle, and hun- dreds paraded the streets shouting and singing. This con- tinued until about midnight.

DLAENRHONDDA. ANNIVERSARY. On Sunday and Monday last the Baptist Church in this place held its annual meetings, when the Rev. J. P. Williams, Ll.D., Rhymnev, aud the Rev. T. Humphries, Cwinaman, preached. The services were introduced by he Rev. J. O. GriffithS, Ton Ystrad, and the Rev. R. Evans, Treherbert. All tfee meetings were well attended, and a good sum was realised.

PONTYPRIDD. WATERWORKS COMPANY.—The ordinary half-yearly general meeting of the shareholders of the above company was held in the company's offices, Court House, Ponty- pridd, on Friday at noou. A dividend of 5 per cent was declared on all the old capital, and a sum of £208 was carried to the company's account.

NEATH. SOCIAL GATHERING OF SUNDAY SCHOOL TKACSKRS. A very large and interesting gathering of Sunday school teachers was held in Alderman Davies's schoolrooms, Neath, on Thursday evening. Tea was laid at six o'clock, to which about 400 sat down, the teachers presiding at the tables. At seven Divine service was held in St. David's Church, and a sermon preached by the Rev J. W. Jones, Vicar of Pontarduiais, and formerly one of the curates of the parish. A meeting of teachers and others interested in the work of Sunday schools was held aftei the service. The crowded schoolroom was filled with attentive and appreciative audience. The elixir WM taken by the rector. Prayer having been offered Dy the Vicar of Pontardulais, a most interesting and impres- sive address was given by Mr F. S. Bishop, of Swansea, upon "The work and management of Sunday schools." A vote of thanks was accorded* to the lecturer, and the proceedings soon afterwards terminated.

LOCAL LAW CASE. EDWARDS V. JENKINS. This case was heard recently before cellor Sir James Bacon. In the year 1875 the plaintiffs—Messrs Evan Edwards, William Samuel, and John Sherrington-filed a bill in Chancery against Messrs Wm. Jenkins, Thomas Price, and Jenkin Bowen, to restrain them from turning in cattle on the Lambethery moors during a- certain portion of the month of May. The plaintiffs and defendants were merely yearly tenants of the land (which is only about 36 acres), and the sole matter in dispute between them was the grazing of the land for 12 days in the year, yet the plaintiffs insisted upon this trivial matter being brought before the Court of Ohancfciy. At t hearing the plaintiffs were repre- sented by Sir Henry Jackson, Q.C., and Mr Crossly (in- structed by Messrs Morgan and Scott, solicitors, Cardiff), and the defendants by Mr Kay, Q.C., and Mr Badcock (instructed by Mr Thomas Rees, solicitor, Cowbridge). His Lordship gave judgment for the defendants, with costs, and in doing so severely reprimanded the plaintiffs for bringing so trivial a matter before the court.

A LOCAL DIVORCE SUIT. In the Divorce Division of the High Court of Justice, yester^sr^ the Right Hon. Sya I%mes llanu^u mon jury had Defore them the local suit of Bissex v. Bisset and Whittington, which was the petition of the husband, a farmer residing at Holcombe, in Somerset- shire, for a dissolution of his marriage on the ground of the adultery of his wife with the co-respondent The co- respondent answered, and pleaded condonation and cruelty. Mr Searle was counsel for the petitioner, and Mr Bucknill for the co-respondent; there was no appearance for the respondent. It appeared that the parties were married at the registrar's uffice, Cardiff, cLu the 9th of Septe^iijje1- l&'jkj* arret afterwards grrfrj I?, ed at tne petitioner's rarm. m March last year the petitioner noticed that his wife was in a desponaing humour, and on asking the cause of it the respondent told him that she was enceinte, and that the co-respondent was the father of the child. On hear- ing this the respondent went to see the co-respondent, who did not deny it, but wanted to come to some compromise in the matter. The petitioner was called, and bore out this aspect of the case, and the novel proceeding of calling the respon- dent on behalf of the petitioner. This, however, was done in the present instance, and Mrs Bissex denied ou he rmth that her kosfcaftd was gtrffty of croefty 0." hei, and stated that until she knew the co-respondent the home was a happy one. A different story to this was, however, told by wit- nesses on behalf of the co-respondent, and as the result the jury, whilst finding for the petitioner, did iiot,give any damages. Sir James Hannen then pronounced a decree nisi for s divorce with costs, and approved of the action the jury had taken in not awarding damages.

IMPORTANT ADM53ULTY Cj.EE. DAMAGES £ 900. At the "Cardiff County Court, yesterday—before Judge Herbert, assisted by Capt. Pengelly, R.N., and Mr S. D. Jenkins, as nautical assessors-an action was brought by the owners of the Providence, of Bridgwater, against the owners of the Norwegian barque Carll Angell, to recover £ 900, the value of the Providence and her cargo, which was sunk off Morte Point on the evening of the 22nd of January, through the alleged negligence of those on board the Carll Angell. Mr Ingledew appeared for the owners of the Providence, and Mr T. H. Stephens for the owners ? fee Carll An^i-IL It appeared that the Carll Angell is a barque of 490 ton? register, and was iaden with 950 tons of coal, and bound jor Havanua. She sailed from Cardiff on the morning of the 21st of January, in charge of Elias Morgan, aii old and experienced Cardiff pilot. All went well until about 7 o'clock on the night of the 22nd, when she was near Morte Point. The night was dark, with a moderate breeze blowing from the S.S.E., the vessel at the time sailing W.S.W. After clearing the Point the vessel was put a little more to the westward, and soon afterwards the look-out man called out, "Red lights at starboard bow." The lights appeared &-> be«i>t/iSS half-a-mile off. The pilot ordered the helm to be put "a-port," and almost immediately afterwards "hard-a- port," the pilot himself going to the wheel to see that this was done. In a few minutes the look-Ol1t man called out, "Green lights on port bow," and almost immediately the Carll Angell struck a ketch, which afterwards proved to be the Providence, of Bridgwater, which was coming up the Channel on the way to Cardiff. The ketch, it was be- lieved, was only sailing about three knots an hour, hav- ing the wind against her, while the Carll Angell, having the wind fair, was sailing from six to seven knots per hour. The ketch was low down in the water, and the force of the collision was such as to cause her to fill rapidly, her starboard quarter being cut down, and in a few minutes she sank. She had oil board a crew of four hands. The captain and two oi the men succeeded in_ getting on board the Carll Angell, but one of the crew sank with the vessel, and was not seen afterwards. The master of the Carl Angell, on being informed that one ol the crew was missing, hove his vessel to, and remained at the place where the collision occurred all night, but no trace of the missing man was observed. On the following morning the capOain and two of the crew were put on board a Cardiff pilot boat, and brought back to Cardiff, while the Carll Angell put back. for repairs, having re- ceived damage to the extent of about £100. Those OD board the Carll Angell ascribed the collision to the mis- management of those on board the ketch, as the collision, they contended, must have been avoided had she kept her course when the helm of the Carll Angell was put "hard a-port." The crew of the Providence, however, alleged that the barque ought to have kept on her course, and the effect of putting her helm "hard a-port" was to bring her into collision with the Providence. The course they were steering, N.N.E., would have taken her quite clear of the Carll Angell. A number of witnesses were examined ou each side, and the judge and the nautical assessors after- wards retired to consider their decision. On the court being re-opened the Judge said that tha nautical assessors and himself had had considerable dis- cussion, but they had arrived at the unanimous conclusion that the Carll Angell was entirely to blame, having, in the opinion of hiinself and the nautical assessors, ported her helm at^ a time when glie ought to have kept her conrse. This should have been done when they saw the red lights, but in some mysterious way the helm was put "hard a-port when the other vessel was close by. As. the ketch was only going at half the speed of the barque, it would have beeii perfectly impossible for her to have got into tne position which brought about the collision. There was also an inconsistency in the evidence of the captain and pilot of the Carll Angell, but there was not that inconsistency on the part of the witnesses for the Providence. The court, after looking at all the circum- stances of the case, condemned the Carll Angell in the costs of the damages. Mr Ingledew applied for costs in the case, which were also allowed.

HORRIBLE MURDER AND SUICIDE IN BIRMINGHAM. [SPECIAL TELEGRAM.] Last night a young man named John Nicholson, whose friends reside in South Lancashire, murderec Minnie Fantham, a woman with whom he cohabited, and then destroyed himself. The woman was the wife of a publican of Birmingham, and about a fortnight ago she; went to live with Nicholson at a house of ill-fftme in Navigation-street. During the last day or two she excited his jealousy by bringing other men to the house, and yesterday afternoon, after a quarrel, they went together to their bedroom, and a few hours afterwards the woinan was found on the floor dead with her throat cut, and the man sitting in a chair with a frightful wouuc in his throat. He died at the hospital a few minute; after admission. The tragedy was perpetrated with. clasp knife.

As though modern design had almost exhausted itsel we find our manufacturers of all classes of fancy good- going back to the past for models and designs. We wrer struck most forcioly with this the other day in lookinj through a splendidly illustrated catalogue of the furni ture manufactured by Messrs LAVERTOX & Co., of Bristol Some of the most elegant and beautiful design? foi modem furniture there published bear decided marks ot antiquity, which are so nicely blended with modedr design, and executed, no doubt, by such clever workmen that may be said to have arrived at the highest perfeo^j'1 in the art of furniture designing and manufacture. V4 understand that this interesting catalogue, obtained free by post on applicatoa.—(Al>vT lvJ S146— 320.1

THS [ONLY EFFECTUAL CURE; FOR Is MTLBURN'S PATUNT CHIMNEY COWL, WHIC^.JTH EOPJV? 'B 9?"; tinualiv revolrhw noiselessly, being ^complete £ 3 10s xS with oil 111 wliieli the swivol works. P;3 ^„.onts l builder mac- tlieai. Robhins Mid *8Ulls' Cardiff. FN RECTORY, BHAFT^RRR** THE RKV J, VETBFT, AS a WAST ratine FWI writes 1 rag-ard the glveiut, without a sir.o-ie Mixture, tuid ^1! wUorn.en^t from its use, r-noroRiNV' S tion, have derived p oghs, Asthma, Bronchitis, and all ahn* warranted to euro uections," Prepared hy SMITH A rv throat, and iw Or ALL CHESTS, U, Chemists, Li- sent aaivwhti-a. 4a W-aiuJ