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nr Joitton CwmgunbmJ.
nr Joitton CwmgunbmJ. '^s'* '•o state that we do net at all times ■icEury ourselves with cur Correspondent's opinions.] It is a healthy sign of national vitality when states- men members of Parliament-between whom there I'Vaometimes a wide difference—address public meetings « curing the long interval between session and session. No cour.Vty in the world can erliibit anything like our r-olitical and social gathering*. The session is noi; ions enough for the discussion of public topics, and Tight hon. and hon. aiexc^-r^ freely indulge in friendly intercourse* with constituents during the recess. Foreigners envy us in this matter, and certainly it is one of these national cha- racteristics on which we can reasonably congratulate ourselves. We have lately had, amongst many other, speeches from two members of the Cabinet, the Hon. R. Lowe and the Right Hon. W. E. Forster. Politicians of different schools mayenterhin diverse opinions of these speeches, but it will at all events be freely admitted that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Vice-President of the Privy Council hava given us much to talk and think about, and some of us something to write about. Mr. Lowe's practical, common-sense remarks on strikes and the labour market must be generally agreed with, and working men would do well to take them to heart; while his •tf views on national funds and the demands for local expenditure appear to me to be thoroughly sound. Why should money voted by the ratepayers of the TJnVced Kingdom be devoted to the Irish fisheries, or to a privatelyconducted search after Dr. Livingstone, or the purchase of a part of Spping Forest ? Let each locality pay for its local improvements and the development of its pecolar in. dustries, and let national funds be devoted to national purposes. Mr. Forster may well be excused for dwell- ing a good deal on the Ballot, as he took so active a part in the bill, but I should not be excused were I to dilate upon it; nor should I be pardoned were I to dwell on that well-worn theme the Geneva arbitration, which it is a treat to have done with. There is one topic which no public speaker seems now able to avoid, and that ia the labour question. Mr. Forster think. that there is now a better feeling between employers and employed than formerly. Many will not agree with him, but his opinion is at all events valuable, and I hope he is in the right. Speaking of the labour question as affecting the land, Mr. Forster made a statement which will naturally be regarded, rightly or wrongly, as a straw which shows which way the minis- terial wind blows. He thought it would be one of their first duties in Parliament, he said, to take away the obstacles which prevented some landlords from doing their duty by an amendment of the land laws. Significant this. Yes, I believe that the land question is gradually coming to the fore. A&the election of Lord Mayor is a matter in which the great metropolis itaelf, outside the precincts of the City, takes but little, interest, it is not likely that people farther afield* will care much about it; but these were two matters referred to in the speech of the gentleman who proposed Sir Sydney Waterlow that are of general interest. The Lord Mayor elect was asked whether he would endeavour to promote technical education by means of the action of the Livery companies, to which he replied that he could do very little to promete technical educa- tion unless the Livery were prepared to follow where he led. I venture to say that there will be very little leading or following. Technical educa- tion is a great want of the times, and our mechanics and artisans are discovering, through the force of foreign competition, that somehow or other such education most be promoted if they would stand their ground. But the less they depend on the livery companies of London the better. There is another im- portant point. Mr. Camp the proposer of Sir Sydney Waterlow, speaking of the livary guilds of the City, said that if the action of these cor porations had been revived, the strides which had been so common of late, and which oad been in many re- spects attended with serious results, both to trade and to masters and workmen, would have been speedily brought to an end, or if there had been any re- cognised public body to exercise a wholesome in- fluence over them." Whether these livery guilw, however, under any circumstances, could exercise this influence may well be doubted. Their constitution, and even existence, are opposed to the spirit of the times. But what confidence, let me ask, would our working men have in the "wholesome influence" that came entirely from one aide, that of the masters ? What we really want, and what we ought to have, is a council of arbi. tration, composed of equal numbers of masters and employed, on the principle of the osnscils de hommu that have worked so well in France. Such boards of arbitration as these would have prevented many a strike that has otherwise taken place. Atime-worn adage tella ns, salus populi suprema le31,. or, in plain English, that the health of the people is the highest object of law; but then the peipla ought to aid their lawgivers in carrying out good laws. It is to be feared that we are rather apathetic in this duty. For example, last session the law relative to the adulteration of food, drink, and drugs was amended, imposing heavy penalties both for adulteration and for selling adulterated articles. The city of London has Bet a good example in making preparations for the appointment of an analyst—which is something like ordering the coals, to light the furnace, to set the machinery going. Tfif Act leaves it to town councils, vestries, &c., to appoint analysts, without whom nothing can be How many analysts throughout the kingdom have yet been appointed? I cannot say that none have been appointed, but I have heard of none, and certainly very little has been done on the part of the people who suffer so much from adultera- tion to put the Act in motion. This is much to be regretted. It is well to bear in mind that for twelve years the Adulteration Act of 1860 remained a dead letter, simply because local authorities would not put it into operation. We ought not to have a second failure in respect to a really good law. There are some rather curious episodes in the any- thing but co abort and simple annala" of the contest between Capital and Labour. From the Continent we have heard of the priests in one town striking for an inerease of pay for saying masses. In OIl. large pariah in London the rate-collectors, inspectors of nuisances, road sweepers, and other classes of parochial employes, ate demanding an inerease of pay. The rate-collectors want £340 a year instead of £265. The metro- politan police also want an increase of wafea, and they are told that to grant this an application to Parlia- ment will be necessary. This just shows how all these demands ultimately press upon us poor taxpayers. Sooner or later the public have to pay. But the most conous fact of all is that a number of coal-miners at a certain colliery have refused an advance of Is. a day, stating that since the last advance the ceal-masters have raised the price of coals 7s. a ton—another instance, by the-way, of the public having ultimately to suffer for these increased demands. The men, it seems, resolved, co the masters be asked to take the last advance off the price of coal, and take back the shilling." This is the most amusing thing that I have heard in refer- ence to theae labour movements, and it certainly does honour to the men. And apropos of coal, I am glad to observe that the prices of coal and iron are coming down. This mast tend to the lowering of prices in many other departments of industry. Is it not rather a strange display of pon er—or weak- ness for 500 men to meet in Hyde Park on a Sunday to promote the emigration of 45 ? This really appears to have been the chief object of this monster demonstra- tion. True, the resolution which was passed contained a protest against the London and North Western Com- pany for refusing to submit a dispute to arbitration but øtill the aiding of these 45 men to emigrate was the only practical object of the demonstrators. And perhapa it would be well if other men on strike or in dispute with their employers would also adopt the system of mutual help towards emigration. The agricultural labourers have to some extent done this, and the position of this class, here and in the colonies, has been, so far, improved fey it. The building operatives might do well to consider whether they ahould not do likewise. Some little time since it was officially stated on their behalf that one tenth of their number was per- manently unemployed. Then why not aid them to go where building operatives would be better appreciated and more highly paid ? Any time during the past twelve months we have had complaints either in or out of Parliament as to the scarcity of silver. It cannot be disputed that these complaints are well grounded. Especially short are shillings and sixpences, and many of the latter are so worn that they have become mere discs of silver with no image or fffii "rscription visible. Where the fault lies I am "tot clever enough to decide, but I feel confi- dent th*: ro are aeveral private firms who could and wonid very much faster than the Royal Mint. There is no comparative scarcity of half-crowns and florins, as any one may observe on making a small pur- chase and changing a sovereign. Hiø change will fre- quently consist almost wholly of these coins. But I suppose it will all come right is time, and the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer assures us that the Mint work- man are now doing all they can to remedy the evil lthat is to say all that a Government department can be expected to do). An appeal is made to the public, by advertisement, to anbscribe.for the establishment of a National Opera under limited liability." It certainly is strange, but no less strange than true, that national opera has never succeeded in this country. We pay extravagant salaries to Italian vocalists; we produce foreign operas at enormous expense; and to visit the Italian Opera is de rifftmr; while sometimes we hare two opera houses going at once, more or less successfully. And ] yet English opera never succeeds. Whether a limited liability company will be able to accomplish what private enterprise has failed in remains to be seen; but I take leave to doubt it.
r"STRUCK BY A SEA."
"STRUCK BY A SEA." A Philadelphia gentleman, an old traveller, has furnished to the New ]- ork Nautical Gazette an interesting naraiive of a voyage from Liverpool to New Ynk, on board the steamship Republic, in the earlier part of the year. In the course of his story he says :— The storm increased until nine o'clock the next day, when we were struck on the port side by a sea. I had many a time talked of being struck by a sea' just as of shipping a wave, but from that moment, and henceforward for the remainder of my .life, I received a new impression of what this term means. Without such experience I have thought of water as a yielding element—something that would rise and wash across a ship, but it had never entered mv mihd that to be struck was like having tons of sulid matter hurled against the ship like the from a cannon. As I said, we were struck from the port side, amidships, opposite the ream saloon; along this side, on the sofas, were seated about one-half the passengers then in the saloon, say eight to ten. The plating at this point is about seven-eights of an inch thick, and the fra-nicg some eight inches deep, and, notwithstanding, this side was struck with such force that the passengers were knocked from their seats like cork balls. My friend, Mr. Rogers, of Cincinnati, was projected' over the top of the port dining table and under the central one, receiving asevere contusion onhis head and a serious injury inhis right leg. The dead lights were forced in and a flood of water followed the passengers across the saloon. I happened to be on the other side at the time, and seeing that the side was not actually stove in, I went to the assistance of the chief steward, a brave, determined man, and tried with him to secure the dead lights by putting down the safety shields; we succeeded, except in one, where the frame was crushed and bent. The frames are about one inch thick, lfc inch wide, with slotted bolt lugs two inches wide, and these lugs were bent like hooks. A strong man could not, with a sledge, have struck a blow that would have had the same effect. This was being struck by a sea. As soon aa the excitement in a degree abated I went to the top of the companion-way, and could not, after a warning from the offieers, resist the temptation of thrusting my head through the shattered door to see what I could of the effects on the ship. That one glance was enough the rail was gone, boats were strewed over the deck in splinters, the davits, five inches diameter were wrenched from their sockets, and swinging over the side. The coupe had been changed a little, so as to bring the weather on the starboard side, or else no one could have ventured to have made even so hasty a recon- noisance while up there I learned of a new horror— that the engine skylights were stove in, and the seas were breaking into the engine-room. It was deter- mined to tarpaulin the engine hatch, and Captain Williams, with some half-a-dozen of the miserable sailors went out on the deck. Fixing life lines for safety and retreat, they made their way forward and secured a heavy tarpaulin, which was [dragged back, and, for- tunately, was secured over the hatch, and the men, except Captain Williams, safely housed before we were again struck. Just as he had completed his dan- gerous task a sea went over, eatching and carrying him against the funnel stay ana then against the funnel itself; he dropped down apparently a lifeless mass, and the men, who esteemed him for his bravery, went to his rescue, and, after waiting their chances between seas for some ten minutes, got him into the companion-way, and carried him downstairs to the mam saloon. I had never seen such a sight before, and hope I never shall again. It was another proof of the force of the sea, a further explanation of the meaning of 'being struck;' the man was literally crushed; the blood flowed from his ears, mouth, and nostrils, his thigh was broken in two places, and his ribs crushed on one side. A powerful man, weighing over 200100., crushed like an insect by the sea 1 This cast a new gloom over the passengers, while the hurri- cane increased. The seamen hid in the stoke-hole and elsewhere; strong men, used to storms and dangers, gave up hope. It appears as if everything was swept from the decks. The wind no longer conveyed an idea or moving air, but of a moving solid that swept all b fore it. Through that dreadful night that succeeded moae slept the sea broke over the saloon decks, and the water came down the companion way in tons; the stewards bailed, and attempted to keep it out of the saloon, but could not. The skylights over the state- rooms were in several places stove in, and in one case room occupied by two ladies was filled to a depth of several feet. One lady went into hysterics, and re- quired several men to hold her.' At seven o'clock in the morning we were again struck by a sea on the port bow. It seemed as if the whole forward pwt of the ship had been torn away. She apparently offered no more resistance to this terrific power than would- a pasteboard box. We could not realise that the hull was twisted, and that the whole structure had passed through what be boat termed a convulsion. This was the most severe shock of all, and had it, like tha former one, been abreast the saloon, the effect would have been more terrible still. This was the last heavy stroke we experienced. The glaes went up, and twenty-four hours later we coul I go on the saloon deck to see the devastation around us. It was terrific. But one boat out of eight was left, and it was stove. The fragments of the others Were lodged about the deck, but none so large that a man could not handle them. The funnel stays were parted, the combing about the funnel was parted from the deck, and nearly the whole of the railing was lost or hanging over the sides; and, strangest of all, and to me the greatest evidence of the force of the sea, the mizen boom, of hard pine, 12 inches in diameter, was crushed aa though it were a reed. Nothing but water could have struck it, and, considering the elasticity of the beam and its attachments, with its capacity of resisting transverse strain, it was hard, indeed, to conceive that it was broken by the sea, but we were no longe scepti- cal."
THE EMIGRANT DEPOT AT NEW…
THE EMIGRANT DEPOT AT NEW YORK. An Amateur Emigrant," writing from New York, Sept. 14, has sent the f llowiag sketch to th3 Daily New*:— The premises at Castle Garden are well situated for the purposes of a landing-place for emigrants. To its wharf they are brought directly, by barge or tag, and are directed, ushered, or driven into the Rotunda, a large roofed circular building, in the centre of the Depôt, about eighty feet high, capible, with the galleries round it, of holding between four and five thousand people. The Rotunda is well lighted and ventilated, and in the winter well warmed. There are separate compartments for English speaking and other nationalities, and the first thing the emigrant has to do is to pass along a narrow passage, be- tween desks, to the Registering Department, where his name, country, business, former residence, and destination are taken down. Passing along in single file, the emigrant reaches the office, that is to say, the desk of the railway companies. Here, at the lowest possible rates, he can procure tickets to all paits of the United States and Canada, and avoid the chance of extortion so often met with outside the In OaN emigrants wish to depart immediately, they and their baggage, labelled and checked, are conveyed by ferry boat—a waiting-room for which is built on the wharf, out of which you walk on to the deck—and without any extra charge to the railroad or steam- boat t Having been registered, and having ob- tained his railway ticket (if needed), the emigrant is left on the flo *r of the Rotunda, still locked in,, how- ever, by the high paling. On the walls he sees notices in nearly every European language, telling him of the Money Exchange, the Post- office, the Telegraph-office, the Information and Letter- writing-office, the Labour Exchange. Small handbills and cards of boarding-house keepers, and notices and cautions respecting sunstroke, arc hung on. the pillars. A restaurant bar furnishes him with plain, well-cooked food at reasonable prices. He may also procure tobacco and cigars (the latter very vile, however), and pass the time away without fear of the order, "Put that pipe out," so often heard in England. If he wishes to change his gold and silver into United States currency, he does so at the best advantage. To guard against the possibility of extortion, the market rates and the daily fluctuations of foreign exchange are marked on boards conspicuously placed, and the broker is required in every case to give a written memorandum in the emigrant's own language of the transaction. He will find every convenience in the way of washing-rooms, &c. When all the passengers of the ship have been registered, &c., an officer ascends a rostrum and calls out the names of thoee who have friends attending them in the waiting- room at the entrance of the to whom they are directed. At the same time he calls out the names of those for whom letters or funds are waiting. Emigrants may write letters or post them at the office, or, if un- able to write, they are directed to the letter-writing department, where clerks, understanding all the Con- tinental languages, are in attendance. At the Tele- graph office he can send the news of his arrival to his friends. Missionaries and representatives of every re- ligions body are admitted to the floor of the Rotunda whilst these proceedings go on. The delay now gets tedious to many, and a cry is raised to open the gate. It is opened, but only to ad- mit the licensed boarding-house keepers, who rush in and tout in every language. These boarding-house keepers, however, are subject to careful supervision, and every precaution is taken to guard the emigrant against imposition, as they are required, when obtain- ing a customer, to deliver to him a card setting forth their nam") and address, and the prices in gold and paper money charged for board and lodging by the day or week, and for each meal and night's lodging. They must also furnish a bill setting forth the charges for board. &c., before receiving payment, and they must make a daily return to the Superintendent of all passengers taken out of the Depôt. In the mean- white the baggage has been taken from the tug or barge and stored in the baggage-room. By an excellent system the thousands of trunks and boxes are distin- guished and delivered pafely to their respe ;tive owners. A brass ticket with a letter of the alphabet, and a number from 1 to 600, has been delivered to the emi- grant on board the ship after the Customs examination, and the duplicate is fastened to his piece of baggage. The trunk or box on landing ia placed in the baggage- room, which has bins corresponding to the alphabetical letters, and each bin holds six hundred numbers. The gate is at last opened, and a rash made for the outside.* When in the courtyard the first object that strikes the emigrant's eye is the Hospital, which has a resident house physician and nurses, and is designed for the rEr ception of any who may be ill on arrival, or suddenly attacked after landing. The emigrant wishing to remain m the city or vicinity takes his brass checks to the office of the Express Company, ju it outside the Ro- tunda he gives the address to which he will have his luggage sent, and receives a printed piper in exchange for his checks a baggageman at once goes to the bin indicated by the letter and number 011 the ticket and finds the required articles, which are delivered in any part of New York, Brooklyn, or Jersey for a charge of 40 cents, each. Those destined to go by rail will have, as previously stated, already delivered their checks at the railway office, and received other checks to their destination without charge. If an emigrant possesses money or valuables which he does not wish to take with him into a strange city, he may leave them in the office of the Superintendent. A large one-story building has to be passed before reaching the gate this is the Labour Exchange. 1 Each emigrant desiring a situation is requested to enter his or her name, date of arrival, ship, and character of employment; and here they come, day after day, until their object is gained. In the centre of the floor a space has been railed off for the use of employers, who are all required to enter their names, residence, recommendation, reference, and description of labour wanted. On one side are seated the male emigrants, some under the head of Farmers," others Trades; on the other the females, who are nearly all house ser- vants. The number provided with employment last year by this offioe and its agents at Albany and Buffalo was nearly 30,000. We have traced the emigrant from his arrival at Castle Garden to his departure; this is supposing that he has means of present livelihood; but should he be a pauper, or suffering from sickness, if able to bear re- moval, he is taken care of and sent in a boat which leaves Castle Garden at 1 p.m. daily for th;, refuge and hospital on Ward's Island, the greater part of which has been purchased by the Commissioners. It is situated in the East River, some six miles dis- tant, but connected by telegraph with the chief Depôt. Here a'so those who at any time within the five years for which the commutation is made become destitute, are entitled to a home. The new hospital, called the "Verplanck," after the late President of the Commission, is a very fine build- ing—during the last year nearly 8,000 cases were re- ceived near this is a plain building, the Refuge," which receives destitute emigrants in health, men, women, and children the sexes, of course, are divided. Next to the Refuge is the Lunatic Asylum, for the reception of pauper emigrant lunatics. On the island invalids are treated till they are well; paupers kept until their friends are communicated with, cr em • ployment found them; and the lunatics, alas perhaps kept till death. And thus we see the emigrant is protected, advised, and assisted on his way; help is given him to obtain employment ? if sick, he is cared for if destitute, clothed and fed—and all this without costing the State one farthing. Everything is paid for out of the commutation money, one dollar and a half per head. That is to say. out of .£6 6s. I paid for my steer- age passage, 6s. has gone towards the maintenance of this admirable institution—admirable in its conception, and admirable in the way it is worked. In spite of the vigilance of the Commissioners and the Castle Garden officials, some people will not be protected, and consequently fall amongst thieves. For the litter, if caught, there is speedy retribution. I will conclude with the following extract from the speech of Judge Bedford, when charging the grand jury a few days ago; and I hope his words will be read across the Atlantic, as a proof that the great American nation and the State of New York desire in every way to succour the poor emigrant from the Old World: Gentlemen, I desire also at this time to call your attention to a class of criminals known as emigrant swindlers, be- cause at this season of the year thousands of poor emigrants are flocking to our shore* to better their condition. They flee from unrequited toil in Europe to the more remunera- tive labour fields of America, arriving here in many in- stances almost penniless, and always friendless I hold that the man so devoid of all principle and depraved in heart as to rob these poor strangers is base enoaght to commit almost any crime. Therefore, if any such cases come before you, I hope you will act speedily in the premises, and your efforts to stop thia cruel and nefarious business shall meet with hearty co-operation from the District Attorney and myself, and any such case shall be punished promptly and to the lull extent of the law.
THE FATE OF AN ESTATE.
THE FATE OF AN ESTATE. The announcement of the death of Mr. Charles Hallowell Carew, at the early age of 43, created no little surprise and regret among the numerous circle of friends and acquaintances to whom, when last seen in public, his stalwart figure and .healthy physiognomy spoke of freedom from disease and length of days. But he had long been succumbing to a general breaking-up of the system; and be had not been seen on a race- course, or among any of those haunts where he was such a well-known figure for nearly two years. No one began life more brillantly than Mr. Carew; and, as the owner of Beddington-park, near Epsom, a fine estate, second to none in the county of Surrey, with almost unlimited command of money, the prospect looked fair enough for that voyage where youth is at the prow, Unfortunately, with many popular qualities, open-hearted and generous to a fault, Mr. Carew was lacking in the one great essential of common prudence, and so contrived, by lavish expenditure and most unbosiness-like habits, to squander his ample fortune and leave his patrimony to strangers. Entering the army at an early age, after a year or two in an infantry regiment he ex- changed into the 2nd Life Guards, and in 1819 com- menced a turf career which terminated with the break- ing down of Delight, almost in the moment of victory, in the Chester Cup of 1866. That was about the best horse Mr. Carew ever had—perhaps, indeed, the best of his year, and he might have won the Derby if he had been in it. Saccharometer was his next best; for though he gave 12,000 guineas for Yellow Jack and C Toner, the former could but get second toFazzoletto in the Two Thousand, second to Ellington in the Derby, second to One Act in the Chester Cup, and second to Roger- thorpe in the Goodwood Cup. Mr. Carew was fond of steeplechasin?, and won the Liverpool in 1852 with Miss Mowbray. Other great cross-country performers he had, too—British Yeoman, Shakespeare, Cortolvin, and going back for a moment to the flat, we must not forget how near, in connexion with his friend Lord Poulett, he was to landing the Cambridgeshire with her in 1865, when she was only beaten by a neck by Gardevisure. Fortune—that is, turf fortune—did not smile on him often, it must be confessed, and the large expenses of a stud, hunting, and shooting, of which he was passionately fond, combined with babits of careless profusion, prepared the way for the inevitable end. Soon the broad acres and the stately avenues of Beddington melted away. We believe nothing was left at last, and poor Mr. Carew died at Boulogne on the 17thnit. with scarcely a sixpence that he could-call his own. It was a sad end for one who had entered upon life blessed with all that is commonly supposed to make life worth the having.—The Field.
RELIGIOUS TENDENCIES of the…
RELIGIOUS TENDENCIES of the AGE. Bishop Temple presided over a meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, at Exeter, on Thurs- day, in last week. Remarking on the spirit of the age, be said everything was called on to give an account of itself—old customs, old pursuits, and old faiths, too, were required to show why they held their place; were asked what fruits they could produce to justify their re- maining as standing trees in the Garden of God and why they should not be cut down as cumbering the ground—not because they had no; done useful work in their day, but because their day was passed, and it was now time when other and more vigorous plants should be allowed to grow up and take their place. It seme impol!8ible for anyone engaged in the con- sideration of what belonged to this present world to think of the quiet and deep forces which the tm9 Christian knew to be the most powerful of all, jdthough they often showed so little—the hidden and secret powers of communion with God, and earnest prayer and strong faith. Yet these things were far from being forgotten; in the midst of all this stir and turmoil of the world's politics great religious questions seemed to absorb men's minds and to have a deeper interest than all others. Though these were times of deep interest and stirring excitement in matters belonging to this present life, they were also times when men were striving most earnestly for the faith, and carefully considering how they might best com- mend it to the eonsciences of others. It was not true that because men thought much of the tbingB of this world they forgot the things which appertained to the other. It was in days of general stagnation when one had to fear for the work of God, and not in days like the present. There could be no greater obstacle than a time of stagnation of the human intellect, when men cared nothing for matters of high import relating to their life here. The Attorney-General, in moving a vote of thanks to the Bishop of Chester for his sermen, dwelt on the advantage of having prelates who could guide the councils of the Church. He referred to the yearning for simple symbols that might concentrate and en- shrine the great central truths which all held, but which might leave other matters for Christian liberty— symbols which satisfied the primitive ages of Christi- anity, and which, but for unwarranted additions, would satisfy us too. He had felt thill. because in the pro- fession to which he belonged, and in the society in which his lot was cast, he had found not a rejection of revelation, no desire arrogantly to question the au- thority of things divine, but a desire to accept faith- fully and humbly that which satisfied the earlier ages, and which would satisfy men now were it not for ad- ditions which might be true—and in his judgment nine-tenths of them were true—but as to which he failed to see the authority for enforcing them on man- kind as of the same force and value as the more sim- ple and central truths. Sir S. Northcote alluded to the strides being made by Mahomedanism in the East, and urged the import- ance of female education in India, as likely to prevent young men who abandoned Hindooism from becoming mere Deists. It was true there were great difficulties in the way of educating women in India, but a begin ning was being made with the Zenanah schools, which were doing an excellent work. Those who were shak- ing off the idolatry of their ancestors were beinning to feel a desire to see their wives and sisters educated, so that they might become their companion; and interest themselves in the same pursuits as they were becoming interested in.
SIR C. DILKE on CLASS LEGISLATION.
SIR C. DILKE on CLASS LEGISLATION. On Monday night Sir Charles Dilke, Bart, M.P., delivered a lecture in the Glasgow City Hall on Class Legislation. The Halt is capable of accommodating about 3,000 persons, but it was not more than half full, this being partly explained, however, by the fact that the night was very wet. The chair was occupied by Mr. Duncan Cameron, who explained that the pre- sidency of the meeting had been offered to two of their Parliamentary representatives, but Mr. Anderson was in America, and Mr. Dalglish declined the honour. Having been briefly introduced, Sir Charles Dilke began by bringing forward some samples of class legislation from the doings in Parliament this year. No example, he said, could be more forcible than that of the Birmingham Sewage Bill of 1872. That bill was rejected in the interest of individuals and against the interest of the State. He did not mean to say that private interests directly weighed with the majority on that occasion; but while a few might have voted out of party feeling, and not a few by following friends, undoubtediy the larger portion of those who formed the majority voted out of a landowners' feeling of sympathy with landowners whose land it proposed to take for public purposes. THE LAW COSTS OF GOVERNOR EYRE. Another startling instance of the abuses of our parlia- mentary system was to be found In the vote of £4,001) for the law costs of Governor Eyre. Perhaps a hundred people in Parliament, but certainly not ten, he should think, outside of Parliament, looked at the vote as implying any- thing but approval of the conduct of Governor Eyre. The defer ce fund which had been raised had more than covered the expanses to whic 'i Governor Eyre had been put, and there was no absolute understanding that the expenses incurred hy a colonial governor in defending himself against a Buit should be borne by others than himself and his own friends. The only defence that cauld be really made was that the pre- sent Government—a Liberal Ministry, chiefly composed of members who, as individuals, disapprove the conduct of Governor Eyre—considered themselves bound by the pro- mises given by their Conservative predecessors. Now, it was a most astounding proposition that a Ministry of one party, and of one set of principles, who ousted their predecessors on the understanding that they considered the policy of those predecessors wholly wrong, should, as soon as they came into omce, feel themselves under a compulsion to adapt and make their own the promises of those predecessors. If such a principle was to prevail, it seemed clear to him that it was far less by party than by class that we are governed. EXTRAVAGANCE AND WASTE IN PARLIAMENT. Sir Charles next spoke on the indifference to extravagance and waste Bhown by Parliament—a Parliament in which the poor are never beard—remarking that, with an Income-tax pressing heavily upon the industry of the middle classes, and with the mass of the people un- e'e t° provide themselves with the uecessaries of healthy existence, and who paid by taxes on their food for the maintenance of the administration, one might ± thought that those did good service to the coun- try who called public attention to the necessity of a more strineent examination of the way in which public money is eipended. He could natne to them offices which were pure sinecures, and to which fresh appointments had been made within a year, with a public statement to Par- liament that there wtre duties to perform, and a private admission that such wa3 not the case. None but a Govern- ment too flue for its work would retain its pension system, undor which former public servants etill were able to por- f°mi^ their duties and retire at an early acre, and for a quarter of a century, or hdf a century, eontiiua to draw large annual payments, for which no work was dona or due. quarter of a century, or hdf a century, eontiiua to draw large annual payments, for which no work was done or due. THE NEED OF LAW REFORM. If thare was &ny one subject upon which men of all shades f politics, outside o' tli8 House of Commons, vere agreed, it Wa the need of law reform but one of his frlend3 was de- feated, not without ridicule, when he showed that the legal advisers of the Government are well enough paid for us to expect that they should cease to give most of their time to private practice and Sir George Jessel, Solicitor-General to a Liberal Administration, applauded when, in upswer to another, he told them that law reform was impossible, becauso the people did not want it, and that the Court of Chancery was perfect. As they had been long since told, Nothing's consistent in the human raGe, Except the Wtigs in getting into place." A more popular Government would well pay its rervants, but require them to make provisions for themselves, as others did. (After referring to the Education Bill for Scotland, Sir Charles proceeded to remark on the restrictions on the im- portation of foreign cattle, which caused the high price of meat, although the speaker considered that English game preservation and Highland deer forests were responsible for SJme portions of the evil.] CLASS LEGISLATION. It was often said that there would be far less class legis- lation than there is at the present time If only all classes were represented in the House of Commons—that is, repre- sented at a11, without regard to the number of representatives which they ought to have. What was needed was not merely that all men should be heard, but that they should be heard in proportion to their numbers, and the amount of happiness or misery which would be caueed by any decision that might be taken in regard to their affairs. An example of what he meant was seen in what had occurred in reference to the hours of polling, in total disregard of the views of the inhabit- ants of the large towns, and especially of those of them who worked all day at places far distant from those where they had to vote. He instanced several proofs of the want of public ipirit ill the Honse of Lords, and said that both Houses habitually disregarded public convenience by the short duration of their session. This was evidenced not only by the long vacations they took, but by their sacrificing public business to urivate pleasure, as in the case of their adjournment for the Derby, with such evidence of class power in Parliament and out, how could it be wondered that taxation questions, locl and Imperial, were solved in a class sense. What hope could there be that local taxation and county Government would be fairly dealt with next year, when it was a fact that, although a Radical Government had been in office for four years, it had not touched the rooted feudalism of English county government, cumbrous and inefficient as it was ? Should they suffer nominated lords-lieutenant, nominated magis- trates, and nominated sheriffs to rule the unheard peasants, and tax them, too. Hê doubted Mr. Gladstone's power to beat the squirearchy, Liberal and Tory; and, unless the squirearchy were beaten, the reform would be marred. The programme of the conference of the leaders of the London Democracy which met lately under the presidency of J"- Morley was free schools, free Church, free land, free trade, cheap law. He asked how we were going to get free schools from rich men, free Church from two Houses of State Churchmen, free land from landowners, cheap law from lawyers, free trade—which memt lessfttaxes—from officers and placemen ? He was not one of those who flattered the populace by talking of tbe demoralisation of the rich or ^re it thought there was a profound political de- moralisation, a terrible lack of public spirit, in all classes and in all countries. If improvement, however, was to come, it must needs come from below; and, until improve- ment came, all must be content to share the blame. What I mean, then (Sir Charles continued) by class legislation, is the legislation of a ruling class which is partly a land- owning class, and partly a mill-owning class, and very gene- rally a diletanti class, or a class too fine for its work and I say that I am persuaded that had our Government been less exclusive, and more popular, we should neither have had the A labama three-and-a-quarter millions to pay, nor Ireland made impossible to hold without armed force. What, then, is the cure? Tonad it we must first discover where lies the root of the most pressing evils. Some say it is with the peerage, some find it in the monarchy. Let us look twice before we leap. In Great Britain we are at this moment politically speaking, in a transition state. We have a House of Commons possessed of all the realities of power, but indefinitely obstructed as to time by a land-holding Upper House, and itself connected with land as to the majority of its members, although in part democra- tically elected. The Government is a cumbersome re- public, administered by landowners, through inconvenient and obsolete fiction; a republic of which the Premier is the head, not for any flxud period, but so long only as he in turu is content to be the humble slave of a fluctuating majority of niillowners or landowners in the Huuse of Com- mons The monara}.y, although cumbersome, and likely to become—as all fictions at some time in their existence will become—dangerous, is for political purposes administered by a commission, wnfgh we call the Cabinet, and represents only the majority of tiie House of Commons. The House of Commons is elected under democratic forms, and by a tolerably wide suffrage. How, then, is it that we suffer all the evils of class government? The Peers. being neither democratically elected, like tha Commons, nor powerle s like the Monarchy, some people at once assume that it must be the Peers who are the authors of all evil. Abolish the House of Lords, they say; and the cry has often baen raised within this city. The cry has been raised, indeed, at times by those who, with the coaaervative solemnity of age, now reprove others for raising the standard of radical reform. Mr. Roebuck has lately begged at Sheffield that his formerconstituenti would forget the errors of his youth yet I know not why they should re- fuse to remember when he stands up for the Lords that once upon a time he wrote—" The Lords have a direct interest in fleecing the people all persons who have a similar interest rally round the Lords, and for this reason the House of Peers is the most powerful of the sinister interests now existing in this country." liaform the Peers or put them away is the cry that now each year sees raised. To begin with, the thing is much more easily aid than done. I have never seen a reform of the Lords suggested whloh would not either strengthen them or corrupt the Commons, or do both these things. Besides, we need an immediate remedy applicable to the existing state of things Suppese that you expel the bishops from the Lords—suppose that you elect life Peers —the House of Lords will still couticue to be a house of gieat landowners and of State churchmen, so far as the majority of its members are concerned. You never can work election—which meant selection for merit —by tha side cf hereditary right; you never can work nomination—which means Jobbery-by the side of either It seems then, to me, that reserving our future, action, and declaring boldly our personal views as to the ultimate form which the Federal Government of Great Britain and Ireland, in our opinion, should assume, those of us who are dissatisfied with the existing constitution of Parliament should, for immediate reforms, turn our attention rather to the Lower House than to the Upper House or to the Crown I have made no secret of my opinions, and I know that they are those of many here. I believe, with Lord Brougham that "when a people becomes wise enough to avoid splitting into parties and fighting for who shall be king, they are wise enough to govern themselves, and the great use of monarchy is at an end." Bat I have, on the other hand, neverceased to say that the majority of the people of Great Britain believe that the reforms which they desire are compatible with the Mo- narchic form of Government. Whether they are right, or whether the pure Republicans are right, time and the peace- ful development of our united countries alone can show; but while pelitical edtica JOB "Progressing as rapidly as at present, I think that the staunchest of Republicans need not fume or fret.. because, to use the words of Robert Buchanan, a Glasgow poet— II the tinsel order stands A little longer yet. The hon. baronet went onto say that half the members of the House of Commons were elected by much over two mil- lions of electors while the other half were elected by mnch under half a million. There was, therefore, no security that the opinion of the country wod not, on any given occasion, be falsified In the House The franchise in the towns was wide enough to admit the great maprtty of grown meu, and that in the counties wa> likely soon to become law but of what avail to equalise the franchise, as long as such difference in the weight of votes continued. Having con- demned a money franchise in the counties, because there was a monopoly of intelligence reducible to a money test, Sir Charles concluded by saying that the day would come when it will be inexplicable to our successors, how any legislature would deny to grown-up inhabitants, and still more to house- holders and tax-payers, the right to vote. A vote of thanks to the hon. baronet for his address was carried amid cheers, and waving of hats and caps. In acknowledging the vote. Slr Charles said, though many of the statements he had made had been ques- tioned in the press, he undertook to say that no asser- tion he had made in any of his public speeches had been successfully controverted.
FATHER HYACINTHE'S WEDDING.
FATHER HYACINTHE'S WEDDING. The New York Herald of September 17 publishes a letter two columns in length from its London corres- pondent describing the marriage of Father Hyacinthe with Mrs, Merriman. The marriage certificate is printed in full. The marriage was performed (the writer says) at the office of the registrar of marriages, Marylebone. It wag a civil marriage, pure and simple, and they were driven to the district registrar because: Mr. Moran, the American charge d'affaires, refused to perform the ceremony, for the reason stated that it was contrary to the law of France to marry a priest. The ceremony was performed in the office of the registrar, a little room about eight by ten, nearly filled up with desks, book- cases, and chairs. There was very little formality at- teuding the affair, the exchange of the ordinary saluta- tions and the usual questions put and answered with the previous affirmations of each of the parties. "I Charles Jean Mane Loyson, know of no reason why 1 should not be united in the bonds of holy matrimony to this woman Emilie Jane Merriman," with a simi- lar declaration on the part of the lady. The wit- nesses were Mr Bowles, of the firm of Bowles Brothers and Co. Ralph Willis Merriman, aged about twenty, son of the bride, and the Rev. Mr. Freetnantle, pastor of the St. Marylebone Church. There were besides present Dean and Lady Stanley, who, I am afraid, will not like to have the fact known. The bridegroom wore an evening dress, and really looked very welL The bride was becomingly dressed in a light purple splk, which set off a well- rounded figure to advantage, and she appears to be a very charming woman. After the ceremony was over, a few whispered congratulations were offered by Dean and Lady Stanley and Mr. Bowles, and the party withdrew. There were no guests invited, and no wed- ding breakfast, and they retire, I believe, to the country t) pass a few weeks before returning to France. They will not be married ecclesiastically, but will content themselves, for the present at least, with the civil con- secration of their union.
LORD ROSEBERY ON THE AGRICULTURAL…
LORD ROSEBERY ON THE AGRI- CULTURAL LABOURER. The Right Hon. the Earl of Rosebery was presented with the freedom of the burgh of South Queensferry, near Edin- burgh, on Saturday afternoon, in presence of a large audience. In acknowledging the honour which had been conferred upon him, the noble Earl spoke at some length. Having thanked the magistrates and council of the town for their kindness, his lordship proceeded to touch upon the question of the condition 01 the agrlCalturallabourer, and to refer to the Scotch Education Act. In the course of his re- marks he said :— I think we must all acknowledge that the condition of the agricultural labourer in parts of this kingdom has been almost a reproach to our civilisation. I will not identify what I say with any particular place, but I do say there has been a strange negligence of the interests of that class. Various language has been used about the action they have now taken to improve their position. One right rev. prelate said in a poet-prandial moment, that he should wish the leaders of the Agricultural Union, if they visited his neighbourhood, to visit a horsepond. (Laughter.) That was strong and inadvisable language. I think he employed it inadvisedly, and that he has been rather hardly used. He simply meant one of the mildest of ]°kes — (laughter)—and he has been taken up in a blood- thirsty sense; but that should teach us to make an ad- dition to a very ordinary proverb, "never to meddle with edgea tools^" or with horseponds. (Laughter.) The disadvantages of meddling with horseponds are two—the first is that a horsepond is not an argu- ment that carries permanent convictions to any minds whatever—(laughter)—and the second is that if you onse take to recommending horseponds as an argument, and if the person to whom you recommend them happens subsequently to disagree with you, he may remember your advice—(laughter)—and put it in practice against 3 ourself, and you may find it necessary to make a personal experiment as to whether truth lies at the bottom of a well or a horse- pond. (Laughter.) But the question is hot cue to be treated with light words or with horseponds. The agricultural labourers of this country have formed themselves into a union. It appears to me—I know it is not an opinion which is universally held— that a union within legitimate bounds, and governed on legi- timate principles, is a perfectly fair combination for the defence or for the propagation of any principles and I do not think that any legitimate objection can be taken to legitimate agricultural unions in defence of the interests of labourers. When they come to strikes to defend or better their position, the question becomes an economic one. A strike, where it is intended to raise tie wages of labourers above their legitimate level as compared with the price of other commodities, is economically a mistake. It would not take long to prove that; nor would it take long to prove that if you raise the price of labour you will have to raise the price of all that sustains labour—the food that is pur- chased by labour and therefore the labourer whose wages are raised, though he receives a larger amount of money, will not, because he has to pay more for the necessaries of life, have bettered his position. (Ap- plause.) As to the Scotch Education Act, I am told that the schoolmasters of Scotland will be greatly injured by the operation of the Act, but I do not believe that there will be any danger of the good schoolmasters being depreciated in value. Tbe objection which I took to the measure was from another point of view, and those with whom I acted and with whom I agreed believed, and still believe, that the interests of religious education and the interests of fairness towards the ratepayers would not be satisfied by the bill. We believed—rightly or wrongly, for the decision must come from the country —that religious education would not be sufficiently attended to where it is only a part of the school system, and where it is not a separate and careful subject of instruction. We believed, and still believe, that it is not fair to make a man pay for that education which is directly and dogmatically opposed to every principle which he holds. Those are opinions which are stigiaa- tised now, but we are perfectly willing to leave them to the operation of time to see what their worth may be. We believe that if you take away religion from the lay instruction, it will be more carefully taught by the parent and the Church.
SHIPWRECK OFF LIVERPOOL AND…
SHIPWRECK OFF LIVERPOOL AND LOSS OF ALL HANDS. A most lamentable shipwreck has occuned near Liverpool, attended by the loss of all on board. About five o'clock on Saturday evening the distress flag was observed to be hoisted at the Rock lighthouse, at the entrance of the Mersey, and it was soon known that a large ship was in a dangerous position in the neighbourhood of Formby. The new Brighton and Liverpool lifeboats were at once got ready and pro- ceeded in search of the distressed vessel. They were, however, unable to find her, and returned to port. The fact of a distressed vessel being out- side was confirmed by the arrival of the Isle of Man steamers, Snaefell and Monads Isle, Captain's Lewen and Hill both reporting that when coming in through the Queen's Channel they observed a large ship, apparently lying at anchor near Formby's Point, in a very dangerous position, and quite out of their reach to render any assistance. The crew of the steam tug Fiery Cross also observed t.he same vessel, and described her as a large vessel of about 1,000 tons. On Sunday morning one of the Dublin steamers oe her passage through the channels also observed a large ship lying on her beam ends about the spot already indicated and on Sunday afternoon a boat having the name Na- zoirene, Liverpool," painted on her stern, was washed ashore at Southport. On Monday, however, all doubts as to the name of the vessel and the fate of the crew were cleared up, as at about eight o'clock in the morning the body of Captain Brewer, of the Nazarene, was washed on the Formby beach. The ill-fated vessel left the Mersey on the 22nd September for Havahnah, and must there- fore have encountered the full force of the late severe gale. The general opinion is that the Nnzarene was put- ting back when the disaster occurred, having become dis- abled, for repairs, as the vessel when first sighted was evidently to a certain extent unmanageable. The Nazarene was a vessel of 815 tons register, built at Sunderland in 18a i, and owned in Liverpool by Mr. W. Geves,but dispatched by Messrs. Thomas King and Son. When the vessel left tho Mersey she had on board a crew of 17 men, under command of Captain S. Brewer.
PERSEVERANCE OF LADY DOCTORS.
PERSEVERANCE OF LADY DOCTORS. The Edinburgh Courant publishes a very curious account of .an interview with two American lady doctors which gives a high idea of their perseverance in obtaining the necessary medical education, and of their courage and energy in carrying on their practice. The interviewer very naturally asked how they bore the physical labour connected with the profession. Dr. Blinn replied that they had no work to encounter so hard as that done day after day and year after year by women who hold and amuse a fretful baby all day, nurse it all night, and then get up in the morning to wash and scrub, or sweep offices. Dr. Blackmar said the extent of her rounda was, on the average, twenty miles a day. I never went less than live miles a day (said this lady). Our dispensary patients are chiefly poor foreigners, and one requires to have great moral course in dealing with them. I nave attended drunken women, I have walked over the bodies of drunken men to get to their wives, I have gone np six stories and not a light in the building, greasy and dirty from top to bottom. I have been met by insane women, and ordered off; and sometimes, in order to reach my patients, I have had to call in the police to take their hus- bands away. My life, has been often in danger. Notwith- standing all that, I never was injured. I was taught from my childhood never to know fear, and to know that moral power was greater than physical power. With regard to the cases in which these ladies are especially useful, Dr. Blackmar said she often found the husband drunk, the wife frantic, the friends frantic, those who were not friends more frantic still, but had never lost a case of that kind.
HfeaUaitemts JnttUigttitt,
HfeaUaitemts JnttUigttitt, HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. CARELESS CORRESPONDENTS.—In Mr. Mon- sell's annual report on the Post-Office, we find the following indictments of public carelessness :— Packets continue to be posted, from time to time, con- taining strange articles for postal transmission, such as live silkworms, mice, lizards, and tortoises but one of the most extraordinary received last year was from an eccentric gentle- man, much jdevoted to natural history, who was greatly snrprised and troubled at the department declining to carry for him a live snake! Ultimately, indeed, as an exceptional case, and no longer to wound the naturalist's feelings, it having been ascertained that the snake was a pet who had been out on a visit, the animal was delivered by a special messenger. As instances of carelessness in the de- spatch of valnsble packets, on one occasion last year a packet containing a watch and two sovereigns waa posted not only without being registered but unsealed, and evan untied while, in another instance, a gold watch and locket, loosely packed up, and addressed to Amsrica, were posted without anything either outside or inaMe the packet to show for whom these articles were intended or by whom they had been sent." SINGULAR ACCIDENT TO A BREWER'S DRAY- MAN.—In London, last Saturday, an accident of a sin- gular character occurred to a drayman, in the employ of Messrs. Disher and Co. He was unloading his dray at a public-house in Bridgwater-square, and was in the act of stooping to get down the cellar, the door of which was open, when a chimney-pot fell from the top of the house on to his back, nearly sending him head foremost into the opening. He was taken up almost insensible, and conveyed to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where he now remains in a critical condition. THE SUCCESSFUL GAMESTER.—A correspondent sends the following from Homburg-les-Bains:— I have on several occasions written to you about the wonderful good fortune of Commander Bugeja, the wealthy inhabitant of Matta, who comes here at irregular times, and invariably wins large sums. On his return lately from the fites at Berlin, he recommenced playing, and won every day from 60,000f. to tOO.OOOF., and sometimes even more. In fact, the bank has lost so considerably of late, that doubts are entertained of its continuing open until tho 31st of December, when the privi ege, as you are doubless aware, entirely ceases M Bugeja has even forced the direct' r to throw in fresh capital, to tho amount of 300,0t0f. and as. so completely absorbed the sums which the establishment may have won from other players that its half-yearly dividend, which in other years was 15, 20. and even 25 per cent.. will scarcely be for the present one more than a few kreutzers per share. Such constant and wonder- ful success has alarmed the company which farms the rooms, and M. Blanc, the director, has notified to M. Bugeja that the permission which had been accorded him of putting down 25,lOOf. at once is now withdrawn, and that he must for the future content hmself with going up t, only 12,000f., like everyone eLse. It appears that the authorities have had something to do with this alteration, as the town of Hom- burg has a certain share it the gains of the table. But as a very large stake is required occasionally for the sjstem of M. Bugeja, that gentleman is trying to obtain a change, and perhaps some arrangement may bd arrived at. A CURE FOR HYDROPHOBIA.—Referring to the death of a groom at Salford, from hydrophobia, Mr. F. Price, the coroner for the Manchester district of Lancashire, stated at the conclusion of an inquest that he had received two communications as to the remedies for hydrophobia. One was from the vicar of Birling, in Kent (the Hon. Mr. Bligb), who stated that a person in that village had a recipe for the cure of hydrophobia. It had been in the possession of the family for a hundred years, and had always bjen found effectual. The second communication was from Mr. Whitehead, of the Ragged and Industrial School- Huddersfield, who stated that Dr. Rich's extract was an unfailing specific. Numerous testimonials were eiven of persons who had been cured. It seemed a pity that these remedies were not better known, and he believed it to be the duty of local Boards and other public bodies—for the question was of national importance — to test them, and if they were found to be effectual, then Government ought to purchase the recipes and make them public for the benefit of the people at large. He might add that his colleague, Mr. Edge, had received communications of a similar kind, and any one who wished for further information could apply either to him (Mr. Price) or to Mr. Edge. On the same day Mr. Edge, in holding an inquest, made some remarks with regard to an inquest he recently held at Bury as to the death of a surgeon's son, who died from the bite of a mad dog. On the occasion in question he had suggested to the jury the desirability of some sort of presentment being made to the Government upon the frequency of deaths from hydrophobia, there having been within his own district five such deaths within the last 12 months, and in the district adjacent to his there had been four deatha this year. THE CATTLE PLAGUE.—Mr. Brandreth Gibba, honorary secretary to the Smithfield Club writes to the papers:— "For the information of intending exhibitors at the Smithfield Club's shows, I beg to inform you that the Council has resolved 'That no animal (cattle, sheep, or pig) exhi- bited at any other show within one month previous to the 6th of December, 1872. be allowed to ba exhibited at tho Smithfield Club's shows also, That certificates will be re- quired from exhibitors to the effect that the animals have not been, or will not be, so exhibited,' and also that the stock has not for 14 days previous to leaving home for the show been in contact with any animal suffering from con- tagious or infectious disease, and, further, that all animals coming by railway must be sent in horse-boxes or in private cJnveyanc6ø.' A PLEASANT DOCUMENT !—"I have taken off," said Mr. Lowe the other day at Glasgow, of taxes, and yet the Revenue for the present half-year, which ends in a few days, amount to £1,200,000 more than it was in 1863, when these £9:000,000 of taxes were in existence." The half-year referred to ended on Monday, and we (The Times) publish the figures which justify the Chancellor of the Exchequer's con- gratulations. A pleasant document it is, showing the nation in the fall tide of prosperity, making money fast, and" consuming" in an equal or even greater ratio. We are not a very saving peopie, all classes live well, and our workpeople especially live on a scale of expenditure which, as they have been lately told, is equalled by no European country, and not much ex- ceeded in the United States. The Revenue, in some of ita most important departments, owes much to the love of plenty, of comfort and luxury, which distin- guishes the million. It is the index, not of tfhat the nation has earned, but of what it deems itself justified in parting with out of its earnings, and therefore is an even truer representation of the security and confi- dence of the masses. DISSIPATION AND DEATH.—On Saturday even- ing the dead .bodies of a travelling showman and his wife were found in their caravan at Stockton-on-Tees. The deceased, whose names are Denton, had been ex- hibiting a panorama of the French and German war at Stockton races in the middle of August. They sub- sequently adopted a course of drinking, and were fined before the magistrates for leaving their caravan in the market-place. After that it was taken into Parlia- ment-street, and during the present month they have been constantly drunk. Neither was seen after Tues day. On Saturday afternoon the violent wind blew open the caravan door, and a man named Eden, who chanced to see the door blowing about, then looked in. He saw the woman in one corner, and the man was on his back beBide her. Both bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, and were removed to the dead- house. Several empty spirit bottles were found near them, and more than jE6 in money upon their bodies. It is supposed that they had died from suffocation. GOAL IN IRELAND.—The Waterford Daily Mail contains the following :— A company of farmers and labourers, to- the number of six hundred, assembled on Friday at the Slievernecoal fields, and dug down to the extent of four feet, when they found several specimens of coal, which geologists regard as Iden- tical with what is called the Old Newport coals. The fibre is soft, but admirably adapted for domestic purposes Many ladies were present watching the proceedings, and the con- stabulary were there in full force. As each lump was thrown np cheers rose from the crowd, and were re-echoed by thoøe at a distance. Boring machines were brought to the ground, and it was ascertained that coal could bef ound in sumcient quantity to pay the working expenses, and the company" offered Mr. Power 5s. for each ton raised; but these terms he declined to accept. Owing to this difference, at present the matter remains in statu qUQ. The boring ia quite easy. although miners dread be 1008e soil; but the danger of -this could be obviated by the introduction of proper machinery. A PLEA. FOR THE HALF CROWN.—A "Coun. try Banker" has done a public service in directing at- tention to the fact that in calling in half-crowns and substituting florins, Air. Lowe is not studying the con- venience of Her Majesty's subjects. The reason is that "while the half-crown performs the function of both the shilling and the sixpence, the florin performs that of the shilling only." The writer quotes his own case:— I require for the wants of my branch a comparatively large sum of silver per annum. In one instance lately, when the stock was entirely exhausted, a re- mittance of £500 reached me, which consisted of £300 in florins and £:00 in shillings, so that I had not a coin which could do the duty 'of a sixpence, whereas, had the JB300 been in half-crowns, I wouldllave had eight sixpences to every pound—each very conveniently attached to a florin. If the florin displaces the half- crown, a great many more sixpences must be coined, which will often gather together in large and very in- convenient numbers, while the converse, equally in- convenient, will also probably occur." SCHOOL OF INDUSTRY AT ROUEN. — The Journal Official says there has just been founded at Rouen, under the patronage of the Chamber of Com- merce, the Société d'Emulatien, and the Rouen Lloyd's, an "Upper School of Industry," organised on the widest basis, and specially intended for the instruction of persons who are to be placed at the head of manu- facturing establishments, &0. The School will be opened on the 7th of October next, and will not only give that general education necessary for the manage- ment of any industrial work, but also the special in- struction required in all the chief departments of na- tional industry, such as spinning, weaving, dyeiog, the chemical arts, machine making, &c. The teachers who have been selected are men who unite to extensive theoretical knowledge an extensive acquaintance with practical work. Workshops, laboratories, and collec- tions of specimens of various objects have been fitted up with the greatest care, and efforts will be made to maintain them on a level with the progress of discovery and invention, so that the students may be provided with all that is necessary for the successful prosecution of their studies. "The Upper School of Industry" is to be connected with "The Upper Commercial School," and will be placed under the same administration. It is expected that it will receive support from all those persons who interest themselves in commercial and in- dustrial education. A BOOK PRINTED THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN. A book which was printed and published in 1844, but which was never written, has now been reprinted. ([1; is publisheiqy Houlston and Sons.) Ite author, Mr. Lordan, who exeicises at ftotnsey the glorirsus art," set up the types as he composed tha work. Its title is "Colloquies, Desultory, but chiefly upon Poetry and Poets." Apart from its intrinsic merits, it is a curiosity, being the first unwritten book. There indeed (remarks the Athentzum, in noticing this unwritten book), a tradition that Retif de la Bretonno composed his" Paysan Per/erti" in the same way, but he was not himself the originator of the tradition. Mr. Lordan began his career "at case "very early. Before he was five years of age he put in type portions of Paradise Lost," and the first proof of his handi- work is still in his possession. THE BOY —There is a certain species of young animal held by many mothers as at best a double bles- sing; by many sisters of slightly superior years as an irrepressible nuisance; by settled spinsters and con- templative old ladies as a sort of small Red Indian skirmishingupon the outposts of civilisation, and sped-j mens of which these good people would voluntarily invite into drawing-rooms or flower-gardens no sooner than wild horses. This creature is a boy. FORGIVEN WITH A VENGEANCE.—A couple ran off to get married, and came back to the bride's house, where she humbly sued for the forgiveness of her father, kneeling at his feet all tears.— Forgive, forgive me, dearest father 1" sobbed the lovely suppliant. Forgive you 1" exclaimed the old gentleman; why, I am only too glad to get rid of you. Your ill-temper and idleness have been the plague of my life, and make your marriage no loss to me my dear child. So take her," added the old gentleman, generously, addressing the happy man and may you be happy POTATOES IN HOLLAND.—The ipereafte of the potato crop in the Province of GrCningen (North of Holland) has become exceptionally important the last few years in consequence of the number of potato flour mills established there, and the increase of said mills influences the more extensive cultivation of potatoes. The opportunities there are more favourable than elsewhere, owing to the nature of the ground, the potatoes being planted in old turf ground which is inter- sected by small canals, by means of which their tran- sport is considerably facilitated. In the villages of Wildervank, Veendam, Muntendam, and Hoogezand there are thirteen mills, which crush daily more than 750 lasts, producing 225,000 kilogrammes of flour every day, the greater pixt of which is expected to be sold on English markets, as very little is used for glucose (syrup) and homo consumption. A great activity pre- vails in the mills at the present time owing to the ex- tensive disease among the potatoes; nevertheless the crop is large. A MAN TO DINE WITH.—Mr. Byng's dinners were things to remember. Lord Blessington, by no means a bad judge, used to say, "Byng, I often go out to dinner but when I desire to dine I come to you." They were first-rate old English dinners. No soups, no kickshaws, large dishes of magnificent fish, a haunch of four-year-old Southdown, a pheasant pie, a coursed hare, or other equally excellent edibles, according to the season, ana nothing out of it. No forced asparagus, no house lamb, and in the centre of the table stood always a large wooden bowl, as white as milk, filled with the finest potatoes perfectly boiled in their "jackets." He kept an Irish kitchen-maid ex- pressly for that purpose; and palled must have been the palates, and morbid the appetites, of those who could not enjoy such fare as was always to be found in Clarges-street.—J. R. Planch?& Recollections. A STRANGE SUICIDE.—On the 24th of July (says a Melbourne paper) one George Edward Massey committed suicide in Adelaide. The deceased was a member of an old Irish family, being the son of the Hon. Mr. Massey, and the grandson of the late Lord Clarina. Some years ago he resided in Victoria, but he returned home and remained in Ireland until a few months ago, when he again visited Victoria, having acquired some property. On his return here he re- newed his intimacy wi th the Dean of Melbourne, who soon perceived that Massey was labouring under the delusion that there was a conspiracy to murder him. Mas3ey went to Adelaide, to hide himself, as he said, from his pursuers, and after-residing there Bome three weeks, shot himself at the door of Dfan Russell, of Adelaide, to whom he had previously written announcing his intention to commit self-destruction. Letters were found in the room inhabited by the deceased ad- dressed to the Dean of Melbourne, and also a will disposing of £400 and other property. An inquest was held, and a verdict was arrived at that the deceased shot himself while in an unsound state of mind. A SAD END.—An inquest has been held in London, at King's College Hospital on the body of Margaret Jones, aged 75, the widow of a tradesman. Since the death of her husband the deceased had been compelled to work very hard for her living, but dur- ing the past few months had been in such ill health that she was unable to do anything beyond half a dill's charing now and then. She became so ill at last that she was unable to pay her rent, and was con- sequently left without shelter, preferring the open streets to the casual ward. On Saturday night week, being in the last stage of destitution, she sat down to rest in a doorway in Broad-street, St. Giles's, at the corner of a yard. Suddenly she fainted, and fell off the step with her feet hanging over the curb- stone, and at that moment the wheels of a cart went over the poor old creature's left foot, crushing it severely. She got up and tried to limp away, but the passers-by, seeing that she left a track of blood be- ind her, called the police, who took her to the hos- pital. where she expired on Thursday from exhaustion consequent on the injury. A verdict of "Accidental Death" Wall recorded, 11 —^ THE DIFFIDENT MAIDEN!—"What is your consolation in life and in death?" asked a clergyman of a young lady that he was catechising for confirmation. The young lady blushed and hesitated. "Pray think and tell me, my dear young lady," urged the clergy- man it is a very easy qUt5St19D." I don't want to tell his name," Baid the ingenuous glrl; "but I've no ob- jection to telling you where he lives." EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT STIMULANTS.—Tho following is a translation of a paragraph found in the writings of Professor Von Liebig, the distinguished German chemist :— "The whites wines are hurtful to the nervois systfW, causing treafbling, confusion of language, and convulsions. The stronger wines, snch as champagne, rise quickly to the head, but their dfects are ouly of short duration. Sherry and strong cider are mere quickly intoxicating than the generality of wines, and they have a peculiar inflaenco on the gastric joices of tht, stomach. Tho int0xicat!ou of beer is heavy and dull, and its use does not hind. r the drink* from gaining flesh. The drinkers of whisky and brandt are going to cestain death. Rtd wine is the least hurtful, and, in Slme cises, really beneficial." A LITTLE ANECDOTE FOR AMATEUR AUTHORS. —A would-be author was advised to try the effect of one of his compositions on the folks at home, without confessing ifci authorship. His mother fell asleep, his sister groaned, his brother asked him to shut up, as they had had quite enough of shower of words without wit, and at last his wife tapped him upon the shouldefy with the sweetest possible, Wont that do?" He then saw how it was himself, buried His portfolio, re- covered his digestion, and has been a happy man ever since. EXTRAORDINARY MEDICAL CERTIFICATE.—A correspondent ot the Madras Standard says tbafc-the following medical certificate was recently given by an hospital assistant:—"I do hereby certify that the village Moonsiff —— of aged about 45, was found on my examination suffering from shaking of two front upper teeth and four front lower teeth, and besidw several other teeth also in a slight shaking state. I consider that the shaking appears to have been caused by another individual, or by fall, or by natural or previous administration of cruel mercury. I am of opinion that the hurt is not mortal." MURDEROUS ATTACK.—At the Nottingham Shirehall on Saturday a man named William Brandon was charged, on remand, with violently assaulting his sister, a married woman, named Sarah Ann Tomlinson, at Hucknall Torkard on the 6th ult. The evidence showed that on the evening of that day the prisoner went to his sister's house and demanded a bedstead which belonged to his father, who a few days previously had sailed for the Salt Lake Valley. Prosecutrix re- plied that her father had left the bedstead for her, whereupon prisoner exclaimed, If I can't have it, you shan't enjoy it," and struck her a fearful blow on the head with a hammer which he had in his hand. The women fell to the ground insensible, bleeding pro- fusely, and prisoner left. He was afterwards appre- hended at his own house. The medical evidence showed that the skull of the prosecutrix was severely frac- tured, and that for some time her life was in great dan get. The prisoner was committed for trial at the sessions. A MISCALCULATION.—A young man had a lady friend who was the fortunate possessor of a half- dozen gold-fish. He went fishing one day and caught a pound trout. He preserved it alone, thinking it would be a nice companion for a gold-fish, and con- cluded to surprise the young lady by putting it into the aquarium while she was1 away. The surprise was com- plete for the treut swallowed all the gold-fish, and then calmly turned over on its dorsal fin and died of indigestion. EASILY ANSWERED.—A correspondent of the Field writes :— "I have kept nightingales for twenty-live years, and, until the last five, most successfully, never lotiog a bird; but during these five years [have loat; every bird, and always In the same way. Some time between June and December they got a cough, a short sharp cough, repeated several times, and then a rest of often some hours, The Weathing between times is In seme cases wheezing, in others there is a kind 0& click. The birds die at various tiffles after the symptoms appear, feeding well and being in good condition up to the last. What can I do for them ? The two I have this year are Just attacked." WHICH WAS IT 1_H Jack —— was called up by the schoolmaster to account for his possession of some apples," says a biographer of an eminent lawyer deceased. "The apples," said our hero, were Tom's, and I don't know how he got them; and now they're mine, and he doesn't know how I got them." The biographer in rapture says, This evinced the future great lawyer." What did?—taking the apples* eh, biographer? A FORECAST !—A special correspondent writes as follows, from Richmond, Virginia :— "Since I have been in the Southern States I have talked with many Southerners, and I am sorry to say that the -bitternes8 wh:chW3S caused by the late WAr has by no means yet died out. The South, of course, feels conquered, and knows well that it is not strong enoueh at present to cope with the North, but none the le8s is a separation of the Union into a Northern and Southern Republic ardently desired by many of the leading men in the South. It is, indeed, Y know, the opinion of many thoughtful Americans with whom I have conversed. upon the matter, that eventually the Union will be broken uplinto three great republics." SAD CASE OF PARRICIDE.—The danger of carrying loaded firearms upon the person finds a melancholy illustration, remarks the iVew York Times, in tho case of the late Michael Sandford, who was re- cently shot and killed by his son, Melville, at Madison, N.J. It appears that the deceased, while in a state ot partial intoxication, had been preparing a leg of mutton for dinner. He approached his wife imme- diately afterward, and had a quarrel with her, the knife he had been using still remaining in his hand. The son, coming suddenly upon the scene, was so ex. cited by what seemed to him an attempt on the life of his mother, that he drew his revolver and shot his father dead. The case is, if possible, made even more sad by the circumstance that this son had been the constant companion and favourite of his father, sharing equally in all his sports and pastime. Pny FOR A LONELY YOUNG MAN.—O. W. Holmes in-the AtlanUet iaite& as follows :— I knew of nothing in the world tenderer than the pity a kind-hearted young girl has for a young man who feels lonely. It is true that these dear creatures are all compas- sion for every kind of human woe, and anxious to alleviate all human misfortunes. They will go to Sunday school?, through storms their brothers are afraid of. to teach the most unpleasant aftd untractable classes of little children the age of Methusaleh, and the dimensions of Og, King of Bashan's bedstead. They will stand behind a table at a fair all day, until they are ready to drop, dressed in their prettiest clothes and their sweetest smiles, and try to make you buy what you do not want, and at prices you cannot afford all this as cheerfully as if it were not martyrdom to them as well as you. Such is their love for all good objects, such their eagerness to sympathise with all their suffering fellow-creatures—especially the loneiy young man. STOPPING THE INTEREST !—A good story ia told of a gentleman on dining with a merchant. A dusty old bottle of wine had been carefully decanted, and a glass filled. Now, you can't guesa what that cost me?" said the host. "Surely not. I only know that it is excellent." Well, now, I can tell you, for I made a careful estimate the other day. When I add the interest to the first price, I find that it cost me the sum of just eight shillings per glass?" "Goodgra- cious you don't say so said the gentleman and then draining his glass, he hastily presented it again, with the remark, Fill up again as quick aa you can, for I want to atop that confounded interest. PROGRESS IN JAPAN.—As instances of the march of civilisation amongst the Japanese, the fol- lowing items from the China Mail are interesting :— Accommodation for reporters for the press ia now pro- vided in the native courtg. A number of children, bought by Chinese for exportation, have been seized. The new railway is working welL Fears are entertained of the rinderpest spreading to Japan. Squabbles between the Customs' officials and foreigners appear to be on the increase. The murder ql an entire family of thirteen by native police is reportel from Yedo. Japanese bank-notes, manufactured at Frank- fort, have been put into circulation. A Japan branch of the Royal Asiatic Society is in course of formation." A PARISIAN SPORTSMAN."—La Vie Parisi- enne tells the story of a lover of shooting, as relat-ed by an intelligent coachman. Eh! Monsieur, aU those people you see going about in open carriages, with their dogs and their guns, are only make-believe. Nothing amuses the Parisians so much as to stroll about the streets with their guns. For instance, this morning at nine, I picked up a gentleman encumbered with shooting paraphernalia, gun, gaiters, cartridges, and game bag, &0. We left the Boulevard Beau- marchais, and he said, 'Take me to the station Rue St. Lazire, by the Boulevards. 'All right, air.' When we reached the Rue du he cried, 'I have forgotten something; go back to the Boulevard Beaumarchais by way of the Boulevards." When we arrived at his house, he just got oat and in again, saying,' Now drive me to the Boulevard Mont. matre; I shall breakfast before I start.' AndtheM he breakfasted with his gun at his side, at a table on the trottoir, and looked delighted. On getting into the carriage again he said, 'Coachman, just take a little turn on the Boulevards ? I have plenty of time.' At last, at two o'clock he alighted in the Rue St. Lazare, paid the Tare, and ran upstairs. Well who do you think I meet two hours later driving in another car- riage on the Boulevards with his gun by his side ? My patron of the morning." STRIKES AND CONTINENTAL COMPETITION.— The Rotterdam correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette writes:— Some days ago an event occurred in the neighbouring village of Kralingen which is worthy of being known in Eng- land, because of the light it throws on the eSectof the strikes on the interetlts of English workmen. The SPriDiI used for railway ana other carriages were always heretofore imported froln, England, bnt the English manufacturers haft Dot b able of late to supply them in sufficient quantity, because their workmen refuse to work. One of the most Important Shemeld houses thereupon retolved to set up, in oombii- ation with a well-known iron manufacturer of Holland, Mr. Hotz, a branch of his establishment at the villace named, in order to provide the Continent with spdngs. This establish ment has been inaugurated it is on a very large tcale, audit will be extended as soon as this becomes necessary. I hear, but I cannot guarantee the rumour, that other English manufacturers intend to establish branches in Holland. DEATH OF LORD HASTINGS.—Lord Hastings dted at his seat, Melton Constable, Norfolk, last. Saturday evening. Lord Hastings succeeded his brother in the title and family estates only in February, 1871, and at the time of his death he was in his 47th year. His Lordship was summoned hastily from Wiesbaden on Wednesday week in consequence of Lady Hastings' severe indisposition. His Lordship was Suffering from gout himself, and on reaching Melton Constable he was attacked with inflamma- tion of the bowels. He afterwards suffered from oppression of the respiratory orgaiiB, and before his son could reach his bedside from Eton he died. The late peer was the second and youngest son of Sir Jacob Astley (who was summoned by writ to the House of Lords on May 8th, 1841, being a co-heir of Sir John de Hastings, summoned to Parliament as Baron Hastings in the 18th of Edward L, and who was also declared by Parliament in 1839 one of the co-heirs of the Barony of Camoys), by Georgiana, second daughter of the late Sir Henry Watkin Dashwood, and was bom on March 24, 1825. The deceased, who was in holy orders, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was appointed rector of Foulsham in 1854, and vicar of East Barsham, Norfolk, in 1855, both livings being in the patronage of Lord Hastings. He married in August, 1848, the riu Diana Manners-Sutton, second daughter of Charles, first Viscount Canterbury. He succeeded his brother J acob in the barony on the death of that nobleman in March, 1871, and is now succeeded in the title and estates by his eldest son, Bernard, bom on September 9,1896,