Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

THE CHINESE QUESTION IN CALIFORNIA. The Chinese question in California seems likely to be solved by a wholesale departure of the Celestials from that State, where they have been so kicked and cuffed about that they can bear it no longer. A depu- tation of leading Chinese merchants waited the other day on Senator Morton, and after representing that their property had been destroyed, that they had been subjected to personal violence, that their rights under the treaty had been disregarded, and that they had not been afforded the protection to whica they were entitled, stated that they did not blame the American people for this state of affairs, recognizing the fact that it was the foreign element that so stoutly opposed them but, havinsr borne this treatment for many years with no prospect of relief, they wished tv' adopt measurps with the view of checking Chinese immigration, and therefore requested the senator to introduce a bill at the next session of Congress provid- ing for a modification or abrogation of the Bur- linghame treaty, and for levying a poll-tax of 100 dols. on every Chinaman landing in America, the proceeds of the tax to be devoted to paying the passage back to China of those Chinamen who desire to return but lack the means of doing so, The deputation also expressed their intention (,f-eiideavouring to induce the Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental Steam- ship Companies to modify their rates of steerage passage so as to make the rate of coming to America 75 dols., while reducing the price of the voyage to China to 30 dols. Senator Morton expressed his readi- ness to introduce the bill as proposed, and California will thus attain its object of "cutting off its nose to spite its face.Patt Mall Gazette.

WHO ARE FELLOW-SERVANTS? The Law Times remarks :-The master is not liable t) his servant for the misconduct or negligence of others who serve him. But where the injury has been caused by the personal interference or negligence of the master, the servant may maintain an action against his master. This right of action, however, does not extend to a case where the negligence of a fellow-servant causes the injury the master is not identified with the servant for the purpose of making him liable for the servant's negligence. There is another exception, where the master has furnished in- struments or machinery which are dangerous, but the servant knows that they are dangerous, and the danger is so normal that it is in the ordinary course of the employment; in that case the servant cannot com- plain of an injury which he has sustained, because he undertook the employment with that risk. In order that workmen should be fellow-servants, it is riot neces- sary that the workman causing and the workman sus- taining the injury should both be engaged in perform- ing the same or similar acts. The driver and guard of a stage coach, the steersman and the rowers of a boat, the workman who draws the red hot iron from the forge, and those who hammer it into shape, the engineman who conducts a train, and the man who regulates the switches or the signals are all engaged in common work. And so in this case, the man who lets the miners down into the mine, in order that they may work the coal, and afterwards bring them up, together with the coal which they have dug, is certainly engaged in a common work with the miners themselves. They are all contributing directly to the common object of their common employers in bringing the coal to the surface.

THE COST QF SCHOOL INSPECTORS. The three R's run up expenses, even in the matter of School Inspectors, two of whom, one for England and the other for Ireland, have, I note, been appointed this week (says May fair). The exact num- ber of such officials under the control of the Com- mittee of Council on Education is not easy to give owing to recent changes. But there are for England at least 10 senior inspectors, at a salary of from k700 to E750 each; 15 Inspectors at E400 to ESOO as many as 90 with incomes ef from k200 to £600 and in addition the large number of 95 officers with the title of inspector's assistant, whose emoluments range from £100 to le250 a year. Nor can Scotland complain of neglect. For there are on duty across the Border 3 senior inspectors at an annual salary of £700 each twelve inspectors at from C400 to JS800 each twenty at R200 to £600; and even more inspectors' assistants than there are south of the Tweed, the Scotch contingent numbering no less than ninety-nine, with salaries of from £ 125 to £ 275. In Ireland, the examining staff consists of six head inspectors, who are paid £ 550 to £ 660 each and sixty-six district inspec tors, at salaries ranging from £ 250 to £ 500. Nor does the list end here, as, in addition to the officials enumerated, there are four inspectors of schools in connection with the Science and Art Department at South Kensington, who draw an income from the State to the extent of £400 or kWO each.

THE MARKETS, MARK-LANE.—MONDAT. The grain trade at Mark-lane has been rather unsettled. English wheat was again in short supply, owlng to the wet weather interfering with threshing operations. The general quality and condition of the new produce was satisfactory, the weight varying from 5Slb. to 64lb. per bushel. Factors commenced by asking more money, but very little was done, and prices eventually accepted were about the same as last week. 5ew red made 5Ss.to 62s., and white 6us. to 64s. per qr. Foreign wheat was ia fair supply, and sold at full prices with a moderate demand. Barley was steady but quiet, at about late rates. Malt sold at previous quotations. Oata were in geod supply and fair request, at slightly steadier prices. Maize was quiet but rather firmer. Beans and peas sold at late currencies. The flour market was steady, but not active. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.— MoNDAT. The total imports of foreign stock into London last week amounted to 18,619 head. In the corresponding week of last year we received 20,31, in 1875,25,423; in 1874, 17,629 in 1873, 17,246; and in 1672, IS,200. During the last week 886 head of cattle and 603 sheep were landed at Liverpool and Southampton from American and Canadian ports. In the cattle trade a fair amount of business has been observed. Supplies are about on a par with Friday last. From our own grazing districts the receipts of beasts were about an average, and the general quality was satisfactory. Ihe demand was tolerably active, and the level of prices was much about the same as last week. The best breeds realised 5s. lOd. to 6s. per 81b. From Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and Northamptonshire, we received about 1,760, and from other parts of England abcat 250 head. On the foreign side of the market was a comparatively large supply of beasts, including between 400 and 500 Ame- rican, besides Spanish, and Danish. With a fair amount* of animation prices were steady. As regards sheep, the supplies were short, but the quality good. There was more life in the trade, and prices have had a hardening tendency. The best Downs and half-breds have sold at 7s. to 7s. 2d. p-r SIb. Lambs fold at about late rates, namely 7s. to 8s. per 81b. Calves and pigs were quiet and unaltered. At Deptford there were a iout 2,000 beasts and 8,000 sheep and lambs. Coarse and inferior beasts, 4s. 6d. to 6& second quality ditto, 5s. to 5s. 6d.; prime large oxen, 5s. 8d. to 5s. lOd.; prime Scots, ke., 5s. lOd. to 6s.; coarse and inferior sheep, 5s. 6d. to 6s.; second quality ditto, 6s. to 6s. 6d.: prime coarse woolled, 6s. id. to 6s. lOd.; prime Southdowns, 6s. lOd. to 7s.; lambs, 7s. to Ss. large coarse calves, 5s. to 5s. Ca. prime small ditto, 5s. 8d. to 6s. 2d.; large hogs, 3s. 8d. to 4s 4d.; and neat small porkers, 4s. 6d. to 5s. 2d. per bIb. to sink the offal METROPOLITAN MEAT MARKET.—MONDAY The milduess of the weather had an imperceptible effect upon the meat trade to-da.v. Beef was extremely easy, owing to a large consignment from America. The following are the prices Inferior beef, 3s. to 3s. 6d. middling ditto, 4s. to 4s. 8d. prime large ditto, 5s. to 5s. 4d.; prime small, 5s. 2d. to 5s. 6d. inferior mutton, 3s. 4d. to 4s.; middling ditto, 4s. (id. to 6s. 4d. prime ditto, 6s. td. to 6s. 8d.; large pork, 4s. Od. to 4s. 8d. small ditto, 4s. to 5s. 4d. veal, 6s. to 0s. 4d. lamb, 6s. to 6s. per 81b. by the carcass. POTATOES. The supplies of potatoes continue on a moderate scale, and trade on the whole remains steady. Kent Regents, 100s. to. 130s.; Essex ditto. 100s. to 115s. Shaws, 70s. to 100s.; ana"" kidneys, 80s. to 120s. per ton. HOPS Amid conflicting reports as to the growth of the bine, and the probable character of the yield, which perhaps, on the whole, tend to discourage the views at first held, there is little disposition to optrate in excess. Continental markets remain in much the same state. SEED. LONDON, Monday, August 27.—Inquiries are now made for foreigu Cloverseed, and at moderate prices for good quality there are now buyers. A few sales were effected at fair rates. Trefoil was in steady demand at rather more money. Trifolium Incarnatum is now wanted for stubble-growing, and prices ranged nom 18s. to 24Q. per c'n. according to quality. Yearling samples are supei-ior in appearance to the new. Winter Tares are saleable at 7s. pel bushel for new English. Canaryseed was rather dearer, with a bettersale. Dutch Hempseed was scarce and wanted; rates were higher. White Mustardseed was in request for sowing, and finp sam- ples of old brought high rates. Winter Bailey and Winter Oats were saleable at good prices. TALLOW. s. d, Town Tallow, per cwt. 42 0 j Rough Fat, per Slbs. 1 Melted Stuff, per cwt 30 6 s. d. Rough fetuft, per cwt. 15 6 Greaves 11 12 0 Good lIregs 6 0 Yellow Russian, new 42s 0d. per cwt. Australian Mutton Tallow 42s. Od. Ditto Beef Ditto 40s. 6d. „ HAY. WHITECHAPEL, Saturday, August 25.—The market was fairly supplied with Hay and Srraw.. There was a dull trade, and prices remain unaltered. Prime old Clover, 100s. to 137s. inferior, 85s. to 95s. good new, 100s. to 129s. Prime old Meadow Hay, 90s. to 120s inferior, 70s to 856. good new, 80s. to 100s. and Straw 44s. to 566. per load. GAME AND POULTRY. Black game. 3s. to 4s. sr.ipp, Is. 6d. to 2s. grouse, Sa. Ss to 4s. ditto, inferior, is. 9d. to 2s 6d. YOUllg turkeys, 6s. to lOs. goslings, 5s. to Ss. 6d.; dncks, 2s to 4s. chickens, Is. 9d. to 3s. leverets, 3s. to bs. rabbits, Is. 6d. to 3s.; conies, 9d. to Is. Sd. pigeons, 6d. to Is. haunches of veni- son, 30s. to 60s. each forequarters of ditto, 71d. to 9Jd. per lb. FISH. Fresh herrings, 4s. to 5s. red ditto, 3s. to 4s. roused ditto, 4s. to as. kipper ditto, 3s. 9d. to 8s. pickled ditto, 5s. to 6s. 6d. bloater ditto, 4s. lOd. to 7s, per hundred kipper haddock, 20s- to 80s. 6d. trawl ditto, 16e. to Its. ditto plaioe, IBs. to 20s. ditto whiting, 1(JB. to ISs. 6d. per basket; soles, Is. 6A. to Ss. per pafr; salmon, is sd. to Ii. id. crimped ditto, 2s. to 2s. 2d pickled ditto, 74. to 8d. grilse, b. 6d, per lb.

"BIG BEN." The clock at the Houses of Parliament has been stopped, and "Big Ben will not be heard again until about the 15th of September. He sounded his last note at nine o'clock on Tuesday in last week, but the clock was not stopped until twelve o'clock, and the 14ft. minute hand records that time. Only once before have the hands been stopped: this happened through a heavy fall of snow. Though all kinds of rumours have been circulated in reference to the stoppage of the clock, the cause is very pimple. It is in order to allow the workmen to erect a scaffold in the clock-room for the purpose of re-painting and decorating; and while the repairs are going on the works of the clock will be cleaned. In a recfent lecture on the peculiarities of the West- riíinstep. -GI Clock, delivered by Mr. I imuiid Beckett Denisofr"before the members of the Jiritish Horeloiical Institute, it was stated that tho dial of the clock was 22ft. in diameter, the area, exactly 400 square feet, and the fall of the weight 175ft. There are- five bells for chiming, and the respective weights of the four smaller bells are four tons, 36cwt., 30cwt., and -0c-vt, The weight of the hammer, is 4cwt. It ought to be 8cwt., and until the bell cracked, the hammer which was in use did weigh 8cwt. The winding up of the going part takes ten minutes, but the winding up of the striking parts—the quarter part and the hour part— take five hours each, and this has to be done twice a week. The error of the clock amounts to only one second for 83 days. The weight of the pendulum is 680 lbs., and it can be accelerated a second a day by putting on an ounce weight. The figures on the enamel transparent dial are 2ft. in length. The works of the clock are in thorough going repair, and the frame- work bears the following inscription: This clock, made in the year of Our Lord 1854, by Frederick Dent, of the Strand and Royal Exchange, clock- maker to the Queen, from the design of Edmund Beckett Denison, Q.C." Just above the clock-room is situated the bell-tower, now undergoing repairs. In the centre hangs Big Ben, surrounded by the four smaller bells already alluded to. The bell is beautifully chased, and bears an inscription round the lower rim :— "This bell, weighing 13 tons, llcwt. 151b., was cast by George Mears, of WhitechapeJ, for the clock of the Houses of Parliament, under the direction of Edmund Beckett Deni- son, Q.C., in the 21st year of the reign of Queen Victoria, and in the year of Our Lord 1855." The fracture in the bell so much talked about is situated near the rim, and facing St. Thomas's Hospi- tal. It extents 18in. upwards. A few years ago a piece of the metal, measuring in length 3in. and 5in. in depth, was cut away to prevent vibration. The bell's circumference is exactly 27ft., and its height 6ft. 6in. The chimes were set to the following lines :— AIl through this hour Lord he my guide. And by thy power No foot shall slide." A number of workmen are now employed in regilding the clock tower, and the work is to be completed in three weeks.

A THREATENED STRIKE. The notices of a reduction of 5 per cent. in wages which the Cotton spinners of the Bolton district have served upon their workers will expire on Thursday and Friday in this week, and unless some settlement be come to in the meantime, upwards of 10,000 opera- tives will then be on strike. It is no secret that for some time past the cotton trade of Bolton has been in a very depressed state, aud that some of the mill- owners have accumulated very large stocks, varying from 100,000lb. to 500,0001b. As a remedy for this state of things, the operatives, at meetings held in Manchester, Bolton, Preston, and Blackburn, have strongly recommended the curtailment of production, and while this suggestion has been favourably received by a few masters, it is felt to be impossible of general adoption, inasmuch as a limitation of the hours of labour would mean simply an increase of the cost of production, which to many employers would be ruinous. Of the 58 firms of cotton-spinners in Bolton alone, only two have as yet resorted to short time— namely, those of Messrs. Musgrave and Sons, and Messrs. Orinrod and Hardcastle, and the former is amcng those who have given notice of reduction. Another remedy which has been prouo<ed. with view to "averting a strike isTlrat both mffisteWahcHtaSf" should accept the present of wages as the standard for the next two years but this, it is obvious, would scarcely prove satisfactory in the encl. If trade re- vived the operatives would naturally consider it a hardship to have to work 011 at the old rate, and, on the other hand, if trade grew worse small capitalists could scarcely remain solvent, while wealthy mill- owners would be sorely tempted to retire. The masters generally discard both these remedies, and declare that the only alternative to a reduction of wages is the closing of the mills. They are quite willing, they say, to restore the 5 per cent, as soon as ever trade will warrant it, and as a proof of their sincerity, they point to the advances which have been made by them in the past. From 1859 to the present time the operatives have received altogether six advances of wages—one of 3t and each of the remainder of 5 per cent., while during the same period the masters have made four reductions of 5 per cent. each. The following show the fluctuations in detail;— Raised 3A per cent. in September, 1859; raised 5 per. cent. in April, 1860; dropped 5 per cent. in March 1861; raised 5 per cent. in March, 1866; dropped 5 per cent. in October, 1867; dropped 5 per cent. in October, 1869; raised 5 per cent. in March, 1871; raised 5 per cent. in March, 1872 dropped 5 per cent. in October, 1874 raised 5 per cent. in May, 1875. It wiil be seen from the above that if the reduction now threatened should be made the operatives will be in precisely the same position as they were in 1851. The han imule spinners allege that they are at present 5 per cent. below the standard list, but the masters con- tend that this is more than counterbalanced by the im- provements which they have made in their machinery, and which enable the men to earn better wages than they have hitherto done. Nearly all the operatives, it should be stated, are paid by piecework. Should the strike occur — and at present the men are firm in their determination to resist the reduction—it will have most disastrous consequences. In Bolton and district there are up- wards of 150 mills, employing some 15,000 persons. Eight of these are already closed, and of the others notice of the reduction has been given at 106 mills. These employ between 10,000 and 11,000 hands, the great majority of whom are unconnected with any association. The only branches which have unions are the handmule spinners (who number 1,020), the self-acting winders (875) and the card-room hands and a few others, whose numbers are very small. At only 38 mills, employing fewer than 3,000 persons, has no notice of the reduction been given. On the other hand" the great bulk of the masters are combined, and the action of their association has been followed by others who are not members. The minders' delegates from the cotton mills of

Bolton, at a meeting held on Monday night, approved of the resolution passed by the Amalgamated Associa- tion at Manchester on Sunday in favour of the minders and spinners opposing the proposed reduction in wages.

SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMONDS. Major Lanyon's report on Griqualand West for the year 1875 has been issued. Writing at the end of last year he says :— At the present time the chief produce of the pro- vince is diamonds. In certain parts, where farmers had settled and established themselves before this be- came a British possession, a certain amount of wool is produced, but the exports under this head can- not be fairly estimated. As regards diamonds, however, a fair estimate can be given. During the year there was forwarded through the Post Office alone over 700 pounds weight (avoirdupois). As only the better sort of diamonds are forwarded in this way, it is not estimating the value of this too highly when I put it down at £1,400,000. Of course this does not by any means represent the total amount of exports under this head. Large amounts are sent home by shippers through private sources, and there is no doubt that very large quantities are clandestinely sent home^ by tlie^ illicit diamond buyers, whose name is legion.' The temptations and facilities to the workers 111 the mines to steal are very great, and although the penalties are very severe, both to the thief and the receiver, the large gains to be made are too tempting for any penalties to stop this demoralising trade. I do not think I am overstating the total value of diamonds found in the province during the year 1875 when I put it down at The following short re- port will be interesting as showing the prices ob- tained during the year for diamonds. It is compiled by a gentleman here who is a large digger and exporter. 1875 has been the most prosperous year our digging community has ever experienced. Although prices were not, perhaps, quite as high as at the opening of those fields, good quality diamonds of ordinary size fetched nearly as much as ever they did, and very choice stones realised fancy prices. I have known a 2-carat stone fetch £20, and other small stones in proportion, but these were of course exceptions. The market gradually rose frem the beginning of the year to the end of May, when it receded slightly, keeping, however, very firm till the end. On reference to my register I find that in the month before the excessive rise I purchased 75 stones weighing 244 carats (nearly 3! carats average) at 105s. per carat, while in December I paid as much as 160s. for 16 diamonds weighing 51! carats, a similar average, and, as far as my memory serves me, of equal quality. Ordinary diggers parcels, as found in washing and exclusive of pickings, which are generally of a more valuable description, may be estimated at 30s. per earat during the year, a load of good ground yielding equal to 1i carats washed. The average prices of white and p8 white diamonds, perfect in shape and free from flaws, varied during the year from 50s. to gOs. for stones of to 1A carats to £8 10s. to £1 0 10-f. for stones of 4 to 5 carats. Larger sizes varied considerably, and 9 to 10 carat stones sold for about jE15 per carat. First bye-water or slightly off-coloured would be one-half the value of the above quotations. Light yellow stones, but otherwise perfect, varied from 25s. to £4 per stone of 1 to 5 carats to j38 10s. to £10 for stones of 40 to 80 carats. Dark yellow stones were about 25 per cent. cheaper. The high price paid for superior goods is to some extent traceable to the competition caused by American orders to be executed in time for the Phila- delphia Exhibition. I may mention as useful for reference that a carat equals 3 l-5th grains troy. The most common shape of the diamond when found is octohedron, but it assumes all shapes."

DISCHARGED PRISONERS. The following is a translation of a recent article in the Paris Steele on the Society for the Assistance of Discharged Prisoners the merits of which are well known to our readers, says The Timer ;— England is, as everybody knows, the country par exedtenve for religious sects and societies of all kinds. If we were to take a survey of them, our readers would be surprised that such extravagant theories and such absurd ideas should be able to enlist adherents and find bigots to support them. Side by side with the absurdities which naturally spring up in a country in which money, business, the Bible, spleen, brandy, and bill play so important a part, serious and reflecting people and men of rest! intelligence and humanity have made-themselves known by establishing institutions whfe/j A society exists in London whri) jfi sufficiently known either in London or else- whe* • object is one which wo know not»how to urge atly upon the attention of our readers. It London twenty-one years ago, and is calty Royal Society for the Assistance of Dis- eiia:re(j prisoners.' We have said that a Republic mht enV y 1Í institution, and that is true. The flders of fchk institution understood that if the right of ^fljeting-* punishment is asserted, the right of gain- in; & ^ve'v.ilicod must also be recognised. In con- d tuning a 'nan to death or to penal servitude fc>Ciiio? justice eliminates him from society, and T»st is piayed. But what is to become of the 'Jor £ if-'s 0l,t prison after having passed hft6611 years there? Can he hunt up hBTMl' 'Vha ? ;Wotdd they receive him ? To whom work?/ Mow -can he explain Wh»> *fll have anything to do with "him if, he makes up his mind to admit the charge whichjveighs against him ? His first crime will compel him to commit a second. He is lodged in a town, and hehas to bring himself forward although quite unknown, without testimonials, without character, and without money. What can he nnd to do? There is no work for a convict Nobody will trust thelirst person they meet even to carry a sack or mind a wheelbarrow. He is anxious' to regain his character by work, but he cannot.. He has paid his debt to jus- tice. but she won't give him a discharge. The police have an eye upon him he is their prey and belongs to them. lie has only been removed from the treadmill in order that obstacles may be thrown in his path to arrest his progress, and deprive him of the means of living. As long as justice considered him her debtor she made some provision, whatever it miglff be, for his wants but when he has paid her debt she still hampers and obstructs him. Should a wretched man come out of prison at the age of 50 or 60, there remains nothing else for him to do but to throw himsalf before a train or into a river or else to commit another crime that he may go back to prison and finish his days there. Such are the con- siderations which have influenced the founders of the society, and we are able to furnish the following in- formation as to the results of their labours taken from the report for the year 1876, which has lately been published. Let us premise that this society is not attached to the Government; it is managed by a com- mittee of 25 persons, in addition to a president and several vice-presidents each one of whom gives an annual subscription, and certain gifts which are called voluntary contributions' make up the rest. The society deals with male prisoners in the following manner:— It gives assistance to none except those who have undergone long sentences five years is the minimum. The governors of all the prisons are in communication with the committee. They are directed to ask each prisoner, three months before his liberation, if he intends to place himself in communication with the society; he should explain to him its objects and endeavour to make him understand the advantages to be derived from it; if the prisoner consents, the Governor informs the Secretary of the society of this fact: and 011 the day of his quitting prison the prisoner is placed in communication with the society. From that day forward he becomes its protege the society finds lodgings for him, clothes, and feeds him, and endeavours to find work for him suited to his capacities. As the society is widely and power- fully connected, work is quickly found. Generally the society takes care that its proteyes should not be placed under the surveillance of the police, the deli- cate duty of visiting them being usually entrusted to one of the agents of the society and to a member of the committee. In return for this the protege must not change his abode without informing the society if he leaves his employment the society should also be informed of it, and if the fault does not lie with him, he will still obtain help and protection from the society. The society acts in a similar manner towards female prisoners; those who wish to place themselves in communication with it and to profit by the advantages thus offered, leave prison nine months before the ex- piration of their sentence, and go to recruit themselves in a refuge, a sort of private convalescent hospital, where they quickly regain their health and vigour. While there they are employed at needlework and similar occupations. The following telling figures are "i.J,x.n7-1).tJl";?!' } SLU Atil Wj- oners were assisfeOTjy t,h"e society; 244 found situations Iin Loudon itself; 175 in the neighbourhood of London and in the country 10 were sent to their relations and friends; 47 were provided with berths on board ship; 14 who had been lately liberated were (when the report was published awaiting employment; 31 had ceasec to communicate with the society 24 had been again convicted four had been abandoned by the society on account of their conduct; three had died. As regards the expensa incurred in assisting both the men and women, the society spent during the year 1876 the sum of 245,822 francs. Following these figures we find an account of the visits paid by the agents of the society, and the members of the committee to their proteges, and a great many letters (initialed only), in which the latter testify their gratitude and satisfaction. The figures given above are a striking proof of the results obtained by the society, and show that we have good reason for s&ying that this institution is worthy of a Republic."

AN ENEMY IN THE REAR. The newspapers from Russia contain a piece of intelligence, which will have an important effect on the decisions of the Czar's generals with respect to a resumption of hostilities in Bulgaria. Every day last week the environs of Wiborg were visited by a severe frost, and the lownessof temperature is stated to have extended to provinces far to the south of St. Petersburg. A distinct warning has thus been given to the Russian Government that unless it brings the present campaign to a speedy close it will have to prepare for an enemy in the rear as well as for one in front. The month of August is gener- ally marked in high latitudes by a slight frost at sunrise, but cold mornings usually commence later on in the season than they have done this year. Frost and fog at sunrise are signs well understood by the moojik that the short-lived Russian summer is gradually on the wane, and he hastens to finish the harvest ere the September rains turn the roads into quagmires. In some years the autumnal rains begin directly the sun crosses the Equinox; in others the month of September is accompanied by dry easterly winds, which keep the ground firm, but usually pro- long the inevitable period of mud and slush charac- teristic of October. The weather of Russia is not of such a variable nature that the Czar can afford to disregard the admonition that has now been given him. When once the summer be- gins to break all hopes of a return of fine weather may be considered illusory. Rainy days and frosty nights soon convert the whole country into a vast morass, and for six weeks or more, according to locality, the transport of troops and stores is an im- possibility. The interregnum between the settled dryness of summer am the permanent frost of winter is one which, since the wholesale destruction of forests, has evinced a tendency to prolong itself. October and the first half of NiJVember may be regarded defi- nitely as "booked" for bad weather; but should September repeat the practice into which it has lately fallen of joining their humid company, this year's campaign would have to be closed earlier than would be convenient for the strategy of the Czar's generals. —Globe.

WAR HEWS THE FIGHTING IN THE SCHIPKA PASS. CONSTANTINOPLE, August 24, 8.17 p.m. A despatch from Suleiman Pacha, dated from the Schipka Pass, August 21 says Yesterday our camp was transferred to this place. This morning three brigades, despite a shower of pro- jectiles, ascended the heights of the defile fortified by the Russians, drove back their outposts and skirmishers, and advanced to within a hundred yards of the enemy's entrench- ments. Frequent sorties were made by the Russians, and there was desperate fighting for 14 hours without any deci- sive result. We remained on the ground we had conquered, but the enemy retained his fortified positions, which are defended by 14 pieces of heavy artillery and a numerous force. To-morrow we shall bring up our siege guns and re- commence the struggle. We hope to be successful." CONSTANTINOPLE, August 25. A despatch from Suleiman Pacha, dated August 23 says "Yesterday morning we placed six more siege guns in position. Desperate fighting has been carried on until evening, both on the right and left flanks. The enemy's fortifications retnainipg untouched, there was no decisive result. This morning we renewed the attack, and the sorties made by the enemy were repulsed. The defence made by the Russians is greatly assisted by their formidable fortifications, but nevertheless they are now completely surrounded, and we command their line of retreat to Gabrova. To-morrow a decisive assault will be made. As the enemy's forces have not profited by the darkness to elfect their retreat they run the risk of being captured entire. The Russians have sulfered cruel losses. Our loss is at present unknown." s CONSTANTINOPLE, Augifsfc26. W A despatch from Suleiman Pacha announces that the Turkish troops have taken the two principal forts held by the Russians in the Schipka Pass. A telegram received here' from Adrianople to-day announces that news had reached that place of the capture of the third fort in the Schipka Pass by Suleiman Pacha, who had proceeded towards Gabrova. RUSSIAN HEAD-QUARTERS, GORNJI SIUDEN, August 24, Noon. Yesterday morning the Turks, in stTÓng force, made a violent attack upon the Schipka Pass from three sides. Our troops repulsed all their onslaughts. The first reinforce- tnents which appeared ere mounted Cossacks. At > o'clock in the evening a whole brigade of riflemen ar- rived with six guns and atv once took part in the combat. At nine o'clock p.m. the rifles stormed the heights on Our right flank. Desperate fighting was car- ned on until midnight, when, iu consequence of the eclipse of the moon, darkness put an end to the engagement **88 Cannonading only Onr troops, maintained all their positions not withstanding tSenumerical superiority and murderous crass fire of the Turks. They have now fought for four days the whole of Suleiman Pacha's anny without partaking of rest or obtaining any warm nourishment. Further considerable reinforcements are expected in the course of the night. ST. PETERSBURG, August 26,10.15 p.m. The following oiffcial -despatch is published here:— According to the latest intelligence received frabi head- jquarters. Our troops have not yielded an inch of their posi- tfohs in the Schipka Pass." The Constantinople news announcing the capture of several forts in the pass by the Turkish troops b, according to present information, wholly unfounded.

DEFEAT OF THE RUSSIANS IN ASIA. CONSTANTINOPLE, August 26,5.50 p m. An official despatch has been received from Ahmed Moukhter Pacha, dated Guedikler, August 25, which says :— "We have achieved a great victory. During the night we advanced against the enemy's position. The division under Hachim Pasha upon the left carried the heights of Kizil-Tepe invaded the Russian encampment. The Russian forces at Baldipovan were hastily brought up, and made three successive attempts tore-capture Kizil-Tepe. Two hundred guns were brought into action, and the engagements assumed the proportions of a great battle which lasted until six o'clock this evening. The enemy was routed along the whole line, and we remained victorious masters of the battle field. Four. thousand Russians were placed hon; de combat, and we captured four ammunition waggons and gun carriages as well as an immense quantity of arms and ammunition of War. We lost 1,200 killed and wounded, including several officers; and my horse was wounded. The commander of the enemy's cavalry, General Tchoutchovassoff, was killed by a ball. CONSTANTINOPLE, August 26, 8.10 p.m. A despatch from Dervish Pacha, dated Batoum, August 24th, says "Fifteen battalions of our cavalry, accompanied by six pieces of artillery, have canied a redoubt of the Russian left at Djianguir. An explosion amongst some ammunition waggons in the intrenchments on the Russian right threw disorder into the ranks of the enemy, who fell back with a loss of 100 killed. ERZEBOUM, August 25, 10.50 a.m. Yesterday at noon the Russians advanced from Kizil-Tepe Upon Kuruk-Dara and Vezir-Koy. The Turkish commander sent a sufficient force to encounter them, and an engagement ensued which lasted five hours. The Russians retreated. Some cases of ammunition belonging to the Russians ex- ploded through being struck by Turkish shells. There s no news from Bayazid.

THE METROPOLITAN POLICE. In the Metropolitan Police there are 7,917 English- men, 820 Irishmen, 145 Scotchmen, 13 4Velshmen, and k 23 foreigners. Of the foreigners 12 are German, one is a Russian, one an American, one a Swede, and one a Norwegian. Mr. Drusocvich is an Englishman by birth and his mother an Englishwoman. Over 1,000 has served as soldiers, of whom 2 are superintendents, 23 are inspectors, 69 are sergeants, and 913 private constables. The married men comprise 23 superintendents, 254 inspectors, 888 sergeants, 3,103 constable's, and the single men include two superintendents, 20 inspectors, 155 sergeants, and 2,802 constables. The rank and pay of the police are—Four district superintendents, one at £800 and three at £700 per annum "25 superintendents, at salaries ranging from S310 to £475; with an allowance of .Ell for clothing: 277 inspectors, at salaries ranging from £88 to £276, with an allowance of £10 for clothing; 1,053 sergeants, at salaries ranging from £88 to £162 and 8,913 con- stables, at salaries from £62 to JE88. Married men obtain an allowance of 4d. per week in of coals, of which single men entitled to 401b. each per week in winter, and 20ib. in summer. The force is divided into 20 Divisions. The full force in 1876 was 10,268; in 1867 it numbered 7,792 men. Two men have been in the force for more than 40 years; 31 for more than 30 years 718 for more than 20 years 3,439 for more than 10 years and 6,483 for more than five years. The special detective corps at Scotland- yard consists of one superintendent, at £450 per annum three chief inspectors, at 6s. 2d. per week three inspectors at £4 7s. per week and 16 detectives divided into two classes, the first-class receiving £;3 2s. 8d. each weekly, and the second-class £278. 4d. per week.-The Times.

CONTINENTAL POST-OFFICES. Max writes the following from the Austrian Tyrol Sir,—A letter in The Times of some weeks back gives some good advice on the subject of addresses of letters for our countrymen abroad. Will you permit me to supplement that advice as follows ? In the address of a letter one Christian name in full, at least, should precede the surname, and both should be written in printing characters. IS o title whatever should precede, nor honorary initials or words succeed the name of the addressee. The name of the post town should likewise be written in printing characters while the names of the province and country should follow in ordinary cursive writing. The address Bhould commence not higher than half-way down the depth of the envelope, so as to avoid obliteration by the post-office defacing stamp. As an illustration of the propriety of some of the above prescriptions, I would instance the fact that within the last few days an unfortunate postmaster showed me two letters—one addressed The Earl of the other "Lord A In one of these, which had a row of stamps the whole length of the upper side of the letter, the name was nearly com- pletely obliterated by the English defacing stamps. With the assistance of a lens I was able to decipher the name, which proved to be identical with that on the other letter. The postmaster insisted that they could not be intended for the same person, inasmuch as one was for The Earl of A while the other was for "Lord A Having an Englishman at hand, he got the due explanation. He then asked me what he was to do when a Miss J ones—let us say — telegraphed to him to send all letters bearing that superscription to B where there was another Miss Jones in the town living at a certain hotel. I sug- gested that he should give the latter the first reading. The poor man exclaimed, "Ah, ma che carica add- ing bo his official duties. Our Post-Offiee, I think, is wrong in directing that the postage stamp should be affixed to the right-hand upper corner of the letter; for in that position the important word of the address—the surname—is apt to. be obliterated. The regulation should be that it should be affixed to the left-hand upper corner, as is the practice in some foreign States.

ENGLAND IN THE FUTURE. In future ages our remote descendants will doubt- less marvel at the vast and intricate machinery which we have established fir promoting the health of our populations. The time will come sooner or later when the raisons d'être of this machinery will have in great measure passed away. When its coal has been all exhausted, and the tide of commerce has swept on to other nations, England will return to its primitive state as an agricultural country. Its crowded town populations, now held together only by their staple productions, will have dissolved, and its fair expanse of fertile land will be the home of some five and six millions of happy, quiet, and sleepy tillers of the soil. Some few other industries may perhaps survive. The salt of Cheshire and the tin of Cornwall may still sup- port a few hundred miners. The pampered merchants of Russia or America may restore to the" Natives" of Richborough their old renown. But in other re- spects the English nation in the time of its second childhood must content itself with internal commerce. A noble history, a splendid literature, a few gigantic buildings, and a progeny scattered over half the world will be all that will be left to remind it of its ancient fame. The laws and regulations which are now necessitated by the herding together of our millions of artisans will, perhaps, like the muscles of the human ear, still survive their period of usefulness, and, if the agricultural labourer of the future be given to scientific inquiry, will furnish him with many an inter- esting problem. The doctrines of Malthus and the anxiety about over-population and death-rates will have been passed on to other nations. With a death- rate of about 12 per 1,000 and a population of some 50 to the square mile, the Englishman of the distant future will take as little practical interest in systems of State sanitation as we do in the polities of the 17th century. -Medical Examiner.

A THREATENING PERIL. It was rumoured a short time ago that a certain great English coal and iren owner was about to import Chinese labour to work his mines. His Excellency Kuo subsequently gave s*me colour to this report by publicly admitting that one of the objects sought by the Court of Pekin in establish- ing embassies among the foreign barbarians was to find new outlets for the surplus population of the Flowery Land. An interesting letter from San Francisco in a provincial contemporary shows what eueh an immigration, if on a wholesale scale, would mean to the people of this country. Wherever the writer cam across Chinese labour he found it underselling the local market. At first, it is true, Messrs. Ah Sing and his compatriots confined themselves to a few special industries. They took up the work of laundresses in particular, and the Cali- fornians derived considerable benefit fro/n being able to have clean linen occasionally without the risk of in- solvency. Gradually, however, John Chinaman en- larged the sphere of his operations, until it now in- cludes all sorts of factory work, making bricks, garden- ing, agriculture, boot making, and book binding, the manufacturers of cigars and cordage, and domestic service. In all these occupations the industrious fel- ow acquits himself well, and as there is always plenty of work to be done by willing hands in California, the white industrial classes would not much complain didnot this terribly energetic alien seTl his labour at about half the price obtained for that of others before his coming. At one planing mill visited by our in- formant he found white employes earning from three to four dollars a day, whereas in the very next mill Chinamen were getting j'lst about half that rate for an equal quantity of work, quite as well done. It is not unnatural under such circumstances, however deplorable, that the whites should try to make their country too hot for for their smiling but inconveiuent visitor. We rather think he would have an unplea- santly warm time of it in English mines if he con- sented to cut coal or hew ironstone for half the wages with which our own miners are so discontented. To them he would appear as the Colorado beetle does to British farmers—a thing to be exterminated wfoere- ever found,—Globe.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN AUSTRALIA. The Times of Monday published the following letter — Sir,—The public mind is so much taken up with the unhappy war in the East of Europe and the appalling famine in South India that many important parts which are under the rule of the same gracious Queen are well-nigh forgotten. Among these I might mention Melbourne, in South Australia, of which my valued friend, Dr. Moorhouse, was last year appointed the Bishop. He has lately concluded his first visitar tion, svnd it may interest your readers and benefit the cause of religion in Victoria to see a few of his obser- vations on the Colony in describing his reception by the people:— "I have travelled thousands of miles, mostly through rough forests with no made roads, but such wretched, steep, rut-ploughed tracks as nothing on wheels except an American buggy could traverse. On one track I went through 80 miles of forest at one stretch, meeting with nothing the whole way but road- side inns built of logs, and at one place a new town- ship of some 20 huts struggling into existence. This last place is called Brandy creek, and is in the midst of the grandest forest scenery I ever saw—even grander than the Black Forest. The gum trees are 200, 300, and 400 feet high, as straight as the mast of a man-of- war, and massive in proportion to their height. It seems to be sacrilege to be chopping and burning them down but then the rich soil which nourished them is wanted for wheat and so they must go. I held a ser- vice at this place in the evening, and had for audience a wooden hall full of small farmers, who came in on horses, or in buggies, or with lanterns afoot, and formed as intelligent and attentive a congregation as you would wish to see. I like such services better than the tea-meetings which have been got up in many places to offer me welcome. There I have to go into some State school or Rechabite hall, and after tea talk to the people for half-an-hour on what will in- terest them or do them good. Everywhere they give me a far better reception than I deserve but I sup- pose my straight hitting from the shoulder suits them. And, although I never spare them, I always try to speak with good nature and kindly feeling. This is a fine rich country; but, Oh! how it needs epiritual labourers. If I only had fifty of the men. who are wasting their days in small English villages to take parochial districts measuring thirty miles by 20, it .would not .only be for the furtherance of our Divine Master's Kingdom, ut for the good of the men themselves. They migl be sure of finding me ready to give them all the latude our Church allows in any direction. And whafcould be "grander or more inspiriting than getting o your horse, cantering g through the forest, where te bright birds cross your path every moment, and 'hen tired of the solemn beauty of the forest, turnin in at some farmer's fence to speak to him of the Kinlom, and then passing on from one welcome to anotfcr till you pause at night to rest and hold service i a little church in some village clearing? A maly, hearty Christian man might be as happy as the cay is long on such work in this bright and charmin climate. If the work is rough, it is healthy, and at any earnest young man would do splendidly and elight to do. Oh, if we had only men!" In an earlier letter to relative, written soon after his landing, Bishop Mochouse speaks of the grand future of the Church of England, if only I can succeed in importing or trainin^the right kind of clergy. You may assure any young Clergyman who is_ disposed to come of generous treatient at my hands in the matter ot opinion, and of a grttt and free work in a most inte- resting field. I woulonot give up the work here for anything whatever thi I have ever seen in England. I believe if we ha- the men here, we could do anything with the people, who have all the instincts of fair pla; which belong to our country- men. Oh for even three more with their hearts in the right place. We night then hold this for all time." These stirring and aeering statements from one of hardest working clergymen who ever laboured m this country, and workel with all his might at different times in Sheffield, ÍJ London, and in the suburbs, will surely induce some who remember him to come for- ward to his help inthe great work which is before him in Melbourne. He has a cathedral to build and a college, to raise, and he is calling the wealthy and willing in his diocese to help him largely in these works, and to supply the means which mar be needed. But his friends here may at least bestir themselves to induce the men he asks for to go forth to his aid and to sent him the means for engaging and supporting them. Two friends have sent me checks for B50 to forward to the Bishop, aad I trust many others will follow their example. A eollection of j340 has been made in my church, and I ture to hope that many who take an interest in the work of missions and desire to raise the tone of one of our most important and influential colonies will not be slow to assist Dr. Moorhouse in his promising and very arduous undertakings. BIICHARD HARVEY, Rector of Hornsey.

NDIAN FAMINE FUND. If effectivj relief is to be afforded to the starving myriadj of India by English charity, the only chance of doing so is by so systematising our efforts as to render the subscription list really national. If every member cf the community gave something, how- ever little) the hands of the Government of India might be greatly strengthened in dealing with the famine. We have no doubt that the working classes would be only too willing to subscribe their mites if every centre of industry in each town started a subscription list for its own members. We see that the employes of a firm at Birkenhead have already set a good example by unanimously passing a resolu- tion to pay 2d, in the pound a head per week to the Indian Famine Fund, for twelve weeks, the same to be stopped from their weekly pay. It is estimated that the jroceeds will amount to C40, a substantial sum, whicli, we doubt not, will be increased hereafter should the famine continue. The English working classes ar4 always ready enough in the cause of charity, bit they do not care to send a few coppers now and ,hen to a public subscriptien list. Nor they in a position generally to make a substan- tial donation in a lump sum, however desirous of doing to. But by spreading the payment over some months that end is reached without incon- venience. We feel assured that very satisfactory results would be attained if the example set by this Liverpool ftrrp were widely followed. Some large concerns have, we are aware, already made collections among their employes, but we consider the stoppage of small sums out of weekly wages for a gives period much better calculated to gain the end aimed at. It should be remembered by those who are half inclined to discourage private exertion in this cause, an account of its apparent uselessness to alleviate so widespread a calamity, that every pound subscribed will help the finances of India to bear the terrible strain. But unless our cnarity is really national— unless every member of the community, from the richest to the poorest subscribes in proportion to his means-the sUm obtained will be but a drop in the ocean. The thing chiefly needed at present is, seemingly, ao to systematise our efforts that every person throughout the country may be put in the way of giving something, be it ever so little, towards the relief of our starving fellow subjects. Employers of labour, whether on a large scale or a small, have the necessary machinery at hand, and we can but trust they will set it at work without loss of a moment.— Globe.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER at PLYMOUTH. The Conservative Associations of Plymouth, Devonport, and Stonehouse assembled on Monday in great force at Plymouth to make their usual annual demonstration. There were to have been athletic sports in the early part of the afternoon, but the weather, which was very wet, interfered with this part of the programme. Tea was served in the Drill- hall, at hai&Mtt six, ana a meeting held in the same place at a quai tej^ptst s, at which the Chancellor tf 'he Exchequer 'attended MSyw&de a speech of some length. In the couise of it he ea&$wided that the past Session had not been a toarren vqin Led to the Universities Act. the Irish Jhm > ,6 a: Prisons Acj,^n;lotl^er measures in proof In alluding to the cause of the Parliament not having done so much during the Session as was expected, the right hon. gentleniat said But you say we have not done so much as we had bqped4 to do. That is so, and let me tell you solu" of, the reasons. One of the reasons is this, that the and of legislation of which I speak is a kind of legislation which interests a great number of members, and almost everybody thinks that he can throw a light on the subjects which are discussed, that he can make suggestions which are worthy of consideration, and that he can take a necessary part in the discussions which arise. And no doubt that is to a certain extent the case. But I am sorry to say that this very valuable characteristic of our House of Commons, viz., the increasing interest which members take in the discussions that they have before them—sometimes runs to excess, and we sometimes find that men hardly,know when to stop, although what they are saying may have been said five or six times before. (Laughter.) Those friends of ours, I am afraid, have very little regard for the consideration that we must economize time. I have sometimes been tempted to think that a good many members are in the position of what Dean Swift used to say was the position of the servants in a family where every man knew and every woman knew what his or her master's income was, and each thought it a duty to spend the whole of it. (Laughter.) Therefore, the coachman if he thought his master had a thousand a year spent at the rate of a thousand a year, the gar- dener did the same, for what had he to do with the coachman ? and the cook did the same, for what had she to do with the man servants ? (Renewed laughter.) We find it is much the same in the House of Commons. Each man thinks the other men are taking up a great deal of time most unworthily, while for his part he has just got something that he wants to say and say it he must. (Laughter.) In that way it is the case that a good deal more time is spent—I will not say wasted —than used to be the case when first I went into Parliament In alluding to the war and the political condition of Europe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said We have had, as I said a little while ago, a very trying Session, a very anxious Session. It has been a time of anxiety for the country, and I cannot fail to admit that even yet it is a time of great anxiety for the country. (Hear, hear.) No one can look abroatj and fail to see the fearful condition of affairs existing at present in Europe—no one can fail to feel the gravest anxiety as to the effect that events which are now passing may have upon the welfare of this country and upon the welfare of the world. (Hear, hear.) 1 can quite understand that anxiety which must be felt by all classes to discuss the present political position of foreign affairs. But I trust that the same spirit which induced the Houses of Parliament to accede to the re- quest of the Ministry that they would not force on a debate at the close of the Session, that that same spirit would still prevail in the country, and that we may be trusted sufficiently to render it un- necessary for us to speak at times when speaking is undesirable and imprudent. (Cheers). Our position is one which is naturally the cause of impatience to many. If we were parties in this war on the one side or the other, it would be easy to excite great audiences by stirring orations and by bringing forward topics that must be of the greatest possible interest, but when you are maintaining a line of neutrality you cannot fail to be attacked on the one side and on the other. You cannot fail to give dissatisfaction to the partisans on the one side and the partisans on the other side, and you have every now and then the greatest possible difficulty in maintaining truly and sincerely the line which you have marked out for yourself to pursue, and yet there never was anything to my mind more clearer than that it is the true line for this country to take at the present time. (Cheers). I don't say there may not be occasions upon which a different line would become our duty, but I do say that, under the present circumstances, that which we ought to keep in view and to maintain in every possible way, is the position and influence of England, to be used when the time may come that we can be of some assistance in bringing this miserable, this disastrous, and thi cruel a^d most barbarous war to a speedy end. (Cheers). And our efforts last year were directed to preventing the war breaking out. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful. Our efforts are now to be directed to looking for every opportunity of bringing it to a termination. But we must feel this, that as the events proceed, and as the struggle becomes more and more of a mortal one, so the difficulties increase, the dangers of complications increase, and the danger that our interest in the one direction or the other may be affected, do not diminish (hear, hear), and if we are to endeavour to use our influence to put an end at some early date to this terrible struggle, we must take care to husband that influ- ence and gave no cause to question our motives or suspect our sincerity. (Cheers.) We have said—it was our duty to say it—we have said we must look to the interests of England in this matter, and must de- fend the interests of England if they should be attacked. (Cheers.) We consider that to be our duty, and we mean to do our duty. (Loud cheers.) But, at the same time, we do not desire, as some have stated, to put selfishly forward the mere question of the rarrow interests of Britain, as if they were all we have to look to. We desire for the sake of humanity, for the sake of Europe, for the sake of the world, to lend our assistance to bring about, if it be possible, the conclusion of this unhappy quarrel. It may be or it may not be in our power to do so, but this I trust may be the oaae. I trust that a Ministry which has given the public the assurance which we have given, and which has so far, at all events, kept up to the assurance which it has given in the face of the world,—I trust that the Ministry will still retain ( the confidence of the people that we bhall not be called upon, as was perhaps somewhat too much the case a year ago, to respond to excited appeals, and to face in- flammatory harangues but that we shall be left to exercise, according to the best of our judgment and with the firm resolve to do our duty, the influence which still remains to Great Britain in the Councils of Europe. (Cheers.) I believe that influence is still great. I do not believe for a moment that, although we have a small aimy and although we have a peace- loving population, the strength of this country is less than we could all wish it to be. (Cheers.) I do not be- lieve for a moment that the spirit of the country is less than it was in times gone by. (Cheers.) And if that strength should be called forth, and if that spirit should be appealed to, it will be found in this, nearly the close of the 19th century, that we shall have not degenerated from our ancestors who fought the great fight for European freedom in the beginning of it. (Cheers.) I know that I speak here to many in the great arm of England—the Navy. I speak to you with full confi- dence that if the Navy of England should be at any time called upon to do its duty it will do it as in the days of Nelson. (Cheers.) I speak with firm confi- dence that we have not degenerated from the spirit which won Trafalgar and other battles of the century. (Cheers.) I believe that you will find that in this country when she is called on to act there will be found strength, that there will be found the result which will give credit to our nation and will conduce to the peace and prosperity of the world. (Loud cheers ) Sir MasseyLopes, M.P., Mr. Sampson Lloyd, M.P., Mr. Carpenter Garnier, M.P., Captain Price, M.P., Mr. E. Bates, M.P., and Mr. Puleston, M.P., also addressed the meeting.

EUROPE IN THE 19th CENTURY! "Veritas" writes to the Times un&ei date Ragusa, Aug. 17:- "I bave just returned here from Trebinge. While there I felt myself carried back four or five centuries, to the time when people were burnt for witchcraft in Smithfield, and the heads of criminals exposed on Tower-hill. I was sitting conversing with the English surgeon attached to the hospital in Trebinge, when he observed, There is not much to be seen in this place, but fortunately to-day I am able to show you a sight you never see in England. My servant has just told me that the Bashi-Bazouks have brought in the heads of two men. Come along and let us have a look.' We started for the Bazaar, a short distance off. At the end of the principal street, we encountered a procession of some 150 children, none of them over 12 years of age. The two in front carried what seemed like two standards of some sort, but which on a nearer approach, turned out to t be two human heads etaek on poles about a yard and a half long. One was the head of a man in the prime of life, apparently about 33 years of age, with a black moustache and a beard of some weeks' growth. His head was shaved after the manner of the Bosniaks, with the exception of a long tuft on the crown. The other was that of a man much older, about 55 years of age. His face was thin and clean shaved, his head was also shaved save the same long tuft which floated in the wind. Round this ghastly sight the children danced and yelled like demons. After they had paraded all the street they stuck them on a wall opposite the Pasha's residence and subjected them to every species of insult, each boy advancing in turn and spitting an the two heads and then hurling some mud. They retired uttering horrid blasphemies. During this time the street was thronged with soldiers, and I saw many officers looking on with evident pleasure. On expressing my disgust to my companion he said It was nothing; such sights were rather common in Trebinge.' From the account I received it appears a company of Bashi-Bazouks had set out the day before for Dreenan on the Dalmatian frontier. During the ensuing night they patrolled tne neighbourhood. About ten o'clock they surprised a refugee who had come over the frontier for the purpose of cutting some firewood. rhey immediately sur- rounded him and without more ado cut off his head and placed it in a bag. They then resumed their watch. Early in the morning they discovered another refugee, who had come over for the same purpose. This time he saw the enemy, and fled. But they fired on him, and brought him down wounded. They then cut off his head, and placed it in the bag with the other one. Then, satisfied with their night's work, these wretches returned to Trebinge, where they handed over the heads of their victims to the tender mercies of the infuriated populace. This did not occur in a remote place in Asia Minor on the contrary, in a civilized place, as things go. A town near the Austrian frontier, in daily communication with Ragusa; the residence of a foreign consul. The commandant is a Pasha. It was the hospital depot for the Army of Herzegovina. When such scenes happen there, it is easy to imagine what is likely to occur in remote districts where there are none to witness or record them.

A NOVEL FERTILISER. A novel mode of increasing the grass crops in meadows has been suggested by M. Bouche, who recently communicated to the Berlin Horticultural Society a paper on the growth of lathrona clandeftina, a species of fungus, which appears to have in a very remarkable degree a power which, to some extent, is possessed by our common mushroom. Everybody is familiar with the dark rings of herbage in which mushrooms are found, and most persons are aware that they are the result of successive growths of the fungus, the spawn germinating only on new ground, and imparting as it grows additional richness and vigour to the herbage in its vicinity. This, according to the Gardeners' Chronicle, is due to the fact that fungi are richer than any other class of plants in nitro- gen, which appears to be returned to the soil in a form i- wl,i.r.1} it c:rd b- D rnDTiated by adjacent plants. M. Bouchd has been experimenting with lathrcea clandestina, seeds of which were scattered about the Berlin Botanic Garden. The young fungi made their appearance in connection with many different kinds of plants, but in every case seemed to impart marvellous luxuriance to every- thing about them, many plants in their vicinity growing to a height of twice or three times their normal dimensions. The experimentalists thinks the explanation is to be found in the fact that this fungus draws a great deal of moisture from a considerable depth in the soil and parts with it abun- dantly where it is available for the use of other plants'. Moisture and nitrogen are no doubt excellent fer- tilisers, but, as our contemporary points out, it is not quite clear whence the fungus draws its supplies, and it may be that extra luxuriance for a year or two is followed by an equal period of exhaustion, in which case lathraa clarideitina could hardly be entitled to the honour of having made two blades of grass grow ^where only one grew before. "-Globe.

HOW TO GET RID OF THE COLORADO BEETLE. W. H. writing from Biackheath to The. Times, sends us the following translation of a letter which has appeared in the Weser Gazette from a German farmer settled in America "Moline, Illinois, July 17. In your paper I read an alarming report about an old acquaintance, the Colorado beetle (Doryphora Decemlineata). I think it my duty, as an old sub- scriber, to remove the fear of this insect by giving my own experiences. For six years I have been settled in the United States, first in Iowa, then in Illinois, and have cultivated yearly about three to five acres of potatoes, both early and late sorts. The potato bug appeared, as everywhere regularly soon after the plants commenced to grow in larger orsmaller numbers most in the first three years. At the beginning the method of gathering the insects and their eggs was alone known but, as this method is very slow and un- certain, there always remained some larrae for the next year, especially as the bugs go one or two feet deep into the earth, apd there pass the winter, notwith- L standing hard frost and the wet. Many different means were tried to destroy the beetle, but without effect, until the present method was found and thjp method is so effective and so cheap that he must be a very careless farmer who still lets his potatoes be ruined. It is the following Take 10 pounds of lime and mix it well with one pound of Paris green, which is in no way deleterious to the potatoes, giving 11 pounds of mixture for each acre. Get a small wooden box 10 inches by 8 inches, and 6 inches deep, and nail a piece y of millcloth, as used for sifting by wheat millers, in- stead of a wooden bottom beneath, also a piece of lath across the middle of the open top as a handle for shaking the box. Every morning, from five to nine o'clock, or longer, as long as the dew is on the plants, this mixture has to be applied. Children of eight to twelve years can easily do it by putting about half a litre into the box and sprinkling it as dust by slow shaking on the leaves of the plants. I guarantee that if this is done at the beginning of the growth in Spring, as soon as the first insects are seen, the plants will remain perfectly free. Within two days all the beetles will have disappeared, and this result is quickly arrived at, even if the field has been already completely devastated, and only the stalks re- main covered with the insects and the their larvae. The cure never fails, and it has already been proposed by our farmers in the papers to compel all potato growers by law to apply this mixture on all their fields, for then within two years the bug would be entirely destroyed. Besides this means Nature has provided an enemy to the beetle in a small insect with red spots, which destroys the eggs of the Doryphora Decemlineata. Therefore do not be afraid. We all ten times prefer to have to do with the Colorado beetle than with your potato disease."

THE TURKISH DETECTIVE FORCE. The following is an extract from the letter of a Cor- respondent of Vanity Fair, writing from Pera :—"It is so very usual to imagine that nothing Turkish can be perfect, that I was quite astonished last week at an inspection of the rank and file of the Detective Force. I had paid a visit to the Minister of Police, and, after some conversation on the subject, his Excel- lency asked me if I should like to see his men, as they were most of them at that time present in the building. I assented, and, with the Minister's first secretary, I en- tered a very large room, and saw before me a group that would have done credit to the costumier of any theatre in Europe. There were about sixty men present, but I don't think there were two dressed alike. There was a most devout-looking dervish with a sugar-loaf hat, a perfect specimen of a Persian doctor, a Greek and Armenian priest, and every other kind of costume and character usually to be met with in Constantinople. The moment I entered they evidently thought I had been brought in for identification. The Secretary walked to the end of the room with me, and we sat down for a few moments, and I was able to watch the men. I could see how each was taking a secret view of me. The Secretary then called three of them, and I found they could speak English very well; one had been in our British service in Bombay, and looked remarkably smart. There were others who could speak different European languages. In fact, I was assured that among those present nearly every language was understood. Of late years a groat deal of attention has been paid to the organisation of the secret police. It consists almost entirely of Armenians, and perhaps n. men are more suited for the work. They are the most faith- ful of the Christian subjects o! the Pcrte, and de- cidedly the molt ehrewa."

THE RAINS IN SCOTLAND. I Scotland appears to have been almost washed away by the heavy rains which have fallen during the last few weeks. In a memorandum issued the other day by Mr. Piazza Smith, the astronomer Royal for that country, he says "If we attempt to approximate to the rainfall for the whole month of August, 1877, by supplying the remaining days by means of the same number of days from the end of last July, the August rainfall for this observatory roof will have been 5.809 inches, which is equivalent to 8,945 inches in the average for the principal towns of Scot- land. as printed by the Registrar-General for Births, Deaths, &c., in his various reports, based on the obser- vations of the Scottish Meteorological Society during the last twenty-one years. Has that officer, then, through all these years, ever been known to publish such a rainfull (for the average of the principal towns of Scotland) as 8.945 inches in any month of August ? and the answer is, never. Once in 1861 the rainfall was 7.13 inches, but the next highest returns were only 5.33 and 5.03 inches in 1868 and 1874 respectively; while his average August of all the years is only 3.42 inches. The present year, there- fore, transcends in the gravity of the situation every- thing which the farming interests of the country have had to deal with since the commencement of the pub- lication of the Registrar General's returns for Scot- land." Perhaps these facts will cause people to be a little more chary of ridiculing St. Swithin. Pall Mall Gazette."

JOTTINGS FOR THE CURIOUS. A MISERABLE FAILURE.-When, for the first time, Dr. Lucas, a very unpopular man, ventured on a speech in the Irish Parliament, and failed altogether, Henry Grattan said He rose without a friend, and sat down without an enemy." PEALS OF BELLS.—Peals of eight were hung in a few churches early in the seventeenth century. In 1677 came out the first book on ringing and soon after the number of peals was increased to ten and then to twelve. The first peal of twelve was hung in York Minster in 1681, tenor 53 cwt. Cirencester, in Glou- cestershire, followed next; then St. Bride's, London, in 1718; St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, 1726; St. Michael's, Cornhill, 1728; St. Saviour's, Southwark, 1735. ANCIENT WRITING.—In the convent af Dominican monks at Boulogna are two books of Esdras, written on asses skins, said to have been written by Esdras himself.—The ancient Persians wrote on hides, from which the hair was scraped. The shopherds wrote their songs with thorns upon straps of leather, which they wound round their crooks. DIET OF THE ANCIENTS.—The difference between the diet of the ancients and that of us moderns is very striking. Th3 ancient Greeks and Romans used no alcoholic liquor, it being unknown to them nor coffee, nor tea, nor chocolate, nor sugar, nor even butter, for Galen informs us he had seen butter but once in his life. They were ignorant of the greater number of our tropical spices, as clove, nutmeg, mace, ginger, Jamaica pepper, curry, pimento. They used neither buckwheat, nor French beans, nor spinach, nor sage, tapioca, salad, arrowroot, nor potato or its varieties, nor even the common, but a sort of marsh-grown bean; not many of our fruits, as the orange, tamarind, or American maize. On the other hand they ate sub- stances which we now neglect-the mallow, the herb, ox-tongue, the sweet acorn, the lupin. They liked the flesh of wild asses, dogs, the dormouse, the fox, and the bear ROYAL PATENT TO WEAR A NIGHTCAP. -Agnes Strickland, in her Lives of the Queens of England," in giving an account of the rewards bestowed by Queen Mary upon her friends, after her accession, says :— The Queen's gratitude took a very odd form in the case of the Earl of Sussex he was a valetudinarian, who had a great fear of uncovering his head, and, con- sidering the colds he dreaded respected no person, he petitioned Queen Mary for leave o wear his nightcap in her royal presence. The Queen, in her abundant grace, not only gave him leave to wear one, but two nightcaps, if he pleased. His patent for^this privi- lege is, perhaps, unique in royal annals :—" Know ye, that we do give to our well-beloved and trusty cousin and councillor, Henry Earl of Sussex, Viscount Fitzwater, and Lord of Egremond and Burnell, license and pardon to wear his cap, coif, or nightcap, or any two of them, at his pleasure, as well in our presence as in the presence of any other person or persons within this our realm, or any other place in our dominions wheresoever, during his life and these our letters shall be his sufficient warrant in his behalf." The Queen's seal, with the Garter about it, is affixed to this singular grant. "PUTTING YOUR FOOT IN IT.The legitimate origin of this term has been thus explained:—"Ac- cording to the Asiatic Researches, a very curious mode of trying the title to land is practised in Hindostan. Two holes are dug in the disputed spot, in each of which the lawyers on either side put one of their legs, and remain there until one of them is tired, or com- plains of being stung by insects, in which case his client is defeated."—[An American writer has re- marked. that in the United States it is generally the client, and not the lawyer, who puts his foot in it."] GOLD COINS. -These were first issued in France by Clovis, A.D. 489. About the same time they were issued in Spain, by Amabric, the Gothic king. In bith countries they were called trientes. They were first issued in England in 1257, in the shape of a penny, of the value of 20d. only two specimens have come down to us. Florins were next issued in 1344, of the value of 6s. The noble followed next of the value of 6s. 8d.; being stamped with a rose, it was called the rose noble. Angel" of the same value as the latter were issued in 1465. The royal followed next in 1466, of the value of 10s. Then came the sovereign of 20s. in 1489. The gold crown, of the value of 10s., followed in 1527. TJnlJes and lions were issued in 1603, and exurgats in 1634. The Guinea was first issued in 1633, of Guinea gold. In 1733, all the gold coins (except the guinea) were called in. and forbidden to circulate. The present sovereign was first issued in 1817. The American half-eagle was first issued in 1817. THE OLDEST DESCRIPTION OF REVOLVER.—Tacitus wrote two thousand years ago that old ideas and in- ventions had their day, lapsed from memory, and at a future time were resusciated." According to Solomon, there is nothing new under the sun and Tacitus unconsciously corroborates the assertion. In the Tower of London Armoury is a revolver bearing date 1550 it has a revolving breech for four charges, to be turned by the hand. This weapon is fired by a matchlock, and is, as far as authentic records go, the oldest de- scription of revolver known. MART STUART'S CHAIR.—On the south side of the chancel of Conington Church, Hunts., stands a hand- some, massive, and elaborately carved oaken chair. which has b6en traditionally known as the very seat from which the unfortunate Mary Stuart rose to sub- mit her neck to the executioner. The chair, it is thought, was brought from Fotheringay, and placed in Conington Church as a sacred relic, by Sir Robert Cotton, who built Conington Castle partly with the material of Fotheringay, and who "brought from there the whole room where Mary Queen of Scots was be- headed." PAINTING ON GLASS.—The art of painting on glass was wholly unknown to the ancients, who had no glass windows. Even in Europe, glass windows are of recent times: and houses so seldom possessed them, that as late as the end of the seventeenth century, it was customary, when people wished to give an idea of a magnificent house, to describe it as a house fit for a prince-a heuse which had windows in it. When glass of various colours came to be manufactured in Europe, the idea was conceived of adorning windows in the manner of Mosaic. Such was the origin of glass painting, an art so much admired by all nations and such also was the origin of that conjunction, still so common, the trades of painter and glazier. "ANOTHER PLACE."—The rule that allusions to debates in the other House are out of order is mainly founded upon the understanding that the debates of the other House are not known, and that the House can take no notice of them. The rule has been so fre- quently enforced, that most members in both Houses have learned a dexterous mode of evading it by trans- parent ambiguities of speech; and, although there are few orders more important than this for the con- duct of debate, and for observing courtesy between the two House, none, perhaps, are more generally tt"ansgressed.-Sir T. E. May. AN IDLE QUESTIQN FITLY REBUKED.—Plutarch in his Quest. Conviv," relates that when King Antigones went to visit Antagorus, the philosopher, he found him busied in the cooking of congers. Do you think," said Antigonus, that HIllier, at such a time as he wrote the glorious actions of Agamemnon, was boiling congers?" "And do you think," said the other, "that Agamemnon, when he performed these actions, used to concern himself whether any man in his camp boiled congers or not." THE POSTAGE OF LETTERS IN By GONE DAYS.—The postage of letters was first established in the'short reign of Richard the Third. The plan was originally formed in the reign of his brother, Edward, when stages were placed at the distance of twenty miles from each, in order to procure Edward the earliest in- telligence of the event that passed in the course of the war with the Scots. The revenue of the Post Office in the reign of Queen Anne was only 1!60, 000 in 1761, it was kl42,000 in 1760, £ 300,000; in 1794, £ 445,600 in 1800. £ 745,000; in 1820 (for the United Kingdom), £ 2,500,000; in 1840, new rate, E471,000 in 1860, 21,100,000; in 1870, £ 1,500,000. About the year 1730 to 1740, the post was only transmitted three times a week from Edinburgh to London; and one day it brought but a single letter, which was for Sir William Pulteney, the banker; in 1790, the letters from Edin- burgh averaged twelve hundred daily. The remit- tances from Scotland to the Post Office, in the ten years preceding 17/ 0 only averaged £ 9,500; but from the year 1790 to 1800, the annual average amounted to £ 51,400. SMALL CHANGE IN OLDEN TIMES.-From the reign of Queen Elizabeth to that of Charles the Second, so much inconvenience was felt in trade for the want of small change, that the tradesmen and victuallers in general, that is, all who pleased, coined small money or tokens for the benefit and convenience of trade. This small money, halfpence and fathings, was coined by the corporations of cities and boroughs, by several of the companies there, and even by tradesmen in country villages. This practice continued until the year 1672, when Charles coined a sufficient sum of money for the purposes of social intercourse. In the reign of William III. a commission was appointed to reform the coinage and an act was passed withdraw- ing the debased coin from circulation, and £ 12,000,000 was raised by a house duty to repay the expense.— In 1732 broad pieces were called in, and re-coined into guineas.

THE HARVEST AND THE PRICE OF WHEAT. The Spectator thinks "that wheat is now too dear, and that it ought not to be very dear next winter. The war bugbear is a delusion now-a-days, and in the present state of the trade communications with all parts of the world. What a province or town in Europe cannot yield a province in India, or a colony in Australia, or a State in America can easily make up; and so great are the equalising forces of modern production and modern intercommunica- tion in this direction, that hardly anything short of a bad harvest season all over the Northern hemisphere should now-a-days cause the price of wheat to rise 40 per cent. Events may, of course, occur still to modify the facts regarding our present harvest. There may be bad weather, late and ill-gathered crops, and a difference of half-a-million quarters in the yield from the estimate we have given, but on the whole, as now seen, the tendency is the other way. The yield .3 of wheat may be better than has been estimated, auu- the general condition of the crops of the country- to with the partial and doubtful exception of Scotland- is certainly favourable, and hardly any change in cir- cumstances that can now occur ought, as far as we can judge, to put the price of wheat up."