The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

GARDENING OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. (From the Cag,deg?.ei-s' Magazine.) Kitchen Garden.- When early crops are coming off, clear the ground and dig it over at once it is a folly to wait for the last handful of peas or beans. As soon as the rows cease to be profitable, destroy them, and clear the ground. Dig deep, that the heavy rains now to be expected may sink deep, and plant out Brussels sprouts, green collards, kale, savoys, cabbages, broccoli, &c. If the plants are crowded in the seed- bed, it is best to get them out at once. Have all ready, and in the evening put out as many rows as possible, and give a little water to every plant. Next morning lay a few boughs or mats over them to shade off the sun, and the next evening get out more, till the planting is finished. This is better than waiting for rain, which may be so heavy as to render the ground unfit to be trodden on, and, if succeeded immediately by heat, the plants will flag as much as if put out in dry weather, whereas, being already in the ground, the smallest shower benefits them. Seed-beds for winter spinach should now be made up and well- manured, and the seed got in without delay. In gathering French and runner beans, take all or none. If seed is desired, leave a row untouched. Never take green pods and seeds from the same plants. Take up onions, shallots, and garlic, as they ripen, and store for winter. Give asparagus beds plenty of liquid manure, and use the grass mowings from the lawn as mulchings to prevent the soil from cracking. Earth- up celery for early use, but the rows that are not forward must be kept open and well watered, as the plants grow very slowly after being earthed up, the object of the earthing being to blanch it only. Also plant out the main crop of celery as soon as the ground can be got ready. Cut down artichokes. Hoe be- tween all growing crops, and especially between potatoes. Top runners, and keep them well staked, but very tall sticks are not at all necessary, as they are only the more liable to be blown over by gusts of wind. Sow the last succession of runners and French beans also lettuce, endive, Stadtholder and Mitchell's cauliflower, radish, small salads, spinach, peas, and turnips. Land lying high and dry may be planted with potatoes now, for use early next spring. Peas may be sown this month for late supplies, and at this season it is as well to sow early as well as late sorts. Bedman's Imperial and Knight's Dwarf Marrow are good peas to sow the first week this month, for a supply very late in the season but Sutton's Emperor, Sangster's No. One, Ringleader, and other of the earliest sorts, often prove useful, and are soon cleared off the ground. The best way to grow peas now is in trenches. Take out the trench a depth of two feet, lay at the bottom six inches of rich rotten- dung, then fill up to within nine inches of the surface, and tread over. Then sow, and cover with two inches of mould, and bank up the sides of the trench, so that the peas will grow in a sunk alley of about six or eight inches depth. At each end of the alley, close it in with a spadeful of earth, so as to make a trough of it. As soon as the peas are up, sprinkle them plentifully with soot or wood-ashes stick directly, and then every evening in dry weather you can fill the alley with water, alternating twice a week with manure-water, and the crop will come wonderfully fine. This plan is the one we always adopt after the beginning of June, and we have for years had healthy rows of peas, and abundance of produce, when elsewhere the heat has turned them yellow before their time, and the gather- ing has scarcely paid for the seed. The method is not so troublesome as it appears, for the filling the trench with water is but a few minutes' work, and being sunk and closed at the ends, there is not a drop wasted. Cucumbers.—Keep liberally watered, and train and thin as necessary, to prevent crowding. They will take almost any quantity of liquid manure if in a good state at the roots. Flower Garden.—Budding is the most important operation this month. After heavy rains is the best time, and the operation should be performed at dawn or after sunset; but early morning is the best, as the sap then flows freely. The stocks should be vigorous and if the weather continues dry, and if the sap flows slowly, a drenching of liquid manure or plain water for two or three nights in succession will prepare them, without waiting for rain. Cuttings of all kinds may now be struck out of doors; Antirrhinums, Phloxes, Pentstemons, Alyssums, Dielytras, &c., and cuttings of Laurels, Aueubas, and other shrubs, must be struck in the shade but Geranium cuttings should be struck in the full sun, and the sooner they are got in the better plants will they make to stand the winter. Where long ripe branches of Geraniums can be spared, they are better than soft shoots and, if pinched for time, strike a lot of such ripe branches in five-inch pots, half a dozen in a pot, put all round, and they need not ''0 potted separately till spring, when started for redding out. Dahlias want special attention now as they come into bloom earwigs are very destructive to them, and must be trapped with beanstalks, or a handful of hay may be stuffed into an empty flower- pot and put on a stake, and the vermin shaken out into salt and water every morning. Another lot of Chrysanthemums should be struck this month, under hand-glasses, to make dwarf plants for the window and greenhouse m autumn. The pompones are the best for this purpose, and they may be stopped till the middle of August, to keep them dwarf and bushy. Train out Dahlias neatly, but do not cut them severely, for the loss of foliage only weakens the plant. Put in cuttings of scarlet Geraniums in the full sun either in a sandy border or in pots half filled with brocks, to be potted singly as soon as rooted. Get strong plants of Chrysanthemums into their places in the borders, so that the heavy rains this month may establish them. Layer Pinks, Carnations, and Picotees, and put pipings of the same into a gentle bottom-heat. Another lot of annuals may be sown early in the month, to keep up the gaiety of the borders. Bud Roses during cool moist weather. Dahlias must be humoured as to disbudding and tying, because every variety has its own peculiar style of growth. Disbud freely all soft-eyed varieties, but hard-eyed kinds allow to open all the blooms they make till they come good. Evergreens and shrubs of the free-growing kinds .may be propagated from this time to the end of i Yugust; cuttings put in a shady place will root im- mediately. Prepare now to plant evergreens, which move well from the end of July to the end of Septem- ber. In new ground this is the best season to plant them, but m established gardens the places intended for them are generally occupied with summer flowers. Hedges of all kinds, except holly, should now be clipped m. Hedges of large-leaved trees—such as laurel, aueubas, &c —ought to be cut back with a knife, as the shears will spoil their appearance for the whole season. Pinks to be propagated from pipings, layers or cuttings. The last is the simplest, most 'certain 'and therefore the best method. Rhododendrons and other hardy Americans maybe layered now. Beds of Americans much exposed to the sun will be benefited by being mulched with moss. Strawberries.—Runners of strawberries struck in pots may now be cut off, and the plants shifted into a size larger, or turned out into beds. Beds made now ha,v& the best chance of becoming strong before winter, t to bear abundantly next year. Strawberry-beds now want special attention. Strong-rooted runners should be taken off to form new plantations, and be pricked out into well-manured beds, pretty close together, to strengthen, preparatory to making new beds in_ Sep- tember or they may be laid in small pots, with a stone or peg to fix them, and will root directly. After three years, strawberry-beds cease to pay, and should be broken up and the ground trenched for winter crops. Stone Fruits.—Tie in and train as needful, and use the syringe to wall trees if the weather should be dry, and especially with east winds. Continue to bud stone fruit-trees, for orchard and pot culture. Thin out weak spray on all bush-fruits, and foreright shoots on wall-fruits. Maiden trees intended to be trained should be stopped, to make them break into side- shoots, as a whole season's growth is thus saved. Bush Fruits.—Keep gooseberry and currant bushes open in the centre, and leave on the bush-fruits only as much wood as will bear a fine crop next season. Cuttings of gooseberries and currants may be struck now in a moist shady border, and if sufficient canes were not got in last winter, the deficiency may now be made good, and a season be saved. Mulch raspberries with half-rotten dung.

THE MYSTERY OF FRENCH EGGS. An astonishing paragraph has been going the round of the papers, professing to describe the proceedings at certain vast French poultry establishments, where fowls are kept in large numbers, and fed upon a diet of horse-flesh, with a view to promote the laying of eggs for French and English consumption. It was further stated that the eggs produced by these hippophagous hens were sold to the dealers at five centimes a piece, and moreover that this peculiar diet accounted for the very strong flavour of French eggs. The fact that French eggs have no stronger flavour than English eggs of the same number of days old did not seem to strike the writer of the paragraph in question, nor those who believed what he said. But now a special correspondent of The Times, after criticising the poultry shown at the great omnigenous exhibition, says that the whole story is a fable from beginning to end, with the additional information that the story could not possibly have been true, because "the fowl is a granivorous and not a carnivorous bird." But what (remarks the Pall Mall Gazette) is to be thought of the ideas on poultry furnished by a critic who believes that fowls do not eat animal food ? Did he never see cocks and hens picking up worms and grubs in a field ? And is he not aware that every housewife who keeps poultry carefully saves for their benefit every scrap of cooked meat that may be left unconsumed by her household ? The puzzle still remains, how it is that eggs can be produced in France and Belgium at such a price as to pay for their transit to England and yield a profit to every one of the several hands through which they pass before they are finally deposited in our English kitchens, and yet be sold at a lower price than English eggs. The difference of the cost of rearing poultry in France and England is far greater than can be accounted for by the difference in the cost of grain and of labour.

The LAW of FOREIGN DECORATIONS Consistency," addressing The Times, explains the state of the law affecting the acceptance and wearing of foreign decorations by British subjects. He says that there is no law prohibiting the practice. An in- struction to that effect, drawn up and signed by Lord Clarendon when Foreign Secretary, exists, but that instruction has no legal force whatever. The Queen may and does prohibit British subjects wearing foreign decorations without her special permission from appearing at levees and drawing-rooms, just as she may and does prohibit persons wearing ordinary trousers from appearing at those ceremonies but the latter prohibition has never been supposed to signify that a British subject may not wear ordinary trousers elsewhere than at Court if he pleases. Lord Claren- don's instruction limits the acceptance of foreign orders to such subjects of her Majesty as have received them in consequence of active and distinguished services before the enemy either at sea or in the field, or have been actually and entirely employed in the service of the foreign sovereign by whom the orders have been conferred. But the Prince of Wales is the first subject in England; he has neither distin- guished himself actively before any enemy, nor has he been actually and entirely employed in the service of any foreign potentate, and yet he is covered with foreign orders of all kinds.

HOW MAXIMILIAN WAS CAPTURED. The following letter, dated Queretaro, May 20, gives some details of the betrayal of the unfortunate Maximilian :— The principal defence of this town consists in the vast convent of La Cruz, situated at the south and on the side of the city of Mexico. This building, a relic of the splendours of the Spanish domination, is con- structed of stone and adobe (bricks hardened by the sun) a part of its enclosure is, besides, protected by earth intrenchments. The convent covers, with its dependencies, more than ten acres of ground, and forms a citadel on which siege artillery only could make any impression. Such, five days ago, was the principal position of Maximilian, who for some time had made it his head-quarters. Immediately opposite in the Corretas mountains, the Mexican General Escobedo was established, and his advanced guard occupied the valley which separates La Cruz from the Corretas. In the night of May 14 there was a council of war in the town. The Imperialist army had exhausted all its supplies, and was likely to be soon reduced to the last extremities. As flour was wanting, the Intend- ance every day caused to be slaughtered a certain number of horses and mules which there was no means of feeding from want of provender. Even this resource threatened to fail before long, and for that reason Maximilian resolved on at- tempting a vigorous sortie, and opening for himself a passage through the enemy's lines. At eleven o'clock the troops were under arms and the artillery in position; everything was ready for the attack. But at the last moment, in consequence of the slow movements of his generals, the Emperor found himself obliged to coun- termand the expedition. Already at that moment the army had been sold to the enemy. The fort of La Cruz was to have been occupied an hour later by the troops of the Liberals. It was notorious that there were a considerable number of persons in the ranks of the Imperialists disposed to give up the town, but who would ever have suspected the Colonel of the regiment of the Empress, the keeper of the key of Queretaro, the commander of the fort of La Cruz, Miguel Lopez himself ? He was the man who, in the evening of the 14th, sent to Escobedo a letter in which he offered to betray his companions in arms for 3,000 ounces of gold (48,000 dols.) Escobedo naturally did what any other general would have done in his place—he accepted the proposal. Towards midnight the advanced guard of the Liberals, protected by the darkness, left the camp, and arrived without noise before the con- vent. Colenel Lopez, ordering his soldiers to ground their arms, opened the gates to the enemy. From that moment, the Emperor Maximilian, who was sleeping tranquilly in another part of the building, was irretrievably lost. At the first gleam of the morning the Archduke was on foot, and immediately perceived that some extraordinary event had taken place. Rousing up the Prince of Salm-Salm, his aide- de-camp, Maximilian directed his steps towards the outer enclosure of the convent, but had scarcely advanced a few paces when he was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers commanded by Colonel Ringon Gallardo. Lopez himself accompanied the detach- ment, and pointed out the Emperor to the troops, crying out, That is the man—seize him." A curious incident then occurred. Colonel Gallardo, a brave soldier, who did not seem greatly to relish the treachery of Lopez, stepped up to Maximilan, and said to him, You are a private person and not a soldier; we have nothing to say to you, go about your business. With these words he pushed His Majesty outside the convent. Five minutes later I met Maxi- milian, who seemed not to have yet recovered from his surprise. He was walking as fast as possible towards Cerro de la Campana, at the other extremity of the town. This position is a fortified hill commanding the northern part of the place. On his arrival there he was joined by Generals Mejia, Castillo, and Avellano, the Prince de Salm-Salm, and several others of his officers; but it soon became evident that any resistance was impossible. Four battalions of infantry and all the Liberal cavalry were surrounding the Cerro. The white flag was then hoisted, and the Archduke with all his staff surrendered to General Corona. The prisoners were allowed to retain their horses, arms, and personal effects and a ) few hours later they were conducted to the convent of La Cruz. The first companies of the Mexican ad- vanced guard which had entered the town committed some excesses several houses were pillaged and some persons rifled in the streets, but immediately after the arrival of the general officers order was re-established. On the whole, fewer acts of violence were perpetrated than might have been expected. A subsequent letter from Queretaro, dated May 25, con- tains the following:- From the convent of La Cruz the Prince was con- ducted, with his officers, to that of Santa Teresita, where they were placed in rooms devoid of all comfort. During three or four days they slept on the bare ground, and their food was very insufficient. The arrival of the Princess de Salm-Salm and her remon- strances with Escobedo had the effect of ameliorating the condition of the prisoners. They were transferred to another convent, that of Las Capuchinas, and they were permitted to receive from their friends provi- sions, wine, and clothing. The adventures of the Princess de Salm-Salm would form a strange chapter in a romance. Twice did she traverse the Liberal lines to reach the capital and return from it, and on two occasions was fired at by the Mexican sentries. She was afterwards detained prisoner for two days at Guada- loupe by General Diaz for having distributed money to the German captives at that place. She at length ob- tained a passport authorizing, or rather ordering her to proceed to the coast and quit the country. But with that passport she made her way to Queretaro and San Luis during the siege of the first-named town. She was accompanied by only one female Mexican servant. Subsequently she had interviews with Pre- sident Juarez and General Escobedo to intercede in favour of Maximilian and her husband. It is said that the Archduke wept like a child on hearing a narrative of the heroic peregrinations of this courageous lady.

INSANITY IN ENGLAND. The Commissioners in Lunacy report that the number of insane persons in England and Wales liable to official visitation at the beginning of the pre- sent year was 49,082, an increase of 15,291 over the number ten years ago. 42,943 were paupers, seven- eighths of the whole number; and more than 10,000 of these are in workhouses. Provision is made in asylums for only 61 in a hun- dred of the insane poor the pressure for further ac- commodation is most urgent in many districts, and it is unsatisfactory to observe the tendency in many counties to remove the harmless chronic cases to the workhouse, where they must receive inferior treat- ment. Of the private lunatic patients visited, 6,139 in all, the great mass are persons in licensed houses and hospitals only 223 are persons residing as single patients with relatives or others. But there is no doubt that this last number does not at all represent the patients who ought legally t<? be visited by the Commissioners, and that a very large number are still received to board and lodge, or to be taken care or charge of for profit, by persons other than committees appointed by the Lord Chancellor and the Com- missioners express their fear that grave abuses still frequently exist in reference to the treatment of this class of the insane. Of the 24,748 pauper patients in public asylums in England on the 1st of January, 1867, only 10 per cent, are described as offering any hope of recovery of the 22,257 incurable, two-thirds are returned as "excited, violent, or dangerous," and one-third "quiet and harmless." At the commencement of the year 1866 there were 30,868 lunatics in asylums, hospitals, and licensed houses, and 31,914 at the close of the year; in the course of the year 3,432 were discharged, recovered, and 3,223 died.

WHICH IS THE BRUTE? A. correspondent, signing himself" Phillipus," writes the following to the London Times:- I was witness the other night to a piece of stupidity, rather than cruelty-at least, I hope so--in the Cavalry Camp at Hounslow, which may, perhaps, be prevented in some future case if noticed in your column- and which, at any rate, may help to illustrate the need which exists for endeavouring to make the trooper as intelligent as the noble animal whom he so often misuses. I saw a Dragoon pulling, might and main, at the tether, whereby he wanted to attach a horse to the picket. The horse was standing on three legs, naturally unable to advance, and his fourth leg, extended from the shoulder, was being hauled at full length by the tether round the fetlock. A sergeant—who, I thought, might have interfered sooner-said, Drop his leg and lead him," which at once met with perfect obedience on the horse's part. I was put in mind of a story I heard Captain C urnegie tell at a public dinner at the time of the Crimean war. He was on shore, and saw a party of S >ldiers endeavouring to boil a kettle. They put sticks o i the ground, wedged the kettle into them, and then were surprised the fire would not light. "Hang the kettle above," said he, "shake the wood loose, and then try." A lame horse in the morning or a supperless squad at nightfall are appreciable losses, but it need not cost a farthing more to put the recruit's mind, as well as his body, through a few extensive motions while he is learning the details of his profession.

TRADES' UNIONS ABROAD. Apropos of the inquiry into the principles and practices of Trades' Unions, now going on before Royal Commissioners at Sheffield and elsewhere, the appearance of a blue-book, in which is reprinted a considerable quantity of correspondence on trades' unions, as existing or conducted in various foreign countries,will be cordially welcomed, and an epitome of which appears in the Sandard from which we extract the following relative to France:- The special commerce" of France, grew from 900,000,000 francs in 1825, to 1,700,000,000 in 1845; again to 4,000,000,000 in 1860, and to about 6,400,000,000 in 1866 so that the French foreign trade, divided in nearly equal proportions between im- port and export, is more than seven times as great as it was forty years ago. To this astounding augmenta- tion Mr. Cobden's treaty has largely contributed, but France has also done an immense business with Bel- gium, Germany, Italy, and other countries. She is rapidly developing her mineral resources, no fewer than 1,184 mines having been opened last year, of which 598 were coal, 249 iron, and 337 miscellaneous an 1 though agricultural progress has been less marked, it has nevertheless been considerable. Those indus- tries which it was supposed would suffer most severely by competition have steadily increased, and in some instances have made extraordinary progress a re- mark which applies alike to cotton and woollen yarns and woven goods, to hemp and flax, to metals and machinery. The value of exported manufactures in 1859 was 309,076,000 francs. In 1864 it had risen to 521,794,000, an increase of 212,718,000. The rate of wages has gone up rapidly, though, owing to the augmented cost of living, the advance in money wages rather more than represents their ex- changeable value. In Messrs. Schneider's mines and'forges there are 9,950 workpeople, of whom 250 are women, whose wages have advanced 38 per cent, be- tween 1850 and 1866, some of the men now earning from 8f. to lOf. a day, and enjoying in addition, great facilities for feeding, lodging, clothing, and educating themselves and their families. Marne's printing and binding works at Tours employ 1,000 hands, whose daily wages vary from ninety centimes to 2 francs for women, from 3i to 8 francs for men. At Roubaix good workmen earn from 6 to 10 francs, women from 3 to 5 francs, and children 1 franc per diem. At Bessand's 2 clothing establishment the best men earn 5A to 6 francs inferior and female hands being paid n pro" portion. On the whole, the advance in the money rate of wages may be taken at 40 per cent. in the last fifteen i ears, and making all allowance for the rise in the price of commodities, the labourer can feed, clothe, and lodge himself "somewhat better" than he could fifteen years ago. This has caused a flow of labour from the agricultural districts to the great centres which has sometimes seriously embarrassed the farmers' who have not been able to supply the deficiency from abroad, though in the towns there are large numbers of foreign workmen, as many as 8,000 Germans being congregated at Mulhouse, and 15,000 Belgians at Roubaix. In France, as in England and Belgium, combinations for influencing wages are not illegal, unless accom- panied. with violence, menace, or fraud, the severe pro- visions of the Penal Code previously existing having been modified m 1829, and repealed in 1864. Before then the law was very harsh and the penalties exces- sive, including imprisonment of from two to five years. Within the last three years almost every trade in France has taken advantage of this change, and has established societies with objects very similar to those aimed at by our own trades unions. Strikes, general or partial, have become common. The workers in bronze last March "went out" to enforce a demand for wages, calculated on two-fifths of their employers' profits; while strikes among skin dyers, carvers, plumbers, and slaters, have lately occurred or been threatened. Frequently, however, these ruptures have been prevented by the friendly intervention of the authorities, and the law regulating political as- semblies has prevented the application of trade societies to political purposes. As to the advan- tages or disadvantages of these organisations, the masters and men are as much divided as they are here, the latter saying that they have been of benefit to themselves, while the former denounce them as instruments of tyrannous coercion, which are brought to bear, as with us, just when employers have time contracts on hand which they must perform or cc be ruined. The consequence is that many such con- tracts have been rejected, and so have passed into the hands of foreign manufacturers who have not yet fallen under the tyranny of their workmen." There are plenty of prophets of evil, who say that the ope- ratives' unjust pretensions must be controlled by law, or French manufacturing industries will be ruined and there is sufficient truth in these statements to make moderate men think that in France, as in England, these complaints I must be made the subjects of governmental inquiry." There, as here, it is felt that economic laws will ultimately set things right; but there, as here, it is feared that. meanwhile, much mischief will be done. Various suggestions have been made for preventing this danger, most of which point to making the workman, in some sense, a partner in the concern, and causing his wages to depend upon the profits realized. Patent objections to these propo. sals, of course, are numerous, but the natural genius of the French for organization has led them to unite in co- operative societies, which may be divided into three classes. The first are societies of consumption, like the Rochdale stores. The second, societies of credit, which open credit accounts with, and advance loans to, their members. The third, societies of production, who sell the work and manufactures of their members. The last, however, is the class most favoured in France, as the second is in Germany, and the first in England. The first attempts at societies of production was made in 1831, and their special characteristic was the formation of a permanent and indivisable fund, in which nearly their whole capital was comprised, but on which no retiring member had any claim. "The consequence of this exaggeration of the principle of a reserved fund" was that nearly all these societies were ruined in the course of a few years, though one of them, "La Societe de Bij outiers en Dare, founded in 1834, still exists and thrives, though under a new constitu- tion. In 1840, however, M. Leclaire, a house painter, tried the experiment of giving his 200 workmen a share in his profits. He assigned a fixed allowance for his own services as manager; took a stipulated rate of interest on his capital; paid his men their full current wages, and divided the residue proportionably among them. Of this society we read There are now two proprietors, Messrs. Leclaire and Defournaux and there are 59 associate and from 100 to 200 "non-associate" workmen. The benefit society of the workmen, which has accumulated a considerable capital, enters with 100,000 francs as a partner into the concern, in which each of the proprietors has invested a capital of 100,000 francs. The annual profits of the establishment are thus divided:-25 per cent. to each of the two proprietors, who receive besides a salary of 6,000 francs a-piece as mana- gers the remaining 50 per cent. are assigned to the clerks (employes) and workmen in the proportion of two-fifths to the benefit society, and three-filths to be divided among the clerks and workmen who have rendered themselves worthy of this recompense. It is stated that the conduct of the workmen is exemplary; that the best relations subsist between them and the proprietors; and that the participa- tion of the workmen in the profits of the establishment has exercised considerable influence both upon the rapidity and quality of the work executed. After the revolution of 1848 a great number of co- operative societies were established onradically unsound principles; but notwithstanding liberal subsidies by the state, the greater part of them collapsed after a very brief existence. Many others, however, have been constructed on better models, and are doing well, though in several the attempt to admit all workmen to a share of profits has been abandoned. The society of "Facteurs de Pianos" was founded in 1849 by fourteen workmen, with a capital of 229f. 50c. It nevec received any subvention from the state. It struggled on through many difficulties, and it now possesses a capital of 180,000f., and does an annual business of 190,000f. The society of the Ouvriers Lunettiers" was so fonnded in 1849, and did last year a business of 600,000f. In 1851 a co- operative society was formed at Vienne (Iserej, which was at first a cloth manufactory, and has since added a flour-mill, a bakery, a grocery-house, a coal depot, and a farm. It does an annual business of above 1,000,000f. There are three great co-operative societies at Lyons, of which the largest-" Société des Tisseurs "-comprises 1,800 members; and the "Association des Poibanniers" at St. Etienne counts 1,200 members, and possesses a capital of 1,200,000 francs. There are also in France a great number of establishments in which the proprietors have voluntarily introduced a form of co-operation with a view of raising the moral and material condition of their workmen. The iron foundry of M. Godin-Lemaire at Guise employ 900 workmen, who are known under the' appellation o Familistere de Guise The proprietor constructed in 1859, at the cost of 800,000 francs, a large house containing 250 separate lodgings, let to his workmen at a rent of 3 per cent, on the capital expended. This property is now being divided into shares purchasable by its inmates, who will eventually become its sole proprietors. M. Godin-Lemaire is about to follow the same course with his foundry. The value of the plant is to be divided into shares of 25 francs, by means of which he aims at associating the whole body of his workmen in the industrial enterprise which he directs.

CURIOUS NEW ENGLAND CUSTOM. The Boston correspondent of The Times writes :— "In the early days of the colony a company of artillery was formed, and existed without much change down to the War of Independence. After that it assumed the title of the Honourable and Ancient Artillery Company but it ceased to be an effective corps, and persons were elected to it as an honour, without being expected to perform any duties. Every year the governor of the state goes upon Boston Common, and there, in presence of the regiment, receives the com- missions of the retiring officers and hands new ones to their successors. By the courtesy of the present governor (Mr. Bullock) I witnessed this ceremony. Thousands of spectators had gathered together to see officers appointed to a corps which exists only in name, and to show their respect for a usage which has nothing but its age to recommend it. It was the 229th anniversary of the society, and because it is old, and for no other reason, it still lives. Only on one day in the year does the company meet. Then the members dress in the uniforms of any corps of militia to which they may happen to belong. It would be impossible,' said a gentleman to me, whose name is well known throughout Europe, to let this company of artillery die out. I do not suppose that one among them knows how to fire a gun. What you see to-day is in itself an absurd ceremony, but it proves that a young republic, as we are called, sets a high value upon every institution that has the seal of age upon it. In England you think we despise such matters; on the contrary, we prize them more dearly than you do. We like to have things about us which seem to give a gray and worn look to our Democratic fabric.'

A VOLUNTEER SCHOOLMASTER. The Banffshire Joumal records the death of Jaiiies Beattie, sen., Gordonstown, better known as the Aucterless John Pounds, which took place a few days ago. The deceased was born 27th January, 1781, in the parish of Rayne. About the end of last or begin- ning of the present century, Mr. Beattie removed from the parish of Rayne to Gordonstown, in Auc- terless, and there commenced business on his own account as a shoemaker. At that period schools were few and far between, and many, especially in rural districts, thought it only a useless expenditure of money and time to send their children to school until they reached the age of twelve or thirteen years. Owing to this state of matters, Mr. Beattie was not long in observing the lamentable state of ignorance which then prevailed around him. Many had grown up to man and woman's estate unable either to read or write, and who with respect to religious instruction were equally ignorant. This first suggested to him the idea of himself becoming a volunteer instructor. On his intentions becoming known, many of his neighbours placed their children under his tuition, and such was his art in gaining the affections of the young folks that his workshop was soon filled with the rising generation of both sexes, and he had often to work till past midnight to make up for time spent in teaching during the day. For the long period of sixty years Mr. Beattie conducted a school at which there were daily in attendance from thirty to forty scholars, and nothing would have offended him so much as to have offered him anything in the shape of school fees.

DREADFUL SUICIDE THROUGH LOVE AT DERBY. Late on Sunday evening a most shocking suicide was committed at Derby. A girl, sixteen years of age, named Maria Smith, residing with her parents, had been keeping company for some time past with a young man in that town, and from some unexplained cause a slight disagreement had arisen between them. The re- sult was that the unfortunate creature had been in a low state of mind, and early on Sunday evening called upon a female companion to take a walk. She showed an anxiousness to walk by the river side, and it was accordingly agreed between them that they should stroll up Darley-grove-an outskirt of the town-and enter the fields surrounding the Derwent. There they remained till between nine and ten o'clock, when several boys came up, and noticing something very peculiar in the girl's conduct, kept eyes upon her, although she and her friend went into the next field. In a few minutes afterwards they noticed deceased take her hat and cape off, and on her rolling her dress sleeves up the boys i an to the spot and heard Smith requesting the other young girl to take them home, adding, she did not intend to go home that night." The youths then urged her to go home, but she refused, again remarking that if she did go home they would have to carry her." Becoming excited, the lads seized hold of her, and declared they would take her home, but just at this moment the unfortunate girl rescued herself from them, and jumped into one of the deepest parts of the river, screaming, You re- and was drowned in their presence. Alarm was imme- diately raised, and two police-sergeants attended with the drags and soon recovered the body.

THE LATE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN. A writer In the Paris Figaro gives the following details concerning the late Emperor Maximilian:— His Majesty's guard, called the Palatine, was splendidly dressed, composed of forty halberdiers, under the command of Count de Bombello, a friend of Maximilian from his childhood. At all the receptions the Emperor was dressed like the Mexican generals black pantaloons, with high boots to the knee, black riding coat, with gold epaulettes, with the riband of the Golden Fleece round his neck, and latterly the Cordon of the Eagle. He had also created another Order, that of Merit." A private letter relates that two days before the treason of Lopez, the troops voted, by acclamation, to Maximilian the cross of Commander of the same order of Mlrit, for his gallant defence of that place. At the tiiri. when the institution of the decoration in question das under consideration, the Empress Charlotte had a rather sharp dispute with an important personage who was remonstrating with her Majesty, in the name of the French Government, on taking the colour of the Legion of .Honour for the new one. Being hardpushed in the discussion, carried on by letter, the Empress pasted in a page of letter-paper three leaves of papaver sylvestris, or wild poppy, and wrote these words underneath :—" I adopt for my Order the shade of this flower, which was created, I rather imagine, before the Legion of Honour." I have myself (continues the writer) read this phrase in a curious collection of autographs of Charlotte and Maximilian.

THE TRADES' UNION INQUIRY. The following is a copy of Mr. Hardy's bill to extend the Trades' Union Commission Act, 1867:- Whereas it is expedient to extend the Trades' Union Commission Act, 1867: Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows 1. One of her Majesty's Prin- cipal Secretaries of State, upon the application in writing of the chairman of the commissioners acting under the commission relating to trades' unions men- tioned in the said Act, may from time to time, by order under his hand, direct that the said Act shall extend to any place in respect of which such applica- tion has been made, and the said Act shall be deemed to extend to such place accordingly; and the said commissioners, or such one or more of them as they may appoint, or any person appointed in pursuance of the said Act, may conduct at any such place as afore- said an inquiry of the same description as is now by law authorised in the case of Sheffield, and in relation to any such place the said Act shall be construed as if throughout the same the name of such place were sub- stituted for Sheffield. 2. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Trades' Union Act Extension Act, 1867.