Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION. We extract the following interesting and graphic account of the proceedings of our army, after the cap- ture of the Abyssinian stronghold, Magdala, from the letter of the Special Correspondent of the Times ;— WHAT THEODORE WAS LIKE. I am afraid some of your readers will think that in my last two letters I have been guilty of a very grave omission in not telling them what the far-famed Theodore was like. But the fact is I only saw him almost immediately after he had died a violent death, and before his features had time to reassume something of their ordinary expression in life. Those who saw him next day, when the body had beeii cleansed from blood, and the face become more composed, declare that his personal appearance was very striking. The face, though in complexion very dark, had nothing whatever of the negro about it. The features were finely cut, though generally far more expressive of power and strength of will than of delicacy or refinement; the brow massive and thoughtful, the lips thin and closely drawn, indicative of rare determination. His frame was small and slight, but well-shaped and firmly knit. It was strangely shrunken and emaciated, as if the constant fatigue and anxiety of the last few years, combined with almost daily dissipation, had told upon it. In his best days Theodore's whole appearance may have borne out all that his admirers have said in favour of it but the hard life he has latterly led had stamped upon the face-at least when I saw it-an expression of grossness and sensuality which greatly impaired its otherwise striking effect. However, Air. Holmes, a first-rate amateur artist, has taken what is de- clared by those who knew Theodore well to be an admirable likeness of him, so that all who are curious to know what the famous or infamous Emperor of Abyssinia looked like, will have an opportunity of gratifying their curiosity without further description from me. CLAIMING HIS BODT. Theodore's body was placed at the disposal of his widow, or, perhaps, I ought to say his principal widow, for there are at least two Royal ladies, and there is no saying how many semi-Royal, who lay a quasi-conjugal claim to him. The Oriental fashion, it seems, holds good in Abyssinia, that any woman upon whom the Imperial eyes have once looked with favour is thenceforth set apart as sacred from the approach of ordinary mortals; and as Theodore was constantly on the march, and his affections—at least latterly—shortlived 'in his earlier days he was famous throughout wondering Abys- sinia for his devotion to one favourite Queen1, his harem grew very large. When on the first anxious day of negotiation Lieutenant Prideaux told him that honourable treatment would be given to him and his family if he surrendered himself and Magdala, he broke out with an odd mixture, for such a moment, of humour and indignation. What does your chief mean by my family? Is lie prepared for a thousand?" However, only two widows have been recognized. THEODORE'S WIDOW-IN-CHIET. The widow-in-chief is the daughter of Ras Oubre, of Tlgré, and therefore belongs to one of the oldest and most powerful dynasties in Abyssinia, crushed with so many others, by Theodore, when he, for a time, effected the consolidation of the empire. Those v. ho saw her on the day of the storming 1 of Magdala, when her face was exposed, say that she must in her day have been a very great beauty, cruelly thrown away upon Abyssinia, of the thoroughbred type, the features deli- cate and well-cut, the hands and feet small and exquisitely shaped. The British soldier did not, of course, understand that the removal of her veil the profoundc t proof of sub- mission and humiliation that an Abyssinian lady can give, was anything out of the way, and his eff ortz; to console her by slapping her on the back and informing her that nobody should hurt her, but that Tédros was maffish "—an Arabic word used here to denote anything and everything not goi id or to the purpose-were anything but reassuring, however well meant. Happily Dr. Blanc came up in time to rescue her, and she is now safe somewhere in our camp, closely muffled up and screened from profane eyes. She did not even affect to feel any grief at her husband's death, and left the British to do what they thought best with his body, w hich was placed in the outer porch of the wretched cabin at Mag- dala dignified by the name of church, for as a suicide Theo- dore could not be given Christian rites or military honours. NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THINGS PIOUS AND PROFANE. It was intended that the church should be spared from the general conflagration of Magdala, lest the priests should say that the common tie of Christianity between conquerors and conquered had been forgotten. But, despite the precautions taken by Captain Goodfellow, which in everything else were admirably successful, the flames, recognising no distinction between things pious and things profane, soon leapt fiercely upon the building, and in a few minutes not a trace was left to distinguish the spot in which the great Emperor lay from the blackened ruins around. The accident was, perhaps, a fortunate one, for the Wollo Gallas, Theodore's unrelenting enemies, are less likely to find and wreak their barbarous ven- geance upon his body. They are among the fiercest warriors and most determined plunderers in the world. During our heavy bombardment of Magdala they were looting vigorously among the huts close under the walls, until a few rockets in their immediate direction dispersed them and they had clambered up by the southern gate, almost as soon as the place was in flames on the last day and our men had begun to retire. They rob, murder, and mutilate every Abyssinian they can get hold of; and the British force has had more diffi- culty in protecting Theodore's army and huge host of fol- lowers than it had in conquering them. A MOST MARVELLOUS EXODUS. The poor wrctclies have been leaving Magdala for the last two days in thousands, and lining the road between this and the Dalanta plateau for many miles. I have heard them estimated at from 25,000 to 30,000, but any European estimate could be little more than a loose guess, and the Abyssinians themselves have as vagua a notion of numbers as of distance. Whatever the population was, it seemed to cover with swarming multitudinous life not only the Amba, but nearly all the immediate neighbourhood, and presented as strange I and motley a collection as it would be easy to find out of a museum—men and women, the young, the old, the infirm and the vigorous, fathers borne on the shoulders of stalwart sons, weak women tottering under the weight of noisy, ani- mated bundles—sometimes two or three such bundles the chief conspicuous in his red-striped shama, striding im- patiently and haughtily, albiet a little crestfallen, ahead of his overladen Bhangalla slaves, negroes, big-limbed and Is black, to borrow Johnson's simile, as a Cyclops from the forgethe lady of rank, on her sleek, gaily-caparisoned mule, riding—as ladies in Rotten-row do not ride, and so closely muffled up from head to foot as to show nothing more to the passing eye than a well-shaped, but yellowish t-rso of nose, and a by no means expressionless black eye, her handmaids making a bedy-guard round her on humbler animals and in coarser clothes, but as a compensation, free from the drawbacks of rank, and thus enjoying the double feminine pleasure of seeing and being seen here and there a friendless cripple, unable to drag his palsied limbs further down the steep hill, and piteously imploring every passer-by for water or the support of a strong arm; and, most start- ling, though not saddest sight of all, the corpse of some one fallen faint from hunger or thirst by the wayside, or a rude litter carrying high above the dense throng the body of some dead or wounded soldier, a ghastly token of the recent days of blood. It was certainly a most marvellous exodus, and would have been inexpressibly painful if one had thought the people were leaving for ever real homes in which they had lived from childhood, and for which they cared. But such sufferers were in a small minority. A few inhabitants may have been loth to leave Magdala; some from age or infirmity were physically unable to leave It with comfort, or even at all. A few of these clung to their huts up to the last moment, and had to be hunted from hiding-place to hiding-place. AN ACT OF GRliT HUMAN ITT. Just before the gate was blown up—the last act of destruc- tion—a loathsome cripple, covered with sores, was discovered near it by a corporal of the 33rd, whose name unfortunately I have not learnt, and carried by him to a place of safety. The man will, it is to be hoped, get some other reward than that of a good conscience. There are many in the force who would only too gladly have joined the storming party and risked their lives in the narrow path, but who would have shrunk from this safe and simple act of heroism. It is, however, but one, perhaps, striking instance out of many. THE MODERATION OF THE VICTORS The compassion and moderation which our troops have shown towards their vanquished enemies could not be ex- ceeded-a moderation all the more laudable when it is remembered that the two had scarcely one point of sympathy in common, for the Abyssinian caricature of Christianity would be far more likely to revolt than to conciliate the ordinary average soldier; that the expedition has been long unpopular in the extreme, from the hardships and pri- vations which it has involved, compensated by only the slenderest hope of fighting or loot; that our troops, ad- mirably as they have behaved to the Abyssinians from first to last, from Senate to Magdala, hearty dislike and despise them 'knowing them only as greedy, treacherous, immoral, and, above all, dirty and that the Abyssinian, on the other hand, has scarcely been at the pains to conceal his contempt to their bagman ethics and peaceful guise. It is not often in history that a victory over aliens in race, colour, language, and sympathy has been in the fierce hour of vengeance so little abused. THE LOVE OF LOOT The majority of the inhabitants of Magdala were, in every probability, brought there forcibly from all parts of Abyssinia by Theodore, who had, in fact, turned the fortress into a huge den of robbers, and would return readily and quietly enough to their own homes if the Galla would let them and the humble, paltry property which they have struggled as eagerly to carry with them as if it were gems of untold value, some of the women and slaves being covered from head to foot, and almost invisible, under the mass of little household articles piled upon them by their lazy lords- ought not, one would think, to tempt the cupidity of Har- pagon. It c insists of a great number of gourds of every shape and size water being scarce in Magdala itself), a few rude cooking utensils, and coarse cloths and mats, a rough stool or two, and, occasionally, a few flashy, but apparently j valueless, personal ornaments. The Galla probably finds in the pursuit of loot, as the philosophers in the pursuit of I truth, its chief reward, and has shown a recklessness and audacity in rushing after it, which the utmost vigilance of the force has failed to keep altogether in check. They have I come near enough to our mounted pickets to attack them with stones, and last night nearly carried off two women from our camp itself, despite their resistance and loud cries. The difficulty has been increased by the inability of our troops to distinguish between a Galla and an Abyssinian, j However, one Galla has been killed and five wounded, and i now they begin to run at the first sight of a British or Indian soldier, though they still hang on the skirts of Theodore's j retreating army, murdering probably all that fall by the way. BAD LOGIC PREFERABLE TO THROAT-CUTTING. It is a quaint illustration of the different views of honour and morality taken by different nations, that the Gallas are I as much surprised and shocked at our base ingratitude as we I at their inhuman barbarity. They say that we invited them to active hostility against the leading Abyssinian, Theodore, and that when, in pursuance of our presumed wish, they attack his followers—professed enemies to us and life-long blood-feud enemies to them-we how our gratitude and appreciation of their services by firing rocket and ball into them. It is to be feared our conduct is scarcely logical; but even bad logic is perhaps preferable to throat-catting in cold blood. THE TWO QUESWB. It is curious, too, that this misunderstandingf^ iich in Europe would be considered anything but trivip5. has not produced the slightest effect on the friendly reI a in which are supposed to exist between their respectivK-fii cities of Great Britain and Wollo-Galla land. Tlte waiS^'rjeens— Workite (gold) and Mastrat (.looking-glass)—have P Sfa race which should be the first to congratulate Sir Pcln-t, and narrowly escaped arriving at the same moment, which might have placed him in a rather embarrassing position, as his two female admirers have been fighting vigorously with each other for some years. Bravery and warlike renown cover a multitude of sins in the eyes of a Galla woman, and are considered worthy of any reward. It 13 to be feared that the ladies went away with but a poor opinion at heart of British gallantry in love, whatever it may be in war, and thought our Commander-in-Chief, as Cleopatra thought Augustus, a sadly "cold-blooded C cesar." But out- wardly they professed great delight and satisfaction, giving and receiving various handsome presents. I am told, on good authority, that they go into battle and handle spear, sword, and gun right manfully; there is even a stoiy, pro- bably mythical, that Mastrat, with her own hand, wounded the mighty Theodore. But usually they go about so muffled up, and looking so like a bundle of shawls moved by mechanism, that except in their method of riding, their ap- pearance is anything but Amazonic. Workite kept herself closely wrapped up and hidden during her stay in camp, but Mastrat boldly threw aside her rich royal robe of crimson, speckled with gold, and came out of her tent and before the soldiers-if her Majesty will pardon the expression—like a man, to have her photograph taken. Her complexion was very pale olive-fiirer than that of many Europeans—and her expression, though the features were large and scarcely like those of Theodore's widow-in-chief, of the thorough- bred type, was essentially queen-like and commanding. She looked quite capable of leading her army anywhere. "I HAVE SEEN THB WORLD!" I have somehow omitted to mention the young prinee, Allumahyu (" I have seen the world"), Theodore's, ion by Ras Oubie's daughter, and said to be In like his father. He is an intelligent, fine-loosing ifttr"TJ>y of about seven,' and ought to do credit to Dr. of Bombay, to whom his education it, fortunately for hb-4 to be intrusted. "GOD S.A. VB THII QUEEN." In the rush and eagerness to capture Theodore the storming party passed a man lying dead just Inside the second gate without examining him. The prisoners, some of whom came up afterwards, recognised his features and declared him to be Theodore. There was nothing regal in the costume a white shirt and a scarf of the same colour, without ornaments, was the costume in which he fought. The band of the 23rd Regiment playing "God Save the Queen," and the re-echoes of the heights of Magdala to three hearty cheers, proclaimed that we had added another laurel to our Crown. Many in the enthusiasm of the moment felt a recompense for the weary marches and privations of the expedition. THE CAPTURE OF MAGDALA. Lieutenant Stumm, the correspondent of the Cologne Gazette in Abyssinia, thus describes the taking of Magdala About nine o'clock on the morning of the 15th of April the "storming companies," as they triumphantly called them- selves began to advance, and after an hour and a q Harter's diffi- cult climbing we reached the ridge which connects Fala with Selassieh. We suddenly found ourselves, without meeting the slightest resistance, in the midst of Theodore's camp, sur- rounded by thousands of men, women and children, who have been living here for months in the innumerable straw huts which cover the plateaux and rocks. Eleven chiefs, with 1,500 men, at once gave up their arms and hastened to show us the way to Magdala, which now for the first time, like aninaccessable eagle'snest, lay before our eyes. Before the fortress is a level space about one English mile long, which connects Magdala with the two other bills, and here was the head-quarters of the Emperor. At our approach the in- habitants fled in all directions. Only at the foot of the fortress there was a body of horse, by whom a shot was fired at us from time to time. W hen our vanguard, consisting of forty cavalry, halted, four horsemen suddenly sprang forward from the side of the enemy. The first was distinguished by the shining metal ornaments on his shield and saddle, and when the brave warriors approached us the natives hurried, with cries of Negus negus behind the rocks for shelter. It was the Emperor himself, who, with three companions, was performing his last militaiy achievement, and en- couraging his hesitating followers to fight. At a distance of 200 paces from us they halted, fired their guns, and galloped back as quickly as they had come. Meanwhile Sir Robert Napier came up with the artillery. A reconnaissance was carefully begun, and about two our fire was opened on Jllagdala from four different points, chiefly in the direction of the western side of the fortress. The Armstrong guns, the conveyance of which had given so much trouble, came into use at last, though, doubtless owing to the unfavourable manner in which they were placed, they did not produce so much effect as the small mountain guns. When the fire had lasted two hours, and the smoke of the bursting shells became visible between the houses of Magdala, the troops, with the 45th regiment in front, advanced to storm the place. The Emperor had succeeded, with only nineteen followers, in occu- pying us the whole day, and with them he defended the en- trance to the fortress up to the last moment. I joine«Rtl\e storming column, which, protected by a steady fire of sm rtl- arms, began to climb up the*steep path. The gate, about live feet wide, was not penetrated by our fire, and there was no powder to blow it up. A company of soldiers found an en- trance by climbing up the rocks on the right, while others tried to get over the thorn hedges with ladders. There was a desperate resistance, and ten of our men were wounded. The brave defenders of the gate were shot down by the troops as they climbed over, and the gate was then opened from the inside. A second gate was passed without resistance, and here we suddenly found ourselves before the body of the Em- peror, who had just shot himself with a pistol. We leave the body and hurry on, a drooping fire showing us that the resistance was not yet over We reach some large round huts, which are carefully covered with black cloths and skins. This was the Emperor's treasury. Silvery and golden mitres, swords with richly jewelled handles, English guns, valuable vases, and utensils of every kind, photographs, silken stuffs, illustrated books, church ornaments, and even a case of champagne, lay here in the greatest confusion. Our commander now appeared with numerous troops, and all congratulated him on the brilliant close of the expedition.

THE EXECUTION OF O'FARRELL. The assassin of the Duke of Edinburgh was duly executed on the 21st April. Shortly before his death he withdrew the statement made at the polico oourt that he had been selected from a number of Fenians to perpetrate the horrid deed, and had committed it under orders. Either, therefore, his first statenien t was false, intended to intensify the fears of the excited population, or in view of the scaffold he retracted a fact inadvertently disclosed. The former opinion appears to prevail in Australia. We also learn that the Melbourne Parliament has made it penal to refuse to drink the Queen's health, and to discuss the separation of the colonies from the mother country. Prince Alfred left Sydney for England on the 6th of April. He was sufficiently recovered to take com- mand of his ship, the Galatea, and it is stated that the external wound caused by the bullet had completely healed.

SHOCKING CRUELTY TO A CHILD. At Blackburn police-court, Wm. and Harriet Thomp- son, man and wife, have been charged with cruelly ill-treating a boy, nine years of age, named Dix- bury, son of the female by her first husband, by fastening him down in a wicker skip for several hours on Saturday last. Erom the evidence it seemed that each of the pri- soners had three children when they were married ft short time ago, the man being a carter, and the female an operative in a mill. From information given to the police, Inspector Eastwood searched the house on Saturday afternoon, and found four small children by themselves, the oldest not more than seven years. This boy was found upstairs in a back bed-room, securely fastened down In a skip 14 inches deep, 25 inches long, and 18 inches wide. The lid was closed, and the poor child had been in that cramped position since half-past five o'clock that morning, nor had any food been given to him. A blanket was in the bottom of the basket, but the boy had no covering but his shirt. He could neither stand, sit, nor lie in a comfortable position, and appeared exhausted to the officer when released. He hacl been confined in a similar way for some hours on Friday, but managed to get out on that day. The statements of the lad who had been in the basket and another child were to the effect that they had been kept without food sometimes for a day, and evidence was given by the neighbours showing a systematic course of clamming" and brutal treat- ment on the part of both prisoners. All the children were greatly afraid of their mother, and even in the presence of the inspector dared not say anything but what she told them. The defence was, that in all cases the punishment had been inflicted for bad behaviour. The prisoners were sent to the House of Correction for six months each, and the children were placed under the care of the relieving officer.

The Spectator denominates Balmoral as "that Ultima Thule." Brigham Young, the Mormon, advocates the culture and increase of fish, chickens, and children. Five thousand adult ladies are wanted for the Salt Lake, is the Mormon notice, per advertisement, to spinsters. None old and ugly, however, need apply. The statement is especially addressed to the ladies in Great Britain. Game of all kind abounds in Japan, and the nobility are keen sportsmen. Breech-loading fowling-pieces have long been in possession of most of the daimios, and they pro- tect their forests with great strictness. The daimios, if treated with courtesy and civility, often grant a day's shoot- ing to a stranger over their forests. The value of the boon may be estimated from the fact that some of the officers in one of her Majesty's ships in Japan recently killed in one day upwards of eighty head of deer, besides pheasants, partridge, snipe, and wild duck, in greater numbers than could be got, probably, anywhere else in the world.

A- THE EKcGUTiOH OF BARRETT. At length, after a fortnight's respite, which must have seemed an a^e to the doomed man, the condemned convict, Michael Barrett, has suffered the last penalty of the law, for the atrocious murders caused by the attempt to blow down the walls of the Clerkenwell House of Detention. It will be fresh in the minds of our readers, that since his condemnation, strict inquiries have been made by the Government into the truth of the alibi set up by the counsel for the defence,— Mr. Poland (the solicitor to the Treasury) having made two joirrneys to Glasgow for the purpose of examining witnesses, etc. The alibi having completely broken down, a communication was sent, by special messenger, from the Home Office, to Mr. Jonas, the governor of Newgate, about five o'clock on Sunday evening, stating that the law must take its course. Mr. Jonas at once proceeded to the condemned cell, and informed the unhappy man of his fate, who received the dreadful news with perfect composure, and who, although hopeful to the last, had never been unduly bouyed up by the efforts made on his behalf to reverse the sentence, and therefore the ultimata decision did not appear to occasion him surprise. Since his condemnation, Barrett has been attended almost daily by a priest of his own religious persuasion, the Rev. James Kussay, attached to the Roman Catholic Chapel in Moorhelds, who had a long inter- view with him on Sunday. co With reference to the alibi pet up, it ought to be stated that the Government, tr-.r.1. very great pallia to ascertain t11" truth, and that there is not the slightest doubt that the evidence given at the trial to show that the prisoner was in Glasgow on the day of the ex- plosion did not apply to him at all events, although it might possibly have referred to another individual. It may also be stated that the result of further informa- tion that has been obtained by the authorities since the trial leaves no doubt that the man Burke was the prime mover in the Clerkenwell affair, and that it was he who projected in the first instance the diabolical project of blowing up the wall of the prison, regard- less of the consequences but, as too frequently happens in these cases, the principals escape with comparatively light punishment, while their unhappy dupes are con- signed to the scaffold. On Monday the scene round the gaol of Newgate was a most exciting one. Workmen were busily en- gaged all along the Old Bailey and Giltspur- street in erecting barricades, to keep off the pres- sure of the crowd, a clear space being reserved for the scaffold. The authorities had wisely taken every necessary precaution to prevent any accidents, large stakes being driven into the ground, and the cross-beams being securely bound to them with iron. The crowd on Monday was considerable but a clear space was reserved on the pavement for ordinary passers-by, armed police patrolling round the prison and compelling the crowd to pass along the road. During the whole of Monday afternoon groups of people were apparently taking up the positions com- manding a good view of the scaffold; but towards evening the majority seemed to be workmen returning to their homes, but who were" allured by curiosity to gaze at the door of the fortress-like prison from which the unhappy culprit was so early on the morrow to emerge to meet his awful doom. It seemed on Monday night that the crowd assembled to witness the hanging of Michael Barrett would have been very large, for at eleven o'clock there were from 1,500 to 1,800 persons present, and the public-houses in the neighbourhood were crowded, some of their cus- tomers certainly not bearing in their countenances the indication that their "highest aim is goodness." There were very few women among them but of these an unusually large proportion were young and bonnetless girls, who were obviously from the Emerald Isle, or one generation removed at the most. But even the uninteresting assemblage in the Old Bailey be- came still less numerous after the close of the public-houses. Instead of the throng within the barriers, which, as usual, intersected the space in front of the gaol, increasing when the gin- palaces closed, they seemed rather to diminish. The lights in some windows opposite the prison showed that the rooms were temporarily tenanted by card parties, bent on seeing a murderer die but there was no sound of revelry by night—there was only instead an incredible quantity of dulness, while the new moon sank on the western horizon, and the pale stars twinkled not lustrously in the diffused light of as lovely a summer night as ever enwrapped London. The appearance of the scaffold platform at a few minutes after two o'clock on Tuesday morning, gave a momentary fillip to the interest of the crowd, which keptits eyes on the the cumbrous structure which was, as usual, drawn with horrid rumbling to its place by a couple of horses. The carpenters at once set to work, and in less than an hour they had put together the ready- fitted pieces of the covered way, and so connected the scaffold with the "Debtors' door," through which so many felons have passed to their doom, and through which this morning the last publicly-executed felon went to pay the last debt of nature and of justice. As dawn broke over the Old Bailey the small crowd, numbering at the most no more than 2,000, seemed to settle down permanently into their places, and from this time on there was remarkably little to note, either in the movements or the demeanour of the mob, until half-past six o'clock, at which time the numbers had perceptibly increased, though there was still easy passage under most of the barriers. About this hour there seemed a prevailing impression that all this quiet of the night boded an outbreak of some kind in the morning and this was strengthened by the rumour that some of those who were tried with Barrett were hovering about the neighbourhood. Truly enough, some, if not all, of them were present; and a little before six o'clock one of them, said to be one of the Desmonds, made his way to the front of the scaffold, and there kneeling down and taking off his hat, with, it may be, merely an affectation of the touching piety that may frequ^itly be observed at Irish executions, but also with apparent earnest- ness and sincerity—offered up a silent prayer for the soul of his friend. This was almost the only incident until the arrival of the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, who appeared on the scene just before half-past seven, and entered the gaol through the residentiary houses opening into Amen-corner, Paternoster-row. They found that the prisoner had, on the whole, passed a quiet night, and that he seemed prepared to meet his punishment with firmness. The culprit was called before six o'clock, and soon after the Sheriffs arrived he was brought from his cell to the pinioning-room, where the usual dread- ful preliminary operations were gone through in the ordinary manner, being borne by the convict with con- siderable firmness. Contrary to the usual practice, the pinioning of the prisoner took place only in the presence of the Sheriffs and the Governor of the prison, and the representatives of the press had no opportunity of knowing whether the culprit made any statement. At five minutes to eight the solemn death bell began to toll, and as its dull notes fell on the ears of the crowd, that now extended, though in somewhat open order, from Ludgate-hill to the middle of Giltspur- street, from both of which points good views of the scaffold could be obtained, the throng settled down to gaze, and not to listen to the solitary street preacher who had arrived, and was holding forth at the Is ewgate- street corner. Nor had they long to wait. The pro- cession moved on to the gallows precisely at the ap- pointed hour a few horrible preparations were made by Calcraft; the drop fell, and with a few struggles, Barrett paid the penalty of his monstrous crime, and, PVa the suspension of the body for an hour, London's ast public execution wag over. In the House of Commons, on Monday evening, Mr. Bright rose for the purpose of putting a question, one which he said he put with extreme pain, and with a sense of great responsibility, and with no less an ap- preciation of the responsibility of the Minister to whom he was about to address it viz., the Home Secretary. He then continued It is with reference to a paragraph that has appeared In the newspapers announcing the decision of the Home Office in the case of the convict Barrett. I know that many members of the House will blame me for the course I am taking. At the same time, I beg they will believe me when I say that I never rose to say anything in this House under a stronger sense that it was my duty to say it, or with a greater feeling of pain than I experience in intruding a subject of this nature on their attention. I am not at all about to make a speech but the House will know that on two occasions the execution of this convict has been postponed, first for a week and afterwards for another week that an inquiry has been made, conducted on the part of the convict by friends of his, and by his counsel and^plicitors, and on the part of the Home-office by some gentlemen sent down to Glasgow from that department. One of the investigations was held in public the other, I believe, was not. But I am not about to challenge either the one or the other. I merely state this to show the amount of care that has been taken for the right hon. gentleman has taken great pains, I believe, with the view of ascertaining the truth in this matter. No doubt he holds, with a very old writer, that- When the life of man is in debate r No time can be too long, no pains too great." wit the statement before me is this: that the case has been referred to the Lord Chief Justice before whom it was tried, and that the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice, which of course must have great weight, is unfavourable to the Prisoner. But it is stated that the points on which the Lord Chief Justice has come to his decision are points which arose out of the evidence that was in the possession of the Crown lawyers at the trial, but which at the trial was not produced. And it is argued with some force, ] think, that it is very unfortunate for a prisoner who has been convicted that a doubt should arise as to the propriety of the convic- tion and that then the conviction should be confirmed upon evidence which was in possession of the Crown lawyers at the trial, but was not then produced. Now, I am able posi- s tively to say lhat persons who are as much interested Clthis natter as the right hon. gentleman, and much more Stf than I have any right to be, are of opinion that the conviction is not sustained by the evidence; and more, titat it is affirmed that it is within the power of the right bdù. gentleman to have the case re-tried on another charge of murder arising out of the same unhappy outrage, and that it that second trial occurred before a jury, when the whole of the former evidence, and also the whole of the subsequent evidence would he submitted to them, the result, whatever it might be, would be felt to lie much more fair to the prisoner and much more satisfactory to the public. I am empowered to say on behalf of those most interested, and on behalf of the prisoner himself, that there would be no plea of a former acquittal if that second trial could occur, and that, therefore, if the right hon. gentleman has the power, there arc many cases of course, in which it could not be done, but the peculiarity of this case is such as I believe to admit of it—1 say if he has the power, even at this late hour, I would suggest that such a course a3 that should be followed. The House will per- mit me to observe that in all my experience of tTome Sec- retaries -and it has now extended over 25 years- can say of the right hon. gentleman, as of all his predecessors, that he has taken great pains, with, I believe, ns great an anxiety as I could have felt, to come to a right decision on the case. I have never known a Home Secretary-I believe there has not been one in our time, and I hope there never will be one—who would not bestow all the care that is possible oh the ascertainment of the truth and the doing of justice in cases of this nature. Therefore in what t say I am not even insinuating a charge of any kind against the right hon. gentleman. I can only say of him, as of his predecessors, that in cases of this description I think all men ought to show towards the Home secre- tary the greatest possible forbearance should give him credit for the most careful exercise of his judg- ment, and should remove out of his way anything whatso- ever that could give him pain in the discharge of the tre- mendous, and, I will say, the appalling duty which the law lays upon him in cases of thischavacter. Mr. Hardy.—Sir, in rising again I have to aak the per- mission of the House, because I have already spoken in this discussion. I have nothing to complain of in the manner, the tone, or the language in which the hon. gentleman ad- dressed i:i« in calling my attention to this momentous sub- jcct nor, I think, can he exagerate the importance which belongs to the office which the Home Secretary has to discharge in cases in which appeals are made to him to recommend an exercise of the prerogative of mercy, and more especially in a case such as this, which involves a question of life and death. I will just explain to the iiouse very briefly, the position in which this case stands. Upon the trial of the man who now lies under sentence of death evi- dence was called for the defence, setting up an alhi on the part of the prisoner. That aii&i was tried by a jury, and was negatived. Subsequently memorials were sent in, not very early, but so short a time before the day fixed for the exe- cution, that it became my duty, in order that those memorials might be fairly weighed, to respite the execution in the first instance, and having examined them myself, to do what is done in all these cases,—namely, transmit them for the examination of the Judge, or rather, in this instance, of the Judges, who tried the case, for tin; trial was held before the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Baron Bramwell. Therefore on the documents coming up, called declarations on affidavits, but which were not affidavits of such a character as is usual in courts of justice-for I doubt whether perjury could have been assigned upon them-on these documents being sent up set ting up the same aUbi as had been pre- viously raised, and other evidence as to the prisoner having been at Glasgow at the time he was said to have been in London, an officer belonging to the office of the Solicitor of the Treasury was sent down to Glasgow to make all inquiries, and ascertain tha truth as to the affidavits that were made. '1 here were persons who came forward and gave evidence of what they knew on the subject, and those affidavits were also transmitted to London and laid before the judges. In addition to that there were likewise certain documents in the possession, I will not say of the Crown lawyers, but of the authorities, at the time of the trial. But there were questions raised at the trial which were not foreseen, and which were raised more strongly in connection with the second case of the alibi than before, and especially as to the convict having gone by a particular name. Those documents also were placed before the Judges. I do not in all my life remember any instance in which a more careful investigation was given than that which was given by the Lord Chief justice in this case. Satisfied as the Lord Chief Justice was in the first instance that the verdict was correct, and satisfied, also, as Mr. Baron Bramwell was in the first instance of its justice, he went into the investigation almost as if there had been no trial at all, in order to come to a conclusion upon it. Having completed that inquiry, and investigated the case with the greatest minuteness, both those learned judges arrived at the conclusion that there was no ground for suspecting the accuracy of the verdict. They did not recommend that there should be any further trial such as the hon. gentleman suggests—for that matter was also before them—but they came to the conclusion—and in that conclusion I have felt myself bound almost entirely to concur-that the circum- stances of the case are such as to leave no doubt in the minds of those who have investigated them that the man is guilty of the charge. The Times, in remarking upon the al,bi and the observations made in the House of Commons, says :— It appears that there was some evidence which the Crown lawyers in their discretion kept back. It is perhaps to be regretted that this was done but they thought the case complete without it. The main defence, however, was the alibi set up by the three shoemakers. Now, of thiHtlibi we must Fay that one more weak was never produced in a court of justice. Hal rett, according to the theory of the defence, was an inhabitant of Glasgow, where he worked for his living. He had been in Glasgow at the time of the explosion and during the whole period when Mullany alleged him to have been in London. t'e lived by his labour; he must therefore have had a master and fellow-workmen lie must have had a lodgiw., and therefore a landlord or :t landlady; he »aust have had companions, and trades- men with whom lie dealt; it is indeed absurd to believe that a rather clever young Irishman could be living-in one of the largest cities of the Kingdom without any one being coguizapt, of liii existence. Yet, after several weeks of pre- paration for his dcfence, in a matter of life and death, he can only procure three strangers, with whom he alleges himself to have been brought into contact on a single and accidental occasion, to prove that he had been living in Glasgow, and not in London. The jury could not allow such unsatisfactory testimony to overbalance the direct evidence offered by the prosecution, and they found the prisoner guilty. We know not the nature and weight of the evidence with which the prisoner's friends have supplemented his case. We can, therefore, only take it for granted that, having minutely examined everything that has been presented for consideration, the Home Secretary has found no grounds for believing that the verdict was mistaken. It is satisfactory to know that in this he has the full concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Mr. Baron Bramwell. Mr. Hardy says emphatically, I do not in my life remember any instance in which so careful an investigation was given as that which was given by the Lord Chief Ju-tice in this case. Satisfied as the Lord Chief Justice was in the first instance that the verdict was correct, and satisfied, also, as Mr Baron Bramwell was in the first instance of its justice, he went into the investigation almost as if there had been no trial at all, in order to come to a conclu- sion upon it. Having completed that inquiry and investi- gated the case with the greatest minuteness, both those learned judges arrived at the conclusion that there was no ground for suspecting the accuracy of the verdict." This solemn decision will satisfy the nation that justice has been done. It is a most painful duty to declare that aman must die; but on such an occasion as this a Minister ought not to shrink from such a duty. There will always be men whom no evidence will convince; there are those who doubt the guilt of Palmer and Muller In order that such men may not introduce a misgiving in the public mind that a judicial error has been committed in this case it is proper that those who think the jury have come to a right decision should say so. We are glad, therefore, that Mr. Bright has elicited from Mr. Hardy such strong opinions that the pri- soner Barrett has been rightly convicted.

J&JL 110 Ai i- i1 i'H iu V BEITiSH F0B2IGH Official documents show that as many as 88,108 in- fants, foundlings, and orphans are now assisted in France. However, in I860, the first year of the treat] of commerce, the number was over 91,000. For a great Paris wedding, everything comes from London. Ornaments, carriages, jewels, horse-), coats, come over from London tradesmen and to be fashionable in Paris you must be ii la London from top to toe. The Emperor of the French, it is said, knew of the taking of -twenty-fo,.ir hours before her Majesty's Government did so. If so, he might have been good enough to have paid the expense of a telegram to England. The Tinux would have made his Majesty a handsome return for his courtesy. The list of CMHles to be heard in the Divorce Court during the present term has 174 entries, of which forty are to be heard with juries. The population of Queensland is now over 100,000. j It waa only 20,000 on the 7th April, lSul. Tho population of the province of Otago, New Zealand, is 18,4SO. The drain of emigration from Ireland to America continues uudiminished. It is stated that the wife of a ritualistic clergyman at Bristol has just seceded to the Church of Rome. A Yankee captain was caught in the jawe of a whale, but was finally rescued, badly woun ded. On being 1 asked what he thought while in that situation, lie said, I thought he would make about forty barrels (of oil i In the island of Stronsay, Scotland, a few days ago, a man named Macpherson was carrying a heavy load on his back, supported by a rope round his chest. lie stopped to rest in a stable, resting his load on the manger, when by some means it slipped, the rope shot up round his neck, and he was strangled before assistance reached him. The Prince of Wales has signified his wish to stand spoonsor to the infant son of the Rev. H. M. Birch, rector of Prestwich, his former tutor. 1 Last week an Irishman, named Garraghty, who for a number of years resided in Bangor, died, and left three widows to mourn his end The course of John's life does not seem to have run very smoothly. The deceased was luc- y in one particular, though unfortunate in his affections -he was never tried for bigamy A petition presented to the House of Lords praying that the Protestant character of Trinity College, Dublin, may be maintained intact, bears the signatures of 4,293 graduates and 3,000 non-graduates of the university. The sales of Church property in Sicily are readily effected on excellent terms. The mode of proceeding is peculiar. The sales are by auction, and when the lots have been once knocked down they are again put up, after an interval of some days, to see if any one will bid ten per cent, more than was given on the former occassion. This increase obtained, as it seems almost invariably to have been hitherto j in Sicily, there is another pause, and then, for the third time, the same lots are put up, this time with an advance of one-sixth on the second price given. The lots are generally small, and as the payment is arranged by easy instalments— one-twentieth only being paid down at the moment of purchase-their acquisition is rendered possible to persons of very limited means. A curious case has just been decided in the Supreme Court of New York. The widow of a murdered man brought a suit for the sum of 5,00i) dols. damages the largest amount she could claim under the statute; against the defendant, whose wrongful acts are alleged to have resulted in her hus- band's decease. The mortal difficulty grew out of a difference respecting the interpretation of the terms of lease, and the defendant, instead of taking his case to court, sought to obtain his rights by force. In the melee consequent upon his unlawful proceedings, one of his workmen discharged a pistol with fatal effect at the husband of the plaintiff, and the man who used the pistol was produced by the widow as the chief witness in support of her claim. Upon his testimony the jury declared in her favour to the full extent of the law. i——————I One of the clerical agents advertises the fact that 1 his private list for May contains the unprecedented number I of one hundred Church livings for sale at prices from £251) to 1 -iL2, I On Friday, the 22nd inst, Lady Gooch, the wife of Sit I Daniel Gooch, chairman of the Great Western Railway, of I Clewer, near W1nclsor, died at the family seat. B The following melancholy information and moral I are conveyed in an advertisement which appeared in Till 1 Times the other day:—"Laura.—Jockey Comb, and Fret j. Coins, a failure. Your money all lost. So, so sorry." j The deatli is .announced of General Husson, an old I French officer of the days of the First Napoleon. The Pro- vincial Government of 1548, put the General en ntraitei but in January, 1852, Napoleon Ill. made him a Senator, and he remained in the Senate until his death. Born in 1780, General IIusson had attained, at the period of his decease, the ripe age of eighty-twa years. The Rccord prints an account of a meeting of the Scottish Reformation Society—whose principal object at present appears to be to educate and send forth upon the newspaper world 200 Protestant youths well skilled in the mystery of short-hand writing, for the express purpose of counteracting "the machination of the Jesuit newspaper reporters in the galleries of the Houses of Lords and Commons." At the Braidwood (Australia) sessions recently, the foreman of the jury gave in a verdict of "guilty," whereas "not guilty" had been decided upon. None of the jury rectified the error, and the prisoner was sentenced, fort*- nately, only to a light term of imprisonment. A case of some importance to volunteers has been decided in the City of London Court. Actions for liquidated damages wore brought against several privates of the 2nd City of London corps for bread of agreement to serve three years in the corps, and to attend a sufficient number of drill- in each year to enable their commanding officer to draw the Government allowance payable for such attendance. They were all ordered to pay money forthwith. A Russian journal, the J.Vadziela (the Week), has re- ceived a first warïing for "constantly misreprerei- ting the economic and social relations of the empire," and for drawing hostile comparisons between the working classes and thOM possessed of property." A man named Saunien has just been convicted at Grenoble of deserting to the Russians during the Crimeaa war, and sentenced to death. One day recently a youth named Gunn, aged nine- teen, was searching the cliffs at Knockinnon, for seafowli. egg-3, when he fell over a precipice nearly 300 feet high. The body was found next day. The refrain of the popular Not for Joseph turn# out to be, with very slight variation, a plagiarism from. Clapison, the French words non merci bein<j freely rendered by the less refined refrain Not for Joe The New Free Press of Vienna circulates a rumour to the effect that a declaration cf peace is being prepared by England for the signature of the European Powers. The de- claration will ex, lee,s the wish of the Powers for peace, and their belief in the possibility of its maintenance. In Santos, S. Paulo, Brazil, two Americana hM murdered an English engine-driver, named William Bell. A young man named M'Nee, a jeweller, at Stirling, shot himself with an Enfield rifle, in a paroxysm of grief at the death of his mother. A publication of the French Peace Society, entitled Contemporary Wars," shows that during the past fourteen year3 1,743,491 soldiers were killed in battle, or died from disease arising from war. The Pope recently performed the ceremony of blessing the Ajtnus Dei, or medallions of white wax, made by the Cistercian monks of Santa Cruse, from the wax of the Easter candles of certain churches in Rome. The ceremony of blessing them takes place only once in seven years, and in the first year of the Pontificate. When blessed they are sup- posed to possess many miraculous virtues. The death of Lord Brougham at the age of more than 89.1 years, recalls the fact that longevity seems to run in the family. The late Peer's grandfather died at the age of 93, and his mother at 8:); and his great-great-aunt did in the ye;1r 17S0, at the great age oflCG. This latter lady, tliertfore, with whom probably he had often talked, was born two years before the death of Charles II., and at the time of her decease Lord Brougham must have been a boy of eleven years old. An Abyssinian correspondent'of the Pall Mall Gazette says :—" A spare, lithe, sinewy carcass, slightly grizzled, five feet eight inches, and about fifty years of age, a crud mouth, and common look, is all we are to know of a fine, but savage spirit, who has cost the British nation dear, but who was sinned against. The Hon. John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the army of the United States Republic, has issued a general order announcing that the 30th of May is named as the day on which the graves of their comrades, who fell during the war, should be strewn with flowers. He says that it is hi9 wish to inaugurate this observance, with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year while a survivor of tha war remains. Mr. Faulknv V> polled three votes at the election for Nottingham in ihas just made his appearance again in that town, and it is gaid that he intends to offer himself at the next election. Furtherresearche,slately made in the Loch of Arisaig show that the lake was the site of many" lake dwellings." One dwelling was in very deep water, and about 250 yards from the nearest point of land. The structure on which the dwelling rested was formed of trunks of trees, some of which are very large. One is twenty-eight feet long and llv6 feel in circumference. The London Review says we are living in a state of chronic Ministerial crisis. No sooner is one difficulty sur- mounted, than another rises before us. The Ministry have hardly recovered from one humiliation before they ar, called upon to suiter another. Every week increases the breach between the Legislature and the Executive, and contributes its quota to the degradation of both. The Observer devotes a special column to a recapitu- lation of the suicides of each successive week. Last week, according to our contemporary, a boy, an officer, a jealous husband, a soldier, a pantaloon, and a surgeon, respectively named Webb, Butler, Roles, Sheppard, Barnes, and Batten, died by their own acts. In each instance the coroner's in- quest returned a verdict of "Suicide whilst labouring under temporary insanity." The celebrated vineyard of Cil:ttC::1.èl Lafitte, which produces the finest claret in the world, is in the market. The upset price is about £4,000 the hectare two and a half eres-total. 4,500,000f. In 1S13 M. Rosalie Lemaire bought it for one million, and ill 1821 Mr. Scott, an English gentle- man, and present owner, paid a like sum for it. Cardinal d'Andrea, the most liberal member of tlio Sacred College, died last week in Rome. So did Count Ciivelli, the Austrian Ambassador, who was pressing the Pope to modify the Austrian Concordat. Both died suddenly, and both of pulmonary asphyxia.' The Italians consequently believe that both were poisoned by order of the Society of Jesus,—rather a mediaival notion, one would think. In- dividual lives are hardly important enough for the Society to play that game now, more especially with ambassadors, who are but delegates, after all."—Spectator. The Paris Figaro states that communications have at length been opened between the French and Italian Governments with a view to rid Paris of little Italian itine- rant musicians. Arrangements have been made to send tll. children back to their own country. The French papers do not look upon the eating of Frenchmen by the Arabs as so very awful, and have given statistics to show, including the man-eating, that crime is at a low rate of per-eentage in Africa. Man-eating is certainly the safest crime for the French occupants, as it will taka some time to get through a lot, and according to the South Sea records of the Anthropophagi, Frenchmen are very tough and indigestible food, and the Arabs may therefore soon get tired and find out their mistake. A young man, who received but 1,800 francs a year salary, recently wrote from Paris to his unsophisticated country parent for assistance, and sent his photograph. The father replied indignantly, "Rascal of a son, you cannot be as poor as you stated, for in your photograph you are sur- rounded by vases, rich curtains, statues, and cascades in perspective. Not a sou from your affectionate father." o. to be done. An inquest was held at the University College Hospital, in London, on AViii. Francis Lambie, ae,f forty-one, an artist. For some time past he had l,een under medical advice, and has been in a very excitable state of mind. The other day he received a letter from a lady whose portrait he was painting, which annoyed and excited him very much. On the following morning he rose between six and seven, and was seen by a neighbour to get on the p :rapet outside his bed-room window, which was at the top of the house, and deliberately leap off. He died of the injuries he had sus- tained. Verdict," Suicide while suffering from a fit of temporary insanity." About 4,000 summonses were issued by the Chelsea magistrates last week, under the new Reform Act, for the payment by compound householders of their rates, amount- ing in most cases to as much as £3 for the halt-year for a small house. The defaulters appeared on Friday, at the workhouse, and were in a state of great tribulation at the new impost, and most of them being unable to pay the amount charged to them were allowed a fortnight's grace. Near upon 10,000 compound householders are in the same position. The American papers speak of the discovery of whisky spring near Nodaway, in Missouri. The liquid flows from between two rocks, and looks like highly-coloured brandy, but it tastes and smells like pure whisky, and has the same intoxicating effect. The local paper in which we find an account of the discovery says, that Several lawyers, physicians, and newspaper men were preparing to go out y.esterday morning to test the discovery, but the a-pect of rain deterred them "-that is to say, they did not wish te mix water with their whisky. A lock of the late King Theodore's hair, cut from his ihead after death by Captain .lames, deputy adjutant quarter- master-general, was received in Plymouth on Tuesday ÍH last week, and as a matter of curiosity was exhibited in a shop window. Captain James, when about to start for Aby-sinia, jocularly promised a friend at Plymouth that he would bring back a lock of Theodore's hair. The pledge was re- j deemed, a note accompanying it, in which Captain James said:—" I send you a real loc:, of Theodore's hair. I cut it off myself as soon as we found his body in the gateway, and I assure you it is genuine. 1 little thought when I promised this in fun it would be fulfilled in reality." j BeVs Life records the death, at Brighton, of Mr. Ford, better known in racing circles a quarter of a century ago as "Lawyer Ford," whose mantle as financier and manager to noblemen and gentlemen" in distress" has since devolved upon the shoulders of Ir. Padwick. Mr. Ford, who in person bore a strong resemblance to the late Sir James Graham, himself owned and ran many horses, and won the Oaks with Poison, ridden by Frank Butler. Bell'g Life describes Mr. Ford as having been a shrewd man of business, an agreable companion, and a kinder-hearted man than many supposed him to be." The Ivov. '1'. W. Mcssman, Kector of West Tor- rington, Lincolnshire, has established in his parish a con- gregation of the Venerable Bede, to observe the holy rule of St. Benedict," and has issued the following proposal I want help very, very much, to assist a poor student and candidate for holy orders in passing through Oxford. To show how very strongly I feel about this I will promise that if any Catholic friends will help me in this matter will make out a list of their names, and that so long as I live, and so long as the congregation of the Venerable Bede remains in existence, there shall be an offering of the Holy Eucharist weekly specially for their benefit, whether they be dving or ( departed."