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

ACCIDENT TO AN EXPRESS. 6rn°L froma Pullman car on the 8.40 a.m. expr Cr^ton to London broke on the 2°th the train was run- ning at I,; pH]led up before any serious mischief d ensued, but the car was damaged, and some injury done to the permanent way, causing a temporary mterruption to the traffic.

=- SHIPOWNERS' AND EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY. A petition of shipowner8 0 e kingdom .protesting against the appl'cap'P,l Liability Bill to sea-service, chiefly o e grounds that shipowners cannot possibly exercise any super- vision over their employes when their vessels are at sea, and that seamen have already many privileges And pecuniary advantages granted in consequence of the special character and risk of their employment which are not enjoyed by workmen on shore, was pre- sented to Parliament on the 21st inst. It had been .eitensively signed in all the principal ports of the three Kingdoms.

ROYAL COMMISSION ON HORSE BREEDING. The fourth report of this Commission says Since we had the honour of presenting our last report, we have held three shows in London during the years 1890, 1891, and 18S2, at which the Queen's premiums were awarded, and which were held in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the Hunters' Improvement Society, and the Hackney Horse Society. The number of stallions entered has been satisfactory, and we have been enabled to select suitable horses out of those exhibited to locate in the various districts in England, Wales, and Scotland. The number of unsound horses continues to bear a large proportion to those exhibited, but it is gratify- ing to find that the breeders of horses throughout the country are very ready to avail themselves of the ad- vantages which this commission is enabled to offer, by locating in the districts stallions which have passed a strict veterinary examination. The subject of veterinary examination has on various occasions exercised our most deep and earnest consideration, and we are endeavouring to formulate a scheme which we trust will ensure more consistency in these decisions than that hitherto adopted. We have thoroughly discu&sed the question of allowing stallions which have attained a certain age, and have been passed a certain number of times by our veterinary inspectors, to be exempt from further veterinary examination when presented again for competition, but we decline to adopt any such modification, as, from our experience, we are aware that hereditary diseases are occasionally developed at various stages of a horse's life. Since our last report was presented, we have considered it to be to the in- terest of breeders to raise the age at which throrough- I bred stallions shall be eligible to compete for the Queen's premiums from three to four years old.

THE CASE OF A SOLICITOR. The Court of Appeal on the 20th inst. had before it the case of Mr. Alun Lloyd, a solicitor, of Denbigh, who appealed against a decision of the Divisional Court striking him off the Roll. It was alleged that he had without authority signed the names of witnesses in a criminal case to receipts in order to obtam the amount of their allowances from the Treasury, and that in two cases he 'had not paid over the amounts he had received until after notice had been taken of the matter by the Incorporated Law Society. Their lordships, although disapproving of the conduct of the appellant in following a lax and bad practice which prevailed, could not say that in their opinion he had been guilty of dishonesty, and therefore directed that his name should be restored to the Roll.

THE NEW SHERIFFS. The following is an official list of the Sheriffs ap- pointed by her Majesty in Council for the year 1893 (excepting Cornwall and Lancashire): EN^AND. Bedfordshire.—Anthony Henry Wingfield, of Ampt- hill House, Ampthill, Esq. Berkshire.—William Lansdowne Beale, of Manor House, Waltham St. Lawrence, Esq. Bucks.-Stafford O'Brien Hoare, of Turvill-park, Esq. Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.—Arthur John Thornhill, of Diddington Hall, Buckden, Esq. Cheshire.—Robert Charles"de Grey Viner, of Bidston, near Birkenhead, Esq. Cumberland.—George William Mounsey-Heysham,of Castletown, Carlisle, Esq. Derbyshire.—William Drury Nathaniel Drury Lowe, of Locko-park, Esq. Devonshire.- William Lethbridge, of Wood, South Tawton, Esq. Dorsetshire.—Algernon Thomas Brinsley Sheridan, of Frampton Court, Esq. Durham.—Edward Joicey, of Whinney House, Low Fell, Gateshead-on-Tyne, Esq. Essex.—Arthur Janison Edwards, of Beech-hill-park, Waltham Abbey, Esq. Gloucestershire.—Sir William Francis George Guise, of Elmore Court, near Gloucester, Bart. Herefordshire.—Hudson Lathom Lutwyche, of Kynastone, Ross, Esq. Hertfordshire.—Robert Barclay, of High Leigh, Hoddesdon, Esq. Kent.—Richard Benyon Berens, of Kevington, St. Mary Cray, Dartford, Esq. Leicestershire.—Charles Edmund de Trafford, of Hothorpe, Theddingworth, Rugby, Esq. Lincolnshire.—Edward Weston Cracroft, of Hack- thorn, near Lincoln, Esq. County of London.—Samuel Hope Morley, of 43, Upper Grosvenor-street, Esq. Middlesex.-Liout.-Colonel William Horatio field, of Sunbury Court, Sunbury. Monmouthshire.—Arthur Evans, of Llangib, i-le, Newport, Esq. Norfolk. -Lieut.-Colone I Clement William Joseph Unthank, of Intwood. Northamptonshire.—Edward Grant, of Litcbfoorough, Esq. Northumberland.—Edward Leadbitter, of Spittal, Hexham, Esq. w Nottinghamshire.—Benjamin Ingham Whitaker, of Hesley Hall, Esq. Oxfordshire.- Charles Twysden Hoare, of JJignell, Bicester, Esq. Rutland.—Francis John Berry, of Wing, Oakham, Esq. Shropshire.—John Derby Allcroft, of Stokesay Court, Onibury, Esq. Somersetshire.—Henry Ernst, of Westcombe House, Evercreech, Bath, Esq. County of Southampton.—Joseph William Baxen- dale, of Hursley-park, Winchester, Esq. Staffordshire.-Sir Reginald Hardy, of Dunstall Hall, Burton-upon-Trent, Bart. Suffolk.-Ferdinand Eyre, of The Mound, Bury St. Edmunds, Esq. Surrey.—Jeremiah Colman, of Gatton-park, J Sussex.—James Innes, of Roffey-park, Horsh* Esq. Warwickshire.—Henry Fisher, of Moxhull Hall, near Erdington, Esq. 7 Westmoreland. Jacob Wakefield, of Seagwick House, Kendal, Esq. Wiltshire.—Sir Gabriel Goldney, of Beechfield, Cor- aham. Bart. Worcestershire.—Edward Vincent Vashon Wheeler, of Newnham Court, Tenbury, Esq. Yorkshire.—George Thomas Gilpin Brown, of Sed- bury-park, Esq. WALES. Anglesey. — Captain Owen Thomas, of Brynddu, Rhosgoch. Breconshire.—Bowen Pottinger Woosmam, of Tyny- graig, Builth, Esq. Cardiganshire.—John Francis, of Wallog, Bow- street, Esq. Carmarthenshire.—John Crow Richardson, of Glan- bryden-park, Llandilo, Esq. Carnarvonshire.—Charles Frost, of Minydon, Colwyn, Esq. Denbighshire.—Major-General Edward William Lloyd Wynne, of Coed Cocb, Abergele. Flintshire.—Sir Pyers William Mostyn, of Tare, Bart. Glamorganshire.—Robert Forrest, of St. Fagans, Cardiff, Esq. Merionethshire.—Edward Robert Jenkins, of wenni, Llandderfel, Corwen, Esq. » Montgomeryshire.—John Cooke Hilton, of 1,å,n- hiriaeth, Llanfair, Esq. Pembrokeshire.—Louis Samson, of Scotchwell, sq. Radnorshire.—John Corrie Carter, of Cefnfaes, Rha- yader, Esq.

LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. Lincoln's Inn-fields are to become an "open space." At least, the Lot don County Council's Open Spaces Bill of this session, which sets forth the desirability of this step, seems likely to be carried. The fortunes of this plot of land—between seven and 12 acres in extent—have fluctuated curiously. At the beginning of the 17th century the Fields were regarded as open country. In 1618 Francis Bacon, as Lord Chan- cellor, received Letters Patent commissioning him to reduce the Fields into walks." He obtained the assistance of Inigo Jones, who erected houses on the west side and planned others. But Cromwell in 1657 put a stop to further building, because it annoyed the members of the Inn. The Fields were then allowed to lie open and waste, being used for all sorts of purposes. William Lord Russell was beheaded there on the 21st of July, 1683. All manner of rough games with much gambling con- stantly went on. Locke, writing a kind of guifor a foreign visitor to London, says that he might see wrestling all the summer in Lincoln's-inn-fielde," In 1686, under the patronage of James II., the Recolet Franciscan Friars built a chapel there; but it was demolished during the riots of December, 1685. At last the place became such a nuisance that it required the intervention of an Act of Parliament in 1735. This Act recited that the great square had for seme years past lain waste and in great disorder;" that it had become the receptacle for rubbish and nastiness which were never scavenged; that, "for want of proper fences to enclose the same great mis- chiefs bad happened to many of his Majesty's sub- jects going about their lawful occasions, several of whom had been killed, and others maimed by horses which had been from time to time rode and aired in the said fields no less a person than Sir Joseph Jekyll Master of the Rolls, had been severely bruised in this way-" and by reason of their being kept open many wicked and disorderly persons had frequented them, and engaged in unlawful sports, assaults, and outrages." Power was, accordingly, given to enclose and clean and beautify the said fields in graceful manner." For this purpose, the owners of the houses round were to supply contributions of 2s. 6d. in the pound on their rateable value. And so the natter has remained until the present time. Now, it is urged that all occasion for enclosure is gone, and that, in view of the crowded character of the neighbour- hood, the space is much wanted for a public gsrden. The Council propose to spend EIOOO in laying it out; and once more the square will become a plaae of public resort, though under more efficient care than in the days of the Stuarts.

PRIVATE INQUIRY OFFICES AND DIVORCE SUITS. The London correspondent of the Birmingham Post writes: One incidental result of the collapse of the proceedings instituted by Lord Howard de Wjlden against his wife, in addition to the prosecutions which may be expected to flow therefrom, is likely to be an effective scrutiny into the private inquiry system, which has raised its head so strenuoudy in the Divorce Division during the past few yean. I hear, upon very good authority, that inquiries are being made, upon official responsibility, concerning two or three divorce cases which have recently two or three divorce cases which have recently broken down, and which, in one important respect, have presented an identical feature of peculiai sig- nificance and, as there is a strong feeling in judicial circles that an attempt should be made to deal with the matter, it is probable that the Treasury will be communicated with. Already there is a fluttering of the dovecotes of certain "private inquiry WLts; and, if their enterprises are probed to the bottom, there is the promise of a lively sensation.

.—- — LITTLE BILLY has been taken to see his old uncle, who is so deaf that he cannot hear a single vord without recourse to his ear-trumpet. Billy watches the movements of this instrument for some -7iine with great interest, and then exclaims: Manama, what does uncle try all the time to play the jiorn with his ear for, when he can't make it go ?"

EPITOME OF NEWS. A LONDON clergyman on Sunday made [the follow- ing rather curious and unsatisfactory remarks "You young men," he said, I want you to write to me this week and tell me everything about your London life, your difficulties, your trials everything shall be treated as confidential, and your letters, when read, shall be burned. Sign them—I want no anonymous correspondence. Tell me what you know of others. There are men who are building homes, refuges, hospitals-tell me what you know of them. Things have been, and are being done by psalm-singers which are incredible in their iniquity. If you know of these write to me and tell me." IT is suggested in connection with the stranding and possible loss of the Howe—representing a sum of nearly a million pounds-that the Admiralty should insure their ships. This suggestion, although emanating from Portsmouth, the headquarters of naval officialdom, is, however, not altogether com- mendable, for as the navy consists of something like 400 vessels of all kinds, and the percentage of losses is very much lower than that of the most fortunate steamship company, it is very obvious that if all these ships were insured it would not be at all advantageous to the country, as the annual premium on them would amount to a very large sum. A much better plan would be, in the case of the larger valued ships, to insure the excess over a certain value, say £ 300,000. If this were done the calculation of those entrusted with the management of our navy would not be liable to be upset by huge losses. SIR FREDERICK LEIGHTON has Eot yet by several hundred pounds obtained the sum necessary to enable him to carry out his plans in connection with the Wellington Memorial, now rapidly rising in its new place under an arch of the nave of St. Paul's. The monument is to be finished by the addition of an equestrian statue of the great duke, but this does not seem to have been put in hand yet. MR. EDWARD PONSONBY, the secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons, who is anxious to be relieved of the duty of issuing tickets for the Strangers' Gallery, a duty which he temporarily undertook nearly eight years ago, is the embodiment of courtesy and affabilit) and despite his well-known Unionist proclivities, he is popular with the Nationa- list members. As he is careful to point out, he is neither a civil servant nor a servant of the House nevertheless, under the existing arrangement, he is the head of the department in which above all others continuity of policy is necessary. In the ordinary course of things Mr. Ponsonby will one day be en- titled to a seat in the House of Lords, his father, the Hon. and Kev. Walter Brabazon Ponsonby, rector of Stutton, Ipswich, being heir-presumptive to the Earldom of Bessborough. Lord Bessborough is 78, and his brother, the heir-presumptive, is 72. Mr. Edward Ponsonby, who is the eldest son of the Hon. Walter, is 42. The Westminster Gazette sent a lady representative on a mission of inquiry among West-end dressmakers, and the evidence, both verbal and in the shape of bills, of women's reckless extravance that she pro- cured is startling. A year's dressmaking bill of a Bond-street costumiere is E1480 10s.; a bonnet bill for six months, £ 40 19s. 6d.; another dressmaking bill for four months, E679 18s. An item on one of the bills is six pairs of silk stockings at 42s. a pair. Another is one lawn knicker-bockers, trimmed lace, £ 7 7s. The bill of one lady of title, who is said to have a new dress every day of the year, is not less than £ 3000. LivERPOOL seamen have another grievance, women having lately been employed to scrub the decks of ships. DR. NAKSEN, the Norwegian, who starts on his Polar expedition in June, is sleeping under his silk tent to test it and acclimatize himself. Other mem- bers of the expedition are sleeping in the open air, covered with the wolves' skins which the party will take out with them. THE London County Council has ordered a pit to be dug in Victoria-park and filled with sea-sand, so that the boys and girls of the East-end can play at being at the seaside with their spades and buckets. Mr. Clarke, the Councillor who suggested the idea, says he has tried the experiment in his own garden for his grandchildren, with great success. SIR JOHN LUBBOCK is usually a century or two in advance of his age. Thanks to him the time will come when the smallest actions of every-day life will be regulated by Act of Parliament, when an official will call at one's house every morning to weigh out the Government allowance of food for the day, when the electric light will be cut off at ten, when teeto- talism will be imposed like vaccination, and all amusements will be punished with the utmost rigour of the law. This is all to come, but it is oversoon to propose to make early-closing compulsory. It would be a severe blow to the smaller shopkeepers, but the welfare of such insignificant people is ignored by statesmen with a little mind and great reforming proclivities, and there can only be thankfulness ex- pressed at the ousting of Sir John Lubbock's Bill. The distinguished bee-keeper is a kind-hearted, wrong-headed gentleman, who would sacrifice a nation for the indulgence of a well-meant but mis- chievous whim. THE remains of a Benedictine abbey near Maid- stone have recently been sold, and the wreck pre- sented to an Anglican Sisterhood, for whose benefit the abbey is to be put into condition and added to. In connection with the Benedictine monks it was reported at the time of the fire that they would suffer largely by the loss of valuable materials used in the manufacture of their liqueut. Those who have visited the Benedictines, however, know that there was no valuable material to be lost. The product of the monastery consists only of brandy of fine quality, and the herbs which grow on a slope close to the sea, consequently becoming impregnated with salt. This is the whole secret of the manufacture of the Benedictine liqueur, which at the time of the fire it was said would become a lost art. THE professional golf tournament, which was to have taken place at the Tooting Bee Club, has been postponed, and those who wished to see the revered Old Tom Morris and his lesser brethren from the North play are disappointed. Owing principally to the Parliamentary Golf Handicap, which is now in progrrss, it was decided to postpone the invitation to professionals, the ground being fully occupied. Also the new club house is-not quite finished, conse- quently the Scotchmen could not be entertained in a manner satisfactory to the committee, and probably the men themselves. No future date has yet been fixed for the tournament. THE other day a burglar at Silvertown was tracked in a queer manner. Not content with valuable booty, he carried off a bag of corn. From a small hole in the bag some grains dropped at intervals, sufficient to make a trail, which a sharp detective followed right up to the thief's resort, and there arrested the criminal with the property in his possession. BEFORE very long the barristers of the Junior and Middle Temples will be enjoying the privileges of a club, which in its membership will only recognise the law. The promoter of the scheme is the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, perhaps better known as a tennis-player than as a lawyer. Lord Robert Cecil, the third son of the Marquis of Salisbury, is also interested in the club. Hitherto busy barristers, and briefless ones, have been forced to lunch at high pressure in a restaurant, or else endure the culinary qualifications of the chamber cooks, who are more generally known as laundresses. Considering this, it is strange that the want of a good club in the Temple has not been attended to before; and there is no doubt when the Temple Club is- ready io elect members they will come quickly and in their numbers. THE ups and downs of Australian life are well illustrated by a recent speech of Mr. Munro (reported in the Morning Leader). Addressing a temperance meeting in Melbourne, the late Agent-General for Victoria said I came to Melbourne over 30 years ago with hardly a penny in my pocket. 1 worked hard as a working man, and received every honour which a free State could confer on any of its citizens until at last I held the highest position in the land. Now I stand before you, 61 years of age, without a shilling in my pocket. For the first time in my life, through liabilities which I undertook, never expecting to be called upon to meet them, I am unable to pay 20s. in the pound." Three years ago Mr. Munro was worth half a million, and was Prime Minister of Victoria. IN the Gordon Castle meteorological papers lent to the Scottish Meteorological Society by its president, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, are a series of observations taken in London or its immediate vicinity by Mr. Thomas Hay from 1771 to 1822. MR. WILLIAM SALMON, J.P., of Penllyne-court, Cowbridge, Glamorganshire, who is the oldest living Freemason, and the oldest member on the roll of the College of Surgeons, has attained his 103rd year. He was born on March 16tb, 1790, near Wickham Market, in Suffolk. Mr. Salmon has living six grandchildren and 14 great-granchildren. THIS year hares for the first time for some years will enjoy che privilege of a close season; the Act, which was passed for the protection of hares, cime into operation on the first of this month. The months during which puss will be free from the attention of sportsmen, and to a lesser degree of the poacher, are March, April, May, June, and July. During this period it will not be lawful to sell or to expose for sale in any part of Great Britain any hare or leveret." Those who break the law aro liable to a penalty not exceeding 20s. It is to be hoped that the Act also includes the words unlaw- ful to kill, as it is otherwise open to the sportsman (?) to eat or give way the animals he may shoot. AT certain intervals is published a list of the most recent additi ons to the Zoological Gardens. In vain do the anxious look for the arrival ot a giraffe. The coming generation will have no personal acquaintance with this uncomfortable beast, and it lives only in the memory of many. As regards real existence it seems to be going the way of the historic dodo. THE Thakom Sahib, an Indian magnate who has been residing in England for a long time, has arrived in north Bombay, where he rules over a large terri- tory, numerously populated. His subjects are de- lighted at his return, and at a court of nobles he spoke in animated terms of the great kindness of thex-m- press of India to India's people, and how especially good she had been to the Maharanee, his wife, who had received from her the Order of the Crown of India. The Indian potentate was in particular very laudatory of the skill of the Edinburgh doctors, to whom he said the Maharanee and he owe the utmost gratitude for a marvellous cure. He concluded his address by saying that his chief care for the future would be to make his people truly happy. NOTWITHSTANDING the undeniable accuracy and excellence of the Scott telescopic sight it is a strange fact that at the gun practice of Horse and Field i Artillery at Okehampton during the past year most of the practice was done with the open sights, and of the four batteries » are at the top of the Okehampton competitive lI.1p three never used Scott's sight at all, the at one series only." Scott's sights of the most t pattern are, however, graduated in hundreds o rds, thus avoiding the source of error existing 1 ae use of degrees and minutes. ONE of the most magr. ent and costly of the many modern works which .e necessarily subscribed for before their publication can be insured, is tke selection of royal and historical bookbindings from the Royal library, Windsor. The book, which will be ready next month, will contain about 150 plates, in colours and gold, and a photograph of the library at Windsor as a frontispiece. The work, which promises to be a beautiful production, will contain a preface by Mr. Richard R. Holmes, the librarian to the Queen. CAPTAIN KING, of the 5th Lancers, will be regarded as a rather fortunate officer, for he finds himself, after only 13 years' service as an officer, promoted to field rank, having just become major in his corps, in succession to Major Weston, who has retired from the army. Captain King was appointed to his first commission in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in February, 1880, and served with that corps in the Burmese Campaign, when he distinguished himself, and, as a reward for his services, was specially promoted to the rank of captain in the 5th Lancers in 1889. THE Lord Chancellor has written to the members who signed the memorial in regard to the appoint- ment of magistrates without the intervention of the Lords Lieutenants of counties expressing his willing- ness to give them an interview. Lord Herschell desires, however, that a little time should be allowed to elapse before the interview takes place, and the exact date has consequently not yet been settled. MR. FRANK LOCKWOOD is probably acquainted with the somewhat ancient slang phrase relative to coming Yorkshire over the innocent Metropolitan, and may indeed have found that form of coercion not unserviceable, during his long practice at the Bar. It is but appropriate that Yorkshiremen should convey their admiration for a lawyer and politician who hails from quite as cute a corner of the United Kingdom as that which furnishes the typical north- countryman. by granting to him the honorary free- dom of York, which contains in a congested form all the 'cuteness and all the good nature of the biggest county in the country. It may be said, in fact, that this honorary freedom conveys a perpetual retainer of the goodwill of Yorkshire people to one of their representatives in the Commons House of Parliament. THE Society for the Protection of Birds is endea- vouring to rouse the kind feelings of landowners! in behalf of the birds who ate making their nests only to have them taken by school-boy ornithologists. It is stated the amount of cruelty which it practised in this way is extremely great, and the president of the society begs that all those who have influence, and the power to chastise, will help in preventing the ex- tinction of many specimens of wild birds. THE growth of hirsute appendages on the faces of our gallant defenders has recently been the sub- ject of a discussion in the columns of a service contemporary. The regulation is clear enough on the matter, but none the less officers of high rank do not always wear moustaches, and it is com- plained that some few are so lost to all sense of propriety as to wear beards, but it must be ad- mitted that these are very few indeed. Military officers and men are not permitted to shave the upper lip at all, and, no matter how incapable a man may be by nature of cultivating a moustache, he is forbidden to improve his personal appearance by shaving. This rule, however, is not always enforced, for some enlightened commanding officers permit young men to shave, provided it be understood that it is done for the purpose of stimulating the growth of a backward moustache. Others, on the other hand, rigidly enforce the regulation, even in the case of officers who can only boast about a dozen hairs on each side. The regulation as to shaving also applies to Militia men when out for training, and jljey are compelled to grow moustaches, but as they are free of the Army Act at other times, and then they often shave, the effect when they come up for training again is not, as might be expected, very pleasing. FROM a return of the inquests held last year in Melbourne, Victoria, it appears that out of 325 deaths, 102 were directly traceable to over-indulgence in strong drink. IN London there are some 11,500 licensed cabs, and about 15,500 drivers and 3GOO cab proprietors. Of the latter, 2500 drive the cabs they owned. The number of horses engaged in the work is 28,000. ONE of the oldest and most respected of our colonists has just died—the Rev. Dr. Wools, who emigrated from England to Sydney in 1831. He was the author of "A Contribution to the Flora of Australia." AN important factor in the increased liking for the service as shown by the report of the Inspector- General of Recruiting is the knowledge of the organised effort to obtain employment for the man who has completed his time of service. Much has already been done in this direction, but a great deal still remains to be accomplished. For instance, a large number of soldier-clerks—men who are actually serving on their army engagements, and who are I shown on paper as effective and on the strength ef the active army, although many of them have not for years done a single day's military duty-are employed at the War Office. Now, if in future only reserve or discharged soldiers were employed as clerks at headquarters, it would not only set an ex- cellent example to other public departments, but also provide against the reduction of the paper strength of the active army. If such employment once became general in the War Office and other public depart- ments there would be a large influx of quite a new class of excellent recruits. THE Theosophists of London have resolved upon a retreat-not that the distinguished members culti- vate the occult desire to retire from publicity, but because a course of Theosophy, perhaps, necessitates a little change of air for recuperation. The locality of the "retreat has not yet been decided upon. The obvious spot is in the neighbourhood of the Mahatmas, who are understood to be the foreign re- presentatives of the cult. A PERUSAL of Sir Robert Biad alph's recently-issued report on the education of officers gives a very good idea of the progress that has been made in the army of late years in the education of its officers. A couple of decades ago the German officer was looked upon by his English counterpart as an altogether extra- ordinary creation, in consequence of his thorough knowledge of subjects connected ever so slightly with the science and art of war, but nowadays the English staff officer is almost, if not quHe, as '§ J and carefully educated as the German £ er' > perhaps, in linguistic attainments. The various allusions in the report to examination.i in such sub- iects as electricity, chemistry, metaUurgy, and heat —subjects that cannot bt» said to be directly con- nected with the *rt of fighting show bow com- prehensive is the education of our officers at the pre- sent time. THE death is announced of Colonel J. S. Roth- well, of the Royal Artillery, at the age of 50. Entering the army in July, 1861, he became succes- sively Captain in 1874, Major in 1881. Lieutenant- Colonel in 1886, and Brevet-Colonel in 1890. He had seen no active service, but had held several staff appointments including that of Professor of Military Administration at the Staff College. He has lately resided at Caaaberley, where his death took place. The late colonel was a brother or the present representative of the Rothwellg, of Rockfield, whose estates are in County Meath. Their ancestor accom- panied the Prince of Orange to Ireland when that monarch was called upon to save the country from Tyrconnel and James II., and rendered good service in the protection of the Protestants, and in upsetting the disastrous Home Rule scheme which was then proposed. The property near Kells consists of 3500 acres, and was some few years ago of the annual value of £ 2 \000. MR. ALDERMAN BEN TILLETT has known something of the ups and downs of life. During his career he has been employed in a brick-yard, served as a farm hand, worked as a shoemaker, and for several years followed the sea. He is now 33 years of age, and those who have heard his eloquent appeals on behalf of the workers will scarcely credit the fact that six years ago he had great difficulty in making himself understood in consequence of an impediment in his speech. The impediment suddenly disappeared one day when trying to make a speech before a few of his fellow-workers. MRS. CORNWALLIS WEST'S name must now be added to the two most youthful grandmothers of the aristocracy-the Princess of Wales and Georgina Countess of Dudley—Princess Pless having been delivered of a daughter. It is a curious coinsidence that three young beauties, who each by their marriage j were raised to high titles, having only been plain Misses" before becoming brides, should each have had daughters. There is the Duchess of Portland, the Countess of Dudley, and Princess Pless, who would all have gladly welcomed heirs for the first- born, and each has become the mother of a daughter. A MAN who was undergoing a term of penal servi- tude at Peterhead Convict Prison bolted from a squad with which he was working in the Admiralty Yard, and, seizing a ladder, managed to scale the wall. The fugitive was pursued and recaptured. THE title Reverend" was, until the eixtepnth cen- tury, addressed to many others besides clergymen, such as judges and eminent writers; but from that time its use has been strictly confined to the clergy. A LONDON sandwich man, who was formerly an officer and a man of large property, but for some years past a placard bearer at a shilling a day, has just succeeded to an estate of £10,000 a year. THE most eloquent preacher in Canada is Dr. George Douglas, who is stone blind and partly para- lysed he has entirely lost the use of his hands and arms, and they fall helpless in front of him. When he is in the pulpit he stands perfectly still, and, to a stranger, would appear to be half dead. BEFORE the new Master of the Skinners' Company is elected, a playful old custom is observed. The outgoing Master tries on a cap, which he declares to be a misfit. Then the cap is passed on from one to another till it reaches the man for whom it was made, who declares it to be a fit, and so becomes the next year's Master. THE fortune of £ 30,000 left by Lord Northbourne is not a safe indication of the financial position of his son, the late member for Gateshead. Most of the money belongs to the female line in this family, and when Lady Northbourne died three years ago she left a personal fortune of E140,000, most of it to the present Lord Northbourne. A GOOD story is going the rounds anent Mr. R. J. Biron, Q.C., the popular metropolitan magistrate. It is said that the applicants for his advice one morning included a voluble lady, who poured out for fully five minutes a confused sea of troubles," to calm which would have puzzled a Solo- mon. Her neighbours bad slandered her, the landlord had trespassed to demand rent not due, the drams were wrong, the lodger would keep pigeons, her boy would not obey her, and her husband got drunk, &c. The woman concluded her medley of wrongs by demanding: And now, sir, what am I to do ?" If report lie not, the magi.-tr;ite-wbo had heard her with unruffled patience—said courteously Madam, I have not the very faintest idea. Good morning HAMILTON SEYMOUR, the proprietor of the Mercan- tile Age, Glasgow, sued Mr. Cousens, a Worcester confectioner, for JE6 15s., in respect of a special article puffing the defendant's establishment. The judge, after reading it, said that it had noL the slightest value as a literary production, and he should assess its value at Id., allowing 19s. lid. for the cost of setting up the types. EVERY 69th person in Scotland is a Smith and every 78th a MacDonald. TWELVE HUNDRED pewter pots were stolen from North London publicans last year. They are used to make counterfeit money. THE approaching resignation of Dr. Pelham is the occasion for a revival of the attempt on the part of Suffolk to get his large see subdivided. Many years ago the bishop approved-of the project and Convoca- tion gave it its assent. Norwich has more incum- bencies than any other diocese. The plan would seem to have little against it, except certain practical diffi- culties (which might be overcome easily enough) in connection with the partition and the location of the cathedral. No doubt such funds as are required would be raised bv loyal Suffolk readily enough, and the present juncture seems a singularly favourable one for effecting the alteration. SPEAKING the other day at a Norfolk farmers' club on the American export of wheat, Mr. Clare Sewell Read remarked that 20 years ago the Americans exported 40 per cent. of their wheat, but now they exported 22 per cent. only. Their popula- tion was increasing at the rate of one and a half millions per annum, so that however great the export was at present, it must gradually decrease, and it would be possible that in the end America might become an importing country. A BILL for the better regulation of chimney- sweepers has been brought in by Mr. Labouchere, Sir R. Paget, and one or two other members, For one clause, if this Home Rule Parliament finds time to pass it, Londoners will be thankful, it imposes a fine (maximum E5) on every sweep who advertises his calling or solicits employment by calling, hawk- ing or ringing bells. There is only one cry that is worse than Sweep!" and that is Ripe strorbries!" MR. C. T. H. WRIGHT, LL.B., of the National Library of Ireland, has been appointed to the librariansbip of the London Library. MR. W. A. J. AICIIBOLD, M.A., LIL.M., has been appointed assistant secretary to the Cambridge Extension Syndicate. Mr. Archbold, who was formerly a scholar of Peterhouse, has had a dis- tinguished university career, graduating in the first class in the Law Tripos (1887), and winning the Whewell Ssholarship and the Prince Consort Essay Price. THE general public has no idea what driving enfljnes of the express trains means. It is no to say that while the train is running the driver's whole life is in his work, and that he has no time to think of anything else but his engine and the signals ahead. An express train often travels at the rate of 60 miles an hour, and then sigaals will be passed every four minutes, and it can readily be understooa that an engine travelling at that high rate of will require constant attention. Tbe strain on a man's mind working an eDgine a ng distance without stopping is very great, and could not be endured for many hours together; be- sides, it would not be safe for an engine to travel more than 180 miles without being examin.ed, and that distance is about the maxiniom any engine runs on one journey. Two such journeys 18 a good day's work for both man and engine. The average time on duty for the men is nine hours a day, beyond which they are paid overtime. When they are not run- ning, their time is devoted to overhauling the EDDR6 JOWBTT, the Master of Balliol, has quite re- covered his health, and has been able to testify his renewed vigour to those outside his college by appear- ance at every one of the Sunday open concerts in Balliol Hall that have taken place during the term. A vrry praiseworthy story of the Duke of York is being circulated to the effect that while he was com- manding the Melampus last year, a young sailor sus- tained so serious an injury to his hand that it necessi- tated his leaving the service. The Duke of York, then Prince George, took compassion on the young fellow, and promised that he would look after him. This he has done, and the sailor is to be a confiden- tial messenger at St. James's Palace. LORD DEIAMERE, who is a very young sportsman in years, "Kant shot! bag Delamere made a remarkable shot, killing two lica right and left.

PROi EEDING8 IN PABIJAMENT. BILLS OF SALE. The HOUSE of LORDS held a brief sitting on the 20th inst., at which the Bills of Sale Bill was read a third time and passed. In the HOUSE of COMMONS, in answer to a series of questions by Baron H. de Worms, the Prime Minister stated that the Government intended to leave the Channel Tunnel Bill to the free judgment of the Hou-e, and explained that when the scheme was opposed by his former Government it was on special grounds which were stated at the time, and not upon its merits. To Mr. Bartley's inquiry whether any correspondence with Sir Edward Watkin would be produced giving the reasons why the Government had changed their views on the matter, Mr. Gladstone re- plied i hat he was not aware that they bad changed their views. Mr. Morley assured Mr. W. Johnston, on the authority of the Commander of the Forces in Ireland, that there was no truth in the report that 2000 addi- tional troops were being sent to Belfast. CIVIL SERVICE ESTIMATES. After a personal explanation by Sir W. T. Marriott in reference to the rearrangement of the office of Judge Advocate-General, in consequence of which, he pointed out, he had received E6000 less than any of his predecessors who had performed the duties of the office for a simi'ar period, the House went into Committee upon the Civil Service Supplementary Estimates. On the vote of £ 24,900 for Diplomatic and Consular Services, Mr. Gibson Bowles moved to reduce the vote by E4000 on account of the Behring Sea arbitration. Having reviewed the history of the Behring Sea question, he maintained that the Government ought not to have entered into an arbitration which might result in their having to coerce British colonists into a course of conduct which was objectionable to them. Sir E. Grey replied that Canada was represented on the arbitration, and would of course abide by its result and that it would be singularly inopportune to discuss the question on the eve of the opening of the arbitration. Mr. J. W. Lowther also deprecated discussion at the present moment, and the amend- ment was then withdrawn. Mr. Labouchere moved to reduce the vote by £ 5000, the cost of Sir Gerald Portal's mission to Uganda, and challenged the whole policy of the re- tention of Uganda by this country. He animadverted strongly upon the attitude of Lord Rosebery, whom he described as a high-priest of Jingoism, and com- plained that the despatch of Sir Gerald Portal's mission practically committed the Government to a Protectorate over Uganda or the annexation of that country. Mr. Gladstone defended Lord lUsebery from the imputations made upon him, and contended that the instructions given to Sir Gerald Portal wele necessary for the welfare and safety of his expe- dition. It was not true that he was sent to establish a Protectorate, annex the country, or bind either the Government or the House in regard to the future of Uganda. He had gone there for the purpose of in- forming the Government how far they were free to treat the question as if the British East Africa Com- pany had never gone to Uganda, and whether the results of the company's occupation imposed upon the Government any obligations either of honour or policy. The Government had taken every measure in their power to provide against the creation of any new obligation, and to secure therefrom liberty and the liberty of Parliament. Mr. A. Balfour complained of the inconsistency of the Opposition on this question, especially alluding to the oscillation of Mr. Gladstone between the opposingviews of Lord Rosebery and Mr. Labouchere. The Prime Minister now appeared disposed to mini- mise the assurances which he had given in the debate on the Address, but the Government were committed, by their utterances in the past and the despatch of Sir G. Portal's mission, to the retention of Uganda, and it would be impossible for them or any other Government to withdraw from that responsibility.' Mr. Storey admitted the excellence of Mr. Glad- stone's intentions, but warned him that, as in the case of the Soudan, facts might be too strong for him. The Government had taken the first step, which made it certain that they must remain in Uganda, and it would be beyond their power to -re- call it. It was the duty of Radical members to pro- test against this addition to the responsibilities of the Empire, just as they would have done if it had been undertaken by the late Government. The dis- cussinn was continued by Mr. G. Wyndham, Mr. Paul, Mr. Abel Smith, Mr. R. T. Reid, Professor Jebh, and Mr. Picton. Mr. Chamberlain, adverting to Mr. Storey's pro- test ugainst the expansion of the Empire, reminded the new school of Radicals that if our ancestors had held such views this country would not have had the commerce which alone enabled it to main- tain its present population of 40,000,000. They pegged out claims for posterity which were not One whit more promising than the claims we now had in Africa. The House was asked to reverse the whole policy of this country, and give up all share in the partition of Africa. He believed the country was determined to take its full share in the disposition and civilisation of these new lands; and that it was justified by all experience of the past. With regard to Uganda the Government were endeavouring once again to do what no Government had ever done with success, viz., to ride two horses at the same time. Their policy of inquiry was simply a policy of postponement and drifting, and they had committed themselves as much by sending Sir:Gerald Portal's mission as they would do by boldly declaring their intention to retain Uganda, a course which, he argued, would be not only honourable but com- mercially beneficial to this. country, and calculated to extinguish the slave trade. S r W. Harcourt having appealed to the Committee to come to a decision upon the vote, the closure was moved by Mr. Haldane and agreed to. On a division the motion to reduce the vote was negatived by 368 against 46, and the vote was agreed to, as were also the remaining Supplementary Votes. The House adjourned at one o'clock.

you are annoying me very much," said a testy old gentleman at a concert to a boy sitting beside him, who was eating confeotionery. No I ain't," replied the ingenuous child, I'm a-gnawin' this 'ere candy." II>I,ENB £ S covers a man with rays," says the proverb. An Irish schoolmaster fancied he could improve on this, and wrote it as a copy head with a slight emendation—" Idleness covers a man with nakedness." .1:1 ro t'uyi li .'Ji .Hr

THE LIBERATOR PROSECUTIOJST. 1 In the Central Criminal Court, on the 18thp inst., before Mr. Justice Hawkins, the trial of James William Hobbs, ex-Mayor of Croydon, and Henry Granville Wright, for forgery, theft, and conspiracy to defraud, in connection with the Liberator Building Society and its allied companies, was further pro- ceeded with. Kentish, the confidential clerk, was again examined as to the drawing of the alleged forged bills by Hobbs and Wright, who was the society's solicitor. He identified six bills produced in court, and said that all the bills he drew were accepted by Hobbs. At an interview between Hobbs and Wright reference was made to the bill book, to see what acceptances were falling due up to March, 1884, and it was arranged that the amount to be drawn should be increased. The amount of the bills falling due was placed in pencil on the back of a document now produced. The sum of Y-2200 was the amount which Hobbs and Wright agreed should be added. > Who arranged that amount ?-Well, the three of us. Who prepared the bills ?—I prepared them, and took them over to Mr. Wright's office. He asked me how they were to be signed the drawers' name I had left blank. I told him the names, and he then in my presence signed them in those names, and I left the bills with him. The bills had been accepted by Hobbs before I took them to Wright. Still dealing with the list, witness said the figures in ink thereon, £2251, represented the exact total of the forged bills. In addition to the bills mentioned on the list two others were drawn two or threw weeks afterwards in the name of Key and Son. The six bills produced were six out of the 11 bills he had mentioned. Although he left all the bills with Wright, he kepi; the list himself. After that the esti- mates were sent in week by week of the advances required by Hobbs. They were made out by witness after consultation with Hobbs, and the amount of the acceptances falling due was inserted in the estimates. As the bills alleged to be forged became due they were included. Advances were regularly received from the Liberator and the Lands Allotment Company, but sometimes they were rather less than the estimates. This, said Kentish, in answer to the judge, was because they would not give more. Witness was next examined in detail as to the desti- nation of the cheques received from the Liberator to meet the bills of exchange mentioned. These cheques were SIGNED BY MR. STENCBR BALFOUR (then the managing director, and a member of Parlia- ment, but now a fugitive from justice) and Wright on behalf of the Liberator. They were paid into Hobbs' banking account, and Hobbs then drew a cheque for the amount, which was sent on to Wright. Some- times, however, trade bills were given in payment to the amount of the cheques. The Judge: Have you the cheques ? Mr. Avory: No, my lord, but notice has been given to Wright to produce them. Mr. Kemp, Q.C.: We cannot produce them. The police have seized all our papers. Sometimes, the witness Kentish went on to say, the amount advanced by the Liberator was in excess of the estimate for the week. In one case £ 2089 was the amount of the estimate, but E4491 was advanced. After the bills had been submitted to the Liberator Wright required them back again, in order that they might be destroyed, witness supposed. It was the practice, therefore, of Hobbs to send the bills which had been met on to Wright. With regard to the two bills in the name of Key and Son, the weekly estimate sent in to the Liberator could not be found. Witness remembered seeing Wright destroy one of the bills he left with him, tearing it up and throwing the pieces in the fire. He did not return all the bills to Wright; he kept some-the six produced in court were those he kept. Kentish next ex- plained the phrase brickfield bill" occurring in Wright's correspondence. It was a bill given Hobbs by the Building Estates Brickfield Company in pay- ment for timber used on brickfields. Wright asked for a cheque on a brickfield bill." Handed the bills receivable book of Hobbs and Company, witness said he saw by the book that on the 27th November, 1883, Hobbs received two bills from this brickfield company of JE250 each. They were entered in the book in witness's own handwriting, and attached was the memorandum "letters to B. G. W." This meant that they were forwarded in payment for some of the alleged forged bills to the defendant Henry Granville Wright. Another instance of the same kind occurred on 4th December. Each of the bills would be endorsed by Hobbs before being sent on to Wright. When these bills were not sent the amounts would be paid by cheque. What was the process?- Wen, I would draw the cheque and present it to Hobbs fcr signature, saying it was for another of those bills." This concluded the examination-in-chief of Ken- tish, but Sit Edward Clarke and Mr. Kemp were un- willing to begin their cross-examination unless reason- able ground existed for believing it could be finished. It was therefore postponed till Monday, and the time that remained available was occupied in calling formal witnesses to prove that the bills were not drawn by the firms whose names appear as the reputed drawers. Each witness bad the same thing to say. Hobbs was a customer of his firm,.and in the habit of giving them bills. The bill shown, however, was not drawn by them. They knew nothing of it, nor had they ever seen or heard of it. CROSS-EXAMINATION OF KENTISlI. Before Mr. Justice Hawkins, the trial of the prisoners Wright and Hobbs on the charges of forgery and fraud in connection with the Liberator Society was continued on the 20th inst. The witness Kentish was severely cross-examined by counsel for the defence, with the object of showing that he had been concerned in various questionable pecuniary transactions, and he admitted that he had put on the bills alleged to be forged the names of the firms by whom they professed to be drawn. He also admitted having taken a portion of the money obtained by falsifying the weekly wages-sheet, for which advances were made by the Liberator Society, but asserted that it was Hobbs who suggested the falsification. The trial was again adjourned.