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

THE KHEDIVES MOVEMENTS. The Khedive has given up all idea of visiting Britain this year, though he had quite intended to do so at one time. It is a pity that his Highness has abandoned the idea, as all hoped the visit would lead to more cordial relations between Britain and Egypt. The "Egyptian party" never liked the, notion, however, and did their best to persuade him to give it up, though it is only lately they succeeded. He has now settled to leave hgypt for six weeks, and he will go to Switzerland for a little change. In truth, he is too harassed and anxious to make a long, stav anywhere. The Khedive's original intention was to visit Britain in July in the Makroussa, a mag- nilicent yacht, which was formerly the finest in the world. His Highness has always been much inttresU'd in Kaiser William's nautical wan- derings, and, fired with zeal to do likewise, he- gave orders for the Makroussa to be thoroughly examined and overhauled. iShe was then found to be quite unlit to go to sea. For years she has lain in the harbour of Alexandria without once putting to sea, and the late Khedive frequently went on board to- spend the day, but it is many years since she left her present moorings. S>he is now ready to go to sea, however, and bids fair to rival her grandeur of former days. The admiral, Hussain Pasha, in his shabby old Stambouline," his white umbrella and his "fez," does not look quite at home in such gorgeous surroundings. But he has long been in the Khedive's service, and is one of the most useful men he has. It is a pity that after so many elaborate preparations have been made for the Khedive's departure, and with such a magnificent vessel all ready to carry out his Ilighness's pleasure, that he is now going to make no use of it whatever but with the present bad feeling existing one can easily imagine that his Highness's former desire to visit Britain has died a natural death.

A RELIC OF NAPOLEON'S PARIS. The Builder says We regret to have to record the disappearance of a Paris fountain which has, fallen under the pickaxe of the improver. It was not, it is true, of very monumental character, nor of any great architectural attraction. It was a simple stele, rather higH, adorned with an eagle crowned with laurel; a bronze mask of a human face spurted the water into a square cistern; it stood, surrounded with foliage, in the. middle of a square formed between the streets named respectively Poliveau, Fosses St.MareeliFer a Moulin, and GeoiTroy St. Ililare. But it no less formed a part of the history of old Paris, and re- called the works carried out by Napoleon for the, embellishment of the capital and the supply of drinking water. As a historic document, therefore. it might have found favour in the eyes of the Depart- ment of Ponts ct Chaussees, which does not take much account, however, of archaeological interests, and is too ready to sacrifice art and history to the require- ments of the ligne droite."

HR. ARTHUR lULL tlASSALL, who nas just cuea at an advanced age, was, in addition to his well-known position as the highest authority on food adulteration, a successful litterateur. In 1845 he produced a natural histsry of British sea-weeds, and in 1849 an exhaustive treatise on Microscopic Anatomy." His great work, Adulteration Detected," appeared first in 1857, since when several large editions have been exhausted. Last year Dr. Hassall produced a chang- ing autobiography entitled The Narrative of a Busy Life," in which many interesting details of the anti- adulteratiba crusade are described.

OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. Not so much interest has been displayed for many a year in the introduction of a Budget as that which was shown on Monday night upon the occasion of Sir William Harcourt's latest financial effort in the House of Commons. Members had been besieged days beforehand by constituents eager to secure a place on the occasion, and the galleries were utterly inade- quate to accommodate anything like the number that desired to be present. General rumoiijf, of course, had for some time pointed to striking proposals, while in the City there had been reports as to additional imposts upon certain excisable articles, which had added to the feeling of keen expectation so largely ex- hibited. As usual, upon such exciting occasions, however, there were some of those fortunate enough to have secured a seat who did not appear to fully appreciate the privilege. One often wonders why certain folk ever take the trouble to be present, for they usually leave at the most interesting moment. In a Budget speech, for instance, there is rather an arid and prolonged opening, filled with figures, and it is not until the very end that expectation is satisfied by the Chancellor of the Exchequer stating his new proposals. Yet there are foik who, at the very moment lie begins to unfold the plans for which the whole kingdom is wait- ing, will rise from their seats and coolly leave their coveted position, as if the whole affair was of no interest to them, and they might as well be away. Among the picturesque incidents of Parlia- mentary life which are daily reported is the formal procession of the Speaker from his apartments in the Palace of "Westminster through the members' lobby to the House of Commons, there to occupy the chair for the sitting. This is headed by an attendant clad in official garb, with knee-breeches and buckled sh ocs then comes the Serjeant-at-Arms, i bearing the great gold mace on his shoulder next walks the Speaker in full robes, the train of which is borne by another and senior attendant: while the Chaplain of the House and the Sneaker's Secretary bring up the rear. From this procession after a few weeks from now will disappear the picturesque figure of Mr. George Brown, who has been the Speakers train-bearer for over thirty ye-ers, and who succeeded one who had held the posi- tion for a similarly lengthened time, the com- bined period of service of the two having covered the whole period of our Parliamentary history since the Preform Act of h<. Six Speakers have filled the chair in that time- M anners-Sutton, Abercromby, Shaw-Lefevre, Denison, Brand, and Mr. Peel: and, when it is considered that Speaker Shaw-Lefevre (after- wards Lord Eversley) was appointed ii-, I it will be seen how worthily and long the Com- mons have been served by the successive occu- pants of the chair. The Royal wedding at Coburg this week has naturally attracted very great attention in j London, and the details of the ceremony have been read with the keenest interest. It may be taken as some testimony to the domestic instincts of the British people that so much notice should always be taken of the mar- riages of our Royal family, and there are always the heartiest good wishes expressed for the happiness of the union. Duke Alfred of Coburg has not sat long enough upon the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to allow us to forget the title, Duke of Edinburgh, by which he was so long known here, and the fortunes of his family will continue to be watched with interest. His two elder daughters have married young, neither the Crown Princess of Roumania nor the new bride having been much over seventeen when they were wedded. His one son, Prince Alfred of Coburg, is rumoured to be con- templating matrimony also but there may be some delay in the realisation of the project, for he is not very strong, and his health has for some time given some concern to his parents. Good results, however, are hoped from a long voyage which, it is rumoured, he may take at no distant date. A man. who had rendered much service to London, has just passed away in the person of Colonel William Haywood, the Engineer of the City Commission of Sewers. He had held that office for close upon half-a-century, having been promoted from the posi- tion of Assistant-Engineer in 1840. The erection of the Holborn-viaduct, which was opened by the Queen in 1869, would alone suffice to stamp his tenure of office as memo- rable but when it is recalled that he also con- structed Queen Victoria-street, widened Lud- gate-hill, and was the first to lay down asphalte pavements in the carriage-ways of London, it will be seen how well he deserves remembrance. It is no light task to undertake the control of the many and very costly street improvements which have to be carried out in the City. No such power as that possessed by Baron Haussmann, when he practically re-modelled Paris during the last Empire,is given to any official in this country; but there is the compensating advantage that, while the Paris improvements reeked of jobbery and corruption, no such taint has fallen upon those executed in such abundance during late years in the City of London. One of the greatest of all metropolitan under- takings during the recent years, the erection of the Tower-bridge, is now so rapidly approaching completion that the Prince of Wales has been able to fix a date in the summer for its opening on behalf of the Queen. This very striking structure promises to prove of the utmost value to the East of London, and, when it is in full working order, all will wonder how the capital managed to do without it so long. London- bridge, from the date of its very first erection some time in the twelfth century, has remained the bridge over the Thames nearest the sea, but this year it will be deprived of that long-held privilege. The rock upon which split all the schemes for a new bridge previous to the present one was that of not interfering with the enormous traffic in the Pool; and the manner in which that has been overcome in the case of the Tower-bridge is one of the most striking in all modern engineering. A proposal in the Cabinet's Registration Bill, Z-1 just introduced in the House of Commons, for holding. in the case of a general election, all the pollings on the same day has created some doubts in the minds of journalists as to whether the ordinary newspaper would be able to cope with the deluge of telegrams that would pour in on the occasion. The resourcefulness of our lead- ing newspaper managers is such, however, that little reason exists for fear that they would not be ready even for such a strain as this, and the more especially seeing that the French and German journals have already to do so. It is suggested in the Ministerial measure that all r, the pollings should be on a Saturday, and if that is adhered to, it will be proposed that the votes shall in no case be counted until the Monday, so as to avoid the possibility of disorder or undue ex- citement on the Saturday night and lasting into the Sunday. At one period, pollings could go on as long as a single voter offered himself each hour, and sometimes they lasted two or three w^eks. That was shortened to two days by the Reform Act of 18:32, and subsequently to one but, if all the pollings are henceforward to take place on the same day, it will be as striking an amendment of the existing system as any that has preceded it. Once more, and this time because of the unusually early date upon which Easter fell, a grumble is being heard concerning the want of agreement between the public schools in the matter of fixing the holidays. It is pointed out that the present system is often a very terrible nuisance to the parents, and the sug- j gestion is made that the principal public schools should agree upon the point, it being thought that the lesser institutions would Z, follow so distinguished a lead. But the whole question of school holidays is a very thorny one, and it is certainly not a topic upon which masters and parents and pupils are likely to agree. Their extreme length is a very sore matter to many heads of households, who complain that, though they pay very heavily for the teaching, the vacations are so long that much of the learning is lost in their course. But the schoolmasters have so far proved the masters of the situation, and they are likely to continue so for at least some time longer. R.

NEWS NOTES. SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT kept his Budget secrets well; and although there were rumours, repeated with greater or less persistence, as to what he really intended to do in the way of raising the wind, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer rose to make his statement in Com- mitte of Ways and Means on Monday, there was expectant curiosity traceable on the faces of his audience. He had to raise a good round sum of five millions for the requirements of the year somehow; and it was practically certain, consequently, that Sir William would get himself disliked by somebody. It is safest to squeeze as much as you can, of course, out of dead men's money; because heirs, as receivers, are then the only sufferers, and when they are taking over a re- version they are in the least resentful mood. But, for the rest, to the taxpayer who is touched more heavily than before for the nation's need, the name of the Chancellor for the time-being is not sweet-sounding, all of us being seiiish at heart. ———— THERE is a great art in making a Budget speech interesting and that art (observes the Daily News) is more needed than ever when the Budgets are necessarily less exciting in them- selves. Mr. Gladstone had the art in perfec- tion and the late Lord BeaconsMeld, as Mr. Disraeli, also knew how to play skilfully on the emotions of his hearers, even when the staple of his discourse must needs be dry figures. Mr. M'Carthy, in his History of Our Own Times," brackets these Chancellors of the Exchequer in this couplet of laudatory sentences: "Mr. Gladstone brought to his Budget speeches an eloquence that brightened the driest details and made the wilderness of figures to blossom like the rose. Mr. Disraeli was able to make a financial statement burst into a bouquet of fireworks." Statesmen of less brilliance have learned that the long array of figures which they have to marshal in their Budget speeches have only to be translated into the picturesque national life they symbolise for what was dull and dreary to become bright and shining. A Chancellor of the Exchequer can say the revenue from tobacco is so much." That is a dry and uninteresting detail. But he can, with a little extra trouble, observe and report to the country that there was no decline in the tobacco duty for thirty years, excepting for an almost imperceptible fall when that duty was raised in 1878. He can find out and tell the House of Commons that, in times of declining prosperity, wines and spirits are the first to fall off; tobacco holds out longer than spirits, and tea never goes back. He then shows that the working man, if his wages should diminish, first reduces the amount of his beer and spirits, clings longer to his tobacco, and as regards the tea for himself arid liis family, does not reduce it at all. Mr. Goschen did this in 189:2, and so, as he justly claimed, made his Budget throw side-lights on the prosperity of the people. Similarly, follow- ing the artful examples of more brilliant pre- decessors, he enlivened that Budget with a little dissertation on the practice of grogging. The dull detail was that two hundred thousand a year more was to be added to the revenue from spirits. The entertaining fact behind the figures—quite worth the trouble of bringing out—was that a trick of the trade had been detected, whereby innocent wooden casks had become modern smugglers. The wooden casks, when they have held spirits for a long time, absorb so much of their contents-" imbibing casks Mr. Goschen called them. When they were empty, clever traders used to extract this absorbed spirit by the help of water; so that often, out of a puncheon that had held a hundred gallons of spirit, they would obtain by this trick of grogging as much as three gallons of proof spirit on which no duty had been paid. An ingenious Chancellor of the Exchequer never fails to lighten up his speeches with tit-bits of this description. The oratory and verbal finesse thus displayed remind one of the courteous highwaymen who took purses in other days with a bow and many compliments or, of the Esculapius of the present, who sugars over his bitter-tasting pills. CHIEF-IXSPECTOR MELVILLE is building him- self a big name as a successful Anarchist hunter, and evoking the gratitude of every lover of law and order. His capture of the man]Francis Polti seems to be a matter of much importance, and not unnaturally gives rise to very consider- able satisfaction everywhere but those in the ranks of the lawless foreign refugees in hiding in these isles. One may fervently hope that the combined efforts of the British and Con- tinental authorities may suffice to stamp out the most dastardly and dangerous forms of militant Anarchy, and to put an end, at any rate, to the manufacture of infernal machines of the bomb sort. IT is rather entertaining, in view of the dead set which has been made in certain quarters against the House of Lords as a legislative institution, to find prospective peers actively engaging in an attempt to so change matters as to make it possible for a nobleman to moult his nobility in a certain sense, and come down from the Lords to the Commons. The bill brought in by Mr. Brodrick, Mr. Curzon and Lord Wolmer—who will all three, in the course of nature, one day be peers of the realm to remove the disabilities of peers on succeeding to their titles in respect of sitting in the House of Commons," has just been printed. It provides that a person succeeding to a peerage shall not thereby be disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons, but that if he so sit in the House of Commons he shall not sit in the House of Lords, nor shall he, if a peer of Scotland or Ireland. be qualified to be elected a representive peer. 1 Also any person sitting or vcting in the House of Lords shall be thenceforth disqualified from being elected to serve in the House of Commons. urther, no writ of summons is to be issued to any peer for the time being disqualified. There is a saving clause enacting that no future claim to a peerage shall be necessarily invalidated because a previous holder may have elected to sit in the House of Commons. IT is calculated that the proposed abolition I of the disqualification for non-payment of rates would add about 140,000 voters to the roll in Scotland. In the northern and western high- lands and islands of Scotland there is a large crofter population, speaking Gallic, living in wretched cabins, and perpetually in arrear both with rent and rates, who are at present kept off the register, but who will now come on. The change in the law will not make so much dif- ference in England, because the poorest class are either lodgers or compound householders, who have their rates paid for them by the land- lord.

THE BUDGET. A BIG DEFICIT, A PENNY ON THE INCOME TAX, AND MANY CHANGES. The House of Commons was crowded with members and strangers very soon after public busi- ness began on the 17th inst., for the Budget always brings down an eager audience, and this year's Budget promised to be unusually interesting from every point of view. The House got into Committee of; Ways and Means quite early—indeed, it had not struck four o'clock when the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer rose amid general cheering, advanced to the table, and placed upon the box in front of him an enormous pile of notes, to which he not only referred for arithmetical calculations, and hints of the order in which his topics should be ranged, but from which he carefully read whole passages that had evidently undergone studious preparation and elaborate polish.. The right hon. gentleman spoke for two hours and 40 minutes, and he was in excellent voice and in perfect command of his subject, never confusing his infinite variety of topics. A LOOK BACK. Sir William was made happy at the outset by the fact that though the commencement of his past financial year threatened to be disastrous the end of it had proved much more satisfactory, and had prac- tically redressed the balance. He went through the various items of last year's receipts, showing that in regard to customs foreign spirits had increased, that ruin had been "capricious," that tea had swelled the revenue, that coffee had decreased, that tobacco was "stagnant," and that while strong wines had fallen off light ones had made a better return, and lie drew the general conclusion that the result was most satisfactory, as in the articles which "constituted the comforts of the people," no sign was shown of diminished resources or consumption. In the excise revenue, on which h« declared that the weight of unprosperous times fell most heavily," he showed that spirits had decreased, but there had been a corresponding gain on beer—a result which he suspected had something to do with climate," for in I hot seasons more beer was drunk and less spirits, and vice versa. The income-tax had yielded more than he expected, but he denied that this was due to the use of any extraordinary measures of col- lection, for that though rather tempting," would have been "bad finance." There had been a falling off in the stamp duties and in the death duties— the bitter owing to the fact that the influenza year" produced abnormal receipts-and the general result was that the total revenue amounted to E91,133,000, or 4:570,000 less than the estimate, and when the amount handed over to the local authorities was added to this the total was £ 98,000,000. To illustrate the general prosperity of the country, he pointed out that the amount deposited in the Post Office and trustees savings banks during the'year had been £ 3,400,000, as against £ 06tt,000 in 1888-89, and a million of this had been deposited during the last three months-a fact which showed that, in spite of agricultural depres- sion, labour disputes, and the shrinkage of dividends, the people were increasing their savings. EXPr.N'DITURE AXD UEVEXUE. The expenditure for the past year lie put, at £ 91,5(30,000. He explained that the amount avail- able for the liquidation of debt was £ 6,524,000, and he put the expenditure for the coming year at £ 95,458,000, or, when £ 7,250,000 was added as the State contribution in aid of the local authorities, at £ 95,458,000, or, when C7,250, 000 was added as the State contribution in aid of the local authorities, at £ 102,700,000. After explaining how the national expenditure had grown by since 1875-6, I the main items of increase being £ 12,000,000 on the arniv and navy, £ (>,000,000 on educa- tion, and £ 6,500,000 in local grants—he dealt with the estimated revenue for the coming year, and denied that he could reasonably count on any great increase. After going through the various items he put the total a £ 9(3,956,000, which, with an expendi- ture of £ 95,458,000, left a deficit of £ 4,502^000. He was much cheered by his followers when he declined to resort to borrowing or to tamper with the fixed charge or permanent fund for the liquidation of debt, but he proposed to ap- propriate the new sinking fund to the pay- ment of the debt left him by his predecessors amounting to £ 5,740,000, and hoped to clear that off entirely in 1895-6, so that the revenue of this and future years would be relieved from that encum- brance. This reduced his expenditure to £ 93,885,000 and his revenue was raised to E91,506,000 by in- creased revenue from the Suez Canal shares to the amount of £ 260,000 and the surplus of rhe navri defence fund, which amounted to £ 290,000. -.lie was therefore left with a deficit, of £ 2,379,000, which must, be met by increased taxation. THE DEATH DUTIES. To raise the necessary money lie first dealt with the death duties, and on this ho offered a long, elaborate, and highly-technical explanation. But his proposals on the subject may be briefly described. He proposed to merge the present probate account. and estate duties into one estate duty, which should be charged alike on all property, real or personal. settled or unsettled, which passed on the (bat.h of any person, whether by will or by settlement, and this would be a first charge before the title of any successor or beneficiary was proved, the title of the State being anterior to that of anybody else. The existing system of payment by instalments would be continued, but interest would be charged on the amount left outstanding. He explained the method on which the new duty was to be graduated, the various steps ranging from 1 per cent, on estates below the value of £ 500 to 8 per cent., or double the present rate, on estates above the value of a million, and succession would be put on exactly the same footing as legacy. The result of all this he estimated to be that, ulliu-tely the duty would yield from n to 4 millions a ci r more than now, but this would be a matter of gradual growth, and for the present year he estimated the increase at only £ 1,000,000. THE INCOME TAX. Then lie turned to the income-tax, on which he proposed to put an additional penny, but bit increased the allowance on the property tax from l-12t,h to 1-10th, and left the allowance on houses at l-6th, and he lightened the burden of the income-tax on the possessors of small incomes by increasing the amount of total exemption from J:150 to allowing a deduction of £ 160 instead of £ 120 on incomes below 1:400; and allowing a deduction of £ 100 on incomes between E400 and £ 500. The. result was that, instead of obtaining £ 1,780,000 from the additional penny on the tax this year, he would only obtain £ 330,000. BEER AND SPIRITS. The remainder of the deficit he made up by putting an extra 6d. per gallon on the spirit duty and an extra 6d. per barrel on the duty on beer—spirits thus bringing in £ 760,000 more, and beer an additional £ 580,000 or £ 1,340,000 between them. The total thus produced by additional taxation ho estimated at £ 2,670,000, which wiped out the deficit of £ 2,379,000 and left them with a small surplus of £ 291,(300. The usual fragmentary discussion followed, in which the supporters of the Government, welcomed the budget with great satisfaction, and gave it their benediction, as certain to be popular but the Opposi- tion disapproved of the way the death duties were dealt with, considering the depressed condition of agri- culture and landed property, and while some members objected to the increase of the beer duty, others took the same view of the increase on spirits. However, it ttnt was obviously impossible to discuss such important fiscal changes in anything but a slight and scrappy way, and after one or two of the most essential of the budget resolutions had been agreed to—those on tea, spirits, and beer—progress was reported. BUDGKT EESULTS. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has to meet, a net deficit, to be raised by taxation, of £2,37D,000 Byre-arrangement of death duties he expects to re- ceive £ 1,000,000 B v Od. per gallon on spirits, and 6d. per barrel on beer 1,340,000 By Id. on income-tax 1,780,000 £ 4,120,000 Deductions by incomo-tax abatements, &c. 1,450,000 Y,2,670,000 —————— Expected surplus. £ 291,000 The following are the details of the Government proposals as to the death duties: The Government proposes on properties between £ 100 and not exceeding £ 500, 1 per cent. and not exceeding V-1000, 2 per cent. Bijt h of these were lower than at. nresent. •Vi F-1000 and not exceeding £ 10,000, 3 per cent., as at present. £ 10,000 to £ 25,000, 4 per cent. E25,000 to £ 50,0(H3, 4} per cent. £ 5(3,1X10 to £ 75,(300, 5 per cent. £ 75,000 to £ 100.000, 5^ per cent. EIOO,(K)o to 6 per cent. £150,000 to £.-)O,OOO, 6.1- per cent. £ 250,000 to £ 500,000, 7 per cent. zE.500,000 to £ 1,000,000, 7 per cent. r Over £ 1,000,000, 8 per cent.

JANE CAKEBREAD. Some two or three millions sterling are contributed by religious people every year towards the conversion of the heathen, but somehow or other Jane Cake- bread, who lives in London, is (observes the Daily Telegraph) left out in the cold. She has been before magistrates in the metropolis and in the suburbs nearly 300 times, always on the same charge of in- ebriety and disorderly conduct, and she seems to defy the exertions of all the organisations which exist for the reclamation of the fallen. Was Zoro- aster right, after all, in declaring that the two principles of good and evil were co- equal and influenced human destiny co-ordi- I nately? Surely a poor old woman is not beyond the united exertions of all Christianity In prison her conduct is most exemplary but the moment she regains freedom a fresh fall takes place. Suppose that the Salvation Army, the Church Army, and the Missionary Societies of the various denomina- tions were to combine for a field day when Jane comes out of gaol, where she has been sent by the Woodgrecn nuigisl-rafes for the usual offence! Could she resist such an onslaught? Surely the re- formation of the chief of drunkards, such as she is, would be a jewel in the jubilee crown of General Booth!

MUNIFICENT BEQUESTS. The following bequests have been made by the late Mr. John Clark, of the Anchor Thread Works, Paisley £ 30,000 among the whole or such of the various missionary and other schemes of the United Presbyterian Church as the trustees may select, ex- cluding the Foreign Mission scheme, in such shares and proportions as the trustees may think proper; E10,000 to the Paisley Infirmary; £ 5000 to the Clark Bequest. Fund Cor Consumptive Patients in Paisley; £ 5000 to the Industrial School, Paisley £ 5000 to the Nat ional Bible Society; £ 5000 to the Paisley Con- valescent Home, West Kilbride; £1000 to the and kirk session of Largs United'Ffesbyterian Church for general purposes; £ 1000 to the managers and session of Largs United Presbyterian Church for the organ fund; £ 1000 to the managers and kirk session of Thread-street United Presbyterian Church, Paisley, for the poor of the congregation; £ 1000 to the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor of Paisley £ 500 to the Indigent Gentlewomeu'3 Fund £ 250 to the Paisley Tract Society £ 250 to the Paisley Christian Benevolent Society £ 250 to the Paisley Female Benevolent Society. All the fore- going, with the exception of the bequests to the United Presbyterian Church, are declared to be for endowment.

THE GOVERNMENT REGISTRATION BILL. Mr. J. Morlev, in moving for leave to bring in to the House of Commons a bill to reduce the period of qualification for Parliamentary and local government electors, and for other purposes, stated that the present proposals of the Government differed in various respects from those embodied in the llegis- tration Bill introduced last year by Mr. Fowler. The first reason for the change was that the Government wished to place before the House propositions which need not involve any pro- longed or elaborate discussion and the second reason was that in the interval Parliament had by passing the Local Government Act dealt to some extent with the machinery which affected Parliamentary registration. The present bill pro- posed, in the first place, like that of last year, to re- duce the residential period of qualification to three months. In order to give effect, to this proposal there would be two revisions of the register in each year. Another provision of the bill was that the rating qualification should be abolished. The next pro- vision, which was undoubtedly one of the most important in the bill, was that all the pollings at a general election should be held on one and the same day. An exception was made, however, in the case of the Universities L long as that most anomalous element of our nation," representation existed. The bill provided that the da: of polling should be a Saturday, and that it should be the second or third Saturday after the proclama- tion. At present Parliament could not meet until 35 days after the issuing of the proclamation, but it was intended to alter that period to 20 days. Perhaps the most important provisions in the bill were those which abolished the system of plural voting. No attempt was made to carry out to its full and logical extent the principle of One man one vote," but he was given to understand that even any modified approach to that system would be met with the rival formula One vote one value." Without going into this controversy now, he would point out that "One vote one value" meant, redistribution of seats, the breaking up, on a great scale, of the boundaries both of boroughs and counties, and also the disfranchisement of the Universities. Besides, if hon. members opposite were going to have One vote one value," it would be necessary to redistribute the seats at regular periods in accordance with the changes in the population. Her Majesty's Government did not believe that the abolition of plural voting would impair one of the bulwarks of property. They did not propose to go further than to introduce a provision restrict- ing the voting of an elector to one constituency, and declaring that, if a Parliamentary elector had voted at a Parliamentary election in a given constituency, lie should not vote in any other constituency as. long as the then current register remained in force. Mr. Balfour admitted that in many respects the bill was an improvement 011 its predecessor, inasmuch as it, did not aim at setting up an entirely new and untried machinery for placing a voter's nainf: upon the register. He regretted, however, that the Govern- ment had determined to adhere to the three months' residence, and he objected both to the double re- vision in each year and to the abolition of the rating qualification. After indicating various difficulties which stood in the way of taking all the pollings on the same day, he dealt with the proposed abolition of plural voting, which was the main object and justification of this measure. Our Constitution was full of anomalies, and he wanted to know why the Government should touch one of the least of these anomalies when all the others were staring them in the face? The gravest inequalities in our electoral system did not arise from plural voting, but from the way in which the constituencies were distributed. After a discussion the bill was read a first time.

WE must note carefully what distinction there is between a healthy and a diseased love of change for as it was in healthy love of change that the Gothic I architecture rose, it was partly in consequence of diseased love of change that it was destroyed.—■ Buskin. LoRD NELSON and Mr. Pitt could never agree. It was told Nelson that Pitt said, He was the greatest fool he ever knew when on shore." He speaks truth," said the hero, and I would soon prove him to be a fool if I had him on board a ship; neverthe- less, I am as clever an admiral as he is a statesman, which is saying a great deal for myself." ONE more question, Mr. Parks," said a counsel to a witness, who happened to be a tailor. You have known the defendant a long time. What are his habits-loose or otherwise ? The one he's got on now, I think, is rather tight under the arms, and too short-waisted for the fashion," replied Parks. Stand doirn," said the counsel. A PAUPER'S son ought to make a good balloonist, for he is an heir 0 naught. "EARWRECKONSILEABLE" was the way avouth of Pennsylvania spelled the word given out at a match." TOM, why did you not marry Miss G-?" Oh she had a sort of hesitancy in her speech, and so I left her." A hesitancy in her speech ? I never heard that before. Are you not mistaken ?" No, not at all; for when I asked her if she would have me, she hesitated to say 'Yes,' and she hesitated so long that I went in for another gal." A GREY hair was espied among the raven locks of a fair friend of ours a few days since. Oh pray, pull it out," she exclaimed. If I pull it out 10 will come to the funeral," replied the lady who had made the unwelcome discovery. Pluck it out, neverthe- less," said the dark-haired damsel "i t is no sort of l consequence how many come, if they only come in black. J 1

I A WELSH MIRACLE. A MINISTER'S ADVICE SAVES A GIRL'S LIFE. There has been much talk in the Blaenavon district about the miraculous restoration to health of Miss Catherine Jones, daughter of the respected landlord of the Rifleman's Arms, on the hill near Blaenavon I' Iron Works. A representative of the South IVales Times, who has investigated the case, reports that the young lady is in her seventeenth year, an intelligent, well-developed girl, of medium height, slightly ruddy of countenance, with bright eyes; and a buoyancy of spirit quite winsome. Her parents came to their present residence from Rhondda Valley about four years ago. Catherine was then in good health- hearty and high-spirited, plump in flesh, in fact, as her mother said, a fine, red, bonny girl, with a colour like a rose. You might have taken a lease of her life." Soon after arrival at Blaenavon, however, she began to fall away, and became low-spirited, so that it was thought advisable to have medical r.dvice. Under the treatment of a very able doctor she got a little better, and continued to go to school for nine months, but soon relapsed into the old condition. Further medical advice was obtained, but the im- provement effected was only temporary. The condi- tion of Miss Jones had now become alarming in the extreme. She suffered from palpitation of the heart, and though on leaving school she endeavoured to assist her mother in the business, she was obliged to give up, and she was physically unable to ascend the hill to her residence without resting half-a-dozen time? on the way. About 12 months ago she was absolutely obliged again to seek medical aid. She was so ill that it gave great pain for any person to touch her, while her flesh became as soft as dough, and all colour le-ft her cheeks. In bed she could only obtain rest in one position, and even at Christmas time could do nothing all day but sit down and cry. Recently, however, as Miss Jones explained, her brother read in a local paper of a wonderful cure that had been effected at Llanthony by the new modern medicine, called Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People, which were also recommended to her by the Rev. Mr. Davies, the Baptist minister. It was a month last Friday that they were received, and, said Catherine, I began by taking two at dinner-time the same day. I was encouraged by my mother and brother to keep on taking them, and I did so. While taking the third box the pain seemed to leave me all at once; I began to move about, and now, after a meal I feel that I could eat another. I attribute it all to Dr. Williams' Pink Pills, which I have taken, and I talk of it, and recommend them to everybody I know." Having elicited the above statements, which were most cheerfully made, the interview terminated, and the appearance of Catherine Jones fully bears out all that was said. Her former colour is returning, with a renewed firmness of muscle; she seems to be enjoying health in the highest degree of perfection. Before leaving the district, the reporter made in- dependent inquiries concerning the case in question, which fully confirmed the statement made in the course of the interview. There can be no doubt that the facts are as stated, and they prove that Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People are one of the greatest modern medicines. They are an unfailing cure for rheumatism, neuralgia, paralysis, loco- motor ataxy, St. Vitus' dance, nervous headache, and prostration; also diseases of the blood, such as scrofula, chronic erysipelas, &c. They are a splendid tonic, and restore pale and sallow complexions to the glow of health; a specific for all the troubles peculiar to the female sex and in men they effect a radical cure of all cases arising from worry, overwork, or excesses of whatever nature. The Pills are sold by all chemists, or may be had direct from the Dr. Williams' Medicine Company, of Holborn-viaduct, London, at 2s. 9d. a box, or six boxes for 13s. 9d. Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People are never sold loose, and substitutes so sold are fraudulent and useless; the wooden box must be in a pink wrapper bearing the full name, Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People.

THE SPEAKER'S TRAIN-BEARER. Mr. Brown, the train-bearer of the Speaker of the i House of Commons, who is just about to retire, has been giving to a reporter of the Telegraph some of his interesting reminiscences. I was appointed in 1864," said he, "when Mr. Denison, afterwards Lord Ossington, was in the chair. I served under Mr. Brand, who subsequently became Lord Hamp- den, and I have been with Mr. Peel until now. den, and I have been with Mr. Peel until now. I succeeded Mr. Bailey, whose appointment dated from the period of the great Reform Act, I and who likewise saw three Speakers through the chair. I knew Lord Palmerston, of whom I j could tell many a good story. I well remember Lord j Derby and the other celebrated politicians of years | ago. There have been four chaplains in my time— Dean Merivale, Mr. Byng, Mr. White, and now Archdeacon Farrar. The Mace, which usually adorns the table is in my custody when the House is not sitting. Through not sleeping at night I frequently suffer languor and fatigue, and I feel that I I want rest."

I THE expenditure for public education in England I and Wales in 1893 was an increase over the previous year of £ 428,636. The total number of schools on the annual grant list on the last day of I August was 19,682, with an average attendance of 4.120.457 scholars.

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