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

A GOOD OLD FRIEND. That eminent Birmingham citizen, Alderman Cadbury Barrow, whose death has so seriously affected the Midlands, was one of the men who helped to make the municipal history of the Midland capital. An earnest supporter of the Liberalising efforts of the Corporation, he was associated very prominently with some of its more important reforms. It was natural that he should ascend the Mayoral chair and when in 1888 Sir Thomas Martineau proposed him for the position there was not a single dissen- tient voice, and he accepted the office amid the acclamations of the citizens. The Alderman was a member of the Society of Friends, as, of course, were all the Cadburys in fact, for some years he was an Elder of the meeting. The causes with which, after his religious faith, the Alderman was most closely identified were those of total abstinence and interna- tional arbitration. Of a peace policy he was ever an advocate, and in this connection he would quote declarations of his friend John Bright with earnest fervor and sympathy. As a teetotaler he many years ago adopted the blue ribbon, and he was never after- wards seen without what a flowery orator once de- scribed as the little bit of cerulean in his coat. The Alderman was a man of singular modesty of cha- racter and inflexible integrity. Once he imbibed an opinion he held it with obstinate loyalty.

MR. BKKNNAN, the inventor of the torpedo, com- menced life as a watchmaker in Australia, and at once developed a genius for invention. From first to I last this torpedo, which has proved so profitable to him, cost him 18 years of hard work. The torpedo was sold to the British Government for £ 150,000, and to insure the secret of the mechanism being kept, each portion of this fearful engine of destruction is made in a different shop, the workmen are searched on entering and leaving the building, and Mr. Brennan and his partner are the only persons who fix the torpedo together ready for working.

THE CZAR'S AILMENT. I A well-informed medical correspondent at St. J Petersburg, whose position entitles him to confi- J clence, writes to the British Medical Journal: The deepest interest and the warmest sympathies are c aroused in medical circles here by the change for the worse in the condition of his Imperial Majesty the Czar. It has for some time been known that the Etnperor has been suffering from a form of Bright's disease of the kidney. It is that form which is known best as the granular contracted kidney, the gravity of which is well known. The recent exacerbations, which assumed a critical and threatening aspect, have been due to intercurrent acute nephritis, due, it is said, to two successive chills. The symptoms have been alarming, and have included continuous and distressing vomiting and some effusion, with con- sequent and concurrent cardiac weakness and oppres- sion of breathing. Great good has resulted from the institution of a strict and almost exclusive milk diet, and rest from business. Rest, however, it has been found very difficult to enforce while the Czar is called upon to perform any of the multifarious and heavy duties of active government. Under these circumstances, and with the approval of Pro- fessor Leyden, of Berlin, a strict contiuuance of the present treatment and milk diet, abstinence from head work, and removal to a warm climate, have been absolutely enjoined as essential conditions of possible recovery. It is doubtful whether any Russian health resort will afford a sufficiently mild climate, and the Empress of Austria has offered the use of her beautiful palace at Corfu, recently com- pleted. It has the advantage of seclusion, lovely views, and an admirable winter climate. Corfu has long been favourably known here, and is a resort of many wealthy Russians. Although the condition of his Imperial Majesty is undoubtedly serious, strong hopes are entertained of his recovery under these favourable circumstances, and with suitable treat- ment. Many instances are known in which when once the acute symptoms of kidney inflammation hare been subdued, long and enduring convalescence has resulted, and the patient has been able, after an interval, to resume, with precaution, active business pursuits. It is everywhere strongly and devoutly hoped that it may be so with this illustrious sufferer."

IRON AND COAL. The iron trade of South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire shows rather less movement, but a fair amount of work is still being done at the mills and forges. The export trade is not very satisfactory. Australian buyers are ordering sparingly, both in iron I and mild steel. Recent advices from the Melbourne district speak far more hopefully of the future. Orders from India are of a moderate class, and there is very little increase in the South American trade. Home orders are somewhat unsteady. The demand for ordinary merchant bars, in rounds, flats, squares, &c., is showing no expansion. Sales of shoe iron win have been of a medium character. Tire flats and half rounds have shown a slightly improved I tendency, both in the best classes of iron and in steel. Inquiries are fairly good. Business in cable rounds is comparatively quiet. Ordinary sorts are showing no improvement, and there is very little new business to hand for best classes, but further large orders are expected for good qualities. Best branded chain bars are in brisker request, but there is not much doing in common sorts. Bolt rods and nut bars are in tolerably even demand. Best descrip- tions of link, rod, and draw bar iron are in mode- rately brisk sale. The hoop mills are quiet. A fair business is being done in strips, chiefly in mild steel. Angles and tees are in good inquiry for bridge and roofing work. Jeist and channel bars are in moderate demand. Steel rivet bars are in extensive request. There is no decrease in the tin-plate and tinned-sheet trade. The pig-iron market is steady, and consignments of the usual tonnage are going forward. The coal trade is expanding. House coal is in larger sale, and there is a very fair demand for fuel for works requirements.

WILLS AND BEQUESTS. The will, dated June 20, 1894, of Mr. Thomas Briggs, of Manchester, manufacturer and merchant, I and of Hazelslack, Broughton-park, near Man- chester, who died on July 6, was proved at the Man- t chester District Registry on September 14 by Thomas Ellis Briggs, the son, Robert Ferguson Miller, and Edward Neep, the eaecutors, the value of the per- sonal estate in the United Kingdom amounting to over £ 166.000. The testator gives his residence, Hazelslack, with the furniture and effects, and E1200 per annum during widowhood, to his wife, Mrs. Emily Briggs; £ 1000 to her for the education of his infant children, Emily, Ella, Hilda, and Nelly; and he appoints her guardian of his infant children during their respective minorities; his works at liichmond-hill and Springifeld-lane, Salford, with the lands forming the sites thereof or held therewith, to his son Thomas Ellis; and £ 500 each to his executors. The residue of his real and personal estate he leaves to all his children, whether by hia first or present marriages, in equal shares. The will (dated December 7, 1893), with a codicil (dated March 12, 1894), of Miss Adeline Ellen Eliza Harding, of The Grove, Lymington, Hants, who died on August 30, was proved on September 22 by Major Francis Douglat Lumley, the nephew, one of the executors, the value of the personal estate amounting to over £ 34,000. The testatrix bequeaths her books, plate, pictures, and china, with a few exceptions, to go as lieirlooms with her residence, The Grove and her wines, linen, furniture, with one or two excep- tions, household effects, horses and carriages, to her nephew, Major Lumley. She appoints the estate of her late brother, Major-General Francis Pym Hardv ing, to her nephews Francis Douglas Lumley, Wil- liam Frederick Pym, Harry Lockyer Reginald PymJ Francis Harding Pym, and Samuel Arnott Pym, ini, equal shares. Her property The Grove, except two fields, she devises to the use of her said nephew Major F. D. Lumley for life, with remainder to his first and other sons successively, according to seniority in tail male. As to the residue of her pro- perty, she gives one moiety to the said Major Lumley and the other moiety to the said Mr. W. F. Pym,. Mr. H. L. R. PJ m, Mr. F. H. Pym, and Mr. S. A. Pym in equal shares. The will, dated December 20, 1892, of Mr. George Frederick Augustus Drew, Deputy Inspector-General R.N., of Highlield Hartley, Plymouth, who died on June 22, was proved on September 19 by Miss Ellen Kate Bond and Miss Rosa Anna Bond, the acting executrixes, the value of the personal estate amount- ing to upwards of £ 23,000. The testator leaves all his real and personal estate in trust for his children in equal shares. The will (dated November 30, 1891) of Comte EdourdoCahen, Marquis di Torre Alfina, of the Palazzo Torlonia, Rome, who died on May 3, was proved in London on September 19 by Count Rodolfo Cahen, Marquis di Torre Alfina, the son, the value of the personal estate in England exceeding 915,000. The testator bequeaths 10,000 lire to the poor of Rome, half Israelites and half Catholics; and legacies to daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, secretary, servants, and others. He does not appoint any executor or residuary legatee. The will (dated July 5, 1894) of Captain Alan Brodrick. Thomas,, C JX, R.N., of Heathlands, Hook Heath,. Woking, who died on August 17, at Weston- park, Steyning, Sussex, was proved on September 22 by Geoffrey Holt Stilwell, one of the executors, the value of the personal estate amounting to over £ 4000. The testator bequeaths 1:500 and all his furniture, effects, horses, carriages, and live and dead stock to his wife, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Thomas. All his real estate and the residue of his personal estate, he leaves upon trust for his wife, for life, then for his children in equal shares, and in default of children, for his brother, Charles Inigo Themas, his wife and children. —Illustrated London News. ■ g=g=g=ag

A GRUESOME DISCOVERY. A gruesome discovery at the expense of a human life has been made at Mulhouse, in Alsace. An ex- plosion of nitro-benzine occurred at a house i-n which one workman was known to have been. A fire<ensued, and when it had been got under it was found: that three feet of boiling liquid waa on the. floor of the building. When it had cooled, a search was made for the man's; remains, but no trace whatever was found of them. It was then thought he might after all have left the place before the explosion. To put the matter to the test, carcases of animals were put into the liquid, and it was found they disappeared in about two hours. Twenty-four hours had elapsed between the explosion and the first search.

HE (very conceited): I don't think I should like to marry any girl unless I knew she was of a self- sacrificing nature." She But wouldn't that prove it ?

INLAND REVENUE. The 37th Report of the Inland Revenue Commis- sioners, for the year ended March 31, 1894, shows that the gross receipt of duties, &c., for which the Department has to account amounted to £ 37,787,508, of which the Customs and the Post Office collected £ 7,526,476. Excluding receipts transferred to Locnl Taxation and other accounts the sum received was j:55,816,595, against £ 54,947,316. The increase shown was due to the additional Id. in the El on the income-tax, which yielded £ 1,902,787, all other items (except House Duty) showing decreases. The decrease of £ 1,004,750 in stamps is stated to have been chiefly due to the decline in the receipt of legacy and succession duties as compared with the very large receipt in 1892-93. The Excise revenue showed a slight reduction in spite of the increased yield of the beer tax, which produced £ 9,934,321, the largest amount ever obtained, and an increase of £ 94,849 on the previous year. The increase in the yield of the beer tax was greatest in Scotland, where it was 2-56 per cent., the increases in England and Ireland being only 0"11 per cent, and 0'08 per cent. The number of persons licensed for domestic brewing continues to decrease. The stamp receipts, as already observed, show a heavy decrease. On this important branch of revenue the Commissioners make the fol- lowing observations: Probate Duty.—The fluctuation has been slight compared with the prior year. The yield was, how- ever, low for the first nine months, but this was rec- tified by the productiveness of the last quarter. The number of estates yielding duty was 52,462, as com- pared with 51,441 in prior year. Large estates influ- enced, more than usual, the year's receipt, for no less than 15 personal estates exceeding £ 500,000 paid duty, as contrasted with nine in 1892-93. Estate Duty.—See above remarks. Legacy Duty.—The receipt fell considerably short of what was anticipated. It was expected that the high rate of receipt prevailing in 1892-93 (following upon the large number of wills proved in 1891-92) would extend partly into 1893-94. But this aug- mented rate of receipt abruptly terminated in March, 1893, and the produce in 1893-94 was that of a lormal year. Succession Duty.—Same remark applies. Deeds and other Instruments.—The receipt under this head is now much less than it was in 1888-89. The decrease is, we think, attributable to depression in trade, decline in the values of land and other pro- perties, and to the curtailment of Stock Exchange transactions. Securities to Bearer.—This duty is chiefly on foreign bonds, the number and value of which are believed to be steadily declining. The decrease is larger than usual owing to the receipt in the prior year having been considerably influenced by an excep- tional receipt on the conversion of bonds of the Re- public of Uruguay. Foreign and Colonial Share Certificates.-Tlio small sum received represents the duty prior to its repeal as from May 12, 1893, by Act 56 Vict., c. 7. Contract Notes.—The increase under this head is due to the rate of duty having been altered from 6d. to Is. for each contract per Act 56 Vict., c. 7. It may be noted that the augmentation has not proved equal to the loss sustained by the abolition of the duty on foreign and colonial share certificates. Bills of Exchange.—More than two-thirds of the decrease is in bills drawn abroad. The gross assessments for income-tax in 1892-93 amounted to E712,181009, against E710,752,684 in 1891-92, an increase of £ 1,428,415. The net assessments, however, were Z597,101,964, against £ 597,823,325, a decrease of £ 721,361. Increases were shown under Schedules A and E, and there was a large decrease under D. In A Lands" show a decrease of Y.421,906, while houses and messuages show a considerable increase.

THEATRICALS AT BALMORAL. The Queen is very fond of what of late years have come to be known as Living Pictures (says St. PauFs), "and scarcely a year passes without the Princesses and the ladies and gentlemen of the House- hold getting up tableaux vivants among themselves. This year, however, quite a fine series were rehearsed bv the household at Glenmuick. The Queen, like all I her predecessors, is very fond of a play. As a child she saw little play-acting, but she very soon took to it. The performances at Balmoral have not been nearly so many as at Windsor and Osborne. Indeed, only II a travelling circus, the Carl Rosa Opera Company, Mr. George Grossmith, and the Garrick Company, in "Diplomacy," have been commanded to Balmoral Castle. Tht9 principal reasons for this are the I enormous distance of Balmoral from anywhere, nnd the lack of accommodation. Both the private theatricals and the performances by professional companies take place in the ballroom, which is a good-sized room, approached by a double flight of wooden stairs leading directly to the Queen's I private apartments. It is in front of this staircase that the little fit-up stage is erected. The Queen keeps her own scenic artist, who has a painting- room at the little Lady Wood Pavilion at Osborne, j The ball-room itself is in the Scotch Baronial style. The ceiling is panelled in blue, spangled with gold stars. Below the wooden cornice runs a long line of stags' heads—all Royal—beneath which walls are decorated with dirks, skene-dhus, pouches, claymores, Scotch bonnets, and drapings of Stuart tartan, the same material being employed to drape the tall windows on the right facing the sta^e. Opposite is the mirror-lined dais, from which the Royal family witness a tenants' ball or other festivity; but., on the occasion of a theatrical per- formance, it is occupied by the Duke of Fife's band, which forms the orchestra. The room is lit from the roof at night by several large chandeliers. During these performances the Queen sits in a i comfortable arm-chair, placed in what would be i the centre of the front row in a theatre. In front of < it is the Queen's footstool, and slightly to the right j is a small table which she uses to hold her handker* I chief, her glasses, a book of the words—when tho performance is that of an opera-her programme, and her fan, which she uses to lead-as is the etiquette— the applause by tapping the table with it. The Royal programme is a small oblong card folded in half. The outside is pink, four gold lineB decorating I the top and bottom, and in the left-hand corner a I vignette view of Balmoral Castle in deep red. Neither the Royal Arms nor the Queen's cypher find any place on this card, the reverse of which merely bears the word Balmoral' and the date. The inside, which is tinted green, is devoted to the names of the characters, the players, and a synopsis of the scenes. To right and left of the Queen sit the Royalties, and immediately behind the members of the Household, her Majesty's guests, who are composed of her neigh- bours and their house-parties. Behind these come the Queen's servants and tenantry. Although there is an entire absence of uniform, and little or no i jewellery is worn by ladies in the Court circle, the liveries of the servants and the Highland dresses give colour to the scene, which, amid the surround- rngs of the ballroom, forms quite a picturesque effect. These performances are quite events in the life of the beautiful but quiet North country, where her Majesty loves to retire."

AN IRISH INDUSTRY. In early times Ireland was noted for its superior iron, and, indeed, a perusal of its more ancient annals suggests that its iron was exported for the manufac- ture of the famous Damascus steel. Later in Strong- bow's time two of his knights started as rival. iron- niasters in Cathan, the remains of their old castles having being found on the old horse trail between Arklow and Shillelagh, together with numerous rock basins, evidently mortars in which the ore was pounded up. In 1809, so Chichester states, he found in Ulster native smiths at work making steet out of native iron, and in almost every county mines, furnaces, and mills were at work. The iron became known as charcoal iron, similar in character to the present famed Swedish iron. These old ironworks have now special interest, inasmuch as arrangements are being made to manufacture char- coal iron in Connaught at Sir Charles Coote's old mines in Creevalea, Leitrim. Here some of the richest ores are averred to be located. The diffi- culty caused by the high price of peat charcoal has { been overcome by the use of retorts.

j REMARKABLE TWINS. There are some remarkable twins at Prenzlar, Germany. They are Ludwig and Heinrich Kriiger, and they have just celebrated the 50th year of their citizenship. They went to the same school, they were confirmed on the same day; together they entered confirmed on the same day; together they entered into their apprenticeship and became associates in the year 1844 both took up their freedom of the city of Neustadt; the twin brothers narried two sisters; and all have lived happily toge her in one and the same house.

I TREATMENT OF INEBRIATES. The 141li report of the Inspector of Retreats ftJf the year 1893 states that there has again been 11 slight increase in the total number of patients ad- mitted to the various retreats duringtheyear. In 1891 and 1892the admissions were 115and 124respectively, but in 1893 the number rose-to 129. In answer to invitation the licensees of certain retreats hare fur- nished observations as to the working of the Acts, and the result of treatment. As to the Manchester Retreat for Inebriate Women, it is mentioned that this was opened in 1890, in accord- ance with the provisions of the Inebriates Acts of 1879-88. These Acts encourage the open- ing of retreats, either for male or female inebriates, to be conducted only by licensed managers, and sub- ject to the approval, and open always to the visits, 02 an inspector appointed by the Crown. In fact the law regards the treatment of habitual drunkards as somewhat analogous to that of lunatics, viewing their malady mainly as a physical disease. And such it unquestionably is. But it is a moral disease also, which needs moral as well as physical remedies, and the successful cure of inebriety will depend on the care and skill with which these moral and spiritual remedies are applied by the managers and committees of retreats. DIFFERENCE IN LUNACY LAWS. The law, however, concerning the detention of ine- briates differs at present from the lunacy laws in two important particulars. In the first place, it makes no provision for the support of retreats, except from the payment of inmates. The attempt, therefore, to rescue poorer persons and wean them from inebriety is wholly left to private benevolence. Now this has from the first been a prominent aim of the promoters of the Manchester Retreat. The Grove receives two classes of patients. One class consists of women of a certain social position, who pay readily for their maintenance. These live apart in the better rooms, and are encouraged to occupy themselves in their favourite pursuits, whether drawing, or painting, or the art of the needle. But a larger number are word- ing women, who pay at lower rates, according to their means, or even nothing they employ themselves in the necessary work of the household. As far as pos- sible the retreat is made self-supporting by means of the work and the payments of the inmates. But the admission of poorer women-sometimes gratis, and at the suggestion of the magistrate before whom they have been brought for trial, and as an alternative to the gaol—makes the maintenance of the Grove de- pendent in part upon the generosity of subscribers. In the second place, the Inebriates Acts give no power to anyone to commit a patient to the retreat without the patient's own desire. They may be committed to gaol for being drunk and disorderly, and are so com- I mitted for short periods hundreds of times over, to I the mockery of justice and to the vast expense of the nation, but absolutely without any good result. In ¡ entering a retreat, however, everything is left to the inebriate. Upon being certified to be an inebriate by two witnesses (who must neither be managers of a re- treat, nor immediate relations of the patient), he or she may make application to two justices of the peace, and so obtain admission. Once admitted, in- deed, the patient is compelled to remain for a whole year. But the mode of obtaining admission is so cumbrous, and leaves so much to the perverse and I capricious will of the drunkard, that in practice we find very few applicants proceed so far as to gain admission, and precisely the most distressing cases I are those for whom the law provides no help. COMMITTEE'S REPORT. These and other practical difficulties have pressed so hard upon those who have tried to work the Acts, and have so greatly struck all who have watched their operation, that in 1891, while the Government of Lord Salisbury was in power, Lord Herschell moved for a Commission of the Home Office to inquire into the working of the Inebriates Acts. That committee has recently issued its report. Its recommendations are strongly in the direction pointed out by practical ex- perience, and may be summarised as follows: The number of retreats now existing is ridiculously small in proportion to their need. The mode of application for admission should be greatly simplified. Power should be given to compel a confirmed inebriate to enter a retreat, when a person will not enter volun- tarily. Industrial retreats for poorer inebriates should be provided out of public funds. The present short- sentence system of punishing drunkenness should be superseded by giving power to magistrates to commit to an inebriates' retreat. It is certain that the number of habitual drunkards of both sexes in the kingdom is so larg" as to constitute not only a grave scandal, but a serious burden upon the community, and above all, a frightful source of misery to many thousands of households. It is estimated that there are at this moment 6000 inebriate women in prison--not to speak of men similarily detained, nor of the crowds of both sexes whom drink has brought either to the workhouse or the asylum, and quite apart from the far larger number ef habitual drunkards outside of such places, who are free to indulge their fatal craving, and to be the daily and hourly scourge of their homes. A PRESSING EVIL. No patient should be detained in a retreat which is not conducted under statutory conditions, and open at all times to Government control. To deal, then, with this pressing evil is well worthy of the social reformer and of the statesman. Happily, the British Medical Council is taking vigorous steps to urge upon Government the necessity of giving effect to the recommendations of the Commission, and the present Home Secretary (Mr. Asquith) has declared himself entirely favourable to the suggestion. It remains for every social reformer to push the matter forward. There are many who regard the case of an habitual drunkard as hopeless, and especially if the drunkard be a woman. We shall be asked, what is our percent- age of cures ? And if we speak of any such, we shall be met with the objection that time alone can prove whether the recovery is real. We are ready to con- fess that nearly half of those who leave us apparently cured do relapse. But amid such temptations as I surround them this is scarcely strange. The most striking fact to many minds will be that so many remain steadfast. Among the relapsed it is no uncommon thing for a woman to implore us to re- admit her for a further period of treatment. As a rule, those who have been with us under a year immediately relapse. The physical crave has hardly died out, and new habits of life have now become established. S5E5S5S5E55^EE5S5E9E5555S9

THE KAISER'S SONG. The Sang an Aegir (Song to Aegir), written and set to music by the German Emperor, is to be pub- lished immediately. The rumour which assigned the authorship of the poem to Count Eulenburg has been officially contradicted. The Times states that it was the Emperor himself who during his visit to Norway dictated the verses to Count Gortz and afterwards composed the music, which has been written out in 11 different settings by Professor A. Becker. The poem is an inovation addressed to Ægir, the old Norse god of the sea, by an invading army on the point of landing and meeting the enemy. The pro- ceeds of the sale will be devoted to the fund for building the Emperor William Memorial Church at i Berlin.

MARKET NEWS. MARK-LANE.—Trade quiet in tone, and the lerel of p^i-ees remains about the same. The sales of home- grown wheat in England and Wales during the first six weeks of the season have been 252,646qrs. against 325,063qrs. last season, the average being 20s 2d against 26B 6d per qr.; barlev, 173,552qrs. against 382,514qrs,T at an average of 23s lOd against 27s 9d per gr.; and oats. 74.141qrs.r against 88.001qrs., at an average of 155 5d against. 17s lOd per qr. English wheat sold slowly, at late prices. In foreign wheat, business was restricted, at previous currencies. The flour market was dull, at late rates. Barley was firm, on former terms. Oats were in request, and for old samples 3d to 6d more money was ptiTd. Maize was steady, at previous prices. Deans and peas were quiet and unaltered. METROPOLITAN CATTLE.—The cattle trade has been wanting in activity, and has not been over strong. There was about an average supply of beasts on offer, including a fair proportion of choic? stock. The tone was dull, the levelof prices being hardly so good. The best Scots were quoted at 4s 8d, Norfolks and West of England 4s 6d, and heavy Lincolns 4s to 4s 4d per 81b. Inferior descriptions met a dragging snle, and were irregular in value. With reference to sheep there was a fair show in the pens. The trade was not so good, and buyers had the advantage. The best 8-stone Downs made 5s lOd; I C-stone,5s 8d lOst. hulf-breds, 5s 6d to 5s 8d 12-stone LincoTns, 4s lOd to 5s per 81b. and 10-stone Down ewes, 4s 4d to 4s 8d. Calves realised late prices with a slow de- mand. Quotations: Coarse and inferior beasts, 2s 6d to 3s 6d second quality ditto, 3s 6d to 4s Od; prime large oxen, 4s 2d to 4s 4d; ditto Scots, &c., 4s 6d to 4s 8d coarse and inferior sheep, 3B 8d to 4s 8d; second quality ditto. 4s lOd to 5s 4d prime coarse-woolled ditto, 5s 6d to 5s Sd; prime South- down ditto, 5s 8d to 5s 10d; large coarse calves, 3s 2d to 4s 4d prime small ditto, 4s 6d to 5s 4d per 81b. to sink the offal. METROPOLITAN MEAT.—The supply was too large, and much of it, being stale meat left from last week, could only be disposed of at very low prices, as the trade generally was very bad. The choicest beef and mutton realised top quotations, but prices fluctuated considerably, and a large quantity of all descriptions was again left unsold. Prices for pork were extremely low. The following are the quotations In- ferior beef, 2s to 2s 4d middling ditto, 2s 8d to 3s 2d; prime ditto, 3s 4d to 3s 8d; Scotch ditto, 3s 4d to 3s lOd; Scotch short sides ditto, 4s Od to 4s 4d; American, Liverpool killed, 3s Od to 3s 3d ditto, killed, hindquarters, 3s Od to 4s Od ditto, ditto, fore-quarters, Is 4d to 2s Od; English veal, 3s 4d to 4s 4d; Dutch ditto, 3s Od to 4s Od inferior mutton, 2s Od to 2s 8d middling ditto, 3s Od to 3s lOd; prime ditto, 4s 2d to 4s 8d; Scotch ditto, 4s 4d to 4s lOd New Zealand ditto, 2s 2d to 2s 4d; Dutch ditto, 3s 2d to 3s 6d English lamb, 4s 4d to 5s Od New Zealand ditto, 3s 2d to 3s 8d per 81b. by the carcase. GAME AND POULTRY.—Young cock pheasants, 7e to 8s old ditto and hen ditto, 4s 6d to 5s 6d; yonng partridges, 4s 6d to 5s old ditto, 2s to 2s 6d; young grouse, 5s 6d to 7s 6d and old ditto, 3s to 3s 9d per brace wild ducks, 3s to 4s widgeons, 2s 6d to 2s lOd teals, 2s 4d to 2s 8d pintails, 2s 3d to 2s 6d; rabbits, 2s to 2s 4d; conies, Is 6d to Is 9d small fowls, 3s to 4s and small ducks, 3s 6d to 4s 4d per couple large hares, 3s to 3s 9d; small ditto, 2s to 2s 4d; large fowls, 3s 3d to 4s; pullets, 2s 4d to 2s 8d geese, 5s to 7s and turkey poults, 4s 6d to 6s 6d each. BILLINGSGATE FIsn.-Good supply fair demand. Prices Wholesale: Turbot, 7s to 8s brill, 6s to 7s halibut, 5s to 6s; lemon soles, 5s 6d per stone; soles Is; slips, 8d to 9d; red mullets, 6d per lb, cod, 12s plaice, 12s to 20s mackerel, 7s hake, 14B; gurnet, 8s; whiting, 5s; smelts, Is 6d to 2s; sea bream, 8s; fresh herrings 8s per box fresh had- docks, 7s per trunk; ditto, 12s per turn live eels, 19s dead eels, 13s per draft; lobsters, 20s to 30s per score crabs, 18s per hamper prawns, 3s to 4s per lb. oysters, 8s to 12s; natives. 21s per 100; shrimps, 9s; winkles, 8s, whelks, 5s per bushel; mussels, 7s per bag dried haddocks, 2s 6d to 5s per dozen. Retail: Soles, Is 2d to Is 4d; slips, lOd to Is; lemon soles, 6d to 8d; brill, 8d; turbot, 8d to 9d halibut, 7d to 8d; John Dorys, 4d to 5d; sea bream, Sd; plaice, 4d to 5d; fresh haddocks, 3d to 4d live eels, Is to Is 2d; dead eels, 9d to lOd; hake, 4d; gurnet, 4d per lb.; mackerel, 2d to 4d; whiting, 2d to 4d cod, 4d to 6d lobsters, Is to 2s; crabs, 6d to 2s 6d dried haddocks, 4d to 8d each oysters, 6d to 4s prawns, Is to Is 6d per dozen. BORorGH AND SpITALFIEI-DS POTATO.—There was a fairly good supply of potatoes on offer. The trade was quiet but steady at the following prices Magnum Bonums, 50s to 80s; Hebrons, 60s to 90s; Snowdrops, 60s to 90s; Imperators, 60s to 80s; and Regents, 50s to 70s per ton. SEED TRADE.—A good demand for winter tares. Current rates are temptingly low. Seed rye moves upwards. New white mustard is being marketed. English rapeseed keeps exceedingly cheap. Clover- Lteed is at present neglected. The pea trade is featnre- less. The new haricots just arrived go rapidly into consumption. Canaryseed slow of sale, but steady in value. Hempseed unchanged. E.NGL;Sll Worn..—Trade is generally quieter, and there is rather less doing, but sellers are still hope- ful with regard to the future, and ask full rates. There is no pressure to sell, and country prices are in advance of market quotations, which assists them in the firmness with which they keep to their stocks. Buyers, on the other hand, act with the utmost caution, and buy most sparingly finding that their customers do not respond to the price of wool, or the prices they are compelled to ask, they act accord- ingly. There are instances when terms in favour of buyers are conceded, and sellers who have some desire to do business submit to offers made them. Spinners still report quietness in business, and difficulty of obtaining remunerative prices, as demand is most re- stricted, and there is a total want of speculative dealings. American trade does not revive as many anticipated, and the delay causes much disappoint- ment. Colonial wools are without change. Downs, 9d to Id Kents, 9d to 9!d; half-breds, 9d. LONDON HAY AND STRAW.—Prime picked meadow hay, 110s to 120s; best new do., 75s to 84s; useful, do., 60s to 75s; inferior, 50s to 60s; prime clover, 120s to 130s inferior, do., 85s to 100s new do., 70s to 85s; straw, 28s to 38s per load. Canadian hay, 85s per ton. COVENT GARDEN FRUIT AND VEGETABLES.- Fair supplies of vegetables, with a fair inquiry. Moderate arrivals of fruit, and a fair demand. Greenstuffs: Dutch onions, 2s 6d to 3s per bag; English onions, 4s to 5s per cwt.; parsley, Is; mint, 2s to 2s 6d; turnips, Is 6d: carrots, Is to Is 6d per dozen bunches; washed carrots, 2s 6d per bag; cauli- flowers, 3s 6d to 5s marrows, 6s to 6s 6d per tally; horseradish, Is 3d to Is 6d per bundle; cucumbers, Is Od to 2s 3d; artichokes, 2s 6d per dozen mush- rooms, Is to Is 3d per lb.; scarlet beans, Is 9d to 2s per bushel, and 3s 6d per bag; potatoes, 45s to 90s per ton. Fruit: English grapes, 9d to Is 9d; bananas, 7s to 12s per bunch damsons, 2s to 3s per half-sieve; pears, Is to 2s 6d; apples, 4s to 7s per bushel; walnuts, 7s to 9s per bag, and 10s to 12s per sack Kentish cob nuts, 24s to 27s per lOOlb. CAMBRIDGE CATTLE.—A good show of store beasts and all cleared. With a large number of fat beasts to hand trade was slow and prices lower. Fat sheep were shown in good numbers, and trade was better all round. Not many stores to hand. A good show of fat pigs, and prices about the same as last week. Fairly good business for hay, straw, and roots. Beef, 6s 9d to 7s 6d mutton, 4s lOd to 5s lOd pork, 5s 6d to 6s 9d. READING CATTLE.—Beef was in plentiful supply; best quality made 4s8dto 4s IOd secondary, 4s 2d to 4s 6d per stone. Mutton proved scarce; prime small animals realised 5s 8d to 5s IOd; large sheep, 5s to 5s 4d per stone. Veal changed hands slowly at 5s to 5s 4d per stone. Other things unaltered in value. CORK BUTTrrt.-Ordinary: Firsts, 78s; seconds, 72s thirds, 63s; fourths, 58s. Mild-cured firkins Superfine, 88s fine, 78s; mild, 73s. GRIMSBY FISU. -Good supply; brisk demand. Prices as follows Brill, 10d to Is per lb.; bloaters, Is 6d to 2s per box live cod, 4s to 9s dead, 2s to 7s each salt, 10s Od per cwt.: coalfish, 20s to 50s per score codlings, 14s to 18s per box conger eels, 3s to 6s each; catfish, 15s to 40s per score gurnets, 6s to 8s per box live halibut, 6s to 7s; dead, 4s to 5s per stcne haddocks, 34s to 40s per kit; round, 10s to 16s per box; finnan, 3s per stone bake,. 2s to 5s each; herrings, 2s 8d to 4s; salt, Is to Is 6d per 100 kippers, Is 6d to 2s per box; dead ling, 2s to 5s each lobsters, Is per lb. mackerel, 2s per score plaice, 3s to 4s 6d prawns, 38 per stone roker, 18s to 22s per score soles, Is Id to Is 4d per lb.; lemon, 7s to 7s 6d per stone; Eng- lish smelts. 2s to 3s per box; turbots, lOd to It per lb.

THE CITY OF LONDON. Just now the Report of the Royal Commission on the Unification of Tondon, recommending great changes in metropolitan government, is drawing down wide interest upon civic history. What (asks an able legal contributor to the Pall- Mall Gazette) is "the City of London"? For practical purposes, it is a combination of words bearing," says Serjeant Pulling (in his Laws and Customs of London "), "nearly the same relations to the city that the hundred did to the shire." The first extant mention of the town occurs in the annals of Tacitus (xiv., 33), written probably about 100 A.D. He tells us that in 61 A.D. Londinium, though it did not enjoy the honour of being called a Roman 41 colonv," was yet very famous for the abundance of its traders and commerce, and he speaks of the pleasantness (dulcedo) of the place. In 61, Mr. Loftie ("A History of London") thinks that the bridge, to the building of which London owed its early prosperity did not exist. -'We have no avail- able record of any special franchises or privi- leges being possessed by London prior to 827, when Egbert, the King of the West Saxons chose it°for his capital." Stow, the great historian of the Citv, makes no such claim for her, and we may dis- miss as finally exploded what Maitland terms the infamous and iniquitous romances of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who ascribed the foundation of the city to Brute, the son of Æneas, and who interposed no fewer than 70 Kings of London between the death of Brute and the advent of Julius Caesar (" Municipal London," by the late J. B. Firth, M.P.). The three English books here quoted form the best compendium on this subject. Firth (1876) is avowedly hostile to the present Corporation Pulling (1842) is distinctly favourable. One Fitzstephen wrote in the time of Henry II. to prove that London was more ancient than even Rome. The first City charter was granted by William this conqueror after his coronation. It ran thus: Wil- liam King greets William Bishop and Gosfrith Port- reeve, and all the burghers within London, French and English, friendly and I do you to wit that I will that ye be all law-worthy that were in King Edward's day. And I will that every child be his father's heir after his father's day., And I will not endure that any man offer any wrong to you. God keep you." The original, or a very ancient copy, is kept in the Guildhall. By virtue of this instrument the citizens practically escaped the feudal system—they were tenants in capite. It was not until six centuries later that England gene- rally obtained the privileges thus conceded to London. The right of testamentary disposition re- mained intact in London alone, and it was unknown elsewhere in this country for nearly five centuries (32 Henry VIII., c. 1). The free right, also, of transmitting property to a successor was to be found under the Norman Kings in London alone. Probably at the present moment the only valuable advantage which the City has over other municipalities consists in its electing its own judicial officers. The office of mayor, as it at present exists (explains the Pall Mall Gazette correspondent) dates from the fifth charter of King John in 1207, which grants to 41 the barons of our City of London" to choose from among themselves every year a discreet man for the place. The barons are taken to be the aldermen. In Stephen's reign the King's brother told the depu- ties from the City that they were almost accounted noblemen because of the greatness of their city. At first it was unusual to elect a new mayor every year, and until 1239 the same person often continued in the chair for many years. And by an act of Common Council in 1546 no one was to be compellable to serve a second time. There is a line of V.1000 for refusing to serve without sufficient cause. The title of Lord dates from the fourth charter of Edward III. An alderman sits for life, or till "reasonable removal," by virtue of a Statute, 17 Ric. II., c. 11. In 1398 the Common Council ordered two names to be presented to the court for them to chocse from, but in 1715 it returned to the ancient manner of elec- tion. The wards are 2G in number, of very unequal sizes. Under the Stuarts the capital City burst through the restrictions of the Building Acts, and spread over the fields outside the walls," where the ivards are much larger than within. Bridge Without is represented by an alderman alone. The Common Council is traced back to the time of Edward 1.; it was to consist of persons of the wiser and more sufficient of the mysteries, elected by the men of the same mysteries at that time 80 far more equitable mode of representation than may at present appear, for persons of the crafts lived" in the same quarters, and hence the names Cordwainers, Candlewick, Vintry, Cornhill, &c. The quoram of the court includes the Lord Mayor or his deputy, two aldermen, and 37 councillors. By nine George IV., they must take this oath Ye shall swear that ye shall be true to our Sovereign Lady, the Queen that now is; and readily come when ye be summoned to the common council St this city, unless ye be reason- ably excused and good and true counsel ye shall give in all things touching the common weal of this citv, after your wit and cunning; and that for favour of any man ye shall maintain no singular profit against the common profit of this city; and after that ye be come to the common council, ye shall not from thence depart, till the common council be ended, without reasonable cause or else by the mayor's license and also that all secret things that be spoken or said in the common council, the which ought to be kept secret, ye shall in nowise disclose." The Court of Common Hall consists of the mayor, aldermen, and liverymen of the several companies. It is said to be the modern representative of the Folkmote and the assembly of the Commonalty under the Plantagenets. It no longer includes freemen and citizens generally, but only such members of the City Companies as have taken out their livery (originally, the upper class of freemen or masters who were entitled to wear the clothing of the company). It only meets now for the election of certain officers. The companies are the representatives of the old mercantile guilds of Norman and later days. Their origin was simple. It is said that the Grocers' Com- pany was founded by 22 pepperers" of Cheapsid# meeting one morning at dinner at Abbot of Bury's in St. Mary Axe, and agreeing to form a guild. There and then they elected a warden and governor, and each man "put up" twelvepence, a priest was engaged to sing and pray for the brotherhood, and each member subscribed a penny a week. The City has had many more direct relations with the Crown than with Parliament. Thus the Inspexi- mus Charter, granted by Charles II. in 1663, is by some regarded as the most valuable of the City char- ters," but in the political troubles at the end of hi. reign his attitude quite changed, and in 1682 tho charters of London and other cities were forfeited under a writ of Quo Warranto. But the first Par- liament of William and Mary set aside those proceed- ings as illegal and arbitrary, and confirmed to the City all its ancient rights and privileges. Since then there is little legislation to record. London was ex- pressly excluded from the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, but a Commission in 1853 brought about the City Elections Act, 1867, and the City Ballot Act, 1887. The Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, affected the City slightly. In 1884 the Government brought in a bill dealing with the City, but it was dropped.

MR. GLADSTONE'S AMERICAN ALBUM. "An, IF I WERB TEN YEARS' YOUNGER." Mr. Gladstone was presented, a short time ago, with a splendid album, containing personally-contri- buted portraits, with autographs, of all the nota- bilities in politics, literature, art, and the Churches in the United States. The album was the idea of Mr. John McBride (a well-known Irishman in America, and styled by his countrymen Exile John McBride "), who crossed the Atlantic to. make the presentation at Hawarden. In an account of the event, which he nas just con- tributed to some American journals, he says Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone spent two hours looking through the album, and that the Old Man astonished him by the knowledge he possessed of the vast majority of the originals of the portraits. Mrs. Gladstone was particularly pleased wich two American flags which Mr. McBride also presented. I will display them at Hawarden on gala days, and especially on the Fourth of July," she remarked. Mr. Gladstone showed his visitor the remarkable collection of axes which had been sent to him from all parts of the world, and said that he still indulges occasionally in his favourite pastime of felling trees. The ex-Premier spoke in the warmest terms of the American Press for the noble way it had endorsed his Home Rule policy. "Ah!" he added, "if I were only 10 years younger, I would visit America, where I have so many warm frier "Is." He seemed in good health, Mr. McBride states, and was r arkably vigorous and active.

HOW TO HELP AGRICULTURISTS. Sir George Birdwood replies iu the Times to various correspondents who have criticised his recent letter on agricultural industries. In the course of his letter, which displays a good deal of both pleasantry and learning, he explains that he was not thinking so much of pitting our Devonshire. Somer- setshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Norfolk cider against port and champagne as of the revivifi- cation of our minor agricultural manufactures gene- rally. Wheat (Sir George continues) is past praying for, we need more than this country could ever pro- duce. But look down the following list of staple food stuffs imported into the United Kingdom last year: Butter, margarine, milk, cheese. £ 22,597,250 Bacon, ham, pork, lard 14,804,250 Barley, oats, peas, beans, hops, straw 13,814,506 Eggs, poultry, game, rabbits 4,742,343 Vegetables, pickles 2,879,239 Fruit, and conserves of fruit 1,819,343 Total £ 60,639,191 If oxen and bulls are added 6,213,447 The total is £ 66,852,638 But we may omit the last items from considera- tion, as I here have wines and spirits, and ask only of the above E60,000,000 worth of kitchen garden, dairy, orchard, and farm products whether they could not be produced by ourselves and paid for to ourselves. The answer is, certainly as much of them as we now obtain from, and pay for to, foreign countries, simply through ignorances, negli- gences, and offences of our own. The buyers in the various importing houses of London are the most intelligent, the shrewdest, and the most ener. getic Englishmen of our generation, and as patriotic as we are made. They would all buy all the eggs, poultry, and butter they want within the United Kingdom, provided they were as securely, cleanly, uniformly, and artistically put up, and as promptly and regularly supplied as by France and Belgium and Holland and Denmark. They would again prefer to buy British cheeses to American, but for the latter being carried by our railways from Liverpool to London so much cheaper than the former. Similar remarks apply to all the items of the list. I have already written of the slat- ternly methods of our cider-making and of the refine- ments of the manufacture in Normandy. I will here add that in Normandy not less than 5000 varieties of cider apples are recognised and named, and that some of these varieties are again sub-distinguished by 12 and 18 different names given them from different parts, that is soils, of the province in which they aro grown, and the varying gout de terrain thus com- municated to their fermented juice WHAT GOVERNMENT MIGHT DO. The reforms needed to enable us to recover the preventable losses in all these manufactures are first, of our own degenerated domestic and industrial habits; second, of our system of technical education, which should be directed, particularly in the schools under the County Council Technical Boards, more and more to the encouragement of such practical instruction as would conduce to the reclamation and development of such local industries as threaten to forsake the country without any real economic cause; and, finally, there must be a reform of the "laissez-faire, luisser-passer attitude of our Government towards the British manufacturers. There must be no thought of the protection of home manufactures (although it must come to this if labour persists in protecting itself aggressively), and no restrictions whatever placed on the introduction of foreign goods and foreigners themselves. But besides providing for technical education, the State must also provide agricultural inspectors for the extermination of insects destructive of field and orchard and kitchen-garden crops. Such inspectors are provided by the State in France and in America, and only this year Sir Edward Braddon, the Premier of Tasmania, has made stringent pror vision for them in that country, and expressely the better to compete with British-raised fruit in Covent-garden Market. But, after all, each one of us must act as if our national economic salvation de- pended on his and her own exertions. I have above stated that last year only 20,133 gallons of the superb cider of Champagne wore imported into this country. On the other hand, America imported 637,174 gallons of her inferior, although very de- licious, cider. Why? Simply because American cider makers and merchants advertise largely in England, and French ones do not.

A BAR TO PROGRESS IN CHINA. Sketches of the character of the Chinese are given by Mr. J. Morris, a traveller intimately acquainted with China, Japan, and Corea. In a work which has been published The Corean Campaign he touches upon China's reluctance to assimilate foreign ideas. More particularly is this the case when any suggested improvements, such as the introduction of railways, interfere with the repose of dead bones. One objection which the Chinamen find altogether insuperable to the introduction in a general way of railways and telegraphs is the disturbance they create in the graveyards. A telegraph pole throws a shadow on the tomb of a man's ancestors, and it straightway is that man's duty to t ike action in the matter. His ancestor must not be interfered with in this fashion. As to taking a railway across country, the notion is simply preposterous, for the graves are here, there, and everywhere—alone in a bean-field, it may be, or in groups among the barley. To think of having the coffins removed to make way for a fiery fiend of a locomotive is quite appalling. for a fiery fiend of a locomotive is quite appalling.

AN INTERESTING EXHIBITION. It has been decided to hold at the New Gallery in London during the coming winter an exhibition devoted to the arts of Veuice and the territories of the Republic. In arranging the series of exhibitions illustrative of Italian art the growth and develop- ment of the Venetian schools were purposely reserved for separate treatment. The keen interest aroused among students of art in all parts of Europe by the exhibition of last winter encourages the belief that the present endeavour to continue the story of the progreps of Italian painting by a collection of some of the masterpieces of the Venetian schools, happily to be found in the private galleries of England, may meet with an equal measure of public favour. On this occasion it is not proposed to fix any such limit of time as was found convenient in regard to the schools of painting of Central Italy. The tradition of Venetian style, which is so closely linked with the subsequent development of modern European art, will be traced from the date of its origin down to the close of the 18th century—that is to say, from the Vivarini down to Canaletto, Guardi, and Pietro Longhi-and it is confidently hoped that, with the co-operation of those who have so liberally assisted in the series of historical exhibitions which have been held at the New Gallery, the present collection may be made worthy of its predecessors. Apart from painting, which in the case of Venice must of necessity hold a dominant place in the scheme of the exhibition, it is intended to include examples of the drawings of the great masters, besides specimens of sculpture, en- graving, goldsmiths' work, pottery, glass, metal work, arms, armour, furniture, wood-carving, embroidery, lace, and articles of costume.