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

AMERICAN HUMOUR. "So you are engaged?" remarked the girl in tub bnff top-coat. xes, dear," replied her dearest friend. Charley has asked me to marry him and I consented." "How lovely. When is it to be?" When are we to be married ?" Yes. I want to know the date so I can get my dress for my part as a bridesmaid. You know you promised that I should be your bridesmaid when you got married." It hasn't been fixed yet." "I hope it will be soon." But it won't be. You see, I am not very rich and Charley is poor. We have decided to wait until he can save enough money to furnish a house." That's too bad." "Don't you approve of long engagements?" No. I don't, you see-" "I didn't at first. But Charley succeeded in converting me. Why do you oppose them ? Tell me so I can tell Charley." Well, you know the fashion in engagement-rings changes so. Next year the ring he gives you now will be out of fashion and then what will you do ?" That's so. I'll see Charley at once." TUB man on the bench was a typical magistrate of the cactus district. He was even a greater terror than usual to evil doers because suffering the reac- tionary consequences of over-stimulation. When the first dilapidated prisoner was brought before him the rugged representative of the blind goddess showed his teeth. What's th' charge agin this sneakin' lookin' coyote ?" snarled the court. Whoopin', yellin' an' shootin' on th' street," responded the officer. He's Slippery Ike." He looks it. What have you to say for yourself, Slippery ?" 1 war jest leavin' th' Blue Bottle, jedge, when I spies Buck Killmore across th' street with both guns lookin' my way. He'd swore to roun' me up an shot twice afor I could unlimber. Then I cuta loose an' makes a runnin' fight agin him an' his gang." Two years fur perjury," roared his honour. "But lookey here, jedge, I Shet up or I'll make it fur life. You're th' rankest liar I ever see on th' witness stan*. If Buok had pulled on you jest once there would be no more shootin' needed fur ter finish yer. Two years fur perjury goes." "YOUR wife's just met with an accident, Wilkins," said a man who rushed into the grocery. She ran over a dog while riding her bicycle, and they've carried her to the hospital." The man sitting on the cracker barrel rose to his feet excitedly, and his face turned pale. "Did you notice," he asked in a trembling voioe, "whether it was a liver-coloured dog with two white spots on his fore shoulder, or not ?" BUZFUM Is there much difference between comio and grand opera ?" Sizzletop (emphatically) Oh, yes I In comic opera the actresses wear the startling costume in grand opera they are worn by the society ladies, in the boxes." AREN'T you giving your boy dancing lessons at a very young age?" "But we intend him for the army." POAK The way of the transgressor is hard." Joak True; but the trouble is, it's generally hard on somebody else." Fisnra Do you believe in heredity ?" Mann II Sure. Many a time I have noticed that when a man was rich his son had the same trait." LEMMH see what is that saying about the great oak growing from the little acorn p" Oh, that isn't an oak any more it is a chestnut." I AM hopeful that you will pay me that 10 dollars before the end of the week, Smithson." "That's right, old man. Be hopeful, but don't be sanguine." Do you think your son will get through college ?" Yes, I have every reason to believe he will. He passed his first football game splendidly." FIRST TRAMP: "The papers all say that work is starting up everywhere." Second ditto: 1 know; 't it awful! You and I may be drawn into it yet." A SOLEMN pause At length he spoke; His words were full of strength. The congregation slept, nor woke For hours. He spoke at length. THE Noddings have at length agreed to live apart." Gracious I As bad as that r" Well, it amounts to as much. They've taken a house in the suburbs." You think Noah had a pair of every kind of animal and insect in, hip ark, do you? Where did he keep his bees, for instance ?" He kept them in his ark hives." DON'T you think football is a terrible sport asked Miss Northside of her escort. Well," replied the young man, I will admit that it is a hair-raising ACROSS the board she winked at me— Nay—do not deem her conduct free; That wink was in its proper place, For then I knew she held the ace. ATTORNEY On what ground, madam, do you wish to apply for a divorce from your husband!" Fair clieRt: On the ground, sir, that be hasn't any ground. He made me believe be had a farm I" WHAT chumps these old-time fellows must have been. Thdv used to and talk by the hour about the value Of a collegiate education." Well ?" And they never heard of football." WADDINGTOK, I notice you don't talk much when you dine out." "No; it takes all the brains I can mnater to work things so I won't come out with an oyster fork for my after-dinner coffee." EDITH: "He told me I was so interesting and so beautiful." Maude:" And yet you will trust your- self for life with a man who begins deceiving you even at the commencement of his courtship." MRS. MULLIGAN Do yez feel better this morn- ing, Mrs. O'Toole?" Mrs. O'Toole: "J do, and then again I don't." Mrs. Mulligan: Thot's bad, fur it's harrud to know whether to say Oi'm sorry or glad." MRS. CRUMPTOK made her husband a pumpkin pie four inches thick." What was that for ?" She wanted to get ahead of the pumpkin pies his Aunt Maria up in Maine used to make." MABEL: Mr.Dewdrop always wears trousers that resemble upholstery, it seems to me." Agatha: That's a gentle hint, I suppose, that his knees are the most inviting to sit on." SUE: "Mr. Pyefaee is such a witty man I" He: "To be sure. His mouth itself is a funny crack." "Is Wheelhead a man of his word?" "I fear not. lIewsays he has a bicycle lamp that never goes out." "WHAT is a 'coign of T&Utbge, papa ?" Some- ? thing American girls use in catching foreign husbands, my son." MAUD ""Why did Mabel give up Clarence Sprocket ?" Maydie: Oh, he got a new whetl and she objected to the make." TnAT horrid Miss Blumers tries to be so mannish. She actually smokes cigarettes." "I don't see any- thing mannish in that." DID you hear what Brief, the lawyer, has for his motto?" "No. What?" 11 1 Where there's,a will there's a way to break it. f WELL, now that you are back, you can tell as bow much it costs to go to Europe." "AH you've got and aH you can borrow over there." BENEDICT "That adage, 'Marry in haste and re.: pent at; leisure' is all bosh I" Singleton: "Why?" Benedict': "Because married men have no leisure." MR. DOOLEY She is always running people down." Mr. Gurley: A gossip, ell., "No, a' scorcher." "By the way, what is Maud's husband worth?" I hear that her father gave 300,000 dollarB for him." SKAGOS: "I thought Softy had quit drinking?" Draggs: "Oh, he did. He's now celebrating his reformation." '¥' WNKIC the price of coal carouses, How we all might scorn its larks, Could we only heat our houses By the warmth of onr remarks. THE grocer was weighing some sugat for the woman in the dyed blue bonnet, when the man in the black frock coat and yellowish white tie, who had been standing in the door for some minutes, came inside and laid a silver quarter on the counter. I picked it up on the floor, just at the edge of the steps," he said. "It must belong to you. A quarter or a thousand dollars, sir—it is the principle of the thing that I look at. I want nothing that is not mine. There is the money." that is not mine. There is the money." The grocer laid » large forefinger on the quarter and shoved it back across the counter. You put dot money in your pocket, mein friend," he said. "But, air, you or one of your clerks must hav6 dropped it, and it rolled over there. ,My motto hte always been- "I believe," said the grocer, dot you yoost moved your family in dot, house agross the street jdis morgen vas it not. so?" "Yes,' sir, I did, and it, being con- venient, we expect to do a good deal of tra "You put dot quarter back in your pocket righd away. Dot vos not mein quarter. You put him back in your pocket, und ven your vife come ofer vor dose groceries yon rill remember dot my derm* TOS spod eash eferv time."

WILLS AND BEQUFSTS. The will, dated January 12, 1846, with four codicils, of Mrs. Emma Darwin, widow of the late Charles Darwin, of Down, Kent, and The Grove, Huntingdon-road, Cambridge, who died on October 2, was proved on December 18 by William Erasjnus Darwin and George Howard Darwin, the sons and executors, the value of the personal estate being £ 35,077. The testatrix bequeaths £ 1000 each to her daughters, £ 550 to Mrs. Camilla Patrick, £ 100 each to Catharine Thorley and Emily Thorley, and there are some specific gifts. The residue of her real and personal estate, including her share of the property under the will of her father, Josiah Wedgwood, she leavea between all her children. The will, dated August 18, 1884, of Dr. Edward Kelsall Lever, of 12, Church-street, Southport, Lan- cashire, who died on November 16, was proved on December 23 by Mrs. Letitia Gray Lever, the widow, Dr. William Forrest and James Forrest, the execu- tors, the value of the personal estate being £ 20,1^8. The testator leaves all his property upon trust to pay the income thereof to his wife for life or widowhood. On her decease or remarriage be gives £ 100 each to his brothers Peter Lever and William Lever, his sister Ellen Large, the children of Annie Pennington and Priscilla Aspinall; and the ultimate residue of p his property as to three-sevenths thereof to his stepdaughter Hannah Elizabeth Forrest, and two- sevenths each to William Forrest and James Forrest. The will (dated October 25, 1880) of Mr. Edmund Henry Turton, of Upsall Castle, Thirsk, Yorkshire, who died on July 30 last, was proved on December 21 by Edmund Russborough Turton, the son and solo executor, the value of the personal estate being £ 18,903. The testator gives £ 200 and his jewels to his wife, and she is to have the use during widowhood of Larpool Hall, together with the furniture and con- tents thereof, and E 100 to his son Robert Bell Turton, he having been already provided for by the will of his great-grandfather Robert Bell Livesey. He charges certain lands and premises at Roxby, York- shire, with the payment of £ 1000 to his son Ralph Douglas Turton, E4000 to his daughter Barbara Josephine Turton, and L3000 to his daughter Cecilia Marianne Turton. On the death or re-marriage of his wife he gives Larpool Hall upon trust for his son Ralph Douglas Turton, but should his son succeed to certain property nnder the will of his cousin Mrs. Jane Sanders, this gift is not to take effect, and Larpool Hall is to pass to his eldest son, Edmund Russborough Turton. He devises Upsall Castle and other hereditaments and premises to the use of his eldest son, Edmund Russborough, for life, with re- mainder to his first and other sons according to seniority in tail male; the picture" The Gipay Fortune-teller," the Sevres china clock presented by Richard Brinsley Sheridan to Dr. Turton, the gold vase given by the Duke of Northumberland to Dr. Turton, and other articles are to go and be held therewith as heirlooms. With the exception of certain closes of land at Roxby and Lythe, be leaves the residue of his real and personal estate to his son Edmund. The will, dated October 14, 1896, of Mr. Jamea Henry Greathead, C.E., of 15, Victoria-street, West- minster, and of Raveoscraig, Leigbam-court-road, Streatham, the inventor of the system of tunnelling that bears his name, who died on October 21, was proved on December 29 by Mrs. Blanche Emily Caldecott Gieathead, the widow, and Basil Mott, the executors, the value of the personal estate being £ 18,874. The testator leaves all his real and per- sonal estate to his wife.-Illustrated LoncWn News.

JULOJNEL JOHN HAY. A message from New York announces that Presi- dent-elect McKinley has selected Colonel John Hay, of Washington, D.C., to succeed Mr. Dayard as Am- bassador to this country. It wiil be noticed that the word "selected is used, and this discriminating carefulness of phrase lends likelihood of the announcement being accurate. Mr. McKinley is not yet even formally elected President, and therefore cannot make appointments, but he is of necessity very busy selecting the men who will form his Government and fill the important offices at home and abroad. Assuming the announcement of Col. Hay's selec- tion to be accurate, it will be interesting to know somet hing of the man who is to succeed the courtly and refined Mr. Bayard at the Court of St. James. Colonel John Hay was born at Salem, Indiana, October 8,1838, and graduated at Brown University in 1858. He was admitted to the Bar in Springfield, Illinois, in 1861, but almost immediately went to Washington as assistant-secretary to President Lincoln, and subsequently was his adjutant and aide- de-camp. During the Civil War he served for a time under Generals Hunter and Gilmore, attaining the rank of colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General. From 1865 to 1867 be was Secretary of Legation in Paris, and from that time to 1868 was Charg6- d'affaires at Vienna. He was appointed Secretary of Legation in Madrid in 1869, where he remained until 1870, when he returned to the United States, and became one of the editors of the New York Tribune. This position he resigned in 1876, upon his re- moval to Cleveland, Ohio but he has continued to contribute occasionally to its columns to the present time. During the absence of the editor, the Horn Whitelaw Reid, in Europe, from April to November, 1881, Colonel Hay returned to New York to take entire editorial charge of the Tribune. From 1879 to 1881 he was Assistant Secretary of State. While on the Tribune he obtained considerable celebrity by his stirringand world-known dwJec poem, "Jim Bludson and » Little Breeches, and others which were afterwards published in 1871 in bqok form under the title of Pike County Ballads. I. the same year he also issued Castilian Days," a series of sketches of Spanish hfe and character. He represented the United States at the International L Sanitary Congress held in Washington in 1881, and was cbosan president of that body. He was subsequently engaged (in collaboration with John G. Nicolay) in writing a Life of Abraham Lin- coln, which was published as a serial in the Century Magazine, from 1886 to 1890, and was printed in 1890, with extensive additions, in 10 volumes. In the same year he published his collected Poems."

DEVOTION TO FRANCE. < A tragic event him saddened the little Frencn colony at Metz., A young Lorrainer named Nicholas Fixmer had from early boyhood declared that he would never serve in the German Army. When the Bate of enrolment arrived he deserted to Nancy, and pras about to enlist-in the French Fpjeign Legion, trhen his mother, who followed him, persuaded him fp return. The Chronicle correspondent says that the next "morning Fiimer blew his brains out, leaving a letter behind, in which he stated that he preferred to die ta to serve the Prussians,

I GREATER BRITAIN. TIIF, stream of artisans towards Western Australia is steadily draining Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland of their workers in all handicrafts, and the demand for their services in those colonies must} of course, become proportionately greater as the pros-) perity of each colony develops. IN 19 cases out of 20 families in this country pretty well vote together. Daughters vote with their fathers; sisters, as a rule, though not always, vote with bro4 thers wives, I believe, as a rule, vote with their bust bands, or, if you like to put it the other way, bus- bands vote with their wives; but it certainlj has not produced much domestic discord. A SYSTEM of exchange that prevails between the art galleries of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, is said to be successful and beneficial in its results. Eaclt gallery loans six pictures to each of its neighbours for six months at a time, so that in the course of a year visitors to any one of them may see 24 new pictures; Such a plan sounds quite feasible for local galleries and museums. Miss KATE VAUGJIAN has benefited amazingly byt her trip to the Antipodes. She visited both New: Zealand and Australia, and went 60 miles up country, into the Blue Mountains, where she stayed a couple of months. She looks wonderfully well, and says, indeed, that she never felt better in her life. Gossips are already beginning to discuss the prospects of her return to the stage. I SIR MARSHALL CLARKE, K.C.M.G., the Resident; Commissioner and Chief Magistrate for Zululand, has arrived in England on leave. Sir Harry John- ston, K.C.B., returns to the Governorship of British' Central Africa. Sir Gilbert Carter is spoken of as; being likely to receive the appointment of Governor to the Leeward Islands. It is reported that Captain' H. M. Jackson will succeed Sir Gilbert Carter as; (Governor of Lagos. The Honourable Oliver Smith,' Attorney-General of the Leeward Islands, has re- turned to his official duties. ONE of the Consular reports issued from the: Foreign Office dwells upon the destruction of the rubber trees in West Africa, in order to make cycle tyres. Rubber is a highly profitable native coin- modity, but to English merchants it must now be a source of princely income. For some years past the demand in Europe has led to a stop being put by the tribal chiefs to waste arising from the wholesale' destruction of trees to serve a petty domestic need. But the cycle boom has made the destruction' rampant, and, what is worse, it is British supported. IN some districts the kangaroo has already well- nigh disappeared, very few wallabies are to be seen, and the hapless opossum is being rapidly snared off the face of the earth. In illustration of the wanton way in which this destruction is carried on, it may be said that the principal snaring months are from Juno to September, when the doe opossums are carrying their young. Young and old are thus snared' together; the former are ripped out of the pouches: and thrown away as food for the crows. It is high time that a close season was insisted on for all native' animals. COMPARED with European countries the Australian colonies occupy a very favourable position in respect to both birth and death rates. The Australasian: birth rate is high, and in European countries where it is higher the death rate is so considerably in excess that the difference between the two, representing the gain to each country by natural increase, is largely in favour of Australia. In New South Wales the excess of births per thousand inhabitants is higher than that of any of the other colonies, with the exception of Queensland nearly double that of the United Kingdom and two-fifths more than in the Nether- lands and Norway, the two European countries in which the excess of births is highest. THE commercial supremacy of New South Wales in the Southern Hemisphere is nowhere illustrated more convincingly than in the official statistics con- nected with Australasian shipping. Of the 17,691 vessels entered and cleared at Australasian ports during 1894, 6563, or considerably more than one- third, were entered and cleared at New South Wales ports, the remaining vessels being divided as follows Victoria, 4128; South Australia, 2355; Western Australia, 721; Queensland, 1278 Tasmania, 1423 and New Zealand, 1223. The total amount of tonnage was proportionate to the number of vessels. In 1895 the total tonnage of the seven colonies was 18,169,337, of which 5,860,038, or nearly one-third, fell to the share of New South Wales. A MONSTER meeting was held at Durban the other day, says Reuter, at which, amid great enthusiasm, it was unanimously resolved to call upon the Govern- ment to return to India, at Natal's expense, two ship- loads of Indians who are now lying in quarantine there, and also to prevent the entry of more free Indians. It was further resolved that all present at the meeting should attend the wharf in case the Indians should land, this being understood to mean at least a hostile display, if not actual resistance to their landing. The feeling against the Indians is very strong, and Gandhi, the supposed author of the I pamphlet setting forth the grievances and ill-treat- f ment of native Indians in Natal, is among the quaran- tined. The resident Indians are arranging a counter- demonstration. CHIEF JUSTICE WAY, who is to represent South Australia on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council—the Court of Appeal from the Supreme Court decisions in all parts of the Empire—is a native of Portsmouth, who went at a 'very early ago to Australia with his father, the pioneer Bible Christian minister at the Antipodes. He was called to the Australian Bar in 1861, took IBi!k, became Attorney-General, and was made Chief Justice in 1875. He remains a Bible Christian, and has more than once declined to be knighted. The I question now is whether he will give way on this point or the precedents of the Privy Council, to which an untitled member is an unheard-of innova- tion. SIIi DONALD A. SMITH, High Commissioner for 'Canada, writes: A considerable emigration takes place every year from the United Kingdom, some of which goes to Canada, some to the other Colonies, and (the larger proportion apparently to foreign sountjries. Canadians would like to see a much greater part of this movement going to Canada, which affer^ advantages to immigrants not excelled by any atherj part of the world. Only a fringe of the terri- tory ijs at present inhabited, and there are countless milliqns of acres of fertile soil ready, with cultiva- tion, )to grow all the products of the temperate zone, ind to provide happy homes for large numbers of .peoplfe. In all the provinces unlimited opportuni- ties exist for the investment of capital, either :n manufactures or in the industries connected with the forests, the mines, the fisheries, and agriculture. The mineral development, both of Ontario and of British Columbia, is attracting much attention. The glasses especially desired are those with capital, per- sons with moderate incomes, and farmers, farm labourers, and domestic servants." Sir Donald calls i attention to the fact that, in order to afford informa- í tion in this country, the Government have established f P,gencies,st Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Dundee, and Inverness. It is also proposed to appoint an agent in Ireland and one in Wales. The?e agents are prepared to correspond with, or to see, J Intending emigrants, and to give them every possible advice. TUB Bombay mint has been busy at the Work of coining small money for the famine relief operations, but many of the employes have fled, and others are likely to follow their, example. All the hotels are working with reduced staffs, and they have scarcely any occupants. Most of the mills are working with only half the ordinary number of hands. Surgeon- Major Manser, first physician of the Jansetjee Hospital, who had been foremost since the outbreak in investigating the causes of the plague, has fallen I a victim. The exodus of the mill population of Bombay means the addition of a quarter of a million people, including workmen and their families to the ranks of the unemployed in the country diiitriets where scar- city already prevails. Panic exists to a slight extent among the native agents and subordinate officers, and the (light of the operatives is attributed to this cause. Hitherto the mill hands have been free from plague. It is estimated that 325,000 Inhabitants of Bombay have (led the city, the runaways catrying contagion with them, cases and deaths having occurred in up- country towns and villages.

IT is an eartnquase that the American School at Athens has to thank for the opportunity of under- taking the excavations at Corinth, which have begun so successfully. Until 1857, modern Corinth stood on the site of the ancient city, but in that year it was j shaken down by an earthquake. The new town was built about four miles north-east of the old site. The debris of the fallen city remain, and a village of a few hundred inhabitants still exists there. The ground is of little value, and excavators can purohase it out- right. This would have been hardly possible when the town was standing.

MARKET NEWS. MAM-LAlqz.-Btisin esa has not been active, being hindered by the fog, but there has been a firm tone, and prices have been well maintained. The sales of home-grown wheat in the leading markets of England and Wales during the 19 weeks of the season have been 1,049,1525qrs., against 579,221qrs. last season, the average being 29s Id, against 24s 8d per qr.; barley, 2,422,542qrs., against 2,459,268qrs., the average being 26s 3d, against 24s 8d per qr.; and oats. 266,354qrs., against 294,229qrs., at an average, of 16s, against 13s lOd per qr. English wheat has, been steady in value, with very little doing. In foreign wheat dealings were restricted, but prices were firm. The flour market was steady, with a limited business. Barley was firm at former terms. For oats there was a steady trade, at full prices. Maize was inactive, and flat samples were 3d dearer. Beans and peas were firm on former terms. LONDON METROPOLITAN CNrTLB. The supply has been large, both of prime and second quality, the majority consisting of Scotch and Norfolks, both of which was slow but steady. Fat bulls and rough cattle, as well Ø8 butchering cows, experienced a dull and weak trade, but have not been quoted lower., The best Scotch made 4s 6d; Norfolks, 4s 4d; runts, 4s 2d to 4s 4d; Lincolns, 3s lOd to 4s 2d; Irish, 31 lOd to 4s 2d; and fat cows, 3s 8d per 81b. The sheep pens were fairly, well filled, but the supply included a larger propor- tion of ewes, for which the demand was decidedly slow, at 2d to 4d per 81b. less money. Wethers were in fair demand, and were about the same prices. The bestli, to 8-stone Downs made 6s 6d 10-stone, 68 4d 10-stone half-breds, 58 Od to 58 2d; 12-stone Lincolns, 488d and 10-stone Down ewes, 3s lOd to 4s per 81b. Calves were a nominal market. Pigs were very dull, the top price being 3s 4d to 3s 6d per 81b. English milch oows went at £ 12 to JE24 per head. The following are the quotations: Coarse and inferior beasts, 2s 4d to 3s Od; second quality ditto, 3s Od to 3s lOd; prime large oxen, 4s Od to 4s 4d; ditto Scots, &c., 4s 4d to 4s 6d; coarse and inferior sheep, 3s 4d to 4s; second quality ditto, 4s 2d to 4e lOd prime coarse-woolled ditto, 58 to 58 4d prime Southdown ditto, 56 4d to 5s 6d; large coarse calves, 3s 4d to 4s 4d; prime small ditto, 4s lOd to 5s 6d large hogs, 2s 6d to 3s Od; neat small porkers, 3s Od to 3s 6d per Slb. to sink the offal. SMITIIFIBLD M"T.-The weather being unfavour- able, there was a very slow demand, and the supply being heavy, a clearance could not be made. For primest small beef and mutton quotations were gene- rally realised; but for other qualities prices were very irregular, and much lower rates were accepted. The following are the quotations Inferior beef, Is 8d to 2s 4d middling ditto, 2s 4d to 3s Od; prime ditto, 3s 2d to 3s 8d; Scotch ditto, 3s 8d to 48 Od Scotch short sides, ditto, 4s Od to 4e 4d American, Liverpool- killed, 3s 2d to 3e 6d; English veal, 2s 8d to 4s 4d; Dutch ditto, 2s 8d to 4a 4d; inferior mutton, 2s Od to 2s 8d; middling ditto, 2s 8d to 3s 8d; prime ditto, 3s 8d to 4s 4d; Scotch ditto, 4s 2d to 4s 8d; New Zealand ditto, 2s 2d to 2s 4d Dutch ditto, 3s Od to 4s Od; American ditto, 3s Od to 3s 6d; English lamb, 4s 8d to 511 4d New Zealand ditto, 2s 6d to 2s 8d; large pork, 2s 8d to 3s; small ditto, 3s to 3s 4d; and Dutch ditto, 2s 4d to 3s 2d per 81b. by the oarcase. GAME AND POULTRY.-Haunoheo of fat doe venison, 21s to 27s 6d each forequarters of ditto, 7d to 8d; breasts and scrags of ditto, 5d to 6d; Ostend rabbits, 7d to 8d; French turkeys, 7d to 7id; Italian ditto, 6d to 6åd; English ditto, 8d to 9d; English geese, 6|d to 7d; French ditto, bid to 6d; Irish ditto, 6d to 6d; and Britanny butter, Is Id to Is 3d per lb.; new laid eggs, 8s 6d to 10s per 120; pheasants, 4s Od to 6s; young partridges, 3s Od to 3s 9d; old ditto, 2s to 2s 6d; and black game, 2s 6d to 3s 4d per brace; large English hares, 3s 4d to 3s lOd foreign ditto, 2s 6d to 3s; woodcocks, 2s 4d to 2s 8d; wild ducks, Is 9d to 2s; widgeons, Is 4d to Is 6d large fat capons, 4a 9d to Õ8 4-d medium ditto, 3s 9d to 4s 2d large English fowls, 2s 6d to 3s 3d Irish ditto, 2s Od to 2s 4d large English ducks, 2s 9d to 3s 3d and Irish ditto, 2s 3d to 2s 4d each. BII.LINGSGATB FISH.—Very short supply. Good demand. Prices: Wholesale: Salmon, 8s6d to4s; cured salmon, 5s to bs 6d frozen salmon, 8d soles, 10d to Is 3d red mullets, Is to 2s per lb. small turbot, 7s; large ditto. 14s brill, 9s to 10s 6d plaice, 5s to 6s halibat, 9s; lemon soles, 9s per stone; live ood, 68 to 118; mackerel, 6d each dfead cod, 16s to 30s, gurnet, 10B whitings, 5s to 8e; hake, 15s fresh herrings, 12s to- 18s; salted herrings, 12a to 18s; Dutch smelts, 2s to 3s 6d sprats, 10s per box; fresh haddocks, 30s to 35s per turn; live eels, 20s; dead eels, 10s to 14s per draft; conger eels, 35s roker, 25s per barrel; English smelts, 7s per 100; whitebait, Is per quart; crabs, 20s to 22s 6d per hamper; lobsters, 30s to 60s per score; oysters, 3s to 15e per 100; prawns, 12e per lb.; shrimps, 16s to 20s; winkles, 8s per bushel; mussels, 4s to 7s per bag; bloaters, 2s 6d to 138 6d; kippers, Is 9d to 3s 6d red herrings, 2s 6d to 3s per box; London-cured haddocks, 4s to 8s per dozen. LONDON FauIT AND VMWTABLBS.—A somewhat firmer market exists for greea vegetables; other produce remains about the same. Quotations: Cabbages, 3s to 5s per tally; savoys, 4s to 7s per tally; greens, Is 9d to 2s per bag; ditto, 2B 3d to 3s per dozen bunches; cauliflowers) Is 3d to Is 6d per dozen; ditto, 6e to 7. 6d per tally;. potatoes— Magnums, 458 to 65s per ton; Snowdrops, 50s to 60s per ton Beauty of Hebrons, 45s to 50s per ton; dark-soil Bruce, 40s to 45a per ton; turnips, 40s to 45s per ton; turnips, 2s to 2s 6d per dozen bunches; carrots, household, 30s to 32s per ton parsnips, 6d to 8d per score; ditto, 2s 6d to 2a 9d per cwt.; mangels, 14s to 17s per ton; swedes, 17s to 21s per ton hay, 60s to 75s per load; Btraw, 28s to 33s per load; clover, 70s to 90s per load; ihaff, 60s to 100s per ton horse mixture, 110s per ton; oats, 14s to 21s per qr.; maize, 20s to 24s per qr.; barley, 18s to 20s per qr.; beans, 20s to 24a per qr.; peas, 26a per qr.; Ghent onions, 2s 9. to 3s 3d per ton; Germany ditto, 3s 6d to 3s 9d per bag; Valencia ditto, 68 to 7s per case English apples, 6a to 7s per bushel; American ditto, 0s to 12s per oarrel; beetroot, 4d to 6d per dozen bundles; parsley, 2s to 2s 6d per dozen bundles; celery, 6d to Is; sprouts, 2s to 2s 6d per sieve; leeks, Is to 2s per dozen. WHITBCHAFBL HAT AND STRAW.—Superior picked hay, 84s to 90s good clean hay, 76a to 80s inferior, 60s to 72s; best clover, 88s to 92s good soui d clover, 84s to 88e; inferior, 67s to 75s; straw, 26s to 38s. „ BOROUGH AND SPITALKHLDS POTATO.—There was a fairly good supply of potatoes on sale. The demand was limited, at the following prices: Magnum bonums, 40s to 45s; Hebrono, 60s to 70s; snow- drops, 60s to 65s; imperators, 50s to 60s; main crops, 60s to 70s per ton. SEED TRADa.-Values keep surprisingly steady, whilst American cables come higher. Timothy offers reasonable. Sainfoin proves a short crop. Fine black rapeseed is wanted. Mustard tends upwards. Peas and haricots sell slowly. Canary seed, with a small consumptive inquiry, is nevertheless statistically strong. Liverpool imports last year were only 40 per nt. of 1895. CAMBRIDGE CATTLE.—A fair show of fat beasts* trade being somewhat better. Very few store beasts were on offer, and, although trade was slow, they were all cleared. A large supply of fat sheep, trade not quite so good. Not many store sheep to hand. A large number of fat pigs were shown, but trade was not so good, especially for large pigs. There were large supplies of hay, straw, and roots, and a fair trade was done. Prices Beef, 6s to 7s 6d; mutton, 4s 2d to 5s 4d; pork, 4s 3d to 5s. READING CArrL's. The trade for beef was not quite so brisk, and the business transacted was at the following quotations Prime sorts, 4s 2d to 4s 6d lesser qualities, 3s 4d to 3s lOd per stone. There were a good number of sheep penned. Small prime animals realised 58 2d to Õ8 8d; heavier kinds, 4s to 4o 6d per stone. Veal sold well at 4s to 5s 8d per stone. CORK BUTTBR.—Seconds, 106s; thirds, 83s; fourths, 62s per cwt. GRIMSBY FISH.—Supply moderate demand good. Brills, 9d to lOd per lb.; cod, live, 4s to 10s; dead, 3. to 8s each salt, 10s per cwt; codlings, lis to 15s per box; gurnets, 108 to 12s per box; halibut, live, 8s to 9s dead, 6s to 7s per stone; haddocks, ZN to 60s per kit; round, 15s to 22s per box; finnan, 4s 3d to 4s 9d per stone; hake, 2s to 6seach kippers, is 9d to 2s 3d per box; ling, live, 3s to 6s; dead, 2s to 4s each lobsters, 2s per lb.; American oysters, 4s to 4s 3d; Dutch, 8s; English, 7s; Heligoland, 6s 6d per 100; plaice, 3e 6d to Bsper stone; roker, 15s to 80s per score; soles, Is 4d to Is 7d per lb.; lemon, 6s to 7s sturgeon, 8s to 9s per stone skate, live, 4s 6d to 9s; dead, 2s 6d to 6s each; turbots, lOd to Is per lb; tusks, 20s to 30s per score; whelks, I 3t 6d oer wash ice. Is 6d ver owt.

THE NATION'S COMMERCE. GBJAT INCREASE OF IMPORTø. The accounts relating to trade and navigation for the last month of the year just ended show an extra- ordinary increase, amounting to more than 96,500,000 sterling, in the impovts as compared with the month of December, 1896. Under three only of the twelve headings is there any decrease, and this amounts in the aggregate to but a little over 9100,000. On the other side, the increased value of duty free articles of food and drink imported exceeds 398,000,000; in raw materials for textile manufactures the increase is more than £ 2,000,000: in manufactured articles more than 2500,000; in miscellaneous articles nearly E250,000 in tobacco (dutiable), £100,000, an advance of nearly 35 per cent.; and in raw materials, oils, and dutiable articles of food and drink, a substantial increase. The gain over the corre-, sponding month of 1895 has thus been in effect all along the line. The exports also in December last show a substantial, but not so remarkable, in- crease in comparison with Jthe corresponding month of 1895. The gain in the ectports is more than £llO.()(X), or nearly 5 £ per cent., and extends over all the 10 headings, excepting one. The re-exports- exports of foreign and colonial merchandise again show an increase amounting to over P.635,000, or at the rate of about 12J per cent. Some allow- ance must be made for the faet that there were five Sundays in December, 1895, and only four in December last, but in respect of the imports, at any rate after making all needful allowances, the expan- sion of trade during the last month of the year 1896, following an increase in November of nearly £ 3,500,000, is surprising. THB YEAR'S RECORD. The following are comparative figures for the month of December, and for the 12 months ended Decem- ber 31 in the years 1895 and 1896: DECEMBER. 1896. 1895. Imports. E43,50,595 R,36,961,248 Increase £ 6,542,347 Exports. 20,291,206 19,179,538 Increase 1.111,668 Rfo3,794,801 £ 56,140.786 97,654,015 Re exports 5,612,812 4,976,992 635,820 £ 69,407^613 £ 61,117,778 £ 8,289,835 TWELVE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31. 1896. 1895. Imports. £ 441.807,335 R416,689,658 Increase £ 25,117,677 Exports. 239,922,209 225,890,016 Increase 14,032,193 £ 681,729,544 £ 642,579,674 PM,149,870 Re-exports. 66,466,465 59,942,391 Decrease 3,415,926 £ 738.196,009 £ 702,522,065 RZ5,673,944 The increase in the whole of the foreign trade of the United Kingdom during last year as compared with 1895 is thus at the rate of just a little over five per cent., whilst for the imports and exports without the ^-exports it is nearly 6l per cent. six YEARS, 1891-1896. The value of the imports in 1896 exceeded the total of any one of the five preceding years, the largest of which was 1891, with imports valued at £ 435,441,264, and the smallest 1893, with £ 404,688,178. Last year's total of £ 441,807,335 thus shows an advance of nearly 10 per cent, in value on the imports of three years ago. The exports in 18yo of E239,922,209 were larger in value than in any other of the six years, excepting 1891, when the total was £ 247,235,150. The smallest year as to exports was 1894, when the total was E215,824,333, and the gain in value of the exports last year was thus fully 11 per cent. over those of two years since. The re- exports in 1896, valued at £ 56,466,465, were less than in any o«e of the precede five years, the smallest of whieh was 1894, with a total of £ 57,961,534, and the largest 1892 with £ 64,563,118. If the re-exports during last year had been up to the previous five years' average, the amount of the whole of the foreign trade of the United Kingdom in 1896 would have been just about equal to the year 1891, when the heavy total of E744,554,982 was reached. In 1892 the amount for the year was £ 715,434,048. In 1893 it fell to 9681,826,448, and in 1894 was £ 682,130,677. FLUCTUATIONS IN CORN SUPPLIBS. During last month we imported 7,220,500cwt. of wheat, valued at £ 2,668,305, whereas in December, 1895, we had only 4,895,100cwt„ valued at £ 1,371,553, but in the whole year, 1896, the im- port of wheat was 70,027,880cwt., which were valued at £ 21,678,704, whereas in 1895 we im- ported 81,749,955cwt. at a cost of E22,531,176, and in 1894, when the import was £ 7(^126,232cwt., or very little more than last year, the value was only £ 18,760,505, the purchase price of the supply for last year being thus nearly 12 per cent. more than in 1894. The increase in the import of wheat from the United States was again large in last month from the Atlantic coast, but there was a decrease from the Pacific side. In the whole year 1896 we had more than 20,500,000cwt. of wheat from the United States on the Atlantic. valued at ;E6,5W,222, as against 14,000,000cwt. in 1895, valued at £3,984,050, but the total imports from the United States on the Pacifio were only about 10,000,000cwt. in 1896, as com- pared with over 13,000,000cwt. in 1895. From Russia also the year's import of wheat in 1896 was much less than in 1895, being 17,241,600cwt. for £ 5,187,240 in the former year, and 23,017,035cwt. for £ 6,048,929 in 1895. The falling off in the quantity of wheat imported from the Argentine Republic was from ll,400,360cwt. in 1895 to 4,927,600cwt. last year, but the decline in value was owly from £ 3,142,378 in 1895 to Sl,439,715 in 1896. Only 8500cwt of wheat valued at £2400. came from Australasia last year, although in 1895tbe quantity was3,486,620cwt. valued at £1,,747, and the supply from the British East Indies fell from 8,802,950cwt. for £ 2,342,132 in 1895 to 2,112,940 cwt. for Ie625,092 in 1896. From Turkey, on the other hand, we had a larger supply of wheat last year than in 1895, and we received Roumanian wheat to the value of EI,696,170 in 1896 as compared with 9537,756 in 1895. British North America also nearly doubled its supply. The increase in the import of Indian corn or maize was from 3,053,280 cwt. in December, 1895, to 4,722,320 owt. last month. During the year 1896 we imported nearly 52,000,000 cwt. of Indian corn or maize, talued at £ 9,423,354, as against under 34,000,000 cwt. for £ 7,808,860 in 1895. Our corn bills last year amounted altogether to £ 52,792,697, and in 1895 for larger supplies to £ 49,723,293. SOME OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS. In animals, living (for food) there was an in- crease in number and value in last month's imports, and on the whole year the value increased from E7,150,812 in 1895, to E9,241,455 in 1896. In fresh beef and in hams there was an increase, with a decline in preserved meat. Butter shows an increase, both in the month of December and in the whole year, the totals being for the year )895 414,245,230, and for 1896, £ 15,344,083. Margarine shows a slight decrease in the last month and in the year. The import of potatoes was rather less in December, 1896, than in 1895, and in the whole year there was a decrease, from A: 1,169,922 in 1895, to £907,875 in 1896. In sugar, refined, there was again an increase last month, and the import for the year 1896 was £ 10,038,118, as compared with E9,409,538 in 1895. In sugar, unrefined, there was. little variation in the totals for December or for the whole year. The import in 1896 was valued at 98,345,651. APPLBS AND ORANGBS. Last month the import of apples reached the large total of 1,186)464 bushels, valued at P.280,703, as compared with 398,049 bushels for EIIO,822 in December, 1895. During the whole year 1896 we im- ported 6,177,192 bushels of apples, valued at £ 1,582,471, as against an import of 3,292,262 bushels in 1895, of the value of 9930,273; but in oranges there was a slight decline in the quantity imported, from 7,708,719 bushels in 1895 to 7,230,527 bushels in the year 1896. The value was £ 2,111,190 in the former year, and EI,925,473 last yoar. DUTIABLE ARTICLES OF FOOD AND DRINK. Cocoa shows a decline in value of the import during the year, from £ 1,296,190 in 1895, to £ 1,066,092 in 1896, and in coffee there is also a small decrease, from P.3,778,305 to £..¡578,947, but these changes are just covered by an increase in the value of tea imported, from £ 10,242,999, in 1895, to E10,661,253 last year. In foreign spirits there was a small increase, and of wine, in casks and bottles, the value increased from £ 5,448,088 in 1895 to E5,951,047 in 1896. The total import of articles of food and drink (dutiable) shows an increase only from 925,058,700 in 1895 to 925,693,706 for last year. TOBACCO. If the consumption of tobacco is a fair test of the ability of the working classes and other people to spend money in what is by some regarded as a luxury, the trade and navigation accounts indicate that the year 1896 must have been of considerable prospeiy in this country, for the import of tobacco praised from 77,120,3931b. in 1895 to 87,630,8311b. last year, and under the heading "home ogoib to I»s also an increase from 66,3by,Ub41b, to 69,593,0121b. The increase m value of tobaoco (an- manufactured and manufactured) and muff imported Was iroin £ 3,^3,916 (foyiflfc, tbe year Jf.-J *0 £ 4,370,670 in 1996, or aWttW percent., which is at the same mte as last mwilfrlJBlft$&)iVN AND THE iNCRBAffpi ayny «J £ J™. many Roches show The increase in the importDefTO*? Biatenals for textile manufactures is not Bta^jhigto- for manufactured articles, for, although as month the value of raw materials for textiles im- ported was £10352499 as against, £ 8,2(0,741 in December, 1895, with a gain of £2,148,758, the totals for the year show £ 70,769,684 for 1895, and £ 74,666,039 for 1896. with a gain on the whole year of £ 3,996,355, or not twice as much as in last month. Cotton, raw, 967,S62cwt., acccunta for EI,973,494 of last month's increase, and sheep and lambs' wool, 17,743,0261b., for further £ 511,310. On the whole year there is the very great increase in the value of raw cotton imported from £ -30,429,428 in 1895 to £ 36,272,039 last year; but the increase was in value only, for we had for the former sum 15,687,881cwt. in 1895, white last year, for not far from E6,000,000 more money, we had only 15,668,663cwt. The United States had the benefit of C5,200,000 of this increase in price. Of wool our imports for the year were lees in value than in 1895 by about £ 1,150,000. EXPORTS. The December accounts show a decrease of 9175,413 in the value of worsted tissues exported, of E135,237 in copper, wrought and unwrought, and of £ 177,425 in telegraph wires, &c.; but an increase in the export of wool to the amount of 9106,043, of cotton yarn £ 107,004, and of cotton piece goods £ 262,359. On the large number of items which came under the heading All Other Articles," the increase in December \ast, on balance, was £ 431,409, and of this the in- creased value of cycles and parts thereof exported during the month accounted for £ 129,552. The value of cycles and parts thereof exported was, in December, 1895, E82,559, and in ladt month E212,111. In the whole year 1895 the export of cycles was valued at £ 1,386,420, and in the year 1896 at £ 1,860,972.

P AltlSH COUNCILS. = (From the County Council Times.") t Boundaries.—It is only when dealing with Lha affairs of the various bodies which are responsible Ifpr local Government that we are enabled to under-t (tand the inconvenience which must inevitably be 8Qifered by a parish which has the misfortune to be Ø1 two places at once. Such a parish must either find itself doubly neglected, or it must receive a double set of attentions, with somewhat em- fcarrassisg results. The parish of Yardley is in Uris unfortunate predicament, and its treatment hppears to be the cormer of the two we have sug- SBted. Yardley is situated in Worcestershire and arwickshire: that i3 to say geographically, and for the purposes of the Local Government Act, it is in the county of Worcester, but it was transferred for all police purposes in 1857 to the county of War- wick. The unfortunate result of this is that there are occasions when Yardley requires the assistance of police which Worcestershire has uo right to offer, and which—if the Worcestershire version of the, Affair be accurate—Warwickshire either cannot !pr will not give. Even more important is the deadlock which this state of things is capable of bringing about in the administration of ihe Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act. At a time when swine fever, anthrax, and foot- and-iuouth disease are scaring agriculturists ail over the country, it would be a most serious calamity if iany one area, however small, were to be left unpro- tected against these dangerous epidemics. And unless either some amicable agreement is come to, or the icondition of Yardley is altered without delay, this is extremely likely to happen. Forty years ago, of bourse* there may have been excellent reasons for tailing in the assistance of Warwickshire to deal, lolforallpolice purposes," for a parish without the jboundariM of that county. But under the xery much altered condition of things which prevails to-day there seems to be no reason for One county asking another one for police assistances 3?or some reason or other Warwickshire appears to have a desire to maintain the existing arrangement, jbut with what object it is difficult to see, as the pay- ment they receive for the services of their police does burely not include any profit. The matter might ifcnost reasonably be settled by agreement; but, as this Appears to be impracticable, the Worcestershire County Council have decided, should no settlement bf any kind be come to, to bring the matter before Parliament. The promotion of a bill will cost them ifbme f.600 or £ 700; but, under the circumstances, and bearing in mind the evils that may possibly arise from the present position of affairs, it cannot be ob- jected that the money will be ill-spent. Stiles. Agricola" writes: "I shall be much v Sbliged if you will kindly advise upon the following: L is the owner of some fields, with an unfenced public footpath passing through close to the hedge, lrith stiles or horizontal rails at either end of the path; the fields, until quite recently, were under tillage, but are now dry pasture, and let to a tenant. The Parish Council write to A requiring him to make the stiles more convenient—presumably they require prooden footboards or steps to be provided; A de- felines to do this, or to touch the existing stiles in any way; the said stiles having been in their present condition something like 30 years. Further, A declines to allow the Parish Council to touch them. The Parish Council apparently assume that they have the right to do what they require by Virtue of the 13th Section of the Parish Councils B.ct, 1894; but as this section directs that no authority or person whose duty it may he to deal tilth the matter is to be relieved by them, they contend that A is a person whose duty it Is to improve the convenience of the stiles. Stiles fcnd fences not being mentioned in the above- Quoted section, wi'l you kindly advise whether the Parish Council have any power over them, and, if so, by virtue of what enactment ? Reply: In e present case, what is wanted appears to be not merely repair, but alterations and additions to the "tilesilt order to make them more convenient for the public. In our opinion neither the Parish Council nor the District Council have any power to compel the occupier to do this, nor can they do the work themselves without his consent. The footway ap- pears to have been dedicated to the public, subject to the right of keeping the stiles across it, and so long as there stiles are properly maintained in the same Condition as thttv were when the footway was dedi- cated they cannot be interfered with. Field Footpaths.—"Agricola" also asks: "Some time after their formation the Parish Council pro" ceeded to gravel the said footpath, which, being through fit-Ids subject to tillage as described above, have in consequence been subject to temporary obstruction by ploughing or folding sheep, &c., in the brdinary process of agriculture. This being so, A contends that no power is given under Section 13 of the Parish Councils Act, 1894, to a Parish Council to metal unfenced field footpaths sub- ject to tillage. He also contends that the Parish Jpouncil have no such power under any other ■jjBnactment, and objects to its being done, principally On the ground that by so doing they have established ft certain width of footpath as covered by their metal. Pieaseadvise as to this point; also a* to whether, in the event of a Parish Council having power to metal such a footpath, they have also the right to cart gravel through the field-gates and over the land to the path." Reply This footway appears to have been dedicated to the public subject to the right of the occupier to plough it up periodically and to fold Bbeep, &c. The Parish Council, therefore, although Section 13 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1894, empowers them to maintain the footway, must be ^areful not in any way to interfere with these rights jof the occupier, and if putting down gravel would interfere with them they are not. entitled to do so. he fapt. however, that by so doing they would estab- lish a certain width of footpath is, in our opinion, no reason for preventing them, so long as they do not establish a greater widtn than has always been used by the public. In order to repair the footway the Council have no right to cart,the gravel over the djoining land. i Village-greens.—" Y." writes: "There is, in the parish of Z, a village-green—not taken over by the Parish Council. Several of the inhabitants have certain grazing and other rights attached to their houses. Lately part of the greeen has been enclosed, nominally by a cricket club. By that the parishioners have been deprived of their rights in that part. What process.should be taken to restore the whole green to the village without going to any great expense, Or causing any undue friction?" Reply: Without going very fully into all the facts of this case we are unable (says the Comity Conncil Times) to give a very gefinite opinion. We should advise our correspon- ent, however, to lay the whole of the facts before a Solicitor, and to ask him to try and arrange with the cricket club to have the matter settled by means of a friendly action in the High Court either for damages or for an injunction. This would probably be the least expensive method, and need not cause much triction,

ABOUT six per cent. of tne raw cotton snipped from the United States to England now goes direct to Manchester by the Ship Canal. A good quantity of Egyptian cotton also goes to Manchester, one line of steamers especially preferring the inland port to Liverpool. Timber, grain, fruit, and beet-sugar form. considerable items in the Manchester imPOrtli ■ .-a