The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman's News

THE LOCAL BOARD ELECTION. THE election of the Pontypridd Local Board came off on Monday, and the result is that Messrs. Cule, Lewis, Leyshon, and Penn, have obtained seats on the Board. The Rhondda district is left unrepresented. Per- haps this is not to be wondered at under the circumstances. In their zeal for a fair representation the friends of that neighbour- hood nominated three candidates, thus dividing their strength instead of uniting their efforts to secure the return of One candidate. If this had been done, there is not the least doubt that they would have been victorious. Perhaps indeed they might return two. The number of votes given to Messrs Smith, Williams and Morgan, we may presume, would be given to one of them, provided the others had withdrawn. In that case there would be 842 votes for this candidate, sufficient to return the Rhondda candidate at the head of the poll. But failures are often the forerunner of success, and we hope that it may be so in this case. We expect the Board itself will ere long see the necessity of a redistribution of seats, and form the Rhondda district into a separate ward, so that those who pay one-third of the rates shall have a Toice in the management of this money.

GREAT TOURNAMENT AT PONTYPRIDD. THE VICTORY? BY THE MAN IN THE MOON. The man in the moon is looking, Is winking, Is blinking, And each little star knows where we are— The man in the moon is looking." SINCE I wrote to you last the moon has changed, so that for some time I could not see what was going on about yonr neighbourhood; but with the new moon I came, and was just in time to see the tournament. However, as it was only half moon I only had a one-sided view of the proceedings. Strange to say, when the heralds sounded the fan- farade and the Due de Fairfield stepped into the ring, his manner, though perfectly confident, did not indicate that he would be the victor, for he was evidently out of. practice. He fought the Knight of the Wooden Lance and conquered him, and then beat the Knight of Hafod-ty. A new knight, whose horse was beautifully groomed, came up and made a tough tussle, but was over- come but the Admiral of Ynysangharad, who fought desparately and handled his anchor mag- nificently, completely knocked the Due over. Mar- quis Dynevor was, beyond doubt, the hero of the tour name, t, for he carried all before him and won unbounded applause from the spectators. The next was a strange knight clad in a suit of burnished tin. He was a very determined gentleman, and had been husbanding his strength for the occasion. Marshall Brewer like the Marquis of Dynevor, was the hero of many a fight; he was in splendid form, and his graceful strokes won universal admiration. Next in order came the Admiral, who succeeded in conquering five knights besides the Due. Count Schmidt's movements were gracefjl enough, but his admirers did not cheer him at the right moment. and when he was panting for breath, and might have made a capital dash the next moment, the doughty Admiral overcame him. The Clerk of the Tournament announced at the close that laurel crowns would be awarded to (1st) The Marquis Dynevor, (2nd) The Knight of the Tin Armourp (3rd) Marshall Brewer, and (4th) Admiral Ynys. angharad. The Due's defeat was a surprise, and great regret was felt by the Rhoodda peasants that their three champions had lost the day. but they went away with cries of hope for the future."

BREACHES OF THE FACTOR r ACT AT TRE FOREST. PROSECUTION AND CONVICTION OF THE TINPLA TE COMPANY. At Pontypridd police-court on Wednesday- before Mr G. Williams, stipendiary, Mr Lenox, and Mr Jackson—Mr Rees, manager of the Tre- forest Tinplate Works, appeared to answer sum- monses taken out against the company by Mr Mostyn, inspector of factories, in fifteen different cases for employing girls in contravention of the Act of Parliament. The proceedings were insti- tuted under 41 Vic., c. 16, sec. 13. The fifteen girls it appeared had been employed at night time—" night" being defined in section 96 as between nine o'clock in the evening and nine o'clock on the ensuing morning. The date of the offences under investigation was the 14th of February.—Elizabeth Davies was called, and gave evidence to the eff« ct that she had worked with the rest of the girls on the night stated.—This one case wa.s taken as a test case, the other cases were ruled according to the preceding decision. The manager told the Bench that he had directed the watchman at the works to tell him whenever the girls came there at night, as he did not wish them to come there. He knew nothing of the illegality at present before their worships until it had been committed. He hoped the Bench would deal with the case as leniently as possible.—Mr. Lenox Were these women paid by piece work ? — The Manager Yes sir. The girls, he said, had come at night purely to suit themselves. The company were not a halfpenny or even a farthing, better off by their coming there at such unseasonable hours.-The Stipendiary asked witness how long she had been working at the tinvi-orks. Witnesfi: Two years. The Stipendiary: And how many times have you worked at night ?—Witneas Only this once, sir.— The Stipendiary: You have heard what Mr. Rees says, that it was no good to the company that you should work there at, night. Why did you go there if you could work in the day P- Witness: We could not work that day, sir; there was no place. — The Stipendiary (to Mr. Rees) So, after all, it was a benefit to the company that these girls should work in the night. Had they not come the work would not have been got ready in time —Mr. Lenox asked witness if there were more hands taken on at the works on this particular occasion. — Wittxss Yes sir.-The Bench said that there was no doubt the same thing had been going on for some time. The defendants had made themselves liable to a penalty of £5 in each case. They were fined 10s for each of the fifteen offences with costs, amounting al. together to jE18 2s 6d.

CHARGE OF FRAUD AGAINST A CLUB SECRETARY AT TREFOREST. At the Pontypridd police-court on Wednesday, (before Mr G. Williams, Mr Francis R. Crawshay, and Mr Gordon Lenox), John Davies, Rhydfelen, a highly respectable young man, well known in the district, was charged by David Allen, landlord of the Rhydfelen Inn, Treforest, that he did unlawfully, by falsely representing one Griffith Walters, a member of the Loyal Flower Taff Lodge of Shepherds, to be sick, obtain from the said David Allen the sum of 10a., the property of the lodge. Mr Walter Morgan appeared for tho prosecution, and Mr W. Simons for the defendant. The court was crowded.—During a lengthy hearing the following resolution which had been passed at an open lodge meeting was submitted That as there is no money in the management fund, the secretary shall do aa was done before, viz., enter the sum that we spent too much (i.e. in excess) against the sick fund." Like resolutions had been adopted at times to meet the manage- ment expenses.-The Bench considered that the defendant had acted only as the servant of the club, and had not done anything for his own benefit.-Mr Walter Morgan contended that the defendant, having been the actual person who committed the alleged fraud, was the person responsible to the law.-The Bench decided that this was not so, but added that a most dreadful state of things had been revealed in reference to the lodge management. Care would be taken to represent matters in the proper quarter. Th" case would be dismissed. The defendant left the court, accompanied by a large throng of friends.

THE ALLEGED POISONED WELL AT HEOLFACH. Some time ago proceedings were taken by the Local Board of Health, with a view to the closing of a well at Heolfach, alleged to be impure. The case was heard at the Pentre police-court, and, in this instance, to prevent the future contamination of the spring, the bench ordered a wall to be built around the well; this was done, the wall being 11 feet below the surface. Shortly afterwards a sample of the water was sent by the local board authorities to Mr Thomas, public analyst, Cardiff, and again he pronounced the water unfit for domestic purposes. At the request of Dr Trehame, Pentre, land agent for Mr Llewelyn, the magis- trates this time consented to an adjournment for a week for the purpose of obtaining an analysis from another professional man. A sample was accordingly sent to Dr Morgan, Swansea, and on Monday, at the Pentre police-court, on the adjourned case being called, Dr Idris Davies and Mr Treharne attended, and handed to the bench the following report of an analysis of the water in question Sir,-Herewith I beg to hand you the results of my examination of the sample of water received from you on the 29th ult: Total solid residue left on evaporation, 7*50 grains per gallon chlorine, 1'20; equivalent to sodium chloride, 1 28; lead and copper, none ureal, or free amonia, 0.050. Total hardness, six degrees, one degree being equivalent to a grain of carbonate of lime in a gallon of water. The water was per- fectly clear, and free from taste or smell. It con- tained no matter in suspension. In my opinion it is a yood water, and fery suitable for drinking purposes. -Yours faithfully, WM. MORGAN." The case was again adjourned to that day fortnight, mear. while the water of the well will be submitted for analysis to Dr. Franklin, Government analyst, London.

PEACE. The Conservatives are sending out to Ministers a. mourning card:- To the sacred Memory of HONOUR, The beloved Wife of John Bull, Esq., Who died in the TBANSVAAI., on March 21,1881, After a lingering Illness, protracted at Candahar, Her end was PEAeE. The idea is not. original; but Her end was peace is a very good joke. j

inn-— THE OCEAN COLLIERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS. GREAT MASS MEETING IN THE RHONDDA. REJECTION OF THE MASTERS' PRICES. Work was entirely suspended at the Ocean Steam Coal Collieries on Monday owing to a difference of a serious character which has just sprung np between the men—3,000 in number— and the management. The collieries affected are situate principally in the Rhondda Valley—Cwm- park, Cwmdare, Maindy, and Bwllfa—and one in the Ogmore Valley. A little before noon several hundred of the men, hailing from every part of the districts affected, met at Pentwyn Field, Ystrad. They elected as chairman one of their number. According to the chairman's preliminary re- marks, it appeared that a new list of prices had been submitted to the workmen by the management. This had caused considerable dis- satisfaction, and in consequence a meeting had been held on the 26th nit, at the Stag Inn. There it was resolved to ho d the present proceedings, so as to decide upon the final adoption or rejection of the amended list. The central committee of management considered that the subject was too momentous for them to determine upon without first c. nsulting personally the men. (Hear, kpar.) Mr Jenkins, the general manager of the collieries, would not recognise—as they wished and thought Mr Jenkins ought to—the 1875 list of prices. He had not signed it, and he would not therefore go by it. Mr Jenkins would only recognise the lift which he had himself the employers' list. It be- hoved the assembly to deal with the matter very carefully. Several men then spoke, the substance of their remarks being to the effect that when the Ocean colliers accepted the Ocean Colliery sliding soale in 1879, it was upon the understanding, on the part of the men. that the prices paid would be those in force in 1875. But after the scale had been ratified the men found that the standard rates paid them were those which obtaina in 1879 at the o lliery (plus 15 per cent), but that a number of things paid for in the 1875 list were omitted in the new list. This had been a grievance with them from that time until the present, with the apparently additional feature that some minor exceptions were taken to the 1875 standard. There bad been several interviews with the manager upon the sub- ject, but with no satisfactory issue. The recent fresh innovations had still further deepened this feeling, and a stiong desire to repudiate the latest list had developed itself, as 'that again in the men's opinion docked them of very vital privileges. It was proposed and seconded that the nbw list of prices, which, in its bearing would, it was held, be of material disadvantage to the men, be rejected and that Mr. Jenkins be requested to base the future list of prices on the basis of the standard of 1875. The motion was carried by acclamation. Replying to a question, The CHAIRMAN said that Mr Davies, M P., had declined to attend the meeting, but had expressed his willingness to listen to any representations. At this juncture the assembly adjourned to the Stag Hotel, Pentre, where the proceedings com- menced de novo. The respective lists of prices were read and the differences in them detailed at great length, and very clearly and temperately. It was again proposed, seconded, and unani- mously carried, that the fresh list of prices be not supported. A collier asked the assembly to look at matters a little more cheerfully. It was not too late, be it remembered, to amend the scale. They only wanted justice from their employers, and they need not be ashamed of demanding this. (Hear, hear.) If Mr Jenkins would not concede them what truth demanded—a list on the basis of 1875 -then the sliding-scale was valueless, and he (Mr Jenkins would render it invalid. Eventually a second proposition was passed- That a deputation be appointed to wait upon Mr Jenkins, the manager, and convey to him the pur- port of the first resolution, with the intimation that the men would adopt the 1875 scale of prices- the give-and-take principle to be adopted in the fractional differences." A COLLIER Should Mr Jenkins decline he will be breaking the sliding-scale agreement P The CHAIRMAN: Yes. The COLLIER And then we can give the six months' notice ? Some doubt existed on this head. It was agreed that Mr Jenkins should, if possible, be seen in time enough to enable work to be re- sumed (on the stipulated conditions) on the en- siling morning.

PIRACY AT SEA. ALLEGED SEIZURE OF A VESSEL FROM CARDIFF. A circumstance of a very unusual nature is at the present time exciting considerable interest at the Docks. In October last, in reply to some circulars from Messrs Short and Dunn, ship brokers at the Docks, a Mr Walker, of London, offered a steamer named the Ferret to convey coals to Marseilles. Messrs Cory Brothers required at that time a vessel to carry about 300 tons of steam coal to their agent at Mar. seilles, and a charter was entered into and the Ferret brought round from London. At that time Walker was believed to be the owner of the Ferret, but he, it has since transpired, hired her by the month from the Highland Railway Company. She excited some little attention at Cardiff, owing to her sharp build, and it was said that at sea it would take a fast vessel to overtake her. The captain who took possession of her at Cardiff was dressed more like a naval officer than the master of a merchant vessel. He shipped the crow, and gave large advance notes, the mate having a note for ;tIS, and the seamen in propor. tion. When the cargo was put on board, the captain drew from Messrs. Cory Bros, three. quarters of the freight charge. This was a very unusual sum, the general rate being one-third. This and other circumstances excited Messrs Short and Dunn's suspicions, and when the captain drew the advance notes—amounting to about £ 80—on the brokers, Messrs Short and Dunn refused to accept them. The captain then drew them on Mr Walker, of London, then at Cardiff, and was con- stantly in communication with the captain, who appeared to be a Greek. The captain applied to Messrs Short and Dunn for an advance of the one- quarter still remaing on the freight, but this they refused to give, although a high premium was offered. When the vessel sailed, a lady and gen. tleman, of foreign appearance, who had prior to this been staying at an hotel in the town, went on board, and with them a large number of portmanteaus. They did not appear to have been entered as passengers, or as a super-cargo The order given to the pilot was to pilot the vessel to Nash Point. Mr. Walker went with the vessel when she sailed, but the captain, instead of putting the pilot into his boat at Nash, carried him to Milford, in which place, much to the surprise of the owners of the cargo, she put in, as it was alleged, for wood. Although the captain stated that he was short of cash when at Cardiff, the pilot speaks of seeing plenty of money on board and captain, officers, and crew fared sumptuously. A few days after the vessel sailed, the tradesmen who had cashed the notes of the crew were unable to find Mr. Walker, of London, and the notes found their way back to those who had cashed them. Under ordinary circumstances the vessel would have arrived at Mars. illes in eight or nine days, December came, and no tidings were heard of the Fenet. Inquiries were made at various ports, but nothing was heard of the Ferret. A short time ago a question was asked in the House of Commons if anything had been heard of her, and the reply subsequently giv n was that she was in January last aeon at Malta. Since then a letter ir,014 one of the crew, posted at Cape de Yerds, sent them from Gibraltar, has, it is alleged, been received. The owners of the vessel have not received a farthing nor any tidingB of her, and Messrs Cory Brothers have lost the cargo, the bunker coal, and threequarters freight. The impression is that her name has been painted out, that she is in the possession of the captain, and is engaged in some way in the Greek trade. The Government has sent to the various consuls for inquiries to be made.

THE DEVIL AT WORK. To the Editor of the Pontypridd Chronicle. SIR>—Your dolorous correspondent, Jeremiah, in his last letter amply proves the charge of bigotry I ventured to bring against him, and of all others a' religious bigot is the most intolerant of other people's views. But to the point. He admits that J he has never been inside a theatre, and yet claims his right to judge it by its effects "in the same way as a person judges of the effects of poison without being foolish enough to take a dose of it Such reasoning naturally raises the question of his capability to judge. An ordinary person who had never seen poison would not be able to say, what the qualities of any particular poison might be. The only way he has of ascertaining that is by taking the word of a doctor, or trying the effect himself on someone-else. That Jeremiah is not a doctor in theatrical matters he himself proves-he has only assumed because some evidently bad people have been going to the theatre at Ponty- pridd the theatre in itself is bad, and has caused these people to sin. Such is the uncorroborated testimony of a totally inexperienced man who chooses to set himself up as an adjudicator be- tween God and man Judge not, that ye be not judged! But what do the doctors say ? What does history show ? What is the evidence of reli- gious and learned men of our own day ? The whole balance of evidence is against Jeremiah, and the miserable lament which he sat crooning beside his weeping willow a fortnight or so ago. Wherever learning was at its highest the drama was at its zenith-when Athens was the seat of learning the people there were in the habit of attending the great theatre in the time of Paul there was a grand theatre 600 feet in diameter at Ephesus when Rome occupied the seat of glory among the nations its theatre was a marvel to the world and when Great Britain became the mistress of the ocean the theatre found its way there. What does this show, but that the march of the theatre and the drama has been co-existent with the march of civilization and learning ? On the other hand- go into heathen countries where wild in woods the noble savage runs and you find not even the remnants of a wooden shanty such as we have here. The very object of the theatre is to hold the mirror up to nature, and if a man or woman is damaged in his or her reputation or feeling by that, then it would be the same if they read or heard read the Bible; some bad characters doubt- less attend a theatre, so they do a church and a chapel-and it is not the theatre which damages them, but they who damage the theatre. The Church of Rome had its Miracle Plays in days gone by, there exists in Bristol and the West of England a Church and Stage Guild in which the clergy and the actors fraternise freely and I have witnessed in the chapels of our own neigh- bourhood the acting of Joseph a'i Frodyr," Y Diwrnod cyn y Diluw," and I hope to see our reli- gious young people act Esther, the beautiful Queen" in this benighted town for a religious object. Has the theatre caused anyone to see the error of his ways'? innocently asks Jeremiah. Yes, my friend, it has. When the hero of the London was acting the Ticket of Leave man at Liverpool Bome time ago, a young man who sat listening resolved that he would return to his em- ployer the money of which he had robbed him. But let us not confine ourselves to the theatre, for our weeping Jeremiah wished to trace the root of the evil to the Penny Readings of 1868, which contaminated the minds of our young people. But how are the facts? Those who were the prime movers in the Penny Readings of 1868 are to-day the prime movers in congregational singing in our town and the valley; and the Penny Readings were the means of bringing out singers and pianists, who have since become well-known throughout the Principality—Miss S. A. Williams, (Pontypridd), Miss C. N. Davies, (Cardiff), &c. The Penny Readings were also the means of showing others who had poor voices that they had better turn their attention to something more profitable, and having done so they have become prosperous citizens. My dear Jeremiah In parting, let me beg of you not to lament over the condition of the town-things are changing, and they'll get settled by-and-bye. It is not the drama, nor yet the music hall stage (for we haven't got one,) which has caused the desolation, but that evil creature Bad Times." You lay all the fault on music and the drama, but old Jeremiah, of whose work you have tried to make such a vile parody, wept because the music had stopped, for he said :— The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music. The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning." (Lamentations, chap. V., verses 14, 15.) Yours truly, FAIRPLAY.

ALLEGED BREACHES OF CONTRACT. IMPORTANT TO COLLIERS. At the Pentre police-court, on Monday, before Mr Gwilym Williams, stipendiary, John Williams summoned Messrs Coffin and Co., proprietors of the Dinas Colliery, for breach of contract, Mr Walter Morgan prosecuted; Mr Price defended. Mr William Abraham (Mabon) was also in attendance on behalf of the Rhondda District of Miners. Complainant said that he had been engaged as collier at the Dinas Steam Coal Colliery. On the 16th ult., he was asked by the overman, John James, to go and raise a certain fallen stall. After repairing the same he was to have that stall for himself and a boy. On the 18th, after the stall had been repaired, another man was sent to work with him. Complainant objected to this, being, as he represented, a breach of the contract under which he worked the repaired stall. Com- plainant then made inquiries as to who had sent the man to him, and found that it was Evan Row- lands, (the son of Mr Morgan Rowlands), the person understood to be the under-manager of the colliery. Cross-examined: Mr Rowlands sub- sequently saw him and told him that unless he work with the other man-two men to one stall- he could take his tools out, Complainant accepted the alternative, and now sued for a month's wages in lieu of a month's notice. Defendants had not allowed him to work out the month's notice with the boy in the stall. For the defence Mr James was called. He said that in the agreement between him and complainant he had said that he was to have the stall for himself and the boy, in case the man who had worked there previously would not return. That man was away from the colliery a couple of days, but when he returned he was sent to complainant. In cross-examination, witness allowed that he had sent a boy to complainant. Witness did not agree with Mr ltowiands as to the working of two men in that stall, but he disputed complainant's right to leave in consequence of what had passed between him and Evan Rowlands. The Stipendiary What is Evan Rowlands, Is he not the under manager? Witness Not exactly that. He carries reports to his father, Mr W.- Rowlands, manager for the colliery.—The Stipen- diary: And yet you allowed him to discharge com- plainant. The Stipendiary further said that from the fact that the overman had sont the boy to complainant, he preferred assuming that com- plainant's version as to the bearing of the agree- ment was the accurate one, and decided in favour of complainant, to whom he awarded 1:5 4s (26 days at 4s per day) and costs. Another similar charge was brought against the same defendants by six men, named David Davies, John Watkins, William Pike, John Jones, and William Davies,' for a month's wages, ia lieu of notice. The same advocates again appeared. It seemed that complainants were engaged driving three headings at Dinas—men to each heading. On the 21st of March orders were givvn them to suspend operations. They were offered other wod&ng places in the colliery, which, they alleged to be far less lucrative than those they were bound to quit. They told Mr Rowlands that they would not accept the change, and claimed the right to work out in their old working places the month's notice. They were not permitted to do this, so they left. The Stipendiary ruled in favour of the employers (defendants) bee:s\\»se the mec had not tested the working plftoea offl#lvtl to them. The manager, his worahip held, had a right to remove a man to work ■ where he chooses, and here the complainants were not aibte to prove the contrary, ati they had not taken the course suggested. The cases were diftnuased.

t LONDON OLUBS AND SOCIETY. < (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) } A Greek diplomatiat said to me the other day, Don't be afraid of war. We shall never make it. If Mr. Gladstone says peace,' we must say j it too. We shall have to swagger a little before retiring, of course, and probably our Premier will have to resign. Rut the end will be peace. Thei. fact is we shall do precisely as we are instructed j from London." A Turkish official in London! told the same story. Turkey and Greece," he] declared, "are not serious in a desire forai struggle. Neither can afford it and against the will of Europe both are powerless." Mr. Kimber, the solicitor for Mr. Labouchere, has moved for a new trial of the case Reg. I v. Labouchere, his reason being that othy- ( wise the money deposited originally in court goes to the plaintiff. I do not know yet what will be done in the matter; whether another trial will take place or not. But I am inclined to think it may, and in that case it should be better managed in every direction than the last one. Meanwhile, efforts are being made in certain directions to bring about an understanding between the plaintiff and de- fendant. Miss Harriett Jay, the authoress who made her appearance on the stage very lately, has eone to Scotland to act, and is now performing, I believe, at Glasgow. The general opinion is that she is a better writer than player. The "Upper Crust," at the Folly, is not drawing the crowded housed that were anticipated. "Olivette," at the Strand, still fills the house; while the "Pirates of Penzance" are not so attractive at the Opera Comique. The largevt audiences in London are to be found at the Lyceum and the Criterion. When will the average Frenchman rict nimleH of the idea that beefsteaks form the 3ummum bonum of English existence? I am not sure that the writer of the Nouvelles a la Main in the Paris Figaro would like to be called ah average Frenchman,, and probably lie'is only writing in deference to popular prejudices in a paragraph which he contributed to a recent issue. Under the heading of "Mulio" written thus Anglicfe, he tells theAAory of a young lady who went to Paris for the sake of studying the art of Beethoven. The professor under whom she placed herself mentioned the word "tonic," of course in its musical signifi- cation. Tonic," replied the young student, after a brief reflection, "0, yes, I understand -bifteack saignant." Is it possible that French people really do think young English ladies have their thoughts thus perpetually running on san- guinary beefsteaks ? It is said that Mr. Bradlaugh will not win Northampton. He voted against Coercion, but as he also voted against Obstruction and de- clared that he intended to "put it down," the Home Rulers allow their Catholicism to override their sense of gratitude. The Irish vote is lost to him. At the last election he had the Dissenting vote but Mr. Samuel Mor- ley has done penance for evoking it, and it will now be withheld. Moreover, last year the Libe- ral party, willing to lose no seat, officially sup- ported his candidature. Were the whole truth known the Liberal managers would now be glad to find Mr. Bradlaugh coming in number two on the poll. They do not want any more Bradlaugh debates. As Mr. Gladstone says, it is not a savoury subject." Yet Mr. Bradlaugh has proved to be less terrible a crea- ture than the imagination had conceived him. I was talking to a Minister the other night who admitted that the then member for North- ampton, in the opinion of the whole Treasury Bench, had behaved well. He has never made a speech without having something to say he hat sajd it in the fewest possible words; and he has gauged the temper of the House. The hoax which was played on an Irish paper, in the name of Mr. Newdegate may yet be found: out, and if it be the results will be disastrous to the practical joker who contrived it. I am not sure he is not known already,so that he needi not make too sure of getting off scot-free. At any rate, Mr. Newdegate will do all he can to find out who has played the trick. I am told that the tricks which are being played upon members of Parliament just now increase daily in num- ber and in folly. The police are doing their utmost to make an example of somebody. Were Sir Henry Havelock not to accept the military appointment offered him he would, have to retire from the army, as in July his period of possible rest without work expires. If he go into active work before that time, he goes on till he becomes lieutenant-general, and perhaps general. But if he refuses the off. now made him he quits the service with a slip of rank and ii a soldier no longer. I believe the Duke of Cambridge himself offered him the brigade, and I hear that Sir Henry Have- lock is very appreciative of the proposal which has been made to him. The exhibition of Painter-Etchers In the. Hanover Gallery is described as the practical answer to an invitation sent a little less than- three months ago to every exhibiting painter off etcher in the United Kingdom for the purpose of obtaining demonstrable proof of the actual state of the art of etching, and of ascertaining, by that demonstration, whether material exists for the formation of a special society for its further development. A little over 400 works are exhibited, of very different degrees in merit, but certainly the majority of them such as to afford a fair auguiy for the success of the experiment. I was much in- terested in a portrait of Mr. Hubert Herkomer* etched by himself, dedicated To my sweefc little girl aad containing a pretty pair of childish faces in one corner. Close alongside it it: a portrait of his mother by the same artiste There is a large comic element in the exhibition; a very funny picture being Une visite sur lea toits de l'OpIra k Paris. The wind is making sad havoc with the visitors' hats. Mr. Sey- mour Haden's series are very striking but I fancy the highly finished and very realistic pic- tures by Tissot will delight the eyes of the un- cultivated Cockney critics. Dr. Sexton sends me a copy of the (Shield of Faith, edited by himself. I do not quite see why, since it is to Be hoped there 18 nothing in its varied refutations of infidelity which he deems necessary in my case. As a man of varied experiences, Dr. Sexton ought to know what is suitable for many different minds. He worked at first in the ranks of Secularism.' Then he gave the Spiritualists a trial devoting his energies to "exposing" the confessed conjuring tricks of Messrs. Maskelyne and Cook. Whereabouts in the theological world he is now it would perhaps be difficult to say. Sometimes he preaches at a Congregational chapel in the suburbs and rumours ate every now and then heard of his taking orders in the Established Church. I hear a very singular rumour. It is to the. effect that a ring has been formed in London for the publication of a number ot so-called society journals," to be published daily and* weekly, and to overwhelm, if possible, th. ftad- ing population of London. They are to ber sufficiently scurrilous and violent, and generally of the kind to attract readers of a low andi not refined class. The principal mea moving in the matter are two editors of that class of paper and a writer in a London daily journal. These think themselves competent to manage the matter if only sufficient money comes in to en- able them to put their scheme into action.

A girl yarned Agnes Taylor, who has been a domestic, servant in Manchester,has committed suicide in a terrible manner. She left her situation a few days ago, and has since been seen in in a very depressed state of mind. At last she walked upon the railway near Lonsdale, and laid herself on the rail before an advancing train. She was cut to pieces. The Stalybridge Liberal Association recently- passed a resolution expressing satisfaction at the- re.«ult of the peace negotiations in the Transvaal. Copies of the resolution were sent to Mr. Gladstone and the local members of Par|iament. Mr. Gladstone has sent a letter to the association thanking them for s nding their resolution and the local representatives have also expressed their great satisfaction with tht result of the negotiations, -u