The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman's News

A 'teap edili 'it, in ""•■ >»>'lu:u •. 0/ M' 4HHII' .IS ('a '• VV andeitajjs m Ch.ttm" to feeing <»ejs»i«d.

LATJ. MGKTS RKSKKVKD]. I I THE BANK OF CALIFORNIA. BY PRENTIGE MTJLFORD. (Continued from our last issue.) SD KKHH 1»ER. My chest, which had been enrted back to my I mother's house, I had removed that very night to the ferry boat which communicated with the ter- minus of *the railroad leading to New York. I went on the boat in the morning, before any other passengers came down, and kept myself out of light. My leave taking with my mother was a brief affair. We had eaten a silent, comfortless breakfast. At its conclusion, taking my hat, I said, "Well, mother, I'm off for good now." Perhaps it was a presentiment that my words were true that made the change in her manner. With a softness unusual to her she said "But, my son, what are you going to do Where are you going ?" "Never mind, now," I said. "I've talked enough before of my plans. Now I'll keep silent. I've an idea thab talking things out leads to bad luck. I'm going away, that's all. So good-by." She said nothing, took my hand and kissed me. I never recollected having been kissed by her before. She may have done so when I was an infant. Favours of that sort are not appreciated or remembered during that tender period. This was not from lack of feeling or affection. It came of that reserve and repression of all ext'ernal signs of emotion bred in the bone way back through I know not how many generations of Puritan and Roundhead ancestry, until not only had outward sign of emotion been considered as bordering on an impropriety, but the very ability to manifest it had been destroyed. It was a turning of the softer side of human nature inward and the harder out- ward, and the fruitage was harshness and austerity; not intentional, but the natural growth of unna- tural lives. I left the house, wondering if it was in the na. tural order of events that proofs of affection, parental and otherwise, must come at the last moment, like the best dish at dinner being placed before one for a second and then snatched away. In a few hours I was in New York. Taking a room at a hotel I shut myself therein, and opened the packet received from Blanche. It contained bills to the amount of 300 dols. and the following note I desire you to accept this money from me as a loan, with interest at 7 per cent., for three years. This is business, you know. I'm glad for your sake you did not go on the Ann Mary Ann. You will go now to California as a gentleman should. Mind you take a cabin passage. Don't go in the steerage to save dollars. It doesn't save them at all There was a Providence in that pig, and Pell, too-pigs both-to take you out of the ship. Shut up on board of her for five or six months, eating their coarse food and leading their coarse life, would have put you back as many years. When you get to California you would probably have done as five-sixths of them will do—strike for the hardest and coarsest way of making a fortune, by digging and grubbing—the very way not to make it. If there is gold there, mind you, it's not for those who dig for it, unless they dig with their brains, and you can't dig with your brains and work, like a hod carrier and live on hod carrier's fare. So, my dear boy, live like a gentleman and you will have a gentleman's luck. BLANCHE." So this was the promise I had made-to accept a I pecuniary favour of a woman. The unwritten Code of the time held this as hardly the correct thing, unless you married the woman, when everything she had became yours, and the favour, if such, ceased almost to be one. Blanche had a few years previous been,left a few thousand dollars by an eccentric uncle, who, possi- bly recognizing something of her independent spirit, said, when closely questioned by some over- anxious relatives as to his reason for so doing, that he believed Blanche was a girl who could use her own money for herself, and he wanted to give her a chance. He didn't think, he added, it was the fair thing that a girl's capital should be salted down until some lazy loafer of a husban(\came along to use it, and generally lose it. He didn't care w hat she did with her money, so that she used it for her own pleasure in any and every possible way except that of handing it over to a husband- I give it to you he remarked nob to the man who, not content with robbing you of your name, wants your money along with it." Lend it, spend it, scatter it, do anything with it, except bring it, like a good little girl, to the chuckle-head who wants to marry you for it." Uncle John Sefton was a nondescript in opinion, and seemed to take pleasure in holding none that were popular. He had been a privateersmaa—rsome said also a slaver, and others a pirate—carried a bullet in one leg, the mark of which be was fond of showing without mucll"regard to time, place or fit. ness. I reso Ived to use the money. She had been diplo. matic in not offering it as a gift, and in putting the transaction on a business footing. To refuse it under the present circumstances would result, I felt, in putting a great barrier between myself and Blanche. It seemed as if she said to me I am in this giving you the opportunity you need. You are no man if you quarrel with the instrument put in your hands because it does not come exactly in the manner you would have it." I could see in imagination, as clearly as though she stood before me, the way in which Blanche would have taken back from me her gift. I saw her calmly listening to my statement and as calmly receiving from me the notes, and then continuing conversation on general topics as if the whole affair had not a feather's weight in her mind. But under all that seeming difference I knew there would lie indignation, disappointment and worse—tho de. liberate laying .aside of a feeling for roe, something which I iopeu to be more than interest—more thaa mere rogftrcL I have said farther back thpt Blanche Sefton loved me. But I felt that hot love, if once gained, could not be laid on the shelf, to b* token on and off at pleaauM, with the certaftity of always finding it, there. No. It was a love only to be held by constant effort. I bought, the next day, my cabin ticket for Sua Francisco via the Isthmus.

CHAPTER Vt. WIIXIA* fatoiscu. A month afterward t wad in S"an Francisco. The Ann Mary Ann was creeping on the Atlantic some, where near the equator, with four or fire weary months still between her and tM I,and of Promise San Francisce was then simply a mercantile camp. Buildings were run up aa are booths at a country fair. There vac little idea of pcrmanoncy. Everything warof the makeshift" order. I had on landing 123 dbU: I reeolred to take one cle*f Week, with no other ptirpose saVe to look about, a-tdtie myself, and wafch for whatoVer might burn Hp> I put up afc the b^st hotol t could find and pnid 50 Hol^ ra advance for a weok'a. board, wuich granted to me the then almoet, unheard of luxury of a niche, BaMed a room, to myself, a cot bed, atiu washbanin, a coarse tewel and bt-ovrn soap. Tro«, the walls were tot Of Cloth^-ootton drilling. They Aid not shnV OtfC'th* toiiftd ef voicce all around me, and ai night th# of inr aitjace«fc fellow lodgers fjfottiM'ritly and clearly thrown on Bflfjr cftfoto.the li^hfe of th# Candles behind them, flietn in tfi* many uu- ttudied attitudes pocoliar to man for bed. My right hand lodger had nightly great dinlf H!'y in getting off his boots. His figure, of heroic -<i"\ was so thrown ftn my canvas iu the utauy irritating And unoomfortaWt "js>sitions inf'" which a man" v, Bompelled-ere he can make his ln-vl budge from no" position it has m untwined all day. One night while so euir:«»c< fi 1 n.ti'iv •! au • pected visit from him. In the midst of & harder tug than usual he lost his balance, fell over back, wards against the cloth wall, which gave way under pressure, and through the rent he rolled, boot still in hand, into my room. Good evening," he said, without changing his position. Hope I don't intrude" He was a stout, compact, well-built man, ap- parently of thirty, black eyed, black bearded, a clear, singularly white complexion, and an expres- sion of more than ordinary refinement. In a tone very different from that of the reckless humour he had at first assumed, he said: I beg your pardon, but I lost my balance in trying to get this confounded boot off, and, as you see, the wall between us proved flimsy and, as they say in the play, 4 Here I am t' II No offence under the circumstances, I m sure." was my reply. „ I bought these boots m the mines, said he paid two ounces for them, and they've given me no end of trouble. They object seriously to going on in the morning, and when once on object as strongly to going off at night." This was Mr. William Broener. He_ was from the mines, and mining was his business. We drifted into sociability that night. The rent in the wall was not repaired next day, and remaining open soon developed a certain companionship between us. He seemed to like my company; certainly he was attractive to me. We went about much together, and within the week our intercourse had grown to something .beyond that of a mere passing acquaintance.' There was much in Broener attractive toymen and women. Physically he was as fine a specimen of manhood as ever I laid eyes on. He was gener- ous, and had an easy manner of dashing into people's companionship and confidence, which to me was both a source of admiration and irritation, since I lacked it entirely. Broener seemed at home everywhere, and on relatively familiar terms in any circle to which five minutes previous he had been a total stranger, while I writhed in the bonds and fetters of a certain awkwardness and reserve which at times seemed to compel me to do and say the very things most calculated to keep me outside that atmosphere of sociability which I desired to enter and breathe. Yet this to an extent constituted the bond between myself and Broener. He, knowing his power and keenly alive to its recognition and ap- preciation by others, liked to have about him an admirer like myself, whom in a sense he could take under his wing and protection. "Come with me to the mines," he said, a few days after our acquaintance has commenced. I've a bit of a claim left and we'll work part- ners." I assented. To go to the diggings, directed and befriended by an experienced and lucky miner, was an opportunity seldom found in those days. I lay more than usual stress on the phrase •" lucky miner." Gold diggers were compelled to c'. believe in luck. Lucky men struck it rich wherever they went. These were sometimes in character the extremes of recklessness and dissipa- tion. No matter. Their steps seemed directed, and where they went they turned up gold—often to be spent within a few hours. But the spree over they went plodding, poking about bar, flat or crevice, turning up more of the yellow metal in dust or chispa# while regular habits and sobriety worked hard and could barely make both ends meet. So marked were these phenomena that the inquiry was not uncommon on the part of those who had ventures to make regarding the leading prospector Is he a lucky man t" 0 CHAPTER VII. THE BA% K OF CALIFORNIA. In the middle of September, 1 S.10, I found my- self located with Broener at his cahin on the Stanislaus river, where the lower and rounded foothills commence merging into the more abrupt, craggy and higher formations of the vast Sierra range. It was for me a great change. Mountains towering all about, no roads, no wheeled vehicles in use, only trails or bridle paths, -traversed by horsemen, our provisions brought from the nearest store, two miles distant, on muicbiick the vege- tation and flowers entirely different from those of the east; the birds (Æ other species the very air seemed made of other elements. It was all another world, and it brought to me continually a sensation of newness. My boy," said Broener, one evening soon after our arrival, "you want to know about the mines and mining, eh ? All new comers are more or less crazy on that subject. Now, I'll sum it up in a word. The mines are a humbug- a gigantic humbug." A humbug Practically, for three-fourths of those who dig, yee. The cream of it won't last over three er four years. Thousands more are to come. Every digger who takes an ounce out- of the soil takes it out for ever. Gold don't grow again-soon. Then there isn't half as much dug as people imagine. One lucky find blinds everybody's eyes to the nine- teen or twenty-nine, or may be more, people who find just enough to scratch along on. It's the hardest kind of work. Knocks a man's constitution over in short metre. No let up, summer or winter. It's digging, lifting rocks, or standing in ice-cold water for hours. No recreation but cards, poor whisky, or worse. You dig put a dollar, and must spend half of it for what would cost you but three cents in the states. The men who are really to make the money are the merchants and land owners. These idiots all about here are now really digging for them. You wonder to hear me say .this. Not a bright picture, is it? Now, I'm a lucky miner. You think this about here is my claim. Well, it isn't. This dirt pile is a blind. My real claim is half a mile from this spot. I'll dhow it to you to-morrow and reveal you some mysteries. The inext day we went to the spot he had indi- cated, first ascending Scrub mountain, in the rear of our cabin, at a pretty steep inclination, and after attaining a height of about 1,000 feet going down again. Look .down," said Broener, as we came to an opening in the m»nzanita bushes, where our way led along a steeply jutting projection of the moun- tain. I did ee. The river's bank—in some places rocky and steeply inclined, in others denting the rapid current with little level beaches—waa alive with working miners. Hundreds of cradles wore rocking to and fro. The grating of the pebWes on the iroa bottoms of their top seives sounded like the crashing roar of some great factory. Men wero toiling to fro with dirt-laden buckets. Others Mrwf lying in all maaner of cramped-up positions <H* the bare, jteeply. shelving rocks, already hot from the glare of the" morning sun, drawing from deep erevioee with long. spoons, or pieces of iron hoop bent at tho end, bits of, dirt and placing them in pans at thei* side. At other points men were standing'Waist deep in the river, occupied in lav- ing wan-circular walla of stone projecting into the 0- stream. 441 take this path," *aid„ Broener, to keep out of the way of those feUow., It's a hard one, but ib pays. Could reach my claim intenmjnutea by the nnr. This route takes near an hour. Reason I awstfe't let those chaps scent out my lead. They*d afealffnehe me if they ohould. I've got, you see, a big thing; but if &ey got wind of it, there's no law OOUid protect me. They're all in Egyptian dartness' taW. They think all the gold in the country is in that dirt. Hopd they'll think so for wm» thne to come." Walking down the mountain at varying angles we eame to a little shelf densely covesijed with foli- age, abeut five hundred feet above tne river. Minors at work were thickly clustered directly bélwØo now said Broener. "Stoop here, so they woa't see an. and don't talk loud." Stooping, and at times half crawling through the ehap6««*Cwa crcfrsed ashpit,coming directly ofa .th*. rt&ky fountain side rising an .overhanging barrier before ui Fragments of gray and t6pk lay aU aSouVaa they had tumbled down Uw mouu- ^Broeoer eat down on a fragment and whispered to me: 44 We are at the mine." "J see nothingherelikoajnine," saidL "Of course net," he replied, dqft tmean thai anybndrr shnlL But those fellowa down th#a wtMld give th«ir heads if they know what w»3 nfc | here. Whit <to you,think of that! and he hatwjEu me'a bit <rf wtiit* ittrk, the outsiVi* thickly crusted *it& 'fcotd, l^htei- far than ihe dust iMdseM To iw cowinloa n

STRIKE OF FRENCH GLASS BLOWERS. In consequence of tho strike of the men aln. ployed in the glass manufactory at Pantin, all the glass manufacturers of the Departments of tht Seine and Seine-et-Oise formed a syndicate and decided to blow out their furnaces unless the strikers at Pantin resume work. The manufac toriee affected altogether employ 3,000 workmen. The masters communicated their intention to the Prefect of Police, who recommended them to mako concessions to the men.

COMMITTAL OF A POSTMAN. At Bow Streeb (London) Police Court, William Chart, a first-class postman, engaged in the S.K. district, has been charged on remand with forging postal orders.-Tho evidence showed that a num- ber of postal orders had been stolen and cashed by forged signatures. The prisoner was detected in the acb of cashing a forged order and was arrested. Ab his house a mail-bag, containing a number of letters, was found, and he was now further charged with stealing 30 bankers' cheques, and postal orders to the value of JE321 9s. 10d., 700 letters, 133 circulars, and 43 post-cards. He was commit- ted for trial.

SENTENCE ON AN AUSTRIAN DEPUTY. The trial of Herr von Schonerer, the Anti-Semitic member of the Austrian Reichsrath, and his accomplice, Herr Gerstgresser, a reporter, for breach of the peace in forcing an entrance into the offices of the Tagblatt and assaulting the sub-editors of that paper, has terminated. Both the prisoners were found guilty, Herr von Schonerer being sen- tenced to four months' imprisonment with compul- sory fasts on certain days, and Herr Gerstgresser to two months' imprisonment. This sentence not only deprives Herr von Sbhonerer of his nobiliary prefix of "von," but also prevents him from either sitting as a deputy or even of exorcising the privi. leges of an elector for a period of five years.

THE SALE OF OFFENSIVE PUBLICATIONS. At several of the metropolitan police conrbs, itinerant vendors of newspapers have been broaghb before the magistrates charged with selling offen- sive publications in the streets. The defence advanced was thab the papers were copies of a French print extensively sold by respectable book- sellers in London. Fines, ranging from 3s. imposed at Bow-street to 40s. at the Mansion House, were inflicted one man,, who had other prints upon him, being sent to prison for a month. Ab Bow- street Mr. Bridge said that in future, if men were found selling such things in London after con- victions were known, they would be dealt with under the Vagrant Act. One of the prisoners, as he was being removed from the dock, protested that the editor of the paper was the person who ought to be proceeded against.

A SHIP'S CREW SENT TO PRISON. At Plymouth Police Court, 11 sailors, named re- spectively Nevin, Gilman, Colling, Clayton, Dixon, Steward, Johnstone, Kettle, Stevens, Battamore, and Collins, the crew of the ship Serapis, of Lon- don, were charged with wilfully disobeying the lawful commands of Captain Tomsett, also with continued neglect of duty, and combining together to disobey the officers. The Serapis was bound from London to Melbourne with a general cargo, and the officers stated thab she was in a thorough seaworthy condition, and was noted for her fast passages to Australia. OB account of the 10011 re- fusing duty the ship had a narrow eacapo from going ashore. The defendants said they refused duty because some holes hnd been made in the bow of the ship by the anchor chains; but evi- dence was given that these notes were small, were six or seven feet above the water-line, and were effectually stopped by the carponfcer. The Bench sent all defendants to prison for six weeks, with hard labour.

SHIP CANAL WORK AT RUNCORN. I There are upwards of a thousand men now em. ployed constantly on the Runcorn section of the Manchester Ship Canal, where the work of exca- vation is proceeding satisfactorily. The work on No Man's Land has been stopped for the present. vation is proceeding satisfactorily. The work on No Man's Land has been stopped for the present.. It appears that the Mersey Conservancy Board possess certain rights over all lands that are covered by tide of 21 feet, and as No Man's L;md answers that description it ia within the jurisdiction of thab body, who have not given permission for operations to be commenced on this part of the section. No doubt application will be made to tho board in due form, and work resumed on the land in a sbort period. For the joint use of the Runcorn and Western sections an apcidetxb hospital- is to be erected below RMHeorH dock", and it is believed that the contractor (Mr. Walker) has determined to have a number of huta erected on the firsfc- named section for the navvies. On the various sections about Warrington progress continues to be made.

--KFRS AND- CHESHIRE FARMERS AND THE FOREIGN I MEAT QUESTION. A special meeting of t;ho Chester Farmers' Club has been held at the Blossoms Hotel, Chester, for the purpose of hearing a paper read by Mr. William Knowles, of Ledsham, dealing with the foreign meat question. Me. T. Jefferson (Peel Houso) presided, and there was a large attendance of farmers of the neighbouring districts.—Mr. Knowles read a lengthy paper, similar -to thab which he submitted to the members of tlie Wirral Farmers' Ckh. He stated -that he believed bhab fraud in the sale of foreign mesb could he detected, as the bone in tfce meat was larger than that in the English fed heef.—Mr. Hart, of Cannockchase, said some few months ago he had the privilege of visiting the Union Stockyard at Chicago, and he saw some thousands of beaste in one of the packing establishments. He noticed that aM the best beasts were kept in America, whilst the inferior ones were sent to England. He believed in foreign meat being labelled in butchers' shops.—The Secretary (Mr.T. Da vies) said there were carcases now coming from America with shoes on their feet and segs underneath their collars, showing they had been worked; and some of the animals were perhaps as old as he.—Mr. W. C. Deeley, ;in pro- posing a vote of thanks to Mr. Knowles, said he was distinctly of opinion that tlwre was no Act under which they could -get a conviction, because of the difficulty in proving whether the beef was English. or faraWt. waged the farmers to agitate, to. got a distinctly worded dlause in one j Acfc on 'another fwffect<Hg the meat question. It was a vital question, not only in the interests of j the farmers but tha, consumers.—Mr. Curwen seconded the proposition, which was carried, and ttojaeatiag coueMed.

EXTRAORDINARY VICI £ Or. AN EXPLOKIN« EXfrBDITIOH. KAKKD ixnomt The latest information received «f £ h*«vpl&M- •Ion up the Sjb. Jeeeph Riv^r, New G^inea, nnder- taksn by Mining Engineer C*«rveron and Ms friends, show that the »iWlHio6 eoderf hi a «om- plste disaster, many of wie/i»l«ll|i arriving at tihe station, Island, w{0» t$eeeoi cloth aronnd their wjUst* The account M given by ,Mr. Cameron, sk^wa tjial wV«» the p«r>y Jeffc; Yuille lsland tlirsyjtad t^o interpreters with their par If. AYiMawaUn* ^echief ordered the p**ty to remain, bufc, »«bsequ*^yt l^ty .nati.Te^carrier* arrived and, took the prtjp dijrf Bowra, who tried to iaeitisubh^ nabiTe# to afll the, explorer*. The latter presented the. principal ohiefs with long knives, and the party were allowed tn'go tn AitMt with an "IliOVC The eeoort, how. ever, abolio the trading arbidU^, atid appeared very horofe, so M«ct* s» that the explore** sarreptt- tiovirfr jk'tafe, and, "leargd *•. «*hy of the 4<yws as possible. stple ,away. Th« .current was mf #*«*•#» *«*d ra/t was, carri^i down the riypr at a r»t>e of abo«t twelve miles hoar. The raft struck.several snags, ai»d explorers lost everything they had, jnst aeoaping wi*h their tires. They bad scaroely any.clothing at all, and oHt night they were ant iu alearfnl rain storm, rtfin cochin* down in towWris all night Their IfuffeHngs wftre rery They reached friendly village pf Ain<4 Aii<} ibdjfob f* After w«s 'Sm+hsm ■fedttk* aSttnrt. hiid the.ewpfemMrtttar tftMlsdfd tidt oxptel t» •s^Me.#tfS tbsMivk.

-I*'» til*

THE EUROPEAN SITUATION, j CoiCSTASTINOPLIf. | A parpxysm of tnflltary activity has seized uj>on j the Porte during the last few days. The fortifica- tions of Adrianople and Tcbataldje, which are very incomplete, are to be finished and supplied with guns, and Herr Mauser is to be asked to accelerntu his deliveries of guns, while remount commissions are to be dispatched to Russia and Hungary. Tho marvel is that, all this is to be done with an empty I Treasury. Bat there is a prospect of concluding with the Ottoman Bank an advance of a milliou Oil the deposit of drafts on the custom-houses. Nothing has yet transpired as to the special ob- ject of the private audience to which the Sultan invited Sir William White. • VIENNA. The Austrian Minister of War will, it, the meet- ing of the Delegations in June next, demand an extraordinary credit of 54 million florins, or about jt:4,300,000, for military purposes. ST. PETKRant RO. In political circles here the report of the impend- inc appointment of Chakir Pasha, the lurkish Ambassador here, as Grand Vizar ia regarded as improbable. £ ount von Wolkenstein Trostburg, Austrian Ambassador to Russia, will very probably be ap- pointed Ambassador in London. Moscow. The Moscow Gazette, in an article on the English political situation, saya :— Notwithstanding that the Conservative Minis- try enjoys the support of an obedient majority, tho hitter contains strong Liberal and Radical ele- ments, which, in conjunction with the Democratic current existing in the country, will modify tho foreign as it has the home policy of the Govern- ment! The Imperial policy of Lord Beaconsfield will have to be abandoned, England's interests be- I coming proportionate to her real power and means of defence." Tho article concludes by declaring that this state of things cannob but give satisfaction to Russia. ATHENS. M. Condouriotis, the Greek Minister in Con. stantiuople, is expected here shortly on leave. CONSTAN TI N O P L E. Nicolai Effendi Sartinsky has been finally ap- pointed Governor of Crete. The negotiations between the Porte and the Ottoman Bank for a loan of jeT2,500,000 continue. The Government offers as security an increase of the amount which was assigned from the customs revenue on the conclusion of the last loan. It is said that the two loans will be amalgamated, and thab interesb ab the rate of five per ccnt. will be paid on the tobal amounto. The price of issue will be 50'

CHINESE EMIGRANTS TO AUSTRALASIA' MELBOURNE. The Executive Council of Victoria has issued an order thab all vessels bringing Chinese immigrants to the colony shall be detained in quarantine for such time as the authorities may think fit. The Afghan has sailed for Sydney, where it is be lieved the landing of the immigrants destined for that port will also be prohibited. One hundred of the Chinese have been forwarded to New Zealand, where no obstacle will be offered to their landing. At a meeting held in the Town-hall, the Mayor presiding, ib was unanimously resolved to demand the imposition of a poll-tax of X100 from Chinese immigrants, and a residential tax of £ 20 annually.

THE UNITED STATES. WASHINGTON. The Senate was thronged the other night to hear Mr. Ingalls' reply to an attack made upon him in a recent speech by Mr. Voorhees. Mr. Ingalls, in the course of his remarks, denounced the latter's record during the war of secession, to which Mr. Voorhees replied by declaring thab several of Mr. Ingalls' statements were baseless. The debate was one of the most animated which have taken place in the Senate for many years. NBW YORK. The Republicans have nominated Mr. Joseph Fifer for the post of Governor of Illinois. The trial nas commenced of Thomas B. Kerr, one of the alleged Broadway Railway bribers. Mr. Phelps will return to England on June 9. Sir Thomas Esmonde has arrived at Albany. capital of New York State. He was received by the State Legislature and entertained by the Mayor.

THE POPE AND THE NATIONAL LEAGUE. ARCHBISHOP WALSH AND THE PAP AL BRIEF. ROME. The dejection in Irish clerical circles in Rome is becoming greater and greater, as the conviction is being borne in upon prelates, priests. and laymen that not only will the Papal Brief not be revoked, or even modified, but that it may, and at no distan b date, be supplemented by an even more stringent condemnation of the procedure of the National League. The position of the Archbishop of Dublin is naturally being canvassed, and much interest is shown as to how he will extricate him. self from the horns of,the,dileinma upon which he is placed. Speaking for myself. I may perhaps be permitted to say, since in the performance of my duty I have been violently assailed by Nationalist tj writers, that my information on the subject, which has come from the best possible channels, has never been coloured by me in the slightest degree, as, indeed, the recent decision of the Holy Office fully testifies, although it has sometimes been modified where the information appeared in the slightest degree doubtful. For the present l may content myself wkh repeating that other impor- tant events are pending. tant events are pending. RoM. It is stated in well-informed quarters that the decision of the Congregation of the Holy Office in regard to the Plan of Campaign and Boycotting and Cardinal Monaco's circular to the Irish bishops are to be considered as preliminary steps. A special; Congregation of the Propaganda, composed exciu* sively of Cardinals, In now examining, by order of the Pope, several questions submitted to them relative to the agitation In Ireland, to which their Eminences will reply by a formal votsu Cardinal Simsooi has already formulated at leaat ten points for consideration TheVatican appears resolved to treat the question In such a manner that whoever may oppose it* decisions will ir4 so doing place himself outside the pal.,ef c..oral and Christian law. No doubt is entertained at the; Vatican that the Irish bishops will feel it neces- sarily Incumbent upon them bo follow the line of conduct prescribed by the Holy See. Archbishop Walsh, of Dabtin, has had, Several conversations with Cardinal Simeoni, the Prefect of tho Propngaiiia, in the cowe of which the Cardinal informed htm of the necessity of sub- mitting to the views of the Pope and the receut decree of tha Congregation of the HolyiOftioe. Dir. Walsh declared his readiness to submit to the Pope's orders, but stated that he could not aot in opposition to his own conscience, adding that he, should find no difficulty in reaiguing his position in Dublin. It is stated that,should Dr. Walsh tender his resignation, he will be created a Cardinal.

DEFEAT OF THE ITALIAN MINISTRY. ROM*. After a debate lasting several days, the Cham- ber of Deputies proceeded to vote by secret ballot upbn the bill for the re-adjaetment of local ta»- tion, with the result that the measure was thrown uf.f y 133 agninst 115 votes. This decision will :t j probability itirolvo,t-he resignation of. Signor Vl<<jH-s*ni, kite linauoe Minister.

| THE RUSSIAN PRESS. Bmii. I "Ach;i.- from St. Petersburg state that the Grq$f*id)»i« and the have been pro- hibited from being exhibited for sale, or publicly month, although both papers will be alt&wid to print sufficient oopies to supply their mbeorfcerp.

We *r.s authorised to state that her Majesty's MrtftHtjy will be eelebrated on Saturday, June 2 &xV.<- readingfifrthe Wine* BMl-has. new be«i setd*w* f«* Buffalo Bill's Wild West show has leib Salford lei. Httll, on its return to America. The Worshipful Company of Merchant Tayloii have made a grant of 10 guineas to the Mission to, Deep Sea Fishermen. The military Wochenblatt announces the appoint- ment of the Duke of Connaught as commander of the 3rd (Zieten) Regimentfof Hussars. Gold has been discovered by some workmen excavating near Holyhead. The quarbz is said Iic)., be very rich. The National (South British and National) Firo and Marine Insurance Company has declared a. dividend for the six months at the rate of 10 per oent. per annum. At Limerick a number of civilians have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment under- the Crimes Act for assaulting soldiers of the Derby- shire Regiment.. Mr. Percy Fibxgerald's promised wort, Chronicles of Bow Streeb Police Court," will be published this month by Messrs. Chapman and m The recent declarations of Signor Crispi m the- Italian Parliament in reference to Austna-Huugary and the Triple Alliance meet with the warmest appreciation in Government circles. Paris ad viceaatate that wheat has been firm ab. Paris, while upon most of the French country markets previous prices have also been maintained At Marseilles wheat has been quiet at former rates. The Paris newspapers state that nineteen cart- ridges of the New Lebel ride have been stolen from tho cartridge-factory at Douai, and that aiv inquiry lias been instituted by the authorities, A fete will take place ab Lisbon, on May 12, ir» honour of tho visit of the King of Sweden. Thl). j fireworks will be provided by Messrs. Brock and I Co., of London I About 500 men employed in the South Quaregnon. coalpit have struck work, demanding an increase of pay They remain quiet, but an extension of the strike is apprehended.. A telegram from Berne, says:—The Social Demo*- crats who have been expolled from Switzerland have been granted until the loth inst. to for their depti-ttire. It is stated that General Boulangor will visifr Lille on the 12th, and that a grand banquet will, be given in his honour. The general will also pre- side at a banquet to be held at Saint Mantle. A receiving order has been granted at the- Liverpool Bankruptcy Court againati Mr. Philip Eberle, of Waterloo Park and the City Hall,. Eberle-street, restaurant proprietor. A Belgrade telegram reporta bloody conflicts. between the Greek, Servian, and Turkish popula- tions in the Monastir and Bitolia district. The- Porte has decided to send troops. Mr. Bromley-Davet^porb, M.P., has intimated to the tenantry on his Cheshire estates thab be. proposes to return 10 per cent, on their rents int consequence ef the agricultural depression. The ice, which extends ten miles seaward has been forced at Hango. A great number of vessels,, after a fortnight's hard work, have arrived. The, Gulf is full of drift ice. Ab St. Helens, three boys named William John- son, William Wilton, and Thomas Jackson, have been fined 6d. and 6s. 6d. costs for playing foobball in the streets. An interim dividend at the rate of 8 per cent*. per annum has been declared by Simson and* Mason, Limited, for the half-year ended the 30th- nib The fishermen of Cardigan Bay have combined' to prevent the intrusion of the Manx and other- boats which trawl with deep-sea fishing nets, and kill much immature fish and disturb spawn in the, bay. Mr. Kelynge Green way, who, it was expected* would be arrested in Dublin in connection with the, prosecution arising out of the luspension of Graon- I waya' Bank, has surrendered to the uuthoritto ab Warwick. At the Runcorn Police Court, before Major Hazlehurst, a married woman named Annie Ashley*, who stated that she was a Ship Canal navvy, wa. charged with having been drunk in Church-streeb*. and was fined 5s. and 5s. 8d. costs. The NetI) York Tribune says that the Irish volun- teers, in an address to their followers, have deettared that they believe the time has come to forsakesthe- forum and take up the resources of civilisation in order to secure bhe self-government of Ireland,-t The steamer Saale has arrived from Now Yprk. with £ 17,000 in sjiecie. The Mexican, for the C, ape, has sailed with £ 260,000 in specie, of which jt'fi^OOO' was for Lisbon, and the Moselle has taken £ 9,400* for the West Indies. Three trawl boats belonging to Thorpe hava^eeni struck by a heavy squall off Aldeburgh. Two* by promptly shortening sail, escaped swamping, but- the third was lost sight of, and is supposed to have foundered with her two occupants. The Royal Agricultural Society's show aW*ot- tingham and that of the Bath and West of England: Society at Monmouth this year, will be among- j the largest of the shows ever held by th()So_ societies. The platers at the South Stockton -on -Teed, ,phip- yard have given notice of a demand for Itt per cent, increase in their wages. The notice expiree- this month. A similar demand, it is anticipated, will be made in the neighbouring towns. ■. The Cleveland ironmasters' returns for A prill show the total mafcnof pig-iron in that month to. be 215,174 tons, a decrease of 826 tons compared with March. The total stocks at the end » the- month were 586,492 tons, a decrease of 24,20# tons enthemonth. Mr. Secretary Stanhope is about to brin. in n> bill to exclude all unauthorised persons frolii cer- tain lands to be used for the purposes of thcrioyal Gunpowder Factory ab Walthain Abbey, to ttop. up a certain footpath thereon, and for other pur. poøes. It is said that in the Bill to be introduced by the Government for the erection ottife pe«rage»<< there will be a clause imposing on the qhim* Minister for the time beihgthe oMfgation of faying before the Crown the particular grohnds on which, In each cMe. the rocoi|im««d»tion is made. Efforts are being made in Dublin society to bring about a visit of the Queon to Ireland thisyear. It is pointed out that her Majesty has now reigned' some 1^70tt days, aiwl out of that extended period the total time she has resided in Ireland bm booo. only eighteen days. It ha* been wporto4 •o^th^cHt'h of tha pane* at Preston that swine fever had ttrdken outcast the- premites of Mr.- JertrthWi Getigb, Lamb«rb«ad- Kroan, Pambertdn, wear and also Mm the* premises of Mr. JosenkfliXotSf Westbaak, Widaes*. and Mr. Richard ShakeshafVJirtta»*> Four animals' Were.killed by order of tfcalaaatraottborityfru! An inquest has beet* lnM%iM>/(?liwit»^it»all, on the body of Jeeeph Hea lief JiVni b^the^ehild of ia general labourer,, reakilag-a|«>6i ^jfkeftStreefe^ Everten. Tin. eUU's; ♦Ilirl'SliriMHPJtHH N was badly burned, Mil, Road Hospital, where he- diedr VewUcH It Aodc dental deatli." < ■-■ « At ihe Li*^rpooVPoAiee^>«t^%lwai Biient^ engineer'msto«e)9Mr^ ayisUnfe; engineer's storekeeper; and Joseoh Robinson, ehief engineer of the sfafcn»hip Lard Geugh, were inod In various stims ranging, a# h>gh 8a. 6d. and costs for sm»ggu»g qaa» titles «| to- AmonMb <5aftdMaV6s tXl ferih^etainjf' election of the tion is Mm. Maiwltfciw oi k ws^-kaow' Lomtmi journawt;" flabscrlbet-a nf U»e lnititntien' who have4io% ali%i^m»romUS|tt ^hisft' vot«**i%aiinot. do better tlian sawd'Vteirp;iSTiei Wths v»,Hk>wt s%> 40. Wilson-road, CirinlMrif^li;- 8*. Messrs. J R. PadithMan and'Ca/stateHat tli«> shinmente of {Kirt for-Apr it hnt<«iint' trtJ |>ipea> fGreat-Britahi 2,8ft7 ^plifce),ittWhl»f 38'90t*- pipe* for four months* pijies in Tha- sherry shipmenW -ettwr>4,lWbatte, maWi(j^ie,roft. butts for four- <wo«rt»hs> as oefpeesd vitip:*J £ lil2' b*At the N^airCownlt^Ue* Court, W. King, .at weakly-looking lad. I^'bsa»chaaged wit^r in a eoke oven, and not beinif able to gi«Y f^ a*, count of hiuisolf. —Magistrate; What wore ye«i doing there Priso«wr I was aleepini,, sir. t caiqe front Liveri>o<*l. I was werkii^'thers, but. could not find further emplwymeak After bdagr eautione<l he wasd»ciiarg#d. Samuel Riohard Mallenolr, a snlssin^ ia tM> BUUngsgate Market, has -bein saoMnonVd at tha tMbance of the FUbmongars' for an infringement of the Salmon F £ »h^i«« Aot'la having *ipo«e4 for sale sevea uuelfap aalmaa.-—Mr. C. O.