The Brecon County Times Neath Gazette and General Advertiser for the Counties of Brecon Carmarthen Radnor Monmouth Glamorgan Cardigan Montgomery Hereford

BIRTHS. MANSFIELD—At Wind Street, Neath, November 3, the wife of Mr. Thomas Mansfield, of a daughter. WATKINS-At Trecastle, October 30, the wife of Mr. Thomas Watkins, draper, of a son. MARRIAGES. JONES-DAVIEs-At Salem chapel, Llanfihangel-aber- gwessin, October 21, by the Rev. Matthias, in the presence of Mr. John Jones, registrar, Mr, James Jones, of Llwyrigwillim, to Miss Margaret Davies, of Panteg, both in the parish of Llangammarch. MEREDITH-JONEs-At St. Mary's Church, Builth, October 29 (by license), by the Rev. R. H. Harrison, M.A., perpetual curate of Builth, Mr, Thomas Meredith, Ivy Cottage, to Miss Margaret Jones, of the Plough Inn, both of Builth. PRICE MORGAN At the Register Office, Brecon, November 6, before Mr. W. Evans, registrar, Mr. Isaac Price, Cefncoedmawr, Llandefailogfach, to Miss Elizabeth Morgan, Llanfaes, Brecon. DEATHS. lliMER-At Builth, October 30, of rapid consumption, Thomas, youngest son of the late Mr. James Hamer, of Nantmel, Radnorshire, aged 19 years. LEWIS—At Trecastle, October 24, Mrs. Gwenllian Lewis, Bull Inn. TiiomAs-At Hay, recently, Mr. Jonathan Thomas, in his 90th year. WILLIAMS—At the residence of her son-in-law (the Rev. J. B. Evans, vicar of St. Harmon, Rhayader), October 27, Sarah, relict of Thomas Williams, Esq., Bwlchnewydd, Lampeter, aged 83 years, deeply lamented.

NOTICES. How often shall we have to repeat that nothing is inserted in these columns unless authenticated to us by the ftell name and address of the sender ? Three notices of births, which have reached us this week, are omitted because this rule has not been complied with, Our publication is so often delayed by the late arrival of advertisements that we have found it necessary to make a rule that all advertisements which reach us afte)- ten o'clock on the morning of publication (Friday) shall be charged twenty per cent. in addition to the usual scale price. In the article on Gas which appeared in our last issue, a slight error crept in. For So that intense inflamma- bility is the only source of or measure of the extent of the danger, read "So that intense inflammability is not the only source of or measure of the extent of the danger that may arise from the use of these highly: volatile liquids."

APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. MONDAY .Brecon Borough Petty Sessions. Builth Petty Sessions. Annual Meeting of Brecon Town Council. Election of Schoolmistress at Crickhowell Union.-See advt. Borough Leet Dinner at Wellington Hotel, at 4 o'clock.—See advt. TUESDAY Kington Fair. Sale of Stock and Implements, by Mr. John Probert, at Llwyntew, at 12.30.-See advt. "WEDNESDAY.County Roads Board. THURSDAY Penderyn Petty Sessions. FRIDAY Crickhowell Petty Sessions. Talgarth Fair. SATURDAY.Brecon County Petty Sessions. Pontneddfechan and Carmarthen Fairs. BRECON AND MELITHYR RAILWAY.-54 miles open. Traffic for week ending Nov. 1, 1868:— Passengers, parcels, &c fl66 0 9 Goods and live stock £ 775 12 5 Total. L941 13 2 £17 8s. 9d. per mile per week. Corresponding week last year, 48 miles open Passengers, parcels, &c JE78 3 2 Goods and live stock JE83912 6 Total. jM17 15 8 f,19 2s. 5d. per mile per week. < Decre. E23 17 6 )

THE REGISTRAR GENERAL'S REPORT. THE reports of the Registrar General are always looked forward to with a large amount of interest. The birth, marriage, and death of man are the three leading periods of his life, and the particulars afforded by these returns give us an epitome of the life of this great country, and indicate to a great extent the measure of its prosperity. The report just issued shows us that the total number of births in the United Kingdom during the three months ended September 30th was 255,199, while the deaths numbered 165,728, thus making the increase of population 89,471. From this number, however, must be deducted 40,672 emigrants, which reduces the increase to 48,799. The number of marriages in the quarter ended June 30th was 56,033. In England and Wales there has been a diminution of the number of marriages during the June quarter, this arising partially from the high price of provisions which prevailed, and being one of the effects of the recent monetary crisis. The number of marriages in the quarter named was 45,226, as against 45,462 in the corresponding quarter of 1867, and 48,577 in the year 1866, thus reducing the marriage rate to 1.678. In 1866 the rate was 1.840, and the average for the last ten years 1.699. In London the decline has been of a very marked character, there being a decrease in that city of 213 in the June quarter as compared with the spring quarter of 1867, and a decrease of 753 as compared with that of 1866. The eastern, south-eastern, and south- midland districts have exhibited but little falling off, but it has been particularly notice- able in the mining districts and in the manu- facturing districts of Cornwall, Staffordshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. The number of births registered in the quarter ended Septem- ber 30th have been 192,467, being at the rate of 3.523, the highest on record in this country. This increase appears to have been general, the rate being lowest-so far as the great towns are concerned-in Bristol and Hull, and highest in Sheffield and Leeds. The average for the last ten years is 3.508. The deaths during the September quarter have been 130,502, and the excess of births over deaths is therefore 61,965. This number is greater by more than 20,000 than the deaths in the corresponding quarter of 1867. As, however, in the previous half-year a low rate of mortality had prevailed, -the total number is still under the average of the three seasons. Of the great towns the highest mortality was in Manchester, where it was 38 in 1,000, in Salford 36, Leeds and Sheffield 33, Liverpool 32, Bradford 31, Hull and Birming- ham 30, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 27, London 25, and Bristol 22. On the other hand Cardiff, Merthyr Tydvil, and Swansea, have honourable mention for the low rate of mortality prevailing there. In London a great many deaths were caused by summer cholera, 267 taking place in 113 weeks, while 3,145 deaths occurred through diarrhoea, exceeding by about 850 the number in 1866, when cholera was epidemic. In Liverpool, Manchester, Salford, Leeds, Sheffield, Leicester, &c., the deaths from diarrhoea were also numerous, a higher rate prevailing even than in London. Emigration has very greatly decreased the natural increase of population, there being no fewer than 56,625 emigrants from the United Kingdom. By far the great majority of the English emigrants, who num- bered nearly 20,000, were bound for the United States of America, only a small proportion seeking a homa in British North America, or the Australian colonies. The number of emi- grants thus reduces the increase in the popula- tion of England from 673 to 456 daily. We have already seen that there has been a very considerable matrimonial depression, and this has continued during the eighteen months ending last June. The price of provisions during this time has been very high. The greatest price per quarter paid for wheat was during last March quarter, when it was 72s. 2d. In the June quarter it fell to 71s. 10d., and in the September quarter to 59s. Id., this being 8s. Id. per quarter more than it was in the September quarter of 1866, and 14s. 3d. less than in the same period of 1867. The price of beef in the June and September quarters averaged from 4d. to r&ld. per lb., and mutton 4:1;d. to 6fd. per lb., showing a fall of td. per lb. in beef since the September quarter of 1866, and of Id. and ltd. in mutton. The price of potatoes per ton in September quarter was from 120s. to 175s., and in the corresponding quarter of 1866 from 75s. to 120s., thus showing a rise of more than 50 per cent. The heat of the last summer is but too well remembered the hottest day seems to have been the 22nd of July, on which date the thermometer at Greenwich rose to 96 deg. 6 sec. in the shade, the highest temperature of the air ever recorded. The fall of rain only reached 5.1 inches, instead of 7.6, which is the average summer fall at Greenwich. Instead, therefore, of there being a fall of 767 tons to the acre there was a deficiency of 252 tons an acre. This deficiency was principally in the months of May, June, and July, and also in September. In reference to the shortness of water thus caused the Registrar General says:—"Water is required by the population of the country for drink and for domestic purposes every day. Now, as rain falls at intervals it is evident that the constant supply can only be secured by natural, or by artificial storage of the water in rivers, lakes, ponds, under or above ground. At present many of these reservoirs fall off, or fail alto- gether, after a certain number of days of drought; and the water supply is limited in quantity and often deteriorated in quality, for the constant undiluted impurities become more and more noxious every day to man and beast. The first lesson of the season is the urgency of providing ample storage for the flood waters about the river heads, and for the rain fall of houses, so as to equalize the distribution over the days of the year. The second lesson is the necessity of measures for the removal and interment of every kind of fermenting impurity. The diarrhoeas, choleras, and analogous diseases, which spoil the enjoyment of the finest summers, will then be as rare in those days as the early migratory birds for, finding nothing to feed upon, they will infest our cities and villages no longer."

LOCAL 1NTELLIGENCE. MEDICAL.—We are pleased to record that at a Court of Examiners held at the University of Edin- burgh last month, Mr. John W. Davies, son of J. Davies, Esq., M.D., of Abersychan, near Pontypool, formerly of Brecon, passed his preliminary exami- nation in Arts prior to registering as a medical student. THE NEW DRAINAGE Woiaxs.-Messrs. Jones and Jepson, of Cadoxton, commenced executing their contract for the new drainage works on Wednesday. They began under the Captain's Walk, where a 15-inch pipe is being laid, which will receive the sewage from Lion-street and Glamorgan-street, where 12-inch and 10-inch pipes respectively are to be put down. From the way in which they have begun the work there is every appearance of its being completed with expedition. SHOCK OF AN EARTHQUAKE.—On the night of Friday se'nnight a rather severe shock of an earth- quake was felt in this town. It occurred at 10.37 p.m,, and had the effect of waking many who had retired to rest from their first sleep, and of alarming others. So far as we have heard there was but one shock, which did not last more than ten seconds. In the neighbourhood, we hear, the shock was also very perceptibly felt, and numbers of articles moved from their places. 1ST BRECKNOCKSHIRE RIFLE VOLUNTEER CORPS.— Orders for the week ending 14th Nov. 1868.-0fficer on duty, Ensign H. Jones; Orderly Sergeant, J. P. Davies; Orderly Corporal, J. Meredith. Church parade on Sunday, Nov. 8th. Squad drill Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. The first competition for the second challenge cup will take place on Wednesday, the 11th inst. Shooting to commence at 9.30 a.m., and 2 p.m., at 200 yards.—Signed, W. L. Banks, Captain commanding.—Orderly Room, Brecon, 5th Nov. 1868. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION. -This election can scarcely be considered a contest. Messrs. Charles Gibson and John Williams, it seems, had been nominated without having been consulted, and they therefore issued addresses requesting their friends to refrain from voting. The consequence was that when the Mayor and two assessors, Messrs. W. Brien and T. H. Williams, sat on Monday morning at nine o'clock, no votes were recorded for the two fresh candidates. No voting then took place for an hour, and this terminated the election, Messrs. J. Davies, J. R. Cobb, H. C. Rich, and J. Jones, being re-elected. The whole proceedings did not occupy more than an hour and a half. DEATH OF THE CLERK OF THE WORKS TO HER MAJESTY.—We regret to announce the unexpected and somewhat sudden death of an eminent Brecon man,-Mr. William Thomas,—which occurred on Tuesday last, at his residence, Brunswick-terrace, Windsor. Although he had been unwell for some months past, his illness became alarming only on Monday, after he had been out riding, and he died on the following morning from the rupture of a blood vessel in the head. The Daily News says Mr. Thomas was held in much respect by Her Majesty, by whom he had been entrusted to superintend the works of the Prince Consort's mausoleum at Frog- more. The deceased visited Brecon with his two daughters a few months ago, and his friends were much gratified by his production of several valuable tokens of respect which Her Majesty from time to time had graciously presented him with. During his short visit here he received instructions from the executors of the late Dr. Lewis Powell to erect a monument at Llywel church to the memory of that eminent and lamented gentleman. The deceased was much beloved by a large circle of friends for his kind-hearted sympathy with everything that was good, as well as for his simple unobtrusive habits. He was a "son of genius" in the true and best [ sense of the term. THE WEATHER.—During the night of Wednesday last a fall of snow took place, which covered the ground, but, being succeeded by rain, it soon dis- appeared in the valley, though it still remained on the Beacons. THE IRISH CHURCH. -The desirability of dis- establishing this church formed the subject of a discussion, on Tuesday night, by the members of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society. Mr. G. A. Edwards took the affirmative side, and was supported by Mr. Evan Watkeys and Mr. W. W. Morris. Mr. J. Chappell and Mr. Boswell took the opposite view. Not very much spirit was thrown into the discussion, but the members affirmed the desirability of disestablishment by 17 votes to 9 several remained neutral. Mr. J. Fergusson was the chairman. A PIKE IN THE TENDER OF A RAILWAY ENGINE.— A new method of transporting fish alive has been discovered. A fisherman happened to catch in Llangorse Lake a pike of 221b. weight, which he kept alive in the water for two days. An engine driver on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, hearing of this, purchased the fish with the view of taking it alive to Newport. Accordingly the pike was carried up from the lake, a mile distant, in a wetted bag to the station, which rather rough treatment he survived. The engine driver was now somewhat puzzled to know what to do with his charge, when the happy thought occurred to the inspector, Put him in the tender, Jack." No sooner said than done, and in a second the fish was emptied out into the manhole of the tender, and soon began to recover itself in the fresh water. From inquiries made since, I learn that the fish reached Newport, forty miles distant, alive, and the man who went into the tender to catch him again says, "We had a deuce of a job to do it.Field. SCHOOL TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.—The usual quar- terly meeting of this Association was held at the Postern Schools, Brecon, on Saturday last. The members present were the Revds. J. Bowen (Llan- gorse), hon. sec., David Williams (Llanthetty), Daniel Williams (Talybont), J- Evans (Cantreff), T. Jones (Merthyr Cynog), Burnett (Brecon), Mr. Nolan (Brecon Schools), Mr. Davies (Talybont), Mr. Davies (Trecastle), Mr. Morris (Llangorse), Mr. Palin (Glasbury), Mr. Williams (Devynock), Miss Martin and Miss Rawson (Brecon), and Miss Price (Boughrood). The chair was taken by the honorary secretary, in the absence of the vicar, After reading the minutes of the last meeting, the chairman called on the Rev. David Williams (Llanthetty), who read an excellent paper on The influence of poetry on our schools." An interesting discussion followed, and all agreed that more time ought to be devoted to this subject than has hitherto been allowed in schools. A cordial vote of thanks was unanimously passed to Mr. Williams, after which the meeting was brought to a close. We understand the hon, secretary has purchased £5 worth of new books for the library. THE RETURNS OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL]— From the recently published returns we gather the following facts in reference to the births, marriages, and deaths in the county of Brecon. In the Builth district the number of marriages in the quarters ending the last day in June were- in 1866, 21; 1867, 18; and in 1868, 15. The births for the quarters ending the last day of September-in 1866, 80; 1867, 77; and 1868, 68 deaths for the same quarters—1866, 22; 1867, 37 and 1868, 25. In reference to this decrease of deaths it may be remarked that both water and drainage works have been recently completed in that town. In Brecon district, the marriages for the June quarter were-in 1866, 56 1867, 34; and 1868, 38; births for the September quarter, 1866, 133; 1867, 131; and 1868, 149; deaths for the September quarter-1866, 78 1867, 51; and 1868, 74. In the Crickhowell district the marriages for the June quarter were-in 1866, 40 1867, 42 1868, 29 births for the September quarter-1866, 159 181; 1868, 181; deaths for the same quarter-in 1866, 91; 1867, 87 and 1868, 116. In Hay district the marriages for the June quarter were-in 1866, 24; 1867, 27 and 1868, 22; births for the Septem- ber quarter-1866, 84; 1867, 90 and 1868, 76; deaths for the same quarter-1866, 22 1867, 50 and 1868, 29. SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY.—On Sunday last sermons in aid of the funds of the English Calvin- istic Methodist, or Presbyterian, Sunday school were preached, in the morning by the Rev. D. W. Davies, the minister of the chapel, and in the after- noon and evening by the Rev. W. Howells, president of Trevecca. Each of the sermons bore upon the work of teaching, and were listened to with deep attention. A collection was made at the close of each service, and X12 10s. realised. On the follow- ing Tuesday a tea meeting took place in the school- room. The necessary arrangements had been entrusted to Mrs. John Prothero, under whose management they were most satisfactorily carried out. The tables were decorated with vases of flowers, and plants, and presented a very pretty appearance. A goodly number of persons sat down to tea, and at the conclusion an adjournment was made to the chapel, while the process of clearing away was carried on, the company being enter- tained by the performances at the organ of Misses A. Evans and T. Jones. A meeting was subsequently held in the schoolroom., and the proceedings com- menced with singing and prayer. On the proposition of the Rev. D. W. Davies, Mordecai Jones, Esq., was voted to the chair, and having made some few introductory observations indicative of his pleasure at being present and presiding over that gathering, he called upon the choir to favour them with an anthem. Behold how good and joyful" was then sung in a manner which proved very acceptable to those present. Short addresses were afterwards given by several friends, including the Rev. D. W. Davies, and Messrs. D. Prothero, E. Watkeys, &c. The children present belonging to the Sol-fa classes also sang to the pointing of Mr. T. H. Williams, on the "modulator," and several other anthems, including Deus Misereatur," Thine, 0 Lord, is the greatness," and "Lord of all power and might," were sung in a creditable manner by the choir. A vote of thanks to Mrs. Prothero and the other ladies for their exertions in the matter of the tea, and to the chairman for presiding, closed the proceedings.

MEETING OF THE LIBERAL PARTY AT BRECON. On Thursday evening, at eight o'clock, a meeting of the Liberal party was held at the Town-hall, the room being well filled. Mordecai Jones, Esq., pre- sided, and there were also on the platform Hugh Powel Price, Esq., the Liberal candidate, P. Bright, Esq., Mayor, W. de Winton, Esq., the Revds. H. Griffiths, D. W. Davies, W. Williams, Professor Morris, Professor Roberts, Dr. Talfourd Jones, Messrs. W. Roberts, T. Trew, J. Davies, Tudor, W. Games, J. Prothero, and T. H. Williams, The Chairman, in a few pointed observations, introduced the Liberal candidate to the meeting, at the same time expressing his own pleasure at being present. Mr/ Hugh Powel Price was received with cheers. He said it was now two months since he commenced canvassing the borough, and during the whole of that period he had received from them nothing but courtesy, kindness, and encouragement. (Cheers.) The struggle was drawiBg nigh, and a short fortnight would now determine whether that borough were to have a Liberal or a Tory representative. (Hear, hear, and cries of "A Liberal.") If he were not mistaken, a Liberal representative they assuredly would have. (Cheers.) The question to be decided was not whether they would elect his honourable opponent or himself, but whether someone should be elected to give support to Mr. Gladstone in the great changes he was about to introduce; and whether the destinies of the empire were to be in the hands of Mr. Disraeli or Mr. Gladstone. He thought he could not do better in describing the difference between the two men than refer to the respective addresses to their constituencies. The address of Mr. Gladstone was a clear expression of clear convictions, about which there could be no mistake. On the other hand, that of Mr. Disraeli was vague and shadowy, and bad that air of un- reality about it which belonged to all shams. It had only one tangible point, and that was that it expressed its continued adherence to the policy of Lord Derby. In reference to that policy he would observe that it would be difficult for any one to express clearly what it was. The policy and con- victions of the Conservative party were only taken up for an occasion they had only a short lease of seven years to run, and at the end of that time the lease was never renewed. When Lord Derby first took the lead of the Conservative party his great and leading principle was protection to British agriculture, but when he came into office in 1852 all that was forgotten, and nothing more was heard about protection of agriculture. The next principle he started was to resist the democracy of the age his mission was to stem democracy. That idea was expressed with so much earnestness that he, for one, began to believe it was real, until in 1859, Lord Derby threw that policy to the winds and brought in a Reform Bill himself. But it was surrounded by a number of fancy franchises, and had an air of unreality about it, and took away with one hand what it gave with the other. Then lie conceived it his duty to advocate a lateral extension of the fran- chise, but his party would not adopt a measure that would Americanise our institutions. So much for the convictions of the Tory party. Throughout the whole period he had alluded to they lasted for seven years, and then dropped. Now they had taken up the cause of the Irish church, and talked loudly of its being essential to the union of Church and State. They would fiad, however, before seven years were over, that it would be entirely flung away, and a fresh principle started. (Laughter and applause.) Therefore he thought they would agree with him in saying that the Conservative party had only a leasehold of their convictions-they had seven years to run, and then they were never resumed. (Laughter.) He would not enter again on all those lengthened arguments which one could easily bring forward in support of the disestablishment of the Irish Church he would only make one observation respecting it. Was it to exist for the public good, or was it not? When they found the Irish Church existed for a handful of persons, aud not for the whole community, he said it stood self-condemned. (Applause.) Their friends, the Conservatives, had made great capital out of the disestablishment of the Irish Church, they had endeavoured to alarm and terrify people. Once disestablish the Church in Ireland, and that of England and Wales would follow —in fact everything was going to be disestablished. One old lady feared the principle would enter the matrimonial circle, and disturb the relationship between man and wife (laughter), but he advised her to rest tranquil, that as long as he had a voice he would lift it up in her behalf, and that she should never be disestablishe!. (Renewed laughter.) As he had said he would not go into the question of the Irish Church, but touch upon one or two questions growing out of it. They were told if they disestab- lished the Irish Church they disturbed the connec- tion between Church and State. Let them see how matters stood. He dared say they were well aware that during the last Session of Parliament Mr. Disraeli told the House, as a principal reason for pausing in the career Mr. Gladstone sketched out, that he had appointed a commission to enquire into its condition, and until that had been presented to Parliament any legislation on the subject would be premature. That report had been issued, and a pretty havoc it played with the Irish Church. It annihilated two archbishops, six bishops, besides deans and chapters, and he could not tell them how many celestial bodies. (Laughter.) And having got rid of all these, a shadow would remain so as to preserve the sacred connection between Church and State. (Laughter.) They were not, however, to be led away by such shams as that the principle of the connection of Church and State was utterly wanting, and was indeed an offence against reason and common sense. Then it was alleged that the Liberals were going to apply the funds to a secular, and, therefore, to an unrighteous purpose, and that they (the Tories) would apply it to religious pur- poses. Let them analyse that statement, and look at it by the calm light of common sense and reason. The report suggested that in every parish in Ireland where the populatiou is below a certain number, the tithes from that parish should be taken away and applied to the benefit of some clergyman in a distant part of Ireland. That they called a religious appro- priation of money; in other words, it meant this, that if a man is in the enjoyment of X200 or .£300, that it be made X400, which gave him a greater command over the comforts of life-that was a religious appropriation of money. (Laughter.) But if they were to apply these funds as Mr. Gladstone intended to do—to ameliorate the condition of the poor, to stimulate their intelligence, and improve their moral and social condition-that was an unrighteous and secular means of appropriation, which the religious instinct of the country would strongly denounce. (Laughter.) He (the speaker) said the amelioration of the condition ot the Irish people, and the improvement of their moral and social posi- tion was quite as beneficial as the use to which the Conservatives would apply the money. (Hear,) They made a good deal of the secular argument; but he asked those present to look upon such argu- ments with the greatest possible suspicion, and examine them by the calm light of reason and com- mon sense. So much for the Irish question. He would now, with their permission, glance at a sub- ject, at which he very imperfectly glanced before —the great question of education. (Cheers.) They were aware that probably one of the first matters that would engage the attention of Parliament would be the question of general education throughout the kingdom. The subject had excited the attention of all religious parties, and all parties in the State, dur- ing the last few years, until it had come to this-it was high time that the State looked the matter boldly in the face, and took some action upon it. The question was-What kind of education is to be given ? And that reminded him that that town had been the scene of some little discussion on the question of education. They had seen the secular system of education denounced as the godless scheme ot educa- tion. But he would ask—in what way can the State make grants throughout the whole kingdom for the benefit of all classes, unless it be on the secular principle ? (Hear, hear.) The nation was composed of large bodies holding different forms of faith, and different creeds. It was the duty of the State to give expression to the will and opinions of all those different bodies (cheers), and, therefore, when the public ask the State to initiate a scheme of education, it was impossible for the State to initiate a scheme that will suit all classes of religion. All it could do was to make grants for a kind of education on the necessity of which all were agreed; and as they found that what was commonly called secular education was a matter upon which all classes of religious denominations agreed, clearly it was the province of the State to make grants for that pur- pose. But it was beyond its province to go into the question of all the differences of belief in the different classes of the community, and make a grant in conformity with those beliefs. They had only to go to Trecastle to see the folly of this, since there they had been obliged to have two schools erected, where one would have sufficed if the different religious bodies could have worked together. (Hear, hear.) But when he used the term secular education, or, as their opponents called it, godless education—he sal5| it was not a godless education it was a system Tr, called upon a man to remember his duty to his fellow man it taught him all those matters which^were essential to his social and temporal well-being, but left to his clergyman or minister to instruct him in the special doctrines which it might be the wish of his parents he should be instructed in, (Cheers.) It seemed to him it was the duty of the State to make grants for a common purpose, upon which all could agree, and leave the inculcating of special doctrines to the different ministers of religion. But no great scheme Of. education could be carried out without an increase in the national expenditure. The question arose-wh,,re is the money to come from? He agreed with Lord Salisbury that it should come from imperial and not from local sources, and he thought it would be scarcely fair to make a local burden for that in which all classes were interested. All classes were alike interested, and all classes alike should contribute, (Hear, hear.) With the adminis- tration of the Poor-Law it was different it was desirable that that should he local, to check extrava- gance but he thought other descriptions of property should contribute towards the burden to a far greater extent than it now did. Inasmuch, however, as it was difficult to make all property liable, certain charges should be borne by the Consolidated Fund. This was a very great and important question, and it was one which he hoped, as soon as the more pressing and urgent matters were settled, would engage the attention of Parliament. They often heard Great Britain spoken of as if it only consisted of Great Britain and Ireland but in a recent speech made by the same eminent nobleman he had already alluded to, Lord Salisbury, he was forcibly struck with the observation how entirely the great and important question of India was omitted from the speeches which bad been made. The fact seemed to be ignored that their Queen was also empress of Hindostan, and that over a people numbering 150,000,000 she exercised a firm but benignant sway. And when they looked at those great interests it was a shame, and almost a disgrace, that in the debates in the House of Commons on India it was difficult to find a handful of members to listen to them. Any party or personal squabble would immediately fill the House, but if a debate arose on the subject affecting 150 millions of persons the benches were immediately emptied. He thought constituencies should urge on their members the necessity of paying closer attention to this great and important part of the empire. It was a matter in which they were really concerned. India was Manchester, and change in the former place was felt in Manchester. He looked forward to the time when as close attention should be paid to the interests of India as to those of Scot- land. (Cheers.) He had thus touched upon one or two of the more important questions which would necessarily before long engage the attention of Par- liament. It was for them to decide whether these great questions should be decided by a Liberal or a Conservative government. Were they to be deter- mined by those who were always ready to move onward when the times demanded it, or by those who endeavoured to resist this progress? The deci- sion would be of the greatest possible moment, and he wished that some one more powerful than himself could rise to the great and important duties which every member of Parliament would be called upon to perform. If such a man had come forward he would not have stood in his way for a moment. (Applause.) His opponents had made objection to him because he did not in that borough sustain a large local expenditure. He was not a wealthy man, and could not therefore sustain a large expenditure but he believed those whom he was addressing had a higher and a nobler view of the duties of a mem- ber of Parliament (applause) that they did not send a member to Parliament merely to represent a large local expenditure, but to do his best to pro- mote the happiness and welfare of that great country. If they elected him he would endeavour to recognise the heavy responsibilities resting upon him, and discharge them to the best of his ability. (Loud cheers.) Mr. W. de Winton said he addressed those pre- sent not merely as Liberal electors, but as men of progress. (Hear, hear.) After the eloquent speech of their candidate it would be totally unnecessary for him to to dwell upon political subjects, but as he had a resolution put into his hand he could not refrain from alluding to the-natre of Liberal. That word, connected with politics, meant a friend to pro- gress. (Cheers.) How had the Liberals of the country earned that name and character ? They had deserved it in every respect, because from the time they first came into power, and as long as they remained in power, they had supported progress. (Cheers.) The speaker then referred to the fact that in 1832 that borough had returned a Liberal to represent them, and in speaking of what the Liberals had done, he said they had got rid of one of the most disgraceful Acts on the statute book-he alluded to the Test and Corporation Acts (hear, hpar), -thus giving them the power of electing their own representatives to conduct local matters. In later days, with the help of Sir Robert Peel, they had removed the obnoxious bread tax. (Applause.) And wheat, instead of being reduced to a minimum, as the opponents of the measure predicted, had kept one uniform price, so that the staff of life was within the reach of all. It was now used as an argument that the Conservative administration had given to many of them the power of voting for a representa- tive. But Mr. Disraeli could not have carried the measure without the assistance of the Liberal party. After some further observations, the speaker con- cluded by proposing the following resolution:- That this meeting begs to express its renewed con- fidence in Hugh Powel Price, Esq., of Castle Madoc, as a candidate for the representation of Brecon and the town of Llywel in the House of Commons, and pledges itself to continued and renewed efforts to secure his return." (Loud applause.) The Rev. Professor Roberts seconded the resolu- tion in an able speech of great length. He said it gavo him great pleasure to be among them that evening. He congratulated them on the great number of promises of support which had been received by Mr. H. P. Price, inspiring them with the confidence that the gentleman who had addressed them that night as a candidate would in a short time address them as the member for Brecon. (Great cheering.) He should not go at length into the general politics of the day but the great matters in controversy between the political parties broke up into two sections, one being that of the Irish Church. In connection with that subject there was a good deal of ignorance and a good deal of misapprehension —more especially with regard to the property of the Church. They knew he was a Nonconformist, but he hoped in saying a few words to them as to the tenure by which the Irish Church held its property he should be able to do so without saying one disrespectful or discourteous word concerning any member of that Church, which numbered among it many useful, pious, and learned men. (Applause.) The subject broke up into two parts-disestiblish. ment and disendowment, and it was of the latter he would speak. The speaker then referred to the fact that when they talked of dealing 'rith the revenues of the Irish Church they were met with the cry of "sacrilege," and they were told that being- devoted to sacred uses they had no right to touch them. He held, he said, an opposite view, and for a variety of reasons. A long statement and argument was then entered into for the purpose of showing that the great bulk of the property of the Episcopal church had been bestowed upon it by the State, and in the next place, that neither the church as a body, nor any of the individual members of the church, held property otherwise than as public servants and as trustees for the public and next, that the State had on a number of occasions asserted its right, proper regard being had to real interests, to deal with the property as the supreme arbitrator of it. In regard to the first point, he said that having been given by the State, under certain conditions, it might be under certain conditions removabie hy the State. It could be clearly proved that tithes were imposed by Act of Parliament. property could be held only in two ways—by men in their individual and in their corporate capacity. There were corporations aggre- gate, and corporations sole. The church of Ireland had never been o.>ns •jtuted a corporation, and there- fore could not hold property. (Cheers.) The same argument app'ied to the clergy, and they had only a life interest in certain property provided they per- formed certain duties prescribed by the State. (Hear, hear.) Neither was it the property of the patrons theirs was simply a right of presentation. The State had asserted its right to deal with the pro- perty in two ways-by a redistribution of it and by app ying it to secular use. In concluding, the speaker referred to the speech of Mr. Gladstone, and the ooserva.tton that if they attempted merely to remove the aouses in the Church there would be nothing Jeft; and then said Let justice be done, though the heavens fall." There was not much chance, however, that the heavens would fall; he did not believe it was their way when justice was being done, though it might be so when justice was not being done. (Laughter and applause.) The Rev. Henry Griffiths then addressed the audience in an eloquent speech, possessing much point, and telling powerfully upon the audience, and at its conclusion a deafening round of applause fol. lowed. The Rev. Professor Morris was then called upon, but owing to the lateness of the hour, it being then more than a quarter after ten o'clock, he merely proposed three cheers for the Liberal candidate. Cheers were also given for the chairman and others, and the meeting, which had been a most orderly one, broke up.

LIBERAL MEETING AT TRECASTLE. On Friday evening, the 30th ult., a meeting of the friends and supporters of Mr. Hugh Powel Price, of Castle Madoc, was held in the British School- room, Trecastle, there being a large number present. The chair was taken by D. Jeffreys Powell, Esq., Bronllys, who was supported by Mr. H. P. Price the Liberal candidate, Professors M r is and Roberts^ Revs. Williams and H- Griffiths (Brecon), D. Williams and W. G. Evans (Trecastle), Messrs. J. Williams, solicitor, Tudor, &c. (Brecon), Rt Bishop (Llandovery), Watkins, Morgan, &c., &c. The Chairman, who was greatly cheered, in open- ing the proceedings, said lie was no speaker, but as Mr. Price and other friends had done him the honour of requesting him to take the chair, and had