Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register

CONSTANTIPLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. We present our readers to-day with n, map showing the situation of Constanti- nople, and its approaches by land and sea. Professor Bryce gives in Macmillait'sMaga- :inc this month one of the best and the latest descriptions of the great city, and from this article we extract the following: w If you look at the map you will see what a remarkable, and indeed unique posi- tion Constantinople occupies. It is on the great highway which connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean, and separates Europe from Asia. Thus it commands at once two seas and two continents. All the marine trade, both export and import, of the N-ast territories which are drained by the Danube and the great rivers of Southern llussia, as well as that of the north coast of Asia Minor, and of those rich Eastern lands that lie round the Caspian, must pass under its walls. When the neighbouring countries are opened up by railways it will be the centre from which lines will radiate over European Turkey and Asia Minor. With a foot, so to speak, Oil each continent, the power that possesses it can transfer troops or merchandise at will from the one to the other, and can prevent anyone else from Iloing so. Then consider how strong it is against attack. It is guarded 011 both sides by a long and narrow strait—to the N.E. the Bosphorus, and to the S. W. the Darda- nelles—each of which can, by the erection of batteries, possibly by the laying down of torpedoes, be easily rendered impregnable to a naval attack. For the Bosphorus, as you probably know, is fifteen miles long, with bold rocky hills 011 either side, and a channel which is not only winding but is nowhere over two miles and in some places scarcely half a mile wide. And it possesses a splendid harbour, land-locked, tideless, and with water deep enough to float the largest vessels. On the land side it is scarcely less defensible, being covered by an almost continuous line of hills, lakes, and marshes, with a comparatively narrow pas- sage through them, which offers great ad- vantages for the erection of fortifications. There is no other such site in the world for an imperial city. "It consists of three main divisions. First there is the old city. the city of ('on- stantine, which the Tvii-ks now call Stani- boul, (but which is called Constantinople in the map), lying between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmora, and narrowing down to a point of land, the point which was the site of the first Mega,rian colony, and which marks tlie entrance from the sea into the long strait of the Bosphorus. Secondly, over against Stamboul, 011 the oilier side of the Golden Horn, is Galata- called probably from the Galatre or Gauls (Galatians) who had occupied neighbouring regions of Asia Minor not lone after the time of Alexan- der the Great, and some of whom had ap-I parentlv settled here -a long, low, dirty district running along the water's edge, and full of Greek sailors and bad smells. Be- hind and above < ialata, rising up the steep hill, is the quarter called Pera, where Europeans of the better sort live, .iiiil all the European shops are to be found. Here, on the hill top, stand the palaces of the Ambassadors, aaiongwhich, appropriately enough, our own and that of the German envoy arc the most con- spicuous, tall piles that look big enough to hold ail army. Both these quarters are in Europe, and from them a the European s hores of the Bosphorus, forminga. line of villages with villas and gardens between, that stretches some eight or nine miles to Therapia. (Tarrapa on the map). The third and last division is in Asia, on the further side of the Bosphorus, opposite both Stamboul and Galata ;< it consists of a series of towns, the chief of which is Scutari, forming an almost continuous mass of. houses along the shore, iiiiil virtually a part of the groat city, though separated by more than a mil (If water, water which is sometimesso rough that the steamers cannot cross. You niav judge from looking at the map what a. singular city this must be L with the sea running through it in all directions, not merely in canals like those of Venice or Rotterdam, but forming great broad inlets whose water is intensely bright and clear. as well as deep to the very edge. Stockholm and New York are the only other great cities that can be compared with it in this respect, but Stockholm, though beautiful in its way, is on a comparatively small scale, while in New York man has done his utmost to spoil nature, an d nature herself has done infinitely less than at Constantinople. "People are always saying that the inside of, Constantinople dispels the illusions which the! view of it from the sea or the neighbouring hills j has produced. But those who say so, if the.1 are not merely repeating the commonplaces of their guide-book can have no eye for the picturesque. I grant that the interior is very dirty and irregular and tumble-down, that smells! offend the nose, and loud harsh cries the ear. But then, it is so wonderfully strange and curious and complex, full of such bits of colour, such v.u'ie-! ties of human life, such far-reaching assocititioiis from the past, that whatever an inhabitant may desire, a visitor at least would not willingly see I anything improved or cleared away. The streets are crooked and narrow, climbing up steep hills, or winding along the bays of the shore, some- times lined with open booths, in which stolid old Turks sit cross-legged 81eepily smoking, some- times among piles of gorgeous fruit, which even to behold is a feast, while sometimes they are hemmed in by high windowless walls and crossed by heavy arches, places where you think robbers must be lurking. Then, again, you emerge from one of these gloomy cavities upon an open space- there are no squares, but irregular open spaces— and see such a group of gaily painted houses, with walnut or plane-trees growing round them, as one nnds on the Bay of Naples. Or you comt?to a side street, ?nd, looking down the vista, catch a Ljlirnjxse of a garden full of luxuriant vines and rosy pomegranates, and beyond it the bright blue waves dancing in the sunlight. "Now, let me try to give you some notion of its vast and strangely mingled population. One of the most striking points about it is the sense of a teeming population which it gives. Standing on the top of the hill of Pera, you look down over a sea and port covered with vessels and boats, and see upon the amphitheatre of hills that rises from this blue mirror three huge masses of houses, straggling away along the shore in interminable suburbs, while the throng that streams across the bridge of boats (reminding one of the Vision of Mirza) is scaj-cely Ie"" than I that which fills the great thoroughfares of Lon- don. Pass beyond the walls, or climb the hill that hangs over Scutari, and the contrast is extra- ordinary. You look over a veritable wilderness, great stretches of open land, sometimes bare, sometimes covered with brushwood (for the big I trees have been mostly cnt down by the im- provident people) with hardly a village or even a house to break the melancholy of the landscape. Much of this land is fertile, and was once covered; with thriving homesteads, with olive-yards and vineyards, and happy autumn fields; but the; blight of Turkish rule ha.s passed over it like a scorching wind. Constantinople is a city not of one nation but of many, and hardly more of one than of another. You cannot talk of Constantinopolitans as you talk of Londoners or Aberdonians, for there are none-that is to say there is no people who can be described as being par cxccllcnre the people of the city, with a common character or habits or language. Nobody knows either the number of the population or the proportion which its various elements bear to one another; but one may guess roughly that the inhabitants are not less than 800,000 or 900,000, and that of these about a half, some say rather over a half are Mohammedans. This half lives mostly in Stamboul proper and in Scutari, while Pera, Galata, and Kadikeui (Chalcedon) are left to the Christians. Except the Pashas, who have en-! riched themselves by extortion and corruption. and various officials or hangers-on upon the Government, they are mostly poor people, many of them very poor, and also very lazy. A man need work but little in this climate, where one I can get on without fire nearly all the year, but; very little food and clothing, and even without a j house, for you see a good many figures lying about at night in the open air, coiled up under all arch or in the corner of a courtyard. Plenty of them are ecclesiastics of some kind or other, and get their lodging and a little food at the mosques plenty are mere beggars. The great bulk arc, of course, ignorant and fanatical, dan-! gerous when roused by their priests, though honest enough fellows when left alone, and in' some ways more likeable than Christians. But the so-called upper class are extremely corrupt. These richer folk have mostly dropped the picturesque old Turkish dress, and taken to French fashions. They wear cloth coats and! trousers, retaining only the red fez, which is I infinitely less becoming than a turban smoke cigarettes, instead of pipes, and show a surprising; aptitude for adding Western vices to their own stock, which is pretty large, of Eastern ones. It is tin-y that are the curse of the country. They have not even that virtue which the humbler Mussulmans have, of solnipty, Witd all their faults, the poor Turks, and especially the coun- try people, are faithful observ rs of the precepts of the Koran, and you will see less drunkenness in the streets of Stam- boul in the year than in Glasgow upon New Year's Day. Indeed, if you do see a drunken man at all, he is pretty sure to be a British or a Russian sailor. When I speak of Turks, I do not mean to imply that these Mohamme- dans of Stamboul have any Turkish (that is Turkman) blood in them, for they have probably about as much as there is of Norman blood in the population of London. 'They are as mongrel a race as can be found in the world-a mixture of all sorts of European and Asiatic peoples who have been converted to Islam, and recruited (down till recent times) by the constant kidnapping of Christian children and the import of slaves from all quarters. Their religion, however, gives them a unity which, sofar as re- pulsion from their fellow-subjects goes, is a far stronger bond than any community of origin. "Nearly equal in number to the Moham- medans are the Turkish Christians, Greeks, Armenians and Bulgarians. Though I speak of them together, they have really little in common, for each cherishes its own form of faith, and they hate one another nearly as cordially as they all hate the Turks. The Armenians seem to be the most numerous (they are said tobe200,000), and many of the wealthy merchantsbelong to this nation; the Bulgarians, however, are, according to the report of the Ameri- can missionaries, who are perhaps the best authorities, really the most teachable and progressive. The Americans have got an excellent college on the Bosphorus, where th y receive Christian children belongingto all the nationalities. Then, besides all these natives, one finds a motely crowd of strangers from the rest of Europe-Italians, Germans, Hungarians, Russians, Poles, Frenchmen, English. Thus there are alto- gether at least eight or nine nations moving about the streets of this wonderful city, eight or nine languages which you may con- stantly hear spoken by the people you pass, and five or six which appear on the shop fronts. Turkish, Greek, Armenian, French, and English are perhaps the commonest. Italian used to be the chief medium of in- tercourse between West Europeans and na- tives, but since the Crimean war ithas been largely superseded by French. Indeed the varnish of civilization which the influx of Europeans has spread over so many parts of the East everywhere is, or pretends 1 1 17t ft < .1..1. tAllr,nv.J to, oe, iLi rencii. oo nere tiie music-zia,i±»a.iiu coffee-gardens of Pera, which are of a suffi- ciently sordid description, have a sort of third- rate Parisian air about them which is highly appreciated by the repulsive crowd that fre- quents them. Constantinople is not only a city that belongs to the world; it is in a way it- self a miniature of the world. It is not so much a city as an immense caravanserai, which belongs to nobody, but within whose walls everybody encamps, drawn by busi- ness or by pleasure, but forming no per- manent ties, and not calling himself a citizen. It has three distinct histories—Greek, Ro- man, and Turkish. It is the product of a host of converging influences—influences some of which are still at work, making it different every year from what itwtts before. Religion, and all those customs which issue from religion, come to it from Arabia; civilization from Rome and the West; both are mingled in the dress of the people and the buildings where they live and worship. Races, manners, lan- guages, even coins, from every part of the East and of Europe here cross one another and interweave themselves like the many-coloured threads in the gorgeous fabric of an Eastern loom."

i The War. The War. i- ALARMING SITUATION. To write any continuous and connected narra- tive of the progress of event s ill connection with the Eastern Question is exceedingly difficult. One day's alarming rumors are the next morning cither contradicted or rendered unimportant, and while one hour everything points to war oil the part of England, a despatch arrives the next hour in which peace prospects predominate, On Friday, Air Lavard telegraphed the full terms of the armistice, concluded between Russia, Servia, Roumania, and Turkey, it being I a follows :—- three days must he given before a resumption of hostilities takes ii!;ice. Tlie armistice to be communicated to .MoiHeneii o liy linssia. 2. — liestoration of the guns and territory taken after tlie signature. -1 Jives the details of the line of demarcation and neutral zone for Turkey, Jiussia, :11111 Servia, placing in Russian hands almost all I!ulg::ria, lioumelia, and Thrace, up to the lines of Constantinople and Callipoli. Fortifications arc not to be retained on the neutral territory, and 110 new ones are to be raised there. A joint commission will determine the line of demarcation for Servia and Montenegro. The T;us.s:ans to occupy Boiivgas an,1 W lia, on the Black Sea, in order to obtain supplies, but no war material. 1. — Armies beyond line of demarcation to he with- drawn within three days of the signature of armistice., J.-The Turks may remove arms, to places and hy routes defined, on evacuating the fortiticatioiis mentioned in Article If they cannot be removed, j an inventory oi them is to lie taken. The evacuation is to be complete within seven days after the receipt j of orders by the commanders. ) fi.-Nulina is to be evacuated within three days by 1 the Turkish troops and ships of war, unless prevented! by ice. The Russians will icniovethe obstacles in 1 the Danube, and will superintend the navigation ofj the river. 7, The railways to continue to work under certain conditions. S. -Turkish authorities to remain in certain places. J. -IHark Set blockade to be raised. I.. Wounded Turkish soldiers to remain under the carc of Russia. Air Layanl's telegram added that the armistice commenced at seven p.m. on the olst of January, and that the Turks had commenced the with- ilrawal of guns from the Constantinople lines. The British Government, on receiving this in-, formation, determined on the same day (Friday) to send part of the fleet to Constantinople, to protect the lives and properties of British sub- jects, the instructions sent to Admiral Hornby being as follows :—" Proceed, if possible, to-mor- row afternoon with the Alexandra, Teineraire, Achilles, Ruby, and SabJJJis to Constantinople, to protect life and property of British subjects. Mr bayard is requested to ask the Porte to give the necessary orders without delay to the forts, ami to procure a further tirman if he considers it necessary. Notice of this movement was at the same time sent to Russia and the other Great Powers, it being suggested that the fleets of the latter .should also be sent to the Bosphorus. At nlA the despatch of the British fleet was viewed apparently with perfect equanimity in Russia. The A,fet?(-c fC'ii:sc, in a spcciid supplement on Saturday night, said, "the entrance of the British fleet into the Bosphorus is an accom- plished fact. Although this act is, said to be caused by the necessity of protecting the Christian population of Constantinople, the de- cision of the British Cabinet nevertheless restores to Russia her liberty of action. If the despatch of the English fleet, which was requested bv through the Cerhn Memorandum, and again at the time of Count Somnarakov's mission to Vienna, is intended as a method of co-operat- ing in the maintenance <>t • inler, and in the at- tainment of a durable and equitable European solution of the Eastern <>uestion, the British ships will be welcomed as auxiliaries." However, on Monday, it was made public that Prince Gortsche.koff bad notified the Powers that since the English Cabinet, in consequence of Mr Layard's reports, had resolved to send the fleet to the Bosphorus, ostensibly to protect the Christians, Russia had also in contemplation to occupy Constantinople from land with the same object, and the A'/cure Jina.ir of Monday stated If the presence of the fleets is necessary for the protection of the christians, the duty belongs no less to the Russian trool).s." But the British fleet were not able to get to Constantinople as easily as anticipated. A tele- gram received 011 Monday, stated that the Porte had refused a firman permitting the British fleet t" "ollIe up to Constantinople, on the ground that, if allowed, the Russian forces would pro- bably cccupy the city. This intelligence, though unofficial, derived a certain corroboration from the circumstance, previously reported, that the fleet stopped on Sunday afternoon at the entrance to the Sea of Marmora, professedly to await further instructions," and that a Cabinet Council was hastily summoned in consequence, as was rumoured, of a hitch as to the passage of the fleet through the Dardanelles. Lord Derby and Sir Stafford Northeote, in Parliament that even- stitoil that there had been a delay mthe ??..l .f Ll,- ?,?? .ximl.l »inn«nn < l^spsiitCIl lrIle lltJtfb, IJUlt wiiiuu nu J.'IC"aouu, but Lord Derby stated in the House of Lords on r Tuesday that he hoped to be able within the next fortv-eight hours to announce that the difficulty was at an end, and that our fleet had arrived at or near Constantinople. The further narrative as to the fleet we give in our latest intelligence. At present England is the only Power whose fle-t is in quest-ion, for though Franco and Italy, as well as Austria, have applied to the Sultan for a firman authorising the passage of their war- ships through the Straits, the requisite permis- sion does not yet appear to hare been granted. On the other hand, it is reported that the Sultan has already given the Russians permission to occupy his capital with HO,000 troops, and has even invited the Grand Duke Nicholas to visit hilll there. The TiiMit correspondent at St. Petersburg states positively that orders have been sent for the Russian troops to enter Constanti- nople. If so, in all probability they are ilreaily there. The Russian intentions arc stated to be amicable, and she has no intention of aggravating the situation if it can be avoided, though the Czar is reported, in the Vienna TnuHatt, to have characterised the action of the English Govern- ment in sending the fleet to the Dardanelles as a masked declaration of war." It is believed at ienna that the Porte will limit the admission oi war vessels to the Golden Horn to two from each Cower" OPINIONS ON THE ARMISTTCF Loth in I arliament and out of it a. considerable change of feeling is apparent as a conseouence of the full revelation of the terms of the armistice. Attention has been previously concentrated upon the bases of peace as the only part of the arrange- ment between Russia and Turkey which was likely to concern the rest of Europe but it is now found that the terms of the armistice are of an unusually sweeping character, and that, in- stead of making a military convention, as was expected, on the basis of the status quo, to adjust the relative positions of the belligerents, she has demanded and obtained a complete surrender, as the Tinm puts it, "of everything that re- mained to be fought for." The armistice practi- cally places the Russians in possession of the whole of European Turkey, with the exception of the Straits, and deprives Constantinople itself of the power of offering effectual resistance to a Russian advance. The Turks evacuate their last lines of defence; the Russians occupy both sea coasts of the peninsula of Constantinople, and nothing but the obligation to give three days' notice of the resumption of hostilities prevents them from entering the Turkish capital, of which they are almost as much in possession as if they actually occupied it. The line along the Black Sea coast from the Russian frontier to Baltjikj comprises the mouths of the Danube. Varna is left to the Turks; and then, again, the coast line from Cape Emineh, under which Missivra lies,down to Derkoi, forming the right flank of the Turkish defensi vejjosition in the lines of Tchataldja will be occupied by the Russians. Correspond- ing to this, in the Sea of Marmora, the occupa-¡' tion of Buyuk Tchckmedje, the left flank set: ward of the lines of Tchataldja, is to be effected by the Russians, and from it the line down by! Rodosto, towards the mouths of the Dardanellès i as far as Peristeri, or Charkoi, about fifteen! English miles from the narrowest point of the' peninsula above Gallipoli. The occupation of the E gean coast from Arsha, on the Gulf of Xeros, i opposite the peninsula, above Gallipoli, down to! Makri completes the sea line, while respecting1 the Straits themselves, ensures the Russians a: naval and military position within easy march on both sides. At Berlin a very powerful Im- ? pression is said to have been produced by the Russians occupying the defences of C'oustanti- ?nople, though the event was pretty ?eneraUy foreseen there and at Vienna and Paris also some little excitement has been caused by the announcement. In connection with this subject it is stated that an interpellation signed by the leaders of the two parties in the German Parlia- ment has been drawn up, and is to be addressed to Prince Bismarck, asking what position the I German Government has taken up with regard to the Eastern question. In the Lower House of the Hungarian Diet also, Herr Czernatony I a' announced an interpellation respecting the condi- tions of the armistice, which appear to him to be "strategical dispositions directed rather against the Powers than against Turkey." THE ATTITUDE OF GREECE. Greece does not take kindly to the interference; of the Powers in the little difference between her: and Turkey. The recall of the Greek troops' from Thessaly and Epirus, we are told, has caused much Imhlie indignat ion at Athens, and the Government, considering the situation still critical, continues its naval and military pre- parations. Orders for arms and ammunition for a force of .10,000 men have been Riven, and the National Guard is to be raised to 140,000. The Provisional Government of Crete is said to be now in regular operation; and, following the example of that Government, the Provisional Government of Thessaly has addressed a procla- mation to the Greek Government declaring Thessaly annexed to Greece, and asking for her protection and assistance. THE CONFERENCE. I There is no definite news yet about the Con- ference. All the Powers, according to Lord Derby, have agreed that it shall be held, and the only remaining difference, which he does not think likely to give rise to much difficulty, is as to the place of meeting. Nevertheless, it is ob- served that the military preparations of Russia continue. At St. Petersburg 120 battalions of local troops have been called out, and a corres- pondent there says that a large number of men will leave there and other towns for Roumelia to join the army of Adrianople. Everywhere i there is, apparently, a desire on the part of the, military authorities to despatch all available men to Roumelia. In Poland this proceeding is ?ry marked, especially in districts where, in the event of a war with Austria, a rising would probably take place. The South Russian rail- ways have been ordered to prepare for the des- patch of further war materials for Roumelia. The Russian papers call attention to the fact that Germany is quietly massing troops along the Polish frontier. It is believed that Germany has taken this step in case the complications be- tween Russia and England should cause a rising among the Poles. The resistance of Roumania i to tlw proposed recession of Bessarabia to Russia j becomes more stubborn and determined from day to day. Prince Charles is reported to have replied to General Ignatieffs representations, I that "no Chamber, no Ministry, and not a single Roumanian" would ever consent to cede the least particle of territory. SKETCH OP THE DARDANELLES. I The Standard gives a sketch of this, at present, deeply interesting spot, and says that its aspect is now very different from that which it wore w h en tdnilral Dii(! I when Admiral Duckworth forced it with the British fleet on the l!)th February, 1803. Then its principal defences were the old castles of Sestos and Abydos, now known as Seddul Bahr and Kum Kaleh, standing one on either side of its entrance. These stand two mileq apart, and may he almost disregarded by an entering fleet, for the real defences of the channel lie higher up at Kllid Bahr and Chanak Kilissa, where the shores are distant but a short mile fi om each other. Erom the entrance the European bank is the higher, rising abruptly, but not precipit- ously, from the water's edge to a height of from one to two hundred feet. At KiliflBnhr is a point. Here there is some low ground between! the water and the hill behind, and on this low I point are some batteries almost flush with the water. On these are some 38-ton or 40-ton Krupp guns, some of which are mounted in earth- works, others en horbette. The latter could not be worked when a fleet fighting its way up the channel approached, as the fire from the small arms and from the Gatling guns in the tops would completely sweep them. The gnns in the earth-works are better protected but even these would probably be silenced by those of the fleet. Abovo. on the crest of the hill, some hundred feet above the water, are some very powerful batteries. These constitute the greatest danger to an advancing fleet, for from their elevation the shot of the fleet would pass over them, while they would be able to play upon the decks, the most vital part of ironclad ships. Immediately behind the point, the shore falls away almost at a right angle, and this increases the difficulty of an ascending squadron, for the force of the stream runs across the channel, and has a, tendency to take the head of a vessel meeting it across to- wards Chanak. This is the course which merchant steamers going up the Dardanelles generally follow. From the entrance they pass along quite close, within ;)0 yards of the European shore, passing under I the very mouths of the guns of Kilid Bahr, Thence they cross the stream in a direct line for Chanak, and then, swerving abruptly round again, make for the European shore at a. point called Degirnien Burun, a mile and a half above Kilid Bahr. Here is another, but less for- midable, fort. A fleet following this line would be met as it advanced by the fire of Kilid Bahr and Chanak it would pass the guns of the for- mer within pistol shot as it crossed towards; Chanak; it would be raked fore and aft by I the guns of both forts, and as it left Chanak for Degirmen it would be similarly raked by those forts, receiving the fire of Kilid Bahr on its broad, side. Chanak is not so strong naturally as Kilid; Bahr, but the fortifications are much stronger, the guns being for the most part in casemates. i When it is remembered that, in addition to these very powerful forts there may be torpedoes in the narrow channel, it will be seen that the diffi- culties in the way of forcing the passage are! enormous. At present we are in utter ignorance of the force guarding the Dardanelles—Russian or Tur- kish. It is evident that the passage by a fleet alone presents great difficulties and dangers. That it is possible for British sailors we doubt not, but the hazard is great. If it be determined to force passage, it is in the highest degree de- sirable that the fleet should be seconded by a land force. THE BRITISH FLEET IN THE DAR- DANELLES. The following letter, written by an officer on board one of the ironclads, describing the man<euvres of the British fleet when first ordered to the Dardanelles, three weeks ago, will have a special interest just at present The morning of the 24th was calm and sunshiny, as the fleet lay quietly at anchor in Vourlah Bay, expecting the arrival of the mail and news from Europe, of which there was a most considerable dearth. Towards noon the wind began to rise to a stiff breeze, and while lunch was on, a telegram arrived, the upshot of which was that the signal went up to prepare instantly for sea. Before five o'clock the fleet, consisting of the Salamis, the yacht of the Commander in Chief; the Agincourt, flagship of Sir J. C. Commerell, the Swiftsure, Temeraire, Sultan, Rupert, Hotspur, Ruby, and Research were under weight, and proceeded to the north, past the island of Lesbos. The orders were to pass through the Dardanelles peacefully, if possible, but to resist any attempt at obstruction. It was a prevalent idea in the fleet that permission had been granted, in the first instance, by the Turkish Government, but that it had been subsequently rescinded. The night of the departure was stormy, and the day dawned bleak and rainy when the island of Tcnedos came in view. The Salamis steamed i into Besika Bay for latest telegrams, and on coming out the Admiral shifted his flag to the Sultan, the Vice-Consul from Chanak also arriving and embarking on board that ship. The fleet then received orders to prepare for action without any outward demonstration, so that though the upper yards were sent down, the top- gallant masts were left standing. The Salamis then steamed ahead to Chanak, to give warning of the approach of the fleet. Early in the afternoon the entrance was reached, the fleet halted for a short time at the Rubicon, and then, in good order, columns of divisions line ahead, and steamed quickly into the Dardanelles. No attack was expected from the forts Sedeul Bahr, or Castle! of Europe, and Kum Kaleh, the Castle of Asia, at the entrance, as in any case the fight for the passage must really have taken place at Chanak, the narrowest part of the strait, the entrance be- ing over two miles wide. The guns were now loaded and run not quite out but only level with the ship's side and with the tompions in them.: Those ships possessing Gatling guns hoisted them' into the tops, so as to bring them to bear on the embrasures of the forts. The men were cheerful and steady, though at the moment every man be- lieved that fighting must ensue with the terrible forts at Chanak: and yet none knew whom they were going to fight, whether Turks or Russians, nor why they were going to fight them, for in the fleet there was no news of what was going on in the world ashore. At length the terrible Chinak was approached and then at the last moment was seen a signal hoisted from the! Salamis, which told that the passage would not be disputed. The Sultan then saluted theTurkish flag and proceeded with the Salamis; yet, to the general disappointment, the remainder of the fleet was ordered to return to the nearest an- chorage, Besika Bay. During the journey the larger ironclads had all of them their steam anchors ready so that they might be anchored bow and stern off the forts, to assault them, if re- quired. There is an old castle and a strong earth fort on the opposite side of the narrows to Chanak, and the strea.mis known to have torpedoes laid down, so that the most sanguine could not have expected a bloodless victory, had it been necessary to force the Dardanelles. The fleet had certainly a most imposing aspect, and there was much that was striking to he seen from the fleet itself. If everyone at home knew how an- xious the crews of the ships are to get some real news about the war they could not but admire the cl eerful obedience with which the men exe- cute orders thatare unintelligible to them. There was a strong feeling in the fleet at the time of the advance that the passages of the Dardanelles could certainly have been forced had it been re- quired. But at Chanak there are two low forts, 1 stated to mount 40-ton Krupp guns, and there is an upper fort, with a plunging fire, so that it would have taken some time to destroy them."— woii](I have taken --onie time to destroy THE MEDITERRANEAN FLEET. According to latest advices, the ships consti- tuting the Mediterranean fleet were distributed as follows :—The Alexandra and Agincourt, flag ships; Sultan, Hotspur, Research, Tenidraire, Cygnet. Rupert, Salamis, and Swiftsure were at TIesib. TIny: the Antelope and Flamingo were at Constantinople: the Cockatrice was at the Sulina mouth of the Danube the Torch had sailed for Rodosto the Condor was cruising on the coast of Syria, and the Pallas was expected at Alexandria from Port Said. The other ships j were undergoing repair at Malta. The Raleigh, 1 which had been despatched in search of the Serapis, troopship, was ready for service, and the temporary refit of the Devastation was draw- ing to a conclusion. The Cygnet was also just out of the dockyard hands; and the Bittern was to be really by the 23rd inst., and the Helicon by the end of the Jnionth. The Achilles was also under repair, and it was thought that the Sultan would he ordered to Portsmouth to receive a new set of boHers. WARLIKE PREPARATIONS. For some weeks past there have been symp- I toms of increasing activity in several depart- ments of the Royal Arsenal, at Woolw ich, and the officials have been engaged in making pre- parations in view of a sudden demand being made upon them. The workmen in the main factory of the Royal Laboratory have been for some time employed late at night and on Satur- day afternoons clearing off an extensive order for fuses, and are still busy upon stores of various descriptions. In the cartridge factories work is rather brisker than it has been but the full producing power of these establishments, which is estimated at upwards of two millions of cart- ridges per week, is far from being reached. The Wye steamship, having taken on board seven tons of cartridges, has sailed for Malta. The Admiralty have engaged a private steamer of great storage capacity, to take out about a thou- sand tons of Palliser shell and other war muni- tions to the same station. 2,000 barrels of gun- powder which have been prepared for the Mediterranean will probably go out in this ship, and some other stores required at Gibraltar are being taken on board the Lisbon steamship, in the London Docks. The estimates for the next financial year have been completed at the Arsenal and sent to the War Office. It is under- stood that they nearly correspond with those of last year.—Writing on Wednesday, a corre- spondent says: At 0 the Royal Arsenal, Wool-1 wich, a number of additional hands have been taken on in all departments, but applications far exceeded the demand, for about 3,000 who ap- plied for employment had to be refused. The cannon cartridge factories in the Royal Arsenal are exceedingly busy. The Royal Carriage De- partment, which has been the busiest of any de- partment during the past few months, is now feeling the full effects of the present preparation. Orders on hand include carriages for the seige train, general service wagons, and cylinders and carriaes for the Whitehead and £sh torpedoes. i The Royal Laboratory Department is on the whole exceedingly busy. Harvey torpedoes are being constructed in this department with expe- idition, in addition to which the whole of the bullet-making machines are now in full work. At Sheerness, the whole of the men at the dockyard establishment on Tuesday were placed on over-time. Men of all grades are being en- tered, and the construction of four Iron gunboats is being hastened. Preparations are being made to complete the armament of the Garrison Point fort with 38-ton guns. H.M.S. Challenger has left Sheerness for Chatham. Her crew will at once be turned over to the Penelope ironclad. The gunboats Esk, Slaney, Trent, and Tweed are to be completed for service forthwith. At Chatham Dockyard on Monday morning, the whole of the workpeople, some 4,000 in num- ber, commenced working extra hours to complete the vessels in hand. Some of them will work four hours extra daily. On the following day, the entrance gates were besieged by workmen seeking employment. There is no limit to the number of extra hands to be entered, and no good workmen will be refused. The men chiefly required are shipwrights, fitters, and labourers. At Portsmouth, over 3,000 operatives are work- ing overtime, and, notwithstanding 500 extra workmen have been engaged since Saturday, r considerable numbers of skilled and unskilled labourers are still being entered. All war vessels in hand are being completed for service with all possible despatch. No financial restrictions are placed upon the dockyard authorities, the ex- pressed desire of the Admiralty being that not a moment shall be lost in rendering ships available for any eventuality. Conspicuous amongst the ships whose readiness for commission is being ex- pedited is the Dreadnought, to carry four 38-ton guns, worked by hydraulic power. The Chief Constructor's Office at Devonport Dockyard was thronged on Tuesday by workmen waiting to be employed on the increased staff, and no intimation has yet been given that a sufficient number have applied. Orders were is- sued to bring forward corvettes as rapidly as possible, in addition to the vessels already named. All marine officers on leave have been ordered to rejoin, and hold themselves in readiness for em- barkation. Orders have been forwarded to expedite the Iron Duke at Messrs Laird's, Birkenhead, as rapidly as possible. The torpedo work will also be hurried on for this ship and the Invincible. NEW BRITISH IRONCLADS. t Two powerful war vessels have within the last day or two been added to the navy of Great Britain by the acquirement of the Turkish iron- clad Payki Sherref, now in Millwall Docks, and her sister ship, at present, unnamed, and on the stocks at the adjacent building yard of Messrs Samuda, nearly opposite Greenwich. The latter vessel is far from complete, and has none of her ajmour fixed but the Payki Sher- ref, which the Lords of the Admiralty recognise at present only by the title of B 71," is quite finished, and furnished ready for sea, and the other ship is proposed to be like her in every respect. The Payki Sherref is an iron armour- cased corvette, with a raised fighting battery deck amidships. The battery deck rises from below the waterline to a height of about 18 feet, and mounts 25-ton guns, 12-inch muzzle-loaders, which are already on board, having been pro- vided by Sir Wm. Armstrong when the ship was built for the Turkish Government more than a year since, and detained as contraband of war. She lies at present alongside the Japanese iron- clad Foo-so, of which Messrs Samuda are also the builders, and to-morrow she will be taken down to Sheerness Dockyard to undergo some slight alterations. One of the Sheerness tUgH, with a party of seamen and riggers, arrived at Millwall on Wednesday to take charge of thenew ironclad. The other ship, now building, can be completed in a few months, and will be brought forward with all speed. Both ships have been surveyed and approved of by the Lords of the Admiralty, and the purchase was concluded last Friday. An official survey has also been made of another Turkish ironclad, the Hamidie, de- tained under similar circumstances in the Vic- toria Docks. She is plated with twelve inches of iron on 14-inch teak, and two inner plates each of 2-A inches of iron, and is pierced for twelve 18-ton guns, supplemented by some lighter guns on the upper deck, but none of the guns are yet on board. The purchase of this vessel is still under consideration, and there are one or two other ironclads in the docks near London which may be obtained if required for the service of the British Government.

ENGLAND v. TURKEY IN THE PAST. A correspondent of the Liverpool Mere art! says: A century is not much in the life of a nation, and the following dates may be of interest to your readers. From this it appears England has been alternately friend, and foes of all the European Powers in this question :— 1(41;. Austria anil uussiu, agree to divide Turkey. Cireat sea fight at Scio. 1771). England and Russia tight Turkey. 175)0. Austria and Russia fight against Tnrkev, and Turkey loses 200,000 men. 179S. England joins Turkey against France, and drives the French out of Egypt. 1S07. Russia joins Turkey against England, and almost destroys the English fleet in the Dardanelles, under Sir John Duckworth. 12; English and Russian fleet destroys the Turkish fleet at Navarino. 12H. Russia fights Turkey, and the "sa.cred standard" is unfurled. 1833. Russia enters Constantinople, and makes an offensive and defensive alliance with Turkey. 185-1. England, France and Turkey subdue Russia in the Crimea. 1877. Russia defeats Turkey, and this time England looks on. Long mav she do so. P. WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. SIP.It is to be hoped that the Conservative party generally are satisfied of their handiwork, and that the least devoted supporter of the Go- vernment is convinced that the policy of blun- dering and braggadocio is bearing out its fruits. We are now, beyond question, in the throes of the most serious crisis that this generation has known, and, in my humble opinion, entirely known,. to the blindness and blunders of her Majesty's Government. Before, and during the election campaign of 1874, a period of almost un- precedented prosperity, we were treated to a series of rhetorical flourishes about the blun- dering and plundering" of the Liberal Govern- ment; the incessant harrassing of interests" which was working the ruin of England and the unbearable "sensational legislation" which affected the nerves of Mr Disraeli so mis- chievously and, were the constituencies only to place the said Mr Disraeli in power, we were promised a period of tranquility and success, such as the history of the United Kingdom had not hitherto recorded. The parrot cry was uttered by the head of the party, and repeated by the smaller fry so persistently and unblusli- ingly that a great number of weak-headed people believed it to be true. When they were more prosperous than they ever remembered bein?, they allowed themselves to be persuaded that they were unfairly treated by the Liberal party, and among other men, whose education and position should have taught them to know better, j the Chairman of Committees of the House of Commons told his admirers in Chester that if, they wished for better wages and more substan- tial prosperity they must look to himself and Mr Disraeli for it. According to him all was wrong, and the only way to increase the wages and to bring about a thriving state of things, when no interest would be harrassed, and when the only quarrel between master and man would be the former's offer and the latter's refusal of a higher wage would be by voting for the Conservatives. The Tories obtained a very substantial majority in the House of Commons, and with their great majority in the Upper House, then, or never, was the time for the tranquil prosperity which we had been promised. The spirits were to be called from the vasty deep, but, did they come ? They had promised us greater profits and hig-her; wages, and they gave us renewed opportunities to get drunk; and that, so far as I have been able to learn, is the sole boon which the working, classes of this country have received from the pre- j sent Government. But, instead of the higher wage, came a depressed trade, a lower wage, and a series of strikes, bickerings, and suffering such as this country bad not witnessed since the Con- servatives were in power before. I am not one of those who believe that the state of trade is much affected by the party which happened to hold the reins of government so long as correct principles of trade are generally recognised, but! it was the very party now in power who went: out of their way to teach us to look for additional prosperity from them, and if we ask them to fulfil their promise, surely they cannotl complain of being unfairly treated. From the time they assumed the reins of power, things have been going worse and worse. Trade is universally bad, wages are exceptionally low, and famine is stalking abroad in the land. No exception can be taken to that sentence I take it, yet we were promised better things by Mr Disraeli. This is not the land of promise to which he was to lead us. I do not mean to hold him responsible for these things, but he did pro- mise us a land flowing with milk and honey, and what I mean to say is that when he did promise it, he promised what be knew he could not per- form, and therefore when he did so promise, he was guiltv of wilful and systematic deception. So much "for the prosperity promises of the pre- sent Government. The next benefit which was to accrue from a Conservative rule was the absence of the sensa- tional in politics. Our nerves were no longer to be unstrung by anything heroic, and the placid eveness of our existence was no more to be dis- turbed by the machinations of an over-ardent soul longing for perfection in Government. This was the promise how has it been fulfilled ? Sensationalism why the one prominent feature of Conservative legislation and rule has been sen- sationalism. What more sensational event has oc- curred during the last quarter of a century than the purchase of the Suez Canal shares. That bit of chicanery was purely sensational, and since the purchase has been effected, I have not met—or even heard of-a single man, woman, or child, who pretended the shares ever were or ever could be of any service to us. The only effect of the purchase, so far as I have been able to find out, has been to rouse the suspicions of France, which cannot witness anything tending in the least degree towards the acquisition of Egypt by England with indifference. The transaction attracted a good deal of attention among our neighbours at the time, and very naturally so. The transaction was described by j Mr Disraeli in the House of Commons as one of high policy, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (lescribed that hisrh policy to consist in allavintr the hostility of M. De Lesseps! But it is only fair to the Government to admit they had an ulterior object in the purchase of the shares it was an avowed hut indistinct menace of Russia, and what has been the consequence ? Within two years of the purchase, Russia is in Con- stantinople, and the Turks, who are also suzerains of the canal, are the firm allies of their ancient enemies. Sir, will you allow so humble an individual as myself to compliment the Government on the eminent success of its I policy. Then, besides the purchase of the shares, there was another bogey, the mere sight of which was to paralyze the despot of the North. The Queen was to he made Empress, and once that were done, the Northern Bear would be deprived of its claws and become the most harmless creature living. That was done too, and to shew their sense of the fitness of things, the Government contrived to have Her Majesty declared Empress at the time when half a million of her subjects were dying of famine. This too turned out very successful. Russia has been most effectually scared, and Disraeli is rampant, the very monarch of European politics. When the Government was husily engagecl I with these ingenious contrivances for the protec- tion of British interests, and the pre- vention of the encroachments of Russia, a cloud of the size of a man's hand appeared on the eastern horizon, why it should break out just then, or why it should break out in the East at all, is more than the Government has chosen to tell us. It is only twenty-two years since the affairs of the East were finally settled, when the subjugation of Russia and the integrity of the Ottoman Empire became generally ac- knowleged. We had a hand in the matter, at a cost of eighty or a hundred millions sterling, and about one hundred thousand lives. Had not a treaty, signed by all the great powers of Europe been agreed to, which secured to the Porte the quiet enjoyment of his territories. True, it is, that on her side, she entered into engagements, and a hatti sherif had been issued, but it was never intended to be acted on. So, why this cloud should arise, it is more than I can say. If the liberties of the Ottoman subjects were ignored and there lives insecure, there was the "hatti" twenty years old securing both, and what more could be desired ? All the powers of Europe turned their eyes that way, and behold in the Herzegovina there was an insurrection, the hatti notwithstanding. What was the cause of all that ? Well it was generally agreed that it was the misgovernment of the Porte. With that conclusion the Government of this country agreed. There being a general agreement as to the cause of the evil, the next steji was to agree as to the remedy. But, that proved to be a very difficult matter. The Berlin Memorandum in which all the continental powers agreed was submitted for the approval of England, and this country with- held its consent. The continental powers believed I the subjects of the Porte had a grievance, which should be remedied. This government acknow- leged the grievance, but, before the remedy was applied, advised the Porte to restore order—i.e., to put down the insurrection. The other powers looked at tacts, our Government at parchment. "The fact is," said the powers, "that the pro- vinces are miserably misgoverned, join us in ob-  11 Otiite taining for them a better government." Quite true," replied the Government of free England, but we have found a piece of rusty parchment on which is written, integrity of the Ottoman Government,' and to interfere would he to destroy that integrity which we find on parchment, Life is insecure and unless some interference be made, Europe may find itself involved in j war," say the Powers. We cannot interfere," is the only reply vouchsafed by England. Mean- while, the insurrection gains ground, spreads, in fact, too near the Austrian frontier to be com- fortable to that Power. The result is the Andrassy Note, which is submitted for the approval of the English Government. The Note is only a dilution of the Berlin Memorandum, but, in the belief of Europe generally, the re- medies proposed were sufficient to restore temporary order, at least, in the provinces of Turkey. The English Government find that the proposals interfere in a small degree with the ¡ "independence of the Turkish Empire." The only solution possible in the opinions of the representatives of free England is to allow the Porte to slay the insurrectionists right and left, and when there are no more to slay, to recom- mend the introduction of reforms. Then came the news of the Bulgarian massacres. These appeared in the first instance in the columns of the Daily News. When questioned about them in his place in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister declared the whole story to be a fabrication. Again, when the evidence became to be such that even Mr Disraeli could no longer dispute the fact, he, instead of having a word of sympathy with the sufferers, made light of their sufferings, saying that to kill, torture, and to violate was the oriental fashion of dealing with subject races. In fact, there was nothing un- usual about it, and he more than expressed his surprise that either the newspapers or the public should make such an ado about so natural an occurrence, it was in consequence ot the callous replies of the Prime Minister, as much as be- cause of the cruelties themselves, that we had the indignation meetings of 1876. Public opinion was shocked at the indifference to human life and suffering betrayed by those in high places. While the public was giving vent to its indignation, Servia, a vassal of Turkey, declared war, and Montenegro followed suit. Notwithstanding the advice of England to slay and suppress, the insurrection was spreading, becoming more and more a reality day after day, whereat the English Government much wondered, though the Govern- ments of Europe and the English people knew full well that such would have been the fact. The reason of all this was that Lord Beaconsfield will look at nothing but the bit of parchment which had cost this country eighty or a hundred mil- lions twenty-two years ago, while everybody else looked at the facts. He saw the intoyrity of the Ottoman Empire," while all the rest of the world saw the terrible sufferings of the Ottoman subjects, to which the parchment was as jK.thh: in the balance. It appeard to him that b^cai^e England expended blood and treasure in the maintenance of the Turkish Empire in the years 18:;4,.5 and 6, she, in common with the rest of the world, should be now and for ever indifferent to any amount of cruelty and wrong which that Government might perpetrate. To acknowledge the existence of misgovernment in the Turkish provinces appeared to him to be equivalent to an increase of Russian influence in the councils of the Porte. He therefore persisted in shutting his eyes to the march of events, and br so doing has brought this country to the brink of a disas- trous war. I can sec that it will be impossible for me to recapitulate all the events in the compass of one letter, so I must leave the concluding portion till next week, when I shall endeavour to prove that the late devastating war with its accompanying horrors is to he laid wholly and entirely at the door of the Government of Lord Beaconsfield. R.

Correspondence. I WANTED AT CORWEN. 1 — f.-ii nir, allow me to maxe KUUWII tlie wants we require supplied A Compan" y to undertake the erection of a market hall. We have had many improvements of late, and building goes on at a rapid rate, but this is much needed. We have a large agri- cultural district around us, so that Corwen might be a centre of attraction of market goers from the whole of Edeyrnion. A Local Board to effect reform in the drainage of the town, and to provide the streets with light when the moon cannot conveniently show her face. We have heard much of the drainage question a few months ago, but we have seen nothing as the result. If any one can show how these necessary reforms can be gained without going to the expense of having a Local Board let him show the way. Public spirit enmah to induce some of the great railway companies to open arailway communica- tion between Corwen and Cerrigydruidion. If we had a mayor perhaps the question would be ventilated we have noticed that the mayor of Denbigh has a great idea and that is to have a railway from Denbigh to TJanrwst-and that the great idea of the mayor of Ruthin is to have a tramway between Ruthin and Wrexham. When Corwen gets a great mayor possibly he may get a great idea. A.B. BOROUGH OF RUTHIN. SIR,—You will please allow me a little space in your columns for few further remarks con- cerning our borough. After a very long "nap" the Iluthinites are beginning to open their eyes to the state of their own affairs and evidently it is high time they should do so. Although rather ashamed, I was very glad to see your correspon- dent's clear, impartial, and deliberate report of our Town Council Meeting in last week's paper, which undoubtedly proves to the community at large that we have unfortunately more than one lazy officer-that even the councilmen are almost all in the same predicament when duty calls them to be otherwise. In that lively and stir- ring meeting we don't hear the voice of but one or two aldermen, and those acting the seconds to the parties who took part in the dramatic squabble about the public meeting:" Our "representatives "were either all asleep or too lazy" to speak out their minds—at a time when a sensible word would be quite a treat. To amateurs who are on the lookout for a dra- matic piece to entertain an audience we would recommend to their notice the eccentric dialogue acted in our Council meeting last week, entitled the" Public Meeting St/net We." I am sure that the comical and amusing element in that drama. could not fail to create" milch laughter," and "great applause." Of course they must not for- get to get on the stage about a dozen images to represent the dummies in the play. The history of the last 20 years proves that the Ruthin people have been indulging too much in what Alderman Jenkins complains of, and what Solomon terms—" yet a little sleep a little slum- ber, a little folding of the hands to sleep," and we could very appropriately ask them in the words of the wisest of councilmen How long wilt thou sleep, 0 sluggard'! When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep ? Deliver thyself as a roe from the hands of the hunter, and as a bird from the hands of it foder." Does not the fact that our Guardians have selected a resident of an- other town to be their Clerk prove that our representatives were asleep to the interest of our town ? And still appointments that used to be a great boon to the place are voted one after another to a more awakeiwl neighbourhood! It appears to me that all this is done when our representatives are aaleep, or having gone into a state that they are too lazp to do their duty In fact, everybody in office seems to have his own way, and do as he likes himself, irrespective of the Ratepayers' pockets, and hence heavy rates trush us to poverty. The first School Board again is at an end, ond evidently it was the duty of somebody to see that the ratepayers should enjoy their privilege of electing a new Board, but, strrnge to say, the duty "ha been iie,Iected Surely the clerk gets enough .salary to see that his promoters get their due. and it is to lie feared that he also has been touched by a fit of the" lazy" plague. At this present moment we have no Board in existence, and here is the rllle-" Where a, School Board is not elected at the time fixed for the first election, or has ceased to be in existence, the Education Department may proceed in the same manner as if such Board had been elected and were in existence. "-See. 32. Vict., c 7.7). Rather than be deprived of our privileges would it not be better for us to memorialise the Lords of the Committee of Council on Education for an order in the matter. Certainly the Returning Officer, in the person of the Mayor, should see to this, as he is the moving spirit, according to the regulations in the Act, viz.: The election of members of a School Board to fill up the vacan- cies, to be caused by every such retirement, shall be held upon some convenient day, to be fixed by the Returning Officer in the notice to be issued by him in pursuance of this order," &c. See Owen's Educational Acts' Manual, p. 28(5. Why delay such an important duty ? The rate- payers certainlv ought to know; and now, while the Boards of Huthin and Llanfair are about to undergo a change, would it not be advisable for them to take advantage of the provision in the Education Act that enables two or more Boards to arrange for the appointment of the same per- son as Clerk (Owen' s Manual, p. 10S), thus saving a considerable amount to the pockets of the ratepayers. At present Ruthin pays, I believe, £ 30, and Llanfair pays the same person £ 15, whereas, undoubtedly, the work could be done for half the total amount. I have often- times wondered how the Board could be so liberal, and close their eyes to the Act before them Surely they cannot say that they have studied economy, and in the coming election (if we are not done out of it) I would advise the ratepayers to test the candidates and vote only for their friends. D. 0. P. THE GKESFORD CLERGY AND TEMPERANCE. SIR,—Will you permit me to offer a few words in repiy to the letter of the Rev. J. S. Lewis, which appeared in your last issue. III the tirt place, let me say that I have good authority for stating that the use of the schoolroom for a temperance meeting was refused, and that fear of damage by "the rabble" was one of the reasons given for refusal. But this has nothing whatever to do with the subject of my letter. My object was to ascertain what proofs Mr Lewis had that the wine created at Cana was intoxicating. I complain, and I think reason- ably, that clergymen should use their position and influence to counteract the efforts of those who are trying to stop drunkenness," and, especially, that they should found their strictures on suppositions, the correctness of which they cannot prove. Mr Lewis must be well aware that a large proportion of his hearers have no means of testing the accuracy of such a supposition as that now referred to, and when he founds a dis- course on it they naturally suppose that lie is basing his remarks 011 facts and not mere infer?we*. Now, I again challenge him to prove that his attack on teetotalism was justified by facts which are capable of proof in connection with the Marriage at CanR. I say it is worse than unjustifiable—it is neither candid nor rig-ht to found his attack upon improved bases, and that, too. in a place where sophistry cannot be exposed. Let Mr Lewis not misunderstand me. I am not objecting to his opposition, though one would think there might be found greater evils to counteract than teetotalism. Only let him come out in the open—either in public meeting or in the press, where his arguments can be met -and allow fairplay on both sides, and I am sure temperance men will give him welcome, for with the exception of hearty support there is nothing they court so much as fair and candid opposi- tion. The only argument Mr liewis condescends to offer in support of his position is that if the wine created at Cana had been a teetotal drink" he cannot believe "that a church, which for more than 1800 years has celebrated the Holy Communion should have been ignorant of the fact." Now, surely, Mr Lewis must know that the wine used for sacramental purposes was not likely to be chosen because of its similarity to the wine made at Cana. I had always supposed that the Holy Communion was celebrated in commemoration of the Last Supper. If the argument means any- thing, it means that the Church for more than 1800 years has used intoxicatini) wine in the cele- bration of the Holy Communion, and that this is n. ""fillinil fnr inference that. flu:. WITIII f1 o- "a U&. -& was also intoxicating. But even here Mr Lewis only makes a further display of his sophistry, for he either does or ought to know that it is not admitted that the churches have used intoxicat- ing wine for this purpose for more than 1800 years. It is absolutely useless to argue from dis- puted premises, and it is really surprising that Mr Lewis does not recognise this. His argu- ment conveys a suggestion which is incorrect, but which, even if correct, would have no appli- cation whatever to the matter in dispute. Why, sir, to some people it seems clear that Jesus Christ used the fruit of the vine," as stated in the Bihle, and that it could not be fermented and consequently not intoxicating, for the simple reason that nothing fermented was allowed to lie used at the passover. To offer an error, which substitutes a decoction with which the fruit of the vine has very little, if any. connection, even though that error, were lfSOO years ohl-tà offer this as an argument in favour of an assump- tion not in any way affected by the error is surely the most ridiculously compic e sophistry or which any mim can he capable. It mail possibly lie the duty of clergymen to make drinking easy to those who like it, and to sneer in the pulpit at* iood Templars, but it does not appear to me that that duty can be supported either by Old or New Testament teaching. The idea that a man should rise from his knees after asking God to "leall us not into temptation," and then and there to countenance and encourage a habit which has been and still is a trrri'.lc temptation to many of hi_ s parishioners is surely a [ strange and sad contrastto the spiritwhicli actuated St. Paul when he declared "It is good neither to eat flesh., nor to drink wine, nor anything where- by tin- brother stumbleth or is made weak," and againj If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make niv brother to offend." One word in conclusion. I am exceedingly obliged to Mr Lewi s for bis very gentlemanly invitation. Lest I should be entirely demolished I refrain from accepting it. 'But, jesting apart, I would only say in response that vulvar swagger is not argument, and It Wan who is afraid I oi the public discussion of aouestion sh,™U 1 least leave it alone.— Yours truly, "I Exqi'IKEK.

l The" Liver" is the best market for Butter.