Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register

  "'I0HR ??D SCHOLEFIEIJD.—The members ? the } ?"?' of ??mingham, Messrs. Scholcneld ?Bh'?t' "?  their constituents ? ?? TownT\aunomicC|l t° address their constituents W(,-diiesday, the 20 th inst. 11 OIlS', 1> J St. Johv S .iI°UT —A Madrid journal states ?Q? ?' "J g somewhat indisposed in conHe- ?''(; ? i ICIng somewhat 111 lspose 111 conse-  WSMW. has ordered the right arm of J"!m to i 6 ??{frrcd to her private chapeHrom !?'ec) "?? ? Catalonia, where it has lon- been ?' Tur. it has long been UK6 TUG re l 1C WJ!l not be sent hack to Catalonia until '? ^er .\U'1J; (:ST» Y « ??iui?m?L" ? ??. I '"0*"—I'HREO things ar« mceded t. ak-e A C kecrf,l "are iRce(le(I t* IfJ' last I.ot Ie r<'öl!lc. happy faces, a joyons blaze ?' ? 'f.t l?t" a ?"?i?t grate which reftects aU ? la a IA A «!LRI0R* This last never looks so bri?t ? "?? ?t(.H?"  ?'? the "Diamond Black Lead." K> TT I: SORL^T ;;M,1;RI ERI'LGO, E-C., ?<1 Hull. Ke- 2« O ^?H1ANDLERS, Grocers, IronmoB?crs chanlle rs, Cirromrs, ironniom,,t;ro

THE BARONS AND THE LAND. ) [The fo l ■ ■ 4 iu the 4611forning [The following letter appeared in the Mornine Star" of Tuesday last.] Sir,Ilr Cobden has never yet advocated or carried out any reform so pregnant with benefit to the country at large as by directing public attention to the owner- ship of the soil. Whatever motive may be imputed to him by men his inferiors in everything constituting statesmanship, no person high or low will dare to con- tradict his assertion that our agricultural population is completely divorced from the land. More even than by his successful championship of free trade he is now proving himself the farmers' friend; but in according him this well-earned title, we must not forget our thanks to that oracle of the landed interest—the Times" for forceing an issue upon which might otherwise have lain in abeyance. The" Times" and the class it serves may rest assured that this discussion will not be allowed to continue a merely personal one and that the forcing of an irrespoaable writer into publid notice, as a "fender" to others, has merely proved that certain interests are desirousito avert the discussion from them- selves. 41 When the English people become thoroughly aroused to the vital importance of this question—when they arc made aware of the intimate connection between the ownership of the soil and their political liberty—they will endeavour by all means in their power to arrest the absorption of the land—the common property of all- by au over-gorged noble few. Feudalism—or, as it would be much better spelt, fewdalism-has of late years ueen alarmingly on the increase in Great Britain and whilst other nations are seeking to create the most numerous class possible of landowners, we-bv legisla- tion, ignorance, or apathy—have been effecting a rapill return to the proprietorships of the middle ages. The emancipation of the serfs in Russia, and their prospec- tive acquisition of the Crown and other domainu, is a positive assertion on the part of the Czar that the system hitherto obtaining in his dominions is condu- cive neither to national well-being nor to the stability of his throne: and if we turn our eyes to the great Re- public of the West, we discover that the ownership of the soil by the largest possible number of citizens has bean made a cardinal principle by that dominant party in the North which promises henceforth to sway the destinies of the American continent. In no civilised country whatever can we find such a state of things ex- ist •> lili* own, the number of landed proprietors con- stancy UIIN -VIDLY diminishing, and the estates yearly INCREASING NI extent and value. We have merely to glance at the history of the fall of empires and re- publics to discover that when the masses of the people are thus divorced from the soil the principle of nationality becomes vitally affected, and the final crash arrives or, as we have seen in France, in reference to the old noblesse,'and in many other countries in regard to the estates of the clergy, the Government has been com- pelled to seize the land to save itself, or the people have resorted to that ultima ratio populorum—revolution— to regain an interest in that which is, and ought to be, the common interest of all. Legislation is in a no sense beneficial or far-seeing which disregards this empathic teaching of history; and statesmen are little worthy of the name who are unwilling or unable so to legislate as to secure the most extended division of the land possi- ble amongst the community. Two of our counties, Buckinghamshire and Sussex, afford a fair sample of what has been going on through- out the United Kingdom during the present century. In the first-named county an enormously wealthy family has, for several years past, watched every opportunity to purchase farms and estates the moment they were offered in the market, until men acquainted with the circumstances of the case have been led to understand that the object of the family in question is to become, if possible, sole proprietor of the soil of the county. Sussex, containing some 800 square miles, is mainly owned by the Duke of Richmond and Lord Leconfield; .L.' w.; these two peers choose to pull together, any landeu V,:operLy offered for sale in the county is sure of being caught up by one or the other house. Should any disagreement occur between them, two or three other noblemen might have a chance to purchase—an eventuality in no wise more propable than that the vast I of the two families may, at some future period, be UIIIUU (. OUJ head. With the exception of his Grace of Richmond and my Lord of Leconfield, there are not fifty proprietors possessing 500 acres each in this county of 000,000 acres. The evil does not stop here. England used to point wn.ii PEL! ■ h her yeomanry,—farmers with broad acres tilled on long leases by their fathers, and oftimes, if not generally, retained by their sons. But England's yeo- III,! -,iettlttiral iiiitltlle class, -has almost ceased to exist; for the titled landowners have adopted the system of short leases and competitive bidding for their farms. In the not distant future our agricultural population will consist of but two classes, nobles and thralls, and our country be parcelled out into a few princely domains, the appanages of families of enor- mously greater wealth and political power than the baronies and earldoms under the Plantagenets, Is it safe for us as a nation to permit such a result as this ? Was the feudal system so productive of good to Eng- land that we must fetch back the middle ages into the nineteenth century ? Has legislation so fallen into the hands of the few that no possible amelioration can be found except that suggested by the Times"—revolu- tion or confiscation ? "A glance at I Dod's Parliamentary companion for 1803 will prove how intimately connected with our politital liberties is this question for ownership of the land. The borough seats in the House of Commons are, with few exceptions, as much the property of the landed aristocracy as their preserves or fox-liounds the statement is made no less than forty-two times in the list of seats that such a borough is in the interest of,' or is owned by,' this or that peer or aristocrat; and al- most every other member has the title of Honourable,' 4 Lord,' Earl,' or Marquis' to his name. This may be most 'constitutional,' but it is a farce to call such a lagislative assembly The People's House of Commons.' The longer such a state of affairs continues the more difficult it will be to change it; but changed it must eventually be, view the vast preponderance given to the aristocracy by the sole possession of the national domain, and the gradual but almost certain banishment of the middle and labouring classes from the councils of the nation. We cad surely find egal and constitutional means to effect this result. The advice divide pro im- peraivs' may and must be applied in some way or other to the soil of our country, whoever's ambition or schemes may be thwarted; for, so long as the present system continues to exist our liberties are completely in the hands of a paramount non-producing, aristocratic clique, and progress is an impossibility. Salus populi supre- ma est lex' may appear a very radical maxim, but it has frequently been acted upon by gentlemen of strictly con- servative te.idencies and antecedents. "An alteration in the law of primogeniture, as sug- gest JD by Mr Cobden, would, as a primary measure, ameliorate the present alarming condition of affairs, and, in some degree, redeem the Church, the Army and Navy, and the various colonies and Government dapart- ments from being the property, so to speak, of the pauper younger sons of the aristocracy. A defined period of occupation of land. again, might give the ten- ant a right to possession, or to purchase at a known valuation. But in any case, the system now obtaining cannot be allowed to continue; for it is not merely damaging the agricultural community, but weighing heavily upon all the producing interests of the country, and absorbing the political power of the nation. r London, Jan. 5. ANGLO-SAXON.

EXTRAORDINARY ELOprilENT.-One day last week, Mrs. Emma Goodwin, of Noble county, Ohio, started from her home to go to Pennsylvania to visit some rela- tives who reside in Greene county, in the state, leaving her husband and two small children, aged respectively about five and seven years, and a hire 1 girl at home to keep house." Her husband amply provided her with funds to pay her way before her departure. About the same time -r. George Taylor, who resides in the same neighbourhood, and who able to rejoice in the possession of a handsome wife and two intelligent little" pledges of affection," started West on business," but somehow or other he took the wrong road, and arrived in Wheel- ing about the same time with Mrs. Emma Goodwin. They remained at one of our hotels over night, passing as man and wife, and next morning took the Pittsburg train. It seems that, after two or three days' travel, they brought up at Cleveland. Amving just before meal time, after a hastily prepared toilet, they passed to the dining room and were seated near the head of the table. Mrs. Emma immediately opposite her husband, aud Mr. Taylor immediately opposite his wife. It seems that a day or two after Mrs. Goodwin left home Mr. Goodwin took it into his head to attempt to seduce Mrs. Taylor from her "sacred allegiance to her lord," and induce her to elope with him in her husband's absence, in which it seems he had but little trouble in succeeding, neither of them ever dreaming that their companions were just then committing like acts of adultery. The seene that ensued after the mutual recognition at the Cleveland dinner table was neither tragic nor ridiculous, as might be imagined; but, like philosophical people who found themselves in a very bad spell would do, they quietly, and, as if moved by some secret undertak- ing, withdrew to a private room, where they arranged that each man should take his own wife, and go back to their homes and children, and tT and live wiser aud better men and women in the future. "Wheeling Register," December 28. :>

ACCOUCHEMENT OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES. Fro,frmore Lodge, Jan. 9, lob4. Yesterday evening, at two minutes before nine o'clock, Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales was happily delivered of a prince. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the Lord President of Her Majesty's Council, and the lady of Her Royal Highness's bedchamber were present. Her Royal Highness and the infant Prince, God be praised, are doing perfectly well. This happy event was made known by the firing of the Park and Tower guns, and the Privy Council being assembled this day at the Council Chamber, Whitehall, it was ordered that a form of thanksgiving for Her Royal Highness's safe delivery of a prince be prepared by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, to be used in all churches and chapels throughout England and Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, on Sunday the 17tli of January, or the Sunday after the respective ministers shall receive the same. At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 9th day of January, 1804, by the Lords of Her Majesty's Most: Honourable Privy Council. It is this day ordered by their lordships, that his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, do prepare a form of thanksgiving to Almighty God for the Princess Of Wales's safe delivery of a Prince and that such form of prayer and thanksgiving be used in all churches and chapels in England and Wales, and in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, upon Sunday the 17th day of January instant, or the Sunday after the respective ministers of such churches and chapels shall receive the same. I And it is hereby further ordered that Her Majesty s printer do forthwith print a competent number of copies of the said form of prayer and thanksgiving, that the same may be forthwith sent round, and read in the several churches and chapels in England and Wales, and of the town of Berwick-upon Tweed. EDMUND HARRISON. At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the ninth day of January, 1864, by the Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council. It is this day ordered by their lordships that every minister, and preacher, as well of the Established Church in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, as those of the Episcopal Communion, protected and allowed by an act, passed in the tenth year of Her Majesty Queen Ann, chapter seven, entituled An act to prevent the disturb- ing those of the Episcopal Communion in that part of Great Britain, called Scotland, in the exercise of their religious worship, and in the use of the Liturgy of the Church of England, and for repealing the act, passed in the parliament of Scotland, intitule(I An act against irregular baptisms and marriages,' do, at some time, during the exercise of Divine service in their respective churches, congregations, or assemblies, put up their prayers and thanksgivings to Almighty God for the Princess of Wales's safe delivery of a prince. EDMUND HARRISON. The latest bulletin states that Her Royal Highness and the infant prince arc both as well as can be expected. The birth of the prince was, as the earliest telegrams from Windsor stated, quite unexpected, as the confine- ment of Her Royal Highness was not looked forward to until the month of March. It was intended that the confinement of Her Royal Highness should take place at Marlborough House, and the Princess was to have left Frogmore for London in about a fortnight. For several days past the Princess had been slightly indis- posed, and was suffering from catarrh and cold, and it is stated that Dr. Brown, of Windsor, who attended Her Royal H ighness, judging from the symptoms of the Princess, had intimated that the interesting event might occur earlier than was anticipated. The Princess, how- ever, had so far recovered from the indisposition under which she had been suffering as to feel no hesitation in being present at the skating party on the Virginia Water on Friday. On returning to Frogmore, Her Royal Highness soon became so unwell that the Prince of Wales forwarded a telegram to the Queen at Osborne respecting the condition of Her Royal Highness. The symptoms of an approaching birth continued to increase, and the Prince deemed it advisable to despatch a messenger immediately requesting the attendance of Dr. Brown, who arrived about seven o'clock in the evening of Friday, and at two minutes to nine o'clock, as the bulletins have already informed the country, her Royal Highness was safely delivered of a healthy prince. Messages were also sent for tlu medical men who were appointed to attend her Royal Highness, and for Sir George Grey, but the confinement had taken place before they could reach Frogmore. Dr. Sieveking, the physician to the Prince of Wales, was the first to arrive from D G London. He was followed by Dr. Farre and Dr. Gream, and later by Sir Charles Locock. We believe we are not unduly violating the sanctity of the domestic arrange- ments of their royal highnesses when we state that as the arrival of the prince was wholly unexpected, and, as the Prince and Princess were staying at Frogmore and not at Marlborough House, no arrangements had been made for his reception. There was no nurse in attendance but the maternal experience of the Countess of Maccles- field, the lady in waiting, was of inestimable value in extemporising such articles of comfort and clothing as were necesiary for the young prince. The other ladies of the household were, of course, equally anxious to give every assistance in their power in this interesting emergency. A telegram was despatched to Her Majesty immediately after the arrival of Dr. Brown, an l the happy birth of the prince was also communicated by the same means. The Queen arrived at Windsor about noon yesterday (Saturday), and immediately paid a visit to the priucss. Later in the day the Queen also visited Her Royal Highness. We are happy to be enabled to state that the health of the Princess is most satisfactory, and that there is no reason to suppose that the infant prince will display hereafter any sign of his premature birth, more than was shown by his royal highness's great great grandfather, George the Third', who was said also to have been born prematurely. During yesterday (Saturday), Frogmore was the scene of great excitement, each train from London bringing down Cabinet ministers members of the household, and large numbers of the aristocracy, to offer their congratulations to the Prince of Wales. Lord Granville was the only representative of the Cabinet present on Friday at Frogmore. His presence was owing to the fact of his dining with the Prince of Wales. Copies of the bulletins, as they were received from Windsor, were posted at the Mansion House, and were eagerly read by crowds of persons during the day. The bells of St. Dunstan's and other churches in the City were rung, and salutes were fired in the parks and at the Tower. We ( Times ) learn on the best authority that the infant Prince, though only a seven months child, is in excellent health. For the information of the gentler portion of our readers, who are curious in these matters, it is stated that the exact weight of the infant Prince after his birth was 91bs. Her Majesty agam visited the Princess and her infant son at Frogmore on Tuesday afternoon, and stayed till a late hour, after which Her Majesty returned to the castle. The congratulatory visits to Frogmore House were continued on Tuesday, though the calls were not quite so numerous as on Monday, being confined principally to persons resident in the immediate neighbourhood. As our readers are probably aware, the late interesting event was expected to have taken place in March, at Marlborough House, where every precaution had been made for the advent of the little stranger," and no prevision had been made for the sudden accession to the Prince's family at Frog- more. Flannel and a few other things absolutely neces- sary were, however, hastily procured at Windsor, and on Sunday the whole of the articles at Marlborough House were received at Frogmore.

THE CAPTURE OF THE BARQUE "SAXON. THE CHIEF OFFICER SHOT DEAD. By the arrival of the barque Alethia (Capt. Winder) at Falmouth, on Saturday, our Liverpool correspondents have been placed in possession of a few additional par- ticulars of the capture of the barque Saxon by the United States steamer Vanderbilt (Captain Baldwin). It will be remembered that some months ago, when the Alabama was cruising off the Cape of Good Hope, she captured the Boston barque Starlight off Simons Bay, and afterwards sold a portion of this vessel's cargo- comprising wool-in Cape Town. Afterwards the wool was shipped on board the Saxon for the purpose of being sent to England. Capt. Baldwin, hearing of this, in formed the owners of the Saxon that if they allowed their vessel to put to sea, with the wool on board, he would seize her, and he considered their conduct a vio- lation of the laws of Great Britain. The owners re- fused to entertain Captain Baldwin's protext, and let the Saxon put to sea. On the 30th of October she was overhauled by the Vanderbilt, and a prize crews sent on board. On going on board, one of the officers of the Vanderbilt was accosted by the chief ofifcer of the Saxon, who endeavoured to eject him from on board. The American officer at once drew his revolver and shot the chief mate dead. The vessel was then taken possession of by a crew from the Vanderbilt, and on the 1st of November she was despatched as a prize to New York for adj udication. The Saxon was owned at the Cape of Good Hope, by Messrs Anderson and Lanow. The de- ceased chief officer of the captured vessel was named James Grey, and belonged to Aberdeen. This capture '<:> b t en t e will, no doubt, occasion some explanation between the United States and the British Crovernments but it IS generally believed in Liverpool that, ofter the notice t> h L1 b CaptlUIl a given to the owners of the Saxon by Captain Baldwin, 10 'd' th' hip to sea WI they acted illegally in sending their ship to sea with the eargo of a captured Federal ship on b(iard-

I A YOUTHFUL JACK SHEPPARD. j On Saturday last, a lad named Robert Ridley made his escape from the prison of Dumfries in a manner displaying considersble daring and presence of mind, and has till now succeeded in evading all attempts at his recapture. The prisoner, popularly known as "Bob Ridley," is about 15 years of age, and belongs to Gass- town. He does not bear a very good character, and was undergoing a sentence of one month's imprisonment pronounced in the Sheriff Court here on the 31st of December last, for an act of such atrocious cruelty to a sheep that it was found necesiary to put the animal to death. As most of our local readers are aware, the prison of Dumfries, situated in Bucclench-street, com- municates with the court-house on the op osite side of the street by a subterraneous passage through which prisoners are conducted to and from trial, and it was by J means of this underground way that Ridley contrived to set the high walls of the prison at detiance, and to compass his escape from durance vile. Behind the prison buildings proper there are two airing yards- separated by a stone wall in which there is a door. The female airing yard is next to St. David-street, and between this yard and the prison entrance to the sub- terraneous passage theie is a smaller enclosure, sepa- rated from the airing yard by a wall 15 feet high, in which there is also a door. At the prison entrance to the underground passage there is a strong iron gate, which is generally kept locked, but when the prison is being supptied with coals, which are shot through a trap into this passage from the street above the gate must necessarily be open, and this, it appears, was the case on Saturday last. That Ridley had some know- ledge of the locality, and particularly of the under- ground passage, is almost certain, judging from the determination he showed to set himself free, but it is equally certain that in effecting his object he was favoured by circumstances in a way that he could scarcely have anticipated It appears that on the fore- noon of Saturday one of the warders was engaged in removing some rubbish in a barrow from one part of the prison yard to the other for this purpose it was necessary to open the do r between the male and female airing yards the door communicating with tite small enclosure next to the entrance to the subterraneous passage was locked, but the key had been left in the door. The prisoner was in one of the enclosed com- partments in the male airing yard, and complaining of cold, requested the warder to let him out, and take him to his cell The warder complied, but no sooner had j Ridley been liberated from the compartment referred I to than he ran off at the top of his speed, and making a I complete circuit of the enclosure from which he had been sot free, in order to baffle the warder, he rushed I througn the open oor communicating with the female ) airing yard. The wavder, however, was in close pursuit, and Ridley had scarcely entered tho female airing yard when he stumbled and fell heavily, cutting his hands badly, and the warder at once seized him and led him into the prison by the back entrance. The warder, it seems, had lost his slippers in his pursuit of Ridley, and probably regarding the prisoner's attempt to escape in no very serious light, and thinking it most improbable that he would repeat it, he left the prisoner standing in the passage while he went to recover his slippers, which were lying at no great distance, When he returned he discovered to his amazement that the bird had again flown, and in a very few minutes it was made perfectly clear that Ridley had succeeded in making his escape. After passing from the female airing yard into the small enclosure at the prison entrance to the subterraneous passBge—which he might have easily succeeded in doing by unlocking the intervening door-he appears to have passed through the open wate at the entrance of the passage. The passage itself is probably about thirty yards tn length, and communicates with the court- house by two short flights of steps, the opening being immediately behind the prisoners' dock in the lower court-hall. The ordinary means of egress is.by a door, but this was fastened so securely that Ridley could not move it. He. however, succeeded in finding open or bursting upon the wooden shutter by which the trap is covered in at the top, and by tint of sheer climb- ing, though there was very little to hang on to, he managed to get out. He now found himself in the courthouse, and at once made for the front door. Had he taken towards the back of the building, where the principal room is constantly occupied by one or other of the county constabulary, he must have been instantly seen and detained. He found the front door locked; the key, however, was in the inside, but before ventur- ing out he very shrewdly divested himself of his gaol jacket, on which was stamped the brand of the Dum- fries prison, and left it in the passage. He then care- fully turned the key in the lock, and opening the door emerged into the flagged area in front of the courthouse, which was surrounded with an iron railing, the climb- ing of which in broad daylight (it was now about mid- day) proved very awkward. Here, again, however, fortune stood his friend. At the corner of the railing next Dr. Borthwick's house lie saw that one of the bars had fallen out or been removed, leaving a space amply sufficient to enable one of his size to slip through into the street. He availed himself of the discovery at once, keeping close to wall of the court-house so as to avoid being seen from the windows of the chief constable's office, which commands the front entrance to the court- house, he passed through the aperture in the railings into Buccleuch-street. He was seen in the act of com- ing out by a cabman who was at the stand nn the other side of the way, and who, from the fact that the lad wore no jacket, not unnaturally thought that lie might have been engaged about the courthouse in cleaning windows or some other similar occupation, the day being Saturday. At all events Ridley got off without interference, and it need scarcely be added did not allow the grass te grow under his feet in taking flight. Shortly afterwards in- formation of the escape reached the chief constable's office, and Inspector Hyslop, with three other officers, and acompanied by one of the prison warders, started in pursuit, taking the direction ef Gasstown, to which they thought it probable that Ridley in the first place would proceed. On rsaching Gasstown the officers heard throt he had been seen going along the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and they accordingly sought for him in that direction. In a few minutes they caught sight of him, and a most exciting chase began. Ridley, it ap- pears, had borrowed a jacket and a pair of clogs from a railway labourer whom lie had met at Brasswell cross- ing but when he caught the first glimpse of the con- stables, off went the jacket and clogs in a trice, and the fugitive flew down the side of the railway embankment and across the fields with a speed that threatened to baffle all pursuit. The pursuers, however, entered into the spirit of the thing with characteristic ardour, and con- stable Lauder, made a gallant and nearly successful effort to overtake the runaway. The latter made for a wood to the right of the line on an elevation called Dancingknowe, which he succeeded in gaining. Passing through this plantation he dashed down the other side at a rapid pace, and proceeded right across the Lochar Moss, at the part where it is known as the Isle of Man Moss. By this time the constables had separated, tak- ing different directions, agreeing to meet at George- town, and Constable Lauder kept steadily on the tract ) of the fugitive. But he never could get nearer than 400 yards of him, and lost s'glit of him in the moss. On reaching Georgetown the officers received information which convinced them that Ridley had been there be- fore them, and that taking a cut across the fields he had gone in the direction of Carthagenea farmhouse later in the afternoon he was seen by a tradesman at Shaw- fied, near the Trench. The pursuit was continued, but unsuccessfully. The police of course are on the alert, I and it is expected that in a few days Ridley will be re- captured, though there is no saying how long the same luck and ingenuity by which he secured his freedom may stand him in good stead.

NEW BACON at WALLIS'S Stores, Charles-street, Wrexham, now in prime condition. The Morning Herald," October 23, 18G2, speaking the Plate in the Exhibition, says, Mr Benson, who has a medal for plate, exhibits some beautiful things." B Ar _L' 0 Benson's Argentine is a splendid material composed of various metals, with a heavy deposit of pure Silver, forming one hard compact body, possessing all the beauty richness of colour, and durability of Silver at a fraction of its cost. When the Argentine and the real Silver are placed side lay side, the most skilful judge cannot distinguish between them, while its durability is so great that after many years' wear its appearance remains unaltered Durin" the last seventeen years it has been so well re- ceived by the Public, that its manufacture has been ex- tended to all those articles usually made in Siver, viz., iFo'rks Dfcmer, Tea and Coffee Services, Waiters £ SSSf Cake B^skeis, Candelbra. D?h.s of all kinds Bread and rC?e?Ba?ske s? ? &c., &c. A Sample Spoon Epergnes, Cl?t ? Un.ted K.n m will be sent poat-f? re?a Partof the United Kngdom on receipt of 30 STAMPS YJ an Illustrated CATAL M:ato.ining 300 EnQTaVlngs and ? PrICe-list of th: MNtammg 300 Ea?-? Argent?e an d solid Silver ?. manufactures k0tli in Argentine and solid Silver will be 3ent to A°Y address on receipt of 6 stamps. A Prize ??r ? d? was awaFLr FID ? J W. Benson for Ecel- At.n,;ine and Electro Plate." lence of mplaufacture? C) PoBt-officeOQ rdBM an Cheques should be made p?ble E5a.bh5àwents, 46, 47 ?? CornSn All commumcatlOna should be ad- Sess.d'to the Principal EstaUishmcnt, 33, and 34, Lud- Seffill? London. Established 1749. Watch and Clock Maker by Special Warrant of App. ointment to H. R. H. The Prince of Wales.

THE TOWNLEY CASE. OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE HOME SECRETARY. The following C) is a copy of the letter addressed by Sir George Grey to Mr. Evans, M.P., in reply to the memo- rial of the magistrates of the county of Derby in the case of George Victor Townley :— TO T. W. EVANS, ESQ., M.P., ALLESTREE HALL, DERBY. Whitehall, January 8. Sir,—I am directed by Secretary Sir George Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th inst., transmitting a letter addressed to him by the magistrates of the county of Derby, whose signatures are attached to it. Sir George Grey has read 0 that letter with the attention to which both the importance of the subject it refers to and the persons from whom it proceeds J 1 1-1' JUStly entitle it. in order to place the magistrates in full possession of the proceedings which have taken place with reference to the case of George Victor Town- ley, a copy of the correspondence between this office and the Lunacy Commissioners, together with two certifi- cates of Townley's insanity received by the Secretary of State. and of the order for the removal of the prisoner to Bethlem Hospital under the provisions of the statute 3 FIND 4 Vict., cap. 5-1, sec. ), will he transmitted to yon as soon as it can be prepared. The magistrates will learn from this correspondence that it was in consequence of information conveyed to the Secretary of State by the learned judge before whom the prisoner was tried that, in his opinion, a further inquiry as to the sanity of the prisoner was necessary, that the Lunacy Commissioners were requested by the Secretary of State to undertake the inquiry. Sir George Grey feels that it was impossible to refuse an inquiry so recommended by the judge, and lie is not aware that, under the circumstances of the case, he could have intrusted the inquiry to more able or responsible persons, or to persons likely to conduct it with greater impartiality and freedom from any precon- ceived opinion or doubtful theories. The commissioners' report is among th" papers which will be sent you with the least possible dt-iay but the Secretary of State was not called upon to decide on that report alone whether the sentence of the law ought to be executed or not, because at the same time that lie received it lie received also a certificate, dated December 27, signed by three justices of the peace (one for tile county and two for the borough of Derby) and two medical men, stating, in the terms required by law, that they had examined and inquired into the mental state of the prisoner, and certi- fying that he was insane. This was followed by a cer- tificate to the same effect, DAL. ;I:I OF December, t f December, and signed by two justices of l"(' for the county of Derby (one of them being the same who had signed the former certificate), and the same two medical men. Copies of these certificates are also among the papers which will be sent to you. Upon these certificates from four justices of the peace and two medical practitioners the prisoner, in accordance with the construction which has been uniformly placed on the section of the act before mentioned, was ordered to be removed to Btthlcm Hospital, the capital sentence being respited, but not commuted. The magistrates in their letter of the 5th instant say, with reference to the inquiry made by two magistrates, aided by two medical men, that that inquiry did not, like all previous inquiries of the same kind, originate with the gaol authorities, but was promoted and con- ducted as a matter of professional business by Townley's legal adviser. Sir George Grey had no previous infor- mation that this was the case, nor could he be in any way responsible for any irregularity—if irregularity there was-in the proceedings. No person other than a magistrate could be admitted to examine the prisoner or to inqu;re into his mental state without the sanction of the visiting. justices or of the Secretary of State and as the visiting justices must therefore have been aware of the proceeding, and as no communication on the sub- ject was received from them at the time, or has been received from them up to the present time by the Secre- tary of State, lie could only presume that what was done was done with their knowledge and sanction. So far, however, as it concerned the 1 • be taken by the Secretary of State, in conformity with the law, on the receipt of such a certificate, it was immaterial how the inquiry originated, provided the certificate was in accord- ance with the provisions of the statute. There is one other passage in the letter from the magistrates to which Sir G T'-INKS it right to r -? it I- i ,,Iit to refer. They say that the eifect of tue respite of Townley and of his removal to a lunatic asylum has been to cause much dissatisfaction, and to create a feeling, greatly to be lamented, that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor that justice has been turned aside by the power of money ;UI„ that if Townley and his friends had been poor he would have been executed." The magistrates may po": information as to the expenditure of money by Townley S Mends of which the Secretary of State has no knowledge nor is lie aware of the manner in which the magistrates believe such mouey to have been expended. But the most satisfactory proof which can be given that the co'irse taken with regard to Townley is one which it required no expenditure of money to obtain, and which would have been equally taken had Townley and his friends been poor, is a refer- ence to a similar case which occurred at the Spring Assizes held at Newcastle-oil-Tyne, in 1862, when a man named Clark, himself a poor man, and with no friends who were not also poor, and in whose defence no counsel was even retained, was convicted of wilful murder and sentenced to death. In that case, as in the case of Townley, the LEARNED judge before whom Clark was tried, in reporting the case to the Secretary of State, expressed his opinion that the verdict was right, but called the attention of the Secretary of State to the evi- dence as to the unsound state of mind of the prisoner at the time of the trial, as having, to use his own words, so intensely important a bearing upon the question whether he ought to be executed." In consequence of this representation from the judge, an inquiry as to the sanity of the prisoner was directed by the Secretary of State, and the result in that case, as in the present, was his removal to a lunatic asylum. Sir George Grey trusts that this statement will tend to remove the impression which the magistrates say exists, and which they appear to have shared, that a similar course, under similar circumstances, would not be adopted in the case of a poor man as in the case of one whose friends had the power of expending money in his behalf. I am, sir, your obedient servant, H. WADDIGNTON.

I THE THANKSGIVING PRAYER FOR THE I BIRTH OF A PRINCE. The following is the form of prayer and thanksgiving- for the Princess of Wales's safe delivery oi a Prince, to be used at morning and evening service, after the general thanksgiving, in all churches and chapels in I England and Wales, and in the town of Berwick-upon- Tweed, upon Sunday, the 17th of January instant, or the Sunday after the respective ministers of such I churches and chapels shall receive the same :— I A FORM OF PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING TO ALMIGHTY GOD. Almighty and most merciful God, by whose gracious gift mankind is increased, we humbly thank Thee for that Thou hast vouchsafed to deliver Thy servant, the Princess of Wales, from the perils of childbirth, that Thou hast made her a joyful mother, and granted her the blessings of a son. May Thy waLcliful eye and fatherly hand still be over her support and comfort her in the hour cf weakness, and day by day renew her strength that so she may arise and go forth to praise I Thee in Thy church, and serve Thee m all good works to the glory of Thy lioly name. Defend the infant Prince from every danger that may happen to the body, and from every evil that may assault and hart the soul. Enrich him with all spiritual blessings in Chrtst Jesus, and as years advance, may he increase in grace, in wis- dom, and all Christian virtues. Look down, we pray Thee, with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people upon the royal parents fill them with all heaven- ly benediction, that they may faithfully live and walk according to Thy will in this present life, and may be partakers of Thine everlasting glory in the life to come. Implant in the hearts of Thy people a deep sense of this, and of Thy manifold mercies to us as church and nation, and iYe us grace to show forth our thankful- ness by dutiful affection to our Sovereign, by brotherly love one towards another, and by constant obedience to Thy commandments so that. passing through this life i in Thy faith and fear, we may attain to Thy heavenly kingdom, through the merits and mediation of Thy blessed son Jesus Christ onr Lord. Amen."

THE KING AND HEENAN Petzp. FIGHT.-The general FEELING on this side of the water among the decenter classes in regard to the result of the recent prize fight in England is one of unalloyed catisfaction. It is not a case in which victory was to be desired, or in which anyone solicitous for the country's honour would care to have the success credited to America. THE 'e are m iny peciii- arities in English life and character WhiCll we can imit- ate far more creditably than the bratal practice of prize fighting. There can be no doubt, moreover, that if he who was put forward by his friends as the American champion had beaten his antagonist, a considerable im- pulse would have been given in this country to an amuse- ment, as it is called, which is d'sgusting and D.-p^ra L'o" in its nature, its incidents, and its influences. England is the only civilised nation on the face of the earth w"hi ell tolerates the custom. Even there it is fo'-biddan by tlie laws, though these are often rendered ineffective by pub- lic opinion. We should not li-ke to see the United States share with England in the disg-ace of ENCOURAGING a pastime which has no single benefit to recommend it, but a thousand enI cffecs to condemn it in the eyes of all worthy people.—" New York Post."

LECTURE BY THE REV. W. M. PUNSHON, ON "WESLEY" AND HIS TIMES. The Rev. W. M. Punshon, the well-known Wesleyan minister, on Wednesday evening delivered a lecture in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, under the auspices of the Prince's Park Young Men's Mutual Improvement So- ciety. Mr Maurice Williams, a liberal friend of the so- ciety, occupied the chair. The Lecturer rapidly sketched the parentage and birth of Wesley, the disturbed state of the country with regard both to religious and political matters, and the various prominent characters of the age who exercised an influence upon Wesley's career and co-operated in various ways in the great work in which lie was engaged. Those, said the rev. gentleman, were a bright brother- 1 1100(1. inever country boasted truer nearts ana purer I minds; and though the godless derided them, and though the annals of common fame passed them by, their record was on high and with the majority of the world that grand coming time when it should have to put away its childish things, and should enter upon its moral manhood—those were the names which would be cher- ished as its choicest ornaments. With such a brother- hood did John Wesley prosecute his wonderful labours over a period of nearly fifty years almost without pause. certainly without holiday. Ho was a man of one busi- ness throughout. One day of his work would furnish some of them now with ample employment for three one of his weeks would tell heavily upon the relaxed systems and the feeble throats of some of his degenerate sons. His work was at the rate of 15 sermons a week and 5000 miles a year, some on horseback when rail- ways were not, androads, before Macadam, were a feeble compromise between swamp and mire. He manfully journied on at all hours, in all weathers, riding himself into a fever and preaching himself out of it; now enter- tained hospitably, now treated like an angel, and by consequence offered no food; now hooted in the streets, now humoured by the authorities—but never faltering in his purposes, whether the learned would bribe him to silence or the persecutor snarled at his heels outward- ly calm while his heart burned within him, with an even temper held in almost perfect control, and with a fine flow of happy spirits. Amidst persecution and slander his faith rose into sublimity, and neither the legends of chivalry nor the annals of heroism could surpass the grandeur of his simple trust in God. He was as great, as lofty, as true as was ever recompensed by glittering honours or embalmed in minstrelsy. He outlived more abuses than any other man, and after his death so many Daniels came to judgment that lie had been credited with many virtues and many faults. Admitting many of the little things which were said against Wesley, the rev. gentleman said without those they would be dazzled by a brightness which otherwise would be as piercing as the sun at noonday but if they made all the allowance which could possibly be asked for the manhood of the loftiest type. It was human, and therefore leavened with human frailty, and living as near to heaven as merely human might. The rev. gentleman could not help thinking that when Alfred Tennyson drew the char- acter of the Duke of Wellington—A Wesley too -he could not have more faithfully limned the character of John Wesley- V'. ho never sold the truth to serve the hour, Nor bartered with Eternal God for power, &c. (Cheers.) In conclusion, the rev. gentleman drew an eloquent picture of the influence which Wesley's labours had exercised upon subsequent times, declaring that A greater and, by the grace of God, a better man, the worpl had not known since the days of St. Paul.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT.—SIX MEN KILLED. A shocking accident took place at Bridge End Col- liery, about three miles from Dudley, early on Monday morning. The men employed at the colliery assembled, as usual, between five and six o'clock on the pit bank, and the engineer at once proceeded to lower them down the shaft. He had lowered two bands safely, and was in process of lowering the third when a dreadful catas- trophe occurred. This band consisted of six men, I named Joseph Baker, John Round, Zechariah Barker, Thomas Bate, John Page, and George Terry. Just as the engineer commenced to lower them, a man employ- ed on the pit bank went into the stable for the purpose of feeding his horse. This animal had got loose during the night, and as soon as the man entered the stable it ran out. In trotting over the pit bank it lost its foot- ing.on some iron plates close to the mouth of the pit, into which it was precipitated, above the men who were being let down. The skip containing the men was then about 40 yards from the surface, and such was the vio- lence with which it was struck by the body of the horse that the chain :,y which it was attached to the rope was broken through, and men, horse, and skip hurled to the bottom, a depth from that point of 120 yards. The A crash of course brought the men who had already descended the pit to the spot. There a fearful scene presented itself to them. The bodies of the men were mangled and lacerated in a manner utterly indescribable. The heads of all of them were either fractured or smashed to pieces, and several had their legs and arms all but torn off. As soon as possible the remains were gathered together and sent to the top of the pit, where I the relatives of the unfortunate men had already assem- bled to receive them. It is not supposed there is any- one to blame f"r this lamentable occurrence. The chain I which was broken was sufficient for its purposes, being an inch and a quarter in diameter. It is said, however, that if the patent safety cage and all its appurtenances had been in use in the pit, the probabilities are that the accident would not have happened, inasmuch as there would have been a fence round the pit which would I have prevented the horse falling down.

ENLISTMENT IN LIVERPOOL FOR THE CONFEDERATE N.tvy.-Tlte Liverpool Magistrates, we are informed, have issued summonses against three persons in this town on the charge of making enlistments for the naval seivice of the Confederate States, contrary to the pro- visions of the Foreign Enlistment Act. The sum- monses had been granted on the information of Mr. William Gandy Bateson, local agent of the solicitors to the Treasury in London, and are returnable at noon on Friday next before the borough justices. Two of the defendants are gentlemen who carry on business as ship- store dealers and chandlers, and the third is a clerk in their employment. The informations, we believe, charge the defendants, in various forms, with violations of the statnto 59 peo. III., cap. 69, and the case will, most probably, lead to interesting revelations as to the means bv which the different Confederate cruisers have o' t imed thei crews; but we will not at present publish any statements on the subject, 1 Iss they should prejudice the administration of justice. We will therefore merely add that the three defendants are charged with having, in March, 863, in Liverpool and elsewhere, endeavoured to procure John Stanley, Francis Glassbrook, (or Francis Rivers,) and Benjamin Conolly, or one or more of them, to be engaged in the sea service of the so-called Confeder- rate States of America, contrary to the prohibition con- tained the statute 59 Geo. III., cap. 69. In another form the defendants are charged with having endeavoured to procnre the above men to go and embark from Liver- pool for the purpose of being engaged or employed as aforesaid, contrary to the statute. A third information alleges that one of the (lefeadants did, in April, 1863, on board the British ship Japan, endeavour to procure John Stanley, Francis Glassbrook (or Rivers), and Benjamin Conolly, or one or more of them, to be engaged as afore- said; and a fourth that the parties mentioned had cen- spired to procure the men mentioned for the aforesaid service. The whole case will be heard at the police- court on Friday next; and it is scarcely necessary to add that much public interest will attach to the investigation.

MONEY. CASH immediately advanced in sums from Zuu to £300, to merchants, farmers, tradesmen, and others, on their own personal security, or note of hand, for a period not exceeding ten years, to be repaid by easy instalments, to meet the convenience of the bor- rower. Interest charged at the rate of six per cent. per annum. All applications for the same to be made to Mr Stewart, 1, Stewart's terrace, Norfolk Road, London, N.E., stating full particulars, viz. :-The amount re- quired, for what period, and how to be repaid, en. closing a stamped direetell envolope for a reply, or none can be given. 9jafeb9.

The Illustrated London News," November 8, speak- ing of Benson's Watches in the Exhibition, says-" Ranged around the base of the clock were the Watches which Mr. Benson exhibited, and which have been uni- VE: sally admired for the beauty and elegance of the de- I-IGIIS engraved upon them. The inomements are of the finest quality which the art of horology is at present capable of producing," Chronometer, duplex, lever, horizontal, repeaters, centre seconds, keyless, split secouds, and every descriptioit of watch, adapted to all climates. Benson's Illustrated Pamphlet on Watches (free by post for two stamps) contains a short history of watchmaking, with descriptions and prices, from 3 to 200 guineas each. It acts as a guide in the purchase of a watch, and enables those who live in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Colonies, India, or any part of the world to select a. watch, and hav. it sent free and safe by post. XTJ\W' Bo?S01\?rV"e Med*Uist, Class 33, Honourable Mention, Class 15 33 and 34, LO'ate-hill Lo"doi ?.L?S?"?' ??- ? M,'C.,n? Elitablishid lU9.