Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register

RETROSPECT OF THE YEAR 1 8 8 5, i AT HOME AND ABROAD. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time.* --Shakespeare. JANUARY broke all unquietly at home and abroad. The Soudan Expedition, under Lord Wolselev's command, which, having regard to the critical situa- tion of the gallant Gcrdon in Khartoum, had, imu.e- dlately after Christmas, commenced to push up the with vigour, quickly came into collision will til ■ Arab forces. The advance column, under General Stewart, reached Gakdul in the first week of the New- Year, and on January 17th Abu Klea was fought, and 10,000 rebels defeated with great slaughter V0 of the British, including the brave Col. Fred Burnaby, being killed also in the engagement. On the 28th, af'er a brilliant struggle at Gubat, in which General S'ewart received his death-wound, Metammeh was nptured, and communications opened up with Khar- toum. On Sir Charles Wilson's arrival with a re- connoitring river party off the beleaguered city, he found it litd fallen two days previously, the M.ihdi was in possession, and Gordon had been murdered. Great earthquakes, which had been experienced in Spain towards the end of December were further felt in the early days of January. Following an attempt, to blow up L'ndjnBriLlgp, a dynamite outrage was perpetrate J oil the Underground Riilway in London on the night of NL'W Year's Day, and great consternation ensued throughout the country in consequence of this and other explosions attributed to Fenian origin, the public feeling being intensified when, on the 21th, a simul- taneous attempt was made upm the Ilouse of Com- mons, Westminster n.ill, and the Tower of Lond- n. On the 0th a man named Phelan had been savagely attached and dangerously wounded in the office of O'Donovan Rossa. th. Irish agitator, in Xew York, and ( Iatir the United Slates Senate passed resolutions ex- pressing indignation at the action of the Fenian con- spirators in England. Considerable excitement pre- vail, d among the crofters of Skye. culminating in a riot at i lendale on the -econd day of the y, ar. Russia's r.ctiou in Ceneril Asia begin to inspire a'arm about the beginning of January. The French Minister of War res gn 1 because of a difference with his Pre n er on the Tonq tin qu estion. On the 4th a British Protectorate was proclaimed over the FonJoland coast in South Africa. The entllt. 6iastic expressions of loyalty which had been I evoked by the announcement of the betrothal if Princess Be I trice and Prince rienry of Battenberg or the Oth of December were warmly repeated when, on January the 8th, the coming-of-age festivities of Prince Albert N'iet r of Wal s took place at Sandring- ham. Jn the 15th a great meeting of the London 0 Of the London unemployed took place outside the Royal Ex' hange. Two days later au American sailing vessel came into ollision with the mail steimer Admiral Moorsom off Holyhead, and five lives were lost. The Bank rate fell from 5 to 4 per cent. on January 2:1th. rN, o notable law cour cases occurred during the month- the Maskelyne v. Irving Bishop libel action—in which the well-known entertainers obtained a verdict of £ 10,000, reduced later on appeal; and the judgini nt against Mr. Edward Yates, of the World, of four months' imprisonment in Holloway Gaol for pub'ishing a libel on Lord Lonsdale in that journal. Lord iipon, on his return from the Indian Viceregal court, rceen ed a hearty welcome home in the last week of January, and the 31st saw Prince Albert Victor opening a club for working lads in London. The Church sustained a heavy loss by the deith of Dr. Jackson, Bishop of London, on the Gth of January, and Dr. Temple was translated from Exeter to the vacant see. Among the distinguished slain in the Soudan all England mourned ft* uordon and Burnahy, Lord St. Vincent, and Cameron, of the Standard, besides many of lesser note. The nonogenarian General Budd, formerly of the Madras Army, died at Cheltenham on the 22nd January and the seventh Earl of Aylesford, earlier in the month, expired at his cattle ranch out in Texas. Toe Earl of Dundonald, the Marchioness of Normandy, the Earl of Wilton, Viscountess Torrington, Surgeon- General O'Leary, of Crimean renown; William Eliot, the oldest Freemason in the world; Ediiioiid Al),,ut, the French novelist; and Prince Augustus of Wur- temberg, all died during January. FKURUARY the 19th saw the re-assembling of Par- liament, the new Franchise Act having come into operation since its adjournment in December. A vo'.e of censure was prop.).d by the Opposition 01; the Government's Egyptian policy, and carried in tue Lords, but rejected in tIE Lower House by a majority of 14. A Royal message was read, embodying a p r- tion of the militia, on the 2uth; and on the 2 lth the cloture was applied inithe Commons on the interp si- tion of Mr. Hedmu, of extraneous matter in a dei ate, Mr. O'Brien beiasr suspended. Painful excite- ment, fallowed the reception of official intdligenee of the Khartoum disaster on the ti. 'Ni xt day (-a,-Ie blan Jir was given Lord Wolseleyas to further conduct of the expedition, and on the 9th orders were issued for the immediate despatch of reinforce- ments to his assistance. About the same date General Earle's column encountered a detachment of th" Arabs at Kerbekan, above Berti, and dr ve them from a strong position. Though the enemy was routed the victory cost the British the General's life and a few days later General Stewart succumbed to the wounds he had received at Gubat. General BlI"er's force fell back on Gakdul; and detachments of the Guards, after inspection by her Majesty and the Prince of Wales, left England for Souikim. The Italian tr,)ops occupied Massowah on the iltli and a naval engagement, in which two Chinese vessels Wt re sunk hy the French, took place off Ningpo river on the 17th. M. Lessar visited London in connection with affairs in Afghanistan and the West African Conference at Berlin closed on the 2Gth. An English- woman named Dudley created a sensation by attempt- ing to assassinate O'Donovan Rossa, on the 2nd, in the streets of New York, but the notorious con- spirator shortly afterwards recovered from his injuries. Three unsuccessful attempts were made at Exeter the 23rd to hang John Lee for the murder of his mistress, a benevolent old lady named Keyse. at Uab- bacombe. The capital spntence was commuted. A terrible fatal fuse explosion took place at Shoeberv- ness em the 26th, six persons losing their lives. tIn the Stii, a young soldier, not having responded t,1 the challenge, was shot dead, in the dark, by a comrade on sentry at the magazines at Woolwich. ( anon King was appointed to the see of Lincoln, and I van Bickersteth to that of Exeter, on the 1st. On 'he 13 th, the Mersey Tunnel was completed In addition to Generals Earle and Stewart, Major Gough, and other officers killed in the Soudan, the service lost Colonel Fox Strangwavs, Superintendent of the Shoeburyness School of (i uji- nery, Colonel Lyon, Superintendent of the loyal Laboratory at Woolwich, and Captain G<.old- Adams, by the fuse accident already alllld, d to; while General Eher, an accomplished and patriotic Hungarian, died suddenly at Buda-I'esth on the 27th. Ex Lord Chancellor of Ireland Lord O'Hagan died on the 1st; ex judge the Hon. Sir Robert rhillimore on the 4th; and Sir Thos. Nelson, the City of London Solicitor, on the 7th. The Roman Catholic Church suffered serious loss in the demise of Cardinal M'Cahe, who died at Kingsdown on the 11th; and also of the Dean of Limerick. MARUi began in the Soudan with an alteration in the plan of advance. General Buller reached Korti on the 1st, and General Brackenbury was ordered to retire thither. An addition of 3000 men to the anny i was sanctioned by the Commons on the 9th, and a general discussion on the Government policy with re- gard to the Nile Expedition took place. The New South Wales Contingent, whose services had bi en ac- cepted by her Majesty, started from Sydney for the Soudan on the 3rd. Similar offers of assistance were received from other colonies. General Graham, after a reconnaissance and several skirmishes, advanced from Souakim on Hasheen, and captured the enemy's position, after an engagement lasting seven hours, on the 20th, and on, the 22nd General iNl'.Neid l ad- vanced further towards Tamai to erect zarebas, but was surprised by an Arab force, who were only de- f ated after a hot encounter, in which 50 of the British were slain and 150 wounded, the enemy's loss being over 1000. Zebehr Pasha, and other prominent conspirators, who had been arrested in Alexandria earl ier in the month, were landed at Gibraltar on the Sotli. Strong representations were made by the British Government to Russia on the 12th regarding the occupation, by troops of the Czar, of positions on the Afghan frontier next day the Premier announced in tha Commons that an agreement had been made with Russia tint no further advances should be made :.11 the debateable land. An acute feeling regarding the imminence of an Anglo-Russian War prevailed, a-al on the 26th a Royal message was read in Parliament notifying the Queen's intention to call out the Militia and Army Reserve, reinforcements having been ordered to Quettah three days earlier. On the 3oth, j the Afghan troops were attacked by the Russians ou the Kushk river, and routed with a loss of 500 Tk day following the Ameer of Afghanistan reached Rawul Pindi to confer with the Indian Viceroy, Lord Dufferin having previously journeyed thither. Mr. Cleveland was installed United States President on the 4th; and on the 23rd Mr. Phelps was nominated A-nen<\an Minister in Enohnd in succession to Mr. Russell Lowell. The FrencE troops resumed operations in Formosa on the 6th, and shortly afterwards Chinhai was bombarded; but on the 26th news was received of a crushing French defeat at Dong-Dong. On the 30th the French Ministry resigned, consequent on an adverse vote of the Chamber respecting the Tonquin reverses. The Redistribution Bill occupied the attention of Parliament, many amenJments being atvossM in committee. uunng cnt2 mcntn at: r Convention sari concerning Ei- to ruianc^ of Eaypt. Provision waa made for a ioan t nine millions, with an international guarantee. Almost simultaneously with disturbances in the Cen- tral American States, a revolt of half-breeds um.er Louis Riel occurred in Manitoba. In an encounter with the authorities fifteen of th? Canadian police were killed, and active operations were determined jp -n against the insurgents. The Lords rejected a motion for opening the South Kensington Natural History Museum, the voting being equal. The Bank Rate was reduced .1; per cent, on the 19th. A sad C 'Hiery explosion occurred at Usworth, near Newcastle, on the 2nd, involving the loss of over 40 lives. The Durham nullity suit was decided against the petit oning earl on the 10th, and on the 30th Mrs. Weldon was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for libel. Her Majesty left England for Aix-les-Bains on the 31st. Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, who had re- signed the see of Lincoln early in the year, d:ed at Harewood on the 20th. Among oth rs of eminence included in the death-roll of the month, mention may be made of Major-General Adye. Sir Curtis Lampson, of Atlantic cable renown. Sir Harry Smith Partes, English Ambassador to China, and Miss Duthie, donor of a public park to Aberdeen. APRIL came in amid a shower of gifts and honours for Prince Bismarck, whose seventieth birthday was celebrated with gratulation on the 1st. In the Soudan General Graham, after a brief resistance, occupied Tamai on the 3rd, and five days later a portion of his forces took possession of Handaub. On the 15th a scouting expedition of the Mounted Infantry near the latter place captured a partv of Arabs, together wth a number of camels and cattle. A military force was sent against the Canadian half-breeds on the 2nd, and on the 24th a severe conflict occurred between General Middleton's column and the insurgents. A new French Ministry was formed under M. Brisson, and on the 7th a statement was made by him, and a vote of 1;)0 million francs agreed to in respect of the Tonquin Expedition, peace preliminaries having already been agreed to in PeJdn. The Bosphorc Eayptien having been suppressed, the French flag was hauled down in Cairo, evoking a pro- testfrom France, and adding considerably to the feeling of insecurity among the Powers, but on the t h the difficulty was settled by a formal apology of the Egyptian Government. Early in the month informa- tion of Russia's belligerent attitude on the Afghan border reached England, and military and naval pre- parations were carried on with great energy. Mean- while a grand durbar had been lieltl at Hawul Pindi, and an understanding arrived at between the Earl of Dufferin and the Ameer. A statement, respecting the Russian attack at Penjdeh was made in the Commons on the 13th; but the explanation being generally regarded as unsatisfactory, a vote of £ 11,000,000 for military purposes in connection with the Soudan and Afghanistan was agreed to without a division by Par- liament on the 27th. The critical condition of foreign affairs, and the Redistribution Bill, divided the attention of both Houses of the legislature, and on the 30th the Budget was brought in in the Commons by Mr. Chancellor Childers: Expenditure, 1884-5, £ 89,093,000; Revenue, £ 88,043,000. It contained proposals to increa-e the income tax from 5d. to 8d.; to add 2s. a gallon duty on spirits, and Is. per barrel on beer; to alter the probate duty and to suspend the Sinking Fund. The annual Easter Monday Volunteer Review was held at Brighton, some 18,000 members of various corps taking part therein. On the 8th Dr. Temple was enthroned Bishop of London in St. Paul's; and ten days afterwards the cathedral was the scene of another imposing and solemn ceremony, when the remains of Lord Mayor Nottage, who had died in office, were therein interred. The Prince and Princess of Wales commenced a tour in Ireland by a visit to Dublin, where they were enthusiastically re- ceived on the 8th. Leaving for the south on tho 13th, a slight disturbance occurred at Mallow Cork was visited on the 15th, Limerick on the 20th, Belfast on the 23rd, and the Royal progression in Ireland brought to an end on the 27th. Alderman Fowler was selected to fill the vacant London mayoral chair; and other home events of aote during April were a colliery explosion at Great Fenton, Stafford- shire and a dynamite explosion at the Admiralty, in which Mr Swainson, permanent assistant-secretary, was seriously injured, The gre it departed of April included Earl Cairns; Lord Chancellor of Ire- land Sir Edward Sullivan; Dean Blakesley, of Lincoln; the Queen Dowager of Hawaii: Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Sartorius; the last Earl of Selkirk; the Rev. Dr. R-es, President of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. MAY was a busy month in Parliament; the Regis- tration Bill was further discussed and proceeded with, and on the 21st the Royal As-ent was given to it, the Vote of Credit, and other bills, and an adjournment made until June 5th. A new clause, providing that parochial medical relief should not be a disqualify a- tion for the franchise, was carried against the Government by 87 against 50 in the Commons on the Registration Bill discussion on the 12th; and on the same date the Channel Tunnel Bill was thrown out by a largo majority. On the motion of Mr. Gladstone a grant of 16000 a year for lift- was made to Princess Beatrice. In tlv Lords on the Ist the Earl of Derby announced that Sir Charles Warren had completely restored order in Bechuanaland and on the 4th the Premier stated, in the Lower House, regarding the Afghan difficulty, that the impediments to a friendly correspondence with Russia had been removed, and the two Governments had agreed to a settlement of the differences by arbitration. Her Majesty and Princess Beatrice returned to England on the 2nd from the Coutinf King Leopold opened the Antwerp Exhibition, and the Hungarian Xational Exhibition at Pesth was in- augurated by the Emperor Francis Joseph, both on I the 2nd and on the same date the Japanese Village at Knightsbridge, was destroyed by fire. Two days later saw our own International Inventions Exhibi- tionntSouthKensingtonopen its doors. The Bank Rate fell on the 7th i per cent. a fall of the same amount occurred a week later, and again ar. per cent. decline was registered on the 28th On the t'th Mrs. Weldon obtained £10,000 damages against M. Gounod for lihel and on the 18th two Irishmen named Burton and Cunningham were sentenced at the Old Bailey to penal servitude for life for com- plicity in the dynamite outrages at the Tower, the Houses of Parliament, and elsewhere. Some three days previously constables Cole and Cox were presented with a sum of money and other rewards and promotion in recognition of their bravery on the occasion of the explosion in Westminster Hall. On the 19th the Revised Version of the Old Testament was published. The insurgent Canadian Indians were defeat eifat Battleford by Col. Otter on the 3rd; and on the 11th the forces under Riel were decisively beaten by General Middle- ton near I'atouche, and Battleford was relieved. Half- breeds and Indians were dispersed in a few more days, and the rebellion almost entirely suppressed. The pro- supl)ressed. The pro- posed withdrawal of British troops from the Soudan was announced on the 14th; and rapidly proceeded with forthwith. The Souakim-Berber Railway was also stopped; and by the 2Gth some of the Guards from Souakim had landed at Alexandria. On the 6th, however, a successful raid had been made from Souakim on a party of Arabs under Osman Digna's lieutenant. Severe shocks of earthquake were experienced at Cashmere, causing the destruction of much public and private property, and the loss of many lives. Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, "Prince in Wales," died in Denbighshire on the 9th, at the age of 65; Victor Hugo, the eminent French litterateur, passed away, in his eighty-fourth year, on the 22nd; and other celebrities who joined the majority in May were the Earl of Dudley; Princess Caraffa of Naples, better known as Sister Mary," in connection with the Sister of Charity St. Vincent de Paul, Clerkenwell; the Earl of Huntingdon; and Blanchard Jerrold, the journalist. JUNE opened with the magnificent obsequies of Victor Hugo in Paris. A proposal to impeach M. Ferry was rejected by the French Chamber by a large I majority on the 4th. Sir Peter Lumsden arrived in London from the Afghan frontier on the Gth. On the 8th several fatal cases of cholera, the first indications I of what was destined to be a terrible epidemic per- vading Spain, and spreading to Italy and France, occurred in Madrid. A treaty of peace between France and China was formally signed at Tientsin "i the 9th. Further earthquakes occurred in Cashmere, ,s occurred in Cashmere, whereby 2000 lives were lost. On the 2nd the Guarcs and the Black Waccb quitted Dongola, followed by some 5000 refugees; and on tha 18th the place was enttre!y evacuated by the British troops. General < iordon's diary was published on the 25th, ai; i created great sens-ation, the hero's disclosure of Lh own sufferings, and these of the beleaguered desert city, l);ng most pathetic. Parliament met after its brief adjournment on the 5th, when the Budget obtained attention. On the 8th the Redistribution Bill passed through committee of the Lords without amendment, and the Customs and Inla-ad Revenue Bill, so far as the proposed alterations in the beer and spirit duties were concerned, was rejected by a majority of 12 aga nst Government, on an amendment moved by Sir .Michael Hicks-Beach. Mr. Gladstone announced that in consequence of the adverse vote a com- munication would be made with her Majesty, and the House adjourned. Three days subsequently Lord Salisbury was summoned to Balmoral, and on he day foUuwing his visit it was announced in both Houses that the Queen had accepted the resignation of Ministers. The Conservative leader undertook the formation of a Government, and on the2 lth Mr. Gladstone's Administration sur- rendered the seals of office, and the new Ministry k;s.,ed hands on the acceptance of the same. Next day the Marquis of Salisbury appeared in the Lords as Prim- Minister and Leader of the House. The most n ticeable appointment was that of Lord Randolph Churchill to the Indian-Secretaryship; Sir Stafford Xorthcote, raised to the peerage as Earl of Iddesleigh. was made First Lord of the Treasury ancT Md- Hfcad of the Government himself took the control of the Foreign Office as well as the Premiership, j On the 18th an explosion occurred on board the Inflexible ironclad, 12 stokers being severely in- jured; and on the 30th a great naval sham fight of the Evolutionary Squadron took place in Bantry Bay. over 160 lives were lost by an awful colliery acci- dent at Pendlebury, near Manchester, on the ISth. Musical art sustained an irreparable less by the death of Sir Julius Benedict on the -.th. Prinfe Frederick Charles of Prussia, the "lied Prin-e-' of fighting fvt e, father 01 the Duchess of Connaught,and nephew of the German Emperor, died on the l'th; and Field- Marshal Manteufel, who also saw brilliant service in the Franco-Prussian War, flowed the more illustrious I vnfflor alter two nays. The MaWU succumbed to small-pox during June. I JXTLT began, so far as home events are concerned, with the opening of an Industrial Exhibition at Shef- field by Prince Albert Victor while in London, h s f ither, the Prince of Wales, was presiding over a Mansion House meeting, convened to consider how to disp se of a large sum collected to provide a suitable national memorial to General Gordon. A Boys Home w?3 decided upon. Rejoicings throughout the country ushered in the marriage morn of the Queen's 1 voungest. daughter, Princess Beatrice, with Princo Ilenry of Battenberg. The wedding was celebrated at Whippingham Church, in the Isle of Wight; and later the bridegroom took the rath of allegiance in the Lords on his admission to the dignity ei a Prince in Britain. The bye-elections, consequent upon vacations of seats by members of Lord Salisbury on accepting office, occupied attention this month, the most noteworthy being that of Woodstock, when Lord Randolph Churchill held his own after a spirited contest, in which, however. he took no personal part. All the new Ministers were re-elected on appeal to their constituents. On the re- assembly of Parliament on the 6th Mr. Bradlaugh pre- sented himself at the table to be sworn, but was excluded on the motion of Sir M. H. Beach. T111' new Government retained the income tax proposed bv their predecessors, and arranged to meet, the £ 4,000,000 deficit left by the abandonment of others of Mr. Childers's schemes by the issue of Treasury Bills. The Irish Land Bill and the Sixpenny Telegrams Bill were passed. Judgment was given in the Aylesford peerage case on the 2nd, the earldom being awarded to Mr. C. W. Finch. The Munster Bank sus- pended payment about the middle of the month, by reason of managerial defalcations, giving rise to excited feeling in Irish financial circles. The Indian Chief. Big Bear, who took part in Riel's rebel- lion in the Canadian North-West, was captured on the 6th. Great mortality occurred in Spain from the cholera visitation—80.000 deaths had been regis- tered up to the 29th; and though the dreadful disease spread to Italy and France, deaths took place at a rate which at one timp reached the terrible total of over 1000 a day. News was received in Paris that the French, under General de Courey, had been attacked at Hue by 3000 Annamite soldiers General Wolseley returned to England from the Soudan, an the Camel Corps linded on the 16th. On the 21st, an Arab attack was made upon ICassnla, but the rebels were defeated with a loss of some 3000 men, the gar- rison capturing large supplies of cattlp. Captains Yate and Peacock, of the Afghan Commis ion, reached Herat on the 17th. General Roberts was appointed to the Indian command, vice Stewart., retired. A sad dom-stie disaster occurred on the 8th, a fire breaking out at Aberystwyth University and causing the loss of several lives. The month's record of those that "were no more" contaiivd the names of General Grant, America's soldier and President; Sir Moses Montefiore, philanthropist and centenarian; and Dr. Moberley, Bishop of Salisbury. Auofsr harvesting operations were pretty general, the grain being early ripe and in good condition. Louis Riel's trial for treason was concluded on the 1st: the conspirator was found guilty and sentenced to death. The cholera con'inued to rage and spread most alarm- ingly on the Continent. On the 14th the sixth session of the Parliament of 1880 came to an end by prorogation. Parliament, before its rising, had passed a vote of thanks to the trccps in the Soudan and following the appointment of the Duke of Richmond and Gorden as Secretary for Scotland by the Government, a lioral Commission to enquire into the causes of Depfe-sion of Trade and Industry was nominated, and its first sitting held on the 13th. On the 14th Mr. Gladstone arrived at Bergen, in Norway, forayatching holiday; and the Prince of Wales left London for Sweden on the 20th, intending to enjoy; elk shooting there, prior to paying a round of Con- tinental visits. On the 10th an International Telegraph Conference assembled in Berlin; and a Railway Congress, which had been sittingconeurrent ly in Brussels, closed on the 15th. The Congress of tho British Arch.eological Soc:ety opened at Brighton on the 20th and the Congress month was further continued by an assembly for the Codification and Reform of International I.aw, which sat. in Hamburg; and the Pharmaceutical Congress at Brussels. Lord Carnarvon, after a tour in the west of Ireland, returned to the Viceregal Lodge on the 22nd; and her Majesty, who had been called from Scotland by the political crisis, re- turned to Balmoral two days later. On the 25th tho Birmingham Musical Festival, and also the National Esteddfod of Wales were opened. The Emperor of Austria, following his visit to Kaiser Wilhelm earlier in the month, met the Russian Czar at Krein- sier on the 25th. A terrific hurricane visited the coasts of Carolina and Florida towards the end of the month, doing great damage to property; and on the 29th three lives were lost hy the fall of a cliff at Daw- lish. The Rev. J. Wordsworth, M.A., Oriel Professor at Oxford, was preferred to the see of Salisbury, in succession to the late Dr. Moberley. The August death roll includes the following notable names Lord Houghton, of graceful verse-writing celebrity; Mr. William J. Thorns, the antiquary and editor of Xotes and Queries; the Maharajah of Travancore, an en- lightened native prince; Lord Halifax, the political veteran; and Lord Ernest Vane-Tempest. SEPTEMBER abroad was singularly quiet at its com- mencement. Matters augured well for the restoration of tranquillity in Egypt, the Xulficar dispute seemed settled, Russia's policy appeared less aggressive. Soon, however, public feeling began to run high in Spain against the German annexation of the Caroline Islands, and serious disturbances took place in Madrid and elsewhere. The Imperial flag was hauled down from the German Legation in the Spanish capital, and a diplomatic crisis ensued but matters were at length pxranged without a disruption. This matter had scarcely been closed, when a sudden revolution and a 'coup d'etat were effected at Philippopolis. The teovernor-General of Eastern Roumelia was deposed, land a provisional Government formed. The union of (the province with Bulgaria under Prince Alex- ander was then proclaimed, 'with the assent of the population. Prince Alexander, asserting that he had acquiesced and acted in the revolution in the belief that thereby only order could be maintained, appealed to the Sultan, in concert with Europe, to ratify the fusion of the two provinces. The situation at the close of September was a grave one. Much military activity was manifested by the Powers most nearly concerned. The cholera epidemic in Spain and Southern France slowly decreased in its fell effe(-t. Disastrous floods occurred in Bengal, causing great distress among the native population. The garrison at Kassala was reported at Cairo early in September to have been safe in the middle of the preced- ing month. The province of Herat having been surveyed by British officers, and the town strongly fortified, it was reported towards the end 01 the month that Russia had ceased to move her troops backward and forward near the boundary line. Politicians this month began their oratorical efforts in view of the general election to take place before Christmas, and much platform eloquence was poured forth, culminating in the issue of the ex- Premier's address to his Midlothian constituents, in which Mr. Gladstone asked for a continuance of the trust reposed in him in 1880, and set forth at great length the situation and intentions of the Liberal party. Sir Matthew White Ridley was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the revising barristers throughout the country were busy deter- mining voters' claims under the Reform Act. The Trades Unions Congress was held at S .uthport from the 7th to the 12th, and animated debates held on many trade subjects the delegates adopting a reso- lution against the Sunday opening of museums. The British Association held its annual session in Aberdeen, and a few days later the Sanitary Institute of Great Britain was in congress at Leicester. The last of the Guards returning from the Soudan were enthusiasti- cally welcomed en route to Chelsea Barracka on the lltli. Lord and Lady Carnarvon made a tour of the north of Ireland, meeting with a cordial reception frcm the people. Di: ring the month the remainder of the harvest, that of wheat being the best for some years, was safely garnered throughout the kingdom. A sad shipping calamity occurred on the 18th off the South Foreland, 17 passengers on board the General Steam Navigation Company's vessel Dolphin being drowned in a collision between that steamer and the Brenda, of Hartlepool. Lord Wolseley was advanced in the peerage to a viscounty for his services in Egypt. OCTOBER 1st will be remembered long as the day of the inauguration of sixpenny telegrams. The month witnessed the revolution in Roumelia, which threat- ened more than once to embroil some of the Great Powers in international conflict, develop into a duel between King Milan of Sertia and Prince Alexander of Bulgaria, war being formally declared early in November. October was occupied with diplomacy and preparation for hostilities. A new cloud arose in the farther East by the aggressive attitude of Theebaw King of native Burmah, towards the traders ot the Bombay and Burmah Company. Theebaw, disregard- ing all remonstrance, seized some of the mercantile property, and further acted in such an im- perious manner as to provoke the active resentment of the Indian Government. The French General Election commencing on the first Sunday in the month, I resulted in an unexpected success to the Conservatives, or Reactionaries. The choiera, abating slowly in in Spain. continued for sometime longer to rage with virulence in Sicily. Ifews arrived early, in October that the Abyssinian General, Ras Aloula, had totally defeated Osman Digna's army at Kufeit, on the 23rd ult., with a loss of 3000 men, the rebel chief himself being amongst the slain. The Transcaspian Railway section from Kizil Arvat to Askabad was completed. On the 10th Hell Gate, a mass of rock several acres in extent, situate at the entrance of New York Sound, was successfully blown up by means of dynamite. Prince Waldemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orleans were married in laris on the 20th. In anticipation of the general election in prospect, following the issue of Mr. Glad- stone s Manifesto, the Premier, Lord Salisbury, on the 7th delivered a great speech at Newport, propounding at t?gth the programme of the Conservative party, and etil,icisin- the schemes proposed by his leading poetictal opponents The Church Congress sat at Portsmouth rom the 7th to the 10th. A solemn service was held in W estminster Abbey on the 9th over the rem.?msTfth? lamented Earl of Shaftesbury, who died atFo?el? amid 11 a people's grief," on the 1st, prior to their removal  family mausoleum at Dorset. On Sthre ?21at t Jamp8 Ma'?? waa convicted, after two tr!al9. of Mgamy at The Cenlral crlrn- the judge commenting severely on his he urt, 4t>a duct to his victims, and the infamous ch.. al'tks$ ced h. rl\.Ct{Or f defence, sentenced him to seven years'penat??? "? A new free library, the gift of the late Mr^ Pease, was opened in arlington on the l>j Wlr4 on the 29th a most daring burglary Was t? r tl; :1/1'1 at Netherby Hall, near Carlisle, whilst the fa 'i at dinner. The burglars got clear away "< y mansion, but a hue-and-cry was at once ra' the chase after the fugitives, who got away ,n tance in a goods train, and l,ro Mcured u ''e c.Oi- d. IrrJul1!¡ h coolness of the guard, two policemen were I A all valuables sto'en were afterwards recov, ,ri'1 'I're. tho burg1ar8 dealt with at the nsa?.ea. 'fw, d" 'InrI taries of the Church, Dr. Fraser, Bishop of M "1 Ir¡i. and Dr. Woodford, Bishop of Ely, died" dur '"r' ¡ month,and on the2th Dr. Wordsworth, the new? '? ? of Salisbury, was consecrated in Westminster NOVFMBBR saw the end of the notorious Armst h. I I d .s rr'/1 abduction case, which had orcupied public atte for several months. Mr. William Thomas Stead It11 of the P<? 3/? Gazette, was sentenced to ^h 0' months' imprisonment for taking a Youn" gir[ f the custody of her parents in order to prove t? children were procurable in Lond(n for inIT ¡a\ purposes. Mr. Stead had published in hi p;'rlll series of sensational articles on London vi(? L' ? shocked and roused the whole country, every 'r'rtl',b which he alleged was true. In court many )f ,? assertions were found to be groundless, ?mt tht.a I f I !'Ip' author and three of his ass stants were commitr, prison for overriding the law. At the Lord tI) "f rf London's Guildhall Banquet to her M.??'s MinUf the Premier, Lord Salisbury, ma?e an imp rt^' speech and on the same day a hostile was received from King Theebaw in Ii, sponse to the British ultimatum address^ to him regarding his action a?unst .\n;'1 Indian traders. In consequence, General Prem!(.r^ marched on Mandalay with an effect !vp for? h anrj virtually meeting with no OppollOn, ""pturl'd th' King, and set up a British provisional Govern nf, On the 13th the city of Ga)v.st"n. in Te-,a, almost entirely destroyed by fire. War was de?? by Servia against But?aria on the Uth, aud ? t' 't lio 'r .¡ temporary victory by the former, Prince .\[<???. 1 of Bu)g.tha speedily, by a series of brilliant nn 'it  movements, obtained a compete trimnph O\'f 't| aggressors, driving them back at all points with it slaughter. An armistice was declared, and the in; t'> I I. 'I f. vention of other States soug It with a view of s.,|v;' satisfactorily the whole Balkan diHinllty. un 16th Louis Riel, the chief of the Canadian half- rebellion, after a trial, an appeal to H"!?;md. vig"rou9 efforts to obtain a respite, w.? lianjla k' g" at Regina, his execution evoking some "in among sympathetic Franco-Canadians. On the v1 King Alfonso of Spain died, amid much ren,'1 and by a singular coincidence a few days i, saw the demiso of Marshal Serrano ex- f Spain in the Republican days when that warrior ovpr threw Alfonso's predecessor, Quo n Isabella. The International Inventions Exhibition at South ton was closed on Lord Mayor 8 Day, havm beenviju^J by 3,800,000 persons. A Boys' Home was opened ill Whitechapel on the 12th as a memorial to Genepj Gordon. On the 30th, Robert Goodie, eonvi,te,] of the murder of his wife, was executed in Norwiu Gaol. The hanging was the scene of a ghastly :rijj. adventure, the murderer's head being totally,;tlvl r,l from his body by the rope immediately after thef„j of the drop. On the 27th some brilliant star-shower, and other meteorological phenomena were observ.^ throughout the country. Dr. W. B. Carpenter, tl, eminent medical scientist, died on the 10th inst. from the effects of an accident. The obituary of the month includes the Duke of Abercorn Lord c,n, of the originators of the volunteer movement ill Britain; the Duke of Somerset; and Sir Ralph G s ett long Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Comui'ns! On the 27th the Prince of Wales visited I'.irmin^ham and opened a new hospital, next day inaugurating tho new Municipal Art Gallery and Museum. Mr*. Weldon recovered £1000 damages against. Sir ilenry de Bathe for signing an order for her removal to lunatic asylum on the 23rd, arul shortly afterwards announced her intention to abandon further liti"«. tion. Attention was largely centred, during I month, in political matters, the first polling nf the General Election taking place on the 2Uh. The borough returns showed a great Conservative gain. DECEMBER opened in the thick of the general elee- tion struggle, and the counties quickly give signs of reversing the decision of the borough constituetieiesin the contention between Liberal and Conservative can- didates. Tho result of all the pollings proved to I)e the return of 251 Conservatives, 333 Liberals, and S6 followers of Mr. Parnell. Perhaps the most feature of the ejection was the opposition offered by the Nationahtt party, not only in !re!and, but through. out the United Kingdom also, to the t.iberats. N?t ? single Liberal was returned by any Irish constituency, and Mr. Parnell's largely increased parliamentary strength, considered in connection with the relative iiunibers of Conservatives and Liberals in the House, gave promise of Irish matters obtain- iiig precedence in the business transacted in the new Parliament. Among the newly- elected members were eleven working class representatives, including Mr. Joseph Arch, the I farm labourers' champion; while some one hundred and fifty old members lost their seits during the polling. The Sinithtield Club Cattle Show, held ia the second week of the month at Islington, was eqi:aJ on the whole to any previous exhibition, but some 20,000 less visitors were registered than at the show of 1884. Lord Alwyne Compton, Dean of Wor- cester, and brother of the Marquis of Northampton, was preferred to the Bishopric of Ely, vacant by the death of Doctor Woodford. Count Minister. German Ambassador at the English Court, retired amid much regret. The great strike of Sunderland engineers, after continuing for a protracted period, was amicably settled in the early days of December by mutual concessions m the part of masters and men. The rebel Arabs, towards tho middle of the month, j began to give considerable tio.ible to the British troops garrisoned near the Nile, but no decisive battle was fought. Severe frost and snowstorms experienced over Europp and the British Isles caused considerable impediment to traffic. The last. Scotch county elec- tion, Caithnesshire. was greatly interfc red with by deep scow on the roads, and the declaration of the poil delayed thereby. Several lives were lost by ice accidents. In the Balkan Penin- sula. tho Servian and Bulgarian troops bivouacked during the armistice experienced many hard- ships from the unusually severe weather. Tho negotiations 'or the settlement of the quarrel between Bulgaria and her neighbour State, were proceede I with by the Powers, and an arrangement, arrived at by which it is hoped permanent peace will be obtained. Theebaw, the deposed King of Burmah, was removed 011 to Indian soil by the British. Mr Vanderbilt, tho celebrated American financier died suddf nly in New York, on the 8th, leaving the enormous fortune of 10 millions sterling. On the 1::th a terrible fatal tiro occurred in Plymouth, an an'ique huddillgll,t,ut into dwelling tenements becoming accidentally ignited in the night. No less than thirteen lives were lost, by burning or suffocation, before assistance arrived. Dean Howson died at Bournemouth on the 15th. A troubled year, as regards minor matters abroad and, politically speaking, at hwine, closed in a lull of tjuiet, with the promise of a national future full of hope. Christmas over, Parliament commences its legislative work amid Lnvy responsibilities, and the country, recovered from its election excitement, will be ready, every patriot heart will hope, to give loyal and undivided support to whomsoever, through the months of her jub.t .e year, shall bo the responsible Bfliuibtcrs of her Majesty.

<r ■ ■■ WonconTormists generally will hear with regret of the death of the Rev. Charles Kirtland, which has taken place at hs residence at New Wands- worth. He was in his seventy-fifth year. Ho wrote one or two books, and his contributions to periodical literature were numerous. owtL the Cardiff Police Court, Mark Bate, the oT of G bteamship ,idyr' was chafed with overloading his ?"? on voyage from Bilbao to rlr was proved by a Board of Trado surveyor that the disc of the Radyr was submerged 3 in. A penalty of J?O and co? was inflicted. St TPaJifcfiP°8t f °rPnist choirmaster of St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta, has been offered to  Slater, F.C.O., a 3uh-profesBor of the Royal 1 Ky°^U8XC and ^ganist of Lambeth Parish Church. The post, with its euiolument? i? alued at JEl, 000 a year. At the Crematory of St. Johr. Woking, Surrey, belonging to the Cremation Soc.^y of England, tho remains of Mrs. Grattan, lato of Clapham, have been burned, in the presence of two of the relatives. The cremation lasted somewhat over an hour, and the collected ashes were white. The summons issued against the Tichborno Claimant, at the instance of the South Stoneham I Board of Guardians, to recover the cost of the maintenance of his wife, has been dismissed by the county magistratesat Southampton, it being.dearly proved that the two children with her wpm ¡IIEu'It!. mate. .O' ° It is stated by the Civilian that the sum received for the registration of telegraphic addresses during the present year is nearly £ 1,000. The charge for regi tei-in,, a telegraphic address is a ?uihca, but petitions are showering in upon the 1'?tina-?r- General from every quarter' caUtno him reduce it. A shocking accident has occurred on theUrangc- town and kpotlands Tramways, at Cardiff. A fall of fifteen was riding on the front of a car which was being driven by his brother. At a crossing the car swerved, and the lad fell under the w heels, Ttantly Pl"Sed over his body and ?'?? ?'? stantly. Lord Charles Thynne, uncle of tho Martinis of Bath, bas during the week received the tonsure and three minor orders at the hands of thc Canlllw.1- Archbishop, in the chapel of Archbishop's House, VVestminster. Lord Charles is an ex-clergyman oi the Church of England, and is close on severity years of age. Widowers with eligible deceased wives' need not despair. The Marriage Law Reun" Association are in a position to state that ihcv majority in the new House of Commons is lr;t" than it was in the last, in which their ?upport? practically numbered two to one. They aN g'():n to introduce their bill in each House iu the cùJDIUo session.