Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register

NORTH W ALER MINERS' I FEDERATION. The usual monthly meeting of this Federation was held at Jones' Cocoa Hooms, High-street, Wrexham, on Monday, when there was a full attendance of delegates, over whom Mr David Griffiths, Flint, presided. THE PERMANENT RELIEF SOCIETY. Mr DAVIES (Bettisheld Colliery), in calling atten- tion to this society, read the following :—" At a repre- sentative meeting of the Wo= of Bettisfield Colliery, held on December 10th, 1891, the question of representation on the Boird of Management of the North Wales Permanent Relief Fund was fully con- sidered, and the following resolution was passed :— That the question of representation on the Board of Management of the North Wales Miners' Permanent Belief Fund be brought before the workmen at each colliery prior to the animal general meeting, with a view to obtain for each county a just and fair repre- sentation.' The reason for this was the Flin'shire members considered at present they were not fairly represented, having only ore member on the board for over 3,000 members, while Denbighshire had 19 members (on the board) with only 9.000 odd members. They had no wish for any particular colliery to be represented, but had a strong feeling that Flintshire was justly entitled to members in proportion to its members." Mr Davies proposed a resolution in the same terms as that contained in the memorandum read. This was seconded by Mr EDMUND JONES (Coles- hill), and agreed to. THE AGENT'S REPORT. I Mr IOAN WILLIAMS presented his report for the month ending Decembet 12h. On Monday of the first week he attended a district meeting at Wrex- ham, and when he read the full report, which was given in the newspapers, he felt they were under an obligat;on to the reporters. Although the majority of delegates very likely had seen that giving publicity to their proceedings was nc t in accord with the feel- ings of some of the employers, he believed none of them wished to do or say anything to create any ill- feeling between th^m pnd their emplovers. On the other hand they did their best without sacrificing their claims and rights, to keep and cement those good feelings which at p.:csei;t existed between them. (Hear, hear.) He could not see, as long as they kept to truth, and founded their statements on facts, why anyone should be offended. He had visited West- minster Colliery, with the object of holding a meet- ing of the men, but the weather was so cold that it was postponed. The Agent suggested that meetings should in future be held under cover, especially in the winter, when an open air meeting w uld be dangerous to the healths of fie men who had just come from the warmtli of the pit. He had vUited Gatewsn Colliery, and waited upon Mr Findlay, the manager, in company with the committee, and one from each set that worked in the four-foot seam. Tne men working in the seam were under the impression that they were being paid below the coalfield price. They met Mr Findlay, who gave the deputa. tion a very gentlemanly reception. After a long discussion the mutter was adjourned for Mr Findlay and himself to find out the pri: as paid at Westminster Colliery. Upon the sair day, the agent viaited Vauxhall Colliery to wait upon the manager, in company with a deputation of the men with regard to those who continued to work there under the system of consideration or the making up system the men wanting an advance on the tonnage to enable them to earn their wages. The manage., however, could not see his way to give what was asked for, and the matter up to the prese t remained unsettled. The men wished him to go down the pit to see the places, and he hoped they would be able to aettle the grievance satisfactorily. Mr Williams reported that a local lodge was to be established at West- minster Colliery. During the second and third weeks of the month the agent was ill with a severe cold and sore throat. In that interval he had formulated a scheme which is given below. He visited the Wrexham and Acton Colliery to ascertain for himself what the terms with regard to the deductions of slack there, and on the following day went to Westminster Colliery, with the same object and also to find out the prices paid in the four-foot seam. On Wednesday, he visited Gatewen to see Mr Findlay. It was found out that the difference in prices was nothing, and consequently Mr Findlay was unable to see his way to advance the plice on the tonnage, but he said whenever the "holing' was hard, he would leave it to the discretion of the under- ground manager to give an allowance. This proposal the men accepted. He bad visited Llay Hall Colliery, and with a deputation ef the men saw Mr E. S. Clark to try and settle the dispute with regard to the deductions of slack. The agent explained what the terms were at Westminster and the Wrexham and Acton Collieries, but the only fair and just system that he could think of was to test every set separately, and whoever should fill under the percentage allowed they would be paid accordingly, or if they filled over a deduction would be made. The deputation thought that this system was a fair one, and if the workmen would approve of it, a new screen would be put up at once to carry out the arrangement. AN IMPORTANT SCHEME. The AGENT presented a scheme which he proposed should be piinted and circulated among the members of the Federation. He said as the representative of! the men in North Wales, he should feel it a great honor if he could succeed or be the means of con- vincing every one of the value of the Federation. It had been the means to raise and elevate them from the low and deplorable condition they were in years gone by, and also had secured an advance in our wages in less than three years by the sum of 40 per cent., which was equivalent to Is 6d per day on an average. And if they wanted to keep up their wages and their present position, they must keep up the Federation, and in order t* keep up the Federation they must have something more than union of principle, they must have funds at their backs the same as their fellow workmen had at every other mining district. In the first place they must have a local lodge estab- lished at every colliery in order to prepaie for the future, and also a central fund as well, in order to do away with the levies and to enable them to pay their claims to their fellow-workmen in cases of strikes at the time they were in need of them. They had these in every other mining district in Great Britain, and he did not wish for North Wales to be behind other mining districts. The scheme he proposed was, that every member should pay one shilling per month or every four weeks, 81 of the same to go to the local fund at the colliery. Id to local expenses, and 3d to the central fund. With regard to the central fund they were all aware that over 12,000 members were paying to the Permanent Relief Fund in North Wales. Suppose that 8,000 of the ahove were full members, and 4,000 half-members; 8,000, fall members paying 3d every four weeks would reach the sum of 21,30-0 every year; 4,000 half-members paying lid every four weeks would reach the sum of 2325 every year. Those two items put together made the grand total of £ 1,625. Out of this magnificent sum they would be able to pay all expenses, and to put in the bank every year from 2600 to 2800. In order for the members to see the accuracy of this statement he took the audited expenses of the last twelve months as a basis. According to the scheme they should receive the total sum of 21.625. Accord- ing to the expenses for the last twelve months' audit, sue payments would be 1:813 7d 2d accumulated and banked 281112,1 10d. It this scheme were put into operation no one would feel from it, and they would la a few years have a good fund at their backs. The Yorkshire miners had a fund at their backs of over 2100,000, therefore they had no need to fear a strike an they had prepared for the rainy day, but in North Wales they were defective in this respect, and there. fore were in need of a system to work by, and he hoped that they as the leading men of every colliery would take this into consideration, and do their utmost to support him carrying this scheme or any other scheme that may be adopted into operation They only wanted unity and faithfulness to pay a small sum regularly, and in a few years they would have a substantial fund by them. It would be of great benefit to them in cases of strikes. They would have 10s a week out of the local fund, and 1* for each child under age, and also 7s a week out of the Federa- tion Fund, and Is for each child, so they would be able to keep themselves out of debt. Secondly, they would be able to pay their claims to their fellow. workmen at the time their claims would be due, and this would be an inducement to them to join the Federation. He hoped they would co-operate together, and make some movement which would prove a benefit to the Federation, at the beginning of the new year. (Applause.) Mr RowLft referred to the pay of the agent for the two weeks during which be was unwell, and eug. gected that it should be paid him. (Of course.) This was agreed to, and the AaENT said he did not exuet t to be paid the money, but he was not idle dur- ing that time. for he had done all the correspondence, and had drafted the scheme. He would, however, have be,-n qxi:t, satisfied if he had not been paid. '1 he CHAlhMAN It is over now. Mr ROWLEY I think it is our duty to set an ex- ample to our employer?. (Hear, hear.) The question of the degree of publicity which should be given t > the proceedings of the meetings was discussed, but no alteration was made in the present ariangements. Allusion was made to re- marks made by one of the owners, but the meeting ngreed with Mr Rowley, when he said the delegates did, neitufr did they say anything of which they had any occasion to be ashamed. The AGENT said he only stated factp, and when he said there had been a reduction at the rate of nine per cent. for the last fortnight at Llay Hall Colliery, that was declared to be correct in the presence of Mr E. S. Clark. A DELEGATE Mr Clark doesn't want the wrong doings of Liay Hall t) be made public. The report of the A«ent was then adopted. | THK COMING CONFERENCE. -.L. The CHAlhMAN announced tliat tne next IIUMIUCKS was t) select delegates to represent the Federation at the Conference which will be held on January 12th at Hanley. He said the North Wales Federation had two or three items on the anda, and the question of weekly pays was to be discussed. After considerable discussion it was agreed to send the Agent (Mr loan Williams) and Mr Win. I)aviep. Messrs. Hughes %?i,it t of Ayre) and George Itowley were nominated with Mr Davies, but were not elected. THE NEW OFFICERS. The meeting proceeded to elect officers of the Federation for 1892. Mr Wm. Davies (Bettisfield Colliery) was elected president Mr George Rowley vice-president Mr Samuel Georg-, treasurer Mr loan Williams, corresponding secretary Mr Edward Hughes (Point of Ayre), financial secretary, and one auditor from Hafod Colliery, and one from Wrexham and Acton Colliery. On the motion of Mr ROWLBY, seconded hy Mr THOMAS (Hafod), votes of thanks were passed to the out-going officials and to the Press.

MR. OSBORNE MORGAN AND CANON WEST. MR. S. WOODS ON MINING QUESTIONS. LIBERAL DEMONSTRATION AT J COEDPOETH. I On Monday evening, the Right Hon. G. Osborne Morgan addressed his constituent) at the Tabor Hill Schools, Coedpoeth. The Rev. Evan Jones occupied the chair, and there was a very large attendance, the schoolroom being crowded. Mr Morgan, who was accompanied by Mrs Morgan and Mr Samuel Woods, labor candidate for the Inca Division of Lancashire, was met at Twenty Houses by the Coedpoeth Brass Band, which played him to the schools. Amongst those also present were the Rev. T. JoueR Ruinphreyf:, Rev. J. C. Rees, the Rev. J. E. Jone?, Mr W. Wynn Evans, registration agent; Mr Edward Roberts, Brymbo Mr J. F Rogers, and Mr J. Harrison, secretary of the local Liberal Association. The CHAIRMAN having briefly opened the meeting, called upon The Right Hon. G. OSBORNE MORGAN, who was enthusiastically received. Mr Morgan said it was always a pleasure and a happiness to come amongst them, and especially so on the present occasion, when he had the privilege of standing on the same platform with his friend-he hoped soon to call him his honor- able friend-Mr Samuel Woods. (Applause.) Mr Woods was known to some of them from his appear- ance on Wrexham Racecourse last year, and they knew, he believed, that Mr Woods was the Labor candidate for the Inc Division of Lancashire. Now, he could say of the Labor members in the House of Commons that there was only one fault with regard to them, and that was that there were so few cf them. (Hear, hear.) He hoped, however, that by that time next year they would be rainforced by a very large number of Labor members, and amongst them he reckoned upon seeing his friend, Mr Samuel Woods. (Applause.) They had as they knew one excellent Labor representative for South Wales—ha referred to their old friend, Mabon, who was there not so long ago— and he sometimes wished that they had also got a Labor representative for North Wales, but, failing that, all he could say was that he considered the highest com- pliment ever paid to him during the 23 years he had had the honor of being their member was pa!d lo him the other day at Chirk by Mr Bayley, when that gentleman said that he (Mr Morgan) was a labor re- presentative. ( (Applause.) He said deliberately that that was the highest compliment ever paid to him, because he could not conceive that any man could aim at a higher distinction than that of carrying out as faithfully as he could the wishes and views of those who had sent him to Parliament to carry them out. (Hear. hear.) After all the first duty of a repre- sent ttive was to represent the views and opinions of his constituents. (Hear, hear.) They would expect, of course, that he should speak upon the great labor questions in which they were all interested, and par- ticularly the Eight Hours Bill and the question of royalties. He feared that in talking upon those subjects he was speaking in the presence of a man who knew a great deal more about them than he did. However, with reference to the Eight Hours Bill, it was practically agreed that eight hours was quite enough for any man or boy to spend in the bowels of the earth. (Hoar, hear.) He should just like to call their attention to what Mr Onions, the secretary of the South Wales and Monmouth Colliery Workmen's Federation, said hefore the Labor Commission Pressed by Sir William Lewis as to whether he was in I favor of an eight onra working day, he said he was. I "Regardless of cost ?" Yes, regardless of cost," he replied, because I liol(I life is before cost." (Loud applause ) Now he (Mr Morgan) said with all his heart Amen, to that." He thought life should be aet before cost. (Applause.) And if. as he was told, the result of an eight hours day would not only be to in- crease the output, but also to diminish the chance of those terrible accident*, whieh they all so much de. plored. Then he said, Give me the eight hovrs day, regardless of cost." (Applause.) Was it possible to get an eight hours' day without legimiation ? Well, upon that quaition they were far more competent to form an opinion than he was, and they said it was not, and he believed them. (Hear, hear.) Acd he was confirmed in his belief by what had taken place lately in New South Wales, Australia, where labor was stronger than anywhere else in the world. There, Sir Henry Parkes had been turned out of ollce. be- eause he refused to agree to an eight hours legislative enactment. He believed, if they had an eight hours day by agreement, that they would find it was not enough, and would have to come to Parliament to have it confirmed. (Hear, hear.) Aftjr refeiring to the question of royalties, Mr Morgan said he had run his eye down the programme, and the first thing that struck him was that they had got down a motion upon the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales. (Applause.) He wanted to say one or two words upon a speech which he had delivered at Brynteg last week In that speech he had said many things which were, no doubt, open to controversy. But curiously enough, his critics had fastened upon the oce sentence in his speech about which there could be no controversy. He had said, some of them might have read the report, that The Church of England, as by law estab- lished, was as much the creation of ae Act of Parlia- ment as the County Council of Denbighshire, and what Parliament could do, that Parliament could (all in the case of the Irish Church) undo. ( Hear, hear," and applause.) Now, inasmuch as all laws in this country were made by Parliament. it followed logically that if the Church was Established by law," it must be established by Act of Parliament. However, the very next day he was challenged by letter to name the Act of Parliament to which he referred, and he saw by the papers that Canon West, of Man- chester, had actuaUy offered to pay £ £ .9 to the Wrt x. ham Infirmary, or towards his (Mr Morgan's) election expenses, if he bould lay his hands on the Acts of Parliament. (Laughter.) Now, that was rather a sporting offer for a clergyman. (Laughter.) But he had already answered the challenge in a letter which appeared in the newspapers of Saturday. In that letter he had referred to the statutes passed in the second year of Queen Elizabeth, 1559, by the first of which all jurisdiction "over estates spiritual and ecclesiastical was vested in the Crown (that is. the Government of the dav), and the Pope was formally deprived of the authority over the Church in England which, with more or less success, he had claimed and exercised for many centuries, and which, in all human probability, he would have continued to claim and exercise if the very worst man who Her sat upon the English throne had not desired to be divorced from his lawful wife, in order to marry anather woman. This Act, be it observed, was passed in the teeth of all the bishops, of whom, however. Eiiaabeth made short work, for she turned them alt neck and crop out of their sees, with the single exception of a Welsh bishop-Antliony, Bishop of Llandaff. But the matter did not rest there. If there were two trdinances which might be said to constitute-the con- fession of faith of the Church of England, and to embody its doctrines and discipline, they were the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-nine Articlep. Now, both these ordinances owed their whole legal force and validity to Acts of Parliament. (Hear. hear.) The use of the Book of Common Prayer was first established by an Act of Edward VI., passed in 1548 it was abrogated under Queen Mary, and was re.enacted, with a few alterations, by Parliament in 1558, under Elizabeth. So much for the Prayer Book. Now as to the 39 Articles. In the year 1549 an Act of Parliament was passed authorising the King to appoint a aonomission to make ecclesiastical Jaw1\. IhecommiMion so appointed, consisting of a number of divines and lawyers, drew up forty-two Articles of rtengion, wbich were abrogated under Mary, When Elizabeth camo to the throne these were revised and reduced to their present number. and again, by an Act of Parliament passed in 1571, the clergy were compelled to subscribe these Articles "so far as they concerned the confession of the true Christian Faith and the doctrine of the Sacraments." So that it came to this, that every time a clergyman of the Church of England was inducted into a benefice-nay. every time he ascended the reading desk in order to read the Book of Common Prayer—he was as much under a binding legal obligation to obey and carry out the provisions of an Act of Parliament as the chairman of the Denbighobire County Council was when he took the chair at one of its meetings. (Hear, hear.) And now he thought he miclit fairly call on Canon West to end him acheque for £10 towards his election expenser. IF -]I  applause and laughter.) Of course, in what he had sai*5 d ihf e was not speaking of the Church M a body. In that character the Church, be tbought, 80 far from being created by Act of Parlia- ment, WM hampered and fettered at every turn by d^Sn h men'he State. (Hear, hear.) A. to the disestabli8hment of the Church in Wales, he the sZ t' ? liafc if the V waited too long it L „ A • eSataabb?hst?a?nt ??" ?° ?'t.r question of the dis- woutof the Church of England. (Hear, hear.) Not long ago, after an experience gained by JSSSW?'J" ?'"ch more than ?? of the coootie. of England, he had auuted h» belief that the Church was losing its hold on the rural districts t of England. And was not this the burthen of every I speech delivered by every delegate at the rural conference last week. (Hear, hear.) Why they did nothing but attack the Church and the parson. He could not read the report of these speeches Wtth. out being reminded of what was said not long ago by on6 of the most ri"iug men in the Present Parliament, Mr A.quith.th.t "??''? the disestablishment of the Church will be the .h! ment of villaee councils." Now to what was this result owiii" ? It was owing to the rampant I s? do?i.n?. tho Romanism. thinly veiled under the disguise of Ritualism, the harsh dogmatic theology a81 o?ed to the true spirit of Christ.antty. as it was t?o the spirit of the age, which was becoming such a marked feature in the Church of England at the present day. (Hear, hear.) Such things iniglit attract those who were "clothed in purple and fane linen, and fared sumptuously every day." but they did not go down with the hard-headed, hard-handed Rons of toil, whose lot it was to earn tiit:ir ditily bread by the eweat of their brow, whether in the bowels of the earth, in the crowded factory, or on the lonely hillside. (Loud applause.) No, his countrymen wanted very different spiritual food than that. (Hear, hear.) Referring to parish councils, Mr Morgan said it was absolutely necessary that the conduct of their own affai:8 should be taken out of the hands of the parson and of the equire and placed in the hands of those who were really interested, and know most about them. (Hear, hear.) They also wanted real allotments, and not tho sham allotments which the Conservative Government had given them. (Hear, hear.) The present land system drove labor off the soii, and a"nt it as unskilled workman into the mines and workshops, and the greater part of these terrible accidents in the mine were due to the fact that so many unskilled workmen were employed. (Hear, hear.) They also wanted One man, one vote." (Hear, hear.) It might be said that the Tories were prepared to do all these things for them. Did men gather grapes off thorns or fi-s off tliigties ? (Laughter.) By their fruits shaH ye know them, and they might as well try to gather grapes off thorns or figs off thistles as try t-j extract any real measure of radical reform from the worn-out stump of a Tory leaction. (Applause.) He felt sure that the time would not be long coming when the days of the present dishonest and hypocritical Government would be numbered, and then it would be for them to send their grand old leader once more into power and when that day came—as come it surely would-and the sooner it came he was sure both they and he would say the better—there would be joy amongst the true Liberal?, but there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth amongst those false Liberals, who deserted their leader, and forgot that greatest of Liberal axioms—Put your trust in the people." (Loud applause ) Mr SAMUEL WOODS next spoke. He said he had very great pleasure in coming to their meeting, and he trusted when the election day came that he should have the pleasure of knowing that they had returned to Parliament Mr Morgan, not by a majority of 26, but by a majority of at least 600 or 700. (Applause.) He had known Mr Morgan personally for two years, but he had been quite conversant as to his conduct iu the House of Commons for 15 or 16 years, and long before he saw him he was convinced that they could not have a better man in the House as a labor member than Mr Morgan. (Hear, hear.) After referring t) some of Mr Morgan's work in the House, Mr Woods dealt with the eight hours question, which had assumed very large proportions lately, and was being discussed in every class of society. He was not con- cerned as to that question in its broadest aspect, for he considered that there were particular con- ditions and special circumstances surrounding the work of miners which would justify them ill receiving exceptional treatment by the House of Commons. (Hear, bear.) lie might mention that in order to ascertain correctly the true feeling of the miners of the country aa to the matter, two separate plebiscites had been taken, and when he told them that over 500,000 out of the 600,000 men, who worked in the mines of the country, had expressed themselves in favor of an eight hours day, he thought that it ought to close the mouths of those who were in opposi- tion to them. (Hear. hear.) They were told that an eight hours' day would reduca the output. Now, taking the inspector's report for 1889 they found that comparing the miners in the counties of Northumber- land and Durham with the miners of Lancashire, who were supposed to work nine hours a day-there were about 60,000 men in each—the miners of Northumber- land and Durham had produced 84 tons per man more than the miners of Lancashire. (Hear, hear.) It was also said that it would reduce their wages, but he estimated that the miners of to-day worked 20 per cent. le-s time than the miners of fifty years ago, and yet their wages were not lower. No, just in propor- tion na the hours had been shortened the wages had been increased. (Hear, hear.) Dealing with the question as to whether the eight houra' day should be secured by legislation or organisation, Mr Woods asked, if an eight hours' day was right when secured by organisation, how it became wronsr when secured by legislation ? (Applause.) The Northumberland and Durham miners said they only worked 71 hours a day, but he disputed that statement. If the men oi Northumberland and Durham only worked 7t hours a day, how was it that nearly half of the mining population, the boys and the day wage men, were working 10i and 11 hours a day? (Hear, hear) Their Federation, which had over 160,000 members, had said that in eveiy division where miners largely predominate, the eight hours' question must be made a test question at the next election, The North Wales men were true and loyal members of the Federation, and they would be the ls-t i) show the white feather in carrying out any honest and fair pro- position which the Federation might arrive at. (Ap- plause.) The Federation called upon the miners to vote for the men who would vote forthe Eight Hotra* Bill. Mr Morgan had been in favor of the working- men all along, and he waR in favor of that Bill, and therefore the miners should vote for him. (Applau-je.) After referring to the Employere Liability Act, Mr Woods dealt with the question of the royalties. He heM that the minerals belonged the men who invested their capital, and the men wfco procured the minera's, and not to those who owned the surface. There was on an average 101 per ton going an royalty to the owner -in Lancashire it was 6 1 per tion. Now this affected them in this way. When they went to ask for an advance in wages the masters said they could not ghe it. because they had t) compete with people on the Continent, who onlv oaid about 91 mr ;f" royalty. while they bad to pay 6 1, 8 I 10 J, as the case might be. (Hear, hear.) He was told Sir Watkin Wynn was a large owner of minerals, and if that was so did they think he would vote against royalties Well, they talked ahout doing away with t&e House of Lorda, but did'they think the House of Lords would pass a resolution to destroy itself ? (Laughter and hear, hear.) lIe was afraid the report of the Commission on Mining Royalties would be a very tame one. In fact, he had very little faith in commissions. In his opinion, they were simply to burke agitation. (Hear, hear.) He believed the Labor Commission was a fraud, and that it was simply to prevent the Eight Kours Bill from being passed, hut they were detarinitic-I to feit neither niuht not day until thev had nassed fiat Bill. Applause ) He believed the time had come. when there ought to be a drastic reform of the land laws. Mr Gladstone spoke upon the question a few days ago, and he touched the very root ofhe matter, when he said that the people must be able to li/e on the land. (Hear, hear.) He believed, if they again returned Mr Morgan to Parliament, as he knew they would, that he would be in favor of a 'thorough re- form in the land laws, for the benefit of the people. (Applause.) Mr Woods then referred at length to the Mines Bill. He said they wanted tfee employers to be responsible for the taking of timber into the men's working places. That was a very important matter, and he relieved it would lead to the saving of hundreds of lives lost owing to the unsatisfact Iry timbering in their mines. They also wished the em. ployer to be compelled to put some automatic conni- vance in the head gear to prevent over-winding. The few accidents they had with the winding tipoke volumes for the-care and steadiness of tfce engine men. but they wanted some contrivance to be fixed so that if the engine-man made a mistake, there would be no accident. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the inspec- tion of mines by workmen, they all-knew that their mines were not properly inspected by the Inspectors, He was not blaming their inspectors, iut their num- ber wanted increasing tenfold hefore the mines could be said to be inspected, even in a very insufficient manner. (Hear. hear.) They also wanted to prevent the employment of unskilled labor. They desired to provide that RoomaD should be allowed to work in any mine, unless he bad worked in a mine since he was 16 years of age. This, if agreed to, would prevent the influx of such a large amount of labor into the mines. (Hear, hear.} After referring to the £ *ct that there (Hear, hear.n^ ine direct labor representatives in th" House of ComficosiB at present. but there were over 80 labor candidates-in tho field for the next election. Mr Woods concluded by urging the wockiEg men not to be turned adrift, but to stand firm and true, and then he belived thatthe>aext Houseof Commons would be one which would do some effectual work for the working men of the country. (Hear, hearj) But he asked them, when the time came, to returner Morgan- nt-thing would please him, and all the leaders of the labor movement thantto see Mr Morgan at the,head of the poll—withfiuch a majority that hia opponent would never dare to venture to come before them again as a candidate, as long as there was a laboring man in the division. (Applause.) The Rev. f. JOHEB HUMPHREYS proposed the following resolution:—"That this meeting pledges itself to support the Right Hon. G. Osborne Morgan at the forthcoming general election, and to-secure his return by a triumphant majority." (Applause.) Mr WYNN EVANS seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. Mr MORGAN, in replying, thanked them most heartily for their kindness. He also thanfced the proposer and seconder of the vote, and Mr Woods for the way in which he had spoken of him. He would endeavour to show hie gratitude by doing his best to deserve their kindness. He lnfeM just he allowed to say that the last time he lifted up his voice ia the House of Commons was to protest against the appoint- ment- of an inspector, simply upon the eround that he was ignorant of the Welsh language. He did not eucceed, although he got a kind of promise from Mr Matthews that in future he would ceosider the matter But let him tell them that everything he had heari and seen since had confirmed him tfcat he was right in his contention, and on the first opportunity be intended to renew it. (Hear, hear.) He agaill thanked them. (ApDlause.) The Rev. J. C. REES proposed the following re- solution "That in the opinion of this meeting the existence of the Church of England in Wales as a State Church is an intolerable injustice, and ita dis- eetahhahment should be undertaken and completed by the Liberal party as Poon 88 possible." (Applause.) The Rev. J. E. JONES seconded, and Mr EDWARD ROBERTS supported the resolution, which was -earri,-d unanimously. The Rev. T. JONES HUMPHREYS proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the chairman for presiding. Mr MOilGAN seconded, and included Mr %Vonds in the vote, for the very practical speech which he had delivered. The vote was accorded with acclamation, and the chairman and Mr Woods having replied, the meeting terminated.

—The Queen's consent to the marriage of the Duke I of Clarence and Princess Mary of Teck is an. nounced in the London Gaiette. I <

DISESTABLISHMENT CON. I FERENCE AT MOLD. i GREAT LIBERAL MEETING. I On Monday afternoon, a conference, in connec- tion with the disestablishment campaign, was held I in the ante-rooms of the Town Hall, Mold, w hen the chair was taken at three o'clock by Mr J Herbert Lewis, chairman of the Flintshire County Council, and Liberal candidate for the Flint Boroughs. There was a good attendance, and among those present we noticed Messrs F. Lleweiyn Jones (secretary of the campaign com. mittee), Aid. Peter Jones, Halkyn Revs. Thomas Roberts, W. Morgan, David Jones, and John Owen, Mold; H. Uwchlyn Jones, Rhesycae; J. Morgan Jones, Caergwrle Jonathan Jones and John Felix, Citerwys William Williams, C.C., Tryddyn; Messrs E. Wheldou, C.C Mold; Llewelyn Eaton, J. Lloyd Morris, W. T. Thomas, T. Lloyd Powell, and E. P. Rees, Mold J. D. Jones and H. O. Jones, Bigillt; T. C. Rogers, Ffrith John Bellis, Penyff irdd; Joseph Denman and John Bellis, Rhydymwyn; J. Roberts and J. Jones, Gwernymynydd, &c., &c. On taking the ehair Mr J. HEHBEUT LEWIS said This meeting has been summoned tor the purpose of discussing resolutions bearing upon Webli dis- establishment. It has been specially convened to further the objects of that great campaign upon which we have now entered, with no thought of yielding or turning back until its objects Have been achieved, and religious equality in Wales fully attained. (Cheers.) The appeal for funds made by the Campaign Committee has already met with a prompt and generous response in many dis- tricts, and I trust that Flintshire will not be behind-hand in supporting this great movement. (Hear, hear.) Wales has been converted long ago —England must in future be the scene of our operations—and we appeal for help to carry the war into a country which has little idea of the insult and injustice to Welsh Nonconformity which the existence of a State Established Church implies. (Applause.) Once the English democracy under. stands the position our victory will be secure. Some of the best and wisest Englishmen have strongly expressed their feeling in favor of dis- establishment. Mathew Arnold has characterised the Establishment in Wales as an absurdity. John Morley has described this reform as one so obviously required by the justice of the case and by the overwhelming sentiment of Wales, that it must form an indispensable article of Liberal policy. A statesman so cautious an I moderate as Lord Derby has pronounced in its favor. Sir George Trevelyan declared five years ago that the existence of the Establishment in Wales is the most signal injustice which is still lefc unredressed. Lord Hartington said that Dis- establishment in Scotland was a matter for the Scottish nation, and that statement is equally ap- plicable to Wales. (Cheers.) Net so long ago, out task was to persuade the Liberal leaders to al- low Disestablishment a place in their programme. After Mr Morley's letter to Mr Rendel, Sir Win. Harcourt's speech at Carnarvon, and Mr Glad- stone's speech and vote in the House of Commons, there is no longer any question or doubt about the subjecf. The question now is-what place is Disestablishment to occupy in the Liberal pro- gramme ? The National Liberal Federation—the official organisation of the Liberal party outside P,trliament-has placed it next to Home Rule for Ireland, and for the last four years has kept it in I that position. It will be our duty to see that nothing occurs to displace it, but that on the con- trary a measure of Diseatablishinentfor Wales shail be introduced concurrently with the Home Rule Bill. (Cheers.) The time cf Parliament is so heavily mortgaged that unless we make a &tout stand ourselves no one will do it for us, and our cause will be endangered. Now is the time for every Welsh Liberal to put his shoulder to the wheel. Our work between now and the next general election must be untiring. This contest must continue to be characterised by that stern- ness and tenacity with which our forefathers fought the battle of civil and religious liberty, and which has been so nobly shown in these latter years by the farmers of Wales in their struggle "with the Establishment. (Cheers.) It is only by maintaining this spirit that we can hope to bring our cauee to a tiiumphant issue. The question for us is, how can we help in this struggle ? Many Flintshire Liberals have year after year rendered most important t!ervice by attending, at considerable expense and loss of time, the annual meetings of the National Liberal Federa. tion at Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, and New- castle, to see that Wales got fair play. Not many can afford to do this, but many can imitate the Irish peasantry subscribe their mite towards carrying on the movement. (Cheers.) This is aj question which affects the working man, and 1 tradesman as much as the farmer, and there is:: many a working man who would be glad to give something if he had the chance, and would feet ali the greater interest in the movement, because he has made an investment in it himself. It is encouraging to think that we are nearing the end of this struggle. As was stated at the Church defence meeting at Rhyl the other day, the con- troversy will net last very long, and its clote will give us opportunities of turning to those other j-Questicus which demand solution-questions affiect- itig the land, temperance, the control of eletl-entary education, the extension of local government, and other reforms, for whose accomplishment Wales has long waited. The highest interests of the nation demand that this question shall be settled as speedily as possible, but those interests will not receive attention unless we in every legitimate way I exert ourselves to attain religious equality for our country. (Cheers.) Mr EDLWARD WHELDOH rost to move the first resolution, That this conference of Welshmen and Liberals begs to express its opinion that the disestablishment and diaendowment of the Church of England in Wales is a matter denmuding the attention of the Liberal party immediately on its return to power, and insists that the settlement of this question in accordance with the washes of the people of Wales shall be no longer delayed." He said the Welsh people had long ago made up their minds on this question, and it was like slaying the slain to hold meetings in support of disestablish- ment in North Wales. But because they had taken for granted that the public mind had been made up on the question, the Church partisans began telling the people of England that the people had either changed their minds, or that they had never made up their minds, but were wavering as to whether, after all, the Church was not supported by the majority of the Welsh people. It was time they informed their English friends of the facts, and let them know what the Church had done for the Welsh people, and how it was regarded by the people. (Applause.) The Rev. THOMAS ROBERTS said, tce a minister of the Gospel, he did not like to take a too prom- inent position in the controversy, but they knew what were his convictions, and that disestablish- ment would and could never be of the slightest pecuniary benefit to him personally. But on the other side, he and his brethren had been systemat- ically maligned by men whose ministry was only distinguished by its connection with tiie State, and who dared not trust to the good-will of those to whom they ministered. Be"ides, be and his brethren had been told they were not ministers of the Gospel, nor indeed members of the Church, but heretics and interlopers, who ought to be suppressed. He objected to these men applying to him, the epithets, especially when the only foundaii-en upon which they made the aspersions was their own connection with the State. The Rev. JOHN OWEN, in supporting the reso- lution, said that with seme of them it was not a matter of endowments or even of status, but of conscience and principle, which bound them to op- pose the ecisting order. Having visited the re- cent congress held at Rhyl, he found that the question of disestablishment overshadowed it. They saw tit, and all who attended it were con- scious of its approach. Councillor Wm. WILLIAMS, Tryddyn, Mr JOHN BELLIS and others having spoken to the resolution, the CHAIIRMU-1 summed up the discussion, and put it to the Conference, when it was carried with ac- clamation. The CHAIRMAN read the following lettec which had been receivedrfrom Mr John Roberts, M.LP. West Dingle, Liverpool, 12th December. £ LS91. DEAR MOIWAN.- I had hoped and fully intended to be with you at Mold on Monday evening, but have been suffering from rheumatism for nearly a month. I am now better, but my doctor will not allow me to go from home during the continuance of this damp and wet weather. I wished spaaially to be with you, as Mr Herbert Ler/is will for the first time be present as a candidate for tbe Flint Boroughs. He needs no word of cotnmendHion from me, but if he had, they would have been uttered wexy sincerely and without stint. I also take a deep interest in another primary object is be advocated at four.meting, the Disestablishment and the Disendowment of the Church in Wales. This was as article of my creed when I first-sought the suffrages of the Mold electors nearly fourteen -years ago, and when the question was not co fashionable or as urgent a< it has  bcome DOW. Feelifl confident that you will have another grand meeting in Moid,—With very kind regard', believe me to remain, yours uuly, JOHN ROBERTS. Mr LLEWELYN EYTON proposed the second resolution That this Conference expresses its satisfaction at the work undertaken by the Welsh Disestablishment Campaign Committee, and promises to do all in its power to raise subscrip- tions, and otherwise, to help in the eariying out of the campaign to a successful termination," which was seconded bv Aid. P. JONES, Halkyn, and sup- ported by Mr LLRWELVV Jones, who epoke about the progress of the campaign, and of what was attempted to be done. One gentleman. Mr Owen Owen, of Oswestry, had undertaken the conduct of what might be known as the Intelligence Department, and he was collect- ing facts as to the manner in which the clergy carried out the Acts of Parliament affecting them, and other items of interest in connection with the question. He appealed to the conference to support the committee in the providing of fundp, which were intended to be used in enlightening the public mind of England in reference to the hard' ships of the Establishment in Wales. The resolution was then passed, when it was. announced that Mr S. Smith, M.P., had promised jCICO in aid, the Chairman 220, and about 930 was promised in the room. The coufereuce broke up about five o'clock. I j THE EVENING MEETING. i The evening meeting in the Town Hall was! crowded, the large room being fiiled in everyi corner and the audience one of the most I I enthusiastic we have seen for years. Owing to the absence at the commencement of Alderman Dr. Edwards, president of the Liberal Association, the chair was taken temporarily by Mr Alderman Thomas Parry, who was supported on the platform by Mr Samuel Smith, M P., Alderman J. Herbert L^wis and Mrs Lnvis, Messrs D. Lloyd George, M.P.. J. Parry (H?armun), E. Wheldon, C.C., LI. E?ton, J. SchoReld, Alderman P. Jones, Revs. Thomas Roberta, W. Morgan, J. Owen, J. Morgan, J. Felix, Jonathan Jones Messrs G. H. Simon, H. Roberts, C.C., John Bellis, E ll. Powell, D. Owen- &c. The CHAIRMAN said he was entirely unprepired for the position, and would only occupy it until the arrival of Dr. Edwards. But he wished to show his entire sympathy with the movement, and to protect the meeting from any inconvenience, hence it was that he had consented to occupy that important position for a few moments. He called upon Mr SAMUEL SMITH, M.P., who was received with great enthusiasm. to move the following resolu- tion That this meeting is of opinion that the disestab'ishment and disendowment of the Church of England in Wales is imperatively demanded by the long-determined convictions of the Welsh people. These convictions have been constitution- ally declared, and therefore this meeting calls upon the Legislature to give effect to the just and equit- able wishes of the Principality in this matter." Mr SMITH said they had met together to discuss one question, which was of predominant interest in Wales. There were a great many questions in which they were interested, and which it would be a pleasure for him, as their member, to give account of hia stewardship and to refer to them. The national question of Wales was that of religious equality. (Applause ) He had just read a resolu- tion which he thought hardly necessary to put before them, for there was not a single pait in \V al8 in which a resolution of that kind would not be carried by a large majority. The question of disestablishment had been fought and won in Wales years ago, which fact was no surer a test than the practical unanimity in the Welsh repre- sentatives in Parliament. Wales had long ago pronounced its judgment upon tl.e State Cnurch. That Church had been tested by its fruits which had been tested by the Welsh people three hundred years past, and found to be very bad. (Applause.) This long experience of the Welsh Church had left a sad impression upon the minds of the population in Wales, and it was now too late to attempt to reverse the decision of the country. They all knew that the Established Church used its utmost efforts to suppress the great Methodist revival of last cen- tury. In late years there had been a kind ot revi val of religion in the Welsh Church. That was to say, they had now a number of earnest clergy who were very different from the lax and careless men that disgraced the Welsh benefices 100 or 200 years ago. The people found one of the great argu- ments of the Church was, that the State Church of E igland was the only one that possessed the apostolic faith, the only faith from which the grace of God could flow. They knew that their cause was the cause of truth, of justioe the cause of political freedom, and, above all, the cause of spiritual religion and of pure Christianity. (Ap- plause.) DR. EDWARDS entered the room, and was re- ceived with great cheering. He tojk the chair, and called upon Mr J. HERBERT LKWIS, who was cordially re- ceived, said they had heard of the Church Con- gress. It had done the cause of disestablishment so much good that as a Liberal he hoped its members would change their minds about going to Folke- stone, and pay them another visit next year. (Laughter and cheers ) A meeting was subsequently held at Rhyl to reply to statements made at the Congress, and since then a rejoinder was delivered at the same place by the Dean of St. Asaph and Mr Pennant. They may take it for granted that the arguments stated against disestablishment would be stated as clearly and forcibly by the chairman, a gentleman for whom he entertained great personal respect, as by any lay member of the Church of England in North Wales. Now, what were Mr Pennant's objections to Disestab- lisemeat ? First, he said the bishops would not be appointed by the State, as they were now, but by the church, and that in consequence, political con- siderations would come in to a greater extent than they did at present. Whatever system may be I adopted in future, it could not well be worse than the present method of appointment. Could they ever forget that when this country was on the verge of the Afghan war-ore of the most immoral and unjust wars in which Britain ever engaged- no less than six bishops, ministers of the Gospel of peace,travelled specially to London for the purpose of supporting the war policy of the Gov-erniiient, while only one—the late Bishop of Oxford—had the courage to vote against it ? (Hear, hear ) He could not thelp thinking that tlie fact that a valuable see was vacant, had something to do with their action. This was not the only time when they had given their moral influence and material support to the Tory party. Now-a-davs, the great qualitication for a Welsh Bishop, was that he should be a political defender of the Establishment, and this did not eahance the liking of Nonconformists for State appointments. If they were to be jeered at and misrepr atnted by bishops, Nonconformists preferred that such persons -should not have the vantage ground which appointment by the Crown, and a seat in the House of Peers gives them, and Nonconformists would vote accordingly. (Cheers.) Another result of disestablishment they were told would be that Convocation would not be summoned by the Crown, and that matters besides those winch were selected by the State would be -taken into consideration. Well, he could not see why a religious body of the importance of the Church of England should not have sufficient sense and discretion to manage its own affairs, and to cheose its own subjects of dis- cussion like any Nonconformist body. Another important point to which the chairman of the Rhyl meeting drew their attention was that the Act of Uniformity prohibited any alterations in the Prayer Houk, or the form of Lituigy used by the Church of England, except by direct Act of Parliament. That was to say that Nonconformists, Jews, Atheists, and Roman Catholics were more competent to make changes in the book of Common Prayer which they did not use, and in much of which they did not believe, than churchmen themselves. He had a higher opinion of Churchmen than that. Non- conformists did not want to meddle with the Prayer Book. It was none of their concern. If it was to be altered, let it be altered by churchmen. (Hear, hear.) They were told that if disestab- lishment takes place the bishops will not necessarily cease to have seats ic the House of Lords but the glaring anomaly of ministers of one denomination having seats in the House of Lords was so indefen- sible that the lay defenders of the Establishment proposed that leading Nonconformist ministers should also have seats in the Upper House. But leading Nonconformist ministers had other work to do than to figure in a pitiful and ridiculous minority, in an assembly which would only admit them for the sake of preserving its hereditary and ecclesiastical character from the hands of reform for a few years longer..(Cheers.) Nonconformity had no desire whatever to be represented in the Upper House. Its history did not commend itself to them. The atmosphere of the place was oppressive, sufficiently EO to have stifled many a reform. The House which had always encouraged the opposition of the Tory party in the Commons to reform, which constantly refused to open the doors of the univer- sities to Nonconformists, which, by amendments to the Poor Law, forbade .Nonconformists to officiate in Workhouses, required more drastic treatment than the introduction of a few Nonconformist ministers, who had better work to do than to loll upon its scarlet benches. (Applause.) The next point was that the position of the Church, owing to its connection with the State, was not improved, but rather otherwise. That was just their conten- tion. They said that its connection with the State was detrimental to its spiritual influence that it imparted to its ministers an official character which, to a great extent, destroyed their influence as moral agents in the coaimuuity. They said that this position of worldly privilege gave many of the c'ercymen, who had gone into the Church merely for t he sake of obtaining a living, an insolent superiority of tone-an arrogance of manner and of c mduct which was engendered by that feeling of security which they possessed as irremovable servants of the State. (Hear. hear.) They believed that their vested interests were-quite secure. They had no need to fear the displeasure of any congre- gation, to whatever extent they might outrage their tfeelings cf Christian charity by their treatment of Nonconformists, or to whatever extent they might neglect their duties. Once they had obtained a living, if they wre devoid of iarabition. they might do practically what they pleased, with most deplorable results to the spiritual life of their Chureh, and to the happiness of the community which they were paid to serve. If they had ambition, the breaking up of disestablishment meetings offered to be the chief leading avenue to promotion. (Hear, hear ) But while admitting the right of a nation to deal as it liked with its property, the defenders of the establishment said the nation had no right to take from the Church its endowments. But in what manner did the I Church of England come into possession of those endowments ? It was by the spoliation and robbery of another church. (Cheers.) But the wrongs of one generation could be righted by another, and when a nation was divided religously into several sects, as now, it was only right they should deal with them, one and all, upon precisely the same footing. (Cheers.) Before the Reforma- tion the manner in which these endowments Avere distributed was entirely different to the way in which they were applied at present. Then the poor had, as of right, a large share of the Church endowments. (Hear, hear.) Then the Church provided for education. They did not admit that the Church had any right to retain its endow- ments, but by withholding the share of the poor, and the portion of tithes, which was devoted to education, she had forfeited whatever claim she might otherwise have put forward. (Cheers.) The nation had not only might on its side. It had right. Justice to the poor, and to their education, justice to Nonconformists, and justice to the Church call aloud for disestablishment. (Cheers.) The argument that they were diverting money from religious to secular purposes was untenable when they considered the character of the objects to which much of this money was applied, when they remembered the intense bitterness of feeling which had been raised by the compulsion exercised on Nonconformist farmers to pay the tithe to sup- port the services of a Church whose doors they never entered, and which to them was a symbol and an engine of oppression. They must feel that it would he more in consonance with the principles of Christianity to devote those funds towards eood and elevating objects than to the maintenance of one sect in a position of ascendency to the great detriment of religion. (Cheers.) The first result of disestablishment would be to quicken the zeal and the liberality of wealthy squires, who were now saved from that necessity of contributing to- wards the maintenance of their own ministry which lay upon every Nonconformist. This would be the greatest blessing to them and to their Church. (Hear, hear.) And what were the purposes to which the funds of the Disestablished Church would be applied, which were irreligious in any degree? To attend church and to hold a religious belief was only a part of religion. That was a matter which concerned the every day life of every individual. The tendency of everything that elevates the race was religions. The fouuder of Christianity showed us an example of that practical benevolence which formed an integral part of a religious life. He denied therefore entirely that to divt rt the national funds from a sect to which they were a curse, aud to apply them to the highest purposes of the nation, was a diversion from re- ligious uses. (Cheers.) Iu his view the contrary was the case, the diversion would be twice blessed, for the wealthy members of the Church of England would be stimulated to further benevolence, and the poor would have their rights. (Applause ) Mr LLOYD GEORGE, in a mobt eloquent speech, having supported the resolution, it was put and carried amid great cheering without a dissentient voice. Mr E. WHELDON moved, That this meeting expresses its gratitude to Mr John Roberts for his fourteen years' Parliamentary services as repre- sentative of the Flint Boroughs, his unswerving fidelity to Liberal principles, and his unvarying kindness to his constituents generally. That this meeting expresses its extreme regret at the causes which have led him to resign his trust. That the meeting thanks Mr Samuel Smith, M.P., for his in- defatigable services in the support of religion, morality, and progress, and pledges itself by all legitimate means to secure his return to Parliament for the Flint County, together with that of Mr J. Herbert Le/vis for the Flint Boroughs at the approaching general election by triumphant majorities." The resolution was seconded by Mr LLEWKLYN EATON, supported by Mr LI. M. LTwis and Mr J. Parry, and passed amid much cheering. The usual vote of thanks to the Chairman, moved by the Rev. Abel J. Parry, Cefn Mawr, and seconded by Mr Smith, brought the meeting to a conclusion. -+-

SUICIDE AT WREXHAM. On Wednesday afternoon an inquiry was held before Mr B. H. Thelwall, coroner, at the Bridge House Inn, Wrexham, as to the death of William t ieher, a leather dresser, living at 9, Salop-road. Mr J. PhoB iix was foreman of the jury. John Fisher, leather dresser, said the deceased was his brother, and would he thought have been forty- two next February. He last saw hia brother alive at five minutes pant ten on Monday morning, as he was coming out of his house. Witness a»ked 4 Where aie you going?" and replied In;t for a bit of a walk." When he got lower down witness turned round and saw his brother crossing the toad as coing up the hill. He had not seen the body. About eighteen months ago deceased buried his wife at Hey- wood, Manchester. He had five children at home, two of them were working. The eldest, a girl, was nineteen. His average weekly earnings for some months had not been 161. He had been ill for a month or a fortnight, starting to work, after coming from the doctor's hands, a week on Monday. Wit- ness did not for a moment think he would have done an act like thip. He thought the burial of his wife had preyed on his mind more than anything else. He was a man who would not divulge anything of his own bu-jineiis to anyone. Deceased had been in the Volunteer Band for a long time, and as far as the witness could learn, respected by everybody. Ellis Lewis said he lived at 10, Wiilow-road. He had known deceased all his life. He last saw him alive about ten o'clock on Monday morning in Willow-road. On Tuesday m >rniug witness was going to a field in Beni.ion'c-iane to look at a stack. As passing a shed he saw th3 toes of some clncs, and called out What are you doing t liei t- ? There was no response, and lie then found Fitilier hanging by his neck. He did not cut him down, but if theie had been any life h should have done. The body was cold. He talked to him for some time, and he looked as if he were asleep. His toea were jmt touching the ground. There was blood running down his tiouser leg. He died from hanging by a small cart rope (produced) attached to a beam. He had had an old cratch to stand on, and then had swerved off. P.S. Wynne said he was called at ten minutas to two by the last witness, and went with him to the shed. He saw the deceased hanging, got assistance, cut him down. and taken home. The letter (pro- duced) had been found on the body, and was handed to the police by his mother. The letter, which in parts was illegible, was to the following effect :— DEAR DAUGHTER AND CHILDREN. — I cannot stand this any longer aa my poor head is very distracted. The doctor says my inside is done, and that I must get lighter work, and if I had all the money in Wrexham 1 could not feel right Dear ch.ldren, I hope J"( u will all try and do the best you can for one another. Give my kind love to my father and brother, and Bill Bellis and Jack Hughes and his wife. J leave all my things to be divided amongst you. Dar Sarah knows where the things are and keys of my box. So no moze. From your unhappy father, WILLIAM FISHEH. Give my kind love to my father and mother. John Fisher, re-called, said he could not swear to his brother's handwriting, but he believtd that shown him was his. The Coroner said the letter showed the state of his mind, and he thought they would have no difficulty iu coming to the conclu-don that his mind was unhiuged. A verdict of Suicide during temporary insanity" was returned. ————— »

TOURING IN THE EAST. EGYPT To ITALY. I [FROM OCJR CORRESPONDENT.] JNAPLES, JNOT. 115TH. Seven days in Egypt at the end of October is a somewhat trying ordeal for the average English. man. At mid-day the thermometer registered 110 and 115 degrees, and the lowest register obtained in our rooms in the cool of the evening was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. We found the heat so enervating that we determined to return to the Mediterranean, cross to Italy, and return to Cairo about the middle of December in time for the Nile boat. We had intended to spend a month in Italy on our return hon.e from Egypt and Palestine. Accordingly we left Cairo on November 4th by ex- press train for Alexandria, passing through the Delta of the Nile with its luxuriant crops of cotton, dates, corn, and vegetation, and its innumerable mud huts and quaint villages. On arriving at Alexandtia we drove through the city, and made a brief halt on the Grand Square, which was re-built after the recent bombardment. We then embarked upon the P. and O. steamer Bokhara," and were soon sailing out of the harbour. The city, gazed upon from the harbour bar, formed a beautiful picture of lofty houses and graceful pillars, towers and minarets, and the quay lined with ships from every sea. The forts, towers, and prominent build- ings showed were great havoc had been wrought by the guns of our ironclads. After a Bevere storm we were thankful to put into the harbour at Brindisi at an early hour next day, and to fiud ourselves once more upon terra- firm a The town of Brindisi was very disappointing. Instead of a clean and enterprising port we found a number of dirty, ill-drained streets, and miserable houses, with one fairly good street leading from the railway station to the quay. Brindisi derives its importance from being at the end of the Via Appia from Rome, and the nearest Italian port to Port Said, on the Indian mail route, fifty-nine hours from London. It was cold and wet at Brindisi, a great chanqe from the climate we had just lelt. We left Brindisi by the evening train for Naples. About midnight we halted at Foggia, and, having taken some refreshment, slept until daybreak, when we found ourselves in the presence of snow- capped mountains rising 4,000 feet above us. The Italian valleys are very beautiful, and are rich in vineyards and olive groves and orchards while the mountain ranges, except in very arid parts, are cultivated to their summits. The scenery was ever varying and delightful. The last twenty miles of railway to Naples traverses a vast plain covered with vineyards, poplars, and various crops-the most fertile and highly-cultivated part of the Terra di Lavoro. Naples, the largest city in Italy, is situated in one of the most beautiful bays in the world. This lovely bay has had an intense attraction for millions of the human race from time immemorial, and hence the saying, See Naples and then die." The mouth of the bay is guaided by three beauti. ful islands-Capri, Ischia, and Procida and the city of Naples lies on the north side of the bay in the midst of a volcanic region, and is flanked on the south-east by the smoking Vesuvius, with the ruins of Pompeii at its feet south of which is Monte Santangelo, ri-ing to the ht ight of 5 000 feet, at the base of which nestle a number of villages. There are delightful walk. along the ° qua.y-Palzzo Reale, adjoining which is pos.ng residence of the young Prince of Nun. The Neapolitans have long had th?put?? being at once the most joyous and the most ?, uf less, the meat indolent and the most squalid ?' human race, the national characteristic b¡,in the of love of the pleasure cf the moment u ,T much of thia is true to-day, there is an air bIle activity and solidity which aagurs well r air IJf future of Naples. Many of the old and dilauiL buildings are giving way to handsome str PI ateù and the Umberto Gallery, which has J'lIUCt re¡¡, completed, forms one of the most In'l fi t d. E 'glll c. ut arca d es in Europe, and ia no mean rival <o ? well-known Victor Emanuel Gallery in Mttan 0 the N I <III. Naples ia an ecellent centre fur many of fi finest excursions in Italy. Leaving the city bv ,Ie one bright surin?.iike morning we sp-ntthel? upon the Phlegraean Plain. Passing the re.? 3; b I I f 'I eputect burial place of Virgi!, a Roman co.mnburuu, 011 III ù the hillside, we entered th? Grotto di Posing  tunnel 7<?0 yards long, hewn through the 8!n 1 0 .e so!¡d rock, and soon arrived at Llke Aquauo. This? an oH crater of irregular form, nearly three ,IS f nIl eQ m circum f erence. The water produced mal. f N I J aIla at N?p!?, and was drained BP, but the sulphUr 8 f" f I 1'lUroU!! fumeB rising f.o:n t 1e ground are stiU collected?^ I I. f tC eu In chambers f..r rheumatic patients, alill are f t.: oUnù very <tn.aeiuus 'i.re we vuit-d the famous L» Grotto, wher? the ground and aidea of the "a 8 og 1 \'e are so thoroughly impregnated with carbonic acid ? that the fumes render dogs insensible in ,g t '1'1 I. a \V moments. The caretaker provided a do? 'but Ii t 11 th I U e would not a):o?v the animal to undergo this cru ? experiment, whereupon the old man lighted a taner whIch was inata?Uy extingmshcd on comiu, j? t I I g III 0 contact with the vapour which rose to the heinh? of three or four feet. Our way then led between gardens and vineyards, to the left of which was the lovely quarantine island of Nisida, with a larLre a rge convict prison on the summit of the hill. everal hundred of convicts are employed in the extensive marble quarries, which we passed. We then drove through Bagnoli, a small watering place with numerous hot springs, beyond which the road ski t t:IC bay, and commands magmhc?nt m()l1nti 9 and sca views. Winding round an a:m of the b n we arrived at the picturesque town of Pllnuo? once the most important commercial city m Ital J, caMying on an extensive trade with E?yut aud tlY' T.' \V" d I. :OJ l' ¡e East. We visited the ruins of the temple of Serapis, Neptune, and Nymphs, near t) which are a few stones indicating the site of Cicero's rebiileuce which overlooks the bay. The present insignificant village of occupies as lovely a situation as eye and heart could wisli upon the site of the famous wateriug-place, which in the zenith of Ita spleuduur,iu th da}s uf Cicero Augustus, Nero and Hadrian. Horace's wealthy Roman desirous of erecting a villa here exclaimed Nothing in the world can be com- pared with the lovely bay of Baiae." The inhabi- tants gave themselves up to luxury and vice, and nothing now remains but desolate ruins. On our return we passed the fragments of the villa of Julius Caesar, and then visited the Temple of Diana, a huge octagonal structure with a circular interior. Near the village is another circular building, with vaulted ceiling, called the Temple of Mercury. Here is a remarkable echo, and a number of peasant girls offer to dance a tarantella. Who is to say nay to the entreaties of these handsome faces, and lovely eyes? From the Temple of Mercury we passed to the Temple of Venus, and then made our way to the famous mineral springs, which are still frequented by invalids. These are reached by a long, narrow, dark passage in the mountain. A half.naked boy, with a lighted torch, rushes with an empty bucket along the passage, and returned in three minutes with boiling water and a boiled egg. The little fellow was dripping with perspiration. We then drove to the celebrated Lake Averno, romautically situated among the volcanic hills, whose sides are now clothed with vineyards, orange grove*, and chest- nut trees. Owing to its black and sombre sur- roundings, this lake was regarded by the ancients as the entrance to the iufernal regions. Tradition too, affirmed that no bird could fly across these waters and live, owing to the poisonous exhalations. From this strange haunt, with its extraordinary associations, we hastened to the open bay to wit- ness one of the most glorious suusets eye ever gczed upon, and returned to Naples in the golden glow of the evening twilight. The most popular excursion from Naples is, of course, the one embracing the ascent of Vesuvius. This occupies a full day, but may be accomplished without fatigue. Wagonettes ply daily between Naples and the lower station of the Funicular rail. way, which conveys tiavellera within a few hundred feet of the crater. Mount Vesuvius is a couical peak, rising four thousand feet out of the Campanian plain, and is within five miles of the coast. The height of the mountain varies from 3,850 to 4,300 feet according to the varied effects of the eruptions. From Naples, the first six miles leads along the coast, but the road is lined with shops and residences all the way, with here and there delightful paepa of land and sea. The ascent proper begius at Resina, and soon the road winds in and out amongst masses of lava of the most fautastic shapes. As we go up, a magnificent scene opens to view. Ascending, we notice beneath the various lines, some broader than otherB, mark- ing the flow of the streams of lava at different periods of eruption. We then pass the Hermitage and the Meteorological Observatory, aud soon reach the railway where luncheon is provided. The Funicular railway is a remarkable fest of engineering skill. It is placed at an angle of forty to sixty degrees, worked by a wire rope and stationary engine, and is so arranged that in the event of a breakage huge teeth penetrate the wood work, and bring the car to an immediate standstill. The length of the line is 985 yards, and the upper end is 1,300 feet higher than the lower. Arriving at the top station, we climb zigzag up the mountain into the clouds, and passing through dense fumes issuing from the fissures which nearly choked us, we reached the mouth of the crater itself .At first, the volumes. f vapour were so deiise that we were unable to see many feet ahead of us. We stood perfectly still until a wave of wind opened to our view the great mouth of the Forgo of Vulcan," and were astounded by sight. Before leaving the summit, the guide pointed out to us the spot where two months before, a Belgian tourist got too near the edge of the crater, and overcome by the fumes fell head- long into the abyss and was lost. Our party to Vesuvius included several members of the Peree Congress, who had concluded their sittings at Rome, and were out for a daj's holiday. Another gentleman was an officer in the British Army, who had served his country with General Wolseley in the Soudan Campaign against Arabi Pasha. He took part in the Battle of Abu Klea, and, drawing a sketch, gave us a graphic descrip- tion of the way in which the line of the British square was broken by the mad on-rush of the wild Arabs. On returning to the hotel in the evening con- siderable fun was provided for the party by a Vienna bachelor, whose eccentric habits had been a source of amusement to travellers for several days, His custom was to come in last to dinner every night, after everyone had sat down, and to leave the table first. He wore evening dress, wore the- most massive gold chain I ever beheld, and I may- add ditto to the great diamond hoop upon his finger. His shirt and cuff studs always matched each other, but were changed every night. One. night he would wear diamond studs, another night gold, another pearl, and another emerald. Every night he drauk a large bottle of champagne, and' during this process would fan himself. And, Oh. the fan I never saw a lady carry euch gorgeously coloured fans as did this wealthy autocrat. One night it was a brilliant scarlet, another blue, the- next green, and then a mottled one. To crown air he brought to the table every night a newspaper. and read incessantly, or pretended to, never. exchanging a word with anyone. On this par- ticular night I ventured to ask if he had climbed Vesuvius? The answer was a violent Bliake of the head, and this was all the intercourse anyone had. with this man throughout a long week.

———— THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD, 1892. PROMISED VISIT OF THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE LOHD MkYon OF LONDON. A meeting of the executive committee of the Rhyl National Eisteddfod, 1892, was held at the board room, Town Hall, on Tuesday night, Canon Howell Evans premiding.-Tlie pavilion committee reported having leased the Pitlace and Summer Gaidens for the purpose of erecting a pavilion for the holding of the Eisteddfod. The committee had secured the whole of the Bounds for a fortnight at a rental of £125, and they proposed in addition to utilising the present commodious buildings to construct an Eigtedtifud i pnilion capable of accommodating from »ieo^ —Chairman announced that the Loa d Mayor of London had intimated. through Sir John Puleston, M.P., his intention of attending the Eisteddfod, and requesting to be in- formed as to the date on which it would be held, no, that he might make his arrangements. The Prince of Wales had also promised to attend, and he (the Chairman) suggested that his convenience as to date should be consulted.—Mr J. L. Muspratt said he had been infotmed by the Bishop of St. Asaph, that the Piinca of Wales had told him (the Bishop) at Miss West s wedding, that he fllliy hoped to be able to attend the Rliyl Eisteddfod. (Applause.)-It was ultimately decided to suggest, through the Duke of Westminster, to the Prince of Wales any day in the week commencing the 5th of September; or asking his Royal Highness to name another date about that time.-A letter was read from Mr R. M. Hugh-Jones resigning his position as one of the honorary secre- tarie", and Mr Arthur Rowl.-itidot, town clerk, was unanimously re-elected in his stead.

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