Monmouthshire Merlin

Thomas de Quincey his Life and Writings, with Unpublished Correspondence," is the title of a work in two volumes now in the press, edited by Mr. H. A. Page it will contain about a hundred of Mr. de Quincey's letters, and letters to him from Professor \Vi>on, Mr. Thomas Carlyle, and ethers, placed at Mr. Page's disposal by Mr. de Quincey's family. The forthcoming number of The Nineteenth Century will contain, under the title of "A Modern Si/i/i- p-i.mm," a discussion on "tue Influence of a Decline in Religious Belief upon Morality." Sir Jiiiiied Lord Selbornp, Dr. Martineau, Mr. Frederic Harrison, the Dean of St. Paul's, the Duke of Argyll, and Professor Clifford, will probably take part in the controversy, which is to be continued in following numbers by Professor Tvndall and ProfeMor Buxley,

SIR W. KNOLLVS. • As a mark of appreciation of the long and faithful services of General the Right Hon. Sir William Knollys as the head of the household of the Prince and Princess of Wales, his Royal Highness has been pleased to appoint him to the honorary post of Groom of the Stole to his Royal Highness.

ROBBING THE SPEAKER. After the count out on the 20th instant, the Speaker of the House of Commons proceeded to the Charing Cross Theatre to witness the performance, On returning to his carriage from the theatre he dis- covered that he had been robbed of a valuable gold watch by some expert thief. The right hon. gentleman had only recently purchased the watch.

THE BOROUGH FUNDS ACT. A deputation from Liverpool, consisting of large pro- perty owners in the district, waited upon the Home Sec- retary last week, asking that the clause of the Borough Funds Act which gives ratepayers a vote on expendi- ture of municipal money should not be repealed as was asked by a former deputation, and alleging that the bill had worked in a thoroughly satisfactory manner. Mr. Cross promised to consider the representations, but he could not give a decided answer.

ASSAULT ON THE KING OF DENMARK. A Copenhage correspondent, writing on the 19th instant, says:—The following account of an assault on his Majesty the King is reported here. It appears that on Friday afternoon last the King, returning from his usual daily walk, accompanied by a little white rat terrier, passed by the Butchers' Market, a place nearly in the centre of the town, where some :200 butchers have their shops. Suddenly a large mastiff attacked the terrier, which, naturally enough, the King attempted to chase away by beating him about the head with his walking- stick. The owner of the mastiff, however, not recog- nising the King, and being a very violent person, unshed out and began to abuse his Majesty, using the most choice language in his vocabulary, finally threat- ening to use even stronger measures. Fortunately a police-constable happened to pass who recognised the King, aad explained to the butcher who the owner of the dog was, thus preventing what might have other- wise been a very painful affair.

CLERGYMEN AT PAUPERS' FUNERALS. At the county of Limerick Board of Guardians on March 21at, Lord Emly presiding, his Lordship asked whether the Roman Catholic and Protestant chaplains attended the burial of paupers in the workhouse grave* yard, to which the Master replied in the negative, adding that it was not customary there. This reply created much surprise and indignation, and drew from Lord Emly the exclamation, Here they are buried like dogs. The system is disgraceful." Alderman Myles said outside clergymen would not attend funerals without fees, scarfs, and hatbands. Lord Ernly stated that he was the means sume years ago of having a bill made law doing away with the necessity of clergymen not belonging to the then Established Church asking leave of ministers, owners of grave- yards, to read the burial service over the dead of their communion. This was considered a boon at the time. He repeated that a system of not reading prayers for the dead over poor persons was disgraceful, and he would bring the subject specially before the board next week. Lord Olarina agreed with Lord Emly, but said it was not the custom for clergymen in the country to attend funerals of the poor. Lord Emly replied that that was a remnant of times happily passed. Funerals of the poor ought to be reformed to meet modern requirements. He would next week propose that rigid instructions be given to the clergymen of both Churohes to attend the interment of the poor dying in the house. The Master stated the deaths averaged 500 annually, and nearly 12 every week in the winter.

CAREER OF A BIGAMIST. At Warwickshire assizes, last week, before Lord Justice Amphlett, Frederick Bebbington Beswick, alius Frederick Charles Stanley Bennett, 25, of gentlemanly appearance, described as having no occupation, was indicted for committing bigamy at Brighton, on the Brd of April, 1876. Prisoner married a Miss Read a,, the Manchester Cathedral, and afterwards married a Miss Evered, a young lady of fortune, who eloped with him. A further indictment charged him with having at Coventry, on the 2nd Oct. last, unlawfully by false pretences obtained from Henry Edmund Florence the sum of £10, with intent to defraud.—Mr. Bennett pro- secuted, and Mr. Harris appeared for the defence.— Prisoner pleaded not guilty to both indictments, but on Mr. Bennett proceeding to open the case relating to the bigamy he withdrew his plea, saying that for the Bake of all parties concerned he thought it best to throw himself upon the mercy of the court.—Mr. Bennett then went on to narrate the facts of the second charge. He said the prosecutor was the land- lord of the Castle Hotel, Coventry, and during last autumn the prisoner visited there, and represented that be had assets in the bank. He presented a cheque for £10 on the 2nd of October, and Mr. Florence was induced to cash what he afterwards found out to be useless paper. It would be shown that the accused had only had two sums in the bank, and that these were lodged in the month of May, and remained only for a period of six- teen days. The prosecutor was called, and he gave evidence bearing out his counsel's statement. Mr. Harris, on behalf of the prisoner, said it would beuse- less to maintain the plea of not guilty and therefore withdrew it before other evidence was proceeded with, only asking for what mercy his Lordship could mete out. He proposed to call the woman whom prisoner married, and she would tell the court that their mar- riage had been quite a romantic one, and that she had had some intimation that the accused had been previously married before she married him. dhe would further say that they had lived very happily together for a length of time. Martha Ellen Evered, the young woman whom the prisoner had illegally married, was then called, but declined to give evidence.-His Lordship said that for the bigamy he should send the prisoner to penal ser- vitude for five years. With respect to the other charge, frisoner had been several times previously conTicted. n September, 1874, he was sent to gaol for three months for embezzlement. In 1873 he was sentenced to fifteen months' imprisonment, with seven years' polioe supervision, and since then he had been twice convicted for not reporting himself to the police. The sentence of the court now was that he should on this charge undergo seven years' penal servitude, to com- mence at the expiratiop of the sentence for bigamy, making 12 years in all, to be followed by seven years' police supervision. On hearing the sentence Miss Evered swooned.

THE FIJI CANNIBALS.—Intelligence from Fiji states that most of the Kaikolos prisoners (cannibals) who were working on the roads at Sava, have escaped. While going on with their work in the usual manner, they all, some thirty in number, at a signal, made a rush off together. The native guard fired upon them, and several were killed, two or three retaken, and the others effected their escape to the mountains. DEATH IN THE MILK-PAIL. In the course of last week a sudden outbreak of typhoid fever occurred in the town of Motherwell; within a very small area twelve cases appeared nearly simultaneously. In- quiries made by the sanitary inspector showed that a woman suffering from fever was lying in a back room in a milk-dealer's shop in the street where the cases occurred, and that nearly all the families affected have got their milk from this shop.-British Medical Journal. MURDEROUS ASSAULT. At Mundford (Norfolk) Petty Sessions, last week, Robert Shaw and Henry Lockwood, labourers, were charged with murderously assaulting William Rayner, landlord of the Bell Inn, Croxton, his wife, and son on Saturday night week. Toe prosecutor lives in a secluded part of the village. On the Saturday the prisoners were drinking at his house. At 10 o'clock, after the house had been cleared, the prisoners requested Rayner to draw them some more beer, and on his refusing to do so attacked him about the head and body with an oaken bar, about 31ft. long, and weighing over 41b. He bled profusely, and it was doubtful whether he could survive the blows. Rayner s son came to his father's assistance, and Mrs. Rayner endeavoured to attract attention by shrieking out Murder; upon which they were seized and likewise maltreated. The pri- soners ran out, leaving Mr and Mrs. Rayner and their son upon the floor in an utterly unconscious state. The son was the first to recover from his unconscious- ness, and he then perceived his father and mother lying apparently dead upon the floor. The magis- trates committed the prisoners for

A LADY GORED BY A BULL. On March 22, a more than ordinarily large show of cattle took place at the fortnightly fair at Wrexham, and amongst the beasts disposed of was a bullock be- longing to a Gresford farmer. The animal was being driven about noon along the beast market, and when it got to the junction of the Holt road with Charles street, It was infuriated by a dog. The bullock made a fieroe rush at Mrs. Parry, who resides in the Holt road, goring her severely, her abdomen being torn open and her bowels protruding. The man who was driving the beast was also knocked down and severely lacerated, whilst some half dozen or more pedestrians received slight soars and bruises in consequence of the animal's violence. Mrs. Parry died in the course of a few hours.

HOW CHILDREN ARE POISONED. At the Mansfield (Notts) Police Court, last week, Henry Slack, described as a shopkeeper and pig-dealer, was summoned for having unlawfully sold a certain drug, viz., laudanum, without labelling it with the word "poison," and placing his name on the label. Defendant keeps an ordinary shop at Sutton-in-Ashfield. It seems that, on the 13th February, a woman named Bilton sent a boy to Slack's for some cordial" for her child. The boy was served by the defendant's daughter. The cordial" was given to Biltong child, and caused Its death. At the inquest on the body, it turned out that the "cordial" was laudanum, and the coroner ordered the defendant to be prosecuted. When de- fendant's premises were searched, a bottle of moderate size, containing laudanum, was found exposed in the shop window.-The defence was that Slack only sold laudanum to be used externally, and the sale in question was a mistake on his daughter's part.—The Bench inflicted a penalty of £ 3 and costs.

DEAN STANLEY AT D ARLINGTON. Dean Stanley was present, last week, at Darlington at the celebration of the first anniversary of the opening of a training college for schoolmistresses, in conueetiou with the British and Foreign School Society, of which he is one of the vice-presidents. In the evening he delivered an address to a crowded audience in the Central Hall. In a short address in the afternoon lie alluded to the interest which had been taken by his father. Bishop Stanley, in the society when it required courage in a bishop who was, however, one of the most courageousof men. Now there was no difficulty, as the principles of the British and Foreign School* had been substantially adopted by the Legis- lature. In the evening address, the Dean spoke at some length, and lemarked that the Society for British and Foreign Schools rested on the assumption that there was such a thing as a Christianity common to all the churohes of Christen- dom; that there were common elemeuts in our faith which might be found, if not in the actual practice and doctrines of the several churches, at any rate in the original documents to which they all appealed. Tae distinguishing characteristics of.theeociety were that it acknowledged in a most emphatic manner the possi- bility of such a common and neutral ground. It had often been said in answer that such a common Chris- tianity, if it existed at all, munt be so shadowy, vague. misty, and residuary as not to be worth thinking of. This question, which he proposed toendeavourto answer, was a subject which not only Jay at the root of this society, but was also at the root of some of the most perplexing questions of our time. There was an identification between religion and morality, aud an identification of things secular with things sacred. The acceptance of the fundamental principles of Christianity did not conflict with any of the doctrines of the several churches to which they belonged. It was reserved for Christianity to set forth more than all other religions what Charles Kingsley had said, that the whole world was God's world and not the devil's. (Applause.) I

WILLS AND BEQUESTS. The will of Mr. William Matthew Coulthurst, late of 59, Strand, has been recently proved, the personal estate being sworn under £ 600,000.—The will, dated January 26, 1874, of Peter Wood, M.D., late of Woodbank, Southport, Lancashire, who died on the 15th ult., was proved in London on the 14th instant by James Wood and Peter Frederic Wood, the sons, and William Norris Heald, the executors, the personal estate being sworn under £ 400,000. The testator be- queaths to his executors £ 200 each to ReubenHutchin- son 1100, and Martha Greenwood £;,0, if respectively in his service at the time of his decease to his wife, Mrs. Agnes Wood, all his wines, liquors, watches, jewels, horses and carriages absolutely, and £:)000 per annum and his residence, Woodbank, with the furniture and effects, for life. There are some specified gifts to his sons, and the rest of his pro- perty he leaves to all his children.—Mrs. Helen Blake, late of 4, Earl's Terrace, Kensington, having died on September 23 last, intestate, a widow, without child, or parent, brother or sister, uncle or aunt, nephew or neice, cousin german, or any other known relation, letters of administration of her personal estate and effects were granted on the 14th inst. to the Solicitor of the Treasury for the use of her Majesty, the personalty, including leaseholds, being sworn under £ 140,000. This will not, of course, prevent any persons who can prove that they are the next of kin of the deceased recovering bick the property from the Crown.—The will of Mr. Arthur Leyland Birley, late of Milbanke, Kirkham. Lancashire, who died on December 31 lasf, was proved on the 14th ult. at the Lancaster District Registry, by Hutton Birle) and Charles Addison Birley, the nephews, the acting executors, the personal estate being sworn under £ 120,000. The testator bequeaths to his wife, Mrs. Jane Birley, all his wines, liquors, and consumable stores, horses, live and dead stock, and for life or widowhood, his dwelling-house, Milbanke, with the furniture and effects, and the income of £ 35,000, and in the event of her marrying again she is to have an annuity of £ 400; upon trust for his daughter, Miss -Edith Jane Birley, £25,000, and a further sum of £15,000 on the death of her mother; the remainder of his property, real and personal, he gives to his son, John Leyland Birley.—The will of Mr. William Ant- cliff, late of No. 12, Newnbam street, Goodman's Fields, was proved on the 12th ult. by Mrs. Catherine Antcliff, the widow, Willian Ander- son Banks, and John Hobson, the executors, the personal estate being sworn unaer £ 40,000.— The will of Miss Anna Maria Usborne, late of Bit- terne, Southampton, was proved on the 9th inst. bv the Rev. Henry Usborne, the brother, the sole execu- tor, the personal estate being sworn under £ 25,000. Among other legacies, the testatrix bequeaths £3000 JSew Three per Cent. Stock to the Church Missionary Society S2000 of the same stock to the London City Mission X1000 of the same stock each to the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Female Domestic Bible Mission, and the Society for Promoting Female Edu- cation in the East; £500 each of the same stock to the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, the Religious Tract Society, Sarah Tucker s Training Institution and for the establishment of town and vil- lage schools, the Colonial and Continental Society, the Irish Society, the London Missionary Society for Madagascar at the disposal of Mr. Pool, the Cheltenham Training College, the Home and Colonial School Society, and the Clergy Orphan Female School, St. John's Wood to the London College of Divinity, St. John's, Highbury, £ 700; to the Pastoral Aid Society and the South Hants Infirmary, £ 300 each to the Orphanage at Jerusalem and other schools con- nected with the bishop's diocese and the Moravian Mission, £ 200 each; and to the Wanderers' Home, Palestine place, London, £ 100.—The will, dated March 26, 1874, of Mrs. Harriet Diokson, late of No. 26, Portmnn square, who died on December 27 last, was proved on the 10th ult., by the Right Hon. Hugh M'Calmont, Baron Cairns, and Samuel Stephen Bate- Bon, the nephews of the deceased, the executors, the personal estate being sworn under £ 30,000. The will. dated July 1, 1876, of Sir John William Kaye, late of Forest hill, who died on July 24 last, was proved on the 9th instant, by William Stewart, under £ 1500.— Illustrated London News,

An English tourist asked the brother of Carnova, the sculptor, after the great artist's death, if he "in- tended to carry on the business." J Mr. Thomas M'Clure declares that the "Working Men's Protestant League will never leave St. James's Church, Hatcham, until a service of a truly Protestant nature is established." The remains of Signor Alberto Keller, who left a large sum to found a temple of cremation in Milan, have been solemnly burnt there, the rite being wit- nessed by a large number of persons and the Italian Minister of the Interior has nominated a committee of experts to report on the subject of cremation. A VALUABLE CLOAK.—A good deal of interest was displayed a few days ago, at Messrs. Debenbam, Storr, and Sons' auction mart, in Covent garden, London, during the sale of the wardrobe and jewels of a well- known and distinguished foreign lady of title, especially when lot 65 was reached. It was described as a matchless Russian sable cloak, composed of skins of the very finest quality, the skins having been selected with great care, and at enormous cost, for a Royal personage. The first offer was 100 guineas, and after a prolonged competition from many bidders, the oloak was lold for 460 guineas.

THE FXPLOSIVFS ACT. (From the Baity Neivs.) Mr. M Lagan has placed on the paper a question which, in a somewhat cautious manner, is designed to draw attention to the manifest failure of the Explo- sives Act. This piece of legislation was accomplished two years ago, and was the outcome of much laborious inquiry and considerable mental exercise on the part of the Home Office officials, and of such members of Parliament as could be induced to take an interest In the subject. On the IGth of May, 1872, Major Majendie, at the request of the Home Secretary, drew up a report showing the necessity for amendment of the law relating to gunpowder and other explosives, with suggestions for a now Act. Early in the session of 1874 a select com- mittee was appointed to inquire into the state of the law, and in June of the same year it presented its Report, and on that Report was founded the Explo- sives Act, 1875, The Act has now been in operation for fifteen months, and has through an initial mistake chiefly succeeded in bringing about a dead-lock in a hranoh of trade which, though small in itself, stands in important relations to the mining industry of the country. The Act omitted to provide a general code of byelaws for all harbours in the country, leaving to the authorities of the various ports the duty of inter- preting the clauses relating to the framing of byolawe. Rememberiog the bewilderment her Majesty's Judaes occasionally confess to when it falls to their lot to construe a clause in an Act of Par- liament, it is not to be marvelled at if harbour-masters throughout the country have amongst them instituted a collection of bye-laws which for variety and pictu- resqueness of detail is perhaps unequalled in any similar collection of literature. The railway authori- ties, naturally looking with disfavour upon explosives as an article of traffic, discourage their transmission inland, and mine-owners are driven, wherever practicable, to have their stock of explosives sup- plied by coasting vessels. But such, we are flS- surtd, iij tbe condition to which affairs have been brought that shippers do not know in what cir- cumstances they may supply explosives at a given port, and mine-owners are equally at sea as to the con- ditions under which they may obtain their supplies. This is an undesirable state of affairs with respect to the irade immediately concerned; but it becomes a question of some public interest when we find that the sale of explosives is annual! y increasing. Mine- owners must, have the malerial in order to conduct tbeir business, and if they cannot, get it openly, they must still have it. Thus it would appear that the Explosives Act, 1875, Is encouraging the very condition of affairs it was passed to check, and that by obstruct- ing the natural channel of the trade in explosives', the traffic is being carried on surreptitiously by passenger trains and other modes of conveyance.

MR. BUTT'S LAND BILL. (From the Times.) There is no disguising the practical meaning of such measure, and no attempt to do so was even made. It in effect annihilates anything that can be regarded as approaching to proprietary right on the part of the landlord. The landlord, according to the conception hitherto prevailing in this country, is him- self potentially in occupation of his own land. For convenience' sake he lets it to tenants under certain contracts and for a certain term of years. But on the expiration of that term he re-enters into full right of occupancy, and can, if he pleases, himself undertake the cultivation of the land. Similarly with respect to the amount of the rent. He is limited simply by what he can obtain for his land in the market; and if he can- not obtain what he himself considers a fair rent, he is similarly at liberty to refuse the offers Ullide him and ( to retain the land in his own occupation. The latter 11 power is as essential to any real proprietary right as the former. But both these rights—the right of occu- j pancy and the right of determining the price at which occupancy shall be based—would be absolutely de- ] stroyed by the bill. Putting as'de the reservation of royalties, the landlord would have no right whatever over the land, except that of receiving a rent-charge, and this charge would itself be fixed by a tribunal. So far as his receipts from the land areeon- cerned, he would be simply in the position of a mort- gagee. But he would be even worse off, for a mort- gagee can, if he pleases, foreclose and sell. Under the bill the landlord would have no such independence. He would be at the mercy of a court of arbhrators, and would be simply a burden on his own property. The re- versionary interests now existing would, consequently, be transferred at once from the landlord to the tenant; but even this result, justly as it was ins.isted on by Mr. Herbert, would be less conspicuous than the im- mediate transformation of the relative positions of landlord ar.d tenant. There were speakers in the House who did not hesitate to argue that this transformation was desirable in order to reoognise the principle of land tenancy historically prevalent, in Ireland. Even admitting this, it would be a strange argument that because these are the aboriginal ideas of the Irish people they should be stamped at the present day with the authority of law. We are asked, in fact, by this bill to take a distinct step backwards, and to do so at the cost of an unquesrionable injus- tice. The existing landlords have inherited, and many of them have bought, their property upon thesupposi- tion that tbeir hold over their lands would remain substantially what he has hitherto been. If it be as- sumed, for the purpose of argument, that the Irish idea of the occupancy of land is the best, it would still be an unheard-of injustice to enforce it at the cost of the whole existing generation of landlords bad and good alike. (From the Standard.) It Is divided into three parts, the first of which pro- poses to extend the Ulster custom to the whole of Ire- land the second remedies certain defects which ex- perience has brought to light in the Land Act of 1870; and the third confers perpetuity of tenure. Thus, the first two parts of the bill have for object the amendment of the Act of 1870 the third part would supplement that Act by legislation of a very sweeping nature. As regards the former object, there can be no doubt that sooner or later it will be attained. If the Ulster custom is good for one province it cannot be bad for the other three. And every one will admit that the intention of the Legislature should not be allowed to be defeated by mere defects of language. It has been ruled, for example, that if a tenant surrenders his holding to obtain a lease, he thereby forfeits I his right to compensation for improvements. It is certain that this was not the intention of Parlia- ment and it is obvious that the ruling must operate as a bar against leases, which it ought to be our en- deavour to encourage. The firBt two parts of Mr. Butt's bill, then, seem reasonable and expedient in themselves. The third part, however, stands on an entirely different footing. Mr. Butt has removed the most objectionable proposals contained in the bill of last year, and is willing to limit its operation to agri- cultural tenants. The principle of the measure, how- ever remains the same. The machinery it employs is somewhat roundabout and confusing, but in effect the proposal is, that when a landlord wishes to evict a tenant for other reasons than non-payment of rent, waste, or subdivision of his holding, the tenant may bring the case by summons before the land ses- eions of the distriot, where he may obtain what would virtually be a lease for twenty-one years, renewable for ever—or, at least, as long as he paid his rent, and at a rent determined by arbitration. The plan is unquestionably an ingenious one. It provides for periodical readjustments of the rent. So far it may be said to protect the landlord's interest. On the other hand, it absolutely stops evictions, while taking altogether out of the hands of the landlord the letting of his own land. In fact, it destroys, so far, all free- dom of contract, and entrusts to official machinery what ought to be done by bargaining between man and man. We have no wish to deny that there is still much discontent among Irish tenants respecting the arbitrary action of landlords in raising rent. That was admitted on both sides of the House—by Mr. Plunket as well as by Mr. Butt. Nor are we prepared to controvert the statements of Mr. S. O'Brien and Lord Oarlingford, referred to by Mr. Butt, that this raising of rent in very many cases amounts to a confiscation of the improvements effected by tenants. Undoubtedly, the legally recog- nised property of tenants is as well deserving of pro- tection as the property of landlords. But the proposal of Mr. Butt goes far beyond protection in effect, it would convert the landlord into the mere owner of a rent-charge, and deprive him of all interest in his estates. Even now one of the worst evils from which Ireland suffers is absenteeism. If this measure wereto be adopted, the landlords would have nothing to do in Ireland, and would cease to reside in it altogether. Another objection to the proposal is that it would confer on the persons who now happen to occupy land a very valuable property, without their doing anything to deserve it, and at the same time would lessen to an infinitesimal degree the chance of other persons ob- taining land. It would, in fact, benefit half a million of families at the expense of the rest of Ireland. SAGACITY IN A OAT.-In a Birmingham burglary case, heard at the Warwick assizes, the prosecutor de- posed that he was awoke by his cat patting his face, puss having discovered the burglars rummaging his bed room. At Cambridge Police-court, last week, Edward Thompson, a milkman, was fined X5 and costs for selling milk adulterated with 10 per cent. of water. Similar charges against other dairymen were pro- ceeded with. OHURCH LIVINGS.—At a meeting of the Diocesan Finance Association at Leicester, last week, a letter was read from Lord John Manners suggesting that the best mode of dealing with poor livings was by re-annexing tithes cut off before or since the Reform- ation. At a special meeting of the shareholders of the Southport Hotel Company, Limited, last week, it was decided to authorise the directors, to let or sell the hotel. The chairman said the losses upon the transac- tions of the past year were about £ 70u. Mr. Forsyth's Public Baths and Washhouses Bill proposes to amend the Act 9 and 10 Vict, c. 74, and to authorise the establishment of covered swimming baths, for admission to which sums not exceeding 2d., 4d., and- 8d. respectively for the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st classes may be charged. It is currently reported at Tayport that negotiations are now in progress between oneot the leading firms in the timber trade in Dundee and the North British Railway Company for the entire removal of their works from Dundee to Tayport. These negotiations are also understood to be considerably advanced. The board of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce decided, last week, to call a meeting of the members of the chamber, and of "all other friends of free trade," for the purpose of agitating in favour of free trade with France, the abolition of the Indian import duties on cotton goods, and to consider generally the question of international tariffs." The completion of the Temeraire, the armour- plated ship fitting at Chatham, will probably be de- layed for some time owing to an accident. Her rudder, weighing nearly 15 tons, was being shipped, when the rope holding it broke, and the rudder fell, n I and was broken in two. The rudder had taken about 18 months to make. The Rev. Canon Nevile, Rector of Fledborough, has been presented by the Bishop of Lincoln to the rec- tory of Stow, celebrated for its noble ancient Norman thurcb, and for its connection with St. Etheldreda, foundress of Ely cathedral in the seventh century, and with the history of St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, at the close of the twelfth century. Last week's London Gazette announces the appoint- ment of General Sir William Knollys to be one of her Majesty's Gentleman Ushers, to be Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. and to be Groom of the Stole to the Prince of Wales. The appointment of Sir Dighton Probyn to be Comptroller and Treasurer of the Prince of Wales's household is also gazetted. PRINCE LEOPOLD AS A POET.-A correspondent eays: —It is well known that Prince Leopold is a litufatewr of no mean order. It may not, perhaps, be so universally known that he is a poet too. This is so, however, and it is stated that a volume of his com- positions is now in the press, and will shortly be published. It is to be hoped that he is a better verse- maker than his brother-in-law—the Marquis of Lorne or he would be wise to keep out of print. CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD.—Two men, named Abbott and Hill, were tried at the Middlesex sessions, last week, for conspiring to defraud Messrs. Yates and Co. of, Bradford, Yorkshire, the employers of Abbott. The former prisoner obtained goods from his em- ployers upon false pretences, and gave them into the care of Hill, who kept a shop for him. Abbott had been acquitted upon the charge of embezzlement, but he was found guilty of conspiring, and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. Hill, who gave all the in- formation he could to the police, and who had been the dupe of Abbott, was ordered one month's imprison- ment. THE LATE EPIDEMIC OF TYPHOID IN PARIS.—The total number of death:- caused by typhoid fever, during the epidemic which prevailed in that city during the last six months, is 1645. Assuming an average mor- tality of 20 per cent., this would correspond to 8000 or 9000 cases, or one in every 200 inhabitants. M. Besnier, who has been studying the epidemic, states that typhoid fever attacks a much larger number of men than women, of boys than girls but the relative mortality of the disease being greater in women and girls, the ultimate result as regards the two sexes be- comes, as a matter of fact, equal.-British Medical Journal, ONE PURPOSE OF GENERAL IGNATIEFF'S VISIT TO LON- DON.—General Ignatieff has, since his visit to London, jus ified the statements made in anticipation of his coming thathis object was medical as well as diplomatic. He has placed himself under the care of Mr. Liebreich, of St. Thomas' Hospital, for the cure of a troublesome affection of the tear-ducts, together with astigmatism. Some foreign journals publish accounts which intimate that General Ignatieff's only interview with Mr. Lei- breich was at the Foreign Office. He has, however, placed himself subsequently under his treatment dur- ing his stay in London, and will probably return for the completion of the cure, which has been only par- tially effeoted.-British Medical Journal FORBIDDING THE BANNS,—In a certain parish church, on the north-eastern confines of Aberdeen- shire, there occurred a funny scene last Sunday. The precentor in wonted fashion had just intimated a purpose of marriage between Johnny and Nanny when up starts a buxom widow of some sixty summers, when, making tracks" for the pre- centor's desk, she tables her shilling, and enters her protest against Johnny's marriage. The good-na- tured precentor smiled blandly on the widow, bowed her from the desk, and pocketed the shilling and smiled again to the congregation generally, a good many of whom returned the smile. He then went on with his duties with all the decorum for which he is justly famed. Thereafter the worthy pastor preached a most excellent sermon, which would have done the widow's heart good to hear, only she bad gone out at the vestry door and did not retum.-Aberdeen Free Press. A CENTENARIAN.—Mrs. MarthaM'Fetridge, who was born on the 8th of June, 1776, died at her residence in Brewer street, Woolwich, on Sunday last, aged 100 years and nine months. She had been a widow 63 years, her husband having died a year before the battle of Waterloo. Several of her children survne her, their ages varying between 70 and 80 years, and she leaves many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. The old lady was presented some months back with a great-great-grandchild by one of her descendants, who is wife to Air. Richard Tuffield, at the Cape of Good Hope. Independent of the testimony offered by these facts, her age is authenticated by the register of her baptism. She enjoyed a fair amount of health and strength until within a few weeks of her death, and spent her hundredth birthday in high spirits amid a large circle of friends and relations. SUPPOSED DEATH FROM EATING COLOURED SWEETS.— A child has died at Penicuik, Scotland, under circum- stauces which suggest that it was poisoned by eating coloured sweets. Penicuik fair was held on the 16th inst,, and the child purchased from a stall a penny- worth of sweetmeat in the shape of a chest of drawers, highly coloured. She consumed the greater portion of the stuff, and the following morning was taken ill, complaining much of pains in her stomach and head. Nothing serious was then apprehended; but next day the symptoms became more urgent, and Dr. M'Rae was called in. The dector was inclmea, it, is sad. to believe ibat the child was suffering from some poison- ous matter, such as has sometimes been used for colour- ing sweets, and prescribed accordingly, but the patient gradually grew worse, and died the following day. The case will, no doubt, be further investigated. SILENT BURIAL.The 74th section of the Burial Acts Consolidation Bill proposed by the Government runs as follows:—"Where the relative or person taking upon himself the duty of providing for the burial of a deceased person shall by notice in writing to the minister whose duty it is to perform, when required, religious service in the churchyard in which such deceased person is entitled by law to be buried represent that the religious service or ceremony (if any) will be performed elsewhere, and request that the burial shall be permitted to take place in the churchyard without the performance therein of the burial service of the Church of England, the h-n-'al shall be per- mitted to take place therein at i,u« ordinary time without the performance of any religious service or of any other ceremony, and this section shall in all courts and proceedings be held to be a sufficient justification to the incumbent or minister for not performing any religious service. Notice under this section shall be given a convenient time (not being less than 24 hours) before the time of the burial. 'Churchyard'in this aectioo includes any consecrated burial ground." The Qrlea.s- TI flllen Ra:Iw-iy Company was de- clared bankrupt a few da} s ago. Mr. Irving, it is said, is about to appear in a new capacity, thouch still as an exponent of Shakespeare. The Scotsi/tan's London eorreepondenr is informed that he will contribute to the Nineto-hlh Century a seres of articles on Shakespearean characters, the first of which will appear in the April number. A bill has been introduced in the New York Legis- lature, now in se.-sion at Albany, for the appointment of a Sanitary Inspector of Schools," whose duty it shall be to protec'u the children attending the public schools from the evils arising from bad sewerage and Insufficient ventilation. YorxG STOWAWAYS.—Four boys, the eldest of whom was barely sixteer, were charged at the Liverpool Police Court, last wp;&, with stowing themselves away on board the steamer Lard Clive. They were discovered about twelve hours atier the vessel's depar- ture from Liverpool, and were taken to Philadelphia; but the authorities there obliged the certain of the steamer to bring them back agHin to England. They were remanded for inquiries. AN UNWITTING ASSAULT.—An amusing incident in the debate on the Irish Land Bill arose from Mr. Newdegate, who committed an unwitting assault, upon an hon. member. While he was in 1be act of speaking In his characteristic manner— gesticulating and wildly flourishing his fist-tbe hon. member passed before .him and received a hearty thud upon the shoulder, to his own amazement and the amusement of the whole House. The solemn and emphatic eloquence of the member for North Warwickshire was brought to a sudden halt as be whisp rr an ■'mendr honw abl% which was, however, heard o«er the whole House.— Leeds Mercury. EXTRAORDINARY STORY.—A London correspondent writes:—A remarkable story is afloat in London to the effect that, the German Emperor, win. hasiust celebrated his ei^htifih birthday, intends shortly to abdicate in favour of the Crown Prince, Prince Frede- rick William, the husband of our Queen's eldest daughter. I can find no toufirmation cf the report in anything that is known at the Foreign Office and at the German Embassy; and Teuton* in London treat it as a canard, which has not even the authority of probability for its existence. There is no doubt, however, that the time has come when Kaiser William would be very glad to lay aside the cares and responsibilities of State, that he might spend his few remaining years in peace and quietness. FR.MALT; CLERKS IN THE TELEGHAPH DEPARTMENT. -The Manchester Examiner's London correspondent writss :—1 mentioned some time ago a report to the effect, that the authorities at the Post Office had re- solved to abandon to a larze extent the employment of young women in the telegraph department. The matter was brought under the notice of Mr. Jacob Bright. M.P., who has just had an interview with Lord John Manners on the subject. THE Postmaster- General explained that the on!y change that was being made related to the Central Cilice in London, where it was considered desirable to relieve tbe young women from night-work, by drafting in male assistants for that duty. There wil! s'111 be over jl:U young women employed at the Central Ofiice. The postal authorities, Mr. Bright was assured, had a high appre- ciation of the services of the women employed, and now a large portion of the work in the savings bank and other departments was being done by female clerks. A BIRMINGHAM JUROR'S QuALiriCATJOX.s.—A SOme- what amusing incident occurred, a few days ago, at an inquest held by Mr. Hawkes, at Birming- ham. Before tbe commencement of the usual for- malities, one of the gentlemen who had been sum- moned to decide on the important question of how one of the Queen's subjects had met with her death stood forward and, with native modesty, ingenuously declared that he was not a fit and proper person to contribute to the collective wisdom of which a iury is composed. He was proceeding to urge that the proper qualifications for such an arduous undertaking were the faculties or hearing and seeing and the possession of intellect, when he was cut short by the Coroner, who, with a merry twinkle of the eye, and with evi- dent referenct1 to the,third part of The argument, quickly remarked, "Ah, then, in that case. sir, I shall have to dispense with your services." The objector was taken aback by this unexpected retort cour eous," and it was not until he was again dismissed that he retired a sadder and a wiser man. PROFESSOR LISTER,—We (British Medical Journal) understand that the arrangements which have, during the last three weeks, been in course at King's College Hospital, to induce Mr. Lister of Edinburgh to accept the office of Surgeon and Lecturer on Clinical Sur- gery at that institution, have so far progressed, that it is now considered certain that the Council of the College will bA able to modify the invitation which they have already addressed to Mr. Lister in a manner to meet the views which he has expressed on the subject. Mr. Lister's expressed reluctance to accept the invitation to King's College was based, not only upon his attachment to ihegveat school in which he holds so distinguished a place, but upon the strength of his conviction of the importance of carrying out clinical surgical teaching in a particular manner and with great completeness. Under the proposed arrange- m-nts, these clinical and scientific facilities will be afforded to him. and his duties will be strictly those of practical surgery in the wards and clinical teaching. It is understood that Mr. Wood, who has for many years proved himself an able teacher of systematic surgery, will continue to give one half of that course, the rest of the course being allotted to Mr. Henry Smith. A PENITENT THIEF.-At the Birmingham Police Court, last week, Frederick Underwood, 20, watch- maker, was charged with embezzling various sums of money and stealing watches, the property of his masters, Messrs. J. and L. Mole, jewellers and watch- makers. Mr. Fitter prosecuted, and said it was only intended to take evidence against the prisoner for stealing a lady's Geneva watch, as that would be suf- ficient for the purpose.—Mr. J. G. Barber, the manager to Messrs. Mole, deposed that he had missed from the stock a lady's Geneva watch about seven months ago. The prisoner absconded, but, went to a clergyman's house at Old Hill. and confessed that he had been robbing his employers. At the prisoner's request the clergyman came to Birmineham and told witness that the prisoner was staying with him. Wit- ness went to Old Hill and saw the prisoner, who bad been to the Church and Sunday school. He admitted the thefts at various times to witness, and said he wsø lOrry for what he had done. Prisoner was given into the custody of Detective Heldon, and when appre- hended he told the officer that he had hid a purse con- taining pawn tickets in the chimney of the house where he was living. Heldon went and found a purse in the chimney containing 22 pawn tickets of watches he had pawned.—Mr. Kynnersley asked the prisoner what be had done with the money, and he replied that he had squandered it. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. COPPERED PEAS.-It is satisfactory to find that the poisoning of peas and other green vegetables, used as articles of food, has been made the subject of a formal report by M. Pasteur. The Council of Hvgiene and Health have remitted the investigation to this eminent French chemist. He was required to state, irre- spectively of all trade views or commercial profits, whether these substance were or were not coloured with any compound injurious to health. He examined fourteen tins of preserved peas, purchased indis- criminately 0f dealers in the best quarters of Paris, and he found in ten of them copper, in some instances in considerable proportion. The so'e obiect of this 1 adulteration was to give to the preserved the green tint of natural. p»as. It seems that peas induing always acquire a yellowl,ri tint, which renders them unsale- able. The addh ion of copper-salts, or the usp of copper-vessels h: preserving them, removes this com- mercial defect, aur), according to somo evidence which we have heard leo^ntl v in England, it gtvM to the peas tonic and other medicinal properties beneficial to those who eat them M. Pasteur found the copper deposited, in an insoluble form, in the solid tissue of the peas, below the external coat. In some of the tine the copper amounted to about the thousandth part of the entire weight of the food. The liquid in which they were 'uxmerged also contained oopper, but in smaller proportion. M. Pasteur states tha4- green French beans, asparagus, and antlchoke*—in fact, all green provisions used as food out of season, i.e., during the winter--owe their attractive preen colour to the same mineral. From these re««»rches. M. Pasteur demands from the legislative authorities an entire remcdelline of the penal laws in reference to the poisoning of the public with articles of food. He complains that the members of the French Chambers are at present so busily occupied in discussing trivial questions that they have no d'he to pass a law to pre- vent the Parisians from beiiig fed upon verdigris. British Medical Journal,