Monmouthshire Merlin

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH OPENING- AN AQUARIUM. On Saturday the Royal Aquarium and Summer and Winter Gardens, at Westminster, was opened by the Duke of Edmburgh. In his reply to the addre s, his Royal Highness characte: ised such agencies as well adapted to exercise a beneficial influence in refining and cultivating public taste, and to stimulate a love of natural history and the acquirement of scientific know- ledge.

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT BY THE QUEEN. Mr. Disraeli has issued his address, asking his sup- pos ters to meet him on the 8th February at West- minster, when important business will be discussed. A Windsor correspondent writes: Her Majesty will, It is expected, leave Osborne on Monday, the 7th of February, and proceed to Buckingham Palace, foi the purpose 01 opening Parliament in person on the following aa_y- I he Queen will, it is understood, after the cevetflomai, leave London on the Wednesday, fox Windsor Castle.

NEWCASTLE UO-OPERATIVE ENGINE WORKS COMPANY. A meeting of the shareholders of the Ousebun ngine Works Company was held at New- castle oU a urilay to consider its present position and future prospects. Mr. Allan, of the Manchester Whole- sale Co-operative Society, presided, and there was a lai*ge D?D rePre8entatives of co-operative socie- ties io iancashire aud Yorkshire present. Mr. Nuttall, one of the omclai liquidators, explained the position i said the liabilities amounted to he plant in the works at Newcastle was taken »t ±6l,io9 the plant at Deptford yard, London, at £ 11'- a there was also a certain amount due to the company as del.it ■; and for work in progress. Alt°ge r 16. assets were £ 85,000, which showed A bftlance agaiii.st the company of £ 41 ,<>00, and that "bsorb the share capital sub- scribed ar,d £ 6000 more. He thought that the works, it well managed, might be made to pay, and urged the shareholders to agree to subscribe one-fifth more capita by which means there was a chance not only of maliiiig a Profit in the future, but also of recover- ing the lost capital. He was sure that if the share- holders subsciibea one-fifth more capital the debenture holders would not only allow their money to remain in the company, but would be willing to give aid in the shape of more money. After a long discussion, it was unanimously resolved That with the view to the re- construction of the company the shareholders pre- sent recommend each and every shareholder to subscribe one-'11Cjre capital to be subscribed pro rata with their present holding." The following committee was appointed Messrs. Spottiswood (Bley- don), Allan (Halifax), Carse (Chester-le-Street), Nixon (Newcastle), Curi-ie (representing the workmen and in- dividual shareholders), and Wood (Heckmondwike). -At a meeting of the debenture shareholders and ere- ditors held afterwards, it was resolved :—" That with a view to the reconstruction of the company, we recom- mend the trade creditors and debenture bondholders to leave their loans and debts respectively in the company, provided the shareholders subscribe one-fifth more share capital, and that new legally drawn debenture bonds be issued both to debenture bondholders and cre- ditors as security." Among the committee appointed j ■were representatives of the Hull creditors and of the Manchester, Halifax, and Bradford Co-operative Societies. Societies.

THE FAILURE OF THE CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT BANK. On the 21st of January Richard Banner Oakley, proprietor of the Co-operative Credit Bank, was arrestad on a warrant on a charge of fraud. Later in the day he was brought before the Lord Mayor and Sir Robert Carden, and the particulars of the charge were stated by Mr. St. John Wontner, solicitor, who con- ducted the prosecution. In opening the case Mr.Wont- ner said he had to appear that day to prefer a most 8elious charge against the prisoner, Mr. Oakley— namely, that of having obtained by false pretences a sum of £ 270 from Mr. I ioratio Nelson Snelgrove, of Exeter, and certain shares in a building society of the value of J6700from an unfortunate lady living in Wales. The defendant was the Manager and proprietor of an undertaking which had of late attained an unenviable notoriety in the city, styled the Co-operative Credit Bank. That concern was started 1874 on novel principles, without capital, and with a Promise and guarantee by the defendant, as sole proprie- tor, to pay 18 per cent, interest on all money deposited ln his hands. The bank was largely advertised, and pro- spectuses were distributed broadcast. Down to this time there should have been in the bank a sum of £40,000 deposited by the public, but it would be proved that late as the 15th inst., when an execution was put into the bank premises, the total amount found there In the coffers was lis. lid- The clerks could not be a'ld the whole concern was utterly rotten. In +W6? a laming by Mr. Hudswell, the accountant, ™ cari'y on business under those circumstances cerXi ldisho"est, the defendant pemsted in receiving which Riding shares worth £ 700, upon realising and tn managed to pay out the execution Hon to «»e clerks their wages In addi- on to that, jyjr gnelerove, one of the trus- tees, had been defrauded of £ 270. The matter was getting so Very 8ee^dethat to prevent any further andi?woiMblic the*e proceedings had been taken, 113 g » ,d>irUld'he believed, be shown that every farthing m »™P°81t8' counting in all to £ 40,000, had been th^nrisonJr *ith' further evidence was given, and the prisoner was remanded without bail- ,e London Court of iwvmntrv, on Saturday Mr. Baker (of the firm 0f Laurance and Co.) applied to Mr. Registrar Spring-Rice for the appointment of a receiver under a petition for adiudication presented against Eichd. Banner Oakley who is now under remand on a charge of fraud. Mr. Baker read an affidavit m sup- port of the application, setting forth that Mr. Oakley was the manager and proprietor of the Co-operative Credit Bank, which had been largely advertised, and in con- nection with which about sixty branches or agencies had invif^l + !i8 d-ln the Pr°vinces. The public had been inSeft aSnTt14 m°ney8 with the bank at 18 Pe''cer^- terest, and it was of the utmn«f importance that a receiver should be at once appJnted Mr. Oakley was also piopnetor of the Co-operative and Financial Review, in which articles had appeared setting forth the advan- tages of the Co-operative Credit Bank The premises in Queen Victoria street wer,- closed, and it necessary the property should be protected without delay. His Honour thought The case was of ,0 much urgency that a receiver should be at once appointed, and granted the application.

r HORRIBLE DISCOVERY. On the 2.1st inst., at eight o'clock, the attention of Police-constable Leach, 81 A, was called, by a man named William Angliss, of the barque Caroline, of -Uattersea, to the dead body of a woman, which he said he had found in the Thames, near the embank- I'lellt, in course of erection at Abingdon street, West- minster. The body, whieh was still in the water, was, with assistance, taken out by the constable, was conveyed to St. Margaret's dead-house. r- Langton, of Broadway, in the absence of ^■be divisional surgeon, was called, and his opinion ^&s that the injuries on the body, and especially On the head, must have been inflicted during life, and that the body had been in the water abour, six hours. This would lead naturally to the inference t.at a terrible murder had been committed during the night, and the surmise appeared the more reasonable from the fact that the skull is cloven down the middle of the forehead far into the face, the wound, indeed, <\]^h1 £ r t he nose and reaching nearly to the upper lip Other injuries are the fractures of both legs and of °ne arm, just above the wrist. The age of be woman seems to have been about sixty her "eight r.ft. Jin • complexion fair, with light brown *r> turning erev and inclined to curl, and with P^yish eyeg. The dress is black alpaca, a jacket and denn.ra'W poor in quality, but not so meagre as to cShfc a Cfmdition of poverty or want. The under- clothing, 0n the i gugicient even for weather than now prevails The deceased had ?u ,k bonnet; and there was one side-spring .boot [J.n j?4, f°ot. On one of her fingers, that on which the wedding ring is won) waS an old ring of brass or some cheap material which ini?bt once hare imitated gold. There has been no arrest in connection with the affair; but inquiries are being made by the police. Greatly disfigured Its are the features, it is yet possible that photon-achy llravassist in identification of these remains; and on such aid. indeed, reliance must chiefly be placed, as there are no marks on the clothing,

be"^16 Engineers have, for some months past, L^V^gaged in making surveys of the country around taken0*1' Witl1 a vit;w t0 so,ne Iuore definite steps being the,defence af. the metroiiolis.

THE LEAREH OF THE WOMEN'S Will SKY WAR IN LONDON. Mother Stewart, the leader of the ">"onien Whisky War in Amerisa, delivered an address at Islington, Ijondon, on Monday- the first in this country. The room was crowded, and the audience listened atteu- tively, and frequently applauded the speaker.

THE FUGITIVE SLAVE CIRCULAR. MEETING AT LEICESTER. A correspondent writes: — A town's meeting, pre- sided over by the Mayor (Mr. William Barfoot), was held in the Town Hall, Leicester, on Monday, in reference to the slave circular. On the motion of Mr. E. S. Ellis, chairman of the Midland Railway Company, it was resolved That the Admiralty instructions to naval officers respecting fugitive slaves are at variance with the traditions most cherished by the convictions of the English people." A memorial on the subject was also adopted to the Premier, demanding that the question be brought before Parliament at an early date, so as to maintain inviolable the right of refuge on every British ship.

IRONWORKERS' WAGES. THE ARBITRATORS' AWAHD SUPPORTED. The puddlers employed at Palmers Ironworks at Jarrow-on-Tyne have held meetings and discussed the subject appertaining to the proposed reduction in wages in the iron trade, and on Monday they agreed unani- mously to accept a reduction of 71 per cent. on theii rate of wages, according to the award of the arbitra- tors. The decision which the. men have come to has been received with great satisfaction by the tradesmen and inhabitants generally of Jarrow. A meeting of the Standing Committee of the Board of Arbitration was held at Darlington on Monday, when a minute was passed statiag that the men had acted wrongly in ceasing work at some of the Northern Iron- works. They should ha^e appealed to the board if they had any ground for dissatisfaction. The committee strongly recommended that work be immediately resumed. A meeting of ironworkers was held in Middlesbro' on Monday, when a resolution was passed expressing great dissatisfaction that in the recent arbitration an umpire was not called in, and pledging those present at the meeting to work under protest until all umpire was appointed, and that the question be decided within fourteen dnys.

KICKING A Wife TO Death.—AtDublin,onMonday,a dairyman, named Egan, was remanded on a charge of killing, his wife by kicking. The SHOOTING Cask IN Birmingham.—A correspon- dent informs us that Alfred Parke, "bookmaker," of Birmingham, who was recently shot in Stephenson place Birmingham, by George Underhill, gentleman, of the' Hollies, Avenue road, King's Heath, near that town, on the 13th inst., died on Saturday morning at the Queen's Hospital. The circumstances under which the man was shot have been previously detailed. Conservatism in THE Black Country.—On Monday the Earl of Dartmouth opened a Conservative Club at West Bromwich. The third annual dinner of the Con- servative Association afterwards took place, at which his lordship presided. Mr. J. C. Stubbs, a Noncon- formist, was one of the speakers, lie repelled the sup- position that the Nonconformists, as a body, were the advocates of the Burials Bill, and asserted that it was only a few of the body, and they the very extreme minded or Liberationism, who advocated the measure.

THE PRINCESS OF V/ALJ-Y. A Copenhagen correspondent, wiit-iojy last iveek, says --I have reason to brieve that 'he sta>rne nt vhirh has been published that her Royal H.ib'i>ut-.ss ihe .Princess of Wales will be present at the opening of Parliament is •at least premature. Before the departure of the cess from England such an arrangement was, no douot, contemplated, but up to the present date nothing is de- cided, and the departure of the Princess and the Royal children, who are enjoying perfect health, is still un- decided. Jt must, in nny case, depend upu" the weather and the consequent means of communication with the Continent, which at present are very tedious and uncertain.

THE SLAVE CIRCULAR. THE GOVERNMENT CALLED UPON TO RESIGN. A large town's meeting was held last week in the Town Hall, Leeds, under the presidency of the Mayor, who bad called the meeting in compliance with an influentially-signed requisition. Mr. R. M. Carter, the senior member for the borough, was present. Al- derman Barran moved the first resolution, which declared the new Admiialty instructions to naval officers respecting fugitive slaves to be at variance with the best traditions and the most cherislied convic- tions of the English people. Mr. George Thompson, the veteran anti-slavery advocate, seconded tjJ" resolution, and after it had been supported by Mr. Carter, M.P., and Mr. Thomas Harvey, it was carried unanimously. A memorial to the Government embodying the resolution was adopted. Another resolution was to the effect that the present Government by having issued two slave circulars had violated the national conscience and national honour, and had proved thtmaelves incompe- tent to manage the affairs of the nation and it was the opinion of the meeting that Mr. Disraeli should at once place his resignation in the hands of- her Majesty. There were only four dissentients.

SUSPECTED MURDER IN LONDON. On the 21 st facts came to the knowledge of the London police which point to tlie commission of a murder in or near tho Thames, during the previous night. It appears that on that morning Police-sergeant Leach hid his attention called by William Angliss, of the barque Caro- line, owned by Mr. Miller, of Battersea, to the body of a woman which he stated was found in the water near the embankment now being erected near the end of Abingdon street, Vv estminster. The body was gut out of the river, and seen bv Dr. Langstone, of the Broadway. He stated that the skull and both legs were fractured, and that the injuries were caused before ti e j death of the deceased. The body had apparently been in the water for about six hours The following is a de- scription :—Height 5 feet 1 inch, complexion fair, hair light brown (turning grey), eyes grey, nge about sixty. The deceased had on dress (black alpaca), jacket, skirt and pannier, two petticoats (one of bl own stuff, and the other of llannel), cotton chemise, white cotton stock- ings, black bonnet. On the lei t foot was a sidesprinjr boot. A brass ring (worn) was on the third finger of the left hanu. The police are making full inquiry ir.to the occurrence.

SERIOUS EXPLOSION IN A LEICESTER WAREHOUSE. On the 21st a serious explosion occurred in the ware- house of Messrs. Padmore, hosiery manufacturers, Leicester, inflicting- severe personal injuries and causing considerable damage to property. A man named Porter Spencer, between .Ml and 00 years old, and a youth"named Charles Bentley were engaged at a large iron press, liea'ed by sieam. pressing or finishing, when the lower bed of the pre.-v, 1-om which Bentley noticed steam to be escaping shortly before, burst with a loud explosion. The under jvaie of the bed was com- pletely blown out and shattered into fragments, and hurled about the room, a portion connected with a staircase leading to an upper room blown down, aud a number of windows in the building smashed. Spencer wasfcnrfnDy scalded, and was, removed to tile ill- Urinary, where he lies in a precarious state, being, it is feared, also hurt by large pieces of iruii; but the boy Bentley and the stoker, who were only a few yards oil at the time of the explosion, singularly escaped unhurt.

THE FATAL SHIPPING ACCIDENT ON THE HUMBER. An inquest touching the death of Rosina Henrietta York, aged a year and eight months, one of the four persons drowned by the wreck of the barque Cora Linn, in the 11 umber, was held at the Town Hall, Hull, last week, before Mr. Coroner Thorny, Tr will be re- membered that on Thursday, the 1.1th inst, the Cora Linn, of Shorcham, Captain York, from New Zenland for Goole, with wheat, was being rowed up the Huw- b>-r, when she touched the Old Warp Sand and cap- sized, the master's wife and two children and an apprentice, named Swann. being drowned. The inquiry lasted six hours, the evidence turning upon the point whether or not there was a fog, ",hieh prevented the pilot noticing one of the na\igating lights of the Hum- ber. To lie out of the course a few minutes would lead to the wreck of the vessel.—The jury found that the death of the deceased was due to accident, and cautioned the pilot and tup; masters to be more careful in future in navigating the Ilumber. They also recommended the placing of additional lights in the river.

THE RIGHT TO USE THE TITLE "REVEREND." Judgment was delivered last week, in the Judicial Committee of the l'rivy Couucil in the case of Keet Smith, involving the question of the right to use the title of "reverend." Their lordships ruled that in the case before them, the person using the title of "reverenû," having put the words Wesleyan minister:' after it, did not thereby claim to be a person in holy orders: and that there was not sufficient rea- son for refusing the erection of the tombstone with those words on it. A faculty would therefore issue for that purpose. It will be remem- bered that Mr. Keet, a Wesleyan minister, put up a tombstone in memory of his child in the churchyard of Owston Ferry, Lincolnshire, sneaking of himself as the Reverend Mr. Keet The vicar objected to the tombstone because of the use of this title, and Bishop Wordsworth and various legr.l au'horities supported him. The Wesleyan body, however, appealed with the e. The Times, commenting upon the victory of the Wesleynns as to the right, to use the title of Revei,eiid, rayr: It i, satisfactory to find that the Jaw is thus consonant with the most obvious common sense; but the case has an interest, as we have sug- gested, apart from the particular jKntit raised. It is a characteristic, thouch an extreme instance, of the temptation, to which some of the clergy yield, of investing the accidents of their position with all the sacredness and the prerogatives of a divine institution. We do not for a moment dispute the opinions they may hold as to claims to this cha- racter of their specially religious functions. But when a bishop talks of episcopacy being of divine institution, he unconsciously transfers the divine sanction to his title, his palace, his social position., and all his temporal prerogatives; and, similarly, when an in- cumhent maintains, as lie may think himself in duly bound, his claim to be the only true possessor of ministerial authority, he transfers the peculiar prero- gative thus implied to his title, his 'freehold,' and all the customary privileges of hia position, forgetting that the latter, at all events, are mere matters of social or legal prescription, and are liable to be withdrawn at any moment by the secular authority which bestowed them. This unconscious sublimation of temporal accidents is unconsciously at the root of much of the opposition to such measures as the Burials Bill. There is a great deal of wh it physiologists would call 4 re ilex action about such effervescences of eceie- siastical prejudice. The present case will not be with- out its use if it suggests to the clergy the wisdom of exercising some vigilance over this pardonable weak- ness. As long as they hold it in check and avoid standing jealously upon their strict rights, their claims will be interpreted with the utmost liberality. But if they attempt,to enforce by the strict letter of the law every privilege which the respect paid to their office has conferred upon them, they will find that there is a considerable difference between spiritual and legal pre- rogatives."

M. VICTOR HUGO AND THE PARIS COMMUNE. He attributes that outburst to a moan of despair over the surrender. Hut this" patriotic anguish "was curiously displayed by the assassination in cold blood of generals who had behaved well during the war; while instead of showing any desire to continue or renew the resistance, the first, act of the Communards was to open negotiations with the German generals, to assure them of their distinguished considera- tion, and their intention to respect the armistico signed by M. Jules Favro at Versailles. This was the kind of heroism in regard to which the Assembly should have entered IParis bareheaded. M. Hugo forgets that this Assem bly was chosen by universal suffrage at the only free general election that has ever taken place in France, and that i' had a stronger legal and moral claim on the obedience of the citizens than any French Parliament that ever sat. It was engaged in the work of repairing the ravages and healing the wounds of the civil war it had nominated as chief of the State a venerable statesman, a new con- vert to the Republican creed et against this body there broke out the rebellion of the Commune, utterly unpro- voked in its origin, marked from its birth by murders in cold blood, stained by the massacre of harmless old men, and dying in the flames it, destined for all tnat was beautiful in Paris. Victor Husro adjures his countrymen to forget this rebellion, and to amnesty the living leaders of the revolt. If France does, she,, deserves to see another and a more thorough insurrec- tion by the same band, or by the successors whom the discontents of her grent cities are sure to produce. The poet has also a word for Europe. He describes Franco as an elder sister, who, when struck, sparkles-under the blow." M. Hugo has been ex- ceptionally fortunate in his experience ot elder sisiers, who have exercised the-functions without displaying the temper of Luciter, ana WHO coiiltr such brilliant benefits in exchange for insult and wrong. n'11. apart from his comparison, we are glad to learn from hi!ti that France gives up all idea of warlike revenge. She has now but one thought-to make Eut,ole greater." We ought to be infinitely obliged. l^vrba; s we shall receive the lessons of this great initractress of the. world when we perceive that her capacity lor magnifi- cence has been fully proved at home. Our elder sister ought to keep a few of her sparkle? for her do- mestic hearth. and when plagued by Radicals, orBona- partists, or Legitimists, gently show them a lig.at.- London Telegraph, |

THE "WORKING MAN'S "POSITION." The working chisses very mu<;li under estimate them- selves. Though thoy receive salaries or ^a;vs beyond the average eannncs of professional men, ye* many of them have r.o other thought than that- of liviug in mean houses, and I lg t I I t-,ir SLII'Vif Li and money in drink. They seem wanting in inspect for themselves as well as for their class. They encourage the notion that there is something degrading in Jahuur, than which nothing can be more fa!s-\ Labour of all kinds is dignifying and honourable it is the idler, above all' others, who is undignified and dishonourable. "Let the working man,' says Mr. Sterling, "try to connect his daily task, however mean, with the highest thoughts he can apprehend, and he thereby secures the rightfulness of his lot, and is raising his existence to his utmost good. It is because the working man has failed to do t h iQ, and because others have failed to help him as they ought, thatthe lot of labour has hitherto been associated with what is mean and degrading." With respect to remuneration, the average of skilied mechanics and artisans, as we hive already said, are better paid than the average of working curite;. The working engineer is better paid than the ensign in a marching- regiment. The foreman in any of our large engineering establishments is better paid than an army surgeon. The rail-roller receives over a guinea a-day, while an assistant navy surgeon receives lourteen shil- lings, and after three year's service, (wenty-one shillings, with rations. The majority of Dissenting ministers are tnuch worse paid than too better class of skilled mechanics and artisans and the a\erage of clerks employed in count ing--hollsPs and ware- houses receive wa.res very much lower. Skilled workmen might- and, ii they had the w'li, they would—occupv :L social position as high as tte educated classes we refer to. VV hat prevents thorn rising? Merely because they will not their, leisure to cultivate their minds. They have sufficient money it is culture that they want. They ought to know that the position of men n ssici-Jy does not depend so much upon their earnings a- upon their character and intel- ligence. And it is bec.uae 1IJcy III gleet t j".ir abundant opportunities, because tl1l'Y are (iiriflless, and spend their earnings in anin.al enjoyment, because they refuse to cultivate the highest, parts of their nature, that they are exelllded, or rather self-excluded, from tLo.se social and other privileges in which they are entitled to take part. Nouvi-hstanding their high wages, they for the most part cling to the dress.fhelanguage, r.nd the manners (If their class. They appear, during their leisure hours, in filthy dresses, and unwashed hands. No matter how skilled fhe workmen may he, he is ready to sink his mind and character to the lowest level of his co- workers. }\V2n the extra money which he earns by his greater skill often contributes to demoralise and degrade him. And yet he migh! dress as well, live as well, and be surrounded by tho physical comforts and intellectual luxuries of professional men. Bu. no! From week to veek his earnings are wasted he does not save a farthing he is a public house i<:iiiu and when work becomes slack, and his body becomes diseased, his only refuge is tlie vorkhouoe.—/v. -Saiiic* Book on 44 Thrift." o-

lihe Archbishop of Cologne, who quilted his See secretly to escape judicial proceedings under the Falk Laws, and probably imprisonment, is in Holland. By a resolution passed the other day a' the meeting of the Portsmouth Town Council, it was dec.ticU to poll the borough on the question of the adoption of the Public Libraries Act. A etatf officer at the Aldershot camp has walked to London and back, a distance of 7:3 mile*, in -I hours and 1"0 minutes, including a stay in London of :!& hours. This feat was performed when the ground was covered with snow. The Lords of the Admiralty have appointed Mr. Moore, established leadinp man of shipwrights at Chatham Dockyard, to succeed Mr. Pynn as ior« man, the latter having been appointed to Hong- Kong Dock- yard, with a salary of £ 000 a year. The German Arctic Exploration Society, having its seat at Bremen, has resolved to recommend a Govern- ment expedition to the Arctic regions ab vo Siberia, and to the mouths c the rivers Om and Yenisei, and is at present engaged in framing a memorial to that effect. Great regret is expressed in the Cape papers at tho death of Professor Roderick Noble, of the South 'African College, for several yearsa prominent men.ber of the Cape press, who has died after a short illness. At his funeral the Premier, Mr. Molteno, and the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. D. Tennanf, were among the pall-bearers. About fifty unemployed workmen proceded to the Town Hall, Verviers, Belgium, a few days ago with a letter in which they asked for bread or money. The Municipal Council, which was s-ttmg at the time, re- ceivecl three of their number, and promised to inquire into their case. The workmen thereupon withdrew, and went to the meeting-place of the Internationale." There was no disturbance. In fhe Irish Court of Quest's Bench on the • th inst. Lord Chief Justice Whiteside spoke of the rciirement of Chief Justice Monahan, which his been recntly nu- nounced, and hire testimony to his strict and high- minded impartiality, and tee kindness of disposition which ever characterised him. No successor to the late Chief Justice has yet been appointed, but it is said Mr. Justice Morris will be chief of the court, and whether the puisne judge's place will be filled up at all remains uncertain. The LATE Riotlvg AT Monteosk,— On the lMih inst. the following notice was posted up in Messrs. Richards and Co.'s pr)wer-it),oiii factory, Montrose:—"With re- ference to the late disturbance which originated in lhi3 factory, we give notice that we shall put all bands connected with this factory on a week's warning from to-day. We shall consider the advisability of re- engaging those who may conduct themselves to our satisfaction in the meantime." About I hands, male and female, will be affected by this notice. A Pkotitai!LK Beast.—Mr. Jamracli has been uoing a good stroke of business. "W lien the Tour du Monde en 80 .Tours" was first, brought out at the Porte St. Martin, M. Larochelie, the manager of the theatre, npp'iecl to the great,wild beast clta!er for an elephant to figure on his boards. A small one was offered for £ 2-10. or ort hire at L"J a ni^ht. M. Larochelie de- clined to purchase, fearing that the olephant might be a "white" one 10 him when íbp play bad run its course, and agreed to pay the £ "J per diem, or rather per noctem. But he had better have bought the beast out- rigid, for the "Tour du Monde" has been played -100 nights: so that Mr. Jamrach has received for the hire of the elephant, and still has him to sell at about the same figure as n well-bred weight -carrier. He "trumpets" with quite a Parisian accent, and always has a glass of absinthe before dinner.— World. A Danish SIissionauv' OrriunNO to thk Piunck of Wai.es.—-Among the. many interesting offerings to the Prince at Madras must be specially mentioned an account of the Danish Protestant Mission, Zanouebar, by the Rev. C. K Kennet. with an auopraph letter of George I. (December '22, ITIO-• January 3, 1720) from St. James's, addressed to Bartholomew Ziesren- balg and Johann Ernest Gouudler, missionaries, Zan- quebar, offered by the Rev. L iSchwarz, of the Lu- theran Mission, Zauquebar, for the acceptance of his Royal Highness. The Princess of.Wales will no doubt be glad to learn that in this distant land her countrymen can tell her husband that Denmark was the first Protestant country in Europe which carried out a mission for the evangelisation of India, in the reign of Frederick IV., in 170;>. The Ziegenbalg who is named above visited England on his return from India in 1714, and the Prince and Princess of Wales of the day received him most courteously and promised him every help. Cheap Butter.—Tlie Medical Examiner has it ou competent authority that if the Act were carried out in its integrity, and none but genuine butter came into market, it would disappear from tbe table of the middle classes. it» price, quite os. a pound, precluding its use by all except the rich. Such being t he C'lse, the supply falling short of the demand, how is this met by the producer? By adulterating all butter Fortunately none of the substances used for adulteration are in auy way injurious. Those chiefly employee; are water, salt, starch, flour, dripping, lard, marrow fat, bed fat. and horse l'at. The great art in the manufacture of cheap butter is to get it to hold in suspension the largest possible quantity of water, A certain quantit/v of water is always present, and improves dw buaer"; the:same may be said of salt, both for flavouring and preserving it. But the manufacturer uses both iu ex- cess: both are cheap-diluents, and the latter enables the butter to hold a much larger quantity of the former than it would otherwise. A great deal, however, can be done in the manufacture to make the texture of the butter such that it binds the water, and this process has to be varied according to the season and tem- perature.

MIL FORSTER, M.P., ON THE SUEZ CANAL P U riCl l AbE. The Right Hon. W. E. Porster on Monday attended the annual meeting of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, and in the course of bii speech said, as a member of her Majesty's Opposition, he thanked Lord Derby for the energy and knowledge with which be was advo- cating the interest:; of the export traJ" of the country. Mr. Forster then referred to the purchase of the Suez Canal shares, and said from a purely commercial point of view it was not expedient for any Government to take shares in auy commercial undertaking, especially in one in which the direction was in France, and the business in Egypt, and the sovereign power either in the Pasha of Egypt or the Sultan of Turkey. From a financial point of view that transaction could only be regardeo as a loan for twenty years to the ruh-r of Egypt. It was not advisable that our Government should lend money to any potentate, and he saw no reason why an Oriental potentate should be made a special exception. (Hear, hear.) Parliament would, however, have to decide the question on political rather than commercial or financial grounds. They would have to carefully con- sider the nature of the business, the character of the partnership with Lesseps and Co., and the political position and relations of the Khedive. It was the business of Lesseps and Co. to maintain this waterway for our ships of war, as well as our ships of commerco. Accordingly it appeared to him (Mr. Forster) that the real question which Parliament would have to decide would be, whether Lord Derby would prove the asser- tion he had made at Edinburgh the other day--that England would by this transaction obtain additional security for a free and uninterrupted passage to India. This question must be thoroughly sifted. It was the duty of every member of the House to see that the money of the nation was well spent, and that political complications were avoided. For himself (Mr. Forster), he declared he would carefully consider sil the merits of the transactions, and if Lord Derby covld show tknr. it would conduce to the interests of En;kind without infringiuT upon the rights of any other power, it "ouId be the duty of Parliament to support the Government. (Loud cheers.) Lord Frederick Cavendish, M.P., also spoke.

MR. BRIGHT IN BIRMINGHAM. A DEPUTATION OF Grocers. A deputation from the Birmingham and Midland Counties Grocers' Protection Society, consisting of Mr. J. H. Everton, the chairman Mr. J. Sumner, Mr. George Shelley, Mr. J. W. Matthews, and Mr. H. Hadley, the secretary, on Monday, waited upon Mr. Bright, for the purpose of calling his attention to matters affecting the grocery trade. The first subject discussed was the practice of private trades and com- panies using the term Civil Service," which led the public to conclude that the business was under the patronage and sanction of the Government. The depu- tation, therefore, urged upon Mr. Bright the desira- bility of obtaining Parliamentary prohibition of the use of the term by private speculators. Mr. Bright did not think the Government would interfere in the matter, or that the subject was worth the discussion which had been given to it. He thought that nobody could bring in a bill to abolish the practice, and that the matter had better remain where it was. The other subject diseussed was the imposition of a quarter per cent. on Custom duties during the time Mr. Gladstone was Chancellor of the Exchequer, to make up a deficiency of £ 100,000 in his budget. Although the amount was very small, it caused a good deal of additional labour and loss of time to the whole- sale houses in making out the Customs note, and was very irritating to the retail trade. Mr. Bright said he was not aware that such an impost existed, and would avail himself of an early opportunity to mention the subject to Mr. Gladstone, and also to the present Chan- cellor of the Exchequer, with tho view of relieving the trade from the irritation. From the prospects of the next budget, however, he did not anticipate that any- thing could be done in the matter. The deputation thanked Mr. Bright and withdrew. Deputation rROM THE BIRMINGHAM LAUOUR Association. The same afternoon a deputation representing the newly-formed Birmingham Labour Association, a society having for its object the securing of the direct represen- tation of labour, waited on Mr. Bright at the residence 9 of Mr. Chas. Sturge, Edgbaston. The members of the deputation explained that their association had recently been formed in consequence of a certain number of working men in Birmingham considering that the Liberal Association was dealing hardly with them in refusing to recognise the claims of labour to direct representation. They wished Mr. Bright to understand that although an amendment had been moved at the Town Hall meeting on Saturday on behalf of the asso- ciation, they did not. wish to oppose him. They were, however, determined by all means in their power to strive for the direct representation of labour. A ques- tion was then put to Mr. Bright as to whether he objected: to working men being directly represented in Parliament? Mr. Bright replied that he did not object to labour being directly represented, and if any constituency sent a labour representative to Parliament he should be very glad to see him. However, he always had objected, and still should object to a working man being returned for the simple reason that he was a working man He had always opposed class representation, and should continue to do so. He, however, believed that the day would come when they would see working men representatives both in Parliament and in their local representative assemblies. The deputation next referred to a speech delivered by Mr. Bright in Birmingham on the subject of trades unionism, and strongly deprecated some of the views he took on that occasion. Mr. Bright replied that the deputation seemed to have misapprehended his speech. They had attached to his remarks a meaning which he had never intended. He had condemned merely the abuses of trades unionism, and had not con- demned trades unions themselves. He deprecated trades unions dealing with matters which he considered did not legitimately come within their scope. The deputa- tion then withdrew.

ANOTHER CLERICAL CONVERT TO THE CIll'Klii OP ROME. A Gainsboro correspondent has the best authority for stating that the Rev. Arthur Wollasto.n Hutton, rector of Spridlington, Lincolnshire, l as resigned his living, with the view of joining the Roman Catholic Church. The rev. gentleman was formeily curate of ht. Barnabas, Oxford, where he moved in the highest circles of theological learning and controversy. Un the death of -his father, in 18.3, be succeeoed turn. in the family living of Spridlington, the value of which is set down at £ 507 per annum. During his shoit pastoral career the church has been thoroughly re- stored and beautified, and on its re-opening, a short time ago, the Bishop of Lincoln, publicly in the church, condemned some of the rituai which was then prae- tised. Mr. Hutton is connected with some of the best families in Lincolnshire, and is brother to the Rev. 11 W. Hutton, minor canon of Lincoln Cathedral, and also to the Rev. Y. W. Hutton, vicar of Sneinton, N0t. rwln tingham. The seceder is at present at the Birmingham Oratory, under the instruction of lJr, J. H. NeWluan. The event has produced great astonishment among the cleigy of the diocese, Mr. Hutton being widely known and highly respected.

BREACH OF PROMISE.—-1;»00 DAMAGES. In the Exchequer Court uf the High Court of Justice last week, the case 01 S'aim r. WaWri was Heard. Mary Vann, the plainti?; aged 3 >, brought the action to recover from the defendant, Mr. dohu Watson, agio about 40, compensation for an alleged breach or contract to marry, and also for the recovery of a balance of wagee- due to her whilst acting as housekeeper to the defendant at a salary of £$). The defendant denied the promise, and also the claim for wages.-Acc,.r,¡iug tù tllè evidence of the plaintiff and her witnesses, she was a daughter of a widow lady (the mother of several children), proprietor of a lodging-house in Oxfprd. In the latter part of ISiS she entered ino the employment of the defendant, who was an exten- sive dairy farmer in Buckinghamshire, upon the terms stated. In a few months after her residence there an improper intercomse commenced, which was continued on his promising marriage. The result was the birth of a boy in London, where lie had taken lodgings for her during her confinement, and where they, lived for a short time apparently as man and wife, under the names of Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan. fcihe declined to return to his house as his mistress, and demanded the fulfilment of his alleged promise to marry her. Plaintiffs mother and sister both swore that they also wrote to the de- fendant, and spoke to him personally as to the redemption of his pledge to many their unfor- tunate relation; but to each and all of their demands on this point, the defendant said that he could not and would not marry. The present action was the result.- Mr. Gibbon having, on behalf of the defendant, repu- diated the assertion that he bad given any such promise, the defendant, in the course of his examination, most positively denied that he had acted in the way described towards fhe plaintilt, or that he had ever given her any pledge or promise to marry her; that the unfortunate familiarity which had taken place was with her own consent, and that when she had left his employment he paid her £ 20, the amount of her wages, with the excep- tion of a balance of £ 1. 13s. 4d., which he had paid into court—The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff- damages JMCO, and £ 10 as balance of wa.ges.-His lord- ship gave judgment for the amount with costs.

The Trinity House authorities are making experiments I of various kinds for signalling in foggy weather. With the exception of a lively female jaguar, all the wild beasts at the "Zoo'' have been successfully re- moved to their improved new residences. Melancholy Affati:.—A young lady named 'Webb, on hearing that her sister had thrown herself from window, fell dead at Chelmsford from sudden excitement. Mn. HAAIOND'S private letter from Con- stantinople affirms that Mr. Hamond's scheme for the remodelling of the debt of Turkey has already been re- jected by the Grand Vi;ier.Financier. Herr Fuchs, the mechanician employed by the American,Thomas, for constructing the clock work which was to sink the steamer Mosel, Ins by special command of the Emperor William been summoned to Berlin in order to explain to his Majesty the mechanism of kis ingenious machine. Fkver AT, Gibhaltau.—The Glr,h<> says;—The fre- quency of fever cases on board her Majesty's ship3 at Gibraltar which are berthed near the outfall." a matter to which we recently alluded, having attracted the at- tention of the Colonial Oilice, steps are to be taken to prevent the drainage flowing direct into this sheltered position of the harbour. A Kkkpku Attacked i;y A Lk<h-ari>.—While one OF the keepers of the zooloogical collection of Margate v.'as going his round for the purpose of feeding the anima's as he was closing the door ef the leopard's den, the animal nind,, a spring at him and caught his face. He, however, succeeded in closing the doer on the animal, but his face was severely scratched, and he received a severe cut under the eye and another on the forehead. The committee of the Liverpool Pawnbrokers' Association have issue;! a notice cautioning the public against the purchase of or the advance of money upon duplicates and deposit notes purporting to represent valuable property pledged far sums considerably under the real value. Those goods consist chietly of imitation jewellery, and often false duplicates are issued representing larger sums than those actually advanced. The Pall Mall Gazette says :—ll We are informed that Professor Monier Williams, on whom the University ot Oxford has recently conferred an honorary DA-L. degree, is now at Calcutta endeavouring to excite interest in his scheme for promoting Indian studies at Oxford by the foundation of an Indian Institute at that University. He is also collecting materials for a work on the religious sects of India, to form a sequel to his I Indian Wisdom,' recently published." THE G-ekman Language.—A German correspondent states that the Prussian Government has submitted to the Diet now assembled, a bill declaring German the only language henceforth to be employed in the trans- actions of courts of law, prefectures, and other public offices in the kingdom. The measure is mainly directed against the Poles, who still enjoy in the: special dis- tricts the privilege of concurrent use of their own laneuaee besides German.

WRECK ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT. A few days ngo, during the prevalence of foggy weather, the English barque- Mignonette, C'tptain ALrains, lroui Btrbice, l>r:iisii Guiana, to London, with cargo of sugar, rum, and coooauuts, went on shore on Broo&Iedge, between Freshwater Gate and Brixton, on the south-western coast of the Isle of Wight. The vessel was driven ashore by a strong westerly wind, and is expected to become a total wreck. The signals of distress brought the Brook lifeboat to the assistance of the crew, who, with great difficulty, were rescued.

THE PRINCE OF WALES' SUITE. Dr. Russell, the Times special correspondent in India, and assistant-secretary to the Prince of Wales, concludes his letter from Madras, which appeared on the 20th instant, with an emphatic contradiction of the stories which have been published respecting the habits and amusements of the Prince of Wales' suite and the drawings and practical jokings alleged to have baen indued in by some members of his Royal liighncss's staff aboard the Serapis. These, he says, are utterly and entirely false, and there is not, and was not, the shade of a foundation for the fabrica- tions.

THE PERILS OF KINKING. The catalogue of casualties related to us even at a single rink took us by surprise. We were prepared to hear or severe shakes and bruises, slight concussions, headache^, and now and then a fracture of the forearm but we did not expect, accidents leading to sacrifice of life or permanent crippling. Yet we have been in- formed that young ladies have been disfigured for life, and from a state of joyous health have been reduced to one of lamentable infirmity. A lady is skating with her hands in her mall, she fails forward in a moment on to her face, breaking the bones of the nose and L1.Ce, and her features will be Marred without recovery. Another, engaged to be mar- ried, injured her spine, becomes paralysed, and is condemned to an invalids couch, no prospect of amendment being entertained by her medical ad- viser. Not. o,ily are front teeth lost, but jaws are frac- tured. Not only are simple fractures of the forearm experienced, but arms are broken in more than one place, and a compound frac'ure of the femur has ended jn death. A fail on lhe back of the head has led to alienation of the intellect. With these results, related to us on credible authority, we deem it to be our duty to call attention to them. We have been told that at one watering; place one bad accident at a rink is ex- pected every day. If this is true, the number of acci- dents throughout the kingdom must be considerable, and we cannot help thinking that it should be the duty of the proprietors of rinks to furnish to local authorities a weekly return of, the accidents which occur.ltlcdical i^xcLTniucT,

PROBABLE SETTLEMENT OF THE BURIALS QUESTION. A. London correspondent writes: "The opinion is gaining ground that the much-vexed burials question will bo settled in the forthcoming session. Though the Government, acting with the customary official caution, have declined to hint at their intentions, it is we'd enough know n that the matter has been under their serious consideration. For the most part their clerical supporters are opposed to any concession bc:ng made to the Dissenters; but in the estima- tion of shrewd observers it is daily becoming more aud more impossible for the Cabinet to avoid the difficulty as they have heretofore done, by lending the weight of their authority to this resistance. Mr. Disraeli especially, if speculation be not wrong, feels that the time is at hand when con- cession of some sort will be inevitable in the interests of the Establishment. He will, of course, seek to strengthen his own idea on the subject by reference to the fact of the small minority by which Mr. O. Morgan's bill was rejected last session. But he feels—and cer- tain of his colleagues have even s'rons-er convictions — that he cannot very well ignore the opinions, or rather tbe prejudices, of one of the most influential sections of his supporters. Under such circumstances, the belief is that lie will tol-ow the course which Mr. Gladstone followed in the cas-e of the county franchise, and will leave the members of his Cabinet to use their own dis- cretion. in supporting or opposing the bill."

WHAT MUST BE DONE FOR OUR ARMY. (From the Times.) The first thing Mr. Hardy will have to do is to let Us understand exactly what is the working of the present system. Mr. Hardy took over from Lord Card-. vvell an army in a state of reorganisation, and no one, Perhaps, has since understood quite clearly in what Position it was left. It is a real disadvantage of our Political system that, when a minister like Lord Card- Well has fairly set certain administrative reforms at work he is removed Crom office and from the House of m Commons, so that the complicated threads of a most en- tangled subject, have to be gathered up by another minister, whose mind is wholly unfamiliar with the circumstances. Our military system is. and must always be, immensely elaborate, and it needs the greatest vigilance to keep in mind the bearing of its several parts. As we have more than once said of late, much needs to be explained respecting the working of the localisation scheme. If the intention was ever enter- tained of really localising our regular troops, it is evident it has now been given up, and the reason may readily be surmised. It is essential to our se- eurity that a very large proportion of our forces should be concentrated at certain military posi- tions, such, for instance, as those on the Hampshire coast,; and, consequently, our southern counties must always have quartered in them a far larger number of regiuients than could be assigned to brigade centres. It is also probably not undesirable that regiments should take their turn of service at these great military stations. To a great extent, therefore, regIments must always be re-presented at the brigade centres by nothing more than thoir depot battalions. Their recruits will be enlisted, as far as possible, in the district, and they will be trained at the centre j with the militia recruits; but the regiment itself can only occasionally occupy its native county. But though this is readily intelligible, it 'does not follow that the importance of localising the regiment as far na possible should not he kept steadily in view, and that care should not be taken to afford it such opportunities for visiting its recruiting-grounds as to gIve vividness and reality to the sympathy between fhe men and the population from \fhich they are taken, '-iiiuiar explanations will be needed respecting the > bin sat ion scheme, and we may expect to hear Qat much has been done which does not appear tl1\ the face of the scheme in the Army List." One important, element, for instance, in the business of mobilisation is railway conveyance. This ought, to be worked out beforehand with sufficient thoroughness to insure that the concentration of the troops' can be |l>idly effected in the manner detailed. We shall "ope to hear that this ancl similar preparations have been made; and there is nothing for which money "ill he more readily granted than to improve our machinery in this respect. But perhaps the condition of the rank and file of the army affords the problem or most immediate importance, and the public will await with the greatest interest Mr. Hardy's explana- tions and proposals.

In a recent sermon, the Rev. J. Smith, of Tarland, Jiear Aberdeen, denounced modern dancing as one of greatest evils of the day—it being in every way Against the religious and moral well-being of the com- m unity. Mr. Ellice, M.P., addressing his constituents at Anstruther last week, said that the Eritli strike was attempt to create jiii equality that Providonce did not iuterd to exist, and which, if successful, would prove disastrous to the country. He hoped that party considerations would not interfere with the new Shipping Bill, which the Government were pledged to hring; jn avK{ [,e trusted that, while protecting sea- faring populations, it would secure shipowners from Vexatious legislation. The CoNsEitvATivK Member for Chelsea.—Mr. Gordon, the Conservative member for Chelsea, ad- dressed bis constituents last week. He defended the legislation of the past session against the general charges brouglft against it, asserting that it had been permissive in the proper place, and compulsory where the interest of the country required it. The purchase of the Suez Crmal shares he commended as a great stroke of policy, proving that the Government would not suif'or the interest of the country to decline. Mr. Osborne Morgan's Burials Bill he considered as too violent but he expressed his readiness to support any measure which would secure to members of all Chris- tian communities the right of burial in churchyards according to their own rites. The Slave Circular, he said, had been hastily condemned before the public had heard both sides.

BREACH OF PROMISE. An act on, J:iekfon v. Kelson," w.vs f ried in the Bherifis' Court, P.ed Lion square, on the r.Orh, before Uudei'-Sherilf JJurcheil. It was an ;.etion in tho Exchequer Phi?ion !or a breach of promise of lnarringe, in which the plaintiff claim d t."Im>. The defendant had not pleaded, and the only qnestion w.'F the amount to be awarded. Mr. Cock rrprmentecT the plaintiff, who was call. d as a witness. Her husband died in 1871, and h:st year, the defendant made her an offer of marriage. She was in business as a butcher at Brixton. She sold her business of iiloOayear, as he said he would settle £ 100 a year oil her, and make a will in her favour. He said his propers, was from i8000. to £ 9000. It was also proved that he had given instructions for a marriage settlement, and after- wards expressed his regret. The wedding day was appointed and preparations made. After the Under- Sheriff had addressed the jury, a verdict was entered for £ 500.

The first -class pointsmen on the London and North- Western Railway have just received an advance of 2s. weekly, in answer to a memorial recently forwarded to tiia directors.