The Cardigan Observer and General Advertiser for the Counties of Cardigan Carmarthen and Pembroke

TURKISH SOLDIERS. A writer in Matmttanfe Magazine for February says There are cowards and malingerers in all armies, though in the Turkish there are but few. Our ad- miration of the common soldier increased daily as we became more intimate with him. He is by nature a gentleman, always polite, cheerful, and brave- We saw regiments under all conditions. Even where the men came in weary, footsore, and fasting, we have seen them ordered on to fight, and they have gone without a murmur. We have met them in the clouds among the snow at Schipka, where they had been for weeks; we have been with them in victory and also in defeat; but they are always the same uncomplaining, faithful men, honest and good-natured. Constantly one sees a wounded mu helping another along, and it is a common thing, after a fight, to eee a woundeo eoldier carrying two rifles, so as to ease his eirarade, who may be weaker than himself for the Turk is very proud of bis arms, and would almost as soon lose bia hfe as the weapon entrusted to him. The IWhi-Bazouks and the Circassians are quite of a different stamp from the regular soldiery Thev are armed, but receive no pay, and live by plaoder. The Circassians are perhaps the most bloodthirsty of the two. Brewed in long homespun coats (something like ulsters) they have a soldier-like appearance; they are upright in their carriage, and have fierce aristocratic looks. They are excellent horsemen, and as a rule are brave, though perhaps better in a hand-to-hand fight than under fire; but many of them are thieving, fillainous brutes of the worst kind, and acknowledge no rule or discipline. Nevertheless, there lingers among them a certain sense of honour, although it is the proverbial honour of thieves. For instance, if a {>erson start on an expedition with them, as long as l- asts his property is perfectly safe; but immediately it is over, they feel no longer under any moral obb- gition and the next day, if they hare the chance, will rob him of all he has got One day, on a recon- noitring expedition, I was alone with about fifty Circassians, and lent my field-glasses and telescope to tome near me, to look at a force of Russian cavalry. The glasses were passed round from one to the other, till we had to advance, when they disappeared, and I never expected to get them back; but at the next halt they were returned to me. The Bashi- Basouk is simply a volunteer, who serves with- out pay for the chance of loot; and, as a rule, is as bad as the conditions of his service make him. Sis conduct has undoubtedly done much to embitter the war, and to bring unpopularity on the Turkish Government. There are some organised regiments of Bashi Basouks, but they are mostly employed as feelers for the army. They do not like going under fire, and are not to be relied on but they are often very useful for sneaking along under cover, and finding out the position of the enemy. It is they who plunder and murder the wounded on the battle-field. The regular Turkish soldier is never blood-thirsty, except perhaps during the excitement of battle, when both Russians and Tttrb are equally ferocious. We were present in six engagements and two retreats, and had eviiry oppor- tunity of seeing any acts of violence committed by the Turkish soldiery, but did not observe a single instance even of pillaging on the part of the re- gulars. In fact their conduct was always beyond praise, while their kindness, affection, and unselfish- ness for one another and for their officers is very touching. | ■ 1 ■ i I.

THE NEW BRITISH IRONCLADS. Two powerful war vessels have been added to the navy of Gro,,tt Britain by the acquirement of the ironclad Payki Sherref, now in Millwall Docks, and her sister ship, at present unnamed, and on the stocks at the adjacent building yard of Messrs. Samuda, nearly opposite Greenwich. The latter vessel is far from complete, and has none of her armour fixed; but the Payki Sherref, which the Lords of the Ad- miralty recognise at present only by the title of B 71," is quite finished, and furnished ready for 1M, and the other ship is proposed to be like her in ev-ry respect. Technically speaking, the Payk; Sbfpref is an iron armour-cased corvette, with a raised fighting battery deck amidships. The battery deck rises from below the waterline to a height of about 18 feet, and mounts four 25-ton guns, 12 inch muzzle- loaders, which are already on board, having been pro- vided by Sir Win Armstrong when the ship was built for the Turkish Government, more than a year since,, and detained as contraband of war. Two of the guns fight on the port and two on the starboard side, each pair being provided with gun-metal racers, giving them such scope for traversing that they can fire direct fore and aft, or combinate upon one spot at 90 yards r»nee. There is ample room to work the guns, the battery deck being an octagon of about 60 feet; while the guns, which are somewhat short in the chase, are 16 feet in length. They are rifled with eight grooves, and en an increasing twist. The shot rises through a lift under the muzzle, and is carried along a bar overhead to the position most convenient for load- ing, tne cartridges also coming up from below through openings on the centre line. The pro- jectiles as well as the guns are already on board, consisting of 6-.0 12-inch shot and shell for the big guns, and some 200 for the 9-pounder guns, which will probably be mounted in the bows and astern. The larger projectiles comprise 240 chilled shell, on the Palliser principle, 100 chilled shot, 240 common shell, 70 shrapnel, and 170 segment shells. The armour-plating consists of a belt of 12-inch iron at the water- line, diminishing above and below to 8 inches, the thickness of iron protecting the battery varying from 91 to 101 inches. The main deck, which will be nearly level with the water, is composed of 3- inch plates of armour, encased in oak. Upon this main deck is erected a spar or hurricane deck, containing the oftleerie cabins and other appointments; but the as- sumption is that all this deck would be shot away in action, leaving only the armour-defended battery and submerged hull as a mark for the enemy. The designer of the ship was Hemit Pasha, of the Turkish navy, and for her length she is remarkably spacious. She measures between perpendiculars245 feet, and has a breadth of nearly 60 feet even at a few feet from the stem and stem. The saloon apartments are handsomely decorated and furnished, partly in the Turkish and partly in English fashion. The ship's crew, officers and men. will number 300. Her burden in tons is 3075, builder's measurement, and her draught of water 19 feet forward and 19 feet 6 inches aft. Her displaceaMnt at the lead line is 4777 feet, and the area of her midship section 895 68 square feet. She is propelled by a pair of engines constructed by Messrs. Maudslay and Field, having a nominal horse-power of 600. and 3900 indicated. The guaranteed speed is twelve knots an hour, but she has actually attained 12 99 knots on her trial. The armour-piercing projectiles for her heavy guns weigh each 6001bs., and arrangements are made for stowing 17 rounds with each gun. There is a steam-steering apparatus and wheels to be worked by band, both on the battery deck and under cover of the lower deck, and provision is made to cook for 350 men, while 13 tanks are on board to contain 8000 gallons of water. The Payki Sherref, of which Messrs. Samuda are also the builders, is to undergo some slight alterations. The other ship, now building, can be completed in a few months, and will be brought forward with all speed B."t.h ships have been surveyed and approved of by the Lords of the Admiralty, and the purchase concluded. An official survey has also been made of another Turkish ironclad, the Hamidie, detained under similar circumstances ia the Victoria Dock*. She is plated with twelve inches of iron on 14-inch teak, and two inner platea each of 2j incbes of iron, and is pierced for twelve 18 ton guns; supplemented by some lighter guns on the upper deck. but none of the guns are yet on board. She has a length of 380 feet with 60 feet beam, and her engines, which have been supplied by Messrs. Maudftiay, are exceptional ty powerful. She has no turrets, and fights her guns from the main deck. The purchase of this vessel is still under consideration, and there are one or two other ironclads in the docks near London which may ba obtained if required for the service of the British Government. -Z--

FOUR OF THE DIRECTORS OF THIS DIAMONB FUK. COAL COMPANY (LIMITKD) were summoned to the Guildhall Police-eeurt. at the complaint of two of the shareholders, on a charge of having appropriated the money of the company to their own use. It appeared that an action is pending in one of the superior courts against the complainants for an alleged libel, and that in the meantime these proceedings have been brought. The magistrate therefore declined to hear the cam until the civil action is decidfd. THE MASONS' STRIKE.—The masons' strike ij Dot expected to last much longer. It is reported tdikt the master builders do not now know what to do with the numerous masons who have come to London in search of employment, that all the shops are full, and th, t something like 100 men are in London or Ibt' provioefs waiting for work. Wben the strike ends it will be difficult, therefore, to say what will become of the 800 men who are and have been for nearly seven months on strike. HEALTH OF LONDON.—The Registrar-General reports that during this year the death rate in London has been a little higher than in the nineteen large pro- vincial towns from which he obtains returns. Whoop- ing-cough continues to be the most fatal zymotic disease in the metropolis. The deaths from small- pox, he adds, were more numerous than they have jeen since June last.

TORPEDOES. Lieutenant F. Ingram Palmer, B.1I., delivered a lecture at the London Institution on the history of the torpedo. Although it appears that submarine ex- plosives were devised by the Chinese as far back as the time of their invention of gunpowder, it is to America that Europe owes the torpedo. The first three names connected with in earlier history are Americans— Buahntll, Foulton, and Colonel Colt, of revolver fame. In 1777 Bushnell arranged an apparatus for exploding gunpowder under water, but when it was practically tried against Lord Howe's ship Lion it proved a failure. In 1797 Robert Foulton took the subject up, and showed to Napoleon in 1801 the first success of which there ia record. In 1804 he brought his invention under the notice of Pitt, who favoured him with warm support, until a naval authority gave utterance to the opinion that Pitt was the greatest fool that ever lived to encourageamodeof war which they who commanded the seas did not need, and, if successful, would deprive them of it." Foulton received X15,000 with an ex- pression of thanks, and a suggestion that his services were no further needed. He went back to America, and by 1810 worked out two torpedo schemes, both of which depended on the mechanical ignition of the fuse. Colonel Colt in 1841 first suggested the em* ployment of galvanism to fire a charge of explosives, but nothing in the war of actual warfare was done till the Busaian war of 1854, when both mechanical and electrical torpedoes were used in the Black Sea and the Baltic. Her Majesty's ships Firefly and Merlin were both damaged, and on June 21,1855, a torpedo fished up exploded on the poop of her Majesty's ship Exmouth. In the American war tor- pedoes came to be recognised on both sides as instru- ments of warfare quite as important as rams, iron- clads, and big guns. In 1866, Captain McEvoy in- Tented a buoyant terpedo so arranged that when struck by a ship the cover, en being tilted off, fired a chemical fuse and exploded the charge. In December last he also invented and patented a torpedo which could be fired either at will by electricity or could be left to act mechanically. Gunpowder, gun-cotton, and dynamite are now all used as explosives. The latest improve- ment is the arrangement for steering a torpedo boat by electricity from a ship or fort, and exploding it when desired. The protections against torpedoes are networks around a ship to prevent approach, fishing them up, or counter-mining and exploding them. One of the latest developments is fer the torpedo boats to carry an apparatus for pumping crude petroleum on to shipa and igniting it by a special rocket. The mixture of fire and smoke drives the men from the guns, the torpedo boat can then approach closely without being fired on, can with one torpedo break away any surrounding protections there may be, and then can explode a torpedo under the ship. This crude petro- leum or "Greek fire," the lecturer stated he knew on good authority had been experimentally tried by the Russians, and he thought it was a matter calling for serious consideration that 142 powerful torpedo boats, to cost about .£5000 each, had been just ordered by Russia. Some of the machinery was contracted for in England, and the whole were to be ready in the course of a few weeks.

BREACH OF PROMISE. The Times has the following in an article bearing on the Herschell's Breach of Promise Bill: The exist- ing state of the law making a promise te marry a legal contract defeats its purpose by encouraging long engagements and endless delays. A man promises to marry, hastily, perhaps, and without due provision, bnt if he and the lady honestly wish for "love in a cottage," there can be no reason why they should not try it. The parents, however, especially on tbe lady's side, do not like this, and insist on the young people waiting indefinitely for better or more certain prospects. His attachment is expected to stimulate his professional exertion, or to overcome his inde- pendence of feeling, and drive him to seek a patron or cultivate some interests. Meanwhile there is generally a certain reserve imposed upon his communications with the lady; he is not to see her too often, or too much alone. He is to go about as an engaged man, and to observe the duties of that position. In fact, he is not to go about too much, or to be toe much in female company. Meanwhile no such restraints or limitations are placed en the lady, who goes to as many picnics, dances, garden parties, or excursions as she can get invitations for. All this time, if she changes her mind. it is only the privilege ef her sex. Her own bonds are silk, gossamer rather, while the gentleman's are iron manacles and fetters. This is to go on for years, and the gentleman is expected to be no worse for keeping, which the lady cer- tainly will be. The way to meet this one-sided scheme is to offer a promise on the condition of early performance, which will generally have the legitimate effect of preventing an engagement altogether. A promise for an indefinite period, to be fulfilled some time or other when circumstances are more propitious than now, is even worse than an international treaty warranted to stand for ever under every possible change of circumstances. Expe- rience, not of a pleasant sort. has lately shown that this is a folly, and nothing more. If people cannot marry now, there may be less reason, but there may be also greater reason why they should not marry five years hence. But it would always be far better that both should be at liberty to recognise the changes which time, separation, general society, and other reasons are sure to bring about. If this be thought an abandonment of that high principle and that fixity of purpose which are among our national virtues, then by all means let both parties accept the position of engaged persons—one already in heart and mind, but waiting for the happy day that is to remove the wall of circumstances now between them. Let not the lady be dressed like a May fly, let her not go about the freest of the free, open to flirt with any- body, because in her case flirtation is to lead to nothing, unless, indeed, she should think fit to break her bonds altogether.

EXECUTION AT WINCHESTER. Jamee Caffyn, the navvy who was convicted of the murder of Maria Barbar, at Elmfield, near Byde, was executed in the county prison at Winchester. The murder was one of great brutality. The prisoner and deceased had lived together. The woman met the prisoner in the Kentish hopfields, and they went to the deceased's father's house. She wished to leave the prisoner, who resisted the separation, and finding Barbar was determined he killed her with three blows from an axe, and made scarcely any at- tempt to escape. At the trial before Mr. Justice Mellor the demeanour of the prisoner was stolid and indifferent, and he has remained unmoved since his condemnation. He has been twice visited by his brother, and has been most attentive to the mimstra- tions of the chaplain, the Rev. A. J. Ladbrooke. The under-sheriff arrived at a few minutes before eight o'clock, the condemned man having previously eaten a hearty breakfast. He submitted with the utmost indifference to the process of pinion- iDg at the handa of Marwood, and, as the clock struck eight, tbe procetsion passed along the gallery and down the steps to the outer court, the prisoner walking firmly. Oa reaching the steps of the scaffold the chaplain read extracts from the Burial Service, and Marwood drew the bolt, the con- vict dying after some struggles. Muscular action and that of the heart lasted ten minutes nearly, the pri- soner being a small man, but of much physical de- velopment. There were five representatives of the prees present in addition to the officials. A black flag hoisted on the prison showed the time of the execution, and later in the day a coroner's inquest was held ac- cording to law.

NAVAL PREPARATIONS. It is stated that the Admiralty have purchased two armour-plated ships at present in the London Docks which were built by contract in this country for the Turkish Government, but were prevented leaving by the English Government on the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Turkey. The Admiralty have sent orders to the Devonport Dockyard that every effort is to be made, by adver- tisement and otherwise, to engage an unlimited number of artisans of all classes for several months' work. Ships in preparation are being still further pressed forward. The complement of officers and men for the iron- clad turret-ship Monarch, fitting at Chatham Dock- yard, ia 628. Every exertion is being used to have the vessel completed by as early a period as possible, as she is required to be forthwith commissioned. The work which is now being carried out is the fitting of the torpedo apparatus on board. A number ef Royal Marines are held in readiness for embarkation from the Chatham division to join the various vessels of the Mediterranean squadron. The loading of the steamship Bonnie Kate, to take out a cargo of tnilitary stores for Malta, commenced at Woolwich Arsenal with the embarkation of shells for the 38-ton guns was proceeded with. Extra hands have been taken on in each of the departments at the arsenal. The main factory of the Royal Laboratory presents a very busy appearance, whilst the numerous factories devoted to the manufacture of bullets, car- tridges, and explosives of various kinds are now in full operation. In the carriage department many more hands will be taken on during the next few days.

THE DEFENCES OF 1SHE THAMES. With the addition of some hnge 38-ton guns, the heaviest artillery at present in the service, to the de- fences of the Thames, the forts which now protect London on the side of the sea may be considered in a satisfactory condition. We rarely regard London as a fortified city, and yet against the attack of a hostile squadron it is as well assured as any other port in the world. It is only within the past few years that any really serious steps have been made for the proper defence of the centre of the nation's greatness. At any time, no doubt, we could organise in a few days a system of torpedo defence which would, if successful, effectually bar pro- gress up the river, but torpedoes are at beat a treacherous kind of weapon, and are apt, at times, to be as dangerous to friend as to foe. Coming up to the Nore, the first opposition that an enemy would be likely to mdet with are the Sheerness forts and the Isle of Grain guns, together with any long range cannon which might happen to be in position on the Essex shore at Shoeburyness. In tbe event of the hostile fquadron passing these, it would next have to cope with a very powerful battery at Coal-house Point, and another on the opposite shore, called the new Shornmeade Fort. These works mount guns of very heavy calibre, and are so constructed that they may operate in unison and deliver a sweeping cross-fire. Moreover, the reach of the river is of such a nature that the cannon of the forts could command any ships coming up the river a couple of miles before the latter came abreast of the batteries. If we suppose, however, the enemy to be auc- cessful in evading these works also, then his progress will be checked again by Tilbury Fort and its companion work opposite, New Tavern Fort. These forts are also fitted with guns of heavy calibre and long range, those on the Kent shore commanding the whole of the long reach in the river just below Gravesend. It would only be in the event of an enemy running the gauntlet of these big guns that it would have any chance whatever of reaching the Government factories at Woolwich, or those docks whose overflowing riches the world has heard vaunted so much and so often.

THE HOWARD AssoctATMN.—A meeting of the committee of the Howard Association, 5, Bishops- gate Without, B.C., was held on Friday, there being present Mr. Robert N. Fowler (chairman), Mr. Samuel Gurney, Mr. Edward 8turge, Mr. Stafford Allen, and other gentlemen. The subject of sentences claimed special attention, both in reference to the inadequate sentences often passed in cases of cruelty and brutality and the excessive punishments sometimes inflicted for other far less culpable offences. The question of the unnecessary imprisonment of young children was also considered (and action thereon decided upon) as afresh illustrated by the committal to Newgate Prison, a few days ago, of a little girl of the tender age of 7 years on a charge of passing counterfeit coins of small value at the alleged instigation of her mother. A Lancashire magistrate writes to the asso- ciation that the governor of a large local gaol informs him that the screams of such imprisoned little chil- dren are heartrending, &8, frightened by their being locked up in their cells, they scream for their mothers. Such offenders have stolen a bit of old iron, or coal, a tart, or an apple, or broken a pane of glass. Several valued correspondents of the Howard Committee justified the imprisonment of young children; but the committee were of opinion that it should be obYiated in a greater degree than at present. One gaol chaplain states that five out of ten of such imprisoned children find their way back to prison again. A variety of in- teresting correspondence was also laid before the com- mittee by the secretary, Mr. Tallack, including many foreign and colonial communications. A SBAMAN SENTENCED TO BE FLOGGED.—A court martial at Portsmouth sentenced Thomas Come, first-class boy, of the Boecawen, to receive three dozen lashes for striking Commander Vandermealen, of that ship. Whilst that officer was on deck talking to two lieutenants, he was struck a violent blow behind the left ear, and also on the shoulder. On turning round, he was again struck in the mouth by the prisoner, who was standing in a fighting attitude, and would have continued the attack had he not been secured. The prisoner excused himself by saying he was in such a state of excitement he hardly knewwha hA was doincr. SUPPOSED CLUE TO CHARLIE Ross.-From information received from Baltimore, it is thought some clue has been obtained to the boy Charlie Boss, who is said to have been kidnapped from New York a few years back. He is supposed to be on board a brig from Demerara. The captain of the vessel says the boy, who is now about seven years old, was brought to Demerara fours years ago from Boston by a dissolute woman, who abandoned him some months ago. DESPAIR.—Mr. Ruakin has finally given US tip. Replying to an invitation addressed to him by the committee of a provincial school of art, he writes from Corpus Ohristi College: Nothing can advance art in any district of this accursed machine-and-devil* driven England until she changes her mind in many things, and my time for talking is past. Ever faith- fully yours, J. BUSKIN. I lecture here, but only OQ the art of the past."—Mayfavr. A GERMAN PAPEB, speaking of England and the Eastern Question, says she is suffering from Bright's disease." INDIAN IMPORT DUTIES ON COTTON GOODS. Lord George Hamilton received a deputation from the Associated Committees of Employers and Workmen representing the public meetings held in the cotton manufacturing districts to secure the abolition of the Indian import duties on cotton goods and yarns. His lordship, in undertaking tc Jay the matter before the Marquis of Salisbury, held out no hope of the Secre. tary of State adopting the suggestion made as to an excise duty. All he could say was that the promises made by the Government upon the matter were bomI tide, and they might redeem their pledges sooner than had been anticipated. I AM TOLD that the fortune of Mr. Maokay, the American millionaire, who is now in Paris, and who is shortly about to honour us with a visit, has been greatly exaggerated. The poor man has not above £ 2,760,000 per annum.—Truth,

THE BRADLAUGH-BESANT APPEAL. The Court of Appeal at Westminster, composed of lord. Justices Bramwell, Brett, and Cotton, delivered on unanimous judgment in the case of Mr. Charles fradlaugh and Mrs. Annie Besant, who appealed from t judgment of the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice llellor affirming their conviction, for the publication If an illegal work, and for which they were sentenced, ,fter a trial btfore the Lord Chief Justice and a pecial Middlesex jury. to six months' imprisonment roch in Holloway Gaol, to pay a fine of £200, md, further, to find securities for their good >ehaviour for two years after the expiration of ¡beir sentence. The Court below having re- fused to arrest judgment on the objection taken »y the defendants that the indictment was bad in aw, as it did not set out the words relied upon as in- lecent, they appealed by way of error to this court, ind again conducted their own case when the matter same on for argument during the last three days of January, when judgment was reserved. Lord Justice Bramwell cited a number of decisions bearing on the law of the case, which the Court had alone to deter- mine, and not the merits. He was of opinion that it eras necessary to have set out in the indictment the words relied upon as indecent, and that the omission to do so was fatal, and was not cured, as contended for, by the verdict. The judgment of the Court below must therefore be set aside and given for the defendants. Lord Jmtlce Brett took a similar view, and having ex- pressed his regret that such a subject should have been discussed in this court in the presence of the female defendant, aaded that if the defendants again com- mitted the offence of publishing such a work, no doubt another prosecution would be instituted, and if the indictment were not again defective they would re- ceive even a severer punishment. Lord Justice Cotton concurred. At Bow-street Police-court, Mr. Collettp, the soli- citor of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, asked for the decision of the Court upon an adjourned sum- mons, requiring Edward Truelove, publisher, to show cause why 657 copies of the Bradlaugh pamphlet, seized on his premises, should not be destroyed. Mr. Collette urged that, although Mr. Bradlaugh had el- caped the penalty of the law on a technical ground, a jury had declared the publication to be illegal, and consequently he asked for the authority of the Court to destroy the pamphlets, which had been impounded. Mr. Bradlaugh, as the owner of the property, resisted the application, on tbe ground that the Lord Chief Justice had pronounced the publication to he free from impurity. Sir. Vaugh&n eventually decided to exa- mine a report of the trial before giving his judgment.

A NEW ANIMAL. Adventurous spirits, who love to explore new regions in pursuit of pleasure or business, would do well (says the Globe) to pay a visit to the kingdom of Siam. Perhaps the finest hunting ground in the world is within eight or ten hours of the capital. The jungle is certainly dense, but natural clearances are not infrequent, and the quantity and variety of game would satisfy Nimrod himself. Everything in the shape of quarry can be got, from an ostrich to a snipe, and as for ground game, the elephant and the tiger are plentiful enough. An animal of the latter cluø, of grand proportions, was lately shot by a couple of adventurous Englishmen who baited a trap for hi.n. When killed he measured 101 feet from his noee to the tip of his tail, and he stood 3 feet 10 inches high. His head and skin were brought to London, and have been set up with great fidelity by a WC-known naturalist. Snakes (including the largest pythons and the cobra) are also to be found in Siam, &A also an infinite variety of monkeys and baboons. A native hunter. lately arrived in Bangkok, reports that he observed in the jungle an animal, the like of which he had never seen before. His graphic description and earnestness of manner excited the interest of the little English community of the city, and the King of Siam, on hearing of the circumstance, summoned the hunter to his presence and directed him to go and find the animal. The man has undertaken the mission, and should he be successful the new animal will be presented to the Zoological Society of London, which already ponBtBaes some good specimens of the monkeys of Siam. From all that could be gathered from the native hunter, it is believed that the new animal if of the feline tribe, prooably a black leopard. In any cue, he will get a cordial welcome in the park.

THE RECEIPTS ON ACCOUNT OF REVENUE from the 1st April, 1877, when there was a balance of £ 5,988,650, to Feb. 9 were £65,933,234, against £ 65,634,552 in the corresponding period of the pre- ceding financial year, which began with a balance of £ 5,119,587. The net expenditure was .£67t879,604, against X67,034,861 to the same date in the previou9 year. The Treasury balances on Feb. 9 amounted to £ 2,613,858, and at the same date in 1876 to £ 2,834,450. STRUCK OFF THB ROLLS.—The Master of the Rells delivered judgment on the conditional order to strike off the rolls Mr. Verdon, solicitor, of Gardiner- street, Dublin and formerly of Drogheda. The court was crowded. The master, in delivering ■aid on the 29th of last November, after the of the case of Bassett v. Kelly, he had felt makan order, calling on Mr. Verdon, a solicitor °' that court, to show cause why his name should not be struck off the rolls, having regard to his conduct in entering into a fraudulent and corrupt agreement with a person named Nugent, In consideration of his inducing Shuman, who had filed a bill against Kelly and Mr. Verdon to withdraw the said bill in which grave charges were brought against the defendants.be case of Bassett v. Kelly arose out of the dispealtion of the estate of the late Alderman Carty of Drog- heda. Mrs. Shuman, the wife of an old sailor. declared entitled to a considerable sum as one of t*10 next of kin; she had employed Mr. Verdon as her solicitor, and subsequently dying, left large bequests to him and his children. Her will was subsequ?utly impeached by her husband, and Bassett, the plain^ in the suit, was a clerk of Verdon's, who to recover a legacy left him by Mrs. Shuman. On this trial were made the revelations Mr. Verdon. His Honour said he had made the order, but upon the same sense of duty which com- pelled the Lord Chief Justice in the ease of Wbately and Bristoe to make an order exactly similar. 3Lr. Verdon had the advantage of being examined as witness in the case. He had failed then or lince to give any adequate explanation of his conduct, and » was therefore his imperative duty to strike him oS the rolls of solicitors of the court, as being a gentle- man who had forfeited his right to belong to his honourable profession. He made the order under a sense, not merely of what was due to the Court itself, but above all in justice to that profession of solicitors, which as a body were men of the highest honour and who ought to be spared the ,.igjion with » man who appeared to have made himself » party to such flagrant proceedings. Mr. counsel asked that a stay should be put upon the en- forcement of the order to give him time to app?* but his Honour refused the application as being with I °i*t precedent. I EXECUTION AT LIVERPOOL,—Junes Triokett t was executed at Kirkdale Gaol, Liverpool. for the » murder of his wife at Liverpool on the 26th of Dooem- ) her. The woman was an habitual drunkard, and on that evening he quarrelled with her and kicked her, I inflicting fatal injuries. The jury strongly reeom- > mended him to mercy, and it was thought hilllfe would be spared, but on Saturdaythe Home Secretary intimated that he could not interfere. The culprit appeared quite resigned, and was calm and very atten- tive to the ministrations of the Boman Catholic chaplain. Marwood was the executioner, and gave a drop of eight feet, death being instantaneous. Truth says in order to understand the Rossis^18» it is necessary to know them. The ordinary gentleman is amiable, and, as a companion, agreeable, He will even go out of his way to do a service but his peculiarity is, that he is utterly devoid of the eelf-reapect which characterises the gentlemen of other countries. Honour is a word that he has picked up but he never distinctly comprehends what it means. To blame him for this, would be as cruel aa to blame a blind man for not being able to distinguish colours- Personally, I rather like Bussians, but I should never dream of trusting one of them. A MTTM-CAiHMM employed II a IOrter at the General Post Office, named Mead, pleaded guilty. at the Central Criminal Court to a charge of stealing bank notes from letters, and was sentenced to eeven yeara* penal servitude. A clerk named OoraD, for receiving the notes knowing them to have been stolen, Was sentenced to five years' penal servitude. MADAMB RACHEL AoAm-Rubel Leverson, otherwise Madame Bachel, appeared at the Mwrl- borough-street Police-court, London, in answer to a summons charging her with having obtained by faløe and fraudulent representations jewellery to the value of X200 from Mra. Oectlla Maria Pearce, of Ebury- atreet. In the course of the evidence of the prosecu- trix, which was given at considerable length, she stated that for the sum mentioned she was to be made to resemble a countess who had undergone the process of enamelling at a cost of 2000 guineas. When the prosecutrix told Madame Rachel she would have to pledge her jewels, the latter stated that she had SS" worth of jewellery in her house already, which be- longed to ladies. An adjournment of the hearing took place, bail being accepted. A CLERGYMAN who had been aocosed of i preaching long sermons, excused himself on the ground that the church was a large one.

DOG LICENSES. In their 20th report just issued, for the year ending March 30,1877, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue date that in the year ended December 31, 1876, duty was paid upon 1,362,176 dogs, showing an increase of £16,000 over the preceding year, and, going back for aye years, an increase of £ 56,263. As there is no reason (the Commissioners say) to suppose that the number of dogs has increased, "these figures indicate, at all events, some progress towards the full enforcement of the tax which we so much desire." The Commissioners add that, "without largely adding to the number of our officers, we cannot spare any of them from the more im- portant work of charging spirit and malt duties and surveying excise traders generally in order to patrol the streets and villages in search of dogs" They recommend that the efforts of the revenue officers should be supplemented by the police, who have more knowledge of individuals in their separate localities and more opportunities of making detec- tions of this kind, and if the police had statutory power to summon defaulters independently of their officers, great good could be effected. The Commis- sioners report decidedly against the plan so fre- quently proposed that all dogs should be compelled to wear an official collar as evidence that the licence duty has been paid, or that such evidence should be furnished by an official label attached to the collar. It is clear (says the Commissioners) "that the collar, either with or without the label, must be irremovable, in order that neither might he transferred at will. It may be left to the dullest imagination to fcuggest the consequences of soldering an official collar on all dogs on the 1st of January in each year, or fastening a label thereto with a revenue lock-the regulations necessary for open- ing the collars under certain contingencies by an officer of Excise or, perhaps, in the presence of a magistrate, the penalties to be exacted for unauthor- ised opening of the collar, and other absurdities too many to enumerate. Then, again, the collar or label to be issued by our officers must be made with such nicety as to prevent forgery or imitation, and at the same time must be of such marked peculiarity that it could be recognised in passing as provided by this departaient. The cost of such collars would be con- siderable and would form an important addition to the tax, without any benefit to the revenue; but, sup- posing all these objections to be overcome, and that whenever a license is issued a collar should be fixed on the dog, what should we gain ? Should we not rather ask, "What should we not lose ? If A. takes a license and a collar and sells his dog to D., who sells it to 0., who givee it to D., we should get one license duty instead of four—that is, if we rely upon the collar as evidence of payment of duty, which by the proposition it is to be. If, after all, we are to go to our licence registers, we may save our- selves tne ridicule and the public the annoyance which the revenue collar would entail."

THE ORSINI BOMB OUTRAGE AT FLORENCE. A Florence correspondent gives the following account of tbe horrible outrage which was perpetrated at Santa Crece when a grand funeral service was being performed in honour of Victor Emmanuel: The various representatives and societies, accom- panied by the music of four bands, were returning from the church, in the direction of the Lung' Arno, along the de-dy-mwded streets. The Society of Veterans of 1848-49, which headed the procession, had reached a certain point in the route, when. the sound of an exploding bomb-shell startled the throng. The projectile, after describing a slight curve, had fallen with a loud detonation in the midst of the company of veterans. Shrieks and some con. fusion followed, but the admirable order which pre- vails in an Italian crowd was not broken for long. One of the leaders of the veterans called upon them to show courage and to keep cool. The same appeal was made by another of the company—a woman named Carolina Scoelten Grasselli. As an old campaigner in the national war she was marching with the rest; and, on the ex- plosion of the shell, she raised her clenched hands on high, and exhorted her companions not to yield to panic. The music of the Royal llymn was instantly resumed and the procession con- tinned its course. In the meanwhile the wounded, who were to the number of six-three boys and three men-were removed in cabs to the hospital. One of them is badly injured; the rest slightly. They have been visited to-day by the Syndic and other authori- ties, and the sympathy felt for them is general and warm. The author of the crime, Bmilio Cappellini, by trade a furniture-polisher, was instantly arrested. The police had some difficulty in protecting him from the angry crowd, who followed him excitedly with cries of Kil1! kill J" In his subsequent inter- rogation before the Procurator of the King his atti- u n Was 8L 6n defiant. He asserted that the shell was thrust into his pocket by an individual whom he did not know and could not describe, and that he threw it as he would have done an apple. This story W J re?f1 b7 the public with incredulity, ana there is much talk of a real and serious conspiracy. It is said that shells were to have been exploded along other portions of the route, and in the Ohurch of Santa Oroce itself. The papers moreover assert that the return course of the procession was expressly altered at the last moment by the authorities, who had wind of the projected crime. On learning the change Cappellini is stated to have run from the post originally chosen by him to the spot where he came un with the procession. There is promise of further arrests, although the police have "I?' ii** in laying hands on any more shells. When the procession reached the place where it was to break up, one of the veterans made a brief and spirited speech. He denounced the attempted u ff_^°°^and declared that it should only confirm i vu Patriots in the principles and in the faith for which he and his companions had risked their lives in «T discourse was re.eived with loud cries of ■M>ng live the King!" The Syndic of Florence re- ceived a telegram this morning from the Trades Unions of Messina, who expressed their horror at Cappellini s criminal attempt.

GROSS INHUMANITY IN A WORK- HOUSE. (From the "Sheffield Telegraph.") AJ? "»quest has been held at the Glossop Workhouse 0n the body of a boy named Hall, flrjt witness examined was Ann Hall, of Stoke- upon-Trent, who said she was the mother of the deceased, who was six yearw old. On Saturday, the ^nd inst., they left Hayfield and walked to Glossop. At this time the child was 01. and continued to com- Elam on the way to Glossop. They entered tne woasop Union Workhouse about six o'clock in the of same day. When they entered the Ter7 U1> complaining of pain in the bowels. drew the attention of the porter to him, at rfe time asking if there was a doctor in the house He said no, but there was one ST. hoaM» but he did not live there. J not him to send for the doctor. ^e d«|j»ot think the deceased was so 01 it turned ♦ She had some tea in her pocket, and the porter to give her some warm water to boil it that she might Kite the child some. He gave it to her. At this tune the child was lying upon the office floor upon a rug. After she had given the deceased a little of the tea, without any food, she took him to the caeual Ward, where they were to spend the night. The u D| consisted of some raised boards, without either pea clothes or straw to lie upon. She wrapped him in a rug and laid him down. This was between eight and nine o'clock. She slept in the same room. After «?i *»[ »hout an hour, the deceased complaining au the tune of the pain in his bowels, she heard a ra*ue m his throat, and said to another woman, Uh, my child is deadThey got up, and called for assistance, and an old man came. The old man then jront for the nurse, who had not seen the deceased *he nurse went for the master of the union, A JU ktter ordered the body to be taken to the if?8' also ordered witness's chUdren and washed and taken into the house. No iooa was offered to the deceased until nearly nine o ciocx, when some gruel and dry bread were brought ai2 "kSPWg ward. Wm. Potter, porter at the Workhouse, said he remembered the de- MMed, his mother, and two older children coming into the casual waiting-room, about six o'clock Saturday evening, the 2nd inst. Nothing was said to him that the child was ill until an °uf "terwards, wben the mother asked him to • ~|y »«>« hot water to make some tea for the de- v? waa He did so, and seeing the deceased Mf told her to take the child to bed, which bed consisted of a raised platform of bare boards. There I. Af10 ^^othes, witness gave her some rugs for nerseit, another woman, and her children. They gave Out supper a little before nine o'clock, and the de- ceased, although ill, would not have received any food tuQe, when he would get his with the r» printed rules for witness's guid- r' Howard, the medical officer, said that death • j rom inflammation of the bowels. If the deceased been attended to when first admitted, he might • The mode of admitting casuals into the house is radically bad. One of the other two children admitted with the deceased was suffering from measles. It was essential to the deceased's chance of life that he should have had some food given to him when first admitted. The coroner, in summing up the evidence, said that when he thought of that poor little waif rolling on the floor of the waiting-room in torture for two hours in an institn tion like the workhouse, which was specially pro- vided for such cases; when he saw in our boasted Christian country a child treated as this child was —no food, no medical aid; no, sot even a word of sympathy—it made his heart sick at our vaunted civilisation and hnmamty. Not one of the jury, if his dog were ill, would have treated it as this poor child was treated. There oould not be a doubt in any of their minds as to the cause of deatb, after bearing the evidence of the doctor, which to his mind was con- clusive, and led him to instruct them to return a verdict of death from inflammation of the bowels, accelerated by neglect. It was well for the porter that he had no written rules to guide him, for if he bad possessed such ind had acted in the careless and heart- less manner in which he bad acted, he -(the coroner) would have felt it his duty to instruct tbem to return a verdict of manslaughter against him. A verdict in accordance with the coroner's ruling was then re- turned.

A SHIP BURNT AT SEA. Captain Bremner, of the Chilian, screw steamer, arrived at Queen?town from Nor Orleans, reportf: Left New Orleans on 25th January, and had very fine weather up to the Banks. On the 5th February ex- perienced a terrific gale from S.S.E., with heavy rain, and finding by tho veering of the wind and very low barometer, 28*10, that it was a revolving storm, kept the steamer to the southward to get on the southern edge of it, which he accomplished, and when the wind got to west-south-west kept away on his course in company with the gale. On the 6th at 3.30 a.m. steamer broached to in spite of the helm, and re- mained until* six IUn. itf the trough of the sea, wash- ing away No. 3 cutter, and doing other damage about the decks. On 7th squalls not so strong, but the sea still running very high, and the barometer slowly rising from 28*40 to 28 60 in 24 hours. At 8 a.m. in lat. 44 N., 42 W., sighted a vessel n her beam ends, with only her foremast standing. Bore down to her, and found her to be the Otto George, of Bremen. Saw two men aft waving for assistance, and when within about one mile, discovered slight smoke issuing from the after part. Steamed up to leeward, and when within 100 feet of her, hailed the men to jump overboard, and he would pick them up. After waiting as long as it was safe, she drifted very fast to leeward, and seeing the men did not avail themselves of the opportunity, steamed round to windward of her. Laid the steamer broadside on to the sea, lowered the lee lifeboat, with the chief officer and six hands, the sea being so heavy they could not approach the ship very close. Seeing this one of the two men jumped overboard, but sank before the bout,could reach him. The other man still stuck to the vessel, which was then one mass of flames. The lifeboat being in great danger of getting swamped, came back under the lee of the steamer, where, in the attempt to hoist her up. she got stove and went to pieces. Steamed down towards the ship again, but not seeing the man, kept away on course. Experienced beautiful weather to the land. The Otto George, of Danzig, cleared from London for New York in ballast, on 1st of January.

THE SANDY POINT MUTINEERS. The Times Valparaiso correspondent has the fol- lowing under date Dec. 30th: The Sandy Point muti- neers are still at large and are trying to effect their escape northward through the pampas, or plains, of Patagonia, in the direction of Buenos Ayres. The fugitives are led by a man named Biquelme; they are ninety in number, some mounted, and all of them armed. They are taking with them about thirty women and children, and their progress is slow, since none of them know the country they are traversing. They were last seen some three days' journey to the ■outh of the Biver Santa Cruz (to cross which boats are required). Of the two men who saw them, one was killed, and the other succeeded in escaping to Sandy Point. The troops sent from here to restore order arrived on the 2nd inst. in the screw corvette O'JIiggina, and the settlers expected that the Magallanes, another corvette, would be sent immediately to Santa Cruz, in pursuit of the mutineers; and in order to co-operate In the punishment of those who have burnt their dwellings and robbed them of everything, the settlers formed a volunteer corps to the number of 100 men, for the pursuit of the fugitives by land. These colonists are mostly Europeans, and are acquainted with the country while Biquelme's men are not. They requested the governor to name an officer to command and were impatient to start. A Council of War was held on the 4th inst. The Governor of the colony was in favour of despatching the troops to tbe Biver Santa Cruz, and the captain of the Magallanes, seconding that view, declared that lie would be ready and able to start in a couple of hours but the Court ultimately decided to abandon the pursuit. Next morning this decision caused the greatest excitement and indignation throughout the colony. To allow these miscreants, who plun- dered the Government Treasury, the merchants' stores, and committed the most atrocious crimes, to remain at large and safe from danger of punishment is a bad augury for the future of a colony so far from any other military station, and it is besides a direct incentive to revolt among the troops of future garrisons. Of the prisoners taken two have been liberated already, one is the chaplain and the other a person named Vidaurre. It is likely that many more will be set at libertv soon. The troops sent by the O Higgins not being required to pursue the muti- neers, fifty were sent back to Valparaiso in the Straits steamer Galicia.

HOHHXBLK TBAMDY.—A horrible tragedy, the surroundings of which are of a most extraordinary nature, has been enacted at the village of Old Corn- say, about seven miles from Oonsett. Amongst the villagers are an old couple named Wilkinson. On ac- count of his drunken habits, Wilkinson last Friday lost his work. After recovering his wages he pro- ceeded to Oornsay Colliery with his wife, and remained drinking with her till eleven o'clock. They then went home, and, according to statements since made, began to quarrel. Wilkinson picked up a razor and cut his wife's throat and afterwards gave her a blow on the head with a hatchet. He than cut his own throat, and also inflicted a frightful wound on his own head with the hatchet. Nothing was seen of them till Monday last, when a neighbour, named Mrs. Wall, observed Mrs. Wilkinson waving her hand out of the window. On going to the house a horrible sight pre- sented itself. Mrs. Wilkinson had, after leaving the window, crawled into bed, and was lying near her husband. Their features were scarcely recognisable, owing to the covering of blood, which was also fying in pools about the room. The gash Wilkinson's throat extended from ear to ear, the windpipe h«ing cut in the woman's case. Both were speechless, and were unable to make signs till Wednesday, when Mrs. Wilkinson gave those around her to understand that her husband had first of all cut her throat, and then struck her with the hatchet. Finding that he had not killed her, he cut his own throat, and used the hatchet to himself. They then got into b6d, and were unable to stir till Monday. The couple were in an exceedinglypreearoiua condition. CONFESSION OF MUBDXB.—At the Fareham (Hampshire) Petty Sessions, a young man named William Thompson Coulthard was brought up charged, on his own confession, with murder. On Sunday night last the prisoner went up to a police- constable at Wickham, near Fareham, saying that he was in fearful trouble and wished to give himself up.! The constable asked him what he had done, and the prisoner replied Murder." He was taken to the station, and there said, My father living at Bail- way-place, Bath. He has a servant named Letitia Wade. She had a child by me. It was a great dis- Wade. She had a child by me. It was a great dis- grace and was kept very quiet. On Wednesday, the 6th lint., I took the child away from Wade and threw jt over Whiteombe-bridge, Bath, into the Biver Avon. The prisoner was remanded. ALSACB AND LOBBAINB.-Should France and Germany again engage in bloody conflict, one of the chief subjects of contention between them will un- doubtedly be the beautiful provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, whose re-snnmtion by the victors in the war of 1870 is so bitterly remembered by the French nation. Mr. S. J. Capper is now in Alsace, and he is of opinion that weighing French advantages and dis- advantages with those brought about by German rule, the condition of the Alsatians on the whole is favour- •"» real grievance of Alsace and Lorraine, says Mr. Capper, is that they were re-annexed, without their own consent. The Alsatians feel, too, and with justice, that they owe everything to the great French Revolution, and, as the upper classes drew all their culture from France, it is not to be wondered at that their hearts warmed to the old country. BTRCKNNJ. v. BUCKNUA AND MACPHBMON.— In the Divorce Division of the High Court of Justice, Sir James Hannen had before him the suit of Bucknill tr. Bucknill and Macphersoa," which was the petition of Mr. William Bucknill, a barrister, for a divorce, on the ground of his wife's adultery with Captain Macpherson. Mr. F. A. Inderwick, Q.O., and Mr. B. A. Bayford were counsel for the petitioner, and Mr. 0. A. Middleton for the respondent. It ap- peared that the parties were married in June, 1867, the respondent then being Miss Sarah Elizabeth Cree. They lived together until 1873, when she took to habits of intemperance, and in consequence of this Mr. Bucknill had to separate. In time there were separations and reconciliations, but the respondent was no better in her behaviour. It was now proved that when away from her husband Mrs. Bucknill was with Captain Macpherson, under circumstances which left no doubt as to the adultery. Sir James Hannen [ granted a decree nisi for a divorce with costs, the husband agreeing to make an allowance for his wife.

EXPLOSIONS IN MINES. A short course of lectures on tbia subject was con- cluded on Monday at the Society of Arts by Mr. T. Wills. In the lapt two lectures referenc-o was made to some considerations connected with safety-lamps* the effect of barometric and thermometric alterations, and the part played by coal dust in explosions. As regards eafety-lamps, it has long been known that a strong blast of wind will carry the flaru,» through the gauze and ignite inflammable gas cutside the lamp; but it appears only to have bwn recently made out that a very slight concussion, or even a puff of air, if sufficiently sharp, will have the earne^ effect. This was shown on Monday by tiring a mix-"J? ture of air and gas surrounding a lighted safety-lamp* placed at the end of a long tube by the concussion produced by a pistol shot at the other end, a flexible diaphragm being fixed across the tube to prove that the effect resulted merely from a concussion of air. It was remarked on this that the firing of a shot in a. mine might readily drive tha of a lamp at some distance through the gauze, and so ignite the surrounding firedamp, all the lamps beicg afterwards found uninjured, without anything to show how the accident had been caused. With regard to the photometric value of different lamps the lecturer stated that some interesting had lately been arrived at. With all the English lamp* in which glass is used it is found that the mere addi- tion of the glass chimney or cover diminishes the light by about a third, but with the Muessler or Belsia" lamp the arrangements are so contrived that the addl. tion of the chimney increases the combustion in 8 correapondinardegree, and so there is no loss of light at all. On the point of meteorological changes Mr. WilIt remarked that many great explosions, such as those last autumn at Blantyre and Wigan, could be distinctly traced to falls of the barometer, not immediately before, but some day or two before, and he urged that it was not sufficient to consider only changes in the fe" hours preceding the catastrophe, as had been generally done in such investigations. The effect of 0 mixture of fine coal dust was shown by a striking experiment, in which a perfectly mixture of air with a small proportion of gas fired immediately when a little fine coal dust was shaken up in the bottle containing it. As in many dry minca this dust exists in large quantities, it was evident that it might often be the cause of otherwise inexplicable explosions.

THE PHONOGRAPH. The lVew York Tribune gives an account of a public exhibition in that city of Eddison's phonograph. Tbe tones reproduced by the vibrating disk of the machifl0 were so distinct that they could be heard and under- stood in different portions of the crowded rooIP- WordB spoken in a high key and with forcible emphasis were reproduced with much greater diø- tinctness than those spoken in a low tone, even whtf* the latter were uttered very loudly. A difference in the sound of different voices could be easily discerned. Several fragments of songs were surf in a high key and repeated by the machine with wonderful fidelity. The inventor stated the4 the machine has yet to be perfected before its full power is developed, and that ultimately # can be used to receive and reproduce the songs popular singers as they are rendered on the stage. At recent meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, jØ connection with a letter from New York describing the phonograph, Sir William Thomson gave some W plation of the machine. All previous attempts to record sound were, he said, founded on the motto" of a style or marker at a true parallel to the Mr. Eddison's ingenious invention of the electric p*0 was different. It consisted of a fine point, which, by an excessively rapid vibration perpendicular to the paper, caused by a small electric machine connects with two thin wires to the point, left trace of any person's handwriting in a r<J* of very fine holes, from which the han<» writing could be printed. Mr. Eddison, frofJ this invention, elaborated the phonograph. By tj £ greater or less pressure produced through the acti £ of the alternate condensation and expansion of tp* air caused by the mechanism of the voice, the phragm operated upon the point and recorded t*J? sounds. It was the moat interesting mechanical scientific invention they had heard of in this oentuff, There could be no limit to its application. A oould speak a letter through the phonograph would be recorded on tinfoil, sent in an envelop through the post, and his friend, by applying point of the phonograph to the tinfoil could rep*^ duce the words and tones uttered. In fact, could take down the singing of the prima, d!mfJ{1¡;" the day, which might be reproduced to a tone years hence.

SHOCKING SUICIDE OF A SOLICITOR'S CLBBX. —Mr. Payne held an inquiry at Guy's Hospital, London, as to the death of Henry Richards, IÙiu Nicholls, 21, a solicitor's clerk. J. B. Thomas, a cab- man, stated that on the evening of Saturday week he drove the deceased from Islington to the Elephant and Castle, Walworth. The deceased appeared as though he had been drinking, and on arriving at the journey's end he refused to pay the fare. An alterca- tion ensued, and the deceased was taken into custody by the police on a charge of being drunk and refusing to pay the fare, and was locked up at the Carter street Police station. Inspector Broadbridge, P Division, said he entered the charge about 9.20 p.m. The deceased was visited several times. About ten o'clock the witness and a constable went to the cell to see if the de- L ceased desired to find btil, and found him lying on the flbor with a bullet wound in his forehead. By his side was a six-chambered revolver, four chambers of which had recently been discharged. The deceased was removed to the hospital. Miss Alice Hudson, to whom the deceased was engaged, said she had noticed a change in his manner lately; he had appeared dull, and Lad complained of a pain in his head. On Friday last he told her he should shoot himself, and she ex- postulated with him and threatened to tell his friends: but he said that would make no difference, he was bound to do it. There had been differences between them. The house-surgeon, Mr. Barrs, having deposed to the deceased dying from two bullet wounds, the jury returned a verdict of Suicide while of unsound mind." THE EDINBURGH SCHOOL OF COOKHBY.—The Mcond annual report of this institution has just been issued. It states that during the session of 1876-77 demonstration and practice lessons in high class, plain, and cheap cookery were given in the tem- porary promisee at the School of Arts. Courses of public lessons on cheap cookery were given in various districts of Edinburgh, in Leith, and in Por tobello, and in various institutions and schools. During the year branch classes were, on application, conducted in forty-one places. With one or two exceptions, the at- tendance in every case was large, and the evening classes for cheap cookery were especially successful. In three towns the evening attendance reached nearly 1000, and in many towns it was net unusal to see a class of from 500 to 700 persons. As the result of these branch classes, local committees have reported not only great general improvement in the cookery and economy of the district, but many individual instances of increased comfort in the homes of the working classes. Applications for classes from numerous towns and villages throughout the country continue to be received, and will be supplied as rapidly as the re- sources of the school will permit. I CANNOT SAY that I am particularly struck with the grandeur of the idea of our plenipotentiary going into a Congress with a bag of sovereigns tied round his neck. It smacks rather too much of the golden calf style of argument. It reminds me of the oration of a wealthy, but somewhat illiterate, sup- porter of the Government, who was a candidate at the 'ast general election. "Gentlemen," he said to the electors, I ain't much of a hand at speaking, but I stinks of brass."—Trvth 1 THE RUHOUBKD BLOCKADE OF THE BALTIC. < —On the occasion of the discussion of the Budget of I Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen, the Minister of that 1 Department pronounced that the rumeurs as to a ] blockade of the Baltic were unfounded. The Govern- ment is doing its utmost to prevent Denmark from t being drawn into foreign complications. j WHIN may babies be tafd to be living from t hand to mouth ?..When they are sucking their thumbs, t