The Aberdare Times

The English Commissioners for the Paris Exhibition held a meeting in London on Monday at the South Kensington Museum. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was in the chair, and in a short address he expressed the pleasure he had in being present at the meeting, adverted to the pro- gress that had been made with the building in the Champ de Mars; noticed the great aims the promoters of the ex- hibition had, and the difficulties that stood in their way and ventured to piomise that this commission would do all in its power to forward the views of their French brethren.

A third volume of papers relating to Jamaica, consisting of despatches from the Governor and from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, with an appendix of the proceedings of the Legislature, has been issued. The Jamaica despatches extend from December 26, 1865, to January 8, 1866 the out- ward despatches from January 29 to February 1. Of the latter date there are no less than eleven, acknowledging the receipt of documents and enclosures from Governor Eyre, and his successor, Sir H. K. Storks. The last despatch of Governor Eyre (No. 10), received January 30, encloses an ad- dress from certain ministers, soliciting a special commission of enquiry from England. The next (No. 11) is from Sir Henry Storks, announcing his investiture as Governor, and enclosing the Queen's proclamations appointing him and summoning the Legislature for the 17th at January. The material facts contained in this series have been already made public.

One of the strongest arguments in favour of the "Cattle Diseases Bill," is that it has received the almost unanimous approval of Parliament. A measure which proposes to deal with such a vast amount of property, and interferes with so powerful an industrial interest as the agricultural body, at- taining its ends by compulsion, must of necessity be viewed with suspicion and jealously; but the urgency of the case calls for extreme measures. The dangers which an incautious use of the powers sought to be conferred by the Act entail have been debated in both Houses, but there has been no disposition to oppose the stringent measures proposed. In the House of Lords on Monday, the Government Bill formed the principal topic of discussion, and the Bill which had passed the House of Commons with such a strong expression of favourable opinion, was frankly accepted by Government and supported with such spirit, as to pass undamaged through the criticism of one or two of the most powerful members of the House of Lords. N

On Monday Earl Russell received a deputation appointed by a public meeting at Glasgow on the 25th ult., on the subject of parliamentary reform. The deputation consisted of four gentlemen from Scotland and several Scotch members of Parliament, who urged the Government to the adoption of a measure the chief features of which should be a 61. rental franchise, and a redistribution of seats, but there was a general willingness to give up the latter provision if the former could be made certain thereby. It was suggested that as in France and America the artisan had the advantage of the franchise he should have it here. Earl Russell, in his reply, expressed a determination not to adopt the policy of any foreign country, preferring to adhere to the Constitution which had been found for 600 years to work well at home, and to amend it regardless of the example of our neighbours. He declined to state the character of the Reform Bill to be introduced, but expressed his view that the redistribution of the seats was a very difficult task, and not by any means so pressing as the extension of the franchise.

The sudden necessity of answering Yes or No" to a great and painful question operated on Saturday as a sharp, decisive test of Parliamentary qualities (says the Times) Had the matter been less urgent, and had the several speakers been able to build up the fabric of their speeches with the usual grandeur of proportions, splendour of effect, and richness of details, it might have required something like analysis to bring out their differences. But no criticism is wanted to show the contrasts in Saturday's debate, for they are beyond the power of exaggeration. Nothing can exceed the severity, the abstinence, and the right truth- fulness of Sir George Grey's official statement. Mr. Disraeli surpassed himself in unpleasant allusions to evil destinies and awkward mishaps, and still more In his anti-climax of lately repealed clauses, which, as he interpreted it, would have superseded the present measure by a permanent suspension of Irish liberty. Mr. Bright, released from all political obligation, went into history and sentiment, and declined the responsibility of giving any answer to the question. High as his flight was, and desirous as he was to be quit of earthly bias, he did not escape the keen shafts of Mr. Roebuck and Mr. Horsman, both quickened by the emergency, and still more exasperated by Mr. Bright. Though sufficiently challenged, Ireland— the Ireland whose life and property were in question— the Ireland that had demanded a measure always a pain, always a scandal — did not appear in the debate. Mr. Gladstone spoke as one who had volumes in his head, but was obliged to keep his eye on the minute hand of the clock, and to remember how many stages the bill hud to go through before midnight. The other House was grave and patriotic, but the special fatality which throws these burdens on the Whig party had to be noticed, and the op- portunity was not lost. Both Houses did their duty; so did the electric telegraph; so did the messenger from Osborne. In the meantime the police of Dublin and other large towns had not been slack; and, on the whole, we may feel proud of the vigour which Parliament can show on an emergency, and of the way in which its members can then waive their differences. But when all is done, it is impossible not to re- member the old taunt that we can show a little strength and unity of action upon Irish affairs only when Ireland is to be coerced.

THE POLISH CATTLE PLAGUE OF 1857. A Parliamentary paper has just been published in compliance with an address to the Crown from the House of Commons, which embodies certain reports made by the Consular authorities in Poland upon the Bubject of the Cattle Plague which prevailed in that country in 1857. On the 9th of March, 1857, Brigadier-General Mansfield writing to the Earl of Clarendon, then as now, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, stated:- Within the last fortnight a gentlemen of my acquaintance lest nearly every beast he possessed in the neighbourhood of Warsaw. The infection is so virulent that it is said that a farm servant who has been in attendance on sick cattle may carry it in his clothes and impregnate other beasts with the fatal distemper. The measures adopted to stop the spread of the disease are very summary, the most indiscriminate slaughter of the beasts affected being ordered and carried out. In Prussian Poland, where a more stringent execution of these measures has been enforced than has been the case in this country till a late date, it is said that the evil has been nearly, if not wholly, overcome. I am not aware whether an exportation of cattle takes plaee from Dantsic for the British ports. If there should be such a trade, it might be advisable to subject all beasts imported, either from that town or Konigsburg, to a length- ened quarantine, as there seems to be no doubt that the disease occasionally breaks out in herds some time after they have been domiciled in their new quarters. The disease originally comes from the steppes of the Ukraine, whence vast numbers of cattle are yearly driven westward. It would appear to commence with violent fever, which rapidly degenerates into acute dysentery, the animal dytng in a few days after the first appearance of the disorder, of intestinal ulceration. On March 29 of the same year, General Mansfield reports:- The Inspector-General of Hospitals and Health in this country published an official report on the subject in the course of last year. „ I find, from this authority, that the cause of the disease Is con agion. It is carried by farm servants, who may have been employed in tending diseased cattle, by dogs which may have bad access to their stalls, or have been used in driv- ing them in short, by any means which would be suggested by a practical farmer. There is a special dread of old hides and hair. The disease was never known to originate in Poland. It has tnvariably been brought by the herds coming westward from the Steppes of Russia. It has been known to break out amonp cattle which were apparently in good health at the end of their journey. The symptoms may be stated as follows, although much variation has been remarked in them:- Couch gnashing of teeth; irritation of the skin staring coat great irritability of the back. As the disease advances a thin matter issues from the nostrils and eyes. The irrita- bility of the back increases to excessive pain when the latter Is touched. About eight days after the appearance of the disorder, the animal is affected by violent fever paroxysms, which recur frequently during the 24 hours. Dysentery then sets in, the discharge from the eyes and nose becemes thicker, but just before death constipation follows. This last symptom does not always present itself. Sometimes the disease lasts for as long a period as three weeks, but an animal rarely dies before the eighth day from the first appearance of the disorder. It sometimes happens, but the instances are very rare, that an animal may recover, but such cases do not exceed one per cent. After death the second and third stomachs are found in a most inflamed condition, ulceration is apparent, and the foreign matter discovered is quite dried up. As yet no mode of treatment, holding out the slightest hope of success, has occurred to the professors of the veteri nary art in any country in Europe. i. I learn from the Official Almanack for 1857, published at Warsaw, that large rewards have been offered by the Go- vernments of Austria, Prussia, and Holland for the discovery of a specific to meet this fatal disorder. But hitherto no success has attended this movement. Nearly every remedy has been tried, including salts of different kinds, antimony, mercury, soda, saltpetre, cold water, nux vomica; but all have failed alike. The eonsequence has been the institution of the most striRgaat Government measmres, as I have already brought to the notice of your lordship in my despatch dated the tth inst fer the indiscriminate slaughter of all beasts exhibiting a symptom of murrain. I am not acquainted with what has been done in this re- spect in the provinces of Austria, but in Prussia the regula- tions have been severe and most sternly executed. By a report this day brought to my notice, I am informed that 20,000 beasts have been sacrificed in Poland since the regulation was published on the 9th of May, 1856. Under certain rules a compensation is allowed by Govern- ment for each beast so slaughtered. Independent of these measures in the interior of the country, quarantine stations have been established on the Russo-Polish frontier, where beasts coming from the East are detained three weeks. Fat beasts ready for the market may, however, be passed, as I am told, under certain licences and supervision along the road; but with regard to this exceptional rule my infor- mation is open to doubt. Both in Poland and in the Prussian provinces there is a great disposition to exaggerate the reports showing a decrease of the evil I observe in the German newspapers articles thrown out from time to time, with the view to influence b°It i™Pm?o\sibleeto°beS'too careful when considering this matter, the more particularly as regards all the poits of the Baltic, as well as those of the Black Sea, including Odessa. •It is probable that hides should be viewed with almost as much suspicion as live beasts coming from the countries 111 So*strongly is this point regarded by the Russian and Prussian Governments that the regulations prescribe the burial of the slaughtered animals, quick lime being thrown into thp nits I have, <fec.j into we pus. 'w j> MANSFIELD. p S —I observe that I have accidentally omitted that one of the symptoms of the disease is the loss of the faculty of rumination. W. P.. M. The only other document reproduced in the Parlia- mentary paper just published is a report from Acting Consul General White, dated Warsaw, August 10, 1857 in which he announces the disappearance of the cattle disease in Poland. In that document it is stated: The application of the law recently enacted, by which all suspected animals are slaughtered indiscriminately, and the objects most likely to spread the disease are destroyed or purified, ought to secure this country against the possibility of the murrain spreading far from the locality where it may make its appearance, unless in cases of gross neglect on the part of the local authorities. As the application of these enactments is confided to local committees composed of farming gentlemen, who have the strongest possible interest in checking the contagion, this appears to be a wise and salutary departure from the custom ot intrusting the execution of laws to Government functiona- ries alone, so general on the continent. These committees have acted heretofore with great zeal, and are authorized to grant compensation to the proprietors of stock slaughtered by their orders the fund for that pur- pose being levied by means of a rate imposed on the cattle Jn the Entire Country, The maximum of compensation so allowed heretofore was 35 roubles for a bullock, 25 roubles for cow, and 15 roubles for a calf more than a year old. Recently farmers have been allowed to insure at their dis- cretion improved breeds of cattle by submitting to an addi- tional per-centage fee for that purpose. The return referred to shows the localities where the disease appeared, and has been suppressed by the means above alluded to quite recently.. I understand that the Prussian Government has, in conse- quence, removed the existing prohibition on the exportation of cattle from certain districts of Poland to Prussia The Report goes on to say The veterinary art being as yet in its infancy in these countries, it frequently happens that one disease is mistaken for another. Were we even not disposed to trust the accuracy of the Government reports as to the total disappearance of the cattle disease in Poland, we have every reason to expect that now that it has been successfully smothered, of which there is no doubt, that it cannot reappear again easily to the ex- tent of endangering foreign countries with its miasm" for the present. This I am afraid cannot be said as regards the Podolian Steppe-grown cattle, and cattle coming direct from the Ukraine. The cattle disease appears to have its permanent abode there, but affects that breed much less, as the animals, being more of an aboriginal race than the Polish cattle, have more strength to endure the disease. The Polish Government is so attentive to this circumstance, that in enforcing quarantine it has distinguished between Steppe-grown cattle and home-grown Volhynian cattle. The quarantine fOr the first is of a permanent character, while the latter is only subjected to quarantine during the ex- istence of contagion in the conterminous districts. Another distinction is made by the regulations as to the length of time enforced for quarantine, depending upon the use to be made of the cattle imported to Poland through the Russian frontier. Twenty-one days are deemed indispensable for testing the health of cattle imported for all other purposes, except for the butcher. But as Warsaw and the other principal towns of Poland receive their chief supply of meat from beyond the Boug, a quarantine of 48 hours is only required with cattle brought to this country for immediate slaughter, provided it is con- ducted all the way under strict Government "surveillance," and sold only at particular markets in the 12 principal towns of the kingdom. The cattle of Poland is both insufficient and unfit to be exported from here with a view to the English market. Whether the Steppe-grown and Ukraine cattle conducted through this country to Dantsic or Hamburg, after the length of time employed for the journey and for quarantine here, is still likely to infect with the disease after having been landed in England, I do not venture to offer aD opinion.

SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT IN IRELAND. Subjoined is the text of the bill passed by both Houses of the Legislature on Saturday, to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. The Writ of Right, for the better Securing the Liberty of the Subject," was passed in the 31st Charles II., May 27, 1679, since which time it has been suspended on twelve occasions. The last occasion was the Irish Rebellion in 1848. The statute in question was, for Ireland, set aside on the 24th of July in that year, and was restored on the 1st of March, 1849 Empower the Lord-Lieutenant or other chief governor or governors of Ireland to apprehend, and detain until the 1st of March, 1867, such persons as he or they shall suspect o t conspiring against her Majesty's person and Govern- ment Whereas a treasonable conspiracy now unfortunately exists in Ireland:— Therefore, for the better preservation of her Majesty's most sacred person, and for securing the peace, the laws, and liberties of this kingdom, be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1. That all and every person and persons who is, are, or shall be within prison within that part of the United King- dom of Great Britain and Ireland called Ireland, at or on the day on which this Act shall receive her Majesty's royal assent, or after, by warrant of her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council of Ireland, signed by six of the said Privy Council, for high treason, treason felony, or treasonable practices, or suspicion of high treason, or treason felony, or treasonable practices, or by warrant signed by the Lord- Lieutenant, or other chief governor or governors of Ireland for the time being, or his or their Chief Secretary, for such causes as aforesaid, may be detained in safe custody without bailor mainprize until the 1st of March, 1867, and that no judge or justice of the peace shall bail or try any such per- son or persons so committed without order from her said Majesty's Privy Council until the said 1st of March, 1867, any law or statute to the contrary notwithstanding. 2. In cases where any person or persons have been, be- fore the passing of this Act, or shall be during the time this Act shall continue in force, arrested, committed, or de- tained in custody by force of a warrant or warrants of her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council of Ireland, signed by six of the said Privy Council, for high treason, or treason felony or treasonable practices, or suspicion of high treason or treason felony or treasonable practices, or by warrant or warrants signed by the Lord-Lieutenant or other chief governor or governors of Ireland for the time being, or his or their Chief Secretary, for such causes as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for any person or persons to whom such warrant or warrants have been or shall be directed, to detain such person or persons so arrested or committed in his or their custody in any place whatever within Ireland, and that such person or persons to whom such warrant or warrants have been or shall be directed, shall be deemed and taken to be to all intents and purposes lawfully authorised to detain in safe custody, and to be the lawful gaolers and keepers of such persons so arrrested, committed, or detained and that such place or places, where such persons so ar- rested, committed, or detained, are, or shall be detained in -custody, shall be deemed and taken to all intents and pur- poses to be lawful prisons and gaols for the detention and safe custody of such person and persons respectively and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the Lord-Lieutenant or other chief governor or governors of Ireland for the time being, by warrant signed by him or them, or for the Chief Secretary of such Lord-Lieutenant or other chief governor or governors, by warrant signed by such Chief Secretary, or for her Majesty's Privy Council of Ireland, by warrant signed by six of the Privy Council, from time to time, as occasion shall be, to change the person or persons by whom and the place in which such person or persons so arrested, committed, or detained, shall be detained in safe custody. 3. Provided always, that copies of such warrants respec- tively shall be transmitted to the Clerk of the Crown in and for the county of the city of Dublin, and shall be filed by him in the public office of the Pleas of the Crown in the city of Dublin.

A LADY ON ST. VALENTINE'S DAY. At the annual festival of the Dramatic Fund, on Wednes- day, the name of Mrs. Stirling, the well-known actress, was coupled by the chairman, Mr. Charles Dickens, with the toast of "The Ladies." In responding, she delivered a witty and eloquent speech. She said You have thought fit to couple my name with the ladies. Now, for that act I retort by charging you with high treason to St. Valentine and his day. You are the last man to deserve pardon for the offence, for you have shown, by your witty and eloquent allusions, that you had the day and its duties fully in your mind. It is treason, I say, to St. Valentine and his day to couple i anything with the ladies but the gentlemen. And talking of St. Valentine -in these days of archaeology, ecclesiology, and all the other ologies—isn't it a great reproach to our learned men that they have not been able to discover why St. Valentine should be selected as patron of the sweethearting and billet-douxing which goes on to-day through the post. I'll be bound the ladies would not have been so long in finding the reason. Indeed, I believe the first lady who ever tried to find it did find it, and, as Peg Woffington might say, Sure, that's myself." I'll tell it YJU. But mind, I give you all notice -the reporters in particular that the discovery, like, our ghosts and sensation effects, is copyright and patent. No if it was patent any boy might have found it out, only they hav'nt. Well, this is my discovery. I made it by the help of the old lives of the saints, called the "Golden Legend." It told me, first, that St. Valentine was a saint and martyr of the time of Claudius. Now, there seemed some- thing to the point even in that. Most young ladies are disposed to make saints of their sweethearts, and vice versa; and if Valentines lead to the Temple of Hymen, as so many of them do, not a few wives are quite ready to make martyrs of their husbands, and vice versa. But that didn't satisfy me. Reading further, I found that St. Valentine's great miracle was opening a blind young girl's eyes, and then 1 felt I had it. Love is blind, they say. I say, au contraire young ladies are blind to the merits of the gentlemen till love opens their eyes for them, and Cupid works quite as great miracles in that way 803 ever St. Valentine did and that, I take it, is the reason why St. Valentine is Cupid's father confessor, and his day the love-letter day of the calendar. As this is the first public dinner at which the ladies have been invited to sit down with the gentlemen, what day can be more appropriate for its celebration than St. Valentine's? I hope every gentleman present has Gome prepared, not only with his subscription, but with his Valentine, to slip into the hand of the fair lady at his side. If any of you have come unprepared with the necessary documents, instead of the billet-doux, slip a billet de banque into her hand, to be added to her subscription. I defy you to find a fitter way of paying your addresses for what better love letters than £ s. d., when they go on an errand of mercy like subscriptions to this charity? But to-day, as we have been reminded, is Ash Wed- nesday as well as St. Valentine's Day. We actors and actresses should be the last persons to be startled by the coincidence. How many of our days, in the earliest stages of our career at least, are like this con- secrated at once to love making in play and in public, and to fasting in sorry earnest at home Our object to-day is not feasting, but charity. If there be feeding, let it not be oura only, but that of the hungry mouths your benevolence will help to fill. There used to be Lenten oratories. Let our Lenten oratorio be the chorus of grateful prayers that your kindness will call forth-the songs of thankfulness from the sick and the suffering-the widow and the orphan-from those who, but for you, might be abandoned-those whom, but for your timely aid, might sink into the sad ranks of the forlorn and the despairing.

SENSATIONS UNDER FIRE. A writer in All the Year Round says" In the campaigns that immediately followed the Indian Mutiny in 1857, I, a very young soldier, newly arrived in India, was attached to a small field force which had been left to guard an impor- tant point in the line of communication of the main army under Sir Colin Campbell. I was naturally very impatient to see some actual fighting, nor had I long to wait." He then proceeds to describe the first time in which he took part in a battle, from which we make the following ex- tracts:- The point we had to guard was threatened by a very powerful force of the enemy, who were evidently watching their opportunity to sweep down on our small force (we were only fifteen hundred strong). Day by day reports came in of their nearer approach, till at last one evening they were known to be in posi- tion only three miles in front of our camp. The officer in command of our Column determined to take the initiative next morning, and attack, and, if possible, compel them to retreat. I well remember the peculiar thrill I experienced, when told by a staff-office that evening what had been decided on. In spite of my previous eagerness, it was impossible to help feeling serious at the thought that the morrow must see us engaged in a deadly conflict. I certainly felt no reluct- ance to fight-on the contrary, I felt rather elated at the thought that at last I was a soldier in earnest; but I am not ashamed to confess that I slept little that night. All my past life rose before me. I thought how much better I could spend it, if I had it over aeain. To a person who has never been face to face with death, the prospect of a certain impending dan- ger is rather appalling, and so I found lfc* astonished at two or three acquaintances-old cam- paigners—who seemed to treat it as a matter of course, and puffed their cheroots as coolly as if they were in the smoking-room of the Rag." I did not know then that it is only before one's first action one treats the matter seriously: that when once the ice has been broken, fighting comes very much as a matter of course, and is looked forward to by most people as a kind of pleasant excitement. After advancing some distance, a momentary halt was made as we emerged from the wooded country on an open slope in full view of the enemy, who were posted on the opposite side of a small stream about four hundred yards in our front. They had by this time begun to fire case at us, and at each discharge the ground was dotted with little puffs of dust as the shower of iron bullets fell. Though less formidable to the ear, it was far more dangerous than the round shot and it was necessary to put a stop to it as speedily as possible; so, after firing an irregular volley, we ad- vanced afresh, I can remember one maddening rush, one loud cheer, a few musket-shots, and the guns were in our possession, and the enemy in full retreat. As I reached the first gun, the smoke of the last dis- charge was still slowly curling out of the muzzle. So rapid had been our rush, that the gunners had left two of their guns still loaded. With our small force, and with no cavalry, it would have been injudicious to follow up the enemy; so, as quickly as possible our men were collected, and arrangements made for removing the captured guns. There was now time to look about a little. Parties were being sent out to collect the dead and wounded, and I was astonished to see how many had been hit in that half-hour's fighting. We had lost ninety of our small force. A ghastly sight they were when the doolies had been collected together in a mango-grove. There was every possible form of wound. The dead looked calm and peaceful I noticed that of the wounded those who were most severely injured seemed in the least pain, and generally had flushed faces. There was no complaining, no groaning. The stories one sees in books about the screams and cries of wounded men in battle are incorrect. I have been in a great number of actions, and have only twice heard a man cry out when hit, and in each case it was merely a blow from a spent bullet-the most painful wound of all, at the time. I noticed some peculiar sights. On one side, a little drummer-boy lamenting over a pony which belonged to him, and which, hav- ing been left in the rear, had had its head smashed by a stray shot; on another side, an officer shooting a wounded horse. Near one of the captured guns lay a gunner, the lower part of whose face had been com- pletely cut away by one of our round-shot. I saw one of our gun-bullocks minus a horn, which had been broken off close to his head. As we marched back to camp, with the bands play- ing as before, but for the captured guns I could hardly have realised that we had been in action since the morning. The impression left on my mind was more what I have felt after a good day's hunting, though there was, of course, in addition, a feeling of great thankfulness at having come safely out of it. I have been in many a fight since, but I never afterwards felt any gloomy thoughts in anticipation. What I have described as my sensations are, I believe, felt but once in a lifetime. In writing this I have not attempted to give a correct account of the action in question, but have simply aimed at describing what I actually saw and felt. I must mention one thing that impressed me at the time, and that I have often since observed how completely soldiers forget all their scientific mus- ketry instruction, the instant they get under fire. When face to face with the enemy, nineteen men out of twenty never look at the sights of their rifles, but blaze away at random. Pluck and dash then become far more valuable qualities than good shooting. Two years afterwards, happening to be in the same part of the country, I revisited the scene. It was a bright still morning when I walked over the ground, and I could with difficulty realise the fact that on that very spot we had been exposed to a murderous fre. The ground itself was changed. The little stream at the foot of the slope bad been deepened into a drainage canal. A railway ran obliquely across the way by which we had advanced, and a bungalow belonging to one of the officials had been built on the very spot where the enemy's guns had been posted.

MR. SOTHERN AND THE "SPIRITUAL TIMES." At the Marylebone Police-court on Monday, Robert Cooper, described as of 14, Newman-street, Oxford- street, was brought up on a warrant by Henry Kirby, one of the officers of the court. The prisoner had been apprehended in Dublin on a charge of publishing a libel on Edward Askew Sothern, the actor :— Mr. Serjeant Ballantine, who appeared for the prosecu- cution, said—The prisoner is the proprietor of a paper or periodical called the Spiritual Times, representing views to which he would not refer In it had been published the libel complained of, which was so gross, so scandalous, and so malicious that it is astonishing how it could be allowed to appear in any paper. It was asserted that it had been copied into the Spiritual Times from a paper called the New York Sunday Times but to copy such an article was libellous. He thought he should be able to show, at another tribunal, that although it might have been taken from a New York paper the article had been concocted in the pri- soner's office, and sent to New York. After referring to parts of the libel which had been printed in italics, to make them prominent, Serjeant Ballantine said it was idle for the defendant to say he was travelling about and knew nothing of its insertion. He would show by a letter which appeared in the Spiritual Times of the 27th of January, that the pri- soner must have been cognizant of all that was going on or being inserted in his paper. George Henry Church, called as a witness, said he had on the 14th instant purchased a copy of the Spiritual Times of the 27th of January last, in which was the article complained of. Mr. Southern was next examined and said,—I am now per- forming as an actor at the Ilaymarket. I have read an article in a paper called the Spiritual Times. In relation to thosa parts imputing to me improper conduct towards some actress, I say that at any time or under any circumstances there is not one single word of truth. There is not the slightest foundation for any of the statements made in the article. I am mairied and have four young children. I have always lived on terms of fondness and happiness with my wife. Mr. Serjeant Ballantine said that, but for his advice she would have been there as a witness. Henry Kirby, a policeman, said,-I took the prisoner into custody in Dublinat the theatre, and read the warranttohim. In reply, he said, "Me! I was not in town when it was printed. 1 did not know it till I saw the paper. I thought it was wrong." I then said, You ought to have stopped it directly." He said, "I was not then in town." I brought him to London. Mr. Lewis, on behalf of the prisoner, said he did not dream of raising any objections to the evidence. He would mention now that before this case came on he was instructed to ap- pear for Mr. Cooper, and to express his great regret that such an article should have appeared in his paper without his knowledge and consent. He did not know that it was in till his attention was called to it by the officer who apprehended him. His client had instructed him to make a most full and ample apology to Mr. Sothern. If the magistrate looked at the matter and also at the paper, he would find that his client could have no knowledge that this article was to be Inserted. The signature was "Robert Cooper, representative of the Davenport Brothers, Queen's Hotel, Dublin, Jan. 18. It was a bona fide apology that had been offered to the pro- secutor, but he would not accept it. Mr. Knox, the magistrate, said that the defendant should have published an apology. Every word published should have been retracted. They should have said, "We are ex- tremely sorry for any pain or annoyance we may havecaused, and this we wish to be understood by the English public." Mr. Lewis said that could not be done, as Mr. Cooper did not know of the article appearing in his paper till it was shown to him. The magistrate: I think your client would have been acting bona fide when he felt he had done Mr. Sothern a wrong as atrocious as it is possible for one man to commit towards another, if he had at once taken the most prompt steps and found out the person who inserted, or caused to be inserted, anything so scurrilous and vile, and turned him or them adrift at once. If you ask me as a matter of fact to believe that where communication Is so easy nothing could be done, and also ask me to believe that the prisoner, who is proprietor of the paper published, took so little in- terest in his publication that he did not know what it con- tained, I candidly tell you I can't believe it. It is ridiculous to tell me that a man as proprietor of a paper does not see a copy of it. In this case the defendant waited till the officer put his hands upon him and brought him to a criminal bar before he attempted to apologize. I hive no hesitation in saying that the statement is a most scandalous libel, and if the press of this country had such power as this paper usurps, I should than say "God help us." Imagine for one moment even now the scandal floating about for three weeks of a man so well known as Mr. Sothern throwing young ladies into a mesmeric state and committing the other offences charged against him. The case must go for trial. The prisoner wa3 fully committed to the Old Bailey, but bail was taken, himself in 500Z., and two sureties in 2501, each.

SUFFERINGS IN THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH. A correspondent of the Pastoral Times, writing from Wentworth, furnishes the following details of a distressing tragedy:— A family of seven-father, mother and two children, bad recently left the service of Mr. Gell, of Lake Victor a, and had, in search of employment, gone up the anabranch they had been travelling some five weeks without success, and were on their way down. The extreme heat of the weather had made their journey a very toilsome one. On Monday the 20th ult., the family had reached a point on Mr. Pyle's run, which would necessitate a stage of ten miles to reach the next water here their horses entirely failed them, and with the intention of getting through the stage as they best could, they all started on foot. The day, however, being intensely hot, they made but little progress, and the want of water WM extremely felt. The father, it was seem, turned back along the track to get some, taking with him the only vessel they had for carrying it, namely, a small billy. With this he returned; but the quantity was too small to afford the relief that was now so much needed, as the wife and children were quite prostrate from thirst; towards evening, they made an effort to push through, but on night coming on, they lost the track. On Tuesday morning the father set out to find the track or seek water deceived, after going some distance, by the mirage, he made, as he thought, to some water seemingly not far off. Not finding the object of his search, he endea- voured to retrace his steps, and had not gone far before he thought he again saw water close by, and which he had passed in his eagerness to secure some that he thought he had just seen in the distance. Horrible to relate, disappointment met him at every turn. With difficulty he got back to where he had left his wife and childreo, only to find them either dead or dying. From Monday till Friday this awful scene was enacting, when chance sent succour, but too late to save any of the children, who were all dead, and far advanced in decomposition. The father and mother still lived, the former only being conscious. They were discovered by Mr. Pyle, the owner of the run on which they were and who happened to pass near the spot with some'cattle. Mr. Pyle had them carefully removed to his station, where every attention necessary was be- stowed, and they are now approaching convalescence.

ENCOUNTER WITH PIRATES. Information has reached Penzance of a tragical occurrence in Chino Bay, the bark Bentinek, Mr. Thomas, of Penzance, master having been surprised and captured by the murder- ous pirates who abound in the Chinese seas, under the fol- lowing circumstances:— On the morning of Monday, the 4th of November, the Bentinek sailed from Hongkong with a. general cargo, for Ningpo, and with a crew consisting of 14 men. All went well till the evening of Friday, the 8th, when, in consequence of an easterly gale in Chino Bay, Captain Thomas thought it prudent to drop anchor in six fathoms of water, and at 5-15 p.m. the captain set the regular watch, and gave orders that if any suspicious craft approached the ship an intima- tion of the fact should be conveyed to him, and that all hands should also be instantly called. About 2 o'clock next morning the second mate called all hands, as a junk was apparently coming alongside. The captain and seamen hurried on deck, and looked over thfe bulwarks with intense anxiety, and perceived the junk nearing their ship. In a few minutes she had steered up on the port-quarter, and as she was ranged alongside the master and crew of the Bentinek were horrified at discovering that she was manned by Chinese pirates, who on coming abreast of the ship, fired pistols at the seamen, and threw stink-pots on board. The first impulse of the men was to defend themselves against their savage foes, and sell their lives dearly, but when the men ran to the fire-arms, the master, seeing that the pirates had already jumped on board of his ship, called to his men not to fire a single shot. and to rush below. The men promptly obeyed, and in a moment afterwards the deck of the bark was crowded by pirates. Captain Thomas, finding that some of the crew were exposed to the pistol shots, which were being constantly fired below, called to the crew to get into the lazarette, and he with one man set the example. The pirates had complete possession of the ship, and called loudly for the captain. The chief mate was followed into the lazarette by a savage who appeared to be the leader of the gang. This fellow called on the captain to come up, but Captain Thomas levelled a revolver at him, and at the sight of it he sprang hack. Shortly afterwards a second pirate came below the scuttle, but on seeing the revolver jumped back more quickly than the first. The captain did not fire at eithet of the miscreants, because the mate and the seaman agreed with him that his doing so would be the signal for the murder of the entire crew. Captain Thomas added great bravery to his great discretion by agreeing to go up on deck and place himself un- armed at the mercy of the pirates, and the mate was to pass the revolver to the Chinese afterwards. This was done, Captain Thomas at the time believing that his immediate death was certain. When the captain reached the deck he was seized, and the leader ordered him to show where the opium and 2,000 dollars were stowed. As neither money nor opium were on board, the chief could not be satisfied, and he was the more incensed because he declared that he had information from Canton that the opium and money were upon the ship. The pirates then rifled the ship completely, breaking the hatches open, and dragging the captain along with them, threatening him continually the while that if he did not lead them to the articles for which they had asked he should be shot. Day then began to break, and the pirates, at a signal from the deck, quitted the ship, leaving the captain in the main hold. He extinguished the lights the villains had been using, and watched the junk leave the ship, after which he got on deck, and the second mate then proceeded to muster the men. Two able seamen, James Collier and William Tally, were mis- sing, and it was supposed that they must have been chased over the bows and shot while in the water. The captain and the remainder of the crew were unhurt, with the exception of a few bruises. Knowing the ferocity and usual practice of these pirates, it is firmly believed by the crew that they owed their lives to the good judgment of Mr. Thomas in refraining from active resistance, which overwhelming numbers would have rendered useless, and submitting quietly to per. sonal indignities and robbery. The ship was stripped of every moveable article belonging to the cargo and the crew.

SMALL-POX IN SHEEP. A supplement to the London Gazette, published on Monday night, contains an Order in Council, of which the following is the material part:— Whereas a contagious or infectious disorder, known or described as the sheep-pox, or Variola Ovina, no* J prevails among the sheep, in a certain part of tlfc. United Kingdom, and it is expedient to take measures for preventing such disease from spreading; Now, therefore, the Lords of her Majesty's Privy Council do hereby, in pursuance and exercise of the powers so vested in them as aforesaid, make and ordain the several orders and regulations following-that is to say 1. It shall not be lawful for any person to re- move any sheep or lambs to or from the parish of Long Buckby, in the county of Northampton, or to drive or conduct any sheep or lambs through or by way of such parish, unless the person so removing, driving, or con- ducting such sheep or lambs shall have first obtained a certificate, in writing, signed by some person who may have been authorised, by two or more justices of the said county of Northampton, to seize sheep or lambs infected with or labouring under the said disorder, under the 1st section of the said Act, that such removal, driving, or conducting may take place without danger of spreading the said disease. 2. All sheep and lambs dying in any of the stages of the said disease, wheresoever such death or deaths shall or may occur, shall forthwith be buried by the person or persons in whose possession such sheep or lambs may be at the Sime of death, with their skins on, in pits of not less than five feet in depth, and the carcase so buried shall be covered with quick lime. 3. All sheds and places whatsoever, and all railway 1 rucks and other vehicles which may or shall have been used or occupied by sheep or lambs affected by the said disease, shall forthwith, after having been so used, be thoroughly cleansed with water, and immediately afterwards purified with chloride of lime by the person or persons in possession of such sheds, places, trucks, and vehicles respectively. 4. Every person in possession of any sheep or lambs in or amongst which the said disease shall mani- fest itself shall forthwith give notice, in writing, of the fact to the chief constable or superintendent of police of the county or borough in which such sheep or lambs may be. 5. And it is further ordered that this order shall continue in force for three calendar months from and after the date hereof.

A GHOST OF THE PAST. Mr Sala in one of his interesting letters on "The condition of Spain indulges in the following reflections on the man of all others whom the Spaniards most hated-Joachim Murat:— To me, when it grows late, and the great white moon shines in the midst of the vault, and the fountain, its jet stilled now, reflects Diana in its Truth at the bot- tom-when it grows so late that the lights in the win- dows are extinguished and the babbling of the news- boys and watersellers below is hushed, and only, per- haps, a solitary guitar twanged in a bye-street makes you dubious as to whether the serenade is still among the things of the present; or some silly British travel- ling gent, deluded by romance reading, has imagined that to serenade Dona Inez in her bower is yet the i, thing," and is twanging on spec; or whether, which is likeliest of all, some itinerant ballad-singer is prac- tising in his garret a new seguidilla, which, he trusts, may bring him a few reals to-morrow—then, at this witching hour of night, the Puerta del Sol is haunted by a ghost. A soldier-like ghost, a most martial phantom he is. Bright gleams his cuirass, and glistens his gold embroidery, and floats his snow-white plume in the moonlight. Raven black, and tressed into fan- tastic ringlets, are his hair and beard. There are jewels in his cap and on his sword-hilt, and even on the sumptuous housings of his snorting charger. Round and round the Puerta he prances proudly and defiantly; but, woe is me he is all one gore of blood. There is blood from the counter to the crupper of his steed-blood on his bright cuirass and broidered doublet-blood on his jewelled cap and sparkling sword hilt. It is no blood of his own—it is that of the peo- ple of Madrid and from the nine street corners rise nine times nine legions of pale ghosts, their shrouds en- sanguined, who point at him and gibber, yet flee with a shriek of affright as the bloody hoofs of his horse come clattering towards him. This is no ghost of the Cid Campeador, of Guzman the Good, of Alonzo the brave-no, it is the phantom of one who but fifty years since was a living, breathing man, but whose romantic valour made him the paladin of the French army, while his extravagantly theatri- cal style of apparel caused him to be nicknamed its Franconi." I see the spectre of Joachim Murat, the Provencal innkeeper's son, some time Grand Duke of Berg and King of Naples-the beau sabreur of the Moskowa, the husband of Caroline Bonaparte, but to all Spaniards a man to be loathed and remem- bered with curses as the infamous hero of the Dos de Mayo," 1808. On the twenty-third of March in that year Murat arrived at Madrid as lieutenant for the Emperor Napoleon. For a few weeks he made some efforts to ingratiate himself with the Madrilenos, nay, according to some accounts, Murat aspired to the throne of Spain to the detriment of Joseph. He had as good a right to it as that worthy. But who has not been accused of aspiring to the throne of Spain ? Even the Duke of Wellington was charged with such an ambition. The Madrilenos, however, soon lost their liking for Murat. On the first of May the mob, irritated by the enforced departure of some of the In- fantes, hissed Grand Duke Joachim on the Puerta del Sol, and pulled from his horse a French aide-de-camp who had cut a hissing gallego down. A terrible ven- geance followed. The poor Mooners of the Puerta del Sol fell by hundreds before the sabres of the French cuirassiers and of Mamelukes—for whose Oriental as- pect and dress the orthodox Spaniards had a special aversion. They thought the Moors had come again. More appalling massacres took place on the days and nights immediately ensuing, and numbers of the people, tried by military commissions, presided over by General Grouchy, of Waterloo notoriety, were shot on the Prado. Mr. Ford, in the amusing melange of wit, humour, art criticism, and classical lore which is still, in despite of its high Tory prejudices, one of the most admirable of handbooks, traces the subsequent fate of Murat and Grouchy to the direct action of a Nemesis angered by their atrocities in Spain. Grouchy, it is true, died in his bed, but earned the scorn and hatred of France for not coming up in time at Waterloo whereas Murat, captured on the Calabrian coast in 1815, was tried by a military commission," and shot in virtue of a law which he had himself decreed while King of Naples. Most luckless and yet most fortunate Joachim-spoilt child of Fortune, but whose mother, as the mothers of spoilt children are apt to do, in a moment of un- governable rage at his naughtiness, beat him to death, to be sorry for it, and pamper his descendants in the Iiext generation. The bankrupt, captive, dis-owned, doomed beau sabreur, with his gay-white plume lopped off, had other things, I fear, lying heavy on his soul that sultry summer afternoon when he sat in the castle of Pizzo eating his last meal of maccaroni and boiled chicken, from which they had taken out the bones lest he should strive to choke himself with them. For- tunate, indeed, if no direr fate awaited him than to haunt, as in idle fancy I have pictured him, the Puerta del Sol.

DREADFUL SUFFERINGS OF A SHIP- WRECKED CREW. On Friday evening Messrs. Lofthouse, Glover and Co., the owners of the steamer Excelsior, received a letter from the captain, Mr. Newton, which stated that the steamer was wrecked on Sunday, the 4th inst., at half-past 10 o'clock at night. About half an hour after striking, all the boats were washed away, leaving those on board no alternative but to take to the forerigging. Here they remained until the follow- ing Saturday without food of any sort, when they were rescued by the Guister lifeboat, and safely conveyed to the shore in a most deplorable condition. The ship was a total wreck, but the Lloyd's agent believed that a portion of the cargo might be saved. The captain adds in a postscript that he was not able to leave his bed, his legs and feet being in a fearful state. On the same evening Mrs. Gale, the wife of the steward, received from her husband a letter, which entered still more into detail as to the sufferyigs of the crew. He states that on the morning after the vessel struck they could see the land distinctly, and the inhabitants of the island of Juist also saw the survivors in the rigging, but owing to the fierce gale, which was blow- ing directly on the island, no attempt could be made to rescue them. Day after day did the hurricane blow, and day after day did the sufferers cast their glances to the shore in the hope of seeing a boat put off to their rescue, but each succeeding day only brought bitter disappointment, till at length in the minds of some of them hope had given way to despair. All the week the sea was very rough, and it broke in showers of spray over the mast, rendering the uncomfortable position of the sufferers still more com- fortless. The hull never bared, and they were there- fore compelled to stand in nearly the same position for six days and six nights. The result was that when the Guister lifeboat reached the ship all, except the cook. were unable to avail themselves of this means of salvation, and the lifeboat crew had to ascend the ringing and carry them down to the boat. The only refreshment the sufferers had during their stay in the steamer's rigging consisted of what rain they could catch by holding out their hats and sou'westers. The steward estimates the quantity of water he thus ob- tained in the six days at about a gill, and the others would catch about the same quantity. On the crew being landed, it was found that their legs, from the long standing and the effects of the sea water, had swollen nearly as thick as their bodies. It is now as- certained that there were on board seven passengers, of whom six were drowned. Five of the crew were also lost.

MR. WORMS'S CURE FOR THE CATTLE PLAGUE. [From the London Times of Monday, Feb. 19.] Few except those who are either acquainted or con- nected with the cattle-breeding districts can really understand the dread which now exists of this terrible distemper. Almost every remedy has been tried; none has as yet been publicly recognised as successful, and therefore, in calling attention to the cure, or rather preventive and remedy, which Mr. Maurice Worms is alleged to have discovered, we are acting simply in the interest of the community, and will confine ourselves entirely to facts. That they are facts, all sufficiently interested in this important question can easily prove for themselves. One of the first, and among the most important and independent, witnesses to the efficacy of Mr. Worms's remedy was Lord Leigh, who in these columns volunteered a statement of that gentleman's method of treatment, and the almost perfect success which had at- tended it. Since that date the new prescription has been more extensively tried, and with the following results: -About a month ago the cattle plague in its worst form appeared on the farm of Mr. Kingsley, at Boars- croft, in Buckinghamshire. Not the slightest trace could be obtained as to how it had arisen or was brought there. In the course of a few days, however, in spite of every effort, 11 cows out of 20 perished; that is to say, six died and were buried, while five were *1"1 'ed on the first symptoms of indisposition, and were •adfessed and sent to the London market as food. The remaining nine cows of the herd and two calves were affected also, and then Mr. Worms's remedy was tried, under the advice and, so to speak, the superintendence of Mr. Worms himself. That gentleman's prescrip- tion, both as to the ingredients and time of admini- stration, which he has detailed in our columns, was carefully followed, and, up to yesterday, the result was that, of the number treated, five had quite re- covered, and were feeding as well as ever they did two had nearly recovered; one was still ill, though improving every day, and one only was dangerously ill. The last-named animal, though suffering from the plague in what is its most severe form, was not, the herdsman declared, nearly so ill as one of the recovered animals had been which was then well and eating its fodder greedily. Of the two calves both caught the distemper, and one which was under a fortnight old died the other is still ill, though recovering. In every one of these cases Mr. Kingsley attributes the recovery of the animals he has saved entirely to the only remedy he has used-the prescription of Mr. Worms. The fate of one of his cattle, as we have said, is uncertain, or rather, to judge from appearances, it is much more certain to die than to recover but of the nine treated five have, beyond a doubt, recovered, and three are daily improving and are considered out of all danger. So much for Mr. Kingsley's farm. Boarscroft, though distant at least three miles in a direct line from Baron Meyer de Rothschild's model faim at Ment- more, nevertheless contrived to spread either its infec- tion or contagion to that distance, and about a week ago the cattle plague appeared on part of the home farm at Mentmore, where 50 very valuable animals were housed. Since then no less than 20 animals have been attacked, and out of this number only one has died. There were two fresh cases on Saturday, one of which yesterday appeared to be in the last stage of the disease. Out of the 20 beasts attacked, therefore, two cases were doubtful yesterday, one had died, and 16 had either entirely recovered or were fast recovering. In all these instances, again, no other remedy but that of Mr. Worms was used. It has been stated, on the authority of Mr. Symonds, that the first instances of disease that appeared both at Mentmore and Boars- croft, were not cases of true rinderpest or cattle plague. On Saturday, however, Mr. Spooner and Professor Symonds visited both these farms, and after an exa- mination of the animals recently attacked admitted, it is stated, that they were true cases of rinderpest, though the symptoms exhibited by the animals pre- viously attacked were not sufficiently marked to enable them to say that it was the true disease. Mr. Taylor, Baron Rothschild's farm bailiff, however, expresses his conviction that the animals which previously sickened had precisely the same disease as those which Mr. Spooner now admits to be suffering under the rinderpest. In all cases, however, the treatment has been precisely the same as Mr. Worms prescribes, with only the important difference that the strength of the doses has in some urgent cases been much increased beyond he quantities which Mr. Worms at first prescribed. At another farm, occupied by Mr. Dauncey at Pitch- cote, and distant about eigbt or ten miles from Ment- more, the disease has also broken out, and 24 animals have died. Yet, since the remedy of Mr. Worms has been used by Mr. Lepper, a veterinary surgeon, the mortality has been entirely arrested, and the animals that have sickened with the disease are recovering. None of those concerned in treating the infected herds we have mentioned look upon Mr. Worms s method as an absolute cure or specific, nor does Mr. Worms himself. In their opinion, however, it is a singularly valuable remedy when administered in time, and likely, they conscientiously believe, to save some 75 per cent. at least of the animals attacked. In the absence of any other remedy proposed but that of wholesale and indiscriminate slaughter, the cure which Mr. Worms suggests seems worth a patient and most careful trial. It may, perhaps, be not altogether inappropriate to add that Mr. Worms is a gentleman of ample fortune, who has come forward from the most honourable motives to try and avert by the fruits of his experience what threatens to be a national calamity. It would be scarcely worth while to mention this if it were not for the fact that in parts of the country an idea prevails that Mr. Worms is a cattle doctor and derives gain from the adoption of his prescription. The plain fact is that he has given much of his time, and not a little of his money, to establish what he believes is a remedy for this dreadful distemper.

ARREST OF FENIANS. The news of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act has produced the greatest satisfaction here (says a correspondent), and will be, no doubt, an immense relief to the minds of Her Majesty's loyal subjects throughout Ireland. It would, indeed, have been cruel to protract the state of intense anxiety and alarm pre- vailing throughout the south and west where it is supposed the mass of the working classes sympathize with the Fenians, and where most of the families who have something to lose by revolution are afraid to re- tire to rest at night lest their houses should be burnt over their heads before morning while in the north the feeling of apprehension is mitigated only by defen- sive organisations on the part of the Protestant popu- lation, which in the case of an outbreak might lead to the horrors of religious war and internecine massacre. Another assassination or two like that committed last week at the Royal Canal would produce a reign of terror that would enable the disturbers of the public peace to carry on their proceedings with comparative impunity; but the moment the American emissarit-s of Fenianism hear of the passing of the Act which will authorize their arrest on suspicion, they will fly from the country, as the rebels fled in 1848, and then well- disposed people in unprotected districts will breathe freely and sleep in peace. It appears from what the Dublin police have done on Saturday that the Habeas Corpus Act has not been suspended a moment too soon. In the meantime, the police have received orders to arrest the leaders of the conspiracy in Dublin and the neighbourhood. They have already secured about 100, and the searches are still proceeding in various parts of the city and suburbs. The following particulars are from the Evening Freeman:- Great excitement was occasioned this morning when it became known that the detectives and other police were making arrests of persons suspected of being concerned in the Fenian conspiracy. Detachments of police were to be seen going in every direction, and persons were much at a loss to discover what was the cause which led to such a general movement on the part of those charged with pre- serving the public peace. But the cause was soon explained in the batches of prisoners being led to the several station- houses. Those first taken into custody were strangers to Dublin, who had been here for some time past without any apparent employment, but who were never in want of money, and stopped at respectable hotels and lodging-houses in ex- cellent style. Thesepersons had been for a considerable time under the close observation of the police, as it was alleged that they had come here from America, England, and Scot- land for no good purpose. The men first arrested this morn- ing were the persons whose dress and general appearance showed that they had been residents at the other side of the Atlantic. Although it was expected that the Habeas Corpus Act would be suspended, those whom the suspen- sion was likely to affect did not think that they would be interfered with for at least a week, which would give them sufficient time to make their arrangements for a well- planned departure to Liverpool and elsewhere, but nothing could exceed their surprise on being pounced on this morn- ing. Some of them were in bed, others were dressing, and some were at breakfast when the police came on them by surprise; and when they asked what charge was against them, in no instance did they receive any reply. No time was given for communication with friends or associates, and as fast as the arrests were made the prisoners were hurried off to the nearest station-houses, where they were locked up without being charged with any offence, nor even told why they were taken into custody. The second class of prison- ers that were taken up were principally of the class of strangers that had been residing in the streets adjoining the South Liberties, and who, like their friends who had been stopping in various hotels and lodging-houses in the city, had no occupation but walking about, and who were re- markable for never being in want of money. Up to two o'clock 120 persons had been taken into custody, and the cells of the station-houses were receiving every moment new inmates in the shape of suspected Fenians. It is stated that the Government, in anticipation of the passing of the Act for suspsnding the Habeas Carpus, issued a general warrant last night for the arrest of all persons sus- pected of being concerned in "'the Fenian Conspiracy." The police have been active in carrying out their in- structions, and the promptness with which the arrests have been made gave no time for escape or resistance. As the day advanced the arrests became more frequent and general, and from every direction prisoners, principally well- dressed and respectable-looking men, were to be seen going to the various station-houses, where large numbers of the police were kept on reserve duty in cases their services should be required. The female members of the families of those in custody were to be seen bringing food and re- freshments to their relatives, and the strangers" appeared to be generally well cared for. The greatest excitement pre- vailed throughout the city, as it was generally rumoured that the large number of Fenians now in Dublin would re- sist any farther arrests being made, but in no instance could we perceive or learn that any such attempt was made, or is likely to occur. The neighbourhood of Cullenswood, which for months past has been the resort of persons who had ar- rived in this country from America, who had been in the Federal army, and who were strongly suspected of being con- cerned in "the movement," was visited this morning early by the police of the E division, and a large number of stalwart- looking men were taken into custody and taken to Rath- mines station-house, where they were locked up. Finer or abler-looking fellows could not be seen, and that they had been resident in America for a considerable time could at once be perceived by their manners and customs. Prisoners from publichouses, drapers' establishments, workshops, factories, &c, were brought in, but in no instance charged or informed on what ground they were detained. The great majority of those now in keeping of the police are persons suspected of taking leading positions in the conspiracy," and it is strange with what facility the consta- bles succeeded in getting at them when they were required. At 2 o'clock, when the the workmen left off for dinner, ) numbers of them were arrested. At the out stations in the constabulary districts adjoining the city suspected persons have been captured in dozens, and it is stated that at the time we go to press not less than 250 suspected Fenians have been deprived of their liberty in Dublin and its immediate vicinity. The military in garrison have received orders to remain within their barracks, and to be ready for any emer- gency at a moment's notice; but notwithstanding all theso precautions there is not the slightest sign of anything to cause alarm save the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Aet to those who have taken part in the Fenian conspiracy.

THE MANUFACTURE OF EYES! i A contemporary gives us some curious details on the « manufacture of false eyes in Paris. The average sale ] per week of eyes intended for the human head amounts to four hundred. Paris appears to have the monopoly ] of this strange trade, which does not lead one to con- < clude that the population of this gay city is very clear c sighted. Twelve eye manufactories flourish within the barriers, each of which gives employment to twenty workmen; English and American enamellers have vainly endeavoured to compete with the French artists. Do you see, sir," remarked one of the first of these, not oculists, but ocalarists, Englishmen have not sufficient taste for this trade their eyes are only good enough for stuffed animals." The trade, du reste, is very remunerative. The said ocularist receives one in a magnificent saloon, resplendent with gilding and mirrors. His servant has but one eye, and if you want to see the effect of one of the eyes, he rings the bell and tries the eye in the wretched servant's head, so that you may indge of the effect it will produce in your or that of your friend He charges 40f. or 50f. per eye. For the poor there are second-hand visual organs, which have been worn for a year by some eyeless duke or nabob, and exchanged for a new one after twelve months' service. These are then sold to the poorer classes at a reduced price, or sent off to America, India, ] or the Sandwich Islands, where the coloured races are not quite so fastidious as regards the match. One of the Emperor Soulouque's generals heard of these artificial eyes, and wrote to Paris to order one. The ocularist, flattering himself that a successful eye would secure for him one of the Haytian crosses, de- voted his utmost intelligence to the production of a chef d' ceuvre. Six months elapsed, a small box reached him from Havti. A cross glittered in his imagination, when, lo to his horror, within folds of cotton, lay his original eye, accompanied by the following note Sir,-The eye you forwarded to me is of a tint that re- sembles that of the Spanish flag, and I am too patriotic to wear any but the colour of my country. The ocularist proceeded at once to the Admiralty, there ascertained the colours of the Haytian flag, and then manufactured a scarlet and green eye, which he forwarded by the earliest opportunity. But it is not stated whether the eye was approved of.

THOMAS COUTTS, THE RICH BANKER. Thomas Coutts was a charitable man, though very strict in all business relationships, and, in old age, very miserly-looking in his own bearing and apparel He was," according to a not very friendly critic, a pallid, sickly, thin old gentleman, who wore a shabby coat and a brown scratching wig." One day a good- natured person, fresh from the country, stopped him in the street, and offered him a guinea. Coutts thanked him, but declined the gift, saying he was in no im- mediate want." The banker was by no means stingy, however, in any case in which stinginess was really blameworthy. His purse was always open for the relief of the distressed. He was also famous for the good dinners that he gave, and the crowd of wits that those dinners tempted into the circle of his acquaintance. Especially was he fond of theatrical society. Play- wrights and actors always found him a good patron and, either in idle compliment, or because his opinions were worth heeding, often consulted him on even the intricate details of stage management and play writing. One of his theatrical friendships was particularly memorable in its consequences. I Of Thomas Coutts's first wife, as the exemplary servant whom he married somewhere near 1760, we hear nothing after 1785 or 1786, save that soon a er symptoms of madness or imbecility-—a kind ot trou that pressed with singular force and frequency on the banker's kindred and belongings-appeared in. her con- duct and that, having long been dead to society, she actually died in 1815. Thomas Coutts was seventy- four or seventy-five years old at that time; but within three months of his first wife's death he married a second-the famous Harriet Mellon. With her, in- deed, he had been very intimate for some years previously, thereby P™™ing the world ^h plenty of topic for scandal, although there had been no real ground, though plenty of excuse, for it. Miss Mellon," we are told by Leigh Hunt, was arch and agreeable on the stage. Shehsid no genius; but then she had fine eyes and a good-humoured mouth." In 1795 while yet quite young, having herself and her mother to provide for, she made her first appearance at Drury Lane, as Lydia Languish." She made much stir during the next twenty years, albeit Mrs. Siddons was then alive, and giving expression to her wonderful talents on the same old Drury boards. Her last appearance on the stage was as "Audry" near the beginning of 1815. At that time, because of the insults to whirh she was subjected, in consequence of his long-continued attentions to her, old Coutts persuaded Jier to abandon the theatre, and he gave her very liberal opportunities for so doing For 25,0001. he bought Holly Lodge, at the foot of Highgate Hil1 from Sir W. Vane-Tempast [ and, having stockeil it with horses, carriages, and every sort of requisite furniture, placed it at her dis- posal Before the year was out he married her; and she seems to have been a goor wife to him during his few remaining years of life. She knew how to hold her own against the opposition of other people, shown in all sorts of curious and vulgar ways. Specially prominent in his opposition was her next door neighbour at Highgate, "a late member for Middlesex." His carriage-road passed directly in front of Mrs. Coutt's dining-room windows and every time that she gave a dinner party this road was suddenly filled with "sheets, shirts, shifts, and pillow-cases, and all the appendages of a washing-day, hung out to dry, and in such abundant qualities as surprised the neighbours, and made some of them suppose that the honourabl 3 member took in washing." Thereto was added, of course, a clique ofjnoisy house- hold damsels and char-woman, whose business it was to t IJk as loud and as coarsely as they could; their work being best done when thev oftenest and most effectively repeated the scandals talked of the lady whom they were hired to insult. This was a perse- cution that no one could patiently submit to. Mrs. Coutts complained of it, but obtained no answer. She offered to buy up her enemy's house and carriage- road for a very high sum, but still no notice was taken of her communication. Then she resorted to a fresh expedient. She had a high wall, more than a hundred feet long, built all along her grounds, and in front of hvr neighbour's property, and in that way entirely cut off from him all view of the Highgate hills. That; cost her 1,OOOl., but it effected its purpose. The stubb,rn M.P. declared himself willing to sell the ground in question the wall was pulled down again, and Holly Lodge, with extended surroundings, became a pleasanter spot than ever. Mrs. Coutts was not Mrs. Coutts very long. Her venerable husband died in February, 1832, ninety-one years of age. He left her in unrestrained possession of all his personal and landed property, stated to be under 600.000L in value in Middlesex-we know not how much out of Middlesex-besides a very large share in the immense annual profits of the banking- house. In time Mrs. Coutts became Duchess of St. Alban's; but she took good care to secure her vast fortune in her own hands and when she died she left it, in accordance, it was supposed, with her former husband's wishes, to his favourite granddauhter—the excellent lady now famous all the world over for her charities and wise use of her fortune for the benefit of her fellows. It was reckoned a few years ago that Miss Burdett Coutt's wealth, if told in sovereigns, would weigh thirteen tons, and fill a hundred and seven flour-sacks.

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. More than 25 per cent. of the present House of Commons are new men, and for anything anybody knows the changes at the next general election may be far more sweeping (remarks the Spectator). Ninety- two members, or about one-seventh of the entire House, are sons. brothers, uncles, nephews, sons-in- law, or brothers-in-law of the present heads of the thirty-one houses known in its columns as The Great Governing Families of England." This is ex- clusive of members standing in the same relation to the great Scotch and Irish families, and at least an- other thirty might be added were the degree of relation- ship extended to first and second cousins. With a very few exceptions the ninety-two represent English con- t stituencies, chiefly small boroughs-though not the sma-illest-and populous counties, three of them, for example, being amongst the eight Yorkshire county members, while Westminster, Stoke-upon-Trent, and Bristol are the only boroughs of more than 100,000 in- habitants returning members of the thirty-one fami- lies. Descending a step in the scale we find that one hundred and seventy near relatives of Peers not in- cluded in the thirty-one, fifteen of them heirs apparent or presumptive, and sixty Baronets further represent the landed and county-family" interests in the House. Making allowance for Baronets also reckoned as rela- tives of Peers, it will be seen that but little under three hundred out of six hundred and fifty-six mem- bers of the House of Commons are more or less closely identified with the great land owning caste of the country, exclusive of the scores of many-acred squires, who appear with the plain" J.P., D.L. in their re- spective county directories. There is no fear, during the present session at least, of cows being lost without compensation, or of Mr. Bright making a false quan- tity in the name of a hunt without castigttion in the shape of ironical cheers. One hundred and feur members either have served or are now serving in the army, and a hundred and fifty are officers in the militia, yeomanry, or volunteers, while nine only have held naval rank. Ninetv-five barristers, of whom about one-fifth are in actual practice, have seats. Ninety-three mem- bers were educated at Cambridge, while a hundred and twenty-seven of his constituents have the privilege of sitting under Mr. Gathorn e Hardy. Slightly under one hundred members appear os- tensibly as merchants, manufacturers, bankers, brewers, or shipowners. A hundred and twenty members are more or less concerned in the management or mismanagement of railways, while 115 are directors of insurance, banking, discount, and financial joint-stock companies, and 104 directors of miscellaneous companies, including nearly all kinds and forms of joint-stock associations before the public. The London and North-Western has seven directors in the House, as also has the Great Western. Fourteen legislators occupy their leisure in attend- ing to the affairs of hotels, from the Star and Garter downwards. One worthy baronet is concerned in the management of a fishery company, a coffee company, a brewery company, a fresh provision company, a library company, and a gunpowder company. One or two gentlemen are directors of necropolis compa- nies, but do not apparently relieve their gloomy duties by uniting with them directorships of more convivial associations.

TRAVELLERS TALES !—By the way, I heard a good story at a club yesterday (says the Paris cor- respondent of the Daily Telegraph). The night before there was a dinner, chez M. de B-. One of the guests, a great traveller, was relating a fact (which I know to be a fact) of such utter improbability that the faces of the audience showed unmistakable signs of disbelief. Seeing this, the storyteller appealed to one of the guests who had also witnessed the event. You remember that, Charles ?" No, I don't," re- plies Charles, and the listeners roared. Taxed'with this yesterday, Charles said, Remember it? of course I do but what was the good of saying so ? They did not believe you, they would not have believed me, and they would only have thought there were two liars present instead of one.The story was odd. An English officer going round the corner of a mountain in India literally stumbled up against a tiger eating boa They were both so astonished at this casual encounter that for a minute neither moved. The officer recovered hie presence of mind first, however, and laid the tiger d^ad with a charge of small-shot. THE PERMISSIVE BII.L.-During the past week two special meetings have been held in London by the London auxiliary of the United Kingdom Alliance. Resolutions were unanimously and enthusiastically adopted at both meetings, the chief of which were the following That it is the duty of her Majesty's Government to redeem past engagements, by intro- ducing into Parliament, at the earliest possible opportunity, a bill for dealing with the evils arising from the licensed traffic in intoxicating liquors." That no revision of the licensing system will deal satisfactorily with the public interests concerned which does not make provision for a popular veto in the issue of all licences for the sale of intoxicating liquors within parishes, townships, and other districts." "That this meeting engages to exert itself by all constitutional meatas to procure a legal enactment per- mitting the exercise of the popular veto." That the resolutions adopted be transmitted by the chair- man to the Home Secretary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the members for the borough.At one of the meetings Dr. Edmunds stated that in an extensive hospital practice he had found that fully one-half of the cases requiring surgical attendance arose either from the drinking of the assailant or as- saulted, or both.

THE MARKETS. MARK-LANK —MONDAY" Fresh up to our market to-day the arrivals of home-grown wheat were very small. The condition of the produce was very bad, consequently the trade notwithstanding the short supply was in a most inactive state. The few saleable articles on the stands found buyers at quite previous rates, and the least damp qualities changed hands in the course of the day, at about late prices; but the remaining portion was venr ~Z difficult of disposal, and remain unsold at the close of busl- ness. The supply of foreign wheat on sale was moderately good Dry parcels were in request, and sold at very full prices. For otner qualities there was afair average demand, and the quotations ruled firm. Floating cargoes of grain were in moderate demand, at full currencies. The supply of barley on sale was very moderate. The trade for malting descriptions was very firm, and rather higher prices were obtained. Grinding and distilling produce moved off steadily, at quite late rates. The malt trade was decidedly firm, and last Monday's currency was well supported. The market was but moderately supplied with oats. The demand, how- ever, ruled quiet, but without leading to any quotable change in prices from Monday last. The supply of beans on sale was but moderate. Most descriptions commanded more attention, at full prices. Peas were in but moderate snpply. The trade ruled quiet, at late rates. In flour only a moderate business was transacted, at last Monday's currency. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.—MONDAY, Fresh up to our own grazing districts the arrivals of beasts were moderately extensive, and the quality of the stock was good. The receipts from Scotland were to a full average ex- tent, and in prune condition. 0 wing to the more favourable weather, the beef trade was decidedly more active than on Monday last, but improved prices were with difficulty ob- tained. However, the quotations were 2d. per 81b. higher than on this day week, the primest Scots and crosses having realised 4s lOd to 5s per *lb. The supply of English sheep on sale was but moderate. Most breeds, however, came to hand in good condition. The mutton trade was firm, and in most instances an advance, as compared with Monday last, of 2d per 81b. took place in prices. Prime Downs and half-oreds in the wool sold at 6s 8d to 6s lOd, and prime Downs, out of the wool, at 5s 4d per 81b. There were a few lambs on offer, and they changed hands at fully lite prices-viz., 8s. per 81b. Calves were in short supply, and the quotations ruled high, the top price being 6s 8d per 81b. There was a fair demand for pigs, at fully late rates. POTATOES. The supplies of potatoes on sale are large. In most des- criptions sales progress slowly, at barely late rates. The arrivals are almost entirely confined to home-grown produce. Yorkshire Regents, 60s. to 95s.; ditto flukes, 7 )s. to 100s.; ditto rocks, 45s. to 60s. Scotch Regents, 40s. to 90s.; ditto rocks 40s. to 50s.; Kent and Essex Regents, 60s. to 90s. per ton. 0 HOPS. The amount of business passing in our market is very moderate. The market, however, presents a steady appear- ance, and prices of most desriptions of hops rule firm. Last week's import was 135 bales from Antwerp, 15 bales from Hamburg, 17 bales from Bremen, 82 bales from Rotter- dam, 107 from Harlingen, and 8 bales from Boulogne. Mid and East Kents, 80s to 190s; New Weald of Kents, 70s to 126s; and Sussex 60s to 112s per cwt. WOOL. The amount of business passing in all kinds of wool is very moderate. The demand both for home grown and colonial tiualities is much restricted; nevertheless j rices rule tolerably firm. Advices from Australia are more satis factorv as regards the new clip.—Fleeces: Southdown hoggets, is 8id to Is 9Jd half-bred ditto Is ll*d to 2s ojd Kent fleeces, Is ll}d to 2s OJd Southdownewes and wether s Is 7d tto Is lOd; Leicester ditto, Is lOJd to 2s. Sorts Clothing, is 6d to Is lOd; combing, Is 5d to Is lid per lb.

REMARKABLE DISCOVERY OF A NEW I MOTIVE POWER. A new method of generating and superheating steam- apparently putting an end to all possibility of explosions and cheapening steam power one-half,—has recently been discovered by a Mr. E. Danford, of Geneva, Illinois. The following description is abridged from an elaborate account of the invention in the Chicago Tribune Within three years a citizen of Geneva, Ill, Wm. E. Danford, got up early one frosty morning to build a fire in his stove, and heat the water in the kettle. After starting the fire, he placed the kettle full of cold water on the top of the flat stove plate, and sat down before the fire to muse over an improvement in a reaping machine which he was building. Pretty soon he saw the kettle vibrating on the stove plate. This motion was continuous. At first he thought it was caused by the water boiling, but taking off the lid he discovered that it was not boiling still the regular vibration continued-growing stronger if anything. He then removed tiie kettle, when he discovered in the bottom a sand hole, from which trickled, slowly, drops of water. This water, coming in contact with the hot stove plate, was instantly converted into superheated steam." The explosion of the drop of water produced the shock, or movement, observed in the kettle. The immense power generated from so small a quantity of water as a single drop arrested the attention of the inventor, and the question at once occurred to him, why cannot this power, so vastly greater than ordinary steam, be utilised ? He looked over what authorities he could find on the subject of steam in its various conditions-particularly in regard to superheated steam. He found that whilst its power was recognistd and defined, yet its employment was not considered either safe or economical; and, indeed, that little headway had ever been made towards its introduction as a motor. After a few months' search and reflection, he built an experimental model, to test an idea that had struck him, and to his great satisfac- tion he found its performance equal to all be bad hoped for, and its safety perfectly demonstrable. After making a series of experiments on his little machine, continually applying improvements that suggested themselves, he at length resolved to tax the new invention an a larger scale, and the result is wit- nessed in the engine now in operation at No. 90, West Lake-street, built for him by the Vulcan Works of this city last spring. There may he seen a 5-horse power engine of 5in. cylinder and 8in. stroke, doing 12 to ] 5-horse power work, in grinding corn, with the consumption of one-half the fuel of an ordinary engine doing the same work. The engine is driven by steam superheated from 500 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, though it may be worked to advantage at 350 degrees. Mr. Danford's boiler differs from the ordinary boiler in having no water in it-nothing but highly rarified steam, which is generated as fast as consumed by the engine. Instead of a boiler he calls it a gene- rator." His generator consists of a hollow cast-iron globe or large pot, 21 inches thick, suspended in an ordinary furnace, as a pot or kettle may be suspended over the fire. There is a casing to enclose the fire and conduct it round the generator and up the chimney, where, by the way, much caloric is uselessly wasted. An iron tube, made of 31 inch gas-pipe, enters the globe or generator at the top, and is conducted down to its centre, where it terminates in a rOIl. sprinkler, perforated with forty or fifty fine holes. By means of an injection pump, about a table spoon- ful of water is forced into the generator at each stroke of the pump, in form of spray. This spray does not come in contact with the sides of the generator, for before it can reach that it is expanded into hot steam. No explosion can take place, because there is no water in the generator to explode. The water from the tube is already exploded on entering the generator; that is it passes instantaneously from the state of spray into that of superheated steam. No farther expansion is possible. If the superheated steam should separate into its constituent gases—oxygen and hydrogen- they would produce no greater pressure or expansion. The generator which Mr. Danford is using is oapable of sustaining a pressure of 5,000 pounds to the square inch, but the steam guage shows that with 600 degrees of heat there is only 15U pounds of pressure. With one-fourteenth part of the fire-surface, thirty- three per cent. more labour was done by Danford's little generator than was accomplished by a fifteen- horse locomotive boiler, and that too with one-half the consumption of fuel. Danford's generator actually got twenty-horse power work out of an engine built for a five or six horse boiler. Twenty-five gallons of water in the form of superheated steam proved to be thirty-three per cent. more powerful than eighty gal- lons of water in the shape of saturated steam. In other words, one gallon of water in the condition of dry steam" is equal in efficient power to nearly five gallons in the condition of "wet steam." Consider the tremendous power superheated steam would give to a river or ocean steamer. A five hundred horse- power engine, as now rated, would be made to exert two thousand horse-power of force against the waves, winds, or currents.