The Aberystwith Observer

MR. MILNER GIBSON GIVES THE PAPER DUTY A STAB. The question remains, is the tax on paper of a cha- racter that we should desire to maintain it ? What is its effect on trade ? I admit that its operation in im- peding the diffusion of knowledge is not the only argu- ment in favour of its repeal. The commercial argument is a most important one. In the first place, is the con- sumption of paper in this country at all in accordance with our population, or with what we should naturally suppose to be the demand of a country like England, having regard to the progress of education and trade ? IsJlit Jcommensurate with what we find in other coun- tries under similar circumstances ? The consumption in the United States, with a smaller population, I believe is three times as great as that of England. (Hear, hear.) The population of the United States is about 23,000,000. We have in this country some 29,000,000 of people. The 23,000,000 in the United States produce rags enough, and there is raw material in the country sufficient, with some little importation, to make 1 p a much larger quantity of paper than we manufacture infthis country. Is there any reason why that should be so? WHAT THE AMERICANS DO. Paper is susceptible of a great variety of uses, and in a Icountry with such an enormous trade as ours we should be the first producers and consumers of paper in the world, in proportion to our population. Mr. Raw- lings, a large paper manufacturer at Wrexham, who has seen the way in which paper is made in the United States, states that the processes there are so much im- proved that a man and his children can make paper by themselves, and turn out a much greater quantity than a similar number of persons in this country. Mr. Rawlings produced a brown paper made in the United States of, among other things, old leather, palm leaves, and damaged marsh hay, and sold at a price below the sum charged for duty in England. He also ex- hibited a sheet of paper of remarkable gloss and fine- ness, which was produced by two persons at the rate of 100 reams in eight hours. OUR MECHANICAL ADVANTAGES. Do not tell me we cannot do in this country what is done in the United States; we have peculiar advan- tages in England, both in mechanical skill and com- mand of the raw material, and yet here the produc- tion of paper is limited and crippled and I have a right to assume that the Excise duty and the Excise survey have something to do with this important dif- ference. Again, with regard to our exports, the paper duty acts as an export duty on several kinds of manu- factures. The duty is paid on the paper boxes in which those goods are sent abroad, and forms a considerable per centage on the value of the articles the boxes con- tain. How can you expect our manufacturers to com- pete with foreigners in neutral markets if you place a duty on the boxes in which their goods are packed ? Such a duty must have a pernicious effect in a great exporting country like England. The duty forms an enormous per centage on the value of coarse papers. A paper manufacturer of Birmingham told me that, on an average, he made paper of a coarse kind to the value of 33,0001. in a year. The amount of duty he paid on that quantity was 12,800l. a-year. That is an enormous tax as he graphically stated the case, he was obliged to work 22 weeks out of the 52 to make enough to pay the duty for one year. THE DUTY LIMITS THE POWER OF PRODUCTION. I can prove also that the duty limits the power of producing. England abounds in auxiliary raw material of the manufacture. The statements of the scarcity of rags are no novelty. They were urged in 1836, when the duty was reduced. It was said the manufac- turers would only put the remitted duty in their pockets, because no greater quantities of the raw material were likely to be imported. What are the facts ? Since the reduction the price of the raw material has been 40 per cent. less than before. I believe the quantity of rags now imported is 90,000 tons per annum; previous to the reduction of duty in 1836 it was only 40,000 tons you have thus added 50,000 tons to the production of paper, or nearly trebled it, and yet the price of the raw material has fallen 40 per cent. Is this consistent with the state- ment of a deficiency of the material ? I firmly believe that what happened before will happen again; that if you repeal the duty the production will be greatly increased, and the demand for the raw material will bring it into this country; and we shall probably see a similar reduction of the price to that which followed the reduction of Ithe duty in 1836. It should be re- membered that every country imports rags from time to time. We have heard much of France prohibiting the export of rags; but in 1857 we exported 530 tons to France, the French paper manufacturers giving us the very highest price for them. Belgium and other countries also import rags; we ourselves export 10,000 tons of rags to various countries every year. It is a mistake to suppose there is any deficiency of this article, if you take the whole world as the source of supply instead of two or three particular countries. I believe that the cost of this material will be equalised gradually in different countries, and as foreign paper is to be admitted duty free the argument of the home manufacturer being able to put the amount of the remission into his pocket is entirely fallacious. THE DUTY REALLY A FARMERS' QUESTION. There is one article likely to be extensively used in the manufacture of paper to which I would call the attention of the hon. baronet (Sir W. Miles); it is flax refuse. I have before said that the repeal of the paper duty is really a farmers' question. I believe the agricultural interest did not think me serious in saying so; but I am quite serious. I believe that the manu- facture of paper is the only rural manufacture that in these days can be carried on with advantage. It is a manufacture in the extension of which the agricultural community is greatly interested. I have received a letter from an agriculturist stating that he had always grown flax with a larger profit than wheat, by using the seeds to fatten cattle and converting the straw into flax fibre for the Leeds market; and he adds that flax is not, as commonly supposed, an exhausting crop. Thus, if there are any complaints of the low price of wheat or other'grain, the prospect of a development of the paper manufacture is worth the farmers' considera- tion. I believe that large quantities of straw may be converted into the material of paper; and that other auxiliary raw materials, which are now burnt, such as couch grass, may be made a source of profit to the agriculturists if they will only lend the Government their assistance on this occasion to repeal an obnoxious system of Excise regulations that cripple an important manufacture and prevent its full development. IS IT A "TAX ON KNOWLEDGE?" w:°yd on effect of the paper duty on the diffu- S'i0n °<( knowIedge- Giving this Excise duty the name of a tax on knowledge" has been called something of a claptrap I am not responsible for that title it wasused many years ago I, believe the hon. member for Hertfordshire (Sir B. Lytton), in a speech on the repeal of the duty, was one of the first who gave that definition of the tax. But the term of a tax on knowledge is fairly derived from the act of parlia- m<t? V I f !l ono clauses I find these words that for the encouragement of lea-nii!" the duty shall be remitted on all books printed in the Latin, Greek, Oriental, and Northern languages." If you re- mit the duty on books printed in these5languages "for the encouragement of learning," you certainly admit that the tax on paper is a tax on knowledge." That is a logical deduction, and if in the days" of Queen Anne it was thought advantageous to remit the duty on books in the Latin, Greek, Oriental, and Northern languages, surely in the days of Queen Victoria, when we are educating the people, it is risrht also to remit the duty on books printed in the English language. Under the existing law we are not entitled to levy a tax on books printed in the Northern languages, and I see no reason why the English language should not come within that category. But, be that as it may, the paper duty is a hx on knowledge, because it is a tax upon the means— the principal, perhaps the only means-of diffusing1 knowledge throughout the country or how I should like to know, is information to be distributed through- out the mass of the people? Is it not through the medium of cheap publications, extensively circulated ? Yet you who ai e opposed to the repeal of this duty argue as if it would in no way affect the spread of in- formation whether the tax were 1-1d. or 6d. per lb. Now, I dare say it is very true that an increase of the duty to that extent would not appreciably add to the cost of a book the selling price of which is three guineas, and that a man who is prepared to pay that price would not have any very strong objection to the payment of an additional shilling but then you must bear in mind that this line of argument is applicable to any amount of duty, however high. (Hear, hear.) The real question for us to decide is, how the existing duty acts on publications which are low in price, and diffused113 W knowledSe is extensively CHEAP AND GOOD NEWSPAPERS. But the question is not one altogether ot a cheap press; it involves also moral considerations of no ordi- nary value. It is not only desirable that should have cheap newspapers, but that we should render them as agents in the communication of knowledge as good as they can be made, instead of perpetuating a system of taxation which impoverishes them, and which may, instead of their being productive of benefit, cause them rather to be productive of injury to the community. SUPERIOR AUTHORSHIP WILL BE AVAILABLE. Mr. C. Knight, who was for a considerable time en- gaged in the publication of books, states that for a period of 20 years he paid a sum of 80,000l. to authors for their literary productions, but that in order to circulate the mine of intellectual wealth thus acquired throughout the country, he was obliged to hand over a sum of 50,00(M. to the Government. Do you mean to tell me, then, with these facts before you, that this is not a tax upon knowledge? Is it mere clap-trap to place the paper duty in the list of taxes ? For my own part, I cannot believe that by maintaining it you do not trench materially on the fund out of which literary labour is paid, and greatly add to the cost of literary enterprise. I say the paper duty is not only a tax upon know- ledge, but it is also a grievous and oppressive trammel upon the freedom of authors. I am quite sure it must trench upon the fund by which authors would be paid; for if the large sum I have stated as having been paid by that eminent publisher in the shape of paper duty had remained at his disposal, competition would have forced him to give the public the benefit of it. The money that went to the Exchequer would have gone to provide other, and perhaps superior, authorship, and thus the country at large would have had the advantage.

ANOTHER HINT TO FARMERS, BY MR. ALDERMAN MECHI. Mr. Alderman Mechi, so well known not only as a suc- cessful London tradesman, but as a model farmer of the new school, has sent the following for publication The recent announcement in your columns that I have been making a fair farming profit during the last six years, and that even now, in spite of low prices, I have no reason to complain, has caused quite a storm of angry excitement and disbelief among that large class of farmers whose landlords have failed to make improvements, or who themselves have not participated in the race of agricultural progress. In order to allay their indignation, amounting in several instances to gross personal abuse and imputation, will you permit me to gratify their desire for detailed information by publishing in your columns a bona fide balance-sheet of my last year's production and expenditure ? I am quite sure that many very intelligent and sensible agriculturists do not look upon the question of my farming as a personal one, but rather watch it as a severe test of a great principle—viz., whether a very large investment on the part of both landlord and tenant in improvements will insure enlarged profits as well as increased production. My experience has taught me that this is the only mode by which we can meet free-trade prices and com- pete successfully with foreign nations. I apprehend that no one will now have the hardihood to question the extent of my productions, for my farm has been long enough, and I trust liberally enough, exposed to the general agricultural gaze and estimate. I pledge myself to the correctness of the items in the balance-sheet, which shows a gross return of IN. per acre, and a profit of nearly 11 per cent. on the tenant's capital of 141, per acre, and a house to live in, rent free, after paying the landlord's improved rental of 42s. per acre. I have sound reasons for believing that the average tenant capital of British agriculture is only 41. per acre, its gross saleable produce 31. 7s. per acre, and the landlord's rental under 20s. per acre. This is a miserable contrast with my farm. A general adoption of my practice, supposing the capital and labour could be found, would increase our food returns from 166, 000, OOOl., their present annual value, to 550,000,000f.,—a happy, but distant, perspec- tive for our multiplying millions! To prevent any misrepresentation by interested ob- jectors, permit me to say that my balance-sheets are tested by that unfailing proof, the amount of hard cash which I withdraw annually from the farm without diminishing its working capital.-I am, Sir, your obedient servant, J. J. MECHI. Tiptree Hall, Kelvedon, Essex, March 13. Those who desire to know how these results are pro- duced may find particulars in a paper which I read on the 7th inst. before the Society of Arts, and in other of my publications. EXPENDITURE ON 170 ACRES. .General expenses, as particularised at I foot, at £ 7 9s. 8d. per acre £1,272 3 4 Rent at 42s. per acre (including 6s. per acre for irrigating apparatus) 357 0 0 Tenant's profit on farming capital, £2,380, at EIO 14s. Id. per cent. 254 16 8 —————— 611 16 8 £ 1,884 0 0 GROSS EXPENSES PER ACRE ON THE WHOLE FARM. Tithes (great and small) £0 5 0 Church-rate 0 0 2 Road-rate 0 0 3 Poor-rate, including police and county rate. 0 2 3 Manual labour, including engine-driver and bailiff 2 0 0 Horse labour (fed from the farm), 20s. Seed 0 8 6 Depreciation or wear and tear of implements. 0 2 0 Steam power 0 5 0 Blacksmith, wheelwright, cooper, founder, sadler, basket-maker, bricklayer, carpenter, and veterinary 0 5 9 Thatcher 0 1 0 Depreciation of horses 0 2 0 Artificial manures (guano) 0 10 0 Wear, tear, and loss of sacks 0 0 3 Bean tiers. 0 0 3 Loss of stock and casualties 0 1 0 Loss ,of land by roads, buildings, fences, and waste 0 2 0 Road mending, ditch cleaning, fence trim- ming, &c. 0 10 Miscellaneous petty expenses 0 1 6 Malt and hops used in brewing beer for men 0 2 0 Purchased food for stock 3 0 0 £7 9 8 INCOME ON 170 ACRES. £ s. d. 310 qrs. of wheat, from 56 acres, at 42s. 651 0 0 40 „ barley 6l acres, at 39s. 78 0 0 110 beans 19g acres, at 34s. 187 0 0 2 80 oats „ 11^ acres, at 16s. 64 0 0 (The oats a failure, being laid early and much injured.) 6 acres of white clover seed, and 1 acre of red ditto 65 0 0 Sundries (roots, &c.) told 30 0 0 Clover hay sold. 55 0 0 Grass hay sold 20 0 0 Meat, wool, dairy produce, and poultry sold £ 1,279 0 0 Deduct lean stock purchased. 545 0 0 734 0 0 Gross produce sold, .Ell Is. Id. per acre. £ 1,884 0 0

MORE AERIAL NAVIGATION! An individual of the name of Chauvin has been ex- citing the curiosity of the Parisians by the simple announcement of this complicated fact— "Chauvin has discovered the law of balloon-driving." Nothing more was in the advertisement. No further indication of age or profession; no address; but the announcement has been repeated, of course at stoie expense daily. Of course no other reply can be suggested than an expression of contentment at such a satisfactory result for M. Chauvin. The Moniteur also states that a new attempt at serial navigation has lately been made in France. The inventor, M. Yert, who belongs to the department of engineers, has constructed a balloon of nearly thirty English feet in length, moved by a small steam engine which is heated by alcohol and furnished with spindles—placed before and behind the balloon and under the steam engine. The whole apparatus weighs about sixty English pounds—the steam-engine com- posing nearly a fourth of the weight. This aerial ship has the form and name of a fish, and is called indeed the Flying Fish," a name given it by its in- ventor, from its perfect resemblance to a dolphin, which exhibits his whole system. Just as that fish moves to the right or left by means of its tail, the flymg fish is put in the same direction by a rudder, which, relatively to the size of the balloon, is of a size equal to the tail of a fish of the same proportions. With the least possible effort the helm thus placed at the extremity of the aerial ship forces it to make a curve, and consequently to direct itself. In the same way it is this form of a fish given to the balloon, which offers the smallest resistance in direction of the move- ment the perpendicular sect-ion in that direction being less than in ordinary balloons. How far the "Dolphin" will answer the expectations of its ingenious inventor remains to be tested by experience.

A CLERICAL BIGAMIST CONVICTED. At the York assizes on Monday, before Mr. Justice Blackburn, Harry Lloyd Bickerstaffe, who had pleaded guilty to marrying Anna Maria Campbell, his former wife, Mona Brougham Bickerstaffe, being then alive, at the borough of Leeds, on the 8th of November, 1859, was placed at the bar for the purpose of receiving sentence. The history of the prisoner's offence and previous career form a romance in real life. It appears that the prisoner, who is 34 years of age, is the son of a clergy- man residing m one of the midland counties. In the year 1850, while studying at St. Bees Theological College, Cumberland, the prisoner met with his first wife, Miss Mona Brougham Drew, the daughter of the Rev. P. W. Drew, rector of Youghal, county Cork, Ireland, who was stopping at her brother-in-law's, at St. Bees. The acquaintance soon ripened into friend- ship, and after a twelvemonth's courtship they were married at Youghal, with the consent of both families. Returning to England, he obtained the curacy of Thorne, near Wakefield. He remained there two or three years, and subsequently went to St. Andrew's, Manchester; thence to Chorlton-cum-Hardy, and afterwards to Morecambe Bay, where he became un- settled. Four children were the fruits of the marriage. In the beginning of 1858, he went to Headingly, near Leeds, where he depended solely upon an allowance from the Rev. Mr. Drew, and occasional remittances from his own father. Having nothing-to do, the rev. gentleman's habits became irregular. In the early part of 1859, he left his residence and family and nothing was heard of him until a paragraph appeared in the Times of the 11th October last, announcing the marriage of the Rev. Mr. Bickerstaffe, at Bartlow, near Linton, Cambridgeshire, to a Miss Anna Maria Campbell, a lady possessed of 5,000l. in her own right. e It appeared that the rev. gentleman, after leaving Headingley, obtained a curacy under the Rev. Henry Blancker, incumbent of Thursley, near Godalming, in Surrey, who was an invalid at the time, and Mr. Bickerstaffe resided at the rectory, and was treated as one of the family, being allowed the use of horses, carriage, &c. During his sojourn here Miss Campbell and her sister came to visit at the rectory for a fortnight. Miss Campbell received marked atten- tion from the rev, gentleman, and, though checked by the incumbent and his wife, after an explanation they were affianced. Unfortunately, the course of true love never did run smooth, for shortly after the curate tumbled off the rector's coach in a state of in- toxication, and was ejected from the rectory. Miss Campbell was made acquainted with the circumstance, but, though advised to break off the acquaintance, it was arranged that they should be married on the 15th October, at Brighton. Everything was prepared, and a dejeuner provided for some sixty guests, but the bride- groom failed to appear. An explanation subsequently ensued, and a more private and quiet marriage was agreed upon as more consonant with the feelings of a Christian minister. This was shortly after consummated at Bartlow, near Linton, in Cambridgeshire. The happy couple lived together something less than a fort- night, when it was learned by the bride that Mr. Bickerstaffe was a married man, and that a warrant was in the hands of the police for his apprehension. Mr. Bickerstaffe immediately absconded, and for several weeks wandered about tie country. He ultimately got to Abergele, near Rhyl, where, whilst staying at the Bee Hotel, it was discovered that he was without funds. The landlord suspecting he was an impostor, gave information to the police, to whom Mr. Bickerstaffe admitted that he was wanted" at Leeds, for bigamy. He was therefore taken into custody. After the plea of guilty had been received, Archibald Samuels Campbell (brother to Anna Maria Campbell) gave evidence in reference to the prisoner's offence; after which, in reply to the judge, it was stated that the present proceedings were not being instituted by Miss Campbell, though she was the most aggrieved party in the matter. Mr. Campbell also expressed the opinion, from the manner in which the prisoner had acted, that he must be of weak mind, and that, besides himself, he thought moral blame attached to many other persons, though they might be responsible of no legal guilt. In passing sentence upon the prisoner, the learned judge said he looked upon the offence as one of the most aggravated kind. The prisoner was a clergyman of the Church of England and a man of education, yet he bad wilfully married a young lady, well knowing at the same time that his former wife was still living. He had committed a deep injury to the young lady, and an outrage to society, for which he should pass a sentence which the prisoner would no doubt feel with double the severity of ordinary criminals. Heithen ordered Bicker- staffe to be kept in penal servitude for three years.

Ipsallitiraitts InMIijptt. SOMETHING LIKE PAPER.—In a lecture de- livered at Willis's Rooms, London, by Dr. Macgowan, on the subject of Japan," he stated that in their vegetable products the Japanese are quite as rich as in their minerals a most important tree being the mul- berry, from the bark of which is made a paper that not only answers the ordinary purposes of that useful article, but serves as a raw material for the manufac- ture of clothes, umbrellas, &c., &c. Will no enter- prising wholesale shipping house obtain a supply of this extraordinary article, to astonish the market with them when free trade in paper takes place ? THE COMPARISONS WILL NOT STAND A TEST.— Sir W. Miles and his supporters talk glibly of the paper duty being only 6d. on two volumes of Macaulay (says the Times), or a halfpenny on the Cornhill Magazine, but all writers are not so successful as Macaulay and Thackeray, and many a meritorious writer and enterprising publisher would be only too happy to retain for himself the penny a-volume which he pays to the Treasury. Very often a penny a-volume is all that the writer or the publisher gets out of it. HEALTHY HOUSEs.-There are five essential points in securing the health of houses :—1. Pure air. 2. Pure water. 3. Efficient drainage. 4. Cleanliness. 5. Light. Without these no house can be healthy, and it will be unhealthy just in proportion as they are deficient. STARTLING PHENOMENON.—On Saturday night last a phenomenon occurred over the town of Drogheda which for some time struck with the deepest terror those who happened to be outside doors. The moon shone out clearly, the atmosphere was calm, and the sky was dotted over with stars, when, about nine o'clock, a rumbling noise was heard above, and sud- denly the heavens seemed to cleave asunder, when a ball of fire, the most brilliant that fancy could imagine, rolled along the blue vault, and appeared to descend with the most fearful rapidity. For a few seconds the entire town was lighted up so intensely that many fe- males shrieked, some fainted, and others ran off the streets breathless and in the greatest trepidation into the nearest shops. Anything of the kind was never known here before. It was a length of time before parties who had sought refuge in their fright could be persuaded to return to their homes. AN INJURED ANGEL IN THE DIVORCE COURT.— "Oh! dear Mr. Lamb I am very, very sure you didn't mean anything; but I have undergone so much, and words and little fancies which are nothing to a stranger's eye put me so in mind of other days, I am sure I am so troublesome to you-why should you give yourself any more pains about me ? I am sure it must be very tiresome to you, a perfect stranger, to listen to the story of my sorrows. If I have done anything wrong, or anything to offend you, I will ask your pardon on my bended knees. I won't go on with this business. I know-oh, yes, I know too-too well that all Augustus wants is my fortune. Let him have it. I have a little money left, and I can go down to Pol- dadek by this evening's train-and I will creep into the house at night, and steal away with my child-and I can live in perfect obscurity somewhere in London. Yes I can take a house near Dorset-square, or some other low neighbourhood, and take in needlework, till I have earned enough to send my child to Eton, or buy him a commission in the Guards. Perhaps, Dr. Dodge, you will be good enough to patronise me, and let me make your shirts. Indeed, I can do fine sewing very nicely. Yes, yes; that will be best-let me begone.Once a Week. A CRUSH AMONG THE VOLUNTEERS.—Descend- ing to the dancing arena at the Floral Hall (writes a correspondent), I found to my extreme annoyance I could not, in the throngs which were now closing in all directions, recover the lady who accompanied me, and whom I had resigned on entering to some of her friends. Moreover, although I had, among the 6,000 or so who had now arrived, recognised some particu- larly sylph-like partners, who looked especially bewitching in the roseate light diffused through the building, I was again disappointed by finding myself forestalled by some (despite their uniforms) ugly rivals. Lastly, to complete my misfortunes, after receiving an electrifying tap from a fan, I found to my intense disgust that it was not intended for me. However, remembering that none but a particular class of per- sons deserve the fair, I once more charged the enemy, and this time succeeded in surprising and carrying off a rich prize. But how shall I describe this bewildering scene, which now, with the crashing musical entertain- ment, in the whirling waltz, and tilted on the one side by sprightly young ensigns, or jostled on the other against inert captains, became a perfect phantasmagoria of dancing lights, and floating flowers, and glittering evergreens, and flashing eyes, and fairy gauze, and silken sheen, and snowy polished shoulders, and polished satin, and kaleidoscope colours. AH WHERE ARE THE FRENCH MARINERS?— The result of the French Navigation Laws, as Mr. Gibson pointed out, was, that while the French shipping employed in the commerce of France with the rest of the world is ridiculous, with this country it is only about half ours (says the Times). Go to Havre or any French port, and there you see ranks, double and treble deep, of American clippers, but where are the French- men? Our trade with France is somewhat less than that with Turkey, and only a fraction of that we have with the United 'States or our colonies at the Antipodes. Whose doing is this? Not ours; or, if partly ours, only in that degree because France has been deaf to all our overtures of Free Trade.. DELUDED WOMAN.—" Do you think a man is oftener taken in, in matrimony, than a woman?" "No," he replied, "I don't. I think it's the other way. As I said before, recollect it's him that proposes —in a general way, he gets spooney, goes right up to her head, and marries. Sometimes it's the gal he ad- mires, and sometimes her money or rank but he com- monly plays the first card, and leads off for her to follow suit. I say commonly, for women know how to put it into a man's head, and make him think it's all his own doings, Well, havin' made up his mind, nothing ever stops him; he flatters, not with homoeo- pathic doses, but draughts that would choke a camel; he swears as false as the feller did who deposed to knowing a fusee ever since it was a pistol, when he heard it was called a 'son of a gun.' He vows eternal love, and takes his davy he'll die of a broken heart, or drown himself, if he's refused. Men know what liars men are, but women don't; and how should a poor gal tell, who ain't permitted to look at men's faces, to see if they are stamp'ed with deceit or not ? How can she study physiognomy ? She is all truth herself (if pro- perly brought up), and confides in others. She knows she was made to be loved; and when a man vows he does adore her to distraction, and she knows that the word adoration is only applied to angels, why shouldn't she think she is one, and believe the man who adores her ? No! poor critter, she is oftener took in than the false lover is. Now, when the fraud is found out, whichever it was that cheated (sometimes both are let in for a bad bargain), and when contempt, and then hatred, and then squabblih' and fightin' comes, ain't it better for both to cry quits? The Season Ticket," in Dublin University Magazine. THE REVENGE OF A JILTED SWEETHEART !— At the York assizes Bridget Mooney has been indicted for wilfully throwing nitric acid upon Matthew Mahon, with intent to do him grievous bodily harm, at Mid. dlesborough. It appeared that the prosecutor, a young Irishman, had sweethearted" the prisoner about two years ago, since which time he had married another woman. The prisoner had been heard, a short time be- fore the commission of this offence, to say that she should like to give him a bat and knock his teeth out;" and about two days before the commission of the offence she bought a quantity of aqua fortis (nitric acid) at a chemist's shop, which was labelled "poison." She gave some excuse that she wanted it to try a ring. On the day in question she was walking in the street when she met the prosecutor with his wife on one arm and his mother in-law on the other, when she suddenly threw over him the contents of the bottle which she purchased two days before. Some of it was scattered over the dress of all three, but a portion of it fell on the side of the face and neck of the prosecutor. He thought it was hot water, and, feeling scalded and in great pain, he ran to a doctor's near, who found the skin of his face discoloured, yellow, burnt, and fuming, and the hair at the back of his head decomposed and burnt. The jury found the prisoner guilty, with a strong recommendation to mercy, owing to the provo- cation she had received. Sentence was deferred. GOOD I-The dear-priced Morning Herald" is in a delightful way respecting the repeal of the paper duties, and it puts into the mouth of an imaginary correspondent the following:— I understand on the best authority that the first cargo of rags from France, under the new system, to this country will consist of the treaties of 1815. A DISTRESSED COOK.—A coloured cook ex- pected company of her own kind, and was at a loss how to entertain her friends. Her mistress said: Chloe, you must make an apology." La! missus, how can I make it ? I got no apples, no eggs, no butter, no nuffin to make it wid." THE Two PATHS."—A medical student, in allusion to the above book of Mr. Ruskin, says "He is ia precisely the same predicament, for he doesn't know which of the two paths' to follow in his profession- whether to turn allo-path, or homoeo-path ? "-Punch. A YOUNG HAIR-SPLITTER !—"Jacob," said a father, yesterday I forbade you associating with the neighbouring children any more, and to-day you have disobeyed me. The next time I catch you there I shall be obliged to punish you." The next day Jacob was there again, totally oblivious of the interdiction until he saw his father entering the neighbour's yard with a rod in his hand. Jacob made for the fence, over which he leaped, pursued by his father, and ran home; there he was caught. Now, my son," said the irritated father, "what did I tell you I would do yesterday?" You told me, father, that if you caught me there again you would punish me." "Well," said the father. "I Hold on, father said the little reprobate, who knew that if he could make his sire laugh the matter would all be right; "you didn't catch me there—you catched me here!" The desired effect waslproduced, and the rod was dopped; but the interdiction was renewed. "If ever I see you there, or hear of your being there, no matter where I catch you, you will [catch a flog- ging." Jacob deemed it prudent not to transgress again. BRUTALITY OF A MAN, AND HUMANITY OF A BRUTE !—An incident, to which M. Le Baron de Lau- riston was witness during one of the late wars in the East, forms a striking proof of the sensibility of the elephant. This gentleman, from peculiar circum- stances, was induced to go to Laknaor at a time when an epidemic was making dreadful ravages amongst the inhabitants. The principal road to the palace gate was covered with the sick and dying, extended on the ground, at the very moment when the Nabob must necessarily pass. It appeared impossible for his ele- phant to do otherwise than tread upon and crush many of these poor wretches, unless the prince would stop till the way could be cleared but he was in haste, and such tenderness would have been unbecoming in a per- son of his importance The elephant, however, with- out appearing to slacken his pace, and without having received any command for that purpose, assisted them with his trunk, removed some, set others on their feet, and stepped over the rest with so much assiduity and address that not one person was wounded. An Asiatic prince and his slaves were deaf to the cries of nature, while the heart of the beast relented; he, more worthy than his rider to elevate his front towards the heavens, heard and obeyed the calls of humanity. HOBSON'S CHOICE !—We have heard of an old gentleman who had three daughters, all of whom were marriageable. A young fellow went a-wooing the youngest, and finally got her consent to take him for better or for worse." On application to the old gentle- man for his consent, he flew into a violent rage, de- claring that no man should "pick his daughters in that way," and if he wished to come into his family he might marry the oldest, or leave the house forthwith. RAG FAIR.-To do the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer justice, he gives proof that he sympathises with the paper-makers about the dearth of rags. He continues and increases an oppressive tax, highly likely to promote the production of rags on the backs of the sufferers.-Punch.. AERATED BREAD.-Dr. Hassall, in his work on the Adulteration of Food, devotes a special chapter to the falsification of bread in the metropolis. Out of 24 loaves, purchased indiscriminately from bakers residing in different parts of London, he found every one adulterated with alum, the degree of adulteration corresponding with the povertv of the neighbourhood in which it had been bought. Thus it is clear that the ordinary bread is contaminated with a pernicious drug. The quantity thus taken at one time is small, it is true, but its repetition from day to day cannot fail to exercise a considerable influence upon the digestive organs, especially in young children. The aerated machine-made bread does not require the addition of alum to whiten it, the energy of the kneading appa- ratus transferring even the darkest spurred flour into perfectly white loaves. The poor journeyman baker, no less than the public, will be the gainer by the application of machinery to the operation of mixing, inasmuch as it will at once lift a very clumsy handi- craft, carried on by small masters, with insufficient means, into a manufacture of the first class, necessi- tating the employment of large capital.—Once a Week. A HINT TO THOSE WHO NEED IT.—Once upon a time there lived an old couple known far and wide for their interminable squabbles. Suddenly they changed their mode of life, and were as complete patterns of conjugal felicity as they had formerly been of discord. A neighbour, anxious to know the cause of such a con- version, asked the gude-wife to explain it. She replied, "Me and the old man have got on well enough to- gether ever since we kept two bears in the house. Two bears!" was the perplexed reply. "Yes, sure," said the old lady, bear and forbear.' COUSINS' TALK.—" No, Amy, you're wrong. I never was refused in all my life." "Oh, Tom, how can you say so ? Why, there was Louie Simpson." "I tell you again, you're wrong, completely wrong. It's true I was declined with thanks' once, but I never was refused.Punch. WELLINGTON AND NELSON.—Did Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington ever meet ? Some thirty years ago a print was published representing Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington in one room. The question was raised as to such an incident being a fact or not. Mr. Henry Graves about this time asked the Duke if he, the Duke, ever did meet or even see Lord Nelson. The reply was: Well, I was once going up stairs in Downing-street, and I met a man coming down stairs. I was told that man was Lord Nelson. S:) far as I know, that was the only occasion on which I ever met or saw him." If this fact is not known, it may be worth the note made of it.- Robert RavMns&n, ,in Notes and Queries. SERVANTS' BEDROOMS.—I must say a word about servants' bedrooms (says Miss Nightingale, in "Notes on Nursing "). From the way they are built, but oftener from the way they are kept, and from no intelligent inspection whatever being exercised over them, they are almost invariably dens of foul air, and the servants' health suffers in an unaccountable (?) way, even in the country. For I am by no means speaking only of London houses, where 'too often ser- vants are put to live under the ground and over the roof. But in a country "mansion," which was really a, "mansion" (not after the fashion of advertisements), I have known three maids who slept in the same room, ill of scarlet fever. "How catching it is," was of course the remark. One look at the room, one smell at the room, was quite enough. It was no longer "unac- countable."—Florence Nightingale. CONSCIENCE MONEY.-In a fashionable town, scarcely beyond what passes as the Birmingham "district," (says a Birmingham paper), there is a highly genteel boarding establishment, at which, about a year ago, two visitors were in some inscrutable manner robbed of certain sums of money. > In the one instance the loss was fifteen pounds, and in the other something more than two pounds, the former sum being abstracted from a gentleman's writing desk, and the latter from a lady's reticule. The same gentleman had also an impression that he had from time to time missed other sums of smaller amount. Every effort was made to discover the pilferer, but without success, and the money has been in each case long considered irretrievably lost. The two sufferers have, however, just received the whole of it back in exactly the same manner as the Chancellor aforesaid is enabled to finger such goodly sums of short-reckoned income-tax. On Friday last, a clergyman living in the neighbourhood of the town mentioned received an anonymous letter, enclosing 30?., which he was requested to hand over to Mr. as the money which that gentleman had lost at the boarding-house; and on Saturday an envelope containing two sovereigns, but without a word of writing, was addressed to the lady who had been similarly victimised. We need hardly say that among the parties concerned speculation as to the thief has been rendered more difficult than ever by this act of restitution. The usual suspicions on servants or workmen are rendered out of the question by the money being so handsomely repaid, and the only possible conclusion is that the money was borrowed by some" respectable" individual who chanced to labour under a temporary necessity for the use of it. THE AMERICAN DIVORCE MARKET. The method by which divorces are obtained in the United States is illustrated by a case which had occurred in Kansas, reported by the New York Times, as follows Our correspondent in Kansas apprises us that the market for divorces on the Legislative 'Change may be quoted as extremely active. Among numerous and notable applicants was Mr. Stothers, of Washington, who married the daughter of Mrs. Gaines, of litigious fame, and sought a separation on the ground that his wife found his society disagreeable and avoided it. The evidence upon which he relied were letters from Messrs. Crittenden, Corwin, and other members of Congress, who endorsed the grievance of whieh Mr. Strothers complained and begged as a matter of personal favour that the act might be passed. A CHURCH REBUILT AT SEBASTOPOL, An Odessa paper publishes a letter from Sebastopol, which states that one of the most honourable inhabitants of that town has rebuilt, at his own expense, the church in the cemetery, which was destroyed during the siege. The correspondent adds that the fine architecture of this church, with its glittering gilt cupolas, produces a deep impression in the midst of the half-ruined monu- ments of the cemetery. The church was consecrated on the anniversary of the first bombarding of the town in 1854. The new church, though considerably larger than its predecessor, was too small to contain all the persons who came to witness the interesting ceremony. Many who fought in the last war were present, and among them Rear Admirals Kislinski and Varnitzki; Captains Komontow, Danilevski Sinitxyne. In con- sequence of this event, the High Priest Demianovitch, almoner of the cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, who never ceased his functions during the whole siege, haa resolved to celebrate every year, on the 5th Octo- ber, a solemn mass for the brave men who fell on the field of battle. WHY SHOULD LITERATURE BE TAXED?—It may seem rather strange that in the middle of the 19th century, at a time when the Exchequer is rapidly withdrawing its heavy hand from food and raiment, so that a man or woman may live luxuriously and dress magnificently without contributing a farthing of duty to the revenue, a stand should be made against the removal of the duty on paper. On Sir W. Miles's view of the proper distribution of the national burdens, any one may eat as good a dinner as a first-rate cook can devise, in clothes of the finest material, the newest fashion and make, amid costly furniture, lights of all kinds, bronzes, pendules, and every kind of decoration, without paying a farthing; but as soon as he takes up a book or a periodical he has passed the line, and he must pay to the State. What makes it more absurd is that if he chooses to cover his walls with marble, or satin, or velvet, or to paint them, he escapes; but if he hides their nakedness with the most ordinary paperhangings at a penny a-yard he must pay. When he receives a parcel from his tailor, or his wife from her dressmaker or linendraper, the costly contents pay nothing; he pays on the coarse paper which envelopes the parcel, and Sir W. Miles thinks he ought to pay. The porcelain plate adorned by the pencil of an artist pays nothing; the willow pattern plate, or_ still com- moner piece of pottery, that has received its decora- tions through the riiedium of printed paper, Sir W. Miles would still leave chargeable to the Treasury. His reason is that the duty is very productive, without being felt by the public at large. What would he say, however, to a duty upon corn sacks, upon rick cloths, upon corn measures, and, perhaps, all agricultural implements, on the ground that the bulk of the people would know nothing about it ?-Times. THE CALCULATING MACHINE.—In November, 1857, the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Trea- sury authorised Mr. Schentz to construct one of his calculating machines, and after the lapse of rather more than a twelvemonth it was placed in the General Register-office for the use of the Statistical Dep art- ment, where it has since been in daily operation, and the satisfactory manner in which it turns out the most abstruse logarithms correctly worked holds forth the most sanguine expectations that it will be the means of effecting a great saving of time and labour in the public service.

THE VOLUNTEER UNIFORMS. In an article remarking upon the effect produced at the Volunteer levee by the varied uniforms worn on the occasion, he Dodly News has the following( Both as regards ease and appearance, no less than itness for hard work, the uniform of the Victoria Rifles unquestionably stands first, and this seems so generally acknowledged that several other corps haVe ■ adopted it as their model, and copied it closely. It appears to be perfectly black, or of the darkest tint of green, relieved only by frosted silver mountings on the cross-belt and pouch, and looked perhaps, all the mor- striking from the brilliant colouring observable arouhd. Of greys and drabs there were all conceivable shades, varied with green, black, scarlet, and crimson facings and braid, and lace and embroidery, in some instances, of wonderful design. The buffs and greys and drabs, are for the most part mistakes, as many of the wearers evidently seemed to opine. Too much has palpably been sacrificed to the absurd notion of rendering them as nearly invisible as possible, a matter which every 1 military man of experience knows to be of very little real moment in actual warfare. The result in some instances of this strange passion has been the produc- tion of as unsightly and bizarre a set of costumes as ■- the wildest imagination of a maniacal man-milliner could possibly have devised. Happily, this is a blunder that can easily be rectified when the uniforms have to be renewed, and there can be little doubt that the lesson acquired both at the levee and the ball last week will not be lost on the future. There was at the Palace a. remarkable group, whose singular appearance rendered it difficult even for the Queen herself to maintain her wonted gravity. The officers in question had thought proper to clothe themselves in loose sky- blue blouses, with buff arfsstbelts, and round flat- brimmed" wide-awakes." "^he tout ensemble, well enough for a French cantonnier, was ludicrous in the extreme, when suggested as a military costume.' Some half-dozen other officers—for reasons which did not transpire—had, in addition to their swords, Colt's re- volvers attached to their belts. One dress seemed to have been copied from one assumed by Buckstone in a v recent farce, and a sprinkling of knickerbockers, with their concomitant high-lows, elicited very few com- mendatory observations.

ANOTHER SPEECH FROM SIR ROBERT PEEL. Ona of the best, however, and most moderate and most statesmanlike of all the speeches in the late debates was made by Sir Robert Peel (remarks the Times). It has justly been accepted by the public as a great success. Sir Robert has at length taken the trouble to let the country know that he can, when he pleases, do much better things than raise a laugh, His earnest and gracefully-worded compliment to Mr. Gladstone, and his well-timed allusion to the arduous labours of the statesman whose name he bears, excited all the sympathies of the House, and will encourage the country to hope from Sir R. Peel a more useful and practical course of public conduct than he has yet pursued. A GRACEFUL COMPLIMENT. I am glad to see the unanimous reeling 01 the House on this subject. No one, I think, can decline to acknowledge the desire Her Majesty has expressed for the welfare of her people. Whatever may be our party differences, whatever may be our legitimate rivalry in discussing them, there can only be one unanimous feeling in the House as to according our assent to the desire of the Sovereign. I think the Government, by its policy, has sought to develope. new springs of industry, and new means Of increasing the national resources. And I think they have been successful in doing that which every Government, of whatever party, must desire to accomplish. With all respect to the views of the minority of this House, I think the, several majorities have given convincing proofs that it will support any attempt to promote trade and commerce, as far as those attemlits are consistent with the honour of the country. J WHY NOT HAVE RATIFIED THE TREATY? How was it that the House on Monday night rather sup- ported the view of the hon. and learned member for Bridge- water (Mr., Kinglake), and hesitated in at once ratifying a treaty that promises such great advantages in the future ? It was not wholly on account of the sacrifice we are called on to make for it; we are sacrificing for it 1,200,0001. of, revenue. But I believe the advantages of the treaty,in- finitely outweigh that sacrifice. Many hon. gentlemen, quoted the opinions of Mr. Pitt, as to the treaty of 1786, but, 1 will cite an opinion of Mr. Pitt with regard to sacrificing a present revenue, for the purpose of improving our com- mercial relations with foreign counties. It is from a speech made by Mr. Pitt in 1787. He says;—"The surrender of revenue for great commercial purposes was a policy by no means unknown in the history of Great Britain; but here we enjoyed the extraordinary advantage of having it returned to us in a threefold rate by extending and legalising the importation of the articles. Increase by means of re- duction, he confessed, appeared once a paradox. Experience had now convinced us that it was more than practicable," Here is an authority that proves we may surrender revenue for the moment with great advantage, if the treaty produces all the good expected from it. I ask the House, then, why it hesitated the other night! WHAT DESPOTS ARE MADE FROM I I have heard opinions expressed by one hon. gentleman In support of the treaty, that have inspired me with consider- able disgust. The opinions I allude to were expressed by an hon. gentleman who is a new ally of the Government, though not altogether a new ally of despotism. I have seen opinions reported as those of the hon. member for Bir- mingham, which, considering the connection always existing between him and Mr. Cobden, and now existing between him and Her Majesty's Government, have, I confess, our. prised me. We all thought the hon. gentleman was the friend of the people," not only of this country and America but all over the world. We were mistaken, wg have heard a great deal of the hon. member for Birmingham how he has acquired great provincial eclat and popularity by his advocacy of popular measures. But now we find he has deserted his free opinions in favour of the despotism of France. So much so that he will not allow any one to dif- fer from him. He has actually become a despot of ideas. How often do we see this How often do we see a man of great powers, great ability, and extreme liberality; yet give him scope and opportunity of action, and he becomes a most unmitigated despot. What did the hon, member for Bir- mingham say the other night ? Many thought we could not separate the treaty from the general policy of France, but he said—"Perish the liberty of half-a-million of people, only S3v<r this treaty Is that the feeling of this House 1 Is that the feeling of th e Government ? AH I can say is IF the Government adopts the opinions of its new ally neither its ally nor its treaty will gain for it the public feeling, j A PECUNIARY TEST FOR LOYALTY. More than this, the hen. member the other night ventured to gauge the loyalty of men by their means; he estimated their loyalty by the extent or deficiency of their pecuniary resources. I never heard such a sentiment in this House before the hon. member distinctly said it, for I wrote down the words as they fell from his honeyed lips. (Laughter.) The poorest man in the streets may be just as loyal as the wealthiest man in the country, and the man who has abundance to-day may be the beggar of to-morrow if Provl- aence takes from him the means it has bestowed. The fallacious, particularly for a country like Perish the liberties of half-a-million "of people," says the hon. gentleman, only give me this treaty." THIS IS THE SORT OF POLICY! j I feel quite sure that if the noble lord the Secretary for I Foreign Affairs had in August last been aware of the inten- tions of the Emperor of the French on the question of the ( Annexation of Savoy, he would have entered against their I being carried into execution a most vigorous and dignified protest. At the same time I cannot understand how the I Emperor of the French-for it is with him, after all, and not with the French people, we are dealing in negotiating this ( treaty-could, while he was taking a course which tends to f increase the feelings of amity and friendship between two t great nations, resist the appeals on this subject which must, I since his intentions with respect to it became known, have been repeatedly addressed to him by the Government of England. (Hear, hear.) I must, however, say that, since he ??.es. I?° to have paid no regard to them, so far as the Minister for Foreign Affairs is concerned, it becomes the duty of the English Parliament to speak out boldly its sentiments at this critical moment, and when we are about to give our assent to a treaty like the present. It seems to me to be a matter of the utmost importance that we should not be quiet spectators of this transaction of the annexation of Savoy, and that we should not, in our anxiety to support the treaty, allow this annexation to take place without making some more formal protest than we have yet done tj against its injustice. (Hear, hear.) We ought to bear in jw mind that we have spent millions in war, the expenditure of j which might have been avoided had a vigorous policy at & the outset been pursued. (Hear ) That is the description of policy which I now wish to see adopted in reference to f France. | AN INDIGNANT PROTEST FOR THE LIBERTIES OF SAVOY. A There is, however, one point connected with it to which I A may be permitted to refer. It is one which, in my opinion W demands the immediate attention of this House as well as the serious consideration ol the Government. The other day the Ambassador of France, it appears, called on the noble » lord the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and, alluding to this 1 subject of the annexation of Savoy, said, "After all, what ft does it matter ? Let us take Savoy, it is but a bare rock." ij Now, Sir, if the Ambassador of France had dared to speak to | me in that language-—I ought not perhaps to express myself I in terms so strong—but if the Ambassador of France had I used that language to me, I should have returned to him the I reply of an honest but indignant Englishman, and told him I that men lived, moved, and had their being" on the rocky [ mountains of Savoy who are just as respectable and as worthy of the consideration of their leiiow-men as are the denizens of crowded cities or tne sycophants of degraded Courts. I would have said J™1 ltlat those inhabitants of Savoy in their mountain home were as deserving of our solicitude as the rich who dwell in gilded palaces of luxuri- ous ease (hear, hear); nor shall I ever cease to record on all fitting occasions my indignant protest against such language as that to which I refer. A WORTHY CHAMPION OF BHE PEELITE POLICY. If I may be permitted to allude further to the subject, I would say my right hon. friend is in this House the efficient i representative of that policy which was inaugurated in 1842, A', under the auspices of the great party opposite. The right V ? hon. gentleman is the living, active, and intelligent represen- &L tative of a party winch my father had the proud distinction to lead, and, whatever may have been the differences and 0 dissensions which unhappily ensued on that occasion, I thmk there is no impartial man in this House but will bear M me out in saying that the policy then inaugurated could not W' have succeeded without the support of that party at the I outset, and that without their support the blessings of pros- i' perity which have since so abundantly flowed must have !■ been at least temporarily. delayed. The Chancellor of the ■' Exchequer has been endeavouring to fallow out that policy. and he has laboured not altogether in vain. He has the genius and ability to carry out this system; but' he knows well that, apart from his genius and ability, it is the character of his policy that will prove a permanent good. I think* Sir, that permanent good will result to the country, and therefore I support the policy. I think that permanent good will result from it. <lul';e irrespective of political co»' siderations in a commercial point of view. The right hon- gentleman has shown that he is desirous of laying the foun- dations of commercial properity he has shown that hIs every wish, his every thought, his every study has been to see the vessels of this great country sailing triumphantly to j everv shore, and carrying the products; of our industry to j every clime. He has shown that his, laborious untiring study has been to see the trade and enterprise of this country *,) continue in a course under those influences which h»v» jf wafted the great name of this country to the remotest linai' of the world. • t t -=- No communications can be inserted unless autheMicat^ bp the ndme and address of the xorittr.