Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
5 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
our fimkit Coraspoitaf, :
our fimkit Coraspoitaf, ('e deem it right to state that we do not at all times 1 ntify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.] The metropolis is beginning to reawaken into a more | active life than that which it has manifested during the past few weeks. In these matters the experience of one year follows that of another with the utmost regularity. No sooner has Parliament been prorogued than legislators take wing; and 80 far as the capital is concerned, there iB for some time a suspension of that active life which has been monopolised by London duricg the previous six months. They are off to Al- pine mountains, to Norwegian fiords, to Rhenish vine- yarde, and to Lombardian lakes, doing their best to enjoy the change and the fresh air which the recess brings. Satiated with polities during the preceding hall year, they now endeavour for awhile to forget there are such things. By the end of October, however, ten weeks have elapsed, and political life in Great Britain begins to move again. Cabinet Councils have recommenced, and Ministers have to think of the legislation which they intend to present to Parliament in the coming session. Lord Mayor's Day is close upon us, and there is some speculation as to what the JPremier will have to say to the Chief Magistrate of the City of London. Provincial towna are busy with political meeting?, in some places assuming the character of vast demonstrations, such as those which both parties hav,A both held in Manchester. The municipal elec- tions in the corporate boroughs are also invested with a certain degree of interest outside their own bound- aries. In short, there is a general revival of animation, both social and political, as we get into November. The Prince and Princess of Wales have returned from the Continent, and their presence is very welcome to the people of London in what is called the dull season. DuU enough it is in the metropolis in November—the month of which Tom Hood wrote that there was no sun, no moon, no morn, no noon" —and when often enough a stifling fog, sweeping up from the dank marshes of Essex, settles down upon the heart of our national life, blotting out the light and vitiating the atmosphere. The Prince and Princess are welcome in London because, as his Royal Highness expressed himself a few months ago, when he opened several toU bridges, they were always too glad to do everything in their power to advance the interests of the inhabitants of the capital. The Prince;'a birthday, the 9th of November, will be spent at Sandringham, where a distinguished company will celebrate the completion of his 38th year by the Heir to the Throne. Years may come, and years may go, but the lega terms of our forefathers go on for ever. What has been known for eight centuries as the Long Vacation has once more come to an end; and the lawyers are assembling in their chambers in the Temple and in tbe different inns—Lincoln's, Gray's, and Clements— for the opening of the Courts on the 3rd November. That is the beginning of the legal year, and a noteable day it if. If the weather be fine-a consummation most devoutly to be wished at this period of the year— this ceremony attracts a considerable crowd in West- minster Hall-for that ancient structure is still the seat and centre of our legal life. The New Law Courts are gradually rising on the north side of the Strand; and in the meanwhile the business which is to be trans- ferred to the new structure when completed, con- tinues, as for centuries past, to be transacted in the law courts which are scattered over various parts of London. Some are in Westminster. hall. others in Lincoln's inn, others againat Guildhall, Bed-lion-court, and Basinghall-street If a country suitor wanted to find the Admiralty Court, he would have to explore one of the entrances to St. Stephen's hall and find his way up a winding staircase. The Lords Justices of Appeal sit somewhere in one of the rooms belonging to the House of Lords. So far, the dream of having all the legal tribunals of London under one roof has not been realised; but every brick added to the stately Palace of Justice in the Strand hastens its IDealization. The Lord High Chancellor of England is the most exalted of all our judicial functionaries. His salary is £10,000 a year, namely, £6,000 as the head of the law, and JB4,000 as Speaker of the House of Lords. This is double the allowance granted by Parliament to the Prime Minister, or to &nT, of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, The Lord Chancellor is the legal adviser of the Cabinet, in which select circle he has the privilege of a seat. He ranks next after the Archbishop of Canterbury as the second subject of the Queen outside the Royal circle. He has the distribution of a large amount of the ecclesiastical patronage of the Crown, is the head of the Court of Appeal, the keeper of the Queen's conscience, and the custodian of the Great Seal. At the beginning of Miehaelmas Term, at his private residence, he receives the Lord Mayor elect, and con- veys to him the expression of Her Majesty's gracious approval of the choice of a chief magistrate which has been made by the citizens of London. The city, it may here be stated, is the only municipality in the kingdom which goes through the form of submitting its Mayor for Royal approval. The "loving cup," dressed with flowers, is passed round; and the civic company having taken their departure, the Chancellor receives the Judges, Queens' Counsel, and serjeants at break- fast Thtjn a procession is formed to Westminster Hall, where his lordship formally opens the Courts of Law, and the legal machinery of the country is set in motion for another nine months. On a fine day this procession is very well worth seeing, and a crowd of considerable dimensions assembles in Westminster Hall to see the judges pass into their respective courts. The splendid Transatlantic steamer Sarmatian, which conveyed the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne to Canada eleven months ago, was selected to bring her Royal Highness back, and it is understood that the Princess has come home for some months to avoid the severities of the Canadian winter. The nowspaper special correspondents, who last year ac- companied the new Governor-General and his wife to Canada, took with them everything possible to ward off the effects of hard weather. Overcoats lined with expensive fur, and the warmest of wraps, comfortem, and rugs, were amongst the artioles of their outfit. Wh n they arrived in the Dominion they found to thai* surprise a considerable part of our great western tcriit rie enveloped in a close and not very whole- some s-tmosr-here known in these islands by the term 01 "muggy. The temperature was exception- ally mild, in fact; and on their return to Eng- land the specials found our islands plunged into an Arctic winter, It was far colder in England than in Canada for our navigable rivers were frozen over; and the Thames above bridge was one mass of ice. Bat there is no reason to suppose that the »ppr< •» hing ason will be so mild in the Dominion as its predecessor; and that is the chief reason why the Princess Loui e, by the advice of her physicians, has come homa f- a '3W months. It is not often that we get it colder in the United Kingdom than in Canada at this time of the year; and with all good wishes for the health f a deservedly-popular member of the Royal family, it is hoped that the Princess Louise will obtain the relief from the change of air which it is the object of that change to secure. The Metropolitan Board of Works, which has its office in Spring Gardens, hard by Charing Cross, may well be called the Parliament of London, so far as the capital is concerned outside the civic boundaries. For the city itself there are the Courts of Aldermen and of Common Council-the Upper and Lower Chambers of civic legislation. Bat the Board of Works has virtually the control of the interests, social and material, of three millions of human beings. Last session it promoted in Parliament a bill for the con- struction of a high level bridge across the Thames be. tween Tooley-street on the south and the Tower on the north. The House of Common's Com- mittee, however, rejected the scheme. A few day's ago, deputations and memorials were re- ceived by the Board of Works which represented a very prevalent feeling in tha east end of London. It is a rei arkhble fact that oi-e-tbird of the population of the copital lives to the east of London Bridge, and this vast trading and wording community is put to I constant loss and inconvenience by the difficulty of srossing the river. There is no means of doing so sxcept by a ferry; and what the east-end people com- plain of is that while they have had to contribute to- wards the liberation of the toU bridges higher up the stream, they have no bridge at all, and a plan [aid before Parliament for supplying the undoubted want is rejected. As commercial London grows, the centre of gravity shifts towards the east more and more and it is a somewhat incongruous fact that over a million people In the capital live upon the banks of an unbridged river. The wayfarer in Ludgate-hill, as he moves hither and thither of an evening, may often hear the bells of St. Paul's, which were put up twelve months ago, after the Cathedral had been without them for 200 years. They send out their chimes over a rich and busy piece of the metropolis. The City engineer has told us, in his report issued a few days ago, that the roadways under the control of the Corporation cover an area of 468,000 square yards, and the footways 328,000. The Bingularly large propor- tion which the pavements bear to the carriage ways is accounted for by the numbers of courts and paved spaces from which wheeled traffic is excluded. It seems that within the past thirty-five years nearly 400 out of the 834 streets and thoroughfares of the city have undergone alteration. The little space in which the Lord Mayor is King has been practically recon. structed. The city is now at once the newest as well as the oldest section of the metropolis, nor is it with- out its open spaces, of which the last and the most attractive are the Temple Gardens. When Parliament assembled on the 5th December last for its special pre-Christmas Bitting, it was ex- plained to the members of the Legislature that the Afghan war-then in progress-wail the cause of their being summoned from their homes at that inconvenient period of the year. When Parliament was prorogued, more than eight months afterwards, a paragraph in the Queen's Speech announced the successful termina- tion of the campaign and the conclusion of the Treaty of Gandamak. Events have proved that a treaty with a barbarian State is a very different matter from one with a civilised Power. The Treaty of Vienna, to which the representatives of the great European nations set their hands and seals in 1815, remained binding nearly forty years. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1856, lasted 21 yeara. But this Treaty of Gandamak, come to with the Afghan Ameer, was virtually set aside by his people within three weeks after its completion had been officially announced to Parliament by her Majesty. Meanwhile, it is satisfactory to know that our troubles in Zulu- land are over for the time, and the disbanding of the expedition is welcome enough to those of the English people who ask to be excused if they are unable to feel much interest in a struggle which is going on 7,500 miles away. Whatever the merits of the war may have been, it would seem from the cap- ture of Cetewayo, and the break up of his powerful military organisation, that the Natal colonists now need no longer to live in chronic terror of savage raids. Cetewayo seems to accept his fate with a con. siderable degree of equanimity. It would be a strange termination to his career were he shipped off to St. Helena, the scene of the last years of a very illustrious exile, whose military power, like that of the Zulu king, had been beaten down by Great Britain. A "INDECENT PHOTOGRAPHS."
LLEGED "INDECENT PHOTOGRAPHS."
In London, on Wednesday, at the Mansion-house, Mr. Phillpott, a stationer, carrying on business in King William- street, City, attended before the Lord Mayor on an adjourned summons issued at the Instance of the City Police charging him with exposing for sale in his shop window indecent pho- tographs of Zulus. Mr. Poland and Mr. Charles Matthews were counsel for the defence; Mr. Montagu Williams appeared on behalf of the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, of Cbeapslde and Regent-street; and Mr. Alderman Nottage, whose name had been previously mentioned in the case, occupied a seat by his counsel at the table of the court. We give the following report of the case—(which excited a great deal of interest)—from The Times of Thuisday Edwin Williams, a detective constable of the City Police Force, deposed that from instructions he received he went on the 17th ot Ootobar, in company with Detective Harding, to the defendant's shop In King Wllllam-street where they saw photographs ot Zulu women in the window. Witness went into the shop and asked the shopman to show them some of the photographs, and a packet was taken from the window. Witness selected nine (produced) from the packet, for which he paid 4s. 61 Witness said they were police officers, and from numerous complaints they had come to purchase some photographs. No doubt, they added, some proceedings would be taken for telling them. The photograph produced was one which he saw In the window. From Instructions he received he afterwards applied for a summons. Mr. Poland asked the witness, in cross-examination, who gave him Instructions to purchase the photographs. Witness replied Major Bowman, the Commissioner of the City Police. gave him Instructions. Mr. Poland wishdd to know if this was a prosecution Instituted by the City Police. Witness replied that be did not know. Hi* instructions were to make the purchases fer Major Bowman and to bring what he bought back to him as soon as he could. Mr. Poland sup- posed the witness knew Mr. Phillpott bad been carrying on business for a good many years and was a gentleman of great respectability. Witness answered in the affirmative In reply to further questions, witness said there were a number of phetcgraphs of various descriptions in the window—works of art, but he could not say whether there were any photographs of Afghans; there were miscel- laneous photographs. Mr. Poland then asked whether Major Bowman directed him to take out the summons. The Lord Mayor told the witness he need not answer that question Mr. Poland wanted to know who the real prosecutor in the case was, and repeated this question. The Lord Mayor said he must rule that the witness was not bound to answer the question. Mr. Poland, however, again repeated hi. ques- tion and submitted that he had a right to put it, Witness replied that Major Bowman told him to buy them and bring them to him, as he wanted the photographs. He was told to make haste and make the purchase, as the Lord Mayor was waiting for them. He took them to Major Bowman, and was sent on the following Tuesday to the Mansion-house for a summons. Witness selected the whole nine photographs. H& would not say that he had seen that particular photograph* exhibited In any other shop In the city of London. He was sent to that particular shop he had not been sent to any other shops in the city for that purpose. Those photographs were all marked by him. Witness sawln the shop the ooptes of works of art pro- duced. He did not ask for any Afghans or Japanese Mr Poland then asked whether he swore the photoeranhs in question were obscene. Witness replied that he would not like to swear that. Mr. Poland asked whether tta Wit- ness knew the figures were those of two women He re- plied that he thought they were men and women. The Lord Mayor atked what the defendant said when he gave evidence. Witness rejoined that the defendant said it was a man and woman, and that his manager had labelled it "A newiy-marriedcouple." Detective-constable William Harding, who accompanied the witness Williams, then gave corroborative evidence. Ihe photograph produced, he added, was not labelled when he went. Mr. Poland asked whether he swore ft was an obscene photograph. Witness replied that he did not say it was--it was a matter of opinion. He would not say it waa indecent. Since the summons none of these had been ex. hibited in the defendant's window. He did not see Mr. Phillpott himself. This was the case for the prosecution. Mr. Poland then addressed the Court on behalf of the de- fendant, Mr. Phillpott, and confessed that he had some diffi- £ «i u"der,tandln8 whose case it was; tor be could not Sf. 5Staking that the good sense of the management of the « Wottld neTet hmTe ltaeU directed them to send two £ plaln clothes to the shop of a respectable ???!?beea on business without any buy Phot°Kr*Pb*. rush off to the n ,5v §? summons against him under 5th George IV., chap. 83,Mc lor exhibition of indecent pictures in the windows of his shop. He should have thought consldertog the common practice throughout every great city In the ^^try to exhibit photographs of Zulus for the lnformatlon of those persons who might desire to have them, that if there were anything shown In Mr. Phillpott's shop which could oflend the good taste of the head of the City Police (laughter) or that of any one else, the proper course would have been to have said quietly to the proprietor of that shop, We think these photographs may be considered by some persons to offend against good taste or to be indecent, Instead of directing the i fficers who had been examined to take out a summons against a respectable tradesman, charging him, for this was what it came to in the Act of Parliament, with being a rogue and a vagabond. He could not help thinking that such a proceeding was a scandalous one, and ought never to have been resorted to. (Applause) The Act deemed persons guilty of the offence here charged to be rogues and vagabonds, and liable to be committed to hard labour for three months. By lit and 2nd Via. that statute was amended, because some persons maintained that an ex- polure in a ahop window was not an exposure in the public streets, though such window exposed was distinctly stated to be considered to be wilful exposure. The proceed- ings, therefore, were not under both Acts, and the defendant, who had carried on business for thirty-five years, was to be considered as a rogue and a vagabond. Some people were more nice than wise, and it did not much matter whether indecent er obscene was the word used, as they were very much alike. His Lordship weuld, therefore, have to decide whether this was an obscene or an indecent exhibition. What were the facts ? They had had a war with the brave natives of Zululaad, and, therefore, there had been a great desire to know all about them. Colouial phutographers had sent over such photographs for general sale to put la people's albums. It was an outrage on good sense to say that photographs of nude savages in their ordinary costume were obscene. Thepe photographs, for which 4s. 6d. had been paid, were purchased of the London Stereos oplc Company. Tee defendant bought them from respectable photographers, and he had no idea that he was putting in his shop window anything that was indecent or obscene. If the photographs were of an English man or woman, with their pink flesh, they might or might not be deemed indecent. In dealing with this question his Lordship must consider that they were photographs of naked women In the ordinary costume which they wore In 1 the country In which they lived. A person like the de- fendant might make a mistake in publishing something which he might think innocent. yet which might be con- sidered to be injurious to public morals. Then the proper course to pursue would be to try the defendant by indict- ment under Lord Campbell s Act; no offence would be com- mitted under the Vagrant Act unless the persons were liable to be indicted and tried before a jury. (The learned counsel here quoted decisions of the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Blackburn In the celebrated case of The Confes- sional Unmasked)," showing that obscenltywas tested by the fact whether the publication was likely to corrupt public morality and outrage public decency. He went on to say that these photographs had been sold by hundreds perhaps by thousands—all over the country, and for the first time the ex- hibition was charged against the defendant Mr. Phillpott as an offence against the Vagrancy Act. There existed in the metropolis a Society for the Suppression of Vice, but no steps had been taken by it in respect to this matter, and none against the photographer. As soon as Mr. Phillpott's attention was directed to the matter, he removed them from his window, and was willing, as he had previously stated, to discontinue the we of the photographs If there was any objection to them. The persons in the photograpbs walked about in that state, and they would look very strange indeed if they were represented In civilised attire. The Lord Mayor, interposing But not in that position. Mr. Poland should have thought the last thing that would have occurred to any one was that the portrait was indecent. The photograph was that, in reality, of two women-one married, the unmarried, although It might appear at first sight to a person unacquainted with the Zulus that one of the two was a man. Toe nominal prosecutors in the case who were directed to get a summons had said that they did not see anything improper or indecent in the photographs. In deprecating any statement which might lead to a continuance of the sale of anything which might be considered to be improper, he was quite sure he was fully speaking the sentiments entertained by the de- fendant, Mr. Phillpott, who was the last person in the city who would do anything that was injurious to public morals. When his Lordship expressed an opinion that the photographs were indecent, the defendant at once showed willingness to abstain from further sale that being so, however much they might differ from his Lordship as to the character of the photographers, he held that the discon tinuance of the sale ought to put an end to these proceed- ings, the more so as Mr. Phillpott never Intended to do wrong. It was very hard to be dragged to that court as a rogue and vagabond when It could be shown that the photo- graph in question was that of two women, and not that cf a man and woman—a married and an unmarried woman-that their position was perfectly natural, and that there was no evidence of any spectator complaining that they were in- decent. The Lord Mayor If you were to ltend at the window lor five minutes you would hear many say so. Mr. Poland: I have said before that there are some per- sons more nice than wise. Some people object to the Crystal Palace Statues, some to the ballet; but this case, I appre- hend, is to be determined by the light of good sense. Fortu- nately, however, there in an appeal to the Quarter Sessions, and, further, I say that, if it had been thought right to raise the question at all, It should have been done by the City solicitor trying the question as to whether there is any Indecency or obscenity in these photograpbs under the direc- tion of a Judge. I now leave the case in your lordship's hands, asking that you may not impose on my client the degradation of conviction as a rogue when there was no evil intended. (Applause.) Mr. Frederick Mackenzie, examined by Mr. Mathews, for the defence, said,—I live at 54, Hunter-street, Bruoswick- square, and am a journalist. I was employed as special correspondent for the Standard in the late Zulu war, and saw a great many Zulus, male and female, in Zululand and Natal. The unmarried females wear nothing but two fillets of embroidered beads, one round the waist the other round the hips, while the married are at once Invested In a cow skin petticoat, as their mark of distinction. Witness was here handed photographs, and asked which sex the figures represented. In reply he said one represented an unmarried and the other a married woman. No physiologist could doubt for a moment that the nude figure was that of a girl. A Zulu boy of that size would have every muscle standing out like whipcord. These photographs were common all over the colony. It was the ordinary dress of the women, and he was quite assured that it was a natural position which they had themselves assumed against one of their own kraals before a camera. Mr. Melton Prior, a special artist for the Illustrated London Netos, said that this was the ordinary dress of women In Zululand. He had frequently sketched them in that position and dress. The figures In the photographs were certainly those of women. Similar evidence was given by Joseph Garrick, who had served in Zululand under Colonel Buller. Reuben Baldwin, manager of the photographic depart- ment of the London Stereoscopic Company, Begent-street and Cheapside, said he received the negative of the photo- graph now shown from Natal. It was a print from an original negative taken at Natal, and they bad a large num- ber sent to them from time to time. They reduced them to English album size. J The Lord M.yor Did you expose them in your windows ? Witness answered In the affirmative. Mr. Poland Had you the slightest notion that there was any Impropriety In these phetograpllt ? Witness: Certainly not. We have sent copies of these photographs to all parts of the world. We have never had a suggestion before that there was any impropriety in what we produced or exhibited. ( Applause.) The Lord Mayor: If I hear that noise again I shall have the court Cleared. (To the defendant): You have been very ably represented by the counsel appearing for you to- day. I should now like to know If you Intend carr>lng out the various promises which your counsel has made for you. The defendant: It la my wish to live in this city and In peace with everyone In it. The Lord Mayor: When you were before me before you said you would sell no more Zulu photographs. .lIhe defendant: I have withdrawn them from the window, and will not sell any more. The Lord Mayor Were you aware of the fact which has been sworn to that these figures which you labelled "A newly-married couple were those of two females ? The defendant said he never considered or inquired. The Lord Mayor: I told you on the last occasion that I regretted that against you, a good citizen, I should have to grant a summons for such au offence as this. Mr. Poland Really, my Lord Mayor, I do not know why the defendant should be cross examined by you in this manner. He has twice made a statement to you that he desires to live as a citizen within the City and to be at peace with all men, and that he Is willing to promise to stop the sale of these photographs. The Lord Mayor thought he was quite right In putting these questions. (To the defendant.) I told you last Wed- nesday that I was sorry to see you in this position, and I wish to know now whether you do or do not intend to, ex- hibit any more of these photographs. Mr. Poland said the defendant had already distinctly said so. On the last hearing, and again now, he had made the statement that he wished to live In peace and quietness with all the City, and that he does not intend to sell any more of them. The Lord Mayor: It has been remarked by the counsel for the defendant in the course of his address that it was surprising that there was anything Indecent in these photo- graphs that Mr. Collette, of the Society for the Suppres- sion of Vice, had taken no steps ti suppress them. Now, Mr. Collette has written several letters on the subject, and I have here several which have passed between Mr. Col- lette and myself. Here is one dated the 27th. Mr. CoUette I beg pardon for interrupting you, my Lord Mayor, but I think private letters like tnese should not be re"d In court. Tne Lord Mayor: I do not consider they are private letters, being written by you as representing the Society for the Suppression of Vice. (Applause.) Mr. Poland remarked that this was not a society for the suppression of Zulus. Mr. Collette said that when he wrote the letters he had never seen the photographs which had been the subject of the discussion. The Lord Mayor It Is a great pity that those who sent those photographs into the market should not have stated that the one marked "No 1" represents two women. My impression Is that they ought to have done so, and I think their not doing so tends to Interfere with the morals of the rising generation, and in this I am confirmed by the corres- pondence wnlch had passed between you and me, Mr. Collette, and I am surprised to hear you now attempt to evade that which you have written to me on the subject. Mr. Collette asked his Lordship to withdraw that expres- sion he had attempted to evade nothing. (Applause.) The Lord Mayor said he should clear the Court If that noise were repeated. He was sitting there to protect the morals of the City of London and the rising generation, and he would continue to do that to the best of his ability. He was sorry that Mr. Collette had not been put Into the witness- box. Mr. Collette said he was quite ready to go into the witness- box. The Lord Mayor continuing, said application had been made to put him in the box, but he had not been called. He had his ideas on the subject, and these had been considerably widened by Mr. Collette not being called. Mr. Poland could explain that matter. The defendant's cue had been placed in his hands, and he had the sole re- sponsibility of defending him; and, in the exercise of his discretion, he did not caU Mr. Collette for the almple reason that he could have given no legal evidence touching those particular photographs the subject of complaint. He wis tied tbat the case should be discussed and decided in the ordinary way, and, as any evidence that Mr. Collette could have given would not have been legal evidence, he did not think proper to call him. (Applause.) The Lord Mayor: Clear the court. (Hisses.) On the 17th of September Mr. Collette wrote to me— Mr. Poland aiked whether the letter had been put In evidence. The Lord Mayor: Just allow me, Mr. Poland. Mr Poland understood that his client was charged with a criminal offence. The Lcrd Mayor And you have touched on the atti- tude of the Suciety for the Suppression of Vice in the matter. Mr. Poland submitted that this did not make the letter admlssabie in evidence. There was a mysterious prosecutor In this, and he was entitled to show that up to the present time no such prosecution as this had been instituted, and that neither had the Society for the Suppression of Vice moved in the matter. The Lord Mayor: On the 27th of September Mr. Collette wrote to me, The committee of this sociely is still applied to to put down the exhibition of Zulus at the top of King William-street." Mr Poland protested against this. What right had any body of genUemen to write stating that his client had done anything indecent ? If they were really of that opinion let them go into the witness-box and say so. (Applause.) The Lord Mayor expressed his intention to read the para- graph. Mr. Poland protested. The Lord Mayor said Mr. Poland might protest If he liked. (Hisses) Mr Poland understood that that was a legal inquiry. The Lord Major No doubt. I see many legal gentle- men here, and I quite understand why they should come here. Mr. Poland To do our duty, I hope. The Lord Mayor: You get well paid for it, I suppose. (HI ses ) On the 27th of September Mr. Collette wro'e to me-" The committee of this society Is still applied to to put down the indecent exhibition of naked Zlllua at tie t-p of King William-street, already indicated by me to your lordship" That is from Mr. Coilette's letter of September 27. Mr. Philipott, on the understanding that your promises are carried out I shall dismiss the summons. Mr. Poland suggested to hisi or&hip that the prosecutor ought to pay the costs in the case, having made a charge which he could not support. The Lord Mayor dissented. Mr. Poland trusted that the City Police might reimburse the defendant for his expenses. (Applause.) Mr. Montagu Williams said he appeared on behalf of the Stereoscopic and Photographic Company. The Lord Mayor: I have disposed of tbe case, and cannot bear yon. I have plenty of other business to attend to. When any case of the btereosoopio Company is before me I shall hear you. Mr. Williams bowed to his Lordship's decision. Mr. Alderman Nottage here said,—Last Thursday. when I was not here— The Lord Mayor: I cannot allow you to address the Court. ("Sbame," and uproar.) Alderman Nottage I insist on my right, as a magistrate, to he heard. (Applause.) The Lord Mayor Officers, do your duty. Alderman Nottage I repeat that I insist on my right to be heard in reply to the observations which you made behind my back last Tnursday. (Applause ) Here commenced a scene of great uproar, amid which the Lord Mayor left the bench. Alderman Nottage The Lord Mayor has been pleased to say that he would scorn to make profit out of such indecent stuff as that which was before him. Now— The Lord Mayor here returned into court and said, ad. dressing the Chief Clerk,—Mr. Gresham, come here and do I your duty. (To Alderman Nottage.)-AI for you, as a magistrate, I am surprised at you. (Uproar ) Alderman Nottage I am astonished that, you as a magis- trate should malign a man behind his back. (Applause ) The Lord Mayor: The Court is adjourned, and Is to be cleared. Mr. Alderman Nottage: I Insist on my right to be heard. I am a man; you magllned me behind my back, and I am now here to answer you. The Lord Mayor ordered Inspector Williams to clear the court. The Chief Clerk made an observation, which, how- ever, was not heard on account of the uproar which ensued on the Lord Mayor ordering the court to be cleared. Mr. Alderman Nottage: You have no authority over me, Mr. Gresham, and I beg you will be quiet. (Applause.) The Lord Mayor again ordered the court to be cleared. Alderman Nottage You decline to hear me and yet you are supposed to be dispensing justioe frem that seat. I im- peach you, in the name of the citizens of London, with hav- ing brought discredit on your office, and having violated the duty which belongs to that ancient chair. The Court was then cleared by the Lord Mayor's Instruc- tions. In the uproar Mr. Alderman Nottage left the court greatly cheered. On the feeling subsiding the remainder of the business was proceeded with.
HEROISM AT ISANDULA.
HEROISM AT ISANDULA. The Natal Witness has been informed on trust- worthy authority that an induna who was present at the slaughter at Iaandula has given a minute de- scription of the deaths of two officers, believed to be the late Lieutenants Pope and Austin, of the 24th. The Zulu says that when surrounding the 24th at the neck at Isandula two officers with pieces of glass in their eye came forward, shooting at him with their revolvers. One fell dead from a gunshot, and the other kept firing his revolver at the induna, a bullet grazing the right side of his neck, another grazing the left side, and another entering his leg. The induna then flung an assegai, which entered the officer's breaet. The officer, with a supreme effort, almost succeeded in pulling out the weapon (here the Zulu writhed his body in pantomime of the movements of the officer), but the induna fell on him and instantaneously finished his dreadful work with another assegai. As, on looking through the list of officers killed, we find that none constantly and con- spicuously wore eyeglasses but Lieutenants Pope and Austin, we most probably have here some clue to the death of two of the gallant fellows who so nobly laid down their lives for Queen and country on the 22nd of January last.—Globe.
CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.
CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS. A gentleman writing from Texas saya:—" It is singular that lawyers In this State do not attempt to bully witnesses as they do in other localities. I'm told thai Jhe reason of it Is that a Texan witness would just as soon shooting from a witness-box as anywhere else." Josh Billings has communicated the following rura paragraphs to the Chicago News :-Ligbtnlng is erratic. It killed thirteen sheep grouped rouud a barn in Ohio, and never thought of meddling with two tramps who were inside on the hay. A lady in Indianapolis, if we may trust the Herald of that city. keeps henportralt up with the times by sending it every Fall and Spring to the artist who painted it for repairs in the drapery. When she gets a new dress that she approves of, the same dress is put on the portrait. A new necklace and earrings receive the same distinction. By this means the portrait Is always In the top of the style. It was in a New York theatre, the opera was Fautt, and as and his adored gazed upon the apotheosis, as the angels carry Marguerite into Heaven, he murmured, Beautifal I beautiful I here the soul clothed in all Its purity is wafted to eternity to sweet strains of angelic music." Yes, Gus," she replied, dreamily but I rather think If that grappling was to give way and dump her on tbe stage, it would kind of churn her up some." The San Francisco Chronicle says :—" A custom's officer engaged in discharging the City of Tokio rejoices In the acquisition of Grant's autograph on a wine card presented to him by one of the officers of the steamer. This card he proposes to treasure up and hand down as a heirloom to his posterity. It reads as follows, and definitely settles the question what kind of wine Oeneral Grant drinks:— Steamship City of Tokio wine card. Person-Grant, State- room-One. Kind of wine—Congress water."
EPITOME OF NEWS.
EPITOME OF NEWS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. A writer in the Chicago Tribune says that the early estimates of the American wheat crop were over-esti- mated to the extent of 60,000,000 bushels. The Earl of Rosse has spontaneously allowed his tenants on the Tipperary and King's County estate an abate ment of 10 per cent, on the half-year's rent due In November. A public census is to be held in all Germany on the 1st of December, 1880. It has just been decided to combine with the census an Inquiry into the number of live stock of every kind, and into the distribution of landed property.. The Sheffield School Board have decided to ask the mayor to fix the hours of polling at the approaching School Board election at from twelve to seven. Storms and rains have committed great damage in Martinique. At St. Pierre five persons were crushed by a fall of rocks and several houses were destroyed. On the 26th inst. the monument in commemoration of the piercing of the Alps was unveiled at Turin. The King, the Duke of Aosta, the Ministers, and the Presidents of the Chamber and the Senate were present. A boy, aged 13, residing with his parents in Arbroath. has died from eating a large quantity of unripe pears. He was only a few hours ilL Floods have occurred in the Pyrenees, and great damage has been done to property. The Princess Louise arrived in London from Canada on Wednesday, and was met at St. Pancras Station by the Princess ot Wales and the Duke of Teck. Her Royal High- ness drose to Kensington Palace, which will be her home until March, when she will return to Canada. The Emperor Wilhelm, who opened the new Prussian Parliament in person at noon on Tuesday, Is fre- quently taking part, as was In former years his habit, In the meetings for boar-hunting and other sporting excursions which are usual at this season In the Royal forests and domains near Potsdam and Berlin. A folding umbrella which can be carried in the pocket has been patented in America. Eastern Siberia has been suffering from famine, no whales or other fish having visited those waten this sum- mer. At Injun Point all but one man out of 20 (inhabitants perished. According to the Journal des Fahriquants de Sucre, the deficit In the beet crop will amount to between 26 and 60 per cent. compared with last year. The crop will scarcely exceed, If It at all exceeds, that of 1876. Among the items of Danish progress one of the most remarkable is the rapid increase of her shipping, and particularly In the building of steamers. A sum of £ 7,757 6a. 5d, was paid last year for re- payments for maintenance of criminal lunatics in Broadmoor Asylum. The South Yorkshire Coalowners' Association have rejected the demand of the miners for an advance of 10 per cent, in wages. The committee declared the applica- tion ill-timed, and affirmed that many of the pits were still being worked at a loss. On Monday a boy, aged seven years, son of a col- lier, residing near Barnaley, died from eating a quantity of hedgeberries on Saturday last, after great suffering. The deceased became ill on Sunday, when a doctor attended him, and although every attention was paid, and deoeased vomitted, death ensued. The Crown Prince of Germany and the Princesses, his daughters, take sea baths at Pegli every morning, and the family make excursions In the plaiu or mountain in car- riages or on foot. His Imperial Hlgbnets often walks out alone, and takes great pleasure In stopping to talk to the children he meets, to whom he gives small pieces of money. Reports of the Prince's generosity have spread rapidly among the urchins of the country, and the other day he was surrounded by quite a band the smallest amongst them did not hesitate to attract the attention of the llustrlous tourist bv tugging at the taU of his coat. The Mayor of Birmingham has, in order that the artisan electors may have an opportunity of recording their votes without loss of time. decided that the polling at the ensuing School Board election shall take place between the hours of one and eight p.m. A supplement to the London Gazette, published on Wednesday night, contains a Royal Proclamation further proroguing Parliament until the 19th of December. The Convocations of the Provinces of Canterbury and York are also prorogued until December 20. The Prince of Wales, accompanied by Count Glelchen aud attended by Colonel Ellis, left Marlborough House on Wednesday morning for Windsor in order to en joy a day's shooting In the Great Park. The Royal party, tra- velling by the Ureat Western Railway, arrived at Windsor at a q tarter Put eleven o'clock A char d banc, drawn by four bays, was in attendance at the station, and ou this pre- ceded by one of the Queen's outriders, the Pilncr drove through the town aud past Cbe Spital Barracks to the Flemish Ftm. Here, although the weather was somewhat dull and overcast, the party iound excellent sport amoa< the well- s, ocked coverts, which abound with pheasants and. grouad game, The losses arising from the floods in Murcia, it is now stated, exceed 60,000,0001 A Himalayan m ountain -climbing club has been started In India, with the view of ascending the highest peaks of that region, and, consequently, of the world. v PonQftn Catholic Bishop of Salford (Dr. preaching at Heywood on Sunday evening, attacked the secular education movement, and said he tnougnt that as a nation we were going too far in the matter of education, that too many subjects were being laid upon children attending our public elementary schools -instruction not necessary for their state in life. t?i»o! P* Tima 8ftya that the Eed tnthiManitoba, with nearly one-third »♦» £ t na?U? Dominion, is destined to be on6 of the great wneat-prodaciog regions of America. Mr. William Kennedy Marshall, the owner of ex- tensive estates in North Tlpperary and county Antrim has allowed his tenants 25 per cent. abatement on their current half-year's rents. A telegram has been received at New York stating that heavy rains fell in Jamaisa from the 11th last. until the 14th. Mrch damage was done to property by floods, and 13 lives were lost In Kingston. At a meeting called by the Mayor, held in the Guildhall at Abingdon, on Monday, it was decided to give Captain Bradshaw, of her Majesty's ship Shah, a public re- ception, on his return from South Africa. It is expected that the gallant captain, whose residence. Tubney House, is near Abingdon, will arrive on Saturday. An experimental shipment of fresh salmon from Canada has just been made, with every assurance of success in opening a new trade in food supplies. The salmon were caught in the Canadian rivers, packed In ice, transported across the Atlantic in the refrigerators of the Allan steamer, and landed in Liverpool in perfect condition. The fish are of large size, splendid symmetry, and equal In weight and soundness to the best produce of the Norwegian rivers. The Right Hon. Sir Stafford Henry N orthcote, Bart., C.B., Chancellor of the Exchequer, was born In Port- land-place, London, on Oct. 27, 1818, and thus attained his 61st year on Monday. He succeeded to the title on the death of his grandfather which took place on March 17, 1851. Sir Stafford is the eighth baronet, the title having been created on July 10,1641. The Qaeenstown lifeboat on Monday succeeded in rescuing the crew of a yacht which was in peril off Cork Head, through having lost her rudder and both anchors. The export of cheese from Switzerland to the United States fifteen years ago amounted to only 241,573 francs. It increased gradually till 1872, when It reached 2,229.213 francs. Every year since the exports have falleB, till now they are only a million and a half, there being a fall of 8 per cent. in 1878 alone over the preceding year. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava, which was fought on Oct. 25th, 1854, was cele- brated in London by a 12 te at the Alexandra Palace on Saturday. There was a good muster of the remnant of the Six Hundred on the occasion, and in the evening the sur- viviog officers who were In the celebrated charge, including the Earl of Lucan and Major Trevelyan, dined together at Willis's Rooms, St. James's. Lord Northbrook, as head of the Indian Institute Committee, has received a letter from the Maharajah of Vizianagram, stating that the Maharanee intends contribut- ing £ 1,000 towards the fund now being formed by Professor Monier Williams, for the establishment of an IndiaB Institute at Oxford. The Empress Eugenie and suite attended Divine service in St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church, Braemar, on Sunday. The Rev. James Stewart celebrated mass. The weather was bright and frosty, and there was a large con- gregation and many visitors. It is stated that the Empress has derived so much benefit from her residence on Deeslde that she will return early next year. The number of dealers in intoxicating liquor in the United States Is given at 167,000, and of tobacco dealers at 335,261. The revenue from spirits In 1878 amounted to 50,000,000 dols. from tobacco, to 40,000,000 dots. from fermented liquors, to 10,000,000 dols. The Pester Lloyd has had almost daily reports of earthquake shocks occurring in various parts of Southern Hungary. Much damage is said te have been done to houses, and in several places the people had quitted their dwellings and were bivouacking in the epen spaces. The apprehension among all classes of the population was considerable. The Firet Lord of the Admiralty has received from the Duke of Cambridge a letter in which his Royal Highness says" I have just finished my autumnal inspection of the Royal Marines and the Marine Artillery. They are, in my judgment, in excellent condition, and so extremely well turned out that I feel called upon to express to you what I experienced on seeing them on parade. I should feel obliged if you would let the Board of Admiralty know my high appreciation of the efficiency of the three divisions. It is not expected that the advance in the price of wheat can be maintained during the winter. There has been a good deal of speculation of late, and prices have been forced up. But the American harvest has been so abundant that the large Imports will necessarily weaken the market.- Echo. A Bombay paper draws attention to the almost un- precedented fact tbat, during one week recently, with the exception of the usual P. and O. Company's steamer, there was not a single steamer loading In the harbour for England. There was not even, with a solitary exception, a single sail- ing-ship bound for England. This looks, says the Bombay Review, as it the country were well-nigh emptied of its surplus products. The Paris Correspondent of The Timet says that "Lightning trains" between Paris and Marseilles com- menced on Monday. The 862 kilometres are traversed In 15h. Zimin.. or, allowing for two stoppages of half-an-hoor each and various short ones, in 13 hours. This involves a speed on straight and level ground of 72 kilometres, or nearly 45 miles an hour, which in France Is considered a feat. The France Coloniale alleges that gold has been dis- covered in New Caledonia and that a rush of Australian diggers is expected. It is stated by the Birmingham Gazette that there will shortly be another general strike of the local chain. makers. At present about 1,200 men are out, but should the whole of the men strike, the number will be Increased to upwards of 8,000. No fttes are to be given at Madrid on the King's marriage. The event will be reduced to a religious cere- mony, to which the chief functionaries and the Diplomatic Body will be Invited, and to an ordinary reception at the Palace In the evening. The money that was to be spent In rejoicinp, bull fights, State performances at the theatres, exhibitions, Ik., will be devoted to the relief of the unfortu- nate sufferers from the inundations in Murcia. A distinguished diplomatist from the United States of America, a very genial and social being, soon after his arrival in London made the rounds of the sights, Madame Tussaud's among the number. And what do you think of our waxwork!" said a friend. "Well," replied the General, "it struck me as being very like any ordinary English party.—Court Journal. Seth Green, the fish culturist, writes to a gentleman In Syracuse. In my opinion there should be a law reo quiring that all brook trout under seven inches in length wnlch have been caught be thrown back. When they have arrived at that size they have escaped all the dangers of Infancy, and at the end of another year will become fish worth catching. A trout four Inches in length will, in one year, quadruple his weight." A fall of rock occurred on Tuesday at Lord Pen- rhyn's Carnarvonshire slate quarries. Two brothers named Hughes, married men, with large families, were killed on the spot, and another man was seriously Injured. Mr. Samuel Morley, M.P., presided on Tuesday at a meeting held at the Cannon-street Hotel, London, for the purpose of promoting a memorial to the late Sir Row- land Hill. A resolution was passed acknowledging the services of Sir Rowland Hill, and approving the proposal that a national subscription be raised to secure a fitting public memorial. There were 2,547 births and 1,561 deaths registered in London last week. Allowing for Increase of population, the births exceeded by 52, and the deaths by 61, the average numbers in the corresponding week of the last ten years. The annual death-rate from all causes, which had steadily Increased from 17 2 to 216 per 1,000 in the four preceding weeks, further rose to 22 5 During the past four weeks of the current quarter tbe death-rate has averaged 20'7, against 20 4 in the corresponding period both of 1877 and 1878- Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, M.P., was present at a Conservative meeting in Birmingham on Saturday. He de- fended the policy of the Government, and said it was justified by the results. The aggressive advance of Russia had been checked both In Europe and Asia, and securities had been taken for the protection of British Interests. While repudiating responsibility for the South African war, he ad. mitted the difficult position In which Sir Bartle Frere had been placed, and reiterated the assertion that the war was occasioned by proceedings of the Zulus which had become dangerous to the interests of the colonists. It is stated in telegrams from Vienna and Berlin that no treaty of alliance has been signed by the Emperors of Germany and Austria There has simply been a diplo- matic communication that the understanding arrived at between Prince Bismarck and Count Andrassy had received the sanction of their respective Sovereigns. Upwards of six hundred persons, attended the peace demonstration in Naples on Sunday. Several speakers having addressed the meeting, a resolution was carried urg ing the Government to take into consideration the vote unanimously passed In favour of a general disarmament. The receipts on account of revenue from the 1st April, 1879, when there was a balance of &6.Q16.756, to Oct. 25, 1879, were P.10,633,404, against £U,062.207 In the cor- responding period of the preceding financial year, which began with a balance of j66 243 389. The net expenditure was £ 49,069.403, against £ 49,364,631 to the same date in the previous year. The Treasury balances on Oct. 26 amounted to jei.312,413, and at the same date In 1878 to £1,162,29t. Mr. Stansfeld, M.P., speaking at a tute soirie at West Tale, said he believed *f the structure of the national elementary lnajruotion oi this country would undergo revision. The rej^rs JMtpresented to the Committee of Council on Kducatloa sated that the annual average cost of each scholar in elementary schools was 16s. 9d. He took that to be a warnj"8 1■the Educa- tion Department to the country at large'that they were about to ask Parliament to reconstruCt tbe educational machinery of this country. thought that the standards and code should be made more elast c. Of all the members of the Royal family, Prince Leopold is the one who bids far to follow most closely In the footsteps of bis latber, the Prince Consort. He takes a lively Interest in tbe progress oi the arts and sciences, and his speeches, which are prepared by himself, are eminently practical and ^nKgestive it Is not Improbable, therefore, tnat he may yet i"# ;° .IafQ1 the promise shadowed forth in the address presented to him by the Corporation of Sheffield, by taking a prominent place among the benefac. tors of our ni*nu'ilC*nrlng populations.—Court Journal. Mr. C. F- Edison, nephew of the great American inventor, has Jill'" die-| in Paris at the early age of twenty- f. ur He was his uncle's principal assistant in the pro- duction of the loud-speaking telephone, and was sent over to L 'ndon toy him to exhibit that instrument before the Prince of Wales, the Royal Society, Ac. He had of late been engaged in applying his uncle's system of quadruglax telegraphy between Pads and Brussels. —s——sss8CJ Fraseuelo, the favowlte buli-fighter of Madrid, has died from wounds received In an encounter with a bull on the 12th Inst. Mr. Thomas Bayley Pottw, M.P., who is receiving a warm welcome In the United States, was given a reception by the Penn Club In Philadelphia on Saturday, the meeting being attended by the leading people of the town. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, acknowledges In The Timet (under the head of "Conscience Money") the receipt of the second halves of two £50 notes from- "J. S. W."—The first half of a £ 5-note from "X.Y.Z." on account of armorial bearings has also been received. On Sunday evening last the railway officials at Utrecht gave a concert to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the invention of the first practical railway engine in- vented by George Stephenson, whose portrait had been placed in the centre of a map of the Dutch rail ways. The ex. Queen of the Two Sicilies is reported to be dangerously III at Vienna. The Comte and Comtesse de Chambord have gone to see her. It is said that the pattern cats for the R>yal Navy are being made at Lewes Prison, and the Admiralty have Intimated to the various commanders and dockyard super- intendents that one cat will be supplied to each vessel In commission, not for use on board, but as a pattern only, and they are to be carefully preserved and returned into the atore on the paying off of each ship. The Anstrian Budget for 1880 shows a deficit of 12,700,000 florins. Elgin, 111., is in his third year of h^aMam!1 flw* or°P n°w being marketed. He vin/Sr^wn un,* devoted to the frog industry. The kind grown Is the Jjosling frog, much larger than the common Iff #25!?season furnish St. Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati with frogs, and in confident of success In the business. German astronomers report their recent observa- tions for the first time of a vermilion-coloured spot upon the planet Jupiter, covering about one-aitiath of the disc, an area equal to the continent of Europe. The spot is upon the northern half of the planet, and is of elliptical form It appears attached to the planet itself, not to its atmos- phere. The phenomenon is attributed to great physical changes supposed to be In process on the planet At a meeting of delegates and representatives of working men held in Edinburgh on Saturday evenihg, It was agreed to present Mr. Gladstone with an address, and recommend the working classes in Edinburgh and district to give him a cordial welcome when he visits Midlothian at the end of next month. The shipments of wheat from America for Europe during the past week amounted to 628,000 quarters, of which 348,000 were for the United Kingdom, as compared with 692,500 and 442,500 in the previous week. There were also shipped 87.500 barrels and sacks of flour and 109,000 quarters of maize. The visible supply of wheat was 23,250,000 bushels, and of maize 10,625,000 bushels—an increase of 2,500,000 bushels. Mr. Gladstone has written atatincr that he is re- luctantly compelled to deeline the invitation of the Glasgow Liberal Association to deliver an address in Glasgow on the occasion of his visit to Midlothian. The right hon. gentle- man says that he has undertaken in Midlothian as much work as his strength will enable him to perform. At the banquet given by the King of Denmark at Christianburg Castle the other day, the guests were served with old hock from Anno 1698. In the cellars of the old Royal Castle of Rosenberg there still rem tin some bottles of very old fine hock which is only used by the King at excep- tionally high festivities. At a recent Connecticut fair several bottles of native wines were set before the committee for premiums. There was a great diversity of opinion and a warm discussion, fol- lowed by intense disgust, when it was found that the man not understanding his instructions had filled all the bottles from the same cask. In April next there will be opened, in Berlin, an International Exhibition of all kinds of apparatus and pro- ducts connected with fishing. It will be tne first display In this line on so comprehensive a scale. According to the promises already received, with the exception of Australia, no quarter of the globe will fail to be represented. Two goods trains came into collision at Landen, Belgium, on Friday in last week, and one of them, consisting of 120 trucks of Inflammable materials, was entirely burnt. There was no Injury to person. From the official returns published by the Dominion Government of Canada, It appears that the quantity of cheese exported from the Dominion rose from 4,503,3701b. in 1869 to 39,371,1391b. in 1878, being an increase of 34,867,7691b., or not less than 774 per cent. In nine years. The Glasgow Herald states that two large shipbuild- Ing contracts have fallen to shipbuilders on the Clyde. Messrs. John Elder and Co., Govan, have received an order from the Messageries Maritlmes Steamship Company for ten large steamers for the company's Mediterranean trade, and Messrs. Napier, Shanks, and Bell, Yoker, have been com- missioned to build two screw steamers of considerable size. The French steamers, which, it Is understood, are to be pro- ceeded with at once, are estimated to cost about half a mil- lion sterling. The armour-plated vessel Sultan is refitting with all the latest improvements, at a cost of £50,000. at Portsmouth, and is to be completed with all despatch, the general antici- pation in naval circles being that she Is to reinforce the British fleet on the China station. An inquest has been held at Priestfield, near Wol. verhampton, on the body of Robert Dyke, engine driver on the Great Western Railway. On Saturday he was under- neath his engine oiling it as it stood on a siding. The whistle of his engine was blowing, and be did not hear an approaching goods train which came up the siding and shunted his engine a few yards. The drl ring wheel of his own engine passed over his body and killed him instan- taneously. A verdict of Accidental death was returned, and a recommendation was paased for the company to im- press upon all their engine drivers not to go underneath their engines during shunting operations without some one to watch to give warning of approaching trains. The Mansion House Committee formed to co-operate In the holding of the recent International Exhibition of the Reyal Agricultural Society in London, held their closing meeting on Tuesday. The fund was reported to have amounted to £ 8,580, of which £ 7,990 had been expended In votes to the Agricultural Society towards the cost of the Ex- hibition, In prizes to exhibitors, and in expenses incidental to the show. There was still a balance of f.590 3s. ód., most of it being due as prizes for sewage farms and otker matters. It was resolved to remit the balance to the Agricultural Society. It is understood that the authorities connected with the War Office are giving careful consideration at the present time to the question of breechloading guns, and that designs for heavy guns on this principle are in course of preparation, to be submitted to the Committee on Ordnance. There appears to be a growing demand for breechloadlng guns In the navy, and for use in coast fortifications, the adoption of breechloadlng being conslitent with the use of long and therefore powerful guns in confined situations. Speaking at Gainsborough at the inauguration of the Conservative Association, on Monday night, Mr. R. Winn, M.P., contrasted the foreign policy of the country before the Crimean war and before the late Turco-Russlan conflict. He stated that what Liberals did at the former period at a cost of ninety millions and a handred thousand lives, the present Government had accomplished at a cost of six millions and without war. He justified the acquisition of Cyprus as an important military and naval depde. As to finances, he argued that the Liberal surpluses were obtained by over-estimating expenditure and under-rating receipts, and justified the Conservative Government on the ground that they were simply carrying out Liberal measures. On Monday night Mr. Archibald Forbes lectured at Dundee on the Zulu war. The Earl of Camperdown presided, and there was a very large audience. The chairman, in opening the proceedings, extolled the personal bravery of Mr. Forbes, and expressed the obligation the public were under to him for his admirable narratives of the great events of recent wars. Mr. Forbws, who was received with enthu- siasm, was listened to with close attention, and received a hearty vote of thanks. A violent storm has occurred near Malaga, by which two persons were drowned and considerable damage was done to property. Fresh floods have occurred in Murcia and Almeria. Prince William of Prussia, the eldest son of the Crown Prince, Is about to pass his first legal examination, qualifying him for the judicial and administrative service, which It Is said that he proposes to enter, with a view to be- coming thoroughly acquainted with all its practical work. The present examination, if passed, will secure him the rank and title of "referendarlus." The Prince Is now ex- pected back from PegU in order to serve his prescribed time with the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. A Renter's telegram from New York, dated Oct. 86, says The women and children who were captured at the White River Agency by the Ute Indians have ween sur- rendered, unharmed, to the United States authorities. European civilisation is Bpreadin* rapidly ia the East. The Chinese, according to the ""f8* coming adepts at billiards. A Mr. diit,ly Riving private lessons In the game at the houses of wealthy Celestials. At the different masses in several of the Roman Catholic churches and cba^W of the archdiocese of West- minster, on Sunday, the officiating priests made an urgent appeal to their congregations for help to relieve the distress at present existing In many parts of the south and west of Ireland. The °* Germany ia stated to have caused Instructions to be sent to German military attaches at European courts to furnish reports as to the state of the armies belonging to the Powers to which they are accredited. An interesting relic of the first E ldystone Light- house has been found by the workmen laying the first stones i dam on the present works—a pair of lead weights, in all probability belonging to the clock in Win- Stanley's Pagoda, destroyed In the storm of 1703. The weights were found on the side of the JSew House Rook which faces the old tower. Funeral reform has been thoroughly entered upon across the Atlantic by the Roman Catholics. One of the Bishops has Issued a series of regulations, and has forbidden the use of more than twelve carriages, so that recently* when a procession of forty carriages appeared before tb* cathedral in Jersey City, the doon were closed until tb* number had been reduced to the prescribed limits. One of the most remarkable pedestrian feats on rej cord was performed a few days ago by Fritz Rilsgegger, °f Thun, a noted Alpine climber. Leaving Thun at 2.30 a nt. he walked over the Rebloch and the Eggewyler Alps and by ScbSnenwald to Ramisgnmmen. After breakfasttng at tffl latter place, he returned by Sehufbach and Kapf, and arrive at Thun at 11.46 p.m. The ground covered in the 21J hour* Is estimated at about 90 miles. A cable message from Lloyd's agent at New Yor stated that the Nuevo Pa Jan o del Oceano, bound tto. Havana for Nuevitas, was burnt on the 18th inst. I» Bahama Channel.—The Philadelphia Correspondent oi jj Times says" The details of the burning ol the »P^ jjje steamer Nuevo Pajaro show that 33 lives were J."falling vessel caught fire from petroleum in tbe cargo wni» ^foje between Havannah and St Jago on the I8sh ,4 rescued daybreak 17 survivors, including Captaini r fl. from a raft and brought by the British s b(igl)leaij having Into New Orleans, where seven are New Orleans been seriously burnt. The Spanish c services of the will send a commendatory report rescuing steamer tn-bla Oovemmens.