The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

OUTLINES OF THE WEEK. FROM America we have again wars and rumours of wars. The Confederates have been defeated in the Shenandoah Valley, and the loss on both sides is estimated at 8,000 men. On the other hand, General Grant has not been so successful near Petersburg. The Confederates had captured 2,,500 head of cattle from the Federal commissariat, and had retreated with their spoil into the bush. General Grant sent in pursuit a heavy cavalry force as far as Harrison's Landing, which had to return to camp without effecting their object. There appears little doubt but Lincoln will be re- elected to the Presidential chair; the opposition is evidently weak, and M'Clellan not very- popular with any party. Mr. Seward made a notable speech the other day, which many of our contem- poraries discredit. He declared that there were volunteers enough to recruit the army, and that there was no need of a draught; that with the bounty given no less than 5,000 to 10,000 men were enlisting daily. It is considered that this was said for State purposes, and that the draught will not be carried out in New York until after the election, as it would serve to make the pre- sent Government unpopular. Should, however, the election, as it would serve to make the pre- sent Government unpopular. Should, however, M'Clellan be elected, he has declared his intention to carry on the war rather than submit to any separation of the Union. There are prophets—we hope they are false ones—who say that the war will yet last for years; but a peace society has been again formed, who hope to negotiate terms by which this fratricidal strife might be ended; at present, however, they are but a small minority. "We are sorry "to liear "fcYia/b "fclio mills in Xia»Ti- cashire are not progressing in the manner we anticipated; for the last several weeks the work for the factory hands has been decreasing. At the end of August 102,000 persons were partially sup- ported from the Belief Fund, and, at the end of September, 10,000 more were added to their lists. It is not, however, the scarcity of cotton that the manufacturers now complain of, but the price they have to pay for it, which prevents their manu- facturing.fabrics suitable for foreign markets. The stock of cotton in Liverpool at the present moment is computed at 400,000 bales, or more than double what it was this time last year. The price has averaged during the last month, 2s. 3d. per pound, c!l cl and, as there is a demand for the raw material abroad, the merchants keep up their prices, and the mills cannot be worked at a profit. The mill- owners still sigh for American cotton, which works so much easier than any other which has yet been imported, and with less loss in refuse, besides which, in prosperous years, they could obtain this material at 6d. per pound, and thus be enabled to send such a cheap fabric abroad as to defy com- petition. There are many, however, who look to the cotton grown in Egypt for a supply equal to that they formerly obtained from America, be- lieving that it only requires care and cultivation. The greater portion we have now is from India, and the freight adds greatly to the expense. THE rebellion in China is said to be subdued; Nankin has been taken by the Imperial forces, backed by Europeans and Americans. All the European appliances were made use of which modern science has taught. A breach of 120 feet in width was made in the wall of the city by the explosion of a mine containing 60,0001bs. of gun- powder, and then a vigorous assault followed. The rebel chief, Tien-Wang, was found dead in his palace. He had taken gold leaf as poison, having, it is supposed, previously put many of his wives to death, as their bodies were found hanging in his own chamber. Most of the rebel leaders were taken prisoners. The condition of the city was truly horrible: the streets were strewn with people who had evidently died from starvation, and the buildings ruinous. Such are the horrors of war. It is stated, however, that it was neces- sary to subdue these Tartar rebels; and that the present Emperor of China is a merciful sovereign, desirous of promoting the welfare of his people and of restoring peace and order in the East. A REVOLUTION in the Government of Greece has been silently accomplished, and has created rather a sensation in other countries. This kingdom was governed by the three Estates of the realm like other free monarchies-viz., the Crown, the Senate, and the National Assembly, answering to our Monarch, Lords, and Commons; but by a recent vote in the Grecian House of Representa- tives the Senate is abolished—the one part of the legislature thus putting an end to the other. The Constitution will henceforth consist only of two Estates—the King and the representatives of the people. The change is at present regarded with popular favour; but how long it will last depo- nent knoweth not. The Senators, it appears, were believed to be a corruptible, not to say a corrupt, body of men, and they were scarcely less obnoxious I to the monarch than to his subjects. The power of the King is said to be greatly increased by their j [ extinction. 'J MURDERS and suicides are indeed rife in the land, and the law seems powerless to subdue these heinous crimes. A murder, marked with unusual deliberation and atrocity, was committed last week at Chadwell-heath, near Bomford. The victim was a woman named Amelia Blunt, the perpetrator Francis Wane, a man'with whom she had once cohabited. The motive was jealousy. Mrs. Blunt was about to marry another, and Walie having vainly pressed her to give up this match and return to him, attacked her in a washhouse and cut her throat. A barrister in Dublin, because a sheriff's -officer had obtained an entrance into his house for legal purposes, shot the man dead. And again a shocking sighthasbeen witnessed atWindsor. The house of John Cook, a barber, was entered by his neighbours, owing to the inhabitants not being seen for some days, when a horrible discovery was made. In one apartment were found three girls, poisoned, it is believed, with sulphuric acid. In another room was the father and one of his daughters, lying with their throats cut, but still alive; whilst a fifth victim to this atrocity was found suffering from the effects of poison. The man shortly afterwards expired. This is as horrible, we should have thought, as any we could record; but the alleged case of cannibalism in Bohemia leaves English atrocities far behind in horror. Philan- thropists will, no doubt, urge that the criminal man was mad: well, all barbarity is more or less madness; violent passion of any kind is madness; and men who give way to their evil de- sires will doubtless lose control over themselves. But Lord Brougham, at the Social Science Meeting, very aptly told the anecdote of Horne Tooke, who was confronted by a lunatic, who told him he meant to have his life, and that they could not hang him because he was mad; whereupon Tooke, with great presence of mind, said a law had been passed which would ha,ng even a madman, and the lunatic decamped; and we think with Lord Brougham that, when madness takes such a form as this, and the madman commits acts which are abhorrent to every notion of humanity, he should not be permitted to live. AT Erith, and for twenty miles around, includ- ing the metropolis, the people were alarmed on Saturday morning by a violent shock of what was then thought to be an earthquake. Even in Lon- don the doors and windows rattled as if something very heavy had fallen in the upper storeys. Seoii., however, a fearful tale reached us: the sensation felt at the distance had been caused by the explosion of an immense mass of gunpowder stored in two maga- zlu zines "near Erith, which had caused a fearful destruction of life and property. It appears the first explosion took place in one of two barges that had come up from Dartford laden with gunpowder to be stored in the magazines; both the barges were sunk, and all on board of them lost. The same fate befell the greater number of those who lived near the magazines, which next exploded; and it was their explosion which caused the shock to be felt all through Woolwich and Greenwich, and to the very heart of the metropolis. The amount of window-glass smashed, and other in- juries inflicted upon house property down the river, is something fabulous; but the most imminent danger arose from the Wowing in of the river embankment. Fortunately the water was low, and before the tide rose large detachments of, soldiers and railway navvies, working with a will, raised another embankment, sufficient to prevent the low lands in the vicinity from being swamped. Altogether we have to be thankful that greater calamities did not follow. We trust, however, that the Government authorities will look well into the affair, and endeavour to avoid for the future such a danger from threatening us.

SUPPOSED MURDER OF A SPANIARD. A coroner's inquest was recently held at the London Hospital on the body of Juan de Leon, aged forty-three years, who was stabbed by another Spaniard named Raymond Rodrigues. Mr. Beard, appeared on behalf of the accused Spaniard. George Mitchell, a foreigner, residing at 87, George-street, a sa,ilor, said that he was assistant to a lodging-house keeper. He knew the deceased, who was a Spaniard. He kept a lodging-house, and witness was his assistant. On the night of Wednesday, the 21st September, witness was in the "Rose and Crown" public-house, and his master, De Leon, was there. Raymond Rodrigues was also there. Witness found thom both in the house when he went in about ten o'clock. De Leon had been living with a woman named Anna as his wife, but latterly he had not lived with her. He recently got a younger mistress, the sister of the former one. Mr. Beard said that De Leon was a married man, and his wife was alive in Spain. The woman Anna, witness believed, now lived with Rodrigues. She kept a boarding-house. Coroner How did the quarrel arise between De Leon and Rodrigues ? Witness: I was above stairs abbut eleven o'clock, and I heard a disturbance. I went down and saw them both with a number of Spaniards around them. For two or three minutes all was quiet. About ten minutes after Rodrigues stood outside the door, his left hand being in his trousers pocket, and his right in his coat pocket. About twelve o'clock De Leon and the other Spaniards came down. De Leon came to where Rodrigues was standing, just inside the house. Juan de Leon said to Rodrigues, What is the reason you always mention my name ?" Rod- rigues answered, "You never hear me mention it for anything bad." De Leon said, If you have any spite against me, come out, and fight me English fashion. If I beat you, I beat you; if you beat me, you beat me." De Leon pushed Rod- rigues, who pulled out an open knife from his right coat pocket. Was it a knife that would shut ?-Yes, but it was open. Rodrigues let him have it with all his strength. He drew his arm back full length and then plunged the blade into De Leon's stomach. De Leon said, Oh, he has killed me I caught hold of Rodrigues by the hair, and struck him with all my force, and he dropped the knife. The police came and took him across the road. Could Rodrigues have opened the knife after De Leon pushed him?—No, sir; there was not time. He had it open. After other evidence, The Jury returned a verdict of "Manslaughter" against Raymond Rodrigues. The coroner issued his warrant for the detention of the prisoner Rodrigues in Newgate until his trial at the Central Criminal Court. The proceedings then terminated. ♦ — As was stated some time since, Greenock is to have the honour of contributing a considerable portion of the machinery for the Suez Canal works. It is stated that a large shipment has already been made to Suez from Greenock during the past week.

A Novelty in Sewing Machines. Messrs. Newton Wilson and Co., of 144, High Holborn, London, have invented a new Arm Machine, specially intended, for Tailors and Shoemakers. It has an instantaneous cross action, that is, the foot can be reversed instantly without any change of parts; and it pos- sesses this peculiarity in addition, that the shoemaker can stitch with it a new elastic into an old boot. The trades referred to will know how to appreciate these advantages. H. Walker's Patent Ridged Eyed Needles for rapii sewing. Nothing like them for speed. Patentee of the Penelope and Uncotopic Crochets. Samples free for Is. of any dealer. Queen's Works, Alcester, and 47, Gresham-street, London. Nothing Impossible.-The greatest and most useful invention of the day. AGUA AMARELLA. — Messrs. JOHN GOSNELL and Co., Three King-court, Lombard-street, perfumers to her Majesty, respectfully offer to the public this truly marvellous fluid, which gradually restores the human hair to its pristine hue—no matter at what age. The Agua Amarella has none of the properties of dyes; it, on the contrary, is beneficial to the system, and when the hair is once restored one application per month will keep it in perfect colour. Price one guinea per bottle; half bottles, 10s. oa. 1 estimonials from artistes of the highest order, and from individuals of undoubted respectability, may be inspected. Messrs. John Uognell and Co. have been appointed perfumers to H.R.H, the Princess of M ales. Gross and unnatural neglect is manifested by many persons who pay little attention to the preservation of their health. Good health is the greatest blessing we can enjoy, which fact is often dis- covered when too late! To insure freedom from sickness of any sort, every family in the kingdom should Keep a supply of PAGE WOODCOCK'S WIND PILLS. Thousands can testify they are invaluable for Indiges- tion, Wind in the Stomach. Biliousness, sc. Sold everywhere, in boxes, at is. lid., 2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d.

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS. -+- AMERICA NEW YORK, SEPT. 19. Sheridan attacked Early yesterday morning. ► A furious battle ensued, lasting throughout the day, resulting in the defeat of Early and his retreat up the Shenandoah Valley, with a loss of 2,500 prisoners, fivo cannon, 5,000 killed and wounded, among whom are Generals Gordon and Shalder. The Federal loss is heavy. General Russell is killed. Sheridan occupied Winchester. The Richmond Examiner thinks that the Federal authorities will make a tremendous effort to secure a military success in Virginia before the Presidential election in November. The New York World's special correspondent, dating from Grant's headquarters on the 15th, says :—"There is every reason to believe that the rebels have in con- templation, and are already preparing for, the evacua- tion of Petersburg, and retiring their armies within the defences of Richmond. This may account for the protracted quiet in our front since their failure to re- gain the position of the Weldon Railroad recently captured by us. There has been considerable firing along a portion of the line to-day, but without results of any moment to either side." The Great Battle in the Shenandoah Valley. NEW YORK. SEPT. 21. Sheridan reports from Winchester on the 19th that he attacked Early on the Berrysville Pike at the cross- ing of Occoquan Creek, and after a stubborn and san- guinary engagement, lasting from early morning till five in the evening, Early was completely defeated, and driven through Winchester. The Confederate Generals Rhodes, Warton, and Ramseur (?) were killed, mest of the Confederates wounded, and all their killed fell into Sheridan's hands. Sheridan's loss is estimated at 3,000 men. General Russell was killed. Sheridan captured 2,500 prisoners and five guns. The Confederates lost 5,000 killed and wounded. They escaped up the valley under cover of the night. The Federal cavalry started in pursuit at daylight. The Confederates keep up a heavy cannonade on Grant's left. It is rumoured they were attempting to turn his left. Grant's cavalry have been unable to retake the cattle captured by the Confederates. During the pursuit one of Grant's cavalry regiments was captured. The M'Clellan ratification meeting^ at New York, Washington, and throughout the North have been great successes. Great enthusiasm was manifested. Thirty Confederates from Canada have captured two steamers on Lake Erie. It is supposed that they will attempt the rescue of the prisoners on Johnson's Island.

THE KING OF THE SANDWICH IS- LANDS' OPENING SPEECH. Nobles and delegates of the people,—It has pleased God Almighty to call hence to a better world my brother, Kamehameka IV., whose death has filled the nation with mourning, and my own heart with pro- found grief. The sudden and unexpected demise of this sovereign, whose love you have all experienced, and whose time and talent were devoted to your good, is indeed a national loss. This deplorable instance of the uncertainty of life warns me of the necessity of earnestly and diligently trying to do what I can for the benefit of my people. It has been the traditional policy of my predecessors, to whom the kingdom is indebted for the liberal reforms that have been made, to lead the nation forward and to watch over its welfare. My subjects will find in me, as they did in them, a zealous guardian of their liberties, and an earnest promoter of all measures calculated to increase their happiness, and to check the evils that tend to their destruction. I return to you, nobles and dele- gates of the people, my thanks for your prompt answer to the appeal I have made to your loyalty and patriotism. You have discarded certain assertions impugning my motives and my intentions, and this confidence indicates that you now meet me with the same spirit and sentiments which animate me in my appeal to you. During the course of the last twelve years the weak points of the constitution of 1852 have been made apparent to all. The wisdom of the rulers and of the people combined have smoothed down its defects, but have not, how- ever, succeeded in removing them. Difficult as the task we are about to undertake might have been a few years ago, time has succeeded in making it easier, and I think that now these modifications can be de- vised by us with adequate knowledge and with the authority of experience. Several articles of the con- stitution are so loosely worded as to leave room for doubts and uncertainty. These I shall successively point out to you in the course of our meetings. The order of succession to the throne should be more fully established; and a clause making the marriages of the Royal family subservient to the public good might pro- perly be inserted in the constitution. The article pro- viding for the alienation of the kingdom, although, perhaps, dictated at the time by peculiar circum- stances, is one which, I think, ought to be erased from our organic law. Such a provision can do no good, and may do harm, and is repugnant to the feelings of all loyal men. The institution of the Kuhina Nai originated, in my opinion, in a wrong conception of our past history, and is an unnecessary check upon the legislature in giving to this officer an absolute control over the acts of a body of which he himself is a mem- ber, and in which he has a vote. A provision for a Council of Regency, in case of minority of the heir to the throne, would be in accordance with all monarchical customs. The protracted sittings of the legislature have been caused, in many instances, by the absence of all direct intercourse between the House of Representatives and the executive. I think the presence in this branch of the legislature of one or two of the members of the Cabinet would be conducive to the prompt despatch of business. I am of opinion that the representation of the people ought to be apportioned and regulated according to the population by districts, and I would suggest the adoption of such an apportionment as would leave the number of representatives equal to what it is now. Experience has proved to my satisfaction, and I hope to yours, that a property qualification for the House of Representatives would have the effect of promoting industry and perseverance among my people by making a seat in the house an object of ambition, and a test of respectability. I am of opinion that this property qualification should be made so low as to bring this honour within the reach of every industrious man. The number and the importance of these modifica- tions have induced me to call this convention, in which the people, being represented by you, gentlemen, their freely elected delegates; you, my nobles, sitting for yourselves, and I for myself, all the constituting powers of this realm are concentrated. I hope that every noble and delegate will exercise freely the right of suggesting any provision on which he may have maturely reflected, with the assurance that such sug- gestions will be listened to, on my part, with the same consideration which I expect for my own. At the same time I shall claim for myself, or others speaking oy my authority in my name and in my presence, the same right of debate that I freely accord to eaeh noble and delegate. May God, in his divine mercy, enlighten us in the course of our deliberations, and inspire all of us with the wisdom necessary to prose- cute, in mutual accord, objects so dear to my heart as the welfare and the prosperity of the people upon whom he has called me to rule. And I do now declare this convention opened.

The "Prisoner Muller.-Since the prisoner has been in Newgate he has exhibited his usual composed demeanour, and has made no allusion to the crime with which he is charged. He is kept apart from the rest of the prisoners, and is always watched by two warders at night, and one by day. A number of ap- plications have been lately made by influential persons for admittance to Newgate with the expectation of seeing him, but he is not visible to those who go out of mere curiosity. It is expected that fresh evidence of importance will be adduced at the trial. The next sessions of the Central Criminal Court commences on Monday, the 24th instant, and in the ordinary course of proceeding the trial will come on the Thursday following, but it is probable that an application will be made for postponing the trial till the November sessions, when a special day will be appointed to dis- pose of this important case.

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THE PRINOE AND PRINCESS OF WALES IN SWEDEN. The youthful Prince and Princess have won the hearts of the Swedes as well as the Danes; their Royal Highnesses arrived in Stockholm on the 26th ult., and met with an enthusiastic reception. The correspondent of the Daily News says:— The quay by the Palace where the landing did take place is very wide, and afforded abundant facilities, for the crowd, which grew to immense proportions before the Prince's arrival. A broad pathway, about fifty yards long, leading from the watersteps to the carriages, was railed off in the course of the morning and covered with wooden plank—a very wise arrangement, as the pavement of the quay, like all the pavements of Stockholm, is of small round stones, which are excessively disagreeable to walk on. The planking was covered with blue cloth, and the rails were hung with blue cloth, ornamented with yellow crowns. Between twelve and one o'clock the crowd began to assemble, for the weather was beautiful, and no one in Stockholm knew exactly where the Osborne would come in, until a telegram was received, about one o'clock, announcing her position. If the people had but known when the Prince was due, I imagine the police would have been left in undisturbed possession of the royal footway till late in the afternoon, for the first comers had the pleasure of standing at their posts for seven hours. This, however, they did with patience, and I did not hear any of those harsh, discordant cries with which an English mob beguiles the time. All day the town wore an excited and unusual aspect. Royal carriages were continually driving about, the ships lying at the quays dressed themselves with flags, the guards at the various guardhouses and palaces were on the alert, and frequently turned out to pay respect to some great person passing by. As the afternoon wore on, the crowd on the quay, which at first merely lined the pathway and edges of the quay, thickened until lines of people changed to masses, and masses became merged together into one great crowd. Numbers of policemen, in their neat blue coats with white facings, white gloves, and cocked hats, were stationed along the sides of the cloth pathway; and between four and five o'clock the royal carriages began to take up their station, and a detachment of Charles the Twelfth's Guards, as they are called—mounted men in the Louis Quatorze dress—ranged themselves at right angles to the end of the gangway. Several Swedish gentlemen in uniform were present on the gangway, for the Governor of Stockholm had been deputed by the King to receive the guests on the landing-place, and he was accompanied by the deputy-governor, the chief of the police, and some other officers. These gentlemen were clad in blue and gold, with cocked hats plumed with feathers, and were highly dignified and imposing in ap- pearance. The Governor of Stockholm was especially brilliant in his costume, as he wore a broad white ribbon edged with pink across his breast, and a blaze of orders and decorations. All these glories, however, were gradually obscured by the shades of evening, and at seven o'clock it became obvious that the landing would have to take place by artificial light. A quantity of flambeaux were brought down and distributed among the policemen and the guards who were waiting near the carriages. The waiting had grown tedious by this time, but very shortly after seven our eyes were gladdened by the sight of lurid flashes in the sky to seaward, which told us that a fort called the Castle,' on an island a few miles from the town, was saluting the Royal squadron. The Osborne came up abreast of the f palace, and anchored within seventy or eighty 1 yards of the shore. Then her barge was brought f to the side ladder, and the whole party entered it. As the boat pushed off the Osborne burned blue j lights, and the Swedish gentlemen on the landing place threw off their great coats and went down to the water's edge. In a few moments the boat was f alongside, in the glare of the flambeaux, and the i crowd cheered. The officials and officers crowded < round, and several persons were on shore in a few seconds, so that it was almost impossible to say who landed first; but I think that the Princess of Wales, handed out by the Governor of Stockholm, was the first to put her foot on the shore. She and Prince Oscar, in his dark blue uniform of vice-ad- miral, and preceded by men with flambeaux, then walked slowly up the pathway, while the crowd cheered loudly and heartily. The Prince of Wales, in a general's uniform, and therefore conspicuous by being the only man present in scarlet, and Prince John of Glucksburg followed them closely. To describe the order in which the members of the suite followed would be a superfluous task, which it would be difficult to perform, for the flambeaux were in advance, and the whole party followed the Prince of Wales in a crowd. When the Princess and Prince Oscar reached the end of the pathway a very pretty sight presented itself-the Charles XII. Guards had each been provided with lighted flambeaux, and they wheeled round two and two and cantered past, the horses prancing, and all but unmanageable under the double excitement of the noise and lights. A large open carriage with four horses, led by running footmen, followed them closely, and in this, amid the cheers of the crowd, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Oscar, and Prince John of Denmark were driven off. Another carriage and four was instantly at the end of the pathway, and then another and another. In a very few moments the whole party had been taken up, and the busy show was over. Within the courtyard of the palace was another greab crowd, and a military band, which played I Gad save the Queen' for about a quarter of an hour after the Prince's arrival. The King received his guests within the palace, and I have since been told that they were not insensible to the splendour which awaited them. The effect of the rooms when lighted up, as they were when the Prince and Princess first saw them, must have been indeed superb. Later in the evening the Prince and Princess paid a State visit to the theatre. It was hoped that they would do this, and the perform- ance of the Figlia del Reggimento, the opera of the evening, was put off till a late hour to suit them. The opera house of Stockholm is peculiarly well suited to a state visit, for the royal box is a large enclosure, occupying the centre of the first circle, and surmounted by a gilded crown and crimson velvet canopy. The King, the Queen, the Queen Dowager, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Oscar, and the others, came into the box at a little after ten o'clock, and the performances were interrupted to allow the orchestra to play God save the Queen.' The house, which is a large one, contain- ing five tiers of boxes, was crammed in every corner."