Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
17 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
town talk,
town talk, BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. -+-- Qv/r readers will understand that 1VB do not hold ourselves reopon- siblefor our able Correspondent's opinions. As each day we hope may bring 'as news of the Great Eastern and the telegraph cable, it is im- possible to speculate upon the cause of the recent mishap, for even while I am writing a lightning flash from Valentia may suddenly dissipate and nullify all my conjectures. The subject has, however, been the chief topic of town talk during the last few days but I hope that before these lines are in print some definite news may supersede all conjectures. It is generally believed that the Lords Chief Justices of Queen's Bench and Common Pleas will be elevated to the Peerage immediately, for the purpose of strengthening the legal department in the House of Lords. Rumour says that Mr. Baron Martin and some other puisne judge will receive promotion to the vacancies thus created. I may remark that it is only lately that it has been thought proper, when a* man has once been raised to a seat on the judicial bench to give him any further promotion. This method of promoting judges may be strictly constitutional, but it is a question whether it is politic. Once a man is a judge he ought to be in such a position as would prevent even a suspicion of his being anxious to please the Government from any hope of future favour. But if a chief justiceship be thought to loom in the distance, very unpleasant remarks ^may be made by the public when the judge is trying some case in which Government is interested. Mr. Pope Hennessy is still before the public, denying that he has been defeated in King's County election. Mr. Hennessy asserts that in making up the returns at the conclusion of the poll, two sheets were stuck together, and one of them got passed over uncounted, which if it had been included in the total would have given him a majority. Some London papers state that the Clerk of the Hanaper, to whom all returns of elections are sent in, is investigating the matter. A committee of the House of Commons is, however, I know, the only tribunal that can alter an election after the returning officer has "declared" the poll; so that Mr. Hen- nessy must rest content with his position as a barrister-at-law until the committee ap- pointed by the House decides his claims to the higher title of M.P. On the whole, I think that all parties would regret the exclusion from the House of a young man of such abilities as Mr. Hennessy. At the Crystal Palace, last Saturday, I saw the renowned Abd-el-Kader. He and his retinue, who were splendidly attired in garments elabo- rately embroidered and fringed with gold, were most warmly received as they advanced to the dais raised for them to witness the grand display of fountains which took place expressly in their honour. I hear that Mr. Walker, of Cornhill, whose premises were recently robbed of a very large quantity of valuable property, is about com- mencing an action against the maker of his safe, who had guaranteed that it was burglar proof; whereas the robbers succeeded in bursting it open. A gentleman, just returned from France, tells me that he visited the model village atFroteylesVesoul, near Paris, which has been founded by M. Auguste Guyard, and is nearly completed, under the sanc- tion of the Emperor. The idea is to try and check the tendency towards Parisian centralisa- tion, which is now so strong. The village contains a museum, library, concert-rooms, theatre, and in a miniature form all the conveniences which are supposed to make a large metropolis so attractive. The experiment is an interesting one, and if it be found successful will no doubt be largely imitated in other neighbourhoods, so as to relieve the over- crowding of large cities. Apropos of France, the preliminary arrange- ments for the Paris International Exhibition are being rapidly completed., The most novel feature will be an "Anthropological Department." Of what class of objects it will be composed has not yet been finally determined. The death of Professor Aytoun has caused much regret amongst his numerous friends and admirers in London. His vigorous pen will be missed from the pages of Blackwood; but his fame may safely rest upon his spirited and eloquent "Ballads." Aeronauts are rather at a discount just now. There is an endeavour to introduce novelties, but as a rule they signally fail. Since the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have for- bidden the donkeys, monkeys, &c., to ascend, it has been difficult to find anything sufficiently sensational to suit the public taste. Aerial ma- chines are now being attempted, by which we are eventually to fly through the air. M. Delamere endeavoured to ascend from Cremorne last week in a machine which a contemporary likened to twenty elephants massed together-to realise the aspect of which my brain is not capable. The Frenchman, assisted by about twenty men of his own nation, spread his wings and went aloft. He appeared as if he was going on the wings of a weathercock, by which I mean straight in the direction of the wind but all of a sudden, when he had ascended about one hundred yards, there was seen great agitation aloft. The machinery, which is more complicated than that of the Great Eastern, worked vigorously, and the aerial machine absolutely went a few points out of the way of the wind-first to the right, then to the left, at length down it came like a plumb-line, and then rebounded in the air again. It was mere humbug whatever may be done in the future, at the present time human beings have certainly not found a way of flying through the air a la Mon- sieur Goose. Z. —,
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In cozisecraence of the Seduction in Duty, Homiman's Teas are now supplied by the Agents EIGHTPENCE per lb. CH EVERY Geviine Paclietis signed llovniman & Co."
Non-Explosive Gunpowder. |
Non-Explosive Gunpowder. Mr. Gala, who believes that he has discovered the secret of making gunpowder innocuous, has patented and revealed his plan. He mixes glass, ground very fine, with the powder in the proportion of four to one, and the powder will then bear to be stirred with a red- hot poker without exploding. There is, we believe, no question whatever of the facts, the only doubt being as to their value. Clearly the mixture will want five times the room of the simple powder, and even if that can be provided two or three questions have to be answered. How long does the powder take to sift, and what must it be sifted through, powder being usually wanted in a hurry ? Will the glass shake down from the rolling of the ship, and will not the glaze of the powder be gradually injured, thus ma- terially injuring its force? It is stated that the in. vention was tried in 1835 byM. Piobert, a Frenchman, who employed fine sand, but was not found practically valuable.—Spectator.
Murrain in Cattle.
Murrain in Cattle. According to the statement a which Professor Gam. gee made last night before a meeting of cowkeepers, some of whom corroborated his facts, the plague is raging most severely in Marylebone, St. Pancras, Islington, and Paddington, and even in such healthy places as Sydenbam and Cheam. There were twelve fresh outbreaks between Saturday and Monday, and it is alleged that the Metropolitan Cattle Market has not been without diseased cattle on any market day during the last month. When once attacked by the disorder there seems to be no hope for any animal-its death is almost certain, and Professor Gangee suggests preven- tion, not cure, as the object to be aimed at. "All beasts that are evidently affected should be killed, or, at least, promptly and effectually separated from all healthy animals." Good would also be done if cattle- dealers would insist upon the ships in which cattle are imported and the railway-trucks in which they are conveyed throughout the country were properly cleansed and purified with disinfectants. The cowkeepers really seem to have got such a fright that they will take active measures to check the malady; but it is only natural that as tradesmen they Bhould be reluctant to sacrifice valuable stock while there is any hope of their recovery. Besides, many of the dairymen are poor and cannot afford to kill the animals which yield them a livelihood. Hence the necessity for stringent Government supervision, and also for co-operation among the cowkeepers, so that the loss caused by the saorifice of diseased ani- mals-which in the end will be a gain to all-may not fall exclusively on the owners. The small-pox which is afflicting the flocks on the Sussex downs is not quite so serious as the cattle plague, but calls for very similar measures. In 1862 there was a similar outbreak in Wilts, and Professor Gamgee was sent down as Government Commissioner. By his advice, the separation of healthy from sick sheep was carefully carried out; and the diseased animals were buried below the ground. The epidemic was thus arrested; and there can be no doubt that if the farmers of Sussex would follow the same course they would find it the cheapest in the long run, in spite of the immediate sacrifices which it might entail.—Pall Mall Gazette..
Anarchical Conditions of Greece.
Anarchical Conditions of Greece. The Hellenic Chamber of Deputies has sanctioned the election of all the candidates elected by the help of public fraud, armed violence, and the scenes of dis- order and murder which have stained so many localities with blood. The Athens papers are indignant at this sanction given to illegal acts and odious manoeuvres. They reckon that out of 180 deputies of which the Chamber is composed, there are more than 80 whose election is due to these criminal means; but it is evident all were agreed to admit each other mutually. It would have looked badly for. them to have incriminated each other. The result has been a general admission, and the formation of an assembly the issue, in great part, of the most flagrant violations of the law and public order. The Minister of Finance is preparing several bills for the purpose of ameliorating the financial situation of the State. Amongst the economies proposed is that the officials should receive their salaries two-thirds in money, and one-third in treasury bills of long date. Instead of thus increasing the distress of the employes, would it not be better to reduce the number of them, and to remove the legion of useless functionaries who eat up the meagre budget of Greece ? The bank of the kingdom is alone in a state of pros- perity. It has just declared a dividend of 13 per cent, on the nominal value of the shares, or 11 per cent. on their actual value. The trade of the brigands is also prosperous. The Hellenic papers speak of several citizens having been sent back by highway robbers, after having been heavily ransomed, as quite an ordinary affair. If in- formation is given against certain bandits, and a de- tachment of troops is sent after them, this is what happens :—" The band of Crickela and Cardiasmenos composed of seven brigands, had been informed against by a peasant, who stated that they would pass through a certain place where they could all be stopped. Fifty guards were sent to the said place, but instead of waiting for the brigands, they warned them from a distance by firing, and the band, of course, escaped.Le Pays. The New Birth of the Republic.
The New Birth of the Republic.
The London Times, which is not always a truthful authority upon the affairs of this country, has, for once at least, in its issue of the 5th inat., expressed an opinion about which there can be no dispute. It regards the position of the United States at the pre- sent time as much that of a new nation as it was after the Revolution of '76. It says that:— The subjection of the South is as much a fait ac- compli as the Declaration of Independence itself, and a new chapter has thereby been opened in the history of the United States. Henceforward other battles, sieges, and capitulations will take the place of Bun- ker's Hill, Saratoga, and Yorktown. Cornwall and Burgoyne will be dwarfed by Jackson and Lee, and it will not surprise us if Lincoln occupies a pedestal of equal height with that of Washington. If the im- portance of occurrences be determined by their scale, the war of independence hardly admits of comparison with that which has just terminated. The forces col- lected on either side, the distances traversed, the lists of killed and wounded, and the ruin wrought in the former are as nothing by the side of the records of the late civil war. The tales of outrage and havoc in- flicted by the British troops which have horrified three generations of Americans are already being superseded by more recent and vivid memories, and the heroic age of America will soon be transferred from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century." This is historically true. The recent triumph over rebellion has been productive of effects which in any other country could not be reached by a war of thirty years, and even then would be but imperfect in its results, leaving to future generations only a basis upon which to construct new revolutions. This has been the history of all the great wars of Europe. The conflicts of the Old World, sanguinary and long-lived as many of them were, have been but tardy steps up the ladder of progression towards a definite result. Our late war has attained the result which we sought in one gigantic step. It has produced a new development of the constitutional powers of the Government. It has tested successfully the vigour of national life that is in us. It has settled for ever the two leading issues from which danger to the perpetuity of democratic Government might be expected-the visionary idea of paramont State rights as opposed to the Federal compact, and the existence of slavery as a necessity to the prosperity, politlual and actual, of the Union. The revolution of '76 established the capacity of this people to obtain a national existence; but the war concluded in 1865 has proved substantially their power to perpetuate it. All the resources of the nation were called out in the late struggle, and they never can be repressed, no matter what may come in the future. They cannot be ignored. They will stand for evar aa cnridouueB of our strength, giving confidence to ourselves and admonition to the rest of the world. Like the seed of corn planted in the ground, the late bloody contest has borne fruits most prolifically-hut fruits which never can be compressed into the same space that the single grain of corn once occupied. The national power exhibited in this war will obtain a new direction, tending Lo the development of re- sources never dreamed of, or at least never tried, before. The Times is right, therefore, in stating that we have become a new nation. It is manifest that we cannot live within the narrow limits of our past. The republic is revivified. Its history in the coming future will eclipse all that it has realised in the last three-quarters of a century; and it is well, perhaps, that the eyes of Europe have been opened to this fact. —New York Herald.
THE BABY MURDERER.
THE BABY MURDERER. The condemned prisoner, Charlotte Winsor, was informed last week, in the presence of the governor of the county gaol at Exeter (Mr. Rose) and the chap- lain (Mr. Hellins) that her execution was fixed for Friday morning, the 11th instant, at eight o'clock. "She received the news," a correspondent writes, in a very unconcerned manner, and merely thanked the officers for the tidings. She was, of course, placed in the cell used for condemned prisoners, and was attended by female warders day and night. She eat heartily, slept well, and talked to the warders about her execu- tion in a very indifferent manner. She had an inter- view with her husband and daughter soon after reoeiving the sentence of death, and she then seemed the most calm of the three. None of her relations have visited her at the gaol; although her two sisters intimated a desire to see her. When told of this, Winsor expressed no anxiety in the matter. If, she said, it was their wish, and they choose to come, she was willing to see them. She speaks in very bitter terms of Mary Ann Harris, the mother of the murdered infant, and insists that Harris killed the child by giving it poison in her (Winsor's) house and with her privity. Harris, who is confined in the same gaol, is under the impression that she shall be sentenced to some term of imprisonment or penal servitude, for her share in smothering her child; andsheevinces great anxiety as to any confession which Winsor may make. The chaplain has been constant in his ministrations to Winsor, but, up to very recently, could make little impression on her. He now, however, has better hopes, and imagines that it is not impossible that she may make a full con- fession of her guilt before meeting her doom. There is a very strong feeling in the county against both prisoners, and the wish is universal that the unnatural mother, who so readily consented to have her own off- spring murdered, and coolly sat in the adjoining room while the wretoh Winsor, the professional baby-killer, was smothering it, may not escape." « Serious Fire at Islington.—A few minutes
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before two o'clock on Thursday morning a fire broke out on the premises belonging to Mr. Otjen, a rag merchant, at 44, Britannia-row Islington. The build- ings were crammed with goods, and the fire at once communicated to piles of rags and other inflammable articles, spreading with great rapidity. In the course of a few minutes the whole of the warehouses were in flames, from the base to the roof, and the reflection could be seen for miles distant. Numerous engines and escapes arrived in a short space of time, and there being a plentiful supply of the New River Company's water, the firemen went to work, but the flames could not be extinguished until the whole of the back ware- houses were destroyed. The loss is considerable, but it is understood that the sufferer was insured. Another fire happened on the premises belonging to Mr. Jacobs, a milliner, No. 102, High-street, Shore- ditch. For good health in the family choose the purest and best Diet.—The PEARL SEMOULE is very nutritious, delicious, wholesome, and economical; prized for the Dinner- taMe, Children, and Infants. Sold by Grocers, &c. J. PISON, IPSWICH, MAHTJFACTURER. Agents, Hicks Brothers, E. O.
AMERICA. ''
AMERICA. NEW YORK, JULY 26. President Johnson has ordered the liberation of all prisoners of war, including generals, upon their taking the oath of allegiance. Conflicts between the citizens and returned Con- federate soldiers continue throughout Tennessee. Guerillas still infest Central Tennessee. The Secretary of War has declared null and void all orders of military commanders in the South imposing restraints and punishments on coloured freedmen to which whites are not subjected.. The majority of the Secession candidates have been elected in Virginia. The Now York Zouaves at Charleston have mutinied and been disarmed. The offioers have been sent to gaol, and the men to Fort Sumner. The affair arose out of the late disturbances with the negroes.
THE PRESS IN AUSTRIA.
THE PRESS IN AUSTRIA. An imperial decree has been issued at Vienna, enacting the cessation of all pending prosecutions under the Press Law, and the remission of all punish- ments which are being carried out in pursuance thereof, not excepting the cases in which part or the whole of the guarantee money required to be deposited with the Government by every publisher of a paper had been forfeited.
CHINA AND JAPAN.J
CHINA AND JAPAN. J Advices received at Shanghae from Pekin announce that fresh edicts published in that city show that Prince Kung had not entirely recovered from his late disgrace. San Kolinsin has been killed in an engage- ment with the Nieufei rebels. Zsengknofen succeeds him. Burgevine has been captured near Amoy while attempting to join the rebels. He is detained prisoner by the Viceroy at Foochow. Intelligence from Japan announces that commercial affairs are progressing satisfactorily. The Tycoon had determined to attack Prince Nagato, and had re- viewed 100,000 troops. It was rumoured that Prince Satsuma intended to join Nagato.
THE CHOLERA IN THE EAST.
THE CHOLERA IN THE EAST. The Delta has arrived at Southampton with the Mediterranean mail only. She left Alexandria July 22. The cholera was declining there fast. Nineteen out of forty European railway employ6s in Egypt had died. About a dozen of the employes have come home in the Delta. The heat was still very great at Alex- andria when the Delta left. The cholera is now spreading in Syria.
THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION.
THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION. It is stated on reliable authority that the opinion delivered by the Crown lawyers of Prussia upon the succession question in the duchies contains the follow- ing conclusions: 1. The Duke of Augustenburg has no right of suc- cession to the whole or part of the Duchies, not only because his father renounced his rights of succession, and besides previously recognised all arrangements to be made relative to the order of succession, but also because succession by primogeniture cannot be shown to exist in the House of Augustenburg. 2. The claims of the Grand Duke of Oldenburg are only valid with reference to the Gottorp portion of the Duchies in virtue of eventual reversionary rights. 3. The rights of King Christian IX., recognised by the law of succession of 31st July, 1853, having been published and duly introduced in the Duchies, his Majesty's rights of succession must be considered as legally established; and these have been transferred by the Treaty of Vienna to Prussia and Austria.
CONVICTION FOR WILFUL MURDEB.
CONVICTION FOR WILFUL MURDEB. At the late assizes held at York Castle, Henry Hughes was indicted for the wilful murder of Francis Coates, at Middlesbro', on the 28th of May last. From the evidence it appeared that late on the night of May 27th Coates and another man were going about Mid- dlesbro' in a drunken condition, when they saw the prisoner and 110 woman, whom they followed, and com- menced shouting. The prisoner and the woman passed under the arch of Albert-bridge, and CoateB and his companion continued tliri r tvn-nnysmoo. The result was that, after a short time, the prisoner, while under the arch, turned on Coates and plunged a knife twice into his body. The second wound was about six inches below the navel. • Through this wound the man'ja bowels protruded, and death ensued a few hours afterwards. For the defence it was not denied that the prisoner had killed the deceased, but the great provocation he had received was urged as some excuse for the offence. The jury found the prisoner guilty of Wilful Murder, and he was sen- tenced to death in the usual form. The prisoner, who is about 31 years of age, is a respectable-looking man, about the middle height, and dark complexion. His conduct during the trial was perfectly stolid and in- different. He showed no interest in the proceedings; and even when the sentence of death was passed, he by no means seemed to realise the fearful position in which he stood. At the conclusion of the sentence, he said to the judge-" Thank you, sir I hope there will be a judge and jury over such a jury as them." He was then removed from the dock.
SINGULAR CASE OF MISTAKEN…
SINGULAR CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY. At the Greenwich Police-court, on Saturday, Charles Henry Gittings, of 37, Queen Elizabeth-street, Horselydown, was charged, with Charles Smithers alias Tubbs, a returned conviot, with having been concerned in a burglary. Early on the morning of the 29th of July Sergeant Best, while on duty at Sydenham, observed two men in such suspicious cir- cumstances as to lead him to believe they had com- mitted some robbery. In conjunction with a con- stable he endeavoured to apprehend them; and after a desperate fight Smithers was captured, but the other man got away. On the following Tuesday evening Ser- geant Best visited different beershops, and also the Cambridge Music-hall, Shoreditch; and at the latter saw the prisoner Gittings—a man of remarkable appearance, having a profusion of sandy-coloured hair and whiskers and moustaches, and whom he took into custody as being the man he stopped with Smithers. Police- constable Brown, 198 R, also spoke to his identity, having pursued the man who escaped; but in cross- examination the constable admitted that he had only a side view of the man's face, and also said that he lost sight of him altogether at a place known as the Dnve. The prisoner, however, satisfied the magis- trate that, instead of beihg a thief, he was a respect- able member of society, and furnished his worship with references as to his position, which left no doubt that the police had apprehended the wrong man and his worship accordingly discharged him.
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Attempted Wife Murder in Birmingham, -On Sunday morning a man named Edward Snelus. a labourer, residing in Birmingham, made a deter- mined attempt to cut his wife's throat with a pen- knife. On Saturday night, about twelve o'clock, the husband went home in a state of intoxication, when they at once commenced quarrelling, and continued doing so for about an hour. At two o'clock, however, Mrs. Snelus went to a person's house in the yard, knocked at the door, awoke her out of her sleep and told her that Snelus had out her throat. Upon going into the yard the neighbour found Mrs. Snelus with her clothes covered with blood, and she had a wound in her throat. She said she was sitting in a chair in the kitchen, when, after seme words, her husband came up to her, and with a penknife made a out at her throat. In a short time the husband returned with a surgeon, who found the wound not to be of a very serious nature, but it was in a very dangerous posi- tion, The husband was afterwards taken into oustody. Instant Care of Toothache.—Bunter"s Nervine rives imme date and permanent reliet Sold by all Chemists, fc lH pefSet- 808.11 and VOla Chwrry room !•»[>. PrIC4 Is- ad E?ldpreparation for eleansinp and preae.-vina the teeth Sotdbv n,U twrfnrners %nd ohemutfc—lS.Three Kintr-rtL. l.ombanJ-st-E-0 Satisfying, Strengthening, Soothing for In- S?|S'T,5S,efable. diMBible, nourishing for Invalids ia DH. RIDGE'S ?«2OOD; ,Prev<mts aoiditj and wind. The best and cheapest food. Of ohymiste. in canisters, 4d., 8d., is., and 9s. ed. The Himalaya Tea Oo.'s Pure Tea, is moderaUinprio* aaa ot excellent quality; being the purest Tea in use it is the most wholesome, therefore the best and. ohea,pest Sold onVu in packet*' Hotman'a Toothache Speclflc is the only preparation that MtanUy relieves without injuring the teeth it sweetens the breath, ana is recommended bj many eminent dentists. Price 7id and is. lid- • post free. 18 stamps. viol-g Neurotonic is infallible for Men" ral^ja, Ague, Faceaehe, Rheumatism, Nervousness, and Debility. bottles, is. l^d. 48a. sd.: of all Chemists, or H. Holman ,■Chemist, Barf et
ISUMMARY Of PASSING EVENTS.…
SUMMARY Of PASSING EVENTS. A CASE of considerable importance to the public at the present time, when disease amongst cattle is so prevalent, has been decided before a London magistrate. Francis Cousins, a sausage maker, residing in Hackney, was brought up at Worship- street, charged by the Medical Officer of Health and the Inspector of Nuisances with preparing for sale meat which was unfit for food. The defen- dant denied that it was his intention to sell the meat, asserting that it was only used for pigs' food. The magistrate, however, took a different view of the matter, and fined the defendant £5, with costs. ■ ME. CHARLES SPRAGUE, the surgeon who was charged with attempting to poison his wife and her mother and father, and a servant-maid, at Ashburton, has taken his trial at the Devon Assizes. It will be remembered that the four persons named suffered severely from a presumed poison, after partaking of a rabbit and steak pie, into which, it was suggested, the prisoner put j atrophine. It was contended in defence, and supported in evidence that there was no proof that j he had mixed the poison with the food. The jury, 1 after a few minutes consideration, acquitted the prisoner, who was warmly congratulated by his j friends on the verdict. I IN America the work of reconstruction goes on apace. The new President is pardoning all those who are desirous of submitting to the new order of J things. Almost all the men of note in the South have prudently made submission to the Govern- ment, and taken the oaths of allegiance. Several generals have been released upon these terms. The only prisoners of any note who are now awaiting their trials are Mr. Stephens, formerly Vice-President of the Confederacy; Mr. Regan, who was Postmaster of the South; and the officer who held the post of commandant of the Con- federate prison at Andersonville. The soldiers of both North and South who have returned from the wars are unsettled. Their business habits have been forgotten, and there is a thirst for ex- citement. It is reported that returned soldiers and civilians have been fighting in Philadelphia, Chicago, and other Northern cities, and through- out Tennessee the Confederate paroled men have been carrying on a kind of social warfare. In Charleston the New York Zouaves mutinied. in 'consequence of the late disturbances with the negroes. The regiment has been disarmed, the officers have been sent to gaol, and many of the men are placed in durance vile. These are some of the difficulties that the new Government have to contend against. Meanwhile there is a deter- mination to carry out freedom to the fullest extent. Mr. Secretary Stanton has issued a decree placing white and coloured people on the same footing as regards military restrictions and punishments, and nullifying such as have been contrary to this rule. THE unfortunate accidents which have over- taken the Atlantic cable during the process of laying have been received with one universal feeling of regret; a regret for the non-success of so great and important an undertaking, and a sympathy for the enterprising men who have at- tempted to carry out so great a scheme with their money, time, and scientific knowledge. THE French Government appears to be satis- fied with the result of the municipal elections, which, for the most part, have been against the Powers that be. The Minister of the Interior, however, praises the "admirable tranquillity" with which they were conducted, and adds that the Government does not regard any party as vanquished or victors," but receives all re- elected or newly-elected with the same cordiality. The official proceedings at these elections were com- monly regarded as a proof that the Emperor of the French desires to extend farther political liberties to the nation. AT the opening of the Portuguese Parliament the King was able to congratulate the assembly on the success of his mediation between Great Britain and Brazil. He was also in a position to pronounce the financial condition of the country to be satisfactory. But that which will please philanthropists the most is the announcement made by his Majesty that a strict law will be brought forward for the sanction of the represen- tatives to abolish slavery throughout the Portu- guese dominions. The calm and steady progress of this nation in material wealth, political free- dom, and general civilisation is something to re- joice over. As far as home politics are concerned, there is always a lull after a General Election, more espe- cially if there be a long vacation before the new Parliament meets; but we may refer to a circum- stance which has led Mr. Gladstone to read a severe lecture on social morality to a class of persons whom we think have been brought fairly under his lash. During the contest for South Lancashire a clergyman stated that the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer had built a church at Liverpool, which brought him a revenue of .£700 a year, whilst the minister received the paltry sum of .£120 for doing the work. Mr. Gladstone when informed of it first replied by telegram that it was totally untrue, but by next post transmitted the following letter,referring first to the Ecclesiastical CommÎiSsioners for the truthfulness of his denial, and continued:—"I think that grave censure attaches to those who, by speech or writing, pub- lish on the authority of rumour, or any anony- mous authority, statements injurious to private character; and who hold up to blame matters of personal and private conduct without having had the courtesy—I might say the decency-to give the person inculpated a prior opportunity of ex- planation and defence. Bad in all cases, it appears to me that these proceedings become worse when they are carried on for political purposes at the time of an election. It is possible that the heat of the party or that the exclusive devotion to particular and limited objects which so effectually closes the mind against the view of broader and larger ones, may have led to the course of which I complain. And if it be due to inconsiderateness only, I shall very gladly forget it." This is manly and straight- forward, and will be appreciated by all parties. BUT speaking of politics reminds us of a melan- choly circumstance connected with a member of the Government—Mr. Frederick Peel, son of the lite and brother of the present Sir Robert., known as a hard-working man as Secretary to the Trea- sury. He anticipated his re-election for Bury as certain; and when a strong opposition was in- augurated against him, he entered into the excite- ment of the proceedings, though in a condition of health utterly unsuited to such work. He was de- feated, and afterwards fell seriously ill. He was most diligently and tenderly nursed by his wife— the granddaughter of the late poet Shelley. This devoted lady, only in her thirtieth year, in consequence of her over exertions, was seized with diphtheria and died, to the inexpressible grief of her hasband, who, recovering under her care, is again prostrated by the unhappy affliction. It is said that he will retire from public life altogether, and already have the political prophets suggested who shall take his place. Let us hope, however, that Mr. Peel will submit to the wise decrees of Providence, and again take his part in the affairs of the nation. whether as a Government officer or in the Opposition side of the House. IN regard to the late Volunteer review at Wimbledon, his Royal Highness the Commander- in-Chief has addressed a letter to the Secretary of War, expressing a general approval of the effi- ciency displayed by the volunteers, but avoiding unnecessary flattery. He makes some suggestions which the several corps that took part in it will do well to lay to heart. He expresses regret that the volunteers upon such occasions do not put forth all their strength, and that as a rule they do not arrive on the ground at an earlier period of the day, the consequence of which being that the evolutions are delayed to so late an hour as to be performed in undue hurry. We can endorse every word of this, for the Duke of Cambridge, with his ordinary punctuality, was on the ground at the appointed time, five o'clock, whilst not a corps was present, and fully an hour elapsed before one appeared. His Royal Highness was exceed- ingly patient, but, as his report states, in conse- quence of this delay, everything was hurried. Let it not be for a moment supposed, however, that the nation at large is not proud of the noble volunteers. Every week we have evidence of their efficiency. At Shoeburyness the volunteer artil- lery have displayed a competency equal to any paid force in the world, whilst the Cheshire volun- teers, a few days ago, were reviewed by Colonel M'Murdo on the Chester racecourse, and their military proceedings, including a mimic fight and the construction of a pontoon bridge across the Dee, was acknowledged by the reviewing offi.cer to be equal to anything that could be performed by regular soldiers. THE disease which has carried off so many cattle in London appears to be extending, and, according to the last accounts, it has broken out in the south of Scotland. From instructions issued by the Privy Council, it appears that the disease is analogous to that which has recently carried off so many thousands of cattle in Russia, Austria, and the eastern parts of Europe; and. though amenable to medical treatment, the Privy Council recommend that diseased animals should be at one destroyed and buried, and that new stock should by every new purchaser be kept by them- selves for a few days—made to perform quaran- tine, in fact—before being plaeed with healthy cattle. The reL>'eixIy proposed by Professor Gam- gee, who declares that there are very few cases of indirect contagion," is, that "farmMM and cow- keepers must not allow diseased cattle to approach their stock." A letter from the Privy Council contains a complete code of instructions for the treatment and the detection of the disease, to which we would refer our readers. It is perhaps useful to tell alarmists that there is little chance of this disease affecting the milk. One of the first symptoms of the disorder is the total loss of the supply of milk, and medical men state that it is almost impossible that the lactean liquid could be affected. It is further stated that the disease cannot be communicated to human beings. At the same time every precaution should be used to prevent the spread of the disease.