The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

CAPTURE OF AN HOTEL SWINDLER. A respectable-looking young man, who gave the name of Reuben Leech Ibbotson, of Bradford, York' shire, aged twenty-three, and who stated he was commercial traveller, was brought up at the borongj police-court, Derby, da Saturday last, charged wiw1 stealing a silk umbrella, the property of Mr. Thoffi^ Baker, a commercial traveller, of Carlisle. There is no doubt the prisoner has for a considerable time paSt been travelling through England and committioS robberies at different hotels in which he had beeD staying. How he got into custody at Derby was as follows :—Mr. Baker said a week ago last Wednesday he was staying at Mrs. Stubb's, King's Head HotA Buxton, for the benefit of his health, and also at the same house, and represented himself as • traveller. He felt convinced, from the prisoner appearance, and the manner in which he conducted biff' self, that he was not a commercial," although he sai" he represented Bannerman and Sons, wholesit's drapers, Manchester. On the following Sunday evening prisoner left the above hotel without payM, his bill, amounting to « £ 3 15s., and taking with his1 Mr. Baker's umbrella. Nothing was heard of biJII until Mr. Baker arrived at Smithard's Hotel, Derby, on Friday last, when he found prisoner at the same hotel, and in his possession waS the umbrella he had stolen. He accused him of the robbery, and then gave him into custody. Mr* Hilton, head constable, said that the prisoner, 011 Friday evening, ordered "tea and fowls" at N[t, Smithard's hotel, although he had no money in pockets. He was remanded for a week, and we no doubt the police will be able to get up a nice little history of his swindling transactions.

THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS IN PARIS- The Davenport Brothers appeared for the first, and probably the last, time in Paris last week. They had taken the precaution to print upon the tickets (prics 25fr. each) a notice that thespectators must implicitly obey the instructions of the interpreter. Notwith' standing the price charged, the room was filled, but already before the commencement of the performance there were symptoms that things would not pass SO quiety as ia the private abode of the adepts. M. Bobic had the evening before given an exhibition very closely resembling the spiritual manifestations of which the parfratrum are the medinms. so that the audience was not only critical, but well up in the subject. Sotae delay occurred in commencing the performance; 9 meagre band of musicians endeavoured in vain to fill it up with attempts at a valse, which the impatience of the public would not pmmit tWn to finish. At last a white-cravated, blue-coated, gilt-buttoned individual, with gloves irreproachably clean, ap* peared on the Btage. He explained in SOHI0* what dreamy language that the brothers made n° pretensions to supernatural powers; that they were mere passive agents of spiritual manifestations, which they do not pretend to explain. They do not ask for faith; they address themselves to science, to which they present certain phenomena, faots which soienoe and the press may discuss. The speech was a long one, the audience got tired, and called out for the ex" periments," the two brothers," and some wicked "ag added, Les Deux Sceurs. They came forward at laS^ looking worn and rather frightened. The inter* proter then invited two of the audience to come up the stage to wa.toh the operations. The two who stepped forward were greeted with howls of Con- freres but these changed to applause when they named themselves, M.fH. de Pene, well known for » celebrated duel, and editor of the Gazette des Etrcmgers and the Vicomte Clary. They inspected cords and cup- boars, saw nothing suspicious, and the brothers were as securely as usual tied to their bench. The doorS are closed, the unearthly hubbub of unmusical instrfl* ments commences the spectators ask for light, the spirits, by their interpreter, object; the public is for a moment silent, and the brothers walk out of their box unbound. One of the gentlemen who tied them thinks the ropes produced are not the same as he had used, but the objection does not prevent a second manifestation. This time the brothers, who had entered the box unbound, are found solidly attached to the bench, but a spectator, whose attention had been uninterruptedly fixed on the bench, jumps on the stage, puts his hand on the bench round which the cords are wound, touches a spring, the bench bends in the middle, and the cords fall at the feet of the cap- tives, who were themselves plumped down-not on their heads. The rush, the row, was terrific, but the appear- ance of the commissary of police, who announced that the money would be returned, succeeded in restoring quiet. The company, after examining the mysteries of the cupboard, retired, not sorry to find their money in their pockets, delighted at having detected the im- posture, and glad to breathe some fresh air, for the heat had been stifling.

IMPORTANT CONVICTIONS OF COW- KEEPERS UNDER THE ORDERS 111 COUNCIL. Mr, Burcham was engaged for several hours at the Southwark Police-court in investigating charges against two persons summoned by Mr. Stanley, the Govern- ment inspector and veterinary surgeon of the district, for having in their possession and unlawfully driving through the public streets cattle suffering from the cattle disease. The first sumcaons was against Mr. Thomas Meredith, cowkeeper and dairyman, Flying Horse-yard, who was charged with removing five animals from his yard suffering from the cattle disease without the authority of Mr. Stanley. The second summons was against George Smith, Montrose-lodge, St. James's-road, Holloway, for driving and causing to be driven along the Southwark-bridge-road, the five animals above mentioned. The question turned upon whether the five animals were or were not diseased.-On behalf of the prosecution, the evidence of Mr. Stanley and Mr. Brown went to show that the cows were diseased; but for the defence there was the evidence of George Higgins, a slaughterman.—Mr. W. Weld, one of the inspectors appointed by the Com- missioners of Sewers, and inspector of cattle; and Mr. J. Newman, an inspector of Newgate-market, who all gave their opinion that there was no disease what- ever about the cows.—Mr. Burcham said that with respect to four of the cows the evidence did not satisfy him that they were labouring under the disease, but the fifth animal he thought had the symptoms. Con- sidering the evidence on both sides, he had no other alternative but to convict the defendant Smith. The other defendant, Meredith, had already been convicted for sending forth diseased cattle without a license from the inspector. He felt bound to inflict such a fine as would deter others from following the example of the defendants, both of whom had not only violated the law, but after warning, had set it at defiance. He adjudged each of the defendants to pay a penalty of .£10, with the ordinary costs.—Mr. Burcham after- wards consented to suspend the warrants of distress for a few days, to give time to consider a point of law which had been raised.

AGRICULTURE. Position and Prospects of the Hop Trade. The following 'remarks in regard to the hop trade are from the annual trade circular of Messrs. Woollo- ton and Sou, of the Borough:— After five seksons of comparative scarcity it is satisfactory to be favoured with a crop of hops which will probably be remembered not less for general excellence of quality than for extraordinary abundance. It is to be regretted that no accurate statistics can be obtained as to the number of acres under cultivation, nor as to the actual amount of pro- duce, but guided by the most careful observation, we appre- hena that there are now scarcely less than 60,000 acres producing hops, and that the crop of 1865 is equal to more than an old duty of £300,000. Consumers are perhaps somewhat better supplied with < stock than at this time last year, but few brewers are large holders, and from the great scarcity on the market of year- ling and old hops; a demand may be expected for the new growth, so soon as it can safely be affirmed that prices are in conformity with reason. We think it unwise to take alarm at the reports indus- triously circulated of mould, blight, and red rust; so im- mense a. crop must always be partially affected with some misfortune. It is indisputable that throughout the season there will be an abundant supply of prime quality, and an mportant surplus. As to the foreign crop, large importations must at one time be expected, for Belgium produces the largest and best crop known since 1846, Bavaria quite one-third more than last year, and of the finest quality and condition; while Bohemia and, the other European districts grow consider- ably more than sufficient for their local necessities. Prom America we again hear of "blight" and total failure," pos- sibly to be followed by as large exports to this market as last season, when similar accounts were repotted. We pronounce no opinion as to the stability of the pre- sent nominal value of hops, and only add that with judicious care in the selection of their stock, or else by confidence in the judgment and fair trading of those to whom they en- trust their orders, brewers (in the moderate price of hops) will this season have some compensation for the partial failure in the crop of barley, and also for the direct taxation exacted from them on the abolition of the Customs and Excise Duties. THE French have added to the list of diseases of animals, which in England is circumscribed to cows, pigs, and prawns, by givirg the same disaster to fowls and silkworms. THE annual show of the South Wexford Farming Society was. held last week in a field adjacent to the town of Wexford. It was attended with considerable "success, the number of entries, particularly in short horns, being greater than last year, the quality of the stock very superior, the spectators numerous, and the weather all that could be desired. A GENTLEMAN near Wareham, in Dorset, who has a email field in which there are crops of carrots and mail gold-wurzel, with which hares and rabbits have been making free, has put a dog's house in the field, which a small puppy inhabits. The puppy is loose by day, and he barks all night long. This effectually scares away the hares and rabbits. THE potato disease is computed to have destroyed half the crop in the neighbourhood of Spalding. A Boston report states, however, that in that part of Lincolnshire, the disease is very partial in its effects. Bocks and regents are nearly all bad in some districts, while flukes and seedlings are generally well spoken of. There is a good supply of potatoes about God- manchester; unfortunately, however, the disease pre- vails to some extent, and increases its ravages the longer the roots are kept in the ground.

HINTS UPON GARDENING. Gardening Operations for the Week. BEDDING PLANTS struck in the open ground must be potted forthwith; in all cases a poor sandy soil and plenty of drainage must be used, especially if the plants are to be kept in pits or other places where they will be exposed to a low temperature during hard weather. Take up all choice plants now that it is in- tended to keep through the winter, and pot them if left in thegronnd any longer, they will be likely to die after potting. BULBS of all kinds which it is inconvenient to plant early because of the ground being occupied, may be started in a mixture of leaf-mould and old dung, or in cocoa-nut waste, so as to be lifted in clumps with good roots to the positions in which they are to flower as soon as those positions are ready for ohem. Where an early bloom of snowdrops and crocuses is required and the ground cannot be made ready for the bulbs, this plan answers the purpose to perfection. CAPSICUMS AND TOMATOES may be gathered be- fore they are ripe if needful, and ripened by laying them on a shelf in a warm greenhouse. FLOWERING SHRUBS to be forced for the conserva- tory should now be thought of, to get them potted up and plunged ready to be taken in to force. Get them into as small pots as possible without doing any serious harm to their roots, and plunge in a bed of cocoa-nut waste, in a sheltered position, till required to go to the forcing-house. FUCHSIAS may be kept in bloom late by the aid of weak manure-water and a close warm house. The shading may be removed and the pots have a sprink- ling of fresh sheep or deer dung as a top dressing. Gather ripe berries of any varieties from which seed is required; bruise the berries with sand, and expose the mixture of pulp and sand to the sun till quite dry; then store it in chip boxes till spring, when sow sand Mid seeas together. Raisers of seedlings who can keep the young plants in the stove all winter may sow at once in a mixture of three parts leaf and one of sandy loam, and start in a gentle heat. HARD-WOODED PLANTS must be kept well aired and in full sunshine, to ripen the wood and give them strength to pass the winter in an ordinary greenhouse temperature. Heath, epacrises, pimelias, &c., to have free ventilation, and the rank shoots pinched in, to preserve uniformity of growth. LETTUCES required for use in winter to be planted out, a portion in frames, and another portion on a warm sloping border. The cabbage kinds will bear frost with the least injury. Some forward plants of cos put out now on a rich warm border will come into use late in the autumn. ONIONS to be taken up when the weather is dry, and well ripened for storing. Those from autumn sowing will now want thinning, and the thinnings may be planted on a warm rich border to make large bulbs next season, or for use during winter. ORCHARD-HOUSE TREES to have Email supplies of water, and full exposure to the sun, near a wall or fence facing south, where the heat will be reflected on them, and they will ripen their wood well. All fruit trees that were forced, especially cherries, peaches, and nectarines, should now be quite at rest, and leaf- less. To make an end of their season, shake the re- maining leaves off, and give them their winter pruning, and re-pot any that require it. Those not re-potted to have the top soil of the pots removed, and its place supplied with fresh turfy soil and rotten dung heaped up round the stem ef the tree. PLANTING may be proceeded with from this time to the end of November, beginning with evergreens, and getting them into their places, and meanwhile pre- paring the stations for deciduous trees, fruits, &c. Whenever it is possible to prepare the ground some time before planting it should be done and where orchards and shrubberies are to be planted in Novem- ber the soil should now be trenched up and made ready, even to manuring if required. ROSES budded this season require now to be looked over, the wild growth cut in slightly, the ties loosened, and any wild buds starting below the work to be rubbed off. Roses struck from cuttings to be potted dff as soon as rooted into sixty-sized pots, and be put on a gentle dung heat, to promote the filling of the pots with roots. Roses layered in the open ground may be removed and potted; in fact, it is better to winter all roses on their own roots in pots the first season after striking them, if there are conveniences or doing so. VINES must be got ripe in the wood now, if they are not so already, or all sorts of evils will befall them. Cut off the ends of any shoots that are green and any that continue to grow too luxuriantly may be checked by removing all or part of their leaves, at the same time keeping their roots as dry as possible. All super- fluous shoots to be removed as soon as possible and the vines in the early house to be pruned at once, and the border covered to keep it dry and warm wooden shutters are sometimes used, but we prefer straw hurdles. -Gardeners' Magazine.

♦— ——■' Mr. Bright on Reform.—Mr. Bright has written to Glasgow declining to address a Reform meeting there. He says if he speaks in one place he must speak in others, and he is unable to undergo the fatigues of a great agitation. He expresses faith in the triumph of reform, but says it should be postponed till the close of the official life of Lord Palmerston, the only man connected with the Liberal party able and willing to betray it. One sentence from him*, he says, would have passed the bill of 1860, but he re- used to utter it J

TERRIBLE COLLIERY ACCIDENT NEAR WIG AN. Eight Persons Killed. A most appalling colliery catastrophe, by which eight men and boys were deprived of life, with only a few seconds' warning, occurred late on Tuesday after- noon, at the California Pit, situated at Pennington- green, between three and four miles from Wigan. The colliery forms part of the extensive wsrks of the Kirk- less-hall Coal and Iron Company. It has been in ex- istenoe for a considerable time; and though only one seam-the Arley Mine—is worked, the yearly out-put" has been for many years as great as at any pit in the Wigan coalfield; while the accidents, and parti- cularly those of a fatal character, have been remark- ably few in proportion to the number of men employed. When the pit is in full work between 300 and 400 colliers and drawers are engaged; but on Tuesday morning only 277 lamps were given out on the pit bank, the reason being that the previous Saturday was "Pay Saturday," Monday consequently" Play Mon- day," and on Tuesday, when the fortnight's work is commenced, the whole of the men are never ready to begin their labour. On Tuesday two full hours are seldom made, and though the men descended the pit at the usual hour in the morning the operation of wind- ing them up the shaft began soon after three o'clock in the afternoon. At a quarter to four some 100 of the men had been conveyed safely to the surface, and eight more colliers and drawers were placed safely in the upper portion of the two-decker" cage by the hooker-on to descend the shaft, a distance of about 315 yards. The cage was within about forty-five yards of the top—two-and- a-half strokes from the engine-when suddenly, and from some cause at present totally unexplained, the rope slipped off the cone-shaped drum on to the shaft, and though the engine was immediately cheoked, the cage fell down the pit, snapping the steel wire in two like thread, and then dashing along with its living freight at a fearful rate to the bottom- a fall of fully 270 yards. The workmen at the pit eye had fortunately sufficient time to get out of the way of the cage, which, moving with extraordinary velocity, crashed through the boarding which covered the dib-hole, and was huddled in the 7ft. of water which it contained. For a short time the utmost consternation prevailed, but those in charge on the pit-bank were not long in making preparations to learn the extent of the disaster. The capstan was soon in order, and about five o'clock four men, named James Smallshaw, Roger Taylor, Peter Heyes, and Daniel Higson, were lowered in a basket by its means. They found that the shaft had been very slightly injured, for the cage being held in its position by the rods and the rope-some hundred yards of which it had taken with it in its fall-had lodged safely on the top of the ascending cage. Con- siderable damage had of course been done at the bottom, but the workmen who had been waiting to ascend were safe, though much alarmed. There was not the slightest possibility that any one of the eight men in the dib-hole could be alive, and it was deemed ( the wisest course, as the rope on the other side of the shaft was uninjured, to proceed with the winding of the 160 men who were still in the pit. The news of the accident was soon disseminated for miles round, and a constant stream of relatives and friends of the men employed was quickly moving to the pit from every direction. Of the 100 who had been drawn up some had not reached home, while, of course, it was impossible to say on the pit-bank who were the eight out of the 160 down whose lives had been sacrificed. Whilst, therefore, all of the great crowd which soon assembled had good reason to hope that their friends had escaped, still there could be nothing like certainty, and it was most affecting to observe the eager glances of anxious watchers at the black faces of each party of workmen as the cage reached the surface, and to notice the hearty welcome which was accorded to some few of the latest arrivals, who were receivad as if they had risen from the dead. At twenty minutes past six, after the cage had made about twenty journeys, all the .living were out of the pit, and then, under the direction of Mr. Samuel Lancaster, who was assisted by the underlooker of the pit, Roger Taylor, and by another officer of the same rank named James Chivers, prepa- rations were made for the reoovery of the bodies. The cage was soon fastened to the strong capstan rope, and in twenty minutes it was easily raisea out of the dib-hole. It was completely smashed, and tha bodioo, all of which were inside, were fearfully crushed, though all were identified without difficulty, as in only one case was there any consider- able disfigurement of the features. The bodies were carefully wrapped ap at the bottom, and sent in couples to the top, where carts were in readiness to convey them to the Running Horses Inn, Aspul, there to await the coroner's inquest. The names of the deceased are James Ramsdale, John Dunn, George Ingham, John Holland, William Bradshaw, Robert Fletcher, Robert Eatock, and Edward Anderton. The cause of the accident rests at present unex- plained, but some light may perhaps be thrown upon it at the inquest. The rope which was of steel, and about 3i inches in circumference, had been on the drum since the 13th of May, and was in good working order. It was of steel, and calculated to resist a strain of ten or twelve tons, but this, of course, would be nothing compared with the force of the jerk by which it was broken. The drum was of conical shape, and the slipping of the rope which caused the accident would be a circumstance very similar to the slipping of a lad's string when he winds his peg-top.

READING INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION. The formal opening of this exhibition took place on Wednesday, under circumstances of considerable cere- mony. From the time when the notion of holding a local exhibition here was started some months ago to the present day its promoters have met with continued success. The patronage of her Majesty was secured at an early period in its history, and her example induced the nobility and gentry of the county almost without exception to throw themselves into the move- ment with such cordiality, and to send so many pictures and articles of vertu, that it has almost changed its character, and become a fine art exhibition instead of an industrial one. It will, therefore, be no particular wonder if it should prove more attractive than most local exhibitions. The opening ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Oxford, who pronounced the inaugural address in ,the presence of the mayor and corporation of Reading, the mayors of Abingdon, Newbury, Wallingford, and Maidenhead, the lord-lieutenant of Berkshire, Lord Abingdon, the county and borough members, and a large assembly composed of the magistracy and gentry of the town and county. The exhibition is held in the Town-hall, the use of which has been liberally granted by the mayor and corporation of Reading, and as the building has recently been handsomely decorated, and a new organ erected, it forms a very suitable place in which to hold an exhibition of this description. At one o'clock the building was crowded by a dense assemblage of elegantly-attired ladies and gentlemen. Shortly after one o'clock the biahop of the diocese the lord-lieutenant, the county and borough members' the mayor and corporation, and vics-patrons. com' mittee, and other offieials, entered the room, the princi- pal personages passing up the open space kept for them, and proceeding to the platform, when the mayor took the chair amidst the plaudits of the assembly. The Bishop of Oxford opened the proceedings by pronouncing a short prayer, after which the version of the Old Hundredth Psalm, commencing with All people that on earth do dwell," was snng with fine effect by the Reading Philharmonic Choir, under the direction of Mr. Strickland, the organists for the day being Mr. W. H. Birch and Mr. J. H. Burton. The May of then came forward, and in a few appro- priate words detailed the origin.of the exhibition, and the success which, through the gracious co-operation of her Majesty and the nobiiity, their efforts had met with, COB eluding by calling on the bishop to deliver the inaugural address. The Bishop of Oxford then delivered the inaugural address, after which the exhibition was declared to be open, an announcement which was received with a round of cheering, on the subsidence of which the Hallelujah chorus of Handel was sung. In the afternoon a numerous party sat down to an elegant luncheon, served in the county hall by Mr. Rose, of the Upper Ship Hotel. Among the company present were the Mayor and corporation of Reading; the Mayors of Windsor, Newbury, Wallingford, and Maidenhead; the Lord. Lieutenant of the county, the Bishop of Oxford, Viscount Eversley, Major-General Seymour, Sir C. Ru-sell, M.P., Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd Lindsay, Mr. Benyon, M.P., Sir J. G. Shaw Lafevre, Sir F. Goldsmid, M.P., Mr. G. S. Lefevre, M.P., the Rev. T. V. Forbery, the Rev. A. P. Cast, the Rev. T. Ball, and many of the principal residents in the county.

CHASE AFTER FRAUDULENT BANKRUPTS. On the 15th June Messrs. George and J. Blackburn manufacturers, of Upper-lane Mill, Little Gomersal, near Leeds, absconded, taking with them money and goods to the value of about .£25,000. It was found that they had gone to New York, and Superintendent Hunt, of the Leeds detective force, was sent in pursuit of the runaways, who in the meantime had been made bankrupts. When Hunt arrived in New York he found all the goods had been delivered at that port, and he also ascertained where they were warehoused, and the additional fact that the two absconding bank- rnpts had travelled from England under the assumed names of Baring and Linton. Walter Blackburn, the younger brother, had also sailed ever to the States with them in the same ship. Mr. Hunt was for several days unable to trace them, but as he was watching about the steamboat quay one morning, he learnt a scrap of intelligence from one of his runners which indnced him to look out for the arrival of a fourth brother from England. Wlien this youngest branch of the family arrived, Mr. Hunt took up his quarters at the same hotel, and there he learnt that the only thing which prevented this latest importation from communicating with his brothers was the fear that he (Superintendent Hunt) would shortly be arriving from England, and that intercourse under such circumstances would be dangerous. Mr, Hunt pacified his fears, however, and actually accompanied young Blackburn down to the quay to see whether the next steamer brought over the redoubtable de- tective who had inspired the lad's mind with such consternation. When the dreaded detective from Qaeenstown did not make his appearance by the next boat, the confidence of young Black- burn became gradually restored, and three days afterwards he went to Trenton, in New Jersey. Mr. Hunt followed- up the track, and at Trenton he employed a man to watch the lad's movements. It then transpired that a cousin of the Blackburn's had hired a warehouse for the purpose of receiving the bales of goods fraudulently removed from the hands of English creditors. Mr. Hunt soon afterwards re- turned to New York to watch the proceedings of the gang at the Custom-house, through which the goods would have to be cleared. He held in his possession a bill of lading which had been intercepted at Liverpool, and he rightly concluded that the Blackburns would come down to the pier to look after the bales of cloth. Very shortly, while standing opposite the office of the Inman Company, he observed George Blackburn, the elder brother, and Walter Blackburn, stand- ing in the passage leadisg to the depot. He walked up to them, saying, Good morning, gentlemen; what is your business here ?" at the same time sticking his pen behind his ear. They replied that they had called for a bill of lading for twenty bales of goods whioh had been sent out from Queenstown by the Edinburgh Mf- Hunt replied: "The gentleman who holds that bill of lading is at the branch office, in Exchange- place, and though I am in a great hurry, I will accompany you there, as I have a little business to transact with him on my own account." They con- sented to accompany him. Mr. Hunt then con- ducted them to Exchange-place. Here he left them in the lobby whilst be went into an empty room, and raised his voice as if in conversation with an occupant to this effect These gentlemen outside have called respecting a bill of lading, and they inform me that they are in a hurry and wish to be going. Mr. Hunt knew that they had in their pos- session at the time the bills of lading for twenty-aix bales of goods, and it was his object, if he could effect it, to obtain these valuable documents by any lawful means in his power, but if necessary by a strategic coup de main. He quickly decided upon the latter course of action, and, walking back into the lobby, said to the elder Blackburn, We are particular about those bills of lading; have you invoices with you ? Blackburn replied in the affirmative. Mr. Hunt asked to see them, upon which George Blackburn draw them from his pocket. Mr. Hunt requested them to endorse the documents, which endorsements were at once made by the young man, Walter Blackburn. Mr. Hunt then returned into the room, placed the docu. ment in a secret pocket, and went back to the Black- burns with the bill of lading for twenty bales of goods, to which he also obtained the necessary endorsement. He then told them to call again at three o'clock that about you-there is your photograph, pulling the carte de visite from his pocket, and I hold a warrant against you for embezzlement." Blackburn immediately blanohed upon finding his most fearful anticipa- tions realised, and Mr. Rant then followed up his advantage by demanding their cash. They declared they were without pecuniary means, and slunk out of the office. Mr. Hunt subsequently showed his bills of lading, and obtained the usual clearance permits, and these he deposited in the hands of the lawyer to whom he had been delegated, who will take the neces- sary steps to see the goods duly forwarded to England, where they will be applied to the credit of the official assignee under the bankruptcy. The value of the property thus recovered to the estate of the Black- burns is roughly estimated at between .£5.000 and £ 6,000.

FISCAL VIEW OF THE MALT-TAX. Now I come to present the casa to you in an entirely different aspect. I am going to ask you to take with me a financial view of the malt-tax, to look at it apart from the interest of producer and consumer, and to consider it in its abstract bearing as a tax. Adam Smith, the great authority on financial economy, lays it down as a fundamental maxim of taxation that Every tax ought to be so contrived as to take out and keep out of the pookets of the people as little as possible ever and above what it brings into the public treasury," and a more sensible rule no man could lay down. Now the malt-tax is a flagrant violation of this rule, because it is a tax upon the raw material, or, more strictly, upon the manufactured article in its first stage of production; and I show you in a moment where the impolicy of so putting it on lies. If the tax were put on beer instead of on malt, there would be a tax to be paid by the man who brewed the beer, and he would charge a profit on the tax to the man who bought the beer. But very stupidly, for it was a most unstatesmanlike plan, the tax was put on the malt, so thatj the maltster, when he pays the tax, has first to charge his profit on it to the brewer; and then the brewer has to put his profit on it, and also on the maltster's profit; and then the publican claps a profit on both of the other profits, and thus the tax costs the country a good deal more than it produces to the national exchequer. Now, all taxes are unpleasant; one would rather not have to shell out to the tax-gatherer at all; but if we do pay a tax, let us pay one that will find its way into the treasury without having a considerable por- tion of it stopped on the road. A gentleman I know went into a calculation which brought out this truth in a forcible manner. I can understand a man advo- cating a tax on beer, but I cannot understand a man with the slightest knowledge of political economy advocating a tax on malt, which involves a great waste of the resources of the people of this country. On financial grounds, then, the malt-tax is objection- able. It is also open to this great finanoial objection, that it is contrary to the great principles of free-trade. If you read in the newspapers the laudatory articles on free-trade, and call to mind the lectures which have been delivered in years past on the excellencies and blessings of that system, you would think that the whole country was converted to the doctrines of free- trade; and no doubt a great many people think we have got free-trade, and they lift up their voices and speak of its triumphs. Now, the repeal of the corn- laws was only the beginning of free-trade. The fulfil- ment of the principle is a work not likely to be accom- plished in our day. But shall we not go on in the de- velopment of this admirable and beneficent system ? We have tasted of the fruits of free-trade in the vast increase of our imports and exports, and shall we hold back now ? Are we afraid of extending its principles P Shall we not proceed in the path so bravely opened up to us? Now, the malt-tax is inconsistent with the principles of free-trade. I might here again quote Mr. Cobden, who said that excise restrictions were far more objectionable than customs duties, because they were far more restrictive to trade. You know the ex- cise tells a man when he is to wet his barley, and so on. The system is the very opposite of free-trade, for a man is restricted and fettered and tied in his trade, and in all manner of ways. The malt-tax is contrary to the principles of free-trade, because it cannot be maintained without those excise restrictions that fetter trade, and curtail it of its natural freedom. — Mr. Everetts' Lecture in Malt-tax Circular.

FACTS AND FACETI-ZE, ——- The worst kind of oil to have anything to do with —turm-oil. It is alleged that in every corner of the globe three things are always to be found-a Scot, a rat, and a Newcastle grindstone. Domestic Magazines.—Wives who are always blowing up their husbands. <Txy,am members of Parliament like de J don't meddle wid de subjec', Pomp." W hy, don t ye see, nigga, because dey am so fond ob debate." A Toast.-The following toast was given a short time ago at a dinner of the shoe and leather manu- facturers May they have all the women in the country to shoe, and the men to boot. "John," screamed a country girl, seated by the side of her dull lover, "leave me alone!" John, astonished, cried, "Why, I ain't a touching yer!" No,( replied she, but you might have done-if you liked. A quarrelsome, fashionable, fighting bully was reported to a convivial company as being dead, having been shot in a duel. Shot!" exclaimed one of the party; then, pan my word, he has died a natural death. A Figure to Paint.—" Represent me in my portrait," said a gentleman to his painter, with a book in my hand, and reading aloud. Paint my ser- vant also, in a corner where he cannot be seen, but in such a. manner that he may hear me when I call him. American Competition.-It is in the nature of an American, says one, to be always in fear lest his neighbour should arrive before him. If one hundred Americans were about to be shot, they would fight for precedence, such are their habits of competition. Haltered. Poor Dick! how sadly he is altered since his mawiage remarked one friend to another. Why, yes, of course," replied the other, directly a man s neck is in the nuptial noose every one must see that he is a haltered person." ^ar<At/^Ij,eS fpor,iu £ ated.—A country school- master thus describes a money-lender He serves you in the present tense—lends you in the conditional mood-keeps you in the subjunctive—and ruins you in the fnture." I'm going to ride at the country," said a French- man. "You should say ride in the country," re- marked his friend. Ah yes-ver good," responded Mossoo; and ven I come back I vill knock in your door. J What a fine head your boy has said an ad- miring friend. "Yes," said the fond father, "he's a chip of the old blook—diin't you, my boy ? "Yes, father, replied the boy, teacher said yesterday that I was a young blockhead." You have destroyed my peace of mind," said a desponding lover to a truant lass. "It can't do you much harm, John," replied she, for it was an amazing small piece you had." A Patient Lad.—"Ben," said a father, the other day, to his delinquent son, I am busy now; but as soon as I can get time, I mean to give you a flogging." Don't hurry yourself, pa," replied the patient lad, I can wait. Cross-Examination.—A young lady who had ™™JTar.?ly interrogated at court by an ill tempered counsel, observed, on leaving^ wiixT^w, ikit never before fully understood what was meant by cross- examination. An old lady's lap-dog having bitten the leg of a visitor, she expressed her sympathy by remarking, Poor little dear! I hope it will not make him sick!" What is the difference between a honeycomb and a honeymoon ? A honeycomb consists of a number of small "cells," and a honeymoon is one great sell!" Adaptation Extraordinary.—AdaptatioBs from the French have been of late so frequent on the London stage, that people are beginning to have their doubts even about our own Shakespeare. Two men were staring at the playbills outside Drury.lane Theatre. "Julius Caesar,said one. "Yes," said the other" an adaptation from the new book by the Emnoror nf the Fuonoh The Wiltshire Dialect—The following dialogue actually took place, a short time since, between a visiting examiner and a pupil in a school near Salisbury: Now, then, the first boy of the grammar class. First boy: Here I be, zir.—Examiner: Well, my good boy, can you tell me what vowels are ?—First boy: Vowls, zir? Ees, of course I can.—Examiner: Tell me, then, what are vowels.-First boy: Yowls, zir! Why, vowls be chickens. A Puzzler for a Postman.-The following direction appeared on a letter forwarded to the Birmingham Post office: "for John nary Ber- morgham Living in a house No. 130 at present and He lived Before now at Back Street Grosvenor Street No 3 Court No. 3 House. I Peter Sherlook do order the letter carrier to open this in order to find out John nary. We believe that vigorous efforts are being made to find out "John nary," but with what success we cannot at present state. t Pacts and Heraldry.—Stags would seem to have been often carried heraldically in allusion to some right or privilege of following the sport in the Royal preserves. "Once a Week" says: One Walter Barun, who gave his name to the small town of Barunton, or Bampton, is thus described as having the privilege of hunting the stag on Exmoor on con. dition of hanging upon trees the carcasses of all stags that might die of murrain in the said forest. Very Severe!—A young Scotch minister, who had for some Sundays occupied the pulpit, dined with a farmer of the parish in the afternoon, when services were over; and his appetite was so sharp that he thought it necessary to apologise to his host for eating so substantial a dinner. "You see," said he, "I am always very hungry after preaching." The old gentleman, not very much admiring the youth's pulpit ministrations, having heard this apology two or three times, at last replied sarcastically, "Indeed sir, I'm not surprised at it, considering the trash that comes off your stomach in the morning." _>^°tes."— Good advice is never out of season.— Riches are the baggage «f virtue; they cannot be spared nor left behind, but they hinder the march.- The public lecturer who dwelt upon a topic has changed his residence.—He who builds according to every man's advice will have a crooked house.— Watering plants with the rinsings of the milk pails makes them grow finely.-The reason why policemen are never run over is that they are never in the way.- They are fools who persist in being quite miserable becuuse they cannot be quite happy.—Waste of wealth is sometimes retrieved; waste of health, seldom; but waste of time, never. ==========*=—■

— Compound Interest.—It is well known to what prodigious sums money improved for some time at compound interest will increase. A. penny, so improved from our Saviour's birth as to double itself every four- teen years, or, which is nearly the same, put out at five per cent. eompound interest at our Saviour's birth, would by this time have increased to more money than would be contained in 150 millions of globes, each equal to the earth in magnitude, and all solid gold. A shilling put out at six per cent, compound interest would in the same time have increased to a greater sum in gold than the whole solar system could hold, supposing a sphere eqnal in diameter to the diameter of Saturn's orbit. And the earth is to such a sphere as half a square foot, or a quarto pge, to the whole surface of the earth.-Notes and Queries.