Potter's Electric News

THE HARVEST AND THE CROPS. Mr James Sanderson, the well-known agricul- tural authority, makes his annual report upon the harvest and the crops. The wheat crop,' he says, vhich supplies the chief bread food of this country, is unequal, and varies more, as the formation on which it grows varies, than ever I remember. On the red marl, one of the best wheat producing soils, of Northamptonshire, parts of Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcester- shire, and Lincolnshire the wheat crop is un- doubtedly deficient in plants. The deficiency of plants is partly met by unusually Ion-, ears, closely set with plump grain, and it is" solely to the cir- cumstance of the thinness of the plants that the yield of the soil referred to is under average. On the strong marls of the west part of Worcester- shire, the red sandstone clays of Staffordshire and Herefordshire, the weald clay of Kent; the London clay of Essex, and the loams of Norfolk and Suf- folk, the wheat, plants are very slightly deficient in quantity, and in general the ears are an average size. The bulkiest crops I have seen are in East Keut and South Essex. On light soils—chalk, c gravel, sandy loam, and carboniferous grit-the I wheat crop is over average. Rust, commonly called blight, is more widespread than is generally supposed, and in several districts has considerably lessened the yield and deteriorated the quality of wheat. A rust-diseased area virtually means a like acreage subtracted from the area under wheat, as its produce is unfit for bread food. This circum- stance of disease alone has converted an over- average crop into an under-average. The barley crop is generally good, and, on the whole, re- ZD markably equal. In Norfolk, a great barley-pro- ducing county, it is rather deficient in bulk, and the ears are short, doubtless caused by the easterly May winds. In general the straw is rather short, but, the plants are close in the ground, while the ears are long and closely set. In several fields in the south of England and in Scotland I have pulled ears of two-rowed barley with the unusual num- ber of thirty-six grains. A large area of barley has been carried in capital condition. The samples are indifferent on soft soils, being somewhat husky and shrivelled; but where the crops were standino- the quality is moderately good. The oat crop barring the counties of Cumberland and Westmore- land—is singularly good. In the south especially, the yield is very large, while the quality is'shewn by the general weight of 441b per bushel. Beans have greatly improved during the last two months, and fields which promised in May to yield poor crops are cutting up remarkably well. The pea crop is 'in general deficient, and much under average. Taking the grain crops of England and Scotland, I estimate the wheat crop to be under average, barely 10 per cent. above average, oats 15 per cent. above average, beans fully average, and peas much below average. The potato crop is producing an average yield, but the quality, from an excess of moisture in the soil, is rather inferior. In the western and south-western counties of Eng- z;1 land the disease is very general. Mangolds have much improved, but on the whole are under average. Turnips, with the exception of those on tha poor, plastic clays of Sussex and Durham, and the strong clays of Northumberland and Stirling, are singularly good, and promise great abundance z' In of winter food for cattle and sheep. Even on thin chalk soils, which usually yield turnips not-larger than potatoes, the turnip crop is equal to the average produce of soils of medium quality. A larger yield and better quality of hay--natural and artificial-than that of 1867 wasnever secured in England. The yields of several fields sown down last year without a corn crop is almost un- precedented. Pastures are very abundant; indeed, in many instances they are too luxuriant for pas- turage purposes. Farmers complain of their want- ing 'proof,' as they term it, and maintain that neither dairy nor fattening stock are yielding their y C, Z, usual profit. In closing this report, it is with pleasure that I can now positively state that in the year 1867 there is a full average yield of agricul- tural produce. Z, PRICF.S AND SALES OF BRITISH CaRN.-The statis- tical abstract for the United Kingdom in each of the last fifteen years shows the average Gazette prices of British wheat, barley, and oats per imperial quar- ter in each month and year. From this return it is found that during the above period the price of wheat ranged, for the year, from 40s 2d to 74s 8d, I the minimum being 1864, and the maximum in 1855, the mean annual price per quarter last year being 49s lid. Barley reached its minimum price in 1852, and its maximum in 1867, the former being 28s 6d, and the letter 42s Id per quarter, the price attained last year being 37s 5d. The minimum price of oats occurred in 1852, and was 19s Id the maximum was 27s lid in 1854, and 24s 7d per quarter was the mean price last year. The sales of British wheat in various market towns in England and Wales between 1852 and 1864 inclusive were smallest in 1862, and largest in 1859, amounting to 3,588,085 quarters in the former and 5,498,202 quarters in the latter year. The sales of barley during the same period reached their maximum, 2,678,056 quarters, in 1856, and their minimum, 1,787,056 quarters, in 1860. Oats were sold most largely in 1852, and the smallest sales took place in 1858, the former amounting to 947,550 quarters, and the latter to 482,766 quarters. The comparison of sales does not include those of the last two years the leturns from 150 towns only being given durin,T 186*5 and 1866, as compared with 290 towns antece- dent to the 1st of January in the former year. THE ARMENIAN BISHOP AND KING THEODORE,—The following is the letter of the Armenian Archbishop which according to a recent telegram, has effected the release of the Abyssinian prisoners I, Isaiah, servant of Jesus Christ, and by the grace of God, Archbishop and Patriarch of Jerusalem, and guardian of the Holy Places, offer, with the Divine benedictions and favours of the Holy City, my apostolic salutations to your very Chris- tian Majesty, Sovereign of Ethiopia. May the heavenly protection; and the care of Divine Providence always watch over the person of your Majesty, your august family, and the whole State governed by your puissant sovereignty We know, Sire, the exalted prudence and love of justice which characterize your Majesty. We are, moreover, enchanted to see in your august person the true type of the Queen, eulogized in Holy Scripture, who was enamoured of the wisdom of Solomon. It is Ueaama blood, undoubtedly, as that of Solomon which flows in your Majesty's veins, and animates you with the same equity. These precious qualiti" then, which adorn your august person, have encouraged us to bring our prayers to the foot of your sublime throne. We feel assured that they will be heard by your merciful Majesty in the love of Jesus Christ, who has given us in his per- son an example of humility and gentleness, and who has also prescribed to us to visit all who are oppressed and deprived of their liberty, which is beyond all the pos- sessions of this world. Animated by the same evan- gelica sentiments, we pray your most merciful Majesty to look graciously upon the English consul and his com- panions, and to pardon them for all the faults they may have committed. If our prayers are heard by your clemency, as we feel a pleasure in believing, we shali be infinitely obliged, and every one wil! be as delighted as ourselves at your indulgence towards the unfortunates By so philanthropic a deed your Majesty will increase the number of those who pray for the prosperity of your empire, and for the preservation of the precious life of your august person. May the peace and grace of God be always with you! So be it! Given at our apostolic see of St James, the 30th of March, of the year of our Saviour 1867.' Our readers will form their own opinion of the probable efficacy of this remarkable epistolatory effusion.—Globe.

THE WILL OF THE LATE WILLIAM CRAW SHAY. ESQ. The will of William Crawshay. of Caversham Park. Oxon, was proved on the 23rd ult by the executors, Robert Thompson Crawly and Henry Crawshay, hi; sons, and William Gray, of 5, Tokenhouse Yard, London. The personalty was sworn under £2,000,000 sterling, The will bears date October 21, 1865, and the testatoi died at bis seat, Caversham Park, on the 4th ult, in hit 8oth year. He bequeaths to his widow all the stock, furniture, and effects at Caversham absolutely; also hi; maniion, estates, and farms in the county of Oxford., together with an annuity of £2,000 per annum. After her decease the mansion, &c., pass to his daughter, Sarah Louise Crawshay, for her life, and ultimately to his grandson. William, the son of Robert T. Crawsbay. To his daughter Eliza, widow of the Rev George Thomas (in addition to a former provision), he bequeaths an annuity of £1,000 per annum to each of his daughters-Amelia, widow of Capt T. F. Sandeman, and Jessy, widow of Alfred Crawshay (in addition to sums previously secured) — £ 150,000 Consols, and £10,000 additional to each under the powers of a settlement; to his daughter Sarah Louise Crawshay, £ 60,000 Consols: all these amounts being si ttled on his daughters for life, with remainder to their children. To the four children of his deceased daughter Agnes Dolphin he bequeaths the sum of £ 20,000 each. To his daughter Annette (wife of Captain Parland) an annuity of £1,500 per annum while living in England, aud, if she leaves children surviving her he bequeaths to each £ 20,000; and he further appoints to his daughter Annette £7,000 under the settlement before referred to. To his grandson William Crawsbay Ralston he bequeaths £ 10,000, which had been provided for the testator's de- ceased daughter Isabel Ralston, and the further sum of £ 30,000. After reciting that he had already amply pro- vided for his sons Francis and Henry, the testator directs his executors to set apart £160,000 Consols upon trust, to pay the dividend to his son Francis during his life, and, upon his decease, to hold £ 40,000 part thereof—viz., one moiety of £20,000 for the sole use of Isabella Fotkergill and the other for Laura Fotbergill, daughters of his said son Francis, with remainder to their respective children and as to the remainder of the said £160,000, for the other children of his said son Francis. To his son Henry the testator gives all the Syracuse and Binghamton Rail- road bonds and shares which he possessed; also £ 150,000 Turkish Stock, and £ 80,000 secured by his bonds. There are legacies to bis executor, W. Gray, and to several of his servants, clerks, &c.; and the testator devises his Castle of Cytarthfa (Glamorganshire), and the lands and ironworks there, and all the residue of his moneys, securies, and property, to his son Robert Thompson Crawshay. Crawshay. MEN U ANTED. We have been exporting large quantities of wheat to England some of our equatters are making preparations to boil down their sheep for tallow, in the absence of a market for the meat; bread is selling at from fivepence to sixpence the four pound loaf, beef and mutton from threepence to sixpence per pound, potatoes at two pounds per ton, and excellent wine, of colonial growth, at from four shillings to five per gallon local produc- tion, in all that concerns the necessities of life, is consi- derably in excess of local consumption, and the colony is literally arrested by the want of immigration These facts cannot be repeated too otten, nor impressed too strongly upon the minds of our countrymen at home.' That there should be at one end of the world a British community so thickly peopled as that population is in- cessantly encroaching upon the means of subsistence that a million of paupers are maintained at the public cost; that deaths from cold and hunger are numerous and frequent; that children of tender years are driven to labour in the fields in gangs, and are brutalised or de- stroyed by the process and that, in every walk of life, competition is so intense that the applicant is a suppliant, and not a negotiator; and that simultaneously with this state of things in the mother country, there should be one of her dependencies in the South Pacific, as large as England and Wales, as fertile as Sicily, and as healthy as Nice, craving for the superfluous capital and labour of the parent State, but craving in vain, does appear to be a perfectly inexplicable anomaly. We count our population by hundreds of thousands only, while the country is capable of maintaining mil- lions, with a wide field for the enterprise of the restless and adventurous in the neighbouring colonies and in the innumerable islands of the great Pacific. What a mere handful of people has accomplished in Victoria, chiefly since the year 1851, may be accepted as an earnest of what may be effected by still larger numbers, actuated by the same spirit of industry and energy in the time to come. We have built and conferred municipal institu- tions upon upwards of 60 towns and cities, contain- ling 70,000 habitable dwellings, more than 300,000 souls, and rateable property of the estimated value of £ 20,000,000. Outside of their limits are the rural shires and road districts, to the number of 100 with 54,000 houses, 253,000 inhabitants, and rateable property exceeding £16,000,000 in value. For the spiritual wants of the people, 1,700 churches and chapels have been erected and for the education of the young upwards of 700 common schools have been opened, upon the rolls of which the names of upwards of 70,000 children are inscribed. Some of the most im- portant towns of the colony are brought into direct com- munication with seaboard by 271 miles of railway and 3,000 miles of telegraphic wire and 525 post offices furnish the colonist with every requisite facility for the transmission of his correspondence. Pastoral and agri- cultural pursuits provide employment for 55,000 men and women, mining for 80,000 men, 900 mills and manu- factories afford occupation to nearly 10,000 persons; exclusive of several thousands who are engaged in various handicrafts in Melbourne and other large towns. The immigrant, therefore, finds the same social condi- tion and in the same diversified outlet for his skill, capital, and industry to which he has been accustomed in the mother country. He loses few of the benefits bestowed upon it by its venerable civilization, and he gains largely by the superior material advantages which a colony offers to a man who has the courage to seize them, and the steadiness of purpose necessary to turn them to their best account. It he has a career to make, nowhere are the obstacles to success so few in number and so easily surmountable, nowhere are the opportuni- ties for self advancement so numerous and so inviting as in a new country, with a large area of uncultivated territory, and with resources of which all that is known encourages the belief that those which yet await de- velopment will exceed in variety and value the most sanguine expectations of the enthusiast. To capitalists and fundholderg, and annuitants, to farmers possessing either a moderate amount of money or a family of grown up sons, to sober and industrious artizans and labourers, with a general aptitude for .anything, and a pliant, adapt- ability to the circumstances and requirements of a new country, Australia offers inducements for settlement and assurances of reward such as are presented, we will venture to say, by no other possession of the British Crown. We have shown what has been done within half the lifetime of a single generation; and this will be repeated on a grander scale, and with proportionally enlarged result, during the next eight or ten years, if the mother country will annually send us 40,0)1) or oO,000 men and women to eat our superabundant supplies of toad, to assist in the cultivation of our waste lands, to multiply the number of our industries, and to continue and extend the work which has been so prosperously commenced.-Melbourne Argus. KILLED BY LIGHTNING.—Two shocking cases of in- stantaneoua death by ligbtniugoccurred during the recent thunderstorm on the Welsh border of Shropshire, where the storm raged with extraordinary violence, In the first case which happened in the neighbourhood of Knighton, a farm labourer, named Jones, was descending a ladder reared against a corn rick which he had been covering, when the electric fluid stiuckhim, and he. fell dead at the feet of his little son, who was standing by watching him. The lad himself was struck by the light- ning, but though it entirely destroyed one side of his trousers he escaped without the slightest bodily injury. In the other case the deceased, also a farm labourer, was standing by the kitchen fire in his master's house at Penegoes, near Machynlleth, when the lightning passed down the chimney and struck him dead on the spot. His wife, who was sitting down at the table, was struck ir. the face, but not seriously injured. Several articles oi furniture in the room were shattered, and a pig and a duck which wete ill the yard were killed) Nearly forty head of cattle are reported to have been killed by lightning in Devon and Cornwall iuring the thunderstorm on Tuesday, the 3rd instant. GALLANT RESCUE FROM DROWNING BY AN M. P .-On Friday morning a boy in the service of Mr. Roger E/kyn, \I.P. at the 4 Willows, near Windsor, took a horse to water on the bank of the Thames. While thus employed 'he horse reared, and the boy was thrown into the river. Mr Scblotel, brother-in-law of Mr Eykyn, noticed the horse loose, succeeded in catching it, and looking round for the boy was just in time to see him apparently drowning. Jumping into the river Mr Schlotel seized the boy, and sustained him on the surface until Mr Eykyrlp who is an excellent swimmer, ran to the spot, plunged in; and gallantly brought Mr Schlotel and the boy, much exhausted, in safety to the shore. The boy speedily re- covered from the effects of his narrow escaoe from' drowning, and Mr EJ kyn and Mr Schlotel are none the' worse for their immersion. FATAL ACCIDENT TO AN OFFICER OF THE ROYAL EN"- GINEERS AT CHATHAM.—On Friday afternoon a party of three officers of the Royal Engineers left Chatham for a sail down the river in one of the sailing boats kept for the use of the officers of the corps. The wind was blow- ing rather fresh, when the boat, on passing through Long Reach, was suddenly capsized by a violent squall, the whole of the officers being immersed. Two of the party/ Lieutenants Sir Arthur Mackworth and C. H. Mackenzie, were saved by some officers in two other yachts who had witnessed the accident, but the third, Lieutenant James Jameson Robertson, who was a good swimmer, was un- fortunately drowned. The whole of Saturday some of the Engineers were employed in dragging the river, but were unsuccessful; partly owing to the wind blowing a perfect gale. The search was renewed on Sunday morn- ing, but on account of the distance down the river the result is not yet known. The occurrence has caused a painful sensation throughout the entire garrison at Chatham. MARRIAGE OF A HINDOO TO AN IDOL.—A curionfl account of the marriage of a Hindoo girl to an idol is given by the Oude Gazette' Some time ago a vernacular paper of the North-Western Provinces announced the arrival of an old Deccan Brahmin with his family in the town of Mutbra, where Kungacharee, the high priest of the Ramanojee sect greatly patronised him. The old Brahmin has two daughters, one a grown up girl and the other only nine years old. Whilst residing at Muthra the younger girl gave out that Krishnnjce (one of the incarnations Of Vishnu, the Hindoo sod) appeared to her in a dream* and proposed a nuptial alliance with her. Next day the girl was, with great pomp, married to an idol worshipped in a Hindoo temple. The ignorant and superstitious people rejoiced at this absurd marriage, and began. to venerate the girl as an inspired being. Both the girl* have learned by heart 18,000 couplets of the I Bbagvvutt" a work in the Sanscrit language. They have now arrived in this city, and put up at a house in the vicinity of the 'Gole Durwaza.' Every morning Hindoos of all ages and sexes congregate to hear the melodious recitations of the two girls. Both the girls consider themselves as dedicated to the service of the god Krishna; and after their daily recitations are concluded they make no hesi- tation in accepting such presents of money and sweet- meats as their hearers may choose to give them. We have little doubt that they have already reaped a rich harvest from their deluded votaries.' COMBINATION OF HORSE AND STEAM POWER FOS LOCOMOTIVES ON ORDINARY ROADS.—The great diffi- culty attending the introduction of steam on ordinary roads, as far as the public is concerned, is the danger of accidents of the most serious kind from the least inter- rupt on of attention on the part of the engineer in charge of the vehicle. On a curved or crowded road there must be constant changes of direction, without which cotlisionS, or other dangerous effects, will certainly take place. W ith a vehicle drawn by horses, their intelligence, not less than that of the driver is effective; and in cases In which the driver is negligent, or-even incapable, froifl sleep or some other cause, the horses may, and often do, bring the vehicle safe through every peril. This con- sideration has suggested the utilisation of the intelligence of the horse which, unlike that of the engine-driver, is undoubtedly ever occupied only with things present—by a means whiah M Seguier has recently brought under the notice of the Acadenqy of Sciences. The horse w be attached to the locomotive, not for the purpose of giving the least assistance in drawing the vehicle, bit with the sole object of aiding in its guidance; it will therefore undergo no fatigue. A shaft which is placcdi11 front o! the steam carriage, and to which the horse is yoliee, is so connected with the sream machinery tlJllt when the horse advances the sleam is turned on, when he moves back it is turned off; and when lie turns to either side the mechanism required to turn the carriage in the proper direction is thrown into action,—The .In- telleclual Observer for September. A MOST DESERVING CASE FOR THE BENEVOLENT. A few days ago a gentleman waited upon the magistrate at Marylebone, and said he wished to draw attention 10 the distressed condition of an old and deserv'ng Penin- sular officer. He said his name was Lieut. Colonel Thomas Beckham. Applicant enumerated the d.fferen' engagements of the veteran. He joined the 43d Light Infantry as an ensign in 1808, and served with that regi- ment in 1812 was present at the battle of on the 21st July of same year, for which he obtained a clasp in the same rank and regiment in the advance and retre,at of the army from Madrid to the frontiers of Portugal; also in the advance of the army and battle of -Vitt ria, in 1813, when he was promoted to li utenant, and obtained a clasp; in 1814 was with his regiment io the battle of the Pyrenees, for which he obtained a clasp; was at the battle of Toulouse, and obtained a medal and clasp, and returned homo in July, 1814, In the autumn of the same year be was ordered with his regiment to tbe siege of New Orleans. lie returned home in June, IS 15. In the same year his regiment was oidjred to join the army under tbe Duke of Wellington, and was engaged in the advance and capture of Paris on the 19th of June, and remained with the army during the whole of the occupation. On the return of the army from France, 1(11 October, 1818, he was placed on haif-pay in the general reduction of the army at the end of the year. In 1821, by giving the difference, he joined the 79th Foot, but was again placed on half-pay through a further reduc- tion. In 1825 he was appointed adjutant in the Nor- folk Yeomanry, and in 1827 was again placed on half- pay afterwards appointed, by giving the difference lieutenant in the 6.6th Foot. In 1830 purchased bl' company in the 1st West India Regiment, and subs4" quently appointed captain in the 19th Foot, then servlng in the West Indies, where he remained out for some years, until the return of his regiment in 1835, which was then ordered to Cork. Some time after quartered in Dublill; was ordered suddenly to Wales in 1839, in consequence 0 serious riots at Newport, and was placed in charge of prisoners, Frost, Williams, and Jones, with instruction to embark them on board a steamer in charge of a lieu" tenant and thirty men for Portsmouth. In 1S39 he joined his regiment, l9thFoot, as captain, then quarter^ at Bristol, from whence he embarked for Dublin. *a 1840 was ordered to Malta, where he served several and was appointed in 1845 staff officer of pensioners Preston, Lancashire, and brevet major in 1846. He rC signed this appointment in 1850. In 1851 placed of half-pay. In 1854 was gazetted lieutenant colonel and in 185C sold out of the service. His ments were occasioned by his having become securitf for a brother-in-law, a merchant at Liverpool, compelled him to sell his commission to make good security in 18d6. He also sustained a heavy 1 oss/j? ff tbe failure of a bank. lie waa now living upon a f amount he possessed after the wreck of his fortune •» already named, and which is insufficient to maintain1 0 even to furnish the barest means of subsistence. now in his 76th year, and has served his country a tive service for a period of 47 year. He is no* mfirnj and bedridden. Mr Mansfield directed strict »n quiries to be made into the matter. Mr Lyell, th<^le[^ now informed his worship that a full and searching ,}tnry had been made, and all the statements found to correct. Mr Mansfield awarded the very liberal £10 to the veteran. -'rinted and Published, on behalf of the Pro Tie^°^ by JOSEPH POTTER, at the Office in High-stree the Parish of Saint Mary, ia the County Town of Havertordwest. Wednesday, September 11, 1867.